New school semester, and a little stress...

So Monday is the beginning of a new semester at school. I am excited about that, but I have to admit, I'm also very nervous. See, my wonderfully awesome co-teacher (and FRIEND), Kelly, who I've been with now for two years (this year being our third year co-teaching) had a beautiful baby girl yesterday. Harper was anxiously expected and everyone is so thrilled to have her finally HERE so we can ooh and ahh over her and tell her how beautiful she is and how lucky she is to have such a great mom, dad, and two big sisters. What does this have to do with me being nervous? Well, it means that (obviously) Kelly is going to be out for at least 6 weeks on maternity leave. There will be a long-term sub in the classroom and he is okay...just not who I'm used to. It is so hard for me to deal with change. I definitely need to work on that. I am not nervous about teaching the math or handling the students or anything like that. I just get nervous about how someone different is going to perceive me, what they will think of me, etc. Silly, I know, but that's my reality right now. *I like routine.* Six weeks will go by super-fast, though, and it'll be great. All I know is, I will certainly miss my friend. I'll be counting the days until February 18, for sure. :)

In the meantime, I am going to heavily rely on and enjoy co-teaching with my other awesome co-teacher and friend, Jessica. She's amazing and she always listens when I need to vent or de-stress by just getting something off my chest. I am so very grateful to work with both of these amazing women. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

Thinking through a bad week

GAH.  This week was a rough one.  Not so much on the home front, but on the job/school front.  My 100 sixth graders were absolutely off the wall this week.  So much disrespect, so much attitude...sigh.  I guess I should be used to it by now, but by Thursday afternoon I had *had it*.  I was DONE.  I even got so mad I told my students I was quitting.  I grabbed an empty box that happened to be sitting in my room and started packing up all my personal items (pictures of my kids and things like that).  (And no, I wasn't doing it as a manipulation technique...I was truly considering walking out that door and never going back.)  They got SO QUIET.  It was amazing -- I had begun to think there was something physically wrong that these kids could not sit still and be quiet for any length of time...but they did it.  At the end of class I got several letters from them apologizing for being so rude and not listening to me.  Of course, I cried.  First I was crying because I was MAD and then I was crying because, doggone it, I really do care about my students.  UGH.  Sometimes I wish I didn't care. It'd be so much easier to just NOT CARE.  Then all the rude comments and behavior just wouldn't bother me.  Maybe I need to go back on my happy pills.
Friday morning I really didn't want to go to work.  I didn't want to see the kids.  Some part of me thought it would be great to be out and let the kids think I really DID quit because they were so bad.  But, that's mean and I just couldn't do it.  I went in, of course, and oh my goodness...I got clobbered with hugs.  They told me they were so relieved to see me, they were so sorry, they didn't want me to go...It was sweet.  I start to think I must be the worst teacher in the world and terribly ineffective, then my kids go and do this kind of sweet stuff.  Maybe I'm not the best teacher ever and maybe I never will be...but I know now that I matter to them.  In some way, I am making a difference in my students' lives. That's a nice feeling.  I know it'll be gone by Monday, so for now I am enjoying knowing that in some small way, I'm making a difference.

Back in the Swing of Things!

Watch out.  This cleaning bug is NO JOKE.

Well, we survived the great plague of 2011!

Everyone is FINALLY back to full health and doing great.  Thank you, God.

It was a crazy week at school (for teachers, anyway).  I found myself asking, "Is it Friday yet?" on Monday afternoon.  NOT a good sign.  I usually can make it until at least Wednesday afternoon before that question crosses my mind.  The students are acting like Christmas is tomorrow, and we still have two more weeks until Christmas Winter Break.  Sigh.  I suppose we'll make it. :)

Andrew and Hannah are doing great...This is the first year I think both of them really "get" what Christmas is, and its magical seeing them get into it. Hannah has been singing, "Happy Birthday, Jesus" and Andrew keeps talking about baby Jesus.  So cute.  They love seeing the lights and decorations everywhere (not at our house...yet...but everywhere else).  Of course, they're all about Santa, too, and can't wait to see what Santa brings them.  They both have WAY too much on their "lists" but oh well.  Someone probably needs to explain the economy to them and help them see that even Santa is going to have to cut back this year.  Oh well.

Andrew is spending the weekend with Chris' dad and stepmom and they are taking him this afternoon to see the Grinch at the Fox Theater.  He will have a blast, I know it.  Hannah is really enjoying being the only child this weekend, that's for sure!  Its nice...She's a great helper, which is awesome since I've been bitten by the cleaning bug.  Last week we noticed the dryer was taking way longer to dry our clothes, so this morning I crawled behind it, noticed the hose had come loose, so I reattached it and ended up scrubbing the floor while I was back there.  Who knew it could get so NASTY underneath a major appliance??  Grody.  So anyway, that started me thinking about how much ELSE there was to clean.  (Face it, after being so sick and then traveling to TN, the house was not in pristine condition...not that it ever is!)  I've moved furniture and swept the den, then swept and mopped the kitchen floor.  I'm currently waiting for it to dry so I can move on to other rooms.  (If I dare try to tiptoe across it, Hannah will follow me and I'm afraid she'll slip and fall  Hey, that's my excuse story and I'm sticking to it.)

Dang, I just noticed the floor is pretty much dry.  Off to clean more rooms!  Somebody take my temperature...I must be ill again.

Teacher's Pet?

Oh my goodness.  My kids are just blowing me away lately with the way they're just soaking everything in and learning so much!  Andrew comes home every day telling me all kinds of new stuff, and he's just zooming through the little readers they send home.  He started on #1 (duh) in August and now he's in #7.  He always asks to read more and more every night, beyond what they ask him to read for homework.  He loves math and he's VERY good at it (makes his math teacher mama so proud!).  We make up word problems for him a lot and he answers them right every time.  Too cute.  The other night he was rolling around on the floor.  I asked what he was doing and he said, "Look, mommy!  I'm a cylinder!  I roll when I'm on my side!  But mommy, if I were a cube I would slide.  I couldn't roll if I were a cube."  Wow.
His handwriting is still terrible, but he'll figure it out.  He has a Transformers notebook that he likes to write in.  I found some websites where I could make special handwriting worksheets for him, so I printed out a lot of those.  Several people mentioned a program called Handwriting Without Tears as well, and I am looking into it.  Can't afford to buy much right now, so I'm working with the free stuff, but he's fine.  I just LOVE seeing him so excited about learning!  Makes a mama so stinkin' proud.

Hannah?  Oh my goodness.  She is a MESS.  Such a cutie, and such a stinker.  She is talking so clearly now and she's oh-so-girly.  She loves to dress up like a princess (she's obsessed with the Disney princesses), brush her hair, paint her nails, and look at her cute clothes.  She's so cute...If you ask her a yes or no question she answers, "yes uh-huh!" or "ummm...no."  Its adorable.  (Well, probably just adorable to me, but its ok.  I'm allowed to think she's awesome.)  She recognizes all her letters and loves to tell us, "R is for Rapunzel!  T is for Tiana!  C is for Cinderella!" (you get the point) when she sees them on signs or whatever.  LOVE.

I'm a teacher.  I was in school full-time for 20 years straight.  It makes my heart so happy to see my kids developing a love of learning.  Life is good.

Ahem.

Grr.  I had this whole long post going, and Blogger ate it.  Sigh.

So anyway...here goes.  Take two!
Whew, its been awhile since I've written!  The chaos of school has been taken to an entirely new level this year with Andrew starting Kindergarten!  Normally the school year brings lots of busy days/weeks, but now there's Andrew's school schedule to consider as well.  I am loving my mornings alone with him.  We have this nice little routine all carved out, and it works for us.  He still cries when I drop him off at school, and he begs me to walk him in, but its getting better.  He's fine as soon as he gets inside the doors, so its all good.  The teachers and administration clearly love him and look forward to seeing him every day when I drop him off, and that makes me feel good. :)  The one area I'm struggling is with homework!  I am SO not used to him having homework.  I'm used to coming home and being able to just play with my kids for the two or three hours we have before the nightmare that is the bath/bedtime routine.  I've caught myself not remembering homework until maybe 10 minutes before leaving in the morning.  Not good!  I'm trying to get better.

Andrew is amazing me with the stuff he's learning and talking about.  He's reading so well...The other day he was telling me all about the states of matter (you know...solids, liquids, gases).  I was in shock.  I don't think we learned that stuff in kindergarten!  Anyway,  school has been so good for him.  He has great friends and is obviously on track academically.  He still needs to talk less in class (duh -- could've seen that coming a mile away), but overall he's just a normal, healthy, 5-year old boy.
This week we are on Fall Break.  I know, it seems early for Fall Break, doesn't it?  We started on August 1, though, so this is six weeks in, so its time for a break!  Today Chris' mom and stepdad came in for a quick visit.  (They are leaving early in the morning, flying to Guatemala for a three-week mission trip.)  Andrew & Hannah have been having a BLAST playing with them.  When they arrived, I tried to ask Jane a couple of questions, but Andrew cut me off, saying "Mommy, stop!  She's MY Mamaw, not yours!" and he has completely monopolized her time ever since.  At this moment, she is upstairs reading him a bedtime story or trying to persuade him to go to bed.  I love it when the grandparents come to visit.
Other than the normal chaos of everyday life, nothing too exciting is going on here!  What's going on in your part of the universe?

Coming or Going?

Wow, its been quite a month!  I honestly don't know if I'm coming or going these days...

Since I last blogged, Andrew and I both started our school year...his first year of school (Kindergarten!  Can't believe it!) and my eighth year of teaching.  I tell you what, having a kid in school is a major life change!  I am accustomed to getting up early and getting to school around an hour early so that I have plenty of time to get organized, get woken up, and get ready for the day.  No more of that!  I now have to get Andrew up @ 6:45 am, head out the door @ 7:15 to get him to school @ 7:20 or right afterwards (I still feel guilty about getting him there 30 minutes early, but I really have no choice) and get to my own school by 7:45 at the earliest.  Teachers are supposed to arrive by 8 am, so I make it just in time most days.  We technically have a planning period every day, but most days that time is filled with meeting after meeting, and since I leave as soon as I can (so I can get home and see my kiddos), I feel like I am getting NOTHING done.  I feel so unprepared, so behind already!  Not a good feeling.  I guess I am going to have to stay late a few days a week so I can get some things done and (hopefully) not have to bring any work home.  I've always prided myself on not having to bring much work home at all, but I have a feeling that may not be the case this year.

So, like I said, Andrew is in Kindergarten and doing...okay, I think.  If you're a friend of mine on Facebook, you know that he has been having a bit of a hard time adjusting to the rules and procedures of the school environment.  (He came home from school the first day telling me he had three time-outs that day.  One for talking (surprise, surprise), one for making people laugh (again, big shocker there), and one for building a Lego gun (oops).  I did talk to the teacher and she said it was only one time out, and it was because he just wouldn't stop being silly and distracting everyone when they had asked him twice to stop.  No biggie.

Andrew has been in preschool since he was two years old, but it was a three-hour program, not an all day thing, like Kindergarten is.  Also, he had some really awesome teachers there who loved him and understood him and probably let him get away with too much because they just loved him so much.  Not happening in Kindergarten.  I was a bit discouraged to see that every single day he was getting his "clip" moved.  (They have a color system going...Yippee Yellow is best, then it moves down to OK Orange, then Watch Out White, then Boo-Hoo Blue, then finally Red Hot Red.)  About three days a week he has an "OK Orange" day, and the other two are "Yippee Yellow"...I know I shouldn't worry about just moving down one step, but he's my kid and I'm entitled to overreact, ok??  I don't want him labeled as the "bad kid" or have anyone telling me he needs meds to sit still and pay attention.  I feel confident that his teacher is understanding and knows little boys, so when she tells me this is normal and he's just figuring things out, learning where the boundaries are, etc., I feel a bit better.  I just can't help but worry a little, though.

Hannah is LOVING being back in school...She is in the three-year-old class at the same preschool she and Andrew have been at for the past couple of years.  She is so good for her teachers, thank God.  She and Andrew are both so tired from the school schedule, though, that at the end of the day they are cranky and fussing over the stupidest things.  I finally started reading Siblings Without Rivalry, though, and am trying to put some of those tips into practice.  Also, they are both going to bed @ 7 pm on school nights.  Way early, I know, but MAN do they need it.  When they get tired, they get MEAN and take it out on each other.  GAH, the fighting...make it stop!!! 

In other news, I have made it through the three month post-Essure period, so I am anxious to go for my HSG to see if it worked.  I was supposed to go last week, but Mother Nature decided to throw me a curveball and send Aunt Flo a whole TEN days early, so they couldn't do the HSG.  Grr.  (That was the one good thing about birth control...more reliable cycles, man!)  Anyway, I will go this Wednesday and hopefully get the news that my tubes are all blocked up and we're officially safe from any surprise pregnancies.  Fingers crossed!

So what's new with you all??

Eyes & Ears

So earlier last week I posted about Andrew's difficulties getting past the eye, ear and dental exams required for enrollment in Kindergarten.  He failed two hearing tests, completed a round of antibiotics, and now has an appt for July 13 (4-6 weeks after the antibiotics) to take yet another hearing test.  If he fails this one, we have to get a referral to an ENT to discuss tubes to help improve his hearing.  Sigh.

The kids' eye chart

Today we had our (first) eye appointment.  I was thinking it would be interesting, but no big deal and we'd likely have to get him some glasses and be on our way.  Umm...NO.  Apparently Andrew has very little vision in his right eye.  His left eye is perfect and obviously compensates for his weak right eye.  We realized this when the doc made him cover his left eye and try to read the picture eye chart with only his right eye.  He did GREAT with his right eye covered...he recognized the cowboy, cake, hand, bird, house, etc just fine.  With his left eye covered, however, he could only see the very top picture (a big airplane).  :(

I feel so guilty!  I feel like I somehow should have known that he was having issues seeing out of that eye.  Its ridiculous, really, because how would I have known?  When we read together or look at books/magazines and watch TV, he's not that far away and not really being asked to recite what he's seeing.  I can't help it, though.  I feel like I've let him down.  Same with the hearing!  I guess I should be grateful that our school system makes us get these checkups before starting school, though, because how in the world would I have known?  I shudder to think that these issues could have gotten much worse by simply not knowing they're even there.  At least we can get it taken care of NOW while he's still young.  I would appreciate any prayers or positive thoughts!  This whole ordeal has been stressful and worrisome for both me and Chris!

Snow Days Rock My World.

This morning we awoke to a winter wonderland!  Georgia got a big snow/ice storm late last night (well, ok, big for us...probably something my friend up north would just laugh at) and of course schools all over were canceling classes, much to the delight of students and teachers alike.

Last year we had a couple of snow days and I remember taking the kids outside and they were not thrilled.  I was a bit skeptical about their opinion this year, but oh.my.gosh.  They loved it!  You know, I really think I love this stage of their lives more than any other so far.  Yes, they fuss and fight, and there's plenty of whining to go around (by kids and adults alike), but oh my goodness.  Christmas was amazing this year because they truly had the "wonder" of the season, and now, with the snow...its just incredible.

Most of our accumulation was from ice mixed with snow, so it wasn't "snowman-making snow" or anything.  Andrew enjoyed stomping around to make footprints, though. :)

We brought Kitty B (our old, fat cat) outside to see the snow, but she was not too impressed.  Hannah sure did love snuggling her to try to keep Kitty B warm, though!

 

Chris played with the kids while I took pictures...He even slid down the slide and had a pretty funny crash landing, which I was lucky enough to catch on film.  I did manage to get in one one picture with my little "snow angels, though. :)

They had so much fun, and it was so much fun to watch them!  We kept finding too many slick spots, though, and Hannah kept falling down.  Needless to say, I decided to bring her inside while the boys attempted sledding down our driveway.  I think this last picture shows exactly how she felt about that!

Stomping around in the snow must have worn them out, because they are snoozing soundly while Chris & I are relaxing in front of the fire.  Plans for this afternoon include watching a movie and making cookies!

Yeah, life is pretty darn good.

Countdown

So today is (was) my last day of Christmas vacation!  We arrived home from Nashville yesterday after a record 4.5 hrs.  I think that was the fastest trip we've ever made!  We didn't stop but once, though, and that was just a potty/gas fill-up stop.  We didn't stop to eat (had snacks in the car) and thanks to HOV lanes, we got through Atlanta in record time.  Nice.  We were all SO glad to be home, especially Andrew, whose fever had shot back up and was ready for more Ibuprofen by the time we arrived.  Poor kiddo.

Today has just been a day of hanging around, doing laundry, unpacking/organizing, etc.  Chris took Andrew grocery shopping (I stayed home with Hannah) and when they got back Andrew was beside himself with excitement.  It seems he couldn't wait to tell me how Daddy had bought me my "favowite vampirates movie."  Yep, since I hadn't gotten Eclipse for Christmas from anyone, he found (and, of course, used) an $8 off coupon to buy it for me.  Its the 2-disc set with the bonus "Destination Forks" DVD.  Heehee!  Is it bedtime yet?  I can't wait to watch it!

Tomorrow I head back to school to begin a brand new semester!  I'm a huge dork, I know, but I get so excited about brand-new calendars and all the "fresh start" stuff that comes with the beginning of a new year.  Tomorrow is a teacher's work day (meaning I will be sitting in meetings most of the day), and the students return on Thursday.  (A & H also return to preschool on Thursday!  Woot!)  I know I am not the only one who is excited about getting back into a routine.  We have had a fabulous time together over the past two and a half weeks, but its always good to have that routine.  Chris does such a good job of running things while I work and I know it drives him crazy when I am here to screw it all up.  While he loves not having to do ALL the work, I know its probably easier when I am not here.

So anyway...I'm now counting down the hours until the routine starts up again and hoping for only good things to come now that 2011 is officially underway for our family!

Christmas Vacation

So tomorrow afternoon, at 4 pm, I will officially be on Christmas break (or "winter break" for the PC crowd out there).  I am so excited!  With all the stress from school, IEPs, final exams, failing students, tutoring students, etc., I am just D.O.N.E.  I need a break.  So does my hubby, God love him.  Chris has been dealing with exhaustion and has had some really bad dizzy spells over the past few days.  Its gotten so bad he finally made himself an appointment.  With a doctor.  This is serious, people.  I am hoping they figure out why he's having these dizzy spells so he can maybe get better soon.  I'm thinking maybe an ear infection?  So yeah, he needs a break, but dear Lord, so do I!

Believe me, I know that working is easier than being home with the kids all day, but teaching middle school special ed?  Its HARD, thankless work.  I do NOT sit around eating bon bons all day, no matter what some may think.  We also don't watch soap operas...but believe me, there is plenty of drama.  Working and being a mommy is hard because you don't get to just come home and crash...There's always someone needing you (and you need them, too!) and yes, plenty of housework to be done.  My priorities have shifted and I have learned to let the housework wait while I take time for the kids and myself.  It all gets done eventually...no harm in letting it sit for a day or two.  I'm blessed to have a hubby who lets me take time to go out with the girls every once in a while to be an adult and not just mommy.

Anyway...so tomorrow is the last day of school before the break and I am excited.  I'll be leaving school @ 10:40 to go to the kids' preschool to see their Christmas program.  Andrew is going to be the star (literally!  He's going to be the star of Bethlehem!) and Hannah is going to be a horsey.  This should be good, people.  Pictures and video will follow, you can be sure.  I'm supposed to send a dessert, so I'm sitting here waiting for the break-and-bake cookies to cool (hey, I never said I was Paula Deen) so I can put them on a plate and run upstairs as fast as I can so I don't eat them all.

Speaking of...I think they're ready. Off to bed I go!

Conflicted

Well, hello there, blog.  Its been a while.  Sheesh.  Could life just slow down for a minute or two?  I'm still running-running-running from one place to another.  School, tutoring, ZUMBA!, home...repeat (except its not every day, just enough days to make me feel exhausted).  I'm afraid I'm either going to burn out, or be so tired that, in trying to do too much, nothing is actually going to get done WELL.  Then there's the fear that, as has happened in the past, my body will revolt against all this running around and shut itself down, making me so sick I *can't* do anything, even if I wanted to.

Sigh.

So anyway, obviously I am still tutoring my homebound student and waiting word on whether I got the other tutoring job at a local middle school (its a federally funded after school tutoring program that would REALLY help financially!).  The eight furlough days the county is forcing upon us because of budget deficits has really got us in a tight spot.  I am the sole provider, and Chris stays home with the kids.  We don't have the added cost of daycare or anything, and in the past, my teacher's salary has been more than enough to get us through, but with no pay increases (like before, when your years of teaching experience would earn you an increase in your pay grade) and now furlough days (which is costing me personally @ $2K off of my check!), things are tight.  Chris has started going through our books, DVD's, video games, etc and selling online.  He made @ $100 in the first week!  Not bad!!  So, between this thing he's got going on, my tutoring, and my regular salary, we're getting by...but I worry about the kids.  I worry that I'm sacrificing too much time with them in these early years...days I will never get back.  I'm exhausted, too, running from here to there, and when I get home, the hours I do get with my kids are mostly spent with me on the couch trying to be involved but really just wishing I could crash.  Ugh.  Not a good way to feel/be when your kids miss you all day long and you just need to be the mommy.  Yippee...more mommy guilt.  (As if I didn't have enough already.)

Blah.  I know its just for a short time, so I need to "man up" and just deal with it.  It won't be like this forever.  The economy sucks and EVERYONE is suffering...some SO much more than myself.  I need to get off my rear end and stop feeling sorry for myself.  It'll pass...it always does.  So there.  Enough of that.

My family is fantastic.  Have I mentioned that lately? 

Chris is the best husband.  He is so good to me and to the kids.  I am so lucky to have a husband who feels just as strongly (or stronger!) about having one of us home with the kids...and even luckier that HE is the one willing to do it!!  He takes such good care of them and understands my need for a break when I come home, even though he's been doing all the childcare every day and he definitely needs a break, too.  He's amazing.

I love the way Hannah adores me, follows me, says "mama" all day long.  Since I'm not here all day every day it doesn't get old or anything...I mean, yeah, sometimes I would love to cook in peace or just sit and watch TV or something, but really...she is so much more important than any of that stuff.  That little girl has a love tank that only mommy can fill, so its up to me to fill it daily and let her know how very, very special she is to me. 

Andrew is so smart...The other night as I was rocking him to sleep (yep, I still rock him every night), he recited the months of the year (in order!) and the days of the week.  I was shocked.  Then, one day last week he recited the Pledge of Allegiance.  Whoa.  Even though I am SO tired by the time the kids get in bed, I still can't resist when he asks me to read to him.  I love how he is so fascinated with books and is so eager to know just what each word says.  He still tells me he loves me and is not embarrassed to throw his arms around me and squeeze me tight no matter who's around. 

So yeah...ignore my whining and complaining.  Life is good.  I really don't deserve all this goodness...but I thank God for it every day.

Hectic

I'm taking a minute here while the kids are occupied and Chris is frantically yelling at his football team through the TV (Seriously?  Is that something ingrained into the Y chromosome?) to...

Sorry about that.  I was interrupted by Cupcake.*
Ooh, I have an idea...Let's play a game.  Every time I get interrupted by Chris, Motormouth, or Cupcake, let's eat a cookie!  Sound good?  OK!

So...where was I?  Oh yes, I was explaining how I was attempting to blog after an incredibly hectic week.  This week was CRAZY.  Several teachers at school were asking if it was a full moon or something.  I knew the answer to that, since I drive to work while it is still dark. I saw the moon every morning this week.  It was a crescent moon (I used to call them "toenail moons.")  So...nope.  No blaming the kids' craziness on a full moon or anything like that.  They were just crazy.

After school, I was busy-busy-busy.  I have picked up a tutoring position for a child receiving hospital/homebound services.  She is actually one of my students, and is very sweet.  She hasn't been to school at all this year (we are 9 weeks in, y'all!) so we have a lot to do to get her caught up.  Its good money, and will help a lot, especially since the furlough days hit us hard this year...

Sorry, Cupcake again!  Hey, another cookie!

So, anyway, as I was saying...I am tutoring one student, and have applied to tutor at a new federally-funded after school program being started at the end of this month here in our county.  I had an interview on Tuesday afternoon and am hoping I get the job because the money is needed.  The drawback is that Chris will have the kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays from dawn 'til dusk so his mood may not be the best.  Hmmm.

But, enough about school.

My kids at home are crazy, silly, and in desperate need of their mommy.  Motormouth is 4 yrs old and still obsessed with Star Wars.  He is a peanut, like me, and today asked me if he could ride in a booster seat instead of his huge 5-point harnessed car seat.  I tried to explain that he is still little and needs to be buckled in "just right" so he's as safe as he can be...but I feel bad for him.  He's the only one in his class at school who is still in a big car seat.  He's at least a head shorter than everyone.  Doesn't seem to bother him, though...His personality is big enough to compensate for his stature.  Everyone (teachers, kids, parents) loves him to death and tells us how smart he is and how sweet.  Makes a momma proud!!

Cupcake is velcro'ed to me yet again.  How many phases of separation anxiety are there?  Whew!  Her newest thing is to climb on my back and ride piggy-back through the house.  This is now the only way I can convince her to go upstairs for a bath, go to her room for night-night, or basically do ANYTHING she wouldn't normally choose to do.  My back is starting to ache, but am I gonna stop?  HECK, NO.  Whatever works...As Chris would say, "There is no pain, there is only the Force."  (Yep, both of my guys are Star Wars fans!)

...And another interruption by Cupcake!  I'm gonna gain 10 lbs if this keeps up...

So anyway, that's what's going on this week.  Motormouth has surprised me by singing songs I didn't know he knew, reciting the months of the year, and just overall being a fantastic kiddo.  He whines and cries when he doesn't get his way, but doesn't everybody?  Cupcake is funny and adorable and just overall a delight.  Life is good.  :)

*I call my sweet baby girl Cupcake after Lydia's daughter (Rants From Mommyland) who tells a fantastic story about her youngest child who, in her words, is "a cupcake...baked by the devil."

Fall Break

Ahh, the joys of being a teacher.  I am lucky enough to live in a county in Georgia that runs on the "modified year round" calendar, in which we get a week off after every six weeks of school, two weeks at Christmas, and eight weeks in the summer.  This means we get a Fall Break, a Thanksgiving Break (the whole week), two weeks at Christmas, a mid-winter break (week off in February), a Spring Break (a week off in April), and then summer vacation.  Nice.  Yes, we have to go back the first Monday in August, but to be honest?  I am ready to go back by that point.  Two or three weeks before then.

So anyway, here I am on Fall Break.  This is the first year in quite a while that I haven't been desperate for a break from school.  I am loving my job so much this year that I honestly could have kept going.  Other people I know were very stressed and needing a break, so I am glad we have it.  I love seeing the kids' faces when I wake up with them.  Hannah just giggles and bounces because she is so happy to see me, and Andrew says, "Mommy?  Is that you?  Are you staying with me ALL DAY???"  I love it.  I absolutely love that they are happy to have me home with them.  We aren't traveling, but we're doing plenty of fun stuff around here. Isn't that called a "stay-cation?"

Checking out the Beluga Whales

We went to the Georgia Aquarium yesterday and had a really good time.  We're really glad we had coupons though ($50 for all four of us and free parking, too!), because NO WAY would it have been worth the $90 (give or take some) it would have cost normally.  Sheesh.  Don't get me wrong...the kids had a BLAST and we made some great memories (and got some great pictures), but I'm good with going once every couple of years or so.  We have a couple of free animal refuge type places around here, so I think the zoo isn't as big a deal, since we see animals all the time.  We do not, however, get to see  fish so the aquarium is a much bigger deal to them.  The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, however, is the best one to visit.  Just my opinion.

Hannah trying to kiss the fish

Look mom!  A giant crab!

Andrew and Hannah had a ball seeing all the "crazy fish" and trying to catch them/kiss them/hold them, and I had a ball watching them see and learn and do new things.  Their joy and passion for life amazes me.  I wish I still had some of their innocence...

Later on this week we will likely go visit Dauset Trails (a park/animal refuge nearby) and then get some use out of our season passes to Zoo Atlanta this weekend.  We also have some home improvement type projects going on around the house.  All in all, this week should be a good one, and hopefully I will be able to return to my teaching job on Monday a refreshed and relaxed mommy. :)

...and its only Tuesday!

Oh, dear Lord.  Its only Tuesday and I am feeling the need to up my dosage of happy pills.  As I've shared before, I co-teach with an awesome math teacher and LOVE it.  This week, however, she got called for jury duty and was out yesterday and today.  Normally this would not be a problem because there would be a substitute, and an extra adult in the room is a good thing.  This year, however, the budget crisis has not only taken away 8 contract days (@ $2,000 off my yearly pay!) but it has also left us without substitute teachers.  Yippee.

In an ordinary classroom, this wouldn't be a big deal.  The second teacher could totally handle it.  In a collaborative setting, however, its kind of a huge deal.  We teach kids who are used to being in MUCH smaller resource classrooms (@8-10 per class) but who are now in LARGE classes (@ 40 per class) with two teachers.  When the two teachers are present, it works just fine and everyone gets what they need.  Cool.  When one teacher is absent, however, and there is no second adult to step in and help, its chaos.  The students need help, there is only ONE teacher trying to give all 40 kids some kind of individual help with the math, and ohmygoodnesswhereisthePROZAC?????

So yeah, I am ready for Kelly to COME BACK.  I am ready to call the courthouse and lie like a dog about her so they will send her back to work. 

Next week things will change because the county board of education finally noticed our large class sizes and decided 38-40 kids was probably not a great idea, so we are getting an extra teacher for our team.  WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!  This means we will have a nice reduction in class size, which will be so much better for everyone.  The poor school counselor now gets to basically rewrite everyone's schedules, but it will be worth it in the long run.  If I can make it just 3 more days, Monday will be SO much better.  Pray for me, y'all!

Whirlwind

Whew!  Its Wednesday (hump day!) and the first three days of school have gone very well, if I do say so myself.  I didn't get home until 6 pm on Monday, then 5 pm yesterday and today.  I am hoping to get out earlier and be home between 4:30 and 5:00 most days...Chris is hoping for closer to 4:30, I know.  Poor guy is having a rough time adjusting because the kiddos are having a hard time getting used to mommy being gone all day.  My being home all summer was great for us...One of us could sleep in, the other got up with the kids.  Then whoever got us early with the kids would take a nap when the one who slept in got up.  NICE.  Yeah, I got a bit spoiled.  I'm already used to getting up early, though, and have been waking up about 2 minutes before my alarm would go off, so I guess that's a good thing. 

One goal I have for this school year is to come home, play with the kids, and immediately make dinner.  I am NOT a cook.  I can do frozen dinners, heat up a frozen pizza, etc, but I am not a cook.  I am going to try to be better, though, and so far its been going well.  Yes, I am only three days into it, but hey...we all have to start somewhere, right?  I've been taking the leftovers for lunch so that is definitely doing us a favor because I don't have to pay $2.50 for the school lunch that is just way too greasy, fried and fattening, despite what the "nutrition" information says.

Another goal for this year is to *try* not to come right in from work and jump right into cleaning the house.  My house is usually in chaos, being that I have two children who have way too many toys.  Don't get me wrong...Chris does a great job as a stay-at-home-dad!  He is just fabulous.  When I come home, the kids are alive, happy, healthy, and have had a great time.  Most of the time.  He does a better job than I do.  The house is not always clean, however, and my compulsion is to come in, pick up toys, empty/reload the dishwasher, etc...but honestly?  When I am old and the kids are grown and have moved out, am I going to look back on these days and wish my house had been cleaner?  Ummm, no.  I am going to wish I'd played with them more, colored/painted/played with Play-doh, dollies, action figures, just a few minutes more.  I'm not sure how well I have done these past few days, but I am trying to do better about that.

Chris and I are both anxious about the kids getting back to preschool in a couple of weeks (they start on August 16) because they are so stinkin' bored at home.  They desperately need to run around outside and be with other kids so they stop driving each other nuts.  Chris would take them outside during the day except today it is SO.VERY.HOT.  Today the temp was 100 degrees and the air was so thick with humidity it was not even funny.  Can't take these little ones out in this weather.  Hannah has had a summer cold and has been fussy and running a low grade fever the past couple of days (not constant, just at night) so she hasn't been sleeping well.  When she doesn't sleep well, we don't sleep well.  Its been rough.  I don't know how Chris does it, but I am so grateful he does.  He's my hero.
So anyway, that's the whirlwind that is our life these days...Is it any wonder that some days we consider just giving the kids Benadryl for dinner? :)

First Day of School! First Day of School! (Do I Sound Like Nemo??)

My little classroom...Yes, those are Twilight posters
on my closet doors. Don't judge.

Well, its here.  The first day of school is Monday and I am as ready as I'm going to be.  My classroom is ready, I am (basically) ready for students, and the things that need to be done can wait until Monday afternoon or later.  So, here we go again.  This year I am teaching (yet again) a new subject with a new co-teacher.  I am beginning my 7th year of teaching special education classes, but this is my 4th school year teaching at this particular school.  Every year at this school I have taught something new.  My first year, I taught a remedial reading class.  I was blessed to be able to work part-time and carry benefits for the family.  I was able to be home with Andrew (he was 17 months old when I went back to work) every other day.  This was good, because I ended up pregnant by the end of October and was very, very ill.  Being able to be home was great.  My second year, I taught a remedial math class.  Again, I taught part-time (every other day)...I was just off maternity leave (only missed the first two weeks of school since Hannah was born in late June) and being able to be home with her and Andrew was awesome.

Jessica is beautiful, inside & out!

As the kids grew, mommyhood became a little more interesting and...demanding.  Yeah, that's a good way to say it.  Demanding.  With budget cuts and new school opening, teachers were being displaced and all part-time jobs were gone.  No one with a part-time contract (me!) would get a new contract.  Well, once again, God took care of us.  My principal worked his magic and managed to get me a full-time contract. (I'm told my dual certification in special education and regular education mathematics didn't hurt!)  I was able to teach last school year with a fabulous lady in a 7th grade math classroom.  Jessica is amazingly talented and I learned so much from her.  I want to be like her when I grow up.  I was very blessed to work on that 7th grade team, and though we had lots of drama (teachers leaving mid-year, being moved to different grade levels, etc) we worked through it and managed to end up with the highest 7th grade math standardized test scores in our entire county!  Believe me, it was not because of me.  I will miss them.

Yep, Kelly is gorgeous.  I am not.
But she seems to like me anyway!

This school year I was asked to co-teach in 6th grade math.  I have to admit, I was a bit intimidated because I was only acquainted with one of the teachers on that team, and she was the science teacher, so not the teacher I would be paired with.  I am a bit like the middle schoolers I teach:  I want everyone to like me!  I was hoping I would be accepted and make friends with them as easily as I did with the 7th grade teachers.  I feel like I have.  We have only had three days of pre-planning to prepare for the beginning of the year (stupid furlough days!) but in the past three days I feel like I've been completely accepted and welcomed to my new team.  I am excited about this year and just know I will learn as much or more from Kelly as I did from Jessica.  Kelly is hilarious and loud and her students respect her tremendously.  I know I am going to grow and develop even more and I am so excited about that.  I am extremely lucky, in this day and time, to have a job period, but I am even luckier to have a job I love at a school I love, surrounded by people I love.

So, here we go...Ready or not, the students are coming on Monday.  I am excited about the new year, new beginning, and new possibilities.  Give me a month and I might not have this same attitude.  When I start to grips, remind me to come back and read this post so I keep myself in check, k?