You really can go home again

Written yesterday but finished today due to becoming brain dead half way through.

Today was the first "first day of school" I've had in four years. I took a break from teaching when I had Katie Jo and have never looked back. Recently I have been itching to get back into it all, but through subbing. What a perfect combo subbing is. You get the adult interaction, a break from the norm, pick your days, and not have the paperwork/meetings/parent headaches. And you get paid. So when I decided to sub I also decided I would only do it at the school I taught at. That way I would know a lot of the faculty and the routine. That school was really my home and family in the early days. I loved the people I worked with and for. I loved the setting and the kids. It was my life before I had children.
Needless to say I felt very mixed about going back into my old stomping grounds. On one hand I was so very excited to see the people I loved but strange about my place since I wouldn't be a "real" teacher. It's hard to know where you fit in in a situation like that. The puzzles still the same but my shape is different and I had to figure out where to work it in.
Thankfully they were all overjoyed to see me and most had to stop to figure out what in the world I was doing there in the first place. I guess first day of school you really don't have too many subs! It was nice to show off my picture of the girls and catch people up on my life as it is now. Every where I turned I ran into old friends and co-workers. It was a surreal day.

And there was also the class I subbed for! I'm the assistant in a kindergarten class. Their assistant had surgery right before school and won't be back until after the first week of September. Kindergarten children are a different breed! They are so new to it all and needy. I taught fourth grade so it was interesting to be around this age now as a mother. I still love the older kids but I am enjoying this age group more now since I can understand so much more about the way they work. I really like the teacher I'm with and she is a nice combo of kind yet firm. I have to admit I was a little bored with all the repetition and practice that comes with the first day with five year olds. I kept looking at my watch and it was only 9:37 then 10:40 and finally 12:15. We didn't dismiss until 2:00 and dismissal took forever! I walked out at 2:50 and I thought I would collapse before I'd make it to my van. All in all it was a great day and I enjoyed getting back into the mix of things.

The girls did very well with their sitter. There are two other girls with the sitter that are from our church so I was glad for Katie Jo to know a friend. There's only five kids all together and they're all girls so I think it will work out to be a great situation. After this sub job I'll only sub one or two days a week and I think both my girls will enjoy the break of going to the sitter and playing with other children.

That's all for now!

Happy Birthday to me

33

Is that an old number? I don't think so. Now at sixteen it would have been an old number. But at sixteen I felt like world would probably end before now because I couldn't imagine getting "that old." Thankfully the world hasn't ended because I sure would have missed out on a lot of fun stuff! I love getting older, it means I'm a year smarter, a year wiser, and a year closer to figuring out who I am. Today I'm not just thankful for another birthday but I'm thankful for a great husband, two sweet girls, my family and my health.

The birthday overall was low-key. I got some sweet cards from family, candy and an itunes gift card from the hubby and girls, and a beautiful necklace from Mom and Dad. The girls and I went to the mall and met friends for lunch. They both took long afternoon naps which is a rarity around here and then Jay and I went out to eat tonight. My favorite part was that this was my first birthday that Katie Jo could understand and enjoy. I loved seeing how excited she got when I would tell her my birthday was coming up. She loved that I had gifts and cards to open this morning. I'm glad she has a spirit of giving and enjoys seeing others celebrate. All day she kept checking in with me saying, "Today is your birthday?" Maybe next year Georgia will have a better understanding of these things. Today she just concerned herself with when she would get to eat and that someone would hand her her sippy cup when she dropped it! :)

She is probably smarter than a fifth grader

A few things to share about the eldest child.

First, last night Jay and I were having a conversation in the bonus room and KJ was sitting nearby with her back to us playing. We were discussing some upcoming things on our calendar and here's what happened next.
Me: "I don't think we're ever going to make it back to Disney World at this rate."
KJ: turns completely around, makes eye contact with me and says, "What did you just say?"
Me: "What?"
KJ: "What did you just say?"
I couldn't help but laugh out loud for several beats. I couldn't believe she knew what we were talking about and I sure didn't realize that she knew what Disney World was. It was such a revealing moment and her tone was such that she not only understood what I said but that she couldn't believe I'd rule out going to Disney World under ANY circumstances!

Last night I again explained to Katie Jo how if she woke up and it was dark she had to stay in her bed. If it was light then she could come to our room, blah, blah, blah. I also took her to the bathroom to ensure we didn't have a repeat of the night before (and today we bought a vinyl cover for the mattress). So right before I went to bed I checked in on her and noticed she had pulled one of her blinds up about a foot and a half! I guess she wanted to make sure she could tell if it was dark or light outside. And sure enough she didn't come get in bed until about 6:30 this morning.

Lastly, we were having a conversation about how I'll be going back to work in a couple of days. I explained how Daddy would be getting her up, fed, and dressed in the morning and that she would be going to Mrs. Debbie's house. At that point she stopped me by putting up her hand and saying "Wait, wait, wait. You're not Daddy." I paused to figure out what she meant and then when I did I explained that Mommy was going to go to work like Daddy. She then said, "You're not a boy you're a girl!" Obviously we had to have a convo about how girls can work too. All this time I've worried about her feeling abandoned or dumped at some stranger's house. I never considered that it would confuse her about the reversal of roles. Even though Jay will still be working too I guess in her head it's like he and I are switching places. Thankfully it's only temporary and after that we'll be on a "normal" schedule most of the week. She's such a trip though! I'm sure she's in her room now still mulling over all that we talked about.

Around my elbow to touch my nose

First of all, I used to teach.

Secondly, I had to take a class this summer to stay certified. I did this kicking and screaming but it paid off because now I can...

Substitute and make the larger amount because I'm a certified teacher. I decided to sub the first couple of weeks of school to have spending money for an upcoming trip. In about a week's time I found very low-cost child care, secured a assistant job in Kindergarten for the first 12 days of school, and got signed up with the district to sub. I am SUPER excited because the job is at my old school. I'll write more about that later.

So, because I am going to be getting up so early I had one more thing to take care of.

Backtrack about a month ago. Katie Jo started waking up scared at night. We would stay in bed with her until she fell back asleep but then she started waking up several times crying loud. It would wake the baby which was another story in itself so one night I just let her come to bed with me. Problem solved. So for the last month she wakes up at different times and crawls in bed with us. It hasn't been a big issue and some times she doesn't come in at all. BUT now that I'll be getting up so early I don't want to have all the night waking so we decided to try and break this habit. Last night before bed I talked to her about how if she woke up and it was still dark she had to stay in her bed. If she woke up and saw light then she could come get in the bed with us. I told her that if she came into our bed when it was still dark that we would walk her back to her room to put her in her bed. We talked about how everyone has their own space to sleep and that it was time for her to start staying in hers. Off to bed she went.

At about 11:30 I was watching the Olympics and out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure at the end of the hall. There stood Katie Jo with a sleepy face and she was trembling. I went to her and as I hugged her I realized she was soaked! She had wet the bed. It was awful. She was so traumatized and scared and embarrassed. I went to get Jay and he changed her bed. She and I went in the bathroom and she was so wet I had to run a quick bath to get her clean. It was awful. So of course, we had to put her in our bed because her mattress was soaked. AND to make matters worse her lovie, Daisy, was soaked and had to be washed. This just further agitated the situation since she hasn't slept without her in almost three years. So, needless to say it was rough. She finally fell asleep and at 4 o'clock I woke up to put her stuff in the dryer and then at 5 woke up because the baby was crying and got Daisy out of the dryer and put her in bed with Katie Jo.

So much for well-intended planning. I don't know how she'll do tonight. I'm afraid to put her in a diaper to sleep but I don't want this to happen again. I'm also afraid I going to have a time trying to keep her in her bed now. We'll see. Things have a way of working themselves out but I'm curious to see how long this one takes! :)

Week in review video

This one's about 1 minute 55 seconds.

The week in review

Here are a few shots from our week around the house.
Katie Jo's cute dress in the below pic was made by Aunt Jessica. Georgia has a coordinating one that she should be able to wear in another couple of months.
It rained one evening and the girls enjoyed opening the window to listen and watch.
The girls petting our sweet dog, Baby.
Kayci and her crew came over one morning and brought their motorized jeep. Katie Jo loved driving Georgia around. Georgia LOVED riding in this thing!

That night at a surprising 7:45 I turned around and saw this. Jay put her to bed but she was back up at 9:15. So I popped a bag of popcorn, poured some lemonade, and we snuggled in the bed to watch the Olympics!

Katie Jo took this shot of Georgia and I. She is getting pretty good at the camera. Maybe a Christmas thought? I love how Georgia is looking at me with such amusement. It was probably because I was saying "Cheese" for about a full minute while waiting on Katie Jo to hold the button down long enough to get the shot.

Then I took a self shot of the eldest and myself. Katie Jo was being so sweet. She didn't just have her eyes closed, she was nuzzling the side of my face.

Katie Jo wanted me to get a shot of her pretending to sleep with her lovie "Daisy."

Friday nite Katie Jo and I sat on the front porch and did our nails. This was a first. I painted hers a pale pink color. She wanted to paint mine so I let her. Click on the one of my feet to get a true sense of her steady ability!

She took this one and I love how she accidentally got her feet in the photo.
This was from this morning before church. My grandmother made the girl's outfits! We might not live near family but they sure do spoil us with some cuteness!

A little comparison

Georgia ReeseKatie Jo
Mark Mothersbaugh
One of these people is best known as a member of the band Devo with the 1980 Billboard classic "Whip it."

I'm just sayin...

Upstate video

Here is a video documenting our time in the upstate last week. It is 1 minute and 48 seconds long.

Visit to the upstate

Last week the girls and I traveled to the upstate for some family time. We had a nice visit with everyone and it was good to get in a last visit before my mom had to go back to school and before things got going here with the new school year.

Gran, the girls and I went to the park one day for a picnic and play. Check out the bump on her forehead. That happened within five minutes of our arrival.


Wasn't it nice of Katie Jo to offer to catch me?

Another evening we had my grandparents over for pizza and some pool time.
Papa helping Georgia

Mama with Katie Jo

Yum! Lemon delight!
The big girl got mighty brave while we were there.
Tuesday afternoon we went over to see Papa and G$. Katie Jo loved trying out the keyboard!

A sweet kiss for Papa
Monday Katie Jo and Georgia went over to see Mia since she had the day off work. Georgia enjoyed exploring!
Katie Jo enjoyed lunch outdoors
And some pool time!

Visit with the Groves

Jay's sister Jessica and her family came down from Maryland for a week at Seabrook. They invited us out on Sunday and Jay's mom was able to come too so all the cousins got to play in the surf and Mia got to enjoy all her grandchildren. The girls and I went out again later in the week and enjoyed the beach again. We finished up our day at the pool. It was a fun visit!

Mia and Georgia Katie Jo running to join Austin and Aidan
Just about the whole gang
Katie Jo and Aidan enjoying the water

Playing in the sand

On Friday when we went out I didn't get any photos from the beach. These were once we got back in and had a bath.
Huggin cousins

John Paul

They could all pass for brothers and sisters
Swimming in the pool
Aunt Jessica and John Paul
Aunt Jessica with Katie Jo