30 Day Music Challenge: Day 21

Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy

"Dynomite" by Taio Cruz

This is definitely NOT the type of music I would usually choose for myself, but this song is just so darn catchy. It REALLY makes me want to move. I am NOT a dancer, but I do find myself swaying, tapping, and singing along whenever this song comes on. When I'm very happy it helps to get out the energy.

Six Word Saturday- July 30

Moved In. School Starting. Settling In.

So we're pretty much moved in here at Mom and Dad's and starting to get into a routine. (Please see Complete Change of Plans if you missed my big announcement about our move.) Wow, has it been nice to have four adults around as I'm getting used to being back at work and the girls are checking out their new surroundings. Coming home to a calm environment has sure been pleasant, too! That's not to say there hasn't been adjustments to be made, but that's true anytime you move, really.

I start teaching on Monday. I am super excited, though I do have to say that my classroom configuration is driving me a bit crazy. I wasn't thrilled with the way I set up the desks (see Classroom Set Up), but I compromised with myself. This morning, however, I was reading "The First Days of School" and was reminded why I like rows of desks. It has been proven through statistics and studies that students learn better when they are facing forward and not in groups. Grrr... I think I am going to go in and change back to the rows and try to figure out how to make it work for space.

Over all life is starting to settle down. We still have to spend some time at the townhouse to clean and pack, but that can really be done at any time. We're not in a hurry. Once the girls start school it will be REALLY nice so we can fall into a routine that works for all of us, and life can start to feel normal. This year has been pretty rocky. I'm looking forward to a bit of smooth sailing.

Classroom Set Up

I did it! I survived my first ever teacher in-service week. This week I spent time in meetings every day, got my classroom set up, and had Orientation (Meet the Teacher Night for some). I've been putting in some 12 hour days, but I really can't complain. I'm doing what I love. I did, however, promise myself to spend some time with my family this weekend and to get some packing done at the townhouse.

The children I met at the Orientation were great! I can't wait to start teaching them. I gave out homework that is due the first week of school, and many were excited to get home and start working on their "Getting to Know You" bags. Mine had a social studies twist, though, and some paperwork to fill out, but the students were still looking forward to it. I think this is a good sign!

School starts on Monday. Being a part time teacher, I don't start teaching until after noon. I plan to be there, though, when the first of the students start coming in. I want to help children find where they need to be and be a smiling face to welcome them to school. I would want that for my girls on the first day of school. I won't be going in that early every day, but it won't hurt for a day or two. Plus I'm just as anxious to get started as everyone else is. I would just drive myself crazy being at home.

To all of you teachers... Have a great first day of school!

My camera definitely doesn't like the lighting in the hallway. This is my classroom door. I've got social studies terms under the welcome sign. I did add my name above the flower.

Time line across the top of the wall that continues on the opposite wall. The left side is maps and the vocabulary bulletin board for 5th graders. The right side is the same type of material but different content for 6th graders.

My desk area. I brought a desk from home because I didn't care for the table they provided for me. I also wanted some comforts of familiarity. My classroom doesn't have storage in it, so I like this little corner "office" area. Bonus: I have a window!

This is the back wall, closest to the door. I brought my huge clock from home, which will be directly in front of me while I'm teaching. The book case is home of the class set of text books. I love that our school sends one home and keeps one in the classroom. No excuses that a student forgot to bring the textbook home!

I like traditional rows for my classroom layout. I tried it this way, but there wasn't a whole lot of room to move. I like to move around while I'm teaching, so I ditched this idea. I'll come back to this configuration if I have to, but I'm guessing we'll be okay after meeting the students.

I ended up with three long rows of desks with pairs facing each other. The idea is not that they will all be a group but that there will be two students who work together. If I need larger groups it will be easy to put that together as well. We'll start with this and see how it works. The desks I received are quite large, so my room suddenly isn't as big as I thought it was.

As of Thursday night I didn't have a white board, but they were supposed to be installed Friday while we were at CPR training. I'll see it this weekend when I go in for some finishing touches. We were each getting 16 foot white boards, so I'm really excited to see the end result of my classroom. This year is the first time it's being used, so I have very fresh paint and carpet. I love the colors they picked!

Friday Fill-Ins- July 29

Hosted by Feeling Beachie!

1. I find changing into pajamas helps me relax when I come home from work. If I can't change into PJs I like to at least get out of my work clothes and into jeans.

2. I always think my significant other looks best when he first gets a haircut. I like that fresh look.

3. Someday I’m going to go to Sea World with my girls. There are not too many things I still desire in life, but I would love to take a family vacation to Sea World. I want to go at a time when we have enough money to not worry about what we spend. It would be a time to just have fun.

4. When I open my eyes in the morning, I want to get up and check email, harvest my Farmville farm, and start the day. Mornings are the best time of day for me. I naturally wake up between 4:00 and 5:30, and I like to take some time to enjoy myself before the rest of the world around starts to wake up. This way I get "me time" every day and feel ready to face whatever challenges the day may bring.

Five Question Friday- July 29

1. Vow renewal ceremonies-yay or nay? I am all for vow renewal ceremonies, but I don't think they should just be thrown around lightly. They should be taken as seriously as the actual wedding ceremony. Oh, wait.... it doesn't seem to many people take that seriously now, either. Hmmmm... okay, the vow renewal ceremonies should be taken MORE seriously than the wedding. I really think if people put that much thought and effort in to the ceremony they are probably going to have a successful marriage. I don't think the renewals should be done too often, either, and they should be an intimate gathering rather than a huge, showy party. I think it would be neat to do a vow renewal after all the children are grown so the whole family can be a part of the ceremony. If a couple has gone threw something serious like a death of a child, a separation and subsequent reconciliation, or some other extremely tough time, a ceremony would be a nice reminder of hope for the future.

2. What sound/s annoy you the most? I think right now it's the sound of my girls fighting with each other or arguing with me. It's time for school to start already!

3. If you had to pick, would you have only all boys, or only all girls for kids? I do have only girls, so I wouldn't change a thing. I have to admit that the mouth is starting to get to me, though, now that they are both tweens.

4. Do you believe in alternative medicine? Absolutely! I am a BIG believer in yoga and meditation as a stress reliever as well as massage. I have an appointment for a massage tomorrow, as a matter of fact! I do believe some herbs and "natural medicines" work as well, but I will definitely use the "modern medicines" for infections and other life-threatening illnesses. I also believe that proper nutrition and foods can keep a body healthy as well.

5. Would you take a family member's children and raise them if they needed it? Absolutely! Would it be easy? No. I wouldn't think twice, though, if I were needed. It doesn't matter the reason.

Complete Change of Plans

Well, life can turn upside down in a heart beat sometimes. This weekend was one of those times. On Friday night Daniel and I decided to move out of our townhouse. Fifteen minutes after the decision was made we were starting to pack.

You may remember by Neighborhood Rant post in June and my Letter to Someone Who Recently Hurt You from last week. In both of these instances I was complaining about a group of children who were misbehaving in our townhouse complex. These children are unruly. They have taken over the complex because the caring adults have no recourse. There is no law that prevents the children from throwing rocks and dirt clots at houses, apparently. The police officers we have talked to said they cannot force parents to do their jobs.

Friday night was a breaking point for us. We have asked the parents of the creepy children to keep their children from playing right outside the front of our unit because it is the only place we allow our children to play. Since the other kids have plenty of place to play because they have full run of the rest of the complex, my husband and I thought this was a fair compromise. To give you perspective, the perimeter of the complex is half mile. I know this because we measured it for running. This is a HUGE area. Giving our children a small portion of it for play is not asking a whole lot.

On this occasion, my girls were outside running through the sprinklers when the others came over and started to take over. Our rule has been, in the past, that if these children come out our girls are to come inside. This day, however, my husband said to just ignore them because my girls have started to become trapped in the house since these kids roam the complex all hours of the day and night. I should have known that wasn't going to go over well. The jerk kids starting calling ours names. They started calling the neighbor kids names. These names are not nice, and some of them could make a sailor blush. From the mouths of nine-year-olds! I finally stepped in and told the one girl to get away from my daughter.

To make a very long story short, Daniel and the other father exchanged words. Once again, we felt backed into a corner. There is nothing anyone could do to help us with this situation, and we were becoming more and more fed up with letting these kids walk all over us and determine how we would live our lives. Well, I have to say that my incredible family has saved us.

Flashback to a couple of months ago when I was REALLY sick and not knowing if I was ever going to get better. My mom and dad, who live a couple miles away, offered for us to move in so they could help with the girls, the housework, and general life. At the time we declined. I refused to admit I was sick enough to require that level of assistance, and the idea of moving in with my parents was defeating. I can now tell you that my attitude changed very quickly when I finally saw how disgusting, scary, and unsafe our townhouse complex had become. Once it was not about me but was about my husband's happiness and my children's safety, I quickly overcame my hesitancy and frankly embarrassment to say I lived with my parents. After the incident Friday night it was ME who picked up the phone and asked my mom if the offer to move in was still open. Of course it was, and like I said, minutes later we were packing the most essential of our belongs and heading out the door.

In many ways the neighbors and their children won. They pushed us out of the home that I used to enjoy and feel peaceful in. I'm SO glad we are gone, though. It's okay if they won. We are moving on to better things. It has been extremely hectic and at times frustrating, mostly because I started my new job on Monday and have been focused on that. Moving and setting up a classroom all in the same week is a little exhausting. But, my children are safe. They will actually be going to a school that is WAY better than the one in the old neighborhood. The girls have friends who they had met when we would come here to visit, so that's nice. These new friends dont' throw rocks at the house, call adults nasty names when we step out of the house, or vandalize our cars while we are sleeping. I never realized how stressful those things were until we DON'T have to worry about them. It's nice to pull into the driveway and feel safe and secure. The best part is that Daniel is no longer up pacing at night, checking the door locks several times. Next time we live somewhere that has a police helicopter up above at 8 PM every Friday night, I may get the hint that we aren't living in the nicest part of town.

I don't know where we will go from here. For now I am working on getting settled in, and we'll figure out the plan later. The girls will be starting school in a couple of weeks, and I start teaching on this coming Monday. That's enough to focus on for now. We're still stopping at the townhouse daily to get things we have discovered a need for, and when we have time we are working on packing up the rest for storage. We'll figure all that out eventually, too. Does anyone know anyone who wants to rent or buy a townhouse? No, I'm kidding. I could never put someone I know of in there. I already told Daniel it's going to be very hard to let someone move in without a strict warning of what they are going to get themselves into. If we do sell the townhouse I'll have to just stay FAR away from that deal.

So, for now the adults are sharing the cooking and the cleaning in what I think is a beautiful, comfortable house. The girls are busy being kids and go outside to play without a care in the world, just the way it should be. I can go to work knowing that my children are in a loving environment that will encourage their growth as successful humans rather than learning how to join a gang at age 12. I thank my mom and dad for all of this. I guess it really is true that your children never stop being your children. Thank goodness I have such great role models.

Five Question Friday- July 22

Well, I MEANT to get this out on Friday, anyway. Oh well. Coming to you a little late, but that's the way my life goes lately. Life kind of exploded on Friday. More about that in a coming post.

1. If your husband had the BIG V and you got pregnant what would your first reaction be? My husband HAS had the Big V, and it can definitely get stressful if I am late. No.... not because I've been fooling around. Just because this is SUPPOSED to be permanent, and I really do not want to have another child- especially now that mine are both old enough to really start doing things for themselves. When Daniel had the surgery the doctor made sure to tell him that occasionally these things DO reverse themselves. He should NOT assume I've been cheating on him if I do get pregnant. Every once in awhile he jokes around about the "what if...," but I don't even want to go there in fantasy land. Let's just hope we never have to face this situation. I would, of course, eventually be happy and love another child, but my FIRST reaction would be to sit down and cry!

2. Best memory about this summer so far. This is a toss up between the day I discovered I WAS going to be able to work instead of staying sick like I had been for months or yesterday when I found out I was offered a job.

3. How often do you change your sheets? Your kids sheets? I'm TERRIBLE about this! I shoot for every week, but sometimes it goes quite a bit longer than that. The most is about a month. That's really bad, I know. It's tough to get everything done with two working parents and active children, though.

4. Having just gone through TSA, would you rather have a full-body scan or a pat-down? I don't think I would have a preference. Either option seems scary and uncomfortable to me. I completely agree with and support the use of these, though, to keep us safe. In the end I think I would op for the pat-down. Nobody wants to see a picture of my body right now. Trust me.

5. Since it is fair time...what's your favorite fair (county or state) memory? Early in our relationship my husband and I went to the Arizona State Fair to see John Michael Montgomery in concert. It was AWESOME! After the show we rode a couple of rides. Somehow my then boyfriend pocket dialed my apartment. When we got back we had the three minute message to ourselves. We could hear ourselves getting on the ride (I don't remember which one) and riding it. The message was fun to keep and listen to over and over again.

Six Word Saturday- July 22

School starts when? Juggling our schedules.

Now that I've had a bit for it to sink in that I have a job and WILL be teaching this school year, it's time to figure out who will be going where and when. I start work this Monday (only two days from now). I will have in-service meetings all week and will be busy setting up my classroom. School will start (for my school) on August 1st.

My girls, however, don't start school until August 10th. That's not a problem; we have a plan for their care. It will just be DIFFERENT to have us going in opposite directions. Last year the girls just came with me and went to the childcare program. This year I will not be working in the school they are attending. For the first time ever I will be working and trusting that they are safely in class where they belong. I know hundreds of thousands of moms do it every day. It will just take some getting used to.

Daniel will be getting home before me during the week again. That means he'll pick up the cooking and whatever cleaning I don't get to in the mornings. We liked that routine last year. It gave him something to do before we got home, and I didn't have to cook. Any excuse to not cook is a good one for me!

So, the next few weeks are going to be crazy. But, we will fall into a routine like we always do. Daniel and I both do much better with a routine. I'm excited. I'm looking forward to life becoming almost boring again. I can handle that for awhile!

Short Story: She

I'm linking this post up to Time Travel Tuesday- going green by recycling an old post. Welcome Time Travelers and old friends!

When I started the Story A Day prompts I made a vow to myself that I would at least TRY to write something for each prompt. This one has had me stuck, so I thought I would skip it. Then I found that I couldn't move forward when I had already been doing mental work on one story. Boy am I a picky writer! I have to tell you- this is NOT one of my favorites that I've written. Don't forget to check out the Short Story tab at the top of the page for some better examples of my writing. As always, I would love to hear what you think I could have done better. On this one I really do need some critique so I can figure out what is "off."

The Prompt:

Write a story featuring an epic battle between good and evil

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The Story:

Janice entered the classroom and sat down. She opened her book and quietly read, preparing for the bell to ring in just a couple of minutes. She was considered a nerd, one that kept to herself and didn't have a lot of friends. Her classmates didn't know much about her, but she secretly knew plenty about them.

"Courtney, can you believe it? My dad signed me up for the Junior Miss Pageant! I'm SOOOOO excitied." Alicia squealed with enthusiasm. It took everything she had not to bounce up and down in her chair. "He's never let me do something like this before. I am so totally going to win. I've got this one in the bag. I just know it!"

"I'm entered, too," Janice said, just loud enough to hear, had anyone been listening. "I'm in that pageant. That means we'll be in the same division." Of course no one heard Janice. She was invisible as far as the rest of the students were concerned. They wouldn't have believed her, anyway.

Class started, and talk of the pageant died down. Mr. Armstrong didn't accept disrespectful behavior in his classroom, and everyone knew not to cross him. The students worked on their math lesson until the dismissal bell rang. Janice slipped out, unnoticed.

All month long, the talk was the same. It didn't matter what class they were in. It didn't matter what day it was. All anyone could talk about was that Alicia was entered in the Junior Miss Pageant. She was going to be a star.

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Finally, the big weekend arrived. Alicia was excited, because the entire two and a half days were going to be full and celebrations and all about her. There would be pageant activities Friday night and all day Saturday. The big show was Saturday night, then there would be plenty of congratulatory parties on Sunday afternoon. Alicia had already invited Courtney, Bethany, and Maggie over to see her crown and trophy.

There was no way she was going to lose this pageant. She was, after all, the most beautiful girl at school. Everyone said so, and she had the Homecoming Queen sash to prove it. It hung right above her bed where she could see it right before she fell asleep. Yes, Alicia was on her way to being Junior Miss Phoenix.

The Junior Miss pageant always kicked off the big event with a party for all the participants on Friday night. This was a time for all the girls to meet each other and get to know the competition. Let's face it, the best of the best were also trying to win votes for Miss Congeniality already, too. The girls sized each other up for the first half of the party, but they always relaxed by the time dinner was served. Life long friendships were often formed right here at these tables. Of course, rivalries were also formed, but that was the part the pageant coordinators chose to ignore.

Alicia picked a chair facing the entry at the table in the middle of the room. It was a perfect place to see who was coming in the door and to be seen. She patted her hair, making sure it was perfectly smooth, sat with her most perfect posture, and waited for the attention of all the other girls. Any moment now they would flock to her, wanting to hear all about her exciting life on her dad's ranch. That's the way it worked at school. Why would this pageant be any different.

Fifteen minutes went by, then five more. Alicia started to nervously bite at her finger nails. Why isn't anyone coming to talk to me? Fine, she thought to herself, I'll just go find someone to hang around with. Making friends is never hard for me. Everyone wants to know about how I rode on my first horse by myself at age two. Alicia looked around and found everyone already paired up. The girls were laughing and having a great time. When she tried to jump into the conversations, Alicia was ignored. Well, I never... These girls are just a bunch of stuck up jerks. I don't need them.

Looking around the room, Alicia started to panic. She couldn't find anyone who would let her into their group. She was alone for the first time ever. Alicia had ALWAYS been surrounded by girls. How could it be possible that she was being left out now?

She finally saw another girl sitting by herself in the corner of the room. What a loser, Alicia thought. All by herself in a crowded room like this. I wonder what's wrong with her. Wait a minute... I'm all alone, too. Okay, I'll stop being a creep. Maybe she's nice. I'll go say hello. Maybe together we can find a group to join.

Alicia walked up to the other lone girl. "Hello, I'm Alicia."

"Yeah, I know," said the other girl. "We've been going to school together since first grade. I'm well aware of you and your popularity."

Suddenly, a look of recognition appeared on Alicia's face. "Janice? Janice Robertson? What... what are YOU doing here?"

"The same as you. I told you in math class that I was entered into this pageant. I guess you didn't believe me or something. You're not the only one at school who does interesting things, you know."

"This is impossible," Alicia squealed. "Why would you enter something like this? You don't have a snowball's chance... well, you know." Alicia's eyes narrowed as her brow furrowed. "Wait.. do you REALLY think you can win this thing? Ha, the biggest nerd in school competing against ME. Right! Well, at least now I don't have to worry about winning. That trophy is as good as mine!"

Janice walked away from Alicia. Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. I'll never be good enough in the eyes of the popular crowd. I'm just going home. Janice went out to the lobby and called her dad. "Can you just come pick me up, please! I knew I couldn't do this. I don't know why I'm here."

Mr. Robertson picked Janice up at the front of the building, but he wasn't willing to give up on her as easily as she was giving up on herself. They went for a long drive, him giving Janice a pep talk about how special she was and how much better she behaved than Alicia. "Honey, I know the judges will see your beauty, because I see it every day. You know the personal interview is worth more than half of the entire score. You are so much more articulate than Alicia. You are smart and funny, and you have a genuine heart. THOSE are the important traits in life. Not Alicia's fake smile and false eyelashes. She doesn't hold a candle to you. I hope you think about that tonight and wake up in the morning ready to go through with this. Don't let her bring you down. You can do this."

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Saturday morning Janice woke, ate breakfast, and dressed in her personal interview attired. Her dad grinned as she told him she was ready to head to the pageant location. He knew Janice was special, now she just needed to show that to the rest of the world.

Janice came out of the interview room, a smile spreading from ear to ear. "I take it you feel the interview went well?" her dad laughed. Let's go have some lunch so you can get ready for this afternoon's main event. The two enjoyed a buffet, then headed back to the hotel where the pageant was to take place.

All the girls in the 14-16 age division lined up on the stage, ready to step out and introduce themselves. Janice had the time of her life. Unlike at school where she was known to be shy, she really stood out during the pageant. She wore makeup for the first time ever, and her hair was done in a way that made Janice feel beautiful. Every time she made a turn, she could feel the satin of her gown brush against her legs. Janice knew she was "on," and it made her feel as if she could do anything. When it came time to answer the final pageant question Janice did not hesitate. She did not stutter. She did not get nervous and shake in her shoes the way she expected to. Janice simply answered the question perfectly, with confidence. She could even see the judges from the stage. They were trying to hide their smiles, but they just couldn't.

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The participants lined up one last time. The winners were about to be announced. Janice stood, smiling out at the crowd and secretly crossing her fingers behind her back. She had enjoyed the pageant so much she was already picturing the next one. It didn't matter if she won; she had accomplished something she never dreamed possible. She had spoken in front of more than 2,000 people and not worried one bit about what they thought. Janice had made HERSELF proud, and that was something to remember for a lifetime.

"Will the following girls step forward. These are the top 10 girls, in no particular order. One of these young ladies will be crowned the 2011 Junior Miss Arizona. Emily Johnson... Beatrice Ford... Marsha Pollack... Amber Corrington... Sarah Wright... Susan Sharpton... Andrea Washington... Brittney Wong... Gabriela Ashton... AND... Janice Robertson!

Janice leaped up and hugged the girl standing next to her. She had made it into the top 10 finalists! If nothing else, Janice had earned $1000 and a guaranteed spot in next year's pageant. She was so excited that she almost missed the name of the winner. "This year's 2011 Junior Miss Arizona winner is.... Miss Andrea Washington! Andrea please step forward to accept your crown. Congratulations!"

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At school Monday morning Janice couldn't help but to walk in proud and sure of herself. She knew that what she had accomplished was huge. She would never again think she was less valuable than the other girls in her class. She would forever know that she was just as pretty as the others.

"So Janice...." drawled one of the most popular girls in the school, "how did you do in the pageant? I hope you didn't LOSE!" Patty started to cackle. "As if you belonged there to begin with. What were you thinking?"

"As a matter of fact, Patty, I was in the top 10. Why don't you ask Alicia how she did?"

Patty turned to Alicia. "How DID you do? Sorry I missed your victory parties this weekend. I was skiing with my family in the mountains. I couldn't even get cell phone reception! How lame is thaaattt?"

"She... she..." Alicia stuttered as she looked for the right words. She finally decided to just spit it out and face the humiliation. "She," Alicia began again, pointing at Janice. "She beat me. It's true. She was in the top 10, and I didn't even get that far." Alicia slammed her math book onto her desk and ran out of the room. She was sure she would never be able to face her classmates again.

Janice hid her smile behind the book she picked up to read before the bell rang. For her, nothing had changed. Nothing, that is, except for the new confidence she had. The other kids at school would never know it, though. Janice was just waiting for the day she would walk in with her winning sash and crown. That would be another time when no words would be needed. Janice was sure it would happen. She now knew she could do anything!

I Am a Real Teacher!

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This morning I accepted a job. I can now finally call myself a real teacher! One week from today I will be meeting my students. On August 1st, school starts. I'm so excited! Next week will be filled with meetings and preparing my classroom. This is going to move quickly, so I won't have too much time to make myself so nervous I'm sick. I tend to do that when I don't have something to do. Right now there is so much to do that I don't have time to drive myself crazy!

I will be teaching 5th and 6th grade social studies at a charter school near me. It is part time, which will actually work out nicely. I will have plenty of time for planning, preparing, and reflecting and still be able to get the sleep and exercise I need. It also gives me time to make the doctor appointments and schedule the medical tests required.

5th grade social studies was an area I REALLY enjoyed teaching during my student teaching and volunteer experiences. I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time in the subject area. In Arizona, 5th graders learn about American history from the Native Americans through the Civil War.

6th graders will be learning about "Sixth Grade History Strands emphasize World history from its earliest cultures through the Enlightenment, including the

early cultures of the Americas." This information was taken from the 6th grade social studies standards. I'm not as familiar with this set of standards, but I bet I will be by the end of next week! I did have fun teaching this for almost a week as a substitute last year. The students were learning about ancient Greek. Very interesting!

Part of why I wanted to teach is because I enjoy learning so much myself. I will definitely get that opportunity because I know NOTHING about world history. I'll be spending plenty of time teaching myself in order to teach the lessons in 6th grade. I'm not afraid of that, though. Some of my best lesson plans during student teaching came because I had to do so much research to be prepared.

Today I am starting to get ready to move into my classroom and for the open house next Friday. I will get to meet my students and their parents on that day. Three days later, on Monday, August 1st, school starts. I am so excited! Tomorrow I will be going shopping for a couple new outfits. I'm actually looking forward to shopping. I normally stay as far away from clothing stores as I can. I saw a super cute pants suit hanging in the window of Dress Barn last weekend. I'm hoping it looks as nice as me as it does on the mannequin!

I've already spent $5 on my new classroom, too. About 10 minutes after I accepted the job I got an email from Scholastic that had several ebooks on sale for around a dollar each. I bought a couple social studies books so I can begin going through them and doing some planning. Oh, I've got so much to do! Fortunately the principal told me in the interview yesterday that he likes to work with first year teachers and help them develop their skills. I'm ready for this adventure!

“I’m sharing my awesome with Momma Made It Look Easy and you can too.” This is one of the most awesomes I could imagine!

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 20

Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry

"Building All is Love" by Karen O and the Kids from the "Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack

I bet by now you are getting really bored of hearing about "Where the Wild Things Are." I have to be honest, though. Not too much touches me the way this soundtrack and movie did. I truly use this soundtrack as a gauge of my feelings sometimes. As a matter of fact, my girls know that if I put this on in the car and don't talk... they need to just sit and let me be.

In case you don't know the story behind "Where the Wild Things Are," it is about a boy named Max who is misbehaving and is sent to his room. While he is in there he "travels" to the place where the Wild Things live, and he has a wild rumpus. He becomes the king of the wild things. When he has calmed down, Max goes home, back to his bedroom, where is dinner is waiting for him, and it is still warm. This is the basic premise of the book more than the movie, but the idea in the movie is the same.

This song, "Building All is Love," is from a part of the movie where Max is with the Wild Things. In this scene he is working out some of his frustration and anger. I love this song for when I am angry because of the energetic beginning and the emotion behind it. This is a song that I can put on, dance around the living room, punch the air, and cry my silly little head off. This soundtrack reall is exhausting if listened to actively.

We have a code in our house. If we are having a really bad day, if we have emotion we just don't know what to do with, we say we are having a Max day. Each of the other family members knows that we are grouchy and don't mean to be. In some strange way that helps all of us deal with the person who is having a Max day. Fortunately it doesn't happen around here too often.

What song do you listen to when you are angry?

Mom's Tree House Writer's Club- July 22

The prompt: How do you and your hubby keep your relationship going with the chaos of the kids?

To be honest, there has never been a problem with chaos and our children. Daniel and I have always made the girls a part of what we are doing, and we like it that way. It may not be advisable according to marriage experts, but we rarely do activities without our children. When we do have a babysitter we kind of feel lost.

With that being said, I think we get plenty of couple time, just not in the traditional date nights that others do. We go to the gym a few times a week and work out together. During this time the girls are swimming or doing another supervised activity. The YMCA is awesome for that! We make sure the girls go to bed about an hour before us (when we're doing good with keeping a schedule) so we get to spend some time together in the evenings. And... once a month the girls go to my mom and dad's house so we can go to the Adventure Run sponsored by our local running store. We have lots of opportunities to spend time together and to enjoy adult activities, we are just a little creative with how we define that time.

Another thing we've always done is to have the girls go along with whatever it is we are doing. We do not have a child-centered home. If the adults want to watch television or listen to the stereo we pick. The girls get their turns, and we often choose family movies (especially when the girls were younger), but they know they will not be taking over the media when the adults have something else in mind. Our girls come grocery shopping with us and run all the other errands we have to do in order to keep the home running smoothly. Putting groceries away and cleaning the house become family activities on the weekends. They have learned that more hands makes the jobs quicker, leaving us all time to do the things we want to do rather than what must get done.

Daniel and I both wanted children and knew we wanted to build a family who truly enjoyed spending time together. Our relationship does best when we plan outings that include our girls. We don't find the routines with the children to be chaotic at all. It's only when we fall out of our normal habits that things start falling apart. Rather than keeping our relationship going with the chaos of the kids, the better question may be: How do you keep your relationship going when life gets too crazy and you aren't able to focus enough on the kids? That's a whole different story and one we've had to figure out quickly in the last four months.

I’m sharing my awesome with Momma Made It Look Easy and you can too

30 Days of Me- Day 13

Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently

Dear Neighborhood Children and Their Parents,

WHEN did it become okay to be so cruel to people around you? Why is it okay for you to run around and cause trouble for others with no consequence? Please be advised that while there has not yet been anything we can do to stop you, we are working on it.

It is NOT okay to call the other children in our complex rude names. It is not okay to taunt them and to threaten to beat them up. It is not okay to knock and run away from our door, upsetting my husband to the point he does not enjoy his own home. We work hard for what we have, and you do not deserve to take that away from us.

Finally, the scars you left on our home will be your downfall. Until now there has been nothing anyone can do to help us (the police included) because you have left no damages to person or property. The rocks you have been throwing at the house on a continual basis have, however, started to leave dings and dents in the paint and stucco. The entire south side of our unit needs to be repainted because of your being unsupervised and left running wild to do what you please. Gotcha! The HOA doesn't take kindly to having to put money out to protect their investment. We finally have them on our side. Loss of money does it every time.

Thank you for continuing to up the ante in order to frustrate your neighbors. Eventually hooligans like you cross a line, and the people around you rejoice when you are finally caught and get what is coming to you. We couldn't get you when you were trespassing into empty units in the complex because you would always be gone by the time we called the police and "only" stole fruit off the trees. We couldn't get you when you were peering into parked cars and sitting on motorcycles parked in the driveways because we had no proof and you left no marks. We couldn't get you for running wild and screaming at the top of your lungs at all hours of night because our city has reduced its non-emergency police coverage. As I said, though, eventually you go too far and allow your neighbors to gather the evidence we need.

What really gets me is that you range from age four to age ten. You aren't even teenagers yet. How scary that you do not even have enough respect for yourselves at this young age to behave appropriately. Worse yet, that your parents allow you to do this then tell us that you can do whatever you want to because they don't care who it bothers. I wonder if they will care when you finally start committing real crimes and find yourselves in jail.

Thank goodness school is starting again soon. At least then there will be some peace through most of the week. You will not be running around at ALL hours of the day and night; just most of them since you don't seem to be responsible for homework or chores in the evening. And during the school year your parents pull you in somewhere around dark. Oh, thank goodness it also gets dark earlier in the winter months. Maybe then we can find some sense of comfort in our own home.

You, children with no morals or sense of good behavior, have made it miserable to live here. You, parents who SHOULD be a guiding light but are not, disgust me. I truly wonder why you bothered to have children in the first place. It is our job to raise these children to be the leaders of this country. If you don't care to give your children boundaries, please go live somewhere else. We don't want your kind around here.

Sincerely,

Your extremely frustrated and fed up neighbor

*If you would like to read more of the background story, please read Neighborhood Rant from June 18th. This has been a LONG summer!

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 19

Day 19 – A song from your favorite album

"Little Red Rodeo" from The Best of Collin Raye

I really don't have a favorite album, but I LOVE Collin Raye. He's been my favorite artist since I was in high school. His music is so much fun, and much of it has a neat message. For today's challenge I picked "Little Red Rodeo" from Collin Raye's "Best Of" album. It's just catchy and enjoyable. I hope you agree!

30 Days of Me- Day 12

Day 12- How you found out about Blogger and why you made one

I started by reading blogs. I had come across RSS feeds on some news websites that I read, and I wondered what else I could subscribe to. Enter blogs; I became hooked. I started to follow several blogs and thought it was a really cool idea.

I started my own blog shortly after a major change in my lifestyle. I had joined a gym and was learning about nutrition and exercise. I was driving my friends crazy by posting interesting things I read on Facebook. I figured SOMEONE might be interested in what I was reading, though, and decided to start my own blog. Sure enough, there were other who not only wanted to learn but wanted to teach what THEY had already learned.

Over time my blog has changed, but in the end I still write for the same reason. My blog is an outlet for whatever is on my mind. I have made some great on-line friends and continue to meet new people all the time. It's a fun way to socialize, and I can do it all in my pajamas if I need to!

How Many of Me

So today I stumbled across a website where you can put in your first and last name and see how many people share either your first, last, or complete name in the United States. I was actually shocked to see the number of people who have my same name.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

The following came from the front page of howmanyofme.com:

"There are 311,764,286 people in the United States of America. If everyone in the U.S. lined up single file, the line would stretch around the Earth almost 7 times. That's a lot of people.

The U.S. Census Bureau statistics tell us that there are at least 151,671 different last names and 5,163 different first names in common use in the United States. Some names are more common than others.

There are 45,079 people named John Smith in the United States. There are980 people named James Bond, 103 people named Harry Potter , 439people named George Bush, and 31 people named Emily Dickinson. However, Johnny Cash (33 people) songs aside there are, statistically speaking, very few boys named Sue."

This is really meaningless, but it was a fun way to kill a few minutes. I played around with the names of my family members. My husband has the most people with his same name (118), and my youngest daughter had the least (18). How about you? Is your name as unique as you think it is?

The Way I See It: Big Fork=Small Waistline?

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I read an article yesterday that said new research found that people ate less when they used bigger utensils. I've got to tell you... I'm really getting frustrated with all these new studies. Why can't we just figure out how to eat appropriately without all the gimmicks?

I am the first to admit that my body is not in shape the way it should be. I spent a year doing everything "right," studying all the different nutrition websites I could, and learning as much as possible about diet and exercise. I did lose weight for awhile, but as soon as I was put on a medication that didn't allow me to have the dedication I did originally, the weight came back. Quickly.

There has got to be more to losing weight and maintaining health than simply tricking ourselves to eat differently. I'm not 100% convinced anymore that I have to shun sugar and foods that I love. I'm not interested in playing games with my eating habits, such as using a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. The reason? I've found that if I'm not satisfied, I WILL go back to the kitchen looking to fill that void. Call it will-power, call it devotion... whatever you call it, trying to deprive myself just doesn't work. I would guess that's true for about 99% of us.

Looking back at old pictures of myself when I was a teenager, I was a cutie. No doubt about it, I had little fat, beautiful muscles, and I spent my days bouncing around from one place to another. I also ate terribly! I can remember one day when my mom told me I couldn't have any more steak because I had eaten about half of what she had cooked for the entire family of four. My favorite dish most days was potatoes- any way they were cooked worked for me. I ate candy and cookies. Oh, I also skipped breakfast. Regularly. My mom used to get so angry. Some days I would skip breakfast, eat French Fries for lunch at school, then eat my regular dinner. I ate what sounded good, and I ate when I was hungry.

So why doesn't that work now? There are two reasons: First, I developed a thyroid condition at age 22. Although it is not impossible to lose weight (or to maintain a healthy weight), it is definitely more difficult than before. The second reason is that I became an adult. I know... sounds silly, right? Hear me out for a moment. As a teenager I walked EVERYWHERE. And by everywhere, I do mean everywhere. Before the days of my friends getting cars, if we wanted to go somewhere, we were hoofing it. Our parents all made it clear that they were not going to drive us around all weekend long. Sure, they took us to the occasional skating rink or movie theater, but for the most part we were on our own. I don't think I stopped moving from after school on Friday until Sunday night when it was time to settle down and get ready for school the next day. During the summer we were constantly swimming or doing something active. Our days started early and ended late so we could take advantage of the cooler temperatures.

I have come to the conclusion that weight loss has little to do with what kinds of foods I eat. I think even before our radical change in diet, we ate pretty well. We have always had fresh fruits and vegetables in the house. Now we just eat more of them and have focused on being sure to get some in with every meal. We always had a balance of protein, carbs, and good fats. The only difference was that I didn't know the science behind it. I just cooked dinner like I was taught to do based on what I ate as a child. It seemed to work. I really believe that we (Americans in general) just don't realize how MUCH we are eating. Every holiday or social event focuses around food. Every celebration or grief also has food at its center. We don't know how to enjoy each other without bringing out the party trays and pot lucks.

Do I believe eating with a larger fork is going to do anything at all for losing weight? Clearly I do not. The article even mentioned that they found this study to be true only while dining in a restaurant. Let's face it: Most of us eat out in a place where forks are required infrequently at best. I'm not sure why this wouldn't also be true at home if it actually works to make one feel satisfied. Yep, this is just another study that was a huge waste of money. Let's start eating when we are hungry, eat a well balanced meal, and enjoying some physical activity. If we quit trying to find the easy way out that might be a good start.

I'm linking this post up to Pour Your Heart Out. Welcome blog hop readers! I hope you enjoyed this post and will stay to read more.

Tell Us Something Good- July 19

Today my dad is having surgery. I know... that normally doesn't sound like a very good thing, but in this case it is. It is a VERY good thing. My dad has been in pain for two weeks now and will finally be relieved of it this afternoon.

It all started two weeks ago when he went to the emergency room for chest pain. They didn't find anything wrong with him then, but they kept him in the hospital over night to run some tests. Still not finding anything wrong, they sent him home on Wednesday afternoon. Early Friday morning he was back at the ER, this time having abdominal pain so bad he was shaking and sweating. He was turning white, too. My mom and I were both pretty scared when my tough guy dad said his pain was a 10 out of 10 and couldn't find the words to describe the pain other than "it hurts."

The ER sent my dad home, full of pain medication and a referral to see a urologist. He had a kidney stone that was trying to pass. It turns out the stone is too large to pass on its own, so surgery is required. Like I said... this is a GOOD thing that today is surgery day. If you've ever had a kidney stone, you know what I mean. The pain is the worst I've ever felt. I've had kidney stones twice. I would rather go through child birth with no pain medication than to ever have a kidney stone again. Yeah, they are that painful!

Watching my dad be in the amount of pain he has been in for two weeks has been tough. My dad has always been the one to protect me, to take care of me... to be on the other side of that coin has not been fun. I've now been the caregiver to both of my parents in recent months. It has really reminded me of all of our mortality. None of us are getting younger, and I have to face the fact that I am now approaching middle age. This will be the time that I transition from being a young adult, still learning the ropes of growing up, to a full-fledged adult responsible for so much more than I ever wanted to think about. Nope, my children didn't do this for me. Seeing each of my parents lying in a hospital bed sure did, though. Life has definitely become real. I think we have kids to keep us young.

So, today I will be heading over to hang out with my dad before his surgery. I'll sit with my mom in the waiting room so she doesn't have to do it alone. I think I'll bring my laptop so she can play Farmville while she waits. I've found that to be a nice distraction lately. If all goes well, Dad will be back to work on Thursday. It looks like my family is finally on the mend and ready to get back to a normal routine. This has been a long summer break.

"If I could do things over, I´d live my life again.
And never take for granted the love in Daddy´s hands."