oh so amazing

What a wonderful past week I've had! Camp AND my birthday in one week made me one very happy (and tired) girl!

My experience at camp was simply amazing. I honestly had no idea what to expect going into camp, but I think I got so much more out of the experience than I could've ever hoped for. Sunday morning I got up early and had coffee with Sean, finished packing, and then headed out to Camp for All. About halfway there I got pulled over for speeding (ugh), but I got lucky that the State Trooper was feeling nice and gave me a warning. Once I actually pulled up to camp I was so nervous, and I started wondering what in the world I had been thinking...

I met the other counselors and we did some icebreakers/trust exercises to get to know eachother, ate, learned about our schedule, and pretty soon the campers were arriving! I met my camper and his parents, and everyone headed down to the cabins (with air conditioning thank goodness!) to get settled. After the parents left it was time for dinner and a campfire complete with s'mores. Yum! Everyone was excited and on a sugar high, but so far, so good.

I won't bore you with all the details, but I will say that we went to nature, went horseback riding, did the high-ropes course, fished, did archery, swam every day, had wizard & superhero parties, went on 3 wookie hunts (and even saw wookies!), sang in the talent show, and danced our little hearts out! I know this is all pretty typical camp stuff, but the amazing thing about it was the kiddos who were participating in the activities. We had friends ages 6-13 with autism & aspergers, a few with Down Syndrome, and two in wheelchairs, but EVERYONE was able to participate in EVERYTHING! For the kiddos who weren't able to climb the ropes course, they were hoisted up in a bucket sling and able to fly down the zipline. Our friends in wheelchairs were rolled into the pool and helped out of their chairs. There was a way to modify any activity for any of our friends, and best of all... they were allowed to just BE. There was no pressure on our friends to participate if they didn't want to, to "behave" like other children, etc. It was just fun, fun, fun.

Camp LIFE is an absolutely amazing program, and I know my explanation isn't even close to doing it justice. It's just one of those things you've really got to see to understand. Life stands for Leadership, Independence and Friendship through Experience, and I feel like the campers we had really did gain all of those things this past week. Watching some of the children with more severe disabilities get so excited when they were able to do things for themselves, things they'd never done before, was absolutely amazing and rewarding. Watching the children develop friendships with other kiddos like them over the week just made my heart so happy. As for me, I developed a whole new understanding and respect for the parents of the kiddos I work with every day. At school I see my friends from 7:45 to 1:45, but at camp I was responsible for them 24 hours a day like their parents are, which is much more exhausting! I have a new understanding of the callenges parents face day-in and day-out, and I feel like my experience will help me interact with parents in a whole new way this upcoming year. Working a camp like this should be mandatory for anybody going into teaching PPCD or Life Skills!

What's even more awesome about Camp LIFE is that each counselor is responsible for only one child (sometimes two when they're less involved), so the children get some awesome one-on-one interaction! The camper I was assigned to was quite a handful and had me running circles all week, but by the end of the week we had developed a pretty good relationship and routine, and I was so sad to see him go. I miss my little friend and his "wookie repellent" bottle collection (which is a whole different story for another post), waking up for 6am meds, and singing bedtime songs. I don't miss carrying his weighted vest around everywhere, although it was a great workout as many times as we went up and down the hill! :)

I really wish I could share pictures, because they'd make this post complete. Guess you'll just have to use your imagination. All I can say is that I'm so glad I decided to go to camp, because I feel like I learned so much more from my campers than they learned from me. I'll definitely be back for their fall & spring weekend camps, and again next summer. I'm hooked!

doing what?!

Tomorrow I'm leaving for a week to be a camp counselor for a little boy with autism, at a place where I don't know anyone. Most of the other counselors will be Aggies (hook em!) and I'm rescheduling 2 doctors appointments to be there, but I couldn't be more excited! This is by far the most spontaneous thing I've done in quite some time, and it completely goes against my color-coded planner ways...

On Friday I talked to the lady from Camp for All about the Young Professionals group I was interested in joining, and she definitely sold me on becoming a member. The way Sarah talked about her job at the camp and the kids that they serve, I could tell that she loves it and is so passionate about what she does. It seems like an amazing cause... a fully accessible summer camp for kiddos with special needs, complete with a ropes course. Wow!

So of course, me and my big mouth decided to ask if they needed any help at camp this summer, and the answer was obviously yes. Sarah told me about a camp that's coming in this week for kiddos ages 4-12 that have autism and Down syndrome that really needed extra counselors, and got me in touch with their director. Not 2 hours later, I was signed up to volunteer for the week with Camp for Life, an organization sponsored by Texas A&M (talk about putting my pride aside to help the kids, working with Aggies all week!). I love it! The best part about the whole thing? I did all of this while in the car driving to Louisiana for a wedding.

So, This is where I'll be all week: Camp for All
And this is the organization I'll be working with: Camp Life
Check them out, they both seem awesome!

This is way out of my comfort zone (and by way out I mean out like the awful puff-paint sweaters I wore in the 80's), so I'm definitely nervous. But really, I'm just excited! I've got a sweet new polka dot one piece (who says you can't still look cute while being modest?), and an awesome $6 ladybug watch. Watch out camp, here I come!

puddles

First of all, I love that it rained this morning. Not in a "yay the grass isn't going to die" way because I don't have a yard, but because it was just plain pretty. (And maybe because since it was coming down so hard I decided to stay at the gym a little longer and do an extra 30 minutes on the elliptical, which feels so good now). After the rain was over, I took Popeye out for a walk and in true crazy-dog fashion, he jumped right into a giant puddle and proceeded to kick water everywhere. He loved the water though, and I was in such a happy mood I let him splash and make a giant mess without freaking out about how muddy he was getting. (Hmm...maybe I'll have to find him some little doggie rain boots when I finally buy my own pair...) ;)

I've been up since 5:00 this morning and before you laugh at me for waking up so early, let me just say that I have been SO productive today! It's hardly noon and I've already...

• walked the dog
• poked around online & drank my morning coffee
• walked the dog again
• went to the gym for an hour and a half (weights AND cardio!)
• made a yummy breakfast smoothie
• ate breakfast and checked google reader (which I absolutely adore)
• picked an eye doctor, dentist, and girl doctor (yes, I've worked for GP for almost a year now and have yet to go to the doctor... don't judge!)
• walked the dog yet again (so we could go see the puddles)
  
• scheduled appointments at the above doctors (minus the dentist because apparently it takes a month to get on some list since it's an HMO, who knows)
• scheduled Popeye's vet appointment
• decided to put off scheduling my car's 20,000 mile maintenance until after I read the paperwork about my warranty (do I really have to go to the dealership and spend millions of dollars?)
• filled out a volunteer application for the ARC of Greater Houston (I've decided that I need to be volunteering to feel really fulfilled. I miss it)
• finally emailed the people from Camp for All (yeah, I definintely mentioned that in a blog post months ago and never followed through)

Gosh I love lists! It makes me feel so accomplished to mark things off. It's embarassing to admit, but I definitely put silly things on my list like "brush teeth", "do dishes", just so I can mark them off. Speaking of lists and organizing, I just got a beautiful new planner. I'm in love!

I'm feeling so productive, I think I'll run a few more errands today :) Hope you're having a wonderful one and staying dry!

whew

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend, but oh so much fun! I don't know about y'all, but I definitely had a fun 4th of July! I've always loved the 4th because it's a great excuse to be outside all day, grill, eat yummy food, try new recipes, and just hang out with friends, and this year was no exception.

The weekend started off on a happy note, with Sean bringing over these absolutely gorgeous roses!

He's so sweet to me!

I roped the boys into cleaning house all afternoon, which sent Popeye running to the shower shaking in fear of the vacuum cleaner. I'm not going to lie, I found this pretty hilarious. Scared dog an all, our house was cleaner than it's been in longer than I'm proud to admit. That alone would've made me happy for the whole weekend, but then my friend Kyle came in from Austin and we met up with a bunch of friends for dinner. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Chuys? It's like having a little piece of Austin down here in Houston. Several margaritas later we made our way over to Christian's, the local bar which is seriously two blocks from my apartment. They have karaoke every Friday & Saturday, and it's always interesting to say the least. True to form, my friend David jumped right up there and joined a stranger on stage... classic.

Saturday once everyone was up we made a run the store to get party supplies. All I can say is thank goodness one of us (cough cough) had the foresight to make a list, otherwise I would've been there all day with 4 boys who only cared about what marinade they were going to use on the chicken. Since when did just plain ole barbeque sauce become unacceptable?

The little pool party that could ended up with WAY more people than we expected, but everyone had a great time. We ate, we drank, ate some more, drank some more... until it was finally time for fireworks (my absolute favorite part!). We live really close to the huge fireworks show they put on off of Memorial/Allen Parkway every year, so we figured we'd just watch the show from the roof of our parking garage. And apparently, so did all my neigbors. We made it up just before the show started and there was a huge party going on up on the roof. We even took shots with the owner of Christian's, who had the back of his SUV stocked like a fully loaded bar (that guy takes his partying seriously)!

Somehow, we ended up at Christian's for the second night in a row...

And apparently Brian thinks I smell because he's been doing this in every picture we take lately!

Sunday morning we went out for the obligatory hangover breakfast tacos, and then spent a good few hours cleaning the apartment that had been sparkling not 24 hours before!

Now the real question is... what am I going to do now that summer school's over and I officially have nothing do to. I'm a little scared! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday :)

my new love

Is this beautiful little number!


Thank you Marshalls, for letting me buy this fun dress for $30 instead of $250. What a deal! And even better? It's got pockets! :)

nice people

There are still nice people out there! One of the girls who works at my apartment complex just called to let me know that my class ring showed up in the office. She (and the nice person who found it and turned it in) just made my day! I'm so glad that whoever found my ring was nice enough to turn it in, even if it did take two weeks. I'm also glad that the girl from my complex was so nice to call me and let me know. I think she's the same girl that I asked about the ring the day after I lost it... she probably saw the super sad look on my face and felt sorry for me. I wish I knew who turned my ring in, I'd like to tell them thank you. But since I can't, thank you nice person, my finger won't feel so naked anymore and my heart is happy!

It's been a while since I blogged, and there's been a lot going on. It's funny to say that... because I'm only working half-days, 4 days a week for summer school but whew, they're some wild and crazy days. I really enjoy working summer school, even though some people might think I'm crazy for that statement. I think that working summer school gives me a totally different perspective, and that I'm really going to appreciate my class a lot more this upcoming year. In my class this summer I have a whole class full of challenging kiddos, and they're all boys to boot. During the school year though, you generally only have one or two really challenging kiddos, so I'm hoping that this upcoming year will feel like a piece of cake when compared to the friends I have right now. Even though they're challenging, I love the friends in my summer school class. They've got so much personality! It's funny because it's only been three weeks, but I'm already attached to these friends, and I'll definitely be sad to see them go next Thursday. As much fun as I'm having, I'm still definitely excited for summer school to end next week and the real "vacation" to start. :)

Two weekends ago we went camping, and I can't believe I still haven't blogged about that! I kept putting it off because I wanted to post some super cute pictures of Popeye when I did it, but since that has yet to happen, I'll just say that we had a wonderful time and Popeye LOVED being outdoors. He loved swimming, chasing balls, eating turtles (don't even ask), fighting the tall grass, and just generally getting dirty. When we got to the campsite he was a white dog, but when we got home he was a gray dog. Thank goodness he likes baths! I'll have to post some pictures at some point, because I bought him this fishing vest to wear and he was just too cute! :)

This past weekend I went to a neat conference for work, and got to catch up with all my other PPCD teachers, which was fun. A group of us went out to dinner afterward, and then a few of us stayed at a hotel by the galleria. It was so nice to just hang out, chat, drink by the pool (and get lectured multiple times by the hotel guy), and then go shopping in the morning. the girls I work with are so sweet and fun, and it was such a nice break from all the xbox playing and boy time that goes on at my apartment! Then Saturday I left for Austin to go visit my dad (and the rest of my family) for his birthday and fathers day. I had a great time just hanging out, and Popeye loved meeting Sandy & Lil Bit, even if he did have WAY more energy than them. I was only really at home for a day which was sad, but I'll see my family soon for a wedding.

Other than the weekends and summer school, life is pretty relaxing. My afternoons are spent going to the gym, walking the dog, and working on my tan by the pool. What a wonderful life :)

blog makeover

After much debating, I changed the look of my blog. I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet, but I do love that I figured out how to change the font! :)

I was clicking through some blogs the other day, and somehow fell into one about digital scrapbooking. This of course then led to looking at tons of other related blogs, but I think I've found a new hobby! I love scrapbooking (and all things crafty), but I haven't actually done it in quite a while. It's the whole issue of taking everything out from under the bed, getting it organized, making one page and then having to pack up because it's time to do something else that keeps me from working on the mountains of photos waiting to be put onto pages. Which is why digitial srapbooking is perfect! You can still buy all the cute papers, embelishments, alphabets, etc , and then just put everything together in Photoshop (or some other program). What's even better, you can just delete it and start again if you mess up, which totally appeals the perfectionist in me. I can't wait to start playing around with it. (Take that xbox!)

why I should never go to the gym again

I'm pretty sure my class ring is lost. I've searched the house up and down (and will probably do it at least two more times), and it's nowhere to be found. I went to the gym yesterday, but forgot to take my jewelry off before I went. Since I was lifting weights, I took the ring off and set it down with my keys. I thought about putting it on the keyring, just in case, but then figured it'd be fine. Wrong. When I picked up my keys to head home, I must've forgotten to pick up the ring and left it there. It's the only thing I can think. Unfortunately, nobody's turned it in to the leasing office, it's not under any machines in the gym or in any lockers (yes, I walked around like a weirdo checking). Maybe that's a sign I should never go back! ;) But really, I do hope someone found it and turns it in... it's special to me.

In other news, we're going camping this weekend and I can't wait! We've been talking about going forever, but never actually made plans. I'm excited to see how Popeye likes being outside like that, and being around the other dog that's coming... :)

girlfriends aren't the only ones who dislike xbox

It's been a big few weeks in my apartment. We got Popeye, school ended for the summer, Popeye had his first visit to the vet, and the boys decided they just had to have an xbox. So this weekend, the boys went on a big excursion to find the best deal on an xbox, and when they came home you would've thought it was Christmas morning. They were so excited they ripped everything out of the boxes and started playing, and playing, and playing.... I swear, when guys play video games it's as if they get sucked into this parallel universe. While they were playing I cooked dinner, and Popeye was just hanging out. Over the noise of the video game (because, of course, if you're really going to play a video game, you have to play it nice and loud) I heard Popeye chewing on something that didn't sound like any of his toys, so I walked around the counter to check and found him chewing on a battery pack for one of the controllers! To the boys this was obviously not funny, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I laughed a little bit on the inside. Apparently girlfriends aren't the only ones who think xbox is silly!

We've had Popeye for a week now, which is hard to believe. He's a pretty cool dog, and now that he's starting to feel better (he had all kinds of yucky stuff he picked up from wherever he was before I adopted him) his personality is showing a little bit more. The clean freak in me is having to really hold back, because he sheds EVERYWHERE, and as much as I try to clean it up, he inevitably goes back to the same spot as soon as I'm done and rubs his furry little body all over it! I guess it's better than cleaning up potty accidents, which he's getting much better about thank goodness. Everyone was right though, it's great practice for having a kid.

Summer school officially starts today, and I'm excited to go meet a new group of little friends. I think it will be a good change of pace - working with new kids, actually having other PPCD teachers in the same building as me, being at a different campus - and it's only 4 weeks and half-days. Fabulous! I'm off to get ready and take the dog for a walk :)

i feel doggone good

I did it. I adopted Popeye! I get to pick him up tomorrow after 4pm, and I'm so excited! The whole time we were at the SPCA I was trying to talk myself out of getting a dog, rationalizing why now isn't the right time, but as soon as they let me play with him in the "get acquainted room", it was over. I love that dog! Look how sweet he is...

I think the missing eye gives him character :)

I feel like a kid on Christmas (apparently Popeye did too, because this picture had to be censored!)

Sean, the cat lover who didn't even want a dog, is excited about Popeye!

Brian pretty much convinced me I had to get Popeye. Apparently he's going to teach Popeye tricks... (we'll see about that).

My mom thinks I'm crazy for getting a dog, and mean for making him live in an apartment, but I'm still so excited! I think summer will be a great time to have him, since I'll be home a lot more and able to spend lots of time with him! (And yes, this is the third post in one day which seems excessive, but I just had to show off pictures..)

art project gone wrong

I love Jon & Kate Plus 8, and this week, there was a marathon on leading up to the season 5 premier, so of course I set the DVR to record it! On one of the episodes, the kids went to an art studio and made some really cool paintings by layering. It looked like they were making a giant mess (a lot like we do every day in my classroom), but in the end the paintings came out way neat. My roommate and I had just been talking about needing something for the walls in our living room, and when I showed him the show, we decided that we were going to make some ourselves. All I can say is thank goodness we tried on small canvases first. Because our "art" came out looking like this...


Apparently we're less talented than 5-year-olds! They came out abstract looking alright, just not anywhere near "cool". Looks like we need a new decorating plan...

to dog or not to dog

I might be getting a dog today. Which for me would be a very, very impulsive move. I've been wanting a dog for a while, but I keep telling myself that I want to wait until I live in a house with a yard, until I have more time, until I live somewhere that doesn't require a giant pet deposit and charge pet rent. And in all honesty, I've always liked playing with other people's pets, but I've never been one of those super pet-lovers. Until yesterday, when I met Popeye. Brian and I convinced Sean that going to the SPCA would be fun, just to look. And I was totally convinced that all I was going to do was look, I definitely wasn't going to bring anything home. But how can you resist a doggie as cute as this?

I mean really, just look at him! (The picture doesn't even show his true cuteness). Popeye is a terrier mix, he's 8 months old, is white with brown spots, and he only has one eye. Now most people probably wouldn't want a dog with one eye, but I think it makes Popeye even cuter and more special. (It's probably the special education teacher in me, because my other favorite dog at the shelters was the one who only has three legs.) He looked so sad and lonely in the cage, and he was sticking his little nose out to smell my hands... I think I'm in love!

So we're sitting here eating breakfast, and afterward we're going to head over to the SPCA to go visit Popeye and play with him for a little bit. And if he's as fun out of the cage as he is in the cage, I think I'm officially going to become a dog-owner. Sean's laughing, saying he totally called it that I was going to fall in love and take one home, even though I claimed to be "just looking". Brian's totally on board and want's Popeye just as much as I do, so much so he's even willing to pay half of the expenses. It's a huge, crazy decision... but everbody's got to act out of character once and a while. Right?

trash to treasure

Since I started teaching in August, I've started collecting things that, to anyone else, would either be trash or recyclables. I've got boxes and bags of bottles, boxes, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, milk jugs, meat trays, you get the idea. Why? Because these things are great for art projects and other fun adventures we have in the classroom! If you're a teacher, you understand. If not, you're probably thinking I'm weird right about now, but it only gets weirder..

Tonight I went to take my trash down the hall to the trash chute like any other night, expecting to hold my breath, dump, and run. But, instead I hit the jackpot! Someone had just moved in, and in the trash room were two large, very clean, wardrobe boxes. (You know... the big tall kind). My kiddos at school LOVE to play in boxes (as evidenced by the beat up one we painted and turned into a house on fire), so I dumped my trash and then scoped out the boxes. They looked clean and just had a few random shirts thrown in the bottom, so I decided to take them.

I dragged them down the hall as fast as I could because let's be honest... a person taking boxes out of the trash looks pretty darn weird! Anyway, I got them into my apartment and started taking the stuff out of the bottom. There were a few random papers, but also quite a few nice items of clothing, and since I was always taught that you should donate your clothes to goodwill/the women's shelter, I packed them into a bag. BUT, in addition to all of the clothes, there was a gently worn Coach purse. I couldn't believe it! So your purse is a little loved, you're just going to throw it away? A little antimicrobial febreeze and it's all clean.

What started out as salvaging some boxes for my friends at school ended up with me getting a new purse as well! Looks like my habit of saving junk paid off today... :)

happy week

I'm almost scared to say it because I might jinx it, but this has really been a great week so far! I love surprises almost as much as I love surprising people, and since there has been some of both already, I'm a happy girl!

Since it's teacher appreciation week and we've been doing some fun things at school, and I got some super cute presents from PPCD in my box! It's also nurse's appreciation week, and since my class is so close with the nurse, and this is her last year at our school, I decided to do something fun. So every morning, on my way to the cafeteria, I drop off a present on the bench outside of her office with a note from her "secret pals". Hearing her talk about how happy the surprises make her and how it's the first time anybody has recognized nurse's appreciation in the 5 years she's been at GVE makes me SO glad I decided to do something. I can't wait for the next surprises to come, they're pretty fun. :) (Thanks Kristi, for reminding me that doing something for my general ed teachers would be awesome as well!)

On the topic of teachers, I was chatting with one of the kindergarten teachers this afternoon and asking her when kindergarten graduation was, because I wanted to get the information out early to the parents of my two friends who are graduating too. She looked at me a little crazy... and then said "oh... we've never had PPCD kids graduate with us before.. but um... I guess it'd be ok." Good thing friend, otherwise we would've been having a not so nice chat. So yay, my friends are going to be part of the kindergarten graduation! It's so hard to believe this year is almost over... wow.

On a completely unrelated note, we made homemade salsa last night (a little early for cinco de mayo, I know) , and mmm it was good! I know this post was way random but hey, it's what was on my mind.

rude awakenings of post-college life

Lots of things change after you graduate college, and apparently one of those is that you can't party like you're in college anymore. Sean and I went out with some college friends last night and had a great time, but boy oh boy I'm paying for it today. Lucky me, I have the sweetest boyfriend who's taken care of me all day, and hasn't even laughed at my expense!

My roommate on the other hand, has been giving me an extra hard time and trying to convince me that rather than having a hangover, I have the swine flu. He just wants the district to cancel school! Sorry friend, Emily already tried to convince her dad. No luck.

So yeah, it's an extra lazy Sunday. Just what the doctor (er...margaritas) ordered.

retraction

**Long post warning: This post is VERY long. But also funny.**

If you know me at all, you know I'm prone to embarrassing moments. You might even know that prior to today, my most embarrassing moment was when my top fell down during a drill team performance and I exposed myself to a ton of students and parents, my dad caught it on video, and then half the school knew about it the next day. That was of course, until today tied that...

Today was a crazy Friday (as usual) in my classroom! One of my friends was way more off the wall than usual, which in turn had all of my other friends acting super silly too. My aide had to leave unexpectedly because her mom was sick, and we borrowed an aide from next door. So things were wild. We had made our blue jello already (speed set method so we could eat the rainbows today of course), and were sitting down on the carpet to read a story. We had just gotten settled when I looked up to see Cyndi and Christy at my door (my special ed "bosses"). What a nice surprise!

So Cyndi and Christy come in and they've got flowers and a balloon and presents, and I'm thinking "what in the world?....". And they proceed to congratulate me on being rookie of the year and tell me how proud they are. So I'm smiling, and thanking them, all the while thinking to myself "I'm still not sure what's happening"... because I won rookie of the year at my campus before spring break, and my super wonderful PPCD team had already given me a present... Anyways, we chat a little more and they they had to head out to congratulate a middle school rookie of the year. A few minutes later I took one of my friends to the nurse, and when I walked in, she and another teacher said "congratulations, winning district rookie of the year is so awesome!". At this point I was REAL confused. I thought Cyndi and Christy were congratulating me on being campus rookie of the year... and that the district one would probably be announced at the awards banquet later.

But then more people started congratulating me. And then the announcements came on, and our assistant principal proceeded to announce to the whole school that I had won district rookie of the year. So I started thinking "Um... I guess I did win.. but it's super strange that Cyndi and Christy didn't say that explicitly. Weird" I went back to my room, emailed a thank you to the lovely special ed admin folks for the flowers and gifts, then went to lunch.

Well when we got back from lunch Cyndi called and our conversation went something like this:
Cyndi: I hope we didn't get our wires crossed, the things we brought you were to congratulate you on being GVE's rookie of the year.
Me: Oh ok, that's what I thought. But then I got really confused, because people started congratulating me on winning district.
Cyndi: No, they don't announce the district awards until the banquet. But we're totally rooting for you
Me: Oh ok, awesome. I was just so excited to be chosen at GVE. BUT... um... they announced that I won district on the intercom at school...
Cyndi: Oh...no...I'm so sorry for the confusion

Then we get off the phone. And all I can think is OH.MY.GOSH.I'M.SO.EMBARRASSED. Because the whole school has been congratulating me on something I didn't even win. And then I'm thinking "how do I fix this?". I ended up emailing the assistant principal, telling her that somehow there was a miscommunication, and asked her if there was a way we could clarify... Which lead to the retraction. On the afternoon announcements, she got on and made a statement to the effect of: we know Ms. Horner is the GVE rookie of the year, and we hope she wins district rookie of the year at the awards ceremony." AWKWARD.

Now I'm just hoping everyone forgets about it by Monday.

Poor Sean had bought me flowers today just because (yet another reason why I love him!), and then when I brought home the flowers from school he felt one upped. I say they're both beautiful. Happy Weekend!

halfway there

Yes, it's 6am. Yes, I should be in the shower instead of blogging. But, I just got back from the gym and I'm 12.5 pounds down from where I started. 8.5 to go until I reach my goal, 13.5 to reach my dream goal (aka my high school weight). I just had to write it down, for personal motivation to keep going more than anything else!

Now I better shower, I don't think my friends will like me as much if I'm stinky!

the rain boot conundrum

First of all, I just got off the phone with my mom, who called to see if I had floated away. She had seen pictures on the news of Houston and all the flooding that's been going on, and in true mom fashion, got worried. But no mom, I'm safe. No school cancellations for me today.

Usually I would be sad that it's raining so much because that means no playground time, but since its TAKS and we're on lockdown that doesn't matter anyways. And what's more, rain doesn't matter because we can just go to motor lab! (If you don't already know, it would take way too long to explain, just know it's this awesome new thing I have at school!) AND, we're talking about weather, rain, and rainbows this week... so the rain is actually perfect! How fun is it to play outside under the umbrella? :)

Every time it rains I say the same thing "I'm going to buy some rain boots." And then I proceed to look online, bookmark at least 5 pairs that I like... and then never buy the stinking boots. There's just too many cute pairs out there, and I worry that as soon as I pick one and press the pay button, I'm going to have buyer's remorse because I'll see a cuter pair. But then I won't want to pay the return shipping, so I'll just stick with the first pair of boots I ordered, but in the back of my mind I'll think about the cuter pair I should've gotten. And then there's the whole thing about needing to find a pair that are neutral enough to match with pretty much anything... but also wanting a playful pattern. So you see my dilemma, I'm stuck in this vicious never-ending cycle of non-boot buying. But that is going to end this week. I'm going to muster up all of my decisiveness and just pick a pair. Really, I am. And as soon as I press pay, watch it not rain again for months.

On a very unrelated note, I'm making good on my mini-resolution to get back in touch with friends. All my letters are mailed and I've made quite a few phone calls. Gosh it feels good to start being a better friend!

my new best friend...part 2

2 posts within 5 minutes of each other, weird I know. But I just had to update on my new best friend Dr. Cockroach!


In case you didn't read my earlier post, this little toy has been following me around school! He's made appearances in the cafeteria, the gym, my classroom, and when I left for Easter weekend, he was in my motor lab.

When we came back from the break, he was nowhere to be found! I keep expecting him to pop up again somewhere, but it's been two weeks and there's no sign of him. I wonder where he went...

belated

Lately, I feel like I'm perpetually behind. Some things are a day or two behind schedule, some are like three weeks behind. And for a while, I've been alright with it, even liked putting things off for a change. But then today, when I realized some of the things I was the most belated on were some of the most important (birthdays, thank yous, etc), I started to feel like a real jerk. Which was just what I needed to kick my lazy butt into gear. So, Kaylee will be getting her ballerina birthday book tomorrow, Amina's present will be on it's way to DC tomorrow, thank you notes will be in the mail, and letters to the grandmas will be in the mail by Wednesday. Much better.

But still not good enough.

Another thing I've pushed to the back burner more times than I care to admit is a huge THANK YOU to my amazing friend Kristi. I don't think I can begin to explain how much I appreciated your post the other day. Those were just the words I needed to hear, and from someone I really admire. I don't know about your silly friends from high school, but looking at you and your family and the little green house, I'd definitely say you've succeeded! Thank you for being a friend, and for cheering me up. :)

Still better.

In all of my catching up today, I've started to realize that I've let a lot of friendships fall by the wayside recently. Which is decidedly not cool. So, my new goal for the upcoming month is to fix this. I will be making some much needed phone calls, sending some long overdue emails, and even buying a plane ticket to the east coast. It's time to be the type of friend I should be.

Even better.

The icing on the cake though is that my house is clean as well! After much coaxing of Sean and Brian, I can cook in the kitchen again without wanting to freak out, and can sit on the couch without stressing about how dirty the coffee table is. Life is good.

my new best friend

Say hi to Dr. Cockroach, from the movie Monsters vs Aliens. This little guy is a McDonalds toy, and apparently he's made it his personal mission to become my new best friend!

On Tuesday of last week, I went to lunch in the cafeteria with my kids, and this Dr. Cockroach toy was laying on the floor by the table we sit at. We picked it up, and I let D play with it. She took it to the gym with us, but we forgot it when we left. No big deal.

When we went to breakfast on Wednesday, Dr. Cockroach was waiting on the floor under our table again. Maria and I laughed, wondering how he ended up back under the table! At lunch he was still under our table, but we left him there, figuring someone else would pick him up. After lunch Wednesday we went to the gym, and when we returned to the classroom Dr. Cockroach was sitting on the table, staring at us!

At this point, Maria was weirded out, thinking the toy was haunted and following us. I'll admit... I thought it was pretty strange, but I figured maybe someone was trying to get us back for the jokes we played a while ago (we got the nurse & the custodian pretty good back in January...). Not wanting to be pranked again I decided to hide my new friend Dr. Cockroach, and put him inside a cooler, where he remained until Friday. That Friday I gave the toy away to the nurse's daughter, and told her to take him home with her. Adios new friend.

Then, on Wednesday of this week we went out out to our motor lab portable for the first time and when I went to grab a ball from the ball basket, guess who I found? Dr. Cockroach! Way too creepy! I left him there, so we'll see where he turns up when we go back to school Tuesday...

rookie, yes. of the year, not so much

The Friday before spring break I got some very exciting news, I was voted rookie of the year for my school! My roommate won rookie of the year at his school too, so maybe there's something in the water around here!

...fast forward to Thursday...

The morning ws great, but around lunchtime is when the real fun started. One of my little friends was doing the potty dance, so naturally, I suggest that she use the restroom. This results in a full-on, screaming, kicking, cursing tantrum. I thought I had won when she finally went potty, but she got me back later that afternoon. Five minutes before we had to get on the bus and I hear "Ms. Rachel, I peed on the floor." Thanks friend! Sooo... we're changing her clothes and when she hands me the wet panties, it splashes all over me! I clean off as best I can, and tie a oh-so-stylish art smock around my waist to cover my wet pants. (Just watch, that's going to be the new fashion trend on the runways next season.) Now that we're clean, my friends get on the bus and I breathe a sigh of relief, only to turn around and step in a giant mud puddle. I rinse off and head for tutorials. (As an aside... I absolutely LOVE teaching Kindergarten tutorials!) When we're dismissing, Ms. Roberson asks me to take the bus & daycare kiddos along with the walkers, since one of the other teachers was absent. No problem. I drop everyone off and I'm standing with the bus/daycare friends when another teacher asks me which kids these are. I say "oh the daycare and bus Kindergartners", and as soon as he opens his mouth I just know. I had the bus riders in the wrong spot, and by the time we got to the bus ramp half the buses were already gone. Seven phone calls and parent pick-ups later everyone was home safe, but I don't think my cheeks stopped burning for a good two hours.

Maybe they should've voted me Blunder of the Year instead. :)

maybe i just don't understand the word break

Last week at school when everyone asked me what I was doing for spring break, I proudly told them "nothing". I insisted that I was going to enjoy doing absolutely nothing.

Flash forward, who was I kidding? I've never been the person to sit around and not do anything. (Which probably explains why I had a color-coded planner in college). If I sit on the couch watching TV for more than an hour at a time, I feel like I'm wasting time. At first, I was excited to have some time just for ME. Sean's at work all day, Brian's at his parent's house, all my friends are off doing fun things for spring break, so its just me... good ole quality time...

Monday was great. I got up relatively late, had breakfast, some coffee, cleaned Sean's apartment, worked out for a hour, cleaned my apartment, had lunch, read a book, went to the grocery store, had dinner ready when Sean came home, etc. etc. Well in my overriding need to stay busy, I didn't save myself much for the rest of the week. I have lesson plans to do, yes, but I promised myself that I wouldn't work over spring break (meaning I'll do them Sunday). Tuesday and Wednesday pretty much fell into the same routine. Oh and who can forget the lovely banter I've been having with the insurance man about getting my car fixed? (Barring any other disasters.. it will be in the shop tomorrow and hopefully as good as new very soon.)

While I loved a little bit of me time, I think I'm over it for a while. Yesterday I started thinking about what everyone else was doing, started comparing my life to theirs... and we all know that's probably not the most productive train of thought. On a general day, I LOVE the life I'm living. On a day when I have way too much time to compare... I think that everyone is living this exciting life, and I'm a little (okay a lot) on the boring side. Guess that's what happens when you have smart friends. The majority of my best friends from college are either in grad school, or off working in DC, or New York. And it seems like they're off living these fun, glamorous lives. Now I know that coming home covered in paint and boogers is quite glamorous as well, but I can't help feeling the slightest twinge of jealousy. I'm not even really sure why. I already did the grad school thing, I've got a Masters (although it's still in the envelope because I've yet to buy a frame... but that's another story). Maybe it's the nerd in me that misses school, or maybe it's the perfectionist in me that thinks "you should be doing something more", as if teaching my adorable little friends isn't enough.

Which leads me to the thought I had last night.... I want to start volunteering again. The kids that I work with every day are the type of kids I used to volunteer with back in Austin, but now that's my job. I want to do something outside of my job, make even more of a difference. I was looking through Houston Family magazine (yes, I don't have kids yet but I still love that magazine), and they mentioned Camp for All in the summer camp section. In looking through their website, I saw that they have this Young Professionals group...

..."a premier service and social organization comprised of young men and women who support the camp’s mission of enhancing the lives of people with special needs. Through exciting fundraising events, service projects and social gatherings, members strive to increase awareness of Camp For All among Houston’s young adult community, while raising needed funds for the camp and its programs. Members enjoy the benefits of social and peer networking and have an opportunity to develop or enhance leadership skills through committee or board service"...

...and I think that maybe this is just what I've been looking for. I've been needing to make new friends here in Houston, and this seems like a way to make new friends who have some of the same beliefs/values/interests as me, while making a difference at the same time. Maybe, I could even help connect some of the parents in our district with the camp, scholarships... (and the wheels begin to turn).

I'd also LOVE to start dancing again... but that's a post for another day. Off to the gym for now.