After we were home we spent the rest of the afternoon getting the roof on the golf cart. We then went in the pool for a while. Of course this time of the year the mosquitoes are out, so our pool time was cut short. Mitch had come over and help us with the golf cart. He then went out and got some food for all of us. I fed the kids, and Mitch fed the adults. Stuart went to bed just after Millie did around 8:40 PM, and Jack and I followed around 9:30 PM. We are such a party animals!
In the middle of the night on Monday night, around 2:30 AM, the dogs started going bananas. We crate them now every night, so they aren’t disturbing us. I walked downstairs assuming I would walk into a gunman. Sadly, that’s where my brain goes. I have no idea what they were barking at. But it did disrupt my sleep for a little bit. My alarm went off at 6 AM and we all got up and got ready for school. My teammate, who had been out for previous week with Covid, returned to school on Monday. That is Millie‘s teacher, so I was thrilled. We’ve had heat advisory days at school, so that means no afternoon recess. That becomes such a bummer because the kids get very restless. Hoping for cooler weather by fall break.
After school Millie and I headed to gymnastics. I stopped for gas before going to Jack’s football game. They were playing ACP again so there was no 7th grade team. Therefore the 8th grade game was moved up to 4:30 pm, which helped us when it comes to club volleyball. After the game, that they won and Jack played more in, I took Carter and Jack to get some food and then dropped them off at the Starbucks so Vicki could take them to club practice. I then headed to get Millie from gymnastics. Millie came home and ate dinner. She took a shower and went to bed. Around 930 I headed out to get Jack from Starbucks. Once we were back home he took a shower and went to bed around 1030. I couldn’t go to sleep for whatever reason, so I stayed up until about midnight.
Tuesday morning we headed to school. There was an accident and a road closure so we decided to go a different way. School was relatively sane. I feel like I’m always playing catch-up. That’s not entirely fun, but it is what it is. We had a fire drill, which always throws everyone off. We also have been on heat advisory the last two days so that has made for a fun afternoon for us. I got a message in the middle the day from Jack asking me if I would take him to watch the girls’ volleyball team play at East Mark. I normally am totally against that kind of thing on a Tuesday evening, simply because it’s our only evening that we’re at home. but I was weak. On the way home I got groceries from Aldi. I ran them to the house and then made lasagna. Don’t get excited, it was lazy man lasagna. It’s just three ingredients so it’s really easy. I then decided I would get my swimsuit on because after I picked Jack up I was planning to hop in the pool for a bit. I left the house just after six to pick Jack up from the volleyball match. Ellsworth is my worst nightmare because Queen Creek did its part when constructing that road, but Mesa did not. It’s three lanes until you hit Mesa and then it’s two lanes. Totally stupid!
We got home and I hopped in the pool while Millie took a shower and Jack put away his clean clothes. I didn’t stay long in the pool as the mosquitoes are at an all time high in their munch about. When I got back in the house and went upstairs to shower, I discovered that Millie not only had put her clean clothes away, but was organizing her dresser. That’s the first time that has happened.
Wednesday was a half day and I had to run Millie home right after school. When I finished my team leader meeting I headed home, picked up Millie and went to pick up Jack before dropping Millie at gymnastics and heading to Fry’s to get prescriptions. When Jack and I got home I swept the pool while he did homework. I made him a pizza and then headed to get Millie. When she and I got home, she went to shower and Elise came over for a visit.
Thursday Millie wasn’t feeling well again and she wanted to stay home. I didn’t fight her, but she got up anyway and got ready. We ended up leaving later than normal and she apologized because she thought it was her fault. I told her it wasn’t. We still got to school way before we needed to. School was fine. I don’t even start teaching until nearly 10 am on Thursdays because of specials and morning recess. It’s nice to ease into the day. After school Millie and I ran to the grocery store to get the boys some food. Because I take them to volleyball directly after their football games on Thursday, I need to feed them. Fast food gets too expensive so I decided to try making them food instead. At volleyball I got some more lessons written for Empower. I left Millie at home because she gets bored. I got a message from Millie that scared me. It just said ‘Mom, help!’ Really? Seems she wasn’t sure how to do a math game on the computer. I nearly came through the screen to choke her.
My team wore these shirts on Friday. My teammate Krista, the one with the glasses, made them for us. This is her side hustle. Look how united we are.
Friday I got a message in the morning that Stuart was coming home early. We were going on a date that afternoon and Elise was taking our kids to Elevate, the bounce place. We drove the golf cart to Creekside Taco. We reconnected and really talked about life. I love that man more than anything in this world and need to make sure I tell him that more often. We both decided we needed to be more intentional with our time together.
Saturday morning my alarm went off at 5 am and I was showered and out the door to fly to El Paso to see Liz! She and Melissa picked me up and we went to the grocery store. We then went to Hatch, New Mexico, to the Hatch Green Chile Festival. It was hot and sticky. We didn’t stay long as it wasn’t quite what we had envisioned. 
On the way back we met up at The Blue Moon Bar with Liz’s first friend in New Mexico, Andrew.
He’s the one in the cowboy hat! Ha!
We left this place around 8 pm and proceeded to stay up until 3 am, laughing. We didn’t get out of bed until nearly 10 am. We got ready and decided to go to Mesilla, a little town about 15 minutes away. It was where Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced to hanging.
There were some cute little shops. We walked around for a couple of hours. We then came back to the house for a rest and the plan was to go back to The Blue Moon Bar to hear a live band. After a while we decided we wouldn’t be going back to the bar as Andrew, Liz’s friend, told us it was standing room only and he was standing outside in the sun. Instead, we decided to go to Si Señors for dinner and come back and watch movies. We didn’t stay up as late because we had to be up early to get to the airport.
We were up early on Monday morning. Liz and I dropped Melissa at the airport and then went to have breakfast. I got home around noon and Stuart left. I was supposed to take Jack and his friends to play volleyball, but he lied to me about something stupid so I canceled volleyball for him. I’ve finally found his ‘currency’ or what means something to him. Hopefully he learns his lesson quickly. Neither kid had activities because it was Labor Day. Elise and the boys came over for a swim and dinner.
Tuesday school seemed to go on forever. After school I took Millie home and then headed to Jack’s football game. When we got home, he showered and ate. I worked on my project which is almost finished. But stupidly I committed to doing writing plans for Kindergarten. Once the kids were in bed I watched all the trash TV I could get in.
Wednesday I had training after school at the district office on the science programs in Queen Creek. I then went home to take Millie to gymnastics and on to Jack’s football game. They won, again.
Thursday school was uneventful. After school the boys had another football game, which they won. I took the time Brophy for volleyball and Millie went with me. She watched them practice and then came and sat with me. She had brought things in her bag to do, so that is helpful.
Friday school was school. It had been a long week for just four days. Stuart didn’t come home as he had to work over the weekend.
Saturday Liz came to town and Jack drove us to Creekside Taco. This was my beverage.
We had dinner at Creekside Taco. Millie went to her friend Brinley’s house and had a sleepover.
Sunday we got up and Liz left for the airport. Brinley’s mom dropped Millie home around 1 pm. We headed to Jack’s pre-season club volleyball party at Carter’s house.
The pool at Carter’s house is awesome. We spent the afternoon just relaxing and getting to know the other families. Stuart missed it as he had to stay in Gallup for the weekend to do new teacher orientation.
Monday morning Millie struggled to get out of bed. I took Jack to school and then came back to get her. She had calmed down by the time I got home and acted as if nothing had happened. She’s so irritating at times.
Monday after school I took Millie to gymnastics and then went home. Russ came for a visit and was able to watch Jack’s football game. He stayed less than 12 hours. I picked Millie up at 7:30. I then went to Starbucks to pick Jack up from volleyball practice. Then home to make dinner for Russ, who showed up shortly after we got home. We had fajitas. I think it might be the first time I had cooked in forever.
Tuesday morning Russ was up and left before 6 am. I decided to take Jack to school and come back to get Millie. By the time I got back she was ready to go to school. Tuesday Jack had a playoff game and then volleyball practice. They had an extra practice this week in preparation of their Saturday tournament. I picked him up at Starbucks again. Millie and I just spent the evening chilling at home.
Wednesdays at school are college and career days. We all pick a college to represent. Of course I have picked my alma mater, PIttsburg State University, but have decided I’m going to buy some other college shirts to wear throughout the year. Last week I wore a Syracuse shirt in honor of my
teammate who is on the right in the picture below. Her name is Jen Merkle, but we just call her Merkle. This day I wore a Husker shirt in honor of a 6th grade teacher named Sam. She’s the one in the middle.
Thursday was another game for Jack. Stuart got home from Gallup on Wednesday night so he was able to go to game. He had the rest of his dental work done that morning, finally. Jack won his football game which meant they would play the following Monday in the playoffs. He and Carter were whisked away to volleyball.
Friday school was as usual. Stuart picked the kids up to take them to their wellness visit. I went to happy hour with some people from work down at Santan Flat. Stuart came down to pick me up. When we got back to the house we went to Creekside Taco on the golf cart with Elise. Then we came back to our house for a while.
Saturday morning we got up and took Jack to Gavin‘s house to catch a ride to the volleyball tournament. We then took Millie to gymnastics. We headed to the volleyball tournament. They won their first two games and then we went to pick Millie up from the gym. We took her to eat lunch and then headed back to the volleyball facility. They played at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock. They reffed at 3 o’clock. They kept up with the teams rather well. But they got destroyed by the last team they played. It seems that team had four or five players that were on the national championship team the year before. So I don’t think they were terribly disappointed that they didn’t win. We got home around 5:30 and the Hills invited us over for dinner. We didn’t stay long because it had been a long day and we were all exhausted.
Sunday I finally got up and went walking with Sue. We caught up on all the things that were going on in our lives. And we had a great time like we always do. Stuart had taken his car in for a service on Thursday afternoon, expecting it would be ready on Saturday afternoon. They found something wrong with one of his tires and had to order it and it wouldn’t be here till Monday. So because he doesn’t trust the pieces of crap cars that sit in our drive and garage, he decided to rent a car from the Mesa airport. So Sunday morning we went to pick that up after we had been to the grocery store. We then went to the Empower warehouse so that I could get kindergarten materials in order to write the kindergarten writing lessons. Again, I do realize I’m nuts!
We decided we would take Jack to lunch for his birthday since Stuart wouldn’t be here on Thursday when his actual birthday was. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and then made a trip to Famous Footwear to buy some shoes. Jack ended up finding a pair of volleyball shoes he wanted. They are a size 12. His foot is growing faster than I can keep up with it. When we got home Stuart decided he would just pack up and leave. I think that’s the worst part about a Sunday, is the anticipation. Once Stuart had gone, the Hills came over for swimming. We made nuggets and fries for everyone. They went home around 8 o’clock and the kids and I settled in for the night.
Monday I got up and took Jack to school and then came back and collected Millie. Our team has decided that we will go on a Project Exploration trip called the Old West Quest. It’s a trip down to Bisbee to tour the mines and then to Tombstone. After school I drove Millie to gymnastics, came home to let the dogs go pee, and then heading to Jack’s football game. He played virtually the entire game. And they won against the best team in their bracket. So they were going to the championship on Thursday. After the football game, Jack went off with Carter‘s mom to volleyball. I picked Millie up from gymnastics and took her home. I then returned to the Arizona volleyball facility for a parent meeting. It seems that their coach doesn’t really want parents to talk to him after the tournament because he feels like it would be a little bit controversial. I think he felt he needed this meeting for one particular parent. The volleyball crowd is usually pretty mild mannered and really supportive. However this one mother is quite a treat. When Jack and I returned home Millie was asleep on the sofa. I carried her upstairs to her bed. I set her alarm and then went to shower. Jack had showered and was eating when I got downstairs. He went to bed around 10:30 and I follow shortly after that.
Tuesday was the day I look forward to the most each week. I don’t have to run children around the valley. It’s quite nice. School seemed to fly by and then Millie and I went to pick Jack up from football practice and we are headed home. I then went to dinner with my friend Debi to Pita Jungle which is really good. While I was gone, the kids showered and fix itself something to eat. They were laying on the sofa when I got home.
Wednesday morning our normal routine took place. After school I headed to pick Jack up from football practice after dropping Millie at gymnastics. Jack and I just chill most of the evening. I went to lunch and Millie from gymnastics, brought her home and had her shower, and then hit her off the bed after having food.
Thursday was Jack’s 14th birthday. We had birthday lunch the Sunday before and he had opened his presents. So there really wasn’t anything open. He did open his cards and a present from his grandma the night before after Millie got home from gymnastic. He didn’t seem to bothered that there were no presents on his actual birthday. We headed to school and at the end of the day Millie and I went home and packed a cooler. We then headed to Bogle junior high for the championship football game.
They won! After the game, Kristi, Carter‘s mom took Millie home for me. I took all four boys to volleyball at Brophy Prep. Gavin and Owen came to watch the last half of the football game. It was a pretty good birthday for Jack. I got some work done on the project from Empower while the boys practiced. When we left we went for Culver's food and then we headed home. Millie was asleep on the sofa when I got home so I carried her upstairs to her bed. Jack showered and then went to bed.
Friday after school I went and picked up Jack’s bags and he stayed for his football banquet and the high school football game. I then went and picked up the RV in storage and brought it to the house. Our hope was to clean it out and get it prepared for the following week in Mexico. Then Elise took me to get Stuart‘s car from Kia. And once I was back home, Stuart got home around 7 PM. We then read an email together about many missing assignments that Jack had in Algebra I, one in social studies, and one in science. This kid is surely going to be the death of me. I just can’t tolerate the lack of attention he has. And I don’t want to blame his ADD, because he is medicated for that. Carter’s Dad ended up bringing Jack home from the football game. Naturally, we reamed him on Friday night for the assignment issue.
Saturday morning we were all up and out the door just before 8 o’clock. Millie went to gymnastics, Jack went to get a perm, and I went to walk with Carter’s little brother, Camden. He has a condition called PCM. This condition keeps him from being able to walk or talk, it also has a life expectancy that he has already surpassed. He is 11 years old. So my conversation with Jack before I left that morning basically involves tears and I explain to him that not everyone had his ability so the fact that he was not working to his potential was really disappointing to me and to Stuart. Raising teenagers is not for the faint at heart.
We walked at 5K and then I got a message from Millie saying that she had forgotten her water bottle. She asked if I could bring her water. There’s a water fountain at the gym but she said it tastes gross. So, I went and took her water bottle because she acted like she was dying. I did tell her I would never do that again and her water bottle is her responsibility. Again, what is it when you do too much for them? What is it when we do too little for them? How do you find the balance?
We picked Millie up from gymnastics at 12:30 and went back to our house. Stuart and I decided to get in the pool and swim for a bit. The pool was freezing and we decided that was probably our last swim for this season. Stuart got the charcuterie tray ready for our evening with our friends Bill and Stacey. We got to their house around 6:30 PM and there were lovely charcuterie trays there. Stacey actually works with Carter’s mom, Kristi. So Kristi and her husband Bob were there. There was another couple there as well, but didn’t stay quite as long as we did. It was a nice evening of catching up and Kristi said some lovely things about Jack, which made me feel like a horrible mother for jumping on him all the time. It was nice to hear someone else’s perspective about your kid.
Stuart’s spread.
The ‘Old Fashion’ tray.
The dessert tray.
Sunday morning I got up and had a walk with Sue. As always we solved all the problems of the world, most commonly is my problems with my children. I do always appreciate her insight because she has been where I am and is no longer where I am. It’s nice to have that perspective of someone who has gone through this similar situation. Stuart left early in the afternoon after we did our normal Sunday errands.
Monday I got an email from two of the three teachers I had emailed regarding man child’s grades. His algebra teacher said he never received the notice that Jack turned in the work so I corrected that. Although I agree Jack needs to be held accountable, why are we grading homework? When you grade homework, you are not necessarily assessing what a kid knows. You may be assessing their parents’ knowledge, or older sibling, or maybe they score very low because they are taking care of younger siblings when they get home from school, or maybe they are being physically or mentally abused and just can’t do everything, or maybe they have ADD and can’t focus, or, or, or, or. Don’t get me wrong, homework is okay for accountability, I suppose. But to grade it? To instill discipline and being able to meet deadlines, sure, but grades? Nope! Hard pass, as the kids say!
I picked Jack up from school then headed to take Millie to gymnastics, stopped to get money for Mexico and then home to feed Jack before heading to drop him off at Starbucks for the carpool for volleyball. I met my friend Mindy for dinner and then headed to pick Millie up from gymnastics. I took her to the house to take a shower and then headed back to Starbucks to pick up Jack. I feel like I’m the Dunkin’ Donut guy in the commercial of the 80s that said ‘Time to make the donuts. I made the donuts.’ It is a bit of a rat race at this age.
Tuesday morning I had a parent teacher conference in the morning with a child’s mom that I thought would be a bit difficult. It turns out she was just begging for someone to tell her to put her child on medication so that he could get focused. I guess I was that person! At the beginning of 31 years, I have decided I really don’t care if I get fired. I’m going to do what’s right by these kids. And the recommendation was for her to take him to her pediatrician in order to get him some help. In fifth grade they start to have self-esteem issues that are way worse than any fear you have a medication.
The school day went by quickly and I had another conference at the end of the day with a student’s mom who was wanting her child on a 504 plan. I discouraged that because I felt like she actually was making the progress that she needed to make. This child was diagnosed with cancer in the third grade and missed a total of 71 days between third grade and fourth grade because of the cancer. She’s now in remission, at school all days and has made huge progress. Her mom was so beyond complementary of my efforts with her child, which will always make someone feel amazing.
After school Millie and I went to get Jack. I took the kids home and returned to school for a field trip meeting. I then headed to dinner with my girls: Elisa, Sherry, Mary and Gine. We were celebrating Gina and Elisa’s birthdays. I am never bored with these ladies. They are such a huge part of my life. Their wisdom, some having been where I am with my kids at the moment, is so invaluable. I love them so much. As always, at the end of our evening, Weezer (Mary) supplied us all with eggs! I know Mary has had a rough go of things, having lost Mack recently, but I so admire her strength to still live life. I hope I even have a smidge of her resiliency as I go through life.
Wednesday went as quickly as Tuesday at school. We are working hard to get things tidied up before the end of the quarter. We had parent teacher conferences after school that went really well. At my age and with my experience, there is no one or no thing that can scare me. Even my potentially tricky parents were totally fine. I finished just in time to get Millie from the house, pick Jack up from school and head to take Millie to gymnastics. Jack had a bite to eat when we got home. I then headed out to meet up with my old roommate Bethany for dinner. It was so good to catch up with her. I then took Millie to McDonalds after picking her up from the gym. Once we were home she showered and laid on the sofa, eventually falling asleep around 9:15. Jack went to bed about an hour later.
Thursday morning Jack and I were out of the house to meet with his Algebra teacher. It went as I suspected. I expressed my disgruntlement and he poo pooed me. Oh well, I told Jack he was going to have to play this teacher’s game and just get this year over with. We agreed he would go to tutoring 4 days a week starting in second quarter. I told him if the teacher thought he cared a bit more he might work with him a bit more. We shall see.
Thursday after school I had a few more conferences, but in the empty slots I copied our grade level copies to get us ready for the beginning of second quarter. In some of my down time I went to get Jack from school. We then went back to my school for me to attend a conference and then I took him home. On the way home we discovered Grammie and Pop had made it home. I was so relieved. They were trying to jump start my dad’s truck. We stopped long enough to pick up some things they had for us. Jack and I headed home and Jack got ready for volleyball. He decided he needed to drive the Jeep to our house, so I let him. Then when we picked Millie up and went back to Grammie and Pop’s Jack drive the Ford Flex. I decided to trade cars because that morning the Jeep’s check engine light came on. Ugh! So I booked it into the shop to have it checked before we left for Mexico on Monday. Boo! I headed back to school for the rest of my conferences. When I finished I went home and my mom was there hanging out with Millie. My parents have gotten a bit fragile this summer. They were both hacking up a lung and ended up going to urgent care earlier that day. My dad desperately needs a pace maker as well. It makes me sad for sure. My mom decided to go home because she didn’t feel well. Millie took a shower and plopped on the sofa. She fell asleep around 8:30 or so. I took her up to her bed. I then headed out around 9:30 to pick Jack up from the meeting spot for volleyball carpool. One of the moms had actually picked him up from our house because of my conferences. He got home, showered and went to sleep on the sofa. I made him go to bed then I came back downstairs to watch tv, and naturally fell asleep.
Friday was our last day of school for the quarter. I have had such an amazing quarter. Thank the Lord I got this job this year. It has saved my sanity and my love of education! After school I went to get Jack. My mom had picked Millie up from school. When I had Jack, we went to get Millie. Elise came over after her kids were in bed. She stayed quite late, which was rough on me Saturday morning due to Jack’s volleyball tournament.
Saturday morning I got up and took Jack to Starbucks for a ride to the tournament. I came back home and took Millie to gymnastics, then went to the volleyball tournament. Jack had games at 9, 11, 2 and 4. It makes for a long day for sure. They did just as well in this tournament as they did in the previous tournament. Around 12:30 I went to get Millie and took her home. She wanted to go to the park on her bike so I told her she could and if she needed anything just to call Grammie and Pop. Although they had medicine, they still didn’t feel very well. They decided not to come to the volleyball tournament. Jack understood. Jack played really well. During the intense matches he was on the court the entire time. I am so impressed with his athleticism.
After the tournament, I got home and Elise took me to pick up my Jeep, which was a mere $1200 to fix. I hate unexpected costs. Once I was home, Elise decided to go get pizza. She got to the house just before Stuart arrived from Gallup. This was another Saturday that new teachers in Gallup had to go to training. He was one of the trainers. Once he was home and unpacked, we ate pizza and wings. We sat around the house and talked with Mitch and Elise until about 10 pm. Once they had gone home, we made the kids go to bed. We nearly beat them to bed ourselves. It was a good evening. Fall break is upon us.
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