You Know You're a Teacher If...

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TEACHER? 

Jeff Foxworthy 

1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.

2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something. (I do love laminating!)

3. You walk into a store and hear the words "It's Ms/Mr. _________" and know you have been spotted.

4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another. (ALL the time!)

5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes.

6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch and prep period.

7. You start saving other people's trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.

8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.

9. You want to slap the next person who says "Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off." (It's NOT an easy job!)

10. You believe chocolate is a food group.

11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside. (SOOO TRUE! Goodness gracious!)

12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."

13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public. 

14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.

15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.

17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items!

18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was a "good choice or a bad choice." (I ask if that was a good choice or bad choice ALL THE TIME.)

19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.

20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer, and finally,

21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents. (Couldn't be more true!)

Thankful

Warning: longest blog ever and a little random

Lots of exciting things have been going on lately! Like...my dress came in!!!!! It came in while I was in Dallas, and I could not wait to get home to try it on. I still love it just as much as I did back in July. :) I also ordered my wedding shoes a few days ago, and they came in today! I love them! I feel like I've been pretty productive on the wedding front lately. I have been working on favors and other little details the past couple of weeks. My mom has been busy making things, too. She is making the ringbearer pillow, my garters, and table runners for the reception. Everything is turning out so cute! Other accomplishments in the past week or two include, bridesmaid dresses and getaway car! Yay! Now we just need a band...any suggestions? Only 192 more days!

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I flew to Dallas to see Kirby. I got there at 11:00, so we went and ate lunch at Maple and Motor. They have the most delicious burgers ever! After that we went to Petco in Plano to look at a dog. Tell me this isn't the cutest face you've ever seen besides Chip's of course.

Kirby spotted Whiskey on a flyer at Schlotzsky's one day while eating lunch and fell in love thought he was a cool dog. He emailed the adoption group, and they told him they were having an adoption day on Saturday, so obviously we had to go meet him. There were probably 20 dogs there that were for adoption, and they were all barking and going crazy every time someone else walked up with a dog, except for Whiskey. We just knew we had to have him! Well, we start talking to the people about adopting him, and they said they had to do a home visit first. Then we told them Kirby lived in an apartment in downtown Dallas (because they asked), and they were not fond of the idea. They said he needed a yard...which is understandable, but come on. We then asked if I could take him since I have a yard, but they said no because they can't do a home visit in Arkansas. :( We were so sad. We thought it was kind of crazy how strict they were about letting people adopt a dog. It's a good thing, so that the dogs will hopefully never have to be homeless again, but just a little frustrating!

After that we were devied, but it was time to go cheer on the Hogs! We went to Hully & Mo's and watched most of the game with Burger and some other Razorback alums that were there. Then we went and met Cory to watch the end of the game. The Hogs played great and beat Mississippi State!

On Sunday night I cooked dinner for Kirby and I. He claimed it was the best chicken spaghetti he's ever had. I got it from The Pioneer Woman, and I have to admit it was pretty time consuming, but worth it!

Kirby has been wanting to see The Rum Diary for quite some time, so we finally went and saw it on Monday. I don't recommend. Johnny Depp was nice to look at though. :)

We were going to cook on Tuesday, but decided not to. Instead we went to Cane Rosso in Deep Ellum. It's a pizza place, and it was really good. It was supposed to be more like real Italian pizza, and you eat it with a fork and a knife, not with your hands. The best part may have been the dessert pizza though. I'll let you take a look for yourself.

It had caramelized apples and some other yumminess, and you could tell it was so fresh!

Wednesday morning we headed back to Arkansas to spend Thanksgiving with Kirby's family. That night we played "Screw Your Neighbor" with his mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law. It was a lot of fun, and we shared a lot of laughs! Sorry for the iPhone photos below...

John and his poker face were hilarious!

Caroline and I looking at a book

Caroline and "Coach" on Thanksgiving Day

We spent Thanksgiving Day at Kirby's cousin's house with all of his family. We ate lots of yummy food and spent some time together playing basketball, football, and Phase 10. I'm so glad I got to go this year!

That night we came back to Fayetteville and visited my parents for a little bit (and I tried on my dress for the first time).

On Friday the Hogs played LSU. This was such a HUGE game for us, so my extremely superstitious fiance insisted on watching the game at Kingfish, the same place we watched it last year when we beat LSU. The Hogs started off doing so good, but then they fell apart. We were very disappointed and left a little early to go eat at Mexico Viejo. We still love our Hogs though! 

Kirby and Max at Kingfish (wearing the same outfits as last year, or in Kirby's case, the same outfit he wears every game)

Saturday we celebrated Thanksgiving with my family. It was great to see all of my family and spend some time with them since we hardly get to see each other. Again, we ate lots of food! My mom is such a good cook! We played "hide and seek," teacher and baby, and mommy and baby with our cousin Audrey. She is too cute!

Where's Brooke??

"1, 2, 3..."

I know I'm a little late, but I have so many things to be thankful for!

My job that allows me to see these kiddos every day

My fiance ;)

My fab friends

My family

My future family

My dog

Those are just a few things that I am so blessed to have in my life! I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! Now it's time to get ready for Christmas!!!

Happy Hump Day!!

Janae

Janae Lately

What a wonderful weekend! Kirby got in town on Friday afternoon, so that night we ate dinner at Mojito's. I just love that place! Steven's Special is the best! It was so busy though. We had to sit in the very, very, very back room (I wasn't even aware it was back there) and use paper takeout menus...ha!

After that we decided to rent a movie from Redbox. There wasn't much of a selection, so with a little begging I talked Kirbs into letting us rent Something Borrowed. I have to say that I liked the book much better. The movie was alright, just a little slow and the acting was subpar. I don't think Kirby was too impressed either. He said he only agreed to watch it because he knew how much football we would have to watch the rest of the weekend. Awww ;)

Saturday morning I got a manicure while Kirby stayed home and watched Gameday. After that I came home and we got ready to run to the mall. We needed to pick out some coordinating outfits for our engagement pictures on Sunday. Actually, I already had my outfits, but I decided to buy another dress that I'd had my eye on for a while. Kirby didn't really care for the shirt I had bought for him (I didn't really care for it either, ha!), so we exchanged it and got out of there.

We headed to campus to tailgate with friends and family before the game. We had lots of yummy food! Chili, chicken and dumplings, soups, and lots of dips and sweet treats! I've got to get better at taking more pics, but these are the few that I have.

Kirby with his niece Caroline

Go Hogs! Beat the Vols!

What a great game! If you look closely by the lights in the middle of the stadium you can see the moon. It was so big and bright, then the next time we looked up it was gone!

Speaking of the moon, I walked into my bathroom one morning and this is what I saw...

The moon was HUGE and shining right in the window. It was actually like this two mornings in a row! So pretty!

Back to the weekend...so, it was an awesome game and the Hogs won 49-7. There were some awesome plays made by our guys (#1 and #2 play of the week on ESPN), and we moved up to #6 in the BCS poll!

After the game Kirby and I went home to get some beauty sleep. Sunday was the big day for engagement pictures! Pictures went really well, and I can't wait to see them. We took some on campus with the beautiful fall leaves and on the square. When we first started it wasn't very sunny, but luckily the wind had calmed down. Later on it was the opposite. I'm hoping we got some good shots though!

Kirby usually heads back to Dallas on Sunday afternoon, but since our pictures were later in the afternoon he stayed last night and left this morning. We cooked steaks, green beans, and twice-baked potatoes for dinner with Brooke and Max.

FOUR MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL UNTIL THANKSGIVING BREAK!!! HALLELUJAH! Then, I'm hopping on a plane Saturday morning to go see Kirbs in Dallas until we head back to Arkansas to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. I got a one-way ticket to Dallas for $40, and then we will ride back together.

That's all I've got for today. Have good night!

Janae

Woo Pig Sooie!

What a big win for the Hogs this weekend! For whatever reason though, we slipped to #8 in the rankings. It makes zero sense to me! But, here are some pictures from several of the games this season. Believe it or not, Kirby does have other red clothing, but he's very superstitious and wears the same red Polo every game.

Tailgating before the first game - Hogs vs Missouri State

Ready to watch the game in Dallas - Hogs at Alabama

Kirby didn't wear his lucky Polo this game and we lost...it's all his fault!

Cowboy Stadium - Hogs vs Texas A & M

We were in the nosebleeds...2 rows from the very top! Ha! Our seats last year were so much better, but it really wasn't as bad as you'd think.

We finally made it down to Lot 56 before the Auburn game to see Whit and her family!

I made cupcakes for the tailgate yesterday. Some were strawberry and some were red velvet both with cream cheese icing. They were delicious! I had another set that said "GO HOGS GO!" Kirby and I didn't take a picture this game for some reason.

In other news, Monday was Halloween. Sadie dressed up and helped me pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters. She was a motorcycle dog with a sidecar. She just loved her costume! Haha! She acted like the sidecar weighed 50 lbs and could hardly walk straight!

Kirby came in town on Thursday for the Razorback game this weekend. That night I cooked a super easy dinner in the crockpot. It was good, too! On Friday, we went to Wasabi with Brooke and Max, Jessica and Craig, and their friend Taos. After that my cousin, Alex, and some of his friends were having a little party at the Garden Room on Dickson. We went for a while, and they had more food and a band playing outside. And, of course, we had to go to Buster's before we went home :) Good times!

I have a busy week ahead, so hopefully I'll have lots to talk about next time. We also have our engagement pictures this weekend! Should be fun!

Have a fantabulous week!

Janae

I Don't Even Wanna Talk About It...

My absence, that is. Ridiculous, I know. But, I'm back for now and that's all that matters, even if it did take me 5 minutes to figure out how to get to my blog.

So, I told you months ago, seriously, like 3 months ago, I would show pics of my owl-themed classroom! Well, here they are! They were taken on my iPhone, so I apologize for the quality. They aren't too bad though!

This is the view when you walk in the door. I LOVE how big my classroom is! It's a huge improvement from last year!

This is another view once you walk in the classroom a little ways.

Our calendar/math board (and ABC chart and pocket chart for phonics) and carpet area. Not sure why I can't get this picture to be centered. Aggravated.

A close up of the calendar and birthday chart. You can also see the little owls on the border!

Another close up. The paisley cutouts are the table helpers for each day.

Calendar board

Number chart

The inside of our classroom door

Word Wall

Classroom library

 Computer center and colors on the wall

This is what I'm using for my classroom management system this year. It works pretty well. If the kids move to yellow, they get to add a "jewel" to their clothespin, and they just love it!

I just love the cute owl signs that I used to label each center.

And, lastly, my new refrigerator! One day our night custodian asked if I wanted a little fridge for my room and I said "Of course!" I thought it was a steal at $10!

So, there's my classroom. I forgot to take a picture of their nameplates on the table and their cubbies. They both have cute little owls on them, too!

Ok, question. Does it take everyone else forever to upload pictures to put on your blog? Is it faster to upload them one at a time instead of all together? Also, I think blogger has changed since I last used it. I don't think I like it. It made everything more difficult. Maybe I just did it wrong...who knows!

I promise I am going to get better at this blogging thing. I have a lot to talk about!

Until next time,

Janae

Busy, Busy!

The past few weeks have been so crazy busy. I started getting my classroom ready for the new school year during the first week of August, and since then I've pretty much been back to the normal routine. Our first day of school was last Monday and so far I have such a sweet class! They like to talk, but they are so funny and cute! Our numbers are low this year in K, so I started out with 14 kids...10 girls, 4 boys. It was HEAVEN I tell you! In the first week I gained 3 more kiddos, but luckily only one was a boy :) Of course I have nothing against boys, but everything is so much more peaceful and quiet this way! So now I have 17 kids, which is amazing compared to the 22 I could have...12 girls and 5 boys. I'll take it!

One day last week I was telling the kids about myself and showed them some pictures of my family, dog, and Kirby. I told them Kirby was my fiance and asked if they knew what that meant. They thought it meant boyfriend, so I said "Well, yes, he is my boyfriend, but we are getting married." Then one little girl with her southern twang said "Your daddy's not gonna be very happy 'bout that!" I laughed and told her he was okay with it :) Gotta love five year olds! I need to start writing down every funny thing they say! My favorite was from last year though when a little girl, A, was talking to a little boy, D. This is how the short conversation went:
A: D, are you black?
D: No, I'm brown, but you can call me black if you want.
So sweet! Not to mention, D was my absolute fav! I was so sad when he moved.

Another funny from last year:
J: I saw a picture of you.
Me: Oh, you did?
J: Yeah, it's you and a boy.
Me: A boy?
J: Yeah, on your desk! You and Mr. Neal!
Me: Mr. Neal? Is that his name?
J: Well, Mrs. G.'s husband's name is Mr. G., so he's Mr. Neal!
Haha, loved this kid too!

My owl classroom turned out super cute! I meant to take some pictures and post them, but I forgot. I'll try to do that tomorrow. At least take the pictures anyways. I may not post, sorry!

This past weekend was one of my besties' weddings! Kara married the love of her life on Saturday, and it was a beautiful wedding! Kara worked so hard on all of her decorations, and it looked awesome! I am definitely going to consult her for some wedding advice and help. She said I just have to give her a month off from her own :) I was going to upload some pictures, but for some reason they aren't working. Guess that will have to wait till next time too. And I promise next time won't be a month from now!

My wedding planning is going pretty well. On Sunday my mom, sister, and I went to the NWA Bridal Fair to get some ideas. I didn't really get any ideas besides even more photographers to choose from and some cake! Harp's and Rick's were both there...yummy! I feel like everything is coming along and I'm making some big decisions. I think I've finally decided on a photographer, and we are meeting with them tomorrow. We have our venues, florist, caterer, and menu figured out and booked! I feel like we are making more progress, and it's getting exciting! 289 more days to go!!!!

Talk to ya soon,
Janae

Weekly Randoms

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I actually posted last week, but for some reason it disappeared. I didn't feel like retyping the whole thing, so I just said forget it! Today I have a few pictures to share from the past couple of weeks.

• Cloudy day in Dallas-the only one I saw and it was still plenty hot!

• Kirby and I before going on our date to Toulouse

• Last Sunday we went to the lake with my aunt and uncle. They are so generous to let us come out to their lakehouse and take us out on their boat! We did a little tubing, saw two bald eagles, and enjoyed the sunshine! A storm moved in for a little while, so we sat on the dock until it passed. That evening we went to JJ's On the Lake for dinner. It was delicious!

• While driving home from the lake we saw these six deer standing in a field. We slowed down to look at them and as each one lifted its head, we saw that they were all big bucks! We thought it was pretty neat since you don't typically see a group of bucks together like that.

• This little guy has been staying with me since I've been home. I've missed him so much! Chip normally lives with my parents because I feel terrible leaving him home alone all day when I'm working. I'm sad to say that our days/nights are coming to an end as I have to go back to school next week. Summer has gone by way too fast!

• Chip loves Kara's blog at Facts of Kara's Life. He especially likes when she posts pictures of Nala and Baxter :)

• He loves to lay on the bench in the dining room. If I can't find him he is usually here or in one of the chairs...or under a bed licking the floor. Does anyone else's dog do that? He is obsessed with licking the floor! He knows he's not supposed to, so he hides under the bed, haha! Usually, I can see his little tail sticking out though...not so sneaky, Chipperoo!

Like I said earlier, I CANNOT believe summer is practically over. I am not really looking forward to going back to school, but then again I kinda am. I am getting excited about meeting my new group of kiddos and getting back into a routine except for waking up early. The thing I am the most excited about is my new classroom decor. Check it out...

OWLS! 

I think this is just the cutest thing I have ever seen! Now let's just hope it comes in in time. I saw it online at a teacher store in Dallas, so one day I went to get it and they didn't have it. They didn't even know what I was talking about when I asked about owl stuff. Apparently you can order it, but not get it at the store. Talk about depressed. Needless to say, I had to have it so I ordered it online about two weeks ago, but it's still not here. I'm also going to have to get some others borders to go with my owls. I'm thinking some paisley and polka dots. I'll show you pics when it's all put together!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Janae