One tough cookie

These are currently Kaitlyn's favorite pjs because it makes her feel tough...and she loves cookies.

Seriously. It's 2 am.

I hate sleeping alone. I really, really hate sleeping alone. But this was just the case this weekend when Jason went to Manchester for alumni weekend and I stayed home so my dad could put in our garage door opener.
I tend to over exaggerate (I know, imagine that...me exaggerate!) the need for safety when I am home alone. Especially now because we are in a new house, new area, new addition..I'm just not comfortable yet. So last night I knew Jason wouldn't be home until sometime the next afternoon. As I was getting ready to go to bed, I made sure the door was locked (both locks), the garage door was locked, sliding glass door locked..I even slept with the TV in my bedroom on. I guess because in my mind a person doesn't want to break into a house with a TV on.
I quickly fell asleep. Around 2 am I heard a noise that woke me up. At first I thought I was dreaming and that it came from the TV. I listened again. No, I was not dreaming. It was clearly someone KNOCKING on my bedroom window. Who does that? As my heart is about to palpate right out of my chest..I thought of who might do that. Obviously, it was someone trying to get me and obviously they didn't give two hoots about my TV being on.
Naturally, I turn my TV off. Kind of like, if the TV is off they'll think no one is home and probably go away. Only I was too panicked to understand that if they are outside my bedroom window they could probably see the light from the TV turn off. I decided to go out to the living room to peek out the window and see if I can see anyone. I stand in the middle of the living room and it hits me that I don't have ANYTHING covering my windows in the living room all the way to the kitchen and sliding door. (We haven't been able to find any blinds or curtains that we really like for a reasonable price so anyone can just see right in) I realize I'm in plain sight so I hide in the hallway and I saw a shadow of someone at the front door...it was own husband who said he just wanted to come home from Manchester (a 2-3 hr. drive) instead of staying somewhere else!
Because of my exaggeration of safety, he didn't have the key to the top lock of the door and had no other way in because we just installed the garage door opener and it was locked. As I was opening the front door for him, still having heart palpation's, he simply asks, "Why did you turn the TV off when I knocked on the window?"

PS Kaitlyn thinks there are mermaids in our pond. I tried telling her otherwise...she wasn't buying it.

Finally moved in!

I can finally say with the utmost sense of relief that we are finally moved in! In no way does that mean we are finished unpacking and all that fun stuff that goes along with a new house. We got rid of a lot of things in the move because we are ready for new stuff. Our next big project is going to be painting. Although white is nice, we really need some color. So if you love to paint, we could use your help. I know that the things we have left to do will all take time, and that we will probably never be done! In the mean time, here are some pictures: (I didn't take any pictures of Kinsey and Kate's rooms because they were sleeping when I took these)

Outside of the house


Main bathroom..the 9ft ceilings make the shower look really small!


Master bathroom


Ceiling fan that was a pain to install


Kitchen


Kitchen


Dining room/new chandelier

Christmas in September

Every time I stop by the new house, it's like the builders leave me a little present! The past two months have felt like Christmas each week:) I go to check on the progress of the house every Saturday and take pictures...just for my own memory (I know I'm a weirdo) but when you have a house built from the ground up, you tend to get a little sentimental! I know that Jason says that I'm ruining it for myself but frankly, I like Christmas..even if it is in September!
I never thought that sod, trees, toilets, carpet, cabinets, tile, and shelving would mean so much to me. I even got excited to see that they had the door handles and light fixtures on now! I know I've had a lot of house posts lately...and don't worry, there's only two more weeks until we move in! After that, I'm sure you will see far less posts about the house. Until then, here are some of the newest gifts the builders left for me this week:

We have sod, trees, and bushes!


The master bath...a new toilet and tile!


We have a kitchen sink!


We've got carpet now!! This really makes it feel almost finished :)


Shelving in one of the pantry closets


Now, all we need is the paint on the walls, a few more pieces of trim in the bathrooms, a good cleaning, and we'll be ready to move in!!

Wearing my heart on my sleeve

#1 I would like to state that I thought Obama's speech was wonderful. It was everything that I, as a parent and teacher, want for my own children and students. I believe wholeheartedly that our youth needs to hear those messages! Our kindergarten buddies joined my 6th graders to watch the speech and they were able to talk to the little people about it which was very helpful. As Kinsey said, "I really liked that movie today."

#2 I must admit that my heart is aching tonight. I can't really talk about details but I will say that I feel like I am struggling to find a balance of sympathy while still maintaining high expectations. Just once...just once I want to let someone from the outside in to our world of teaching and show them a glimpse of the reality that our children deal with. I want to show everyone the big picture that teaching isn't just a job for us. It follows us home at night, makes us worry sick about the well being of our students as if they were our own children, allows us to find peace within ourselves when that moment of pure learning happens, surprises you with joy when you least expect it, and sometimes...sometimes it makes your heart ache.

We have cabinets!!!

Our cabinets were installed this past week and I LOVE them. The pictures I took are really bad...I think my camera was on the wrong setting. They also got all of the trim work done, doors put on, driveway and sidewalk put in, and bathroom cabinets put in (bathroom cabinets are the same as the kitchen)! It's starting to come together :) They still have to finish painting the walls, put the flooring and carpet in, and finish the bathrooms!

The driveway and sidewalks...just put put in!


View of the kitchen and dining area with the pond in the background.


Area for the sink right under the window, dishwasher and refridgerator.


The cabinets and area where the stove and microwave will be going


The beautiful counter tops I picked out (Pardon the dust from the cabinets being installed).

Two posts in one

Today was the first day of my 6th graders working with their kindergarten buddies. This is our second year doing this. Last year was such a success that we plan on doing it each year. I have to say that I absolutely love doing this. The kindergarten teachers and I collaborate and pair up 6th graders with kindergartners. Once a week they work with their buddies on various skills. Today the 6th graders worked on helping their little buddies write a sentence. The 6th graders will read books, work on projects, and even work on computer skills with their buddies throughout the year. We culminate the year by taking the 6th graders and their kindergarten buddies to the Indianapolis Zoo. They walk their little buddies around the zoo and help them read signs and talk to them about the animals.
This year's 6th graders were so excited about working with the little people! I am so pleased with how well they did. It is so awesome to see the bond that they form throughout the year, too. Last year we saw the 6th graders act as mentors for their buddies and they looked out for them on the bus, in the school, and even in the neighborhood. It has really given our 6th graders a positive leadership role as well as they must maintain passing grades and be in good standing with all of their teachers in order to participate with their buddy. We talk to the 6th graders a lot about character skills and what it means to be a mentor. They constantly have to be good role models for their buddies during the school day.
Since Kinsey is a kindergartner, I got to watch her work with her buddy today. She has talked a lot about her buddy and I really see the impact that this project has on the little people. Kinsey has been scared to death to eat breakfast in the morning because it is all grade levels in there at the same time. However, she mentioned for the first time eating breakfast with her buddy...which is a major step for her! (**See story below)
I know there are lots of teachers out there. I highly suggest that you try this project with your students. For me, it has also allowed more collaboration and discussion with teachers I normally don't get to interact with because we teach on opposite sides of the building and opposite grade levels.
I forgot to take my camera today but I will bring it next week to get some pics of the kiddos with their buddies :)

**So Kinsey decided within the first few days of school that she would not eat breakfast at school unless I was right by her side. Of course, I couldn't do that because I have morning duties that cause me to have to be in other places in the morning. Consequently, I began having Kinsey take a pop tart for breakfast to eat on the way to school since it is such a long drive. One morning we were in a hurry and it wasn't until we were ready to leave that I noticed we were out of pop tarts. I had Kinsey leave any way without anything and thought that she would be hungry enough that she would eat at school. Oh no! She refused to eat that morning. Of course I told her teacher that she didn't eat breakfast (Kinsey is very much a child that needs to eat breakfast). In her five years of existence, I have never seen her go without breakfast. Needless to say, she had a very bad morning. Her teacher came down to talk to me about during their lunch. Her consequence for her day was that she couldn't go to Jason's softball game.
That evening Ryan (Jason's best friend) came over to pick him up for softball. Jason was telling him on the way why Kinsey couldn't go watch the game and why she was so upset. When they got back to our house, Ryan told me that he needed to apologize to Kinsey because it was his fault that Kinsey had such a bad day. I asked, "Why was it your fault?" He said, "When I was here last weekend, I ate a package of pop tarts and this could have been avoided if I hadn't eaten them."
My response: "Dang it, Ryan!"