Am I not needed anymore?

I mean really...look at what I walked into in the bathroom tonight.

Maybe it is time for me to go on vacation!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Hearing/Ear Update

Today, Brennan was off for another visit to our friendly ENT. Jeff took him to the appointment this morning. He had his normal hearing test, ear exam, etc. The verdict? The tube is still in place in the right ear, after more than 14 months now. Having that tube in place is great for Brennan for a few reasons. He has less chance of getting an ear infection and his hearing in that ear is 100%. As for the left ear, the tube has been out for a long time, therefore his hearing in that ear is not 100%. Although since his last hearing test, there has been a slight improvement in his level of hearing. So, the bottom line, we need to watch out for ear infections and as long as he stays healthy he will see us again in February. No more surgery or anything else right now. Phew!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Job Description

Please explain to me why when I went to school to become a teacher, then again when I interviewed for various jobs over the years, and again when I spoke to teachers with many years of experience....Why did they not tell me the REAL description of this job?
Why did I only hear about the best methods to teach reading, and how to differentiate for different learning styles, and how to plan a thorough lesson? They never really told me that I would not only teach these kids how to read and write and do math, but I would be so many other things to them.
That I would perform first aid to a child who just stabbed themselves with a pencil. That I would clean up vomit after a student vomited all over my desk. That I would be their psychologist when they heard their mom and dad screaming at each other the night before. That I would be their counselor when I learned about their horrific experiences with a male figure in their house. That I would be their disciplinarian when they weren't following the rules. That I would be their mom when they were sad and just needed a hug because maybe they haven't had one in too long.

Why did nobody ever tell me that this job involved so much more...why?

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Annual Girl's Weekend

What could be better but three days of unlimited sleep, good friends, great wine, and much, much more! OUr annual trip to Santa Ynez was exactly the thing I needed. I was burnt out at work, at home, everywhere. I slept in past 7am, scrapbooked over 40 pages, and laughed until I cried. I would definitly call this a successful weekend!

Here is some proof!

Cindy, Tif, me, and Connie

Mom and I at Koehler Winery

Mom and Pam at Zaca Mesa

The girls at Lincourt Winery

Tif and I at Roblar Winery

Lots of love,

The Grady's

10 on Thursday

1. I am so tired right now but I am pushing myself to stay awake to watch Grey's. Cannot miss that.
2. This time change sucks. The kids have been waking up at 5ish all week. It is killing me.
3. Tomorrow I leave for my annual girl's weekend in Santa Ynez. Cannot wait.
4. I wrote 4 citations, 1 referral, and had one student put on in school suspension today. Honestly, isn't that enough?
5. Can you even believe it is November already!?! I mean honestly, where does the time go?
6. It is finally cooling down here in the desert. I am actually a little chilly in our house right now and it isn't from the a/c.
7. We had our pool drained two days ago for deep cleaning and it is still filling. Yes, the hose has been in there for almost two complete days and it is still going. How many gallons is that?
8. This election crap makes me mad. I don't' what else to say about it.
9. I went to Target today and left with buying only ONE thing, what is wrong with me?
10. I went to BevMo today...that place just rocks.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Can you feel it?

The excitement, the anticipation, the electricity in the air??? I have to admit I am on pins and needles today, this Election Day.

I know that I will be following the news all day and especially tonight. If you haven't already, please VOTE! Obviously this is a historic election, for which ever party is elected and I am excited to see history be made.

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Superheros, Pumpkins, and Candy

I have to admit, I have never been a big fan of Halloween. But ever since I have had kids, I have really learned to enjoy it a bit more each year. Thursday night we had dinner with the Black's and then carved our pumpkins. The kids thought carving was fun, for about 5 minutes, then we were left to finish the job.

Halloween night was perfect! We took the kids trick or treating to a few houses in our neighborhood, then headed back to our neighbor's house for the rest of the night. We knew the kids would only last a few houses, so we got a jumpy house for the kids to enjoy for the rest of the evening. It worked out perfect!

Wonder Woman

Spiderman


The Trick or Treaters!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Ten Reasons I haven't been blogging lately...

1. I have been sucked up by that monster called work.
2. Halloween is in two days and I haven't bought candy yet, wonder if it will be on sale now?
3. I have an observation from my principal tomorrow during our ELD grouping. Joy.
4. Emerson had her first speech therapy appointment yesterday from 4-5pm. LOVE her therapist!
5. My tivo box is SO backed up I cannot seem to catch up, even watching 2-3 shows a night.
6. Our field trip today started out as a total disaster...no buses, hotter than crap outside, and 1.5 hours late for our tour at the pumpkin farm.
7. My laundry pile is just rotating between dirty to washing machine to dryer to dirty again. Notice that I left out folding and hanging and putting away.
8. My to-do list is growing by the mile, and I have sadly not crossed much off of it lately.
9. I read others blogs and then it is too late to blog myself.
10. Okay, no more excuses, I promise I will be better.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Hargreaves Visit

Wow, look how far we have come since college!

Last weekend we were finally able to go and visit with Hargreaves. We had such a nice visit with them. The kids all loved playing with each other, especially Emerson playing with Baby Austin. We were able to help celebrate Andrew's birthday (a great surprise for him!) and even enjoyed a nice adult dinner out on the town.

Thanks Connie and Andrew for a wonderful weekend!

Hayden enjoying his ride on the swing.

Brennan swinging!

LOL! Isn't this face great!

Brennan loving on Austin

Lots of love,

The Grady's

San Diego Fun

So after an amazing Buffett show we were able to stay in San Diego one more night for a little more fun. We spent Friday in La Jolla, enjoying the great weather close to the beach. We had a great lunch outside, then walked to the beach. We were able to the seals, surfers, and the sea.

Friday night we had a great dinner celebrating our friend Amy and Tad's brother Eric's engagement. We rode a roller coaster (crazy!), walked on the boardwalk, and had a late night cruise on the Bahia Belle, a smaller riverboat on the bay. What a awesome getaway it was!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

We are the people your parents warned you about!

Seven Buffett shows and counting....this one certainly did not lack in excitement, great entertainment, and awesome memories with great friends. Our group totaled 18 people, some Buffett "virgins" in the mix as well. One of the highlights for me was surely the fact that Carrie and Austin flew all the way from Ohio to join our crazy mix of friends at our annual Buffett party.

Good times with the girls!

Nina and Tif pre-partying

Jeff and Austin

Carrie and I enjoying the fun!

Jeff and I

Whitnee and Joseph

Eric and Tad with their "Buffett" Hats

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Fins UP!

The car is packed. The suitcase has the appropriate Hawaiian shirts folded and ready. The ice chest is full, ready for ice. Chairs, leis, blankets, decor, and much more all ready to go.
Tickets printed and ready for use.
How do you make a crazy week great? Go to a Jimmy Buffett concert with 18 of your greatest friends of course!!!! Tomorrow morning at 9am the fun starts!
Making it even better? Great friends flying from Columbus, Ohio just to join the craziness!!!! CANNOT WAIT.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

My Day.

What a day. I am not even sure where to begin.

• Teacher union meeting (before school EVEN started) discussing how the district doesn't care about teachers and how if we back down on negotiations we will lose some pay and they may also stop paying for the PPO insurance our family desperately needs.
• Students come in for ELD time, trying to teach kids correct English=EXHAUSTING
• Meeting with parent about child's potty mouth.
• Phone call to Ob/Gyn because I have a sore breast and "might" be feeling a lump. Yes, a lump. They tell me that I need to come in today at 3pm. Friend/coworker comes to cover my class while I rush the 20 minutes to the Dr. Dr. does his exam and decides that I do have lumps but nothing that needs to be worried about because I have Fibro-Cystic Breast Disease (or rather condition). Basically, there is nothing wrong except for breasts that are more prone to cysts that can cause pain. Great.
• Race from my doctor's office to get Emerson from school to her dentist appt. all the way across town. We arrive 3 minutes early only to wait for 20 minutes before we are seen. Then spend 40 minutes getting x-rays, cleaning, Dr. visit, etc.
• Finally get home after 5pm, unpack backpacks, go through mail, make dinner, etc.

I should really be going to sleep now...but oh well. Why rest now?

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Apples, Pumpkins, Fresh Air

It has been months since we have been outside and been able to really enjoy the weather. Our weather the past few days has been incredible, dare I say, almost fall like. Saturday morning we decided to take a trip up the hills to Riley's Farm.

It was a very brisk day, but beautiful! The kids had so much fun running around in the cool weather and open fields.

Brennan and Lauren looking at the goats, sheep, and horses.

Lauren proud of her little pumpkin.

A trip to Riley's Farm would not be complete without some apple picking. We picked our fair share of apples and promptly made an apple pie when we got home. Yummy!!!
Now that is my idea of a great Fall day!
Lots of love,
The Grady's

OH goodness...

I am SO annoyed by Obama right now, watching the debate. He irritates me behind belief! If he has to interject one more time, with a retort to something McCain says I might just scream. So irritating, follow the rules, you idiot. I feel so bad for poor Tom Brokaw. Best quote of the night by Tom Brokaw"Don't worry, I am just the hired help." (LOL!!!)

Lots of love,
The Grady's

p.s. can you tell who I am voting for?

Bad way to start a week

You know it is bad when you are sitting at your desk, Monday morning and wondering how quickly Friday will be here.
Bad.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Taking a moment

Every night our routine for bedtime is the same. Brushing teeth, two stories,, prayers, and then goodnight kisses all around. I tuck Brennan in his bed, then onto Emerson's room. Brennan inevitably calls for Daddy to come in, to tell him something or to coax him to hang out for a few more minutes to delay bedtime. Emerson is getting much better at curling up and going to sleep on her own. Although there are many nights when she will also call for me a mere minutes after I have left her room.
Tonight is no different. Emerson calls for me and I go back to her room. She wants me to lay with her and I tell her to try to fall asleep on her own. Because honestly I have loads of laundry to fold, lunches to make, a kitchen to pick up, a husband I haven't seen all day, and many other mindless tasks to get done. But as I walk out of her room, I stop and change my mind. I lay down next to her. I realize that someday she will stop asking me to lay with her. Someday she won't "need" me to help her fall asleep. Someday I will be hurt because she wants me to leave her room quicker than I am ready to.
So tonight, I lay there and watch her fall asleep, because I know it won't be forever. I know that this is a moment I should not let pass.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Autumn is here...

At least the calendar says so. Don't mind that it is still over 100 degrees outside. I figured if I put out the fall decorations, then maybe it would actually start feeling like it.

Lots of love,

The Grady's

10 on Thursday

1. I love Thursdays...they mean that Friday is less than 24 hours away!

2. Counting the minutes until the premiere of Grey's Anatomy, c.a.n.n.o.t. wait.

3. Brennan was a fussy butt tonight....tired? getting sick? just being a pill? Who knows.

4. I received a great phone call tonight from my brother Jeremy...it has been too long since we have chatted. it was great to hear from him.

5. When will I have control over my class, complete control? I mean, these kids have this righteous mentality, like they deserve to do whatever the heck they want. SO annoying.

6. Emerson's sight words this week are tough for her. You would think that being a teacher I would have some great memorization ideas and I am at a loss, so frustrating.

7. DVR is my best friend on night like this one. Three of my favorite shows all premiering and I know I cannot possibly watch them all tonight.

8. I hate this time of year in the desert. I just wish it would cool down enough to make it feel like fall. I would love to have even a slight chill in the air.

9. I rearranged my classroom desks this afternoon, after the kids left. I am hoping that the talking problem is helped by this...we shall see tomorrow.

10. Emerson had to memorize her phone number for school this week. The kids' reward? Mrs. Torgerson called each one of them at home tonight using the number they wrote down. Emerson thought it was the greatest thing EVER.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

If you guessed...

DISNEYLAND, you are right! What better way to spend a Monday, but at the happiest place on Earth!

We bought annual passes on our last trip in August so we needed to break them in. The passes are only good on weekdays, and since the kids were out of school I thought, why not?!?

My mom and I headed over to Anaheim Sunday evening with the kids, got Olive Garden take out, and settled in to watch the Emmy's. Monday morning we got ourselves ready and headed into the park right when they opened at 10am. We went in between both parks, but spent the majority of our time at CA Adventure.

We went on the new 3D Toy Story ride.

Rode lots of other rides, including a favorite, the carousel.

But the best part...look who Emerson stole a hug from!

(poor Brennan missed her, as he was sound asleep).

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Can you guess where we went?

The kid's did not have school yesterday, as it was a teacher inservice day. So I took the day off of work...can you guess where we went? Here are a few clues!

• It was sunny and warm.
• There were other people at this place skipping work/school.
• Food was quite expensive.
• We had to drive a bit to get there.
• People could be heard saying, "Wow, that was SO fun!".

Any guesses? I will update later tonight!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

That same zip code

I know you remember it...yes, admit it, 90210 had to have been a part of your high school/college years. Tell me you didn't have special night dedicated to watching this show?
Am I the only crazy one who is suddenly addicted to this show AGAIN? Please tell me I am not?!?!
I mean really, who is Kelly's son daddy....aren't you dying to know??? How has Nat not really aged over the years? Being an actress and all, why didn't Brenda get that gap between her front teeth fixed yet? Are all the people in that zip code really that "privileged"?

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Back to School

Tonight I had the opportunity to switch roles, from teacher to mommy. I loved the new view:)

Jeff and I attended Emerson's Back to School night tonight. We are so excited to hear about all the amazing things that Em has ahead of her this year in kindergarten. Learning all about shapes and patterns, over 100 sight words, animals and plants, prayers and symbols...so many exciting new things. She said they would even be writing sentences and small paragraphs by the end of the year...I can't wait (and I'll believe it when I see it:))
I have to admit that being on the mommy side, rather than the teacher side, is so much more fun and exciting!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Are you ready for some football?

I absolutely LOVE this time of year....the weather is finally cooling down (at least below 100 degrees), autumn decorations are starting to spring up in stores, the smell of candles creating artificial fall scents are encircling our house, and the sound of FOOTBALL is one t.v.!

I am really looking forward to the big game this Saturday, USC vs. Ohio State. Living in S. CA now for over 5 years, we have become avid USC fans. But the problem is, I also have this strong affinity towards Ohio State, thanks to my friend Carrie...so the question is "Who do I cheer for?".

I think the only fair answer would be to hope for a great game that comes down to the last few minutes!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Weekend Getaway

We spent this past weekend in Lake Arrowhead with our friends Whitnee and Joseph, Craig and Pam, Tad and Tif, and of course all our kiddos. It was just what we needed!

It was such a mellow weekend spent playing games, relaxing in weather that was actually comfortable to sit outside in, and watching all 8 of our kids run around outside and pretend to be explorers. I would love to show you pictures, but would you believe I forgot my camera at home! Oh well, there will be more visits to this great place and pictures to take then.

Lots of love,

The Grady's

The end of summer

It is here...and I am trying to bargain for more time. I promise that it was just yesterday that I was SO excited about the end of the school year, and now here we are again. Knocking on that same door! Ugh. Don't get me wrong, I really do like my job, but it is really hard to get back into the swing of things again. It will seriously take me at least a week, if not more to not regret having to wake up and get dressed and out the door right away in the morning.
So at 9:30am tomorrow, I will be in full swing...think of me as I tackle all of those 3rd graders!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

P.S. The last few days have been tough in our house. Jeff lost one of his employees on Thursday. Please pray for his family as they handle their loss.