Creative Writing

This is a completely random post, but I am having these thoughts and feel like sharing.  Today I really enjoyed an activity my kids did in class... I think they enjoyed it too.  I wrote out three random story leads, and they had to start with the lead and finish the story. They didn't have a lot of time; it was pretty short and sweet, but it was really neat to hear their writing.  Normally we write personal narratives... "My Favorite Birthday" or "What I'm Thankful For" -things like that, which are good to just practice grammar, keeping sentences on topic, basic things like that. But personally, when I was in 2nd grade -what I remember and LOVED was the creative writing. We did it, a lot, and it was the best thing ever. I wrote two stories in 2nd grade that I was extremely proud of.  It was neat to encourage my students and give them that chance to just write creatively.  A lot of the boys' stories were just crazy silly and ridiculous... but a couple students had unique stories that I loved hearing.  And of course, they all loved sharing them -even though they would read so quietly, nobody else could hear it.

On a different note... from a Facebook link, I just saw a trailer for a movie called The Vow -coming out next Valentine's Day. Oh my goodness. First of all, I head-over-heels love Rachel McAdams.  (If you know me, you know this is because of how crazy much I love The Notebook.) So I automatically can't wait to watch any movie she is in... Secondly, I love almost any romantic movie -especially romantic dramas that are super emotional and I cry during the previews (which I did for this one).  I even love really cheesy, predictable, a 4th grader could have written this or acted it out type of romantic movies. I love them all.  Anyways... this preview looked amazing. I canNOT wait for this to come out!  It might become my 2nd favorite movie... it looked like it had that potential.  After dabbing my eyes from watching the preview, (I actually watched 2 different trailers, both equally captivating) I yelled out to Cody in the other room, asking him why I can't have ideas and details like this in my head to write a story so pulling and emotional and moving.  I know the answer though.  I would need something like that to happen in my life... to then be able to write about it with that real, raw emotion.  The problem there... is that all of the amazing love stories -are so amazing because something awful has to happen- and the characters work through it or overcome it, and end up together after a terrible ordeal.  And well frankly, the whole terrible ordeal and having to overcome such an awful even to make for a great story, doesn't sound super in real life.  I wish I could dream a story like this and then magically get it down on paper.  One day maybe I'll be motivated enough and self-disciplined enough to actually write something.  Hopefully.  We'll see. One day...

October

October was a busy month for us... all good things though : )  First we signed a lease on a duplex that we found and liked.  Initially they wanted us to move in just one or two weeks after finding it -and we said that was too quick for us, so we pushed it back to the end of the month.  But we were very excited to find a place we liked -and that was WAY closer to work for me.
 
Next, we enjoyed a 3 day weekend together in Comfort at a Bed and Breakfast which was amazing!  Sometime during September I reached a point of being super stressed and overwhelmed feeling... and so we decided that I would take a personal day for a 'mental health day' (thanks for my friend for suggesting these mental health days!). Cody started looking and booked us a weekend stay at Meyer B&B in Comfort in the middle of October. It was wonderful!  All of the bumper stickers we saw in the town were true for us: "We found comfort in Comfort!"  Lol.  We enjoyed a cozy little cottage type room, hammocks, a jacuzzi, went antique browsing, and just had lots of relaxing time to do nothing together. It was exactly what I especially, but we, needed.

The very next weekend at the end of the month we moved!  Unfortunately our time for the movers to come wasn't until Sunday evening between 3 and 5... of course they didn't show up until about 6:15.  Which means we were literally still moving into our duplex until after 11 Sunday night... which in turn started me off exhausted for a week that ended up being tiring all the way through. But, we love our new place!  I love how much closer I am to work.  We both love that it is a duplex rather than apartment.  It has a not-too-big-but-big-enough yard for Callie, and a garage that we don't know if it will just be storage -or hopefully have enough room for one of our cars.  The whole duplex is tile floor -which is awesome for the amazing amount of hair that Callie constantly sheds -and for spills that she often creates. It has an actual laundry room which we have yet to have.  The kitchen is smaller than our last apartment, but definitely big enough.  We like it -a lot.  We've now been here a week... and most things are unpacked and up and running -with the exception of the kitchen. The kitchen is our goal today -which you can see is going great since I'm on here blogging lol. Oh well... it'll get done... eventually. Our neighbor is really nice, we've talked to her a couple of times. She has a dog also that is a boy about 1 year old that she rescued.  Her dog's name is Dax.  Callie and Dax have both been digging on their side of the fence trying to get to each other! It is super cute and funny to watch. We've let them play together once and they got along great. Both of our backyards are just dirt so they are not tearing anything up, and our neighbor said she didn't mind if they dug and played together.  We'll see how this goes... but for now it's super entertaining to watch, and it is giving Callie something to do outside.

Cody is still doing awesome in school. I am extremely proud of him. He has now officially had a test in all courses and has A's in all of them!  He is working hard and doing great.  As for me, I am counting down for Thanksgiving break! I'm enjoying school, but it is exhausting and I constantly feel either behind, or like I'm barely making it. There are always a million more or extra or different things I could be doing. Sometimes I stay even later than normal and do some of them... and sometimes I just let myself go home. I'm doing my best to do what I need to, but still have time at home to relax and keep my sanity.  I watched Cody get burnt out so quickly and worked literally every evening and weekend... and I decided I would not let myself do that.  I still stay at school late on a regular basis... but at least I'm not bringing anything home, and so far have only had minimum stuff on the weekends.  I'm hoping to keep it this way.

Here are some pics of everything lately. Two weeks until Thanksgiving -which means a much needed week off.  And I just love this time of year!  I love Fall colors, and holiday decorations, and the seasons changing, and this time when I start to pull out jackets and scarves.  Anyways... that's it for now!

AMAZING lunch at a neat tea room in Comfort!

The Sweet we stayed in all weekend.

We loved the hammocks out back!

 

I definitely fell asleep right there after a morning of browsing through dozens of antique stores.

 

Out to dinner on our last evening.

*Sorry all of these pictures kinda stink! We forgot our camera... so everything was just taken on our phones which means awful quality!

Back to Blogging!

Hello again!  I’ve missed blogging.   I didn’t exactly mean to disappear, but somehow I did.  Oh well though… I intend to be back!  I might not be posting super often, but am hoping to maintain our goings-on once again through the blog.

So, we have some catch-up to do!  
 

1)  Cody is officially in graduate school at UTSA working towards a master’s degree in Statistics.  (Does that sound awful to anyone else?? He has quite the math brain… whereas I quite avoid math when possible.) He has already had several quizzes and just had his first tests! He is doing amazing so far and I am extremely proud of him : )
 

2) I did post about finally being hired (again –yay!) but have not said anything about how my first official year teaching is going.  Quick recap: I got hired mid July to teach 2^nd grade.  I had a new teacher orientation for a week and then a regular work week before school started, and we’ve now finished the seventh week of school!   I am enjoying it and am making it through somehow so far.  I’ve definitely recently reached a point where I have started to consistently feel stressed and a little overwhelmed… but so far I’m still making it!  This month sounds like we’ll be starting a lot of new additional things… so we’ll see how it continues to go once more is added into what we’re already doing.

3) We’re moving! (Again!) Over the summer we moved in with Cody’s parents –Sue and Steve- before I was hired… since at that point we would have no income with Cody back in school.  However, now that I am officially hired and working, we’ve decided to move out to be back on our own again.  We recently found a duplex that we really like –and get this, it is only about 10 minutes from my school! Whoop! Compared to the 35 (no traffic) to 50 (with traffic) drive I’m doing now… 10 minutes sounds freaking awesome.  The only downside that we’re kind of nervous about is a possible sound issue.  We did know of this in advance and made the decision to still go with the place. 1- It’s under an airport, so there will be planes taking off. 2- Literally on a semi-busy street, so street noise. And 3- extremely close to train tracks, so train noises. SO… there are actually several possibly serious noise issues, but for whatever reason we decided to go with it. Hopefully we don’t regret it! But we are very excited and looking forward to setting up our own home again soon. We move out this month on the 29^th!

There are probably a million more little things I could ramble on about… but I’ll leave you with general recaps and catch up info for now. I hope to be back to blogging on a semi-regular basis again. But we’ll see how that goes with me officially teaching now.  

Our soon-to-be next home! Ours will be the side on the right where all the cars are.

Random Question...

The other night I tried a new recipe that I was very excited about... and well it did not turn out well!  I had been wanting to try to make a battered-chicken dish for a while, and finally tried it.  I pretty much followed a recipe... dipped/covered chicken pieces in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.  Here's where I think I may have ruined it... I almost always cook on the stove with olive oil, and so I did as I always do.  Within just about two minutes there was smoke filling the kitchen and the chicken was completely blackened/burned on the outside.  --Was it the olive oil?  Next time should I not put anything in the pan to cook it with??  Anybody have a thought? -Because I really wanted that recipe to turn out and Cody was excited about it as well.  He was sweet and still ate it and said it was great -minus the blacked parts that he scrapped off lol.  Just curious though because I'd love to try it again if I can figure out what to do differently!  And just for the record even though I haven't done a cooking success/fail post in forever... this is going down as a cooking failure!

H I R E D !!!

Even though nobody reads this anymore since I had to make it private... I am still excited to share that I am f-i-n-a-l-l-y hired!!!  Last time I posted, I had 2 interviews back-to-back.  I was offered a job from the second interview that day for a 2nd grade position at a school in NEISD! I was (and still am) thrilled!  Second grade is a grade level that I would have chosen myself and I was hoping to end up in North East, so it was truly ideal.  God absolutely blessed us with this teaching position and the timing was amazing.  With Cody quitting teaching to go back to school... we were really praying hard for me to get offered a job, and not only did I get one -I got a position I am truly excited about.  We are beyond grateful for God's provision and plan.

So. Since all of that news... I have been officially setting up my first classroom this week!!! I had a new teacher orientation this past Tuesday, and the last two days have been working to start setting up and organizing my room -and I will be up there all day tomorrow as well. But I'm enjoying it and am so glad to be there! -Despite the heat! Ugh.  The school's AC is off until next week, so everyone that is up there is practically melting while we work.  And Cody has been wonderful : )  He has been up there with me helping to move stuff, setting up my computers/technology stuff, and being extremely helpful and excited for me.

Other than all of the above excitingness... Cody still has a few weeks before his grad school starts.  He is excited to start -but definitely enjoying his last weeks off.

Interviews

So tomorrow is a big morning and I am officially super nervous!  I have two interviews scheduled.  The first is at 9:15 for a Kindergarten position at the school where I had the long-term sub job.  The second is at a different school -but also in NEISD- for a 2nd grade position at 11:30.  I think it's a combo of two interviews within almost just two hours and the fact that I feel like this will be the hardest one to not get, if I don't get offered the job from where I had the long term sub position.  I'm not going to say much about it because, like I said, I am crazy nervous already and I don't want to talk anything up too much... as I've recently (and in the past) learned that no matter how well an interview seems to go... it doesn't mean I'll end up getting offered anything.  So.  That's it. I have two interviews, both tomorrow morning. I am excited and extremely glad for the opportunities, and I would greatly appreciate prayers for calm nerves and confidence and enthusiasm for both interviews!

Hello again

So as I'm sure you've noticed... I haven't blogged in a while, and I also switched the blog to private for invited readers only.  I didn't really intend to pause or stop blogging... we've just been busy lately and so I kept putting it off. But now I'm back! So here's a brief catch-up:

Cody and I both finished out the school year the first week of June.  Cody is officially DONE teaching!  I hadn't mentioned anything about this on the blog before because he asked me to wait, but now it's all done and over.  Cody resigned his teaching job at Alamo Heights in order to go back to school.  He will be attending UTSA for grad school in August to earn a masters degree in statistics... -how awful is that lol?!  Just kidding.  All math sounds awful to me, but Cody definitely has a math brain.  I guess that's somewhat apparent as he was a math teacher.  But so that's his/our plan for the next two years... he'll be in school and probably just working somewhere part-time around his class schedule.  I am very proud of my husband for the awesome job he did teaching at Alamo Heights and now for going back to school! 

As for me, I finished the long-term sub job through the end of the school year... and am now missing the kiddos!  It was a really challenging experience, but it also ended up being very enjoyable and I know it was definitely invaluable experience that will aid me when I finally get an official classroom of my own.  Since school got out I have been job searching.  I've applied to districts all over SA and to districts up to about an hour outside of town.  I've driven out to a couple schools (the only ones I've seen yet with actual individual postings) to take our my resume/portfolio for the principal and I've also emailed lots of schools.  We are really hoping and praying I get hired to teach!  It has not sounded likely with the state budget issues and all going on... but it's still possible, and that's what we're hoping for. 

About a week ago I ended up getting an interview with Child Protective Services and it went well... however I left with a pretty strong feeling of 'this isn't what I want to do... I want to teach... what am I doing here?'  So I guess it was encouraging that I had an interview and it went well, but it definitely made me hope even more so that I get hired to teach.  AND on that note... I've been fairly down and stressed and nervous about everything and life in general lately... and then yesterday I got a call from an AP at a school in North East and now have an interview scheduled for next Wednesday!  I could not be more excited and hopeful!  She did not say what grades/positions specifically or if it was just one or multiple... but nonetheless, I am excited for whatever.  Please pray for me and us that it goes well!  I would absolutely LOVE to be hired right here in town in North East.  That would be amazing and such a blessing.  We'll see! 

And now aside from all the job situation info... we are also in the middle of packing and moving. Sad face.  I will really miss this apartment!  We have slowly been packing for several days now and our apartment looks like a disaster/destruction zone from all the boxes and everything out to be moved/stored somewhere.  Our lease is up the 30th, but we hired movers for this coming Monday the 27th, and we'll use those last few days to clean the place up and do all of the annoying things on the extensive move-out-to-do list.  And with our current situation with Cody going back to school and me not being hired to teach yet... we thought it'd be pretty dumb and irresponsible to find a new apartment, even a much cheaper one, until we have something lined up for sure.  So we'll be moving in with Cody's parents, Sue and Steve, for now, and depending on what happens job-wise... our goal will be to move out either sometime before or no later than Christmas break.  We'll see.  Everything is kinda up in the air right now.  We are so incredibly thankful though for Sue and Steve to be willing to let us take over part of their house!  It is absolutely helping us out a ton and we are extremely grateful. -So thank you both if you see this! 

I think that's about it!  Cody's going to grad school in August... I'm looking/hoping to be hired to teach (interview next Wednesday!)... and guys are coming on Monday to move us whether we're ready or not!  So it's packing, packing, and more packing for us until then.  And then the reverse process of unpacking and setting up... ugh.  I am not a fan of the moving process. Who is though, right?  

Oh my goodness... I think I'm starting to like this.

I've got to share this realization.  I posted recently about some of the positive things that have happened with this long-term sub job, but today something bigger than those incidents hit me.  At the very end of the day, after the kids were gone, after a faculty meeting... I was back in my room getting organized and such when I walked over to my dry erase board to change our "Days of School Left" countdown. As I was erasing the number and getting ready to write the new one, I actually had the thought and feeling that I was going to miss these kids.  Then I did this... "wait, what?!"  I surprised myself. I honestly had the thought and feeling of realizing that I will miss these kids -at least a little.

Today wasn't even awesome for me to have felt this way.  We had moments where I was ready to smash something and could almost just have started laughing from the chaos that refused to settle down. There are only so many times you can yell "I'm waiting!" or "So-and-So, sit down!" before it's almost laughable. Fortunately I don't laugh -usually. Today, however, I did. My seriously ADHD girl did not take her medicine... and was off the walls alllllll day long. At the end of the day -I do NOT know where she kept getting glue bottles from. For the life of me. Earlier in the day I got fed up and picked them all up and put them up high. I do not know where she kept getting them. She wanted it to be art class all day. I took an uncountable number of glue bottles, scissors, and paper away from her from 8 this morning until 3 this afternoon. During a reading lesson this afternoon, the class was fairly focused and we were talking about poetry... I was in the middle of reading a fun poem to the class, when I look up and see this girl with a pair of paper cut-out sunglasses TAPED to her forehead and eyes. I was beyond frustrated with her -but even so... the girl sitting next to her is an excellent student who focuses and pays attention, and when I saw that she was struggling to focus and not laugh, I started cracking up myself. All day long. Where did she keep finding glue to use?! How on earth is she able to continue making these things when I keep taking EVERYTHING away from her?! The paper sunglasses taped to her face just did me in -and I laughed out loud. It was both infuriating and entertaining. Something can be both at once, right?

Also today, three boys in my room who have all been extremely talkative, reluctant to follow directions (that's putting it nicely), disrespectful, among numerous other things... all had an AWESOME afternoon. They were working so hard to be on task, quiet, in their seats, and following directions. It made me very proud and excited to see them doing so well.  After the bell as we were walking to the car-riders section, one of these boys said something that made me extremely happy. He told me he knew he had been having bad behavior -and he actually said "I kinda think I regret my behavior."  And he was genuine and had an apologetic tone and told me he wanted to do better from now on. It was a great walk with him talking about his behavior from our room to the front of the building.

This week we've also started talking about poetry -and I love poetry and I told the kids that. I think it made them more excited about it too. They listen and enjoy hearing me read them fun poems and today I heard some of them say "I like poetry" and "poetry is fun!"  Seriously. Isn't that awesome?!

I came home in a good mood today. And I'm actually -get this- excited for tomorrow!  I'm excited to see (hopefully) these three boys have another good day. I'm excited to continue talking about poetry. And I'm excited for our Social Studies project tomorrow afternoon. The kids made products to "sell" to each other and the last two days they've made signs/posters in class to advertise their product. It'll be our whole afternoon with the other 3rd grade classes, selling to each other and taking turns buying. It might be chaotic... but it should be fun as well!


8 days left!
 

Bittersweet... 13 days and counting!

I've had an "End of the School Year" countdown on my dry-erase board for a couple of weeks now... and I think I'm more excited about it than the kids!  As exciting as it is to be approaching the end of the school year, it is really bittersweet... and the bitterness is starting to grow as I become aware of how quickly everything is approaching!  I know you all know the definition of bittersweet -but let me break it down for you with our situation.  While I am super glad (and I hope it's okay to feel a little be accomplished) to almost have finished out the school year in this long-term sub position, I am also getting more and more nervous and stressed because at the same time, that means I'm about to be unemployed!  And I can't be unemployed.  I need a job for after June 2nd -well ASAP.  And I am so confused about what to do.  Teaching sounds unlikely to be hired but that is what I'm qualified for and all my experience is in.  I have mentioned applying for jobs with Child Protective Services, which I still am, but haven't heard anything again... and so I am not counting on anything.  And now that leaves me with no idea of what to do!  I have no clue (aside from teaching) what I am qualified to do... or what I would like to do.  At this point honestly I'd take almost any job if something was offered.  Ideally I'd hope to find something that can support us financially and that I can enjoy and be successful at.  I just have no idea what that might be!  Just randomly looking around I have applied for several various jobs that I've been interested in and feel like I'd be qualified for and could do well.  I am trusting that God has something out there for me and that He will provide for us.  I'm just not good at this waiting and not knowing time!  If anyone out there has heard of anything, knows anyone or anything, or has any general suggestions for a job/career I could look into outside of teaching, please let me know! I'm open to most suggestions and any and all help/advise would be welcome : )  Just throwing that out there!

You just got TOLD by a teacher!

I want to take this opportunity (of me being in a good mood) to write some of the positive things to note about this long-term sub position.  Surprisingly I have been in an excellent mood today... in spite of it not being a great day.  While I have mostly had feelings of ... oh my gosh, seriously? Followed by... God help me, I want to run away and quit...There have also been some enjoyable moments -such as these:

Today, one of my seriously ADHD kids took her medicine at home, came up to me this morning, smiled, and said "Mrs. Henderson, I took my medicine today! I'm going to have a good day!"  And she did!  She was on task, focused, working hard, and following directions all day and it made me happy for her (and my sanity).  Also at the end of the day... because no matter WHAT ON EARTH I TRY, my room looks like a tornado hit, this same girl ran back into our classroom and started picking up papers off the floor and said "Mrs. Henderson, I want to clean up so you can go home and have time with your family today."  And it was sweet in how genuine she was being in wanting to help me out. Unfortunately we were late (like always) for dismissal... so I did spend forever cleaning up my room... but it was super sweet how she wanted to help and I loved what she said.

On these positive notes... last Friday was probably the best day I've had with my class so far!  (At least for the first half of the day... but hey, that's progress!)  The class as a whole was focused, on task, and following directions... SO much so, that guess what? -We had 3 minutes of extra recess! Count them... 1, 2, 3 whole extra minutes of time.  That's a big deal. Seriously. As normally we are late and have a shorter recess due to not following directions, on Friday, we were so on task, we got done with 3 extra minutes, and the kids and I loved it!  That was a wonderful morning : )

Also on Friday... this was later in the day (not during our awesome time) when I was beyond frustrated and they would not stop talking, moving, or doing just whatever they wanted to do. It finally got to the point where the class was starting to quiet and settle down... then someone would say something... then they'd settle down -then someone would say something... I think you get picture of the endless cycle. Well within all that, one girl made some comment -and another girl quickly replied back "Hush up, you old lady you!"  And oh my goodness. I immediately lost my serious, straight face.  It was just too much.  I started laughing and couldn't stop.  The way the girl said it and the timing was just... priceless.  In the middle of a super frustrating time trying to manage the class, she said this totally unexpected, random comment... and I couldn't stop laughing.  Of course then the kids started laughing as well and one of them says, "Finally!  Mrs. Henderson you're having fun at school!"  -And that comment made me realize I need to try and have some fun with them and be a little more lighthearted occasionally.  I mean really.  Sometimes it's hard to remember they're just kids when they are so disrespectful, disobedient, and manipulative... but when you see them running around at recess pretending to be birds and dinosaurs and such, it reminds me they are still just little kids.

My last positive comment to mention that is something small that I love... the title of this post.  I guess this is their current kid saying.  "You just got TOLD by a teacher!"  It's the best!  I try to hide my smile every time I hear it.  This saying comes around when some student is not following directions and usually talking back, then I make a comment back to them... I guess putting them in their place and/or catching them up in something they said... and then another student goes "Ooh!  You just got TOLD by a teacher!"  And the problem kid quiets down because... I won.  Lol... that is something small that I truly love.

So all this to say there are some things I really am enjoying about this teaching experience!  There are still a majority of moments that I do want to tell them 'adios' and literally walk out the door to never see them again lol... but sometimes I remember they are kids and we are able to have fun together, and it makes it a wonderful and enjoyable day.  Only 17 more school days left! Whoop!  Hopefully we'll have more of these positive days than negative ones to wrap up my time with these kiddos.

True Fan

I am very proud (and my husband even more so) to announce that I am officially a real, true, genuine Spurs fan.  I have crossed the line from a 'semi-fan' and a 'I'll watch the game because my husband wants me to' fan, and a 'I heart Tony Parker' fan... to a legit Spurs team fan.  I'll tell you when this moment happened.

You see, I've enjoyed watching the Spurs on occasion for a while now... and I've called myself a fan.  But I was still honestly just a half-fan at best.  I cared if they won -sort of.  I mainly watched or listened only because Cody was.  -Although I will say, I have thoroughly enjoyed actually going to games for quite some time now... I'm talking about being interested when I'm not there in person. It's very different. It tests who the true fans are.

And so this transformation happened Wednesday night.  I was home by myself with nothing but an annoying dog and an equally annoying headache.  Cody was at the Spurs game with his dad, Steve.  We do not have cable and so I did not have a way to watch the game at home (-not that I likely would have anyways) and so I had lots of other things planned to work on all by myself.  However, I was still really interested in the game and texted Cody asking for updates as the game went.  He texted me fairly often and the whole time the game sounded pretty close and I kept wondering how it was going.  Finally towards the end of the game I was looking at my Twitter (I do follow the Spurs and so they were also posting game updates occasionally) and saw a link from the Spurs to listen to the game online. So... I took my second step of the evening -of my own initiative- (the first being asking Cody for updates) and clicked the link to listen to the game. I had this playing on our laptop and took it into the kitchen with me to fold the laundry that just finished drying.  When I got all set up and started listening there was just a little more than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter.  I was folding laundry and listening to the game... and it was so close and exciting!  I was SO intrigued that I found myself caring so much about what was happening, that I actually had to stop folding the laundry to focus on the game!  -That everyone... was the moment I became a genuine Spurs fan.  When I realized I needed to stop folding the laundry (one of my to-do tasks for the evening) because I couldn't focus on what was happening in the game.  It hit me... I cared. And not a little. And not only about Tony Parker. I cared a lot and wanted to focus to hear what was happening and root for them to come through in the end!

And we did by the way.  Gary Neal made a 3 point shot at the buzzer to tie and send us into overtime.  I'll have you know... I continued to listen to the game in overtime and I just knew we were going to win and see a game 6!  (Alright, I didn't know for sure... I was semi-nervous... but I was realllllly hopeful! And I like to stay positive.)

Anyways.  So that's my fun story of how I crossed over from being a half-hearted fan to a true fan this past Wednesday evening when I chose to stand in the kitchen and listen to the Spurs broadcast rather than continue my previous plan for the evening.

...And in case you didn't guess this part... my husband was shocked and beyond proud and excited to hear that I had been listening to the game on my own!  He loves me being a Spurs fan : )

Go Spurs Go!

Game 6 in 30 minutes! Let's see a game 7!

   

Life Goes On

I know that's kinda silly to state... but just lately that's how I've been feeling... life goes on.... it just keeps going and going and we always seem busy and always seem stressed and always seem to not be able to just relax and have time to be together. Any one else feel that way? I'm not totally complaining because this long-term sub job is exactly what I and we needed. I needed a consistent job I get up and go to daily and we needed the paycheck. God provided this exactly when we really needed it. Now it's just... we're both constantly busy with work! I guess that happens. Life just keeps going one day at a time... busy, busy, busy. It's weird feeling like I miss my husband in the middle of the week!

Anyways. So a little general up-date on life. I've been at the long-term sub position 2 months now, and we have the TAKS test next week!  I'm assuming there will be less stress for the remainder of the school year after the TAKS is over. Maybe I'm wrong... guess we'll see.  It's still difficult.  I feel like an awful person for wanting to punch some of these kids.  I'm honestly really torn about whether I just am not good at this, or if it would be different if I was officially a hired teacher and had started the year from day 1 with my own classroom. I don't know. All I know is it's difficult and I don't know how I'm handling it. Not well I'm assuming because it's not really getting better. ...Only something like 28 or 30 days left?! -Right? I think that's the last number I heard from a friend who's counting down.

Cody is taking the GRE on May 2nd!  He's been looking at study material online every now and then and he is pretty confident (you know with his genius math brain and all) for the math portion, it's just the verbal/writing section that makes him nervous. I know he will do awesome though!  He's a smarty!  So feel free to lift up some prayers for him to do his best on that test.

On a different note... I have been applying (actually since before I got this long-term sub position) for jobs with the Department of Family and Protective Services, specifically CPS.  And actually I was moved onto the next step and did about 8 hours of online assessments over a 3 day period a few weeks ago... and then got a call for an interview! Which I was extremely excited about... however I got the voicemail and the interview was for the very next day at 2:00, and I replied I couldn't make it without more notice, and then I guess I lost my chance at that position. I was really disappointed, but I guess that one wasn't meant to work out. I have recently applied for a new posted position -for the same thing, same title, so I know I am qualified, and I am hoping and praying to get another call. I told Cody, no matter when they say the interview is for... I'm not asking for a different time again; I'll be there!  So that's something I've been interested in and looking into a lot lately. I have no idea if anything will work out with it or not... I am trusting that God will provide a job, I just don't know if this is it or not.  I am kinda hoping to get a call though. We'll see.  Just wanted to share since this is something I've been looking into now for several months and am still excited about.

That's about it!  Callie is her usual pain in the butt.  Sometimes I wonder why we got her!  (Please don't judge me... she's big and often hurts me a lot!)  I told Cody just the other day that it actually just recently hit me that she is like a 10+ year commitment!  Somehow I hadn't realized that.  She's ours and we're stuck with her. Cody loves her to death. She bothers the heck outta me though!  Anyways... on that note, I've gotta take her out!

Overdue Post... Spring Break!

Because I'm weird about things... it would drive me nuts to just keep posting without being somewhat in chronological order and with having just 'skipped' something I wanted to post about. That's why I haven't posted anything in a while... cause I've been waiting to do this Spring Break post... and therefore just getting more and more behind. Anyways! It's been a month now... but here we go.

Spring Break was a blast! -Of course, right? Who doesn't enjoy time off to relax and have fun with the person you love?  We had a pretty busy Spring Break... namely the weekends surrounding it.  The first Saturday of the week we drove up to Dallas for a wedding... and it took freaking forever!  7 hours... it was not a pleasant car trip. However, the wedding was beautiful and Cody was super glad to get to see his friend get married.  This was the first wedding in quite a while that he hasn't been a part of and simply went to as a guest, and it was kinda nice for us to just go together and not worry about being a part of anything. (Not saying we haven't loved the weddings we/namely he -has been in!)  So congrats to Andrew and Jenny!  It was a gorgeous wedding and we were glad to be there in spite of the drive.

the beautiful bride!

it was a gorgeous outside wedding!

enjoying the wedding

Cody and the groom, Andrew

During the week (gosh it's been a month, so now I'm not remembering... kinda ruins my point of waiting to post until I shared about this) we mostly relaxed.  We did go to a Rampage game with Sue and Kari and John.  It was my first hockey game.  Not as awful as I expected!  I didn't love it... but it was not nearly as boring as I anticipated.  Sue caught a little parachute Chick-fil-A cow thing that they dropped and that was fun. I had a picture but it turned out too blurry to bother posting. Sad.

We also went on a very enjoyable and much needed date night during the week.  We got dressed up and enjoyed dinner at Texas Land and Cattle (thanks for that gift card from my birthday Sue and Steve!).  We then had a nice evening wandering around the River Walk and taking a million pictures.  Seriously, we took a lot (lots did get deleted due to being too dark and/or blurry) of pictures, which I love, and Cody was great about for our night out together.

My handsome husband : )

I really like this picture of us!

Cody thought this picture was necessary in honor of the Hispanic in me.

Lastly we ended our Spring Break week with our first ever camping trip together.  And let me tell you... this was looooong overdue and I owed Cody a camping trip... probably from day 1 of our marriage!  He has ALWAYS wanted to take me camping. He LOVES camping (and the outdoors in general)... and well, I do not. I don't like bugs or dirt or grass... and I get worn out from walking up the stairs to our apartment lol.  He registered (and received) lots of camping gear for our wedding and we had yet to use it.  We had planned on going camping once maybe a year or two ago, but I legitimately woke up really sick that day, and so we didn't go. Cody joked that I woke up sick on purpose... but really I felt awful! -Both in the "I'm sick" sense and in the "I feel like such a jerk for ruining this camping trip that he's been looking forward to" ways.  So. I owed him.  We went to Pedernales Falls State Park with a couple from our small group at church.  We took Callie and she LOOOVED camping -maybe as much as Cody lol.  It was a fun trip with our friends and I didn't hate it as much as I expected. Okay fine... actually I didn't "hate" it at all.  Maybe I didn't love it, and maybe I don't understand why people would WANT to go sleep outside and work to set up a tent only to take it down the next day and sleep on the ground and be surrounded by bugs and dirt and have to walk forever in the dark at night to go to the bathroom...  but I didn't hate it like I thought I would. I would go camping with my loves again.  I actually enjoyed parts of it!  And it was just good time together.  I did not love the 6 mile hike. I will be perfectly honest about that!  It was basically just deciding to go walk for ... 6 miles.  I was out of breath after walking to the falls and back.  Anyways. It was great time together and great time with friends and Callie was actually worn out!

Our first campsite!  ...I think he did 99% of the work!

It was gorgeous out there!

Our friends Justin and Angela made quite a fancy camping dinner of steaks, corn on the cob, and mushrooms! -That's better than how we normally eat lol.

Can you believe it... Callie was actually worn out!  She was a tired dog after our walk to the falls and 6 mile hike!

And unless I'm forgetting something (very likely) that was basically our Spring Break!  We did lots of fun things and enjoyed our time off together.  ... Sorry I know this was a long post and filled with a zillion pictures... but I love pictures, and I'm a wordsy

Catch-Up: Post 1

Here is finally a start to getting caught up in blog world!  Because I tend to ramble and it's already a lot to catch-up... I'm splitting this into 2 posts, with the second one being about spring break.  So this one is kinda just general other stuff.

We've enjoyed going to a couple Spurs games lately!  I think it was last year when I honestly started enjoying watching the Spurs play and Cody was (and still is) thrilled.  I actually love going to games with him and I genuinely root and cheer for the Spurs to win.  I think I've mentioned before that I kind of 'heart' Tony Parker... however, I will admit I've lately been growing more and more fond of the Spurs as a whole team... Tony is now NOT the only one I cheer for.

Spurs game!  Yay for nights out with my loves!

Since I've started this long-term sub position we've been feeling awful for poor Callie!  We knew as soon as I either got a long-term sub job or any other full-time job that this would happen... but we just feel so bad that she is literally in her crate all day!  She's pretty much locked up from 7-5:30 and often 6 when Cody gets home and then I've been getting home between 6 and 7 usually.  I also feel bad for Cody because he is doing almost everything with Callie! He has been amazing with taking her out in the morning since I get up and leave earlier than he does... and then also taking her out and on a nice looong walk when he gets home!  He loves our dog though... that is for sure.  Sometimes I think he loves her more than me! -Okay, obviously not really. But often he plays with her in place of cuddling with me... and sometimes I definitely get jealous!  She steals my Cody time and Cody often enjoys joking that now he has two ladies that fight over him lol.  It's funny... most of the time!

My loves with Callie.  He loves her to death!

Cody is still teaching away... I guess this is now the home-stretch for the year after passing Spring Break.  I think it's 9 weeks left now after tomorrow is over.  At the elementary school with my sub job, I'm finishing up my fourth week teaching there.  There are occasional moments where I smile at something cute one of the kids has done, or when we are having such a great day and it is encouraging.  Honestly though, most of the time I am sooo frustrated and upset.  The overall class is fine, but the certain individuals who are difficult are SOO difficult... they ruin it for the rest of the class, and honestly I find myself standing there wanting to pull my hair out almost on a daily basis... and often multiple times throughout the day.  However, this is what we've been praying for ... for quite a while now, so I am definitely thankful for the job!  I just keep expecting things to get better in the classroom and they're not... honestly a lot of it is getting worse, and I don't think that's a good sign!  Just sharing and venting... I can do that, right?

My desk area... that is constantly losing things due to students using my items without permission and then losing/keeping them. Seriously. I have no pens left.

Our Recess Count... I set a timer and wait, and they lose that recess time. It's one of the only things I've found that they care about.

... I showed some pictures before of how incredibly messy they leave at the end of the day... it's getting better! Some days it's still awful... but not as awful as those first weeks! (If you're thinking... this picture isn't messy at all... that's because I had finished cleaning up myself before taking it!)

I think that's about it for this Catch-Up Post #1!  Next up will be all about Spring Break!  We were buuuusy!  It was all great though.  Wonderful time off together!

Oh one more thing... this is kinda gross, but also humorous to me... so I'm sharing. Callie decided it'd be fun to pee on our bed this week.  Right before we were getting in bed.  Oh and the mattress pad was off because she had peed in our bed EARLIER this week as well.  So. This is how we are still sleeping due to the pee incident... at this point it's because we're super lazy and haven't remade the bed... but still:

Sleeping bags on our bed.  Avoiding the pee spot at the end (on my side) of course.  Just FYI -it is practically impossible to cuddle in bed when both of us are in sleeping bags!  I am not a fan.  I want our normal bed back!  Someone wanna come help us make it lol?!

PS -Happy birthday to my brother, Ryan!  He turned 22 yesterday!  Love you! And congrats on Pharmacy school... whichever one you end up at!
  

Need to catch up!

Well, so, I fully intended on writing a couple of blog posts this week... as it was spring break and I should have had plenty of time!  But I never got around to it... sorry!  I do hope to update everyone sooner rather than later.  Our spring break was fun and wonderful time off together!  And of course I'll also have an update on how the long-term sub job is going.  On that note... if anyone happens to read this before Tuesday, I'd appreciate prayers for this week!  I'm sorta nervous and stressed about this coming week because it sounds like I'll start doing more of everything on my own and we have parent conferences this week.  PARENT CONFERENCES.  I have no idea what you do at a parent conference lol.  I am way nervous about those.  I know the kids behaviorally pretty well at this point I think... but academically... not at all yet honestly!  I don't know what you typically say or go through... am I suppose to have like individualized reports on each student to share/go through with the parents?  -Cause I definitely don't!  Anyways.  I'm nervous and stressed -mainly for the conferences.  They are Tuesday-Thursday.  Fortunately I do have the principal and facilitators sitting in on most of them with me, so that really helps.  But still.  With them... I'm not sure -do I take the lead?  Will they take the lead?  If I do take the lead... what do I say??  Ugh.  If you can't tell, I'm sort of panicking.  I just want to get through Thursday already!  Which is sad since the week hasn't even started yet.

So.  That's all I have time for now!  Prayers for this week appreciated.  I really hope to have time to post several updates on life soon!  We've gone to a wedding, had spring break, and my sub job... all things I'd love to update everyone on when I can!  Hope everyone is having a much less stressful Sunday evening than Cody and I have!  (We both just finished grading a million things and preparing for tomorrow... so we're heading off to bed hoping to not be exhausted to start the week!)  So now, goodnight!

Wicked

Yesterday evening I spent a wonderful girls' night out with Sue and Kari (Cody did join us for dinner first).  We went and saw Wicked at the Majestic and it was beyond spectacular!  Seriously.  Cody and I went and saw the Lion King the Christmas before last and I loved that experience of going to the theater... and I liked the play, but this time seeing Wicked... I absolutely was AMAZED and in love with that play and music!  And the cast.  They were AMAZING.  I got the CD soundtrack during intermission (thanks Sue!) and am slightly disappointed that it is a CD of a different cast. I guess I should have expected that... but seriously.  The cast we saw last night was captivating on stage and I wanted a CD of THEM.  They were just astounding and I loved everything about the play so much!  So I wish the CD was of the cast we saw because I don't think I'll ever enjoy another performance as much as I enjoyed my experience from last night.  I told Cody that if it was a possibility I would want to see that exact performance with that exact cast over and over again. 

Anyways.  I think you get the picture!  A big thank you to Sue (and Steve) for the night out and the gift of seeing that play!

Long-Term Sub Position!

Hello All.  So my update is as follows... last Monday I started at an elementary school in NEISD as a long-term sub to finish out the year in a 3rd grade classroom.  I'm not technically hired as a full-time teacher but am pretty much the teacher for the rest of the year.  Granted I am receiving a TON of help.  3 subject facilitators are coming in to do most of the lessons right now but it sounds like they will start dwindling off and letting me take over through this week and next.  However as of right now... just getting the kids through the day... is difficult enough!  So I am very grateful for all the help and support I'm receiving from everyone at the school.

Rules/Expectations

I have had a few moments already where I thought "Oh my gosh, I can't do this." -Quickly followed by, "I must be awful at this." -And then, "Maybe I don't want to be (and/or shouldn't be) a teacher."  However... I'm hoping it'll get better and the kids will start to follow our new rules and expectations!  But seriously.  They are CRAZY. -and NOT cute crazy.  Crazy as in... I stand there and just want to pull out my hair and don't know what else to do.  And for now it's complete chaos in the room.  Like I said, we're still trying to just make it through the day!  Hopefully sooner than later we can actually have significant time during the day where we -you know, learn something!

On top of everything else, they leave behind the MESSIEST classroom I have ever seen!  Today I asked the custodians to leave it... and tomorrow morning we (they) are cleaning!

It's amazing what they manage to hide and play with throughout the day... and once I finally catch them with something it goes in my lovely "Confiscated!" basket.

Anyways.  That's my latest update!  Just wanted to share and fill everyone in.  I have no clue if this may lead to a hired position for next year... I know the school already has made comments about cuts and such, but in any case, it's a big step closer than I have been.  Thank you everyone for prayers for a job... and please continue to do so for this long-term position to improve!

List of privileges as a reward for the group that earns the most marbles along with our class Treasure Chest they can choose to pick out of.

Our Classroom Jobs chart.  I still haven't found somewhere in the room that I like to display this!

Why Does Cody Win Everything?

I have a lot to update and share... but that'll be a longer post and for now I've only got a couple minutes!  So, for this post I am focusing on why Cody always wins everything.  I mean it.  It drives me nuts!  He beats me at pretty much everything -Boggle, Scrabble, anything math related, Sequence... you name it, he usually beats me at it.  Even other things... like cooking.  Yes I cook 98% of the time for us, but occasionally Cody cooks... and the 2 or 3 dishes that he makes are pretty darn good!  He makes a fish with glaze (I don't like fish, but still) entree that is fairly impressive... and an awesome chili with all fresh ingredients.  But seriously, his fish dish I believe is impressive and a little bit fancy.  I don't have any dish I consider fancy that I make.  So he would win the most impressive meal award in my head. OH GOSH, and baking... he does NOT bake, but, for my last birthday he wanted to make me a cake.  He made a double layered round cake and made his own chocolate mousse icing.  It was really good, and it LOOKED amazing.  He iced it beautifully... and the problem with this is that a few months ago I attempted to make a double layered round cake and ice it... and well it tasted great but as far as appearances go... it would have ranked... at the very bottom of any contest.  I ran out of icing.  The icing got everywhere.  There were holes and patches all over the cake.  It looked sad and pitiful.  (Remember it did still taste good!)  Anyways... so my point is he wins.  He even presented a better cake than I did lol. 

Sometimes his constant winning starts to bother me.  And I do really wish there was SOMETHING I was better at.  (One day I'm determined to find whatever that is.)  But today, I am so glad that my husband wins everything... because he won a MacBook!  Yes, that's right.  Today he went into school to help out at a Technology Showcase and entered a raffle for $5.00.  And what do you know... they pulled out his name to win a MacBook!  He came home beyond excited.  It's a free computer... and we could definitely use it!  So today, I am putting aside my bitterness that Cody always wins everything... and I am instead ever so GLAD!

A 4th Grade girl in the district won the design contest! 

He couldn't wait to come home and show me what he won!

(PS -did I mention that on a cruise we went on with our families a few summers ago, that "he" won $500 at an art auction?  -That's how we got our picture that's on our dining room wall.  Now that time... it was really US that won... and so it does bother me when Cody refers to it and says that HE won... because it was US! --Just a minor note on that past winning instance!)

Evidence of a Dog

Yesterday I was sitting in our living room just glancing around, and I noticed that all I seemed to see were dog items strewn about the room.  I found my camera and took some pictures to document.  I have titled this set of photos:

'Evidence of a Dog!'

And finally...

So that's it!  Nothing super exciting.  Just some random pics I found entertaining of Callie's things throughout our apartment.  I feel like our home is never tidy any more!  She's still growing on me too... today I came home with an AWFUL headache and after our walk outside she has been wonderful!  Her and I are having a good day : )  -Wish she was this sweet all the time!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So I feel a little lame posting about Valentine's Day, but I still wanted to.  I was talking with a friend yesterday after church and telling her that we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day, but then as she started telling me how her and her husband really don't celebrate Valentine's Day... I realized that Cody and I definitely do celebrate it.  We just do it in a small way.  We typically just do cards and candy.  No real gifts, no flowers or anything.  I think in the past we've gone out to dinner (always a few nights early... we really don't want to wait for hours among the masses for dinner on actual V Day), this year we're not even doing that.  I'm just making dinner as usual tonight.  And that's about it.  Easy and simple, but we still celebrate it in a small way.  And I'm not gonna lie... I will be slightly annoyed if my loves forgets to get even a card for tonight!  I say that because when he left for work this morning I hugged him and said happy Valentine's Day, and he looked at me and was like, "Oh yeah... that's today."  So, I guess he'll be making a stop on the way home lol! 

Lame and silly I know!  Don't judge me.  I wanted a picture in honor of Valentine's!

Our V Day from last year.  Nothing fancy but that's how we like it!

Here are two pictures to share in honor of the day.  One is just a pic of us that I like from recently that I added silly lame hearts to (I just discovered Picnik, so I'm finding reasons to play around with it) and the other is the extent of our V Day from last year.  I bought Cody his favorite candy and used it to spell out "I 'heart' U".  Welp, that's it!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
  

No More Kindergarten

So I've started subbing again  -or I guess you'd say finally started for this year after everything last semester.  I haven't done a lot yet but I am already ready to be done with my time in a kindergarten classroom!  I've only subbed 2 half days in 5th grade and this week I've had 1 half day in Kinder and today was a full day and tomorrow as well in Kinder.  And that'll be enough for me!  Wednesday's half day went A W F U L.  --Don't tell that teacher or the school's principal... I still want them to like me. But seriously, it was horrible. I wanted to cry. Two kids did cry.  I'm embarrassed to admit all the things that happened during my whopping 3 hours there -1 hour of which the kids were in Specials... so everything bad that happened managed to happen during 2 hours that I was there with the kids.  We had boys trying to pencil fight (2 kids got stabbed and required band-aids and consoling).  A boy got stuck in the bathroom.  A girl simply would NOT stop talking to me... she tried to tell me about every single one of her relatives and their pets... she would not sit down to work and would not stop telling me her life story.  We had kids spill pencil sharpenings all over the floor.  Oh AND we had a mom come in for her daughter's birthday to hand out ice cream sandwiches... and so she witnessed the chaos.  I'm sure it will get back to the teacher after all.  She was nice about it and said she could never handle a Kindergarten classroom... but seriously, she had to walk away thinking 'wow.'  -Not in a good way.  I mean that's how I walked away from the day.  Anyways!  Today was much better than that first Kinder class.  Tomorrow I go back to the same classroom for another full day.  They were still difficult but not nearly as bad as Wednesday's half day class.  So that's it.  I wanted to vent/share.  Please don't judge me -Kinder is the only grade I definitely do NOT prefer.  I just don't know how to properly handle them I guess.  They love stickers!  And will be perfect angels to get one, but as soon as they do, they're back to doing whatever they were before.  And I don't mean to be rude but some of them neeeever seem to shut their tiny mouths!  Ever.  lol.  We'll see how tomorrow goes : )   Hopefully I'll come home with a face like that... but I'm not counting on it!