Preschool Love

Now, before all my blogging friends throw the book at me, I know this is a total blogging "no-no." I already get it, so don't judge. This old post showed up on my Timehop app this morning and it just made me so happy that I wanted to re-post it. 

This was written 4 years ago. Matthew and Jonathan were just little squishy babies. I had just quit my job teaching 8th graders, which was all I had ever done, and accepted a preschool teaching position. I wrote this after attending my first Weekday Ministries Conference and I was hyped up on all things preschool. I wanted to re-post this because 4 years later, I feel the exact same excitement. Tomorrow I will attend the same conference and I am just as excited as I was the first time, but much less nervous. Ya'll, I truly love my job. God has given me an opportunity to love these babies and I don't take it lightly. Every year I am blessed to start a new year with this crew is such a blessing. 

I guess I wanted to share this for two reasons....

First, as an encouragement to others. Usually, all we hear about are people who hate their jobs. Who hate waking up every morning. Who hate traffic and their mundane life, but they "do what we have to do." But you know what, it is possible to find something absolutely perfect for you. God wants us to be happy and successful and will open doors if we let Him. Search out the job you want and make it happen. 

Second, if you have little ones in preschool, I want you to know that there are thousands of teachers out there who absolutely love what they do and love your babies. Many, many of them will be at the same conference with me this week! These teachers have been praying for you and your kids all summer and are just as excited as you are to start school in the fall. Make sure you get one of those great teachers. Make sure you and your babies feel loved and special from the very first encounter. And if you don't, talk to your director. Talk to your teacher. Pray hard for answers. But do not just accept mediocre. I've heard too many of my friends across the country say, "Oh, their school is alright, I guess. It's not perfect, but it works." This is the first stop on the education train for kids! Speak up if you have concerns. 

(And just FYI....Teachers love treats. Just saying...)

Preschool, here I come! (re-post from August 2012)

This week I changed up our routine up a little in preparation of our new schedule once school starts. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I attended the Weekday Ministries Conference with my new First Steps team! It was my first look into what goes behind teaching preschool and it was delightfully surprising! Coming from a public school background (and a middle school one at that!) made everything I heard and learned this week, new and exciting. For example, the very first thing that happened Tuesday morning when we all met at the church to carpool, was our director starting our day off with a prayer for safe travels. I mean, seriously? What kind of awesome job have I stepped into!?

The rest of the week was not only encouraging but it built my confidence as a new teacher. I left this afternoon feeling excited and ready to get a hold of these sweet little kiddos!! One of the sessions I went to was called "Faith Development" and it equipped me with some great tools to help build the faith foundations in these 3 year olds. Teaching 8th grade English has always been fun and rewarding, but I truly feel like I have the chance now to literally shape the future for these kids. We are their first experience with teachers. We are their first step in a long journey of learning. If we screw this up......oh man. I don't like to even think about that.

So yeah, I am excited. However, I really need to practice my finger puppet shows and brush up on preschool science lessons! Matthew and Jonathan have really enjoyed watching me learn these new tricks:)

Summer Fun Time!

This post is full of good news and fun adventures, y'all! See, I can do more than complain ;) 

First of all, we are making progress with our flood rebuild! We met with our contractor today and we finally, FINALLY have a plan in place. As soon as our mortgage gets their act together, we will be ordering our flooring and starting to paint! It's a big day around here. Also, I've already been told to "reign in your expectations." We will just see about that....

Second, since Zack has had to work a lot this summer, we put off all of our favorite summer activities until this week when he had some vacation time. It's been a busy, fun week while we were trying to DO ALL THE THINGS! 

Monday: Sea World! We drove down to San Antonio Monday morning and played all day at Sea World. It was HOT. Like, surface of the sun, total death, hot. But, we had a great time and Jonathan even rode an adult roller coaster! He liked it, but said it hurt his tummy when we went down the big drop. Me too, man. Also, a kid pooped in the splash pad....and that was REAL gross. At least it wasn't one of mine. 

Tuesday:  Monday night, we drove north and spent the night with my parents outside of Austin. We spent Tuesday morning eating a good breakfast and playing outside until it was time to head back to Houston. The boys have become friends with some little kids next door to my parents, so it's always a big treat to go play with them. One perk of their neighborhood is that it's small and out in the middle of nowhere, so the kids are relatively safe.  It's nice to feel like I can let the boys run around outside and not worry about them being snatched up by freaks or run over by teenagers speeding down the street!

Wednesday: GO CARTS! Our whole family looks forward to this activity all year long! The Leys are a competitive bunch and Aunt Katie was NOT going to let anybody beat her. I came in last on almost every single race. In fact, towards the end, the boys wouldn't even ride with me. That's just real rude.

I love how pissed Jonathan is in this picture. He is legit mad because we came in second. I just don't have that same competitive spirit I guess, because I thought the whole thing was just really funny. Later in the day, we went to Aunt Katie's house to make pizza (our oven is still broken...dont even ask....) and play some video games! The boys LOVE their Aunt Katie's house and ask to have "Aunt Katie Day" almost weekly. I'm know they love her, but truth be told, I think it's the video games they love the most. 

Thursday: Today we had a fun play date with our dear friends, played outside in the rain and met with our contractor to plan the future of our house. At this point, you all need to take your shoes off, walk into a room in your house that has carpet and just enjoy it. Squish your toes in it. Roll around on it. Do it for me. 

Friday: I almost hate to complain about the rain, seeing as it's keeping my water bill under control for the second half of June, but we have big plans at the water park tomorrow and I will be real sad if they fall through because of rain. I mean....it hasn't rained ALL SUMMER and the one week we have plans, it's rained every day. But I have high hopes for tomorrow and our first trip to Typhoon Texas! My poor babies have watched that thing be built from the ground up and still haven't been able to go. Come on sun!!

It's such a nice treat to have Zack home and get to spend this special time together as a family. I think all moms can agree that it just feels better having a second set of hands around! Not to mention I have somebody else to laugh with me when our kids say ridiculous things...which is a lot. Yesterday Matthew complained about something and then looked to the sky and said "Ugh! Story of my life!" 

Seriously, these kids...

Hope y'all are going full out for the last few weeks of summer too! Enjoy it while you can!

Random Observations

So. 

It's been a wild, stressful week. And as I've gone through the past few days, I've noticed some things that I feel like need to be shared.

1. Shopping for appliances, when you weren't planning or really budgeting for it is not that cool. Our oven went out last week and our fridge is close to death. It's just time. But doesn't it always seem that the amazing, out of this world deals that you saw plastered all over your TV happen to have "just ended?" Seriously, one day before you needed to buy all this crap? And in case you are wondering Sears, Sears outlet, Sears appliance showroom and Sears.com all have the exact same stuff. Save yourself the gas money and trust me.

2. It's finally, FINALLY, time to start shopping for furniture to replace what we lost in the flood. And let me tell you, shopping for expensive items with money the government gives you is WAY more fun than having to use your own. 

3. In regards to furniture...We are having a bit of a showdown at the Ley home right now. Zack swears he absolutely, CAN NOT live without a recliner. I mean, honestly, this guy... Unfortunately, I am very much anti-recliner. So I have spent the better part of two weeks searching for a totally regular looking chair that just happens to recline. And for the sake of my sanity, I need two. You know, symmetry and what not. Oh and our budget is minuscule, seeing as FEMA didn't think too highly of our previous furniture (RUDE.) Y'all....this does not exist. It's like the holy grail of living room furniture. Matching recliners, that do not look like recliners, but are still big enough for Zack to enjoy comfortably....I can't even deal. And don't even try to tell me to look at Pottery Barn for some nice leather club chairs, that just happen to recline. Unless you plan on covering the price difference. In that case, you can suggest that. 

4. In other news....I have decided that there is no place greater at inducing an anxiety attack than the waiting room at the salon where I get my eyebrows threaded. You know it is going to hurt like hell fire. You know it's going to take forever. You know the lady doing it is probably going to breathe her lunch breath all up in your face. And yet, you just have to sit there...alone with your thoughts on the upcoming torture. You have already signed in, you're committed. There is no turning back. It's probably one of the worst feelings ever. 

5. I got a weed eater for my birthday. Don't laugh, I asked for it. And my in-laws were cool enough to get me one. Y'all, it's amazing. I'm telling you, my yard has never looked better (that's right...I mow my own yard.) However, the yard crews that mow the yards around me always give me super weird looks when they see me carrying that weed eater around. I know they want to laugh, but then they have to shut their mouths because I rock at it. It's like they've never seen a girl doing yard work before and they just don't know how to handle it. I'm telling you, every. single. time. Now, it could be that they are confused by this. Or they could be laughing at the white girl wearing safety goggles and trying to pull start her own weed eater. Either way, it was an interesting morning. 

And that's that. Seriously though, if y'all would say a prayer for us as we deal with our insurance, mortgage company and contractor, that would be great. Basically everybody related to this flood rebuild is being incredibly frustrating. The mortgage company is basically the worst. Like, literally, THE WORST. And our insurance stinks too. Our contractor is cool, but he is super busy and you would think he doesn't find our job the very most important thing on his list. (I kid, I kid....maybe.) Just be praying that we are patient, kind with our words, but smart with our money and actions. Thanks team! 

A Challenge

Let me set the stage for this, dear friends. 

The one thing I hear most often from people who read my blog is, "I love that you are real and honest." And while I take this as a huge compliment, it also makes me a little sad. To me it implies that most people in our lives aren't real. We aren't honest and open and real. We hide behind filtered pictures and happy emoji hearts. And when people do try to be "real" it comes out as, "what a hard day today...baby boy only slept 7 hours last night and I missed my work out! #oneofthosedays!" When the majority of us see things like that, it serves as a reminder of two things. 1. Your baby hasn't slept a full 7 hours since birth and 2. You forgot what a workout was. That doesn't help anybody. It's time for us to be real. To be honest and open and real. Not just with our closest friend, but with the rest of our people.

My neighborhood Mom's group is reading a book that highlights vulnerability. And while I actually might have the opposite problem (total mouth dribble) I have found it very interesting. Most people are scared of admitting their faults, their struggles, their pain because of the fear that we will appear "not enough." But you know what, ladies? We are enough. We are more than our faults. More than our struggles. And much more than any pain we might be feeling. (That is some amazing stuff right there...should be on a motivational poster!) 

It's time we admitted it. 

So...here is your challenge. If you are reading this, I want you to admit one fault or struggle that you noticed with yourself today. You can admit it here, to a friend through a text message, in an email etc...but just openly admit you aren't perfect. And I promise, PROMISE, you will find that you aren't alone. We have all been there. At one time or another, we have all been there. Unless your admission is something like, "Ugh. I only ran 6 miles today instead of my normal 10. I feel like a failure." I'm sorry. I've never been there. I've never run 6 miles, not to mention 10. Also, if your admission has to do with your love of kale....that's another one I can't relate to. Everything else, you aren't alone! Promise!

To start us off, here is my admission for today....Everybody thinks I have had a super great attitude about my house flood and the fact that it isn't done. Well you know what? I am actually super pissed and real close to losing it on the next Nationwide agent that I talk to. And my oven broke today and that really is just the icing on the freaking cake. And my weed eater, which I just got in May, is broken too. So seriously, the next thing that breaks might be my brain. Or my hand, when I punch my unfinished wall out of total frustration. I am faking it all really well because I am NOT OKAY WITH THIS ANYMORE. 

Your turn. 

Confessions

Next in the blog series, "I've already written a post just like this, but it was so long ago that it is no longer applicable," I bring you confessions of an imperfect mom....

1. It came to my attention today (by way of my very opinionated son) that I have "scary eyes" when I am angry. Obviously I know this, I use my "scary eyes" on purpose and with perfect skill...but I was a little curious what that face actually looked like. So at nap time, I went into my bathroom and made "scary eyes" at myself in the bathroom mirror. And let me tell you....that is a very unattractive look. I really need to stop making that face.

2.  So the other night, Zack and I were trying to be cool and use all the "lingo" kids these days are using. Like, "Bye, Felicia!" and "Bae." Later in the evening, Zack announced that something was "on fleek." and I started laughing hysterically and said "You dummy, it's pronounced, 'on fleck!'" I mean, I was laughing SO hard at him. He knew he was right, so instead of arguing, he just went to google, typed it in and turned the volume up on the pronunciation. Obviously I was very, very wrong. And I felt very, very stupid. And very old.

3. I caught myself using my Dustbuster on the kitchen counter today. And then I realized that I had used it on the floor, kitchen table, and interior of the car. First of all, that's super gross. Second of all, I now need to bleach everything in my house. But you know what, that bad boy sure works like a charm and I'll probably do it again. 

4. Sour cream and onion Baked Lays are a hot commodity in this house. The other day, I was helping myself to half the bag a small portion when Matthew walked up and yelled, "WHY DO YOU ALWAYS EAT ALL THE CHIPS!!??" I just looked at him and told him to mind his own business.. 

5. I got so upset at Jonathan the other day that I made him take his plate and eat dinner alone in his room. His only response was, "You mean I get to eat dinner in bed? That's great!" At first I thought I should feel like a failure as a parent, but then I realized that we both got to take a break from each other, I got to eat my dinner in peace, and he got to eat dinner in bed. So really.....it counts as a mom win. 

6. I have a serious addiction to soda. Like, I really am addicted. And you know what, I don't care. There is just not one single part of me that wants to change that habit. I love Coke Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper....just in case anybody wanted to, you know, bring me one.

7. Just asking this for a friend of mine....how many times a week can you get by with wiping up small spots on the floor with a sponge instead of just mopping the whole thing? I like to say this number is 1,569.

8. Recently, our neighbor convinced Zack that he needed to put one of those super sticky snake/mouse traps at the corner of our garage. "Just wait till you see all the small snakes that come in and out of your garage, man! It's awesome!" Obviously this is the worst idea I have ever heard of in my entire life. I have never once seen a snake in our garage ("That's because they escape again before you see them! You have to catch them to see them!") so I don't understand the need for the trap, but Zack found it interesting. So now, there is an entire corner of our garage where I am no longer welcome. I refuse to go see what is stuck to that gross trap. Joke's on Zack, because that is where some of our yard equipment is. Which means, he has to either do the yard himself or drag it all out for me ;) 

9. I recently read all the Harry Potter books for the first time and they were, AMAZING. Duh. But when I took the books with me to the gym, I was embarrassed and more than once, covered the book with a different book jacket. Obviously, I have a reputation to maintain. 

10. Lately, Matthew's eating struggles have gotten so bad and so frustrating that I have started giving him turkey pepperonis and crackers as the main component to his meal. Pepperonis are gross and made of gross things, but so are hot dogs and chicken nuggets and I know y'all all give your kids that stuff, so don't judge. 

You know you're a mommy when....Preschool edition

I wrote a blog like this 4 years ago when my boys were babies/toddlers and I laughed when I re-read it today because life is just so different now that the boys are older! Also, I laughed when I felt the need to "justify" my feeding Jonathan mac and cheese by saying it was organic....Oh, poor, naive Katy of 2012...if you only knew what your kids eat now.

So here is my updated "You know you are a mommy when..." list. 

1. You instantly recognize the "click" that the seatbelt/carseat makes when it is being unbuckled. You have also perfected the look of death that you give each kid in the rear view mirror. This nearly always suffices and they buckle back up.

2.  You often wonder if shows like VeggieTales or the educational ones on PBS Kids really count towards screen time. I mean, they are learning at the same time, no? So basically, you can let them watch another episode of Wild Kratts and not have to do "learning  time" that day. Win-win! 

3. Your ideas on what constitutes "a clean room" have totally changed.  All you want is for them to clean their room up on their own. One less room for you to clean up, make the bed, put things away etc...So if it means that you accept a bed that is disheveled and made up only to the point that their stuffed animals are tucked in and "sleeping," so be it. At least you didn't have to do it yourself. 

4. Food time is a battle. Every. Single. Day. Thankfully, you have learned the secret weapons of your most stubborn and are now prepared when he makes himself throw up so that he doesn't have to eat vegetables. You know his tricks and he will NOT get out of eating. You have also developed a much larger tolerance for throw up. "Oh, you think fake gagging on that pea will save you today? Joke's on you." 

5. Speaking of food, you have significantly lowered your standards. That's all that needs to be said about that. 

6. During the summer, we all try to keep their brains from turning to mush. Sometimes we do great and they do some work out of a workbook or our older kids practice reading to us. Other times, you give them a 100 pack of straws and a pair of scissors and they "work on their fine motor skills" for an hour while you check Facebook.

7. At this point in your mothering career,  obviously you have learned to tune them out, but you have also learned the difference in their screams.  A few of the favorites in our house..."He stole the remote control and won't give it back!"..."Matthew punched me in the eye and I'll never be able to see again!".... "Superman will save you from the terrible Squidman! Pow pow pow!!!"..."Mom, I'm not screaming! I'm practicing my songs for school!"

8. You have learned to gauge whether your grocery store trip is an "I'll have to buy them donuts to get through this" kind of trip or if you can get by with a free cookie from the bakery. You have also taught them to remind you to pay for the donuts at the end of the trip...

9. There are 2 words you fear more than any others during the summer... "I'm bored." 

10. Finally, you know you are a preschool mommy when you fluctuate between two emotions at any given time; desperation for your kids to grow up and be more self-reliable, and total depression that your kids are growing up so fast. Kindergarten is the most terrifying of all the parent things. They are gone from you SO long, they are under the influence of all the terrible things that go on at school... but it is also so nice to have a little more time to yourself. And it's pretty cool to see your kids growing into real little men. 

I little story about a flood.

So, in case y'all haven't heard or noticed, it rained a little this spring. I mean, it rains a lot in Houston normally, but one night in April, we got 14 inches in about 5 hours. It was....fun. Let's have a little chat about that night, shall we?

Around 12:30, we woke up to the sound of hail on our skylight. Our main concern was that it was going to shatter because that crap was LOUD. Luckily, the skylight held on and the hail dissipated. We then turned our attention to the back yard, where we discovered this little gift...

So, being the calm and rational person I am, I dealt with it the only way I know how. By freaking out. I literally just stood there shaking my head and saying "oh crap, oh crap" over and over. Luckily, Zack can handle his emotions a little better and grabbed a bunch of towels and started trying to clean up. The boys were already in our room, cause, you know, thunder...so I checked on them and made sure they weren't floating in a puddle yet. Finally, around 1:30, the rain tapered off and the water receded. We figured we were home free and headed to bed. We are such stupid dummies. It rained ALL NIGHT LONG. How does one even go to sleep when their house is flooding? 

Around 6:15, Jonathan woke up and walked into the kitchen. All I could hear from my room was, "Oh my goodness. I DID NOT DO THIS!" Interestingly enough, I didn't come running. I already knew what I would find when I walked out there and I knew it would suck.  Sure enough, we had nearly an inch of water throughout 70% of the house. Again, I freaked out. I just stood there laughing this ridiculously creepy laugh. Cause, I mean, what else could I do? You cant clean that up with a couple of beach towels. All in all, we had water in the master bedroom, closets, and bathroom, the living room, breakfast room, Jonathan's room and closet, the guest room and closet and all along the large bar in the kitchen. 

Long story short, it just kept raining. Every road around us was flooded, so we couldn't get any teams out to help. The water remediation crew couldn't come out for 2 days, and the carpet was already starting to smell everything up, so Zack and I had to tear it all out ourselves. Let me tell you, that was an adventure. Honestly, I think we both kind of lost it at that point. Zack turned on the Beach Boys, and just went at it with a heavy duty box cutter. Seriously....the Beach Boys? How does a grown man come to the conclusion that the best music to listen to while you demolish your house is the Beach Boys? To each his own, I suppose. We ended up spending the entire week at my in-laws because our house wasn't safe and you know, it was full of flood water. Ultimately, we got the carpet and flooring removed, the crews finally made it to our house and tore out a bunch of walls and baseboards and then left us with 30 fans/machines running day and night to dry everything out. 

The best news of this story is that we have flood insurance. Now, in case you didn't know, no matter who carries your flood insurance, it's backed by FEMA. And let me tell y'all....FEMA is THE WORST. We are nearly 3 months out and haven't received our payout. We have no floors, partially completed walls with drywall but no paint (which means everything in our entire house is coated in fine white dust,) all our stuff is packed into any room that didn't have damage, everything is dirty and everything is dusty. I'm not even going to act like it doesn't bother me. It is terrible. And you know what, chances are high that I will continue to whine until it is fixed. We talked to our adjuster yesterday and he said everything is submitted for our claim, but it could still be 2 months before we get the final pay out. 2 MONTHS. That would make 5 months of living in disarray. I can't even deal. 

Now, let me end this by saying I know it could have been so much worse and I pray daily for the families who had more damage or lost everything. God surely did protect us and our home. But you know what? That doesn't make me any less ticked off that this happened. And I still hate FEMA. So, if you are wondering why I haven't invited you over for a play date or dinner....it's cause I don't have floors, or access to toys, or a table to feed more than 4 people...One day you can come back, friend. 

We are back!

And just like that, we are back in business. It's just time, friends. 

                                

I won't go into a long and lengthy "catch up" post, seeing as most of you know what's going on in our lives. But for those I don't see on a regular basis, here is the bottom line. Jonathan is 6 1/2 and about to start 1st grade and I still can't talk about that without ugly crying. Matthew is 4 1/2 and about to start his last year of preschool. I'm telling you, it's a cruel world. I still teach my 3 year old preschool class and it is very nearly Heaven. Seriously, who wouldn't love a job where you have an army of little humans following you around, thinking you can do no wrong? I mean, they might argue this point when I make them clean up or take a nap, but for the most part, I think they love me. Finally, Zack is still working for the man. Lots of hours, lots of weekends, lots of late nights. But still, he trudges on. Thankfully, because as it turns out, taking care of an army of little humans is amazing, but doesn't really help put food on the table. Know what I mean?

Things have changed in the years since I stopped writing. Some things were good, some were amazing and some were not so amazing (I'm looking at you FEMA) but in the end, we are the same, crazy Ley family. I often think that it's my kids that change the most and, obviously they do, but I truly think it has been me that's changed the last few years. I have found that I am much less serious. I just don't care about the same things I did a few years ago. I am much better about comparing myself to others and trying to achieve their perceived level of "success." I have tightened up my circle of friends, letting go of unproductive relationships and renewing friendships that are fulfilling and fruitful. I find myself caring less about what others think of me and just going about my day doing what needs to be done. I just feel wiser. And old. I feel older. Which sucks. But you know what, sometimes getting older means you learn a few things that make life a little sweeter. That's where I find myself. Man, if I know all the answers at 33, think how smart and totally amazing I will be at 40!

That poetic monologue aside, I still have so much crazy built up in this head of mine. And hopefully I can come back to this space to let some of it out for your enjoyment. And pretty soon I'm gonna need to have a cathartic moment about my house flood that is STILL not resolved. But that's another post for another day. 

It feels good to be back, friends.