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My words and photographs are copyrighted, and may not be used without permission, even on Pinterest.

~ Kathy M.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

What a Week!

Scilla flowers, rust and rock, outside the cabin.


It has been such a busy week!  I am still getting used to working full-time and leaving the house at 7:00 a.m.  I get home around 4:00 and all I want to do is take off my bra, put on my sweats and hit the couch.  I am very happy that we bought a laptop several months ago, because it is a lot easier to lay there and catch up with everybody as I relax vs sitting at the computer.

For those of you new to my blog or who haven't been here recently, I began teaching the 2's/3's class at a local preschool a month ago.  I haven't been in the classroom since 2005, and it has taken a lot for me to get up to speed and to build endurance!  Now I have to work on smiling more and being sweeter.

Making butterflies.
 
We had a meeting after work on Wednesday at 6:00, so I came home for awhile and then went back.  I am grateful that I only live 10 minutes away.  The new brewery in Sunriver catered our dinner, and it was delicious!  Salmon stuffed cucumbers, rich spinach dip with homemade toasted pita bread wedges, veggies and humus dip, and little homemade whole wheat cheese buns filled with ham.  Yummy.

The meeting was a chance for us new teachers to meet parents and board members.  Our center has gone through major changes this past month, including a lot of turnover.  There were times that I wasn't even sure that I wanted to stay, but I am really glad that I stuck it out.  I, and most everybody else, have faith that things will all turn out okay.  Like Kevin Costner said in The Postman, "Things are getting better.  They are getting better all the time."

One of the mothers is in charge of sending out a weekly newsletter, and after the meeting she wrote this about me and my new friend Julie.  It made me feel so good to get a friendly pat on the back.

"There has been a lot going on lately, and a lot of new faces as well.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Miss Julie, who is in the Chipmunk Room and Miss Kathy, who opens the center in the morning and teaches the Rabbit Room.  Both have impressed me tremendously to gain the trust of my two kids.  My little girl has quite a bit of stranger anxiety, and they have both really taken the time to work with her and make her comfortable."


Julie

 On Friday, it was my friend April's birthday, so I met her and Jacy (her DIL and my friend from the cleaning houses in Sunriver days) at The Wickiup Station in La Pine for drinks and snacks.  That was so fun, and I saw my niece and her family there, along with many other friends.  I should have taken pictures of everything and everybody, but I forgot to.  I kept moving everybody's glasses up to the top of our plates so they wouldn't tip over and spill.  It was so funny, but I couldn't help myself.  I've been doing all month at school.

Grandma Jody

Mom got here on Friday from Eugene.  She is working on packing up her cabin and getting it ready to rent out.  I went over and spent a couple of hours with her yesterday, and then went to Bi Mart and the grocery store.  A lot of running around, but I had taken care of myself in the morning by relaxing and catching up with my blog friends.

That is what I am missing so much: blogging.  I don't know what I will do after the A-Z Challenge is over.  Those posts were made in February, and have turned out to be a lifesaver for this month. 

Mom gave me this cute blue cabinet from her cabin, and I am going to put it in our living room today.  Right now, I have it as a display for all the empty food containers that I am going to take to school.  Julie and I like "going shopping" upstairs in the storage unit above our school gym.  One of the things that we brought down on Friday was a Little Tykes shopping cart.  At the end of the day I took it outside to the play yard.  We have an empty playhouse, and I am going to turn it into a store


Last night, I took stuff out of boxes, filled the boxes with newspaper and taped things shut.  I'm not sure how much effort that I want to put into making them waterproof.  It might be easier to replace them than to take the time and expense to make them last longer.  We don't get much rain around here, and I think that the snow is about gone.  I'm sure that the boxes will eventually get stepped on and crushed anyway. 


I'm sure that the boxes will eventually get stepped on and crushed anyway.  The plastic and tin can stuff are more durable.  I know that I can buy plastic kids groceries, but that will take a trip to Bend so I am just using what I have right now.


In any case, they will have fun with it all for a bit.  I think that I will also bring some store vinyl shopping bags also, so the unlucky kids who don't have their hands on the one shopping cart can still get something at the store.


So, that is about it for now.  I hope that you are all doing great, and if you leave me a comment I promise to return your visit.

Hugs to you,

Kathy M.

Update:




At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
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11 comments:

Terra said...

I like your shopping cart and store idea, and the boxes and cans you are gathering. The kids will love that.
That was a nice write up about you in the newsletter. Oh, and I like the tiny blue flower in the photo at the top of the post.

Unknown said...

I, too, think the "store" is a great idea -- what fun for those little guys to "shop" and trade. Good luck with thewaterproofing... what about a quick spray of fixative? Would that work for a while? And that tiny blue flower looks like scilla, which I have growing all over my lawn in the spring! Lovely color!

Bethe77 said...

My you are a busy lady! Love your post today! Love the kuddos you received that is awesome. The pictures you share are so much fun. I believe it was a year ago I did a personal challenge to do a picture a day on my blog. Maybe that would help encourage you with your blog. I had fun with that one. Actually thinking about doing something like that again. Like you I need something to help me stay focus on my blog. The A to Z challenge has been great fun for me this year.
Love your cabinet as well. Beautiful.
Blessings

Lisa Ricard Claro said...

Such nice words from someone whose opinion truly matters -- the mother of two of the children. There was never a doubt you'd excel, Kathy. You're one of those people who always does her best, and it shows. For the blogging --- first of all, don't worry about it. Blogging can suck all of your time if you let it. One of the best things I did was cut my posts back to once a week. My next goal is to write several posts on the weekend and always have a couple in the hopper ready to go. Then the only time you have to spend is responding to comments and reading other blogs when you have time. No more crunch time! You've been a prolific blogger, but your fans will understand and still show up to your blog when you post. Promise. :)

Grammy Goodwill said...

I really like that little cabinet. I think the kids will love shopping, whether they can use the cart or just a bag. You are so good at this job. You have lots of ideas and are willing to work to implement them. They are lucky to have you.

Linda Reeder said...

I can imagine you are tired from working at preschool, but you also sound very energized and full of great ideas for providing experiences for the kids. Good for you!
About blogging, short personal posts are always appreciated. It does not have to be fancy or elaborate or long. for instance, I would love to hear how the l=kids like their store.

KathyB. said...

I remember saving boxes & bottles for the pre-school I taught at and then saving them for the tiny cupboards in my own children's little "house-keeping" set-up. Isn't it fun?

The cabinet is cute.

Alan Burnett said...

Love the post. I do admire your energy and enthusiasm. When I read the phrase - "The new brewery in Sunriver catered our dinner, and it was delicious!" - I realised that I would have never made it back into work in the afternoon!

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, still so busy! But things are getting better and better! You've done so much allready. The time of blogging will come back, somehow, someday.
Wishing you all the best! Prenter.

Decadent Housewife said...

Now that update was the clincher.

So glad you and the little ones are enjoying and fitting in well with each other.

Little Nell said...

Kathy, you're packing so much into your life at the moment - no wonder you're tired out! I'm missing blogging too - and all my bloging friends. I hope to be back soon.

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