do you picasa?

Just made this with free Picasa software. This, in a nutshell, is our month. Cool, eh?

it's a blur

unpack boxes hang posters sit through institutes stress out hire a nanny miss my kiddos read curriculum guides learn new national teaching standards make copies laminate nametags fill out HR forms miss my kiddos plan lessons set up email attend team meetings use the crock pot get up early run before sunrise move desks around work until 9 pm wear an ID badge stress out miss my kiddos

Tomorrow afternoon, I get to meet the young minds that I will hold in my hands for the next 9 months. Yeah, I'm pretty stinkin' excited to get back into the classroom!

pics of the best day

 

Sunday was such a great day. The weather was absolutely perfect. We had lots of family time. We were able to enjoy a wonderful picnic at a local forest preserve with Grammy and Grandpa. All was right with the world, and that’s a good thing.

We started with an impromptu jaunt through the sprinklers. This is the first time that Emerson would give it a try, and she loved it. It was Pete’s first time too, although she has a 2.5 year head start on her. I couldn’t believe that he just stood there with it hitting him right in the face. Can’t tell if he’s fearless or stupid. Going with the former on that one.

 

Ironically, these pictures represent the end of a blissful era for me. The very next day, I received a call from my old principal that he had an opening and wanted me back. So, I’m no longer a Stay-At-Home Mama. Effective immediately. I can hardly believe it, but this was the perfect way to end it.

Wish me luck in this new chapter. And pray for my kiddos as we transition. It’s definitely going to be an adjustment for them, and your prayers for a smooth transition are appreciated.

I’ll keep you posted…

she is a genius

Can I brag on Kid 1 for just a moment? Hope that's a yes cause I'm going to do it anyway.

Jeff was playing some "math games" with her at bedtime tonight. This involves him saying things like "If I have 5 fingers and add 3 more fingers, how many will I have in all?" She then uses her hands to act out the problem and then they repeat the math fact together-5 plus 3 equals 8.

She LOVES this. She's WAY into numbers lately and is always asking me how much this plus that makes. I'm happy to oblige her...we always prayed that our kids would be strong in math.

Ok, on to the genius bit. So Jeff says to her, " How much is 1 finger plus 2 fingers plus 1 more finger." And he proceeds to start to repeat it so she can act it out with her hands. But she just looks at him and says, "Four. It's four, Papa."

My mouth was on the floor. As a former teacher, I know that mental math skills usually come in sometime in the Primary grades, depending on the kid. But this was impressive, if I do say so myself.

Guess I'll go start filling out her MENSA application now...

confession

I need to get a few things off my chest. And it's not going to be pretty.

There are days that I. Just. Don't. Want. To. Play. And I don't want to go for a bike ride. And I don't want to dress up. And I don't even want to color. Some days, I just don't want to be a Mom.

There. I said it.

Some days, I just want to do my travel planning work, clean the house, read a magazine, or do nothing at all. And sometimes, that feeling grows and grows, until I am so grouchy that I can't even stand to be around myself, let alone the noisy small people who reside in my house.

Of course, I love my children. But I guess I have this notion of what being at Stay-at-Home-Mom "should" be, and quite frankly, what goes on in my house is not that picture. I read some blogs and books and magazines where Motherhood is all sunshine and puppies and rainbows and light.

This ain't one of those blogs. And it certainly ain't one of those lives.

I'm not naive enough to think that those people don't have bad Mommy days. But I do think that it's OK to talk about it. Not only does it help the Mama in question, but I think it helps others too. Don't you feel a sense of relief when you read something and think "You must have a hidden camera in MY house, because I can totally relate to that."

There is more to this story, but I can't get my words around what is floating through my brain.

scenes from a birthday weekend

We’ve been busy partying our pants off this weekend and are gearing up for Round 3…Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Craig are on their way here this afternoon. Here are some of the highlights from the big 0-4!

Some people, who shall remain nameless, got a good chuckle out of Emerson’s red and blue Star Wars cake. In fact, the lady at the bakery was completely flummoxed and thought we were ordering for an absent kid. The rest of the party was {loosely} pirate themed, and we were prepared to create a galleon out of cake and frosting, but E was emphatic. It would be a Star Wars cake, goshdarnit. And so it was.

 

Here are few more of the highlights of our great weekend.

And as we were going to bed last night, I said, “I think 4 is going to be a great year, Big. Just think, 365 days of 4!”

silent pause from Emerson, and then…

“I CAN’T WAIT ‘TIL I’M FIVE!!”

Oh brother.

four

 

It’s official. We now have a four year-old. I’m not gonna lie…I’m not lamenting the departure of 3. But I love this girl!

 

(I’ll post more pics from the big birthday weekend later tonite, I hope)