A conversation with my sister, Sara

Sara: "Hey, did you get my email?"

Me: "Yeah, I saw you emailed me pictures, but I haven't had a chance to look at them yet..."

...in the background I hear screeching....

Me: "What is that?"

Sara: "Oh, Skylend is just running around naked.

Me: "Ah."

Sara: (to my nephew) "Do you want to say hi to Aunt Stephie?"

Him: (shouting across the room) "Hi Aunnn Stufeeee!"

Meanwhile, Evie has caught wind that I'm one the phone and walks up to me

Evie: "Hi?"

Me: (to my sister) "Do you mind if she says hi?"

Sara: "Sure."

Evie now has the phone in her hand, and is walking around with it propped between her chin and her shoulder

Sara: "Hi Evie, how are you?"

Evie: "Hellooooo"

Sara: "Well helloo, there."

Evie: "eyabba grreaberabba drabb dada mamma dog uppie"

Sara: "Really?"

Evie: "Ya"

I am now holding another phone, so my sister and I can still talk while she and Evie "chat," I can hear my nephew in the background; my sister is trying to convince him to go potty, he is not interested. Evie continues to jabber on, so Sara says something to her, and Skylend hears her name..suddenly he shouts:

"Hi EEEVIEEE"

Evie hears him, and says "Hi" back. Both children are now on speaker phone, an almost three year-old and a 16 month-old, both on speaker phone, having a long-distance telephone conversation with each other through their mothers.

It goes something like this:

Skylend: "Hi Eeeevieee!!!"

Evie: "Hi!! (giggle)

Skylend: "Hi Eeeeviee"

Evie: "Hi!!! (giggle)

Repeat.

My sister and continue to try to talk over the top of them until we get so tired of the continued greetings that we decide the conversation has dissolved to ridiculousness and we bid each other a good evening. Both children dissolve into tears as we have cut off their communication, and their phone priveleges.

Just another day in the infirmary

I have the sickness, Bryan has the sickness and Evie has the sickness.

We aren't sure if it was the small runny-nosed children in the pre-school or the taller, dirty-handed children of the middle school who infected our house, but our entire family in enjoying fevers, chills, deep, hacking coughs, runny noses, muscle aches and a general feeling of crappiness.

Bryan is working from home today, thankfully, so he is able to stay and supervise the many hours of sleeping and water drinking done by Evie.

I still have to go in work, but it's a half day, so I don't have to go in until noon for an afternoon of marathon meetings.

This morning, I spent laying down, my little girl sleeping across my chest, her arm splayed across my face. I didn't mind the arm, she rarely sits still long enough to get a hug, so any opportunity to cuddle with her, I will take without complaint.

Her nose makes a very sad little gurggly sound with every breath, but she seems more interested in sleeping than clearing her sinuses. I do go at her with the little suckie bulb every once in a while, but we try to keep it to a minimum so as to allow her to sleep.

I am taking cold medicine and cough suppressant like a pharmacist with a drug problem and have consumed the contents of an entire half-gallon of orange juice in the past 24 hours. As for my husband, well I have seen him do very little for his symptoms, although suggestions have been made and medications provided. I can only do so much, people.

Bossy's Poverty Party

Bossy is having a Poverty Party...what is it? Well, as the world is coming to an end, so-to-speak, it's a good time for us to reevaluate our own situations and come up with positive solutions for our financial futures. A communal accountability group, as well as a place to share and discuss our ideas and solutions.


What are we doing? Well as we will be in student loan hock until Evie is old and gray, thanks to me, we are doing everything we can to make sure that and the house are the only things we have to pay for; a lofty goal to be sure.

As some of you know, we had a major house/closet/garage purge earlier this year, where I sold a great deal of stuff on Craigslist...close to $2000 worth of stuff to be exact.

We are back to the ole' spending freeze; only buying what we absolutely need. No movies, no coffee, no toys, no treats of any kind, except for special, pre-arranged occasions.

We are making meals/menus out of what we already have on hand. We go through the freezer and pantry, and make a menu for the upcoming week, out of the food/supplies we already have in stock. Our grocery bill has been reduced dramatically this way. It also helps with the "what are we having for dinner?" issue, when we already have a list to choose from. We don't have a specific daily menu, as-in, "we are having lasagna on Monday," since our work schedules are both pretty crazy and we never quite know who will be home first, but we at least know from the list what our options are, and what meat to defrost etc.

I also have a mini-fridge at school and keep staple food in my desk/fridge (string cheese, rice cakes, peanut butter, etc.) for the days I forget to bring a lunch from home; I never buy a lunch.

We only use one car on the weekends, and I carpool with a co-worker at least two days a week (my teaching schedule is pretty varied, so it's hard to be consistent.)

Our next goal is to become coupon-clippers, although it seems pretty daunting, we are assured it can be very cost-effective.

As we continue to try to come up with ways to save, I'll be posting here on our blog. I also have a link to Bossy's poverty party on my website, to the right.

Every. Single. Day.

I'd like to think of myself as an organized kind of person, especially when teaching. Everything is labeled, everything is clear. We have gone over procedures, expectations etc. time and time again. We have practiced what to do, we have ACTED IT OUT. Yet, somehow, the following scenes seem to happen every day.

Scene #1-
Student (entering the class): "What are we doing today Mrs. Scott?"

Me: "What is written up on the board, under 'agenda for the day?'"

Student: "Oh, yeah, I forgot to read that."

Me: "Hmmm...indeed."


Scene #2-
Student, (walking in the door, before the bell rings):
"Mrs. Scott, do I need my book today?"

Me: "You tell me."

Student: "I don't know."

Me: "What is written on that sign, under the words 'classroom expectations?'"

Student: "Ummm....bring your book to class, every day."

Me: (smiling) "Ah ha!!!"


Scene #3-
Me: "When everyone is quiet, I will explain the directions to you..."

Student: "what are we supposed to do?"

Me: "I'm waiting for people to stop talking..."

Student: ..."but Mrs. Scott, do I need my pencil!?!"

Me: [standing quietly] "...as soon as you all stop, and give me your full attention, (and I will know I have your attention when your mouths are closed and I can see your lovely eyes,) I will tell you what you need to do next..."

Student in the back: "Do we need our books?"

Church is EXHAUSTING!

Taken on my Verizon wireless BlackBerry

Through the magic of photoshop....

This photo:

(Evie looking away, my face covered, dogs looking forward)

Plus this photo:

(Evie smiling, my face uncovered, Dogs showing us their butts)

Eqauls:
A family photo with the dogs...

(Everyone smiling, Everyone facing forward)

The annual family photo session @ the lake

We were up at the lake last weekend...it has taken me a week to get the time to upload the photos to my computer.

As we have for the last four years, we took our annual "Scott family photo," which will be sent out as our Christmas card.

Every year, taking this photo becomes more difficult as the dogs continue to insist on being in the shot, and well, as she gets older, our daughter becomes less and less patient with sitting still.

All the while, I have set up my "professional" camera on a tripod, adjusted for the light etc., and have my dear friend standing on a beach, holding the remote trigger, and I keep telling her,

"Every time Evie looks your way, push the button!"

So she is bouncing around on the beach, making faces and singing songs, trying to get Evie to look her way, the dogs are getting excited and start running around like idiot, all the while, we are trying to get them to leave us alone so we can get a shot without them, and get Evie to stop squirming.


What's wrong with this? You have two different dog parts behind us: Portia's ear behind me, Puck's butt behind Bryan.


So close...then Puck took off


This may be it...


Or this close-up

A New Level of Discourse

Perhaps it is because I am a teacher, but I am having a very difficult time listening to certain political candidates speak, especially when they degrade our language in an attempt to be more "likeable." (Don't worry, I am not about to discuss political issues...)
To me, the offices of President and Vice President are offices of distinction; the people serving in those offices therfore should be accomplished, learned individuals, able to sit comfortably as equals with foreign heads of state and dignitaries.
He or she should have an aura about him or herself, a certain level of intelligence and understanding that can only be obtained through rigorous study and experience.
Not because it is pompous or arrorgant, but because it is necessary when communicating effectively as a diplomat and as the leader of the free world.
There is a time and a place to be "folksy," but the American presidency is not it, certainly not now.
Degrading our language to seem more likeable only makes you seem uneducated, which to me, is not an esteemable quality for a position of leadership.
But maybe I'm just being an elitst.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Prost!

It's that time again, although nearly over in Munich, Oktoberfest begins this weekend, here in Washington. As he can think of no better way to celebrate his birthday then to go to a festival where they celebrate the drinking of German Beer and the eating of large grilled sausages, we are making our annual "birthday" pilgrimage over the mountains to the Bavarian village nestled in the Cascades, where they hold a month-long Oktoberfest festival every weekend.

Happy Birthday Bryan!

31 years old today...we have a wonderful life because we have you to love.



Now come home! There are presents to open and Oktoberfest to celebrate.

We love you.