Some changes in our lives

Well, a change is happening that I hoped I would not see. Due to economic down falls, the State of MO has cut the funding to Parents As Teachers by 60%. I will no longer be a parent educator. I still fully support the fundamentals of the Parents as Teachers program. It is a wonderful program. I have greatly grieved over this loss in my life. It has been a joy and pleasure working with and serving the families on my case load. I wish them all the best and hope that they will be able to continue with the program and continue to teach their children with the wonderful efforts that they have to this point. There are so many wonderful families in the Joplin School District. Thank you for inviting me into your home.

I have applied and interviewed for a job as a Family Education Support Specialist with Early Head Start in Joplin. I hope to receive this position and to continue to work with families.

Thank you to all my friends and family for the love and support you have given me through these changes.

Our Toilet

When we first moved into our home our toilet in the full bathroom was rocking. I told Bruce about it and he said OK. He didn't tighten it. So, I tried to play handy lady and tightened the toilet. Unfortunately, I made it too tight. It cracked the toilet bowl in the back. It wasn't leaking until a child used too much toilet paper and we had to plunge it then it started leaking out the back. So we had to turn off the water. This was late Saturday night. Since we don't shop on Sunday, it was Monday early when I went to Lowe's. The toilet set we had was a $114 set. We really didn't have that kind of money to put out for a new one. I noticed they had a bowl only for $25. I asked a clerk if it would fit our tank. He said 99% of the time that they fit any toilet and since the bowl was the same brand as our original. I brought it home and Bruce had the old one taken off. When we went to put the new one on we realized we needed some hardware that hadn't come with the new bowl. I went to Wal-mart. They didn't have what I needed so I went to Ace Hardware. While I was in Wal-mart Bruce called and said I needed to find some kind of waxy stuff that was surrounding the hole where the toilet sits. When I was at Ace they showed me a set of the wax ring and hardware I needed. I took it home. We installed the new bowl. When we put our old tank on we realized quickly that we were the 1% of people that have their old tanks not match a new bowl. Our tank sat too close to the wall, we could not get the lid to go on. So, off I went again to Lowe's to get the tank that matched the bowl, $29. We installed that, but it was leaking water from where it bolted to the bowl. We bought silicone and put silicone around the bolts. That slowed the process of leaking, but didn't stop it. The next day we took the tank off again and shoved silicone with a popcicle stick into the hole and then put in the bolts. It is no longer leaking. What should have been a 1-2 hour job accumulated over a week period into several hours of work. Long story short, Bruce said, "Next time we hire someone." The joys of owning a home.

Bullies in Kindergarten

Hello All. I guess I should preface this story a little. Logan got his first write up just days before Christmas break. I won't even get into why. He got another one two days after Christmas break was over. Again, won't get into that. So, when I got a phone call on Tuesday from the school principal, I let out an audible grown. He was quick to say, "No, NO, he's not in trouble." I replied, "then what happened?" He proceeded to tell me that Logan was in the bathroom. There was another Kindergartner in there who kicked Logan in the groin. He also told me that the child had been punished. He didn't tell me what the punishment was. When Logan got home and I asked him what happened he said, "I only said hi to him and then he jumped on my back and kicked me right here, pointing to his groin." He then told me, "but I didn't fight back." That night I had Parent Teacher Conference. The teacher told me that as a mother, I can rest assure that Dr. Storm took care of it and took care of it well. Because of Privacy codes she could not say more, but she said she thought Connor was a new man.

Then, Wednesday while I am trying to check out at the pharmacy, my cell phone rang. It was an excited Joy who proclaimed, "Logan got beat up at school again today." She then told me that while he was waiting for the bus to leave school, a child punched him and slapped him in the stomach. I told her I would call the school. I got a hold of Doctor Storm. He said, yes that did happen and told me he would be taking care of it when the child got back to school the next day. I expressed my concern over the rough week Logan was having and he said, yes, but Logan is making better choices. I am glad he is making better choices, but I am starting to agree with Bruce, maybe it is time for self defense classes.