Times have changed...

Technology is spreading more and more. Especially into the classrooms. This can be a very good thing. I love that my children are getting more and more education on computers. But what is really amazing me, is the lines of communication that are now in the classroom. Every teacher now has her own computer in the room and a phone. On the computer the teacher can send and receive e-mails in addition to the normal booking they need to perform. This can be a great advantage to parents like me who may need to inform the teacher of something private about her child that they don't necessarily want the child knowing is being discussed. I recently had a concern about Holly and things that were happening while at her mom's house. I e-mailed her teacher about this and asked her to please listen if she mentions anything out of the ordinary. The phone is also handy for reaching the teacher immediately in an emergency. I remember when I was in school how if the office needed to get a hold of the teacher they did it over the intercom system.
There is one problem with phones in the classroom though. The students take a little too much advantage of it. My daughters call me frequently from school. Most of the time it is very handy when it concerns an emergency or a change in afternoon schedules which will change the time I need to pick them up from school. But I'm not thrilled when I receive a call to ask me to bring something to them they may have forgotten at home (something that isn't that important) or just to inform me of something minor that really could have waited till they got home. I've told them to make a note if they fear they will forget, but that phone is just becoming too handy. I don't see how this doesn't interrupt there regular class activities. I guess I'll just work a little harder at helping them learn the right situations and needs on when to call me. So to anyone stopping in to read...God Bless!!

ABC's of Me

I know I already posted today, but I just found this on another random blog and thought it was cute. Wanted to do one of my own.

1. A is for age: 27
2. B is for beer of choice: none...not a fan of beer
3. C is for career right now: MOM and WIFE
4. D is for your dog's name: Ruby, Oreo, and even if he's not living with our family-Bruiser
5. E is for essential item you use everyday:Bath Sponge
6. F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Gilmore Girls
7. G is for favorite game: Late night Scrabble with Larry
8. H is for Home town: Born in Mt. Pleasant, grew up in Ft. Worth
9. I is for instruments you play: Clarinet, a little Sax, a little Piano, and soon the Electric Guitar
10. J is for favorite juice: Cran-Grape
11. K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: Let's not go there
12. L is for last place you ate: Home-leftover pizza from last night's dinner
13. M is for marriage: Fabulous! Will be 4 years next month!
14. N is for your full name: Toby Annette
15. O is for overnight hospital stays: Probably after I was born. Other than that-none *knock on wood!*
16. P is for people you were with today: So far, Larry and the girls
17. Q is for quote: "God is good."
18. R is for Biggest Regret: Thankfully don't have one yet. Or at least can't think of one right now.
19. S is for status: Married to the fabulous and handsome Larry!
20. T is for time you woke up today: woke up: 6:01 got up: 6:37
21. U is for underwear you have on now: Blue Fruit-of-the-loom Boy shorts
22. V is for vegetable you love: Right now it's the sauteed green beans at Great Wall Chinese Restaurant
23. W is for worst habit: procrastination
24. X is for x-rays you've had: most recent-about 3 years ago when I cracked my other ankle, but I've had many many through out my life!
25. Y is for yummy food you ate today: That is still to come, girls go to their mom's today, so that means Larry will take me out to dinner when I get back!!
26. Z is for Zodiac sign: Scorpio

My Funny Quirks

Today as I was in search of my hair brush, the location of it made me think of my somewhat funny quirks.

I found my brush in my magazine/activity bag. When I was a child, my family did their best to go on a road trip vacation every summer. I am very thankful for this for I have seen many fabulous places in this wonderful country of ours. But with these trips were many long hours spent riding in the car. My mom put together a summer travel bag
for my brother and I every year to keep us entertained on the ride, and to help minimize the number of quarrels in the back seat.

I continue to spend many hours in the car. My husband's family lives in East Texas. We travel to visit them frequently, so I bring my bag filled with magazines, a book, and my knitting to keep me busy during the drive. I also travel to Waco every other weekend to drop off my girls with their mom to visit her in Austin. We frequently spend up to an hour waiting for her in the parking lot of Fazolli's. This wonderful bag helps to keep me from getting overly aggravated while waiting. Due to these drives and the advancement of technology, I have added books on CD to my bag. I have been able to listen to many, many books on these drives. The reader is like someone sitting in the passenger seat talking to me and keeping me awake on these tedious drives to and from Waco. I have also added my digital camera to the bag to catch any moments I might not want to miss out on remembering.

OK, so you are asking what is the quirk in that other than my rambling? Well I have realized due to this routine, I have now become obsessed with bags to carry my activities. I am constantly finding a new, cute bag to carry my things in. I have also acquired quite a collection of magazines and books. And I seem to be a frequent visitor to the books on CD shelves at the library.

Well maybe these really aren't quirks, but just something funny I choose to think/write about today.

What is sad is the change in technology these days for my children. We are planning to go on a family trip with my parents and brother in just over a week. My mom being the wonderful woman she is, offered to make bags for the girls. Unfortunately, since I didn't come into their lives early enough to deter them from an addiction of technology, and give them a love for simple things, the girls have made their own bags filled with the latest technology for children. I don't complain cause they really aren't terrible things. Mostly CD players, a few diggy pets, and a kids Ivideo player they got from their mom for Christmas. And these items will help to ward off backseat quarrels too, I just hope they don't get too caught up in playing with these items that they run down their batteries and expect me to replace them every couple of days. I don't plan to spend my money on batteries instead of film for my camera. I know you are thinking why not buy them rechargeable ones. Unfortunately my children are not know for remembering where they place items, so rechargeables get lost, and they are a lot more money to replace.

OK so I've rambled on so much now and have to keep getting up to attend to other important activities in the house, that I have forgotten where all I was going with this particular entry, so I will go for now.

So to anyone stopping in to read...God Bless!!!

Doing the right thing deffinately isn't always easy

This week we finally accepted that we couldn't keep my dog, Bruiser, anymore. Bruiser is a 10 month old Apple head Chihuahua. He has the colorings of a Rottweiler. I am not personally a fan of Chihuahuas but I couldn't resist him when my husband brought him home last May and I saw he had those colors. (I love their brown eyebrows) Just like our other animals he is a rescued pet. Our neighbor at the time found him dumped on the side of the road. He was only about 5 weeks old and still needed to be bottle fed. So my husband's soft heart brought him home, and mine allowed me to have the energy to get up to feed him every two hours like a baby.

Now he is a very rambunctious dog, who just isn't happy in an apartment. He very much needs a home with a backyard that he can play in everyday. He also was in need of a very steady routine, and our lifestyle is often not steady. We had been trying and trying to keep him, but when he started an obsession with me that caused him to mark me as his territory, I knew we just couldn't keep him. My husband's assistant's sister took him. She has a yard and young children to keep him entertained.

I know he is happy in his new home and I can visit him any time, but the absence of him has left such a huge hole in my heart. I never knew how much my little 2 pound dog actually filled this house up. The whole family is missing him. I know my husband is feeling it just as badly as me, but being the typical guy, he does his best to brush it off. Being the typical girl I lay in bed crying for an hour every night and then off and on through the day. I do my best not to do this in front of him since I know it makes it harder for him since he doesn't feel he can show his emotions over a dog the same way he does at the lost of a human life.

Today was easier than yesterday, and I know it will get a little better everyday, but boy I sure do miss that little guy. Even if I did spend most of the day telling him no to this or that.

So to Bruiser: You will forever be loved and missed by this family!!!