Today's Spring Break in pics...

I started today working on that research project that I have procrastinated on...I am about 1/3 of the way done...it's a pretty intense project that I've put off. Oh well, it's a little too cool to be in the flowerbeds in the mornings anyway. So, I'll try to do a little bit each morning! I will be SOOO glad to be finished with this one! To relax, I started on the flowerbed extension today. Remember, yesterday it was just tilled up. Today, I planted all the the free plants I scored and started on the border. I also transplanted a few of my plants and got three of the beds ready for mulch. I do love working in the flowerbeds!!

But, look what I killed today: I didn't even scream! I froze for a second, because I almost stepped on it AND it was heading straight for Jax who was laying in the sun while I gardened!! So, I grabbed a shovel and proceeded to stab it until I was certain it was dead. And, then I thought - GREAT, the snakes are already out! urgh! Jax relaxing after his snake scare. "Whew! That was a close one! Thanks for saving my life Mom!"
"Eek! They are so dramatic - let's nap!"

LOL!

Happy Tuesday ~ who do you think

will be booted from Dancing with the Stars?

Monday pics

Today has been a mixture of lazy and getting things done too! I would accomplish something and then rest a bit! ha! Vacation is good like that! First, I got the pop-up ready for camping season. I popped her up in the garage (let me insert here - I quickly remembered why I usually leave this job to Kevin! Jeez! I thought I was going to die before my out of shape self could get the thing popped up!) But I did it, and sat there taking several deep breaths for a bit to recover! ha! She is all ready now to pull out of the garage and hit the camping scene. I have a very short shopping list to get her restocked on a few things.When Kevin got home he tilled up an extension area of my wild flowerbed against the fence ~ which I will work on tomorrow. I scored a BUNCH of free plants today. My cleaning lady was here (yeah - I now have a clean house!!), and she had a friend who was tearing up one of her flowerbeds. She was going to toss out the plants - throw them away. See the bucket below ~ I got 5 buckets full of plants from her today for FREE! hee-hee!! I love it! Between those and splitting some of mine that are in desperate need, I will have the extension filled up in no time and for free!! (even better!) Look - here is Kevin's garden so far this year. He's so proud of his mini greenhouse. Today was the first day without the lid....he has Friday off and the start of working on the garden begins!And, here is Nala seeming to say, "I'll use this thing if you aren't going to." LOL! And, what is it about cats and boxes?

Ahhhh.....Spring Break!

I LOVE Spring Break...the freedom to put things off to whenever you get to them...flowerbeds are budding...projects are in the air (hee-hee! I love projects!)...camping season is right around the corner...fresh air...and I admit a hint of sadness that the school year only has nine weeks left! Time flies!

Friday was a half-day for teachers, so I did my grades, report cards, got my plans ready for the week after the break, and was "officially" on vacation around 11:30am Friday!! I think that is when you all heard a distant "whooo-hoooo!" ha! Friday, I relaxed a bit, read a bit, and got some stuff ready for a yard sale. Then, Saturday morning, my cousin, Sandy and I had a very successful yard sale. Note this - the first weekend of Spring is a great time to make your trash someone else's treasure - it is the first weekend that all the yard salers get out and they are in prime spending mode! We were wiped out of all the good stuff in the first 20 minutes and had almost sold everything when we closed the garage door! And, I made $200! yipee! Not a bad start for Spring Break (except for the waking up early part!). I did get to go to TaMolly's - my favorite - for lunch, so another bonus! After that, I napped! And then....my organizing craziness kicked into overdrive. I was just going to clean up from the yard sale and ended up building one of those crate shelves for the garage and going into major organizing high! I can just stand in the garage and smile! It's a sickness I have - this organizing rush I get! LOL!

Today, Kevin and I went to the early church service for Easter, and then headed to Newport to my parent's place to pick up the camper. Thanks Mom and Dad for storing the pop-up all winter!! We were going to camp one night this week to get her (the camper is a her) ready for the season, but Kevin's schedule didn't work out. So, I'm going to pop her up tomorrow in the garage and get her ready. That will give me a project while the cleaning lady is here (an indulgence I cannot live without!). Anyway...that's what's going on here. I am in bliss to be on vacation. I'll post pictures of any projects/progress later! :-)

Patience...

I am in need of patience right now ~ just trying to wait for Spring Break!!! I just have tomorrow with the kids ( who are in full fledged spring fever ). They are almost unrecognisable!!! Promise! Friday is a teacher workday to get report cards done, and then you will probably hear me yell, "Whoooo-hoooo!" I am in need of a break!!! I am tired of keeping up with master's work, a clean house, laundry, grading papers, blah, blah, blah...Sometimes I wish I were a man and could sit back and relax in a messy house! LOL! Really, what is that like?

You've got to see this!

We wrapped up our unit on sound by the kids building instruments at home and then bringing them to school to demonstrate on Friday. This is a child from across the hall who did such an amazing job that he got to play for us too! Check him out - remember he built the drum set from things around the house too!!! I love it!

It's here...

The treadmill is in the house! We brought it home from Kevin's parents house this weekend. Of course, I had my stress attack once we got it home about how ugly it made the guest room. Ha! What's more important - being healthy or having a pretty room that no one uses? I guess being healthy! Darn it!

We are suppose to start walking on it tomorrow (because we got home late Saturday and the hogs were playing and today is a day of rest). Have I already started with the excuses?

Well, wish us luck! I did put the little tv in there that we use in the camper b/c I know I won't walk on it if I can't watch tv. Hope that does the trick!

I'll keep you posted!

Now, I gotta go eat another piece of that chocolate cake Kevin's mom sent home with us! Hee-hee!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 32 year Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Love ya!

The NERVE!

Some people have a lot of nerve ... today, a woman posing as a parent walked into the school this morning. She was spotted outside several rooms looking at bulletin boards. One person even asked her if she need any help...no, was waiting on her child...she managed to steal two people's purses before she left the building!!!

Now, the mornings before the bell rings is a lot of hustle and bustle ~ parents dropping off kids, kids going to the cafeteria for breakfast or in the hall waiting for the bell to ring. Several people saw this woman but assumed she was a parent. Nope - she was scoping out the situation and stealing purses! One teacher came in her room to find all her desk drawers pulled open. THE NERVE! This school is a very warm and friendly environment - unlike my previous school. At this school, classroom doors are left open and teachers are visiting. It is a trusting environment with minimal problems. Someone took advantage of that today, and it really ticks me off!

After she took two purses at our school, she walked next door to the church and asked if she could use the phone and stole a purse there too! Then she CAME BACK to the school....the bad part is that no one was sure who she was yet - they were looking and playing back the video from the morning. Here's the best part - while security was looking over the video - she was outside going through THEIR car!! (it was later seen on video ~along with her seeing what vehicles she could get into!)

Anyway - she got away for now. They have her face and car on tape...I just can't believe how bold some people are!

Randomness...

Nothing very exciting is going on here - and that's a good thing sometimes! :-) So, I just have totally random thoughts/updates today. In school/work news, I taught the after-school tutoring program today (because I don't have enough to do! ha!). Anyway...this will be every Tuesday for the next four weeks. Because, teachers and parents, you KNOW what is in four weeks.....THE BENCHMARK TEST! URRRGGGHHH! I don't even want to talk about that - so switching gears! Remember when I said I was tricking my kids into thinking I was feeding them worms? Hee-hee! Well, here they are enjoying or trying to make sure they are really just gummy worms in the jello! I love it!

And, in case you doubted me wanting me to be my spoiled, rotten cat in yesterday's post ~ check her out here:
I mean, really you have to live with her to appreciate her quirks and "lovely" personality. There are people who fear this cat! ha! She is really fluffy, and everyone wants to pet her. The problem is - she really only loves me. She tolerates most other people. Yesterday, she blocked Jax (the 80 lb. boxer) from the doggie door. She sat in front of it and would not move. He tried several times to get past her, and she hissed at him and scared him to the back of the house. She will meow and carry on at the bottom of the sink in the bathroom until someone (usually me) picks her up and turns on the water so she can drink from the tap. But the funniest thing about Nala, is that she CAN'T jump. She is the clumsiest cat you have ever seen. Sometimes it takes her three tries just to jump up on the bed ~ you can't help but laugh!

Told you today was random!

What if....

What if I could meet someone in the art world to chat with - well, I wouldn't know who to pick or what to talk about...I am not artsy. Unless, you could count writing as a form of art, then I would like to meet James Patterson - my all-time favorite author.

What if I could have one wish granted for the benefit of all mankind - I would wish for there to be no child abuse or neglect, and that no child went to bed without food or feeling loved. Is that more than one wish?

What if I could travel anywhere in the world - There are lots of places I would love to travel, but right now, I would LOVE to go on an Alaskan Cruise and enjoy the scenery.

What if I could live in a period other than the present, for 24 hours - this one is easy for me, I have always wanted to live back in the days of the old western movies with the big dresses and sexy cowboys! ha!

What if I could make over three areas of my body - my thighs, my freckles, and my butt (maybe that treadmill we are getting from Kevin's parents will take care of two of those!)

What if I could become an animal for 24 hours - hmmm...my spoiled house cat, Nala! She sleeps all day and only gets up to tell everyone else what to do for HER.

What if I could bring someone back to life for 24 hours - my grandpa C ~ He was the best male influence in my life, and I regret not getting to talk to him about what happened between me and my Dad before he died. I wish I would've had more time with him ...there are so many things I'd like to say.

*This tag came fromVader's Mom. I pass it along to whoever wants it! :-)

Some snow pics...

When I got up yesterday, I was really worried that I wasn't getting my snow day AGAIN! Because, there was really nothing on the ground, and it wasn't doing anything. I guess the 100% chance and the winter weather warning we were under are what saved us! ha! The snow started about 11am and didn't stop until about 6 o'clock last night. It was a pretty snow coming down too ~ big snowflakes.
"Got any more bird seed lady?"
This is what we finished up with (about 3 inches) - just enough for the neighborhood kids to have a little fun, and the dog to not want to go out! LOL! All in all, it was a perfect snow day ~ the roads didn't get bad, I didn't get out of my PJ's, and there wasn't any school! Woo-hoo!

SNOW DAY!!

I got my snow day today!! Woo-hoo!

I did my snow dance, taught my kids the dance, and followed Lindsey's advice and told 'em to wear their PJ's inside out, and it worked! And thank you to all who did the snow dance for us! LOL! (It had to be that, because it really is a pitiful amount of snow outside.) It depends on which news station you watch, what will happen throughout the day. According to one station, we still may get 1 to 3 inches. It isn't doing anything now though. I don't care though, because I got a free day OFF! Woo-hoo!

Why am I up? Because I can nap later! hee-hee!

I wanted a snow day like my cousin Kristen got on Tuesday JUST AN HOUR AWAY!

See - now THAT is some snow! I think they got just as much last night and today...but I'll take my free day off, and she can play in the snow for me! :-)

Could it be the weather?

Remember, how I bragged about it being 70 degrees here all weekend? Well, this is what I drove to school in yesterday. It was a big, pretty snow. An hour away, they got up to 16 inches!! We only got maybe an inch. I think it is almost sinful to have to drive to school in the snow...think of the kids! ha! But, I also admit the roads were clear. So, what would any good teacher do - feeling a little sick or not? That's right, I took 'em out to play in the snow. For pictures of that - go to Our Classroom site.
I had to stay home sick today - couldn't shake whatever it is I have. I came home from school Tuesday and went straight to bed. I really only got up to eat and then back to bed until about 3:30pm today. I think I am feeling better now. Thanks to my sweetest guy ever, Kevin, who has given me meds, come home at lunch to make sure I had chicken noodle soup, and taken care of me for the past 3 days. Love you honey!!

But get this - all weekend, 70 degrees, then Tuesday - snow, today 60 degrees, and they are calling for snow on Friday. CRAZY weather! My fingers are crossed we get snow on Friday!! Please don't go North of us again!! Just ONE snow day! Everybody do your snow dances!!

Sick...

I knew I would catch this sickness going around eventually...I blame a mixture of Kevin making me kiss him this weekend when he was still sick (yeah, he made me do it! ha!) and the fact that it was 70 degrees all weekend and is NOW SNOWING outside! Crazy Arkansas weather! Some of Arkansas got dumped on pretty good - over a foot of snow. Of course, not here though, we are going to school! Darn the luck! LOL!

My weekend in pictures...

Friday night was scrap night with the girls & my friend, Donna, who recently had the twin girls, stopped by with the babies!!! So...for a few hours, we stopped and ooohhed and awwwwed! Aren't they cute and small and precious??? Look at these baby feet!!
Kevin and I may get to babysit soon and give the Mom and Dad a night out. How scary is that? ha!
Saturday, we piddled (is that a word?) around town and around the yard. The nice weather (70 degrees!!) inspired one Lowe's trip!! We also rented two movies ~ Michael Clayton (with my man, George Clooney) & Eastern Promises (watchin' it tonight). Michael Clayton was good. In the middle, I was starting to think, where is this going? But, it all comes together in the final 30 minutes. George does not disappoint, ladies, it is a rental that even the man will enjoy. And, we were also excited to score the next season of the Soprano's. We are soooo hooked!
Check out Mr. Handy Man this weekend!! Kevin installed a new shower head in the guest bath AND new floodlights in the backyard. He installed the whole kit - not just changing the bulb! ha! I broke the last one we had - don't ask!
I cut back all the crape mertle's and all the dead stuff in the flowerbeds over the past two days ~ check out my burn pile! I am super excited about that! LOL! I am a country girl after all!

Now ~ on our trip to Lowe's we checked out patio possibilities ~ still no firm decision on what to use, but picture a patio off the deck where I have my tarp down killing grass. It will be in front of the steps too - I just figured my wussy dog wouldn't walk on the tarp! ha!
Speaking of the dog ~ my sweetest doggie! Today was his 10th birthday! My baby is getting old!! :-(
Simba gives him some birthday love ~ a little butt in the face and tail wrapped around the head. This cat will rub all over him and is most annoying! ha!
And finally, Kevin got the grill working again (Mr. Handy Man this weekend!). The grill was a little messed up b/c we used it as a smoker some. Now, she is back in business and Kevin grilled burgers for lunch and is grilling chicken for dinner! Yummy!
All in all, a GREAT weekend with NO master's work!

Oh, and I made a 91/100 on my midterm. That is a high B. (93% and up is an A)

But, if I make a B in this class, I will jump for joy!!

Reward #2 coming my way!!

I just finished my midterm, and feel really good about it. This professor is awesome about getting stuff back in a timely manner, so I feel sure I will know the results soon. I am pretty proud of myself b/c I'm not good at making myself study and I did! So....whew! That is o.v.e.r.! And, tomorrow, I'm scrappin' with the girls!!! Woo-hoo!! Then, I am taking the whole weekend off and will think about what comes next with my class on Monday. The weather here is suppose to be spring-like this weekend. I am hoping to get OUTSIDE!

Now...what am I gonna make for scrap night? Or rather pick up? ha!
I am about to make my class jello with gummy worms in it to celebrate finishing the book How To Eat Fried Worms....think the girls would want that too? LOL!

oh, and some of my kiddo's really believe I am making something with real worms in it like the book! suckers! hee-hee!

Wordless Wednesday: Bored or Tired?

Crazy Eights MeMe

*with updates at the bottom!

CRAZY EIGHTS!
I was tagged by Lindsey to play along, so here I go!

8 Things I'm Passionate About:
1. Kevin & his sobriety
2. my pets (aka fur kids)
3. my family and friends
4. teaching
5. organizing!!
6. scrapbooking
7. blogging
8. animal abuse/neglect

8 Things I Want to do Before I die:
1. earn my master's degree
2. para-sail (maybe this summer!)
3. go on an Alaskan cruise
4. see New York
5. swim with dolphins
6. see the Grand Canyon
7. have kids of my own
8. win the lottery! :-)

8 Things I Say Often:
1. Shhhhh!!!
2. Listening skills are very important (to my NON-listening class!)
3. No talking in the hall.
4. I need to write that down or I'll forget.
5. What time is dinner? (to my personal chef, Kevin)
6. Is Simba inside? (before I lock the doggie door)
7. I love you.
8. I'll just wait....(on my class to be quiet and LISTEN! ha)

8 Books I've Read Recently:
1. How to Eat Fried Worms (a favorite)
2. Chocolate Fever
3. All About Rosa Parks
4. Uncle Jed's Barbershop (love this one)
5. Follow the Drinking Gourd
6. The True Story of Ruby Bridges (brings tears to my eyes every year)
7. currently reading my class textbook: Practical Research
8. and The Purpose Driven Life with Kevin

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over:
1. American Pie - Don McLean
2. Mustang Sally
3. Candle in the Wind - Elton John
4. Earle - Dixie Chicks
5. Jackson - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
6. I Need You - Tim and Faith
7. Leather and Lace - Stevie Nicks
8. When Will I Be Loved - Linda Ronstadt

8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friends:
1. honesty
2. loyalty
3. fun
4. laughter
5. has my back and I have theirs
6. can put up with my neat freak quirks
7. let's me vent and vents back
8. scrapbooking is a plus! ha!

8 People I Think Should Do Crazy 8's:
if you haven't already been tagged, go for it! :-)

** updates: My Aunt went home from the hospital today - no surgery yet. They put in a stint and are letting it drain. Hopefully surgery won't be necessary. Thanks for the warm thoughts and prayers.

AND, I just got my assignment back from last week - I MADE AN A!!!! Now, wish me luck on the midterm this week. I am going to study right now!

Over and out! :-)

Weekend Report

I am home from the stress-free two day trip to Hot Springs....ahhh! It goes so quickly!

Peggy, my cousin, was the big ticket winner for the day with a $38 winning ticket. However, we were all winners! yay! I won $51, and basically broke even and had a free day of fun. We all won between $50 and $60...yippee! This is me and my Momma! She wins every year ~ I, on the other hand, hadn't cashed a ticket in about 3 years until Friday! ha!
Here's you a shot of the horses getting ready...it was cold, so I took it through the window. My cousin, Peggy, scored us the box seats from her work ~ we were loving it!
On Saturday we got up and shopped a bit and then headed on back. The bad part is right when we were getting ready to leave, my Granny called to say my aunt was in the hospital. She usually goes with us each year on this trip (it's my mom's sister). She didn't get to go this year b/c she had a business trip. Well, she got home and went straight to the hospital b/c she had been in severe pain the whole time she was gone. Turns out, she has a cyst the size of an orange that is pressing up against her kidney. She is having surgery tomorrow, so please keep her in your prayers!

Woo-hoo!

Well, I just got out of class - assignment one is turned in!! My parent conferences are only one shy of being DONE and my interims are in the kiddo's mailboxes waiting to go home tomorrow. AND, I AM GOING OUT OF TOWN TOMORROW FOR REWARD #1!!! Surely with all that off my plate, I will sleep peacefully tonight and stop doing research and grading papers in my dreams! LOL!

I'll leave you with a shout out for two new blogs I have found that I now visit daily ~ go show 'em some love!

Check out Vader's Mom ~ the minute you pull up her blog, you will see why I started reading. Vader isn't a human kid - it's her dog! (and it's not even a boxer - so hush Tee! aka Tan these days! ha!) I love it! And when I saw the quote in her template, I knew we could be friends!

While you are out browsing check out From the Cheap Seats ~ another teacher blogger! She gives lots of support in the area of stress related to teaching! Now, she has new stresses with the world of stay at home mom. That is a job I admire!!

Enjoy! I added them to my Favorite Reads in my sidebar and somehow messed up some of my links. Who knows? I am not worrying about it now though ~ I am officially relaxing for two days!

Wordless Wednesday: My cousin's security system

For Teachers....

I know you've probably seen it before, but it's always a funny read if you are a teacher!


Jeff Foxworthy's Take on Teachers

You Know You Are A Teacher If...

1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.

2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.

3. You walk into a store and hear the words 'its Ms./Mr. _________' and know you have been spotted.

4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.

5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes.

6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: prep and after school.

7. You start saving other people's trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.

8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.

9. You want to slap the next person who says 'Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off.'

10. You believe chocolate is a food group.

11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.

12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, 'Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.'

13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.

14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.

15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.

17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items!

18. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.

19. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.

And finally,

20. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents.

Here's the plan...

....because I always have to have a plan! Ha! Seriously, THANK YOU to everyone for your support and advice ~ you really did help pull me back up yesterday and inspire me to get motivated!!! I knew that I wouldn't forgive myself if I gave up, so...I am taking deep breaths and looking at it one assignment and one week/day at a time. (And I have rewards in place to look forward to!)

This week, I have an assignment due and my interim reports at school - reward: Friday taking off and going to the horse races! (annual girls trip)

Next week, I have my mid-term - reward: next night girls scrap night! woo-hoo!

After my BIG second assignment - reward: using my massage/facial gift certificate from Kevin for Valentine's Day - thank you honey!

After my last assignment and final - reward: going to see Sugarland/Little Big Town in concert with my Mom.

I do love some incentives! LOL!
And, I have had all my parent conferences except for two that need to re-schedule. I printed my interims today before I left work - which means I had all my grading caught up! (and all you teachers know that being caught up on grading doesn't last long at all!!!) Tomorrow I will write comments on the interims and turn them in to the principal. Kevin has been super supportive AND forgiving - he went to the grocery store today (I hate doing that!), finished up the laundry AND cooked dinner! What a guy!

I am sure that you have realized if you read my blog or know me that I do not handle stress very well. I let it build and build and then eventually have a meltdown. Yesterday was my meltdown. I put entirely too much pressure on myself sometimes. I think I have to do everything and do it THE BEST. I mean, you know how I beat myself up over a B last semester - ha! I am trying to relax a little...promise!

Now...I am off to work on my assignment - with visions of horses racing in my mind! :-)

IT'S TOO MUCH!!!

Maybe if I relieve some stress by blogging, I can focus. I should be on my way to Searcy with Kevin right now to see his family. Or, I should be getting ready for church. I'm not doing either. I'm at the freakin' computer - again! I am supposed to be doing research for my stupid class. URGH! I hate this class! It's too much....I went to work on Friday, had parent conferences as well as a million other tasks, left there, went to the library for research, came home and graded papers and did grades until 9:30 - ON A FRIDAY NIGHT! I did that so I could go to Searcy today, and only have to research when I got home. Ladies - you know how it is - women do not just work outside the home but at home too. So, not only do I have all this crap going on with work and my masters class, but I have to keep the house clean and the laundry going, yada yada.

Well, it all came crashing down. I was holding it all up the best I could, and now I am just a crying, blubbering mess. I looked up the drop date for my class. I am not a quitter - that's the only thing that has stopped me so far. I don't think I can do it though - 2 more months to go with 3 more major projects, a midterm next week, and a final. I strongly want to quit and have my life back NOW - not in 2 months.
I'm ashamed to admit that I took it out on Kevin - my stress. I snapped and yelled at him in the middle of the night b/c I couldn't sleep b/c he kept waking me up. So, now we are arguing - just what I need. Why didn't I just keep my trap shut and get up and go to the other bedroom? Geez!
Seriously, it has been so long since I was in school, if I drop the class and take a W, do I get my tuition money back? I can't lose $700 - that would be incentive to stick it out.
I am rambling and this didn't help - darn it! I need guidance - what to do? I should've taken this class in the summer!! I know I will be disappointed in myself if I give up, but I also know I will be relieved to let go of the load...decisions!
Any advice?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Really - Kevin and I aren't "celebrating" Valentine's day until Saturday because I had class tonight, and he has to work tomorrow. BUT, when I walked in the door from my crazy Valentine party at school followed by two parent conferences...look what Kevin had for me! I LOVE tulips...tulips and sunflowers are my absolute favorite flowers! He really is pretty awesome! And, on Saturday, I am taking the day off from school work and master's work, and we are going treasure hunting or junking - whatever you want to call it when you hit a bunch of flea markets in one day! We love us some flea markets! :-)
At school, we had an ice cream sundae party for our Valentine party. The kiddo's were HYPER all day. All of you teachers know how it is...on party days, we should just come to school for the party and go home. It is impossible to get anything else done. To make it even more chaotic, it was casual for a cause day (where they pay a $1 to wear whatever they want instead of their uniforms). Let me tell you, uniforms do make a difference in their behavior b/c anytime they don't have to wear them, it is a wilder day!
I am so lucky this year, my parents and kids are awesome...look - I got even MORE Dr. Pepper for Valentine's day! I love it! Boyfriends and husbands of teachers have it easy on Valentine's day b/c we get so much chocolate at school! ha!

And...we get to keep being a kid - look at these Valentine cards...they are so much fun! I am like a kid b/c I still love to dump them all out at once and read them! LOL!
Hope you all had a great day!

Wordless Wednesday: Snuggle Buddies

(This is where they snuggle up in the office while I'm on the computer - like now! LOL!)

Ewwww!

I thought I would be smart and keep my Dr. Pepper from the kids at school....LOOK what happened over the weekend!

We have rats or mice or something....GROSS!!! I mean, what would make them want Dr. Pepper cans? Luckily, they didn't reach the cans, so I brought them home to safety! Ha!

Seriously, do you think I should get a top for Nibbles (our guinea pig) cage? What if they are getting in there at night and scaring her and eating her food!?!

NASTY!!!

I hate mice, but I hate rats even more!

Birthday Stuff

I had a great birthday on Friday ~ despite the fact that I feel old now! LOL!

My kids were so pumped it was my birthday that I couldn't be down about getting old for long! Here's the funniest thing ~ they ALL know that I have to have a Dr. Pepper in the mornings. If I don't then, they say I'm grouchy. If I have one, then they say, I'm happy....well, one day last week I think, I came to school and I said, "Class, beware, I had a little bit of Dr. Pepper this morning but it was flat, and flat Dr.Pepper is like no Dr. Pepper at all!" One kid tried to give me his lunch money to go to the vending machine! Hee-hee! Well....for my birthday a parent comes in with this huge gift bag, and it's heavy. They got me a case of Dr. Pepper!!! Ha! I love it! They were so excited ~ they broke into the birthday song at least 3 different times on Friday. And, then Kevin showed up at the end of the day with Sunny D and cupcakes for the kids and Starbucks for me! What a guy! He even stuck around and challenged my boys to some games of chess. They loved it!

A meeting of the minds...After my "birthday party" at school, we went to a local flea market, and I found a birthday treasure. Yay! And, then we went to this awesome restaurant, Gaucho's, that I haven't been to in forever! YUMMY! We basically rolled ourselves out the door after dinner.

Today, we dreamed really big and went to the RV Show. Oh wow, they had everything from pop-up's to $300,000 RV's. AMAZING! We did register to win a $8,000 pop-up! It could happen...you never know!

As for my stress, well, I've sort of taken the past two days off. Kevin helped me grade papers tonight. Tomorrow I am working on my paper for my masters project and trying to get at least half of my parent conference forms filled out. Wish me luck!

S.T.R.E.S.S.

Ok...I have a confession. I have taken on too much or something. My plate is overloaded as they say....today at the end of the day, I looked down and my hands were shaking and my heart was racing. I had to make myself sit down and take deep breaths. Seriously...parent conference forms, conferences, a freakin' research paper, papers to grade that are piling up AGAIN (I graded for 3 hours last Saturday - there is NO catching up as a teacher), appointments, class tonight.....oh, and I'm turning 35 tomorrow. I need a secretary!

Check us out!

I'm cheating and giving the same post from my classroom blog...but darn it, aren't they cute? I am proud of them, and today was their honor roll assembly. So...here's my kiddo's!

School House FUN!

Our root beer/coke floats were a hit on Friday! The kids loved it! I don't remember having this much fun when I was in school. I overheard one of the kids say, "This is the best class ever. I mean, we got to EAT our science lesson!" LOL! Yes kids, you have a teacher that loves to eat! Now quick, what is the solid, the liquid, and the gas in this experiment?