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.