EJ's 15th Birthday

Here it comes, just like that and he's 15!  How is this even possible.  It feels just like yesterday when I gave birth to him wahh.  I'm a little sad that they are growing up so fast but also glad to see them grow up.  I wouldn't trade motherhood for  any richness on earth.  I'd choose them over gold!  I love my life as a mom of these two .  Aside from my husband, they are the best things that has happened to me.  I'd be forever grateful to God that He blessed me with a wonderful family!

 

Having a daughter and a son is perfect.  These two  are the best kids that any parent could ask for and I am beyond blessed to be their Mom.

Anyway, since my son's birthday falls after Christmas, it is hard to find things that he likes.  Luckily, his interest went back to cars again  so I managed to get him some and also got him a car storage to display his collection.  I also made a DIY project using some  materials we have at home.  

We used to travel on their birthdays but given the situation, we only went to Boardman and hang out for a little bit, it was fun though.

I'm glad we managed to have a little getaway even for just a day.  It gave them a little something to do other than hang out at home.

I am glad that there's pingpong table at the mall, it's been a while since we play it.

Dearest EJ,

As you turned 15

Our love for you has grown bigger

We are grateful to have a loving son

Thank you for coming to our lives and making our life complete.

We love you very much and we will be here for you, always.

May God continue to  guide and bless you with good slate of health.

Love,

Mom

Sadie’s Dance and Her Firsts

The Sadie’s Dance was cancelled due to the growing cases of Omicron and few numbers of sign up but the kids have already picked out their outfits so they had a get together to make up for the lost fun.  

Our daughter is definitely growing into a woman.  She had her very first date on March 5th with this guy who is taking her to the prom.  Since, they don't really talk much in school, they need to get to know each other before the dance to break the awkwardness.  It's an exciting phase of her life so we find it funny seeing her giddy when she talks.  Hubby and I trust our daughter so we didn't see the need for a chaperone on her first date.  Anyway, they were suppose to go bowling in our area but the one they planned to go to was close and the one in downtown has an hour wait so they drove to Toronto and bowled there instead.

Last Sunday, March 6th, we went to the Cathedral of St. Joseph and attended a collaborated reflection event by the catholic schools in the Upper Ohio Valley.  It was nice watching  the young generation come together through praise and songs.

Food and drinks were served after the event.

We actually went there thinking it was just a regular mass where our daughter has to read petition but it was actually more like a play.  

I'm glad our daughter is not afraid to volunteer in this kind of activities because we get to experience it too.

A lot of things have happened but never get to jot it down.  Our daughter started working a part time job at a fast food chain on February 23rd.  She missed to watch her brother's  city championship basketball game but she was excited to work for her very first job experience.  

My husband was against her working but I think she needs to experience this.  It's the only way she'll get a full understanding of real life situation by experiencing it first hand.  I mean, I put myself through high school and college by being a working student and it taught me a lot.

She's still have a long way to go but I hope that she will be able to find a career path that would make her happy and stable. 

She's a pressure player so she does well when she's super busy.  Now that volleyball season is over, she coaches the little kids volleyball team at St. Joseph.  she's also tutoring a Korean student online.  I am so proud of a young lady she is becoming.  She knows her priorities and she's super goal oriented.

Fun Night with Friends in the City of Bridges, #Pittsburgh

 My daughter and her friends went on a fun night in Pittsburgh on November 20th last year.  One of their friends missed the homecoming dance because of Covid so they went out and had fun with a style.  They rode a limo  to and from their destination. These group of kids have a strong friendship bond.

Glad they could go out and have fun given the covid situation.  

These two don't want to be photographed anymore but when occasion such as this occurs, I always make sure to capture some despite their opposition lol.

Thought she looked beautiful in this simple green dress that we bought.

I love the booties she wore as well.

My first baby has definitely grown into a full grown woman.

She's almost done with her Junior year, in few more months, she'll enter senior year.  Ahhh time flies!

A lot has changed and happened for the last couple of years but one thing is for certain, we love watching our children grow.

Tomorrow will be her first day of working part time.  It's always exciting to do  firsts.

It was light up night when they got together so it made it really especial.

Roaming around in the city of bridges during night time must be fun.  I'm too old to  do these stuff but glad that my daughter can experience these things.

Madonna HS Homecoming 2021 #HoCo2021

I can't believe how much time flies.  Both of our children are now in high school and it's a joy to see them both get excited and dressed up.

This year's homecoming at my children's school was a little different than the past few years.  Instead of having the dance at an out of school facility, it was held at the school's gymnasium.  Students have their choices to go wherever they choose for dinner.  My son's date and his friends went to William's Country Club and my daughter's date and their friends went to Ditka's.  

We got our son a new suit at JosABank.  I think he cleaned up well.  

Rye chose a satin light  purple almost pink dress.  She actually bought two dresses, the other one is purple which was my pick but she wore this one.

Her date is Anthony Arnold, a close friend of hers since kindergarten.  They been going on hoco for 3 years and we liked it because we love Anthony, he's a really good kid, I mean young man.

EJ asked his close friend Marissa, they went to school together at St. Joseph since kindergarten although they go on different schools in high school.  Her family is a close family friend of ours which makes us very happy that they went to the dance together.

She looked stunning and I think they look great together.  I love where his class went for dinner because the view there is gorgeous.  Too bad it was raining when they were about to take pictures so they didn't get to have more  photos taken outside.  I was still very weak so I let my husband  be in charged of the taking photos.  I forgot to tell my son to removed the plastic of the bouquet before he gave it to Marissa. Oh well, lesson learned for my son not to forget about it next time.

They took group pictures inside despite the manager telling the parents not to take pictures inside.  There's nothing they can do though, it was raining outside.

Rylie's  friends went to one of her friend's house and take some photos before they went to dinner at Ditka's.

The kids said that it was a lot of fun.  My daughter even said that, it was way better than the previous years.

Career Paths for Teachers

When it comes to careers, the majority of people want to know that there is going to be an opportunity to progress when they accept a job offer. After a while of working in the same role, it can get boring as you have gotten everything you possibly can out of it, and are ready to take on bigger challenges so that you can grow both personally and professionally. Luckily, a lot of careers can provide various progression routes, allowing you to move into different departments, and teaching is one job role that can lead to a variety of opportunities. If you’re a teacher who is wondering what they can do next, here are a few routes you could explore.

Principal

You might want to stay working within the school environment, and a good career aim, if you would like to move further up the ladder, is to become a head of a department, and then principal. If this is something that you’re interested in, you will need to show that you have strong leadership skills, which is why applying for head of department positions before applying to become a principal is a good idea. You might also want to return to college to study leadership in education. You can do this online if you would like, as this might make it easier to #t your studies around your job. Check out this CAGS in Educational Leadership  certificate program as an example of the type of thing you should be looking at.

Private Tutor

If you would like to break away from the traditional classroom setting and would like to become self-employed, using your teaching experience to become a private tutor could be the right choice for you. This can be a lucrative role if you build a strong client base, and a lot of educators #nd this more enjoyable as it is working closely with students one-on-one, rather than having to lead a bigger class which can be challenging at times. You can also choose your working hours, though you will likely be working weekends and after-school hours as this is when your students will be available.

Helping to Develop Teacher Training

If you would like to move away from working with students altogether, you could instead look at using your teaching expertise to help develop and implement professional teacher training programs instead. All educators will need to go through training before they can become fully +edged teachers, but they will also need to continue this development throughout their careers to match changing curriculums and new, innovative methods of teaching. You could start to work for an organization that helps to create these programs and supports educators looking for a job that isn’t in the classroom.

Working for the Department of Education

This is another interesting role that is outside of the usual educational settings. If you are looking for this kind of change, working for the department of education could be the right career path for you as an educator. You could help to create the curriculum, liaise with other government professionals, and oer advice based on your previous experience working as a teacher. You could help to improve the overall learning and teaching experience for future students and educators, which is an incredible thing to achieve in your career.  

If you’re a teacher who is wondering what they could do next and wants some ideas about the future of their career, consider the suggestions above and see if any appeal to you

Sweet 16: Time Flies!

Our daughter turned 16 this year, time really do fly fast!  I can't believe she's a Junior now.  I don't even want to entertain the thought of her graduating from high school.  I don't think I am ready emotionally lol.  When she started driving, I was thinking to myself, did I really gave birth to her (lol).  I am glad she's not like me who is scared of driving, she's courageous and very cautious.  

Anyway, when it comes to creativity, I lack of it, big time! I am not like many Moms who has so many  creative ideas when celebrating their  children's birthday.  In fact, I am the most boring Mom in the world, in my opinion ha ha.  But that doesn't mean, I don't love my children, oh I DO, they mean the world to me!  I just don't have that talent or skills of being creative.  

Anyway, I only made her mini pancakes for breakfast and decorated our eat-in kitchen windows a little and that's it.  I am happy though that my children doesn't really care much for elaborate stuff.  I am glad that they are content with our simple ways of showing our love to them.

I am happy that we raised them that way.

A friend of mine offered to take her pictures at Oglebay Park, which I am grateful.  Our daughter had fun doing the photo shoot.  If you want a fun shoot for your pictures, you can lookup Turquoise Sunset Photography on Facebook or online.  She's an awesome photographer. 

I am glad she chose this place because it's been years since we've been here last.  We did drive around during tennis matches few years ago but we didn't really explored much.  Glad we were able to  walked around while the photoshoot is going on.

I just took some snaps of her while she was posing for the photographer.  I am a little sad that both of my kids are not fond of being photographed anymore.  I miss those days when they would  literally asked me to take pictures of them.  Now that they are teens, my photo taking chances have been limited and they also don't want them posted on social media lol.

At 16, my daughter have so many opportunities that I never had growing up.  It makes me happy that they have these privileges, thanks to my husband's undying support.

I hope that whatever path they take as they delve into adulthood, they will succeed in it.  I do believe that my daughter will as  she's very focused and determined.  She has the work ethic to achieve whatever she sets her mind into. 

I can only hope and pray that I will live long enough to see them have their own families and be successful of whate3ver careers they choose.

Dearest Rye Bean,

As you turned 16, I pray that God will always guide you and give you strength. 

That He will protect you day in and day out.  

Good health and happy life is what I always WISH FOR YOU.

Remember, Dad and I will always be here for you.

Thank you for setting a good example to your brother.

We are very proud of you and we love you very much!

Love,

Mom