Grocery Shoppers

You know how there are different kinds of grocery shoppers? There are the super speedy shoppers, the I-have-to-take-up-the-whole-aisle-with-my-cart shopper, take your time shopper, go down every aisle shopper, the shopper that picks up everything and inspects it first only to put it down and grab the off brand next to it, the just grab anything shopper, the price conscious shopper...lots of different kinds of shoppers. I've never really thought about what kind of shopper I am. I've always been aware of the different ways people shop when I am at the store and sometimes I'll even give shoppers their own shopping name. Like if I'm trying to find my favorite honey wheat bread and someone squeezes between my cart and the person looking at the frozen pizza, I might call them "the impatient shopper." But I've never thought about what shopping name people would give me.
Yesterday I became aware of the kind of shopper my best friend is. I have to say, it was a bit shocking. Sarah and I went to Meijer after our much needed manicure so she could pick up some things from the store. I told her I was in no hurry because Jason wasn't going golfing until 1 or 2 and it was only 11 so we had plenty of time to shop. Oh. My. Goodness. You would have thought it was Supermarket Sweep the way we went buzzing around those grocery aisles. I think we sprinted the whole way around the store. I really had to step up my game to shop with Sarah. At one point, we went down the chip aisle and Sarah didn't even slow down, she just grabbed for the corn chips and threw them in. I thought it was the Amazing Race and I was just waiting for our prize when we made it to the check out ;)
So I started thinking about how much this teaches me about my own shopping ways. I am definitely not an Amazing Race shopper like Sarah. I'm more of the take-your-time shopper. I guess we are all wired to shop differently, which makes total sense why it is always so difficult to shop with someone else. You almost become uncomfortable with your own shopping habits when someone else is with you. You don't want to rush but you don't want to go slow..it is just awkward. I guess for me this makes total sense and thanks to Sarah I realize why we have different kinds of shoppers. So...what kind of shopper are you?

Kaitlyn says the darndest things

This post is dedicated to Kaitlyn..the littlest of the Pfeiffer clan. Every day, I go to work and share the hilarious things she says. I have no other choice but to start blogging about them. You have to understand that she is the tiniest little thing that ever walked and hearing some of the things that come out of her mouth are so funny!

1. "I can't go to the store. I'm a hot mess." She said this because she dropped lunch on her shirt.

2. As she is harnessed into her car seat in the back, "If you don't get me ice cream, I'm outta here!"

3. Kaitlyn hates going to bed so she usually comes out and tells us something hurts. Here are a few of my favorite things that have hurt recently.
* "My hair hurts."
* "My t..t..t..my neck hurts." She was trying to say tongue but couldn't pronounce it so she just went with neck.

4. Anytime she plays pretend, she always wants to be the bad guy. She will get a scary face and say "ALL OF YOU!" When we asked her why she said that, she just replied, "that's what all bad guys say."

5. "I want a bad guy cake for my birthday. You know, one with all the bad guys on it."

6. "What did she said?"

7. "I could be a mermaid...if I want to. I'll probably be Ariel when I grow up."

8. Talking about Hayley's two year old son, Max, Kaitlyn says, "He's not our step father."

More to come...I'll keep these updated!

Naked Clay Cafe

I recently told Jason that I wanted to take a pottery class. He thought I was crazy and tried to convince me that I really wanted to join a volleyball league instead. I do love volleyball, but I really do want to take a pottery class. In high school, I took a ceramics class and loved it. I just think it is such a good way to relieve stress and do something for myself.
I haven't found anything here in Indy yet..so if you know of a place, please share! In the mean time, I found a little place in Fort Wayne that has been there for a while. I have never been there but thought I would check it out this past weekend. I took the girls there because I thought they would really enjoy being able to pick out some "naked clay" and choose their glaze and go through the process. We are always trying to expose them to a variety of different things, and this was the perfect project.
As soon as we walked in, Kinsey and Kaitlyn were so excited. The girl that helped us was so great and walked them through everything. They each got to choose what they painted. Kinsey picked out a heart plate and Kaitlyn wanted a star box. At first, they only wanted pink. I urged them to get different colors...because I really wanted to get all I could for the money I was spending...and then they soon wanted to use every single color. I think Kaitlyn's painting technique may have caused her paints to all mix and just might come out gray.
This was such a cool activity for the girls to do. I really want to go back and do it again myself. We are thinking about possibly having Kinsey's birthday there in June..yes, they do birthday parties and they offer classes. It's just too bad it's so far away or I would definitely sign up! If you are looking for something different to do, I recommend you check this place out. It would be a very cool date place :)
We can't wait to pick up our pieces in 7-10 days. Final pictures to come. But for now, here are their pieces before being fired.

This and That

So sorry about no pictures on this post. My computer crashed and I have no idea what is wrong with it. I am blogging from my laptop which has no pictures on it of my recent adventures. And yes, I've had a few blog worthy adventures recently.

Baby, Baby, Baby
Emma and I made a nice journey to Angola to make sure Baby Libey has plenty of nice things for his arrival. Kamie looks beautiful in her last few weeks of pregnancy! I wish I looked that good when I was pregnant..but no such luck. I think Emma and I freaked her out a little with the belly rubbing but that's just Em and I. We love babies...and baby bellies.
After a nice brunch at Ruth Libey's, Emma and I headed to the mall in Fort Wayne. We found some great deals on pants, shirts, and other awesome clothing items for friends and family weekend. Everything was 30% off :) It was almost as good as the deals at Steve and Berry's. Although, I didn't save nearly as much money.

Challenger Learning Center
So I think I could go into professional grant writing. I recently got a grant for my classroom to go to an amazing space simulation center in Indianapolis. This was by far the coolest thing I have ever done with my class. The class was divided up into two teams. One group was in mission control (the whole room was set up exactly as you would see it at NASA) and the second group went on the space shuttle. They were in separate rooms but had to communicate with each other via headsets and email to complete a mission. My class found an unknown comet and named it "Comet Challenger." They found out that it was a long period comet and even tested the gas that it was made up of. Each student had a specific job. They got to do things like work robotic arms, navigate the team to the location of the comet, take blood pressures, read humidity and keep levels safe, and build a space probe. It was so nice to see my students take leadership roles and work together and successfully build a space probe and launch it into space. I would highly recommend this to any teacher of upper grade students! It was 100% interactive and the students had to do everything on their own. I really hope I can get another grant for us to go back next year.

Student Teacher
Ahh..I have been blessed with a student teacher this semester. I don't think she fully knew what she got herself into but she has been doing a great job. It is so nice to have her. I am getting so much done! And she will be with me for another six weeks. Her first day was a little rocky but she came back the next day and had a nice heart to heart with them and told them how it was going to be. She is going to do very well. This week is her first week being completely on her own and I think my students have adjusted well to her! If discipline wasn't her strength before, it will be before she leaves!

ISTEP
Let me just say this about ISTEP...I am so glad to hear that it wasn't just my class that had a difficult time with the math. I am even more glad that that portion is over. I really hope the multiple choice sections of math are not as difficult. On a good note, they said they were very confident on the ELA and Science sections and think they did very well. Their writing was very good and I am so glad they felt some success on those portions! Now we just get to wait until April for the next section...

I hope everyone has a great week!

I have goals

Sometimes they are goals for right now.
*My goal is to be in the shower by 10:00 so I'm not late for 11:00 church service.

I have permanent goals that never seem to go away. Even after I finish them, it's always time to do them again.
*My goal is to get the house cleaned this weekend.
*My goal is to get all my grading done.

I have professional goals that take a long time to complete.
*My goal is to change lives.
*My goal is to become an administrator.

I have goals that mock others' ridiculous ideas that have made millions.
*My goal is to create and market an educational program for school districts of things that teachers already do. Then, travel, train, and speak about the BS (like TESA and INSAI)

I have daily goals.
*My goal is to get up the first time my alarm goes off-not the fourth.
*My goal is to have patience when waiting in Indy rush hour traffic on the way to work.

I have goals that accomplish absolutely nothing.
*My goal is to do nothing but relax this summer.

I have travel goals that never seemed to get crossed off. Someday...
*My goal is to take the girls to the beach.
*My goal is to go to Italy.

I have relationship goals.
*My goal is to keep in touch better with my friends.

I have goals on what to do with my tax refund...this never goes according to the listed goals.
*My goal WAS to pay off the Impala.

I have goals for my kids.
*My goal is to find the right elementary school so they can get into a good middle/high school program to prepare them for college that will allow them to be successful in adulthood (Any Dave Barry fans? Remember this commentary?)

This isn't even my complete list. It's no wonder I don't get anything done! Like I said...I have goals.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today was a great day! I got to see Emma today and have lunch with her and Greg :) Then we spent some time walking around Target, where Emma got the best deal ever on curtains for her new living room (that she still doesn't have pictures of on her blog yet!). But I was still soo pumped to see the Hetrick's, as always.
Last night Jason and I got to spend some quality time together. We went to dinner and then walked around Castleton mall. We found the best deal ever on a Dooney & Bourke purse that was 50% off. So I was super excited because my current purse is really ready to retire. He also got me my favorite Dove chocolate and a gift card to iTunes so I can download more songs onto our iPod. What a great husband!!

My new Dooney & Bourke purse!
Happy Valentine's Day!

Go ahead...Have a laugh

(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)
Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.
From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith