Sleep, Where are you when I need you most?

    Today, for the first time in over a month, I have all four children under my roof.  I should be at ease and have some sort of peace of mind.  I've mowed the lawn which was a disaster....that's what happens when you don't mow the grass for a few weeks!  If only those darn sleep aids would kick in!

    It is 12:03 am and I've tried for the past hour to go to sleep.  I've poked my husband to make him stop snoring.  I've put the power chord to the lap top under the bed so that darn bright blue beacon won't light up the whole room.  I've listened to the deep sleepy breathing of the puppies, who could sleep through an earthquake.  I've changed pajama pants because the capri pants forced me to stay under the covers.  The RLS isn't even driving me mad (which normally happens). 

      I find myself awake, sitting in the dark, and blogging.  Not one of my finest moments but we all do what we have to do to get us through.  I truly hate it when you try to fall asleep and it's like your brain just won't cut itself off.



       So, what do you do when you can't sleep? 

Time is My Enemy

     Monday I registered two of the kids for school.  Today I have to register one more.  Next week Hub has to register the last child.  Where did the summer go?!?!?!?!?  This time next week I will be forced to join the working world after a blissful and somewhat productive two months.  I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm not going to be a happy camper about all of this.  I've gone into work several times this summer because of the BIG move our school just went through.  It's so much different going to school when there are no children there.  Of course, the new child coming into my class with her over zealous mother is ready to get the ball rolling and get the show on the road.  I understand that parents with children who are disabled more than likely tend to get a little more stressed than those of us with so-called normal children.  The thing that gripes me is that the majority of my parents with the exception of one or two are unemployed or on disability themselves.  That really is a frightening statistic when you think about it.  I hate to be so cynical but they are ready to have their days free of children.  Ok so I had to get that out of my system. Ten children in diapers and four adults should be able to get the job done, right?!?!?!?

Monday was a very sad day for me, by the way.  I had to go register Princess for her first year of high school.  We left the house in pouring rain and I just knew that was a sign that she shouldn't be registering for high school.  I now know how Hub felt last year when he registered our step-daughter for high school.  I remember not so long ago Princess was starting preschool and kindergarten.  Now she is going to be going to the BIG school and she is slowly growing out of being my little girl and becoming a young woman.  Back in Kindergarten we didn't have to worry so much about her OCD and panic disorder and life was just all around more simple than it is today.  She started in June worrying about high school and plotting to get enrolled in the state's new online education program.  Hub and I agreed that she had to do at least one year at the high school as a test run to see how things will go.   From there we will have to decide what is the best option for her.  I'm hoping that everything will be fine and she will flourish but I still have my doubts at this point.

Happy Friday, by the way!!!

Sex Education- Should it start at home or left to someone else?

     This morning I was browsing the Blogher  site and stumbled across an interesting question.... to educate our teenage girls about birth control.  I suppose that I have an interesting take on this subject because I was the product of a teen pregnancy myself.   Yes, I will honestly say that I have a more liberal view of parenting.  Believe it or not, my view is actually more liberal than that of my own mother.  Let me start by saying that my mother is 16 years older than me and I am 21 years older than my daughter.  Granted I have a college education and was able to finish my last year of college despite being pregnant. 


I'm terminally liberal in the rearing of my biological and step-children.  I believe that the more you deny and withhold (be it things they wish to do or things you don't think they need to know) those things come to be more desirable.  I'm not saying that I'm going to put a gun in my son's hands just because he wants one.  But I will share with him the consequences of guns and how damaging they can be.  I'm not going to give any of my children alcohol but will share with them the negative consequences that have directly affected our family.  Just like with my biological daughter and sex.  We have had conversations about sex and the consequences.  I'm not going to brush under the rug the fact that two of her 8th grade classmates were pregnant last year. 


Statistically the odds are against our daughters if we choose not to educate them and for that matter our sons who will be the ones copulating with other people's daughters.

• Every year around 750,000 teenagers will get pregnant. 
• Depending on the state, teenage birth rates are incredibly different. Nevada has the highest rate: 113 per 1000 and North Dakota the lowest 42 per 1000. 
• Unmarried teenagers having children account for 24 percent of all unmarried expectant mothers. 
• More than 2/3 of all teenagers who have a baby will not graduate from high school. 
• Billions of dollars are spent taking care of teenage mothers and their children and they are more likely to be in the poverty bracket. On the flip side, millions of dollars are spent in prevention programs.

Oh Where Oh Where Does the Time GO???!?!?!?!

    I feel like summer just began a few days ago but now it is time to go back into the classroom and start getting ready for next school term to begin.  In a few short weeks it will be time again to go back to the grind and I'm going to go kicking and screaming.  This is the same old song and dance every summer and you would think that by now I would be ready for the inevitable.  "NO!" I emphatically scream.  Even though I may have a few weeks left I still have the strong urge to lay on the ground and have a two-year old tantrum.  
    The reason why this is a blog topic is because I decided to drag my lazy carcass to the school to see how much damage had been done.  You see this is not going to be a normal start of a school term because our school has moved to a new (old old ancient) building.  The walls are covered in dried up hot glue, the carpet is stained and dirty, and the tiles are just plain gross.  There is an upside to this move though,  sadly this will be the first year that my students will have access to a play ground.  For special needs students a play ground has to be set up a little bit differently from play grounds for other students.  Because I have students who are known "runners"  we have to have a secure fence and equipment suited to their needs.  So despite the unappealing state to the building and our new room, the play ground holds great promise for my students and my staff members.  
     Now I have to attend to all of the paint that I'm finding in strange places.  I look forward to next  week and getting the job finished so we can get to the joyous task of unpacking boxes and finding proper homes for everything.

Sometimes.....

     Sometimes I wish that I was something or someone else.  Who doesn't?  I'm sure that we can all say that there has been at least one moment in all of our lives that we have made this wish.  The funny thing is that I have no idea what/who I would rather be.  No matter what/who you are there is always a down side.  So, I should be putting on my "big girl knickers" and just deal with what/who I am. 

     Today is one of those rare days that all of there children are somewhere else.  Normally I would be elated but being between pay checks that makes us flat broke.....I have crocheted dish cloths for my mom and grandmother and need to finish one more.  I have sewn all of the patterns that I own so no sewing to be had today.  I have counted $52 in silver coins (for what purpose I do not know).  Dishes have been put away and dirties have been loaded into the dishwasher.  I really should be making the weekly grocery list (since the kids have been here and there I have not done regular grocery shopping for TWO whole weeks) and meal planning since my dad and step-mother will be coming in for the weekend.  I dread that in some ways but in other ways I think it is good for my children to be able to get to know them better.  We only see them one to two times a year, which is really sad when you think about it in that way.  I'm not really all that close to my father and have not been for a really long time.  That's a story for another day. 

        This upcoming weekend will involve the hub working most of the weekend and me doing the majority of the entertaining.  They are my family so it's all fair.  He did help me last week by encouraging me to finally get a new bed (we've been sleeping on mattresses on the floor for the past two years) and getting new living room furniture.  All old furniture was donated but I was really embarrassed that our old couch really smelled doggy-liscious!  Yuck!  But since Hub is working most of the weekend meal plans need to involve something other than the grill....the last time I tried to do the grill was a complete and total disaster.  I'm still wondering how I escaped without burning my hair.....  I didn't realize that you should push the button with the lid DOWN!  I almost went up in the POOF of curly hair....There is a god out there and he watches over me!!!! 

          Okay I've blogged my complaints and made a bloggy list of things that I need to get accomplished!  The dogs are both snoring, the sky is grey, and the thunder is rolling....NAPTIME!!! Yeah right! 

Let the Fun Begin

    Today was the official last day of work before summer holiday begins. This year has really flown by and for that I am grateful.  This has been one of those circus years at work.  IEP's are done, my room is packed and ready for the move to a different school, and I've been called for jury duty for the first time ever in my life.  I'm not looking forward to the last item on the list but I will dutifully carry out my civic duty and hope that my name is not on the list again for a very long time.  I don't know whether to say that I'm looking forward to the break or dreading all of the many things that my children are going to want to do over the break.  
     I know that there are those out there who would swear that they would love to be a teacher because we get soooo many days off.  Truly I think they would be best advised to walk in my shoes.  
    The classroom is all packed up.  I'm going to miss my old school but hope the new "old" school we are moving to will be just as wonderful.  I've fought for a washer and dryer and hot water and hope and pray that both will be there when we go back in July to unpack.  I don't think we could survive without either since we are constantly changing diapers and washing soiled clothing.  Some things are out of your control and there truly is no need to stress over them at this point in the game.


    It was really funny leaving the building on the last day of school this year.  Closing the door on one chapter and waiting for what the next chapter will hold.  My trusty assistant and I could not resist the temptation to sing, "Happy Trails," as we left for the final time.  My other assistant thought we had gone totally bonkers but it felt good to bid our old building a fond farewell.  Now, to come up with a new song for a new beginning in August.  

Sick Day (not for me)

      And here I thought the pollen was not going to affect the people in my house but foiled again!  Princess calls around 10 and because the farm (where Hub works) is being inspected to become FDA rated it falls on me to leave work for the day.  I should not be complaining but economically it would have been a waste for me to pick her up, drop her off, and then go back to work.  Imitrex, zyrtec, and a nap is just what the doctor ordered.  In the mean time, I have cleaned the counter and made room for the new toaster oven, doctored the slow cooker cowboy beans, mixed up the ranch potato salad, and here I sit blogging as if there weren't another million or so things calling my name.  I left work and swore that I would work on paperwork but I don't see that happening.....although I will definitely complain later when I'm typing the words observation and task analysis data 15 gajillion times.  On the bright side, I get a little peace and quiet (NOT something that happens as a rule in our house).

      The Hub is celebrating his 38th birthday this weekend but won't be home to celebrate with us....(A soap box moment is coming on, BEWARE)  I should be okay with this yearly tradition of his.  You see, he and his childhood friend have birthdays only days apart and they have always celebrated their birthdays together.  Each year they pick something to do on their birthday weekends and this year they are going to a beer convention in Raleigh, NC.  I'm not jealous of the fact that I am missing a beer convention because I detest the taste of beer and really don't see the point in drinking what is essentially bread in a bottle.  My hips can't stand anymore carbs and if I'm going to indulge it's going to be the real thing.  I like bread real bread!  So to sum it up, my husband is going away to play while I wrangle the kids and trot them from here to yon....Whoop Whoop!