Class Christmas Gifts

We got crafty this year and, with the help of those under-utilized Pinterest boards I've been amassing, made some little Christmas gifts for the kids to give their classmates. Actually, I made them. Ha. It always sounds like a great idea to have the kids "help," but it never works out as well as you'd hope. I let Laney "help" me make the play-doh for this gift last year and we ended up with some fingers that looked like this (she's still terrified of the stove!). I. felt. so. bad.

So, this year, I did it all during nap time and it went off without a hitch. Laney gave her friends gingerbread scented play-doh with a cookie cutter for playing. It was super cute! We also made a huge batch for us to play with over the holidays and the kids absolutely loved it.

Parker gave his friends "Reindeer Antlers" and Brooks gave his friends "Reindeer Noses." I seasoned some tiny pretzels for antlers and used whoppers and a cherry drop for the nose. They got such a kick out of them and were so excited to carry them into MDO. I hope they still like my little home-made gifts as much when I'm trying to make them for their 16-year-old friends! HA!

Geometry with Mrs. Morris

Well hello! I thought I would check in and update as I’m finally settling into the 2^nd week of the new school year. The past month has been a whirlwind. With Marshall being out of town on business for 2 weeks, the boys starting school with Laney, and me going back to work, we’ve all been doing our best to stay positive and sane while making many adjustments. It’s times like these that make me sure I wouldn’t be able to do this without our wonderful families around. Actually, I take that back. Marsh and I could definitely do it on our own…we just wouldn’t have time to brush our teeth, shower, or eat any meals other than Laney’s left-over mac-n-cheese. Ha.

Despite the fact that it’s still 107 degrees outside, summer is drawing to a close and the school year’s arrival promises that cool fall breezes are on their way. It’s such a bittersweet time for me. I constantly struggle with my decision to go back to work. I’m ready to go back and not ready all at the same time. I feel excited and guilty. I’m sure and I’m unsure. Regardless of my inner struggle, though, one thing is certain – I love my children AND I love teaching.

I laugh when I tell people that I have the 2 hardest jobs in the world – mother and teacher. And neither of them pay well (monetarily, at least). I consider them the hardest because I’m certain they’re the most important jobs in the world. Who else has the lives of children more moldably in her hands than a mother or teacher? And that’s kind of scary to me. It means that if I’m not doing my absolute best at all times from when I wake to when I fall sleep, I’m letting my child down. Or I’m letting someone else’s child down. Or I’m letting a chance to change the world slip away. It’s a heavy burden to carry. And it’s wonderful and exhausting all at the same time. My situation always reminds of what my mom says about motherhood – “A lot of times you go to bed feeling like a failure.” I feel like this a lot. Because no matter how good I feel like I do, it’s not good enough for our children.

As I begin my third year teaching (I can’t believe it’s already my THIRD year!), I feel the weight of what I’m doing more than ever. I think I feel it the most this year because I’m knee-deep in motherhood and am already thinking about the kind of teacher I pray for MY kids to have. And I realize that I’m not that teacher. I’m not good enough. I’m not patient enough. I’m not loving enough. I’m called to love my students the way that I want my children’s teachers to love them. And this year I’m going to remind myself of that every morning. Isn’t it wonderful that I have the chance to have a fresh start each year in my career? I’m so thankful for that!

I found this print on Pinterest (my new addiction) and want to put it on my desk at school. That way, even when I’m tired and cranky from a sleepless night of feeding babies, it will be there staring at me and reminding me to be loving. It will remind me to think about how hard it is to be in high school. I forget that sometimes. And when I’m getting frustrated because my students don’t care about Geometry and aren’t going to ace the TAKS test, it will remind me that there are more important things I teach than math. And it will remind me that if I make them FEEL loved, I can sleep peacefully at night.

Back to School

I'm not even going to try to write about ALL the things that have happened in the past month. I'll get stressed out and end up not posting anything at all! Ha! So, in short, school has begun, Marshall is back in the swing of his busy season at work, and Laney is STILL growing up too fast.

School started on August 23rd, and has already been much less stressful this year than last. Staring down the beginning of this school year was a piece of cake compared to last year. Then, I was pregnant, in the middle of a move, starting a new job, and unsure if my husband was going to be able to move to Abilene in time for Laney's birth. This year, I know the ropes at school, I'm not a "first-year teacher," and I have a little more pep in my un-pregnant step. I'm finally being able to get ahead, plan, and stay ahead at work. I can already tell I'm a better teacher and I hope my students reap all the benefits! Also, with lots of help from my loving mother, I finally got my classroom decorated like I want it. Since I spend a lot of time there, its important to me for it to be a homey place. Though I miss Laney a lot while I'm there, I sure do love having a place to go everyday! Being home all summer made me appreciate and miss my wonderful work environment.

School isn't all I've been doing. My 8 good high school friends and I took our 5th annual Girls' Weekend trip this past Labor Day weekend to Horseshoe Bay and it was another success! Kate made the plans this year and Natalie, well, she made the "pink" plans, as always. I know many people have "Girls' Weekends," but we take ours pretty seriously! I mean, we even have matching pink swimsuits and sunglasses. If you'd like to have a Girls' Weekend that's as official as ours, you should contact Natalie McCarty, professional party planner. You'll have to plan ahead, though, because she's already booked for this entire fiscal year! Ha! Seriously, though, it was an amazing weekend. Being with those girls that I know oh so well but see oh so little is always good for the soul. We're all growing up, changing, and learning how to stay friends even though our life stages differ greatly, our ambitions just aren't the same, and our schedules never quite line up for us to talk as much as we'd like. They're my best friends, though, and always will be. They know me. Really KNOW me. I hope the 9 of us keep up until we're old ladies. And  hopefully we'll all be rich old ladies so we can "upgrade" our trips to Turks and Caicos or somewhere fabulous like we've always said we would! I'm kicking myself that I didn't even get a picture of all 9 of us, but let's be honest, I'm never good at getting pictures taken. Here's the best one I have with the majority of us.

That concludes my random update. You may shocked that I did not even talk about Laney ONCE in this post! Well, you can rest assured that I have an update all about Laney, complete with videos, coming very soon! Keep checking!