Cat Scratch Fever

Matt was lying in bed Sunday morning when the cats started chasing each other. Unfortunately for Matt, they jumped up in bed and used him as "base". Mom was often base in our house, but we never scratched her like this!



Ok, yes, we did break her toe, but we can really only take her word for that one, and it was partially her fault. I don't remember doing it, but it is a funny story when she is telling it!

End of the week

Friday was such a crazy day for me! Crystal (one of the teachers) came to tell me that we were having a fire drill sometime that day. Great! Friday was the day that the 7th graders cell model was due. (By the way, it cracks me up that I assign a cell model for my students and I had to do one when I was in 7th grade.) That meant that I had 7th graders and their parents in my room all morning dropping off their projects. I planned a lab to do with the 8th graders, which I only had half of out because I forgot a few things. By the time we turned on the hot plates 1st period, the fire alarm was going off, which was funny, because everyone of my 1st period students thought it was their hot plate that set off the fire alarm! I can't complain, but my 2nd period wanted to show off their models, which set us back for the lab I planned for them to do. I was so exhausted by the time my last class rolled around, which I love!, that I let them relax and talk after the lab was over.

After school I followed Janet to her house because we were having a slumber party with 4 other teachers. It was fun! We had chips and dip for dinner, played Catch Phrase and Cranium, watched a very little bit of the presidential debate, and went to bed. This morning we sat on the porch and had yummy waffles for breakfast. I went straight from Janet's house to Bible study. This was the last week for our book "Calm My Anxious Heart". Next week we are going to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and the following week starting a new book, "The New Eve".

This week Matt called a few lawn care companies to come give us estimates to treat our lawn for bugs and fertilize. Unfortunately, it would cost extra for them to care for the bushes and flowers, but I think we'll be able to manage that part. Our impatiens are still doing well, though they look like they need a little more water. We might have to spray them again for bugs, but at least we can get a professional opinion!

I also finished the first book on the NEA list of 100 must reads, "Pride and Prejudice". It was pretty good, though I couldn't tell you why it was #1. Matt wants to buy the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which is #2 on the list. I actually picked up a couple of other books at the library that weren't on the list, so I'll be busy until I start #2!

New Food Bowl

Matt just refilled the cats food box. Even though there is food in the food bowl, that's not what Simba wanted to eat! (The lid wasn't on tight, but Simba did push it open himself.)

Fun and Games

We had a busy weekend! Friday night I had a group of girls from Sunday school over to play Bunko. It's a fun dice game, and you just have to be lucky with what you roll, and I wasn't very lucky Friday. We are planning on playing every month, so maybe my luck will change. Below is a picture of the girls:



Saturday was supposed to be the Sunday school picnic, but it was rainy, so we didn't go. After church Sunday we went out to dinner with a couple from school and their 3 kids. I taught 2 of them. The youngest is still in elementary school. There was a reception at school for our headmaster who is leaving at the end of the month. I am going to miss him and his family. This Friday is a slumber party with the middle school teachers. I'm looking forward to more girls time! I think Matt is enjoying his guilt free computer time as well.

Yard work

We have had an awful time with bugs in the front yard this summer that we were finally able to get rid of. Lately we have had slugs in the flowers. I was not happy because it was not easy to get rid of the bugs and the flowers finally had blooms again! I have tried 2 things that have seemed to work: filling cups with 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1 tablespoon of water, and then filling up the rest with water. Slugs are attracted to the yeast and crawl in and drown. I also spread coffee grounds (courtesy of Starbucks) around the flowers because I read it tears up slug's bellies. I know it sounds mean, but is it any worse the pouring salt on the slugs?? (I did that to a couple of them, but you have to be careful because plants don't like the salt.) I have learned a lot and am enjoying the gardening.

Due to all of the bugs, the impatiens that we planted last year were wiped out. That really upset me because they were beautiful! I was surprised at how big they got. I spent the summer trying to decide what we were going to do: plant new flowers, buy more impatiens, let the grass grow. Well at some point, the old impatiens were pollinated and dispersed seeds that grew, but behind the bushes. Last weekend I cleaned out the flowerbed, put up a border, and then transplanted some of the flowers that were growing behind the bushes. As you can see in the pictures below, there are still other impatiens that I didn't move because I wasn't so sure if it would work and I didn't want to kill all of them. I think the flowers are going be ok, though. The grass that I dug up I saved and hopefully we'll be able to plant it in the front yard where other bugs are eating our grass. I also moved some border bricks that we had bought for the garden in the backyard that never took off and put them up front by the other flowerbed.

Open House

Last night was the upper school open house. While I never look forward to meeting a bunch of parents, it's really not so bad. The parents go through their kid's schedule, so they are only in my room for about 7 minutes. I updated my PowerPoint presentation from last year, which I'm glad I did because it helps me remember everything and gives the parents something to look at other than me! All of the teachers noticed how warm it was in the building...guess they forgot to turn the A/C back on! I left as soon as I could, but still didn't get home until 8:45. I signed up to lead staff devotions this morning. I read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and a passage from the book I'm reading with my women's Bible study group. I'm already ready for the weekend!

Labor Day

Matt and I had a great time in St. Petersburg this weekend visiting family. There is never enough hours in the day to see everyone, but we do what we can to make our rounds. It was great having the extended Villacampa family at my parents for lunch Saturday. Lots of people chipped in to make lunch and we helped get rid of the food. Sunday we spent with Matt's mom and family. Barbara bought a cute kitten and we had a great time playing with little Watson. After a delicious dinner at Bern's (we're so spoiled!!), we stopped by Matt's dad's house and visited for a couple of hours before heading home. We got home late Sunday night/early Monday morning, but it was nice to have a full day at home on the long weekend.

Here are a bunch of pictures we took: