Really?

So, while we were on our vacation in the hills above Santa Barbara... I got a message from my Mom. Hand delivered by the front gate guard on his golf cart. He said that I needed to call her, it was urgent. As my face blanched white, he smiled and said, "She said that you would worry, so I should tell you that it is good news." The first thought that flashed through my mind was, "Hmm, my mom had her tubes tied, so it can't be that." I almost immediately knew what she was calling about, even though it was a million miles from my radar.

I scrounged up the money I would need to use the pay phone down at the country store and called. (We were in a beautiful area with zero cel service...blessing...yes... strange, also yes) When I got a hold of my mom we had the worst connection imaginable, but she told me that the Director of Broadoaks had been trying to reach me because she wanted to offer me a position at the school. I don't know how I knew that this was the news, somehow I have the strangest ESP. It only works for pregnancy announcements and gifts, but occasionally for things like this!

I had applied for a Graduate Teaching Fellowship position at Broadoaks for last school year and was told that there just weren't any openings at the time. This was very disappointing, but I just figured that the Universe had something else in store for me. I did beat myself up a bit because the year before, the Director had encouraged me to apply and was really pushing me (indicating that I would most likely be brought on board). Ella would have only been 2 1/2 and I was really just not ready to start working full time and go back to school, so I waited. Then, there was nothing available. This year, something opened up and they found themselves with an open position, just for me!

A fellowship is like a paid internship and are only granted to a few students each year. You must be enrolled in the Masters program at Whittier and go through an application process. They had held onto my application and pushed for me to get a spot for the coming school year. I told my Mom to let the Director know that I would call her the next day at 12 noon to have a conversation. (I knew that I would have cel service where we were going the next day) I called and we talked and indeed, she offered me the spot. She told me all of the pro's and con's and explained more about what I would be doing. The benefits are: Working at an incredible school with amazing people, a small paycheck, tuition remission for myself and for Ella. I get retirement and health benefits too and I think, after a year, I get one free meal a week at the cafeteria. But, this is when I found out about two difficult elements of the position. The first is that I would not be able to complete my student teaching during the fall semester, but they would try to work it out so that I could do it in the spring. The second is that I would be teaching pre-school. Not only preschool, but the LITTLEST kids, because Ella is in the Pre-K class, it would mean that I would go to the class with the 2 1/2 - 3 year olds. Really? Really? Didn't I JUST finish with this at home? Wasn't I just saying how glad I was to be done with the whining and the pee pee pants and the boogers!? Wasn't I just saying how this is NOT my favorite age!? I told the Director that I would think about all that we had discussed and that I would call her back in two days to tell her my final decision. I really knew what my answer would be, but I wanted some time to process all of this! When I called back, she was delighted to find that I was accepting and I figured that the Universe must know something that I didn't and besides, I am never one to pass up an Opportunity when it falls right into my lap.

This news really shook me up! I had a plan and it was being completely overhauled.. I DON'T like to change my plans!

Original plan: Student teach in the Fall and not work at the church for the semester. Spring would see me working one or two days a week and writing my thesis while both children were in school. I would graduate in the Spring followed by working part time during the Summer and hopefully finding a full time teaching job for the next year.

NEW plan: Work full time NOW, write thesis NOW and HOPE that I can student teach in the Spring. Graduation in the Spring (with or without my credential) followed by maybe working at Broadoaks over the Summer and back with them full time next year.

With the original plan, I would have had two full weeks when the kids were back at school and before I started student teaching, allowing me some much needed time to work on projects around the house. With the new plan it meant coming home from vacation, unpacking and spending the next week scrambling to get myself ready to begin working full time! I had to do a lot of leg work at the college, filling out paperwork, changing my financial aid, dropping and adding classes... eek! It was crazy! I also had to arrange for child care because Andy and I started two weeks before the kids!

Well, we worked it out and went a little nutty, but here we are. I am now working full time and knee deep in research for my thesis. Thankfully, I thought about a topic all summer and even had a tentative outline in my head. I am looking at Gifted and Talented Education (or the lack of it) and finding lots of great information! There is a LOT to do and not much time to do it! Adjusting to a new work environment and schedule is extremely taxing, not to mention that my students hit, bite, pee their pants and haven't learned how to share!

Andy is working his buns off to keep things running smoothly around here and we are just going to hang on by the skin of our teeth until Christmas. My thesis will be done by then, and I am sure that we will be much more well adjusted to the schedule. I greatly appreciate Fridays and the time that I get to spend with my family during the weekend and I have found myself longing for the time to dust baseboards. The things that used to seem like drudgery, I now look at as something that I miss. Strange the way it works... I have on my pack again and continue to climb. I have requested prayers and accepted lots of help. This life of mine, well, it is quite a journey and let me tell you, the view from up here... it is incredible!

Peace for Spring Break

Clean Garage

It seems that blogging has not been high on my priority list as of late.. but I am not really sure what HAS! *note: I wrote this a few days ago, but got interupted...

We have been busy, as always... baseball, classes, STILL trying to get the house put back together! I did finally organize my desk and new cubbies...although I need more bins for it before it is officially "finished"..Gavin's room, well.. it hangs there, not QUITE done...it's the ceiling fan, really and that is it. Andy had to wait until his cast was off and then, well.. We cleaned the garage! Unfortunately, we again forgot to take before and after shots but let's just say that before, you could not walk into the garage, but only squeak around to get to the fridge and storage shelves. Now... it is a big, wide, open space that is very organized and lovely to behold! I find myself walking out there to just stand in it and appreciate the order.

The side effect of a clean garage is a REALLY messy patio! We pulled out a ton of stuff to sell at our yard sale in a couple of weeks, including the crib. Yup.. we are done... you heard it here first. I have come to the place where I am o.k. (actually adamant) that we will not have any more babies (other than our godson Alex and any other babies that need cuddling!) Andy has even conceded and is going to be contacting the urologist after Spring Break.

Messy Patio

We were going to start working on Ella's room (and FINISH Gavin's) during our Spring Break, but it seems that the universe has other ideas for us. A friend called yesterday and offered us a campsite at San Clemente State Beach for a couple of days. It is taking some shuffling and rescheduling and some major re-thinking on my part, but we are going! We realized that what we really need, is a break! Time to relax and just be together and so, we are taking it. We will be leaving on Saturday and coming home on Tuesday, not a LONG trip, but just the kind of break that we all need. I will leave the house a mess, the projects unfinished and the laundry piled up on the couch. Oh Well!!!

Today, I am working on paperwork and packing and grocery shopping. Tomorrow I will spend the day with Ella at the La Habra Children's Museum, just the two of us. I think that we will have a picnic too. Friday, the kids and I are sleeping in and getting packed up and then, when Andy gets home we are going to Downtown Disney to have dinner at Rainforest Cafe and Gavin wants to visit the Lego store. He has been doing extra chores and saving his money for something special! Then, it is off to the beach with nothing more to do than relax, chat, eat and sleep. I should probably put a walk or two in there, or I will lose my weight loss headway that I have been making.

I am peaceful, even though I have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in I know that if it needs to be done, it will be and that we will have a great time, TOGETHER!! I am thankful to my friend and for the opportunity to be with my family and to spend time with friends, I really do have a most blessed life.