Let me preface this entire post by saying that some of my very best friends are teachers and I widely respect teacher’s as a whole…but here is what is driving me nuts. 

Ok, amongst my various titles as a mother:

Mom
Chef
Maid
Housekeeper
Taxi Cab Driver
Referee
Nurse
Coach
Tutor

I am now expected to basically continue to be a teacher. I have five children. What is the deal with teacher’s sending home assignments for mom and dad to do? Is it not enough that I cook for, clean up after, do laundry for, play with, and spend time with my children? I now have to be more than just an “after school tutor”?

Last year, my youngest daughter Jessica was assigned a Social Studies assignment in second grade that entailed her father and I, running all over the place taking pictures of street signs and traffic signs.  It was then to be assembled into a book and I quite honestly cannot remember what we were supposed to do after that. Why? Because we didn’t do it. Why should we send in 50 school supplies off of a list at the start of the year and then proceed to have to print out photos, which hello - ink is not cheap, and neither is film processing for those that still use film cameras! Why must homework assignments involve parents to this extreme?

I have no problem sitting down with my daughters and son and helping them with worksheets, or to understand a math assignment or science report. What I have a problem with, is when I have to do these things that cost me additional money, cost me time away from four other children (yes we could have turned it into a family thing but nobody else thought it was fun either), and constantly takes my time away from things that matter to all of us.

Here is the latest assignment.

Same daughter Jessica who is now in third grade, comes home about a week ago with this package that is called “Science Buddies”. I’m rolling my eyes in expectation of something I’m going to be annoyed at, because as she handed it to me, in a sing songy voice she says “You have homework”. Like hell I do!

Sure enough, once a month we will be Science buddies. Oh yippee! Someone please hold me back because I might start doing back flips I’m just so flippin’ excited. Apparently this is due tomorrow and we ignored it until tonight. So now tonight we get to cut a circle out of a coffee filter and using a black NON permanent marker we get to make a line on it. Then we get to dunk it into a cup of water. Oh the joy. And then we get to make predictions about what is going to happen and fill out this five question lab report. I predict that I’m going to be greatly annoyed before, during and after this project! Think the prediction is right? And just think, I don’t even need an experiment OR lab report to let you all know that!

 ETA: Oh! and my coffee maker has a built in filter. So guess what we got to go buy? Yep coffee filters, just so we could use ONE of them. What the heck am I going to do with the other 199? Please don’t say make sun catchers and butterflies. I was a preschool teacher, I’ve made enough of those and my children would not be in the least bit amused. LOL

LOL That sounds so angry doesn’t it? Well, I meant it that way.

I was wraped up in some stupid high school drama crap where a friend (the same friend I blogged about here) accused someone extremely close to me of doing something to someone close to her. It was a nightmare. And I am very angry, and afraid that I cannot remain friends with her anymore. Too many things she has done.

And she so needed to do this on my birthday? Oh, wait…yes. She has to always have the attention and it always has to be about her. The accusation was something so horrible it was ridiculous. And she had the audacity to say “You’re not mad at me, right?” Are you freakin’ insane? It wasn’t about YOU. It was about the people directly involved in the accusation, I don’t freakin’ care about you right now! UGH!

I hardly slept last night, I talked to a lot of different people to rant and get it all out and get advice and well…it’s over. I have lost a friend because it is what I wanted, and I am actually SO happy about that. Weird, I know. In the same breath, I made a new friend because of the situation (actually I’ve known the gal since high school so the reconnection is feeling great and no, she did not have anything directly to do with it either). Ah, well - That’s enough on that.

I also had my puppy start acting really weird yesterday. He was still eating so I gave him a day of just acting strange. Sleeping a lot more than normal, not really interested in playing. So weird. Anyway, so today he was all out of sorts - slept the whole day, wouldn’t eat, threw up about mid day and I rushed him to our vet.  They ahren’t sure what the problem is, except that he was “diagnosed” with Canine Bronchitis (to the laymen - Kennel Cough) when we brought him home, and my vet thinks he is still not feeling good from all of that. So he will probably be out of sorts, but she got him to eat, and we purchased special food to mix with his for a couple of days. Plus, she gave him meds for his CB. It should be interesting to see if that makes him feel a bit better. He’s so damn sweet, and so good, I just want him to be healthy and feeling good.

So, that was my last 24 hours. Isn’t that great?

It only took 48 seconds to change  the 18-year-old, Miss Teen South Carolina, Lauren Caitlin Upton’s life forever.

When asked the question, “Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think that is?”, Miss Upton gained notoriety she never wanted.

Thanks to YouTube and the blogosphere, she went from a contestant on the popular Miss Teen USA pageant on Friday to a YouTube phenomenon with a video that now has more than 4 million views. 

Her answer started out normal, as she reworded the sentence slowly as she began thinking about the answer, until she could no longer fake the slowness and had to answer.  And so was born a hodge podge group of sentences that truly made absolutely no sense. Something about it being her belief that a group of “U.S. Americans don’t have maps” and the way to alleviate that would be to help the educational efforts in South Africa and “the Iraq.”

I feel terrible for the girl really. I mean, seriously - how would you have answered it? I mean, I would want to say “Because lots of American’s are stupid.” but yeah, I’m thinking that probably wouldn’t have won her any awards. So she stumbled, and she answered the question incorrectly by drawing a South Africa connection (hey some live here too! and we should help them) and has it ever occured to anyone that the fifth of Americans that cannot locate the U.S. on a world map, might be the fifth of American’s who do not speak English, come from another country or otherwise are not a “true” American?

Thankfully, someone else felt sorry for Caitlin, and on Tuesday she appeared on the “Today Show” for a do-over of the question, so she could prove she is not ignorant and stupid as so many were already believing.  What a shame really, because she’s just a girl. A normal, pretty faced girl, who on the spot flubbed her answer. Yeesh. Does it matter that much?

“Everything did come at me at once,” she told Matt Lauer and Ann Curry on the “Today Show.” “I was overwhelmed and I made a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes. I’m human.”

Miss Upton is a graduate of Lexington High School and even took college-prep and honors courses according to her former principal.

All I’ve got to say, is she is very pretty, and people need to give her a chance. She is only 18 years old. She has a lifetime ahead of her to come up with answers to why American’s are stupid. Does it matter that she messed it up? I don’t really think it does. Did it hurt you or I? Nope. I don’t believe it did.

Yay! It finally arrived. Now I just want it to go away. LOL Thirty four is just not an exciting age. Period. LOL

For a change though, something went right. Normally the girls go with their mom for a few hours on Tuesday night, but she called last night and asked to switch to Thursday. Who am I to argue? I’m thrilled LOL And she had NO idea it was my birthday. At least I don’t think she did.

Anyway, I’ll fill you in on it later. We plan to actually “celebrate” this weekend, so there probably isn’t that much to tell. We’re baking cooking tonight! Yay!

I have always wanted to visit London, ever since I was a little girl and kept hearing about the city with tons of Fog. Plus I thought I was a princess, and I rightfully belonged inside Buckingham Palace. But that was about all I knew about it back then. As I got older, I became even more captivated with the idea of traveling to the UK. From wanting to become one with the beautiful scenery and nature found only in London, I wanted to do things like taking a stroll through Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, and the theaters and cathedrals full of history.

This princess does not think she has to dream anymore. Visiting London has become a goal I have set. And I can do it by looking for good prices on Hotels in London.

I have several Internet friends that live in the UK, either in or near London. I plan to go visit them, but don’t wish to impose by staying in their homes. Plus the privacy of a hotel might be nice at the end of the day. There are so many Hotels in London to choose from, and the prices are all over the board, it just takes a minute to sit down and see what you want.

Look for Hotels in London that offer the amenities you want, during your visit. Whether it is business, romance or pleasure, seeking out a good hotel that has beautiful views, good transportation and plenty of relaxation, is super easy.
No matter where you stay, traveling to London or anywhere in the United Kingdom and finding accommodations is easy and does not have to cost a lot!

Meeyauw tagged me for the “Scattergories” meme.

Here are the rules:
Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.They must be real places, names, things . . . nothing made up! If you can’t think of anything, skip it. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question. If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can’t use my answers!

Ok, so here goes:

Famous Singer: N’Sync (does that count - I know its a group)
Four letter word: Nice
Street: Norfolk Way
Color: navy
Gifts/Presents: Neckties
Vehicle: Nissan
Things in a Souvenir Shop: Novelties
Boy’s Name: Nicholas
Girl’s Name: Nadine
Movie Title: (the) Notebook - my favorite movie
Drink: Night Cap *grin*
Occupation: Nurse
Celebrity: Nancy McKeon
Magazine: National Geographic
U.S. City: Nashville
Pro Sports: (washington) Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos)
Fruit: Nectarine
Reason for Being Late for Work: No Gas
Something You Throw Away: Nothing (at least it seems that way in my house)
Things You Shout: No Way!
Cartoon Character: Nemo

New posts are below this one. While it is not a sticky, I just keep switching the date to keep it on top until Tuesday. Thanks gang. I’m at the top of page two currently, but I want page one LOL 

This sounds so silly, I know. Especially because those that know me, know that I am not one to solicit anything ever. However, I am SO close to being on page one of Blog Village and I keep switching between three numbers, and I just want to make it to page one for my birthday Tuesday. I think I’m about four or five away. It will reset on September 1st, 2007 so I won’t be on page one for long, so it’s just a wish. Oh, and you can only click “in” to Blog Village once per day, and “Out” from my banner once per day. (or at least that is what I was told). Here’s how:

Will you take just a second to click on this button?

It will take you to a page that looks like this:

Click that gray bar in the center that says “Click Here to Enter Blog Village”.

Now, here is where it gets tricky - I am currently on page one by ONE vote. So you will need to scroll down the first page and look either for my banner:

And click on it if it is still there, OR scroll down to the bottom of the page until you see this:

l

Click on the #2 in the row of numbers (takes you to page two) and then scroll until you see this banner (should be somewhere in spot 21-23 (hopefully) but if enough clicks have come through, might be earlier):

Then click on the banner which will re-open this page and gives me a vote “out” which is how the page is measured by currently.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. If you have a page listed with blog village, leave me a comment and tell me what page its on and what # (about) and what the name of the webpage is, and I will do the same for you!

After finding out about some things that have happened to my friend Erin, life seems different for me. I’ve been doing so much thinking. The high school drama that seem to unfold around me on a fairly regular basis (i.e. R/L friends - NOT Erin) is getting to me. Last night in the car this song came on and I totally “got it”. I dedicate this song to two people in particular. It’s EXACTLY how I feel. Read every word! It might just be my favorite song Evuh!

Well you filled up my head,
With so many lies.
Twisted my heart
Til something snapped inside.
I’d like to give it one more try
but my give a damn’s busted.

You can crawl back home
say you were wrong,
stand out in the yard and
cry all night long.
Go ahead and water the lawn.
My give a damn’s busted.

I really wanna care,
I wanna feel somethin’
Let me dig a little deeper…
Nope…
Sorry…
Nothin’

You can say you’ve got issues.
You can say you’re a victim.
It’s all your parents fault,
I mean, after all you didn’t pick em
Well maybe somebody else has got time to listen.
My give a damn’s busted.

Well, your therapist said
It was all just a mistake
A product of the prozac
And your co-dependent ways
So … who’s your enabler these days
My give a damn’s busted.

I really wanna care,
I wanna feel somethin’
Let me dig a little deeper…
Nah.
Still Nothing.

It’s a desperate situation,
No tellin’ what you’ll do.
If I don’t forgive you,
You say your life is through.
Well come on … give me somethin’ I can use.
My give a damn’s busted.

My give a damn’s busted (*ha ha)
My give a damn’s busted
Honey trust me
My give a damn’s busted yeahhh …
OOOH
My give a damn’s busted yeahhh
(*You wanna do what?)(*ha ha ha ha ha)
My give a damn’s busted
(*Get the party started thats what we’ll do)
My give a damn’s busted
(*I’m not done honey, trust me)
My give a damn’s busted
(*Been there, done that)
My give a damn’s busted
My give a damn’s busted

Yes, I suppose it is something like an I-Pod. I carry it with me everywhere I go, like I would an I-Phone or I-Pod. But, it’s something all together different.

The connection I have with my Internet friends (mostly blogging friends). I tend to think about them when I am away from the Internet.

When my daughter makes a huge step in her horseback riding lessons, I want to run and tell the blogging world, because I know the gals I consider my friends will be happy for me. (and her) When I have a kid issue, I want to share it to get advice from others, mostly the people I consider my I-Friends.

When we head out to the beach, at the lake, near the house we are moving to, I think of my friend Erin everytime now, and how she reminds me constantly that its “not a beach, it’s sand.” It cracks me up, and I even think about her when I’m on the beach. I wonder what her and her kidlet are doing, I wonder if there will be a drunk post up on a Saturday night, and then when I do get home, I check.

However, what has been happening lately, is this weird connection (weird does not mean BAD) that I’m getting when I am reading new blogs. Not everyone, just some. Actually about three that I cannot stop going to in the past week or so. I just keep going back and finding out what is going on, and feeling more and more connected. One gal is actually getting some news on Monday that may or may not turn out bad. I couldn’t stop thinking about her last night while I sat on the beach sand. (giggle) I wonder what her news is, I wonder if it will be good or bad, and I wonder if she will indeed tell me. I actually care about this girl and everything I know about her, is what is written on the pages of her blog. And so, do I really know her? I feel as if I do.

Anyway, I just thought the whole I-Friends concept seemed to be an interesting one. While I have loads of RL friends, I alsmost feel as if my I-Friends are the ones that there is a deep, personal connection too. Why? I am thinking it has something to do with the fact that we tend to bare our souls on our blogs, so we get to see people from the inside out. It’s not about appearances, and day to day life (although that’s there sometimes too), but it’s about a more personal relationship. Interestingly, I am bery thankful for my I-Friends. And, hope you all don’t mind, but that’s what I’m going to call you from now on. Maybe now it can be IFF (Internet Friends Forever) LOL

The holiday season is just a few months away! First Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and before you know it, you’ll be stuffing stockings! Don’t worry, CouponChief.com is here for you. Well, it’s about time I find an easier solution to my Christmas shopping problems.

I need to purchase gifts for Mike, and of course all five children and then my parents and his parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles, and the list could just keep going on an on.

Last year, I tried to use coupons, discounts and sales to save as much money as I could, but still get my friends and family the gifts they really wanted.  This year, I plan to shop using Target Coupons, Petco Coupons (yes, Max needs a special Christmas too!) and maybe even some Overstock.com Coupons. Those are just a few of my favorite stores to stop at, but CouponChief.com has TONS more to choose from. In fact, if you enjoy shopping a popular store, chances are, it’s there!

CouponChief.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coupon Chief, Inc. Over at Coupon Chief, they are constantly striving to provide a one stop coupon deal and discount resource for our Web site visitors (yep, that’s you and me). They have amazing customer service and support, and they provide the most current, up to date coupon codes and promotional deals and discounts out there. 

This is definitely the site to use this Christmas. I know I will be!