Recipe

How to make a teacher tired:

Ingredients:

1) 1 1/2 hours of reading instruction
2) A bus ride
3) A pumpkin patch with 3 stations and lunch
4) Parade of characters (we walked around the town)
5) Halloween party

Do all that in one day. It makes for tired feet and a pounding head.

I'll post pictures soon of the day. But seriously, my head hurts so bad!

Was it fun? Yes, of course it was fun!



Speaking of recipes, earlier this week I cooked an Asian Stir-fry. Does it look like the picture? It is made with wheat noodles and is very healthy, not to mention YUMMY! It smells great when you're cooking it and heating it back up. The only bad thing is, I took it for lunch and the liquid spilled inside of my lunch bag. My classroom smelled good...or in the words of one of the little ones, "it smells like good food in here".

Hello Again!

Today was a good day at school, thank goodness! But I did receive news today that made me feel a little stressed but the teacher came out in me and I have to make it through. The teacher I have been subbing for will be out for an extra 2 weeks. As you can imagine, my heart sunk. I could have maybe fought it and went into my next subbing job...but I didn't even try. I think it is better for me to stay in there and keep the class stable. I don't think it would be a good idea for them to have another sub in there for the next two weeks or maybe get several different subs for the next two weeks. Besides, we do have routines that we enjoy and I know their needs. Who would have thought that I would say, yes keep me in there. I'm sure those of you that know me well would not be very surprised by that. I am a very dedicated teacher (I think so anyway) and have always tried to make the best decisions for the kiddos rather than for myself.

Sooo...I guess that's all for now. Have a wonderful Halloween! I am back on my healthy eating so I won't be eating much candy. So please have lots for me!

Umph

I'm going to apologize first of all. I'm sorry it has been a while since I've updated the blog. I find that the last few weeks have been very hard for me. I grow increasingly unhappy with things around me. I'm sure some of you are thinking that I have "short-timers". And yes, I am ready to go back to Hawaii and be with Andy. But it is so much more than that.

Being unable to communicate with Andy is very difficult. I often don't sleep well and I'm always waiting to hear from him. Lately we have been able to talk more often, but that just means maybe an email hear or there.

I'm also hardly able to handle first grade anymore. I often leave school feeling like I want to cry. I have taken the advice of dancing and listening to music. We dance everyday and sing. And yet they continue to talk constantly and don't listen. Yes we have routines (just in case you were wondering). They seem to have a great time at school while I have mental breakdowns.

There are other things that bother me as well, but lets not put everything out there.

I spoke to Andy just now. It was wonderful to hear his voice after the day I've had. And he is buying me a bag that I just have to have for traveling. I'm such a bag lady. I need to get rid of some before I leave here.

Side note: Our nephew, Zander, wants Andy to bring him a real lion home. How cute!

Okay, no more whining. Andy reminded me that I felt better when I was going to the gym and that I should get back in there soon. I know he's right.

I'll try and be better about the blog. Bye for now!

Get your kleenex

I will update the blog soon. But I wanted to post this youtube video. I saw it on Oprah and thought I should share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

This is how I feel after working all day and then having conferences. I just want to hide under my blankets and sleep longer.

Crafting!

Okay, I am not the most crafty person. I do however love to scrapbook but haven't done it in some time. I can't wait to have more room and be able to do it again. But my mom and I did make one of those no sew blankets. Since I do tend to travel quite a bit and even more now that I'm with Andy, I wanted a travel blanket. I do have one, but it is just one of those generic ones you get at the store. So we made a K-State one and here it is (after about an hour and half on the floor and a sore back)!

Birthday

My morning started at 6:03 AM. My dad was in the kitchen making a lot of noise and it woke me up. I took a look at my phone and what do you know? Andy had emailed to wish me a happy birthday. About a minute after reading my email, Andy called to be the first to say happy birthday. Just about then, my mom's dog Kiko came running in my room full force, jumped on my bed and gave me a kiss right on the lips (gross!). So of course after all that happening, I just got up and started my day.

As most of you know, my family is very important to me. I spent the day with them and as I said before, it was just about perfect. The only thing was that Andy wasn't here. But he did call a few times. In addition to someone missing was Nina. I also talked to her several times as well. Not to mention all the emails and phone calls from my friends wishing me a happy birthday. Awww...the love!

The first thing I did was go to Xavier's (my godson) football game. Many would say it was perfect football weather, I on the other hand just thought it was freakin' cold.

They play on the high school football field, which is new this year.





I took this picture of the score and this guy Chris who was with Xavier's grandparents said "you took that picture but what if the other team wins".



No kidding! On the next play which was the punt return (I think that's what it's called) the other team got the ball and ran to get a touch down. He totally jinxed them!



Right after the game my parents and I headed to Topeka. We ate at Oliver Garden and I had the most yummiest drink. I gotta find out how to make it. We then went shopping and spent way too much money. But who cares, it was my birthday and we had a great time.

Forty-five minutes after getting home we headed to a birthday party. I share my birthday with Ava who is Xavier's little sister. I consider them all (Xavier, Alex, and Ava) all my godchildren even though Xavier is the only one i baptized. They are my extended family for sure! I adore them so much. David had a fun time playing with all the kids too.

Here are the birthday ladies.


So all in all it was a great birthday surrounded by my family. I felt very loved. I remember back in the day how my birthday would involve a lot of friends and a trip to bars. Wow, times have changed! Being away from my family for the whole summer has certainly made me appreciate them more. In the end of the day, I really enjoy their company. I feel lucky to have their support and love.