Life

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. School resumed; and we were going 24/7 getting ready. Getting up early, like 5:45 AM has taken it's toll on us all. The royal family was tired. And when I'm tired, I do not go on the computer. I think though I am getting used to the new schedule, so I will be back again. There is a lot of driving for us now, as we do afternoon pickup of the Princesses all over the place. I think the Prince and I drive about 35 miles a day picking up his sisters, and he's cranky for 80% or more of it! Hopefully when he is able to face forward he will be happier, as then he can watch movies. And movies we will have!

The lack of postings has also been due to the fact that our most beloved English bulldog, Winston Churchill, passed away unexpectedly. He was only 2 years old, and in great health as far as we knew. He went to sleep one afternoon, and never woke up again. His death threw us into a tailspin. Winston was Princess Nike's dog, and we have all had to work with her to help her get through this loss. We are all suffering. Princess Nike cries herself to sleep every night. She says the hardest thing for her is that she never got to say goodbye to Winnie as she called him. That is something I can't fix her, and that just hurts me right down to my heart. She loved Winston so very much, and literally would have (& did) anything for him. Princess Nike had completed a project on Winnie last school year. It is a large posterboard with photos and info about him. She kisses his photos everynight before bed, and falls asleep talking to him about her day. I end up crying outside of her bedroom as I listen to her. I wish I could do something to bring that beautiful smile of her's back, but I can never bring her baby back to her so I fail as her protector.

To add sadness upon sadness, the vetrinarians office called me yesterday to inform me that Winston's ashes were available for pickup. I can't go there to get him; I just can't. The unexpectedness of his death still rings loudly in my ears, and I am not ready to see final confirmation that he is gone. I have therefore asked the Duke to go and get Winnie for us. Thankfully he will. Winston was our dog for only 2 years, and people lose family members all the time. I understand that. I further understand that he was a dog, and not a person. You have to understand though, that he was loved and had the most unique personality...so it was easy to think of him as almost person-like. He snored; he slept on my favorite couch, even though he knew he wasn't supposed to; he kissed you when you felt down or when you just needed a little loving; he loved to go on car rides; when you left the car and came back he was sitting in the driver's seat, ready to take on the world; he loved people and all animals and was not unabashed in showing this love with tail wags and kisses, and he was playful with my children. Oh and he was handsome as all heck, if you find wrinkly faces and missing teeth your thing! In time we will heal. The pain is very real now, and Princess Nike faces it every hour.

Organization

I have this nifty system in my house of writing all of the appointments on a main calendar in the kitchen; one that the entire family has access to. Nothing gets missed that way, as we walk past the calendar 900+ times a day. Oh but wait, the Duke did miss an appointment. I called to reschedule his blood test today, and was informed that if he misses another appointment he will be fined $50. If he misses a 3rd appointment, the doctor will drop him as a patient. Well there's some great besdie manners for you! Now don't get me wrong. I understand the frustration with patients missing appointments; however, in this case it was not an appointment with the dr. that was missed, this was with a tech. The Duke missed a blood drawing appointment. I do not think this merits the same punishement, nor should it be remembered by anyone. I tried to train him to put his appointments on the calendar, but this seems to require too much effort on his part. I also suggested he give me his reminder cards, and I could enter them on the schedule. That too requires too much effort. I am not going to chase after the man to remember his appointments. I don't see him doing that for me. Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm not being tough. He's a big boy, why can't he remember his own dang appointments? I do. So I told the Duke to go to his rescheduled appointment tomorrow, and to schmooze the nurse so as to have the missed appointment not count. Why you ask? Because he's going to miss another appointment. He's a man. He can't help it...or so he tells me. This way he won't be charged $50, nor will he lose his wonderful doctor. Next time I'll have the doctor's office tatoo the appointment on his forhead, then he won't forget!

Family fun

Today we spent the afternoon enjoying the Isle of Fun at the beach. There were fantastic waves today; so the time at the beach was spent splashing around in the water. The extra level of excitement was evident today, because generally speaking there aren't many waves to be had on the Isle of Fun. It is generally a calmer sea than was evident today. I guess Mother Nature threw me a belated birthday present, for which I am most appreciative. There is nothing funner than watching your family members trying to get atop a float, as they are being pumled by wave after wave! Prince Bite 'n Screech even managed to fall asleep on the Duke's shoulder, all the while getting doused with salt water! He didn't even flinch. Amazing! At home one little noise can awaken him from a deep sleep, yet at the beach the boy is gettiing slammed with very salty water and he continues to snooze away. That's Murphy's Law for you right there.

Speaking of very salty water. I don't understand why the water here is so darn salty. When you get a mouthful of it; you want to reach for a cup of water to rinse out with. It's like being in St. Thomas or somewhere like that. Just amazing. The ocean water in the northern half of this country is not like this at all...it will take some getting used to.

Sunscreen. Very useful. Not enough used today. Need I say more? Ouch. The Duke has to go to work in his work duds tomorrow. Not something I would want to do, seeing as he looks like a lobster. Remember when you were little and wore wool and you itched and itched? Well that will be the Duke tomorrow. I can't wait to hear how his workmates will tease him!

Togetherness

Well the Princesses have made it back home from a month long trip away with the grandparents. They had a thoroughly awesome time, and want to return there for Thanksgiving. Now it is time to get back into the swing of activity. I had such a slow month, with just playing with the Prince and his Fisher Price toys...now I don't know where to begin. The Prince seems to love having his sisters back, but at the same time is a little off his schedule. He can't seem to go down for a nap ( or sleep through the night cough, cough) because he hears too much activity occuring in other rooms. Hopefully he will settle back into his routine, otherwise I shall have to ship the Princesses out again!

Decisions

I am attempting to determine the best road to travel. This is not a map question, but rather a life changing moment. I want to be a teacher. I have long wanted to be a teacher, but it was never the right time. There was not enough money for me to obtain my MEd, or there was no daycare for the child/children at home at the time. Whatever the reason, including thinking I wanted to travel down other roads, I never made it...until now! Now is the time. There can be no more delays. This is too important for all of us.

Now my decision is how to I get there. Do I pursue the MEd? Do I apply for a 3 year certification in the subject area of my BA? Or do I attend a one-year certification program? My BA is not in education. I have no teaching experience. Well, I played a great teacher when I was little. I also taught Princess Nike how to read prior to her attending Kindergarten. Oh, and I have also been a GS leader, and attended what has seemed like 9 million parent-teacher conferences. I know what I like in a teacher, and I know what I don't like...as all parents do. Which path to take to become a teacher? I am stumped. I have asked educators what they would suggest, and they all say the MEd. Great on paper, but that takes 2 years and the most amount of money out of the 3 possibilities.

If I choose the alt certification program, that would allow me to work in the elementary level (K-4/5). By pursuing immediate certification, I would be teaching social studies to grades 5-9. I like all of these ages, especially since I have children in those exact grades! I just don't know which stage I want to teach more.

I just decided. I am going to apply for certification for Social Studies, and see if I can earn that based on my college courses. If I can not, then I am off to the one-year certification program. Thanks for listening, and thanks for helping me to make up my mind! I couldn't have done it without you.