Good evening, all. Busy, busy!
Summer, I'm sorry about the MRI. I had to have one last winter because of the pain I have on my right side, around the ovaries. My endocrinologist insisted. It was really hard, so again, I have been there. I can deal with the ultrasounds, but the hidascans and MRIs aren't any fun at all. The only problem I have with the ultrasounds is feeling dirty afterward (all the stupid gel). The tables for the hidascans and MRIs are awful, you're right... they HURT!
I hope the findings are NEGATIVE!!!! I hope that there is nothing to find!!!!

Everybody else: My kids come Tuesday. I talked to or left messages for all of my homeroom today. I have most of the stuff ready, but I'm nervous. I had these same kids this summer, so the class rules and stuff haven't changed. I'm hopeful we can just jump right into some academic instruction. I don't have time this year to spend 4 weeks getting them used to procedure and rules... I have to cover an entire industry area in 9 weeks... We do retail first, then Construction, then Hospitality and IT is last. There is so much stuff to cover in each area, and the school is being very strict about all retail stuff being in 9 weeks, then moving on... so I can't fiddle with the time-lines.

((((Summer))))

((((all of you)))) .........actually, I just wanted to hug you gals so that I could sleep for a moment or two! I am *SO* tired! ...and I have only MET the kids so far! LOL

Yesterday was a full day for me. My own Open House was from 1-3. (They ALL came! very gigantic, very huge !) 17 years...NEVER! Anyway.... finished with that by 3:45, rushed over to HR, then on to home....and then on to DS2's Open House...5-before 6.... Then on to DS1's....got there before 6 and left at 8:24! I am too exhausted to explain or even RANT about DS1's SpEd issues NOT being addressed.

There was supposed to be a "staffing" prior. I've tried for nearly 3 weeks to get this scheduled. NO one would take my calls or return my messages. THEN I get to OH and have to argue with teachers about his extra set of books.......I am RANTING, RAVING beyond CRAZED over this! (And THENNNNNN his school counselor tries to tell me that I missed a meeting Thursday morning.........LIKE H E Double Hockey STICKS!) Stephen's advocate is NOW IN CHARGE of making all school contact as I will yell like a sailor in their faces. It isn't the innocent teachers who have not been made aware.... It is his SpEd team who seem to be FORGETTING my kid! (Please remember that EVERY assignment has to be modified, he has to have notes given to him, yadda yadda yadda! His IEP is VERY VERY thick and his profile is VERY complex.)

Soooooooo, my life as a SpEd Mom is going to be THE big focus ....this forced on me at a time when I need to be concentrating on my new teaching assignment. (Yeah, I'd doing 1st grade....but geesh....EVERYthing is different where I am now!)

I'm so sorry that I've turned this into yet another rant from me. Stephen will survive... One of his best qualities is his resiliency (did I spell that right?) BUT why should he have to be "tough" to get an appropriate education.......

enough from my mouth.

Summer, dear, I'm sorry that a bunch of OoppaLoompas designed the medical equipment. I can not imagine having to use the doctor's shoulders for your stirrups with a group of visitors looking on! (((hugs))) You've been thru enough!

I'm sorry that I've ranted and raved......I'm just sooo tired both physically and emotionally. EVERY year for 7 years now I've dealt with going back to school being a huge issue for my kid. They PROMISED me that this year would be different....heck yeah it is.... His case manager won't even be at school for the first week.........

take care.

I am still in limbo. Since handing this situation over to God, I have felt the weight lifted from my shoulders. Yes, it is always in the back of my mind, how could it not be? But, I don't have the same fear as before. I'm trusting that He will take care of me.

I am discovering that I am blessed to have a lot of people who care about me. All of you have been wonderful. My coworkers have been amazing. Actually all of my friends are helping me cope.

You all know that I am turning 40 in October. My DH was planning to invite my friends and family out to a restaurant to celebrate. Well, my best friend offered to host my birthday party instead. Nobody besides family has ever done that before. That show of love is just what I needed this week.

Robyn, I'm so sorry that your son's education is a constant battle for you. I had to watch my sister go through the same crap for my niece. Unfortunately, it has continued into adulthood, since my niece still needs services. I hope that the struggle will lessen for you over time. Best of luck with your new class. At least you are happy with the staff at your new school.

Mousie, try to relax. You've done what you can to prepare. Whatever happens now, happens. (Sorry, I'm just so into "letting go" right now that I can't help myself.) You sound like an outstanding teacher. You will make it work.

Kerry, try not to take your students' behavior personally. I know that it is easier said than done, but you know you are a great teacher. If they are angry, let them. I find that the students I ride the hardest end up loving me the most at the end of the school year. You are providing structure and boundaries that they desperately need. Keep up the good work.

Ginny, you are such a sweetheart. You made me cry today when I got your card. Thank you.

Thank you to all of you. As soon as I get my results, good or bad, I promise to let you know. And, if it is bad news, nothing is going to change. I will fight my heart out. I need to be here to raise my child. Enough said.

TGIF!

I'll write more later. I'm going to bed!
Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Evening Ladies,
TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so forward to having a day off on Monday. I plan on sleeping in and not doing much that day. Yeah right, we have the kids this weekend. Like they are going to let me sleep in. LOL
I went to Curves tonight. I had a weigh in and measure. I didn't gain any weight according to their scales, but I lost 1 inch in my arms and 3/4 inches in my waist. Plus my bodyfat went down 1.30%. So I was very pleased with my results.
I hope everyone had a great day today. My day was very long and stressful at school. Thank God I was am to make it to Curves tonight to relieve some stress.
Well I am going to bed. I will individual post to everyone tomorrow.
Have a great weekend!!
Kerry

Well, I was obviously very tired as the rest of you... I came home from the gym with the intention of taking a 'short' nap. I woke up again at 4 am.
The cat is obviously to blame because he's gone and made himself a comfy little hollow where my pillows are, and where one of my legs usually, so he must have induced me to sleep so long, so he would be comfortable!
I STILL have all the work I brought home to do, since I went to the gym early Friday morning, got home at 2, ate and took that, uh, nap. Tomorrow I'm going to the gym, and then I'm supposed to go to my mom's house... I told her I'd stay at least for dinner, but I might have to leave after that. We'll see. She told me I wasn't allowed to bring any of my work with me or her grandcat (she recently got a kitten, and when I talked to her, the kitten was being bad, so she didn't want another cat in the house).
Okay... going to run... Maybe I'll go to the gym when they open at 5:45 this morning... Hmmmmm...

And I have been so pooped that I have not been here for 2 days..........just a short hello. Glad to see that everyone is ok, or as well as can be expected.
Summer- glad the card got there and that you gave this burden over to the Lord. He's in control of everything anyway....why not leave it to Him?
Kerry- your new little darling sounds sweet.......don't worry about being a crab in the beginning......you know that you have to start out laying out the rules.....and then can ease off a bit.
Mouse- you astound me with your dedication on a Saturday!!!! Hope you got that gym time in.
Robyn- facing two big challenges in one year........(how comes when it rains, it pours!) take a deep breath, Hon.....it's all gonna be ok. Face each experience with your wonderful sense of humor (canI use you on my bus???)

Gotta go-Dd and I am off for a civil war reenactment (can't stay for the battle,bummer). I'lll fill you in on my route......which is ok for now, next week will be torture. See ya later, sorry for being short!
Ginny

Woke up this morning at 5:18am. DD is trained to let me sleep till 8am on weekends, so I was all set to "sleep in." Finally around 7am I fell back to sleep.

Our house appraisal was $5000 lower than the one in December. We needed it to go up $30,000 to get our home equity line of credit. The appraiser really rubbed me the wrong way when he came last week. In the past, we've gotten compliments on the improvements we've made to our home and especially the landscaping and gardens in our backyard. This nimrod wasn't impressed. The good news is that our mortgage rep has a compassionate soul. He told us that he wasn't going to give up on us because although our debt is high, we have always paid our bills on time. So, he said to try to find another appraiser who would give us the figure we need or give it a couple more months. We may need to wait a year till we've acquired more equity. I just feel better knowing that someone out there has faith in our ability to get out of this mess without filing bankruptcy. I've always had excellent credit rating, so this whole nightmare has been a shameful experience for me. So, we continue to spend carefully and pay our bills while we wait to see what will happen.

Today, DD has a play date in the morning at her friend's house, then in the afternoon, they are coming back here to swim. We have no plans for the rest of the weekend, and I like it that way. I just want to putter around my garden and house and catch up on everything that got neglected this week. My garden looks hideous. I was too upset to care for it during the week, and I think I lost some annuals.

Have a wonderful weekend, and thank you again for your prayers and well wishes. Hopefully I will have some answers on Tuesday.

Afternoon Ladies,
Sounds like everyone has their weekend planned to relax. I woke up this morning around 6:30. But I just laid in bed until 9. I fell asleep off and on during that time. I finally got up and got my workout clothes on. I then did a 4 mile walking video with my sdd. She faithfully made it through the walk. I could tell she was getting tired around the 2nd mile and asked if she wanted to stop and she told me no she was going to keep pushing on. I have the laundry almost done for the day too. The last load is in the washer as I type.
Summer sorry to hear that your appraisal didn't come in at the price you wanted it too. But it sounds like you have a great mortage representative though. It is nice to see he is willing to work with you and not just toss you aside. Keep the faith!! Things will pick up and start to be better for you and your family soon.
Mouse, you must have been very tired if you took a nap and ended up waking up at 4 am. So did you make it to the gym this morning? Enjoy your visit at your mom's.
Robyn, hope you have finally caught up on your sleep. You sure have been very busy lately. Enjoy your weekend. You are the kind of parent I like to see at my school. Most of the parents we have at school just don't seem to care about their kids. And the only time,you see them is when they feel their child is right and the teacher is in the wrong. When it is usually the other way around or the kid has failed and the parents ask what have you done to help my child. So keep pushing for your son's rights. You go get it!!
Ginny, enjoy your cival war reactment. That sounds like a lot of fun. Enjoy your weekend.
Well I almost forgot to tell you about the little speech I got from my dh this morning. I am suppose to be a friend to my stepchildren and not act like a mommy to them. I asked him what I was to do exactly. It was just like a slap in the face when he told me that. So I have decided to just step back from really helping out with them and see if that changes anything or not. I know that is an awful way to be, but I was very hurt and upset about the whole situation. I basically gave up my time off from school to enrich them this summer and spend time with them and this is the thanks I get. Oh well, I guess it just goes to show how a male really thinks and acts.
Well ladies I am going to go and read a my SELF magazine. Talk to you all later.
Enjoy your weekend!
((((hugs)))))
Kerry

Oh Kerry! Just a couple questions...if you aren't allowed to be a parent to your step children when they are at your home, (and you are one of the best mothers I know) who will be the parent? Your husband (at least from what I've heard about) has left all of the parenting to you. He is the one who acts like a friend going to the games and having all the fun while you do all the work. Is he going to switch roles with you or will the only parent in these children's lives be their birth mother at their other home? Gee Kerry, I'm sorry you have to put up with this crap when you are just what these kids need. You are a wonderful mother. He should let you do what you do best.

Yesterday DD played at her friend's house in the morning while I did errands and stuff around the house. They came over around 2:30 and swam for three hours. Her friend is soooooo needy and annoying. Instead of playing with DD, she kept demanding that DH and I watch her do this trick and that trick. Finally I told her that she was at my house to play with DD not to perform for us. I know that sounds kind of mean, but if you were in my place, I think you guys may have responded the same. She keeps calling me "my friend's mommy" even though I have been telling her for months, "Call me Mrs. M." My snow days are gonna suck this year because my trade-off for her mother driving DD to school is for me to watch DD's friend on snow days. I'm getting nervous that she might try for holidays that she has to work too. We are off on 9/16 for Rosh Hashana. I already have plans, thank God. Hopefully she won't ask for me to watch her then. I'm used to my DD entertaining herself, and when we do things together, she is fun, not irritating.

You should see my laundry from this week. For the first time, I had more stains than DD. I spent hours using Oxiclean and shout to get all the paint and markers off my clothes. This year's class can't keep their dirty hands off me. I come home filthy every day! Meanwhile, the administration thinks the teachers dress too casually. I could never dress nicer. My clothes take too much of a beating.

Today we have to buy a wedding gift for DH's niece. The wedding is in New Hampshire next weekend. His sister is paying for our hotel room so we can go. I need to start painting the trim in the dining room so DH can begin wallpapering in there. I want it done by November for DD's birthday party.

Have a great weekend!

Afternoon Ladies,
Summer as for your comments you are exactly right. But he is going to find out how much I do for the kids in the end. Especially when I am not doing it anymore and it all lays on his shoulders. I think he started to find out about it a little yesterday afternoon. I did not do anything with him or the kids. I plan on doing this for a couple weeks and see what kind of comment I get from him then. I have left the disciplining up to him and we will see how the kids are then. Thank you for your nice comment about me being a wonderful mommy. That means alot to me. Several of my friends thought that the kids were my dh's and mine. So I guess I must be doing something right as a stepmommy that other people see it and not just my dh. You brought a smile to my face. Sorry to hear that your swimming date with the needy child was not fun. I pray that you don't have many snow days this year. Enjoy shopping for a wedding gift this afternoon.
Robyn, Mouse and Ginny hope you had a wonderful Saturday!
I guess we are suppose to play baseball this afternoon with some friends. Maybe that will help get me out of my depressed little mood. I hope that this school year is not like this every weekend the kids are here. Or I might just have to think about volunteering somewhere just to be out of the house, so I don't treat the kids like a mommy would.
Have a great Sunday!
Take care,
Kerry

Hello, all.
I am back from my mom's house. They convinced me to stay overnight, so I came home to a needy pussy cat. Poor little Imp. I disappeared at 7:45 yesterday morning (I forgot the gym didnt open till 7 on Saturdays!), and didn't reappear until 10:30 Sunday!
My mom took me grocery shopping which was a help because I needed some stuff and my school "forgot" to tell us they were changing the pay cycle. We've been back for 2 weeks, so I expected a regular "summer" pay check (we were in from 8-3 for 8 days the last 2 weeks for training and in-service). I got HALF of a summer pay-check! And I'd used the money left in my savings accounts to pay off some extra bills!!!! I had to borrow money from my line of credit for grad school to cover my rent. It'll be okay once I get the tuition reimbursement from summer session and the money the school owes me for stuff I bought for the classroom... With luck, I'll have it by this Thursday. They said it typically takes 2 weeks, and that they cut checks on Wednesdays... so all of my stuff should've been at human resources by last Friday, in time for this Wednesday's check cutting. I live right down the street from them, and my bank gives me credit for stuff I deposit right away. But the discount grocery near my mom's house doesn't take AmEx, which is the only credit card I have... so my mom helped me out.
I did get to the gym... did the weights, water aerobics and swam 3/4 of a mile yesterday. Which is good, since I came back from my mom's house this morning. I had perishables in the car so I needed to come right home... and I passed the gym on my way in. Its 20 miles away, so I'm not going back up there today. I should be there every other day this week though, so I'm not worried. Next week, though, I'll miss 2 days because I start classes Monday night, and Rosh Hashana is Wednesday night so I'll be at my mom's house. I need to be there before sun-down, so I don't think I'll have time to go to the gym.
I need to go get the mail in a bit, and scan coupons...

Summer- how miserable that the moron from the appraiser could not see how much work you have done. Thankfully, it sounds as though your mortgage rep is a sweetheart, and giving you the break you deserve. As far as Dd's "friend", playmates like that sure are a challenge. How old is this child??? I know it is crass.....but you might want to try acting as though you do not hear her until she calls you "Mrs M".
To me a play date that you have to "entertain" is worse than anything...I feel for you.

Kerry-you sure sounded like a wonderful caring stepmom to me too!!!! (what in the world is your Dh thinking anyway.......kids these days are so lucky to have at least ONE adult who is willing to take charge and set some rules!). And to have someone like you who is actually trained to educate..... I don't get it. I like your strategy, get busy with something else for a few weekends......let them fend for themselves. Enjoy your magazine...put your feet up and relax. You earned it!!!!!

Mouse- how miserable with your pay!! (think I would be furious!!!!) Thankfully, it sounds as though you have a way out of this financial corner figured out, but obviously are out of your comfort zone. I don't blame you. I sure hope that check shows up on time!!!!!! Good for you getting a workout in too. Hope your visit with Dm was nice too.

As for me, the civil war reenacment was hot, short but great. Both Dd and I enjoyed it...as a matter of fact one of the museum curators offered me a job.....which unfortunately pays minimum wage......I get quite a bit more than that as a driver. We had to leave before the battle (with dd coming home and Dh and Ds hungry coming back from Bball practice, there was little choice) but it was still exciting......fun.......Dd seems to share my enthusiasm for it too, which is nice. (My dream job would be to work at Williamsburg or Sturbridge or something like that).
Now, I have been infested by some viral bug......some cold symptoms......minor stomach stuff...just feel pretty lousy, but semi functional. I went to bed early last night, and have taken a nap today. Figures it is a day off and I am sick!
Opening day at school went pretty well. The nice part was seeing the faces on the families (parents and kids alike) as I pulled up to their stop...most seemed truly happy to see me (not so sure about the toxic mother stop.....can't please everyone!). Not too many horrific moments......the flasher did not grow up much this summer.....what a pity that I might have to keep him and his brother up front even though I need that space for the kindergarteners. Then we have the new student who decided to cross himself......(scares the tar out of me!). Most of the kids were great. I have to finish the seating chart tonight or tomorrow. Tuesday will be the real test- I will have all 3 schools that I bring home students from open, and I have a feeling that the trip home in the afternoon will be challenging. Too many miles to cover in not enough time. And that will make me late for my elementary route....oh well, you will hear me screaming Tuesday evening. Today was quiet, we went to church this am, and have just hung out home since then. Dd has spent most of the day with her Bf, and should be home shortly.
Guess I'd better go and make dinner. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Ginny

Robyn, our board comedian- how are you doing???????? Sorry I left you out above, I was responding to the more recent posts. At least this hurricane will most likely leave you alone, if it ever gets to Va. Hope your weekend is going fine!
Ginny

I realized that I didn't respond to anybody in my last post. I must've been out of it...

Summer: the playdate sounds horrendous. Although, I don't remember ever doing play dates when I was growing up. I played with the neighborhood kids, and had a friend that I'd known from Kindergarten who would come over once in a while... that was always fun, because we went to different elementary schools, and I only got to talk to her on the phone. My best friend lived across a busy highway, though, but we saw each other a lot because a busy highway for Lancaster, PA is really nothing.
We lived near the school, so we always went over there to play or ride bikes.
Ginny: I love reenactments... I worked at the Renaissance Faire in Pa one summer. I'd love to give it another shot... I didn't appreciate Williamsburg when I was there the first couple of times because I was too young, but I think I'd like it better now. I just don't have time to commit, and can't picture myself doing the whole camping thing. Some friends tried to get me to go to Pennsic, the SCA reenactment that they do every year out near Pittsburgh. But again, camping... and Pennsic is really strict about period camp sites.
I can't be furious about my pay, because I shouldn't have paid those extra bills till the middle of this month when I was positive we were getting regular checks again. Interesting thing is that I know I was paid, but there was no pay-stub in my mail Friday or Saturday. I wonder where it went!