A Big Easy weekend

After taking T. Willy to a birthday party on Saturday, we all drove to New Orleans for a few days. We had a really nice visit and too much food. But when you are in New Orleans, it is a requirement to eat!!!! On Monday we went to the city with the Grillmaster, the Mrs. and Miss (the Big Man's brother, wife and daughter.) We had a great day walking around the French Quarter, and, again, eating too much good food! It was T. Willy's first trip to the city and he loved the river and the ships. He did great and walked around like a champ, although he did let the Big Man carry him on his shoulders for awhile. MK was a great sport and very helpful holding his hand and keeping him occupied. She is a great big sister to him. We came home yesterday and pretty much spent today recuperating. So here is a picture of the 4 of us by the river and the "Natchez" as it prepared to take off. MK is not taller than I am yet...but it may not be long.

What's Happening.

Our plans for next year have been up in the air for awhile. This week one thing was solved. We were on a waiting list at our preschool of choice, 96th on the list to be exact, but I was trying to be optimistic. They called this week with an opening. The girl was laughing when I arrived because she said there was an opening and I said, "I'll be right there." And I was right there. It is right in our neighborhood and a good friend has children there, so we knew its reputation. This has solved one big dilemma and makes job hunting less stressful for me. I have expanded my search into a neighboring county, so we'll see if anything happens. Otherwise, I will try to sub in our county and hope the college can offer some more classes.

We have made plane reservations to go to Delaware in July. All 4 of us are going. The kids are really looking forward to seeing their grandparents and cousins. I am looking forward to my annual "crabfest" with my sister in law.

Finally, yesterday we were at Target. I saw a rather large handsome man walk by and realized it was former NFL player, Kevin Greene. We had seen him one other time, rumors are that he has a beach home down here. He graciously agreed to have his picture taken with me...so I am closing with that. Does it look like maybe I was a little more excited to meet him than he was to meet me? But, thank you, Kevin Greene!

Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures of Ty and me. The first is us when we arrived at the park the other day. The next is us at the mall. There is a carousel in the mall, and we have never taken him on it before. He was so excited, but when we started to put him on one of the animals, he said that he thought he would get off. So I rode with him on one of the seats, and he loved it. Maybe next time he will be more daring. No problem...I enjoyed it with him and he loved watching MK and her friend every time we went around.

A day at the park

MK had a busy few days, but T. Willy is already bored. He wants to be on the go at all times. So today I took him to a nearby park. It has some water features, sprinklers, etc, and I thought he would have a lot of fun with it, because he has gotten really brave in the pool.















However...he wanted nothing to do with the water. He just wanted to play on the slides and monkey bars, and the racecar.














He still had a great time, and was able to get out of the house, which he enjoyed the most. I just liked hanging out with him.

Checking in

MK had her first official babysitting job last night. She has watched T. Willy plenty of times and watched some kids at a party once, but the parents were all in another room. This was the first time she had been at someone else's house watching other people's children alone. The kids are 11 and 8, so didn't need a lot of care, but she was in charge. She had a blast. They were very well behaved and, when the mom called to check in, the daughter said she hoped that they weren't heading home yet. I think that's a good sign. Tonight she is spending the night at a friend's house, so she is aleady having an eventful summer.

Other than that, things are quiet here. I think T. Willy is going to miss school, because he has been drawing and coloring, and wants me to say some of the things his teacher said, "Stay in the lines," etc. He is so funny.

So, that's it for us. Have a great day!

Said by me today

"Why am I yelling at you with 15 minutes left in the school year?" Not my finest moment.

Today was the last day of school. It is so wonderful to have the entire summer ahead of me. I still don't know what the future holds, but right now lots of time with the kids and time in the pool. It was a good day overall. We gathered around the office after the students were dismissed and shared some hugs and a few tears. And that was it. I think it will sink in much later. It was such a fun place to work, and this year was the best out of the seven I spent there.

My mom traveled with some friends from church to New York for the memorial for Baby Jacob. She texted me that they arrived safely. The service is tonight and they will be able to spend some time with the family tomorrow.

That's about it. Have a great night!!

Pray

Many of you may have checked the sidebar and followed the sweet, short life of Baby Jacob. Please pray for this amazing family!

We have talked about the Fahmers in our class and prayed for Baby Jacob. We even took a trip to the office once to see pictures of him. I didn't check his site this weekend, so when we came in this morning, one of the kids asked about him. I told them that I would check when they went to P.E. We prayed for him as we always do. I came to the office just now and saw the news. I will tell them after lunch.

Thinking

We were touched by death twice this weekend. The first was a man who has been a part of my family's life since before I was born. He and his wife were very dear friends of my parents and if I remember correctly the first people to introduce themselves when my parents started attending the church that they still attend. He had battled health problems for quite some time, and was even hospitalized once when I was there, while the doctors were telling us to say goodbye. Incidentally, that was before T. Willy was born. That day I just sat by his bed and held his hand. He and his wife had agreed to "take me in" if something ever happened to my parents. At our wedding, they told the Big Man, "She's yours now," because they took that very seriously. I know that Mrs. V. is mourning today, but rejoicing in the hope of seeing him again.

The second was a friend from church. We weren't close, but she was a presence and always cheerful and friendly. She was also our age. She leaves a husband and three young children. We ate out on Sunday morning and saw her and her family there. She was so weak and in a wheelchair, so her kids were holding doors open. I grabbed the fourth door so I had a chance to say hello. It is quite shocking. She had been ill, but I think we were all hoping she would pull through.

Life is short.

Wrapping up

There are eight school days left in the year. Hooray! I have loved this year, but now that it is winding down, we are all ready for it to end. Today we had "camera day" and took lots and lots of pictures. I am going to post some. I did get permission from parents. I took a picture of myself with each student and plan to print them and then write a letter to each child and attach their pictures. It is amazing how attached I have become to each of these kids.

They journal every morning. I give them a topic and they write about it, then I respond to them. Yesterday the topic was to write about a special memory of the year. Today they were to write about what they will remember most about me. The most popular responses had to do with my, and I quote, "big bushy hair," and my red Liberty hoodie. It is often freezing in my room, so I keep the jacket at school most of the time. Once I exchanged it for another jacket and they revolted. So it was appropriate that I am wearing my jacket and having a "big bushy" hair day.

I am also going to add a picture, albeit squinty, of two of my coworkers and me. These two women have become so dear to me this year. We can talk about anything and share each other's burdens. I am not a woman who has a lot of "girlfriends," but these two qualify.

It was also red day at school to show support for the troops. It wasn't just a big coincidence. Although, I would wear red every day if I could.







So that is a literal snapshot into my life. I will miss this school very much, but am eager to see what lies ahead.

Party pictures

Not much going on. I was going to teach a summer class, but it was cancelled, so I am enjoying the extra time. As soon as my dryer goes off, my laundry will be all caught up, I cleaned out T. Willy's room today and even managed to cook dinner. I think the family is appreciative that the class was cancelled. Only about 3 weeks left of school, and then I'll be officially unemployed, but I plan to really enjoy the summer!

I just thought I'd post a few pictures of the party and then go to bed. I didn't ask any parents for permission to show their kids, so it's just a picture of MK and her smore, her "Hello Kitty" cupcakes and the tents in the morning.

Have a great week!!!
A

Slumber party...NOT!

When T. Willy was born we set the alarm on our house to chime every time a door opened, so that we would hear him in the event of an escape. I rethought that around 5:00 this morning. I "slept" on the living room sofa just in case they needed anything. Apparently they needed to enter and exit the house a few dozen times. However, I think they had a good time. Some of them actually slept for a few hours. MK and a couple of friends slept on the hammock under the stars for a couple of hours. I am pretty sure she will enjoy a long nap today. They have been swimming already this morning and made their own breakfasts, played Wii and are now playing Rock Band. I am laughing that I had visions of them sleeping in and not having time for breakfast before their parents came to get them. How naive!!! Two girls left last night and two have already left...only 7 to go!!!

Field Day and Slumber Party

Today was the last Field Day at our school. Everything is like that: the last this, the last that. But it was a lot of fun, and if I can figure it out, will post a picture of a coworker and me after we were pelted with water balloons.

My night class ended on Wednesday. All but 2 people passed, and I am so sad about the two that didn't. I loved the class, and have signed up for another one for the summer, but the numbers are light, so I don't know if I will get to do it. It's a different level of English, but should still be fun.

Finally, MK is having a slumber party tonight. The girls are here and wild already. They are playing "Rock Band" right now, so I stole some time away to blog. One girl realized that her boyfriend (yes, they're 13) lives around the corner and has asked no less than 5 times to go to his house, or if we could invite him here. Ugh. I will be keeping an eye on her. We borrowed some tents from some generous friends who even helped by putting them up! Great friends, thank you W & K! We are going to roast hot dogs and make smores...should be fun. I will post pictures tomorrow if I am awake enough to think!

Cinco de Mayo

I am the mother of a teenager!!! Happy Birthday, MK!!!!!

I loooove....

So yesterday T. Willy and I were driving into the parking lot at school. I mentioned to him that we were following Miss Becky, another teacher at school. He said, "I love...I looove....I looooove...." and I was expecting him to say Miss Becky. Instead he said, "I love Mr. Mike's parking space."

Busted again!

That is what I get for using real names in a previous post. You know who you are! I hope you'll write and let me know how you're doing!!!

Fab-u-lous

I have to admit; High School Musical on Ice was very entertaining. We sat on the ice, the most amazing seats I've ever had. The kids loved it...I sat by screaming girls (and boys - don't tell them I know) and they sang and danced and had a blast. But what did they come back to school talking about? In one scene, a character rips off his shirt to change into another. I finally had to ask them to stop talking about it, and still 2 girls wrote about it in their journals yesterday morning. Oh well. They had so much fun and were very well behaved. I have one student who is, we'll say, unpredictable. I sat right behind her to monitor her. No need...she was mesmerized from the second the lights went down until they came up. She didn't move. I have never seen that from her before. Too bad our classroom isn't sponsored by Disney.

The Big Man kept Ty home from school yesterday and took him strawberry picking. He sent pictures throughout the day and texted what they were doing. They had so much fun that T. Willy asked to go to bed at 7:30, when normally he doesn't go till sometime after 8. He was exhausted.

After the show, I had a doctor's appointment that I had been absolutely dreading. I have had a mole on my nose for quite a long time. It wasn't too bothersome, except when I wear glasses I could feel it. I scheduled an appointment about removing it last year and completely "forgot" to go. Anyway, I actually went to the appointment on Wednesday. It was the last appointment of the day, so I figured they would look at it, evaluate and then schedue the removal. Wrong...she removed it right then. It was the most painless procedure I've ever had. I didn't feel the shot, didn't feel the removal and still feel no pain or even tenderness. I can't believe I put it off for so long. It had been there since at least high school, and now it's GONE!

So, that's it for us. Have a great day!!!

Are you green with envy?

Well, maybe not. Tomorrow we are taking a school field trip. We are going to see...High School Musical on Ice! Could I be more excited? The answer to that is, yes, I could be more excited. However, it is a day away from the classroom, so that alone makes it fun. MK is very disappointed that she isn't going. She goes on and on about how much she doesn't like HSM, so I didn't get a ticket for her, but she was hoping for a day off of school. Oh well. She, of course, has seen HSM 1 and 2, she is just at the age where it isn't cool to say so.

Speaking of MK, her birthday is Monday. She will be 13. I am amazed every time I think about it. She has declared the month of May "Maddiepalooza." There will be no living with her.

No news on the job front for next year. I applied at another Christian school in town. There is a preschool there, so T. Willy and I took a tour of it yesterday. He seemed very comfortable and even asked to go outside where the kids were playing. I think he'll be just fine.

That's about it. Have a great day!!!

Happy Birthday, T. Willy!

Thursday was T. Willy's 4th birthday. We had his birthday party today. It was very simple and a lot of fun. We made new friends and caught up with old ones. Here is just a sampling of pictures.

Summer is on the way