I woke up extremely tired this morning, but as soon as I got to the school I felt refreshed. My guardian angel must have known I needed a boost right about then! Our class is extremely well behaved for five year olds, but it still takes a lot to be alert to all the needs of the eleven in my classroom. I'm still feeling pretty alert though I generally take a nap between jobs.

Cute story of the morning. One of our little children is quite the handful. He isn't in my class, but I have him in early morning care (all ages are mixed together). He has grown so much emotionally and physically and maturely over this past year. He is still young so some of his actions are typical of his age group. Most of his actions are extreme though. His teacher has done an amazing job with him this year. Anyways, he is a little snuggle bunny and loves to sit on laps and cuddle and hug. For the past couple of months I make sure to give him lots of hugs when I see him and especially as reinforcement. He's one of those children who needs all the extra love he can get. When it comes time to clean up and he doesn't want to all it takes is one giant hug and he'll put all his toys away and sometimes will go help others put their toys away without being asked. Seriously, it's amazing what a little love can accomplish. So this morning he didn't want to put his last toy away. I was over by him and played a tickle finger game we've been playing lately. After getting him smiling and giggling and squealing I then asked him for a big hug, which he quickly gave. He then threw his toy in the bin it belonged in and ran to line up to go to his classroom. Before leaving the room with the other teacher he pranced back over to me and jumped into my arms. I lifted him up into a big hug and he gave me a big, slobbery kiss on the cheek. My heart melted! What an adorable, loving child. He isn't appreciated in his home and I think he gets overlooked a lot because he has a few other older siblings. Instead of getting angry with him when he won't clean up, I've just given him more and more love and now he's one of the best cleaners. He still has some rough days, but he has time to learn. No little kid wants to clean up when he's busy playing with dinosaurs and airplanes. But that kiss on the cheek made me want to take him home. I wish all parents realized how sweet their children are. Before these parents know it their little boy will be all grown up and leaving home.

I received an email back from the primary place I am interested in for a job possibility. Either way, I need to find a job for the summer since the school will be closed. So this would be a great possibility for the summer or for the long term. I was asked to please pass along my resume and was encouraged about the position. I reviewed the companies website and was dismayed to see that all the other people in the same position are older than I, but while some of them have Doctorates or Masters degrees some only have their Bachelor's as well. So I might be right on target. And if hired, I would be pursuing my Masters next year. There is still no guarantee that a job will be available in June when I available to start work, but if all my qualifications match up I think there's a good possibility they might try to fit me in. Hopefully they won't have a huge influx of applications between now and then and all the positions are filled. It would be a lot of hard work and I'd be on call 24/7 as well as during my regular hours, but it would be so worth it. Of course, I would hate leaving the school so either way it turns out would be fine for me. I know, I am a confusing person sometimes.

Matt's work schedule is finally beginning to pick up. There have been weeks here or there in his schedule where he'd only work 2 weekdays and then the weekend group therapy, but lately that's been the entire schedule for months on end. While we don't need a lot of money for our bills I'd still like to save as much as possible. I'm a planner so I think long term. (literally, retirement, college funds, weddings for our children) It looks like his hours will be back up to regular full time again so that is a major blessing. And he has been approved to take the time off in June for Jon's wedding and our anniversary. It will be a good week. I'll be missing my kids graduate from preschool, but I can't miss Jon's wedding! Again, another bittersweet tradeoff.

I think I might take a break from Moby Dick. It gets more interesting as I go on, but I'm really not into sailing or ocean books. I'm not a fan of the ocean anyways, so when I read about it or even watch movies about it I get a little squeamish. I didn't even step foot in the ocean until I was 15 because it grossed me out! I don't like how cold it is, the sudden drop offs, the creatures and dead fish, I just don't like the ocean. Not for me. I much prefer Lake Michigan. So I need a break from all the nautical-ness. I'll read one of my light and fluffy books and then get back to it.

Alright, maybe I'll take a short power nap before Matthew gets home. He gets home from work about 10 minutes before I have to leave to nanny. Sigh. Someday maybe we'll have the same schedule. It would be nice to work at the hospital with him, but I need some more experience to be a social worker there. If we stay in this area long term, maybe some day I will apply there. Of course, by the time I had the proper experience I'd be ready to have children. Good thing work isn't everything to me. I'm not career driven. I'm family driven.

The end.