Visitor control, first day of school, and strawberry ice cream kind of days...

So we all went to Laura's for dinner on base on Tuesday night - can we say the military is a little overwhelming? So the 3 of us arrive and go into the visitor control building where we had to turn over our passports, vehicle registration and insurance. The guy wrote down everything, I felt the need to tell them name rank and serial number, but I refrained myself :) Dinner was yummy and the company was excellent. The evening was filled with girly giggles and lots of chatter. Laura has the world's BIGGEST dog, super cute, very friendly - but knows how to fill a room!

He devoured that bone while we were there I think!

He got all excited and wouldn't pose for the picture :)

Laura was making him sit - he's very well behaved!

Ok, so this amused me a little to much - so Laura's husband is a fighter pilot and is part of the bat squad - which apparently makes her a bat babe...so they each have social diva jobs and she is in charge of delivering the birthday sign to the other bat babes (there's also one for babies!)
Today was the first day of school and yes, it is my own personal national holiday! I made Adrienne take first day of school pictures - I managed to have normal sized hair, 3 hair products, a blow dryer, and a straightener later!




I have to say the day wasn't what I had expected or like any other first day I've ever experienced. The kids all start arriving at 8 (the teachers get there about 8 because of devotions being on the other campus, it's kind of stressful to not have time to be in the room without the kids) Anyway - they trickle in for the next half hour, so I get them settled with their welcome note and putting back packs away, finding seats, all that good stuff. Finally when the late bell rings (not a school bell, like an actual small bell they ring) I close my door and tell the kids how to play the name game. Well, the first child refuses - I give her a choice to take her turn last or she can sit in the office until we're done - neither option appeals - my stubborness wins out and she decides to go last - we continue the game with out to much of a hitch. Then begins the unpacking of supplies - can I just say I have no clue what to do with some of these things? I have binders, but no paper, the folders aren't really practical and some of them aren't actually folders, not sure what they are...and I can't send it back, I'm supposed to use it so um, I guess I just figure it out?! I teach them how to do their DLR (grammar page for the non teacher crowd) and we do a couple word family poems and some highlighting (they enjoyed the highlighter). I finally decided we had gotten something done - recess would be a good break - OH WAIT, I have to take them all to the bathroom - which EVERYONE commented on their good behavior (did I mention that my class has been through 10 teachers in the last 4 years and are apparently known has little terrors?) So far I had a little talking out, a little confusion but nothing to bad - perhaps this would be ok :) We went down for recess - no balls, no jmp ropes, no playground, just a parkng lot and me....hmmm...we played cartoon tag - going to need to figure out some games or supplies or something - course my kids only get recess a couple days a week because of out music/pe time. Sigh. After recess, we did our summer writing. I got a little frustrated because most of them just looked blankly at me while we brainstormed and I haven't looked at the product so hopefully we did all right. We eat our lunch together in the classroom - so I had 2 minutes to heat my food and get back to my kids. Lunch was about a half hour and then I started reading Encyclopedia Brown. I had one child fall asleep - hoping that isn't a reflection of my reading ability...seriously, there was drool involved she was that asleep! After story time we did math - they have no clue what to do with manipulatives, so that was kind of a problem...a lot of stopping and starting, and correction - but we got through the lesson and the one side of the paper had coloring so I got 10 minutes of quiet :) I also got to go use the bathroom while another teacher watched them for 2 minutes (that was a whole 4 minutes of non kid time today!....NO COMMENT) At the end of the day we did Bible (painful when only 3 kids participate, but it was better then the beginning of the day). Pack up time was painful - how hard is it to get your papers in your strange little folder thing? Overall we have some defiant issues to work on, several attention problems - oh and no one can read fluently, not even my English speakers....sooooo, yea, my goals have been defined, my work is cut out - for such a time as this right? I'm tired and a little cranky, tomorrow will be better and eventually they will understand that my boundaries don't bend or move, that my expectations are high but I will help them get there, that I will be here all year (although I did ask Adrienne if we left today if we could start school in CA on Tuesday). I'm going to have high hopes for this year and that some consistancy will go far...I came a long way for it :) I'll post kid pics soon - they're a funny little bunch! Adrienne and I crashed after school before I started making dinner and then went to get ice cream after we ate - a treat was MUCH needed - Adrienne's day was rough too...I had to have strawberry ice cream (such a happy flavor) but I was a little dissappointed by it - might need a new happy ice cream in Japan :( Off to bed soon so I can be well rested tomorrow - I need all the game I can get! Specialty classes start next week so that gives me some peace during the day - just gotta hold on till then!