Teacher Life...Year 2

I have survived week one in 7th grade! I am exhausted and saw the chiropractor THREE times this week to adjust the pain and discomfort from being on my feet and teaching eight hours a day again! Lesson to be learned: during summer vacation be more active and maybe, just maybe you won't be so tired and worn down when you jump back into adult life.

I read somewhere that 40/50 percent of new teachers leave the education field within the first five years. They leave for various reasons, but bottom line I can completely understand why! Last year, as a new teacher, I was thrown into a sink or swim scenario. I almost sank, never truly swam, managed to tread water and made it through until the end!

I spent the fall pregnant with baby number two. I left school every day and took nothing home. Life was a breeze. I wasn't responsible for lesson plans, 504 plans, IEP plans, STAAR testing or any other daunting task teachers face. I was solely an inclusion support teacher. It was fantastic, but I wasn't loving where I was or what I was doing. I had the itch for my own classroom and my very own students. While on maternity leave I applied for other positions and other schools and had a few interviews. On February 2nd I began a new opportunity! 8th grade ELAR teacher at Cesar Chavez in Waco, Tx. I knew very little about the scenario I was about jump, feet first, into. A little background... The school is in deep with the Texas Education Agency for not meeting STAAR testing standards for three year running. The students, in general, were pretty disrespectful and lacked any motivation to learn. They were at school for their social life. So- coming into a situation like that, especially mid-year, made for a rough spring!

Coach was on the defensive staff at a small junior college so his hours were a little flexible. He stepped up to the plate and played Mr. Mom. I spent the Spring semester leaving every morning at six o'clock, before my babes were even awake, and made it home sometime between six and seven at night. The drive to Waco was an hour each way...a nice quiet hour...but it grew old pretty quick. I stayed late everyday and was there early every morning. I took lesson plans and grades home every night and every weekend. I was always trying to keep my head above water. The spring was not a great experience. I barely saw my babes. I was completely run down. I had no time or energy to get to the gym. I was gaining weight like crazy. My husband was the best support system through it all! He took the boys to and from school everyday. He held down the fort while I was commuting and working too late.  Finally June came! Summer vacation!

Fall is here, year two of teaching! Coach took a new job so naturally we spent the summer moving, adjusting to a new life and getting acquainted with new faces and places. I am at a new school and could not be more excited to be where I am. Coach is at Southeastern, a DII in Durant, OK and I am in Sherman, TX at Piner Middle School. So far I am loving being a part of Sherman ISD. I am loving even more the 25 minute commute to work...it is far better than the hour I was driving last year!

Life is pretty much back to normal. Coach is in football hours, so he's out of the house before light and home after dark. I am back into single mommy role. So for year two I have some goals for the school year!
1. I will bring home NO work during the week! NONE! No grades/lessons/504/IEP NOTHING!
2. Sundays will be reserved for family time in the morning and afternoon, but during nap time I will get my lesson plans finalized.
3. I will not pour all of me into my teacher role! I will save some of me for my babes, coach, and myself.
4. It's okay to leave school with a messy desk...It's #teacherlife
5. I will make time for the gym a few days a week- I have got to keep my self sane! With coach in full swing for the season and single mom life reality, the gym is the only way I stay sane and relieve stress.

So to my fellow educators, seasoned or brand new, if I can give you any advice it would be... as a teacher you will never be "caught up." There will always be a paper to grade, a meeting to attend, a form to get filled out by a deadline. Take the time for yourself and for your family. Teacher life will still be there in the morning when you get back.

Here's a few snapshots of this years classroom. I am all about positive vibes and motivating my students!

Just some positive vibes!

The SWAG sign has been fixed to have the proper spelling of success.

Objective and Process TEK with EQ!

The view you have walking into my class!

Life after camp...

Life for the Haywoods has been a whirlwind lately! In between fall camp, back to school for my Pre-K baby, getting my classroom ready, and writing lesson plans I haven't much "me" time- or gym-time as I refer to it as. Needless to say my muscles are screaming for a few good lifting days! In true Kristen fashion I am sure this blog post will rambled and all over the spectrum. 

First thoughts...Fall Camp has come to an end and I see my handsome guy a few hours more a week! Camp ended on a good note! I got some great photos for memories to look back on in the years to come! Best photo of camp week hands down is one of a few defensive guys playing with my boys. AJ was fortunate enough to get some life advice from a few guys.

#DEATHROW #2015

We had our first family picture for the media guide! Is anyone ever photogenic outside in bright sunshine and 100 degree heat? I know I am not! One week from today and our season kicks of at home! Ready for next week and to begin the season with the first W over Henderson State! #GoSoutheastern. 

Although camp has come to an end, the time I see the man of the house is limited. I get kisses every morning around 5:30, just as I am incoherently wiping the drool off my cheek. If we are lucky, about once a week we get to have an actual dinner with the whole family! 

First week of school was this week... one more day and I will have survived my first year in seventh grade! Still so much to get done, as far as lesson planning and getting final touches on the classroom but hey it will all get where it needs to be eventually...that's what I keep telling myself any way. I was in such a good gym flow and then BAM! Teacher life has sucked me back in like the deep abyss of the sea. With any luck I will have paddled my way out just enough to leave before 5:00 every day and make it to my date nights with weights and protein shakes.

Goals for next week are to get ahead of lesson plans (hahahaha I like to tell teacher jokes) and get back into the gym! I am going to dive into Jamie Eason's newest regime "From Flat to All That!" I have included the link to get her week one and two circuits!Join in if you dare! Weeks 1-2 Jamie Eason

~Until next time! Cheerio!

Full Swing!

As most are aware college football is now in FULL SWING! Camps have begun! Hello to early mornings before the sun arises and nights that end long after the sun has gone down! It never fails we are entering the hottest days of the year- just in time for two-a-days!

As a football wife you have two choices: embrace this crazy life or resent your husband for choosing this career path. I choose to accept this life and embrace it- Arms wide open! Part of that embracing this life business is looking at the positive side of things about camp. For those negative Nancy's out there who cringe and curse their husband's during camp, I encourage you to make a list of the positives about camp life!

Here are some POSITIVES I look forward to every August!

1. Meal preps come back into full swing (and I always tend to slim down a little because of this)
During summer when coach has more free evenings, we dine out A LOT! We are foodies, so naturally we enjoy dinner out with the kiddos. I can meal prep and never eat out. I will cook for days at a time, coach comes home and says "How about we go get fajitas tonight." Naturally I am all in. I tell my inner fat kid that we will just have a few chips and bask in the meat and veggies of fajitas. Although this never happens. It never fails I have engulfed an entire cup of queso/salsa and a bowl of chips. So for this reason I enjoy camp and the season because the days of dinner out are long gone! I go back to meal prep and eating clean. My body thanks me for this!

2. Me time...also known as gym time. Now that coach is occupied sun up to sun down, I have the time schedule my days as I want. The time has come, he is already busy so I no longer feel guilty leaving him at home to catch my exercise class. In the weeks leading up to camp, I always slack on my workouts because we are trying to fit in as much us time and time with the kids before he is gone day in and day out.

3. GAME DAY! I mean who doesn't look forward to game days? Tailgates and watching those boys out there are what we live for! On Saturdays in that stadium is usually the longest span of time that coach and I are in the same vicinity from August- December- well except for in bed sleeping of course. Although when you think about it he comes home long after I've usually gone to bed and he's up before I roll over.

4. The little moments...
Because coach and I don't get to spend too much time together during season, especially camp weeks, I get the chance to do all the cheesy little things that made him swoon for me long ago. I get to leave little love notes in his backpack and color fun things on the mirror for him to see. I get to get crafty and make him game day treats. I am crafty little lady and I like making him things. The season is a perfect time for all this. It gives us a way to connect while we are both busy.


5. Parading my minions around the office. The boys and I make impromptu visits to surprise dad and say, "Hi!" Everyone always enjoys seeing the boys and really...who doesn't love holding a squishy baby?

This year for camp I am making some fun football shape cookies for the coaches and players and then I am making pounds of homemade chex mix for coach to keep at the office to snack on throughout the weeks. I am also whipping up some fun treats for coach's players- just his position group. Here is the start of a little something... The smaller ones will be for the players and the big one I am going to frame for coach.

These are the days I get most excited about.

Spouses in Sports

There are not many who understand what life is like as a football family and a coach's wife. I wouldn't say we are on the same playing field as a military wife, but some of the same emotions and daily life can really coincide- except, thankfully, I don't have to add the anxiety and fear of my husband never making it home to my list of worries.

In recent weeks I have became a part of an online community of coach's wives and I am already relaxing just a little bit about camp. It's comforting to know I am not the only one going through all the motions and secretly deep down inside already missing my husband more than words can say- and hey we are still three days out from camp- so life hasn't even really began yet! Adrian gives me a hard time about being a social media junkie, and well admitting it is the first step--- so yes I am addicted to social media. I use to scroll Facebook and see what was new on my news feed, but now I find myself scrolling through a few of the football wive's groups I am in on Facebook. It makes the days easier when you read about other women who are in your exact same situation. There is no one better that understands this life like another football wife. I also have joined Spouse in Sports and on my to do list is joining the American Football Wives Association. Coach's wives if you are not already a member, I urge you to join! You can never have too much support in this life we live.

Everywhere we have been, I have bonded with the women of the staff. Coach's families become your family. In the football world, if you are lucky, you miss Thanksgiving AND Christmas with your traditional family. Yet you spend it with your football family. At the Division I level if you are home for Christmas, well lets be honest- You didn't win enough games and didn't make it to post-season play or you won just enough for an early bowl game but you'll make it home in time for Christmas. Either one of those scenarios is not where a coach hopes to be. Coach's plan to spend the holidays in Phoenix, Pasadena, Florida, Arlington and the list goes on for prime bowl spots to be invited too.

When coach gets the call, and new job is on the horizon it's scary but exciting and we are all happy yet a little sad. After Adrian finished his masters and three years as a GA at Baylor the time came to find a new home. We were both said to leave Baylor. BU was family. Over the years we had grown close with several people and now it was time move along in the coaching world. He ended up at a Junior College in Corsicana, Texas. The season was a rough one. Adrian wasn't always happy and there wasn't a sense of family between the coach's and families. I spent a lot of time alone in Corsicana, well as alone as you can be with a chatty four year old. We are now at Southeastern, a D2 school in southeast Oklahoma. The staff here is family and many have been here together for a long time or they played here and now coach. Each get together I get a little close with the wives, but many have yet to understand the constant moving. My coach's goal is a DC spot at the Division 1 level and I can tell you we won't stop until he's there. 

People tell me all the time, oh you can't move your kids that much or say oh it will be too hard for them to make new friends. Well coach's families are resilient and can adapt. It's what we do, it's how we live and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Camp begins SATURDAY! Just a few more days and it's going to be hello single mom life! If I want my house to be somewhat presentable and the kids halfway decent, I have to step up! Dad won't be helping with bath time or feeding the baby while I cook dinner- nope he will still be at the office so that all falls on me! So does doctor appointments, back to school night with our new Pre-K kiddo, and all the other mommy duties! Along with pre-k, Zaden is starting soccer this fall. Someone tried to explain to me that if his dad couldn't make his first games then we should wait to spring. Well dear let me explain to you that in a football family, there is no "off season" for coaches. If they aren't breaking down game film and practice then they are recruiting. If it isn't recruiting then it is spring ball, so even if we wait until Spring chances are daddy will still be missing games. But hey we are in 2015 that's what video technology and Face time are for! So daddy can still be a part of the memories!

So basically I want to say Thank You to all the coach's wives I have already became friends with in these social media forums. Some of us may be rivals on the field but off the field we support each other and lend an ear or a tissue when it is most needed. Good Luck to everyone for the season!

Like reading about our crazy lives? Check out some of these blogs from really great women I've connected with!
Footballwifelife: Game Planning
Lifeasafootballwife: August in a Coaching family
Thesimplysouthern: Love Letters to Coach
InchbyInch: It's just around the bend
CoachG'sWife: It's Here
fx4fit: lfriday-night-sister-wife