First Day part 1

Ryalnd

Ryland with his 2 bags of stuff

Ryland with his 2 bags of stuff while Mimi trys to get a picture of him and Jayden together

Her Silhouette

For her birthday, Mimi got a Silhouette machine. It's a great crafter's tool and we put it into good use during her visit.

We had some trials and errors but ultimately we figured it out! We made space & Disney characters for the boys. "S" initials for decoration. We labeled lunch boxes, folders, and bags for school.

I got her LOTS of vinyl to play around with. I can't wait for the holidays to get here!

Thanks mom for letting us use your talents and machine. A HUGE thanks for watching the boys during the week.

School ready

Do you know what this is?

Well it's:
1 supply box
2 plastic folders
1 bottle of glue
1 pair of scissors
3 boxes of crayons
3 boxes of large crayons
4 boxes of markers
12 glue sticks
1 journal
25 pencils SHARPENED
2 packs of 8x12 construction paper
1 pack of 12x18 construction paper
2 boxes of gallon zip lock bags
2 boxes of sandwich bags
3 refill packs of wipes
1 container of Lysol wipes
1 clip board
4 boxes of tissues
3 pads of alphabet lined paper
2 reams of copy paper
1 pump bottle of instant hand sanitizer
1 roll of paper towels
1 4-pack of playdoh
1 can of shaving cream
1 pack of dry erase markers
2 lunch boxes
1 backpack
1 nap pillow
1 nap blanket
2 changes of clothes

NOW we are ready for pre-school and Kindergarten!

Job sharing

In addition to Jayden starting Kindergarten and Ryland starting at a new school, I'm job sharing this year!

I am so excited!

Last year was a really tough year! I still enjoy being a counselor but the stressors of parents, testing, and "other duties as assigned" have really worn me out. I eluded to my hectic schedule here and my full plate here. What I thought I wanted, what I prayed to happen, what I begged Todd to allow was to TAKE THE YEAR OFF! I even started talking about it last November! I was willing to give up a car, home school the kids, take a night job, do whatever it took. But after this, I knew that not working was not going to be an option. Fast forward a couple of months and I began to look into the option of job sharing.
I approached one of the other counselors about the possibility and she agreed (she too was looking for a change). We got the approval from our principal, approval from the superintendent, and finally approval for the school board. In June I was notified that it.was.official.

Typically Guidance Counselors work 206 days (10 more days than teachers, 26 more days than students). Under the job sharing contract, I will work 104 days this school year. Most weeks I work Monday and Tuesday and then every other Wednesday. This week I worked Monday and Tuesday only.

I am looking forward to taking/picking the kids up from school, getting household stuff during the day, volunteering, and refueling my spirit!

In effort to keep my days, Jayden's days, and Rylands day straight I copied a wallet-sized-calendar highlighted the heck out of it and had it laminated.

Summer 2010

We started the summer with 65 days until Kindergarten!

I can't believe there are only two weeks left until Jayden starts and I start back to work TODAY! Here is a recap of the last 51 days....

We built
We watched movies
Our big trip to Atlanta, here, here and here

We had playdates
Brock, Jayden, and Ry

We celebrated FOURTH OF JULY

We went to VBS
We went bowling

We cleanedYES Jayden is wearing his suit, in Florida, in the middle of summer!

We went to Daytona

When asked, both boys say "Bowling was the best part of summertime"! Thanks to Mimi for coming this week to watch the boys.

A what? A boat. A what? A boat. Ohhh a boat!

We bought a boat without a motor, hardware, seating or electronics a hull!

Todd loves boats and he loves projects. When we first met, he had a small boat. We took it out a couple of times but then after moving into an apartment, a boat wasn't practical.

We knew eventually we would buy another one. My motto for the last few years was "ba before bo...babies before boats". Since our babies have come and we all really enjoy fishing, water, and just spending time together; I knew the boat was in our near future.

And then his boat fund began to itch. So he began the search several weeks ago. We contemplated a "starter boat" (one that could hold just us) or maybe a fixer-upper. But after stalking searching Craig's list and checking out LOTS of them, he.found.his.HULL!

Hello HottieBird!

A 21ft, 1971 Seabird.

A now the project begins....

Todd is predicting a year from now...

Monday's mussings

My cousin Tara did a similar post last Monday and it made me realize how many random pictures I have on my iphone.

Here is a picture of my squad. I will miss not coaching them this year but WILL NOT miss the drama!
Picture of me at "lunch duty", in the rain, by a locked door with a sign that reads "Do Not Enter"! And people wonder why education gets bad publicity!
Waiting for Daddy to buy the baseball game tickets.
At VBS
Ryland and his girlfriend "the baby" at church