Schooooooool's out for summer!

I have been an educator for 13 years. I have been at SG for 6 of those. When I took the position at SG, I knew it was a 12 month position which means I was giving up my summers. At that time, giving up my summers wasn't that big of a deal. The first 7 years I taught with the county, I worked every summer doing things from front desk work at the Y to writing ELA curriculum at the board. So not having to search for a summer job actually sounded nice.

Then I had kids...

The past 2 summers have been hard. I am thankful SG offers summer camps for kids from 4 years old all the way up to 6th grade, but it still was hard to see so many of my friends have the summer off with their kids. I almost felt like I was putting my children at a disadvantage. Of course, then I remembered there are millions of kids who's parents aren't teachers and they also have to go to some sort of 'care' during the summer. I am not an island. I am not alone.

Our summer has started off great. Evan took swim lessons at The Pool School. I cannot say enough fabulous things about this program!! It is a 2 weeks class, 4 days a week for a half hour. Evan went from not wanting his face to get wet when in the pool (or bath) to swimming with his face in the water!! He even jumps in the pool and goes completely under water!! I never thought this day would come! He is even begging to go back to swim lessons. I am hoping I can find some extra money somewhere to get him in some more lessons this summer. He still has 2 level before he's graduated to the class that works on specific strokes.  I would love to have him do those classes next summer.
 As with most things, little brother thinks he is the same size and age as Evan. Which means he thinks he can do all the things Evan does in the pool. I am allowing Luke to try whatever he wants so he gets comfortable with the water!!! Luke is doing things now at 2.75 that Evan wouldn't do at 4. I am hoping this swimming things comes easier for Luke since he is obviously more comfortable with the water.

As summer has come our days have gotten longer. John has taken a new job and his work days have become longer. We're okay with that because we know he is really enjoying what he does, even if that means he comes home later. The boys and have gotten some great mommy son time at the pool, outside in the backyard, and even some cuddles. :)

 

 

More Father's Day Fun

Even though my dad is no longer with us, I have been blessed with some wonderfully strong men who stepped up to care for me after he left. I have an abundance of fathers!! My Father in heaven who sent His son to die for me...for me! My daddy in heaven who watches me each and every day. My step father who stepped into our lives 4 years ago and my father in law who has counted me as a daughter from before John and I were married. I even have a step father in law!! See, I told you I was blessed. :)

We celebrated some of those men Saturday night with some pool time (okay, very little pool time), good food and great company.

Jed came into our life about 4 years ago. Their story is precious. My mom and dad went to high school together, but didn't start dating until after college. My dad's side of the story goes something like this, "I chased her the entire four years, but she wouldn't give me the time of day" to which my mom would roll her eyes. The town is so very small, they have a high school reunion every year for all the graduating classes. After my dad passed away my mom still went to the reunion. On their 50th high school reunion, my mom and Jed reunited. So they have known each other over 55 years, but didn't get their chance at love until now. *collective awwwwww*

Evan and Luke only know Jed as their grandfather. I still talk about my dad a lot. They know he lives in heaven with God, but they will never have memories of him. I could not hand pick a better person to be my two boys grandfather.

Evan and Jed - Luke can't be bothered with this kind of nonsense!

The card Evan made Jed.

Pop is John's dad. I can't even start with what this man means to me and my boys. He really did help me through some of the toughest times in my life with love, concern and the utmost support. I admire his determination and dedication to his loved ones. He truly is the mostest specialist Pop around.

The card Evan made Pop

And of course, we celebrated the best daddy of all, JOHN! :)
My love...my partner...my sanity. I could not make it in this crazy world we call parenting without you.
The boys and I are so blessed have you in our lives.

PS. John is NOT 27 years old, I know he looks like it, but he's not!

Gimme a D!!!

This year I had a whole big plan for Father's Day morning. Sadly, a sick little boy took priority. Evan woke up at 5:45 (after going to bed very late and getting up two or three time) pretty sick. Thankfully, it was a one time event. He's eaten two full meals and played around the house like he's hyped up on caffeine, but non the less, it derailed my 'breakfast in bed' plan.

I did send John back to bed at 5:45 so he could rest. I sat up with E making sure he didn't get sick again. That counts, right?? Watching 4 episodes of Pocoyo has to count for something!!

Even puny, Evan was super excited to give John his presents. The one I was most excited to give him was the DAD pictures. 

I bought a "D" and an "A" at Hobby Lobby for the pictures. John has been leaving early for work which made this project easier. I knew if I didn't do this first thing in the morning, I would never get a clean clothes shot! These boys attract dirt! Armed with my camera and a bag of M&Ms (my kids have learned the art of bribery) we set off into the back yard. Evan was first and I only had to take about 10 pictures to get a good shot of him. We then tried the A. I thought this would warm Luke up to the idea. I am actually very very surprised how few shots it took. I know my lighting was off, but again, I was taking what I could get. Then came Luke's D. Oh wowza. This is where I took a majority of the SEVENTY shots. He was very cooperative and said "cheeeeeeeeeese"the entire time, but hardly once had the letter up or face toward me. The D you see is the best we could get. 

I put these three in a frame from the HobLob. Did you know you can pull the 40% coupon up on your smart phone!!?? She asked me if I had a coupon and I almost said "Ain't nobody got time for dat" but chose to shake my head instead. She said, "You have one of those fancy computer phones?" Do I need to tell you she was the sweetest little white haired lady? She said, "Just pull up the internet (I really wanted her to say interwebz) and I can get the coupon code off there." I mean, how sweet is that? What a great company, right? Encouraging savings with their customers. I applaud them.

THE FINAL PRODUCT

Hopefully he'll smile when he looks at it. I smile when I look at the outtakes. 

OUTTAKES

"I drough much!" ("I throw mulch" which was apparently much more fun than posing for a silly picture.)

Luke's "cheeeeeese" and "why must you keep calling my name?!" face.

 

This is what happened when I said "Show me that letter!" Yeah, that was productive.

Linguistic Style

My 2.5 has some really cute sayings now that he is actually talking. And talking he is!

Here are some of our favorites around the house:

la lou - love you

I care-we you - pick me up

i wan dat - I want that

oh..oh..here we go - Oh, oh, here we go - which is said before we start most activities

toomy zoomie - Team Umizoomi (it's a kids show, the parents of toddlers know what I am talking about.)

pud i (short i) down - put it down! Said most emphatically when we pick up our phones, or other children, or the wrong remote.

ep me ep me ep me - help me x 3

dat lissis - that's delicious

I tinky -  I'm stinky and have a poopie diaper in which you should change because I won't be potty trained until I have 18...or something like that.

Do you have some favorites toddler sayings??

"Because it's May...."

May is a bittersweet month around here. On one hand, we are teased with days until summer break. On the other hand it is probably the busiest time for an educator. I was at a birthday party and another mother said, "It's easy to tell who is a teacher this month. Y'all all have the same expression on your face." I laughed so hard I almost cried. Or maybe I was crying... Another teacher friend told me she had used "because it's May..." as an excuse for everything. We haven't had a hot dinner in 7 days...it's May. I might be wearing two different socks...it's May. Why is there a student standing on that table? It's May.

Evan has had such an amazing time with his friends, his teachers, his class. May is always hectic (hence the lack of blogging), but trust me, it's hard to compare to the excitement of the last day of school!! See the excitement in my face!!??!! And I don't EVEN get a summer break!! 

School ended with a lot of festivities. One was field day. They had about 10 stations set up, and the kids had a blast! It was a kid only event (no parents) but one of the perks of working at the school in which your child attends is when you walk across campus and they are having field day, you get to stop and watch. :)

The class party was the last day of school and I have to admit, there were tears from momma. Evan has not only grown so much academically, he true spirit been nurtured. Mrs. Foreman and Mrs. Cummins loved that little boy for exactly who is; a kind, wild, attention seeking, big hearted, leader. They had their finger on exactly who he is and what he needed to grow in every area of his little 5 year old life.

Another thing my work does is celebrate! The teachers got to celebrate the end of the school year as well! We worked hard all year (especially in May) and deserved it! Happy Summer Break to all my teacher friends!!