Emotional Day

So, I had my first cry today. All my emotions got jumbled up and got the best of me. I guess four kids will do that to you especially when go from one kid to four all of the sudden. It's more stressful sometimes than it ought to be. One good thing happened today though, I got to go to Steppin' Out in Blacksburg. Steppin' Out is a big festival where local artisans sell their stuff. There was lots of cool stuff. Unfortunately I ran out of checks so I only got three things. I saw some pretty cool stuff including wind chimes made out of silverware and some pretty cool lawn ornaments. There was lots of pottery, art and jewelry. I got a necklace and some toys for the boys and that was it. I also got to meet up with Gwen for the second time in two weeks. It was fun to see her again :-)

Where to Start?

Alrighty so, last time I blogged we had one child...a lot has changed since then!

On Friday Brandon and I drove to West Virginia to see the Black Eyed Peas. They are a contemporary pop group that sings pretty decent and clean music. They do some cool stuff with lighting and whatnot. It was pretty fun because we got to meet up with some friends and hang with them. It was really crowded, but that just meant we got to do some people watching, which considering we were in West Virginia was pretty entertaining :-) We spent a long time waiting to leave, but we had a blast.

On Saturday Brandon and I went to go see the children for the first time. They spent the weekend at the home of a family that goes to our church. They didn't seem to be hyper or anything, just kids being kids. We felt better about everything after meeting them, but we were still unsure of how the whole car situation would work out. I mean, how do you put four kids in five passenger car?

After meeting them, we went to a wedding. It was really hot, but it was really pretty and just perfect for that person. I got to meet up with the other English teachers, so that was fun. Unfortunately the real excitement happened on the way home. We drove to Kmart to purchase two cribs for the two girls, but the RAV was acting up on the way over. Eventually we made it, purchased the cribs to be picked up later and loaded diapers and clothes and other misc. stuff into the RAV. Unfortunately RAV made it exactly half a mile and left us stranded on the on ramp for 460 in Christiansburg. Luckily Brandon's dad was able to come pick me up and our massive amounts of stuff. We called a tow truck and Brandon hitched a ride with him to Roanoke to rent a van. Brandon picked up the cribs on his way home and we spent the evening putting those together and trying not to stress about our vehicle issues.

On Sunday we went to church and came home with three extra kids. Ever since then it's been really crazy at our house. It's been good, though. Having a baby has been really pleasant since she sleeps through the night mostly. The 20 month old is below what her development should be, but she's really sweet and she's Brandon's buddy :-) Noah and Colby seem to get along okay, but they have their bad moments like most brothers. They certainly had a blast avoiding nap time today until I seperated them.

So, as far as vehicles go...we found out that the RAV needs a new $3500 transmission. That's more than the car is worth, so we're oging to buy a Mazda5 van from Hertz Car Sales in Charlotte. The Mazda5 is small as far as vans go, but it gets great ratings and is highly recommended by everyone that recommends vehicles. It will seat six so it's perfect for us and the price/mileage is excellent. Brandon is supposed to go down on Sunday to pick it up. I'm pumped :-)

The Start of Foster Care

So today we got a call from DePaul asking if we would take our first foster children. I thought they would try to ease us into this, but no, they asked us to take not one, not two, but three foster kids - Noah (4), Arianna (18 mos) and Sahara (3 mos). I think we can fit three more kids in our house, but the main problem is that our car is not big enough for all of them to sit in the back seat. The ideal solution is for us to buy a new car. The reality is that we don't feel like that's a viable option for us. So we decided to buy a passenger airbag on/off switch. That way one of them, probably Noah, can sit in the front seat without the airbag going off in an accident. The hope is that we can pay off the RAV ASAP and save for at least a couple of months to put a really nice down payment on a new or new/used van. I'm really excited about this! I'm excited to be able to provide a home for these kids who are in a less than ideal situation. I'm also excited about being able to buy little girl clothes :-) I think I'll be glad to look back on this craziness, but I think I'll look back with fondness!

Thoughts for Teaching This Year

Every summer I think about the up-coming school year and decide what I'm going to do differently. This summer I decided to buy a book that would give me some fresh ideas and a new perspective. The book is What Great Teachers Do Differently by Todd Whitaker. This book is really good. As I read I think about how great it would be for everyone in my school to read this book - it's a quick read, only 128 pages. I already have a list of things I'd like to do or do better when school starts. I also have a mental list of what I'd like others to do better. If they only did one thing better, I would say they need to be more positive. I think my school has a culture of complaining and negativity that I would love to see go away. I'm guilty of complaining, but when confronted with massive complaining this summer, I found out how unproductive and detrimental complaining is. I won't say that I'll never complain again, but I think after reading the book and my summer experiences, I'll complain less. And what's to complain about really? We have the best jobs on the planet (hello, summer break!) and we get to help influence future generations to hopefully be better than past generations. Every day is different from the one before and every set of kids is a chance to get to know new people and solve new problems. If you are a teacher and don't love your job (most of the time) then maybe you're complaining too much :-)

Summer Lovin'

Now that summer school is over, I'm trying to do some things that I don't normally do. I went to visit my parents this past weekend (not that I don't normally visit, but the timing was good :-) ). I got a bunch of apples, tomatoes, corn and green beans while I was visiting. I made a batch of applesauce to can and am thinking about making another bag of apples into apple pie filling. I'm also thinking about making apple cobbler. I haven't decided what to do with the tomatoes yet, but I'm thinking about canning those or making spaghetti sauce and then canning it.

I've also been working on my slip cover some. I got fabric back in June and I started pinning it, but I haven't gotten around to sewing it until last night. I realized some time ago that I'll need a couple more yards of fabric, but I can finish most of it this week if I keep at it. I'm also contemplating cleaning out the laundry room. Brandon finally moved the shed to it's final resting spot so I'm thinking the giant saw and extension cords and other random stuff can be moved to the shed. This is a big job, so I might wait until this weekend when Brandon can help me. Then we're taking the entertainment center out of the laundry room, taking it apart and putting it in the attic because it takes up TOO MUCH SPACE. It's convenient for storage, but I think there are easier ways to solve the storage issue...like shelves over the washer and dryer or using shelf space in the closet more efficiently. My house may never make it into Better Homes and Gardens, but by golly it can be better than it is now! Actually I know that my house would never be in Better Homes and Gardens because it is tiny! I've been dreaming lately of living in a house twice this size with an open floor plan...sigh...one day we'll make it happen :-) One day we'll have the house, a flower and vegetable garden worth bragging about, chickens, fruit trees and bushes and space to grow our own wheat (I know, I know, I can buy flour at the store, but why bother if I could easily grow my own?!).

Summer School is Out with a Bang

Well, summer school is over. It definately went out with a bang this week. We had a fight on Tuesday where one boy knocked another to the floor. Both kids were suspended and might be suspended at the beginning of the school year. The real headache happened on Wednesday morning when we discovered that someone had video taped the fight on their phone and posted it on youtube. We spent a long time trying to figure out who put it on there and how to take it down. As of right now it's gone, but I'm sure the video is all over Pulaski by now. Today I had to deal with an angry parent. I won't say exactly what happened, but they cursed at me and were really rude because THEIR CHILD made a stupid decision. It's amazing how parents thing we ought to stalk their child and literally keep and eye on them every second of every day when we have to supervise so many other kids too. As some point these children need to become responsible human beings and we can't trust a child to go sit in the lobby and wait for their ride without them walking out the door, then what can they be trusted with?

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake...Yum

I finally made some blueberry cream cheese pound cake. One word - delicious! If you want the recipe here it is: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/blueberry-cream-cheese-pound-cake-i/detail.aspx

This has been the hottest day of the summer so far. The heat index is well into the hundreds. I'm sure our electric bill will be ridiculous when we get our next one, but thankfully the A/C doesn't cost as much as heat. We apparently keep our A/C a lot higher than lots of people (75) but we use fans in the living room and bedrooms, though I 've been contemplating putting one in the kitchen too.

We've been trucking along in summer school. I had one kid get smart with the school resource officer and my fellow administrator yesterday. He was suspended for today and will be back tomorrow. We'll see if he can behave himself. Other than that most of our issues have been minor and a lot of paperwork. We are halfway through and nobody has quit yet, so I guess that's an accomplishment :-) I think I like this internship because there are some problems that have to be figured out and parents dealt with beyond the discipline issues that I spent a lot of time on at the high school. I think the lady in charge wants to give it up next year. I think in her mind she thinks she's training me to take her place. I think I'd do it if I haven't been hired to be a principal somewhere else by then. It's a pain to deal with some of the things, but I think overall it's a decent three weeks worth of extra pay :-)