I'm alive. I am sick.  I don't think I got the piggy flu, because I think (based on the students in my class) that I would have been sicker. I had a fever for 4 days.  I am stuffy, I am coughing now (that just started though) and my head hurts.  And soooo sleepy.   I return to work tomorrow, for a field trip, so I don't have to talk or teach too much. It will be a good day.

The kids are getting so old.  Averie and I went this past weekend to my favorite cousin's wedding in Kansas City.  Averie wasn't too into the wedding, I think she was tired and cold (it was semi-outside...like in a covered barn with open walls.)  Logan has been taking speech 2 times per month, and I've noticed a lot of improvement with him. He still doesn't "talk" but makes words more now.  

School is going pretty well.  I like my class a lot this year - they are sweet and cute! And lots of personality.  They seem to be pretty even-keeled for the most part. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop - perhaps having a sub for 2 days will be that shoe?  LOL

Off to make some soup. 

Last year I had a hellacious class. Basically, being new to the school, our principal assigns all the parents who aren't going to complain about having a new teacher...so basically the ones who aren't very involved. I thought this year I would get some great kids, we have a whole bunch of 3rd graders coming up who are from amazing families, very helpful and involved. Guess what - after looking at my list yesterday, I got NONE of those families. I mean, we were talking about 6-7 families, and there are 4 teacher, and I didn't get any of them?? To say I am a little pissed is putting it mildly. Last year I had to watch as all my teammates had things made for them, copied for them, even parents who came in and worked 1 on 1 with kids during the day. And they got these amazing gifts from parents, and the parents were just so awesome. I didn't have any parents that would come help, the 3 that did volunteer just wouldn't show up, and I always got strange boxes of chocolate. LOL

And to top it off, I got "the" kid...you know, the one everyone from the previous year talks about, how he's so awful and the parents are awful, blah blah. Yep, he's in my class. I like working with kids that need a lot of help, but not so much when their parents think they are genius and they just need a teacher that sees the genius. 

Ok, big girl panties and positive smile starting NOW. 

 My friend, Nicki, lost her husband recently in Afghanistan.  She is having a 5k run/maternity walk and  would like to represent every fallen soldier of our current war with a flag! That's over 5000 now, sadly! Find out more information at:  www.bubbasbellyrun.com   Pass it on..... just one flag from you and all of your facebook friends will add up quickly!!!  Just $5 for one. :) 

Currently there is a commercial for something call "Extenze" which is some sort of male enhancement product.  There's a gross older guy talking about how he thought it might "be fun" and so is his wife.  Ick.  It's pretty surprising that we don't have liquor commercials, but commercials directly about penis enhancement is okay?  Hrm.

I've been so super busy this summer, and I haven 't gotten anything accomplished.  Nothing from my big to-do list.  I have had stuff to do every single weekend.  Except this weekend, and I just want to relax.

My computer is currently at Dell getting fixed, so I'm using Justin's old computer, which gets really hot on my lap.  I have to keep it on the table.  (I know you should do that anyway but I have a comfy way of surfing the net with MY computer.

Watching "Night at the Museum." For some reason I never saw this, but it's pretty good actually.  I missed the beginning so some things are unclear to me but all in all, better than I expected.

Next week is an exciting one - Harry Potter AND Jess' s baby  AND I need to pack for my trip AND I have 4 softball games.  I might also head over to Baltimore for a friend's family get together to celebrate her wedding.  I got to go to this Indian engagement ceremony last weekend, it was really neat and a great party, and I have the henna on my hands to prove it  

Ok, well off to clean up from dinner and then back to my bed.

Happy July to Jess. :)  This is my last month in my 20's.  Weird to think I'll be in a different decade next month.  My little sister Steph is here visiting me this week, so we're going to head into the city today and tour all the monuments and such.  she wants to see EVERYTHINg so we'll see what we can fit into 6-7 hours  :)

Livejournal has been dead the last few days.  Seriously my friends page hasn't moved hardly at all.  Jess I'm starting to worry you're in labor or something - you must post at least every other day to let us know you're still here now that July is *almost* here.  :)

I'm trying to clean my house like a crazy woman.  seriously, I'm throwing so much stuff away and want to craigslist about 25 things.  I have my little sister coming tomorrow for 4 days, and my friend Jen's parents are staying at my house this weekend.  this terrifies me because my basement, where we'd normally keep "guests" is out of control craft, toy and exercise land.  I think they will get our room and we will go to the basement.  LOL

I've always wanted to write a book.  I don't have the patience for it.  But every once in a while I get this urge to write something.  Or read something really well written.  Most especially, I have this desire to read this truly great science fiction story.  There have been some the approach my desire.  The Giver.  Ender's Shadow.  The movie Children of Men was almost there, but the book was awful.  I read books A Brave New World, which my husband counts as one of his favorite books ever.  It was slow and the story was so undeveloped.  The Handmaid's Tale had some promise, but I wanted to know the background of what had happened, not just what was currently happening.  Basically I think I want a huge epic, akin to Lord of the Rings, but more futuristic.  One with a cool alternate reality, where there are marked problems with mankind or humanity, with a hero or group of heroes that have to overcome some sort of oppression. I want to know the entire story, bring me up to where the current plot is occuring, so I know all the background and then get to the part of the story we are reading.   I don't really know.  Last night, I had this great dream, it seemed like such an amazing story.  I want to remember it, I'd like to watch it in movie form. 

I was a teenager, around 19.  My brother and I were sleeping and when we woke up we were falling from the sky in these tubes.  We landed in this room full of people, where there was obviously a meeting going on, something like a town hall type meeting.  They were voting on people, one guy at the front who was very attractive and slightly older was reading off names, and each time a name would be called another person was writing them down on this big electronic board.  We stood at the back of the room and watched, until a name was decided upon.  Immediately, these LARGE alien guys that looked a little like squid walked in the room and took the man that had been chosen.  The room was entirely silent, no one watched as he was taken away.  Then they noticed we were in the room and there was a huge uproar and we were instantly surrounded as they ripped off our "earth" type clothes, threw them in a fire and replaced them with these brown tunics and brown pants.  The guy who had been at the podium was sorta the leader of the group.  So we were staying at his house.  There was a whole lot more plot, at one point involved me falling in love with this leader, learning his wife had been chosen for the Alien guys years before, learning that the chosen people were basically being sacrificed, one per week so the alien things could experiment on them...  All the people were working for the aliens, growing fruits and vegetable for them, cleaning, building,etc.  They were essentially slaves for this alien colony.  But eventually in my dream, the leader guy and I decided to lead a revolution, to try to get out.  We were worried that the longer we waited, the harder it would be because our numbers got smaller and smaller.  We started having people build weapons while they were working, and started growing some sort of poison plant to feed to the aliens.  I woke up before I got to see the entire plan play out, but there was much drama with several human members getting killed, including my brother. 

i wish I could have slept a little longer to see what happened.

School is finally out, and we've done our camping trip for the summer, so now I have nothing but things to check off my list for this summer.  I'm going to post this here for posterity's sake.  Seriously, my house is overwhelming me.  These items are NOT in order, by any means.

1) Declutter and SELL or GIVE AWAY so much stuff
2) Paint Logan's room
3) Paint our bathroom
4) get someone to paint the staircase and hallway upstairs because there are like 15 ft ceilings
5) Paint all trim in this house - it's all peeling!
6) Organize the basement and make it functional instead of the dumping ground/playroom it currently is.
7) Get everything hung up - it's all sitting on the floor in various rooms waiting for me to hang it.
8) (long term) Reno baths in basement and main floor, reno kitchen  (that would be my next wishlist item - new cabinets and countertops in the kitchen)
9) Fix the floors in the living room. 


And things I want to do with the kids: 
1) go on a walk every day
2) go swimming many times per week
3) go to the library
4) go to the movies (free movies on tuesday and wednesdays)
5) teach Averie to read (SIGH THIS IS HUGE)
6) get Logan evaled for speech...I'm not sure if he's really that behind, but he's still only speaking in barely intelligible single words, no sentences.  he'll be 2 in September, he should be talking by now.



Plus - 2 week vacation in July to Missouri and Disney World with Justin. I'm turning 30 in August.  Our 7th wedding anniversary is July 20. I really would like to make another beach trip for a long weekend if possible. 

This summer is turning out to be very busy, and it's only just begun.

Wow, I need to really get on this thing more. I just don't have anything interesting to say.  School is out on Tuesday (thank goodness).  Things are going to be crazy next week since I have to move to a different classroom, but it will come along.  The kids will finish out the week at daycare so I can spend the week working, and then they (and I) are done until late august.

Justin has been really "into" running 5k races lately, and now Averie want to run in a race.  She got her hair cut the other day, went from halfway down her back to just above the shoulders. It's adorable, but I got teary looking at it fall in little soft blond wisps on the floor.  Her hair grows fast though, so I know it will be okay.

I am looking forward to summer more than anyone can imagine.  :) 

I'm sitting here waiting for the breakfast casserole to finish cooking that I have to take to school tomorrow.  I'm so tired but I can't go to bed unless it's done.

I'm waiting for school to be done. I have 12 more days with students, but 20 days total.  That can't be right, something is off on that count.  I'm done.  Done with the behaviors and done with the attitude and high blood pressure.

I'm waiting to go on vacation.  Justin and I are going without our kids for my 30th birthday and our 7th anniversary.  I'll be 30.  ah.....

I want everything to be here. I'm tired of waiting for it all.