Lexie's Report

Lexie's work is improving. For this, I am very grateful. She got more than a couple D's on her report card on this most recent grading period.
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Holiday Traffic ALREADY?

This is on Outer Loop and it sucks...
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Sick Day

Logan said his stomach hurt today so I took the day off and we are home.
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Splotty's big head

Splott has been doing better on paper training. Of course, we've decided to give him a couple more options on locations. But its keeping the carpet much cleaner and I'm way cool with that. I have told the kids if I am not 100% happy with the dog by Christmas, then his ass is toast.

Grandma's Earrings

I was looking for a clothes brush I had seen in a box the other day when I was working on cleaning and unpacking the remaining boxes from moving. I found the earrings that came from Mom & Jack's estate. They are little more than costume jewelry...14 karat yelow gold, but they were Mom's. I had gotten them for Christmas one year. I think she wore them only once. They came with the receipt, original earring box, and a plastic bag that said Service Merchandise. The receipt was dated 12/22/89. The price was around $20. I would have been 22 years old when I got them. I seem to remember them being on a good sale, but I'm thinking now they are much more suitable for a 10 year old, then my mother who deserved something a lot nicer from me. They are simple gold hoops...

Limo ride

For selling 25 or more items in the schools fund raiser, Lexie got to ride i a limo to Gattiland where the kids got to have a celebration.

No Gang Sign!

I today this little girl at the pizza party not to do gang sign, but she didn't listen. Bad influece on my daughter!

Lexie at School(I spoke with the councillor)

Lexie needs to work harder. Her test scores show she is 100% capable of doing the work. I need to check over her homework every night and make her redo it if she missed a bunch. The councillor is going to have a talk with Lexie. She is also going to speak to her teacher about doing the same kind of thing in class. She says I need to give Lexie social motivation for better grades because that's what she craves at this age (or ask her what kind of reward she would like for better grades). Councillor suggested things like going to a movie, having a play-date, etc with friends. Also, she said on work that comes back with bad grades, I save it for the weekend and sit with her and take time on the weekends to do it. That would be time away from TV and playing, etc. Then let her know if she does better in class, she will have less work and more play.

Politics and the 7 year old

Last night we were all set for TV night.  It's the one night a week where we faithfully sit in front of the TV to watch our favorite show "Heroes".  But instead, there was Senator McCain telling us that we would not be watching Heroes tonight, but instead, Saturday Night Live.  We watched a bit of it until it started getting a little more adult in theme...I know, it's 9pm...  So we shut it off.  Well this morning Logan askes me "Daddy, what if Obama gets elected and then he kicks out all the white people because of what they did to his ancestors?"

 

Hmmm....so many ways to answer that.  But I wanted to give him useful information and not bullshit like I usually would some adult who asked me that question.  I told him that the president is only PART of the United States government and that he couldn't do that.  I also explained that even if he could, he would not, because that would make a whole lot of people mad, and what a first-term president wants more than anything in the world is a 2nd term.  I told him if the president makes enough people mad, he can get kicked out himself.  Or at the very least, he won't be re-elected in 4 years.

 

So if Obama kicks me out because I'm white, then I'm gonna feel really stupid.

Halloween Art by Logan

This is really the cutest thing he has done in a while, and I really love it.  Once in a while he does something that is either spontaneously cool, or that he really spent a lot of time on.  This was more the former I believe.  The only problem is, he doesn't understand why I don't go ga-ga over every single peice of paper he churns out anymore.  I tell him that he has to put effort into his work so that it will be exceptional.  He sometimes wants to draw three lines, say it's done, then get upset if you are like "meh."  The fact is, I know how really good an artist he is, and it puts his stuff on a different scale than a regular 7 year old.

 

Ok, I know this thing is not really thrilling, but it was just so cute I had to make over it.  The guy with one eye---well, really he has two eyes, but he is in profile looking at the tree.  Yes, I did have to get the explanation from a 7 year old.  And yes, it was a "duh" moment.

Logan the Zombie

Braaaaaaaaains!!!!!

Halloween: Lexie the Puppy

Lexie wanted to be a puppy.  Here is a picture of her.  Too bad you can't see the tail that took me like an hour to make...hahahahah.

Lexie & School

This morning, Lexie asked me to sign her agenda (which is normal) but also had a CYA paper from her teacher Mr. Young. Every time she gets a "U" (they don't give F's--U is for unacceptable) he stamps the paper with a parent signature box. That way he makes sure the parent knows, and he's covered in doing his job. Well, this has been a weekly (sometimes multiple!) thing. I explain this is her last year of grade school. I explain how important consistent good grades are. I explain how this leads you into a chain of Middle school, High school, College, Job, and the financial quality of your future. I explain how school is her most important job. I ask if her homework is done when I get home. If its not, I tell her to do it. I tell her to let me know if she needs help. I tell her if she needs me to explain something, I will, but I will NOT do it for her. I put the responsibility 100% on her, but make sure she knows I will help explain something (if I can understand it myself).

She got upset. I saw thst Logan left his mask/hat thing on the loveseat so I decided to take it to him. Plus Theresia told me there was no school on Monday or Tuesday, so I signed them up for CEP. Then I asked to speak to Lexie's councillor. She was dressed up as a jackass. She said they would start an evaluation process. We'll see where this goes.

My little Monster

Logan had scouts last night and he made a Frankenstein mask out of a paper bag.

Lexie's Jack 'O Lantern

Here's Lexie's. She picked a small one and designed it to be a baby.

Logan's Jack 'O Lantern

Here's a picture of mail Logan's Jack 'O Lantern.

Work Halloween chili cookoff

Here are the other two labelled bottles.

Work Halloween Party

I got these cool ass stickers for the work Halloween chili cookoff. You put them on 2-liter bottles of soda.

Retirement

I figure it's never too early to start thinking about retirement and how to not be a burden to the kids when I hit 55 or 60.  I think I will be semi-nomadic.

 

I'd like to buy a small bit of land in the woods of Kentucky or Indiana.  Somewhere a guy could be a hermit in a little one-room cabin (or perhaps more realistically a used travel-trailer like my mom used at the feed mill).  I could live there until it was either too hot or too cold.  I could live about 90% off the grid...meaning no electric bill, water bill, etc.  I think i'd have to find a way to work the legalities of that out, but it could be done.  I like to camp and this would be an extension of that.  Like with a wood stove and outhouse.

 

In the hottest months, I could visit with the kids.  Say July with Lexie and August with Logan.  In December, I'd split my time between them for the holidays.  I think they could tollerate dear old dad that much.

 

Then in January and February...perhaps I could afford an old VW bus or something similar.  I could visit Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Southern California...mainly staying put for a couple weeks at a time.  I got plenty of time to research where/when/how.  By eschewing a true residence and all the accompanying fees, bills and expenses, maybe I can survive with the small amount that may or may not be available from Social Security, and the meager amount I may tuck away with 401K.  I'm not getting any younger.

Rear-ended

This was a couple weeks ago... I left work just a little early because I was taking the kids camping with the cubscouts at Mammoth Cave. Well, I was on National Turnpike and the traffic was stopped so I stopped also. This woman of India descent slammed into the back of my car. The only thing I could understand from her was "why you stop?!" and "late for work!" She examined both vehicles and gave me her insurance info and left. Her name was Gambar Shampsah or something like that. Anyway I asked my insurance company what to do and they said to get a police report incident number and give it to her insurance company. Well, when I called the police, the officer did the report, but also gave ME a citation! He asked if my drivers license had the current address and I was like "...uh, no." He asked if this was my previous address. I could not look him in the face, "...uh, no." Well also, although I provided about 5 proof of insurance cards, none were the most current. *sigh*. So here I am, $12 poorer for getting a license, and wasting my time with these fine upstanding citizens...