Catching Up...

So - Lots to catch up on.

The Job
I have a job! I took a 2 year "child rearing leave" with my school system. After 2 years you are eligible to be placed somewhere (not necessarily your same school or position) back into the system. Without going into detail, I had pretty much decided that I would not go back to work. It would mean that I would lose my teaching license, but I knew that I had many, many, years left in my career and I could cross those hurdles down the line when the kids were older.

I've tried several times now to write down how exactly this job came about and I just can't do it. Please just ask me to tell you the story. It's a fantastic story full of just the right people doing and saying things at just the right time. It was truly meant to be.

I start this Thursday as the Fine Arts Director for a local Louisville High School. I work part time (2 days one week and 3 days the next week) and do not have a student base. I love students and will get to work with them frequently, but they will not be assigned to me - so taking a day off to care for a sick child will not be an issue. Mostly I will be working with the teachers to help grow the program. What does that mean? Well...I'll let you know in a few months. This position was basically created for me (I'm not filling anyone's shoes) so it will be what we make it. And I love that.

Back to School
Easton will start 3rd grade tomorrow and Camille will be a Kindergartner! Because Louisville is completely crazy, they will be in different Elementary schools. The students from Easton's school are selected by lottery. He got in his Kindergarten year. Camille did not. Unfortunately, siblings are not grandfathered in, so she will attend a different school. I love, LOVE, the principal at Easton's school. That woman is the most wise and Godly person I've ever been around. However...Camille will be in one of the best Kindergarten classrooms in the whole county. She will be in a combined K-1 classroom. Those two teachers have been together for eons and have everything down to a science. I've not met one single mom who doesn't gush and rave about how wonderful these two teachers are. We were in the dentist office a few months ago and the receptionist and I started talking about schools. When I told her Camille's teacher...she started crying! She said her son had those ladies and she could not stop lavishing words of love on them. There is no doubt in my mind that Camille is going to be well taken care of and educated the next two years.

Vacation
We took our first family vacation at the beginning of July. The kids really liked the beach, but they really liked the pool better. It was a fabulous trip and all the things I stressed about were not an issue at all. Mostly I was worried about the long van ride. It turns out that the kids are pros at riding in the van. Mommy...not so much. Seems that I was the one to get antsy and twitchy after too long. Oh well :-) Now we know! We are thinking that next year we should drive a shorter distance and go somewhere with a mega pool/splash/slide thingie. We'll save the beach for a time when Spencer and I can go by ourselves and sit under an umbrella in our beach chairs for hours on end.

Food
I hestitate to talk about food very much because I worry that I'm becoming one of "those" people. I'm not even sure what that means but it can't be good. It's been a slow transformation though. I've been slowly trying to weed out certain foods from our home diet. One of the more recent things to go was buying bread from the store. It's just a few ingredients...I can make that, right? Well, kind of. Believe it or not - I love the process. I like the kneading and rising and all of that. But there is a lot of science to bread that I haven't bothered to learn. After the last 4 or 5 weeks of creating one loaf that is light and fluffy and then another that is too yeasty or dense, I think I'm going to have to learn the specifics. Thankfully, I have a loving husband that doesn't complain and children that don't know the difference.

Fair
The Kentucky State Fair starts this weekend. One of our good friends (MO) has offered to let us come down and see his family's cows. MO promised that the kids could even pet them and milk them if we came at the right time. I raised my eyebrow at him when he said that, but he assurred me it would be fine. Somewhere, Papa just fell out of his chair.