March 19, 2008

It's been a busy day around here. I've worked really hard around the house today. This is what I've accomplished so far today:

• Cleaned my bedroom, including moving furniture to vacuum behind
• Cleaned, swept and mopped the master bathroom
• Cleaned up the dirty dishes
• Cleaned, swept and mopped the kitchen
• Swept and mopped the front bathroom and the landing by the front door
• Folded two loads of laundry (left from Sunday)
• Started more laundry (second load is in dryer)
• Dusted up high where Caleb cannot reach

I still have to put the things back in the kitchen. The floor is almost dry. I just finished putting the things back in the front bathroom. I have two more loads of laundry I want to get done. Michaela and Caleb have both done all of their chores, too. My house looks and smells clean. There is more I could do, but I'm tired.

Tonight will be an easy supper. I have one of those meat entrees things that only take about 5 minutes in the microwave. I'll make mashed potatoes (from instant) and open a can of green beans. I've got some raw carrots and applesauce I can put out, too.

I do need to take the filled Easter eggs that Michael bought to church at some point tonight. He left the key for me to go do that today, but I think I'll wait until JAMS tonight when there will be people there and take them up there then.

I'm trying to decide if I want to take a shower right now (I feel gross after all that cleaning) or take a nap. I'm thinking a shower will be less interrupted than a nap will be. At any rate I need to get up off my butt and check on the floor in the kitchen and get the load of laundry out of the dryer.

March 18, 2008

Ok, so it was another lazy day mostly for me. I did do the grocery shopping, changed the sheets on my bed and cleaned up the dirty dishes in the kitchen. Other than that I did not do anything. I even did a lazy supper by throwing frozen pizzas in the oven and putting out raw veggies and cut up fruit to go with it. I just have not been able to motivate myself to move away from the bed for much time.

Maybe it's the weather. It's been raining and dark and dreary all day. I just want to sleep. I attempted to take a nap but of course Caleb cannot leave me alone long enough for it to do any good.

I did manage to finish working on pictures from the night at the museum we had on Sunday night. I also went through the pictures I took the last day that Jill was here last month. Not many of those turned out very good, though. I'm disappointed in those. I have pictures from parent night at Michaela's gymnastics lessons to go through yet. There's only about a dozen of those.

I watched a few things on The History Channel today. They were all about the Dark Ages. I love stuff about that time in history. It just fascinates me. It was a huge transitional time in history.

Michael took Michaela to get a new light bulb for her flash light tonight. They also went to Walmart and got some filled Easter eggs for us to donate to the egg hunt at church. I guess I'll have to take them to church tomorrow.

It was also Jericho night. There's only one episode left after tonight. They only did 7 episodes for the second season. I'm not sure it's looking too good for a season 3. Tonight was a really good episode, though.

March 17, 2008

I'm so tired. I tried to nap today, but it just doesn't happen when there are other people awake in the house. Michaela did sleep, though. She fell asleep not long after we got home this morning and slept until lunch time.

At one point I called Michael to let him know that we got home ok. He didn't answer his phone because he was in a meeting. So, he called back a little later. I asked him if Caleb got up for him ok this morning and he said yes. He also said that Caleb was insistent about wearing green for St. Patrick's Day. He must've gotten that from school because we don't make a big deal about that here at home.

Caleb picked out a green and blue striped shirt to wear and put it on with some sweat pants. Michael said that after that he went over to his bed where all his stuffed animals are and pinched them all because none of them were wearing green. What a silly boy.

I did nothing today, though. I just laid around like a bum. My back, neck and hips still hurt from last night. I am so looking forward to bedtime tonight.

So far this evening has consisted of supper, gymnastics and going to Walgreen's for Michaela's prescription. Michaela is in the shower right now and in a half hour she and Caleb are going to bed. I won't be far behind them.

Sleep Over at The City Museum

Boy, last night was busy. We all met at the girl scout leader's house at 5:00 pm. Michaela and I rode in a van with another mom. There were four girls with us. Michaela, her best friend, the daughter of the mom who drove that van and another girl. I think we had 8 vehicles driving down there. I was amazed, all the girls from the troop went and only three of them did not have a parent with them. We were registered with the younger troop and the older troop that we do things with, so in all our group (once we got there) had probably over 50 people with all the girls and parents. We even had a dad with us.

We got checked in and then the girls went into the room that is called the Skateless Park. It's ramps and stuff like a skate park has, but no skateboards or skates allowed. It's the one place in the museum where they are allowed to just run and be wild. They also got to make a flower pot out of a paper cup and plant flower seeds in it. They climbed on the wire tunnels inside and then the outside (called MonstroCity) was opened up. Michaela did not want to do this. She was afraid. It's all climbing stuff at least three stories high and you can see through it all.

We also watched a performance by The Everyday Circus. It was really good. This is mainly kids that take circus classes at the museum. Those kids get to travel with it too. Last summer they went to Israel to perform. They have camps for this in the summer and I had thought that I might give it consideration if Michaela showed interest. She asked if she could as they were handing out the fliers. Then, I showed her how much it cost. It's $450 for two weeks. Plus, this is about a 35 minute drive just to get down there. I don't think that one is going to happen.

They got to play around in the Enchanted Caves too. This was really cool. All kinds of nooks and crannies to climb into and onto and through. Tunnels everywhere. I wish I was a kid and not so big. It would be so much fun. But, most of those tunnels and things are not made adult size.

They served us thin crust pizza, Cesar salad, and a big cookie for supper. There was a choice of soda, juice or water to drink. For breakfast they had cold cereal, sausages, french toast, biscuits and gravy, bagels and cream cheese, milk, juice, coffee, soda and water. The biscuits and gravy were REALLY good. They also had marshmallows to toast outside when the kids were allowed to go out there to climb. We did not go hungry, that's for sure.

They did show some movie last night, too but I don't think many went to it. It didn't start until midnight. They served popcorn at that. I didn't go to it. The girls that were with me were getting cranky and I was tired so we went into the sleeping area with the other mom we hung out with. The floor was VERY HARD. I thought the sleeping bag I took would be padded enough, but the floor was a lot harder than I had anticipated. If we ever do this again we're taking something else to sleep on. My hips, back and neck really hurt today. It was after 1:00 am before we laid down and I think I slept a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes. I also told the leader that maybe next time we should plan shifts to watch the girls so we each could have a little bit of a break. It's not the type of place you want to just let the girls run around where ever they want because there are too many floors, rooms, etc.

It was fun, but it was exhausting. I wish I could lay down and sleep, but for some reason I'm a little wired. It's thundering here now and getting ready to storm. I'm giving myself the day off today. I may get the pictures of last night off my camera, but other than that I'm doing nothing. Michaela is asleep and I did take a shower when I got home. But, I think I'm going to spend the day laying on my soft bed and watching television and/or movies.

March 16, 2008

It's been a relatively quiet day. We went to church and then out to eat at Pizza Street. We saw a couple moms we know from Guppy there. One of them has a daughter in Caleb's KG class. We saw them there the last time we went there, too. It was nice to see them.

When we came home I worked on laundry as much as I could. Tonight is the sleep over at The City Museum with girl scouts. We'll be leaving soon. I think I have everything packed. Michaela and I are just wearing sweats so we can sleep in those and not have to worry about changing clothes until we get home tomorrow. I'm looking forward to this, but I'm also looking forward to it being over because I know I'm going to be very tired tomorrow.

March 15, 2008

Today was a normal Saturday for us. I did get to sleep until a little past 7:00 this morning. Caleb actually slept past 7:30 this morning, maybe later, I'm not sure. But, he did sleep longer than anyone else. That almost NEVER happens.

I did the checkbook and paid bills first thing. We hung out for a little while and did not go to Walmart until late morning because Abby's groomer appointment was at 9:45 and it just made sense to drop her off and go to Walmart from there especially since Walmart is just across the road from the groomer's, so to speak.

We did Walmart, went to the bank and to the post office. I had to make sure and get the one piece of mail in the mail today. It was the registration for Michaela and Caleb to go to Camp Read A Lot. We just got the brochure in the mail (I was beginning to wonder if it was coming) this week. If you don't get your registration in ASAP you don't get a spot. And, since I'm trying to get two spots this year I knew I'd better send it in NOW. The fee for it has gone up $15 per child this year. That was a little bit of a shock, but it's still worth the price.

I did Easter Basket shopping after lunch. The baskets are going to be a bit more empty this year, but seriously my kids don't need a lot. They already have too much as it is. I don't think they're going to be disappointed, though. They are pretty good at being happy with what they get.

We had our appointment with our tax guy this afternoon. I was a little nervous because our income went up a bit more than I'd realized it had. But, we still had just the right amount of a loss on our rental property so we're getting a nice refund from federal and a few dollars from state. We also managed to still qualify for the rebates that are being sent out later this year. So, it was good news all around.

Michael's parents watched the kids while we were there so we took them out for dinner. We went to RT Weiler's. It was a nice supper. We enjoyed each other's company a lot. We even sat and talked a little while after the bill was paid. It was a very nice evening. We even talked about our vacation this summer a little.

Tonight I made sure both kids got shower/baths so we don't have to do that in the morning. I also did a couple loads of laundry and watched "The Cutting Edge 2." I'd seen it before, but I enjoyed it again.

March 14, 2008

It's FRIDAY! Gosh, this has been a long week. But, now it's over and I'm off work for 10 days! We all wore black today in mourning of our "lost" principal. He got a kick out of that. He's got a really good sense of humor. It was a good day at work, though. The kids were well behaved and worked hard and I'm really starting to feel less depressed.

Tonight we brought supper home and just hung out at home. I like quiet evenings like that. I watched "The Cutting Edge." I've seen this movie several times. A friend I had during high school and college used to insist on watching it ever chance we got. It's a good movie, but I probably had not seen it since this friend and I stopped being friends.

I had an 'AH HA' moment while I was watching it. Terry O'Quinn is in it. I KNEW there was some movie he'd been in that I should remember, but didn't until last night. He plays the girl's father in this movie and is somewhat of a jerk. He also has hair in the movie. Not much, but some.

Another, LOST moment happened for me when I was listening to the latest audio book I bought on iTunes. It's called "Falling Angels" and is by Tracy Chevalier. In it the scientist Michael Faraday is mentioned. This is the man that the character Dan Faraday in LOST is named after. I swear the creators and writers of LOST know absolutely EVERYTHING there is to know.

March 13, 2008

I'm sad today. My principal announced he will be leaving us after this year. I'm not surprised. I've actually been expecting it. He has just been different this year. Not bad different, just different. He's going to be missed very much.

Our reading coach has confirmed she's moving to a different building next year, too. She's one of my favorite co-workers. It's just not going to be the same place next year. I really wish I could get a position in the school district I live in, but for some reason it just isn't happening. I guess working in the inner city has tainted me. Whatever. Their loss, I'm a DAMNED good teacher.

Tonight was Survivor and LOST night. The kids watched Survivor with us again. And, I watched LOST with my online friend. Michael worked on getting our tax stuff together because he does not like LOST. We have an appointment with our tax guy on Saturday.

March 12, 2008

I managed to get a whole lot accomplished at work again today. This was our DIBELS week and I got them finished first thing this morning. I always try to get those done the first half of a week when we have to do them. I even had three new students that I had to give all the assessments to. It's a review week so we're spending a lot of extra time in work stations, too. Plus, it's my double day. Our grade level meeting was on the short side so I had plenty of plan time to work.

Tonight was quiet. I'm still very tired and just sat and vegged. Nothing in on television on Wednesday nights (why'd they have to move Jericho and LOST to different nights?) so I ended up watching Wife Swap (ok, so honestly I do like watching the idiots on that show) and Supernanny.

March 11, 2008

It was a good day at work today. Today was one of our 1/2 day/ PD days. This means the kids leave at 12:15 and we're supposed to have professional development until around 4:30 p.m. We do get an hour lunch on those days. I usually hate these days because they are so boring once the kids leave. But, today we were allowed to work in our rooms instead of sit in meetings.

I got so much done. I was able to get four weeks worth of lesson plans written. Then, I wrote a pre-test and a post-test for the next theme that we won't be starting until the middle of April. Finally, I got started on recording test data. I'm really behind on that, so it's going to take me a while, but at least I've started on it.

Our new superintendent came by our building to introduce himself this afternoon. He gave a good first impression. He definitely emitted a much saner atmosphere than our last superintendent gave off. I really hope the first impression is at least close to being accurate. I really don't want to see another major head case running our district.

My depression lifted some today, too. It was very sunny outside and it got fairly warm today. By the time I left work I was taking off my coat. The kids played outside when we got home without jackets. They still had on long sleeved sweatshirts, but no jackets. It was nice. I just feel like I'm starting to "wake up."

I managed to get my new audio book synced to my iPod tonight, too. I can start listening to it tomorrow. I hope it's as good or better than the book I just finished. They are by the same author.

Now, it's time to watch Jericho.