Knock, Knock... Is anyone there?

My apologies for the unplanned hiatus.

New school year.

New baby.

Balancing both.

Twenty-six kids.

Common Core.

Teaching technology classes in and out of district.

What a whirlwind.

September went well. The excitement of back-to-school, newly sharpened pencils, reuniting with teachers...

And then October came.  

Post-partum kicked my butt. That's real life kiddos.  

An overwhelming sense of anxiety took over as I tried to make sense of my new role as a working mom in a classroom full of change. 26 kids worth of change. A fainting spell before the morning bell in early October led to a few mental health days, and boy did I need it.

October and November were stressful, trying, challenging and left me questioning my career path and if teaching was what I wanted to do forever. There were long days and even longer weeks where I just didn't feel the excitement, the classroom "butterflies" if you will, while planning and prepping for the next day's activities. I was overwhelmed with the challenges of a large class, differentiating given the many low reading levels, the dynamics of a two-person grade-level team, new Common Core standards, and establishing routines with a support teacher. On top of that, I wanted to be able to give our sweet baby all of my love and attention in the few hours we had together but school anxiety loomed overhead. 

After a few doctor's appointments, the opportunity to talk with a professional about my anxiety and troubles finding balance, and some help getting my hormones back in check, I'm finally feeling like me again. And boy does that feel good. (How did I know I was starting to feel better? Oddly enough, I wanted to bake. Be creative. Be crafty. I'm sure that sounds odd, but for weeks while I struggled to kick the postpartum I was feeling so down, depressed, and defeated that I had lost any desire to bake and be creative and wondered if it would ever return. And it did.)

Here are merely a few highlights from the end of September and October... (Notice the lack of baking or DIY in October. Stick with me. I made up for it in December.)  

(For classroom updates check out my class blog here.)

September 

A Potluck Picnic display for classroom donations

Our class brochure and "What's Grilling?" handouts for Back-to-School Night

  
Working on our Super Reader capes courtesy of the very talented Hope at 
Shenanigans in Second Grade.
 
 

A back-to-school photo shoot

 Five iPad minis as part of our district's new iPad initiative

Cupcakes for a teacher friend's engagement

 

Deep sea fishing with Sarah, Dan, Mr. Lovie, and my dad. Crazy sea sickness. 

Miss K's 4 month appointment 

 

Celebrated National Speak Like a Pirate Day in Room 16

 

Got pretty in pink for Kerri's bus, burger, and booze bachelorette party

 

Baked a few dozen cupcakes for baby Kai's first birthday

October

Boo!

Lounging at Memere's.  

Miss K's monthly picture

Girl LOVES her toesies...

Playing outside waiting for Daddy to come home...

And wedding 6 of 6-- a best friend's wedding in beautiful Assonet.

 

And while Momma and Daddy partied, Miss K enjoyed a photo shoot with Auntie Leah. 

 

 

While I wasn't feeling 100% that day and was overwhelmed with thoughts, worries, and concerns about school, I was honored to stand by my sweet friend's side, much like she did for me three years earlier. Family-aside, my girlfriends are some of my most valuable treasures.

Meeting Baby Jake

One of my favorite pictures of Miss K--smiling as always

We visited Nana and Grampa and played in Auntie Leah's bed!

Go Pats!

Miss K's first Halloween

 

Did I mention she loves her toesies?

Our little princess--sitting up like a big girl!

November and December updates are coming up next! With the new year upon us, I will strive to blog more--but I make no promises. As I continue to find balance as a wife, mom, teacher, friend, blogger, baker, crafter... etc, family first. Miss K is growing leaps and bounds every day and I don't want to miss a thing.

With jammies on and Chinese food soon to arrive, it's time for some r&r with Mr. Lovie.

2013 you were pretty fabulous, but I have a feeling 2014 will be another one for the books!

Oh What a Week.

This week kicked my butt. Twenty-six kids, a crowded classroom, misplaced backpacks found under a sea of twenty-five other bags,  a white board that no longer erases, a pencil sharpener out of commission (already), tattling, and endless tasks that take considerably longer given that it's the beginning of the year and that there's so darn many of them....has made for a challenging week.

I feel like I am back on the treadmill at a speed of 6.2 and I can't quite slow down. (I've woken up two days in a row dreaming and thinking about ways to use QR codes in the classroom, a job chart, reading rug spots, and all that I would like to accomplish before tomorrow night's Back-to-School night.) My to-do lists are out of control. I've checked a lot off my to do list already this weekend (Grandparents' Day gifts prepped, Miss K's 4 month photo shoot, classroom blog updated here...) but a brief visit to Blog Lovin' quickly adds more items to my to do list--new downloads, new ideas, new projects I am eager to tackle. I even feel guilty breaking from that to do list to even carve out a few minutes to clear my mind over here...

Will it ever get easier? 

Looking forward to when I finally feel like I can slow down a bit and my mind stops racing about all things third grade--from bulletin boards and book nooks to QR codes and anchor charts....

Not to mention I have this cutie pie whose cooing and smiling makes baby snuggles all the more crave-worthy...

 

Happy Grandparents' Day to Miss K's Nana, Grandpa, Grammy, and Memere!

I'll leave you with a few pictures from a best friend's wedding last night that served as a much-needed break from all things third grade--well, except for the correcting and lamination cutting that happened on the hour and half ride out there...

Five for Friday {on Sunday}

The first week back, an almost-four-month-old who has decided 8 hours of sleep at night is plenty, a batch of bachelorette cookies, a bachelorette party, a late night, and a very early morning are just a few reasons why I'm tardy for this party...

But hey, better late than never!

{one}

My fancy Saturday night was spent organizing bulletin board letters into an old cd case. I needed a reason to re-purpose the case--there were cds in there I forgot I had!

{two}

Mr. Lovie's aunt and uncle invited us down to their house for dinner Sunday night--Uncle Mark was cooking in his new smoker. Boy was it delicious! Tried a Lime-a-Rita with dinner--I'll likely stick with my simple-but-classy Budlight longneck but I'm glad I tried it!

{three}

I finally tackled a marker and crayon organizer first seen on Creekside Teacher Tales. Click on the first image below to go to the directions and printable.

 

{four}

Wednesday marked the first day back for kiddos. Is there a sweeter way to start the year than with a note like this?

I don't think so.

 {five}

I love any reason or excuse to gift or craft. If I can do both--even better! Here are two back-to-school goodies for some of the fabulous teachers and paraprofessionals I work with.

 

Click here for the calculations tag.

 

Here you'll find the link to the chocolate and caffeine tag courtesy of the ladies at My Sister's Suitcase. 

And here's how we're all feeling as we get back into the swing of things...