World Cup Fever

Just about all you can here during the Brazil games is the sound of the vuvuzela

As we wait for Miss Stella to arrive, we've at least had the World Cup to keep us entertained. The past two weeks have been filled with game after game. Of course, the U.S. and Brazil games are our favorite, but I think Noah and Paul have watched most of the games that are on. Almost all kids here (and adults too!) are crazy about the World Cup album, where they collect stickers of the players on each team, the stadiums, the team photos, etc...Noah started his in mid-April and has collected 630 stickers for his album and only needs 8 more to complete the whole thing. Noah has a pretty good memory, and after nearly 3 months of studying the teams he has a good feel for most of the players. He's really enjoying the World Cup! Watching in Brazil is fun too-no matter when the game is, everything comes to a complete standstill. The city is nearly silent as everyone is completely focused on the game. Even Sophie's ballet class was canceled due to the game last week! I think the World Cup goes through July 11th-here's hoping Stella has made her appearance by then-I'm not sure what we'd do with all the time if the World Cup is over AND she's not here!!

Noah loving the vuvuzela

Sophie chose blue nail polish to show her support for both the U.S. and Brazil...I'm not even kidding!

Wrapping Up the Year and Some Changes for Next Year

We're just about finished for the 2009-2010 school year! Thursday (6/10) is the last day of school for students and we teachers finish on the 11th. It has been a little difficult for me to keep up these last few weeks as I approach the end of the school year and the end of this pregnancy at the same time, but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel! Our June-July break isn't especially long, but coupled with our other 6 week break in December and January we really can't complain. Obviously we'll have our hands full with Miss Stella's arrival at some point in June (I can't wrap my head around the possibility of early July quite yet), my mom arrives July 7th and Paul and Noah are off to Peru mid-July. Ryan will come back with Paul and Noah and be here the remainder of the break. It seems like it will fly by! Before we know it we'll be starting back to school and I'll be the mother of both a first grader, a K-4 preschooler, and a newborn! Crazy! The good news for me is that I'll have ample time to adjust to these roles-at least compared to Noah and Sophie's births. With both Noah and Sophie I had to head back to work 6 weeks post partum and though Noah's birth came near the end of the school year it still wasn't ideal. This time, assuming I have this baby near the end of June, I should be off through the end of January. Seven months! Brazil has great maternity leave benefits (at least compared to the other countries in the Americas).
As it stands right now, I'll get 4 months off for maternity leave, 30 days of vacation (since the baby is coming over vacation), 15 days for breastfeeding, and I'm set to return December 9th. I think school finishes just over a week later and rather than disrupt breastfeeding, etc...I'm just going to take that week unpaid. Second semester starts near the end of January so at that point Stella and I will have had 7 wonderful (paid!) months to get to know each other. Of course, I don't think going back to work with small kids is ever ideal or easy, but we have it pretty good. I still will be only 5 minutes from home and at school all day with Noah and Sophie. Our same nanny will watch Stella until I return home around 4.
Next year I will not return to work as a classroom teacher. Due to strange circumstances (another third grade teacher and I are due with in days of each other) my principal has asked me to return in a reading support and literacy coaching position. I'm excited about that opportunity and I think it will allow me to ease back into the working world, rather than diving head first into report cards, parent conferences, etc...right away. I'm really looking forward to the changes ahead...I think they'll be good for all of us! Paul's a little jealous, but while I'm at home holding down the fort, his next seven months include Peru, Paris, the States, and Italy so I don't feel too bad!