Wednesday Loves!

It's time to hear about what I'm loving this week.



I'm loving these Calculus Toms!


They may be nerdy, but they are so cute!

I'm loving these pics I found on Pinterest.
This is me... every night.


This makes me think of my mother...





So true.

I'm loving that fall is right around the corner. I love pumpkins and crisp, cool mornings. Here are a few autumn items I like...
Harvest Pumpkins






I want to find someone to knit me a scarf out of this Hand Dyed Autumn Yarn. It's beautiful!


I love scarfs!!

I'm loving sweet Madeley. I love her new words and her new expressions. She hummed the ABCs last night. She doesn't quite know them yet, but she definitely knows the song!

I'm loving that it's bedtime. Goodnight!!

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Technology Expert

Madeley is going to be a technology expert. She can pick up our phones and get to work. I am amazed at how well children adapt to new technology. I hope it's a sign that she's going to be smart!

Here she is relaxing before bed...


She for sure knows what she's doing.


But if something goes wrong, she knows exactly where to go.



We are still having a hard time in the evening. I'm sad that our two hours together are tainted with tiredness. I hope she gets better soon!

Thanks for reading!

I'm going to bed now... thank the Lord!!



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Hillbilly Handfishin'

Derrick's got Hillbilly Handfishin' on right now... mainly because I refuse to watch Bachelor Pad tonight and essentially waste two hours of my life. The handfishing show is insane. I'm semi-interested. I mean, it's a little weird to think of catching a fish using your hands and feet. And I'm just not keen on sticking my hand into a hole underwater... not knowing what's there. Sound fun?


My main reason for blogging about this is to tell you that it is hilarious to hear Jessica talk about this show. She all but hyperventilates and passes out while watching it. And she can barley talk about it later... like she might have bad dreams or something. I mean, I don't want to be out there noodling. But to think of my sister going out to do it, makes me almost pee in my pants! I think we should promise to take her next time she misbehaves. I just know she'd fit right into that muddy, snaky water. Ha ha!

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Derrick helped Madeley climb a tree at Jessica's last night. She LOVED it and got so mad when we made her get down.


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Blog break

Okay, so I took a three day blog break. I know you could probably tell that I've been stressed about blogging in the first place. I don't know what my deal is, but anyway... I need to catch you up!! Derrick and I intensely tuned into Big Brother Thursday night for the live double eviction. We were both very upset when Jeff went home. Sad day for BB.

Anyhow, Friday night we relaxed. Then yesterday, I frantically cleaned my house for the Pampered Chef party. I thought the house looked great, and I was so proud of myself. Here's a look at the kitchen... clean bar.


Although the day turned out okay, it did not start off that way. For some reason, Madeley woke up crying and never stopped. I really had no idea why. Tired? Teeth? Here's how breakfast went...
Smile:


Mad that I won't let her stick the peanut butter sandwich to her cheeks.


Stop taking pictures.


Not happy.


Poor thing. I assumed she had aching gums, so I gave her some medicine, which helped. She ended up laying down at 9 and sleeping past 12:30. Again, not sure what schedule we're on.

She was very good for the remainder of the day though. She really enjoyed playing in Janna's Pampered Chef bag.








If only I could keep that big ole bag forever... she'd be a happy little toddler. We rolled around the kitchen several times, and she loved every minute of it.

When it got close to Madeley's bedtime, Aunt Betty came over so that Derrick and I could go to dinner with Jaki and Cliff. It was an enjoyable evening out. We even sat outside and the weather was great! I really needed that time with Derrick and our friends. It refreshed me.

Now, let's talk for a minute about my clean house. Do you ever obsess over cleanliness right after cleaning? If my floors and countertops are clean, and the smallest crumb falls, I immediately want to clean everything again. I feel the need to sweep, mop, and vacuum today to get up anything that has fallen in the last 24 hours. I want everything to remain spotless!! Madeley has a new obsession with carrying around baggies of Cheerios. She'll eat them around the clock. And I feel the need to follow behind her, catching every crumb that drops. I don't know how this has happened, but I'm the same way at school. I want everything to stay clean. Literally, this transformation happened in the past 2-3 weeks. I forget how amazing a clean house and classroom can make me feel until I see it. Do you know what I mean?

Now that I've updated you, I'm going to read. I'm on the third Hunger Games book now, Mockingjay. So good. We stayed home from church because Madeley laid down for an early nap, again. This afternoon, we will be heading up to Little Rock to see Jessica. I'll take some fun pictures.

Sorry about the blog break, and thanks for reading!!

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Wednesday Loves

What am I loving this week? Well, let's see...



I'm loving my sweet Madeley. Derrick and I lay in bed at night and talk about how happy she makes us, and how thankful we are to have her in our lives. As fussy as she may be in the evenings, I love her more and more each day. I have been forgetting to snap a picture of her each day, so I thought I would include an old one.


Sweet girl!!

I'm loving that Derrick helped me cook dinner tonight. He made THE BEST grilled chicken. Thanks babe!!


Grilled chicken, baked sweet potato, and sautéed squash. It was delicious!!

I'm loving that Jeff is back-dooring Dani on Big Brother this week. She keeps talking like she might still be there after Thursday... Sorry Dani, don't see that happening.

I'm loving the endless, awesome pillow options on etsy. I have no idea why I started looking at pillows. But once I did, I couldn't stop!!

Green and Cream Pillow Cover



Persimmon and Beige City Square Pillow



Orange and Lavender Large Sofa Pillow



Floral Pillow Covers



Suzani Pillow Cover



Orange and Turquoise Lumbar Pillow


(Must. Stop. Pillow. Shopping. Window shopping actually. We have more than enough pillows over here.)

I'm also loving this Deep Covered Baker from Pampered Chef.


Since I would never be able to purchase it on my own, I'm having a Pampered Chef party on Saturday. If you would like to come or order something, message me on Facebook or email me. I'm excited... I love new kitchen accessories!

I'm loving that Dad and I took a short trip to the cemetery today. He'd picked up a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and we delivered them in the drizzling rain.


Mom would have loved them!

I'm loving that the weekend is almost here!! Thanks for reading.

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Don't mess with me

I'm not taking anything lightly right now. I can't laugh about the mishaps in my life, and I can't have a positive conversation without getting irritated and saying something negative. Not sure what to attribute this bitterness to right now, but I sure hope it passes soon. I know Madeley comes in exhausted and irritable everyday. Maybe I'm the same way. Maybe my "adjustments" are swaying my mood and removing my joy. I want so bad for Madeley to behave and enjoy the evening with Derrick and me, but that's a lot to ask for right now. She's still adjusting. As much as I want Madeley to lighten up and be happy, I should want the same for myself. I mean, I can literally relax my face sometimes and realize I must have been scowling for a long time! I do hope that once I get back into the working habit, I will see a more positive side to everything. If you are feeling the brunt of my negativity each day, I am sorry... even though sorry is just a word, I mean it.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. She would have been 60, and probably not happy about it. :)

Thanks for reading.





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Is it bedtime yet?

Derrick and I woke up to a sick little Madeley at 1:30 this morning. I still feel like we are inexperienced in the messy sickness category. We just do the best we can to get by. Derrick really stepped up though. He took such good care of Madeley last night and today. I was very thankful that he stayed home with her so I didn't have to take off work. She is much better now, but I am starting to feel the effects of no sleep. It was a long, long night, and I have no objections to going to bed early.

While waiting to go to bed, Derrick and I are watching Bachelor Pad. I'm embarrassed, and the show is terrible!! We both sit here wondering why we are watching it. Derrick said, "This show is so bad, but it has NO competition!" That's the truth. If there was ANYTHING ELSE on, we'd be watching it. I'd rather go read my book... I am so wrapped up in the life of Katniss Everdeen right now. She could be the next Bella. She's definitely stronger!!

As you can probably tell, I'm still fighting that writer's block. I'll work it out soon...


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Ummm...

I'm having writer's block. If I was attempting to carry on a conversation with you right now, it would be filled with a lot of ummms and uh huhs. I just don't know what to say. Please don't hate me for it. Please don't stop reading my blog because of it. I think it must stem from exhaustion and mental overload. In my spare time, I think I want to do things that don't require much thought on my part right now. Playing with Madeley, reading, watching television.

Thursday night was a late night for me, hence no blog. Last night, we were with friends past my regular blogging time, and so I put it off. But I know many of you have wondered how Madeley's been doing. I think it's typical daycare stuff. She likes to go, and she only cried once when I dropped her off this week. We've had one head lice scare. And when I say scare, I mean I was scared. She seems to be using more words than she was before she started. She loves coloring, and she displayed her abilities to Aunt Betty and I today. It's funny, because she is very serious about it. As far as I know, she's eating all her food and sleeping soundly. Although she is still adjusting to the short nap time. Previous to daycare, she was napping three hours a day. Now she's napping about an hour to an hour and a half. She's a zombie when I pick her up! I think she caught up on some sleep yesterday though. She woke up around 10:30, then napped from 1:50 to 5:45. The poor thing needed sleep! She's just as sweet as ever though. I love her little hugs and kisses!

I have not taken any pictures this week, but I promise to do so soon. Madeley's probably growing overnight, so I'll need to share new pictures soon.

Thanks for reading, and please bare with me through the writers block! I'm off to read and watch Sunday night shows.

P.S. Madeley went to bed at 6:25. I have no idea what kind of a schedule we're on!!

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One week down

First of all, I'm a little too tired to be blogging. My eyes are getting blurry, and I need to sleep soon. All I can really say is that this week has had its ups and downs. My coworkers are wonderful though, so I'm glad to be with them.

I know that each year of teaching can be different. Different challenges arise, whether I feel equip or not. But... amazing teaching moments are not rare if you commit yourself to being a great teacher. I've committed myself, so now I'm waiting for those moments. I need to see them... they're what keeps me going.

As a "young looking" teacher, I have to start out stern. This is sometimes hard for me, because I would prefer to smile and be happy. But smiling happiness is not always successful in the classroom. So I've tried to balance my serious faces with smiles, since seriousness is not my forte. I don't want to look mean all the time. When I look back on my favorite teachers, they weren't "happy go lucky" all the time. They were teachers, and they showed serious faces and smiles.

I wonder if the first week will be the predictor of the year. We'll just have to see.

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Can you believe the West Memphis Three are free tonight? I can't believe it! I thought we'd never see the day. I'm not sure what your opinion is, but I lean toward thinking they are innocent. My friend Elizabeth has always thought they were innocent, and she passionately tried to convince me. If you listen to the stories, it's hard to imagine they did it. But the question that remains is, who did? Only God knows.

I wonder what they will do with their lives now. I hope they successfully move on. They must be tired of being the WM3.


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Wednesday Loves

It's Wednesday, so here's what I'm loving...



I'm loving that Madeley is enjoying daycare. She seems to enjoy going, and she's always having fun when I pick her up. It makes me happy!!

I'm loving my short morning drive. I feel like I'm a whole new person! Yesterday, I had 7:30 duty, and I was there by 7:20. If you know me, you're proud!

I'm loving tonight's episode of Big Brother. I cried twice! Once when Jordan gave Shelly her phone call card. Then again when Shelly got the phone call from her daughter and husband. By the time her daughter got on the phone, I was sobbing!!!

I'm loving all the great wreaths on etsy. They are so creative!!

Script Leaf Wreath



Is it too soon to be thinking about fall?
Pumpkin Pie Berry Wreath



I'm also still loving The Hunger Games series. The books are amazing! Although, my reading has slowed down a bit because I fall asleep every time I get in bed. I can't seem to advance very far in the second book while sleeping, but I'm anxious to finish the series!

Hope you are loving this Wednesday!


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Clumbsy

So, I tripped over a line on the ground today. I dropped a half gallon of orange juice on the floor of my kitchen this evening. And last week I fell in the parking lot at school. I'm getting on my nerves!! What's the deal?!? Last week's fall scared me to death... it was one of those times where your ankle twists and gives out right under you. Your body has no other option but to tumble to the ground. Great.

The orange juice incident about sent me into hysterics. I dropped a FULL bottle, and it went EVERYWHERE!! Under my island, across the kitchen, all over me, all over everything. For a split second, I had no idea what to do, and I thought about running. There was just too much orange juice for me to handle. Well, I pulled myself together and cleaned up the sticky mess. The funny thing was that I've never been successful at moving the island. I've tried many times, but failed. I guess the adrenaline kicked in tonight and I pushed that island right out of the way so I could clean under it. I just couldn't really get it back to it's original position afterward.

I hope I can make it through the rest of the week without any more mishaps!!

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I took a picture of Madeley's "art" today. She's an artist...



Thanks for reading!!

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Great day!

Today was a great day for all of us! Madeley went straight into daycare, while pulling my arm, and she never looked back. I called at lunch. She was eating and doing well. When I picked her up, she didn't even want to leave. She would have rather stayed and played. I was also a little worried about her sleeping on a cot, but she did fine with it. I was surprised!!

As for me, the day was busy but good. Before I knew it the school was out and I was preparing for tomorrow. The best part of the entire day was no driving! I do miss my friends at Benton, but I was home in three minutes today. That's right, three minutes. And when I got home, Derrick and I played with Madeley, then cooked dinner together. It was wonderful!!

I snapped a few "first day" pictures this morning.
She didn't want to look at me.


I tried to take out the paci, but I failed.


I said "smile" and got this face...


Then I said, "Take that paci out and smile at me!!" It looks more like a kiss than a smile.


After school, I walked over to get her and we came back to my room. She immediately crawled into a desk.


This was her face when I told her to get down so we could leave.


Once she got down, she took off running from me!



Caroline attended her first day of kindergarten today!! Here she is in her uniform...


And in the classroom...



She had a great day as well!!

Thanks for reading!

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Hope I'm ready

I do hope I'm ready for tomorrow. I've been worrying all day... everything from new school to new daycare to new students to first days. Worrying is another waste of time, so I'll try to stop that now.

Hopefully I'll have Madeley dropped off at 7:15 and be in my classroom by 7:30. Fingers crossed. I always start out getting up early at the beginning of the school year, then I hit the snooze button more and more as the year progresses.

I finished the final touches in my room today, and I've snapped a few before and after shots.

Here are a few before...









And here are the after...











I laminated some previous student work to display as wall art. And we never did get around to doing the lantern decorating... while I know it would have looked amazing, I had to take care of business first. I finally finished today around 4:00. I could use another 20 hours, but at least I'm ready for tomorrow!

Please do us a favor and remember all teachers and students in your prayers tonight. The first few days usually set the precedence for the entire year!

Thanks for reading!

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