Put em up...Put em up

The hubby's on his way home from his business trip and he has conveniently dropped the discussion about the sleaze. Sometimes I'm just in the mood to fight so I'd bring something up just to get a rise out of him. I am typically very easy to get along with and I will avoid a fight at all costs but, NOT WHEN I'M RIGHT!!! You can't just ignore it and let him go on thinking everything is ok, right? I'll be nice, I promise ;)

Frustrated

My husband is out of town on a business trip. He called tonight letting me know he'll be eating at my favorite restaurant tonight....with his sleazy employee. I was so mad because we were just talking about going there last weekend but he said he didn't want to go and spend that kind of money. Now he's there with her. The single, big breasted, sleeps with married men sleaze bag. He knows for a fact that she is sleeping with another employee who is married with children.

It's not that I don't trust my husband. I don't trust her. Maybe I'm slightly jealous because I don't like the thought of my husband eating dinner alone with another woman. Especially when he barely takes me out alone. Am I being silly? My mom told me to get over it, that he would never do anything. But, if the shoe was on the other foot, he'd have a cow don't you think?

Tough day...

My youngest son is funny. Very funny. But not always at appropriate times. Lately, I've noticed a downward trend in his grades and went to talk to his teachers about what is going on. His math teacher pretty much dominated the conversation and was saying how silly and disruptive he is being. She made a big deal about him doodling on his papers and basically making jokes. I told the teachers to threaten him that they would call my husband if they found it necessary. About 45 minutes before school ended, his math teacher came to the classroom I was working in and asked me to talk to her. She said that, "our plan backfired. I threatened to call dad and he said that it wouldn't do any good". As pissed as I am about him smart mouthing the teacher, I have not liked her since the first time I have met her. She's a first time teacher and has a crappy attitude. I have been so stressed out about his grades and behavior all day and hope that he will get his little personality under control while he's in school. I've never had to deal with behavior issues in school before. I think it makes it harder since I work there. Now I just have to get the nerve to tell his math teacher to quit bothering me during the work day with things that pertain to my child. She needs to learn to send a note home or call me in the evening. UGH! I don't like her AT ALL!!!

Wow....it's been a while

I guess I'm not so into the blogging thing that I even miss it. I haven't even looked at my blog in over 2 weeks. We have been so busy with the kids lacrosse, my work and school and general obligations. I am so thankful that I dropped my Geology class. It has given me so much more time to devote to my other 2 classes and I am doing well in both. I got a great letter in the mail from the college on Monday saying that I have been awarded a $500 scholarship!!! Yeah! I love free money!

My job is going really great. I tend to get very emotionally involved with the kids because for so many of them, you're the only adult who pays attention to them all day. One little boy was wearing the same 3 shirts over and over so I cleaned out my boys closet and sent them home with him through his teacher. He came up to me the other day and said, "Look at my new jacket!" and it felt good knowing that he didn't know it was from me. There's alot of stuff like that on a daily basis that just breaks your heart but I guess I just have to get used to it if I'm going to be a teacher. My mom has been teaching for a while and told me the other day, "I used to be just like you when I first started teaching. I promise you, it gets old. You get tired of spending your own money and never seeing any change in the child's life". I hope I never feel like that. The way that I look at it, if you give a child a moment of your care, time, or money you never know how that may impact them in the long run. You may never see the results of it and it really doesn't matter if you do or not, it's just that you showed the child that they mattered. Maybe I'm being idealistic but....

Feeling much better!

I dropped my Geology class. I feel so much better and actually felt like I could breathe this weekend. It was sucking me dry and causing me too much unneeded stress. As excited as I am to complete my education, my 6th grader needs me a lot more than he ever has before. He's had some issues getting adjusted to the workload so I think dropping the course will free up the time I need to spend with him.

I love my new job. Kindergarten is so much fun and I am learning so much from some really great teachers. Every day, I come home with stories about some of the kooky kids that I work with and we all have a good laugh. I really enjoy going to work every day!

I'm losing my mind!!!

Do you ever feel like you can't handle another thing on your plate? Like, if the phone rings, you're going to explode? That's how I feel right now. I don't want to talk to anyone, hear anything, or solve any problems for anyone. I just need to do my homework and get some housework done. I know being a mom comes first but I'm about to lose my freaking head trying to get these kids to get along and do what they are supposed to do. AAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!

New beginning

I start my new job today! Kindergarten......I can't wait!!

Random thoughts...

So the thing with my sister will get worked out. My husband talked to her last weekend and told her that she and I needed to talk before I'd move past what she said. At this point, I'm over it. I just want to move on.

The past few days have been busy with my youngest son's birthday party, lots and lots of work at my mom's house, and getting ready for finals. I'll be done with school next week and getting ready to start my new job. I can't wait! I'm so looking forward to the kids going back to school and getting back to a routine. I took the boys clothes shopping today. Just need to get new shoes, underwear and socks and definitely a haircut. They look like scrubs!

On another note, I'm starting to question this whole blog thing. I don't think anyone (except Supermom!) reads it and I never go back and read through it like a diary. I'm not sure why I even do it because it kind of stresses me out when i don't get to it. I think I just need to do it for myself and not worry if anyone looks at it (although i'd love a comment or two)!

Crazy Family

A little over a month ago, I had a huge blowout fight with my sister. To give you a little background, she's a lunatic and everyone in the family cowers to her to keep her happy and therefore, quiet. SOOOO not my personality. The reason for the fight was that my 7 year old hit her 9 year old. I didn't scream and punish mine because she was acting obnoxious and frankly, she deserved a good whack. My sister ran after my son, threatening me that she was going to hit him next time he lays a hand on her daughter and that I need to learn how to discipline my child. This comes from a single mom, that has men in and out of her house all of the time and doesn't pay a lick of attention to the needs of her child. Not bragging, but I pride myself on being a good mom. My family and the needs of my kids come first.

Anyways, tonight I asked my brother and his fiance to dinner at my house. I then called my mom to see if she wanted to join us. She asked me if I was asking my sister and I said no. We haven't resolved everything yet and I don't want to be walking on eggshells in my own house. I think that's fair enough. So, mom cancelled dinner plans, brother called and said get over it, and I'm pissed because the rest of the family expects everyone to bend to her will and make sure that she's happy. Mom said she doesn't want to hurt her feelings by coming over here and my sister is not invited but what about my feelings? I hate living this close to family sometimes.

Super Busy

I'm not sure what I was thinking but I signed up for 12 credit hours this summer. I am getting my butt kicked. I'm taking a computer course, Spanish II, and Biology II. Don't ask me why. My head has been spinning for the past 2 weeks and will be for 3 more.

I will be changing jobs mid-August and while my current job knows that I am leaving, the new job called and wants me to go to a workshop before i leave my current job. Although I am not happy right now with my current job, I don't like screwing people over and leaving them without proper coverage. I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place because the new job is MUCH better of an opportunity, twice as much money, and has SO much potential. I'm just torn. Guess this is adding to my head spinning!

On a good note, my mom is finally starting to clean her house out. Since my dad died, she has been sitting on a bunch of stuff, feeling like she's paralyzed. Last week, she cleaned out all of the closets upstairs, is having it repainted and recarpeted. She's going to have a massive garage sale pretty soon. I'm hoping that she'll want to move to a smaller house sometime in the next few years. She has a 3000 sq. ft. house and lives in one bedroom downstairs. I think she may only go upstairs once a month at the most. I'd love to see her buy something smaller and newer so she has less to worry about!

Good Old Days

My mom called me tonight to come and pick up some boxes of stuff that she cleaned out of my closet. There were old photo albums, keepsakes, journals and the most interesting was a box of letters from my old boyfriend. We dated for 4 years (all through high school) and now that i look back at it, our relationship was pretty crappy. The letters were just a peek into the past that gave me a little chuckle and made me thankful for what I have today. I enjoyed looking through all of it and was especially thankful that my husband thought that it was funny. Wasn't at all threatened, (even though old boyfriend lives 2 miles from me) and that's what I like about him. He know's he's got me.

A month...

....has gone by! This summer is moving right along. I can't believe how quickly it goes. We've been enjoying the summer with a weekend trip to the Bay, a day trip to the zoo, a ride on the Texas State Railroad, we're going to Austin next week and we'll be going to New Orleans soon to see family. When I'm not working, I'd rather be on the road with the boys, seeing the sights.

On a sad note, today is the year anniversary of my dad's death. We'll be going to my mom's tonight for dinner. She's cooking his favorite meal and we're going to enjoy the evening together. That's the way he'd want it. I miss him!

One Week Later

...and oldest son is STILL sick. High fever, gross cough and no appetite. Took him to the doctor Monday and Friday of last week. Both doctors think that it's a virus but on Friday he had an ear infection so they put him on antibiotics. That was Friday, today is Sunday and he still feels like crap. I am so exhausted from having sick kids. It really wears on the whole family. Younger one had his first day without hives today!!! After 3 weeks, he's finally well. Thank you God.

In other news, my mom threw an early birthday party for me today. My birthday is on Thursday but the boys will all be camping so we celebrated early. I got 4 new beads for my Pandora bracelet and these new shoes from my mom.
I thought they were pretty cute in the catalog. What do you think?

1 down 1 to go...

Now that youngest son is on the mend, oldest one came down with a fever this afternoon. He only has 4 days of elementary school left and I don't want him to miss it! It's going to be a fun filled week and it will stink if he's stuck on the couch.

Youngest son is still suffering with hives. His doctor says to keep him on the antibiotic that he's on and just let the hives run their course but it's very annoying and irritating. He's waking up every night covered with them and one of us has to get up to get him medication. I just wish this would get better quickly!

Tomorrow is my last day of the regular school year. I am teaching summer school but only MWF. It will be a nice break from my regular schedule. The guys are planning their big camping trip in a couple of weeks so I will have 4 nights here alone. I have no clue what I'm going to do with all of that time to myself. Maybe catch up with some movies or work on painting the house a little. Whatever I do, it won't involve housework. That's a promise!

On the mend...

Poor baby has been allergic to 2 of the 5 antibiotics that we've tried over the past 2 weeks. Unfortunately, the first one doesn't work for pneumonia, the second he was allergic to, the third he was allergic to, and the last 2 seem to be working. We're going to send him to school today. He's been fever free for 3 days but is still fighting a nasty cough. He's ready to go back and see his friends so we'll see how it goes. My hubby is working from home the rest of the week so he can be at the school in 3 minutes if necessary.

It is so nice being on a break from school. I have a couple more weeks off and while I am looking forward to starting my next class, I am enjoying having nothing to worry about. It gives me so much time to spend with the kids and do things around the house. I'm taking 12 hours this summer so we'll see how that goes!

Still Sick

UPDATE: After a looong morning at the doctor, a trip to get x-rays, and 5 prescriptions later, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. The doctor toyed with the idea of sending him to the hospital for iv antibiotics and a possible overnight stay but he thinks that we can get it under control with breathing treatments and lots of med. Wish us luck!


OK, now it's getting old. My son has been sick since Tuesday, running a high fever with a nasty cough and sore throat. He was diagnosed with with strep throat and the medicine isn't working. We got another antibiotic called in last night and he's still running a fever. I'm just worried that it's something other than strep. I'm just praying that he'll start feeling better soon. My poor boy.

Do you ever see pictures of yourself and you're surprised that it's actually YOU that you're looking at? Of course, I see myself in the mirror every day but there's something about seeing a picture that just shocks me into reality. Today I saw a picture of me from behind and I couldn't believe how dark (almost black) my hair is. I thought it was brown. It wasn't the lighting or anything because everyone else in the picture looked normal. I saw another picture of myself the other day and I couldn't believe that my boobs were that big. Of course, I'm always surprised at how wide my hips look or how many chins I manage to display. I always wonder what other people see when they look at me, I guess now I know!

Nurse Jenn

Are you ever kind of glad when your child gets sick and has to take a couple of days off of school? I hate that he feels bad but it's so nice to get to spend the day together and try to help him feel better. I don't feel like I get to spend enough time "mommying" my kids so I have enjoyed being his nurse. He's on the mend, so we'll all be back to work and school tomorrow but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

FINALLY!!!

This has been the hardest semester for me. I took 11 hours, Biology, American Literature, Government and P.E. All of this on top of working 30 hours a week and taking care of 2 children and a husband. Wonder why I don't have time to blog? Anyways, it's over! I finished my finals and am waiting for my grades to come in. It will be a glorious month before my summer classes begin.

We are starting to prepare for oldest son's transition to middle school. I can't believe he wont be in elementary any more. It has gone entirely too fast. I feel like he started Kindergarten a year or so ago. Unreal...

On another note, I have been enjoying spending more time with my husband lately. Something has changed with him over the past six months or so and I think maybe he finally "gets it". He has been treating me like a queen. Maybe he finally realized that I don't HAVE to stay with him, I WANT to be with him. There's a big difference.

Neighbors

It's been a while since i've blogged. I have been so busy with school that I haven't had time for much else. BUT... last night drove me to get up and blog this morning.

I was woken up at 1:00 in the morning with the people behind us dog barking. It barked NON STOP for over 45 minutes when I decided to yell at it out of the back door. It stopped for a minute and then started up again. I decided to call the police and let them deal with it. About 10 minutes later, all was silent. Then, I couldn't sleep because I was worried that the guy would get pissed and try to retaliate (and I'm home alone). Anyway, I was up from 1:00-4:00 tossing and turning. I hate neighbors.

Birthday, Spring Break and lots of catching up to do

Tomorrow is oldest son's 11th birthday. He is growing up so quick and so far, so good. He's such a cool kid. Yes, he is typical in his smart mouthed remarks and trying to get his brother in trouble but he's not your average kid. He's intelligent, funny and I think he's pretty darn good looking. I can't believe that 11 years ago tonight (at midnight) my water broke when I got up to pee during the night and we were on the road to being first time parents. We are so happy to have him in our lives.

Spring break is going well so far. We are trying to do some fun things around town but also catch up on some rest. It seems like we have been going 100 miles an hour for the past few months. Oldest son went to a lacrosse clinic this morning and I took my father in law to breakfast for his birthday. Youngest went to the library with granny. Since about 2:00, we've been at home, working and playing around the house. It's been a nice day, waiting for the thunderstorms to roll in. I love days like this one.

Mama tiger protecting her cubs

This is one of the hardest things about being a parent and I'm not sure how to handle it. My oldest son gets good grades, plays sports, is nice looking and is an overall good kid. (Yes, I'm bragging but he's really a nice boy.) The other day on the bus a kids called him a nerd for getting good grades. He was upset but we told him the kid was probably just jealous.

Today he got off the bus very upset and started to cry as soon as he closed the front door. Another boy slapped my son in the face as he was getting off the bus. I went through the roof. I was ready to strangle this kid with my bare hands. My first thought was to tell my son to beat the hell out of him on Monday but in this day and age, he'll end up getting in more trouble than it's worth. I called the school and the bus barn and reported this other kid for hitting my son (he had a red mark across his face) and they said that they'll have to wait until Monday to deal with it.

I am so frustrated because I want to protect my kids from bullies and crappy kids but it's not reality that he'll never get picked on. How am I supposed to handle this? I want my child to show the other child kindness and love but not to the point that he's sacrificing his own self worth. I was picked on all through school and I still suffer from self esteem issues. I don't want that for my kids. No mother does. I just refuse to allow my kids to have some shit head telling them they are worthless and physically assaulting them.

What would you do in this situation? Should I just continue to build him up at home and not worry about these other kids or should I pursue disciplinary action on the bus?

Home again, Home again, Jiggety Jig....

I never thought I would ever be so happy to be back in Texas. No offense to Chicago but, I don't think I could live with that little sunshine. It was cloudy and overcast the whole time I was there and snowy and windy the day before we left, closing the airport and stranding hundreds of people. It may be hot as hell here in the summer but I'll take it!

We had a good time in Chicago. It was nice spending time with DH and my brother and his girlfriend. She had a Halloween convention to go to for her party supply business and so I tagged along with her for a day. It was really interesting but kind of shocking to see how much junk there is out there. I kept walking around thinking, "there is nothing that I need in here. All of this stuff is disposable junk". I guess I'm too much of a realist. Or a grouch (whatever).

The highlight (if you can call it that) of my trip was meeting Dee Snyder, the lead singer of the hair band Twisted Sister. Remember them? He was signing autograph's and taking pictures so I had to get in line. DH is a huge, huge, hair band fan.

Anyways, it's good to be home. I missed the kids and the sun. It's off to work for me! Have a good day!

Heading out of town again...

DH and I are heading to Chicago tomorrow for a long weekend. He has to work at a trade show so I will be doing some shopping and relaxing. My brother and his girlfriend just happen to be going there for a business trip for her company so we'll have some fun hanging out with them. Pray for safe travels for us. My mom is keeping the boys so, pray for her too. The kids have alot of activities this weekend that she is not used to keeping up with.

Valentines Day thoughts

To all of you who like February 14th, Happy Valentine's Day! It is a day that we are expected to show our love for our honey, pass out treats to friends and classmates and over all act schmoopy. I'm so not into it. Every year, hubby asks, "What do you want for Valentine's Day?" in this voice that means, "Do I really need to get you something?". I'm over it. Don't get me anything. I'd rather give something to the kids and just ignore the rest. I don't need cards from my co-workers and ladies, don't expect to get one from me. I'm a dork like that. Sorry. So, for all of you that are waiting for a beautiful bunch of flowers, some earrings, or a nice dinner out, enjoy it for me. I'll be home with the boys enjoying a bowl of beef stew.

Do I sound bitter? I hope not...

Pissed

Right this second, I hate my job, hate hate hate my boss and want to go into her office and kick her ass. But, I work in a Christian environment and shouldn't even be thinking like this. UGH!!! Why do people have to be such morons?????

Thoughts

I am sitting here waiting for the oven to preheat, kids yelling for dinner, me yelling to get outside until I call them. I haven't had a chance to do much of anything lately so I feel kind of like a hamster running on a wheel. It just keeps coming around with no end in sight. I took waaay too many hours this semester (11 hrs.--I know, not that many but alot when I work full time and have kids and a traveling husband). I would love to have a weekend (or an evening for that matter) where I can just chill with family and friends and not have to think about all of the things that need to be done. I wish I could afford a housekeeper. And since the kids just came in screaming at each other, maybe I need a nanny too.

Honking BIG

So, the little girl that I called her mom last night came in this morning happy as a lark. Her dad came up to me an whispered that the child took a HUGE bowel movement last night, and I quote Dad, "It looked like something out of an alien!" So she was soooo good today. Didn't cry, didn't whine. She came up to me this afternoon and said, "Mrs. Jennifer, last night I made a honking big poop!" I guess I'd feel better too after not going for almost 2 weeks! OUCH!!

My weekly break...

Even though I am totally in love with my husband, it sure is nice that he's out of town a night or two a week. I can get a bunch of homework done, watch what I want on TV, and get a break from cooking. Can't beat that!

(I do miss him though...)

It is so hard as a teacher to call a parent and give them not so good news about their child. Since some of my kids go to after care, I don't get to talk to their parents after school and give them the low down on how their child is doing. Tonight I had to call one of my kids parents and tell mom that her child cries all day for no reason. I was trying to see if anything is going on at home that would make this happen but she said that everything is status quo. At 4 years old, and this late into the school year, kids should be into the routine and be able to handle being away from mom and dad for a few hours. She cries at the littlest thing. The other day, her chair was slid about 2 feet from where it normally is and it resulted in a 30 minute hissy fit. It drives me crazy but I am trying to be helpful and work through this with her.

We're home!

We got home late last night, and since I don't think many people read my blog anyways, I don't think anyone missed me! We got to Park City, Utah last Friday morning and it was 2 degrees. That night it got down to -15. I have never felt such cold. Even the locals were saying how cold it was. Apparently, it hasn't been like that in about 10 years. I skied and the boys all snowboarded. We stayed in an awesome hotel right on the slopes and after a day of skiing, we spent the evenings sitting in the hot tub or sledding down the mountain. My favorite thing was renting snow mobiles and cruising up the trails and going as fast as we could across the snow covered meadows. It was such a blast and the kids thought they were in heaven. What a great family trip. I can't wait to go somewhere again. I love going on vacation!

The Boss Lady

I work at a Christian preschool and love my job. We had a team meeting today for the 3 year old teachers and the director decided to join us (which is very uncommon). She stroked our ego for the first few minutes, telling us how awesome we are and how we're the best team she has BUT.....
We gossip too much. Well, the whole story is that someone from my team went to the head pastor because a lot of us don't feel like the director is doing her job. She doesn't support us, she loads our classes to capacity, she expects us to work off the clock "for Jesus" and she takes so many days off that she has no idea what's going on in the school. Apparently, the pastor went to her and told her the complaints and now she's coming to us fussing that we should come to her with problems. I guess she got in trouble. I'm sorry, but she deserves to get reprimanded. She's not doing her job and we all pay for it in the end. My husband won't listen to me complain about it because I owned a preschool in Austin before we moved here and I sold it when we moved. He wants me to start another one but I don't want the hassle. I'm starting to wonder which is worse...the responsibility of owning your own business or the crap you have to put up with from a not so good boss.

Stupid Teacher!

I am so pissed for my 5th grader. He is a straight A student (yes, I'm bragging!) and he is a good kid with no problems to speak of. His conduct has been all E's and S's (Excellent and Satisfactory) all year and we have never known him to act any other way. Yesterday he came home with his report card with an N in conduct (needs improvement) in Social Studies for not turning homework in. I talked to the teacher and she said that he only turned in 1 of the 3 homework assignments that were being graded for the 6 weeks. When there is a child that has a history of good behavior, good work habits and straight A's, why wouldn't a teacher talk to the child or call the parents before it affects their report card? I'm waiting for him to come home so I can see where these assignments are but I'm still ticked at the teacher for not calling it to our attention earlier. He still got an A in her class but it's just the point that there was a problem and she never said anything about it. UGH!

Whirlwind Weekend...

It seems like as soon as Friday comes along, I am turning around and it's Sunday night and I'm getting ready for work the next morning. This weekend has been so hectic with gymnastics, lacrosse for my oldest son and husband yesterday, dinner guests last night, and errands and lacrosse today. We organized and packed all morning for our ski trip next weekend so I haven't had much "weekend chill" time. I sometimes feel like the whole weekend is in preparation for Monday!

On another note, my brother met this really awesome girl. I don't know how he feels about her but I like her a lot. She seems like potential wife material. Nice girl with a good personality and comes from a good family. She's also so pretty. I get the feeling that he's falling for her and that makes me happy. He deserves to find someone to love him and that he can make a life with. I know how bad he wants a family. I hope this is it for him. It's the first girl that he's brought home that I haven't half gagged over.

Been a while

With the holidays, and everything else going on, I haven't had the time to sit down and think about writing. Christmas was wonderful. It was so nice to be in the same city as mine and H's parents. We've always lived a few hours away from them and have usually come in a few days before or after Christmas to celebrate with them. It was nice having everyone over for a nice meal and family time.

NewYear's Eve was a blast. What a great way to ring in the New Year. Our across the street neighbor bought tons of fireworks and we all brought hot chocolate, blankets and lawn chairs out and watched the show. Our neighbors are all a little weird, each with their own set of problems but they are basically good people with good hearts and they are fun to hang out with.

Kids went back to school today and I headed back to work. It's kind of nice to get back into a routine even though I am exhausted. I am waiting up for H to get home from a business trip tonight and will then crash as soon as I know he's safe on the ground.

We leave for our ski trip next weekend. I am looking forward to getting out of town for a few days...