Teacher Comments

Evyn has had a cold and today is her first day of school this week. I emailed her teacher this morning about something, and this is the reply I got back. I'm sure I don't have to mention how this makes me feel.

Absolutely! I am so happy to see Evyn. She is such a bright light in our classroom, we've really missed her! I didn't realize what a lightening rod she is for discussion. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she is the type of student who gets everyone excited and thinking about topics. It's been a bit dull around here!


I also got this email from Reed's teacher yesterday:

Please have Reed read up to page 20 in his Novel study book so that he is ready for the small group discussion.

Hope all is well. I am moving him up into a higher reading group next week. He is doing great !!

Complements regarding my kids never get old. It's wonderful that both of them have teachers that appreciate them and connect with them this year. That certainly was not the case last year for poor Reed.

The Sigh of Relief

The moment we have been waiting for, or should I say, the moment Holly has been working for is here. She was offered a job, one that seems perfect for her. It is actually a company she used to work for, so there is already a level of comfort there.

The financial uncertainty is coming to an end. She is no longer having to spend time looking for jobs that are just so hard to come by. Eleven weeks of unemployment with no unemployment benefits taught us both quite a bit. The first thing I realized was that the things they report on the news about job availability are all true. The Sunday paper which used to be spilling over with want ads now consists of maybe two or three pages, and unless you are a nurse or physical therapist, you are pretty much screwed. The jobs that are posted on the internet are also hard to come by. The process is incredibly slow due to the fact that there are so many applicants per position that it takes like a month for folks in human resources to scan through the applications and resumes. You almost have to be sneaky and try to bypass the online application to get your cover letter and resume directly in the inbox of the HR director. It's truly as crazy as they report it to be.

This has been quite a journey for Holly. She was very mistreated when she was let go from her former job. It was handled terribly, and she was pretty wounded. It's not easy to pick yourself back up after you have been stepped/spat on and throw your wounded self into a pathetic job market, but she did. It was not easy to watch. It was not easy for me to be the family cheerleader, spouting off daily affirmations that I was not sure that I even believed. It was not easy to accept money from kind family members. It was not always easy to make financial sacrifices. The job search roller coaster is not a fun ride. Fortunately, just as we were both starting to lose sight of hope, she would get a call and an interview. The timing of this string of events was nothing short of amazing.

I am so proud to say that we made it through this tough time, trying to be happy, trying to stay focused and hopeful, and we were successful most of the time. It was a scary place to be but was not all bad. I was able to take on more work, boosting me to full-time and slightly increasing my pay. Holly was able to pick up my slack and fill in for me up at school, volunteering in my place and getting to know the kids' teachers and seeing how they interact in class. She has also been around to cart her dad around and take care of things at home while I worked. She saw first hand how quickly the day slips away and quickly the bus pulls up to deliver the kids after school and how annoying the dogs are. We bought more generic, opted for homemade versus prepacked foods and learned that generic dishwasher detergent does not clean dishes and is not one of the products to skimp on. We also realized that if we keep the lock on our finances as her income starts rolling in, we will be much better off.


Although her work hours and different and rather inconvenient, we now need after school childcare and big change is imminent, we are so thankful and relieved that the fear is lifting and know that we can adjust to just about anything. Bring it on!

Nerf Wars!

Thanks to our Aunt Suzanne, there is a new way to help pass the time on a cold winter day - shooting each other with dart-shooting bazookas. Lucky for Holly and I, we had some small Ne.rf guns left over from the Christmas before last so that we can join in. Eye protection is a must and dogs and cats are fair game - that's how we roll.

Basketball, week 2

Thursday night practice and Saturday games x2. This is a new sport for both and they both seem to like it a lot. Something clicked today and both kids really started to understand the game, especially Evyn. She is #32 in the picture above - a giant compared to most of the other girls on her team, and she definitely realized this week that she has the ability to jump and reach high enough to block and/or grab the ball and get it down the court to shoot. She earned a grey star for offensive player of the game. She scored about 12 points and rebounded so many times that she was red faced and huffing and puffing.

Reed also played very well. He was a little disappointed that he did not score any points, but he was really catching on and tried really hard to block and defend. He is not as aggressive as many of the boys on his team, but I have no doubt Holly will be working on that with him. He earned the red star for defensive player of the game. I have never paid much attention to basketball but now that Evyn and Reed are both enjoying it so much, I'm a fan and am looking forward to a fun season.

Late night surprise

Since becoming reliably potty trained, Ramona has graduated to sleeping out of her crate at night. She and Troy sleep in the den on their own special, stinky, chewed-on blankets. On a rare occasion, Ramona wakes up and whines at the hall door, wanting to join one of us in bed. This always leads to her being put in her crate, far away from the hall door. Fortunately, this shuts her up and we all sleep soundly the rest of the night.

Last night, Ramona barked a couple of times, wanting to come back with us, so I quickly led her to her crate. Knowing that our most frail and elderly cat likes to sleep in Ramona's crate, I peeked in, only seeing darkness - dark blankets in a dark crate in a dark room looking for a black cat. Of course, in my bleary-eyed state, I was sure the cat was not in there. I closed the crate, locked the door and went back to bed, locking our poor, old, frail black kitty in Ramona's crate WITH Ramona the cat chasing, not-to-be-trusted-around-cats puppy for the remaining 4 hours of darkness. He lived and walked out on his own four feet, no limp, no gasping for his last breath of air. She is not scratched up and there is absolutely no sign of a scuffle. I'd love to know how they interacted, if at all, during their time in such close quarters.

Happy New Year!

2010 was a pretty great year. It ended on a low note but that certainly does not take anything away from the fact that 2010 was exceptional and full of surprises. I must say, though, that the very last day of the year, starting at 12:30 a.m. on December 31st, was full of vomit. Many people would probably be discouraged if they were trying with all of their might to end one year and start another feeling optimistic and hopeful. I actually ended up losing sleep with a sick dog and cleaning up vomit for nearly the last 12 hours of 2010 while trying really hard not to think that vomit was a warning sign of things to come in 2011.

Ramona really loves to go outside, steal things from the recycling bin and chew them up in the back yard. We are assuming that this led to her near death experience. Troy started alerting me during the night. Ramona's hurling must have scared the big fool because he was whining like a two year old as he tried to get far away from Ramona and find peace in our room.


Holly took her to the vet where she received an x-ray that was looking for but did not find an intestinal blockage. She also got an injection to help with the vomiting and some fluids for her dehydration. Almost $400 later, she came home and acted like she was going to die for the rest of the day and then finally turned the corner and perked up a couple of hours before midnight. Thankfully, one of our guests last night (we were trying to prepare for a small party while Ramona was suffering) is a veterinarian and was able to offer his opinion and reassurance. I'd like to formally thank Ramona for forcing us to spend money we should not have. She might need a job to help pay her medical bill, so if anyone has any recycling they would like sorted or broken down, Ramona can totally help you out with that.

As I said, 2010 was a great year, one I will never ever forget. I met my first born and in many ways came full circle with the adoption experience as well as with a particular family relationship that has been pretty non-existent until summer 2010. There were also so many highlights, fun times and priceless memories, I could not begin to list them all. I can only hope that 2011 proves to be another great year of living, learning and loving life.