SURPRISE!

I am on Fall Break right now! Yay! And although I've been out of school for a week, I have not even left my house until today. Sure, we went to the Jacket's game Friday night (we won) and saw Fireproof on Sat. (AWESOME) but other than that I've been glued to the computer writing a....literature review (it is one of the ugliest words I've ever heard, and my husband agrees). I'm talking about reviewing literature and searching for journals, and gathering knowledge and data about a topic that I really have come to HATE. I'm hoping that by the end of the year, I'll love this topic, but right now I despise it. My poor hubby helped me so much. He sat with me, added his thoughts, helped me highlight and organize. I looked rough...but last night at midnight I turned it in! So now I'm FREE!

I am now about to live up my fall break...because let's face it, if you know me well then you know, I really really really needed a break. I am having a very hard year. BUT tonight I'm surprising Matty. I've spent the day out and about Thomasville (my fav. thing to do) gathering supplies for tonight. I came home and straightened up, now I'm waiting. Our house is all decorated for fall, and Matt loves it. We still have one box to get out of the attic, which our wreath, dishes, and a few other decorations are still in.

I bought Matt some much needed fall essentials to his wardrobe. He really only owns dress clothes. So I got him some causual clothing. I also got him his favorite buttered popcorn jelly beans in a pumpkin bag (yuck) and cnady corn and pumpkins! I arranged them so when he walks in he will be greeted by them and a silly card that plays music. I went with the Halloween theme because last year we didn't get to celebrate due to my grad work. We bought pumpkins to carve and had to throw them out.
So tonight I am taking him to Coyaocan in Quitman. It is the nicest mexican restaurant ever. Hardwood floors, stainless steel, granite, AMAZING. He has never been, but I've been with my grad girls. Turns out they have turned the restaurant into a Haunted House. It looked so creepy and fun when I drove by after class on Mon.
I can't wait for him to get home from work! I thank God everyday for such a supportive and loving husband. We've been together for a long time. Sometimes I don't even recognize Matt. He has changed so much since we first met. He is a great business man, and he's a leader in our church and community. He trieds :) to help me with my grad work, he cleans, cooks...his generosity is amazing. He is so selfless and he sacrifices everything for me. I love him with all my heart and try my best to encourage him and spoil him!!

I'm going to have to work on lesson plans and report cards tomorrow..BOO! But, I think Matt and I may do a little bit of our Christmas shopping for family tomorrow. If we go to Tallahassee, we may just have to go to Cracker Barrel. It reminds me of Fall. I also want to go to the book store so I can read magazines about Fall goodies that I can make with my students. I am already planning on making the CUTEST pumpkin cupcakes with pretzel sticks! Oooh, my hubby is here, gotta go!!!!!

Can't wait for Fall!!!!

It's been forever since I've written anything. And my have things been busy!! Like always, I don't have much time. However, I am feeling very blessed right now and feel like taking note of this time in my life.

Work has been rough and great...at the same time :) I have learned that I have a supportive administration that is willing to do everything that they can to help me have the best year of my life. They are my biggest encouragers from the moment I walk in the office each morning and see their smiling faces and get greeted! I love going to recess with Angie..FUN! And I love when Robin comes in my room for the last 10 minutes of the day before buses and we catch up! I also love my new babies. I am getting pretty close and attached to several. Yay! I am learning that I can't do it all by myself. I can't get everything done that I need to and that has to be ok. I'm going to miss my old friends from GP. And most importantly I'm not perfect and I can always grow as a teacher. Some of these have been very tough lessons for me to learn. I have already sufferred through a teary breakdown with my Principal and AP one day after school. Jeanna and Brecca are amazing...hands down I have the best bosses in the world. They're strict but awesome!

Let's see. I was lucky enough to run into KK the other day in Tallahassee (my former Principal). I was coming out of Loli and the Bean and practically ran right into her...we both screamed and hugged!! It was a joyous reunion. CBD got to witness it all!

I have been extremely blessed to constantly be surrounded by friends lately. My grad school girls came to Thomsville to eat dinner a few weeks ago! We had a wonderful night of relaxation and great conversation. No one quite understands the constant stress of teaching, grad school, family, etc. like my grad school girls.

Church has started back, and as I walked across our beautiful downtown last Wednesday I felt a cool breeze and saw a few colored leaves blow across the steet, I felt like I was in Heaven. I love my pretty church and I love Wed. nights with Becky, Lynn, and LeAnn. A new sweet lady, Dawn, has started joining us at our little round table outside and I am excited because I've been wanting to get to know her better. We call our get togethers on Wed. therapy..and Bible Study, prayer time, laughing time, and it really refreshes me. I am so thankful for them and my entire chruch family. Anyway, it was just fun to see so many people back in the swing of the schoolyear, GA's, choir, etc. I LOVED IT and that it truly began to feel like fall to me.

Fall is my favorite season!! I have been stalking Hobby Lobby and all the holiday decorations!!! I already have my fall and halloween decor ready to go for my home and classroom. Now, I'm eyeing thanksgiving!! yeah!! I'm actually teaching a unit on the five senses next week and I'm incorporating fall and apples into my lessons!! FUN!

My old community from Garrison, also had a mini reunion last night.We enjoyed the pasta bar and so many memories and laughter, those girls have my heart. After dinner, I swung by church to catch up with my ladies!!! It actually felt cool, so we sat outside for over an hour after the youth activities got over. Wow! We're having dinner and going to see a movie tomorrow night, since the Jackets game is out of town.

Matt and I have a Blazer game on Sat. night and I have tons of grad work to consume any free second that I could possibly have. Carrie, Bridgett, and I volunteered to basically teach our class on Mon. night. Ortlieb wanted us to do a special project about reading comprehension..so I guess we are up for the challenge. At least we will get it over with! Wish us luck!

Oh, and house plans consume my hubby right now..pray that everything will work out and we can move on!! :)

Overall, I think this is going to be one of my favorite fall's yet! I can't wait to see what God has is store for me! Should be interesting ;)

Yes, I work in the only county in south GA that wasn't closed due to Tropical Storm Fay :)

I was furious about this decision! Haha!!! I arrived at school all huffy and late (after 7am) compared to my normal arrival time. We were allowed to wear jeans with whatever shirt we wanted and I chose a TC tshirt :) When we got to school I found out that we had an early release day...better than nothing. But I still didn't get home until 2 and I was soaked from the bus line. But it sure felt good to take a Friday afternoon nap while it poured outside. I'll admit the wind was scary (my umbrella almost snapped in half)!

When I finally got over having a bad attitude, I actually had a really good day with my students. They were all there...even the sick ones. I was sick too, my throat hurt so bad! We did a lot of Fun Friday activities and I got all of the weekly work sent home and my newsletter was complete (I didn't write my newsletter until the mroning b/c I didn't want to do it if school was out).

We talked about the TS and I brought in some articles that I cut out of the newspaper with pictures of what the storm was doing. We looked out the window and watched the clouds! We read the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom earlier in the week, so we made a coconut tree snack. And I cracked open two coconuts with a hammer. I actually had an audience. I was nervous to do it because I've never cracked one open before..well one of our speech teachers came in to get one of my students and ended up staying and watching..haha!! One had milk in it and the other didn't. We made a big chart and used descriptive words to describe how the coconut looked, felt, smelled, sounded, and tasted. FUN!

Since we couldn't go out to PE they set up a parachute in one of the front hallways! I haven't played with one of those since elementary school and I remember that it was my favorite. It slowly came back to me and Ms. Derikia and we raised it up, ran under it, sat under it, walked different ways with it, put a ball on top of it, and just went crazy!! Highlight of my day!

The other thing that I love about Hand-In-Hand is that every teacher owns a pair of rainboots. It is a sight to see...we have plain,polka dot, plaid, and animal print out there on the bus line! Everyone also own awesome raincoats. We have all learned from experience and that bus line is HIGH and rain blows right under it! So we finally got all of our busses home and then had to stay up front until car riders left. Then Jeanna ordered us to go home and rest this weekend.

Let it Rain...

I feel refreshed! My sweet principal picked me and six other teachers at my school to go to an AIMS Science training in Pelham, GA. On the 2nd week of school...we thought she was crazy! I was dreading leaving my wild group for the 7th and 8th days of school..haha! However, it was just what I needed. We didn't have to be at the bus garage until 8am. Then we rode together in a van to Pelham in the rain..which I love..both days! We had a lunch break for an hour and ended at 3...slice of heaven. During our lunch breaks we shopped. Downtown Pelham is super cute! They have the polka dot spot..which is pretty well known in Tville, everything was 50% off in the entire store due to new shipments coming in. But there were several other cute shops and restaurants as well. Our training was hands on and we got lots of cool science blacklines and ideas!! Most of all I liked the talks that our group had througout the day and ride back to Thomasville. K teachers: Laren, Alacia, Joanna, Gail, and I. PreK: Carole and Donna. Then our math coach went: Toni! I just feel ready to go back to school tomorrow. I feel like I have some new ideas and a stronger support system. I really needed to be encouraged and I feel like I got that from the girls in my school family. I also got to see some of my GP family Tues. after school for an early supper! I feel very blessed!

Busy as a Bee

Well, I've survived!!! At least the first week of school and a day! Friday and today (Monday) went really well, considering how HARD the first few were. I have 20 babies. 10 boys and 10 girls..I love even numbers :) Anyway, I am actually going to be attending a science workshop out of town for the next two days, so I have a pretty nice break from my kids already. I think I will actually miss most of them. I thought I'd explain my daily school schedule.

6:15am Drive to School
6:25am Sign in then listen to Christian music and pray for my kids and work in my classroom. I usually turn on all the lamps, set everything out that I'm going to teach with, write a morning message, and read my Ribbit Report from Jeanna! I love my mornings.
7:30 My kids come in the room and eat breakfast, I always greet them at the door and remind them to put bring their folders in, to put up their bus buttons, and to grab their clipboard. I always give hugs and big smiles in the morning, as this is the most important part of my day..to make each student in my class feel like they are my favorite student in the world, and that they can trust me, and feel safe, in a warm caring environment...then they sign in, and start their jobs: counting jar, making a pattern, counting money, writing the date, estimation station, write a sentence, rhyming words, and have-a-go word.
8:00 Plege and Patriotic Song
8:10 Calendar: We sing songs and dance, practice our months of year, days of week,colors, shapes, numbers, money, place value, greater than and less than, even and odd, we graph our weather, the amount of teeth that we've lost, etc.
8:30 I choose a lucky leader of the day and we Write their name, we work on letters, letter sounds, vowels, syllables, using punctuation and quotation marks, and lots and lots of other things. It's pretty cool :)
9:00 We do math. We sort, graph, make patterns, add, subtract, and do word problems. I have lots of manipulatives and a cool big book that provides lots of student interaction.
9:20-10:20 Centers They have to come to my table and Ms. Derikia's table. The rest of the time is free choice unless they haven't finished their jobs.
10:20-10:45 Learning Focused Unit. We do scinece and social studies. Really cool activities, fun snacks on Fun Friday, and lots of themes. I always d0o a few read alouds during this time.
10:45-11:15 P.E.
11:15-11:35 Writer's Workshop
11:35-12:05 Recess
12:10-12:40 Lunch (It's not duty free)
12:45-1:00 I read a chapter book aloud to them. One of my favorite times of the day.
1:00-1:45 Rest time (Praise the Lord) It is very relaxing in my room. I have lots of lamps and soothing music on. I plan during this time or have Better Seeking Team Meetings or Wing Meetings.
1:45-2:30 Snack and Daily Recap. We celebrate good behavior and good work!! We revieew our work and then they file their sheets.
2:30-3:30 Dismissal
3:30-5:00 I clean up my desk, which always gets covered in all sorts of notes and papers, set up for the next day, plan , write newsletters, catch up on emails, write notes to parents, call parents, make copies, chat with fellow co-workers and laminate. Then I go home and as I walk out I watch football practice right on the field right outside my classroom. I love that fall is coming. I love hearing the whistles blowing and all the parents watching their kids. I always feel blessed and proud to be a Yellow Jacket!! I love my school system and my two schools :)

I usually have a long to-do list when I get home too. I make things on my computer, run to Publix to grab supplies, and study my lessons. It is especially crazy when I add Grad school out of town two nights a week! Bible study, GA's, and most important time with Matty and Blakely. I love my busy life, and I definitely sleep well at night! I really don't know how people with kids work full time and go to grad school! AMAZING!

I'm excited about this week! I am going to meet up with some old Garrison friends tomorrow after my workshop at Grandaddy's!!!! Can't wait. Then on Wed. Lynn Burton and mabye Becky Jense and I are going for our weekly coffee (we haven't done this since April, b/c we don't have Wed. night activites in the summer) Then on Thursday I'm meeting Betsy, Carrie Beth, and maybe Michelle at Coyacan in Quitman for some really good mexican and margaritas!! :)Betsy and I live in Thomasville and CBD and Michelle live in Valdosta, so it's a halfway point!

Well it's time for Jon and Kate plus 8..YEAH! Carrie, it's your turn to blog now. I think I'm caught up!

A glimpse inside my kindergarten class on Fun Friday!

Where has the time gone???

It's been forever since I've written anything and CBD reminds me often :) This is the first time I've actually felt like writing or had time. Warning: I am very tired so there will probably be a TON of errors and won't make much sense. I am just going to write random thoughts or events that happend.

Let me recap my July! I loved July, even though it went on and on. I just love my grad school girls. Let me name a few...Carrie Beth, Bridgett, Betsy, Michelle, Jennifer, Mandy, Crystal, Melanie..and the list goes on and on. Even though our classes were ridicoulously hard and time consuming I loved going every Tues. and Thurs. I loved going to Las Banderas on Tuesday to use our VSU coupons and laughing and sharing deep dark secrets (or at least things that aren't usually discussed), and drinking peach and strawberry margaritas (with sugar) haha! I loved going to the Bistro lunch buffet (amazing!) every Thursday and meeting Dr. Dixey!! Love her! I loved the frienships that were made, the random shopping trips in the afternoons, and the book craziness that we all take part in. Lake Park is one of my favorite memories. Carrie, Bridgett, and I bought so many cheap books one day!!! These girls have my heart and I'm sad some are graduating. But, I am thankful that we are starting a book club and a bible study..Coyacan in the fall here we come!!

On my off days from grad school I would go up to Hand-In-Hand and work in my classroom. It was fun at first, but then right befofre preplanning started...combined with tons of projects for grad school it became a real chore. I had quite a scare one Saturday at Hnh...I thought I set off the alarm and had to call my principal at home and the police department. Great way to start things off right?? haha! But I am thankful that I was able to get so much of my room finished before hand. I am also grateful to all the people from Garrison and just other teachers around HnH that came to my room to make me feel welcome.

To end the summer, after a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, Carrie came to Thomasville and we went shopping in Tallahassee. We spent about 3 hours in Dillards (Carrie :)) and had a great time, especially in Talbots! I found out later on that Mrs. Ward and Jeanna had both been in Dillards and ran into each other. Two very influential women in my life :)

Last Friday after Open House, I was really down. I was feeling a lot of pressure from a lot of things going on in my life. I didn't know how I'd ever be ready to teach my kids on Monday.
I was home, lying in bed with the lights off around 5pm, when my phone rang. It was Karen Kugelmann (my former principal at Garrison)! She was calling to chat and invite me to brunch. But she also gave me lots of really useful advice that I hold near to my heart. She said so many kind words about me and my teaching. She is very wise and I am thankful for her. Sometimes people at GP used to wonder why I was such good friends with my administrators. I don't know how I became so close to them. I never would've guessed that that would've happend..but it did. God brought us all together for a reason. We were asked to do a personal ministry project this summer at our church as our connect community challenge. Mine was very personal but it had to do with two very special women in my life. My former adminstrators. Let me just say, God used me and in turn, He has blesssed me with some very special friendships. Anyway, my spirits were uplifted and I ended the night by taking a bath and reading The Friday Night Knitting Club, which I've since finished. AMAZING!!! That was the first book in our book club and wow what a surprise for Carrie and Bridgett! I knew how it was going to end the entire time :)

Alright, I'm going to watch the rest of the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics!! If you know me well, you know how much I look forward to the summer games. They feature some of my very favorite sports!!! And I'm a diehard team USA fan!!!!

My next post will about my first week of school! Stay tuned...and thank you Jesus!!!!