tiny humans and soup

Forgive me blog, for I have sinned. It's been almost 2 months since my last blog post. Teachers work hard. My husband and I like to say that we (teachers) work harder than other working people. Other than like doctors, and military people. There is no "off" switch for a teacher. There is no 40 hour work week. No leave-your-work-at-work work. I was out sick from school on Friday... doctors orders. I have bronchitis and no voice. He told me I was contagious, and I actually considered going to work anyways. Every year, these kids drive me nuts, make me sick, and I love them. I hate leaving them. I want them to know that I am their constant. I will always be there...until summer break. So many of them have confusing home lives. These tiny humans get shuffled around and deserve a place that is always the same. I want that place to be my classroom. But, a sick teacher without a voice, is no good. So I stayed home. I'm not complaining. I slept for 12 hours without waking up. I stayed home and did almost nothing... except text the other kindergarten teacher to check on my kids. I made some soup for our dinner. AMAZING SOUP. from this blog: Twirl.

I added a half tbs of cajun spice and used herbed cream of chicken soup instead of regular. It was delicious. Topped it with real bacon crumbles, chopped green onion, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Day 6

Today was the 6th day of school. And sadly I had 3 little friends on orange and 1 on red. I blame testing. Every year at the start of the year (too early into the year) I have to individually test the kids. I AM NOT AGAINST TESTING. I am against telling a class of 5 year olds to work silently while I sit in the corner and test students. I don't really like my class to be silent. I like them to work together, interact, learn from each other. This is the beginning of the year! They're still getting to know the new friends in their class. It's not just 1 test. That would be fine ... no big deal. BUT NO! This is 5 tests for our reading curriculum, a 2 page math test, AND the state reading assessment. Can you say Crazy-nuts?!! THEY ARE FIVE! ALSO... I have 1 month to finish all of these. No wonder they keep telling me they want to go home. I want to go home too. I would pay a sub to help me... as in money from my pathetic salary to interact with my kids while I sit and test kids. For a month. How much do subs get paid anyway? Back to testing tomorrow... and every day until OCTOBER.

Home Alone

The husband is gone! He's at a coaches conference until Friday. And I have a cold. The kind of cold that prevents all air passage through the nostrils, and any words I say that ends with an N sounds like a D. Miserable and annoying. I'm a teacher... 5 days BEFORE school starts... with a cold. This does not usually happen until after few weeks around the new germs students. This cold emerged the morning after the dreaded Meet The Teacher Night. I love meeting my new students, and I love getting to know their parents and understanding where they come from. yadda yadda yadda. But I do NOT enjoy Meet The Teacher Night. I get extremely nervous, sweaty, and awkward. I know the parents judge... I would. They judge me, the classroom, the way I speak to their child, the things I ask, the answers I give. It's never ending. I might as well be in a glass box on a stage where they can stare. I know they're just worried about who the heck this lady is that they will be leaving their precious child with all day. It's exhausting. Glad that it's over... until next year.

this day is poisoned

I sit here on my couch at 11:00 on the morning of the LAST day of summer. I don't know what to do. Do I go to work? Do I remain lazy all day? Do I do household chores? Get a pedicure? Go to the gym? Lounge at the pool? I'm so conflicted and I know I'll regret it later if I choose wrong. In the meantime, I will watch reruns of Grey's Anatomy, and sip on cold coffee. Last night the city of Dallas decided that it was a good idea to spray us with poison. As in, small airplanes flying over the town sprinkling pesticides to the world below. Why? Mosquitos ... and West Nile Virus. Seriously, last night I could HEAR the planes flying around. I thought I was going to have a panic attack, and I have yet to go outside today. I have read a lot online about the mixture that was rained upon us. It's not good. First of all, this is the time of year where mosquitos naturally start to disappear. It's cyclical. The people who are in charge of making the decision of spraying or not spraying have FAILED US. I felt like I was in one of those futuristic movies where all the people wear plastic clothing to be protected from the disgusting polluted atmosphere that was caused by years and years of horrible human habits. I am terrified of what's to come if this is the best they can do. Environmentalists are out there rocking themselves in a corner of their eco-friendly houses. How is it that SO much research is done about protecting the environment and the effects of all the crap thats put into our air, and they sprayed poison over an entire city! Like...100's of square miles. Over a city that is already polluted. This obviously angers me. It makes me think of the whole YOLO fad (dumb young people making excuses for their idiotic mistakes). You have one lifetime, and guess what, we have ONE Earth. Ruin it and we might all die. Ok, maybe I'm being dramatic. But this is what is in my mind and I can't help but feel like there should have been a way to opt out of aerial spraying. I'll be scrubbing all of my locally grown veggies with extra caution for weeks.

Ready?

Today was a success. I had tons to do and got pretty much all of it done! I unfortunately had to start my day with treatment #7 of laser hair removal...only 2 more to go! Thank goodness. Then, I did something I consider very lazy. I took my new work pants to a tailor to be hemmed. I have always done my own (well since I moved out of Mom's house). But with the school year just around the corner...I just don't have the time and I'm gonna need those pants. After the errands...it was time to get to work at school! I'm finally feeling like I'm close to ready. Does that even make sense? I know I'll be ready on the 27th and that's really all that matters. I spent the majority of today cutting out laminated things and shredding old stuff. At this very moment the hubs is cutting even more laminated things. It feels never ending. Isn't he sweet :) he also unloaded the dishwasher without me saying anything...hmm. Must be those new soccer shoes he wants. Anyway, I found something very exciting out today! My Donors Choose stuff is on its way! My very first project has been funded and all my goodies are in transit to my classroom. I'm so excited to get this stuff! The kids will love it. I think every teacher is secretly obsessed with school supplies. ANOTHER obsession I have right now: Ballet Barre class. I was in ballet for about 15 years. I quit freshman year of college. This class is amazing. I love it so much. BUT I bought it from a Groupon and I only get to go 1 more time. The membership to join the gym is a million dollars. Well, in teacher salary terms it is. I'm on the hunt for a place that offers a better deal. EVERY PLACE SHOULD OFFER A TEACHER DISCOUNT. So sad. The hubs and I are trying to have hobbies...his is indoor soccer, and mine is TBD. I want it to be Ballet Barre class. This is a very random blog post. My eyes and brain are sleepy. I apologize.

The Countdown BEGINS!

Every teacher (well I hope every teacher) finds the end of the summer equal parts depressing, and energizing. I am slowly coming out of the depression stage and into the OMG-I-have-so-much-to-do stage. I like it much better than the depression stage. I spent the majority of today in my classroom fixing things, making things, laminating things, the usual. I had to FIX a lot of things that the kiddos from last year picked at. It really drives me to drinking when my students pick at the stuff on the walls, or worse...draw on them. I mean...okay, they don't know I'm at school all these crazy hours in a sweaty classroom while I COULD be sun-bathing. Oh and this is even worse----> I had to re-do a whole board because I had a student last year who had to sit at her own desk away from the other students. She had her own desk at the front of the room against the wall. She also had very...umm...fancy hair. Very fancy, and greased up hair. Her hair always looked adorable, but jeez girl! Her hair would rub on the wall and leave residue that stained the paper AND ERASED PERMANENT MARKER from the lamination! yeah! I honestly wanted to ask her mom what she used so I could buy some. It's really hard work getting permanent marker off laminated things. But we just didn't have that kind of relationship. So it was kinda gross and HAD to be redone. So today was spent redoing all those little things that take a beating through the school year. I also finished operation organize! Just look at how beautiful my cabinet is. I would have taken a picture of all the cabinets, but this is my favorite. I should have taken a before, but it was slightly embarrassing. After a busy day of sweaty classroom work, I came home a made this...NUMBER 27 out of 50! I've gotta get a move on! Shrimp Topped Chopped Avocado Salad. I highly recommend trying this one! it's on my pinterest :)

Back 2 Normal-ish

Back in the big D :) We had an interesting time in my hometown. We enjoyed fresh from the Gulf seafood and relaxed on the beach, and we spend Saturday evening at The Great Mosquito Festival. Yeah...that's where I come from. The Husband was in BBQ heaven. I'm lucky enough to know some good people who were competing in the BBQ cook off. They won 2nd place! It was good times. And YEAH we got eaten by mosquitos the whole time! The Mosquito Festival is an interesting event. They have the Mosquito Leg contest AND the Mosquito Calling contest. That should give you an idea of the vibe (wacky). Today The Husband had to go back to work...4 WHOLE WEEKS before school starts! Yikes! I still have 3 glorious weeks until I am required to behave like a working wife. I'm not ready yet, I still have so much to do! And SO much to cook! TWENTY-SEVEN recipes to be exact. Holy guacamole! My 50 recipe challenge has been hovering around the halfway mark for TOO long. I have got some groceries to buy and food to cook! Today for #23 I burned some okra. That was pleasant. My apartment smells weird now. The recipe said to oven fry the okra at 475! I knew that was too hot. It has to be a typo. I nearly burned my eyeball skin off with steam and set my smoke alarm off. It was eventful. But, now I know. I did get something done today, however. I made some awesome TPT purchases. I love that website. I'm constantly impressed by the teachers that make such adorable things on there :)

Texas Travels

Well, here we are in my hometown. It's a different world down here. Things move slower, people are friendlier, and there is...well...not a lot to do. It takes 5 hours to get here from Dallas. During the 4th hour of our journey, the A/C quit blowing air. This is Texas people...OMG! It was hot, and then it got hotter. Then I remembered that my car is still under warranty! Ding ding ding! YESSSSS. My little civic is spending a few days with the also-friendly people at Honda. Please, oh please don't cost me any money. They also warned me that a tire is nearing a possible blow-out. Oh fun. This little trip back home is turning out to be a little tricky. And as if I don't already feel like a kid every time I come here...I feel it even more now. Why? Because I'm driving my mom's car. Oh, it's getting weird down here. My mom is out of town (very strange). So the hubby and I are getting to play house all day (Dad works a lot). Being urban apartment dwellers, we don't have a yard. But today I got to see my husband mow, edge, and do other lawn things. It was amazing, I just watched him. It was quite a sight...let me tell you. I liked what I saw. I even brought him a cold beer. Domesticated-small town-suburbia does something to you...er...to me. Anyyyyywayzzz, tomorrow we are going to the BEACH! Very excited. The Texas coast-line can only be loved by Texans. Of course there are prettier beaches out there. But, I grew up here. I love it. Brownish-tanish sand and all. The seaweed is everywhere, but you get used to it. Hopefully it won't be so crowded. Haha and hopefully I don't get my moms Maxima stuck in the sand. ***I was going to attach a sexy picture of my husband mowing the grass, but for some reason facebook is not working...therefore I can't get to the picture. Boo : ( Sad day for you!

Get it all Done!

Teacher training today was boring awesome! The only thing that really bothers me is that most of what we learn does NOT include kindergarten. Every time they would announce something great like, "We will provide every student with their own notebook...well except kindergarten". Thanks...Why am I here? Oh right, for all the vital information. Enough venting! Tomorrow the hubby, Jackson {the Schnoodle}, and I are driving to visit my family. It's a 5 hour drive...and we are staying for 6 days. This will be our final trip this summer before (AHHHH) school. I was exhausted after training. Or so I thought. I have gotten an extreme amount of chores done! I did 3 loads of laundry, cooked yummy grilled chicken sandwiches, and gave my fur-child a much needed haircut. Let me explain a little further: He is only 20 pounds and it takes me about an hour and a half to cut his hair. Jackson is...well...a wimp. Which is why I cut his hair and not a stranger at the groomer. Every time I would bring him there he poops all over the floor in the waiting area...he gets nervous diarrhea. At least that's what I've diagnosed him with. I'm a protective momma so I took on the task for myself. I just couldn't stand seeing him so scared...and nauseous. Of course after the hair massacre I had to vaccuum...which my husband took over. Thanks babe! Now back to that chicken sandwich. I've been whittling my way through a 50 recipe summer challenge (more on that another day) and I just wasn't prepared to make any of those today. And I was trying to clean out the fridge before our trip.

Ok so I had 2 chicken breasts...and yes lots of other goodies. I marinated the chicken with a super simple mixture: onion powder, S&P, light zesty italian dressing. I let that chill in the fridge while I chopped up some fixin's. I sliced tomato, avocado, and red onion. Then I got out my sprouts (new addiction), laughing cow chipotle cheese, diced jalapanos, and mustard. oh and buttery buns! I grilled the chicken on my nifty grill-pan. Love that thing. put it all together adding the toppings to your liking...and voila! Delicious! Oh and we also had tater tots :-)

Nocturnal Teacher

It's Sunday. I have to go to work tomorrow for the first time in about a month and a half. Teacher training...JOY. This will be my 3rd year teaching kindergarten. Maybe they will provide us with some kind of super power or some super-secret-magical 5-6 year old insight. Or probably they will just remind us that we, aside from all the fun/craft time, we actually have to teach curriculum. FINE...I guess I can handle that. Really the only problem with having training tomorrow is that in the summer {or any break longer than 2 days} my husband and I become night owls. At first, it was just staying up a little late to watch a movie. But it has officially gotten out of hand and we got to bed around 3 and sleep in until noon. I know! I feel like a teenager. So of course with such a need to be in bed trying to go to sleep. I decided to start a blog instead of sleep. This summer I felt like I could somewhat relax having 2 full years of teaching behind me. Last summer I was a little busy planning and having our wedding. BUT, now school starts in about a month and I feel so lost and behind. Having to go to training tomorrow is probably a very good thing. Whoop me back into teacher-shape. So, aside from avoiding all teacher duties and not sleeping normal hours, I started cooking. Cooking a lot. I challenged myself to making 50 new recipes before school starts. I made #22 tonight! All the recipes came from Pinterest.com. I'm ridiculously addicted to Pinterest, I think most teachers and cooks are. Right??! I think so too.