Practice

     The popular word this time of year is 'resolution'. I hate making resolutions because I, invariably, like everyone else, break that resolution or lose sight of it within the first quarter of the year. Popular resolutions are 'lose weight', 'exercise', 'eat healthy', etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... While those are all fine and good, reality is not many people have the follow through to get those done or stay on the regimen that requires those to be done. Unfortunately, life 'gets in the way' and excuses abound for why we can't do this, that, or the other thing. I have used the excuse all school year that I'm too busy with work, with kids, with soccer to exercise. This past summer I used the excuse that we were moving and I had to pack. Excuses, excuses, excuses. We all have them in one way or another.

     I saw on a friend's Facebook page today that instead of making a resolution, she was going to pick a word - just one word - that would be her focus this year (see http://myoneword.org/ for more info). I like this idea because this one word can be incorporated into all aspects of your life. My word this year is PRACTICE. Why practice? As a teacher, I encourage my students to practice the skills that we are learning in class. Will they make mistakes as they practice? Most certainly! But that's the beauty of practice. You make a mistake, you pick yourself up, and you try again. Eventually, after enough practice, you have mastered the skill and it becomes second nature - you can do this now without thinking. I don't think that resolutions offer that great buffer of making mistakes. They tend to have that feeling of 'I'm going to do this, but once I make a mistake, fall off the wagon, etc, that's it. I'm done.' I want to practice making some changes this year. Will I make mistakes? Fall off the wagon? Stray from where I want to be? Of course! I'm human and we live in a world with a lot of readily available temptations.

     What am I going to practice this year? I'm going to practice living a healthier life. I'm going to practice exercise during the week, making healthier food choices, and getting to bed at an earlier time during the week. I'm going to practice more financial responsibility. Taking care of my family on less money and making better financial decisions for the livelihood of my family. I'm going to practice patience. Patience at school, at home, in public. Patience with family (especially my children 😊), coworkers, and strangers. I'm going to practice humility. I'm in an different position than I was a year and a half ago - my opinion and ideas at school are valued and sought out many days. I don't always handle it as graciously as I should. I'm going to practice love. I have some students that will give me lots of practice in that arena. But I really also need to practice love at home - letting my children know that I love them all the time, no matter what they do, showing my husband that I love him and value him and all he does for us. Will there be other things I need to practice? Probably. But I think I need to master a few of these before I can move on to some of those other areas that need practice. 

     I encourage you to think of a word that you can apply to your life this year and think of all the ways that it fits into your life. It's an interesting concept. Happy New Year. May it be filled abundantly for you.

It's Been A While

Life is busy and I've used that as a reason (excuse!) to not write here for awhile. I love my new job, but driving an hour round trip every day kind of cuts into my free time. (Look! Another excuse!) The oldest three kids all played indoor soccer over the winter months - I know, shocking news, isn't it? CED played on 1 1/2 teams throughout two of the three sessions. How 1 1/2, you ask? For the second and third sessions of indoor, there were enough girls from her outdoor team that wanted to play indoor to split them up into two different teams. CED was able to play for her team and sub in for about half of the other team's games. JAD played all three sessions with K serving as coach. His team ended up 18-1 when all was said and done. It was pretty exciting to see them play! JED also had the opportunity to play with his indoor team from last year for the second and third sessions. The boys had a lot of fun and really started to gel over the final few games. It's quite amusing to watch nine and ten year olds swagger down the field (or pitch, as JAD would correct me) and swagger they did - even JED. So, all in all, we were fairly busy during our 'off' months from soccer. Although the true off time is really June. That's it. Never thought soccer was a year round sport, did you? Well, I'm here to testify... It is!

The oldest two started back to outdoor practice mid-January. Yes, OUTDOOR practice. At night. Most nights they were practicing with gloves and hats on and parents were madly walking the track around the field in an effort to stay warm. Our first tournament was at the end of February and it was an eye-opener as far as team play was concerned for both JAD and CED's teams. CED's team ended up tying all three games, which we were quite happy with as ten of the 18 girls are all playing up a year which means bigger girls on opposing teams. JAD's team, unfortunately, went 0-3. It's disappointing as we all know what capabilities these boys have and what they are not living up to - especially those of us that watched them dominate on the indoor field. Both kids have undergone coaching changes as well this spring. JAD's came as not much of a surprise as his coach received a promotion at work. CED's came out of nowhere with her coach backdooring the team and dropping them the week of their first game. That was frustrating, but the girls have come out ahead as their new head coach has been really well received by them and is making some great changes. K has also been given the opportunity to be the assistant coach, which he is really enjoying, as well. Girls and parents are all happy to have him on the team to help out. We are still not thrilled with the changes on JAD's team, but I won't go into my laundry list of all I think is wrong. Let's just say its lengthy and I'll leave it at that. :)

All the kids are doing really well at school and seem happy with where they're at. JAD is a typical teen and refers to school as 'jail', but I know he'd rather be at Vanguard than our home high school. CED is happy as well and wouldn't change back for anything. In fact, she now has a boyfriend. Oh yes, we have entered that stage in life. Fortunately, you have to be a pretty good kid to make it into the school and stay there, so we aren't too worried. Yet. JED and MED both like being at school with me and they are both blossoming and doing well in school. JED has been moved into all of the 'high' groups in math, reading, and writing and even attends reading with the gifted and high achieving kids in the third grade. MED is being given a lot of enrichment work, particularly in reading, as she is reading third grade chapter books on her own time. She is an avid reader and is reading to MAD all the time. MAD is working on reading sight words now and loves to practice writing letters and words, often copying words and sentences she sees in books. This last week she learned to tie her shoes by herself and couldn't be happier to show anyone that will sit for a moment her newly acquired skill.

 We are fully back into our outdoor soccer season now. JAD and CED played their third games today while JED played his first of the season. MED and MAD are beyond excited to be starting practice on Tuesday and play in their first game next Saturday. So, we will be back to our crazy schedules of usually four games per Saturday. At least most Sundays are 'days off'. I think this somewhat catches you up with us for the last few missing months. Maybe if I can get my act together, in the midst of avoiding schoolwork I've avoided all spring break, I'll post about our weekend in Glenwood Springs a week ago. It was a great relaxing weekend for us and the weather - even in the mountains!- was absolutely glorious.

Signing off...

The Asylum is Almost Open

This year's Halloween theme at our house is the 'Red Oak Asylum'.  The whole family is taking part in this theme, with all of us dressing as doctors, nurses, and patients.  This is what our front yard is shaping up to look like, with a day left to go before we open for business.

We are looking forward to admitting new patients tomorrow...

Carving Pumpkins

This afternoon, we finally got around to carving pumpkins.  We let the little ones draw their own faces and then we came back through and 'helped' the drawings before carving.  The older three designed their pumpkins, but K and I took over the carving process for all involved.  I did manage to get a few pictures of the process.  Currently, CED is cleaning the gunk off all the seeds so we can roast them.  Yum!

Carving pumpkins is always an interesting experience in our house.  JAD and I had a wrestling match over who could get pumpkin goo on the other person.  Sadly, it was a draw.  The kid is almost as tall as me now.  A couple more inches and I'll start looking up at him.

It's Never Really Over

The fall soccer season is slowly winding to a close.  We have make up games that have yet to be scheduled, but most of the kids have their last games of the season next weekend.  I'm not sure when the make up games will be, but considering I get to reschedule those, hopefully they'll be really soon or they'll just have to wait til the spring season.  Except for JED - I have to get his done in the next week or so.  Yikes!  Anyway... soccer pictures have been taken for the two little girls' teams and, although I'm too cheap to buy the professionally done pictures, I did snap a couple with my phone.  Classy, eh?

Here is MED with her team and coach.  We really enjoyed watching her play this fall.  She went from being this sweet little girl to a fierce competitor on the field.  In her second game on Saturday, she scored four goals!

MAD with her team.  She was part of the Itty Bitty Soccer Academy and she had a ball while doing it.  This past weekend she scored three goals!

MAD with Flavio - the club director and her favorite person at soccer.

Now we begin the segue and overlap from outdoor soccer to indoor...

It's My Blog and I Can Brag If I Want To

It's conference time around here and the first round of report cards are trickling in.  In the midst of doing my classroom conferences, I've been moving around to my own kids' teachers to hear what wonderful (and not so wonderful) things they have to say.  I started off yesterday morning with JEDs conference.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he received one B and the rest As on his report card.  He is also being moved up to the high math and writing groups (already has been in the high reading group).  He's showing some great abilities in school academically (which we already knew, but being at a new school the teachers didn't know) and hopefully moving him up will curb his need to be naughty.  I was really proud of him, however, and excited to see that he is doing as well as he is.
Conference number two yesterday was for MED.  Her teacher gushed on and on about how sweet a little girl she is, how mature she is, what a great helper she is... I could go on and on.  MED loves school and you can see that from the moment she walks in to the building.  Her teacher is already providing enrichment in the area of reading and MED regularly gets chapter books to read where most of her counterparts are reading shorter books.  She loves to read - MED will finish a book within days of starting it.  Junie B. Jones are some of her favorites right now.  I knew MEDs conference would be good and I wasn't disappointed!
At the end of my class conferences, I headed off to CEDs conference at her school.  CED didn't want to attend her school at first and she gave her dad and I a really hard time.  For the first week of school, she cried, pouted, argued, gave us the cold shoulder, glared at us, glared at others, snapped at her siblings... I could go on and on.  She finally has given up on trying to convince us to put her back at her old school and she's adjusted and adapted to her new school.  She has lots of new friends and has really blossomed back into the girl and student we know her to be.  In fact, kids regularly tell her that she's the teacher's favorite student and recently she received the highest grade on a history test that teachers there have ever seen.  Anyway, her report card was wonderful - especially considering a pretty serious learning curve with the requirements and methods this school has.  Her teacher couldn't think of anything she needed to work on.  Wow!  Again, I was really pleased to hear all the great things said (who wouldn't be?).
The next conference, for JAD, will be next Wednesday.  I'm not overly looking forward to that one.  My super-bright-son-who-doesn't-want-to-apply-himself will have an interesting conference, I know.  He has decided that being the class clown is more important than being the quiet kid that pleases the teacher and does everything he's asked.  So, I'm sure I'll learn some interesting facts about him next week.  I can't complain too much, however.  He's not on drugs, he's generally very respectful, and he has a pretty high moral code.  All the things we want for our kids.
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This past Thursday, MED was part of another community performance through the conservatory.  We were asked weeks ago if she could be part of the performing group, but it was in the morning and I had to be at conferences (can't take off on that day!) and K was in Arizona at a company business meeting.  They were very understanding, but sad that she couldn't be there.  This past Monday though, I received a phone call.  It turns out this breakfast was a fundraiser for CPCD (Community Partnership for Child Development - the governing group over Headstart, which MED attended two years ago).  They were specifically requesting my daughter to be there.  The director of the conservatory offered to bring MED to and from the performance as long as I didn't mind.  Mind?  Not at all!  So, Wednesday night we headed off to the sound check where we met several nice ladies, the event coordinators, from CPCD who informed us that they see my MED as the face of CPCD and Headstart.  Seriously?  That's pretty cool!  Thursday morning, MED was picked up at 6:30 am to head off to shine and hopefully help CPCD garner some more funding for their programming with her cute smile.  She had to be up before 6 so I could get her 'performance ready' - something I think she might be doing a lot in the next few years as she gets more and more involved with the conservatory.  I am so blessed that she is doing this - her confidence level is through the roof... and she is not 'big-headed' in any way.

I do love my kids.  They may do things at home that drive me crazy (to the point of insanity!), but they are good, kind people to their very core and they just bless me immensely every day.

The Story Continues...

I think my children are secretly and quietly planning a mutiny against me.

Parenting can really, really suck sometimes.

The End

A Night Out

Last night, K and I were able to get away for the evening (I love having teenage kids - built in babysitters!) and we went to see a play and have dinner. We have a local fine arts center here in town and they put on plays every other month October - May. The ticket prices are reasonable (for theater), the acting is very good, and the theater is cozy and personal. Last night we went and saw Stephen Sondheim's musical 'Assassins'. The play is about the men and women who have assassinated presidents or made attempts to assassinate presidents. I thought it was an odd play - not so much in the content, but in the way that it was presented. There were some very funny moments, however, and I really did enjoy two of the characters very much. Maybe they remind me of me and how I'm slowly losing my mind. Regardless, it was still nice to get out and see a play again. After the play, we went to Macaroni Grill (think a tad more upscale than Olive Garden if you've never been) and pretty much had the restaurant to ourselves. We had a nice time being able to talk without interruption from any number of kids and we enjoyed sharing our main dishes and appetizer. Our waiter was very attentive and kind, checking on us without hovering, but not ignoring us either considering it was nearing closing time and he had a lot of cleaning up to do. All in all, I had a wonderful night out with my husband. I'm looking forward to our next date night (hint, hint!).

A Severe Strain

I would like to report that my children are a severe strain on my sanity and, while that may be true many many times of the week, that's not what I'm referring to. My oldest child, JAD took a hard kick to his right knee (of course, his dominant kicking leg - remember, soccer) at practice about two weeks ago. Since then, he has been limping around moaning about the pain and how much his knee hurts. Does this mean that he's stopped playing soccer? Of course not! I'm a stupid mother for even uttering those words. No and soccer are two words that should never be uttered sequentially in my house around the ears of my 14 year old. So, K and I decided that we should finally get him in to the doctor after watching him barely be able to walk by this past Saturday morning.

I was able to get him in to an orthopedic doctor this afternoon and, after four x-rays and a quick examination by the doctor, we learned that he has a Grade 1 tear of his medial ligament. Where is that, you say? It's the ligament on the inside of your knee that attaches the femur and the tibia (who knew you'd read this and get a minor anatomy lesson?). He tore some of the ligament away from his femur and has severely sprained it. Now JAD has to wear a hinged knee brace for 6 weeks and ice it after all activity. He also has about 9 exercises that he needs to do every day for the next 6 weeks to strengthen and help heal the ligament. The doctor also cleared him to play. I was shocked when I heard this. I was expecting him to say he needed to take a couple of weeks off - after all, he had just said that the regular knee brace JAD has been wearing isn't sturdy enough and he would need a hinged brace. Doesn't this somehow mean that his knee is weaker than we thought? But what do I know? I'm just a silly old mom. The doctor actually looked at me when he told JAD that he could play again and said, "Did you want me to say something else?" Umm. Ya. Like tell my kid he needs some time off for rehabilitation.

So, I dropped him off at school this afternoon suited up for his high school game. I'm just praying that he will be smart (he won't be) and careful (he won't be) while he plays. The last thing I need to do is go back to the doctor to tell him what a dumbass he was for clearing my kid to play.

The end.

Another Soccer Player is Born

Well, okay, she wasn't born yesterday, but we have yet another soccer player in our house. This makes for a grand total of all five kids as MED is also playing soccer. MAD started playing this month as part of Corinthians Soccer's Itty Bity Soccer Academy. How cute is that? Kids ages 3, 4, and 5 are part of this Academy and they practice once a week on ball handling skills and basic team playing skills. It's complete chaos, but the kids are having a grand ole time while doing it. On Saturday mornings, they come out to a 'real soccer field' to scrimmage against one another. It is total craziness, but the parents get a good laugh while watching our kids 'play' and all the little ones have a blast running around chasing the ball. No score is kept and all kids are cheered by all parents. MAD has latched on to the club director, Flavio, and I fear if he isn't there one day, she'll refuse to even walk onto the field. This whole experience adds levity to our competitive schedule and it's fun to watch kids just have fun playing the game of soccer without worrying about stats, goals, and level of play. So, Saturday mornings, you'll find one or both of us parents enjoying the game of soccer in its purest form ever. Through the eyes of a four year old.

Our littlest soccer player. Isn't she cute enough to eat?

MAD standing by her new favorite person, Flavio

A Shining Star

A couple of weeks ago, MED had the opportunity to sing for the kickoff of Pike's Peak United Way Yearly Campaign. I took the morning off to take her there and watch the whole process. Six children (three first graders and three third graders) were chosen for this presentation and they learned an adorable song written by Linda Weise (director of the Colorado Springs Conservatory and Juiliard alum) to the tune of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. All of the local major news networks were filming and there were about 40 or so people in attendance. MED was placed front and center for the performance (pure luck!) and she sang her little heart out. I am so proud of how she has no fear performing in front of people she doesn't know. Being a part of the conservatory program has given her amazing confidence.

Here are three of the kids as they are warming up and practicing for their performance. I'm not sure what MED is doing. I don't think the girl to her right is sure, either.

The lady in the picture is Linda Weise, director of the Colorado Springs Conservatory. She is an incredibly talented lady and super, super nice to boot! Could they have picked cuter kids? I don't think so!

Six

MED turned six this week. She is our child who wears her heart on her sleeve. You always know how she's feeling because she's either laughing, crying, smiling, scowling, or somewhere in between. She is a champion for the weaker people and animals in our world. She will always stop to help someone who needs it - holding a door open, picking up spilled papers, sharing food - whatever they need. She is the child who is always good for a hug and a snuggle. When K is home, you will often find her snuggled up to him, reading a book, coloring, or watching TV. She loves being on stage performing in front of others. On the soccer field, she becomes a fierce, intensive player intent upon scoring a goal or moving the ball back down to her side of the field. And then she turns around to her teammates and tells them good job. She's such a beautiful addition to our family - I couldn't imagine our lives without her in it. Happy 6th birthday, MED. We love you so very, very much.

I'm Back

It's been a long time since I've posted and that's because we have been so very, very, very busy. Did I mention we've been very busy? K started his new job two weeks ago and, so far, is enjoying being back in the corporate world. It's even better because it's the corporate agriculture world. However, he's not home during the week, so I am the one and only taxi to soccer practices and games and what-have-you. I leave for school at 6:35 in the morning with the three youngest, drop MAD off at daycare and then head up to school with the other two. I leave school no later than 3:00 (except on Wednesdays - meeting day) to begin the long process of picking kids up, getting them home to change for practice, and heading back out again. We get home, on an early day, at 7:45 and on a late day at 8:30. Then, it's dinner, baths, and getting little people to bed. Then I talk to the oldest as they get homework done and I attempt to get some schoolwork done. We go to bed and it all begins again. Needless to say, I've been running on fumes much of the time and blogging is the last thing I have energy to do. That and working out. That's gone out the window as well. Hopefully I can figure out how to work that back into my schedule - I think it will make me a little more bearable.
So, we are fully into soccer season. The three oldest have all been going for a while (practices, that is), but this week both MAD and MED have gotten started with their practices as well. Fortunately, everyone practices in the same vicinity, which makes for easy travel, but we are at the practice field five days a week. Also add to this that JAD is playing high school soccer (on top of club) and he plays in games for that, as well. This weekend, the three oldest all have games - and JAD has two. Another Saturday in the car. :)
JAD has the great opportunity to get some experience playing on the varsity team along with his usual JV playing. At the first game of the season on Friday, he was put in the varsity game for about 10 minutes. This may not seem like much, but it was enough for him to play in a game that gave him some idea of what the competition would be like. Directly after the varsity game, JAD also played a full game in the JV game. He is one of the captains on the JV team and he was quite verbal with the team giving directions while on the field. He's disappointed in the fact that there are some boys on the team that have never played soccer before. K and I are trying to point out that he has to look at his current high school experience as more 'fun' than competition. But how do you explain that one to a kid that is determined to win in all he does - especially if it's related to soccer? Needless to say, he's out there to win and, dammit, so should everybody else.
To add to the excitement around the house, CED has changed schools two weeks into the school year. She has been on the waiting list at CMCA (a charter school - same as where JAD attends - and one of the top high schools in the state... year after year) and her 'number' finally came up. Last weekend was spent getting all new school supplies and new school uniforms (colors are completely different from the middle school she was attending - of course) and convincing her that this was going to be a good thing. She wasn't buying my song and pony dance and the first couple days of school were rather rough. She was angry about having to leave her friends and change to another school, so things became much harder on her (at her own doing, mind you) than it really should have been. She finished out the week doing much better and having made a couple of friends. Fortunately, she likes her homeroom teacher, which made the transition a mite bit easier. To her delight, one of her good friends from her former middle school has also had her 'number' come up and will be starting on Tuesday. I'm hoping this will 'seal the deal' and she'll really start to settle in.
This Thursday, MED has the opportunity to sing at the Colorado Springs United Way season kick off. It's exciting that she's going to have this experience singing in public. There are about 30 novice kids in her program at the conservatory and she was one of six chosen for this performance. How cool is that? And (while I'm bragging about this child) at school this week, MEDs teacher pulled her aside to give her a chapter book to read for reading class. Everyone else has the typical first grade reader (2 - 3 sentences per page), but MEDs reading skills have progressed so much that she was reading 3rd grade chapter books all summer long. Fortunately, her teacher has recognized this and is continuing to push her forward. Yes, I am a proud mama.
On a great note, I absolutely love my new job. I feel like I can teach again (not be an automaton like in my last school) and the kids are just great. The worst problem I'm having to deal with is social kids. Gee, I think I can handle that! I'm able to read aloud to the students, they're allowed to have silent reading time, we have an afternoon recess every day, and individual styles are welcomed. My team is absolutely wonderful and they have answered all of my questions without problems or frustration. I really like each and every one of them and they make me laugh on a daily basis. It really feels like a dream job. I can see why I was told that once people get into my school, they never want to leave.
So, life is moving along. We're staying extremely busy, but it's all for very good reasons and with really great activities. I am grateful that my kids are so active with all their sports and music - even if the schedules can make me crazy. My husband and I have jobs that we're happy with. Life. Is. Good.

Everyone Is Heading Back

Tomorrow is the first day of school for three of my five kids. CED started back on Monday and is doing quite well at the middle school. It helps that she (mostly) likes school and has friends in all of her classes. If she didn't have her friends, she'd be pretty miserable. I'm really proud of how well adjusted she's been. JAD starts high school tomorrow. Gulp. High school! He's the picture of happiness and excitement (dripping sarcasm). Fortunately for him as well, he has many friends and acquaintances at school since it's a K-12 and he was there for the last part of 8th grade. JED and MED will be heading to school with me. I decided to pull them out of our neighborhood school and take them with me. I can keep a close eye on one particular child (ahem) and know that they are both safe before and after school. They both seem to be looking forward to it and are excited to be going to 'my' school. MAD started Pre-K on Monday and, after a few tears, went running off like I didn't exist. She adjusted quickly which made me feel better. She's been at her current childcare facility for 2 years now (this is our 3rd school year there) and she's finally feeling comfortable (even after 3 months off).

I'll keep you posted on how all of our days go tomorrow. I'm excited to get to know my students and do some great 'getting to know you' activities this week!

A Visitor Goes Up the Incline

K's dad visited us Wednesday through Saturday this last week. We always look forward to family visiting and the kids were, once again, counting down the days until Papa came to stay. His one request while here was to do the Incline. Papa has worked really hard since last October to lose weight and hit his goal this Spring - about 80 pounds lost. Whoot whoot! To celebrate this loss and his new physical health (he walks for an hour at least once a day every day) he wanted to test his mettle on the Incline. Yesterday afternoon, we set out and headed over to Manitou Springs for our adventure. Unfortunately, we had to park about a 1/3 of a mile away from our usual starting point due to the parking lot being full. Papa did a fabulous job and powered through the difficult task known as 'The Incline'.

Here we are on the 'easy' part in the beginning. If you don't pace yourself here, you'll pay for it later. Do you see the top of the Incline way up there amongst the trees? That's NOT the summit, but the false summit. Papa re-labeled it 'the first summit'. Beyond that point, you still have another third of a mile to reach the actual summit.

Awww... father and son.

Here's where it starts to get a little more difficult. See how uneven some of the railroad ties are? Some ties are as high as your knee. Climb anyone?

This picture gives you an idea of how steep it starts to get. I'm just a few steps below and K is a few steps above. And this isn't the steepest part!

At the top! Papa made it and officially has bragging rights.

K and his dad at the top

All three of us just before heading down Barr Trail

I didn't take any pictures on the way down, but you have a 2 1/2 mile walk down Barr Trail that weaves back and forth. You certainly have to watch your footing with the many rocks that are along the path and there are times when you're scrambling down a bit or jumping off rocks. It's a workout! We are certainly proud of K's dad for accomplishing this.

My Classroom

This week, part of our 'orientation' process was to spend two full days in our actual building with our principal going through school policies, rules, beliefs, expectations, etc. My principal spent 45 minutes with me and another teacher and has let us work in our rooms the rest of the time because she reviews all of this other stuff with all staff at our first staff meeting. I've been very grateful to have this time in my room to organize, clean, and 'decorate'. I've met some great staff members already and one of the nicest and most helpful has been one of our tech people. She has gone out of her way to make me feel welcome and established with passwords and such. In talking with D, she told me about all the technology that we have available for the students. (Keep in mind as I tell you this that I am coming from a school where we didn't have a single computer for the students in our classrooms and technology as a specials class was canceled.) My new school has a technology lab for specials. My classroom has four student computers all hooked up to the intranet and internet. We have an additional lab of laptops that teachers can utilize for various projects. We also have TWO mobile labs - 15 netbooks make up each mobile lab and these can be checked out to a teacher and used in the classroom. Say what? Technology? Yes, please! Every student is given their own personal drive on the intranet so they can save work that they have completed. Every computer is updated with Microsoft 2007 - unheard of in other districts! I truly had to pick my jaw off the ground when I heard all this. It's just so exciting!
Today I was able to get my room decorated and more things put away and organized. It's getting there slowly but surely and I'm really pleased with how things are coming together. My classroom is close to 1 1/2 times the size of my last room and I have far more storage than I've previously had. I'm just truly truly happy and relieved to be where I'm at. Here's what my room is shaping up to look like:

I'm looking forward to a renewing school year. :)

Last Weekend

Because I'm a slacker, I didn't mention that last weekend we drove back and forth to Denver for our first soccer tournament of the year. JADs team played for the first time together (it's a combination of two teams) and the coach used this pre-season opportunity to figure out which positions the boys should play and to see how they would gel as a team. The boys won the first game, but lost the next two. The third game was quite exciting to watch but, unfortunately, the calls were just not with us. At least it's pre-season!


A picture that embodies the absolute frustration JAD felt during the second game when his team just fell apart. Things can only get better from this point.

Fourteen

At 7:00 am fourteen years ago on this date, I gave birth to a baby boy. He is my first-born, my guinea pig, my always-was-easygoing baby. We thought with this child that parenting must be the easiest job in the world. JAD always had a smile for us, was the consummate flirt with ladies in the grocery line, waitresses in restaurants, and walked around with a level of comfort most people would be jealous of. We never dealt with the step-over-the-line-I'm-a-crazy-boy attitude that we've seen in, ahem, another boy child of ours. JAD was my tow-headed happy baby boy.

I've learned a lot watching him grow and it makes me sad to realize how truly fast 14 years have flown by. We've entered the teenage years with its moodiness and Ineedtobealoneness. But through it all, I'm watching that blonde-headed baby boy turn into a man who is learning how to process the world in all of it's infinite confusion. He still watches from afar and takes things one step at a time, thinking things through. He's become a person with very high morals who treats others well and thinks about the consequences of how he treats them. He's an extremely bright young man and very athletic - not a combination you see all the time. He is immensely passionate about his chosen sport (soccer, if you haven't guessed with the plethora of posts relating to said sport) and will regale you with statistics and stories about his favorite players/teams/teammates/practices/games/etc. He fights tooth and nail to not be known as the 'geeky-super smart' kid and has turned into one who can win a battle of the wits without batting an eye. He is compassionate through and through and will bend over backwards to help a friend and even a sibling when they are down.

I am extremely proud of my son. My first-born. My Ihavetofigurethingsoutonyousosorry kid. He takes everything in stride and uses these moments to grow. He amazes me each and every day. He makes me laugh. He makes me groan and yell in frustration. He makes me want to tear my hair out. He makes me beam with pride that I could give birth to such an amazing human being.

Happy Fourteenth Birthday, JAD. I hope you have an amazing, fun, rewarding year. I am so very proud to be able to call you my son and I love you more than you'll ever comprehend.

Thought Provoking

I started New Teacher Orientation last Friday. It's a mind-numbing process that anyone new to a district has to go through regardless of experience outside of the district (I've been teaching for 16 years, yet still had to go through this along with many, many other veteran teachers). Today we were shown a video from YouTube that really impacted me. Throughout the first half of the video, I just kept thinking 'Yep, yep, this sounds about right.' At the halfway point and through the end, I sat in awe of what was happening. In a room full of 150 teachers, you could've heard a pin drop as we watched this. I will let you see for yourself...

Reverse Thinking

It's Begun

Today was my first 'official' day in my new school district. I've worked in my classroom sporadically over the past week, getting things unpacked and put away, but it's all been on my own time and unpaid. I attended a math training (I know, riveting!) with eight other people from various location throughout the district. There were two trainings going on as the district has two different math programs in its thirty five elementary schools. No, that's not a typo. There are thirty-five elementary schools in this one district. It's by far the largest district I've ever worked in. Interestingly enough, of the nine people at this particular training, four of us had come from the same district previously and we felt we were embattled survivors. Others around us just sympathetically agreed with our conversations and deemed us brave and courageous for having been through such a difficult situation. It's funny how people just hear the name of this particular district and nod their heads, acknowledging the horror stories they have heard from others. It's really quite sad and I feel for my friends who are still working in that district.

Tomorrow I get to attend day one of 'Orientation'. Doesn't that just sound exciting??? We get to sit for eight hours each day (yes, there's more than one day of this) listening to various district higher-ups tell us about the philosophies of the district (which are important - don't get me wrong) and the different odds and ends of expectations, who to contact for various questions/problems/whatnots, and, I'm sure, the new state standards that we will be attacking this year. Don't misunderstand - I'm so very grateful to have a job and I'm very excited to be working in this district - but orientation days just drag on and on and on... On the bright side, orientation days are not part of our salary, so we get paid the hourly rate for these few days. That will be a nice little bonus on the first paycheck!

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On the soccer front, we have been going to practice four nights a week for JAD and CEDs practices. Fortunately, practices have been at the same place, so that makes life a little easier. JAD practices Monday, Wednesday, Thursday from 6 - 7:30 and CED practices on Tuesday and Thursday from 5 - 6:30. I found out this week that JED will also start practicing (thank goodness at the same aforementioned park)... on Tuesdays and Fridays. Really??? Five days a week??? Heaven help me... Now it really doesn't matter when the little girls start practicing because I'll ALREADY BE THERE. Silver lining, people.

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School registration has begun. On Tuesday, I had to register JAD for HIGH SCHOOL. Did you catch that? Ninth grade. I don't think I'm ready for this. How did I get old enough to have a child going into high school? Life goes by way too stinking fast. Before I know it, he'll be driving and never home. Yikes! I do like his schedule, however. He has to take Latin. And he got that class 1st hour. What can be better? I was happy to see that he was enrolled (thank you, Vanguard!) in honors history, English, and biology. JAD, on the other hand, was not so happy to see this. What you don't like can only make you stronger, right? It'll be interesting to see how he handles these classes plus high school soccer and club soccer. I think we're heading into our most challenging year yet!