First 2 Weeks of School

Oh my goodness!
The first two weeks of school have been fun, overwhelming, and just great. I have a very supportive grade level and my students are super sweet! I have been told, I have one of the best classes in 3rd grade. This school is using programs I have never used before so getting used to the programs have been and will be fun.
The school-wide reading program officially begins on Monday. It seems very overwhelming because there is a lot of pressure to follow this program with fidelity. After doing the lesson plans though, it doesn't seem like it's as hard as everyone describes. Of course, I need to teach it first!

Cookies from the first day of school from our admin. "Be Happy!"

Baby girl has adjusted well. She gets to hang out with grandma all day. She love driving her car, chasing the dogs and cousins, and playing with her toys. Her second tooth has broken through, she can scale herself across the room, crawl super fast, pick up foods with her fingers, and I know there is so much more I am missing. We can not believe how fast she is growing. She will have her doctor's appointment soon so we will learn just how much she has grown. We love this little girl so much!!! She is already 9 months.

Baby Girl 9 months old

Baby Girl feeding herself

My new haircut

My New Classroom

Day 1 (8/15/14)

Came in. Got what I needed from the office. Assessed the classroom. After thinking for awhile, decided I couldn't do much and left. 

Day 2 (8/18/14)

Came in. Found several pieces of furniture removed. Put desks together. Talked with grade level chair, have an idea what stations are needed in my room. Have an idea for floor plan. Left for family function. 

Day 3 (8/20/14)

Came in. Brought in some personal educational items. Rearranged furniture. Attended meetings. Ate lunch. Attended more meeting. Picked up school-purchased educational items. 

Day 4 (8/21/14)

Came in. Brought in more personal educational items. Attended a meeting. Picked up supplies. Got my writing and reading books. Rearranged my desks. Finalized my class schedule. Did some decorating, organizing, and setting up within my classroom. 

Day 5 (8/22/14)

Came in. Attended 2 meetings. Worked on lesson plans, copies, and a to-do list.

Day 6 & 7 (8/23-24/14)

Came in. Worked on setting up the rest of my classroom. Josh was awesome enough to help out for about 2 hours on Saturday night. 

Sunday night we spent some time with family. Baby girl's cousins thought that wearing a witch's hat would awesome!

Summer Vacation Week 10 + 2 Days

Nothing very exciting! I just spent my last week of summer vacation with my family, did some shopping, and watched all the Harry Potter movies. 

Tomorrow work begins! I've popped into work twice for a few hours. I'm excited to find out more and meet my entire team! 

I'm not excited about leaving my daughter so I can go work. If I work hard now, maybe things will be different in a few years... Maybe. 

Summer Vacation Week 9 + Our Vacation

Monday about noon, we headed out to see some friends in Rexburg. We just drove straight there minus one stop so Baby Girl didn't have to be stuck in a car all day. It rained a little but overall was a nice drive. We ate at Chick-fil-A for the first time. I got to meet a friend of Josh's. He has cats. We found out that Baby girl doesn't like cats... It's quite hilarious actually. Both Baby Girl and myself ended up super sick that night. 

Tuesday we drove from Rexburg into Grand Teton National Park. It was a beautiful drive. The park is HUGE! It was very stormy so we only ended up on 2 trails and were unable to complete the last half a mile on one which was okay because when we reached about 100 yards from the car, it started pouring! There were people hiking up as we were coming down and boy I sure thought they were crazy. We drove from one end of the park to the other and despite the cold, rainy, dark weather it was gorgeous. We then drove into Jackson and ate at Pinky G's Pizzeria. It smelled phenomenal and tasted great. Baby Girl met a puppy chocolate lab outside the restaurant and we could not get her attention for anything. We then drove back to Rexburg. 

Wednesday we headed back to Burley around 2. Boy, oh boy, we had an adventure driving home. We were hit with three major storms on our drive! With the first major storm, Josh pulled over and we waited for about 20 minutes for the worse to pass us. We still left when it was nasty but, we didn't have to pass through most of it on the highway. Then we had two smaller yet powerful storms we hit on the way home. We made it back to eat dinner and play "Ticket to Ride" with some family.

Thursday was a day I didn't want to be in the car but, I ended up in a car. We went around town. Got some ice cream, bought "Ticket to Ride", and just explored the area. It was a horrible night but, neither josh nor I really wanted to go home.

Friday we left. We decided to make as many stops as we wanted. We had to stop because Baby Girl was fussy so we got some Apple Beer. Josh is addicted to that soda! Then we went to Chick-fil-A and Cabela's. We ended up making a stop in Beaver, we went shopping in St. George, and stayed with my folks in Mesquite. It was a tiresome day to say the least.

Saturday we got to relax, played "Ticket to Ride" some more, then drove home. It was smooth sailing! We visited family and showed off our pictures and what we bought and played "Ticket to Ride". 

As Josh and I return to reality, we begin another school year and all that comes with it!

Pictures will be uploaded to a future post. 

Updates on Baby Girl:

*She learned how to officially crawl on shaggy carpet and now will crawl everywhere.

* She dislikes cats.

*She turned 8 months old.

Summer Vacation Week 8

Sunday, we had dinner with half the family. It was the last time we'd see Steven and his family for a short bit.

Monday was a busy day of researching, making lists, and cleaning. I really didn't get a lot of anything done because Baby Girl isn't feeling well but, I tried. We moved her into her own room finally. 

Tuesday through Thursday were cleaning days, washing days, packing days, and anything else you can think of days.

Friday we left for our vacation. It was a fun adventure. We made several stops but, what really made our 9 hour trip into 12 hours was the traffic delays. Once outside of Las Vegas and once before Salt Lake City. These both delayed us close to 2 hours. However, we made it safe and sound. 

Saturday and Sunday we hung out with family, went to church, and just had a relaxing time before our big day trip the following week.

Pictures will be on a future post.

Updates on Baby Girl:

*She can stand without support for about 3 seconds.

*She stood for a total of 7 seconds once.

* She can handle being in a car as long as it's not stop and go traffic.

Review: Charlie Banana

In case you are wonder who or what Charlie Banana is... Charlie Banana is a reusable cloth diaper company.

So now you may be wondering... Tamra (or even Josh) and reusable diapers? Yes!

When I was pregnant with Baby Girl, my sister-in-law mentioned that a local store carried these reusable diapers and she knew someone from church who uses them and swears by them. I decided to check out the store.

The diapers seemed pricey but, I liked the idea. So, I did some research. I went to the Charlie Banana website, watched YouTube videos, read some reviews and added up estimated costs.

Honestly, I chose Charlie Banana over other brands because of the availability. Ironically by the time I bought them weeks before she was born, no local stores carried anything Charlie Banana. I guess cloth diapering in Las Vegas is not very popular. I had plenty of gift cards so I still made my purchase online.

What convinced my husband? The price. We did the math... Please don't make me do it again! The results were clear: over $8,000 a year for about 2 years consisting of disposable diapers and wipes or $300 to start with the purchase of reusable cloth diapers that if taken care of properly can last more than 2 years and maybe $300 on the bamboo liners/wipes, disposable pads a year and the cost of water and laundry detergent. Reusable diapers were very cost efficient! This was the selling point for both me and my husband! 

How much do I love them? They are an inexpensive alternative that helps take care of the planet. My daughter has never had a rash wearing these diapers. The disposable inserts make going out easy. Once laundering diaper skills have been learned, laundry is a piece of cake! Best part, they are resizeable, so they grow with her no matter how big or small her belly and thighs may be! Customizable sizing is a gigantic plus!!!

What do I hate? Laundering sucks until you figure out what works for you. We went to the Charlie Banana blog to learn some tips and tricks. Some ideas worked and some didn't. We just had to figure out what worked for us. Also, they give my daughter a big booty. Disposables are thin and can be worn with the ever-shrinking clothing. With the bulky diaper, she typically wears one size up (which is okay because my daughter has my husband's heighth, or so it seems, so it evens itself out). 

As a side bonus: I must say, I find reusables easier to use when working than being at home because I'm continually wondering how many diapers she's used, how many are left, and will I need to do laundry tonight? As I list these questions it sounds stressful but, it was just easy breezy. 

Anyway, I will write about our personal tips and tricks later.

I hope my review helps you and if you try them I hope you love them! :)

Summer Reads: Land of the Lone Star series

Most of you have probably never heard of  Land of the Lone Star series. This is a series by Tracie Peterson. I absolutely love almost all books by her! She is a phenomenal writer as her books are filled with such captivating power against the reader, you can't help but fall in love.

I read Chasing the Sun and was not disappointed. It had everything I loved: romance, history, suspense, and most importantly were Christian values!

I read book number two, Touching the Sky. As I began, I was highly disappointed! Usually I'll read her trilogy's because they have a distinct connection and this book in no way seemed to have connected. About halfway through, we reconnect with 2 of the male characters from book one. It was a pleasant surprise! As stated, this book began atypically and the focus was on 4 new characters, not really continuing the story from the first. Of course, this book still had everything I love about Tracie Peterson's books!

Book three, Taming the Wind, picks up shortly after book two and follow a young lad from book one and a southern belle from book two. Peterson combines the two families shared individually and pairs them up wonderfully creating a third family by the end of this series. Again it has everything I love, including the adrineline pumping adventure because of worry for the main character.

Although I was thoroughly saddened by a lack of connection at the beginning of book two, I was ecstatic about the plot twist making the connection!  

I have read at least one series every summer by Tracie Peterson and am rarely disappointed! If you get a chance, go to your local library and check it out.