Back to Reality

School is back in session and I am feeling it. It is so hard to transition from vacation to work. I am thankful for the routine back in our lives. However, the 5 o'clock mornings, I could do without. The girls are glad to be at school. Even Mattie is enjoying the time back with her friends. Every morning she walks the school hall greeting everyone "Hi" "Hi". She is miss little independent. She loves to carry her lunchbox and is learning the direction of her classroom. She loves sitting at the little table and chairs for her breakfast and lunch. The first two days, she did great at sleeping on her cot. I was so proud of her! Then she figured out that she could get off her cot A LOT. Her daycare teacher finally had to put her back in the crib. Following given directions has really been our weakness. She just doesn't listen well and this is something that we are really working on. If anyone has had similar issues and has suggestions please send them my way. Our biggest issue is her trying to run off. I have to hold her hand all the time and if she does break free, she will not come back when you call. It is really mostly in public or wide open spaces. Home is really not an issue.

Well, my time is up~more vacation pictures to post soon.

Let's Just Pretend

Am I really just getting to this? OK so this tells you the kind of week I've had. This is the first time in 15 years that I have been SO overwhelmed with the opening of a school year. As I have always said...I love teaching! It is all the other "stuff" that I can do without and we have a lot of "extra stuff" to deal with this year. With that being said, staying after school till five o'clock is unacceptable. I did it several days this week. And I still didn't get what I needed to get done for my students. I had to bring it all home for the weekend. I have a family and I have a life outside of school. I am a mommy and a wife first. So from this moment on, I have to leave it at the door. Life is just too short to worry about "the extra stuff".

SO here is my belated post. Let's just pretend that I posted this on Tuesday.

Caroline's first day of school. She was up bright and early! So excited about her first day of third grade. She loves her teacher, Mr. Perry. She says he is funny but serious and loves Goofy. We were excited to hear that he spent a lot of time at Roanoke Christian Camp during his childhood years. I think he will be a great match for Caroline.

Abby is now in the seventh grade! where does the time go? Abby was up bright and early too but didn't get ready until after I had left. I told her to make sure Daddy took a picture of her. Do you see a picture? This child of mine has now decided she dislikes her picture taken unless she can take it of herself. You know the "hold the camera backwards and take a chance that your face ends up in the frame". OK we don't have one of those either. Needless to say, she had a great day. I think she is more excited about her friends than any teachers or books. Let's face it. She's almost thirteen. However, we are so excited that the first grade she brought home was a 98! We are praying that this is a sign of good things to come!

Hatching Chicks

One of our class projects this year was hatching chicks. Thanks to the 4-H program for getting us the eggs and incubators. It is actually pretty easy and the kids love it. Once we get our eggs and incubator, we just keep water in the channels for moisture and turn the eggs three times a day. During the process, we can candle the eggs. This is when you take a flashlight and shine on the eggs. You can see blood vessels and even the embryo moving around. It takes 21 days from the time you get the eggs from the hen. This year we had 13 eggs. We had 10 eggs hatch. Unfortunately, life is full of uncertainty and not all the baby chicks are born healthy. We did have one chick pass away and another with an issue with it's leg. This is just an added lesson that our children learn about life. Many times the strong and healthy chicks will even pick on the small and weak. I find that quite ironic since some people in this world do the exact same thing to others.

One of my students put the little chick to sleep.

We Survived.....

our first day of school! The girls were so excited. Both of them were going to new schools this year. I walked downstairs about 5:45 and Abby is there to meet me. She is dressed and has her bookbag on her shoulder and says "I'm ready." She didn't have to leave until 7:45. Let's see how long that will last. Last year, her daddy had to drag her out of the bed every morning.

Caroline loves her new school and loved riding the bus for the first time. She seems very excited and really loves school. We are hoping for a great year!

My kiddo's were great today too......but I am so exhausted! I'm heading to bed. 5:15 will be here soon enough.

Here is a picture of the girls. Not our best back to school picture, but I'll take it. Daddy did his best!