School is...

...good.

I have some cute pics but I'm too lazy to get them off my camera. Maybe another day.

I have 27 kids. I'm not one to stereotype kids, but if I were I would say I have one class clown, one know-it-all, one constant teacher suck up, three that never ever shut their mouths, and two shady troublemakers. Other than that they're pretty well-behaved. Academically pretty low, but that's the entire 6th grade. Besides, that just means we've got a lot of work to do.

I'm happy. Things are good. I'm still bummed about not staying home with Topher, but I really do love teaching so I'm okay with it all.

Sorry this is a lame post but just wanted to say I've survived my first 2 weeks of school and everything is great.

Tomorrow is the first day of school...

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!




(is this even considered a blog? It's only one word. Actually I'd consider it a scream. An anxious, excited, exhausted, frustrated, hopeful, on-the-verge-of-insanity scream.)

The Reason I Teach

Today I got my class list. I have 31 students. After having 25 or so the last few years, 31 seems like a ton! For those of you who aren't teachers, big class sizes are NOT a good thing.

As I looked over the names of the students I would have in my class starting next Wednesday, umm... honestly? I was a teensy bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong; I have some great kids that I'm excited to have and a bunch that I don't know yet. But I was kinda bummed... there were a few kids that I REALLY wanted in my class that I didn't get. Also there were a few kids that I would prefer NOT to have in my class that I got. I'm sure it'll all be great, but still...

So I'm walking though Costco today, not even paying attention because I'm stressing about school, when I bump into this lady. She's staring at me, that look when you're trying to figure out how you know someone. Then this happens:

"What's your last name?"
"Dixon."
"As in Mrs. Dixon who taught in Cedar City?"
"Yeah!"
"My son Cody was in your 5th grade class! Cody Marshall!"
"Oh my gosh, I remember Cody!"
"Yeah, he's in high school now."
"No way! How crazy! Has he gotten any taller since then?"
"Haha, not really. He's still the shortest of all his friends."
"Oh no, poor kid. I remember he was the shortest one in our class!"
"I believe it! He still talks about you. He always says you were the best teacher he's ever had."

We talked for another minute, then as we went our separate ways I told her, "tell Cody I say hi and that I definitely remember him" and she says "and he definitely will always remember you."

(((((Tears in my eyes)))))

There are lots of reasons why I am a teacher. But that's another blog in itself.

The main reason above all others is so that I can have moments like that.

Cody. I was his 5th grade teacher. He's in high school now. And he still talks about me. I'm the best teacher he's ever had. Wow.

So all the stress, all the worrying about who's in my class, who's not in my class, big class sizes, prepping for school to start, yadda yadda... it all melted away thanks to a 2 minute conversation in Costco.

I am a teacher... and I thank God for it every day.



P.S. Cody is in the picture above. He's the little one in the navy blue shirt with his mouth wide open, middle left.

A Few Cute Pics *part 2*

We gave Topher a teething cookie to chew on. We didn't realize what a mess it would make! The top picture shows how Topher reacted when we tried to take it away from him before he was finished. BIG mistake!





He was so confused by the camera. I love his cute confused face. He's like, "What's that blinking red light??"





I love this little outfit that Auntie Kristy bought him. It says "Mommy's Lil Monkey".




Also we took Topher to his 6 month dr appt this week. His dr was very pleased with his growth and development. He has made a lot of progress since his 4 month checkup! Here are the stats:

Weight: 28th percentile (up from the 8th percentile at 4 months! Not a scrawny chicken anymore, YAY!)
Height: 55th percentile
Head Circumference: 70th percentile (he needs a big head so his big brain will fit!)

The dr was saying how at 6 months hopefully he's reaching and grabbing objects and at that exact moment Topher reached and grabbed the doctor's stethoscope around his neck! We got a good laugh out of it. Also, Topher is teething again and should have his top 2 teeth in another week or so. My baby will have 4 teeth!!!

A Few Cute Pics *part 1*

I have a bajillion cute new pics I wanna post, but I figure I'll post a few every couple days for the next week or so. Here are today's pics, enjoy!



It's too hot to wear clothes!


I swear my kid makes the funniest faces!


His 2 year old cousin TJ "shared" his candy necklace with Topher. Problem is, Topher didn't wanna give it back!


Grandma bought this mini chair at a yard sale. The woman has become a yard sale queen!




This is definitely one of my favorites. He is such a funny little guy!



He can hold the smaller bottles fine, but he has trouble sometimes with the bigger ones.


The rocking horse Grandma brought him. He's still a bit too wobbly for it, but soon.


Oh my gosh, this was the funniest thing ever! He kept trying to attack the monkey on his swing chair. He'd grab it and try to bite it! I was laughing so hard!

Happy 6 Months, Topher!

Once again I proclaim: WHERE DOES THE TIME GO???

My little baby is growing so fast!
Seriously, Topher is like the greatest baby ever. Only he's had a tough couple days cuz we're teething again. He got his bottom 2 teethies at 3 months and now he's got a top one sprouting! Poor lil man!

Happy 6 months, Topher Gopher! I love you Bubba!

Oh, Back to School.... Back to School...

Up until two days ago, I had planned to be a stay at home mommy (SAHM). I was really excited to stay home with Topher and just focus on being a mom and wife and housekeeper and all that. However...

The last 48 hours have drastically changed my plans.

So much has happened so fast that it's almost a big blur in my mind already. I will try to be as detailed as possible, so get comfortable cuz this is gonna be a novel. Hopefully your butt won't fall asleep.

Jay and I have been stressed out about money all summer long. Two days ago we finally came to the conclusion that financially we can't survive unless I make money. I figured, okay, I'll substitute teach a couple days a week.

Yesterday morning I went to Alpine District to fill out substitute paperwork. I found out subs only make $70 a day, then once they take out taxes and I pay for childcare, that's just not enough even if I subbed 5 days a week!!!
Next option: part time teaching?? Nope. No part time or specialist jobs available.

Then I find out a new 5th grade job just posted at Pony Express, the elem school right by my house. For those of you who don't know, I've been teaching at Sandy Elem the past 2 years and I LOVE it there, but it's about 35 minutes away. So that's over an hour out of my day just commuting. So the idea of teaching 1 minute from my house sounded great. Plus, my good friend Natalie teaches 5th grade at Pony Express so I'd get to be on her team and how fun would that be?!? Also, Pony Express is extended day school so I'd get paid I'm guessing like $5000 more than I got at Sandy. Sounds fabulous, right?

There were some downfalls. First, it's 5th grade. I've loved teaching 6th and it would be hard for me to switch back to 5th. Next, I'd have to be in a trailer outside... picture packing 32 eleven-year-olds in like a 20x20 room. Yikes. Then there's the whole "starting over" thing. I wouldn't know anyone (except Nat), I wouldn't know the programs or how the school works or anything. That would be stressful.

So, all thoughts considered I decided to apply for this job. I filled out & sent the application online last night. Natalie had told me that several others had already applied and so it wasn't a sure thing I would get the job, but I decided that I needed to be prepared in case I did get it. Teaching in a trailer with no storage is hard, and I had left some bookshelves at Sandy Elem just cuz I had no place in my house to keep them and I figured I wouldn't need them but if I got the trailer job I'd definitely need them, so that leads me to this morning.

I hopped in the jeep to drive to Sandy Elem with the soul purpose of picking up my bookshelves.

Wait a sec, flashback to yesterday again for a minute. I called my friend Melissa who taught with me at Sandy to ask her opinion on applying for the Pony Express job. I commented to her how if I had to go back to teaching full time I wish I could just come back to Sandy and she told me she would be so happy if I did but that she thought our principal had hired someone to take my place earlier this week so that was an impossibility.

Okay now, back to me in the jeep this morning. I get to Sandy Elem at 8:15 and as I walk in the front doors I figure I'll stop to say hi to my principal. Her name is Sandra. Isn't that funny? Sandra is the principal at Sandy. Haha. Okay, game on. Sandra & Jodi (Vice Principal) are sitting in Sandra's office and she's basically got her hand on the telephone when I walk in. They seem really excited/surprised to see me and as we start talking I tell them I have to go back to teaching and that I had applied for the Pony Express job and I was just there to get bookshelves but how I missed everyone at Sandy so much. I'll paraphrase, but this is basically what she said:

"Ashley, I can't believe you just walked through the door at this exact moment. I was just about to call this girl to offer her your job. She's okay, but not super amazing. We've interviewed tons of people and just can't find someone who we love to take your place. If you want to come back, your job is yours again. No questions asked. We want you back..." yadda yadda.

By this time it was 8:45am and she told me to go think about it and get back to her by 10am cuz if I said no then she had to call that other girl and offer her the job.

So.... I spent the next half hour bawling and calling everyone and talking to teachers that were there at school and freaking out cuz I didn't know what to do. I LOVE Sandy, the only thing is it's a long drive. Plus if I got the Pony Express job by my house it would be more money. I was praying hard to know what decision to make.

Then as I started walking up and down the halls of Sandy Elementary I started to feel really calm and happy and I knew that if I set all the pros & cons aside and just went with my gut feelings, Sandy was still the right place for me. Back to my very first thought from yesterday: If I have to go back to teaching full time, I wish I could go back to Sandy.

This has been forever long, huh? SORRY! Thanks for staying with me! Can't you tell this was a HUGE deal for me?? SO much drama!! I'll try to wrap it up quick:

10am: I told Sandra & Jodi yes. Going back to Sandy Elementary. To the team I love. To the faculty I love. To the students I love. To my classroom I love. To the JOB I LOVE.

So now back to being a mommy. I am still sad I can't be a SAHM. But I'm being super positive about it. You know how many working moms there are in the world?? LOTS! And I'll be fine, and Topher will be fine, and I'll still be a great mommy. My neighbors are gonna watch him for me and they are fabulous so I'm not worried about that. Oh, and I gotta mention Jay: he was amazingly supportive of me today. He basically said for me to choose what I wanted and he'd support me in my decision. Isn't he awesome? Love him.

And hey, maybe if we can save tons of money this year I can try being a SAHM next year. But right now I'm totally frazzled and can't think straight so I'll worry about next year when it comes. Speaking of frazzled, school starts in 3 weeks! YIKES! I gotta go set up my classroom (again) grrr! That was dumb of me to take everything down! But plans change and we gotta roll with the punches. My friend Marie has a quote on her blog that says "Come what may and love it". Totally works for me right now.

So thanks for listening. I SWEAR I will never put you through a blog this massive again! If you made it this far, I owe you cookies! Let me know and I'll deliver!


MORAL OF THE STORY: I'm a teacher again!!!