Winter is Here

Winter finally decided to join us. We weren't totally prepared for it like we should have been, but then, it is mid-December and we were still enjoying summer temperatures. We have had a couple really good rain storms, and I'm getting an ice warning from my car each morning. The girls were hoping for snow, and we did get close but it just didn't happen.  

On Friday, December 14th, I actually went to the range with Ken after getting my hair trimmed, but the weather was so bad that we didn't shoot very much. He spent most of his time at the indoor range because of the cold, but he wanted me to shoot his new AR as well. 

Ironically and sadly, at the same time we were at the Gun Club there was a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut. The entire U.S. has gone insane again about gun control, and no one wants to look at the mental illness problem in this country or that blaming the pistol that was used is like blaming the car for the drunk driver. This shooting killed 27 people and 20 of those were small children. Now, we are being faced with new gun laws, political description of what "evil" looks like, etc. It's ridiculous to me that so many are happy to give up their rights and be subjected to government control, but hopefully, these new laws will not go into effect. I'm so sad for the families, and I cannot imagine the grief of losing my children. The entire Nation is mourning the loss of these people right now

The Hobbit opened in theaters last week, so we took the girls to see the movie for our Friday Night Family Night. They loved going to supper first and then to the show. It is obvious to them that they can't stay up late because towards the end of the movie, they were complaining about being tired. 

This is Amanda's face when she saw the sundaes. 

Ken was supposed to be gone all this week, but fate allowed me to keep him at home. It's not that I don't want him to go out and have fun, but I really hate not having him around. Plus, it allowed me some time with our eldest son as well which was really cool!

Ken was supposed to take off early Monday morning for an overnight hike with Sean and Justin. Unfortunately, the weather went totally winter, and there was no way that Ken wanted to be camping in 10* weather with rain forecasted. So, Sean decided to spend the couple of days at our house since he had them off work anyway. My favorite part was that Sean wanted me to actually go with him and Ken to lunch on Monday AND he wanted a picture with all three of us. I know, I'm a sap, but it's the little things that make a difference, right? After going through the phase with these boys about how I'm NOT their mother, and all that crap, it's a great feeling.

Lunch was sushi for the men and Chicken teriaki for me along with a lot of laughing and talking. It's the time together that makes it the most fun for me.

Jordan had her Christmas performance at school on Tuesday. Ken and I were thrilled that it was our only school event to deal with. I don't mind celebrating my children, but I do hate fighting with the other parents to do it.  What a difference there has been in Jordan though!! She is behaving in school which is such a relief! I hated visiting her principal so much, and you could tell that she has been finding her centre during this performance. She was not acting out, but she was full of her acting and drama during the performance. Jordan was the only child who used acting for each and every song. You could tell that Jordan was "in to" her performance.

 Mandy loved hanging out with Samara before the show.

There just aren't words to describe Justin's face!

 I loved watching Jordan perform and then getting a picture of the kids all together!

For my last official day of work, I chose to have a "Team Building" meeting with my counterpart, Jen Hubbard. We met at Victoria Gardens, got pedicures and then lunch. She had some Christmas shopping to do, so I tagged along with her while she finished it up.  Sadly, I'm a complete dork and failed to take ANY pictures of us together. 

We had a great time catching up with each other's lives and we did talk about work a little bit so we could justify the work time. Ha!! After she had to get going, I ran the errands that needed to be done in a more civilized location - they have stores we just don't including Trader Joe's. God, I would LOVE to get a Trader Joe's by us!! 

As I was waiting out the traffic and the nasty weather, I got a text message from Gary Stiles (Old Costa friend) who was actually thinking he could meet with me. Ken was cool with it, so I hung around a little longer and met Gary for a drink. 

Yesterday, I enjoyed doing the last of the work stuff that HAD to be done before the Break and then shutting down my computer. Oh what a relief that is!! My boss was able to convince the higher-ups that we needed another full time Transition Specialist and we got one!! It's going to be crazy when we return with all of the staff changes and incoming students and then I'll have training a newbie on top of it, but I'm hoping that it will all work out well. I'm also looking forward to taking some of the load from Jen's and my shoulders and actually breathing during this next semester.

Last night, we watched a movie since it was the girls' last day of school for the year as well. I purchased the new Tinkerbell movie, and they loved it! Jordan's reaction was typical after the movie - she sang and danced with the ending song which always entertains us. This time, I managed to be ready with the camera because Addie got involved.

Now, it's time to seriously prepare for Christmas!! I've also got to mentally prepare myself for Ken's youngest who actually wants to join us for the two week break but left here hating me. Oh the fun!!

Busy, Hopping, Sedulous...

Take your pick of which word from the title to use as the word to best describe my/our life at this point. I try so hard to take the time to blog (journal) our life, but then I realize it's been a few days or even weeks.  This past week was no exception. Once I again, I found myself traveling for work. Yeah, me and my silly ideas that cost me time, but it was worth it to meet with my Nor Cal team.

Most of the people I work with in the Northern California location (everywhere north of the Highway 58 line) have not actually met me let alone gotten to know me. There are a few that I am trying desperately to get them to understand that I'm not only part of their "Team" but that I actually know what the hell I'm doing.  Flying is not my favorite activity - I seriously hate it, but I made the decision to fly to Oakland rather than driving not only to save the gas money and wear and tear on my little car, but also to save some significant time. Unfortunately, all of the brain trauma kills me in an airplane not to mention that I'm a stress case about not being in control. Ha! 

But, I arrived safe and sound in Oakland, California on Wednesday afternoon, and I was totally lucky in that two of my co-workers decided to join me that night: Kym Riner and Kimberly Odom.  We had a blast in San Francisco just hanging out and enjoying a meal together. Sadly, I was a complete dolt and forgot to take a picture of the three of us having a great time. I did manage to their gifts done in time to give them rather than having to ship them.!! Yay. All four of the charms look so cute together!!

I did remember to take a picture of myself before I met up with Kym and Kimberly though. I love my new sparkly top.

Thursday morning, I enjoyed being totally lazy in getting up. Sleeping in, no kids screaming - it was nice.  The meeting went well.  I didn't win over one of my hold-outs, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. The information I needed to get out was well received, and I'm hoping it really makes a difference with everyone soon - I would LOVE to have my job go more smoothly.

Rochelle Hooks, Mark Hotlebeck, Kimberly Odom (cheering), Danielle Hodge (giving the rabbit ears), Louise Cranstron, Kym Riner, and Kylee Luchetti.  Katy Alvarez was missing from the pic since she had to leave early.

I so looked forward to the weekend. I wanted to relax and stitch as well as wrap gifts and get the tree finished. Well, those plans changed quickly. Two of the girls' friends decided to come over and hang out most of Saturday. Oddly enough, I suddenly found a Science Project going in my kitchen and it wasn't even for my kids. So much for quiet and relaxing. I guess I'll have to settle for knowing that my house is the "cool" house.

Just as I was starting to relax after the extra screaming and giggling girls left, Ken asks me what time we wanted Cynthia and Grant over for supper. I was glad to find out that we hadn't actually made these plans in advance, but apparently, the men were talking about it. So, we had our friends over for supper Saturday night. As always, we all had a great time - there's nothing better than sharing good food, drink and laughs with friends!!

The weather is chilly at night, but it's still pretty mild for our winter season here. The heater that Ken put on our patio helps a lot.

This morning, I was able to sleep in, get the rest of the presents wrapped and under the tree, and then I made crepes for breakfast. I even spoiled everyone with some bubbly with our Brunch (cider for the girls and some Wiens Celler's Amour De L'Orange for Ken and me!). As always, my Brunch is a hit - so much so that Jordan was licking her food!!

Mandy and her "hat" from the champagne bottle

Then, just as I was going to (finally) shower, the doorbell rang and I had an extra little girl in my house.  I keep forgetting that Kaitlyn lives down the street, so we're within easy walking distance. I decided to take charge of the situation, and had the girls pick a movie to watch to contain the noise. LOL

Ken picked up Justin this afternoon, and they put up the outside Christmas Lights while I worked on the Christmas Tree lights. Yay!  So, while the men worked on the outside, I worked on the inside and the girls played with their friends in the driveway. Some of our icicle lights have completely gone kaputt, so Ken wasn't able to get the archway over the garage completed, but he did make great strides AND our new additions of the reindeer is really cute despite the fact they're hanging out in dirt rather than snow and greenery.

I completed the Christmas Tree all except for the bells that represent the first four years after Ken's brother, Timmy, died.  I love going through all of the "firsts" ornaments and reliving the experience attached to each of them. The girls loved putting their ornaments on the tree, and then I finished with the bottom of the tree with the glass balls. 

Unfortunately, Ken putting the bells on the tree always makes him cry, and then I cry with him, and I'll spend most of tonight feeling bad for Ken. He so misses his brother at Christmas-time, and I know it's the main reason he struggles to enjoy this holiday. I would love to be able to heal Ken's heart from the loss of his brother, but I'm so very powerless to do anything. What a wonderfully loving man he is! 

Work Meeting - in style

I called a meeting for work in order to meet with my San Diego team and do some "team building."  In all honesty, I knew that everyone needs a break at this point, and I found a great "excuse" to give one to everyone. A major improvement in my working relationship last year was when I started to meet everyone face to face.  Suddenly, I wasn't the huge bitch that was rumored. Well, I can be a bitch, but it's usually with good reason. Since this semester has been absolutely insane for everyone, I figured it would be a really good idea and just spend some time going over what it is that I do, how I do it and the why.

The San Diego team decided that the central point was Temecula. Oh sweet baby Jesus!! Temecula?? That will just really suck - NOT! I planned the meeting to take place at the Creekside Grille at the Wilson Creek Winery, and then I also planned to have myself stay over the night before. If I'm going to get a "treat," then I'm going to make sure that I get a full treatment. I booked myself at the Inn at Churon Winery which is an older Bed & Breakfast, and I looked forward to this trip for a couple of weeks.

Driving down took me a good three hours due to traffic. I really hate the So Cal life for that reason, but once I was there, it was nothing but relaxation. Sadly, I missed the Wine Reception by 30 minutes, but I was able to get Subway for supper and some beer for the room. I loved the jacuzzi tub, but I completely disappointed myself by falling asleep before I could enjoy it.

The next morning, I enjoyed the wonderful breakfast and then spent some time stitching in my room until it was time to check out and get to the location for lunch. On the way to breakfast, I enjoyed a walk around the grounds and the view was breathtaking.

Once I was checked out, I got going as I wanted to be sure that I was there early so I could get everyone directed to one location and check us in to the restaurant. On the way, I stopped at Wiens Winery and picked up a couple bottles that Ken and I love.

I was very early, but I found a great little table and enjoyed the beautiful So Cal weather and sun with some jazz playing over their PA system and waited for everyone. It's hard to believe that it's the end of November and it's still in the mid to high 70s. 

Amber Verdi, our Interim Director of SPED was the first to arrive. I was really happy that she could make it as I was sure there would be things I would forget to discuss - which happened, and I enjoy her company. It's been so nice to enjoy her as my supervisor and that says a lot about what kind of a person she is.

Once everyone arrived, we were seated and enjoyed splitting a cheese platter and then we each ordered our lunch. I took my cue from another co-worker, Johanna Trask, and I ordered myself the Chocolate Shot which is Wilson Creek's Decadent Chocolate port in a chocolate shot glass with some Almond Champagne as a chaser - so to speak.

Oh.My.God - it was so very yummy!!! The entire lunch was great. Everything on the menu was more expensive that our silly budgets would allow, but it was only the one meal, so it shouldn't be a problem to have it expensed and reimbursed. 

My favorite thing about this meeting was how laid back it was. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and it was well worth the time to me since I got some great feedback and ideas from this group.

Once we were done, everyone started heading home. Stacey Houdyshell stuck around and enjoyed a wine tasting with me. She had never wine tasted before, and she seemed to like it. 

All in all, it was a great experience. Some great ideas and information came out of the meeting, and there's nothing like some camaraderie. 

Battle of Wits: Mama-0

This morning, as I was getting out of bed, I heard a child leave their room. I went to make coffee, and saw it was Jordan, and - as usual - she went straight to the sofa, grabbed the remote and turned on cartoons. I asked her, "Ugh! Why is it that you have to turn on the TV first thing every morning?" Jordan looked at me like I had gone insane and responded, "Because it entertains me." I laughed a little and then asked her, "So, being entertained is the most important thing in life?" Without hesitation, Jordan answered, "It is when you're 8." Once again, I lose the battle of wits.

This child has always had an amazing sense of logic, and her use of vocabulary is intense. "It entertains me"?? What child says things like that?! It's like when she asked for her "beverage" when she was 4, and then there's the conversations with God that she had from 2 - 6. It scares me sometimes that she is my child, and it's my responsibility to raise her correctly. I definitely do not think I'm the right person for the job, and then there's the days when I'm certain that raising this child will, in fact, kill me. 

I finished a cross-stitching piece for the Month of December, and then I spent some time working on Jordan's baby sampler.

So, to recap the time, we had a great weekend. Justin and his girlfriend, Marissa, came over and not only spent Sunday afternoon and evening with us, but they stayed the night and enjoyed breakfast with us. Ken loved having the time with his middle son who hasn't given us much time over the last couple of years. Sadly, Justin is in quite a bit of trouble in life - he chose his mother and everything about her including irresponsibility, not having to listen or follow "stupid" rules or laws, and as a result, he has found himself sorely unprepared for life. Ken and I are deeply worried about him.  

I really did my best not to "bash" Justin's mom. It got difficult when both kids kept griping about her and the things that she does. Seriously though....Sheryl left the state and dumped Justin just before he turned 18 because she wasn't going to get child support anymore and he isn't her problem now. Ugh! It's tough to watch him struggle in life, but he made his choices. Luckily, he is starting to remember that Ken and I aren't idiots. Keeping my mouth shut is never easy, but it's really important to do with this situation.

Unfortunately, I was having so much fun visiting and getting to know Marissa, that I failed to take pictures of them. Oh well. The next time, I will be sure to get some. 

Jordan decided that she wanted to show me that she "appreshates" me, so she made me a sign for my office and made me lunch so I could relax. It was really adorable!!

 With my lunch came the pillow and blankets to pamper a Queen - as Jordan stated.

 Jordan made this sandwich all by herself - please note the amount of mayo used - HA!

After my Lunch of Appreciation, I had a dental appointment. I was getting the lower left quadrant re-done with non-metallic fillings. I hate the dentist. There's just nothing pleasant about it, and while I am happy and hoping that I won't have teeth breaking from the metallic fillings, the pain in my mouth and jaw is unbelievable! Sadly, it'll last days as well. I always have to get one dose short of the "maximum" for numbing and the amount of shots it takes kills me. It's nice not to see a ton of silver in my mouth when I laugh, but this is excruciatingly painful.

Because I was just getting home from the dentist, Ken took Jordan to her podiatry appointment. She is like Taylor in that she gets ingrown toenails really badly and won't let us help her to take care of her feet. So, she had to endure having her toenail cut out along with the roots. They only took the sides, so that is helpful, but now she's stuck having to take antibiotics and soak her feet more.

It was a painful evening for Jordan and myself. She had the problem of the numbing wearing off her toe and mine was wearing off from my jaw and mouth. Eating was a major problem for me, but I managed to get something into my stomach. 

The girls enjoyed some hot cocoa and we watched The Princess and the Frog on the Disney channel together last night. Jordan was able to soak her foot, and I was able to quietly medicate myself to help the jaw. Ibuprofen better not let me down.

Today, I spent the entire day dealing with work. While the rest of my school has the week off, I'm stuck trying to finish the file update for the Verification Review for the State's impending audit. Thankfully, my boss has assured me that I can schedule my breakdown for December 14th.  I just keep waiting....

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.