I was reading one of my niece's blogs about how people make excuses for how they don't have enough time for themself. It dawned on me that I get up early every morning to exercise. But I always go to the computer first, "just to check my email." But then I decide to check everyone's blog and see if they added anything new. Oh, and I might as well check Facebook. Before I know it, it's time to get ready to go to work. Somehow, exercise seems to go by the wayside.
On a much more positive note, I spent quite a bit of time this summer organizing my classroom in case I got a transfer. Well, even though I didn't, it is so nice to easily find everything in my room. I'm glad I took the time!
I got a new student earlier this week and I am getting another new one today. At least this one is a girl. I'm overloaded with boys; 17 boys 11 girls before today. It seems that the district is using our school for overflow. Classes are full at other schools and they did all the reorganization earlier this week. So we pretty much have all the openings this year. It makes for a tough year, getting new students, having them called back to their home school when they get an opening, etc. Oh, and some parents who get sent to us get angry because we are a uniform school (most of the schools in our district are not) so now they have to go out and buy uniforms. Because of course it is the teacher's fault. Oh well.
Chuck has been working on an old VW bus for one of Josh's friends. He's had so much fun doing it. It's nice to see him working on something he really enjoys. He doesn't like the new cars. We even take mine to the dealer for an oil change!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Not much going on
School is so much better this year! The 6th grade teacher is having a hard time, but I like my class. Ella had her first soccer game. Josh had his first game. We are busy, but we love it! It seems like we are getting a lot done on the house, even though there is still a lot to do. We spent Jordan''s 30th birthday in Temecula with his family and Josh's family. I love seeing the two 2 year old cousins together! They are so funny. Both have a good sense of humor and love to play together. We swam and just hung out. It was a great day.
I think the toughest part of this school year is having a new principal who has never been involved with an elementary school He was a wood shop teacher, worked at one of the high schools and then the adult school. So basically, he counts on all of us to let him know what needs to be done. It does make all of us feel like the plan is to close our school so it really doesn't matter who the principal is. He's a nice guy and easy to get along with. It's just that we (teachers) have to do a lot more planning to let him know things need to be done. Reorganization is never fun, but he really had a tough time with it because he's never had to call parents and tell them that their child is going to be going to a new school starting Monday. And for some reason, our district office really decided to make things difficult. We have some kids leaving who have been at our school for more than a year but they are the last one in. On top of that, a few of them have siblings at our school and the siblings are not leaving. It is a mess! Maybe the district made this decision based on the fact that they expect us to be closed next year anyway. Who knows. Oh, and one of the families who have a sibling leaving and a sibling staying just lost their dad a few months ago. I feel for the mom. Now that I am thinking about it, I think all of the district people who make these decisions have never been in an elementary school. We've had a big change in the district office over the last couple of years due to deaths. Everyone who replaced those people came from the high schools except one had one year as a principal at the elementary level. Sorry, just thinking out loud how this all came to be.
We had planned to go to Arizona this weekend but Bailey and Cole both had sleepover plans so we decided to make it another weekend. I miss the kids but not the drive on a Friday night!
I think the toughest part of this school year is having a new principal who has never been involved with an elementary school He was a wood shop teacher, worked at one of the high schools and then the adult school. So basically, he counts on all of us to let him know what needs to be done. It does make all of us feel like the plan is to close our school so it really doesn't matter who the principal is. He's a nice guy and easy to get along with. It's just that we (teachers) have to do a lot more planning to let him know things need to be done. Reorganization is never fun, but he really had a tough time with it because he's never had to call parents and tell them that their child is going to be going to a new school starting Monday. And for some reason, our district office really decided to make things difficult. We have some kids leaving who have been at our school for more than a year but they are the last one in. On top of that, a few of them have siblings at our school and the siblings are not leaving. It is a mess! Maybe the district made this decision based on the fact that they expect us to be closed next year anyway. Who knows. Oh, and one of the families who have a sibling leaving and a sibling staying just lost their dad a few months ago. I feel for the mom. Now that I am thinking about it, I think all of the district people who make these decisions have never been in an elementary school. We've had a big change in the district office over the last couple of years due to deaths. Everyone who replaced those people came from the high schools except one had one year as a principal at the elementary level. Sorry, just thinking out loud how this all came to be.
We had planned to go to Arizona this weekend but Bailey and Cole both had sleepover plans so we decided to make it another weekend. I miss the kids but not the drive on a Friday night!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Summer Reflections
As I am getting ready for school today, I am wondering where the summer went. It flew by. I guess part of it is because we start so early this year. It's been a fun packed summer with lots of memories. As Pat said in her blog, the cousins have all had such a great time! I cherish every single moment we get to spend together. Soon the grandkids may choose to spend their summers elsewhere. Our house is always so quiet after they leave. But getting to have so many of Pat's grandkids around as well has made it such a special summer. I love how the cousins may not see each other very often but when they get together, it is like they have never been apart. I am so glad to have at least Ella, Hannah, Robert, Alisa, Josh and Anthony near by.
Pat and I got to visit with Mom and Dad this weekend for the quarterly meeting at the home. I'm glad they have those because Mom and Dad love to take us around and introduce us to everyone. (Kind of like when we go to something for Eastern Star or Lodge). It's comforting to know that they live in such a nice place and are so well taken care of and have so many activites to take part in.
Soccer will be starting in just under two weeks. I look forward to going to Ella's games. I'm going to miss seeing Robert playing on the same field. But now we can just add some football to the weekends! I love watching my son coach those little girls! He reminds me so much of Chuck (sorry Angie!) and he has so much patience with those little girls. I wish I could go watch Randi with her gymnastics class, too!
As I write this, Chuck is still busy working on the kitchen. He has all the wiring done for the light switches and outlets. It's so nice to have accessible outlets! I know he thinks it's slow going (and it is) but I see progress every day. It's fun to see everything transformed! The timing was good. I don't have to be here to see all the mess. He's been great about keeping it cleaned up when he finishes each day. It gives him something to do while he's not working. (Well, something besides golf!) I love him dearly for undertaking this project. And I overheard him talking to our brother-in-law the other day about the bathroom so I guess that may be next. I have been trying to document everything with pictures and if I ever learn how to post my pictures, I will share them on my blog.
I jsut want all of you to know how much I love you and how important you are in my life whether I see you often or not. We are so blessed to have such a strong, loving family who always support each other.
Pat and I got to visit with Mom and Dad this weekend for the quarterly meeting at the home. I'm glad they have those because Mom and Dad love to take us around and introduce us to everyone. (Kind of like when we go to something for Eastern Star or Lodge). It's comforting to know that they live in such a nice place and are so well taken care of and have so many activites to take part in.
Soccer will be starting in just under two weeks. I look forward to going to Ella's games. I'm going to miss seeing Robert playing on the same field. But now we can just add some football to the weekends! I love watching my son coach those little girls! He reminds me so much of Chuck (sorry Angie!) and he has so much patience with those little girls. I wish I could go watch Randi with her gymnastics class, too!
As I write this, Chuck is still busy working on the kitchen. He has all the wiring done for the light switches and outlets. It's so nice to have accessible outlets! I know he thinks it's slow going (and it is) but I see progress every day. It's fun to see everything transformed! The timing was good. I don't have to be here to see all the mess. He's been great about keeping it cleaned up when he finishes each day. It gives him something to do while he's not working. (Well, something besides golf!) I love him dearly for undertaking this project. And I overheard him talking to our brother-in-law the other day about the bathroom so I guess that may be next. I have been trying to document everything with pictures and if I ever learn how to post my pictures, I will share them on my blog.
I jsut want all of you to know how much I love you and how important you are in my life whether I see you often or not. We are so blessed to have such a strong, loving family who always support each other.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
It started with...
My dryer had been taking at least 3 hours to dry a load of clothes and it wouldn't turn off on it's own. If I put a load in at night and forgot to turn it off when I went to bed, it would still be going the next morning. So, without my knowledge, Chuck went out and bought me a new washer and dryer. And he really does listen to me because they were exactly what I had been talking about (steam). Also, I wanted stackables. His idea was to buy them and just put them in but I convinced him to do them as stackables from the beginning. That meant going under the house to replumb and rewire for the back porch. He also had to pull out a cabinet that was aabove the old dryer. He did most of this while I was gone on my trip.
Well, when he finished painting and pulled off the painter's tape, some of the paint came off the wall, even though he and Jordan had sanded and primed first. So I decided I wanted the other cabinet pulled out as well. Now we are going to put a closet maid type shelving system in there. That also led to a new floor. Well, if yu're going to do that, you may as well do the kitchen floor. Oh, and then you may as well paint the kitchen and dining room. And he also pulled out the half wlall between the kitchen and dining room. When we pulled up a corner of the dining room carpet, the hardwood floors are in very good condition so we will pull up that carpept. I also want to paint the kitchen cabinets and Chuck is balking at that. But I think when he sees how nice everything but the cabinets look he'll end up doing those, too. So my house is a total mess, but I'm going back to school anyway, so who cares? (Let's see if I'm still saying that in a couple weeks). I'll bet he wishes he had a job!
Oh, the rewiring was a good thing for Chuck, too. This house is so old that anytime we turned on more than a couple of things and he was out working in the garage, we would blow a fuse. For some strange reason, one side of my kitchen, the bathroom and the garage were all on the same fuse. So now the laundry room is on it's own fuse.
One other note. Jordan and Josh have both been over here helping with the project. So it's made with love by all my guys. Thanks guys! (And thanks wives/girlfriends for letting them do this and taking time away from your families).
Well, when he finished painting and pulled off the painter's tape, some of the paint came off the wall, even though he and Jordan had sanded and primed first. So I decided I wanted the other cabinet pulled out as well. Now we are going to put a closet maid type shelving system in there. That also led to a new floor. Well, if yu're going to do that, you may as well do the kitchen floor. Oh, and then you may as well paint the kitchen and dining room. And he also pulled out the half wlall between the kitchen and dining room. When we pulled up a corner of the dining room carpet, the hardwood floors are in very good condition so we will pull up that carpept. I also want to paint the kitchen cabinets and Chuck is balking at that. But I think when he sees how nice everything but the cabinets look he'll end up doing those, too. So my house is a total mess, but I'm going back to school anyway, so who cares? (Let's see if I'm still saying that in a couple weeks). I'll bet he wishes he had a job!
Oh, the rewiring was a good thing for Chuck, too. This house is so old that anytime we turned on more than a couple of things and he was out working in the garage, we would blow a fuse. For some strange reason, one side of my kitchen, the bathroom and the garage were all on the same fuse. So now the laundry room is on it's own fuse.
One other note. Jordan and Josh have both been over here helping with the project. So it's made with love by all my guys. Thanks guys! (And thanks wives/girlfriends for letting them do this and taking time away from your families).
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Our great adventure
My plan was to blog each night about our trip. Obviously I didn't do that. We had a great time! We spent the evening of the 30th and the 31st in Washington, DC. We used the train to get there the second day rather than trying to drive around DC. We hopped on the double decker tour bus and visited all the monuments. It was actually raining when we got to DC so we spent the first hour in the train station, eating lunch and looking through all the little shops.
On Saturday, we headed to Williamsburg. There we met Cami, Gentry, Judy and Gerry Anderson and went to Colonial Williamsburg. Judy and Gerry were a wealth of knowledge. Most everything was closed, but we walked around and Judy gave us a lot of information about all the homes, taverns, shops, etc. The next day, Cami and Gentry met us again. We got to see a reenactment, tour the governor's palace, tour the capital building, and many other buildings. Bailey got to be the magistrate at the courthouse. It rained again, so we went into some of the shops while the rain was falling and tasted lots of goodies. Then we walked around until it closed. Cami, Bailey and I went to dinner and just enjoyed visiting. (Gentry had to go back home for work). It was a great time.
We had discovered that a brake light and turn light on the rental car were not working, so we got up Monday morning, met Judy at the Jamestown settlement for a short visit there, and then headed to Norfolk to exchange the car. By this time, I had decided I wanted to just turn the car in early and take the train to New York. But the train from Norfolk did not check luggage. We could have gone to Richmond, but it would have cost an extra $1000 to turn the car in there! So we turned it in, and headed on our way. We drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It was amazing! We stopped at the little restaurant/store on the bridge to get a good look. We continued on our way, crossing over the Jersey Turnpike into New York City about 1 AM. Crossing over was another beautiful sight. There were so many lights!
When we got to our hotel (after being lost and having to drive awhile to find it) we couldn't find a parking garage. So we parked on the street in front of the hotel and I had to get up early to move the car. After driving around that morning and still not finding a garage with a parking place, we decided to take the car to the airport and turn it in. We took a bus and the subway back to the hotel. Our hotel ended up being in China Town, and since Bailey didn't really want Chinese food for dinner, we decided to take the subway and just find some place to eat. We ended up at Coney Island and it was a blast! We walked along the boardwalk, ate NY pizza and had ice cream. On the subway home, we met a family from the Bronx. They had been to the beach for the day and were very friendly, answering questions about NY and asking us about California. The next day, we took the double decker bus and saw many of the sights. We stopped at Ground Zero and spent longer than we had intended. It was still very emotional for me. They are in the process of building the memorial and it won't be completed until 2013. But there was a small museum and a memory walk. Then we headed on to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Going over there on the ferry helped us to imagine what it must have been like for the immigrants coming to the United States.
That night was our night to see Lion King on Broadway as well. We managed to find the subway back to the hotel, got ready, and headed out. The play was fantastic. Bailey was sitting right on the aisle which is the best place to be for this show. She loved it! We hadn't eaten dinner so we walked until we found someplace open and had dinner. Then we walked through Time Square and headed over to the Empire State Building. We had seen it earlier in the day, but Bailey wanted to go up to the top. The view at night was beautiful. You could see all the bridges with their lights and all the other lights of the city. We took a bike-drawn taxi back to the subway and headed home. We had to get up early the next morning to head to the airport to come home. There was so much more in each place we visited that we would have loved to see. But it was a great experience and one I am sure neither of us will ever forget!
On Saturday, we headed to Williamsburg. There we met Cami, Gentry, Judy and Gerry Anderson and went to Colonial Williamsburg. Judy and Gerry were a wealth of knowledge. Most everything was closed, but we walked around and Judy gave us a lot of information about all the homes, taverns, shops, etc. The next day, Cami and Gentry met us again. We got to see a reenactment, tour the governor's palace, tour the capital building, and many other buildings. Bailey got to be the magistrate at the courthouse. It rained again, so we went into some of the shops while the rain was falling and tasted lots of goodies. Then we walked around until it closed. Cami, Bailey and I went to dinner and just enjoyed visiting. (Gentry had to go back home for work). It was a great time.
We had discovered that a brake light and turn light on the rental car were not working, so we got up Monday morning, met Judy at the Jamestown settlement for a short visit there, and then headed to Norfolk to exchange the car. By this time, I had decided I wanted to just turn the car in early and take the train to New York. But the train from Norfolk did not check luggage. We could have gone to Richmond, but it would have cost an extra $1000 to turn the car in there! So we turned it in, and headed on our way. We drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It was amazing! We stopped at the little restaurant/store on the bridge to get a good look. We continued on our way, crossing over the Jersey Turnpike into New York City about 1 AM. Crossing over was another beautiful sight. There were so many lights!
When we got to our hotel (after being lost and having to drive awhile to find it) we couldn't find a parking garage. So we parked on the street in front of the hotel and I had to get up early to move the car. After driving around that morning and still not finding a garage with a parking place, we decided to take the car to the airport and turn it in. We took a bus and the subway back to the hotel. Our hotel ended up being in China Town, and since Bailey didn't really want Chinese food for dinner, we decided to take the subway and just find some place to eat. We ended up at Coney Island and it was a blast! We walked along the boardwalk, ate NY pizza and had ice cream. On the subway home, we met a family from the Bronx. They had been to the beach for the day and were very friendly, answering questions about NY and asking us about California. The next day, we took the double decker bus and saw many of the sights. We stopped at Ground Zero and spent longer than we had intended. It was still very emotional for me. They are in the process of building the memorial and it won't be completed until 2013. But there was a small museum and a memory walk. Then we headed on to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Going over there on the ferry helped us to imagine what it must have been like for the immigrants coming to the United States.
That night was our night to see Lion King on Broadway as well. We managed to find the subway back to the hotel, got ready, and headed out. The play was fantastic. Bailey was sitting right on the aisle which is the best place to be for this show. She loved it! We hadn't eaten dinner so we walked until we found someplace open and had dinner. Then we walked through Time Square and headed over to the Empire State Building. We had seen it earlier in the day, but Bailey wanted to go up to the top. The view at night was beautiful. You could see all the bridges with their lights and all the other lights of the city. We took a bike-drawn taxi back to the subway and headed home. We had to get up early the next morning to head to the airport to come home. There was so much more in each place we visited that we would have loved to see. But it was a great experience and one I am sure neither of us will ever forget!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
On our way!
Bailey & I arrived in Baltimore last night. We got to the hotel through all the rain and not knowing where we are going. Off to Philadelphia this morning to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We hope to see the Amish on our way back to Washington DC. We are doing the night tour of the monuments tonight. There's so much to do and not nearly enough time!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I'm excited!
I just finished booking my trip with Bailey back east. We will be in DC for 3,Williamsburg for 2, and end in NYC for 2. I got orchestra, center stage tickets for "Lion King" which I know Bailey will love! Can't wait!
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