Happy B-day Ben!

Celebrating Ben's Birthday together!!! May this year be your best ever!

Order of events:

Egg dying (Wow...the smell of vinegar is STRO--ONG!)

Skyping with Jenny and Lena.

Eating and hanging out...

And birthday cupcakes made by yours truly!

The candles that blow themselves out ;)

Already?!?!?!

Yep...I have been blogging for a year now!  I have enjoyed reflecting on the ups, the downs, and all the stuff in between.  I'm so glad my friends talked me into starting one long ago.  My life is finally being written down.  I love looking back at the funny times with Kelsey, the major coupon craze (still trying to keep up with it), the books I've read or want to read, teacher stories I want to cherish, family gatherings, etc.  Blogging has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me.  I plan to continue for my family, my friends, but mostly for myself!!!  I want to have something to pass down to my kids one day...what's more special than "The Diary of an Overworked Teacher"?!?!?  Here's to my first year...and for all the years to come!

Boon Boon

Some people get happy when they get to buy a new outfit, others enjoy hanging out with their longtime friends, some love to eat (me..me..me!!!) and some of us explode with excitement at the sight of a balloon (K)!!!  Kelsey is addicted to balloons now-a-days and unfortunately they are located at almost every store we go to.  She'll say, "boon, boon boon" as soon as her eyes spot one!!!  Here is a pic of K at Smithfield's after she pointed a hollered for the "boon" by the drink machine.  One of the waitresses brought us one after she saw Kelsey pointing to it over and over again.

Get it While Supplies Last!

So...as I was grocery shopping yesterday and I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw that NEW MOON will be out this week on Saturday, MARCH 20th!!!  I am not a huge "going to the movies" type anymore...I just don't feel justified paying $10+ to see a movie, when I can save it and "buy" the movie when it comes out or just rent it instead.  Here I am...waiting patiently to get my little fingers on one before the teen mobs take them all ;) 

Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

I have been so terribly busy lately...and the side effect is unfortunately sleepiness.  I feel almost lethargic once I get home. Could it be caused by my coffee addiction...which replaced my soda habit...which replaced my love of chocolate?!?!?  It probably has nothing to do with those items at all, but one thing I'm sure of is the fact that I'm ready for spring break!!! Only 2 more weeks to go!!! 

Last night I went to watch my students sing in a PTA performance.  They were so cute...and nervous!  Kelsey was a trooper and her favorite part was hanging out with the BIG third graders prior to the performance.  She ran back and forth in between the kids, she laughed at everything, and defintiely didn't want to leave when we had to (seriously).  Here she is showeing off her running skills and/or dance moves..

Walking up and down the halls like the BIG kids do with her new bracelets on (she gave up some major hugs to earn em')

Kelsey has managed to get another boo-boo.  I picked her up today and she had a purple lip...apparently she was beside the gate that encloses her room at daycare.  The older kids were running back-and-forth, when all of a sudden one of them ran through the gate causing it to whack Kelsey in the mouth.  Poor K!  I guess I need to start a boo-boo list since this seems to be her new niche.  Check out the lip below...not the best picture for it. 

Kelsey loves her babies...every single one of them (I swear she gets this from me).  She feeds them, hugs them, kisses them, puts them to bed, covers them up, rocks them, talks to them, basically everything.  Her new favorite thing to do is to lay with them while I cover her and her little ones up.  She's sooo funny!

Not much else went on this week...or I could just be so tired right now I can't remember what I actually did the past few days ;) Off to bed...nighty night!

Happy....Even with a Straw!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

A Moment Like This...

TGIF!!!  Today was a pretty awesome day, except for the fact that my class didn't do as well on a test as I was hoping they would.  My class has always been able to surpass the Wake County averages...but this time we didn't make it.  I had a pretty in depth discussion with the class about how wonderful they've done in the past, and how disappointed I was today. 
Later during recess, one of my kids came and sat next to me (we'll call him Z).  The conversation went something like this:
Me: "Z...I just don't know what to do.  I can't get over how sad I am that we didn't make it this time."
Z: "Well, sometimes when I feel that way, I just take a few deep breaths and try to forget about it."
Me: "But I can't forget about my kids!!!  I care a lot about how you guys do and want you to keep your goals high...as high as they can go!"
Z:  "Mrs. B...I know you aren't happy, but this is only the first time we haven't passed the Wake County average.  I think we're doing pretty good!"
Me:  "You know what??!?  I think you're right.  I'm so glad to have optimistic kids like you in my class.  I hope you never change.  You're a special kid!"
Z:  "I know!  I am open-minded and I don't judge others. I like being friendly because I care a lot about poeple."
Me: "Well I am one of the luckiest teachers to have you as a student.  Thank you for cheering me up!"

Can you believe it?!?!?!  I have little couselors in my class!  They are amazing!  I am so happy that conversation happened today.  It made me realize that sometimes...we just need to have "one of those days."  Not every moment can be perfect...but its what you take from it that is. 

The Dingy

It was a regular Monday morning, except for the fact that I've been trying to get over this major congestedness, and I was walking my class to gym.  We approached the front door and since we were a few minutes early, I decided to read the "Word of the Week."  It said the following:
Word: Dingy
Sentence: Boy, I better clean my room.  It's pretty dingy.
Definition: Dirty
I was extremely thrilled about this new vocabulary word because we have been working on a soil unit and were going to make a compost pile during the afternoon.  All day long, I said things like, "You all are going to get real dingy today!" "I have a bunch of dingy students right now...let's wash our hands" "Let's cheer for being dingy!"  You know typical over-excited teacher stuff.  So, by now you're probably wondering why I'm even telling you this...well all day long I have pronounced this word DING-EE....it took until I got in my car after school to realize that what I should have been saying all along was DIN-JEE!!!!  Oh my...I hope none of them went home telling their parents how DING-EE they were ;)  What a day!