My Primary Class

My CTR 7 primary class.  Can you tell I have my hands full with just four kids? 

I really like these kids and this age.  It’s just had it’s challenges.  Izzy never stops talking in this high pitched voice throughout the entire two hours we are together.  I mean NEVER stops.  Brendan asks me 10,000 questions a minute and I constantly have to say “shhh, let’s listen to sharing time”.  Roman has major ADHD and behavior issues (roman and brendan are brothers in a blended family).  And Lexi is a piece of cake –most of the time.

And then there is Peyton who all of the sudden has hated her primary class and even tells me in front of her teacher “I hate Sister Bybee!” who is the sweetest person – 1st grade teacher for 30 years and grandmother of like 15.  She starts it Saturday night and whines all through Sacrament.  It’s like she built it up so big in her mind that even when she would try to want to go, the tears would just come falling.  This has been like two or three months.  But this past Sunday, she actually went and I think she might be over the hump!  She was very proud of herself.  I hope this makes me like church a little more because Peyton’s tears and whining have almost pushed me over the edge I was already on with the challenges of my primary class.

But three of the four of them have been baptized in the last few months.  I always make a point at being at the baptisms and I have a special baptism activity book they get on that day, which they love.  Lexi will be the last one baptized, in November!

 

Girls Thoughts on School

A few things:

Jordyn loves her new school.  Feels much older, in our town 4, 5 and 6th grade are at their own school.  It’s an hour longer too.  Anyway, she is VERY into tetherball and keeps coming home each day telling me who she won and they were all cheering her on.  She also has a “planner” that she brings home each day and I have to initial that I saw it and she completed her assignments.  4th grade is pretty official!  She loves the money system her teacher uses and has already earned over $20 (for good behavior, tests, etc) and has earned a popcorn party.  Jordyn will start dance and piano again next week.  She is very excited.

 

Lexi is a little bored by her school work at this beginning part of the year because is repeating.  But it will ramp up again and Mrs. Stone is very engaging, even if she already has grasped the academic portion of it.  That wasn’t our main motive in retaining her.  And she is already making some sweet little friends.  Makenna Wells is one of them.  Makenna is only two months younger than Lexi and has a very outgoing personality.  Lexi is really loving this friendship.  It’s easy for Lexi to make friends.  Lexi started Glee last week and seems to love it a lot!  Dance also starts next week.

 

Peyton struggled with preschool the first few days, but still comes home liking it.  She has Kayla there with her two days per week.  Which is sorta fun and sorta a challenge for a dominating, social-lite like Pey.  She also can’t stop talking about this little boy named Chase who called her Rapunzel one day and now she has a crush on him and giggles about him all day long.  I know I will have my hands full with her!  She also plays a lot with a little girl named Precious.  Which I can’t help but think of that sad movie when I hear her name. Pey will start dance next week.

Back to School for Jamie

SCHOOL!  It’s that time again – for me!  San Francisco EVERY SINGLE SATURDAY for a year.  What?  Am I crazy??  Yes, I just might be.

But I felt strongly this was the right thing to do last year when the decision was made – and that is what keeps me going.  Plus, when I am in class, I absolutely love what I am learning and I am chomping at the bit to actually work with people who need my help – eventually.  I love the flexibility that will come with this career path and feel it will really be accommodating with raising children…especially if I can do it part time.

Anyway, last week was my first Saturday class.  It’s from 9:00am-4:45.  Sounds long, but it really does fly by.  We are literally on our feet most the time.  She said to bring waterproof hats, clothing and shoes…plus 2.5 gallon ziploc bags for our clipboards because we will be doing our training in rain or shine!  (and it is usually clouds and rain in San Fran).  There are 11 of us in the program that will be together this entire year.  8 girls and 3 guys.  I seem to be one of the oldest…and I am the only one who is a parent!!  I love my professor, Wendy Scheffers.  She graduated from SFSU in 1977 and has taught there for 20 years.  She has written a good portion of our curriculum and always says how much she loves her job – still.

I drove down the day before to get my $books$ at the bookstore on campus, then stayed at Shana’s house for the night.  She is just 18 miles from campus – which is great unless you try to get on the Bay Bridge at 3:30 which means that 18 miles will take you (me) two hours!.  Anyway, Shana and Derek are like seriously professional remodelers.  They have done so much beautiful work in their 100 year old house in Oakland.  And they are such kind hostesses.  Always make me feel welcomed.  There is even a little studio room in the backyard that they just finished – as a yoga room but also as “my” room when I come!  It makes it so much more possible for me to do this program with them living so close. 

After driving our Honda Pilot to SF for an entire year and wasting a ton of money on poor gas mileage, we FINALLY broke down and got a commuter car.  We will actually spend less per month having a car payment with the amount we will save on gas!  IT took us a REALLY long time to finally pick an economical car that was safe that we both agreed on.  This is a little 2010 Ford Focus with 29K miles on it that one of my friends was selling.  We’ve had it not even a week, but we both are very happy with it so far!  It was nice to drive to SF for a total of $50 instead of $100!

No joke, it was 50 degrees colder in SF than Kingsburg.  It was 105 here and 55 there.  I was FREEZING in class.  I’ve got to force myself to touch my warmer clothing as I pack, even if they disgust me while in the disgusting heat!

I am thankful for the support I am getting to do this.  It will be a sacrifice for Tucker on Saturdays and he & the girls will really need to step into their own rhythm of chores/activities/etc.  And when I need to leave for Friday class (which is four times this semester, but EVERY time next semester) my mom and dad are having their day with my girls again.  What a blessing!  It works well because I am home M-F and can be there for every school event, being taxi mom, playdates, etc.  Tucker is gone frequently for work, so it will be nice for him to have a dedicated day with the girls.  It works for us for now and we will embrace it until life gives us the next change of pace!

Peyton by our new car

 

Me in my “room” at Shana’s

   

Me:  On the way to SF….rushing to not be late to class in the parking garage………and thumbs up after class.  Tired but content.

Bunkbeds!

I still need to post before and after pics of my living room/dining room/kitchen.  It looks SOOOOOO much better!  I’ll get to that when I figure out what memory card they are on.  For now, it is easy to keep posting pics I took with my iPhone.  Which are crappy, but easily accessible at the moment!

My mom bought the girls bunkbeds this summer (THANKS GRANDMA!) but we just barely put them together.  Haven’t done any of the redecorating or rearranging, but at least the bed is done!  Jordyn has always had her own room and Lexi & Pey shared.  Well, now it’s time for a switch.  Jordyn and Pey get the bunk beds now and are sharing a room.  They really love it.

Jenn’s Baptism

Two weeks ago, my neighbor and friend, Jenn Prieto, was baptized.  She was baptized on a Saturday and the next day her daughter Emma (who is 8) was also baptized.  She has been learning about the gospel for about 18 months and really loved it and felt she had found what she was looking for.  The downfall is that her family is TOTALLY against it.  I honestly think they’d be more supportive if she wanted to start a drug dealing business – no joke.  So she has kept the entire thing secret from them!  Her husband is supportive and wants to get baptized…in his own time.  But the rest of her family isn’t.  She is a strong person to do something she feels is right for her, even when she doesn’t have much support!

 

Peyton VIP at Pre-School

Peyton was the VIP at school last week.  One of the things they get to do is bring something to show n tell.  Peyton picked our baby bunny “flower”.  We put flower in a little purse and carried her in.  The kids tried to guess what was in the bag…and were very surprised that it was a LIVE bunny!  It was really cute and Peyton felt very proud of her little “flower”.

 

Harmony Has Begun! – Christmas Season 2011

We Sure Love Belle $$$

We even love her to the tune of $1,000 in ONE week’s time!

After thinking she was dying because she was so sick, lethargic and not eating…we were somewhat relieved when it was just pancreatitis and severe gum infections that required 20 teeth to be pulled and rounds of antibiotics.  (Yes, I said 20 teeth).

But $1,000 is a little harder to swallow.  I mean, we were willing to do whatever it took since she IS a member of our family.  And luckily my student loan residual had just come in the mail so it was perfect timing to pass it on over to the vet.

But back to the poor doggie.  She spent three days at the vet, has almost no teeth left and had to be hooked up to IVs to hydrate her.  I felt so sad and bad for her.  My mom (her grandmother lol) and Mrs. Stone texted me for updates throughout her stay.  We were just hoping to not have to face a horrific decision of putting her down.  So we are thankful she is home.  She is still weak and has to take meds twice a day, but her tail wags when she sees us which is a good sign.

Moral of the story:  BRUSH YOUR DOGS TEETH ALL THE TIME so they can’t decay. 

(this is the $766 bill, the other $200 was from the ER vet we took her to over the weekend)