Just to Catch U up

A lot has been going on around here.

Last week was my last at school until August 10th. Paperwork was outrageous and I still have some last minute things to do tomorrow. I must also clean and organize my classroom because I left it a disaster Friday. I have this thing about rearranging my classroom about every 3 months and I did it again before I left. I am known for my constant rearranging...which is not always welcomed by my coworkers cause I move them around too...but it keeps me motivated.

I've been packing everybody up today. Studmuffin left tonight to go work for two weeks in New Orleans and LSUgirl leaves for 4H camp in the morning. Vetgirl isn't getting to go because she failed her LEAP and has to go to summer school remediation classes. She's not happy about that. How the hell is it that a child lives with a teacher, passes all her grades all year but fails the LEAP. Don't get me on my soapbox about this high stakes testing thing because it really pisses me off to no end. Now the poor child's self esteem is shattered and she is missing two summer camps to go to school half the summer, which also puts me in a bind for getting her to and from school when I have to be at the college the same time she does and it is an hour away. I am really having to do some franagling (is this a real word, not really sure).

Stufmuffin has left me a list of honey do's to complete while he is gone. I have to admit that I am oblivious to all he does outside of and in our home. Tending to all the animals, the pool, doing the laundry, lawn care, etc. I had to print up a freakin calendar to remind me what days to pay bills, feed the chickens (yes, we are proud owners of 17 chicks- 14 yellow and 3 black), backwash/rince/filter the pool, days to do laundry, when to feed the pond fish and ducks/geese, and of course tending to the doggies. He thinks I can't handle all of this while he is gone and I am one determined gal not to let him down. My pride won't let me fail, so all will be taken care of and the house will be spotless when he arrives back home. If it kills me, I tell you.

We have discovered my seven year old son is a pyromaniac. We were outside tending to the animals and mowing for a couple of hours when he found some wooden skewers in the kitchen drawer, climbed up and found some matches above the stove. Yes, he had to work for this people. Then proceeded to burn the skewers in my dining room. So the first sniff I get when I walk through the door is matches. He hides the matches behind the TV. If you looked up mischievious and sneaky in Webster's, flame boy's pic would be right there. Now I knew he had an obsession with drawing flames on everything he can get his hands on (body, walls, doors, books, shoes, pants, etc) but I didn't know he was obsessed with fire. Then I found some small finger holes in my candles. Hmmmmm wonder whose that could have been. Oh let me just say, if number 4 would have been born first, their would not have been a number 2, 3 or 4.

On a brighter note,my garden has started producing by the droves so I put up a lot of vegetables this weekend. I have to go pick my moms snap beans at 8am tomorrow. I love vegetables, don't mind shelling/snapping them, putting them up, cooking them and I love eating them- but I absolutely HATE picking the stuff. Especially in the mornings when the dew is still on the plants and all the sticky leaves itch you to death. I have this thing about getting wet and dirty and itchy. Uck! It gives me flashbacks of when I was a kid and I had to pick and pick and pick. We even made up a song that went to the tune "Going to the Chapel" except it said "Going to the bean patch and we're gonna pick be-eans..."

I start back to school on the 5th, but one of my classes was cancelled because only 2 signed up for it. This means if I don't find this class somewhere this summer that I won't be highly qualified to teach in my classroom (special ed- severe profound preschool) and may be moved to a regular ed classroom (in which I'm certified). I'll still graduate with my M.Ed in August, this is just an add-on class for certification. I am really pissed about this. I have looked all over Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas and can't find it anywhere. I HATE ULM with a passion. My kids will never go there. They have screwed me over so many times - without benefit of KY or Vaseline. And the nerve of them sending me letters for Alumni donations. I have given enough of my time, money and brains to that university. I'll give my donations to St. Judes or to my kids' college fund thank you. They suck. ULM stands for University of LA at Monroe, but I prefer calling it the University of Losers and Morons. They used to be NLU -Northeast Louisiana University" which I then referred to them as Notta Lotta University. Did I mention they suck? Well they certainly do- big ones!

I am so over American Idol. Taylor won, Katharine lost gracefully. Now there is nothing to watch on tv. Everything is full of reruns. So not into reruns.

Oh, I may have some really cool news. Don't want to jinx it yet by spilling the beans, but I should know for sure in a few weeks... I'll make an announcement as soon as I find out... you'll never guess what it is though....

So, anyone taking a cool vacation this summer? Lets hear your plans. We are going to Branson to take in a few shows, see the Passion Play and go to Silver Dollar City. I haven't been since I was little.

So where are you going? What's your favorite vacation spot and why?