Guess I'm creating a new post

So blogger won't let me post something longer than 4,896 characters (or something like that), so here's my reply to your "Time is Flying" post, Mom.

DAD!!!  Good job!  I have been thinking a lot about quitting the D.C.  It's sooooper hard!  I just keep reading more and more things about how awful the aspartame is for us.  Plus, I have to quit so I can see if my heart palpitations are from my mood stabilizer or D.C.  Probably both.  My doctor is going to titrate me off the medication and put me on something else.  I guess it's bad or something to go through life with constant heart flutters.  I'll try and titrate myself off diet coke too.  That will work.  Maybe.

Anyway!  Things are VERY quiet here.  The boys are gone to week-long Scout camp, Katie is rarely here, and Rob is leaving tomorrow for the camp.  The ward needed drivers to get the boys up to camp yesterday, so I was able to take them up there and drop them off.  It made me feel better about leaving them after I saw the camp and met their "camp buddy."  She is a sweet heart, and I told her to put Caleb in charge of anything she needs help with.  He's the oldest one there, and he will rise to any leadership occasion he is given.  I see in him a "sleeping giant."  He is going to be a great leader one day.  His patriarchal blessing alluded to this as well.  He is amazing.
Carson was trying not to be emotional as I was saying goodbye yesterday.  I could tell he was going to have some homesickness.  I'm going to write the boys a note and make some no-bake cookies and send them up there with Rob tomorrow.  Carson will do a lot better when Rob gets there.  He is taking the most fun merit badge classes.  All having to do with water, guns, and sharp things, of course. He will have fun once he gets in to it.  He brought his new knife to camp and was walking around with it on his belt loop like it was his lucky machete.  He is such a funny kid.

Katie is doing OK on her new "time to grow up" plan.   She has followed all the house rules so far, and now we are hoping she gets in gear with her diploma.  She finally started talking to us again on Saturday.  She wasn't very happy that we decided to quit coddling her (err…enabling her?).  It will all be good.  We hope.

Rob has been quite stressed lately.  He has worked very hard to get organized with his new calling as Scoutmaster, so I think that is not as much of a contributor to his stress.  His main source is his lazy associate, Dr. Luke, at the office.  Rob is getting ready to cancel Luke's contract (aka fire him), so he is pretty sick about doing that.  He hates letting someone go who has a family to take care of, but Dr. Luke's lackadaisical attitude and poor dental skills are harming the practice.  Rob's reputation is suffering, and he has to do something.  Rob has been talking with, and finally met, a dentist currently practicing in Idaho.  This guy has been out of school for several years, and so he doesn't have as many skill and speed issues as a brand new dentist.  Plus, he is SO personable and charismatic, just like Rob.  Rob has interviewed him at least a dozen times.  He's our guy, but Rob has to figure out (with Russ Blood, or whatever that expensive lawyer's name is) how to reasonably let Luke transition out.  Rob wants to be fair, of course, and provide Luke with a severance package and a way to collect on treatment he's rendered.  Russ Blood will help Rob make it fair for everybody.  Lots of stress on Rob though.  He HATES doing that stuff.

I am starting to freak out a little about school.  There is SO MUCH TO DO.  I only have three days to set up my classroom because of new teacher orientation.  I have a feeling I'll be at the school some long hours to start out with.  Then hopefully I can bring those long hours home with me and continue working my buns off here.  I have spent a ton of time working on my classroom website.  It's turning out so well, and I'm really excited about it!!  I'll post a link when I'm ready to unveil it.
I'm trying to do stuff for school every day.  Today I'll be shopping for recess equipment and setting up my science curriculum.  I'm trying to align science, social studies, and language arts so it all correlates.  It's hard, but the kids learn so much more when teachers do it that way.  It's just a lot of work.  My to-do list is extraordinarily long.  This is what I signed up for though!

I hope Irma calls us this week.  We would love to meet her and help her any way we can.  I bought some choir CD's for her, just in case we meet her.

We (the Staley's) would love to come visit.  I don't think we'd be able to this summer, BUT, we are thinking about the holidays.  That would be fun, eh?  Let's keep that mulling around in the back of our minds, and I'm sure we can make it happen.  Mom, I'm sure you are just in heaven being able to go to the ocean as often as you have been. You guys may end up loving it so much out there you decide to move!

OK.  Gotta go get ready.  Lots of love to you both and to everyone!