Another Triple A!!!

Yup, I got 3 more A's in graduate school. My semester finished last week and final grades are out today. I am so happy to be doing so well in my graduate classes. It has been challenging to balance all the things in my life and doing well at school is definitely a nice reward for all the stress and hard work. In other exciting news I will be doing my Practicum or student teaching this Spring. Because I am already a full time teacher I can use that as my Practicum. I will just teach as I already do but now a person from the University will come observe me 3 or 4 times and I will have to prepare an extensive electronic portfolio. Once my Practicum is out of the way I only have 4 classes left til I graduate with my Masters. I plan on taking those 4 classes this summer. So YAYAYAYAY for me I will have my Masters and be done with school this Summer!!!!! HOOORAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!! The idea that I will be done with school before the new school year starts is THRILLING! I can not even tell you how much more I will be able to do at work when I don't have to run to class 3 nights a week! Plus I will have so much more time to relax with Evie which will be a VERY welcome change!

This week is the last week of work for me before we all break for 2 full weeks!! God, I love being a teacher!!!!! I plan to relax and spend time with friends and family and thoroughly take advantage of my break from grad school and work! Whoo HOO!! =)

In other news, I am happy to say that my final divorce hearing is January 8, 2009. If we have no issues between now and then I will be a divorced (free!) woman in January '09! YAY! I am very happy to be closing this chapter of my life and moving forward.

Evie is cute as ever and continues to delight and amaze me at every turn. She is getting very good with using the potty but only when we are not at home. I don't know if that is a normal thing for toddlers. She uses the potty a lot when we are out but then won't even ask or say she wants to go when I ask at home. Strange, but ultimately she will use the potty at home too.

In family news I am EAGERLY awaiting the return of BigBro and DocRom to the States!!! I super duper mega-ly hope they will come back to ATL but if they don't I will just be glad that they are not in a foreign country thousands of miles away!! I miss them SOOOOO much!!!! I can NOT wait to be with them and hug them and talk and laugh and connect!!!

Also, TwinBro is engaged!!! Congrats to him!!! He is with a very cool lady and I wish them the best!! =)

Happy Thanksiving All!

Evie spent Thanksgiving with her Dad so I decided to visit my Mom (her Nana)! Here are some pics of my trip and festivities =)





















Here's me doing the ski jump on Wii, big fun!!!

Progress...

Here is my room as of today at 445PM.





I found out today that I will have 25 students. That number will probably go down to 20 or 22 by the end of next week. I got to help register new students today, that was really cool! I will take more pics of my door and room tomorrow. Tomorrow night is Open House for all parents and students. I am working on my packets for my parents. The packet will include a letter of introduction, class schedule, supply list, and student handbook. Wish me luck everybody, tomorrow will be a very busy day =)

Being a Teacher

I have already been put in charge of my school's Art contest and I have been charged with the task of creating an Artist of the Month program. We already have a composer of the month program. I am soo thrilled to be asked to do these things! It makes me very happy to be asked to help with school things. =)

Yesterday I got the greatest compliment. My mentor teacher came into my room and said it looked great. On top of that she said she wanted to steal my morning routine idea! That is about the most flattering thing that could have happened to me on my first day of preplanning. I spent the morning like a deer in headlights so having that happen in the afternoon gave me the burst of confidence I needed.

What is my morning routine you ask? I am going to have the kids come in and file their homework under their name and then place their folders in my inbox. Then I will have them pick up their journals (that I am providing) and sit down. I bought some creative and silly journal starter books, I will put one up every morning and have them write. I will also have a math problem of the day that I will put up everyday for kids that finish the journal work really fast. I am super excited about the journals. I always always loved journal writing as a student, even at the college level I found it to be one of my favorite aspects of my classes. I think that teaching young children to just express themselves through the written word is so empowering. And their journals are for them, I won't grade them on grammar or spelling, or making sense. I just want them to have as many opportunities as possible to write for fun. I have personally kept journals my whole life, and now I keep a blog =)

Evie Update: 2 Year Check Up, Potty Training, Vaccines

Yesterday was a really big day for Evie. She got her first vaccinations ever at her 2 yr old check up. Ben and I decided to delay vaccinating her until we felt she was old enough and actually needed to be vaccinated. Well she is going to school this year and because she will be exposed to so many new germs and kids we felt it was the right choice to start vaccinating her. She got 6 shots yesterday in her thighs, the total number of vaccines was 9. I was extremely nervous about how her body would handle the shots. She is completely fine so far (knock on wood). She is a little more tired and crabby than normal but otherwise she is doing great! I have been checking her temperature every few hours to make sure she doesn't have a fever.

At our appointment Evie's pediatrician talked to us about potty training. I have had Evie in Pull-Up diapers for months now and she has a potty seat at my house and at Ben's house. We each work with her to sit on the potty and in general to be comfortable with the potty. So today I got her a step stool to get on the potty by herself. I also started working with her to pull her pants and shorts up and down herself. Hopefully soon she will make the choice to pee and poop in the potty instead of her pants. =)



Other than all that she is talking up a storm! Sonya, our daycare lady, says Evie talks all the time and she is very excited. I am so happy at how much she has grown up in the last few months. A friend of mine recently gave me a small table and chairs set, a spinny thing for evie to sit on, 2 huge bags of clothes, and a huge box of books. I am thrilled because Evie loves all the books and the table and chairs and the spinny thing. And she looks ADORABLE in her new clothes! Yay for good friends!! =)





And in me news I start working tomorrow. I go to new teacher orientation tomorrow and Friday and Monday. I am very very excited and a little nervous. I can't believe I will be in charge of thirty 2nd graders in less than 2 weeks!!! Here is what I am gonna wear to my first day of orientation. What do ya think? Sorry the pic is so dark.

All Dressed Up...

OMG, have you ever had a pair of shoes that you were sure were made for your feet? These are they for me. =)

Moving to the Cottage

Today I am moving Evie and I into the cottage. I am excited about her and I having our own little club house =) So I will post pics of her and I in our new place in a few days. A big fat special thanks to Grammy and Gramper for letting us rent the cottage. Even though I got them both sick with a sinus cold/infection they are helping me get moved and that is worthy of a medal or something!

I Got It!!!

YAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!! I am going to be a 2nd grade teacher this year!! HOORAYY!! I went to the interview and the prinicipal offered me the job on the spot and I gleefully excepted =)

I start new teacher orientation next week, holy sheep! After new teacher orientation is preplanning and then the kids come, eeps! I feel really good about this school and this principal, it is a very team oriented and organized school and that is the kind of environment that I thrive in so I think this will be a great place to work.

YAY! =)

Changes...

Hey all,

Big changes are taking place in my life right now. To start I am moving into my parents cottage on the farm for the next 6 months with Evie. After 6 months I will either have enough money saved to get my own place in Grovetown or I will stay in the cottage for another 6 months. Ben filed for divorce and surprised me, he is trying to take custodial parent from me. When we first separated we agreed that I would be the custodial parent (the parent that has the final say on all issues and receives child support). As a result I am changing my plans so that I can get custodial parent. Ben and I will be going to court in September. I have a job interview set up with a local elementary school for next week which I feel very confident about. I already know the principal and teachers at the school. So I will be teaching full time and going to grad school full time starting in August. Life will be busy!

Evie is handling the changes really well. And tomorrow she will be 2 yrs old, holy cow! Sometimes it seems like she is 2 going on 12 but then other times she comes up to me and says "baby". When she says that to me it means she wants me to rock her like a baby in my arms and sing rock a by baby to her. It is so wonderful for me, I don't know if she realizes how happy it makes me to rock her. She is amazing, so so so perfect! She truly means everything to me and there isn't anyone or anything in this world that I would let come between me and her, ever.

Beach Pics

Evie and company at the aquarium and the pool and the beach =)

At the Beach!

Evie and I are at the beach all this week. There are 9 kids from Evie's age to 14 and 8 adults! We are a packed house this week but it has been sooo much fun!! Here are some pics of us at the beach and at the amusement park =)

Still No Internet, No Grades

The internet at the Farm is still wonky for me. It works on Grammy's computer but the wireless won't work for my laptop. So I am having to update from Panera and school. I still don't have my grades for the 2 classes I just finished but I think I will have two A's. We'll see =)

This weekend is the Muddy Buddy race in Atlanta. I am soo excited!! It will be like the triathlon except instead of swimming in water we'll be swimming together through a mud pit! And we only have to bike 3 miles instead of 13 miles. It should be big fun! I'll post pics after this weekend.

Evelyn is talking up a storm! I will catch her on video if I can. She is adding words everyday!

Ok, I will update more later. =)

Internet Down, Classes Ending

The internet is down at the farm and my first 2 summer classes are ending next Tuesday. I say this to let you know that I will be MIA for a while til all that stuff ends or gets resolved. I will do a big update after Tuesday. I promise! =)

So, So, So Much to Say!

Hi Dear Readers!

As Cara graciously and astutely pointed out I have not posted new info in quite a while. Sorry about that! With the separation and imminent divorce and the end of the semester and the start of summer classes I have been swamped. But I am here and this post will be super long because I have a lot to report =)

I'll start with pics of Evie because they are always a crowd favorite. Here are pics of Evie at Grammy's friend's horse farm. There were chickens at the farm too which Evie loved!








The news here at the farm is that Gramper made an unexpected and brief visit home this last week. Grammy went to get him because this happened:

Yup, that is a tree in the swimming pool!



Now onto the nitty gritty. Ben and I were trying to get a separation agreement signed over the last 2 months but without being able to hire a lawyer I was not really ready to sign anything. The news on that front is that I will be getting my school loan money this week and I will use part of it to hire a lawyer to get divorce paperwork going. Ben and I have fluctuated between civil and not so civil but for the most part we are keeping good communication and Evie is being well loved and taken care of, of course!



In me news I am very pleased with my new gym. I joined the YMCA recently and they have great childcare and an indoor and outdoor pool and awesome machines! I am so happy to be going there. I was going to the gym on base for free but they are closing and their childcare cost extra and had awful hours. As a result of somewhat diligently going to the gym 3 days a week I have a small amount of muscle definition on my arms and legs and I have lost a dress size. I am very pleased. My next mission is to get good abs, I know it is probably impossible (see pics of me 9 months preggers) but I am gonna try.


In school news my classes are going great! I have my math midterm tomorrow night and surprisingly I think I actually will do well. I "get" what the class is about. I am not a total math idiot! Hooray! My other class is online and it is about classroom management. It is easy so far but I have 2 major papers that I have to write in the next 2 weeks before the class ends so I have to get my butt in gear or I will be sorry!



In job news there isn't much to report. I am still waiting to hear from the county. Apparently they are having major issues and that is why I haven't heard anything. I am trying to be patient. In the meantime I have applied in some other counties and I hope to hear from them soon. No matter what I will be working full time in the Fall whether it is as a teacher or as a retail clerk. I have to make money and get benefits to support myself and Evie. In the fall I will be taking 3 classes at night so whatever happens I will have to be able to go to school and work. If I am teaching then going to school at the same time won't be a problem at all. So please keep your fingers crossed for me!



In blog news I made this blog public again. People were having a lot of issues with getting to the blog so I just made it public again.



In more Evie news she is going with Ben to visit her Grandpop and Mimi and Oma and her Great Grandma Evelyn who she is named after. They are leaving Friday and will be gone for 5 days. I will miss her terribly! But I know her grandparents and great grand parents miss her terribly too! Luckily I have the fortune of being able to go to the beach the same weekend with Mike. I am so excited! I haven't been swimming in the ocean in over 4 years!!! I love the beach and I love swimming!



So I think that is all the news from here. If you have questions or want to know something I forgot to mention here you know the drill, leave a comment or email me. =)