Today we had our first parent-teacher conferences of the year. We have become quite accustomed to hearing that our kids are doing great/ performing above expectations/ behaving in class/ friendly and helpful; any questions for me? No. That's it, thanks for coming. It's rough, but someone's gotta do it right?
Today we pretty much heard it all again. Except this time, we heard that there have been a couple instances of our boy getting a bit stressed out over a perceived problem. One example his teacher gave: They had a diorama project which he worked hard on and turned in very proudly. His teacher made mention that there were a few students (none were named) who did not label certain items in the diorama. My boy (who was one of the non-labelers) said he didn't know they were supposed to label anything and his teacher pointed out that it said to in the directions. Apparently my boy then turned red in the face and tears fell from his eyes. Another time, his teacher wrote his name on the board with no explanation. My boy was visibly upset (again with the redness and leaky eyes) and when his teacher asked what was the matter, my boy said that he was in trouble but didn't know why. Teacher clarified that the name on the board was going to show kids who were well behaved during the day, not ones who were in trouble. He is a good kid, and likes being recognized as such. On the contrary, he doesn't want to be in trouble - ever. That's good right? I hope that we can somehow get his emotions under control by simply talking to him and reassuring him.
Other than that, both of our kids have straight-A's and their CSAP scores last year were at or above average for their grade. They rock!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Why
Why is it that if you go to sleep with a headache, it's still there in the morning? Or does this only happen to me? And not only did I wake up with the headache, but I felt like I hardly slept at all. I am exhausted. I am fairly certain that both are caused by lack of caffeine. I decided yesterday (after having a coke in the morning) that I have to break myself of the caffeine habit. I did so well for so long, only having caffeine once a week or so. Then my frappuchino habit started and on the days when I didn't get one of those in the morning, I'd have a pepsi with lunch. Well, no more. I feel better when I'm drinking mostly water and next-to-no caffeine filled drinks. So after just the one small one yesterday morning, I'm sure it contributed to the headache and tiredness this morning. But I'm determined to do this. Just one little baby step towards feeling some control over my health.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
October...already?
It can't be October already, can it? The weeks are flying by and I'm just barely holding on & watching it all go by. So much is happening, but whenever I try to pin it down it seems like it's really not anything to "write home about". My head and heart are full every minute and the hours keep ticking by and I'm finding it hard to reconcile anything before the next one comes crashing in. I just read what I've written and none of it really makes any sense does it? Maybe it I try it a different way...
We are about 2 weeks away from the BIG Karate test in Breckenridge. My boy is starting to turn away from excited and is entering serious nervousness. It's going to be very intense and hard for those testing. We go up on Friday and they will bow in at 7pm. That night will probably go until 2 or 3am and they have to be up and ready to run at 6am. Saturday is all day ending around 2am. Sunday morning starts very early as well and goes until about 6pm. We will be tired, very tired. I am trying to get myself ready mentally for it. I'm afraid I won't be ready. Not to mention that the testing fee is due next week and it's $200.
Shell's 20 year old niece has some kind of mass on her brain that's causing horrible headaches and some seizures. They were going to do surgery last week, but she had a sore throat that ended up being strep, so now she has to wait until that is gone before they can operate. Shell is very worried and is feeling very far away. This has caused some tension since she has wanted to move back to CA for some time now. She wants to be there for her family and although I understand (especially right now), I really hate the idea of moving back. I just can't, not with the kids.
I got my car back... after paying my $250 deductible. It might take months before my insurance can get payment from the other driver's insurance. Not something I was planning on. I'm glad to have my car back, but to honest I was kind of glad to be in the rental for a while. My car needs the brakes replaced badly, and although I can't ignore it, it's hard to think about it with the money flying out of my savings already.
Speaking of money... I don't want to talk about it. We've got a lot of corners we should have been cutting and now it's a necessity. It makes me sick to think that people are so blind to what Bush has done to our country, that they don't see the damage McCain will do. I have been really hopeful that people will see that we need Obama to be elected, but at the same time I am so fearful of what will happen if he doesn't. That reminds me, I need to apply for my mail-in ballot.
Our health insurance is changing. We are insured with Cigna through Shell's work and have been very happy with it and our rates have been pretty low. So of course, our rates will now be going up and we have to change provider. I need to read through everything and see what is the best choice and have our decision made by the end of October. I really want to be able to keep the kids' pediatrician. He's seen them since they were a few weeks old and we love him and his practice. I also hope to keep our gynecologist. The practice is all women and one of them is a lesbian herself. Shell likes them too and is finally on a protocol that she is comfortable with. I'd hate to mess that up.
My girl is going through a rough patch right now. 5th grade is proving to be a bit of a struggle for her and although she's getting excellent grades, I'm a little worried that they could be affected. The social scene is so much different in elementary school from what I experienced. I second guess every bit of advice and comfort I give her. I'm afraid it's not enough, but I'm not sure what is. I remember being 10. Life was still easy and unburdened then. She doesn't feel that. I want her to so bad.
My relationship is holding on. Sometimes by a thread, but it's still there. We've weathered a lot of storms in our life together, and each one challenges us in a different way. And we challenge each other. But in the end we love each other and our family in the fiercest way possible. Sometimes we lose sight of our relationship and start to take it for granted while dealing with everything that life throws at us. When one of us has to say "Hey, I miss you", we find a way to reconnect and find ourselves again. Right now, I'm not a very easy person to live with. I'm struggling to be the happy person I used to be. I feel like there is so much pressure on me and I can't seem to find the "silver lining"/"light at the end of the tunnel", etc. I am not happy with my weight, but not doing anything about it. It makes me embarrassed. And sad. And angry. And I keep eating and not exercising.
My house is a mess. My yard is a mess. I feel like my life is a mess.
I've got some stuff to work on, I know that. I have no idea where to start. I'm living my life with the attitude that the days keep coming whether I fix my shit or not. What's the hurry? Clearly, that needs to change in a big way. Wanna come along for the ride? I'll let you know if I can make it. Maybe if someone else drives I can just ride shotgun?
We are about 2 weeks away from the BIG Karate test in Breckenridge. My boy is starting to turn away from excited and is entering serious nervousness. It's going to be very intense and hard for those testing. We go up on Friday and they will bow in at 7pm. That night will probably go until 2 or 3am and they have to be up and ready to run at 6am. Saturday is all day ending around 2am. Sunday morning starts very early as well and goes until about 6pm. We will be tired, very tired. I am trying to get myself ready mentally for it. I'm afraid I won't be ready. Not to mention that the testing fee is due next week and it's $200.
Shell's 20 year old niece has some kind of mass on her brain that's causing horrible headaches and some seizures. They were going to do surgery last week, but she had a sore throat that ended up being strep, so now she has to wait until that is gone before they can operate. Shell is very worried and is feeling very far away. This has caused some tension since she has wanted to move back to CA for some time now. She wants to be there for her family and although I understand (especially right now), I really hate the idea of moving back. I just can't, not with the kids.
I got my car back... after paying my $250 deductible. It might take months before my insurance can get payment from the other driver's insurance. Not something I was planning on. I'm glad to have my car back, but to honest I was kind of glad to be in the rental for a while. My car needs the brakes replaced badly, and although I can't ignore it, it's hard to think about it with the money flying out of my savings already.
Speaking of money... I don't want to talk about it. We've got a lot of corners we should have been cutting and now it's a necessity. It makes me sick to think that people are so blind to what Bush has done to our country, that they don't see the damage McCain will do. I have been really hopeful that people will see that we need Obama to be elected, but at the same time I am so fearful of what will happen if he doesn't. That reminds me, I need to apply for my mail-in ballot.
Our health insurance is changing. We are insured with Cigna through Shell's work and have been very happy with it and our rates have been pretty low. So of course, our rates will now be going up and we have to change provider. I need to read through everything and see what is the best choice and have our decision made by the end of October. I really want to be able to keep the kids' pediatrician. He's seen them since they were a few weeks old and we love him and his practice. I also hope to keep our gynecologist. The practice is all women and one of them is a lesbian herself. Shell likes them too and is finally on a protocol that she is comfortable with. I'd hate to mess that up.
My girl is going through a rough patch right now. 5th grade is proving to be a bit of a struggle for her and although she's getting excellent grades, I'm a little worried that they could be affected. The social scene is so much different in elementary school from what I experienced. I second guess every bit of advice and comfort I give her. I'm afraid it's not enough, but I'm not sure what is. I remember being 10. Life was still easy and unburdened then. She doesn't feel that. I want her to so bad.
My relationship is holding on. Sometimes by a thread, but it's still there. We've weathered a lot of storms in our life together, and each one challenges us in a different way. And we challenge each other. But in the end we love each other and our family in the fiercest way possible. Sometimes we lose sight of our relationship and start to take it for granted while dealing with everything that life throws at us. When one of us has to say "Hey, I miss you", we find a way to reconnect and find ourselves again. Right now, I'm not a very easy person to live with. I'm struggling to be the happy person I used to be. I feel like there is so much pressure on me and I can't seem to find the "silver lining"/"light at the end of the tunnel", etc. I am not happy with my weight, but not doing anything about it. It makes me embarrassed. And sad. And angry. And I keep eating and not exercising.
My house is a mess. My yard is a mess. I feel like my life is a mess.
I've got some stuff to work on, I know that. I have no idea where to start. I'm living my life with the attitude that the days keep coming whether I fix my shit or not. What's the hurry? Clearly, that needs to change in a big way. Wanna come along for the ride? I'll let you know if I can make it. Maybe if someone else drives I can just ride shotgun?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Pieces of Me
OK, so I have no good excuse for not writing in awhile, but I have been reading lots of blogs and have seen this meme in two of them recently. I want a go at it.
Here’s the meme:If you want to play too, type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search. Using only the first page, choose your favorite image, then copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows).
The questions:
1. What is your first name? (Tyff)
1. What is your first name? (Tyff)
2. What is your favorite food? (steak)
3. What high school did you attend? (Western HS)
4. What is your favorite color? (green)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (Janet Jackson)
6. Favorite drink? (ice water)
7. Dream vacation? (Sydney, Australia)
8. Favorite dessert? (ice cream sundae)
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (a grandma)
10. What do you love most in life? (my friends & family)
11. One word to describe you. (hopeful)
12. Your Flickr name. (I don't have one)
If you do one and post it, let me know so I can see. It's fun.
Friday, September 12, 2008
A week of sick
I am sick and I am very sick of it. Thankfully the week has gone by pretty smoothly or I don't know what state I'd be in now. The bladder infection I got on Sunday started to feel much better by Tuesday morning... which is when my sore throat started. That continued through Wednesday and turned into a runny nose with lots of sneezing on Thursday. All day I was walking from my desk to the bathroom to blow my nose. I looked like Rudolph by the end of the day. Last night I stayed in the car while my boy was in Karate because I was a slave to the Kleenex box and looked like it as well. Just lovely! I took Ny Quil last night hoping that maybe it would help, but I don't think it did. Now I have a runny/stuffy nose, a beautiful cough and a very raspy voice. And not the sexy kind either, it's the kind that turns into a hacking cough if I say more that 10 words. Answering the phone today has been really fun so far!
It has been raining since last night which I really love, but it's cold too. And I don't want to be cold when I don't feel good. The rain is supposed to stop later and the temperature this weekend is supposed to be in the mid-70's. That would be really nice. I need to mow the backyard and trim down my sunflower bush. Fall may be coming sooner than usual this year.
It has been raining since last night which I really love, but it's cold too. And I don't want to be cold when I don't feel good. The rain is supposed to stop later and the temperature this weekend is supposed to be in the mid-70's. That would be really nice. I need to mow the backyard and trim down my sunflower bush. Fall may be coming sooner than usual this year.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Hoping for a boring week
I've had enough. I want a week full of nothing exciting. I would like a week where I don't post here because there is nothing to say, as opposed to being too busy and frazzled to write. Last week was weird and crazy and I don't wish to repeat the chaos. In a nutshell, because if I write it all out this will be a crazy long post:
- Wednesday & Thursday my boy stayed home from school. He didn't feel good and we trust his judgment on that. He also missed his Prep Cycle class on Wed, but made it to regular class on Thursday. Luckily he was back to school on Friday and feeling lots better after lots of rest and hydrating.
- On Tuesday I got news that has changed the course of my life for the next 6 weeks. The wonderful woman who has been taking him to his Prep Cycle classes had to drop out of the program on doctors orders. I wanted to cry. Luckily, there is another kid whose parent has offered to drive my boy on Wednesdays, which is wonderful. I just have to take him on Fridays and Saturdays. My wife is less than thrilled about this, but we'll do what we must.
- My girl auditioned for choir and made me very proud of her confidence. She had to sing a portion of a song a cappella and then do the scales for the choir teacher. She is a soprano.
- Friday evening's Prep Cycle class took place in Parker which is about 45 minutes away from my house. They had to be there at 5:30pm, so because of inevitable traffic I left work early. I had to run home to get his belt because I forgot it when I loaded everything up that morning. The plan was then to pick him up from school, get something to eat and head to Parker. Well....
- I got in an accident on my way home. I am fine, there were no injuries. It could have ended very badly for me as it was my little Sentra against a semi-truck, but luckily there was very little speed involved and he realized what was happening pretty quickly. My car will need some work: the windshield is cracked, the drivers side window shattered, side mirror is hanging by wires and the door doesn't close properly. I am driving a really cute Chevy Cobalt rental until the repairs are complete. The other driver was at fault, so my insurance company will go after his to recoup the cost.
- We were late, but I did get my kid to Karate that night. Shell's friend drove her to work and we took her car. We had to pick her up at 6:15 Saturday morning. The boy had Prep Cycle that day from 9:45am-5:00pm. It was a long day but I made the calls to my insurance company and got that ball rolling.
- Sunday morning we met my parents at 8am for breakfast. I hadn't slept very well the night before and felt worse as the day went on. Shell convinced me to go to the Urgent Care that afternoon and I walked out with a prescription for antibiotics. I have a bladder infection. Fun! Shell took the kids grocery shopping while I took a nap and then we made dinner, watched a movie and went to bed.
Whew! So here's to a non-eventful week. I still have to have my car towed to the collision center, but it's technically out of my hands from here out.
I have a blogger friend who is going through an awful time right now. I am hoping that she can find some peace amidst the chaos. I wish only the best things for her. Love to you D.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
3 Day Weekend
This 3 day weekend couldn't have come at a better time. It was filled with good stuff.
Because of the holiday, my boy didn't have regular Karate classes so no late night on Friday. A few of the other Prep Cyclers decided to get together on Saturday for some review so we went to that. It was just a few hours and then we ran a few errands. We went to the mall and bought him a weapon he needs and we had lunch. Then off to clean my office. Then to the music store where I signed my life away for the rental of a trombone for my son. He decided to be in band this year and the trombone is the instrument he picked. My girl is sticking with Choir. I am pleased that they both love music so much. After the music store, we went by Home Depot to see if they sold lawn mower bags, but they do not. Ours is a hand-me-down and does not have a bag and I am tired of raking every time I mow. I called the local hardware store and they have one... for $50! I guess I'd better get used to the raking. We picked up dinner on our way home since it was by now after 4. Shell and I watched Little Miss Sunshine and were both a little surprised by how much we liked it. It's definitely not appropriate for young ears though.
Sunday morning my boy and I got to work on our yard. I mowed the front and side yards while he pulled the weeds and swept up the sidewalks. After I got done raking and bagging, we got to work on the garage. My parents had to get a new automatic garage door opener when my mom's side broke, so they got a new one for my dad's side as well. It was still working fine, so he offered it to us and he'd install it too. Since we didn't have one, we weren't parking our cars in the garage so it was cluttered with the kids stuff and just random things that didn't have a home. So in order to have room for my dad to do the install, we cleaned and got it organized. He came over in the afternoon and got it started. After he left, we got Chinese take out for dinner and Shell & I watched Le Divorce with Kate Hudson & Naomi Watts. This one, we did not like. We thought it was very slow and the storylines really didn't go anywhere. It was disappointing.
Speaking of movies though, earlier in the week we watched Prom Night (the remake) which wasn't bad as far as remakes of horror movies go and Penelope with Christina Ricci. It was very cute and although Reese Witherspoon's part was pretty small, we enjoyed seeing her in it too.
Back to the weekend... On Sunday night, the kids started to feel kind of yucky with sore throats and runny noses. By the time they got up on Monday morning, they had progressed to full-on colds. I got up and made blueberry pancakes, and we had to wake them up to eat. It was decided that although the day was supposed to be used for cleaning up their rooms, we would make it a rest and get better day. They were happy to oblige. My dad came back and finished up the garage door, which was very exciting. Everyone got to open and close it. I ran to the store to pick up stuff for dinner and we made chicken tenders and rice pilaf with crescent rounds. It was wonderful. The kids were in bed at 9:30 and we followed soon after. It was a really great weekend.
Because of the holiday, my boy didn't have regular Karate classes so no late night on Friday. A few of the other Prep Cyclers decided to get together on Saturday for some review so we went to that. It was just a few hours and then we ran a few errands. We went to the mall and bought him a weapon he needs and we had lunch. Then off to clean my office. Then to the music store where I signed my life away for the rental of a trombone for my son. He decided to be in band this year and the trombone is the instrument he picked. My girl is sticking with Choir. I am pleased that they both love music so much. After the music store, we went by Home Depot to see if they sold lawn mower bags, but they do not. Ours is a hand-me-down and does not have a bag and I am tired of raking every time I mow. I called the local hardware store and they have one... for $50! I guess I'd better get used to the raking. We picked up dinner on our way home since it was by now after 4. Shell and I watched Little Miss Sunshine and were both a little surprised by how much we liked it. It's definitely not appropriate for young ears though.
Sunday morning my boy and I got to work on our yard. I mowed the front and side yards while he pulled the weeds and swept up the sidewalks. After I got done raking and bagging, we got to work on the garage. My parents had to get a new automatic garage door opener when my mom's side broke, so they got a new one for my dad's side as well. It was still working fine, so he offered it to us and he'd install it too. Since we didn't have one, we weren't parking our cars in the garage so it was cluttered with the kids stuff and just random things that didn't have a home. So in order to have room for my dad to do the install, we cleaned and got it organized. He came over in the afternoon and got it started. After he left, we got Chinese take out for dinner and Shell & I watched Le Divorce with Kate Hudson & Naomi Watts. This one, we did not like. We thought it was very slow and the storylines really didn't go anywhere. It was disappointing.
Speaking of movies though, earlier in the week we watched Prom Night (the remake) which wasn't bad as far as remakes of horror movies go and Penelope with Christina Ricci. It was very cute and although Reese Witherspoon's part was pretty small, we enjoyed seeing her in it too.
Back to the weekend... On Sunday night, the kids started to feel kind of yucky with sore throats and runny noses. By the time they got up on Monday morning, they had progressed to full-on colds. I got up and made blueberry pancakes, and we had to wake them up to eat. It was decided that although the day was supposed to be used for cleaning up their rooms, we would make it a rest and get better day. They were happy to oblige. My dad came back and finished up the garage door, which was very exciting. Everyone got to open and close it. I ran to the store to pick up stuff for dinner and we made chicken tenders and rice pilaf with crescent rounds. It was wonderful. The kids were in bed at 9:30 and we followed soon after. It was a really great weekend.
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