Overwhelmed!

You know when you have that hard to breathe feeling (whether it's caused from stress or who knows what) and then combine it with trying to scarf down lunch in 15 minutes because you have duty and you feel like you can't swallow.  I've had that feeling today.  I don't know why.  (I've taken my medicine, promise!)

I am bound and determined to get rid of THE desk, but at the same time I am really nervous about it.  I keep having these "what if" thoughts like the darn kids.  (Don't you get sick of those what-if-er kiddos?)  All day long I try to eek out moments of going through drawers and trying to come up with a game plan.

I think it is killing me.

But I will not stop.  No I will not.  I will not stop until I drop.

In the mean time, my desk area looks like pooey, doggie-dooey.

Quit talking about the dang desk, Erika.  Ya big baby!

So on to good things.  Breathe.  Deep.  Feel the chi!

I've received two awards, well three if you count the one I received twice.

Chrissy over at Buzzing with Ms. B. has honored me with the Liebster Blog Award.  Woo hoo!

And Tanya of A Class Act and Laura from Kinder Kraziness both gave me the Versatile Blogger Award.

I am going to somewhat combine my duties for these two awards so I don't go into a full anxiety attack if you all will forgive me.    I usually don't get this bent out of shape over such little things.  I must be PMSing too!

So here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who presented the award to you and link back to them.

Thank you Chrissy, Laura and Tanya.  You are all so sweet and thoughtful.  Their super power is obviously bucket filling!!

2. Tell seven things about yourself.

1.  I have the unique (or embarrassing) knack of mixing up the beginning letters of two words in conversation.  For example, the names of my brother's ex-girlfriend's parents are Doug and Flo but for the life of me, it always comes out Flug and Do.  Most commonly in conversation with one of them.

2.  I was a nanny in Wellesley, MA for a year during college.  It was both great and horrible for a variety of reasons, but one I'd never change.

3.  I I attended four colleges and changed my major three times before I graduated with a teaching degree.

4.  I love my pets (and pretty much all pets) and could easily be a hoarder.  There is a cat that lives behind the school that will hop in my classroom window and visit.  I keep treats for him in my desk.  There are dogs next door to the school playground and I keep treats for them in my coat pockets.  When I visit people's homes, I spend as much time with their pets as them.  Some of them have pets that react to my voice on the phone even.  Yep, love me some critters.  (Some days I like them more than people.)

5.  I crave chips and salsa on a regular basis.  I can eat it for a snack or a meal.

6.  I can't wear shoes with a closed heel other than tennis shoes.  So pretty much every shoe I own is a slip on clog style shoe.  I have boney heels and get blisters that bleed if I wear anything closed.  

7.  Not only are my daughters adopted, but I am too.

So there you have it.  Seven odd things I figured no one out there knew about me.

3.  Pass this award on to 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know they've received the awards.

I hate to do this.  But I am going to put off that portion of this post until tomorrow because I am so tired I can't stay awake.  (Remember my days and nights were confused until yesterday and I think it has caught with me today BIG TIME!)

So, TTFN.  (ta ta for now or as my husband says...ta ta fuzzy nuts!)

Back to the Grindstone & Giveaways

First day back to school and I am beat!  The kids weren't calm or tired at all.  What the *&%%!

I was pleased that they were excited to come back to school though.  I love it that they love school and learning.  I sucked up the hugs and sweet words like a vacuum.  :)

Everyone was so sad about the guinea pig dying.  There were tears and a bagillion questions.  When did she die?  How did she die?  (Don't know I'm not a vet.)  Am I going to find out?  Like on TV, one kiddo asked, when they cut up the person?  (Uh, no, do you know how much an autopsy would cost.)

Then of course they want to have a funeral.  Oh golly.  Anyone know how to handle that one.

Then I read Houdini Was...  a book written by a second grade class when their hamster dies.

While I was reading it, the kids were practically shouting at me "We could do that!"  "We need to write about Antonia!"  I kept reading and then when I finished, I said, "You sound like you really want to write about Antonia."  And we did.  There were more tears and a lot of adorable pictures and interesting sentences.

Then the next big questions.  When will we get a new pet?  Will it be another guinea pig?

We'll see.  Maybe.  Probably.  But not right away.  We need a little time.

So the ideas for the New Year that I collected from all of you amazing peeps were put off until tomorrow while we deal with this death.  One little sweetie even filled out a form to see the counselor.  Aw!

On to some giveaways you need to check out.

Jen at The Teacher's Cauldron has reached 200 followers and is having a giveaway for a $25 gift card.  The winner gets to choose TpT or Amazon.  (I think it's so cool that she's letting the winner choose!)

Tammy at Klinger Cafe is having a 100 follower giveaway of three amazing things.  You have to go check it out for yourself.  (Or don't so I have a better chance of winning!)

And last but not least, Leanne at Spend a Day in Second Grade is having a giveaway for a Starbucks card and a new unit!  Her stuff is awesome!

Now I am off to bed.  I barely slept last night since my a.m. and p.m. are totally confused.  I feel like someone poured sand in my eyes and have a lack of sleep throb going in the head.  I hope to be back on a normal sleep schedule in a couple days.  But it takes a while.

BTW, my bra and shirt felt like they were chaffing my skin by lunch time and my feet hurt.  It was h-e-double toothpicks having to wear real clothes today.

And I started going through my desk and getting rid of anything I don't need or use.  I AM getting rid of that thing by Easter or I'm going to die trying!  I bought some more plastic storage drawers and am putting things into them as I clean it out.  When it's empty...BYE BYE!

Winter Break Top Ten

I read Reagan's Winter Break Top Ten post on her incredible blog Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits and after I finished laughing, I knew I had to join in on the fun.  So here goes.


WINTER BREAK TOP TEN!

10.  My body has a.m. and p.m. reversed.  (Tuesday morning will be so fun!)  


9.   My diet is like Buddy's in the movie Elf.  Cookies, caramel corn, candy canes, and any other sweet holiday crap you can think of.


8.   My end of the couch has developed a permanent butt indentation in it since my vacation started. 


7.  One day when I showered, my youngest burst into the bathroom and half worried/half excited asked "Are you going somewhere?"  When I responded no, she actually asked me why I was showering!


6.  I haven't napped for four days in an effort to be able to fall asleep at a decent time.  So far it hasn't helped.


5.  My family doesn't even ask anymore what I'm making for meals.


4.  When my husband gets home from work, he doesn't ask what I've done or if I've showered.  Probably because I'm in the same spot and wearing the same clothes as when he left in the morning.


3.   If I spend the night on the couch (again) no one bats an eye.


2.  My dogs consider me part of the furniture and use me as a pillow.  (Boy are they going to miss me when school starts back up!)
  

1.  On Tuesday I may have to wear my slippers and fleece lounge pants to school because I'm pretty sure I've gained a little weight and my feet are swollen.  (I wonder if I could get fired for that?)


I went into school today and started to rearrange and get rid of my teacher desk, but I got seriously overwhelmed and quit.  It is definitely more than a one day job.  Hubs said maybe two weeks would do.  I think I'm going to have to postpone until summer for next year.  So disappointing.  But I gotta be realistic.

For now I'm off to print off some more of the goodness I've got going on for January.  (I did a little TpT shopping last night!)  I'll be the laminating queen tomorrow after school.

Happy back to school for the new year, everyone!

Happy New Year & The Winner Is...

I can't believe it is 2012!  Happy New Year to all of you.  Hubs and I went out to a wonderful dinner with his sister and her husband.  Then we went to a comedy show to benefit the local zoo.  We laughed ourselves senseless!  Best of all, we were settled all snug in our jammies by the time we started to hear fireworks go off.  We haven't ventured out on New Year's Eve in years, so it was fun.

So on to the giveaway. 

I used the random number generator thingie-ma-jobbie, but am not tech savvy enough to figure out how to get an image of it on here.  So trust me, the winner was...

Number...

64...

a new blogger...

Latricia at Wild About Second Grade.

Latricia, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll get in touch with you to make arrangements for you to get your prizes.

If you are sad you didn't win (and I know you are), there seem to be a gazillion other giveaways going on out there.  Here is one to go check out.

Kelley over at Buggy for Second Grade is having a giveaway in honor of reaching 100 followers.  She is giving away a  beautiful wreath that would look absolutely wonderful in my classroom, so I seriously hope I win.  And even though I really want this crafty creation, I still think you should go over and enter, too.

I broke down and told the Mr. about wanting to get rid of the new-to-me desk he set up for me in August.  I told him while he was driving.  That way I figured he'd be a little distracted.  I wish I'd had a camera.  First I got a look that said "I misunderstood that."  Then, instantly, it changed to a look of shock that could only be interpreted as  "WTH? The desk I just..."  And then a look of "HA!  You had me for a minute!" Finally, it became the one of resignation "Oh, do what you want.  Why am I surprised?"

Mind you this all took a mere three seconds before he turned back to the road.

But, being the wonderful hubs that he is, he told me to do what I wanted and thought was best for my room, class, and me.  And he meant it!

Now, how do I get him to help me move it out on Monday (his day off, too) without killing me?

Well, I've got a day to contemplate that.  Strategy, that's what it's all about.

How I Spent My Winter Vacation & An Itch

First, thank you for all the nice comments following Antonia's death.  I'm sure I'll get another guinea pig but not for a while or until my next visit to the pet store.  They are marvelous little critters and I would highly recommend them to anyone teacher or family.  

Also, I am just amazed at the overwhelming response to the book blog.  My email server probably thinks I'm doing something illegal like selling crack or soliciting for phone email sex.  I spent an enormous amount of yesterday answering emails and setting up contributors.  And that little blog had over 60 followers in a little over a day!  Wowzers!  I see another giveaway possibly days hours from now!  : )   I even managed to make a blog button for it, although I don't know how to make the text box shrink so it isn't so ugly.

And if you haven't read the first few posts, shame on you!  Just kidding.  But they are great, so you really should.  I am so honored all these ladies want to collaborate with me.  I am reading a great book that I can't wait to post about, but I haven't had much time.  I've had some insomnia or maybe it's just that my days and nights are mixed up right now.  I'm a night owl folks.  I sleep best between three am and noon.  Too bad they don't have night school for second graders.  I'd be teacher of the year, just saying!

Now, let's get to the reason for the title of this post:

Clutter-Free Classroom is hosting a "How I Spent My Winter Vacation" linky party, and I had to join in the fun.  My vacation technically doesn't end until Monday night when the "night before school" stuff invades the subconscious.  But I am probably going in to work on Monday.  I have this almost obsessive desire to rearrange my room and get rid of my teacher desk.

GASP!

That was for the insane need to do another major project (like leveling my class library which I'm still working on and the kids love!) during the school year. I'm sure my husband (if I gave him the opportunity to voice an opinion on this matter) would ask me why I don't feel the need to put that obsessive cleaning/organizing energy to work at home.  (You'll get some more insight into this lack of obsessiveness at home in a bit.)  But this is why I am not letting him voice an opinion.  Then, of course, he would probably complain about the used new-to-me desk that he helped me wrestle into the room and set up just this summer.  But again, no opinion was asked!  : )

I shouldn't feel this obsessive about this people.  I take meds for that.  Are they not working?  Should I be concerned?  I prefer to think that if it wasn't for all the wonderful blogs I stalk, I would be in ignorant bliss about what I want to change.  So, see, it's all YOUR fault.  Whew!  I feel much better.  Don't you?

But, still, I've got the itch.

(My coworkers already tease me about redoing my room each year when they pretty much leave theirs unchanged from year to year decade to decade.  All you-know-what will break out if I rearrange mid-year!)

Again, should I be concerned?  I prefer to think it's creative genius at work.  (I'm sure you'd agree!)

Whoa!  Have I gotten off track.  (Maybe I need to schedule an appointment for a med check.)

So how have I spent my winter vacation?  Here is a list in random order.

1.  Blogging
2.  Eating
3.  Sleeping (with and without a migraine)
4.  Visiting with friends and family
5.  Blogging
6.  Going out to lunch and dinner
7.  Shopping
8.  Cooking
9.  Playing cards
10. Blogging
11. Driving kids around
12. Watching movies
13. Eating
14. Spending time with my daughters and hubs
15. Enjoying my three fur-babies
16. Reading

Here's the best part.

Most of this I've either done in my pj's or my new fuzzy lounging pants and socks!  (Yes, even driving the kids around!)  And I assure you, I did take my meds during vacation, but didn't think to put that on my list!

You'll notice cleaning wasn't on my list.  My oldest is the best cleaner and organizer.  When she was a lot younger she cleaned and organized my teacher desk once and I couldn't find things for a week!  She also would go into a coworker/friend's classroom and clean and organize.  We still tease her about that!  She even spearheaded the holiday decorating this year.  She is amazing!  {She has also labeled my new book blog and my fellow contributors "The Nerd Herd".  I love that kid!  She actually wanted to start a blog for student council, of which she is president, but she is too busy.  Unfortunately, she doesn't write html code, or I'd probably lover her more.  HA!}

So, there it is in a nutshell.

I'm lazy and obsessed.  Hope you still like me.