Living the Life...I Think

Today is the last day for me to blog. I have really enjoyed doing it BUT I do not have enough time in my life to blog right now. There were times I was stressed to the max because I would get so far behind. I would get caught up and then get behind again. I love the ability to just let my thoughts flow so freely and see them in print.There were times I would want to write some things but didn't because of who could see my blog. Will I blog again? I will absolutely do it again!!!

As the weather gets nicer, like today, I find myself wanting to go to the lake. I have gone to Grand Lake for as long as I can remember. My grandparents built a cabin (don't be thinking lake house) down there in 1958. My mom and dad now own it. We use to go down every single summer. We would fish, boat ride, swim, and have the most fun possible. Every 4th of July you could find us swimming during the day and shooting of fireworks at night on Grand Lake. Sadly, all good things seem to come to an end or at least slow down. My brother had two boys and with them came travel baseball and now Brody is doing travel ball. It and football took our weekends. The lake is now a rare treat for us. We are lucky to make it down once or twice a year. I miss the lake😢

      Well, tonight was the first night of Little League baseball practice. We had our first travel ball tournament last weekend in Arkansas. Baseball and I have a love/hate relationship. I love watching the game and Brody play it, and I love watching the game and hate watching Brody play it. The minute the game starts I get millions of butterflies in my stomach. This is his eighth year playing so you think it would be no big deal for me. When it comes to Brody and sports, I am a worrier. He can hold his own and stay right up there with the rest of his team but I always worry that he is going to get in a slump and everyone else will shoot way ahead of him in skill and ability. I have no idea why I feel this way.  I can tell you that it is a miserable feeling. I would love to be able to go to the games,  sit back and enjoy them, but instead I sit there and worry with millions of butterflies in my stomach. When the game is over, the butterflies are gone, I hug him...

   1.  Parents that are healthy and still living. The best parents in the world!!! 2.  A husband that loves me and will go to Wal Mart so I NEVER have to go myself💑 3.  My healthy self. It allows me to be active with my family. 4.  A son that is almost to nice. There are not words for how much I love him💕 5.  Friends that become family. My life would be so boring without these ladies.                                                                                                                                                       ...

     Life is so short!!! It seems like not long ago I was young carefree and living life as a high maintenance teenager. Now I am middle aged, with a child, trying to figure out how I got so old so quickly. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and wouldn't trade it for anything. Most of the time I don't really think about it but there are those times that it hits me like a brick wall. For instance, we had a travel baseball tournament this weekend. One of the other mothers was talking about how it was her mother's ?? birthday...she is only 3 years older than me😒. Yep, that's when it hits me that my life is halfway over. Eat the cake, buy the shoes, and take the vacation because life will be over before you know it.

1. I want to open some type of business. I'm not sure if it will be a restaurant or boutique. I think either one would be fun. I can do it in five years...when I retire from teaching😀. 2.  I want to got to Australia and Greece. I think they are both beautiful countries and are very intriguing to me. 3.  I want to live long enough for my grandchildren to actually know me. Having Brody so late in life, makes me worry that I will be to old to be a big part of my grandkid's life. If he waits as long as we did to have kids, I'll be lucky to even meet them😟. 4.  I want to leave some type of mark on the world. I don't know what or how but I want people to remember me.

Most of you think I only have one child but I actually have two children. One just happens to have four legs, fur, and speaks through a different language. About three years ago, my son played the "I hate being any only child" card on my husband and me. Well, another child was out of the question so we did the bet next thing...we got a dog. Edison is half Bichon Frise and half Shih Tzu, which makes him a Shichon or Zuchon. Let me just explain why this dog is such a big deal for us. I AM A CAT PERSON!!! To me cats are just so much easier. They are very independent. They determine when they want love, when they want to play, and when they want to be left alone.  I have NEVER owned a dog and I was quick to learn that a dog was the exact opposite of a cat...

1.  Reading- I love to read anything! Give me books, magazines, and even the newspaper📖. 2.  Shopping- This has become a big problem since internet shopping became such a big deal. A purchase here, there, and everywhere sure do add up💸. 3.  Traveling- I love to go places but I have a problem staying in hotels. I become a germaphobic. I take my towels, blankets, won't walk without shoes, and have been known to Clorox a whole hotel room🏨. 4.  Swimming- I should actually say laying out. Brody swims and I lay out by the pool🏊. 5.  Gardening- I know this is shocking to some of you. I love to weed and plant. It still kind of shocks me that this is something I really like to do💐.

Some people would be depressed because they didn't go anywhere over spring break. I love not going anywhere over spring break. My parents always want to take Brody and I somewhere but I always drag my feet and we never end up going anywhere. The thought of getting up everyday on spring break and taking a shower, putting on makeup, and doing my hair makes me a little queasy. I love getting up, making my coffee, reading the paper, watching the morning shows, loving on Brody as he lays watching television, and then taking my parents lunch. THAT is what I love doing over spring break! Someday, I may want to go to the beach, desert, mountains, or on a cruise for spring break. Right now, I am perfectly happy staying home and doing nothing🏡

1.  I never spent the night away from my parents until I was 16. 2.  When Brody was two weeks old, somebody entered our house and tried to take him. 3.  I have a group of moles on my neck that make the Big Dipper. 4.  I was arrested when I was four years old for stealing mail. 5.  I've won three televisions in my life. 6.  My husband makes me watch his feet when we dance. 7.  My husband tried to give me to Kobe Bryant. 8.  When I started Kindergarten, the bus did not know where to drop me off. I rode around on it for two hours and my mom thought I had been abducted.

Spring Break Goal List: 1.  Change my winter closet to my spring/summer closet. Ugh, I dread doing this chore every year. Maybe we should sell our house and buy one with a bigger closet that will hold ALL my clothes for every season (this will happen)👕👖👗👙👚👞👟👠👡👢. 2.  Clean up the landscape. Leaves, leaves, dead leaves...they need to be raked up and burned. I can't stand the smell of burning leaves but I love me clean landscape with fresh mulch. It means spring, flowers, and just a sense of newness ( this will happen...if it doesn't rain☔). 3.  Sleep, sleep, and more sleep. I love to sleep (this will happen for sure)!!! 4.  Start a diet...(this probably won't happen😏💜🍕🍦🍨🍩🍪🍫🍬🍭) 5.  Watch lots of high school and Brody baseball...if it doesn't rain. 6.  RELAX!!!

Every year I am amazed at how fast the year flies by me. I start every year saying, "There is no way I am going to make it the WHOLE year." Before you judge, let me explain to you why these words come out of my mouth. I become a caregiver to between 20-25 students every year. I am with them from 7:45 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon, 174 days for one year. I learn to tell by the look on their face or by the tone of their voice what emotion they are feeling, I give them funky nicknames, I go to their events outside of school, I have formed relationships and memories with these students, and I love them as if they were my own child. As a class, we become a family💗. When May rolls around, those students leave my classroom and I have an emptiness in me😢. Then comes August with a whole new group of students that are trying to fill the shoes of the ones that have left me. They don't know the rules, they are immature, I can't connect with them, and they are just ...

I'm not going to lie, I never really wanted to be a mom. I had two nephews that I considered my own and was perfectly content living life with them. I was the "FUN" aunt. I can only imagine how much my sister in law hated me😬 I never missed a game, a school performance, or anything else that involved them. Then one day, the youngest nephew was 10 and the oldest was 15,  I decided I was getting old and wanted a child of my own. When I announced to my family that I was pregnant with Brody, I swear the world kind of skidded for a second.  They didn't believe me for about 30 minutes. It was a quick and easy pregnancy. Once I had gone in during my seventh month and told my doctor that I didn't think Bro was moving as much. The doctor did a test and everything came back normal. So, I didn't worry about it and went back to planning for the big day. One week before my delivery date, I went in for a check up, a blood test, and a urine test. I told my doctor that m...

Today is a day that I have nothing but favorites... 1.  Favorite Baseball Team- St. Louis Cardinals⚾⚾ 2.  Favorite Football Team- Dallas Cowboys ( the bad, the good, the ugly, and criminals)🏈 3.  Favorite Destination- The beach...give me sand, surf, and sun🌅🌊🌊 4.  Favorite Outfit- Sweats and a t-shirt...after school and all weekend long😏 5.  Favorite Hobby- Watching Brody B play sports, shopping, and reading. 🏈⚾ 6.  Favorite Holiday- I like them all except Valentine's Day...you should show people every single day that you love them.💕💕 7.  Favorite Food- I like them all and that is a problem🍲😋 8.  Favorite Movie- I love Grease, Footloose, The Fugitive, and Dirty Dancing 9.  Favorite Role Models- My Parents...I love them and who knows how much longer I will have them. 10.  Favorite Grade to teach-5TH GRADERS

When I started this challenge, I promised myself I would not get behind. Well, I think I may be a day or so behind. I'm not sure how bc last night I was a day ahead doing Twitter chat. I was getting so mad bc nobody was liking my tweets. I realized why when Logan Walker messaged me and told me it was the wrong night. Thank goodness I have the ability to laugh at myself. I dislike wishing my life away but I find myself doing it. Wishing for the weekend, wishing for summer, and wishing for Christmas are all like wishing your life away. Life is way to short to wish it away. So, I'm fine with being a little behind...I'm going to look at it as meaning I'm making the most of each day.

 The WCMS fundraiser is always a good time. I  laughed, talked, and spent to much money with fellow workers and friends. The smile was on my face but my heart was a little heavy. A year ago today one of my former students was killed in a freak accident. Spencer Nicodemus was a senior in high school who was getting ready to graduate and take on the world. As people remembered Nico and talked about him, it was amazing at all the lives he had touched. Nico lived a life that was ready to meet God at any time. He lived each day to its fullest and left a mark on this world. He knew no strangers, helped out anybody, and put others ahead of himself.  Life is so short and I want to make sure that when it is my time to meet God I am ready. Even though my heart was a little heavy, I enjoyed tonight and tried to live like Nico.

This week has been a roller coaster. The temperatures, my little angels at school, our daily life at home, and I have all been up and down. I'm not sure if it is the weather or the time of year but I am worn out. As I put my stuff away and begin to get my room ready for the the day, I stop and wonder if this is really what God planned for me. I often joke that I was suppose to live a different life but Kim Kardashian knocked me down, stepped over me, and took it. It would be nice to have an endless amount of money. I could handle having somebody do my hair and makeup every morning. Private jets, fancy cars, designer clothes, and big mansions don't sound that bad to me. As I compare her life to mine, that little green monster starts to take over my mind.   "Good morning, Brownie," my favorite El Salvadorian yells as he enters my room for his daily hug. As I hug Weezy and get him pumped up for his day, gone is that little green monster, and I know this is exactly wha...