The Christmas trees

Well, I have finally downloaded the pictures of our Christmas trees this year. They have both been up since the day after Thanksgiving, but I couldn't find the cord to connect the camera with the computer. Anyway, mine is not as pretty as last year, but I think it's still a good one. And, my inventive little boy wanted to decorate his tree entirely by himself. I thought he did a wonderful job. He came up with the idea of using some of his Pokemon cards as part of the decorations. As much as I dislike Pokemon, I thought it really looked good.

The September/October blues

Not a happy topic today. I have the blues and can't seem to shake them. I am unhappy with myself. I have been insulted so many times over the last three months and its hard to roll with the punches anymore. And, Austin isn't adjusting well to his new school. He likes it, but he is not working up to his potential. The teacher told us that he doesn't pay attention at all. I hope he can pull it together before he loses a lot of information. That's all that is going on. Hopefully, my next post can be more positive.

My last few days before work

I start work again on Monday and I'm very nervous that I will be assigned to schools in north city. I hate that I have gotten so little done around the house. Even as I type this, I know I should be doing something else. But alas, I sit on my butt and do nothing. Today I am going to lunch with mom. Sometime this weekend, Krista and I are going to make cupcakes from stratch. Very excited to try!

Also, I hope to post some of Austin's baseball pics from this season soon.

Branson

So, a little late in posting this as we have been back for a while, but here is a summary of the trip. Mom, dad, Austin and myself headed down to Branson for a five day trip. The ride down wasn't terrible this year (no massive arguments, which is good because I had a fairly mean headache for most of the way). However, the bitching did start once we were down there. Between dad and Austin, I thought I may have a heart attack. The condo we stayed at was nice. (had a two person hot tub which was great) But I think I still like stormy point a little better. Anyway, we saw Dixie Stampede (I always enjoy it!), the Haygoods (a musical family), and Yakov dinner adventure. All enjoyable events. We also went to Silver Dollar City (one of my favorite things to do) and of course outlet shopping. This time, Austin wasn't nearly as whiny as I think he is starting to enjoy getting to pick out his own clothes. And, his taste isn't as bad as I thought it was. When skelatons are not a choice, he picks out some very handsome things. I was so proud in the Hilfiger outlet store, unfortunately, the shirts he picked out were for men so we could not purchase them. The trip home wasn't bad either because I think everyone was ready to be home so there was minimal arguing.

Its raining, its pouring...

So, it's not actually pouring, just a bit of a sprinkle with thunder right now. I have mixed feelings about the rain today. Austin is supposed to have a game this evening. So many games have already been rained out and this is a 7:30 game which are always nicer than the 6:00 or Saturday day games. But, it is supposed to be 100 degrees again today and even at 7:30 I bet it's not going to be that pleasant. I guess I'll just have to see how the dice rolls.

Right now, Austin is playing with his bff Charlie so I have been sent to my room while they play the Wii. Oh how I need a bigger house (sigh)

It's July already?

Obviously I have been neglecting my blog. What can I say, not much exciting stuff going on in the Ahrens/Linder household. Time does seem to go by quickly though. Even Austin said last week "this year has been the fastest year so far". That's probably not a good sign when a 9 year old says that. Anyway, Austin has kept himself busy this summer with playdates. I am so happy that he has been able to after being treated like he was at Trinity. I am (and now he finally is) looking forward to going to a new school this year. I am putting my last few weeks of summer break to clean my house. There is much to be done. Right now, I am waiting (not so patiently) for my new Droid phone to be delivered. I am beyond excited!

Work

I have been very busy the last few months with my real job and now teaching one class. But thankfully, my real job with be finished for the summer at the end of the week. Then I will only have to deal with those whiney baby grad students for 4 more weeks. This shall end my teaching career forever! Let the countdown begin.

My wierd dream

Early this morning I was in a light sleep and kept getting woken up by a certain little boy. When I finally was ready to get up, I told Austin that I had a really wierd dream. In the dream I was in an unfamiliar apartment (sort of) and I saw all of these tiny moving what I thought were toys. But, the toys began to multiply and get bigger and they were talking. So we soon realized that they were not toys but were monsters or aliens or whatever. They were wanting kids but were chasing everyone there. So I grabbed Austin who was suprisingly light and just ran and ran through the apartment which turned into a factory and then into a barn where we found a ton of cars and trucks. We hopped into the truck parked at the rear of the barn and crashed through the door to escape. Well the aliens/monsters/whatevers hopped in a truck behind us and started tailing us. Of course this is where I woke up. So after a few moments to process, Austin says, "that was a wierd dream (pause) I mean why would a factory be next to a barn". I just laughed and laughed. On a different note, I had a health screening at work. They did a finger prick to test cholesterol and a few other things. My bad cholesterol was fine but my good cholesterol was very low. A woman's is supposed to be 50 or greater and mine was 15. Of course when I looked online to see how to increase it, the number one thing on every website says exercise. So I have a little extra incentive to get off my butt.

My Life on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown

With minimal resources at work and because it is the time of year when things get crazy anyway, I find myself being a little pissy (pardon my language please). Today I left one school because I was being distracted by a class, went into another to find a worse situation. A first or second grade student was throwing a crying fit for 2 1/2 hours. Finally I could not stand it any longer and went to my office to cool down. Unfortunately it was a fairly unproductive day.

This turmoil at work, paired with my troubles with Austin is pushing me closer to the edge. Austin doesn't seem as affected by all the little jerks in his class as I am so you might ask "why can't you let it go" and my response "I DONT KNOW!" We did make an appointment for a psychological evaluation to determine what if anything is going on with Austin and why he is throwing such big fits. For now, one basketball season is over and another is beginning. Please pray that my sanity lasts long enough to make it through.

Wii Fit

When I finish the Wii Fit this evening it will officially make 3 days in a row of doing 30 minutes of exercize or more.

To further add to my year of wellness, I have decided to reduce my intake of artificial sweetner since someone told me it makes the body expect sugar and therefore hold on to food (making me fatter). This however has been more difficult. Initially I didn't think how many things have artificial sweetners in them (I'm not giving them all up though, just reducing). I mean what do these people expect me to do --eat fruits and vegetables all day;) Boo!