19 months later...

Where have a I been the last year and a half?

Changing. Growing.

A year and a half ago I was on the search for my first teaching job. That journey began. That journey eneded. Many of you know of my incredibly stressful first year of teaching and some of you know why I'm no longer there. It was a year of wonder, stress, soul searching, aches, pains, joys, sorrows, and learning. I'm not the same person I was a year and a half ago.

I still want to teach.

I still want to help children learn.

I still want to make a difference.

I don't know where that will be. I don't know when that will be. And I don't know what my future holds.

Not knowing the future has been a challenge for me. My whole life I have always known what the next step was going to be. I'm a planner. I had a perfect plan for everything. Up until last year, everything fell perfectly into place.

The plan: Graduate high school. Attend Richland. Transfer to the University of North Texas and live in Denton. Move back home. Student teach. Graduate. Teach. Continue life independently.

Well, all those things happened in perfect timing and at the exact right placement...except for the teaching part. Long story short, I'm again searching for a job and have some promising things happening, but I must have faith that it will all work out. I have to have hope that I'll find the right fit. I have to continue believing that teaching really is what I'm called to do.

I'm eagerly waiting to transition from this state of working three jobs, not knowing what each week holds, and having stability.

My current plan: Wait. Have faith. That's all I can do.

Thoughts on Teaching

1. Kids pretty much always come in smiling.

2. Every classroom is different.

3. Every school is different.

4. Teachers make mistakes too.

5. When the teacher makes a mistake, one student will always point it out.

6. There really is something about full moons and rainy days that makes kids crazy.

7. Daily 5 can work really well if it's done in an organized manner.

8. I love doing a community circle because it gives students a chance to share something each day and allows the teacher and students to get to know one another.

9. Kids love routine and if you do something out of order they WILL let you know.

10. Classroom jobs can be a life saver or a beating.

11. Kids know more than we think they know.

12. A lot of students, especially boys, really love social studies.

13. I love to talk to kids about writing and improving their writing.

14. Some kids work super fast while others work super SLOW.

15. Repetition!

16. Kids will never grow tired of Magic School Bus, and sometimes it's just needed.

17. Lunch monitors are heaven sent. Unfortunately not every district has them.

18. The weekends rejuvenate you for the next week, but they are never long enough.

19. Even though you love kids, it doesn't mean you should be a teacher.

20. Substitute teachers have a difficult job and it's hard to figure out what the lesson plans mean sometimes.

21. Students will test a substitute! If you give an inch, they take a mile.

22. If one kid goes to the bathroom, everyone will want to go too.

23. Organization is definitely something that some kids DON'T have.

24. One student can change the mood for the whole day.

25. There should be a bathroom in every classroom in my opinion.

I'm a Rangers Fan

I'm so excited for the baseball season has started!

Go Rangers!

My birthday 20052007 with my cousin, Melissa Teddi's first Rangers game - a double header! (May 2009) Rangers v. Padres (June 2009) July 2009 - Rangers v. Mariners July 2009 for Mindy's birthday. April 2010 Opening Day 2011 Can't wait for more games this season!

Coffee and Beignets

For my mom's birthday this year I gave her a new Cafe Du Monde mug because her other one broke recently. I also gave her a couple boxes of beignet mix and a can of French Roast coffee.

Tonight we made beignets from the mix and they were super easy to make. They were pretty good but I'd like to have the real thing too! I think I ate too many!

Cinnamon Rolls

It's been a long week with all the ice and snow everywhere and a delicious family breakfast was needed for this Saturday morning. I also really needed something to do to keep me occupied. Even though it was late in the morning, I really had my mind set on cinnamon rolls which usually take a while. I eventually found a recipe that was quick with no rise time and went to work. It took about an hour to prepare and bake my very first homemade cinnamon rolls. I even made a cream cheese frosting to go on top. They were delicious, but very sweet! We definitely were in a sweet food coma after indulging.