Frustrated with school

I am absolutely frustrated with my sons school. I just don't understand why parents now-a-days are not teaching their kids to be respectful. My son is a straight A student and fits every bit of the teasing for it... kinda kid. BUT... he wants to be a good student, he wants to get along with others, he wants to be friends with other kids. What he doesn't want... to deal with kids who tease him, bully him (or have the older brother do so), and literally bump or hit him and then tell the school staff that it was an accident. They get away with it. WHY??? How many times do you accidently bump the same student in the hallway? Every other day?? I don't think so. Damn it, I want the staff to do their job. Give my child an education and allow him to feel safe while doing so.
Don't make him so frustrated that he punches another student. Don't make him think he would rather be teased and bothered, then be labeled a tattle-tale. :**********(
I am tired of it. I am going to school tomorrow. I am going to talk to the counselor and the principal.

Oh... and DON'T pull my son from class, to have him discuss this crap. Pull the kids during lunch, fine, not during classtime. I have worked too hard to get him to not want to skip class. Don't make it ok to skip class and then say "Oh, don't worry, you can make it up!".

Oh, and then the main issue kid and my son had to sign a contact for their good behavior. After 10 days of good behavior, the counselor will take them to starbucks. Then after 1 month, Tacobell for lunch. #1... what if I don't take my kids to starbucks?? What if we don't eat fastfood? So, you teach a kid... be a bully and we will treat you for later being good for a few days?? NOT!!!! the way I choose to get my kids to behave. They do good things because they know they should. They aren't angels! I have seen them act up and treat others badly. BUT... we discuss these things and talk about why we shouldn't treat others that way, etc. UGH!!!!
I am frustrated!!!!!!!!!

Am I just nuts? I am honestly asking. Thanks,
Rebecca

Being Goofy!

It's been a goofy kind of weekend at the Huntley house. Jarod asked me last night... "hey mom, remember that time you drew a face on my belly? Can you do that again?" I of course agreed, only if he could find the crayola markers. He did. LOL

Sean thought it would be fun to tease Meghan, by wearing one of her new headbands. She decided it would be fun to get more of them out and make him wear them too. Not sure which was more funny.

Then there was the poor cat... who sat a little to still this time, when the kids dressed her. She got a great rolling tummy at her waistline.

And finally... Meghan and I spent time today, making a birthday gift for her friend Nadia. We made a paper box to hold the beaded bracelet we also made. Jarod has spent alot of today, making his belly talk to us. LOL

Oh, what will Sunday evening bring. :)

Baking Bread!

Jordan and I are making white bread today, using the kitchenaid mixer. Yum!!!

Basic White Bread

½ cup low-fat milk
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 packages active dry yeast
1 ½ cups warm water (105F to 115F)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour

Place milk, sugar, salt, and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 ½ cups flour.

Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, and mix about 2 minutes, or until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl.

Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be slightly stick to the touch.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down and divide in half.

Shape each half into a loaf, and place in greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½-inch baking pans. Cover.

Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 400F for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

The Knack

Have you checked out the Knack? It is Michaels new program for craft ideas, kids Saturdays ($5 craft projects on the 1st Sat. each month), etc. Thought you might want to check it out. Michaels is also currently printing a 20% off your future purchase (coupon with valid dates come on the current receipts in stores). Printable coupons are being tested in some market areas. Check out the Michaels website for more information on lots of new programs being rolled out. :)

http://michaels.com/art/online/home

What a weekend!!! We took our trailer out for its first camping trip. On the Oregon Coast, you never know what the weather will be like. I love Weather.com! It hasn't let me down yet. We left Friday mid-morning. We hit Lincoln City within about 2 hours, after stopping for nasty burgers & chicken nuggets at Mcdonalds in Mcminnville. We set up the trailer (which takes minutes compared to setting up the old tent and unloading the car /truck). We headed off to take a walk to the hiking trail. We did find that the storms this past winter were very hard on the Oregon Coast. We knew this, but the sight of the damage and land changes was really amazing. Part of the trail to the beach was closed.

We then hiked what we could and browsed around checking out the animal tracks and homes, etc. Then we headed back to the campsite and got out the bikes. We rode around the loops of the campground. Another reminder of my kids growth... NO Training wheel rattle!! (Meghan learned to ride two wheels this past year.

So we then took a stroll on the beach at Beverly Beach (campground)... checked out the progress of the work crews building the bridge over Hwy 101, there. We have not been camping at Beverly Beach in about 5 years, I think. The path to the beach is now on the opposite side on the water (you can't get to the side we used to stroll, without getting WET to the knees)

We found more changes in the landscape and literally watched the waves continue to change the sand and rocks, etc. It is just amazing (lack of a better word) to watch the earth change!

We spent about an hour digging our these rocks that are buried in the sand... and are full of old shells, petrified sand, etc. Meghan even found her first agate. We left the beach, and got in the truck for a trip to Walmart. We bought a set of stabilizer to stop the trailer from wobbling side to side and making me sick. (Oh, yes, we had them sitting in the garage at home too). Ran back to the campground and threw in a movie. Then just enjoyed the warmth of a heated trailer (and family time).

Saturday brought us to more trips... Lincoln City outlet mall (great $2-$3 clothing for Meghan, $30 shoes but FINALLY they fit her and will work for P.E.), I also found kitchen tools and a spice rack set by Sandra Lee. This thrilled Meghan since she is the biggest Food Network fan. The boys couldn't seem to find much but we all enjoyed Corndogs and pretzels from the snack shop there.

We stopped at Fogerty State park, more for Sean and I to reminicse over the times when the kids were younger and we went there. Again, the landscape was changed greatly but oh so neat to see. Oh, and one picnic table there was filled with Seagulls that were enjoying the lunch some group had left them. I guess the group thought a trip to the beach before their meal would be fun. Sad for them, when they return... but a really funny site to see.

We headed back to the campground and boiled and dyed eggs. Saturday evening I sent the kids out with Sean to sit by the campfire and get ready to cook hotdogs. I got their easter baskets ready and gave those to them. (We tricked Meghan into believing that the Easter bunny had tapped on the trailer window, and given the things to me.) Earlier while driving through Depoe Bay, we had seen the Easter bunny come out of the popcorn and candy store. I am sure she knew, but isn't it fun to still want to believe. :)

Sunday brought in the rain, but only until mid afternoon when it finished dripping from the trees. We spent Sunday playing cards, watching the basketball game, and just being a family. WHAT FUN!! (just a few bickering from kids and parents alike). LOL

Sunday evening we went to Sizzler's in Newport. Not the best food ever, but good. Our Easter was different this year, but it was nothing but great. I had a ton of time to really think about the things that make me happy. The things that we are blessed with. I just kept thinking "If I die tomorrow, what a life I have had!"

After dinner we bought two more bundles of firewood (next time I will be loading the firewood myself)... and had a HUGE bonfire. We sat around for nearly 3 hours by the fire. Oh, I got Jarod a gameboy game that has Life, Payday, and Yatzee on it. DH, Jarod, and I had a blast with that game!! We had the real thing in the game cabinet, but electronics sure are a time saver and space saver!!

Our neighbors were a group of landscapers and their employees (friends), a retired cop and his son's family (also a cop), then the coolest Bus made RV from Alaska. I enjoy getting to see the variety of people that populate a campground.

There seems like so much more...

*Jarod digging in the sand up to his shoulders and finding a power ranger toy buried there.

*The wonderful back massaging showers

*The yellow bulb flowers beginning to bloom all over.

*OH... Devil's Punchbowl... where we walked the kids almost all the way into... at low tide (tide tables checked), and the ton of agates and seaglass we found.

Now I just have to get ready for work at 7am... and a Zone V.P. inspection to boot. :)

Hugs too all... Happy belated Easter to All!!!

Oh... I nearly forgot... We stopped at the Evergreen Air Museum on the way home today too. It would have been $59 for the 5 of us to tour inside the Sprucegoose... but for $0 we toured the airplanes outside and the giftshop... then saw everything but the inside of the sprucegoose itself (from the top level of the giftshop.) A tip given to us from the military vet there. :)

R.I.P. - Prince Fufu

I woke early this morning, to go to work at 7am. Inventory is upon us at Clackamas Michaels.

As I was leaving, I got a strong urge to stop and check our bunnies food and water. Something I normally do in the afternoon. Well... Our bunny passed away last night or early this morning. He was only 2 1/2, but being a dwarf bunny... he could have a ton of things that caused his death. We will miss him!

(photo above is not prince, but is an older bunny that my mil now has... butterscotch)

I was supposed to take the bunny into Meghan's class for show-in-tell this Thursday, so she is a little upset. I am sure that Jarod will be upset at bedtime tonight too. But the kids are dealing with it pretty well. Jarod cried as soon as Sean told them this morning. :(

We have had alot of furry friends over the last years, and death is part of life, we know. Just not the fun part of life. :(

We are now thinking of getting a ferret?? Or possible waiting a few weeks and getting a rescue bunny, after the easter bunnies aren't given enough attention and are looking for better homes. :)

I have been busy today and finished up quite a few layouts. If only I had accomplished as much laundry, as I did scrap time. LOL
Oh well... I even got to spend some time with Meghan and got her ideas put into a few places. I will admite, working with a 7 year old girl is not the easiest thing to do.
I finished the beach layouts from our trip Dec. 2006, got Jordan's 13th birthday together (with his help too), pool pics from dec. '06, and a few basketball layouts from Jordan's current season and a free throw contest he was in last year (even though these aren't my fav. layouts, Jordan liked them).
Enjoy looking. :)

Putting life into words...

Life is really ...
*interesting
*exciting
*scary
*full of possibilities
*...

How do I say what is on my chest? I just don't know. I am frustrated with my work. I am dealing with big business practices, global threats, treatment of mother earth, etc. Is it all worth it? Should I be doing something more? I feel like I am want to become an activist against something, but where do I start? Where do I go?
Then again, I am gaining happiness in my daily life. Trying to spend more time with my kids and keeping our family life good. I am a parent of a teenager, a tween, and a young girl going on 18 (7 really). I feel stretched and pulled and torn between it all, yet I am feeling like there is something out there still to find.
Is this just my age? Is it just the situations I am currently in and the way life has twisted around me over the last few years? I have so many titles to answer "who are you?", yet then I would have to say that I have yet to figure it out too. I feel odd feeling these things, I have never been the type to worry about tomorrow. Maybe it is just everything around me.
*My bil in Iraq
*Gas Prices
*China Recalls
*Big Business not caring about their effect on the earth and this country
*Bil in jail again and the injustices of this situation
*Sil in jail (where she should be)
*Parental health declining
*Strained sibling relationships

Maybe just maybe, as I list these things... I see why it is so important to me to do a better job with my kids. To try to raise them strong, healthy, respectful, and KIND.

Ok... Why does HSN have to take breaks from Scrapbooking shows? I was doing just fine, doing laundry and watching the TV. LOL

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809698364/info

A movie worth renting! A truely gripping and thought provoking 2 hours! Check this out for yourself.

Free Fonts

Here is a link to scrapnfonts.com. They have several free fonts, easy to download. I downloaded 6 of them that will work perfectly on my wishblade. Oh yeah!!! Ok... time to switch the laundry and get a little scrapbooking done. HUGS to all and hope you are having a relaxing afternoon like me! Hee-hee!

http://www.scrapnfonts.com/searchprod.php?showingonly=Free

Comfort Food after hard work...

The kids helped me pull weeds yesterday. I got two flower beds all cleaned out. I got these roses last fall, free from Craigslist! I transplanted the poor overgrown things, and chopped them way back. Figuring they were free, I wasn't going to loose $$ if they didn't come back to life. Well... I have three living and growing out front now. I have four more in the back yard, and they are showing signs of life too; just a bit slower to come around. :)

We also plants two sheets of wild flowers seeds inbetween these roses.

Yesterday I found a website for recipe... from a friend blog. I decided the cinnamon rolls looked just like the ones I treat myself too, from Starbucks. Yummy!! So, I checked the cabinet; and having all the ingredients... I made them. About midnight last night, I realized they had to sit and rise. Oh my!! So I was up until about 1:30am... proofing dough. I put them in the fridge after that, and baked them when I got home from work today.

We are currently waiting on them to cool enough to endulge. :)

Rebecca

Feeling Springy

It is nearly Spring! The flowers are starting to bloom in my yard. I NEED to get out and weed the yard but the ground is still a little too soggy.

I just noticed that my flower pot has bunnies left in it, from last Easter. Humm...

I love the colors in these flowers and really enjoy that they made it through the winter to bloom again! I try to only buy perenials (sp).

I also posted a photo of my Beading Demo from Sunday. These metal spirals stretch open and you slip a pretty bead inside them. Just the easiest and fastest bracelet design ever. The metal spiral come already linked and you just add the center beads and a closure. My kind of beautiful!!!

I am so happy to be starting the demo season again, at the store. While it bites, to have a hour or two taken up in the smack middle of a weekend day... I really enjoy the crafting time that demos give me. I remember why I put up with the stress of my job; and what the true benefits of the job are. :)

Anyhoo... Happy Day to all!

Blast from the Past!

Have you ever been in a store or somewhere and someone comes up and asks "Are you _____?"

Well... today, I was shopping for a few misc. items. I wondered past a guy a couple times, who just looked familiar and made me think "who is THAT guy?". But, I went on. He then came up to me in the check out and asked that questions "Aren't you Rebecca?" "Yeah... I thought I recognized you, but... "

He says "It's me, BO!"

"Oh! HI!!" "How are you?" ... blah blah blah (catch up on life since HIGH SCHOOL)

I have ran into a few friends since high school. It is always such an odd thing. Do I exchange numbers like we might call later? Do we play the game of who did what in life since when. Or just have that kinda uncomfortable conversation and go our seperate ways.
I often wonder what a few people are up to, have they gotten married and had kids, etc. But then part of the fun is not knowing and wondering "what ever happened to ______?"

I had to chuckle as I got back in my car today, after seeing Bo. A quick glance in my mirror made me notice that me hair is up the same as I usually had it in high school. This morning as I did my hair I even thought "Oh, my... I remember THIS hairdo." I have been growing my hair out for years now, cutting it here and there... but oddly coming a 360 to years ago. Life sure has its moments. :)

CKC Convention

CKC was a blast. I volunteered from 8am to Noon on Friday. Started off with a boxer (boxerscrapbooks.com) "perpetual calendar" class. Then a 2 page layout class with "legacy paper arts.com". She runs a monthly layout or paper project kit club. Then I got about 2/3 of a 2nd Boxer class... "Bad to the bone" I think it was called. It is a kit class that made a chipboard, dog bone shaped album.

Boxer was AWESOME and gave me kits for each of the classes even though vendors are discouraged from giving more to T.A.'s. I did also get a $10 online C.C. to the legacy paper arts too.

Just seeing how another teacher, teaches, was an awesome experience to me too. The ladies were all so fun to work with.

CK (CreatingKeepsakes) gives each volunteer a $30 C.C. to their booth, but they excluded most things. LOL I did get two All-in-One 8x8 album books though, and two pins from the show. Then I got a 50% off apparel coupon, and found a new t-shirt still left in my size. (most appareal sells out on Thursday night, at the first crop night. I thought the designs of the T's could have been a bit better, but who am I. LOL

I quickly went through the show (with my free entry bracelet that I couldn't waste) and headed home. I had planned at this point to meet up with my friend Diane and my mom to go throughly through the faire.

So, then I get home, and Diane IM's me... good thing I had decided to not cut off my entry bracelet... we headed back last night. I had a great time browsing the booths with Diane. We ran into a few "metro croppers" and did a make-in-take at the Boxer booth. Cute little easter card. Most surprising to me, was how little I spent! Normally I go with $100+ to just spend, spend, spend. But maybe because I just went through and organized most of my supplies, maybe cause not much grabbed me, or MAYBE I already have too much (Ack!)... I didn't buy much more then paper and a few stickers.

I did buy a grabber thingy for pompoms to use with chalking. That will come in handy, since I just found my older stencils and pompoms supplies. :)

Ok... so, I had fun... hope you are all enjoying your weekend. (I gotta do Chuck E Cheese tonight and work tomorrow LOL)