November 2021

Sunday was Halloween morning. Stuart and I got up and went to take the old battery from my car back to Walmart to get a $12 rebate. When I had taken my car to the dealer to have the part replaced, they told me I needed a new battery. We did a little more shopping and then came home. Millie and I went out to the Dollar Tree to try to find some baskets for a game that she was making for a social studies project involving the Cherokee Indians. That was the tribe that she picked to study this quarter.

We got back and chilled until lunch of chicken, squash and salad. We kind of try to have Sunday lunch together as usually Stuart leaves on Sundays around 4 pm. Fortunately, he decided to stay for trick or treating this particular Sunday. Sadly, we split the kids. At 4 pm we headed to Grammie and Pop’s for the ‘special’ Halloween bag. 

Harley Quinn and Spider-Man!

We then went our separate ways. Stuart took Jack to the Daniels’ house to hang out with Kyle and their buddies, while I went to the Ryan Elementary neighborhood so Millie could walk around with her friend Mallory. Initially Millie was mortified that I was going to walk around with her. She soon got over it when she discovered that Mallory’s mom was going to be walking around with Mallory as well. After a huge haul, we ended up at Mary and Todd’s. Stuart took Millie home and I waited for Jack to return. Jack finally resurfaced at 9 pm. When Jack and I finally got home Millie was already in bed so I went up to say good night to her. Jack took a shower and then had a bite to eat before going to bed.

Monday morning Stuart’s alarm went off at 4:45 am and he headed for Gallup at 5:15 am. I got the kids up at 6 o’clock. I took Millie to school first because I needed to drop off Jack’s top up medication at the school nurse’s office. When we went to the nurse, there was a student in there that I assumed was the nurse’s child. So I’m explaining the medication not really realizing that could be embarrassing to Jack. As he walked out Jack said, ‘Mom, that kid is in my social studies class. And now he knows I have ADD.’ Then, without skipping a beat, Jack said, ‘Hey, look at the pretty colors.’ He was trying to be funny saying that he couldn’t stay focused long enough to complete his thought and instead ‘notice the pretty colors’ on the wall. It was quite humorous and quick-witted of him. I got to school a little bit late, but my little guy who I thought tested positive for Covid did not, so I was misinformed and he actually came back to school on Monday.

I picked Millie up from school, took her to gymnastics, paid her gym fees and then headed to Casteel for Jack’s basketball game. They played against Bogle Junior High. Jack played really well. He only scored one basket, but he had a lot of assists. On the Bogle team was the coach’s son that played on Jack’s Gremlins team. So the victory was very sweet because we all remember the story with the coach from the Gremlins.  Once Jack’s basketball game was over, I took him home for a bite to eat, then we headed out for volleyball. Once I dropped the boys off at volleyball I headed back towards gymnastics to pick Millie up, stopping at McDonald’s beforehand to get her chicken nuggets. She and I went home and took showers to get ready for bed, then headed back to the volleyball gym to pick up the boys. Our Mondays are quite hectic.

Tuesday morning we all got up and went to school. My day was rather boring. After school I headed to pick Millie up and she and I went home and I started dinner. I had stopped at the grocery store prior to picking her up and bought some frozen meals. I decided that processed food is all my children will eat. Tuesday night I was supposed to have company from my friend Bethany but she got held up and we had to reschedule for Wednesday night. So the kids and I just sat around and watched television and then it was time for bed.

Wednesday morning I was awake at 3:30 and just kind of tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 4:30 and I got up and went to walk with Sue. It is the highlight of my week for sure. Once home, both kids were up and nearly ready for school. There were still reminders of what needed to be done, but it was better than Wednesdays of the past. During the day my throat started to hurt. I also had canker sores in my mouth, so I decided after I dropped Millie off at gymnastics I would go to urgent care. I had a strep test that came up negative, which was good, but my mouth and throat still hurt. I headed home and waited for Jack to arrive. When he did, I fed him and he got ready for volleyball. His friend Trenton came over as he was going to start practicing with the volleyball boys. I dropped the boys at Vicki’s and then met Bethany at Old Chicago for dinner. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich for Millie but by the time I picked her up it was cold. I do have difficulty with feeding her after gym and still getting her to bed at a reasonable time. 

Thursday after school, I left early so Millie could get her Covid vaccine. We then had a treat at Dairy Queen because of her bravery. Our next stop was Target for a gift for her friend’s birthday. Millie had a total meltdown in Target as she didn’t understand why I wasn’t willing to spend more than $45 on her friend’s birthday gift. I ended up leaving her in an aisle and going to check out. Ugh! When will these episodes end? After the Target episode we went to Jack’s basketball game. They won again. They really are doing well. We then came home and I fed the kids. We did absolutely nothing for the rest of the evening. 

Friday I found out I would be getting a 6th grade student who would never have the option of phasing into the regular classroom. She had threatened to kill her teacher and this was her only option for school. I was told she would start Monday. After school I rushed to pick Millie up and then headed home to let the dogs out to pee. We then turned around and headed to the Ryan Elementary Fall Festival as I had volunteered to help the first hour. It turned out that I wasn’t needed, so I had rushed for nothing. Oh well!

Pie eating contest. 

Millie went around with her friends and played the games and did different activities. Jack and Stuart joined us soon after. I won a silent auction voucher for a $1000 toward orthodontics. It cost me $200, but I find that to be a win since I have one more child who will need orthodontics. We got home after 9 pm and all showered and hit the sack. 

Saturday we got up and took Millie to gymnastics. We were supposed to take the dogs to training but opted against it as we really hadn’t worked much with them since the trainer was first at our house. We just hadn’t had the time. We may have to admit that our dogs are jerks and we may need to live with them as they are. Instead of going to dog training, we got our Christmas decorations out. We then went to Ace Hardware to get some wood for our RV curtains my mom was making. We ended up buying some patio furniture and because they misquoted the price of the set, we got it for nearly half off the original price. 

Millie went to a birthday party after gymnastics and then we picked her up around 2:30 pm. She showered when we got home because she hadn’t done so the night before as she had fallen asleep at Grammie and Pop’s when we stopped by after the Fall Festival to see Rony and his girlfriend, Christine. We also watched my longtime friend, Ronald Moore and his family on the Family Feud. My parents had recorded their episode. It was epic! They won!

We borrowed my dad’s truck to pick up our new patio furniture. We got it all set up and turned the fire pit on. I really think we will enjoy the cooler nights out in the back with this new set. 

Once the patio furniture was in place, we met our neighbors Mitch and Elise on the driveway for a real fire, pizza and s’mores. It’s become one of our favorite events. 

Sunday morning we were up and Stuart made breakfast for our neighbors and us on the Blackstone grill. It was delicious. We finished decorating the house for Christmas, with help from the dogs, of course. 

Stuart and I headed to find him a warm jumper. It’s getting quite chilly in Gallup, he reports. We got home and Millie had set up our movie afternoon. She only stayed and watched the movie for about 30 minutes. It was kind of funny. We decided to watch Home Alone. Stuart left around 4 pm. Russ came for a visit around 5:30 pm. We talked about life and where we were headed as far as our careers were concerned. It seems we are both at a bit of an crossroad and are not sure what move to make next. He is heading back to Arkansas very soon and then will decide what his next move is. Once he left, the rest of the evening was chilled. 

Monday my new student came. I met her in front of the school with her mom. She will be fine. She’s quite bright and will just do her work. She’s probably getting the best education of any 6th grader on our campus. After school Millie had a med check. Once I had dropped her at gymnastics, I headed to Jack’s game where they won against Newell Barney Junior High. After his game we headed home and let the dogs out. Chloe had actually puked in her cage which makes for a good mess for when she comes out of her cage. Trenton showed up and we headed out to volleyball. On the way back from volleyball I stopped at Walmart to try to find Millie a new lunchbox but I had no success. Her old lunch box had become infested with ants one day so of course we had to throw it away. I didn’t find her a lunch box but I did find a cookie jar. I love the Pioneer Woman’s line at Wal-Mart! I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but my niece Emily’s bestie is Paige Drummond, who is the daughter of the Pioneer Woman. 

Love it!

Already filled with cookies. 

I did buy Millie chicken tenders and then I picked her up from gymnastics. I found out that I was getting another new student either Friday or Monday. It is a former student that was in the program last year who chose to go to a charter school. He was having a lot of trouble at his new school, so why not bring him back to us? Sure! My students require a lot of emotional support, which is sometimes draining on a soul. 

Tuesday Jack had a basketball game. He played really well and they won by about 20 points. The season is really going well for them. Other than that, Tuesday was pretty uneventful. 

Wednesday the kids had their normal activities. Stuart got home early and we decided to have a sushi date night. I do cherish our little alone times, especially now that I don’t know when we will be able to schedule things like this. We popped into the gym to watch the last half hour of Millie’s practice. She was being a bit silly so I asked one of her coaches if she was concentrating when she was at practice. The coach said she often goofed off. I then had a bit of a conversation with Millie about her natural ability and how she didn’t want to waste that talent and approach it so lazily. I also reminded her about the amount of money we spend to allow her to participate and if she wasn’t going to give it her all, then we would have difficulty justifying that money. 

Thursday we were up just after 6 am to fix our back yard. It was Veteran’s Day so that meant no school for any of us. We had rock dumped on the drive the morning before. The dogs have wrecked our yard. I have no idea how they dig up the rocks in the back yard, but they’ve managed. 

Prior to our work, we had coffee on the back patio with the fire on. 

We love our new fire pit. 

Thursday evening I went to Lauren’s house as she was having Melinda, Heather and myself over for a girl’s night. Stuart had dropped me off and Heather brought me home. I left my purse at Lauren’s which in turn meant I left my car keys, because I always have my car keys in my purse. This proved to be a bit of an issue the following morning. Stuart had to maneuver the Liberty out of the garage with a 17 point turn as my car was parked behind it. Fortunately the Liberty is small and our garage is big. Lauren met me at Ryan Elementary to bring me my purse. I then picked Stuart up at the Kia dealership because his car was being serviced. He took me to school and then after school picked me up. We went to get his car and then met back at home. Stuart had done all the house work in preparation of the Moore family’s visit. He had sandwich stuff ready for them once I collected them from the airport. 

I got them from the airport just after 8 pm. Tammy, his wife, and Ashlynn, their daughter, were visiting to go and see a Cardinals game. We were thrilled to have them stay. Ronald and I stayed up late to talk and catch up. 

Saturday Jack had a volleyball tournament. Grammie and Pop came to his last two matches. He didn’t play so well when they were there, so he was a bit disappointed. Overall they did well, though. Saturday evening we had smash burgers with the Moores, Grammie and Pop as well as Ken, Maytee and the girls. My mom and dad had a great time catching up with Ronald. 

The Moores went to the Cardinals’ game Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately the Cardinals lost. By the time they got home Stuart had already left for Gallup. We sat around and talked for a bit. They had a little bite to eat and then they went to bed.

Monday morning we were all up bright and early. My mom and dad came and got the Moores and took them to the airport. The kids and I got off to school as we normally do on a Monday morning. Monday after school I rushed to pick Millie up from school and take her to gymnastics. I then went to watch Jack’s basketball game at Casteel High School. They played against Payne Junior High, which they knew would be one of the toughest games they had this season. They played pretty well at the beginning but then in the end they lost by about 14. Jack was very disappointed in his playing and was nearly in tears when we left the gym. So we hustled out of the gym to get to the car so that he would not be embarrassed if he did need to cry. Once we were home he got his gear for volleyball together and we headed out to volleyball. I drove the boys to the gym. I picked Millie up from gymnastics after I got her food from Burger King. Once Millie and I were home we took a shower, she finish her food, and we sat and watched television. Jack returned from volleyball just before 10 o’clock, he showered and went to bed. 

Tuesday morning ran just about as it normally does. I am usually barking at the kids about all the things they need to get completed before we leave the house. Commonly on Tuesdays and Thursdays we are a bit later in the morning than normal because Jack’s ride to Casteel doesn’t need to leave his house until 7 am, so that helps us out a lot. Tuesday after school I went and collected Millie from Kids’ Express. We went and got some milk at the grocery store as well as her medication. We got home and I fixed orange chicken for the kids for dinner. Shortly after Jack got home from basketball, we ate and then Millie decided she wanted to watch the Santa Claus. Both kids showered and we just relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday morning started out with a bang again. I got up to go walk with Sue which is my only indulgence in the week. When I get home my expectation was that the kids would be out of bed, beds made, downstairs, breakfast eaten, teeth brushed, and medication taken. However, that was not what I came home to. So my frustration was pretty high once I was home. That in turn caused Millie to lose her patience and start screaming at me that I was the worst mother ever and I should just go ahead and throw her out with the trash. I am well aware that her emotional state is not always rational primarily because of her background. I am constantly looking for sources of information that can help me deal with her behavior. I am so thankful that she does not display this behavior at school or in other social settings. We finally made our individual destinations, thank goodness, but it wasn’t without challenge. 

I had several kids in my class on Wednesday that did not belong to me but were needing a place to decompress. When I was finished with the day, I packed up my things and got ready to leave to go to a dentist appointment. I received a call from the Ryan Elementary dean of students. She said that Millie had had an altercation at recess. Apparently Millie got pushed down by another student. Millie‘s part in the altercation was the fact that she called this kid a hippo. Here is the difference between Ryan Elementary, a southern school, and Shumway Leadership Academy, a northern school. I get death threats and the consequences are minor, whereas Millie calls a kid a hippo and is threatened that the next incident could result in a day in school suspension. I don’t agree with name-calling, however there is big discrepancy between the two schools. I am not even sure my school would call a parent regarding name-calling. When I was speaking with the dean of students, I told her that I was sorry that she had to waste your time on such an insignificant call. I told her I was hopeful after speaking to Millie that this would never happen again. I then said to her that I had made very similar calls from that exact office she was calling from, and that I did not appreciate my own daughter being part of the problem rather than part of a solution. I just couldn’t help myself. 

Thursday I took Jack to his orthodontist appointment. I decided to take the day off. So my mom and I went to lunch and then went to Goodwill. I had a brilliant idea about starting an online business selling stuff I found at Goodwill. We shall see how that goes. Stuart got home in time to see Jack’s game. He played horribly. He was so disappointed that this first game Stuart was able to watch ended like this. Millie decided she didn’t want to go so we left her at home. 

Friday Stuart was home all day and did some things around the house to get us ready for our Mexico trip the following week. Friday evening we watched Christmas movies and just relaxed at home. 

Saturday we got up and took Millie to gymnastics. Stuart and I decided to have breakfast out, which was nice. We then walked around San Tan Village, even though there were no stores open. We needed to walk off our breakfast. We then hit Costco, which is always fun on a Saturday morning. We got home and Stuart went to pick Millie up from gymnastics. We made arrangements to go with Mitch and Elise to dinner that evening. I nearly goofed it up as I totally forgot I had told Jack he could have Gavin and Owen over for a sleepover. In the end only Gavin came and Vicki was fine with the boys being home for a couple of hours on their own. We had a great time with our neighbors. Mitch always says how much he loves our times together. We do enjoy their company for sure. 

Sunday we picked up the RV. Our goal was to get all the new curtains up before we went to Mexico. My mom had brought them down Sunday afternoon. The Greens came over for lunch. Stuart made stir fry and we had a late lunch. There were a lot of leftovers, which was nice for the two days of school I would have. We figured out the curtains were too long, but decided not to say anything to my mom until the following morning. Stuart got the cab curtains installed Sunday afternoon, but the others would have to wait. 

I had a student who was fully phased back into the general education classroom, return to me because of behavior. So he will be with me for 5 days before he can go back out to his other classroom. After school, Jack had a basketball game at Casteel. They won by quite a lot. Jack played well again, which makes things nicer for all of us. Jack had wanted to stay for the 8th grade game but since he had procrastinated over the weekend, he had a lot of homework to do Monday evening. Stuart went to get Millie from gymnastics and the rest of the evening was filled with packing up the RV. Stuart had completed the instillation of the curtains and they look fantastic. All are lined and make the RV so much darker inside, which helps with sleeping later. 

Tuesday was an easy day at school. We did some Thanksgiving activities and were thankful we didn’t have to go to school the rest of the week. Jack had a game at Eastmark High School, which was supposed to be at 3:45 pm but ended up being put back to 4:30 pm, which was great because I was going to be hard pressed to get there at 3:45. It was their last regular season game and they won by nearly 40 points. Jack was very pleased with his performance. Tuesday evening we finished loading the RV and we’re ready for our weekend away. 

Wednesday we got up and headed to Mexico for the holiday. Everything ran quite smoothly. We had decided to take the dogs, even though we knew they would be a pain in the butt. We arrived just before lunchtime and got everything set up. I made sandwiches for everyone and we decided to go down to the beach. 

Both dogs actually liked the water, but the kids reported that it was cold. 

Stuart and I went down to the bar and had a beer while the kids stayed back with the dogs at the campsite. We played games and just enjoyed being around each other for the rest of the afternoon. 

Thursday morning we took the car and went into town for a bit. Millie wanted to buy something at a shop but just couldn’t find the right thing. On the way back to the RV park we stopped at Jessy’s to get some jumbo shrimp. 

They cleaned them for us as well. 

Stuart grilled them and we ate them. Delish!!!! What did everyone else eat for Thanksgiving? It was shrimp for us!

We spent most of the afternoon at the beach with the dogs. We had brought our cooler to the beach. In it was margarita mix. Stuart had just poured each of us a glass when Bailey decided he would jump over our chairs, dumping the drinks, tipping the cooler and breaking the cup holder on one of our chairs. Stuart was furious and wanted to get rid of the dogs. I calmly went to the RV to wash the cups and refill them with ice. I then came back down and we tried to pretend our dogs weren’t total menaces. After dinner that evening the kids roasted marshmallows over our fire pit. 

Once in a while the marshmallow would get a bit burnt. 

And sometimes the mallow turned out perfect!

Friday morning there was much of the same, relaxing and walking the crazy dogs. We decided we would check out the Escape Room in town. We had so much fun! We didn’t escape, but we worked together as a team and did pretty well. 

The theme was Alice in Wonderland. 

We went to have lunch at the Boo Bar after the Escape Room. I had ceviche, Jack had a huge burrito, Stuart had red snapper, which came out as the whole fish. I can’t do it! Millie wasn’t adventurous at all and stuck to her usual, chicken strips and French fries. When we got back from lunch we went down to the bar and ran into Skip’s sister and brother in law. Skip had told them to be on the lookout for us. Skip’s sister has lost well over 200 pounds. I would not have recognized her at all. She looks amazing. 

Barb and Tim!

We had leftovers for dinner on Friday evening. We sat around the campfire and enjoyed the quiet. We went to bed relatively early, which is the way we roll when camping. 

Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast at Al Capone’s. The food was amazing! I had Mexican lasagna. It was corn tortillas with egg, ham and cheese in between. We then headed back to the RV park and played cards most of the morning. I made the kids Nutella sandwiches for lunch and Stuart and I just snacked. We decided to go and visit the bar one last time and hoped to run into Tim and Barb on the beach. Manuela came by and we purchased a couple of wreaths and some other things for Christmas gifts. We also bought some silver from Juan. Stuart went and got the dogs and the kids but took them back to the RV after a bit. Stuart opted to take a nap while the kids and I went to the beach to hang out with Tim, Barb, and their friends. Jack and Millie played with Barb’s grandsons who are 4 and 5 years old. It was so cute! Stuart finally came done after an hour or so. We called it a day just as the sun was setting. I took a shower in the bathhouses because I needed to wash my hair and the RV shower doesn’t have enough water pressure. We then made spaghetti bolognese for dinner. We also had roasted vegetables, which were delightful. We discovered that the Parmesan cheese was actually moldy, but that was after Millie had sprinkled it on her pasta. We chose to just say it was all gone and we threw it away. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right? We had an early night as we were going to pull out of the RV park as soon as we could the next morning. It was an excellent 4 days. 

October

We began October in Mexico and continued the fun for a few more days into the month. Sunday was pretty relaxed as a lot of the other RVs and trailers in the park began to pull away. 

We had told the kids we would ride the banana boat with them before we left. Well, Sunday was the day. In fact, there were eight of us on the banana boat. It was so much fun, but I knew my muscles would suffer for days to come. The kids thought it was fun, though. 

We then went down to the bar for a drink. The rest of the day was a lazy on the beach, which is how it should be. For dinner we made pulled pork sandwiches with cole slaw and beans. The evening was full of music and good company. 

Monday we woke up and went straight to the beach. It was another day in paradise. We decided to head to Manny’s before heading back to our original site. Manny’s is a bar down the beach that serves breakfast. I had avocado with a baked egg, melted cheese and bacon. It was maybe the best thing I’ve ever eaten for breakfast. We then waited until their little shop opened and bought a swim cover up and Stuart got a Manny’s tank top, the required ware at the beach.

Yummy!

Nothing wrong with breakfast on the beach, is there?

When we got back to our beach set up, the kids went on the banana boat and then we decided to rent jet skis. Stuart and Jack were on one jet ski and Eli and Millie were on the other one. They had so much fun. 

Millie was hanging on for dear life. 

And they’re off. 

I went up and made sandwiches for my crew and then came back down to the beach. We then talked politics and we decided (Stuart and myself) that we needed to head to the bar. We don’t have the same views and when someone who can’t even vote pipes in with an opinion, it doesn’t set well with me. We tell our kids they can have their opinion and express them to us, but until they are old enough to vote they need to refrain from getting into a conversation with any other adult about sensitive subjects. 

Millie and Jack joined us for slushies after Millie had her hair braided on the beach. 

It wasn’t exactly what she wanted, but it looked cute. 

Around 5 pm we had to face the reality that we were taking down our entire set-up for good. We would be heading home the following morning. We started packing things up and putting them in our RV. We had chili for dinner and then it started raining. It didn’t rain long, but clouds had been around us all day. Some of us came back out and sat in our ‘patios’. 

We were up around 6 am on Tuesday morning to head back to Queen Creek. Ate at Burger King. Got home and commenced to unloaded the RV, Stuart sprayed everything off and by about 4:30 pm, the RV was ready to return to storage. We left it on the drive as we didn’t want to roll up the canopy, thinking it might still be a bit damp. My parents and Russ came for leftover pulled pork sandwiches and then left around 7 pm. The kids showered and were ready for bed. The washing machine and dryer was for sure getting a workout. That is the job that takes a lot longer than any other. 

Stuart went to bed just before 10 pm. When he did, I started to have a cramping stomach and I hit the bathroom about every 5 minutes for nearly 4 hours. It was clear that I had an issue. I threw up twice just after 2 am. I had decided that I either had the Delta Variant, the common Flu or food poisoning. I decided to text Stuart around 3 am to tell him to try to keep the kids away from me once they were awake the following morning. I also texted Sue to let her know I wouldn’t be walking because of this new illness. 

We did a Covid rapid test as I was fearful maybe I had caught Covid again, but it came up negative. So then I wondered whether I had the common flu, or whether I had food poisoning. We decided we would chalk it up to food poisoning. After everybody was up and around on Wednesday morning do it and I went to get our Covid master shot and our flu shots. I knew this was possibly bring on another set of ill feelings. However, I also knew that we were continuing to do our part to help contain this virus.

Once we were home my mom came over to visit for a bit. I told her I wasn’t feeling well and she didn’t stay very long. The rest of the day I virtually laid around and did nothing. The kids were playing upstairs and we kind of settled in for the night.

My niece had come into town on Wednesday, so on Thursday when I got up I felt a little bit better and we decided to take the kids to lunch and invite my whole family. I had taken Millie for her wellness check up, possibly a few months late, and also got her her flu shot. After we had lunch we went shopping for my nieces new baby girl. She will be born in February. We are so excited!

Once I was home, Stuart and I went to look at a Jeep Liberty as a tow vehicle behind our RV. After a little bit of discussion and a little bit of negotiating, we decided we would buy it. So now we own three cars, an RV, two children, and to unruly dogs. We all settled in for the evening. At about 1 am I was watching television and the whole house was asleep, so I went up to bed. At 2:15 am I heard Millie crying and I went into her room. She had a bit of a fever, and said she wasn’t feeling well. So I gave her some Tylenol and lay down with her. She set up shortly after that and said, ‘Mom, I’m going to throw up.’ And she proceeded to throw up. We chalked this up to the flu vaccine. After thinking about it we realized that this was the first flu vaccine Millie had ever had. In the Middle East flu is not very common so they don’t necessarily encourage the vaccine. Last year at her wellness visit it was August, so the vaccine was not being given at that time. By October we all contracted Covid and quite frankly just forgot to check into getting the vaccine for the regular flu for the kids. So after she had thrown up, I woke Stuart up to sit with her in the bathroom while I changed her bedsheets. She had gotten it on her bedskirt as well, so I had to strip everything. Then I lay down with her for the rest of the evening. I got up at about 5 am and went downstairs.

Once Millie was awake, she came downstairs and laid on the sofa. She still felt rather warm, so I went upstairs to get the thermometer to take her temperature again. While I was upstairs, Stuart yelled out that she had thrown up again. So I came downstairs, called the pediatrician and ask if this was normal. The pediatrician called me back and said yes this was pretty common and not to worry about it too much and just to make sure that she got plenty of fluids.

Our initial plan had to change because of the sick cherub. Jack had gone to the Arizona Grand for a birthday party. We were going to go to lunch and then meet up with Liz for a chat and to borrow her carpet spot cleaner. Seems Millie had eaten some goldfish prior to the barfing episode, which gave us another need for the carpet cleaner. Instead, I went to see Liz on my own and then made a grocery run. When I got home I unloaded the groceries and had a rest. Millie had slept for over two hours and really wasn’t feeling much better. Stuart then started saying he wasn’t feeling terrible well either. I was so hopeful that the illness was due to the vaccines we had. 

We spent the evening sitting around and watching television. Russ and Morgan came down for a bit after I texted them this picture with the message ‘I have candy’. 

We had a bit of a chat with them. When they went home, Millie and I went to take a shower. She opted to not wear any pajamas as she still was a bit warm. Millie fell asleep on the sofa. I took her upstairs as Stuart was going up for a shower and going to bed. I waited downstairs for Jack to come home. After his waterpark day of fun, he went to a football game in Mesa. I had texted him to tell him to message me on his way home. He clearly only read the first sentence of my message which said ‘Hope you had fun’. I tracked him as he was coming home and it seemed the father wasn’t bringing him to our house. So I messaged him again and asked him if the father was bringing him home. He said ‘No, because dad hasn’t answered me with our address.’ In fairness to him, they don’t have addresses in the UAE and we have only been in our house for a year. Oh, wait, he should still know. Once he was home I grilled him on reading his messages completely and knowing his address. It never ends. He showered and went to bed. I put a load of laundry on and went back downstairs to watch television for a bit. 

Saturday morning Jack had a volleyball tournament and Millie was to go to gymnastics. Although Millie and Stuart felt better, they both decided no gymnastics and they would come to the volleyball courts right when the first match started. Millie said she thought that flipping upside down would make her throw up. Makes sense. Jack’s team won their first match in 2 sets. Their second match they lost, but then won their next two matches. 

They ended the tournament well and we got home just before 5 o’clock. We then just relaxed for most of the rest of the evening. We were invited to my mom and dad’s for dinner but I knew Jack wouldn’t want what was being cooked so we decided to stay home. 

Sunday morning Stuart and I got up and went to do some shopping. In the afternoon Jack had his workout. After Jack’s work out, Uncle Russ kind of chewed Jack out because he felt like Jack was just being a little bit lackadaisical in his approach to basketball. Russ told him that he was very talented, but that his lack of drive was wasting his talent. We got home from the work out and Jack went outside and shot baskets for quite some time. He loves the sport. Russ was really just trying to make sure that Jack was fulfilling his potential. Jack is a very talented boy, but he can be very, very lazy. He made a plan with Russ to shoot on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Russ was happy to come down and help him.

Monday I went to work for teacher workday. I did relatively nothing. I did call and yell at Expedia, yet again. There was still no resolution to my phone call with them. We’ve had a credit with them since March 2020 which we have not been able to use. Now they’re saying it doesn’t exist. It’s maddening, as we are trying to book our tickets to go to England for Christmas. While I was at school, Stuart picked up our new tow vehicle. He then went to get it inspected. It passed! So now we are a family of three cars.

Monday afternoon Stuart took Millie to gymnastics. When Stuart got home, we took Jack to Gavin’s house where he was taken to volleyball. Stuart and I then decided to go out and have a bite to eat. After we picked Millie up from gymnastics, we came home and then Stuart went back out and picked up Jack, Owen, and Gavin from volleyball.

Tuesday morning I got the kids up and we headed out to school. Stuart had a zoom meeting from home, and then he left to go to Gallup for the rest of the week. After school I picked the kids up and we came home. Jack ran the dogs on his bike. We have a new contraption that hooks them to the back of his bicycle and it helps exercise the dogs. I did some training with them. Then Russ and Pop came over to shoot baskets with Jack.

Wednesday morning I got up and walked with Sue. It was super cold! But we had a really nice conversation and were able to catch up a little bit. It seems like we haven’t walked with each other in forever. When I got home Jack had forgotten to set his alarm. So I had to quickly wake Jack and Millie up. Millie hopped right out of bed and started to get dressed. I went to take a shower, and the kids actually took care of themselves. So I know they can manage themselves in the morning, it’s just a matter of them choosing to do so or not.

School was relatively uneventful. I did find out that I am for sure getting another student. He has not attended school for one full year. So this should be quite interesting. After school I went to get Millie and delivered her to gymnastics. I then decided to go to the grocery store because I offered to make dinner on Thursday evening for the entire family. Jack was at basketball tryouts with Pop and Russ. Pop dropped Jack off after basketball tryouts. Russ messaged me to let me know that Jack played harder than he had ever seen him play before. It was very exciting, because Jack had just texted me the exact same thing. He was very pleased with his performance on Wednesday at tryouts.

I was the Uber driver for the volleyball boys on Wednesday evening. I took them to volleyball, and then went to have a bite to eat before picking Millie up from gymnastics. Jack returned just after 9:30 pm. He showered and then he went to bed just before I did. 

Thursday Millie had difficulty getting up. She’s super combative most mornings, and this day was no exception. It was another example of leaving the house with her still in the house. Once she got in the car she realized she didn’t have a jacket and she also hadn’t made her lunch. I am hoping that one day she learns that if she won’t get up in a reasonable fashion she won’t be able to have all the things that she wants before she leaves the house.

Grammie had taken Jack to the orthodontist and then returned him to school for the second day of tryouts. I picked Millie up after school and we headed home to make bagged tacos. My cousin, Jeff, Aunt Sue, Grammie, Pop and Uncle Russ came down. Russ did some training with Jack before we ate. We had a nice evening. My cousin is a total ratchet jaw. You can’t get a word in edgewise. He and his son were in town from Missouri for a baseball tournament. 

Friday was a bit of a boring day for me at school. I prepared materials for our new student as well as materials for the observation I would have on the following Monday. I rushed out of school to collect Millie and take her to Casteel High School. She was going to perform a Pom Pon routine for the pre-game of the football homecoming game that evening. When I dropped her off, I saw Russ as he was helping Pop with basketball tryouts for the 7th graders. I then messaged Jack to tell him I was at the school and he could ride home with me. He failed to let Pop know, so he ran back in the gym to do so. 

She’s right in the middle of the picture. She looks ready, right? Grammie, Pop, Jack, Sue and Tim Tharalson and myself were there to cheer her on. She had so much fun. We left after the half time entertainment. Jack stayed and I met Mary Daniels at the Burger King to collect him after the game. I had been home to see Stuart, but Jack hadn’t. Jack said his hello then took a shower and went to bed. Stuart and I followed shortly. 

Saturday morning we were up and Stuart took Millie to gymnastics. I went with Jennifer for breakfast and then we went shopping for the rest of her wedding outfit. We had ordered an outfit online that wasn’t quite right. So she needed a top to go with the pants. We found the perfect top the first place we went. It was a successful trip for sure. I then made a run to the Dollar Tree before picking Millie up from gymnastics. 

Grammi and Pop picked Millie and Jack up shortly after 1 pm to go watch my cousin’s son play baseball. Millie was in no mood for it and threw an absolute fit. I love when she does this, not! It was epic. After the kids were gone, Stuart and I went to the Bacon Racin’ Derby at the Farm Bureau. Liz had invited us. I decided I wanted a pet pig. 

Isn’t he cute! We sent this picture to Jack and Millie. They decided they wanted one as well. We then, after the pig races and holding the pig, had pulled pork for dinner. Seems cruel, I suppose. We picked the kids up from Grammie and Pop’s and came home. They watched television while Stuart and I sat on our driveway with our neighbors and finally got to know them better. We had such a good time. We were out there until nearly midnight. 

Sunday morning we got up and did a Costco run. We bought Jack’s Christmas present, so that was a success. We went in for laundry detergent. Well, that is always the plan, to just get the item we need, but we never come out of that place for under $200. Maybe one day we will. 

Stuart then took Jack to his training, but the gym wasn’t open, which frustrated Russ for sure. Once Stuart got back to the house, he packed up and left for Gallup. It isn’t any easier than the first time he left. But Sue tells me it should always feel that way, otherwise maybe something isn’t right. So, I will resign myself to not ever getting used to it. I do think that’s a good sign. 

Russ came over for a chat and when he left the kids showered. We watched what Millie wanted to watch. Jack actually likes the shows she watches as well, so everyone was happy. Both kids went to bed just fine and I actually went to bed when Jack went to bed. I think I’m a bit scared downstairs knowing Stuart is not home. 

Monday morning everyone got up with little fuss. Millie had gymnastics and Jack had his first basketball practice with Pop as his coach. I picked him up to take him home to get a bite to eat. Then I took him to Vicki’s to wait until he was picked up for volleyball. I headed back to Casteel for the parent basketball meeting. I then went to pick Millie up from gymnastics. She and I went home for a shower and then headed back out to collect the volleyball boys. Millie fell asleep on the way home. Jack showered when we got home and we all went to bed. 

Tuesday morning we were up and out as usual. After practice Jack went to Kyle’s to celebrate Kyle’s birthday. They hung out for a while. Millie and I went home to take care of the dogs. We then went over to Todd and Mary’s for a chat and to eventually make Jack come home with us. 

Wednesday I went to walk with Sue. I swear I probably owe her some money for the therapy sessions she provides for me most Wednesday mornings. I’m so glad to have her lending ear and solid advice. It’s so awesome to have someone who has ‘been there’ before, in so many aspects of life. 

My new little guy at school is amazing so far. He is loving school and is a little sponge. School is so much easier this quarter. I actually don’t mind going to work every day. After school I took Millie to gymnastics and then went to exchange her jammies at Costco. I also sat in an insane line for gas, which is back to an outrageous price. I went home and Jack came home shortly after I did. He did some homework and then I took him to Gavin’s for volleyball. I headed to do some shopping and then pick up Millie. Jack got sick at volleyball. He was brought home early. He showered and went to bed. He had told me that one of the basketball players had hit him at practice. I was sure it was horsing around as most of the kids that play sports are pretty solid kids. 

Jack came into my room at 5 am because he couldn’t go back to sleep. When we finally got up Thursday, I took Jack to his med check so we could refill his medication. He ended up not going to school and I stayed home with him. He was complaining about a headache, but didn’t have a fever. Having a day off was probably good for both of us. The day was pretty boring. Jack just laid on the sofa and watched television. Stuart called me mid morning to let me know he had his Friday training canceled and would be home that afternoon. I picked Millie up after school and surprised her when we got home and Stuart was there. Liz came over to bring our curtains back so my mom could start working on our RV curtains using our old living room curtains. 

Friday at school I was informed that one of my students was put into quarantine. He would not return until November 1. Another student had a huge behavior at the end of the day. My new guy had run out of the room the day before. When I asked him why he said he was sad that I wasn’t at school. So sweet, but keep your butt in the classroom. After school I went to Susan’s to get ready for Jennifer’s daughter’s wedding. Grace used to babysit Jack and Millie years back. The Bunco Babes went to the Ice House for the ceremony and reception. I drove and then we parked and had to keep putting quarters in the parking meter until 10 pm. It was odd, to say the least. 

Saturday morning Stuart took Millie to gymnastics and I took Jack to his volleyball tournament. Stuart joined us with breakfast burritos. Jack’s team had moved up to the higher division again this tournament. They seem to just keep moving back and forth between the middle group and the high group. They lost all of their matches, but they did look better as a team for sure. Stuart went to get Millie and Jack and I came home after his team reffed at 2 pm. We took the kids to Grammie and Pop’s around 5:30 pm. Apparently they played games and watched some basketball. Grammie brought them back to our house to shower and go to bed. Stuart and I went to John and Jenni’s for a karaoke evening. Jenni had a taco bar and key lime pie. We had a great time for sure.  

We got up Sunday morning and after the beds were stripped we headed to see the latest Bond film. Jack didn’t go because he doesn’t like Bond, but Millie does. While we were gone, I asked Jack to put our sheets from the dryer on our bed, take his and Millie’s sheets out of the washer and put into the dryer, then vacuum the carpets. He did that and more! He made all three beds after the sheets were dry and put the dishes that were in the sink, in the dishwasher. My heart burst with pride. My love language is definitely acts of service and his acts of services certainly filled my love tank for that day. 

Monday morning I had an epiphany that I know I no longer want to be in education. So Millie suggested that maybe after I retire in two years I go back to writing books. What a genius! Jack had his first basketball game and they got beat by about 20 points. He was disappointed, but he was disgusted with the behavior of one of the players on the other team. The kid was amazing, but super cocky and was allowed to be. At the beginning of the game he had an open lay-up and took it under his legs. And then at the end of the game, his team being up by 20+ points, he shot a nearly half court shot and made it. It was a dagger to the Colts’ hearts. It was totally classless and unsportsmanlike, as I know that phrase to be. I told Jack that they would likely not run into a player like him again. He was amazing, but his behavior created a certain animosity against him. It’s too bad he couldn’t have been a bit more humble. I was able to sign Jack out and took him to Vicki’s for his ride to volleyball. I went home and let the dogs out for a bit. I fed them, and then headed back to gymnastics to pick Millie up. When I had dropped her off I told her we would go to Chilis after the gym and then go get the boys. She was thrilled. We had dinner and then did the usual and ran through McDonald’s to get the boys fries and a drink. 

Tuesday we went to school. When I picked Millie up we headed home and waited for Jack to get home. Shortly after he was home, Morgan showed up from Yuma. She was coming to get Russ to take him to Yuma. She and her husband were moving to Washington state on Thursday.  We went to Creekside Taco for dinner. Grammie and Pop paid!

Wednesday morning I took Jack to school to speak with his English teacher. We discussed that Jack needed to be more attentive with his assignments. His teacher told him he need to make sure that he asked when he didn’t understand something. At the end of our time kids were gathering in the hallway. As we walked out of the classroom, I told Jack goodbye. He said, ‘Bye, Ms. Pennell.’ At first I didn’t get it, and then it dawned on me that he didn’t want anyone to know I was his mother. So he decided to use my maiden name to address me. He’s a clever boy for sure. 

My day at school was grewt. My new little one is just rolling through the curriculum. I picked Millie up after school and took her to gymnastics. I came home and fed the dogs and then Jack showed up from basketball practice. He proclaimed that he had no homework. I told him he still needed to go upstairs and possibly read his independent reading book. When we got in the car to go to volleyball, I asked him about an assignment that I was messaged about. Jack claimed he didn’t know how to find the scores to this assignment. Gavin got in the car from Vicki and Ryan’s house and showed him how to do the scores. Then when Owen and Hayden got in the car, Owen, Gavin and Jack all started to work on this assignment. I think it was because I’d berated Jack and embarrassed him in front of his friends. All three boys started re-taking these tests. Their teacher had told them that when they did these reading assignments they could take as many tests as they liked and then she would average the top three scores. So naturally all three of them settled for 80% and below.  When I read Jack the riot act, they all decided maybe they should do better on the tests as well. All three of them on the way to volleyball actually got three scores that were better than 80%. Go figure!

Wednesday was pajama day at gymnastics. 

Thursday Millie wouldn’t get out of bed. I ended up leaving her at home and calling Grammie and Pop to take her to school. When I got to school, my new little guy was sent home because he had a fever. He was mad he had to go home. Poor boy. I picked up Millie from school and one of the students at her school asked if I was her grandmother.the hits kept coming. We then headed to Jack’s basketball game. They won by 40 points. Jack didn’t make all of his shots but he executed plays much better than he had on Monday. He was a bit down, but rebounded once we talked about what he did well. After the game we came home and the kids showered, ate dinner and we all settled in for the night. 

Friday I was absolutely lazy at school. I put in grades and tried to stay busy. I had no children in my class except for the first hour. The day dragged on a bit. After school I picked Millie up and we went home. Stuart arrived just as I was leaving to pick Jack up from basketball practice. He had a party to go to, but was terribly disrespectful of my time by staying in the gym about ten minutes after everyone else, playing one on one with one of his buddies. It really aggravated me as Millie had to get ready for Trunk or Treat in our neighborhood. His school saga continues as well, but I’ve washed my hands of it at this point. I want good grades for him more than he does. 

We went with our neighbors to the park for the trunk or treat event. Millie dressed as Harley Quinn. I was glad she was going to be able to wear her costume more than once. There was a chili contest and then the kids walked around and got candy from the people who were sitting and camping chairs. When we returned all I wanted the kids to get in the shower and lay on the sofa for the evening. Millie did not cooperate and had an epic meltdown, resulting in her not going to bed until about 10 o’clock. Meanwhile Stuart had picked Jack up from his party, and we had decided to sit on our driveway with our neighbors. We have decided these neighbors are going to be friends. 

Saturday morning we all headed out of the house and dropped Millie at gymnastics. Then Jack, Stuart, and myself went to breakfast. Stuart spoke to Jack about his lack of discipline with his schoolwork. Stuart is much calmer than I am. I’m sure we will get through seventh grade, but I’m not sure what that will look like. After breakfast, we dropped my car at the dealer‘s to get a parts replaced. It was recalled over a year ago. However, they never had the part when I called over the past year.

We then headed to get the RV from the storage so that my mom can measure for curtains. Once we were home, we decided to go to the grocery store and pick up some prescriptions. While we were at the store I got a call from Millie telling me she didn’t feel well. She said her coach suggested that she come home. So we checked out at the grocery store and went and collected Millie. She didn’t have a fever but she didn’t look well at all. Once we were home, she laid on the sofa. I was outside directing Jack to the dog poop he had missed the first time. Millie came outside crying. She said she felt very similarly to the day she got sick after her flu shot. I asked her if she thought she was going to throw up. She said yes. So I just kept her outside and she did throw up in the rocks. Poor dear, she just wasn’t well. A little bit after Millie threw up, my mom showed up to measure curtains. She was going to do the sewing here but then decided she would do it at her house. So after she measured, she took the material we had and went back to her house. Stuart then took the RV back to storage, with our tow vehicle hooked up to it. It was a good way to practice driving with the tow vehicle. Because he took the tow vehicle, I didn’t have to follow him to storage.

We ended up going to pick my car up just before 5 pm. When we got home, we told the kids we were going to go out for dinner. We stopped at Walmart to pick up a battery for my car because the dealer had told me it was only working at about 50%. We had dinner at Uncle Bears. We came home and decided to watch Ghostbusters. We had seen a preview for the new Ghostbusters when we went to the cinema last weekend. Millie fell asleep on the sofa and I ended up taking her to her bed just before 9 o’clock. The rest of the evening was pretty chilled. Another month in the books.

September

Sunday I got up and started laundry. I washed all the beds and the towels, as I do every week. Stuart got ready to start his week in Gallup. He ended up leaving around 3:30 PM in order to avoid some road closures. I had gone to lunch with a guy who was an Athletic Director in Florence at the same time that I was. His name is Mike Ross, and he is currently working for a school in Phoenix. We had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. His wife used to sell Thirty-One bags and Stuart wanted one for his new job. It gave us an excuse to get together. It was great to catch up with him. 

Once Stuart was gone, the kids and I just sat around and watched television. Millie decided she wanted to watch the movie The Parent Trap, with Lindsay Lohan. About halfway through the movie, she got bored and wanted to stop. So she went upstairs and played for a bit. When she came back downstairs we finish the movie, and then she had macaroni and cheese for dinner. Our Sunday evenings are often very uneventful. 

Monday morning I knew my day was going to be very similar to days before. I had gotten a message from my special student’s mother that said he was not able to start any kind of medication because the doctor said he had to go through a battery of tests prior to getting a prescription. I knew this was going to be the case, but I did have hopes that maybe she had strings she could pull that I didn’t know about. So as you can guess, Monday had lots of the very same behaviors as there have been the last several weeks. It’s exhausting, and I get frustrated, and I believe that is because I care so much.

At the end of the school day, we had our professional learning community meeting, and then I headed to get Millie to take her to gymnastics. I then went to Sossaman Middle School to watch Jack play in a football game. They didn’t play well and got beat. Jack complained about how aggressive the players were. However, he did say it reminded him of one of his rugby games when we lived in the UAE. He did, in fact, get punched in the face. He swears it was intentional, but I’m thinking it was incidental contact. 

He does look tough, though. 

We left the football game, ran home to let the dogs out to pee, before piling back in the car to go pick up Gavin and Owen to take them to volleyball practice. I had made pbjs for Jack to eat on the way. He doesn’t like to eat before practice, but he will make the exception with pbjs. They must be lighter on his stomach. I’m glad he will at least eat something. 

After dropping the boys at the gym, I headed back to get Millie. I had stopped to get her some nuggets as I assumed she would be hungry. Our Mondays and Wednesdays are super busy for the kids and for their Uber driver, which is me. I’d rather them be busy than bored. Bored kids find the kind of fun sometimes that you don’t want them to find. So I’ll keep running them all over the place, thank you!

Tuesday at school it was determined that my special student would be evaluated. Legally, they have 60 days to get this completed, but I hoped it would be much earlier. His behavior did not disappoint again on Tuesday. We had a staff meeting after school so I picked up Millie a bit later than was planned. Jack ended up going home with Kyle, doing his homework there and then eating with them. Todd brought him home later, thank goodness. Millie played out in the rain and worked on a school project. We chilled for the evening. It’s always nice having nothing to do. I like Tuesdays and Thursdays best. 

Wednesday morning I was supposed to get up and walk with Sue, but we realized that it might be raining. So we postponed it until Thursday morning. It turns out that the rain stayed away. I got to school at about 730. Ms. Vita, my paraprofessional, was there and my old teammate, Shelby, came into my room. We had a little gossip session, which was fun. I went out and got my students from the buses. My one student was relatively well behaved for the morning, but then it all kicked off for the afternoon. Welcome to my world!

After school, I went down to collect Millie and take her to gymnastics. I then went to Walgreens to pick up pictures for a project that she was doing. I then traveled down to Casteel to pick Jack up from football practice. I brought him home and made him some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, folded some laundry, packed our bags for Page, Arizona, and then took him, Gavin and Owen to volleyball practice. 

I do love an Arizona sunset. Don’t ask how I got this picture. 

I then drove back to pick Millie up. When we got home I flopped on the sofa. The one good thing I can say about having to drive my children all over the city is it will cause my weeks to go quickly, which will be a bonus, especially this school year. 

Thursday my student was being observed. He put on quite the show. It was very trying for sure. After school, I picked up the kids and we took the dogs to the pet hotel. They were maniacs. It really upset Millie. However, I did get the name of a trainer who is coming to the house at the end of this month. We got home and Jack swept the pool while I emptied the trash and recycling. I finished laundry and packing for the weekend. The kids showered, ate and went to bed. It was weird not having the dogs there. 

Friday we were up and out at our normal time. The day was much of the same. This day all three boys flipped out. Why did I take this job? I picked the kids up as soon as I could. We drove to Ken and Maytee’s and were on our way. There was a huge accident on I17 which delayed us for over an hour. By the time we got to Page it was nearly midnight. We stayed up and talked for a while and then went to bed.

Saturday morning we are all up around 7:30 am. We had breakfast and then started our day roaming around Page. We tried to find something to do. However, since the pandemic started, Page has pretty much been shut down. We ended up seeing Glenn’s Dam, Lake Powell, and then we drove out to see if we could find anything else to do. We decided to have an early lunch at a Mexican restaurant. After lunch, we headed to our tour of Antelope Canyon. It was magnificent. 

It is really gorgeous!

We came back to the house for the afternoon. We had all had a late night so decided to chill for the rest of the day. We had dinner of steak, veggie kebabs, potatoes and salad, made by the chef, Stuart. It was delightful. We were all in bed by 10 pm. 

Sunday morning we got up early and went to Horseshoe Bend. I’m so glad we did, as it was much hotter than we all had expected. I can’t believe we had never been to this part of our state before. 

I marvel at the majestic scenery on this earth. 

The sun was in our eyes. We had to count to three and all open our eyes at the same time for the picture. 

This was a scary picture to take. There are few rails for safety. 

We went back to the house for breakfast and then all but Gigi and Maytee ventured out to find a place to swim. The first place we went was a bust, as was the Arizona side of Glen Canyon. But then we ventured into Utah and found the Lone Rock swimming area. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever done, but it was an adventure. Lake Powell is so low at the moment. It’s both sad and scary. We stayed for about an hour or so. The water was so low that we were walking in mud most of the time while in the water. 

We got back to the house around 2 pm. We all took showers and had a snack. We decided to play Heads Up, a game similar to catch phrase, but it is an app on my phone. We had a dinner of tacos and then the kids did their own thing. Stuart and I played rummy and then we all went to bed. 

Monday morning we were up and getting things packed up to go back home. We left around 9 am and Stuart stayed for another couple of hours as he had a Zoom meeting at 10 am. He was heading back to Gallup for the week. I was genuinely sad to leave him. I’m so happy he has this new job and he loves it, but it’s not always going to be easy not having him at home. I want to make sure we make the most of our days together, that’s for sure. Our drive home wasn’t as long as our drive there. It took us about 5 and a half hours to get home, which was much better than the 7 hours on the drive there. 

Once the kids and I were home, we unpacked the car and then headed to get the dogs. I decided to get one dog at a time, which proved to be much more sensible. We got home and settled in for the evening. Because there was a washer and dryer at the Airbnb we stayed in over the weekend, I had washed all our clothes and didn’t have that to deal with once we were home. 

I slept horribly on Monday night. My shoulder was killing me, so I could never get comfortable. When I woke up I wasn’t rested at all, but the show must go on I guess. I got to school and the student in question was behaving as he has for weeks. After school, Jack had a football game. Russ met us at the school to watch Jack play. They won, but Jack didn’t play a ton so he was in a bit of a mood. After the game we went to get food at Panda Express and took it back to our house. Russ stayed for a while, but left when Millie kicked off. She has such great timing, and sadly, I’m not sure Russ has the tolerance he once had. Oh well. 

Wednesday my student was slotted to do his testing. He went with his homeschool’s psychologist, but quickly came back because he refused to test. Sadly, this was also data for us, just not what we needed. At the end of the day he was told he would be suspended for three days for his repeated threats of killing people. It just isn’t right. However, having three days of peace seemed good to me. After school, I picked Millie up from school and took her to gymnastics.  I then collected Jack from football practice. We went home and Jack ate something before going to volleyball practice. I went back home after dropping Jack at Vicki’s and then picked up Millie before heading to pick up the boys from volleyball. I missed a text from Owen’s mom saying she would pick the kids up. So I didn’t  really need to go. 

Thursday school was such a treat without my special student. I did have another student kick off, but at least he is one who is making progress and I can deal with that kind of behavior. After school I picked the kids up and we just chilled at home. Jack had a referee clinic and when he got home we watched Grease! I’ve decided the kids need to start watching the classics of my era. They loved it! 

Friday school was relaxing again. I ended up going out to some of our more populated classrooms. It was really rewarding. I got to work with individuals who needed help. I picked Millie up after school and we headed home. I showered and got ready for my evening with Liz at the Desert Botanical Gardens. Jack had gone home with Kyle and was going to the Casteel football game with him. Stuart got home just before 5 pm and then he and Millie went to the game as well. 

It was super hot at the Desert Botanical Garden. We ended up cutting our evening short and eating dinner at the Thirsty Lion at Tempe Marketplace. We had a great time for sure. 

Saturday morning Stuart and I got up and took Millie to gymnastics. We then took the RV to have the tires and suspension serviced. We decided to go to breakfast and then got home in time to take Jack to a birthday party at one of his friend’s house. His friend Carter lives in a 9000 plus square foot house in an exclusive neighborhood. It was an amazing place for sure. They have a lake behind their house where there is enough space to water ski. How cool is that? Shortly after we dropped Jack at his party, we picked Millie up from gymnastics and then dropped her at the house before going to lunch. Millie didn’t want to go so we left her at home. We picked her up before we went to get Jack from his party, mainly so she could see this awesome house. We then went to watch a football game with Russ at Grammie and Pop’s house. We left at halftime and then Russ came to our house to eat pizza muffins. One of our mittens for the over must have had a hole in it because I burned my finger while getting the pizza muffins out of the over. I hate when I do stuff like that. It blistered up right away. 

Sunday we ran errands. We had an electrician come and install an outlet for our RV to hook up when we have it at the house. We needed a stronger voltage outlet as not to blow a fuse every time we plugged the RV into an outlet . Stuart took Jack to workout with Russ, while I stayed home and did a whole lot of nothing. Jack then went to Kyle and Andrew’s neighborhood for a while. Alena, Andrew’s mom, said she would bring Jack home later. In the meantime, Stuart left for Gallup later in the afternoon. I cried again. I’ll get used to him leaving each week……eventually. 

Millie and I decided to watch the new Cinderella. It was really cute!  Jack came home in the middle of our movie and took a shower. Alena had fed him, so that was off my plate. I went to bed when Jack did, which is super early for me. I seem to go to bed earlier when Stuart is out of town. 

Monday was our last day at school with our little friend gone. He would return on Tuesday. We had an excellent day. The other two boys had great days out in their general education classrooms. Okay, one of them may have dropped an ‘F’ bomb, but he recovered. All was not lost. 

Monday after school I went to take Millie to gymnastics. I then headed to Santan Junior High for the first and, sadly, last football game of the season. Jack played well and played a lot. In the first quarter he intercepted a pass and ran it back for the team’s only touchdown. He rolled his ankle in the third quarter and went off for a bit. He did return, but the team just couldn’t recover. When the game was over we took Kyle and Todd home. On our way to get the boys for volleyball, Jack was a bit teary. He just gets so frustrated that the rest of his team doesn’t want to win as badly as he does. He just doesn’t feel they have the intensity they need. In actuality, I think sometimes his intensity is a bit too much. The boy is so competitive. He wants to be the last man on the field. 

I dropped the boys at volleyball and came back to collect Millie from gymnastics. I rearranged my driving for this week so I could meet up with some friends on Wednesday evening. So Millie and I went for dinner and then picked the boys up at 9 pm. It was a late night for both kids. And the dogs had been in their kennels for a lot of hours. I felt so horrible. Surprisingly enough, neither of them peed or pooped in their crate. I was super surprised. 

Our dinner ended this night with a chocolate induced coma! This girl couldn’t finish her chicken strips, but somehow she managed to eat nearly all of this. Go figure!

Tuesday my little guy came back to school and he did not disappoint. He had clearly noticed internalized his lesson, and proceeded to behave the same way he has for most of the first quarter. Tuesday after school I picked the kids up and we went to dinner with Tim and Sue to celebrate Jack’s birthday because Sue was leaving town to go see her brothers in Wisconsin. Hannah also joined us which was a nice little treat. They got to meet the gal who helps them be kitted out with Nike gear. It was a great evening.  We went to Kona Grill and had sushi and salad and Jack got a ginormous piece of carrot cake for his birthday. He also got some really cool Nike tennis shoes from Tim and Sue. 

He was a bit embarrassed that we sang to him. He’s a lot like Stuart in that respect. 

Wednesday was another busy day.  My little guy at school continued to behave poorly, as is his normal. After school, I picked up Millie and took her to gymnastics. I picked Jack up from Kyle’s as he has been riding the bus home with Kyle since football was over. We went home and let the dogs go out to pee, fed them and fed Jack.  Then I took him to Vicki and Ryan’s so he could be picked up from volleyball. I then went to meet up with Lauren and Heather and we had some appetizers and a drink. Those ladies make me laugh and are people who share my pain. I then returned to pick Millie up from gymnastics. We went home and we both showered. Millie ate something and then went to bed. Jack showed up around 9:30 pm, showered, ate something and then went to bed. 

Thursday school was normal, or at least my new normal.  One of my other students kicked off and lost the privilege of going out into the regular classroom for Friday. After school, the special-needs bus at our school could not get one of the students clipped into his booster seat.  The bus driver said that he would not allow the students to ride the bus home so I removed the child from the bus. I’m not sure why his teacher hadn’t stayed until the bus pulled away, but I was the only person to help.  On our way back into the school the student bit my arm and drew blood. So I  had to file a Workmen’s Comp. form and I called the 1-888 number and they required me to go get a tetanus shot and two antibiotic prescriptions. It was crazy! The bummer of all that is I was having the bunco girls over. I didn’t let this incident alter my plans. I simply put dishes into the oven to cook as asked Millie to watch them. One of the gals showed up a little bit later and helped get everything out of the oven. We ended up having a really lovely evening.  It was a little bit interrupted because of the human bite that I got on my wrist, but it all ended well. It was decided that Jennifer and I needed to start a podcast and discuss our crazy encounters. 

On Friday at school everything was a little bit better.  I decided that I was just playing a game with Mr Pokémon, and it was easier to just let him do what he wanted to do instead of fighting him and getting hit or kicked all day. So as you can guess he had a great day. I left school as quickly as I could and collected both kids. Stuart arrived home shortly after the kids and I did. So I made Mexican pizzas and we had a relatively quiet evening. 

Saturday morning we got up and I took Millie to gymnastics while Stuart went to get our RV because it had been serviced and had been in the garage all week. Prior to that I took Jack down to Vicki and Ryan’s because he had a volleyball tournament and needed to be there before we could get him there. He was so excited for the tournament. 

Jackie Moon (from the film Semi-Pro) or Jackie Telford?

For his first volleyball tournament I felt like Jack played really well. He was very pleased with his play. They didn’t win all of their matches, but their points awarded them the privilege of moving up to the higher level for the next tournament. He has never met a game he didn’t like, and volleyball is no exception to that statement.

Stuart went to pick Millie up at gymnastics and brought her to the tournament. When the volleyball tournament was over we all came home. I took a shower and then went out to eat with my friends Mary, Sherry, Elisa, and Gina. We went to a new place called Sicilian Butcher. None of us had ever been there. We were celebrating Gina and Elisa‘s birthdays. 

A funny thing happened to me on the way to dinner. I had to stop and get gas. When I had finished filling my tank, I noticed a gentleman sitting in an older car at the pump next to mine. He had long hair, he was missing some teeth and he was holding a little band, like a ring, out the window.  I was getting in my car and I heard him say, ‘Could you trade me some gas for this?’ He was obviously in need of some gasoline for his car. I said, ‘No, I’m sorry.’ Then as I thought about it, I got my debit card out and went over to his pump. He then said, ‘I only need about eight dollars worth.’ I said, ‘I’ll just fill it up.’ So I did. As I was leaving the gas station, I drove behind his car. There wasn’t a license plate on the car. All I could think was, ‘I just helped a felon get a full tank of gas in his getaway car.’  Then I chuckled out loud. 

Sunday Stuart and I went to the grocery store, which is mine and Stuart’s date these days. We then went to Costco. We had meatloaf for lunch and we all sat down and ate together. The rest of the day was spent getting Stuart ready to return to Gallup for the week. He was only going to be there until Thursday, so that was nice. Once he was gone, the kids and I showered, ate something, and went to bed. 

Monday marked the last Monday of the quarter. Mr. Pokémon continued to entertain us. We played a card game most of the day. It kept him entertained and me from getting bruised. The kids had their normal activities of gymnastics and volleyball. 

Tuesday after school, Uncle Russ came over for dinner. We had Mexican pizzas, again. He is all by himself at Grammie and Pop’s house. They will be back the 30th of September, just in time for 7th grade basketball season. 

Wednesday was Jack’s birthday. I really didn’t want to have to harp at him on his birthday. However, since he still had late assignments in Language Arts, I was forced to bark at him via text. I had offered to let him skip volleyball and he and I would go to dinner for his birthday. He initially said he wanted to do that, but in the end he decided he would go to volleyball practice. It was probably a good thing, because one of the moms who usually helps with the carpool, had a flat tire. So I ended up having to drive the boys to volleyball. I picked Millie up from gymnastics after dropping the boys at the gym. We went home and went through our normal routine. Jack showed up around 9:40 pm, showered and went to bed. 

Thursday it was decided that my special student would be going to a different program because what is currently happening is not meeting his needs. I was relieved for sure. In 30 years I have never been so close to resigning a job in the middle of the year. His parents were going to tell him that evening. My job would be totally different without him. Stuart actually got home earlier than he had planned. It seems a water main broke at the school where he was to work that day, so everyone was sent home. He surprised Jack and picked him up from Rockpoint, the church right next door to Jack’s school. They have a recreation center that is open each day until 4 pm. He likes to go there with his friends. When Millie and I got home, she was surprised as well. We went to Oregano’s to celebrate Jack’s birthday. Uncle Russ joined us for the Italian feast. 

Friday we were to have a door installed at our house. That was the main reason Stuart didn’t work on Friday. When the door arrived it was damaged. Stuart was livid! He got our money back from Home Depot and said we would be going to Lowe’s. He was told they could reorder the door but it would take 12 weeks. We decided that since it was going to take 12 weeks anyway, we would give our money to someone else. I gave my special student a Pokémon card he had wanted all quarter. He often would ask if he could have it if he didn’t have any bad behaviors. We all knew that was never going to happen, sadly, so I just decided to give it to him on his last day. I was truly so relieved at the end of the day, realizing he would not be in my classroom any longer. I came to terms with the fact that I am not equipped to help this child. 

Friday evening we were going to do our grocery shopping for our RV trip to Rocky Point, which we would embark upon on Tuesday, September 28. We were so excited. Rocky Point trips were the main reason we wanted our RV. In the end, we decided to wait to do the big shop for our epic trip. Instead, we hung out at the house and did very little. 

Saturday morning Stuart took Millie to gymnastics while I took Gavin and Jack to their volleyball tournament. Since they had moved up to the higher level from the last tournament, their competition was a bit tougher. The boys hung in there, though. Jack was still just as excited about playing as he had been the previous week. I had to leave the tournament to go and pick Millie up from gymnastics. We came home to wait for the dog trainer, who never came. I ended up messaging the company and was told the trainer was supposed to contact me as he was out of town. So I ended up rescheduling, which was irritating because I could have actually stayed and watched Jack play volleyball. Stuart got home a bit after 4 pm and we headed to get the RV at storage. Although we are not supposed to leave our RV on the drive for more than 6 hours, we decided we were going to ignore the rules this time. 

Sunday we woke up to rain. I called Wild West Paintball and Airsoft Park to make sure Jack’s birthday party was still on. They said it was the best time for paintball. 

The whole gang, ready to roll. 

My two warriors came home with many welts, but a ton of memories of fun. 

Jack went to basketball after paintball, and then Russ came over for pizza. It was actually the leftover pizza from lunch at the party. 

Clearly he was wiped after paintball and basketball training. 

Monday morning we got up and I took Jack to a leadership summit at school. We took my car to get the tires looked at. My low pressure light came on and I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. While we waited for the car, Stuart and I went to breakfast at the Lone Spur Cafe, formerly known as the QC Cafe. As we were waiting for our food it dawned on me that I had scheduled Millie’s yearly check-up for that morning at 8:45. Since it was then 8:30, I clearly had to reschedule. Once we were home, the prepping for our RV trip to Rocky Point, Mexico, commenced. Stuart worked on the RV, while I cleaned our house. It was due a bit of a deep clean, so I got after it. After Stuart had cleaned the inside of the RV, we started putting all the food, bedding and clothes where they belonged. 

A good wash of the RV was necessary. 

I took Millie to gymnastics just before 4 pm, while Stuart picked Jack up from school. I then got home and took Jack and Gavin to volleyball practice. On the way back to our house, I picked up chicken nuggets for Millie and then collected her. We got home and she finished eating. I then had time to take a shower, clean my shower, fold a load of laundry and put on another load. I finally hit the road to get the boys from volleyball, but not before stopping at McDonalds for fries and a drink. Once Jack and I were home, he took a shower and then ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Stuart went to bed just after I returned. Jack went to bed around 10:30 pm. I didn’t follow until nearly midnight. 

Too bad these two anti-social beasts can’t come with us to Mexico, but so thankful my friend Jennifer is willing to dog sit while we are away. 

I woke up around 1 am with horrible stomach cramps. Who knows what that was about? I was finally awoken by my alarm that had been set for 5 am. We got up, stripped the bed and threw the sheets in the washer. The new, clean sheets were put on the bed. We got all of the last minute things in the RV and headed to Sherry and Skip’s for our caravan to Rocky Point. Stuart and I were so excited. We couldn’t tell if the kids were or not. We are hopeful that once we are there they will be a little more enthusiastic. 

The journey had begun. We got to the border and through in no time at all. We finally arrived at Playa de Oro in Puerto Peñasco just after noon. There were 4 families so we were able to set up a bit of a camp. 

The sign as we drove in. 

We are sure to have a great week. Let the holiday begin. 

Later in the afternoon on Tuesday we headed out to the beach so the kids could boogie board for a while. They do love the ocean. We needed the evening with a meal of carne asado tacos. It was a great start to a wonderful week. 

The beach was totally empty. 

Wednesday around 3:30 am, I could hear the wind and was worried our canopy was going to blow away. So Stuart and I got up and rolled it down. Because of the humidity, put air conditioning unit had a little more condensation than normal. Well, guess where that was collecting? Yep, on the canopy. So we got drenched as we rolled it down. We did laugh and then didn’t sleep a lot after that. Oh well. I finally rolled out of bed just before 7 am. We had breakfast and then went to get fresh tortillas and ice. We came back to camp and sat around, talking and doing little else. Mid morning we went to the farmer’s market. I bought some bananas, cheetos and homemade refried beans. We had failed to pay our bill so we headed to the office to pay the tab. We then checked out the pool and headed to the beach bar. The waves were super choppy all morning, which was why we hadn’t yet been in the ocean. But sitting on the bar deck, with shade, made the wind seem like a treat, as we were cooled off by the breeze and could hear and see the waves crashing on the shore. 

The kids enjoyed a refreshing drink and all was right with our world. The rest of the day was spent sitting in the shade, and then Stuart made spaghetti bolognese, garlic bread and Caesar salad. It was yummy. We were in bed by 9 pm. The life of a beach bum can be exhausting. 

I slept straight through the night. I haven’t done that in years. I was awake by 6:30 am and the weather seemed as if it was going to cooperate for our beach adventures. We literally stayed on the beach all day long. It was so much fun. There was paddle boarding, kayaking and boogie boarding. The kids road the banana boat twice and we purchased some local wares from vendors. 

The water was perfect!

Thursday evening we had dinner together, as we had the previous two evenings. Since there were four families on our holiday, we decided to split the meals and each family took turns cooking. It worked out so wonderfully. 

The bracelet guy!

Friday we were up and sat up at the beach by 8:30 am. It was just another day in paradise. Millie and I bought bracelets, the kids rode the banana boat again, and lunch was sandwiches I made in the RV. Yummy! 

Mango on the beach!

We packed up just before 5 pm, and then Skip, Stuart and I went back to the water for a bit. We sat on some rocks as it was low tide and venturing further out would have probably ended in disaster. 

The sunsets are gorgeous. 

We sat around after dinner and talked about when we were coming back to Mexico. We decided it would be in March. 

Saturday morning we were up and at the beach early. It was Eli’s 15th birthday, so it was decided that we would spend the morning at the beach and then head to the Boo Bar for lunch and a celebration. 

No beach trip is complete without someone being buried in the sand. Yuck!

My two sun kissed angels!

The Boo Bar was in town and the food was pretty good. After we ate, we went to some of the local shops and did some bartering. Millie was a pro at this skill. Jack got some sun glasses that will likely break in about a week and Millie got a plush octopus that she will add to her stuffed animal collection. 

We stopped at a place called Jessie’s to get shrimp and fish for Frogmore stew that evening. It was a bit of a jambalaya type meal without the rice. It was really good. We then sang Happy Birthday to Eli, had cheesecake for dessert and he opened his presents. It was a good evening. After the celebration we listened to music and visited. So far this trip has been the stress free time that we have needed.