First Week in Field

Well, we survived and that's a good start! :)  The first day of field had Sarah-Jane and I worried but we are going to be able to do this and do a wonderful job.  We are teaching a 6th grade class at Fox Hollow Elementary School.  There are a lot of boys in the class and they feed off of eachother's bad behavior.  It's teaching us a lot about classroom management!  Mrs. O'Very is strict with the class, I can only imagine what it would be like with a teacher that was laid back.  It would be an ugly mix.  She does well with them but yells more than I want to. 
She's a great teacher to help us to be the best teachers we can be!  Bring on the next two weeks!!!  Hopefully after that, we'll be headed to Washington for Thanksgiving!!!!

Yikes! Where did time go?

Here I am again...trying to catch up! I have had some great things happen since I last blogged! I am now in the Elementary Education Program at UVU! I love it!!! It's a ton of work but well worth it! I am learning a ton. I begin my first round of student teaching this week at Fox Hollow Elementary School in Lehi this week. I'm really nervous but very excited too.

My kids are great! I love them very much and am so thankful for their understanding (most of the time) with my lack of good mommy time. They are really good to me. Abbie is 10 on November 11th. I can't believe it!!! Sidney is 8 and still my little spitfire! Ashton is almost 6 and thinks he runs the roost.

Well, I had better get to bed soon or I'll be passing out in class tomorrow.

Wow! Where did time go?

Yikes, I had to start a blog for one of my classes at school and thought I'd take a look and see when the last time I wrote on here was. Shoot! It's been way too long! I HAVE to get better at this!
Things are going well and we are happy to start a new year! Hopefully this one will be better than last year. I'll just give a quick run down of everyone and what's new.

Abbie is 9 and a happy girl (most of the time!). I swear she's hitting puberty. Boy, I hope not though. She is so emotional! She is also my cuddly girl which even though she's getting older, I hope she never stops being that way with me! I love it! Anyway, she is in third grade and loves it. She also loves going to activity days for church. It gives her something special for just her. Pretty soon Sidney will be tagging along though.

Sidney is 7 1/2 and is also a happy girl. She is very artistic and loves to create. She's just like her grandma which I think is great! She just lost her third tooth tonight. It was hardly wiggly last night but she was determined to get it out and wiggled it until it was practically falling out. I was so amazed at how she stuck with it because she was determined to get it out. I'm not sure if it's because the tooth fairy will bring her money or if she just wants to have big teeth and get rid of the baby ones. I wish that she would be so determined when it comes to school work. She's so much fun!

Ashton is 5 and had his well-child/kindergarten physical today. He's healthy and happy. He's very much a mama's boy which can be good and bad. :) He just started at a preschool that is run by UVU where I am going to school. He is there during the times that I am at school and he loves it. It's such a relief not to have to worry all the time about who was going to watch him while I am at school. It is a program that we were accepted into and it's super inexpensive which is perfect for us. He loves to play with his cars, dinosaurs, and pirate ship. He also loves playing Club Penguin on the computer. It's amazing how good kids are at figuring things out on the computer now days. When I was his age, we didn't have any of that stuff. It was all about imagination!

I just started my second semester at UVU. I love being in school and learning again. I was worried that my brain wouldn't work but I did pretty well last semester. I got two A's, a B and a B+. My GPA was 3.56. I was so happy because I actually got a B in math! Yay! I am studying to be an Elementary School Teacher. I would like to teach either 2nd or 3rd grade. If everything goes as planned, I will go into the El Ed program in the fall and will have two more years of school.

Zonder, the company that I worked for went out of business on December 22nd. Merry Christmas, huh! I worked for them for two years and it was sad to see them not make it. Unfortunately, the economy isn't so great which affects the travel industry. So, I'm unemployed but I'm trying to make the most of it and focus on school for now. Hopefully, the perfect job will come around that will allow me to be home with my kids and allow me to keep going to school full time!

That's pretty much what is going on with us. I hope that you all have a great New Year!

New Things to Come...

I have some new things coming up this fall that I'm really excited about! I am FINALLY going back to school! It's been way too long and I know it's something that I need to do. I am going to start at Utah Valley University on August 26th. My plans are to become an elementary teacher. It's something that I've always wanted to do. I feel that it's the best thing for my family since my hours will work great with my kids. Being a divorced mom has really made me realize how hard it is to work outside of the home and be able to spend quality time with my kids. Luckily, the company that I work for has allowed me to work from home so I've been able to be here with them.

I am nervous but also so excited for my new adventure. Now I just have to find a good place for Ashton to go while I'm in class. I am sure it will all work out. I am praying hard that something will work out. This is the necessary step that I need to take to be able to care for my family the way I want to. I am thankful for the support of family and friends! Love you all!

My two Beautiful girls! We had pictures taken by my Dad and Mom. They are great at capturing my kids' personalities.

My sweet, energetic Ashton! He keeps me very busy, that's for sure. He spends much of his time playing with his pirate ship and his toy animals. He's getting so big!

Sidney is my creative, drama queen! She is always drawing, scrapbooking or creating something new. She's just like her grandma. :)

Abbie is my tenderhearted kiddo. She learned how to ride a "two-wheeler" this summer which has helped to keep her away from the TV so much.

Abbie 8 1/2, Sidney 7 and Ashton 4 1/2

My parents came for a visit in June and spent five weeks with us. We always love to have them come! My dad is a great photographer so I asked him to take a picture of the kids and I since we haven't done one with the four of us since the divorce. I am very proud of my kids and love them very much!

Outting to the Mall at Christmas!

Abbie loved the huge dinosaur head. All of the kids loved it! We went to the University Mall in Orem with Ann Braithwaite and her kids to see Santa and found this fun new playland.

Sidney and Karah were being silly. They have so much fun together.

My big boy, Ashton, is sitting in the dinosaur's mouth. He is getting so big!!! We, unfortunately, didn't get a picture with Santa but they did sit on his lap. We had a great time.

My mom and sisters and I

Mom, Misty, Haylie and I were all together for Jaiden's baptism in November. I love this picture! I wish we all lived close. I miss them so much!

Summer Outting

The amazing rainbow from Mari's backyard. The kid's wanted to go in search of gold.

Jared, Sidney, Abbie, Gene, Milton and Ben

This is when Abbie hurt her eyes. She was the center of attention.

Cutie Beni and I


Summer day at the Gateway with Mari and her kids. It was sooo hot and the water felt so good. Poor Abbie looked into one of the water things where the water shoots out and really hurt her eye. We had the firemen and ambulance come. She was fine. We went to the Gomez home afterward.

It's really sad that this is one of the most recent photos of my kids. I think that should be my goal. Charge my camera and be better at taking pics! :)

Let's Try This Again!

So, I'm not so good at keeping up with this blog! Haylie has been so good at keeping up on her blog that I'm feeling the guilt. I will attempt again to do better. I am so blessed to be able to stay at home and be with my children as I work. At times I want to rip my hair out but I have to remind myself that I am exactly where I want to be! I love being a mom. I am thankful for being blessed with three very spirited children. I hope I am up for the task of helping them follow the right paths. It can be so challenging to try to meet all of their needs. I try though. Sometimes I fail, sometimes I succeed and I continue learning and hopefully becoming a better mom.
My sweet Abbie turned eight years old last week! I can't believe how she is growing and learning everyday. If this is what it's going to be like with a teenager, I'm in for some seriously emotional years. If Abbie is this emotional, what am I in for with Sidney? Yikes! Grandpa is going to come in January to baptize Abbie. She's excited and nervous at the same time. She has a very tender heart and a sweet soul. She's going to be just fine!
Sidney...Sidney...Sidney! She's my diva! She is all about how her hair and if she looks cute or not. She's quite the artist and knows it. I hope she can continue to develop her artistic side like her Grandma, who is very supportive with the artsy stuff. Sidney is full of Sass but can also be a total angel and has a huge heart.
Oh boy! It's Ashton's turn. He's my little monster. He is very strong willed and a spitfire! He is great at testing my patience. During the day when his sisters are at school, he's a total angel and stays right by my side literally(usually rubbing my arm). He's into all of the super heroes right now and about drives me crazy with all of the things he wants for Christmas. I've learned the hard way that Ashton and sugar aren't a good mix. He would live off of candy if I'd let him and then he turns in the the tasmanian devil...hyped up and out of control. Heaven help us!