The week in review

Oh my, sorry no post for so long. I've meant to sit down and write, but haven't gotten it done. Sunday was my last post...Monday...did tutoring with Sarah, went to Giant Eagle and the library with Hannah and Abby. Can't remember the rest of the day unfortunately, but I'm sure it involved a quiet time and a walk and making dinner...oh yeah, Uncle Tom came back here on Monday, THAT'S what we did. He got here just as I was eating lunch after the grocery store and talking to Mom on the phone. We chatted a little and Hannah went to work. Then he and Abby went to the Gorge and took pictures while taking a hike. I made dinner. Monday night we went for a walk and hung out with him.

Tuesday Jeff stayed home to hang out with his brother while we girls went to UV to volunteer. They stopped in at UV which was fun. Jeff hasn't been able to go for a long time. It was a pretty good day there except for some puzzling things with another volunteer. She seemed to be helping Kase (if you know him, he's smart and charming, but kind of ornery as so many of the boys are!) with being distracted with doing these worksheets for the younger kids that he had gotten out of the recylce box to use as a fan. I had told them at the beginning of the time that they needed to listen and would get one warning before losing their stickers. It was a group of 6 rowdy boys! They needed the reminder! So I told him once that those were for younger kids and he needed to pay attention to what we were doing, but he didn't so I told him he lost his sticker. I should have taken them away, but didn't. Ta Mwee Moo also lost his because he just couldn't stop talking that day.

After the class she said, "Would you have wanted me to (and here I expected her to say "take away the worksheets when you warned him about it?") but she said, "take him out in the hall and work on those worksheets with him?" Uhhh...that was the last thing I would have wanted because they ALL would have wanted to go do easy 2nd grade worksheets instead of grade appropriate stuff. So I said, "No, he needed to be listening to what we were doing. He's a smart boy and it wasn't too hard for him. He just wanted to talk." She said, "I think he liked the positive reinforcement of getting them all right." Again...uhh...yeah, but he could have been getting positive reinforcement for getting all of the antonyms right that we were doing in class. I just said, "If it were too difficult for him, that would be one thing, but it really wasn't, and then all of them would have wanted to do something easier too. We're trying to do age-appropriate things with them this summer." Puzzing especially because she is a middle school teacher in the school these kids go to and should know the drill I would think.

Oh well, maybe she thinks I'm mean, but our lessons build on each other each day and if I skip something on Tuesday, that makes it harder for Bev on Thursday. The next class I did have her go out in the hall and read with a girl who's older and doesn't read well and would have had a harder time doing what we were doing...so maybe she doesn't think I'm too awful after all. Guess it really doesn't matter if I'm trying to do what I'm supposed to!

Tom left Tuesday around 3pm for a 4pm flight. I'm always so tired after UV that I don't think I got much done, but I did make stuffed shells for dinner.

Wednesday I went to the bank and did laundry and worked on my syllabus for physical science in the morning with much help from Hannah and Abby! After lunch I did the one for the ACT class and got fall semester done. There's still much to prepare for, but it was a good start.

I had to run Abby up to Target to replace her graham cracker pie crust for her ice cream pies since the cover was broken/cracked and we weren't sure if it was stale/germy! She made two delicious pies for youth group and we got to have some leftovers when she got home.

Hannah went to work and Abby and I went to piano. I went to Marc's while she was there and got lots of fruit--planning to have the Karen girls over on Friday, so I always like to get lots of fruit for them. I accidentally got a free watermelon too. I had left it in my cart so I didn't have to lift it, and when I was putting groceries in the cart after they were bagged, I saw it and asked the cashier if she had gotten it. She said she thought she did and I had already stuffed the receipt in my purse and she seemed more in a hurry to go on to the next person even after I asked again, so I left. It was only $2.79 which is a great price for a whole watermelon. I would have gladly paid for it!

Dad and I were on our own again last night since H was at work and A was at youth group. We ate leftovers and walked--very exciting. Dad sprayed the yard for weeds too. Woo hoo! We know how to live it up!

Today, H and A went to Angie's to help out from about 9:30 until 1:30. I cleaned the house, did their laundry and worked on the school room. I still have more to do, but am trying to get it to be a useable "office" space for me this fall. For jewelry and school stuff.

Now I need to make dinner. Tonight is pierogies (jalapeno cheddar--a new kind) and smoked sausage and green beans with corn muffins. Very quick and easy, hence the time to blog at 5:15pm. But now I do need to run! Until later, dear reader!