School Days

**discliamer**there are no photos in this post. if you don't like words come back tomorrow for 'first day of school' photos.

Tomorrow the boys start school. Am I excited, YES. Very. Conner is also very excited to go back to school and play w/his friends. Parent orientation was last week; Josh stayed here to keep the kids and off I went. alone. heaven. Parker lucked out and got Conner's teachers from last year. They are nurturing and wonderful. I'm very happy he will be with them this year. He has 6 little kids in his class; 3 boys, 3 girls. Perfect. He's going to LOVE it. Conner's teacher...O.M.G. amazing! Seriously. She holds a degree in Anthropology; LOVES science, all things bugs and nature and loves to blow things up (age appropriately of course). As soon as she started talking, I loved her and am SO SO excited for him this year. The other moms in his class are equally wonderful and he has a few friends from last year joining him. I'm thrilled. While I was at parent orientation, I signed up to be a sub. Let's face it, teaching is part of me and I really miss the classroom. I don't miss it enough to put my kids in daycare and go back but I do miss it.

The boys had meet and greet yesterday and (bad mom me) I forgot the camera. Oh well I guess. We spent an hour in each of their classrooms with the teachers and some of their peers. Parker is sooooo sweet. He listened to his teachers and played nicely with the other kids. There was one time when he and another child both wanted the same toy and he was distracted very easily. When Josh asked him questions about what he did last night, little dude remembered some stuff. Smart little boy. Conner's classroom is SO fun. There's a campfire (not a real one), a huge pirate ship, lots of dinosaurs; it's like a little boy's paradise! He also played very nicely with the other kids that were there. He was SO precious talking to one of his teachers. When he's really thinking about something, he cocks his head to the side and kind of squints...I caught him doing that when they were having a conversation. I don't know what the were talking about; I was talking to another mom about where she got her cardigan.

The best part, Conner is going three days every single week (M,T,W). That means I will have 2 mornings where I will be all alone in our house (for now). I can clean, go back to bed, eat on the couch, eat cake and not share...basically do whatever I want. On Tuesdays, it will just be Parker and I. It will be nice because there will be no screaming out of Parker. No sibling fighting. I know I will miss them but 6 quiet hours a week will definitely be nice. I will admit that I'm a little worried about how Parker will do when he realized I'm not there and neither is Conner. He's very used to his brother being by his side and this will be a new thing for Park. Even yesterday, Conner was there with him. I know he'll adjust but I nope it's not a hard adjustment for him.
I promise that I will take some photos tomorrow morning before we head out and maybe even once they get there but probably not. The school kind of frowns upon any parent loitering. Some of the kids get pretty upset. Stay tuned for some first day of school photos. I have to go fill out some paperwork and figure out what they are going to wear!

Fruit Loops

The other day, I decided that we should use the colors in fruit loops as a learning exercise for my kids. We started out by sorting them by color







Then I got out this..



which resulted in this...







We used the frosting as "glue" and made towers.







 

It was SO much fun, and so messy!!

 

>"A Word From Us Kids"

>I had Arthur on (for background noise) today and in the middle of the show, they do a segment called "A Word From Us Kids" or something like that. Today the kids were talking about fairy tales. Obviously, they had a wonderful teacher. They got to act out the fairy tale. Before they could, each group voted and nominated a director, wrote a script and then assigned character parts. Then the teacher recorded their "plays". This reminded me of myself; not as a student but as a teacher. I LOVED for my kids to act things out. They always did an amazing job. I was always highly entertained and so, so proud. Once we acted out Sherman and his troops burning Atlanta. They acted out scenes in their books; we acted out verbs. We did a lot of reenactment during Social Studies. I found that they retained the information a lot better if they "owned" it. That little segment put tears in my eyes. I sure loved my job. I miss it...but not enough to leave Conner with someone else for me to tend to someone's child. (if that even makes sense)

"A Word From Us Kids"

I had Arthur on (for background noise) today and in the middle of the show, they do a segment called "A Word From Us Kids" or something like that. Today the kids were talking about fairy tales. Obviously, they had a wonderful teacher. They got to act out the fairy tale. Before they could, each group voted and nominated a director, wrote a script and then assigned character parts. Then the teacher recorded their "plays". This reminded me of myself; not as a student but as a teacher. I LOVED for my kids to act things out. They always did an amazing job. I was always highly entertained and so, so proud. Once we acted out Sherman and his troops burning Atlanta. They acted out scenes in their books; we acted out verbs. We did a lot of reenactment during Social Studies. I found that they retained the information a lot better if they "owned" it. That little segment put tears in my eyes. I sure loved my job. I miss it...but not enough to leave Conner with someone else for me to tend to someone's child. (if that even makes sense)

>The end of the first week.

>
Today marks the end of the first week of school. No, I didn't return but I have had mixed emotions.

I loved teaching. Being in the classroom came so naturally to me. I adored the kids, loved the teachable moments, the cutting up, getting to know my kids. I loved seeing the lightbulb go off. I was so proud of my class. Always. Yes, we had bad days but we had tons of fun. I tried to make learning fun. If it's fun, they remember it. They knew I cared. It was never questioned. Thier parents knew I cared. Teaching was my life. It consumed me.

Now that I'm a mom, I can't imagine teaching. Staying at home with Conner is so much fun; even on the really challenging days. I love teaching him new things and watching him grow and learn. Seeing life through his eyes is amazing.

Will I ever go back? Possibly. One day. Maybe. I'm not sure.

The end of the first week.

Today marks the end of the first week of school. No, I didn't return but I have had mixed emotions.

I loved teaching. Being in the classroom came so naturally to me. I adored the kids, loved the teachable moments, the cutting up, getting to know my kids. I loved seeing the lightbulb go off. I was so proud of my class. Always. Yes, we had bad days but we had tons of fun. I tried to make learning fun. If it's fun, they remember it. They knew I cared. It was never questioned. Thier parents knew I cared. Teaching was my life. It consumed me.

Now that I'm a mom, I can't imagine teaching. Staying at home with Conner is so much fun; even on the really challenging days. I love teaching him new things and watching him grow and learn. Seeing life through his eyes is amazing.

Will I ever go back? Possibly. One day. Maybe. I'm not sure.

>What a day!

>Let me start with the good news. I passed my glucose test! YAY!! No gestitational diabetes for me. I was very happy to hear this news. My white blood count was high but they are just going to take some more blood next appt.

Today was the worst day I've ever had teaching. Having an all girls class is very, very difficult. The girls are not nice to anyone. I have 3 that love to start drama and get in the middle of everything. Anyone that knows me knows that I hate drama. Well, by 10 am I was putting out fires. I had one student bully another in PE. Then at lunch, the same girls started something with someone else. I had a tears after lunch and I almost lost it. I hate the drama. I really, really hate it. Then one students (yes one of the 3 musketeers) threw something at another of the musketeers. That musketeer blew up and started screaming. I tried to calm her down, she decided that she'd just scream at me. I hate disprespect almost as much as I hate drama. By 2pm another child had thrown her chair and kicked her bookbag across the room. I was mortified. I had NO clue that 9 year old girls were so angry and malicious. Honestly, if I never had to go back there, I'd probably be OK. I really hope tomorrow is a better day. Either way, it's one day and then I get a 3 day weekend.

What a day!

Let me start with the good news. I passed my glucose test! YAY!! No gestitational diabetes for me. I was very happy to hear this news. My white blood count was high but they are just going to take some more blood next appt.

Today was the worst day I've ever had teaching. Having an all girls class is very, very difficult. The girls are not nice to anyone. I have 3 that love to start drama and get in the middle of everything. Anyone that knows me knows that I hate drama. Well, by 10 am I was putting out fires. I had one student bully another in PE. Then at lunch, the same girls started something with someone else. I had a tears after lunch and I almost lost it. I hate the drama. I really, really hate it. Then one students (yes one of the 3 musketeers) threw something at another of the musketeers. That musketeer blew up and started screaming. I tried to calm her down, she decided that she'd just scream at me. I hate disprespect almost as much as I hate drama. By 2pm another child had thrown her chair and kicked her bookbag across the room. I was mortified. I had NO clue that 9 year old girls were so angry and malicious. Honestly, if I never had to go back there, I'd probably be OK. I really hope tomorrow is a better day. Either way, it's one day and then I get a 3 day weekend.

>New pics

>I ordered way too many dresses last week and they all came in. It was like Christmas!
Here are 2 of them. I wore the one with the denim jacket to work today. Look at that 28w belly :)

















Here are some pics of the nursery. I really love how it looks, although it's definitely not finished.

New pics

I ordered way too many dresses last week and they all came in. It was like Christmas!
Here are 2 of them. I wore the one with the denim jacket to work today. Look at that 28w belly :)

















Here are some pics of the nursery. I really love how it looks, although it's definitely not finished.

>I made it!

>The first week of school is OVER! I am so exhausted and excited that it's done. I don't really care for the first week. It's boring for the teacher because it's just rules and procedures. There are lots of "fluffy" activities that have no academic value. I did get some assessments completed this week, so that is productive. I have a few more students working on the reading one and then I'm done for the first nine weeks. I forgot my camera. Sorry, Maryann, I don't have a picture yet. I will though, I promise.

It's very different for me this year. Not only am I in a new grade level with a new team, but I am also teaching a different gender. Last year, I taught boys. The girls are so very different. It's definitely an adjustment. We will all be fine, but I just have to get used to the girls.

In baby news, the dresser should be here this weekend (yay). Josh says that he will put in the chair rail and we can get it all set up. We just need to order the mattress. I don't know why I'm dragging my feet on that, but I seem to be. I aslo picked up my books from Borders today. You remember the ones...13 for $2.98. I'm very excited to read these to the baby. I don't know how much he likes me talking all day long. I imagine that listening to me "blah, blah" all day is not fun. He's not as active anymore during the day. Perhaps my voice is so soothing that he just goes to sleep? I wonder if he's as tired as I am. My next appt is the 25th. They will be checking for gestinational diabetes. I hope I don't have it. After that appt, I will be on the 2 week appt schedule. I can't belive that. Once upon a time, I thought that this time would never come. I'm very happy to be in my third trimester. We will meet him in (or before) approx. 12 weeks. How EXCITING!

I made it!

The first week of school is OVER! I am so exhausted and excited that it's done. I don't really care for the first week. It's boring for the teacher because it's just rules and procedures. There are lots of "fluffy" activities that have no academic value. I did get some assessments completed this week, so that is productive. I have a few more students working on the reading one and then I'm done for the first nine weeks. I forgot my camera. Sorry, Maryann, I don't have a picture yet. I will though, I promise.

It's very different for me this year. Not only am I in a new grade level with a new team, but I am also teaching a different gender. Last year, I taught boys. The girls are so very different. It's definitely an adjustment. We will all be fine, but I just have to get used to the girls.

In baby news, the dresser should be here this weekend (yay). Josh says that he will put in the chair rail and we can get it all set up. We just need to order the mattress. I don't know why I'm dragging my feet on that, but I seem to be. I aslo picked up my books from Borders today. You remember the ones...13 for $2.98. I'm very excited to read these to the baby. I don't know how much he likes me talking all day long. I imagine that listening to me "blah, blah" all day is not fun. He's not as active anymore during the day. Perhaps my voice is so soothing that he just goes to sleep? I wonder if he's as tired as I am. My next appt is the 25th. They will be checking for gestinational diabetes. I hope I don't have it. After that appt, I will be on the 2 week appt schedule. I can't belive that. Once upon a time, I thought that this time would never come. I'm very happy to be in my third trimester. We will meet him in (or before) approx. 12 weeks. How EXCITING!

>1st day back...

>Phew, I am exhausted. I worked all day in my classroom trying to make sense of it all. When I left, it was a little better, but it has a long way to go. I spent all day rearranging and throwing away stuff. I had the wonderful custodians move my desk and a bookcase so that I could try to get something organized. My sister is coming on Wed to help me get a few more things done. It's overwhelming to walk in there and see all of that stuff. There are several teachers who have their rooms completely ready. I'm hoping that mine will be almost done by tomorrow afternoon. Katie can then do some things for me Wed while I'm in meetings. It has to be finished Wed when I leave. We have meet and greet at 7:30am. Yep, in the morning. If it's all done, I can just work on lesson plans for next week. I hate the first week of school. It seems like nothing gets done. It's so blah. All I'll do is go over routines and procedures, which is very important but boring. I may start teaching Thursday or Friday though. I have to start working on a schedule now that we know our specials and lunch times. I think I'll start the day with SS or Science. I just haven't decided. I'll take a pic of my room once it's all ready to go. It should be a fun, but exhausting week.

1st day back...

Phew, I am exhausted. I worked all day in my classroom trying to make sense of it all. When I left, it was a little better, but it has a long way to go. I spent all day rearranging and throwing away stuff. I had the wonderful custodians move my desk and a bookcase so that I could try to get something organized. My sister is coming on Wed to help me get a few more things done. It's overwhelming to walk in there and see all of that stuff. There are several teachers who have their rooms completely ready. I'm hoping that mine will be almost done by tomorrow afternoon. Katie can then do some things for me Wed while I'm in meetings. It has to be finished Wed when I leave. We have meet and greet at 7:30am. Yep, in the morning. If it's all done, I can just work on lesson plans for next week. I hate the first week of school. It seems like nothing gets done. It's so blah. All I'll do is go over routines and procedures, which is very important but boring. I may start teaching Thursday or Friday though. I have to start working on a schedule now that we know our specials and lunch times. I think I'll start the day with SS or Science. I just haven't decided. I'll take a pic of my room once it's all ready to go. It should be a fun, but exhausting week.

>hmmm

>I don't really know what to blog about today. It's my last day of summer :( (during the week).
I definitely am not ready to go back to work on Monday. I know the hustle and bustle of school will be exciting, yet so exhausting. I know I'll "make it", but I just don't see how.
I have a few errands to run today. I got out of the house yesterday; it's almost unheard of that I do that two days in a row. I need to go to the grocery store, school box and wal-mart. I have my Sonny money (100 bucks for every teacher from the governor) to spend and I have to do that today. I also want to go to Kohl's. I am on a mission to find some shoes that will be appeasing not only to my feet but also my principal.
My house is so clean and I will miss that. I've gotten a lot done today. I finished putting some clothes into bins, they need to now be put in the attic. I also cleaned the bathrooms, finished the laundry and the dishes are all clean. Oh, and I vacuumed. Who knew I had that in me.

Then I took a picture (of me, not my house) 25w (although week 26 is on Tuesday)



This weekend, I would love it if the chair rail in the nursery would be installed. Josh has other plans though. He wants his engine fixed. If he gets it fixed on Saturday, I know where we'll be Sunday. That's really OK with me; it's supposed to be like 97 degrees all weekend. My sister and brother are coming into town on Sunday. Hopefully I can get one, if not both of them, to help me in my classroom. I just can't move that stuff around. It's too heavy.

In baby news, this little guy is such a wiggle worm. I tried to get a video yesterday of my belly moving but as soon as I turned the camera on, he stopped moving. I turned it off and he decided to dance again. Next time, I'll have to be more discrete.

I'm off to run my errands.

hmmm

I don't really know what to blog about today. It's my last day of summer :( (during the week).
I definitely am not ready to go back to work on Monday. I know the hustle and bustle of school will be exciting, yet so exhausting. I know I'll "make it", but I just don't see how.
I have a few errands to run today. I got out of the house yesterday; it's almost unheard of that I do that two days in a row. I need to go to the grocery store, school box and wal-mart. I have my Sonny money (100 bucks for every teacher from the governor) to spend and I have to do that today. I also want to go to Kohl's. I am on a mission to find some shoes that will be appeasing not only to my feet but also my principal.
My house is so clean and I will miss that. I've gotten a lot done today. I finished putting some clothes into bins, they need to now be put in the attic. I also cleaned the bathrooms, finished the laundry and the dishes are all clean. Oh, and I vacuumed. Who knew I had that in me.

Then I took a picture (of me, not my house) 25w (although week 26 is on Tuesday)



This weekend, I would love it if the chair rail in the nursery would be installed. Josh has other plans though. He wants his engine fixed. If he gets it fixed on Saturday, I know where we'll be Sunday. That's really OK with me; it's supposed to be like 97 degrees all weekend. My sister and brother are coming into town on Sunday. Hopefully I can get one, if not both of them, to help me in my classroom. I just can't move that stuff around. It's too heavy.

In baby news, this little guy is such a wiggle worm. I tried to get a video yesterday of my belly moving but as soon as I turned the camera on, he stopped moving. I turned it off and he decided to dance again. Next time, I'll have to be more discrete.

I'm off to run my errands.

>Pieces of my mind...

>So far so good. My sypmtoms are in full swing. I threw up 4 times yesterday. It was hysterically funny and awful at the same time. I'd puke and then giggle. My boobs are killing me, the nausea is constant. It literally lasts all day. I'm beyond exhausted, but I don't sleep well and I don't really understand that!

Today I felt great. My nausea was not that bad at all. I did not throw up. I've been eating like a piggy for the last hour though. When I finished my popcorn, I decided that I needed ice cream too. Off I went to the freezer. It was delish!

My next appointment and ultrasound is on Tuesday. I'm anxious but not nervous...not nervous yet. My prayer is that this heart inside of me keeps beating and that my baby keeps growing. I don't care how sick it makes me, I just want a healthy baby.

In other news, I was give my tentative placement for next year. I currently teach 5th grade boys. My principal has decided to move to me 4th grade girls. It's the exact counter opposite of what I wanted. I wanted to stay in 5th with the boys. Fourth grade is fine, but I really prefer to teach all boys.

I don't have much more to say. After my appt, I'll update again.

Pieces of my mind...

So far so good. My sypmtoms are in full swing. I threw up 4 times yesterday. It was hysterically funny and awful at the same time. I'd puke and then giggle. My boobs are killing me, the nausea is constant. It literally lasts all day. I'm beyond exhausted, but I don't sleep well and I don't really understand that!

Today I felt great. My nausea was not that bad at all. I did not throw up. I've been eating like a piggy for the last hour though. When I finished my popcorn, I decided that I needed ice cream too. Off I went to the freezer. It was delish!

My next appointment and ultrasound is on Tuesday. I'm anxious but not nervous...not nervous yet. My prayer is that this heart inside of me keeps beating and that my baby keeps growing. I don't care how sick it makes me, I just want a healthy baby.

In other news, I was give my tentative placement for next year. I currently teach 5th grade boys. My principal has decided to move to me 4th grade girls. It's the exact counter opposite of what I wanted. I wanted to stay in 5th with the boys. Fourth grade is fine, but I really prefer to teach all boys.

I don't have much more to say. After my appt, I'll update again.

>Ignorance is bliss

>It's been 8 full weeks since my miscarriage was induced. The thought and memory of it is nauseating; it's exhausting. It seems so long ago, yet like yesterday. I have not reminded my husband of this, although we discussed it last night when we were talking about BFNs and cycles. He told me that I needed to call the doctor and see what they said. He knows they said by 8 weeks, my cycle should return. So, I caved. I called the doctor. I'm 14dpo no sign of either pregnancy (trust me, I've pee'd) or a cycle. I have an appointment on Tuesday. They will do a pregnancy test, I'll be able to tell them the answer. Once they see my answer, they will do an exam or bloodwork...depending on what they find. I'm going into a Friday with still nothing. I don't even know if I'm hopeful of being pregnant right now anymore. I do know that by looking at my chart, it's beautiful. I miss the ignorance I had before my miscarriage. It truly was bliss. I didn't obsess over charting or how long my cycles were, just that they were happening.

Lots of great things are going on though. My class is great! They are so entertaining and funny. I really enjoy them! I've found a new peace about my loss and that makes my days and life so much easier. I laugh again, a genuine happy laugh. I'm not so angry or jealous. I told a co-worker who is 3 months, congratulations! I really meant it. She is so cute and her little belly is precious. I didn't even get sad that it's on her and not me. Talk about peaceful healing.

To whoever told me that time heals, they were right. (Thanks, Granny)

In closing, I heard a passage of scripture on the radio yesterday. Gal 6:9 Let us not be weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we not faint. It touched me.

Ignorance is bliss

It's been 8 full weeks since my miscarriage was induced. The thought and memory of it is nauseating; it's exhausting. It seems so long ago, yet like yesterday. I have not reminded my husband of this, although we discussed it last night when we were talking about BFNs and cycles. He told me that I needed to call the doctor and see what they said. He knows they said by 8 weeks, my cycle should return. So, I caved. I called the doctor. I'm 14dpo no sign of either pregnancy (trust me, I've pee'd) or a cycle. I have an appointment on Tuesday. They will do a pregnancy test, I'll be able to tell them the answer. Once they see my answer, they will do an exam or bloodwork...depending on what they find. I'm going into a Friday with still nothing. I don't even know if I'm hopeful of being pregnant right now anymore. I do know that by looking at my chart, it's beautiful. I miss the ignorance I had before my miscarriage. It truly was bliss. I didn't obsess over charting or how long my cycles were, just that they were happening.

Lots of great things are going on though. My class is great! They are so entertaining and funny. I really enjoy them! I've found a new peace about my loss and that makes my days and life so much easier. I laugh again, a genuine happy laugh. I'm not so angry or jealous. I told a co-worker who is 3 months, congratulations! I really meant it. She is so cute and her little belly is precious. I didn't even get sad that it's on her and not me. Talk about peaceful healing.

To whoever told me that time heals, they were right. (Thanks, Granny)

In closing, I heard a passage of scripture on the radio yesterday. Gal 6:9 Let us not be weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we not faint. It touched me.