7 quick ones

Rejoining the world of quick takers and following Jen and the lovely bunch for 7 quick ones!

1. My students have been cracking me up this week. I know that more often than not I catch myself complaining about long hours and extra stress, but my kiddos this year really know how to make me realize why I went into this profession in the first place. For example the note below: 

Best part of my day. One of my students decided to use her free reading time to write a friendly letter to a student in the class next door and ended it with "I love you more than chocolate pie." These are serious friendship commitments we have going on here in 3rd grade. We don't mess around.

2. It feels like fall outside. It actually felt appropriate to drink my Pumpkin Spice Latte this morning.

3. We had our 12 week appointment yesterday and everything in babyland is going swimmingly! I celebrated this stellar report with aforementioned PSL and bagel+cream cheese this morning. My doctor was having a tough time finding the little one's heart beat so we ended up getting more sonogram pictures. Not complaining! It was pretty funny because it ended up that the baby was alllllllll the way in the back hiding and just chillin' like a villain with it's hands behind it's head. Hopefully that chill attitude remains throughout this pregnancy and upon entering this world. ;)

Head and hands are on the left side and big ol' pumpkin belly is on the right. 

4. Realizing I'm running out of takes and you're only half way through... I might need to add more excitement to my life. 

5. I've been thinking a lot about vocations lately - but I supposed that could be it's own post so I'll leave it at that. It tends to be a topic with some heft.

6. Going to the new Alamo Draft House we have now to see Elysium and munch on some delicious food. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe these wonderful creations to be only a Texas thing. If you haven't been yet - you should go it's a wonderful time. They have strict no talking and texting rules and have pretty good food and the best popcorn to have ever entered my mouth. Go.

7. Contemplating whether or not to do bump updates (bumpdates if you will - the words are begging to be combined) on the blog.

Have a happy!

4.4.2014

This week we finally let the cat out of the bag and told our family, friends, and coworkers the news that we have been keeping secret these past couple of months. We are so happy to finally let people know and share in this joy with us. I still can't believe that there is a little baby growing inside of me right now; I'm sure that will feel more real as the weeks progress. We are just so lucky and blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding us who are so excited for us.

:)

why I teach: the first few weeks of school

Yesterday marked the end of our second week of the new school year. How two weeks can feel like two months, I will never know. The beginning of the year is always filled to the brim and I always feel like I can't handle the constant movement - but I can, because I love it.

I was taking some time this morning to catch up on my blog reading and came across this post. That had a link to the following documentary series premier:

There have been moments these past two weeks where I have felt more tired, more challenged, and more drained than I did my first year teaching. I know that this is a common feeling in our school right now and my grade level isn't dealing with half of the curriculum changes other grades are having to deal with. With everything that piles on my plate in August every year, I have never worked in an environment that keeps me more motivated or self reflecting. I am always learning something new about myself and being pushed to be more patient, kind, and caring. This year is going to be the best one yet, I can feel it. My kids are wonderful, my team is awesome, and I am ready to accept any and all new learning challenges that will make me a better teacher and person for these little people I get to work with every day.

Some snapshots from these past two weeks or so:

 our happy learning space

 fresh year, fresh new pillows for our reading corner

sweet little first day of school present

Now I'm off to clean, grade, and enjoy this beautiful Saturday!

summer goals

As I set out on this summer this past June I had a list of all the tasks I was unable to do/enjoy/participate fully in during the school year. I was going to have 2.5 months away from work with an abundance of time (thanks to a wonderful husband who told me to take a break and not teach summer school. He's going to heaven.) - I could accomplish anything! Travels! Organization! Things! Right?

One of those goals was to read more. Inspired by my friend Caitlin's post on her summer book obsession, I realized that while I may not have read in abundance - I can officially say that I did read one entire book, purely for the pleasure and wonder of reading, for. my. self.

 I read the historically fiction-based novel Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Ann Fowler by way of this lovely blog's recommendation. It was a fabulous read for the summer and gave me a little insight into a time and lives that I haven't really explored yet. It was nice to take time (almost) each day to sit down and take a break from the other tasks I was trying to accomplish. Something I need to do during the school year to keep me sane and energized.

One summer goal, knocked off the list!

This book highly recommended (especially if you are an F. Scott Fitgerald fan or thoroughly enjoyed the recent Gastby remake that came out earlier this year):

happy august + my 4 month break

Hi again!

Didn't I just ("just" is a very, very loose term...) post in April about taking an unexpected break from the blogging world? Life, why you always got to get the best of me and my time management!?

It has been a little over a year that I started this blog.
It has been a little over a year that we got married.
It has been a little over a long time since I really sat down and thought about sharing and blogging.


Maybe I'll take another crack at it.

hi.

It's funny how easy it is to lose track of time. To get so caught up in work and life that you forget to stop and take time for yourself. Am I saying anything new and profound here? No.

But I feel like that has been happening  a lot lately .
I have been overbooking myself left and right and instead of feeling more satisfied with all that I am doing...
I feel exhausted.

I have been living and breathing work these past few months. Activities, challenges, testing... (not to mention the regular classroom maintenance and grading;) I have been working every chance that I get. We are in the home stretch with a little less than two months to go and then my babies will be moving on to fourth grade. It's so funny how they are growing and changing, learning in new ways. I can tell that most if not all of my kids are ready to move on, ready for summer, ready for their next step in life. I start getting nostalgic this time  of year. It's when so many chapters end and the thrill of something new starts to sink in.

We have been talking about some changes that are hopefully going to happen in the nearish future. Where we want our life to go and how we want to use our time. Things that we want to work on and new challenges we want to undertake. It's all so exciting. A little scary, but for the most part filling me with that thrill.

"Hate cannot drive out hate..." -MLK

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Keeping this in mind today as we remember a great man and inaugurate our President. Praying for those who lead our great country and the decisions they make.

Enjoy this beautiful day y'all!