A New Year

Yes, I know it's the end of August and know technically, it's not the NEW YEAR, but for me, as a teacher, it is...this is almost the end of a long first week back. Gwen, my 5 year old, began kindergarten...she had a fabulous 1st day and has had even more fabulous subsequent days. She loves school and loves her teacher. She has even made fast friends with the girls who sit at her table with her during the day. I'm so proud of her and knew she would love school.
I have begun the year chaos-full. Kids weren't where they were supposed to be, kids were missing, kids were everywhere! At one point, I had 58 kiddos in my room...you have to laugh at that because if you didn't you'd cry! It was all adjusted and life will continue but it got me thinking...now that I have a kid IN SCHOOL, I see these faces differently. School can be hard, new schools and bigger schools can be an adjustment...kids are confused and scared and worried...kids are energetic and funny and talkative. I'm all those things. I am still nervous as they file in my room each day. I'm still confused, alot and often don't know what to do next.
I feel empathy, sympathy. I understand where they are coming from. And as if that weren't enough, I have 2 kids in my class with whom I went to high school with their moms!!!! Am I old enough to have a 10/11 year old? Yep! Yikes! But they are sweet and wonderful.
Ask me how sweet and wonderful these kids are in 2 months, I might tell you differently...but for now, my students this year are excited and ready to learn and create...and so am I.

Summer, summer, summertime!

It's FINALLY summer! I'm done with school and ready to enjoy the time home with my girls...the school year ended hugely successful and I have some great ideas for next year. I will not be worrying about that now though. The girls will start gymnastics next week, I will teach swim and we have already planned many trips to the zoo, art classes with MawMaw (their great grandma), craft classes with our friends Letanya and Tori and swimming at Manny's (their grandma) pool! Whew! I'm already tired! Welcome Summer 2010, we are glad you are here!!

Huge Volcanic Ash and Naked in the Airport

OK, so I've been looking at pictures online of the volcanic ash that is covering Iceland and Europe...I hear it's moving towards Canada...anyway, as I was looking through the images online, here's what struck me:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36645958?gt1=43001
This image is amazing...it's called a dirty thunderstorm...truly beautiful. But here's something NOT so beautiful:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36553710
So, this poor couple is stranded in Gatwick Airport in southern London...sucks but they appear to be making the most of it...look closer...did you notice? The guy has no shirt on!!! Seriously? You are in a HUGE airport, SLEEPING no less!!! I guess he thought as long as he was there, he might as well get comfy:)

Crayon Roll

OK, so I have a friend up here at work who crafts alot...and she's good at it...I have dreams of crafting alot but it just never happens...maybe someday. ANYWAY, I was looking around at some crafty blogs and found these crayon rolls...this just might be my new favorite thing...I plan on making one for the girls and then, of course, for all my friends' kids...you just might have to wait for their birthdays though:)

Easter!

Here are some pics from Easter...Gwen and Graelyn hunted eggs, ate and played all afternoon...they had so much fun and even got to skip their naps:). My dad came over to my aunt's house and brought his dog, Gus...as you can see, Gwen LOVES Gus:)

Stinky Season

So I commented on my facebook page that my room smelled like feet the other day...to clarify, I meant my CLASSROOM at school. Let's get a few things straight...I was being nice. It smelled more like a boys' locker room that hadn't been cleaned in 2 months during the summer. See, I teach 5th and 6th graders...I love them, they are funny and sweet and stinky all at the same time...but right now, they are REALLY stinky. It's getting warmer, they're getting hormonal and naturally, they sweat, A LOT.
Sooo, to all you parents of pre-teens, heck, to all you parents out there of anyone 7 years of age or older...invest in some GOOD deoderant for your kid, NOW. Make them wear it and make them reapply often. There's nothing wrong with smelling good...believe me, in a few years they're going to WANT to smell good anyway so might as well make a habit of it now. I have HUGE sense memory (specifically smell) and let's just say my room does not make me want to come back anytime soon.
Happy hunting...let me know if you find a coupon for deoderant and I'll pass it along to all my fans:)

Back on...I hope:)

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything and I can say that I don't necessarily have anything life-altering to say, except that...people are funny...at the gym, people are funny. They wear stuff they shouldn't, they look at people who are really really in great shape, they look at people who are in really really awful shape...honestly, I'm kinda stuck in the middle...I'm working on being the one who is in fantastic shape, but I'm not there yet. Here are some of my favorite/most hated moments at the gym lately:
1.speedo guy coming out of the steam room...yikes
2.giggling girls "trying" to lift weights (these girls deserved a punch in the face)
3.super slow movers on the stairclimber...does this really do any good at all?
4.loud talker by the weights (this is the guy who wants to be everyone's friend and make sure we all know how much he knows about lifting...awesome)
5.rocker (this is the dude who has such GREAT music on his ipod that he has to stop lifting to bang his head a little)
6.super extremely in shape girl who is so cute that everyone LITERALLY everyone watches her work and walk (she's so in shape it hurts my feelings...but I know she's probably at the gym like 3 hours a day and I just can't do that)

So there you are, my "not quite top 10"

Tourist Season

So, for the large part of this month, my gym has been BUSY...and by busy I mean the kidzone (where the kids can play and "workout" as Gwen calls it while mommy and daddy can hit the gym) has a line a mile long...you waste MOST of your workout time just waiting in that ridiculous line!! The cardio machines (treadmills, ellipticals, stairmasters) are full, and many of the weights and especially the weight machines are VERY full...why you may ask? Is it because no one wants to run outside in the cold of January? Is it because my gym is shiny and new and everyone wants to try it out? Maybe it's because there's a hot new personal trainer that all the ladies wanna take a look at...all of those theories are fantastic possibilities but the truth is, it's tourist season at all gyms, everywhere, around the world...around the universe, perhaps. You see, many people have made New Year's Resolutions...resolutions to lose weight, get back in shape, feel better, etc...and the brand new shiny gym membership is the way to do that...the only resolution I've made is, quite frankly, to drink more margaritas...but that's not the point...the point is...these tourists are in my way...they are in my way of something I've been solidly working on for several months now...at almost 34 years of age, I'm finally figuring out what it means to eat healthy and get in shape...I've always been a fairly athletic person but once you have kids, things change...and by change I mean expand and soften up...so I've made it my personal goal to shrink and harden up...and I'd appreciate it if you tourists would go back to the State of Couch Potato so the rest of us who actually get our money's worth in a gym could get our space back...

Recipes

So, we're cutting calories around our house and working hard to feel better and get in shape...I found several recipes that are low cal and so far, have tasted EXCELLENT! I'm posting 2 that I've tried...I'll post more later when I try the rest...I tweeked a few and have made notes accordingly:) I hope you enjoy!

Soft Chicken Tacos: (I put all the ingredients together and then "grilled" them in a pan...warming up all the ingredients and making the corn tortilla slightly crispy...yum! I also did NOT put sour cream on mine but I don't like sour cream...we used homemade guacamole:)

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1227897

Mozerella Chicken Sandwiches: (I didn't put the tomatoes on the sandwich...but they would have been good I'm sure...this is Seth's new favorite sandwich he says!)

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1185367

Those are the only ones I've tried so far...I'll post more as I make more!