September 2016: The End of Maternity Leave...the Start of "Real" Life

I've never, ever, ever been so sad to see September go.  It's that time.  Time to put on my (literally bigger) big girl pants and head back to work.  Monday, October 3rd will mark my first day of the 16-17 school year at work.

I hate transitions...I'm a worrier so naturally I'm filled with worries of what it will be like as a working mom of three.  I think I'm just mostly scared of keeping all the day to day responsibilities afloat while feeling like I get good time with three kids in the evenings.  Will there be enough time to go around?

While I am fearful of the transition time, I am beyond thankful for the time I have gotten to be home.  I'm thankful I got to walk Cade to and from school and have time to play with Reese in the mornings.  Thankful for my time snuggling my Squishy baby and watching The Price is Right and endless reruns of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team  (I freaking love that show).  I suppose I'm even thankful I got to have my hernia repair surgery while on maternity leave and before my insurance deductible started over.  And, of course, I'm definitely thankful for my mom and Matt's help when I've been down during the recovery.

This September has been unlike any other, filled with:        

Baby smiles and snuggles!

A closer look at Reese's imagination! She was playing school and I think she would be a great teacher if she chooses that profession one day, if I do say so myself. ;)

Saturdays filled with baseball and t-ball!

Even a rock-painting party while G-Mom was here.  My mom has helped us out so much this summer.  I can't thank her enough for always being there for me when I need her and stepping in to take such good care of my family and I!  She's amazing!

I had never been to Chick-fila for breakfast so I put it on my "maternity leave bucket list" to go there one morning.  The last Friday of my leave I was able to mark it off the list.

September consisted of a lot of down time in my room and a lot of relying on other people as I had a surgery on the 8th.  Non-medical explanation, they tacked a large piece of mesh into my abdomen to repair two hernia places that resulted from my pregnancies.  It hasn't been a painful recovery, after the first week anyway, mostly just uncomfortable and inconvenient with the lifting restrictions (nothing over 10 pounds for four weeks except Cam--but definitely no lifting of the carrier or pushing a stroller or grocery cart).  That really limits a Mom!

In a way, it was nice to have the limitation of just snuggling on my bed with Squishy.  

I'm filled with mixed and conflicting emotions about spending 45+ hours a week away from my family and home.  But I have so, so much to be thankful for.  So many blessings!  And my job is definitely among those blessings.  It will be difficult to pick up the pieces of my classroom (they have had FOUR long-term substitutes while I was away...I don't even want to know the details of that) and get into a routine again.  It's time.  I'm as ready as I'm going to be.  Lord, give me strength!   

Back to School: Kindergarten Edition

This year our "back to school" transition has looked quite different.  In years past, it is mostly just about me returning to work and the kids returning to the sitter and preschool.  My first day won't be until October 3rd due to maternity leave so our school transition has been all about our big, full-day kindergartner!

We attended the school ice cream social and "Sneak-a-peek" to meet Cade's teacher and drop off school supplies.  His teacher gave him a special note to open the night before school starts.

And...being the all-star mom that I am...I totally forgot to have him open it!!

Clearly he wasn't as anxious about school as other kids might be, but all I could think about was the rest of the class discussing the glitter under their pillows and Cade not having a clue.

I left the opened letter on the pillow with some glitter nearby and filled Cade in when he woke up in the morning...he didn't seem too scarred for life.

Cade said he'd like to hold up a chalkboard so we quickly made it happen...next year I'll be checking into some printables perhaps.

Our group photos leave a little to be desired...

Cade thought we were crazy for walking to school, until we got to the end of our street and literally met up with about 8 other families walking to school.  (We are about a 4-minute walk to school.)  The kindergarten teachers are very wise and know that this can be quite the adjustment for moms and dads.  They welcomed the parents into the room and had a little art project that we got to do together and then the parents went to a breakfast in the library held by the principal.

Cade has adjusted extremely well to going to school, just as we knew he would!  He was ready.  It's so fun to see how much he enjoys school.  He loves the specials: library, computers, music, pe, and art.  He also enjoys reporting to us what was for lunch and what "center" he was at that day.  His teacher is extremely organized and very fun.

We have enjoyed our routine of walking Cade to school.  I get a little misty thinking about how I wish I could walk them to school every day...this is only a maternity leave luxury and what I will miss most when going back to work.

However, Cade is usually pretty wiped at the end of the school day and is less than excited to walk home.  I prefer to walk there to get some exercise so I've been bringing his bike so he can ride it home instead of walking.  (We talked about how we need to get a bike lock to be able to leave the bike at the school and he was so confused as to why we needed to lock it up.  This sweet boy can't imagine a world where someone would steal his bike!)

My new favorite thing is to go eat lunch with Cade at school.  It is beyond entertaining to eat with a table full of kindergartners!  Cade knows everyone's name so it's fun putting faces with names...and the kids are more than willing to share stories about the other kids in their class.  I learned a lot!

It's fun getting the post-school report from Cade but I'm nervous about keeping up with all the folder-checking and such once I go back to school myself...

I've got about three weeks left at home with my Squishy.  I prefer for these next weeks to pass by ever so slowly--and the rest of the school year to kindly fly by.

He's getting to be such a big kid already in the Bumbo.

So this year we learn the ins and outs of kindergarten with Cade and hopefully next year we'll be "experts" when Reese starts.  Then I'm sure it will all be new and different by the time we're seeing Cam off to school but I'm thankful for the journey!  God always teaches me so much with these new beginnings!

Winds of Change

Well, those winds of change blew me to a new school district to kick off my 7th year of teaching.  Change is always difficult.  Especially self-imposed change.

I'm a small-town girl at heart.  I've always desired to work and live in the same community--the same district.  It became clear that when the opportunity presented itself, I needed to make my world a little smaller, and my commute a little shorter.  Interestingly enough, making my world "smaller" somehow involved switching from teaching at a middle school that was pushing 750 students to a high school that's nearly 2200 students.

Change has been, well, change.  I've mourned the loss of the familiar and experienced several "firsts" of my teaching career.  But I know this is where I need to be.  And with time, it will feel like home.  I'm thankful to have a job--a fun job that I do enjoy--and that the weeks really seem to fly by.

This is my 3rd classroom to "make my own" since I've started teaching.  The first one since I've had kids.  We all know how that changes everything.  The time constraints of the daycare drop-off and pick-up really can be a game-changer.

Some "before" shots:

It's hard to get a feel from how it's set up just from the pics, but there's a classroom area in the front of the room with my desk area, 3 computers, and seats/tables for 28 students.

There are 7 cooking stations and a large pantry in the back half of the classroom.  The equipment was quite intimidating at first!  

Every class I inherit seems to have these 1980s food posters that I am NOT all about.  Good-bye.

Some "after" shots:

I was very excited about my Julia Child/inspirational quote wall that I worked on over the summer.  

I really like how it turned out!

I replaced a "Cheeses of the World" poster with my shrine to Alton.  Love that guy.

The equipment here makes me desire an upgrade at home, to say the least.

This bulletin board was a bit of an after-thought that just kind of evolved into existence, but I think it turned out to be a pretty fun way to organize the make-up assignment options.

One adjustment is that high school kids are so much bigger than middle school kids!  When we are all packed into the front of the room (classes range from 23-26 students this semester) it's hard for me to navigate around the room as well as I'd like.  And when we are all in the back of the room for lab it just seems so chaotic with all the clanging of the stainless steel and hubbub of students at work.

I teach four sections of Culinary Prep 1, one section of Baking & Food Science, and one "Advisory"/seminar period.  (Less preps and fewer sections than ever before in my teaching career.)  I love the curriculum and going deeper with the content.  I've already learned a ton!  

There is a lot I miss about middle school and specifially MT...but know that sewing is NOT one of them.  Phew!

It's overwhelming to think about how time and time again, God has provided.  Life lessons, friendships, encouragement--all when needed.  As a planner, I often want to know and control how things will turn out.  But, especially lately, I'm reminded that God's plans are always better than mine.

I'm so thankful for all of the people I've met and friendships I have from all of the places I've worked.  It's been fun taking a little journey back in time looking at past blog entries.  Some of my former worries definitely make me laugh.

All school-related posts here.

My first high school classroom here.  (All WRHS posts here.)

My middle school classroom here.  (All MTMS posts here.)

I could not have predicted this change, but that's the fun of the journey, I suppose!

Back to School

We enjoyed be-bopping around the back-to-school picnic...and then it happened.

We transitioned back to the working world. And we're doing fine. The kids seem to fit right in at the new sitter and I'm enjoying being back in my classroom at school.
I've always liked that I get to teach a couple sections of each grade-level so I get to have many of the same students over and over. Love those 3-peat FACSies. Most of them.

Our school building was painted over the summer and my FACS room got a facelift too! (Mainly so we can fit MORE kids in!) New tables, chairs, countertops, some appliances, sewing machines & cabinets, and a fancy demo mirror. Woo-hoo! Here's a sneak peak at all my new loot!

Love my personalized Erin Condren planner from Peggy!

Of course I miss our lazy days of summer, but I'm thankful that I really do enjoy my work at school. Now just to perfect that balance of things running smoothly both at home and at work...

Inspired by 8th Graders

Every semester my 8th grade FACS students participate in the MTMS Dessert Challenge. For this "challenge" they get to pick out their own recipes (in groups of 4) and make them for a panel of judges (other teachers and principals). It's fun to watch them take such pride in making pies from scratch or creating a multi-layer cake. Grocery shopping for this event is a nightmare, but I usually do walk away with a few recipes I'd like to try again myself. This year's winner...Oreo Balls...from a group of 4 boys. I've never attempted to make cake balls...I hear it's quite complex. I had one (advanced) group of girls venture to make cake balls from a cake they made from scratch. This resulted in their group (and me) staying after school until 4:30 one day. And actually, their cake balls were quite ugly. The boys on the other hand, easily finished within the 44 minute class period. And they were good. I attempted to make the recipe for our staff cookie exchange. Don't tell anyone...but the boys' turned out much prettier than mine. But they do taste great! And they were considerably easier than other cake ball recipes.

Scrape off icing from a pack of oreos. Mix the icing with a package of cream cheese until fluffy and crush up the cookies in a ziploc bag. (Crush them up until they are crumbs. I left mine as chunky pieces and I regret it). Mix in the crumbs with the fluffy icing/cream cheese mixture and shape into balls. Chill them in the fridge for a bit.

Then dip in almond bark.

The dipping was difficult. There had to have been an easier way.

Back in the fridge until ready to serve. Perhaps I need to ask the 8th grade boys for some tips...

Find the recipe at cooks.com.

Timberwolf Spirit!

Nothing like a tacky Christmas sweater party with co-workers to celebrate the season!

This year, I didn't mess around with my attire. I borrowed a festive Christmas JUMPER that had been retired from my mom's extensive Christmas collection. And Cade is modeling his monkey hat knitted by my Grandmama. He LOVES to wear it!

It was a fun-filled evening at Emily's house complete with a BBQ dinner and white elephant gift exchange.

Everyone showed their Christmas spirit with excellent outfits.

But I have to brag a little, my jumper did win me 1st place in the sweater contest. Nothing beats a jumper! I'm petitioning for all the teachers to wear their tacky Christmas attire to school the last day before break...mainly because that jumper was crazy comfortable!

Bring It On

11-12 School Year...we are ready. My pretty friends from MT (who are all pretty pregnant this year!) and our annual "First day of school" pic.

Guess I'll be the only one serving a full school year for the 11-12 year!

Almost There...

So the picture is a little premature. Three and a half days left. I love summer. I love my job--but it's also part of my job to love summer.
Middle school kids do crack me up, especially lately. We made smoothies in the "Food Prep" unit (which is way more fun than the sewing unit, by the way). We make a drink called "Cloud Nine" that I got from another FACS teacher. While they get to choose from a handful of recipes what they want to make, Cloud Nine is always a popular choice--I'm sure it's because it has ice cream in it. One student even said he tried to look the recipe up online so he could make it for his family. He said the only recipes he found when he searched it online all contained vodka. Whoops.

I was feeling generous this quarter so even the 6th graders got to make smoothies. This is ordinarily a luxury reserved for the 7th and 8th graders only. I am now reminded why that is so. Not one but TWO different groups didn't get their blenders screwed together tight enough causing their entire smoothie to leak out all over the blender and the counter. Poor kids were so disappointed they were practically licking it off the counter...I'm sure they would have if I wouldn't have forebode it. (Forebode?! I'm pretty sure that's right). A lot of the funny moments are at the expense of the 6th graders. Teaching them lifeskills is quite a trip. Heck, you haven't lived until you've tried to supervise 26 kids with 12 skillets making bacon. Scariest thing I've ever attempted. Now, you know I'm a pork-lover, but we've got to switch to turkey bacon if I ever attempt this again. 6th graders and gobs of grease DO NOT MIX.

Ah, three and a half days.