Lemonade Award

My friend at Chronic Chic Talk was kind enough to give the this award for making lemonade out of lemons!

Passing in along to the following (sadly I do not have 10 friends with blogs at this point!)

Chicka Nuts
Queen of My Castle
Three Little Birds
Fighting Fatigue

The rules for giving and receiving this award are as follows:

* Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
* Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
* Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

NUCCA Doctor

I went to a NUCCA doctor last week for my fibromyalgia and so far am seeing some positive results. I have slept better (which was the number one goal) and have had less pain. I have slept for three nights without my Icy Hot patches on my feet which is a huge step for me. I do need to buy a new pillow today, mine just doesn't support my neck enough.

I am keeping up on my visits on my Fibromyalgia dedicated blog, so check it out when you can!

Newest Writing Gig

I have been writing for a site called Bright Hub , and for the first full month, it is working out really well. It is a great site with information on everything from Office Productivity to lesson plans for teachers. It is very flexible, and the only tight schedule I follow is when I have to edit articles. I am working as a writer and managing editor. I have about 10 writers that I work with and I edit their articles as they come it. It's nice to write about what interests me, and I hope to really write a lot for the K-12 learning channel soon! I found the gig at a great site called Freelance Writing Gigs.

First Day of School!

Well, they're back! JC was thrilled to be in middle school, a little nervous I think (mom too). His big changes for the year include a locker, band, and his favorite...ala carte lunch! I think it is going to cost me a fortune to feed him. But, he did okay on day one. He loves changing for all of his classes, and one of his good friends from last year is in all but one of his classes. He still got to see his best friend during lunch so that was a bonus. He is on a different team so we thought he had a different lunch. They are really big on getting the kids organized and yesterday he mainly worked on organizing his binder and getting their schedule for the week laid out. The middle school runs on a modified block schedule and on Wednesday and Thursday they alternate and only have half of their classes each day, but for longer stretches of time. This allows the classes to do labs and take hikes out to the nature preserve the district oversees. Also more time for swimming in gym class and more involved art lessons. I taught this way for a long time and it really has its advantages.

JM came home already wanting a playdate. He didn't get home until 4:15, so that was a no-go. I am hoping to get him home closer to 4:00 as the week progresses and they work out the dismissal glitches. In third grade he will change classes with one other teacher. He has her for reading, language arts, and writing. His homeroom teacher teaches science, math, and social studies. I think it will be a good experience. When JC was in third grade they only changed classes for math. It's always changing. JM got the same teacher that JC had in third grade and is thrilled with that. He already came home though with some girls phone number!?! Sigh!

Off to take advantage of a quiet house to get some work done!

Last Fling of Summer

The orthodontist that JC goes to holds a big pool party the last weekend before school starts every summer. He rents out the local pool after closing and there is free pizza, snacks, ice cream, and drinks. The kids swam from 7:30-10:00 straight. Like a bad mom, I didn't bring the camera. They had a blast though and passed out as soon as they hit the pillow.

Of course, I am now up working...I am so bummed the USA basketball Olympic game is on at 2:30 AM. What the heck. I am taping it and am avoiding the TV, internet, and radio until I can watch it in the morning. The boys turn on Sports Center first thing upon wakening, so they have been warned not to spoil it for me!

Tomorrow is a school night and JC is ready as ever....JM...not so much. JC gets picked up at 6:55 for middle school and JM at 8:22. It will be so much calmer getting one ready at a time!

Two More Days of Summer Break!

I am excited and bummed all at the same time! I feel like there were a few more things we could have squeezed in, but we did do a lot this summer. The boys are getting bored and I think need the time away from each other...this house gets small at the end of a long summer.

We had a great summer at Cedar Point, JM hit the 54" mark and now can ride everything in the park, so that makes our visits even more fun since we can now stay together all day. JC did 6 weeks of fitness camp and worked really hard at it. I think he is stronger and can run much better as a result. It is getting so if you don't get your kids some outside sports training outside of the season, they fall behind others. Gets pretty pricey though.

JC is so excited for middle school. He had orientation and nailed his locker combination immediately. He is thrilled with the freedom he will have, the locker, and changing classes. JM got the teacher he wanted, although she will be leaving for maternity leave in December and that always causes some anxious moments. I was pregnant with JC when I was teaching so I know how it works, and I also know that the sub has to be really good to take over and do things the same way as the teacher does. Our building has permanent subs and they usually are the ones who take these long term positions, so they are very familiar with school policy and such. He had a maternity leave sub in first grade and managed well. Third grade is a lot of work at our school, so he is in for a tough year!

Bring it on!

Website Number Two

My self defense site it just about at its final editing stage and is getting some good hits. I like the broad scope of the site. I tried to cover not only Self-Defense, but also personal safety issues. It has lots of great information (if may say so myself!). Check out The Self Defense Advisor.

Enjoy!

Fibromyalgia Writing Venture

I have suffered from fibromyalgia for over 17 years. I have always tried to keep up to date on the condition and stay up on the latest research, so when I had the chance to write a website on the topic I jumped on it. I am proud of how it turned out, and although it is still in the polishing stages, I hope it can soon start helping others. To check it out, visit Fibromyalgia Advice.

Rainy Fourth of July

July 3rd was a miserable day around Central Ohio. We were stir crazy by the end of the day! The rain was supposed to move out by the morning of the fourth, but we woke up to showers. JC was set to march in the parade with the baseball/fitness school where he attended fitness camp (www.rhsportfit.com). He was determined to still do it despite the rain, so we suited up and braved the weather. It didn't rain as hard as we thought and it turned out okay! He had a blast and enjoyed the independence. He is growing up so quickly this summer. He is also volunteering at the library and for VBS...look out middle school....this boy is ready for responsibility!

The rain did clear out in time for fireworks that night and we had a perfect spot near the boys' school for viewing. JC is becoming quite the shutterbug and enjoyed playing with the fireworks setting on our camera. I have some of his pics and a few from the parade.

Stuff summer is made of!

My baby turned 8!

JM had his 8th birthday yesterday and celebrated with 4 of his best buds, I so prefer the smaller parties! DH painted a baseball field in the side yard and set up the tetherball with a marked playing area for that too. They played wiffleball, basketball, did the water slide, had a squirt gun battle, and played in our tiny pool! They were busy the entire 2.5 hours! It was a hot and muggy day, so the water fun was perfect. The boys were pretty well behaved and there were no squabbles (outside of the typical "that was a foul ball..no it was fair")

There was a possibility of storms, so I was so glad it held off. I can not believe he is 8 and heading into the 3rd grade. He is just growing up so quickly. We took him to his favorite restaurant Bob Evans for dinner, we had a coupon for a free kid's meal and a gift card...perfect!

Enjoy the pics!

Testing new trick

After a brief tutoring lesson from my friend the queen of blogging, I am going to try and apply what I have learned.

This is my My favorite site, even set up as my homepage. I'm a little nuts!

Venting!

JC, my oldest, has worked very hard to get better at baseball this season. He has caught almost every inning, of every game. When he wasn't catching, he was pitching. He caught in the 95 degree heat, 5-6 innings, no complaining. He wasn't the best hitter, but his catching was phenomenal and that is such a tough position to play.

So, it came time to choose all-stars. The coach let the kids each vote for three players. (you know where this is going!) He did not make the all-star team. One of the kids that was chosen does not deserve the honor. Frankly, he is not that good and he screws around all the time. If he is not playing, he is at the concession stand or playing around with his brothers or the younger kids on the team. Which is probably why they voted for him...it became a popularity contest. He got votes because he is the fun one, and JC will quietly watch the game and cheer on his teammates. I am so sick about this, he has had a rough few month with this type of thing (ran for student council and lost, ran for mayor of their Biz Town and lost) and he holds his head up and does not ever complain. So, I will bitch and moan for him! My heart is just aching for him!

He is my all-star that's for sure! I am so proud of him!

http://mars2buckeyes.blogspot.com/

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Kings Island

Our Cedar Point pass lets us in free to Kings Island again this season, and we were determined to take advantage of this perk! CP didn't open until later in May, so we headed to KI and got our pass pictures taken. We decided to take my nieces and they had a lot of fun. The weather was perfect, 70ish and a little sunshine. It was fun to try out some new rides for a change. Hubby and I grew up on CP and the kids have been going there since birth. We definitely think we will be hitting it a few more times this summer. Our favorite rides were the Stunt Coaster and we also loved the Scooby Doo Haunted Castle ride!

First Communion

JM made his first communion in April, and looked so darn grown up in his suit. He was less than comfortable in it and couldn't wait to get out of it! We had beautiful weather, not the snow that arrived when JC made his first communion. Overall it was a beautiful day. He did fake drink the wine though! He was dreading it all along, so I told him he didn't have to drink it if he wasn't comfortable. He took the cup and tipped it up, just short of his lips! I do not have too many great pics of him, he wanted to make funny faces for all of them. But there are a few keepers!

Blizzard of 08

We asked for it....yes we did. We spent most of the winter being jealous of our family in Boston..."Hey why to they get all of the snow and we get rain?" Yes...we asked for it.

It was fun though (of course, I didn't have to shovel.....I (for SOME strange reason don't own a pair of snow pants...go figure). Luckily our neighbor own a tractor and came over to plow us out of our driveway. I'm told it is hard to shovel over stones! The boys had a blast. They built a hill with their cousins over the back steps of the deck and had a blast sledding. They even used their skateboard ramp and the end for some added airtime. It melted pretty quickly and they only got 2 days off of school out of it, but it was fun. I think the final snow total was around 18". By far the most we have seen in Central Ohio in a very long time. Pics are giving me issues...will have to try later!

Uggh!

Okay, worst Valentine's Day ever!

Our home was broken into this week. I was at work, they kicked in the front door in broad daylight and took about $7,000 is stuff. The worst part is how panicked I am every time I leave the house. I am sick to my stomach the whole time I am out thinking I am coming home to the same nightmare. I literally cry as I come down the street. Soon this will get better, now if only the insurance company will start to act like the care if this ever gets resolved. I need a new computer (two to be exact) and want my camera back!!

And might I add....shopping for home security systems is confusing.