I have a kid in high school....

It has hit my like a ton of bricks...I have a freshman in high school. Seriously he was just in kindergarten!! It is true those middle school years fly by...

Hannah is in 7th grade. We are carpooling with a boy in her grade. I asked her today if they talked walking into school...."mom, noooo we did not talk" insert eye rolling and crossed middle school girl arms!

Sophie started K3 today. We changed from a daycare setting to a more "academic" day. Chris had to pry her ever lovin' hands off of him when he dropped her off...but she only cried for 5 minutes then enjoyed the rest of her day.

My first day of school was uneventful. I was only able to pull one student today but I will be pulling kids to assess the rest of the week. I am excited to be 1.6 miles from my house and know that I have a strong purpose for being at this school. It isn't going to be easy. There will be lots of changes and I will be working hard to establish the special education department as a department that works equally as hard as our general ed counterparts. This of course will require ALL members of the EC team to work and serve children.

One of my favorite quotes from my old school is "Teaching ALL children to MY fullest potential" My teacher readers will really appreciate the power in that quote. I put it on my board as a reminder to myself and to those who don't know me!

Hope everyone has a great school year...did you know that I have a freakin' freshman in high school. To quote a good friend, " I need a rum"

3 words

This post has nothing to do with my 3 words except to mention and thank T for giving me a bead to add to my Pandora. I was going to wait to get Hannah started on her bracelet in December when she turns 13 years old. Buuuut when my mom was here she was sporting her Pandora and so was my niece Lillian, so Oma got Hannah started a little early.

Soon as summer break ends it is "GAME ON!" All three of my kids head back to school this week. I am kind of sorta looking forward to some routine around here...kind of:) I am going to try preparing parts of my meals for the week to help save prep time. This weekend I did a menu and checked to be sure I had everything I needed then headed to the grocery store with my list and coupons ( I suck at using coupons. I did save a whopping $5 today tho) Also I usually don't shop with a list. I buy the same stuff every week...but this week with my list I spent $70 dollars less! Ok...then I went to costco and spent the $70 I didn't spend at the grocery store, but I won't have to go back to costco for 2 weeks. I am trying to keep our food bill to what you would pay monthly for a small used car, but it is hard! I don't have time to go store to store and well I try to use the coupons, but usually there aren't any coupons for what I need anyway. I do have to admit that going with a list helped.

Once school starts the running from place to place starts. Thankfully the only person I have to run to practice in the fall is Hannah. Unfortunately Hannah will have soccer games Saturdays and Sundays and Ben will have lacrosse on Saturday and Sundays. I am dying to find out how my housework is going to get done and who the heck will be going to the grocery store!

Happy Back To School!

Thank God Tomorrow is Friday!!

Whew I am so glad tomorrow is Friday!! Why you ask??

* First week back to school/work.

* That means getting up early.

* Apparently Sophie knew about that and decided to help me out, and has been up at
3:30am all week. She goes back to sleep but she is flippin' and floppin'

* I am trying to create a special education "team" at my new school.

* Some people don't like playing on a team.

* We were hoping to grow our family by one...but it wasn't meant to be.Makes me sad.

* Sophie got sprung by her attachment therapist. Makes me happy. We will keep in touch with him and go see him as needed, but I think she's good.

* I freakin' love Bravo TV...which makes going to be early kind of hard.

* Being on vacation for 8 weeks makes going back to work really really hard.

* Time to start running ( again, again and again) to help relieve stress or I will drive my husband crazy with my b*tchin'

I'm Just Sayin'

Hold on to your hat!

* Just got back from visiting Pug mama and the family this weekend. T and Eme also made the trip and as always we had a great time! We laughed, we ate yummy gumbo and kabobs....but the best part of all was seeing our three beautiful daughters from China sitting together, running together and just having a good ol' time. I missing low low and Sophie running around with Eme bear crawling right behind them!




* I start back to work this week. Lots of staff meetings and getting ready for kids to come back to school. I have been at school all summer working on my room, and trying to figure out sped files. I am starting at a new school 1.6 miles from my house. It is a very good school, and when Sophie starts kindergarten in 2 years she will be able to come to school with me! I am leaving a school that I loved, but I was just tired of driving 45 minutes a day. I could never run over to school and when my kids had something right after school I was like a bat out of hell trying to get home in time. I will miss everyone, but I am excited to be starting something new. For the first time I will be working with 4th and 5th graders. I know I will miss my little ones, but it will be fun to do new things!

* Ben starts high school next week, Hannah is heading to 7th grade and Sophie is going to a new pre-k. I am tired from just writing that. Oh did I mention while I was sipping drinks poolside at PM's house I should have been shopping for school supplies. Guess we will be doing that sometime this week:)

* It's going to be a busy week, but I am looking forward (kind of) to getting back on a schedule.

Conversations....

An afternoon snack and conversation with Sophie:

Me: Hey Sophie



Sophie: Yes Mommy ( she is so polite)



Me: Soph, why do you climb into my bed at night?



Sophie: To get kisses



Me: Oh....thats ok then:)

More Beach Pictures...

Back from the Beach

We had a fantastic time at the beach. This year my Mom (Oma) and my niece Lillian joined us for lots of sun and sand. The sun part was an important part since they are visiting for New England, and well I don't think the sun has been out much this summer! We swam in the warm NC waves, toured Ft.Macon, walked the historical sites in Beaufort and ate lots of delicious NC shrimp! This summer Sophie let the water from the waves touch her toes, but I think she is like her big sister.....I have two "chlorine girls" on my hands! More pics later!