April 19, 2015

Weather:  So much fun!  Yesterday, we woke up at it was sunny, then it started to rain, then it started to snow, then it went back to overcast and by midnight, it was clear and beautiful.  A man I ran into yesterday said it was 'climate change:  all 4 seasons in 1 day!'

I haven't written in a few weeks, so I'll try to remember all that has happened!

On the 5th, we went over to Aunt Catherine's in Helena for Easter dinner.  So much fun to see the family and have a wonderful meal.  Of course, this is Montana, so we ended up having our Easter Egg hunt in the snow.  To be fair, it wasn't much snow, but it was snow and it was cold and it was fun!  Allen and Connor helped hide the eggs and Katie helped Ryan to find them.  She was a wonderful big sister and lonely went after the eggs up higher than he could see.

On the 9th, we had our pre-District concert at school.  Katie, Allen and Connor played in the band, Allen and Connor sang in the Choir, and then Allen had a solo.  He sang 'Greensleaves', and was great.  Of course, I'm totally biased and he did flub a little bit, but since this was the pre-district, we told him this was where he needed to get his nerves out. 

The District Music Festival was on the 10th and 11th, where the band and choir performed, and then Allen did his solo for a judge.  It was probably the best I had ever heard him sing, especially when the judge worked with him and got him to sound even better.  She gave him a 28/30, which is almost perfect and earned him a trip to State on the 1st.  The judge asked him if he would be majoring in music when he goes to college.  It was awesome!

This weekend was very busy, and I finally have a minute to sit and relax.  On Friday, we had our Bingo Fiesta, which is a fundraiser for the community.  While I didn't have to do anything but sit and enjoy a good meal, the kids had to work serving and helping out.  Then, on Saturday morning, Allen had his ACT test in Great Falls.  Patrick and I drove him in, and then spent a few hours shopping and waiting for him to finish up.  Yes, I know, I could have let him drive himself, but I had to do the mom thing.  He was a little worried because the time for the math test was only 45 minutes, and he had 60 questions.  Some things he didn't know, but I think he did okay.  We won't get scores back for a few weeks.

And then, last night, we had our Prom.  Both Allen and Connor went.  Connor went with his friend Nikki from school.  They are both in the same grade and are really good friends.  Allen went by himself, which worked out just fine.  They both dance all night and had a fabulous time!  Patrick and I went in to watch the 'Grand March', where Connor and Nikki were crowned Prince and Princess.  Then we took off to watch a movie to wait for it to end.  When Connor got into the car, he asked if we could have another prom next week, it was so much fun!!  I think it will take both boys about a week to get over the pain from their formal dress shoes.  Connor said he has a new respect for women who wear high heals.

Hopefully, the next few weeks are a little more restful, but I don't expect it.  Allen will be practicing for State Music, and the Junior Senior Banquet will be in a few weeks.  School will be out in about 4 weeks and we are currently planning a trip down to California to see family (and Patrick needs to check in with work) at the end of May/beginning of June. 

Hope everyone is doing well!

March 29, 2015

Current Temp:  50 degrees (it has been a very windy couple of days!)

Sorry it's been two weeks.  I'm not sure where the time has gone, but it feels like it's flying by!

Katie went to State Science Fair in Missoula and received a Red Ribbon, which is fabulous for a 7th grader!  I'm really proud of her!  The boys were a little bummed that they couldn't go, but it gave them incentive to do better on their projects next year.

The end of the quarter was on the 12th, so we finally had report cards and parent teacher conferences this last week.  The kids are all doing well (straight A's for both Katie and Connor, Allen is struggling with a B in Algebra 2, but otherwise, all A's), and I'm struggling to find something to complain about.  Of course, with me teaching math, it's kind of ironic that Allen is struggling, but he doesn't have me for a teacher.  :)

Connor was given the Spotlight in the local newspaper this week:

I'm not sure if you can read it, but it's very 'Connor-ish'.   He talks about his book and what he likes in school.  It's always fun to see how my kids see themselves.  In his case, he says he is very 'artsy-craftsy' and wants to go into something like Architecture or Writing.  I can totally see that. 

Over the science fair weekend, Kathryn managed to spill something on Allen's Surface, so we decided it was time to upgrade him.  The difference between the repair bill and a new Surface wasn't too much, so Allen got a new Surface Pro 3 this last week.  Of course, this means that his Surface is better than mine, but I guess that's okay.  He LOVES it!  I think he likes the novelty more than anything, but it has gotten him back into his art.  He can use the pen to write notes and is also trying to get himself better organized on his school work.  We'll see if that lasts.

Ryan is doing great.  He will start his Smarter Balanced standardized testing next week, so we'll see how that goes.  Not really looking forward to it, but I guess it has to be done.  If they are good prompts and good stories, he will do fine.  If they are boring, he will probably do poorly.  No worries.

Patrick has been working hard.  It's kind of funny, as he probably isn't working much harder than he was before, but now he's getting paid better.  No complaints from my side.  He really likes that he can try new things.  His latest includes conversations with Microsoft about how their software works.  He loves it, feeling like he can influence the design of a tool he uses anyway. 

As for me, I'm good.  I've been trying to exercise more and eat better, which seems to be helping me feel more energized and excited.  I had a rough day at work last week, but managed to get through it.  Sometimes it's hard to teach students who want to play the 'I'm helpless' card.  In my mind, it is simply that they lack the motivation.  Which is frustrating.  But, I still have students that make me smile and make me feel good about teaching them.  As long as I keep my eye on the students who really WANT my help, I think I'll do okay.

Have a fabulous week and I'll write again soon!! 

March 15th, 2015

Current Temp:  54... beautiful awesome day in the high 60's yesterday... snow on the forecast for today.

The Regional Science Fair was in Great Falls this last week.  Rather than allowing anyone to go to State in Missoula this year, Mrs. Thompson required that the students achieve a Blue ribbon (1st place) at Regionals.  It makes sense, since kids really just want the days off, but don't want to do the work.  As a result, NEITHER Allen or Connor will be going to State this year.  They both got Red Ribbons (2nd place).  Not too much of a shock, since neither really spent much time on their projects.  However, both were bummed, especially since the hotel in Missoula has a water slide.  On the flip side, Kathryn did get a Blue and will be heading to State in about 2-3 hours.  They will drive over there today (Sunday), to miss the storm and make sure they have a good nights rest before competing tomorrow.  Yea, Katie!!  I'm so proud of her!

Patrick had his first full week of salaried work in a very long time.  I think he believed that things would be pretty much the same, but he's finding himself on the phone in meetings a heck of a lot more than before.  He's also pretty much 'on-call' at all times, so I think we are going to have to do something different with our office arrangement.  This week, he was on the phone twice around 11pm, while we were all trying to sleep.  It's hard when he's talking in his loud voice about 10 feet away from your bed (and the walls are really, really thin).   We've talked about moving the desk to another part of the house, but that only really moves the problem from me and Katie and Ryan to Allen and Connor.  So, we are debating adding onto the house to create an office for him.  Probably a project for the summer, but it might be a good idea.  The other option is to clean up one of the outbuildings and put him out there.  I can't imagine Patrick waking up, getting dressed and 'going to the office', even an office 20 feet out the back door.  But who knows?

Ryan got labs drawn on Friday and was amazing.  He walked in, sat in the chair, put out his arm and let them draw his labs.  No crying or flinching or moving or whining.  So easy.  I guess he decided that it was easier than fighting it.  :)  Of course, after that, we had about 6 hours of shopping to do, and he was a pill.  But, I'll take what I can get.

The rest of the shopping on Friday consisted of getting meds for Ryan, getting Ryan new jeans (as he is too big for his old ones!), getting Kathryn some new dresses for State Science Fair and Easter, and getting Allen AND Connor fitted for tuxes for Prom.  Connor will be going with Nikki, one of his really good friends and classmates from Geyser.  Allen picked up a new girl from Cascade High School at the Regional Science fair, and said he would be going with her.  We haven't met her yet, but his old girlfriend from Cascade approves.  Oh jeez, only in Montana.  Apparently, she is really, really smart, so that's a good thing.

Connor got to spend the weekend up with Grandma and Grandpa.  I think he just really likes the big bed, which kind of cracks me up.  But he asked on the way home from school Thursday if he could go up there Thursday night, so I said fine.  Then he came shopping with us, and headed right back up there after we were done.  Hopefully, he will come home soon, but I think he's enjoying his 'me' time with Grandma and Grandpa. 

I managed to pick up the kids cold (it's about time), so I've spent the last two-three days whimpering and whining.  Kinda bummed that I missed the Raynesford Community Center St. Patrick's day dinner and auction last night, but I figured it was safer for all involved if I stayed in my bed and didn't contaminate everyone else. 

I intended to get pictures of everyone for this week, and just realized I didn't do it.  I'll try to get some pictures next week!

Have a good one!

March 7, 2015

Current Temp:  43 degrees (apparently it rained a little today) 

When I began this blog about 3 1/2 years ago, I gave myself the goal to write every day.  And, for the first year and a half, I did write every day.  Even on days where I had nothing to say, I still wrote something.  

Then, about 2 years ago, I decided I was bored.  I couldn't think of anyone who would be even mildly interested in what was going on in our lives and I stopped writing.  Little did I know, there were people who were interested in our lives.  And I apologize to those people for hiding for the last two years.

So, I will attempt to write again.  Not every day, but maybe once a week or so.  The kids are getting old so fast, and I would love to have this blog to look back on.  I will NOT be posting to Facebook when I post, so if you want to get the updates, I believe there is a link on the side that will email you every time I post something new.  

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Summary of the last two years:

About me:  I decided that I wanted to teach full time.  So, I went back to school and got a second Bachelors in Mathematics - Secondary Education.  I wanted to take all those education classes, just to make sure I wasn't missing something.  Working through WGU, and taking into account that I already had a BA and could transfer all my core classes, I was able to complete my BA in about 16 months.  I finished up my student teaching in December 2014 and I am now I certified math teacher (5-12) in Montana.  Our math teacher in Geyser is cutting back her hours, and I was able to help out by teaching a few of her classes, and my own computer classes and online classes.  It's busy, but fun.

I also became the Speech and Drama coach for Geyser.  Allen wanted to take Speech, so we co-op'ed with Stanford and Denton and I became the third coach.  We attended about 8-9 meets this season (October - Jan 2015) and had a great time.  I learned a lot and I'm looking forward to next year's season!

About Patrick:  Patrick has continued to work with RevShare in Temecula, CA, for the last 3 years. He does all his work from here, and it's great.  But, in the last few months, we realized that he could get so much more done for the company if he was an employee rather than a consultant.  So, for the first time in about 6 years, Patrick has a full time job again.  He will still be working from home, but he is an employee rather than a contractor.  His first assignment was a quick flight down to Temecula to meet and greet everyone, sign docs and just get a face-to-face with the team.   He is super excited about the opportunity to work on projects, and not feel required to document why he does everything,  Hopefully, this will make it easier and also keep him focused and excited.  

About Allen:  Allen is currently a sophomore and is 16... This means that yes, he is driving.  However, there isn't much chance to do anything so we haven't had any problems.  As I mentioned before, he joined Speech and Debate this year.  He had a great time, competing in both Extemporaneous Speaking and Lincoln-Douglas debate.  He went to State in LD and learned a lot!  He enjoyed Extemp, and did very well, but he really wanted the back-and-forth of LD debate.  Some of the kids he competed against were seniors who had done this for years.  He was quite excited for next year by the time the season ended.  

He also became quite notorious at the meets for his dancing.  For anyone who has never been to a SAD meet, there is a LOT of waiting around between events.  Allen would be that kid that would grab a girl and jitterbug around while waiting.  Never afraid to be himself, he met a ton of people and had a great season.

In addition, Allen also did Cross Country this year.  Cross Country events are 3 miles (5K) and he qualified for state with a time of ~28 minutes.  He did great, especially since his starting time was about ~40 minutes.  He's already committed to next year!  

About Connor:  Connor joined Allen in Cross Country, although he honestly had no desire to do so.  That being said, he improved his time immensely, going from almost 50 minutes to about 32 minutes by the end of the season.  Although he didn't qualify for State, he improved so much that I can't wait to see what he can do next season.

In addition, he is still working on his book.  It is finished, and now he's in the editing stage (which may be harder than writing the first time).  He is a freshman this year, and is still top of his class.  He just finished his Science Fair project, and came in 1st in the high school!  The last week, he has been fighting a cold, but he managed to fake it enough through the judging round on Tuesday.  :)

About Kathryn:  Katie is currently a 7th grader, which pretty much means that school sucks.  Anyone who has already been through middle school knows what I'm talking about.  But, we are lucky and she is doing fine in her classes.  I hope that she will find life better over time, but at 12 years old, I don't think there is much I can do for her.  She is really into her books (usually mythology) and she likes watching YouTube videos.  

This year she has really grown up.  She has gotten into makeup and hair stuff and clothes, and suddenly went from being my little girl to a teenager.  I am still in awe.

About Ryan:  Ryan is doing amazing.  We had a rough Christmas season, where we flew to Seattle twice.  He had an overgrowth of bacteria in his gut, and was loosing weight.  Fortunately, it was not rejection or anything bad, and with the right cocktail of meds, he is back and better than ever.  

Ryan is in 3rd grade this year and loving it.  He has a very small class (3 kids, including him) and a full time aide that works with him independently.  When he is feeling well, they can push him and he does great.  When he's feeling out of sorts, they let him take a break and there is no pressure.  His teacher has told me that he can obviously learn to read and write and complete his math work, but sometimes it is hard to get him to prove it.  Typical.

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March 3-7, 2015

This week was the science fair.  All three kids did great.  Allen and Connor both received blue ribbons and Kathryn received a red ribbon and got 2nd in the Junior High!  They will all go to regional competition in Great Falls next week, so I hope they do well!

Patrick spent the week in California, sorting out stuff for the new job.  This meant he also got to spend some quality time with his sisters and their husbands.  It's been almost 4 years since we left and with the exception of mexican food and spending time with his sisters, there isn't much he misses.

I got to attend the Spring Meeting for Speech and Drama this weekend.  It meant I got to spend 2 days at a hotel and chat with other coaches.  Sometimes it's hard for me, because everyone already knows each other and I'm the new kids in school.  But I hope by next year, things will get better.   And I can never complain about 2 in which I couldn't do laundry, even if I wanted to.  :)

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January 28, 2013

Outside Temp: 29 F (we got into the mid-40's and as low as the mid teens... still some snow on the ground.)

What I cooked today:
Chicken and Rice: I tossed some frozen broccoli into my chicken, just to liven it up a little.  I had to warn my husband, so he was good enough to say, "It's great.", instead of, "what the heck is this?".  It worked like a charm, and I heard no complaints about the meal!

Update:
Allen came down with the cold pretty badly and was out of school all last week.  On Thursday (we don't have school on Fridays), Connor was the only one able to make it.  Katie thought she was coming down with the bug, and Ryan was acting a little tired, so they both stayed home.  Katie turned out to just be tired herself, as she was fine by the afternoon.  So, Connor was so proud of himself for being the only Simpson in school that day. 

So, wouldn't you know it, he came down with it on Friday.  He spent all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday in his room, either in his bed, or watching video's on the computer, while coughing up a lung and irritating his nose with tissues.

By today, he was feeling a little better, so I'm planning on sending him to school tomorrow.  We'll see if it's okay.  Allen is better and finally went back to school today.  Fortunately, I brought home his homework every day, so he isn't that behind in his classes.

January 22, 2013

Outside Temp: 33 F (the snow is turning to slush everywhere, just in time to turn to ice the next time it freezes!  Praying I don't slip.)

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Pasta: I don't know how these working women manage to get dinner on the table, but it was quite the stretch to actually get protein and starch on the table for dinner, before 8pm, but I did it... Yea, me.

Update:
I got to sub for our Special Ed teacher today (and every day this week), which means that I get to get up and dressed in the morning.  I feel a little bad for my kids at 8:30am, since I tend to yawn for the first hour or so.  They kept asking me if I was tired... I wasn't really tired, but I still kept yawning.  Not really inspirational, I know.

The kids had their Spelling Bee this afternoon, and amazingly, both Connor and Katie placed!  Connor came in 4th and Katie came in 5th, which means they both get to go to the county spelling bee in Stanford in February!  So proud of them both!

Allen has managed to come down with the bug that is going around, so I kept him home from school today.  He's not awful, but his cough is really hacking.  I'm not sure if it's better enough for him to go to school tomorrow, but he's trying to get his homework done anyway.  We'll see how it goes in the morning. 

My game design class is going great.  Everyone is 'Ahead' of the class's required schedule, thank goodness, and most of them are actually ahead of my schedule, which is a little more aggressive.  I want them to get done with the class by the first of May, since school should be out by May 15th (or so), so I am really pushing them.  I have 4 of them already starting on their first game design document, which is kind of exciting.  They are a little nervous, since it's a little foreign, but they are trying which is all I can ask for!

And, Ryan is now staying at school until noon, which gives him an extra 30 minutes of recess after lunch.  He's doing great, trying to eat his lunch, although some days it requires a little finesse.  He LOVES the fruit, and is learning about eating the meat.  Of course, yesterday, he stole a grape off of another teacher's plate, but I'm hoping that is just because I was there and he was testing me.  I almost stabbed his hand with my fork, but better judgement kicked in and I simply told him to say he was sorry.  Oh yea, that would have gone over really well...

January 21, 2013

Outside Temp: 41 F (started out at 15 and heated up to 55 today... awesome)

What I cooked today:
Nothing... Grandma did all the cooking, which is good since I was working today!

Update:

Happy 9th Birthday to my youngest, Ryan!

It may be hard for most people to realize how amazing it is that Ryan is even here, for this birthday.  When he was about 19 months (just shy of 2 years old), he was dying from liver failure.  He had been in the hospital almost continuously from birth, and had multiple (about 15) surgeries to try to repair his intestines.  They had all failed, due to an unknown blood clotting disorder, that we didn't know about until he was about 2 1/2.  We had been on the transplant list since June 2005, and in November 2005, we got the call. 

While his transplant of his liver and small intestine was a success, we had multiple set backs and infections, the most significant was a clot in the intestine that caused about 50% of the transplanted intestine to die.  We have never been able to determine if the remaining intestine worked enough for him to live on. 

Since he was born, Ryan has been on TPN, which is an IV solution that is given to him every night through a permanent IV catheter in his chest.  Which means that every night, he is hooked up to a pump, which gives him all the nutrients and vitamins that he needs to survive.  Of course, he is also on some immuno-suppression drugs, but those are insignificant compared to his TPN.  We are constantly aware that if he does not get his TPN tonight, and every night, really bad things could happen.  There are some signs that his intestines are starting to work, but it will be years (if ever) that he could eat enough and digest enough to live without his nightly TPN.

However, in a lot of ways, Ryan is just like any other kid.  He gets ready for school with his backpack, and his snow pants, and his boots, just like any other kid.  He loves playing Lego X Box games (he's currently addicted to Lego Batman and Lego Lord of the Rings...).  He goes skiing with us, although he doesn't want to listen, he just wants to go fast.  And when I tell him that it's bedtime, he begs me to let him have 'five more minutes, please!'. 

Of course, for Ryan, getting sick means a trip to the hospital.  And bedtime means getting a shot in the leg, and getting hooked up to his TPN.  And, we spoil him rotten, letting him get away with things that I would NEVER let his siblings get away with.  But I wouldn't have it any other way, because he is here.  And that is enough to make up for any little inconveniences along the way.