Around Here: Week 19 2024

 {May 5th-May 11th}

Gift basket for my mentor teacher

She loves bees, so this was really fun to put together!

My best friends are identical twins- 
they were reunited recently and I loved this beautiful pic of them!

Translation: "Mrs. Cunningham, I have a apple"

Art by Mark Grantham

Introducing myself to my new class

Art by my kindergarten class

Hi Ainsley

Celebrating... my graduation all week.  It started on my last day of student teaching- I walked in to the most incredible gift from my mentor teacher and the whole staff at school.  She had set up a table with nearly everything I need to get a classroom started.  Truly incredible. There was a paper cutter; a prize box; pens (so many pens!) and so much more. I feel completely spoiled and loved.  She also put up the sweetest balloons outside the classroom door and posted the kindest words about me on Facebook (words of affirmation are my love language, so I felt so buoyed by them!). I truly can't believe I finished my 70 days of student teaching. It started slow, but then it flew right on by.  

Leaving... Josh home with Carly & Wyatt who were sick at the end of the week. I am so grateful he was able to take the time off to be with them so I could wrap up student teaching without having to prolong my end date. Thanks babe!

Laughing... at poor Jack looking for my book.  I sent him upstairs to grab it for me as I finished making my breakfast and he was like, "Where is it?!?" I teased him that he couldn't find it and he stood up for himself saying, "There are literally books everywhere in your room! On the bookshelf, on the dresser, on your bedside table, on the book cart..." When I went upstairs later I giggled because, well, he's not wrong! Haha!

Making... slime with Carly. I absolutely HATE making slime, but all four of my kids love it, so I've got a good recipe and make it way more often than I would prefer.

Enjoying... the weekend off with no homework or lesson planning that needed to be done. I am officially completely done with my last class at GCU and I also officially finished my student teaching hours. I am so happy to be done! It's so dreamy to have nothing to do, nothing controlling every minute of my time. A girl could get used to this!

Subbing... for the second week in a row for my friend who is taking care of her parents. It was a really fun week as kindergarten was doing flower art all week for a flower show they're doing in June. We made flowers with kitchen utensils, tissue paper, cutting out (similar to Eric Carle's style of art) and using painting first, and then drawing the flowers over the shapes and swirls we had painted. The kids did great and I only had one kid dipping things in the paint that he shouldn't have. Hah! 

Feeling... some heart wrenching feels as there was  CPS report I was part of this week, and man, that's part of being in education that they simply don't prepare you for in school.  It was really heavy. 

Loving... hearing Carly's sweet, clear voice do the announcement one morning this week.  At her school they earn "money" they can use to buy things and she saved her money to pay to do the announcements.  I wasn't sure how she'd do (if she would get nervous) but she was seriously amazing. Everyone was commenting how fun it was to listen to her, how easy it was to hear her and her confidence blew us all away!

Choosing... books for the next six months with book club. We each bring two choices and vote on them. That way we each get to choose a book for half the year. Then when we run out of books, we'll meet and do it again. It's funny, though, because I usually end up adding all the books to my TBR because they all sound so good!

Coming... home after book club to flowers, balloons and a banner from Josh & the kids. It just melted me. His pride in my accomplishment has made me so grateful he's mine. 

Seeing... the orthodontist for Carly who has some serious crowding going on with her smile and a big gap in her front teeth. It turns out she needs a space because her bite is quite off on side.  They'll do that first, then do braces, most likely. We're now waiting to hear if insurance will cover it. If not, Josh and I will likely do a payment plan. We want her to have a beautiful smile that she's proud of. Josh got braces as an adult and was always really self conscious of his teeth and smile. We don't want that for her. 

Reading... The Secret Book of Flora Lea. It's a good read, but not going to be a 5 star read. 

Loving... the new fan I ordered for the living room.  It's Better Homes & Gardens brand from Walmart and it's so freaking cute. That room doesn't have a ceiling fan and while we have light blocking shades for the regular window, there's a high rectangular window that lets in lots of sunlight that we don't have a shade for because of its awkward shape and size, so it can get quite warm. A fan to move the air conditioned around the room should help. 

Getting... my yearly mammogram after hearing a friend had a bad mammogram (awaiting results) and feeling so grateful when I heard two days later that mine was clear.  Man, life can really change on a dime. Mamas, if you're reading this and you aren't doing self exams or getting mammograms (typically for those over 40), you need to make sure you're doing those things.  It could save your life.

Facing... bad news in the school district as we failed the levy on the second vote and are hearing rumors of all the cuts that are to come. This is incredibly bad news as I wrap up my degree and was hoping for a full time job next year. I guess we'll see what comes out of the school board meetings and how we're impacted. 

Getting... my first apple as a teacher. Kids really are the cutest.

Enjoying... teacher appreciation week and feeling so seen that they included me even though I'm not officially a member of staff.  So kind!

Adding... The Wolf Wilder to my TBR list because I heard it has similar vibes to The Snow Child, which is one of my all time favorite reads. Can't wait to read it!

Sending... the twins off to school with Ainsley who has finally had his license for six months and can drive friends in his car. It's been a long half a year waiting for it to be legal for him to drive our boys. They were thrilled. 

Putting... Carly to bed early on Friday night as she was so sick (poor baby) and whiny and tearful. She fell asleep nearly instantly, despite having two naps during the day. She's fighting something bad!

Also putting... myself to bed early as I was having the hardest time emotionally Friday night. Between my friends' bad news on her mammogram, the levy failing and knowing I most likely won't have a job next year, and the emotions that come with my degree + student teaching ending, I just needed to go to bed. It was hard to choose to go to bed though because we were having amazing Northern Lights that night and Josh was going to head out to his parents' land to watch. Part of me wanted to go with him, but I also knew that I needed sleep.  Sleep won out. It was the right choice. Plus, I saw Northern Lights in Alaska, and nothing will ever beat that. 

Opening... the sweetest four-way locket from my aunts for my graduation. It was the most beautiful wrap job, too!

Partying... with family & friends at the park on Saturday for my graduation celebration. Josh gave the sweetest speech before we cut the cake, talking about how I made up my mind to do it, worked super hard, now I'm done. He told me how proud he is of me.  It was so touching. 
I was also really touched by how many people showed up for me.  I felt so loved and celebrated, and it was just a beautiful ending to a really challenging chapter! 

On to my second act!

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Memories:

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