document life now

siblings

And my girl is a sophomore...

She really is that lovely in person. 

I found this picture of her first day of kindergarten (with Brady starting 2nd grade).....

Oh, they were so excited to get on the bus and go off to school.

Now they do this...

senior year

Unbelievable that I should have a senior this year. Seriously... he just started kindergarten. I swear.

However, he apparently is 17 and is a senior. I have no idea where all those years went. 

The crazy hair, the attempt at facial hair... they slay me. I want so badly to tackle him and run a razor over his entire head. We had a deal, though. If he got a haircut and shaved for his senior pictures, I wouldn't bug him about it again until graduation. I've already dropped my side of the bargain. He, however, is resolute. He will not be shaving or cutting his hair. No matter how much it pains his mother.

Oh, and see the wet spot at the bottom of his shirt? Yeah... he got ketchup all over his shirt. The shorts were at least 3 years old. So not what I wanted in a first day of senior year photo, and yet totally him. 

come visit...

I've spent this week getting back to school, organizing my classroom and working on curriculum materials for the next year. I have the two best paraeducators I've ever had and we fit together so well as a team.

We had to move our classroom from the biggest classroom in the world to a normal size classroom. It was a big pop of my bubble, but I think we're adjusting well. It's looking amazing, if I do say so myself.

The tops of my shelves have Seuss and Llama Llama inspired stuffed animals and the accompanying book.

My inspiration for this years decor was Zoe Pearn's School Days Flash Cards. I then created my own for numbers, shapes and colors using her School Days kit. It was fun. And it makes me happy to see it in my room.

Housekeeping.

Our new sensory area. Our school got an amazing grant for sensory items. I'm loving everything already. 

Blocks and cars. I made Dan buy me that rug. I love it. It makes me happy.

Communication books waiting for students.

Brady and Ches drew me pictures for my wall. This is back in the little computer/office nook.

So there's my classroom. It's not just going to look nice. It's going to be an amazing place to learn. Still... I'm going to be spending big chunks of my day in there. I want to feel happy and comfortable. So far, it's working.

recipe: easy skillet dinner

I created this one by combining two recipes we've tried in the past (and probably posted here). It was so easy and the kids just ate it up, so I thought I'd share it here.

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 envelope Knorr dry vegetable soup mix

1 can tomato soup + water to make 2 1/2 cups liquid

2 cups instant rice

Put cooked ground beef in a skillet. Pour tomato soup in a measuring cup and add water until you get to 2.5 cups liquid. Stir until well mixed. 

Add liquid to skillet. Add soup mix to skillet and stir. (I added some fiesta party dip mix here... you're going for a spanish rice flavor.) Heat to boiling. Add rice and mix well. Cover and cook on low for 5 minutes. 

We like to serve it with shredded cheddar cheese. We ate the whole skillet. Good thing I always get Dan's serving out first (since he works late, he doesn't often eat with the kids and I). 

school supplies

Like many, I enjoy the whole school supply shopping expedition. 

Normally, I'm all about finding what's on sale and spending as little as possible.

This year, I taught summer school. It brought in a little more income for us, and I thought... why work it if you're not going to spend it? So I let the girls splurge a bit on their supplies. 

It was incredibly fun to pick out matching, trendy supplies. I was always the one who wanted the Shaun Cassidy folder and got the plain one. My girls... they got the works.

Mykiah went with eco-friendly blues and greens...

Most items are from Target. Backpack from Land's End. Pink graphing calculator... not a luxury item as it was required for her Chemistry class, but isn't pink fun?!? I mean, if a girl is taking Chemistry, she should at least have a pink calculator.

I must say here that my children are so much smarter than I am, and I think I'm a pretty smart person. I have a graduate degree, but I never ever took Chemistry. Or statistics in high school. Thank heavens they not only got my innate ability to study and take tests, but they got their Dad's math sense. If they had my math skills, they'd be taking basic math.

Mykiah's summer reading assignment? Life of Pi. We printed out her essay on Monday afternoon and it's ready to turn in next week. Apparently it's pretty common for students enrolled in pre-AP English to switch to regular English on their first day of school because they didn't read the required book. Not a problem here. Kiah's been working on this since June.

Chesney went with my favorite... Paul Frank. I love me some sock monkey. Her stuff is all Target.

And her backpack...

Brady... well, he didn't want any school supplies. I bought a bunch of cheap notebooks and filler paper and pens and put them on my desk. He can grab what he wants from the pile. Or he can go buy his own. At this point, he's practically an adult. I'm not going to argue over three ring binders and pink erasers.

back to life...

Today I start my 2011-2012 contract year. Chesney will start school on Friday, followed by her siblings on Monday. 

So ready to get back into a routine. To have rushed mornings, busy days, low key evenings. To eat a family dinner together and hear about my kids' days.

Summers are fun. And long. And completely out of routine.

This was a different summer since I taught four mornings a week, but I still find myself more than ready to go back to teaching. I really enjoy my job. This is not to say that I don't enjoy those breaks we get during the school year, but when I'm there, I love it.

And my kids love school, too. Well, maybe not Brady, who is going into his senior year and only needs a half credit but his mom is still forcing him to take a complete full schedule. We're made to enjoy learning. 

Ready for back to school, we are. Love new beginnings.

 

some random comments

We finally finished watching Bones on Netflix. Now we just need to manage to catch the season 6 reruns on Fridays so that we're caught up for the season premiere... in October? November?

Dan watched 127 Hours on Sunday. Seriously the most boring movie I've ever soon. Who thought this should be a movie? A guy stuck in a canyon for 127 hours? Not exciting. Dan had paid his $1 to rent it, though, and he was darn sure gonna watch the whole thing.

So... the Jaycee Dugard book. I really want to read it, but I'm afraid it will depress me too much. I enjoyed her interview with Diane Sawyer very much, but I just don't think I can stomach reading all the details. I don't do very well reading books about child abuse. I just can't put my heart in a position to be broken.

My dog was sick on Saturday. He kept vomiting. I get very scared when he does this because twice before this has happened and twice before he's almost died. I know my dog is not going to have a huge lifespan, but he's only 8 and I'm just not ready to say goodbye. Turns out he just had an upset tummy. That was mostly cured by the bath Ches & Brady gave him.

 

So last week I gave Mykiah my copy of The Return of Rafe MacKade by Nora Roberts. I decided it was time to introduce my daughter to one of my favorite writers. Kiah loved it (and is thrilled to think that there's not only 3 more books in the series but that I have shelves full of Nora Roberts books)and I'm excited to share with her. However, it sparked this whole discussion about how we love. Kiah said, "Mom, we don't love with all our hearts. Our hearts just pump blood. We love in our brain." The girl was dead serious. It really bothered her that we say we love with all our heart when it's really just your brain. So I pointed out that Valentines would look pretty silly with brains all over. Which sparked this...

It's still hot out there, but it's supposed to break a bit this week. You know, lower 90s instead of triple digits. I may even bake something next week.

Have a wonderful week!

summer cooking

I so love to cook, and in addition to inducing depression due to lethargy, summer heat manages to ruin my love of cooking. I refuse to turn on our oven when it gets much over 90 degrees outside. If it's over 100 degrees, forget it.

And we have 30+ days of triple digit heat so far this summer, and no end in sight. 

At the beginning of summer, Mykiah made a list of meals we can make without the oven and we've used it. Extensively. 

I thought I'd share it here. Sometimes, I'll see something somewhere and it will spark an idea that fits in my own life. In that hope, here's Kiah and Kim's no-oven meals for summer survivial:

• Taco Burgers
• Sloppy Joes
• Hamburgers
• Grilled Chicken
• Salads
• Quesadillas
• Pancakes
• Omelets
• Waffles
• Chicken Wraps
• Chicken/Steak Fajitas
• Spaghetti
• Baked Potatoes
• Farmers Breakfast
• Tuna Salad
• Chicken Salad
• Bourbon Chicken
• BBQ Ham Sandwiches
• Italian Subs
• Philly Cheesesteak
• Mexican Pizzas
• English Muffin Pizzas
• Tacos
• Meatball Subs
• Blt's
• Veggie Soup
• Grilled Cheese
• Grilled Ham & Cheese
• Taco Salad

Enjoy! If you have a family favorite you don't see here, please leave me a comment. We're getting desparate here.

 

phone dump

It's been awhile since I've dumped my phone photos here. Here's a few from the last four weeks...

My favorite birthday gift ever. My sister sent me these. A box full. I hid most of them in the freezer and I'm slowly working on the bag I have open. They're divine. Just the right mix of tart and sweet.

Saturday night, wet stuff fell from the sky. I'm pretty sure it was rain. It lasted maybe 10 minutes and did nothing to stop the drought, but it did wash the dust off my van and Ches had fun running around in it. We let her skip the shower that night.

Joking.

I take a lot of camera phone pictures of my dog. He's just the cutest thing. This time he was sleeping with Chesney's Webkinz. He wants to be one when he grows up.

Self-portrait taken while being a guest on The Digi Show podcast. I was feeling pretty cool that day. Until I had to take Chesney to the dentist and she made me go back to the exam room with her while they filled a cavity. I hate dentists. I am not the person to take to the dentist with you if you want help calming down. The dentist filled her two cavities without numbing in less than 30 minutes. God bless her.

Seriously... aren't fudge stripes awesome? And on oatmeal cookies? Even more awesomeness. I sent this picture to Brady when he was staying with my parents. Just to show him what he was missing. He was also missing me sitting in a dark room watching Bones all day, but I don't think he needed a picture of that to know how pathetic it is.

Until next time...

lethargy

Fatigue.

I am tired. Of summer. Of unrelenting heat. Of not having a schedule, a daily routine.

I am ready. For fall. For school. For crisp air in the morning. For rain.

I feel like ole' Homer up there. No energy to do anything. 

I'm so out of it that I can't even feel the winds of change coming. I go to school almost every day... for enrollment, to look at my new classroom and imagine what will be, but I can't feel the new school year yet. 

And yes, I know that come September I'll be having a meltdown because it's too much, too fast. For now, I'm just praying for change. 

It wasn't too many years ago that I deleted this blog during a mini-depression. I'm not going to be that drastic this time, but be warned that there may not be much content until I can get myself and my life out of this funk. In the meantime, enjoy those last days of summer. I'm off this morning -- dragging my kids along -- to try to get the basics of my classroom put together. This part I love.