One Week Down, Way Too Many To Go

The first week of school is finished. I am so glad. It was quite the long week. I will have quite the challenge with the students in my room, but it will be a good year -- just a lot of work. I also know now why they liked me so much in the interview. My 3 1/2 years working with foster children will really come in handy... :-)

On another note, Brayden had a GREAT first week in Kindergarten. He loves his teachers, loves his school, and is just enjoying Little Rock. Mason also had a great week at his day school. The director sent an email to my sis-in-law saying how great Mason had adjusted to school. She said he acts like he has been there the entire time and that they are enjoying him so much. I am so glad. I was worried about the move with the boys and how they would adjust, but they have done beautifully so far. The only bad thing is that is has rained all week. I had promised Brayden all week we could go swimming, but it seemed like every time we were going to go it would be raining AGAIN. Maybe next week will be better. We were able to get in the pool a little Friday, but only for a short period (& it was really cold because of all of the rain).

I will be posting pictures of Brayden's first day of Kindergarten soon. There are not very many because his dad took him to school. Matt doesn't take as many pictures as I do... :-)

The Boys Are Back In Town

The boys arrived today. YEA! I haven't seen my babies since Sunday. We are all very excited to be back together. We have quite the busy weekend ahead. We should be moving into our apartment tomorrow. (I say should because we still need to sign the paperwork and get the keys, but we should be able to do that when they open tomorrow.) I have to take Brayden school supply & uniform shopping. And, I need to finalize what I am teaching next week. I did getting my classroom finished decorating today. I am very happy about that. Therefore, I can focus my weekend on my boys instead of worrying about my classroom. I got to meet Brayden's teacher tonight. They had a meet & greet for the Kindergartners. His teacher seems to be super nice. I am so excited about him going there. I really feel good about the choice we made for his school. Oh, and Paige and Bert bought the boys a "Welcome to Arkansas" gift that consisted of Arkansas Razorback t-shirts. Apparently that is the thing to wear in Arkansas. :-)

Little Rock

I have arrived! Ok, actually I arrived on Sunday evening, but... I am here none the less. Little Rock, our new home away from home. So, this week has been quite crazy for me. I started Inservice on Monday. (BTW, I have come to appreciate more and more the previous schools I have worked for as the week has progressed.) This week has consisted of me being is meetings all day and looking for a place to live in the evenings. Oh, and figuring out where Brayden is going to school. Yes, I am sure most of you are thinking "Surely she would have had all of this figured out before she moved," but you all would be wrong. :-)

Basically, we were trying to hold out on getting an apartment because we were hoping the buying a house thing would go through quicker than it has. So, an apartment it is for six months. The boys will have fun, though. The apartment complex has a playground (which is conveniently located across from our building), two swimming pools, a workout facility (so I can work out my "stress" eating from the last couple of weeks), and...are you ready for this?...free tanning. Yes, you read that right...free tanning. I haven't quite seen that amentity before.

Oh, and the school thing... I had always planned on bringing Brayden to school where I am teaching, but this changed this week. As I was sitting through Inservice listening about school improvement, I found out more and more how low my school is in test scores. I did not realize how low we were until I started seeing the numbers on paper. I knew it was a low income school, but I was balancing that with Brayden having the security of knowing I was there in the building, so I thought it would be fine. But, as I heard more and more, I started to really think that Brayden would just be bored in class. It seems that he would be way ahead of the other kids and would not really be learning anything new. I also talked with the GT teacher at our school who recommended that I not bring Brayden there for the same reasons. So, Monday started the search for the new school. I tried to get a transfer to a couple of the newer, nicer schools, but they were already full. Therefore, we found an apartment in an area where Brayden can go to a better school. He will now attend a Magnet school that focuses in Technology and Communications. Sounds pretty cool, huh? I am so excited about him being there. Although, I am quite sad that I will not be at the same school. Maybe next year? Who knows!

Hope you enjoy my ramblings today... maybe there will be more later.

Ring Bearer, reporting for duty

On Saturday, August 2, Brayden & Matt were in a wedding. The groom was Matt's best friend (John)'s little brother. So, he had asked Matt to be a groomsman and Brayden to be the ring bearer. This was Brayden's first time in a wedding. Here are some of the pictures...

dressed & ready for the pictures

My Handsome Little Man

Picture time

waiting patiently for more pictures

after the wedding pictures

Brayden did such a great job. He was so still and well behaved throughout the entire time. I'm so proud. You almost would have thought it wasn't him... :-)

Brayden made a new friend this weekend. The other little boy in the picture is Addison. He is John & Kevin (groom)'s nephew. They had the best time. Addison actually even spent the night after the rehearsal dinner because they were having so much fun together.

Brayden & Addison at the reception