2011 – 2012 School Year

You might remember my post New Job *Hopefully* back in March. Well, on Saturday I was offered the job of Study Hall/Carpool Specialist! That means that for the 2011-2012 school year I will be working 1 1/2 hours M-F. And that John will be headed off to Kindergarten in the fall. I’m excited about this opportunity and I really love the school he’ll be attending. At the same time my heart saddens a little every time I think of my precious little boy heading off to school. It’s only 1/2 a day this year, but that won’t be the case next year.

I think it’ll be good because I’ll have a schedule. It’ll get me out of the house everyday and I HAVE to buy new clothes. I only have a stay-at-home mommy wardrobe, which is nothing close to anything that could be considered professional looking. (I’m not complaining about this issue. ) On the other hand, it means having to find childcare for Lydia, a lot of time and effort with very little monetary pay, and more difficulty in scheduling my well-paying  banquet serving job. However, I think in the end it will be worth it.

Aaron and I are also entering into this education decision with an open hand. Part of the reason for sending John to Kindergarten and not homeschooling is that after a year, if we decide it’s not best for our family, we can pull John out of school and begin homeschooling. With this particular school, it’s not an option the other way around; we can’t try homeschooling and if it doesn’t work for our family put him into school.

So, I will be officially a school mom and I feel like I’m fitting more and more into the term “Soccer Mom” with each passing year!

A Jelly Bean Memory

I don’t like jelly beans… I really don’t. My one and only exception to that rule is the Starburst jelly beans, because let’s face it… they don’t taste like jelly beans.

At Easter my mother-in-law sent a bag of jelly beans to the kids and it wasn’t the first thing opened, since each child also had their own bag of different types of candy. Anyhow, my husband eventually broke into the jelly bean bag and the kids were all too happy to share. As we piled onto the bed just hanging out with the bag of jelly beans near by my daughter fed me one. And how could I say no to such a beautiful precious little girl?

As I ate the jelly bean I was taken back 20-25 years and I was sneaking a step stool into my grandpa’s kitchen climbing on the counter trying to get to his jelly beans and gum drops. Oh how I miss those white candy “jars” and childhood.

Other memories from Grandma and Grandpa’s house… The awful well water, and the juice mixture grandma always served, running around and playing with my cousins, and playing Gremlins on Grandpa’s computer, Grandma’s roses, and sleeping in the back bedroom (my favorite place), the scary basement and the tire swing. I wish I could go back.

I love you and miss you Grandpa Todd! (And Grandma too, since I haven’t seen you in a while!)

Car Accident

Last night I put the kids to bed and was anticipating watching a documentary via internet at about 10pm. At 9pm Lydia was still awake due to her long nap that afternoon. We were also out of milk, so I decided to take Lydia and run to the store. As I left I was surprised at how much snow had fallen, but our street still looked pretty good. However, when I got to the stop sign to turn left onto 7800 S the road did look worse. I thought, “What if I got in an accident.” but pushed away the thought because I’ve driven in the snow so much.

So, I carefully turned and drove down the street. Before I reached Gardener Village I saw an SUV out of control spinning and crossing into my lane (she had been heading east as I headed west). I gently put on the brakes (knowing that slamming them would make it worse for me) and tried to turn the wheel to pull over to the side of the road, trying desperately to get out of her way. But to no avail the back of the SUV hit the front driver’s side of the car. It was a rough impact, but with no airbags. There was a car behind me, but thankfully they were able to stop in time and didn’t hit me in the back. However, he turned around and left. I turned to see if Lydia was ok, but the car seat had done it’s job. She was so brave and didn’t even cry, she just kept saying, “We stuck mommy. We stuck.”

I tried to turn my car on to move it out of traffic, but the engine wouldn’t turn over making me feel very vulnerable. I was afraid someone would not be paying attention and slam into the car making everything worse. I noticed the SUV turn around and go to the other side of the street. I realized I didn’t have my cell phone and thought she was leaving. I was felt completely stranded. But she did stop and eventually made her way to my car. Another SUV stopped to help us and called the police.

Eventually another car stopped, Dave Smith, and asked if there was anything he could do to help. He said he was the one driving behind me and he had turned around so he could go call the police. He then came back to see if there was anything he could do to help. By this point in time I had borrowed a phone. I had forgotten Aaron’s phone number, but after about 5 minutes I was thinking more clearly and called him. He thought it was someone else calling, so he didn’t answer. I meant to leave a message, but I didn’t. Apparently I didn’t hang up either because he got a 2 1/2 minute message and could hear that I was in some kind of trouble. So when Dave Smith asked if he could help, I asked him to drive to my house to get Aaron.

The cops showed up took all the information, blocked part of the road, making me feel safer. However, by this point in time my car was totally and completely dead. The lights weren’t working and the ignition started dinging so I turned off the car with a whoosh of life out of it. It was beginning to get cold and the cops had to lend me a flashlight in order to for me to write my statement.

Thankfully Aaron finally came and we transfered Lydia and the car seats to his car. I got everything out of my car that had anything of worth because I knew at the very least it would be a while before I got my car back and at the worst the car would be totaled. I honestly don’t see how they could fix my car. It was BAD.

After leaving the scene Aaron insisted on taking us to Chili’s. Chili’s chips and salsa has always been there for us! We’re doing fine. My left shoulder is sore, but in light of things, I’m good. The power went out this morning and will more than likely be out all day, but again, I’m happy I’m not in the hospital, either myself or my daughter.

Thank the Lord that we are safe and sound. That he protected us and continues to give us life and breath for another day.

Two final notes:

1. Aaron, for whatever reason, had posted his phone number that day and I thought to myself, “I should really memorize that. There have been several times I don’t have my phone and I need to call him.” And I repeated his number several times. If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have remembered his number.

2. After I was sitting in Aaron’s car, he had gone to get stuff out of mine, and I started crying. Lydia kept saying, “It’s ok mommy. It’s ok.” So I reached back for her hand. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Eventually I tried to let go and she wouldn’t let me. I began to wonder how it was possible that my 2-year-old daughter could bring so much comfort to her mom.

New Job *hopefully*

What in the world is going on?! I know a few months ago I had a lot of posts on Facebook about my new job. In August I started working at the Hilton Garden Inn as a banquet server. It’s a perfect job for me. Good money, limited hours, and VERY flexible schedule. I’ve really enjoyed working there and it’s really helped us pay down our debt.

And then only 6 months later I start talking about another job opportunity. What is going on? Well, I’m a stay-at-home mom and I love it. But as my son heads into Kindergarten this fall, I started thinking about schools and education. We landed on sending John to a local charter school. However, the problem is that only 25-50% of those that apply to these schools are chosen through the lottery system. Our first choice, especially, had a low chance of John being picked in the lottery, [In fact I just found out that he was not picked.] but because they are not federally funded they can offer priority enrollment to part-time employees. So… I applied to be a group instructor. (Part of what I like about the school is that for reading, writing, and math students are put in groups of 4-8 students based on ability, rather than age or grade. To do this they need a lot of group instructors.) If I am hired than a year of teaching will secure not only John a position at the school but also Lydia and any other child we *hopefully* adopt. But before they hire you they

have you do a week of training and then observe how you teach the class.

So, this week has been my week of training. They use direct instruction approach as well as scripts for teachers. This experience as a scripted, reading, group teacher has been completely different from my time in the high school math classroom, but I do think it’s been going well. My training teacher has been very encouraging and assures me I’m a natural at this. At first I felt like the script would feel restrictive. On the contrary, the script really is simply the lesson and you’re just teaching though the lesson, explaining something that needs more explanation and moving on if the students have a good grasp on something.

Tomorrow is my “audition.” At this point in time I’m feeling pretty confident, but I will be practicing tonight (with my script) and I’m sure my nerves will be overwhelming tomorrow (Friday) as I wake up and make my way to the charter school. So, prayers are appreciated.

Update: Friday, March 4, 2011

So my evaluation went well today. Basically they told me the only thing I didn’t do well with was giving the kids enough praise. Mainly the kids came in so quietly and immediately sat down and opened their books and I should have been enthusiastically praising of the kids. They’re right. I totally should have. They chalked it up to inexperience and being nervous. Honestly though I was so SHOCKED by just how well behaved the kids were I didn’t know what to do with myself. I think my training teacher prepped them before they walked in the classroom.

Anyhow, when I first corresponded with the main woman in charge, I was told that there were positions available to start now, and that it would give me an edge because the fall positions will be very competitive to get. This brought up questions of, “Well, if I started now, does that mean I just work to the end of the school year, a calendar year or the end of the school year in 2012?” She told me she’d explain all that after my training.

So, after having me wait for 15 minutes, of which I was nauseous. They explained that even if I was hired for the position right now, that I would not be guaranteed that I’d be hired back in the fall. And in order for John to get priority enrollment I’d have to be working that school year. So they didn’t want to hire me now, and that’s fine with me. However, I wasn’t hired for the fall either. They won’t be making those decisions until the summer. BUT, they said that by me coming in and doing training I distinguished myself among the over 100 other candidates, into the top 25.  They also seemed very excited about my ability to be able to help with the junior high math students (rather than the kindergartener specialist, which is basically what most people like me would try to be hired as.)

So, in the end I was confident in how I did this morning. And because of the advantage my math background gives me, I feel like I’m more likely to get hired than not. I also think it works to my advantage that I’m not bringing a trainload of kids that they’d have to find room for. We shall see. In the mean time I’m waiting to hear about the lottery from 4 more schools, and if none of those come through than I will plan on homeschooling John until I hear otherwise about this position.

February 9th 2011

Simple things that happened on this day.

**I was excited to see 6 rotten bananas at work.

“oooo Banana bread!”

coworker chef: “Huh. Oh those will be thrown out.”

“Really? Can I take them home and make banana bread?”

coworker: “Someone will take them home or they’ll be thrown out. You might as well take them.”

WOOOOHOOO! That’s 3 loaves of banana bread.

 

**I saw that my friend had a Google OS computer. I was surprised thinking they hadn’t come out yet. Man! I was jealous. Aaron and I had both signed up for the free beta computer in exchange for our opinion about the thing. Not kidding, 15 minutes later there’s a knock on our door from the UPS guy. It was a package for Aaron. John desperately wanted to open the package, and so I had him call daddy and ask. Of course Aaron said we could open it.

So, I got a knife and cut the tape and opened it up. Within the box was another box that looked like a computer box. Don’t ask me why or how I know what a computer box looks like. Let’s just chalk it up to me be married to a computer nerd. Anyhow, I was VERY confused, since I knew Aaron wouldn’t order something like that without talking to me about it. Then I realize… It’s the GOOGLE OS COMPUTER! Holy cow! Aaron was chosen. And after seeing Sarah’s response to my comment on her status, sure enough Sarah was chosen for the beta computer too!

We are feeling so blessed and excited. A free laptop… who wouldn’t?!

 

 

**Last night I went to an open house for Monticello Academy, a local charter school. On the way home, waiting at the light to from the exit off the interstate Lydia could see the McDonald’s here’s the resulting conversation…

Lydia: I want French fries.

Me: You want French fries?

Lydia: Yep! And cookies!

Me: And cookies?!

Lydia: Yep! And juice! (Sprite)

Me: And juice?!

Lydia: Yep! And milk!

Me: Oh my word.

Now imagine it in her two-year-old voice and language… SOOOOO much cuter!

 

**When Lyddie and I got home. She walked up to daddy and started “spitting” (sticking out her tongue and blowing) in Aaron’s eye. It was a sign of affection for sure!

 

 

**Lydia has a princess chair that folds out to a bed. She loves it. Last night she wanted to sleep on it, but it usually stays in our room. So I told her she could take it to her room. She started to drag the end but was having trouble, so I enlisted John’s help. But he wanted the white blanket. I told him he could take that too. So he put the white blanket over his head and held one end of the bed while Lydia held the other end and carried it through the house… it was really cute!

 

2/9/11 was a good day.

Baby Steps

I’m the type of person who is easily overwhelmed. I never used to be. I used to be able to just go, go, go and never stop. I used to be a much more disciplined person. I used to be able to put my mind to something and accomplish it. But life, little children, and physical illness has left me a little tapped out. Or maybe God wants me to learn to lean more on him than simply accomplishing things by my own sheer will. Regardless, I’m not the person that I hope to be in 10 years, or even a year from now for that matter.

My husband’s favorite quote lately has been, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard  and it’s really made me think. My days have not been as productive as they should be, and so my days need to change if I want my life to change.

But like I said, I get overwhelmed easily. Trying to start 10 new routines in my life at once will last oh, a week at most. And a new diet that cuts out all my favorite foods and feeds me only fruits and vegetables, will probably last a day.

Since January, my husband and I have been following Dave Ramsey’s guide for financial planning. (Which I highly recommend.) He gives baby steps to achieve financial goals, like paying off your home mortgage, which seem too big to even attempt, outside of his process. We’re currently in baby step 2. We’ve had good months and bad months and we’ve had set backs and pushes forward and encouragement. And even though I occasionally will use my debit card, if I don’t have the cash, my spending habits and our budget, not to mention are debt, are MUCH improved from this time last year.

So, this got me thinking how I wish there could be baby steps in other aspects of my life. The two major areas that I am trying to conquer are my home and my weight.

Last week I bought an app for my new iPod Touch (4th gen, which Aaron got me for my birthday! Thanks honey!) which is called Home Routines. It has a built in list, which you can edit to your own specifications. Right now, I’m just going off the built in list. However, basically it’s just a list of things to do and I “check” them off my list. So, I make the beds, empty the dish washer, wipe off the table after breakfast, etc. etc. While I have yet to completely finish my lists by the end of the day, it has really helped me to consistently do the small things around the house. This is my baby step 1. Soon I will add bigger things, and weekly and monthly things, such as cleaning out and up the refrigerator on a more regular basis. I hope that my house will one day run somewhat naturally on a routine that I am simply in the habit of doing. However, if I plan to be running full speed ahead, first I need to simply take some baby steps.

Second, I’ve been thinking of my diet. I am a little overweight and I have some horrible eating habits. I would like to eat more healthy and teach my children healthy eating habits, but I must be honest, I look at people who are raw food eaters or gluten free diets, and I think they’re crazy! And the thought of that type of diet completely overwhelms me. But right before I became pregnant (5 years ago now) I had talked to a friend about keeping me accountable for my eating habits. And I changed things and challenged myself differently from week to week. The first week, I couldn’t eat potato chips (my biggest weakness), the second no potato chips and only one desert-type item a day (I was having Bible studies at my house twice a week at this point in time and ALWAYS had sweet stuff in the house). Then I couldn’t have the bad stuff, and had to eat at least one piece of fruit a day. That might seem strange to someone who always eats fruit, but it’s just not in how I look at food… and that needs to change. Anyhow, my consequence for breaking any of my “rules” was to pay my friend $20. All of a sudden chips were a luxury item! However, after one month and losing 5 pounds, I found out I was pregnant and shortly thereafter was extremely sick, so I was unable to continue. (I mean eat a banana? Really? A saltine cracker sounds good.)

Anyhow, I’ve decided that I really had something back then. The hope was to change my eating habits for good. Not just for 6 months so I could drop some weight and then eat all unhealthy, however I wanted. So, I’m going to try this again. However, this time, I’m going to add aspects into it about eating only when hungry, and stopping when full. (Something that some people do naturally and don’t struggle with.) As well as add in some exercise.

My hope is not to be a house cleaning diva and a size two by this time next year. My hope is to having a more consistently clean house and to be a healthier mom. All it takes are small baby steps. If I take small steps, hopefully I won’t become overwhelmed and I will be able to persevere!

Bird Houses

For probably a couple months, definitely with onset of chirping birds and spring Aaron has excitedly talked about buying two  bird houses from Micheal’s and painting one after the fashion of McDonald’s and the other after In and Out Burgers. (For those who don’t know In and Out Burgers are THE California burger joint that has recently expanded into Utah. It was quite the rage, people waiting in line for 2 hours or more for their burgers. These lines lasting for not only weeks but months after first opening.) Aaron was to have a little experiment to see which bird house was the most frequently visited.

So, for Father’s Day I thought it would be a nice gesture to purchase the bird houses and the red, yellow, and white paint so that we could have a fun family activity. However, because Father’s Day is in between the two Manti weeks (the biggest Mormon evangelism weeks of the year) Aaron was too tired and we decided to wait and paint them another time.

Little did we know, that our children would decide that later time would be Tuesday at about 5:45 pm.

I was hanging out in my room finishing up some stuff before getting my house and dinner ready before my Bible study group showed up. I thought to myself Man, the kids sure are playing nicely together. Maybe they’re a little too quiet. That ALWAYS means trouble. Well, what’s the worst they could be doing, they have food that spilled on the floor and will need to be vacuumed? Sigh. The peace and ability to finish my task is too nice, I deal with the vacuuming consequence. Literally, about a minute later John comes to my door and says, “Look mommy I paint!”

What I found

Immediately, I’m seized with dread and run out to the living room and there’s Lydia covered in paint, sitting on a paint-covered carpet, with two finger-painted bird houses. “Bee how (bird house) mommy!” said Lyddie. There are certain things that children do that are just beyond punishment and this was one of them. I sighed and lead them to the bathroom to have them take a bath.

I then called Aaron, “I’m trying to stay calm but there is paint all over our carpet.” (We don’t have the money to replace our carpet.) Aaron, of course, found the humor in the situation and assured me it would be all right.

I hung up and looked at my children standing in the waterless bathtub covered in paint and decided, well, I might as well let them finish the paint job since they’re already covered in it and I’m going to have to scrub it off of them.

Finishing Up the Bird Houses

So, I had them get out of the tub, I carried the houses and the paint outside and they finished up the paint jobs.

In the end, I have to admit that I think they are pretty darn-cute bird houses… and pictures!

The Finished Product

April 2010 in Review

2nd – Freezing cold Easter egg hunt at Jumpin’ Jacks, but the kids had a blast and got a TON of eggs! 

4th – Enjoyed a white Easter with the Summer’s, the Richard’s, and Maggie.

5th – Lydia started singing, “Oh where is my hairbrush?!”

6th – John brought me a banana and I told him to share with Lydia and he said, “I share with me.”

7th – John learns to say “Shafovaloff“

8th – Took John and Lydia to the dinosaur museum in Lehi. When we first entered the lobby John saw the dinosaur skeleton and said, “Dinosaur! It’s beautiful!” But when we entered the more dimly lit museum he was scared to death and didn’t stop clutching me. Poor kid.

9th – Enjoyed a shopping trip and day out with my mom.

10th – Took John and Lydia to the train museum in Ogden, they had a BLAST!

- John asked for my mom to read ONE more book, but then brought her ELEVEN!

11th -Listening to the squeals, laughter and screams of my kids playing in the nursery. It’s a good way to wake up!

15th - Apparently Lydia likes to be naked. Either that or stripping is her way of rebelling from being stuck in her crib!

16th – Lydia took her first nap in her big girl bed.

- Actually had to tell John, “Don’t cry over spilled milk!”

17th - John’s favorite new song is “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” but he likes to change the animals to zebras and lions, etc.

18th - While Aaron was putting the finishing touches on his sermon (he’s preaching down south this morning) and I was still in bed the children broke over a dozen eggs on the floor and into the trash. I kind of wish I could have seen what they were doing rather then simply finding the aftermath, which was Lydia sitting in eggcrying because she was slimy and couldn’t get up.

19th - John has learned puppydog faces from the master… Lydia!

20th - On the way to preschool, after John was counting to twenty-ten (more popularly known as thirty) the kids started making up songs and singing to and with each other.

22nd - As John has grown up and wanted to do things on his own he’d say, “I show ya. I show ya.” Well, this morning as I put Lydia in her car seat she wanted to do the buckle herself and so she said, “Ishowya Ishowya”

23th - So Lydia’s been sleeping in her big girl bed at night since Sunday, and it’s been a much less dramatic transition than it was for John. However, since Sunday they’ve woken up earlier than usual, and every morning John comes out and brings back cereal for them to part take in while they play in his room for a while.

24th – Had a great time at an awesome park with the Richards cooking hotdogs, hitting the baseball and playing duck-duck-goose!

26 – I know I brought in two bunches of bananas but can only find one. I’m somewhat concerned that my children have a secret stash somewhere.

27th – Enjoyed a field trip with John’s preschool to the Tracy Aviary. Although, at one point John was more interested in a water pump in the pond than the birds!

28th - Aaron informed me last night that while he was at Awana’s Bill told him something was hanging off of Lydia. Thinking it was a thread or something Aaron took a closer look… only to find that MY underwear had fallen to her ankles!

A Merry-Go-Round Fiasco

As I returned home from my first Saturday tutoring session, I sat on the couch and thought: I want to do something fun today! So, I stared looking things up online and one thing lead to another and we decided to go to Park City. They have an alpine slide, alpine coaster, zip line, etc. They also have minigolf and 3 little kid rides. So, we decided to introduce John to the world of miniature golf.

He didn’t quite get the concept, as you might have guessed! He’d hit the ball, walk to the other end pick it up and set it closer to the hole. Once, he started playing on the wrong hole, so we were trying to redirect him to the right one. He was too busy caught up in playing, however, when we told him to come he picked up the ball, stuck it in the hole, brought it back out and ran to us! Silly boy.

Then we decided to take the kids on the merry-go-round. A wonderful idea, especially as John noticed the horses and wanted to ride them! So, we took the kids over, and of course they were too small to ride on their own, so I took Lydia and Aaron took John. They sat next to each other and round and round and up and down we went. Lydia giggled, filled with joy at the fun ride. John loved it too, waving “Hi everybody!” Then after a couple rounds, “Bye! Bye! Bye!”

As we began to slow down, I made a point of saying to John, “We’re almost done.” But it wasn’t enough time for him to process, plus he was having fun! So, the ride came to a stop and I took Lydia off. She wasn’t too happy about leaving, but you know the normal kid complaint. Well, I turn around and John’s still on the horse… holding on for dear life. And Aaron looks surprised and somewhat “What am I supposed to do?” Aaron finally is able to get John off the horse kicking and screaming, but they were on the inside and as they walk by another pole, John seizes the opportunity. He grabs it and literally wraps his body around it. I kid you not, Aaron could have let go and John wouldn’t have moved an inch down that pole his grip was so tight.

So now, picture John gripping this pole, screaming, not wanting to get off this magnificent ride, and  Aaron pulls back on his body a bit. Now, instead of letting go, John curls his feet and hands up even more so now he’s in the pike position, still wrapped to the pole. I look around at the (thankfully) small group of people. All are laughing, which is nice, since, while this is hilarious, it’s also humiliating.

Aaron lifts up one hand, he goes for the other hand, the first hand is back on the pole. Aaron goes for that first hand again and the second gets back on the pole. Time for reinforcements.  I walk over and hold one arm as Aaron gets the other. John’s finally free of the merry-go-round. We walk outside the gate and the next ride can commence. However, the kicking and screaming lasts ALL the way to the car.

Man, oh man, he can be just about the absolute sweetest boy in the world, but when he wants something…. watch out!

Baaaah-bie’s being naughty?

We have been dealing with a very obstinate child lately. For some reason the last few days my son has been overly disobedient, especially when in public. So, we’ve cracked down on him. We’ve also started “The Naughty Chair.” The Naughty Chair, is a kitchen chair that faces the wall. He hates it… but that’s another story.

John has Bobby and Lydia has Betty.

Anyhow, after being in the naughty chair today John was playing. A little bit later he went and put Baaah-bie (further known as Bobby, my son’s lovie) in the naughty chair. When he came over to me I said, “John, did Bobby do something naughty?” Gibberish. “Well, John, I don’t think Bobby did anything naughty, why don’t you get him out of the Naughty Chair.”

So, John goes over there and says, “Bobby, Listen.” More gibberish.

He then brings Bobby over to me. I said, “Oh, thank you Bobby for being such a good boy and sitting in the Naughty Chair so quietly. That was very good of you.”

So, then John takes him and hugs him and says, “HUG!”

Now, I don’t know what this means psychologically or whatever, but it was cute.