A KICK IN THE PANTS!

First order of business is to let everyone know that I just can't keep up with this blog, writing, the kids and my health issues as things stand now.  So I will be cutting this blog back to two days a week -- Monday and Thursday.  I know I've said that in the past, but this time, for the sake of my sanity, I just have to. It is getting to be way too much to do everything as it stands.  But change is good right?  It helps us grow as human beings. :) And I may occasionally do extra posts.  I think I might start posting reviews of books I read or hosting blogger interviews on occasion.

Well as of right now everyone is relatively healthy.  We have a few sniffles but I think that is more because of  Fall allergies than anything else.  Strep hasn't reared it's ugly head again, but then again I don't know what the incubation period is or if it can lay dormant for awhile and then strike again.  Sigh...School germs should be outlawed right???

You ever get to a point in life where there is just nothing going on.  At least nothing to talk about.  We have school and work and that's it.  Sure, the kids are all being buttheads (especially to each other) and I dread from like 6:30 - 9:00 every night because there is tons of fighting, screaming, crying and overall nastiness that I just can't seem to get a handle on yet.  The kids are still so fed up with each other from their summer together that when they are forced into the same room for homework and chores it just explodes.  As with every other year I expect things to ease off after they have been back in school for at least a month. (At least I sure as hell hope so.  That's the way it has been in the past. Except in the past they didn't usually get that bad with each other during the summer.) Ah crap I sure hope this isn't the new norm.  If it is, do any of you have room for a broken housewife/mom/writer? Because I'll need a place to go!!!

The Hubs is working, I'm writing/marketing/blogging/reading and reviewing and the kids are going to school. Everyone is relatively healthy, the kids are fighting, the weather is too damn hot still and life goes on.  I'm feeling a bit of boredom setting in. (NOTE TO THE HIGHER POWER: This post does not in anyway mean that I want a major illness, problem at school, or problem at work to spice things up!!! Although I could go for a best seller status, tons of popularity, excellent achievements in school for the kids, and a pay raise for The Hubs)  Speaking of which...

1. THIS WILL NOT JINX ME, THIS WILL NOT JINX ME, THIS WILL NOT JINX ME - The boy is doing wonderful in kindergarten.  I think he is having trouble making friends, but what do you expect when you spent five years with the most bossy female companions on the planet and the last two years with the most awful pain in the butt bad influences from across the street.  He has great behavior reports (He has been on Pink 3 times so far in the first two weeks (Pink is the best) and has never once dipped below the green.  I was so worried because he can be a whiney butt, meanie butt, bad boy when he is home but he loves school and knows he must behave for others. THIS WILL NOT JINX ME, THIS WILL NOT JINX ME, THIS WILL NOT JINX ME ;)

2. As soon as the department The Hubs works in now gets a doctor to supply exams to their customers he will get more hours and as soon as he finishes some training and does some testing he will get a pay raise!!! This is a statement of fact so I'm not worried about the whole Jinx factor...well not AS worried.

3. I might not be a NY times best seller, but when I had my free giveaway weekend I made it to #14 in romantic comedy on Amazon, I think that means I could be well on my way to that bestseller status.  And of course popularity will follow. ;)  I have also been getting some great reviews (and yes, I realize that not all of them will be great, but they sure do feel good to read and tell people about) Oh, and I had my best selling month yet!  We broke our previous record a couple of days ago!!! And I'm worried as hell about the jinx factor with this one but you know what?  You and I both are tired of me writing that whole ALL CAPS Jinx chant so just know that I'm thinking it as I write this. :)

Until Next Time...When life get's boring make Lemonade.  No, I'm serious, make some lemonade and enjoy a few quiet moments of joy (or tea, or coffee, or any other beverage you like). ENJOY THE BORING TIMES because sometimes when life gets a kick in the pants, it's not always a good thing!!!

WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS -ER VISIT AND CAR REPAIR

Hey before we get started, could you hop on over to my friend's book blog and check out her review of book 1 in my series! It is an awesome review! (Warning her site can be adult only at times, but my review is NOT!  http://www.authorsajones.com/2013/08/review-virgin-voyage-by-jj-ellis.html

Now on with the show: Holy shizz monkeys!  The saying really is true, when it rains it pours -  and then it rains and pours some more. First off, my car broke down end of last week. It would try to start and then it would just putter out.  So we called the tow truck (79 dollars) and had it towed to our mechanic.  Tuesday we get a call from the mechanic saying it was ready and when I asked what was wrong he said: Fuel pump.  Well shizz all over again, that is an expensive repair and I knew that from previous experience.  So we go pick up my baby and the damage is.............640.22.  Crap!  Thank goodness for interest free for a year credit cards with a decent limit right???  But at least now my fuel pump should be okay for the rest of the vehicle's life (13 years old).  At least it darn site better be!!!!

And then on Friday I noticed Miss Crazy wasn't feeling top of the line and my son had a stuffy nose and so did Little Butt.  Well great, the first cold of the season brought home from school in the first week.  Lovely! Over the weekend Miss Crazy started talking about a sore throat and became a bit lethargic. Yep, she had a fever.  Oh fun!  I was thinking strep so I had plans to take her to the doctor first thing on Monday.  Her fever broke in a dramatic fashion on Sunday night and she woke up saying her throat was still sore but better and she felt fine. So, off to school with her.  When she arrived home, she was still fine but about two or three hours later, the fever was back and we started to see a rash spreading over her body.  Well, that's not good. A fever, sore throat and rash together can mean complications from strep.  So I was wondering how the HECK her fever had broken for almost 24 hours if she had strep.  So, off to the ER we went.

Now you understand I have five kids and they have all (except Little Butt) had strep at one time or another.  Never have they ever lost their fevers for even a moment and never have they ever broken out.  But the doctor in the ER told me that it isn't uncommon for that to happen.  Well shit!  I could have endangered my daughter because I didn't know... Yeah, the guilt lasted about five seconds because I truly didn't know.  Anywhoo, they offered her swallowable pills or liquid and she chose swallowable (I knew we would be changing to liquid at the pharmacy because I knew the pills would be too big but she felt like such a grown up that I couldn't say no)  but then the doctor turned back and asked if she would like one shot and she would be done.  Well as we all know, medicines can be tricky with little ones so yes, I convinced my child to get a big needle shoved in her hip.  I'm not ashamed.  They came in with two needles (oops).  They figured there would be too much medicine in one needle for her to tolerate so they broke it up. Okay cool.

She gets her shots and a popsicle and wanders the hall and stairs with daddy trying to walk off the pain and stiffness of the shot.  We head home and her fever is starting to break and the rash on her face is already looking better. She had to stay home from school for one day (I heard a lot of 'mommy my booty hurts' throughout the day) and is now back at school.  The rash on her face is gone, the rash on her trunk is barely visible and her throat isn't hurting at all anymore.  Phew!  Now we sit and wait...for the rest of the family to get it.  Poo Poo!

SIDE NOTE: My son's stuffy nose cleared up.  He brought a feather he found into the house and it seems he is allergic to feathers like his daddy is!

Until Next Time...There will always be moments when we learn something new and feel guilt because we didn't know it before but you can NOT Dwell on it! What's done is done and we can't change it, we can just
learn new things to carry us through to the next round of life!!!

BUSY WEEK/WEEKEND - RANDOM BITS AND PIECES :)

Well, today is the day!  Gwen starts college!!! I hardly believe I am old enough to have a college Freshman! But alas, there I was wishing her a good first day.  She was nervous but I know for sure she shouldn't be. She will do great!  School is her thing, she is good at it and she wants to spend her life being a teacher so I think she will be fine once she gets used to the freedom that college allows.  She is all set, she has her own car, her school, and her job. We couldn't be more proud.

We have had a sickie on our hands over the weekend. Miss Crazy had a high fever and a sore throat.  We were thinking strep, but the fever broke and she was running around and playing so we will sit tight for now and see if the fever comes back or if the sore throat persists. Don't you love school germs?  Especially when they come home the first week!!!! I am just glad that I don't have to send my sick kids to school and risk losing my job like some parents do.

Lil miss Little Butt is coming down with a cold but so far no fever thank goodness.  I'm just waiting though, waiting for it to spread through the house. :(

My car broke down the other day.  We aren't sure what happened to it yet, but I sure hope it isn't anything too expensive! On top of everything else, my wallet went missing.  I'm pretty sure I left it at the dentist's office on Thursday, but they say it isn't there.  I've checked everywhere else it could have been left. Now we have to tear the house apart to see if by some chance it isn't lost in the big bad world, but in our very own house.

I had my book release party the other day and it was really fun!  I hope some of you were able to join us.  We had contests and giveaways and sneak peeks at the next book.  I also had book 1 of the series set for free on amazon.  We had a great response and I even sold my first book overseas! I mean actually sold, not given away!!! And we actually had a bestseller rank to be proud of - click on the picture to see what it was!!! :)

I want to share a facebook post I made today because this means so much to me and kind of rejuvenated me after I had the depressing time after finishing my book. I hope you will check it out.

Have you ever had a review that made you cry? A review that reminded you why you became a writer? A review that let you know that you accomplished exactly what you set out to do with that particular story/book/article? This is one of those reviews. One that I will cherish forever! Could I please get some YES votes on it? Thanks!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1QLHAP976O3E6/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00EP01L2W&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text

Until Next Time...Don't fret when your oldest starts college (or gets married or has kids) because if they are at that milestone it means that you have done something wonderful.  You got them to where they are and they are alive!!! ;)

NEW COVERS!!!

In honor of the release of STORMY SEAS today I am giving you all a look at the new covers for VIRGIN VOYAGE and ALASKAN AMBUSH. If you head on over to our facebook event, you will get a sneak peek at the cover for WILD WAVES later today.  so.....here is the event address /FACEBOOK RELEASE EVENT

NOW, HERE ARE THE NEW COVERS!  HOPE YOU LIKE THEM. :)

THE CUTE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SMILE :D

I've got links for my books!!! They became available early! I'll post them at the bottom.

Did missing Sam and Abigail make me cry?

Today has been rough. My car broke down and we were out in the heat forever, which means I am now sick as heck.  Blah!!! Yesterday was rough too. I was having some sort of breakdown.  I am thinking it was based on writer's self doubt but I'm not sure.  You see, my book is done and available on Amazon early. So that means that this particular chapter (pun intended) of my life is over. I lived and breathed those characters for years and then especially over the last two months. It makes me sad :(  And then I found out that a 'friend' was lying about having read my books. Sigh...If you don't want to read them just say so, don't lead me on thinking that you are reading and enjoying them, right????

So I was in a horrible state yesterday. I was about ready to throw out the five or so chapters I already have written for Wild Waves and give up writing for good. I felt like I had been made a fool of and that I was a horrible writer etc. etc. etc. But I have a great group of online friends who supported me through it. Thanks ladies, you know who you are! I was still down all night, but one thing that could put a smile on my face was Little Butt.

You know how kids do the cutest damn things that just warm your heart?  Yeah, she does that a lot lately, but there was one instance yesterday that could actually almost make me laugh when I thought back on it after my meltdown.  We were at breakfast and there was a baby across the way from us (about 10 or 11 months old I would guess) Little Butt thinks all babies are hers. So she was sitting there yelling "hi baby, hi my baby" but she would not wave at the little girl.  She would turn red and look away. So what did she do?  She would pick up my hand and say she was waving at her baby. I have seen kids shy of waving and talking at all to strangers, but I haven't seen one that would be totally fine yakking away and then turn all shy when she was expected to wave. LOL. I spent breakfast waving at a stranger's baby and I'll tell you one thing, Little Butt is strong, my wrist still hurts!!!

It has been a rough couple of days but with the help of my sweet baby girl I have come through it just fine!

Until Next Time...Give little ones credit. Just because they are small and not worldly doesn't mean they can't totally enhance your life in a positive way when things are going wrong.

PAPERBACK OF STORMY SEAS BY JJ ELLIS: http://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Seas-Sunset-Destiny-Romance/dp/0615873111/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377288379&sr=1-11&keywords=Stormy+Seas

KINDLE OF STORMY SEAS BY JJ ELLIS: http://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Sunset-Destiny-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EP01L2W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377288477&sr=1-1&keywords=Stormy+Seas

SKIPPING A DAY!

Hey there, I'm swamped with the upcomign release of Stormy Seas so I'm taking a skip day.  I will be back Thursday or my regular day of friday.  Wish me luck, this is where it can get nasty!!! LOL

For your viewing pleasure, the full cover of Stormy Seas!

A HUG IS ALL I GET

First day of school for the boy!!! All I got was a hug.  I stopped him and his sister on the sidewalk outside the entry and asked if they were okay just going in and he said yeah and started to walk toward the doors.  "Um, can I get a hug," I asked.  "Oh yeah," he replied and they both hugged me and were gone to eat waffles for breakfast in the school lunchroom.  He is the one kid I figured would have a huge crying fit before I left him.  He is just so emotionally off since the episode with the Singulair and it may take years for him to get back to normal again. 

I wasn't sure how he would find his way to his classroom since on back to school night they went to a different classroom to meet the teachers (not sure which one he will get yet, won't know until end of the week).  I can only hope that either his sister was able to help him or the teachers would come to the playground (after breakfast) to pick the kids up. I didn't get a call saying that he was inconsolable from getting lost (school is so small, not sure if it is possible to get lost) so that is a good thing.  I leave here in about an hour and fifteen minutes to pick him up - early out day for Kindergarten today. I can't wait to see him and give him a big hug.  I miss him! And I realized that I had forgotten to warn his teachers about the whole singulair thing and ask them to watch for behavioral issues so we can know what needs to be corrected. So I guess I will be sending an email tonight and hope I get a good report. He is a good boy when he isn't around his siblings and I am hoping that he will be good at school and with other kids.  Because basically, his siblings are brats and he is overwhelmed by all of the estrogen.  Ah crap, now I wish there was a school in town with a male teacher...hmmm. He'll be okay right???

Right now, for the first time in years, it is just me and one of the kids.  I do not know what to do with myself!!!  Here is an example of our conversation after daddy left for work.

Conversation with Lily
Me: Hey Dee, do you want mommy to stop working and play a game with you?
Lily: No mama, me play by myself
Me: Are you sure, Mama wants to play.
Lily: No mama me play by myself.
Me: Want to rock a bye with me?
Lily: No mama, me do myself after I play school

Well, I know where I stand now don't I. My kids have always been independent so I might actually get work done during the day now.  Or maybe she will decided she wants to play after all.  Nah, I wouldn't count on it. ;)

After dropping the little's off at school, I took Gwen to get her drivers license.  Talk about nervous, it was crazy, nausea, shaking the whole nine yards.  That was me, not Gwen.  I was so damn nervous for her I could barely sit still.  But you know what?  She passed and now I have a licensed driver and a kindergartner in my hoard of kids.  Oh and a two year old who doesn't want to play with me.  Sigh...this parenting thing is so emotional. Can I cry yet?  Might not be a good idea until all the kids are tucked safely in their beds.  I hope I can wait that long!!!

Until Next Time...I've probably said this before, but enjoy those milestones no matter how much you want to cry, because someday they will be moving out and getting married and having kids of their own and you will wonder what happened to the years that just seem to slip away. 

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

Last night was back to school/meet the teacher for the littles. We gathered up all of the school supplies and headed to their little school. Miss Crazy was excited to see old teachers and friends and Mr. Insane was excited to start a new adventure all while being very nervous. And me?  Well, I was just emotional to see my little boy in a classroom and around other kids.

She's going to miss him!

This year they are doing things differently for the kindergartners. The first three or four days of school are only partial days. One reason is to let the little cuties get used to being away from home.  And the second is to be able to do evaluations to see which kids need a bit of help and which kids already know their stuff.  Mr. Insane will probably be in the needs help section, at least for awhile.  As most of you know, I don't believe in teaching kids too early and on top of it all, he learned a lot of stuff from his siblings just through filtering down but he forgot a lot of it when we had the great Singulair disaster.  He literally forgot a lot of stuff he used to know because of that horrible medicine.  But he will catch up quickly (as long as he doesn't rebel by not listening to the teacher. lol)  The knowledge is there, it just needs to come back out.

I don't like the fact that my days will be totally trashed because of the weird kindergarten schedule the first week, but I do like the fact that they won't be trying to teach the kids at the same time as they are doing the assessments to decide which group they are in. That just created a lot of confusion for a lot of kids.  Mr. Insane has his evaluation on the Tuesday which is cool.  Get it out of the way! But the kids are going crazy not knowing which teacher they will have yet.  By the end of the week they will have a 'home' teacher but in this district most of the schools have the teachers share responsibility.  They might have one teacher for math and one for reading and then the other for science etc.

He's going to be doing a lot of this soon!

One thing that really irks me...On thursday I think it is, I will literally have to pick up the boy and come home only to have to leave again a half hour later to pick up The Sophomore and then head over to pick up Miss Crazy.  It's just too hot to head to the school to sit in the car with everybody to wait for The Sophomore to get out.  At least Little Butt can crawl in and out of the car by herself now and all I have to do is hook her in. Yay for kids getting older. haha

SIDE NOTE: Sent an email to the high school protesting some bogus fines and they erased them all, even the ones we were willing to pay.  I love making people fear me. :p

Until Next Time...Don't let your kids see you break down on the first day of school, it just makes them anxious. I never really broke down with my kids until Miss Crazy and even then it was only a couple of tears in the car after I left her in her classroom. But with Mr. Insane I'm getting teary eyed every day leading up to it.  I'm going to have to kick him out of the car and let his sister remind him where his classroom is and then boob all the way home and have Little Butt say "it okay mama, you no cry please." :D

LOTS OF RANDOM CRAP :D

BIRTHDAY PICS - I was asked for some pics of our birthday celebration for Miss Crazy. Here are the only ones I can seem to get uploaded at this point. :D

Hugging one gift while sharing another with friend

Rapunzel wig.  It reaches the floor! :)

Princess ring birthday cake- chocolate!
\

SCHOOL SHOPPING: School shopping is DONE DONE DONE!!! We got all five kids clothes today for under 200 dollars. Some bought at big box store and some at our favorite charity thrift store. :D  I was so proud of us.  But....Next year I will remember to try to get the clothes earlier in the month because the thrift store had no shoes for any of the littles and no pants for Mr. Insane. But the expensive part is stuff we dont' usually buy at thrift stores. Socks (pairs never really match) and underwear (new are much better unless all you can afford are used). those right there were fort five dollars. (Of course we had to buy Little Butt some too. :)

LITTLE BUTT Well, she is doing much better but because she is under five they have to do an ultrasound on the 30th to make sure there isn't something structurally wrong.  I'm pretty sure it is from her sitting butt naked in the yard when she sneaks her diaper off, but no one listens to the mom. :/

RELEASE DATE: Well, the release date for my next novel is August 24,2013. Hopefully won't have to change it.  As long as editing is done and formatting isn't as difficult as I think it will be, we will have it out.  Hop on over to http://www.facebook.com/writerjjellis to find out about our relase day event!

OTHER BUSINESS: So, I got this email yesterday and I wanted to know what you all think about it.  They asked me to find beta testers for their product.  I will post the email here and let you check it out and I ask you to let me know what you think...(I in no way am endorsing this as I don't know much about it yet) I like the idea but am always wary of uploading my pics to strange places (I felt this way about dropbox at first too)

KairosLife.com is a place for families to save digital memories and heirlooms for kids and loved ones. Then digitally deliver those keepsakes to them at a predetermined date in the future, kind of like a digital time capsule or gift. 

Our founder recently lost a close friend who passed suddenly without warning and was again reminded of how quickly life can be taken away, at any age.

He woke up one night with the idea of this site.  He is a father of three and was thinking about the memories we want to keep forever - and how could they be stored, kept for the future, and delivered at just the right moment to have the greatest impact.

How does it work?

1. Upload photos, videos or letters from your PC or mobile device to a “KairosMoment” which is the album or capsule that will be delivered to your loved one on a future date.
2. Tag your loved ones to that KairosMoment and set a reveal date when it will be delivered.
3. As the reveal date approaches, if desired, other family members and friends can share their thoughts on that KairosMoment to add to the memories for that loved one.
4. Then on the reveal date, the loved one will get an email notifying them of a KairosMoment that has been unlocked.

We are still polishing up the site and are giving complimentary memberships to people who can help us. Just visit www.KairosLife.com and enter your email address.

Until Next Time...unplanned busy days lead to BS blogs, haha.  Do I hear complaining? ;)  See ya Friday! :)

AN EVENING AT THE ER

We had quite and adventure tonight. Little Butt kept complaining of a tummy ache and she had a fever that felt really hot (thermometer broken). She hadn't pottied in a couple of days and they say if constipation is mixed with fever they should be seen by a doctor so we headed off to the ER.  When we got there she started saying her pee pee hurt instead of her tummy. I know she is always stripping down to nothing - inside and out SMH so I mentioned that I thought she could have a urinary tract infection because she has been known to sit in the yard/dirt/grass/concrete/steps with nothing on her bum.  So they had to tackle the possibility that she had either a UTI or a blockage in her bowel system.

They were going to put a catheter in because she hadn't peed much all day, but just in time she asked to sit on the potty to go and we were able to get a sample. Phew...I know how much I hate catheters I can't imagine a baby liking it much either.

Next came the blood and they couldn't get a vein. They tried twice and gave up to call a phlebotomist to come do it.  Well, she couldn't get a vein either so they had to prick her finger and milk out three small vials of blood.  Believe it or not during all of this poking, she laid still on the bed. She cried and talked to me, but she laid still!!! I can't believe that (and her fever was temporarily down so she was feeling good, it wasn't like she was lethargic).

My poor sick baby! Laying on the bench at dinner 

Then she was taken to x ray to get a picture of her tummy where she cried, but laid calmly. I was holding her hands and daddy her legs. She is such a sweet big girl!!!

Then we waited and she started to play and have fun, only complaining of pain a couple of times and then she drank a full cup of water which made them very happy but it made her tummy hurt again.  Finally they came in and the results of all of the tests.....Bladder/kidney infection.  So, they gave her an initial dose of antibiotics and sent us on our
way.  She still won't eat much but is drinking a bit now and we have pain pills in her.  Hopefully in the morning (Monday - I am writing this Sunday night while it is still fresh) she will be on the mend.  We will take the hubs to work (Gwen is learning to drive so she does most of the driving these days) and then grab her prescription.

My hips are killing me from carrying, lifting and comforting my baby doll, but I could really care less. I would go through hell and back for that sweet little butt. :D

Until Next Time...If you feel, in your gut, that something is wrong, follow your instincts and take them in.  I'm glad I did because by morning she could have been really sick.  :(

SHE'S TURNING 7!!!

Well, tomorrow we celebrate birthday number seven for Miss Crazy. It should be an interesting day.  The Hubs starts a new position at work that we are all excited about and his hours become more regular which will be great. So at 4:30 tomorrow we can start our celebration.

Miss Crazy picked a beef and broccoli ramen meal that Gwen makes as her birthday dinner and then after dinner will be presents and cake.  We bought her a book on kindle(No, she doesn't have her own), a present yet to be determined because I just realized we haven't bought gift number 3 yet (can you say oops)  And the present she has been looking forward to all year....A rapunzel wig.  This girl is OBSESSED with rapunzel.  We used to have Tangled on DVR and she would watch it everyday if we let her.


She takes my old large fabric pieces and walks around with them on her head pretending that she is Rapunzel....and she knocks everything in the house over.  So we had to make a decision, continue to have the house torn apart or buy her a wig that she will probably wear day and night for weeks/months/years.  Well, since we someday want to sell this house we figured we better not mess it up anymore than it already is.  We are expecting the mailman to bring it any minute. It won't be a surprise, but it will be the most popular gift.  She will be ignoring everything else.

We got her a princess cake because they didn't have Rapunzel, not that she cares as long as it is chocolate with buttercream icing.  Done

Probably the highlight of her day will be playing with her little friend two doors down. At this point, little miss almost seven year old prefers to be away from her siblings and parents in favor of her friends. Now the question is, is she acting like a teen because of her sister's influence, or is this a new norm for seven year olds in this day and age.  On second thought, I don't want to think about that. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO KNOW. I'm just going to enjoy my baby girl's birthday celebration and give her an extra snuggle or two.

Tomorrow is also Little Butt's 2.5 year mark.

Until Next Time...Time flies when you're having fun.  So make sure that you truly do have fun or time will slip through your hands and you will feel unfulfilled.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND POLITICS

We just got back from school shopping for the kids (supplies, not clothes yet)  We spent almost eighty dollars on supplies for a kindergartner, second grader and maybe 1/2 of the supplies the 10th grader might need.

Holy cow.  That is insane.  I remember when my dad used to freak out if he had to spend more than five dollars for my school supplies.  Of course back then we didn't have clorox wipes and the school supplied the tissues and ziplock baggies and their own chalk (now dry erase markers). I complained for years about the Clark County School District because truthfully it wasn't that great, but now after having my kids in Wyoming school districts for the last nine years, I will never complain again.

You know, the joke used to be if we messed something up we would say, "well I went to the Clark County school district after all."  Now I'm seriously thinking of changing it to, "well, my kids went to NCSD1 after all" but then that wouldn't make much sense would it. But it would still be fun as hell to say.

I've come to realize that all districts have politics that I won't like, but you have to look deep down and see HOW and WHAT your kids are learning.  Now I truly wish the heat hadn't bothered me so much because I truly wish my kids could go to CCSD again.

The only good thing is that the colleges here in Wyoming are really good.  Casper College is a top rated community college and UW is a great school especially for certain majors.  Their education department is fabulous so hopefully we get some great teachers and future administrators that can affect changes here. Unfortunately my kids won't see it.  Unless they are willing to stick it out here and become teachers (Gwen's going to be a teacher but I have no clue where she will end up).

The good thing in all of this is that I got to go to the store and soak up all of the lovely school supplies.  You all know from previous blogs that paper and pens make me very very very very happy. :)  I even bought myself some! You know, if you go to our walmart at this time of year you will see this strange lady standing in the middle of the school supply aisles with stars in her eyes and I was going to say sniffing the air for the scent of paper and pen and glue but I really don't do that...much. ;)

Until Next Time...I know it's hard but when it comes to things like jobs, hospitals, schools and other things like that, sometimes you have to look really hard past all of the politics to see the good.  Sometimes you won't find any good, but sometimes you might just be surprised.

TAKING A BREAK

Sorry folks but there will be no blog today 8/5/2013.  Having some family issues I need to take care of so I am taking a day off. I'll be back sometime this week. And soon I will present you with  an essay on how I have observed that  large families (or groups of any kind) work the best.  How if you don't stick together, share, compromise and work as a team you fail. And if you let people purposefully mess with that dynamic you can kiss your family/group/unit goodbye. 

Yeah, I know, a joyous subject but it has been something I have been working on for the last year, as a matter of fact I started it a year ago exactly, and is one of the reasons why I started this blog which is therapeutic for me. So, enjoy your day off from my ramblings, and I will see you very soon.

<3 Your favorite broken housewife and mom. 

THE EXCITEMENT OF GETTING READY FOR BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

Well, it's that time again. Nope, not time for school quite yet, but it sure is time to get ready for school. And there is so much to do.

First we need to get Mr. Insane ready for school. I taught him his ABC's years ago but now he isn't grasping them so much.  That is why I will never again teach a child under the age of 3.5 anything of importance. The chance that they will have academic trouble later in life is too great, but that is a story for another time.

Miss Crazy is going to be the easy one this year. Just buy her school supplies (OMG so many needed and little money to do it on. I miss my old district where you needed pencil's paper and crayons...the end) and send her on her way.

The Sophomore has to go to schedule change day because they were once again stupid and gave my kids a teacher I will not allow them to have.  Gwen had one history teacher who didn't teach fact, but his opinion and tried to convert everyone to his political party.  Yeah, not putting up with that crap. He passed all the jocks so he was allowed to stay until he retired a couple years ago.  As for The Sophomore, she had a teacher last year who only went by test scores not previous experience or recommendations from other teachers. So the minute she stepped into this woman's classroom, not quite meeting the test scores, she was doomed and when the woman found out she was autistic well it just got worse.  I guess the teachers in this district aren't taught that autistic kids can be brilliant just like other kids.  So The Sophomore kind of stopped trying in her class and couldn't put up with the treatment so we had her drop with the official reason of teacher conflict.  Well, she got her schedule yesterday and guess who her math teacher is again???  Yep, isn't going to happen on my watch.  I usually let teachers do their job and teach, If my kid gets in trouble or a bad grade it is because they deserved it, but this isn't about grades or discipline. These two are just horrible and I truly believe they are two of the few teacher's I've met in the is district who really can't teach. And then there will be registration which will be a fight because they broke her computer and are trying to charge us for repairs. Yeah, again, it isn't gonna happen.

Then we get to Gwen.  She has books to buy ...OMG have you seen the price of text books lately?  Holy cow, easily double what I spent in college twenty years ago! RIDICULOUS. We will probably get her a few school supplies because her scholarship doesn't cover them and then it is off to college with her! How exciting. She gets to experience the joys of long boring lectures, long exciting lectures, crazy professors and the indescribable feeling of being part of a college community.  Damn, now I'm jealous, can I go back to college??? ;)

So, as we go broke shopping for  paper, pens, pencils, crayons, rulers, pencil boxes, kleenex, hand sanitizer, erasers, glue, calculators, dry erase markers, highlighters, colored pencils, scissors, and school clothes (And yes those are all actual supplies that we have to buy for all four kids - The elementary supplies just times by two) we are also a bit excited because of all of the fun and crazy adventures four of our five will have starting later this month.  Kindergarten and college adventures for the first time, second grade and sophomore adventures, just continuing along.  And then there will be me at home with only one child. My last baby. As the tears begin to fall at this bittersweet moment I get sad of course and excited too.  My baby and I will have such fun together but in a few short years it will be just me. And then the tears will really fall.  Heck don't be surprised if I'm writing novels every week at that time because what else am I to do without a kid at home.

Until Next Time...No matter how much something bothers you, if any part of it gives you joy don't deny it, embrace it!  Back to school is like that for me.  I hate the district and I miss my kids (sometimes) but dang the whole back to school excitement thing is just indescribable!!!!