I should start offering a reward

So I should start offering a reward for anyone who catches errors on my blog.. actually maybe for errors in my brain??? so no one caught it except BEN!!! We were actually married December 29th which made our Anniversary last tuesday.. not Sunday.. But as I explained to Ben it's been YEARS since we've been in the same state for our anniversary and he DID make dinner on Sunday so that was kinda celebratory so who cares he's been working like a dog this week with lots of weather and aweful work environment so I'll concider sunday the celebration... looks like our date night might have to wait as it is expected to snow through the whole weekend making my man have to work, work, work...
oh how I love that guy!!
so again happy Anniversary honey!!!
Oh yea and happy new year to all!!!
ta ta

merry christmas!!!

So it's over!!! it was a fun filled day everyone got everything they wanted and more.. and now it's over as quick as it came... tomorrow I will be taking down the tree (which is practically taken down due to the mass amount of needles it is shedding at this moment!) the mantel will no longer house our nativity set and all will be back to normal... I'm kinda ready

So the kids and I have the next week off... We don't have any grand plans we are kinda just getting caught up on laundry and chores around the house..

Some new news, Hunter has been tentatively diagnosed with ADHD, I say tentatively because it's only been through our school psychologist and frankly she's not qualified to actually diagnose she can only let us know he has some indicators.. we have an appt. with our pediatrician from there I think I'm going to ask to be refered to a specialist. I'm not completely against medication BUT I want to be darn sure we aren't just wanting him to be easier to deal with and so zoning him out etc. I'm knee deep in books right now and so far from what I've read he fits the profile kinda right on... it makes me wonder why it's just manifested it's ugly head now in 6th grade but really in hindsight I've seen signs for quite a few years he's just had some AWESOME teachers and low class sizes to be able to manage and get him the one on one help he's needed at times.. Now that he's in a bigger school with more than one teacher things have gotten kinda out of control, but I don't know why I'm surprised, My learning disability wasn't diagnosed until the summer before my 7th grade year and my 6th grade year was kinda a wash as far as learning or grades etc.. BUT my point is we are on top of it.. or at least as on top of it as we can get for now, the lucky part he's brilliant like actually tests off the charts as far as smarts go we just need to be able to teach him the coping skills to be able to get through life or at the very least middle school.
I'm thinking me being at the middle school was no accident... and the fact that I'm actually working in Hunter's cluster (his group of students with the same core of teachers) even more of a blessing... I'm not sure if he would have fallen through the cracks were it not for me being their... it also helps his teachers can tell me when I need to crack the whip etc. etc. it's also helped one particular teacher who was kind of bullying him I could see for myself that allot of what Hunter was complaining about was TRUE!!! (that's an ongoing issue more about that at a later date!)

more fun news Ben and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary yesterday!!! we will be going out to celebrate this weekend (he has to work all week, yuck!) but I can't believe the life we have created together!!! it hasn't always been easy but it has been the most worth while endeavor, the most fun and to do it all with my very best friend, PRICELESS!!! I can't wait to see where the next 15 years takes us.. I love You BEN!!!
anyway that's all for now
ta ta

Snow day Eve

So it's predicted that we will get 8-11 inches of snow tomorrow, which would mean that we will most likely have a snow day... of coarse the powers that be won't call the snow day until 4:30am tomorrow morning at which time I will get a phone call via the NEW fancy phone system the district sprung for this year, it will wake me from a deep sleep and tell me what I already know that school is cancelled the bright side I will at least be in my warm bed not having to go down stairs and stair through the news crawl looking for our school, the down side I probably won't be able to get back to sleep...
Brad just tried to start our Snow blower.. with no luck... not a good sign!!! but at least I won't have to get out in a hurry...
I am having great expectations for this un-planned day off... I'd like to get caught up on my scrapbook, clean out the fridge and finally finally get caught up on laundry... I've even made a list with the above.. I'm not usually one for making lists BUT i do like crossing things off...
oh and as an update from my last post.. I found Brad his Christmas present Shhhhh, (who am I kidding he knows!) I'm still not telling him though because if he even gets a wiff that I've purchased his laptop i'll get bombarded with questions of speed, size, ram, web cams etc. etc. it's almost a terrets like response so he knows if he wants peace he'll just have to wait until Christmas morning.. now Hunter on the other hand had to re do his Christmas request due to some poor choices he made, he was given a warning that if he decided to not follow through on some chores and school work he wouldn't be getting his MP4 player (yes, it's an MP3 that plays video... not an I Pod.. a Sony knock off) he didn't do it and so reluctantly I have to follow through... he seems OK with this but I am still wondering if bargaining with Christmas gifts was the right thing to do I guess we'll only know way off in the future when we are called into the therapists couch for his weekly visit!!! ha!
KayLea just having her birthday is content and probably the easiest of them all... I know this will not last!!!
so that's what we are up to.. I'm charging the camera battery with full intent of taking first of the season snow pic's...
wish us luck for tomorrow!
ta ta

GREAT, now what!

So I have resisted shopping on Black Friday well pretty much forever, I don't think I have EVER intentionally went out and shopped on this day but today was going to be the first.. it turned out to be the LAST time I will EVER do this crazyness mostly because I felt foolish when I got to 3 stores more than an hour before they open and one store (i'll give you a hint it starts with WALMART!) had decided to "be kind" and open the night before and let people stand in line for their specific item at midnight but here's the thing when your national campaign commercials state the store opens at 5 and you figure you get there an hour before it opens your not counting on people being INSIDE the store hours and hours prior so how do you even prepare for that.. the other two stores had lines going around their perspective buildings and so we gave up and went home..
so here's my plea if you see a good deal on a laptop e-mail me would ya.. i've got a 13 year old that was counting on this sale, i'm sure we'll still give in and get him one but it's gonna hurt a tad bit more than we had intended!
I even took a nap and i'm in a rotten mood!
baaa black friday.. i'm never doing this AGAIN~!!!
please send to me next year when i'm sure I'll get a bug up my butt to do this again would ya!
ta ta

Twas the nigh before THANKSgiving

So I'm up past my bedtime making a berry pie, a cheese ball and hard boiling eggs for deviled eggs. All the hard core cooking is being done tomorrow BUT lets face it all the stuff I'm doing tonight would NEVER get done if I left it for tomorrow... today was a pretty productive day... we went into town (yes we are that hick-ish) got rolls, a pumpkin pie and a few odds and ends that I had forgotten last week I let the kids pick a movie as a reward for FINALLY helping me get the house clean.. we also picked up carpet cleaning solution because I started cleaning the carpets and discovered I could only get through almost half of the living room before I ran out.. but when I got home I finished the carpets, Ben and I went out and got pizza for the kidlets and we stopped and picked up a frozen apple pie because everyone previously said all they wanted was berry and pumpkin but thought better of it when told speak now or forever hold your peace! so tomorrow should be a fun layed back Thanksgiving, it's just us we contemplated inviting people over but all our close friends already had plans and it kinda felt good to just have "us"... if the weather is good Ben will take the boys to the "turkey bowl" down in Concord and try not to hurt them selves although the boys already know if it's raining they are staying home...
today in my scurry to get the house clean the kids kept asking "who's coming, why are we cleaning?" kinda made me feel bad they think the only time I clean my carpets or do a "deep clean" of the house it's for others.. nope just us this time!!! feels kinda good!
anyway I am so thankful this year for my family, for our health and for all of our great friends and family...
happy Thanksgiving everyone!

where has my BABY gone!?

Happy Birthday KayLea!!!

she turned 7 today, I can't believe it!!! she woke up early and was so excited to open her presant.. she got a Nintendo DS something she's wanted since the boys got theirs ages ago... she's such a big girl!!!
we are going to spend her birthday money from Grandma Merry this week and she really wants a Taylor Swift CD (it hurts my heart to think she didn't even consider a Barbie!~)her birthday dinner is chicken Enchilada's and pink birthday cake (pink cream cheese frosting)...
I can't get her picture to upload so hopefully I can figure it out sometime tonight but if not
Happy Birthday KayLea she'll always be my baby no matter if she is a BIG GIRL!!!!

no I havn't fallen off the face of the earth!

So I have just come to decide it's the year of CHANGE!!! my position at the middle school has changed a few more times BUT it seems as though they have found my spot and they at least seem to like me because I got a raise with my new position. I am now with the "Gateway" class which is 3 students clasified as Develop-mentally disabled, one has Downs Syndrome, one has Cerable Palsey, and the other has no blanket diagnosis but many underlined issues. I do miss my student I was assigned to initially BUT this feels more like home to me. AND drum roll please... I think I might know what I want to be when I grow up!!! I am seriously leaning towards being a Social worker.. Now there are some SERIOUS draw backs to this decision (hence the decision isn't really final)... some draw backs.. not only would I have to get my bachlors.. it would require a Masters as well.. another draw back that i'm having to do some serious soul searching for is getting TOO INVOLVED.. my first student I had at the middle school had a home life that was lets just say SUCKY!!! I found my self getting way too inter-twined in his life, worring about if he was eating enough (or at all) if the social tanglings of his mother would scar him for life (oh and the answer to that was ummm YES!) the last week I was with him I lost sleep over weather or not he was safe.. because of privacy issues I can't go into too much more detail but needless to say when the week resolved it self and he ended up moving and his statement to me about his new home was "Mrs. Fox it isn't even a dump".. told me he certinally knew what a dump was and at least this apt. was a tiny step above it. I can honestly say I wanted to scoop him up and take him home.. Ben is grateful I didn't, But it does speak to weather or not I could handle the emotional stuff involved in helping these troubled kids.. and honestly kids with good homes don't have social workers! so it would be mucking in the hard/dark stuff 99% of the time!
the other issue is I really want a career that I can still be a Mom... and at least initially any entry level social worker job would mean long hours and probably lots of nights and weekends and ALLOT of cases to handle..

like I said I'm still in the pondering and praying part of this but thankfully i've got some time (basically as long as I want to take!)
so thats whats up with me for now
ta ta

Columbus day Apple Picking!!!

so it's FREEZING here.. we are still bound and determined to keep the thermostat below 70 on some kind of consistant basis, but my will is BREAKING!!!

Since its columbus day and the kids (and ME!) are off of school we decided to do what all the other locals do and we went apple picking.. Ben was working so we took off early (to try to beat any kind of crowds!) and ate at a GREAT pancake place and headed up the mountain to pick apples.. it was SO fun BUT it took like 15 minutes before we had filled out big 18-20 pounder bag and we had gotten our assorted variety's (according to the kids)... my fav variety so far are the Empire... the weather was cold BUT at least the sun came out so it didn't really do anything to the temp but it made me feel better at least (total mind trip I know!!!) these apple trees were nothing like I had ever seen before, they were puney and more like apple shrubs but boy the HUGE apples that they produce are YUMMY!!! the guy at the farm said after the first good snow the'll probably close cuz the apples get too mushy and since there is snow forcasted for tonight (VERY early for this neck of the woods) it's so sad all those great apples will go to waist (ok not to waist the guy also said they go through and get the ones that aren't totally smashed from the ground below the trees they send off to make cider so I would think after some snow it all goes to cider)...

now the question, what the heck do I do with 22 pounds of APPLES!!! i'm defrosting pie crust (no judgements steph!) and i'm going to do a couple of pies and probably some apple sauce and I found a recipe for cookies but i'm not sure about those.. here's what I know forsure.. we will be COMPLETELY appled out by time we get through all of this...

ta ta

Changes!

So due to a special ed student moving out of the district (not MY student mind you) and ME being the last aid hired AND the fact that our school as ABSOLUTELY no discretionary budget for spare aids, My position at the elementary school was dissolved.. in REAL terms I was laid off, I have a GREAT principal who lamented and was sorry and felt terrible and seemed VERY sincere but said the Middle school had just been approved for 4 new aids and there might be something that could be a good "FIT" for me...

so with only 2 days notice life has been up ended and I'm not at the middle school as of Monday, this means KayLea is now in the before school program which she is ECSTATIC about, but Ben and I are both having to "get good with" it's a GREAT program and she'll only need to be there like 40 minutes before school it's VERY in-expensive and she has LOADS of friends.. she's excited... so that's good..

there are some "pro's" in all of this.. all of the kids I would be an aid to are COMPLETELY potty trained, and most if not all RARELY fall into a puddle onto the floor and refuse to move... my back will be grateful...

some "con's" I will be in Hunter's cluster (his group of teachers)... I don't know yet if I will be in any of his actual classes but he seems excited for this, I'm nervous we'll just have to take a "Wait and see" attitude about this, as I told the person I met with today about the position.. "I won't know if it's not going to work until it doesn't"...

so as I posted already on face book the only constant in live is CHANGE... don't I know it.. I am taking a "wait and see" attitude about it all, if it doesn't work out it won't be the worst thing to ever happen and I'll sub or something while I'm awaiting a new position at the elementary school...

ta ta for now..
p.s. it's COLD Heater's going on tonight and we had a fire in the fireplace today... yea summer's officially OVER!!!

it's FALL!!!

So Since moving to New England I have discovered the JOYS of FALL!!! I love love love the colors, I've decided i'm doing my kitchen in "fall" colors.. well the last few years we have had a LATE fall which only means the colors come but they come in late october and only stay a few days then everything falls to the ground and looks DEAD!!! I am happy to report that FALL HAS STARTED EARLY!!! YIPPEE>.. now not everything is yellow and red yet it's pretty much 50/50 right now but it's taking it's sweet time (and by that I mean every few days another tree has turned).. and I'm glad for the slowness.. I can relish in it for as long as it takes for everything to turn before it all FALLS and looks DEAD!!!
so there's my rant on fall..
the fam is doing well, we ALL are battling a cold mixed with allergies (the not so great part of fall, who knew things get irritated when they are dying) and so we ALL are a bit grumpy and tired BUT it's fall and that's something to be happy about..
I did take some pictures but nothing is post worthy YET, but I've got my camera trigger finger ready so stay tuned..
ta ta

Potential

So Yesterday was a DOOSEY of a day... My Student has a stomach bug which we didn't discover until just after lunch.. I had to change him more than once BUT it did at least explain his odd behavior for most of the day. I'm TOTALLY willing to admit I'm hoping to NOT find him on the bus this morning as all the staff including me feel he needs to be free from exploding BM's for 24 hours before returning, BUT most feel he probably WILL be here as planned as the parents don't really have any back plans for his care other than school and his babysitter after school.

I'm trying VERY hard to NOT be judgemental of his parents. It must be (scratch that it IS A) daunting task to take care of this child along with his Kindergarten aged brother with the SAME disorder. let alone figure out how to care for their every need medically or otherwise!

I have been pondering quite a bit about Potential... all the specialist's at school are very guarded when speaking of my student's "Long Term Potential"... no one really wants to be too optimistic for fear of not meeting goals and on the other hand NO ONE will say the opposite either, that where he is now is probably where he will be forever with only the VERY slight increase in abilities.

"they" meaning the people who should know what they are talking about, don't think he'll ever be able to read other than recognizing street signs (stop, go etc) or simple letter recognition, he's not likely to gain much speech, its doubtful he will be able to be fully potty trained; YET I have seen this kid make simple to complex observations, He knows whats going on around him, he DEFINITELY knows when he's being talked about (good OR bad), which makes me wonder if he's truly happy being stuck inside a body that can not sustain or support his mind. don't get me wrong I'm not saying he is Einstein or anything BUT I see a glimmer that if his body could sustain it, the difference could be ASTOUNDING!!! but it seems pointless to wonder because this is the situation he's in NOW... and we can't change it.. He is a happy boy who LOVES trains and balls and running (on his own terms) and he doesn't know any different so I suppose he IS genuinely happy when he's happy and not when he's not... (doesn't sound to different from me actually)

I made a connection this week, My student is in the same grade Lane would have been in... (my student is actually a year older than the other 4th graders so it does help that he's not EXACTLY the same age etc) Now I'm not saying Lane would have been this "hard", at least not in the same ways my student is... Mentally Lane seemed to be fine (all the neurological exams seemed to indicate he had no brain damage etc. etc.), and I'm in NO WAY saying I'm glad he is gone or boy aren't i lucky.. I'm just saying I made a connection... in some ways it's made it easier in some ways not so much... But it has made me realise I'm doing this for a reason.. I NEED to learn something here.. and it's more than how to mop up, cart around, pick up and deal with a difficult beautiful child.. hopefully I'll be able to recognize the lesson as I'm doing all those other things.. I'm pretty optimistic, and if I keep in mind I'm "suppose" to be doing this maybe it will make the hard days more bearable...
I'll keep ya posted
ta ta

thank heavens for 4 day weekends!!

We have had a GREAT 4 day weekend, although technically tomorrow will be the 4th day so I guess maybe it's too soon to sprout such accolades..

We went to the Hopkington State Fair yesterday, it was SOOO fun, the rides were NOTHING like the LA fair so the kids were satisfied with just riding a few, we did the petting zoo, saw all the live stalk and the high light of the day is we ate FRIED TWINKIES and a FRIED SNICKERS BAR... they were actually pretty good.. My fave was the Twinkies and we probably wouldn't have even tried the stickers but Hunter can't have Twinkies due to his wacko allergy to artificial whipped topping.. but it was a GREAT day and I'm so glad we did it!

on another high note BRAD MADE THE A TEAM... no he's not going to jump into a Black van with Mr. T and the rest of "that A Team" he made the Varsity squad of Soccer.. he was pretty convinced he would be on the B team when the coach was calling off the roster because he thought he was reading guys off in alphabetical order.. he was wrong.. he was last on the roster.. Brad ALSO knows he'll need to work VERY hard to keep his spot (the boys were also told they could be "traded" at anytime for a B team player)... He is on cloud nine and even texted ME to tell me before he got home from practice (a sign he was VERY excited for sure.. texting your mom is so not cool!)

So that's whats going on here..

ta ta

first week almost DONE!

So as first weeks go mine was OK.. I have found MANY great qualities in the young boy I am assisting, He is adorable, very happy and VERY stubborn but frankly I think I might get a little stubborn or upset if no one was understanding what I had to say or what I wanted to do.. we are developing our relationship and I think all will be well.. this is definitely ALLOT of work!!!

Today is the last day of the week for me and the kids before our 4 day weekend YEEPIE!!! I have to say before this year I would scoff and wonder why the heck the district would choose to have a 4 day weekend after only being in school for 4 days??? I'm telling you it's for the STAFF!!!!! I can not tell you how HAPPY I am to have a 4 day weekend.. I'm EXHAUSTED!!!!! and I think the kids are too... it will be nice to be able to sleep in and just do a whole lot of NOTHING!!!

So far the dinner's on the calendar was a BUST!!! I don't know why but I think now I'm just going to have a list of dinners that I know we have stuff for and go from there.. BUT the one great thing going for me this first work week was BEN he gets home a few minutes before I do and every day this week I have come home to him CLEANING something.. everyday but yesterday was the KITCHEN!!! (yesterday he was cleaning the DEN) he is TRYING very hard to instill in us ALL that if we clean a little each night, with no one home all day we'll come home to a clean house.. it's a little like beating a dead horse BUT today (the last day of the week mind you!) I have a pretty clean house!!! not perfect but frankly I NEVER have a perfect house so I'm OK with this!!!

so first week down only 40 more to go (I think, didn't do the math on that one!)

Bradley finds out today which team he made, day before yesterday they separated all the boys into 2 groups and then called about 15 boys out, they then told them "here's a team, here's B Team, here are the one's we aren't sure yet" Brad was one of the boys they "weren't sure" they got a grueling practice to "test" them... Brad felt he did pretty good BUT he forgot his water that day and didn't want to tell the coach, he did get some from some friends but felt he would have done so much better if he had water.. it wasn't a REALLY hot day (it was actually pretty cool) so he was never in any danger of heat stroke or anything but I just thought it was funny he's already "cowboy-ing up"...

So we'll let y'all know what happens..
ta ta

SCHOOL STARTS MONDAY!!! Woot!~

So Bradley and I seem to be on the mend.. He went and looked like a stud for his 3 days of pre-season soccer Oh how I hope he makes the team he wants.. normally I really could care less BUT last year was such a struggle for him that he will be CRUSHED if he doesn't make it on the "A" team...

Hunter's football camp is over YEA! and his normal two day a week practice starts next week, I can't explain to you how GREAT this is.. I mean Hunter has had a GREAT experience so far but EVERY DAY, was getting OLD!!!

So I FINALLY don't feel like I have an elephant sitting on my chest.. I still can't be far away from cough drops or else I get a tickle in my throat that turns into a coughing fit but last night was the first night in weeks I didn't OD on NyQuil before bed so I think progress is being made for sure..

So last week I was really looking forward to a day long training session to, well, tell me about my job and how I can best serve my student etc. etc. BUT it ended up being a day long sexual harassment, how to avoid bodily fluid's and some other nonsense.. I guess I know these things are important and probably even legally mandated that we have them BUT A WHOLE DAY!!!??? speaking to some veteran aids they usually do a "useful" workshop but I guess this year our number was up.. so Yesterday I had my day with the teacher I'm working with.. it was OK, she doesn't know exactly what to do with me yet and we both don't know exactly how to help this student BUT I have some good ideas some REAL fears (he's not potty trained!) but all in all I'm excited wrapped with a healthy dose of "what the heck have I gotten myself into!?"

so we ALL start school on Monday, I can't wait!!!
ta ta

Swine Flu who knew?

So I don't know what it's like anywhere else but yesterday when I went to the Dr. I was asked specifically (just like the 4 people previous to me) "do you have a cough or fever" I was being seen for a persistent cough so I was honest and said YES I have a cough.. I was handed a mask and asked that if I cough to please put on the mask but if I wasn't coughing I didn't need to.. I haven't been coughing as long as I have a cough drop in my mouth so I sat away from the population of people (just in case heaven forbid I cough) and started to read my magazine.. got called in to the office they took my temp. and low and behold it was 100.6 I had no clue I felt lousy BUT didn't really feel feverish anyway nurse leaves Dr comes in asks me about my symptoms told her persistent cough for almost 3 weeks started to feel better end of last week but got VERY much worse this week she looks at nurses notes and said "YOU HAVE A FEVER" I said yes I didn't realize I did but the nurse said infact I do.. the Dr gets out of the room AS FAST AS SHE COULD (under the guides of getting a pulse oxygen monitor) I'm sitting there for like 10 minutes and she returns with gloves, mask and a yellow gown I'm like what the heck is going on.. she says I've got all the symptoms of swine flu and asked me where I have traveled (no where!) who I've been around (no one suspicious).. etc. etc. etc. and I MUST wear my mask at all times now.. fine... she says if it's not flu then it's bronchitis... fine I say.. she says another nurse will come in and do a swab for swine I say fine.. (thinking its like the "swab" for strep) I was VERY WRONG FOLKS!!! another nurse with a surgical cap, yellow gown, gloves and a very hefty looking mask comes in and tells me how sorry she is to have to do this procedure.. "PROCEDURE" I'm getting nervous but still thinking she's going a little over board.. she then explains I'll have to lay flat and she will be putting a tube down my nose and somewhere from my ear canal and throat she will squirt saline solution and then quickly suck it back up and that's what they test for the swine flu.. but WAIT.. I have to be VERY careful and close off my throat when I'm told because if I swollow ANY of the solution the procedure has to be REPEATED!!!

OK I figure how hard can it be, I've had 4 kids for crying out loud I've had epidurals and lots of discusting procedures and this one I don't even have to take my pants off for..

let me tell you folks it was TERRIBLE!!! I cried gasped for air it was painful and felt like I was drowning all in about a 5 second time span.. I think I was hacking up blood (I closed off my throat a little bit to early and the lovely nurse scratched my throat, or what ever cavity she was in) tearing up and nose running all at once.. I couldn't wait to get out of that place but of coarse WITH MY MASK on which only meant I looked MORE Like I had the PlAGUE because the mask now was soaking wet from all my hacking, crying , nose running etc. etc.

I had a message to call the Dr's office when I got home only a few minutes before the office closed.. I was certain they were calling so quickly because it was POSITIVE.. I called them back but got their answering machine left a message to PLEASE CALL ME ASAP.. but what do I do, should I stay home for fear of infecting anyone I come in contact with??.. I think maybe I was a little foolish because I took the boy to practice but kept my cell phone with me.. still no word I took Brad to Dr this morning thinking they'd have to do the same thing with him.. NOPE he has a sinus infection and no fever so I was glad he didn't have to do the test.. I call the nurses station again this morning knowing it's a sat. but they do keep some minimal sat hours and plead my case on the phone message again.. "I REALLY NEED THESE RESULTS TODAY!" a lovely nurse called me I told her I needed my results for H1N1 (swine).. it took her a second but she said "NEGATIVE".. I was happy.. releaved but mostly glad I won't have to deal with health departments, kids going back to school, me working at the school.. it could have been quite a headache~

so all in all my anti-biotics should be kicking in anytime now YEA! and we all should be on the mend in no time!!!
ta ta

I think 35 is OLD!!!

I can remember when my Mom turned 35 we were living in our house in Chino CA. and we put 35 candles on her cake and the fire alarm went off.. she was also pregnant with my youngest brother Jeff... can I just say I am SO GLAD that tomorrow on my 35th birthday I am NOT pregnant!!!

Tomorrow Ben has the day off YEA!!! and we will probably go out to Breakfast and then grocery shopping and then something fun BEFORE having to be back to take Hunter to Football... I LOVE It that we have a live in Babysitter now.. and the fact that he's saving money for a new cell phone makes it even MORE sweet!!!

I have no inspirational anything about my turning 35 just that it feels OLD!!! I mean I'm not so much feeling that I am decrypt or anything like that I feel pretty good and things are going pretty good in life but I also feel like in some ways I feel twice the age and in some ways feel half it (does that even make since??) but mostly it feels like 35.. my teenager thinks I'm a drag and I nag too much (which I take as a HUGE badge of courage that I'm doing something RIGHT!!!) my Middle son feels like he wants to break away from me but still wants me around (nice hua!.. I know it won't last much longer).. and my youngest baby girl (not so much baby anymore I know!) goes from hating me (and telling me so) to wanting to cuddle for hours on my bed.. (it's nice when I want to cuddle not so much when I have to actually DO something)..

So all in all I think even though it is OLD it's pretty nice to be 35!
ta ta

Hunter's in LOVE

So Hunter is LOVING football.. I had a twinge of guilt that we made him wait this long to play because this is the FIRST sport he has walked onto the field where 98% of the kids LOOK just like HIM!!! the coaches were salivating as he came onto the field it was just the EGO boost he needed!!! I am so GLAD!!!

on a COMPLETELY different subject I think we may have a slight problem... KayLea watched "Toddlers in Tarrah's" for the first time a few nights ago.. it seemed like a perfectly harmless show that we all could gasp at the ridiculousness of it all and point and stair etc. etc. and because I've cut her off of "Jon and Kate plus 8" it seemed like a harmless compromise.. WRONG!!! she's now saying things like she wants a "flipper" (a mouth piece that makes teeth look perfect) and why can't she wear those kind of dresses to CHURCH!!! EEEEK!!! I told her in no way would she EVER participate in any pageant like that.. if she wanted to grow up and be a part of miss America or something then she had to be old enough to fill out the paperwork and drive her self to what ever was going on.. now the constant marital up-heavel of Jon and Kate don't seem so bad.. what am I going to do!!! I'll have to tell her the show was cancelled or something!
ta ta

MORE Musings

I know I've given the topic of "change of season" quite a run on this blog.. I've felt it for some time a "SHIFT" well ITS HAPPENING... I will no longer have ANY children at home during school hours!!! I will no longer be labeled a "stay at home mom"... OUCH that one hurt!!!

I think it's been given quite a run 13 years of wiping noses to tooshie's not that I'm going to never be doing those things ever again BUT my children (all of them!) will be influenced by someone else for the majority of their day from here on out! I can't help but wonder if I've done enough.. If I have have given them their own tools to deal with all that they will have to.. I don't have many regrets in that department at least not yet.. Brad will be entering 8th grade wow that doesn't even seem possible!!! Hunter 6th and KayLea 1st...

although I have to admit I'm also worried I'll be smothering KayLea having her Mom at the same school she goes to doesn't seem all together fair.. although I'm not in her class, I'm actually not even on her side of the school it IS a VERY small school so we WILL be seeing each other on a daily basis... she seems excited at the prospect but we'll see if she has the same attitude in a few weeks!!! does mommy guilt ever end?? I'm thinking not!!!

this is ALSO the time of year where we get a whole slew of new Law student families move into our ward, and it's also the time I'm reminded how OLD I am... these folks seem like infants to me.. and we have like 8 women who will be giving birth in the next 4-6 months... I have never for a moment felt ANY kind of regret for our decision to end our family with KayLea.. she is the PERFECT book end to our little brewd but it is ANOTHER reminder of this SHIFT although that one has long since past..

but for those who are still in the throws of it.. who can't seem to remember a time where you slept through the night or could complete a phone conversation or could go a week with out changing the sheets on your own bed because a kid smeared some sort of yuck on it.. enjoy it.. enjoy your now.. I think towards the end of this chapter I DID realize how special the moments were.. I could see the end coming fast so I did savor some of it.. but like allot of us.. I took too much time wanting to "get through" the hard stuff I remember practically MAKING Brad walk.. figuring all the stuff I did wrong with Brad and trying DESPERATELY to get Hunter to Talk early (and he DID!) and absolutely failing miserably at potty training KayLea.. and wanting so desperately for them all to become independent..

I LOVE this stage that I'm at now.... it is the FUNNEST by far so-far.. but feeling the breath of your own little infant who has just come out of you.. feeling the pride, joy and utter terrifying prospects of being in charge of this new little life.. Maybe, I wish I would have savored some of those moments a little more as they were coming.. rather than looking ahead to what was next.. and yes like everyone there were women who were older and wiser than I who told ME the same things.. but I didn't listen.. not that I didn't think they were right but I'm sure I was far too tired, or busy or pre-occupied with my kids' poop to really take them for their word..

But instead of looking BACK I will look forward (but not TOO far ahead!) and be present in THIS moment.. enjoy the milestones the kids are going through right NOW and the milestones I'M enjoying at this moment also..

that's all for now.. I'm going to bed.. and I'll sleep all night.. darn it!!! (who am I kidding that is AWESOME!)
ta ta

Life happens when your making plans.. or something like that!

So life in the Fox home has been riddled with changes.. Ben's work situation has been kind of crazy because another supervisor quit (very suddenly and with no notice or CLASS!) so it has made it so Ben's been working tons which is good for the pocketbook BUT not so good for things like sleeping and seeing him... the word came down yesterday (the guy quit a couple of weeks ago) that they ARE NOT going to replace this supervisor.. which means a few things.. the ban on all overtime is obviously out the window ESPICALLY when it starts to snow.. AND it also means Ben's 8 hour day has just turned into a 10-12 hour day and he won't be able to get off work in time to go coach soccer... he had to tell the Athletic director yesterday he can't do it.. Ben is totally bummed this has been a dream of his for a VERY long time and to have to leave so close to the season he knows it pretty much blows all chance he'll ever have of doing it again.. the bright side, he was able to quit before having to pay 50$ for finger prints and back ground checks AND he hadn't signed a contract yet... the down side.. Ben is VERY worried this will adversely affect Bradley's soccer experience this year.. we hope it won't but we are skeptical.. it just means now Brad is bound and determined to "get into shape" in the next 3 weeks so he'll make the A team.

to top it off I got called for Jury duty the first week of September.. Ben thinks I should try to get out of it being I'd have to leave before KayLea would catch the bus.. working for the school I think they have to give me the time off but I don't think they have to pay me and I'm not sure I'd want to use any of my personal days for THIS!!! I'll fill out the questioner and put my complaints and see what happens..

that's all the B*t%^ing I'll do for now!!!
ta ta

OK OK I know we aren't the FIRST

So summer is winding down.. although it doesn't seem too much like the END of summer here.. BUT it's the count down.. we start school the 31st.. Football starts a week from Wednesday (every week day until school starts EEEK) then Soccer for BEN and Brad starts the week before school... I have some training the 26th and then we'll be full time students, workers, players etc.

So I have been trying to convince my family that the dynamic is going to CHANGE with me going to work (although it isn't classified as FULL time I won't be home when the kids are at school so for all intensive purposes it's full time!) I'm trying to get things organized, trying to brain storm ideas on how we can delegate out responsibilities and keep things remaining smoothly and not eat take out every night of the week..

Some ideas I've thrown around (usually during dinner) are making a calendar with meal's on it along with who will be cooking the meal (the boys are actually becoming useful in this area) it will help me shop and not stare at the fridge and say "whats for dinner"... I've also come up with perhaps having the kids do their chores BEFORE they go to school... YES it will mean the boys getting up xtra early (they catch the bus at 6:45) BUT with all their xtra sports etc. I can envision my house going down hill FAST and if it gets done BEFORE school then think of how nice it will be to come home to things done!

The responses I usually get from the fam when I suggest these things is one of these * this isn't going to be that big of deal MOM things won't have to change that much *we aren't the only family who has 2 parents working, and my favorite * do you think your the first mother to go to work???

Honestly I get it!!! and I'm sure my friends who have juggled a job and a family are shaking your heads as you read this BUT I don't think MY family gets the gravity of this situation... THINGS ARE CHANGING.. I feel a little bit like I'm nesting right now.. trying to get all my house organized etc.. because something BIG is happening...

Ok I'm willing to admit I'm loosing it a bit, I know it will all work out but if you know me you know nothing can happen before I get a little nuts!
ta ta

whats a middle child to do???

So Hunter's having a rough day... this happens every summer about this time, he feels his lot in life is to be the poor picked on middle child who is completely and totally over looked, under appreciated and just all around stepped on... He's jealous today that KayLea has a birthday party to go to and got an invite to swim at a different friends house before the party and then she's spending the night at a completely different friend after the party... He further boosts his arguement that Brad got to go shooting last night with boy scouts... he feels that because Brad and KayLea got to do fun things he should automatically be able to go spend loads of money buying junk he doesn't need because "isn't that fair?"

Unfortunately for him he feels he is only dammed in that BOTH of his parents are OLDEST children and so we not only have NO sympathy for him we get down right irritated by his tantrums and tirades about how much his life sucks!!!

We have gone above and beyond (in my professional opinion!) to make sure he is made to feel like his own person, we have pleaded with teachers to not compare him to his older brother they are just different boys, in EVERY possible way... I felt it was a GREAT thing that Brad went back home earlier than him so HE could be the BIG cousin and he really rose to the occasion...

We are REALLY hoping football this year will some what help in his constant feeling of injustice.. Football is HIS alone.. Brad has no desire to play (and feels like he'd be broken in two if he ever tried such a sport).. and of coarse KayLea won't ever play so he has the opportunity to really make this his own..

but really.. calling all middle children, what can we do to help him feel just as special as the others and just as special as we feel he is... a disclaimer.. we aren't willing to send Brad and KayLea off to boarding school...
ta ta

catching up on some pictures

So Here are some pic's from Old Home day... the pic's I have of the casted dog are on my phone so i'll have to wait until i'm somewhere where I have a signal to e-mail them to myself.. (i know what a process!)
anyway enjoy.. we are doing good, we spend our days at the lake when it's not raining (which is happening allot)..
enjoying the last 4 weeks of summer for us, seems like it just started.. oh wait it DID just start!!!

ta ta

HP 6

So we took the kids yesterday to see the latest installment of Harry Potter.. it didn't disappoint at least to the over 7 crowd, it was a tad bit long for KayLea but that wasn't entirely surprising since although she wants DESPERATELY to be a big kid and like and be "in to" Harry she hasn't read the books (or had them read to her.. we tried but she tired very quickly of that when the boys were going through them)... I've heard on a few entertainment'y things that the next movie will come out next year that in my book is GOOD I don't know if I could handle letting this drag on 4 more years?! who am I kidding, I'd go again if it was 10 years...

While I was sitting at the movie answering for the millionth time why we arrived early (we got there aprox 45 min before the movie started) and explaining to the kids because it's going to be packed, and in turn the kids saying "hey you were right".. (yes I didn't mind that part AT ALL!) watching the previews was interesting.. have you noticed (if you've been to a first run movie lately.. I hadn't before yesterday in a while) they must be running out of movie ideas??? I mean does every children's book REALLY translate into a movie??? "Cloudy with a side of meatballs" is coming out sometime this year.. all my kids have read it all of them like it but a movie?? really??? and how about the classic "where the wild things are" I mean it's not even an animated one, ( CGI puppets yes, animation no) and even the boys said "how do you turn an 8 page book into a full length movie"... and that kinda goes for the side of meatballs book too!

I am not as "read" as my mother, she is who I go to when the boys are stuck for a book report book having to be a certain genre, or if we are the night before a book report is due and I haven't read the book (happens more than you think!) and I have a crying son who claims "the book I read doesn't have a theme" HA! BUT I'm here to say books are BOOKS and movies are MOVIES.. why do we have to make everything into a MOVIE??? I'm not opposed to books being made into movies on a whole, there are some that scream to be on the screen HP I think is one of those.. a few others also, but I don't think I have ever said after reading "where the wild things are" "hey I'd LOVE to see that on the big screen"... why can't we enjoy both genre's separately must they always collide???

case in point "Cat in the Hat"... I have to admit it's not my favorite children's book but I've read it to all my kids.. (it's Dr Seuss after all I think CPS would be called if I didn't!) when the movie came out the bright colors and big name actors loured me into the theatre.. the movie wasn't BAD but honestly the movie had VERY few correlations to the book... it would have been just as good had they named it Dr Seuss rather than the title of the book...

Anyway that's my rant.. with so few Children's movies to choose from I'm bound to see at least one of the movies that are from a kids book... call me a sell out!

ta ta

2 more weeks!!!

So our little doggie Rowdy and his mending broken leg are doing pretty good BUT since we've been home we've had to replace his cast TWICE!!! I guess we are just too much excitment for him but today after paying through the tooth again we were told if we can just keep him down TWO MORE WEEKS we might be able to be done with the whole fiasco... we were prescribed sedatives again and told his crate and outside on a leash for potty breaks is all the excietment he can handle for now... and so the whinning begins!!! he really is a good little dog so hopefully when this is all over I can remember that again...

I guess I didn't really give much info on my new job, The job I got at the School is for a One on One aid to a mentally disabled 4th grade boy, I'm still questioning if i'm cut out for this kind of thing but figure I can put up with anything for a school year (I know from my lips to gods ears ha!) I'm pretty excited, and more excited that I need ABSOLUTELY no child care and I won't be scrambling on snow days etc. etc. BUT it will also mean I need to be back when school starts so no more extending christmas, spring and feb breaks a day or so to avoid the rush back home... but I guess I have to be a grown up working girl sometime...

Anyway thats all for now, I have a pic of the dog to post just havn't reduced yet i'll post that later..
ta ta

We are home, with good news abound!

So we got home last Thursday, we have recovered and the spoiled children are realizing we didn't pack their grandparents in the suit cases so "come back to reality" it's setting in nicely...

So we also came back to news that I GOT THE JOB at the school, I'm still nervous if I am cut out for this type of thing but I'm feeling good about it and really I needed to find something because financially things aren't so great in the Fox home... they have cut Ben's overtime to almost nothing so this job will help us get our heads above water.. ALSO, I'm happy to announce Ben got a paid position COACHING SOCCER at the middle school, Last year was SUCH a disaster for Brad that he had talked about volunteering for this up coming soccer season, when Brad brought home the notice saying he was signed up for next fall etc. etc. it also said they were looking for a new coach, We kind of thought it was a Volunteer position but that's what Ben was thinking anyway he e-mailed the asst principal (and athletic director for the school) he wanted to meet him in person; he did and immediately was offered a CONTRACT! the money isn't the reason he's doing it BUT it will definitely help fray the cost of not picking up ANY overtime (if there was any to begin with) so he can be at the soccer field after school EVERYDAY... he will be the "B Team" (Jr. Varsity) coach, there's no guarantees he will even be coaching Brad (Brad kind of hopes he'll make the A team) but regardless he's happy and excited for this new adventure..

So that's all the happenings at the fox home we had "Old Home Day" last sat and once again the Kayaking company offered free rides, we decided to skip the fireworks this year as they didn't even start until 9:30 and Brad had just come home from Scout camp and we all were beat but I guess we missed quite a show the fireworks barge caught on fire and was a huge ball of flame.. the kids were bummed we missed it ha!

so that's all I have for now...
ta ta

pictures

hey all

here are a couple of pictures I could download from someone at camp who did the slide show.. they are cute i'm still in Chicago so this is what you do to kill 6 hours! boy do I miss high speed internet I downloaded these pic's (with out converting or making them smaller!) in about a third of the time it takes me at home.. the first is a pic of some of "my girls" shivering the next the group pic then Cheri Tew and I (the person I couldn't have lived with out during this very hard week) and the last of our bishop during bishop's night (he's on the right)..

enjoy

ta ta

back but running

So Camp is done, it was a great week a VERY WET week, we didn't have ANY sun until Yesterday when we were going home... now i'm in Chicago awaiting my flight to Little Rock to join Hunter and KayLea at my parents house... I have a 6 hour layover because I insisted that i met Brad here on his transfer from Little Rock to Manchester (to get back home to go to Scout Camp next week).. He did great, he checked himself in, got on the standby list and gave his ticket etc. he didn't even need my Dad to go through security.. i'm having to really realize He's not a little boy anymore and he can handle himself in these situations, my only issues are I can see the "what if's" in this situation, what if he got stuck, what if he got bumpped.. its the stuff thats out of my control that just give me the willies... but i'm sure after this he will have grand plans to go visit various grandparents on his own in the not so distant future..

Anyway, i'm glad Camp is done, i've told them i'd do it again next year as long as the kids schedules don't conflect...
i've got pictures to post but I can't get my card reader to work on Ben's laptop so I may have to get a new one...

so ta ta for now!

just our luck!!!

So things are all a hurry over here in the fox home.. I'm trying to get things organized for EVERYONE's camp's.. Hunter and Ben already left this afternoon and they'll meet us at the Airport tomorrow afternoon, but wouldn't you know it.. it wouldn't be a fox trip if something disastrous didn't happen right before we leave.. our little pug puppy Rowdy broke his leg yesterday... he and Hunter were playing and rowdy went to jump on Hunter, and Hunter stepped back and somehow Rowdy flipped and landed "wrong" on his back left leg.. he immediately was yelping and crying VERY LOUDLY.. I called our local vet and of coarse she was closed but she said "come on in" (gotta love small town vets!) we got some xrays.. i explained we wouldn't be able to do any kind of surgery etc. etc. she said we were lucky and the type of break it was it could be casted as long as we can keep him "calm" for a few weeks.. we have sedatives and pain killers... all for about a third of the cost of what an emergency vet and surgery would have costed.. (still sucks it's about what we SHOULD have been spending on a dishwasher).. so he'll be fine and with the kids gone he'll not get so excited.. he's still getting use to figuring out how to walk, eat, pee and poop with a stiff heavy cast on his leg... fun times for sure!!! but Ben will be the one taking care of him... sorry honey!!!
so I'll be out of pocket for a week or so...
wish me luck and pray for good weather.. RAIN SUCKS!!!
ta ta

I'm not old enough to have a TEENAGER!!!

So I'm figuring with my HUGELY busy week I have ahead of me I'm posting this a tad bit early but I just had to recognize we will have a TEENAGER in our midst come Friday... Brad will turn 13~!!! I can't believe it.. I use to listen to people say "savor these moments because they go SO FAST" I'm here to tell you ITS TRUE!!! as you can see in the above picture he's gotten rid of the glasses and LOVES LOVES LOVES his contacts believe it or not when he got his contacts a few weeks ago we made him cut his hair (because with out the glasses the hair was way in his eyes!) but he got to choose the style and he has a DEFINITE idea of what he wants (kinda shaggy obviously).. I am so proud of this boy, he gave his first talk in Sac. Meeting last week and I know was SO nervous but did a GREAT job.. and he'll die if he reads this but HE SHAVED FOR THE FIRST TIME SUN ALSO!!! he's needed it for a while and would roll his eyes (another pass time of his) at me when I suggested to him and Ben that it NEEDED to get done.. He's VERY motivated (for the moment anyway) that he wants to go to BYU so he can snowboard on a REAL mountain (and ya know learn stuff too) so he KNOWS he has to get GREAT grades.. for some reason I've had the thought heavy on my mind that I only have 5 more years with him here at home.. and if these 13 years have gone by in an instant I can't think of the next 5... I just love this kid of mine that is now taller than I am and quickly catching Ben... I can't wait to see what is in store for him and I know he is capable of anything he sets his mind to!!!

on another note.. I'm not old enough to have a teenager.. I'm even willing to admit my and Ben's parents aren't old enough to have a teenage Grandson.. I think he was birthed in the woods or something.. that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!! HA!

ta ta

So I did it!!!

So I met with the Principal.. I feel pretty good about it.. I will be scheduled for an ACTUAL interview some time this week or when I get back into town..

I still don't know what I want to happen but I feel pretty good that what ever happens will be the right thing...
ta ta

tomorrow is the last day of school

So tomorrow is the last day of school... I have been looking forward to school ending for a few weeks now but today my children decided to pretend they had been out of school for months and I heard "I'm board", "he looked at me funny", and "isn't it my turn yet" oh at least a MILLION times.. so i'm here to tell you maybe I spoke too soon and school should go on for another week!!!

on another note I'm thinking I might go back to work in the fall.. there is an opportunity in our Elementary school so I'd have the same hours as the kids, same days off snow days etc.. it would mean I could work with out having to have ANY child care... the pay pretty much SUCKS.. BUT the perks are appealing.. the position is as a Teacher's aid OR a one on one aid for a challanged child.. although I had written off teaching as a career path long ago i'm quite suprised that I am drawn to this position... I'm speaking with our Principal tomorrow... I don't know what I want to happen... my ONLY reservation (besides the crappy pay) is I won't have ANY time to run errands go to the Temple or anything for myself while the kids are at school... ideally I would have liked to find a job where I only worked a few days a week... we'll see, as you can probably tell i'm still on the fence...

thats all for now
ta ta

why when your busy time flies by hyper-speeds!

So somehow June arrived and now it's half way done!!! just when I need time to slow down a little it's passing by me so quick I can't catch my breath...

So I somehow got out of going to Hunter's field trip tomorrow.. which I'm kinda bummed about but really I needed to get out of it because I'm helping KayLea's class with their end of year play I'm helping them get on "stage" and with their costumes.. it is very cute and KayLea is SUPER excited daddy gets to come to her class tomorrow (I'll be there too but I'm always there so it's no big deal..her words!) she's a Bunny in "Stone Soup" the old story only an animal version... very cute I'm sure I'll have pictures to post sometime..

So Camp is coming along.. only 2 more weeks... I think we have the traveling all worked out, since Ben's taking off to take Hunter to his father/son 11 year old camp out he can't get off to take them to Mom and Dad's but I figure if we spend the night in Baltimore on sat night we should be OK coming into L.R. Sunday morning.. (now that I've just sent that out into the universe I'm sure all the flights will jam full but I've got faith..) I had Brad help me put up our canopy so I could figure out how to put it up at camp.. amazingly we figured it out with the directions long since lost.. I've delegated out all the big shopping stuff because there's no way I'm going to have time to do pretty much anything besides show up on Monday (I'm driving directly to the camp from the airport!)

So Baseball is finally almost over.. Hunter is in single elimination play offs and I'm sorry to say I'm REALLY praying they'll loose on Thursday.. it probably won't happen but it would SURE be nice!! KayLea's last game is Sat. and I'm saying it here and now "I WILL NEVER COACH ANYTHING EVER AGAIN!!!!!".. it's not like i was a "real" coach anyway.. Bradley did all the heavy lifting but it's just all the back stage garbage and politics.. and luckily I'm coaching with another GREAT Mom who we are good friends with but I've learned my lesson and this is just one more thing I feel like I can definitely PASS on...

so that's all that's going on in our lives.. school is winding down (THANK HEAVENS!) then the REAL business begins..
ta ta for now..

Red Door

So I've spoken about my fascination with Red Houses before.. My DREAM is to convert an OLD OLD RED BARN into a house.. although I'm realistic in this dream and know it would most likely cost 10 times as much to re do and make habitable a barn than to just start from the ground up and build a house that "looks" like an old barn.. so because I am realistic in this dream RED houses have kind of been a semi equal substitute.. WELL of coarse our house we bought isn't red BUT when we got all the loads of paperwork after the closing I FOUND IT!~ on an old assessment sheet there was a tiny thumbnail picture of our house just a few short years ago and guess what IT WAS RED!!! now even in that picture I can TOTALLY see why they replaced the outside with siding the red paint was chipping and peeling and it was a flip after all, so they went with the MOST neutral TAN siding you could buy and it is nice don't get me wrong but i was URNING for the red.. I even looked to see how much it would be to re-side the house with red siding (did you know red siding is WAY more expensive than ugly neutral tan??) so not only was that a TOTALLY un-necessary expense (the siding is LESS than 6 years old!) it was WAY out of reach even if it WAS necessary... so I decided I was going to paint the front door RED.. and i gotta tell you I LOVE IT!!! and YES red is hard to cover (all the rumors are totally true!) it took about 5 coats and I'm still kind of worried because it started raining the night after I did it but so far so good.. but here's another kind of weird tid bit.. I have ALWAYS had this fascination with the barn/house thing BUT here's the other thing that is kinda interesting weird.. this is kind of a self fulfilling profice, Lane is buried and Ben and I will also be buried at "Red Door Cemetery" in Mt. View Arkansas; across the street from the "Red Door Baptist Church" and yes the church DOES have a red door... my Mother in Law and I have kind of always remarked when ever we have seen a red door and been together.. so SOMEONE reading this PLEASE, PLEASE print the picture and give it to Sheri for us ok?? cuz I've lived with this red door now for almost a week and I just can't get it out of my head that Sheri would like it!!!

ta ta for now

Musings

So I am TOTALLY procrastinating I should be typing up an agenda for my camp meeting this week, its quite involved with lots of assignments (ie; delegating ME out of things hopefully haha!) but I am blocked... we have been BUSY BUSY BUSY... and I'm having a hard time keeping a handle on pretty much anything!!! to top it off it is COLD and RAINY which just makes me feel justified to be in an ugly mood...

Anyway last week I got to go on a field trip with KayLea's class it was to the "farm" the class is studying baby animals and this was kind of the cherry on the sundae so to speak... BUT although this farm had it's share of baby lambs and sheep and chick's it also had reindeer, Mt. Lion, Lion, Monkey's and Lots of other non farm type stuff.. and I really wouldn't have called it a zoo either it was well someones idea run a muck.. the kids LOVED it and it was on the most perfect day and KayLea FEEL IN LOVE with the baby lambs she would have stayed all day petting and chasing them (ok so there was MUCH more chasing than petting) I'm trying to upload some pic's of her and her lambs we'll see if blogger cooperates... Stay tuned for pic's of KayLea holding baby chicks that her class hatched IN CLASS this week.. (they can't hold them until Monday) they are SO cute!!! (no we aren't going to take home any, despite Ben's efforts to convince me otherwise)... the highlight of the field trip for me seeing a JUST BORN rain deer.. one of the other mom's suggested we wait to see that exhibit because the momma still had her placenta well "hanging" I said NO WAY and we went right over.. it was AWESOME.. I just loved seeing the momma lick off her baby and we got to see the baby try to walk a couple of times.. have I scared the children in my group forever??

On Monday for the school holiday Hunter finally had his friend party.. he invited 2 friends to go so "Night at the Museum 2" it was pretty good and the boys were really great.. Hunter came home and fished with his friends and Dad bbq'd He got to go yesterday and spend his gift cards.. he was so excited he had enough to get guitar hero and 2 guitars.. thanks grandma and grandpa!!! he's VERY excited..

So I also found out, actually just confirmed again that God has a since of humor... remember how boastful I was that the Fox's were DONE with pinewood derby and Cub Scouts FOREVER... I was just called to be Primary 2nd counselor over CUB SCOUTS.. so I'm pretty sure the Big guy was looking down saying "she's far too boastful and confident zap not for long!"... I'm excited but feeling just a tad bit overwhelmed.. I'm still doing camp and I'm STILL on boy scout committee too but hopefully after camp (I've gotten a reprieve from sharing times until after camp YEA!) things will be back down to a low roar...

anyway that's the goings on with our family... School officially ends June 22nd the school board opted NOT to ask for any snow days to be forgiven.. I'm pretty ticked BUT what can you do.. want to feel a little bit better about your crazy life here's what our end of June looks like right now..

June 10th KayLea's field trip to a Museum (i'm chaperoning)

June 17th- Hunter's field trip cruise around the harbor in Main (i'm chaperoning)

June 19th KayLea's Kindergarten celebration and party (i'm a room mom)

June 22nd Hunter's 5th grade celebration and bbq at the beach (also room mom for his class!) and LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

June 26th Hunter's 11 yr scout overnighter w/ Ben (thankfully I don't have to go I just have to pack for EVERYONE while they are gone)

June 27th or 28th I or Ben fly kids to Arkansas to spend week with Mom and Dad

June 28 or 29th I or Ben fly home

June 29th I have to be at girls camp by 2:00pm

July 3rd fly back to mom and dads

July 4th or 5th fly Brad back home and me fly back to AR. (he may fly half way by him self still deciding)

July 6-11th Brad at scout camp

sometime before July 11th come home with my Parents (maybe still working out the details)

after the 2nd week of July we will be sleeping pretty much 24/7

feel better now???

good my job is done here..

ta a