Life is Good

Today was a day spent vegging at home with my kids. Checking email, watching a Disney movie with the two cuddliest kids ever, eating PB & J sandwiches for lunch. Steve is still on his two-week break from work, and his younger brother managed to arrange for a free round of golf at a course in Jacksonville...he was gone at 7 a.m., long before I ever woke up, and didn't get home til 6 p.m. We're a one-car household now, so the kids and I were home for the day (just as well, since it rained off and on all day!).

I know I could have spent a nice chunk of that time cleaning, or organizing. Goodness knows I could use some organization around our house (the laundry basket system just isn't working like it used to!). But it was nice to have some downtime and just relax. Days like these are the days when I really count my blessings and realize how good life really is. We have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies. And the kids are just so animated and full of life.

I miss my parents already. They flew up north so they could spend two weeks visiting my mom's family in Canada. They make the trip every year, and their first flight left at 5 a.m. today. I'm glad I was home because I was able to get every call they made, both when they arrived at each stop on their flight plan, and also when they arrived at my aunt's house just three hours across the border. I love to fly, can't wait to fly in October to my friend's wedding in Texas...but there's just something nervewracking about waiting for other family members and friends to make it to their destination safely. They say flying is safer than driving, and I believe that, but it's really nice when you get that phone call that confirms a safe touchdown. Life really is good!

Now a shout-out to my friend "Maxine," who wrote a post about me turning 31 yesterday. I've never had an entire blog post written about me before, and I was VERY flattered. :) Thanks...that made me smile!!!

Mac and Cheese

The kids and I had mac and cheese with hot dogs for lunch today. Something about that meal choice really brings me back to the days when I was a kid. I just love it!

Steve had to work all weekend, night shift, so the kids and I were on our own for the 4th of July. We basically just stuck around the house during the day, and then headed downtown later in the evening to be on the lawn next to the fort when the fireworks began. It was AWESOME! I haven't seen a show quite that good in a long time...probably since the year we spent the 4th in Washington DC visiting my godparents, but that was in the mid-90's.

Megan and Jeremy sat in my lap for the first half of the 20-minute show, at which time Megan turned to me and said, "Mommy, I think we'll get back in our cart now...." Jeremy quickly followed her, explaining to me, "Yes mommy, it's a little bit scary!" Since we got rid of our standard double stroller a while ago, the "cart" was the trailer we can attach to a bicycle to tote them around the neighborhood. It converts to a stroller by adding a push bar and maneuvering the front wheel in place. They climbed in and pulled down the screen that covers the front, and they seemed to be much more comfortable watching from behind the screen.

After we hustled back to the parking lot (a mile away, since traffic was so crazy down there!), I got the car started and loaded the kids up. Someone walking by saw the dvd screens and laughed and said, "Can you imagine how we survived without things like that?" The kids were watching The Lion King, and having a fine time...good thing, since our "15 minute" car ride home lasted more than an hour with all of the tourist traffic!

Crazy 8's...courtesy of Alana

So I met another blogger, Alana from Alana-isms, in person by accident (mentioned it in my last post, Small World). She's on my friends list now and today she posted a fun "tag" blog...and tags 5-8 were left open for anyone to jump on. I have therefore decided that (since I haven't blogged in well over a month) this would be a fun way to get back into the swing of things. :)

The rules:
1. Mention the person who tagged me.
2. Complete the lists of 8.
3. Tag 8 more bloggers and tell them they've been tagged.

The lists:

Eight things I am looking forward to:
1. Having the kids 100% potty trained. Very tired of the mess (and please, no lectures...I know they're 3...).
2. Watching the kids explore the world and learn new things. They are a constant source of awe for me.
3. Figuring out what I want to be "when I grow up." Staying at home full-time with the kids for 3+ years has been awesome, and it gives me the chance to clean the slate and pick a new line for my career, if I choose.
4. Liz's wedding in Austin, TX, this October. :) We've known each other for 18+ years now. She was there when I got married, and I wouldn't miss her big day for the world!
5. Steve being back on day shift. He just switched back to nights yesterday, and it'll be a LONG 56 days until he's back on days!
6. Transformers 2 and GI Joe coming out in theaters. How sad that my life revolves around release dates? Not to mention they're "boy" movies, but I don't mind. I grew up with my kid brother and he had those toys, so I feel like they were just as much part of my childhood as they were his!
7. The arrival of my new nephew in September. He'll join a big brother and two big sisters, and I know everyone's excited to meet him!
8. Our anniversary and my birthday. They're only five days apart, so it's like my celebration gets to last a week!

Eight things I did yesterday:
1. Slept in for a little bit (thankfully the kids wanted to sleep in, too!).
2. Showered, dressed, got the kids ready and drove to Jacksonville with the kids.
3. Worked for six hours at my part-time temp job (dropped the kids off to stay with my mom).
4. Went to pick up the kids after work and had dinner with them and my folks.
5. Drove back home to St. Augustine.
6. Got the kids ready and put to bed.
7. Watched some shows on my DVR that I hadn't gotten to previously.
8. Cleaned up around the house a little before going to bed for the night.

Eight things I wish I could do:
1. Play the piano or the guitar...I'm just not coordinated enough.
2. Win the lottery! Wouldn't that be great?
3. Travel the world. #2 would certainly help with that...
4. Be less of a packrat.
5. Find a cure for terrible diseases like cancer so that families wouldn't have to say goodbye to loved ones.
6. Learn to dance ballroom, like on Dancing With The Stars. Again, I'm a little too uncoordinated...
7. Find the magic solution for world problems like poverty, hunger, etc.
8. Be the best mom my kids could ever hope or ask for (I'm working on it...).

Eight shows I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. Survivor
4. Chuck
5. Desperate Housewives
6. Dancing With The Stars
7. The Mentalist
8. Friends (yes, it's long-gone, but will live forever in reruns and my DVD collection!)

Eight favorite fruits:
1. Strawberries
2. Grapes
3. Oranges
4. Pineapples
5. Watermelons
6. Apples
7. Blueberries
8. Rasperries

Eight places I'd like to travel:
1. New York, NY
2. Canada (relatives!)
3. Ireland
4. England
5. Italy
6. Hawaii
7. The Grand Canyon
8. Alaska

Eight places I've lived: (this will be fun...Dad was in the Navy)
1. Currently in St. Augustine, FL
2. Gainesville, FL (for four years of college at UF...different dorm each year)
3. Jacksonville, FL (grades 10-12, 6-7 and K-1)
4. Charleston, SC (grades 8-9 and my birthplace)
5. Dartmouth, NS, Canada (grades 4-5)
6. Virginia Beach, VA (grades 2-3)
7. Key West, FL (early years)
8. Providence, RI (early years)

Tagging:
Alright, I know I'm supposed to list 8 people to tag. But I don't have that many "followers" on my blog, so I figure instead I'll just say this...if you're reading this message, you've been tagged. :)

Small World

So many coincidental things lately just remind me what a small world it is. I was on my Facebook page yesterday and saw a pic of someone Facebook "recommended" to be a "friend" for me, and she looked really familiar, like someone I knew from high school (her married name was listed, not her maiden name). It gives you the option of looking to see if you have friends in common, so I checked that out. One of her friends was a mutual friend of ours in high school, confirming that she was the same person I believed she might be. What threw me for a loop, though, was that some of her OTHER friends that we have in common weren't from my high school years, but people I know through my local MOMS Club here in St. Augustine. St. Augustine isn't that far from Jacksonville, where we went to high school, but far enough that not many people make the effort to move down here! Small world. I added her and she accepted my friend request, and we wrote back and forth several times today only to learn that she lives five miles from me, in a condo development that used to be apartments...the same apartment complex Steve and I lived in almost nine years ago when we first moved to the area. Small world!

Also yesterday, I was working at a middle school as a sub for a math teacher when I saw a familiar face as I was walking to my sub assignment room for the morning. She was someone I recognized from her blog, and we haven't been "following" each other very long, but our kids are only a year apart age-wise and I really like reading what she writes. Anyway, I walked into the teacher's lounge for lunch, and there she was! I hope I didn't creep her out too much when I invited myself to sit at her table and then basically said, "I know you!" Small world. I had to assure her that I was not a stalker, and that I'd been booked for that sub assignment several weeks ago, before I ever even read her blog for the first time. :) I didn't even know which school she worked at, since we all have some small degree of anonymity on our blogs.

These two random happenings are just examples, but I thought I'd share them with you today. Seems like it's the little things that make us smile and remind us to count our blessings on a daily basis. In a time when the economy is bad and crime is on the rise, we have to look for the things in life that make us stop and think about how fortunate we really are!

A Well-Rounded Education

I'm nearing the end of my third week as a substitute teacher, and I have to say it's quite an eye-opening experience. I have taught several different topics so far, including English/Language Arts, Social Studies, and Art. I was even "tricked" into being the In-School Suspension Coordinator for a middle school last week. The computer said it was a Social Studies assignment, so I accepted...and then found out when I arrived that the Social Studies teacher is now the ISSP Coordinator (translation: let's put 11 kids with attitude and behavior issues into one small room the size of a storage closet with no windows and teach them to behave...not likely). I survived, but wow, do I ever have more respect for my parents for raising my brother and I to respect our elders after being so disrespected by the ISSP students. Those kids were obviously testing me, and I get that, but if I had EVER acted like that in school I wouldn't have been able to live it down with my folks.

And today, I taught Math to sixth and seventh-grade students at another middle school. Math, as anyone who knows me well enough will understand, is not my favorite subject. I really do believe that despite my teacher's best efforts, I was just never meant to be a math person. I can compute basic figures in my head well enough. I liked Geometry because it was like a game to me somehow. But where in life will you REALLY need to know that (3+x)/(14-y)=132? I mean, that's fine if you want to be a scientist or a mathematician, but I was just more worried about learning to balance my checkbook. Anything with the word "calculus" in it was just too terrifying for me. But the teacher who called me to sub for her is a friend from church, and I've known her for quite some time...so I accepted the assignment and just hoped for the best...at least it wasn't high school pre-calc or something like that.

Lo and behold, she had an awesome lesson plan all written out for me and all I had to do was follow it carefully. Hand out the assignment, help the 6th graders if they had questions, and make sure the 7th graders didn't talk during their test. It was somewhere about halfway through the day that I realized, "I can totally relate to these kids." Now, I don't think I'm going to run out and get my teaching certificate and specialize in Math, but I had some sort of epiphany that because Math frustrates me, I was really working harder to make sure the students could get a better handle on things. Maybe that will make a difference for them later down the road, even just a tiny insignificant difference.

So subbing is going well. The kids are having a blast with my mom during the day, so that's just another blessing I count among many each time. And several teachers today asked me for my contact information so they could call and request me, so I take that as a positive sign. I don't know if middle school is really my "favorite" age group, since I haven't worked with elementary or high school all that much yet, but it's nice to know I'm doing something right.

Learning Curve

So my first day as a substitute teacher was Monday, and thank you Meagan for reminding me to give an update! Things went pretty well. Actually, the first half of the assignment I didn't even have students. It's a school that works in four blocks of classes each day and then the blocks rotate every other day. Instead of having seven classes that are 50 minutes long each, there are four classes that are 90 minutes long. Each school will be different, so the trick is to learn to adapt, I suppose.

Since my assignment was for HALF of a day, I was scheduled to arrive at 11:30 a.m. I got there early. Not just 30 minutes early because that's what was recommended by our instructor in orientation, but over 45 minutes early because I had allowed for traffic on 95...not thinking about the fact that there really isn't any rush hour traffic at 10:30 a.m. My mom met up with me to get the kids and take them back to her house, and from there I jumped on 95 and zoomed right up.

I was early enough to get to the main office and check in, and I made it to "my" assigned classroom in plenty of time to meet the teacher I'd be subbing for. That's when I found out that the next class session is her planning period. Meaning no students. Oh, and don't forget a 30-minute lunch break. I was told to take lunch and be back in the classroom by 1:15, since students would be arriving around 1:23 and the final bell for class to start would ring at 1:28.

I went to the cafeteria because (gasp!) I hadn't been on-the-ball enough to grab a frozen dinner from my kitchen, and I was not at all shocked to find that cafeteria food hasn't changed much since I was a high school student. It wasn't terrible, don't get me wrong, and for $3 you wouldn't be able to find much better elsewhere, but I will definitely be remembering to bring my lunch from here on out. There was another sub in the teacher's lounge when I got there and we chatted for a while...but as soon as she found out I was a "newbie" she got a huge grin on her face. She gave me some good, practical advice about how to handle the students in my class. Basically, the rules include things like "Don't let them know it's your first day." Oh, and "Make sure you tell them you will not tolerate profanity in your classroom." Yikes.

I got to my classroom with plenty of time to spare, reviewed the lesson plan the teacher and I had discussed before she left, and then started greeting the students as they arrived. The coursework was simple...some workbook time (grammar) and then an in-class open-book essay quiz on Act One of Othello. Should have been simple. But these kids wanted to talk. A lot. To each other, and especially to the kids who were sitting across the room from them. Fine, I'll mention that in my note to the teacher. I had a good handle on my control and didn't snap, since I'm pretty sure they were hoping I would. I calmly told them that they needed to have the assignment completed and turned in by the end of class. I even walked around the room every so often and discreetly had the "willing to work" students mark a star on the corner of their assignment, so that I could tell the teacher to look for the star if she wanted to know who was really dedicating themselves to their work.

By the end of the class, I was still doing fine. I only had one student who was tardy, and out of 26 that wasn't bad. Out of 26, however, three refused to do the quiz and turned in nothing to show for the day. That was fine...as students turned their essays in, I marked it down on the attendance roster so the teacher would have that on record.

All in all, I was pretty pleased with my first day. I'm glad I did a half day first to give myself that confidence boost I needed. Tomorrow and Friday I have an assignment with a middle school, much closer to where my mom lives. Again, I'm teaching a Language Arts Class, and while I've been warned by several "pro" teachers that middle school is probably the roughest age group, I think I can handle it. And I'll learn from it, too, so that each class I teach will be that much better for all involved. :)

Back to the Classroom I Go!

So I'm heading "back to the classroom" on Monday...but not as a student this time! I was activated today to be a substitute teacher for the Duval County Public School System. I signed up under an educational staffing agency, and wow, there was a LOT of paperwork involved...but considering the fact that you're working with youth I understand the need to be thorough. My background check was the only thing we were still waiting for, which isn't a shock because those take time. The approval came through today, and I got the call around 3 p.m. that I could begin accepting assignments!

I'm pretty excited about this opportunity. I had debated majoring in Education in college, but I felt like Public Relations was a better fit for me and earned my degree through the College of Journalism & Communications. I don't regret the decision I made, because my PR experience was a great one, too. Now that I'm in a different chapter in my life, I feel like working in schools would be a challenge I will enjoy. By being a substitute teacher I also have more flexibility in my schedule, and if there are specific days where I really need to be home with the kids I can do that by just blocking them on my schedule. My mom is going to help me by watching the kids on the days that I have assignments, so that's a blessing in itself...even at three, childcare for two kids costs a small fortune!

When I got home this afternoon I logged on to the scheduling module we were taught to use at orientation earlier this week. I am currently scheduled for my first assignment this coming Monday. It'll only be a half-day schedule, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., but I think it's a good way to get my feet wet for a first day. I'm covering a high-school level Language Arts class, and I'm sure I'll blog about my experience sometime next week to let everyone know how it goes!