"I have a situation right now."

Yay for a great first three days of school. I only hoped that the beginning of school would be this awesome. The first three days of school have been so pleasant. I've been able to get home EARLY..well you know, when teachers normally do..as compared to the 5:30-6:00ish last year. I haven't had to raise my voice, and I haven't even lost my patientence yet! It's just so different..and you wouldn't understand unless you've been in a situation like I was last year, or if you were on the other end of the phone/lived with me last year and heard the stories on a daily basis. And I'm not just saying that this has been an awesome year so far just to be saying it, it honestly has.

On Monday, I was so excited for the behavior in my classroom. My children came in quietly, did what I asked, and even 95% of the time raised their hands to speak. However, I was a little nervous when I didn't get many respsonses from the read-alouds we read, or the silly poems we red, or even the silly songs we learned. I thought to myself, either they don't like me, they really are shy like 95% of their moms told me, or they have no interest in school. Thankfully over the past 3 days my precious kiddos are opening up. We are reading more read alouds, poems, and singing more songs, and I am seeing more smiles, hearing more giggles, and listening to more stories. This is one of my favorite parts of teaching-hearing the stories....and boy do 6 year olds have stories to tell. From pets to weekend stories to siblings fights, I hear them all. Today we graphed what types of pets we have at home...no worries, my students have pets at home ranging from cows in the back yard to turtles and everything in between.

This week we have been learning different poems, and today we re-wrote one of the poems we have learned. The original poem goes like this: I like sausages, I like stew, I like me, I like you. I like ice cream, and chocolate too, I like me, and I like you. We learned this poem to a "T." So, I suggested that we re-write the poem using animals. We practiced clapping out words to get the feel for syllables, and then it was on to brainstorming. Our final poem goes like this: "I like elephants, I like zoos, I like me, I like you. I like polar bears, and tigers, too, I like me, and I like you." I think we did a bang up job!  You should have seen some of the illustrations...elephants are fun to draw!

I love my job, and I love that I'm so happy, right now. I hope that my year continues to be this great!

Blessings Today:
1. Pets
2. Snacks after school
3. Excited first graders

Catch a Wave to First Grade

Soooo....what a great start to this school year! Today was such a great day; everything went so smoothly. As I'm getting older, I am becoming an early bird. After having to set my alarm for 5:00 am last year in order to get to school, my body just seems to wake up earlier than it used to. This is a good thing, because I don't like to be late, well maybe just fashionably late...But not to school. So, for this morning I set my alarm for 5:15 with an intention to wake up at 5:30. But after my alarm rang at 5:15, I decided to go ahead a get up- now, please remember that my school last year was a 30 minute drive-this year it is a 2 minute drive when the lights are red...so I'm still not sure why I set my alarm so early. I guess I just wanted to have plenty of cushion time, incase there was a train or something..yeah right. So, I'm dressed and ready by 6:10...how nice that extra few minutes of sleep would have been. I was planning to go to school around 6:30 to have atleast an hour to get everything squared away for today. So I had a cup of coffee at home, which means I had two total this morning..WIRED..So I arrive at school around 6:30 to find no one there by one of our wonderful janitors. So, I walk on in thinking someone has to be coming soon. And finally they did, but I did feel like I had the school to myself for a little while!

Finally the kiddos arrived! And I'll have you to know that I should never need to purchase sticky notes, Lysol wipes, or kleenex again! My students were so on top of bringing all of their school supplies. I am very impressed. Aside from that, I am very impressed with my class for their behavior today. They all seemed to listen very well and pick up on procedures so nicely. I feel like I have entered a whole new world as compared to previous situations! The day went so smoothly, and I can only hope the rest of the year will be as good. Prayers really do get answered. I even was able to leave school a little before 4:00, and I am ready for tomorrow!

After school, I came home to catch my breath. I went on a little walk this evening, and have been relaxing ever since. My anxieties are gone for now, and I this I am thankful for. I can't wait for school tomorrow. I pray that it will be as good as today!

Blessings for Today:
1. A wonderful first day of school
2. Anxieties going away
3. Energy to make it through the day

It's That Time Again

Hey friends! I hope that everyone has had a fabulous weekend! My weekend was wonderful! As you know, last week was the first week for teachers to go back to school, so Friday proved to be a very nerve-racking, anxiety filled day. In order to get ready for students coming tomorrow, teachers were allowed to work in our classrooms all day! No matter how much I got accomplished, I still feel as if I'm not 100% prepared; although, I don't know what else I would do if I had another day!

 In the midst of the nerves on Friday, my lunch break was calming and very nice. A great friend of mine got married this weekend, so Friday morning was her bridal luncheon. Gina's bridal luncheon was held at The Inn at Merridun. The menu was delicious. We had scrambled eggs, potatoes, baked bacon (a first for me), fruit parfaits, and an out of this world coffee cake. I could have eaten the whole coffee cake. It was a very nice time. Gina gave us jewelry to wear with our bridesmaid's dresses for the wedding. I loved the jewelry. After the bridal luncheon I headed back to school. The rest of the afternoon went by so fast. My fingers are crossed that I have everything in place for tomorrow.

I could have stayed in my room all afternoon and all night Friday. But, I couldn't. Gina and Lee's rehearsal began at 5. Stewart is so awesome- he is 3 for 3 on rehearsals, rehearsal dinners, and weddings! I zoomed home after school to get dressed and ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Everything went well Friday night during the rehearsal. The rehearsal dinner was held at the church, so we didn't have to go far. Afer the dinner, Stew and I stopped by Wal-Mart for a few things. We ran into one of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Petty. We talked to her for a few minutes and talked to her girls. I always love running into them- Mrs. Petty sent me a text later and said that her girls think Stewart is too old for me, and that they must think I'm still 17. I thought this was hilarious- I told her to tell her girls it was only about 7 months! After our trip to Wal Mart, we came on home.

After trying to sleep over the weedeater, lawn mower, etc. that was going off at 7 am, I finally woke up. My mom and I enjoyed coffee on our back porch- it was so delicious. Later Saturday morning, Stewart and I headed off to Spartanburg for a hair appointment. Jenna always does such a wonderful job on my hair! After the appointment, we headed back to Union. I got ready for the wedding and headed to the church. Gina looked beautiful, as always. We took lots of beautiful pictures. Here are a few that we took. Mine aren't perfect, but you'll get the picture (ha ha).

These are just a couple of candids of Gina. I had a picture of the bridal party, but I can't find it in my picture files...bummer. But, I loved our bouquets and Gina looked STUNNING. She was a gorgeous bride.

Following the wedding, we took a few more pictures and then headed to the reception. The reception was held at Veteran's Park. It was decorated nicely. The reception was fun and the food was delicous. Here are some pictures from the reception.

I also had a picture of Stewart and me from the reception, but I can't seem to find it either. Gees. I'll have to do some more uploading I guess. After Lee and Gina made their getaway, we headed home. We got changed in to some comfy clothes and went to socialize with some friends that were at the wedding. We went to Jennier and Joe's new house, which looks sooo good! It is coming together so nicely, and I loved getting to go visit with them. Another couple came, too. We talked, laughed, and had a good. It was such a good time that we all ended up going to the mini mart for chicken and taters. I haven't made that trip in a while (probably since high school). We were night owls last night, but that's okay! Today, I slept in as along as I could to soak up all the ZZZZ's.

This after noon, we had a family birthday party for Josh. His birthday was last week, but we finally got to celebrate this week. He even brought the dog home. We had a good time visiting with family and Beth and Caleb and Stewart. After the birthday party, the guests left and the remaining few- Mom, Dad, and I all took naps.

After a great nap, I woke up, typed up a few things for school, got my clothes ready for tomorrow, and my lunch ready for tomorrow. I am trying to be as ready as I'll ever be, because It's That Time Again....

Hopefully I will have enough energy to write a blog tomorrow describing my first day of school! I know it will be great! Please say a few prayers for all of the teachers going back tomorrow.

Blessings for Today:

1. Family

2. No trees down during the storm

3. Naps

Just Another Day in Paradise

It is already Thursday, and I can not believe it. This week has flown by so quickly. This week has been filled with excitement and new beginnings. Yesterday was very busy. We had registration at Monarch. I was very excited to be able to meet some of my new sweet first graders. I know this will be a great year. Beyond the thousands of papers you have to fill out and the repeated conversations, and being slightly overwhelmed with so many people, yesterday was a great day at school. Although I did leave feeling exhausted and nervous about the millions of things I have to get done before school on Monday. After school I had to make  a raod trip to Fountain Inn. I did not want to have to make a road trip because it was already 4:30 and my head was spinning with things I needed to get done. On the outside I was at peace, but on the inside was a whole different story. But I had no other time to go to FI and I had to go-I have found an excellent seamstress in FI whom I love. Because I am in so many weddings I use this lady a lot. She does wonders for my dresses, since they are usually way too big up top and two miles too long. I asked Ashley to pick my dress up yesterday because I wasn't sure I would get to FI in enough time to get it. So anyway, I decided I needed to make the best of the road trip. I turn on my iPod to jam out as it helps the time pass more quickly. Because I was feeling so overwhelmed and anxious, I went to my playlist entitled "Pick Me Up." It's one of the best play lists I have and it never ceases to pick my spirits up. "Pick Me Up" is a playlist of most of my favorite Christian songs. Last year I began listening to Christian music more regularly on my way to and from school to help me feel at peace and to help me have a postive mindset for a situation I was not happy in. So, I developed a play list with my favorite songs from 89.3. One of my favorite songs is "Come Thou Fount." It always does something for me, so I playe it repeatedly. Some of my other favorite artists are Chris Tomlin, Toby Mac, Francessca Batistelli, and well I like them all- Especially old Audio Adrenaline! Can't get enough "Get Down." Yesterday proved to be one of those days I needed to be encouraged! So, I got to Fountain Inn, picked my dress up, talked with Ash and Superdave for a little while and was on my way back home. On my way home I began to feel a peace. I realized everything would be done and I would be prepared for Monday. I know this peace came from God, and I am thankful for that-otherwise I may have experienced a small heart attack. ha ha
When I got home I had dinner with my mom-she makes the BEST bake potatoes. After we ate we sat at opposite ends of the dinner table and did school work! Thank goodness she has school work to do too! What a long and exhausting day!

Today has been a much better day and I feel as if I got a lot accomplished at school. I got to school early today to start on the list of things that needed to be done. This morning we had a meeting followed by lunch! You have to enjoy going out to lunch while you can! As the day went on I felt as if more and more things were getting accomplished and as if those things that were stressing me out so much yesterday were completed easily without and worries. What a wonderful feeling. After school today, we had another meeting for the class all of the first year teachers have to take. It is a class that prepares us to be evaluated using ADEPT standards. Thankfully, PC observes us using these standards, so I feel more prepared for the class than I thought I would. I am familiar with the standards and already have my portfolio for PC that I can tweek and add things too! Anyway, today our mentor teachers and principals were invited to the class so that we could all talk and to go over some things. I enjoyed them being there as it made me feel like my support system just got stronger.

But what makes this day even better is the phone call I just had with one of my best friends, roommates through college, and well just someone I love to death! Megs- We haven't gotten to see each other much this summer, so we have to catch up through phone calls. We talked for over and hour today and there was never a dull moment. Megan used to live behind me and we practically grew up together. Her parents were my parents, my parents were her parents. ..Until Megan moved during middle school- BUMMER. So we talked a couple of times, but not too much. Well, I ended up having her dad for a weightlifting class at the high school, so, I got to keep up with Megs a little more through her dad. When it came time for me to go college, Megan had already been at USC, but was transferring to PC. How convenient for us to reconnect. After talking to Megan, we decided to room together. We didn't know how it would work, but we should have never had any worries about that. 4 years at PC and we were roommates the whole time. Our friendship turned into us being best friends...probably more like sisters. We were glued at the hip pretty much during our four years at school! We have such an indepth friendship and I absolutely love Megan to death. We share so many secrets, stories, and can finish each others sentences. We can look at each other and know what the other is thinking and we aren't afraid to be honest with each other. I can count on Megan for anything-from a laugh to the shirt off her back. I truely cherish out friendship. And though we don't see each other as often as we both would like, our phone calls bring us closer...It's as if we never left each other! So, getting to talk to Megan today was the icing on the cake to a wonderful day!

Blessings for Today:
1. Meg's friendship
2. My relationship with God
3. Christian Radio

Time-Out Tuesday

I was so worred that I wouldn't have time to blog today, but I am making myself so that I won't leave any wondering bodies! Today marked the Union County Schools opening convocation. This is a day when all of the faculty and staff of every school in Union County meets at the high school to kick off the school year. I was totally excited to have my mom going to the convocation so that I would have someone to sit with. Although, it's not like I wouldn't have been able to sit with any of the teachers from MES, or the teachers I once had going through school. But today I wanted to sit with my mom! The opening convocation was very nice. Several people spoke, Gospel Unlimited sang some songs, and awards were given. It was a positive kick off to school. After the welcome back to school chat, we moved into the cafeteria to have a seminar on differentiated instruction. I know, blah blah blah. BUTTTT this seminar was AWESOME. Danny Brassell was the key note speaker and did a wonderful job. The two hours flew by so fast- he was hilarious! One thing I loved about Danny was that he imitated so many different people and made so many funny faces. My mom often tells me that I make goofy faces when trying to imitate people, so I have a real appreciation for others that do the same. He kept us focused with many mind games, puzzles, and neat tricks. I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar and would listen to him again any day! After the seminar, we were able to leave the high school. I went with several of the teachers from Monarch to a local Mexican restaraunt. Delicious! After lunch we went to Monarch to work in our classrooms the remainder of the afternoon. I made progress in my classroom and got some things together for tomorrow. Tomorrow is registration, and I am sure will be a story for another day. I already have my roster, so I can't wait to put a pretty little face with those cute little names. I am a bit nervous about registration because it is in our own classrooms and I won't be able to lean on my other first grade teachers as they will be hosting their own registration...I just hope I can answer all of the questions asked of me and I hope that I will not come across clueless. Say a prayer for me tomorrow! As if a new school year isn't a big enough adventure in it self, first year teachers have to go through an ADEPT training. Well it doesn't sound so bad, except that is a 3 hour class that occurs often. The good thing is I was trained through ADEPT at PC and I feel ahead of the game. The bad thing is, since it is a 3 hr credit course we do have homework. We were let out early this afternoon so that was nice. But, I hurried home to work on a little more school work- I know, you probably think there is not much more to possibly do, but the school work never ends. After I got some things printed out I set up my notebook for my ADEPT class. I have to have a notebook for everything. So, I got creative and recycled some old colored file folders to use as dividiers. I cut them in half and punched holes in them and hey, I have colored dividers- It took 5 minutes and was free for me! I can't wait to fill that notebook up! After I got creative for a bit I had to help my mom out. My mom got a call today and her Sunday School class is responsible for feeding a family who recently had a death in their family. So, I went to the grocery store for my mom and came home to help prepare some food. Now, I know this is weird, but I really do love grocery shopping. So I never mind the task of going to by food! After preparing the foods, we finally sat down to an egg salad sandwich for supper. We never like eating so late, but tonight was one of those nights.  I think every member of my family has been overwhelemed and a tad bit stressed out today- I don't know why! It's hard getting back into the routine of things and balancing 93920432 things, but that will come with time. If you're wondering about my blog title, it's because I just looked at my mom and said, "I don't even have time to write in my planner." Hopefully within the next couple of days things will fall into place and my planner will get filled with those 93920432 I have to do! I just need a time-out!

Blessings for Today:
1. A sense of humor
2. A comfy bed
3. 2 feline friends to chat with

Getting into the Routine

Today marks the first day of the school year for the 2011-2012 school year. If you haven't read any of my previous blogs, I am one of the newest additions to Monarch Elementary School in Union, South Carolina. I am the newest first grade teacher and I am beyond thrilled. Thankfully I had time this summer to get my classroom together and get some preparations completed for the upcoming school year, because today was an eye opener in the sense that I am not as prepared as I thought. I arrived at my new school about 30 minutes before we were supposed to report. I am becoming such an early bird these days! After taking some things into my classroom I reported to the library for our full faculty/staff meeting. We had 2 notebooks ready for us to pick up-one already organized and one left to organize. There is hardly anything I like more than feeling a sense of organization. Love. I surprised myself by not being as nervous as I usually am. I was greeted with many smiling faces and opened arms. After walking in the door I felt very welcomed. At the beginning of the meeting our grade level chairs made staff introductions. It is such a small world out there. (One of the student teacher's father was in my dad's wedding and her cooperating teacher's husband was in my dad's wedding). So weird. I was so delighted to see another teacher at Monarch who I haven't seen in a long time. I practically lived at her house during my childhood days. I can not get over how comfortable I felt with all of the wonderful teachers at Monarch. Although comfortable, I did leave the meeting feeling very overwhelmed. Just when you think you know all there is to know, there's always something more. Thankfully I have a wonderful mentor teacher who I know will help me through my first year at Monarch. After a couple of hours of information, I know my eye balls were as big as saucers. However, our principal did leave us with a wonderful quote from one of her favorite muscial groups-The Tams- I got excited when she said she had a quote to tell us from The Tams. I got even more excited when she said it was from the song, "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy." And I got even more excited when the quote was one of my favorite lines from the song-"Reach for the sky, touch your star, and then you find your dream."- how appropriate for the Monarch Stars! I know we will get along just fine! After our teacher's meeting we had a catered lunch from Subway-another favorite. After a quick bite to eat it was time to get to work on the list of things I haven't done yet/didn't know about yet! I sure hope the rest of the first grade teachers aren't tired of me already due to the thousands of questions I have (continuously). I probably averaged half of my day asking questions and the other half of my day thinking of more questions to ask tomorrow. As soon as 3:30 came around I decided to head on home. The school work didn't stop there, though. I came right in to our big den and got to work making charts, word documents, etc. When my mom came in we compared and exchanged stories. When 5:00 came around I decided I needed to get away from the school work. So I went to one of my favorite classes at our local YMCA. There were new faces in the class tonight, and I always enjoy seeing the regulars. The class is a sculpting class. Although I haven't been in a couple of weeks, I felt inclined to use the 8 pound free weights tonight. During the 45 minutes of weights I managed to beef it up and stick with the 8 pounders the whole time. (I keep a set of 5 pound weights beside me just in case). I know I will be hurting tomorrow. Now, while this is one of my favorite clases at the Y, the last 10 min we spend learning some kind of dance. I have been exposed to The Wobble, a dance to "Forget You", and some Zumba dances. Let me just let you know I have 2 left feet and no coordination when it comes to dancing. Hand me a tennis raquet and tennis ball and I'm all there. Not so much on the dance floor. So I smile and try to move through it as best as I can...just always a couple seconds behind everyone else and of course with no rhythm. An hour in the gym is just what I needed. I felt reenergized after leaving- enough to come home and do more school stuff. Finally, I think I have a good hold on everything I need-until tomorrow! While finishing up some school stuff our power went out. Luckily, it was still light outside and my mom, dad, and I were able to sit on our back porch and chat without any distractions of the internet, television, or dinner. It was a very relaxing 30 mintues. When the power returned we came in, had dinner, and now we're watching some television. I'd say it's been a successful day, all in all. I promise to add more pictures with more blogs. Right now I don't have pictures for this blog. But, if you can imagine a deer in headlights, that's how I spent the majority of my day!

Blessings for today:
1. A supportive staff
2. 2 hands that complete multitudes of tasks
3. A peace within

First Day Jitters

I hope everyone has had a fun, safe, and relaxing weekend! My weekend began on Thursday evening. With some good friends, I ventured to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a bachelorette weekend. Thursday night we got to the beach between 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm. I was so tired and ready for bed, but ended up staying up way past my bedtime having girl talk. It was fun to just lay in my pajamas, talk, and laugh. Quickly, Friday morning came. We had big plans to wake up early, get ready for the beach, and soak up the sun all day long. We all woke up, got suited up, packed our beach bags, lathered in sun screen, and headed to the beach. The sun is not very bright, but it's not raining either, yet...It hadn't been 15 minutes when the rain came. At first, it felt refreshing- that didn't last long. After a  couple of minutes sitting the rain, we moved to the bottom level of an ocean front hotel where there were tables and pools. We found a table and crossed our fingers the rain would stop- after an hour or so of sitting under this hotel, the rain kept coming. So, we made a run for it. We hauled all of our things back to the house we stayed in Thursday night. After changing, we headed out for some lunch. On the way to Chic fil a we found an indoor flea market- So I'm not one for flea markets- never have been. But what else do you do in the rain at the beach. So we explored the flea market after lunch. Interesting is the perfect word to sum that experience up. Later on Friday afternoon, we packed our things and headed to the condo where we would reside for the remainder of the weekend. After meeting up with more girls and showers we headed out for dinner. We ate dinner at Carolina Roadhouse, one of Staci's favorites. After dinner we went back to the condo for a small shower honoring Staci and great fellowship. Saturday came early. We woke up, got ready and hit the beach. I already planned to leave the beach on Saturday afternoon to be responsible. I couldn't imagine driving the 4+ hours from MB to Union on Sunday before starting school on Monday. On my way from the beach I stopped in St. Matthews, SC to see the love of my life. I didn't get to spend any time with Stewart last weekend, so some time together was long over due. We were able to be very lazy which was well needed. It was so wonderful to be lazy and not have to worry about being somewhere at a certain time on Saturday night. I always love spending time in St. Matthews.

And so we have Sunday.  My title for today's blog is First Day Jitters. First Day Jitters is the title of a wonderful children's book that I love to read to my children at the beginning of school. The book is not about a student having first day jitters, but the teacher- how appropriate for me. Tomorrow begins a new journey for me. It marks the first day of my second year of teaching. I have already been experiencing excitement mixed with lots of anxiety, but when I had a nightmare last night about not having anything ready for the first day of school my anxiety increased. I know without a shadow of a doubt that there is not much more I can do to be ready for this school year, but I am still very nervous. I am nervous about meeting all of the teachers I do not know yet, nervous to see how things work at a new school, and nervous for countless other minimal reasons. For those of you who know me well, I am a planner-therefore, I have my bags packed for school, an outfit picked out for the first day (teachers only, but still the first day), and my alarm clock set. I'm sitting on go. As jittery as I may be tomorrow, I know I will be just fine...as long as I have my cup of coffee! I can't wait to post about my first day of school, so I hope that you will be back to read the many tales of my second year of teaching.

Blessings for Today:
1. A comfortable bed
2. Clean clothes
3. Tax Free Weekend