New Job Day #1

So, today was a great day. Its so nice to walk into a building and just feel totally comfortable. As a sub last year, I rarely got that feeling and I was only there for the day! I am totally committed to this new job for the next year, and there are 20 little 1st graders out there somewhere to whom I will be their teacher (SCARY!). I really am excited though, but today I feel I feel I am way in over my head. We mostly had meetings today with too much information to all process. I came home tonight to read over contracts and forms, and it would not even sink in. Luckily, everybody is very understanding. I am told I will never feel completely ready, and I will always have tons of stuff to do. Right now, I have pages and pages of notes of things I want to do, and the kids come in a week! But my room is shaping up nicely. One of these days I will have to figure out how to post pictures, and then take the actual pictures. Tomorrow Mom comes to help hang the walls and sort the books! Then the afternoon will bring more trainings...Bryan picked me up tonight and suggested we go out to dinner. I think this was the first of many dinners out.... (Diet, what diet? And who has time to excercise anymore?!)

The Playdate from Hell

So today was my last day being a nanny for awhile. I think if nothing else major comes up next summer, I will go to nanny for these two little boys again. They seem to like me and want me to come back, but most of all just for the reward their parents give them at the end of the summer for good behavior :-)(A.K.A. an $80 trip to the LEGO store) We went a lot of places together ( a new adventure each day!) and had a lot of good discussions. I introduced them to Jesus and God and their favorite stories are Jonah and the Whale, Noah's Ark, and David and Goliath. They now know that Jesus lives in their heart and can't believe their friends don't know that and don't believe in Him.

Two such friends of theirs I met yesterday when I hosted a playdate. The original idea was for them to be there from 10-2 p.m, and MAYBE til 3. This was fine. Originally, it was only to be one friend but the mother asked if the littler brother could come too (I should have guessed it from here).I had plans to take the boys to the fountains when their little friends returned home, so it was looking to be a fine, relaxing day. Plus, I had hosted splendid playdates with their little cousins before so I had no doubts. The mom dropped them off a half hour late and dropped in the little fact that it may be closer to 4, because she had to get ready for Sunriver. This was looking to cut our trip to the fountains short, but as long as my two boys were happy, I would be happy.

AT 4:50 (!!!!) the doorbell rings TWICE and in marches Mom in some bicycle racing get-up and she informs me she has to be down at Club Sport in 15 minutes. (Are we missing a "Hi! How are you?" or "Thanks so much for watching my boys" or even "Sorry Im late...I probably should have called." ???)She did manage to ask me how her kids did, though I dont think she heard me as she made a beeline to the back door where her kids and mine were getting tired of playing together(I sent them outside for fear their restlessness would tear the house up). Instead of asking me first, she asks her kids if they want to come with her now (but she was in a HURRY) or wait for DADDY. Of course they want to stay, so then she turns to make sure this was okay with me. What was I supposed to say now that she has her kids all revved up? So she tells me she needs the house number and that is all she needs and she impatiently waits while I check my file. As she storms back out the door, I ask her when she thinks this Daddy is supposed to arrive and she yapps back at me 10 or 15 more minutes.

ONE HOUR LATER...after experiencing numerous meltdowns, complaints and pleas to come back inside, the mom to my boys returns and is surprised that I still have these other two kids and have had them for the past 7 hours, which is nearly twice as long as originally intended. This has no longer turned into a playdate. Playdates are supposed to be arranged ahead of time, with the allotted timeslot respected, and should not be a free babysitting service to parents who have busy lives and apparently dont give a crap about their kids or view them as an inconvenience. Im sorry, lady, had I known when you were to really arrive, I would have had them packed and sitting on the curb! But whatever...so then finally Daddy arrives 5 minutes later and the littlest boy is having a perfect meltdown as a welcome. Instead of thanking me he thanks the mom for arranging this, and pays no mind to me whatsoever, the person who has fed and watched over your kids and tried to maintain sanity all day long. So let this serve as a warning to you if you are a parent or a nanny: RESPECT the PLAYDATE! Make sure both sides are clear and be appreciative but do not take advantage!

"Are you on any medication?" :-)

Asked by my friend and hairdresser, Melissa, two weeks ago after a coloring job gone terribly wrong. Only my second time at coloring/highlighting my hair, she suggested I pick out the red hues I wanted to incorporate into blonde, as there are many different types of red. Apparently, I picked the wrong one but the results were made worse by the fact that I had just began a series of medication for a knee injury (Whoever said you should wear flip flops on a rainy day is WRONG) so here I was, with orangish-red hair that only Ronald McDonald himself would be proud of. After swimming one night, my brother-in-law asked me, "So how many colors are in your hair?" However, thankfully, the red/pink/orange is slowly fading into a beautiful color, though now mixed with darker brown highlights and a blonde toner (this whole job took nearly 4 hours!)and at only a week and a half before school starts. Its okay though...we both kept our sense of humor and Melissa did the best job she could. How was I to know the some medicines seep out through your brain? I do think next time I will just go back to blonde highlights....

And as an F.Y.I. I realized after taking 45 minutes to write my last post that I am terribly afraid of maybe offending people. That is never my intent and if I do, please let me know. If you have a wedding coming up (you know who you are!) I was not referring to you in any way, and if you are a nanny, I do not mean that that is not a real job :-), it is just not what I have chosen for my "real-life job" meaning long-term career.

"I don't want to get married; I just want to make Legos."

So I am nannying this summer for two little boys (5 and 7) and as the summer has progressed we have had many fun moments. They seem to get cuter each day and I try to remember all the cute things they say and do, but its hard after 10 hours a day with them. I have until Friday with them and then I start my real-life job, with one week of inservice and then the 1st graders come the day after Labor Day. Today we were driving by a cemetary when the younger boy asked why the stones stick out of the ground. I explained what headstones are, how they mark and identify each grave, what a headstone might say, for example when a person was born and when they died and if they were a husband or a wife, mom or dad. So this is when the 5 year old announces he will never get married when he grows up because "I just want to work". When I tried to explain that you can do both, he says "No. I just want to build Legos." So they are currently saving for college in their piggy banks to ultimately get a job with Lego (F.Y.I to Lego: Watch out for pending resumes)It has been an eye-opening experience this summer being with boys as I have four nieces ( a fifth one and a maybe on their way), only one nephew (Bryan's) and I grew up with three sisters, but it has been fun.

On the subject of marriage: I have been thinking about this a lot. Is it a joke to some people? Being married ( and newly at that so I understand I still have A LOT to learn) has taught me a lot so far and I dont think I was fully prepared, though we had known each other for five years. In no way am I saying that I have regrets or doubts about being married to Bryan...marriage is just a lot of work (but still a lot more fun) . However, recently I had a friend who completely surprised me by marrying a person she met just two months before. They were engaged after two weeks of knowing each other and got married by themselves, in the middle of the week, with no friends and family. I realize there are people out there who may do this, but WHY?!?! I know people have different motives for getting married, but in that short of a time, there cannot be any LOGICAL reasons (or am I wrong?).

There are no words you can use to warn somebody, or even let them know you are concerned without running the risk of losing that friendship (I.E. "True" friends would trust each other and be supportive) How can you make a person understand what a big deal marriage is? Three weeks after being married last year, a girl at work described to me the feeling of "Buyer's remorse". This may seem a little harsh, but I agree that there is a point when after the wedding ceremony when you realize: Holy cow...this is it! After watching one of Bryan's groomsmen go through a divorce within nine months of marriage, and having neighbors split up two weeks after their honeymoon, I think its natural to wonder if the next couple you see get married will make it. What happened to God's original plan for marriage? Why are people just diving right in and not taking it seriously? Unless it is through prayers, the increasing divorce rate will probably never change, and though I am scared for my friend, I do truly hope this will be one of those old-fashioned love stories from earlier eras and they will live together happily ever after.

Tired of MySpace

It seems to me that MySpace is just about who your friends are (or even who the people are that you occasionally talk to) and what you talk about or do with them. I do not think it is as bad as some people think, however, but it can be way too overrated. So, after my sister began journaling about her very busy life in California, I thought, why not? I'm not always the most open about who I am or what goes on in my life, so if anyone ever has any questions, they can just look here for answers (maybe!). But then again, who really cares? So, maybe, this is going to be just a place where I can have a brain dump of thoughts and feelings for no one but on my own behalf. I think I will look forward to comments, though. I am a Christian so occasionally when I need to get thoughts down, I keep it in a journal to God. However, in the last 6 years or so, I have noticed He never leaves a comment back. Which is fine, whatever. Further, some things I say to God I would never dream of posting on a blog. But this could be a cool way to relate to other people and get some feedback and differing perspectives on things that are and are not necessarily important. Last year, I finished grad school and got married, so the past year has been full of changes and new experiences. I can think of many off the top of my head, but this is probably enough for today...