This my first attempt at decorating a clipboard. I am taking an online scrapbooking class, and this was part of our pre-class assignments. The other part of the assignment is sorting through all my photos, lol, of course I chose to do the clipboard first. I traveled to the next town over, to shop at Hobby Lobby yesterday. I left the kids at home, so I wouldn't have to hear 'Please buy me something...' every few seconds. On the way there, I had an idea for the clipboard, how I was going to do it. By the time I got home, the idea had completely evolved into what you see---no where near what my first idea was, lol. I had plans to decorate the back side, but once I finished this, forget it. Maybe another day...

We are bursting at the seams in this house! The girls have shared a room, from day one. Dh needs an office, even though he is retired now. Imagine, a space to call his own?? I toiled with the idea of building on to the house, for years. First, I thought, build up. Two bedrooms, and a jack and jill bath on a second floor. But could the structure handle that? Then I thought, build out from our master bedroom, a study. One girl then takes over dh's old office. This could be doable, not too expensive. Now today, I get this grand idea. A family room! Let's turn the garage into a family room, and then build a new garage out onto the old garage. Ample room on the property. Dh constantly worries about the resale value of the house. He doesn't want the house to get more expensive than the neighborhood is. I say, let's meet our needs! I don't see us moving anytime soon. Dh would have moved yesterday, if he had his way. I have no plans to move. The girls need their own rooms, that is our first priority. I will work on dh--or better, discuss this in detail with dh for the time being, and see how it goes, lol.

Hey, if the man hadn't been flipping houses for the last four years, these thoughts wouldn't have come into my head. I am ready to flip my house, for me! The only reno we have ever done in this house, was lay tile in the kitchen/dining area, both bathrooms, and the laundry room. Oh, and the laminate floor in the girls' room. I am ready to move some walls, baby!!

We have a new family member! A parrot named Simon! That bird doesn't like me yet, but he sure adores little dd. Simon is a Lilac-crested Amazon parrot. He is about 12 years old. A friend, who retired a couple of years ago, offered him to us. She was traveling alot, and knew we were big animal lovers. She wanted him to go to a family that would dote on him. We certainly do!

He can talk! He says---Hi, Simon----I'm Simon---Hello---OK---and also barks like a dog, and gives a good chuckle. When little dd is playing at the dining room table, chattering away with her stuffed animals, Simon will chatter away. Once little dd gets quiet, Simon will go silent. It is too funny!

Today, little dd had a pair of shorts laying on the table. Simon walked over, and started rolling around in the shorts. I tried to find some info on this strange behavior, but I couldn't. I just got done ordering books to help us train Simon---A Parrot Guide for Dummies, Teaching your Parrot Tricks, and Teaching your Parrot to Talk.

We have one jealous cat in the household...



When little dd is doing her homework, Simon will come over and climb on her shoulder. He likes to grab her pencil, and nip the eraser off.







Simon will fan is tail feathes out when he is happy--look at those orange colors hidden among the green.



A close up, Mr. DeMille!!



I love this shot! This was when we realized that Simon had an affection for little dd...

HACK! COUGH! SNEEZE!---no, not me---little dd! I've been out two days taking care of her. She was mad yesterday when she realized that her perfect attendance would be ruined. Today she cried, thinking of missing another day. LOL, wish all kids had this mentality. I hope she keeps this feeling with her all through school. I picked up some homework for her today, but she is feeling too miserable to work on it. Doctor's appointment at 3 pm.

My school has a presentation on meth and cyberbulling today. I went to a short meeting this morning to review it. Then I ran to the classroom to get the room ready for the substitute. She was sitting at my desk, waiting. I looked at her, she seemed familiar, but I knew she had never subbed for me. As I was calling up the class roll, I asked her what her name was. LOL, she took care of my random dogs and cats over the years at the local animal hospital. She and her dh retired some years ago, and she decided to sub just to give her something to do. I jumped up and gave her a hug, apologizing for not recognizing her. I secured her for tomorrow, too, since little dd still has a fever. Protocal is that little dd has to go without a fever for 24 hours. With the H1N1 scare, I am trying to stick with this.

This has been my week, anyone else have a more exciting one???

A new student joined my class today. I was worried how her day would go, once I heard that she was emotionally disturbed. This could be the calm before the storm, but I am staying with positive thoughts on the whole thing. She got along well with my students, was very polite, and enjoyed helping in the cafeteria after lunch. I have a few students working in there, cleaning tables and chairs, and throwing away trash. I called the parents in the afternoon to ask if she could work in the cafeteria, and earn money. I also gave a good report on how her day was. See, when the parents showed up yesterday to enroll her, they thought my room was not restrictive enough. They want her in a behavior program, for those students that act out. We have nothing like that in our district. Time will tell, if she shows her true colors. The parents seem to think that I can't handle her, what would I do, if she needs a moment to pull herself together. Who knows, but I am not going to keep worrying about 'if' and 'when'. After all, Truman was throwing feces around last year, and beating anything and everything he could get his hands on. My bathroom had to be completely put back together, toilet replaced, after his outbursts. I really don't think this child will ever reach to those heights, lol.

On another note, our beloved Cheddar passed away. She was older dd's dwarf hamster. We had her for two years, the lifespan being 2 to 3 years. She had been looking frail for months, losing weight and hair. It was just a matter of time. I feed the hamsters at night time, just before the girls go to bed. We get them out, pet them, fill their bowls, and put them back. Poor little Cheddar was in there, lying on her side, just under the water spout. The girls began to cry. With Dad being out of town, I was on my own to deal with this. I felt so sorry for them. Now they are fast asleep in my bed, taking the whole bed up. Somehow, I will squeeze myself among them, and try to get some sleep. I wrapped Cheddar up real good in plastic bags, and stuck her in the freezer, so that we can have a proper burial when dh returns.