Hello There!

I had no idea I would be taking the summer off from here, 

but if you follow my instagram you know we've had a busy summer!

Nik just got his cast off!  He was amazing through the whole thing!

For someone that had three broken bones, he sure was tough.

We were gifted a chance to repaint the interior of the house,

so we jumped on it!

But, if you give a mouse a cookie...

Seriously the painting led to decor changes

on a budget of hardly anything!

 Thrift stores, spray paint, and serious discount hunting have been good to us!

Schemes for painted kitchen cabinets and new back splashes 

are floating around in our heads...

It also led to major purging and organizing!

Which translated into we need to have a yard sale...

that is happening tomorrow!

I have never been so ruthless with clearing out in my life

and it's been awesome!!!

We are in love with all the changes,

but I feel like these changes were getting us ready 

for bigger changes in our lives.

Nothing official yet, 

but hopes and prayers for better opportunities 

could be answered in the near future!

The biggest change is that I am enlisting help to design a new blog 

to combine this space with Amy's Monkeys.

I'm not sure when that will happen,

but I will keep you posted!

If you made it this far you deserve a treat!

Have a great weekend!

Until next time,

Happy Friday

Hello!  Happy Friday to you!

It's been another good week,

 minus the itchy red eyes...

ya, so the steroids did not knock out the problem.

Hoping a visit today will figure out 

a better solution to my wacky immune system!

I saw a mama with three stair step boys

while I was out the other day...

they were so little and she was so tired,

but it put a smile on my face as memories of my

 little boys rushed back to me.

I love who they are now, but I do miss the little guy years too!

My class was a little wacky this week.

Thank you three day weekend aftermath...

oh well, I buckled down and we all did better.

Not much sewing in the cards this week...

one taggie blankie done and one half way...

I really want to get a couple of hobo bags done this weekend.

We will see, not much on the agenda, so it should be doable!

How was your week...

everyone surviving their crazy weather too?

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Until next time,

Joining up with Miss Casey

{processing}

The events of 12-14-12 are racing through my mind.

This momma and teacher is rocked to the core...

How in the world could something so insane happen at an elementary school?

My heart is broken for all the families and the staff in Newtown...

how will they move forward...

how will they process all the loss and fear they must have endured?

I sent a text to Kenny after I heard about this tragedy at school...

"Have you seen the news?"

His response...

"I'm trying not to watch...it's too close to home."

I am so thankful for those brave people that responded to protect the babies in their care.

I hope I would do the same...

I've thought about where I would place my students in the classroom if we had a lock down...

I don't want to ever have to use that plan, but in this world full of anger 

it's important to be ready.

My winter break began at 12:30pm and I was on the way home by 1:00pm...

ready to see my babies and get them home safe and sound.

I am aching for the mommas who weren't able to do that.

I was able to see my boys at their school happy and playing with their friends...

oblivious to the horrors in Connecticut.

I am so thankful we are on winter break now...

I need some time with my babies and some time to process everything.

May God's comfort and blessing surround Newtown, Connecticut and the nation as we all sift through the thoughts and emotions brought forth by this horrible incident...

Until next time,

{sick}

Sometimes being a mom and a teacher is hard...

there really isn't anyone to come in a take over for you when you are sick...

especially right before winter break...

it's more work to call in a sub than to just tough it out...

So I call in reinforcements...

vitamin c...

 

my homemade honey cough syrup...

scarves around my neck...

and throw a smile on my face...

tell my students I am okay...

but please listen the first time...

my voice is shot.

My boys pass on their nightly story...

trying to let my voice rest...

such sweeties!

I cannot really complain... 

because I am so lucky this is really my first cold this school year.

2 1/2 more days and I will be home for three weeks...

I can do this!

Until next time,

Time

Holy smokes time is flying by!  This school year is 1/3 of the way over...cannot believe it!

I have been a busy bee, but getting over here to blog about it just hasn't been happening, sorry about that!

I have been sewing, and grading, and teaching, and mama-ing, and trying to bring order back to my crazy house.  Not too much luck on the last one, but next week I am off school so the house will be mine once again!

I cannot wait for parent conferences to be over and time with my family to be here!  

Four days people, four more days!

I have added a bunch of stuff to the shop...maybe that's why my house is crazytown...hmmm.

I've jumped into some giveaways lately for pretties from the shop and one just started today!

Kimmie at Sugar and Dots is celebrating her birthday by hosting a huge giveaway bash!  Seriously, over $800 worth of goodies!  So go enter!  It would be wonderful to have one of my friends win that haul!

I have so much to share...I will try to be back soon!

Until next time,

Hello...Hello

Well it's been a month...holy smokes...so much happens the last weeks of school!

We had the big kid's 8th grade graduation...

Little boys' last day of school...

Sewing to do...

 

Smiles to make...

 

New stuff to work on...

Loving my life pretty much sums it up!

Hopefully now that I am on summer mode you'll be seeing me around here a bit more!

Until next time,

This is Where I am

It's been way too long since I've done a post, but sometimes life just zooms past at mach speed.  My routine streams from one day to the next, not much changes and it suits me.  I sometimes wonder why I blog. I know I love reading other blogs, but why would folks want to read about the goings on around here?  Then I stop and think that maybe, just maybe my little ramblings will help someone push through a tough time or giggle at something silly that happened with my monkeys.

Whatever the reason I know I need to keep sharing and checking in with my bloggy corner!

Each morning begins the same~ gathering the laundry baskets, sorting, and deciding which basket needs attention first.  I am a laundry fanatic.  I do a load a day at least.  I was FLY-washed and I haven't looked back since.  No crazy marathon laundry days for me.

I savor the quiet of everyone still out cold.  I move back to my room and make the bed then I head to the computer.  Check email, check Facebook, and twitter.  If I'm up to it I'll check my school email too, but I am trying to keep that separate from home time.  I mess around fluttering from blog to blog for a bit and then I head back upstairs to finish my morning routine.

I just added treadmill time back into my day.  Between the frustrations at work and my energy needing a boost it was time to get my backside back in a walking routine.  So far so good!  My attitude is definitely seeing the benefit!

After my walk I get showered and ready for my day.  I prep the boys' lunches and then get them up and ready for breakfast.  I love making sure they have breakfast at the table together each morning.  I'm a bit of a short order chef in the morning, but it's all good.  They love it and my oldest boy thanks me each morning for getting their breakfasts ready.  Those words coming from a teenager makes me feel awesome.

By the time they're done it's time for me to hit the road and get myself to school.  My school days are all about routine and order, but we are still working on the order part.  I teach in a pretty rough town, so a lot of our kids come in with a lot of baggage.  Most days fly by and then I head back home.

Evenings are dinner, signing papers, hanging out a bit, and sometimes getting on my sewing machine for a bit of fabric therapy.  Baths, stories and bedtime come early, but it works for us and my babies perform so well in school I don't think we should change the routine!

So that in a nutshell is my day, nothing exciting, nothing glamorous, but it is mine and it is pretty cool.  I am so blessed to have healthy kids, mostly happy kids, and a hubby that is pretty awesome.

I guess the message in my post is sometimes the most routine and genuine days are the best days.  We don't need fancy things to know that we love each other and are here for each other everyday.

Until next time,
 

 I'm joining in!

Making Me Smile

It was an average Thursday,
but my camera caught my eye and these silly faces made me smile...

Happy Friday everyone!

Until next time,

Thinking

My mind is always racing. I mean always. I have 500,000,000 ideas swooshing around me constantly. Sometimes I wish I could just call a time out and have a moment to just write down everything into a list and call it good. I know a lot of other ladies out there can relate. So here's what I am going to do, I'm going to try to get some of those thoughts out and post them right here...it is completely random and free form, so take what you will from it...

I am frustrated as a teacher right now
I want to be sewing every day
There is a lot to do to set up a legitimate business
I want to be playing with fabric right now
K needs a new cell phone..his is MIA
I don't want to be coughing right now
Z's birthday was great!!!
I am such a lucky mom
I have more laundry to get through today
I should be resting, but I can't
I hope N has a good time on his field trip!
My class get's to go on a field trip next week
We still need the permission slips from the office
I want our debts gone and K's business to flourish
I love the bloggy world
So many amazing ladies out there inspire be daily to be more, but also to know I am enough
This house needs to be dusted and vacuumed in a bad way
I wish I had more energy this week
I have an awesome marriage
Drama annoys me
I love talking to people, but I don't want to hear the bad stuff over and over if you're not going to change it
It is so quite right now and all my boys are snuggled up
I love that L and N snuggle in one bed even though they don't have to share
I love that I get random hugs from my boys and that K always tries to make me laugh and smile

Whoa, that felt good! Sometime just releasing a few thoughts is all I need to quiet my mind just a tad!

if you got through this whole post you rock! If you didn't I totally understand!

Until next time,


~~~~~~~~~~
Linking with WFMW at We Are That Family

Such a Good Day

Do you ever have one of those days where everyone in your house is smiling most of the day? That's exactly what happened in my house yesterday. We told the boys we were going to have a toned down Christmas since K still hasn't found a new job, so they thought it was going to be pretty bare bones. I guess we surprised them because when Z saw the tree he made the comment that he thought this was gong to be a "smaller Christmas". K and I found good deals and paid cash for everything, so to us it was a toned down day.

Z met me as my bedroom door opened at 4 o'clock. He was so excited! Did I mention he is taller than me and almost 13 years old and he still loves the surprise of Christmas? I am so thankful for that kid! We got the Cinnamon Rolls ready and waited for the little boys to wake up. Finally about 6 o'clock he couldn't stand it anymore and asked his daddy if he could wake up his brothers.

There were smiles and a few surprised looks. Not so many things that they got tired of opening, but enough to keep them busy building Lego sets for a few days!

I hope everyone else had a great day too!

Until next time,

The Teacher

Well it is report card time at my school. The nice thing is the report cards are all done on the computer. The bad thing is the report cards are all done on the computer. It's a little frustrating and time consuming to have the report cards on the computer when you can only work on them at the school. Our system has issues, but when you have about 90 teachers all trying to put in their grades at the same time it's a problem.

I have become smarter about this issue and I try to work on the report cards when other people probably aren't working on them. My before school time, recess time, and lunch time are consumed by report cards. Fortunately, I only have about 9 report cards left! WooHoo!! Until that last one is done; however, I feel buried in a sea of paper and decisions about who gets what for all of the categories. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I will be free to enjoy my day off school tomorrow!

I hope you all have a great day!

Until next time,

Mr. Fred

K and I were out running errands on Saturday when I mentioned to him I had seen the SPCA trailer in front of the pet store. He quickly said let's go see. I am so glad we did!

Mr. Fred was up for adoption from the county shelter which just happened to be at the pet store too. The poor little guy was turned in my his owners because they were moving. I don't know about you, but that just bothered us a lot. We get pretty attached to our fur babies!

So scared Fred came home with us! He perked up a little right when we brought him home, but now he is just a super happy guy. He moves just like Roxie and they are having fun together. Our little Schnauzer boy is going to fit in great around here!

Until next time,

Tired

I am tired today. We have had a crazy week or so around here. First, we had great news that our mortgage would be modified after we were told it would not be modified. That was a huge blessing and we are so thankful.

Then, we had to go to a hearing to determine if K was suppose to have been getting unemployment all this time or not. No matter how it turns out we feel vindicated because the woman that caused K to lose his job was made out to look like an idiot by the judge. I know it's silly, but she caused us a lot of trouble. Seeing her squirm was pretty nice. We don't know what will happen, but we feel good about being able to finally speak our peace.

I was told last week that one of my most challenging students might be moved into a special smaller class to better meet his needs. He is a handful, but I know it's just because he was so far behind and frustrated. He had come a long way, but I just could not devote enough time to him. Well, Monday afternoon his mom agreed to let him move into the other class. It will be better for both of us.

I was pretty happy to have my stress load lowered, but then I got a phone call. My grandma is not doing well. We thought we were going to lose her in January, but she hung in there. Now we don't know what is wrong. She has been sick for a long time, so she may just be tired and ready to go be with my grandpa. We all knew it was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier.

Today I am just worn out. I am ready for a break. I am ready for this emotional roller coaster to come to a stop for a while. Today I am focusing on today and trying my best to not worry about tomorrow until tomorrow. A verse came up on my perpetual calendar that fits so well. It always amazes me when the timing for something is just right.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
~Matthew 6:34

Until next time,

Busy

That one word describes my life since school started. I am up too early to most people and I run all day until I get the dinner dishes in the dishwasher. It's good though, because I like to be productive.

My school year has been a challenge so far. I have about 10 kids that are not strong readers yet, so I have a lot of work ahead of me to get them to where they need to be for 3rd grade. I am seeing progress in their academics, but behavior is a whole other issue. Why is it that so many parents do not teach their children about respect? These kids that flooded our school this year have little to no respect for adults, each other, or property. It is so sad and frustrating all at the same time. Sometimes I wonder what is going to happen to these kids when they grow up.

I am trying to stay focused on what I need to do to get these kids ready for the next grade, but seriously sometimes I just want to scream. I wish the politicians would get their noses out of the classroom and just let us teach. We have to give over thirty language arts tests to these kids and these are not little tests. We are talking 30 to 60 questions for each test. It's not fun to try to get little people to focus long enough to perform well on a test. I am not the teacher I want to be anymore. I hate all this testing and I don't feel like I am really teaching these kids what they need to know for life.

Sometimes I wonder why in the world I chose teaching. I love seeing the kids get excited, but I almost feel like we have to be sneaky to be able to do activities with our classes. I want to be the teacher that opens doors for these kids, but feel so bound be requirements that we don't have time to do all the memorable lessons. I am struggling to find a balance with what is expected of me and what I know is best for the kids. It is a fine line in education these days.

Until next time,

Great Words

Meg over at whatever wrote a cute post the other day and shared a special print she had ordered. I am totally going to get one for this house, especially after all the craziness we have been in the middle of for the last year or so.

It is made by the etsy shop Studio Mela and after looking around a bit I might or might not have a long list of other prints I'd like to have for our home. I love positive affirmations so this will fit in well with this canvas I got on clearance at Target.

I figure the laundry room is the second place I see each morning, so why not make it an inspirational place to start my day!

Until next time,

Weirdness Continues

Well, I went into work Tuesday after a glorious 3 day weekend to learn that a former student of our school had been killed in a quad accident over the weekend. This tiny town in reeling from the news. My heart is hurting for that family.

I had the little man in my after school program for a while and I always remember his big smile and bright eyes. He was all boy and never slowed down. I cannot imagine the pain the family is feeling. I just hope all the prayers being offered up for them are helping them get through each day.

One of our teachers also lost her dad unexpectedly over the weekend. She is in shock and trying to stay busy to cope. We all have rallied around her to lend support in any way we can. It's hard to see people around you hurting.

I have no idea why all of these bad things are happening, but I know there must be a reason. In all reality I really just wish all the hurting and bad things can just stop already. I think we've had enough around here. Just sayin'. I truly am not trying to be disrespectful, but some things I just don't understand. I know I am not in control, but I sure wish I could make things better for those that are hurting so much around me.

I, for one, am looking forward to this weekend. I am hoping to chill, regroup and refocus, be with my boys, and do some more therapy time on my sewing machine. I have been hugging my babies extra tight this week and I think we need to have some fun family time this weekend. I think some bike riding just might do the trick.

I hope you all have an awesome weekend and get lots of rest! It seems like we could all use some!

Until next time,

Life Goes On

Just as it should, life for all of us has moved on. I am reminded everyday of how lucky I am in so many ways. I am doing well and I think I am at peace with everything that happened. I have gotten so much more support than I ever anticipated. I am a pretty blessed lady.

My boys are doing wonderfully in school. L just found out he made it to the G.A.T.E. program. Z was in it last year and had a great time. We are so lucky to live in a district that values the needs of the high achieving kids as much as its struggling learners.

I have been busy with school and sewing. I took my aprons, bags, and baby towels to school to show my colleagues and to hopefully sell a few. I sold almost all of my aprons and got orders for more! I am so excited. It has been wonderful to have some extra money and to have time on my sewing machine. It really is my therapy time! I just chill and create. Love I tell you!

A sample of the beautiful half aprons!

So I am good and the tears are gone. I have so much in my life that I could not stay down for long. I think all the trials and stinky stuff makes us better people, so I am going to chalk up the junky times to character building and call it good.

My bloggy friends, you have been wonderful and I thank you for your kindness and caring!!!!! You guys ROCK!! My heart is healing and I am smiling more everyday!

Until next time,

My Life in Pictures

I've been a busy lady the last few days. I guess I am always busy, but it's always more intense as my summer vacation comes to a close. I thought I'd share what I've been up to in pictures. I hope you enjoy a little peek of the projects I've been working on around here!

We've been painting.
We've been painting A LOT!!
Two bedrooms and a whole bunch of furniture!

Trim up next on the paint schedule.
It's going around a great animal map I found at Costco for the little boys' room.

The baby cubbie, otherwise known as the stuffed animals catch all.
It is being painted a bright green accent color for the little boys' room.


My loves! These babies have seen a lot of me this summer.
I hope it keeps up when school starts!

Organizing my sewing cabinet.
It is so nice to have everything in one location again!!

Our crafting cabinet.
I finally found plastic shoe boxes that weren't neon colors!
Now the boys and I can grab our supplies with ease!!

I'm working on some art projects for all 3 of the boys.
I'll do a reveal when I get it all finished.
My goal is to have it done tomorrow. We'll see...


I made homemade laundry detergent. It smells so good!
I can't wait to run out of the store bought stuff.
The best part...it cost less than $5 to make that 5 gallon bucket!!
Happy Frugal Dance!!!


Pencils for my classroom along with about a million other supplies I buy. Geesh!
Oh well, it's better to get a lot now than to have to pay regular prices in the middle of the year!


My teacher bag loaded with a new plan book and grade book.
It's ready, but I don't know if I am...

I hope you liked the peek into my life right now. I've also been feeding my kids and washing clothes in case you were worried. Hehehe... Ahhh, the joys of a busy mind with lots of projects floating around! I guess it's what works for me these days!! Joining up with everyone else at Works for me Wednesday!

Until next time,