Superhero Camp

First off all you single parents, spouses who travel parents, or deployed spouse parents, you guys ROCK! I don't know how you do it all, all the time. Kevin was gone 6 days and I am running on no sleep, house is a mess, haven't cooked and laundry is everywhere. Kudos to you. You are my new hero!

Daddy was gone Sunday to Friday so we had Superhero Camp to entertain Jman. It was also survival camp for mommy. Basically we were trying to do different fun things to occupy us while daddy was gone. 

Sunday J helped daddy pack by stashing cars in his suitcase. You never know his conference was probably really boring and J wanted him to have something to do.

Jman started Sunday School! He walked right in ready to play. He's had a rough few weeks in the nursery since Reedster was born. He seemed to really enjoy it. I asked him what he did and he showed me his book and said "Thank You God". Pretty significant lesson that we all need to remember. 

That evening we made homemade popcorn (the best kind) and watched the classic Lion King! I've been trying to get him to watch if for months knowing he would love it, but he always refused it. Well he finally did and LOVED it. We put blankets and pillows down and watched in style. Reedster hung out as usual. 

Monday we went to a play date and had fun with our friends Aubrey, Ethan, Haley, Lily, Carson, and Raelynn! Lots of fun, so much fun he refused to nap. Boo!! Luckily it felt wonderful outside so we played from about 3-6 outside! Makes up for all the scorching, melting heat days we missed outside. Mommy made scented sand paint and we redecorated the deck. It was a mixture of flour, water, koolaid,and sand. Creating a textured washable paint that smelled yummy!

Reedster chilled inside laughing. 

We had some pool time and made a huge bubble pool. 

We then made our own homemade pizzas. 

Tuesday we went to CFA for breakfast and went birthday present shopping at Target. 

When we got home mommy made flubber.  Jman was NOT impressed and refused to touch it. Alright cross that off the sensory list. 

J was getting a little cranky probably because he didn't nap Monday so we made the cure all pillow pit. 

After naps we went to my parents to have dinner. Pappaw, Jman, Reedster, Indy, Scooter and me all had fun on the trampoline. Well we all sat while J jumped and bounced us. 

And then it happened. Something I've never experienced. The bee sting. After trying to keep my dog from eating the bee it landed on J and stung him. That was a cry I have never heard or want to hear again. Then it was an ordeal to all get off the trampoline including the silly dogs. I have never been stung and had no idea what to do. Of course 5 minutes later Jman was fine and running around like usual. We had a yummy dinner, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and macaroni. All homemade and my favorite made by my mom. Or maybe Dumplins is. It's a close second! 

Wednesday we had Reedster's check up. Big boy is 24 inches 13.5 lbs, bigger than Jman at 2 months! Couldn't believe it. She went on and on how impressed she is. She couldn't believe he already laughs! I told her we make happy babies. And she said the best compliment we could get "That shows you have a happy and calm home." That felt so nice. That's what I hope for a happy, loving home. 

He's so tall. 

Of course there were shots making it a rough evening and following day. But at least he had superhero band aids!

Jman napped on the long way home which meant he did not take a usual nap at home. Boo!

So we had an impromptu play date with Amy! Thanks friend for letting us play. 

Thursday we had another play date with Lily! Then we went to lunch with "cookie" I mean Grace! We bought her a pizookie the best dessert in the world, for her birthday. 

And guess what Jman did NOT nap again!! Ahh. So we watched Dumbo, such a sad movie. 

While he watched it I whipped up some cloud dough. I wish I had made more. Jman pretty much squealed when he saw it. So he had a blast playing with the dough and tractors. Reedster was pretty fussy so he chilled with us. 

I think he likes it!

Reedster had a rough night. 

Friday we had a play date at Pee Wee Bees, with the usual crew. :) 

Mommy had fun jumping with Jman. Sadly though I'm not as recovered from my surgery as I thought and really feeling it today. Daddy wasn't getting home until almost bedtime so we went back to pee wees after nap and closed the place down. 

Daddy came home and Jman said "Daddy that was a long day at work!" Such a clever little guy. 

I love my boys to the moon and back but I am wiped out! So superhero camp sometimes was fun and sometimes it made us cranky. We certainly missed our daddy and really appreciate him when he's here. Momma is off duty this weekend!

Babe the trash needs to be taken out and bottles washed. :)

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Play and Learn

Did you know you can try Gymboree Play  and Learn for free? Yep! I always get a "coupon" when I shop there for one free class. But you don't need a coupon they offer a free class no matter what. We took advantage of that today (yesterday) I don't what it is, I'm rocking a really cute superhero. I wanted something different to do this week and I've wanted to see what this program is. So we finally signed up for our a free class!

I've wanted to put Jman in something. Last spring we did a ten week music program with Treehouse Music Together.  At first I didn't know what I thought of it, but by the end Jman was really enjoying it and he still sings the songs. Usually without any prompting from me or with the CD playing he starts singing and doing the motions. So I would do the program again. He has been amazing with Reedster. Better than I could imagine, so we try to make sure to do things with just him or geared just for him. So I thought I would try Gymboree.

After trying the demo class, I was quite impressed. I wasn't sure what the program entailed. Was it just climbing fun? Nope its not. So I signed him up today!

Reasons I liked Gymboree

1. Each age level focuses on an age appropriate skill. J's age group is focusing on logical thinking, meaning they are relating things to the real world. The teacher in me was quite excited, because this is HUGE. Something a lot of kids have trouble with. I already constantly relate things to the real world in everything we do.

2. The teacher introduced the class for the day with a book! Hello teacher in me again, got excited. She read them a short book and the rest of the class was using the gym as a place to reenact the book with pretend play. Jman is suddenly very into pretend play at home, so this was great. He jumped right in and pretended the different equipment was things in the story.

3. Very age appropriate. She didn't have absurd expectations. They had free time to play. She read a book, then as she went to get the next supply, they could explore, they would do her activity and then have time to explore again. Everything was about a minute or two before she changed activities. This kept J interested and he didn't constantly run off to play. Which impressed me since this was all brand new to him. He listened to her, followed directions and had fun.

4. The staff was super nice. Welcome you in and immediately started to get to know you and your child. They were not pushy to sign us up but answered all my questions. The teacher was great with the kids. They talked to me while I stayed an extra 15 minutes to feed Reedster. They were really nice.

5. They offer open gym time 4 times a week to just come play on top of weekly class.

6. It was fun! Pictures say it all.
 

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Two hands and two sick babies

Just when were getting the hang of the two kiddos at home, finding our our new normal, Jman adjusting well and stopped screaming for milk every time Reedster ate, just when I feel good and start back into our fun activities BAM they both get sick. Not feverish, cold sick. Stomach bug sick. Wow having two kids immediately means both kids get sick and pass it back and forth. Yikes. Never really thought about that reality.  I will spare most of the gross details but with a stomach bug you know what that means. 

It started in the middle of the night Sunday and J got sick, he seemed fine the next day so I thought it was something he ate. He continued to be his joyful self. A couple days later he stopped eating and just didnt seem right. Then Thursday, my sweet little one caught it and couldn't keep anything down. Then Friday comes and out of no where J has it again. 

Yesterday  I was so torn as to which baby to hold. Both didn't feel well, although Jman didn't really act all that sick, that is until the baby let me put him down. Then he burst into tears and begged for "I carry you". It's so sweet he wants to carry me although he was the one sick. 😉  He then sat in my lap for a long time while we watched "Cars". 

It was then I realized, wow two kids sick and you're spread even more thin than usual. How do you balance both? How do you clean up after both? How do you cuddle and snuggle both? How do you wash everything known to man while snuggling both? I'm impressed Jman was so calm yesterday. I didn't even know he didn't feel good. Of course after our few minutes of snuggling he was ready to run again. That boy is endless energy. Here's to hoping he did not pass it back to the Reedster. No more ping pong boys, stop playing. 

Now seriously how do you get the smell of vomit out of a car?!? Jman has thrown up seriously only 4 times due to illness, once at the doctor, score for me not having to clean it, and twice in my car!!! The first time I was preggo with Reedster and thought I was going to vomit in return. Not fun. And again here we are. Guess I will keep Febreeze and spray it up my nose with windows down while I drive  everywhere. 

It's also amazing how different my attitude with second baby is. I would have freaked the first sign of J getting sick. Begging for an appointment, freaking out, texting my sister in law or calling with every little detail. With Reedster I feel awful he is sick and so young, but realize its inevitable with an older sibling. Can't quarantine them in their rooms. A casual call to  the nurse line to hear them tell me I'm doing everything they would suggest and call again if it gets worse. Hmm experience changes perspective. 

 The house is super clean, and all laundry has been washed. Here's hoping a good nights sleep will put everyone at 100% in the morning. 

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A year of sensory

Last August marked the start of our monthly sensory boxes and my journey as a stay at home mommy. I started the goal to create a new theme box each month. It was so nice to walk in the garage yesterday and pull out the August set. I will probably add to if needed. I am adding books in this round to read and explore while he plays. Yep its the teacher in me to keep with a theme and add books to it. And believe me I have books for all of the themes :)
It will be neat to see how his interest change this year or what he knows now. I may make a few new ones throughout the year. There's a link to the original post for each one.

 So here's a recap of them all.
August 2012 - Ocean Theme - Age 17 months

August 2013- Look how big he is! Of course he still loves to get in the box.

September - Dinosaur Theme - I know Jman will especially love this one next month. He is so into dinosaurs right now.

October - Halloween Theme

November - Fall Theme - Wish it could be real leaves

December - Gingerbread Cloud Dough - This is one I will probably redo this year. I wanted to do a better one last year but Christmas was really busy.

January - "Snow"- this was a simple rice and scoops bin, but it was one of the favorites. It allowed for lots of imagination.

 

February - Valentines Fun

March - Birthday Fun

April - Flower Planting

May and June  - Messy Construction - another fave! Ok I missed the month of June, but for good reason. We welcomed our newest superhero Reedster.

July - Bugs

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Fort Day

Today's fun for Jman a huge fort! Turned our hall into a giant fort.

 With lots of pillows and blankets. He then decided he needed every animal in his room. And yes he has a lot. Most of these are from my classroom and probably still 2 bags in the garage. (Ah teacher problems!) 

This boy loves animals. He probably sleeps with about 12. I keep trying to put some away in the closet, but by morning they are back! Love this kid. 

Reedster wasn't impressed with it. 

Can't wait for Daddy to come home and play. I'm sure he will be as excited as this little boy was. 

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The Teacher You Don't See

I may no longer teach in the classroom, but this time of year certainly tugs on my heart. Honestly I do not miss teaching. This is the second school year starting and I don't feel sad or long full. I know I'm exactly where I'm meant to be at this time in my life. However I do know exactly how teachers feel right now and how much they sacrifice that goes unseen. 

Dear Parents,

You probably are so excited for summer to end and send your kids back to school. Let me give a little insight  to what your child's teacher is going through. First off returning from summer sparks several feelings. They spent as much time with their family and friends as possible knowing the next 10 months severely limits that. They probably didnt get everything in they wanted to do and already overwhelmed from the trainings and in services required. They are feeling a ton of emotions. First off, excitement - new class, new colleagues, new administrators, new expectations, new school supplies! Everything is new. You try to put away the year before and have hope for a new, exciting, great year. Meet the teacher night brings shiny new back packs and sneakers and bright new smiles. It also brings the huge hugs from the kids from previous years, who missed you so much. Excitement. It also brings sadness as the summer ends. Imagine in your job if you had two and half months off and expected to go back. How hard would that be? Extremely. That's a long vacation. So long that you get a accustomed to a new life and routine and  then shortly have to change it. That same meet the  teacher night you see the kids names who don't show up, and pretty much know they are the ones you probably will never meet their parents. They will drop them off the first day and try to get out so fast, possibly sprint (it happened to me) that you wouldn't recognize them if they ever come back again. Sadness. It brings nervousness. Will I have a good group this year? Will I have a runner? A cryer? A kid who climbs the shelves? A kid who can't speak English or 5 (like I did my last year)? Will the new principal make it a good year? Will they be supportive? Will the parents be helpful? Just one? Pressure. Get all those plans up, decorate your class, prepare for a new grade level, work with that difficult teacher. Exhaustion- all of that and more produces exhaustion!Lots of emotions going on. 

Money. It's a well known fact teachers are certainly on the low end of the pay scale with very little raise with each year experience. But how many jobs do you have to pay out of your own pocket for things for work? I'm guessing a couple. That super cute classroom you walk into when you drop your child off, came out of that teacher's pocket. The border, the posters, the job chart, the cute decorations, the books (yes most of the books), the games and puzzles, the paint, the craft supplies, the recess equipment, the special snacks and so on. Those cabinets you see full of stuff from their own checks. Besides chart paper, sentence strips, 1 stapler and very rationed copy paper it's from your child's teacher. Sure they could choose to not buy anything and use only what the kids bring and the school offers but that immediately takes everything on the walls away! Believe me all that adds up to a lot of money. And every couple years they buy new because they all that wears out. Oh of course there's the 50% kids who can't afford supplies so you buy theirs too. 

Time. A teacher is expected to work 8 hours a day 7-3. Alright that's not so bad. Oh wait that's the time the kids are there, so when do they plan and write lesson plans and do research and plan games and prepare supplies and do conferences or make phone calls? All on their own time. Teachers are expected to do duty at 7 before the day begins - so if you want to do something in the morning come earlier than 7. Sure there's a 30 minute lunch but by the time you escort your kids to lunch make sure they all got their tray and didn't attack anyone while they waited or disappeared down the hall, that's 5-10 minutes. Now you have to heat your lunch, there's another 5, scarf it down so you can go to the bathroom before you show up 5 minutes early so you're not late getting your kids. So about 5 minutes to eat, oh wait you needed to make a last minute copy, well you better eat while you walk. Better yet just drink a water and eat at conference. Conference time is 45 minutes for you to get all those plans done. Woohoo. Oh wait one of your kids is already in trouble, take them to the office, call their mom on her 5 non working numbers. Run to the ARD you're late for, which will run over your conference time. Or have that parent teacher conference, meeting with administration, weekly team planning. Don't forget to eat that lunch. Run to the bathroom before picking your kiddos up. On a good day you might actually sit down and read an email during that time. School ends at 2:30, well that's 30 minutes to plan there. Nope stay until the last kid goes home. And most of the time there's always one until after 3. So that leaves none of the work day to actually plan for your child and their lessons everyday. Or all the prep work and grading the papers. So what does that mean? Your child's teacher is there before 7 or stays way after 3 AND takes home a basket of stuff to do at home after dinner and during the weekend. 

Oh there's also all the after school events they are expected to attend and usually missing their own child's event and just time with their family and friends at all. 

Love. They will fall in love this year. With every child in their classroom. Some will be an instant love the second the child walks in. Others a slow love that grows all year long. Or a tough love for those that need it. But they will fall in love. They willingly give all that time and money and emotion to every student in their class, every student from past years, and even those they see but never know. Teachers sacrifice so much every day all year long (even in the summer) to teach your children, to care about them. They will devote more time than you realize to make your child a success. They will be the bad guy when they need to, they will have that difficult conversation with you, all because they care and want to give your child the best education they can. They do all of this because they care. They will laugh and cry more than you know all because they truly care!

I'm telling you this so you realize how hard the job is, that's its not just a job to them, its a life. The next ten month are devoted to your kid. Teachers do all this because they love it and truly care about the kids. They put up will all those crazy politics for the kids. They take the stinky pay for the kids. They love those kids. And the day they stop caring and loving that is the day they should get out. I know from experience. I couldn't handle it anymore so I got out. I didn't want to make the sacrifices anymore so I made a very hard decision to change my life. But those teachers you meet this year, they still care. 

So remember this year when they give you that sad note, or hard phone call they truly do care and everything they do is for your child. When you see them in the morning with wet hair pinned up and no make up its because they were up late preparing for your child and woke up too late to get fancy. When you see them at the end of the day dragging their feet, forcing that smile or avoiding eye contact it's because they had a hell of a day and need to rest, go easy on them. Tell them thank you every once in a while. Write them a note, send them a small gift or have your child write a card, teach your kids to tell them thank you and give hugs, lots of kid hugs, reinforce your child's teacher expectations, do homework with them not for them, give them respect, don't speak poorly of them at home or your child will think they can too. These little things go a long way. 

Teaching is hard. Teaching is exhausting. Teaching is rewarding. Remember that everyday when you drop or pick up your child.

Teachers do it all for the child. 

Sincerely,

A former worn out teacher. 

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