It has been awhile since I have posted a new blog here, but I have been blogging, I promise! I have 2 other blogs, both school and education-related and as the new school year approaches, I have been attempting to get them up to date and ready to "launch". Trust me, the lack of blogging is not due to nothing going on in my life or my family's life. Our life is just as crazy as always. Here are some details and updates:
Quinn: Now 5 weeks old and finally really growing. Does he still sleep most of the day? Yes. Definitely. He still has no nap schedule as he simply sleeps most of the day and night, but seeing his eyes open is less of a whole family event now as it once was. I estimate that he now opens his eyes about 6 hours a day, so this is good. And the best part?? SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT ALREADY!!! Wow! This is a good thing with my job starting back up and Reagan already almost halfway through her maternity leave. This is NOT a good thing for Jack as this means his crib will be set up in his room this week and Jack and Quinn will officially become Irish roommates. Jack claims he is "so excited" for this, but things might be different when Quinn cries, or later, steals or breaks or eats his toys. I am sure Quinn's first words will be "Ironman", "Wolverine", or "Skywalker" now.
Summer BBQ/Beer Tasting party: Why is it I can never remember the details to our annual wine tasting party or our beer tasting party?! Hmmmm, weird. Either way, I take good notes early in the night and am pleased (okay, not really because I didn't rate either of these a 10/10) to announce the top 2 beers of 2010 were Land Shark and Budweiser American Ale, one of their new flavors. Again, we had over 20-25 beers tasted or at least some (okay, me) attempted to taste these. Hub City, an Iowa beer, again finished dead last and has been banned from future events. That stuff is plain nasty. As for the party, no balloons this year due to rain and wind early in the day and forecasted, but my Dad did release some helium balloons that surprised many guests. The weather actually turned out to be some of the best weather of the summer. A good night was had by all. but getting 10 of us rounded up and the house cleaned up inside and outside the next morning and out the door to a wedding 3 hours away did not go very smoothly. We missed the wedding, but still got some good Western Iowa time with family.
Weather: I think it has rained every day since I last blogged. If you aren't in a hole somewhere, you likely know of the flooding Iowa, more specifically Ames, has received. Bad deal, but we keep thinking we are so glad to be in our new house this year and not our old house. Our old house was likely another 100 feet below Ames and very possibly built just above the drain to Easter Lake. We know it flooded once this year, maybe more. Sadly, most people I know also had flooded basements as well, so I guess we are lucky to be dry. Our yard, I mean, 1 acre pond, was not so lucky. With the recent dry days, we were finally able to mow most of it and as of today, you can almost walk across it without getting your feet wet. Almost.....
Prepping for School: More good news...I still have a job! I finally got into the school a lot last week and got my classroom almost ready for students, a mere 313 this year, plus 170 7th graders who I will likely see in passing most days. I also got a lot of paperwork done in my office and my office floor and desk are now visible. I doubt that will last, but it will at least be ready for day 1. And after a year of attempted suicides, hospitalizations, mean girl behavior, Facebook fights between mobs of students, and a few students swearing at me, I am sure this year will be even more interesting. This year I have help though: Jack. Since he is starting Kindergarten this year, he will go to and from school with me and catch a bus to and from the middle school to his school. He gets to hang out with me from7 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. every day and then returns to my office around 3:30 every afternoon and hangs out until we head home. It will take some getting used to as I typically get to school at 6:30 every morning and use all 90 minutes just to mentally and physically prepare for work, but I am sure my IPod Touch, Jack's favorite toy, er, educational tool, will keep him busy. Maybe by the end of the year, he will be leading some of my after school groups! Either way, we are both really excited for the school year. He has been busy buying supplies and I have been busy securing supplies for needy kids in my building. Now, tomorrow, is our last day of freedom before I go back full-time. We are spending the day at Adventureland, or as Jack and Abby know it: The only place we have wanted to go all summer because it looks so cool and so fun!!! We will see how that goes. Maybe it will lead to another blog....
Love&Prayers,
Ben
3 Things to Leave you With:
1. Good luck to all the educators and students out there as they head back to school. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. Much like anyone who has done research, I wish we had year-round school (same amount of days basically, just shorter and more frequent breaks), but sadly most of us don't, so good luck to the many who are headed "back to school" over the next 2 weeks.
2. If you read the first few lines of this blog and actually made it down here, here are the 2 blogs I have been working so hard to create and add content. One is for teachers who are looking to add technology to their teaching and classrooms or at least trying to use technology more in the classroom. The other is my counseling blog, mainly geared to students, parents, and families.
3. We are also doing the State Fair this week and I always get the Pork Chop on a Stick and then try one new Fair Food. This year, I think I will have to try the "Crispy Creme Burger". Here is a link to story about it. Sounds interesting to say the least.
