Lights, camera, Make up!

After lunch I usually try to reapply my lipstick (duh) but I hate doing it in front of the kids because make up is "gross" to them. So, in my closet I have a mirror and its perfect for those quick face checks where the kids cannot see. Today I had a visitor. He stepped up in the middle of me powdering my nose and said

"Oh! I didn't know you had your own makeup session back here! Neat!"

Needless to say, I underestimate my kids daily.

Calm after the storm

Took this on my way home from work. Terrible storm most of the commute, and then right as I was about to turn into the neighborhood I spotted this photo op. Makes me think of my life...or LIFE in general. We go through many storms and often feel as though it will never let up. But it's when the sun starts shinning through the clouds that we realize there is always hope if we trust in the Lord. HE alone decides when the sun will cease to rise again.

funnies

The guidance lesson today was on ANGER and the appropriate ways to deal with it. I knew before it started that this lesson would bring about stories that belong in the TMI (too much information) category. One child mentioned that when we get mad we often use our voices to express our anger. . . .which led to another child making note that sometimes we say things we do not mean. . . which in turn led to another child mentioning that his parents say bad words when they are angry . . . which led to this:

"You do NOT what to hear my dad when he gets angry!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One of my little girls' mother's is expecting a new little baby THIS friday! She is so excited and loves to talk about it to me and all the other students. She was in the middle of telling all the girls about her mom's baby shower when a little boy came up to me and said . ..

"At first when I heard my Mom say babyshower I said to myself, "a baby having a shower? That's not exciting.."

tehehehe

Troy's boot & Easter egg hunt

Troy had Good Friday off from school so he came with me to work for the day! Here he is in his boot being a good sport at our egg hunt. The kids absolutely loved him! They especially enjoyed the story of how he hurt his foot. He told them this elaborate story of how he was fishing and caught an alligator instead and it bit his foot. HAHA he's a nut :)

Me with my kiddos after the egg hunt!

Lily=our baby

I got a lot of cute baby stuff from a friend to give to my sister in law Katie & Matt who are expecting a baby boy in July. Of course with it just sitting in our home & me being baby obsessed, I got curious. So, since Troy and I do not have any "real" babies of our own yet, we thought it would be fun to try out some of the toys on Lily. She's such a good sport. ENjoy :)

a few spring flowers =)

it's spring time alright

Was out doing a little weeding in the yard (something ive looked forward to doing on my spring break) when I ran across this..actually he ran across me.


I called animal control because we were unsure what he may be, and Lord knows we do not need any more vet bills if Squeeks or Lily ran across him! And yes, he is a HE. Learned something new from the animal control man. Snakes really are interesting! Oh, and he turned out to be just a water snake, but apparently momma and daddy are close by. EHHHH i think ill stay in the rest of the day!

Hop-along-Troy

Beach was FANTASTIC, minus the chill in the air. We finally got to catch up with our buds Matt & Jennifer, as well as spend some time with our brother and sister Matthew and Katie. It was nice to just have nothing to do but sit around and chat! However, Troy's right foot had other plans. One of the pups got loose on Saturday afternoon and the boys apparently had to take off in a mad dash to catch her. (Us girlies were shopping, of course!) According to Troy, he did not have time to put on shoes, so off he went down the neighborhood barefoot. This track took him off road into the woods. ALLL NIGHT he complained, and then into the next day or so. I just made fun of him ( I ADMIT) because I thought he was being a baby. (sorry hun!) Sunday night he was complaining of pain and so we soaked it, iced it, wrapped it and nothing felt better. Then we decided that he should probably have it checked out. RESULTS= Torn ligaments and he has to wear a boot for 2 weeks!! WOW did I feel bad, but I bet next time he'll wear shoes ;)

BEACH BOUND!

Heading the the BEACH tomorrow for some much needed best friend time with our buddies Matt and Jenn! Cannot wait to just sit around and enjoy doing NOTHING! Loving the SPRING weather and hoping it sticks around! :) Hoping that our camera battery arrives soon (i lost ours) so i can start uploading photos of our umm 5 flowers outside :) HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!!

Note from the teacher...

Here's some humor for your day!

I have one girl who loves to sing, especially during reading groups (small group time w/ me) On this particular day she starting singing an old song that i remember from like 8th grade "Barbie Girl"..we all knew it and we all hated it, remember? Well she decided to put her own, innocent spin on it and it has now turned into a favorite of mine.

"Im a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world...Life is tastic in a super basket!" =)

My boys in the class are all Romeo's and have suddenly all started wearing cologne. One morning ****** came up to me and said..

"Are you wondering what smells so good? It's Me..."

I mentioned my obsession, i mean love, of the Twilight series to another teacher. One of my small tots was eavesdropping (as usual 5 yr olds do) and felt the need to but in and say "I know that movie..Skylight and News Moon, right?"


The kids often talk amongst themselves and I usually pretend not to hear because they truly do say the funniest things! They are such "grownies" as I heard a friend say. One day the girls were talking about flower girls after reading some Junie B. Jones (amazingly funny childrens novels)
"I was a flower girl once. You carry a basket and walk down an island!"


February was the month of presidents, and on the day of George Washington's birthday i opened with "did everyone wish George Washington a happy birthday??!!!"
"Ugh no, he's dead!?"


We were talking about bubbles in the bathtub one day (I think it was the day i confessed to giving myself a soap beard to look like Abe Lincoln when i was little) I went around the room and asked the kids to share the funniest thing they made with their soap bubbles...i got the following responses:

" I make more bubbles....tehehehe"
"I make a brewski with my bubbles" (REALLY PARENTS?? REALLY?)


well that is all i have for now. I will leave you with a comment that continues to melt my heart :)

"Whenever you are sad mrs. staley, i will always cheer you up!" <3

. . . . .

I get called "mommy" , "moma", "mom" on a regular basis, but yesterday and today changed all that. Today I was referred to as "memaw" (thats what i called my gma!) and yesterday i was called "daddy." OK that was a little too much. :-/

Really???

Is it SPRING yet?

Troy and I have both been having trouble with our allergies lately, and although Spring is an asthmatics worst nightmare, we're both ready for a change in weather. The COLD winter really did us in. We both were very excited to get another chance to see snow in Raleigh this year, but the majority of the season was spent inside freezing our hinneys off! (I just said hinney, haha!) Troy's been super busy as usual with Law school, but he has done an excellent job, once again! He is ready to be DONE with studying, at least for the summer. Almost 2 years down, 1 to go...I CAN'T WAIT! I miss him terribly, especially on the weekends when he is locked away upstairs with books the size of small homes studying :( And I know he misses me as well :) Almost there babe!

This summer is going to be full of excitement for us. Troy just landed an internship back home with a law office and we're moving back that way for 2 months! YAY! I am super excited!! It has been hard being away from friends and family so being able to live right there with them this summer will be nice. I am even more excited that I get to be home with Jennifer and Matt and their precious baby boy who is due to enter the world in mid June! :)

I guess it would also be a good point to discuss my panic attacks i've been having since Christmas. The level of anxiety in a person should be very minimal, but for some reason (stress) my levels have been sky high which often leads to unexplained attacks. The symptoms are no fun, but now that I have learned what they are and that they can't hurt me, I can better control them. Although they DEFINITELY still suck, I am aware of their presence and know that they will pass. It has also been very helpful to learn that a LOT of people suffer from the same thing I do- high anxiety leading to attacks. I have also been very sick with a sinus infection, topped off with the stomach flu which made things seem 10X worse, but i am feeling much better from that now too! I have also learned that God will NEVER give you more than you can handle, and this has been a very true testimony of my life the past few months. Symptoms very in every person, but when an attack is coming on I start to feel very nervous, shaky, shortness of breath, chest pain, light headed, feelings of unreality, scared, and honestly like I am going to die. These suck, but once they pass I am OK. They are basically the same feelings of a person who is having a heart attack, so that is why the first one I had over Christmas led me straight to the ER. THANKFULLY though, the past week especially has been great! I don't know if it is the warm sunny weather we've had or what, but I haven't had any feelings of anxiety and i've been in a much better mood overall! Thanks to GOD only, because I know without him by my side I would not be where I am right now.

Now, wasn't that a lot to take in? It feels better to be on the other side of the storm where I can talk about it freely and hope to offer some hope to someone else who is in my shoes! God has definitely been good to us and we are learning to thank Him for all our blessings, and all our struggles, because without them we wouldn't learn to lean on him during times of need!

Im'a bring you some HONEY

I have quickly noticed that this blog has turned into my classroom happenings, and the oh so funny things my "babies" say. But the things these kids say are just so darn sweet and innocent i'm afriad if i dont start writing it down i'll forget it!

As I write this I am laying in bed with blisters on my throat, fever, and no appetite. Sad I know, but hearing my children's concerns was so precious. I went to work yesterday sounding, and apparently looking, sick. The smallest tot of all (who also happens to have the biggest voice) came in promptly at 7:45am. She is always the first one and I have to admit I sometimes wish she would take her time walking to class, seeing as though the next batch of them dont come in until 8:00. She trots right up to me with her big smile (she has already tagged the name "smiley") and say's "Mrs. Staley you sound SICK! You know what helps? HONEY. Im'a bring you some honey tomorrow." I laughed as I watched this 5 year old try to take care of me and told her thank you that i am sure Honey would do just the trick.

As I drove in to work this morning (bad idea) I thought about what she had said. Maybe I should get some honey to make me feel better because i was definitely feeling my WORST. Small fry sure is true to her word. As I unpack my things in she sneaks and starts to unpack. I say good morning with hardly turning around. She and i go on about our things without saying much. I noticed she was unusually quiet, but watching me like a hawk! Then I saw why...there on my desk was 4 packs of HONEY from McDonald's and two Lemonade girl scout cookies.

I could have cried. 1. Because I realized right then just how much my children mean to me, and 2. just how much I apparently mean to them.


Now excuse me while I go soothe my throat with honey...

DEAR JENNIFER..

SO our best friends Matt and Jennifer are expecting their first child in June! YAY!!! I am so excited and apparently it shows a lot. Jennifer went last week to FINALLY find out what they are having and I was anxiously awaiting the text message with the revealing! As I sat with my reading group, phone in lap, i heard "BEEP". As I opened my phone I screamed "YAY!! A BOY!!" My sweet angels looked at me with a look of "ok she really has gone crazy now." I decided to tell them the great news right away. As soon as I told them how my friend was going to be a mommy to a little baby boy the chattering started (this is very typical in my class which is why there is a sign outside my room that reads : IF IT'S TOO LOUD YOU'RE TOO OLD" --thats my only defense.

ANYWHO, the kids were rambling on, and amongst the talking I heard "baby boys need bottles!" and "baby boys need video games!" Suddenly, a light came on in my head (again, stop laughing matt!) I had yet to think of a good writing topic for the day and what better way to show our excitement than to write Jennifer a few letters. The kids have never been so excited. When i told them I was going to mail them all to them (3 hrs to the mountains) they got right to work. I wrote on the board " Dear Jennifer, baby boys need...." and told them to have at it. The responses were great! Of course all the girls said the usual mommy stuff; i.e. bottles, diapers, passies, etc. and the boys were more into the games and playing issues. The papers were priceless and i couldnt wait to send them to the parents to be!

Troy and I also sent our first "baby boy" outfit, which may I add..when we decided to pop out our own little one I am totally shopping at TARGET for everything! They had the cutest outfits! :)

And in case it isn't obvious yet.. we are SO EXCITED to meet little baby boy Snider in June! Love ya'll!

I love these 5 yr olds..& their innocent minds!

After begging to go to the bathroom because he THOUGHT he might feel sick, my little ******* walked out a bit surprised. I asked "Was everything OK in there? Did you get sick??" to which he replied (laughing) "oh I didnt get sick Mrs. Staley, I just pee'd." OK typical answer from a kindergartner....until he adds in a much more excited tone "Can I tell you something?!...I just went PEE PEE without holding my PEE PEE!!!!"...


"WOW ******, that is impressive!"


i <3 these kids!

Kids say the darndest things

Here I am as promised. I thought about what I could blog about allll day (ok maybe just a few minutes). I did however come up with an idea for this post which I think you'll enjoy. Since the beginning of this year I have made an effort to write down all the insanely funny/innocent things my kids say. After last year I said that I wanted, and could, write a book containing JUST what 5/6 year olds say. Unfortunately I didnt write many down last year, but I have a few so far from this new batch of childrens. :) So, here we go...

Overly eager to share this news, a young tot (smallest 5yr old ive ever seen) runs up to me screaming at 7:45am saying.."MRS. STALEY, MY MOM RAN OVER A CAR WITH A DOG!!"..confused face..."That doesn't sound right does it?"

I have many bright children. In fact, many of them know much more than I give them credit for i'm sure. This comment made me realize this as we were debating on whether or not dinosaurs ever existed.. "Mrs. Staley, dinosaurs stink! ....I mean, they are extinct?" LOVE IT

This one has nothing to do with a comment, however I do have one darling little girl who enjoys her bathroom breaks to the fullest. She is one of my more quiet children which makes the fact that she sings OPERA in the private classroom bathroom so hysterical! She's got the sweetest little voice, but boy does she have some pipes! She always sings while in there, i guess to relieve some stress. Maybe we should all try that sometime.

Believe it or not, relationships start in kindergarten. I dont mean you average best friend here, im talking "i'll love you until the end of time" romance. One striking young couple has this down pat. I realized their bond on the 3rd day of school when the boy asked so gently.... "Mrs. Staley, can I give ******** just a quick hug?"....sure son, just ask her permission first <3

Apparently I can make children upset when i tell them that we're not going outside for recess due to rain. One child took this to heart a little too much and had this to say about it.. "YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE THE HULK!"...easy killer. You can go play with the blocks.

Classic one here-> Our school hosted a performance by Ronald McDonald. And let me just go ahead and say that that man SCARES ME to death. I do not care that he brings us the best fries, and yes he does wonderful things for children in need, but he is scary. But that is beside the point. Before heading the the show I asked the class .... "Does anyone in here know Ronald McDonald?" The responses ranged from "ughhh" to "NO?"...and the one child spoke up as confident as every with... "Yes I do, he rides me bus!"

I have one child who spends more time in the bathroom than I do teaching all day. OK maybe not so true, but you get the point. It took me several weeks to get use to the fact that this one small fry needed that extra moment to "settle things" and I learned to just move on with the day instead of waiting on him. BUT before i learned this valuable lesson I made the mistake of asking.... "********, where are you??"...."IM IN THE POTTY STINKY-ING"... wow, TMI

And lastly, i'll end on this note. Its more of a hurdle crossed than a laugh, but it did make me smile. I have one child who has severe language issues so we've work very hard on communicating ALL year. It has been a slow process to say the least, but today as we walked to the buses she looked at me straight in the eye and said " I GREAT"...and with tears in my eyes I said, "YES, YES YOU ARE!" Hurdle crossed.

oops, i did it again

I love love love reading blogs, especially baby blogs and interior decorating blogs..i don't know why. I guess it's the two topics I find myself thinking about more than anything. With that being said, I, once again, admit I am horrible at it! You would think as much time as I spend reading other's I would take the chance to update mine every once in a while! Well, now that I have convinced my best friend (who happens to be pregnant!) to start up a blog I will try to focus some more time on mine and Troy's. SO, with that in mind..i'll return tomorrow with updates on the Staley's and see where we go from there! :)