2014 in review

When we moved in April, I definitely put blogging on the back burner! So, here is the rest of 2014 in review:

• April: We successfully moved to the Big House. It took some adjustment, but we love it. We just started hanging some pictures...yes, 8 months later. We celebrated Easter in the new house, and we had the kids hide eggs for each other. I just found some of those when we decorated for Christmas.
• May: D turned 7, and we had a slumber party with his friends. Crazy idea, but it went pretty well! Shortly thereafter, he ended up with 12 stitches in his finger from a bike accident. Kind of traumatic, but we made it through. 
• June: We set up the swimming pool and spent many days playing in the water, riding bikes, and hanging out with the neighborhood kids. I am so glad we are close to their friends! We also went to Wyoming for a family vacation with the in-laws. It was at Ring Lake Ranch in Wyoming. What a wonderful place! It was excellent because each family had their own cabin, so we had some space for down time. There was hiking, canoeing, fishing, horseback riding, and a boulder pile. Let's not forget the great food! Although D had a tough time because we were out of routine, we all loved it there. We hope to go back someday.
• July: It was HOT. We swam every day, and my family came for a visit. In this new house, it was really pretty nice. We didn't have more than three people in a room, so everyone was still pretty comfortable. The fireworks were an issue for D (again), but he enjoyed them in the end. 
• August: Back to school! I was concerned about the transition to another school year, especially since D would have a new teacher (he had his kindergarten-first grade teacher for two years); he has done great! He is at benchmark or higher in all subjects, and his behavior has been so much better. His wonderful teacher has an incentive program that includes his behavior at home. D earns special time with the teacher including going out for supper with him at a restaurant. We have been blessed with great teachers! S started kindergarten and cried every day for the first week. She knew the teacher since D had her for two years, but it was hard for her to go back to school. Now she loves it! She has really developed as a leader, and she is a very smart little girl! J started year three of preschool. This year has been a challenge for him behaviorally. We watched our happy little boy morph into a violent, whiny, attention-seeking bully (at school). His behavior at home remains about the same, but he sure gives his teachers a run for their money! 
• September: We learned that S has asthma when we ended up in the ER. The next day, we took a short trip to my sister's wedding. D was upset because it was a change in routine, but he ended up loving the whole thing. He even made a surprise appearance as the ring bearer's right-hand man during the wedding. Oops! S was an adorable flower girl and danced the night away. J mostly sat at the table with Dad. Weddings are not his thing.
• October: S turned 6! We made a cute Frozen dress out of cupcakes. We also enjoyed Halloween with Olaf, Red Ranger, and Elsa. 
• November: We traveled to my sister-in-law's house for Thanksgiving, and I took my 2nd annual mommy vacation. The kids loved spending time with their cousins, and they even went to a model train exhibit. 
• December: What a month! J turned 5 and wanted a Ben 10 birthday. Yes, Ben 10 from 10 years ago. So Amazon came in very handy :) We also traveled to Minnesota and Iowa to see relatives. The transition there was tricky, but the kids had a wonderful time with all of their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

Summer changes

It seems our lives are made up of changes, whether good or bad. Everyone finished school this last week - Mom, Dad, and kiddos.Next year we will have a 3 year old preschooler, a 4 year old preschooler, and a 1st grader! I hired a tutor for the summer to work with the oldest; he has come so far this year, we want to make sure he doesn't lose a lot of his knowledge over the summer. We also have a plan for how our days will be spent: reading, coloring, cooking, bike rides, swing set, parks, swimming, library programs, Vacation Bible School, and more! We tried not to do more than one "out of the house" thing a day so that we are going to learn how to spend time together with the six of us (we now include the puppy in our family number). We have a few field trips planned to zoos and things. It should be pretty great!

We received our finalization date. It is July 5th. I know lots of people have special parties on this day or celebrate it every year as another special date. We hadn't really been that type of people. We were most excited about the day we got them, and we figured that the finalization was just kind of a technicality. Well, after having the kiddos for almost 5 months now, knowing we were going to get them for 5 months before that, and seeing them on the waiting list 3 months before that, it is a much bigger deal that I thought it would be. As I put the date on our calendar, I teared up. Oh great! How am I supposed to go there and make it though the whole thing if I can't even write it down!?!?!

The last big change for the summer is that I got a new job last week! I had been commuting 30 minutes to work. I enjoyed teaching elementary, and I loved my coworkers, but I hated being on a different schedule than my family, leaving the house BY 6:45, and not being more available. The job I applied for was high school math; something I have never done but am "qualified" to do. It was a long shot, but I was encouraged to just be open to anything. After I interviewed, I was told about a middle school position. Middle school! That is my first love! I was offered the middle school position last week, and I have been so excited! It is a little different than anything I have done before. I will be a special education teacher (yes, I will have to go back to school), working solely in math. Four periods a day will be co-teaching, 2 period of planning/PLC time, and two periods of resource math. I will have a caseload of about 15 kids or less. I am so excited! I know there will be challenges, but I think this truly is the job I am meant to have! I went in yesterday to meet the math team, SPED team, and my "penthouse" floormates (we are on the top floor, so they refer to it as the penthouse). I felt so at home! Today I get to move into my classroom. Next week is a meeting with my SPED partner, and then some meetings with my co-teacher. This is a great opportunity, and I am THRILLED about the change.

What will I do with my extra "hour" a day? I am hoping to spend 30 minutes sleeping and 30 minutes exercising....how did I do today? I spent my exercising time blogging...I guess there is always tomorrow!

Birth mom and best mom

Wow! I missed the two month date, just like I missed the one month. I guess that means we are keeping busy. I survived ONE WHOLE week of work! This was my first week of work since the middle of December, so it was a bit tough to be away from the kids that long. Overall, the kids did much better than I thought they would. I expected lots of eczema flare ups, tears, and time-outs, but they didn't do too badly!

Recently my oldest child found out a teacher at his school is pregnant. He came home talking about babies in tummies and them sitting "criss-cross applesauce." I was not sure where it would all go. In fact, I was terrified. Especially when he began like this:

"Mommy, I wish that..."

I knew what was coming. He was going to say that he wished he was still with the mommy who had him in her tummy. He was going to be sad and feeling this horrible loss. I was going to try to be brave, not cry, and say something profound and understanding. 

"...I wish that I had been in your tummy."

Whoa. I was shocked. I did cry, but not for the reasons I thought I would, and I did say something intelligent like:

"You know what, I wish that too, but that isn't how it is. I'm sorry you are sad about that, but I think it is pretty great that I got to pick YOU to be my kid! Not every mom gets to do that!" 

Then we went home and read Welcome Home, Forever Child: A Celebration of Children Adopted as Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Beyond by Christine Mitchell.

After thinking about that for the last few days, I know that he and I both feel the same loss. We missed the first five and a half years together. We can't ever get that back, but we can have rest of the years to spend loving each other. I know there will be a day when he does wish that he was with his birth mom, but I am glad that, for now, he is so thankful for us. I will pray for wisdom when those tougher days come, I will be able to respond appropriately. I pray that I will empathize and validate his feelings while somehow showing him his security and love.

For now, I will settle for the fact that he likes to tell me that I am his "best" mommy. Not his birth mom, foster mom, real mom, or adoptive mom. I am his best mom. That's better than any other title.

Back to Work...Kind of

So I went back to work on Monday. I hadn't worked in eight weeks because I had two weeks of Christmas vacation and six weeks of adoption leave. I teach 6th graders. My husband is on a business trip for two weeks. Yep, it was definitely a tough week! The days were exhausting, I lost my voice, and I the blizzard sure didn't help. On the bright side, I only ended up working three and half days this week, report cards are done, and I have a four day week again this week. Well, maybe it will only be a three day week because we are supposed to have another blizzard...

Overall, I am feeling like the first week back went better for all of us than expected, and I am excited for next week. I was really worried that my kids would have some regression when I went back to work, but we seem to be going along about the same as we were before. I did forget to do homework with my child one night, but I think this week will be better. Thank God for answered prayers!

One day of work = bad day

I hadn't worked since December 22nd, and then I worked Tuesday evening (a meeting) and all day Wednesday (another meeting). Yes, I am still on leave until February 18th, but I had a couple of meetings that were very important for me to attend. It was a rough day. Things have been going so well, but yesterday was hectic and unpleasant, and I missed my kids. I picked them up after work, made supper, fed them, cleaned up spilled milk, drove to church (late), and then cried in my car after I dropped them off. I felt like I just rushed them around all afternoon and didn't get to spend any time with them. I sure hope I can adjust when I go back to work in a month. It also really made me realize that I need to make the most of my time at home as possible, and that I will have to give myself some time when I go back. At least all the kids are doing great at school and still adjusting well :)