Disease and Pestilence

So much for updating more frequently! Our home has been ridden with disease and pestilence. They started dropping like flies during the last week of school. Strep throat. Yuck. So far, I have remained "strep free"! Dylan and Nathan both missed the last day of school. So sad, but they were both over it pretty quickly. The missing school, I mean. This particular strain of strep is a hanger-on-er.

My last few days of school were fantastic. I really enjoyed getting to know a group of students and then "sending them off" to junior high. Now comes the hardest part of my "becoming a teacher" journey. Landing a job. Good grief. What a process!! So many papers, essays, information, applications, you would think that I am trying to become President of the United States or something. Wait…that may not be such a bad idea.

We are beginning our plans for our big summer trip. We are continuing the tradition of the drive to Oregon in our giant van full of kids with stops this year in the Bay Area and maybe the NoCal coast or the redwoods, maybe even both! Later in the summer we plan on doing a Black River Camping trip which also is a big hit with the kiddos. Meanwhile, I just continue to look for work, and clean, clean, clean, trying to rid this house of GeRmS!

The End Was Here, Then it Wasn’t

Gosh, golly, darn. I was hoping for the end of the world. What the heck happened? I guess now I need to take care of all of those responsibilities that I was slacking on while anticipating the end. Like, you know, updating my neglected blog.

What a crazy time of year! Student teaching is killing me. It is not just time consuming, but also very emotional. I am going to miss all those little sixth grade buggers. Yes, even the ones that have caused me grief and strife. (which is pretty much all of them) I can say, however that my student teaching has been insightful, helpful, and a major learning experience. It is now official; I have my teaching certification and now am "legal" to be a teacher in the great state of Arizona! I survived Sea World, chicken mummies, suspensions, various girl drama, and this coming week; SunSplash and Sixth Grade Promotion!!! Yeah!

On the family news side, my ex-husband has officially lost his house and is currently looking for a new place to live. Luckily, I have the GREATEST husband in the world, which is fine with said ex-husband moving near to us so that he and I can co-parent our four children better together. No, this does not mean that the name of this blog will change to include the name of the ex. (that is for you Ken) Brianna, 16 going on 17, is attempting to move in with us here full-time, as her 18 year-old brother has already blazed the trail and done so. I must say, it is a little weird to have someone other than Ken home when we are on an "off kid" day, but I like it!

Ken got a new calling at church. He is now part of the Sunday School Presidency in our Ward. For those of you non-LDS readers, this means that we now have to go to church EVERY WEEK. I have been called to serve in Activity Days, a program for girls 8-11 that meets twice a month. I have served in Activity Days before and this has been my FAVORITE calling, so I can't wait to get started.

This is by no means a complete update, however since the world didn't end, I will be updating more frequently since now I have NO EXCUSE!

Cornish Game Hen Mummies and Abandoned Children

I have been consumed in thought and deed by Cornish Game Hen Mummies. It all began with a simple group assignment for my sixth grade class and has now turned into an all-consuming individual project for the entire grade level. Now, 94 Cornish Game Hens, hundreds of pounds of salt, Ziploc bags, bleach wipes, garbage bags, and various other supplies later, I can think of nothing else. This is gonna be fun. I can't wait to send home all of this mummified game hens at the end of the school year packed nice and neat like in their shoe-box sarcophagus. And, as a side note, the smell of rotting hens may actually IMPROVE the stench in my classroom!

On another topic, three of my lovely children were somewhat abandoned today. Inadvertently, of course, yet abandoned, nonetheless. Dad left town and neglected to let the kids know that they needed to go to afterschool care. Oops. We all make mistakes, right? Thankfully this one was made on a day that I had no meetings and was able to leave immediately upon discovering that they were "lost". I was so proud (and relieved) to see them dutifully working on homework at the park when I pulled up to get them. "Hey mom, what took you so long?", they asked me. They really have no idea. And, good thing. They'd be offended. I am blessed beyond measure with wonderful kids! (even if they do call me fat) (to my face) Ha!

Zoo, McDonald’s, Movie, Homework, Camping, Cut, Color, Church…

The title of this post says it all. Almost. This weekend has been just as crazy as every other. I think that Ken and I need a vacation. Alone. Did I say ALONE?!? Ken was gone all week traveling for work and, although my mom was here until Wednesday morning, the responsibility of the kids fell to me. Come Friday, I didn't know my left from my right and was so grateful that Aunt Becca came to the rescue for a much needed ride for some little ones. Thanks BFF!

Ryan and Garrett have come into town for a week and the kids are so excited to see them and hear all about how things are going with their mom in Virginia. Garrett has an "old version Justin Bieber" hairdo, and Ryan has gotten a bit taller (good stuff).

I am looking forward to Friday night when my honey comes back to town from his latest work assignment and we will have 18 hours ALONE! Then, it is back to the kid duty and EASTER! Yay! Peeps. Purple ones. J

Big Week – Big Plans

This week has been nuts! And, it just keeps on coming… We had Jocelyn's birthday, she turned 8! Tomorrow Grandma comes to visit and Jack turns 9. Jocelyn is getting baptized on Saturday and Grandma is sticking around to hang out with all of us until next week. We are so blessed and although all the activity wears us out, we LOVE it!

Gem of the day: I received a prank call from Jack today telling me I was the lucky winner of 2 million dollars. He was VERY convincing and was so well spoken! The prank call TOTALLY makes up for his "fat" comment.

Am I Getting Fat?

Evidently, I am. I had one of my 8 year-olds (yes, there are two right now) ask me this weekend if I thought that I was getting fatter. I replied, "Why?" And, believe it or not he candidly informed me that he wondered because he thinks that I am.

Nice. Great confidence booster. Especially since this conversation comes on the heels of a comment from my sweet loving husband about how he could "tell I was running in October" after looking at a photo.

Good thing that having a ton of kids and crazy life experiences give a person the resilience of superman's Fortress of Solitude. If only I could get less of the Fortress and more of the Solitude… One day. One day.

Student Teaching

My student teaching has begun and I am crazy busy. Never did I think I could be more stressed than I was while in school, working, and being a mom and wife…but, it has happened. I have, however come up with some fantastic ideas for my first year of teaching and can't wait to get started in the fall with a classroom of my own. My BFF SIL Becca has shown me some really cool blog moves, and I figure that I should start to show them off. That, and I feel like I am really shortchanging my kiddos by not having any sort of journal other than obscene amounts of photos and a calendar from each year that shows all the crazy cool stuff we do here in the Crockett/Henderson household. Blogging will help me accomplish more in that department.

Spring break has come and gone and now only eight weeks remain in the school year. Once school is over kids will be here EVERY DAY so I had better have a game plan! Stay Tuned!