Well here I am--finally posting again! This past year was quite an adjustment, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! There were many hard moments, but the good far outweighed the bad. I am happy to be back in the classroom. This summer I feel such a weight lifted off compared to last year. This time last year I was unsure if I would for sure have a job and had interviews and all that!
Anyway we started summer break on Friday! The kids had Awards Day. I am so proud of them both. They both racked up on the Awards. Lindsay got Alpha Honor Roll for 4th Quarter and all year. She also got Perfect Attendance for 4th Quarter along with a reading award. Colby got 4th Quarter Beta Honor Roll and Beta Honor Roll for the year. He also received the President's Award! After Awards they went home with my parents b/c I had a Teacher's Brunch to attend. I was happy to get to hang with my teacher friends and just relax a bit after quite a busy week. After Brunch Wendy and I left to go to TJ Max. It was spur of the moment and very quick, but I am happy we had that time. We laughed and giggled like school girls. She was supposed to spend that night with me and we were going to drink wine and watch movies, but she had a doc appointment and went home with really high BP. I was super disappointed. We have so much fun together. In fact this year has been so fun b/c of having each other. Well I finally decided not to sit around and mope all night. Instead I went over to Kristen's Going Away party. This was a little out of my comfort zone b/c I haven't been around these people in years. I was happy I went though and I think it meant a lot to them that I was there. I got in that evening and just tried to soak up the alone time. Oh yea...Austin brought the kids to Hattiesburg. I felt like this was sort of my Mother's Day gift. Now with teaching..and especially teaching Lindsay...I went months without ever being alone. That's what I miss most about the stay at home life. I miss just having time to myself. Anyway I ended up not getting bored and I think it was honestly good for me to just slow down!
The next morning I got up at my leisure...I ended up running errands before Austin and the kids got home. I dropped a happy off at Wendy's house. After being together nearly every day and then going to not seeing her at all...I missed her so much! Anyway Austin and the kids got home shortly after I did. I was so happy to see them!! I really just needed that time away from them. We went and ate a quick lunch at Firehouse then went to water the garden at the church. The rest of the day we spent around the house. It was quite nice to just have that time as a family. Weekends during the school year always feel so full of stuff and rushed! That evening the kids played in the pool and we just enjoyed some quality time together. We even grilled burgers and sat around the table and ate!
Sunday was church...this was a short day for us. It was nice to just go to first service once again. I missed catching up with friends at Lifegroup though. I got to see Wendy briefly, but we really didn't get to chat much at all. We left church and went across the river to eat at McAlister's. That was a nice change of pace. Afterwards we went to Dick's to get Lindsay a new bike. I hated we didn't do this at Christmas, but honestly I didn't realize how much she needed a bike until after! Now that its summer and we are outside more I knew it just needed to be done. After the bike buying I was hot and ready to come home. I came home and took a short nap, then left again to go visit my friend Melissa who is about to move to Texas. I stayed at her house about an hour. Once I got home the kids spent some time outside and we cooked again and just enjoyed a family night together.
Monday was Memorial Day. It was nice to wake up and have everyone home and not have to rush out the house. Austin worked in the yard. We got ready and went to my parent's house about 11. We were all able to take a quick swim before lunch. It felt a little rushed b/c the kids had swim lessons in the afternoon. We had a yummy lunch then came home. It was nice just getting to visit with everyone though. The kids did great for their first day of swim lessons! They have been dreading it, but I think they were both pleasantly surprised. I think deep down they enjoy it! That night we just picked up dinner and had a low key night!
Friday, May 31, 2019
Saturday, September 22, 2018
August and Back 2 Work and School
So its obviously been awhile since I have written. Life has been CRAZY! Well the month of August has been a whirlwind. The first week of August began me going back to work. We had a week of teacher in service. It honestly was boring, but fun. I sat by my 2 besties...Wendy and Rebecca and we laughed and acted like teenage girls the whole time. Well school started on August 8th. So far I am loving school and work. I mean I am tired and its been a balance of how to handle things at home..but all in all I LOVE it. I have 11 little first graders. They are all super sweet and smart. I got 2 new kids this year, but the rest I knew from last year so that made the transition pretty easy. Its been great somewhat co-teaching with my best friend. Kindergarten only has 5 students so we have spent a lot of time together with them. We decided that we could do our social studies/science stuff together. So for the first few weeks of school we focused on "My home, My city, My state, My country, My continent, and My World". We made a cute little project with them the first full week of school. Its been fun just combining with them and hanging out. We also have recess together and our Enrichment times. Needless to say we have a lot of fun at work. Last week before Labor Day weekend we ended the unit with really focusing on NOLA. We had a second line parade and beignets on Friday before carpool! So fun! Anyway its fun to go to work and have someone to laugh with. It makes the work seem so much better.
On to the kids: Colby is now in 5th grade. This year our school enrollment went really down. So they decided to combine 4th/5th into one class. I think they have 14 or 15 in his class now. Most of them are 5th graders. I think theres only 3 or 4 fourth graders. So far I think he really likes it. I think he likes his teacher too. She's different from his teacher last year, but she still does a lot of hands on learning so that's good. They also still do flexible seating and a lot of centers so that's cool too. And he hasn't had nearly as much homework so that's been nice.
Lindsay is of course in 1st grade and in my class. So far things are going well there. I mean we got a preview last fall and I knew we could make it work. Had I never gotten that preview though I am not sure I would have ever wanted to teach my own kid's class. Fortunately she and I have a good working relationship. Something Colby and I never had...I think honestly he and I are too much alike. I do notice though that she is getting comfortable with me at times.
On to the kids: Colby is now in 5th grade. This year our school enrollment went really down. So they decided to combine 4th/5th into one class. I think they have 14 or 15 in his class now. Most of them are 5th graders. I think theres only 3 or 4 fourth graders. So far I think he really likes it. I think he likes his teacher too. She's different from his teacher last year, but she still does a lot of hands on learning so that's good. They also still do flexible seating and a lot of centers so that's cool too. And he hasn't had nearly as much homework so that's been nice.
Lindsay is of course in 1st grade and in my class. So far things are going well there. I mean we got a preview last fall and I knew we could make it work. Had I never gotten that preview though I am not sure I would have ever wanted to teach my own kid's class. Fortunately she and I have a good working relationship. Something Colby and I never had...I think honestly he and I are too much alike. I do notice though that she is getting comfortable with me at times.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Weekending
So after a week of camp I was happy to see Saturday come! We were able to sleep in a bit which was amazing! We did have to get Colby up and dressed though b/c he had a scheduled day of fun with a friend. I was happy he was getting to go out and do something. This summer has gone by fast and I don't feel like we've had the time to get them together with their friends as much as we normally do! Anyway Melody picked him up around 9:30. She brought him and Nijel to see The Wizard of Oz at Pyrtania Theater. Afterwards they went to lunch. That morning I just spent with Lindsay. We ended up making a stop by the school so I could get more of my books so I could work on lesson plans. I then brought her to my parent's house so we could swim for a bit. I decided to sit out and let her swim and I wrote lesson plans. Austin stayed behind to work on some house projects and in the yard. Well we came home at lunch and we quickly picked up stuff to eat then we just hung around the house. Colby also got home during that time. It was a nice low key afternoon.
Sunday we had church. We had made up our minds about trying a new group. Now that I will be teaching and won't be able to attend the Tuesday morning Bible study I felt we needed to jump back into a "lifegroup". Anyway the Schifflin's have a group so I figured we would start there. We knew most of the people in the group anyway. Well it turned out we really liked it. It does create for a much longer Sunday though since we now will be there for both services. After church we went to eat Mexican then just came back home and relaxed the rest of the day.
Sunday we had church. We had made up our minds about trying a new group. Now that I will be teaching and won't be able to attend the Tuesday morning Bible study I felt we needed to jump back into a "lifegroup". Anyway the Schifflin's have a group so I figured we would start there. We knew most of the people in the group anyway. Well it turned out we really liked it. It does create for a much longer Sunday though since we now will be there for both services. After church we went to eat Mexican then just came back home and relaxed the rest of the day.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Calvary Kids Camp Week
So this past week our kids were able to go to Calvary Kids Camp all week. I have honestly never been a HUGE send your kids to camp person. This is Colby's 3rd day camp experience though. He was able to go to camp at Aurora just 2 days a week for the month of July when he was 3/4 and then last year he did the Calvary Kids Camp at the church. This year Lindsay was finally old enough to participate too! I was looking forward to a week ALONE! Now with going back to work I know my times alone will be few and far between. Needless to say I tried to enjoy it!
So Monday...the kids were off and super excited about spending the day with friends. That day they stayed at the church all day. I know they did worship, arts and crafts, lots of playing outside, and various other things. That morning I was able to meet with the 2nd grade teacher to discuss what belongs in her classroom and what goes in mine. We worked and talked for about an hour. Afterwards I met my friend Tracey at PJs. We talked a little more about school for about an hour. After that I had to go grocery shopping. Once I got home from that it was basically lunch time. It was so so nice though to get the house to myself for a few hours. It was bittersweet knowing that with teaching I won't really get that much anymore. I enjoyed the rest time then picked them up that afternoon. They were pretty tired each day we got home so we would just chill out then have dinner. We were able to take walks still though and then try and get them to bed early!
Tuesday...so this was probably the BEST day of the entire week. I had plans to get together with Wendy. She's been out of town basically all summer...so I've only seen her like 1 other time. Anyway I was super excited about a girl's day. Also it was Colby's birthday. I didn't feel too bad about sending him to camp on his b-day. he also spent his 4th b-day at camp. I knew he would probably want to be around his friends. We did try and make the day special by taking him to pick up donuts to share with all his camp peeps that day! So back to my day---after dropping the kids off I went to pick up Wendy. She and I then headed over to Another Broken Egg Cafe. As you may recall we did that back in the early spring. We both love mimosas! So we got there probably about 9 and enjoyed a leisure breakfast. We sat and talked until 11:30. At that point we left and headed to the theater to see the Mr. Roger's movie. The movie was so good. It was just such a fun and relaxing girls day! I dropped her off at home about 2:30 then got home only to turn right back around to go get my kids.
Wednesday was a nice day too...so I got the kids to camp then went to get coffee and went to visit Melissa at Aurora. Now that I know I won't be working there I am so going to miss my visits with those peeps. I ended up staying close to an hour and just catching up on all the things! It was nice. Afterwards I had to go back up to Calvary to meet with the principal about some curriculum. That was nice too to just chat with her. Then I headed off to the Educator. I got a lot of my teacher needs then after that the bottom fell out so I quickly went to Petsmart then came home to relax and enjoy the day from home. That night we had church. I picked the kids up and took them to my parent's house to unwind. After a full day of camp I knew they would be exhausted. We also ended up going to Cane's for dinner b/c none of us really felt like eating what they were having at the church. The night went well at church and we had a TON of kids. We were all exhausted though by the end!
Thursday I got the kids to camp then ran a bunch of errands. I had to go to Office Depot to get a bunch of teacher stuff then to Barnes and Noble. Afterwards I met Rebecca for breakfast at Chickfila. It was nice once again to visit with a teacher friend. Afterwards I came home and just enjoyed the down time here.
Friday followed pretty much the same pattern: dropped kids off then met up with Virginia to have coffee and discuss ideas for my classroom. Afterwards we did some shopping at the Dollar Store then came home. I rested and just tried to enjoy my last down day! That evening we did go out to dinner as a family which was fun! We went to Olive Branch. It was nice just getting out like that.
The kids had a great week at camp and were sad for it to end. Even though I am not big on sending kids away the break was so so nice. Especially with knowing I'll be working and the times of being alone will be few and far between.
So Monday...the kids were off and super excited about spending the day with friends. That day they stayed at the church all day. I know they did worship, arts and crafts, lots of playing outside, and various other things. That morning I was able to meet with the 2nd grade teacher to discuss what belongs in her classroom and what goes in mine. We worked and talked for about an hour. Afterwards I met my friend Tracey at PJs. We talked a little more about school for about an hour. After that I had to go grocery shopping. Once I got home from that it was basically lunch time. It was so so nice though to get the house to myself for a few hours. It was bittersweet knowing that with teaching I won't really get that much anymore. I enjoyed the rest time then picked them up that afternoon. They were pretty tired each day we got home so we would just chill out then have dinner. We were able to take walks still though and then try and get them to bed early!
Tuesday...so this was probably the BEST day of the entire week. I had plans to get together with Wendy. She's been out of town basically all summer...so I've only seen her like 1 other time. Anyway I was super excited about a girl's day. Also it was Colby's birthday. I didn't feel too bad about sending him to camp on his b-day. he also spent his 4th b-day at camp. I knew he would probably want to be around his friends. We did try and make the day special by taking him to pick up donuts to share with all his camp peeps that day! So back to my day---after dropping the kids off I went to pick up Wendy. She and I then headed over to Another Broken Egg Cafe. As you may recall we did that back in the early spring. We both love mimosas! So we got there probably about 9 and enjoyed a leisure breakfast. We sat and talked until 11:30. At that point we left and headed to the theater to see the Mr. Roger's movie. The movie was so good. It was just such a fun and relaxing girls day! I dropped her off at home about 2:30 then got home only to turn right back around to go get my kids.
Wednesday was a nice day too...so I got the kids to camp then went to get coffee and went to visit Melissa at Aurora. Now that I know I won't be working there I am so going to miss my visits with those peeps. I ended up staying close to an hour and just catching up on all the things! It was nice. Afterwards I had to go back up to Calvary to meet with the principal about some curriculum. That was nice too to just chat with her. Then I headed off to the Educator. I got a lot of my teacher needs then after that the bottom fell out so I quickly went to Petsmart then came home to relax and enjoy the day from home. That night we had church. I picked the kids up and took them to my parent's house to unwind. After a full day of camp I knew they would be exhausted. We also ended up going to Cane's for dinner b/c none of us really felt like eating what they were having at the church. The night went well at church and we had a TON of kids. We were all exhausted though by the end!
Thursday I got the kids to camp then ran a bunch of errands. I had to go to Office Depot to get a bunch of teacher stuff then to Barnes and Noble. Afterwards I met Rebecca for breakfast at Chickfila. It was nice once again to visit with a teacher friend. Afterwards I came home and just enjoyed the down time here.
Friday followed pretty much the same pattern: dropped kids off then met up with Virginia to have coffee and discuss ideas for my classroom. Afterwards we did some shopping at the Dollar Store then came home. I rested and just tried to enjoy my last down day! That evening we did go out to dinner as a family which was fun! We went to Olive Branch. It was nice just getting out like that.
The kids had a great week at camp and were sad for it to end. Even though I am not big on sending kids away the break was so so nice. Especially with knowing I'll be working and the times of being alone will be few and far between.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Colby's B-day Party Weekend
So the Friday night before Colby's party we just had a low key night around the house.
Saturday we woke up fairly early so we could get going on the day. The kids and I got ready and left the house around 9:30. We had to make a quick stop at the store before heading over. We got there and just helped my mom set up and decorated the cookie cake. The friends all arrived around 11:30. The kids all went straight to the pool and had the best time! We had a small crowd this year: It was our kiddos, Grace, Zachary, Noah, and Alyssa. I had such a good time visiting with the moms though. We sat outside for awhile then went inside where it was cool while the kids ate. I pretty much had to drag the kids out the pool by 2:00 so we could do cake and open presents. It was such a sweet time! I am thankful for our tribe of friends. That tribe has changed over the last few years...but I am thankful for the sweet friends that my boy has! Once we got home he couldn't wait to dive into his presents and play. I think we were all kinda tired and just ready to relax that night.
Sunday was church...we went to the 2nd service b/c Austin was counting. After church we went to Firehouse Subs. There we ran into a few friends which was fun! We spent the afternoon relaxing around the house and getting ready for a week of camp!
Saturday we woke up fairly early so we could get going on the day. The kids and I got ready and left the house around 9:30. We had to make a quick stop at the store before heading over. We got there and just helped my mom set up and decorated the cookie cake. The friends all arrived around 11:30. The kids all went straight to the pool and had the best time! We had a small crowd this year: It was our kiddos, Grace, Zachary, Noah, and Alyssa. I had such a good time visiting with the moms though. We sat outside for awhile then went inside where it was cool while the kids ate. I pretty much had to drag the kids out the pool by 2:00 so we could do cake and open presents. It was such a sweet time! I am thankful for our tribe of friends. That tribe has changed over the last few years...but I am thankful for the sweet friends that my boy has! Once we got home he couldn't wait to dive into his presents and play. I think we were all kinda tired and just ready to relax that night.
Sunday was church...we went to the 2nd service b/c Austin was counting. After church we went to Firehouse Subs. There we ran into a few friends which was fun! We spent the afternoon relaxing around the house and getting ready for a week of camp!
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Summer Week 7
So this week it felt good to have a semi-normal week after the last week's craziness. between being out of town, a holiday, and Lindsay's surgery it was just a weird week.
So that Monday Colby had an eye doc appointment. We made it to that early. Fortunately all was well and there really hadn't been any changes. After that we dropped Colby off with my parents. He had plans to go birthday shopping and go to lunch with them. I then had to go to the Police Station to get finger printed for work. Lindsay was not thrilled with this idea, but the whole process took under about 30 min. Once we left there I asked her where she wanted to go. I tried asking her if she wanted to go play at a park before having lunch out, but she said no. We ended up going to the mall. She really wanted to go to the big mall across the river, but after crossing the bridge once that day I wasn't really in the mood to go over again. Instead we went to the one closer to us. We walked around some, but didn't even go into any stores. We ate lunch at Cane's then she wanted a cookie. We did all that then came home so we could changed into our swimsuits. It was hot as H-E-L-L that day so I figured it would be nice. We met back at my parents house with Colby and went swimming for about an hour before returning home. It felt good to cool off, but then I was ready to get home and relax.
Tuesday I had bible study. It was nice to be back with friends and have that focus on God. It was a good morning. I was also able to visit with the school staff a little and get some scoop on the upcoming year. After I picked the kids up and we had to grocery shop. We got that done then came home to rest/relax.
Wednesday we had a free day. I really didn't want to do too much since I knew we would be up there for church that night. We ended up visiting a park. We haven't really been able to do many park visits this summer. I guess one its either been too hot or wet and we've also been busy. Anyway it was nice to just chill out with them. It was super hot though so we only lasted about 30 min. We ended up going to SAM's then going home. I like to have low key Wednesdays since we go to church at night. Church was good..during the summer its always nice to see friends and such mid-week.
Thursday I had a hair appointment. I brought the kids over to my parents so I could go to that. It was nice having some alone mom time. After my appointment I had scheduled to have lunch with a friend. It was fun meeting up with Tracey and having lunch. Once I got home I ended up calling Wendy and talking to her for over an hour! It was so great to catch up though after she's been gone basically all summer! That evening we took Colby out to eat and shop for his b-day. Lindsay stayed with my parents for her turn over there. Colby chose TX Roadhouse to eat at. It was fun just enjoying our big. After dinner we went to Target. He selected a few toys and I got some stuff for school. We came home and just enjoyed a quiet and easy night with 1 kid!
Friday I promised the kids a fun day! We picked up Lindsay and headed off towards the Aquarium. I feel bad b/c its been a weird summer and I feel like we haven't had all the BIG outings we normally would. I am trying to tell myself though its a different season though and thats ok. Anyway the aquarium was pretty busy and crowded but we stayed about an hour. We know the place so well I pretty much just let the kids pick their favorite things and we do that and leave. It was a nice outing though. I am trying to soak up these sweet simple days. I also know how quickly they are growing. I feel like they should still be like 5 and 2!! So after the aquarium we came back to the Westbank and had lunch at Firehouse Subs. We ran a couple errands then came home and relaxed and that was nice.
So that Monday Colby had an eye doc appointment. We made it to that early. Fortunately all was well and there really hadn't been any changes. After that we dropped Colby off with my parents. He had plans to go birthday shopping and go to lunch with them. I then had to go to the Police Station to get finger printed for work. Lindsay was not thrilled with this idea, but the whole process took under about 30 min. Once we left there I asked her where she wanted to go. I tried asking her if she wanted to go play at a park before having lunch out, but she said no. We ended up going to the mall. She really wanted to go to the big mall across the river, but after crossing the bridge once that day I wasn't really in the mood to go over again. Instead we went to the one closer to us. We walked around some, but didn't even go into any stores. We ate lunch at Cane's then she wanted a cookie. We did all that then came home so we could changed into our swimsuits. It was hot as H-E-L-L that day so I figured it would be nice. We met back at my parents house with Colby and went swimming for about an hour before returning home. It felt good to cool off, but then I was ready to get home and relax.
Tuesday I had bible study. It was nice to be back with friends and have that focus on God. It was a good morning. I was also able to visit with the school staff a little and get some scoop on the upcoming year. After I picked the kids up and we had to grocery shop. We got that done then came home to rest/relax.
Wednesday we had a free day. I really didn't want to do too much since I knew we would be up there for church that night. We ended up visiting a park. We haven't really been able to do many park visits this summer. I guess one its either been too hot or wet and we've also been busy. Anyway it was nice to just chill out with them. It was super hot though so we only lasted about 30 min. We ended up going to SAM's then going home. I like to have low key Wednesdays since we go to church at night. Church was good..during the summer its always nice to see friends and such mid-week.
Thursday I had a hair appointment. I brought the kids over to my parents so I could go to that. It was nice having some alone mom time. After my appointment I had scheduled to have lunch with a friend. It was fun meeting up with Tracey and having lunch. Once I got home I ended up calling Wendy and talking to her for over an hour! It was so great to catch up though after she's been gone basically all summer! That evening we took Colby out to eat and shop for his b-day. Lindsay stayed with my parents for her turn over there. Colby chose TX Roadhouse to eat at. It was fun just enjoying our big. After dinner we went to Target. He selected a few toys and I got some stuff for school. We came home and just enjoyed a quiet and easy night with 1 kid!
Friday I promised the kids a fun day! We picked up Lindsay and headed off towards the Aquarium. I feel bad b/c its been a weird summer and I feel like we haven't had all the BIG outings we normally would. I am trying to tell myself though its a different season though and thats ok. Anyway the aquarium was pretty busy and crowded but we stayed about an hour. We know the place so well I pretty much just let the kids pick their favorite things and we do that and leave. It was a nice outing though. I am trying to soak up these sweet simple days. I also know how quickly they are growing. I feel like they should still be like 5 and 2!! So after the aquarium we came back to the Westbank and had lunch at Firehouse Subs. We ran a couple errands then came home and relaxed and that was nice.
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Weekend to Re-Coup
Saturday after her surgery I knew we needed to have a semi-calm day. I decided to let the kids buy school supplies that day. I was anxious to get it done knowing that as the summer goes on I will be more and more busy with my own school things! Anyway we enjoyed shopping and got everything, but 2 things! Once we finished shopping Austin got home and we were able to go all go to lunch. We ran a quick errand after then came home to relax.
Sunday was of course church day. We went to first service and then had lunch at Copeland's. It was a nice fancy brunch...a real treat! After we just enjoyed our afternoon at home! We also worked on re-organizing the office and all my "teacher" supplies I have.
Sunday was of course church day. We went to first service and then had lunch at Copeland's. It was a nice fancy brunch...a real treat! After we just enjoyed our afternoon at home! We also worked on re-organizing the office and all my "teacher" supplies I have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)