Lucy this doesn't look good

http://www.kentuckyweathercenter.com/

Our first Halloween with the kids and they are calling for some NASTY weather. We are trying to think of alternatives, if the weather folks are right.

The first Halloween I had when I moved to Kentucky there was snow on the ground. Never had that before. Now the first year we are able to take the kids they are calling for thunderstorms, which could be severe. What the what?!?

I'm still cancelling my class that day so that I can beat them home so I can get their makeup on them really quickly. I can't wait to take pictures of them.

Didn't we just start school????/

Tracey has been coming home with flyers for open houses for middle schools. Holy crap ya'll this is a tough thing
1) to wrap my head that next year we will have a middle schooler in the house

2) there really isn't a prime selection of middle schools unless you can afford and willing to travel to the other side of the county (neither of which are feasible)

The #1 pick that Dustin and I were really hoping for aren't accepting applications for middle school. So we are looking at our options for other schools. There is one that has sparked an interest and the girls and me will attend the open house Saturday to check it out. It is in a cute little neighborhood less than 10 miles from where we are at, so I'm hopeful that Tracey will like the school. It's an all girls school, but it's also a public school.

The kids are gearing up for Halloween...wait...let me re-phrase that I am gearing up for Halloween. We went to the fall festival at their school last friday and they got to dress up. I can't wait till I get to really do their makeup. I'm getting excited just thinking about the chance to take them trick or treating.

Teaching math skills

I always heard and still hear why do I have to learn this. Well today I woke up with a craving for cookies and a bright idea. Both girls need some work with multiying and dividing. So in my craving for homemade cookies, I thought of a great way to incorporate math into a real life scenario. 

First the grocery shopping. 

I made a list of everything that we needed. I gave Tracey the list and for each item she had to compare prices and pick the cheapest item. Then she had to keep a running tab of everything that we had spent. What really gave her a challenge was certain things had mulitiples. Ex 2 gallons of milk. So that required her to multiply right there in the middle of the store. There weren't any calculators. Just a piece of paper and a pen. As we walked to the checkout I asked how confident she was with her answer and she proved to me that she could do it. Her total was just a penny off. Which for having distractions and doing the math quickly I couldn't complain. 

Second the cookies 

I helped Meagan with the cookie process. This was a two part lesson for her. She is my little energizer bunny who has a difficult time listening. Plus they are starting division in school. I got all of the ingredients out and set them on the table. I know he recipe by heart and gave her limited measuring cups. Ex. I only let her use 1/2 and 1/4 cup to measure 1 cup total. It worked out well. It gave individual attention to each kid and helped them with some skills. 

My methods are off the wall but I'm teaching them lessons that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. 

I have a belly ache

"My belly hurts, I don't feel good. I have a pain right here." This is what I heard when I got ready for work this morning. I didn't know what to do....should I make her go to school, should I call in and make her stay in bed? She felt bad that if she stayed home I would have had to call in since it would have been easier for me to take off rather than Dustin. I called Dustin to see what he thought and daddy came to the rescue. As soon as she talked to him she felt better. I think both girls are needing some time apart from each other just to breathe without having their sibling around. They are both going through a rough time right now. They are having the realization that maybe mom doesn't want to stay in contact with us. That's heartbreaking. Especially when you have to watch your kids heart break with every broken promise that is made.

Almost November?!?

Where the heck did this year go? It feels like it has flown by, I mean seriously wasn't it just may 17 and I was waiting on the arrival of my kids for their summer break? 

It's oh so quiet...

Last night my step dad picked up the kids for what we thought was just going to be one night. But decided that since they were being good that they (my parents) would just go ahead and keep them all weekend. Because you know, that's what grandparents do.....

Since we have had the kids full time there are very few times where Dustin and I sit in the car and just stop for a microsecond at how quiet it is.

Here we are 24 hours sans kids and I have to admit I'm bored. It really is too quiet.  Dustin has been on vacation this week and today marked the last day. We got to do some things, just the two of us and it's been incredibly nice. Like last night, we went to walmart. We just walked around and looked at things in a casual manner. Today we slept in, and by sleeping in I mean 730-830. That's late for  either of us.

We both lounged around as we drank coffee since it was a crappy morning. Then we got ready and picked up my perscription from the store. I've never been to the gun range before, so we decided earlier in the week that we would go together. It was an experience. For only shooting a gun for MAYBE the fourth time ever, I didn't do horrible, but I'm not a marksman by any means. I definitely need to get more comfortable with shooting. I even broke my necklace that the kids and dustin bought for me two christmases ago. I had a hot shell fly down my hoodie and directly on to my skin. My finger got caught on my necklace and it just snapped off. I thought the pearl on it was lost forever. But I waited till we finished our rounds and did a strip show in the middle of the main floor. HA!

We came back and relaxed for awhile and ran to get pizza. I can't complain that it's been a nice and relaxing QUIET day, but I miss my kids right now. Tomorrow can't get here fast enough.

Mid October high five for Friday

This week was another one of those weeks where you didn't know which way you were going at any point of the week. Monday night the television that I have had since I was a freshman in college (circa 2001/2002) went to the boob tube mansion in the sky. I admit I was a little heartbroken that this ridiculously heavy thing finally bit the dust. We allow the kids to watch 1 movie if they lay down at 8 or 2 episodes on netflix if it's after while they are falling asleep. Some of you are cringing that we let our kids watch tv before bed. This is what they are used to and it beats listening to them struggle falling asleep. 

Both of my classes think I have officially lost my dag gone mind. The end of the week resulted in setting up five different stations (creativity, math and logic, critical thinking, visual and spacial, and words). I can't tell you how many looks I got when I told them that part of their assignment was to color. This is all going to tie into the lecture I have for next week. I wanted them to experience both critical and creative thinking without having the stressors of using the book. 

The final product of my baby that I've been working on for the past two weeks! It's here! I am beyond excited. I got to work with a great team who helped me re-vamp a card for prospective students.

One of the best perks of being a parent, FREE pedicures. Ok so they aren't salon quality BUT I have been sporting neon orange and bring green toes all week. Yes I look ridiculous, yes the designs look insane, but my kiddo did my toes and how can you say no to a free pedicure, especially when she sat there for 20 minutes being still and quiet. 

busy week=lack of posting

Shoooo weee ya'll it's been insane this week. With fall officially here that means we are trying to get in the last moments of outdoor adventures. This week was nothing short of insane.
Monday I took the day off after our flood. We braved the mighty waters of salt river for the last time and made a day of canoeing. It was a great (extremely muddy) time and we all enjoyed some pizza afterwards. We had an amazing server who joked with the kids and even put them to work with brooms and scrubbies after Meagan spilled her orange soda, twice. It was humorous that she was willing to go above and beyond to make sure the kids were involved.
Tuesday I left work early for parent-teacher conferences. I was nervous. I haven't had to do a parent-teacher conference before and I have only been to their school once. My worries were easily calmed when I got there and I spoke to the teacher. Both girls are doing exceptionally well in school (proud parent moment) and both are going to be recommended for advanced placement testing. I got to see where they were academically and found tips and tricks to help them out to keep them engaged with class work.
Wednesday was pretty quiet. Just a typical school day and work day. It gave us an opportunity to get out and run to the grocery.
Thursday the other Dustin GRACIOUSLY agreed to come over before the sun was up. I had to be at work before 8 for a training. I can officially and PROUDLY say that I am now CPR, AED, First Aid, and Bloodbourne Pathogen certified for both adults and children.
Friday was another day of training. This was for under resourced students and how we can be more relatable to them.  It was informative but long.

I'm happy that today is Saturday and I can relax (a little bit). I dont think relaxing can really be used.

Where are my floaties?

This We had one of the largest rainfalls in a 24 hour period in Louisville last night/today. Some places got 3-5 inches, however, we did not. 8 inches since yesterday afternoon. 

This is what the back jogging path looked like around 5 yesterday. 

It's hard to tell but the water had risen about a foot by 10. 

This is the jogging path when I woke up. This is after it had dropped about 6 inches. 

The rain eased up enough for is to squash out way around the building to see the damage. 

Our building was surrounded by water for 90% of the day. 

The kids were restless and wanting to argue with one another. We did get to sit down as a family and watch the Croods. 

It's been a long day to say the least, but we are all safe and have a warm/dry  place to sleep tonight. 

What do you say?

The kids have been here since te middle of august. They have heard from their mom twice. What is the real swift kick in the stomach for them is that they were supposed to go see her this weekend for their fall break. I contacted her a week ago just to let her know of the dates that kids would be out of school. This was also so that she could, if need be, get her act together and get a ride/money to meet us. She asked me if I could bring the kids to her. Here's where I got the "what did you just say" look as I was reading her text. 

First off this is not my place to take them to her. She lives two and a half hours away, and it states in the legal agreement that she has to provide 50% of the transportation. I told her that I couldn't take them all they way to her nor could I come and get them. Again it's not something that I can do legally right now. Another thing is that I don't get off for fall break. I still have to work. Monday thru Thursday I work both jobs, so I don't get home until 6. If I were to take the kids by myself I wouldn't be gettin home till after 12. 

When I told her that I couldn't bring them she got pissed off at me and told me to forget it. That was the last thing the kids heard from her. 

We waited all week to see if we got anything, and nothing. Not surprised. It finally got to the point where Tracey came home from school and said, "still nothing from mom?" 

Meagan and Dustin both tried to call her number and it has either been disconnected or they have blocked all of our numbers. 

It's frustrating because we have to stay positive for the kids but at the same time there is so much frustration that everyone is feeling because of what she is doing. Kids shouldn't have to go through the feelings of abandonment because that is what they feel right now. They have said that they think mom doesn't love them. It kills me on the inside because I'm the closest thing to a maternal figure that they have right now. 

High five for Friday!

1. Homemade veggie soup! Can't believe it's already the time of the year where it's soup season. Oh I was in heaven! The best part is, I don't have to share because Dustin and the kids are very picky about which veggies they eat. If they had it their way potatoes and corn ALL the time. This is a lovely combination of all kinds of veggies. YUM! 

2. I'm very OCD about paper that I use for my classes. I don't like the general run of the mill reams of paper that you can get at any store. I like smooth paper that feels soft? I know I'm crazy. I've recently come across this paper from Staples. It's wonderful! My planner is made of the same materials and it makes my crazy self happy. Plus I found new pens that I am super crazy about because wait for it.....they are erasable. Excuse me while I squeal like a little school girl with a major crush.

3. With the fall season upon us that means it's everything pumpkin! I have never had pumpkin beer before, and I have to admit that this made me a fan of it. I already love all things pumpkin, so this can officially be added to the list as well. I need to get some new pumpkin candles to really make my life complete.

4. I decided that next time I get paid I'm going to make a purchase and actually buy a desk so that I can get some work done besides at the kitchen table. While the kitchen table is a great place to work, it is becoming a hassle to have to move stuff every time that I have to do work. This is going to be my solution. I can't wait till the 15th when I get paid again so I can go get it. 

5. If this doesn't make you smile, you seriously need your head checked. My niece has the most adorable laugh ever!