Feeling Optimistic

What a difference a week makes! This last week was SO much better. My body adjusted to going to bed early and getting up early. I didn't feel exhausted all week. I've adjusted to the rigor of working and moming. I'm very determined to have strict firm boundaries with my students this year. I think it will take a few weeks to get the students adjusted to the class routines and expectations but I'm determined to follow through and not back down. I'm fighting the good fight! I have a few extra challenges in that my co-worker does not have the same expectations and she throws her students into the kitchens almost immediately. This makes it so I have to retrain her old students with more strict expectations in the kitchens and for my students to be jealous of the other classes that are cooking already (which they absolutely should not be). I'm sticking to my guns and trusting that my students will get their time and patience and training will make the labs and activities flow much better. If this happens the class will be a good experience for them and me. I'm more focused on my stress levels and sanity by being firm and strict and with time the students will also have a good experience, but they might not like me much for a bit. WISH ME LUCK!  

The kids started school on Tuesday and Scott started his new job on Monday. Corbin said all of his teachers are nice. I think he's a little nervous about the adjustment to high school but he's feeling pretty good. He is taking a lot of hard classes for a Freshman. He's taking German, Engineering, and Honors Math II. Gabby hasn't said much about her teachers or school yet but she doesn't seem miserable so that's good. Piper is very happy because she got the teacher that she wanted. There is some awkwardness with being in the same class with a former best friend. Ryan is happy with his teacher and being able to move to the big kid playground equipment. Scott shadowed a co-worker last week and I'm not quite sure what else. He now works in the shed. It will be an interesting change. 

Ryan saw a math sign in Piper's room that read "hundred billions 100,000,000,000." Ryan said, "How big that number is is making me question reality." Haha.

Scott's apple trees are looking good!

Enjoying the harvest.

Scott's co-workers spoiled him on his last day.

The girls had a camping out situation for several weeks in their room. Living it up! Ha.

Corbin's first day of 9th grade.

Gabby's first day of 7th grade.

Piper's first day of 5th grade.

Ryan's first day of 3rd grade.

Scott walked the kids to school on the first day.

This picture is the cutest!

Piper holding Thor.

Cutest puppies.

First Week Check

 I'm not going to lie last week was a little rough. I don't know if I just can't remember the first week of school from last year or what. I decided this week that teaching is like exercise, you lose your endurance and stamina if you take a break and you have to build it back up. Wednesday was only a half day and by 12:00 when it was over I was exhausted. The next day was a marathon day because of the back-to-school night until 7:00. I haven't adjusted mentally or physically to the demands of working full time and running a household. I went to bed early this weekend, slept in, and had naps. I was also struggling because I feel like I suck at classroom management and having a set unit plan. It's hard for me to not compare myself to my colleagues. I feel like I'm a middle-aged baby just starting out and I have a lot of room to grow. I am entering my 5th year of teaching but I would be entering my 18th year if I would have continued to teach after graduation. It's okay, I'll take deep breaths and get perspective but sometimes you just have to feel the feelings. I was thinking that even though I suck at least I'm making $11,000 more dollars this year. Hola! 

Scott celebrated his 4 year anniversary and his last day in the branch on Friday. He will still be working at MACU but he will be working from home. I think he is a little nervous to start his new job tomorrow, especially since none of the equipment arrived in the mail and he can't really do work without it. 

The kids start school on Tuesday. Finally! I am ready for those rag a muffins to go back to school. Corbin and Gabby are on separate buses since they will be going to different schools. They changed the bus routes and now they both have to walk about a half a mile to get to the bus stop. I do not like that at all. 

Well, that's all. Wish us all good luck as we are entering new jobs, schools, and grades. 

Scott's many gifts from Friday.

Charly!

First day! Phew, that's done.

Charly

 Alright, update on all of the things. I still haven't gotten a quote from Corbin's allergist so I'm still waiting on how and when to proceed there. Scott starts his new job on the 22nd. Ryan is still dry every morning. I haven't given an about my intermittent fasting experiment. I didn't even last two weeks. I don't tend to do well on diets. This diet in particular was triggering old habits of low calories and then failing and binging. For now, I'm trying to do it a few times a week. I already try to not eat after dinner and now I'm trying to skip breakfast a few times a week. If this diet is good for the immune system then doing it a couple of times a week is better than not doing it at all. We'll see. That's where I'm at right now.

I started work on Tuesday. We had a week of meetings and work time in our rooms. It's been nice to get back in the habit of working without the pressure of dealing with students and actually teaching. I'm still not ready. The students come back on Wednesday. I have a lot to do in the next couple of days.

I think we are officially getting a Ruby puppy. The one we want is named Charly. We love that name and probably won't change it. She is SOOOOO cute! We will get her the second or third week in September. We still have a few weeks to mentally prepare and get our space ready for a puppy. It's scary! Ha. 

We had breakfast for dinner last Sunday. Crepes, bacon, hash browns, and fritata. So good! 

Piper's crepe creation. 

Ryan was getting tired and impatient while the girls were shopping and trying on clothes. Gabby takes FOREVER.

Ryan and dad on a daddy date.

Piper has as weird thing in her mouth. I talked to our dentist friend about it. It's harmless but it doesn't go away on its own. I guess we get to see how long Piper can deal with it. I don't think she wants surgery so....

Charly!

Charly! 

Piper with Spud I think. 

I made cookies for the parent back-to-school night. I don't know if I'll do that again. This is less than half of them. 

Corbin had another friend sleepover. NERDS!

Allergy Tested

This past week was pretty busy. I was trying to fit in all of the last things. Back to school shopping and swimming were the main events. One evening we went and got ice cream cones at a Drive In by my work. I showed the kids the school I teach at and then we went and hung out at Camel's Back Park. Corbin and I went and walked the foothills for a bit. It's a cool short hike with a great view of the city. I finally made an appointment for Corbin to go to an allergy clinic. He has a constant runny nose, constant! It turns out he is allergic to various grasses and trees (like every one they tested). He is surprisingly not allergic to dogs or cats but he is allergic to rats. This is bad news for my rat loving girls. The rats mainly stay in the girls room and Corbin mainly stays in his room. I think what we will do is wait for Phoebe to die (pet rats are supposed to live 2-3 years and we've had Phoebe for 2 1/2 years). After she dies we will get rid of our two other "demon" rats as we refer to them. We purchased them as adults from Zamzows and they are mean and bite any chance they get. We will not purchase rats again (I am not sad about that but my girls are). Speaking of pets my friend Krista has a dog that had a litter of 5 puppies. Ruby is my very favorite dog on the whole planet. I am actually considering getting a dog. We will see. Krista is very picky about who she gives her puppies to and we are on a long list. I still need to get Scott on board. The kids want one of the puppies so badly! Gabby was crying on the way home after we visited them. 

Scott applied for a new position within Mountain America and he found out on Friday that he got it! I guess the list of applicants was long but Scott blew them away. Scott will be shifting from being a teller/loan officer to being a financial advisor. This seems to be a much better fit for him as Scott HATES the push for numbers and constantly striving for more rescue loans, ect. He does love advising people on their budgets. We will see how it goes but it seems to be a perfect fit. It is a work from home job (which will work very well for a new puppy, see the wheels turning there). I'm proud of him for applying and I'm excited that he got the position. Fingers crossed it is in fact a good fit. The timing is excellent because his manager was fired and they are dissolving the Garden City branch so he would have been reassigned to a new branch and not be working with his old co-workers anyway (which he is sad about).  

Ryan is doing AWESOME with his TheraPee. He has been dry 23 out of the last 24 mornings. He hasn't had an accident in weeks. I am pleased as punch! 

I'm waiting for a quote from the allergy clinic on how much a custom serum for allergy shots will cost. We will likely be doing a treatment where they slowly inject him with the allergens and over time he will build immunity and not react anymore. That's the hope. I think it will be pretty expensive but worth it. He has been suffering for years.

I went to The Chicks (Dixie Chicks) concert last night with friends. I loved it, it was so much fun. I am not really a concert person but this one was worth the money and effort of dealing with ALL OF THE PEOPLE. I don't like crowded places or things. Ha.

Well that's all, I start back to work on Tuesday! The summer has flown by. 

Cutest Ruby and her puppies! 

I really want one, I do.

I love soft serve ice cream...all ice cream.

Corbin was pricked with various allergens.

He's just pulling a funny face here. He was such a trooper! He's so chill. I love Corbs! 

After 20 minutes his back reacted. The reactions show an allergic reaciton. 4+ is the stongest the rating goes. He was 4+ on all the trees and grasses and rats (he was tested for rats since we have rat pets). 

Concert crew.

We were on the 3rd row!