Top Ten Signs You Need Winter Break NOW.

Sadly, all of the following things have happened to me in the last two weeks--HOW MANY HOURS LEFT?!?!

^Oh don't worry, we are still teaching full-steam here up until the last minute.

Meanwhile, I am quietly losing my mind...

1. You asleep through your alarm by two hours, only waking up when a co-worker texts you to ask where you are and if you are okay.

2. Mid-math lesson, you realize that students need volume 2 of their math journals.  You search the room, co-workers' rooms, and even check in the library, only to find them later that day in the first cabinet you checked earlier.

3. You find yourself peeking into teachers' classrooms mid-afternoon to just check what they're doing with their classes because you are out of ideas.

4. You laugh hysterically when support teachers ask what books you will be using for guided reading groups when we come back in January.  January??  HAH!  I don't even know what I'm doing 5 minutes from now!

5. You spend less and less time on planning and grading after school each day, and more and more time snacking in the teachers lounge.

6. You roam the school for twenty minutes in the morning searching for someone who you can bum a K-Cup off of for the school Keurig because you forgot your coffee and literally cannot imagine facing the day without it.

7. You wake up on the coldest morning of the year to a dead car battery...

8. Math homework starts to consist of "flash cards" every night instead of an activity because you have lost the will to find and copy meaningful homework practice.

9. Your desk begins to more and more closely resemble a pile of rubble and you start shoving the student gifts that start tricking in in random cabinets throughout the room rather than organize them.

10. You are not only dreaming of school, but are talking about it in your sleep.  (I was apparently talking about Helen Keller in my sleep recently after reading about her with my kids. Kill me.)

What signs and symptoms of needing winter break have you been experiencing lately?

Three Things Thursday: School's Out For Summer Edition

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a beautiful infinity scarf from Sprigs!  


1. School is OVER.  I packed my boxes, purged all of the unnecessary books and files, and said goodbye to my coworkers and students.  When I told my students that I was moving schools, I surprised myself by getting choked up.  I was definitely not expecting that!  I am SO ready to leave...but the truth is, I am attached to this group and will definitely miss them next year!

I was inspired by a similar picture on pinterest and had to recreate it with my own class.  I love the diversity you can see in this picture!  I seriously love these kids.  Might have to print and frame this one... :)

On the last day of school, I like to have the kids spend a few minutes reflecting on the year and writing me a letter.  I ask them to include something they liked this year, something they were proud of, etc.  Many are rushed because it's the last day and the kiddos are ready to be DONE, but there are always a few in the bunch that make me really remember why I do this...Highlights from this year...

Love the "your student/friend" signature :)

Love.

2. I spent the day with my new team doing some initial planning yesterday!  We had a great meeting and did some general curriculum mapping for science, social studies, and writing.  Literacy is pretty much mapped out for us (as is math), so we have a skeletal structure for our curriculum already!  And on the first day of summer too. :)  Speaking of being unable to turn my school brain off, I am already brainstorming my room layout and decor for next year!  In comparison to my current room, my new room is TINY.  Yikes!  That will be an adjustment for sure!  I will just have to be my super organized self and arrange/unpack carefully!  Right now I'm planning on ditching my teacher's desk for something much smaller from IKEA.  It will mean spending my own $$, but will save me SO much space!  And, as I learned in my packing/moving process, that desk was a magnet for JUNK.  There was stuff in the back of those deep drawers that I shoved out of sight during the first weeks of my first year! Maybe this little guy...

Also, in the spirit of making next year POSITIVE and HAPPY (as opposed to the nightmare of this year), I think I may ditch my sports theme and go with a classroom decor in pretty, calming teal blue with black and polka dot accents.  Why?  Because I love teal blue and black and polka dots.  They are pretty.  They will make me happy.  Happy Teacher = Happy Students.  :)  I'm bringing home a little bookshelf and my "teacher stool" to give teal and black makeovers to this summer!  I also hope to recover file cabinets in contact paper to give them a little face lift too and hopefully make some sheer curtains for the windows.  Is it sad that summer just started and I already am dreaming about my new room?  Can you tell I'm excited for a fresh start next year???

3. On a final note, we are T minus 3 days away from my TRIATHLON!  AHHHH!!!!   The good news is that I had a brick workout Sunday that was pretty near the distances I'll be taking on in the tri, and I survived.  Plus I did another open water swim at the same lake as last week, and it went great!  I finished in pretty speedy time (for me)!  The bad news is that my calves have been cramping up this week.  I haven't had calf issues in over a year!  Where is this coming from???  I suspect biking...time to roll out big time and pull on my compression sleeves...I'm going to do one more short bike/run workout this evening to stay loose, then it's 2 rest days followed by the race!  Woohoo!

Dos & Don'ts for a Wonderful Winter Break

1. DON'T open that bag of school work, at least until the last hours of break.

2. DO let yourself get caught up in a pretty great book.  Feel free to ignore anything and anyone that has the audacity to try to interrupt your reading.

LOVED this book! (source)

3. DON'T think about the calories.  

4. DO take on a craft project...

(Finally attempting to fill some of the white walls in my apartment!)

 5. DON'T be afraid to skip a workout or two in favor of things like shopping, family time, or just laying around on the couch watching Mad Men..

source

6. DO still make time for running, even in cold, winds, or on Christmas morning.

Bundle up!

7. DON'T feel obligated to change out of your pajamas at a reasonable hour.  (Let's be real, I was in mine until 2 today...)

8. DO surprise yourself.  Like I did today by running what I'd planed to be an easy 3 miles in under 30 minutes, a personal record for me!

9. DON'T take down your Christmas tree too early. 

(Even if it's miniature and undecorated like mine!)

10. DO watch plenty of Christmas movies, preferably childhood favorites. 

Can't beat original Disney Christmas cartoons...

11. DO indulge.

 12.  DO spend every waking minute that you aren't on the couch watching Mad Men with friends and family.

Yes, our scarves are all tied the same way...we may have just looked at a Pin to learn a new way of tying them...I know, we are the coolest...

What are your Dos and Don'ts for Winter Break? (Or just for the holiday season if you don't get a winter break!)

Hi, Winter Break...I've missed you. :)

First, a moment of silence for all of the poor teachers and students who have another day of school tomorrow... You have my deepest sympathies.  Thankfully, we ended school Friday.  (And not a moment too soon!)  After my 6 mile run Saturday morning, I proceeded to spend pretty much the rest of the weekend laying on the couch and eating cookies.  You know, to make up for the physical activity. :)  But seriously, yesterday one of the girls from my book club hosted a crazy awesome cookie party with her sisters.  You may have been to a cookie party before, but this was no ordinary run of the mill cookie party...not only was there a theme and craft tables, but it had a cookie contest!  Guests sampled each cookie and voted for their favorites.  This was no easy feat!

(And this was only the beginning...)

Our other book club member and I tried to taste all of the cookies, but half-way through I was about ready to curl up on the couch and fall into a sugar coma!  We managed to push through, though, all in the name of Christmas and cookies!

My black bottom cupcakes didn't win a prize, but Book Club Friend's butterscotch "Woosie" bars did!  YUM!  You'd think I'd be all cookied out after that day, but today my mom and I baked even more cookies...I have no pictures because we were way too hard core to be bothered with documenting the baking process...I think we prepared 6 different doughs, although we only baked 3 today...after finishing those, we were both ready for a break and a nap!

Don't worry, a midst the cookie madness I did manage to squeeze in a workout.  My dad came over last week and set my road bike up on an indoor bike trainer so I can ride indoors this winter.  (In other words, if I am too lazy to drag myself to the gym AND too lazy to drag myself down to the fitness center in my complex that is mere steps from the lobby of my building, I really and truly have no excuse for working out this winter.)  We had the trainer set up at my parents' last year in the back of my dad's basement work room, and riding it back there was more boring than watching paint dry...At least at my apartment there's really no other place to put the bike but smack in the middle of my living/dining room, which means I can watch tv or CHRISTMAS MOVIES!  It's still boring, but much more tolerable.

^That little upside down bin is a make shift step stool because I can't get on my bike without tilting it...

CHRISTMAS MOVIES!

What's your favorite Christmas cookie?  My favorites are peppermint candy cane cookies and ice box cookies.  YUM!

Favorite Christmas movie? Tough one!  Well, I will always adore Mickey's Christmas Carol...my mom and I were talking this morning about how when I was little I always used to quote the line from Daisy and Donald, " 'My eyes are closed, my lips are puckered, and I'm standing under the mistletoe!' 'You're also standing on my foot!' "  So great. :)  Also love Love Actually, Santa Clause & Santa Clause 2 (NOT 3...), Home Alone, and of course A Christmas Story!

Favorite indoor cross-training?  LOVE swimming and yoga!  But I have to admit, this whole bike-without-leaving-the-apartment thing has its perks...

Back at It!

The sun is not yet up.  It's 6:01 and I'm up, showered, dressed, and fed.  Lunch is made, bags are packed.  It's a freakin miracle.  I woke up about 10 times last night, most likely resulting from a combination of extreme thirst (that's what salty food and beer will do to you I guess!) and a stream of unsettling nightmares about school, which I will not even begin to relive here.  So far this morning I pinched my knuckle in my excruciatingly hot flat iron, resulting in a pink, puffy burn.  The morning is not off to the best start, but at least I am getting out of the house early enough to both hit up Starbucks and make it to the copier before the masses return!

Are you SURE I have to go to school tomorrow???

This day did NOT start well.  I dragged myself out of bed this morning (after I literally pried New Moon out of my hands...yes, I just finished reading the Twilight series for the first time mere weeks ago, and I already felt the need to dive into them again...), got dressed in my running clothes, and headed to the gym for my Sunday long run.  Today's run was SUPPOSED to be 6 miles.  But, WONDERFULLY, my tibia injury has decided to resurface this week...I think it's something to do with the yoga class I went to Monday.  Too much balancing my weight on one leg I guess!  oops.  :(  As I have said many times over the past few months, I am SO over this stress-fracture nonsense.  But this morning, on my way to the gym, I promised myself that if it hurt me today, I was NOT going to push it.  The last thing I want going into the new year is to completely negate the past 5 months of healing time!  So the 6 mile run became a 1 mile slow walk, thanks to my screaming tibia.  I'm a little (a lot) bummed that this has come up yet again, but here's hoping that a couple more days of rest will solve the problem...

After all that, I still went with
an old favorite with dinner :)

While the day started with me in a crabby-pants mood, it did not end that way!  Some friends and I decided to take a trip to the Goose Island Brewery for a tour & tasting, home of my absolute favorite brew, 312!  While it's a teeny-tiny brewing location, it was still cool to see where the magic happens!  We also got to sample six different beers, three of which I liked, and three of which I did NOT like--I swear, one of them had a MEAT flavor, though my fellow tasters insisted it was just a smokiness and my vegetarian palate just doesn't remember what meat tastes like.  We ended our night with a yummy dinner of pub food at the brewery before heading home.  What a wonderful end to a wonderful winter beak.


I literally am in denial that I have school tomorrow.  Seriously.  Do I really have to get up before dawn?  Can't I just take another week off?  I am excited to see my kiddos again and get back into a routine, but the looming ISAT tests do dampen the mood somewhat.  I have a new student coming tomorrow, so let's hope she's a keeper! ;)  Good luck back to school this week!

Winter Wonders, cont.

Wonderful Moments from the Past Few Days

• A much needed haircut
• An outside run (well, run/obstacle course/adventure...nothing like running dodging icy patches!)
• Christmas Eve mass
• Celebrating Christmas with my family
• An afternoon of family board games
• Yoga
• Finishing a good book

NOT wonderful was my Sunday long run.  Somehow I had the brilliant idea to eat a bowl of HEARTY lentil soup 2 hours before the run...you'd think that would be enough time to digest, but you would be wrong.  There is NOTHING like running on the treadmill contemplating throwing up in your towel, I tell ya...but I made it through and everything stayed in my tummy.  

Am thinking about heading into school tomorrow to start getting my act together...but maybe not...can't seem to find motivation to open my school bag either... ;)

Yummy food and a Blackhawks win = Wonderful Wednesday

During the school year, Wednesdays are a LONG day for me.  I have staff development after school, then rush straight to my autism therapy job.  When I get home, I am exhausted.  Today was an equally packed Wednesday--but a wonderful one nonetheless!

Wonderful Highlights:

1. Lunch with my special teacher friend Miss R and our wonderful friend Mrs. H!  We absolutely gorged ourselves on delicious food and cupcakes at a favorite cafe.

2. Gathering with family and friends to watch a Blackhawks game!  Hockey is the ONLY sport that can hold my interest, and definitely the only sport I understand the rules to.  Definitely a wonderful part of the day.  :)

I'm wondering just how long I can get away with neglecting my grading pile...hmmm...at least this week, right?

Confessions

Confession #1: I'll admit it...I went into school today.  :(  I guess I really can't stay away from that place for too long!

My lonely car in the snowy parking lot...

Confession #2: I actually LOVE going into school on days off.  Wait, let me explain before you form judgments...I do NOT love spending time at school during breaks, but I love how quiet it is when I do go in.  I can sit and file in peace, I am not at all rushed or having to watch the clock, I don't have to worry about hogging the copier or waiting in line...I can simply get me work done peacefully and head out when I feel like it!  

This afternoon I just stopped in briefly.  Mostly, I needed to pick up my class fish, Fighty, and save him from impending death by starvation.  While there, I inevitable found other things to occupy my time!  I purposely didn't bring my grading or computer, because then I'd really settle in for the long haul!  Today I just hung up some more ISAT signs on the ever-growing clothes line (pictures to come), filed transparencies and handouts from the past two weeks, and started copying ISAT reading practice passages.  GROSS.  It's that time of year, though!  And I know I will greatly appreciate having taken the time to copy them now when we are back in the thick of things in 2 weeks!  I will probably go in again once or twice next week to move desks, continue copying, and do my plans for the next week or so. Plenty of time still, though!!

Confession #3: While at school, I gathered all of the leftover candy that had been brought for the Holiday Party and put it in the candy rewards jar.  But not before I picked out all of the mini dark chocolate candy bars and put them in MY personal candy stash....*evil laugh*  That's totally ethical, right?

Yum.

Of course, I made time for some wonderful things today!  The best part was definitely hanging out lazily with my brother at the gym today.  My brother lives in Florida with his wife, and the two of them are visiting for the holiday.  I brought them both to the gym with me as guests today, and after my brother and I finished working out (his wife is WAY more hard-core than us!!), we decided to reward ourselves with an HOUR of lounging in the club hot tub and chatting.  It was wonderful to spend some time just the two of us, and SO unbelievably relaxing!!  At one point I noticed that the sign by the hot tub warned against spending more than five minutes in the tub...oops!  Oh well!

Wonderful.

A lot of people have asked me recently what I'm doing over winter break.  My response is usually a blank stare.  What am I doing?  RELAXING, duh!!!  No, I'm not traveling somewhere warm and exotic.  I have no exciting plans to visit far-away family.  My goals are very simple.  First, relax.  Second, catch up on school work.  And third, and perhaps most important, do something wonderful every single day.

What kinds of things might those be?  Let me illustrate:

Friday:  My wonderful thing was catching up with my two best friends/roommates from college.  No, we didn't do anything fabulous.  Just went out for drinks and conversation.  But it was wonderful to see them both!

Saturday:  Saturday's wonderful things included staying in bed until noon--unfortunately I was awake at 7:45, but I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the lazy time to read, watch a movie on my laptop, and catch up on reading some blogs--simply bliss.  Another wonderful part of the day was enjoying a 45 minute swim (my first time in the pool after a LONG hiatus!  I forgot how much I adore swimming!), and some evening shopping.

Sunday: Wonderful moments included a cookie exchange party (YUM--nothing says winter break like a midday cookie meal!!!) and a FABULOUS nighttime long run.

Monday: Today was simply wonderful.  Featured on the wonderful menu were manis and pedis with the wonderful Miss R and a relaxing evening yoga class.

My toes mostly look dry and icky in this picture, but I promise that they are FAR more wonderful now than they were pre-pedicure!  Thank you, wonderful manicurist!

Winter break always FLIES by.  I am determined to savor every moment this year.  Yes, there will be some school work (mostly because a wonderful gift to myself will be having everything ready to go when we get back to school!), but there will be lots of NON-SCHOOL WORK happening too. :)

What wonderful things do you have planned this winter?

Oh hi, week before winter break...BTW, you suck.

Sorry, but it's true.  Week-before-winter-break is WORSE than his little brother, two-days-before-thanksgiving-break, EQUALLY as ferocious as his half-sister week-before-spring-break, and NOT QUITE as god-awful as the mother of them all, last-week-of-school.

By all that I mean, breaks make kids LOSE IT.  Now, you might think this just means they are crazy/chatty/goofy/can't sit still for their lives...but you would be wrong.  It means all that...and MORE.  When breaks creep up, kids (through no fault of their own) lose EVERY ounce of self-control.  In every way. Case in point, my day from HELL:

Let me illustrate with some math...

Number of kids brought to tears today: 4 (see, I told you they lose it)

Number of referrals I had written before the morning bell: 2

Number of referrals I wrote later in the day: 3

Number of lunch detentions: 2

Number of kids held after school: 2

Number of those kids who decided they were going to run away through the school when kept after: 1

Number of minutes spent searching the school: 15

Number of houses the assistant principal walked to in an attempt to track down my runner: 1

Number of minutes of assistant principal's time wasted after I returned to my classroom and discovered that said runner had crept back in (and was sitting silently, doing his make up work, and refusing to talk to anyone): 30

Number of parent phone calls: 5

Number of parent phone calls during which I learned that one of my lovelies had told another student he was going to "rip his head off": 1

Number of years off my life today: who. even. knows...

It's a good thing I am already an avid hair-colorer.  These kids would be giving me some SERIOUS grays by now, let me tell you...

It will be a miracle if I survive the next three days...but the bigger miracle will be if all of THEM do!!!!!