Misc Post

Last day of 2008! No News Years Resolutions here.....I just want to keep what I have!

Last night, after our contractor (aka Kenny's high school buddy) buddy left, we snuck down to the basement to take a peek at the progress. In all seriousness, I'm down there constantly with the washer and dryer, so I walk past the construction all day, but I really don't pay attention to it. I'm waiting for the finished product, if you know what I mean. Anyway, Kenny got EXTREMELY happy when he saw that the lights and electrical were done and immediatly ran upstairs to get the 15 lightbulbs needed to turn on the lights. See for yourself....

Please excuse the butt-sniffing dog in that picture, apparently she can't help herself! So that's the progress is the basement. I'll explain it to you, but it really doesn't matter till it's all done. This is one half of our basement, and it will be one giant office space for Kenny with a wall dividing his half of the basement (the finished part) from the other half, which may be finished too, after we assess the financial part in a couple months. Anyway, of his half of the basement, it's literally one giant room for his work space, game space (cause every dude needs that Boston Bruins pinball game, right?), and TV space, of which I am allowed to be part of...but ONLY the TV area, everything else is totally off limits to me....I'm not complaining. LESS TO CLEAN!!! There is a closet on his side, which you can see in the pictures, a HUGE closet for all his crap. It's also another bathroom possibility if we need one later on down the road. We have two full bathrooms upstairs, and in our small ranch home, that's plenty, but our wise contractor told us that another bathroom (or the possibility of it) is always a good thing. So that closet was strategically placed near the bathroom/water pipes for future use. Good planning? Of course! And that's what's happening in the basement right now. I'll spare you the pics of the other half right now, which is jam packed ceiling to floor with all our worldly (crap, junk) possessions. Oh and my craft stuff, that is the only stuff worth keeping.

And this picture is for my mom. She gave BB that Christmas squeaky toy as her present last week, and BB has never destroyed a squeaky toy, but she did that to this one! I just had to show my mom what her grand-dog did!! Excuse the messy look I have going on...I'm still on vacation. And pregnant, the sick kind of pregnant, so cut me some slack:) One question about that....I'm almost 15 weeks prego...when will the puking end??????????

Happy New Year! Be safe!

My 3 Christmases

And we're still counting....

So far we've had 3 of them....my inlaws, my mom, and my dad. Whew! Today we are traveling for one last party, the extended get-together for my mom's whole family. And then we're DONE! Here are some pics from our 3 celebrations so far....

Kenny's family:

My mom, my brother and me:

And my dad's family:

This year, Christmas was just plain fun. Not too much driving, I did a lot of cooking (but really, not that much) and hosting, but the good thing about that is when the party is over, I can go to bed! No driving home! We have a lot to be thankful for FOR SURE this year. My MIL, my mom, and my stepsister all slipped in baby gifts...they just couldn't resist! How cute. I know there is more to come as this baby grows too. Like I said, we have so much to be thankful for!

Here's one last picture of us. Merry Christmas again!

Merry Christmas!!!

Enjoy every moment!

Love,

Kenny & Lindsey

PS: Here are a few of my new favorite ornaments this year.....

Dad, Lights, and Bump

Yesterday my dad came out to our house to take me shopping for my Christmas present....at Homedepot! Oh yes he did!! He said he was going to get some ceiling lights for us AND install them....bonus! We had two rooms left to find lights for, so off we went. And these are the results....

The computer room (soon to be the baby's room)...

And then our bedroom light....

I love 'em. It just puts that finishing touch on the room. Thanks dad!

---------------------------

Here's my attempt at a first belly shot. Ignore the baggy shirt (I pulled it tight so you can sort of see the bump there, and also ignore the dark circles and....you know why they're there. The bump is there, just barely!

3 Days Left!

Three more days until Christmas? Are you kidding? I'm done shopping and wrapping, I just can't believe the big day will be here in three days and then it will be over. Just like that!! Every year it amazes me how much time we spend getting ready for Christmas Day and then how quickly it comes and goes. Kind of like a wedding day. Heh. We have several Christmases to have this year, and they won't be over on Christmas Day, which I like because it spreads the holiday out to just more than one day. We actually are having two Christmases AT OUR HOUSE this year. That's right. And we don't even have kids (yet) and we live an hour from my parents...how lucky are we? We are having Christmas with my mom in the afternoon on Christmas Day and then with my dad on the 26th. Now, that's a lot of cooking and preparing for someone who doesn't do that on a regular basis, but I'm going to make it easy on my self....one meal is lasagna and the other is potato soup....I can handle those! I'm just thrilled to not be traveling on Christmas Day this year. On the 27th we are going to make a 90 minute treck to have an extended family Christmas party, but no complaints here, that one is long overdue and I'm looking forward to it. Really, this Christmas is going to be great!

I can't sleep in very well. I don't know if it's the baby not letting me sleep and preparing me for the sleeplessness that comes with motherhood or my body used to getting up so early for work. I just can't sleep in, as much as I want to! And the update on morning sickness?? Still there, still going strong, still unpredictable and pretty much all day. Ugh. I'm almost 14 weeks so I'm hoping that soon I'll get some relief!!

Christmas Came Early!

And in the form of a snow day!!! I am home today, first day of vacation unexpected!! Getting that call in the morning to just stay in bed is more than music to my ears, let me just tell ya. Most of the county knew yesterday that kids in every school wouldn't be going in today, and that vacation was coming early, but it didn't really start snowing until 430am, so it was kind of hard to determine if I should get up or not. Then the call came.....whew!! So I slept in big time, something I never do, and I'm still in my PJs. It's going to be a lazy day around here. Kenny declared this morning that he wasn't going to do anything today too. I think someone has the case of jealousy....when I get to be home, he doesn't want to work, heh, heh, heh! It's now almost 11am and it's STILL snowing, and it's so beautiful. We actually went out and bought a brand new snowblower last night at Sears and Kenny put it together and when he gets up I'm sure he'll be outside using it. It's much bigger than we actually need (you know how guys are about that kind of thing) but he is looking forward to using it!

In other news....

I'M PREGNANT!!!

I'm 13 weeks today! Due date is June 24th. I had an ultrasound at about 9 weeks and here is our baby....

And then at my appointment yesterday I got to hear the heartbeat again....what an incredible sound. I've been absent from blogging as often as I used to because I've been incredibly sick every single day. Ugh. Not fun, but ALL for a good cause!

11 Days 'Til Christmas!

I'm another year older....ah! Oh well. My birthday was on Wednesday and I celebrated on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with friends and family. I'm so spoiled. But it was great!!

Yesterday I spent some time at Tasha's house just chillin' out. It's so relaxing to do that, it something that I don't think either of us get to do very much. Baby Ben is adorable, I can't believe how big he's gotten. He's got to be the happiest smiliest baby ever!! And when she says he doesn't cry, she means it!! He's the perfect little man!!

I stole this meme from Tasha, I may have done it before in previous years but I'm sure no one remembers:)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both, wrapping paper for those who open gifts at our house, bags for those whose presents we have to deliver.
2. Real tree or Artificial?
When I was a kid we cut down our own trees from our farm, but since college, artificial!
3. When do you put up the tree?
It gets earlier every year! This year it was Thanksgiving Day.
4. When do you take the tree down?
After the new year.
5. Do you like eggnog?
Love it! But don't drink much of it, stomach ache central!
6. Favourite gift received as a child?
There were so many toys....pound puppies, my barbie dream house, my little ponies...
7. Hardest person to buy for?
Kenny. He never tells me what he wants, only that he wants to keep what he already has. I end up buying him practical things and nothing fun.
8. Easiest person to buy for?
My mom. She loves everything I do!
9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail!!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I don't think there was one.
12. Favourite Christmas Movie?
Charlie Brown's Christmas, and Frosty.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Usually December, but every year I swear I'm going to start earlier.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Of course!
15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas?
We don't have a food tradition, it's always a surprise. But I guess Christmas cookies are something I always look forward to.
16. Lights on the tree?
Duh!!!!
17. Favourite Xmas song?Favourite carol?
O Holy Night.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Both.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
I tried this last year and failed:)
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Nothing....it broke and we haven't bought something new yet.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Kenny cannot wait until Christmas morning, so both.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Traffic & parking.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
My ornaments aren't themed, most of them are hand-me-downs from when Kenny and I were kids, plus we have bought some news ones along the way. Our tree is pretty eclectic!!

I have the spirit!

Off to a Christmas party today!

This will be the first one of the season for us. I'm getting excited about it too! Even though we put up our tree last week and I've been doing some Christmas shopping, it just hasn't felt like the season yet. Now it is. There is snow and I love it!

The students have been EXTRA squirrely at school, which is to be expected. In my book that means KEEP THEM BUSY WITH MORE WORK. Can you tell my students love me? They lost their "Fun Friday" movie privileges last week because of their constant interrupting of the teacher, so they had to write instead that they would respect my rules. I'm so mean. But they need it. I promise. 2 more weeks of teaching before the break. I'm counting every single day down too. Woo-hoo!

If you aren't a daily reader of Tasha's website, click over there and give her some love. She and her family are going through a really rough time right now and I know she could use all the support she can find.

I hope you are all finding the Christmas spirit like I finally did this week:)

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!

Oh I'm still here, just buried in totes and boxes....we're not moving, just finishing the basement. One. Month. Before. Christmas. O. M. G. I hate clutter, and as is just so happens, I married the MOST unorganized, clutter loving-stuff loving (and he fully admits it) man in the world. And we have a SMALL house. Less than 1500 sq feet for me, him, and HIS STUFF. When the basement project is finished (it begins Tuesday), half of our basement will be drywalled and carpeted, painted, and furnished as his office (it will be huge) and on one end a TV area, but not a family room, it will be more like his little space away from work, away from the first floor, and more importantly, away from me. And I mean that in the sweetest sense. Everyone knows a small house means you are constantly on top of each other, and having him work in this tiny computer room upstairs IS NOT WORKING. The room is always messy, I can't stand getting on the computer when the room is messy. I know it's probably OCD, but I can't help it. So all of this stress that I'm feeling from having boxes and totes EVERYWHERE and completely packed on one side of the basement leaving me only a small trail to the washer/dryer area is for a very good cause. Kenny needs a huge room to be a man in. To work in. To hide in. To be sloppy and messy and I don't have to see it!!!! Yay!!! I told him yesterday I wouldn't clean it unless he asked me to. He was thrilled AND SO WAS I. I just have to keep reminding myself the the next month will be complete chaos is this house, with extra messes and dirt and all that junk that goes with remodeling. There is light at the end of the tunnel. He is going to LOVE his new work space and so am I:)

Happy Thanksgiving a few days late. I worked with hubs most of the 4 day weekend so there was no vacation for me, but I'm actually happy to be going back to a normal routine tomorrow.

So if my posts are infrequent, it's probably because our computer room is occupied by too much clutter and I can't stand looking at it. Tomorrow is December 1st. Holy cow!

All Done with NaBloPoMo

I'm officially bowing out of NaBloPoMo. I don't normally give up on things, but this, I can't hack it! I tried, I failed. I don't even have a valid excuse why I didn't post on the 14th other than I just completely forgot again and was never even at the computer when I got home. And Friday? I just didn't post because I knew I was giving up. Sorry ladies! Too hectic. But of course I'm still posting in general, so it's not like I'm giving up completely. That, I won't do:)

This weekend, so far, has been nothing but running errands. Here, there, over there, across the street, and back again. I went to refill our ink cartridges at our favorite place, Rapid Refill. I got there, parked, walked up to the door, and BAM, they are out of business. I couldn't believe it! I was just there not too long ago! I was so sad. It only costs about $16 to refill our cartridges there, and at Ink Stop or any of the office supply places it's atill at least $30. I was so bummed to shell out $30. And even more bummed that Rapid Refill went out of business. So sad.

To equal out the sadness with something good, there is a new smoothie place that just opened by our house. It's call Tropical Smoothie Bar. I reeeeeaaaaally wanted to go there yesterday but Kenny wasn't with me and I knew it just wouldn't be fair to go without him since he is the king of smoothie drinking. The man lives for it. So when I came home I told him about it and I think we are going today. Yuuuummy.

I have a whole bag full of papers to grade this weekend. I'm not looking forward to it either. Ugh. I put it off and put it off. There isn't much to grade in first and second grade, most papers get checks or stars since there are not ABCDE grades on report cards until 3rd grade. But I still have to score their assessments and writings and so on. So that's what I'm doing. Conferences and the end of the trimester are NEXT week. Gulp. I'm nowhere near ready. Geez I'm behind everywhere!

Enjoy Sunday!

NaBloPoMo Day 13

I am a bad NaBloPoMo Blogger. I'll just say that up front and move on:)

Things have been very crazy around here. One computer between the two of us (soon his will be here) and the hubs works from the computer 24/7, it makes my computer time limited to BEFORE I leave for school, such as now. And the only reason I have time to be on it now is because my copilot is going to be late getting to my house this morning.

Yesterday there was a student council dance after school, called the Fall Fling. I volunteered to chaperone (along with several other teachers). I figured it's easier for me to do that NOW and not at the end of the year when it's hot and no one wants to be at school any longer than they have to. The dance was awesome, the kids had a great time and everyone behaved, even the teachers:) Our students wear uniforms, and they were allowed to change after school into different clothes for the dance, and so many of them dressed up....how cute! I have to admit though, I never knew how to dance that well when I was in elementary school. I can't even dance like that now!

In class today we are making landforms out of salt and flour dough. I've never done this before. Wish me luck. It's going to be messy and crazy.

This is my last day at school this week....tomorrow I go to a writing workshop about 4 miles from my house...how lucky is that??

Ooopps

Can you believe that I FORGOT to post yesterday? I just got up for work, and I'm getting out of the shower, and that's when it hit me....I FORGOT! So please, forgive me. I really truly did forget. I will post twice today to make up for it even though we're not supposed to do that. Forgiveness please??

Bye Bye Fall

The last few precious images of fall.....

I think autumn is over. I know on the calendar it's not yet, but it snowed last night and this morning. We were grilling hamburgers last night and Kenny went out and lit the grill, came back in while it warmed up, and when he took the meat outside to cook, it was snowing. Nothing permanent of course, but enough to let us know that yes indeed, it's here. Our drive to work this morning was ridiculus. My copilot referred to it as "snow driving amnesia." The crazies here in Michigan are known for that. It wasn't a blizzard for heaven's sake! It was snow flakes, that weren't sticking to the road! All that requires is SLOWING DOWN. We decided to leave this morning at 630 instead of 6am just to give ourselves a little more snooze time. Nice, eh? Not so much. We didn't get to school until 820am. We are supposed to be in our classrooms at 730, the children arrive at 8am. Oooops. It wasn't our fault, let me tell ya. We had to go so slow on the freeway going to work that it made us crazy. I'm not even sure what the problem was, but I can tell you it was someone OVERREACTING to the first snow of the year. Which does happen every year. AHHHH! Oh well, it was a shorter morning with the kids. The didn't mind. They were happily coloring in another teacher's classroom when I arrived. They were actually disappointed to see me when I came in to get them. Hmph.

NaBloPoMo Day 9

Got a computer virus. It's called AntiVirusPro2009 so BEWARE because it messes up your already installed spyware and it takes a genius (and a very good bestie) to get you out of the mess. So I'm currently at her house with my computer tower while she un-viruses my computer. I probably won't be able to post when I get home, so this is as good as it gets today!! Keep your fingers crossed that my computer is feeling better tomorrow!!

Colors

Even though the wind was blowing and it was cold, we played outside in the woods today. I was thinking that it would be one of the very last days we'd be able to do that this fall, so we took full advantage. The leaves were gorgeous! You'll have to excuse the messy post-gym look I have going on.

We had a blast. Dog and all. How can you not love these colors? Fall in Michigan = BEAUTY!

NaBloPoMo Day 7

Ever have a day where you just can't wait to get home? That was my day today. I wanted to be home the second I left the house this morning. My kids were very antsy today, which didn't help, and I think it's a trail off from Halloween candy, the election, and the unexpected warm weather streak. They were ALL UP IN MY FACE all day today. I think I heard my name OVER 1000 times, not kidding. I love the kids, love my job, but today, I wasn't feelin it. We got through all our subjects, a spelling test, and even an extra grammar lesson. I even got them some extra computer time in the lab to type up some cute little stories (yes, 1st and 2nd graders typing on Microsoft Word, don't you love it???? I'm so proud!) and even a paragraph. We rocked out the work today. That's the best thing to do with students when you don't have it in you to negotiate all day. Work. And ironically, they LOVE it. They are really hungry to learn. And that's why I love it too. But I couldn't wait to get home. There was a line at the copy machine after school, and I FORCED myself to stand in it (that's torture on Fridays, let me tell you) so that my copies were ready for next week. I will really appreciate that come Monday morning. But at the time, I was all grumpy and grumbling in my head. I did finally get home. And oh was I happy. Weekend at last!

NaBloPoMo Day 6

I found this meme over at MaryLUE's....

1. Have you ever had a moving violation?
YES! I have had several speeding tickets and one no-right-on-red ticket. However, my record is now squeaky clean because it's been a long time with no tickets, and I intend on keeping it that way. Better insurance bills!!

2. Have you ever voted? How old where you the first time you voted?
Another YES! The first election I voted in was 8 years ago and I did absentee because I was away at college and didn't register in that town. That wasn't an exciting voting experience. I would have to say that 4 years ago was my first REAL in-the-poll experience.

3. Are you glad this election cycle is over?
I am THRILLED that it's over. I won't be watching the news for a week so I don't have to see the same footage over and over again either!

4. Do you have guilty pleasure? What is it (or are they)?
I have several, one of them cleaning (no big surprise there) and also watching reruns on the DVR of 90210, Matlock, and CSI. There are several others, but I'll leave that to the imagination.

5. What is the most embarrassing thing you have done recently?
I made a big deal about taking my shoes off at the doctor's office before getting weighed. I know, I know, it's not that bad, but really, I made it such a huge issue that looking back at it, my face still gets flushed. Ugh, sometimes I'm such a pain in the ass.

NaBloPoMo Day 5

Not much to say today.....
Very sleepy.....
Glad the election stuff is all over and done with.....
Time change still messing with me.....
More to say tomorrow.....

NaBloPoMo Day 4

My Election Day

• Up at 430am


• Out the door at 6am
  
• In line to vote at 615 (voting started at 7am)


• #4 in my precinct to vote (and very proud of being #4!!!)


• Out the door and in the car at 715


• Picked up my copilot at my house at 730
  
• Sitting in our first meeting at work by 815

Not bad, eh? I guess it pays off to get up early every day, because on days like this, it didn't even phase me to be functioning that early. I am every day anyway!! Happy Voting!

Squeaky Duck

Listen to my lab story. We went to PetSmart last week and stocked up on doggy stuff. Treats, toys, a new HUGE rawhide bone that takes her a while to chew through, and a couple other things. Kenny found a squeaky toy, it was a duck, which was a new concept because we've never given her a squeaky toy before. When we got home we immediatly got out the squeaky toy and threw it and told her to go get her toy....she ran over to it, sniffed, and whined. Our dog almost never whines or barks. Kenny worked with her this weekend and got her to fetch it like she does with the ball, but when she picks it up, she holds it very gingerly in her mouth and if it squeaks, she sets it down, and whines this weird sounding whine. I can't figure it out...is she playing the motherly role with the duck? Is she afraid of it? Does she think it's her friend or baby?? It's crazy how she reacts to it. This morning I turned on the light in her room (yes, she has her own room) and there was the duck in her bed. She wasn't snuggling with it, but it was laying next to her. Go figure. If only dogs could talk!

I'm getting up EARLY to vote tomorrow and hoping to make it to work on time. What are you doing? Voting before, after, during work, already voted, taking the kids with you (Tasha & Linsday)?? I'm curious! Do tell!

NaBloPoMo Day 2

I love the time change!!! This one I mean, not the spring time change. I love getting that extra hour of whatever I want today!! I remembered the time change last night, and there's only one clock in our house we have to manually change, everything else changes automatically (scary, huh???). I woke up (or rather Kenny's sleeping arm smacked me in the head) and looked at my alarm clock which still read 930am, and temporarily forgot about the time change. I sat down at the computer and saw the time and remembered instantly....YAY! It's only 830!! An extra hour! I know it's not something to really get THAT excited about, but I still am.

I will be raking today. It's not the fun kind of raking, you know, the big colorful leaves and huge piles, nope, it's the annoying skinny little helicoptor-like leaves that are just irritating. The street sweeper came by Friday, so I have no choice but to dispose of them myself today. That's what I get for being a procrastinator. But at least I will be spending time outside, which won't be happening much as the weather gets colder. So I'll take advantage.

I randomly found a JCPennys gift card on the computer desk that still had money on it. The gift that keeps on giving!! Bonus!! And I also found a bag of stuff from JoAnn Fabrics that needs to be returned, with the receipt (yay me), so double bonus. I guess I'll be visiting those stores today! I've also had a craving for Barnes and Noble lately, the visit where I find about 6 books I want to read and find a comfy plush chair to relax and lose reality in. Kenny and I used to do that a lot, and I miss it, so maybe I'll be visiting that store today too. A girl can dream.

NaBloPoMo Day 1

Here it is! The first NaBloPoMo post!! Last year I did it and I think I wimped out at the end of the month. This year, however, I'm committed. Which is saying a lot, because lately, I've been a very WEAK blogger. Here's to a new start!

Our Halloween party yesterday was successful. I've never really relied on parental help because 9 times out of 10 (NO offense to parents reading this, I promise) they are late, forget, or back out. I really mean no offense to parents at all, because I know life intervines and sometimes things just can't be helped. On the inside of a classroom, when students are in costumes, candy is present, and the kids are sitting there waiting, it gets very hairy when things don't go as planned. Which is why in the case of classroom parties, I have generally done them myself. This year, however, I had two parents volunteers who DID EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD DO. And I love them. So the party was great, yes, the kids were out of there seats and slightly out of control to an outsider, but in reality, they were great. And it even ended well, with only one girl in tears. Usually there are several who break down because they can't take the chaos of large parties like that. It was the best Halloween party at school ever. Thanks to the parents:)

I passed out candy last night (Kenny was here and helped like two times...he was working still!!!) at our house. Towards the end of the night, a kid in a gorilla costume, probably the best one I saw all night, came up and I opened the door with a handful of candy. The gorilla grabbed my hand and was trying to pull me out of the door. It was also growling at me. The dog was going nutty and I was yelling at Kenny to come and see this costume and he wasn't budging from the computer...so I had no choice but to allow myself to be pulled out of the door. There was a family standing at the end of our sidewalk watching this whole thing and laughing, so naturally, I though this was their kid. I asked them how much they had to pay their kid to go through this scary routine at every house and they just laughed. All of a sudden, the kid takes off the gorilla mask and it wasn't a strange kid, it was my mother-in-law!!! She totally fooled me, hook line and sinker!! And the funniest part was the dog knew it was her because when I think about how the dog was acting, she wasn't barking or acting scared, she was trying to jump and lick my MIL's face!! Crazy!! Sadly, I have zero pictures. I know, bad me.

Happy Halloween!

Poems

Today was an interesting day. I have been working on poems at work with the kids. We've done the rhyming ones, roses are red, violets are blue and they end it on their own with some goofy rhyming words, we did haiku poems and even cinquains. Today they did acrostic poems. You know, the kind where you write your name down the side of the paper vertically and then come up with a word or phrase for each letter of your name. I did my name as an example on the board....and I let them come up with the words and phrases:

L is for looney

I is for intelligent (I fed them that one)

N is for neat nick

D is for dark (I have no idea where this came from because I'm SO NOT)

S is for silly sometimes

E is for energetic

and my favorite, Y is for yellow hair

They weren't too harsh. I was thankful we didn't use middle names, because that would have required an M and I'm quite sure they would have said mean. Because I have been now for about a week. As I've said before, this class is wonderfully brilliant, and oh-so-irritating at the same time. But I still do love them.

Tomorrow is the last day of sanity, maybe. Friday, quite obviously Halloween, will be filled with costumes, runny makeup, too much candy (not allowed to eat it at school mind you), cupcakes, punch, meltdowns, a spelling test at some point (I hope), an extended recess, the Charlie Brown Halloween movie (can't remember the name), probably some more meltdowns at some point over lost/stolen candy, and me running to my car at precisely 330 and driving home to either drink a beer or go to sleep, whichever happens first. I love holidays at school. Love 'em! So I will be getting as much work done at school tomorrow as I can with the kids. They will have zero down time and as much work time as I can get out of them, because they won't be doing much of any work on Friday. Whew.

What I am looking forward to is carving pumpkins with Kenny tomorrow night and passing out candy on Friday to the neighborhood kiddos. That is always fun! I might even try to sneak a costume on the dog!

Where do weekends go?

Where? One day here, and 4 hours later, GONE! You blink, it's over, and you are back to work! Friday was wonderful, it was a professional development day so there were no kids at school, and we actually had worthwhile meetings and learned things! It was very enjoyable. And they fed us breakfast and lunch too. That was an extra bonus. Friday evening I went with my inlaws to see our nephew's last football game. He's graduating in the spring so this was it for his regular season. He is AWESOME. I didn't know how good he was! Plus it was fun being at a high school football game again. I haven't done that....since high school! I loved going when I was in high school, and being there on Friday night brought back many fun memories. There's a certain smell of a high school football game....cold air, slightly rainy, popcorn, the crowd, the announcer...it was just like I remember it. And yesterday I did a lot of computer work for Kenny and then I went to work with him. That's always a nice change of pace on the weekends. It is NOTHING like my work, and I don't have to dress up! Today I'm going to meet my mom at my brother's place and go out to dinner for his birthday. I haven't seen either of them in a couple weeks so I'm looking forward to that. I wish my laundry would magically do itself while I was gone...anybody have any advice for that? Heh. I'm really going to have to get geared up for NaBloPoMo that's starting on Saturday. I haven't been a very good blog poster lately....I'm going to have to step it up! Is anyone else participating?

I'll leave you with some animal humor. I wish I had pictures, but Kenny was too tired to get up and take them. I was sitting in "my" chair last night, a very comfy overstuffed leather recliner, and I had a blanket and a pillow, so chances are I was falling asleep there. The dog isn't allowed in the livingroom, and the chair is right where the carpet in the livingroom meets the hardwood floors. She was on the hardwood, puts her paws up on edge of the chair. Sometimes she will jump in the chair on my lap (she's no lap dog either) for a little while, but then get right back down. Not last night. She jumped into my lap, all 62 pounds of her lab self, nestled in on my legs, and fell asleep. A little while later she stretched her head out on my chest and that's how she stayed most of the night....how sweet! Like a baby, she just wanted her mama!!

Happy Hump Day

Halfway to the weekend!! Actually, it's more than that now. Tomorrow is the last day for kids this week. Friday we have a professional development day for staff, so we'll get to leave work at 3pm. No dismissal for 30 minutes, no anything, just getting to walk to my car and leave! That's the best kind of Fridays...except for payday Fridays of course.

I have finally figured out why things aren't running super smooth in classroom yet this year. I am embarrassed to admit that it's taken me this long in the school year to pinpoint the problem. Here's the situation: I have advanced kids, 8 first graders, 9 second graders, and I have the kids for both grades and then they move onto the 3rd, 4th, 5th grade advanced classroom next door. My second graders obviously know how things work in the room because they were with me as first graders. I never have to worry about them....they are my rocks. Usually the first graders are fidgety for a couple weeks, because even though they are advanced, they are still babies. All 8 of the first graders, as much as I love them, drive me crazy every day. They are STILL constantly out of their seats, running up to me to ask questions (they usually can figure stuff out on their own, they just like the attention), blurting out when I call on someone else, interrupting me ALL THE TIME. Can you see why I'm so irritated every day???? I mean this goes on ALL DAY LONG. They get the punishments I give...no recess, phone calls home, no Fun Friday, no special activities....they don't care! I don't mean that they don't care about what I'm saying or teaching them, they just accept their punishment, do the time, and go on about their business of driving me up the wall. And again, they are GOOD kids, I mean loving, sweet, cute, smart, all the things that make it hard to get mad at them. But they are making me crazy. And here's the whole point of why I'm babbling...when they were in kindergarten, their teachers (and I probably would have done the same thing they did) overlooked their fidgety-ness and interrupting because these kids are mostly very well behaved and get exceptional grades, so if they were out of their seats or blurting out, it wasn't that big of a deal. And, if I had them in my kindergarten class, I would have probably done the same thing. But here I am dealing with it now, and it's not pretty. I should say I'M NOT PRETTY at the end of the day. Around 1pm I'm wanting to throw the towel in. Of all the things they do, it's the interrupting that gets me. I can't tell you how many times I have to stop talking/teaching because they are interrupting me. And then as I start talking again, so do they. AHHHHHH! I really love these kids, all of them, and they are probably the smarted bunch I've had yet, but OMG I'm going nutty! So with the help of my parapro I am cracking down. They are losing a lot of privilages, such as classroom jobs that THEY LOVE, and so on. I really hate to do that, because it teaches them responsibility, but I have to do something so that I make it to June!

Enough about work....my 6 month wedding anniversary is Sunday. Yes, I'm one of those people who knows that, but there's a reason for it. Our dating anniversary is also Sunday, October 26th. When we picked our wedding date (we only had 3 weekends to choose from), we decided on April 26th, and a few days later I realized that it was exactly 6 months from our dating anniversary. How crazy is that? So we've been celebrating our dating anniversary for 6 years, hence the reason I am acknowledging that it's our 6 month wedding anniversary. Are you confused now? I hope I didn't lose you on that, but all I really meant to say was that it's good to be a newlywed and I love being married!! Living together first for a couple years helped us have a great beginning to our marriage. I am so glad things worked out the way they did. I always wanted to be married earlier than we were, but in all actuality, it was PERFECT timing. I wouldn't change a thing! Here's to the next 6 months....and MUCH longer!

And to all the Grey's Anatomy fans....what are your thoughts on the show this season? I'm still undecided. It's good, but it just isn't great. What are you all thinking?

Going to be sore tomorrow!

I should be sleeping right now! We are going on a field trip to the apple orchard tomorrow and I need my rest, but here I am on the computer. GO figure.

My BFF Danielle and I have been taking cardio kickboxing classes at our gym lately. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then we work out other days on our own. Tuesdays classes are great. Thursdays classes are suicide. I mean it. The instructor does the boot camp at our gym if that gives you any indication of how tough he is. It's like he knows your weakest moments and chooses those moments to come and stand by you so you have no choice but to step it up. I got to punch him in our class tonight. He said to me, "You can't be tired!" Yeah right, after 40 minutes of hell I was dead on my feet but I didn't stop moving. Then he says, "Hit me, go on, hit me....." so I did. 16 times in the shoulder. He loved it. I never cracked a smile or even look at him in the eye. I was too afraid!!!! But I did hit him with the elbow jab that any of you who know kickboxing know the move. It felt good. Both classes are 60 minutes, and I admit that I can't work out on Fridays now because I have trouble walking after this guy's class. And I won't even talk about the abs and the pain there. But it's good for me, I know it, so I keep going. Maybe one of these days I'll start to see the results!

Now I really have to go to bed. I'll regret it tomorrow if I don't!

TGIF!

2 Days in a Row!

I said I was going to try to be a better blogger...and I'm keeping my word!

Today was picture day at school. You remember the days...the photo company comes to your school, usually sets up shop in the library or some large room, kids get called down by grade or even by classes to get their pictures taken, things go back to normal. Not this year, however. My school opted to go with a new picture company this year. Maybe it was to save money, maybe there were better deals, I'm not sure, I just know that it wasn't good. Our grade was called in at 830 this morning, the first grade to get their pictures taken after administration and the principals. So we take the kids in the auditorium and line them up, and then the photo person walks up to me and asks me where my cards are with the kids' names on them along with their grade and my name. Well, isn't that his/their job to provide those cards to the school? Yes, it is, and here we are WAITING IN LINE TO GET PICTURES TAKEN with no cards. How will they keep the kids' names straight? OMG is was a mess. Apparently they had the cards, but every child had the wrong teacher's name and the wrong grade, and it was a huge jumbled mess. It took 45 minutes to get it together when it should have been a 10 minute in-and-out deal. I think when we have spring pictures taken we will be going back to the old company. At least, if I were in charge, we would be. Happy Monday morning!

I promised some pictures of my brother's new puppy. Here she is! This is Lola and she is now 9 weeks old! I love the way she's leaning back trying to kiss my mom....so cute!!

And just because Kenny asked me to include this picture, I will. He loves taking cruel pictures of me just as I wake up.

Where have I been??

A whole week!!!!

It's been a whole week without posting for me!! Yikes! This past week has been super busy. Now that it's over, things around here can finally settle down. I feel like I've been riding a crazy rollercoaster since school started in September and I'm happy because it's slowing down.

Funny story:
My MIL went on a gambling trip to a casino (she does this often) with her aunt, who is almost 90. The two of them are great together...the aunt wears a hat that says "Dare to walk..." on the front and on the back it says "...on the wild side." That should explain the aunt's personality so you can get a clear picture for this story. Anyway, my MIL was supposed to be home at 530 on Friday night. Kenny called her at 2pm on Friday to ask her a question and normally when she answers the phone and she knows it's him calling, she answers all excited and "HELLO KENNY!!" This time, she answered in a whispered voice, and Kenny could hear bingo numbers being called out in the background. He says, "Ma, I thought you were going to be home at 530! Why are you still at the casino playing bingo??" She says, again in a whispered tone, "I will be home at 530." Kenny says, "How can you be home at 530 if you are still at the casino?" (the casino is 3-4 hours away) My MIL says "We're playing bingo on the bus....I gotta go." And she hangs up. So my MIL is now officially addicted to bingo. And I guess all the other people on the casino tour bus are too, because there's a surround sound bingo game going on to and from the casino! OMG!!!! She's so addicted!!!!!

My students are slowly driving me crazy. As smart as they are, I have never met a more talkative group of students in my life. I got to leave early on Tuesday last week because I had to help Kenny with something and I thought it was the greatest thing ever that I got to escape from prison (AKA-work) an hour early AND miss the whole dismissal process....such small things bring me the greatest pleasure!!

And that is what is going on in my neck of the woods. I promise to be a much better blogger this week:)

Cleaning Bug

Kenny and I caught the cleaning bug today. We cleaned the entire house AND the yard. I always clean on the weekends, and pick up during the week. I must have passed the cleaning obsession on to him recently because he was all into it today. I was in heaven, let me tell you! He only had one room to take care of, and it took him the same amount of time to clean the livingroom as it did for me to do the rest of the house, but I'm not complaining because he actually took everything off the shelves, dusted EVERYTHING in the room, moved furniture to vacuum under it, you know, the stuff that doesn't get done very often. Have I mentioned how much I love this man? And the yard, OMG for the last 6 weeks it's looked like red neck city out there. Ugh. Kenny "cleaned" out the garage the week before school started and things have been sitting in the driveway ever since. I gave up keeping it all together because it was too much for me, and finally he felt the need to take care of it today. I helped him since he helped in the house, which, BTW, has earned him browning points for about a month. Then, he mowed the lawn for probably the last time this year and used the blower with the leaves. I WAS SO HAPPY. You know cleaning is a slight obsession when you get this happy over things like this:)

In other news, my brother has an 8-week-old chihuahua. I was shocked!!! He came to visit today and he got out of his truck with this teeny thing in his arms, and I was like, "WHAT IS THAT?" and then our dog went crazy trying to get to the puppy. We put her in the backyard and took the baby puppy in the house.....so cute!!!! I could just kick myself for not getting pictures....she is still nameless, but she is so sweet.

I'm off to stake our my spot on the couch for Desperate Housewives...Kenny has taken an interest in the show (last season) and insists on watching it with me....but since it's MY show, I get the good spot on our couch!

October October October!!

I think this is my favorite month. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fall. I am currently loving the cold weather. Last night our neighbor was burning leaves (yes, it's again the rules, but whatever) and it smelled so good, especially with the crisp air. Then there's the promise of all the holidays, my birthday, and just a bunch of fun stuff. That's why I heart fall so much!

Back to what I said about loving the cold weather....I really do, but it caught me off guard last night. We still had windows open in our house yesterday. They have probably been open for weeks because it's been so nice in Michigan lately. I fell asleep on the couch last night and woke up around midnight SHAKING because I was so stinkin' cold. Kenny was working on the computer, and I sleepily got up from the couch and staggered down the hallway to turn the heat on for the first time this season. While I moaned and complained about FREEZING, I went to our bedroom which is on the end of the house, and it always the coldest room in the house. It was so cold in there!!!! I got in bed and realized a sheet, thermal blanket and comforter was not going to cut it until the heat was on full blast, so I begged Kenny to bring me a couple fleece bankets. I wrapped myself in them, THEN got in the covers, and was still convulsing from the cold....it was pathetic. It took Kenny laying on me to keep me warm for about 10 minutes and then I started to warm up. I woke up at 430am with a nice, toasty warm house, right at 75 degrees. I know that's too warm, and I probably turned up the heat too much, but I WAS SO COLD!!! Seriously, when I got to work my fingers were still cold. But even after all of that, I still love October!

--------------------------------------------

I need some advice from anyone who has ever made a baby ringsling....I'm making one for Tasha and I'm using a jersey fabric, soft with a touch of stretch to it. When it's folded properly, it's too thick for my sewing machine. Any advice?

Gettin' better

Ahhhh Monday morning. Nothing like it. Large coffee to go instead of a medium one, laundry list of things to do when I get to school, a mailbox of memos and reminders to sort through, lesson plans to turn in, projects to plan swirling in my head, papers to grade still from the weekend...

This is my typical Monday morning. My copilot called and said she needed an extra 30 this morning, so I decided to blog!!

I am feeling better, almost 100%. It wasn't a sinus infection, a toss between a cold or allergies, I'm leaning toward the allergies at this point. Seriously though, it doesn't matter. I was sick, still am a teeny bit, but I rested up this weekend and hopefully after work today I won't be down on the couch at 5pm. Keep your fingers crossed!

I went shopping last night in the small town where the family lakehouse is before leaving to come home. I just have to comment on the wonderful shopping experience it was. I had lots of room in the aisles to move around, no one was nasty, no one was snotty, and best of all, there wasn't a 40 minute wait in the checkout lane. I waited for NO ONE. Can you believe it? I love small towns. I miss small towns. Maybe that will be our excuse every weekend to go back to the lakehouse, even when it's winter, just so that I can have a pleasant grocery shopping experience!

Happy Monday!! Happy Fall! I'm so glad it's here!!

Wednesday Funny

This is the student that I always talk about...the one that has funny funnies to say. I went over how to answer this question with the kids before I turned them loose to answer it on their own. This is what she came up with. Can you tell she's the drama queen of my class? I asked her if she was classroom pet. You know she had some long, drawn out answer, and the result was, of course, "Yes, I'm a pet. I'm my mom's pet."

I'm currently fighting off a cold, and hopefully nothing more. My students came to school the first day of the year coughing, sneezing, and snotting all over. It hasn't stopped yet, so I knew it was only a matter of time till I got sick. Two more days till the weekend.

Finally Fall

This weekend was AWESOME. Saturday Kenny & I packed a quick bag and went to the family lakehouse. The weather was perfect, warm but not hot and then very cool at night. PERFECT fall weather. We trudged through the woods to find some trees for his tree stand when he starts hunting, rode the 4-wheeler, I got to read my book on the deck for hours, slept in Sunday morning (a rarity these days), Kenny popped in the water with the canoe, visited with his parents, and overall, just relaxed.

It was such a nice getaway. On Sunday we visited the same farm we went to last year and picked our own pumpkins from the vine, along with other fall decor stuff for our porch. The dog had a blast and wasn't such a pain this year. She only chased SOME of the farm animals, whereas last year she terrorized all of them because she was still a baby puppy. This time, she thought she was tough stuff walking up on a peacock, until the thing unleashed it's feathers and then, I hate to admit it, our puppy turned into the biggest wuss. She hid from the peacock! Go to my flickr to see all the pictures.

Back to reality today. It was so hard to get up and go to work this morning, it really was. But I did, and it turned out to be the best day at work yet! I have an awesome class!

Why I love Quiet Mornings

Awww Saturday morning. I feel like I can sit still for a minute. It's quiet, the dog is outside, Kenny is still sleeping, I just cleaned the kitchen (taking a break until I move onto the next room), and a minute to think to myself. This school year I'm trying something different. I've always struggled with how to properly "correct" student work and what to do with it then. Normally I just put a check on the page and put it in the kids' mailboxes, they take it home, and probably it goes right into the trash. I seriously doubt parents looks at it, so it's kind of a big waste.....of paper, of time, of everything. I have advanced kids, my WHOLE class is advanced. I have first and second graders, all pretty much working at their own advanced pace, which is why I have a smaller class, so I can actually work one-on-one with them every single day. This is only my third year teaching multi-age (7th year overall), so there are still things I'm changing and trying and getting rid of. Here's how I've changed so far this year....when students are done with their work, they come to me. I look at what they have done and if something is wrong, it's addresses immediatly, fixed, discussed, worked out, and then turned into THEIR MAILBOXES. I'm sure parents still aren't going to look at the work, but at least it's not sitting in the try for me to have to put a check on it later when I don't even remember what it was and the kids aren't looking at it a week later thinking, what did I do wrong? They won't even remember? The problem with this method is that I am constantly talking/instructing ALL DAY LONG. From the second the kids get into the room, I have one or two right there at the table with me, working on things. I know that's my job, and believe me, I love my job, but this method allows me ZERO time to STOP teaching/talking. It's one child after another. If all the kids were "on the same page" with their assignments, I would have 5 or 10 minutes here or there to walk around the room or sit down for a second, just to recoup my mind. But with these smarty pants kiddos I have (and love dearly), I don't get that minute to unwind. Despite all that, the kids are learning better and more effectively from me this year than in the past. Even though they are constantly checking in with me, things are progressing much better for them. I have to say that I am more exhausted at the end of the day than I have ever been though. I can feel it every single day when I get home. Man, am I tired. As October begins, I think I am going to give them more independence with turning work in. Not go back to the way I used to do it before, but just to balance it out a little, because I know that I'll get burnt out this way real fast, and they will too. But I do feel good about the way they are progressing already this year. Advanced kids are so great to work with. I can introduce a concept to them (for example, borrowing) and in two days they get it and are ready to move onto the next concept. Just like that. And another thing I love about advanced multi-age is that the older kids can help the younger ones....they can explain things in their own "kid" words and sometimes the younger ones understand it more coming from another kid versus me. It's so cool how my classroom works. But this is why my brain is fried on Fridays. Or everyday. That's why finding this much needed peace and quiet at home is important. It won't last forever, in a minute Kenny will be awake and talking my ear off and trying to get me to go here and there with him. The dog will want to play and the phone will start ringing. But right now, it's still quiet, I'm still in my PJs and there's no one sitting in front of me needing an explanation as to why they have to put the "one" here and subtract. I love it.

Sick

I called in sick already. Can you believe it? Week three and I called in! I had a doozy of a headache yesterday and it was persistant, so when I woke up this morning, and it was still there, I know there was no way I could function in charge of 20 kids. So I called in. I felt SO GUILTY. Seriously, I still feel guilty. But I had to do it. My main concern was that all day yesterday I was experiencing dizzy spells, more than the normal get-up-too-quickly kind. I thought maybe it was a hormonal issue, because it's just about that time, but I wasn't sure, and it was happening a lot. So that and the headache had me worried. I do get headaches frequently, but not with dizziness. So Kenny took me to the ER at 5am. When did ERs get flat screens in every room? And I do mean ROOM as in a square foot room with 4 real walls and a real closing door, and PRIVACY?? Oh yeah, when a state of the art hospital is built. Talk about royalty. Kenny asked me if we could go back to the ER every time I get a headache. I find humor in that now, but at the time, it wasn't fully. So after mumbo jumbo of the ER, I had a clean CT scan (duh people, just a headache) and no clear reason for the dizziness, I got a shot (you know where and it hurt LIKE HELL) and the headache was gone in 15 minutes. We are thinking the dizziness if from either allergy or sinus junk or from PMS, not really sure, just keeping an eye on it. Kenny was sad to leave. He was having a great time with the remote while I slept in the ER bed. He's so goofy. I came home and slept some more. The shot I got knocked me out for about 6 hours. I woke up groggy and happy. End of story!

If you get an extra minute or two, hop over to Lori's blog and send her some love. She needs it right about now. And then visit Steff's too, she needs it!

TT sent me this MEME in an email, so I made a post out of it. It's been a while since I did a MEME. It was time. Here ya go. I tag anyone else who wants to do it!

1. What is your occupation right now? Elementary teacher
2. What color are your socks right now? None on! I love my bare feet at home!
3. What are you listening to right now? Dishwasher and the hamster in his wheel
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Green grapes
5. Can you drive a stick shift? YES! My first car was a stick shift, had it for 5 years! I learned to drive on a stick shift, so it was actually WORK to think about not using my left foot when I drove an automatic!
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Niki
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Of course! Love ya Tana!
8. How old are you today? 29. Gulp. For real.
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Hockey or baseball
10. What is your favorite drink? Diet coke
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes
12. Favorite food? Mexican
13. What is the last movie you watched? The Bucket List. Very sad.
14. Favorite holiday of the year? I love them all!!!
15. How do you vent anger? Cry mostly, if it's at Kenny, I yell (I know, BAD ME), sometimes stomp around
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I loved my Barbies, My Little Ponies, and my dolls
17. What is your favorite season? Fall/Autumn.
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail (post on their blog) you back? Only if they want to!
20. Who is the most likely to respond? You know who you are.
21. Who is least likely to respond? You know who you are.
22. Living arrangements? 3 bedroom ranch with the hubs, a hamster, and a one year old black lab who is very smoiled.
23. When was the last time you cried? Today...I had a headache AND pms. Not a pretty sight.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? NOTHING! I cleaned it out this summer and it's still clean. My shoes are ON A RACK! Can you handle that?
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? You know who you are!
26. What did you do last night? Went to bed early with a headache
27. What are you most afraid of? Too many to name!
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese!
29. Favorite dog breed? Well, I'm biased because I have one, but LAB at the moment!
30. Favorite day of the week? Thursday, it's the promise of Friday and the weekend!
31. How many states have you lived in? 1
32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds!
33. What is your favorite flower? It was roses, now I'm not sure. I love violets and hydrangeas too, but really, flowers at anytime are wonderful, so I love them all!

Catch Up

I did it again....I let so many days go by without posting! I promise it's not from lack of things to write about. It's the time thing!

The second week of school was pretty good. My students continue to be mostly well behaved every day, which I LOVE. I'm really feeling the time crunch with things that bog down the beginning of the school year.....lesson plans, extra meetings, new routines, adjusting to less sleep...the list goes on.

One of my BFFs joined our gym and has inspired me to take some classes. Kenny & I have been members for almost 5 years and I've always been too intimidated to take the classes. I always thought "what if I can't make it the 60 minutes?" She told me I was ridiculus and we took our first class together last week called STRIKE. It's like taebo, only better, and you use weighted gloves and a big stick and it's awesome! And the best part was the 60 minutes FLEW by and it was high impact so I was feeling it the whole time, more so than when I just jog. We liked that instructor even though she was slightly crazy, so we took another class that she taught, cardio ballet. You can stop laughing now....we really took it. It was awful, but a good workout, but never again! So this past week we went to STRIKE again, and when we got there, there was a different instructor who said there was a change in schedule and that it was cardio kickboxing, not STRIKE, that the only difference was that there were no gloves or bars needed. So we thought, no biggie, we'll take it anyway! IT KICKED OUR ASSES. This guy (the instructor) was military style, and he was mean. If you even looked at the door with thoughts of bailing, it's like he sensed it and moved over to where you were. It was so hard, the hardest, most intensive workout I've had since high school softball. To make things worse for me, my BFF got paged about halfway through the hour because her son was crying in daycare and wouldn't stop, so she got to leave early and go downstairs and get him. I SO BADLY wanted to leave with her, but the instructor would have kicked my butt, so I toughed it out and kept going, all the while knowing I wasn't going to be walking the next day. I think I kissed the ground when it was over and done with. That was Thursday, and we both wanted to take another class on Saturday, so we opted to take WATER aerobics, which is still cardio, but a low impact version. Which was about all we could handle because of how sore we were from Thursday. The instructor for the water class was awesome, and he teaches his own cardio kickboxing class, which, after having survived it on Thursday, I have to say that I'm proud of myself and we decided we will take it again on Tuesday with the good instructor. He promised to not be so hard on us. We'll see:)

A word of caution to ladies who carry purses....

The same BFF that I suffer through aerobic classes with was grocery shopping yesterday. She opened the egg cooler to grab a dozen eggs, saw that one was cracked, and grabbed another dozen, turned around and set it in her cart and her purse was gone. It was taken in the time it took her to pick up two egg cartons. So be VERY CAREFUL when you put your purses in shopping carts. I'm guilty of it too, so just be careful! It only takes seconds!

Now I have a question to all the mommas out there. As a teacher, I am required to assign my students nightly homework. I send home the homework packet every Monday along with a reading log, and it's due on Friday. The packet includes one page of spelling word activities, and three pages of math practice. It's never work that is new that week, it's always a review of the week before's lessons. Do you think that's too much? Do you think first and second graders should or should not have 20-30 minutes of homework and reading a night? Leave a comment, even if you aren't a parent, leave a comment. I really want some opinions!!

Now that school is in full swing, we have full length lesson plans due. So I will be spending the next three hours working on them!

Wow it's been 5 days since I posted! Not good!

The first week of school was busy as usual. My class is pretty good so far. The kids are very funny, and I have enjoyed them all four days. I was VERY thankful for the weekend though. This coming week is going to be even more busy. We have meetings, open house, a cupcake fundraiser where teachers are required to make cupcakes, as well as all the normal teaching routines. I'm tired just thinking about what I have to accomplish this week.

This weekend I really took advantage of being home. I cleaned and did all that house stuff that never seems to go away, but really, I just LOVED being home with Kenny. I already miss that from vacation.

Today we went to a couple estate sales in our city and then to an outdoor craft show/flea market. The weather today was really nice for this time of year, which tends to be very hot and humid. It was sunny and warm with a breeze, perfect September weather. Although, I'm ready for it to be cooler because I practically melt everyday in my classroom without AC and so do the kids, so cool weather is welcomed to come anytime! We took the dog with us to the flea market on her choker leash (it's not mean, I swear!!) and she was so good. The leash helps out, and let me tell you, I've tried EVERY leash out there to find the one that doesn't allow her to rip my arm out of its socket. I finally found it, just a plain old choker leash, the kind where when she tries to pull on me, it pulls the leash around her neck and is uncomfortable, so she won't pull too much. I had her on a normal leash for a while, and she did okay with it, put I had to hold it so tight that it wasn't enjoyable to walk her, so I quit until I found the choker one. Thank goodness because even though she has an entire fenced yard to herself every day, she loves going for walks on a leash.

I'm off to bed early, or at least to watch TV and then bed, but it's still way earlier than I normally go to bed.....I need every extra minute this week!!

Survived!

The kids survived the first day with me as their teacher! Or, should I say, I survived the first day with them as my students. Remember how they are advanced? Yeah, well, this year's group seems to be SUPER advanced. And funny. Here's what happened during the first round of show-and-tell (minus the show...it's just tell in my classroom).

TEACHER: So, H, how was your summer?
STUDENT: It was good. My cat puked 6 times in one day.
TEACHER: H, let's try to talk about things that aren't nasty, okay?
STUDENT: (laughing) Okay. Well, I got a whoopin' one day from my mom because I......
TEACHER: H, that's not a fun thing to talk about. Remember, you are supposed to tell us about things that were fun for you on vacation.
STUDENT: Um, well, I went swimming with my friends and my bathingsuit came.....
TEACHER: Okay, thanks for sharing H! Next!
STUDENT: But I wasn't done with that part of my story!
TEACHER: Yes, you were. You will get show and tell again next week.

This is one of the same students I had last year, and she's super funny. She always has off the wall comments and talks about goofy things. I promise there will be more funnies coming from her this year!

My day was a great first day. The kids were great, they were happy and excited. I did have one crier, but he eventually stopped when his mom left mid-morning, and he was just fine from that point on. I let him eat lunch with me and all was good.

Kenny was STILL cleaning out the garage when I got home. It's looking a little better, there isn't a fleamarket going on in our backyard at least, today anyway. That's what it looked like yesterday. I'm NOT kidding either. I really wanted to take pictures, but then I felt bad because he's been working very hard to clean it all out and get rid of stuff. Just trust me when I say the garbage pickers in this town are going to have a field day when our garbage day rolls around this week. It'll be like Christmas for them. I'm proud of Kenny for parting with so much stuff. He has issues when it comes to parting with "stuff."

His funny moment of the day was when I got home and was checking my email in the computer room. He was watching TV and out of nowhere he says, "Do you think I look more like Trace Adkins or Matthew MCconaughey." I think I fell out of the computer chair when he said that!

I'm going to bed early. Today kicked my butt. I need more rest to go back and do it again tomorrow!

Real Last Day of Vacay

Lindsay over at Splat Designs is having a contest.....click on the box to find out details!

Today is my last day of sane-ness before the kids arrive in my classroom tomorrow. I am in shock! I am meeting one of my best friends (since first grade) at the gym this morning for a good workout and hopefully some pool time too. I'm so excited that she and her family signed up at our gym! I've been waiting for about 5 years for someone I know to be there! It makes it so much more fun to workout.

Kenny started cleaning the garage last night. He hasn't finished because it's going to be a multi-day project and I'm concerned because of his ADD tendencies. I woke up to about 15 things spread across the backyard, including, but not limited to: lawnmower, 4wheeler, snowblower, several other lawn items, tubs, a bike rack (where did that come from???), a new freezer we just purchased (that's what prompted the cleanout), I could go on and on and on. I'll spare you the details, but there's a lot of stuff out there. He was up late working on it. He will be out there working on it today, I hope:)

I got some clothes for school yesterday. That always makes me a little more excited...I think (THINK!!!) I'm wearing a dress on the first day.....OMG that hasn't happened in a long time! If I do, there will be pics to prove it! I do wear dresses, especially in the spring and summer time, just not to school. Maybe I'll make a change this year.

I will leave you with this picture Kenny took of the dog. She was laying in the chair with me, sleeping. I know, I know, how spoiled is she. I can't help it though. She's just so cute!

Classroom Pics

I survived an entire week back to work with my coworkers. I think it's going to be a good year. The kids start on Tuesday and here's what my classroom looks like now:

(entrance to my room)

(looking at the entrance from the room)

(word wall board & reading area)

(computer center and listening center...the plastic on the NONWORKING ac units has to remain until the new sc units arrive, sometime around NEVER)

(windows looking onto playground, love all the plants?)

(carpet & board & calendar area)

(my desk area)

(closeup of my desk...thrilling, I know!)

(the whole front of the room)

(wall on the hallway side of the room)

I moved things all around this year because I needed a change. I like it so much better this way now! I am not really looking forward to starting work again, but I am looking forward to seeing my kiddos and getting back into the routine of teaching. I LOVE all the freedom of summertime, but I do like routine too. So once the first week is gone, I'll feel back into routine. It's funny how now that I'm back at work, Kenny is doubling his work time too. I think when I'm home, he wants to be too:) He denies it, but I know I'm right. Hehehe.

You Won't Believe What I Did

I'm still here. Just tired. Yesterday I worked in my classroom and sat through the usual boring meetings at our back-to-school week. And today I was working in my classroom from 715am to 115pm......I took exactly one break to get a diet coke from the pop machine and visit Niki in her classroom. That's it! Then it was more meetings and such. I tell ya, just two days of going through my teaching stuff, organizing, labeling, filing, THROWING THINGS OUT (my favorite thing to do), stapling, taping, searching, talking, yawning, and constantly moving around, and I am whooped! Last night I was so tired, I came home and decided to sit down and finish up a book that we are required to read for work. I had about 100 pages to go, and about two hours before I knew I would fall asleep. So I took my book to the patio and put my feet up in a chair, it was very comfy and cool outside, PERFECT reading weather. Then I realized that my feet were tired and sore (I wore flipflops for about 5 days in a row, some while working, NOT a smart thing to do). Then the best idea I've ever had dawned on me.....

Notice the whirlpool foot spa happening under my feet, the cord running in through the slider, and my reading material, and the crazy setup, but it was awesome! It was my own personal spa in my backyard. What a great idea! My feet felt SO good this morning. It was worth it. I will be doing that again.

The rest of this week will be crazy. Two more days of work without kiddos, then Friday I will working with Kenny all day. This weekend it might be the lake or just staying home, we'll decide when we get there. The weather here is starting to get a little cooler, especially in the mornings, and it is turning into my favorite time of year...FALL! Knowing typical Michigan weather, it will get hot again, but fall is on its way when it starts to get that cool in thr morning! There is evidence of leaves on the ground too.

Lindsay over at Splat Designs is having a contest...click on the link to see the details!