Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, dance like your toes don't bother you everytime you look at them

Is that the saying? LOL

Yes, we're opening school on the 8th of September. The teachers are waiting to start a brand new year. We might not have consistent electricity, but we do have power. It obviously won't be as comfortable as we'd like it to be for our staff and students, but it's no more than what we all have to put up with at home. I'm sure that the kids are all itching to meet their new classmates and teacher, plus we can't afford to put learning on hold for any reason. We move on! I remember one of my first grade students years ago saying to me, "I finally learned how to spell homework Ms. Boni. But, then we had that long weekend." No, we move on.

Parents will be well advised to dress their children in light breathable clothes and provide a re-fillable water jug. My kids are pretty used to drinking water since it's the only thing in our refrigerator and still the best thing for you. Please do not send your children to school with snacks that will only deplete their energy, i.e. sugary, processed and packaged snacks that are easy to buy but hard to get any nutritional value from. Since it's a new school year, it is the perfect time to start a healthy habit. A nice sandwich or some cut up fruit with water can be a perfect between class snack. If you have questions about what our staffing pattern or requirements are, please visit our GES blog. It's been a long summer and our campus is not the same without the pitter patter of Mallard feet. We can't wait for September. It's going to be a great year, I can just tell. We'll post up some back to school info at the Mallard Pond soon. See you on the first day of school!

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Yellow roses greeted me yesterday morning. I didn't know what I did to deserve them, so I asked. I'm rarely speechless. I have many cute comeback lines stored in this brain of mine, but the answer caught me off guard and I'm truly comeback-less.

"You always deserve my love and affection,

you don't need to do anything to expect it from me"

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Why I post a picture of my un-pedicured toes is beyond me. Maybe it will shame me into taking time for myself? If my good friend Wonda saw this, she'd be appalled. A woman does not bare her un-groomed feet for the world to see. Anyone know a good salon?

How Not To React On Your Daughter's First Day At Jr. High

Hope is going to my Alma Mater, go Knights!! I saw Jane at the parent orientation meeting . It was a hoot looking at our girls' reactions to the old and new rules. We are lucky mothers indeed. Hope sat there frozen as the disciplinarian read off consequences and categories of offenses. I have to admit, I sat in the perfect spot to see my old hallway where I spent all of my High School days, and all I could think of were all the rules I managed to break. Ah, the memories. Lucky thing for Hope that Mr. G, the principal knows what exactly to look out for since we went to school together . Hey Mr. G, did you take care of those old permanent records yet? Oops there goes another year with my...

Oops, there goes another year with my...

Oops, there goes another year with my Hope!

I need the parent version of Ned's De-Classified School Survival Guide. I took Hope to her first day of Jr. High today. Correction. I drove her to the gate and then she very gently told me that she could walk herself to class. Gulp! I let my head hang and took a deep breath. Okay, stomach stop churning and heart don't fly out of my throat. "Are you sure?" "Yup"
Okay. She'll be okay, right? I am a good mother, right? She's just getting older, right? So, I call her three times on my way to work trying to ignore the dizzy sensation, "Hope are you sure you can find your way, are you sure you don't want me to walk you in?" I made it to the Garapan Fishing Basin and then screech! I pulled a U-ey and dialed her cell, "Hope, wait for me at the gate, I'm coming back to walk you to class!" But, she was already in class and there were no other parents around. She's promised to let me walk her in tomorrow, just so that she doesn't get lost you know. Or, maybe so her mother doesn't feel like she's losing her baby.
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Look who we've got our Hanes on now! Oh yeah, finally!