Walking Pneumonia and Viral Infections oh my...

This week has kicked my butt. It started off with a horrible flu and morphed itself into a viral infection. While my husbands turned into walking pneumonia. We have 2 kids, 2 jobs and we are both full time students. STRESS. I just had to stop , lay down, sweat, shiver, vomit, spin etc. Needless to say , I have not finished this weeks homework, and tomorrow starts a new week. I hate being behind. I emailed all of my teachers asking for extensions and no one has responded. But I can only do what I can do. And this week it was pure survival. I want my Mommy, but my whole family is on the east coast. My husband has some family in this area, but well.. we'll just leave that alone. I hope to wake up tomorrow, which is supposed to be my last day of work, but I can't go because of contagiouness, and be better, or at least well enough to sit at my laptop, not lying down while I type. Plus, I bruised a rib coughing, so painful. Ok. my pity party is over. Onward, and upward. (Wish me luck), and I hope noone feels as awful as me, ever!

J.R.R. Tolkien

I am nursing two sick babies,my son and my husband through the flu after having just recovered from that insane beast myself. So, it's lots of naps and quiet time, I am reading a J.R.R. Tolkien book for my Storytelling class, and got totally sucked into this fantasy . I love it, I should be also writing papers, and lessons and such, but on this snowy, windy, never ending Feb. day, I got lost on the other side of the moon with Roverandom and I don't want to be found. For awhile anyway.

Moms can't get sick

Today was hell. I have had a fever with the sweats, shivers, and dizziness for the last two days. My homework has been late, my children's hair has not been brushed, and there has been a pile of clean, unfolded laundry in that chair for 2 days.On top of that I had to go to my server job, because when your a server, unless you can get someone to cover your shift you work. I was doing my best to not spread germs, but there's only so much germ patrol one can do. Luckily I was able to switch with the bartender, and bartend , but still anyone who needed a beverage went through me.And it is a holiday weekend, so we were slammed. Sorry. People like me don't get sick days or health care.Actually I used to have health insurance, but they tripled my premium when I got pregnant with my son, and refused to cover my diabetic supplies. Anyway, it's hard to pretend to be happy and healthy when your not feeling that way. I am one of the lucky ones, because I just have a flu, not a life threatening disease. Still sweaty and freezing all at the same time. Oh, and I got a C on that late assignment, at least I can redo it when I'm back to myself.

Taxes

Last night I went to a title 1 meeting. It was very interesting and made me feel so comforted to be a part of a small school and small community within a small community. We listened to the Superintendent speak first about how important the levy is too keep our schools up to the standards we have reached in this area in the past few years especially. In our school district 550 employees of 8-10 schools, 1/3 will be lost if the levy is not passed. That is a HUGE impact in our already recession filled community. Almost 200 more people out of work, PLUS, program cuts, like the title one program, technology, P.E., etc... The cost to a household would be from.76-5.00/month increase in property tax. The problem I see, is we live in a Bluebird community, folks have their 2nd and 3rd homes here. The one's who would be paying the 5.00 increase a month, 60.00 more a year. They don't want to pay it, they don't care (generalizing here) about a community they aren't REALLY a part of. My property taxes went up significantly this year , I mean hundreds of dollars, because of improvements we have made on our home. We live on a road that is deemed "Privately maintained, Public Acess" , which is a contradiction in itself. So needless to say 4-6 wks a year I can not access the last mile of mud road in front of my house via vehicle, so I walk my kids a mile to our parked car and than drive to school and back and back again, sometimes totally 4-6 times a day, depending on our schedules. Needless to say, the hundreds of extra dollars I paid in new property taxes this year did not go towards maintaining my road (by the way 30+ families live on this rd), nor is there a plan in the future to have any money (besides our neighborhood rd. ass. dues) go towards the rd. And when we call to make our needs known we are put on hold, passed around, generally forgotten about so we will go away...
Sorry this rant kinda evolved... Taxes.

burning it at both ends.

So I feel a bit releaved. I have been burning my candle at both ends this semester. Two kids, 15 credits, rural living and a part time job. Well after 5 years, I just gave my notice. I am excited and nervous, I am really doing this, commiting to it. It's still two weeks away, and the craziness continues for a short while, but then ... I can focus on doing just a couple of things (raising my kids, and becoming a really good certified teacher!) really well, instead of too many things not as thoroughly as I desire. So, yeah for me... right? I guess you never know if you made the right decision until you live it.

Blogger

So to get a better idea about what other people , people outside of our cyber class blog about,I found a few other blogs that I started following semi-regularly. One is a cooking blog, which I thought would be interesting because the blogger is a vegetarian. I found a couple of receipes interesting, but mostly I learned how annoying it can be to hear about someone's child you don't know, and how gross tofurky sausages look. Not that I'm against tofu, love it, but processed food is processed food isn't it? The second blog I have been following (outside of class), is a single, divorced, been done wrong,has to share custody mom. Who shares her NC-17 internet dating debocles. It's very amusing, although I am not single or dating. I once was so I can still relate. Her writing style is descriptive and funny. Plus she's advertising on her page, so I think she makes money when I read her blogs, and I like to support the Arts.

Theatre

Today I took my daughter and her friend to see a presentation of the "Jungle Book" by the Missoula Children's Theatre. They go to different towns, set up auditions and pick a cast, teach the songs, lines and choragraphy to the kids in 5 days and then put on two shows. It is really fun and we try to go every year. As someone who grew up involved in the drama club and chorus I can appreciate how a program like this can be really great for kids who possibly don't fit into some of the other stereotypes that are out there . Theatre, drama, the art dept. were great places to hide out from the masses and be more free to be self expressive. It's really sad and frustrating to see what is happening in our public school system, art and music programs cut, threats of many more cuts to come. What do you all think, especially those who are working in schools now. What do you see?

My two and half year old frat. boy.

It's funny, it would be really funny if it was happening to someone else.I worked late because it was the Super Bowl, grocery shopped, bathed and fed and did homework with my oldest. I have already been at doing my own homework for three hours, but I just need about one more hour, it's not going to happen. It is 1:00 in the morning, I am finishing the last of my reading so I can take an online quiz and actually finish this weeks assignments before I wake up and it is tomorrow and a whole new week of assignments."Mama, Oobi over", he yells from the top of the stairs, "Luv you too" He shouts. I rush to the top of the stairs before he climbs the gate, and there he is, my baby boy waiting for me. He is holding his blue light saber and it is making a horrible loud hissing sound, "New Battery" he demands. "It's late" I whisper, not that it matters I can hear his Dad snoring away, and his sister doing the same across the hall. I change him, and cuddle him, hoping he'll fall asleep before me , so I can finish todays homework before tomorrow is officially here. But, the next thing I know, it is 6:00 a.m. and my alarm is going off. Oops, well one more thing to add to the list I think and roll out of bed.

Lists

I am a fanatical list maker, I can't help myself. I make list for my list. I make list of list. The first thing on my list is usually to make a list. I am a neurotic freak. But, if I put it on paper, what to do , how, when , how to feel , how to move forward and on. Eventually I will get it done. Finishing my teaching credits has been on that list for almost 10 years. Along with , to stop pysching myself out, I can do it whatever I am pysching myself out about. My list has a note to BE KIND to myself. If I can get it all out what I need to do and be , I can empty my mind. Lay in the grass and have a mental nap of sorts, feel its green, sweet scented blades and drift into a well deserved nap because my Lists are done, for now.

Fresh Bread

Today I baked bread for the first time by myself.
I have never been patient enough to spend the time, (unless with Mom or Grandma) to actually make bread before. But it was SOOOOO easy . I thought I 'd share the receipe, it's a great one to involve kids with. Change around and play with, next time I am going to mix whole grain flour with the white. Although it was decandent to eat White bread today.

The Receipe is 4 easy steps:

1.Put 1 cup of warm water plus one tablespoon sugar in a mixing bowl. Add two tablespoons of yeast (1 package). Let sit for about five minutes.
2. Add three cups of flour, 1 cup of milk, dash of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2-4 tablespoons of oil or melted (and cooled) margarine or shortening. Stir 50 times clockwise , and then 50 times counter-clockwise.
3. Add another 3 to 4 cups of flour and mix until the dough forms a good ball. Turn dough out of the bowl on to a floured surface and let it sit for ten minutes. Then, knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Let rise in a greased bowl for about an hour (it should double in size). Punch down the dough. Let it rise agin for 30 to 45 minutes. Divide into two equal parts and shape into loaves. Place in loaf pans and bake at 425 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

It's so easy, try it.

We eat healthy for the most part, when I crave something like french fries or macaroni and cheese and now white bread I justify that I can have it , if I can make it. That way at least I know there aren't a bunch of preservatives and junk in it.

Groundhog Day

Ok, so we all know the movie, where Bill Murray keeps repeating the day GroundHog Day over and over. Today this is my day. Didn't I just empty this dishwasher, load up the woodstove with wood (its F ing freezing out there!), change the baby, drive the carpool, read that chapter for Lit, Ed, Pysch, etc...
I am back at the public library, wasn't I just here yesterday? Yes! But the book I reserved got put on the book mobile out to Clark Fork. Back in the dairy isle, do we really need more milk? I haven't touched the stuff myself, aside from a splash in my coffee for years... Back , to putting this guy in his car seat again? This kills my shoulder and the wierd twisted position I have to obtain to get him into his seat always makes me feel like I might pee myself. Back to finally returning home to do all of the above over again! No wonder I'm such a grump, did I just do this day ?

Although , if I stop and breath for a moment, I can relish these chores as I think of loved ones sitting in a cancer ward, receiving cancer treatment, wishing they could just go back to the monotony of it all.

I am lucky to have this Groundhog day, and thankful even if it just keeps repeating itself over and over.