Snow

Sometimes you get what you wish for.....

I confess....I wanted an ice/snow storm, but it kinda backfired on me. I was at school when it started yesterday and it was not very easy to get home on the ice. And last night, sure enough, Tony had to go to work at 1:3o in the morning because of ice on the power lines. I haven't seen him since last night. He is still out working in this horrible weather. I'm sitting at home waiting to see if it's going to be clear enough for me to go to school. I like staying home, but we ARE having school and I'm not there. So I promise to never wish for this kind of storm again!!!

Not Me! Monday

It's already Monday????? Where did the weekend go? Anyway, Mckmama started the not me Mondays and it's pretty fun. This is my 3rd installment. If you want to read more, then go here.

First of all, I am NOT writing this on Sunday night. That would be silly...this is a Not Me MONDAY post.

I did not let my 5 seniors in Spanish 3 talk me into taking them on a 'field trip' to Bara's in Vernon for lunch with the distance learning teacher and his 15 Spanish 3 kids from Petrolia. They did not tell me how to drive the suburban, either, nor did they almost get me ran over. Nope, not me!!

I did not make the Army recruiter, who was here to give the ASVAB scores, wait for 30 minutes while we were not still at Bara's. That would just be rude. She was not nice about it though.

Those same kids did not tell the waiters at Bara's that it was the Spanish teacher's birthday...if they had done that, then the waiters would have come out and sang to him and embarrassed him. High school kids would NEVER do that to their teacher!!

I did not have to get on to a neighborhood kid that was chasing Erick and threatening to take his rip-stick. He was not rude to me, either......Just because I'm a teacher/counselor doesn't mean that I want to make every child in my sight behave.

I did not secretly say to myself, please let there be an ice storm so we could have a day off from school. A Monday at home would be soooooo good!! If I had said that my husband would be really mad because that might mean that he would have to go and work out in the storm to fix people's electricity. Nope, not me!!


That's all for now. I'm sure there are other things that I did not do, but I can't remember right now. I'll look forward to reading your Not Me! Monday!

Teen pregnancy and troubled kids

As you probably know, I'm a counselor at a small school, so I see all ages of kids. Last week was especially stressful and busy. One day I was with the diagnostician trying to make sure I know what kids are taking what TAKS tests and I had several kids having meltdowns and had to leave the diagnostician, which is my family so she understood. I had calls from parents and I had to go take care of an incident at elementary. Poor Dana just had to wait patiently for me. In fact, she helped me get through that afternoon by giving me moral support. I was glad she was there. She was my counselor that day. I was stressed and upset talking to these kids that were so troubled. I obviously can't say any details about the kids or what was going on, but I can say that every kid that I see, no matter what age, is from a broken home. Their mother won't be able to handle them so she sends them to their dad, who sends them back or they live with their grandparents. They have no stable home. No wonder they are having meltdowns! I just want to scream at these so-called adults and tell them to take care of their kids. Once you have kids, the kids should come first. Then I think that probably these parents were treated the same way when they were young, so that's probably the only thing they know, which is what is going to happen to these kids now. The cycle will never end.

Don't get me wrong....there are some single parents that do a great job with their kids. In some situations, divorce is the best thing as long as the kids are taken into account first, which is true in the people close to me. The single mothers I'm talking about do a great job taking care of their kids almost all alone. It does take a good support from the family, though.

One of my professors once told me when we were talking about this, that it means job security for me. They will always need counselors. In fact, a couple of kids needed outside counseling, but when I tried to get it for them the guy who usually comes said he was retiring and the other guy quit, so there is no one. When they are at school, they are my kids and I do the best I can with them while they are there, but when school is out, it is out of my hands.

Another big problem we have is teen pregnancy. We have just had the 4th baby born this school year. There are 2 juniors and 2 seniors that are now mothers. There is another senior due before school is out. I have to go to their house and take them work during their six weeks out of school. I do everything I can to keep them from dropping out. So far, they are still in school, despite the fact that they are struggling to find babysitters, they are having to work, and their boyfriends are not much help. It's very hard on them. I don't know how to prevent this and if I did, I would be a rich woman. It is a problem in all schools, but it seems like 5 girls out of 93 kids is an extreme amount.

Friday was a better day. When I went to elementary, a couple of boys that I had seen the day before came and hugged my neck and told me that they were having a better day, which makes me feel better. Not that I had anything to do with it, but I was glad they were better. And the high school boy that I saw also came and told me things were getting better for him.

Since I'm a counselor, I can't very well counsel myself, so this is my therapy. So thank you to those of you that are still reading. You are my counselors. And if you have any advice for me, I'll take it.

Blogs

There are a couple of people that are new bloggers and would like for people to read their blogs. One is my daughter Lacy and the other one is my Mother who likes to go by Honeyma, that's what her grandkids call her.

Not Me! Monday

I can't believe it's already Monday again. This is the second addition of my Not Me! Monday Post. MckMama started this and if you want to read more of these posts, go to her website.

Here is what I did not do this week.

I did not go out in 19 degree weather, (that we had ONE day this winter), to go to the Dollar Store to buy dog food for my grandkids' dog that I wasn't babysitting in my backyard. And I did not go outside to feed her and break her frozen water. I'm not a dog person, so why would I do that.....nope, not me!

I did not get mad when I had beans and cornbread on this one cold day we had, when Ethan said he didn't want that for supper, he wanted eggs, salad, cornbread and avocado, Tony wanted eggs with his beans, and Erick wanted a frozen tv dinner. Why would I get mad that I have to run a 24 hour diner?? Nope, not me!

I most certainly did not watch 5 hours of the Real Housewives of Orange County. That is a ridiculous show and why would I waste my time watching that.....nope, not me!!

I absolutley did not take a 2 hour nap on Sunday afternoon. Why would I do that when I know I would not be able to sleep Sunday night and have to get up early to go to school the next day. (I think we are the only school in the nation that had school today)


I also did not take Ethan and Erick to the showbarn early Friday morning to help get their pigs weighed.....that is not a grandmother's job, it's a grandfather's job. And I did not get up at 7 on a Sat. morning to go to the pig show. And I'm certainly not proud that they did well with their pigs!!!

Pigs and Snow

Ethan and Erick washing their pigs.

The Jr. Livestock show was this weekend and my two grandsons, Ethan and Erick had pigs to show. They did really well. Ethan got 1st in class and Grand Champion in breed. He is moving on to San Angelo in about a month. This will be a learning experience for him because he's never been to a big show like that. Erick did well too, by getting 2nd in his class. We went to the BBQ and sale last night and the boys both did well in the sale. I had never been to one of those before and it was fun, but the best part was that everyone made sure that each participant received money for his or her animal. All participants went away with quite a bit. Next year, Bailey and Erynn want to participate, so we will have at least 4 animals to take care of. I think 4-H and FFA are one of the best things that kids can be involved in. It teaches responsibility and hard work. And all of the adults involved helped each other and each other's kids and it just made it a great experience for all.


I don't know if I'm the only one around here that feels this way, but I am sick of 60 and 70 degree weather. You may think that is a crazy thing to say, but it's the middle of Jan.....where is the snow? I know we never get much snow, but it is at least cold in the winter time. Of course, I'm sure the people in the northeast part of the country would like it if they could just get above zero. They are having extreme conditions for wintertime. I really miss the cold weather, though, and I would just like to have ONE snow day from school!!!! I remember having a few of those when I was in school and I loved it. I'll probably regret wishing for snow because you know what they say....'be careful what you wish for'.

Not Me! Monday

I've been reading a blog called my charming kids. I found this site through my friend Tara. It's really cute and funny. Mckmama, as she calls herself, does a post on Monday, called 'Not me Mondays'. It sounds like it would be fun to do, so I'm giving it a shot. If you want to read others like this, then click on the button at the top of this post.

Here is what I did not do this week!!

I most certainly did not let Ethan and Erick eat 2 bowls of ice cream at 5:30 in the afternoon. They have supper at 6:30, so that would have ruined their supper, and their Mom would be mad, had I done that.....no not me!!

I did not take a number of pictures of the cat and send them to Lacy so she could see how humorous her cat is....why would I do that...I don't like cats.

I did not call my own cell phone from my house phone because I had not lost my cell phone. Then, I did not find my cell phone and try to answer it since I was the one who was calling it. That would just be silly. No, not me!!

I did not let Ethan spend the night with me on a school night because I would have to get him up really early to get him home. And I most certainly did not let him watch tv until 11:15....he would be way too tired at school. And I sure did not let him have 3 bowls of ice cream before bed. That would just be irresponsible of me.

I did not take the boys to see their show pigs and then find out that they were out of feed, so I did not take them to the farm to get the bag of feed. They did not tell me that they would not go in the barn because there would be snakes, so I did not go in there by myself and lift the 50 pound bag of feed and take it to the car....why would I do that...I have a bad back. And I did not lose the keys to the farm and have to go back and look for them for 20 minutes, and then I did not find them under the seat...and this all did not happen at night.

I did not stop everything when Bailey and Erynn called me to ask if I would take them to Walmart because they had money to spend. I am not the kind of grandmother who lets her grandkids talk her into just about anything....no, not me!!

Tips for a Better Life

I saw this on someone's blog and I thought it was a good thing to post for the start of the new year!! I especially like numbers 4, 12 and 37.

40 Tips For A Better Life - 2009

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.

7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured IN plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds, & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk, and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. REMEMBER, GOD heals everything.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or e-mail them to death!)

37. Each night before you go to bed, complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life, so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

40. Share this with those you care about. I just did. May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing but happiness come through your door!