Nice move...I must say.

Well played McCain....

I have always called myself a Democrat, and really hoped Sen. Clinton would be our next leader. When it comes to politics in general, I assume that ignorance is bliss and continue with my back woods life. I have realized lately that I am letting one or two very personal, very strong moral beliefs decide my political party.

I am more invested in this presidential election than ever before. I want to try to educate myself as much as possible and not judge. Deep down I feel like they are all a bunch of crooks, but I want to learn as much as I can to make my vote count for me.

Today's news was the first that made my eye brow raise, and made me think harder about our future Commander in Chief.

If anyone has any good (legit) links to info...send them my way!!

Lesson for the day...

Being a new teacher is stressful. I have learned in the past two weeks that I am making this job so much harder on myself than it has to be. Day by day though, I feel like I am slowly finding my way and becoming a decent teacher. It's so much more work than I imagined (I thought school was tough). It's 80% less glamorous and 80% more work than I ever thought.

On to more positive things. Lets have a problem:solution lesson.....

1. Problem: I need to make a LOT of copies of things. Rubrics, graphic organizers, etc. I have been going in early/staying late to get all of these copies made. The two ladies on my grade level are awesome, so we always make copies to share. (75 copies). I have been going through paper like crazy and hogging the copier.

Solution: Volunteers!! I found a tray outside the office that had papers in it with sticky notes that said..."75 copies..." and the teacher's name. What what?? I investigated further...people will actually MAKE COPIES FOR YOU! How nice is that?? 30 minutes a day worth of nice. Who knew...

2. Problem: I need to laminate things. Multiplication drills, math centers, index cards for Concentration, etc. Now normally, I would be MORE than happy to laminate and cut things out. For some reason I really really enjoy it. Nowadays? I am running around in circles, so laminating has become tedious.

Solution: Volunteers!! I walk into the laminating room and someone stops me. "Do you need me to do that for you?" I have no idea why, but I can't help but feel bad...like this is supposed to be my responsibility "Oh...it's ok. I know you're probably busy", I said. "Nah...I actually don't have anything to do! I don't mind at all!" (reminder Jessica...they are VOLUNTEERS! This is what they do!) So I cave and hand her my stack. Less than 20 minutes later and my neatly laminated and cut out pile is on my desk! YAAAAYY!! Volunteers are awesome.

3. Problem: We have a very big playground. I'm yelling everyday for kids to slide on their bottoms, don't play in the creek....blah blah.

Solution: A whistle.

4. Problem: I feel like this career has taken over my life. I work from 7:30 to at least 5:00 everyday, pick up Chase from karate, homework, dinner, bath...then back to the computer room for at least 2 more hours to work. I haven't taken the first picture of my family, blogged about anything lately besides my classroom, and can't seem to talk about anything else. I am so ready to feel like the old me again.

Solution: Well....the bottle of wine and bath salts I got for my birthday helped for a few nights...but I'm hoping the permanent solution will work itself out. (I'm sure it will have something to do with realizing that asking for help does not equal weakness, and to STOP making to do lists....) :(


Back in the real world, Chase is loving first grade. He also started karate! It is so cute to see him doing his 'moves' and I am SO glad he loves it. This weekend will also be nice. Wes is turning 30! so hopefully we can find a way to relax together as a family and enjoy it. Oh...and wanna see the cutest thing in the world? Wanna see what I look at when I need a smile?? Click Here.

I've taken a leave of absence....

from my blog. :( I still hop on every once in a while to read some of my favorite bloggers, but I have not had the time/energy to put together anything interesting to share. Any ideas why??

This is where I have been either mentally, physically, and usually both.

Bye Bye Summer...

The panic attack I had in my classroom last week, induced by the amount of work I still have to do, quickly reminded me that summer is over. :( And that makes me sad.

I have had such an amazing summer at home with my boy. We've spent days on the road, in the sun, in the water, and on the couch. He's super excited to be going into the first grade and I'm excited/anxious about starting my first year teaching. I know when school starts we will go back to our strict routines...school, homework, dinner, bath, book, prayers, bed. Chase (and Mommy) will thrive off of this routine and our relaxing days together will be long gone. In an effort to try to remember and say goodbye to this awesome summer, I made a list of 5 things that made this summer amazing....

1. The Water! We went to a local park with a few slides twice, went to White Water and ran around like I was a kid again, and spent countless day in the pool throwing Chase and watching him almost grow gills. He is more tan than I've ever seen him and he's such a great swimmer! With the summers in GA, we may be able to continue this on the weekends until Halloween!!

2. My pink bandanna. See number 1? The water led to several days of no makeup and letting my hair air dry. It was great to be able to wake up, throw the bandanna on and be done!

3. Parties. And lots of them! We had parties at the Worthans for Memorial Day and July 4th. We also had a great birthday party for Chase. (All of these also included #1). (And probably #2)! We played and swam and drank with friends. The pool is starting to be filled more with children than adults and I love it!

4. The Bachelorette. This season was great! Heather and I had a date night once a week and became fascinated by the amount of weirdos and romeos on this show. It was a fun way to have some adult time during our week, and Heather always had a late night snack for us!

5. School Supplies. This includes, but is not limited to, teacher websites, forums, blogs, professional development classes, classroom management books, lesson plans, frantic phone calls to Heather E., online shopping for supplies, TONS of to do lists...etc. I know this is supposed to be my summer vacation, but I couldn't help being drawn to every office/school supply in WalMart or online. I've made countless lists and watched the pile in my office grow until there was no room left (and I banned myself from all things school supplies related). The pile was a constant reminder that this wonderful summer is going to come to a screeching halt very, very soon.

Well. As of yesterday the pile is gone. Everything has been moved to my classroom and the pile was replaced by a computer and a small desk for Chase. I used to stare at that pile and get so anxious waiting for the day that it would be gone and in my classroom. Honestly, it's even more depressing with it gone. Summer is officially over. New Teacher orientation is tomorrow. Preplanning is next week. First day of school the next. This is what I have been waiting for, right? But I still can't help but feel sad to say goodbye to an awesome summer. Hopefully once I FINALLY get into my classroom (janitors...floors...DON'T ask.) I will get my mojo back and it will be an amazing school year.

Until then...I still have today. :) Maybe I'll throw on my pink banadana and play in the water with my boy!!

Twilight

I read this 500 page book in under 24 hours. Once I got 100 pages in I was hooked. It is a very easy read, but there were times during the book when my heart raced and I couldn't turn the page fast enough. It has given me some much needed distraction over the weekend as I wait for this crazy, busy week to start. Only two weeks until the first day of school! Good thing I picked up the next book in the series to dive into when things get crazy this week!

If you haven't read this book, you should sink your teeth into it as soon as possible!! :)

After pictures!

So the past week or so has been a little busy. I have been starting to freak out and prepare for my classroom, that I STILL have not been inside of since the before pictures, but I've been able to get a ton of work done from home! Including...my bookshelves!! Remember these??? Well...ugly, awful bookshelves have been turned into THESE! My very
pregnant Heather
came over to help! I love them!!

A great start to the holiday weekend...

Tonight I met a few of the women I went to school with for so long. When it comes to Mercer, we've been through it ALL together, and I'm honestly not sure I would have stuck it out if I didn't have these girls to lean on! We've come so far together, and still sat at the table tonight shocked, saying "Can you believe it?? We are actually teachers!" :)

I wish we could get together more often, but I'm so thankful to have a dinner out with them every few weeks. Kristen made us the CUTEST wooden blocks personalized with "Mrs. Addison's Class" to hang from our door. She even matched the themes of our classrooms! Adorable!!

As the next few weeks fly by and I get closer and closer to the first day of school, I know I will be making daily phone calls to these girls. I feel like they truly understand my anxiety and excitement and I can't wait until we can get together again! You girls ROCK!!