The Love of Teaching

So much has happened since I have last posted.  Life got quite busy and I missed posting about a lot, I'm sure, but I just needed to take a time out.  So, here is finally a post to keep you up-to-date with some of the goings on in my life.

One of the biggest changes lately is that I started a "big girl" job as a full time preschool assistant teacher. I was beyond excited to start this job! After spending four ears getting my bachelor's in Deaf Education, then deciding that was now where I wanted to be, I began pursuing my degree in Early Childhood Education.  I realized that I did not want to spend the next almost three years working part time and going to school full time. I wanted to start teaching.

That's when a door was opened to me by my boss. At work they were needing to fill a position for an assistant preschool teacher and my boss let me know of an online master's program that led to teacher certification. After much research, praying, and discussion it was decided that I would begin this online program and start working full time.

Now, this boring story leads me to what I really want to talk about.  The love of teaching.  I do not work in an easy classroom, to say the least. These kids have improved so much in their behavior since before Christmas, and for that I am thankful and proud, but they still have a long way to go.

Today I left work frustrated and disappointed.  We had a bit of a rough afternoon.  I got yelled at.  Kids made angry faces at me when they got caught "breaking classroom rules."  Kids went a little wild.  Here's the crazy thing. I'm still excited to go back tomorrow.

I think one of my favorite times of the work day is first thing when I walk in the door. I have 14 wonderful, smiling faces greet me.  Several run to give big hugs.  This morning a little sweet smile looked up at me and said, "I missed you!" It's like the craziness of the day before never happened.  The slate was wiped clean.  Today is a new day, a new chance.

Not only do I love the hugs and sweet words, but I love seeing these children grow.  Some of these children I have known since they were less than 2 years old! Now to see them as 4 year old children is just amazing.  I love seeing a child finally use their scissor successfully or figure out how to write the letter "J." I love hearing a child tell their mom, "But mom, chocolate is bad for your teeth! You can get cavities" meaning they actually paid attention during our circle time discussion.

Sure, these kids push my buttons.  Sure, I am exhausted when I leave work.  People tell me that I am brave for working with this age group.  That might very well be. But there is no job and no place I would rather be than in a classroom with these crazy kiddos. Although I would not mind having more fun days than rough days *wink.*

It's Been A While...

So, it has been a while since I have posted on here.

Life has just gotten the best of me lately.  Plus, after writing about 15 papers for classes the past couple of weeks, I just haven't felt the urge to blog.

I had planned on writing an awesome blog post once a week in November talking about different things I am thankful for, but that just did not happen. So, since it is the week after Thanksgiving, I will write a little bit about the things I am thankful for now.

First, I am thankful for God. I truly have begun to form a relationship with him the past year and am so much happier because of it.  I know I have someone solid to lean upon when times get hard or when I am upset.  I have someone to talk to during happy times and sad times.  As I look around, I can see his work in my life and the world around me.

Second, I am thankful for my husband.  He is an amazing man and I cannot stress that enough.  I know that not many guys would get up and go empty the dishwasher, wash all the dirty dishes, clean the counters, and take out the trash.  That is  just one of the thoughtful things he has done for me the past week.  He is a hard worker, trusting leader, and full of love and giving that he shares with everyone around him.  I am so lucky to call him mine.

Third, I am thankful for my family.  As a child, I was not that close to my siblings.  Now that I am older we are becoming closer and it makes me so happy.  I loved getting to spend such a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family this year!

Fourth, I am thankful for my wonderful In-Laws. I know it is not always the case that people get fully accepted into their spouse's family, but I have been.  I have been welcomed with open arms and truly feel like a part of the family. They go out of their way to include me and make me feel comfortable.  My mother-in-law is such a wonderful woman and even though we cannot communicate with each other well, I feel like we are growing closer every time we visit.

Fifth, I am thankful for my best friends.  There was a time in my life where I was consumed with school and did not make my friends my priorities.  I have now realized that was a mistake and regret not investing in our friendships then.  Now, we are all spending more time together and have grown closer.  I am so happy and thankful for their friendships. (You know who you are.)

Lastly, I am thankful for all of my other blessings.  Things such as a wonderful work including the environment and coworkers, the ability to go to school, the ability to live in a nice home, my dog, good neighbors, my health and my family's health, and so on and so on...

I am a lucky person with so much to be thankful for in my life.

I would like to say a big thank you to all of my family and friends for being there for me through everything.  You are all fantastic and I love you!

Now, some pictures from Thanksgiving!

Family Photo!!

Sisters and Niece :)

My love and I.

Three of my nephews and one of my nieces. 

3 months down!

So, I realized my blog is titled "Me and Mr. C," yet I have not posted about my Mr. in a while. I think it is about time I write a post about him, since he is part of the title of this blog.

Paul and I just 'celebrated'  our 3 month anniversary! We did not really celebrate... On our way home from church I asked him, "Is today the 9th?" He said, "Yup, why?"  Then I said, "It's our anniversary then. Happy 3 months!"  And that was the end of it. Now, I know that you might be thinking, "# months. Big deal..." But let me tell you, the first few months of marriage can be rough! Once you're over the 'honeymoon' period, there can be a lot of adjusting going on.

Now, Paul and I were lucky enough to have known each other for 6 years before we got married.  This means that I knew a few of his quirks and habits already.  Things like how he doesn't always clean up after he makes food (I will admit, I'm guilty of this too sometimes...), the fact that he snores, or that he is a night owl and I am an early bird. Even though I knew a lot of his quirks and he knew a lot of mine, being married just changes things on some level. Your relationship with each other completely changes.

Marriage is really hard. It is probably one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life so far, but it has also been the best! Even though he does have some 'quirks' (like we all do) I love my husband just the way he is. He is truly my best friend and I cannot imagine doing life with anyone else! He is kind, supportive, thoughtful, generous, and hard working.

Our normal smile picture...

(These are pre-pixie cut days.)

Our silly face picture. Paul would make a great 'evil' person in a movie.  

He can move his eye brows really well. Haha.

(Paul doesn't like silly picture much, but I'm changing his ways.)

Recipe: Banana Bread

Overall, I would have to say I enjoy cooking.  I'm not a huge fan of cooking things that take more than 30 minutes or use tons of pots, pans, and dishes to make. I enjoy the kind of cooking where you can throw everything together quickly, pop them in the oven, crock pot, or leave them on the stove and kind of forget about them for a while.

I think this is why I truly enjoy baking.  Usually you can throw the ingredients into a bowl, mix it up, put them in the oven and take them out when the timer goes off.  One of my MOST favorite things to bake is banana bread.

I love banana bread and have fond memories of my mom making it when I was a child.  I loved that I got to have it for breakfast. It was the BEST! When I went off to college and was living in my very own, first apartment I had a hankering for some banana bread so I got on the internet and search for a recipe.

Bad plan.

Even though the recipe's title was "Delicious Banana Bread" (or something along those lines), it was not very good. It was not as moist or as flavorful as my mom's recipe is. So, what did I do next? Took pictures of my mom's recipe and saved them on my phone so I could make the BEST banana bread whenever I want.

My favorite thing about this recipe, is when you are searching for it in her cook book it is easily found because the page is extremely worn and stained from being used so much.  It shows how much my mom has made it throughout her lifetime.

So, I wanted to share this recipe with whomever reads this blog, because it is so good.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons salad oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup ripe mashed bananas (2-3 medium bananas)
Optional:
1 cup nuts

My mom also likes to add chocolate chips. However, I am not a huge chocolate fan so I omit those. But, I know many others love chocolate chips, so add those to your hearts desire!

* Tip: A tip from my mom. When you are adding the bananas keep them in the peel and mush them up before taking them out. Then you can just take an end off the banana and squeeze them out and they will be mashed already.

Instructions;
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan (or mini loaf pans. I love my mini loaf pans!)

Measure all ingredients into a large mixing bowl; beat on medium for 1/2 minute (or by hand until everything is combined if your me and are too lazy to get out your hand mixer)
Make sure the sides and bottom get thoroughly combined.

Pour into pan(s).

Bake 55-5 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean. (No sticky dough residue on the tooth pick.) This is an important step because I have under baked banana bread before.

Remove from the pan and enjoy!!

Baking ( A little over half done, I'd say.) See my mini loaf pans!? So great for sharing with neighbors, friends, or coworkers!

Mmmm! Done! It looks SO GOOD! Makes me want some now. 

(These pictures were from a few weeks ago.)

One crazy week!

So last week was a bit busy, to say the least.

Between classes and work I was one tired girl.

I had work training, practicum hours, a field trip at work, working the for Wednesday night at the church, and more work training.

Out of all of these things, the field trip to the pumpkin patch was the most exhausting, but fun. It is EXTREMELY stressful taking about 15 3-5 year olds on a field trip. Thank goodness everything went well and everyone had a great time!

This weekend was filled with time spent with good friends.

Friday, I spent a fun evening with my best buddy, Farren.  Then her and her hubs and me and my hubs went out for Halloween.  We did not dress up, but I kinda wished we had. It would have been fun and we would have fit in more.

Saturday was a lazy day filled with sleeping in, light cleaning, cookie making, and then a pizza and movie night with the Morris's. I am so grateful for wonderful friends!

We got to spend Sunday afternoon and evening with my parents, which was awesome. We haven't been down to see them in a long time and they will be travelling soon. It was good to see them since the next time we will be seeing them is Thanksgiving!

Paul and I both agree that we need a weekend with just us.  We have realized that being extroverted is exhausting and we have been doing a lot of that lately.

With hunting season coming up, I don't know when the next weekend we will be able to spend just the two of us (and our dog), but I can't wait until we do!

I'm grateful for my wonderful husband, great friends, and that this week is going to be much less busy than the last (knocks on wood).

Halloween fun

My friend, Farren, invited me to go to the mall with her last Friday evening. I thought this sounded like an awesome plan! As she was coming to pick me up, she called me.  She forgot that she had agreed to go to a corn maze with her husband and some friends, but she wanted me to come with them.

Now, I am an introvert, and proud of it.  I have been doing a lot of extroverting the past couple of weeks and let me tell you, it's exhausting. I wanted to say "No, I'll just stay home, read, and watch Mad Men." But I didn't. I agreed.  (Side note: Mad Men did not interest me at first, but after watching 4 seasons, I'm hooked.  It's a pretty good show, however, it is filled with a lot of "adult subjects."  The show may not be for everyone.)

She told me it wasn't a scary one, so I thought, "What's the harm?"

We carpooled with one of their friends and as we were driving there I hear Dayton, her husband say, "I'm going to be so scared tonight."

I looked over at Farren and yelled, "You liar!"  I am a big chicken and HATE anything scary.  I refuse to watch scary movies or go to haunted houses.

Well, I was committed because the (haunted) corn maze was an hour away and we were already almost there.

I was extremely anxious to start this corn maze.  But, after the first 20 or 30 minutes, I realized it wasn't so bad.  Just people in masks that jump out of the corn at you.  We had a pretty big group and I stationed myself in the group so I was the least likely to be the one who encountered the 'haunters' first.

In the end, I had a fun time and met a bunch of new people.

Sometimes it is good to do things that you wouldn't normally do- especially if it scares you.

I felt very accomplished because I faced my fears.

The next day the Mr. and I made our way to his mother's house. My parents were gracious enough to drive to Springfield to pick up our dog to dog sit for the weekend.  His mother doesn't allow indoor animals and CC wouldn't fare well outside all weekend long.

While in Sedalia, we not only spent time with his mom, but we went to our friend's family's Halloween party.  This party includes friends, family, food, hayride and haunted house.

After the haunted corn maze, I skipped going through their haunted house.  One scary thing per week is my new rule.

I love this Halloween party.  Paul and I have been going to this family event since we started dating, so going always reminds me of fun memories that we share.

Halloween is a fun part of fall, but for Paul there is something more important that happens in the fall.

Hunting.

This man loves hunting.  He gets so excited when he talks about it and works out his strategies of where he plans to put his camera and set up his deer stands. To me it sounds like the Charlie Brown teacher, "Waa waa, waa waa, waa waa..." But I just love seeing his passion show through.  I love hunting because I know it makes him happy, but I don't think I will ever join him.

While in Sedalia we went on a little walk to go check his camera. While out in the fields, I played with my, I mean our, new camera.  I got some pretty cool pictures. At least I think they are cool.  I enjoyed figuring out more about my, I mean our, camera for future use. I also got to take some pictures of the animals Paul's camera caught.

I had a wonderful weekend full of extroverting.  Now, I am glad for a few nights to spend by myself, being an introvert with a book and Netflix.

3 does

Turkey

A Coyote.

And a buck.  Paul was as giddy as a 6 year old on 

Christmas morning after seeing this on his camera.

I walked not even a foot into some brush to get a picture of the flower below.

I got covered in stick-tights (is that how they are spelled?). 

You can see all of the little dots on my leggings.

I think the picture was worth it, though. I think it is pretty cool.

Can you see my little spider friend on the flower? It's on one of the petals.

I was playing with close up stuff and focusing the camera.

I love how you can see all of the details on the dandelion. 

Finding the happy.

This week seemed to start off like any other week. 

Work. Class. Homework.

Then Tuesday night happened.

I found my passenger car window shattered.

No clue how it happened.

My first thought was, "This is JUST what we needed this month. Vet bill, eye doctor bill, and paying for a new car window."

I woke up this morning in a pretty bad mood. 

I was being very short tempered and was thinking a bunch of extremely negative thoughts.

"Well now we won't be able to go do fun things for a few weeks."

"Why is it when it rains, it pours??"

(These are just a small sample of what has been running through my mind this morning.)

Then, my dad offered to help us out if we needed it.

And then, on instagram, someone posted a picture of a saying. 

"There is always something to be happy about."

I really needed that this morning.  I began thinking,well, at least I still have a running car. I have a supportive family that are extremely gracious and would never let me get into bad financial troubles. I have a wonderful husband who came to my rescue last night after I found my window.(It happened in a shopping center at like 10 at night.) I thought about how thankful I was that my window had tint on it so that the window didn't completely shatter into my car. I thought about how both Paul and I have jobs that allow us to pick up extra hours of work if we so choose, so that we can make extra money to cover unexpected bills, such as this.

In the end, I realized that this is not the worst thing to happen.  Sometimes some not so awesome things happen to us to help keep us mindful of the all the good things in our lives.