There is Hope

Religion class went SO much better tonight. Nothing like last week. I had so many things planned, and we didn't even get to 1/4 of them! The kids were well behaved , (except for the one girl who will NEVER be well behaved) they were enthusiastic, and wanted to have lots of discussions. Yay!!

Changes and . . . goodbye computer

Monte's job he got about a year ago, turned out to be a total disaster. We just kept having hope and thinking things would be getting better, but they never did. I won't go into details about all that went on there (and there was A LOT) but Monte was made lots of promises by his boss, only to have him not carry through on a single one. Monte's health was really deteriorating due to all the stress, his Crohn's Disease came out of remission this past month, and he lost weight (which is not good at all for him). He was SO unhappy there, and it turns out he was making a little more money at his old job. He quit his old job (which he loved) because his new boss promised him a totally different salary.
So after lots of discussions between us and prayers, he decided to call his old boss up. He told him that they weren't normally in the process of hiring people back, but that they would be glad to have Monte back. So now he has a new (old) job! Once again he gets to have his office in our home, which means he'll be around a lot more. And he can once again set his own hours. The downside is we have to pay for our own insurance, which we were having to pay for mine and Isabella's anyway because of another broken promise from his boss. We've been working on getting his office back in order, since I have seemed to take it over as my sewing/craft room. So Friday was his last day, and since then he has been SO much happier, and healthier! Yesterday was his first day on the new (old) job, and even though he had to get up at 3:30 a.m. to attend a meeting a few hours away, he came home in the evening so full of energy and excitement! It was great to see.

And onto the computer (our only computer is a laptop) - obviously when he is working from home he'll be on our computer. Also, when he's out meeting with farmers every day, he'll have to take it with him. He's hoping to get another laptop just to use for business sometime, but probably not anytime soon. So this will drastically cut down on my computer time, which might not be all bad. :)

Maybe not as good as I thought

I've been battling a cold since this weekend. Today, as Isabella was playing in her room, I thought I would go in and rest my feverish body. I laid down on her floor and must have dozed off right away. When I woke up about 20 minutes later, I told her what a good girl she was to play so nicely and quietly so mommy could rest. Then I looked around. There were what seemed like about 200 wipes spread out all over her room, and all over me!! I couldn't do anything but laugh, and she had fun helping me pick them all up. The weather has changed drastically, so I suppose it is the season for colds/flu. Monte and I are both battling it, but the healthy one among us has so far stayed healthy. I suppose now that I write this she'll get sick, but I am amazed that she hardly ever gets sick. She has had one cold and one bout with the stomach flu in her almost two years. Besides that, not even a runny nose, ear infection, nothing. I suppose that could change this winter, as she's around more kids now because of our Bible study, but I'm hoping her current pattern continues.

Date Night

Last night we put Isabella to bed at 7:00 and enjoyed a nice, peaceful meal - just the two of us. We used to do it a lot more often, but since summer hit she's been staying up until 7:30 or 7:45. Now that she's just a one nap gal, though, she's ready for bed really early again. Anyway, it was fun, and something different, we'll have to maybe do it once a month. We had the best dessert ever! I do enjoy our family meals, though, especially now that she's quite self sufficient when it comes to eating. That and she's just so much fun!

WARNING - Rant Ahead

I started teaching Religion class tonight, sort of. It was an opening Mass to kick off the year, then just 15 minutes of class time. I'm not sure if I've ever been quite this shocked. Not one single parent in the whole k-8 showed up for Mass. I'm pretty sure I would go if my kid had to be there. Then there's the whole matter of my lovely sixth grade class. Hmm, where do I begin? Exactly 1/2 of my class showed up, I was constantly threatening them and taking things away from them all during church. They were AWFUL!! Finally, my dear friend Sister Mary Edwin (who is a former principal) came up during Father's homily, grabbed them one by one, asked them how old they were, told them they were a disgrace, and sat them down so there was only one in each pew. After Mass, she let them have it again, telling them "Don't you love Jesus?!", "Don't you even care that He died on a cross for you?!" There was one girl (totally dressed like a hussie) that had a big smirk on her face the whole time Sister was talking her. I told her she needed to pay attention the most to what Sister was saying. Like I said, I am in shock. These kids in SIXTH GRADE didn't know the Hail Mary, Our Father, or Glory Be. They didn't know when to sit, stand, or kneel in church. They didn't know about genuflecting, holy water, or the sign of the cross!! My ONE year old can make the sign of the cross for crying out loud, and my ONE year old is a million times more well behaved in church than these kids! I'm SO saddened by all of this, that parents aren't teaching their kids ANYTHING about the faith, it honestly brings me to tears to think that this is what our world is coming to. Am I, as one person, really going to change anything, it just makes me SO sad!

So when I brought them back to the classroom, I separated them, told them I may look easygoing, but I wasn't going to put up with their misbehaviour, and that Sister and I were very good friends, and I won't hesitate to have her come in and teach with me every week! I also said if they were going to continue to act that way, I wouldn't hesitate to kick them out, and have their parents teach them if they wanted to be confirmed. (That would be a total disaster since the parents obviously don't know anything, but hopefully I got my point across.) The kids also tried to intimidate me by telling me they made their teacher last year quit. I said that's too bad, and that they obviously don't know me, and that I won't put up with their attitudes. So that's how things stand right now, please, pray for me!

Cool Weather and a New Favorite Pic

I can't believe it feels like fall already! Yesterday the high was 58. I hope it warms back up a little. And this is my new favorite picture, every night after supper Monte and Isabella head outside to work in the garden. She's pretty proud of that pepper she picked!

A Productive Long Weekend

Besides going to the fair over the weekend, I actually got quite a bit done for once. Yesterday I spent the entire day canning 19 pounds of tomatoes. It was my last canning day for the season (I think), and I'm so glad I did it on a day that Monte was here. Otherwise it could have been a long, boring day for Isabella.

In the midst of canning - this picture could have looked a lot worse if it was just Isabella and I home. She would have had every toy she owns within a 2 ft. radius of where I was standing!

So much better! I even had energy to clean it all up right away.

The finished product - I made mild, medium, and hot salsa. I also made plain tomato sauce.

Another thing I got accomplished over the weekend was painting these for Isabella's room. My baby is growing up, she always sits with us at the table in her booster seat instead of her highchair, she uses the potty (not potty trained, but we're sort of working on it since she's interested), and I've known for a while that her room is looking a little babyish for her, but just didn't know what to do with it. Sometime around her birthday we'll convert her crib into a toddler bed, and redecorate a bit. We got the frog nursery decor because it was unisex, so we could use it for all our kids when they're babies. So now I'm excited to pack that away and add some pink to her room!