The Smack Down

All is Bliss and Joy at our house...Nah, did you really think so? Elise and Brayden have been fighting like, well let's just say they've put Becky and David to shame and THAT is saying a lot. Twice this past week Becky has nearly NOT beaten the buses to school because she left late after refereeing Elise and Bray fights.

Friday, both children were grounded from all electronics after multiple, tearful, phone calls to their Mom's cell phone while she was in school meetings. Becky was quite surprised to find all well, the house still standing, and the children playing peacefully when she got home, late, because of their fighting.

Did I mention they fight a lot? Saturday morning dawned a new glorious day full of screeching, hitting and well, FIGHTING. Abby got in on this one too. Becky and Lynn joined in a united front, talked to each child individually and put on the smack down.

AW, bummer! The DSs are skillfully hidden. The passwords have been changed on the computers, and Becky owns the remotes to the TVs. All three Barton Children are on electronic arrest until the PARENTS see noticeable change in their behavior.

Part of the SMACK DOWN includes: doing any chore cheerfully when Mom asks. If you say NO or throw a tantrum, Mom gets to put down tally marks for more chores.

Becky really hopes she lives through this one...

Mother's Day

I thought I would let you all know....

for Mother's Day, I packed my bags and headed to Puerto Rico for a few days with Jaci and Brook. I might, maybe, if I feel like it come back!

Washington State University

We did it! We got in the van, picked up a few USU animal science students and followed Dr. Stott to Pullman, Washington. 12 hours later we finally pulled in to the Veterinary hospital on campus.

Some things we learned:

1. Dr. Stott and his GPS do not = the shortest distance between point A and point B.
2. 18-23 year old girls still think Lynn is funny. idk why. LOL
3. The cardiac unit at the vet school studies grizzly bears while they hibernate to find out why they don't lose bone mass etc. unlike us poor humans.
4. A horse running on a horsie tread mill is quite a sight to see. Especially when he is a show off. Impressive when he runs 27.8 mph and doesn't break a sweat.
5. Becky gets a kick out of other people's pain. Like... the pre-vet student who only wants to study small animals. He was plastered against the wall and white as a sheet while watching the horsie run. Becky laughed and laughed and laughed. She'd have made him get closer to see if he would have actually passed out just to see if she could have gotten away with it, plus she's never seen anyone pass out from fear.
6. 18-23 year old girls put their i-pods in when Becky sings while driving.
7. At least the no-tell motel was clean.
8. Brigham young didn't design their city streets, a cow did.
9. Yep, we could live there.
10. ONE TINY PROBLEM: They're Cougars...ah but their colors are red and black, phew!

***Yes I know I'm slow in posting this, I will get around to adding pictures, I hope. Busy, Busy, Busy. Currently I'm "Leaving No child Untested". LOL

My Unca Yin a Towboy!

My two year old niece, Berkley, plays with this toy and says, "This a towboy. Like my Unca Yin."

Spring Breaking It!

So far we're having one heck of a Spring Break! We woke up to 8 inches of snow this morning! My children cheered because they were supposed to be helping me clean out the flower beds. We just watched snow melt instead.

I'm typing up my lone entry as an "Advanced Candidate" for National Boards. I'm having a REALLY difficult time putting my heart and soul into it. I only have to get .5 better on this entry than last year and I pass. It doesn't help that an instructor from last year told me, "No one cares what score you got. You either are or you aren't. It's like being pregnant. You're not highly qualified pregnant. You either are or you aren't." .5 and I am...

Lynn and I are, Ok I guess I'm a sortof chaperone, as we drive some pre-vet USU students along with Lynn up to WSU (Washington State) on Thursday for a conference. I guess I'll make use of their library and finish typing up my entry. Lynn can talk cows, horses and pigs...oh my!

Lynn says I have to quit telling people how good he is, it embarrasses him and he doesn't like it when people know stuff about him. So don't tell him you read this here. He is concurrently enrolled at USU and Weber State so he can take Organic Chemistry and public speaking this summer. apparently it makes it so he has enough credit to walk at USU next Spring if he loads his Fall and Winter semesters there. Currently he's swearing at the class schedules because he can't fit in histology (sp?) and dang the name of it escapes me at the moment. So he's taking a business class and pig production instead. Lucky him.

I hope your spring break has been warmer than ours!

Quick Update.... 'cuz that Be All I Gots Time fer...

First...Still no pictures. My STS guy couldn't fix it. Then H in my class, his dad specializes in data retrieval. He was sad to inform me all my pictures from December on through March I hadn't saved on my computer are now lost forever and ever.
Brayden: Oh heck, the kid's up to my neck...Oh wait scratch that I blinked and now he's up to my jaw. The pants I bought him for church 3 weeks ago are now too short. We went to "registration" at Junior High. I only hyperventilated a little bit. I'll recover...um NEVER. Lucky Kid only needs a Dpt booster shot. He wants to join band and play the trumpet. He's lockering with another 7th grader who's as tall as me. I told him to hang out a lot with J. As long as he hangs with almost 6 foot J, no one will pick on him. He's getting his Second Class in Scouts on Wednesday. AND...somehow...he got all 3s on his report card, our school district's equivalent to straight As. He recently discovered Face Book where he can now stalk the girls he has crushes on. In fact, he made quite the Valentine for one 6th grade girl he likes very much.
Abby: Got straight 3s as usual. :) She is still working on passing of her tap riffs in dance and can dance like a genie for ballet. She knows 6 of the 13 Articles of Faith. She is reading Harry Potter #6, and is the shortest in our family. She began a recent love affair with Star Wars. (Thanks so much Aunt Bean...)

Elise: Got straight 3s...duh, like she would get anything else, sheez. (Elise lingo) She Passed off all her tap riffs at dance and I understand she's the fastest tapper in her class, which really doesn't surprise me because she taps everywhere she goes, constantly making her mother insane until I banish her to the basement. Phew... She can dance like a genie too. She pesters me every day to rent Grease the movie so she can see them dance to the song she's dancing to at dance. She's taken over our Family Home Evenings with her twin sister Abby because apparently Lynn and I were falling down on the job. She had a special lesson on cursing just for her mom. Thanks Elise. :S

Lynn: He's worried he won't get a 4.0 this term and only a 3.9. Waa waa. No I really want him to do well. HE will. He's fascinated with floating animal fecal matter to find out which parasites they harbor. YUMMY! More and More often I find myself saying, "What is that smell?" "Gross! Lynn leave your boots in the garage. I don't think they literally meant sh*& kickers." He laughs. Guess I wasn't paying attention to Elise's lesson, sigh. Lynn and I will be driving to Washington State University next week for a pre-vet candidate thingy... I'll tell you how it goes. Maybe I'll take pictures.

The Blimey Truth

I'm always going to quit teaching once or twice a year. I walk into my Principal's office and exclaim, "I quit. I'm through, I don't care anymore and THEY don't pay me enough." She smiles hands me some chocolate tells me to have a seat and says back, "You don't really mean that. Tell me what happened." These quitting episodes always seem to coincide with Parent Teacher Conferences, the beginning of the Legislative sessions and the darkest part of winter and my nastiest cold of the year.
Usually it's because I told some parent what was up with their child and they didn't want to hear it...so I become the bad guy.

My problem is I tend to tell the truth. Un-sugar coated. Black and white with a how do you like that. My up front approach with my take it or leave it attitude gets me in trouble quite a bit. Apparently people aren't used to it. They're used to sweet little teachers who play nice. I've tried over the years to scale back and not be up front. Can't do it. It just doesn't come naturally to me. I call a spade a spade. One thing is for sure...you know where you stand with me, no games. I've learned it's how I am and so I must deal with the fall out.

I wonder though, "If you didn't want to know my opinion, Why did you ask in the first place?"

So...what kind of occupation should I have gone into where people need the Blimey Truth?