Baby shower

.... No, it isn't for me! ;-) My friend is expecting a baby in December!

She had a cute baby shower today complete with a nice lunch, fun baby games, and LOTS of presents! Congrats Amy on little Troy!

Teresa's B-day

So, Friday was Teresa's birthday and my dad, Teresa, Ben and I ate at Cheddars for an amazing dinner. Teresa and I had the most relaxing night getting a deluxe spa pedicure which included the usual plus a sea salt rub, mint rub followed by hot towel wrap, but the best part was ending with a hot stone massage! Our toes looked great! (We failed to take pics though). Teresa and I then walked around Target and enjoyed looking at baby things for my friend's shower Sat. I was really deliberating on if I should go with a puppy theme or a monkey theme. But, in the end it was all so cute!

Cooper's first Trick-or-Treat

On Halloween, I had a great time going to Rader's family farm in Normal, IL with Heather and her boyfriend Vince.

When we got home, my family came over to see Cooper in his costume. They got to see a few trick-or-treaters too that knocked on our door. After a while, Cooper and I went off to our first trick-or-treat experience. (A neighbor friend that we walk with almost daily.) I promised Cooper a treat and instead he got an orange. I gave him a yummy dog treat when we returned. He seemed quite satisfied! ;-) It was a good first experience. I wonder what he'll be next year?

Sister Teresa and Ewok Cooper

Year round school?

Lets just say the past few days haven't been easy. I'm overworked and underpaid. I keep getting subtle reminders though that it isn't all about the financial or emotional rewards. Its just about knowing that I can make a difference. Even, if that difference is only in my attitude about things. In which case, I am so thankful for the beautiful life I have and the people that continue to bless each day.

Cooper's Costume

My mom just stopped by. She is working on making Cooper a Halloween costume. Here is a little preview. He was pretty cute!

Day off...

I love that the weather today was so fabulous- sun shining and 80 plus degrees. I took advantage of the day off to get a little work done at school. After 4 hours at school, I got to come home to Chris, Teresa, and Mara and we ate Little Caesars for lunch. I enjoyed the company; Chris got a nice hair cut; and heres to hoping I don't feel like I'm behind this entire week!

The Teaching Adventures begin...

So, I've been thinking about how my life feels uneventful since school resumed. Sure, there have been cool tidbits here and there but nothing major. Well, here is how I plan to remedy this. I will tell you about the fun things that happen at school. So here goes...

9-8-10: Teacher Institute Day... Guest Speaker Larry Bell... (wish I had a video clip or two) Larry Bell is a very dynamic speaker, similar to listening to a Southern Baptist preacher (can I get an Amen?) which he actually said multiple times. There, he taught us how to dance and rap to a song about his TWELVE POWERFUL WORDS. Let me tell you that if you didn't participate, you were on the gym floor performing for the rest of the school staff. So, the part I needed a video camera for was the part where he did pull teachers out and made them do ridiculous chants! I enjoyed his ideas and his positivity. But, as a special education teacher, I struggled to agree with all the ideas he shared. Not all of my students can get 100% on tests, and that is okay. He thinks that his tools will teach them to pass, and for many it will help. But, some of them, I'd be pleased that they can consistently spell their name each time they are asked, let alone spell his powerful words.

After the speaker, I learned about a great tool called Audacity which I plan to use in my classroom- ask me about it sometime!

Friday night was fun as I got to play with some of my favorite boys- Brandon 4 and Liam -7(?). I brought Cooper and they had such a good time playing soccer and keep away with him.

Sat. was pretty good too considering that I drug my husband around to quite a few garage sales and I ended up with some really great loot! I got a really nice quality wool sweater, never worn, for $4. I got 4 name-brand dress shirts for $10. I also found some cute decorations for halloween and christmas that I'll have on display. Of course, I bought a few more books for my classroom library. And I found a car seat suitable for Mike & Steph's newest addition to their house. She'll be moving in this week and I was glad we could bless them. I think it is so honorable of them to take her in and I'd love to find other ways to help.