Tuckered out!

Oliver, hubby, & I have been taking walks each night around our neighborhood. The weather has been wonderful & it is so relaxing to take a walk out in the fresh air! Here is what Oliver does as soon as we get back home:


It cracks me up how he lays like this! He doesn't even get a drink first--he just sprawls out on the floor so he can cool his belly off!


We've had a great weekend! Hubby & I have ate out, watched movies, & rested! I couldn't seem to wake up on Saturday. I got up at 8:30, but was back asleep on the couch by 9:30 & didn't get up until 12:30. I feel like I'm in school routine again, but still can't seem to get caught up on my sleep! Of course, some of it could be that my legs & feet are so tired & sore by the end of the week! (yes, I'm still frustrated about not wearing my dang flip-flops) My principal at high school asked me on Thursday if it was 'casual Thursday'--I had on cuffed khaki capri's, an American Eagle striped polo shirt, & white Skechers. I guess he was talking about my shoes--I told him my feet were killing me & he needed to come see how much I dance/jump/move at elementary doing music! I also said I'd been wearing cutesy flats & if I couldn't wear flip-flops, I at least had to wear tennis shoes one day so my feet don't fall off my legs! He laughed & then said he was just teasing me. So why did he bring it up then? Whatever.

Gotta go! We're taking Oliver up on the mountain to the state park to walk & explore! The temp is 78--gorgeous day!

Have a great week!

Kindergarten cuties

So today I had one of the kindergarten classes for music for the first time. I love the first day with them because they just stare at me wide-eyed! I really ham it up and try to keep every bit of their attention for 40 minutes!

Today I was going around the room meeting each student and I would SING "My name is Mrs. B, what is your name?" They would have to respond by singing, "My name is .......". I love to hear their angel-like voices at this age! I got to a cute little blonde boy and sang my line and then waited. Nothing. So I sang it again and waited. Nothing. I said, "What's wrong? Why won't you sing your name to me?" He responded with a shy face, "I don't know how to sing". OH MY! Melted my heart! I said, "Well, that's why you're here!" Then I encouraged him one more time and in the sweetest little voice he sang, "My name is Curtis". I gave him a big hug! It made my day!

Weekend Recap

It was a good weekend, but went by too fast. Friday night we ate out and then rented movies. I was asleep by 10:30--30 minutes in to the 1st movie. I just can't keep my eyes open on Friday nights! Good thing football season is starting--surely I won't fall asleep in the bleachers!

Saturday afternoon our band had a photo shoot. I spent a lot of time asking, "Smile or don't smile?" We have to try and look cool, you know? :)

Saturday evening we went to a friends house for a get-together. There were 8 other couples there--all close friends. We took Oliver--kinda felt a little silly at first sitting around the table and us having our dog in our lap. (Every couple there has children.) But then I realized that I just need to accept my life where I am right now and not worry about being the "odd one out". NONE of my friends make me feel like that at all and I'm so thankful for the love and care they give. (and they all seem to love Oliver!) Someone shared how we put ice and bottled water in Oliver's water bowl and everyone was laughing (yes, our dog is quite spoiled)! I said, "Now you know how well our kids will be treated when we finally have some!" I am thankful we have Oliver at this point in our lives. It's amazing how much a DOG can help fill a void. He is our baby and we love him so much! Jeremiah said the other night, "Oliver is one of the best things that has ever happened to us". I agree!

Gotta go! Off to a friends house for pizza and some Wii fun!

My feet need air

I.AM.EXHAUSTED.

And my feet/toes are dying because they can't breath in these cutesy flats i've been wearing to school. I NEED my Nike flip-flops on my feet at school because they are oh so comfortable, but not 'professional' (and we're not allowed to wear them this year). I had blisters yesterday and so today during senior high choir, I pulled those bless-ed Nike flippers out of my purse and put them on and I swear my feet were screaming HALLELUJAH!

Just call me a rebel!

(I took them off before I left my room again though!)

Praise the Lord tomorrow is Friday!

Classroom tour!

Here is my brand new elementary classroom! I'm quite proud of it. It is 40 x 40--I've never had that much room and I'm lovin' it! I teach music at the elementary school the 2nd half of the day and I teach at the high school in the morning--I'm not posting a pic of my high school classroom! It is not real pretty---rather old---I am getting a new high school room in 1-2 years. Anyways, here is the music room!

This is the hallway outside my room---I had this banner made at a sign shop in my town because I didn't think I'd have time to cut out all those letters (I just got to move in on Monday):

This is the view of my room from my door. In my old room my rug looked so big and now it seems so small! It's my favorite thing in my room though!

Here is a view of the front of the room (that's the door I was standing in for the previous picture):

This is another corner:

Here is my bookshelf:

And I couldn't forget my favorite bulletin board---I saw the idea online somewhere--maybe at http://www.musicbulletinboards.net/. I love it and it's super easy, which is a must for me!

Go over to Lisa's blog and check out her kindergarten classroom and then show us YOUR room!

Schooltime!

HOW AM I GOING TO BE IN BED TONIGHT BY 10:00? C.R.A.P. I haven't been in bed that early since last school year! AND, I have before school bus duty! Lovely. The kids will get a Mrs. B with makeup and hair done tomorrow, and maybe for the rest of the week, but after that, no more! ha!

My classroom at elementary is ready and I'll post pics tomorrow! Thanks Lisa and Lianna for getting us going on that! Not posting pics of my high school classroom! Sorry--not the prettiest room!

I got behind my father-in-law in line at the grocery store the other day and he asked me if I was ready for school. I said, "not really". The teeny-bopper checker girl says, "You're a teacher? I thought all teachers loved going to school and were always ready to go back???" I responded, "Well, not the teachers I'm friends with!" Ha ha! I don't know what she was thinking! I'm very thankful for my job and look forward to seeing and hugging all my kiddos, but going back to work after a summer of relaxing and doing my own thing (and getting paid for it) is tough!

Our band is playing at a Back-To-School Bash tomorrow in Searcy but I don't get to go! Bummer! I didn't think I should ask off half a day on the first day of school!

Hand-washed my car today in the blazing hot sun and 2 hours later it stormed. Dang!

Off to Wal-Mart--I feel like making Hello Dolly's (Myrtle Zyrtles) to take to school tomorrow. (I really just wanna lick the remains out of the Eagle Brand can!)

Have a great first day back to school!

These are a few of my favorite things.....

Now that school is about to start, I'd thought I'd post a list of my favorite things this summer:

• Pedicures
• Kettlecorn (never liked it until this summer)
• Mario Kart (I love this game--I play once a day usually)
• reading blogs
• city pool (or any pool for that matter)
• road trips with Oliver and Jeremiah (we didn't go anywhere without the dog)
• late night movies in bed with the above two
• hot dogs (I have ate WAY too many of these)
• Heart (the band--listening to their greatest hits cd's--so good)
• Nike flip-flops (much more comfy than Old Navy)
• hanging out with Mika, Jeremy, and the kiddos
• grape Propel
• texting (I always love this, but don't do it near as much during the school year)
• Victoria's Secret Pink Fresh & Clean lotion
• The Prichett Series by Kathryn Springer
• Little Italy restaurant

School starts Wednesday! AAAHHHH!!!!!! Lisa and I want to do a "show pics of your classroom" post so all you teachers get geared up and let us see what your classroom looks like! (and yes Kristy, you have to take pics of the gym)

Hope

I got this in the mail today from a great blog friend, Sarah. I love it! It says: "Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are my God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long".




That word hope has been my 'theme' word for this infertility journey we're on. A lot of days I really struggle with having hope still after all these years, but then I know in my heart that I don't have anything else to cling to. I'm going to wear this to all future dr.'s appts.

I'm so thankful to have a blog where I can be encouraged and lifted up and where I can do the same for others. Sarah and I are big text buddies and care so much about each other's life.

"Thank You Sarah, for being a caring friend. I'm not happy we're going through this, but am glad we can walk this lonely and confusing road together."

Classroom and cookies

Drove 22 miles one way twice today to go work in my elementary classroom. I got my bulletin boards done this morning, then drove to high school to use the laminator because elementary laminator was out of film, then drove home to go to the pool for a few hours (I'm really gonna miss the pool once school starts). Hubby went to friend's house tonight for "guy night" and so Oliver and I went back to school to work again. I was all by myself and got spooked when I heard firecrackers (or gunshots???) outside by the playground. So Oliver and I jetted. I'm such a scaredy cat. I never saw anyone, but decided I didn't need to be down there by myself at 8:30 at night anyway.

Now on to something I love--COOKIES!

I was looking and salivating in the cookie aisle at Wal-Mart on Saturday and found these:



Mother's Frosted Circus Animals! Yum yum! These were popular when I was a kid, but I don't remember where I used to eat them (my mom NEVER bought store cookies---too expensive and she always made homemade).

I love these! The bag is over half gone and my hubby hasn't touched them and we all know Oliver isn't eating them! But the way I see it, the sooner I finish off the bag, the sooner I won't have to struggle with wanting them at 10:15 at night! Right????

Today

Wonderful day today! I can check everything off our list but the movie. Couldn't find anything to watch and we wanted to get back home to our dog! Pathetic, huh? Oh, and we got pulled over on the shortcut, Dayton Road, but thankfully didn't get a ticket! My husband was only going 48 in a 35, which is pretty dang slow considering how fast he normally goes on that shortcut! Totally nice police officer. Thank you Lord!

So I had a certain amount to spend today (in my organized brain) on clothes and I went WAY over. I just kept finding cute things and I have to have new clothes for the first week of school so my high school students won't say, "Mrs. B, you wore that last year (and the year before and the year before)". So I ended up buying 3 shirts, a dress, a pair of jeans, a pair of slacks, and some cute silver flats. I got them at my three favorite clothing stores--American Eagle, Buckle, and Old Navy. Yay!

But why is it when I go to shop and have lots of money to spend, I can't find anything, but then when I go shopping on a budget, I find everything that I think I need? Does that happen to anyone else?

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first time Jer and I are getting to go out of town WITHOUT A DOG all summer! Last summer every Friday we went to Fort Smith to eat and see a movie. Well, we just can't bear to leave little Oliver at home so we've taken him everytime we've gone out of town this summer. That means no movie and no nice restaurant--just ChickFila. So tomorrow is our day, dogless!

Here is tomorrow's itinerary for hubby and I:

1. Oliver to the vet to be boarded for the day.
2. Drive to Fort Smith--go immediately to Starbuck's for a peppermint mocha for me and a caramel frap for Jer.
3. Mall: American Eagle, The Buckle, Bath & Body Works, Trade Secret, GameStop (for hubby)
4. Lunch at Cheddar's
5. Old Navy & Target (if hubby is still in a good mood after already shopping for a while!)
6. Petco--new toy for Oliver since he had to be boarded all day!
6. Sam's Club (for work)
7. Malco Theater to see a movie if we can find one. The only thing that looks remotely good to me right now is Ice Age 3. I like action, drama, and mystery movies--NO chick flicks!

I hope hope hope we get to do all this--we'll see. I would cut out the movie if I could shop a little more! Probably not gonna happen though! My husband took a group of teenagers to the mall today (he is a children's case worker) and he can only take so much shopping!

Here's to my last Friday of freedom!

oh my

SCHOOL STARTS 2 WEEKS FROM TODAY! Holy crap!

I have not got to do anything with my elementary classroom yet--I'm waiting on a call back from my principal to see if the building is ready yet. They added a new addition and I get one of the new rooms! I'm so excited and have been planning everything in my head! I am NOT a procrastinator, so it is driving me crazy not being able to set up!

So this morning I sneezed a couple times and then blew my nose. I walked out to the living room and sniffed and OUCH!!!! I pulled something in my back---just from sniffing! No joke. I can't turn my head to the left and am in pain. I feel pretty stupid though. My hubby tried to massage it out, but that didn't work. I can't take a deep breath and couldn't even cry although I wanted to and tried to. Jer said I should go to the chiropractor, but one of my friend's saw me this morning, felt sorry for me and just bought me a massage. I hope that does the trick--I go in 30 minutes.

More coffee and band pics

Here is the picture my super-sweet father-in-law picked out for me at Kirkland's yesterday.

So I love love love my kitchen now! One more question though--what do I put on my table as a centerpiece? That's the only thing that isn't complete, but I have no idea what to put there.

Here are pics from the band I am in, Muzzleloader, playing last week. Not the greatest pics, but pics none the less.

This first one is while we were waiting to do a sound check. (The guy in shorts is not in the band--he was the road manager for Seventh Day Slumber.)

This is the only one that has my husband in it--he's on the right--he plays lead guitar. I felt bad for him because it was so hot up there.

This is one of me at the keys (sorry for the side view)

Coffee time!

As I said before, I LOVE me some good coffee! I'm drinking my Starbuck's now as I type this. I've been really excited about redecorating my kitchen with coffee stuff.

Last week I went to choir teacher's convention and visited my favorite home store--Kirkland's! I hit the jackpot on coffee decor! Whoo hoo! I got 6 pictures for less than $80! I was so excited! Of course, my choir teacher buddy kept finding more stuff and bringing it to me and saying, "Come on, it's only $15!"

I took pictures of the pictures. So here we go. I (obviously) didn't take a picture of everything in my kitchen that is coffee decorated....don't want to overload you. Here are the new things I got:

This is my favorite and my 'splurge':

Sorry for the lighting--I can't take pictures worth a darn:

This one says: Perfect coffee every time

The bottom picture was the one I got at Hobby Lobby, and then my B/F Mika got me the top picture--perfect!

One more pic to come--my father-in-law bought me another picture at Hobby Lobby last night. Sweet!

Wake-up call

Our wake-up call this morning was our 3 1/2 yr old niece, Sophie. She loves to come play at our house and hasn't been over in a while. She decided last night when we saw her at a friend's pool party that she needed to come play with Oliver. Here she is doing her favorite Cars puzzle (I love her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth in determination):



At one point Sophie looked at me today and out of the blue just said, "Suzy, I'm so glad you're my aunt!" I, of course, teared up, and replied back, "Sophie, I'm so happy you're our niece!" I love that little munchkin so much! She's the apple of my eye!

We watched Napoleon Dynamite after doing the puzzle. It's amazing how much a 3 1/2 yr old can like that movie! Her other favorite at our house is Nacho Libre--she sat on my husband's lap when she was 2 and watched that entire movie!

Here is one more pic of Soph posing on our coach! Such a cutie patootie!




When Sophie got the toy box out today, Oliver found the stuffed football, which is his new favorite toy! Guess he's ready for some Arkansas Razorback football!



We just got back from Little Italy restaurant with our B/F's Jeremy & Mika. It was so yummy! I had low-fat fettucine pasta with grilled chicken and then tiramisu for dessert! Had to balance out that low-fat with something!

Pics to come of my new coffee decorated kitchen! Stay tuned!