Teachers Like Teacher Humor

I'm not sure if the funniest part about this picture is

a) The student's answer

b) The teacher's response

c) The way the question has grammatical errors.

But I do know it's a good laugh during a crazy week.

Dear teacher friends, please go here if you need some laughs, too.

Recollections and Hope

"It's always this time of year my thoughts undo me."

["The Bells of New York City" - Josh Groban]

While I wouldn't go so far as to say the memories make me unravel, the fact is that this is the time of the year when there are lots of flashbacks. Time to do some smiling, chuckling, crying, and aching a little again.

7 years can make a baseball cap in the back of the car fade, but the memories remain undiminished.

Here's to the greatest fairy tale ever lived and recalling the ending that was all too fitting.

And here's to the hope that someday my own love will be a tale my children and grandchildren cherish remembering, too.

Someday I Will...

...own each and every one of these books for my children, be they in my classroom or in my home.

...have a fully functional financial organization system. [Although being halfway there ain't half bad. :)]

...get better at staying in touch with people.

...have an acceptable balance between work and play.

...make a To Do list and remember where I left it and

...cross every single item off a To Do list without adding anything to it.

...get a full night of sleep for more that just a night or two in a row. I'm talking like a week straight, at least. Maybe two if I'm really feeling ambitious.

...not rely on coffee so much. [Okay, okay, I just threw this one in for a joke. My blood's really just coffee with some blood cells floating around. Who needs that plasma nonsense?

...actually, that's kind of a gross joke. Sorry. ]

...have an organized office room.

...actually put pictures in all of the picture frames in my living room.

I'm going to end this here, but I know I could add much more to it. In fact, that's probably what I'll be doing tonight while I'm trying to fall asleep. :)

Wow, I'm really getting awful at blogging.

And I'm behind on reading everyone else's blogs, too.

I'll catch up.

I mean, summer break comes in 11 weeks.

...not that I'm panicking about that realization, but wow, that's going to go crazy-fast.

Productivity of the Pow! Variety

This weekend I have taken on a To Do list and finished nearly everything on it for school. EVERYTHING. The exception is lesson planning, which I'm currently taking a short break from. And yes, I started planning before 8 pm the night before the school week starts.

That To Do list included a major overhaul of a million things in my room and writing a new, more detailed handbook for next year, too, to hand out at Kindergarten Round Up tomorrow night.

In light of all of this professional accomplishment goodness, the only victory phrase I can think of is…

like a beast.

Totally professional, right? Hokay, so maybe I’m not completely adult-esque…

But after a period of feeling so inadequate, so useless, and like I was falling short on so many levels…I needed to push myself to be this productive this weekend. I needed this sense of accomplishment. It’s been a long, long while since I felt like I had any of this under control.

I think this renewed energy is a sign spring is getting closer.

And now to finish off those lesson plans...mwuh hahahaha....

Whirlwind

Friday: come home. play with dog. coffee. read for Bible study. go to Bible study. schoolwork until late. sleep. Saturday: half an hour of cuddling with the pups to start the day right. coffee making. schoolwork. call from grandparents. schoolwork. dishes and lunch break. schoolwork. break from schoolwork by going to work in classroom. grocery shop. talk to mom. laundry. skype date. ♥ sleep. Sunday: coffee. breakfast. church. come home with headache. twenty minute nap turned three hours. fold laundry. clean apartment. do dishes. make dinner. school work. put away laundry. wonder where the weekend went.

Snippets

laughter in copious amounts and

spanning all ages and

relationships and friendships make

today a beautiful day

kids saying things they don't intend to be funny but

instead are meant to celebrate the joys they have found like

the smell of smelly markers or an epic spaceship out of legos and

make me admire their purity

a deep breath to calm nerves rubbed the wrong way while

knowing this, too, is a teachable moment for

both of us and

i hope i don't mess it up and

pray for the wisdom, strength, but mostly

the guidance to

make the most of it

the flowers i was sure were dead and

had tossed in the trash but

were plucked out and saved by

a patient, more knowledgeable soul who

warmed them, loved them, coaxed some life out and

some hope lingers there yet

and just when i thought for sure they are ready to

leave and never come back because

that's perhaps how i feel too they

start to swarm and

arms encircle me

love surrounds me and

warm my heart and

reassure me

this is my place

because five and six are forgiving, forgetful ages

and untainted by silly adult anxieties

he's nearly tripping over himself as

he wags his nubbin of a tail while

trying to jump on me all at once when

he's free of his gated kitchen corral

and he sits in the seat next to me for

the whole 3 minutes it takes to drive

back to school for the forgotten but

he licks my hand the whole way to say

hey, it's okay. i still love you.

the words pouring out from the

mind to the pen to the paper to

clear the swirling thoughts because

once they are trapped in ink there is

no going back to clog this mind and

i'm renewed.

[Any Color But] Green Thumb

So if you were to glance at my To Do List, it says something about testing my green thumb.

Well, I guess now's the time. One of my kiddos got me this miniature rose for Valentine's Day, and it's beautiful.

And I fear for it's life.

Seriously, I had a plant in my classroom for about 2 weeks, and it's already dead. I put it by the window to get sunlight, and I froze it to death. My bad.

Here's hoping this is a hearty plant...

Sick

I might have to buckle down and find a doctor here.

And I might have strep.

:(

A Slow Saturday

Woke up.

Lingered in warm bed after seeing temp was -2.

Cuddled with Pups for copious amount of time today.

Cleaned here and there.

Organized papers.

Sorted receipts.

Ordered pizza.

Started making spreadsheets a few hours ago.

Make that "attempted."

Still have no clue what I'm doing with them.

Got grumpy.

Took Tumblr and blogging break.

Still grumpy.

Going to work on finances a bit more.

Going to get more grumpy.

Going to give up and go read before going to bed.

Fun and excitement abounds here, folks...

The Daily Bread Business

My Monday morning initially started great. After all, I was as early as I had planned on being for a change!Yes, I was on top of the world.

Well, every good story needs conflict, including the story of Monday morning. Enter frozen car doors.

And when I say frozen, I mean frozen.

It was in midst of pulling, pulling, pulling (and maybe a kick or two for good frustration-relieving measure) that I recalled turning off the heat on my way home from the store Friday....thus deeming hitting the auto-start button when I took my dog out ineffective. Way to go, self, I grumpily thought.

So I was the girl in the parking lot who felt like a pretty awesome and capable functioning 23 year old just 2 minutes before but who now was reduced to being ticked off at a car. Did I mention embarrassed? And did I mention hurt ego? Oh, and the morning duty I have this week in the cafeteria? Yeeeaaah. And there may have been some tears.

One of my neighbors saw I was distressed and came to see what was up. While I ran in to call school, she talked to another neighbor. He patiently poured de-icer on my door and got it open. Then he was nice enough to pour some on my windshield so I didn't have to scrape it. After that my two neighbors helped push my car out of the ice it was stuck in, but it wasn't until they were joined by a third that we got it out.

Oh my.

What could I do right then and there but give them huuuuuge hugs and a promise to make them all cookies? I was overwhelmed by how amazingly helpful they were, and I dashed off to school to be greeted by my kids (who said, btw, "Hi! You're late.").

It wasn't until later when Aaron asked what the highlight of my day was that I stopped short. "The car trouble," I replied. I had to explain that it was a huge lesson of how necessary it is to let other people help, but an even bigger lesson on selflessness. I'd probably still be lashing out at my frozen shut and stuck car right now had it not been for my neighbors.

I think the most beautiful part was the timing of this. Just last week I came across Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and was floored. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,"it says. I sat for a while contemplating what that kind of love of God looks like, and prayed for Him to help me know it.

My friends, it's safe to say that Monday's serving of daily bread was a pure example of exactly what that looks like.

"Give us this day our daily bread" Lord,

and help us learn from it, too.

Wondering...

where my time goes sometimes.

This entire day seriously sped by me at about a million miles per hour. Insane.

But I have a story from this morning that I'm so excited to write about and share. Actually kinda bummed that I don't have time tonight.

Alas, school things and sleep await.

The story must wait a bit longer.

My mom summed it up perfectly for me with perfect timing when she just now texted me. "They don't call 'em Manic Mondays without reason." [Look, Ma, you made it into the blog AGAIN! (She gets kind of excited when that happens. True story.)]

Oi.

A Song for Thought

I finally downloaded an album I've been thinking about getting for oh, only months now...and it's been on repeat all day. Jack Savoretti's Between the Minds. Oh, SO good!

I like the mellow sound of his music, but I also adore his lyrics. He's another one of those gifted artists who is truly brilliant with how he puts together words.

This is one of my favorite songs from the album.

What I Have Stuck In My Head Every February 2nd

It's a family favorite.

Mostly filmed in Woodstock, IL.

And my grandpa, my dad, my brother, and I definitely have been to that restaurant before. :)

I think my favorite part of today may have been my kids turning into groundhogs to check for their shadows. It was a good time. I love impromptu lessons and silly ideas!

But if they turn into them again tomorrow, I don't think it will be as cute. Today wasn't bad, but I just don't want to relive it over and over and over and over and over again. I'll leave that to Bill Murray.

Randomocity

I have to be honest: the YouTube video immediately following this paragraph makes me laugh so hard every time I think about it. Think of me what you will, I think it's absolutely hilarious.

Secondly, I just found this picture and think that a) this is a motto I've been living by this school year and b) the puffin is just so darn adorable, it can make anyone's day brighter.