Good Bye July!

Glad to see you go!

The first month of school is hectic for any teacher. I expect that. This July has heaped on the drama and frankly I am tired. If I haven't blogged much it's because I am napping.

Actually, I could sum up the craziness in one sentence- Cliff took pity on me and cooked dinner every night all month!

But why be brief?

July 3, 2003
We celebrated five years of marriage which seem to have flashed by in the blink of an eye. I fear that in just two moments I will be looking back on ten years. Why is it that time only stands still while I wait for the custodial staff to clean up vomit?

We got a new principal and vice principal. Both have turned out to be really quite wonderful. Our overall work environment is much improved. It's too early to say I am in love, but I might be.



It's not too early to say that I am totally in love with my new box of Crayons. This year I drew the long straw and I couldn't be happier.


Still, this month I have had a new recurring nightmare. I am late to school and want to call in. My cell phone is a transformer (like the kids robot toys) and it transforms from a calculator, to a robot, to a ruler, Swiss Army knife... lots of cool things. No matter how many times I open and close it, I can never get it to be a phone.


First day of school -second grade.

I had to miss the first day of school this year due to a doctors appointment. I stressed over that for quite a few days and finally decided that my health came before school. Still, this was the manifestation of my life long former school nightmare about missing the first day of school. After the appointment Cliff took me to the Getty Museum and somehow the gorgeous surroundings soothed me.

Then I had a minor surgery on the same day as back to school night. Seriously! The timing was not great. Being new, the principal made Back to School Night a huge priority. It was made very clear that it needed to be great. I slinked into my Principal's office to deliver the news that I might not make it. Thankfully, it was a fairly minor outpatient procedure and Cliff was able to drive me to school later that night. I gave my little talk, met the families and promptly took the next day off to recoup. It's not that I am any kind of martyr. The thought of having to host my very own Back to School Night at a later date motivated me to go at any cost.


Photo of a local gas station (tres chic- no?)- taken April 2007.

I think gas topped out around $4.65 here. This month I really cut back on nearly all thrifting, shopping and exploring. If it can't be found on my route home from school, I no longer know about it. I miss my city, but by the grace of God, there is a Target on the way home! (And, by the way teacher friends, the Cadillac of frozen meals- Smart Ones Vegetable Lasagna is only $1.77 at Target!)



So far, dare I jinx myself, the air conditioning was not damaged by the great pool leak of July 2008.

On top of some big ticket items that we did budget for, we had an unexpected bill of $1,000 and our monthly sending was nearly dollar for dollar the exact salary I made as a first year (part time) kindergarten teacher.

This both scared me and thrilled me. Thanks to the influence of all the penny wise blogs I read, I am a reformed spender. We were able to cover it all with cash. In my wildest dreams I don't think I could have imagined that. The Lord is so good -and the people said, "Amen!"


Mom in college.

I had thought that with the relaxed pace of summer I would get some crafting done. Ha! I have scarcely done any crafting since the 4th. I had a great idea for my parent's anniversary. I postponed it and at this rate they will be lucky to see it at Christmas. The supplies taunt me though!

I wish I could say I have gone the route of the Amazon gift card and made my peace...


The future bride.

but I have been knee deep did in a very special surprise for my cousin's bridal shower. It's been an unbelievable thing to watch someone grow up and see them get married. I can hardly wait to see her at the wedding. Unfortunately, spending so much time thinking about our family and her shower has made me homesick. I kind of burnt out on the project and took a break. I will be lucky to get it in the mail on time.



And this week- the final week of July, well each day feels like two. I was pretty much done on Tuesday with the puker and the earthquake. On Wednesday, a half hour after the dismissal bell, the "haunted house" right next to the play yard went up in flames. Bushes and trees along the school fence caught on fire. Smoke filled the school yard and ash rained on the staff parking lot. The kids were sheltered in the auditorium and I high tailed it right out of there.

Today I half expected to see frogs or locusts fall from the sky. Thankfully, it was an ordinary day. Not uneventful by any stretch, but ordinary. Goodbye July!!!