It's Monday Once Again...

-Mondays are no fun. When my alarm went off this morning, I was not a happy camper.
-DANCING WITH THE STARS tonight!!! I love it!!!
-Nana's 83rd birthday is Thursday. We are all going out for dinner in Rome!
-Spring Break is 9 days away. Will I make it???
-I am having Trent's pictures made over Spring Break at Portrait Innovations. This will be a surprise for my Mom and Carrie for Mother's Day. They have NO clue! SHHHH!! Don't tell!
-Trent has the "army crawl" mastered. Now if he can just start getting up on those knees!
-Daddy found Christa and I both a pink fishing rod this weekend! Yeah! We are so excited about our week at the lake this summer!
-I have decided that I'm going to get another DOG!! I want to get another maltese poodle just like Brigsby, but I'm going to get a girl this time so I'll have one of both. Brigsby needs a sibling! I have just started looking, so it may take a while to find one at a good price, but we'll see. I am very excited! I already have her name picked out! :-)
-I am going to start tanning this week. I can't stand looking at this pale skin anymore!!
-One of our Kindergarten students lost her dad in a tragic accident last Wednesday. Her sister is in 1st grade at WES too, and she has a younger sister as well. The girls will not be back to school for another week. Please remember this family in your thoughts and prayers. Such a devastating loss. I can't even imagine.
-Brenton and Christa's first anniversary is in a couple of weeks. They are going to Pigeon Forge to celebrate! YAY for one year of wedded bliss!
-I'm still on the diet. I weighed in this morning for the first time, and I lost 2 pounds last week, and that was without exercising! I wasn't able to exercise for most of the week b/c I had strep, so I'm looking forward to seeing how much I lose this week with exercise! Yeah! It's working!
-Looking forward to cooking a healthy dinner tonight. Grilled chicken, lima beans, and half of a baked potato...all within my diet! Yum Yum!
-I ordered me a shirt to wear for Cowyboy/Cowgirl Day in a couple of weeks. It is so cute.

Ready for what this week may bring! :-)

-B

Our Precious Boy...

Everything goes in the mouth these days! We are still teething!



Trent is fascinated by remote controls! He also LOVES my cell phone!


Wearing his new kicks; I found them at Old Navy for $6, and they are ADORABLE!


I got Trent this toy for Christmas, and it was a great investment, because he LOVES it! He loves to push the buttons that light up and make it sing! :-)

Headed Back to KSU....But Not For My Master's!!

I have always been interested in interior design. I absolutely love it and have so much fun with it. Decorating my entire apartment last summer was heaven on earth for me! I have always wanted to learn more about it and possibly do it some on the side. However, it's always been one of those things that I thought I would never have the chance to do. BUT, last week, I decided that I am going to make it happen! You only live once! So, I started checking online for classes and such! I found out that KSU offers "Leisure and Life Enrichment Classes". Anyone can take them. You don't have to be KSU alumni. They have everything from photography classes, to cooking classes, to ballroom dance classes (which I think would be totally cool to do) to writing classes, etc. Pretty much anything you can think of! So, I found a class on Interior Design for Beginner's. I checked it out and read more about it and got SO excited!! It sounds awesome and is just what I have been looking for! So, I took the plunge and signed up! It is 5 weeks long and on Monday evenings. I am SO excited! The first class will be April 13th. If I like this class, then they have more interior design classes starting this summer that will be an extension off of this class. That would be awesome to do while I am out of school for the summer! I can't wait to get started with this and see where it goes! :-)

-B

"The Climb"

Miley Cyrus' new song...I just love it.

"The Climb"

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head sayin
You'll never reach it

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction

My faith is shaking but
I got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

Chorus:
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna want to make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes you're gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb...

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes they knock me down
But I'm not breaking
The pain I'm knowing
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most, yeah
Just to keep on going
And I got to be strong
Just keep on pushing on

Chorus:
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna want to make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes you're gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb...

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith
Keep your faith

Strep Throat...How Nice

So, I started feeling a bit yucky this weekend. I woke up yesterday morning to get ready for school and felt VERY yucky. I went on to school but made a doctor's appointment for after school. Well...went to the doctor and TA DA!!!......strep throat. How fun, how nice, how wonderful. No, I don't think so. So, I am now on anti-biotics and at home in my bed wishing I was at school for all of the fun St. Patty's Day festivities with my sweet kiddos. AND...I won't get to wear my cute St. Patrick's Day shirt that I got. This is not good. I am totally bummed and really hope the fever goes away so I can go back to school tomorrow. Doctor said take two days off, but if I'm better, I'm going back tomorrow. I do not like missing work.

Okay, I'm done whining.

-B

It's Monday...Only 4 Days Until Friday!!

-44 school days until summer, and three weeks until Spring Break.
-I love Miley Cyrus' new song, "The Climb". I heard it for the first time in the car last night, and I was literally fighting back tears.
-Browsed our book fair this morning at school and made out my wish list. There's some good stuff!
-Going to another baby consignment sale this weekend; Trent Bug is a little spoiled!
-Need to start tanning VERY badly! I might start this week.
-Just a few more Cheer Warrior practices until the big pep rally. Things are coming along nicely.
-I have all kinds of fun activities planned for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. We will be having green milkshakes tomorrow afternoon!
-Still going strong on the diet...but I still don't like it.
-I've been brainstorming ideas of re-arranging my classroom next year. It needs a new look; going to change out where my desk is and where the kids tables are.
-This weather is insane. Snow two weekends ago, sunny last weekend, and rain all this weekend. WHAT???
-Got to see little Ethan yesterday. Just love that kiddo. He's too cute. His mom is pretty cool, too! :-)
-I want to visit Tellus. I haven't been yet and am anxious to go! We tried to go on a field trip there in April, but it didn't work out.
-It's crazy to me to think that my first little group that I had will be big 2nd graders next year! WOW! How time flies!
-We have really been digging in to some of our Science standards, and it has been so fun to teach!!
-Hope the weekend hurries and gets here!!

-B

Taco Soup Recipe...This Is For You, Ingrid! :-)

I made a yummy taco soup this weekend. It is a Weight Watchers version, so it's healthy, too! It was super easy, super quick, and was still great when I re-heated it the next day. My bestie, Ingrid, asked about the recipe, so I decided to post it on the blog for everyone. Try it out sometime! :)

For all you Weight Watchers people, 1 cup of this soup= 1 point.

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1 lg. onion, chopped
3 cans Mexican style chili beans, undrained (or you can substitute in black beans...your choice)
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 can tomato sauce
1 can chopped green chile, undrained
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package ranch style salad dressing mix (dry)


-Brown beef and drain.
-Stir in all other ingredients.
-Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, covered.

Sounds easy enough, right??!!

Hope you all try it out and enjoy it as much as I did! :-)

-B

Rainy Weekend...

Trent Bug riding in the car on the way home from dinner...



Mom and Trent Bug before Lucy's birthday party


It has been a rainy, gloomy weekend so far! Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. I'm wondering where the beautiful spring weather went???? I wanted to ride my bike this weekend, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. Trent Bug has spent the last couple of nights with me, so he has made it more fun than it would have been. He is simply amazing...learning new things each day, and it's SUCH a blessing to sit back and watch. Right now we have patty cake completely mastered. He is eating more and more, and it won't be long before we will be eating small bites of table food. Mom and Dad are excited about that b/c the formula and baby food is getting more and more expensive with him eating more! We are so incredibly crazy about him! What a blessing in my life at just the right time...

This time next week, Kaci and I will be tearing it up at the Mall of GA. I'm SO excited! I haven't been on a major shopping spree in a while...

Mom, Trent, and I went to Buttons n Bows yesterday. WOW! What deals there were! We walked away with tons of spring/summers outfits for him. Seriously, some of them were like a dollar and were great name brands and look like they'd never even been worn. We have basically his whole spring/summer wardrobe covered. We were so excited about it all! We are looking forward to going to another sale next weekend to check on a couple of more things for him. We are now in love with baby consignment sales! After the sale, Mom, Brenton, Trent, and I had lunch together at Cracker Barrel. It was so fun to just be together and hang out! Brenton is crazy about Trent Bug, and Trent Bug is crazy about him. It is fun to watch them together. I maintained my diet and had grilled chicken with green beans. It was YUMMY!

I also just made a yummy taco soup. It is a Weight Watchers recipe. I checked with Julie before making it to make sure that I could have it with the diet and all. Turns out, I could! All the ingredients were in my diet. It was sooooooo good on this cold, rainy day. My parents came by on their way home and my dad took some with him. He tasted and liked it too, so he wanted some for later. I have some left over, so that will make a nice lunch for school on Monday. I love yummy meals that are within my diet!!

WHS Cheer Banquet was Thursday night. It was fun to see everyone again. We had a great meal! We got some awesome new T-shirts that have "State Champs" on the back. The girls also got the coaches a beautiful framed picture of the team at state, and the booster club gave the coaches some cash...which is ALWAYS nice! Those were some nice surprises that I didn't expect. I was able to sit and chat for a while with the girl that I will be coaching with next year, and she seems really sweet. Try-outs are in a little over a month, and we will have competition camp in June. I love summer work-outs as well. That was a lot of fun last summer, and I really look forward to it this summer!

Well, I am going to cozy up with little Brigsby and watch a movie. There's really nothing better to do on a rainy, gloomy day like today!

-B

I'm Dieting...But I Don't Have To Like It!

The weekend is approaching, and I am so thankful for that. The time change has been especially difficult to adjust to. By the time I get home in the afternoon, I am wiped out. I have napped almost every day this week.

Well...I have given in to the world of dieting. My parapro, Mrs. Cagle, and I have decided to have a little competition to see who can lose the most the quickest. She is getting ready for her son's wedding this summer and wants to lose a few pounds. I am just getting ready for summer and would love to drop about ten pounds. We will weigh in with our school nurse each Friday. Today is my first real day on the diet, and it's not been too bad so far. For breakfast, I had a Weight Watchers muffin. Lunch was a turkey sandwich, two pickle spears, and a small cup of sugar free jello. Dinner will be grilled chicken with green beans. I am doing the unthinkable and sacrificing some of my beloved Dr. Peppers. I've decided that I'm not going to give them up altogether- b/c that would be unrealistic for me- but I'm just going to cut down. This diet is all about sensible eating; many people that I know have been successful on it, so maybe I will to. I usually can drop weight pretty easily when I want to, so hopefully it won't be too hard.

The kids at school have major spring fever and so does their teacher! I can't stand that my classroom doesn't have an outside door or any windows. It would be so nice to be able to see this gorgeous weather outside instead of staring at four walls all day. By the end of the day, I just want to be OUTSIDE!!! It's so refreshing to get outside after work. I hope to be able to get outside this weekend a lot and ride my bike. It's so fun and great exercise, and I am really loving it so far. I am glad that I found it on sale, too!

The week before CRCT, we are having spirit days at school. We will have Cowboy Day, Tacky Twin Day, and Super Hero Day. I already have my Superman shirt for Superhero Day. Mrs. Cagle, JJ, and I are going to modify Tacky Twin Day into Tacky Triplet Day and all dress the same. I'm excited about that; it will be hilarious!! For Cowboy Day, I might just have to go buy those cowgirl boots that I've been wanting...and of course a cowgirl hat to go with it. We will see. I hope that most of the other teachers will participate too, because the kids will really love it if they do.

Tomorrow I have the day off. I have a doctor's appointment, then Mom and I are going to Buttons n Bows- the big baby consignment sale at the Church at Liberty Square. We are on the hunt for Trent a few items. A stroller, a front facing car seat, and some summer clothes are what we are mainly looking for. Hope we can find them at good prices! This is always a great consignment sale, so I'm sure we'll maybe have some good luck there.

I am still trying to decide about Spring Break. It is in three weeks. I would really like to go somewhere, but I really need to save the money, and it would also be nice to have a week at home to get ahead on some spring cleaning and just relax. Who knows? I may up and go somewhere at the last minute. I guess only time will tell.

46 School Days Until Summer...YAY!!!

-B

Tuesday Twelve

1. WHS Cheer Banquet is Thursday night. Looking forward to seeing everyone again!
2. Trent will be 9 months on Saturday! WOW!
3. Book Fair is next week at school. I LOVE the book fair!
4. Dad and Brenton went to the Atlanta race on Sunday and had a great time!
5. I will have a 3 day weekend. I'm not working on Friday due to a doctor's appointment. Three day weekends are nice.
6. I am pulling my hair out trying to teach my students syllables. They are just not getting it, and it is so frustrating. I'm back to the drawing board to figure out a better way to help them understand.
7. I bought my new patio furniture, and I LOVE it! Got a GREAT deal at Wally World!
8. I also bought me a new bicycle. Mom and I went riding on Sunday, and it was so fun. Such good exercise! I really look forward to riding this spring and summer!
9. Apparently, everyone has a life verse based on their birthday. A teacher that I work with sent me the link. The verse for July 1st, my birthday, is 2 Corinthians 7:1.
10. I got a pedicure on Saturday! It was very relaxing!
11. PTO and School Square Dance is tonight. YEE HAW!
12. 48 school days left until summer!!

Have a blessed week-

-B

What's Been Going On This Week

-Only 51 school days left until summer!
-Brenton and Christa's first anniversary is coming up on April 5th. I can't believe that they have been married a year already!
-We are planning to take Trent to the park this weekend. It is going to be beautiful, and he loves being outside!
-We are making green milkshakes at school for St. Patty's Day! I love St. Patty's Day; it's a lot of fun. I have my St. Patty's Day shirt ready! Nobody will be able to pinch me! :)
-Mom and Dad are in the midst of planning our week at the lake. It looks like we will go around the first of June. We will rent a condo at Lake Weiss for the week like last summer. It was an absolute BLAST, so we are really looking forward to going again. Dad is in search of Christa and I new fishing rods before we go. We both love fishing so much and can really hang with the boys when it comes to catching the fish. Of course, little Brigsby will be making the trip with us again this year! Dad is renting us jet skis too! YAY!
-I love my parapro, Mrs. Cagle. School would not be the same without her. I am INCREDIBLY thankful for her friendship and guidance.
-The Bachelor finale was TERRIBLE. I am never watching again! Right, Ingrid and Jen?!
-Lauren, Lindy, and Chandler are such blessings to me. They can turn a bad day around in a second. Love those kiddos to pieces. Just talking to them on the phone brightens many days for me.
-To buy a house or not to buy a house: that is the question!! I'm majorly pondering that...
-Mall of GA on the 21st with Kaci; we are on the hunt for spring/summer clothes! Shopping really is the best therapy, right Kac?
-Kindergarten Planning Day was Wednesday and was really fun! We got to have lunch at Chili's and had a great time telling stories and laughing together. I love to laugh.
-I love my big brother. I mean, I simply adore that boy. It's the little things that he does for me that mean the most. He'll never know how much he means to me.
-Patience is a lesson that I seem to continually be learning.
-My Nana will be 83 this month. She still gets around with the best of them. Love her bunches.
-The Lord is still the captain of the ship that is my life...even when I don't understand what He's doing. I know one day I will though, so I'm pressing forward... even when it seems impossible to do so.
-Ju is the big sister that I never had. Oh, how thankful I am for her (and Ben too). I can't think of a time that she's not been there when I needed her. I hope that's the kind of friend that I am to others.
-My uncle JD is very sick with cancer. I love him to pieces and am very concerned. My thoughts are continually with him (and my Aunt Lucille) throughout my days.
-Did I mention that there are only 51 school days left until summer??!!

-Brooke :)