First Day of School 2011

My girls had their first day of school on last Tuesday. It was a good day with a minimal amount of tears.

They only went for half a day and the parents were allowed to walk the Kindergarteners into the classroom. This was the first and last time that the teachers allowed it.

Sammy lined up outside at her class' designated spot and was all smiles. She was eager to start the day. At first she did not want me to go in with her and take pictures. Of course I had to take pictures of her first day.



After the pictures were taken she figuratively pushed me out of the classroom. She did not shed a single tear. I cannot say the same for myself. It is an emotional day for any mom when her baby starts Kindergarten.

Kindergarten Open House

I received a letter in the mail on Wednesday that the school was having Kindergarten Open House on Thursday at 6pm. It's a good thing that I did not have any plans with the amount of notice that they gave.

It was an opportunity for the kids and parents to meet the principal, meet the teachers, bring in supplies, take a tour of the school, and receive information that is needed for the upcoming school year. They did it a little different from the way it was done 2 years ago when I was there with Makenzie. This year school staff took the kids for a tour and snack while the parents stayed in the classroom with the teacher. It was great. Samantha's class has only 16 kids. She will have the regular classroom teacher as well as a Special Ed teacher or her assistant in the classroom at all times. Sammy does not require special ed services. They began having the Sp Ed teacher in the regular classroom instead of pulling students out when Jordan was in 4th grade (2005), which is much better in my opinion.

Having 2 teachers will be helpful with Samantha's separation issues and crying if they occur at school like they have at day care. It also benefits the regular ed kiddos having an extra person available to assist them if needed too.

School officially starts on Tuesday with a half day. On that day the parents are welcome to walk the kids to class and help get them settled. On Wednesday, which is the first full day of school, the teachers have said that the parents are not allowed to enter the building. They want the kids to leave the parents, not the other way around. They feel that this method is easier on the kids. I have to admit that I agree with them.

I am hoping for no tears from Sammy on Tuesday, but I can guarantee that I will not be able to keep mine at bay.

Sick Again -- UPDATED

I have been battling a sore throat for some time now, so when Makenzie complained this morning about a sore throat, I had to take a look. What I could see of her throat was red and swollen. So I got on the phone and called the pediatrician's office and they sent her for a throat culture at the lab.

It took longer for us to get Makenzie to cooperate for the swabbing of her throat than it took for the test to come back positive. So we took the note to the doctor and left with a script for antibiotics.

I guess it's now time for me to call my doctor and get an appointment too. :(


UPDATE: I went to the doctor and yes, I too have strep. I hope the rest of the family stays well.

The Countdown Has Begun

Samantha is so excited about starting Kindergarten next week that she asks every morning if this is the day that she goes to "big school". She has been attending a daycare/preschool since she was 18 months old so she refers to her sister's school as big school.

I am ready for the school year to begin and again I am not. The kids are getting bored and need the separation that going to school provides. This time away from each other makes the house so much more harmonious. There is less bickering during the school year with the exception of long breaks like Christmas and spring breaks. The reason that I am not ready should be obvious. I am not ready for my baby to be that old. It means that she is definitely a big kid.

Once the kids go back, so do I. I will be taking 2 online classes this fall. I decided that the class load that I carried during the spring semester was just too much, especially if I find a job. Yes, the job search still continues. There really are not many positions out there for my field of expertise. I spoke with one company that is hoping to have a position open up in the next 6 months that I am "perfect for". Their words, not mine. But in the mean time, I am still looking. I cannot bank on a hope.

Summer

After what seems like eons of 100 degree temps, I am ready for fall to get here NOW!!! Summer has never been my favorite season. As a kid I loved summer because it meant no school and lots of time at the pool. But even then, I did not like the summer heat.

At least this year we have a pool that we can go to basically whenever we want. It's a bit of a drive to get there, but it's free, which I like ALOT!!! The bad thing is I use about 4 gallons of gas for a round trip. The kids LOVE IT though so that makes it worth it.


Don't they look like they're having a great time?

Time. I Need More Time!

It has been a very hectic week and will only get worse. I have a total of 20 assignments that are due between Thursday & Saturday, on of which is a reflection paper for my university class that is ending on Saturday.

I planned to spend all day Thursday while the kids were at school working on these assignments. Well, plans have changed AGAIN!!!

I have spent some time volunteering at Sammy's daycare when they are in a bind and need an extra hand. I did so on Monday and did not get enough study time for my test that was due that day. Tuesday I was so wiped out that I took a nap before going grocery shopping, picking the kids up from school, and then babysitting for a friend while she went to the dentist.

Today I volunteered at daycare again. I then had to go to a workshop at the unemployment office. Sammy had gone to a friend's house for a play day, so I pick her up on my way home. Grandma picked Makenzie up from school, so they were waiting for me when I got home. Makenzie told me that she had a BIG headache. I felt her head and decided that I needed to take her temp. Sure enough, she had a fever of 102. I guess we will be taking a trick to the doctor's office tomorrow morning.

This is yet another wrench that was thrown into my schedule. Makenzie is usually pretty easy to take care of when she's sick. She'll lay around and watch TV most of the day. So I should be able to get at least the assignment done that are due on Thursday & Friday. That just leaves 17 others to get done by Saturday. Oh, did I mention that I have a family party to go to Saturday late afternoon/evening? So I need to have everything done by about 1:00 Saturday afternoon. Not sure it that will happen.

So, if you have any time to spare, I really could use it! Thank goodness the kids are spending the weekend with their grandparents. Hopefully that will make it possible to get everything accomplished by my 1pm deadline.

School Update

I have reached the mid-point of the semester at the comm. college. That means that I have 2 new classes that just started. The one class that I am taking through the university is ending this week. (THANK GOD!!!)

That one class had me questioning my decision to continue my education. Thankfully the university offers a coach. Steve, my coach, has been great. If I did not have that resource available to me, I probably would have made a mistake by quiting school. I was very discouraged at one point and by taking to Steve & getting some insight to the workings of the university & the experiences of other students to get things into perspective. Steve told me yesterday that he also found inspiration from me. I thought, "Wow. What did I do to inspire this guy? There's nothing special about me." He told me it was my determination (a nice word for being STUBBORN), my ability to handle so many things (school, family, etc.) and my ability to essentially take lemons and make lemonade.

I have tried to be as positive as possible, but there are times that it is very hard. I feel like I have so little time to focus on all the things that need to get done.