There have been some big changes at work this week, but nothing is set in stone yet - However, things are looking up for me. Certain parts of this job have made it my toughest year yet, but the kids are pretty easy going and I have actually enjoyed teaching math (which at first I wasn't even sure I could do, much less have fun doing). My kids wrote essays/poems/top 10 lists reflecting on the school year, and one even wrote that I made learning math "a fun experience" for her (she struggles in math but is determined to meet the standards, even if it means just squeaking by). My heart? Warmed. (If only she wouldn't have used the word "fun," which we buried back in October. She did spell experience correctly, though...and that's something.)

We have Field Day today, and I'm hoping that the sun will make an appearance and that the temperature will be at least in the 60's. I'm ready for a little summer weather. I do appreciate the cool temps most of the time (especially since we don't have a/c at school or at our house) but the rain and gloom has got to go. Enough already.

Next week we will be practicing for our 6th grade promotion ceremony, watching movies at lunch, and signing yearbooks. We have a few "fun" math activities, and some writing left to do, and then we'll wrap up the curriculum for the year. Our ceremony is Thursday, it's only a half day, and then I'll do some final classroom clean-up. At 4 on Thursday I am out for the summer. I. Can't. Wait. (And I know that if I ever get to missing my kiddos, I just have to got to Costco or Wal-Mart, where it is inevitable that I will run into one or two each time.)

Life in the form of a List (for the purpose of catching up, but with minimal effort):

-Our school had a talent show a few weeks back. I was sorely disappointed at the lack of turnout of teachers, but I had a great time! The talent truly blew me away...well, not so much the talent (in all cases - there were some amazing performances) but the courage. I would have never, ever, not-in-a-million-years have performed in a talent show when I was 12 (that is, if I had some kind of talent with which to perform). These kids were fantastic. Check out this video of a sixth grader playing the piano...it's kind of long, and the part that highlights his talent is towards the end, but this is the first time I've uploaded video and I'm not going to mess with it right now. (Remember, I'm listing to make things easier...I'm sure not gonna edit video...)

-The BEST part of the talent show to me was the signing (yes, you read that right - signing, not singing). A group signed two songs, one of them being "Made to Love" by Toby Mac. I was truly blown away at their emotion while signing - they knew the meaning of the words and it was so evident in their performance. Whoa. Here are a few pictures of them, although it was hard to catch the action...

-I finally uploaded the video of our Washington's-Version-of-a-Country-and-Western-Bar excursion...pure entertainment...

• This first video shows what they call a "Repetitive Pattern Dance" to that song they always play at sporting events - I don't know the name, but it's the one that goes, "Y'all ready for this?" You'll be able to hear it.

• Unfortunately, the audio on this second video is horrible. You can kind of hear Will try to get my attention at the beginning - he's trying to get me to focus on the guy who apparently had a fight with the sleeve monster in the parking lot, before he made it into the bar. My view was blocked by the couple who was "freestyling," which I'd like to point out they told us NOT to do during repetitive pattern dancing (and we were just going to two-step to a normal song...). Anyway, this dance is done to Will Smith's "Men in Black," and no I am not kidding...try to hear the beat and hopefully it'll all make sense to you. I take that back - It should by no means make sense to any of you who are from the south, but you might at least be able to see the pattern to their dance, and that it does, in fact, repeat.

-And speaking of that night out, we now have photographic evidence that we are too old for MySpace. We totally can't do the picture thing - You know, the one that, apparently, is the requirement. See for yourself:Thank goodness for facebook...there may be a place for us yet on a social networking site.


-The dogs have been on my nerves since Will's been gone. It has been raining most of the time, and cold - the dogs have wanted to be inside. They are wound up and I'm so looking forward to nice weather. I did catch some good shots of the dogs on the only nice day in the past month (weeks ago)...they're all smiles, especially after discovering their new favorite summertime drink!

However, I'm not all smiles after I came home and found this...
...and this...
Dixie decided that today would be the day that she'd eat my brown Old Navy flops - I guess they weren't appealing the last five days that they sat by the door.


-I think that's it for now. I'm just trying to make it to the last day of school. I might actually blog more than once a week during the summer...might. We'll see. Hope everyone is happy and healthy. Hopefully, I'll be making the rounds this summer and I'll get to catch up with a lot of you in person...strange concept, huh?

Ooooooooh, I'm so jealous of all of you teachers who are done with the year! We have two and a half weeks left, including an all day field trip, field day, and 6th grade promotion ceremony...oh, yeah, and a bunch of stuff left to teach! This end to the year has been much, much tougher than in mid school - these kids are SO ready to be grown-up 7th graders because it means going to a different school (unlike before where they just had new teachers, etc.). Plus, it feels strange because it is not warm outside...We did get a heat wave a few weeks ago, but it lasted only a few days, and ever since it's been in the 50's when I get to school and tops out around 60 most days. Brrr. The upside is that we don't have A/C in school, so at least I'm not having to deal with hot & sweaty 6th graders who just want to be out of school!

In other news, Will had to go to bed at 6 last night for a middle-of-the-night alert for a flight, so I spent the evening baking cookies and watching a movie (I would have had to spend it folding laundry that has literally been piling up, but Will took care of that while I was washing our cars on Saturday, which was a wonderful, much appreciated surprise). I watched Lars and The Real Girl. I'm left with mixed emotions. I loved the heart of the movie, but it made me really sad while I was watching. Obviously, treating mental illness like they do in the movie works in that small town - they can embrace Lars' delusion - but what about the rest of the world or people who don't have family like that? Hmmm. It just left me under a blanket of melancholy.

And now I'm off to start my week...I wish I could say it was my last week of school, but no! Just another week at work. I sure hope all of you who are finally done with the school year are sleeping in and lounging around. I can't wait!

Long weekend...The rest was much needed around here. We spent our weekend doing yard work, cooking out, trying out new golf clubs at the driving range (me), studying (Will), sleeping, and trying to find a taste of home at a country & western bar. Let's just say that last part was incredibly entertaining, but didn't feel a bit like home. I have the pictures and video to prove it, but they'll have to wait - the work week crept up on me and I need to get moving.

We had a beautiful, sunshine-filled, rather warm day yesterday. I loved it. The 5th and 6th grade track meet was held at the high school during school hours, so all of the participants left at 11 a.m. This left me with 14 kids for the rest of the day! We did our learning outside as much as was reasonable - these kids are not accustomed to any sort of heat, and we broke a record yesterday at 88 degrees! There is a weather advisory for the weekend...People are being cautioned not to swim in rivers or lakes, even though the air temperature is so warm. With the sudden heat, the snow in the mountains is melting and feeding these rivers and lakes with freezing cold water - at one place they showed on the news, the water was so cold that hypothermia would set in in a matter of minutes! It's especially dangerous for kids. Brrr! I was incredibly cold last year at the lake, and we didn't even get in the water until late August. I can't even imagine people swimming right now.

After work I went straight to the backyard. Will met me there when he got home and we lounged in the sun for a bit. We talked about plans for the yard and weeded the back flowerbeds. Since we were already hot and gross, we headed to the driving range. It was still pretty hot, but perfect for hitting a few balls. I'm on the novice side of beginner, and don't have my own clubs, so other than a few good swings it was a lot more work than fun for me. Will gives me good tips, but I only understand about every third word with all of the golf lingo he uses. I'll learn eventually.

It was an early rise for a Saturday morning at our house. Will had to head out to a funeral about two hours away. On Monday night, a guy from his squadron, Mike, took his wife to the hospital due to severe headaches. Within hours she was in a coma, and she passed away Tuesday night. It was horrible and heartbreaking - she was only a bit older than us (33-ish) with two kids...brain tumor is what we heard. As military spouses we always have thoughts/worries about something happening to our guys - they fly, they go to combat zones, they cross oceans and countless mountain ranges...but, I think it was a huge shock for something to happen to a spouse, especially so suddenly. The guys are carpooling down to the funeral in support of their friend. Please pray for Mike and his family today.

This afternoon we'll spend some time working on the front yard and picking up the house. Hopefully a good friend will be stopping by for a visit - Will's college buddy and a saber barer in our wedding, Jeff, will be in town for a week doing some training. We're looking forward to having an old friend visit, so I sure hope it works out. The main thing is that we'll be doing all of this together, and savoring the time until he has to deploy again.

We had a jam-packed weekend (well, Saturday) with a golf tournament and a neighborhood block party. The tournament was brutally long, but fun - a charity even for the school district. Will played, I caddied. Our team was rounded out by my good friend from work Jen and her husband, and our principal. Those three had not played before. I thought it made for a fun time...Will - maybe not so much. Anyhow, it was a beautiful course (even though it was raining and incredibly windy most of the day).


We made it to the block party a little late because we had to take naps after the tournament. The food was great, and so was the conversation. It's a mostly military block, but only one other AF family. They rented a bounce house for the kids, and once the already dim day finally turned dark, three of us pulled out our fire pits. Kids made s'mores and the adults had s'more beer. Good times. Here's me with my friend Rhonda ...I suffered severe wind burn from driving the golf cart in the nasty weather.

Our fire pit was the only casualty (closest to the camera). Apparently a pot can only withstand high temperatures when it is actually fired in a kiln. It made it about 30 minutes before a huge crack emerged on the side. We had to head to bed early because Will had a trip Sunday morning, and the fire pit was returned to us with the bowl in 47 pieces (give or take a few).

I. Am. Tired.

I can't keep straight what time zone I'm in. I think I'm done traveling for a bit. That aside, I had a wonderful weekend of celebration in Georgia. Not that I've ever had a bad time out there, but this was especially fun and relaxing. It was so nice to get away to somewhere sunny and SOUTH.

In honor of my upcoming trip south, I got highlights and a haircut. I'm as pasty and pale as I have ever been, and I was hoping that having my hair done would brighten me up a bit.

I got a wild hair while I was there and decided to get bangs. I'm not sure how I feel about this now, but it is something different and I was in the mood for a change. Self-portrait pictures were not flattering, and since Maddie and Dixie lack opposable thumbs and the ability to snap a picture, no photo evidence of the bangs yet. I'll get a picture soon, though...after I figure these bangs out.

In like a lion and out like a lamb? I can tell you one thing for sure - April has been a whirlwind month of highs and lows. The joy of meeting baby Hannah and the sadness of losing Grandma Margaret...I'm hoping to sneak through the last few days of the month with little to no excitement. Thanks to everyone for your condolences.

My kiddos made me the sweetest homemade cards with expressions of sympathy like: "I'm sorry for your loss - I bet she was a great women" and "Sorry 4 your loss" and "I feel sorry for you" and "It's so hard to loose someone you love." Enough to make me laugh rather than cry!

Well, state testing is upon us, the weather is dreary, and we have a staff meeting this morning. However, it's nothing a trip to Starbucks on the way to work won't help! It's never a fun adjustment to go back to work after Spring Break, but it was relatively smooth. We're finally within sight of the end of school (slightly over two months away), and I'm already planning a trip back to see my sweet niece. If you haven't heard of the catastrophic technological failure of their SD card containing the pictures of Hannah's arrival, check it out. And throw some advice their way if you have any (that is, advice that is on the affordable side, please).

TGI Spring Break...seriously. Today was a zoo.

Enough talk, I'm headed to a Chili Cook-Off. Let's hope these Texans can take home a prize.

I'm on Baby Watch 2008 and every call I get makes my heart jump a little...I'm leaving my phone on during the school day. I just can't wait to get that call that says baby Hannah is on her way into the world. My sweet niece is just days away from her debut (maybe hours?).

In other news, we're pranking our kids by switching classes today - I'm going to be the PE teacher. We're supposed to go in there and act like nothing is out of the ordinary. It will be fun. It's just for the first hour of the day, but I'm going in sweats, because after all, I am the PE teacher. It's one of the perks, right?

Should be a fun Tuesday if it would ever quit rain-/sleet-/hail-/snow -ing on us. Crazy Spring.

When I was little I used to sing a song all the time..."I'm a little coconut, sitting in a coconut rut..." It garnered me the nickname Amy Coconut (although rumor has it that nickname actually stemmed from the fact that I was slow to grow hair and my head resembled a coconut being covered only in fuzz...whatever). Anyway, I'm in a rut now, but it's a happy rut. My Mondays are all pretty much the same - I rush to grade journals and look at behavior charts from the previous week. I try to get kids back in the groove of school after they've stayed up late all weekend. My week slowly progresses from there until it's Friday and I'm shocked at where the week has gone. School has been stressful, but enjoyable. My kids are frustrating, but overall they are terrific. I have some absolute stars. We do have parent/teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday, so that will be a nice deviation from the norm. I do have a lot of positive news to pass on...(and just a little bit of "needs to improve" news).

My weekends have started to run together, too, since Will has been here for the last few. We sit around, do a little bit of work around the house, then do some more relaxing. We talk about taking advantage of this time, knowing that in a few short months he'll be deployed again, but then I think we realize how nice it is to just sit around together. Yesterday, we spent almost two hours on the phone with Mom and Dad D. Will and I were laying on the couch, they were probably doing the same in Texas, and it was like we were all just sitting around chatting (we all love the speakerphone). It was a nice way to spend an evening. Just relaxing...enjoying each other's company.

So here I am in my rut, starting a new week that will probably look a lot like the last several weeks. The ground is covered in a heavy frost this morning and as usual for a Monday morning, I'm not in any hurry to get out the door. I hope it's warm where you are. I'm eager to get out in the yard, clean up the weeds, and get some new things in the ground - but I think I'll wait until my fingers won't freeze (and neither will the new plants I find). On the upside, it's not raining right now. My windshield wipers will get a break this morning - that is, if I ever get up and get moving. So, happy Monday all. Enjoy your week in or out of your rut (and if it's in, I hope it's a happy rut like mine).

Spring Break? Ha! We are still three weeks from Spring Break. In the middle of those three weeks is the second round of parent conferences. And then, in true brilliance, our state testing starts immediately when we get back from break. Nothing but a rip-roarin' good time up here.

On a much lighter note, Will and I spent the better part of the weekend lounging. We did venture out to an Irish pub on Saturday night with some friends, and lo and behold, there was a reggae band playing. Yep, reggae. Nope, not Irish reggae...just plain reggae. And I'll add that none of the band members were from the island most famous for reggae, unless I'm way off base and reggae is really from the island of Hawaii. But I'm pretty sure it's not. Well, it was an experience to say the least. An experience devoid of green beer, however, which was a minor disappointment...as opposed to the Polynesian reggae band, which falls in the major category.

Today the state is supposed to go green (-er?) for St. Patty's day, but it's raining so I'm definitely not riding my bike to work. That and I don't know where I'd carry my econo-sized box of Lucky Charms for our math lesson...nothing like percents, ratios and decimal conversions with sugary cereal. I promise to recycle the box.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, y'all.

Livin', learnin', and havin' a little fun...

As we are hurtling towards our state standardized test at a rapid pace, I decided we needed to slow down and change things up a bit. We have no mandated curriculum for reading, and the provided curriculum is stale and boxed. So, on Thursday we stretched our brains and our creativity and had a day of silent communication. Our two most recent stories in our textbook have been about the Stone Age and about Louis Braille. Well, both stories demonstrated the ability to communicate ideas without verbalizing them (a total dream for a sixth grade teacher - especially since my class this year talks more than any other class I've ever had). Well, it was rough going at first, but it ended up being so much fun - for the kids, too! They blow me away sometimes with their insights. Let's just say we ended up feeling blessed that we all have our sight, and that we can just record our thoughts and ideas in writing instead of having to draw them primitively!



Now, nose back to the grindstone! We're in the thick of our algebra unit - scary, but so much more fun than I imagined. There's something so comforting about math...when you do it right, it works. Even when you throw letters into the mix. To be quite honest, I didn't know sixth graders learned algebra until about three months ago. However, so far, so good! We'll see how it goes from here...

Busy, busy.

I'm not entirely sure that my purpose is to be an elementary school teacher. I find myself having conversations with itty-bitty ones in the hallways and then walking away in a state of wonder. Now, it is nice to have little, smiley faces greet you every day, but I am always glad to retreat to the comfort of my sixth graders - they understand my jokes, they are really trying to figure out who they are, and they (at times...) have rational thoughts. The itty-bitty ones are kind of like my comic relief. My sixth-graders are like my prime-time drama.

Despite the shiny faces and hugs from the wee ones, I find myself craving the humor and interaction, challenge and growth that came with teaching in middle school. It's funny how you can actually want to go back to something that made you want to pull your hair out or cry, or maybe both simultaneously, because at the end of the day, life had been rewarding. I just don't know that my ultimate place is in a middle-class, predominately white elementary school. However, I have to constantly remind myself that skeletons lie in closets, and these kids face exactly the same issues that my other kids faced, but oftentimes they go overlooked because they seem "okay." Like our runner (yes, my JLMS friends, we have runners, too) - when they finally got him back to campus, he was lectured on all of the trouble he was in before anyone bothered to ask why he decided to run away from school. Where's the love and logic in that? Safety, first, of course - but he didn't leave to be ornery or funny.

So, I flip-flop on what I want to do and what I feel I am called to do, and if there is a difference - some days I feel there is a HUGE disparity between my purpose and my current employment, but some days the fact that I am in the midst of a mission field for 7 hours hits me smack in the face.

I might not have to worry though, because our district has to cut millions upon millions of dollars from the budget due to a failed initiative on our February ballot. What this means for me is that, due to this being my first year, I will likely not be offered a contract for next year until/if another initiative is run and passed. Our school has few enough kids right now to put 30 kids in two rooms, making mine the expendable job (I've been there the least amount of time out of our entire staff). So, maybe my theoretical musing about my purpose v. my place with become an issue of my purpose v. my unemployment. We'll see. At this point, the cliche response of, "Only time will tell," is apropos.

Never mind, though, because I don't have time to think about all of that today - it's Science Fair day! I need to get to school to help my kids set up their projects, mend their boards that have been mangled by bus rides, and consume enough caffeine to keep me going until the gym has been cleaned and I can go home at 9 tonight. No boring days, here!

Weekend at home...

This being Will's first weekend home in a long while, we debated going out of town - a short getaway somewhere fun, slightly romantic, quiet, and without chores. However, after a late night picking up Will at the airport Thursday (essentially spending two and half hours together for Valentine's, which is a record!) I am so glad we opted to stay home. We celebrated Valentine's on Friday night at a great sushi restaurant in Olympia. We've enjoyed this place before, but we were pretty impressed this time as we made some good picks on rolls...my favorite is topped with salmon and a paper thin slice of lemon. Yum.

We spent a lazy Saturday at home after a futile attempt to watch the A&M basketball game at a sports bar (no one carried it). The evening was spent at the neighbors' house, catching up. Yesterday, we went to church and then out for pho, which turned out the place to be for people from the church - the service starts at 10:30 , not 11 like most of the other services around here, so we tend to beat the lunch rush. I spend the afternoon finishing a book and napping. Divine. We rounded out the night with dinner at home and a movie.

So far, we only have plans to hit Costco and Wal-Mart today...maybe a movie? Maybe Ikea? We shall see. At the very least we're spending time together, which beats the heck out of the last five weeks!

Last, but certainly not least, today is my dad's birthday! Happy birthday, dad! I hope you've got the day off as well, and that you can spend it fishing on the boat. In your honor, we might stop by Cabela's today and peruse the lures. Love you!

***Update: Here's the link to Ben Stein's Valentine's Day commentary.


I believe I have already shared my love of CBS Sunday Morning. This morning did not disappoint. I always love the opinions by Nancy Giles and Ben Stein, even though I may not always agree...usually, though, they hit the nail on the head like Ben Stein's commentary on Veteran's Day. His commentary today was on love - loving his wife and how scared his is to one day lose her or leave her alone. He wonders how many Valentine's Days they have left to spend together. He recalled how his dad was lost after his mother died, leaving his dad alone after 61 years of marriage. The commentary is not available online yet, but I'll link to it when it is...It was just really touching.

As Valentine's approaches and I don't know if my husband will be here, it's easy to get sentimental. It doesn't matter that I know how commercial and cheesy this holiday can be - when your husband isn't home, it doesn't really matter which holiday it is...MLK day, Labor Day, or Valentine's. The fact that it's a holiday makes it stand out a little more than a regular Thursday alone, you know?

Okay, here's the deal. Leslie posted this on her blog, and as I was reading it I thought about my answers, although the parameters make it a bit hard -- one-word answers only!

1. Where is your cell phone? table
2. Your significant other? Oklahoma
3. Your hair? bedhead
4. Your mother? grandma-itis
5. Your father? fishing?
6. Your favorite thing? companionship
7. Your dream last night? forgotten
8. Your favorite drink? coffee
9. Your dream/goal? security
10. The room you're in? living
11. Your ex? Texas
12. Your fear? grief
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? South
14. Where were you last night? movie
15. What you're not? liberal
16. Muffins? nah
17. One of your wish list items? help
18. Where you grew up? Indiana/FloMo
19. The last thing you did? slept
20. What are you wearing? sweats
21. Your TV? flat
22. Your pets? annoying
23. Your computer? white
24. Your life? full
25. Your mood? tired
26. Missing someone? husband
27 Your car? new
28. Something you're not wearing? socks
29 Favorite Store? Costco
30. Your summer? distant
31. Like someone? usually
32. Your favorite color? brown
33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
34. Last time you cried? yesterday
35. Who will/would re-post this? Alicia/Charla

The Super Bowl holds special meaning in our world. Four years ago this weekend Will and I met. There were attempts at a meeting before that, but it just never happened. Thankfully, our matchmaker was persistent. Thanks, Charla!

I can't decide which fits more...

• Can it really only be four years?

• Has it been four years already?

...I keep flip-flopping on which feels most accurate.

It started long-distance and stayed that way until we were married. A move, a deployment, countless other shorter separations...sometimes it still feels long distance, but in reality it just makes us truly appreciate the time we do get to spend together. This year we celebrated our first Christmas together (in the same place) and it looks like we'll get to spend Valentine's together, too (another first). However, we haven't spent another Super Bowl weekend together since. Maybe next year?