Christmas 2008

What a crazy week we've had. My sister-in-law and her 4 kids came on Saturday the 20th, and left Christmas afternoon. They were pretty good, but the kids got bored pretty quick, and I don't have things to occupy an 11 and 7 year old. Oh-well.

I had fever from Sunday until Wednesday. And it didn't help that I was up until 2 every night and awake by 8. I am feeling better now though.

We went to my grandma's house on Wednesday, left cookies out for Santa before going to church and then opened presents after church. Blake was way too spoiled there! We drove home and a cranky Blake put out his cookie for Santa at home and went to bed. Kristina and I stayed up until about 3 getting the tree stocked and ready for 7 excited kids on Christmas morning.

All in all it was a great time, and Blake was the greatest! Christmas morning he went to the cookie plate and said, "MAMA!!! SANTA CAME AND ATE ALL THE COOKIES!!!"

I am off until January 5. I love being home, but also miss my kiddos at school!

Here are some pics of the week.

Blake made Christmas cookies


All of Great Grandma C's great grand kids


Santa came on the firetruck


The little cousins take a bath together


On the way to Great Nana's house


Cookies for Santa at Great Nana's house


Cookies for Santa at home. He was not very interested.


4 of the 7 kids were waiting.


Blake and Gabryel waiting patiently


Our living room!
Blake at 5:30 on Christmas night!

Advent Calendar

I have wanted to get an Advent Calendar for Blake, but didn't want a cheap-o one, so I googled "advent calendar" and came across a blog that is very crafty. I found what I thought was an easy, quick calendar. I bought the materials and got started yesterday while Blake napped. I worked on it for almost 6 hours last night, and have been working on it an hour today. I am more than half way finished, but still have about 8 pockets left to do. I HAVE to have it finished by tomorrow. It will be done, and I will post pictures.

Thanksgiving was nice. We went to my grandma's in Killeen, and I forgot the camera. Poki took some family pictures, and we'll see if I get them before Blake turns 5. I still don't have all of our wedding pictures.


***Here is the finished project! I only need the buttons.

2 months is too long?

I guess if I said not much has happened in the last 2 months I would be telling a story. School is going great, Blake is great, things at home are fine. Our washer is on the fritz. First, it would not run cold water, and then it stopped spinning. Joe replaced the part to make the water run, and now we are "helping" the washer spin. When it gets to the spin cycle, we start spinning it and eventually the pulley takes over. It's not fun. But it beats going to the washateria. We will probably get a new washer in the next 2 months or so, but we can't get one right now.

Trick or treating was so much fun on Friday. Joe and I agree that there was something missing, so we have begun to have a bit of baby fever again. Maybe we will start trying again in the spring.

We have been inconsistently putting Blake in underwear on the weekends. Friday night in the tub, he jumped up and said he had to pee. I put him on the toilet, and he peed. So, yesterday, I put him in underwear all day! He was dry from 8:45-2:30, had a poop accident, then napped, and was dry from 5 until 9. He actually peed on the potty last night too! This morning after breakfast, I put him on the toilet and told him to go pee-pee, and he did it! I am so excited! He is growing up so fast!!!

Blake has been dressing himself, putting socks and trying to put shoes on. He asked to go in the backyard jsut a few minutes ago, so I told him he needed to get dressed and he came out in shorts, a shirt, socks and shoes in hand. He is trying to get the shoe on now. He has just started, within the month or so, being really interested in dressing himself. He is very serious about it now!

First 2 weeks

Well, the first 2 weeks of school are over. I only cried one day, which Joe lovingly said, "don't show them weakness". Long story short, after 2 days of tantrums, a parent walked in and freaked out at what he saw. He wanted to pull his daughter from my class. We had a meeting and my administrators and I talked to him and explained why he saw what he saw, and how I was just as freaked out as he was at that particular moment. Anyway, he ended up keeping her in my class, and things are slowly falling into place. I now know why we start school the week before Labor day.....so the teachers have a mini=vaca so they come back to work. Otherwise, no first year teacher would ever come back!

I got to school on Tuesday, and decided that I was completely changing my schedule. BAD idea! We quickly found out that we needed to go back to the way we did it the first week and it was fine. One of the kids had the stomach bug on Wednesday and came on Thursday, but left early. He was out today. I feel really bad, but today was super easy! It's amazing how one kid can completely change the dynamics of a classroom.

We moved Blake back to the daycare he was in earlier this year. We tried a corporate daycare thinking it would be fine, but it didn't work out. We both felt like we were imposing on the teacher when we would drop off or pick up, and Blake got bitten for the 2nd time in the 3 weeks, and we were not notified. Both times he was bit, he had huge bruises in the shape of teeth. Not cool. I know kids bite, but they need to at least let us know. So, he is at the Kid Ranch here in Kyle, and has not cried 1 morning, and quickly fell back into the routine. He is completely back to his normal, silly self. I love this place!

Last week, I was in bed every night by 8, and this week I have been staying up a little later (9:00). It's really hard to get up at 5 every morning. I am not necessarily a late riser, but I don't like to get up before 6:30 or 7. Lucky for me (and my students), I have a 40 minute drive to help wake me up!

Cleaning

I am giving house the final "once over" before I go back to work. I feel like I just did this...oh-yeah, I did...about a week ago! It is so frustrating! I just finished Blake's playroom. He doesn't really play in there except when friends are over. A week ago Sunday, his cousin came to play and they DESTROYED it! Blake is good about keeping stuff organized, but R does not know how to play with stuff. He just dumps. Here they are just hanging out on my bed watching a movie. It is re-organized now, and I am about to tackle the other disaster areas. I am not very good at staying on track. As long as it gets done, right?

Tomorrow is my last class for a few weeks, and I go back to work on Monday. I am really excited, except my classroom is a mess too. I met with the previous teacher this week, and she was clearing out all her stuff, so by my first official day in the room, I will know what I have.

First Day Back

Today was my first day back in the "work" routine. I rolled out of bed at 6, and was ready to leave by 6:50 or so. This included getting Blake dressed and a light morning snack before we left. We were on the road at 7:02. I dropped Blake off at daycare, and went to my conference. At 7:40, I called a collegue that was coming also, and asked if I was at the right spot, because, NOONE was there. She said, "are you there already? I am not even out of bed yet!" What??? Our conference wasn't scheduled to start until 9. OOPS!!! So, I went to Chic-Fil-A and got breakfast, and spent an hour in the car just chillin'.

The conference was great, except we were sitting on kid sized chairs. If you have not done that for 4 hours, you should try it. I have gotten so much free stuff, that it totally makes up for the fee to get in! I am glad I was able to go.

I got my official offer from HR today. I go tomorrow and sign my contract! I am hoping to have access to my room on Wednesday!

I called at lunch to check on Blake, and she said he was doing great! I got there to pick him up, and he was happily walking throughout the room stopping every few seconds to check something out. The teachers said that he did WONDERFUL, and that he is a good listner, helper, and clean-up helper. I'm so proud of my big boy!!!

Finally!

So, this afternoon, I just called principal from interview 5 and left a voicemail asking what the status was. I explained that I had not heard from HR and that there is a workshop that I would like to attend on Monday, but won't pay for it if I don't know 100% that I got the job, and that I need to make daycare arrangements. That was at 1.

At 4:30, right in the middle of Oprah I might add, the phone rang. It was the principal. She said that she is glad that I called her because she was certain that HR had contacted me already. She said that I am definately the one she wants, and will get on the ball and make sure HR calls by the end of the week. I told her about the workshop and asked if the district was able to pay for it, or if I needed to pay out of pocket, and she said she would pay for it! I can't believe it! I got a job, and got the principal to pay for a $250 workshop!!!

Joe is out of town on a business trip, so Blake and I celebrated by going to the city pool! I know, we're wild! He scared the crap out of me. He got out of the pool, and I was right behind him. I looked away for about .003 seconds, and heard a splash, and he jumped in! I quickly got in and pulled him up and he thought it was HILARIOUS!!! The next 10 times, I was in the pool, and he jumped in with out any coercing at all! Now we really have to be careful around water!

Blake will start daycare on Monday, and I will have 3 days next week to get our house in order before the real chaos starts! Yay! I am so excited!!!

Update

Well, there is not an update to update you on.

Searching for a job really takes a toll on your mental health. I guess if I still had a job it really would not be that bad, but I don't.

I emailed interview 3 this morning, and just left a voicemail asking about the position. It has been pulled from the website.

I will call interview 5 tomorrow afternoon if I don't hear anything before then. You would think that if the principal was really interested (as she told one of my references and me) she would be on HR's tails to make an offer.

Blake and I went to check out a day care today. I like it. It is convienent for Joe, who will be taking him in the mornings, and convienent for me in the afternoons. And, on the nights I have school, he will be able to pick him up with no problem. I put a deposit down and have him tenatively starting on the 11th. I can up it if I need to (which I hope to need to do), and he can have a "free" day before starting. So, that helps for the day that I need to go to HR to fill out paperwork.

After the daycare, we went to Wal-Mart, which disappointed Blake since it wasn't the circle store. We managed though. We ate lunch at McD's and then browsed around until I realized it was nap time. We got in the car and started driving, Blake passed out. I tried to keep him awake, but it did not work. Usually we will get home and I can change him and lay him down and he will nap. Not today. After 90 minutes of putting him back to bed, I let him come out, put on Little Einsteins and took a quick catnap. He is exhausted, so I guess it will be an early evening! :)

Interviews 4 & 5 Summary

Interview 4--it was super far. I spent more time in the parking lot than actually in the interview. They asked the questions, I answered them, and they said they would let me know either way...that's it.

Interview 5--It started crappy. The principal said they were doing construction on the building, so I needed to call her before trying to come in. I began calling at 1:50--ten minutes before the interview. It went straight to voicemail. I tried the side door, and it was open, so I started to wander the halls trying to find someone, anyone who could help me. I found 2 custodians who did not speak English. Finally, I found some office staff, and I asked them about the principal. They didn't know where she was, and did not think she was coming back to the campus. One very nice lady walked me to the office, and I left a note on the door saying I was there at 2, and missed her. Please call me back to reschedule. I went back outside and was pissed. I called Joe, and started crying. A white VW pulled up and it was the principal. We went in and I had the attitude that I really did not want the job, but would interview for the practice. We talked for about 20 minutes, and then she took me to the classroom. It was nice. She asked if I wanted a tour of the building, but I told her no because I had already wandered and gave myself a self-tour. We went back to the office, and she asked me a few more questions, and then said that she thought I would be a great asset to her campus and would fit in perfectly. She said that she is not able to officially offer a job, but could recommend me to HR and then they call to offer. She asked about my references, and I explained who they were. She kept saying over and over that she wanted me there.

45 minutes later, I got a call from one of my references saying she just got off the phone with the principal, and that the principal told her she wanted to snatch me up before someone else did! Yay! I am so excited! I should hear something soon!

I have not heard anything from Interview 3 yet, but doubt I will get an offer from them. My references have not been checked yet.

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and I got an awesome haircut today!

Interview #5

Late yesterday afternoon, I received another call, and have a 5th interview on Thursday at 2! I can't believe I am getting all these calls! I really hope one falls through for me!

Interview #4

While at HEB picking up cat food, I got a call, and have interview #4 scheduled tomorrow at 3:30 for a PPCD position. The only down side is that it is in Round Rock, which is a little far for me, but at this point, I will take anything!

Interview #3

So, after feeling really down, and getting discouraged, I took a leap and emailed the Director of Special Ed for Hays CISD. I thought it wouldn't hurt. I didn't hear anything all week, which was OK since I know most of the district is on vacation now. Sunday night at 10, I checked my email, and had a message from a principal at a school in Buda. She said she had a position open, and thought I may be a good match for her campus, and wanted to know if I could come in at 11 to interview! Before I responded, I called a friend to see if she could watch Blake, and then emailed her back.

I dropped Blake off at my friend's house, and you would have thought he had been there a zillion times before. He walked in and got on the couch, took his shoes off and said, "bye, mommy!" I left and went to the interview. I got there about 5 minutes early, and went it. They were not quite finished de-briefing after the last interview, so the principal took me to the work room. That was totally fine with me. It allowed me to actually see what I looked like in a mirror rather than the reflection in my car window.

I was in the interview over an hour. My other 2 interviews were less than 30 minutes. I was asked some questions that once I came home thought of great answers to, but overall, I think I did great. I felt like they really wanted to get to know me, and let me explain myself even if I was talking in circles! About 5 minutes before the end of the interview, the principal told me about a training on Aug. 4 (which I took as a good thing), and asked me to resend my resume and a list of references when I got home.

The position is more perfect than I could have asked for. It is a co-teaching/inclusion position for Kinder through 2nd grade. There are a total of 14 SPED students on campus, with 3 (yes 3!!!) SPED teachers. That's roughly 5 kids per teacher! The best part is that it's co-teaching. I did that a few years ago in Prairie Lea, and it is wonderful!

I emailed the principal the things she asked for, and told her I was really excited about hte position, and looked forward to working with her. She responded this morning saying she would be in contact by the end of the week.

I am trying not to get too excited, but it's really hard. EEEK!!!

How time flies

June has flown by, and I can't believe today is the 18th! Blake is definately missing daycare...as am I. I really don't know how women do it every day of the year. I miss working, talking to adults, using my brain. Today we went to Goin' Bananas in south Austin. It was great. Blake played for 2 1/2 hours and did not want to leave at all. It was almost 1:30 (the middle of nap time) and we had not even eaten lunch! He was a trooper though! We went to Wendy's for lunch and then to his favorite circle store, Target. Luckily they were out of popcorn.

Joe's birthday is Sunday. We are going downtown on Saturday night. It looks like just work friends are coming and he is a little bummed. He wanted to go to Lake Charles and do some gambling, but we just can't right now! Maybe for my birthday!

Here are some pictures from the month so far.





Helping Grandma feed the birds




My little dare-devil






I really don't know what he is doing


I'm a cowboy


Just plain ole silly

Job update

Well, I did not get the job. A person in my co-hort (class at region 13) got the position. I kinda feel cheated. I have worked with 3-5 year olds for 6 years, and i can't get a job in a public school? I am very disappointed. I am a little turned off by the person who got it too. She texted me on Thursday to say they checked her references, then called me last night to tell me they offered and she accepted. Oh-well--maybe it's not meant to be. I have a mission next week to get as many resumes out there and get a job. I need to find something until school starts. I am not motivated to do any of it though.

Blake had a dentist visit yesterday, and it went great! She said we have done a great job at keeping his teeth clean, and we don't have to go back for a year! He got 2 toothbrushes, a plastic dinosaur and some stickers!

Joe went camping this weekend. I was originally supposed to go, but he told me early in the week that there were no other girls coming, so I backed out. Just what I want to do--spend the weekend with a bunch of drunk guys on the river. Turns out, there are some girls coming this afternoon. I guess I will just stay at home.

Interview

I had an interview this afternoon for a PPCD position. I left not knowing how it went. I think I am a great candidate, but did they? One of the six (yes 6!!) people, I know and have worked with professionally for a few years, but it is still an unnerving feeling. I will know something by next Tuesday at 5 p.m. Keep your thoughts and prayers coming! I really need this!

Joe's family came over on Sunday. It was nice...for the most part. Here are all the kids. Bianca is going into 5th grade. She is holding Olivia & Adam, and Robbie is sitting on the floor in the front of her. Gabryel is on the floor in the middle, and Michael is trying really hard to hold Blake. Olivia just turned one, Adam is almost 7 months, Gabryel is 3, Robbie will be 2 next month, Michael is 6 and Blake is 2. It was really hard to get them all to sit still for this picture. We took 6 I think, and this was the best one.

Kung Fu Panda

We took Blake to see Kung Fu Panda this afternoon! He loved it. It is a great movie for kids and there is enough funny stuff for the parents, too! We had attempted to take him once before to see Horton Hears a Who. We had to leave about 45 mintues into the movie! We were very proud of him!

My camera battery is kaput, and I am waiting patiently for the new one in the mail. We are having the in-laws over tomorrow, and I won't be able to take pictures of all the kids together. Maybe I will break out the big camera...

Unemployed

I am officially unemployed! I don't think I like it. It wouldn't be so bad if I knew I were getting unemployment. It wouldn't be so bad if we had a savings! Nope, nothing! I know now that we have to get at least 2 months built up of ONE of our incomes in the savings. We haven't even started feeling the crunch, but I know it is coming. That is the worst part.

Blake has been running a fever since Tuesday afternoon. I made an appointment for him yesterday, and they say, "he has a virus". No ear infection, just a bug. Don't get me wrong, I am glad he doesn't have an ear infection, or anything serious, but I want to be able to treat him with something other than Motrin or Tylenol.

He did wake up happy this morning though! He slept in until about 8, and Joe & I were getting worried, because he was over an hour late waking us up. I walked out of our room just as he was coming in. He watched some cartoons while I got ready, and after breakfast, we went shopping. I know, shopping when you don't have the funds??? I only spent $4.32. Carter's was having a sale, and I found a cute fall jacket for $3.99! I couldn't pass it up. We went to Chic-Fil-A and got our free meal. Two weeks ago, Joe brought home dinner, and they forgot Blake's meal. We called, and got a free adult meal and kid's meal! Anyway, we ate, and then it was play time! Blake played for about 45 minutes. Lots of kids were coming in and out and then a cute little 3 year old came in. We should have left. He was being a little mean to Blake, but nothing too bad. He comes down the slide, gets up, and his pants are wet. Mom & Dad wisk him away and it's just Blake again. Then I hear, "OOOOOOOOOOOOHHH, pretty...Water!" And splashing with his hands and feet. Picture me, climbing up to the top of the playscape, trying to carry a screaming toddler down who is covered in someone else's urine!!! And, of course, it was through the tunnel the furthest away from the steps!

I came out and told this nice lady that someone else's kid peed in the playscape, and they needed to clean it, and all she said was, "oh-you want a refill". Granted, she didn't speak much English, but still. I said nothing about a refill! I told the manager, and he sent one of the high schoolers up there!

My First Blog

Well, I thought I would join in on the bandwagon and create my very own blog! I am a 29 mommy of an almost 2 year old. I have been happily married for 5 years to Joe and we live in Kyle.

Right now, I am in the midst of going through the Educator Certification Program with Region XIII. I have two more online classes and then I start going to east Austin 3 days a week for a total of 12 hours. This is all happening in the evenings and Saturday! I can't wait! No, really, it should be fun and exciting. I never should have changed majors in college, or maybe I should have stayed that extra semester to get certified in the first place. You live, you learn.

Blake's birthday is coming up on March 3. No, I have not sent out his party invitations yet. I know I am slacking. I did give one to Jennifer yesterday. Almost everyone else knows about it though. So no surprises! The only thing I know is that we are having the party at the house and the time. I have not planned any further than that. I know it is 2 weeks away, but I have been so busy, that I just put it off. I actually woke up in a sweat last weekend because I hadn't gotten the invitations done and mailed. They will be at the Kyle Post Office bright and early on Tuesday!