Did I Miss the Dog Days?

You know the song. Wait, yep there it is

But seriously, I'm halfway (or a little over) through Summer Break 2014 and think things are going relatively well. I took a different approach this summer. See, last year I tried to be a well organized mom since I keep my boys with me for a couple of months. I even drew up calendars and planned meals. You know what I learned? I suck at that.

This summer I decided to take each day at a time. Of course it helped that we took our family vacation to Pittsburgh, PA for a week and my oldest can finally be sent off to day camps for weeks at a time. This meant I just had to entertain my (almost) two-year-old for a few hours each day. Something is working because this summer is flying by, and I don't feel like I've just let my kids sit in front of a TV all day. Sure lunch is pretty routine with PB&J sandwiches instead of fancy wheat tortilla cheese rolls (or whatever I tried last year), but the boys are happy and well fed.

I decided to better myself by becoming ESL certified this summer. I even signed up for an official online program through my undergrad Alma Mater: SFASU. Summer I cost me $1000, and when it looked like the rest of the program would cost an additional $2000 I decided to drop out. How's that for setting an example? I just don't think that makes sense for an ONLINE program where I am expected to pay for actual graduate student fees. Besides, my main goal was to learn something new that could be applied to my teaching. I already have worked through three texts and have a few more to read through before taking the exam in a week. I feel pretty confident that I will be able to use what I learned and can definitely pass the certification exam. Does this mean I want to start teaching ESL classes? Well, not really. I just needed a new direction. I've taught the same things for so long and receive so much staff development in the same stuff that I stagnated.

Another big step this summer has been preparing to send off my five-year-old to Kindergarten in 41 days. (He is so ready. I am not. Trust me. I've been compiling the blog post for that whopper for months. The trick will be getting it typed up without falling completely apart.) Today we got his little uniforms. I could have waited until Tax Free Weekend I suppose, but I really don't like dealing with those crowds. As much as I am against standardized dress, he is going to look adorable in his outfits. I also ordered a backpack for him and painted it with things that he likes. I checked multiple times to make sure he didn't have to have a clear or solid bag, so I'm excited about it!

There really isn't much else going on around here at the moment. I really just need to be writing again.