MIA

Well, hello again! As you may have noticed, I have been MIA from the blogging world since...well, my last post was about the 24th of July, so that gives you an idea. Our lives have been a complete whirlwind since then.

Dave has been totally overwhelmed and busy with his new job in Layton. It is nice because it is 5 minutes from our house, but with his new job came SO much more responsibility. He is 2nd in command at the building, and so he is the go-to guy for everyone's problems. If Mom's laundry doesn't get washed, it's naturally Dave's fault. If somebody with Alzheimer's was mean to another resident with Alzheimer's and someone got offended, it's naturally Dave's fault. If they run out of spoons to feed meds to the residents with, it's naturally Dave's responsibility to get more. And, on top of all of that, he is in charge of about 75 CNA's, who often don't show up for their shifts. So, there he is, at 2:00 in the morning trying to cover somebody's shift who didn't feel like coming in that day. He is constantly on the phone and constantly trying to solve problems, which leaves him mentally exhausted. It's hard to see him so tired and overwhelmed. But - every once in a while he'll have a better than average day, and we try to focus on those days. I am working to be patient when his phone buzzes and incessantly interrupts our movie, our date, or anything else we happen to be doing together. I'm still a work in progress there. :)

My move to 1st grade has been pretty darn hard. It really feels like the 1st year all over again. I have to plan an entire year of curriculum all over again, and it is so hard to do that. Nobody except teachers will ever understand how much planning and prep time goes into teaching. I try to explain it to people, but it seems like other teachers are the only ones who really can understand and sympathize.  I spend so much time at the school that I never get paid for. I have to be at the school at 7:45 in the morning. Last year, since I was only part time Kindergarten and taught in the afternoon, I didn't have to be at the school until 11:00. I was always there earlier, because Dave and I carpooled, but that meant that I had the entire morning to plan and prep in the teacher's lounge before I had to teach. Now, I don't have that extra time in the morning. I know I was spoiled last year, but it is still a hard adjustment. Since I live so far away from the school (55 minutes with no traffic), it takes a long time to get there, plus I have to leave even earlier in the morning to give me a buffer in case there is an accident or traffic on the freeway. So a typical day for me looks like this:

• 5:20 - Wake Up
• 6:20 - Leave for work
• 7:20 - Get to work, if there is no traffic, 7:45 get to work if there is traffic or an accident
• 8:15 - School starts
• 3:00 - School is out
• 5:00 - The school kicks me out, because they lock the doors at 5. I could always stay longer, because there is always more to do.
• 5:10 - Stop at Costco to fill up the tank with gas (2-3 times a week), and buy milk.
• 6:30 - Get home (there is always traffic on the way home)
• 6:30-7:30 - Make and eat dinner/do the dishes
• 7:30-8:30 - Free hour (which usually includes falling asleep to a T.V. show)
• 8:30 - Get ready for bed
• 9:00 - Bed 

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love my job. I know I'm supposed to be a teacher, and I have so much fun when I get there, and I usually forget about how tired I am the second the kids walk into the door and give me a hug. But it takes up a lot of my time, and I don't feel like I am paid enough for all of the work I put into teaching.

So - getting used to our new jobs, trying to balance three families, finding time to still go on dates with each other, church callings/responsiblities, and being new homeowners have kept us very busy. In other words, we LIVE for the weekends. We always have so much fun, and it usually always makes up for the long week we've had. I just love my hubby and I can never get enough time with him.

Here's to a fun-filled weekend ahead of us!