The Teeter Family

Our family will one again be moving in about a week. Tyrell and I both got teaching jobs for Jerome School District. I had interviewed all over here, and just wasn't getting offers. Then, as if it were an invitation to look elsewhere, we got some not so great news for Tyrell next year. We decided that it wasn't best for our family, and expanded our search. Within two weeks we both had multiple offers in the Twin Falls area. Jerome is the only district that had jobs for both of us. Tyrell will be teaching sixth grade Social Studies, almost exactly the same way he did here. They use the same curriculum! Their middle school is set up very similar to the school he taught for here. I get to teach 3rd grade, which is exactly what I wanted! We are very excited.

We have been dealing with some pretty intense trials at our house lately so anything that brings a smile to my face is blog worthy, I suppose. This evening Koen and Kai got spoons and baggies and were in the backyard finding ants to put in dirt in their baggies. They told me they were going to be their ant pets. I told them they needed to stay outside (shuddering at the thought of them coming inside). Kai was quite upset saying, "but mom, they need a comfy home." They spent quite a bit of time finding just the right spot in the backyard.

We spent 4 days last week making memories with my family. I have to say it was one of the best times I think we have ever had together. I missed Jason because he couldn't be there, but watching the cousins build friendships was so much fun! I wish they were all closer to each other, but that isn't a possibility.
Thursday when we finally made it there (what a drive with 4 kids and 1 mommy) we hung out at Grandma's and got some new cool hats and aprons she made! The kids wore them almost everywhere. I think they like them. Kael and Havyn decided the washable markers were makeup and we ended up with this.

Tonight, just as I am tucking Kael in, I hear Kai in the room next door say, "Mom, Koen just said he is going to be a grandpa!" I replied, "yes, he will, and so will you!" You should have seen the look on his face. I guess someday we all get old, but it's hard for a 4 year old to comprehend.

Wow! Yesterday marked 9 years of marriage for us! Where has the time gone? If you would have asked me then where we'd be 9 years later I doubt my answer would be reality. I was so niave and young then. Being a grown up is so much harder than it looks, and so is being a parent. That said, big kudos to Tyrell for sticking with me even when the nagging never ends. We didn't do anything to celebrate other than watch a movie. I guess we are getting boring in our old age! Here were are 9 years ago being declared Mr. and Mrs. Snyder (guess that tells ya who wears the pants in the family). Yes, I am bossy!

I have had it up to the sky with pink eye. The kids and Tyrell keeping getting and my house permanently smells of bleach. Most of the toys are bleached and bagged and have been for 2 weeks. The others I clean over and over. I have even done the car. You'd think we'd be done, but we aren't. When will this end?

Well, the waiting is over. I didn't get either job. It's rough. I think I have only ever interviewed and not got the job once in my life. This is a whole a new ball game. I know I have to pick myself up, dust off, and try again. It's frustrating and depressing because I can't even count the applications I have filled out anymore or the hours I have spent revising my documents and researching possible interview questions so I can prepare possible answers ahead of time. I have even gone so far as to have the teacher and principal I student taught under read and offer advice on my documents. It's just very competitive right now, and I have little experience. I want to give up, but that's not something I am willing to do right now. I have invested too much in this. I just haven't found the right school yet, and whose to say that one of the many open positions my application is in a pile for won't interview me? I just need to stay positive. I can and will do this!

It all started last night, when poor Koen comes to be complaining of a tummy ache. He said his stomach hurt really bad. He wouldn't eat dinner, but said he felt better later. He never threw up, but had the other problem associated with stomach pain. We have just gotten over a 2 week stretch of pink eye. This is the last thing I want to deal with now. By morning he was fine to head to school. He never had a fever and he said he felt better so off he went. I began the morning feeling "funny" and brushed it off saying I hadn't eaten. I tried some cereal then decided I should get busy. I vacuumed the whole house before Bam! It hit like a ton of bricks. All the sudden I was overcome with nausea and this fatigue. I laid down on the couch and started getting the chills. Before long, I knew I was going to have to hide from my kids or I was going to loose it everywhere. Not a good day! Luckily Tyrell came home on prep (which happens to be around lunch time) and fed them lunch. They had gotten into the Popsicles and eaten the entire bag, but I knew they had some. I just felt too crappy to care. After lunch, I got the two little ones down for nap and started resting myself. I thought for sure it was smooth sailing from then to 4 when Tyrell would show up and be my knight in shining armor. Unfortunately, they woke up around 2 and my condition had worsened. Havyn had peed her bed (probably from all the Popsicles) and Kael was raging mad. Of course they wanted me to get up and fill their cups and fix a snack. I honestly didn't think I could make it down the stairs without throwing up, but I did! I gave the each a drink and waited for Koen to knock on the door around 2:30. He knocked and knocked and rang the bell. That's how slow I was moving so I wouldn't loose it. Once inside, I begged for his help with the little kids and asked him to please get them a snack. He is such a good big brother because he got out the chips and gave each if them a "little" snack, as he tells me and when Kael brought me his cup as I was hovering over the toilet and asked for juice I said go ask Koen, mommy can't. Koen got him juice and the other kids too. I am going to have to take him for a treat when these horrible stomach cramps cease. As for right now, I haven't eaten much, just Popsicles and ice chips. I don't dare! I am still laying still in bed because when I move it gets worse. I believe Tyrell ordered pizza for dinner, and is letting the kids play outside. I am just so grateful that somehow we made it through this awful day, and I have such great boys to help me. I am praying this passes by morning.

I still haven't heard from either school I interviewed at last week. Yes, I am going crazy! They both said they'd call either way. I know neither position has been hired because of job postings. I am hoping to hear very soon. I have never been the most patient person when it comes to these things.

So, today I had my first ever teacher interview. I was scared to death, and that's putting it mildly! Then to top it off the interview was at the school Tyrell already works for. It's also for another 6th grade position so he and I would most likely be on the same team (the retiring teacher is on his team). I WANT this job! I don't think I interviewed extremely well, and if I don't get it I am not going to cry over it. I don't think very many people get the first job they interview for. I am just glad to say the interview number one is over with and I didn't throw up or die. Now, for interview number 2 Wed.

The last few days I have been in a really bad mood because of circumstances that just don't seem to go away. As I sit here thinking it over, I think maybe I am just continuing to look for the bad in things instead of the good. I need an attitude adjustment. I just came across this.

My little first grader, Koen, is such a bright little man! He has grown so much over his first grade year! Here is a paper I found in his backpack.

So, today started out kind of slow. I wasn't feeling the best! I think I have seasonal allergies because I feel like I have a cold during the night and when I wake up, but if I get moving it's gone. I was supposed to go visiting teaching, but the person I was going to visit is also a buddy of mine, and happened to text me to see if I wanted her to just come to my zoo instead. I thought it was a great idea! Then my kids could destroy my things instead of hers! We like to craft together anyway and we have all the stuff to make family home evening boards so we were going to work on those while the kids played. My kids weren't very good at this, but her daughter on the other hand is such a quiet little angel. Havyn was so excited to see her Darby, but when she got here Havyn screamed in her face and wouldn't share her princess tiara. Wow, talk about traumatizing! Poor Darby. I carted Havyn off to her room to calm down more than once and Kai was running around with the peeler, while Kael wouldn't stay out of the pantry. I am pretty sure every time she comes over here she about gives up on being my friend because I literally live in a madhouse!
Tonight was when all the "fun" occured, though. Tyrell went off to work. Lucky him! I have been trying and trying to get at least an interview for a teaching job next year. In order to do that I want to be certain that my resume and cover letter are perfect so I had emailed and called the principal at the school I student taught. He was looking it over and going to give me a call this evening, and he did. Now, Kael had already been in the sink once today with running water, trying to clean his car.

About a month ago, I took all four kids to the dentist. Three in the morning, at the same time. No, I wasn't thinking! Anyway, Kai would NOT let the dentist even take a peak so I suggested that I bring him back, later, with his older brother who has done the dentist before, to show him how it's done. They agreed, and we came back. After seeing Koen sit in the chair and allow them to x-ray, look, and clean his teeth, Kai was all for it! He got right up there, and let them do everything! It's a good thing too because he had a cavity. Koen did too, though. I know it sounds bad, but was I ever thankful that Koen had missed that spot brushing! So I scheduled them together the next time to do exactly what we did for the cleaning. I prepped Koen, by telling him that Kai was going to watch, and I really needed him to be a good boy for them so that Kai would get his tooth fixed. Koen has had a cavity filled before, so I knew he would be ok.
Monday came and it was time to go back in for the fillings. I really didn't think Kai would let them do it. It involves a "noodle" (needle) so I wasn't getting my hopes up. Luckily, I don't think Kai had a clue that that medicine they were going to shoot in  his mouth was a "noodle". Koen didn't cry, and they put this strawberry stuff on first, so it was okay. I was so proud of both boys, because Koen was a rockstar, and showed his brother that it would be okay, and Kai actually let them do his! Of course, they both got the laughing gas to chill them out. At one point the hygenist had to hold his legs down. He's going to be one that won't sit in his seat at school! I am going to get all kinds of phone calls from his poor teachers.

Koen went to the eye dr. today and we found out that his lazy eye is no longer lazy, and that in fact his eyes are close enough prescription wise that the chances of it coming back are a lot lower! I thought for sure he'd be worse with all the glasses he has broken and not had to wear a patch with for weeks at a time, but he obviously wore it enough. He did really well! He had is eyes dialated and wasn't real pleasant for that, but he managed to calm down, and let the eye dr. do his job. Picking out frames was so much fun this time! He is getting to the age where he is starting to demonstrate a certain taste. He is totally a rectangle frame kind of kid. We found these one really round ones, like old men in the old days wore. He tried them on for fun, and we both just laughed and laughed. I am super surprised that he doesn't like colored frames. He is all about neutral, plain, sleek looking frames. The ones he picked today are a charcoal gray color and they are metal this time instead of plastic. This will be the 3rd set he has picked on his own, and they are very very much like the other 2. He never goes for colored, and he never goes for oval or round. It's always rectangular.  When they come in I will take a picture and post it.

So this little gal.....

Now, as stated above, I try to be positive on my blog because who likes a whiny person, and who wants to save bad memories right? Today has been rather rough, and Tyrell hasn't been home since 7:30 this morning. I need to get these thoughts out somewhere so this is my place today.
I didn't sleep last night, and to be quite honest I felt like there was a fire buring right next to me most of the night. Two fans on high and the air conditioner didn't even cool me down. Who knew that while your body adjusts to different hormone levels and dramatic changes you could expriences some menapausal symptoms? The doctor warned Tyrell that I may have some hot flashes and my mood may be a little off for a while, but I should go back to normal soon because they left one ovary which allows my body to get enough hormones. I thought maybe I lucked out and I wasn't going to have to deal with these things, but no such luck! I have also heard/read that insomnia is also a symptom. I am suppose I am suffereing from that as well because it has been rough the last two nights! So first thing this morning, lack of sleep, lack of hormones, or whatever caused me to be kinda grouchy and really tired so I started a movie for the kids and went to lay down in the other room. They were angels during that hour and half and I thought maybe I had this down for the day! For the most part the morning went extremely well other than my emotional ups and downs for no particular reason. I couldn't even get my make up on to go to work without shedding some tears this morning. My visiting teacher texted me about this point in my day to see how I was, and I hardly know her so I just said I was fine. She replied that she was bringing dinner by tonight, and that was a relief because I honestly had no idea what I was fixing. Somehow I pulled it together and went to work.
Then, my friend down the street stopped by after school for a visit, and that was nice until Koen threw a major tantrum (when he throws a tantrum it's like kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs, and throwing things). Her son and Koen are great buddies, but I don't think he'd ever seen Koen do this, and it was over him playing with Kai and not just Koen. I was so embarassed, and I really didn't know what to do because I have yet to figure out how to manage him or calm him down when it happens. The poor friend was upstairs watching in horror and crying. He looked scared to death, and his mom decided it was time to leave. As they are walking out the door Koen is howling at me how much he hates me because I told him he needed to go to his room and calm down, and that if he didn't stop yelling he'd have specific consequences. Once I heard that he had calmed down I headed up to chat with him about what had happened. I calmly asked him if he thought what he had done was ok. He answered that it wasn't and that he was really sorry and he'd apologize. I then asked him if he went to play with someone and they acted like that would he want to go back. He said no, but that it'd be ok because he'd apologize. I am not sure how to get him to see that sometimes our actions speak louder than our words and there are consequences. This is where being a parent is one of the hardest things I will ever do! I know these things because of experience, and I know that my parents probably wanted to beat their heads against a wall more than once when I was growing up. Heck, they probably still do on occasion because no matter how old we get our parents still have more experience and have learned more things along the way. If he would just listen and learn it would be so much easier, but most of us don't just listen to learn. There are somethings we just have to make mistakes to learn.
After talking with him I walked out of his room to peer into Kael's room and this is what I saw.

The Easter bunny brought the three older kids bikes this year! Mostly because poor Koen who is 7 has never learned how to ride. I know, I know what kind of terrible parents don't teach their son to ride a bike by the time he is 7? Well folks, we don't! I'd like to say it's because we were so busy with school and work and a million other excuses, but excuses are just excuses, and we should have done better! OH well! He did fairly well today! Havyn did better, but hey I hear it's harder the older you get. He will know soon! His dr. advised us to get it done because apparently it's a big deal developmentally. Who knew?! Kai did fairly well as well! He contracted a fever late this afternoon and has strep throat so maybe that's why he wasn't all that interested at first. Kael was fairly upset he didn't get one, but LOVES the bubble mower and will get over it and ride the trikes we already have.