Another Triple A!!!

Yup, I got 3 more A's in graduate school. My semester finished last week and final grades are out today. I am so happy to be doing so well in my graduate classes. It has been challenging to balance all the things in my life and doing well at school is definitely a nice reward for all the stress and hard work. In other exciting news I will be doing my Practicum or student teaching this Spring. Because I am already a full time teacher I can use that as my Practicum. I will just teach as I already do but now a person from the University will come observe me 3 or 4 times and I will have to prepare an extensive electronic portfolio. Once my Practicum is out of the way I only have 4 classes left til I graduate with my Masters. I plan on taking those 4 classes this summer. So YAYAYAYAY for me I will have my Masters and be done with school this Summer!!!!! HOOORAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!! The idea that I will be done with school before the new school year starts is THRILLING! I can not even tell you how much more I will be able to do at work when I don't have to run to class 3 nights a week! Plus I will have so much more time to relax with Evie which will be a VERY welcome change!

This week is the last week of work for me before we all break for 2 full weeks!! God, I love being a teacher!!!!! I plan to relax and spend time with friends and family and thoroughly take advantage of my break from grad school and work! Whoo HOO!! =)

In other news, I am happy to say that my final divorce hearing is January 8, 2009. If we have no issues between now and then I will be a divorced (free!) woman in January '09! YAY! I am very happy to be closing this chapter of my life and moving forward.

Evie is cute as ever and continues to delight and amaze me at every turn. She is getting very good with using the potty but only when we are not at home. I don't know if that is a normal thing for toddlers. She uses the potty a lot when we are out but then won't even ask or say she wants to go when I ask at home. Strange, but ultimately she will use the potty at home too.

In family news I am EAGERLY awaiting the return of BigBro and DocRom to the States!!! I super duper mega-ly hope they will come back to ATL but if they don't I will just be glad that they are not in a foreign country thousands of miles away!! I miss them SOOOOO much!!!! I can NOT wait to be with them and hug them and talk and laugh and connect!!!

Also, TwinBro is engaged!!! Congrats to him!!! He is with a very cool lady and I wish them the best!! =)

Test Scores

I had to take 2 Georgia state teacher certification exams in March and I just found out that I passed both tests!!! YAY!!! Now I am officially a GREAT candidate to teach in the Fall! I am sooo excited!!!!!!

Been A While

Sorry it has been a while. As you can imagine I have a lot going on these days. First off I interviewed with my top pick school and I think it went well. I won't know til late next week at the soonest. I hate waiting! =)

Evie is doing well, she has been cranky and very hungry lately. I think we are going through a growth spurt or molars. Hard to say at this point.

I have 2 more interviews scheduled for next week with schools that would be okay but not as good as my top pick. We'll see.

Evie and I are checking out 4 in home daycares today. Evie is going to start going to daycare in the next few weeks because Grammy has more animals coming to the farm and ministering opportunities on Ft. Gordon. I think Evie will love daycare because she loves other kids so much! It is really cute, she plays so well with other kids, she shares and just rocks! Thanks to a very awesome lady Evie will be able to go to the private school we want for her! Nicole has a child going to the same school and she graciously agreed to take Evie along when she drops off her son for a fair fee. I am so thankful! I really want Evelyn there at least a few days a week.

My semester is winding down, thank God! I have 2 more days of class and then it is final projects due in 2 weeks. I really like my classes this semester but I am eager to be done with them and move onto my next classes. Math and Classroom Management are my next classes. I need both very much! I am not good at Math and I've never really had to do classroom management by myself.

So that is the news over here. How are you all? =)

Good Job News

While all this craziness is going on I am having some success on the job front, thank goodness! I interviewed with the county board of education and they have approved me to teach in their county. I am so glad! Now I start interviewing with the principals at the elementary schools. I am interviewing with my number one choice school on Monday! I called and left a message and within half an hour I got a call back to schedule the interview! I really love the principal of this school and the teachers seem so happy to be working there. It seems like a very supportive and positive place, and that is just what I need in my life right now.

I had spoken earlier about working at the private school that Evie is going to next year. But in light of the circumstances now I am not going to try for that job. I need the extra money and health benefits and retirement benefits.

One of the great things about working for the county is that once I finish my Masters I will get a $9,000 a year jump in pay!! That is a lot of money!

The only drawback to working at the school I want to work at is that I can't take Evie to her school everyday. That is really a bummer for me on many levels. First of all I really want to be able to talk with her teachers and meet her friends and just be involved with that part of her life. Second, I don't want to have to burden Grammy and Gramper to take her and pick her up everyday. As a result of my concerns I am actively seeking ways to get Evelyn to school that are efficient and smart and safe. If I can't find a way to get her there under those conditions then I am going to look into putting her in a different school or setting while I am at work so that I (or Ben) can take her and pick her up everyday. I will keep you all posted on that as the situation progresses.

And just to keep you all happy I have some pictures of Evie with one her new favorite toys, my purse!

More Job Offers and Happy Birthday Jen!

It is my best friend Jen's birthday today! Holla!! She is 26 today and I am so happy for her!

And on the job front I have more news. The christian school that I have been shadowing Aidan at is awesome. Even though they are super christian the principal and the kindergarten teacher (Aidan's teacher) are super nice and good people. Because I like the school so much we decided to send Evie there next year for pre-k for 2 yr olds. Here's the job news. The 5th grade teacher just quit and they are looking for someone to teach 5th grade in the Fall. So I talked to principle today and she seemed very excited. I am excited. The pay is low, there aren't health or retirement benefits. BUT(!)the hours are great (815A to 215P)and I would be at Evie's school with her all day everyday. Plus I would get teaching experience but in a more laid back environment with a max of 10 students instead of 30. I am feeling really drawn to this opportunity. I love the idea of dropping off and picking up Evelyn everyday and being in the school with her in case something happens or whatever. I am thinking this would be a really good job for me while I am still in school. So maybe only stay for 2 yrs until Evie goes to Pre-k and I graduate. Then I could get a job at the public school that Evie would be going to and again I could be at her school with her through 5th grade. I am all about being close to her as long as I can.

The other factor in this decision is the possibility that Ben could get deployed in the next year. If he gets deployed I know I will be very stressed and sad. Being at a school with a very supportive principal and coworkers would be so helpful for me. Plus I think it would be good for Evie if I were right at the school with her, to help her deal with Ben being gone.

And to tell the truth, I love the idea of having an easy job that allows me to take my daughter to work with me everyday. I mean that is like a dream job to me. And as long as Ben is in the Army I don't need health/retirement benefits so badly.

So what do you all think? As it stands I don't have a job offer from anyone. I interview with the public school system April 15th and Sandy (the private school principal) told me she won't have a decision til May. I am not going to turn down anyone til I have heard from everyone. I am not that crazy! ;)

Job Prospects

I wrote earlier about having an interview with the local school board last week. They called me and rescheduled the interview for April 15th in the afternoon. So the suspense will have to keep building on that. This past weekend I took the last teacher certification exam I need to take. I won't know how I did til April 28th. I hope I did well enough to pass but I really don't know. I am not very confident because I am not a great test taker usually. So we'll see how that turns out.

Today is exciting because I just got a job lead from Aidan's mom. I thought Aidan's mom hated me, but I guess she likes me enough to send me a good job lead. There is a community programs coordinator position open at the local arts council. So I emailed them and attached my resume. Hopefully I will hear back from them. I would rather be in a classroom but if that doesn't happen then this job would be really great for me too. And I think I would really enjoy it because I love doing art outreach. So we'll see about that.

I am pretty excited to have both these job prospects right now. I hope one of them works out!

And if you are in Indy then you might be counting down already. For those that aren't in Indy, I am leaving in 3 short days to go to Indianapolis and visit TwinBro and my bestest friends Shrimp Run, Off Gas, Cara and Co, Kara and Co, and Joanna and Co. I am sooo excited!!!!!

Interview and more!

I landed myself an interview with the Board of Education that hosted the job fair I attended. Yay!! This is the first step in a 2 step process. Once I interview with the board and they (hopefully) approve me then the principals at the schools can interview me and (hopefully) offer me jobs. The interview is Mar. 26th at 1030AM. I am so happy!! =) Thank you all for your very sweet and encouraging comments, they mean so much to me right now!!

In other news Evie has an appointment next Tuesday with her pediatrician to start the evaluation process for a possible speech delay. She only has 3 words that she says consistently right now. They are: No, Momma, and Bye Bye. She is getting more sounds everyday but not really talking as much as I think she should. Her signing is going really really well! She signs 15 words or more all the time. And she is developing normally or above average in every other way. So I just want to get her checked out to make sure there isn't something we are missing or something we can be doing to help her along. My fear is that she won't be able to talk when she starts 2 yr old preschool in the Fall. I don't want her to be signing and not getting any help when she needs it because no one knows what she's saying. I think I am just being an overly protective Mom but I don't care. It won't hurt her at all to be evaluated.

Also, I came through my midterms with flying colors. I got a 98 and a 99 on the tests I took. Yay! And I just got loan money to cover what I paid for school this semester and to cover me for my summer classes. So that is nice.

Couples therapy is seriously hard work and painful on top of that. But it is really good for us. We are both learning a lot and making great progress on many aspects of our relationship.

Ohh and I joined the local gym for free because I am a military wife. It is soo nice! I love getting back into shape and Evie loves going to the gym daycare while I work out. It's a win win for both of us =) And I am starting belly dancing classes on Thursday. I am really excited about that!

Job Fair

I went to a job fair for the a local Board of Education this weekend. I talked to 24 different schools about my qualifications and my hopes for teaching in the Fall. I got 3 principals that offered me interviews and probably 3 more that want me to call them about an interview. So I am super excited and anxious about what my actual job prospects will be for the Fall. I was very nervous the day before the fair and I felt very insecure about my ability to impress anybody. But the night before I got my self physched up and I felt great the morning of the fair and I think I did a great job at selling myself. I did pull out some tricks to dazzle the schools. I put a picture of myself on my resume. I know, most of you are thinking that is resume suicide but many schools commented on how smart that was and how impressed they were with that idea. I figured that these people were going to see upwards of 100 applicants and it would be very hard to remember which was which. By putting my picture on my resume (hopefully) they will remember me right away. So we'll see! Interviews won't be scheduled for another 3-6 weeks. In the meantime I am sending thank you notes to the schools that I particularly liked and that seemed to like me. Oh yeah, I got some tricks up my sleeve ;)


Here's the pic I put on my resume, though it was cropped down more than this.


p.s. I have some adorable photos of Evie helping Ben cook jambalaya this weekend. I promise I will post them in the next few days.

The cuteness!

First off I want to thank you all for reading and leaving such supportive comments. I have decided to work with Aidan one day a week, despite his parent's total awfulness.

And now to the good stuff. Here are some pictures of Evelyn in the same sweater. My parents bought this sweater for Evie last February.

Evie Feb. 2007






Evie Dec. 2007 (this week)

Even more...

So the Dad called me three times today. He left three messages. All saying the same thing, we like you, we don't want you to go. So I finally called him back. And he gave me even more excuses. He works 60 hours a week. He never is in town. He is always busy. He also said he didn't know I was so unhappy. And he explained a lot of the very dysfunctional behavior I have been observing. We talked for almost an hour. Apparently he is the only one in the family that is good at communicating. And he made that clear to me. He said a lot of nice things about me and Aidan's progress. And he offered me more money. And he said even just one day a week would help them so much.

And I told him I would think about it. The truth in all this is that I like my job, I like Aidan, I love his teacher, and I love the school. I just hated not knowing what was going on and not being acknowledged. So I am going to think about it. I am taking a special ed class this coming semester and I need 30 hours in a classroom with a special needs student. If working with Aidan fulfills that requirement then I will definitely go to school with him one day a week. If not, then I probably won't go to school with him at all.

Excuses Excuses and more Excuses

So I talked on the phone with the mom this morning. She just kept feeding me excuses. Excuses for why she didn't ask about her autistic kid's everyday life at school. Excuses for why she didn't return my call last week. Just on and on. She said that the school also accused her of not being communicative. She just played dumb. And she was offended that there was an implication that she didn't care about Aidan. She said she and her husband work all the time so they can pay for people to take care of this kid (her words, not mine). Yeah, she basically admitted to everything that I have a problem with. She admitted to paying other people to take care of her kid and his autism. And she admitted to not asking about his behavior everyday. She said that is why she pays me. And she talked about how she works every night and weekend. And her husband works til 9PM at night every night. And she said if she weren't working she would be in the classroom with him. But she can't not work because she has to pay all these people to work with him.

Umm yeah. So why not stop working all the time and take care of your damn kid???!!!!

And hello! Why aren't you asking about how your special needs kid is doing? And how can your special needs kid thrive if he has no routine at home with his parents?? He apparently never sees his parents because they work all the time. Cop out much?? Why do you think that it is okay to solve problems with money? What is wrong with you people!!!????

disclaimer: I am really fed up with these people. I know I have sympathy and empathy in my heart for these people but I am just pissed right now. So please don't think I am always on my high horse judging people and their parenting skills. God knows I have no right to judge.

I Tried...

I tried to be honest with Aidan's family and tell them that part of the reason I am quitting is that communication is bad between us. I left 2 messages, one at home and one on the mom's cell phone.

The mom called back while I was giving Evie a bath and she left me a message. She was upset.

This situation is quickly deteriorating into total shit. I am miserable at the thought of seeing his parents. Mostly because I hate confrontation and no matter what I say they are going to find a way to not accept it.

I wish I could change them, I wish I could make them see what I see. I want so badly to be a good person in this situation.

But I think that ship has sailed. There is no way I can leave this situation with good feelings between myself and the family.

I was so idealistic about this experience, I was so eager and happy in the beginning. I really thought I would be doing this all year.

The first sign that communication and therefore the situation wouldn't work was the first week of school. I took detailed notes about Aidan's behavior and his interactions with the other kids and I gave them to Aidan's mom. I asked her what she thought of the notes and she said it was too much detail and that she hadn't and wouldn't read that much. I should have known right then that this was doomed.

And it has just been down hill from there. But still I am sad and disappointed and angry and...

I don't know. I feel guilty. I feel a lot of guilt. I keep thinking that if I had done things differently that it wouldn't be this way. But the reality is that this couldn't have ended any other way. They can't give me what I want and I can't give them what they want.

And, they are total fucking lunatics that would have walked all over me for as long as I would have let them. They would have continued to treat me like shit for as long as I would have taken it. And grrrrrrrrrrr I am so pissed! And hurt and angry and PISSED!!!

Done and Done

1. I left a phone message for Aidan's parents this afternoon. I haven't heard anything so far. I honestly will be suprised if I hear anything from them at all. That's how bad communication is with these people.

2. Anyway, working with Aidan went well today. I think I was in a much better head space because I knew this was it for us. It let the tension and stress go by knowing I wouldn't have to do this anymore.

3. Also we will be going to visit Auntie V next weekend. That should be big fun.

4. And the weekend after x-mas I am going to visit my best friend Jen at her parent's house.

5. I have laid out a very tentative course outline for my masters. I have to take 17 classes to get the degree, including student teaching. So it looks like I will be done by Spring 2010. I'll be taking 3 classes this spring. A special ed class, an educational tech class and a science class. It looks like it will be fun and time consuming.

6. Signing is really really fun! Evelyn has picked up a lot of signs. Her favorites are bird, cat, and dog. She doesn't have perfect form but we know what she's signing. It's really awesome to be able to communicate with her more.

7. It has been in the 80's all week down here. Holy cow it is really really weird to be in shorts and a tshirt in December. Our Field Day party went really well but it was too hot to really play games, we just played with the equipment. Here's some pics.

Quitting

I've decided to quit working with Aidan. I don't want the stress of the job and I want to be able to focus on school and Evie. I haven't told Aidan's parents yet because (suprise suprise) I didn't see them today. I'll tell them in person tomorrow (if they show up) or I'll call and tell them over the phone tomorrow night.

I can tell that Aidan is just as tired of me as I am of him lately. We're both ready for a break. School is out next Friday, I'll keep working til then and I'll help train a replacement til school starts for me Jan. 7th.

What to do?

I am very frustrated with my job right now. So frustrated that I am doing a bad job, I am taking it out on Aidan, the autistic kid I work with. My frustration is not with him (though he is frustrating at times), it's with his parents. For a month now I have been waiting for them to talk to me about their plan for Aidan, what they hope to achieve for him in a normal kindergarten classroom, what they expect of me, how I am doing as their child's shadow. But I haven't gotten anything from them, nothing. No encouragement, no criticism, nada. And the school is just as frustrated with them as I am. They have tried for a month to talk in person with them and Aidan's parents have ignored notes, phone calls, and missed meetings.

My frustration is mostly my own fault. I am more frustrated with them in regards to their parenting style than with them as my employer. I can not believe how uninvolved they are in the life of their child. They never ask me how he is doing, they never ask his teacher. I spend 20 hours a week with this kid, I wipe his ass! If I weren't a good person I could really be fucking this kid up. And they could care less. Most of the time his parents aren't even the ones dropping him off and picking him up. And it's not like Aidan is a normal kid, he's autistic. And he is not in a special ed class, he's in a normal class. So his outbursts, his behavior issues, all those things are very disruptive to the class. And they don't ask about it. And I know why. They don't want to know. They don't want to think about it. They don't want to deal with it. They pay me to deal with it. And that is my frustration.

How in the world do you abandon your child like that? Not physically but emotionally. They bathe him, they feed him, they take good care of him physically. And they shell out LOTS of money to LOTS of different people to work with him. But at the heart of it, they are paying other people to deal with Aidan's autism. Because they can't or won't deal with it themselves.

And what's so hard for me to handle personally is that they don't even appreciate what I am doing with him and for them. They don't care about him, and they don't care about me.

And I am sacrificing time with my daughter to be with their son. My daughter means a whole hell of a lot more to me than Aidan. And rightfully so. So I am asking myself, why keep doing this? Why give up time with my kid, who I love spending time with, to help a family that doesn't even appreciate what I do for them or what I give up so that I can work for them?

Note: I tried getting a dialogue going with the family last night by leaving a phone message. When I saw the mother today at school she had nothing to say about the message I left. WTF!!!???

Disclaimer: I understand that having a special needs child is extremely challenging. I don't judge people for realizing their limits and getting help. I do judge people that don't appreciate or care about their child and the people that help their child.

The 7 Week Itch

We have been fighting a diaper rash turned bacterial infection for what feels like forever. I think we are finally getting it under control after seeing a dermatologist. The derm prescribed a 3rd type of anti-fungal cream and a 3rd type of oral antibiotic and these seem to be making the rash/infection go away, thank god! We have a follow up appt with the family practice doc tomorrow morning, we'll see what she says.

In other news Ben started both his schools about 2 weeks ago and he is getting his butt kicked. What 2 schools you ask? He started his online MBA and he is now in Army Captain's school. Either one of these alone would be fine but together it is taking a toll on him. He also started working out with a personal trainer this week so he is feeling very stretched (literally and figuratively). I know things will settle down in a week or so once he gets used to his new schedule.

We got some sad news on Nov. 1st, Ben's grandfather passed away. We knew it was coming but it is still very sad. Opa was a very sweet man and a driving force in Ben's life. We'll miss him very much.

Ben and I were going to run a half marathon in December but in light of all the new stuff going on we've decided to not do the race. We just don't have time or daylight to train for the race. So he is working out everyday with the Army and 2 times a week with his trainer and I am hitting the treadmill as often as I can. I really don't want to gain weight or lose my physical strength/stamina.

Work is going okay. I still really enjoy working with Aidan but I am not so happy with how his family is interacting with me and his school. There is a serious breakdown in communication and it is making my job harder in a bad way. Ben thinks I should confront the parents but I don't know that I should or want to. We'll see.

Mostly we are doing good here at the farm. I really feel lucky and grateful for what we have. I told Ben today that if all we have to complain about is work and school then we're better off than many. So thanks world and life, we aren't gonna complain a bit. =)

Here's a pic of Opa and Evie.

We Are Alive - 7

Hi,

We are alive, we aren't all healthy though. Evie and I have been fighting off a head cold for a week and now Ben and Grammy and Gramper are getting it. So we are not a very exciting bunch today. I do have news. Good news, exciting news.

1. Triathlon training is going really well! Dad and I are really getting better at all the events. Yesterday we tried to do 2 events back to back for the first time. It was a very very hard task. We swam 400 yds and then ran 3 miles. It was about 87 degrees outside and sunny. I nearly passed out from heat exhaustion but I finished. Dad totally kicked my butt. Overall we feel like it was a success. We are both hoping that on race day it will be much cooler.

2. Evelyn had her 1st day of "baby school" last Thursday. She did well considering the newness of the whole thing. I dropped her off at 8AM and picked her up at 145PM. She ate solids with the other kids and even napped. She was totally exhausted when I picked her up but she perked up after another nap at home. We are happy with the Montessori school so far. We aren't taking her tomorrow because she is sick and we don't want her to get worse or pass the sickness to other kids.

3. Shadowing Aidan at school was very challenging the first week of school. The first few days I didn't know how to keep him in line AND keep the peace in the classroom. Aidan's mom talked to me on Wed. of last week and said to do whatever it took to keep Aidan on task. She told me not to worry about Aidan bothering the class unless the teacher mentioned it to me. So I started disciplining Aidan in the classroom and he responded really well. He didn't like being made to do his work and act correctly in class, but he complied. And this week he is just doing fantastically! I am really proud of him. My job is easier when he is on task and not testing me. So hopefully he will continue to follow directions and rules and make my job even easier. In other work related news I am going to be working less starting in October. I won't be staying with Aidan after school at all by October. I am just too exhausted and worn out after being at school with him for 5 hours. So they will be hiring a new person to take over those hours and possibly to go to school with Aidan on Fridays. So the schedule will be Mon-Thurs 8:30AM-1:30PM if everything goes according to plan. I hope so!

3. House building and all things related to it are on hold at the moment. I'm not sure where we are in the process. But I do know that Ben and Vanessa are working on it.

4. Labor Day weekend was very nice for all of us here at the farm. Ben and I hosted a BBQ/Pool Party for Ben's old boss and his wife and Aidan's family. I wanted to get to know the Aidan family better and Ben and I both wanted to catch up with our old friends. It was super fun! We all got wrapped in conversation and before we knew it 6 hours had passed.

5. Next week Ben is going to visit his best friend on the West Coast and all of us left here at the farm are going to visit BigBro and DocRom. I am super excited about seeing them again! We are all running in a 5K race. BigBro and DocRom are training for the triathlon too. Grammy is going to push Evie in the stroller for a 1K family run/walk. It should be super fun. I wish Ben were going to be with us but I know he'll be having a big old time with his best friend.

6. In other news, I will hopefully be visiting my good friend Angie in the next few weeks when she comes down to my neck of the woods for a vacation. I sure hope it all works out! She and her hubs are both in the process of changing jobs and moving so her plans may change. Either way I think she is the COOLEST and I am wishing her all the good luck vibes I've got. =)

7. I am just in shock at how different my life is right now. Working is really wonderful, I love making money and having a new challenging career opportunity. I am now thinking seriously about getting a grad degree. Financially we can't really afford for me to go back to school but maybe a year from now. I hope so. I hope by next year I'll still love working with Aidan and I'll be going to school to get a degree in special ed. or psychology specializing in autism. We'll see.

Thanks for reading still, sorry I am a such a bad blogger lately.
Jen =)

9 Days

Wow, it's been 9 days since my last post. I am certain 9 days is the longest I have gone without writing since I started this blog. Yeesh, I guess I owe myself and my reader(s) an excuse. Here goes. Work. Ben. Evelyn. House floor plan. It is all going really well but, whew, it is very time consuming.

Work is going really well. I am really enjoying spending time with Aidan, he is really sweet and so smart. He starts school on Friday and I am excited to go with him and see what the school is like and how he handles the new experience. I hope he and I both do well. So as of now my work schedule will be Monday and Thursday 8:30AM-1:30PM, Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday 8:30AM-3:30PM. I am excited to have the extra money. I really like working again, especially in this situation. It is a very laid back job in some ways. I don't have to sell anything and I don't have to dress up and most importantly to me, I don't have to deal with customer service. I HATE customer service, with a passion! I am so glad I don't have to be a door mat to a$$holes anymore. Yeah, sure I have to clean up a 5 yr old potty accident every once in a while. But really, I prefer 5 yr old literal shit to adult bullshit any day!

In Evie land we are pushing solids really hard right now. She will be 13 months on Monday and she still isn't eating many solids. She eats them but not enough to cut out a bottle feeding. We want to cut down on the bottles because they are expensive and because she is getting older and we want her to eat with us. So far she likes pickles, cantaloupe, pizza, raisins. cheerios, and cheese. So we are making some progress. But she continues to be super happy, healthy, and fun. She loves running around outside and getting dirty. Speaking of running around outside we got our pics from the pro photographer. The pics are all outside and they are awesome! I'll put a slide show up as soon as I can.

The house floor plan is finally drawn out, by Ben. We struggled for a week with deciding what kind of house we wanted. Thank goodness we have Vanessa helping us or we wouldn't have a clue. We are going to build a cinder block house with a huge front porch. I'll put up the floor plan soon, I swear!

And just like I have been letting the blog go, I haven't been training like I should for the triathlon either. It's okay, I'll get back into it this Sunday, I know it, Gramper will be back and he won't let me slack off, thank goodness. =)

Oh yeah, I did finish Harry Potter. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I still think book 3 and 4 are the best.

Watermelon Festival Pics

While Vanessa was visiting we went to a Watermelon Festival. It was super cute and they let us take home free watermelons, score! Here are pics of us at the festival.












I worked alone with Aidan today for the first time and it was awesome! He did really well and we got through all the material we needed to get through plus we had tons of fun running around and jumping on the trampoline! I really am enjoying this job a lot =)

Only 100 pages to go in HP. It's goooood!!!

So Much News

Sorry I have been gone for a week. Time has flown by so fast. This week I am taking care of the entire farm while Grammy and Gramper are on vacation. I had no idea how much it took to maintain the farm. There is sooo much to do twice a day, everyday. I have all new sympathy and respect for Grammy, she has a hard job.

Also I got the ABA tutor job that I mentioned in my previous post. I started training on Monday and I am working everyday this week. It is challenging work, and there is a lot to learn, but I like it. School starts for this little boy on Aug 20 and my main job will be to go to school with him and help him keep up with the other kids. The little boy's name is Aidan, he is really cute. His mannerisms and little quirks are quite adorable and he is a good kid. He has been testing me everyday and that has been challenging, I am supposed to get through 3 hours worth of material with him everyday and I have yet to make it through because of all the disciplining I am doing with him. But unlike most autistic kids Aidan is not violent at all. He is actually really cuddly and sweet. He loves to be hugged and squeezed. But he tries to use the cuddling as a way out of doing his work, so I have to keep him on task and in his chair like a big boy. He also has tried the crying/tantrum thing to get out of work, and that isn't so hard to handle. I am learning all the tricks and methods I need to get him back on task when he acts out or stops paying attention. On top of all that I also have to keep really thorough records of everything we do and I have to write down every word he says as well as all the activities we do together. It is a lot to keep straight but I am getting there. I am going to be with him by myself for the first time tomorrow. I am really super nervous. I want to do a good job and get everything done correctly but I just don't know if that is going to happen tomorrow. The head therapist that is training me is really nice and actually was our next door neighbor in our townhouse. What a small world! She thinks I am doing well and handling Aidan's behavior and testing really well. Hopefully this will all be like second nature by next week.

In other news Ben's sister Vanessa came to visit us this past weekend. It was really wonderful to see her, we hadn't seen her since x-mas. Evie loved her Auntie V and they had a lot of fun together. We are planning to go visit Vanessa in the next few months while the beach is still warm enough to enjoy.


I haven't finished Harry Potter yet but I am very close to the end, only 200 pages or so left. I just finished the chapter about Gringots, for those of you who have already read it.

Ben and I have started seriously talking about what we want when we build our house. Vanessa is in the business and she is going to be a big part of our building process. It is very exciting and I literally can't wait to get started! Hopefully we'll be building by early spring.

Triathlon training is going well. This week is supposed to be our rest week but I went running today anyway because I missed a run and bike ride last week. I took Bonnie with me for the first time. She did really well. By the end of the run she was starting to understand that she needed to stay close to me, or she was tired and didn't want to run ahead of me. Either way I am glad I took her and I am going to try to make her run with me on days that I run.

I think that is all my news. So how is everyone else? What have I missed?