We had a great Thanksgiving break. All of my siblings came down on Wednesday night and stayed at our house. On Thursday, we all packed the van and John's car and headed down to Scott's house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was fun to get together with my dad and Barb and all of the Griffins.
The rest of the weekend was packed with activities such as Black Friday shopping (my first experience....whoa), watching the Stephan/Argyle Storm win yet another Prep Bowl Title, going to New Moon (AWESOME!!), and a lot of hanging out with the family.
Claire was really busy this weekend too. She decided to become a rolling machine! She has been able to roll over for a couple of months, but now she likes to roll from one end of the room to another (she prefers to roll to the left). She can also do "so big" , "toss it up high" during patty-cake, and "all done" with her arms. It is darling! On Saturday morning, she cut her first tooth! She was a little out of sorts, but all-in-all she was in a pretty good mood. She also is a pretty good sitter. She can sit for a long time while she plays with her toys. Claire's new favorite thing to do is jump in the Johnny Jumper...again....very cute!! She is just so much fun!
It was a great weekend! We are so thankful for our family!!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Back To It
Well...I know it was an inevitable change, but I am having a hard time being back at work. The "working" part isn't the hard part. Last Friday (..the 13th..how ironic) was my first day back. I was fortunate enough to have seven months off to stay home with Claire. Not to seem like a glutton, but I just didn't feel ready to go back quite yet.
I have a great job where I get to teach cheeky, happy, elementary kids. Being a Phy Ed teacher is great (for many reasons) because kids usually LOVE your class and are happy to be there. My students made me feel very welcomed my first day back. I received many cards, pictures and hugs and they all told me how much they missed me. This made me feel great, but it still did not mask where my heart was. The truth is, I would have loved to be able to stay home for at least a year with Claire and Ella, and I was completely heart-broken when I had to return to work.
I am trying to focus on all of the positives about my situation...
1. Seven months at home is a lot better than 4 months, which is what I would have had if I wouldn't have been granted an extended maternity leave.
2. I get to back to a job that I really enjoy.
3. Not only do a love my students, but I have awesome co-workers who are some of my best friends.
4. Pretty soon it will be Thanksgiving break, and then a few weeks after that, it was be Christmas break.
5. I get the summers off, so I will be able to be at home full-time 3 months out of every year
6. I have a great day-care lady who is caring and LOVES babies, so I know she is getting taken care of.
7. It is really great to be in the same building as Jocie - - and next year, Ella will be there :)
I know there are many reasons why I should not be sad (and trust me, everybody insists on telling me I have no reason to be sad because of these reasons), but the fact of the matter is, I AM. Everybody keeps telling me that it will get better, and pretty soon, I will be in a "routine" and everything will be fine. But I don't think I will ever be at complete peace with it. Claire and I are pretty inseparable and I want it to stay that way :)
Speaking of Claire, she is now seven months old. She is still very smiley and lovable. She has been rolling over for quite awhile, but still has no interest in crawling. She LOVES watching her sisters and laughs at them quite often. She has learned how to clap and also how to wave "hi" and "bye". She also really enjoys eating and likes almost everything that we have given her. She likes sweet potatoes, carrots, rice cereal, applesauce, bananas, and pears. She will eat peas, but is not a big fan of them. I read in one of those "mommy" books that babies like anything tangy, and that pickles are great to give babies who are teething. This sounded strange to me...but we tried it, and.....
she LOVES them!! :) She is also getting pretty vocal. She says "mamma mamma" all the time (mostly if she is tired, crabby or hungry), but sometimes she just says it if she sees me, which melts my heart. She has also said "pup" and "ebba"..which we think means Ella! She most recently started saying "da da da", which made Carl very happy. Joc is getting pretty impatient since she hasn't said anything that sounds like Joc, but she always has a BIG smile and a wave when she sees her Jocie.
When I was at home, I also had the great opportunity of spending a lot more time focusing on Ella. During Claire's naps, I made a special effort to give Ella some undivided attention, which is hard to come by for the middle child (trust me, I know). I spent quite a bit of time doing pre-school activities with her. As a teacher, I was impressed with how fast she learned, as a mom, I was pretty proud of how hard she worked. We also spent a lot of time playing Barbies and jumping on the trampoline. I will miss that extra time with her. Although she likes Missy's she had a hard week going back everyday.
Even though I sound pretty down, I am faithful that we will get through this emotional time together as a family. I know Claire will flourish at daycare, just like her two wonderful big sisters have in the past. I like to believe that everything happens for a reason, so there must be some reason why I am supposed to be at work (other than financial). It's just hard right now for me. Would it be easy for you to leave this face at daycare?? :)
I have a great job where I get to teach cheeky, happy, elementary kids. Being a Phy Ed teacher is great (for many reasons) because kids usually LOVE your class and are happy to be there. My students made me feel very welcomed my first day back. I received many cards, pictures and hugs and they all told me how much they missed me. This made me feel great, but it still did not mask where my heart was. The truth is, I would have loved to be able to stay home for at least a year with Claire and Ella, and I was completely heart-broken when I had to return to work.
I am trying to focus on all of the positives about my situation...
1. Seven months at home is a lot better than 4 months, which is what I would have had if I wouldn't have been granted an extended maternity leave.
2. I get to back to a job that I really enjoy.
3. Not only do a love my students, but I have awesome co-workers who are some of my best friends.
4. Pretty soon it will be Thanksgiving break, and then a few weeks after that, it was be Christmas break.
5. I get the summers off, so I will be able to be at home full-time 3 months out of every year
6. I have a great day-care lady who is caring and LOVES babies, so I know she is getting taken care of.
7. It is really great to be in the same building as Jocie - - and next year, Ella will be there :)
I know there are many reasons why I should not be sad (and trust me, everybody insists on telling me I have no reason to be sad because of these reasons), but the fact of the matter is, I AM. Everybody keeps telling me that it will get better, and pretty soon, I will be in a "routine" and everything will be fine. But I don't think I will ever be at complete peace with it. Claire and I are pretty inseparable and I want it to stay that way :)
Speaking of Claire, she is now seven months old. She is still very smiley and lovable. She has been rolling over for quite awhile, but still has no interest in crawling. She LOVES watching her sisters and laughs at them quite often. She has learned how to clap and also how to wave "hi" and "bye". She also really enjoys eating and likes almost everything that we have given her. She likes sweet potatoes, carrots, rice cereal, applesauce, bananas, and pears. She will eat peas, but is not a big fan of them. I read in one of those "mommy" books that babies like anything tangy, and that pickles are great to give babies who are teething. This sounded strange to me...but we tried it, and.....
she LOVES them!! :) She is also getting pretty vocal. She says "mamma mamma" all the time (mostly if she is tired, crabby or hungry), but sometimes she just says it if she sees me, which melts my heart. She has also said "pup" and "ebba"..which we think means Ella! She most recently started saying "da da da", which made Carl very happy. Joc is getting pretty impatient since she hasn't said anything that sounds like Joc, but she always has a BIG smile and a wave when she sees her Jocie.When I was at home, I also had the great opportunity of spending a lot more time focusing on Ella. During Claire's naps, I made a special effort to give Ella some undivided attention, which is hard to come by for the middle child (trust me, I know). I spent quite a bit of time doing pre-school activities with her. As a teacher, I was impressed with how fast she learned, as a mom, I was pretty proud of how hard she worked. We also spent a lot of time playing Barbies and jumping on the trampoline. I will miss that extra time with her. Although she likes Missy's she had a hard week going back everyday.
Even though I sound pretty down, I am faithful that we will get through this emotional time together as a family. I know Claire will flourish at daycare, just like her two wonderful big sisters have in the past. I like to believe that everything happens for a reason, so there must be some reason why I am supposed to be at work (other than financial). It's just hard right now for me. Would it be easy for you to leave this face at daycare?? :)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
A Veteran's Day to Remember
Knowing how much Jocie loves to write, I wasn't surprised when when she wanted to do a optional Veteran's Day essay. She knew right way who she wanted to do her write-up on; her Great-Grandpa Dale Youngern (my maternal Grandfather). So she started her research by talking directly to the source. She got her trusty notebook and pencil out and jotted down a few questions before she called Grandpa Dale. I think she might have been a little nervous on the phone because she wasn't real sure on her answers...so she called her Grandpa Mike (AKA Boppa). He cleared up a few things, and then she got down to writing. This is what she wrote....
The veteran I did research on is my great-grandfather, Dale Youngern. Grandpa Dale was a Darby's Ranger and served in the Army from 1943-1945. The Darby's Rangers were an elite group of soldiers that went into enemy territories first. They were said to be "the tip of the sword" because they were such talented soldiers. When he served in World War II, he fought in Africa, Italy, France and Germany.
Grandpa Dale said that he enlisted in the Army because it was the right thing to do and they were short of men.
The Darby's rangers landed in Anzio, Italy and fought the Germans fir four months. They were such outstanding fighters that they pushed the Nazis right out of Rome! After their outstanding battle they got to meet Pope Pius XII.
Grandpa Dale served our country for 3 year, 3 months, and 3 days, and earned the rank of Corporal and was decorated with 5 bronze stars and a Good Conduct Ribbon.
Grandpa Dale's proudest moment in the war was when the war was over and he got to go home to his beautiful wife Florence.
I'm so proud of Grandpa Dale because he had so much courage and pride in his country. I want to be just like him!
Presentation of the Colors began the program
This is dark...but here is Jocie at the mic reading her essay
The Proud Grandpa...and the proud granddaughters :)
After the program, and fellow serviceman gave this metal of honor to grandpa after hearing about his fight during WWII....WOW!
Grandpa Dale then visited Jocie's Classroom and showed off the Nazi helmet he has had since the war! The boys in her class were very, very impressed
We will always look back on this day with a lot of pride in Jocie, for being such a great writer/daughter/great-granddaughter - pride in Grandpa Dale for being such a great soldier/Grandpa - and all the other Vets that have served our country so well!
The veteran I did research on is my great-grandfather, Dale Youngern. Grandpa Dale was a Darby's Ranger and served in the Army from 1943-1945. The Darby's Rangers were an elite group of soldiers that went into enemy territories first. They were said to be "the tip of the sword" because they were such talented soldiers. When he served in World War II, he fought in Africa, Italy, France and Germany.
Grandpa Dale said that he enlisted in the Army because it was the right thing to do and they were short of men.
The Darby's rangers landed in Anzio, Italy and fought the Germans fir four months. They were such outstanding fighters that they pushed the Nazis right out of Rome! After their outstanding battle they got to meet Pope Pius XII.
Grandpa Dale served our country for 3 year, 3 months, and 3 days, and earned the rank of Corporal and was decorated with 5 bronze stars and a Good Conduct Ribbon.
Grandpa Dale's proudest moment in the war was when the war was over and he got to go home to his beautiful wife Florence.
I'm so proud of Grandpa Dale because he had so much courage and pride in his country. I want to be just like him!
Jocie's essay was so good, that it was chosen (only 2 essays were chosen out of all) to be read out loud at the Veteran's Day Program at Jocie's school. Grandpa Dale was so moved by Joice's essay that he just had to be in attendance to witness his great-granddaughter's first public speaking experience. So, my mom got the day off from work and she and Denny drove him down from Grand Forks! We were so happy he could make it to this special occasion. It wouldn't have been the same without him there!!
Jocie and Grandpa Dale enjoying dinner and some cake at our house the night before the program
Jocie and Grandpa Dale enjoying dinner and some cake at our house the night before the program
Presentation of the Colors began the program
This is dark...but here is Jocie at the mic reading her essay
The Proud Grandpa...and the proud granddaughters :)
After the program, and fellow serviceman gave this metal of honor to grandpa after hearing about his fight during WWII....WOW!
Grandpa Dale then visited Jocie's Classroom and showed off the Nazi helmet he has had since the war! The boys in her class were very, very impressed
We will always look back on this day with a lot of pride in Jocie, for being such a great writer/daughter/great-granddaughter - pride in Grandpa Dale for being such a great soldier/Grandpa - and all the other Vets that have served our country so well!Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Halloween Cuties
We had another fun Halloween. After getting all of the girls dressed up, we headed out for trick-or-treating on our block. It was really fun watching the older girls delight in all of the candy they were scoring. Claire had a good time just watching the tree branches sway in the October breeze.
Here is our little Tinkerbell!
This is what Claire was wearing underneath her Bear suit
All three girls getting ready to hit the sidewalk
Don't you LOVE Jocie's "Smarty Pants"!! How fitting
Claire Bear
Mario loves to trick-or-treat too...he was even offered a doggie treat at our neighbors house
After going up and down our street, Claire and I went home to pass out candy to other trick-or-treaters, while Carl took the older girls to get more candy! I'm pretty sure we have enough until the next Halloween....well we would if I could stay away from it :)
Here is our little Tinkerbell!
This is what Claire was wearing underneath her Bear suit
All three girls getting ready to hit the sidewalk
Don't you LOVE Jocie's "Smarty Pants"!! How fitting
Claire Bear
Mario loves to trick-or-treat too...he was even offered a doggie treat at our neighbors house
After going up and down our street, Claire and I went home to pass out candy to other trick-or-treaters, while Carl took the older girls to get more candy! I'm pretty sure we have enough until the next Halloween....well we would if I could stay away from it :)Happy Halloween!
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About Me
- Anne
- ...proud mother of Jocelyn, Ella, Claire and Carter, wife of Carl, daughter of Mike and Nancy, sister of Ali, John, and Jessie, Physical Education teacher to over 500 students, and friend to....many :)