If being unemployed means I spend most of my day with these two, it’s not so bad.
Jun6
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Jun5
Activity Swap Report
After mentioning the texture cards a few posts ago, I had a few people ask me about how the activity swap went.
Last Thursday I met up with some other ladies, mostly ones that I go to church with, though there were a few other lovely people there that I hadn’t met before, and did the activity swap. It took a little bit of time to get things sorted out, but before long, we all had a good handful of various activities.
As you can probably see, there’s various levels of difficulty and effort that was put into the different projects. Some of them I won’t be able to use for quite some time too, since they have little itty-bitty pieces. The blocks could be fun though; they have clear tubes that you can use to stick the pieces together. I’m thinking about painting them some bright, fun colors to add to their interest level.
All these felt games were really cute. I can imagine it was a pain to make several of those fish for the fishing game!
The last few activities, including a set of my texture cards (somebody dropped out at the last minute, but I had already made the majority of each set, so I figured I’d finish them all anyways). The top left activity is a puzzle (barnyard animals on Popsicle sticks–pretty clever). The blue bag is kind of a putty that kids can put on a flat surface (it stays in the bag) and write/”draw” with their fingers or cu tips.
So overall, I am really happy I participated. I stressed myself out a little too much over the cards, but I think it was fun to get involved with this sort of activity and some of these activities will be great to have once Baby Boothe goes mobile. 🙂
Jun5
Perspective
It’s funny how many people are surprised that I’m due in a month. Generally, the comments are that I look too small and that maybe we got the due dates wrong.
First, as I have started to swell up like a ginormous pufferfish, telling me those things are not really comforting. I promise, I know that I’ve been pregnant this whole time, so the date better not be that wrong.
It’s almost been as bad as BEFORE I was pregnant and people would ask me, “Oh, are you expecting?” and I would have to respond, “Nope, just fat.” (Yes, that happened on more than one occasion.)
Second, it’s time to put it all in perspective.
This is the Baby Boothe bump on St. Patrick’s day.
This was the Baby Boothe bump as of yesterday. I can’t even twist as well anymore so it doesn’t look as big as it really is!
But as you can see, definitely some major growth. The poor baby still has a month in these cramped quarters and she’s still likely to grow another pound or two.
So, before you tell the pregnant lady she looks like a whale or looks too small, remember: the pregnant lady has feelings too, and is probably already stressed enough about all things baby.
And along the same lines, if you have to ask if somebody might be pregnant, then you shouldn’t ask. Just don’t do it. It’s better that way, especially when somebody isn’t pregnant.
Jun4
Farewell to Teaching
I have several things that I need to get around posting on here, and I will soon, I promise. But today was a pretty significant moment in my life.
Today, I officially left the public education profession.
I spent most of last week and the weekend organizing and cleaning my classroom to get it ready for whoever will be moving in after me, and getting my stuff organized and packed in a way that I could potentially find it again if I decide to ever go back to teaching. Plus, the person checking us out of the rooms is extremely strict about the condition of the room, so it had to be completely empty of any of my personalized touches before she’d approve it.
(It doesn’t even look like the room I’ve worked in for the past two years at all… In the end, it was only a loan, right?)
(This used to have my name under my room number, but between leaving work Friday and coming in this morning, it was already wiped clean of my existence.)
Packing up four years of my life was more emotional than I thought it would be.
Leaving the school behind? Not as emotional. A few sweet goodbyes from people, a few hugs, a few who asked me to come back and visit with Baby Boothe when she arrives. But really, the official death of my profession was quiet and without fanfare. I think it made it easier for me to not shed many tears.
I turned in my keys to the classroom.
I handed my badge to the Admin Secretary.
And then I walked out the door, and I didn’t look back.
