spinning back into reality

The past two weeks have been somewhat of a blur. I feel like I have been on the Tilt-A-Whirl spinning so fast that it is hard to think or see clearly.

Here is how my ride has gone:

Monday, August 16th: learned four new dance routines for our district inservice so that we could surprise Coach Martin with a “30 years at Crandall” dance off; closed on my house; loaded up the back of my car, the back of Sharon’s truck, Joey’s trailer and moved stuff (twice). I got enough put up, unpacked and put together to be able to stay the night.



Tuesday, August 17th – Thursday, August 19th : It was back to work from 8:00 until 4:00. Refrigerator, washer, dryer, TV, Direct TV, the boys’ beds – all delivered, assembled and ready to use. Evenings were spent unpacking, accumulating trash, trying to find new places for everything and more unpacking. In the meantime, I also had to go buy a ton of groceries, a vacuum cleaner and a trash can.



Friday, August 20th: We had a half work day, I went home to help my mom get things put up, decorated, washed and dried for school. She took the kids home with her so that Joey and I could go shopping for house stuff and school stuff. For dinner, he made me try Genghis Grill. I have to admit, I became a fan. (I guess I should practice what I preach to Ashlyn … how do you know you don’t like something if you don’t try it?) The only purchase of the night was a lesson plan book… and dinner.



Saturday, August 21st: Had to get up early for the Direct TV installer to come back and in the meantime we found out that we could go ahead and take Matt and Clayson up to the field house to pick up their football gear. It’s hard to think that I have a child old enough to be on a real football team (instead of “daddy ball” teams). We got helmets, pads, fundraiser cards and a game / practice schedule. From there the boys went their way and Joey and I headed back to Mesquite on a mission – pick out and purchase a grill and lawn mower. Thank goodness with the dual purchase at Lowe’s. From there we met my dad and Clayson at Academy to buy size 13.5 cleats and a mouth guard. From Academy it was time for lunch at El Fenix – my dad and Clayson met us there and before we could order, my mom and Ashlyn showed up. We had a good lunch and enjoyed the company. After lunch we took Clayson with us because he was ready to mow. (Instead of grounding Clayson and making him mow, I’ll have to ground him from mowing. He loves doing yard work and insists that he needs a blower and a weed eater for our yard and the side jobs he has accumulated.) Eventually, all of my kids ended up with their dad and Joey’s kids with their mom so we decided to get away from it all. Away from the house, the cardboard, the putting together and the mess. We met up with some friends and had fun but I think we were both too tired to have too much fun.



Sunday, I got up and went to church, Joey started putting the grill together, I wrote lesson plans and waited on the kids to get back home. Once they got back home we were quickly thrown back into the routine of getting showers and getting to bed early. They have settled into their new rooms and look forward to being in their beds with their radios on, or in Ashlyn’s case – she gets her little flashlight out and reads every night.



Monday it was back to reality; sending Clayson to 7th grade, Ashlyn to 2nd grade and Trey to 5th grade and I started my 10th year of teaching 5th grade. They are growing up right before my eyes and time is passing us by. Things have gone smoothly this week except for Trey getting in trouble the first day for throwing food (twice) and Ashlyn getting in trouble the second day for trying to “manipulate” a situation so that she could line up with her friend. Clayson has late football practice on A days and early morning practice on B days … my calendar is crucial. It’s going to be a super busy year but it is going to be so much fun. The 2010 – 2011 school year has had the perfect start and I have a feeling that it will just keep on getting better.