Life As I know It - Part 1

Okay. I'll admit it, I've been procrastinating BIG time on posting lately. Well, that and I am soooo busy, I feel like if I try and tackle one more thing, my head will spin off completely. I could easily use at least four more of me. One to go to school for me, one to go to work for me, one to be JUST mom for me, and one to do the sleeping. That would leave ME to just do what I want right now, and that's nurture my marriage. I never would have imagined 20 years ago that right before my 20th wedding anniversary, I would be feeling like I JUST got married. And by that I mean I feel so new at this. For about five months now, Andy and I have really REALLY been taking a long hard look at US. We've stopped taking each other for granted, have taken great strides to put each other on the top of our own priority lists, and have made the promise that no matter what, we will communicate about ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. We go on weekly dates now. And I don't feel like I am taking advantage of my two older kids to babysit when we do that. I actually feel like it was all part of God's plan, us having older kids to watch the little one at this time in our lives, so that we can give our marriage the proper attention it deserves. We usually go see a movie, which I know some might think "how do you visit" but we have sooo much fun. The theater we go to is 25 minutes away. So that's 50 minutes of blissfully uninterrupted talk-time! We pick movies that the kids wouldn't like or that are "grown-up" (aka R-rated) movies. We people watch. And we sit close, feel young, and pig out on popcorn. With no interruptions. I truly do feel like a teenager in love! I have always LOVED Andy, but I know there have been times that I have not felt IN love. And I vow now to always do what I need to do to keep that feeling. Marriage takes 3, that's for sure. We pray together a lot, and have accepted that God needs to be our VERY first priority and then our marriage will be complete.
So....with that said, will it bore you to hear more about what's been going on while "I'm At Home" ?!
School is kicking my butt. It's not hard, just extremely time consuming. And it's only the beginning. I have so many projects to do. I have to complete a research paper in a month. I haven't written a paper in over 20 years. Ugh. I have chosen the topic of Household Safety. It's for my Health/Safety/Nutrition class. Remember, my major is Early Childhood Education. The awesome thing is, my teacher is so flexible, and is more about the content of the paper rather than the logistics of how it's written. I have many personal experiences that I can put in my paper, and she said that's fine. I also have to complete lesson plans, menus, whole curriculum's, and a floor plan for a child center. All that along with weekly small assignments, lots of reading, and 6 hours of in class time. And, I'm taking an online math class. I need to register tomorrow, for summer and fall classes. And that's so hard to think about when I have sooo much to do in this semester still!!
And then there's work. It's three very stressful, intense hours, four mornings a week. Working in a multi-grade classroom with the 2nd grade class only, is hard work. The actual teacher is working with the 3rd and 4th graders in the back of hte room. I also have the one first grader with me. It's the social aspect of these little people that is so stressful. I can teach math; I can teach spelling, phonics and reading. But dealing with tattling, bullying, crying, anger, teasing, silliness, defiance, hitting, and the list goes on, is such a pain! I know it's completely normal, and that the social aspect of school-age kids is so crucial, and at most times domineering, but when I have limited time and am expected to do my job in a certain time period, I have to dig deep for patience, patience, and more patience.
I have decided that this post will be Part 1 of two, because guess what? I have a bazillion things I have to do, NOW! :) The kids and I are off to a maple farm in a bit. Here in Maine, today is, statewide, Maine Maple Sunday. We hop from farm to farm, sampling free treats of maple sugar candy, and other goodies. I will take pics. So Part 2 will be about Maple Farm Hopping, anything new with Little Man, life with a teenage boy and his new girlfriend, Girly Girl and how I want to hit her over the head with a hammer to stop her from growing up (had you saying "what?" for a second there, didn't I), and then I'm thinking a Part 3 for my new Fiber Diet!!! Wow. And, I'll throw some pics of me on my 40th birthday in there too. Yeah. I hit the big 4-0 last week.
So stay tuned my faithful followers!! Do know that I HAVE been reading your posts, and keeping up. :) Until next time....!