The Nitty Gritty

We just finished our third week of school. By "we" I mean me and the boys. Isaac started school yesterday. The past three weeks have been filled with good and bad days. Mostly good. I have to put a LOT more time into this job than I ever have before in my teaching career. Taking care of myself can be a struggle amid everything else on my plate. However, I am doing my best and that's all that matters.  I have much to be grateful for, like: An awesome class. It's small-21 students- and they are so bright and lovable. I work 5 min from home.  I have the most supportive husband. Isaac is so good to take care of things when I am bogged down with teaching stuff. William attends my school where I teach. It has been so fun seeing him and hearing all the funny things he does from the classroom aide, Miss Kathy, who is also my aide. A job! William's teacher is from Pennsylvania but the only job offer she got was the one in Tempe. I realized the fact that I have a full time ...

 The preschool graduation was wonderful. It's always events like this when we feel really homesick and wish our grandparents and cousins were closer. Nonetheless, that is why I have this blog. I am so proud of William. It wasn't easy leaving his friends in Utah  and going to full day preschool everyday. He especially hated taking a nap. However, we were able to get things sorted out and eventually he grew to love his school experience. His best friend at school was Will. The teachers called the two of them "Team Will". His favorite unit was outer space when they made a giant robot. His second favorite day was when he went on a bug hunt. He used a magnifying glass to find the bugs and then put them in a bug bucket. He had the greatest teachers---Ms. Johnson, Mrs. Smith, Ms. Judy, and Mrs. Tobin. I can't speak highly enough of Ms. Johnson. She is one in a million. There were two specific occasions that exemplify what an outstanding teacher she is. One morning Willia...

I love you March. Thank you for being awesome. 

We went to Geek's Night Out Thursday night at Mill Avenue. Because William loves geeky stuff like robots, aliens, and Star Wars, we didn't want to miss out. There were booths geared for kids. The boys made colored snow, glowing bracelets, controlled a robot built by high school students, and touched those "clear balls with the  lightning inside." It was fun to get out and discover what downtown Tempe is like in the evenings.  Our home teacher brought a robot car that he built for fun and  so that he could show the boys during his visit. He and Wiiliam always have good conversations about robots. Brother Skidmore related the robot to working together as a family--just like the parts of the robot work together. Will practically idolizes Brother Skidmore and ever since the Sunday visit I've been saying "be a good helper so we can tell Brother Skidmore" and Will immediately helps. I told Isaac "that is home teaching at its finest." Will has been dr...

On Wednesday, my school had an early out day so the students were excused at 12:30. I quickly prepared a few things for next week, visited with a colleague, and then left to pick up the boys from preschool. When I got there it was 2:45--the earliest I've ever picked them up so I was looking forward to seeing what they would be doing at this time of day. When the teacher opened the door, it was dark and quiet. She explained that nap time started a little later that day so the kids were still asleep.  Miss Shara went and woke up William. He sat up with his sleepy eyes and was so excited to see me.  Miss Tobin woke up Van and told him to go use the potty. Then she turned off the ocean sounds (the white noise to keep the kids asleep) and the other kids' eyes popped open. Then she asked William to turn on the lights (his special job) and all the kids sat straight up. It was the funniest thing.  I was laughing with Miss Shara, who was finishing folding the towels. She told m...

October is my favorite month! It's my birthday month, I love the fall season, the weather, the beauty, yummy soups, and Halloween.  Will and Van love this month too. Luckily, we got a whole week off together to enjoy our favorite time of year. Here are some things we did during our fall break: The first thing we did was bake pumpkin chocolate chips to enjoy during the week. Van is my big helper. He loves to say "I help you mom!" We took lots of walks around the block. The boys love the Halloween decor and wanted a picture next to this front door with the "Big Spider!" I took the boys to the doctor for their yearly check up. Van brought his stethoscope to show the doctor. Van was brave while the doctor made sure all his parts work.  William was so happy that it was not the year for a shot! We went swimming at Kasia's, our friend's, house. We mostly swam around in the hot tub because the ...