We are still without a Christmas tree, but I was able to cross a few more things off my list today so the gap is closing. Funny thing is knowing us, we will put it up 2 days before Christmas and then we will also procrastinate taking it down so it will be here until February!

Despite the lack of Christmas tree, I have still been able to take part in many Christmas festivities because of being in the Kindergarten room all month. We practiced for their Christmas concert for WEEKS singing joyous jingles and sweet nativity songs. Once that was over we had Christmas crafts, cookies, songs, field trips and more filling up the last few weeks. It was so rewarding seeing the joy on the kids faces.

Thursday was my last day in the classroom and I left with a massive bag of presents from the kids. This job has been amazing for me. I was so blessed to have been able to work in the Kindergarten room for close to 8 weeks (longer than the original teacher had taught them!) and to work with such fabulous staff. Before I left, I made the staff some cute Christmas treats for the staffroom:

They are Cornflake Wreaths made in the fashion of rice krispy treats, dyed green and adorned with red candies for holly. They are so cute and really yummy. I also individually packaged a wreath for each of my students with a little card attached telling them how great it was to be their teacher.


For the two Kindergarten Aids that were my lifesavers the whole time I gave homemade Chocolate Chai Almond Biscotti, cute Christmas towels and a matching red plate. I also wrote them each a note telling them how much I appreciated them.


This was such an amazing school and an amazing experience. As I left I got hugs from many of the teachers including the Principal. They all wished me luck on the new babe and I promised to be back to show her off in the New Year. It's always sad leaving a group of kids that you've grown so attached to.

My one to two week subbing job, has turned into an eight week stay. We have been so blessed that I got this job and had steady work and a big ol' paycheck for December and January...we are definitely going to need it. I'm loving hanging out with the Kindergarten's every day, and the teacher aid just informed me that I have actually been there longer now than their actual teacher. It's amazing how invested in the kids you become.

I have 1 1/2 more weeks of steady work and then FINALLY I get to take a break on the 20th. No more teaching and no more optical store. I'm really looking forward to the time off, getting rid of the dust bunnies in my house, as well as the mountains of laundry that are ever growing and always wrinkled. It's been tired to say the least. I'm a mere 4 weeks from my due date and feeling every bit of my pregnancy: raging heartburn, killer hemorrhoids, burning hot feet, sore back, and just recently I started getting light headed and dizzy. Oh so fun. But I'm truckin' through.

Not working can't come soon enough though. Last Friday as I got ready for work, I threw Eva in the bathtub so I could keep an eye on her while I put on my makeup and straightened my hair. Our vanity mirror directly faces the tub and she loves to splash and play with her toys. As I was thinking to myself how brilliant I was for thinking of this idea to keep her busy, I leaned in closer to the vanity mirror and squinted. "Are there more toys in the tub than before?" As I whirled around I saw my daughter reaching for one of her many turds that were now floating all around her in the tub. YUCK! I yanked her out of the tub and as I concentrated on cleaning up her mess, her little naked body started running and squealing through the bedrooms to see what other trouble she could find. I gagged and dry heaved as I emptied the tub of all the toys, water and "presents" she had left me. The added time it took me to clean up the mess, wrangle her naked writhing body into some clothes and grab us both breakfast made me late for work. So much for my "brilliant" idea.

Yes, subbing has been great. But a break will be much greater :)

I've been absent for awhile; teaching every day and coming home to take care of my baby and being almost 8 months pregnant is pretty tiring.

However I am not complaining.

I am LOVING teaching Kindergarten. I've been with the same kids all last week, all this week and I will probably continue to be with them right into December. Every day has been easy and smooth with all the help from the Kindergarten Aid who has been in this classroom with this teacher for 14 years...she kind of knows her way around like the back of her hand. It felt weird at first having her do all the leading of the morning calendar, songs, sign language and even some of the lessons....but in the end it has just made the transition easier. I've caught onto the routines since I've been there awhile now, so I'm feeling a lot more in control.

The job couldn't be more perfect for a pregnant woman. Being able to come home by noon and nap when my baby is napping is quite a nice luxury. My nap really doesn't do much to rejuvenate me though. It seems teaching all morning is all I have enough energy for in this pregnant body. I'm finding it a huge chore just to get supper on the table, but luckily I'm committed to my meal plans so I don't have the temptation to grab take out (that doesn't mean the thought doesn't go through my head!) The crappy thing is I was DOING SO WELL keeping my house clean with FlyLady! I was developing my routines one baby step at a time, I was getting my house in order and keeping on top of clutter and cleaning....and now its all falling apart. The only routine I have kept is Day 1: Keep Your Sink Shining. I figure if I can AT LEAST keep that routine going I can easily pick up where I left off when I've got more energy. I also realized how much I love walking into a clean kitchen every morning to get my coffee...it's such a nice way to start the day. I'm not daunted by the fact that when I get home I've not only got to do this, this and this, but I've also got last nights supper dishes to wash, a dishwasher to empty and the garbage to take out...because let's face it...getting up at 6:30am, hauling my pregnant butt around all morning and chasing after 5 year olds means I wouldn't actually come home and do all those things. Lying on the couch with some cookies and a daytime soap is much more appealing. So no matter how much strength I need to muster up to get it done, I make sure my kitchen is cleaned up before bed.

But that's about it.

Since I just got on the sub list, and not many teacher's know me I didn't think it was too likely I'd get a call. I had my fingers crossed that I would get one job before the end of October...turns out I didn't have to wait long and I am booked all next week teaching Kindergarten in the morning! The teacher of the classroom broke her elbow and there's a good chance she may be out longer, so it may even turn into a 2 or 3 week job.

I'm so excited! This couldn't have worked out any more perfect for me. I feel the most comfortable teaching elementary since that's where my experience lies. This is a really unintimidating job to accept...a great way to ease into this new chapter of substitute teaching.

I finally had my teaching interview today to get on the sub list. I was much less nervous today than on Wednesday so it was kind of a blessing in disguise for it to be postponed. The superintendent was so easy to talk to and laid back. It was the most comfortable a job interview has ever been for me.

He kept telling me I was doing well and that I was giving great answers. At the end of the interview he said he usually doesn't do this, but he asked if he could critique my interview. I was actually thrilled that he wanted to do that. He went through each of the questions and my answers and told me when my answers were perfect and others where he was looking for something different. He gave me pointers for the future and I walked away with some very valuable information. He told me not walk out feeling like it didn't go well, because he said I had a great interview and I completely won him over ;) Yesssss! So I am officially a substitute teacher....

...I just need to wait for that first call now.

So I went for the job interview, totally confident that it would go well but nervous of course....and just hoping for it to all be over with so my stomach could go back to it's non-knot-tied state.

But then I got there and there was an emergency at one of the school's and the Superintendent had to rush out, leaving me to postpone my interview to Friday.

The knot-tiedness will be prolonged.

I had 3 big stressful things to do this week, falling on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Since I can be a bit of a worry-wart and have my stomach tied in knots for days before a big stressful thing....I decided not to do that this time. Each time I tried to think about the big stressful things that I had coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday I told myself to "forget about it...just concentrate on cooking this big Thanksgiving dinner today, and worry about the next thing tomorrow".

And while yes, this system indeed did actually work, it hit me like a ton of bricks last night that it was now time to stress about Wednesday. Today. My Teaching Interview.

Yep, I finally got in all my paperwork for applying to be a substitute teacher. I am now jumping this last hurdle of being interviewed and then I will be ON the sub list. I haven't had a job interview in 3 years, let alone it being a job I actually really want. I think the only thing that is easing my mind and making it slightly less worrisome is that I'm not applying for a particular teaching position...just to make it to the sub list. And I don't think they would deny me that unless I was a complete bumbling idiot at the interview and showed no capability of being able to teach students.

Which won't happen.

But I'm still nervous.

I just wanted to share a super fun project that I did with my grade 2's for art class....I wrote about it in much more detail here. I wanted to teach them the color wheel, so I brought RED, YELLOW and BLUE colored icing. The kids worked in partners and iced a cookie to represent these three primary colors. They then took a new container, and mixed red+yellow, blue+yellow, and red+blue to create the secondary colors...we also did more mixing to create the tertiary colors. The kids had a blast, and when it was all done they got to eat their colorful cookies! I not only impressed the kids with this project, but the other teachers too....they were wandering into my classroom and checking things out and kept saying "you need to give me a copy of this lesson plan!" It was one of the funnest days of teaching I have had.

So far, it's been a good start to the New Year. I began this semester by teaching Grade 2 for my final teaching practicum. It's been going really well, but definitely much more challenging than any other practicum I have had. I'm not sure if it's because my kids are so rambunctious or because I have less patience....hmm. We'll see about that one. Besides teaching grade two I also have grade 4/5 art, which I have quite enjoyed so far. The kids haven't tested my patience yet (I'm sure thats coming soon), but they have proved to be much more independant than grade 2, which makes for less explaination and smoother classes. Grade 2 art is somewhat chaotic. Mostly because I want to challenge the kids and let them experience things they don't normally get to, rather than just drawing pictures. However, my ambition has led to craziness (not good for my sanity, but very fun for grade 2's). I will continue to challenge myself and my kids, and I'm sure they will continue to challenge me as well. The great thing about grade 2 is that they are so loving and forgiving, and they just want to please you. They are a great group of kids. I'm excited for what the rest of the semester holds.