Listen...

Listen to the Mustnt's child, listen to the Don'ts.
Listen to the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Won'ts.
Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child, Anything can be.

-Shel Silverstein

Recap

Lots of catching up to do, not in order, but enjoy the pics...

My birthday we went to Lonerider Brewery... YUMMM!!! Two very enthusiastic thumbs up. We plan on going back!

This past weekend I drove up to Winchester, Va for the wedding of a wonderful couple. TWF's sister (essentially a sister of my own), got married at Bluemont Winery. With threats of thunderstorms all day, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. It could not have been a better event. I had tremendous fun.

The kids (see the yellow dress in action!)

Reconnecting with an old friend (on left AH)! and making a new fun one (AH's brother, we'll call him Munchkin ;)

*****

Back in February, TWF, Neighbor, and I went down to visit Kuz (TWF's cousin and fabulous friend of mine). It was an amazing weekend, one I desperately needed and see some of the fun we had!

Me and TWF at the Fat Pelican!! Have you ever been?! It's down in Carolina Beach and YOU MUST!!

Don't you LOVE going out of town and making new friends from back home!! Now the fun is if we ever run into each other back here in Raleigh....

Because I said so......

Today, I will be drinking wine with dinner.

Sometimes I wonder why when I go home I get so cranky when my roommate has his shoes on my cream sofa, when my neighbor's puppy won't stop barking, when I can't find the show I want to watch, when my DVD skips, and so on and so on. But let's think about what I do ALL day, EVERY day.... I tell things what to do, and they get punished when they do not follow my directions. So when my roommate can't even remember to take his shoes off, I get cranky. When the dog continues to bark even when I will it to stop, I get cranky. Things are supposed to do what I say BECAUSE I SAID SO. I don't have a boyfriend, husband, child, puppy of my own to boss around (hehe), I come home to nothing (sounds far more drastic than I mean it to be). So I truly think I'm allowed a little extra wiggle room in the b*tch department.

If everyday you were in charge of 20 little things running around, and a grown-ass woman (my teacher assistant whom I love and could not live without), it's a little hard to shift roles and NOT be 'in charge' on the home front..... or am I way off base here?

What shoes? and do we like?

3:30pm wedding, Saturday of Easter Weekend.....

You know you're a teacher when......

You Know You Teach First Grade When...

- Your once neatest handwriters are suddenly writing their names illegibly. Because they're attempting to write in cursive with no formal instruction.

- You've been through no less than 762 glue sticks.

- You've considered changing your name for the day just so you don't have to respond to Ms._______ seventy-eight times in an hour.

- You're fairly certain that a select few students will never recognize the written difference between a "b" and a "d" no matter how many times you correct them.

- You get just as excited as the kids do when the Scholastic book order comes in.

- You welcome inventive spelling if only to have something entertaining to read.

- You wish you got a dollar every time you told your class to "be a level zero in the hallway" or to "get on the line" when walking down the hall.

- You have at least one Dr. Jean album on your iPod.

- Calendar Time exhausts you. I don't know why, but I just hate it.

- You love your students' goofy smiles due to their jack-o-lantern-like assortment of *missing* teeth.

- On that same note, you are driven *12 kinds of crazy* when students repeatedly get up from whole group time to get a tissue to wiggle a loose tooth.

- Your heart goes pitter patter when hear your firsties read, smiling at the fact that you are the one responsible for that.

Your turn! I'd love for you to link up and tell me what things make your grade level special!

Adult decisions

I've heard oh so many people say that they don't feel their age. I babysit for couples in their 40's and they say they feel like they were my age just yesterday. My parents have said over and over "where has the time gone?". I may be 28 (gasp, I'm old) but I share their sentiments. I am attending my 10 year highschool reunion this summer. I am in the career I always wanted. I am ever so slowly getting my act together..... and then there are nights like last night where I act and feel like none of it matters. Yes, I am currently scarfing down a Bojangles chicken filet biscuit combo with a LARGE sweet tea in hopes that it will cure what ails me. I may be running on about 4 hours of sleep. No, the children are not allowed to turn the lights on and yes, we are using our whisper voices this morning. With the temperature reaching 80 today, I predict an extended recess time. If I could ever figure out how our tv/dvd/vcr situation works we would totally be watching a video. Am I looking forward to getting home this afternoon and curling up on the sofa, yes. Did I act my age, no. Was celebrating St. Patrick's day worth it..... YES.

Top o' the mornin to ya!

Home is where the heart is.....

or at least school is!

I am back at my old school, WES, where I taught for 4+ years until the end of this past October. No, not permanently, just for a few days while I'm tracked out. I'll be there tomorrow and Thursday and next week, Mon-Thurs. I am subbing for the AG teacher. I am having so much fun seeing my former students, running into parents, and hanging out with my teacher friends. It's amazing how comfortable I feel there. I know I have only been at EGE for 3+ months, but I miss WES so much. I walk down the halls, students know me, teachers know me, the security guard knows me, the janitors know me, everyone knows me! I know this comes with time, but I've officially realized I want back... and I don't know how to get there. I walk the halls like I actually know what the hell I'm doing instead of feeling like everything I do is a waste of time, useless, or falling on deaf ears..

ON A HAPPIER NOTE: I LOVE GLEE!!!!!!!!!!!

and for a few of my girls, I've gotten in a really bad habit of some major recycling.. again.. if you know what I mean... help.