Merry Christmas!

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Fun

Well, I'm sitting her on the computer. I'm waiting for the locksmith to come because on my way to a playdate, yours truly turned the car on...put my purse and cell in the passenger seat...shut the door, and then proceeded to realize that all four doors of the car were LOCKED. Genious. So I called the locksmith and stressed the fact that not only were my keys locked inside my car, but the car was RUNNING. So, I'm biding my time here on the computer so I don't go insane. Here are some really good pics that I took (if I do say so myself) where the catchlights in Munch's eyes are perfect. She was in her cute winter fur vest too!! Enjoy, hope everyone has a better morning than me. WEEEEEEEEEE!

More pics!

Here are more pictures from the Christmas party, as well as some from the other day when Daddy took her sledding. She looked like a little pink snowball. So cute. Then there are pics from the morning we baked Christmas cookies. She did a good job, although it took a while. She loooooved the icing!!

Neighborhood Christmas Party

So... I hosted the neighborhood Christmas party on Saturday night. It was quite the undertaking. Nate ended up being called into work from being on home call all day, and actually ended up missing the whole party. He came home close to 10. I made a honey baked ham with rolls, homemade spinach/artichoke dip, and prosciutto/provolone pinwheels. I felt so domestic. Abbie was such a trooper. I felt like I neglected her all day because I was cooking and cleaning. She tried to "help" by sweeping, and stirring some of the ingredients in, although I'm not super sure I'd call it "helping". = ) I have more pictures of her in her cute Christmas dress, which I haven't downloaded yet, I'll post them asap. Actually the dress was given to her by Auntie Wendy Kerr when she was BORN, and I finally got to put in on her!! She looked SO sweet! Thanks Auntie Wendy! = ) All the adults took turns checking on the kids downstairs in the basement who were watching a Christmas movie, and then playing around. We were all upstairs enjoying a TON of food and drinks, me with my trusty Diet Coke in hand. The kids were very well behaved. Abbie LOVED having all the kids over, she was laughing and smiling the whole time. She even stayed up until about 9:30 with NO tears, and definitely a second wind. She did NOT want to go to bed, she was having so much fun. More pics to follow.... = ) (Click on the picture if you'd like to see it enlarged slightly.)

Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving Day! I even cooked a Turkey for the first time. It actually turned out decent! Abbie tried the stuffing and the cranberries. Not such a fan apparently. She did LOVE playing with the Rummy Kub tiles and messing up Nate and Amy's game. The next day Ryan and Anna came over for lunch, and it was great to see them. Abbie even learned how to say "Ry-Ry" for the occasion. (Sounded more like Wy-Wy) super cute. I'm excited that Thanksgiving is over because now it's officialy Christmas season!! YEAY! We had to put Abbie in her green Christmas dress to take a family picture. She loved it, and didn't want to take it off. The pictures of her in the red sweater (with the sucker and the blue mouth after the sucker) were from a Thanksgiving party we went to. I had to take pictures because I put her hair in a pony tail and she looked so OLD, but so cute. I might not do that for a while though.... = ) Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and has a great holiday season!!

Play Time!

Well, here is a snap shot into play time at the Merritt house while I'm a stay at home mom. She loves to say "no" when I ask her to do things which is a recent development, and oh so lovely. We got her a boy doll to try and prepare her for Brady (she named the doll Abbie, GREAT!) and she is nice up to a point, and then throws the baby. It's a pattern. Hopefully we can break the pattern before the REAL baby is born, that would be good.

Trick-Or-Treat

Awwww, it was Abbie's first time trick-or-treating. We got the wagon all set up with blankets, and got our costumes on. Of course Nate and I had to go along with the Snow White theme. He was Doc, and I was Sleepy, which was extremely appropriate. Munch didn't really get the whole point that if you go up to the door, someone will give you free candy. She got some, we unwrapped it for her, and then she just held it. At the end of the night, she had a piece of Hershey's in one hand, and a Sweet Tart in the other. Neither of which she tried to eat. This morning I actually found the Sweet Tart in her bed. Anyway, she finally did get a sucker, which is her FAVE, and then she did eat that. Without letting go of the other things of course. It was so quirky and funny!

Debbie, Nate's mom made all three costumes, and they were such a huge success!!! Thanks Grandma Debbie!!! Can't wait for next year when I have TWO little munchkins to dress up.

Brady Bedding

Here is the bedding I just got for Brady boy. From Land of Nod. SO cute. I'm doing the room in a teal color on the top, white chair rail, and a khaki color on the bottom, I'll be sure to post pics of that, and Munch's "big girl room" when they're done. = )

It's Definitely Fall

We took Munch to a forest type place with lots of hiking trails. Super fun. She was such a trooper and did NOT want to be held at all. She walked by herself the whole way. It was about a mile. Of course she had to stop every 3 seconds to investigate a rock, leaf, or other natural phenomenon. Nate threw leaves on her, then she started doing it to herself, apparently she like the leaves falling right in her face. She also thought that playing hide and seek behind the tree was very entertaining as well. It was a perfect fall day, the weather was mid 60's and the leaves were so pretty. I forgot how much I like fall being in California for the past 5 years. She stood up on a bench and started patting my tummy without me saying ANYTHING. It was so perfect and precious, so glad we had the camera!!

OH BOY!

We found out yesterday that we will be expecting a boy at the very beginning of March! His name will be Brady Nathan. Cute right??! = ) Here are the ultrasound pics they gave us. There's a GREAT shot of his wee-wee. That's totally making it into the wedding slideshow for SURE!! = )

Update

First of all, thanks to EVERYONE who has been such a huge support and encouragement during a very difficult time period. I resigned this morning from the position, and will continue for a few weeks, until they get a replacement, but it shouldn't be more than a 1-3 weeks. It was SO the right decision, I just didn't belong there. I am totally happy with my decision, and Nate and I both really feel it was the right thing. The principal and staff were surprisingly respectful and supportive and seemed to understand the motives behind it, so that was good, seeing as though I was sick to my stomach during the day waiting to talk to them and break the news!! Anyway, here are a few random pictures that we had on our computer that I haven't posted. Remember, random is the key word. = ) Thanks again...the support really helped!

Mama's Dilemna

Well, there's going to be no pictures on this, just some much needed, heartfelt venting...

On Friday afternoon, Sept. 26th, my principal called me in to have a meeting. The long and the short of it is this...

They hired me in August to be 2/3 multiage elementary teacher at the public charter school with a focus on science and technology. This meant that instead of having a chunk of time during the day to teach science I would have to attempt to infuse scientific concepts throughout the day. Instead of teaching science isolate, i would have to read and write about science. I THOUGHT I was doing a really good job of this. My class writes in their science journals every day, instead of writing a journal entry about a teddy bear, they write about the life cycle of a butterfly, they sing about weather, they read non-fiction text about erosion, blah blah blah, you get the idea.

The district has also made it clear that as a district we would be focusing on a concept/plan called PLC which stands for Professional Leadership Community or something. It's basically a paradigm shift to look at your colleagues as team members and become vulnerable with each other and really collaborate. Fill in for each other's strengths and weaknesses, give advice, etc. I also THOUGHT I was doing a good job with this.

Well, apparently not. My two colleagues that are part of my PLC team have been apparently complaining to my principal that I was coming to them too much for help. Well, I'm new and they have a year of the charter school under their belt. My principal literally told me that I needed to do everything by myself, take some ownership, and "step up my game". Exact quote. She told me to try to next week to not go to them for anything. Completely goes against everything that PLC stands for.

She also told me that I need to come in earlier and stay later (legally, I'm NOT required to do that). That I need to create my own curriculum. That I need to bring more ideas to the table and share what I'm doing with my team (which is ironic since I'm not allowed to ask them to give me ideas), and that since I'm new and the charter school is still new (and some people don't like it) that I'm constantly under scrutiny and under a microscope, so I need to let those facts guide my actions. Apparently the charter school starting in this community was very political and emotional for many community members since it was something "new" and they didn't necessarily agree with it. So the parents TALK and apparently I have to cater to this.

This goes DIRECTLY against my whole teaching philosophy of doing what's best for kids. I am being told to cater my every move so that my colleagues, and parents are happy and from the outside it looks like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

What also makes me mad is that the two teachers on my team went to the principal without saying a SINGLE word to me. Should my principal have said, if you have a question for Jenn about how she is teaching, when she is leaving, or planning, or whatever, please go talk to her about it. Then, if nothing happens, the principal should step in and get involved.

It was so bad. I cried my eyes out all the way home. Working was a choice for me this year. I am sacrificing time with my child to do this job, and it simply is turning out to NOT be worth it. I am seriously considering terminating my contract. I know that it would leave the school in a lurch, and it would be SUPER awkward the days that I'm working until I leave, people would talk, but I just don't feel it's the place for me. No collaboration, under scrutiny and pressure at all times, hiding in my room with no one to go to, plus to boot, I'm missing out on my daughter's life for a grade level and a school that I am not passionate about. This is something that will be weighing on my heart, and I could really use your thoughts and prayers about what steps to take if any. I don't know what to do. I could stick it out until mid February when I leave for maternity leave, but every second that I have to be there seems like an eternity. I already wasn't loving it, and this just made it a million times worse. I will be praying and thinking a lot this coming week and weekend. If anyone has any comments or advice feel free to email me at shejen81@hotmail.com thanks-

Jenn

PS The pregnancy is going fine--we find out the sex of the baby on October 14th!

Little Flower Girl

Munch was the flower girl at my brothers wedding. There are better pictures that the professional photographer took, but here are a few snapshots. We thing the one with her paci is hilarious, because she totally has it popping out of her mouth like a cigar. She walked down the aisle perfectly and was such a good girl the whole night.

Hilton Head, SC

Here is a taste of some pics from our Hilton Head Island vacation. It was warm, sunny, and very fun. Abbie got a little bikini tan, which is the cutest thing ever. She was PERFECT the whole week. She had SO much fun in the pool and in the ocean. She learned how to play with the sand better too. It was so fun. I wish Nate could have been there, that was the only thing that was missing! It was a perfect end to a great summer. Mommy is going back to work on September 2nd. It's time.... = ) Hopefully we will be able to go back in 2 years with the TWO kids. Crazy.