My day "off" which means I got to stay home and work on the financial side of teaching and running a household. I actually really like that stuff though. Even got Abby started on a budgeting system of sorts for her "Personal Finance" course this semester. Then I went to the bank and Giant Eagle. I got some good deals with sales and coupons. Oh yeah, I did watch the Geometry video with Abby, and we talked about her school assignments some too.
For dinner I made Garlic Shrimp Pasta--it was kind of our "first day of school" dinner which I try to make every year, kind of something special, but since last night Jeff was gone golfing, I saved it for tonight. I looked over my Physical Science books for tomorrow after dinner while Jeff took a nap and Abby blogged. We have an experiment to do almost at the beginning of class, so I wanted to make sure I knew what we were doing! I don't have to go until a little later, so I still have some time to make our lunch and put everything together.
I missed both Katie's and Hannah's calls today. Abby got to talk to both of them though, so she passed along the info. Glad to hear they're doing well and looking forward to hearing more of what their first few days have been like. I can imagine they are super-busy. Tonight is brownie night--excited to hear about that too!
Well, today has been much less eventful than yesterday, and I'm grateful for that actually. I admire all of those hard-working people who get up every single day and go to work at the same place, doing the same thing. I like the variety of getting up and going one day and then being able to sleep in a little and do things at home the next. So, I'm going to try to just enjoy whatever the day holds now that our schedule is different than ever before. That's been true to some degree every school year, but this year seems really different. I am thankful too that we have a couple of weeks to get used to school before dance and Urban Vision start. Those things will add a whole new dimension of busyness!
Tomorrow is the first day of school for the Karen kids--well, all of the Akron kids. I will be praying for them because I know they have a lot to deal with--wish I could have seen them before their first day to hear about how they are feeling about it all, but hopefully we'll get to hear all about it Saturday.
Now I could actually have an hour of down-time before bed, so I'm going to take it!! And maybe eat a treat too!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
The bell rang. The first day of school was over.
So, now that my blog readers are scattered again, I guess I will continue my blogging to keep up on the daily details of life at the Yackleys. It was an amazing 20 days of time with all of us together!! Our trip to NYC was fun, exhausting (from all the walking), "wicked," and something we'll all remember forever. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to go and that everything went so smoothly (OK, so the parking on the first day was stressful, but after that...).
I still don't feel like school has started--I kind of expect Katie and Hannah to walk in after being out and about somewhere. But they are settled in their dorm rooms, starting classes, and making tons of new friends I'm sure. So Abby and I are holding down the fort while Jeff's at work.
Although today, we were all "at work" since classes started at Beginning of Wisdom--Abby's taking three classes, and I'm teaching four. I feel like the preparation was done in a haze of grace. We had been very busy with all the preparations of getting two girls ready for college, and then I was somehow supposed to try to focus and concentrate on plans for my classes. My brain felt like it needed a vacation from trying to remember stuff! :) But somehow, when I woke up this morning, everything was in the car ready to go, lunch was packed, and I felt pretty prepared for the day. As prepared as one can be going into a new situation.
I had to set up my room and make a gazillion copies before 9am plus meet new moms who were concerned about their kids being in a new situation--totally understand that! So I learned how to use the gigundo copy machine, met the moms, asked Abby for help which she so graciously gave. And I was ready by 9am! I have 6 students from 5th-9th grade in American History and Language Arts from 9-11am. I was thinking, "How am I going to deal with middle schoolers for two whole hours?!" At Urban Vision, some days I can hardly make it through a 20 minute period! Ahh, but these are not UV kids (whom I love dearly, but some of them are only 20 minute kids!). These kids (3 boys and 3 girls) came ready for school, with many pencils, three-hole punches, colored pencils, scissors, notebooks, binders, all the things they were asked to bring and more! Amazing! And they talked at the appropriate times about the topic we were discussing. They were sweet and kind and I liked them all. Wow! What more could I ask for? The two hours went by fast, and then I had a break.
I even got paid! People paid on time, some for the whole semester. They even double-checked to make sure they were paying enough! Who are these strange beings you may ask? The parents of BOW. Wow! Guess those parents raised those kids...hmmm...makes sense.
I did some paper work and preparing for the afternoon class from 11-12. I couldn't wait for lunch because I was so HUNGRY! School always makes us hungrier earlier. Early breakfast and all. All that thinking. After lunch I had another hour from 12:30-1:30, then my ACT prep class of 10 high school students. We had fun even though none of them voluntarily took the class--they were forced to by their parents. :) But they are great kids, and we had a few laughs about the funny things in the book and their funny comments.
So, done at 2:20 ish and home to unwind a little. Abby had to do her "after school care" job from 3:30-5pm, and I tried to figure out our Discover bill which is "somethin'" (as Jeff would say) after vacation, buying books and college stuff. Still not sure what all the items are even...Jeff has something to look forward to after golf even though he doesn't know it yet! Oh well, we can just take it out of the girls' bank accounts and say it was to reimburse us for books, etc. :)
We had a gourmet meal of sloppy joes and sweet potato fries for dinner. I walked, and Abby went to the Fullers to finish some t-shirts they were making. Talked to Mom in there too after dinner. Next on the list is making the menu and grocery list, so I can go to Giant Eagle tomorrow on my day "off."
I talked to Eh Dah Doe on my walk too. She had called earlier when we were at school because she missed me...awww...I miss them too. We're going to try to have them over this Saturday after several weeks of not seeing them. They start school on Wed., so we'll get to hear about their first few days. She's going to the middle school this year.
Well, that about sums up the first day of school for me. It was a good one, and I'm thinking it's going to be a good year. Of course, I am too savvy to think there won't be any problems along the way...but those we will deal with when they come and not lose sleep now worrying about what they may be. I actually slept well last night which is rare the night before a new, big thing. I think it was the grace haze again--I was just too tired to toss and turn, and I was as done as I could be in getting ready. Yay, grace! Yay, God!
So, until next time, dear readers...
I still don't feel like school has started--I kind of expect Katie and Hannah to walk in after being out and about somewhere. But they are settled in their dorm rooms, starting classes, and making tons of new friends I'm sure. So Abby and I are holding down the fort while Jeff's at work.
Although today, we were all "at work" since classes started at Beginning of Wisdom--Abby's taking three classes, and I'm teaching four. I feel like the preparation was done in a haze of grace. We had been very busy with all the preparations of getting two girls ready for college, and then I was somehow supposed to try to focus and concentrate on plans for my classes. My brain felt like it needed a vacation from trying to remember stuff! :) But somehow, when I woke up this morning, everything was in the car ready to go, lunch was packed, and I felt pretty prepared for the day. As prepared as one can be going into a new situation.
I had to set up my room and make a gazillion copies before 9am plus meet new moms who were concerned about their kids being in a new situation--totally understand that! So I learned how to use the gigundo copy machine, met the moms, asked Abby for help which she so graciously gave. And I was ready by 9am! I have 6 students from 5th-9th grade in American History and Language Arts from 9-11am. I was thinking, "How am I going to deal with middle schoolers for two whole hours?!" At Urban Vision, some days I can hardly make it through a 20 minute period! Ahh, but these are not UV kids (whom I love dearly, but some of them are only 20 minute kids!). These kids (3 boys and 3 girls) came ready for school, with many pencils, three-hole punches, colored pencils, scissors, notebooks, binders, all the things they were asked to bring and more! Amazing! And they talked at the appropriate times about the topic we were discussing. They were sweet and kind and I liked them all. Wow! What more could I ask for? The two hours went by fast, and then I had a break.
I even got paid! People paid on time, some for the whole semester. They even double-checked to make sure they were paying enough! Who are these strange beings you may ask? The parents of BOW. Wow! Guess those parents raised those kids...hmmm...makes sense.
I did some paper work and preparing for the afternoon class from 11-12. I couldn't wait for lunch because I was so HUNGRY! School always makes us hungrier earlier. Early breakfast and all. All that thinking. After lunch I had another hour from 12:30-1:30, then my ACT prep class of 10 high school students. We had fun even though none of them voluntarily took the class--they were forced to by their parents. :) But they are great kids, and we had a few laughs about the funny things in the book and their funny comments.
So, done at 2:20 ish and home to unwind a little. Abby had to do her "after school care" job from 3:30-5pm, and I tried to figure out our Discover bill which is "somethin'" (as Jeff would say) after vacation, buying books and college stuff. Still not sure what all the items are even...Jeff has something to look forward to after golf even though he doesn't know it yet! Oh well, we can just take it out of the girls' bank accounts and say it was to reimburse us for books, etc. :)
We had a gourmet meal of sloppy joes and sweet potato fries for dinner. I walked, and Abby went to the Fullers to finish some t-shirts they were making. Talked to Mom in there too after dinner. Next on the list is making the menu and grocery list, so I can go to Giant Eagle tomorrow on my day "off."
I talked to Eh Dah Doe on my walk too. She had called earlier when we were at school because she missed me...awww...I miss them too. We're going to try to have them over this Saturday after several weeks of not seeing them. They start school on Wed., so we'll get to hear about their first few days. She's going to the middle school this year.
Well, that about sums up the first day of school for me. It was a good one, and I'm thinking it's going to be a good year. Of course, I am too savvy to think there won't be any problems along the way...but those we will deal with when they come and not lose sleep now worrying about what they may be. I actually slept well last night which is rare the night before a new, big thing. I think it was the grace haze again--I was just too tired to toss and turn, and I was as done as I could be in getting ready. Yay, grace! Yay, God!
So, until next time, dear readers...
Saturday, August 07, 2010
One more sleep til Katie comes home!!
Just a quick post on the last day before Katie comes home!! We are getting ready by trying to get done all those things that we've been putting off! Actually, it's nice to finally have a free day to do some of them. Right now Jeff is down in the basement trying to chip off some of the ice that has built up around the edge of the freezer door. It was really bad and on my list all summer. But, thankfully, he is tackling it. I saw a hammer, screwdriver or two in his hands!
Last night was Chris and Rosie's wedding, and it was lovely!! Outdoors at Stan Hywet with perfect weather (except for those of us in the sun--the shade was perfect). Rosie was beautiful, and Chris looked dashing! There are pictures! The reception was fun, and the food was delicious. Everything seemed to go smoothly from what I could tell. We got to sit with the Eatons and Himelrights which was a lot of fun of course. I also got to catch up with Beth some which was great.
Today we got to sleep in until we woke up! One of the few times I've done that this summer. It meant we got a late start, but we went for a walk and have been checking things off the list. The school room is pretty organized, and I need to order school stuff, but need Jeff's help with that to make sure I do it right.
I CAN'T WAIT to see Katie tomorrow!! Now that it's so close, I just want it to be SUNDAY at 6pm!! I am praying hard for her safe trip and easy travel and no delays or problems.
Well, I said it would be quick, and I guess it will because Jeff wants me to come and take everything out of the freezer with him--that's more ambitious than I was feeling today, but I guess it's good to do it. I'm sure we'll be throwing a lot away that's buried at the bottom. So here goes!!
Last night was Chris and Rosie's wedding, and it was lovely!! Outdoors at Stan Hywet with perfect weather (except for those of us in the sun--the shade was perfect). Rosie was beautiful, and Chris looked dashing! There are pictures! The reception was fun, and the food was delicious. Everything seemed to go smoothly from what I could tell. We got to sit with the Eatons and Himelrights which was a lot of fun of course. I also got to catch up with Beth some which was great.
Today we got to sleep in until we woke up! One of the few times I've done that this summer. It meant we got a late start, but we went for a walk and have been checking things off the list. The school room is pretty organized, and I need to order school stuff, but need Jeff's help with that to make sure I do it right.
I CAN'T WAIT to see Katie tomorrow!! Now that it's so close, I just want it to be SUNDAY at 6pm!! I am praying hard for her safe trip and easy travel and no delays or problems.
Well, I said it would be quick, and I guess it will because Jeff wants me to come and take everything out of the freezer with him--that's more ambitious than I was feeling today, but I guess it's good to do it. I'm sure we'll be throwing a lot away that's buried at the bottom. So here goes!!
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Another day in the life...
The last Wednesday before Katie comes home. It sounds like her travels this week have been great! A new city tomorrow. Wonder if being in Ohio will be boring after this? So plain vanilla after Europe. But knowing Katie, she will find the good in being home and being at Kent and just enjoy wherever she is. She's good that way....
Tuesday was but yesterday, but seems a distant memory. I went to Giant Eagle and the library and picked up Abby at driving. Then I did laundry and had a QT and worked on school stuff maybe a little, but not much. It felt like I didn't accomplish anything really. Dinner was just turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas. We walked after dinner.
Today Hannah and I got to babysit for the twins, but they slept most of the time, so she worked on the CLEP stuff for her test tomorrow (pray for her to pass, dear reader--she's been working hard and did well on the practice test with the program we bought, but had a harder time with the College Board book test that she was working on today), and I worked on school stuff. I'm getting the decisions made, but not much actually prepared for because I still have to buy the stuff. This afternoon, Chris and Rosie came over and tonight Jeff and I are going to chat with Mike and Cindy about youth group plans. We're having a parent's meeting on Sunday and would like to know what we're talking about.
Tomorrow Abby is babysitting for a new family and no more driving school because she passed her test today! The written part. Now has to wait 6 weeks for the driving part. Paige just called and asked if she could come over tomorrow afternoon and talk to us. Hmmm...you can pray for that dear reader too!
Off to Panera now! More later!
Tuesday was but yesterday, but seems a distant memory. I went to Giant Eagle and the library and picked up Abby at driving. Then I did laundry and had a QT and worked on school stuff maybe a little, but not much. It felt like I didn't accomplish anything really. Dinner was just turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas. We walked after dinner.
Today Hannah and I got to babysit for the twins, but they slept most of the time, so she worked on the CLEP stuff for her test tomorrow (pray for her to pass, dear reader--she's been working hard and did well on the practice test with the program we bought, but had a harder time with the College Board book test that she was working on today), and I worked on school stuff. I'm getting the decisions made, but not much actually prepared for because I still have to buy the stuff. This afternoon, Chris and Rosie came over and tonight Jeff and I are going to chat with Mike and Cindy about youth group plans. We're having a parent's meeting on Sunday and would like to know what we're talking about.
Tomorrow Abby is babysitting for a new family and no more driving school because she passed her test today! The written part. Now has to wait 6 weeks for the driving part. Paige just called and asked if she could come over tomorrow afternoon and talk to us. Hmmm...you can pray for that dear reader too!
Off to Panera now! More later!
Monday, August 02, 2010
Monday in My World
Last Monday until Katie is home again! Sounds like a lovely visit in Cologne, and Belgium is next! I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow and have been thinking about things that Katie likes--we already have the Oreos for an Oreo and coffee morning. :) But I'll probably just wait until she's actually here to see what she wants.
Today I took Hannah to the doctor to get her meningitis vaccination--which she already got last May. I asked the doctor to please write those down because I am a bad mother and don't keep good records of those things. :) But she got a form filled out to document her hearing loss so that she can sit where she needs to if there's ever a problem. And her MMR form too. And she got the first of two Hepatitis A vaccinations. She has to go back in 6 months or more for the second one. She said it was something they're recommending now, and if you ever plan to go on a missions trip or anything, you'd need it. Also, Hannah was 5 feet 5 inches. Hmm...that's MY height!
Then I took her home and went to Hillwood to meet with Mrs. Jones. She is like an Energizer Bunny--so much energy and works so fast! We went through her science supplies--well, she did, at lightning speed--and I tried to keep up by checking off what she had. It is SOOOO nice of her to just let me use everything and not have to order it, etc. She has been extremely generous with her time and advice and resources. She's helped me pick American History curriculum and even gave me suggestions on grammar too.
I thought I had grammar all figured out because I was just going to order whatever Sonlight suggested. But after looking at samples and reading reviews, I think it will be too easy and not enough to do for middle schoolers. So she gave me suggestions and I'm working on figuring that out. I do feel relieved though about the history stuff. What she found looks very teacher-friendly and won't require me to come up with lots of stuff to do. It's all in there. Whew!
So nice to have someone who knows what they are doing and can give me advice and save me from having to find out the hard way or spend a gazillion hours preparing for not much money!
I picked Abby up at driving school and we had lunch and I re-cleaned the family room carpet. Just the middle part. It still got the water pretty dirty! Then a quiet time and working on school stuff, dinner, cleaning up and a walk. We saw the Kiles after their vacation looking very tan and adorable. :) Then I looked at more school stuff and sent some facebook messages--I'm trying to get in touch with Lindsay and Eva to see if they're around on Friday when H. is planning to go to Kent, but I've left 2 messages for Lindsay and don't want to be a pest. So I though fb would be another option.
Now a quick blog post and bedtime. I've still been very tired. I think I need to take my vitamins again. I let them run out and didn't replace them, but even if it's just for the placebo, I need to take them again! :) Tomorrow is the grocery store, and Abby has driving again. And the library. I got rid of my $8 fine, and I don't want to run up another one! EEK!
Hannah just got home from work...only a few more days left...I think she'll be glad to be done. But it's been good to earn some money--she's done very well at saving! Hope I can do as well with my income from teaching. :)
Good night, dear reader!
Today I took Hannah to the doctor to get her meningitis vaccination--which she already got last May. I asked the doctor to please write those down because I am a bad mother and don't keep good records of those things. :) But she got a form filled out to document her hearing loss so that she can sit where she needs to if there's ever a problem. And her MMR form too. And she got the first of two Hepatitis A vaccinations. She has to go back in 6 months or more for the second one. She said it was something they're recommending now, and if you ever plan to go on a missions trip or anything, you'd need it. Also, Hannah was 5 feet 5 inches. Hmm...that's MY height!
Then I took her home and went to Hillwood to meet with Mrs. Jones. She is like an Energizer Bunny--so much energy and works so fast! We went through her science supplies--well, she did, at lightning speed--and I tried to keep up by checking off what she had. It is SOOOO nice of her to just let me use everything and not have to order it, etc. She has been extremely generous with her time and advice and resources. She's helped me pick American History curriculum and even gave me suggestions on grammar too.
I thought I had grammar all figured out because I was just going to order whatever Sonlight suggested. But after looking at samples and reading reviews, I think it will be too easy and not enough to do for middle schoolers. So she gave me suggestions and I'm working on figuring that out. I do feel relieved though about the history stuff. What she found looks very teacher-friendly and won't require me to come up with lots of stuff to do. It's all in there. Whew!
So nice to have someone who knows what they are doing and can give me advice and save me from having to find out the hard way or spend a gazillion hours preparing for not much money!
I picked Abby up at driving school and we had lunch and I re-cleaned the family room carpet. Just the middle part. It still got the water pretty dirty! Then a quiet time and working on school stuff, dinner, cleaning up and a walk. We saw the Kiles after their vacation looking very tan and adorable. :) Then I looked at more school stuff and sent some facebook messages--I'm trying to get in touch with Lindsay and Eva to see if they're around on Friday when H. is planning to go to Kent, but I've left 2 messages for Lindsay and don't want to be a pest. So I though fb would be another option.
Now a quick blog post and bedtime. I've still been very tired. I think I need to take my vitamins again. I let them run out and didn't replace them, but even if it's just for the placebo, I need to take them again! :) Tomorrow is the grocery store, and Abby has driving again. And the library. I got rid of my $8 fine, and I don't want to run up another one! EEK!
Hannah just got home from work...only a few more days left...I think she'll be glad to be done. But it's been good to earn some money--she's done very well at saving! Hope I can do as well with my income from teaching. :)
Good night, dear reader!
Sunday, August 01, 2010
First Post of August: How weird is that?
I had a hard time getting up for church today. My back hurt--I think it's because I forgot to stretch after our walk last night because I came in and started doing stuff right away. But church was good, and Rosie's shower went well. Her mom really seemed to enjoy it because she didn't have to do anything for it! Some of Chris and Rosie's family--like sisters, grandmas, moms came too which was nice. It sounds like the wedding on Friday will be lovely. They'll walk down the "Birchwood Alley" (pronounced "a-lay" like it's French or something). It's outdoors so hopefully the weather will be nice. And the reception sounds like it will be great--lots of good food and a swing band.
We got home around 3:15pm and unloaded and unpacked and now I'm resting. So tired!
This is going to be a crazy week. Not even sure I want to start to think about it yet, but maybe I should just to get things straight in my head.
OK, here goes: Monday: Dr. appt. for Hannah to get her shot and hopefully get her "disability" form filled out for her hearing loss. Then meeting Karen at Hillwood to go through her science stuff and see what she has that I can use. She's sweet that way. Then picking Abby up at driving. Then sometime going to the grocery store and trying to sort out what I'm doing for the history and LA classes so I can tell others and order stuff.
Tuesday seems not too busy so far except for driving school. Hannah works M, T, W.
Wednesday: babysit for the twins in the morning so that Angie can take the boys to get a hair cut before family pics next weekend. They need an updated church directory photo since they now have two new members! Meet with Rosie and Chris in the afternoon and maybe take Abby to meet Maddie from Cleveland in the afternoon too? Somehow we'd have to combine those things. And maybe meet with Marettes and Coopers in the evening though I haven't heard anything more about that today.
Thursday: nothing unless I move my tutoring appointment that is scheduled for Friday to Thursday because...
Friday: Hannah is planning a Kent field trip with Rachel and Caleb and if I can go and stay and visit with Lindsay and Eva, I will, but I need to call them. Otherwise, Hannah may just drive to Ferences and go over with them, or I'll take her to their house and have to be back by 10am to tutor. The wedding is at 4pm so we'd need to be back by 2pm to get ready and get there.
Saturday: Get ready for Katie coming home!!! Yay!!!
Sunday: Katie comes home!!! Yay!!!
And then the crazy "after Katie comes home" schedule begins. Actually, we haven't planned a whole lot yet, but have a few things we'd like to try to do before leaving again for NYC.
Oh, my, are you tired yet, dear reader? Sorry to put my tired brain on you, but it helps sometimes to spell it out (literally).
So, now Hannah is skyping with Katie, and I'd like to say HI, so I must go!
We got home around 3:15pm and unloaded and unpacked and now I'm resting. So tired!
This is going to be a crazy week. Not even sure I want to start to think about it yet, but maybe I should just to get things straight in my head.
OK, here goes: Monday: Dr. appt. for Hannah to get her shot and hopefully get her "disability" form filled out for her hearing loss. Then meeting Karen at Hillwood to go through her science stuff and see what she has that I can use. She's sweet that way. Then picking Abby up at driving. Then sometime going to the grocery store and trying to sort out what I'm doing for the history and LA classes so I can tell others and order stuff.
Tuesday seems not too busy so far except for driving school. Hannah works M, T, W.
Wednesday: babysit for the twins in the morning so that Angie can take the boys to get a hair cut before family pics next weekend. They need an updated church directory photo since they now have two new members! Meet with Rosie and Chris in the afternoon and maybe take Abby to meet Maddie from Cleveland in the afternoon too? Somehow we'd have to combine those things. And maybe meet with Marettes and Coopers in the evening though I haven't heard anything more about that today.
Thursday: nothing unless I move my tutoring appointment that is scheduled for Friday to Thursday because...
Friday: Hannah is planning a Kent field trip with Rachel and Caleb and if I can go and stay and visit with Lindsay and Eva, I will, but I need to call them. Otherwise, Hannah may just drive to Ferences and go over with them, or I'll take her to their house and have to be back by 10am to tutor. The wedding is at 4pm so we'd need to be back by 2pm to get ready and get there.
Saturday: Get ready for Katie coming home!!! Yay!!!
Sunday: Katie comes home!!! Yay!!!
And then the crazy "after Katie comes home" schedule begins. Actually, we haven't planned a whole lot yet, but have a few things we'd like to try to do before leaving again for NYC.
Oh, my, are you tired yet, dear reader? Sorry to put my tired brain on you, but it helps sometimes to spell it out (literally).
So, now Hannah is skyping with Katie, and I'd like to say HI, so I must go!
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