All eyes on Emmitt

It was another first... solids (somewhat) for Mr. Emmitt! He was right at five months old and it was time to give the rice cereal a "go". Russ took pictures as he sampled his first bites of cereal, and as I downloaded them and looked at them, I noticed that in each and every picture, all eyes were on Emmitt! He was the cereal star for the night!

For those of you who have experienced feeding an infant cereal, you can visualize and understand the entire feeding. It was no different than I expected...

He does well in his Bumbo, but he had never been on the counter before... his eyes were busy taking it all in!

-The first bite-

It took all I had to get the spoon in his mouth. He wanted no part of it.

Notice Lawson's face... he laughed and laughed the whole time!

He's not so sure what that was all about, and I am certain he was thinking, "bottle, please!".

It has since gotten much better and although getting the spoon of cereal through his lips still causes a funny face, he seems to like the "yummy" taste, and then opens his mouth for more.

I have told him that "more tasty foods are to come"; gotta keep working on those teeth that seem to be taking forever to come in!!!!

So long, farewell...

A little bit of back-tracking... much to catch up on, but I will start here.

September 3 was my last day in the classroom; indefinitely, at this time.

It was a bitter-sweet day. Teaching school is a pleasure, and it is well within my "being" and my comfort zone. I love the presence of children and the satisfaction in seeing them grow, advance, mature, develop, and ultimately learn, is priceless. With that said, knowing that I was leaving room 302 at Delaware to stay home with my boys, something that I was unsure about, caused a mixture of emotions.

As stated earlier, my class was quite challenging, however they were "my students" and I loved them. I was proud to be their teacher. No one ever told me that teaching school was easy nor did they tell me that every student that was seated in my classroom would be a Little Einstein who fully understood all academic areas, did everything you told them, when you told them, and things worked continuously like clock-work... doesn't work that way. And if so, why would we need teachers? This year's class was far from that description, however they had LOTS of potential.

I was excited about the journey lying ahead. I was excited about the opportunity to be at home, although I wasn't quite sure how well I would do. I was excited about the decrease in stress that goes with teaching school, esp in a turn-around-school. And I was excited about the flexibility of being at home with our children.

However, I was sad that I would not see the potential fulfilled. I was sad that I would not see my weak readers become strong readers, as well as become strong writers. I was sad that I would not see them learn their multiplication tables as they typically have such motivation to do so. I was sad about not seeing them learn to use their new Netbooks to complete classwork. I was sad about not seeing them develop the necessary social skills needed to move forward to 4th grade. I was sad about not seeing my students grow and develop into boys and girls ready for 4th grade. It was truly a bitter-sweet day.

The day was slightly relaxed as I was working on transitioning out, and my friend, Laura, was working on transitioning in. And Laura... :), the great news is that Laura was our Special Ed teacher who taught across the hall. She expressed interest in returning to the classroom and she got to come to take my place, and I was excited about that! It was comforting to know that a good teacher was following... a good teacher who knew my students... and a good teacher whom my students also knew... and a good teacher that already knew Delaware and where we were headed in terms of student/school success. It was a great feeling as I walked out the door. She has since called and texted a couple of times and says things are going great! I knew they would.

Below are a few pictures...

This is one of my favorites... my buddy, he was in my room last year and oh, how special he was to me... he made me a card and brought it to me. I cried, he tried not to cry as 4th graders don't cry, and all three other teachers in the room cried.

{I am crying right now...}

And Kara... what can I say? She was another 3rd grade teacher whom I L-O-V-E! She is totally awesome and I learned so much from her. She is one-of-a-kind and will forever hold a special place in my heart.

{She will kill me if she ever sees this picture... she was modeling the butterfly clips she was going to be adding to her SOAR store, which is our "positive behavior store"!}

And my kiddos... a few are missing, I do believe.

{This is our nice, serious picture}

{This is our funny picture} :)

And a nice picture with Laura... their new teacher!

Me with two of the missing ones from above...

Me and another student from last year...

Bitter-sweet it was.

Delaware was good to me and good for me... and there is more good to come for them.

I learned a great deal while there, and am a better teacher because of those that I taught with.

It has been four weeks at home for me. Three with the boys. They went to school for one week while I ran errands, and did a few "me" things.

It's going great and I am loving it. Seriously.

It certainly has it's challenges, but so did my school day.

And the rest of that is for another post.

As I close, it is a "So long, farewell...".

Wishing Delaware the best and thanking God for my great experience.

Please pray for Hailey

With a heavy heart, I post this prayer request.

In September 2008, the youngest daughter of our friends, Mark and Shauna Trainer, was diagnosed with AT/RT, a rare and extremely aggressive type of brain cancer. She was eight months old at the time, and they told her family she wouldn't live to see her first birthday.

It has been two years this month since her diagnosis. She has endured many surgeries, rounds of chemo, and intense radiation therapy, and she has truly beat the odds. However, last month they found a new growth after almost a full year of "clean" MRIs.

She underwent surgery to remove the new tumor two weeks ago. The surgery was unsuccessful, only removing about 50% of the tumor. She seemed to quickly recover, but things have quickly gone downhill. She was readmitted to the hospital today and her families' faith has been shaken.

When we lived in the Indianapolis area, we worshipped with the Trainers and were in small Bible study group with them. We became very close to them, and grew to love them. They moved to the Atlanta, Georgia area when we moved to Evansville. She was pregnant with Hailey and a short time later, we found out that I was pregnant with Lawson. Hailey is four months older than he is.

Her mother does a good job of updating her website letting her followers know how she is doing. Tonight, I ask that you please pray for her and her family. The link to her site is:
www.caringbridge.org/visit/haileyanntrainer. If you wish to follow her, you can sign-up to receive updates. Her mother, Shauna, has a way with words and this site allows her the opportunity to share her feelings, as well as a few family happenings. Each post may cause you to both laugh and cry. Hailey is the youngest of four children, under the age of 7... Kenzie, Dylan, Jason, and Miss Hailey.

Over the past two years, Russ and I, along with thousands of others, have been amazed at the power of prayer as it has been so evident. At sad times, the faith of many was restored. It is a sad time again.

From the bottom of my heart, I ask for your prayers.

I thank you in advance.

Love,
Selena

Best said by Dr. Seuss...

... Oh, the Places You Will Go!

Russ has accepted a new role in his career and we are going to be moving... we're off to a new place!

Back in July, Russ was offered a new position and after much thought, consideration, and prayer, we have decided to move our family to Columbia, Missouri. He will be working for Mosaic in the fertilizer industry.

This was an unexpected opportunity and one that required MUCH thought and discussion. Russ and I have moved quite frequently throughout our seven years of marriage. Although frequent moves, or moving at all for that matter, were not part of our "plan" apparently it was God's and all things considered, we have done well with each move. Each move forced us to grow and learn in various capacities, and I wouldn't change it for the world. We are who we are, and where we are today, because of where we've been. I think that makes sense.

Now... grow and learn in various capacities is going to mean something different this time around, I am almost certain. This is the first move with children. With two children. With a two year old and a four month old. I am slightly overwhelmed to be perfectly honest.

We are excited, but our emotions are quite mixed. Our lifestyle is going to change.

First of all, we will be 5 hours from home vs. 3 hours from home. Our family is happy for us, but not thrilled with the location being farther away. This was one big part of the TOUGH decision on whether to move or not to move.

Secondly, Russ' new position will be one where he works from home. He will have a home office and will travel to various locations to work with clients. Most will be day trips with the exception of one account in Memphis. That trip will be a family trip with a drop-off in Martin. The boys and I will visit with family and he will pick us up on the way back through. Russ worked from home when we lived in North Dakota and really enjoyed it, but it was before children. :)

Lastly, I will be staying at home... IIIHHH!!! That statement makes my anxiety level SOAR!!! Mixed emotions... major mixed emotions. I have never had the desire to stay at home. The summer of 2008, the summer Lawson was born, was the first summer I didn't work. I do not enjoy hanging out at home, and simply said, I love what I do. I deeply love my two little boys, but I believe I am a better wife and mother when I work. Sooooo... I hope we've made the right decision as it will effect all of us. Yes, ALL of us. We will ALL be at home together each day... it is slightly laughable to me at this point. I certainly plan to go back to school next fall, but in the mean time, I certainly plan to make the best of it and am going to do all I can to enjoy each day that I am at home with Lawson and Emmitt. It is the dream of many women, and I realize that. It is also a blessing, and I realize that. I am going to give it my all and take the opportunity to love them up.

With that said, my last day of school was last Friday. It was kind of sad... kind of. I LOVE the girls I taught with, however my class was truly not so lovable. The toughest I believe I've ever had. I believe with ALL of my heart that this was God's plan. He knew what was arriving at my 3rd grade door. I honestly believe I might have quit before the 190 day-extended-school-year was up on June 9. It was hard. And I like hard, but not that kind of hard. So, one week down. One week with my boys. One tough week. :) Lawson is two and is out of routine so it has been tough for us. We have spent the week in Martin because Russ is in Missouri this week and it's been a struggle. We will return to a little normalcy next week as Russ will work from Evansville and the boys will finish their full-time daycare career for now. I plan to enroll Lawson in a Mother's Day Out program or part-time daycare. He NEEDS socialization and I don't want to rob him of that. He loves school and by today, I'm telling you that he NEEDS to go, and I NEED him to go! I have been researching daycare possibilities on-line today.

None of this has really sunk in just yet. The reality that I am not going back to Delaware Elementary to room 302 has not hit me. And that's ok. It might be too much at this point. To fully understand that I am going to be at home full-time with Lawson in the mood he has been in this week just might be too much. I will get there and it will be fine. Just fine.

As to the coming weeks... they are foggy. Very foggy. Russ' schedule differs from week to week, and somewhere in the midst of things we need to go on a house-hunting trip. Our house has been on the market for almost three weeks. We've shown it three times and have an Open House on Sunday. Talk about stressful and exhausting... keeping a house in "show-condition" with two little ones is almost impossible. That is why we are in Martin. We worked our backsides off getting it in pristine, sparkly condition and we left. Out of there! Hopefully, it will pay off. We know it is all in God's time. And finding a house is also stressful, but I trust that God will provide and that the perfect one is out there.

And speaking of "out there", Columbia is right between St. Louis and Kansas City. Smack-dab in the middle. The good news? The Lake of the Ozarks... sounds lovely! And St. Louis... we will be there next summer! We enjoy the Cardinals game, and have heard the zoo is really nice, as well as a few other things. I am excited about that!

We are off to a new place and it's going to be good. More to come as the fog slowly lifts... until then, pray for us and our boys (they probably need it more than we do). :)

Minute to Win It!

Last night, amongst the noise of two little people and four adults, we were casually watching "Minute to Win It!". Lawson likes this show and it often makes him anxious as the contestants work towards successfully completing a task in the time frame of one minute.

All of the sudden, we realized that Lawson had created his own game of Minute to Win It! It was hysterical and so darn cute! He was picking blocks up off the floor in the hallway, and placing them on his handsaw before running to the bouncy seat where he dropped them off... and then back again. It was so cute!

I got a few pics... He was working really hard and was so proud of himself when he would drop the blocks into Emmitt's seat.

More fun to come!

For my own memory, I would like to add that he did this all on his own. He had already moved several blocks before we realized what he was doing. He was having a great time!

Emmitt's Room

Here is a quick peek into Mr. Emmitt's room... (way overdue)

We purchased his bedding at Pottery Barn Kid's and Claire Schuster Wade helped with paint colors, and it is just right. The window panels also came from PBK and Mrs. Kay Carrol made his cribskirt.

Like Lawson, we had a canvas painted and placed it above his baby bed. His room doesn't really have a "theme" so Jenny Bowman from Dyersburg, Tennessee also painted it and designed it to match the sheets on his bed... and the little characters match exactly. She is really talented. I really like it. :)

His room is quite simple with many of the same pieces that were in the nursery for Lawson. The chest (below) was Russ' when he was a baby and we painted it for Lawson's nursery and Emmitt is also using it. It is a great piece. Emmitt's bed is new, however. Lawson's bed had a recall so once we moved him to his big bed, we purchased a new crib for Emmitt. The other pieces of furniture were used by Lawson.

Here are the sheets that go with his bedding... if you click on the picture of the canvas, you will see just how good she is! ;)

Mr. Emmitt... We are thankful that you like your bed, and that you are such a good sleeper! And believe your room is just perfect for you!

A little bite of sweetness...

Well, there's a baby who is a little sweeter after taking a little bite from Mr. Emmitt this past week.

He had his first run-in with someone's teeth... top and bottom teeth on his knee.

I'm sure this won't be the last little bite, however I am hopeful Emmitt doesn't start taking little bites of his other sweet friends.

:)

Wordless Wednesday

Back to school...

Today was the big day... the first day of school!

This is year number eight for me and I was feeling just as anxious as I did year one. This seems to be common amongst all teachers, no matter their tenure. There is something about the first day of school; I believe students would agree.

I didn't sleep well at all last night - Emmitt woke up at 3:30 to eat, which is rare, and I was planning to get up at 4:45 to get things ready to go so that getting out the door would go smoothly, which is also rare. I remember my alarm going off at 4:45 and thinking I will get up when it goes off in five minutes. Five minutes turned into me waking up at 5:30 in a PANIC!!! We usually leave at 6:30... and it was the first day of school; not a day to oversleep. Tears were in my eyes, but thanks to my precious husband, we made it. Out the door by 6:30. Russ dropped the boys off and I made it to school by 7:05, stopping by the Donut Bank for two long johns. :) Isn't the first day of school special enough for donuts? I think so! They were scrumptious!

Here we are before scooting out the door... Lawson is less than chipper in the mornings.

The day at school was ok. The day was fast and long all at the same time and I have some challenging students... from the word go. Literally.

You can pick them out the very minute they arrive at your door with their parent/guardian. I survived and will return in the morning for Day 2 of boot camp. They will get it, eventually.

I arrived to get the boys around 5:00 to find Emmitt happily swinging and to find Lawson accompanied with an incident report. These are not all that uncommon, however they are usually not anything much, just used for precautionary measures. Today, he fell into a riding toy and bumped his head causing a knot. It looks bad, but they said he cried only for a short time. I signed the report and corralled him and Emmit to the van.

As I headed home I was thinking about how my "first days of school" have changed since I began teaching... new schools, new cities/states, new people, new students, and now with kids. And then it occurred to me that my first day of school last year, Lawson also had an incident report. It was worse than today's incident, however.

The longer I thought about the coincidence of the two incidents, the more I remembered from last year... Lawson was wearing cute little plaid overalls that day. They were from Gymboree and I purchased them from the awesome Evansville Consignment Sale.

And then... I realized that TODAY he has on the same Gymboree plaid only in shorts!!! Yes, I bought these from my friend, Jennifer, and he was wearing them today... the first day of school!

Crazy wild, but true.

So to recap, last year's first day of school, Lawson fell right before I got there and busted the area above his eye. Notice the overalls.

This year's first day of school, he falls into the car and pops his head leaving a large knot. Notice the shorts... they are the same as the overalls above; one is 12 months and one is 3T.

I realize the knot is not all that obvious, but it still looks bad. I hope it doesn't look worse in the morning.

And lastly, a few shots from the school day.

I have 19 students enrolled, and only 15 showed up. Time will tell on my accurate attendance count.

- Table 1 -

-Table 2-

And views of my room...

That's all for the 1st day of school.

I am hopeful that tomorrow will be easier...

Off to bed to rest my weary eyes and mind.