Who needs 2 legs?!

Most of you know that Edwin hurt his knee while skiing on Monday. I told him it's a pretty "badass" injury.... you can't just tear your ACL/MCL sitting on the couch. We all feel horrible, but he's a champ- keeps a smile on his face and has stayed positive the whole time. Here are some pics of his time recuperating on the couch!

Field trip to the kitchen to make Christmas jello

Edwin really likes spaghetti 

Find the injured knee!

Ice= happiness 

Christmas!!

You may notice a certain member of our family appearing frequently in these pictures... That's because BRADY has us all WRAPPED around his little finger. We are smitten. It was so fun having Brady around this Christmas, and I can't wait until next year when he understands a little more of what's going on! 

TGIF

Snapshot of my day:

By 9:15 this morning, a 4th grader had already balled up his fist to hit another kid, redirected his anger to me, flipped over a desk, then went into the hallway where he proceeded to tell me that he would rather kill the kid and go to jail than find a better solution (like, say, talking about it?)... he then proceeded to run outside yelling "I'm going home!!!".

By 9:30 this morning, a different 4th grader (with Asperger's, mind you)- upon my attempts to straighten his desk with the row- screamed at me "DON'T FU**ING TOUCH MY DESK!!!!!!"

Happy Friday!!

Musings

First, I really like my new decor. Very seasonal. I hope everyone has been plowed out- I was blown away by the pictures Mom sent me of the snow back home!! Despite the low temps here last week (low 4os), the weather is back to "normal" and was in the high 70s today. 

I've been thinking.... as I frequently do during the day.... about how much I dislike my job. Really, it's not for me. But a thought has occurred to me. It is a luxury to enjoy your job. Seriously- out of 6 billion (or are we at 7 now?) people on this planet, how many people truly do what they love and get paid for it? I would bet maybe 1%??? If that??? Beyond that- even being able to choose your line of work is a blessing. So many people have to take low-wage, manual labor jobs in crappy conditions to support their families. Many have to work more than one of those jobs at a time. I have chosen this predicament!! 

When I get down to the nitty gritty, I have a lot to be thankful for. A salary, for one. No snow :). An incredibly supportive family. I work with my boyfriend. Comparatively speaking, 35 kids in a room who don't take you seriously and would rather be anywhere else is not that bad. Right??? Anybody with me?? 

So when I get depressed and threaten to give my 2 weeks, please remind me of this :) Thank the good Lord that Christmas break is coming.

Buenas noches

OH PS We have our work Christmas party on Friday night and they do "Academy Awards" nominated and voted on by the staff. I am nominated for Best Dressed (woop woop) and "Staff or Student???"- which means no one can tell if you are staff or student. HA. Edwin is up for that category as well hahah

We have a tree!

Our foot high Christmas tree! Lydie and I played Christmas music and decorated our tree tonight- we also opened up the first day of the advent calendar! It is officially DecemBRRR!

drumroll......

From top right: Lydie (my roomie), Edwin, Adrian and Hannah (TFA girls who live downstairs)

Here they are!!! Not what you expected, right? In the foreground is my old cart, the one I happily retired today. The taller one is the newbie. 

The bins below are where I put clipboards (for kids without desks), dictionaries, crayon boxes, and blank paper. The red hanging thing on the left is where I store worksheets and other papers. On both sides of the A-frame are white boards. 

Wheeling this bad boy around is where you can find me from 8-4! 

We have furniture!!!

I came back from a wonderful Thanksgiving break to find FURNITURE!!!! And ARTWORK on the wall!!! And a mini Christmas tree! It's almost too much to handle. No more standing at the counter to eat meals. No more sitting on our laptops on the floor. We are real adults now!! 

We have a mask that Lydie's sister made in our laundry area. Kind of random, but nice!

We have a place to eat!!!!! (Flowers courtesy of Edwin) Note the wonderful Advent calendar on the wall! 

A couch!!! 

Musings

Here are a few musings:

Yesterday I didn't teach, because the Spanish teachers were administering Interim Assessments to kids with modifications (oral administration, etc). I finished testing at about 11, and had the rest of the day free to work/plan. I plugged away in my cubicle for most of the afternoon.... and at the end of the day, realized what a great day it was! It was great for the obvious reason of not begin completely exhausted from dealing with children all day... but it made me think! My personality type (therefore me) prefers to work mostly alone, in a quiet environment. I had more energy last night, and even made a wonderful dinner (chicken parm with veggies). It made me think that maybe after this 2 year deal, I should pursue a career that would meld better with my personality. I do like teaching.... some days.... and I like kids.... most days.... (I promise, I don't think that is a lie) but it would be so nice to not have a job that completely poops me out!

On another note.... today I took one of my certification exams. It went pretty well- I feel much better about it than I did about the History exam, and Lord knows I passed that, so things might be okay :) It felt good to use my brain. I don't feel like teaching challenges me mentally as much as emotionally/physically. Hmm.... what to do with my life..... back to the age-old question :)

Can't wait to see y'all this weekend! Yee haww

More exams

P.S. The teaching certification people finally caught up with me, and I am now signed up to take exams this week to continue on the path to becoming a "highly qualified teacher". Wednesday I take the Early Childhood-4th grade Generalist exam, which I am taking the day off for. On Thursday I am taking the 4-8 Generalist exam at 5:00 (after work). Phew!!! Keep me in your prayers please, that I have extra energy that day!

I don't want to grow up...

...I'm a Toys R Us kid?! Maybe not. However, I did have a pretty grown-up weekend.

1. I signed up for car insurance!!!

2. I got my car inspected so I can get Texas license plates. (eek)

3. Lydie (my roommate) and I bought a couch!

I guess I'm an adult now.

In other more exciting news, I'm coming home to Wisconsin in 6 days! Woo hoo!! Can't wait to see all of your shining faces and gobble down some turkey. I am still in partial disbelief that it is almost Thanksgiving... I got sunburned yesterday manning the inflatable obstacle course at our school's Harvest Fest, and it was 90 degrees out. Strange. I went to the mall today though and Santa was there... so I guess maybe Christmas is just around the corner!

Castle!

I didn't get a pic of the castle on that last set of wedding pics- 

Halloween in Houston!

I got to see family 2 weekends in a row!!! What a treat! Seeing everyone has been keeping me going... and actually made "Black-tober" go by quick (apparently October is the worst month for teachers. Who know- I thought they were all like this?!). Pics from our weekend in Houston for Sandra's wedding!

Wisconsin trip!

It was beyond wonderful to go home to Wisconsin. It was SO great to see family and friends... and it even made me miss Wisconsin itself. The leaves were beautiful colors, the air was crisp and it finally felt like fall! Here are some pics of family=Brady time/wedding: 

Nikki's Wedding!

U of M reunion!  Most of us were in the dorms together freshman year- crazy!

Gettin our hair did

Nikki got married!!!!! Here are some pics of the BEAUTIFUL wedding they had. 

Halloween Kiddos

These are some of my Kinder kids on "Book Character Day" aka Halloween. Pretty cute huh? If only photos could talk.... :) 

updates

New pictures up tonight, I promise!!

Love you all!

Prayer chain

Twice in one day. I know, I've outdone myself. I remembered a story that I thought you would all enjoy. I posted several weeks ago about having a 3rd grader put me on the prayer request list at her church. She is the librarian's daughter, fyi. So yesterday, this little girl (who is one of maybe 5 blondies in the school) tells me that she has put me on the prayer list again. She also said that her pastor reads the prayer requests out loud during the service. Excellent. I hope parents of other students and my co-workers also attend this church. Katrina ALSO informed me, very matter-of-factly, that being on her prayer chain should earn me more respect from the 3rd graders. Thank you Katrina, God bless you. It certainly can't hurt.

Sick Day

P.S. You are probably wondering what I am doing posting on my blog on a Tuesday morning. I took a mental health day today. I was coming down with another cold, so I figured it would do me good to rest up and not get re-infested by the little children right before my trip HOME! 

back from the lost

Edwin and I at South Padre Island on Saturday... where it was windy, the tide was high and the waves were huge, and everyone was coughing because of some weird algae in the air. Hence, we are sitting at Wanna Wanna, a little grass hut bar/restaurant. 

Pretty flowers I got from Edwin :) 

The wall around the Alamo. I was tempted to climb it- and wondered if this tree were around back then, maybe that's how the fort was invaded?! 

Good things

Good things:

1. I booked 2 flights to Wisconsin this weekend! 1 for Nikki's wedding and 1 for Thanksgiving (when I will be home for 8 days!!!!!) This is exciting stuff folks.

2. I am going to San Antonio next weekend with Edwin. Six Flags here we come!!

3. Next week is a 4 day week!!!!!!

4. I got new comfy teacher shoes that still manage to look cute. My feet like me.

5. Day is going well. Cross your fingers for the afternoon!

6. I am on a 3rd grade student's prayer list at church. She feels bad for me. Ha :)

7. I have an amazingly beautiful nephew and godson :)

love love

In other news...

I wanted to post something that wasn't a venting session. Thank you all for your encouragement and support, it truly helps! The end of last week was pretty good, and we are implementing a new behavior system this coming week (sending home notes, etc) which will hopefully help. I also bought a Spanish calendar poster set at the teacher store yesterday that I'm pretty excited about. I'm going to start a morning routine for K-1 where we do the weather, season, month, day, etc- every day. Even if they can't sit still, at least I'll have a sweet poster. I can rest with that. 

Yesterday was a great day. Edwin and I went to Target and I bought a bunch of new kitchen stuff, which I'm really excited to use. I now have pans, knives, spatulas, a griddle, cooking sheet, cooling rack, whisks, and all sorts of exciting things. Woo hoo! Last night we went to an art show in Mission, where the art teacher at our school had a few pieces displayed. The theme was Go green- and all the materials were supposed to be reused or recycled. There were some really creative ideas using coffee grounds, old tires, metal pieces, cans, etc. 

I'm off to make pancakes. Hope you all have had a restful and rejuvenating weekend. Lots of love!

Why am I a teacher.....

Sometimes (Often) I think back to when I applied for Teach For America........ and I wonder why. At the time, I was teaching part-time Spanish, and I did not like the kids. I have never liked kids. Why did I think it would be a good idea to become a teacher? This, my beloved family and friends, is what I ask myself.

We now have co=teachers in Kinder and 1st grade, which helps a great deal. 4th and 5th are chatty, but I manage. 2nd and 3rd grade are impossible. I want to scream at them and tell them how much they suck. Ay. Dios mio. I realllizzzzzzzeeeeeeeee that they are not bad kids, and that all kids have the potential to behave. I know this. I know all kids are precious, etc. But they make me go crazy, and I seriously dislike "teaching" (babysitting) them.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Is it June yet?

Day 2. Hope.

There is hope. It is lunch and I only half wish I could run out screaming.... which is a vast improvement from yesterday. I created a worksheet for the 4/5 graders where they had to figure out the message with a secret code. I think it helped. Our lines were a lot better........ there is hope.

This afternoon is Kinder, 1st, 2nd and 3rd in a row. I may be frazzled after that............ if the entire 1st grade class needs to go to the bathroom again, we are going to have problems.

Stay tuned. Thank you for the prayers and support :) for reals. Today is better.

1/2 way through Day 1

Oh. my. goodness. I'm on lunch break. Can I stay in my cube??? 2 classes down, 4 to go. 5th grade, first class. Teaching 8 high schoolers at Institute did not prepare me for 35 kids who don't understand the language I'm speaking. Chaos. Utter chaos. How do you manage 35 kids? There aren't even that many desks in the room! We were overflowing with children. It wasn't a total wreck........ but definitely not orderly.

4th grade was better. They comply. Still chaotic.

I have kindergarten after lunch. Then 1st grade. Then 2nd. Then 3rd.

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

Thanks for your support. I'll write more tonight.

IDEA Academy

Front of school... I think that's a high school building 

The Titan Boulevard- where students walk. The "IDEA 55" are hanging above- 

55 ideas to live by

courtyard- Primary building is in the background

Tim and Edwin enjoying the toys in my cube

SO this is a glimpse of my school!! It's a conglomeration of actual buildings and "temporary" buildings (trailers essentially). Not a bad place to work all in all!

Pics to go along with news below

View of South Padre Island from the bridge going over

The wonderful Timmer putting together my bed

Impromptu dinner table!

Tim and I in the living room 

Beautiful flowers I got from Edwin :)