5th Grade Graduation-Thursday, June 9

Today was the long awaited 5th grade graduation ceremony.  Jesse took the day off of work to attend the ceremony, take care of Jackson so I could be on stage, and help me pack up my classroom.  I am so thankful he was able to do this because today simply could not have happened without his help.  We were showered, dressed, and out the door at 8:45 a.m. 

My kids happily welcomed me back as always.  My classroom is my second home.  Truth be told, I've spent more hours in my classroom than in my house on many, many days.  I appreciated my substitute requesting that I give out the awards to my class.  Because our school is closing this year and students and staff are all going their separate ways, this graduation was particularly meaningful.  After receiving their certificates, the 5th grade classes sang Hold My Hand while a slide show of their photos played. 

Our students' parents are loud and proud!  They screamed and carried on after every single name was read.  Jesse said Jackson looked so pissed off, constantly being startled by the audience just after nodding his head off to sleep.  Jackson took the bottle well and finally fell asleep towards the end of the ceremony.  I was so mad Jesse didn't take a single picture, despite me giving him the camera and requesting photos.

After the ceremony we did a meet and greet on the lawn with students and parents, then it was back to my classroom.  Jesse and I drove separately so that we could fill both our cars with my school supplies.  I need to have my classroom completely cleared out in the next two days, so I wanted to take advantage of being able to use my students as manual labor.  (They love helping!)    I still need to go back on Saturday to go through my files, but we got most of the bulk.  Here is four years worth of accumulation:



The inside of my car was completely packed as well.

 At nearly 1 p.m., we were hungry, thirsty, and tired from being around over a hundred people and loading the car in 99 degree heat.  Jackson peed, sweat, and spit up through his outfit.  Luckily we had a backup onesie.  My boobs were so engorged I was leaking through my dress.  As soon as we got home I was able to change, drink a couple glasses of water, feed Jackson, pump 7 ounces, and heat up lunch.  Though Jackson generally nurses 10-15 minutes on one side only, he has been nursing on both sides the past couple of days.  His backup outfit was The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  On the back it says, "but he was still hungry".  So true!

The best news of the day: our prayers from yesterday were finally answered.  Seventy-two hours after being admitted to the hospital, Elizabeth had her baby!  I'll spare the details since it's not my story to tell, but I am so impressed with her dedication to a vaginal delivery and I could not be more excited to meet her baby tomorrow.