October 10, 2008

It's Friday and I'm so happy about that. There is nowhere I have to go this weekend. Michael and Caleb have a boy scout thing tomorrow and Michaela is going to spend time with my mom. I'll be working on grades all weekend. I'll be glad when that is done. Tonight I am going to just sit and watch television. So, it is going to be just a quiet night at home.

October 9, 2008

I had a lot of fun with my students this morning. We did a new vocabulary game. They were in two teams. Each team had a set of cards with the vocabulary words for the week on them. They also had a magnetic white board and magnetic letters.

I read the definition for a word. Then, they would find the card for the word and spell it out with the plastic letters. They loved it and it was fun to watch them work together to figure out each word.

After we were finished with that, I took away the letters and the magnetic boards. Then, I gave each team a set of cards with the definitions on them. They had to match up the word cards with the definition cards. This was even more fun, I think. They did a GREAT job with both games. I took pictures of it. I was very happy with how it all turned out.

Tomorrow is testing day. It's the end of a theme so we've got skills tests, spelling tests, and the theme test to take. I've also made up a vocabulary quiz since we had more words than what the book had listed. I hope they do really well on all of them, but I'm very interested to see how they do on the vocabulary quiz.

October 8, 2008

Tonight was Michaela's bridging ceremony. She is now a full fledged junior girl scout. It was a short ceremony. They basically gave out the certificates and membership pins to everyone. All of the girls are 4th grade except one, who is in 5th grade and a junior girl scout for the second year.

Michael's parents came for it. Michael and Caleb were there too. Anikca had her aunt there with her. I sat and talked with her for a while. I talked with another mom I really like a little too. She brought Michaela and I home. I'd sent Michael home with Caleb so they didn't have to sit through the whole meeting. It was an enjoyable evening. I am glad it's over though.

October 7, 2008

It's only Tuesday and I'm already hoping Friday gets here quickly. I'm still coughing and it's driving me crazy. I didn't even feel like eating much tonight. I had some soup after the kids went to bed, but that's about it.

I did the grocery shopping tonight. I decided I would go because I also needed to go out to Johnny Mac's by the mall. They have girl scout stuff there. I needed to get Michaela's sash and the patches that she's supposed to start it out with. I ended up getting her the junior girl scout handbook, too.

October 6, 2008

I really was not ready to go back to work today. The weekend was just too short, even with having Friday off. I could really use a day or two to myself. I'm so tired and this cough that I still have does not help matters at all.

The day at work was pretty good though. My students are a great group of kids. I'm really enjoying them this year. I'm very lucky to have this group this year.

Tonight was gymnastics, as it is every Monday. I had to talk to the people at the gymnastics place about Michaela not liking her teacher. The manager of the gym was busy teaching, but she's supposed to call me later in the week. Michaela seemed to have a better time tonight, though.

I got a few more things for the kids at Once Upon a Child again tonight, but I did not spend as much as I did last week. I found Michaela this really cool pair of jeans and a dress. I got Caleb a dressy outfit that he can wear during the fall and winter months.

October 5, 2008

Well, we're back home again. We got up early again this morning. Kay and the girls had to be at the airport here by 10:45 and we agreed to bring them back. I wish we could have stayed up in Monmouth for a little longer, but I am also happy to have had the car ride with Kay, Alexis and Courtney.

It was really hard on Kay and the girls to leave. I hate seeing them cry. I wish I could make it better. I know it's hard on them to leave when their visiting time is over.

The ride back to St. Louis was pretty quiet. Kay and I were not paying attention at the same time about the time we got to Winchester so we missed a turn. It put us about 8 miles or so out of our way, but no big deal. We made it back in pretty good time anyway. I enjoyed the little bit of talking we got to do in the car. I think this is the first time I've had time with Kay away from my mom, grandma and Kathy since she lived with us when I was a teenager. It was great to get her to myself... kind of... for a while.

Alexis and Courtney are really turning into wonderful young ladies. I can't believe how much they've grown up already. They both seem to have pretty good heads on their shoulders, too. I really wish I could spend more time with them and see them grow up.

Once we got home I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and grading papers. The story of my life. Michael's parents took us out for supper, too. It was Michael's birthday dinner. We went to Olive Garden. It was YUMMY!!!!!

October 4, 2008

We got up early this morning and left the house by 7:00 a.m. It's about a four hour drive up to Monmouth where my grandma lives. For some reason it seamed like a really long drive today. I was tired, but I had to stay awake because Michael doesn't know the way so I had to make sure he took the right turns.

We got to Monmouth around 11:00 a.m. First we checked into the hotel. Then, we decided to get something to eat. We went to Burger King. While we were there my mom called my cellphone. So we went to my grandma's house. Kay and the girls were there. I cannot believe how grown up they are and they are both just gorgeous.

We went to Kathy's around 1:30 p.m. It was so nice to have us all together. I've really missed them all a lot. A bunch of my relatives that I've not seen for a very long time were there. I was really happy to see them all. I enjoyed the afternoon a lot. I think I got to talk to everyone. I can't believe how big Blake has gotten and how in the world is it possible Matt is an adult????? He was a baby just yesterday.

Tonight a group of us went out to get something to eat. This included a friend of Kay and Kathy's and their daughter who is a friend of Courtney's. It was a fun evening. I really enjoyed talking to everyone and visiting. The kids were really good, too.

After we went out to eat we went back to my grandma's house and visited there for a while. It was hard on Courtney when her friend left. I'm sure she misses her a lot. I felt really bad for her. It cannot be easy to be away from a good friend most of the time. I wish they could move back to this part of the world. I hate them being so far away.

October 3, 2008

Today is Michael's birthday. He is 41. He thinks he's old, but I think life is just beginning. Besides, he still looks really good.

The kids and I stayed home together today. I took a personal day from work. I hope they send a decent substitute to my class today.

The kids spent a lot of time cleaning their rooms today. I did laundry. I cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed upstairs, too. Michaela helped Caleb with his room so I let her off the hook from her other chores for this week.

We also went to Wal-mart this morning. We had to get birthday gifts for my grandma and for Michael. We got a 500 minute calling card for my grandma. We also got her a candle and some butterscotch discs. She loves those.

We got Michael three things, too. He got a new long sleeved oxford shirt, a new wallet, and an Alan Jackson CD from us. I'm sure he'll be pleased. We also found two really funny cards for him.

Michael is cleaning the carpet right now so it'll dry while we're going tomorrow. Then, he's going to go get a couple bags from his parents' house so I can pack a change of clothing for each of us. I'm sure he'll get his present from his mom and dad while he's over there.

I need to color my hair tonight, too. My color has gotten really bad and needs to be done. I want it to look better while we're up at my grandma's and aunt's houses. We'll be getting up around 5:30 in the morning so we can leave by 7:00 a.m. That'll put us in Monmouth around 11:00 a.m. if not earlier.

October 2, 2008

Today was Friday for me. I am taking a personal day tomorrow. Michaela and Caleb have today and tomorrow off from school. The teachers in their district had to be at school until late on Wednesday for PT conferences and again today. They were there all day today and into this evening. They have today off as well as the kids.

I went and talked to Michaela's teacher and Caleb's teacher last night. They both are doing well. Both teachers are pleased with their progress. Michaela's teacher still really does not impress me. But, I've been told that out of the three that teach 4th grade at that school she's the best. I'm not sure that's saying much.

Tonight I went and talked to Michaela's SOAR teacher. She just loves Michaela to death. She's also very pleased with Michaela's progress. So, I guess at this point I'm pretty lucky. Both my kids are doing well and there is nothing big to deal with. Yeah!

Caleb and Michael went to Caleb's first den meeting for cub scouts tonight. Michael said that the den leader seems really organized. Hopefully, this will be a good experience for both Michael and Caleb.

October 1, 2008

Today is my grandmother's 80th birthday. I am her first born grandchild and since I will be 40 soon, that means she's been a grandmother for half her life. I can't believe she's 80. We're going up to Monmouth this weekend for her birthday party. My aunt that lives up there is going to have an open house at her house for the party. It should be fun. My aunt from CA will be there with her girls. I am looking forward to seeing everyone.

It was a pretty good day at work. I just don't seem to ever have time to get any grading done at work. I am very frustrated with having to do it all at home. I'm so far behind because of this. Other than that things seem to be calming down some at work and I'm finally finding my footing. I'm glad. I do not like the way I've been feeling.