Ramblings

This post may or may not make sense tonight. I feel the need to write about my week, so much has happened....it may be very disjointed. Please bear with me here.


My mother in law has an infection in her knee. She had her knee replaced over 2 weeks ago and it is still infected. This is limiting the amount of physical therapy she is capable of doing and I am very worried about her and how this will affect the success of her knee. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.


Report cards came home on Monday. Cassie did very well, she has mostly A's, a couple of B's, a C in math (no surprise) and a D in Literature!! A 'D'!!! She had an A in that class the previous month. We were very shocked, to say the least. We told her to talk to the teacher and find out why she received that grade. The teacher told her that she was missing assignments, Cassie said that she turned them in....hmm...something seems a bit fishy here. I need to make an appointment with the teacher to find out exactly what the problem is. We also got the results of the standardized test she took in Sept. Her scores were very good. She is above average in everything but math...again no surprise. Her highest scores were in language and writing....no surprise again. Fortunately her math teacher, who we had a meeting with 2 weeks ago, has agreed to tutor Cassie every Monday after school for an hour. This is very kind and generous of her...any ideas on what we can do for her to show our appreciation??


Now on to Michael's report card......he does not get grades (A's, B's, etc), but he is doing well and has good marks in all his subjects. His test scores though....incredible....he scored in the 99th percentile in reading....98th percentile in science...his overall composite score was 95. That means that only 5 percent of 3rd graders in the nation that took this test did better than him. We were shocked. We had a meeting with his teacher today...and she said she was shocked when she saw his scores. He obviously is one smart little boy. Now we have a decision to make...do we leave him in the Catholic school, or do we put him in the public school and he can go into the GATE (gifted) program?? If he stays in the Catholic school, he can try for a scholarship for high school. If he goes to the public school he will have more opportunities and challenges. We asked his teacher today and she is leaning towards public but wants more information on the GATE program at the school he would go to. We need to gather information and schedule another meeting with his teacher. Maybe he is so difficult to parent because he is so smart?? I don't know but he sure is cute!!


You would think that would be enough for one week?? Nope, there is more....


Our sweet dog Baron is turning into a monster. All of a sudden his personality is changing and he is showing aggression towards the kids. He is now 18 months old and has always been a challenge to train, he is the hardest dog I have ever trained. This week he has snapped at both kids and is now showing food aggression. We have hired trainers this past year to help us with other issues, but my money tree is running out and right now I just can't afford it. Baron is not the first dog I have trained, but is definitely the hardest. I spoke with his breeder last night...who also happens to be a good friend, and she gave me some advice and helpful hints. She also said she would take him back if needed. We have to make a decision now whether to keep him or not....I hate this!! I wish I could really talk to Baron and tell him to stop this craziness. We are having a family meeting this weekend to talk about this. I think we can work together as a family in training him through these issues....I hope we can. Right now I am afraid to have my children's friends come over...Baron is too unpredictable. We have never had this problem....it is very hard.


What a week!! I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving and I am cooking for both sides of the family!!!



Thanks for listening.....

Ramblings and an Award

This adorable award was given to me by my good friend Mamarazzi. Thank you so much...I love it....and I big red puffy heart you too. Hopefully, if the stars and the moon align up perfectly next Thursday I will have the distinct pleasure and honor of meeting Mamarazzi in person for coffee!! I am very excited about that.



I realize I have been remiss in my blogging as of late. I apologize for that and I appreciate the inquiries from my blogging friends. You make me feel so loved. I have been extremely busy with life lately. As you know my mother in law had her knee replaced and I have been busy helping her. She is doing well, although she may argue with me on that!! My father in law has been very spoiled in his lifetime, consequently he is a domestic nightmare. I think my mother in law's recovery time is going to be lengthened just because of him. Needless to say, my help has been greatly needed and greatly appreciated. I am also very happy to live close enough to be a source of support for them.


Our house has been busy also. Dave was on a business trip last week so I was a single mom for a few days. It was also girl scout week and the meeting is at our house. I went on a field trip with Michael's class to the zoo, that was fun. I had a meeting with Cassie's Math teacher and found out that she is getting a D in the class due to her careless mistakes and her laziness...that was fun to hear!! Michael also had his first basketball game....that is a post by itself!! We have let our housekeeper go in order to save money and I have forgotten how much time is taken in heavy cleaning. I think I need to call a family meeting and delegate some cleaning chores to my family members!!


Of course we also have the usual daily activities like working, walking the dog, cooking meals, schlepping kids here there and everywhere, and all the other mundane chores that make my life so interesting. Unfortunately blogging is last on the list and by the time I sit down to the computer at night my brain is so tired that I cannot think of anything coherent to say. On second thought maybe an incoherent post might be kind of fun....hmm...something to think about!!



So that is all my excuses why I have been MIA this week. I would like to say that next week will be better, but I don't want to jinx myself. I am participating in FM this week and I have some post ideas swimming around in my head....hopefully I will get some writing time this weekend. Don't give up on me just yet!!!

Ramblings and a Give Away

This was too cute not to share. My mother in law sent this to me in an email....isn't it great? Speaking of my mother in law...she is have her knee replaced on Tuesday, if you could keep her in your thoughts and prayers that would be wonderful!!

I have scheduled my follow up ultrasound for my breast recheck next Thursday. I will keep you posted on the outcome...think good thoughts!!

Cassie was gone all week at camp with her class from school. She came home today and I was so happy to see her! She changed alot this week, for the good. The camp is a team building experience and she said it was very positive for her class. She came home more confident and mature. She is growing up into a wonderful young lady, I am so proud of her!!

It is now time for another give away!! A couple of weeks ago we took our girl scout troop to the Jelly Belly Factory and I brought a few bags of Belly Flops to share with my blogger buddies!! All you have to do is comment on this post and I will choose 2 random commenters....did you hear that?....2 lucky friends will get their own bag of Belly Flops!!! I will choose the winners next week, probably on Friday...you can comment as often as you want, no limit!!

Babbling Brook

It is now 8:45 in the evening and I am just sitting down for the first time today!! This was one of those days that I thought would never end. I worked today and could not wait to finish my last patient. I really hate days like this because the time drags by so slowly. Usually I love my job, but sometimes days like today happen. After work I had just enough time to go home, change my clothes and load up the kids and the dog in order to take my daughter to tutoring.





Her tutoring is in Berkeley and I like to walk our dog during her hour session. Tonight I had the distinct pleasure of having Michael with me. It was so lovely to listen to his whining during the first half of the walk, it was muzak to my ears. Of course once we turned around and started back, the whining magically stopped, his side stopped hurting, his throat stopped hurting and I think world peace was accomplished! He even started leap frogging down the street....amazing isn't it!





I have showered and am relaxing now. I hope to get some visiting done tonight. If I don't get a chance to come to your place, don't worry. I am off work for the next 5 days so I am sure to get some visiting time in, I hope! I am going on a field trip tomorrow and I am taking my girl scout troop on an overnight on Friday.....please don't forget about me, I promise I won't forget about you!!





My second Give Away ends tomorrow...there is still time to sign up....

Bullet Points from my Day

Just in case you are bored and looking for some excitement, I thought I would share my day with you!! You can thank me later!!

Today was my last day to work for a while!! Next week we will be camping in the Redwoods and celebrating my 42nd birthday....which is Monday, by the way....plenty of time for you to go shopping and mail me my gift!! I will be spending the next 4 days preparing for camping - getting out all of our gear, taking inventories, washing stuff, making lists, shopping, preparing foods, packing - work....a lot of work....just so we can spend a week sleeping in a tent, getting dirty, cooking outside, doing dishes outside, walking to the potty room...pure heaven to me..I can't wait to be in nature with no electronical distractions....just the family and the fun we will have!!

I have found a dog trainer who will work with us and Baron so he can pass his Canine Good Citizenship test and work towards becoming a Therapy/Companion dog!!! I am very excited and can't wait to start the process. The whole family, well maybe not my husband, will be involved in the process. I think this will be great for Baron and the kids. I am not sure which direction we will take with this...hopefully the trainer will have some ideas when she gets to know him better!!

And last, but definitely not least.....I submitted Our Adoption Journey, see links on sidebar on the right, for publication to numerous places and today I heard back from one. They are interested and want to publish it in their magazine!!! I am so excited....an editor will be in contact with me soon to begin the process!! Yea!!

Well, I guess I better go and cook dinner now....have a great day!!