All the Feels

Today (Wednesday, May 24) brings up a lot of emotions for me (seems to be the trend lately!) and this is the way that I've learned how to process them all.

• Last day with JD and others at Parsons

Today is my last day of my fifth year of teaching. Today is also the last day of several of my coworkers in our building. We have several people leaving our school because they have either accepted a different job within the district, or for some, out of the district. 

One of those people is our principal. I have been SO lucky to work under such an amazing leader and boss, who has become a good friend. I'll never forget my interview at his school (it was so hot & I was in a pants suit!) and leaving there thinking about how bad I wanted that position. When he called me to offer me the position, I'll always remember the excitement I felt! I was like a kid on Christmas morning! I couldn't wait to start in my first classroom as a kindergarten teacher. I appreciate him giving me the opportunity to begin my career under his leadership. He has taught me so much about myself as an educator and as a person. I appreciate his constructive criticism, advice, humor, guidance, compassion, understanding, support and friendship over the last five years. Our building will absolutely never be the same without him and his strong personality, but I'm happy to see him moving on and up to something he's passionate about - helping others and supporting teachers.
There are several other people moving on from our building, some who have become good friends as well. I really hope we're able to keep in touch despite our busy schedules and growing families. Next school year is going to be very strange walking into our school without these guys, and seeing so many new faces. I don't do well with change sometimes and it's definitely going to be an adjustment. 

• 35 weeks

Today I would have been 35 weeks pregnant with the twins (can you imagine how huge I'd be?!). I remember counting ahead when I was pregnant to figure out if/when I'd take some time off at the end of the school year to relax before the babies were born. 35 weeks is the national average for twin delivery, so I feel like if I was still pregnant, they really would have been coming any day. Now is when they were supposed to be born, not three months ago. I was supposed to spend my summer juggling nursing two newborn little boys and entertaining a toddler, but that's never going to happen. I really try not to dwell on moments like this, but over the next few weeks - when they should have been making their arrival - they're going to be on my mind A LOT. 

• IVF/Retrieval

Instead of preparing for the birth of our boys, we're now preparing for another pregnancy. It feels like we're back at square one, starting all over again. It's exciting and scary all at the same time. Tomorrow morning we'll go in to have all of my follicles removed and fertilized for the next few days under the careful watch of our fertility clinic. We are so lucky to have them fairly local and I cannot thank them enough for helping us have our beautiful children. It sucks to have to start all over again, but the way things are going, we'll hopefully have some exciting news to share this summer. 

I know I've written about it before, but the idea of being pregnant again brings up mixed emotions. Of course we'd be very excited to add to our family, but there's always going to be doubt in my mind that I'll be able to carry the baby full term again. Thankfully I have an amazing team of high-risk doctors who better know I'll be calling them for everything this time around! I know I'll be in good hands and closely monitored, but it still makes me nervous that we could have a similar outcome.
But right now I need to focus on "the now" and not stress about things I cannot control, which is very hard for me to do, but I'm trying. I'm glad to have the summer off work now to help me relax. :)

Me, Myself & I (and a little about Anna)

My apologies for posts about Anna taking over the blog lately. As I have come to quickly realize, having a baby pretty much takes over your whole life (and I wouldn't have it any other way). Anna's doing very well, but I'm using this post to update about me.

I've been doing very well and enjoying motherhood so much! Of course it completely sucks working all day and not seeing Anna, but I know that she's in excellent hands. Before going back to work, I was worried about how my body and health would hold up with teaching, taking care of a baby and nursing. And I'll admit, although I feel its going pretty well, it's hard giving my 100% all day, every day at work because I want to be home with Anna. But I take pride in my job, and I want to do it well, and I hope that I'm getting back (even if its a bit slow) to being there for my students as much as they need....because they are extra needy this year.

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On the health side of things, I really couldn't be much happier. I just had my clinic visit on Thursday and it went very well. I'm up to 118.6lbs and my FEV1 was 88%!!! I haven't seen lung function numbers like that in two years and I haven't been at this weight (aside from pregnancy) in almost three years. Of course I'd love to be in the 90%s for my lung function (can't remember the last time I saw numbers like those), so that's my goal. But I am very proud of where I am now and still so amazed at what this "sick" body can do. :-)

I've started working out again, this time with several teachers after school doing PIYO work outs. We've been doing it for a few weeks now and they're great for strength exercises. To work on my cardio, I also began the Couch to 5K program yesterday, so I'm planning on balancing the two somehow.. I signed up to run a 5K in April, and I'll be running it for CF. I'll be on Team CF Superheroes and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm also planning on running Brett's Run again in June, which was the first race I did in 2012.

Overall, things are going wonderfully over here. Hopefully I'll keep finding some time to update on myself, but in the mean time, here's a super cute picture of Anna sporting her Rock CF gear at my clinic appointment on Thursday.

Life in General

It's been too long since I've posted a non-pregnancy related post, but it's pretty hard when that's constantly on my mind! Last "normal" post was in February, I think...oops!

Anyway, we've been keeping extremely busy over the past few months. I'm pretty sure Tim started

nesting as soon as we found out I was pregnant. He's been a working machine! He completely refinished all of the hardwood floors in the house which look fantastic. He redid the ceiling (scraped the popcorn, sanded, added drywall and painted) in the living room and added a fireplace and mantel to the living room, as well repainting it all. The nursery is finished construction-wise, but still has lots of organizing and decorating to do once we get more baby supplies/furniture from our showers in June. We just had a new roof put on our house last week. Tim's also planning on adding a patio and pond to the backyard, as well as repainting the ugly blue siding on our house. And if he can get all of that done before August, I know that the kitchen is next -- which includes repainting the cabinets, extending our pantry, laying new hardwood floors, installing a new countertop and knocking down a wall...and he says there's not much to do in there... :)

I've tried to help out as much as possible but with being pregnant and not super handy, I've only done some of the painting, helped scrape the ceiling and helped move things when I could. Tim has been excellent at getting everything done even when he works full time doing the exact same stuff for work everyday...I don't know how he has the energy!

This last weekend we had our second Great Strides walk! Our team has raised around $1,200! We had gorgeous weather and had a great time visiting with all of Tim's family for the weekend. I did one of the opening speeches about my life with CF and how I had to kick my butt over the last few years to get my body ready for a pregnancy. The speech was a little scattered (pregnancy brain!), but I always enjoy sharing my story with others. Afterwards, I went to join my family and our almost 4 year old nephew gave me a high-five and said, "that was awesome!"

My biggest fan :-)

In other news, I've been pretty busy wrapping up the end of the school year with my little boogers and preparing for maternity leave in the fall. I recently learned that next year I'll be teaching Kindergarten again, so I'm really looking forward to that. It'll be much easier coming back from maternity leave to a grade that I've taught before instead of third grade like it was before. We're down to ten days of school left! This school year has flown by, thankfully, because my class has a couple (four to be exact) handfuls that I'm am definitely looking forward to getting a break from....lol. This summer I'll be moving rooms, again. Thankfully my principal and custodian are wonderful at accommodating all of the pregnant teachers who have to move this summer and doing our rooms first. I'm hoping to have all of my bulletin board fabric and boarders up the day after the last day of school. Then all I'll have to do when I come back after the room is cleaned is arrange the furniture, hang posters and organize. Anyone willing to come down this summer to help me out with that is more than welcome!

Speaking of summer, ours is full! Between baby showers, friends' weddings, family parties and a weekend trip to St. Louis for a Cardinals game, Tim and I will be super busy! Luckily I'll have still have weekdays to put my feet up and relax, :-), but my poor hubby is going to be going non-stop! Hopefully he'll get a few relaxing weekends this summer before the sleepless nights begin in three months! :-)

Kinder Quotes

In honor of today being my last day of school, I thought I'd finally share my last compilation of Kinder Quotes from my first class! Enjoy!
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It's the end of the day and we're packing up to go home. It's pretty noisy/chaotic in the room because kids, folders and backpacks are everywhere, when I think I hear a student say, ""Bob" lost his pet. It was in his backpack"
I said, "Excuse me?"
Bob says, "Yeah, it was a cockroach from my grandma's house."
Me: (while trying not to panic) "Where is it??"
Bob: "I don't know." So Bob wanders around the room with his carrying his open backpack looking on the floor for this apparent cockroach.
Finally Bob yells, "I found it!"
Me: "Is it dead or alive???"
Bob: "Alive."
Me: "Step on it!!!"
Well of course Bob crushed the crap out of it....sorry to the night custodian. Gross!!!!!!!!!!!
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Trying to have a serious conversation with my class today about their behavior with a sub:
Me: "Remember last time I was gone and you were so loud."
Student A: "Yeah and Mr. (Principal) had to come down because he could hear us all the way from the office!"
Me: "Yeah...that's not good. I'm so sad that had to happen."
Student B (so innocently says): "Mr. (Principal) has big ears."
And that's when the serious conversation stopped - I could not stop laughing!! Then I had to assure the students that the principal didn't hear them all the way down the hall because he has big ears - it was because they were so loud!
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I introduced the "ee" and "or" Jolly Phonics sounds to my kids. After reading the word 'cork' together, I told them to change the k to an n and they said, "Corn."
I was encouraging them to come up with their own words with those sounds in them and then one student excitedly shouted, "Porn!"
I calmly said, "No, that's not a word." And quickly called on another student before someone else tried to tell me otherwise! :-)
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One of the first students who came into my room (first day back after spring break) popped his head out from around the mailboxes and said, "Ain't nobody got time for that!!" Then just went about his business!
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We were talking about what we were going to get our moms for Mother's Day.
Student A: "Chocolate."
Student B: "A flower and candy."
Student C: "I think I'm going to get a bunny."
Me: "No, this isn't (student name) Day, it's Mothers Day!"
Someone needs to teach that child it is NOT all about her 24/7!!!!
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I cannot wait to have a new class of little jokesters!! I'll have to be better about writing these things down next year because kindergarteners are just hilarious!!! :-) Yay, summer break!!!

CF Awareness Month Blog #7 - School

When I was in elementary school, I remember my mom would always give my new teacher a pamphlet about Cystic Fibrosis at the beginning of each school year. I remember being allowed to use the bathroom when needed and I had to see the school nurse every single day before lunch to get my enzymes. The only time I would miss school was for my 3-4 doctor appointments throughout the year, and we really tried to schedule them over Thanksgiving/Christmas/Spring/Summer breaks so I wouldn't have to miss school. Thankfully, having Cystic Fibrosis didn't affect my elementary years too much.

June 2006 - High School Graduation

In middle school and into high school, the Vest came out and that's when CF starting playing a much more prominent role in my life, that I was not happy about. This still didn't affect my schooling, (but it did affect the relationship between my parents and I) I was let out of my class right before lunch about a minute early each day so that I could make it to the nurse to get my enzymes before passing periods began...but that's about it.

I've always planned on going to college. I never even thought that CF would prevent me from that. I've also always wanted to be a teacher and never let CF get in the way of making that my career. When I was applying to colleges, I only looked in-state because I knew that I wanted to stay close to my CF clinic because I had such great ties there. For me, going to college was a huge step in my independence from my parents. I was living on my own, I had to prove to them (and myself & doctor) that I could take care of myself on my own. *My first semester of college, my lung function actually went UP!* I was in charge of refilling my prescriptions, scheduling my own doctor appointments around classes and doing my treatments.

May 2010 - College Graduation

I'm not going to lie, it was not easy. I struggled to do my Vest & nebs everyday. I definitely didn't do them everyday. I was one of those patients that would think, "I feel fine, why do I need to do my treatments?" Or "It's fine if I just skip this one tonight." Which of course would turn into skipping several. Thankfully, I never became super sick while in college, but my lung function was in the 70s at that time. It wasn't until the end of college, my senior year probably, when Tim and I got engaged that I needed to start kicking my own butt - no one was going to do it for me and no one should have to. During our engagement, my goal for the wedding was to not cough during our ceremony (I know, it sounds weird, but I didn't want to...don't know how to explain it). That's when I really starting pushing myself to be better about my treatments. After I graduated in June, then we got married in October, I was at my healthiest weight and lung function. :-)


Clearly, my 100% compliance, exercise and eating better didn't happen over night. It's something that I've been working on for years and I'm still working on. I think it's something I'm always going to be perfecting.

Anyway, I didn't let CF get in the way of my schooling and/or pursuing my goals. I made it through four years of college with a degree in Elementary Education. I worked as a teaching assistant for two years before finding this WONDERFUL job as a Kindergarten teacher this year (which is almost over :( ). Still "being in school", I can say that I still don't let CF get in my way. Yes, I have lost weight, but I'm learning to adjust. It's not the end of the world. I'm doing something that I absolutely love, so I will make it work!

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm compiling a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life or anywhere around the world.

• I can't believe I didn't post this when I first heard about it! Another wonderful advancement in CF treatment! It's a powder inhaled form of the antibiotic TOBI (which I nebulize every other month) -- I might have to bring this up with my CF doctor at my next clinic visit.
• Tim and I took part in something this weekend that's very meaningful to me and I cannot wait to share it with you. It'll be shared this summer.
• One of my students called me "the funniest teacher" today! It made me smile. :-)
• I know I've been sharing this one a lot, but I'm very excited. My first Great Strides event of the year is on Saturday! 

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm compiling a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life or anywhere around the world.

• This week the weather has been progressively getting warmer! I am not a fan of the cold or the hot, but warm is right up my alley! I'm loving the warm sunshine and that it's staying light much later. 
• There are only 37 school days left this year! I cannot believe it!! This school year has FLOWN by so quickly and it's been so much fun. This is the first year I don't really have any concrete summer plans, and I'm actually looking forward to being able to pretty much do whatever I want all summer.
• Next weekend is my first Great Strides event of the year and I'm really looking forward to it! So far my team has raised $195!
• I'm happy to have such great communication with my husband. I love how open and honest we are with each other. I feel like we are very good at compromising and working together at everything. I cannot imagine it being any other way. He makes me so happy. :-)

Kind of off topic, but please read my previous blog post and comment, comment, comment. I saw a great question from CysticLife and I think it'll spark some great blogging ideas for me (especially this summer!).

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm compiling a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life or anywhere in the world.

Our green eggs!

• We're celebrating Dr. Seuss week at my school and it's been so fun! Tomorrow one of the other kindergarten teachers and I are going to be dressing up as Thing One and Thing Two, and her assistant will be dressing up as Cat in the Hat. So far I've read all of these Dr. Seuss books to my kids this week: Hop On Pop, Fox in Socks, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, Ten Apples Up On Top (complete with a full math lesson), Green Eggs and Ham, Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, The Lorax, Put Me in the Zoo. Tomorrow we'll be reading Cat in the Hat and Cat in the Hat Comes Back, and any other Dr. Seuss books we haven't been able to get to this week. We've also watched several short videos and today we watched Horton Hears A Who! We've also completed many other Dr. Seuss related activities. It is so fun to teach from these books instead of the standard curriculum! :-)
• Wednesday was Green Eggs & Ham day in our class, so I made green eggs and ham (ham stayed pink) for the kids to try. I only had two students say they didn't like it - one didn't even try them. They were so amazed that they still tasted like yellow eggs! It was hilarious! After they devoured the food, they had to write "I do (not) like green eggs and ham."
• This past weekend we got together with Tim's family and celebrated his great-grandma's 99th birthday! :-) She's such a nice, funny lady and I love being around her. She amazes me because she's totally with-it and still lives on her own!!

Family picture from the birthday party -- notice our two adorable nephews
and one more on the way! :-)

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm compiling a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life, or anywhere in the world.

• Four day weekends are wonderful!
• Even more wonderful is when my class votes to have a pajama day on the day we come back from that four day weekend!
• 352 days and counting for 100% compliance with all treatments and medication! :)
• I finally went running light jogging over my four day weekend. We have a complementary YMCA membership for a few months through my job, so I finally took advantage of it on Friday. I met one of my teacher-friends there and we walked the track for ~45 minutes, ran for ~10-15 minutes and walked for another 20 minutes or so. It felt so nice to start running again, even if I could barely keep it up for 10-15 minutes. I still haven't signed up for the 5k in March because I'm not sure that I'll be ready for it, but I think I just need to sign up and suck it up on the day of the run!
• Twenty-three people have replied "Going" to my Facebook Great Strides event! I really hope that those 23 people do show up and also do some fundraising. If each person raised $100, we'd already be at $2,300! 
• I was talking to a cyster last night who was going through a rough time and I gave her this advice, "You need to see yourself as a normal person. CF is just something that you have to deal with everyday - not something that controls the direction of your life." I realized that this is how I've been staying so positive, and I feel like people in the CF community (especially those who are struggling) should try to keep in mind. I'm proud of myself for coming up with such an insightful quote. :-)

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm compiling a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life, or anywhere in the world.
Beware: There's one TMI post....don't say I didn't warn you. This is CF: The good, the bad, and the ugly (gross).

• I'm excited about a possible upcoming opportunity for me to help spread/raise awareness about CF with the help of some people in the CF community. :) I don't have a lot of information yet, but I will update when I learn more.
• TMI: In the last ~36 hrs, I've gone #2 once! I know this may sound absolutely ridiculous if you don't know me or about CF, but to me this IS positive news!! Less bathroom trips = more absorption = weight gain. I recently (Feb 1st) switched my enzymes to Zenpep and I think that was a good choice. I was losing weight and having absorption issues lately, so I really hope this is the solution.
• I'm learning how to control my sugars. I've completely changed my breakfast routine (again if you know me, you don't mess with my food - so this was a big deal for me) and its helped keep my blood sugars from dropping so quickly in the morning. I can now make it to lunch, even if I don't get my snack in, without having low blood sugars.
• I'm also learning that I can't eat an entire box of mac & cheese in one sitting because it makes my sugars go a little crazy (high). I also can't eat a crap load of pasta in one sitting for the same reason. I'm really trying to work on less carbs per meal and more protein and snacks throughout my day. Some days are easier than others, but it's a work in progress. 
• And because I don't talk enough about my job: We are officially counting down the days "until we are in first grade" in my classroom! Since we counted up to 100, we're now counting down for the rest of the year (we started at 70). We created a paper chain and we remove a link each day. I cannot believe how fast this year is flying by. 
• One of my coworkers told me the other day that my class fits my personality and I could not agree more. They are well-behaved (most of the time), so fun to be around, say and do hilarious and ridiculous things, get a little too loud sometimes, and love snack-time ;). I just love them and I'm a little sad that I only have 68 more days until they move on to first grade. 

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm going to compile a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life, or anywhere in the world.

The cats shaking with me :)

• I'm glad that I've been more open with my CF so that I can post hilarious pictures like this one (--->) on my Facebook.
• It's exciting to see my students growing so much! I know I've posted about this before, but it just makes me so happy!
• Tomorrow is our 100th day of school!
• My Great Strides team (Colleen's Friends & Family) has raised $115 so far! 
• I'm looking forward to being completely lazy this weekend and doing nothing.

Positive Throughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm going to compile a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life, or anywhere in the world.

• Saturday was in the mid-50s and it was awesome! Tim and I went outside and played catch in the backyard, opened the windows and enjoyed the spring-like temperatures. :-)
• One more week til my CF clinic and Endocrinologist appointment in Chicago. I'm looking forward to talking with my doctor after not seeing her for six months. I'm also looking forward to getting more answers on if I'm diabetic or not.
• I'm lucky to have a day off on Monday so I can get a repeat Glucose Test without having to miss a day of work.
• My students are hilarious and I missed them. They may be testing my patience a little bit this week, but I'm so happy to be back at work.
• I'm going to Country Thunder this summer and super excited!!! 
• I'm currently listening to this song and I love it!

Positive Thoughts Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I use this blog to vent/complain about things going on in my life, and I don't want to continue with all of that negativity. So each week I'm going to compile a list of positive, happy, lucky, fortunate things that are going on in my life, or anywhere in the world.

• I love my job! Although I am extremely exhausted this week since I didn't do a thing over break, I am thankful to be back at work. I crave routine and I just love my class. They crack me up. Today one of my boys said "yeah buddy!" when he saw that he was at the "Board/Card Games" center. 
• My students are so smart! :-) It's so cool to see how much they have learned from the beginning of the year! They're like little sponges! I have some who came in knowing barely any of their letters to now beginning to read! Makes me so proud! :-)
• A new episode of Impractical Jokers is on tonight. It's on TruTV and HILARIOUS! If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it! Tim and I die laughing every episode! For those of you who've seen it, who's your favorite? I really like Joe and Murr! :)
• I'm 10 days into my TOBI month and I've been feeling really good. Tobi usually makes me cough quite a bit more when doing my treatments, but I haven't had a lot of mucus production lately - which is a welcomed break. I've been feeling like I've been able to take some nice deep breaths without hacking up a lung, so that's been really nice. I like being able to breathe like a normal person. I hope it shows in two weeks when I have my next CF clinic appointment.

2012: A Year In Review

January: Tim was tested to see if he was a CF carrier and the test came back negative, yay! Also, Kalydeco was approved by the FDA for CFers with the G551D mutation(which I have)!!!
February: Lots of snow, a doctors appointment, and my first blog award.
March: I started running outside and planning for the 2nd annual DeKalb Great Strides. I unfortunately had to reset my compliance count after forgetting some albuterol over a weekend out of town. I was at 215 days!
April: DeKalb Great Strides event went very well and raised over $20,000! There was also lots more running/training for my first 5K.
May: I applied for teaching jobs like crazy, ran some more and registered for Brett's Run (5K).
June: I completed my first 5K! FINALLY got my first teaching job!! (This was a great month!)
July: We started planning for our move due to my new job, and I started bringing items into my new classroom.
August: The big move (about three hours south), the first day(s) of school, and motivated myself to keep running by signing up for another 5K.
September: I completed my second 5K (The Shoreline Classic) about a minute faster than my first, signed up for the Glo Run and Turkey Trot.
October: Tim and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary, and I developed my first chest cold of the season.
November: I completed the St. Louis Glo Run, our local Turkey Trot --and if you're counting, those were my 3rd and 4th 5K's of the year -- and I won a turkey at the Turkey Trot! :)
December: I won Bears vs Packers tickets and attended my first Bears game! I developed another chest infection due to my lovely, germy class/job. Oh, and we all survived "the end of the world". :-)

Overall, I'd say this was a pretty excellent year for me! I was able to accomplish/achieve many of my goals this year. I'm still working on getting my lung function up into the 90s and gaining back the weight I've lost from my added stress this fall. But these are things that I'll continue to work on in the coming year. I'm currently at 301 days of 100% compliance with my treatments - I'd say that another great accomplishment. This year was spent on trying to make myself the healthiest I could be by exercising and staying on track with my treatments. I plan on continuing my exercise this spring, while I focus on weight gain this winter. Here's to a happy, healthy, productive 2013!

I Love My Job!

This post is long overdue, but I'll try the best that I can. First off, I LOVE my job! I really do. As much work as it is, it is just SO rewarding and hilarious. My class is just so funny! The principal told me once that if he wants to laugh that day, he can just come into my room. :-)
The first couple months were a little hectic because we (students and I) needed to get into a groove. I also had a wonderful teaching assistant in the morning, but unfortunately she had to leave because she accepted a full-time position at another school. That was a total bummer to me because the next person was going to have big shoes to fill. But I am happy, and lucky, to say that my new assistant (that I've had for about a month now) is fantastic!!
Now we're settling into a better routine and each day is truly an adventure. I never know what these kids are going to say or do, and they just crack me up! I can't imagine not enjoying my job. Everyone needs to find a job that they love - it just makes life so much better. And now, long overdue:

Kinder Quotes & Stories: 

Student: "I know what I'm going to get Santa for Christmas?"
Me: "What?"
Student: "A girlfriend."
Me: "Santa doesn't need a girlfriend, he has a wife - Mrs. Claus! He can't be married and have a girlfriend."
Student: "What?! I've never seen her in my life!"

Student: "My mom won't let me wear pajamas to school tomorrow."
Me: "Why not? We just decided today what we're doing for our reward. Your mom doesn't even know yet."
Student: "Because I'm grounded"
Me: "Why are you grounded?"
Student: "Because I pee the bed." (totally not embarrassed)
Me: "Well, why do you pee the bed?"
Student: "Because I get cold at night."
Me: (What?!?!)???? -- I don't think I responded....
This story is just so weird! Not going to lie, this student is a little strange, too.

Student: "Mrs. Bite-in-gwoober"
Me: "Yes?"
Student: "I wub you."

An ambulance goes by on the street outside our school with the sirens on. A student says, "Someone died." (Again, my reaction is What?!)

This is my #2 favorite story so far: We're just coming back from lunch/recess and I reminded my few students with glasses to remember to put their glasses on, which they keep at their tables on their name tags. One kid goes in the closet and comes out completely serious with huge, 3D theater glasses on!!! I immediately said, "Put those away now." And he looked at me and said, "What? You said we needed to put our glasses on." So again, very calmly I said, "Put those away now." So the student runs back to the closet and starts loud-obnoxious-fake crying (my pet peeve!), so I had to take the glasses away. This entire time though, I was dying laughing on the inside!!! It was hilarious because the glasses were so big on his head and he had a straight face the entire time!!!!

My #1 favorite story happened just this afternoon (and if we're Facebook friends you probably already saw it): We were doing an activity called Heggerty, which is oral phonics. The section's directions were "teacher says a word and the students repeat it. Teacher tells students to take away the beginning blend and say what is left of the word."
Me: "Glass"
Students: "Glass"
Me: "Take away the 'gl'"
Students: "Ass"
*Then there was a very short awkward pause and lots of hilarious, shocked looks on their faces! And one student says, "Ooooooo, Mrs. Veitengruber made us say a cuss word!" And you could just see the lightbulbs going on for the other students.... :) So we all just laughed for a good two minutes about it and then  said, "Bad Heggerty! That's a naughty word to make us say!" It was AWESOME! I felt like we all became a little closer because of that today. :)

I know there are more, but I can't think of them right now. I need to start writing them down... hope you enjoyed... :-)

What's Another 6 Miles?

Well, I officially signed up for the Turkey Trot on November 17th! The race is at 9am, so I'm hoping the sun will be shining and it'll be above freezing that morning! :-) I also was able to get one of my fellow kindergarten teachers to sign up for it yesterday - this will be her first 5K! I'm excited that I'll have someone to run (slowly jog) with this time. I actually signed up for it last week, but still haven't gotten myself to go running since the Shoreline Classic two weeks ago.

Then this morning my sister-in-law asked me to do the "Glo Run" with her and her husband (and maybe Tim's cousin) on November 3rd. It looks like so much fun!!! It's an evening run, beginning at 7pm, where the runners get to wear glow sticks, neon shirts, and there will be black lights, strobe lights and a DJ throughout the course!! You do get a number bib, but the run itself is not timed - it's more about the fun and less about the run. :-) I'm SUPER excited to do something like this with family, and it'll be excellent practice for my Turkey Trot two weeks later.

Looks like I'll really need to keep up with my running so that I'm in tip-top shape for these two 5Ks in November. After I signed up for the Glo Run this morning, I was definitely motivated to get back outside again. It was perfect running weather - beautiful, sunny, low 60s with a slight breeze = perfect! I had been telling myself to go to Walgreens to get my flu shot this week and I've just forgotten, so this morning I decided to run to Walgreens and get it! Then after I got my flu shot, the pharmacist told me to walk around the store for a couple minutes to make sure I felt fine before I left, and I made the comment, "Oh, so I shouldn't run home, then?" She looked really confused and I told her that I ran here and that I was planning on running back....she didn't really seem to care, haha! So after I walked around for a few minutes, I decided to start walking back, but after a couple minutes of walking I just gave in and jogged all the way home (0.8 of a mile each way).

I've been feeling fine since I've gotten my flu shot. A couple other CFers I know have experienced some nasty side effects from their flu shots this year, so I'm really hoping that doesn't happen to me. I've never had a reaction to the shot before and I've gotten one every year for as long as I can remember. The only problem I get is a sore arm for a couple days....so hopefully it'll stay that way this year, too.
People have asked me why I get a flu shot if it doesn't protect from every strain of the flu. My answer to that is because some protection is better than none at all. When I catch a cold, or worse the flu, it impacts my body more than a person without CF, especially if it makes it's way into my chest. It could really take a toll on my lung function and my weight because my body would be working extra hard to fight it. I'm also more susceptible to germs this year since I'm working with wonderful, germy, gross little 5 & 6 year olds! So, I suck up a little arm pain for a few days if it means trying to stay even healthier this winter.

Speaking of things taking a toll on my weight - I've definitely noticed that I've lost some weight since I began teaching. Of course I don't mind the way I look because I've lost a lot of my CF belly, but I know that it's important for me to gain a couple extra pounds in case I do get sick this winter. I've also heard that the more healthy your weight is, the better your lung function is....someone please explain that one to me...?
Anyway, I've been struggling with the amount of calories that I'm taking in vs. the amount that I'm burning at work. I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday, but it's just not enough. Plus I think the extra running is also burning calories that I'm not getting back. I'm really trying to get better about eating healthier because it makes me feel much better (less bloating & bathroom issues), but then I feel like it's harder to get the extra calories I need. If anyone has suggestions of healthy ways to add calories to my diet, I'd really appreciate it. I can't snack too much at work because I'm with my kids most of the day - but I can sneak in a quick snack during plan time if I have it that day. I don't drink whole milk, I drink 2% because it makes me feel better. I'm not a huge peanut butter fan, unless it has chocolate on it. I'm not a huge snacker, I'd prefer to have meals, but I know that has to change. And I'd say I'm a fairly picky eater when it comes to vegetables...but I'm trying to eat healthier -- more home cooked meals and less frozen, fatty crap. Suggestions welcomed in the comments section. Thank you :-)

Scattered Thoughts

I don't have one specific story for this post, just a recap of everything that's been going on lately. So I apologize if it seems scattered or all over the place.

• One week from today Tim and I will be running our first 5K together. This will be my second, and his first. I'm excited to be doing something productive/healthy together! 
• We walked a mile then ran a mile this morning and it felt great. He was way ahead of me and finished about 2-3 minutes before me, but it was fun to "compare notes". I told him I felt great afterwards and he said it was because I ran slow. So I told him how I was jogging so my 'breathing didn't get messed up' and he said something along the lines of how his breathing was. I tried to explain to him that I don't run to finish fast, I run to control my breathing, but he just gave me a really confused look....I don't think he's as in-tune with his body as I am. :-)
• I have taught kindergarten for 14 days now! :-) I LOVE IT! My kids are starting to understand the expectations a little bit better (most of them), and we're slowly getting into a routine. I can't wait for it to be a month from now when hopefully more of the kinks will be worked out and things will be running more smoothly. 
• I feel like I am getting a lot of support from my co-workers. One of them gave me "props" the other day because I'm constantly on my kids when they're in the hallway to behave correctly -- I don't want that annoying class that acts like hoolagins (don't know how to spell that) in the hallway! I just thought that was part of my job, but apparently some people don't do that, so it's nice that other staff members noticing that I'm trying my best.
• My grandma passed away this past week after a long battle with brain cancer, she was 84. She was on a slow, steady decline, so we kind of knew it was coming, but it's still hard. I liked to refer to her as the "Queen Bee" of our family, so it's going to be strange not having her around anymore. So later today and tomorrow, Tim and I will be spending time in Chicago with my family for her services.
• This coming weekend we're going camping with Tim's family! This is something we do every year around this time. It's really fun and it's something that I look forward to every year. Since Tim and I signed up for the 5K on Sunday though, we're only able to go camping Friday (after work) and Saturday. But, since we moved, we're only 2 hours away! We used to be about 4 hours away which sucked.
• I'm looking for someone who's going to be around our area Sunday morning to take pictures of Tim and I doing our 5K. It'd be about 8:30am before we're crossing the finish line.

Seven Days Under My Belt

Tomorrow is the eighth day of school already! I can't believe it, it's been going so fast! The first day of school, honestly, was a little lot nuts! It was just chaotic because I didn't know what to expect (with breakfast, lunch, dismissal, etc), and of course the kids didn't either. But we've gotten MUCH better each day! We're slowly getting into a routine together and getting to know the rules/expectations.

I have 24 five-year-olds in my room, some of them have never been to school before! But like I said, they are learning so much everyday, even if we haven't touched on a lot of curriculum yet. Last week was all procedures/rules/expectations and practicing them (about 100 times...) over and over! One boy even started crying because he didn't know why we were sitting on the carpet, lining up, and then sitting back on the carpet about 5 times in a row....guess I forgot to explain that we were just practicing. :-) I finally got into some real teaching this week and it feels wonderful! I love being up at the front of the room being the actual teacher! I have a WONDERFUL assistant every morning and I am lucky to have a paid, high school intern who comes in every afternoon. The other staff members have been extremely welcoming and helpful over the past couple of weeks and it is much appreciated!!

I am nowhere near perfect as far as classroom management, lessons and teaching go, but I am journaling (apparently that's not a word) everyday after work (which reminds me I need to do that!) to reflect on the day and learn from it. It'll be a while before the kids and I have settled into a nice routine/schedule, but we'll get there and I cannot believe the improvement I've seen in all of them since we began last Monday.

I was running in adrenaline/excitement all of last week, and by Friday morning, I could barely get out of bed because I was so exhausted. I never knew how much extra time teachers put in before and after work, but man, I've been working my butt off! My 'teacher brain', as I like to call it, has been going non-stop since I found out I got this job. I can't turn it off. I'm constantly thinking of what I could do better, how I should approach a student, what's a fun way to learn this?, etc. But that's how I'm going to learn and be a better teacher for my students.
I LOVE my job, I go in with a smile on my face everyday, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Just wanted to update you on how the first week and a half has been going. To sum it up: Fun and exhausting! :-)
I'll leave you with a picture my principal took of me the first day (in the afternoon) and sent to my uncle who works in the district, with the caption: "Lol! I told her this was a forced smile...she is feeling super exhausted...the joys of being a first year teacher..."

Back in the Saddle!

I finally got my butt out of my classroom and off the couch, and finally went running tonight...and man, did it feel good! The hardest part is always just getting myself to do it...it's like I forget how much better it makes me feel. Tim went with me on his roller blades which encouraged me to run more than walk. I only walked about 1/2 block total. We only went about 1.4 miles (6 blocks), but it was a good start. I'm going to try to get back into my 'on two, off one' day routine again with one more run tomorrow evening. I even registered myself for another 5K to motivate myself to stay healthy and keep running! AND, I got Tim to register too so we'll be running it together!  It is a little less than a month away on Sunday, September 16th, and I'm looking forward to it! :-) (Anyone available that morning to please take some pictures for us, I'd really appreciate it!)

In other news, Monday is the first day of school!!! I am SUPER excited for it! I thought I'd be much more nervous, but I'm not...at least not yet. I've still got a little bit of work to get done in my classroom before the kids come, so I'll be in there for a few hours tomorrow and I'll take updated pictures.
Thursday afternoon we had a Kindergarten Open House where the students and families came in to meet their teacher and drop off any supplies. I was able to meet about 1/2 of my students and their families which was really cool. It was very relaxed and it made me very excited for Monday when I'm able to meet all of my students! :)

Ahhhh!!!

That's how I'm feeling right now!!! Nervous. Excited. Anxious. Overwhelmed. Excited. Little bit more nervous. 

I cannot believe how fast this past week and a half has gone by! A huge thank you to everyone that helped us in our moving process. It was quite stressful for me the morning of the move because we literally had to pack everyone's vehicles full to fit everything (and we still didn't get everything), but we made it and that's all that matters. We've been in our house for almost a week now and we're slowly settling in. Up until this afternoon, our refrigerator and stove were in our living room....Tim was laying tile floors in the kitchen, so now we have our appliances where they belong so we were able to unpack the rest of the kitchen boxes this evening. :-) Clutter, mess, and disorganization make me very uneasy/crabby, so I'm feeling much more relaxed now that more things are organized. Garbage day is also tomorrow, so we were able to put lots of stuff on the curb = less clutter in the house!

Besides unpacking and settling into our house, I've also spent a ton of time in my classroom this week! I've met a few of the other teachers and actually got to be on the interview committee to find me an assistant. It was interesting being on the other side of that process, especially since I was just on the opposite side a couple months ago! I've done a lot of work in my room this week and it's finally starting to look like a classroom! I still have several things to do (organize my class library, finish bulletin boards, laminating...) so I'll be trying to manage my time wisely over the next week. Monday-Wednesday I have all day New Teacher Orientation meetings, Thursday is a teacher work day and our Open House (get to meet the kinders and their parents, and the students drop off their supplies) and Friday is a district-wide Rally and then a teacher work day....then the following Monday is the first day of school! Yikes! It's coming up quick. Here a few of the latest pictures of my classroom - I've completely rearranged and added some color to the room by getting some of my bulletin boards done:

Tim playing in the books/puzzles/games area :-)

The view from my desk/group table. I put the rug in the front of
the classroom instead of along side where I originally thought I
wanted it. I really like it this way!

Word Wall - this is where we'll be posting all of the words
we're learning to read this year

The side board where the calendar/schedule will be posted.
Here's a view of a couple of the bulletin boards I've done so far.

As I mentioned, I still have a lot to do but it's a huge difference from when I first saw the room. And with all of this going on, I haven't missed a treatment. :-) They've been getting done much later in the evening than typical for me, but that's just because I don't have a routine yet. On the other hand, I haven't gone running at all. I'm just constantly on the move between my classroom set-up and unpacking at home, I honestly don't even feel like going. I might try to get out there tomorrow and take advantage of the break in the heat....but don't hold me to it. My parents are also coming to visit this weekend, so I doubt I'll go then. I really hope that once school starts and I'm in more of a routine that I can get back out there. That's about all for now. Gotta get my rest for House Calls tomorrow -- showing up at new families' houses welcoming them to our school...should be interesting. :-)