Not Ready . . .

My 92 year old gpa (dad's dad) is in ICU right now. He's in need of some prayers. I know that I am lucky to be 34 years old and to still have him in my life, but how can you ever be ready to say goodbye. I'm just not ready.

School Update . . .

We've all had a great week! Caden was still a bit "clingy" in the morning, but who wouldn't be with 100 parents packed in a small hallway trying to help their children unpack?!? Next week no parents are allowed to escort their kindergarteners so it should be interesting. . .I don't know if I qualify under that category or not - ha!

I have been trying to get Caden to agree to have Grace drop him off and help him unpack, but he wants to do it all by himself. . .Until we actually leave my classroom in the morning to start walking him to kindergarten then he wants me to help. Overall, it's been a great week.

One thing that this week has reminded me of is how much I enjoy teaching. Not taking care of a teacher that doesn't have good classroom management or delivery of a lesson, not sitting in on planning sessions discussing lessons that I'm never going to teach, not planning for inservices that I have to deliver, just teaching children. All. day. long. It's wonderful!!

My students are fabulous!! This group of students that we have are "the" group that has moved up through the school. Either we're still in the honeymoon phase or they've matured over the summer, but we're off to a great start. Of course, it could also have been the 20 minutes of practicing following directions that they didn't enjoy either . . . "Put your d.o.l. folder on your desk. Now put it in your desk. Get out your agenda. Open it to page 10. Close your agenda. Now open it to page 18." Not too much fun for a 5th grader :)

It reminds me of one of the suggestions that my 5th grade group of PACE kids wrote for me as a going away gift last spring,"Send children who are misbehaving to the strictest teacher on the grade level. If that isn't already you." Ha!! I don't know that I am necessarily really strict, but if you set the expectations early, they will follow them. With three groups of 25 kids each day I don't have time to deal with behavior issues because we need to get our content lessons completed. That's right - I see 75 children a day :)

I intend to enjoy my day off tomorrow. We will be planning Grace's birthday party which she is so excited about. She is having it at our house and we are doing a pajama party. Not a sleepover party, but a pajama party. I'm going to rotate the girls through 3 stations . .. games,craft, and nailpolish. I pretty much offered Grace anything to not do it at our house, but this is what she really wanted to do. I even offered to take two of her friends to Great Wolf Lodge, but she wasn't biting. I can't believe that she's about to be 8!! Enjoy your long weekend!

WE DID IT!!!

Oh my goodness!! All that anticipation for nothing. Caden did GREAT!! Chris had to drop him off because of all of his attachment issues with me lately, but Caden did better than Chris did - ha! I love this picture of the kids walking down the sidewalk holding hands with their Mickey and Minnie backpacks. I'm going to blow this one up as big as I can and frame it!
Grace and Caden standing in front of the school getting ready to cross the street and go in.
Grace's new bangs. She told the hair dresser that she wanted them . . . I think that they are going to drive us both nuts!
The big kindergartener!!

On a side note: I was really worried that Caden was going to cry. He did get a little attached to Chris, but I think that was because Chris wasn't letting go of Caden. Had to have that one last hug a couple of times - my sweet husband!

It was definitely different being back in the classroom today. I don't think that I sat down all day, had a 15 minute lunch, and never made it to the bathroom . . . and I LOVED every minute of it. I forgot how much I liked being in charge of myself. My kids are polite and fun and I can't wait to get to know them better. I know that the "honeymoon" period will be over soon, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts :) Whew . . . going to bed now!

Ode To Caden . . .

First Day Of School

~Author Unknown~

He started school this morning,
And he seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside him
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as he took his place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw him as
He first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When he began to talk.

This little boy so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though he must have grown
To boyhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred as hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar his first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with him
And keep him by the hand
To lead him through the places
That he couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew he would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But he must have his chance to live,
To work his problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little boy
With friends and work and play;
He's not a baby anymore --
He's in Kindergarten today.

Back to Work . . .

I'll write more when I have a chance. It's good. I'm good. I'm dreading Caden going to kindergarten on Monday. Not for any other reason than he's my baby and I'm not ready for him to be that grown up.

Needed to learn how to use the new camera before Vegas . . .

Chris with Brice and Dondi's nephew . . .
Brice, Dondi, and Chris
Add Cameron . . .
At dinner the last night . . .


I had a lot more pictures that did not show up. They were either too light, too dark, or blurry. Time to read the manual :)We had a blast in Vegas. Too much fun, in fact! It was great seeing Brice, Dondi, and Cameron . . . and all of Dondi's family. I had someone to hang out with while Chris was playing poker and we definitely made some memories and inside jokes!

Graceisms . . .

I don't get to do these type of blog entries very often . . .

Two funny things she's said this week:

1) We pulled out of the driveway last weekend and the house across the street from us was completely covered in toilet paper. Grace said, "I'm glad that wasn't our house." Chris told her that he felt pretty sure that someday in the future middle school years our house might get TP'd. To which Grace said, "Our house has already been teen-agered. Don't you remember the Christmas lights?" Ha! What a great verb "teen-agered" I would still like to catch whoever unscrewed all of those light bulbs and took them!

2) She told Caden today in full Hannah Montana fashion . . . "I wish that you had an on/off switch." HA - there are a lot of days that I wish he did too, but I explained to Grace that it was probably not the nicest way to get her message across to him. She replied, "Well he does talk too much AND he talks all the time." Can't argue with her there . . . so instead I focused on the delivery of her words. Teenage years are going to be so fun - can't wait!!

A Bit Overwhelmed. . .

So . . . this week I went up to my new school and started getting all of the "stuff" organized in my classroom. I have been trying to go up there several times before school starts to help get Caden acclimated to the school. I am hoping that it will make the dropoff easier on the 1st day of school. He has been a lot more excited about starting school so hopefully it is working! This weekend we got them each a new backpack. Neither one of them really needed one b/c they both got brand new ones about 6 months ago, but nevertheless if it makes him happy - so be it. He got a new Mickey Mouse one and Grace got the matching Minnie Mouse one. I'm not really big on characters, but it was really cute watching them negotiate in the Disney store. The fact that they match is pretty cute too. I can't believe that my baby is starting kindergarten. It just doesn't seem possible . . .

I am ready to go back to school. Scary. I didn't think those words would EVER come out of my mouth. I'm ready to start back with a routine, etc. I am not so ready for the full time teaching part. I'm pretty apprehensive about it all to be quite honest with you. I am hoping that it is a bit like riding a bike and the 5th graders don't end up chewing me up and spitting me out - ha!

Chris and I are leaving on Thursday for Vegas. It'll be nice to get away for a bit, but we come home on Sunday and inservice and meetings begin on MONDAY - EEK! Start sending a whole lot of prayers and good vibes my way - I have a feeling that I might need them :)

Caden's Sweet Letter . . .

You may or may not know that Caden has a friend, Abbi, that he has known since he was 2. They were in the same preschool class for 3 years and we get along really well with her parents also. We go to dinner with them as much as we can and the kids just love each other. It's fun. Well, we got this letter in the mail last week. Abbi's mom, Ashli, hadn't seen the letter because Abbi wrote it and then put it in the envelope before she could see it. When the kids were all playing at our house last week, Abbi was so proud of the letter. She asked Caden if he liked the frog on it - she knows him so well!
It's so sad that they are going to be going to different schools next year, but I know that we'll still see them a bunch :)

Another Caden Story . . .

I have been doing a lot of back to school shopping for the kids. It's so hard to walk into the stores and buy jeans, long sleeve shirts, etc. when it's 105 degrees outside, but they both have outgrown their clothes during the last 3 months of summer. At GapKids I saw a bunch of little boy boxers. Some were the regular boxers and some were the tightywhities but with legs. . . you know what I'm talking about. So, I decided to get some of both kinds and see if Caden likes them. Well he loves them because he is wearing the same kind as dad and his cousin Brandon (he's Grace's age). So last night he is brushing his teeth wearing his new boxers and he notices something.

"Hey, Mom. What's this hole for?"

So I explain to him how that hole in the underwear works . . . I still have imprinted on my heart the giggle that followed when I told him AND the complete face smile with both dimples as he tried "the hole" out.

Funniest Movie I've Seen in A Very Long Time . . .

Chris and I went to see Stepbrothers today. Gross, crude, completely inappropriate at times, but yet I found myself unable to keep from laughing. Chris and I both left the theatre giggling. Go see it, but don't say I didn't warn you :)

You may be asking yourself . . . How did they get to see a movie on a Sunday afternoon?!? Thanks to my wonderful in-laws for watching the kids!