Fun Facts and #picadayfriday

Yesterday, I was blog stalking some of my kiddos in class. Yes, I actually read their blogs; all 90 of them! Anyways, one of my sweet girls wrote a little fun facts list about herself. When I got to numbers 13 and 14, I literally laughed out loud. See for yourself why...

Then I got to thinking. Isn't this the true definition of success as a teacher?? I mean, your goal should never be to be the favorite teacher, just to be the favorite teacher. You want your students to like you for the right reasons, not because you act like their friend.  More than anything though, you want your students to respect you. That's such a fine line to walk. If you're too friendly, the respect goes away.  If you're too strict and "mean" as they would put it, they have no respect for you either.  Simply put, I sincerely loved reading number 13 and 14 because it tells me that I am likable but still respected. Success is mine! Now, I can retire. In honor of my sweet girl who made my day, and knowing that she and many other of my students read my blog, I thought I would do a top 10 fun facts list today before the #picadayfriday fun begins.  Who knows, maybe you'll learn something new about me. Here it goes...

 

1. It took me five years to graduate college because I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life, but when I finally did, I graduated first in my class with honors.

2. Mere months from college graduation, I told my mom I didn't want to use my degree, so I enrolled in the masters program, and went to college for a sixth year.

3. My favorite musicians are New Kids on the Block, Pitbull, and Kenny Chesney.

4. I have a favorite student. Don't ever let teachers tell you they don't. They're lying. ;P (Disclaimer: I also have lots and lots of first runners up!)

5. I want to open a car wash...and a cheer gym.

6. I gained 49 whopping pounds when I was pregnant with Chloe.  After I had Chloe, I lost 55 pounds.

7. Tori Spelling is and always will be my favorite celebrity ever.

8. I didn't take my first airplane ride until I was 23 years old. Chloe was only three months old when she took her first ride.

9. I don't have any tattoos and never will. My likes and dislikes change with the moon. I know I would regret it.

10.  I'm a crier. My kids think I'm rough and tough, but I'm a crier. I cried today actually when I medaled my cheerleaders that are going to high school. Like ugly, can't get through my speech cry.

11. My favorite person to follow on Twitter is Donnie Wahlberg. #purepositiveinspiration (He's also my favorite New Kid.)

 

There ya have it.  I even gave you an extra one for the road.  Did you learn anything new??

 

Now, on to #picadayfriday.  This week has been a busy one. It all started with the three day weekend and ended with two back to back nights of recital rehearsals until 8pm. Tomorrow is the big day!!! I'll have lots of recital pictures to post next week!

Saturday: 

What better to do while the gas is pumping than take mommy/Chloe selfies?

Sunday: 

It was a fight to take a nap. Her final request before submitting to sleep was "l want Wookie to go nite nite wif me." What can I say...AND, it worked! Here's a picture from her baby monitor. Yes, I still use a baby monitor. #dontjudge

Monday:

While scrolling through Twitter, I came across this. It made me ROFL. I know all my fellow English teachers can relate to this one. Mandi???  These kids really need to start writing their own essays. The teacher will always figure it out. #wearesmarterthanyou

Tuesday:

With Tuesday brought Mimi coming in the early morning hours to pick up Chloe for a three day rendezvous "grandma style." That pretty much equates to being spoiled rotten, having lots of fun, and eating candy with every meal. Here they are in downtown Dallas with my Mamaw, Chloe's great Mamaw.

Like a true sweetheart, she picked me a flower.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday, the spoiling continued when Chloe went to the zoo with her Mimi and Mamaw. Here they are on the monorail. I hear Mimi has lots of great pictures, but this is all I have.

 

Thursday: 

We reunited! After work, I met my mom and Chloe at the place Chloe is having her recital. It was night one of a two day rehearsal. Here she is holding hands with a little girl. I thought it was sweet. I have no idea who the other girl is, but they held hands forever!

Friday:

Night two of rehearsals was a dress rehearsal. She did fabulously. Here she is in the grand finale. I CAN'T WAIT FOR HER RECITAL TOMORROW!

 

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! There's only five days of school left in my neck of the woods!

 

Till next time,

 

Lori

Tonight I Aged 10 Years

Tonight I had my scariest mom moment to date. We had recital rehearsals this evening and again tomorrow. There is a dance mom that escorts Chloe's class on and off stage.When Chloe was done with her first dance, the mom led them off stage and we went backstage to meet Chloe and tell her how good she did. She seriously did SO GOOD. My girl who dances when she wants to and stands there with her hands in her mouth the rest of the time, danced like a CHAMP! I was super proud and couldn't wait to gloat on her.  Problem: No Chloe! One by one, her classmates filed into the room, greeted with hugs, high fives, and words of excitement. No Chloe. The dance mom walks in last. No Chloe. I walked up to her and asked her where Chloe was. She had no idea.  We both sprinted off in a mad dash to find her. Chloe is significantly younger than the other girls in her class. She will be three next month, and the girls in her class are 4, almost 5, or already 5.  The whole place was pitch black for stage lighting and my shy baby was LOST! We ransacked the backstage area. No Chloe. I was freaking out, running around in 5 inch wedges, trying to find my kid, not fall on my rear end, and still be quiet for the dancers that were performing at the moment. My mind was going to all the wrong places though. I mean where better to kidnap a cute girl than a dance recital, right??

After ransacking the backstage area, running back to the staging area to take another look around for her, we still were in a state of NO CHLOE.  I decided to go look in the auditorium's seating area. There weren't that many people in there, but it was pitch black and hard to see. As I walked further into the auditorium, it became apparent, NO CHLOE.  Not knowing what to do, I ran up to Ms. Andrea, the director, who was in the middle of coaching a team of dancers, and told her Chloe was missing.  Right as I was about to lose it just from the state of the words that had exited my mouth, I feel this tug on my leg. IT WAS CHLOE! Apparently, she was in the audience, I just didn't see her on first glance. Like I said, it was dark, she is small, and I was a little beyond freaked out.  After grabbing her, holding her tight, and thanking GOD she was safe and okay, those tears tried so very hard to fall. I fought them, they fell, and I quickly wiped them away before Chloe could notice. After all, this is her moment, her time to shine, and I didn't want her to think I was upset. PLUS, I still had to tell her how good she did which is exactly what I did. I gloated, kissed, and hugged my way all the way back to the staging room.  Needless to say, when it came time for dance number two, Chloe got to hold the dance mom's hand as they exited.

I really think tonight aged me by ten years. Seriously...

Till next time,

Lori

Pic A Day Friday

Yes, I know, it's Tuesday. Let's just say Friday was a looonnnngggg and trying day.  I'm a teacher, it's May, there's 8 days left of school. Enough said, right?

Without adieu, here it goes...

Saturday:

Daddy was out of town, so I planned a mommy and Chloe day. We had a great time, just us girls. :)

 

 

Sunday:

I woke up to this gem Sunday morning. Some might get excited about this. I mean, it's my baby girl's third birthday for pete's sake! It actually made me kinda sad and a bit bummed out.  I don't want her to grow up. I don't want her to get older, bigger, and more independent. I want my toddler to be a toddler for forever! And, don't even get me started on big girl school. #notevergonnahappenpeople

 

Monday:

Ah,  Monday. You were no sweeter to me. Monday was greeted with my next countdown message. You see, Chloe has a slight addiction to her paci.  And, by slight, I mean extreme, over the top, heroine addict like addiction to her paci.  We've been telling her all year that on her third birthday she has to say bye bye to her paci. But, in return, she gets to make her own big girl Build a Bear, and when we go on vacation she gets to swim with the dolphins.  She's pretty darn excited about swimming with the dolphins, but honestly, I'm not looking forward to "Operation, Bye Bye Paci."  Besides her high chair, it's really all that's left of her baby stuff, and I know it's going to be hard on her....and Rusty and I. I think I'll be asking God to grant me lots of patience those first few days.  I know she and I both will be shedding a few tears.

Oh, and, to top off all this big girl action, my baby girl perfectly diapered her first baby without mommy's help! #stopgrowingup!

 

Tuesday:

Tuesday, sweet Tuesday brought with it dance pictures. Just look how adorable she looks! I even curled her hair!! We've worked for three long years to get her hair long enough to use a curling iron on. I won't mention that by the time we got to the dance studio, the curls were practically gone...or that she wouldn't smile for the photographer. We will just focus on how beautiful she  looks.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday, I mailed Chloe's third birthday invitations. Just look at these beauties!  Chloe is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse obsessed, and we will be having a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse extravaganza for her birthday....in a treehouse.  I must say, when it comes to her birthday, I tend to be a bit over the top. My two favorite parts of planning her birthday are the invites (no FB invites here, I like the real deal) and the birthday cake. Both must be over the top. With these invitations, her initial is on the mouse ears, and the invite actually slips into the red part Mickey Mouse head that has the buttons on it.  Both the mouse head and the invite are sewn, not glued, and the wording is as only Mickey himself would say it.  Love, love, LOVE these!  As for the cake, you'll just have to wait and see!!!

 

Thursday:

We ended our Thursday with a little playground fun. Rusty and Chloe had races to see who could climb the equipment and get to the bottom of the slide the quickest. It was comical to say the least.

 

Friday:

It's FRIDAY! Let's celebrate with a little picture for daddy before school.

 



There you have it, our week in review.

 



Till next time,

 

Lori

#picadayfriday

Here it is, my friends! My third attempt at #picadayfriday. I have so many fun pictures, almost solely of Chloe, to share this week. Let's just say, she's in a "take my picture" kind of phase. I'm really going to try to keep this up every week, but it's HARD to remember to take a meaningful picture everyday! 

Saturday:

A somber picture to remind you how precious life is. I taught almost all of these sweet babies, one of them for 3 consecutive years. Wear your seatbelt, friends. #RIPThomas

Sunday:

Happy Mother's Day!

Chloe: Mommy, open your mouth REAL big like this and I'll take your picture. 

Monday: 

My little fishie!

Tuesday: 

Cool weather means mommy gets to accessorize her outfit with a cardi. #fashionyes

My dance princess tried on her new recital outfit. Adorable! $100 adorable has yet to be decided...

Wednesday:

Chloe and I met Kelly and Kadence at the park. If these aren't the cutest, sweetest girls EVER!

One of the many perks of being a #girlmom. I thank God everyday for this sweet girl.

Thursday:

I was allowed to be in her selfie for daddy Thursday morning. It was my pleasure. 😃 AND, after a long day at the trampoline park and at field day, I came home to these beauties on my doorstep.

#wedgelove

Friday:

Here it is, Friday in a nutshell. The alarm went off at 3:30am. I made it to 3:30pm before I busted out the big guns.

While I struggled to stay awake at work, Chloe went to a swim party with the best babysitter/friend ever. She was too excited to pack her pool bag.

There you have it, #picadayfriday for this week!

Till next time,

Lori

Mom Bags And A Case of the Blues

This week goes down in history as not the greatest, definitely not the worst, but not one I wish to relive again either.  On Tuesday, I can sadly say that I officially had my first student pass away. It's hard to believe, considering I've been teaching a while now and Northwest has lost so many students recently, but I had somehow seemed to escape having taught any of those sweet babies. So it goes, all good things must come to an end.  Sweet, funny Thomas, who could always make me laugh until I had tears in my eyes, was smarter than I could ever hope to be, and could spout out random bits of knowledge and quotes off the top of his head at any given moment, lost his life mere yards from my house.  Thomas was one of those students that I could always count on for 3 things:

1. He would always ALWAYS ALWAYS know the right answer.
2. He would never NEVER NEVER have his homework.
3. He would always ALWAYS ALWAYS ace the test with the highest grade in the class.

Thomas had the personality that stuck in your mind long after he was gone. Last month I saw him at Sonny Bryan's when I took Chloe in to eat. It was so good to see him, that I went back the next week to see him again. We didn't talk for long, but it's always fun to see how good my sweet babies are doing after they leave me for high school.  I'm so sad for his family. :( He would have done great things, I just know it.  Tonight I'm going to the candlelight vigil at the crash site. Anyone want to join me???

On Thursday, I had my first official weigh in and measurement since I began my diet 10 days ago. I. LOST. NOTHING. To say I was bummed is the understatement of the century. You can only deny this foodaholic yumminess for so long with no results.  I'm not giving up though.  Here's hoping to a more successful upcoming 10 days!

Now, onto the fun stuff.  The other day, over at Mix and Match Family, Shay did a post about what she carries in her mom bag.  You know, there's reasons it's no longer called a purse once you have kiddos. Seriously, the things you find in my purse are crazy.  My purse is even more crazy than normal right now because I feel like my life is going by in fast forward. There's not even time to shave my legs on most days much less organize my mom bag.  I thought it might be fun, and let's be honest, motivational, to empty out the ole bag, and photograph what exactly is in my mom bag today for you guys to see.  Seriously, people, the things we carry!!!

1. Frog bib
2. 16 Dance recital tickets
3. 2 combs
4. 2 pens
5. Lotion
6. Hand sanitizer
7. 5, yes 5 pacis in an assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors ;)
8. 5 lip glosses
9. 3 Chapstick tubes
10. Toddler hair ties for that kid who finds it funny to pull her hair down while mommy is driving.
11. Mom hair tie
12. Mom hair band
13. Taser
14. Goggles
15. Wallet
16. 5 day old pretzels
17. Sunglasses

Honestly, this is actually pretty mild. No phone today, no change of clothes, no baby doll....seriously, mild!

I'll leave you with this...it has come to my attention just how well my students really know me. This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Check out my gifts.  Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper, and more Diet Dr. Pepper. That's eleven Diet Dr. Peppers, people! If I have taught them nothing else, they have absolutely without a doubt, learned the pathway to my heart. :) #lovethem

 

Till next time,

Lori