It counts twice!!!

It's Teacher Idea Thursday again, and I'm starting to really struggle with creative ideas. I'm really not creative at all...just good at stealing ideas from others!

This picture is counting double for me today...as my teacher idea AND a picture I snapped for my blog challenge. Since my classroom theme is Hollywood, I paired up my students and had them interview one another. They then wrote "Star bios" about one another, and I took a fab pic of each of them. The bulletin board turned out SO cute and was perfect for Open House!

(This class may or may not have been my favorite class ever!!!!!!)
I'm so thankful tomorrow is Friday! I love short weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Picture that makes me angry or sad...

Sometimes when I look at pictures of Liam's first days with us I get so sad. I hate thinking about everything he went through during his NICU stay and I hate that he spent his first Christmas hooked up to machines. (Yes, I realize that it could have been much worse and that we were truly lucky that we were just there for 17 nights and that he had nothing significant wrong.)

Sometimes I even get angry when I look through these pics. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but blame myself. I have been told over and over again that there was nothing I could have done differently to prevent the umbilical cord issues, but I still think back to every sip of caffeine I took while pregnant, every time I accidentally stood in front of a microwave while pregnant and the time I bumped my stomach really hard right after I found out I was pregnant.

With all that said, when I look at these pics, I also think about how truly blessed we are to have Liam here with us...and healthy! He is our tiny miracle!!!!

Day 7...Happy Picture

This picture makes me happy for the following reasons....

-Just look at that face! Liam looks so happy!!!

-It reminds me of my favorite time of the year.

-It reminds me of the best Christmas I've ever had.

-It reminds me of how blessed I am!!!!!!!!

Labor Day Weekend Fun

We had the busiest, most fun weekend we've had in a long time. I'm pretty sure Liam was excited about our weekend!

For some reason Saturday night when I would ask him to say cheese, he would drop whatever he was doing, jump up, throw his arms in the air and scream, "Eese!" Crack. Me. Up.
Saturday afternoon my good friend, Devin, came to visit with her two girls. Devin and her family live in D.C. right now, but her husband is deployed. So, for the next few months Devin has relocated back to Oklahoma! I'm sad that her husband is deployed, but so happy to get to see her and her girls more often. Liam and Aspen played together really well.
While they played, Ayla sat quietly in the Bumbo and watched. Is she not precious!?!?!
These two danced, and danced, and danced! This picture is a total action shot. Look at sweet, innocent Aspen....droppin' it like it's hot!!!!!!!!!!!!
Before our sweet friends left, we got a pic of Devin and I with our babies. I love these girls!!!
Then, Nana and Papa came to visit. Look at the excitement in Liam's face. He loves these two so much!!! As soon as I told him they were coming he started running to the front door and knocking on it over and over again. He just couldn't wait to see them!
After Nana and Papa left, David had to get busy mowing the lawn. When he finished Liam helped him spray down the mower. (He's soaked from playing in the water table.)
And then he had to help "push" the lawn mower. (No, it was not on!)
I'm already looking forward to next weekend....I think we're going to do some work on Liam's room. Since he can officially crawl out of his crib, it's time to change his bed to a toddler bed. I'm so not ready for that!!!!!

Favorite Quote

I never had a favorite quote until August 23rd, 2009. On this day Heaven gained an angel, while we lost one here on earth. Our good friend, Tiffani Vogan, died in a car crash early that morning. After hearing the news David and I were reminiscing about the good times we had with Tiffani. While looking at the pictures on her Myspace page, we came across this quote.....

"Treasure each other in the recognition that we do not know how long we shall have each other." -Joshua Liebman

This quote could not be any truer.

David's office

This morning we got up nice and early to head up to David's office to do some decorating. Here Liam and I are ready for the first football Saturday of the year. GO POKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next 4 months are by far my favorite time of the year. There's fall, football, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all in the near future! So much to be excited for!!!!!!!

Liam loved looking out of David's HUGE window.
My two favorite boys after working hard and hanging all of David's degrees and awards.
Liam would just look out the window and laugh. When we asked him if he was ready to go bye-bye, he very clearly said, "No."
After we left David's office, we walked across the street to a little water pad. Liam loved it and wanted to get in the water sooooo bad!
Now we're relaxing and watching some football. One of my besties is on her way here as I type. I can't wait to see her and her two beautiful girls!!!!!!!!!!!

Favorite Novel

I'm totally cheating on this one. I don't have a favorite book, but I do have a favorite series. The Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich are my favorites!!! I don't know how many times I've been reading one of these books and laughed out loud so hard that David looked at me like I'd lost my mind. They're super easy reads, but you'll get hooked and not want to put them down!!!! So far there are 16 novels...definitely must reads!!!!

Favorite TV show

I couldn't choose just one! These are the three shows that are must sees for me. I usually DVR them, and watch them after Liam goes to bed and when I can fast forward through all of the commercials.

Grey's Anatomy's season finale was intense to say the least. I'm going to watch it again before the season premiere aires.

I love, love, love Private Practice. Sometimes I think I like it more than Grey's just because it's a little more "grown up". And, who doesn't love a show starring Taye Diggs?!?!?
I love that the Army Wives seasons begin as all of the other shows are wrapping up their seasons. It gives me something to look forward to every Sunday night over the summer!

What we've been up to and a Blog Challenge

Get comfy! This is going to be a long one!!!!! Here is what we've been up to in bullet format...

-I started back to school. :( It was so hard leaving Liam the first few days. It seemed harder than it was last year for some reason. I love my class this year. They're very sweet, but really chatty. We're working on that one!!!

-Liam had an appointment with an allergist to find out whether or not he's allergic to peanuts. The scratch test came up negative, but the blood work showed that he has a slight allergy to peanuts. We go back in three months to re-test.

-A few weekends ago my parents and my brother came to Norman and we drove to Okarche to eat at Eischen's. Oh my word! Talk about delicious fried chicken and okra! Totally worth the drive!

-Liam has played...a lot. Sometimes he runs around with this hat on his head. Sweet boy!!!

-Liam has been sick....a lot. He had strep and he was sooooo sick. He had a fever for 4 days and was miserable the entire time. My wonderful mom dropped everything and drove to Norman to watch him for two days. She now has strep. :(

-David started his new job at the U.S. Attorney's Office. Law school is finally paying off!!!!!

Now for the BLOG CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got this idea from my friend, Amanda. I hope it gets me in the habit of blogging more often and it's a great way to learn a few things about one another. Here's the deal.....

For the next 30 days I will blog about the following topics. (I'm sure I will miss a day here and there, but I'm going to do the best I can!) I am starting two days late, so I'm going to play catch up at the end of this post!

Here are the blog topics:

Day 01 — Your favorite song

Day 02 — Your favorite movie

Day 03 — Your favorite television program

Day 04 — Your favorite book

Day 05 — Your favorite quote

Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy

Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 09 — A photo you took

Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago

Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently

Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 13 — A fictional book

Day 14 — A non-fictional book

Day 15 — A fanfic

Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)

Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 19 — A talent of yours

Day 20 — A hobby of yours

Day 21 — A recipe

Day 22 — A website

Day 23 — A YouTube video

Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 25 — Your day, in great detail

Day 26 — Your week, in great detail

Day 27 — This month, in great detail

Day 28 — This year, in great detail

Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 1: Favorite song

For those of you who know me well, I'm sure you could of guessed that my favorite song was a song by Garth Brooks. My favorite song is "The Change". Seriously, read the lyrics below. The song shares a wonderful message.

One hand

Reaches out

And pulls a lost soul from harm

While a thousand more go unspoken for

They say what good have you done

By saving just this one

It's like whispering a prayer

In the fury of a storm

And I hear them saying you'll never change things

And no matter what you do it's still the same thing

But it's not the world that I am changing

I do this so this world will know

That it will not change me

This heart

Still believes

The love and mercy still exist

While all the hatred rage and so many say

That love is all but pointless in madness such as this

It's like trying to stop a fire

With the moisture from a kiss

And I hear them saying you'll never change things

And no matter what you do it's still the same thing

But it's not the world that I am changing

I do this so this world will know

That it will not change me

As long as one heart still holds on

Then hope is never really gone

I hear them saying you'll never change things

And no matter what you do it's still the same thing

But it's not the world that I am changing

I do this so this world we know

Never changes me

What I do is so

This world will know

That it will not change me

As an educator, these lyrics mean a lot to me. Everyday I see children who have horrible home lives. I am so blessed to be able to make a difference in their lives. I don't care if I only reach one child in my entire teaching career. I still made a difference in that one life.

Day 2: Favorite movie

'Nuff said!!!

Teacher Idea Thursday (a day late)

My friend that I graduated college with, Katie, over at Katie Lately, came up with the idea to share creative teacher ideas every Thursday. Well, I'm not very creative, but I wanted to join in on the fun!

When I saw a new teacher hanging curtains on all 5 of her BIG windows I thought she was crazy for spending that much money on her classroom. Until I looked a little further into it and realized she used full sized flat sheets. $6.00 a piece at Wal-Mart and then $2.47 for each tension rods and now I have curtains too! I love them!!! (My school is very old, and we are not blessed with central air, so my classroom gets SO hot. The curtains have helped with that so much!!!)
I also love my attendance wall. Each morning when the students walk in the door, they move their laundry pin off of the red ribbon to the "home" lunch plate or the "school" lunch plate. If a pin remains on the ribbon after the announcements, I know that student is either tardy or absent. This wall makes it so easy for me to do attendance and lunch count!!!
This has nothing to do with Teacher Idea Thursday, but I was looking through the bookshelves in my classroom today and found this book.....(Did you know yesterday was 9-02-10 day?!?!)
Probably not appropriate for 5th graders! Ha!!!! (I get a ton of book donations, so I usually just stick the books on my shelves. Oops!!!)

This also has nothing to do with Teacher Idea Thursday, but these shapey rubber bandy things are about to make me crazy!!! These are the ones I confiscated before 10 this morning!!! My collection grew by the end of the day!