Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Life of a 3rd Grade Teacher!


I don't post too much at the details of teaching. Mostly this blog highlights my favorite subject-Lily! BUT we have done some fun things are school this week, so I thought I would dedicate a post to my job. In recent weeks, I feel like I have had to do so much test prep. The kids get burnt out, and I get burnt out. This week, I have actually had a chance to do some FUN projects.


We started reading, "How to Eat Fried Worms." Chapter books are one of my favorite parts about teaching reading. We read several great books throughout the year. This book is very funny as the main character is trying to win a bet of eating 15 worms in 15 days.


I have been able to expand our book into "wormy" math activities. Our standards this month focus on graphing and collecting data. Here are some of the activities we have been doing. (And yes-teachers get excited for these things too).

Tuesday, groups sorted, charted, and graphed the contents of a sour gummy worm bag. They had to make a tally chart, bar graph, and pictograph of the different color combinations. We discovered every bag had different amounts of each color. Of course, the kids loved dividing up the worms to eat at the end. (I have great pics of my students, but I didn't want to put any faces on my blog!)

Students are collecting data...

The main character in the story is allowed to use any condiments he wants to eat the worms. Today, I split hot dogs into fourths to make them look like worms. We cooked them and then tried seven different condiments on the hot dog. Students had to select their favorite out of the seven and then we graphed the data.


Condiments were: mustard, ranch, steak sauce, worchestershire, ketchup, horseradish, and BBQ. Ranch was the winner!


Sorry if the school post bores you! My days can be hard and long, so I needed an encouraging job post to help me make it to June 8th!


P.S.: These extra snacks during the day have been nice for my hungry, pregnant self :)

Monday, March 28, 2011

Back to the daily grind!


Today, I went back to work after having a week off for Spring Break. It is always hard to get back in the swing of things after being at home. I made it :) and even got report cards done before I left today. It is hard to believe that we are starting the fourth (and final) weeks of school. Each year seems to go faster and faster.

Yesterday, I drove with Chris (mother-in-law) and Holly (sister-in-law) to Cincinnati for Jeff's cousin Kelly's baby shower. It was a nice driving day, and I always have fun chatting with Chris and Holly. We got to talk all about babies (Holly is due at the end of May)! Kelly is due at the beginning of May, and we are excited to learn what she is having very soon. Knowing these babies are coming soon will make the end of my school year come very fast!!!

I think the coolest gift that Kelly received yesterday was a "Scentsy Buddy." These are stuffed animals that have scent packs in them. They make the nursery smell good. Kelly received an elephant, but there are others you can order. Here is the website I found if you are looking for a neat gift for someone: http://www.scentsybuddy.com/ I think you actually have to search and find an independent seller. Here is one website I found that sells them: http://www.wicklessfundraisers.com/products/scentsy-buddies-new-scented-stuffed-animals



Friday, March 25, 2011

12 Weeks


12 weeks of pregnancy are down...many more to go! I am going to try to actually take pictures of my growing belly more consistently this time around. I have a few when I was preggo with Lily but not many. So, here it goes for anyone interested. I already feel like my belly is huge (but I hear that is how 2nd pregnancies go). I bet it has more to do with all the food I have been eating rather than the small little baby inside me. I am thankful for my low rise jeans and leggings. They should work for a little while longer!!

Now that I am feeling a tad more energetic, I am making it a goal to run more. One, it is healthy for me and baby Q. Two, it makes me feel better to exercise. I went running today, and it felt great. Although, when school starts back up next week, we will see if I can hold onto this running promise!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

BIG News!


We are having another baby!!

Many of you reading this already know our big news! Now, I am officially making the big announcement. After a rough fall, we weren't sure how long it would take to get pregnant again. I was so happy that it didn't take long at all to heal. We actually found out about this baby on Lily's birthday. I took several more tests over the next few days to make sure it was really true! Because of the tubal pregnancy I had in September, I had an early ultrasound at just over 4 weeks to determine the placement of the pregnancy. It was a huge relief to know everything was in the "right" spot :)

Last week, I went in for my first OB appointment. Jeff went with me, and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat (another huge relief). It was 172 beats/minute. Everything looked fine, so we will go back in mid April for our next appointment. The due date is October 8th (so I am just a few days shy of 12 weeks).

Although I still worry everyday and have been sick and very, very tired, I am grateful that everything is going well. Nana's St. Gerard prayer helps me to calm down! Jeff and I are now getting a little nervous about having more than one child. Lily seems to understand about the baby (as much as a 3 year old can)-even though she thinks I am having Jessie and Woody from Toy Story! It has been interesting trying to take care of Lily and be pregnant. Thankfully, Jeff has been able to take over when I am feeling pretty lousy and tired. I am hoping in the next few weeks I will have more energy. The sunshine is definitely helping!

So-that's our BIG news! :)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Children's Museum-Another Visit!


Lily and her friend Kelsi enjoyed the Dora and Diego exhibit!



Playscape is the best area!





Dressing up...






Today, my friend Lisa and I headed to Indy to visit the Children's Museum. Since Jeff's parents got Lily a year pass for her birthday, we are able to take friends for free! Lisa brought her kids, Kali, Kelsi, and Karson. Lily and Kelsi played so well together today. Although I was pretty tired, it was great to watch the kids running around and having a good time. Just one way we are enjoying Spring Break!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Lily had her green on today :) This afternoon we went for a walk and played on the playground at the school nearby. It is so nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air. It was especially needed after the awful work week I have had.

I want to also say Happy Birthday to Lily's Uncle Danny! We hope he was able to celebrate and enjoy his day!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Good Morning!

We were up early this morning (when I say "we" I mean Jeff and Lily, which in turn wakes me up), so I thought I would blog just to say...

THREE MORE DAYS UNTIL SPRING BREAK!

After the start to the week I had, I am thrilled to get a little vacation. We will be visiting Sarah and Ty this weekend. Mimi and Papaw are taking Lily and Ty to do something fun while we visit with a friend! I am sure there is some shopping in my future.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Saturday!

I haven't posted in a while...

Life has been the same old, same old, which is actually pretty comforting. We are done with the first round of ISTEP testing, but are already preparing for the second part in April. I only have one more week before Spring Break. I don't have a lot planned-relaxing, hanging out with Lily, and graduate school. I start my second class of the semester (school finance-yuck!) next week.

Jeff has been busy. As the weather starts to change, we see him less and less :( I am thankful that he has work to do though :) Although, I have requested that at least once or twice a week he is home to eat dinner with us.

Lily is her same, wild self! Three has proven to be both amazing and challenging. She is very stubborn and demanding of what she wants (which causes some head butting most days). I am happy to see her becoming more independent, but it is also sad to see her as a little girl and not a baby. She is getting better at putting her dishes in the sink when she is finished and throwing away trash. She can use the bathroom by herself (scary, but she actually does pretty good). She is also working on dressing and undressing by herself. My friend started a chore chart for her little girl, and I think that is a good idea. I just need to find time to make it!

Lent started on Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), which means meatless Fridays and trying to get centered and focused on some of the important things in life. I am never good about giving anything up. Frankly, there is nothing that important to me. I don't really drink pop and could live without chocolate. SO, I always try to do something extra. This year, I plan on going to the Stations of the Cross every Friday for some extra time of reflection. I did make it last night, so I have started off good! Jeff has even decided to give up Mountain Dew. I am routing for him because he drinks an unhealthy amount! I can't believe we are on our way to Easter already...SPRING!

Last weekend, we celebrated Ty's third b-day. It was fun-baseball pinata and all. This weekend, I have a friend's baby shower, and next week, Lily and I are headed to Dayton to visit with Sarah and Ty. I am going to help her start getting ready for new baby Swan! I CANNOT wait until May when we will have two new babies in the family!!!!

Enjoy your weekend and the week ahead!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Happy 3rd Birthday Tyler!


Happy Birthday to my favorite nephew (I can only say this for a little while longer)! We spend so much time together that I feel like my own son is turning three :) We cannot wait for his party this weekend. Have a great day Ty!!!