All Things Fall

The weather following Tropical Storm Lee has been fantastic! It actually feels like early Fall (still hot but less humidity) and the weather is just in time for football season, which is the true sign that Summer is officially over.

I spent last weekend (the first official weekend of Fall, in my opinion) enjoying Charleston, SC and all that it has to offer--great food, fabulous company, pleasant weather, ocean breeze, front porches, and southern hospitality. I'll be sure to post some pictures once I get them uploaded.

This weekend was spent trying to soak up all things Fall. I spent the ENTIRE day Saturday watching football. The day started at 9am with College Gameday and announcers who have no faith in Auburn. We proved them wrong in a nail biting game. Then I watched bits of other SEC games and a good game between Notre Dame and Michigan which rounded up my night around 10:30pm. I only left the couch to workout, shower, and make hummus. It was fantastic!!

Today I enjoyed the day by biking to church, running some errands, and cooking. I know I have talked about how I enjoy cooking before but I want to reiterate how therapeutic it is to me. I get a rush cooking for others, playing around with a variety of flavors, and adapting recipes to make them healthier. Here is what I made today:
1. I adapted a recipe for Artichoke Quiche to make an even healthier version. I substituted wild rice instead of white rice, cheddar flavored veggie shred instead of cheddar cheese, and egg whites instead of egg substitute which led to a lower calorie and carb count with added protein (4 servings, 200 calories each). This meal is great for anytime of the day!
2. Italian Eggs over Spinach and Polenta-- I actually followed the recipe from Cooking Light on this one. I even surprise my self sometimes. :)
3. Pumpkin Spice Granola-- I didn't have any cardamom so I left that out and I opted to add some sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and raisins to the mixture. I LOVE all things pumpkin.
4. I had the rest of the can of pumpkin left over after making the granola so I just had to make something else. It was just meant to be when I stumbled across this recipe for Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes. Yum. I prefer them without the whipped cream. I challenge you to make them and try just eating one. It's impossible!

Let me know if you try any of these recipes and how they turn out. How have you been enjoying Fall?

Stupid Criminals

My bike was stolen about a week ago out from under my enclosed front porch. You can't really see in so someone must have watched my roommate put it under there or was looking around for something to take. I hoped that it was stolen because someone saw it being put under the porch. This would mean that someone in my neighborhood took it and I would likely see it around.

Well, today was that day. Not only was it someone in my neighborhood that took it but my neighbor that lives two doors down. She is an overweight, African American woman who seems to have a mental disability. I drove home from work early today because I wasn't feeling well. When I pulled up, I saw her get off the bike and stick it behind a vehicle so I couldn't see it. I approached her and nonchalantly asked her where she got the bike. Her response was that someone sold it to her. I told her that it was my bike and had been stolen. When I asked who sold it to her, she said that she couldn't tell me. I said, "well, I hope you can get your money back" and "thanks for helping me find my bike" ... and walked away with my bike which is now safe and sound in my living room.

Ugh!!! This world is so broken!!

This situation also makes me think about the students that I work with who have all types of disabilities. I do not want them to grow up and become this person. My goal is for them to become positive contributors to their community and society as a whole. I only work with my students for a limited number of years but I hope and pray that my work with them starts them on the right path. I love my kiddos. Every last one.

Trying to remember that I’m the grown up

*Deep sigh* Today was rough. I work with a population that likes their routines and structure (and let’s face it…so do I) but we are only on day 6 of school and the routines are not fully engrained in our minds. We’re also working out the kinks of scheduling instruction and supports so that our students can be successful in the classroom. The meltdowns throughout the day make me feel like I’m not meeting their needs. Actually, I am definitely not meeting their needs at this point. I know it is never going to be perfect but I want my students to be comfortable in school and be able to participate in class. Right now this is not happening.

My day started out with wrangling my new kindergarten kids through the breakfast line and repeating the same directions 5 MILLION times. –Hands by your side. Body still. Turn around. Stay in the line. Keep your body off of other people. Hands down. Stand up tall. –Then a new 1^st grader comes in and has a melt down because he doesn’t know where I am. After I settle my kindergartner with her breakfast and rush to the side of my tantrum throwing student, he refuses to walk through the line. However, he wants breakfast and is willing to stand in one place and yell and cry until it comes about. Little does he know that I don’t give in easily. After 5-10 minutes of him yelling, I convince him to walk through the line (still yelling) and sit at a table. He finally eats some of his food and I set a visual timer to let him know how long he has until he has to throw it away. When the timer goes off, I tell him that it is time to throw our breakfast away and he shoves a whole biscuit in his mouth. He doesn’t want to throw anything away so I pick up his tray and throw it away. This causes a full out meltdown (and let me remind you, this is with his mouth full of biscuit and a cafeteria full of k-2^nd graders). The biscuit ends up all over the table and he ends up on the floor—screaming, with big alligator tears rolling down his face and snot oozing everywhere. I maneuver him out of the cafeteria and convince him to take a deep breath, which finally calms him down.

This was all within the first 45 minutes of my day and serves as a good indicator of what the rest of my day was like. By the end of the day, I was struggling to soothe my students and remind them of the routines in place. It took all the mental strength I had left to not have a meltdown myself.

Parents, how do you do it????

Pray for me.

School is like Spinach

Some kids like it. Others don't like but will eat it because they know it is good for them. However, some kids just don't like it and will fight you if you try to make them eat it.

Our kids start back tomorrow and I am so excited to see their faces again and get to invest in their lives. I am anxiously anticipating what will work and what obstacles we will face. Please pray for the teachers to have a peace about this week and not worry over the small things that will go wrong. It is going to be a long week but I can't wait for morning!

I have been insanely busy preparing independent workstations, visual schedules, emotions charts, intervention schedules, first-then boards, and participating in professional development for the past two weeks. I wanted to spend some time this weekend resting and mentally preparing myself for Monday morning. One thing I enjoy doing is cooking and baking. Last night I made delicious Paula Deen Salmon Patties and Chocolate Cherry Nut Bars from one of my new favorite food blogs, Peas and Thank You. Cooking is therapeutic for me and I love experimenting with new recipes. Today has been spent at church, watching reruns of my guilty pleasure...Grey's Anatomy, and hopefully going to Target to get some comfy teaching shoes.

First day of school, here I come!

Go team USA!

I'm sitting here watching my recording of USA and Japan battle it out on the soccer field and listening to the rain fall--the perfect time to give a little life update.

-Year one of teaching is finished. Now I get to enjoy my month long break that is coming to an end in one short week. I wasn't sure if a month would be enough time to get rested and miss my kids but I think it ended up being perfect. Now I'm ready to go back in and crack the whip/love on my kiddos.

-I recently got off of Facebook. No, I did not "de-friend" you. It was a much needed change. My life is complete without updating the entire world with my shenanigans and hearing drama in other people's lives. I love investing and sharing in friend's lives but Facebook was not a productive way for me personally to do this. Hopefully this will give me more time to blog. ;)

-One of my best friends had a baby and I got to be there to welcome him into the world (pictures will come as soon as his Mimi emails them to me). He is going to have a fun Aunt Laura to come visit in New Orleans when his mom needs a little break. It was such a blessing to me to get to see my friend and her husband form this family; it literally brings tears to my eyes. God has blessed me by getting to see His hand at work not only in my life but in my friend's lives as well.

-God has been so faithful in my life despite my fickleness. He proves His love for me again and again. Yet, I don't trust Him when things are out of my control. This has been especially true in the past week. My roommate and I have to either find a roommate to move in with us or a 2 bedroom apartment to move into. We have been unable to find a place that meets all of our needs and is in a desirable neighborhood so I reluctantly agreed to look for a random roommate online. Shortly after agreeing, Sarah found someone's ad that looks very promising. She seems to be a Christian, which was my major concern. I want to come home to a positive and encouraging environment because I do not receive spiritual encouragement at work--not that it is a negative environment. Please pray that we will rest in God's faithfulness.

Now back to soccer... Let's make some of these kicks count!

My life is consumed by babies!

I was just looking back through my pictures to add to my post and the majority of them were of kids or kid related. Don't get me wrong...I love it! I just feel for my mom since my being around other people's kids all the time makes me appreciate my quiet home-meaning no grandkids from me in the near future.

One of my friends has a 4 year old now! A lot has happened in those 4 years but it has gone by SO quickly. Here is the little man showing of the fireman outfit I bought him for his big day.

Below is my student who has been dealing with family issues. Please pray for her and her older sister and younger brother. They are all in safe and healthy environments now but the changes have taken a toll on them. I am so thankful they are able to stay in our school to allow for some consistency and just so I can love on them.

And last but not in any way least, my favorite little Orangutan! I am so glad I had a chance to go see my good friend, Dee, and her family. Precious Emma Grace is 8 months old and growing like a weed. Dee has even managed to potty train her already!

Life is like a box of chocolates...

If you eat a nasty one, you have to eat about three more to get rid of the taste.

My nasty chocolate has been trying to figure out how to help my student and her family since their eviction. They went into foster care this week which was a huge relief to me (knowing that they are fed, clean, and rested) but heartbreaking for their dad. Please pray that the housing application we helped him fill out will be pushed through quickly due to their situation. The housing comes with supports that would help this single father care for his children. It would be a huge blessing!

On a positive note, I have had many good chocolates too!

1. I found out that I get to return to work at my school next year! There are many things that I love about my school. Not that it is perfect, but I LOVE the people I work with and my students.

2. I have also been consistent about staying physically active despite a busy schedule. I'm not losing more weight but have maintained my weight loss since last year. I am joining our teachers' kickball team this week. Joining the team is a little frightening to me since I am uncoordinated but I'll wait to kick until everyone else has had a few beers and levels the playing field. :)

3. This summer I will also be able to go see my amazingly wonderful friend, Casey, when she and her hubby have their first baby. I can't wait!!!!!! I'm also going to see another friend and her family next week. This crazy lady has potty trained her 8 month old daughter. This phenomenon is something that has to be seen in person.