Break Over

Well it was a wonderful, fun, relaxing, busy and family filled 2 1/2 weeks but today it's back to all things normal. Today we go back to school, back to Tae Kwon Do, back to getting up early, back to making lunches, and back to routine. Break was nice but honestly we need to get back into a normal routine. The kids are starting to go a little crazy not having any "normal" in life. I definitely need to make sure that we have some sort of routine this summer or by the end of 3 months at home we may all be COMPLETELY CRAZY! So here we go head first back to "normal."

We had a wonderful visit with my in-laws and a fantastic Christmas. Santa was very very good to us. I'll blog about all that later, right now four empty lunch boxes are screaming to be filled.

Hungry Eyes

The title says it all, those are some hungry eyes! A couple of weeks ago Jonathan and I were making cookies for his class, and having an impromptu lesson on fractions. When I lifted the mixer to put the chocolate chips I caught him looking at the mixing beater with the hungry eyes. He did have the self control to only stare longingly and not actually lick the beater.

While we were making the cookies we had a talk about fractions and I was astounded at just how much he really understands about how fractions work. He knew exactly how many quarters would be in 2 1/4 cups. He was also able to break it into halves and quarters. Each measured ingredient he was able to talk about in at least two ways. He's in the first grade! I'm pretty sure I was in fifth or sixth grade before I understood fractions.

Thanksgiving Feast

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Jonathan's class had a Thanksgiving feast to celebrate. Jonathan and I decided that he would bring two foods he likes that way he knew there was some acceptable food to eat. We agreed to bring corn and chocolate chip cookies. We made the cookies together but that is a story for another day.

Being a working mom is tough sometimes. I love my job but it often means that I miss fun activities at Jonathan's school. Jonathan is pretty understanding but it's lame having to disappoint him so often. When he asked if I was coming to his feast I knew I'd have to disappoint him again. He took it well but was noticeably bummed at the news that I would not be coming.

As it turned out that Wednesday was a VERY slow day at work and I decided to take advantage of a slow day and sneak away for an early and longer than normal lunch. Jonathan was absolutely thrilled when I walked in the room. The look of excitement on his face was absolutely priceless.

His teacher, is fantastic but I'll blog about him later, had a turkey dessert craft for the kids to do and I got to help Jonathan and a few of his friends complete the cute project.

Jonathan's turkey project. He ate exactly the way he put it together, once piece at a time. Several friends tried to eat theirs in one bite. That was amusing to say the least!

His teacher asked the adults to prepare plates for each of the kids that way there weren't 22 1st graders walking across the classroom with paper plates full of food. The kids were so sweet when their food was delivered. Everyone said thank you and several kids even gave me a hug when I served them.
Jonathan's joy that I showed up is absolutely transparent on his sweet little face. I'm so glad I was able to get away and make his day!

Dan's New Job

So my plan was that I'd be far enough in my telling of our move to Alaska that the post about Dan's job would conveniently coincide with the first day of school. But today is the first day of school and that didn't happen. I wanted it to work "perfectly" but perfect doesn't exist so now is as good a time as any.

We decided we were moving to Alaska sometime after Christmas. People who know us really well probably weren't very surprised by this decision. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this place and how badly I wanted to be back in Alaska. It wasn't a decision we came to lightly. We spent a lot of time agonizing over the decision, talking pros and cons, jobs and daycare, friends and family, timing and transitions. A lot of tears were shed, almost all by me, and a decision was made. We would move to Alaska with or without jobs.

I should note here that things in our life have never fallen "perfectly" into place. We have moved into three of our homes after dark on the last day of the lease at the previous place. All but one of our jobs have been offered the day before the last paycheck for the previous job. Seriously it's all LAST MINUTE! For some reason I thought this time it would be different. Silly, silly me!

In May Dan got a call for a phone interview at a middle school near Fairbanks. It was for a position teaching math. It seemed like the perfect opportunity and it was May, we weren't moving until July, so having a job now would eliminate some stress and anxiety. The interview went well but Dan didn't get the job. We were crushed.

In June we came to Fairbanks for my 10 year high school reunion. While we were here Dan got a call for a math job at a different middle school in Fairbanks. This job was much closer to where we would be living. We were excited, we started counting on the job perhaps before we should have. Again the interview went well but Dan didn't get the job.

We both applied for countless more jobs and received countless rejections. At moments we started to doubt whether we were doing the right thing. But the we had passed the point of no return. Dan had resigned his job and the position was already filled, there was no turning back. And honestly I don't think it was ever a serious consideration.

So we packed, we cleaned, and we moved. We checked for jobs every night but there was nothing. Then one night in Edmonton a job came available. A middle school math position at the school where Dan had his first phone interview. So Dan applied. The school year was coming soon so the posting said the hiring process would be expedited. Less than 24 hours later Dan got an email asking him if he was interested in interviewing. He looked at the available times and they were all before we could possibly make it to Fairbanks. So he contacted the principal with other times and we hoped that he was flexible.

At this point the earliest we could possibly arrive in Fairbanks was late evening July 26. Dan got a response from the principal asking how 9am on July 27 would work. Dan readily took the time. So less than 12 hours after we arrived in town I drove Dan to his interview. (we arrived in Fairbanks so late there was NO way I was going to try and show him where to go, it was easier to drive him) And he rocked the interview and got the job. So with less than two weeks until the school year started Dan was employed. Last minute, of course, and yet so perfect!

And I'm SUPER PROUD of my husband!

1st Day

Today is Dan's 1st day at his new job.

It's his 1st day at a new school.

It's his 1st day meeting new co-workers.

It's his 1st day to get a real good look at his new classroom.

It's his 1st day at a job that he has dreamed about for a while. A job where he teaches math and only math.

Next Wednesday will be his 1st day with a whole new group of students.

And we are all so very PROUD that today is his 1st day.

Back

We are back in Pullman. We got back very early Sunday morning. We spent Sunday resting and relaxing and not unpacking. We are still not unpacked. I need to upload my camera to my computer and then I will start sharing about our trip to Alaska. I didn't want to go back to school today! Why is vacation always so short?

YAHOO

Its the LAST day of school before CHRISTMAS BREAK!
(Not that I'm excited or anything!)

Yahoo!

IT'S THE LAST WEEK
OF SCHOOL BEFORE

CHRISTMAS BREAK!

I'm so ready for a break. This semester has been great. I've had a great group of kids and I've learned a lot about teaching and about myself.

BUT...

I'm ready for VACATION!

And I know my mom is ready too! 5 DAYS!

Grades

Well most of my grades are up and I did well. I got a lower grade in my field experience than I was wanting. Our profs didn't like the unit we taught to our 4th grade students so we got a lower grade. Basically was all based on opinion so that sucks. All mine and my partners hard work and it come down to opinion not an actual rubric. GRRRR But its only a 1 credit class so it didn't drag my GPA down too much. (ok so my GPA for this semester was a 3.95, I can still be frustrated about a B... Right?) Now officially on to summer!

SUMMER

Praise the Lord its summer! I survived finals week and I am now officially on summer vacation. The kids have 2 more weeks of preschool and then we are home together for the summer. This week I'm going to lunch with a friend before she moves home, chaperoning a Jr. field trip with my husband, visiting the classroom I will be student teaching in next year, and doing some Wii Fit.

Last night I had this weird moment when I was asking Dan to do something and thinking that while he did that I would do homework. Then I realized I have no homework and I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself :) My husband has been fantastic the last few weeks as school got down to the wire for me. He has kept up the housework and kept up his work. I'm blessed by him so very very much!

So with school out hopefully I'll have a little more time to blog. My mom gets here on Saturday and her and I are taking a girls trip to Boise next week. Can't wait! We've also been working on a secret project in our home but y'all will have to wait for pictures until after my mom gets here. She lurks around here every now and then and I want the project to be a surprise to her.

A light at the end

I'm almost done. So close. I can see the light but I'm not quite close enough for it to seem real. I still have a few projects to get done, including this annoying case study on a reader. My online class didn't really prepare me enough to go out and try to apply this stuff. I feel a little lost trying to interpret my data. I had to get an extension because I didn't understand how to do one part and I ended up doing it completely wrong. I realized my mistake as I was looking at my data so I emailed my prof and got an extension until Friday. Once this is mailed off I think I'll relax little. Until then its back to work. I can't wait for the work to be done. Then I have a week before my mom comes and then we go to Boise for a girls trip for 3 or 4 days. Can't wait!

I've been so busy I haven't even been taking pictures. I have a lot to write about from this past weekend but I'm still thinking about how to write it so that will come after the paper is done.

All Emotional

I have been so emotional this week. I don't even know why but the littlest, strangest things will bring me to tears. I feel a little like a train wreck.

So much is going on in life right now and I think stress is playing a part in why I'm so emotional. Before we leave on May 1st for my SIL's college graduation I have a lot to accomplish. My school friends may want to stop reading now or they may be crying too...
*Dance paper 4/6 DONE
*Nonfiction Genre presentation 4/7
*Teach in art class 4/9
*Presentation on writing skill 4/13
*Music notebook due 4/14 DONE
*Teach in music 4/14
*Jason's birthday and 1 year pictures 4/18
*Plan and write lesson plans for an entire week 4/19
*Teach for an entire week 4/20-24
*Jason 1 year check up 4/20
*Literacy final 4/27
*Recorder test in music 4/28
*Certification test 4/29

Just looking at all of that makes me want to cry, and I'm sure I've forgotten something.

And while I'm ready for the school work to end I'm not really ready for school to end. School ending means that a majority of the friends I've made this year will be moving back home. That also makes me really sad. I very much enjoy the people I see everyday and not seeing them everyday will definitely be weird.

I'm Back

Finally, after what seems like forever, I feel like I have time to blog again. School is still incredibly busy and it probably will be until May. Mid-terms are over and I did fairly well.

My mom has come and gone but she'll be back in May just after school gets out. We had a great time while she was here. I still have several more posts, besides this one, about her trip in the works.

My birthday came and went and I had a fantastic time. We didn't do much on my actual birthday, just open presents. Dan got me new car speakers and installed them. I'm so excited! I have only had one working speaker in my car for almost a year now. Since I commute about 16 miles a day the music has been a little lame. I will be nice to have music with bass again!

Jason turned 11 months on the 18th. I can't be believe he's almost 1. Here is his 10 month picture with his bear to compare with 11 months, below.


Jonathan and Jason went to the Dr last week. Jonathan's asthma seems to be under control. The Dr said his breathing sounded great. Jason's ears are almost completely cleared up. There is no fluid in his right ear and just a little in his left. The Dr is confident that it will all be cleared up by his 1 year check-up. Praise the Lord!

And don't forget Kellsey's auction. Bidding ends today at 11:59 pm central time.

That's it for now but I'll be back tomorrow!

Back to the Daily Grind

My mom left yesterday after two full weeks here. We had a great time and I can't wait until she is here again in May. But for now its back to the daily grind. School starts again on Monday and I have a small project due Tuesday that I haven't started yet. I also found out the other day that I have to resubmit a paper for one of my classes because the teacher didn't like what I submitted. I'm super bummed about that because I thought I did a really good job. Oh well at least I get to resubmit rather than being stuck with a bad grade.

I have a really bad case of summeritis. I can't say senioritis because I'm not a senior yet but summeritis definitely fits the bill. I can't wait to sit on my deck, watch the boys play, and drink lemonade. I don't want to have to do homework everynight and read bunches of text books. I want to read a book for pleasure and not spend my day running all over the place for school. Ok I'm done whining, time to man up and finish out the semester.

I'll schedule some posts about my mom's trip with pictues for later this week. For now, to get y'all through, here's a picture of my cutie pie baby boy.

Blog Neglect

Oh I've been a bad blogger again. I'm still reading but mid-terms have keep me busier than should be legal. Thus I have been left with no time to write. My mom has been here and is still here until next Friday, so that is also keeping me busy. I've done homework, we've shopped and cooked and baked, we've stayed up too late and done nothing at the same time. It's been great. I have many wonderfully fun stories to share with y'all, if anyone out there is still reading, but they will have to wait. I'm off to bake something and then get ready for our day trip to Spokane tomorrow. Much to y'all!

A Busy Week

This week is going to be a busy one for me. My mom got here yesterday, which I am super excited about. It's also mid-terms week. I did my big mid-term project last week so that's one thing off my plate but I still have a reading journal to turn in tomorrow, and two tests on Thursday. I also have some stuff due for my online class on Friday.

I think we are all on the mend. Last week Jason had an ear infection, I had strep which I faithfully shared with my husband. But we all seem to be doing better now. Dan and I can swallow and talk again and Jason is sleeping again, which he wasn't before he got meds. And praise the Lord Jonathan seems to have missed the strep that Dan and I had. The Dr that I saw for my strep was nice and wrote a prescription for Dan and left it at the receptionist rather than making Dan come in for what we pretty much knew was strep. I was glad he did that cause it saved us a lot of money.

Great News

Thanks for all the prayers! My student teaching interview went fantastic! The principal is a really nice lady and actually remembered my husband, he student taught at the same school about 5 years ago, and was trilled to have me interested in being at the school. She asked me why I wanted to teach and then said "Welcome Aboard." I'm so excited!

Sorry I didn't post sooner. I have late class on Thursday and just got home.

Prayers

Hey my prayer warriors I have my student teaching interview at 12:46 Pacific Time. I really want to do my student teaching at this school and need to make a good impression on the principal. If she says yes then I'm good to go. Can y'all pray for me please? Thanks! Love y'all!

Bad Blogger

I've been a bad blogger. I'm behind on my commenting. I've been reading but not commenting. I haven't been writing, thought I've sat down to do so many times. School has me so busy. Mid-terms are coming up and while I only have one test I have a project and a paper to do as well. I do at least 150 pages of reading every week and spend most of my writing energy writing responses to what I'm reading. I'm a little overwhelmed. Last semester was a lot of work but all my reading had to be done by Sunday night so the week was free to do work. Now I have so much reading I can't keep up and I feel like I'm never going to get my head above water again. And its raining today which definitely isn't helping me at all. My mom will be here on the 8th and she's staying for 2 weeks. I have school one of the weeks she is here and the other week is my Spring Break. I'm excited to have her here!

Ok off to more reading before class.

Off

Well I'm off to the Mountain Christian League Basketball Tournament to watch the Pullman Christian School Eagles play. Pray they play well! See y'all later. I'll be twittering about the tournament so watch for updates. Love to y'all