The Bunny Vampire

She no longer looks like a mutant bunny rabbit! Now she's a bit more like a vampire. Audrey is way cute with those missing teeth!

Justin was one of many children who went sledding down the roof of the shed next to the house our group rented. Let's see....that's Emma with the pink hat. And it looks like Chad is getting ready to toss Audrey and her sled across the gap between the snow bank and the roof.

The snowmobilers! And look, nobody is pushing anyone else in the snow....no snowballs being hurled....a rare photo op!


So what has been happening lately? Well, I'm convinced that Ephrata is cursed. Two big bouts of stomach bug, a round of pinkeye for each girl, lice lice and more lice, and colds that don't ever stop. All that since we moved here in July. The girls brought home their report cards a couple weeks ago (excellent grades of course) and they had 4 or 5 absences each. Emma has a cough and a headache today. Gave her some Tylenol and sent her whining butt to school! Oh I hope she feels better! You know how you always feel worse first thing in the morning. By the time I get out of bed it's about 30 minutes before the bus comes. So by the time I get the girls out of bed they have about 20 minutes to do everything. Including whine about how I'm the worst mother in the world becasue I won't drive them to school. I can live with that.

Audrey will be seven years old in only one week! Wow. Hmm...guess I should maybe plan her party. Justin's mom is coming over this weekend and so is Nancy. So we'll have Audrey's party the Saturday after her birthday. Just a little party at the house.

There's really not much else to say. Guess now is a good time to stop.

Politics

Justin's dad threw his hat in the Idaho ring! Uh-oh, I hope that doesn't mean I have to pay attention to politics.....

Rawls for Idaho



The politicians were talking themselves red, white and blue in the face. ~Clare Boothe Luce

Short, sweet, and long overdue

I don't have much time this morning, but I figured I should at least write a line or two. (yes, we all know how that is going to turn out!) This way, if you are someone who peeks at my blog every once in a while to see what we are up to you can see that I'm still around.

What's new?

Audrey looks like a mutant bunny. Her top two teeth are loose and one is loose enough that it hasn't been aligned with the rest of her teeth in quite a while, and it kind of sticks out at an angle. Of course I'm completely and utterly grossed out by the protuberance and it's wiggly-ness.

A couple weekends ago we went to a "cabin" in Plain (near Leavenworth) for two nights with a bunch of people Justin works with. There were a total of 12 of us (including the four kids). We kept saying the word "cabin", but it was really a big house. I have some pictures of the kids (and yes, that does include those male children over the age of 30) sledding down the shed roof. Also a couple pictures of the group during our snowmobile ride. The weekend was a lot of fun. The only downside was the dinner. Holy cow!! $160 for the four of us to have below average buffet, two hot chocolates, a glass of wine, and a beer. So if you are ever in Plain, don't have dinner at Mountain Springs Lodge. Yikes!!

We starting to plan our Spring Break trip. Of course the girls were begging for Disneyland, until we explained that Daddy just needs a relaxing time, and spending hours in line with thousands of people just to ride a ride is not his idea of relaxing. The girls have taken this very well. We are currently considering the Oregon Coast. I wanted to go back to Jerome, Arizona but I looked at flights and they were around $700 each. We could drive, but it is just far enough, that with kids the travel time would eat into our "vacation" time a lot. So I guess we'll have to forget about a warm vacation spot and go for pretty and closer to home. We'll see where this takes us. We're thinking that Spring Break 2009 will be somewhere like Jamaica. That gives us a year to save, plan, and diet.

I discovered yesterday that the people who used to have our phone number not only didn't change their number with the school, credit card companies, emergency contacts, but they are also using it to order stuff online. I looked at my phone bill yesterday and it was double the normal amount. There were two charges on it for third party companies. I finally got through to one of them. I told her I had a charge I was unsure about and so she told me that their company provided Internet voicemail, etc etc. I had already been wondering if this was some scam to either get people to blindly pay or to sell them services when they call to dispute it. I said something like that to this woman but she told me that it had been ordered. She told me the name and I came unglued. So that one is cancelled and I'll deal with the other one today---I'm sure it's the same kind of deal. Every once in a while I read through the Ephrata High School bulletin online (I started doing that after the big Orange E Carnival---one of those fun things that doesn't get advertised because it's a tradition that has survived for eons and therefore everybody knows about it) and noticed that in the announcement that if any parents want to help plan the Senior Trip they should contact a certain person via email. Guess who? Yep, the same woman I keep getting phone calls for. I may just have to send her a little email. If only I had just gone ahead and picked up her check at H&R Block after they called.....maybe then she'd figure out what needed to be done.

Speaking of Ephrata High School.....Emma and Audrey performed at half-time of the boys' basketball game last Saturday. They had attended a Cheer Camp that morning and learned a dance and two cheers. So all 50 or so kids performed that night. They split the kids into K-2 and 3-6 to learn different dances, but they all did the two cheers together. They had props for the dances and got to keep them. They had a good time and Justin and I enjoyed watching them. Of course, halfway there I realized my camera was still in the house. Not that I could have gotten very good pictures anyway.

Ohhhkaaayyy....there goes "short and sweet"! But we all knew that would happen, right? Time to shower and head to the school.

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? ~Stephen Levine

Look out---you may not have their updated number!

Nancy!! Avoid this movie!!!!

Zoom: Academy for Superheroes

It was a decent movie, but it made Audrey barf. Not in the "ewww it makes me want to barf" way but in the "Mommy, I threw up" way.

In the movie "the powers that be" (Rip Torn among them so y'know it's gotta be good) are trying to get together a Superhero Team. Of course there has to be auditions (even though we've already been "introduced" to those who will make it onto the team). One of the kids blows a booger out of one nostril and it explodes onto the scientist's (Chevy Chase) face. Completely and utterly gross. I'm surprised I didn't barf. Not at all surprised Audrey did. But oh so glad we didn't ever see it in the theater!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not exactly enough to get me to write my first epinions.com review in well over a year. But enough to write in my blog late(-ish) at night. Blech.

On to my photomosaic puzzle!!! Maybe that will be epinion.com-able.

Finally getting around to posting pix

Santa put a Google in Audrey's stocking. This was a good thing. Can't you tell???


Christmas afternoon chaos.......

The Singing Vegetable Heads! Justin's mom and stepdad gave us a karaoke machine for Christmas. It's been a hit! Especially since they included a karaoke CD--High School Musical 2. I'm not sure which song the girls are singing right now, but they were having fun. Despite the fact that they had vegetable oil smothering the remaining lice on their heads.

It looks like we are done with lice. For now...... Damn things. It's so hard to get rid of them, I just feel like they are going to try and come back another time. But to help matters I'll often be doing my now-nearly-perfected imitation of a mother gorilla. Except I don't eat the nits and lice!

Justin bought me a new camera for Christmas. The first picture was taken with my old camera and the other with my new one. The new pictures seem very grainy. (I've learned that that is called "noise" in photography.) I read online that other people have the same problem and one suggestion was to lower the ISO. Really, that should be a task left to people who actually know what the heck ISO is! I was experimenting yesterday with different ISO settings and other various settings. But it may have to go back (if they'll take it back that is). I'm not much into taking pictures to begin with, I definitely don't need a camera that makes me have to think before taking a picture!

This is my first day sans kids in a while. Woo-hoo! I'd better get moving. Library and grocery store. I have a big day ahead!

Is it over yet???

Today is December 28 and my Christmas tree is still up. That's kind of a long time for us! As you all know, I am in no way a clean freak or at all organized (unless it's totally unnecessary things like Polly Pocket shoes) and my house always looks messy (uh, 'cause it is?!?) it just seems like the Christmas tree makes the house look even more cluttered. Maybe because as long as the tree is up the gifts will stay scattered under it instead of put away. "Put away"? Like anything around me ever gets put away. I actually asked Justin if he'd hidden one of my shopping bags to teach me a lesson about putting things away instead of letting them sit out. (Actually, I accidentally left that bag at Wal-Mart.)

You wanna know what I'm really, really, really ready to be done with?? Lice!! No clue where they actually came from, but Audrey's head was infested!!! Emma had them too, but not to the extent Audrey did. Dang it, now my head is itching. Ha! I'll bet yours is too now!! It's been nine days since we discovered them (a real Bad Mommy moment for me, I won't go into it) and they've been treated with Nix twice. I look forward to not washing sheets every single day. Oh what am I saying? Justin's done most of the work the past few days.

My fingernails are too long to comfortably type on the laptop. And anyway, Christmas pictures are on the other computer. So I'll post again later. With pictures!!

I can understand people simply fleeing the mountainous effort Christmas has become... but there are always a few saving graces and finally they make up for all the bother and distress. ~May Sarton

A child is born!

No, this isn't some big theological posting regarding Jesus and the Christmas season. It's just announcing that my sister Kara had a baby this morning!

December 21st is:
Forefathers Day
Humbug Day
Phileas Fogg Win a Wager Day
Underdog Day

and now....Madelyn's birthday!

I'm feeling very......done

I...uh....bluh....erk......eep.....gah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just...

I can't....

Oh geez.....

What else can be piled on top!!??!!??

Two-legged creatures we are supposed to love as we love ourselves. The four-legged, also, can come to seem pretty important. But six legs are too many from the human standpoint. ~Joseph W. Krutch

Just an ordinary day

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated! The only other decorations are the saltshaker angels (they'd been stored in the kitchen and not with all the other Christmas stuff), little snowmen that the babysitter made with the girls, and my nativity snow globe. (can you call it a globe if it's rectangular?) I found my Christmas cds. But when Justin had the Christmas boxes down I forgot to look for my Christmas jewelry. Darn it! So all I have is my snowflake earrings. Cute, but I'd like to have some of my other things as well.

I started painting the snowman pavers yesterday. I think they need another coat of white this morning and then maybe this afternoon I can paint the faces. I do have one major problem: I cannot find the Wal-Mart bag containing the fleece and glitter paint. Where would I have put it?? I need to hunt for it this morning so I know if I need to go buy more. I did find my old cans of glitter spray paint yesterday (I knew they were around, just didn't look in the right spot before buying the new ones). I at least need two done by tomorrow for Emma and Audrey's teachers.

Speaking of Audrey....she's sick! A little ear infection, swollen glands, an eye infection (uh, make that two eyes as of last night), stuffy nose and cough. She hasn't gone to school yet this week. And since tomorrow is the last day, she probably won't go at all until January 3rd. Poor kid is missing the Christmas Program today (well, she'll come with Justin and I to the 1:00 performance) and Thursday afternoon the students are watching The Polar Express in their jammies. I told Audrey that we would do the same thing at home. And it's even better for her---she doesn't like popcorn, so she picked out her favorite chips to have instead.

Tonight Justin and I are taking the "upper management" from work out to dinner. This was supposed to be darts at the Moose Lodge night, but this will be fine too. I ate at the restaurant (Michael's by the Lake in Moses Lake) for the first time Saturday evening. We had a gigantahuge plate of appetizers. Then Justin, Emma, and I each had a salad. Audrey knew she wanted mac and cheese, so she stopped eating appetizers so she'd have room. I look forward to trying an entree tonight!

I haven't heard anything from/about my sister Kara. Her baby was due on Monday.

I started working on my Christmas-or-maybe-Groundhog-Day letter yesterday. We'll see if I ever get it done and mailed. So let's add that to the list!
1. Laundry
2. Snowmen
3. Christmas letter
4. Parent gifts
5. Cat diapers
6. Start packing for weekend
7. Buy gifts for family in need
8. Put more Christmas music on mp3
9. Pop popcorn and put in baggies for third graders tomorrow

That should be enough! Any bets on how many of those things get done?

If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it. ~Olin Miller

You weren't here when you were gone

But I was gone! Sort of. I mean, I'm here. But just not posting. But now I am. I'll keep it short though. (yeah right)

I elfed my family.

You know it just wouldn't be my blog unless I was bragging, so here's today's. A note from Audrey's teacher:

Dear Audrey,
Thank you for showing so much kindness to "M". The note you wrote to her was incredibly wonderful. You are a good friend and we are so fortunate to have you in our class. "M" really loved the note and it made her feel so good. It was above and beyond what I expect of of 1st grade friends.
Mrs. Jones

I guess "M" can be a bit difficult, and mean. Audrey wanted her to have friends, so wrote her a note saying that they are Best Friends. And yes, Mrs. Jones and I both were nearly in tears. The teacher told me that "M"'s overall behaviour has been much improved since this happened. Audrey must have gotten this from her dad!

Huh. It's snowing. Of course it is....the girls didn't take their boots to school!

My Christmas spirit is pretty much nonexistent this year. The girls have a little tree (thanks David and Hazel) set up on a table. I told them that it could be our Christmas tree. I explained that with a tree so small, any presents will look huge and like there's a lot of them. So Audrey wrote a note: Santa put our presents here. And propped it up against the little tree. I just really don't feel like putting up decorations and then taking them down again in two weeks. Maybe if we'd started earlier. Or maybe if I was interested in leaving the house decorated longer....(remember, we're the family that has been known to take down the tree the day after Christmas)

I guess it's not just Christmas. I don't have any spirit right now. I know, I know. "But Joy, you've always been lazy." I agree! But this feels different. Not good. Oh well!

Let's see. I bragged about Audrey. What can I tell you about Emma? She's in the Math Club. Obviously I will be of no help to her! She's still doing just as well in school as usual. I still don't have a piano teacher for her. Maybe in the new year.

Almost 10 and I haven't showered. I was planning on wrapping a bunch of presents today. I decided to make more paver snowmen this year for the girls to give to their teachers and our neighbors. The pavers are in my car. The paint is in the garage and the fleece is waiting to be cut and glued. That's as far as I've gotten. Last day of school is Thursday---I really should start working on those! Maybe they won't need me at the library today and I can stay home.....

It's the perfect weekend!
December 15 is Cat Herders Day
December 16 is both Barbie and Barney Backlash Day
and
Chocolate-covered Anything Day

Catching up with pictures

Here we are at the Wild Horses Monument overlooking the Columbia River at Vantage. Wow. I'd never been up there before. Audrey's favorite part was "rock boarding" down the hill. I guess that would be careening and sliding over dirt and rocks. Perhaps my Crocs were not the best choice of footwear that day.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth? I've got a tiger by the tail? I've got a horse by the mouth? I'm sure we can think of something! These horses are incredible. The downside? All the vandalism!! Why do people feel that can write on something like this? One person has come up there three years. She signed her name and then puts the year. It's disgusting.

You can tell Audrey is a bunny. But what's Emma supposed to be? Why, she's "the one and only Olivia Vertigo" from the Charlie Bone books! The girls stayed warm while we scoured the neighborhood for candy.

OK, my pictures made it on her out of order. Before we went to the Wild Horses Monument, we went to Puget Sound Energy's Wild Horse Wind Farm. Wow! Those things are huge!! No, Justin's company did not make any of these towers. I believe they came from Korea....but don't quote me on that. There's a beautiful Visitor's Center at the top of a winding road. It's amazing to see these towers looming up from around the bend. If the sky is clear enough we can see the wind farm from our house. I think there are 126 towers up there. They will have the grand opening for the Visitor's Center next spring. Right now they are just open weekends and only through the end of the month. I think. There are some videos showing how the towers are made and erected. My favorite was a slide show of still photos--some taken during construction of the Visitor's Center and the towers, turbines being attached, elk grazing at the foot of a tower, etc etc. I'd read somewhere that people are concerned about the noise the wind towers make. I liken it to the sound of the surf. Yes, you can hear it, but it's not overpowering at all and we were standing in the middle of it all!

Fun time waster!

I had a little too much fun with this

Luke Wilson is my UPS Man

I swear!! Looked just like him!!! Gotta order more stuff.........

If I can find my camera I'll post some pictures of the girls on Halloween and of our Sunday trip to Puget Sound Energy's Wild Horse Wind Farm and a trek up to the Wild Horses Monument.

Halloween: Audrey was a white bunny and Emma was Olivia Vertigo from the Charlie Bone book series. Of course nobody knew who the heck Olivia Vertigo was. The girls and I have about 50 pages left to read in Midnight for Charlie Bone. My highlight came the other evening when I read the last sentence in the chapter and Audrey gasped and opened her eyes wide. Yes!! She is sucked in! I'd better put a hold on the next book in the series.

We have more furniture! We went to Spokane on Saturday (yes, Saturday---Justin didn't go to work) and came home with the bed of the truck full of furniture. Dining room table and six chairs, pub table and four stools (in a box), two nightstands (in boxes), and a red microfiber sofa. Yea! I'm loving having my clock and lamp at a decent height by my bed. And the sofa is soooo much more comfortable than that other one I bought. Of course none of these items would be considered heirloom quality by any stretch of the imagination, but that meant we could get a few pieces of furniture instead of one.

I went to the Wenatchee Valley Mall yesterday. Trying to get presents for Emma's birthday and start on Christmas too. I didn't make it to Target and JC Penney like I wanted, and when I got into town I saw Fred Meyer but didn't get there either. I'm debating about going today. I suppose if I'm going to I should leave soon. Even if I don't go, I should still take a shower and get dressed, huh.

The only really good place to buy lumber is at a store where the lumber has already been cut and attached together in the form of furniture, finished and put inside boxes. ~Dave Barry

Everything is blurry.....

Actually, it's much better now. I went to the eye doctor earlier today. He put some drops in my eyes, but at least it wasn't as bad as last time when I couldn't read or even see myself in a mirror to try on frames! Today I could see myself in the mirror, but couldn't quite read the price tags..... I got to bring home six frames to try on and get Justin's opinion. One pair looked really fun, but when I put it on, I didn't like it for every day. But I would love it for sunglasses! I'll have to see what the girls think of them.

Emma can stay in school. We went to the doctor yesterday and she had her MMR shot. I also had her in to ask the doctor about some white spots on her skin. She has a large white spot on her leg---it showed up all of a sudden this summer. I wasn't terribly worried, but it hasn't gone away, and of course now I'm noticing a few other small, lighter spots. The doctor couldn't say if it was vitiligo or not. I'm used to vitiligo spots that start small and grow, so I didn't think that first one was vitiligo since it showed up fairly good-sized. We'll see if any of the other spots grow, or if she gets more. The doctor is right though, there really isn't anything we can do about it. So why worry too much? I was really hoping this would skip a few generations!!

Justin and Audrey went to the school last night to carve a pumpkin. I guess there were only six kids (and their dad's) in her class who made it. The time did get changed to 5:30 so they could be done in time for the PTO meeting and performances by Grant Singers and Grant Ringers. I'm glad Justin was able to leave early to go!

Emma is in Grant Singers. The group is made up of third and fourth graders. They practice before school two days a week. Initially she didn't want to do it, but the other day she said she was really glad that she did! Grant Ringers is fourth graders playing bells. They all did a great job.

Monday morning I attended a workshop for teaching school aides and para pros how to teach kids to read and help them with reading comprehension. (Emma's teacher asked me to attend because he'd like me to help some of his students with reading comprehension when I help in the class.) Yet another one of those times when I feel totally out of my element. Well, not totally. We learned about phonemes, and that was something I studied when I was majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences. But still, I had to keep reminding myself that I am not an idiot, that I really even have a university degree! I'm afraid next week will be even worse. Uh-oh. Just remembered that I haven't done my homework yet!

What else? I went to Spokane for a day last week to shop for a table at antique stores. Mom drove me around and helped me look. I must admit that we maybe looked at a little too much not-table stuff at first. At the end I was "speed antiquing". I had to get home by 6:00pm so the babysitter could get to a 4-H meeting. I made it! Didn't find a table though. I found one on Craigslist in Spokane. We'll see what comes of that.

Justin made a terrible, horrible, awful discovery on Sunday. (you have to promise you won't tell Emma and Audrey, especially Audrey) Black Widow spiders. Say it with me now, "eeeeeeeek!!!!!" OK, my toes are curling now just thinking about it.

The girls should be home soon. I'd better get ready for them. We're going to go to Justin's office so they can sell candy and nuts for Girl Scouts. yee-haw Can't wait for cookie sales.....

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive. ~American Quaker Saying

Unh-uh. I don't think so.

Getting out of the house

The words "bored and lonely" formed in my head last week. I realized that it is time I got out more! So today I'll be in Emma's class at 8:30 (only if I don't take too long blogging) and Audrey's 1:45 to 2:45. I certainly don't want to work full time, or even part time for that matter (read the profile, see the word lazy?) but I am enjoying doing a little volunteering.

OK, looking at the layer of dust on my desk, maybe I should stay home and clean. ha ha! ha ha ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA! Whew. I about wet myself with that one.

Last night was the open house for the recently remodeled and updated metal shop at the high school. It was kind of fun. Justin got up to speak for a bit about Katana and what they do and what it takes to get hired there. People asked some good questions. I had a lot of fun talking with the shop teacher's wife. Remember back before school started and I mentioned that the intern principal was someone I'd gone to high school with? Well he's also the shop teacher, and I hadn't necessarily known his wife when we were all in high school, but as often is the case in small communities, I knew who she was. (OK, how many commas did I just use?) We talked for quite a while--she's a lot of fun! A weird thing about last night.....there were some Ag teachers from the area there, and the one from Wilson Creek recognized me. Yeah, from nearly 20 years ago! He made a comment about my hair being longer now.

Did you know that there is a roller rink in Soap Lake?? Emma went to a birthday party there Saturday night. Not exactly a state of the art facility, but a fun place to go. We might have to check it out some other time.

Emma has just over a week left of school before she is expelled. Actually, what I need to do is find a doctor around here and have her get another MMR vaccination. I'm afraid that I may accidentally forget to tell her that I think this is the one Audrey refers to as "the burning shot".

Writing Audrey's name (and as usual having my fingers hit the /e/ and /y/ keys backwards) reminded me of the girls' name "changes". Emma was starting to use the name Emmy. Know why? She likes to write the letter /y/. And now for some reason Audrey started spelling her name with an /ee/ at the end instead of /ey/. But she was also using a /b/ in place of the /d/ too. She wasn't writing backwards---she knew she was writing the name Aubree. I remember in first grade trying to go by Ellen (my middle name) because I didn't like my name. And who can forget my freshman year in high school when I changed the spelling to Joi? And not just an /i/ with a boring ol' dot, or even a heart or smiley face. Oh no, I put a slash mark in place of the dot. What a rebel!!

I'm sure the third graders would appreciate it if I came to their class showered and wearing clothes (as opposed to jammies, not nekkid!), so I should end this and get ready.

Leisure tends to corrupt, and absolute leisure corrupts absolutely. ~Edgar A. Shoaff

Pumpkin fun!

Here are some pumpkins I just finished decorating. I found the ideas in a Better Homes and Gardens Halloween book. The black sequin stripes didn't work as well as I would have liked. Now I'm glad I didn't find the perfect big pumpkin for it!

Emma faces expulsion

Yes, you read that correctly. After all my bragging in the last entry you'd think this wouldn't be happening. But it is.

Emma received her first MMR vaccination 15 days before her first birthday. So it doesn't count. I need to remember not to put the correct date on forms, and to pretend that I no longer have her record book. I mean, it gets brought up every year, you'd think I'd have it figured out by now! (I think there's also something funky about Audrey's, but maybe I took care of that.) So I'll go to the school today and find out to whom I need our doctor (in Anacortes) to fax a form to saying, yes, it is OK that Emma's MMR shot was done before she turned one. And of course when I do that I'll hear again that the state only requires the month and year so why is the school making a big deal of this. Even if she had another booster now, it wouldn't make the problem go away. Every time it gets typed into the computer it would reject it for the same reason. I'll have to see what I need to do to make it permanently in her records that she is OK.

We went to the library yesterday and Emma checked out Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry. I finally found a section on the Accelerated Reader website that would give me the AR levels of books. This one is a 4.5 or so. She started it last night and took it to school to see if the school has an AR test for it.

I was enjoying a little trip down book memory lane. Lois Lowry also wrote A Summer to Die and Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye. I can remember reading the first one, and the other title sounds really familiar. The fun part was finally realizing that the Lois I had been looking for was Lois Duncan. Stranger With My Face, Down a Dark Hall, Summer of Fear, and Daughters of Eve. Those are some great, and spooky, books!

I'd better get going so I can save my daughter from expulsion!

I guess I'll have to wait for tomorrow for International Moment of Frustration Scream Day.

Warning: Severe bragging about kids

Don't say I didn't warn you! Yesterday we had conferences, so of course I have many things to brag about! Not sure what else I'll write about, so how about when I'm done bragging I'll type, in bold, that it is safe to read now. OK? So those of you with strong constitutions may continue.....

Audrey
Audrey is doing great in school and is learning more and improving every day. One of her challenges has been learning to add "monkey tails" on her letters. And she's doing it! She is right where she should be as a first grader. She has proven to the teachers that she can count to 100, and we were told that very few students in her class can count that high. Audrey also told her teacher that she counted to 400 the other day "want me to show you?" ack!

Audrey is seated next to a boy who, ermmmm, has a hard time sitting and paying attention. Without any prompting Audrey has taken to reminding him that it is time to sit and pay attention, etc. I'm assuming she does this in a nice way, since the teachers were pleased. The student teacher says she catches her doing it sometimes and gives her a thumbs up. Which you know has just got to thrill Audrey to no end! It's so nice to hear about our kids being good, respectful, and responsible. Audrey is also now sitting by, and in reading group with, her best friend (and neighbor), but both teachers said that it hasn't been a problem at all---no excessive visiting.

Audrey has been journaling at night. Nancy gave her a diary this summer, and she's just started writing in it. And by writing I mean writing. Really! Just like her journals at school, she writes a sentence then draws a picture about it.

Emma
Emma is also doing great in school. Her teacher encourages students to come to their conferences, so we brought her with us. Her teacher started by telling all of us that he does not use conference time to discuss discipline, etc so the student doesn't have to worry about hearing any bad things. Well, unless they aren't doing well academically of course. And Emma has nothing to worry about academically. She's had to learn a few things specific to this school's expectations (labelling, organizing, different terminology and teaching aids). She'll be tested in Reading and Mathematics in the WASL, so that's what they are concentrating on. She reads at a 7th grade level; in one of the tests, the average is 190 and Emma is 215. The same test in math the average is 192 and she is 205. Algebraic Sense is the only area she needs to improve on.

Emma's teacher told her that she can be reading more difficult, higher quality books. He's not pushing her, but eventually if she isn't doing that on her own he will pick a book for her. They use Accelerated Reader; books are given an AR Level and a computerized test is available. The student chooses a book, reads it, then takes the test. The tests are worth a different amount depending on book difficulty. She's reading books with an AR Level of 3.1 to 3.8 and each test is worth 1 point. (the Zack Files books she's reading are worth 1 point, a Harry Potter book is worth 32 points) The teacher requires 4 points earned per month. He'd rather see Emma reading books with higher AR Level/Points Value than what she's reading now. I asked him about this, since it seemed last year Emma wasn't willing to read more challenging books because it meant fewer AR test available to her. He explained that in second grade the focus is more on quantity, but in third grade the focus is quality. So hopefully this will encourage Emma to spread out a bit in her reading. I'm especially glad she was there to hear all that.

I think that's about it.

End Parental Bragging

Holy cow my dog stinks! Sheesh! What has she eaten??? At least I'm no longer finding piles of diarrhea up here. How fun. We go from me bragging to my dogs bowels. Aren't you glad you stopped by??

After all that, what more is there to say?

Last Sunday we went to Cashmere to the antique malls. Apple Annie's is "70,000 square feet of no touch". So of course the girls were beyond thrilled! Many tears were shed, but no table was found. (have I mentioned that we are table shopping? ours will go to one of the Katana houses and we get a new one. oh the sacrifices I make!) I'm going to spend part of a day next week in Spokane going to antique stores there with my mom. I'm hoping I can find someone to watch the girls after school so I can shop longer.

I haven't been walking. I know, we were all just waiting for that announcement. No excuse really, just not doing it. I really should get back to it. I need to wear my fancy dress next month! Of course I've been afraid to try it on and see how it fits right now. David and Hazel are taking us and Hazel's kids to the Festival of Trees dinner. Sounds super duper fancy schmancy. Should be fun. I hope. We will have met Hazel's daughter, son and his wife the day before at David and Hazel's wedding. The girls will have a sitter while we are out. They'll be ring carriers at the wedding. Since the wedding may take place on a dock, we'll be praying extra hard that rings don't drop!

Well, it's half-days this week. So I don't have as much time to do, well, nothing before the girls get home. So I'd better get on it!

The problem with children is that you have to put up with their parents. ~Charles DeLint

I have my car back!

Yea!! My car hath returneth. I filled it with gas and added wiper fluid so that I would have no warning lights lit up on the dash. The ABS and Brake lights disappeared after the car's stay with the dealership's service department. And now that it's back from the transmission shop it doesn't tick when I drive it! Hmmm....where can I drive today?? Um, the school and library I guess.

Emma is Student of the Month for her class. This month is Trustworthiness. Last Friday at an assembly those students were announced. And today she gets to have a special lunch with the principal and counselor. She's excited. Audrey's jealous.

I told Emma I might have to make a surprise visit to her classroom to see if she really is trustworthy. I was filling out her Reading Log slip this morning and marking the "did not read" box when Emma tried convincing me that reading another student's shirt counted. I told her it was no big deal that she didn't read, but it was more important to turn in the Log slip. She agreed then said "well, I am the one who does the Reading Logs" (she collects and records them for the class). I had to laugh. Ummm.....Emma.....what's the first part of the word "trustworthy"??

We went out to dinner last night. There are not many dinner choices in Ephrata!! Emma loves Chinese food (Mommy Yum Yum's); Audrey hates it. Audrey loves Mexican food; Emma isn't a big fan, and she and I both had very disappointing dinners at Tequila's. So for evening dining (for the under 21 crowd) that leaves McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, the other Chinese restaurant, the taco truck by the overpass, the homestyle place that advertises a banner that they are open for dinner Tues-Sat but when I went in once I got strange looks and there were no employees in sight, and Basaltz--the nice restaurant in town. So we went to Basaltz. Now Basaltz to Katana is like The Keg to Red Samm--meaning: Justin is there a lot. Without his wife and kids. So last night we walk in and one of the waitresses tells him that another waitress had asked her if Justin was married. She said told him that he was and that the girls and I had just moved here. So there's a disappointed waitress! And I will be in there every day so I can find out who she is! Bwahahahaha!!! Emma told Justin that she wasn't surprised that someone liked him because, in Emma's words, he's a "hottie".

I've started putting out our Halloween decorations. I was worried because I couldn't find my little Halloween Sweet Treat village and my ghost holding the bubble light. Finally found them in a big box that was on it's side. Of course I'd only labeled it "Halloween" on the top. Oops. I told Justin I need to go to Target so I can get the girls Halloween shirts, and see what I hope to find on super clearance after Halloween. I think the nearest Target is in Wenatchee.

Tomorrow we're going dining room table shopping. Yee-haw. I think we're going to try and find antique stores, then look at furniture stores. We'll see how this goes. The girls are going to just love doing that!!

I realize it's not yet 11am, but I should probably go take a shower anyway. I've been even more pathetic than normal lately--if you can believe that! Today I'll get moving sooner.

I have more photos on Grave Addiction, you can see them here. And I even made it onto the very special thank you page (I'm down near the bottom). Now I just need to head over to the Stratford Cemetery--it's not too far out of town and looked like it might be a good, older cemetery to visit. I'd also like to play around with some of my pictures and print them. We'll see if I ever get around to it.

Squirrel Appreciation Week begins October 7th!

That wacky internet!

I must admit, it always surprises me a bit when I receive the same email from two different people within a day or two. You know the ones....the latest You Tube hit, the touching mother story, the petition to "sign". The other day I received the William Tell Overture singing mom from a friend, and a few hours later from my mother-in-law, and then a couple of days later from another friend. None of these people know the others.

Now this one made me smile. Justin's aunt sent me one of those "get to know you" emails. This one listed questions like "Two things you are wearing right now" "Two favorite pets", etc. And you know the drill: copy, paste, remove the previous person's answers, type in your own, then forward it to your friends, including the person who sent it to you. So of course I did. I sent it to a bunch of adults and a couple middle and high school age friends. A few days later I received an email from Emma's former piano teacher. It was that same "get to know you" email. I thought it was a little odd. Maybe she accidentally clicked on my name when she meant to send it to someone else (we've never exchanged emails like this before). So I scrolled down to see her responses and my eye caught something. " Joy Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again? ~Winnie the Pooh" Hey! That's my current email signature!!

Sorry, but I just really get a kick out of those wacky internet coincidences.

Hopefully I'll get my car back today. I need to go to the school and distribute the Book Order books for Audrey's class. And I need to get to the store--I only have one tea bag left. Yea! The guy at the transmission shop just called! Now to coordinate with Justin to drive me there...

I was flipping through a Rachel Ray magazine and found a fun gift idea for the girls. Personalized Fruit Roll-ups -- how fun is that? I'm thinking for Christmas, or for takeaway gifts at birthday parties.

I've started thinking Christmas already. Just with regard to presents. I have no idea what the girls want -- that isn't electronic or attached to a screen of some sort. Actually, Emma wants new roller blades and Audrey wants a scooter. I think we can handle those. Of course the My Twinn catalog came in the mail and the girls gushed over it. Neither of them are really into dolls, until they see something like that.

I suppose I should take a shower and talk to Justin about getting me to my car. With my luck, if I call him now he'd be able to take me right away. And again with my luck, I'll call him after my shower and he'll tell me the rest of the day is crazy and he can't pick me up. But at least at that point I'll be clean!

The Internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom. ~Jon Stewart