First Week of School

Well, we have almost officially made it through the first week of school...unfortunately it has been a very bumpy ride in the Smith household! Caroline started the third grade this year...and of course she loves it! Of course, I think her teacher would have to beat her with a ruler and scream at her all day for her to not like it. I started my new job this week and so far so good. The true test will come on Wednesday when those tiny little three year olds come to my classroom without their Mommy and Daddy for the first time. I better make sure I take my meds that day!!!! I took Lilly and Hunter with me to the childcare two days this week, and guess what...Lilly loved it! My little preschool dropout is growing up....of course there is another one looming on the horizon...Hunter hated it! Hopefully when we get a regular schedule he will adjust better. I guess if he cries all day at least he will look cute in his new K-Swiss tennis shoes and "Handy Manny" lunchbox.

Start of School

Well since tomorrow is the big day for all of our children (and many of us...as so many of my friends are teachers...or at least know someone who is) I thought I would post this wonderful list I found by Jeff Foxworthy that is sure to make you laugh outloud. If you aren't a teacher or don't know anyone who is...it is okay if you don't get it!

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TEACHER?
by: Jeff Foxworthy

1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.
3. You walk into a store and hear the words "It's Mr./Mrs. _____" and know you have been
spotted.
4. You have 25 people that accidently call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.
6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch and
planning, there isn't even time after school.
7. You start saving other peoples trash, because most likely, you can use something in the
classroom.
8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You slap the next person that says "it must be nice to work 7-3 and have summers off"
10. You believe chocolate is a food group
11. You can tell if it is a full moon without ever looking outside.
12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says "Boy, the kids sure are
mellow today"
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in
public.
14. You believe in aerail spraying of ritalin.
15. You think caffine should be available in intravenious form.
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items.
18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was "a good choice or a bad choice"
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
21. You understand instantaneously why a child behave a certain way after meeting his/her
parents.
22. You have play dough on the bottom of your shoes.
23. Tempera paint is not your friend when you wear a new white shirt.
24. You are no longer scared of bodily fluids since they are a normal part of your workday.
25. YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO AND WOULDN'T CHANGE IT FOR ANYTHING!!!


Good luck tomorrow everyone!!!

New to the Blogging World

So after many many weeks of reading all of my friends blogs and being extremely happy to be able to find out what is going on in their life I had a revelation today! Hmmm, if I love reading other peoples blogs so much then why not make my own. So here I go...

I am not going to bore you with the details of our life such as where we live, how old our kids are, etc...I think it is safe to assume that anyone who is reading our blog knows all of this information. But then again you know what they say about assuming!!! We are steadily busy at our house with all of the kids and school and all the fun things that being a grown up and having a family entails. And to think...there was a time in my life when unlike all my other 13 year old friends I hadn't convinced myself that I even wanted to have kids! Now I am a stay at home Mom with more kids than I have bedrooms! Wow how time changes things! In short we are busting our tails to make each child feel important and have their own specials activities that they get to do, which is easier said than done. When your kids are in such a broad age range it is very hard to find activities that are appropriate/fun for everyone. To help combat this problem we have decided to have "Lilly Days", "Caroline Days", and "Hunter Days". So far each of the girls has had a day, but Hunter has not. I don't really feel bad about this because he is so young. And come September 3rd he will have every Monday and Wednesday from 9-2 as a "Hunter Day" with Mommy, as the girls will be gone to school.

"Caroline Day"- Caroline got to have her day a few weeks ago and we chose to only have Caroline and I attend and Daddy stayed home with the babies. We started off with a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesdays where she was able to eat/drink anything she wanted. On a regular basis I refuse to pay $4.00 for a bowl of macaroni at a restaurant! I think being able to order macaroni and cheese alone was the highlight of her day. After dinner we walked around the harbor and talked about some of the things she may be feeling/going through as a young girl. We ended our time at the harbor with a trip to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory where we shared a butterfinger apple...yummy!!! After we left the harbor we decided to go to Justice and do some shopping for school clothes. For those of you that don't know Justice and have young girls...get ready! As a Mom I love Justice. It is cheaper than the ever coveted Limited Too, and the clothes actually look like they should be on 10 year olds, not 17 year olds. After picking up a few outfits and a cute bathing suit we headed to Target. We struck out a Target, she is at such an awkward age! When we headed home we stopped and picked up a treat for the two little ones, because I didn't like them feeling left out! It was a nice mother/daughter day and I vowed that day to make them happen more often. I never had the opportunity to do that when I was growing up so I want to make sure that I offer that opportunity to all of my kids.

"Lilly Day"- Lilly had her day and of course she chose Mama and Daddy to go...I am pretty sure that she would have been happy if Mama had stayed at home...she is such a Daddy's Girl! We took her to the movie and saw "Horton Hears a Who"....she wasn't impressed, but Mama loved it! She was able to get her own popcorn that didn't have to be shared with anyone. I guess that is one of the downfalls to having brothers/sisters...you don't really have many things that are "yours". Needless to say she was content just having her own popcorn. After the movie we headed home, because she was getting grumpy and needed a nap. Her days are still going to consist of very short activities. On the way home Daddy insisted that he drive and of course didn't wear his seat belt. That $20 movie outing just turned into $200 when you include the cost of the ticket!