delete your comments

If you leave me your email address, please go back and delete your comment after i have emailed you. I tried, but i couldn't stay on top of the comments. or, just email me at marilene.ross@gmail.com

I am still testing it out, but i'm thinking i will post simple updates on this blog and more details and private info on my private blog. so don't worry about checking both, but this way you can tell when i have updated my blog.... because that's one of the things i dislike about private blogs.

just wanted to write really quick this morning! we had a wonderful weekend, a little sick with sniffles and clogged noses, but it was great listening to the wonderful messages spoken by our inspired leaders.

This week is Spring BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!! seriously, i am so glad. I have been very overwhelmed and I'm hoping to be able to accomplish a good amount this week. plus, my brother is coming to town this weekend! hooray. i love visiting family.

gotta run! got to finish off emptying out my mom's house with our junk this week and lots to do. hopefully, i will get time to get pictures together and post lots!!

overwhelmed

I am ashamed a little at myself in one way, but in another way, there are a lot of reasons for my not posting. we have been so very busy! sorry, this is a little of complaining. BUT, on the bright side, it is THURSDAY! one more day closer to the weekend.

I "get" to take my licensing test, AGAIN. long story short, i took the wrong test because the right test was not create when I signed up and passed the general elementary test. now, i have to retake the early childhood test and I'm praying that i remember enough and can pass it the first time. UGGH!! so this is this saturday. one more saturday almost completely wasted.

then, i have my first year teacher classes so often, not to mention the homework for those. i still have things to do just for my kinder class above that!! i'm barely staying afloat here.

trevor has been so wonderful and understanding. he has been great. he always is.

craig is so fun! He's talking more and more every day! the other morning, when taking trevor to work, he saw the moon and he said moon!! i didn't even know where he learned that word! i don't think we've talked about it with him. he's picking up so many things and becoming less and less of a baby every day.

he jumped in his crib (we still haven't gotten his big boy bed yet, ugh) and it fell out from under him three times in one night. the last time, i just pulled the mattress out and put it on the floor. so two nights he has been on the floor. but last night, he woke up around 1 and started crying and walking downstairs. i called him (me still being out of it) and followed him, calling his name several times. finally i caught up to him on the landing of the stairs and carried him back up to bed. he slept the rest of the night with us. which meant i didn't sleep very well. so tonight, i need to make sure to put up a fence over his door in case he wakes up again.

off to school!

saving money

I know many of us are looking for ways to save money. well, i've been wanting to figure out a way to take these classes, at first i thought about it for enrichment in our ward, but i also think if we ever get into a house, maybe i could just get a couple of ladies together and have them come to my house.

SO, I was wondering if anyone is interested if i got a class scheduled and we could really learn how to save money and stock up for food storage at the grocery store!!

Check out these two websites!

http://buyingsmart.blogspot.com/

http://shopsmartinvegas.blogspot.com/


they save SO much money and makes shopping a challenge to see how much you can save.

went from flustered to peaceful

For some reason, i am always a bit flustered when going to work. and it is usually a bit more the first day of a week. I just am not sure if I have everything ready and usually i might be leaving later than i would have liked to.

Well, yesterday was one of those days. and since there was no school Monday, it was the first day back (even though i spent a good couple of hours at school on Monday). PLUS, i was upset about interest rates (6.6% with the HUGS program). luckily, Heavenly Father prompted me to listen to some good music and i found some hymns to listen (actually sing along with VERY loudly in my car... it was just me and passing strangers). I was so happy I did. by the time i got to school, i was a little calmer and ready to face the day. then, i got some maybe good news that they might continue to have part-time teachers next year! and that made me happy to think there was a chance.

Long story short- Heavenly Father blessed me yesterday and I wanted to make a note of it. I LOVE the beautiful hymns and music we have.

pictures

A while back, we went out and got some ice cream cones. Craig enjoyed his.


Then, we got some donuts and that night, craig found one and in the middle of eating it, fell asleep! this is how we found him. silly boy!

Our stake has started up men's basketball again and Trevor went to our ward's first game on thursday. it was nice, they invited families out and we were able to watch and there were other kids there for Craig to play with. i hope next time is just as fun.

well, we are doing pretty good. tomorrow, hopefully we will be able to find out some info about the HUGS program and find out whether or not we will get help with a down payment or not.

school is going kinda crazy! my kids are just very very VERY talkative! i figured out that i really need to be strict and consistent about the rules! kids need consistency and so i really need to make i give them that to help us all out.

we went and hung out with a friend of ours through trevor's work and his girlfriend on Saturday. that was nice. we tried palying some games, but we didn't know each other well enough for catch phrase (and two of the ladies speak another language and so there was a little difficulty for them explaining things in english for us) and then a LONG game of uno. we played it with drawing until you could play and we all had a handful of cards. finally we changed to draw only one card. it ended a lot sooner because of that. but it was nice and craig was pretty good too.

new baby

guess what! well, you could guess from the title. we are going to have another baby! i was going to wait until i saw a doctor to tell everyone, but my dad was spreading the word last night when he picked up Heidi from YW. the baby will be due around September.

well, we still have not gotten the papers signed on the counter offer from the seller, which means we can't have an inspection. they are the ones who wrote the counteroffer so i don't know why it is taking them so long!!
but we got some possibly bad news yesterday about the HUGS program helping us with our down payment. so we will see if it works out, or we don't know what will happen. if not, we have to come up with the entire down payment and will have no left over savings for the stove and appliances that we SO badly need(i know... we should have waited to get a house and just saved, but we need a place of our own so bad). which means we might not buy this house and lose it! uggh. but we are praying that things will work out. whatever that means. and praying for more patience.

school is back in session for me and we are sharing a car. which means i get up, drive trevor to work by 7, get back home, usually take a brief 5-10 minute sleep and shower before craig wakes up. there are some things that i will miss. for instance, just asking my mom to listen for craig while he is sleeping and we run and do an errand, or drop trevor at work.

trevor doesn't start school until next week, i think. then, he will have to meet with his group to get his project all finished by the end of the semester.

What have we been up to?

We went caroling and it was wonderful! we didn't get much time to go to too many places, but it was enjoyable singing with my family! i love being to harmonize at times and just sing out loud. Megan, Anne, Mom and I took turns singing the alto parts and the melody. my mom knows a couple of the songs on the alto part and does a good job with Anne or someone else. Anne, Megan and I can do whatever part we want, so we would make sure someone was singing the melody and take turns! it was fun.

Craig even can sing a little of Jingle bells! (hey and ha ha ha) :)

Then, we got done a little early and we headed over to the Ross gathering at Curtis and Heather's. On the way, Craig got to listen to his little mp3 player with Trevor's big headphones. He ended up taking a nap with them on. silly boy!

For Christmas, aunt nene gave Craig a pillow, and he loves to sleep with nene! that and read his books and listen to music to fall asleep. however, we've had to stop letting him listen to the music. he would fall asleep to it, but then wake up in the night and not be able to fall back asleep on his own.

Anne made her first wedding cake!! it turned out wonderful! it was so fun watching her and talking to her about what she was doing in order to make it. I am so proud of her!

Craig also got popcorn from grandma and grandpa Ross and was relaxing watching the movie, with his feet on his new pillow and eating a little snack. there are some cute pics from just driving in the car with him and his sunglasses on.

then, Christmas eve,when he fell asleep with the headphones on. this week, he found some pacifiers and really wanted them, so we ended up cutting the tip off, because he kept digging in the trash. what a cutie!

he was jumping on the trampoline with aunt Heidi and was playing by my old rose bushes in my parents garden plants and got his glove stuck on the prickery rose.

uggh, report cards

so my report cards are due tomorrow and i have been stressing out about them!! AAHH! :O well, i'm still not done. i was at school for 3 hours yesterday, then 4 hours tonight and i still have more to do. i was able to get all the students tested, but i have to write up their comments and input all of the letters (capital and lower), sounds, and numbers they know (writing, recognizing and counting!!). oh well. better go.

update

Some good news and some ok news! the short result is: . . . . . . I am staying at the school I am at, with the half day kindergarten. i will still be subbing for maternity leave until about the end of November. the long story is below.

I had an interview with an elementary school across town at Charleston and I-95. It went wonderful, i loved the principal and assistant principal. it would be a full time job, one kindergarten class all day. However, I didn't feel good about it. i would be gone practically all day everyday, except on track breaks, which that class already went on.

Craig has been having a hard time when we leave. I've mentioned it before, but it is not getting much better. he's ok usually when he stays with Grandma Kady, because it is still the same house and she cuddles him a lot. and we haven't been over to Aunt Nene's recently, but i think he cries a little there too. but the hardest thing for me, is when I pull up to a good friend's house, Jade, he starts crying and does not want to get out of the car even! Then he hollers and cries very loudly when i leave. eventually he does get settled down and play, but when i come pick him up, he wants to cuddle and leave right away.

Because of that, I took the half-day job with the school I am at. I feel really good about it and i think it will help me be better at home and at work.

I have been leaving him his entire life. I had school classes, i had my practicum and then my student teaching and he was always fine. Every once in a while, he would cry, but he would be fine in a little while. now, he is always very sad when we leave. I now I need to work on attachment because that is the issue. but i really feel that this will help. I prayed really hard about this and i feel that for our entire family, it will be better if i take the job that I am at already.

On to the ok news! I already have a substitute license and I had to add an endorsement that would allow me to teach. well, i did it in August, but i called them and they said it would take 16 weeks to get it back to me!!!! AAHHH! are you kidding me! so i was supposed to keep my receipt, but all it was was my cashier's check receipt and no one told me to keep it in order to get hired. hopefully, the principal can call and make sure that things are going on and they will hire me anyway. if not, I can't get hired until DECEMBER, but would just be subbing until then. so, we will see what happens, but at least I know what school i will be at and I know my class, the handful of kids, but they are mine!

Pictures of life

Craig has been riding a bike around at Jade's when he's there two days a week and loves it! we want to get him a bike for his birthday, but it's not until December. my sister-in-law offered me a girl's one. so for now he has it. he can't push it on his own, like the one at jades, so he gets frustrated, but he still likes it. here he is on it, then another day his cousins came over and wanted some old blue candy canes. well, craig had to have one too, so here it is.

Craig was just being silly when we were getting him ready for bed. he makes us laugh so much! he really is a joy. i need to focus on that more. he is still cranky, but i think he's just growing and frustrated that he can't talk more.

Then, on Friday night, we went to Sierra Vista's football game and watched Luke perform. Craig loved cheering fr part of the football game we caught. he was so funny! he was one of the loudest cheering. then, Luke came on and he started conducting along. he is so cute and so musical. i'm sure, it's nothing amazing, but to me, it is. he is just so smart to conduct along.

This is what i did with both my classes on Friday. it was Johnny Apppleseed day and we tasted apples and chose our favorites.