My Mother In Law

I love my mother in law. She is such a good person. Kind, caring, helpful, never butts in my marriage, and never offers advice unless she is asked. I admire and respect her so much.

I am scared now. She is ill. It started about 1 1/2 maybe 2 years ago at the most. SHe began to have trouble walking. She kept tripping and falling over nothing. Her feet weren't working. She went to the doctor. THey ran tests. THey sent her to Houston to see more doctors for more tests. She went from walking with a cane, to using a walker, to being full time in a wheelchair in less than a year. Now she is using a breathing machine at night when she sleeps, and sometimes during the day as well.

SHe said at first they suspected ALS. Lou Gherig's disease. Then she said they were mistaken.

SHe never has come out and said "this is what is wrong." We don't ask. She hasn't wanted to talk about it.

She never complains. When you ask how she is doing, she says "I'm fine as can be." She gets together with her friends. THe friends that she has always been there for, have made it a point to be there for her. THey come to her house for lunch, and to play cards. THey decorated her house for Christmas, and then came back and took the decorations down.

She goes to physical therapy, swim class for exercise, and shopping if someone will drive her new van, so that she can just roll her chair into it. She does this cheerfully, with a smile and laugh.

The only time I have really seen frustration on her face was the day when she realized that she couldn't play the piano anymore. Not that she played it all that much before she was sick, but she could if she wanted. Then when Wyatt expressed an interest, she tried and couldn't quite do it. I saw the look on her face and it made me sad.

She wants to meet with the family this weekend, with an attorney. I am ascared. I don't want to hear bad news. ALthough I know it is coming. I am not ready for this.

I'm sad. I am letting Wyatt spend as much time with her now. So what if he misses a field trip or an activity with daycare. I feel it is more important to let him go and stay with her and my fil. I was glad that they went on the cruise with us last month.

I'm scared. I'm sad. SHe doesn't deserve this horrible illness.

Late Breaking News

YES! YES! YES!

THe governor just vetoed the legisltors pay raise.. YES!!! I loved his comments: They are asking too much of the taxpayers. IF this passed, then it should not go into effect until after the next legislative election, which would be 2012. An annual automatic increase in pay is a slap in the face to the voters. We need reform, and we need it NOW! A pay raise of a paid official should be voted upon by the people who voted to elect these officials."

YES!!!

Politics

I hate politics. I try to listen to the candidates. I do my research on who has done what in the past, supported things that I feel are of importance, look at the issues. I vote. In every election, even the small ones that just seem to pop up for random issues. However, I really hate politics. More so the politicians involved in politics. Guess you can't have one without the other. Here are some reasons why:

I hate mudslinging: Didn't these people learn that if you can't say anything nice, to say nothing at all? Stop twisting fact into half truths but leaving out vital imformation just to sway voters to your side. I really try not to vote for people who do a lot of negative campaigning. Tell me about YOU. What YOU stand for, what YOU plan to do, HOW YOU plan to do it. Not something that your opponent did thirty years ago, when he was 12, and probably learned a life lesson from.

I hate campaign ads. For the reason above. It annoys me to turn on the tv, and hear them. I stop watching tv.

I hate the way some politicians hold all of the power and force issues to go their way using that power. Case in point: Our wonderful legislators in Louisiana. Wanted a pay raise. (Why? It's a part time job. You ASKED us to put you in office, You KNEW what the pay was before you begged and whined to get put there. You have a full time job outside of this position. SHut up and deal with it.) SOO they hold up the governor's bills that he wants to have passed, stalls them in committee or on the floor until they "vote themselves a payraise". YES THAT'S RIGHT, THEY VOTED THEMSELVES A PAYRAISE!! A HUGE HONKING PAYRAISE! TRIPLING THEIR SALARY!!! And until they had that issue taken care of, nothing that the governor wanted to have accomplished was going to get done. The governor has some wonderful things he wants done with health care, education, and children's services. Things that would truly benefit the whole state. However, because of these politicians, none of that would be accomplished if they didn't get what they wanted. Soo they vote.. the payraise passes (barely), and a lot of the legislators who didn't support the payraise signed a waiver to donate the money to charity or to flat out refuse to take the raise. (Don't think I don't know which ones did this, because I made it a point to find out. It will greatly influence my vote next election.) THEN they made the raise so that they get a raise EVERY FREAKING YEAR!!! And the governor is refusing to veto or sign this piece of legislation. (IF he doesn't sign it within so many days, it automatically becomes a law. If he vetos it, then he will get nothing accomplished his whole term because these politicains will hold a grudge. BIG bunch of overgrown babies.) Power... that's what it comes down to.

and I hate uninformed voters, too. Those people who will just believe what they hear, don't bother to check it out, and then vote blindly b/c they like the color of the tie the candidate was wearing on the campaign ad.

no matter how long the road

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my cousins. Family time was really big in our family. I remember Sunday Dinners after church at my grandmother's house. (The fried chicken, potato salad, mashed potatoes, fresh from grandpa's garden veggies, and fruit salad. Every time I have fruit salad, I think of my grandma.) ALL of the aunts/uncles and cousins would be there. ANd it didn't matter the age, the cousins all played together. We fought, we argued, we made up, we were just kids. I can remember the adults cooking dinner and laughing.

I realized today, that even though my cousins and I are grown, married and have kids of our own, we are still as close as we were growing up. We may not see each other weekly, and sometimes we go months without a phone call. BUT when we do get a chance to get together, it's just like when we were growing up.. EXCEPT now we are the ones cooking, and laughing. ANd our kids are the ones that are playing, arguing, making up. The cycle continues.

Even when the road between our homes is much longer now than it has ever been.

TOday I went to my mom's, my cousin was in town with her husband and her kids. She called and asked if we wanted to ride over and visit. Even though we only got to visit a few hours, it was fun. THe kids played games that only make sense to kids. Something involving a checkerboard, stuffed animals, and unopened candy. The adults, sat and laughed and talked and laughed some more. No one wanted to be the first to leave and break up the fun. Even though she had a long drive home, she didn't want to leave either.

I miss those big family gatherings. I called a different cousin today. We were talking and she stated that she too missed those times. While a weekly gathering may be a bit much now, we have decided that we are going to try to do a big family barbecue at the end of the summer. THat's our goal. Now to make it a reality.

My husband spoils me

Today he surprised me. He gave me diamond earrings. Beautiful Diamond Earrings. I was shocked. For no reason, other than he wanted to give them to me. He bought them on our cruise. Held on to them for a "random day". Today was the random day. He never does stuff like this. Ever. I mean he buys me little things to let me know he is thinking of me.. a cell phone cover with an LSU logo... or a swim suit for the pool... or my favorite snack from the store. but never DIAMONDS!!!

I love him. HE spoils me. I will keep him.

I love where I live

I really do. WHile I don't love the actual house (I want one with just ONE more bedroom and all of the rooms a little bigger), I do love the location of my house.

I live exactly 4 miles south of my sister and 4 miles north of my mom. And yet, I see them very seldom. WE talk on the phone at least once a day, but actual visits are more likely to occur about once every two weeks or so. Not from lack of interest or dislike of each other. But just from being busy all the time.

Looking back now, I realize just how great of a relationship I have with my two sisters. It didn't seem like it growing up, there were times when we got on each others nerves. But when I think back to my childhood, I remember the fun stuff mostly. ANd then I realized that although we have gotten older, married, have children of our own and more responsibilities than we ever thought possible, we really haven't changed all that much.

Games: we played lots of games growing up. Card games, board games, games with dice, made up games where we kept changing the rules. WE still do that. We get together at least once a month and play games together. And we still change the rules, although now we tend to agree BEFORE we start the game to stick to ONE set of rules.

Laughter: We laughed a lot growing up. We acted silly. We still do that. WE can all be together, sitting down at dinner, and one of my sisters (or myself) will make a face, a comment, or a gesture and off we go on the road to silliness.

Music: I can't remember a time, growing up that one of us didn't have a radio, record player, tape player, cd player, or mp3 player turned on. While what we listen to has changed over time, we still have music on at some point during the day. I think we spent more time listening to music, than watching tv. (Could be because we had to share a Tv, and never wanted to watch what the others wanted.)

Books: All of us still read as much as we did when we were younger. I read the most. FOllowed by my youngest sister. the middle sister will read, but she really doesn't get into books like the rest of us. And we still like the same genre's that we did growing up: FOr me that would be mysteries/horror/thriller/suspense... my the middle sister: romance... and for the youngest sister: her taste is more along the lines of historical fiction with a little romance in the mix.

I Love my sisters. I love how we are always there for each other. I love how our relationships have changed with time, but yet remained much the same. I love how we get along, rarely disagree, and always stand up for each other. Even if we do make faces at each other when Mom is not looking.

What's up with me?

Nothing. Nada. Zip. My days are pretty much the same lately:

Wake up.

Take Wyatt to daycare. Yes, it's summer. Yes, I'm off from work. BUT I have to pay to keep him space in daycare, soo if I'm paying, he's going. ANd to be honest, he loves playing with his friends.

CHeck the Dawg. Chat with my friends.

Clean house. It's a never ending battle.

Run Errands. Not all days, but at least 2 days out of the week. I have to go to the grocery store, or something that involves leaving the house. I try to do it all on one day, but that doesn't always happen.

Hang out in the pool. NOt a big fancy ingrown pool. Just a little cheap 3 foot above ground pool, but it's cool, and relaxing, and peaceful. When no one but me is out there.

Come inside and eat lunch.

Put laundry on to wash. Really now,THAT"s a never ending battle too.

Back out in the pool, while reading a book. OR if the weather doesn't cooperate, I will play in my scrapbook room, while watching tv.

Pick up Wyatt.

THen, again depending on the weather, we either end up in the pool, or hang out inside.

Cook dinner. CLean the kitchen.

Take a bath.. and read or scrap til I get sleepy.

Day after Day. I could get used to this. Now If I could only afford to do this without a paycheck.

What I did on my Summer Vacation

Day 1: We flew out of Baton Rouge to Atlanta, the to Miami. Wyatt was thrilled with the plane ride. He had never flown before. He was all excited to see the tops of clouds and the buildings as we took off. We stayed overnight at the Embassy Suites in Miami. REally nice hotel, with a beautiful atrium in the lobby, with a waterfall. PSA for the day: do not stay in a room right across from the elevator and behind the waterfall. You will hear lots of people talking drunkenly as they get off of the elevator and the waterfall will make you have to pee all night long. We walked to a nearby restaurant to eat dinner. On the SHORT walk, Wyatt decided he had to use the bathroom. I hear him yell "wait a minute". I turn around, adn my son has his weenis in his hand, fixing to pee on a flower bush. SO I Yell at him "put that thing away before someone sees you and we get arrested." Yep, cop car sitting right at the corner.

On the cruise ship not a lot happened. We drank, swam, drank, ate, drank, watched some shows, drank, and had lots of "cheer". GOtta love when the in-laws come on vacation with you, and then INSIST that the monkeybutt sleep in the room with them. (Note to self, buy inlaws a nice Christmas present this year.)

First port of call: San Juan, Puerto RIco: it rained. I shopped. It rained. I didn't care. Didn't buy much. A pair of earrings and a pendant. Steve and Wyatt each bought a shirt. We walked around and looked at the fort, and the statues and the birds. LOTS of birds. We walked for freaking ever. My feet and legs hurt.

Second Port of Call: St. Thomas. BEAUTIFUL!! We went to Magen's Beach. Crystal clear water, the purtiest blue color I have ever seen. Wyatt saw fish, starfish and crabs. This was his first real visit to a beach. HE was amazed that there was WET SAND UNDER THE WATER!!! I sat on the beach and had an adult beverage, watched the cute guys walk by (there were two) and heard my son yell out "DAD LOOK THAT LADY'S BUTT IS HANGING OUT THE BACK OF HER SWIMSUIT" (his first encounter at the beach and his first butt floss swimsuit sighting) After the two hours at the beach, we were back on our tour of the Island. We were brought to Blackbeard's Castle. We did the walking tour of this area. Very INteresting. LOTS of walking. My legs and feet hurt. My cheap husband decided NOT to pay for a taxi b/c it was just a short walk to ship. Umm.. yeah a 45 minute walk... NOT FUN!!! DUring the tour, I had a few cups of rum punch.. okay 5 cups of rum punch, but who's counting. We did some more shopping.. Steve bought me a pearl necklace, bracelet, and earring set. The guys got tee-shirts.

Last port of call: St. Marteen. We took a bus to a "remote" fishing village, where we boarded a smaller boat to go out to a coral reef. Then we went "down below" (get your minds out of the gutter wyatt was with us) to look through the glass windows at the tropical fish, sea urchins, and sea turtles. My pictures of this did not come out very clear. But it was really neat. Then after a couple of hours, we headed back to town. We did some more shopping. Steve bought me a topaz pendant. The guys each got another shirt. OH, and I got a new pair of sunglasses too.

Then we headed home. Nothing much to do on the ship but drink, eat, swim, and play games. ANd Drink. I drank lots on the ship.

THat's it in a nutshell: relaxing, drinking, sunning, shopping.. the perfect vacation.

My Ramblings:

THis is for my friend KAT. See I am updating my blog. YOu have shamed me. LOL

Actually, things have been super crazy around here. SO I am going to just ramble about what's been going on in my life:

Wyatt's t-ball season has finally ended. I Have never been so glad to see a ball season end. He had fun, and I saw improvement in his game between the beginning of the season and the end of the season. But I am so glad it's over. I am done with ballgames until next Spring. Well, unless I go to watch one of TIffany's tournament games, but I doubt that I go to those as it is TOO HOT!!!

School has ended. This school year has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The students were not that bad this year, but the "extra" stuff has been very stressful. With the different people coming in to monitor and observe, it's just over. Now I can relax.

I have been shopping like crazy for our cruise. It only took 3 weekends of shopping to find everything we needed. We packed last night, and discovered we still needed a few things. Wyatt needed a brown belt, and tan socks and new Tennis shoes. Steve needed a new swim suit. ALl I needed was panty hose. I would have bought them sooner but I hate wearing them, so I put off buying them as long as possible. Now we are ready. Except for wyatt's shoes. I HAVE to go buy him new tennis shoes TODAY!

I just bought him a pair of shoes at the end of April. THEY ARE TOO SMALL!!!! I refuse to buy him expensive shoes anymore. He outgrows them too quickly to justify the price.

Nothing much has been happening in my life. Ball games, wrapping up school, and shopping. That's it. No drama. No excitment. SOmetimes thats a good thing.

Stupid finger thing

It seems lately that everytime I take a photo of WYatt, and he sees the camera pointing in his direction, he makes this stupid hand gesture. He calls it his "rock and roll Pose". I call it the "stupid finger thing". His dad just laughs. He wants to be a "rock star" so he is practicing. I know that he will grow out of this stage, and I take solace knowing that in the meantime I am getting lots of future blackmail pictures.

My Favorite Pastime

I am not a huge sports fan. Some might even call me a FRINGE FAN! BUt I like Softball. I LOVE softball when I get watch my niece's play. Tonight I had the best time watching my oldest two niece's compete against each other. Tiffany plays for Live Oak. Kati plays for Denham Springs. I was playing with my camera, and I happened to catch this image. I think it is my new favorite picture. It's not perfect. BUT it's of two of my favorite people, doing the thing that makes them happy. AND It's not often I get a picture of my two girls together.

You Are Sneakers

You are creative, funky, and forward thinking. You are cool, but you are still approachable. You are stylish and edgy, but you aren't a slave to fashion. You tend to put your own spin on trends. You tend to have a fast paced, busy lifestyle. Not a lot of people can keep up with you! You should live: Near nature You should work: In a job that keeps you on the go

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Where does the time go?

I KNOW it was just yesterday that I came home from the hospital with my little baby boy. IT was NOT six years ago. NO NO NO!!! It's not possible. I am not ready for him to be six!!!!

BUT he is. Six... TODAY!!!! My little Valentine's Baby... in now my Valentine's Boy!!!...

Six years old.. Six years to love him, Six years to watch him grow... Six years of new accomplishments.... yet there are times that I look at him and wonder "Who is this child? WHere did he come from? WHere is my baby?"

I just peeked in on him sleeping. He looks so BIG in his bed. No baby blankets, no bottles, no pacifers. No diapers.. (wait that's a good thing).

He's becoming so independent. I am not ready for him to grow up.

Some please tell him to stop. I think he is doing it to spite me. I tell him but he doesn't listen. Maybe he will listen to you.

Who Knows ME Best?

When asked this question, I immediately thought of Steve. My husband. He knows me very well. He doesn't always "understand me" or "get me" but he knows me! He knows what I like to eat from most of the restuarants we go to. He knows my favorite things to drink. He knows what type of books I like to read. If you asked him my favorite type of music, or tv show, he could answer those questions easy. He knows the day to day stuff. But even more than that, he knows the deeper stuff. He knows when I have had a bad day at work, not by the expression on my face, but by what station the radio is on when he gets in the car. But even more important than the STUFF that he knows, is how he shows that he knows. It's the little things. Like buying me a cell phone cover on a business trip. He knew I had looked for one, couldn't find one here, and saw it on his trip and bought it for me. Or, buying my favorite snack at the grocery store.. or a book by one of my favorite authors... or a copy of a movie with an actor that he knows I like. He knows how to make me laugh when I am sad. He knows when to leave me alone when I am angry. (Although lately he seems to forget that he knows this.) He knows when to give me hugs and when to just let me cry. He knows my good moods and my bad ones. After dating for 7 years and 13 years of marriage, he should know me best. However, I do like to change my mind about things, if for no other reason than to keep him on his toes.

Step One...

My word for the year is ACCOMPLISH!... I was unhappy with the look of my blog... learning how to change it and make it purty was one of the things I wanted to accomplish this year. Thanks to a friend named Janelle, I was able to do that. HUGS to Janelle. NOw I have a purty girly blog

CRAP!!!

I've been tagged... mumblegrumbleoldladytiggermumblegrumble

Do you know how long my middle name is?????? I don't know that many bloggers!!!
So I'm taking your tag, but using my maiden name. I'm such a rebel.

Here are the rules:

1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.

2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).

3. After you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.

4. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details.)


My MIddle Name is ANN!!!!

A.... I love animals! Really I do... despite my past... I do not like to see animals mistreated.
N..... Nice.. I think I am nice, too nice sometimes.. but I try to have something nice to say to people I meet,
N.... Naughty... I can be naughty, but not in a mean way.. I like to tease my friends, tell dirty jokes, and play practical jokes... naughty... yep...that fits me...

Now I have to go see who I am tagging...

new revelation

I hate my job!! Seriously!! And the funny part, it's not the kids!! I love TEACHING them. It's the other BS that I have to put up with. I guess it is a good thing that Wyatt was sick this week and I stayed home because if not I would be facing: 2 observations from the consultant that works for the company that publishes the phonics program we are required to use.... a formal observation by my principal (required twice a year)... and for the next 8 weeks, we have some person from the state department of education popping in and out of our school to "monitor" and "observe" what we are teaching. She emailed a list of things she would be looking for... umm.. a 6 page list... most I do..but some are just ridiculous adn I refuse to do... my response is FIRE ME! (seriously told my principal that last week)...
1. I refuse to write the "benchmarks" on the board for every lesson I teach... I write an agenda on the board, I write the objectives on the board.. I am not writing the benchmarks on the board too.. I use them to write my objectives, just restate them... no reason to write them on the board... it would take up too much of my time.
2. I refuse to walk around the room with a copy of my lesson plans in my hand. I have them in a binder on my desk (where they are required to be), I have the agenda on the board (which is a brief daily version of my lesson plans).. no need for me to walk around with them in my hand... as it is, I am "required" to walk around with the textbook in my hand... even if we are not using it that day... and a clipboard for "informal observation notes" as I walk around the room.. I have two hands...I can only hold so much stuff.
3. I refuse to "teach the test". Now we are being required to start and end each lesson with a "released test item" from the state test. First, there are not that many test items for my grade level, as we have only been giving the test for 3 years. I have used them when appropriate, but I am not giving a problem that doesn't relate to what I am teaching on that day..
4. I will not attach all hand outs that I give to the students to my lesson plans. There is no need for that. They have workbooks, I am not going to copy pages frm thier workbooks just to appease this one person.

Now while this may seem petty on my part, I would have no problem doing this if they had come to us in AUGUST and said "do these things". Okay... but don't come in January and say "DO it this way or else"!!! I don't care if they are going to make a "report" for the state department of education.

and Don't just pop into my classroom whenever you feel like it, start asking my students questions about what I am teaching, WHILE they should be listening to me!!

THis is not just at my school, it's across the district. They want to see "Why test scores are dropping" and "why teachers aren't teaching".. .but they don't want t ask us. Let's ask the kids, because they know "oh so much" .

I am venting. I know. But I am stressed beyond belief at this point. There are days when I feel that just need a new job. Totally out of the scope of education. Mcdonald's is even sounding good right about now.

WHY WHY WHY??

Just a bunch of pointless questions runnign through my mind...

WHY do we have to have a parent meeting night at school when we know darn good and well that it's pointless? I had 3 parents show up. We were talking about the plans for 3rd grade for the rest of the school year. ONe parent got up and left. WHY did I have to stay at work until 7:30 at night for THAT?

WHY is it whenever I Have plans for a day off from school, do those plans get screwed up? WHY WHY WHY? We have Monday off from school. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday.. I planned on relaxing and scrapping all day. But noo... I have to go pick up Wyatt from his grandparents because he is spending Sunday night there. I have to pick up him early. Which Means he will be home with me all day. I won't get much done. I wanna scrap in peace and quiet for a change.

WHy is it that I can't say no to my family? All week, I have been looking forward to coming home on Friday evening, and doing absolutely NOTHING but eating dinner and soaking in a tub of hot water... but now I have to go to my niece's Confirmation at church because my niece asked me and then said "and could you bring your camera and take some pictures of me and my friends all dressed up?"

WHY WHY WHY?

Daredevil

My sister gave wyatt a scooter for CHristmas. He has been wanting one for the longest time, so naturally he was very excited when he opened it. Now he is off and going. I fuss and I fuss at him to "put your helmet on".. and he says "if I had known you were going to watch me I would have".. or "mom only dorks were helmets".. put your helmet on dork... he has decided that for his birthday he wants "ramps and rails".. I am not ready for a daredevil skater boy...