And the Winners Are...

I wrote all of your names down on a piece of paper....

Folded them up....

Big Dog shuffled... don't worry, I helped.

And.... Socially Conscious Darling won the frame!

And Lindsey won the gift card!

And here's the deal ladies... hubby thought it would be super-cute (my words, not his) if you took a picture of your prizes. Socially Conscious Darling, you should take a picture (and post) your use for the frame. Lindsey, you should take a picture of you purchase! What do you think, gals? I love it!

For those of you who didn't win, hold tight. I'm thinking another one might be in the works. We'll see.

25 Things...

I was tagged on facebook, but I thought I'd do it on here instead. 25 Random things about me...

1. I'm a bit of a control freak.
2. I thoroughly enjoy reading trash magazines. The trashier, the bettter.
3. After watching the Sarah Palin video where she was pardoning a turkey for Thanksgiving and a turkey was beheaded behind her, I just couldn't stand eating meat knowing how the animals were killed. I'm now a vegetarian.
4. Even though I'm a control freak, my house is never tidy. I try so hard.
5. I met my husband in a bar while I was in college.
6. Today is a snow day and I'm actually sad that I didn't have to go to work today. I miss my kids and I want to share the snow with them! We've been waiting all year to put a square in the snow section of our weather graph.
7. Even though I often complain about Maryland, I do love it here.
8. I hate being 500 miles away from my family, but I do love that I'm not in Michigan anymore.
9. I do not feel sexy. Ever.
10. I take anxiety medication (which partially explains the above statement) and I'm still afraid I'm going to have a panic attack.
11. I love milk duds.
12. I want to be a mother more than anything in the world, but it's not the right time for me and it's hard for me to admit that.
13. My dogs mean the world to me.
14. I love food. Especially anything salty.
15. I feel more at home when I'm teaching than any other place in the world.
16. I go through phases where I either save everything in sight or I throw everything away. It's quite strange.
17. I'm working on my Master's Degree to be a principal someday.
18. Sometimes I'm an introvert hidden in an extrovert's body.
19. I always thought I made friends easily, but it's really hard when you're an adult.
20. People often think I'm older than I really am, even though I have a babyface.
21. I want to be a stay at home mom someday.
22. I often hold conversations in my head to rehearse how I think a conversation will go.
23. I can drive to and from work without the radio on (mainly because of the above statement).
24. My feet are my thermostat. If they are cold, I'm cold. If they are hot, I'm hot.
25. My husband hates that I always want to redecorate.

Okay, there's 25 things about me. I tag anyone who wants to play along!

S--lacking...

I'm such a slacker today.

We had a "snow day" today. I use that term loosely because there is only about an inch of snow on the ground and it's covered by ice now. I'm iced in. No fun.

I have a million things I could and should be doing right now (cleaning my house? getting the taping done for painting this weekend?) but I'm slacking because I am lacking motivation!

Ugh.

And to make matters worse? I don't have any bread or milk in the house. I literally cannot get out of my cul-de-sac (neighbor tried-- it didn't work). I just ate a plate full of french fries for lunch. Oops.

Gross.

I have really horrible luck these days when it comes to poop.

Yesterday? Big Dog was eating something and I yelled at her to drop it. She did (first time she's really ever listened to me!) and I picked it up. Frozen poop. DIS.GUST.ING.

Today? Babysitting Boy had an upset tummy. I changed his pull up and got him ready for bed. On the way downstairs with the pull up in my hand, I noticed a warm sensation on my hand. I looked down just in time to see it oozing through my fingers. Again, DIS.GUST.ING.

Pretty awesome. Not.

PS.. Blogger doesn't think that disgusting is spelled incorrectly when I put it like that. Seriously? Weird...

Not Me Monday...

Time again for Not Me! Monday. Navigating the Quarterlife introduced me to "Not Me! Monday." Basically, you just list a bunch of things you didn't (read: did) do this weekend/week/etc.
So here goes:

1. I did not attempt to call The Cuz when I was in the stall of a bathroom in Target because I just had to share that I totally saw a used pregnancy test in the trash. I'm way more mature than that.

2. I did not let out a big sigh at 4:00 AM when hubby woke me up because he was in pain. I mean, I'm a much nicer wife than that.

3. I most certainly did not cry to hubby today because only 3 people left me comments for my giveaway. I mean, I don't take things like my blog seriously. Again, I'm way more mature than that.

4. I certainly did not laugh at hubby for using my crutches because he's 6'3 and I'm 5'6. I'm TOTALLY a nice wife and wouldn't laugh at him like that.

5. Not me! I didn't fall into the Chesapeake when I ran in for the Polar Bear Plunge. I mean, I have way more grace than that. Seriously.

6. I did not feed my dog human food because I was mad at hubby for ordering pizza with pepperoni on it when he knows I'm vegetarian and won't eat the pepperoni. I mean, I'm a way better puppy mama than that.

7. I most certainly did not check my email every ten minutes today to see if anyone else left me a comment to enter my giveaway. Seriously, who would let their blog take over their life? Not me.

I think that's all I've got today! :)

Seriously though.. leave me a comment to enter my giveaway. I'm thinking about adding in a Target gift card just because! I'll add in the gift card if 15 people enter.

GIVEAWAY!

It's time...

Sarah over at Classy & Fabulous picked the number 164, which would be the magic number for my giveaway!

Enter for your chance to win this fabulous frame.

Here's the scoop:

Leave me a comment before Friday, January 30th, for a chance to win. Post about it on your blog and I'll enter you again (remember to let me know you did this so I can put your name in again!). My fabulous mom will be here this weekend, so I'll enlist her help to draw a winner.

Good Luck!

Officially Changing my Name...

After quite a long week (even though we had Monday off and Wednesday-Friday was early dismissals..) I've decided to change my name.

Working with six 5, 6, and 7 year olds with extreme ADHD and other emotional issues begins to take a toll on you after some time. Do you know how many times I hear my name in the course of a day? Well, my aides decided to do a little test to see. In four minutes my name was said (screamed, cried, whined, etc.) 45 times. That's 11 times a minute.

Seriously? What do these kids need from me to say my name 11 times in a minute. The absolutely horrible part? My name starts with an L. L is one of the harder letters to pronounce. In that time I'm sure my name was only said correctly about 50% of the time. And most of those probably did not start with a Mrs. because I'm just that cool.. I only need one name. You know, like Britney.. or Christina... or Madonna.

So.. I'm officially changing my name.

Or... only answering to a hand being raised.

Teacher of the Year.

Yeah, I'm pretty much the best teacher in the world.

I totally forgot to re-stock my school store (for those non-teachers out there.. it's basically how I bribe my kids to behave all week- I give them tickets, they get a prize based on the number of tickets they have). In order to not have to deal with the drama of the BOOOOOOORING school store and the numerous eye rolls I would get, I merely suggested we change it to Monday. Not a bad idea, right?

Wrong. You would have thought I suggested they eat bleach or something. They were not having any part of it. I instantly had five children claiming I was the worst teacher in the world.

Instead of owning up to being the World's Worst Teacher? I bribed them. 15 tickets for each of them if they waited until Monday.

Now? I'm hoping they'll forget.

I'm How Old?

Last night I started classes for grad school again. Normally the classes are great. I actually feel like I'm learning something and challenged in a new way. (I'm dorky, I know..) And it feels good to feel that way.

Unfortunately, my class last night wasn't quite that way. The professor talked about grammatical errors and how we should all visit the help center for editing. Um, I'm halfway through the program with a 4.0... I'm pretty sure I'll be okay with how I've been doing my papers, thankyouverymuch.

Seriously, she made us all feel like we were in high school again. Lecturing away about the importance of using colons and semi-colons correctly and how graduate students think they know all there is to know about editing papers, when really they don't. Um.. again, I'm still rocking that 4.0 so I'm thinking I'm doing something right.

I don't know, I just don't like sitting through class when the professor thinks they are top dog and we're little minions who know nothing. Am I jealous of her PhD? Of course. But that doesn't mean that I don't know how to write a paper correctly. And for the love, PLEASE do not tell me how to cite references in APA. I already know how to do that.

Seriously. I'm how old?

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

Yes, I know... I've been a terrible blogger lately. But I have some excuses:

• Computer(s) have been on the fritz. Hubby's was gone for service so we had to share, then my wireless stopped working. That meant we had to plug in for internet-- in the basement. We have a separate heating system for down there so it is C-O-L-D down there.
• We had guests in town-- that means not a lot of time for blogging. I have been reading yours though!

I know those aren't very good excuses, but it's the truth. My one reader has been very upset at my lack of posting. Thanks mom for missing me!

In other news, we've done some updating to the house. New furniture for the living room arrived on Friday and was set up on Saturday. We rearranged a bit and now we have to add a few things before it will be perfect. Next up? Tiling/painting the bathroom and new floors upstairs. I'm very excited. I've also removed the carpet from the stairs and stripped the paint off of it. Seriously, don't ever paint your hardwood stairs a horrible country teal green with a nice stencil. It's just not attractive and it's really annoying for the new owners to have to take off. Grr. But, it will be nice when they are finished.

Kids are doing well in school. They are just as funny as ever. Today's topic? Bling. Yes, they call my wedding ring/engagement ring bling. I believe the comment was, "Gee, Mrs. L.. you be blingin' with all that bling!" Then another one chimed in with, "Bling.. ring! Those are rhyming words!" Glad I've taught them something!

Hygiene...

Sometimes I wish I had a tape recorder for the conversations I have with my students. Today's convo revolved around dry skin in the winter.

Me: Yeah, buddy.. it's that time of year. We have to make sure we put lotion on or our skin will get really dry. Do you want to go to the nurse? She has lotion.

Student: That's what my Daddy says. But, Mrs. L.. do you know what the most important part of taking a bath is?

Me: Um.. I'm not sure I do. What is it?

Student: When you wash your privacy, you should make sure you use soap.

Me: Yeah, I did know that. It's important to wash our bodies with soap.

Student: No! That's not the most important part! The most important part is to make sure you get all the soap off or your privacy will be itchy. Nobody wants to have an itchy privacy, right Mrs. L?

Me: (giggling) You're absolutely right. That might be bad.

Student: And super-embarrassing. Can you imagine walking around itching your privacy all day?

Me: (dying with laughter) No, I certainly cannot.

How cute is that? He calls it his privacy. Not his private parts. His privacy.

And to top it off, we were having our morning meeting this morning and I said that today I would whisper their names to call them to group. Little guy thought it might be more fun if I rapped them. I agreed, silly me. I was stuck rapping names all day. They thought I was the best rapper they had ever seen, except one girl who informed me that "White girls don't rap!".

Gangster?

Student: "Mrs. L... people think I'm pretty gangster."

Me:"Gangster? They think you're gangster?"

Student: "Pardon?"

Me: "Yup, pretty gangster... a polite gangster."

Student: "I'm only a polite gangster to you. I'm a mean gangster to everyone else."

Uh-huh, right.

And here I thought it was gangsta, you know.. a little ghetto. Apparently not.

PS- I totally taught all my kids to say pardon instead of "huh?" and now the parents are all up in my business about who made their kids polite. Um, hello.. I did. I have to listen to them for 6 hours straight, I'll be darned if they are not polite while talking to me!

What?

I was talking with a student today about our assistant principal, who was meeting with his mother. He told me he didn't know who she was. I explained that she was the lady who visited our classroom every once in a while and told him what she was wearing today. He said, "Ohhhh... the really responsible teacher?"

Um... does that mean I'm not responsible?

This may have been the same student I told that I don't get paid to listen to him whine. Oops.

I guess my AP really is more responsible than I am.

The Biggest Loser...& other randoms...

How about when the trainer said something about watching the show and eating ice cream? Definitely us. Oops.

Oh... and... DeAnna back on The Bachelor? What is up with that?! For sure this is going to be an amazing season!

And an update on the classroom: The little ones are behaving and doing well. One little snippet of a convo:

Kid: (shouting) Why I gotta be stuck with a bunch of crazy people?
Other Kid: Dude, ain't you know you one of 'em?
Me: (in my head) My sentiments exactly.

Oh little ones, you're fun.

are you watching?

The Bachelor is on!

I have been counting down the days! The cuz and I are doing a little play-by-play action together. We may be making fun of people. It's how we roll.

Anyone else out there obsessed with The Bachelor?

Not Me! Monday

I stole this idea from Navigating the Quarterlife and I simply love it!

Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week.

1. I definitely did not complain to my co-worker that hubby didn't know what color shoes to wear with his brown pants. That would just be mean. (I love you, hubby!)

2. I certainly did not raise my voice at a little one because he threw away food in the wrong trash can.

3. I most certainly did not suggest we get pizza tonight for dinner because I was too tired to cook and didn't want to go to the grocery store for a few items. I'm so much more mature than that.

4. I certainly did not starch four of hubby's shirts last night because I was feeling like a domestic diva and I know he likes his shirts fresh from the dry cleaners. I'm totally not that nice.

5. I most certainly did not flip someone off because they cut me off. I'm waaaaaaaay more mature than that.

6. No, not me. I didn't try three different times today to get my gmail to work so I could get to my google reader (the only way I can do it at work!) because I just had to check on my bloggy friends. I'm more of a professional than that.

7. I definitely did not avoid doing my lesson planning this weekend for this week because I just did not want to give up any of my vacation to do work. Again, I'm way more of a professional than that.

Can't wait to hear about things you didn't do today/this weekend!

Hope you enjoyed today's Not Me! posts!

Ice, Ice, Baby....

How many of you sang the song in your head? Don't lie, I know you did.

Little Dog is sitting so politely next to hubby who is icing his knee. She is eagerly waiting for him to stop icing his knee and give her the ice chunk. Seriously, these dogs LOVE ice (and poop). They go crazy for ice. Right now? Little Dog is licking the drops of water that fall off hubby's leg as he rubs the ice back and forth. Weird.

SCORE! Daddy gave her the ice chunk. Big Dog is now pawing at her, hoping the paw action will distract her long enough to grab the ice chunk. Unfortunately for her, Zoey is a pretty smart dog and LOVES her ice.

I know this past week and a half has been full of doggy posts, but it's the only material I have right now. School starts tomorrow. Be patient.

Thanks!

Well, Sarah over at Classy and Fabulous picked the number 164. Thank you, Sarah!

That means....

on my 164th post, I'll be doing a GIVEAWAY!

Stay tuned for details. I'm at 153, so just a few more to go. Details to follow, I promise!

I Need Some Help...

Someone out there pick a number between 153-170.

First comment will be the number I use.

I'm not telling what that number will be used for, but I promise it'll be fun.

Sick.

How about the woman at TGIFriday's who had her head down on the bar and proceeded to puke on the floor. I'm pretty sure she was over 35. And no, it wasn't the flu. It was probably the mass quantities of alcohol she consumed.

I'll bet someone is pretty proud of her.

Even MORE Puppy Love...

As if I wasn't already annoyed with them.

Even more annoying than the wrestling going on in my house? Them "helping" me make the bed.

Big Dog has started this awesome habit of not really listening to me, at all. (It should be noted that she listens like a perfect angel for hubby) So when I attempted to push her off the bed, she just play growled at me and started play biting. I seriously think that is her way of laughing in my face. She would.not.move.

Little Dog? Her favorite is to get UNDER the sheets when I'm making the bed. You know, so I make the bed with her in it. She also will not move. I made the entire bed with her under the first sheet. Nothing. No movement. Again, her passive/aggressive way of annoying me to the bitter end.

As I typed that, I realize how stupid I was. Why did I continue making the bed with a dog in it? All that served was to force me to make the bed again!

Crap. Outsmarted by a freakin' dog.

Puppy Love?

As I was flying home yesterday, I realized how much I missed those silly little rascals I like to cuddle with... you know, the four-legged friends. Big Dog? I love how she'll give kisses EVERY time you ask (even after she's eaten her own poop and you have no idea until she kisses you and you smell her breath) and she's always following me around. Little Dog? That dog can cuddle! She's always trying to get close to me and will squeeze herself into the smallest space just to sit next to me.

Today? I'm ready to drop them off at the pound.

Honestly, why do they have to wrestle every time I'm trying to relax on the couch? WWE wrestlers have nothing on these dogs.

Time to go get those leashes... do you think the pound is open today?

I kid, I kid.