whirlwind of friend visits and thundermuffin mission complete!

so i continue on my short vacation...this morning i got up early and headed to the park to exercise...i walked a lap, ran a lap (mostly) ease back into it. going to have to 'push the envelope' if i want to get serious about toning up. then i began my trek down to branson!

oh, branson. i like you small...please stop growing.

i love branson. don't judge. first stop: dick's 5 and dime. i had to get a miniature pig...and found some other animals i had to have...why you ask? because someone, somewhere is going to be in need of a smile at some point, and i am going to supply it in the form of a miniature animal. wait for it... then i made my way down to the flea market-i always go when i am in town, because they have my favorite sheets-since 2011 so...yep, got new sheets-yum. and then it was time to head out to college of the ozarks to see my dear friend kristin. 

we had two hours to ourselves to catch up-the kids were down visiting their grandparents, and kyle was at a convention (i believe). it was so good to laugh and there were just so many things to talk about-a full day would still not have been enough time! i do appreciate this young lady-she lives to love on people and does it so well! kristin is the picture of grace under fire. i really wish she and my co-counselor, lindsey wheeler knew each other; they would be fast friends, because they have so much in common! it is amazing to me how some of my most compassionate, caring friends are the ones who are fighting physical ailments that to the general public, aren't visible-and in many cases if you don't know them, you'd never know the pain and exhaustion they deal with on a daily basis, because they would never complain about it. i admire them immensely! 

then i made my way over to lampe, mo, k2! the lady at the security post asked if i needed a visitor pass: yes, i'm pretty sure i should. when i told her i was just there to visit, she said, "that's great! lucky you-wish i had the day to go down and play...what all are you going to get to do?" my response: i'm just going to visit with trish for a little bit. that's all.  (at a camp that has lake access, jet skis, wake-boarding, every sport under the sun...i'm just here to chat...with one of my 'inner circle' friends). we just need to sit and catch up every once in awhile-i love our friendship (since '98) because it's so stable. she said it best today, and i can reciprocate- if i ever REALLY needed something, i know i could/and would go to her; one who would never commercialize on me, and will always speak TRUTH. so even though we only had maybe 45-1hour, it was precious time! #bringsoutthebestinme

fortunate to have forged this friendship

all too soon, trish had to go to the cafeteria to be a lunch-presence. since i'd already eaten, i took the opportunity to go up to see emmy before she worked the afternoon ropes course shift. the harmon family is like a second family in dallas to me. i absolutely love them! i've know them since '98 as well, my kamp connections are strong. i love it when most of them are together, and that was the package i got today! diane, emmy, brett ann, and hank were all there! and some of the kiddos were upstairs playing or sleeping. so it was fun to sit and chat with them. we always laugh together and often have some very sober conversations about family, politics, the Bible, and just life in general; authentic! i may be helping diane out with a little artwork for her class-we have that bond-smile. and hopefully emmy and i can connect to go climb the silos sometime when she gets back to dallas!

before leaving the tablerock neighborhood, it's kind of an unwritten rule that if one has any decency, they will stop by the blueberry farm for thundermuffins! so, as is tradition, i made the right instead of the left and took the gravel road less traveled and that has made all the difference! had my cumulobluebus, and i continued a tradition of sending shea a batch of thunder muffins! i had purposefully toted her address along (not that it is really heavy enough to tote. it was in the back of my amazing journal). when she saw the pic, i think deep down she knew before she even offered the bribe (i smile because i was already long gone by the time i got the offer) 

then i headed back to lebanon-where i saw several signs for hosea bilyeu-commissioner; first of all, i was sad that i didn't get to see the rees family. but it was somewhat exhilarating to see these signs first hand, in person, because i'd seen them working on the campaign on fb, and posting pics. and for me, when it comes to politics, voting for the guy with the most integrity who is willing to do what is right will always be the way i lean! so while i didn't get to see my missionary friends, i was thinking about them quite a bit-with much fondness!

and it was supposed to storm in this area tonight, but for the moment, crisis averted, the dogs will not be barking at least not until the wee hours of the morning..and hopefully not even then, rain, rain, go away...or if need be, arrive in the quietest of fashions...i'm tired. 

and tomorrow we fly (as in: fly, fools -ala gandalf...we will not actually be flying. we will be hurrying in another direction; norman to be exact. craving hurts. yes, it does...ok, i-am-craving-hurt's-donuts). 

good night!

julie

love affair...i'm sure i'll get over it...maybe if there weren't thousands of recipes

and yet another week has managed to slip away...already we are entering our 2nd 6 weeks of school. strange, as i have still not been able to settle into any semblance of a routine. that is not good for me. i'm like a kindergartner-routine can be a good thing.

i mentioned in my previous post that my nutribullet RX came last week-and already i have been putting it to use. made the usual shake-enough for two, so i could have some for lunch...and then i made a tomato soup on saturday. that is a minor mystery-miracle. i don't even like tomato soup. in fact, when mom used to make it for us, i'd skip the soup and just eat the grilled cheese sandwich. well...now i'm skipping the grilled cheese sandwich and eating the soup! it was SO good! that i ate a little...then i ate a little more..and then i was craving it for dinner...and i may or may not have had the last of it today for lunch. yikes..i know. and so i decided to try making a hot pumpkin spice latte drink...only i fear i did it wrong, because when i wasn't watching, the liquid started coming out, and when i came around the corner (because something in my gut said jrob, you better just check it out, being the first try and all...)...when i saw pumpkin coffee-stuff oozing out of different parts of the machine, and puddling on the counter, a little on the wall, i quickly unplugged and tried desperately to salvage what i could because i really wanted to taste it! so i had this dilemma of: SAVE THE DRINK vs SAVE THE MACHINE-dry it out! i know it's not supposed to be submerged, so i'm fairly certain it isn't supposed to be self-deluged either...good thing i got the 3 year warranty...

that said, i was able to save about a cup-worth...but it needs some tweaking. i wasn't thoroughly impressed.

this morning i was hopeful that when i plugged her back in, she'd work like a charm...and she didn't disappoint!! (must come up with a name for her). so...today i decided to try a couple of different things. this week i decided to revert back to fish tacos, so i made my avocado/roasted pepper sauce for the coleslaw....yum. and then i decided i should try another drink-this time a cool drink, so i had a caramel cooler-that recipe is a keeper! it fixed the rumbly in my tumbly. and now all i can think about is what to make next...is this what a love-affair feels like? surely this cannot be healthy..even though technically everything i am making is healthy...

it's amazing to me how those little blades can extract all of those goodies and make the smoothest drink ever! even more so than my ninja (which i thought was pretty amazing-looking somewhat like edward scissorhands). if all other weapons are not accessible, turn on the nutribullet and try to get the villain to come closer and stick his hand in...ok, so not that practical as a weapon.

yum! papaya, mango, pineapple, raspberry, greens...i pulled some russian kale and pumpkin leaves to try them...it was a little nutty. (not like nut-house-crazy, more like a nut-flavor); perhaps it's an acquired taste.

the comforting tomato basil...and i added a few of my own ingredients (turmeric and nutritional yeast for a cheesy-flavor)

 a few weeks ago, i decided that i liked an idea on fb, so i thought it would be a good exercise to start collecting some of the things that make me happy and filling up a jar. after i got a couple in a jar, i realized that they only put that picture on fb because it looked cute. if you're putting in a 'happy' every day, they would never fit in that little jar (unless you were a fairy and wrote with the tip of a baby safety pin on a 16th of a square of toilet paper and wadded it up and then put it in the jar). so i found this old cereal container-and since i don't do cereal, it is working out perfectly. i just have to remind myself, and sometimes i forget, so i do double duty-triple duty ok, sometimes i just don't even limit myself, and i write several.. #doesntplaybytherules so yes, i may have more than 365 by the end of the year-and i've only been doing it for a few weeks-WHATEVER!! don't judge! there are just so many things that make me happy! deal wit it!

 one thing that made me sad was when i got into my car the other day and my trusty escort did not turn on. i've had my little radar buddy for a good 6 years now. it was a sad day. so i brought it inside, and i haven't had time to look at it. i don't know if it might just be the cord, or if it is the radar itself. either way, it is a necessity, so i will have to go into the shop (hopefully it's still there!).

i don't think even mcgeyver can help with this one. sad day. 

i love it that we are working with social/emotional learning at school this year! our second graders are learning about their brains, and this week, i believe this class is going to be looking at some tools to help students, like breathing and the glitter ball to calm their little brains.

i am thoroughly excited to be going up to branson to visit and play for my long weekend-bmayes will be joining me after work! woo hoo!! i'll get to see mom and dad in their new place (maybe help with a little unpacking?) and then head down to b-town. yay! one of our friends is getting married-but it's not until 4:00 pm on sunday-i have to work monday, so i don't know that i will get to attend the wedding as originally planned (i didn't realize the wedding was so late in the weekend). and i have a feeling that after playing all weekend, i won't do well driving late into the night. but at least i will get out of dallas for a bit, see the autumn leaves-good times! the boys will be staying with joanne, and they seem excited about it! bruno was happy about not riding in his car seat for so long, especially as we will probably be making the trip for Christmas.

today, we actually got to share our walk with joanne and fudge, they all walked really well! it was nice to actually have a chance to talk to joanne, because we've seen each other at a couple of PL things in the haskell building, but each time, there has been something going on, making it impossible to actually catch up! boo. so it was good to catch up today-we have certainly missed having her at cabell, but i am excited that she is enjoying what she does in her new position!

i've spent most of my weekend working on curriculum maps, because although we worked on them last week, the materials that the district has made available to us are better than the curriculum we have at hand. especially after going to the training and asking our teachers to go to the training...i felt like this should be something they have at hand. i still have one more grade level to work on, but hopefully it will be helpful-

and with that, i think i will call it an evening! (and yes, breakfast shake with the RX!)
julie

summer is always too short!

well. finally a little summer vacation. it went by all too quickly!

as soon as summer science discovery camp was over, i had to stick around town for a special introductory meeting for STAND for children-educator network. we had a great turnout for summertime! as a matter of fact, i did speak, but that wasn't the most exciting part (although i felt like i nailed it) the best part-as always was the spread:

you really cannot beat brie with fruit-one of my all-time favs

 of course before the big event, i took the boys for a walk--i love it that i can get on that back trail and walk them without the leash, and that they are pretty good about staying this close.

 the next morning was an early morning because i did not have everything packed in the car as i had planned it out in my head; and we wanted to get an early start! so we were able to get out of dallas around 6:30ish, which got me up to Oklahoma around 9 something. when we got there, for a brief layover (stopped to get bmayes), the boys got out of the car and bruno thought it would be a brilliant idea to roll around in the grass-still full of dew...hmmm.  so when we got around to leave, i'm sure bmayes was relieved to be driving her own car, because as i got into mine, it was 'wet dog'--if o'reilley auto parts sells that as an air freshener, i'll pass!

we left my car and the dogs at my parents house and then went on to branson-kind of a second home!
i probably should have paid more attention to the ratings before i booked the cheap hotel off hotels.com...it was pretty shabby. kinda dark-like vampire dark movie. and the bathtub...i wanted to go to the store for some cleaning supplies. we decided we weren't going to be spending much time there anyway. and bmayes thought the hotel next to us was featured in hotel impossible. i was like..."oh, the one with howie mandell?" because all bald men are howie mandell to me. and she said, "no...i guess he kinda looks like howie...he is bald." so...it's actually anthony melchiorri. and i did look up the episode and the pics..and then i google-mapped it satellite view and as a matter of fact, it WAS one and the same!!

bmayes, we probably should have gone and bothered one of the cleaning folk to just 'get a glimpse' of the newly renovated rooms!

anyhoo...we did get krispy kreme, and were not disappointed (totally worth it to go in and get the hot fresh doughnut as well!)

don't ask, i just liked the display!

 we were under the impression that silver dollar city was closed on monday because apparently they didn't update the schedule on google from their winter schedule...we decided to stop by anyway just in case, and guess what! it was open! thankfully bmayes had worked at kamp and we were able to get in at a discounted rate!

the girl in front of us definitely tried this and looked a little silly

 best ride in the park...powder keg! we definitely went on this one twice.

 we also went on the outlaw run (once), fire in the hole (once-nostalgic-i went when i was really young, and it was definitely more exciting then [plus there weren't sarcastic, annoying teens back then]), wildfire (twice- short line) and thunderation. i was a little nervous every time i had to leave my purse and phone in a cubby...in fact more worried about that than roller coaster mishaps (even after the disaster at six flags about a week prior)

 one of the random things we got to do was just lollygag (who even came up with that word?) around at dicks 5 and dime, which is a little dime store with a little bit of EVERYTHING! i think the little train that goes around the store is somewhat endearing.

 then we made our way over to trish's to drop off a wedding gift for her son, only no one was there! so we left it on the porch. then we went out to kamp to see who was there. on the way down the main drag, we stopped and chatted with diane at the ropes course and were fortunate to be joined by dj who was driving by on some sort of mission.

then we made our way down to chat with trish and had the rare opportunity of catching her at her kamp home with no one else there but Darla muffin (her yorkie); it was so great to sit down and spend some time with her. i know she was busy and had a lot on her mind as they were preparing to go to her son's wedding! (wow, it seems like just yesterday when he was in elementary school reading the lion the witch and the wardrobe!) how time flies when you're growing up!

we then headed up to the dining hall, and didn't eat (there is a reason). we got to see shayla (trish's daughter) and i got to see a former kamper from Egypt-taline! that was a throwback!! how fun!

we went back up the hill and stopped at diane and hank's house to see the work they'd done, and diane gave us the grand tour with emmy-it is grand! i wish they had even more time that they could spend up there!! it is such a beautiful home!

there comes a moment when hunger wins out over everything else, and we had to leave to go to the blueberry farm, because let's be real...you don't stop out in this area without stopping at persimon's!

this is why we couldn't have lunch....cumulobluebus...ah.

 we also hit up mr. gilberti's-best pizza in the area! and we also made sure to get danna's barbecue- i had never had bbq beef nachos before, and i was a little skeptical, but i'm glad i had them! yummers!

bmayes had to get back to ok, so she dropped me back at mom and dad's, and i may have taken a nap. the boys were pretty excited that i was home! and i hear that they make a lot more noise when i'm around than when i'm gone. i chalk it up to the protective factor.

 

so peaceful!

 they quickly found resting spots beside me in the office.

just...wherever.

my dad decided he needed a shop to work in. when he first mentioned building a shop, i thought about the shops I've seen in dallas behind houses-more of a little storage area. so when i saw this little house, i thought, "whoa! i should have him and Rodney build me a house." i don't need anything fancy...just a house.

today he was on the roof outside working on the tyvek, and i will admit, i was a little worried that he was not on a harness or scaffolding or something.

 

 i did stop into the local pet store and make a purchase. i got clippers for the dogs. i got the expensive set. i figure if i pay a lot, i will make sure that i use it. it was a little exciting and a little scary at the same time. little dogs are harder to shave than big dogs. they have such little parts! and of course the model on the instruction manual was an ugly giant poodle. (a little easier than a 5 lb yorkie...).

mom said she saw them scratching and thought they might've gotten fleas from the cat, or the yard. well, i figured i would scare the crap out of those little buggers and they probably felt like those mice in the secret of nimh. anyhoo, today i made the homemade version of flea and tick stuff and gave them a spray and a comb...i haven't seen anything, and i don't think they've been scratching, so...knock on wood!

the lady at the shop was pretty excited about this tool, and she since there was no one else in the store, she showed me all of the tips and tricks about trimming the dogs!

 

we were doing fine until he started wiggling...he may have a little bare spot on his chest that slightly resembles a heart if you cross your eyes and squint...

i am excited about getting home on wednesday, because i should have two important things coming in the mail! woo hoo!

julie

beware bandits in bandanas...thugs with hidden mugs

when i came home the other day, there was a paper in my door (and every other door). that paper informed us that a resident was robbed at gunpoint last friday in the east phase (my phase). he wore a bandana across his face, underneath his eyes...i thought that was old western stuff. he must've just gone to see the lone ranger and decided that this was acceptable attire.

all i can say is: don't bother coming to me for money, i'm a teacher. and i don't carry cash-especially when i'm walking my dogs. that said, obviously i am paying too much to be in a gated apt complex. ask me again why i wanted to get my chl.

i cannot believe that next week is the last week of science discovery camp! it has gone by rather quickly. we shall see if they have learned anything when they take the post test...hopefully it hasn't been just fun and games-hopefully it's been learning without realizing it!

although i know it was fun because they kept coming...and the 'vice principal' asked if her middle school son could join us to help out in the class (she was tired of him lounging around and not doing anything); so i said sure he could come and help out. i don't know that he was a ton of help, but she said that he went on and on about 'ms robinson this and ms robinson that" so that's a good thing. apparently i reminded him of his teacher in middle school..she must be AWESOME.

anyhoo, that pretty much means that in about a week i'll be on vacation finally! cheap (but fun) trip to branson with bmayes to see friends and play...i know, it's not disneyworld or the beach, but when you're amongst friends, it doesn't matter where you are-you make memories! can't wait-i haven't really spent time with friends since school got out.

i have been recording murder she wrote-i just think angela lansbury is such a classy lady! anyhoo, they play these over night on the hallmark channel, so as you can imagine, the commercials they play are laughable...light up pillows for kids and the cat's meow toy. i actually kinda want to get one for my parents' cat. i think he'd get a kick out of it-and he could definitely use the exercise.

i know i'm probably killing all of my facebook friends bc i've been sharing a bunch of posts about recipes and tips recently from an awesome source so that i have them handy. yesterday i used one of the posts about carpet cleaning, and then today i made the pizza bites recipe-i will be keeping that recipe! yummers!

so easy! canned biscuits, pepperoni, cheese, eggwhites, parm, italian seasoning! boom!

then i had a crazy craving for something sweet-so i made some roasted almonds and pecans. super easy, just takes a little patience. delish!

 

 and i took the boys in for their dental cleaning the other day-they have to have anesthesia, and chaco has reactions, so they cannot do that and the vaccinations on the same day, so we'll have to go back on tuesday. and the vet said bruno had gained 3/4 lb, so we have to cut back on treats. so i changed up our treats a little, and they still love it.

celery is a pretty cheap go-to.

so, let's review. masked robber better watch out for me because i am enraged about the ludicrous amount of money i am paying to stay in an apt that has weak security. science camp has been amazing, but i cannot wait to be done. i love new recipes and tips...and the boys are fine with being on a diet.

julie

there's a man hot-tubbing in my tea!

home. headache. long day-long ride home.

even chaco is exhausted-he's curled up beside me, too tired to finish his treat! he's had a long week. bruno was able to relax around the cats, but chaco was on edge most of the time; he just needs to be around the cats for an extended period of time to get used to them.

this morning, i decided that i really needed to stop by and put up the banner that i made, because hopefully it will help make a great ending to a fabulous trip! so i went an hour out of the way to branson to put it up. i guess it wasn't really out of the way, because i really had to stop at dick's 5 and 10! besides, the drive is so easy (i remember when it used to be a 2-lane, under construction and one night when i was driving to k.c, i almost got in a wreck because of the construction-that was YEARS ago!) anyhoo, when i got there, i pulled out the tiki torches to hold it up (i wasn't sure how i was going to support it, but i found tiki torches at walmart that were just the right height!), and put them in the ground, then when i tried to zip tie the banner to them, they kept leaning over. well, i forgot to get tent posts to anchor it, so i looked around and found a pile of scrap wood that was being thrown away and broke off a couple of pieces that i could pound into the ground (i brought one of dad's many mallets and i had some purple duct tape) it was standing when i left, and i tied a card to it with a 'catch-up' letter. hope it's still standing and they don't miss the letter!

this is what happens when the people i want to see are gone on vacation

as i was leaving, someone was pulling in-through the circular drive. hopefully i didn't scare the neighbors!

then we stopped at dick's 5 and 10 because they had the pillows that mom and i like, and we've had difficulty finding them. so i bought one for me and one for her-they only had two. so i couldn't be picky about the designs... i have difficulty sleeping with any other pillow, in fact, it may take awhile to break this one in. anyone else out there with this problem?? gotsta have your own pillow?

i'm excited

tonight i still need to take an online assessment before i go to the assessment center tomorrow! ugh. i might just have to wake up and do that tomorrow morning, my head isn't feeling it right now. i also wanted to re-read a chapter in my leveraged leadership book-because it's just that good.

so, i was worried about my package that was supposed to arrive while i was away..no worries, it arrived! i now have a little man hot tubbing in my amazing tea cup that maria got for me! yea!

i need to go buy a good canister of tea! world market or whole foods, ready or not, here i come!!

wow. i just re-read through this post, and i can tell i have a headache-super flat...sorry!

ok, i'm off to find some excedrin and take a shower-gotta get rid of this headache!! boo.
julie

darth vader did not really die...i know where he lives

today i went for another joy ride..what else do you do when you've come to the end of your budget and don't get paid until you're on your way home? and it was beautiful and relaxing!

you may not believe this, but i saw it with my own eyes! after the whole death star thing, and fighting the forces of good, darth did not die. amazing what the big screen can fool your eyes into believing! medical miracles happen every day. that was a cover up-he retired and moved to a farm out in misourri and is now raising goats, bunnies and chickens.

hard to take in, i know. (proof is in the red-eyed rabbit)

it's going to be hard to leave on friday morning!

tranquility.

 but then, it will be good to be home-i almost forgot, i should have 2 packages from the fed-ex man...i left a note on my door for him to take them to the front office..hope he obeyed my command honored my request...because they're cool things. and i may have a training date with someone's dog~time permitting.

my dad worked on this the last couple of days, and this afternoon he brought it home and said i had to paint it. so i did...it still needs another coat of paint, but here is the lock box for the ipad or 2 and ten i-touches..hopefully the school will spring for a charge and synch box (they're a little pricey), but i had him build it with that in mind, so it will fit in the back slot. then, i'd like to put anchors on it so that it is secure in one place, and all one has to do is carry the carrier to class. tomorrow we will go to the fabric store and find some foam or something to line it for the actual devices.

the one we saw in austin opens from the front, and has a drawer-like tray that slides out, but we couldn't figure out why it would be necessary, and the drawer rails aren't super cheap, so we improvised. afterward, i thought, hmm..if you have two, you'd probably want the second one to have a tray if you were stacking them, so that you could access it more easily...so if we need a second one, and if they need to be stackable...but for now, this will suffice for our needs.

i'm excited because tomorrow i get to go down to branson to visit a dear college friend! they actually moved back to the college and are working there! so i get to visit the most beautiful campus in the ozarks!

julie

i kinda like my creative side sometimes

last night i finished what i started about 2 months ago! first of all, i will say it was a hassle getting this thing in my car, if you will recall. brand new car and it barely fit. when i got it home, i sanded it up and painted it two shades of brown.

just an excuse to purchase a sander!

and last night i finally decided to finish painting it so that i can set it up later as a headboard. the only thing is, i am going to have to figure out how to put it up because it's really heavy! the lighting isn't great, but here is the final product (apart from one board on the back which i have to remove).

it looks much cooler in person

it matches a canvas set i painted awhile back. i'll have to take a better picture in better light. sorry. also yesterday i worked on our bathroom bulletin board again, now we just need gigi to make us a count-down! woo hoo!

yes, it has battery operated lights.

it's always a sense of accomplishment to finish something, but two things in one day?! no wonder i didn't get started on my Christmas cards like i had planned! hmm.

i walked into the apartment tonight, and i threw on some sweats i had worn in branson. well, when i reached into my pocket, i found the key card we were looking for before we left. i knew i had used it, but i had no clue where it was! i'm thinkin' i sat it down and one of the boys slipped it into my pocket when i wasn't looking!

hopefully they don't charge for them. oh, and the dominos that's advertised on the front is right next to my hole-in-the wall sushi restaurant that i took mom and dad to.

may your creativity and productivity astound even you,
julie

let's brand some cattle and turkeys!

it's thursday night and tomorrow is jean-ius day for our red-ribbon week...if our kids start spelling genius incorrectly, i am not going to be very happy! (although they probably already spell it incorrectly-i just want someone to blame!)

i got a call from mom last night and i am happy to say that we have made thanksgiving arrangements! we're meeting in branson. (i know, how unique and original?) but seriously, i think they really enjoy it there as much as i do! the condition was made that we needed to find a place that allowed dogs! so mom called last night, and we've got everything planned! woo hoo!

bruno was excited to see mom and dad. chaco thought i said :we're going to brand some. and so he proceeded to ask what we were going to brand. i was a little confused because i didn't really understand what he was asking. he really thought we were going to a dude ranch and branding cattle and turkeys. strange dog.

what are we gonna brand mama? what are we gonna brand?? can we do turkeys?

i finally figured out why he was asking that and i explained that we were going to BRANSON. once i showed it to him on the map, he understood. he has never been there before, so perhaps he will be impressed by shoji tabuchi and the baldknobbers...?

well, hopefully the man who was working on the fire alarm this afternoon got it fixed, because these 'fake' alarms going off are not conducive to learning! i will have no more of this! i put my foot down (and then i put the other one down and keep going in that same pattern until i am out the door,  with my class, in compliance with the fire-drill code...boo).

i was going to make potato soup tonight, but i really didn't want to get out of my car to get potatoes...i'll have to get some soon because it is certainly potato soup season! i don't know why, but that just reminded me of spuds...remember spuds mckenzie?? the bud light commercial dog from the late 80's! has absolutely nothing to do with potato soup...but why would they call a dog spuds? they were probably out drinking and eating potato soup when they came up with that commercial.

oh, and in case ya'all hadn't heard, HONDURAN coffee is being sold at starbucks! check it out!!

turkey and cattle for thanks giving...instead of surf and turf i guess chaco would like it to be leather and feather...?
julie

don't forget your baby suit!

ok, not gonna' lie, i think summer school is draining me more this year than last year. it's the kids, the program and i really think it's things here at home as well-which i didn't realize until today. today i was looking at some texas brochures (made by kids) and i thought it would be great to share them with you!

i picked this one because i thought it might be a relevation (yet perhaps not quite accurate) i liked the 2nd largest state EVER?!?! (it was the ever that makes it inaccurate in case you weren't certain).

don't forget your baby suit when you go to the beach! (i'm sure she's been wondering for most of her life why this thing is called a baby suit, i need to enlighten her and do a little 'splainin')

the kids are great with me- i believe in instilling the fear of God (and ms. robinson). well, i've had issues in the afternoon because when i leave another person comes into my classroom and teaches dance babysits. and when i come in every morning the desks are not in place and there are chairs spread all over the room. i think it bothers me a little bit because i learned that you should always leave things better than you found them! (thank you k2!)

apparently my kids aren't in my room in the afternoon this week- a different grade is, and from what my kids said, they are rowdy (which was confirmed by our office manager)...so today i stayed in my room a little bit later than normal because one of my very responsible girls said that she told one of the boys not to go in a certain area yesterday (because i had told them so) and the boy said, "well, your teacher isn't here right now, is she?" oh no he didn't... today i may or may not have introduced them to 'the rude child's worst nightmare.' they had zero respect for the man in charge. yes, i butted in a few times to get them in line. when i walked back in, the guy was trying to teach them the dance and there were 5 or 6 kids sitting around talking, drawing, etc and one of them was sitting in the chair behind my desk-if you are a teacher, you understand that the desk is a sacred, private piece of furniture, and what's on that desk is of a confidential manner. i'm pretty sure my eyes must have held the look because he was up and dancing before i even had to say anything. 

i was a little embarrassed in the bathroom because after i went in, i heard the all too familiar voice, "in 15 minutes or less, you can save..." and i looked over in the corner, and there he was-thinks he's so cute.

but he was an imposter-it wasn't even a real good accent-he sounded more indian/baliwood.

and i'm back to trying to retrain bruno on the potty issue. it's a little different than when my parents potty trained me (not that i remember, but i'm guessing they didn't offer me a twinkie or a chocolate chip cookie every time i went to the kiddie-toilet...although i noticed on a friend's fb that she has been giving special treats to her kiddo)...and i'm pretty sure that when i accidentally had an accident (redundant..not changing it) my mom didn't throw a hanger across the room to get me to stop mid-stream. that may or may not have happened yesterday (bad mama...but it's because i was in the bathroom and when i yelled his name, he just kinda' looked at me as if to say,'whaaaaat?')

and tonight i made a difficult decision. my dad called and i had to let him know that i wasn't going to be able to make it up to branson (i have been looking forward to this since oh..march-ish, if you'll remember i wanted to go to silver dollar city with david, hollie and the kids and mom and dad, and i may have invited shea to come play since she was going to be in the area anyway!) i just think the boys have been stressed and with bruno on meds and just getting his molars out...i cringe at the idea of driving them up and then making them stay in a kennel (visions of them cowering in a corner while the other dogs bang on the jail cell bars and yell mean things about the shower..)

anyhoo, that was my big adventure for the summer. boo.

and i was informed that tomorrow someone from the program is coming in to evaluate me. guess what no pdas, so guess what...big. deal.

if the baby suit fits, wear it...(because bathing suits cost a lot these days)
julie

interrupting the nap-my turn!

today the boys were not happy with me because of the soccer game. they were trying to take a nap and i kept interrupting them with claps, shouts, etc. (at one point chaco was shuddering because we usually don't get that much excitement in our home).paybacks for all the times i try to take a nap and chaco somehow finds his hidden squeaky toy right as i doze off.

i was very proud of the USA WOMENS TEAM! they played an amazing game and they should be proud of their dominance in the game-there were just some small details and opportunities that were missed. it's ok, the olympics are coming!

on another note, today i realized that it is super difficult to give both dogs a bath at the same time-it's not so much during the bath, it's the after-trying to get them dry before they trounce around the house! chaco is scared to  death of the hair dryer, and bruno just wants to run around and roll around.

he looks a bit pathetic sitting there-he had been hiding under his towel

after they are mostly dry, as soon as i turn of the hair dryer, the boys have a routine...it makes me laugh, so i let them run and jump on the bed-they get giddy and start giggling, "look at me! look at what i can do!"

it's hard to catch the action, but there's rolling and tumbling and trying to tunnel under the folds.

well before the game came on, i decided to try something new to see if it would help (the boys have been trained to use their potty pad, i've mentioned this before, but recently they have been  behaving badly, so i decided to try something). check out the video to see how chaco responded (disclaimer, their food and water is out in the living room because i put up the child gates so i could keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't doing things they aren't supposed to):

forgive me, i took the video sideways. but perhaps i can find another use for the spray... a trick or something, because it's pretty obvious that it doesn't work for training him to pee on his pad...or maybe it does, but my dog just likes to roll around in filth.

i'm trying to figure out exactly what to do with the boys this weekend because i'm going to branson to see my parents and my brother, hollie and their family; and the place my parents stay doesn't allow animals. grr. so i've looked at a couple of different options, but i'm not sure exactly what we're going to do.

alright, hope everyone is able to shake off the gloom and despair of losing the world cup-mean girls cheered me right up!
julie

p.s. just saw a commercial on abc family for cyberbu//y-a family original about 'standing up to digital drama'
pss. if you haven't checked lately, hollie has some really cute summer fun creations! click here