Sounds like an interesting weekend for everyone, in one way or another.

Mouse- you poor thing.....seems as though you are a magnet for strange situations these days!!!! (and for your sake, I hope this all passes)

Kerry- aren't we supposed to get some rest on weekends????? (and you have a busy week ahead of you!). Hope the time on the soccer field is pleasant and that your soccer players play well.

Summer- you too sound as though the next few weeks will be busy. (guess they will for all of us). The parties sound like fun, and I guess you collect Longaberger. I used to get their Christmas edition basket each year, but sort of got out of that habit (lost my Longaberger sales rep connection). They are so pretty. And what is with the parents sending their child to a hay ride in white tights???? What were they thinking???

Robyn- I too miss your wit and comments on life. Hope life is treating you well.

Got to church with Dd....Dh ran off with our 2 oldest to go to a baseball game......Dd and I are going to do a craft and then rent a movie.
See ya tomorrow.
Ginny

My friends have said for years that I'm a magnet for strange things. One friend in college gave me a mug that has the Cow that Jumped Over The Moon on it. The cow is laying upside down, legs in the air, with the moon over her. The caption reads, "Really, I'm fine!" And that pretty much describes my life. I don't MEAN to get in these situations, but I really do very often.

Ladder 49 was AWESOME! We're not in it. They used footage of the parade, but they used the Special Olympics group instead of us. Oh well. I also didn't spot the co-worker from my school who said she was in it. I may not have recognized her, who knows what they did with her hair and make-up?? Take lots and lots of kleenex if you go. I didn't, but a fellow Disaster Team worker came prepared with enough to share.
It looks like they filmed during the blizzard, too, and used real TV footage for when the firemen were watching TV in the station: it was an evening, though, so no school closings were listed, just churches and malls. I'm going over to iTunes to buy the title track song they play at the end...
We went out to eat afterward, but I'd had popcorn at the theatre (no butter), and didn't even finish the regular bag. There was a good 1/4-1/2 of the bag left. And I had vegetables and spinach dip and brought half the dip home. It'll be a good dinner tomorrow night with soup. I snuck one of my own sodas in, because I can't drink their diet soda.
I also got almost half a mile in (I had to leave to go shower and get to the movie) at the pool, then did the laundry when I came home. I need to go find something for dinner... I'm not hungry, but I also know that dip and popcorn won't cut it with the meds.

Evening Ladies,
Well I got my walk in this afternoon. I walked for a half hour, so I am assuming that I got close to two miles in. It was a nice fall day to go for a walk. Then I came home all calm and relaxed to go to the kids games. They played really good, but they still lost both games. The twins were mad. But my stepdd took in stride. She told her brothers that it was just to have fun and to get some excerise.
Ginny what kind of craft did you make with you dd? What movie did you watch? Tonight I think I might watch one of the movies I got from the library yesterday. Hope you had a nice afternoon with your youngest dd.
Mouse, I felt the same way about the movie. I told my dad that I was glad I didn't go see it with him, my sister and brother. I wouldn't have been able to sit through it then. My dh even was crying and he rarely cries. I hope your week gets better for you this coming week.
Summer and Robyn have a great week.
Well I am off to IM with my best friend and then run to my mil's later to get some stuff to do a science experiement with my kids tomorrow. Talk to you all later.
Have a wonderful work week!
Kerry

Hey all. I really need an extra day. I know I keep on saying it, but I can't get everything done and have some sort of recreation during a two-day weekend. I got my laundry done, but it is in huge piles. The kitchen is clean. But I never got around to stripping the beds. We should be washing the sheets and quilts in hot water at a minimum of every two weeks because of DD's and my asthma, but it ends up being more like every three. It just takes so long to dry the quilts that it holds up all the other laundry that needs to be done. I've got to get myself to do it during the crazy work week sometime between 6pm-10pm along with dinner, homework, schoolwork, cleanup, preparing for the next day, reading with DD, and bedtime. AAAHHH!!! Anyway, we decorated for Halloween (FINALLY!). I redid DH's resume. DD and I worked on some activities for Brownies that she needed to complete before her investiture ceremony. I did tons of schoolwork including lesson plans. I paid my bills. We never made it to church. I hate missing church to get things done and not even get everything done that I should have. I hate beginning school on Monday morning with piles of clean laundry all over the place. And to make matters worse, I haven't finished switching seasons, so we've got halter tops and shorts mixed in with fleeces, sweaters, and cordoroys! What a mess! I've been eating apple products like they are going out of style!!! I am still waiting for my South Beach Diet Book to arrive. I ordered it from Amazon.com. All my other books arrived quickly. I've already finished one of them and have started another.

Ginny, I'm not really a Longaberger collector. Everything is SO EXPENSIVE. But, one of my closest friends, DD's Godmother, is a Longaberger rep. She has catrillions of baskets and other products. I've gotten a few from her as gifts. My favorite is an Easter basket for DD. It is off-white with pastels woven in, and the liner is a jelly bean print fabric. She gave me a teacher basket and also a plain basket that I use for biscuits. I just bought my first basket for Halloween. It is so cute. The lid has a ghost for the knob. I am having the party to see what free stuff I might get and also because I want to support my friend's business. Not that she needs my support. She is making a lot of money doing this. I don't know how she does it. She is a nurse who works at a hospital full-time and part-time at a doctor's office. No, she doesn't have any children yet.

Mousie, I like your sense of humor about your circumstances. I am also a magnet, so you aren't alone.

Kerry, you certainly were busy this weekend. How do you get everything done? You are busier than I am? Maybe you are more efficient than me.

Robyn, yoo hoo!!! Where are you?

I need a weekend to get over the weekend....

Tomorrow we have boy scouts, baseball practice and I have PTA.
I also have promised that I will NOT drink another soda.
I also have promised to do 20 sit ups.
I also have promised to STOP eating like a pig.
I also have promised to write junk down.

One hour at a time!
Sorry to be AWOL...
It is after 1 a.m. and I'm still messing with my plans for the week...
I'm WAYYYY to old for this!

thanks for missing me. Kerry, tell me about Curves! PLEEEEZZE!
I'm requesting an IEP meeting for my ds instead of a teacher conference...then they MUST work around my schedule!

take care...I'll tell you how I'm doing with my promises tomorrow!

Glad to see that everyone has made it thru the weekend...one way or another.

Robyn- so glad to hear from you!!!! (but ya want to tell me what you were doing on the computer after 1 am?????!!!! Oh, none of my business, I just have little energy at that hour, that is all.) You made some good promises there....but proceed slowly. If you can make even two of your 4 changes this week, then you are doing well. I'd LOVE to send you a copy of the summary pages from the WW book on how to work thru emotional eating- they have all kinds of stuff like mental rehearsing, storyboarding etc that you can use to bolster yourself out of the stress eating. Ya, it takes work, but does help. Hope your week goes well.....keep in touch, ok? Good luck with the IEP meeting too...Whatever it takes to get what Ds needs, right?

.
Summer- when you get there, you get there. Your family is still pretty young......can't say that it is tons easier with mine being a bit older. Don't be too hard on yourself. Maybe try to take on one small extra task a day (when the energy is there) to muddle thru all the housework. Do I dare remind you that you just went thru a few weeks of torture, when I am sure you were not up to yourself for cleaning and lost all kinds of time phoning Dr's?? You are here, and healthy!!!! That is all that matters, right? I know about the Longaberger being pricey~ notice I collected only when I had a connection- my Longaberger lady gave all of us in playgroup a big break on the baskets. Can't afford them anymore. But good luck and I hope you get some nice stuff from the party.

Kerry- you had a busy day too! Good for you getting a nice fall walk in.....bet it felt so good! Too bad about the kids games, but what a great attitude! What movie did you end up seeing? We rented Country Bears (we had seen it in the theater) but both of us liked it the first time and it was fun to see again. I rented Cold Mountain for myself (never got to see it the other time I rented it! grrrrrrrrrr!). Dd and I are making a fleece hat for her from Singer kit. It seems easy for her and looks like it will be cute.
I'll be letting her use my sewing machine for it- her first project with that.
Mouse- sorry that you are not a movie star.....but glad you got to see Ladder 49.
You had a pretty good day (or it sure sounded that way!) too. Even got a swim in. Good for you.
Today was not too bad. Got a walk in this am (only 15 minutes but better than nothing) and am considering joining Leslie Sansone for a bit this evening. My eating was pretty good today too. I did paint the dining room ceiling today while watching Cold Mountain. A tear jerker at the end...but I kind of expected that. Every so often I need to see something like that that I wanted to see, and boo on every one elses tastes in movies.
I'd better go see what Dd is up to. Have a great evening.
Ginny

Well... this will come as NO surprise to any of you, but I'm taking a group of kids to DC for the Red Cross Youth Leadership kick-off Nov. 1. Admin approved it, and then my supervisor didn't even have the grace to blush when it was brought up. This is the same gentleman who let my team leader and that database administrator witch insist that I don't go the extra mile. Yea... he should've been red as a tomato while we were talking!!! Oh well. They also knew I wouldn't turn it down because I think the kids need to do things like this and no other staff will do it or has my connections with the Red Cross.
I went swimming to do...swam for 55 minute straight without stopping. I finally stopped to drink some water and got really cold, so I left early. I had planned to swim for 90 minutes or so today. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.
Tomorrow I have a Red Cross meeting... assuming I can stay awake long enough to go.

Robyn, I'm glad you found a way to use your "PARENT POWER." Flex those "PARENT MUSCLES!" You do whatever you have to for your baby. I'm impressed with your promises to yourself.

Ginny, you are absolutely correct. My DD is still a little young to help out a whole lot. I'm in the process of teaching how to rinse her dishes and load them in the dishwasher herself. She has to climb up on a stool to do it, but she can handle it. She already knows how to clean her room and playroom (not as good as me, but well enough to make them presentable) as well as unload groceries. The older she gets, the more things she can help me with around the house. Heck, when I was 10, I came home to an empty house, did my homework, and started dinner every night. She is only three years away from learning how to cook, but the way the world is today with all of it's freaks and pedofiles, she won't be a latch-key kid like I was. So, getting to the point, each year that she becomes a little more independent and helpful, my life gets easier. I just have to think back on the days of diapers, breast-feeding, and sleepless nights to know that my life is easier now. Someday I will catch up on all this endless laundry. I did get to change my bedding today and wash it!

Mousie, it looks like your supervisor was put in his place. Good. You should be proud of those 55 minutes of swimming. It is a heck of a lot more than I have done for my body in a long time.

I am still waiting for my South Beach Diet book to arrive. I would like to get the "show on the road." In the meantime, I am eating myself into Halloween candy oblivion.

Hey Kerry, how's it going?

I was up until nearly 3:30 doing school work for this week and next...trying to get ahead..... then got up at 6 and left at 7 and stayed out until 8:40 at the PTA meeting...
I am MORE than just exhausted. My feet and head and eyes are literally throbbing....
BUT...
I got a HUGE HUGE compliment from one of my new collegues! She is a great teacher. She is very young. She says that she is going to "park" herself with me as she loves what I'm doing! I am thrilled! She is a great teacher and it makes me grin that she thinks that I'm good at what I do!

AND

1 , count her, 1 parent came to the big PTA meeting that required about 2 hours of prep. Didn't even do what was prepped. We had a parent / teacher conference and fed her baby! (She fed him...I conferenced!) LOL

I kept most of my promises..... until about 9 pm...... but today has been better!
Ginny I'd LOVE to read your WW stuff! If I could see straight I'd PM my snail info...but, not tonight...My head and feet and eyes are not cooperating... I'm heading to bed...and will talk to you later about it.... THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I'm typing with my eyes closed...definately time for bed!
take care people!
meeeeee

Robyn, congrats on the accolades from your coworker!!! SLEEP. GET THE REST YOU NEED. I'm on my way upstairs myself. Have a wonderful day tomorrow.

Evening Ladies,
Glad to hear that everyone had a great start to the work week. I had a good day with my students. When the rain started, my kids behavior changed to silliness. But I was able to make it through the day and got a workout in at Curves tonight. Came home to a sick dh, who begged me to go to the store and get him some 7-Up. He even got down on his hands and knees to beg me. So out the door I went. I do have to admit, it was rather funny being greeted at the front door by my dh tonight to ask me to go get him his pop. I informed him that he was going to be going to see a doctor tomorrow evening if he was not feeling better by the time I got home from my TOPS meeting.
Mouse way to go by putting your supervisor in his place. I hope he finally realizes that you are a wonderful teacher and do go the extra mile for your students. I think this rainy fall weather might have a lot to do with how we feel working out. I had to push myself to go around 3 x's at Curves tonight. Keep up the good work. Sounds like you had a decent day at school today.
Summer don't beat yourself up over the way your house looks or what chores got done. Just remember that it never goes away, it will always be there. But if you only got one chore done nightly wouldn't that be better than not getting anything done at all.
Robyn, boy sounds like you had a really long day too. Please get enough rest. We don't want you to become sick because you have worn yourself down. I really think that is how I came to get Chicken pox last year. If you go to the excerise forum and click on the Curves link, go to the first post and it gives you a wonderful descripton of the program. I really love working out there. So I hope you find that helpful.
Ginny, as for watching a movie last night. I ended up walking to my mil's house and visiting with her for about an hour. Came home and then went to bed. So I just decided to return the movies to the library tomorrow. I got The Recruit, Big Fat Liar and Kangroo Jack. The last one was a hoot watching it with my stepsons'. They laughed until they cried. Glad you were able to squeeze in a walk this morning. I hope you were able to visit with Lesile tonight. I enjoy starting my day with her.
Well ladies, I am starting to fall asleep here. SO I am off to bed, before my head crashes onto the keyboard. Talk to you all tomorrow.
Take care,
Kerry

Evening, All! Obviously, I need to learn how to say NO. CAn you girls help me? I got volunteered to help two teaching assistants with their planning for a "career readiness class" that they are supposed to be teaching. I can't say that I don't know what to do with them, because I do it everyday in my classroom... so I can't say no, because then I'm lying. I won't lower myself to anybody by lying.

Well, if anyone can tell Mousie how to say, "No," then you can tell me as well. I am terrible at saying, "No." I get roped into doing things that I would rather not all of the time as I watch others "living the life of Riley" and doing whatever they would like to do. Right now, I'm having a scheduling conflict with the other Sunday School teachers I share 1st grade with. I got scheduled for Halloween, and because we are busy, I shouldn't have been on the schedule in the first place. Anyway, we were told that our assistant would be available to substitute whenever we needed. Nobody wanted to teach Halloween, so I thought our substitute would do it. Well, the sh*thead won't answer my emails. She is refusing to help us out. And to make matters worse, she is a lousy assistant who never does what she is supposed to do. What good is she?! Anyway, somebody stepped up to cover my Halloween Sunday. He asked if I could trade with him. I told him I could do his November 14th. All of a sudden, he doesn't need me to do that date. But would rather I took December 19th, the morning after the Boston Pops concert. I will be really tired and hungover. I won't be able to teach Sunday School then. He is trying to guilt me into doing it. So, I told him if there was no other Sunday he could trade with me that I would do it. I will be so pissed off at 7am on December 19th when I have to teach 20 1st graders while I'm hungover! So, Mousie, good luck with saying, "No." I wish I had an answer for you. But I'm no good at it either.

Kerry, sorry DH is sick. It is wonderful that you enjoy Curves so much. Your commitment is something you should be proud of. I love my gym, but I can never get there. Once I get home from work, it is all about spending time with DD, doing homework, fixing, eating, and cleaning up after dinner, reading to DD, putting her to bed, schoolwork, and then trying to relax before bed. I must try to get it in on Saturdays if nothing else.

Guess whose useless aide was out sick today?! This is day number 8. We've been in school for 35 days, and she has been out for 8 of them. That is 23% of the time that she has been out sick. 23% of the time that the kids had to adjust to several different adults helping out in the room. 23% of the time that other teachers had to sacrifice their aide to help me out. 23% of the time that the routine got all screwed up because nobody else really knows how things are done in our room. Anybody want to bet whether or not she will be in tomorrow?!

Mouse, I have the same problem with telling people no. I am up being guilted into doing something when I really don't have the time or desire to do it. I am still working on that problem myself. Like my afterschool program director asked me about working for her on Thursday night the whole entire length of the program instead of leaving at 4:30, I would stay until 6:30. She is really short staffed this week and thought I would like to make up the hours we are going to miss tomorrow night by going to our staff meeting. I told her that I would get back with her. But my problem is that on Thursday night, I have to run to the gym and get a workout in, come home do laundry and pack to get ready to go to my parents for the weekend. Plus I have to be up and out my front door on Friday morning by 5:45 to go pick up a coworker by 6 to hit the road for a 2 hour road trip to our confernce. So I have alot of thinking to do over the next few days. I told her that I would let her know on Thursday morning. Was that awful of me?
Summer, sorry to hear that you are having such a terrible time getting things worked out with your teaching schedule for Sunday School. Those people don't sound like they really have the kids best interest at heart or that they really care about teaching little ones about Jesus. I hope you get things straighten out soon. I hope your aide comes to school tomorrow and helps releive some of the stress off of you.
Robyn and Ginny I hope that you had a great day today.
I went to TOPS tonight. Only to gain 1/2 pound. It is just so discouraging to watch what I eat and workout to only gain weight. I told my dh when I got home that I was just going to give up and quit. He said okay fine quit and then you will be back up to your orginal weight. He asked me if that was what I wanted. I told him no and asked him to go for a walk with me. So we went for a walk around town. Can you tell he is feeling better today?
Well I better go and get ready for bed. It is going to be a long day tomorrow. Talk to you all tomorrow evening.
have a great Wednesday!
Kerry

Good evening!!!!
Gee, I miss a day and this thread is busy.......great to hear from everyone.

Kerry- asking for time to think about another commitment is NOT awful. It does allow you the time you need to assess your priorities and other commitments and truly evaluate whether or not you really have the time for this. Knowing how important those Curves visits are to you would be a big factor too. And remember, both God and Jesus are documented in the Bible as resting at times.....you are entitled to a break sometimes too. But I understand how neat it is for you to feel appreciated and know how much good you would be able to accomplish. And the $ are probably welcome too. A tough decision, but I am sure you will make the right one for you. Don't sweat the .5#. Do you journal with what you are eating? All bites, licks and tastes???? Could this increase be muscle??? (sounds like it to me!). Hang in there- there are so many who are not able to workout and attend meetings- this weight will come off! Chin up.

Summer- sorry about your aide woes.... How does she manage to get away with this??? (think I would lose my job if I tried that). Did she manage to show up today?How sad about your Sunday school woes. (one of the reasons I do not take on a class). At our church there is supposed to be a specific "substitute" list. Oh, and it never works either.

Mouse- great that the miserable supervisor got egg in his face!!!!!!! (makes you smile, I bet!).
Robyn-Wonderful-great- awesome about that coworker who wants to shadow you!
Flattery, the ultimate compliment. Send me your snail mail addy when you can and I will make copies for you, ok?
Mouse and Robyn- sorry to get terse with you, Dh just woke up crabby from a nap and can't stand the sound of the keyboard. So, I must be brief.
Not a bad day. Kiddies were not happy w/me as I implemented the new seating chart. Aw, they will live. Up to my eyeballs in painting the ceiling too. Almost done though. See ya tomorrow!
Ginny