Spring Cleaning

At first I thought it was a misnomer to say I was doing spring cleaning as we are in our second week of our summer break, but it is still technically spring for about one more month. I kicked off the spring cleaning on Monday while the kids were at their grandparents' house. I put on my painting clothes thinking I would do some exterior painting, but then I decided to just work inside the house in light of the fact my energy level isn't back to normal yet. I did got for a walk outside in the afternoon although not as long of a walk as I originally planned to take. I've been thoroughly emptying cabinets, bookshelves, drawers, etc. and doing some purging and reorganizing along the way. On Monday I did three loads of laundry which included washing valences from three windows. Yesterday I was scrubbing the front porch to clean up the bird droppings. I didn't put a wreath on our door this spring like I usually do since the birds thought that was a good place for a nest. I also have been working on hanging up the curtains in the basement. I'm using the curtains all around the room to form a sort of "wall" which is hiding things like a hot water heater, furnace, shelving units, and the unpainted cinderblock walls. Last summer I painted the concrete floor. Now if I just attach something (sheets maybe?) to hide the duct work and such to create a "ceiling" of sorts, the basement will look less unfinished. I have done at least a little bit of cleaning in every room of the house, including the garage. I'm not done yet, but I've made a lot of progress! I'll be donating some more stuff tomorrow.



This week I've also been finishing up the plans for our vacation, and the kids and I are going to start packing! On Saturday afternoon we're going to drive to a hotel that is very close to the Baltimore airport as our flight is very early on Sunday morning. The hotel has an indoor pool so the kids can go swimming on Saturday night! None of the kids remember flying on an airplane. The last time Oliver flew he was 2 years old (2015), the last time Ian flew he was 4 years old (2014), and the last time Nadia flew she was 5 years old (2013). I also have made other hotel reservations for a few weekend one night getaways (through Airbnb, Priceline, etc.) - one night in Pittsburgh in August, one night in Niagara in August, and one night in the Rochester area in June. I also put in our time share request for Myrtle Beach for June 2019. If time passes and nothing comes up for Myrtle Beach, I'm going to expand the request some to include Hilton Head. Next month I want to obtain our reservation for Williamsburg in September. Over the last week I also bought 4 tickets for the kids and I to experience National Geographic's Ocean Odyssey in NYC en route to my aunt's house on July 1 as well as got 4 free tickets (plus paid for the fifth) through Fandango to see Incredibles 2 in the afternoon on June 17. We got the free movie tickets thanks to codes from the Juicy Juice boxes I got for Nadia's party. They can be used for any Disney movie.



I finally spent some time working on reading with Oliver yesterday. I want to do more of that this summer. Ian finished the 3rd grade spelling list today! Nadia has twelve more words to master from the 5th grade curriculum. Ian finished the Level 1B piano books and is now in the same piano books that Nadia is in right now (albeit she is near the end of the Level 2 books and he's at the beginning). Nadia received a $25 gift card for her birthday to Barnes and Nobles, and she used it to buy three books - Wonder, Auggie and Me, and the latest Amelia Bedelia chapter book. She recently read the two Wonder books from the library and wants to own copies of them. She hasn't read the latest Amelia Bedelia book and plans to start reading when it arrives in the mail today. Ian finished another Paddington Bear book yesterday. Yesterday Ian wrote a story that featured Mario characters but was patterned after the Three Little Pigs. Today, Nadia wrote a story about a girl named Julia, and it was patterned after Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Nadia and Ian have also practiced the piano and their recorders. I have been working on the paperwork I need to submit to the school district by the end of June. We went on a field trip on Tuesday that was less than 10 minutes from our house. We had an hour long tour of a recycling center and landfill. It was very informative! We could have gone to a two hour about turtles for homeschoolers yesterday morning at a state park, but we opted to just stay home. I didn't drive anywhere on Monday or Wednesday, and I don't plan on going anywhere today either. Below are pictures from Nadia's surprise party.

Treasure Island

The past five days a considerable amount of time was invested in the kids' musical at church - Treasure Island. Nadia and Ian had a rehearsal on Wednesday night, and all three kids had a rehearsal from 4:00-6:30 on Friday night and 9:00-11:15 on Saturday morning. The choir sang one song from the musical in both of the services on Sunday morning. I didn't bring my camcorder that morning (in hindsight I wish I had), but I did record the second service with my phone. Their long awaited performance was at 7:00 last night. Ian played the part of a pirate named Bart. He did a GREAT job. He received numerous compliments afterward. He really got into his part. I think this boy should continue to pursue opportunities to be in theatrical or musical productions! Nadia also did a good job singing in the choir and playing the part of Becky. Oliver could have done a better job singing, but he definitely brought about laughter (and some tears because people were laughing so hard) from some of his "moves." The boy loves to dance! He definitely has his own distinct personality because neither Paul or I would have ever done anything like that when we were children (nor do we encourage this behavior), but he sure brought many smiles and laughter.

I think Nadia, Grace, and Baylee enjoyed the sleepover on Friday night! They played outside, played in the basement, played in Nadia's room, painted their fingernails several different colors in my bathroom, watched two episodes of Odd Squad, etc. I asked them what they wanted for breakfast, and Nadia wanted eggs and toast (no shock there!). Grace and Baylee asked for waffles, eggs, and bacon, which is what I made for them. Paul blew up two air mattresses, and all three girls slept in Nadia's bedroom. She normally has markers arranged in neat rows on the floor of her bedroom, but I managed to get her to clean it up on Friday afternoon (told her I needed to vacuum, and I did vacuum but the main reason was so the girls would have a place to sleep).

We had plans for Saturday afternoon, but after the dress rehearsal we decided to just stay at home. I had (free) tickets to see a pirate show in Wilkes Barre (which seemed very appropriate given the show the kids were doing) plus I was going to take the kids to a trampoline park (Sky Zone), which they have never been to before as I had free passes for the kids. Oliver really wanted to go. Nadia really wanted to stay home. Ian was on the fence. I was exhausted so I decided we'd just stay at home. Sometimes I am thankful when I push myself (such as the fish hatchery tour last Wednesday that I also contemplated skipping), but other times I just don't have the energy to force myself to go go go. We could have gone to a birthday party that afternoon, but I didn't tell the kids and we just stayed home. It was an outdoor pool party, and it was raining outside so that was another reason I decided to skip it (also I had sent our RSVP as no in light of the previous plans). I need to conserve my energy so I will be ready for our vacation next week as visiting places like Disneyland is fun but also exhausting!

I haven't heard anything from the Dean yet. She called me on the evening of May 10, and I wrote her back very early in the morning on May 11. I reached out to my department chair yesterday, and she said I should give it another week. I'm praying for a more reasonable offer! It's hard to be waiting in suspense, but I know worrying doesn't help one iota.

Paul's mom wasn't feeling very well yesterday morning (chemo side effects), but thankfully she was feeling a little better later in the day so they were able to come up for the play last night. I always think of my mom when events like this take place. She was almost always present at my kids' performances. At least I didn't break down and cry this time. I also knew that even if she were alive she wouldn't have made it to this one because she would have been in Austin, Texas at my brother's graduation which took place on Saturday morning. Nadia has been in as many as four musicals a year in the past, but this year this is the only one for the boys and Nadia will only be in two. In the past the kids' choir at church did two musicals a year, but they didn't do one at Christmas the past two years, and I'm assuming that's now the new norm. Nadia also was in the summer musical at the Alliance church (where they go to AWANA) the past six years, but they aren't doing a musical this summer for the first time in I think more than 20 years. Nadia will be in a musical in August in connection with the two week theater camp she's registered to attend. Our babysitter came to the program last night, and she brought a bunch of kids with her. That meant a lot to us, especially considering the only extended family who were able to attend were Paul's parents. I loved the programs they made this year. They included headshots of the main characters. I will file those away in the kids' file boxes!

The kids and I stayed for a luncheon after the second service yesterday, and when we got home I started mowing the lawn right away as it looked like it was about to rain. We have gotten a LOT of rain this spring so the grass is growing very fast. I will mow it once more toward the end of the week before we go on vacation. Paul removed two posts from the deck yesterday. It was the first time he had done anything on the deck project that he started more than 9 months ago. It's an eyesore right now as we have a partially dismantled deck in our backyard. The kids went home with Paul's parents last night to spend the day at their house today. Paul's dad got a programmable Lego robotics kit for Christmas, and the kids used it for the first time last Monday but they hadn't finished the project so Nadia and Ian are working on it some more today with Pop Pop. I still don't have anywhere near my usual energy level so I am not going to get an insane amount of work done today, but I am determined to get more work done than I did last Monday. And I am going to go for a 4 mile walk today! Exercise is one of the things that had been cut from my schedule, and I need to get back in the habit. I intended to resume exercising last week but due to back pain that didn't happen. One project I want to complete this week is getting caught up with editing my photos. I have some from as far back as April 18 that I haven't edited yet! I know I'll take more than usual next week on vacation so I want to be caught up before we go. I thought if I went back to work one of the first things I'd do was buy myself one new lens (a lens I've been eyeing for about 3 years), but in fact I haven't purchased any lenses or signed myself up for any photography classes because I have been using my camera far less than usual the past 9 months. Using my camera more is one of my goals for the next 14 weeks! Below you will find the first video I uploaded from the musical last night. Enjoy!

Week in Review

Last Thursday I finished grading and posted the final course grades for the semester. The Dean offered me a FT job for the next academic year on Thursday night. We were eating dinner when she called so I didn't answer the phone. I was thankful for the job offer but demoralized by what she offered as far as rank/step (also salary). She said I could leave a voicemail or send an email with my response. I wrote her back very early last Friday morning and basically said I'd love to teach again next semester, but could we negotiate the rank/step? I reminded her that I will have been at the university for ten years total, what rank I started at in 2004 and what rank/step I was at in January 2013 when I resigned. I haven't heard any response from her yet. I'm sure they won't put me back where I was in 2013, but I surely hope they won't keep me lower than I started in 2004. It's all the more important because I learned on Saturday afternoon that they didn't request any permanent positions as they had been saying they would for the past nine months. This means there's no way I can be permanent again in August 2019 as I was hoping. What they offer me as far as rank/step might influence how many years I stay there. I don't want to have to be an adjunct for five years, especially if they are cutting my salary by a large margin. I attended graduation on Saturday morning. It was held outside, and it was raining during part of the ceremony (which lasted about 1hr 45 minutes). Thankfully the faculty were under a covering. Many parents went inside and watched a live stream so they could stay dry. I enjoyed giving handshakes and some hugs to students I had in class and some of my student teachers as they walked across the stage. One of the most emotional parts for me was seeing Emma graduate (she was student teaching this semester and then a car accident lead to her being in a coma for one month). She was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is hoping to eventually be able to finish her student teaching. The other part that was emotional for me was when the senior class president (who happened to be an education major) talked about our former department chair who passed away suddenly eleven months ago. We miss you, Charles!

Last Thursday was also the last day of "school" for my three kiddos, and we celebrated twice last week. Last Tuesday was the last day the kids were with the babysitter (while I was meeting with student teachers), and so I decided I'd take the kids out to eat for dinner to celebrate. I gave them the choice of Perkins, Chipotle, and Country Cupboard. The first two were offering teachers a free meal that day, and I had my faculty ID with me in case the kids picked one of those restaurants. I figured there was no chance they'd pick Chipotle, but I knew they like Perkins. Perkins would have been the cheaper option, but they picked Country Cupboard. I had a gift card that I received for my birthday in 2017 for that restaurant, and so we used that (which only covered my meal). We splurged and got the buffet. It's fancier (and more expensive) than Bonanza. The second "celebration" was an all day field trip on Friday. I had invited our babysitter and her boys to join us. I hope they join us for more field trips in the future! Usually I do those by myself, and it was wonderful having another adult to talk to during the 4 hours we spent in the van (round trip). We drove to Lancaster and toured the Herr House. that was built in 1719.  They had 4.5 hours of activities planned for school groups and also 30 minutes for lunch. We also toured a longhouse and did a variety of activities. The weather was absolutely gorgeous that day! When we got home, I started mowing the lawn after we ate dinner. Paul has been coming home from work around 7:30pm most days, and he forgot he had promised to come home earlier so he could take the kids to the Art Show at the Christian school. I had forgotten to remind him that morning so it was partially my fault. Anyhow this meant I didn't finish mowing the lawn, and I needed to get back in the car and take the kids to the art show. Three pieces of Nadia and Ian's art work were on display. I now have their clay creations on the fireplace mantle and have hung two of their pieces of artwork on our walls.

After graduation on Saturday morning (I had to be there at 8:00AM), I drove directly to Knoebels to meet Paul and the kids. I was dubious in light of how it had rained during graduation, but we had free handstamps for the day. Thankfully it didn't start raining until almost 6pm, and the sun even peeked through enough at one point that we shed our coats for a little bit! I was really tired in light of the field trip the day before and the fact I  hadn't been sleeping well for several days due to back pain, the low offer for my salary, etc. In hindsight, I shouldn't have ridden any rides because  when I woke up on Sunday morning, I was in so much pain I was crying, and I couldn't even get out of bed without assistance. I never made it back to sleep after waking up at 4:30am. Usually I absolutely love to be at an amusement park with my kids, but a headache, backache, exhaustion, and emotional distress interfered with my ability to find any pleasure in being there that day. Thankfully the kids still had a great time!

Sunday was Mother's Day. The day that I think will forevermore be bittersweet for me. I think of happy thoughts about my own Mom, and then I grieve her absence. I am incredibly thankful for my three miracles, and then I think of all the women out there who long to be moms and for a variety of reasons it hasn't happened yet (or maybe all their babies are in Heaven). I still cringe when I hear a Pastor ask all the Moms to stand. I want to scream at the top of my lungs - NO! STOP! Don't do it! But instead I just pray for all the women who are single and longing for marriage and motherhood and all the women dealing with infertility, etc. And instead of smiling at the thought that I finally can stand, I usually have a few tears streaming down my cheeks as I still remember how painful this day was for me for many years. The choir stands during the first 30-45 minutes of the service so ALL the women and men in the choir were standing when they asked the Moms in the congregation to stand. Paul's parents joined us at church, and while we were at church during the second service, Paul went to the grocery store and then came home and started cooking. It was very sweet of him. I don't ever recall him doing this before on Mother's Day. The only problem was that he wasn't done cooking until at 1:15, and we had tickets to see Miracle Worker (about Helen Keller) in Williamsport at 2:00. We ate part of our meal and then hurried out the door. We managed to arrive on time, and we all enjoyed the show. In addition to celebrating Mother's Day, it was also Paul's parents 51st anniversary. When we arrived back home, we finished eating the meal we had begun a few hours earlier. Paul's parents took our kids home with them as we had planned for several weeks for them to spend May 14 at their house.

I have had very few days over the past almost 10 years where I didn't have a child with me for the majority of the day (and I was at home). The other times it has happened I have tried to get SO much work done - might be painting a room or freezer cooking many meals, for example. This time I was torn between trying to get a lot done and part of me just wanted to stay in bed all day and either cry, nap, or read a book. I ended up starting the day slowly by reading (would you believe over the past 9 days I read two novels?), and then I did get some work done - finished mowing the lawn, laundry, dishes, straightening up the basement, etc., but I didn't exactly light the world on fire. I have pushed myself so hard for the past nine months I just didn't have it in me to work like crazy that day.

There were two things on our agenda for Tuesday - voting in the primary election (just me because Paul is registered as an independent) and having a play date. My kids wanted their babysitter's kids to see their toys, guinea pigs, bedrooms, etc. So they spent about 2.5 hours at our house on Tuesday afternoon. We also started some of our summer routines. We are still whittling away at their spelling lists. As of today Ian is down to 10 more words, and I think Nadia has about 24 left to master. We've started reading more picture books (at least 3-4 per day) in addition to continuing reading of chapter books. We finished The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic this morning and started a book about Pompeii at lunch today. This was our first of fifteen weeks of summer vacation. It feels like it just flew by, and so I know the next fourteen weeks will be done before I know it. I haven't started with Oliver's summer reading program. I really need to get in gear with that ASAP. Ian and Nadia only spent 20 minutes per day on the iPad. I gave them several choices as to how to earn a turn such as reading, math flashcards, practicing the piano, practicing the recorder, etc. If they want a second turn, they MUST write in their journal. They can earn a maximum of three turns a day (60 minutes total). Since neither of them are keen on writing (sadly) they opted to only earn one turn a day. Ian practiced the piano every day, and one day he also read some of his Paddington Bear book. Nadia read most days, and she practiced the recorder another day. Right now she's reading the second Wonder book (Auggie and Me).

On Wednesday we were at home in the morning, and then after an early lunch we drove to Mill Hall (about 45 minutes away) to see a play about the stories Brother's Grimm wrote, and then we had a wonderful private (free) hour long tour of a fish hatchery. We liked the golden trout the best. I wish I had brought my camera! I am so far behind in editing and posting pictures that I didn't take my camera to Knoebels on Saturday or to our field trips this week. The pictures in this post are from our trip last Friday to Hans Herr house. On Wednesday evening Nadia and Ian had a rehearsal at church, and because Paul didn't get home before we left, Oliver and I just sat and waited for them while they rehearsed for 75 minutes. The play land was closed unfortunately.

On Thursday we were at home most of the day. We spent about 90 minutes at the annual Emergency Preparedness Day at a FCC less than 10 minutes from our house. We saw a demonstration with a search and rescue dog, watched a breaching demonstration (how they would get through a metal door in a prison), saw mounted police, etc. One of the six LARGE horses that the mounted police were riding was named Oliver. I took a pic with my phone since I hadn't brought my good camera. I'll have to download the photos from my phone sometime. We also made a stop at the grocery store.

Today Nadia and Ian had art class, and all three had gym class from 10:00-11:30 and a dress rehearsal for their musical from 4:00-6:30pm. My main project for the day was preparing for Nadia's surprise birthday party. About a month ago I invited four girls to her party. All four moms said their daughters could attend. I recently tried to invite a fifth girl, but the date didn't work for her. Then late on Wednesday night one of the mom's texted me that her daughter wouldn't be coming after all. So I thought three girls were coming, but in fact only two came. Oliver was with me when we bought the paper products and balloon at the dollar store today. Thankfully he didn't spill the beans. We managed to actually surprise her! As they ate pizza at their rehearsal, I had the following foods ready for the party (all favorites of Nadia): Jello jigglers, dirt cake with gummy worms, Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese Doritos, and string cheese. It was an Odd Squad themed party. I had cut and taped Odd Squad things to their cups, party hats, etc. Ms. O (one of the main characters on the show on PBS) loves juice boxes, and so I had plenty of juice boxes as well. I had a couple of Odd Squad activities prepared and also got Nadia a custom made Odd Squad shirt that has her name on the badge. It turns out Bailee also loves the show. Grace had never heard of it, but they watched a couple of episodes tonight (via Amazon Prime). We let the boys stay up until 9pm. We let the girls stay up downstairs until a little past 10pm. They are all in Nadia's room right now, and I am planning on turning off her light at 11pm in light of the fact they have a rehearsal at 9am tomorrow. Hopefully this has been a very special (early) 10th birthday party for my princess! She attended her first sleepover last year, and this was her first time having one at our house.

Thankful Thursday

DISCLAIMER: I started this post last week and intended to post it on May 10, but I never got around to adding the pictures to the post and hence never actually published it. Here it is 8 days later (I wasn't actually done writing it, but I can't recall at this point what else I intended to say so here is what I wrote last week with a few pictures added).

1. The kids have been enjoying the warmer weather. They've been spending more time outside and playing with the neighbors. I'm thankful there are several families with young children in our small neighborhood! One of the families goes to the same church we do (their kids go to the Christian school at our church), and two of the other families in our neighborhood go to the church where our kids go to AWANA. The kids told me that a new family moved into our neighborhood recently. I hadn't even realized a house was for sale or someone had moved out! They family that moved out had older children, and the ones who moved in have younger children. I took advantage of having more free time (yahoo!) and the pretty weather to take the kids to the playground in Lewisburg on Tuesday afternoon. Getting more exercise is high on my priority list now that the semester is over, which will likely mean I'll be outside more often as well! The kids love taking their guinea pigs outside, and the guinea pigs do enjoy munching on grass!

2. Nadia, Ian, and I enjoyed the annual church dinner on Sunday night. I had to be there early as the choir sang during the program. We three were at church for 7.5 hours total on Sunday. We enjoyed the yummy meal, and my kids did fine holding their candles. Over 700 candles were lit to represent each individual who accepted Christ over the past year either in our area or when folks from our church were on short term missions trips. There was a name inside each candle holder so we could pray for each particular person. Candle lighting experiences are beautiful, but they are a bit nerve wracking for me when my kids are holding something with a real flame!

3. Paul replaced the string on the weed whacker on Saturday evening when he got home from work so I was able to use it Monday for the first time this year. I mowed the lawn and weeded the flower beds on Saturday. The flowers are in bloom, and the trees have leaves on them. Spring has sprung!! Now I just need to learn how to use the weed whacker in a way that doesn't cause my back to be in pain for the next few days.

4. Blue Shield sent us a letter recently about this website that helps you prepare for an upcoming surgery. Hopefully we won't need to have any surgeries in the near future, but because I visited the site and took the survey afterward, we received a $25 gift card to Amazon today. I haven't been couponing much lately at CVS or Shutterfly so it was nice to have that little way to save some money.

5. We had a wonderful time at Reptiland yesterday! The kids got in free thanks to our WVIA membership.

6. I'm thankful for all three of my children. I really wanted to have a girl and a boy, but if I only had been able to have one child, I was hoping that baby would be a girl. I was thrilled when I found out Nadia was a girl because I wanted to buy pretty dresses and such. I remember what a big deal it was for me when I got my ears pierced when I was 13. It was fun to share in Nadia's joy over getting her ears pierced on Sunday at the age of almost 10. She's a bit of a tomboy (loves to

climb trees, doesn't mind getting dirty, etc.), but she also enjoys getting dressed up, wearing jewelry, painting her nails, etc. I'm very thankful to be the mom of one girl and two boys! I think if we hadn't already put a lot of time, money, and energy into adoption (2004-2007) I'd be more motivated to adopt a girl. Nadia would like us to do that so she can have a sister. Time will tell. Right now the thought of doing our fourth home study makes me want to scream and run in the opposite direction.

7. I visited the bookstore on Friday morning to buy a new Bible, but in talking with the bookstore manager, I found out she could repair my Bible (for free!). I left it with her on Sunday, and she called yesterday to tell me it was ready to be picked up. I'm thankful I can use the Bible I've had since 1994 for more years.

8. Ian has really been enjoying the Paddington Bear books. I loved those when I was a child, and it's a delight to see him enjoying them also!

9. Paul drove the kids to Bloomsburg last night and got them signed up for free tennis lessons this summer.

Reptiland

Their is a small zoo less than ten minutes from our house called Reptiland. As the name implies, most of the animals are reptiles - alligators, snakes, iguanas, komodo dragons, tortoises, turtles, etc. They also have many parakeets, an emu, and animatronic dinosaurs. Paul only worked a few hours so that he could join us. The kids and I have been going every year, but it had been several years since he had been there. We watched a 30 minute show first that featured several different lizards and snakes. During the show we had the opportunity to touch three different animals. Next we visited the komodo dragon and the dinosaurs. and also fed an emu. Two years ago Oliver RAN as fast as he could away from the dinosaurs. Last year he would look at some of them. This year he actually wanted to go back and visit them a second time although he still kept far away from the gigantosaurus. After a keeper talk (and a chance to touch) a blue tongued skink, we explored the main building. Next is the part Nadia loves best - the parakeets. Years ago it used to be filled with butterflies. This was the first

year Oliver wanted to feed the parakeets. He was too scared to do that the past two years. Nadia wanted to do it longer than the boys, as usual. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

When we came home it was time for dinner and a chapter or two of The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic. After dinner Paul took the kids to Bloomsburg. AWANA ended last night, but I still had choir rehearsal, and tonight was the time to register the kids for free tennis lessons this summer. They also spent some time at the playground there, which is one they love but haven't been to in many months.

Tomorrow is my last day of school for the year (students in one of my classes are taking an exam), and it will also be our last day of school for Nadia and Ian. We need to read about one more Reformer (history), two chapters of Titus (Bible), do the last math lessons, finish typing reports on octopuses (Ian) and dolphins (Nadia) for science. We won't be wrapping up spelling tomorrow. I typed up a list of words each child needs to master before taking a break from spelling. I'm going to graduation on Saturday morning and then the kids and I will have fifteen weeks of summer break together! WOOHOO!

Her ears are pierced!

Years ago I had decided Nadia could get her ears pierced when she turned ten, if she wanted it done. The plan had been to get them pierced next month. When Paul took his Prius for the inspection, tire rotation, and oil change the last week of April, I gave him three bracelets to take to the jewelry store at the mall which is very close to the Toyota dealer. He did leave the sapphire bracelet there because he wisely bought a care plan when he purchased it years ago. I have had the bracelet repaired MANY times over the years (this time it was the clasp that was broken), and all the repairs are free because he bought the extra service plan. I told him years ago to please always get it for bracelets but skip it for other pieces of jewelry as I don't seem to ever need to have rings, necklaces, or earrings repaired. He took two other bracelets with him that day - a ruby one he got me when we were dating (at the same store but w/o a care plan) and one of my mother's that I wore every day for almost exactly a year (August 2016-August 2017). The cost to repair my mom's was around $70. I decided not to do it at this point,

and he didn't even bother getting a quote on the other one as he knew I was most interested in having my mom's bracelet repaired. Well on Saturday I received a call that my bracelet repair was complete, and I could pick it up. I decided to make the trip more worthwhile and get Nadia's ears pierced a few weeks early. I also thought it was better to do it now so we won't be worrying about cleaning it three times a day while she's at camp, and it's also better for it to heal before going swimming. She got them pierced yesterday afternoon.

Nadia picked blue earrings, which is no shock as that's her favorite color these days. I think they are very pretty! I am sure she will receive more earrings for her birthday. My princess is growing up! She enjoyed showing off her new earrings to various people at the church dinner last night. One of her friends at church (also in 4th grade) is also getting her ears pierced for the first time next month. I guess I'm not the only mom who picked age 10 for ear piercing!

End is in sight!

The first half of this semester I felt like I was drowning. Ironically, the very first semester I supervised student teachers (January - May 2003) I also felt totally overwhelmed, but at that time it was because I was a FT adjunct instructor at Kutztown plus a PT principal. The school board gave me a partial leave of absence which helped the school financially and also helped me test the waters to see if I wanted to switch to higher education. I thought to myself that I liked both jobs (principal and professor) but I never wanted to do two jobs at the same time again! And from that point until this year, that was the case. However the past 9 months I have again felt like I've been juggling two jobs at once - FT adjunct instructor plus homeschooling three kids, yard work, cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, etc. I feel the same way as I did fifteen years ago. I enjoy both jobs, but it's too much to juggle at once. This time the plan is for Paul to cut back his hours plus work more from home so that he can help more with the housework, yard work, and homeschooling.

Nadia and Ian have both said they would rather me go back to being a SAHM, but hopefully this new plan will work out well. It still *sounds* like an awful lot for two adults to juggle - homeschooling three kids, housework, running a company, and being a FT professor. Time will tell how this plan works for the five of us. The good news for me is that I can visualize the end of this race!! It is such a wonderful feeling after feeling in totally over my head earlier this semester. I think part of it was because I hadn't supervised student teachers for 13 years so that was an adjustment, and it also had been that long since I had taught this particular course, even though I had only been at home for 5 years.

Today was my last day on campus. I am meeting with three student teachers tomorrow and two more next Tuesday. My math students are taking their final exams on Monday and Thursday next week. I have 54 students total in those two math classes, and 70 out of 75 questions are multiple choice and the computer will score it for me. I only need to grade 5 questions from each student's final exam. Not bad at all! I am almost done submitting all of the assessments and paperwork for the student teachers. I am much farther ahead compared to the first half of the semester.  I need to write two more letters of recommendation and then just a handful of assessments to complete after that! I am dreading one conference tomorrow as I have to tell the student teacher I'm not giving her a high enough score for her to receive her teacher certification. It's heartbreaking. I'm giving her a high enough grade so she will at least receive her Bachelor's degree, but still this is a very hard thing to do. 

1. I was looking into a few summery history camp options near us, and I found out that one that is just a one day camp will be on a Medieval theme. How perfect is that since we have been studying the Middle Ages this year! All three kids are old enough to attend this one day camp in July.

2. One of my students this semester is from China. Meaning English is not her first language. She listens to me in English and takes notes in Chinese. Amazing! She asked me questions almost every single day either before or after class, and so today to show her gratitude she gave me a small stuffed animal (panda bear). How sweet was that! It meant a lot to me. Then of course all three of my kids were trying to claim ownership of this little panda. I'm keeping it for now in part because I have no idea whom I'd give it to since I have one bear and three kids.

3. Last night the kids received their AWANA awards. Oliver was one of two Kindergarteners who finished his book. Ian was the only 2nd grader who finished his 3rd book plus the extra credit book. Nadia was one of two fourth graders who finished their books. As has always been the case, none of our kids won any trophies for their cars. They award them for speed and creativity. As hopefully you can see from the photos above, Ian's was a pencil, Nadia's was a piano, and Oliver's was a Batmobile. Of our three kids, Nadia's car was the fastest. I skipped choir rehearsal to attend this event with them. 

4. Paul has usually been getting home from work around 7pm, which means by the time he gets out of the shower it's just about time to put Oliver to bed. Nadia has been wanting to attend our local Christian radio's monthly skate night. They don't hold them in the summer, so Paul agreed to take her roller skating tonight, which meant he actually got home from work before the kids and I did. Nadia had to quickly eat her dinner, and then it was time to head out the door.

5. We absolutely loved the Wilderking trilogy, but we're done with that. Now we're reading the third book in the Mr. Lemoncello's library series.

6. On Monday a driver from the Dealer where Paul bought the Mazda drove up so I could sign the title of the Prius. My name was the only one on that title, which presented a problem when Paul tried to trade it in toward the cost of the Mazda. I'm thankful they were willing to send someone to our house because the dealership is more than 100 miles from our house, and I really didn't want to drive that far just to sign a piece of paper! Of course last week our pastor had to fly all the way to Guatemala just to sign a paper. That was a much bigger hassle than driving 100 miles! Our church goes down there several times a year on mission trips, and he was working to set up a nonprofit down there to make it easier to distribute medicines when they send a medical mission team down. 

7. This evening as I was working on paperwork for the student teachers, I overheard a conversation between Ian and Oliver. Ian was teaching Oliver different science concepts he's learned this year. I heard things like, "See you have hair on your arm. That's because you're a mammal. That's why you drank mommy milk when you were a baby." He also was telling Oliver specific facts about various creatures we've studied such as octopuses. Earlier today when they saw a little puddle of water I heard Ian ask Nadia if she thought they were any tardigrades or rotifers in it. Considering I am their science teacher, it put a big smile on my face! This week Ian has been writing a report on octopuses, and Nadia  has been writing one on dolphins. They are ready to go to Sea World in a few weeks!

His first big rollercoasters!

Spring thus far has for the most part been rather chilly. It has felt far more like winter than spring. Our local amusement park opened this past Saturday. On opening weekend they always have a BOGO free handstamp sale. We learned from experience NOT to go on that Saturday. The lines are just WAY too long. If we had gone on Saturday, the weather would have been far more pleasant, but we went on Sunday which happened to be a really cold day sandwiched in between some warm days. The high was 20 degrees cooler on Sunday than it was on Saturday or Monday. We *should* have worn our winter coats and gloves. We were COLD! The upside was it wasn't crowded. Oliver was tall enough to ride the big rollercoasters last summer, but we only went to Knoebels once last year (on opening weekend), and Oliver didn't ride them that day. I went with him the first time he rode the Phoenix, and Paul went with him the first time he rode the Twister and the Black Diamond. He rode the Phoenix three times and the Twister twice. He loved them! My baby is growing up!!! The only rollercoaster he isn't

tall enough to ride there is the Impulse. Ian and Paul haven't tried the Impulse yet. Thus far Nadia has ridden it by herself, with me, and with Grandpa.

Ian is tall enough but lacks the courage for that one. Nadia rode it five times - usually the line is so long you can wait an hour or longer, but once she rode it 4 times within 15 minutes! Ian was over 48 inches, which meant there were some other rides he could ride for the first time, but he wasn't interested in most of those (Nadia rides *everything* at Knoebels). He did try one new ride that was for 48+ inches, and he loved it. He rode it at least three times. We had eaten our packed lunches in the van as we drove from church to Knoebels. We usually eat dinner at the park (pizza), but since it was so cold we opted to eat a later dinner than usual and eat inside a (warm) restaurant outside the park before we headed home. Because Oliver was the only one under 48 inches (those passes are much cheaper), I splurged and bought two regular tickets which meant the other four of us had a hand stamp. I have usually skipped

my hand stamp due to BOGO not working out evenly when you have five people in your family. I decided to do a random act of kindness and give the second child pass for free to someone in the park. The woman I gave it to was very grateful!

Today I'm thankful....

1. I only have four more days of either teaching on campus or visiting student teachers this semester! Next Tuesday should be my last day! I will still be grading exams and such for a little bit after that, but my goal is to have everything done by May 10 (or May 12 at the latest). Our last full day of school this year as far as my three kiddos will be May 10 (not counting some field trips we plan to take after than such as a school frolic at the Hans Herr house in Lancaster on May 11 from 9-2. That doesn't mean we won't do any schoolwork this summer. I plan to really work with Oliver on reading, for example.

2. I splurged one day last week and got my lunch at Panera. I *love* their strawberry salad. I did have a bit of sticker shock as to how much it cost, and I got a free cup of water with my entrée. It's definitely not cheap to eat out, which is the main reason we usually opt for pizza.

3. The Family Math Night went well on Friday night that my students put on in a local elementary school. My three kids enjoyed it, and Paul was happy that I came home with some of the extra pizza that the PTO had purchased. My students were impressed with Ian's math skills (the fact that as a 2nd grader he knows his multiplication and division facts). Oliver didn't impress anyone with his math skills, but he had lengthy conversations with many of them! My students told me today they thought all my children were very cute. Aww....

4. I was very impressed with the Saturday Science program at Susquehanna University. The kids and I enjoyed solving the mystery! We also enjoyed our lunch at Garfield's restaurant which cost less than $10 total for the four of us. I had planned to use my "one free meal" coupon from my birthday at Red Robin, but this was a better deal. It was also good timing because Saturday was my 42nd spiritual birthday. My Bible is falling apart. I received it on my spiritual birthday in 1994 so I've decided that is what I'm getting myself for my spiritual birthday this year - a new Bible. I really didn't want a new one as I feel sentimentally attached, but it is literally falling apart - pages are coming out, etc. After 24 years it's time for a new one!

5. We had a great day at Knoebels on Sunday even though the weather was far from ideal. At least it wasn't raining! We definitely skipped the flume. We plan to return on May 12 as we have 6 free passes for that day; hopefully the weather will be nicer then. I took a ton of photos, but I haven't even looked through all of them yet. I edited a few so I could post them here.

6. The pizza we got at OIP on Sunday evening was really good. I like it better than Ciro's (the pizza place in our town). My favorite is Venarri's, which is in Lewisburg.

7. I made a game on Kahoot for my students to use in class this week to review for their final exam. I learned about Kahoot from my student teachers. It's free to use. My students loved it! They used their cell phones to select the answer to the questions as they showed up on the screen on the wall, and it kept score.

8. The department chair told me today that I will definitely be offered a FT full-year contract for next year. She said I will definitely teach the 2 math classes each semester, and whether I teach other classes or supervise student teachers will depend on what happens after the faculty officially retire (three are supposedly retiring).

9. A friend of mine (prof at Kutztown) sent us a package last week. It contained some puzzles of maps of London that contain tracks that battery operated vehicles can drive on. All three of my kids love them and have played with them every single day. She also included batteries and books. I am touched by her thoughtfulness and generosity!

10. I learned about FREE tennis lessons the kids can take this summer! There are many choices (morning or evening, T/Th or M/W, and first four weeks or second four weeks). It includes 8 total lessons per child.

11. Paul got a new car. Hopefully this one will be reliable and safe and last us many years (even if Nadia and I think it's ugly, ha ha). We wouldn't have been able to afford buying a new car without a second income. One of our neighbors was recently in a bad accident where both vehicles were totaled. I'm so thankful that aside from Paul hitting a dead deer on two occasions, we haven't been in any other accidents for the past 15 years.

12. We have thoroughly enjoyed reading the Wilderking trilogy. I got it on interlibrary loan from the university. I HIGHLY recommend the books!!!

13. A student in my department was in a really bad car accident (due to snow) on February 4 and was in a coma for one month. She was given very little chance of survival, but she is alive and making great progress! She is going to be attending graduation and will be going home in less than three weeks! We're so thankful!!!

14. It's finally warm outside! The kids were thrilled as I let them take Patches outside. I mowed the lawn for the first time this year yesterday.