The Light At The End Of My Tunnel

Man, I am beat. It has been a week. Not a bad one, just a week. I'm exhausted, and feel like my internal battery is running low. I've been up at the boys school EVERY single morning and afternoon, everyday this week. Volunteering. I am NOT doing that next week. I kind of made myself this mess because I can't seem to say "no". Well, guess what? Next week I am going to say it, regardless of who or what it is. The only 2 things I still want to do are for Drew's teacher and Jonah's teacher. They don't take long, but they bring me sheer joy. I would help with Noah's class, but she never needs anything, the turkey!

I am so ready for this weekend. I don't think we're doing anything magnificent, I'm just looking forward to the time with family and the GORGEOUS weather we're supposed to have on Saturday. We're going to Nana's and Big Daddy's for dinner Sat. night, and with it being a nice day, I'm sure the boys will be riding their bikes out there, or making a fort, or digging in the endless dirt, topped off with making milk shakes and maybe even s'mores. Well, one or the other~they don't need all that sugar. We've not seen them in a few weeks, so we're all looking forward to it.

Another thing we're looking forward to is the SPRING! Every year at this time, I just start yearning for the warmer weather. I love hanging out outside with the boys while they play. We also love going on bike rides, and I'm hoping we can start doing that again once spring comes. We're almost ready to play ball again, too. I can't believe it's been almost a year since they last played.

What a year it's been. I look at Jonah and Noah and how amazing they read, and I'm blown away. This time last year, I was stressing because Jonah would cry just at the mention of school. I had a lot to be stressed about. I'm loving his teacher more and more everyday...Noah's too, for that matter. But I have this bond with Jonah's teacher that will forever link us together. The woman is amazing. I love her like crazy and am dreading the last days of kindergarten. I know I'm going to be a crying mess, but she assured me today that she would cry with me.

Speaking of my little Jonah, this kid amazes me. Ask him what the number one rule for his class is, and he will tell you this: "We are FAMILY and we love and take care of each other". Today I found out that they had this really complicated craft to do and it had six or seven steps to follow in order. Him and his sweet little friend, Ashleigh finished theirs first, then started helping all the other kids put theirs together. Mrs. Miles almost cried when she told me how much he's improved over the last few weeks. It's like this light bulb has gone off in his head, and all of a sudden, he just gets it. He is ready for first grade. I'm not, but at least someone in this house is.

And Noah has amazed me right from the beginning. He will tell you all about a quiet "e" and how when it's on the end of a word, it has to be quiet so he can sneak up and pinch the letter in front of him. Ask him about "a,e,i,o, and u" and he'll tell you proudly that those are the superheroes of every word in the dictionary. He can read. Not really huge words, but he can do it, and he picked up on it all at the very beginning.

This is the part where having twins was horrible, because when one progressed faster than the other, the other had a hard time with it. For instance this one night we were going over all of our sight words at the dinner table. Noah had done his first, and it was Jonah's turn. Well he had just found out that Noah never had to take i~station (a reading program designed to each individual child, taken during free time during the day). Anyway, Jonah started going over the words and we got to one word and he said, "I don't know that one, go ask Noah what it is, I'm sure he can tell you." And walked off. After I picked my mouth up off the floor and finished laughing, I called him back in and explained that even though Noah knew it, Jonah had to know it to be able to read like a big boy.

I went to Jonah's teacher the next day in tears, and she was able to give me some pointers for him. Bottom line was, he felt left out and he hated it. All is better now, though, and he no longer has to have that extra help at i~station. They totally switched personalities on me this year, and I'm still trying to recoup from it. They're both amazing little guys, though, and I'm blessed to be able to be there with them everyday and watch them on their journey.

I feel the same with Graham's and Drew's teachers...though we got off to a rocky start with Drew's teacher for the SECOND year in a row (Graham had her last year), we've overcome that and are now on the same page. Which thrills me beyond words, if you know me at all. And most of you do. Graham's teacher just needs to move up to 5th grade with Graham next year. Except for the fact that Drew wants her next year. Both these ladies are amazing, they're older and I love that. I feel like older teachers have so much more to offer them in everything they do. And again, I am blessed because I know all these teachers personally. Working there definitely has its advantages.

Well, I started writing this to express my excitement over the weekend, but once again, I took a different path. I guess if we want dinner tonight, I'd better get up and start it. Even though I really don't want to. This chair feels amazing to my aching self. I must have walked another three miles today, with all the running around I did. Okay, I'm finished. Happy cooking to you all!