Little Mermaid

Today, the one day that I DON'T take my camera to the pool, Addie officially turned into Ariel!

A little background.... Ever since our first day at the pool, she's had her eye on the slide, allllll the way in the deep end (10ft deep). In order to go off the slide, you have to pass the swim test- swimming from one side of the pool, all the way to the other side (25meters), without stopping. Since she is my daughter, she's been totally focused on her swimming and making it to The Deep End.

Today, when we arrived at the pool, it was pretty empty- it had just POURED beforehand. She was swimming around, and without much trouble swam across the pool the short way- at least 20meters. Once done with that, she asked to go to the lap lane to see how far she could swim. She made it 3/4 of the way!! The lifeguard on duty told her to go rest in the shallow end for a few min, and then he was sure she could pass the swim test. She rested for about 2min and then was gung-ho to try again.

She jumped in and started stroking.

She kept stroking, coming up for a breath, and then back to stroking.

At this point, the entire pool (3 life guards, 1 Mom and her 3 sons) are all cheering for her!

She made it- and everyone clapped, cheered, and someone was jumping up and down they were SO excited!! (What's a Mom to do when she's so proud she could just explode!?!)

Her smile could have split her face in 1/2!! She promptly asked to go off the slide- which she did 5 times without a break. Then she spied the diving board. Without hesitation, she marched over to it, walked to the end, looked over, and jumped. The lifeguards were speechless. They had never seen someone so little be so fearless!!

She went off the diving board at least 5 more times!! After that, she asked me to teach her to dive- which she learned in about 5 min!!

I am SO proud of my little girl! At the beginning of the summer she would paddle around in the shallow-end with her water wings on- and only a short 6 weeks later, here she is swimming 25meters without stopping, jumping off diving boards, sliding down slides, and even learning to dive! Way to go, Addie!!

I WILL remember my camera when we go to the pool tomorrow- so be prepared for pics of her in action!!

Now to build-up Alden's endurance- he can swim, get a breath and keep going, and he's VERY determined now! I'm just not sure I'M ready for my almost 3yr old to be going off the diving board quite yet.... But I can't keep 'em small- I'm glad I'm getting to do my "job" by helping them learn to be grown-ups!!

Happy Birthday To Me!

We celebrated my birthday a day early since Al was off on Saturday and has to work all day 9am-10pm on Sunday, the actual day of my birthday.

It was fantastic! I got to go shopping- twice- by myself!! The end result- a great new shirt from Target, lots of school supplies purchased at amazing deals, 2 new dresses for the new job, and groceries. It was fantastic! I know I've said it already, but repeating something adds emphasis!

Here the kiddos are helping me open my present from my Dad and Young before heading out for the traditional breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. I got special, spiffy extending mascara- yay!

We then descended upon Dunkin Donuts which is gloriously close (1.5 miles) from our home!! And thanks to Dunkin Perks, a free sign-up on line, most of breakfast was free! Even better!

We enjoyed our afternoon- the kids helped decorate my birthday cake.

Here I am with the best 2 gifts I have ever received on this planet!! I didn't go out and buy the numbered candles for me, it just happens to come in handy that I have a child who is 1 ahead of me in years (only in the ones column, not in the tens column...).

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting served with low-fat vanilla ice cream- perfection!!

He loved it! Granted, he hasn't ever had a cake he hasn't liked....

And my cutie-pie liked it too- notice the empty bowl!

I am a blessed woman- not just today, but every day.

Our Week in Review

This week has been super busy! First, we visited my new school to scope out my new room. Sadly, there are no pictures of it as that floors of that wing had just been waxed. Here is the outside, though.

And here are the kids trying out the super comfy seats in the auditorium!

Another night we had Bruster's 1/2 price banana splits. It's perfect- 3 of us and 3 scoops of ice cream! Addie choose Cotton Candy Explosion, Alden choose Blue Raspberry, and I got Peanut Butter Ripples. I think the young guy who was making it wanted to throw-up- he had to add to our rainbow of flavors, banana, strawberries, pineapple, whipped cream and a cherry on top. It was SO much, it was dinner for all 3 of us!

Yup- it's all gone!

What did they think of this fun evening out? They loved the pine cones. Forget the great ice cream, they raved about the pine cones.... Good mental note for next time I want to plan something special....

Another night, the kids wanted to dress-up. Here is Dancing Dora posing for us.

What special dinner guests- Fire Man Alden also joined us, but due to the reflective nature of his outfit, this was the only picture that turned out. I love that they are both hamming it up!

The kiddos keep us laughing. What a great and fun-filled week!!

Fun Through Addie's Eyes

Addie and Alden often play together for hours, happily and often with interesting results. They do fight and torment each other, so this post is for me to come back and read when those days happen. I am blessed that a majority of the time, they do play together nicely. Addie took my camera the other day and these are the results....

Showing off Lego creations. I didn't even realize until now that Alden didn't have any pants on.... To his credit, this play session did happen right after naps and he doesn't nap with pants on....

Up close on the Lego creation

She's really into "shows"- there are about 3 going on in this picture. 1 at the farm, 1 at the stable, and 1 around the table.

This show is watching baby Jesus be born- not sure about that, but it's what she told me. Maybe I've watched a few too many Baby Stories with her around....

The parking lot- I love the organization!!

Picnic time- I love the diversity- Santa, Luau Girls, donkeys, cheerleader, giraffe- the girl's creative!

The next few are of one of her favorite subjects- Alden. I love his face- he looks so innocent. He is behind her green chair, the favorite hide-n-seek- location.

Happily rocking in the said green chair...

Lovin' the camera! He is probably happy because he is being allowed to hold Wheezy the Cat- one of Addie's treasured possessions!!

New Job!!

"'I know the plans I have for you," declares The Lord. "Plans to proser you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." This verse has been oh-so-true for my family this week. As some of you know, my on-line school did not work out for the upcoming school year. I wanted to be stressed about that, but I knew that it meant that God had something better in store- and that made me happy and tad bit uncomfortable. I am, after all, 100% Type-A and like to be in control and highly organized. God had a lesson for me- HE is in control, not me.

As the months unfolded, I applied to numerous part-time jobs, and nothing come through.

Then about 3 weeks ago, rather out-of-the-blue, I got an email from my old Principal. I had contacted her back in February to see if she thought it would be possible for me to get back into the County to teach- she said that due to the drastic budget cuts to try the private sector, how it would take an act of God to get anyone not tenured, a job in the County. So, you can imagine my surprise when my Principal wrote to me- she wrote asking if I had put in my application to the County and that once I had, I needed to call a certain person in HR and to make sure I told him 3 specific things about myself. Hmmmmmm...... Was she hinting that she may have a job for me??

I followed her directions and a few days later, I was emailed, by the Principal, requesting an interview!!

Her new school is only 2 years old and is staffed with the best of the best. It's a bit of a trek from where we currently live- 30min one way- but well worth the drive!

I went to the interview excited and in awe that I would even be considered for a position. Up to this point, I was not excited about going back to work full-time, but once I was asked for the interview, I was filled with a peace and then excitement. With over 300 teachers cut at the end of the school year, I knew that this interview was from God.

The interview went well- it was so nice to chat with this Principal. She told she would be making her decision in 2 days, on Thur. Good thing I would be spending the rest of the week in DE so I would be busy!! After Thur came and went with no job offer, I was disappointed, but also encouraged. At least someone had faith in me and there WERE jobs out there- and I was all fired up to go canvas some other middle schools when I returned to VA.

When we returned to VA, I had a week of 7th grade Math Summer School to teach. After coming home from teaching on Monday, I was preparing to print off my resumes and go visit some schools when the phone rang. It was the County's HR Dept calling to tell me that the school I had interviewed with was offering me a full-time contract for the 2010-2011 school year!! Of course, since I had had a week to think,pray and discuss it with Al- I accepted on the spot!

In a County with a HUGE deficit, with over 300 teachers NOT having contracts renewed, salaries being cut, I was offered a full contract at my dream school, with my dream team of teachers, teaching my dream subject (math). I was excited and extremely humbled. This was a gift from God. This was the answer to all my prayers. So many times I pray and do not get to see the fruits of my prayers- but this time, I did. How awesome is that?

I am excited about this new venture. The school is breathtaking! For the first time in my 10 year career, I will have 1)a desk with NO contact paper on it and all working drawers, 2)all matching student chairs, 3)all matching student desks, 4)a filing cabinet that has ALL working drawers, 5)all 4 walls painted the same color- I could go on and on! It may seem silly- but the other schools I've taught at have all been "older"- this one is beginning it's 3rd year!

The other pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place- once again confirming that this is what God has for us. We have found a great full-time school for the kiddos, and it is super close to the school so they will ride to and from school with me. There are some great houses for sale nearby- and that may be a possibility for us come Spring!!

It's a big change- and we are excited about God moving so clearly in our lives!!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog

We headed home Saturday morning- hoping to miss some of the traffic that Northern VA is famous for.... I was wrong. We drove through torrential downpours leaving DE, then crawled in traffic once we hit NOVA. The best part was that we had Grayson with us for a good portion of the trip!! He was leaving with his Grandparents, who live in NOVA, so we brought him with us!! The kids were SO happy to have an extra friend for the loooooong trip.

Saying good-bye

Once we said good-bye to Grayson, this is what I saw for the next hour!!

And this is what we saw for a good hunk of time. The kids were perfect- they slept, colored, sang me songs, ate snacks- they were perfect!!

We had a great time in DE- good friends, lots of fun, and great memories were made!!

Fun Land!!

One of the kiddos favorite things about DE was FunLand. Addie asks several times a week if we can go there. So when we loaded up the kiddos to go, I thought Addie would literally explode she was SO excited!!

She was squealing with delight as we approached it....

First up, the carousel!

Is she happy or what?

They are happy, but really looking forward to the other rides a bit more.... (Notice Alden and his color choices....)

Firetrucks!!

Captain Alden

These 2 are just too adorable!!

Pilot Alden

Pilot Addie

There are oodles more pictures but I won't bombard you. Bottom line- the kids had a blast!!