One Spoiled Dog

Our dog, Sam, is spending the summer at my grandmother's house.  She's just a few blocks away from my parents and she has no other dogs for him to scare (Mom's dog's are terrified of him).  He is very well take care of there.  He gets lots of extra dog treats, he gets to eat banans and peanut butter and crackers (I don't feed him people food), and he gets to play in the sprinklers.  She called me over one night to see this, and here's what I found

It's Official

On July 29th, I will be getting on a

to go to

to see

And I'm SSSSOOOO excited!!!

For those of you that don't know, that's my best friend Kimmie.  About the same time we moved, she moved to California.  Her birthday is on July 30, and until last year, we had always celebrated together.  I can't wait to see what adventures this birthday brings!

Summer Fun

As Anthony got ready to go, I came up with a list of things to do while he was gone.  One of those things was to paint and update the upstairs of my parents house (with their help).  They redecorated the downstairs in the fall, but since all that's upstairs is our old rooms, there wasn't a real reason to get to that.  So, to get started, Mom and I had a garage sale.  We got rid of lots of stuff that didn't need to be up there any more and made money for paint and such.  This week, we started on the largest bedroom.  It was mine until I moved out for college.  Then, my brother took it over and I'm pretty sure he never once cleaned it.  He moved to Washington, D.C. in April.  Since I'm here for the summer, this is where I'm staying. 

We started by painting.  We painted the ceiling, walls, baseboards, trim, and doors.  That was exhausting.  I am so grateful God mad me a teacher and not a painter. 

(this was day 2, at about 10pm)

We are pretty much finished with the painting of this room.  We still need to figure out what to hang on the walls.  Although, we worked so hard painting, we really don't want to cover up the walls.  We also need to change out the ceiling fan and put up the new blinds.  And at some point, new flooring for the whole upstairs will be put in.  Unfortunately, our garage sale did not provide enough for that.  I'm very pleased with how it has turned out.  I think Frankie likes it too!

We have one more bedroom and a bathroom to go this summer.  The bathroom is fairly small, but before we can paint it, we must take down the lovely floral wallpaper and then texturize it.  Maybe I'll remember to take before photos for those rooms!

More Change

When I started this blog a little over a year ago, I knew I was in for change.  I assumed most of it would be a result of the military though.  A week ago, however, I found out more change is on the way.  (No, not a baby.)

I'm not longer going to be a kindergarten teacher.  I will be teaching first grade next year.   As of right now, our numbers for kndergarten aren't looking like I'll be needed in kindergarten next year.  I have a contract and so they have to find a job for me.  They could wait until school starts and see, but then, I'd have to teach whatever they need me to teach at whatever school they need me to teach in.  Being a person who needs to plan and have control, that just didn't sound like fun to me.  Instead, I took the open 1st grade position at my school.

I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, but now, I must say that I am pretty excited.  And here's why:

1.  These kids have had 1 year of being in school, most will have spent 1 year in MY class and will know just what I want.
2.  I will not have screaming kindergarteners that have never been to school.  Since I started late last year, I didn't deal with the first week of school.  While I knew I could do it, this terified me.  Lots.
3.  As sort of mentioned in #1, I will have most of the same students I had last year.  I think several have moved, but lots will be back.  I can't wait to see what these kids can do in two years!
4.  It's a new challenge.  I like challenges.
5.  I love the 1st grade team!
6.  I will be just down the hall from my kinder team.

So, no funny stories about kindergarteners.  But, I am sure that first graders will be pretty entertaining!

Cell Phone Dependancy

I've noticed something lately.  I am dependent on my cell phone.  I'm not talking just minor dependency here.  I'm talking I have to leave work and go get it if I happen to leave it at home one day.  Now, I haven't always been so dependent.  It all started about 4 weeks ago when the Air Force decided they needed my husband more than I do.  Now, I must have my phone so that we can talk whenever he's available.  Is this just me or are some of you the same way? 

And speaking of phones...I preordered the new iPhone 4g!   It took me 6 hours of trying on and off to finally get through the Apple website, but the patience paid off.  Now, I can't wait for it to get here and I can't wait to see what kind of apps come out for video calling to a computer!

What We've Been Up To

Oh, how I love summer!  I am so grateful that Anthony has deployed while I am off work.  It has allowed me to spend some much needed time with my family.  I look forward to the next two months with them. 

So far, Sam's got to play in the water sprinkler at his Gran's (I'm going to have to get a video of this) and Frankie's gotten a new toy that he won't let go of.

I have been eaten up my mosquitos.  If you look closely, you can see the dots on my legs.  There are atleast 15 bites on my legs.

And tonight I decided to start working out again.  Let's just say, these guys below, totally kicked my butt in less than 30 minutes!

My little brother comes in on Thursday!  I can't wait to see him!

A Great Read

So, I don't usually blog about the books I read or advertise specific things I love unless I think others need to know about it.  And, this is something that as a military wife, you need to know about, if  you don't already.

It's Faith Deployed by Jocelyn Green.   I bought it just before Anthony deployed, knowing I would need lots of support.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I assumed (obviously) it was faith based.  It has been amazing.  It is broken up in to several topics and within each topic there are about ten minilessons-2 pages each.  Each starts with a bible verse, has a small passage focusing on whatever that minilesson is and is followed with a question and a prayer. 

I use this book two ways.  First, I use it as a daily devotion.  It makes me think about things that I hadn't thought about before, or see things in a different (Christ like) way.  I also use this book when I'm feeling particularly troubled by an issue.  I look for a minilesson focused on whatever I am struggling with. 

I really feel that this book has reminded me to turn to God during this deployment and strengthened my faith.  I also feel that it has helped me (so far) to remain possitive during this deployment.  If you are a military wife and don't already own this book, I strongly recommend you purchasing it.  It's only around $12 and is available on Barnes and Noble's website as well as Amazon.com.

Conference Trip

It is officially summer break!  No kids for 2 1/2 months.  I can't even begin to tell you the relief I feel right now.  Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and I love the kids, but after 7 hours with the kids every day for 9 months, you need a break.  I mean, that's more time awake with those kids than their parents spend with them!

I love teaching so much that I (along with some other kindergarten teachers) decided to sign up for a one day conference for teachers this week, called The Daily Five.  I won't get into the details of the conference, but I will say it is an AMAZING way to structure your day of teaching and to ensure that the students are engaged in their learning. 

The conference was in San Antonio and there were four of us that went.  We made quite a trip out of it.

The 2 pictures above are a pit stop along the way at a wildflower farm.

This is Vanessa and I with the 2 sisters who wrote the Daily 5.

River Boat

The Alamo

Mom flew down to San Antonio so I wouldn't have to drive back by myself. (I was driving to my parents and everyone else was returning home.)  We made quite a trip out of it.

We stopped at Three Dudes Winery in San Marcos and picked up some suvenirs. 

And we did some shopping at the outlet mall in Round Rock.  Here's my newest pair of shoes. 

It was a great trip and a great chance to get away.  Now, Mom and  I are preparing for a garage sale and some redecorating.  it's going to be a great summer!

Weekend Recap

This weekend, the dogs and I loaded up the car and headed to visit my family.  The weekend was pretty low key.  I started cleaning out my brother's old closet and room because I will be staying there this summer.  It took us 2 hours just to clean out the floor of the closet and it couldn't be any more than 15 squre feet, and I doubt it's even that much.  Frankie stays with me and my parents and is completely spoiled there.  Here he is with the new toy Mom bought him for the weekend.  He left it there for next time, but I recieved a text tonight with a picture of a destroyed stuffed dog.  Frankie will be so sad.

Sam stays with his "Gran."  He's so spoiled there and can do no wrong.  She leaves the back door open so he can come and go as he pleases.  Well, Monday, it rained.  And her backyard lacks grass.  Well, he tracked mud all through her living room.  But of course, it was all her fault!  Anway, she called Saturday to ask if I had a water hose because Sam really likes drinking out of the water hose.  So, the next day when  I was there, she got the water hose out for him again.  I have a feeling after he lives with her this summer, he won't want to come home with  me.

Also, while I was home, Mom and I did some shopping (in stores and online) for a new comforter/bedsprade for the room I will be staying in while I am home.  This is what we ended up settling on.  Kohls was having wonderful sales online, and shipping was free!  We have a fun blue and brown lamp that we were trying to match!  I think it will look really good with some brown throw pillows.  I can't wait for it to come in and see how it looks in person!

And on a totally unrelated note...today was the last day of school!   I was definately more excited than the kids!

3 Years

Today marks 3 years that Anthony and I have been together!  It also is the date that Anthony proposed to me 2 years ago.  I wish that we could spend the evening together and celebrate, but that's not really possible this year.  As a matter of fact, it's not even June 1st there any more.  He has become my best friend and my rock.  I am so grateful to have found such a wonderful man.  And while these 3 years have been full of so many changes, challenges, and time apart, I wouldn't have it any other way! 

Here are a few pictures from the past three years.

Our first date.

Celebrating my 24th birthday together.

The most wonderful day!

Dining out.