Nine Weeks to Freedom!

Maybe the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but I only have to endure nine more weeks of teaching and taking classes. After May 23rd I will have a break until I begin student teaching in the fall. I still want to quit my program on a regular basis, but there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. Paul is looking forward to playing music with friends again after nearly two years, and the children are anticipating having their mother back. I'm not sure what I will do, but knowing me I will have a breakdown of some sort. Luckily, I will have girls camp and our youth trek to keep my mind busy for the first half of the summer.

New school year

A new year has begun. Here is a picture of Luke's first day (the girls' second day). They were waiting for the bus at 6:30 a.m. When I got home from work, I asked Luke what his favorite part of school was. He said, "THE BUS! There are NO SEAT BELTS!"

How a field trip saved my education

Two hours ago I turned in my last assignment for my child and adolescent development class. I have to say I truly didn't think I was going to make it through that class. I wanted to quit school at least once a week throughout it, and one night I nearly did. Luckily for me, Luke had a field trip the next day. I decided to blow off my paper due that day and enjoy the day with my son instead. I even went to the Trunk or Treat at church that night. Although my stress was not gone, I felt much better after that and managed to get my paper written the next day.

Feeling stressed? Go on a field trip and discover the world again through the eyes of a four-year-old.

School days

I should have posted this a couple of weeks ago, but here they are now. What cute kids! They were up and ready to go bright and early. I'm still not used to getting up before 6 p.m. I was really enjoying sleeping in over the summer. Oh well, at least the sun is still shining in the early hours. I hate getting up when it is dark outside. It just seems wrong.

For the record they are: Luke, Pre-K; Leah, first; Sarah, third; Eliza, fifth.

Luke and I at his school. I will have to get pictures of his classroom. It is the coolest ever!

Gap-toothed Leah! And yes that is a potty chair that no one has used for a very long time. It was drying on the carport. It is all clean and ready to be owned by someone else:)

Sarah has this thing about wearing her hair in a ponytail with a headband. I think it is overkill, but it's her head. Whatever! Plus she's cute regardless.

This one is growing up way too fast! Are any of you other moms freaking out that their children are growing up faster than you ever imagined. Everyday Paul looks at me and says "they are getting big, aren't they?" or something to that effect. Scary! Eliza is ten. In another ten years she will be 20 (I'm good at math, see?) She could be married by then, and I could be a grandma! AHHHHHHH! Surely those thoughts cross someone else's mind too.

Home alone!

Yes, it finally happened. I had my first day home alone. No children. No husband. I didn't even get emotional. It was just blissfully peaceful. I listened to good music and worked around the house doing "whatever" all day. Ironing was even enjoyable for the first time. Crazy, I know. Oh, and my husband took me out for Chinese. What a sweet guy!

As for the children, they started school today. Luke is attending a Pre-K class all day, and my girls are in 1st, 3rd and 5th. Everyone had great first days. Eliza gets a locker this year and changes classes. Sarah's teacher reads Junie B. Jones every afternoon, and Leah was excited because her teacher reads Bible stories to them everyday. It delighted Leah to no end. Hurray for happy children and a great first day of school!

One semester down . . . more school to come

It is true. I took my last exam today. My brain feels like mush, but I think I did well. I was told my grades will be mailed to me. I will now be applying to the Univ. of Phoenix to begin the master's in Education K-8 program. It is a 20 month program including teacher observation and student teaching. First I have to apply though, and I am putting that off until next week because . . . School starts next week!

Yes, it is true! My children begin school Monday, so I am going to devote the last few days of summer to them. Everyone will be attending school full time this year. I will have Luke in Pre-K, Leah in 1st, Sarah in 3rd, and Eliza in 5th. Scary and exciting and scary all at the same time! I obviously have mixed feeling of euphoria and guilt. My husband has promised to take me out for lunch Monday, so I hope I'm not a basket case. I keep thinking about all the tasks that I will be able to accomplish without my kids around: family history, food storage menu, file organization, writing, sewing, painting, etc. then I get overwhelmed and sad because I won't have anyone to share it all with.

I'm afraid I'm not going to handle this well. Please pray for me!

Help!

Our little preschool did not get receive the grant we were hoping for, so I will not be employed full time this fall. What will I do? I'm not sure. I'm reconsidering my options. I'd love to hear what you, my dear and devoted (if you are still checking my blog after I haven't posted for so long) friends and family, think.

Option 1: Keep going to school part-time.

Option 2: Go to school part-time & teach part-time for minimum wage.

Option 3: Go to school full-time.

Option 4: Substitute teach at the "big" school.

Option 5: Pursue none of the above and maintain my stay at home mom status with no children at home during the school day.

I'm not sure which is scariest to me? They are all freaking me out!

A working woman

In an attempt to figure out what I want to be "when I grow up," I started teaching preschool this week. After just three mornings I haven't figured much out yet, but I do know this. 

• Hanging out with 17 three year olds is intense. (Duhh!)
  
• I love little kids. They are quick to give hugs and forgive.
• I am more comfortable hanging out with kids than adults.
• I love teaching children, and even better, I love watching children learn.
• I love recognizing the gifts Heavenly Father has blessed them with. 
• Children need structure and consequences. Without it chaos rules, and I do not like chaos. 

Oh and, Happy Valentine's Day!

School and Christmas

I was at school 4 out of 5 days this week, and I didn't see any work being done. I did watch a bunch of kids eat a lot of sugar though. Oh, I also went to see the Nutcracker Ballet with Sarah's class. Although the ballet was somewhat less than professional, it was fun to hear the laughter, and the oo's and ah's of the hundreds of children in the auditorium. Here are some pictures. 

By the way, I am happy to share that despite my anxiety about the kids being out of school for two weeks as well as Paul being off of work for two weeks (I will explain that later), I had a pleasant afternoon of cleaning in solitude. The kids were let out at noon today, and Paul was already home. I got to go into my office and clean undisturbed while Paul coerced the children to clean up the rest of house. It was so relaxing (for me). 

The first day of school

Monday, August 11th. The first day of school. How exciting! It ranks right up there with Christmas morning. In fact, on the 10th, Eliza woke up and said, "Leah! Wake up! It's the day before the first day of school!" That was followed by a shriek by them both. 

Leah in her kindergarten classroom. 

Sarah unloading and sorting the gobs of supplies.

This was Monday morning with Leah's kindergarten teacher. After doing paperwork, listening to a story, and coloring a picture, Leah came home with me. Tuesday was her first full day. 

Tuesday. Leah's first ride home on the school bus. How cool is that? They even have a brand new bus this year. Eliza said the seats are comfortable, Mrs. Peggy (the bus driver) has a florescent seatbelt, and it circulates cool air. She gave it her approval. 

What a cute kindergartner!

School shopping

Friday, Jane and I took the kids school shopping. Here in Alabama we are lucky enough to have a tax-free weekend to buy school clothes, shoes, and most school supplies. Our list was HUGE, so we started out bright and early at 8:30. Just to give you an idea of just how big our list was I will give you Sarah's second grade class supply list.

3 packs loose leaf paper (wide rule)

Several no. 2 pencils

1 pk. of erasers (that fit no. 2 pencils)

4 glue sticks

Pack of construction paper

3 boxes Kleenex

7 plastic pocket folders

Book bag (we have hers from last year)

Band-aids

1 box quart bags

4 spiral bound notebooks

Small box of crayons (24 ct.) Not any bigger!

Fiskars blunt point scissors (again, we saved hers from last year)

2 boxes of Wet Ones wipes

1 pack of white copy paper

1 small pack of colored copy paper

small pencil box

1 bottle of liquid soap

$6.00 spelling workbook (required)(we buy this at school)

$20.00 donation fee

(appreciated but not required!)

Can I just tell you that the paper products for her alone was over $10.00. So . . .  after our 50 minute drive to the "big city" we began at Office Depot where we found $3.00 backpacks. I thought they'd be terrible quality, but they weren't that bad. I decided to purchase them for 72-hour kits. What a bargain! 

We ended up going to Kmart, TJ Max, Shoe Carnival, Captain D's, Khol's (we ended up getting all their clothes, less one shirt, here), Target, JCPenny's, Aeropostal (Eliza had to buy a shirt from this store), Payless, Shoe Department, and Sears. My kind friend, Fauna, liberated us from Luke around 11:30, and amazingly enough we were home before 7 p.m. It was a long but successful day of shopping. The majority of their supplies have been purchased, and they all found some cute clothes and shoes. The purchase I was most pleased with were the brown and pink New Balance sneakers that Eliza and Leah chose. The playground at the school is pure red clay, and it is brutal on shoes. The shoes weren't the least expensive choice, but they won't be ruined after the first day of school. 

Tuesday night is open house at the school, so we will get to meet their teachers. We are all very excited for school to begin, but unfortunately, Luke won't be going to preschool. Earlier this summer Luke received a letter from his  teacher that explained she won't be teaching. She has gone to care for her aging parents in Oklahoma. I am hoping to find him some friends to play with though. He seriously needs "guy time." 

So this last week of summer vacation I am really going to try to live it up with the kids. I hope to bake cookies, go swimming several times, do nails and cut hair, do a big art project, a science experiment, and have a movie marathon. Those are just my ideas. I need to run them by the kids still. It is their summer vacation after all.

Award ceremonies

We had the pleasure of attending, not one, but two award ceremonies this year. Eliza and Sarah worked very hard and were nagged by us quite a bit, but they did very well as a result. Paul commented that we will have to endure at least eight more years of these. Although the ceremonies could be considered a form of torture (considering their length, lack of airflow, the effort required to keep Luke and Leah under control, cramps from clapping, etc.), they are a small price to pay considering the alternative. 

Eliza received a trophy for the all A's honor roll and a certificate for reading above her grade level throughout the year. Next to her is her friend Taylor.

My Sarah with her beautiful, long hair. I chopped it off this week. I was tired of the hair wars we were having several times a day. We haven't gotten those pictures developed yet, sorry.

This is outside the school after Eliza's ceremony. Luke was fairly well behaved but very tired. He finally crashed as she received her final trophy. So much for a family picture. 

After Sarah received her awards, we HAD to go to the library, so she could buy some books from the book fair. Mike and Sully are permanent residents in our school library. She received a trophy for the all A's honor roll and a certificate for having a yearly average of 95 or higher in English.