And then on to a park

After 3 hours at Wally World, we decided to head to a park. My nephews REALLY wanted to go to Ft. Liberty Playland so we went there. The kids got really dirty, but had a blast. Yes, I was getting sand out of Carleigh's hair. Boy did they sleep well last night!!

Back into the swing of things....

We are back into the "normal" routine now. All of us are back to school and things are starting into a smooth rhythm. One thing I have to add to my nightly schedule is packing Cody a snack. I know it sounds minor, but it's just "one more thing" I have to do. Next year, I'll be packing a lunch box (eeeeek!!!) and possibly two of them! I am soooooooo not ready for that! At least I have another year to prepare myself!

Other than the lack of sleep I get, I am having a good school year. I always have "one of THOSE" in my classroom, but nothing too bad this year. They are hard workers and getting everything done. Yay! My student teacher is finding her groove and she is such a Godsend! Today, she organized two incredibly stuffed cabinets and books shelves. She will have my classroom totally organized by the time she leaves. I told her that I think she missed her true "calling" because that girl can ORGANIZE!

September is birthday month in my family so we are getting ready to celebrate lots of birthdays: my niece (her birthday is tomorrow), my mom, ME, and my sister's birthdays. That's a lot in a small familia! And don't forget a family reunion sandwiched in there and boy this month will be a busy one!!

Carleigh's First Day of Preschool

Today was the first day of Carleigh's last year in preschool! Another milestone is beginning! She was so excited to ride the bus! Mom said that she put her shoes on before everyone else was ready to go!

And we have a fence!

After a year or so of anticipation, we have a fenced side and back yard! Wooohooo! No one knows the depth of our joy! Now, Cody can run free in the yard and we do not have to worry about him running out into the street or running off. Now, we can enjoy cornhole and bocce ball with friends and not worry about keeping the kids safe while we have fun. Now, we can spend more time outdoors than indoors! Yippppeeee!

The fence was completed today. My niece Brittany's boyfriend Tim did most of the work on his own and he worked on it most of last week and finished it today. Of course, it took Carleigh less than 5 seconds to figure out how to open the gate on her own. And she can climb the fence up to the almost top level, but hey, it keeps them contained! We are very happy people here!

Figuring it out

Student teacher

I have a student teacher this fall. She will be with me until the end of October. Today, she began to her first "real" teaching experience. This week, she will teach 2 subjects: Bible and Math. Each week, she will add 2 more subjects until she is teaching all subjects for 4 weeks.

I must admit it is rather nice getting a "break" and watching the kids interact and learn from her. It will be strange to NOT be teaching full-time for a month! Of course I will use that time wisely and prepare for future lessons and units.

It is really great to have an extra person to help out and I will really miss her when she leaves!!

Colds, Sinus infections, & Coughing

Friday evening was very interesting to say the least. The night before, I came down with a sinu infection. I knew it was coming, while teaching, I started sneezing uncontrollably and the eyes starting itching. Thursday night was pure torture and I got very little sleep.

My co-teacher gave me a Claritin (God love her!) and it helped me to get through the rest of the day. After Carleigh's open house, everything went downhill again. I became very icky, Matt started to come down with a minor cold, Cody had a slight cough and Carleigh had a bad cough! We went to bed early to be awoken by Carleigh coughing so hard that she threw up. After cleaning her up, she violently vomited again. Lovely! Then if things couldn't get worse, the thunderstorm came. The only one at that point asleep was Cody and this was midnight people! Argh! The lightning was so close that one point, it shook the house so hard that I almost jumped off the couch! It must have hit something nearby. Whoa! When all was calm, we all fell asleep for an hour or so until Carleigh was up again needing water *sigh*.

Everyone slept in on Saturday. Friday night must have been the breaking point in everyone's sickness. By Saturday afternoon, we all felt like grocery shopping and basically getting out of the house. This was the first time that we have been sick all summer so that is good!

Carleigh is looking forward to her first day in Miss Ellie's class tomorrow and I am looking forward to a 3-day weekend. We have lots of fun things planned and hoping for no rain.

Carleigh's Open House

Carleigh's Preschool Open House was this afternoon. I left work about 45 minutes early and we visited her classroom. Her teacher was excited to have her since she has had Cody for the past 2 years. What a difference in the two!

She started playing right away. Playing with the play-dough was a big hit. She met her new speech pathologist and she started talking to her right away. She made snakes for her. She befriended a new little friend and started bossing him around within a few minutes. That is SOOOO Carleigh! LOL!

She talked to both her teacher and aide and overall had a blast. I am hoping for her to make a few little girlfriends this year. There are only 3 other girls in her class and the rest are boys. There seems to be an over-abundance of boys in classrooms these days!

Carleigh starts on Monday and she is soooo excited to ride the bus again with big brother Cody!

End of Summer Bash

Our church did Vacation Bible School differently this year. Instead of having a week-long Bible school, they had Bible school every Wednesday evening. To celebrate the end, the church rented inflatables. Cody and Carleigh had a blast! Cody can now climb the hills like a pro! He also is quite the daredevil I might add. The first time I saw him do 3-4 flips while going down the hill, I was a bit concerned, but he was laughing the ENTIRE time! He scared a few other who were watching, but it was soooo funny to see him do it! I think I need to get him in tumbling! He can do such smooth somersaults. They were hot, sweaty, and dirty, but slept VERY well last night! Wish I could buy a couple of these!!

Cody's First Day of Kindergarten

Cody had a great day at Kindergarten! He had 1/3 of his class (like 6 or 7 students) with him. While he was getting to know his teacher, Matt was with other parents during "orientation." The note from his teacher said that Cody did a great job sitting at circle time and he followed directions on the playground. He also had a snack provided today. Starting on Thursday (his next day of school), I have to provide a simple snack for him each day and he will also begin to ride the bus to school.

Such a big milestone!! I didn't sleep well last night just thinking about HIS first day (not mine! LOL!)! It's all about Cody today!

Since Carleigh was not in the spotlight today, she built a tower with cups and wanted me to take her picture. (She will be green with envy until next Monday which is HER first day back to preschool.)

It's amazing what entertains kids! My mom moved one of my wind chimes onto my banner pole. Now, Cody and Carleigh think it is fun to jump up and hit them. Of course they make music when the metal poles hit each other. Carleigh, being Miss Queen of Fairness, made sure that Cody only took one turn at a time. If she didn't get her turn, she would cry "My turn!" or push him.

Getting ready for the BIG DAY & 2 dates

Yesterday, Matt and I went on a very much needed date. All by ourselves! No Children! We went out to dinner and then wanted to try out Monster Golf (has black lights and cool lighting.) It was so nice to ENJOY dinner and not have to worry about it getting cold and not having to deal with temper tamtrums from our little blessings. It was also nice to enjoy a game of mini-golf and it felt like the OLD DAYS of dating. We topped off the night with a trip to THE CONE.

We have decided to do the date thing once a month as long as we can get babysitters. Matt's parents were wonderful and offered to babysit for us.

Today, Carleigh and Matt went on a father/daughter date. They went to a park (and Matt went down the twisty slide....ohhhh how I wish I could have SEEN that!) and went out for ice cream. We have decided to take each child individually out monthly because they love that one-on-one time with Mommy or Daddy. (Cody took a nap as he was up a little bit last night due to a nightmare.)

While the duo were out on their date, I packed up Cody's backpack, filled out the lengthy Parent Questionaire, and started to get weepy thinking about my little man. It seems like yesterday when I brought him home and now he is in Kindergarten. Oh my! Matt gets to take him on his first day (jealous Mommy) and how I hope this year is magical, fun, and productive for him. Matt and Cody will be drawing their hands and talking about their dreams and wishes for the school year with Cody's intervention specialist. What a special and big day for my baby boy! Hopefully I will be able to teach without my mind wondering what they are doing. Pictures will be posted tomorrow night.

I survived!

Well, I survived the first day! It went well! I think the biggest challenge is having so many boys! Honestly, there is no way to separate them! I have 13 boys and 6 girls! There is just not many girls at this grade level (or 3rd grade for that matter). I have a few "squirrely" ones, but nothing that I can't handle. I have many BRIGHT children which is always fun because I can challenge them with lots of fun activities.

I came home VERY tired and fell asleep on the couch! I had insomnia the night before (I ALWAYS do) so it took less than 5 minutes for me to head to Dreamland last night!

We are now looking forward to the BIG DAY in our household. Monday is the BIG DAY in our family! Mr. Codeman goes to Kindergarten and his Daddy gets to take him and take pictures. (Yes, I have to train Matt to take good pics. Photography 101 will happen this weekend!)

'Twas the Night Before School Starts

'Twas the night before school starts, and this teacher is EXHAUSTED! The soles on her feet are aching and her head is in a fog.

She was pleased to have 17 out of 19 students come to her classroom tonight, but oh her body is an aching site!

Her night is starting with insomnia, but she is praying for sleep. She needs all the energy, for all those peeps.

Tomorrow is the very first day and she hopes all the children will not go astray. Books, lessons, and papers to grade, make this teacher glad that she gets paid. Paid with hugs, cards, and words no less is better than all the rest!!

Day 2 of Inservice

Well, I survived day 2 of in-service. There is nothing more boring, um exciting than to sit all morning in meetings in which you hear the same thing almost every year. I always try to get something out of it and I think the best part was the Smartboard sharing time. My principal deemed me the "expert" so I was showing the K-2 teachers a couple of lessons and how to get started. I also learned a few neat things from the 1st grade teachers and have already created a few lessons for the beginning of the year.

Tomorrow will be crazy as I will be working in my classroom all day and then Back to School Night begins at 5:30pm. My students and their parents will visit the classroom and can drop off school supplies as well as getting to know me and looking around the room/school. I should be getting home after 7 that night and then relaxing before going to bed. Then Wednesday is the first day of school. I am looking forward to my new class of 19 students and am hopeful for a fun and productive school year.

Cody and Carleigh cannot WAIT for school to start! Cody starts a week from today and we are STILL not sure when Carleigh will start. If I do not get something in the mail this week, I am going to email her teacher. We should have received a letter by now.

And of course you know what else starts around Back to School time???? FOOTBALL! Matt is REAL happy now!!