dry spell

in more than one way. i realized it's been two weeks since i've posted last so here is all that has happened in the last two weeks:

owen has his big boy bed in his room. he's pretty good about staying on it when it's time to be sleeping, even if he's not sleeping. he has cool car-and-truck sheets. i'll post pictures a little later.

separation anxiety is hitting for really the first time. owen loves his mama. that's a good thing. the other good thing is that at day care, he knows i'm going to leave, but he also knows that he has to stay. the way i look at things, he doesn't have to like it, but he does have to cope with it. he's coping. it helped yestereday when we got there earlier than normal (i have different hours depending on the day of the week this year) and the wiggles was on. he made a bee-line for that and was good.

owen should start transitioning up to the toddler room at day care starting on monday. this was helped along partly by the fact that he (1) woke up dry yesterday morning, (2) went on the potty yesterday morning, and (3) stayed dry most of the day yesterday but didn't go potty in the potty a second time. we're working on it. (this excitement sure beats the excitement we had on the first friday of school last year - a dead body on the sidewalk in front of the school in the morning.)

school is going well so far. i've seen all but two of my classes so far. these kids are really mine now. i'm finding i'm the most comfortable with my upper el classes that i have ever been. when i started teaching, that age group (4th and 5th grades) was my least comfortable. now, i've had these kids their entire school career so they really don't know any different. my rules haven't changed at all and they know me and my routines. it's really nice. i have even taken on a middle school class this year. i have them at 8:00 on monday and friday mornings. since i start teaching at the beginning of the elementary school teacher's day, i show up at 7:30 instead of 8:00 and get to leave at 3:00 instead of 3:30. i felt like i was playing hooky yesterday when i left as the elementary kids were getting loaded onto buses. i'll get used to it. my middle school class is going to be great, i think. this is the first year i've really felt comfortable having a middle school class. it is also the only situation in which i would take on middle schoolers, seeing as i've raised most of them since 1st grade. they came in so quietly yesterday, found their seats (i let them choose their assigned seat instead of me assigning them like i usually do.) there were some good questions about the course as i was describing it. and a collective moan when i announced the first quiz, which i gave yesterday. once i explained what was on the quiz, they were relieved. one kid even made the comment about how i can't do that on the first day. they have the weekend to finish it up and we'll discuss it on monday. basically, i'm just finding out what they know (or think they know) about music, how and why it changes, the different genres of music, and what composer names they might know.

jeffy is working the fair today. joy. don't have a clue when he'll be home, but it will be after owen goes to bed. we were thinking about going to the zoo, but it's too late to go, get everything in, and be home at a decent time for a nap. i'm a bit overwhelmed currently, and i think that probably has somethign to do with needing to recover from the week and having to run after a very busy almost 2-year-old all day long. anyone want to come over and help? i need it!

all for now. maybe i'll get pictures posted while he's napping. or maybe it will wait until after the fair tomorrow. we have rodeo tickets. i'm excited! i love the fair. owen will even be able to go on the rides this year (the minimum age is two, but he's close enough and definately passes for two.)