First days of school

It's official Cole is now a first grader. He is so excited. On Sunday night he was nervous, but come Monday morning he was awake at 6am and ready to start school. The first day I took him because he wasn't sure he'd remember where his class is. He is in the "big" building this year. While we waited in the hallway for the first bell to ring he was hugging and talking to all of his "old" friends. He led the way to the class and ran in after a quick wave goodbye. He had a great day. Today he was just as excited and was eager to wait for the bus. He said he had another great day! He is doing a different after-school program. Last year I did not like the program he was in. The kids were very rowdy and the staff had no control. When I told one of Cole's teachers that we had switched after-school programs this year she said, "Good. I'm so glad. When I would see those kids, I would look at Cole and he just didn't fit in with that type of behavior." This year he is in an arts based program. So far it seems great. The staff isn't 12 yrs. old (okay...maybe last year they were 19) and the group of kids is a much better mix. Because of my crazy schedule for the next few weeks (until I start student teaching on the 8th) he won't be there too much, but I'm letting him go for an hour or so every afternoon.

The best news is his 1st grade class itself, I need to go hug his Kindergarten teacher! At his school they generally move the majority of the class to the next grade level. I was worried because there were 3 kids in particular that caused a lot of issues last year and one that was a bully and tattle-tell. This one kid in particular would do something to someone and if they retaliated he would tell and get them in trouble instead. Because I spent a fair amount of time with Cole's class I wasn't too thrilled with them or their behavior. So I wasn't looking forward to another year of this. The previous teacher will send groups of kids together and separate those that she thinks shouldn't be together. Cole doesn't have ANY of those kids in his class this year. There is a group of 5 other kids with Cole and they were all the "good" kids from last year. I'm so excited. I found out from the mom of one of those other kids that all the problem kids are in her daughter's class. She was complaining that all of the "bad" kids from last year are in her daughter's class. Then she wondered out loud, "Wait....does that mean my daughter is bad, too?" I'm never gonna tell ;-)

In the news

While we were at the park yesterday a photographer from our local paper took pics of Cole and Colin. She said they may or may not make the paper. This morning there was Cole in black and white (they didn't use any of Colin - maybe because his mom wasn't there to give consent?). Cole was thrilled this morning.

In other news, I found out what school and grade I'll be student teaching. I'm in a very nice school district and supposedly the school is outside one of the more exclusive neighborhoods in town, should be interesting. The good (or bad) thing is that there means there will be a lot of parent involvement, too. I got 3rd grade. I'm a little nervous, because I haven't worked with this age before, but I'm excited and I can do ANYTHING for a semester! I have a few meetings and such and then will be in the classroom full-time on the 8th. Wish me luck!

Babies for sale?

I think Cole had too much fun on his playdate w/ Colin today, because on the way home he said again that he wants a brother and sister, maybe both. He told me that we need to look in the ads and check for signs that say "Baby for sale!". When I laughingly told him that it's against the law to sell babies, he decided that I need to get married again. He said, "You need to marry someone you love and who is handsome, but DON'T look at me, cause you can't marry kids." At dinner he said to save him the paper tomorrow, so he can start looking for my husband. Quick turnaround from the kid who just yesterday wanted me all to himself. Hmmm....wonder what kind of man he can find for me in the newspaper?

Lovin' this week

My last day of work was last Friday. I don't have to report to school until Thursday, so Cole and I have been off together. It's been wonderful! No getting up @ 5:30 to the alarm clock. We've slept in, went to the movies, ran errands, and the best part is going to the gym daily during non-peak hours. I could get use to this!

Sweet words

I'm feeling really good right now. I'm energized and excited about the direction my life is going. I have received wonderful words of encouragement from friends both new and old. Today at work (4 more days to go!) I received a letter from a co-worker. He is VERY eccentric and has very interesting views on the world (especially conspiracy theories), but I really enjoy him. So after work I opened my letter. It has probably been years since I've been given a written letter and this one was 4 pages! Some of what he wrote was funny "I've worked with a lot of people...and most of the time I wish I could choke them until their eyes popped out. I've never wanted to choke you!" Some of what he wrote was very sweet and moving " Every time that I come in and know you are here it has lifted my spirit. " "It's rare to meet someone as gifted and special person as yourself and you've set a high standard for what it is to be a great boss." Some was pure him, " I'll take you and Cole to my compound in the mountains and we can teach him to shoot Zombies". Mostly I was impressed that he took the time to write me a letter. Plus he called my kid cool and what could be greater than that?

I'm not going to miss being a manager (of adults) but I will miss the people as individuals. It's nice to feel missed too!

Friends

Cole has a friend that is the same age that lives across the street from us. We invited him to the pool today. As they chatted away in the car, I was amused but sad. Sad because he's grown up enough to have friends that we can take places and sad because of what might of been if Cole had a sibling (of course without the sibling bickering). They had a great time at the pool and I just floated within arms reach. After the pool he spent the day at our house and it was great to hear boy's laughter coming from his room.

Numbers

0 - car payments left

7 - days I have left @ work

4 - books Dana gave me to read today, I hope they are as good as the last three you gave me

15 - days until I find out what school and grade I'll be student teaching

17 - days until the party Alissa is throwing for me...thanks so much... AGAIN!

19 - days until Cole is in 1st grade....YIKES!

33 - days until I officially start student teaching and have to dress in nice clothes for a living (I'm going to miss scrubs)

4 - months until graduation

16 - months since Cole's dad has called him

Cromagnum Cole

Cole has had a tough go of it this week. On Tuesday he started complaining of stomach cramps and Wednesday he woke up with a sore throat to accompany the stomach ache. They called me to come get him during lunch time on Wednesday because he wasn't eating and felt nauseated. I took him back to work with me and he seemed okay. During karate he seemed tired and mimed several times that he was feeling sick. Once home he was running a fever and vomited. Thursday morning with his fever elevating we headed into the doctor's office. She suspected either strep or a viral GI issue. By Thursday evening the frequent vomiting and diarrhea started. On Friday he was the sickest that I've seen him in a long time. He barely moved and I spent the day washing him, clothes, and sheets because he was so sick. I would offer sips of water that he would usually vomit back up. On Friday they said that if he didn't urinate within 12 hours he had to go in for IV fluids and finally at about the 11 hour mark we had success. He barely spoke all day and took a four hour nap. Luckily by Saturday he was feeling better. We still took it easy. Saturday night he had a fever blister starting but seemed on the mend. This morning he woke up crying saying that his forehead hurt. Once I got a good look I saw why. His forehead, eyes, and eyebrow area were swollen. He looked like a Cromagnum man. So into the after hours clinic we went. The doctor thought that it was most likely a symptom of whatever GI bug he had. Weird. The swelling slowly went down during the day, but before bed one eye was swollen again and he had hives on his forehead. He needed to take Benadryl but hates the taste of the liquid. I let him try to take a capsule and he was successful! Hopefully the swelling will be gone by the morning and his appetite will slowly come back, because he's lost 4 lbs. in 1 week.