Play Yard is COMPLETE!!






Declan LOVES the play structure. Home Depot 600.00 (plus 10% off this weekend!!) I'd say it was a good deal. The size is perfect for our play area.

The pea gravel is a big hit. Declan spends hours and hours just digging and laying around in it. It's kind of a pain because he gets VERY dirty. We have a two new rules

1) No laying down in the pea gravel.

2) You can only dig in the pea gravel with a shovel.

I don't mind him rolling around in the gravel in the evening, when it would be easy to give him a bath...but it's not such a great thing first thing in the morning!

Construction Update:

The 10 yards of pea gravel is delivered! (The pea gravel was more expensive than the fencing materials!!!)





10 yards is A LOT of Pea Gravel. Which by the way didn't turn out to be the best pea gravel. It's 50% pea gravel and 50% crushed rock!! I've put a call in to see about getting a discount or something. Tonight I'm going to bring a sample in to compare to the sample they had available. How do you return 10 Yards of anything?



After raking and shoveling pea gravel (those are two 4 ft mounds!) My neighbors father comes to the rescue with his new toy. What a guy! I had just put a call into my brother to come help with the shoveling and raking, and I look up and see Rick in my neighbors yard with his new Kabota...can you really doubt there is a God when something like that happens?!

I also finished painting with my neighbors industrial paint sprayer- so it's very near completion!!! (Sure is handy to live next door to a construction worker! The relationship is mutually beneficial, I have watched their son since he was born...not to many neighborhood baby sitters have a masters degree :)


Casey & Marla - notice I added a gate to the design of the new fence. Now the kiddos can go retrieve the toys when they toss them over the fence :)

I'm off the the beach for 4 days (our churches annual camping trip), more when I return.

Update on the teaching front-

Well, I received my teaching permit in the mail a couple of days ago; I am officially a teacher now. The better news arrived in the mail on Monday. I am now considered a "Highly Qualified" teacher in the subjects of middle school math and science.


Here's the deal...Thanks to the whole NCLB (no child left behind) act by the Bush administration I was graduating with a degree that was useless if I wanted to teach middle school. Well, since I did my student teaching in 8th grade, it was going to be difficult to get a job teaching the younger kids. Even though I am endorsed by the state of Washington to teach K-8 and I have a Masters, I am not considered "Highly Qualified (HQ) to teach 7-8 grade. I am assuming that eventually Washington will change their endorsement to K-6 and 7-12 will be subject specific.

Anyway there were a couple of things I could do the become a HQ teacher. The simplest and cheapest was to take a Praxis test in that subject area. So I took the math and science tests in early June. Since I have an arts and humanities background I was pretty worried about passing the tests - but I did!!! Not by a huge margin ; ) but the important thing is I PASSED!!!

The bottom line is that I am A LOT more marketable now, and it should be much easier to get that first full-time job. There are usually 2 to 3 times MORE applicants for the English positions than the math or science positions.

So that's the update. I am still planning on subbing part-time next year, but now I feel more secure about my future.

I received an email from a friend today wondering what I've been up to (while NOT blogging) I've been very busy with Declan gone.

Now that I've decided to stay I've been working on house projects. I've already spent over 2k on home improvements. I purchased supplies for the fence and I've been building it as fast as I can. Yesterday morning there was empty space. My brother showed up at 9:30 and dug 14 post holes and I spent the day cementing the posts into place. Today the fence went up. The white that you see is a wire mesh that will keep things from growing through the pea gravel that is being delivered on Thursday. You can see my apt/house looks like a barn, it's never actually been a barn, but actually it was a shop. August is major construction time.

Dad is going to revamp the existing stairway then we're moving on up! We'll be doubling our square footage. I've already purchased a STOVE (my hot plate and toaster oven days are almost behind me). I've also purchased a NORMAL size fridge. I can't wait to expand the kitchen. I'll even have a dishwasher when we're done!!!

So Declan will come home to a new car, new play yard and his own new car! Our neighbor's son took it out for a spin the other day. I just love Craigslists. This two seater truck was only 50.oo.

Today I received a call from a school district asking if I could come interview for a High School Drama position. It was pretty interesting as I didn't apply for the job...and I'm not endorsed to teach at the high school level. I guess they just saw that I majored in Drama for my B.A. and didn't look any further??? I actually have recently looked into what it would take to get that endorsement added to my certificate. I guess Drama teachers are hard to come by (I was actually told that recently) Could be a really fun job once Declan is older; when he is 7 or 8 he would probably have fun hanging out during play rehearsal but he is just too young now.

Anyway it was a little weird, but nice to get the call.

I've really been enjoying my new car :) No buyers remorse!!!

Job Update:

So, I called the districts today and I didn't even get an interview for the 10 jobs I applied for -UGH. It is nice in one respect, I didn't take it as personally as having an interview and THEN not getting the job. They obviously have a lot of candidates with EXPERIENCE and didn't even bother interviewing newbies like myself. I've also been hearing a lot of "they tend to hire people who have subbed in the district". I guess I'll be staying here and subbing next year and enjoy Declan before he starts school (my plan is to only work 3 days a week) I could still apply for jobs locally, but I think I'll just enjoy the freedom subbing offers. As well as the ability to work only THREE days a week, and send Declan to daycare only THREE days a week (I'm sure he'll love it).

I guess I've given up on my dream of owning my own house again :( However, My Dad is gearing up to further remodel my apartment which will double the square footage, and give me a REAL kitchen. Rent will be a VERY, VERY affordable amount until I get a full-time job...then it will go up, but still be VERY, VERY affordable. So, I guess I'm staying put, and I'll just enjoy watching Declan play in this nice country setting. I will be able to afford to take a yearly trip to Disneyland (OH -YEAH) and save fairly well for old age. I'll stick with it as long as it works for everyone....

Oh yeah...guess what else I did today? I've been wanting a Matrix for two years...since I'm not buying a house I figured it was time :)

M

Summer Time Fun!!!

Hangin' out in the hammock with two of the kids that I babysit. I think Declan thinks it's the best job ever...and so do I. Great job when you can take your kid along and they have loads of fun.

Slip n' Slide fun with Kelton and Kaylen

What goes up...


Must come down. His cousin has an ultra cool water slide.


Camping this weekend.
Swimming today in my brothers new pool. Had a blast.
Funny Declan sayings: "I"m the ruler of...." It's amazing how much a 4 year old wants to be in control of things. I'll often hear him say "It's my ____ and I'm the ruler of it!"

His other favorite saying is "I'll only do that if..." I HATE that saying. It's hard for him to stop saying it, but he is finally getting that I am NOT O.K. with it. Now all I have to do is just give him a look and he says "Oh, sorry Mama, I didn't mean that" or "I was just kidding"

He is also fond of saying "Here is the deal..." and then he proceeds to tell you what he would like to happen.

It's all about control. I defininately understand that desire :)

Disneyland Scrap Pages!!

Well, quick update. I did not get the job I interviewed for. I suppose the good news is that the Principal told me that I did a good job in the interview and that they would like to keep me in mind for a position they are hoping to add (Mathematics) sooo I suppose all and all that went pretty well for a first interview.

Camping this weekend, update and photo's to come!