X...

Today we were talking about the letter x. One boy (with speech problems) proudly points out the letter x on the wall. Only when he says it, it sounds more like @ss. A whole lot like @ss. I'm giggling in my head thinking... oh, I can't wait to share this one!

Apparently the little guy next to me (not the X boy) heard the same thing and thought it was equally as hilarious. He quietly says to X boy, "Tell Mrs. L to kiss your x!"

I wasn't quite quick enough to intervene when little X boy says, "Mrs. L, kiss my @ss!"

That was after a child told me he wanted to be a hooker when he grew up, just like his mom.

Sweet. Good goal there, dude.

Domestic Goddess..

Yeah, pretty much that describes me lately.

Yesterday? Homemade Halloween costume. Today? These..

Check it out! Cute little personalized onesies. Made these for friends of ours who just had a baby.

The duck one is my FAVORITE!

The teacher in me just loves these. If you can't see them... it says E is for elephant and F is for frog. It's never too early to start teaching them!

You know you want to be my friend and have a baby!

Oh.. one random thing. I have this habit of locking the front door every time I walk out of it. Going to get the mail? Lock the door. Going to work? Lock the door. Throw out the trash? Lock.... the.... crap... hubby isn't home. It's definitely raining. I had no shoes on. You do the math.

Halloween Costume

Here it is, folks... and I made it all by myself. Well, except for the 12 phone calls to my mother.

I had a difficult time in the cutting stage... so I did not take any pictures of that part. It involved many curse words and a mini-fit.

Little dog is "helping" with the costume making. Of course, her idea of helping was to lay right where I needed to be.The finished product. I was pretty impressed with myself. It only took about two hours, 12 phone calls and one mini-temper tantrum to complete.
The red shoes are just perfect.

Now.. can you all tell who I'm supposed to be? Please tell me you know. The shoes should be a dead giveaway.

Random Musings...

These are the pumpkins my kiddos decorated. I, of course, had images of cute little pumpkin faces smiling brightly. Instead, this is what I got. I think they are quite funny. And totally representative of my kids. Look at the color mixing going on here!

This one even has the stem decorated!

In other news, I lost again this week! I'm down a total of 4.5 pounds. Only 11.5 to go! Now, I'll be honest.. I wasn't very good about logging my points this week, but I really feel like I consciously made better choices. Take last night for example. We were out to eat at a pub (not my choice) with a friend of hubby's. Instead of scarfing down the cheeseburger like I wanted to. I asked hubby to split chicken tenders with me and my appetizer was a side salad. That was a healthy choice and caused me to eat less in the end.

We've been invited to a Halloween party on Friday and I haven't a clue what we're going to wear. Anyone out there have any suggestions?

You MUST

You must head over to check out Brock and Ava to see the super-cute Vera Bradley giveaway she is doing.

While you're there.. you should definitely tell her I sent you! :)

Birthday Round up...

These were sent to me today at school from my parents. What a lovely surprise!

Please note the seat belt wrapped around them. Yes, that was the only way to get them home without any spillage. When I buckled them in safely, I thought to myself... I must get a picture of this. This is definitely blog worthy.

Any of you out there have moments like that? You know, when you think "This would be perfect for the blog!"

Birthday Girl

Tomorrow is my birthday! It's sort of a big one.. the big 2-5. You know, a quarter of a century.

It's pretty much how I thought of my blog title. You know, it's not a mid-life crisis because I'm really mid-midway through my life. Get it?

Again, I've been working on grad papers so my humor is a little off. Seriously, reading about collaborative problem solving and writing about group dynamics? A little dry.

On a brighter note, today was much quieter at school. I had two kiddos absent and the noise level decreased dramatically. It made me realize how much energy little kids have when I only had to keep an eye on 5 of them instead of 7.

Full Moon...

Today I looked FABULOUS in my cute gray dress with black trim, a black sash bow, gray tights, and cute, cute, cute boots. I was very impressed with my get-up. Hubby was, too.

I was totally cute until one of my little ones decided to run away at recess. Yes, a child with emotional/behavior issues ran away from me... and keep in mind that 5 year olds are much faster than their teacher running in boots and a dress.

The fantastic part? The wind gust at about 15 mph as I was reaching to grab him.

Yup, full moon. For the entire playground. Pretty sweet for me.

A little of this..

... and a little of that.

The weekend seemed to fly by too fast, again. In between working on papers for grad class, trying to plan for the week, and securing a new project for my internship... I did not get much accomplished in any other areas of my life. I'm just having a hard time being so organized and planned at school that my home life seems to really lag behind. Any other teachers out there have suggestions? I'm just exhausted when I get home, so cleaning, cooking, and doing other things around the house just don't seem to get done.

Today in school I overheard a conversation between two of my students:
A fight was brewing between a little guy (who is a huge tattle-tale) and my little mini-me. Here's what tattle-tale said,"I'm telling Mrs. Italian-last name what you just did!"

Mini-me says, "Oh no you're not! That's not being respectful!" (um.. what?)

Tattle-tale thinks for a minute, "Well, you're not being respectful so I'm telling!"

Mini-me retorts with, "Fine go be a snitch, but don't you know ain't nobody like a snitch... once a snitch, always a snitch."

My mouth was wide open. But, they solved the problem on their own and tattle-tale did not want to be a snitch.

Annnnnnnd... I'm having such a hard time with weight watchers. Sometimes a girl just wants the juiciest, fattest, delicious cheeseburger. And some fries on the side.

Basically, I'm a whiner today. Sorry. I promise to bring you back to our normal programming just as soon as I figure this all out.

It's a sad, sad day...

The greatest toy ever has been eaten. Big Dog just couldn't stand that the toy was still around. She ate it. Chewed it for a few minutes and swallowed it.

I wasn't home so hubby had to mourn the loss by himself. Even Little Dog was a bit sad. Big Dog? She had no clue.

Take Your Friends to Work...

The new curtains my mom made for my classroom. The kids are VERY excited to have these up. We have been talking about them for a while and they just could not believe that a) I have a mother, and b) that she made curtains for our classroom. I think they turned out just perfect. Thanks Mommy for making them!





You can't see very well in the picture, but the ones on the outside are striped and the one in the middle is polka dots. The stripes have some polka dots on them too. They are totally complimentary.

And this is the view from my desk... but a little zoomed in. In the back, with the rug, is where we do morning meetings, calendar, and read stories. It is also where we have quiet time. Quiet time is when the kids lay down on their tummies and the quiet music is on. Seriously, it's the only time that it's peaceful in the room. They know that if they talk or get in any trouble, the music will be turned off and it's back to work. This all came about because on the first day I was like, ugh, what am I going to do to calm these kids down? I came up with the idea on the fly and we have been doing it ever since. I think it's silly, but they enjoy it. And, I'm not going to lie.. I like the peace and quiet for 5 minutes!

Sorry I didn't get any other angles.. it was really early in the morning and I meant to get more before the end of the day, but it just didn't happen.

Back to reality tomorrow.

Wish List...

I'm in one of those moods..

So I thought I'd put my wish list up. Here are the things I'm wishing for...

1. A new wedding band. Mine has caused this nasty rash thing on my hand and I can't wear it.
2. A new school bag, preferably in black and white and with a pink monogram.
3. "Magic Pants" from Target.
4. My house to be clean. We're talking SPOTLESS. Shining.
5. Long, brown hair. I'm so tired of my short, mousy blonde hair. I want it brown. I have for years now..
6. My master's to be finished.
7. To have lost the 10 lbs. I'm hoping to lose.
8. Things to calm down at school, so I can stop stressing.
9. My cousin to move here.
10. My family to move here.

I'm sorry this is such a slacker blog post. I'm just not feeling it today.

Seriously?

Today a kid had an ear ache. He whined and cried for about 5 minutes. I finally gave in and asked him what was wrong. He said there was something in his ear. I calmly replied, "Your finger?" He assured me there was something else in there. The following is our convo.

Me: What could possibly be in your ear?
Him: Something black.
Me: How did something black get in your ear? (Rolling my eyes..) Did you put something in your ear?
Him: No...
Me: Then how do you know it's black?
Him: I don't know. I just do.
Me: Did you put something in your ear? (in a rather annoyed tone, I'm sure).
puts his head down...
Me: Seriously, what did you put in your ear?
Him: Just something I found on the rug.
Me: Just something? Something you found on the rug? Seriously? You put it in your ear?

We walk to the nurse. The whole time I'm grilling him about putting things in his ear.

We walk into the nurse's office (who happens to be his nurse from his prior school...) and I say, Little Dude has something in his ear. Something he put in his ear.

She exclaims, "Little Dude! I saw you three times for this last year! When are you going to learn not to put things in your ear?!"

I had to walk out.. I was afraid of what I might say to him. He's six. Shouldn't he know this already?

Tired...

Whew. I'm exhausted. Why?

I thought you might ask...

Let me give you a run-down of my class. One kindergartener, three first graders, and three second graders. Three of those are extremely ADHD and do.not.stop.talking.ever. Top that off with two drama kings, two criers, and seven whiny little kids. Oh, and add in two who want my attention every second of the day.

All of that= a tired teacher.

My day consists of saying, "Excuse me?" "Please make good choices" "Don't do that!" "Say you're sorry" "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, thank you for not making me get to zero." "Is that a good choice?" "We don't say that in our classroom." "You're not sitting safely" "Criss-cross applesauce, spoons in your bowl" and many other choice phrases about 999,998 times. I'm beginning to think I'm a broken record.

The good news? This tired teacher loves her job. Even though the kids may whine, scream, shout, kick, tell me they hate me, and more... I still look forward to the hugs each and everyday. One kid told me today that I could have ten days off, and two kids shouted "NO! Don't leave us for ten days. We'd miss you too much. We would make bad choices if you weren't here!" That makes my day. Of course, they continue to make bad choices here and there, but they are learning and that's all I can ask for.

What.a.Day.

You know what kind of day it was when I have happy hour on Monday.

Yes, I drank on a Monday night.

To top it off? I was definitely making lunches for tomorrow when hubby came downstairs and said to me, "Why is your purse still on your shoulder?" Um.. excuse me?

Yes, I did have my purse on my shoulder and no I did not realize it was there.

I.am.losing.my.mind.

I Lost?!

Somehow I managed to lose weight this week! This is even after I ate at a fondue restaurant, ate out the following night-- pasta? oops., and had a PotBelly's sandwich for lunch yesterday that was definitely 12 points.

I think even though I feel like I ate a lot, I did make some better choices. For example, yesterday when I was eating the 12 point sandwich, I nixed the mayo. This is huge. Normally I pile on the mayo. I didn't even notice it was missing when I ate the sandwich.

It may have helped that I walked about 5 miles yesterday while hubby was running his marathon. (Good job, babe! You did AWESOME!) It was hard work following him around!

Well, hopefully this week is more of the same. But I'm going to try harder this week... really. No more fondue all-you-can-eat nights. Seriously.

Greatest.Toy.Ever.

This? This is the greatest toy ever. What started out as a nice puppy chew toy almost three years ago is now a little two-inch piece of fabric.

before...

after...

Don't get me wrong, rawhide bones and other edible treats are much preferred by Big Dog and Little Dog, but this? This has been the reason for many a wrestling match in the living room. I have tried to throw this thing away many times. It just seems every time I remember that I should throw it away, it is hidden somewhere.

It's like it just keeps coming back to life.

Perhaps I shouldn't fight it. After all, we probably paid $8.99 for it two years ago AND it keeps the dogs quiet sometimes. Just like a pacifier.

Grr..

You know it's been one of those days when the pizza guy comes and you want to punch him. In the face. Twice. In my defense, he had it coming.

He walks up and I greet him, "Good evening!" because I'm just that nice.

Walking up with a small pizza and a oven roasted sandwich... "Hi. Please sign."

As I'm signing, "Oh... you must be really hungry."

Yes, I am jackass. I've been eating carrots all day because I'm going out to dinner for fondue tonight and I'm on Weight Watchers and there aren't enough points in a week to fit a fondue night out with the girls into it!

Seriously, don't mess with me.

And for the record, the pizza and sandwich were for my husband. You know, the guy running a marathon this weekend. That's 26.2 miles. And yes he's hungry. Jerk.

Riddle...

What do you get when you cross a kid, a magnet, and a computer monitor?

A rainbow screen.

Ask me how happy I am. Not very. Apparently while I was out of the room today in a meeting a little one took a magnet to the monitor. His response when I asked him what happened?

"I wanted to see if the magnet would stick!"

Nope, it doesn't.. but it does turn it a different color.

WW...

WW, as in Weight Watchers.

I took the plunge. I've started Weight Watchers. Today was my first day. I'm feeling pretty good... not too hungry, not too full. But, I still have some cravings that I'm going to have to get over and some food in the house that hubby is going to have to eat soon.

The cookies on the counter? Calling my name.

Little Dog...

Hi there! I'm Zoey, AKA Little Dog, Zoers, or Zo Bo. My parents have lots of nicknames for me because I'm just too cute.
Here I am in my favorite spot: the back of the couch. The only thing I like better than this is cuddling with my mom on the couch, or any other place she'll let me cuddle. Anytime my mom is sitting down, I must be as close to her as possible so I can have cuddle time.My grandparents think I'm spoiled rotten, but I think it's just because I'm cute. I love to be outside, especially when there are other animals out there. I enjoy chasing animals and have been known to jump the fence in the backyard just to get a closer look at the squirrels, deer, or birds. Even though I enjoy these things, I'm actually really lazy. My parents say I act like a cat because I sleep so much and I am always climbing on things. When I'm not sleeping, though, I am terrorizing my sister. Shhh! Don't tell my Mommy and Daddy, but I'm always trying to get Big Dog in trouble. They don't even think it's me because I am too cute to be naughty.

For those of you wondering... I don't really know what kind of dog I am. My shelter said I was a beagle/whippet mix, but I don't know that for sure. Maybe some Jack Russel Terrier? I'm pretty sure it's just cute mixed with adorable. I definitely use my looks and my love to my advantage.

Big Dog

I'm stealing this idea from The Pink Putter (a cute blog I stumbled upon the other day!) I hope she doesn't mind!

Hi! My name is Leila. My parents call me Big Dog so that I don't know when they are talking about me. When I'm not terrorizing my parents, I can be found sleeping lazily on the couch. I enjoy going for walks, playing outside, and chewing anything I can get my teeth on. My mom thinks I'm always the trouble maker between me and my sister, but really the little dog is and I just get blamed for it.
I love eating just about anything, even things that aren't food. Shoes used to be my favorite, but I saw how much that made my mommy mad so I stopped. Now I just enjoy eating paper, grass, leaves, and sticks. I don't like it when my Mommy tries to cuddle with me. I only cuddle on my own terms. I usually want to cuddle in the middle of the night when my parents are asleep. They usually kick me out of bed, though.

My sister is my best friend, even though she is a stinker sometimes. I enjoy playing with her and wrestling in the house. Sometimes we get in trouble together, especially when we play WWF on Mommy's bed early in the morning.

I'm the cutest black lab you'll ever meet!

October...

... is my favorite month.

• It's my birthday month!
• It's the beginning of fall and I love, love, love fall.
• I can usually wear a sweater or long sleeves and feel comfortable.
• The windows can be open in the house- I love the fresh air.
• It's my birthday month!
• The school year is in full swing by now.
• I love apple picking.
• I love carving pumpkins.
• It's my birthday month!
• I enjoy being outside when it's sort of warm, sort of chilly.
• And.... last, but not least, it's my birthday month!

Name-Calling...

Apparently I'm a woser. A big, fat woser. [that's loser, but little guy can't pronounce his l's]

Annnnnd, if that wasn't bad enough... nobody wikes me.

All of this after the cutie destroyed half of my room. Seriously, it's like they know that nothing else bothers me, so they feel the urge to destroy my classroom. Call me every name in the book, just don't.touch.my.$hit.

Except he had to clean it all up. And that included the 198 word wall words that were in alphabetical order. Now he's spending his free time organizing it back to the way it was. I don't have the heart to tell him that probably half of it was out of order anyway. I was meaning to organize those one day....

Tattoo?

Today I had an interesting little conversation with one of my students. Keep in mind these kids have been with me for 25 days now.

Little man is sitting on the rug during story time and he raises his hand (YES! I've taught them something) and asks me, "Mrs. [insert Italian last name]. Why do you have a tattoo?"

Stammering, I reply "I wanted one, sweetie," and I return back to reading my book.

He raises his hand again. "I thought only adults who curse have tattoos?"

I wait a minute, trying to regain my thoughts because surely they didn't teach us this in school.

"You don't curse, do you?"

Um... hello? Queen of cursing, right here! But not in front of the kids, of course.

"No, sweetie. I don't curse. But many adults get a tattoo for many different reasons."