"I'll Never Let Go..."

 

This post is going to be all kinds of random. Hope that's okay with you. That's just generally what my life has been like lately... nothing is organized. But, whatever.

-I'm sure you're aware that Titanic 3D is now in theaters. It's the original Titanic movie (with Kate and Leo) with 3D. My friend Kristin and I went to see it together this weekend. Because, we? Yeah, we're big dorks. But, honestly, we've had a BLAST making fun of that movie all week with some of the girls at work. This picture perfectly sums up my RAGE with the movie:

She's all la-di-da laying on a HUGE plank of wood and her supposed love interest is FREEZING TO DEATH in the water. Scoot over, Selfish!

And, the whole movie, Jack is all "Never give up! I'm a fighter! We'll make it!" He tried ONE TIME to get on the wood and it flipped a little and he just gave up!!! I mean, it takes me about 5 tries just to get on one of these at the pool:



Jack's a quitter. There, I said it.

And, don't even get me started on all that "I'll never let go..." stuff. It kind of looses its effect when she pries his hands off the wood and pushes him into the water! Uhhhh.

ANYWAYS...

I said all that to say, we've had a lot of fun making fun of this movie. Kristin found a book about the Titanic in her classroom today. And, let's just say, we had a good time with it....

I'm kind of tempted to read the book to my littles. Will it terrify them?

-One of my cute little dudes was sick last week. And, I tried to call his parents but never got ahold of them. So, I did what any teacher who had a vomitting child ( and no school nurse) would do... I sent him to the bean bags to sleep. Then, I covered him with a blanket because he was cold. Oh, and I took pictures of his cuteness.

Poor little guy. He slept a LONG time.

-We did some activities last week with plants. We honestly didn't do too much because I was out half the week for the LBL trip. But, when I got back we planted some sunflower seeds and we talked a lot about the parts of a plant. I gave my kids some funky scrapbook paper and let them make plants to label. Then, they wrote about the parts of a plant and the jobs they have. They turned out really cute! Unfortunately, my classroom is FRESH OUT of hanging spaces. So, I had to get a little creative.

So, yeah. Our back counter is getting pretty junky. But, I can't help it. I love all their cute work and I love to display it!

Oh, and I found those cute pennants at Target during spring break. They were just hanging out in the party section... for like $4! I cannot even express to you how much I love them.

-This week, it's all about the BUGS! We started with an insect tree map.

Then, we segued into the butterfly life cycle. My kiddos were all about it! We made a chart to help us understand it.

I had my kids find a partner and then they worked together to make their own butterfly life cycle charts on computer paper.

Kiddos hard at work.

-My kids and Kristin's sang the entire chorus to Party Rock Anthem complete with mosh pit dance moves and background music on the playground today. And it was the funniest/cutest thing I've ever seen.

Between that and the Titanic shenanigans, we had a lot of laughs today.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Puppy Drama

I've been checking my email all week. My little cockapoo pup was due to be born this week. To say that I was excited would be putting it mildly.

Then, on Saturday, I got an email from the breeder. She said the momma dog was not pregnant?!?!? She said that it was showing all the signs, but wasn't pregnant after all. Um, shouldn't these people check before they start taking money from potential buyers? And, did they just now realize this the exact day the puppies were due to arrive? Admittedly, I know next to nothing about animal pregnancy and puppy buying... but, I was really disappointed. The breeder offered a full refund and said I could have a puppy from the next litter she has. But, the problem is that those puppies wouldn't be born until July and then I wouldn't get it until September. I specifically wanted to get the puppy in earky summer so I could be home with it the first few weeks. Plus, I was pretty annoyed with these people anyway. I'll take the refund, thanks.

I got online and spent a lot of time searching for another puppy. And, I found one. It's not a cockapoo, though. It's a maltipoo. And, actually, a maltipoo was the dog I wanted originally and I kind of talked myself into the cockapoo. Plus, these puppies are in Tennessee and are 200 bucks cheaper. Oh, and I don't have to pay anything until the puppy is born... major selling point. If it doesn't work out, I'm no worse off.

If you aren't aware, maltipoos are pretty stinking cute. It will be smaller than a cockapoo, but only by 4 or 5 pounds I think. It will be teeny as a puppy, though! And, I'll get this puppy in June, too. It may be the second or third week instead of the first.

Here are some maltipoos:

I'm trying to keep myself from getting too excited this time.

I'll let you know when I am offically the owner of little Finley.

My fingers are crossed that this is the end of the puppy drama... at least until I bring the darn thing home!

LBL 2012

Every year, our school takes the second graders to Land Between the Lakes for three days. It's honestly the coolest exerience! It's amazing to see these little kids out in the woods experiencing things for the first time. The kids are just so well behaved and soak everything up and everybody (including the adults) has a great time! I obviously don't teach second grade, but I've gone the last two years. And, I will go again every year they invite me because it's so fun! It's cool to see the kids I had last year again :)

I'm going to post some pictures but none with their faces. So, they're a little random. Ha. Obviously, the best pictures are of the sweet kiddos. You'll just have to trust me.

The first day, we load up the kids and we head to LBL. We eat a picninc lunch and then go to the Nature Center to see some cool animals and take a hike. When we pulled up to the picnic area, one kid yelled "Hey, this doesn't look like the woods!!!" We were honestly in the middle of NOWHERE and there were trees everywhere. Ha!

Looking around the nature center...

They were mesmerized by a bald eagle.

A REALLY gross snapping turtle.

That night, we took the kids in rides in the back of pick-up trucks with spotlights to look for animals. I rode with one of the boy groups because their teachers were either driving trucks or hiding in the woods. Yes, you heard me. Mr. Portell hid in the woods for like 3 HOURS just he could jump out at the kids at a cemetery and scare them. He was dressed like a wolf (kind of) and had a strobe light and everything. It was the funniest thing ever. The kids all freaked and then just died laughing when they realized who it was. I have to say... the boys in my truck screamed a LOT louder than the girls in the other truck!

The next day, the kids did all sorts of fun stuff. I didn't carry my camera around. But, we went fishing (Not to brag, but I caught 3 fish!!), we went on a pond expedition, we dressed the principal up like a beaver then went looking for a beaver dam and we went on a stream stroll.

The stream stroll is the very best! The stream is freezing cold. And, we always start off just looking for little bugs with nets and the kids are being very careful. Then, somebody always "falls in." You know, like completely under water. "Accidentally." And, pretty soon, those fully clothed kids are full on swimming in the stream. And, what are the adults doing? Um, encouraging it! Because the kids have the time of their life! We all died laughing when one kid climbed onto a ledge (it was only about 5 inches above the water) and cannonballed into the stream that was about a foot deep. Of course, he yelled "Cowabunga!!" They all just fling themselves around and are laughing and screaming because its cold and it's just my favorite thing ever. One kid was standing in about an inch of water that was about a foot from the edge and he yelled "I need to find land!!" So dramatic.... ha.

At night, we play sock wars and the kids have pillow fights. We also had the very first LBL Dance Party, which was awesome. Those kids can DANCE!

After that, we had a massive bonfire. Check out this thing:

The kids were sweating and scooting back after about two minutes. I think our fire builders got a little over-zealous.

We almost caught a tree on fire. Twice.

But, everyone got their smores and and made it out of there alive.

Oh, and we helped the boys out with a little prank on Mr. Portell since he hid in the woods and scared everybody. We gave them some silly string and equipped them with a flip camera and we all had a lot of fun at breakfast watching the attack!

This morning, we got up super early and packed up.

The kids were sooo tired!

Some took a nap on the sidewalk.

And, some played hand games.

When the bus got there, we loaded up and headed to the Homestead. It's a working farm/museum from the 1800's. The kids really enjoy it and the people who work their talk and tell them all about it.

This guy was plowing a field with a horse and a mule.

There are free-range sheep that just roam around the farm.

This guy was following us!

The baby piglet came out a streeeetched. The kids loved him!

It was about this time when I overheard one kid say to another: "You know, I haven't played with my toys in a loooong time!" Hahaha.

After the tour, we had a quick picnic. Then, we loaded up the bus and headed home. We had some tired and sleepy kiddos (and adults) so it was a quiet bus-ride back :)

It was such a fun trip!

It's back to the real world tomorrow morning. I haven't seen my little first graders since before Spring Break so I'm ready to get back! I really miss them.

Now, I'm off to bed....

Spring Break

Here's a little run-down of what's been happening over here this week... told in iPhone pictures because I'm too lazy to take real pictures, thank you very much.

1. I went to dinner with some friends I used to teach with and we went to see The Hunger Games. Uh, guys? How awesome is that movie? I heart Peeta... just needed to say that.

2. A few girls from school and I went to Wine and Easel last night. It's one of those painting classes you take with your friends. It was a blast! I used to paint a lot but I realized last night I am VERY rusty! Ha.

Me and Lane

Brittney and Betsy

Claire and Lane

Here is my painting about half-way done.

Working hard...

My finished product!

Claire's, Lane's and mine all done :)

It was a fun night, ladies! We should do it again soon :)

3. I've been working on the house a little. Mostly cleaning my room and organizing some closets. But, I've made a few purchases.

I bought some pillows for the patio chairs...

and added some plants. I've got a baker's rack at my parents house that I still haven't moved over and I'm thinking it will look great out here!

I got a new pillow for the couch,

a new basket for storing some soon-to-be-bought puppy toys,

and I moved this painting that I made last summer into my bedroom.

Oh, and I rearranged the kitchen a little too.

4. I took a little trip to the snow-cone truck... my most favorite place in the world.

5. I've been cooking some new stuff.

Yes, those are Brussel Sprouts. No, I didn't like them.

6. I went shopping with my mom today at The Avenue in Murfreesboro. I got some cute clothes and some awesome perfume! And, I didn't buy one thing for my house... except a bath mat. So, that's a big accomplishment! Ha.

7. I'm starting to pack for our trip to Land Between the Lakes. We leave Monday. I cannot wait! It's so fun to see our sweet kids experience things for the first time. I'm so lucky to get to come along... even though I don't teach second grade.

Okay, that's about it. The second half of the week should be pretty laid back... just like I like it!

Hope you're having a great week, too!

Congrats, Matt!!!

  Congratulations to this guy:

That's my little brother, Matt.

And why are congratulations in order? Well, because he made this team:

The Kane County Cougars!

And, he'll get to play here:

Pretty cool, huh?

The Cougars are a Low A team located in Geneva, Illinois that are associated with the Kansas City Royals MLB program.

This is a promotion from last year when Matt was playing on a Rookie League team and rehabbing his arm.

We're so proud of Mr. Matt. He's an awesome kid and he works really hard. He had some bad luck his senior season at Western kentucky University. He was having the best season of his life. He broke the all-time wins record at WKU and had been pretty much lights-out the entire season. He's a pictcher, did I mention that? Anyway, he was getting a ton of attention from Major League scouts and it was pretty much a given that he would be drafted in the first ten rounds of the draft. But, during his last game of the season, when he was 1 out away from breaking the all-time wins record for THE ENTIRE SUNBELT CONFERENCE (yes, you can be impressed), his arm gave out. The next few days were a whirl-wind. While the team was preparing to go to the conference tournament, we were finding out Matt needed Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Five days before the draft. And, the bad news is that there were a TON of scouts at the game he got hurt. So, news spread like wildfire that he was injured. Teams started calling him and telling him they couldn't draft him if he was hurt. Which, I think must have hurt him a lot more than his arm did.

But, you know what? That kid NEVER ONCE threw himself a pity party. He had a huge smile on his face every time I saw him and was a great support to his teammates during the tournament and during Senior Day. I know on the inside he was reeling (I know I was!), but he never got down. He had his surgery the day after the season... because, he didn't want to miss any games and be there for his team. There's not a selfish bone in his body. I wish I could say the same about myself.

Long story short, the draft day came. And, it was a long and excrutiating day for our family. What would have been the most exciting day ever was so nerve-wracking because we kept listening and kept listening and we didn't hear his name.

But then. In the 41st round, we heard his name. And, people? I'm pretty sure we cheered louder than we would have if he had been drafted in the 2nd round. Noone cared at all about the round. We were just so happy that a team took a chance on him!

We went out and bought Kansas City Royals hats to celebrate:

(Check out that arm brace!)

We had a signing party for the boy, too.

And, then he left. He went to Arizona for a YEAR to rehab his arm at the Royals facility there. We took a few trips out there to visit him and he came home for Christmas, but that was a long time for him to be SO far away!

Visiting Route 66 on our trip to the Grand Canyon

Last year, as I said, he finally got to play. And, he did great! He played in Burlington, NC for the Rookie League Royals.

Here he is after his very first Minor League win. We were so glad we got to be there for it! It was amazing to see him back in action!

Anyways, I've digressed from my original point. Which is...

Matt, I am SO proud of you!

You're going to do great this season and I can't wait to get out there and see you pitching in person. I miss watching you pitch! But, even more than your baseball ability, I'm proud of your character and your hard work.

You'll go far, I know it.