So This is What it's Like

It has officially been forever since I last posted. Things have definitely gone from crazy to crazier! I started my new job as a 1st grade teacher at Cumberland, which is the main reason I haven't blogged in so long. My life has virtually been dedicated to my job 24/7 for the last month. Don't get me wrong I love my job, but I never realized how much time and effort it took to be a teacher. I finally know what it's like and why all the teachers I know are always exhausted and never stop working. I've posted some final pictures of my classroom for you all to see. The kids love it!

The view into the classroom from the door

The calendar area and computer center-there are now computers on the long table

The front of the room with my SmartBoard-this thing is the best invention ever!

The reading corner-the kids love the tent!

My desk

Part of the back of the room

The year has gone really pretty great so far. I really can't complain much. The first day was crazy, but the kids all survived and made it home alive. The second day was by far my worst day due to a note from a crazy parent and one of my boys got on the wrong bus to go home. Luckily, that night we had tickets to see Jeff Dunham at the State Fair, so I was cheered up by the time I went to bed that night. It was a great show and we definitely laughed until we cried. He's a hilarious guy and Walter did not disappoint. As for the crazy parent-she still sends me a note almost daily and is constantly concerned about her child and his academic progress, which makes me realize she is going to be on my back all year long. If that's the worst that I've got out of my 21 kiddos, then I think I'm good. I only have one girl that is truly challenging for me to handle every day and I'm working with her mom to try and get something figured out for her. All in all, it's been going good. I'm getting more and more confident in my routine and what I want to do and accomplish each day, as well as the kids. I finally got 2 student computers Friday, so I was really excited. I was promised these the first week of school and that clearly did not happen. The corporation is great and my principal totally has my back 100% which is a relief. I have a great building mentor, Kathy, who has given me so much and helped me out more than I could ever thank her for. I'd definitely be lost without her. We had our first field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo on the 16th and that went really well. The weather was perfect and the zoo was not packed at all. I was totally nervous and expecting to forget something, but it went without a hitch. I had 8 parent chaperones which is amazing! I didn't even have to take any kids which was a nice break.

Guitar Man opening for Jeff Dunham

Walter

Peanut and Jose the Jalepeno

Like I said, work has consumed my life-so I haven't really had much else go on. I haven't seen my husband much, which he is okay with because that gives him more time to go golfing without me getting mad because he's gone all the time, since I'm gone too. He's been great helping out around the house and coming into my classroom and helping me with stuff. I actually think he's come in at least every weekend for a little while on the days that I've had to go in. He's awesome! He even got me my new wedding band that I've been wanting. It's a band exactly like my original one, except now I have one on top and on bottom of my engagement ring. He definitely spoils me. So I figured I'd finally break down and let him sell his truck. So if you know anyone that wants to buy it, we're selling it for $7500. He's been wanting to get a 4 door truck possibly with a back window that goes down...for the dogs of course. Everything is always for the dogs. They're spoiled too. My poor dog has a benign tumor on his ear. We noticed a small bump about a month ago that just kept getting bigger and bigger. Of course, I started freaking out so we took him to the vet and found out that some dogs just get them and they will go away within 3 months. So basically we just have to deal with it and wait for it to fall off. It doesn't seem to bother him so that's the good news.

As some might know, Kyle and I have been trying to start a family since last November without success-obviously. So I made an appointment with the OBGYN to discuss what are options were. I went to a completely new doctor since my original OBGYN moved to Lebanon. I really like the guy and he got started with some tests right away, which I was grateful for. Not really sure what the tests were, but I know they were basic and just required my blood being drawn. We go back on the 6th to go over the results and run some more tests. He was good with explaining everything to us. I had Kyle go so that he could kind of see what goes on at the appointments and hear what the doctor has to say. He just thinks I'm full of it sometimes so it was interesting for him to hear everything and realize that I'm not overreacting and giving him false information. He's super excited about the "sample" that he will be asked to give at some point. I try to remind him that it's all for the greater good and our overall goal. I'm hoping that it's nothing to serious and can be an easy solution. I'm trying not to be too pessimistic and more optimistic but it's hard. It's hard when it's something that you have absolutely no control over and can't just make it happen. Hopefully we'll have some answers soon.

I'll keep you posted.

Hope everyone is having a great start to fall-my favorite season!

Wow! Did October fly by?!

So it's definitely been too long since I last posted. A lot has been going on.


We'll start with my car. I ended up getting it back within 9 days of the accident. It also ended up being close to $4000 in damage rather than the original price they quoted us at. Some of the interior "mechanical stuff" under the hood that I'm sure is extremely important was dented and damaged so they had to replace it. The car has been running good since we've got it back. They did a good job. This picture shows most of the damage. There was a hoofprint on the side and "juices" on the passenger side as well.
We went to the Kenny Chesney concert with Brandon, Tonia, Jessica, and Lauren. It was his final show of the tour and was AWESOME! We have seen him 2 times at Verizon, but this one was at Lucas Oil. Kyle and I had never been there. The place is huge and very impressive. It was an interesting night. We went to Champs for dinner with everyone before the concert where I discovered my new favorite drink-a lemon martini. We left and went to find our seats and were one short, so we ended up getting new seats. We went from the noseblead section which happened to be insanely loud, to the front section straight back from the stage. They were great seats! He had 4 good opening acts which included some guy that sings about fried chicken on a Friday night (I can't ever remember his name), Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, and Sugarland. None of us knew that Kenny was taking time off, so we were surprised when he stayed out on stage for about an extra hour because he didn't want it all to end. It was by far the best Kenny concert we've been to and ended with a very emotional closing song that he could barely get out because he was in tears. Very sweet!

I went wedding dress and bridesmaids dress shopping with my best friend Jackie who is getting married next summer. I had a blast! It's so much more fun when it's your best friend and you don't have to stress and worry about all the wedding stuff anymore. I had a blast and realized that she is going to be an absolutely stunning bride. She looked amazing in every dress she tried on, but ended up making a final decision. I can't wait to see Alex's reaction when he sees her that day!


I went to the Covered Bridge Festival with my parents, Sara, and Chase. It was so much fun. I remember going a few times as a kid and hating it. It's definitely more fun when you're older. It was definitely a little colder than I would have liked, but it was good to spend time with my favorite people and spend money that I really probably shouldn't have, but oh well. They are memories!


A few weeks ago we had Matt and Lindsey Delp's wedding. It was a TON of fun since there was an open bar for everyone all night at the reception. It made for a very interesting night. Congrats to them. They had a beautiful wedding! It's so easy to reflect on your own and realize how quick it truly does go by. It seems like ours was just yesterday and we've been married 4 months now. CRAZY!


And this past week I have been fighting what I'm guessing was H1N1. I have not felt so sick in a long time. My body felt like a truck had driven over it! More than once. On Monday we had at least 120 kids absent and 10 teachers. One of my music classes only had 8 kids in it! It was crazy how small some of the classes were. It's kind of scary that there are this many problems this early in the year. I ended up taking Wednesday off just to catch up on rest. It was my first sick day that I've taken since I got my job at Hershey. It will be my only sick day too. I've got to save my days for whenever we get pregnant. Luckily for me today and Monday are our Fall Break, so I get a few extra days to catch up on rest. I'm definitely glad we have a short break. I was hoping to go somewhere, but it just didn't happen this year. Maybe next year.


Other than that, I think we are finally starting to slow down. I love the fall season! I wish the weather would have been nicer a little longer this year, but it's Indiana. We don't always get what we want. I'm getting excited for the holiday season and spending them with Chase. It's so fun now that we have someone young in the family to spoil. I'm sure he will fit right in for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners! I CAN'T WAIT! I better stop now. Here's some pictures from our latest happenings.