January 31, 2010

Today was Caleb's birthday party. I think it went really well. He had football buddies, school mates, and family friends there with him. It included a couple of Michaela's friends, too, so they were both happy. It was great to see some of the people from football there. I really enjoyed seeing them again. And, of course having my friends there was also great. It was just really a great time and Caleb loved it.

January 30, 2010

Today was Caleb's first basketball game. He did really good. I was really impressed with how well they all did. It was fun to watch him play. I get such a thrill watching my kids do things they enjoy.

I went to Wal-mart to do shopping by myself this afternoon. I got things for the goody bags for Caleb's party. I tried to get most of it sports oriented since his invitations had the Blues logo on them and his cake is going to have a hockey puck on it.

The rest of the day was pretty much just laundry and hanging out at home.

January 29, 2010

I am very glad it is Friday. Work went well today. We got our tests done that we needed to do. It was also Fun Friday at our school today. I hosted a movie this time. I showed "Horton Hears a Who." They seemed to really like it. I did not have but about 10 students in my room and they were really good for it. I am really glad they enjoyed it.

Tonight we ordered Caleb's cake for his party. We are getting it from Sam's. He decided on a hockey puck logo to have put on his cake. It'll have blue and white icing. He wanted a Blues logo, but they do not have copyright permissions for hockey teams.

January 28, 2010

Tonight was swimming night. Michaela and I were late again and I even made supper early tonight. I don't know why we cannot seem to get there on time lately. But, we were not as late as we have been.

It was a rigorous workout tonight. But, it was good. It felt good. I am very happy with the way it went.

January 27, 2010

It was a busy night tonight. I had to have Caleb at the Y for basketball by 5:15 for basketball practice. That was over at 6:00 p.m. I went to get something to eat and then headed to a camp planning meeting. We met tonight to start planning our neighborhood camp for this August. It is going to be a western theme. We seemed to get some good ideas down tonight. I think we'll be able to get it all planned out really well. It seems to be going good for us so far.

It snowed earlier today. We had these HUGE snowflakes. Michael texted me saying they were having white gerbils falling from the sky. It was really pretty while it lasted. Now, it seems all the roads are getting really slick and icy.

January 26, 2010

I did not sleep last night. I have been so tired all day because of it. I am going to shower early tonight and go to bed early.

January 25, 2010

It was a really good night at home, once we got past homework. Caleb was a BEAR to do homework with tonight. It was not a pretty sight. But, we got it done and he did it right even if it killed me.

After supper, I played Wii football with Caleb. It was more fun than I thought it would be. I am not going to race down there and play it every night, but I enjoyed it. I liked being on defense. I sacked the quarter back about 6 times.

When we finished with the football, I turned on my Wii Fit. I clocked 30 minutes on that. I did some aerobics, yoga and balance training. I love the Yoga. I can really feel it working my muscles.

January 24, 2010

Eight years ago today my 9lb 1oz. Buddha baby boy was born. He came into this world at 9:13 a.m. I cannot believe my baby is 8 years old already. He's so amazing to me. Every time I look at him I cannot believe that I have been so blessed with him and his sister.

We started the day by going to church. After church we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Caleb wanted to go there for his birthday. Michael's parents went with us. It was nice to have them with us. I know Caleb was thrilled that his grandparents went to Chuck E. Cheese. He opened his gifts from them. They gave him a Transformer and NHL Hockey game for Wii. We were there until about 1:30 p.m.

When we came home Caleb opened his gifts from us. He was very happy with them all especially the Madden Wii game. He spent most of the afternoon playing his two new Wii games. I did laundry and messed around with pictures. Michaela spent quiet time in her room. I think she was tired from her sleep over. Michael worked on things outside.

This evening we went to Pasta House for supper. When, we got home from there I played Wii with the kids until it was time for them to go to bed. Now, I am watching some LOST season 3. In a little while I'm going to shower and go to bed. I am going to have to get up and go to work in the morning.

January 23, 2010

Today was a really good day for me. It started out with me getting to have breakfast with an old friend I graduated with. I really enjoyed her company. I felt very honored that she wanted to spend that time with me and that we got to have the conversation we had. It really did mean a lot to me. I hope our conversation was meaningful to her, too. We spent 2 1/2 hours talking and I could not believe we'd sat there that long. It went by so fast.

After I left the restaurant, I went and did some shopping. I had to buy Caleb's birthday gifts. I got him a Blues sweat jacket, a box of Matchbox cars, a Monster truck crash up arena thing and Madden 10 for Wii.

When I got home I did some laundry. I also wrapped Caleb's presents. His Wii game got wrapped four times. I'm going to make him unwrap that one last. It's going to be fun to watch him have to unwrap it four times before he gets to see what it is. He's been wanting that game for quite a while now.

This evening, Michaela went to Anikca's for a sleep over. My mom and Griff came over here to watch Caleb. And, Michael and I went to the Blues Game with Vicky and David. Vicky got the tickets from her boss. She had a parking pass, too, so we got to park in the parking garage attached to the arena. But, that wasn't the coolest part. The tickets were club seat tickets. We got to sit in the area where they serve you food and drinks for free up until the last 12 minutes of the game. That was too cool! I've never gotten to sit in seats like that anywhere. I loved it!

The whole day was just really great!

January 22, 2010

I did not go to work today. I really felt bad this morning and knew I would not be able function at work today. My stomach was messed up half the day and then I had a horrible headache that was causing spots in front of my eyes.

I did go up to Caleb's school to take his homework folder to him. I also left a message for his teacher to call me. Caleb has been struggling with a few things at school and I just need some more help in knowing how/what to help him with at home.

Caleb's teacher called me early in the afternoon. We had a long talk and she gave me some ideas. I feel better after talking to her. I am going to call her again in about a week and we'll talk again. I am hoping to get a meeting with her, the reading teacher and the counselor sometime soon.

This evening I took some Excedrin Migraine and was able to get my headache pain down enough so we could go out for a little while. We went to Hatfield's and McCoy's for supper. It's been a while since we were there. One of the owners was seating people. We've been going there since we were dating and they recognize us. It's kind of cool. We've been through all of the stages of our relationship there.

After that we went to Toys R Us to look at bicycles. That is one of Caleb's birthday presents. He looked at some and decided he wanted to look at Wal-mart before he made a decision. So we went to Wal-mart and he looked at some there. He decided he wanted one of the ones at Toys R Us, so we went back there. He picked out the bike he wanted and a new helmet because his old one is too small.

Tomorrow I will have to buy him a few other things so he has something to unwrap on his birthday. I cannot believe he is going to be 8 already.

January 21, 2010

Today was a MUCH better day at work. Things went so much smoother and the kids were a lot more focused. It just feels like it was a much more productive day. I left feeling like we'd actually accomplished some things. Plus, a student that has been struggling is really showing signs of making progress.

Tonight was swimming night. I was a little tired before we went, but did not feel as bad as the last couple weeks. It was a great work out tonight. I could really feel like something was happening with my muscles.

I am now feeling a good sleepy and think I'm going to have a pretty good night's sleep.

January 20, 2010

Wow, what a day at work I had today. It was horrible. At one point I just gave up trying to teach. Even with me walking around the room during our lesson/group activity time I could only get four students to pay attention and really take things seriously. So, instead of stopping every two seconds to re-direct students, I just handed out the assignment and told them to do it. I have to do this every once in a while and it usually gets behavior back on track for a good amount of time.

I also had three students today that just wanted to break every rule known. They did not want to take their work seriously. They didn't want to leave their classmates alone. They didn't want to be respectful. I could go on and on. All three of them lost recess, had to do extra work and missed out on the video during snack time today. There are days like this every year and I'm hoping this was just a bad day and we will be able to get back on track tomorrow.

After work I had to go get Caleb at school and then get Michaela at her grandparents' house. We came home for a few minutes and then we were off to the YMCA. It was Caleb's first night of basketball. His practices are every Wednesday night from 5:15 - 6:00. It seemed to go well.

Michaela and I left in the van and came home to get my notebook and so she could tape a couple things back on her project board about Peru. She wanted to loan it to our display for Thinking Day. Caleb was with Michael in the truck.

Michaela and I then went to Girl Scouts. They girls made the swaps for Thinking Day. They are miniature Peruvian flags. They also made Valentine's for the soldiers. They did a great job.

After Girl Scouts, Michaela and I came home to eat the chili Michael made last night. It was really good. He outdid himself this time around. I'm so proud of him!

Caleb had already fallen asleep in his room when I got home so I had to tuck him in while he was sleeping. I think he's going to get a good night's sleep tonight.

January 19, 2010

We had a very short and to the point staff meeting at work today. I like it when staff meetings are like that. That's what staff meetings are supposed to be.

Tonight we took Caleb to get him basketball shoes. There was exactly one pair of them in his size at Sports Authority. I guess there are a lot of little boys playing basketball.

After that, we all went to do the grocery shopping. That is an interesting outing. As with everything, Michael and I have totally different ways of doing things. It's actually quite funny when we are arguing about which way you should be going up and down the aisles at the grocery store.

It was a nice evening spent together as a family.

January 18, 2010

Today was MLK day so the kids and I had the day off. This is a good thing, not only because it's always nice to have a day off, but because I had a lot of laundry yet to get done that had not gotten done over the weekend.

We took Abby to the vet today. She has those scabby things all over her back and tail like she had last year. The vet also looked at her ear, her foot where her toe was removed and her glands in her legs. He gave us anti-biotics and steroids for her skin condition. He also gave us some cream for a raw spot that he cleaned off her back and tail. He ended up cleaning a bunch of wax out of her ear and giving us more ointment for her ear. There is no sign of the cancer returning in her foot or her glands and he was very happy about that.

After we brought Abby home, the kids and I went to Wendy's for lunch. It was yummy. We got there just in time. It got very crowded about the time we got out food and sat down.

I spent the rest of the day working on laundry mostly. I also watched at lot of LOST. I'm getting close to half way through the third season.

Tonight I downloaded Tracy Chevalier's new book on iTunes. I've been waiting for this book since last spring. I love her writing and cannot wait to start listening to it on the way to work tomorrow. I also finished downloading Margret Atwood's latest book, so I've got a few weeks worth of listening to get through now. Tracy Chevalier and Margaret Atwood are two of my favorite authors. Next, I'll be downloading the next two Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child books, but I'll wait a while for those. I've got enough to listen to for now.

January 17, 2010

Tonight we went to my brother's house. We had our family January birthday celebration. My SIL (with help from my brother) cooked a really good dinner. She made roast beef, mashed potatoes, asparagus, raw veggies, gravy, rolls and black forest cake for desert. It was all very good.

Then, we opened presents. I got the Joel Osteen devotional book I wanted, a really nice white sweater and an iTunes gift card. Caleb got transformers and a Connect 4 game. We stayed and talked for a while and then left around a quarter to seven.

Michael had to go to church tonight for a board meeting. It was his turn to lead the meeting so we dropped him off at church on the way home. After the meeting he dropped his dad off and came home with his dad's truck since his truck is still in the shop. Hopefully, we'll get it back tomorrow.

January 16, 2010

Today was a busy day. The kids and I went to Sami's birthday party. Actually, it was for Sami and Louis. It was a good time. The kids really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. We were there until afternoon. I managed to get Caleb's birthday party scheduled while I was there, too.

This afternoon I got laundry started. Then, I went to Wal-mart. I had to get our weekly necessities and my mom's birthday present. We are seeing her tomorrow for family January birthday celebration. I got her a $10 Wal-mart GC, some Amber scented bath stuff and a nautical type shirt that I know she'll like.

This evening the kids and I went skating. It was the Girl Scout cookie kick off. It is Girl Scout Cookie time again. I got on skates tonight, too. It was the first time in almost 20 years. It was a lot of fun. It brought back a lot of memories I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow, but I don't care I really enjoyed it, tonight.

January 15, 2010

Today was the last day of work before a three day weekend. MLK Day is on Monday so there is no school. After this we've got four full weeks before we have another day off. That will be Presidents' Day.

It's going to be a busy weekend, though. We have a birthday party to go to, girl scout skating, church stuff and January family birthday celebration.

Tonight we ate supper at home. I made spaghetti and we just spent the evening at home. We don't do that on Fridays very often. It was kind of nice to just be at home tonight.

Today was also my mom's birthday. She turned 61 today.

January 14, 2010

I have been extremely tired today. Not even the cappuccino from the gas station helped today. I am just really tired of feeling tired.

Tonight Michaela and I got to get back into our weekly swimming routine. It was hard to make myself go because I was so tired, but I knew if I didn't make myself go it would be even harder next week. So, we went and I'm very glad we did. It felt good to have that exercise time. Michaela likes her new swimming teacher and enjoyed her class, too.

I am even more tired now, but it feels like a "good" tired instead of just exhausted from crap. I hope I sleep better tonight. I think I will. I feel more like a sleepful tired after having exercised.

Michael and the kids played Wii downstairs for a while tonight. I really wanted to play, but just could not make myself go down there, I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open and am planning on going to bed very soon after the kids go to bed.

January 13, 2010

I have been fighting the seasonal depression thing the past couple weeks. I hate this. I hate feeling like this. I hate feeling like I'm walking through a sludge pit and not able to move or even want to move. I go through this every year and I just dread it because I know it's coming.

It happens after the holidays. I know it is a combination of holiday let down, and the fact that the days are short and there is too much darkness. It just zaps all my energy and motivation right out of me. I just want to hibernate.

The one good thing about it is, it is not as bad as it used to be several years ago. But, this year it feels worse than the last couple years. I just want to go off by myself and cry, but I don't even have enough energy to create the tears.

I keep telling myself to hang in there, spring will get here eventually.

January 12, 2010

Today we did not have a staff meeting at work. I really like it when we do not have staff meetings. It's nice to not have to stay every Tuesday like we used to have to do. It makes the Tuesdays we have to stay a lot more bearable.

Tonight I made a pizza for supper. It was a kit type thing. It came with crust, sauce and cheese. I added pepperoni to it. We had three of these that Michael bought from someone at work, and this was the last one. The kids really seemed to enjoy them.

I managed to burn my finger on the oven rack when I was taking the pizza out of the oven. I hate when I do that. Burn pain is the worst. Of course it doesn't help that I still have my headache from yesterday. Michael brought home some Excedrin from the grocery store. Hopefully, that will help. Tylenol and Advil have done nothing for it.

Michael did the grocery shopping tonight. I'm very lucky that he is willing to do that most of the time during the school year. He does a very good job with it, too.

I've taken my Excedrin and am going to shower in a few minutes. Then, I'm going to bed. Hopefully, this headache will be gone in the morning.

January 11, 2010

Today was my birthday! It was not exactly fun to start my birthday knowing it was a Monday, but it all turned out pretty good in the end.

The work day was pretty uneventful. My students were really well behaved and worked hard today, which always makes for a good day. I managed to get my report cards finished before I left work, too, so I don't have to worry about having to work on those again until the end of third quarter.

I got all kinds of birthday wishes from people in my email, at work, and on FB, too. That was really cool.

This evening the kids, Michael and I went to Trailhead for dinner. It was really good, even better than usual. It was really nice to have dinner like that together. Trailhead was not very busy, but they were a little slow. I think it's because students from one of the cooking schools were there. It didn't take too terribly long, though.

When we got home I got to open my presents. I got a Nickelback CD (one I didn't already have), a boxed set of all three Pirates of the Carribean movies on Blue-Ray, and a very nice Mizzou sweatshirt. All of my cards were really cute, too. Michaela made me a very pretty picture of a flower made out of hearts and an Abby dog made out of a cardboard roll. She loves to make things and is very creative about it all.

I really wanted to play games with my family, but I've had this nagging headache since about 1:00. It just really hurts. Advil is not helping at all either. I hate it when I get headaches like these. Without the headache it was a really good birthday.

January 10, 2010

I feel very accomplished today. But, I also feel very tired.

We went to church this morning. After church we went to Pasta House. Michael's parents took us there for my birthday dinner. I got linguine with white clam sauce. It was YUMMY!!! Michael's parents gave me the coolest pair of gloves. They are really, really soft and warm. They also have nice grips on the palms so my hands won't be slipping on the steering wheel anymore. They also gave me a pretty good sized gift certificate to my favorite nail place. Michaela was excited about that because it is enough for the both of us to get pedicures.

The rest of the day I worked. When we got home I folded a couple loads of laundry and took care of the dishes in the sink in the kitchen. Then, I got to work on lesson plans. I worked on those all day long. I managed to get all my lesson plans except language done up until Spring Break. I did not do language because I brought home the wrong teacher's guide for that.

I also managed to finish laundry. There is one load in the dryer, but it's the stuff the kids wore to go sledding today, so it's mainly their coats and snow pants. They will get them out tomorrow.

Michael took the kids sledding today. It looks like they had a lot of fun by the pictures he took. I'm so glad he took pictures since I could not be there. It meant a lot to me to see the kids having fun through the pictures.

The kids also helped Michael wrap my birthday present tonight. They love doing that with him. I love it when they get to spend time with just him. It means so much to them to get that time with their daddy.

January 9, 2010

I got a lot of laundry done today. I still have a few loads left to do, but it should be easy to finish tomorrow. I really like it when I can get most of it done on Saturday and do not have to rush on Sunday to finish it.

We took my van in to get new tires for it today. We managed to get some pretty good ones for a decent price. They have an 80,000 mile warranty on them. The van needed new tires desperately so it feels good to have that done.

The rest of the day was spent on errands and just hanging around the house. Caleb fell asleep before bedtime tonight. I guess staying up at Nana's with Mr. Bill last night wore him out. At least I hope that is what it is and he's not getting sick. He was complaining of being really cold when we were eating supper tonight. I hope it is not a sign of him not feeling well. Hopefully, he'll sleep in a little in the morning and just get some rest.

We went to Red Robin tonight for supper. I wanted some onion soup. It was good. It helped me warm up a little. I've been cold a lot today. But, that is not unusual for me, especially with the weather we've been having. Hopefully, it will be a little warmer tomorrow.

January 8, 2010

We had another day off school today. The temps are so low that the chemicals put on the roads are freezing. The wind chills were below zero today. There were flurries part of the day, especially this evening, but no real snow. And, we did have sun some today, too.

The kids and I did a little around the house today. They cleaned their rooms and vacuumed. We all changed bed linens. I started laundry and straightened up the kitchen. I also dusted the entertainment center... well the television part of it anyway. And, I vacuumed my bedroom.

I've been re-watching LOST. Michael's parents gave me the 5th season on DVD for Christmas. I started with that one this time. I wasn't sure I was going to watch everything else. But, of course once I got through that season I wanted more, so I got out season 1 and started it. I don't know if I'll get all the way through all 5 seasons or not before the final season starts in February, but it's not important. I've watched all of the seasons more than once so I'm sure I can remember where we are when the new season begins.

Caleb went to spend the night at my mom's tonight. He looked like he was moving in. He had his sleeping bag, his little overnight suitcase, his DS case and his Sponge Bob Operation game with him. He also took Shrek 3 with him because my mom has never seen it.

Michaela, Michael and I went to Cracker Barrel for supper. We got there after 6:00 and did not have to wait. The tables were not filled the whole time we were there. But, they had A LOT of big groups there.

My BIL had surgery today. I guess he went to the hospital at around 3:00 a.m. in a lot of pain. They had to take out his gallbladder. They also fixed his hernia while they were in there. I'm glad it was something that is easily fixed. I'm sure my niece and nephew were really scared. I've gone through having a parent in the hospital for surgery so many times and it's still scary every time.

January 7, 2010

The kids and I all were home today. I snowed like crazy over night... well, compared to recent history anyway. We got close to 5 inches of dry, powdery snow. After the snow came the wind. At 7:00 a.m. this morning the wind chill was already below zero.

Caleb could not get it through his head that he was not going to go outside today. It's too damn cold. He asked about four times to go outside. No, no, no, no! I'll say one thing, that boy really goes for what he wants, though.

I pretty much did nothing today. I had brought home work to work on, but just never got to it. I enjoyed the day very much. The kids and I just hung out all day. Abby kept wanting to go outside, but it's too cold for her to stay outside so she whined and whimpered around the house a lot today.

They have already called off school for all of us tomorrow. The temperatures are dropping very low. Tomorrow is supposed to be super cold and windy again. It's so cold the chemicals they put down on the roads are freezing. Right now the wind chill is -12. So, I guess we get a 4 day weekend.

January 6, 2010

It wasn't quite as cold today as it has been most of the week. But, tonight the snow has started. We are supposed to get the biggest bulk of the snow over night. It's very dry dusty snow. We are supposed to get winds tomorrow which will make the snow blow everywhere.

Schools have already called off school for tomorrow. We got a phone call from the district we live in around 9:00 p.m. It took until almost 11:00 p.m. for my district to call off. Of course we were close to the last district to call off. So, the kids and I stay home tomorrow.

In other news, I got an email today with tour dates for Nickelback. They are coming back to St. Louis in April. They will be at the Scottrade Center this time. Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown and Sick Puppies are coming with them this time. I'm so excited!

January 5, 2010

Today my students came back to school. It was good to see them. It was a pretty good day in class for us. I had a couple who were still "on break." But, for the most part we got a lot accomplished. I was pretty proud of them. I also only had one absent which surprised me because it was the first day back and because it is so cold right now.

The weather is on everyone's minds right now. It's super cold. The windchill this morning got as low as -13. From news reports this is supposed to be the coldest winter since 1985 for us. We may break a record that was set in 1999 this week. It has just been bitterly cold and it is supposed to stay that way for at least another week.

January 4, 2010

It was my first day back to work after Winter Break. We had a PD day today, so there were no students. It was also held at our building, so we did not have to go fight parking at another building. I like PD days better when they are in our own buildings. I hate being made to go to other buildings for that stuff.

It was not a bad day. I would rather have my students, but it was pretty painless as far as PD days go. It also did not go by too slowly which was nice.

January 3, 2010

Ok, so it is my last day of my Winter Break. It always goes by so fast. I'm not DREADING going back to work, but I wouldn't be upset with another day or two off either. I would prefer to not have to go back, but then again, it's not something I'm dreading.

Last night we watched "Night at the Museum II" as a family. We watched in on our new Blue-Ray player. Michael got it and Michaela's DVD player hooked up yesterday. It's nice to have something to watch movies on again.

This morning we went to church. After church we went to Bob Evans. I don't think we've been there since Michaela was in a high chair. I know Caleb has never been there. It was good. The kids enjoyed it, too.

I did laundry most of the day. Michael cleaned out his closet and dresser and got rid of some clothes that do not fit anymore. Of course he did this not long after I finally got rid of the last bag of clothes he sacked up. Oh well.

January 2, 2010

It is Saturday. I have to go back to work in two days. Really not feeling it. I wish I could be excited about it. It's not been a bad year so far and I really like my class. But, I just wish I didn't have to work. Then again, I'm not sure I'd survive as a stay at home mom, either.

I pretty much did nothing today. I sat on the couch all day. The only time I got up was to make a simple lunch, a simple supper which Michaela helped with, and to go to the restroom. Oh, I also got up a few times to let the dog out because she's just been very antsy today. But, I watched "World's Strictest Parents" most of the day. It's interesting to watch.

One boy on one episode is from around here. He's from O'Fallon. They showed part of his report card and it looks like he goes to the alternative school in Fort Zumwalt. I just have a hard time believing these kids are really turned around after just a week with "strict" parents. Especially if they go home and everything is just the same at home.

January 1, 2010

Wow, looking at 2010 seems really strange. It just is weird to think that we are 10 years into the "new" century already. In just 7 short years, my daughter will be starting her last semester of high school and Caleb will be a freshman. How is that possible?

It was a pretty laid back day. We did go to Wal-mart. We had to return the DVD player that I bought a few weeks ago that ended up not working out for us. I also took back the tri-pod that my MIL and FIL bought me. The kids brought along their money, but neither of them spent any. Caleb tried but we made him wait until there was something he really wanted on the shelves. He just wanted to spend it to spend it. He was not happy with us.

We got some necessities, but we also got a new Blue Ray player. I'm excited. I've been wanting one. Michael was going to hook it up tonight, but he's not feeling well.

We also went out to lunch with Michael's parents. We went to O'Charley's. It was a nice lunch. I had the potato soup, but it wasn't as good as the last time I got it. They put us in a booth and I don't think we'll do that again. It was a big booth, but seriously not big enough for four adults and two growing children. However, the conversation was good.

This evening we've just hung out around home. Michael's been resting because he's not feeling well. I hope he feels better tomorrow.