72 posts tagged “school”

Things I Dislike:

• I miss Blu.  How can I not when looking at that picture of him sleeping so peacefully under Lily's blanket?  I also miss his soft fur.  Rascal's is curly and kind of wiry.
• This cold, blustery, autumn-feeling weather!  We haven't hit 60 today!
• My shoulders are starting to give me grief again.  I went to the chiropractor last week and am getting a massage on Fri.
• Lake season ending.

Things I Like:

• My schedule getting much (maybe too much) busier this week.
• Football season.  NFL gets going with regular games this weekend (Go Steelers) and Cody is at his 1st practice tonight (Go Black)!
• Lunch with Deb
• I'm on the advisory committee for a new program at our church.  It has to be self-sustaining and we just got a 5-digit donation today!!  That more than doubled our whole budget!  PTL
• My new $20 jeans.
• Lily's new outfit that she looks so adorable in.
  

  DSCN5746
• Listening to Lily sing "Dinah won't ya blow?  Dinah won't ya blow?  Dinah won't ya blow your hooooorn"? around the house after learning it in school.  The girl has great pitch!

Yesterday morning, I went to Wal-Mart for a little shopping.  I left and did my thing coming home after lunch.  I brought my 2 sacks in and sent them on the table to put away later.  When I finally got around to unpacking them, I thought there wasn't all that much but didn't ponder it more.  Then in the evening when it was time for the kids to brush their teeth, I realized I was missing their new toothbrushes, toothpaste, underwear for Lily, flossers, and a package of sliced apples.  Basically, I was missing 1/2 my purchases!  I called the store and spent 20 minutes on hold waiting to talk with different people while they searched.  In the end, they couldn't find anything.  I was so ticked off and dug the receipt out of the garbage can so I could check exactly what I was missing. 

This morning, I headed back, receipt in hand, ready to do battle.  Ray was sure I was out $30 but the clerk had set the sacks on top of the rack for me so I thought the store should be responsible.  If Wal-Mart didn't still have the merchandise then whomever came through that line next must've ended up with an extra bag.  I walked through the doors and instantly saw the woman who had checked me out.  I was going to walk by and head straight to customer service when she said, "Heather, I set your bag back at Customer Service for you".  Hallelujah!  I'm not sure why they couldn't find it last night when it was right there but I am just so thankful to have my stuff without a confrontation (I'm not good at those).  It totally made my day.

While I'm on the subject of Wally World, I don't think I've ever shared the story of my classmate, whose the daughter of my parents' good friends, and how she married Rob Walton.  Rob Walton is the eldest son of the Sam Walton and chairman of Wal-Mart.  In 2007, he was #24 on Forbes list of billionaires.  Yes, he's old enough to be her father and it's so bizarre that a little farm girl from rural Montana ended up with someone like him.  She was a standout basketball player and moved to Phoenix after graduating from college to be a sports trainer for some high profile teams.  That's where they met.

My parents attended their wedding reception in Sidney.  The wedding was in the Carribbean.  Two summers ago, they showed up at our lake cabin so we got to meet him.  They were actually there visiting one of her college roommates who also has a cabin in our area.  They fly into Sidney in their private jet.  The couple recently made a large donation to her alma matter.  Article & Photo

Things I Dislike:

• Grocery shopping
• The wind......enough already!
• Boredom
• Projects that need done around the house that I don't have the desire to do.

Things I Like:

• Being able to go out for lunch with friends whenever I want
• Getting some new jeans and a hoodie.  I've been looking for a hoodie for quite sometime because I'm cold a lot.  I finally found a plain black one instead of one that would make me look like a teenager.
• 3 days until a long weekend and seeing Blu again!
• My new purse

Things I'm Unsure of:

• Having 3 kids in school full time.  It's not going quite as great as I'd imagined.  I was bored and lonely yesterday and today.  I'm hopeful that things will improve when all the other school / church activities get going in September.

...............doesn't mean it needs to feel like autumn!  It got into the 40's last night and I turned the heater on in the car on the way to church!  This morning was equally cold and I even turned on my seat heater!  I hope this is just temporary.

Well, this is it.  All 3 of my babies are now in school all day.  This is the only year that all 3 of them are at the same school.  Cody's in 6th grade, Jace is in 3rd grade, and Liliana is in kindergarten.  Lily seemed just fine when I dropped her off.  It helps that she's had 2 years of preschool there and has so many good friends in her class.  I think I worry most about her getting through lunch and to the bathroom but she has a wonderful teacher.

My camera was being a pain in the butt and it was really windy so I'm sure disappointed in my pictures.

Lily's 1st day kindergarten

Lily with backpack

Lily at her desk 2

Jace 1st day 3rd grade

Cody 1st day 6th grade

Kids 1st day school 2008

I pride myself on a mostly upbeat blog and always having my "Things I Like" equal or exceed my "Things I Loathe".  However, this is going to be one giant pity post so consider yourself warned.

We are back from the lake.  Without Blue.  I cried my eyes out this morning and didn't know how I was going to leave him running alongside our car.  Thankfully, some golden retrievers were with him so that made the departure easier.  The kids also didn't get upset which surprised me but helped. 

I tried convincing Ray to bring Blue home.  My allergies didn't bother me one bit yesterday but I don't know if it was just regular allergies the day before or if the Claritin was working yesterday.  Ray's allergies were really bad, too, and he's not allergic to dogs.  We found out that Blue has been at the lake for at least 2 weeks so if he did have owners, they sure don't seem to be looking for him.  We also got ahold of the landlord's wife and she doesn't know if Blue belongs to anyone.  My biggest concern is someone taking him to the pound or shooting him just because they think he's a nuisance. 

If he's still there when we go back in 10 days, I am not leaving him again.  That will be our last trip to the lake this year and I just couldn't bear it.  If my allergies won't enable us to keep him, we'll put him in Prairie Paws Rescue which is a foster pet program here.  (Stop reading here, Mom).  I think the best thing for Blue would be for my parents to take him.  I know they have their hands full with my brother's dog right now but Blue is so well-behaved and my brother will be moving back this winter.  My dad goes out to the ranch almost everyday and Blue would love the wide open spaces.  Since he's a Blue Heeler, he might even be helpful with the cattle.  Even though we have a large, fenced yard, I'm not sure Blue would like the confinement.  Heelers also require a lot of exercise and stimulation. 

On the way home, this song came on the radio and I burst into tears.........again.  Of course it happened to be right at the part of the song where it says "Blue, oh so lonesome for you.  Tears fill my eyes 'til I can't see". 

Blue - Leann Rimes - Subtitled

Fast forward to arriving home and going through the mail.  We got the information from Jace's teachers and found out that 1/2 the day he will have our least favorite teacher in the whole school.  Had we known they were moving her up to 3rd grade, we definitely would've put in a request.  I immediately called the school but we have a brand new principal and he won't make any changes until we've given her a try.  Cody had her in 4th grade and his math grade went from A's to C's & D's.  She's not mean.  She simply doesn't teach or communicate with parents.  Cody actually loved her because "they never had to do anything".  Just what a parent wants in a teacher.  I used to email her and she'd never respond.  Instead, I'd see her at school a week later and she would say "oh, I got your email and was going to call you".  Ray & I also met with her a few times, talked about plans of action, typed them up and sent them to her so we were all on the same page, and still nothing happened.  This was at the end of the year or we would've gone to the principal then.  Thankfully, I still have all those emails in case I need to use them. 

She seriously needs to just RETIRE!  She's the librarian and then they move her around wherever they need another teacher.  Jace has her for the important classes, too.

When I got off the phone with the school, the waterworks started again.  This is seriously not something I would normally cry about but I'm just not myself today.  I cried throughout my shower.  I don't know why I'm bothering with eye makeup today because I just keep crying it off. 

Ray went to the clinic since it looked like his bite was getting infected.  He got a tetanus shot and a shot of antibiotics. 

PMS doesn't normally cause me too many problems, but I'm blaming it this week. 

We've been adopted...........by a dog.  It's a Blue Heeler whose been hanging around since we arrived.  We were wary of it at first but quickly found out that he has a wonderful demeanor.  My dad said the dog's been hanging around the past 2 times he was here but the landlord said he belongs to an area farmer.  Regardless, nobody has come looking for him and the kids have named him Old Blue.  He loves to lay on his back and wag his tail until somebody comes to scratch his belly.  We ended up giving him some food and water yesterday.  Then, when the kids were playing around the resort, somebody came and tried to catch Old Blue with a rope saying they didn't know if he had rabies.  (This dog does not have rabies).  Old Blue must've known the man had bad intentions because its the first person he wouldn't go to.  The man gave up and we brought the dog inside our cabin.  We certainly don't want him to end up at the pound.  He just camps out on the floor happy as can be.  Old Blue & Rascal get along beautifully and the kids are constantly asking "what if he doesn't have a home".    He slept on the floor of our bedroom last night until 4:30 am when he wanted out.  I put him out and waited about 10 minutes but he didn't came back so I went back to bed and hoped (kind of) that he went home.  The kids were very upset that Old Blue wasn't here when they woke up this morning but they quickly found him.  He was all wet so must've gone down to the lake for a bath.

The last thing we need is another dog especially one that sheds.  We don't know if I might be allergic to him but I don't seem to be so far.  However, if he seems to be abandoned, we might not have any other alternative than to take him to Jamestown.  I think Rascal is secretly happy that Lily now has another dog to torture and he's off the hook LOL.  If Old Blue is still here tomorrow, we might try checking out some of the area farms to see if they're missing a dog.  I think the closest farm is a mile away.

I had some really weird dreams last night.  First, there were bees everywhere and they were even getting in my ears.  I never got stung but you can imagine the stress!  My next dream was at Cody's high school graduation and he was getting ready to leave for college.  I was a basket case!  I have to say he was a very handsome young man but I'm sure glad we have 7 more years with him.

Things I'm Not Liking:

1. Hearing Lily scream & cry about how hungry she is for 20 minutes on the return trip from her dental appointment.  Seriously, that girl doesn't know what true hunger feels like!
2. That all the school clothes I bought 10 days ago at TCP are now on sale.
3. Saying goodbye to our awesome principal whose leaving town.
4. Gndsgang not being able to get her 2 youngest back in our school because the 3rd grade class is full.

Things That are Good:

1. Lily's dental appointment going beautifully.  The laughing gas must've been just what she needed because she never complained one bit.  She just laid there watching High School Musical the whole hour.  She did complain a lot afterwards about the cheek numbness so it probably will be difficult to get her back.  Guess we'll have to resort to bribery!  Cost of general anesthesia & hospital visit for dental work - $4000-$6000.  Cost of laughing gas for 4 visits - $120.
2. Ladies golf day!
3. Potty training continuing to progress with just 1 accident in 2 weeks.
4. OG Shrimp Primavera.  When discussing our plans for today, Lily wanted to know if anyone would be joining us for lunch.  I said no and she said "just the two of us" with a big smile.  Then, she informed me that she wanted to go to the same place we went last time where they had the best macaroni & cheese......Olive Garden.  That girl has taste.

Things That Tick Me Off:

1. People who expect the church to do everything for them without doing anything for the church in return.  I'm in charge of lining up the people to help with church services for August:  communion prepares & servers, ushers, greeters, lectors, acolytes, and nursery attendants.  It's amazing how few people are willing to do these things.  I mean, if you're going to be there, what's the big deal?  The hardest thing to get is ushers which boggles my mind.  My own husband won't do it!  I'm trying to figure out how many things I can do myself in one service.  And, of course, there are 5 Sundays in August this year.
2. People who are rude because you dare ask them to help in church.
3. Insurance.  Our appeal for Lily's dental work was denied.  Not a big surprise but the amount it was going to cost for the hospital portion was unexpected.  Try $4000-$6000 which doesn't cover the dentist's bill.  This is for teeth that are going to fall out in a few years!  Needless to say, the surgery has been cancelled and she's just going to have to get by with laughing gas.
4. Bullet points that won't go away when you want them to so you have to add another entry.
5. See #4.

Things That Make Me Happy:

1. The amazing transformation we are making for our Sunday School program.  It's becoming a rotation model program and all the rooms are being remodeled.  It's going to be beyond anything I ever could've imagined and I'm sad that Cody starts confirmation this year so will miss it!  I think he might be a helper so he can still have the experience in some way.  I'll be sharing pictures once all the rooms are ready.
2. Breaking my golf record by 2 strokes on Sunday.  Now, if I could improve my short game, I'd really be rockin'.
3. Tomorrow will mark one week since Lily has been in underwear, with no accidents, and daily pooping in the toilet.  What a tremendous relief and none too soon as kindergarten starts in 23 days. 
4. Having a potluck picnic out at the reservoir to celebrate the end of the soccer season.
5. Jace sleeping through the night.
6. Back to School shopping (even though it signals summer is coming to an end).
7. People who are willing to volunteer.
8. The last week of tennis & swimming lessons.  August should be relatively activity free.

Yesterday was Lily's kindergarten physical & shots.  She's now hit the 40 lb mark for weight and is 41.9 inches tall (20%).  Looks like she's got my genes when it comes to height, unfortunately.  I chatted a little with the Dr. about Lily's teeth issues and she thinks it's probably hereditary and that some people just have bad baby teeth.  Lily said something while we were there:

Dr. - "What was your favorite thing about preschool"?

Lily - "Going to the gym".

Dr. - "What was your least favorite thing"?

Lily - (after giving it much thought) "Walking quietly".

Her eyesight was 20/30.  The Dr. didn't say anything about it but I think all the kids should probably go in for a formal eye exam.  Hearing was good.  She had to get 4 immunizations, 2 in each leg.  She was such a trooper and only cried while they were doing it.  She didn't cry when they pricked her finger to check her hemoglobin.  We didn't have any luck with her peeing in the cup but she thought it was hysterical. 

We got some specific, written instructions to continue on with the potty training.  She had made some progress in the last week but the Dr. said she is very constipated which I wasn't expecting.  Since we'll be at the lake for 8 days, it'll be the perfect opportunity to work on it.