I'm So Lucky!

I want to begin by saying that I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband!

I'll start with our anniversary. We headed to Arlington right after he got home from work (8am). We enjoyed Houlihans and Chuys. I was a happy camper. We spent the time in between shopping. I love the fact that he enjoys shopping. When we got home, we ate the top of our wedding cake. Or maybe it was more like a tiny bite of our wedding cake. It was not very yummy!

We are not very traditional people, so we didn't do the traditional paper wedding gift. Anthony got me what we are going call an anniversary ring. It is a band that has one diamond in it. Each year, on our anniversary, he will add a diamond. This is extra specialy because it is something my dad did for my mom and Anthony wanted to do the same. I tried taking a picture, but you couldn't really see the details because of the glare. So I gave up. Anthony wanted to get a ring tattooed on his left ring finger, where his wedding band sits. He is not supposed to wear his ring while at work because of the dangers. I loved the idea of a tattoo. So, Friday night, we headed to the tattoo parlor (or whatever they are called these days) and this is what we came up with:
And two more reasons I'm lucky: 1) He came up to school yesterday and helped me put my new classroom furniture together. 2) He cooked some amazing fajitas for dinner last night!

Happy Anniversary!

We've made it a year! And boy what a year it has been. Here's a recap of our first year of marriage.

~We were married September 27, 2008.
~We took a 5 day cruise to the Caribbean for our Honeymoon.
~Anthony left October 7, 2008 for Basic Training.
~We spent 6 1/2 weeks apart with only 2 letters and 2 phone calls.
~The next 4 1/2 months we lived four hours apart, but we could see each other on weekends and talk on the phone.
~March 12, Anthony finally came back to live with me.
~April 5, Anthony left for our new base while I finished my last week of school.
~April 9, I joined Anthony at our new base.
~April 15, we moved into our new townhome, where we would finally live TOGETHER.
~We then endured my unemployment for 5 months.

It's been a challenging year, with many tears, but we have made it and we are stronger because of what we have been through. And, it could have been worse. I know that many other wives, and even my readers, spend even less time with their husband. I was very blessed that Anthony has been in the states the whole first year of our marriage.

We had planned a trip to Dallas for Sunday to spend the night and celebrate. Anthony had taken leave Monday and I had taken a day off work because he couldn't get off Saturday. But of course, things could not go as planned. Anthony now has to go into work on Monday. But, after our first year, I guess that is only fitting. I was talking to my grandmother about how I felt and she reminded me that I should be grateful for what I do have. At least we are in a position we are able to go out and celebrate. We both have jobs and money. And Anthony is HERE with ME. So, my attitude's changed. We are going to Dallas tomorrow to spend the day and enjoy wonderful food and fun! I'm super excited about our great food. We are also meeting my mom to pick up our year old wedding cake. You can't have a first anniversary without that!

I'm leaving you with some of my favorite wedding pictures. Atleast my favorite of the ones I can find. I am not sure what I did with my CD. (But don't worry, Mom has a CD, too. Although, I do get my forgetfullness and ability to lose things from her. )







Happy Anniversary Honey!

An Award!

I got an award from Mrs. Pave over at Air Force Recruiting: A Wife's Point of View. Thanks!!! I think it is a much needed break from my Kindergarten life.

Here are the rules:
1.) Thank the person who gave this to you.
2.) Copy the logo and place it in your blog.
3.) Link the person who nominated you.
4.) Name 7 things about yourself that no one would really know.
5.) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6.) Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7.) Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them!

So...here are my 7 random things that you wouldn't know about me, except maybe my readers that are real life friends.

1.)I LOVE football season. I love to hang out with friends and enjoy wings while watching the game, or snuggle up on the couch with Anthony and spend Sunday watching games.
2.)I hate to clean, but love to organize. I could spend hours organizing closets and drawers, but HATE having to put up laundry or clean the kitchen.
3.)I'm in love with sweet tea. I drink it anytime I eat at home (except breakfast). But it has to be made with real sugar.
4.)I'm addicted to sushi. I eat it atleast once every 2 weeks. And I eat the same thing every time. (I'm eating it now.)
5.)I love other people's kids, but am so not ready for my own.
6.)I am a city girl. Being in the middle of nowhere is very hard for me.
7.)I like to always have some kind of baked good in the house to munch on. Although, whatever I make tends to disappear pretty quickly while I'm at work.

I'm going to tag all of my readers. I read the blogs that I read because they are entertaining and creative.

You Know You Teach Kindergarten When...

*Warning* this is kind of gross. If you're easily grossed out, you might not want to read.

You know you teach kindergarten when within 45 minutes, your class is interrupted by the following two lines:

"I'm sitting on the toilet going to the bathroom (had been in there like 10 minutes) and I feel like I'm going to throw up." I quickly ran a trashcan in and turned on some music. Then I hear "I just threw up." I had no idea what to do. I was NOT going in there. I don't know what I'll do when I have my own kids.

Then, after the bathroom is cleaned and that kid is home and we are trying to get back to learning, I hear "She just threw up on me." Thankfully it was only a small amount and I was able to deal.

Oh, what a day.

Sad day

Oh what a day it has been. It started off when I woke up with swollen eye. I have a stye. I am not happy. It hurts pretty bad. Then, when I came downstairs for breakfast, I poured my cereal into my milk glass, instead of the bowl that was sitting beside the glass. Then later, I mixed up my dogs' bowls. Sam (the boxer who now weighs 43 pounds) got the bowl with 1/3 cup of food. Frankie (the 7 pound dog) got the bowl with 2 cups of food. The bowls look nothing alike. It took a bit to figure out how Sam finished so fast. Then it clicked.

It was a sad day in my class. No funny stories. Just sad ones. These kids go through so much at home and it breaks my heart. One punched, pinched, and tackled other kids today. Needless to say, he went to the office. Mom wouldn't let them give him swats, so they made her come pick him up. I've never taught at a school that gives swats. I think it's an interesting idea. I'm a believer in spanking, while not while you are angry or enough to leave marks, but I was spanked as a child, and I think I turned out pretty great. I knew there were consequences for my actions. I think some kids just don't realize this. This particular kid could care less what he missed out on. Just glared at me with this evil look when I sent him to thinking time until I could find someone to take him to the office. He might have later stuck his tongue out at me. It might have made me laugh. No 2 days are ever alike, that is for sure.

I ended the day with some sushi and shopping. Then some TV watching. It's been a good ending to a yucky day!

Complete Randomness

It's been a long week and I haven't blogged since Saturday. But I don't have anything super exciting to blog about, so you get complete randomness.

~Kindergartners can be mean. I don't like it when they don't want to listen to me. That's not nice. It's been a LONG day with one particular friend.
~Kindergarten is a LOT of work. I not only teach, council and nurture, but I also no sing, dance and act. I walk around singing everything. I get songs about Trixie Triangle and Danny Diamond stuck in my head. I listen to Dr. Jean on my way home to learn more songs. I act all excited about everything. I sure get tired by the end of the day!
~My dog tripped me on the stairs this morning and made me fall. That was not a great way to start the day.
~Anthony suggested that we needed winter clothes, so I got to go shopping yesterday!
~So, I lied, I do have something super exciting. I get to see my best friend Kimmie on October 11th! We are going to the state fair!!!! I can't wait to eat lots of fair food.
~Our wedding anniversary is only 11 days away! We still aren't certain of what we are doing, as we aren't certain if he can even get off work.
~I'm very excited about the Texas v. Tech game on Saturday! I might have bought 2 Longhorn shirts today.
~My bank made me super mad yesterday. I transferred money from Anthony's account to mine, but it didn't go into mine. I called. The first lady said it would be there overnight. I wasn't okay with that. It should immediately go into the other account. I do this all the time. I spoke with a supervisor. She assured me it was there and she could see it. Funny, I couldn't. She claimed she even had a confirmation number. She assured me it was there. I hung up. Check online later. The transaction was completely gone and the money was back in Anthony's account. I went ahead and transferred it and the other transaction that supposedly even had a confirmation number, was nowhere to be seen. I'm pretty certain she lied to me. That makes me very unhappy and I am no considering finding a new bank real soon.
~Jamie over at Fearfully and Wonderfully Made is giving away Faith Deployment. Go over and check out her blog. Tell her I sent you!

I hope you are having a great week!

First Formal Air Force Affair

We attended our first Air Force dinner tonight. It was a "Celebrate Your Stripes" dining out. I wasn't sure what to expect. We didn't choose to go. We were voluntold as Anthony calls it. But, I'm glad we went. It was a neat experience.

We started with mingling and socializing. After that was all the formal introduction and color guard and such. Then they sat a place for the fallen and missing soldiers. That was very touching.

There were certain rules for this dinner. You couldn't talk about work. You couldn't clap...you had to hit a spoon on the table. When people did something wrong, it was called to the "president's" attention. Then they had to go drink from the "Grog bowl." It was a toilet bowl filled with liquor, juice, and other random food and drinks to represent things such as blood, vomit, urine, and fuel. It was really funny and entertaining.

After dinner, there was a retired chief that spoke. He gave a really good talk about being a good Airman which could really translate into life. He talked about the importance of attitude and aptitude. He was pretty entertaining.

So, atleast I now have that over with. I now kind of have an idea of waht to expect. People were dressed from as casual as a cotton dress or flowered church dress to as formal as long gowns that glittered. And I loved getting all dressed up!

Still loving it!

So, my life right now is nothing but work. So, that's all my blog is about. Sorry!

I still loving it! It's tiring, but lots of fun! Most of the time. Today I had kids start yelling "He's cutting his hair!" I ran over to see what was going on. They were speaking of the boy that didn't like my clouds. Sure enough, lots of chunks of hair wer missing. And there was a big wad of hair in his hand. I very calmly took his scissors away and took him to the "thinking spot" while I figured out what to do. Second graders didn't cut their hair. I was at a loss. The teacher across the hall was teaching, so I couldn't interupt, so I calmly talked to him about what he did. He then told me that his mom had bought his scissors and they were hers and I had to give them back. Ha. No scissor for him for a long time. Then I may go buy a pair of the kind that only cut paper for him. (He cut a foam puzzle yesterday.) A few minutes after getting out of thinking time, he came up to me and told me his heart hurt. I asked why. Other kids were making fun of his hair. Seems like a good natural consequence to me.

It's going to be a fun year!

Today was Amazing

I love teaching kindergarten. Atleast I do so far. The first day was pretty eventless, for the most part. We spent most of the day going over rules and procedures. Much like the first day of school. No one cried because they didn't want to be in my room, so that as a plus. I did have 2 kids fall on the playground and get knots on their heads, so we made 2 trips to the nurse's office but both were fine.

Then I had a little boy that was not so happy about the transition. He kept asking to go back to his class. He pleaded that he wanted to go to his other class because it was pretty. That conversation went something like this:
Me: Well, our room as pretty and fun.
Student: No, if it was pretty it would have red roses all over the walls. (His old class had no roses)
Me: Yeah, but we have clouds on the wall. Clouds are pretty.
Student: Clouds are stupid.
I have up and sent him to play. I was tired of that arguement. He later told me that his mom said he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers and couldn't talk to me. Then told me that his mom said he couldn't come to my room. I wasn't buying it. But I played along for fun. He's going to keep me entertained this year!

Everything else went smooth. I'm still learning how to talk to a large group of five year olds and them understand and be able to do what I ask. I sing alot. Poor kids. I'm an awful singer. But it works.

I'm tired, but nowhere near as tired as I thought I'd be. I even ran to Hobby Lobby after work. I came home and enjoyed leftover Pei Wei and am watching reality tv until I crash. I'm loving things so far! I truly feel blessed!

My Classroom

My classroom is ready for students! I won't say that it's finished, because it's honestly not ever finished. I will always be adding work of the kids and anchor charts of what we are working on. For that reason, it looks kind of empty right now. But that won't last long.

I get to spend my first full day with my kindergarteners tomorrow. I can't wait! I've got everything planned, even my outfit. Kindergarten will be very different from second grade, but I think I'm going to love it! Siunce I've worked so hard this week, I wanted to share some pictures of my new classroom. Keep in mind, I still have all new furniture coming.

This picture is from the door to the hallway. I LOVE having windows in my classroom. I plan to turn on lamps and leave the big lights off during most of the day.

Here's another look at my classroom. This view is from the door that leads outside. In the back right corner is my bathroom and sink! I will be getting a big rug to put in the floor where the letter blogs and small rug are. We just have to make do until it arrives.

This is the classroom reading center. Their are Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. That lamp is one of my favorite things. So colorful!

This is one of the 4 tables the students sit at. Each morning the students are going to start off the day working on writing their names. I will also be getting enw tables and chairs that all match. I just don't know when they will arrive either.

This is where I will do most of my teaching. I love using an esel instead of a big chalkboard or whiteboard. Rumor has it though, that will be getting smartboards and projectors at some point.

This is our word wall. We will probably only add 1-2 words a week.

Calendar Math

Discipline plan. The students will move their clips when they get in trouble. Then I mark in their folders what color they were on at the end of the day.

First Day

First of all, thank you all for your congratulations. That's the most comments I've had, and that made me excited!

Today was great! I love the school! I love the team! I love the principal! I am so blessed and know that God had this job in mind for me all along.

Today was mostly just spent getting a feel for things. We went to the warehouse (an old gym filled with old furniture no one wants) and got me a few pieces of furniture to get me by until all my BRAND NEW classroom furniture arrives! I get new things! I can't wait. I moved furniture around to how I think I want it for now. I got to know the other teachers. After that, I headed to buy things to decorate and book shelves and lamps.

Tomorrow I'm dragging Anthony up there to help put things together and carry all my boxes in.

I realized today that I have truly become lazy and out of shape from all my days of sitting on the couch and laying by the pool I am so worn out and I didn't even do much.

So, now I'm off to eat pizza and watch the Hannah Montana movie!

The Search Is Over

As you know, I've been on a major job hunt, and it wasn't going so well. I had an interview Friday and I wasn't pleased with it. It just didn't feel right, and needless to say, I didn't get that job. I was disappointed about it, as I desperately want to teach. But I knew God had a plan.

Yesterday, I had an interview with a company that works with children. I liked the company and the position, but they didn't have a position formally open. It would be a month or two before they had anything. I didn't want to wait. I'm super tired of sitting at home.

So, I got home from that, and decided I needed a nap. Shortly after laying down, my phone rang. A principal wanted to interview me for a kinder position. I set up the interview for today, but tried not to get too excited. I'd been disappointed and didn't want to go through that again.

The interview went great! They asked great questions and really got to know me. They're integrating a teaching method that I started using last year and loved. They were all very positive. And they seemed to really like what I had to say and agree with it too. It was a short interview, but I walked out of there feeling great! It really felt like the right place for me.

And it is! They called this afternoon to offer me the position! I am now a kindergarten teacher! I'm so excited. And kind of, really nervous! I've only taught 2nd grade. I can't wait though. I go in tomorrow to look at the room and start trying to get some things ready. So, I'm sure now I will have lots of fun stories to share!