So we are not moving

We traveled to Huntsville on Thurs. We were physically in the car for 12 hours. Needless to say, the kids did well, considering. When it was all said and done, we decided NOT to move. Jay was really hopeful for a upward climb but it just wasn't enough to leave. We LOVE it here. You would be hard pressed to find many school districts in the nation that are as good as ours. We have terrific teachers, and the kids are so happy here. Regardless, we were going to try it somewhere else but we just had too many cons. We found a house that would have been perfect but I didn't get a good vibe from the street it was on. The school was closed for fall break?? We did walk around but again, I am so spoiled here. The secretary was not my Mrs. M. I wanted to like everything, I wanted to be the supportive wife, but I just got really depressed and quite scared trying. In the end, Jay made the decision because I didn't want that kind of burden. I don't have a job so I can't really tell him what to do in his. I wanted what was best for the kids and him. I knew, though, that I could get the kids on board by really pumping up the bonuses to them. So I would have done that but Jay felt, as I did, and we are not going. Thank goodness!

Cotton SPEAKS

Keara went on a field trip yesterday. She got to pick cotton and see a real old working farm. So, she is telling us all about the things she did and Jay hears about the cotton picking and says "Have you ever listened to cotton?" At this point I spit my food out in total hysterics. You have to understand that Jay is WEIRD. And I really mean that, not just you know that passing remark about someone's behavior, this is just Jay. He was DEAD serious about the cotton. So, at the dinner table I had him leading my children in listening for the squeaky cotton. He then decided it must only be the processed cotton because the fresh picked kind didn't speak to him. WHAT? Seriously demented.

*Little side note that this is not the first inanimate object to speak to my husband. He has had the fries that chirp as well!

Oh and I called my mom to find out if I was the one that is weird. She confirmed that I am indeed normal but in the process we found that my dad is not. My mom was explaining the theory to him and asked if he ever listened to cotton. My dad said no but "I understand that if you go in a corn field and listen carefully, the corn will moan." WHAT? Now I guess I understand only one thing....my mom and I are CRAZY, we married LOONS!

Keara's other story

The Michigan Tornado
By Keara

On May 26, 1998, in Michigan, storm clouds started to form. The storm started in the middle of the night. The next day the cloud started to drop a funnel. A tornado warning was let off to warn people. Soon, the funnel touched the ground! People fled to safe places. Some people went to closets, some went to their bathtubs, and some went to their basements. Thousands of sticks flew through the air. Rocks went flying and smashing windows. Hailstones were the size of tennis balls. Some people were so scared of the hailstones that they just went to the middle of the room. That wasn’t a really good choice. The storm was soon over. One hundred fifty-six people were killed and five were children. Nine hundred eighty-nine people were injured and ten were children. (Less children were killed and injured because the hiding places were too small for adults.) The kids were still scared even though the storm was over. Parents told their children it was safe. They came out of their hiding places because they trusted their parents. They saw that trees were lifted out of the ground and roofs were ripped off houses. There was a lot of damage. They hope it never happens again!

Keara's story

Started: Sunday, November 19,2006
Ended: Saturday, September 15, 2007

Tanna’s life
BY KEARA

"Polly Ann is driving me crazy! She’s been bossing me around everyday, almost," Tanna said to her mother. Finally, it was summer break. Tanna was going to her cousin’s house. Her cousin’s name is Ty Lou. She lives with Aunt Tery. Tanna was very excited because she could not wait to get to Ty Lou’s house. Every time she went there, they would get chocolate milkshakes. When they got there, Tanna rushed inside. There were chocolate milkshakes waiting for them already. Tanna went up to Ty Lou’s room and knocked on the door. When Ty Lou opened the door, she was surprised and hugged Tanna tight. Tanna asked, "Do you want to go drink the milkshakes?" Ty Lou said, "Sure!" Tanna and Ty Lou rushed downstairs. They drank their milkshakes pretty fast. Tanna asked Aunt Tery, "Can we go outside and play?" Aunt Tery said, "Yes." Tanna and Ty Lou ran outside. They filled up the pools and they jumped in. Just then, Aunt Tery came out. She said "Get out of the pool, you will get your clothes wet." They got out of the pool & into their bathing suits. They ran back outside and jumped into the pools again. They splashed and swam. They had big pools. They were lake size. They kept swimming until 2:10. Tanna said, "At 2:10 we need to get inside because it is going to storm." The storm started coming in at 2:10. Tanna and Ty Lou ran inside as quick as they could. They quickly ran to Ty Lou’s room and got dressed. Then Tanna said, "Maybe we should play dolls." "Great idea!" said Ty Lou. Aunt Tery ran in & took them to the window to let them see that there was hail. They said "AH!" and ran out of the room. They got into a place with no windows and hid in a closet because they knew that sometimes tornadoes come after hail. Tanna’s mother came in after that. She said, "It’s over." The girls came out of the closet and hugged their moms. They said, "I thought there was going to be a twister." The mothers said, "No, there was no twister." The girls felt relieved. They went back to Ty Lou’s room and started playing dolls again. When they were done, they had dinner. Tanna said, "I don’t want to go to bed." Tanna’s mother said, "You have to go to bed Tanna." After that, it was time to brush their teeth. Then Tanna went home. When it was time for bed, Tanna got out her mattress and covers. She laid down. Her mother kissed her good night and said "I love you, and have sweet dreams." Tanna couldn’t sleep that night, she was very scared. She called for her mother " I’m really scared of the strange noises around here." Her mother came in, explained what all the strange noises were, & she said, "Go back to sleep." When Tanna went to sleep, the next morning came in a flash. She woke up her mother and said "Wake up, wake up, it’s time to go back to Ty Lou’s house and have fun." Her mother woke up, got dressed, got Tanna dressed and finally went back to Ty Lou’s house. Ty Lou was happy to see them. Just then, a severe storm hit! The girls were scared! They screamed! Suddenly, it was over. Everyone was happy. Hurricane Molly was in the gulf & Tanna’s family did not know about it! Ty Lou was worried but did not want to tell about it. It was going hit in three days! Ty Lou knew that Tanna & her aunt would get hurt if they did not know about it! They could even die! She could not decide if she should tell or not. Tanna came in the room. "What are you thinking about?" asked Tanna. "Nothing" answered Ty Lou. Tanna turned and headed out of the room. "Whew" Ty Lou said. Tanna slept over that night & in the morning, they watched the weather. Now Tanna’s family knew about the hurricane. When Molly hit, they were all safe!
THE END!

COURTESY OF DRIG

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JENNIFER

KEARA

KAI

JASON

Kai is truly so funny

Kai came home yesterday with a certificate for being the Club Cary winner last week. We were telling him how proud we were (as this is for being such a great student), and Kai was CLUELESS. The poor child had the award affixed upon his desk for an entire week and never realized that HE was the winner. BAAHHHHAAA. He is so funny. If he were a girl we would truly say he was just a little ditsy. What do you call it when it's a boy? LOL

UHOH Big decision

My head is spinning. Do we stay or do we go? We are trying to decide whether we should move. UGH I HATE moving. There are so many pros and yet some cons too. I know where Jay's heart is and that just adds to the burden. This isn't just about him or me for that matter, this is about ALL of us. I have to really consider the kids as they are in really good programs right now with their schooling. Keara is doing so awesome, I would hate for that to go backward. But then again, maybe this would be just what she needs, doing well with a fresh start. Plus it's like a sign or something when I actually know someone that has family in the school we are looking to move to. So we will fight the urge to make any decisions until we visit tomorrow. The kids will come too and they will no doubt give their ever so honest opinions. Like I said the ole noggin is doing the loop-d-loops ~:

Stay or go?

So my question today is "how much is just too much?" At what point does a mother, father, sibling say enough is enough? I don't know because I haven't been faced with addiction but in terms of just plain ole enough is enough, I guess I do know my threshold. My philosophy on the whole blood is thicker than water is pretty simple actually. I believe if someone is good to me, if they treat me with the respect and kindness I deserve, whether they are "blood" or not, I will continue that relationship. If, however, someone doesn't show me these simple gestures, they will bring me down and they are out. I really don't think just because you were born unto someone, that they can treat you poorly and expect a relationship with you. In my case it was a very easy answer. I didn't have to think very hard about removing this person from my life. It was easy. Do I ever mourn that loss? NO. I am fortunate that I have someone in my life that WANTS to be there. He cares, TRULY. If addiction is the reason for the treatment, though, I wonder if that makes it different. I don't know. I want to believe it does bear some weight but again, that isn't my situation. I wish for the sake of many, it were easy. I wish I could shed some wisdom of light to the people affected. I wish I could shake some sense into the one causing the pain. Because even when someone is DONE, in this circumstance, I don't know that it will EVER be done. It is just heartbreaking and unfair!

Misc. NOTHINGS

So Jay interviewed AGAIN. We are not even 1% hopeful LOL. But he did anyway, to stay politically correct, ya know? Keara came home with 3 certificates 100% on Science Chapter Test, 2 100% on timed math tests and 100% on EVERY spelling test this year. She is so smart. And then there is Kai. I said that wrong, he is really smart too, but he does have his DUH moments. He blanks out or just doesn't listen and then there is a 0 on a paper. He is so funny about it, like "don't worry mom, it's just one 0!" So I reply "okay dude if that's ALL it is!" Drig has two teachers that are volunteering to keep him for any weekend I might want to get away. I tried to explain that I would really love that but I have a little problem er 2 that might not be so fine home alone. And ya know I am rolling in all the cash I have. BAAHHHAAA. Jackie is coming today. It should be nice, haven't talked for awhile. More later....Keara is stealing the computer!

Magic Pill

We have been praying for a magic pill to appear and help Keara. We found it! I am so beyond excited right now. Keara started on Prozac a couple of weeks ago and I really think it is just what she needed. I was so AGAINST it at first but finally after 5 different tries, we decided we had to try it. OMG it has been AMAZING! Last night we went to Family Fun Night at Drig's school. Keara is usually a mess during and after these type events. But last night she was so pleasant. She went in the big blow-up bouncy thing and was FINE! If you don't understand a child like Keara this seems like no big deal but for Keara it was HUGE. She has never been able to do these things without a. melting down and b. having to get out early. Last night not only did she stay the entire time, she ENJOYED it. Then she went on the big blow-up slide. She is usually afraid of heights but again she LOVED it. I was that sappy mom crying as I watched Keara really be a kid and have fun. I can still tear up just remembering. It was FANTASTIC. I have waited a long time to watch my little girl have a good time doing stuff kids do and last night for the very first time I got to see it. I cannot express how happy I am!

So she told me...

Me: "Why are they teaching you things that I didn't learn?"

Keara : "Because it is modern day math!"

ALRIGHTY THEN!