Hello, My Name is Kelly

And this is my blog.

My poor neglected blog.

I have so much to write about that I can't think of anything to say.

But first of all, I have to thank Em. I checked the mail yesterday, and she sent me a working mom care package. Here, take a look at what I got!

As a brand new working mom, I feel the need to simplify my life. Becky doesn't know that I have this need, but she was so gracious to already have a pic of my care package! (Ok, that's Becky's care package.)

Emily, thank you so much for thinking of me. I'm really looking forward to my magazine subscription about working moms/women. I will certainly pay it forward.

On to "me" news. My BABY turns 4 next week, and his party is this weekend. He picked out Spiderman invites. Um, ok. How does he know about Spiderman? I don't know. But I went with it. While we were looking at Spiderman cakes the other day (because he DID get the Spiderman invites), he picked out a Madagascar cake.

Huh? A 2-themed party? Ok. Whatever floats your boat, Birthday Boy.

And he wants Transformers napkins. (No, we don't watch Transformers on tv. Stuff like this must be embedded in boy DNA.)

Ok, 3 themes. But I'm drawing the line there!

I mean, how often do you turn 4? Only once, right? So he can have whatever he wants. (Just don't laugh at him.)

WHOA!!

2008 (or two thousand eight if you're a 3rd grade teacher at this point during the year), SLOW DOWN! Slam on your brakes! You are going way too fast, and I need to stop this ride.

September is almost 1/2 way over. Which means that my very best girlfriend's son is almost one. ALMOST ONE! One.

And guess what happens right after that? My baby turns F-O-U-R. What? An official kid?! That can't be. Because every single year I have felt the same way..."He's not a baby anymore". Yet, every single year I think every single day, "He's my baby."

Ah, that feels better. Yes, he IS my baby. That is my mantra. "He's my baby. He's my baby. He's my baby."

Maybe that will keep the F-O-U-R's away.

(And what comes after Reagan's birthday?? CHRISTMAS!!!! Slow down, I tell you!!!)

Don't Get Too Close!

This is crazy. It is the SIXTH day of school, and I have a substitute there this morning.

Reagan and I developed a stomach bug. "Bug" sounds to cute for how I feel. Luckily Reagan woke up this morning feeling much better (and had a yogurt and sausage) so he is at my mother-in-law's house. All while I feel yucky, clammy, achy. Miserable.

On a happy note, we had a great long weekend. David and I double-dated on Saturday night after he completed the Nike Human Race. Yesterday was "Reagan Day" which involved a trip to Cabela's and McDonald's for lunch.

It doesn't take much to make him happy.

And to stay positive about my "itty bitty cute litty buggy-wuggy", at least I have one more day to prepare more for my lessons this week.

But first I'm going to maneuver myself to the couch and put myself in the fetal position.

It Used to be Easier

I'm beat. Exhausted. Overwhelmed.

And obviously, a little whiny.

I can not describe how hard this new phase of my life is. But really. Who wants to hear about that?

I will say that today and yesterday were much better than Monday and Tuesday. I feel like I'm catching up on my To Do list, and that takes a bit of stress off of me. I also don't have to leave the house at 6:08 am tomorrow...more like 6:30...and that makes me feel good.

I miss Reagan very much. I hate not seeing him in the mornings. I feel like I'm abandoning him. Like I am slacking on my Mommy duties and leaving it all for David to do. But what else can I do? I certainly don't want to wake him up before 6am. And I'm 110% positive that David doesn't want me to do that either.

My body hasn't adjusted to the new schedule yet. So although I yearn to be with Reagan when I finally pick him up at 5:45, I am more than exhausted. And I just want to be in the same room with him~~not so much wrestle with him. Luckily he still likes to sit and play with Legos, and my body can handle that.

I just don't know how David has lived this life for 4 years. On Tuesday I woke up at 5:15, and I was at school by 6:30. I left school at 5:30. I picked up Reagan. Made "dinner". Played with the boys for a bit. Started doing school stuff BEFORE Reagan went to bed. Put him to bed around 9:30. Then did school stuff until midnight.

David's schedule is about the same, only it starts at 8am and goes to 3am. Or later.

I didn't think it would be this hard. The great thing is Reagan is doing very, very well. That makes me feel really good.

And I'm really looking forward to this long weekend with my boys.

Ah, Fishy

It is a sad night here. Fishy is now at home on God's kitchen counter in the best aquarium available, I'm sure. Poor little guy. I did everything I could to make him healthy.

Maybe I did too much.

I'm worried about how Reagan will react tomorrow morning. Just yesterday he was showing Fishy things he had made with his Legos.

I enjoyed Fishy...especially the week that he was healthy and happy. Not that he's replacable, but I'm looking forward to finding a new fish.

This time we'll purchase from a fish-specific store. Not Petco.

(raise your glasses)
Here's to Fishy!

One Down, How Many to Go?

I have so many things to share. Like, my son is currently eating a frozen (FROZEN!!) Eggo waffle. With a dyed transformer onto it. Did I mention that it was still frozen?

I just finished my week as a mom who happens to work. And I'm exhausted. If I weren't so tired, I would spell out "exhausted" with hyphens to make my point. But I'm too tired to do that. Things seem to be going pretty well with the family. I'm adjusting to actually doing "stuff". Reagan is adjusting to school life and staying there "alot of minutes". And David is adjusting to waking up way too early. But we're doing pretty good at the adjusting part.

Fishy isn't adjusting as well, but that is another post.

I could blog about how I just completed a week of "new to the district" training. Or how since our school is brand spankin' new we haven't been allowed into the building yet. Or maybe how much information is being thrown at me...although I don't think it is ALL getting absorbed. But what I want to document is:

I LOVE LEANDER ISD. I love it so much, that I want to convert all of my friends that teach to LISD teachers. Tina? Silvia? Megan, one day? This means YOU. There is not a better place to work. LISD expects so much out of its teachers, but it (they) give you every possible support, tool, person to help you to become the best teacher you can be. They know that no one is perfect, and they realize that they don't have all the answers either. But hey, let's work together to figure out WHAT IS BEST FOR EACH STUDENT.

That is what LISD focuses on. Each student. Not each test score. Not each school rating. But each student. Which turns into each teacher. I have never felt so comfortable asking questions as I do in LISD.

On top of all of this support...EVERYONE is so happy! They recognize how great LISD is, and it flows through.

Bottom line: If you're a teacher in the Austin area, come to the bright side!

Roller Coaster

Yesterday was Friday. Yesterday was the last day of my summer. And I have been looking forward to starting work on Monday.

But when I told David last night "Today is my last day before I go back to work," something struck me and I added, "Today is my last day of being a stay at home mom."

What?? I just can not wrap my brain around that idea. The identity I have had for four years is changing. And how come I haven't fully thought of this before now? I tend to do that...push things out of my head so that I don't have to think of it 100%. And then when the reality of the situation hits me I am just run over with emotion.

So here I am being very emotional over something that I thought I had dealt with. Most of me is excited about teaching again. Most of me loves that Reagan is going to preschool. Most of me is looking forward to working and having an identity outside of this house.

But the tiny part of me that is scared, sad, and reluctant to change is quite overwhelming right now.

~~~5 minutes later~~~

I just finished talking to David, and he made me feel much better. First of all, he said that although he can't fully understand my feelings, he can understand that I am going through an emotional time. And then he said that I can either be a working mom or a mom who works. He reminded me that as much as he works, his family and being a dad is his most important job. And he said that my identity is not changing...just some of my roles are changing. He's a great husband and friend.

I feel better.

Until tomorrow.

Enjoy the ride!