Microwave

Our microwave finally kicked the bucket. We had been having problems with the buttons working for some time, but yesterday, even the start button quit. I guess you don't realize how much you use the microwave until you can't use it. No quick heating up food, now hot water for instant coffee... nothing. So I told Kris that I would run to the store and get a new one. The problem, Kris wanted a Stainless steel finish, which was pretty limited in what we could get right at that moment. Plus I didn't have any research behind the brands.

I did a quick search of models on Walmart's website to get some reviews, and I found one I liked, but the problem was, I was only available online. So I had to check a couple other sites to see what they had available in store. After running to Home Depot (they didn't have the one I wanted in stock, at least in a stainless finish), so i then went to see what Walmart had in stock. They had one in Stainless, but it was some off-brand and I didn't know anything about it. As I was driving home with nothing I went past Menard's and thought, "why not?" So I ran in quickly, and they had the brand i wanted (Magic Chef) but not quite the one I was looking for. it had the brushed stainless finish on the door, but it was a black frame. I made an executive decision and got it.

Works pretty good so far, and well, I will have to deal with the look for now. At least I can cook a hot dog, or heat up leftovers now.

Time to Cut Everything Down

Well Fall has officially arrived. How do I know? Because I just spent an hour cutting back all the flowers on the side of the house. I know, you are supposed to wait until a frost to do it. But we have had rabbits this year living in them, and by living I mean laying in the middle of the bunches of coneflowers, and snowcrops. They look absolutely horrible, and they are just about dead, so after talking to Kris we figured, close enough. The snow is right around the corner.

Halloween Time Again

It is almost October and that means one thing, it is almost Halloween time. And since it is almost Halloween, that means it is time to start looking and planning for this years jack-o-lanterns. I already have a couple of ideas, but I am going to start scouring the worldwide interwebs looking for ideas, templates, and examples of faces and things I can carve into a pumpkin. It's almost time!

Swim Lessons

Alison started her next level of swim lessons tonight. They start at a sort of crummy time, but the classes are also longer. She was sort of scared to start tonight, but I am not quite sure why. I could be that she was scared about who her teacher would be, or if it is because she was unsure of what they'd be doing.

They started off doing bobs and quickly moved to swimming laps. It was much farther than Alison is used to swimming. She had to stop a couple of times holding the lane markers to catch her breath. She did much better when they switched to do backstroke. They also did some diving for rings on the bottom of the pool. The had a little trouble with that too. Hopefully she will get stronger over the course of the class, but I think it might take her two tries to get through this level .

Phone Call

Interestingly, I got a call from Alison's teacher today. She wanted to touch base with us about Alison and her anxiety. I was a little perturbed by the response. After talking to the principal and then getting this call from her teacher they made it out like this is Ali's fault for being too attached to Kris and me. What a crock!

We talked about what was happening, and what she told her teacher. Apparently her teacher didn't even know what was happening. I found out that the aide who kicked Ali off the playground flat out lied about why. I was told one thing, that is a VERY far-fetched explanation. Then when I talked to Ali about it, she told me this aide walked up to her that day and instructed her on something else altogether.

I told Ali to just be careful from now on and let me know whenever she has a problem. Kris and I will be planning on being a pain in someone's butt if this continues.

Rules

We have apparently pinpointed the problem with Alison at school. Friday she was removed from the playground. Not forcibly removed, but told to go stand over by the school building until recess was over. Ali wasn't exactly sure why she was kicked off the playground equipment, but then apparently when she was over by the building she wasn't standing in the right place, so she got in trouble again. One of the girls that she was sent off with (there were two others) who was from her new school told her they should stand on top of some steps leading into the school. This was the wrong place and Ali got in trouble again. She never knows when she is going to turn around and end up breaking a rule.

I ended up contacting the principal to have a discussion with him about this incident. I got the details from Ali about what happened and I thought it was a little excessive to have her recess cut short. I actually only wanted to set up an appointment to talk to him, but I actually sat and talked to him for about 15 minutes Monday.

So my impressions, I think he is genuinely a nice guy, but I got the feeling that he thought I was nuts. He didn't know about the incident on the playground and couldn't understand why Alison would have been sent off. He explained to me the blue slip/pink slip procedure, which was fine, but then asked if I had spoken to Alison's teacher yet. When I told him no, I got the feeling that I was being brushed off. Almost like there is a chain of command and I am not following it.

I explained my concerns that Ali was a model student a Riverside and was never in any trouble, was student of the month six times, top of her class in testing even though she was the youngest, got a Pillar award for helping out... and now we have been at our new school for all of 12 days and it seems like every day there is another problem. So to make a long story short, he said he would talk to Ali, and try to calm her nerves, try to make sure that all the rules were understood in case she was worried. He was going to talk to her teacher and to the aide that removed her from the playground to try and find out what happened. He gave me an idea about what someone would have been kicked off the playground for, but I can't see Alison doing any of those things.

I suppose for now I am satisfied with the response, but we have to continue to monitor things I think. it sure seems like there are an awful lot of rules to follow here. I mean I am all for order, but they also need to let kids be kids a little bit, don't you think?

More Cheer

Sarah had a parent meeting for cheer tonight. Unfortunately Alison had to go to dance class at the same time. So while I took Alison, Kris went with Sarah. They apparently had the high school cheer club there as well so that the girls and parents could see what they could expect if they decided to stay with cheerleading, such as the types and number of competitions,and the costs of everything. All I can say is that this sounds like it is going to be expensive. Who would have known it cost so much to jump up and down, do some flips, and yell?

But on the good side it is nice to see Sarah finally taking a full on interest in something adn being dedicated to it.

Current Mouse Count

I had decided a couple of weeks ago to pull in all the mouse traps since I hadn't caught any rodents in a while. Well yesterday as I was leaving the house (I forget where I was going now) I saw a little mouse run up on the front porch. So I placed the traps back out, and less than twenty four hours later I had two more mice snapped in half. So now I guess I'll leave them out again for a little while and see what I catch. I believe my running total right now is something like 25 mice and 6 voles.

The one saving grace I can take from this is that nothing has made its way into the house yet.

New School Issues

Alison has been at her new school for about two weeks and she is still having problems adjusting. Everything seems fine when she is with her friends or at home, but as soon as it is time to go to school, she starts crying and saying she doesn't want to go. Kris and I are trying to figure out just why. Previously it had been because she was being picked on by a kid at school. But now, we just don't know. I can't believe that she would be having issues with another student already. We will just have to wait and see if we can figure it out.

Cheerleading

Sarah had cheerleading tryouts yesterday for North. This is separate from Jr. Indians cheer. She had practice Friday and Monday with her actual tryout on Tuesday. They, and when I say they I mean all the girls who were trying out, "learn" a cheer as well as a dance routine. She already knew the cheer from Jr. Indians, so she only needed to learn the dance.

During the actual tryout, she was grouped up with two other girls. They were running behind, so she had to wait around until after everyone was done to find out if she made the team, and good news, she did! Actually everyone who tried out for seventh grade cheer made it. And it is all basically the same as the Jr. Indians cheer squad. Sarah said there are two girls who tried out who are not in Jr. Indians.

So now Sarah will have cheer practice a few times a week along with tumbling classes and it looks like there will be cheerleading invitationals. We have a parent meeting coming up so we will find out more soon. Congratulations Sarah!

9/11 + 9 - Never Forget

This year's Project 2,996 was a little different so I am reviving last year's tributes. Please remember those murdered on this day nine years ago with a moment of silence and reflection. 9/11 is NOT a day of service. It is a day to remember; remember what happened, remember those that died, and remember why we should never forget, never surrender.


This is Sara Elizabeth Low.

Sara Elizabeth Low was a flight attendant and a resident of Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up in Batesville, Arkansas and graduated from Batesville High School in 1991. Sara was a track athlete in high school, and her team won a state title in 1989. In honor of her memory, Batesville has annually held the Sara Low Memorial 5K Run and Walk.

Sara died at the age of 28 in the crash of American Airlines Flight 11 during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. She was one of nine flight attendants onboard. Sara and the rest of her flight crew, being on the first hijacked plane, could have no inkling of what lay in store, unlike on United Airlines Flight 93, where the crew and passengers learned of the earlier attacks and mounted a pre-emptive counterattack that stopped the hijackers from succeeding in their suicide mission. The last recorded information that we have about Sara Low is that on the highjacked American Airlines Flight 11, she gave to another flight attendant, Amy Sweeney, "her father's calling card, which allowed [Sweeney] . . . to pretend to be a passenger and use an AirFone to call Logan Airport and relay the vital information." Even a small act like that took presence of mind and some degree of courage in terrible circumstances that the vast majority of us will never face.

Despite having earned advanced degrees in banking and finance from the University of Arkansas, Sara E. Low was dedicated to her career with American Airlines. And the 28-year-old flight attendant was stationed along the eastern seaboard--a part of the nation she adored. For Sara Elizabeth Low, a career as a flight attendant was a birthright. Family vacations meant piling in the back of her father's small plane and heading from Batesville, Ark., to the Gulf Coast or Rocky Mountains. "Sara didn't think there was too much difference between being in the plane and being in a car," said her mother, Bobbie Low.

Poised, collected, yet prone to sudden streaks of silliness — a personality to calm even the most enraged traveler. And her job sated her wanderlust, her need for cosmopolitan glamor.

"She would call us from the different destinations and give us a hard time," said her older sister, Alyson, a teacher in Fayetteville, Ark. "In the summer she'd phone from San Francisco or Vancouver because she loved that she had to wear a sweater, rubbing it in about how hot and humid it is in Arkansas."

Yet one aspect of the itinerant life wore on Sara: in her first two years as a flight attendant she had about two dozen roommates. So at age 28 she had finally found a place of her own in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, the city from which she boarded Flight 11. "It had a fireplace and wooden floors," Alyson said. "Our mother went to Boston in the summer to help her clean it up, and it was going to be a real home."

"She absolutely loved the airlines and helping people," her father, Mike, said. Sara is survived by her parents, Mike and Bobbie Low of Batesville, and her sister, Alyson Low of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The second person I remember is Richard D. Allen, know to family and friends as "Richie".

Richie was 31 on Sept. 11, 2001. He was a life-long resident of Rockaway Beach. He became a victim of this tragedy as he heroically saved lives in the line of duty.

Richie loved the beach and worked Rockaway’s beaches as a lifeguard for many years and he treasured it. The beach was a peaceful place for Richie and brought him comfort; it was Richie’s Heaven on Earth. He loved the ocean, which is where he surfed, fished, swam and paddled.

Before becoming a fireman and when not lifeguarding on the beach in the summer, Richie spent his winters as a New York City Public School teacher. He quickly and easily gained the admiration and respect of his students as they could tell that he was not like their other teachers. To his students, Richie was someone they could relate to and they described him as “laid back” and “cool”.

People become firemen for many reasons. Richie’s family believes that he became a fireman because saving people and helping is what gave him life. During his short life, he saved many people; some he saved as a fireman, some he saved while lifeguarding and some he saved from themselves. His family believes that this is what God put him on this earth for. Once people met Richie, their lives were changed forever.

On September 11th, Richie was doing what he loved to do: he was helping others. Richie was a probationary New York City firefighter with Engine 4/Ladder 15 in Manhattan. While he was on the fire department for only a short time, he fulfilled a life-long dream. Prior to becoming a fireman, Richie held several other jobs with NYC, which he loved. He worked for the sanitation department, he was a teacher for the Board of Ed and spent his summers working as a lifeguard in Rockaway. All of Richie's jobs entailed serving the people of NYC and making a difference in other people's lives.

Richie is survived by his very proud and loving family, which includes his parents, Richie Sr. and Gail; two brothers, Luke and Mathew; three sisters, Maggie, Lynn, Judy and her husband Mark; close family relatives, Kathy, Charlie Sr., Charlie Jr. and Katie Marquardt, as well as many other dear friends and relatives.

Thanks to www.livingtribute.com, www.legacy.com, www.sep11memories.org, & gypsyscholarship.blogsot.com for the information on these victims.

Our First Day

The first day of school for Kris and I was quite different. Since I took off as I always do to see the girls off to school, I thought I would take the opportunity to have my front tires replaced on my car. They had become quite bald and there was "shake" on the steering wheel, so I assumed they had gone out of balance. As we were walking into school to drop Alison off I got a call from the auto place. It was a little more than the tires being out of balance. Aside from the tires needing to be replaced, both tie rods were loose and one needed to be replaced. Next, the brakes were all worn and I needed a whole front and rear brake job. The rear shocks were beginning to leak and the struts while not needing to be done at that exact moment, would need to be done in the near future. So what started out as what was originally planned as about a $170 job turned into a $2200 overhaul. I had been thinking it was about time to look for a new car, but now after spending this much, I am going get my money's worth.

Kris's mother also had surgery scheduled on Wednesday. She was having an carotid artery unblocked. It was apparently 99% blocked on her right side. So Kris had to be up at 3:30 to get her mom to the hospital. She came home in time to help get Alison ready for school. Once we dropped her off, we went to the hospital to wait to talk to the surgeon after the procedure was complete. Once we talked to him and found out everything went well, we ran back home to get Sarah ready for school. After that it was back to the hospital to find out what room Kris's mom was moved into. We went there to see her for a bit. Oh yeah, we also had a list of people to call and let know how the procedure went, so Kris spent closer to 30-45 minutes reporting to everyone on the outcome of the procedure.

Then we had to run back home to be there when Sarah got home and find out how her first day went. Then about a half an hour later we had to go back to Shady Lane to pick up Alison from her first day. Looks like it was a good thing I took off.

First Day Of School

Today was the first day of school in Menomonee Falls. As is tradition I took the girls' picture:


We drove Alison to school this morning afterward. Luckily for us (or not) it was raining this morning, so we got to go right into school and drop Ali off at her classroom. She was a little nervous going in but luckily there was another Riverside girl who had got there the same time.

I got to meet Ali's teacher, and she seemed very nice. She did a lot to help Ali feel comfortable. there was another girl there who was putting her things into her desk so Mrs. Woolard (Ali's teacher) asked if Ali would help her since Ali was there the day before and "did such a good job setting up her desk". I thought it was a nice ice breaker for Ali.

We found out where we needed to go to pick Alison up at the end of the day. I will say that things are much different than we were used to at Riverside. We told Ali where to meet us and then we left. Kris did a very good job. She wa worried she would be crying but did alright with everything.

At the end of the day we drove up and parked across the street waiting for Alison. Unfortunately she never came out. The neighbor who we were also driving home was there, but no Alison. So Kris and I had to go inside to find her. Her classroom was empty and the chairs were all up on the desks, so we walked down to the office. As we got there we saw a mom who used to live about a block and a half away from us that we knew from Riverside. She said hi to me and then said Alison was in front. I walked around and there she was waiting with her teacher.

I got her attention and she came running, nearly in tears. She obviously had misunderstood our directions and ended up going to the front of the school and thought that we had forgotten her. After some soothing words and some hugs, she was all better for the most part. We cleared everything up for Thursday and headed home.

We found out there were a few mistakes made during the day such sitting in the wrong place during lunch, and going the wrong way on the monkey bars. Things will get better though, we just have to be patient.