Month of Celebrations

February is kind of a whirlwind around our home. There is always so much to celebrate. February 14th--Valentine's Day. February 20th-- Andrew's birthday. February 25th-- My birthday. All attempts to maintain a budget during this month go out the window. 

So many places do birthday deals and we look forward to using these deals. We usually hit Red Robin twice during our birthday month. (Once for each of us) Besides, we can't redeem our free birthday burgers on the same visit, so we are kind of forced to go twice. :) We went to Red Robin over the weekend and I'm still dreaming about the campfire sauce. 

I'm still feeling Tucanos. We went this afternoon because they have a free birthday meal as well. After doing some research we figured out that entrees only cost $15.99 during lunch hours, so that is when we went.

Very satisfied with his Brazilian Limeade 

Why didn't we take pictures before eating? Food coma.

We were lucky Valentine's Day was on a Sunday because we couldn't go out. Instead, I made chicken enchiladas (Andrew's request) and rice. We also spent the afternoon making sugar cookies together. These can be quite time consuming and I ended up having to remake the frosting which prolonged the process. The end result was heavenly though. Sour cream does wonders.

Now that our birthday meals are taken care of, we can relax. It has been a busy month. I survived round 2 of parent teacher conferences by the skin of my teeth. No matter how prepared I am for conferences, I don't know that I will ever be fully mentally or emotionally prepared for the 2 fourteen hour days. No more parent teacher conferences this school year. That deserves a celebration in and of itself! I don't think the timing was coincidental, but I was recognized during an assembly for all my hard work as a teacher. I was surprised and embarrassed to come stand and hear nice things read about me, but the free Cafe Rio was worth it. And who doesn't like to hear compliments? (The card is currently on my fridge and may never come down.)

This season we have enjoyed going to the BYU men's volleyball games with my family. It makes the games more fun to know someone on the team and my cousin Jake Langlois is so fun to watch. We can't wait for the next game.

We'll start the budget again next month perhaps? Until then, do you think I can keep Andrew's presents a secret? I already blew one...

Goals

So... apparently I have been a slacker this new year. I recently realized (Sunday night) that I had yet to make one goal for this new year. Yikes. It's better late than never, right?

I plotted and planned a family home evening to throw together some goals. I told Andrew to be thinking and we came up with some good ones, so stay tuned.

Writing goals can sometimes be discouraging for me which may be why I put off writing any until last night. Reflecting back to last year, I don't think I got to half of the goals I set. I even did what all websites suggest and posted the goals in my room for me to view multiple times daily. Finally, about halfway through the year, I ended up throwing the goals (I wasn't doing) away. Oops...

There is always plenty to work on and several things I'm working towards. This year Andrew and I focused on 5 categories to set goals in: physical, spiritual, educational, personal, and family. The first 4 categories we each came up with our own goals. We came up with 4 family goals together.

Goals can be quite personal, so lucky for you, you don't get to hear all of my goals. (I'm sure you're upset)

Physical

• Run a half marathon.

This category is usually most discouraging for me. I tend to set unrealistic goals like "workout 5x a week" and end up blowing that day 2 of the new year. I figured this was a manageable physical goal because in order for me to run a half marathon, I have to workout.

Spiritual

• Start and finish the New Testament.

I recently realized I have a lot to learn when it comes to Bible stories. Instead of reading because I'm supposed to or because I want to say I completed this goal, I'm going to actually learn and study the different people and events in the New Testament. (I didn't choose Old Testament for a reason. Maybe next year?)

Educational

• Pass the Science Praxis.

I was soooo close last time. 6 points off to be exact. I'm taking a big step tonight and signing up for my next attempt.

Personal

• Blog at least twice a month.

Lucky you! But really, this is my only form of journaling and I should be better. Plus, I actually enjoy writing when I feel like I have something worth blogging about.

Family

• Go on a trip together just the two of us.

Because we don't travel much, it seems like when we do, it's to see family. Don't get me wrong, we love our family, but we have both decided that we need to make memories with just the two of us this year. A cruise seems ideal, but we'll see if that happens.

Now you have a taste of some of the goals I have for this year. I basically only have 11 months to complete these, so I better get going. Wish me luck.

December Came

Back in late August/September, Andrew was informed he would be laid off at the end of December. What a great way to end the year, with a BOOM. 

As soon as Andrew found out that he would be losing his job, he immediately started applying for jobs. He had some interviews, but nothing seemed to workout. One place was interested in him, but told us the pay was $15.00 an hour and so Andrew said, "see ya" in the most professional way possible.

This job hunting process was frustrating. One of the places that invited Andrew back for a second interview didn't even bother to get back to him. After 4 phone calls, emails, and who knows what else to attempt to follow-up, we finally gave up on that company.

In September, we were very hopeful. We still had several months for Andrew to find a job and his company kept hinting that they would hire him on in another department. Well, that never happened. When December finally hit, we were worried. Let me rephrase that. I WAS WORRIED. I'm the worry wart in the relationship. We balance each other out nicely. When Andrew gets worried, he hides it much better than I do and I hope to be more like him.

Deciding our holiday plans was a nightmare because we were unsure of our future. Andrew had a really promising interview the second week of December and we were banking on him getting that job. When we got the disappointing "thanks for interviewing, but we don't want you" email, we were back to square one. (Hey, at least they emailed!)

We were blessed to get severance for the month of January. I'm also working, so we knew we would be fine, but I'm not planning on being the breadwinner. Because we had such a fun year, Andrew had 0 vacation days left in December. We didn't want to risk him losing his severance. His company ended up letting him go on vacation a few days early which was very nice. 

We spent New Years in Spokane with Andrew's family. While there, my brother Joel told us that Andrew should apply at his company because they had an opening in QA. Andrew did, and that day got called for an interview.

The day after we got back from vacation, Andrew interviewed. The interview went well and he was invited to lunch with the CEO a couple days later. Andrew was offered a job and of course took it. He was only unemployed for 4 days!

This is a complete career change for Andrew. His degree is in chemistry. At his old company, Andrew was building chemical instruments and testing them/tweaking the problems. Now Andrew is finding bugs with computer software programs. He has NO experience, but has been learning quickly. He seems to really enjoy what he is doing. His new company treats him like an angel and I'm more than slightly jealous. (Catered lunch 2x a week, a new Mac, etc.)

We feel so blessed. We are thrilled to save a little extra this month because Andrew gets severance plus pay from his new job. Sometimes things don't workout how you want them to, but it's for the better. (My stress levels would have loved a new job in September!) Through this process, I have learned that I need to be more trusting. Here's to hoping this job is long-term, so we don't have to go through this process again anytime soon. :) 

Getting the Hang of Things

Teaching is hard, but I knew that going in. Teaching is also fun and very rewarding which is why I love it. 

The first couple of months were crazy. There were several days, weeks, even months that I left for school at 6:00am. There were also countless mornings I woke up before my alarm because I was too worried. The nightmares have almost stopped completely.

One thing that I've learned through this process is that there is always something to do. No matter how prepared you are, something will always come up. Why waste every waking hour of every day planning?

I have had to learn to make time for myself. After working a long day, the first thing I do when I get home should not be to clean the bathroom or do laundry. It can wait which is sometimes hard for me. I feel like I have finally been able do things that I love for the first time in a while.

This month I read 2 books for pleasure. No, these weren't books explaining how to treat others kindly or what respect means. I probably should have been reading a book teaching me how to identify 20 rock types because apparently I'll be teaching this to my class in less than two weeks. Yikes. Wish me luck...

Andrew and I read, "The Martian" by: Andy Weir together. We enjoy reading out loud and Andrew uses quite the voices. There was a good amount of scientific information, but luckily I married a chemist who was eager to explain everything in great detail. It was fun to see the movie after finishing the book and the plots aligned nicely. (FYI-- There is quite a bit of swearing in the book. We had to get creative while reading aloud coming up with substitute words.)

About 45 minutes ago I finished reading "Twenty Wishes" by: Debbie Macomber. I like books that deal with relationships and real life situations. This book was a really positive and hopeful book. The main character and her group of friends decided to write a list of 20 wishes. At first, the main character could hardly think of anything she even wished for. Her life seemed pretty tragic and horrible. Throughout the book, she was able to find happiness after the death of her husband. This made me want to write my own list of 20 wishes. I'm working on it. (Sometimes my dreams are a little too realistic and budget friendly so it's hard for me.)

I'm on the hunt for my next book. 

I also started working out again. After teaching and standing for several hours a day, the last thing I have wanted to do is exercise. Many nights I just put my feet up and basically refuse to leave the couch. 

We joined the gym this week. Now that I'm a grown-up and don't have a free gym at college, I'm taking my gym commitment pretty seriously. If I'm paying money to go to the gym then I'm going to. It's nice to get my stress and frustrations out by working out even harder. (Maybe I should ease into this gym thing better next time because I am super sore.)

Off to enjoy my weekend work-free! 

My Classroom

Someday I know I'll want to see what my first classroom looked like. This post will probably be boring unless you care about procedures and organization. It's more for me to look back on later on. Also, I don't feel like the pictures do my room justice, but I'm a little biased and did spend far too much time and money working on my classroom.

This is an overall picture of the room. It's a bit blurry (I need a new camera), but you get the general idea.

This is to show the 4 bulletin boards I have in my room. Above each of them, I have something different. Above the first one, I have "Ditto Cinemas." Above the second bulletin board, I have a sign "Party With the Stars." Above the green bulletin board I have popcorn bowls with kernels coming out of each. Each one has a students name on it. (This is why I couldn't take a closer pic.) Above the yellow bulletin board there is a sign that says, "Awards Night."

This project took me quite some time. I think I had to paint each bookshelf 4 times for the red to cover the old wood. "Readbox" is vinyl, so it easily sticks right to the shelf. On the top of each shelf, I have a sign-out for the books.

One of my least favorite questions as a teacher is, "What do I do when I'm done? I'm bored." This is a fast-finishers station. I change out the activities weekly. The board explains what each assignment is. At the bottom, there is a basket to turn in any fast finishers. At the end of the week, I draw 3 random assignments and they get a "raffle ticket" to be entered to win a prize.

This is my "concession stand." On Friday's, I choose 3-5 tickets and these are the prizes the students choose from. There is a variety of stuff: soda, candy bars, toys, nail-polish, no homework passes, sit by a friend pass, etc. The kids love this!

Each table is a color. At the end of the week, the table with the most points, gets a treat. The teacher and students points work great. At the end of each day, I write who has more points and how many. On Fridays, the students either get extra recess or owe me recess depending on who has more points. (The most they have ever had to owe me is 1 min.)

When the students have to use the restroom, they put this pass on their desk. (I removed the batteries from the flashlights and I'm sure you can guess why.)

This bulletin board goes over our 5 classroom rules and the rewards/consequences. The students each have a clip and may be asked at any time throughout the day to move it up or down according to their behavior. If the students clip up to white, they get a raffle ticket and a positive note home. If the students move down to red, they miss recess and get a negative note home. Once a student is on red, they can move up if their behavior improves.

Every Friday, I add a new name to the Wall of Fame. At the beginning of the year, the students filled out a questionnaire. I read each clue for the students on Fridays and they have to guess who I'm talking about. When your name goes on the Wall of Fame, you get to choose a candy bar.

I use my keyboard almost daily to teach important concepts. We have learned multiplication songs, songs about clouds, you name it. The students love it. I also let them earn the chance to sing a fun disney song. "Let it Go" seems to be high on the list.

It's impossible to picture everything. One thing I do that seems to be really positive in the classroom is allow the students to write compliment cards. The students have really taken to this. I read the compliments on Mondays at class meetings.

I also have a bin with a folder labeled with each date on it. If a student is absent, they can check the bin for any work they missed that day. My door has a quote from Walt Disney that says, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." Each student signed the door underneath this quote.

This is just a quick glance at my classroom from afar. There is always plenty to do as a teacher, but I sure do love my students.