Last Week

We are now 7 days from the beginning of the school year. Friday is the oh so chaotic Open House. I just reread my report of that day from last year and it has created a bit of dread in my heart! It's about 87 degrees outside and sunny, and while we should be enjoying our last week at the pool, I just spent part of the afternoon cleaning up the swing set in our backyard and doing laundry. Life doesn't stand still for the pool - and right now, it's just too much of a hassle to pack up everything and go only to have to clean it all up again AND lose a productive afternoon.

Things I hope to see happen this school year... I would love for Em to learn how to ride a bike, write neatly and to be excited about school. I would love for Kt to be more independent with(from) friends, to be confident about going to middle school and to not feel so overwhelmed with extracurricular activities. I would really like to establish something on a regular basis for Bible teaching - it's a huge failing of mine that I'm feeling like I need to address.

Things I'm looking forward to: we have a huge Christmas break this year, and while I'd love to go away somewhere warm, I've decided to stop hoping for that. For one, prices during those two weeks are outrageous, and two, I'm pretty much the only one in my family who wants to go away. I guess it'll be Christmas at home, for an extended period of time! I'm also looking forward to starting a very part time teaching job at the school I formerly taught at. I just attended a breakfast today with them and saw many familiar faces. I think finally having a job of my own will be good for me. Granted, it'll be equivalent to one day a week, at least it's something that I'm trained to do!

Things I'm not looking forward to: second grade. It was our least favorite year for Kt, so I'm really leary. Winter... I'm already missing summer! My mom working again. I was secretly hoping she'd retire so I'd have at least one year of fun with her before I make any big decision about the rest of my life. I thought that would be fun, but she's back to school again, and if things go the way they are talking I might have more responsibilities next year at this job. Maybe we'll both be teachers again together! We'll see.

Well, I'm off to vacuum and straighten up AGAIN. It's an endless job, and for as much as I've been plugging away at trying to make a dent, as soon as I turn around everything is a mess again. It's hopeless! But this is it... the last week of having two hurricanes living 24/7 in my house! =)