Milo, Ancestry, and a Few Other Things

Sean had the month of May off from school and started back on the 31st of May. It's just Math right now - two days a week. His girlfriend Ashley has the same class, as well as some classes she takes online. I think Sean will start with the actual aviation stuff in the fall.

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Milo had a vet appointment a few weeks ago. He's overweight, which I knew, has some elevated liver values, lyme disease (that was a shock, as was the elevated liver values), and needed dental work. We had the dental work done a couple weeks ago. Mostly cleaning, but one tooth was so loose it fell out in the process of cleaning. They also gave him a shot for the lyme disease. I think he's due for the booster, but we haven't heard from the vet about that. I'll try to remember to call them next week. We're feeding Milo less and Charlie takes him for a walk every day to help him lose weight. The vet said that the extra weight and/or his bad teeth may be what was affecting his liver, so hopefully the cleaning and the weight loss will help with that. He's lost about a pound so far.

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I've been doing some work on the family tree lately. I normally do a little here and there a few days a week, but I've been going more in-depth and spending more time with it lately. Mostly trying to get through some brick walls. I've made some progress with a few branches of the family tree that I haven't been able to get anywhere with in a few years. It's been kind of exciting. I'm so glad to be getting somewhere with former brick walls. For some, that's only another generation or two, but it's better than nothing. Ancestry adds new records every day, so I'm sure that's helped.

My mom's oldest sister recently had her DNA done through Ancestry. I don't remember the percentages off the top of my head, but her DNA is about 34% Ireland/Scotland/Wales. Then about 11% or 12% Europe West. (Or maybe it was 6%.) The rest is Scandinavia, Iberian Peninsula, and then trace regions - Great Britain, Finland/Northwest Russia, Africa South-Central Hunter-Gatherers, Middle East, and Europe South.

I have all of those in my DNA except for Africa and Middle East. (I do have Causcasus, which is close to Middle East.) I read somewhere that Native American sometimes shows up in DNA as Middle East or Asia.

I'm not surprised by the Africa DNA (I have ancestors a few generations back listed as mulatto on census records) and like many Americans, we've been told that we have Native American ancestors. (They say for most people that turns out not to be true.) My mom's dad said that his grandma was Cherokee and that he would watch her brush her long, black hair. She has been a hard one to trace.

If the Middle East DNA isn't Native American, then I don't know what it is. I've found ancestors who could be Native American, but I haven't found any from the Middle East. And I've gone back hundreds of years. So, if there are actual Middle Easterners in our tree, I've yet to find them and would be surprised if I did. The closest I've found to the Middle East is a couple ancestors from Ukraine. It's possible that if we do have Middle Eastern ancestors that that's probably where they went to from wherever they were from.

I want to order a DNA test for my mom soon. I'd be interested to know what percentages of our ancestry she has, how they compare to me and her sister, and if anything shows up in her DNA that isn't in mine or her sister's.

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I'm still reading The Martian. The reason it's taking so long is not because it's boring, but because I keep falling asleep before I can get very far. I'm almost done with it now though. Less than 100 pages to go. I'll be reading A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir next. It's the third book in the An Ember in the Ashes series. It just came out this past Tuesday and I can't wait to buy it and read it.

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Charlie and Sean left yesterday morning for a big drag racing event in Bristol. (Not sure if that's the Bristol in Virginia or Tennessee.) Sean sent me a couple pictures of himself with some famous drag racers. I don't remember their names. They will be home on Sunday. I pray God keeps them safe. I'll be glad when they're back home.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Easter, Music, Books, School Update

We had a beautiful Easter. Church was awesome. We had about 450 people there for our Easter service. There was great music (Risen, The Great I Am, Shine on Us, Clean), an awesome skit by the youth, a song in sign language (Alabaster Box), another drama/skit/sticks thing (a song about the blood), and then our pastor preached with the Spanish pastor interpreting like they do on the missions field in other countries. Our Spanish church was combined with our English church.




I think our church does it better. More "mmph"and power. :-)


Not really crazy about this song.


Not a favorite of mine, but it's okay.


Not our church, but this is the skit our youth did.

After service (which we didn't stay for), there was hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill (multiple grills), a bounce house for the kids, a petting zoo, candy rain from the roof of our building, an Easter egg hunt on the back lawn, a mini iPad giveaway, and I don't remember what else.

My family and I came on home. I made French toast and bacon. After eating, I went to bed for a few hours because I'd only slept about 3½ hours or so the night before. Thankfully, I didn't feel tired at all during church, but it hit me after eating.

My kids didn't get Easter outfits this year for maybe the first time ever. They weren't really interested. Which kind of makes me sad, but it's fine. Sean wore a black suit with a pink shirt and black tie. Kelly wore a turquoise top, black pencil skirt, long multi-colored cardigan (turquoise, off-white, black southwestern style print), and black heels. Charlie wore black pants and a purple shirt. I wore my new pink dress with a short-sleeved white shrug, new white heels with pink flowers on them (scroll down two entries to see the dress and shoes), and a purse I got at JC Penney this past Friday or Saturday.

Originally $50, I paid $17.50

 

The weather Easter Sunday was absolutely perfect! Sunny and temperatures in the low 70s. I can't remember the last time we had such pretty weather on Easter. Most Easters over the past several years have been cloudy and chilly and sometimes rainy. I'm so glad this Easter was what it should be. Growing up, that's what I remember Easter being like - sunny and warm. It's one of the things I always loved about Easter when I was a kid. I'm sure there were probably some not so nice Easters, but I must have blocked them out. lol

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A day or two before Easter, I did a little shopping and got some pretty good deals.

I got these at Stein Mart. Brand is Amelia Grace. Original price is $59, but I paid about $40.

Dress by Pappagallo. Purchased at Stein Mart. Original price is $99, but I paid $50. I have a weakness for white dresses. And black dresses. :-)

LLoraine shoes from Shoe Carnival. Originally about $50, I got them for about $40. Color: Rose Gold.

Alyx brand dress purchased at JC Penney. Originally $74, I paid $30.

Because I'm short, all dresses go below my knees.

When Easter Sunday came, I was leaning toward the pink dress that I ended up wearing, but had the shrug or the shoes (floral or nude) not looked right with it, I may have had a hard time deciding between the white one, the black floral, or the white with black piping I bought a couple months ago.

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Since my last entry, I've read A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas and High Voltage (10th book in a series) by Karen Marie Moning. I loved the two Court books and would've given them 4½-5 stars at GoodReads if it wasn't for the fact that these sexually explicit books are being sold as teen/young adult books. They are very adult! The thought of teens reading them and some idiot thinking, "Yeah, these are good for teens" and deciding to sell them as such shocks me and kind of makes me sick. So that took away from the enjoyment a little bit. I gave them each 4 stars. Not a huge deduction, I know, but giving them less than 4 stars wouldn't really be accurate as the story itself is really good. I cried several times reading ACOWAR.

High Voltage was a real page turner and I was really enjoying it until the last few chapters. I really didn't like what the author decided to do with the main character. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil it. I gave it 3 stars at GoodReads.

I started reading After You (2nd book in a trilogy) by Jojo Moyes a few days ago. I'm not too crazy about what happened to the main character early on in the book (not because it's a terrible thing to have happen to a person, which it is, but because it just seems a bit much to me and I couldn't help but roll my eyes a bit), but other than that, I'm liking it so far.

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Sean had been wanting to talk to the class assignment people and financial aid people at his school for sometime and finally got to speak to them a few days ago. (They weren't returning calls or emails.) Apparently, and I'm not sure I completely understand this, all but the math course he's taking are not necessary for his major. The reason they put him in English and Public Speaking and Humanities(?) and Psychology and whatever else he might have been taking is because they thought he was going for some kind of degree (he's not; he's going for a certificate in airplane mechanics/power plants/whatever) and to keep him from losing his financial aid.

I think he said that in May he'll be done or get to drop all the other classes and just do the math. (I forget what kind of math it is.) And then in the fall he'll start with the actual airplane mechanics stuff. And I think he said something about having to pay $200+ for something that I guess either financial aid won't cover or there won't be enough left over to cover or something. I'm not sure of the details.

So all this time he's been taking classes he doesn't need for his major because they thought he needed the credits and the knowledge for whatever degree they thought he was trying to get. I mean, sure it helped to keep the financial aid, but other than that it was a waste of time. And I can't help but wonder if he'd have been able to use the financial aid and just do math and go right into airplane mechanics. Would he already be learning the mechanics part right now with the financial aid covering it? Whatever. I reckon there's nothing that can be done about that. I just hope he has enough aid left to cover the mechanics course. I'm going to be kind of angry if it runs out because the school got it wrong.


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Books, Bird Wrangling, and No Vacation

After I got groceries Friday night, Charlie and I went out. We went to Stein Mart first where I got those floral heels I posted a picture of in the previous entry. They're so pretty. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to wear them with. Not sure if it'd be too much pink if I wore them with my new pink dress. Probably, but I'll try them on with it to see. I'll probably end up wearing my nude heels with it.

Anyway, we went to Barnes and Noble after that. I was going to get a book called White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey, but they didn't have it. I'll order it from Amazon sometime soon. I could've ordered it from Barnes and Noble, but the woman helping me said that it's published by Amazon and I'd get it quicker if I ordered directly from them. I didn't leave empty-handed though. I got a book I've been checking for for a few months now that they finally had - The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin. I also got a bookmark for Kelly. It has a wolf on it (she loves wolves) and a quote, but I can't remember what it says.

Then we went to Brixx Pizza for supper.

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Charlie had the car most of Saturday. He and Sean, a guy from church (Jamie) and his daughter (Kaley), and a friend (Rick) went to some drag racing event in or near Benson. I needed to go to a few places, so my mom was my ride. (I really hate having to depend on someone else for transportation.) I had just heard about a bookstore in my town that has sales on the weekends. They're mostly an online bookstore. This past weekend, all books were on sale for a dollar. I didn't have as much time to look as I wanted, but I did get one book - The Clan of the Cave Bear. A guy who works there told me that they're having another sale this weekend.

My mom dropped me off at the church so I could vacuum the sanctuary after we left the bookstore. A guy named Cliff who, obviously, goes to our church was already there vacuuming the halls. I hadn't been vacuuming long (I was almost done with the aisle I had started on) and had stopped to fix a couple rows when I saw a bird go hopping across the floor. Cliff was in the foyer and I went running down the aisle to the foyer to get him to come help me. We shut all but the main sanctuary doors, hoping the bird would eventually fly out and into the foyer. After getting the other doors closed, we walked around looking for it, but didn't see it. I was like, "Maybe it went into the foyer." Cliff was closer to the foyer than I was and when he checked, he saw the bird in the foyer. So then we shut the sanctuary doors and I held the front door open (it did a little flying hop into the glass once before I got to the door) and, after flying a lap around the foyer, it flew out within seconds of me opening the door, right past me and into the bushes.

After the bird left, I continued vacuuming and looked to see if it had done its business in the sanctuary, but I didn't see anything. Our singers had done a singing downtown Friday night (they do that once a month, weather permitting and if there's nothing else planned) and I'm thinking the bird probably got in while they were moving equipment into or out of the building with the front doors propped open. Which means the poor birdie was in the sanctuary all night Friday night and most of the day Saturday. I said a little prayer for it that it wouldn't have any lasting ill effects from its forced fast and lack of water. I hope it found plenty of bugs to eat as soon as it got outside.

It was a little after 7:00 PM by the time I finished vacuuming. I then had to go to Petsmart to get Pippin's food. Of course, I had to go see all the kitties while I was there. They're so cute.

Charlie and Sean got home a few minutes before I did. I wasn't expecting them until about 10:00 or 11:00, but Charlie said it was cold and windy and it would just get colder after the sun went down, so they came on home as it got close to evening time.

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Pippin started feeling better after a couple days. All is good with him now.

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Sean's on spring break this week. He didn't tell me until Sunday night. :-/ I told him that I had been thinking of going to Southport when he's on spring break, thinking it would be the third or fourth week of this month. Now it's too short notice for Charlie to get time off. But then it's also too chilly to go on vacation and enjoy our time in Southport or on the beach. I like to take my shoes off and enjoy the sand and the waves and the warm sun when I go to the beach, not have to wear boots and a coat. :-/

We couldn't go on vacation last year because of Sean being in school and he said that he doesn't think he gets any time off in the summer. So we don't know when we'll get to go. Maybe next year. *sigh*

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Weather, School, and Dresses

The new year started off much colder than what's normal for North Carolina. Highs in the 20s and 30s, lows in the single digits and teens. I only left my house when absolutely necessary, which thankfully wasn't often.

Then on the 17th, it finally snowed. Not that I wanted it to snow, but a lot of people were saying that if it's going to be this cold, it should snow. We got about 8-9 inches at my house.

Since then, it's warmed up quite a bit. We've had a couple days of highs in the mid to upper 60s. It's been really nice. Too bad the ground is too wet now from the melting snow to be able to go to the park. Our shoes would be covered in mud. :-/

Temperatures should be in the 50s and 60s all week. They're calling for rain tonight (it's currently 1:22 AM) and in the morning, so that's just going to add to the mud situation unfortunately. It's also supposed to be really windy. I'm glad it's not going to be cold like it was a week ago with those winds. The windchill would be awful.

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The last time I posted about Sean and school, I thought he'd have a couple days each week where he'd be in classes until around 5:00 in the evening, but his two long days (Tuesdays and Thursdays) are only until about 2:30/3:00. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are quite short - he's usually done by about 10:45/11:00 AM. He also has work he has to do online after he gets home.

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After checking every store we could think of in Greensboro and multiple searches online, Kelly and I finally just went to David's Bridal to get a bridesmaid dress. I had checked online a couple weeks before and saw that it looked like they had the color the bride (Kelly's best friend Rene) wanted. Kelly tried on a few and this is the one she chose. Rene loves it.

They were having a big sale. Only paid about $54 after tax.

We went shopping last Friday or Saturday (12th or 13th) and got shoes - light gray Vans. And then got a sweater to wear over it (for modesty) this past Saturday. Rene was with us for both shopping trips.

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I had told Charlie that I couldn't really think of anything I wanted for Christmas. Then I had told him that I could just go shopping for a dress. I love dresses and can't remember the last time I bought one. So when we went shopping Saturday evening, I finally looked for one. I had seen several on Dillard's website that I wanted to look at in their store, but I couldn't find them. I ended up getting this one instead:

The dress is Ellen Tracy. $118.

Then when we went to H&M, I got this one:

About $40, but I think it might be on sale now.

I wore that one to church this past Sunday with a black shrug. I got compliments on it from my mom, my husband, and a few friends. :-) The white dress is more of a spring/summer dress, so I won't wear that one until at least March.



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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Thanksgiving, Plans, Sad Goodbye, Dream Car

We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Though it was only me, Charlie, the kids, and my mom. My mom cooked the turkey. Well, she tried. The directions said 3-3½ hours at 325°, but it was still bloody. So she cooked it another hour at 350° or 375° and brought it over. But when I cut into it, it was still bloody. So I cooked it about another hour and it was finally done.

While the turkey was cooking, we went ahead and ate the sides while they were still warm. I made mashed potatoes and gravy, black eyed peas, stuffing, green beans, and crescent rolls. Dessert was apple pie, chocolate pie, and pumpkin pie.

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Kelly and I are still thinking about going to the mountains. We were going to go today, but that's probably not going to happen. I've been busy this week (busy for me) and don't think I feel up to a trip. We also haven't decided for sure where we want to go. We'd like to do the Parkway (Fancy Gap to Boone), but we also really want to go to Biltmore in Asheville. We may end up not going at all if we keep putting it off though. I don't know. We'll see.

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I told Charlie and the kids a few days ago that I'd like to go see the Christmas lights at Tanglewood. We haven't been since the kids were little. Kelly's excited to go and mentioned it yesterday. Hopefully soon.

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I got an email a couple days ago from our vet saying they're closing for good on the 30th. (Yesterday.) That makes me so sad. We've been taking our pets there for several years. I really liked them and will miss them. From what I gather, their closing was sudden/unexpected for them. They didn't say why. When I went there on Wednesday to get Pippin's prescription food, one of the receptionists (Karen from England) said something about circumstances beyond their control. I didn't want to pry, so I didn't ask what happened. When I went back to my car, I sat there for a minute with tears in my eyes, trying not to cry too much. I felt so silly, but I really am going to miss them.

So I'll have to find a new vet soon. There's one closer to our house that I may try.

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On Wednesday, in addition to going to the vet (twice; I had to go back to get Pip's prescription), I also had to bring the kids to the dentist. That was Sean's last appointment at the pediatric dentist. Neither had cavities, but both have wisdom teeth that may have to come out. They said Kelly can probably wait another year, but Sean may have to have his out sooner. I reckon when he goes to the regular dentist, they can decide.

After coming home from bringing the kids to the dentist and going to the vet a second time, I fell asleep on the couch for about an hour and woke up about 15 minutes before time to leave for church. Oops! We were a little late (it was just me and Sean), but service didn't start until right after we got there. So it was okay.

I picked up a few things from the store after church before coming home. It was nice to change into my comfortable house clothes. :-)

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Yesterday, after bringing Sean and his girlfriend Ashley to their school (a local community college), Kelly and I went first to a station to get my car inspected. Then we went to the DMV to pay the taxes on my car and Charlie's car hauler. (Inspection and taxes were both due by yesterday or there would've been a late fee.) From there, we stopped by Cato (got nothing) and then went to Brixx for a late lunch. We were really hungry and it tasted really good!

After leaving Brixx, we went basically across the street (diagonally, several lanes) to the chocolate shop to get some cherry cordials. She asked if I wanted a ribbon for my box and I chose my favorite color - green. :-)

By then it was just about time for Sean and Ashley to get out of class. (Nearly 5:00.) So we went to their school and waited for them to get out. We finally came home after bringing Ashley home and I made supper - chicken giardino.

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Speaking of Sean and school. He's been going to a math class twice a week. He's done now until January. In January, he'll be going to several classes five days a week. Two or three of those days will be all day. From about 8:00/9:00/10:00 AM until about 5:00 or 5:30 in the evening. He has to take one of his classes online (English, I think) because the one at the school is at the same time as one of his other classes.

I don't remember what all he's taking. A more advanced math than what he just finished, English, Psychology, Human something or other (Humanities?), and I don't remember what else.

After he's done with all those classes, he'll finally be able to start the actual aviation mechanic stuff. Either in the spring or summer. Hopefully he does well in his classes and can start the mechanics course when he expects to.

Ashley is going to school for computer technology or something like that.

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The reason Kelly and I went to Cato is because Kelly's best friend Rene (she'll be 21 in April) is getting married in February and Kelly is a bridesmaid. Rene and her family don't have a lot of money and Rene wants to keep things simple. So she told Kelly to just find a light gray dress. (Her colors are gray and pink.) We've been to several stores and have found nothing that will work or that Kelly likes. (She's very picky.) We've been to Stein Mart, Macy's, New York and Company, Dillard's, Belk, Kohl's, Target, Charlotte Russe, JC Penney, and of course Cato. There a couple more stores we may try. If we can't find anything then we'll have to look online. But we've got to hurry so there's time to order, wait for shipping, possibly have to ship it back if it doesn't work (I hate shopping for clothes or shoes online because you can't try them on before buying them), order something else, etc. :-/

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Speaking of shopping, I bought a cute jacket about 3-4 weeks ago at Stein Mart. It was originally about $40, $78 at other stores, but I paid $29. :-)

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For years I've wanted a Mini Cooper. Well, I've recently fallen in love with something else - Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I don't know why, but I just love them. Kelly said she's surprised I would want a vehicle like that. It's kind of rugged and some look like military vehicles almost, but I really want one. However, the price for a new one is much more than I'd want to pay and I really don't want a car payment. The car I have now (2007 Honda CRV) has been paid off for about 5 years and I've loved not having a payment. Of course, we'd want to check how reliable they are and all that. But if it's good, maybe someday. I want either a black one, a red one, a dark gray one, or dark green/olive green/army green one. It's possible though that by the time we're able or ready to buy one I may no longer be interested. lol


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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School, New Roof, Sadie

I mentioned in my previous entry that Sean had to take some placement tests. He needed five 7's, but got three 7's and two 6's. So he's having to take a math course and I guess when he gets the scores he needs he can start the aviation course. Perhaps in the spring. He has class twice a week - Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to about 5:00 or later. I think it's supposed to be over by 5:15 or 5:30, but they usually finish shortly before 5:00.

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I finished reading Undertow by Michael Buckley on July 20th. I really liked it. I started reading The Race for Paris by Meg Waite Clayton the next day. I'm a little over 100 pages into it and not much has happened. :-/ So I started reading Raging Sea (Undertow #2) a week ago. More exciting than The Race for Paris. I'll pick that book back up when I'm done with Raging Sea.

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The roofing company finally came out to do our roof last month. A couple months after we'd signed a contract with them. They made a couple mistakes and did a little damage in the process. :-/ Charlie told them that he wasn't going to pay them our part (the deductible) until they fixed it. So a couple guys came out a few weeks ago. They fixed the damage, but not the mistakes. Then another guy came out a couple days ago and took care of that. It's been a bit frustrating. Hopefully it's done now.

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I didn't go to my dentist appointment last month. The day of my appointment, when I was about to get in the shower and get ready, I decided that I just couldn't deal with it that day. I still need to call them and reschedule.

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Our cat Sadie (age 15) had to be taken to the vet a couple weeks ago. She's only been to the vet once or twice since we've had her because she can be difficult and sometimes just plain mean when it comes to anything she doesn't want to do. Including being made to get in a carrier. But I noticed about the 16th or 17th of this month that she was going to the litter box a lot. After several visits to the litter box, she started peeing blood. So I made an appointment for her and had her checked. (She walked into the carrier on her own, so no struggle there.) They kept her overnight so they could give her fluids, get a urine sample, take x-rays, etc.

We found out that she has a urinary tract infection and kidney failure.  The kidney failure was caught fairly early, but the vet can't say how long she has to live. For some it progresses quickly, for others it progresses slowly. I hope we have at least another year with her.

I've been giving her antibiotics for the past couple weeks for the UTI. She goes back to the vet tomorrow to check her blood and urine. I'm not sure what we do from here. The vet mentioned having to give Sadie shots everyday for the kidney failure at the last visit. Ugh. If we do, that'll have to be something Charlie does. I can't give shots.


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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School, Dentist, Books

Sean passed the test he took on Monday, July 10th. We thought that was the final one, but he's taken two this week and will take another on Monday. He received a letter in the mail yesterday telling him that he's officially a student at GTCC. The tests he's taking are placement tests. (I think. I'm blanking at the moment.) He starts the aviation mechanics course sometime in August. He was unable to get a grant (not available for what he's going to school for) or scholarship (doesn't qualify?), so he had to get a loan. It's not a big one, but will be enough to cover the costs of the course and hopefully shouldn't take very long to pay off.

When school starts, he'll be going to the Jamestown campus. We went there last week for financial stuff. (I waited in the car.) Normally, I look at a map of where we're going and am able to memorize it and get to where we're going without any problem. This time, I completely forgot that we had to get on Grandover from Groometown and just stayed on Groometown. We ended up way out in the country somewhere in Randolph County. I don't even know what town we were in. lol So then I turned on the GPS on my phone and we got there in about 10-15 minutes.

I just checked Google maps. When I went the wrong way, we ended up in a town/spot called Glenola. Between Archdale and Sophia. lol Wow. Like I said earlier, only about 10-15 minutes from where we were supposed to be, but still. lol Real pretty country out that way though. We enjoyed the views. :-)

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I have a dentist appointment today. I reeeeally don't feel like going. *sigh* I don't expect anything bad. They always tell me I have beautiful teeth and that I do a great job taking care of them. I'm just not in the mood to have someone put their fingers in my mouth or scrape/floss/brush or even talk to me or have any human contact outside of my family whatsoever. lol #introvertproblems

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I finally finished reading The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick ten days ago. Sometimes it was interesting and sometimes it was boring.

I started reading Undertow by Michael Buckley on the same day. It's very different from other urban fantasy/teen urban fantasy books I've read before. Creatures from the sea who look human, but also have some of the physical characteristics of fish. (Some are like mermaids, some aren't.) Some of the teens of that group are going to high school with human kids and it's causing huge problems - riots, protests, attacks, etc. Seems really strange, yet I'm having a hard time putting it down.


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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This is a Short One

Sean passed the test he took this past Wednesday. He takes the final test tomorrow. If he passes that one, he can enroll in aviation mechanics classes. We're hoping he can get a grant or scholarship of some kind. If not, he'll try for an on-the-job training situation or he'll just get a job somewhere and start saving money.

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I went to Dillard's on Friday and got three more shirts.

Westbound top for $29. Like the "melon" colored one I got, which you can see in the previous entry.

Westbound top for $26. "Cinnamon red." I also got it in white, in addition to the pink and black ones in the previous entry.

Kelly got two T-shirts from Hot Topic. (One Anime character and one Arrow - the TV series.) I got Sean a new pair of jeans. His are getting too tight.

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Two new favorite songs:







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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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This and That

Sean is doing very well with his schooling. It's going to take longer than we thought though. He definitely won't be done by mid-September. He's currently taking Math 1, but they told him that they should've just put him in Math 2 since Math 1 is so easy for him. He's getting all 95s and 100s and is usually the first one to raise his hand to answer a question. Sometimes the only one. And he gets them all right. The instructor had to tell him to put his hand down and let someone else answer. (He was nice about it.) lol But others got the answers wrong.

He can take the test to move to Math 2 after 60 hours. We'll be on vacation that week (his instructor told him that was fine; that he could just pick up where he left off when he gets back), so he'll take the test the following week. After 60 hours of Math 2 and another test, he then moves on to GED Math (not sure if that's another 60 hours) and then he can take the GED test.

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I finished Time Siege (2nd book in the Time Salvager trilogy) by Wesley Chu yesterday. The Time Salvager books aren't like anything I've read before. I've read books set in the future, and a series with some time travel (Outlander), but nothing I can recall that's futuristic (about 500 years in the future), has time travel (an organization has ownership of time travel and they send back trained people to gather relics, technology, and other items), as well as a lot of it taking place in space and on other planets where people have set up colonies because of the Earth Plague that's made Earth uninhabitable in many areas, but most of it is on Earth.

There's action, battles, love, betrayal. I'm really enjoying them. I don't know when the third book is coming out (the author doesn't know either; he said he's working on a few different projects), but I can't wait to read it.

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I've gotten a few things since my last blog entry. A couple dresses, a white lacy shrug (to replace one I had that I was constantly pushing the sleeves up on because I couldn't stand them covering my elbows), a skirt, and a denim jacket.

I got this at Dillard's a few weeks ago. Originally $110, I paid around $40. I was going to wear my red shrug with it, but I looked too much like a British nurse in it. (Like in the show Call the Midwife.) So I wore my light pink shrug with it. It looks really cute. :-)

 I got this at Dress Barn a few weeks ago. Originally $70, I paid about $35 before taxes. It's sleeveless, as you can see, and is open in the back almost down to my waist. I wore a black shrug with it to cover my back and upper arms that's a similar material as the top of the dress.

I saw this at JC Penney and really liked it, but they didn't have my size and it wasn't quite as long as I wanted it. It barely covered my knees. So I ordered a Tall in my size from their website a couple weeks ago. I paid about $25 for it.

I got this denim moto jacket at Stein Mart this past Saturday. The tag says it's $58 at other stores. I paid $35.

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I've been doing a lot of work on the family tree lately. I usually visit the site nearly every day and do a little here and there, but I've been spending a lot of time there the past few months. I'm writing everything down in journals. I recently bought another journal for my dad's dad's side, the third one for that branch, because I'd run out of room in the one I had been writing in for that branch. I usually work on one branch for a few days or a week, attaching pictures and documents online and writing things down in the journals, before switching to another branch. I'm doing my family and my husband's family.

I switched to my husband's dad's side last week and made an interesting discovery - Frank and Jesse James are distant cousins of my husband and his parents/siblings/nieces and nephews. For my husband and his sisters, Frank and Jesse are their 6th cousins 4x removed.

I found out a few weeks ago that my husband and his family are also distant cousins of Micajah Autry, a hero of the Alamo.

It's interesting and at times really cool what you can discover when working on your family tree. I did their DNA test about a year and a half ago (I think) and have been contacted by a few second, third, and fourth cousins. A couple of them are now my Facebook friends. One of them (who is not a FB friend) was adopted and wanted to know more about her birth family and our shared ancestors (on my mom's dad's side), but her birth mom wouldn't talk to her or tell her anything about her family history. I don't know her parents or grandparents (too distant to have ever met or even crossed paths), but I shared my tree with her so that she would at least know something about her ancestors.

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I think I'll close out this entry with some things I'm looking forward to.

1. Vacation! We'll be going to Morehead City area (mostly for Cape Lookout and Fort Macon) and, of course, Southport.

2. Going to the mountains in October. Not sure if we'll do the usual drive down the Parkway to Boone. I'm thinking about maybe going directly to Boone and doing Grandfather Mountain, Blowing Rock, Mystery Hill House, Linville Caverns and Linville Falls. The kids really want to go to Blowing Rock and Mystery Hill House (again) and going directly to Boone would make it easier as we'd have more time to get there before they close.

3. Going on some hikes like we did last October and November. I'd like to go to Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock again. I'd also like to go to Stone Mountain. All the years I've lived in this area and I've yet to go there.

4. Sean finishing school and then starting his aviation mechanics course. If that's what he's still planning to do.

5. Books are always on my list. :-) A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir, sequel to An Ember in the Ashes, comes out today. (Looks like there's going to be 4 in the series.) I'll probably get that on Friday. I'm hoping the third Time Salvager book comes out next year, but I have no idea. And really looking forward to the 9th Outlander book (by Diana Gabaldon) that should be coming out in a year or two. The title was recently released - Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone.

According to Diana:

"It's a very old Celtic custom (known in other parts of Europe, too) that made it to the Appalachians. You always tell the bees when someone is born, dies, comes or goes--because if you don't keep them informed, they'll fly away."

Not sure how I feel about the title. It's different, interesting. Maybe it'll grow on me. :-)


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Goals, New and Newish Clothes, Keeping Busy

We start each new school year in September. Usually after we get back from vacation. I'll be going to the homeschool store probably next week to get what Kelly needs for 10th grade. She already has World History, Geometry, Grammar, Vocabulary/Spelling/Poetry, and Biology. She just needs to get Literature and two electives.

Sean got behind in his schoolwork and wouldn't have gotten caught up until some time next year. Mostly because he's soooo sloooow and lazy. So rather than draw out 12th grade, he's going to GTCC to get his GED.

From what I've read, getting your GED at the end of 12th grade is something some homeschoolers do anyway. Just to have something more "official" (in the eyes of some ignorant college officials and/or employers; I don't use the word ignorant as an insult) than a diploma you can order or print out on your printer.

While homeschooling is becoming more and more popular, and more colleges are becoming more aware and accepting of homeschool graduates (especially Ivy League and other universities of great reputation), knowing that Sean is not likely to go to a normal 4-8 year college, getting his GED and then learning a trade* is something I knew he would end up doing. (Learning a trade; not so much the GED.)  Besides, from what I've heard and read, a lot of college graduates are struggling to find work in their chosen field, having to work retail or in restaurants or sales just to have a job and pay their bills. I hope Sean will be successful doing what he's chosen to do.

*Google (and YouTube) Mike Rowe to learn more about the need for more blue collar workers, how in demand they are, and how well some of those jobs are paying. Some welders are getting paid $150,000 or more a year. I told Sean that he should have that as a plan B.

Sean started school when he was 6, was supposed to graduate this past May or June at age 19. Not a big deal. A lot of kids start at 6 instead of 5, for various reasons. Sean has always been a bit behind physically and not quite as mature as other kids his age. It didn't bother us that he would graduate at 19. But he'll be 20 in April and still working on 12th grade if he sticks with the homeschool work. He's ready (and so am I) to just go ahead and finish by getting his GED and then start Aviation Mechanics classes in the spring.

If he wasn't so slow, he could be finished by the end of this year or early next year if he worked really hard, several hours a day, but apparently that's too much for him. So, GED it is. He should be done by the second or third week of September.

Last week he took a test to see what he knows and what courses he needs to take. He did very well on the Reading, Social Studies, and Science portions of the test. He also did pretty well on some of the Math (fractions, decimals, geometry, division), but not so great on the rest of it (multiplication - he ran out of time, percents, maybe one or two other parts). So Math is the only subject he has to take a class in. He goes from 9 AM to 12 PM, Monday-Thursday and, as I said earlier, he should be done by the second or third week of September. He will take the test at that time and hopefully pass and get his GED.


Anyway, I'm glad he has a goal and a plan and is working towards achieving it. Of course, since he doesn't have a car or a license (we'll try to get that done this year), I drive him to class and pick him up. That's close to 60 miles a day - there and back, and then there and back again. (No Hobbits traveling with us though.) I also have to go to bed earlier than I normally do and get up earlier. It's been really tough on this night owl. lol I miss my late nights. But it's worth it.

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I haven't done as much shopping over the past couple months, I don't think. Well, I've shopped, but not bought a whole lot. :-)

I got this skirt at Kohl's about 3-4 months ago. I got it on sale, but don't remember how much I paid for it. Maybe $30?

I got this dress at Belk a couple months ago. It was originally about $50 and I paid about $25.

I saw this at Belk, but they didn't have my size. I happened to check Dillard's website and they had it for about $30 cheaper than Belk, so I ordered it from Dillard's about 3-4 weeks ago. I wore it with the red shrug below.

I got this dress at JC Penney about 3 weeks ago (a couple days before Evie died). Originally about $60, I paid $30. Comfortable and looks good on me.

When I was looking for the dress above this one at JC Penney's website, I saw this red one, available online only. Originally $60, I paid $35. I ordered it a few days after getting the floral one.

I got this dress at Kohl's this past Friday night. Originally $69, I paid $43 and change after tax. It's really comfortable and fits well.

I got this tank at Kohl's to go under the dress above. Originally $14, I think. I paid about $12.

I got this skirt at Stein Mart about 2 weeks ago. Originally $25, I paid $18.

I got this shrug at Kohl's 2-3 months ago. I think it was about $50. I can't remember if I got it on sale or not.

I got this at Kohl's about 3-4 months ago. I think it was on sale, but I can't remember how much I paid for it.

I got this at Stein Mart about 2 weeks ago. I think I paid about $30 for it.

All skirts and dresses cover my knees. (I'm only 5'0".) All sleeveless dresses are worn with shrugs. The vest, of course, will be worn with a top of some kind. I'm all about the modesty. :-D

That might look like a lot, but if you read the descriptions you'll see that I bought a couple things 3-4 months ago, a couple things 1-2 months ago, and a few more recently. And all but the dress I ordered from Dillard's were on sale and even that was $30 cheaper than what it cost at Belk. :-)

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Besides shopping (on Fridays and/or Saturdays) and taking Sean to and from school, I've been doing a lot of work on the family tree, a little reading (currently Time Siege by Wesley Chu), vacuuming the church on Saturdays, and, of course, the usual wife and mom things of cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. :-)

And I still miss my Evie Lynn and still cry sometimes, but now only a couple times a week rather than every day.


Better end this blog entry now. It's after 1:30 AM and I need to go to bed so I can get up early in the morning and bring Sean to school.

:-)

Homeschool - Socialization and Careers

I "like" the blog "Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers" on Facebook. Yesterday, the author posted a link to a blog entry she posted a few years ago. I thought it was pretty awesome.

Dirty Jobs

The topic of that blog entry is something I've talked to my kids about many times. If they go to college, great! If they decide that something else is better suited for them, also great. As long as they're happy, successful at whatever career they choose, and living for God, that's all that matters.

I could say more, but then I'd just be repeating what was said in the Dirty Jobs blog post. So, just go read that. :-)

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Speaking of being "unsocialized", I have a friend at church who tried homeschooling her kids for a year (she said it didn't work out and that her kids begged to be put back in public school) and often asks me how it's going. Inevitably, she brings up "socialization". (I love my friend. God knows I do. She's funny and sweet and spunky. I adore her. And I know she means well. But I get really tired of the homeschooling/socialization questions.) But here's the thing. Socialization isn't about sitting in a classroom, where you're not allowed to socialize, with 20-30 other teenagers. True socialization, learning how to deal with and relate to others, requires people of all ages.

For my own kids, homeschooling has helped them to become more social and more confident. Sean has always been extroverted, a "social butterfly", but now he's more confident and secure in his interactions with others, young and old and in between. I think being bullied all through elementary school and then having to deal with the hell that middle school can be (peer pressure, school pressure, an unfair teacher or two, other students fighting, bad influences, etc.) was a great hindrance for Sean spiritually, socially, and academically. His grades began to slip and he was losing his spark and his joy. Being homeschooled and away from all that nonsense has been of great benefit to him.

Kelly is my introvert. (Like her mother.) She's always been shy, reserved, preferring not to be around other people. I can relate. lol But since we've started homeschooling (fall 2012), she's gradually come out of her shell. She used to not respond when people spoke to her. (When she was little, she'd hide behind me and sometimes cry.) But you should see her at church, flitting around from friend to friend all across the sanctuary, talking, hugging, smiling, and laughing. She used to stay by me the whole time we were at church - sitting next to me and following me around. My shadow, I called her. She's gained so much confidence and has made some friends at church. We've been going to our church since before she was born. She's grown up around these people and has only just begun making friends over the past couple years.

And when we're in public places, she will respond when spoken to and will smile and not shy away. She even jokes with people sometimes. She's still an introvert, but that's not the same thing as being shy or lacking confidence. :-)


For many, public school is working just fine for their kids. And that's great. If they're doing well in all aspects of life (spiritual, social, academic, etc.) while attending public school, then stick with it, if that's what you choose to do. I make no judgements against anyone whose kids go to public school. Most of my friends' kids go to public school and they seem to be doing well. But public school wasn't working for us and so we made a change. Children aren't all the same and they don't all learn the same way or deal with things the same way. They're all individuals, just as adults are. It's up to parents to make whatever changes need to be made for their children, whether it be within the public school system (or private school) or by choosing to homeschool. And really, that's what all good parents are trying to do - whatever's best for their  children. :-)

Oh, the friend who only homeschooled for a year? Her kids are all grown and gone and doing great. Her daughter is going to UNC to be a doctor. Her youngest son is in the Army. I'm honestly not sure what the oldest boy is doing, but she's understandably proud of them. :-)


Talking about socialization always makes me think of this:

Fast forward to 1:28 and watch to 1:50.




lol I can't tell you how many times I heard teachers say (or yell haha) things like, "It's not time for socializing!" when I was in school. Oh, so many times. lol Not at me, of course. I was always quiet and obedient. :-)


So, that's my homeschool ramble. Haven't had one of those in awhile. I hope you enjoyed it. Haha. :-D

Busy Day, Unexpected Bills and the Olympics

Thursday was a busy day for me and the kids. After paying an unexpected bill of $193 to the first surgery center I took Sean to back on June 27th (he'll be going to a second one tomorrow), the kids and I first headed to the middle school to withdraw Kelly. (I had called them on Wednesday, but they said I had to come in and show them proof on paper that she's going to be homeschooled.) Thankfully, no dirty looks, rude questions or snide remarks. They were quite nice and told me that they hope everything goes well.

Next we went to the high school to withdraw Sean (they didn't ask for proof, only for the name of our homeschool) and to get his cleats and mouth guard from the football fieldhouse. Like the people at the middle school, the lady at the high school was also polite.

We then went to the bank to get a money order for $375(!) and then to the post office to send the money order to the football league for homeschoolers.

From there we got gas, went to Wal-Mart to get a couple things, Lifeway Christian bookstore to get a CD (Charles Jenkins, featuring the song "Awesome") for my mom for her birthday, Olive Garden for supper and then Stein Mart to get a purple blouse that my mom had been wanting.

Our final stop before coming home was a church where the homeschool football players meet for training and practices. I knew they were going to be there from about 6:00 until after 8:00, so we got there right before 6:00. There were a good number of boys there as well as dads/coaches and the director. I told them that we were new to homeschooling, about Sean's desire to play football, what had happened with the high school football team and that I'd already registered Sean online and sent the money. One of the coaches took down some information and then they told Sean to go ahead and join the other boys who had just begun exercising.

While Sean was exercising, I talked with the director for a few minutes and then Kelly and I sat in the car with the A/C running (it was so hot outside) while we waited for them to finish exercising and training.

They were finally done sometime between 8:00 and 8:30. Sean got fitted for his uniform and helmet and after talking with the director a few more minutes, we finally came home.

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On Friday, I got a much later start on the grocery shopping than I had planned. I ended up being on the phone for about 2 hours before I could even get in the shower.

The surgery center had called and left a message while I was still sleeping and then Charlie called me (a few seconds before my alarm went off) to tell me that the anesthesiology billing department had called and left him a message and for me to return their call.

I called the surgery center first, but the lady I had to speak to wasn't in, so I left her a message. After a few minutes, I called the anesthesiology billing department, but that lady (Marcy) was either not in or on the phone with someone else. (I can't remember which.) So I hung up without leaving a message.

By this point I had noticed that our NBC and Fox stations weren't coming in clearly (jumping, jerking, pixelated) and I really didn't want to miss the opening ceremonies of the Olympics that night, so I called the cable company and they told me that the next available appointment is Monday afternoon. So that meant I'd have to watch the opening ceremonies at my mom's house.

After getting off the phone with the cable company, I called the anesthesiology billing department again and Marcy answered the phone. She explained about how much our insurance will cover of Sean's surgery and how much we'd have to pay, including a $575 deductible. I told her that I'd talked with someone at the surgery center the day before and that they were wanting me to pay $300 on Monday. That would mean having to pay a total of nearly $1000 by Monday. So then Marcy told me to call the surgery center and ask them if that $300 was the deductible.

By this point, I was a little confused and couldn't remember which surgery center I was supposed to be calling (I've been dealing with two of them) and called the first surgery center. They told me that it's not them I have to pay $300 to. They were the ones who'd called me that morning and they told me that it was to let me know that Sean's surgery is at 9:00 AM on Monday at the other surgery center and to be there by 8:00.

So then I called the other surgery center and asked someone in the billing department if the $300 was the deductible and they said that it was. The bill from the surgeon is going to be $300, so that's why it's not the full $575 deductible.

I then called Marcy in the anesthesiology billing department and told her what the surgery center billing department said, so she redid the math and told me that we have to pay $388. She asked if I could pay it that day and I told her I'd have to talk to my husband first. So I called Charlie and he said "okay". Then I called Marcy back and paid the the $388 over the phone.

Whew.

I was pretty hungry by this point, so I ate some toast while checking Facebook (spent more time than planned doing that) and then got in the shower and got ready.

We rushed through Wal-Mart and Food Lion getting groceries, brought them home, put away the foods that needed to be in the refrigerator and freezer, then went to my mom's so that we could watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

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I enjoyed the opening ceremonies. Especially the beautiful representation of the English/Irish/Scottish/Welsh countryside. I wish it had stayed that way and that they hadn't ruined it with the Industrial Revolution stuff. I also wish they'd mentioned JRR Tolkien (and Jane Austen!), but much of the ceremony reminded me of him and the Lord of the Rings. It could be that the Tolkien Estate didn't want to give them permission to use Tolkien's name or works in the opening ceremony or that it was too expensive to get the rights for it, so maybe they just used visual references to Tolkien and LOTR. Thinly veiled to us Tolkien/LOTR fans. :-)

The countryside, especially the large hill with the big tree, looked very much like the Shire and the party tree and the tree over Bilbo's home. Then there was the Industrial Revolution, which inspired Tolkien in his creation of Saruman and Isengard, as well as the scouring of the Shire, and the forging of the ring. Other Tolkien fans have said they would've loved to have seen Gollum reaching for the ring, Hobbits coming out of the big hill and Gandalf defeating that giant Voldemort, among other things.

Anyway, geeky moment over. :-)

Graduation Ceremonies

Today is the last day of school for my kids' school district. Kelly "graduated" yesterday and got her report card. She passed her grade and will be going to 6th grade next school year. (Still planning on homeschooling.) Since we already know she passed, she won't be going to school today.

Sean's "graduation" was on Tuesday, but he won't get his report card until Saturday or Monday. We're not confident that he passed his grade (I'm really nervous about that) and since attendance is something they look at when deciding whether or not to promote a child to the next grade, I figure Sean needs all the help he can get. So he will be going to school today. It may not help (he missed a lot of school, had a D or two on his last report card and only passed one of three EOGs), but just in case it does, he will be going.

Of course, what stinks about it is that if they aren't going to promote him to the 9th grade, it's kind of cruel to allow him to participate in the graduation ceremony and give him a certificate for completing the 8th grade. It must make him (and other students) feel like, "Well, I must have passed my grade or they wouldn't have allowed me to participate in the ceremony or given me a certificate of completion."

We'll be on pins and needles until his report card comes. *sigh*

Anyway, Sean's graduation was Tuesday evening at 6:00. A local news anchor was the guest speaker. I took a few pictures, of course. They didn't turn out as well as I would've liked. :-/ Here's one of them:

Sean and his goofy faces. lol I think he may have been chewing his lip - a habit of his.

Kelly's graduation was 8:30 yesterday morning. (Kind of ridiculous to have the ceremony so early, in my opinion.) I had to get up at 6:00 AM (after only sleeping 4 hours) and get myself ready, get Kelly up at 7:00, had her at school by about 7:35, came back home, waited for Sean to get ready (they were supposed to go on a field trip, but it got cancelled because of rain*), left the house at 8:00 to bring him to school and then made it to Kelly's school by about 8:20.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, there were no close parking spaces by then, so I had to drive around to the front side of the school and park there. Then walk in the chilly rain (with umbrella, of course) to the auditorium. :-/ The ceremony lasted around an hour and a half and I managed to get a few good photos. Here's one:

In addition to her "Celebration Certificate" for passing 5th grade, Kelly also got an Awesome Behavior award.

After the ceremony was over, we came home for Kelly to change clothes and then we went to Cracker Barrel with my mom. She then got Sean out of school early (yet late enough to be counted "present") and brought him home shortly after that. By this point I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I took about a 3-hour nap.

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The kids are in bed sleeping and I am not tired after taking that long, late nap. I'll make my way to bed in about an hour and read some more of A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Reading usually makes me sleepy, so hopefully I can fall asleep after reading a chapter or two.


**ETA: Since they couldn't go on their field trip on Wednesday, due to the rain, they went on Thursday, the last day of school. Sean had been looking forward to it for awhile, so I'm glad they got to go.

More About Homeschool

I've been thinking about homeschooling for a couple years now. Well, I kind of always have thought about it since Sean was a toddler, but I started thinking about it a little more seriously a couple years ago. I did a little research, bookmarked some websites and then that was pretty much it. Once in awhile I'd pray that if it was God's will that He would work things out.

I didn't pursue things further because I was waiting for another situation to get worked out and because I just didn't have the confidence. Reading over what all is involved just in getting started with homeschooling seemed complicated. Would I be able to do it?

Before this recent incident with the social worker, I had begun thinking seriously again about homeschooling. Especially with Kelly going to middle school next school year. This recent incident has just pushed me more towards going through with it.

So I posted about it at Facebook and asked my friends if any of them had homeschooled (or were currently homeschooling) their kids, especially middle and high schoolers, and if they had any input or advice.

A few of them have responded and they've been very encouraging. They've each recommended different curriculum and one of them knows someone with used books she may sell to me. I'll have to check out the various options (I was going to anyway) and decide which curriculum to go with. I'm praying that God will help me to choose the right one for my kids.

So, it's looking more and more like this whole homeschooling thing is going to happen. For a long time I've been nervous about my ability to do this. But the more I talk to people and the more I pray about it and think about it, the more confident I feel. I've about reached the point where I can say, "I can do this."

One of my friends told me that it really doesn't take long to get started. That we could be homeschooling in just a week or two. This includes getting approved/registered with the state and getting the materials we'll need. That's very tempting, but I'd be concerned that if I took Kelly out of school next month that that ignorant school social worker would assume something is up and make things difficult for us. So we'll probably wait until August to get started.

I've talked to my kids about homeschooling, telling them that we'll be starting in August, and they're very excited about it. They actually cheered. I made it clear to them what all is involved. That they won't be sitting around doing nothing, staying up late, sleeping late, doing whatever they want. They will still have to study and work hard and pass tests and make good grades. Even knowing that, they're excited and wish they could start right now. I'm excited too and if we could start today, we would.

Just Another Reason I'm Considering Homeschooling

I'm not going to go into all the details, but there are more than a few reasons why I'm seriously considering homeschooling my kids. One of them being the pushy, butt-insky school system (specifically, in this case, the school social worker), as well as the nonsense of teaching them just so they can pass the EOGs (way too much focus on that; they need to be done away with). They put too much pressure on the kids about those EOGs. I'm totally against them.

Anyway, EOGs aren't the purpose for this entry. It's the situation with the social worker at Kelly's school. Nothing as ridiculous as some of the things we hear in the news that schools are doing wrong, but still annoying and a little insulting.

The social worker called and left a message a couple days ago because Kelly missed school on Friday (cold & fever) and Monday (nausea, went pale, got weak, nearly threw-up). She wanted to let me know that Kelly has missed a lot of school (about 14 or 15 days now) and that she has about 7 or 8 unexcused absences. She also wanted to "go over the attendance policy" with me.

Okay, first of all, I'm the parent, not them. I know when she's too sick to go to school and when she isn't. (The social worker had said in the message that I should send Kelly to school even when she doesn't feel good, unless she's fevered or vomiting, and they will send her home if they think it's necessary.) This isn't my first rodeo, as they say. Do you know how many times Kelly's (and Sean) said she doesn't feel well, but I made her go to school anyway? A lot. But if she has a fever or she's vomiting or close to it or her throat hurts so much she can't eat or swallow or her stomach is "tore up" (as we say in the South), I'm not sending her to school. (Seriously, people. Like a "tow up" stomach will wait for permission to go to the bathroom.) Period.

Second, I send a note to school with my kids everytime they're absent. Kelly said that she always gives the note to her teacher. So why the 7 or 8 unexcused absences?

Third, "go over the attendance policy" with me?!? Grr. That's just insulting, in my opinion. Like I'm some kind of idiot who doesn't know what's an excused absence and what isn't or how many absences are too many. (I can read and I have read the school handbook more than once. Okay, so probably many parents haven't.) Kelly is in 5th grade and Sean is in 8th. I know how this all works. Seriously, back off!

Now, I don't want to give the wrong impression of myself here. I understand the importance of the teachers' and social workers' jobs and I respect that. Most teachers and social workers do a fine job, I'm sure. I know they probably put up with a lot of crap. I certainly wouldn't want their jobs. I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything.

I'm tired of all the nonsense we parents have to put up with from the school system in general. That's just one of the reasons I'm seriously considering homeschooling. The other reasons are a lot to go into (like this hasn't been), so I'll spare y'all.


So, I wrote the social worker a letter since I know how important it is to her that I get back with her. I tried not to be too snippy, but I was tired when I wrote it. :-/ Maybe not the best time to write an important letter. But it's done now.

*shrug* If I hadn't been in a bit of a hurry (and a little sleepy) when I wrote the letter, it may have turned out better. But I hope my point was made as non-insultingly (I don't think that's a word lol) as possible, given the circumstance.

It just really irked me for some reason.

*sigh* Just needed to vent. I tried not to overreact, which is why I waited a few days before either making another attempt to return her call or writing a letter. I know I probably could've written a, shall we say, less direct letter, but I wanted to get back to her before the weekend and not keep her waiting any longer, thinking I don't care.


***Edited in***
The school social worker called and left a message after reading the letter I wrote. I called her back and the woman wouldn't hardly let me get a word in edgewise. She rattled on about the policy and how (get this) I should send Kelly to school even if she has a fever! Are you kidding me?? "If it looks like she might be coming down with something, give her some medicine the night before and then some more in the morning and then send her to school. Then if we think she's too sick, we'll send her home."

So, in spite of what common sense and the school handbook says about keeping your child home if they're fevered, she wants me to send Kelly to school anyway if she has a fever. Because apparently she thinks she should be the one making that decision instead of me, her MOTHER!

She also said that I should bring Kelly to the doctor if she has a fever. I told her that I know how to treat that, just like the doctor has always told me every single time I ever called them - ibuprofen, tylenol, fluids, rest. It was never, "Bring her in", unless the fever had lasted more than a few days. Just treat her at home. So I guess the social worker thinks she knows better than me AND the doctor. I am NOT bringing my kids to the doctor for a fever unless it's really high or won't break. Ridiculous!

She ended the phone call with telling me to brainstorm (with her, I think *rolling my eyes*) about what we can do about Kelly missing school and to call her back on Monday. I ain't calling her on Monday. She can forget that. Rude, insulting, unreasonable, ignorant, pushy woman! She wasn't flat out, "in your face" mean. It was more of "trying to be nice while insulting you, thinking you're too ignorant to pick up on it." She better thank God I remained civil and spoke kindly and that she wasn't talking to some other parent who would've told her off. Grrr!!