It's the Strangest Thing...

As soon as I begin a vacation from work for more than one week my intellectual level immediately drops.
It really is the strangest thing. 

It's as though my brain says "You're not going to really need me for a little while anyway, so I'm gonna hop on the next flight to the Bahamas!"
And I'm left here to fend for myself.

You think I'm exaggerating...
I have been on vacation now since Friday at 12:30pm.
In the last three days I have:

*Said the sentence, "I bet we maked someone's day."
*Taken three times to successfully start my car. (Which only involves pushing a button. Seriously, I don't even use a key!)
*Then said, "Third charm's a try!" 
*Spilled a glass of iced tea on my mom at Jason's Deli while telling a story and gesturing in a fashion that was, apparently, a bit too grand.

And my personal favorite...

*Walked into the women's restroom at Wal-Mart and thought "Why are there urinals in here?!"
.
.
.
Yeah...not the women's restroom.

This isn't even the first time this sort of pattern has occured.  Every summer I experience this as well.
It's immediate too, so I can't even prepare myself for all of the stupidity.
I'm sure worried about how I'm going to make it through the next two weeks.
Maybe my brain will decide to come back home because it doesn't want to be away from me for the holidays.
I hope so.

5 days and counting!!!

(P.S. Sorry if there are typos in this. You know why.)

It's my Superpower.





Did you know I have a superpower?

Yes, when discussing superpowers it should be one word.

Well, I do.

Things get so busy at certain times of the year.

For a teacher, those crazy times are usually at the end of a quarter when you have to get 31 report cards done, 

attend meetings and workshops,

be ready for parent-teacher conferences,

 tackle a billion other things

AND...don't forget the simple task of continuing to teach those precious little beings, every single day.

With a list that seems to be a mile long, you may be thinking, "Wow.  She must be pulling out her hair."

But I'm not.

Not letting stress get to me is my superpower.

I knock out stress using only my mind!

POW!

I'm not sure where or how I absorbed this superpower,

(probably from my awesome, laid back dad)

but I like it.

We all have hidden superpowers.

Probably more than one.

Mine just happens to be a really cool one.

If you'd care to share what you think your superpower is, I do love comments.

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An actual conversation Josh and I had today...

Josh: Work was crazy. (He goes on to explain about all of the logistic-type parts and procedures and things he encountered during the day.

Me: Oh, ya? I talked to a mime today.

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True story. This is why I love working at an Arts school.

We integrate. It rocks.

Life's a Battlefield

Everyday, in everyone's life there are constant battles we have to fight and innumerable battlefields we must charge through.

My usual battles include: (in no particular order)

1. Getting up in the morning. (not because I don't want to face the day, but because I would really rather face it after a few more hours of sleep.)

2. Swearing at the people in the cars around me who have no idea how to drive.

3. Successfully keeping 31 children from hurting themselves (usually  because they were not following the rules) or the feelings of others.

4. Teaching important information, life skills, etc. to my students while maintaining #3.

5. Wanting to cook dinner after I'm so tired from working at numbers 2 and 3 all day.

6. Finding the time and energy to go grocery shopping.

7. Choosing which concerts to go to and which to skip.

8. Finding the time and energy to play with Harley.

9. Keep in close contact with my friends and family that I don't see too often.

10. Keeping my house clean. (It seriously suffers during the school year.)

11. The process of sitting and paying bills. Yuck.

But then...

Right in the middle of all those battles,

you get a PERFECT day.

That was today.

It wasn't easy to get up this morning, but oh well.  I'm giving up on the idea that that will ever be easy!

I got things done.

Stuff taught.

No one hurt themselves or made anyone else cry.

Kelle bought me a sonic drink and french fries for lunch.

We got out of our staff meeting early.

I got texts from almost all my BFFs today.

Harley wasn't all muddy when I got home.

Josh picked up Costa Vida on his way home.

It's so chilly in my house I am getting to wear my new

pink Long Island hoodie.

And now I'm going to go make a healthy,

yet delicious, smoothie for dessert.

It was a good day.

I'm practically giddy just thinking about it all over again!

Have I told you guys I love you?

Well, I do.

After all, Love is the Movement.

Honeymoon, Shmoneymoon

One whole week of this school year is already behind us!

(Yes. I AM aware the week was only 3 days long.

You don't need to point that out.)

My new students are so sweet and funny.

Three days and they have already made me laugh so many times.

Every year things start off so great because we are all getting to know each other.

This time is also commonly referred to as

"The Honeymoon Period."

Let me just say...

Honeymoon shmoneymoon!

Trust me.  They. Are. Comfortable.

I love teaching 5th grade!

School's (almost) Out!

Today was "Move Up Day."

You may be asking...

What is Move Up Day?

Well...it's the day at the very end of the school year when all of the students go to the classroom of their new teacher for the next year and spend the last hour of the day with them.

This day is always bittersweet.

I get so excited to meet my new class and they always turn out to be so cute and so sweet, but they are still new.

Of course, my current students are totally excited to meet their new teacher, but they try not to talk about it too much because they know it makes me sad. They are so sweet.

So...after hugging each one of my students and telling them "You are still mine for FOUR MORE DAYS!!!"  I send them to grow up and move up to being introduced to sixth grade life*.

*(Please be aware that sixth grade life is in NO way as awesome as fifth grade life.) Just saying.

I never want to give away my students. 

 I spend more time with them in a week than their parents do

and I truly know each of them.

We laugh together, we cry together, I scold them, I mold them.

I cried on the last day of school of my first year. (Like a baby!)

Last year, I was so sad, but no tears.

I don't know about this year...

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It could be a waterfall.

The silver lining...SUMMER!!!!!

P.S. Thank you to anyone who voted YES on Prop 100!

Sometimes...

Sometimes your students pretty much all behave and it's a really great day at work.

Sometimes you drive to work and it doesn't matter how late you are, the traffic doesn't bother you.

Sometimes you tell a great story about, text and get to hang out with all your best friends in the same day.

Sometimes you notice the mountains. Really notice. So clear and majestic and you think "Wow.  Most people never see something so magnificent."

Sometimes your awesome friends end up buying a house that happens to be FIVE houses away from yours!

Sometimes you get to see the first "pinkest" sunset of the summer.

Sometimes you go back and forth between "It's ok, 25 is a good age." and "Holy crap! 25! I might as well just wear a shirt that says 'Call me Ma'am'"  (Deep breaths.)

Sometimes you get to have a day that goes good.

Today was that day.

Things seem to fall into place and you feel yourself smiling more.

It's a good feeling.

I know it can't be like this everyday, so I'm happy with sometimes.

It's better than never right?

And plus...I don't believe in never.

Everything is a possibility.

Check!

Isn't it so amazingly terrific and wonderful when you can check things off of your lists of things to do!

As the school year begins to wind down, there are SO many things to wrap up. We are down to just over a month to get all the loose ends tied up into cute little metaphorical bows.

It's time to kick it up and keep getting things checked off!

Even if it's only one small thing a day...

it's still progress...

and i'll take it!

Two Posts in One!? Awesome!

The Holidays are here!

Well, first, let me say that science camp did happen and of course it went GREAT! I am so lucky to have a class I love so much. I actually have fun with my students (even when I have to "yell" at them for stuff. (I never really yell, it just seems that way to me. I can think I do it and then my kiddos say stuff like "what? you never yell at us!") That makes me smile :)

Another great part of school life is being able to work with my best friends. Ya, we're lucky. My teammates are the most awesome people I could have ever gotten to work with.

(*I am posting this picture despite how awful I believe I look in it.)

(Cameras really do add ten pounds. )

Now that camp is over and I can actually breathe and think if other things... it's time for Christmas!! Woo hoo!

Oh, and if you recall the whole lost reservation fiasco of camp '09
(I know you're saying, "Lauren, how could we forget!")

... this year I got printed confirmation of next year's reservation AND I saw the woman enter it into the computer with my own eyes. I'm not going through that again, sheesh!

Ok, back to Christmas... Josh and I got the tree put up this week and I know I say this every year, but, I really love our tree. It is so beautiful. I just want to stare at it for hours.
(Which I know I achieve by the time Christmas is over. )

The weather has gotten colder and it really is beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas!

I still have to finish shopping for everyone, make some sort of delicious treat for neighbors and friends and wrap all the wonderful gifts I get to give to people I love.

One more week of school and then two weeks off!

What do I get to look forward to for the break?

1. My annual "date" with Becky where she takes me out to look at Christmas lights. I love that we do this. People say we are lovers*, I say they are jealous!
*P.S. We are just awesomely best friends and people really are probably jealous. Dont worry Kole, you're marriage is safe :)

2. My other BFF Diana and I are going to spend a night in Sedona! For no other reason than just to spend time together because I pretty much never see her and it sucks. It's going to be so fun and I get to buy this game they apparently only sell in Sedona called Yamslam.
Look it up. If you love Yahtzee, you will be like "I love Yamslam!"

3. Family time: a.) The big Christmas Eve shin-dig at my parent's house-it's pretty much one of the highlights of my year.
b.) The time Josh and I spend alone opening our presents to each other (which we have decided we may do on Christmas Eve morning because we are at my parent's house all night and then we wake up and go to his parent's house Christmas morning, and because we love making our own rules!)

c.) Celebrating the fact that Josh proposed to me six years ago on Christmas Adam (Dec. 23- get it? because Adam came before Eve, hee hee, love it!). Maybe i'll post about it after it happens.

C'mon Christmas break!!!!
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Surprise! Since I haven't posted in a long while, I will do another post within this post.

The Eight Crazy Nights!!!

Remember how awesome I was just saying my friends are? Well, we decided a few months ago that we were going to conduct our own series of Eight Crazy Nights. These nights consist of eight different Saturdays at different people's houses, each with a different drink (optional for the non-drinkers), and a different game.

We are half way done and so far we have had so much fun!
Here are the details of the first four Crazy Nights:

#1 - Vodka bar and Singstar (we had to miss this one, but it looked awesome)
#2 - Malibu Barbies (Malibu rum and pineapple juice) and Bunco
#3 - Dirty drinks (like Sex on the Beach) and the game Dirty Minds: For example..."I am pink and when you put me in your mouth I get soft." I don't know what you're thinking, but it's bubble gum! :)
#4 - Appletinis and Apples to Apples

These nights have been so fun and I cannot wait for the rest!
This may have to be a year-round thing. Good friends, good times! You should come!

The Story of Lauren's First Gray Hair...

So science camp is the highlight of 5th grade. (Other than me!)

Now, we are going to camp December 2-4. This happens to be TWO weeks away. I am in charge of science camp and the time is approaching so I have been trying to keep up on all the final stuff. We always book the facilities for the next year when we are there. Last year we did this as normal.

So... since the time is approaching (remember, TWO weeks away!) I called the place to let them know the classes the kiddos would participate in. As I call and give them my name and the school name, this is the reply I received...



"Umm, we don't have a reservation for you at all..."



I reply with a very calm (Ya right!)... "WHAT! I have 100 5th graders who think they are going to camp in TWO weeks!"



So, I speak with the supervisor, Rich (who I wanted to hug by the time I hung up the phone) and he tells me that it must not have been put in the computer calendar and so they were not planning on us coming for the entire last year!



Now readers, be aware that the reason we always book the next year when we are there is because they fill up so quickly.



Naturally, I am freaking out because I know they wouldn't just have the dates open...



BUT THEY DID! Rich said "You are lucky because our reservation numbers have been so low so many more dates are open."



Holy Cow! So...just then (TWO weeks before camp!) I booked the reservation.



And that...is the story of why I probably have my first gray hair.



Praise the heavens it worked out.

A brief overview. Did I say brief? I meant long.

Things have been so busy lately and the worst part is that it's not over yet. We went to New York last week. It was great. It always makes me homesick. Just being able to see your aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents whenever you want is so nice. I feel that a lot of people take that for granted because they have always had them around. My cousin Michelle got married to a great guy and they looked so happy together. I love weddings. I will post pics later.

After a LONG flight home on Tuesday it was back to work on Wednesday, bright and early. We had a science camp meeting on Wed. night, and then play practice and a PTO meeting on Thurs. night. Friday happened and sucked and at least Saturday turned out to be relaxing.

So a while ago Kelle and I got forced into creating and running a skit group for the primary musical. After this week it will be over and then we won't have to think about it ever again. Ever. (Lol...ever. That's for you Kelle). We will be rehearsing at Stapley on Mon. and Tues. and then two performances on Wed. and Thurs. and one more for Highland on Friday. Oh, and don't forget that schedule includes teaching 28 students all day long. If I live through this week I deserve to go out and be pampered.

On a good note...I will be attending The Twilight movie on Thursday night. Midnight release. I know, crazy idea! With that full schedule I just spoke of, Kelle and I will run our kids through the performance at Stapley on Thursday night, go to see Twilight which starts at MIDNIGHT (incase I didn't mention that) and then wake up to teach on Friday and do the musical one more time. Yay. I am SO excited to see it though!!

Like I said, if I make it through this week please congratulate me. I need it.

P.S. Collin turned 5 on Wednesday. Gosh, where did the time go? He gets even more cute with each passing year! Party is coming up so I will take pics.

Thanks for listening! Love you all!