Last day

Eek. Tomorrow is Clint's last day of work. We are entering the world of unemployment....something we haven't experienced before. I am feeling a whirlwind of emotions, but I am much more peaceful than I was a week ago. It is all in the Lord's hands now and I have finally accepted that. And it feels so good.

We Survived

School breaks are always anxiety promoting experiences for me. A whole week (or more) of all 4 kids home at once? Eek!

The younger ones and I have such a set schedule of mostly peace and quiet (mostly) while the older ones are at school. When they are home, the balance is off and the chaos begins.

I've found that the less time we spend at home, the better. When we're home, the kids are most likely to begin the fighting. And that is what kills me. I'm really not sure if other siblings fight as much as my kids. Jack fights with Lindsey, Lindsey fights with everyone, and Blake fights with Lindsey.  Lauren just cries and demands to be held. And I want to start working.

This week, we met friends at a bouncy place, took a day trip to Seattle with my most adventurous friend (that was a day!), spent a day at the zoo and went to the park a few times.

The most important thing is that we all survived....even my sanity. And I am reminded of how grateful I am for the fact that Lindsey goes to school all day and how wonderful her teacher is!

 That being said, I am ecstatic that life returns to normal tomorrow. Except it's really not, as the closer we get to Clint's job ending (3 weeks), the insecurity increases and I realize our "normal" is really close to changing. Ugh.

Back In The Classroom

I started substitute teaching this week. 3 afternoons. It worked out pretty well. I left the 2 littles at home with Clint, who lunch, napped and movie-d them, while I spent 3 1/2 hours at the elementary school.

I was super nervous the first day.....it had been nearly 9 years since I had subbed. However, I found that I was able to jump right back into things....almost like I had never left the classroom.

And I loved it. I loved feeling like I could do something else well besides being a stay at home mom (which I don't always do well anyways!). I felt guilty being away from the littles, but I don't think they even noticed I was gone. And I think I returned home a little more rejuvenated and fulfilled.