Mother's Iced Lemon Cookies are of the Debbil!

Okay this post really isn't about iced lemon cookies, or the Devil, it's about my life. Or, rather, the parts of my life that I can actually blog about, which will not nearly cover everything but WILL tell you what I ate too many of after dinner tonight. And before dinner tonight. And during dinner tonight. Yes. Iced lemon cookies.

Moving on. Work is going great! First let me qualify that by saying that it's been difficult on everyone on many levels, and we're all still adjusting. That being said, I really do love my job. For those who don't know or have forgotten, I'm a teacher intern at Challenger private school (3rd week now) and now that I know what that entails, I'll share. I sort of bounce around all day doing lots of different things, which bouncing I actually like quite a bit. I help in the "extended" classes - the before and after school care; in the morning I help in the elementary extended (where I get to hang out with J, cool) and after school I hang in the preschool extended. After morning extended I go outside to help with unloading - the parents drive up and we physically go to the car and get the kids out and walk them to the door.

With unloading done, school has started and I go help/observe in one of the morning preschool classes - I'm getting to know all of the kids and they're always happy to see me, since I'm still kind of a novelty - and stay there till we load those kids in their carpools. Then I'm off to help with elementary lunch and recess (where I see J again). On Tuesdays and Thursdays I help clean up after the last lunch group, because the teacher who normally does it is in a classroom those days. After my lunch break I'm back to the classroom, then loading at the end of the day and then on to the after school extended. I like doing the elementary lunch, recess and loading/unloading because it helps me get to know the elementary kids, too. Loading and unloading is a good way to get to know the kids' names because the parents have the names on a visor card and you have to match the kid to the car. And of course you must get it right, because packing a kid into the wrong car is a big no-no (and no, that's not the voice of experience, I'm speaking hypothetically).

I LOVE being in a preschool class all day. I get to sing and dance and pretend to be a fairy/giant/little pig/big bad wolf/raindrop/bumblebee/whatever I want. I get to play hide-and-seek at recess and have tea parties in the pretend train (cuz I'm the only teacher that will do those things), and of course warp young minds all day. Oh, wait, not that last thing. And of course it's also nice to expand my circle of friends - the people I work with are all pretty great, not a stinker in the lot. I'm closer to some than others, naturally, but there isn't anyone I see coming down the hall and go, "ugh, time to hide in the bathroom," or anything. That's a big bonus.

My favorite song and dance to do with the kids is The Freeze. It's a fun tune (not obnoxious) and you get to dance around any way you want until the music stops and you freeze. Then it starts again and you dance more. We tell the kids different ways to freeze, like "freeze with a scary face this time!" or, "freeze like your favorite animal," which requires Miss Heather to get down on the floor because my favorite animal is a tiger. My other favorite is a song by The Wiggles that goes, "We're gonna shake, shake, shake our sillies out," and it's miles of fun. You also nod your naughties out, clap your crazies out, jump your jiggles out, stretch, yawn, stretch and yawn again, and wibble your wobbles away. Would it surprise you to learn that I am the dance'n'est teacher at that whole durn school? I LOVE to dance with the kids! I was ballin' the jack at recess the other day, all by myself, just because I felt like doing it.

So that's work.

F and J get to come to school with me, and they both seem to really love it there. F is doing so great in his class, catching up fast to the kids who've been there all year, and J is excelling in everything. His previous school didn't focus on penmanship as Challenger does, so his writing is not as tidy as his classmates' but he's getting better. It's nice being able to keep up with their teachers in the hallway and on the playground! :D

I get to go to California soon! YAY!
 
Okay, I just noticed what time it is so that's it for tonight.

Job!!

(I'm cheating. This entry is almost entirely copied-and-pasted from a note on my Facebook page. But not everyone who reads my blog is on FB so I'm posting it here, too :) 'Cuz it's awesome!! )


I got a job!! First I'll tell you what it is and then I'll tell you The Story Of Getting The Job. I've been hired by Challenger private school as a Teacher Intern - in prep for being an actual teacher there at some point, I'll be "learning the Challenger way," going into the different classrooms to observe and learn from the teachers, and apparently watching training videos with a host who, from the snippet I saw, is the human equivalent of a bi-polar Barney on a frenetically cheerful day.



!TANGENT WARNING! I can't even begin to describe the overpowering happiness and wide-eyed wonder of this woman at the slightest thing. *gasp!* "The letter A! Can there be anything more wonderful?!" *doe eyes* *GASP AGAIN!* "Oh, MY! Just look! The letter B!!" *laughing and dancing and rainbows and big happy smiles* "I'm so thrilled by the letter B I think we'd better move on to the letter O!" Okay, that was too much. She never said that. But she sounded like she wanted to.


So, anyway. Interning and training videos, right. I got sidetracked. But I did warn you.


Provided I can work out the child care in time, I'll start Monday. It's full time, and the pay is better than I could have hoped to get from any job, considering my lack of formal education and experience. This job is such a huge blessing!! AND, to add to the blessing pile, there are awesome tuition discounts. Felix can come in with me and be in the all-day preschool for.....ready?.......FREE. I can get Joshua in the all-day Kindergarten for half price, I'm still trying to figure out if I can swing that, but the monthly cost of his tuition at an EXCELLENT private school (which I would have said even before I worked there) will, I think, work out to less than the cost of having him in daycare in the morning, esp. since I'd have to find one that would take him to school in the afternoon. I would still have to scrounge up money for (deeply discounted) registration fees, but it's definitely do-able. Still many details to be worked out. But Zackary would be the only one in daycare. My poor baby. I was holding him yesterday and realized how much his little life is about to change, and not for the better :(


BUT I'm trying to focus on the positive here. Single moms must work, and this job is a tremendous blessing, and it's incredible how it all came together.


So, a few weeks ago I heard about this job (thanks again Doug) and....okay, wait, back up. If anyone read my last blog post you'll recall me saying something like, "I'm not going to work, I'm going to go to school." Apparently, I got basically the right impression, just a slightly incorrect translation as to what "going to school" meant, lol. I had that great feeling to wait on getting a job and try to figure out school - but then nothing! I thought, okay, Lord, what next? Then I heard about this job and it was like a giant arrow in my head pointing at a sign that said, "THIS IS NEXT. YOU'RE WELCOME." It has felt really right, from the start, even though I was hesitant about teaching and even said I didn't think I could ever do it. The main reason given for that was not being sure I could handle other people's kids - the real reason is actually the politics of the whole education system, my feeling about which I will not expound upon in the interest of not offending people I love. However, with Challenger, that's not an issue. Their entire political and educational culture is right in line with own views, so it's a great fit.


To apply for Challenger, you email a resume, a cover letter, and "a brief essay discussing your view of America," and then wait. Let me tell you - for someone with strong opinions who loves to write, a "brief" essay is a challenge. Also, deciding which aspect of America to write about was tough. This essay plagued my brain for over a week! I finally opted for the topic of liberty as related to education, typed three paragraphs, proofed it a few times and then closed it and left it alone. It ended too quickly, but other than that is was okay. For my resume, I just detailed some of the things I've learned and traits I've developed being a mom, and homeschooling for two years, that I felt were relevant to the job (conflict resolution, teaching my kids to read with phonics....rosy cheeks, no warts, play games (all sorts).....that kind of thing).


So I finally got that sent off and waited. Almost two weeks later I was vacillating between, "hey I should call and check on that application" and "I KNEW IT! MY ESSAY SUCKED! THEY PROBABLY POSTED IT ON A CORK BOARD SOMEWHERE SO THEY COULD ALL LAUGH AT IT AND TAKE TURNS QUOTING IT IN FUNNY VOICES!!!" Then I got a phone call requesting I come in and take some tests. This Monday I went in to the corporate office in Sandy (thanks for watching the kids, Stef!) - there was an opinion survey and a timed aptitude test, mostly with a lot of logic and problem-solving, but also with some math - I skipped most of those :p It was timed! Then I filled out an application, and THEN I was asked to stay for an interview.


I spoke with a very nice gent named Hugh and we had a great conversation. He then told me that he wanted me to go on to the next interview! He explained it was a "teaching interview" and I would prepare a 10-15 minute lesson/presentation for a class of preschoolers (3 year olds) and they would observe. I thought it was interesting, he said, "we'll be watching the kids, not you," to see if I kept their attention, how they responded to me, etc. I did that interview yesterday, at the location that actually hired me, in Farmington. It was SO MUCH FUN! I got nervous for a few minutes before I left home, but other than that I felt really confident and excited. First I had a little interview with the Director, Heidi. Then we went to the classroom and I read a book I brought from home, 5 Little Ducks, and had 5 yellow mega blocks because I don't have 5 toy ducks, but the kids did great at pretending they were ducks, and they liked taking turns taking the "ducks" out of the line when the swam away in the story, and putting them back when all the ducks came swimming back. They also seemed to like quacking with me. After the story I taught them the ASL signs for "duck," "mom," and "little," and we sang the 5 Little Ducks song, doing the signs. Then one boy asked me the sign for "grandpa," so I taught them the signs for "dad," "grandma" and "grandpa," too, just for fun. Then I was done! It was a lot of fun, and the kids were really good - they gave me 4-year-olds instead of 3-year-olds, because Heidi said that the 3-year-olds were being naughty :D


Long story (slightly) short(er), Heidi said it went great and she loved my presentation to the kids, and she told me that I had really impressed Hugh (who she said was "a tough nut to crack," but I cracked him), and after all of it, she was ready to offer me the job! Woot! We talked details for awhile, and I'm going back in on Friday to do paperwork and hopefully get Felix enrolled in the preschool, though I'm going to have to come up with his fees and get a doctor to sign a paper that says he's healthy and all. With Randy not paying the child support this week, I don't know how I'm going to accomplish that but somehow it will all work out! :)


So that's the story - with many details left out of course, but good enough - of how I got this divine blessing. I'm disappointed, of course, that my life worked out in such a way that I have to leave my kids and work - but I recognize the Lord's hand in all of this and I'm so thankful for His helping me to make the very best of our situation, and for leading me to such a perfect job - so many things just fell into place, it would be impossible to chalk it up to luck! And of course I'm excited and gratified to be moving forward in one more way since the divorce. And I'm very thankful for friends who have helped, and do help, and who pray faithfully for me and the kids :D


UPDATE: This part isn't copied and pasted, this is me adding in real time to my real blog. Woo! So, Randy decided not to pay the child support this week, so I didn't go in to fill out the paperwork and stuff because I want to be able to register the boys so that they can come in with me my first day of work. Plus I have to buy Joshua at least one uniform and pre-pay Zackary's daycare for at least the first week. So I rescheduled for Monday and I'm hoping to mooch - I mean, borrow - some moolah from my grandparents. I'll be calling over there when I'm done with this. If I can borrow that I'll go out to South Jordan and pick it up, and I'll be able to pay the fees and stuff on Monday, then hopefully start all of this new stuff on Tuesday.


So, that's all of that! ♥