It’s Official

I accepted a TEACHING POSITION yesterday!

I will be working at a local charter school that is super close to where I live. I am excited, terrified, hopeful, nervous and overwhelmed. I will be teaching 5th grade general studies. I start the teacher training on July 15 for 2 weeks, then 1 week of in-service meetings and meet the teacher (ya, That’s ME!) and then school starts! The school is “back to basics”; the students face forward, learn cursive, stand when reading, and the environment is very structured. They use the Spalding method which is the training I will be in for those two weeks. It reminds me of private school…minus the religion factor. I really like this style for me since I feel like that is where I did the best learning when I was growing up. I appreciate the public school style but as a new teacher I think structure is going to be very important for me to get my bearings.

My parent’s, Mr. 72 and Smiles took me out to dinner to celebrate with some Mexican food and margarita’s at Casa De Mina. (If you haven’t been there and you live in the area….you are missing out!).

THANK YOU to everyone who pushed me to take a chance on this and believed I would be a good teacher so I could have the confidence to finally reach a goal of mine. I’m always so scared of not completing goals that I generally don’t start….maybe this will be the starting point to taking more chances and pushing harder. It feels weird, I have to admit but great all at the same time.

If anyone out there has ideas on how to successfully reach, teach, and connect with 5th graders….I’m all EARS!

I’m so grateful that I got this job and that they are willing to take a chance on me. I can only hope I live up to everyone’s expectations.

Teaching

Oh my, decisions, decisions.

I have been working and researching how to get into a career in teaching. I’m at a crossroads right now. I may be able to get an internship through a school in conjunction with the department of education if I can get someone to hire me as an intern. If not, then I need to go back to school to get a degree or certificate in secondary education. I really would prefer not to get another degree until I decide if I want to go into administration …. but it may be necessary.

The issue is that to enroll in the teacher prep program at school, I have to have an intent to hire from a school that wants to hire me. Some schools require that I have enrolled in the program and have the intern certificate….but I can’t get that without an intent to hire! I’m going around in circles trying to figure out how to make that all happen. Hopefully, I can find a school that will give me the intent to hire on the condition I enroll in the program and get the certificate before starting the teaching position.

The issue with going back to school is that it will take me until end of Fall 2014 to complete all my classes and student teaching. Not really bad, but when you are 31 and a single-mom, you need to know what life may bring and where you will get money to pay for life if you don’t have a job while student teaching. Then, it’s rare that schools hire mid-year in January. So it may take me a whole eight more months to get a position, pushing the timeline back to Fall 2015! That would mean that I would be without a job for almost a year! Waitressing??

I have an interview today with a charter school. Wish me luck! I could really use something good to happen with this area of life…not sure if I can make a decision on what path would get me into teaching quicker?

Book Review – Letters from a Skeptic

Does anyone else get a little sad when a good book ends? I do. The thought of finding another book I can get engrossed into seems exhausting.

I just finished “Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with his Father’s Questions about Christianity” by Dr Gregory A Boyd and Edward Boyd. VERY good book, whether you are a believer or not. It provides a good sense of why Greg believes in his faith and how his semi-scientific approach helped him makes sense of it all and come to complete faith. I think everyone should grab a copy and read it, not to convert your beliefs but it’s just a good read. Underneath it all I appreciate how the son (Greg) found something to speak to his father about, it seems as though they never really had that and found something in religion to discuss

I think some aspects of the book definitely helped my understanding of Christianity. I’ve taken a very skeptical approach to religion for the past 7-10 years or so and always wondered how people can believe with such conviction in something “that cannot be proven”.

Interesting read for sure.

 

Christmas/New Year’s 2012

Man staying home for the holiday’s has never been so hectic! We did so much the week of Christmas and then New Year’s! It was a great holiday minus my niece going into the hospital, Smiles being sick and not being able to work it out where we had the babies all week long…I missed them when they were gone.

Timeline

12/22 – Mr 72s parents came into town, we hung out and then my parents and his parents FINALLY got to meet; the girls grandparents gave them some gifts to open and we played outside to show everyone Miss H riding her bike with NO training wheels! She getting so good at it!

12/23 – went to Christmas service, …a bit over the top and not like normal services in my opinion but it was ok; Miss H sat with us (normally goes to kids classes) and Mr 72s dad wasn’t able to join us because he came down sick the night before; we grabbed lunch at home then I headed back to church to help with the daycare during the noon service;

12/24 – We finally had a few hours to get all three kiddos in one place to exchange gifts, my parents came over to see the girls open theirs, so glad they got to spend that time with us! Mr 72 had to drop off the girls in the afternoon to spend the holiday with their mom, After he came over to finish out Christmas Eve with me and Smiles and my family at my sisters…a rousing game of Ticket to Ride later and we headed home.

12/25 – We woke up in the morning and got to open gifts with Smiles, he found the candy in his shoes from St. Nick, we ate cinnamon rolls (family tradition), walked to the park and played, went to grab the trailer for a upcoming dune trip (didn’t end up happening, sad face), relaxed at home and watched half of A Christmas Story before passing out

• Notable presents – Smiles – more cars, pet night light; girls – dolls, doll houses, barbies, Wii games; Mr 72 – santa gave him a new KTM; Me – Backpack full of Canon goodies, new camera and lenses and memory cards, oh my!; We also got some date nights which will come in very handy!

12/26 – I had to work…bleh. Found out after work, when I was headed over to make Mr 72 enchiladas so he would have left overs to take to the dunes (I wasn’t joining him this time), that his trip was probably not going to happen. I felt so bad, he had gotten all ready the trailer was prepped for packing, he got groceries….he wasn’t too happy either. But apparently enchiladas put Mr 72 in a better mood…keep that one in my back pocket! My CA sister made it into town with her two kiddos and hubs.

12/27 – I only worked a half day so my family celebration could be had! Positive outcome of Mr 72 not leaving was now he could spend Christmas with my family. He got to see the opening of the presents, park time, my nephew shooting his new bow and arrow, first taste of pozole! YUM. He also took some time before the sun went down to ride his bike at the field…at least he got some riding in.

12/28 – again work. why do I work here. Grr. Anyhow Mr 72 ended up going golfing with my closest cousin and my CA-brother-in-law. Good bro time? sure…didn’t get much in the way of details which is weird since i always get an earful of information but oh well…as long as they had fun!

12/29 – Me and Smiles went to see Mr 72 ride his new KTM bike at the track…for about 30 minutes before Smiles came down with a super fever and fell asleep in my lap. Went to urgent care and they said it was the flu. So we went home and relaxed, he slept/watched TV, and I made sure he was well taken care of.

12/30 – still sequestered in my home from all other humans…not sure if the world has ended cause we haven’t been outside. Nervous about taking him out in the cold when he is still sick. I went a bit stir crazy…..

12/31 – Dressed up all cute for New Year’s Eve at work since I wasn’t going out that night. Mr 72 had the chiclets so we stayed in, played Wii, hung out and then put them to bed and watched The Walking Dead. Apparently I was REALLY excited about it that I downed half a bottle of wine and found myself drunk when I stood up to go to bed!

1/1 – I really didn’t expect to greet the new year so early….good morning Miss E….at 4:17AM!!! Oh wow….go to bed, then every 30 minutes  go back to bed…then around 5:30, get in bed and lay down. 7:00 Miss H, get in bed and lay down….7:45…fine, we are up. LOL Happy New Year!

That was our week and a half. It was exhausting but amazing! As long as I get to spend time with my family and babies I am a happy girl.

I wish everyone a Happy 2013 with more love, happiness and blessings than 2012. I love where my life is going so I can’t wait to see what 2013 will bring!

The Daily Mundane 12/19/12

Days Notable Events

1. Went to Christmas service this morning – Ma and Pop, Mr 72s mom and Lil’ H joined us. It wasn’t a stand out sermon for me but it was still nice to be there with some family.

2. Helped at the noon service in Smiles usual classroom. Oh 28 – 30-something month old’s have a lot of feelings and opinions, lol.

3. Spent about 6 hours editing….I need to eat dinner….or ice cream, whichever I find first, you take a guess which.

 

Verse or Quote?  It’s a noisy world, don’t miss the music. – Cal Jernigan

Topic Starter: What was a tradition growing up for the holiday’s?

• My most favorite thing growing up was going to my cousin’s house Christmas Eve. We would eat dinner, get dress up, dance, and hang out. I miss that this hasn’t happened in a couple years. Maybe once I get more settled, I can help carry on the tradition. Luckily, this year, my sister graciously opened her house to all of us. Thanks R family!

The Daily Mundane 12/21/12

Days Notable Events

1. Went with Mr 72…soon to be Mr 119. 😉 to the track so he could try out his new KTM 350 bike. He loves btw. No more kick starting for my man 😉

2. Edited pictures in the truck at the track until my computer died.

3. My parents and Mr 72s parents met for the first time tonight. We invited them over for dinner. I think it went well. We both have a great set of still-in-love-after-decades-of-being-together parents. Great role models for a new relationship…or old one.

Weather? lovely AZ weather…perfect for playing outside

Conversations? Mr 72 and my Ma bonded over why I shouldn’t want to homeschool….I’m not letting go of this idea just yet.

 

The Daily Mundane 12/21/12

Days Notable Events

1. What a BUSY day! I haven’t done so much in one day in a LONG time! – dropped truck off for service, went to The Farmhouse for breakfast (YUM), edited pictures, ate lunch?…I think we ate lunch, went to pick up truck, didn’t because we needed to go to Toys R Us so we took one car and left the truck, came back and got the truck, went home, went to the grocery store to get dinner for tomorrow night, went and saw The Hobbit in 3D, grabbed dinner at Rubios, went home…..SLEEP

2. My niece is still in the hospital and it looks like she will be there for some time 😦

 

Weather? beautiful day, sunny and cool

Conversations? good conversations with my Mr while driving like crazy around town. nothing in particular stands out…just good ol converstation

 

Topic Starter: Movie – So The Hobbit. Amazing in 3D. Peter Jackson….you done did it again. 3 hours, no ending. I was unawares this was a 2-parter?, please don’t be a 3-parter. Also, movie goers….stop eating with your mouth open, bringing babies to the movies, get a sitter, ….sorry that’s how I feel; and then when they are old enough to come to a movie with you, please stop explaining the movie to your children at normal volume…or if you must…sit far away from people.

The Daily Mundane 12/20/12

Days Notable Events

1. My niece went into the hospital last night 😦 ….prayers, prayers, prayers

2. Watched 4 kids for the small part of the evening. I did pretty well considering I only have 1 at a time most of the time.

Topic Starter: Batteries – I’ve heard from Mr. 72 that those small batteries in greeting cards, you know the musical ones, are dangerous and kids always accidentally eat them…but I never thought of those light up holiday necklaces. Please, please, don’t give these to young kids who still put things in their mouths. So scary what can happen. So nerve wracking as a parent on how much in the environment around your kids you have to protect them from. I guess this is just one more thing off the kid gift list.

 

The Daily Mundane 12/19/12

Days Notable Events

1. Super emotional this morning, bleh

2. Mr. 72 looked very handsome in his orange argyle…I’m a lucky girl

3. Went to the AT&T store to discuss the phone number issue on my new phone…Smiles did great until he didn’t lol

4. Made a fort with Smiles…looks pretty good for my first try. Next year will be much better. I think I will add lights tomorrow if I have time. Gonna try to one up myself every year. (Got this idea from another blogger I follow, check her out, she is my photographer crush. I hope to one day to even come close to the skills this girl has.)

Weather? again, a lovely AZ day

Verse or Quote?  “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”~Dalai Lama

Topic Starter: Try to list what cars you had growing up

• Station Wagon….you know the one with the seats that look out the back window, lol
• The Red Beast – conversion van – TV, fold down couch in the back, thing was awesome! I remember waking up in the van surprised by a road trip…my dad got good at transferring us from bed to the van without waking us up
• Blue Mini Van — mom loved this van and I remember being pretty upset when they sold it
• White Chevy
• 3 Honda Civic’s – white, tan and grey. The grey lasted the longest and I drove it in high school and then my brother took it to college. That thing made the worst sound…we would know it was coming from miles away…so embarrassing in high school. The white one didn’t last long and I think, if I remember right it had some bad hail damage from a storm that year we had it.
• Honda Accord – Dad gave it to Mom one year for Christmas
• a white work truck?
• Mazda MPV mini van – I also drove this in high school, i think my junior year
• Dad’s little Nissan? Toyota truck…you know the old small ones?
• Navy Blue Chevy S10 – my dad taught me to drive stick on this truck, loved it
• My First Car – 89 Honda Prelude – grey, 2-door, stick shift, sun roof and full window rear view mirror! i am debating whether to admit to this but I put way too many backstreet boys bumper stickers on this car
• First Car I bought with my own saved money – 96 Honda Civic, 2 door, black, had this through college, I remember I put down $1,000 and my payment was $147..I remember feeling so grown up when I did this

Yes…we were a very Honda family lol

Family….are there any other cars I am not remembering or wasn’t around for?

The Daily Mundane 12/18/12

Days Notable Events

1. Stupid dentist appointment … I was unaware that I was going to be numbed up again….grr so irritated

2. Old Navy had amazing sales …ya, ya 20% off entire purchase!

3. still feeling sad about last Friday’s events

Weather? chilly, lovely

Topic Starter: Poem – My ma showed me a poem about a different view of Friday. My heart breaks for the parents and family and anyone involved. I don’t even want to imagine what they are going through; prayers, lots of prayers.

“Twas’ 11 days before Christmas around 9:38, when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate. Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air. They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there. They were filled with such joy; they didn’t know what to say.

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day. “Where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse. “This is heaven” declared a small boy. “We’re spending Christmas at God’s house”. When what to their wondering eyes did appear, but Jesus, their Savior, the children gathered near. He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same. Then He opened His arms and He called them by name. And in that moment was joy that only heaven can bring, those children all flew into the arms of their King. And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace, one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had, He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”
Then He looked down on earth, the world far below, He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.
Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand, “Let My power and presence re-enter this land! May this country be delivered from the hands of fools. I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!”

Then He and the children stood up without a sound. “Come now my children let me show you around.” Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran. All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can. And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight, “In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

Forever in Our Hearts – Tribute to the Victims of the Newtown School Shooting