Finally Summer

I am grateful that I made it through my first year teaching.  Whew! The end of the school year was just a little bit crazy.  I know what it is like to be excited for summer.  I think about playing outside, ice cream, getting some beach time, feeling the sun.  The kids think about playing outside, ice cream, getting some time out of school, and feeling free.  I get it.  I was 10 years old once.  WOW, I learned a lot this year; one major thing being that the last two weeks of school are just for keeping them busy and to not expect much from them.  If they knew that report cards were done two weeks before the last day, they would have been even more off-task.  Needless to say, we were all ready for a break.  I was not sad on the last day.  I asked my kids to only make me smile and to PLEASE don't make me raise my voice.  I will miss them, for sure, but it was time to move on. I am thankful for the opportunity to have taught 20 amazing little kids.  I hope they learned something....

Thank you to my amazing team!

I am forever grateful to my friend, Dusza, who pretty much made my first year a success with all of her help and wisdom.  She not only was a mentor, but she decided to choose this year to retire and give me a ton of her teaching resources.  I am truly blessed. 

Summer!!!!!!!!!

I am grateful for the weather and my wide open schedule.  I was actually bored for the first time in a while.  I had the time to clean and read...for pleasure!

My first baby shower, and pregnant friend

I am so grateful to have a wonderful friend named Kerri.  Thank you, God, for the amazing gift who she will be giving birth to in August!

Father's Day approached and I thought about how wonderful it is that my dad is so supportive and helpful.  I  try to give him more reasons to be proud of me. I am proud to call him my Papa Bear.  Father's Day weekend always has the best weather!  I am thankful for the opportunity to play with Hype at Driftwood Huckfest, even though my stupid hamstring kept me from playing enough.  Thanks Colby, for driving, and thanks Alec for housing us.

Thankful that Colby and I survived skydiving. Thank you for inviting me!

The boredom on weekdays did not last long because it was soon vacation time!

It all started with a trip to OCNJ with Michelle.  Mike, Chris and John met us on the sand for some Spikeball.  Thank you Mom for letting us stay with you.  Thank you John for digging a hole for our beverage drinking enjoyment.  The rain didn't stop us from playing more Spikeball.

Thank you, Dad, for driving Michelle and me to the airport for our flight to Denver, CO!!!!
Here is our trip in a few words:  6 breweries + other CO microbrews, geocaching, hiking, iced coffee, National Parks, 16 hours of driving, family time, and mountains!

I am thankful for these beautiful pictures of some of the most beautiful places.

Estes Park Brewery - favorite of the trip

Wild Woods Brewery in Boulder, CO

Thank you Elly and JR for hosting us in Denver.

Thank you Uncle Paul and Aunt Cathy for having us in Durango.

Thank you TJ and Melissa and Lucy for providing so much fun in Durango.

Thank you Aunt Janet and Angela for dinner our last night in Durango.

Home again for only a day before I hopped in Colby's car for another road trip.  Thank you, Clarksons, for an amazing 4-day getaway at Goose Pond, in Hanover, NH.  I am so happy to have met the Clarkson family and to have so much fun with the guys in New England.

Sweet Lake House

Yes, we played Spikeball out on a raft

Thank you Colby and Hillary for giving us a great kayak/paddle board tour of Goose Pond

Finally, I am thankful for my best friend, Sarah, and Dave, her new fiance!  Thank you, God, for bringing them together and the LOVE between them.  I'm so happy for you two!!!!!!!

Spring into travel. Travel into Spring.

I am blessed to have the job I have and the students I have.

I need to keep reminding myself of that when I end up with a negative attitude about my job at the end of the day.  I am getting more and more annoyed with the kids as they get more and more restless. I find myself losing patience with them much quicker and I am having a difficult time forgetting who caused me to get off track.  With that being said, I am officially challenging myself to keep my cool and not get annoyed so easily at certain fourth graders.  I should be thankful that they are in my class and have taught me so much this year.  They are seriously great little people who make me laugh every day.  Don't forget, Em, don't forget!

Speaking of forgetting, I have forgotten about blogging for a long time.  Boo.

Closest I have been to seeing a real moose :)

I am grateful for the lady in the building next door who gave us her "Joe Forman" grill, unused.  It was so handy on a cold, rainy day and all I wanted was to have a BBQ.  Awesomeness.

I am thankful for my first (and probably last) National Ultimate Frisbee tournament! We took 4th and won some big money! - $10
It was a blast hanging out with the team, playing Spikeball, and staying in that sweet hotel!

I am thankful for an exciting Easter weekend full of love.  It was special to see so many family members.  I love being down at the shore too.  Now I get to welcome a new person into the family in a little over a year.  My sister is engaged!  Scott is going to be my new brother :)

I am thankful for fun and games in the sunshine, and acting like a kid on the weekends.  I always wonder what my students think my weekends are like. Do they picture me in the classroom, making plans?  Do they picture me with Miss Mountz, who they know is my roommate, cooking and cleaning?  Or do they see me enjoying a good beer at Dogfish Head in Rehoboth Beach, crashing in a beach house, and playing some relaxed ultimate and serious spikeball all weekend?
What a blast that weekend was!!!

Geology Rocks

Maybe a little obsessed...

I am thankful for Sam and Scott, their new home and their new engagement!  They hosted a really fun party at the new house.  It was exciting to see how many people care about them. :)

I got to see my sisters two weekends in a row! I am thankful for Sam, Megan and Scott knowing how to navigate the casinos of Atlantic City.  It was also meant a lot to me that Sarah and Colby got to spend time with my sisters. Mama Wilson made us a delicious lunch to kick-off the party, celebrating Colleen's 21RST birthday.

I am grateful that the Hoovers offered their home to us to stay in Wilmington, DE for the Bellcrack tournament.  Any opportunity to play with Hype is fantastic too!  I'm proudly a member of the team again. I cannot wait for another season of ultimate!

Sunshine is Coming!

When I was in middle school, all I wanted to do on a Saturday morning was sleep in.  Sleeping in meant rising at 10am (and then watching One Saturday Morning on ABC).  I hated it so much when my mother would storm into my room at 9am and open my window, announcing, "It's a beautiful day!  Wake up!" I would proceed to groan and roll over, hiding my head under my Mickey Mouse pillow. The birds would chirp for the first time for the season and the sun would shine past my red curtains.  I just wanted to sleep.  Then, I would hear the vaccuum cleaner start up and the dogs begin to bark.  I would yell from under the covers, angry that that was the end of my slumber.  My mom would then blast Barbara Streisand and begin singing along.  Oh, what a lovely wake-up call.

Now, I completely understand and appreciate how my mom was feeling.  She wanted to let the fresh Spring air filter through the house.  She was in high spirits from the change in weather, so her way of celebrating was by cleaning and singing/dancing.  I can totally relate now because I love opening the window, blasting the 90s Pop Pandora station, dancing and cleaning the house.  I also enjoy getting up early and getting the most out of my Saturday, especially when the sun is shining!

Kids playing outside!  Playing frisbee outside and teaching Rachel the lovely game as well.

Philadelphia's Radio 104.5 and being able to listen from Frederick on my I Heart Radio app!

Live music, like Patty Griffin playing A Kiss In Time 

Lady Hype!  I hadn't been out dancing in a long time.  Thank you ladies for a super fun night.

Fast, exciting indoor ultimate with a great team...and going to Nationals!!  I am thankful for my special cheering section of the crowd too: Nancy, Tracy and Jamie.

For snow days.  Everyone deserves a day off, even when the Blizzard of 2013 turned out to be less than an inch of the white stuff.

I am forever thankful for my amazing friends and sisters for constant encouragement and support.  I know who I can count on for a quick pick-me-up or a shoulder to lean on. 

I am grateful for my students, who I now realize are very good at distracting me from my outside life in a good way.  When things aren't going right, and they walk in the classroom in the morning and are happy to see me, I am instantly back to my normal cheery self.  I love the laughs they provide, even when it is an inappropriate time to be laughing.  For instance, NC waiting for the end of the MSA test, with nothing to do but measure his tiny bicep wth his ruler.  Or, CH walking in, quoting Dumb and Dumber.  No, he shouldn't be watching that movie, but I was cracking up.

For my awesome roommates and friends showing me how to rock climb.  I had fun "flashing" walls and bouldering!

I am thankful for the First Day of Spring TOMORROW!  It's coming!!!!!

Smiling Is My Favorite

I smile a lot.

I can't help it sometimes.

Why? 

I do not have everything. 

I have enough.



So grateful for moments like this 


So, it is the season of Lent; a time when Catholics miss their chocolate and booze and try to better themselves, and get closer to God.  I am thankful for this time of the year, and so are my hips.  Goodbye to sweets until Easter.  Also, I am going to try my best to do a random act of kindness each day. 

I decided that when the weather begins to get cold next fall, I am going to pick up some new winter hobbies.  I miss ultimate and playing outside SO MUCH.  I never appreciate warm weather as much as I do in the middle of February, when I am ghostly pale and freezing.
Next year - more skiing and more gym time.  Speaking of skiing....it was so much fun!!  Why had I not tried that before?  I need a new go-to for "Never Have I Ever."

I am thankful for all of the kiddos and their families' hard work in raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I was so pleased to see my fourth graders proudly donate their pennies and teach the younger students about cancer. 



We raised over $6,700 for LLS!



I achieved a goal of mine: to involve my students in a form of community service.  I owe it all to Mrs. Dusza, my neighbor at school.  She worked her tail off putting the fundraiser together (literally - her back really hurts).  Between climbing ladders to hang our 1,000 paper cranes, to counting tons of pennies (they were really heavy, maybe not a ton), she made it all happen. What will I do without her next year!?

I am thankful for the thousands of volunteers to participated in the National Day of Service on MLK Day.
I am thankful for Jon taking care of me when I was sick and for writing lyrics for a pump-up song for the LLS fundraiser
I am thankful for friends, especially when they are dressed as pirates.
I am thankful for family, especially when they drive from NJ to see me and bring the pups!



I guess the kids didn't hear me when I said I gave up sweets...

I am thankful for the 20 little darlings who run my life.



Au Revoir 2012, Bonjour 2013

Happy 2013!  I am thankful for a new year!

To close out the year, I had a busy month of preparations and summations.  I needed to finish up several units of study in school so that we can have a fresh start in January.  They will probably choose to forget about fractions and explorers coming to America, so it's a good thing we finished those lessons.

After school  last month I spent many hours creating new Christmas decorations and unique gifts.  I am thankful for patient roommates while I made a huge mess and kept adding more and more decor. I'm sure they were thankful for our abundant supply of candles to drown out the smell of Modge Podge.

Thank you holidays for bringing me back together with friends!!  On Thanksgiving I was able to catch up with high school friends who remain just as wonderful but have new and exciting lives. The traditional ugly sweater and ugly gift dinner party was a fantastic Millersville etc. reunion, as always.  After Christmas I was able to see friends from faraway places.  It becomes clear how special HOME really is when old friends come back to share memories of times spent together.

I am grateful for good weather and good company when Jon and I went to NYC.  It was nice to meet some new friends, especially when they could help us find our way! I'm thankful for people like Jon's friend, Q, who is raising money for after school programs for Harlem's kiddos by selling this shirt:

https://www.facebook.com/swiftbrand

It was equally as enjoyable to see Brandon and his play, Grimm Women.   I am so excited for him and all of his accomplishments!  I am strangely thankful for SantaCon happening the same day. It was hilarious to watch!

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.

Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

It is pretty neat to feel a sense of nostalgia when thinking about going home to Moorestown and also returning home to Frederick.  

I am forever thankful for my magnificent family. Saying goodbye to loved ones this year was not easy.

I am thankful for all of the amazing people who helped me get a job this year!

I am thankful for a beautiful apartment and lovely roommates.

I am thankful for music such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMJUbZrNnA8

I am thankful for a fresh start!  

Here we go 2013, let's make it a good one!

Different "Frame" of Mind

I am thankful that the classroom management "problems" I have with my students are really just keeping them from laughing too much.  They cannot control themselves when they are excited or something funny happens.  It is so much better than having to manage a group of kids yelling and fighting across the classroom.  How blessed am I to have a class full of kids who treat one another with respect and genuinely like each other?

I am thankful that I have supportive parents...my own, and the parents of the students in my classroom.  It takes a village...

Difficult to find the positive here...this is my best shot:  I'm thankful that I have a job to pay for all of these traffic violations.  Grrr MD. There.

Friends who have similar interests.  Michelle and I ventured though the beautiful Autumn scenery of Frederick County to find wineries.  What a great day among the grapes and red-orange trees.

I am thankful for all of my loved ones surviving Hurricane Sandy.  Sadly, our beloved Ocean City does not look so great.  The 58th Street pier is no longer with us :( and the beach shifted onto the street.  Both of my homes in NJ were spared. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89643303@N05/sets/72157631931687704/show/

What do we do when we are stuck inside, home from work, in the rain? Paint and Pictures.

For my parents, sisters and Jon having a lovely 25th birthday dinner with me in Mtown.  I ate the homemade turtle cheesecake for the next week. Thanks Mom!

I am grateful for Sean planning PADA Mosh and playing with such a fun team.  This laid back tournament was a fun way to spend my birthday!  Thank you Michelle for surprising me at the fields with ballooooons!

I am thankful that I live in a country where no matter what you look like, where you come from, or what you believe, you can vote for your leader.  It is special to be able to live in a place of such choices, including choosing whether you want to vote at all.  I am also thankful that people in Maryland have an open mind about social change.




Even my kids practiced their rights as citizens...I did not anticipate the cross-classroom debates


For Jon, Carmen, Bug and Opi playing guitar and singing, entertaining our guests, at our housewarming party.  My favorite part of the evening was when everyone started singing along to "Home" by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. 



Framed everyone that night :)

 I am thankful for the 25 years I had with my lovely Grandmother.  I have felt suddenly strong this week, and I give the credit to Grandmom whose spirit lives on in me, my sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, Mom and Dad.  She was an exceptional person who never had a negative thing to say about anyone.  She knew birthdays and stories about every one of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I am grateful for her wisdom of life and love.  I know that she has been reunited with Granddad, who we lost just three months ago.  It is where she is supposed to be; by her love's side, in the arms of God.  I am actually very happy for her.

I am thankful for music, such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6WhgQ9lCdo


 

Small Miracles, Small Changes

Things I am thankful for...

For this book: Small Miracles; Extraordinary Coincidences from Everyday Life.  It is a collection of real stories of "random conjoining of inexplicable events that defy our sense of reasonable."  I believe that these coincidences that I read about are more than just simple accidents.  How could two children separated by the barbed wire fence of a concentration camp in Germany possibly find each other thirty years later on a blind date?  Amazing.

"These are whispers that can awaken us from our stupor and remind us that the hand of God is always there."
"When you have a strong desire to perform an act of kindness, the universe assists in mysterious ways."

For my students teaching me about things.  I love seeing the kiddos get excited about new things that I teach to them, of course, but it is an even more amazing feeling when they cannot wait to teach me something that they know.  One of my boys (who is very much a struggling learner) is an expert on alligators.  I watched his confidence shoot through the roof when he taught the class about the scaly dangerous animal. 

For my students being hilarious. It is awesome that they understand my sarcasm as well!
"Miss Wilson, are butterflies made of butter."
"Umm, no."
"Are they made of butt?"
"Yes, yes they are."

When I taught them that putting zeros after the decimal place does not change the value of the number, I continued to see work like this.  Some students wrote zeros across the back of a homework sheet.
Me: "Fourth graders, if you have not finished your classwork, it is now your homework."
WC: "OMG Becky!"

When we are grading spelling tests together, I ask my students to celebrate their accomplishments silently.  These silent celebration dances have become quite extreme: pencils played as trumpets, arms doing the "sprinkler."  I did not even mind the silent "disco" dance moves out of their seats.  However, now they are required to stay in their seats because one particular boy could not stop himself from hip thrusting behind his chair. 
I need to do a better job of taking notes of funny things that happen throughout the day.  These kiddos are so funny!

For American Hyperbole.  I love how we fnished the season with smiles on our faces.  I am thankful for having team mates who pick each other up when they are down.  We may not be the best team in the region, but we are the best looking team and we have waaaay more fun than others.  I am so thankful that upon moving to Maryland I was able to join a group of amazing people and make great friends. 

I am also thankful for our ridiculousness.  The end of the season party was an Olympic success.  We had a wonderful time being way too competitive playing backyard and indoor games...in costume.  The 10-hour event was a super way to conclude our season of hard work.



Thankful for Jay being my awesome partner for the event



I love spikeball!!!










For amazing roommates!  I'm grateful for having a comfortable place to go home to and sweet friends to complain to about my day.  It's great to be able to talk to Rachel about school, when she completely understands the life of a first year teacher.  It is great to discuss creative ideas for social life and school life with Quinne.  It is pretty awesome to have "family dinners" once in a while.  Our mid-week BBQ and spikeball was a blast!



Our school pictures on the fridge

For playing Kan Jam with Sean.  We had never played before, but we forged on through the challenging opponents and Sly Fox beer to make it to the semifinals!  I was the last girl standing out of the 64 teams of players.  Finally, we got 3rd place and each of us took home a Kan Jam set.  Sean and I were sore for a week from throwing...how pathetic!  
For sistaaaaas.  I'm am thankful for my sisters coming to visit me all the way in Frederick.  We had the best guacamole and enjoyed some time together.  I love that we can talk about anything (even with Scott at the table).  We are stuck together for life. It's not too shabby ;) Thanks for bringing me housewarming gifts!

For music. Acoustic Sundays on 104.5 when I am home near Philly, DC 101 when I have to listen to the radio in Frederick, FrankSinatra and MGMT radio on Pandora, and the Army Field Band.  I am thankfu to have been able to listen to one of the best bands in the world, for free!  They played some great patriotic songs and a whole set of Stevie Wonder.  I neeeeeed music when I am lesson planning too.  Thank you Pandora!

For Jon :)