Finally Friday

What a long day! What a long week!

Today was supposed to be our end of the year celebration with our students. We were going to take the kids outside and let them run wild for a couple of hours. However, when I got to school this morning there had been a monsoon overnight and it was still raining! Oh well, change of plans...Wait, I had no other plans! Being the resourceful teachers we are, we popped in a movie and let the students watch the movie, sign their yearbooks, play UNO, play board games, and essentially do a lot of nothingness, but socialize! They were actually pretty good considering there was not much structure!

However, after about 3 1/2 hours of nothingness and socializing, I was getting restless! Us teachers kept talking about things we could get our students to do instead of be noisy, but in the end, we continued on with the nothingness/socializing!!!

At the end of the day, we ordered pizza for our kids. We took them down to the cafeteria and let them eat pizza, drink soda, and sign yearbooks! It was organized chaos. We, as structured teachers, were on edge because of the noise they were creating and the unstructured activity of the day.

In the end it was all worth it when a student came up to us and said sincerely "Thank you so much for everyithing today! It has been so much fun and we have never gotten the chance to just have a good time like this!!!" Almost brought tears to my my eyes.

That is the moment I remembered why I am a teacher. It is all about the kids! Doing what is best for them, no matter the cost to my pocket, my ears, or sanity!!!!!
Sometimes as a teacher, we are so focused on what we think is best for the children and we don't realize that they are children needing to be treated like children. Many times I find myself expecting them to make adult decisions when they are only little kids.

Thank you Lord for teaching me this lesson today!!!!

Psalm 107:1
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Whew!!!

Its only Tuesday, and WOW...what a long week! Several things are going on at this time. EOG's are happening at school, and might I say, my homeroom was awesome today during testing! I could not have asked for a better group or a harder working group! I am SOOOOOO proud of them!

As exciting as that is, it has been hard to completely concentrate on school. One of my best friends mother passed away Sunday evening. I was so upset and sad to hear this when I got to school first thing Monday morning. I wasn't able to go the funeral home last night, but I did get a chance to attend the funeral today. It was such a sweet service. The men that preached the service both knew the lady very well. I think that when you attend a funeral, it is important to hear about a lot of the wonderful things that person did that you never knew about. I also left there with such a lifted spirit! One of the preachers talked about being virtuous. Even though I did not know my friends mother well at all, I do know that she had to be incredible. I only know this because of the type of daughter she raised. My friend is one of the strongest, most trustworthy, caring, and loving person I have ever met. No matter how long we go without spending time together, she is one of the first people I turn to when I need help, no matter how small. I always want to know her opinion and love her advice. These are things that I know her mother taught her!

Also, Todd's airclub is having a flyin tonight so he has been working really hard at getting lots of things prepared for Saturday. Me, I will probably be the dutiful teacher and go out to school and help get the scores separtated and things prepared for remediation. I have been thinking about this and I feel that I should go help. Wow! I am such a thoughtful person too! Hmmmmmm!!!

Anna Dove has been a blast lately! She is just so much fun to play with and to listen to. Just last night, she worke me at 3am because she had to potty!!!!! I got up and carried her to the potty. When she finished, I told her I needed to go to. So being the funny child that she is, she curledd up on the bathroom rug and went back to sleep....Just like that!!! I got her up and put her back in bed. She, of course, awoke and said to me "Let's talk Mommy!" As sweet as the notion was, I gave her a couple of sip of milk and told her now wasn't the time to talk!!!

Well, I guess I have rambled enough! More later!
If you haven't lately, read Proverbs 31.

Cool Air!!!

Today...We had air condition!!! Wow! I had forgotten how wonderful that was! Today was a pretty great day all around. There are always ups and downs, and somtimes you have to deal with some not so smart people, but that is life!

I think that I can know officially say my baby girl is a biter!!! YIKES! What do I do? By the way, I was a biter too! I used to go around and bite other children during nap time in kindergarten! My teacher, THANKS, stopped me by making me bite myself very hard. I don't think I bit again :o)

EOG testing is coming up at work next week. I am actually looking forward to it. Mainly because that means school is winding down!!! I am really looking forward to this summer. We are all going to visit my brother in Pennsylvania! I haven't seen him since Christmas vacation and I REALLY, REALLY miss him! This is the longest I have ever been without seeing him in my whole life.

Also, I really think Anna Dove is going to be such a blast to hang out with this summer. She is at that age where everything is fun to her! It doesn't matter how small an activity is, she makes it the most interesting and fun thing ever!!! We are also going to have to do a Potty Training Boot Camp. I have been reading up on potty training and I think this is going to be the best way for us to progress. WE are kind of at a stand still right now, at least for potty training...

Oh well, I better go get my things together for tomorrow! FRIDAY...here I come!

Ugh...

Sometimes life seems to throw you a curve ball! It's a good thing I am so gifted at hitting them out of the park! PING!!!

Problems arise everyday, but some days are tougher than others! Thank goodness I have family that can take care of my needs!

The air conditioning is still broken in our classrooms! It is so hard to maintain a good attitude and continue to have lots of patience when it is scorching hot in your workplace. The kids have actually handled it pretty well. They haven't seemed to be completely out of sorts. Or at least any more out of sorts than usual!!! Hehe! Today is a little bit cooler anyway, because it has rained a lot! Praise the Lord.
Oh well, back to the real world!!!

Tired

It has been a busy week and it's not slowing down. Last night we went to a pig pickin at a friends house. We do this every year and I usually have an OK time. The food is great, but sometimes there are a lot of people drinking heavily and that gets on my nerves. This is supposed to be a family function and not every family likes to see a bunch of drunks.
However, last night was different! I only saw a couple of people drinking and they had their beverages in cups! That way the children didn't have to see the bottles and such! What a relief. It's not that I mind people drinking, in moderation. It's just that I think that my children should not have to be exposed to it unless I am the one decided how they are exposed! I think it is only fair.
Also, there are usually some really drunk people and last night, I saw no drunks! I know this sounds like a bunch of crazies to have a pig pickin with, but they really are some great people, for he most part! This year the one guy that is usually the drunkest wasn't there, for reasons better left unsaid! Thank goodness! Its embarrassing for him and idiotic in my opinion to be a grown man and act so stupid! Anyway, we did have a great time last night!
Todd got to play music, Anna Dove got to play with lots of little kids, and I got to spend some great time with my family and my really good friends! My parents and my aunt and uncle came! Todd's uncle's, cousins, and aunt came. We don't usually get to spend much time with them so it was really great to see them! We are trying to make the effort to spend more time with that side of the family! They are really wonderful people and I enjoy seeing them and talking with them!
Tonight is Cody's birthday! HE is one of our closest friends son! He is a fun kid! His mom and dad had a conference with his teacher yesterday and he is doing so great in school this year! He had a really tough year last year. Him and his teacher did not mesh well so he hated school! Now, he has a great teacher and is excelling! I am so proud of him!
Well, I guess that's enough rambling for now! I think I will go fix something for breakfast...

Life

Wow! I am going to try this blog thing for real...Maybe! Last night was Todd's birthday and I had about 20 or so people over for hot dogs and fixins. We had a great time, but boy was I tired after everyone left! Anna Dove had a blast though! She was able to play outside with Cody and Aubrey! I love to watch her playing with other children. She truly lights up!
Also, Anna Dove and I bought Todd a remote control Helicopter for his birthday! It's just one of those small Air Hogs brand. You can even fly it inside. Well, we bought it yesterday at Walmart and Anna Dove knew we were buying it for Daddy's birthday. She was SO EXCITED! When we got home, she "helped" me wrap it and wrote on a card for Daddy. About an hour later Todd got home from work. Anna Dove went running in there to him and said "Happy Birthday Daddy, we got you a present!!!" Todd replied "Really!!! What did you get me?" Anna Dove proceeded to say "A little Helicopter!" Oh well, I guess she has reached that age that I have to go shopping without her to be able to surprise someone! It was quite hilarious!

Just the other day, she went outside with Todd to water the plants. She came flying back in and told me needed sumfin... I asked her what, and she came back in the kitchen with her toy umbrella. I mean one that is about 2 inches in size. She said she didn't want to get wet and went right back outside to water the plants. What a funny little monkey I have!!!

Anyway, this is my effort at a blog!! Mainly, it's just for me!!!