Big, Bigger, and Biggest!

It is FRIDAY!

A lot of exciting things have happened this week. Some sad, and a lot of HAPPY! I want to start with the bad news first.

Bad news is my sweet dog Taffy - who found us when I was in Fourth grade is making her exit. It is stressful, sad, and painful. There is not much to do, only thing we can do is encourage her to drink some sugar water and keep her as comfortable as possible. It is hard. The hardest part is having to keep a smile on my face knowing that I am losing a best friend.

Sad news is over. Happy news. There is a lot to be happy about. First week of Montessori is over and I have had so much fun! The kids truly enjoy learning in this environment. Some are still adjusting to being responsible for their own learning - but are catching on quick! The rest just excel at their learning activities. What has made me the happiest about working at Garden Oaks is that the small people really have connected with me, they can tell me when they are having problems, or what has made them happy, what they are looking forward too, and some of them have even said some very nice things to me.

One thing that has made me laugh is one of my first graders told me that she "could not read fancy and she needed some help translating." and one thing that made me smile big was a second grader brought me a feather and said "you are the best teacher assistant in the whole world and I'm happy that you are apart of our class." For those who are in education some times it can take a while for students to open up to the assistants or interns because they aren't sure what to do about them. But wow! I am truly amazed how welcomed they have made me feel.

More things to smile about! I am getting a new car! Hopefully! I have been driving around a pig. A 1984 Mercedes - it is big and slow and the A/C hardly works, and in Houston heat that is no bueno...  I have to get approved for a loan first and go through that process, but I will be getting a 2012 Ford Focus - it is white and a hatchback, so my dogs will have plenty of room (finally).

And what I consider to be the biggest news of them all, Tyler is finally getting a bike! That means my whole family will be bike fanatics. We can go on bike rides together and he wont feel so left out while we are gone for hours at a time enjoying the outdoors. I am so thrilled that he gets to join in these adventures (and so is my dad)

This week has been filled with ups and downs. We finally finished our first art project at Heritage Oaks. It took a little while, but I like to call my kids thinkers - they aren't slow they are just methodical in their work, also very self critical. I enjoy working with my two students. Our next projects will be for the garden, since that is the schools major project we need to contribute something to leave our mark on it.

I am enjoying my teaching jobs, they have shown me that kids aren't always evil and they can even be sweet and thoughtful (which helps, because after teaching in Commerce ISD I was ready to call it quits). Tyler is also having a blast at his new job. A lot of his job requires for him to be out and around Houston - I do not envy him, but also part of his job is connecting with co-workers so he always comes home in a good mood. My hope is that he does very well in his sales position and can move through the company quickly so he doesn't have to be running around Houston streets for very long.

Also it is a three day weekend! Yay! I have also reached my goal of losing 10 lbs! That makes me extremely  comfortable.

Keep checking back for more. I will try to post photos of things. I just need to remember to carry my phone.