Today I'm joining up with a great new teaching blog I came across: Oh Boy 4th Grade!
She is hosting a little linky party (kind of a Think-Write-Share), and I thought it was fun! She also created this cute image to type in your answers! I had no idea how I was going to add my answers on top of the image, but I copied it into Smart Notebook using the camera feature and did it there! You may have to click on it to make it bigger in order to see my answers, sorry about that!



Anyway, to all my teacher friends, you should check out this blog--lots of fun and great ideas, etc.

Can you believe school starts in 2 and 1/2 weeks?! Sigh. This new mommy is already missing her baby just thinking about it! :(

oh dear lord. i am SO behind on blogging, on keeping up with the blogs i subscribe to, on DIY projects, on learning my lines for the show, on sleep, on pretty much everything i can think of right now. although i did go to the grocery store last night, which was a start.

rehearsal tomorrow & poster distribution for advertisement; should be fun. we finished blocking the rest of the show last night, so we can start run-thrus soon i think! that's always where it starts to get to be the most fun. it's funny; as tired as i am doing a show during the school year, i really love having that creative outlet and that SOCIAL outlet, spending that time with my theater friends! it is something that not only keeps me sane but adds something to my life, making it richer. so i'm thankful for the talent i've been given and for those who've encouraged and taught me and molded me along the way and to those to have given me the chance to discover what i can do. yay! ok, enough of the sappiness.

can we talk about how emotionally and physically exhausted i am after this first week back to school with the kids? i can't really get into details here since it's such a public arena that's connected to many of my fellow teachers, but suffice it to say that i am dealing with a lot of situations in my classroom/building right now that i was NOT dealing with the past 2 years i've taught here. and it doesn't help that i have 22 students. they barely FIT in the freaking classroom! i mean, you should see us trying to do calendar math together. one of the special ed. teachers came in my room the other day and didn't even see me, because in order to show them the calendar, i have to back myself into this tiny corner in the back of the room and reach my hand, and only my hand, out with the vis-a-vis pen! if only i could take a video; it would be comical. it's kind of like the clowns in the car at the circus. just saying.

also: where's the joy? cuz it ain't lurking anywhere in my hallway, that's fo sho! it's been a rough start to the year, what with pretty much everything technological being broken in pretty much every classroom, being the new campus technology rep, and having some kids with special needs that take up most of my day in energy. it always turns out that the kids you have to work the hardest for are the ones you end up loving the most, though, doesn't it?

a good note is that my class this year is filled with some truly compassionate, caring, and beautiful little kiddos. i think once we get into the swing of things, it's going to be an amazing year of learning for us (including me; i'm already learning so much). so i guess beyond the exhaustion, i can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

i am hoping to start back going to the gym next week. i also really miss thrifting! i haven't been shopping at goodwill or my thrift stores in like a month! must get back into the swing of things once the show dies down some. maybe the week after we open...

i will try to get back to blogging on a regular basis, because i miss it!

happy weekend, all!

check me out!

Dr. Tim Tyson's Blog

Dr. Tyson visited our school toward the end of last school year and showed us some amazing ways teachers are incorporating technology into their classrooms. It was funny, because even though I have been blogging since 2002, it had never dawned on me to use a blog for my classroom. It turned out to be really successful, having only begun it last April, so I plan to continue its use next year with my new students. It's a pretty cool way to communicate with parents and to share your classroom happenings with parents and students at home.

Not to mention I just love blogging to begin with!

on an upside, my kiddos have been surprisingly relaxed this week (so far: knock on wood) considering it's the last week of school! i truly expected a lot more "wild banshees on the war path" (per kathy white, one of my fave sayings of hers), but except for the 1 or 2 that kind of act that way year-round, i've been pleasantly surprised. which really makes me worried about next year. because what are the odds that i would get such a good class 2 years in a row? not good, is the answer to that question, my friend: not good! alas, i digress.

i took a half day today to hit the ole doctor, as i've got the sickies again. shocker. just another sinus infection, as per usual, but i asked for a shot to speed the recovery, as i've still got 3 days at work, all of which will involve me feeling much better than i did today. especially if i'm gonna be doing heavy lifting. ask, and you shall receive! i got myself a shot of 'roids, and i can already tell i'm less congested. 'tis a start. i'll take it.

the list of to-do's before the end of school seems to grow perilously longer despite the work i've been doing. at least my room is pretty much packed up. every time i start to feel accomplished, i think of more things i'd like to/i need to do before the last day. seriously. i did bring it and got my end of year book to my class written, but i still have to paste all the pages and bind the book so i can read it to them on thursday.

don't have a whole lot going on right now other than the end of school, which is truly enough. we had our grease photo shoot last week, and saturday we had our poster distribution, where we harass everyone within a 5 mile radius of the theatre to hang up our promotional poster for our summer musicals to advertise. it was HOT. then we went to eat lunch together as a cast at this place called Chuch & Lucy's, that had agreed to be our featured restaurant for the show, which includes placing a coupon in our Playbill (program-haha). WELL, let me tell ya: the owner of Chuck & Lucy's is apparently a bi-polar nutcase (alas, she is not the only such nutcase I know), as she approached us and proceeded to berate us for daring to display our poster in her window. mind you, the restaurant's name was ON the poster, she had just had a meeting with the director 3 days prior, and there were about 16 other posters already displayed in the window. can you say psycho? because i can. i can even spell it correctly.

good times with the crazies, good times.

let me tell you, speaking of lists, christine, that my summer to-do list is growing ever-longer as we speak. here's what i've got so far: (Clint laughs everytime i say i'm going to add something to my list)

-paint dining room, paint office, paint red wall in guest room (is the red wall too much? thoughts, those of you who have seen the room?)

-do some writing
-have our families over
-have friends over
-2 masters courses (this truly may not happen, but i'm working on it)
-study for ESL test and take june 15th
-smartboard course (june 10th i think?)
-grease rehearsals & performances
-trip to destin
-get new wood flooring installed!
-buy a new kitchen table
-have piano moved here from mom & dad's
-work out (ha! don't laugh)
-try out some new recipes
-touch up paint edges of moldings in bedroom
-learn to use my dvd burner
-clean out and purge office!
-go to six flags & hurricane harbor with my season passes from b-day!
-go to schlitterbahn? visit lil' sis on the way down?

as you can see, i'm insane to think i will actually get all of these things done, but i'm going to try to make a calendar/schedule in hopes that i'll get a least a lot of it done. we shall see! lol.

ok, we are at the end of this loooooooong post. i'd hoped to post some photos, but they are taking too freaking long to upload; sorry. next time!

1 and 1/2 days of school left! i might cry!

gosh, i am bored already, and clint only left yesterday evening!

we had a nice lunch at i Fratelli's (i am about to heat up my leftover YUMMY pasta as i type this) and were able to spend most of the day together since i decided to forego the family get together and take clint to the airport myself. i missed seeing the family, but it was nice to be able to drop him off and to have lunch with him. luckily mom & dad were able to drive over and have dinner with me after clint flew out. we had a nice mother's day dinner. =)

clint's in memphis taking another "course" for his job with DCAA (Defense Contracts Auditor Agency), and he'll be back late Friday afternoon.

bored bored bored, bored bored bored. i already watched a tivo-ed episode of 90210 that i missed when we were out celebrating cinco de mayo last tuesday. now i'm doing this. i'm going to eat my leftovers, watch gossip girl, score my end of year spelling assessments, and probably read a book. my life is ridiculously exciting, as you can see. still waiting to hear on baby cason's arrival. he should be greeting the world anytime now; so excited!

so my week will be pretty filled, tell the truth. tomorrow i'm hopefully going to get to visit baby cason & his parents at the hospital, and i need to try to reschedule my voice lessons that are tomorrow. wednesday i plan to hang with my gal Jenn, and maybe i'll try to do 1 of my voice lessons. thursday we've got our principal's retirement ceremony, and i'll probably do my 2nd voice lesson. and of course friday i'll pick up clint! so really the week will fly by, i'm sure.

friday is also our 3rd grade field trip to the ballpark at arlington (or have they changed the name again?). should be good times, but i bet it will be hot!

speaking of hot, is it just me, or can i not withhold my excitement about how pool season is quickly approaching?! god, i love having a pool. it make-uh me happy. AND, drumroll, i finally bought two reclining lounge chairs for the backyard so my girls and i can sun and read and i won't drop my library books in the pool! whoo hoo! ordered them last night from Target after much perusal of the many (expensive) types available at numerous stores. free shipping, too!

so fun. i cannot wait until school is out so i can lounge, sun, swim, & read. yay. my teacher mode is about run out for this year! i love my class DEARLY, but we are both in need of some major "time out," haha! it gets pretty exciting when you start getting to do "end of year" assessments, let me tell ya! i'm so proud; i finished all but 2 of my fluency assessments today, and those 2 weren't there.

as a side note, take good care of yourself; there is so much sickness going around at school right now! lots of stomach viruses, yuck!

have a great, restful evening!

--G

mainly i'm just a little sad today. sad that while there are many moments of joy in my profession--moments in which i feel that all the time and effort and love i put into my job each day has paid off and made even a tiny difference to a child. these are the times where all the frustration, exhaustion, and ridiculous amount of work seem to be worth it. then there are days where i feel like i try and try and try to reach out to a child, to make that child see that i care about them, regardless of their behavior and poor choices that frustrate me--and i keep trying and trying and trying...and yet nothing seems to work. the child continues down the same path, regardless of positive or negative reinforcement, regardless of special incentives and rewards, regardless of ANYTHING. this is one of those days. And i hate to be that teacher that gives up on a student, that finally says, ok, i've tried, and i'm tired of nothing i do getting through to this child, so i'm done trying. She'll be someone else's problem in a couple of months. but after today, i am seriously close to resigning myself to that attitude, and i hate that.

it's definitely frustrating when you keep trying to see the good in someone, trying to give someone the benefit of the doubt, and not ever seeing the confirmation that you did right. i don't know; there really is "only so much one person can do," and that's what i tell myself all the time when it comes to students who come to me struggling severely. but even with THOSE children this year i have seen significant improvement. i guess at least i have that; i can feel good about the part i have played in this year of those students' lives, at least. yeah, that's what i'm going with. =)

see, i can't decide today if i'm a pessimist or an optimist? my glass is just half something. oh well. tomorrow is another day! sigh. seriously, though: how many days till summer?

do you ever just stop and think about life? life in general? it's weird to me sometimes how we're all always trying to figure out what it is that will make us happier, make us more satisfied, make our lives more worthwhile.

i took this Feminism course back at Hunter that was really amazing. (My college in NYC had so many interesting cultural and diverse courses that Baylor could never even DREAM of offering.) thinking back to the times when women didn't even have the opportunity to be educated outside of their home, things these days for women are going pretty swimmingly. it's really amazing how far we've come from not having ANY choices in life to being overrun with choices. women today have the choice: do i want to be a stay-at-home mom? do i want to focus on my career? do i even WANT kids? it's pretty amazing to think about the fact that each of us has so much control over our lives. unfortunately, when it comes to money, sometimes our choices are limited.

i really enjoy my job a lot of the time. i love getting to know the many personalities of my students. i love seeing the innocence and the wonder and the desire to take it all in. i love being able to teach them not only academic things, but life lessons as well. they may not take in all i say right now, but i feel that one day they'll remember that Mrs. Cockrell told them that, and that she was right!

on the other side, though, teaching is so ridiculously exhausting; i could never have imagined how much work and dedication it would take to truly do a good job in my classroom. when i think about having a baby in a couple of years and trying to continue teaching, it makes me feel very overwhelmed and scared. i don't know how i'd feel about being a stay-at-home mom. part of me feels that i might get bored, miss the company of my fellow teachers, and miss having a job where i was needed and important (at least to the kiddos). but a lot of me thinks i simply don't have the type of personality and organization to balance being a teacher and being a mom.

my sister has 4 kids, 2 sets of twins, aged 7 and 11, and she teaches 2nd grade. i honestly do not know how she does it. but a lot of the time i can see how it wears on her. she's exhausted, and she's told me that her own children get the short end of the stick many times because by the end of the school day, her patience is GONE. i definitely want to be able to give my children the best possible home life i can, and i honestly don't know that i'll be able to do that while i'm teaching full-time. the trick is, there may not be a choice! losing an entire income would obviously hit us pretty hard. right now we've got 2 incomes and no car payments or children. it's scary thinking about losing 1 income and adding in 2 car payments and a baby. it's funny how worried about all of this i am right now since this is all 2 years down the road, but it's something that has been brought to the front of my mind because i have so many friends who are expecting. i guess it just starts making you think about your own future and family-planning. only time will tell, and i'm sure everything will work out one way or another.

in the meantime, i need to get re-focused on my life as it stands right now instead of worrying so much about the future! live for today and plan for tomorrow the best you can. and be thankful that we have options today as women.

that'll do it for now, i think. =)

LOL. Happy birthday to me!

I had a good day, despite the fact that I had to be at work! The kids were overall pretty decent today and kept giving me hugs and cards they made on construction paper, so it was pretty cute.

My mother surprised me by bringing me lunch and a gift and a cake up to school!

5 minutes later, my room mom for my class came in with lunch for me and my favorite dessert EVER from Magnolia Bakery, my absolute favorite place ever. My room mom also baked cupcakes for us to have to celebrate today.

I also got about 14 happy birthday texts, 4 singing birthday voicemails, and 22 facebook messages, so that felt good!

All in all, a happy birthday was had. =) It is about time to hit the hay, read a little in my current bedside book (see sidebar), and snoozey-snooze. I have been sleeping WAY better lately, and I'm so thankful. I HATE when I wake up 4 times to go to the restroom. The only bad part about sleeping better is that it is suddenly even HARDER for me to get up in the morning. As if it wasn't hard enough before, when I got awful sleep! Oh well.

Can't believe Open House is tomorrow night till 8:00! That is WAY too late. At least: 2 more days of teaching until Spring Break. AND 2 more days of teaching, and then 10 weeks left of school till summer! Praise Jesus. Fo' real.

Happy day before Friday, and thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Burned out on teaching right now! cue Spring Break! 5 more days. These poor kids, and this poor me. We are ALL in dire need of a break from school. I'm telling you what, they've got Spring fever really badly right now. The weather has been gorgeous, and no one feels like sitting indoors for 7 hours a day.

So anyway, thank God it's time for a little time off.

Tomorrow I've got a baby shower and a funeral; talk about the circle of life. Nothing lasts forever on this earth, I guess. It's weird to think about. I don't know why I'm so philosophic right now; mainly I'm just exhausted.

I will be so glad to see my bestest friend Kristen, as she's been out of town in Chi-town for a while now, and I haven't seen her in forever, it seems! We are going to re-watch (for me; 1st viewing for her and Gloria) the Oscars and talk about everyone's gowns.

I really wish it was summer and I could spend the days writing my novel and laying out by our pool. I truly cannot wait until summer this year. Summer is well-earned by teachers; anyone who ever said any different should be shot. Frankly.

Can you tell I'm burned out? And exhausted? This entry is kind of a downer, LOL. Sorry!

It is SO time for bed.

The good news is: I get to buy a baby gift tomorrow (nothing like waiting till the last minute--don't act surprised)! I LOVE buying baby gifts.

This little gem is going to be named Madeline, and I think she's due to be born in April. Sweet pea! Life does continue on...

Hope everyone has a nice, relaxing weekend!

I am just really hoping this sore throat goes away! I can't miss school tomorrow, and I DEFINITELY can't miss it Tuesday, because I have to administer the TAKS test to my kids. I would sooner die than have some random teacher in there doing it. Anyway.

I woke up at about 4:00 in the morning with this awful sore throat. I somehow knew something was coming on--it always seems to start with my allergies going haywire and then kicks it up a notch and my throat gets all overrun with drainage and stuff.

On a happier note, there are only 10 more days until Spring Break. God bless America, I really need a break, and so do the kids.

Clint's dad is having knee replacement surgery on Tuesday, so be thinking good thoughts on that front.

Also, a friend of mine's husband recently had a cancerous lump removed, so please send up a prayer for a smooth healing process and for the best outcome in moving forward.

Sigh. Sundays are so depressing. OK, think I'm going to take a nap now and hope for the best.

ah summer. you little devil, you. how you elude us all as these winter months tick by, ever so slowly.

but today--ah, today. today was a gem of a day. i spent the entire day inside until i left school at 4:00 to make a quick trip home to prepare for my voice student at 4:30. the weather was wonderful. i went to get the mail just to feel the warmness!

then my voice student didn't show, so at 5:00, after practicing my own music for a bit, i headed back home to cook dinner. clint and i decided to take a walk in the lovely weather, and we walked all the way to the park and then back, taking the scenic route. There are a ton of homes for sale and for lease in our neighborhood, so if anyone is looking to move, come on over, the weather's great!

today made me wish for summer! the warmth made me wish i was outside lounging by the pool in the hot sun, drinking a beer or margarita and eating my fresh salsa. sigh. it's not even spring break yet. however, the Reading TAKS is Tuesday, and the Math will be here before i know it (apr. 29). once those are over, the rest of the year will fly by.

i'm so relieved and proud at how well my kids did on our LOOOOOONG TAKS practice yesterday. they did awesome! then today was my formal observation by our asst. principal, and it went well. i think the kids must have thought, in clint's words, that they "did me a solid" this morning by behaving during that, so that explains their AWFUL behavior this afternoon! i mean wow. they were just gonna do whatever they felt like doing! the spring fever is overtaking them! as my mentor teacher would say, "they're like wild comanches on the war path!" LOL. it's kind of like that song "men" by the Judds; you can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em, and you definitely can't shoot 'em. ah, teaching.

come on, summer! we're waiting!!!

I went to the doctor yesterday after I left school. Basically it was turning into an upper respiratory infection (again). I have gone through the remnants of all the kleenex boxes in the house (I always keep a lot of kleenex--allergies) plus a roll of toilet paper after the kleenex ran out. At 4:30 this morning I got up and moved onto the couch, as I couldn't stop coughing full blast and didn't want to ruin Clint's sleep! My throat is one unhappy camper.

I am sure hoping to feel better by this weekend. It's been a while since we've seen Clint's family, so we've been hoping to get together with his sister and her family--maybe this weekend. Can't wait to see their kiddos; they are so sweet!

Saturday afternoon I have some auditions to attend since I signed on to music direct a kids' musical for the theatre where I've been teaching voice lessons and workshops. We are doing Schoolhouse Rock Jr, so it should be fun. It's a very easy commitment: just 3 Saturdays in February, then a music review rehearsal in March or April. It works out well with my rehearsal schedule for the annual fundraiser with RCT, which performs the first weekend in April. This year I'm only doing one song, yay! I just don't have the time or stamina during school to make a big commitment. No more shows during the school year for this chick! It's too exhausting.

Then Saturday afternoon I move on to working the cake walk at the school carnival. This carnival they do every year is insane! They have all kinds of fun stuff, it's amazing. They make tons of money for the PTO, which ends up funding all kinds of great things at school. This year Kristen and I (another 3rd grade teacher) applied for a technology grant and are now getting interactive whiteboards in our classrooms--this is funded by the PTO! Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be at this school. We have great teachers and supportive principals and parents. It really is a good place to work, and I have made some good friends!

Hopefully I'll something more exciting to write about soon!

why, oh why, can't we win the lotto?

i'm thinking how nice it would be to not have to wake up early in the morning. how it would be nice to not have to think about recess duty when i plan what i'm going to wear. how it would be nice to be able to finish cleaning up and doing laundry, and buying the last few presents and situating the house and finish making photo books of our wedding and lots of other things that don't involve going to work.

i bought Jessie a Christmas outfit today. HEH. pictures will be forthcoming, of course. if i can get her into it without getting my eyeballs clawed out, that is.

i feel the need to be proud of myself for going to class at the gym Saturday morning! i must partially attribute this to my teacher friends who also went, as i wouldn't be nearly as motivated to go alone! so yay to other friends who go to the gym with me. it makes it so much easier and better. did i mention how sore my legs are? WOW.

i will also soon be posting pics of our house, as i have made many changes recently! not to mention our cute little penguins standing in our yard that my uncle made for us. =) Clint was not too excited about the penguins, as they're not "manly," but they are cute!! =)

here's hoping for sleepy children tomorrow...

OK. Is it just me, or was it 70 degrees this morning when I left the house. I know, I know; it's my own fault for not checking the weather before I got dressed. I also clearly should never have cleaned out my car and returned my two long coats back to the coat closet in the hall. Point taken. Lesson learned. Or whatever. I will clearly be wearing ample outerwear tomorrow, as of course I have after school loop duty this week and absolutely froze to death today. I'm sure the parents were wondering who the freak show was who was doing a little dance to keep warm and who was continuously trying to keep her hoodie up to no avail. Ah well.

You know what sounds good right now? Hot pizza delivery showing up at my door effortlessly (for me). However, I am going to heat up my chili mac leftovers and warm up a piece of texas toast to go along with it. No pizza for me today, alas.

I found a super neat website that makes the cutest little necklaces and charms. Please feel free to peruse. I bought several Christmas/birthday gifts here for my nieces and others. BonBonCharms.

I am happy to report that I am enjoying my job more lately. I think I have learned to still love the children even though they drive me ever-loving crazy. I guess I must make more of an effort to try to see the good in people more often. I have a bad attitude. But I'm working on it. =)