It's been awhile..

Pheww! A lot has happened since the last time I posted. June flew by, and the 15th heralded not only the last day of school, but my last day of "in home child care" EVER! By 6:00 I had my house de-babyproofed and was celebrating in the street with my neighbors. Still no news on a teaching position at this point, but I was playing Cleopatra (Queen of deNile).

The kids and I left the following weekend to go visit my parents in Oklahoma. Oklahoma was in the midst of the longest rainy stretch...I think when we left they were going on 20 days straight of rain. Kind of put a damper on the visions of laying by the pool for 10 days, but we did manage to swim...in the rain.

Jesse left for Iraq just a couple of days after we arrived, and that was very hard for all of us. The kids drew pictures and wrote letters, and mom and I went to Brighton and bought each other the new "peace" bracelets to console ourselves and commemorate the occasion.

Isn't he handsome? I don't like the mustache, but he looks so handsome and grown up... More on Jesse later.

While I was in Oklahoma, I got the horrible sick feeling in my stomach about the fact that I had no income, no job, and was getting ready to spend 2 weeks at a rented beach house. So, I went ahead and emailed my resume to the principal of the one school in the area to which I had not yet applied. As I was typing the email to the principal, I got the feeling: "This is the one. This is where I'm going to end up." Sure enough, the principal emailed me that night, and I was awakened the next morning by the secretary, wanting to schedule an interview for the next day! I explained that I was out of town, and set the interview up for the following week.

We got home from Oklahoma on July 3rd. We celebrated the 4th with Julie, Ron, Teresa, and Matt. We went to the Plains and had a wonderful time! It was actually very relaxing.

I had my interview the next day. As I got in my car afterwards, I realized the interview had lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes! Either it went really well, or I talked way too much and she didn't know how to shut me up...now the waiting begins.

The kids and I left for Topsail Island 2 days later. The Zirkles and I had rented a townhouse on the north end of the island. There were 3 bedrooms and we were kind of cramped, but it was oceanfront! The beach was never crowded, the riptide only got the kids one time, and the shark didn't show up until the day before we left... Pat joined us for a few days. We were concerned that his Kia Rio wouldn't make the trip (cheapest 4 door in the US) so he rented a car for the drive down. Imagine his surprise when he saw what they gave him...

What a blast! Anne and I dealt with early risers, lots of shoes, a broken dryer, and a leaky roof, but we still felt like we were in heaven! The kids have grown so much!

3 days before we left, I finally found out that I had gotten the job at that school! First grade, and I was thrilled! I used the next 2 weeks to clean out the garage, schedule playdates, get school supplied, and mentally gear up for working outside the house. I spent the first week getting my room ready. The next week was taken up with inservices and training. The last week was staff meetings, first week prep, and open house...I was wiped out! The kids felt neglected, the house was neglected, and Pat was traveling for work. So...the mommy guilt kicked in...One day when I got home from work we went to PetSmart and got 2 gerbils. It turned into an event, as our good friends Niki, Ty, Kayla and Shelby came in right after we did, for the same purpose.

So we welcomed Jasmine and Midnight into our home. Everyone said I was crazy, and maybe I am, but the kids think I'm cool, and I actually like the gerbils.
So, it's mid September and we're all finally getting used to the new routine. Cam and Sam both love their teachers (I took them to my school with me) and I see them all the time. They ride in with me in the mornings and home in the afternoons, unless I have an early meeting, then Pat drops the kids off to me around 8:40 am. I've gotten into the habit of going back to work one night during the week, usually from 7:30 to 11. Yes, I know it's not a great habit, but it has restored my peace of mind. I love how quiet it is, and how much I can get done! Back to School night is this week, and after that I can relax until conference time. I would rather be home, just being mom, but since I do have to work, I'm very happy where I am. The staff is amazing, and the kids are typical first graders: chatty, eager to please, and wanting to learn. I can work with that.I've talked to Jesse twice since he's been in Iraq. He's doing fine, everything considered. He's kind of bored, and really sick of sand, but he's hanging in there. We write and send pics as often as we can. He sent the kids awesome t-shirts, that they wore to school on September 11th

So, that's what's up!