Back to School

My room is not fully ready yet, but it is almost there. Today was the first day back for teachers. It was a morning full of meetings at the high school, then we could work in our rooms in the afternoon. I plan on working in my room tomorrow and then Monday and Tuesday will be it. Wednesday is the first day of school. Those in not in education have no idea how much time and preparation there is to get a classroom ready. And those who make the comments, "Oh teachers have 3 months off and all the holidays.." Yeah right! We start getting our rooms together in July and usually take classes and training throughout the summer. I love my job, but it is nice to get a few weeks off to just rejuvenate.

Waiting for this one to come out!

Beverly Lewis is one of my most favorite authors. I love to read her Amish series book. I finished Book 1 of Seasons of Grace recently and am now waiting for Book 2 "The Missing" to come out. I highly suggest ALL her books if you are looking for a good author to read. She is a Christian and weaves her faith in God in all her books.

One Last Hurrah

Today is my last day of summer break. I have mixed feelings about it. I am sad that the summer has gone by so fast, however, I am ready to get back to routine. The kids need routine and they need their school. They have been fighting with each other (mostly due to Carleigh) and I think they are just bored with each other. And I am tired of breaking up fights and dealing with meltdowns at least 20 per hour. I will miss the late mornings, the snuggles at naptime, and of course their excitement when we go to fun places just the three of us.

So, today I took them to a park, went over to my friends for a playdate, took a nap, and am getting ready to splash in the pool. A full day of fun was had by all!

Partners in Crime

Tuesday evening, I was working in my "office." Matt comes in and tells me that Cody and Carleigh have dumped the toys out of their tub and found a nice place to sit and watch tv. This is what I discovered when I walked into the family room. (Carleigh had marker on her finger, by the way.)

A Crazy-Busy Day!

This morning started at 6:30am....a little early for the summer, but late for a school day! After my babysitter arrived, I headed to Wally World (aka Walmart) for some mounting squares that I needed for my classroom. Let me tell you that it was soooo easy finding a great parking spot, no crowds and I didn't have to wait in line. I need to do my Walmart shopping at 8am ALL THE TIME!

I started to work in my classroom and then someone tells me that they are cleaning my classroom carpet TODAY. I had a parent helper there and so we brought all of the stuff out of the classroom and began working in the gym. I am so blessed to have a mom that is such a great helper! I had her older son in my class 3 years ago and now I have her youngest son.

I stayed until 1pm and then headed home for a quick lunch and then off to take Cody to his eye appointment. The doctor thinks that his lazy eye will correct IF he wears his glasses. Let me tell you that it is QUITE a challenge to get Cody to wear his glasses or his eye patch. *sigh*

On the way home, I saw the big storm forming as I was driving on the highway. I started to drive faster as I didn't want to get caught in that nasty storm. Thankfully, we arrived about 1 minute before it began!

The kids watched me cut out more things from laminate and then after supper I went to school again. I got alot accomplished with posters, cutting, getting another student desk, decorating the door, and organizing student desks. I also had my student teacher and her friend come and they also cut out laminated things for me. I am so excited to have a student teacher for the first 10 weeks of school!

I worked until about 10:30 pm and then called it a night. It can be quite creepy in the school at night, but I always lock myself into my classroom and feel secure.

Tomorrow is less busy with a doctor appointment for me and then possibly some swimming afterwards (weather permitting). Tuesday - Thursday are my last days off with the kids, so I am planning to do some fun things with them.

I can't believe my summer vacation is over!!

Splashing in the new pool

Matt and Carleigh picked out this little baby pool for the kids to splash around in for the rest of the summer. Carleigh couldn't wait to get home, get her bathing suit on and jump in. The water was cold but that didn't stop Carleigh.

She kept jumping in and hence a LOT of grass came in! Grass didn't stop either of them from swimming. The squeals of laughter and "Mommy, watch me!" made it all worth it!

Who would think a little baby pool would provide so much fun?!! (Next year, we will probably get a bigger, family sized pool.)

Getting artistic with markers

Rainy Day Naps

Tuesday afternoon was quite stormy and rainy. Cody climbed onto the couch and decided he needed a nap all on his own. Carleigh decided to take advantage of the situation and took control of the tv!

The quiet of just one

My parents decided to keep Cody overnight on his first ever sleep-over. (They tried last year but he was still too young and he wouldn't go to sleep for them.) I think this time it will be better because he has matured so much this year. Of course Cody is the King in their house as he is the only grandson. He has his Papaw wrapped around his little finger and would get anything he wanted if he asked for it.

Carleigh has had her share of sleepovers with my parents before and poor Cody has been so jealous. My sister is supposed to have her over soon and Carleigh cannot wait.

It was so strange having just one child this evening....much more quiet! When they are together, the squeals, laughter and cries are amplified. They love to get each other going by running around and squealing at the top of their lungs.

Carleigh kept asking "Is Cody back?" "Where is Cody?" Although she bugs him to no end, she still cares about her brother.

She is looking forward to going to the park tomorrow as we are having a cookout with Matt's family. Hopefully the weather will stay nice...

Kindergarten News

Cody got his Kindergarten mailing yesterday. He will have Mrs. Stehlin (who he met last spring several times) and his first day of school is Monday, August 24th. They want parents to attend on the first day and meet with the principal and fill out lots of paperwork. So Matt will take off as I really don't want to take a half-day on my 4th day of the school year! Then, he will not go to school on the 25th or 26th and will start riding the bus on Thursday, August 27th. I am having a hard time fathoming that Cody is a Kindergartener! He LOVES school and I am sure he will steal the heart of his teacher (after he kisses her a gazillion times).

Carleigh will be green with envy as her preschool never starts until a week or so after Kindergarten begins. We still haven't received a letter yet from her teacher Miss Ellie (Cody's Preschool teacher). My mom will have to entertain her while Cody is in school.

My first official day is Friday, August 14th, although I have been working on and off in my room for a few weeks. I haven't been in this week because of the GAP and then I attended the visitation of a middle school teacher at our school who passed away. So tonight after Bible study with the teachers, I am going to work in my room. Tomorrow is the lovely CPR training *yawn* and I have that all morning at the high school. It seems like summer is already gone!

Welcome to my sauna!

While giving the kids baths tonight, I noticed how HOT the bathroom was which was unusual since the a/c works really well in there. I didn't give it a second thought until my face was flushed and I was feeling warm. Matt enters the room and said "I don't think the a/c is working." We flip the breakers and nothing...nada...zilch! Even the fan won't turn on! I talk to Connie and then Brit's boyfriend Tim comes down. He thinks a fuse has blown because even the fan won't come on. I talk to our landlord and she is hoping to get someone out in the morning.

In the meanwhile, I am sleeping on the couch in the living room under the ceiling fan. I would open a window, but these windows in the back have something wrong with them and when we had the Blackout of 2008 (I have post-traumatic disorder just thinking about that time!) and opened the windows, we could not get them back up without intervention. Needless to say, I am not going down that road again and will just deal with a warm house.

If the a/c guy doesn't come early, this momma and her two kids are heading to Mamaw's! Yes, I am a wimp about my a/c!!!

Pool Party

Tonight, I went to our annual 2nd Grade GAP (Get Acquainted Party) at the home of a second grade family. It was a wonderful pool party! They also had a big, water slide that students could climb up and go down. I met many new students and their parents and got to know them better. I had 13 out of 20 of my students there. It sounds like I will have a good year, although you never know!!

Oh to have such a pool as this family had with a diving board and all...I was envisioning Cody and Carleigh splashing around in it! When we start our search for our home, I will also be looking at the possibility of getting a home with a pool for my two water lovers!!

Is it August already? *sigh*

A Day at Houston Woods

We decided to go to Houston Woods for the day on Saturday. It was a beautiful, hot day (a rarity) and Matt's parents decided to go with us. We stopped at the Nature Center first and checked out the turtles, fish, snakes, cougars, owls and eagles there. Then we journeyed to the beach. It was a fun day for all and Matt and I were the ones with battle scars...sunburns of course!

(Check out my Facebook profile page for more pics!)

Picnic at the Beach

My Little Fish

Carleigh LOVES to swim and she was on Cloud 9 to finally be able to swim! She did NOT want to get out of the water and it took a lot of persuasion to get her out of it. We promised to bring her back in a couple of weeks so she can swim again. You can't beat free swimming!

Playing on the Playground

There is a cute playground next to the beach, so after playing at the beach, we headed over there while eating our snow cones.

A Hike in the Woods

Our last thing that we did was take a hike on one of my favorite trails. I have hiked that trail for over 16 years! My old friend and I used to walk to the very end of the long trail (we took the medium trail) to where it ended near the lake and the road. We plan on coming back in the fall and trying the longer hike. It's amazing that none of us got poison ivy because the path was not trimmed well! We had such fun exploring the woods.

Summer Cookout

There is nothing better than a summer cookout! Yum! Today I am having my parents over in appreciation for fixing our second car. Praise the Lord my dad could fix it! (About a week ago it was highly questionable.)

We are having Black Angus burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans, sliced cucumbers, with tomatoes and onions for the burgers. Yum! I bought or received the veggies from either a farmer's market or a friend who grows them in the garden. I just love fresh veggies! I wish we could have all homegrown veggies all year around. My kids LOVE corn on the cob and cucumbers. Cody absolutely LOVES tomatoes so I will be thrilling him this evening!