Saturday

What a great Saturday it was!! For the first time this semester, I wasn't stressed about working. I finished all of my work to date and got everything I knew about done before the CASEMIS review. December 1 pupil count sucks for Special Ed teachers, and this was even worse than usual. The State is due to return in a couple weeks, so that has added pressure, and the inability to access certain IEP systems created a huge backlog. So, to celebrate the fact that this was the first weekend I did not have to work in 3 months, I did nothing but stitch this morning. I'm working on three sets of the wine charms: two sets for some co-workers and a set for us at home. I have two of the four charms completed and they are really cute.

For the evening, Ken and I had tickets for hockey. Thankfully, Ken did not get sick on the way down this time, and we were able to enjoy the game. Sadly, the Ontario Reign lost in overtime, but it was still a good game.

Having a quiet weekend has been long overdue and sorely missed. We have all been enjoying it as much as possible!

Never Boring

Yeah, our life is never boring. Some of my much-needed humor for the week was very appropriate:

Work has not lightened up. I was trying to figure out why I had the April burn-out when it's only October. Then I took a look at my caseload. I knew that my numbers were too high - my caseload is at 368 and climbing, but then I looked at the number of reports that I had written already this school year - 186. What.The.Hell???? No wonder I'm losing my mind! That is a LOT of reports for me to have written and meetings that were held. Sadly, most of those are 30-Day Interim Placements meaning it was just to transfer the student to our school, so I'm going to have to write another report for that student sometime during the year. 

I don't think that I have actually talked about what it is that I do, so here it is: I'm a Transition Specialist. I have a Special Education credential and have spent years teaching mild to moderately disabled children over the years, but I landed in a role that I really love. I get to smash the dreams of children and smack them in the face with reality. It's actually really fun. Most Special Ed students are working so hard for a Diploma that they forget to plan for the "after" part, and it's my job to be sure to have them go through the steps and decide on a Plan A and a Plan B. The Plan A is usually something stupid. I have seen Music Producer, NFL/NBA Player and other decidedly "cool" jobs as the hot list of jobs for these kids to have. This year, it's "Video Game Designer or Tester." Yep, you have to love it. So, I get the students to look at what it takes to gain that employment and the educational/vocational requirements. They usually learn quickly that there's no way it will work for them, so then we buckle down and look at what they may actually do well in. I also help them to realize how to gain part-time employment during high school, how to look at getting that first apartment, etc. 

It never fails - the first impression of me is that I'm a "Bitch" who is trying to kill their dreams, but eventually, the students realize that I'm a total wealth of information, and they usually still contact me a couple of years after they graduate for additional help. 

My reports are a collection of assessments, the assessment result data, interviews with the student and parent or guardian, and sometimes a probation officer or court liaison to best serve each student. Yes, this is a mandated part of the IEP forms, and it's my job to be sure that it is complete for each and every student. So, with our school trying to enroll as many kids as possible, I have been kept very, very busy!! 

In order to manage the other role I have as Wife and Mother, I make sure to stop working after my hours are done each day, and then somehow transition quickly back into the other roles.  Despite the non-stop headache, we went to Ken's ex's house on Friday night for an 18th birthday party for Justin. 

Yes, that's right, Sheryl was in town and she hosted a party for Justin - we attended and somehow, I managed to stay totally polite. Her friend, Sandy, is completely snotty and has no problem bitching in the presence of the one who is pissing her off, but I managed to keep a smile on my face anyway and not verbally rip the bitch to shreds. Seriously, if you're going to ignore my presence and pretend to not hear me, then do not complain that I wasn't helping out with the preparations. Lady, I asked 4 times if you and Sheryl needed help, but you played like you were 5 and that I didn't exist. I quit offering after that, so complaining later that I was "rude" and "didn't even offer to help out" was completely childish and stupid. The fact you whined about it specifically so I could hear you was utterly pathetic. Oh, and bitching about my daughters was seriously the wrong thing to do. You are SO very lucky that I promised to behave! 

OK, rant over.

I had a ton of fun watching Justin open his gift from us. Of course, we supplied him with an iTunes gift card, but the Maybe You Touched Your Genitals Hand Sanitizer was an awesome gift, and the fun was not lost on Justin. Everyone laughed about it, and it was the hit gift because of its craziness.

Sheryl went out of her way, and we thanked her for being a good hostess. She thought ahead and had activities and gift bags for the girls which was very thoughtful. The girls were able to carve pumpkins for the first time - we had them paint them before but never carve, so she found it cool to be able to do this for them. I know she was frazzled having us over there, and she and I  are still tip-toeing around each other, but we managed to pull it together for Justin. Having her over last Christmas to our house was really a great way to start this process, and Ken and I discussed that it was pretty cool that she was making the effort this time.

So, the supper went well with Justin and his friends and family, and then the girls were able to carve after supper was over. I thought it very ironic that Mandy was the one who loved scooping out the guts more than any of the girls. Taylor didn't finish carving because she was helping out to clean up - what a great girl!!

I relieved to learn that the silly string in the girls' gift bags was to be used at her house. She wanted the girls to spray Justin, and it took Sean AND Ken to literally pull Justin out of the house so he could be sprayed.

Saturday was spent with me doing some stitching, and the girls pretending to clean their room. 

 I just realized that November was going to be here within a week, and I hadn't started the November project!

Taylor did the most work, so I rewarded her with heading to Victorville to use her Kohl's gift certificate and the money she had earned from helping Linda next door. Because of the huge sale going on, Taylor was able to purchase one full outfit for herself. I was happy to help her learn how to use the sales, and she was totally stoaked that she could buy herself ONE FULL OUTFIT and she purchased exactly what she wanted. Taylor has managed to lose one full size, so I was happy to help her out with some added shopping especially because of the sale. It's tough keeping her in clothes, but she seems to have stopped growing, it will get easier from here. She loved a sweater but couldn't afford it, so Mama and Dad bought it along with another pair of jeans.

After shopping, we stopped at Mimi's Cafe for supper. She chose a Bleu Cheese and Walnut salad for supper so she could "splurge" on the pumpkin spice cheesecake for dessert. You have to love how she's growing up and thinking clearly. (So far and fingers crossed!!)

Today, Ken was up early to go to the Apple Valley Defensive Pistol shoot. He hasn't played in over a month because of all his travels and hunting, so he was very much looking forward to this morning.

Girls' Weekend

Ken left for the openers of Quail Season on Friday. He was excited about the trip and was hoping that they would be able to get some quail. Ken was even more excited that Addie was going to go, and we both hoped that she would be much better about being a Bird Dog this year. Addie will be two shortly, and from everything we have read and heard, this is the turning point for her.

While he packed, I tried desperately to keep busy. I've gotten used to him being gone lately, so I wasn't have the air completely sucked out of my lungs like I normally do when he's planning to be gone. However, it still wasn't pleasant knowing that he was going to be away from me. Again, I'm completely fine without Ken. It's not a problem - I can work, play, function and everything without him. I just don't like actually being away from him. 

I started the weekend right. I picked up the girls early from school and we went straight to Red Robin for supper. The jokes and laughter started immediately, and then I had to interrupt it with some seriousness. Their step-brother, Justin, is turning 18 on Friday and we were all invited to his mother's/grandmother's house for a celebratory BBQ. I died laughing knowing that the woman is flying back to California from Texas so that she can attend her Worker's Comp doctor appointment. There has got to be a special place in hell for her with the whole defrauding the W/C people like this, but whatever.....

The girls were happy to attend the party even with Sheryl there. They said that they love their brother and they totally want to celebrate his birthday like he's done for them on occasion. I told them that was very cool of them and showed how responsible they are. 

The next serious subject was letting them know that their youngest step-brother, Brian, has decided to spend the Winter Break with us this year. That was received with a ton of moans and groaning. Each of them wanted to know how bad things are in Texas if Brian is actually missing us and wanting to spend time with us. I told them that I didn't know, but he is Dad's son and a part of the family. That was met with a bunch of examples of how Brian has chosen to not be part of the family, he doesn't actually interact with anyone anymore, etc. Mandy and Taylor wanted to know if it was OK if they hid his Bible from him while he was here so he would actually pay attention to them and do things with us rather than, "sit on the couch reading his Bible and reminding us all of how much better he is than us." Wow! I thought it was just me that he treated that way, but apparently the girls don't have a high opinion either. 

Each of the girls promised that they would be on their best behavior come Winter Break, but they each warned me that if Brian acts like Brian, then they'll "let him have it." God help the child when he arrives. I sure hope he's grown up a bit in his short time in Texas. The girls said he's not a guest but a member of the family, so he needs to act like it. We'll see what happens. They also said that it "sucks, big time" that Ken is actually Brian's dad and they love and appreciate Ken more than his own son does. Pretty good thinking for young girls.

Jordan then asked if Sheryl was their step-mother. I went through how things work, and explained that Sheryl is Daddy's ex-wife; not their step-mother. I explained that only if their Daddy C remarries would they have a "step-mother." Mandy popped off with, "Oh my God! A woman would have to be so drunk to marry him!!"  Taylor piped in, "Yeah, how stupid is she who doesn't realize he's a loser!"

I did my best not to laugh or crack a smile at that. I did the right thing by reminding the girls that they were talking about their father and they were of age to still need to be respectful. Mandy reminded me that he does nothing for them and never did anything for me, so "whatever!" I reminded the girls that their Daddy C gave me them, and that was the best he would ever do, and that I thought it was pretty great. Luckily, that ended the conversation there. However, they did continue the ways in which a woman would have to be demented to date or marry their father all through the evening.

Mandy and Taylor were completely excited at the restaurant to have been given the adult menus. The burger that Mandy chose was bigger than her head, and thankfully, she took half of her meal home.

Jordan spent most of the night wanting one of the balloons and kept bugging me about it. I kept reminding her that she would have to ask when we left to take one home. She did, and she asked for one for her sister. When I asked for a picture of the girls, only Jordan would go in front of the replica of the Statue of Liberty. Haha!

When we got home, I was a great mom and showed the girls what happens when you suck the helium out of the balloons. They all loved taking a turn sounding like Mickey Mouse. I reminded them that they can't take too much helium or they'll ruin their brains. In the meantime, I rocked it as the "rad Mom."

We spent the rest of the evening watching Halloween movies: The Nightmare Before Christmas and Sleepy Hollow. I made sure that Sleepy Hollow was last and they accused me of trying to make them have bad dreams. Since they had stayed up late, they were asleep pretty fast.

Saturday, the girls enjoyed some more movies and then Taylor went to a friend's for a Halloween-themed birthday party.  Mandy and Jordan spent the evening with me, and as a bribe, I made cupcakes and promised that if they could behave, then they could frost them after we picked up Taylor.  We went to the store to get a couple items for the decorating, and Jordan asked me to take a picture of her with the Goldfish snack holder. 

Talk about a weird child. With her standing behind it, it looks like she's inside of the silly thing.

The "behavior modification" worked. Mandy and Jordan actually managed to get along and follow directions because they wanted to decorate the cupcakes. Once Taylor was home, the girls started icing the cupcakes and then I showed them how to take the black writing icing and a toothpick to make a spider web. They did a pretty good job!!

 Mama took care of the demo

 The girls were fine on their own

 Jordan was so excited, she grabbed my camera and took a picture of how well she was doing!

After they ate one of their creations and got cleaned up, I was going to let them watch a short show before bed. When I returned to the living room, I only found Taylor and Mandy out there. Apparently, it had been too much excitement for Jordan, and she went to bed - on her own! She was asleep when I went to check on her. Wow!!

Sunday morning was a lazy morning. French Toast and bacon was on the menu, and the girls loved it. Mandy and Jordan spent the entire day enjoying the cooler temperatures and played outside while Taylor and I spent the day watching chick flicks. I was stitching throughout the movies, and I loved having the time to do so. It was great not hearing the other two fighting for a change!

Ken got home in the early afternoon, and it was great to have supper with him again. Unfortunately, Mandy and Jordan apparently reached their limit in "listening" over the weekend, so getting ready for bed tonight was a chore. Oh well. It was a pretty great weekend, and I am glad that I will finally be able to get some sleep tonight!

Oh! Addie did really well on this trip. Both Rex and Ken said that if it hadn't been for her, they wouldn't have gotten half of the birds they did. Not only did she flush, but she retrieved pretty well including some double-blinds. Yay! I'm glad she worked out, and I'm sure she'll do even better the next time.

9/11

Yesterday morning was a bit rough. While life insisted on taking priority, and life must go on, I spent some time reflecting on my Nation's tragedy, and I can't believe that it's been 11 years since the Attacks. 

When I was in my teens, I remember asking my grandmother, my mom's mom, where she was, what she was doing, how she felt when she heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I was dumbfounded when she said that she didn't really remember everything - that what struck her the most about that night was that the cow had gotten out and put her head in their window. What?! I tried to get her to talk about her feelings - what went through her mind when she heard? That kind of thing. I don't remember all of the details, but I do remember thinking that this woman could not possibly be truly human if such an occurrence happened and it didn't cement itself to her mind and heart.

Unbelievably, America was attacked in my lifetime. It's not something that I ever thought would happen.  I don't think anyone thought it would happen again - ever. But it did. So, on September 11, 2001, I was in Lucerne Valley with my ex-husband and two little babies. Taylor was almost 2 and Mandy was only 5 months old. I was getting the girls' their breakfast while they were watching Clifford on PBS. I received a phone call from a friend, and considering it was so early, I figured something was wrong. She told me to turn on the news, and she was screaming that the World Trade Center was gone. I thought she was losing her mind, and I made a joke, "What? Like a David Copperfield kind of gone or what?" She then got pissed at me and screamed to turn on the news.  She hung up on me, and so I went to change the channel. What I saw was so horrific, and I just sat down on the floor and stared at the television.

Just as I turned to the news, the second plane was going into the other Tower. What the hell was going on?? At that point, no one knew what was happening. For hours, I watched the towers burn, people jumping from the windows, and then the Towers fell. I remember grabbing both of my daughters and just holding them. I didn't want to let go.  How could this happen? Why was this happening? Who would do this or was it some horrible accident??

By the end of the day, I was an emotional wreck. My ex-husband had refused to wake up and felt it wasn't important, so I had endured the day relatively by myself. I learned about the attack at the Pentagon and the plane that went down in the field. I suddenly learned about Al-Quaida. I had never heard of that group before; the only thing I had learned about was Islam and while I wasn't a fan, the Koran spoke of love and peace. What did America do to these people that they plotted and terrorized us like this?

Over the years, I have learned more - more about the people who caused this devastation, my Country's input on ignoring the warning signs, etc. There will always be the conspiracy theorists and those who speak of just moving on and not hating those that caused the damage.

Personally, I have never trusted anyone or any religion who not only insists that their religion is the only path to heaven - my mother was Mormon, and I've had my fill of that mentality. I also cannot trust a religion that will kill people who do not convert. I'm disturbed about the killing of Christians in northern Africa that occurred a few months ago simply because they refused to become Muslim.  America was founded on freedom and education. We call it tolerance now, but you are supposed to be free to be who and what you want to be so long as you don't infringe on the rights of others. 

The Attacks on 9/11 is what spring-boarded me into adulthood. I was 31 years old when it happened, but I hadn't totally grown up yet. I still had my blissful American ideology and naivety. The world shrank very quickly, and my outlook changed with it. 

So, I gave pause yesterday morning and reflected all of the people who needlessly gave their lives. I prayed for the families that are still healing. I said thank you to the men and women who risk their lives daily for my safety, and I held on to Ken quite a bit. He went to war during the First Gulf War and is still dying because of his service. I didn't know him when this happened, but he and many others like him fight for our freedom everyday.

When I felt I had paid my tribute, I tackled my job. Things are so crazy with work, and I'm angry that all of the work that was done over the summer was for nothing.  All of the best laid plans, policies and procedures have gone out the window, and I barely have time to eat let alone do my job fully and well.  

After 6 straight hours, I shut down my computer and walked away. I couldn't function anymore, and there was no way I could tackle tomorrow's to-do list. I went and finished the piece I was working on, and I love how it came out.

I decided that I'll create the final Letter and then finish both of them into ornaments at the same time. It'll be easier for me that way, and hopefully, they will turn out well.  

Ken wanted the alone time with me last night, so we went out on the back patio to enjoy a cocktail and a cigar. It's a great routine we have. We are able to relax, and it's time where we can talk and catch up on what's going on, work out things that need to be done, etc. There was a lot of lightening over the eastern ridge, and it was cool to watch while we talked.  I made Ken take a picture with me, and then I died laughing when I saw what he did.

Talk about the perfect way to end the day!! I laughed so hard when I looked at the picture. What a dork!! And he's all mine!

Ready for Fall

Honestly, I cannot take any more of the heat. I have had it with triple digit weather and with this stupid humidity! I could really use some cool mornings, tepid day times, and cool evenings. OK, my weather order has been placed.  Between Mother Nature's heat wave and my own Tropical Island - also thanks to Mother Nature's cruel female curse - heat just isn't my friend.  Seriously folks, once you're naked...you're still HOT! Ugh! Let me bundle up any time soon.

So, I had to wait until evening to sit and stitch. The girls seem to think that supper is to be expected every.single.night. What is that about??  {yeah, winking}.  So after trying to get "caught up" at work (like that will really ever happen), I fixed supper while Ken got the girls, and we sat down to a really nice supper. They love the Tex-Mex Casserole.  Nope, Julia Childs I am not - Casserole's are perfectly fine in this house and considered one of Mama's specialties....especially since I fuss with the recipes and usually make them better.

Drum roll please!.........Here is the September month all finished and then framed:

Not bad! Now, I can get back to the birth sampler I was working on. I truly hate to have more than one project going on at a time.  

Wonderfully Lazy Weekend

It was a wonderfully lazy weekend for us. The weather is just far too hot and humid to really do otherwise, but it was still nice just the same. 

Saturday, Ken and I had to complete the errands and some chores around the house. I got my errands and chores done, and part of my to-do list included getting some of my new stitching stash organized and put away. Nice!

We spent the evening watching The Lorax. Mandy and Taylor decided to argue and fight, so off to bed they went, but Jordan managed to survive. Having Ken laying on my lap to watch the movie and Jordan laying on Ken made it difficult to stitch, but I managed to get some of the smaller September pattern done.

This morning, everyone woke up late. I got the crepe batter ready to go and then waited for it to set up. Making two batches of crepes with the filling and the syrup took a very long time. It was already at 100* by 10:30 this morning, so I was a sweaty mess cooking. The family totally enjoyed being spoiled this morning, and I gave an added surprise of a Mimosa for Ken and Hibiscus for myself. 

Ken called Brian to say Happy Birthday to him this morning. Brian turns 16, and despite having a gift for him here, he just wasn't able to find time in his day for us so we could see him. Oh well. I guess the card and gift will just sit and wait until he has time for us again. (It's sad that he has gone along with his mother's thinking and brainwashing alienation, but he is making his own choices at this point. Sadly, Ken is the one hurt in this right now. I fear what repercussions the boys face with losing out on time with their dad.)

The afternoon was spent in the pool so we could stay cool, and the evening was spent getting ready for the week.  After being so busy during the summer, it's been nice to relax a little bit. Of course, Ken's getting ready for an incredibly busy September, but for now, things are relaxed!

Welcome August

It is finally August!! There are 7 days until the girls return to school, and I plan to bask in the quiet that first morning. Then, I'll probably turn to mush with Ken as we miss having them around - but for now, the quiet is sounding good.


My day completely got away from me yesterday, and I found myself unable to stitch until late at night. I was determined to finish the Month of August, which I did - just after midnight. Yay!


Here is it before the buttons:

 Now with the buttons:

 And now framed:

I had to spend my morning in a Welcome Back meeting for work - today was the first day returning for me, and while I was sitting there listening to a whole lot that did not pertain to me, I got my August basket ready.