Hmmmm

So, Work has been okay. My tooth hurts. I go to court on Thursday. I am just ready for a break. Hopefully things will slow down after this week... I keep saying that and it doesn't happen! :) I can't even get my workouts in or ride my bike.. and that is annoying!!! :)

The boys are doing good.. B is a little overwhelmed with his school work and organization.. but we are working on it. C is trying to stay on top of making sure his work is all done!! So far for them, a good school year! Picture day is for them tomorrow!! They are growing up so fast!! They are really really picky about their clothes too... I THOUGHT THAT WAS SUPPOSSED TO HAPPEN WITH LITTLE GIRLS.. NOT BOYS :) !!!!

I go to court for custody issues and child support on Thursday. We will see how that goes. I really don't want Bio-Dad to go to jail but he is quite a bit behind and that is what the judge threatened him with back in the beginning of August. Back then he was quite a bit behind, and now it is two more months and he still hasn't paid me a dime!!! I also want the custody issues straightened out. I never know if he's coming to pick up B or not and that is just plain annoying. I'm so glad I have kept notes.. out of 37 weekends that Bio Dad could have had B.. he has come for 18!! Yea.. I said it.. 18........... That just frustrates me for B more than anything!!! I guess it's better than none!

Anyhow... I just thought I would fill people in.. oh yea. .Ryan is back home.. He's been home for a bout two weeks and we actually did get a dryer .. so I have FINALLY caught up with laundry!! :) Yea me!! :)

OUCH

So, I had a root canal this morning.. It sucks.. it hurts.. and just thought I would check in and say hi.. I am going to go take some more pain meds and go to bed !!!

Blah...I'm venting

So, I have a crappy day at work. I had my life threatened and oh a whole bunch more. I am splitting my classroom up between the kids that want to learn and the kids that want to act out. We are literally opening another classroom because the kids in my class can't handle it! Ugh!...It makes me feel like a failure, but of course everyone keeps telling me that it's not me it's the kids!! Well.. I hope that's true..

Ryan called and took the train home. He was home for well, maybe, 5 minutes because he had to go back to work tonight in the city. I guess I got to see him for 5 minutes, that's better than none. I was just hoping we would get to talk and look at DRYERS.. because I am sick and tired of not having one! It's not Ryan's fault.. I am just tired of him being away!!

Two positives... B and C.. They were both wonderful kids tonight... so thank goodness for that! I even let them go in the hot tub since they were so good!! :)

Work, Homework, and More

So, it's Tuesday. This week seems to be going by a little faster than last week which is good. My students are finally accepting that I am not going to give an inch and that their behavior has consequences. It was a tough argument, but I win!! :) .. A lot of the kids just think that they can do what they want and whenever they want, so when they are held accountable they react. They become angry or aggressive. I have an awesome aide so she does well and we both stay extremely consistent!!! The other thing they seem to have a hard time with is Minding Their Own Business... We call that and MYOB... and they are struggling with not being concerned with the other student in the classroom!! They are so worried about what another kid's consequence is that they forget to worry about their own!!! :) So, so far, a good week with work.

Benjamin and Caden are doing well. They are enjoying school. They both miss Ryan as well as their other parents. They are both struggling with that a little bit because neither parent has picked them up!! I see their hearts ache and that makes me sad. All you can say for them is, "We are here for you and that's what matters.". .. .. Both boys have a little more homework than they did last year, but they are hanging in there. Both of them are very good about getting their work done with no complaints!!

Ryan just called and said he will be coming home to get the car tomorrow so he can come home on Thursday night for good. I am so excited!! I really miss him sleeping next to me and him being here!! Plus... if he comes home I can start looking for a new dryer!! Ours broke so I have been hanging our clothes out to dry and that is really hard to keep up!! :)

I guess that's it for now..

TGI ALMOST F

Well, it has been a rough week. My Grandma got sent to the hospital, my mom got some news(but thank goodness she is okay), My students are a mess (they all have home issues that seem to be terrible at the moment), and Benjamin is having a rough time with Great-Grandma being sick and his father not coming to pick him up!! Ugh!!

It is all a lot in just one week. I am overwhelmed and stressed out. I have a short fuse for pretty much everyone around me. Amazingly I somehow keep that to myself for the most part. I am just tired and my husband is not home to give me a hug just to make me feel better. He has been great about calling and making sure I'm okay and he's feeling bad he is not home right now, but he's at work and there is nothing else we can do about it. He has to work!! :)

There is confusing news about my Grandma. She had the biopsy done sometime yesterday. We were told we wouldn't get the results until Saturday. My mom got a phone call saying that the doctor couldn't find anything wrong on the samples that he took. My mom said this biopsy was terrible for my Grandma because I guess you have to be awake during the procedure. Grandma is not doing well. She is asking for morphine and my mom says she just doesn't look good. I am going to go visit her in the hospital on my way to see Ryan tomorrow. I am nervous to bring Benjamin because he is already very scared. I am going to wait until she's home to bring him to see her. My Grandma wants to be at home because that is where she feels comfortable. I am hoping she gets better and gets to spend at least one more Christmas with us, but until we hear from the doctors or they figure something out, the outlook just does not look good. It's interesting because this is the first immediate death in the family for me. Both of my biological grandfathers died before I was born, so I never had to go through with that. I am not extremely close to this Grandmother, but it is still hurting. It is my family. It is especially hard for me when I see Benjamin cry about it. I am just happy Benjamin was so lucky to know his Great-Grandparents. Not all kids have that oppurtunity.....This will be a big lesson for both Benjamin and me. I keep telling him that this is the first time I have experienced one of my family members died.

Well, that's about where I am at... I hope everyone has a good weekend if I don't get back on to post and thanks for all the supporting notes and emails!! I'll keep everyone updated...

SAD NEWS

Today was a rough day at work. I have my students on "Lock Down." This means that they are not allowed to leave the classroom for any circumstances except for their therapies and to go to the bathroom. They have had a hard time adjusting to the rules in the classroom and have chosen not to follow them... So until they do, they will have no priveleges, not even gym class until they start respecting the rules and the staff.

So, after a day of some defiant teeenagers, I finally get to look at my phone. There is a message from my brother. I listen to the message to find out that my Grandma (My Dad's Mom. She lives in Chicago) is in the hospital. I guess she has been having some pain in her stomach and has had no appetite. Well, after some tests they found out that she has cancer cells on her liver. They think that it may have come from somewhere else because it is rare that cancer starts in the liver. This is odd because my Grandma is fairly good about going to the doctor, but at the same time was often resistant to any sort of tests. So, I have no idea really what stage she is in or what her prognosis is.. but I am asking for you to keep my Grandma in your thoughts.

When I told Benjamin about his Great-Grandma he started to cry. It of course brought tears to my eyes. I assured him that the doctors would do everything they could for her. I don't 'mask' any situation for Benjamin. I believe in telling him the truth and not hiding that a family member could pass away some day. He was in tears and scared. I just kept reassuring him that everyone will be okay and the best he could do is to keep her in his thoughts. After a little while, Benjamin said, "I want to donate money. That's how I can help right? I can donate money to cancer research." It was the sweetest thing my little guy has ever said. When Cade found out what was going on, he also donated some of his money to give to cancer research. I'm so proud of my boys!!! I called my Grandma and told her what the kids did and she was so proud of them too!

Just PLAIN exhausted

So... had a good weekend so far. I didn't do a whole lot so a whole lot couldn't go wrong ;)-!!

Ryan was able to make it home tonight. That was nice but he is a bit cranky ;). I don't know why??!! He's only been working like 12-15 hour days all week long!! Seriously though, it is good to have him at home. I missed him.

Cade's mom picked him up this weekend, Benjamin's Dad did not come and get him. BUT.. they are at Ryan's neice's birthday party tonight for a few hours. I had to meet Ryan in a town close by to pick him up and we just decided we would spend some time by ourselves for a few hours. I asked Ryan's mom if she would mind driving the boys back home since I had to leave early and she kindly complied.

I'm tired and will just keep rambling.. so I'm going to call it today... Hope everyone else is having a good weekend!!

HOMEWORK ALREADY?

The Building Ryan's Staying in

Trump Tower.. To Be Completed in 2009, but it is topped off

View of the Sears Tower

Ryan's Condo Building, Again

View of the Lake from his Balcony

Another View from the balcony

Yet.. another view :)

I have to laugh at Benjamin. The boys do not start school until tomorrow because they are building new schools in Woodstock, so the opening of School has been delayed until the day after Labor Day. Benjamin got a letter the other day... He was so excited....

It turns out it was a letter from his teacher for the year. We have heard through the neighborhood that his teacher likes to give homework. Well, in that envelopoe was a letter asking Benjamin to fill out an 'autobiographical' worksheet about himself to help him with his first written assignment at school... "If they had time to do it..." I was going to tell Benjamin he didn't have to, but he chose to do it. He just couldn't believe he had homework already!! It was funny.. he had mixed feelings. It's probably good he did it though because writing is his weakest subject and he needs lots of planning and thought time!! I am really proud of him for doing it.. and doing it on his own without me asking!!!

I dropped Ryan off downtown last night. He has a really nice condo near Hard Rock Cafe and McDonalds....I spent the night down there to say 'goodbye' for a couple of weeks... and again, didn't sleep...... there is a firestation right down the road. Despite being 49 floors up.... you still hear the sirens every 30 minutes!! I feel bad for Ryan and will probably send him some ear plugs!!! There is a really cool view of the new Trump tower being built. It looks taller than the Sears Tower, but it is actually 200 feet short of it. I guess Trump was going to make it the second tallest building in the world, but after 9/11 they decided just to leave it where it is at. It is a pretty interesting building though!!

Today I'm off (I think) to spend the day in a boat on Fox Lake... as long as Benjamin's Dad gets his butt here soon. Of course he told me he would be here between 10 and 11, and now he just called at 10 saying he would be like an hour and a half..... Oh well!!! What else is new??!!