Finishing First Week & Football Foods

A successful first week of school is finished! However, I am utterly exhausted. I always forget how much walking and talking I do that my body isn't used to (from being lazy all summer). The week was spent learning the rules and establishing classroom procedures. My students really enjoyed this Post-It note activity that I came across on Pinterest. 

The week ended with the start of college football for my MSU Spartans! Check out Iivana's fabulous new jersey.

Despite being tired from the work week (and looking that way too), Iivana and I were ecstatic about the game and Sparty's win. It wasn't the prettiest, but I'll take it.

This photo cracks me up! Iivana is crazy. I was trying to take a picture with her...but she wanted to show you her pearly whites.

I tried to continue the tradition that Justin and I started by making football appetizers for the game. (Check out some of the finger foods we made last year: here, here, and here.) I decided to make a pizza inspired appetizer. Remember I bought some pizza crust mix at Marshall's? My random mixture that didn't follow the box recipe, didn't turn out the way I had hoped. It was still edible, but not great.

My experimented creation wasn't worthy enough to share all the details. But these gluten free pizza puffs are a much better recipe to share. I've made them before and they are soft and delicious!

Crayon Wreath

Yesterday, I posted about the first day of school and showed a preview of a wreath I made for my classroom. For the base of the wreath, I used a craft ring like this. (I bought mine at Michael's, but this one is comparatively priced on Amazon.) I used the remaining crayons from my melting art project.

I started by laying the crayons on the base in a circle. I was having trouble keeping them even, and forming a perfect circle in the middle. After trying several household objects to fit in the center, one of my pots acted as a perfect base to work around.

After I had the crayons laid out in position, I put a strip of hot glue on the back of each crayon.

You'll notice I don't have ribbon to hang the wreath. I would suggest gluing some ribbon around the base right away so that you can hang it later. Then you can glue crayons over it an not even notice it underneath. I didn't do this until I was done, and unfortunately don't have a picture of mine with the ribbon. I meant to take a picture today of it hanging in my classroom, but I forgot. (I guess I was too busy teaching.) I ended up taking two crayons off, gluing some ribbon, and then re-gluing the crayons over. So either way it worked out.

I also bought this apple and star from Michael's. They are little wood pieces that were already decorated. All I did was use a paint Sharpie to write my name.

I will try to take a picture of it hanging and add it in later this week. Today (the second day of school), I successfully learned the names of all of my students. I had them time me and I did it in 40 seconds. Tomorrow I am going to beat my time!

UPDATED:

Here is the picture of the wreath hanging in my classroom.

First Day Jitters

Today was the first day of school with my new fourth graders. So far, I have 25 students with 15 of them being boys! My friend at work showed me a picture of her son today on the first day of his senior year. She was joking about taking a picture of him, and then I admitted that I still take a yearly photo on the first day. My mom always took pictures of us growing up and I've continued the tradition as a teacher. Here was last year's photo! This was the best I could do with my self-timer, since Justin is still deployed.

While I was pretty excited for my first day, Iivana on the other had was not. She knows when I'm off to work and she will be in her room. Just look at that face. She knows the way to her mommy's heart, and sometimes I wish I could still stay home with her! (Remember, I'm a crazy dog lady now.)

I was also going to tell you about this sweet wreath I made for my classroom, but I am exhausted! I talked more than I'm used to today and according to my pedometer I walked twice as much as what I have been lately. Hopefully tomorrow night I have a little more energy, so I can show you how I made this!

Start of Summer

My husband is thoughtful and warms my heart. He sent me these peonies to celebrate then end of another successful school year. Aren't they just beautiful! The end of the school year also means we are half way through the deployment. It is all downhill from here.

I also celebrated the end of the school year by purchasing a new pair of florescent orange Tom's.

Since my summer off from work has been in swing for 2 weeks, it actually means I've been taking classes for two weeks. I am participating in the San Antonio Writing Project (SAWP) and it is amazingly fantastic. I already gave an 1 hour and 1/2 demonstration about Pre-writing. I've created a video log to document a day at SAWP.  Of course, I've also had the opportunity to write! While I've been a little distracted from my blog, I've been trying other genres of writing. I think I am going to post my first narrative in the days to come.

Yes, I talk with my hands.

Last night, Iivana discovered a scorpion! I saw her playing with something and knew it was some sort of bug. Upon further investigation, I screamed and shooed her away when I saw it was a scorpion. Unsure what to do, I of course snapped a picture. Then I decided I needed to take action. I grabbed the broom, opened the door, and swept it outside! Hopefully there aren't any more in the house. Believe me, I am definitely watching everywhere I step.

I freaked out at Iivana because I didn't need another wound to heal! Of course, she is fine. Plus, her back paw is almost healed all the way. 

Dealing with Stress

I've been a little stressed. To keep it simple,

1. Iivana (see explanation below)

2. The end of the school year = very, very silly kids

3. Of course, always in the back of my head is my hubby's absence 

My darling Iivana:

A week ago as I was putting Iivana to bed, I noticed a big swollen bump on her hind paw.

I was worried. She was either bitten or stung by something in the backyard, but I'm not quite sure by what. I frantically attempted to take these pictures and send them to Justin for his opinion on the situation.

So the next day I made her an appointment at the vet. They confirmed she was either bitten or stung, but they knew as much as I did about what little critter it could be. They gave me some ointment and asked if we still had her e-collar. Remember this? The doctor said she would need to wear it so she wouldn't continually lick the wound.

Well that blue, comfy one didn't block her from licking her paw. She could easily reach it, so it wasn't much help. Over the weekend I went and bought her a plastic one. However, I have one smart pup. While it is difficult, she still figures out a way to maneuver her foot under the range of her mouth.

The plastic one is not very comfortable and she runs into everything. I also recently ordered her a thundershirt and thought it might relax her so she'd forget about her foot. She doesn't mind the thundershirt, but she still remembers her foot. I couldn't resist taking a photo of her like this.

When I'm home with her I don't make her wear the plastic e-collar. But I have to keep a close eye on her. She'll try to go in another room and lick her foot because she knows if she does it near me, I will yell at her and spray her with water. I think it looks to be healing.

But honestly, I have no idea if it is getting better. I'm hoping it continues to heal because I am supposed to board Iivana this weekend. I have a girls' weekend in Houston planned!

But don't worry people! I have ways to deal with my stress.

1. A weekend out of town is planned!

2. I worked out today.

3. I received some letters from my hubby today and also some travel information on Michigan. Yes, Justin signed me up to receive not only Pure Michigan emails but an information packet as well. I couldn't help but smile when I saw it in the stack of mail.

4. I bought a Kindle Fire and have been reading more. I just finished the The Hunger Games. I'm excited to continue reading the series. Plus, I've also enjoyed playing Draw Something.

5. I still am showered with lots of attention! My sister called me. Another sister emailed me. I talked with two of Justin's co-workers this week as well. Everyone is checking up on me. Some neighbors invited me over for a BBQ. 

6. I blogged! I don't know how I manage to neglect my blog again for so long because writing also provides a release.

Only 6 1/2 more days with my kiddos! I think when the school year is done I will feel a huge sense of relief. Not only should everyone continue to keep Justin in their prayers, please pray for my students to be well behaved for the final countdown.

It Had To Be Said

I've successfully avoided updating for two whole weeks and it's not like I didn't have new things to write about. I told you I had new products to write about and have been busy completing more Pinterest projects. In the back of my head, I felt like there was something I needed to write about first, but wasn't quite sure how.

I think I'll start with the way the news was shared with me back in September. I remember the Friday clearly because Justin was cooking Ginger-Orange Glazed Cornish Hens.

We had wine, a candle was lit, and Justin explained to me he was going to be deployed. It was something that we had talked about through our entire 3 years of marriage, and it was unreal that those words were finally true. I shed a few tears, but was able to accept what he had just told me. The good part was that we would have 6 months to prepare before he left.

This meal will forever remind me of that day.

Like I mentioned above, we had 6 months to prepare, talk about, and go through all the emotions. Honestly, if this would have happened 3 years ago when we first moved to Texas I don't think I would have been okay. But I feel that I can write here today and say that I'm okay. Sure it sucks, but it is part of his job and he'll be back in 6 months.

Part of me didn't want to litter my blog explaining to the world about my husband being deployed. I figured those who are close will know about it anyway. On the sidebar of this blog I wrote, "I have celiac disease and live gluten free. While that is what I often blog about, it doesn’t define me. I’m also a teacher, a student, and a military wife. I live with my husband, Justin and our crazy dog Iivana in Texas. Although we’re originally from Michigan; we visit our friends and family there whenever we get the chance." I say being GF doesn't define me, and the military is a very present part of my life: it's why we live in Texas! So I couldn't just avoid the topic, because him being gone changes normal routines. That's why Justin was at training a few weeks ago. 

With that said, I probably won't be sharing all of my feelings for the world to see, but I will write about changes. I'm sure I'll write about a day that sucks, a day that I realize I'm very independent, or a day that Iivana is getting on my last nerve! Justin has been gone for over a week now and already I have felt so much love and support. Thank you to everyone who is praying for Justin and myself, we really do appreciate it.

Okay, now that that elephant is out of the room, I can have a normal post and I just finished a Pinterest project that I'm pretty proud of!

Goodbye Summer, Goodbye August

The past week was the first week of school! At night, I also managed to attend a cake class, clean, go grocery shopping, and had the first day of class at main campus which is far from home. I had little spare time, which resulted in no recent blog updates!

I took my yearly first day of school photo.

Iivana's birthday was last weekend, we celebrated by buying her a mini pool. She was unsure about it at first.

But eventually was splashing and jumping in! 

After, she was covered in mud, so that meant it was bath time. She also received a brand new red leather collar.

Blogger, is being extra difficult tonight. So I won't go into complete detail tonight about our fried feast we've been having lately. Stay tuned this week...hopefully I'll have a little more time to update this week.

I also came across this article about the rise of celiac disease featured on Yahoo. 

Breakdown of the Weekend

Friday
I was supposed to work a half day and attend a meeting in the afternoon. When I arrived to school, I was told the sub who had picked up my job earlier in the week, dropped it last night. This was exactly what I was afraid when I requested an afternoon only sub on a Friday. I had contemplated taking the whole day, but when the job was picked up, I felt I was safe. Wrong.

I was frantic the whole morning, hoping they would find someone to cover. It didn't help that three other people called in and aides were filling in for their classes. I pleaded with the secretary to find someone because I wanted to go the meeting badly. The professional development meeting was at UTSA and was funded by a grant. At 11:15 the secretary buzzed me on the P.A. and announced I could go!

I am a spaz. I grabbed all my things and rushed to my car so I could arrive on time. Then I realized I left my phone in my desk, so I ran back into the school and up the stairs. Yes, I am a good role model, running in the school. You might be able to guess what happened next...I wiped out on the stairs, landing on my arm. This whole ordeal was witnessed by two other teachers. Embarrassing, yes! They asked if I was okay, my response was, "Yeah, I'm trying to do too much at once!" I was fine, although my arm feels a little bruised.

My day only got better! The professional development was awesome and I love grants. Check out what they gave me.

• 5 Flip Cameras
• An external drive
• A freaking computer!
• An English Language Learners book

My students are going to be so excited when I tell them what I got for our classroom.

After work we met Justin's ALS (Airman Leadership School) classmates at Red Robin. They had an allergen menu, although mostly everything was minus a bun. I ended up getting a chicken sandwich on lettuce with melon slices. It was decent, I was just glad to have something I could eat there. But I did forgot to take a picture.

Saturday

Bum - summarizes my morning and afternoon.

Saturday night we stopped at Target and then went to the movies to see Water for Elephants. They have the best Coke machines there, where you can pick any kind of soda Coke makes. You could spend an hour trying all the flavors. 

Sunday

Breakfast:

Waffles

Lunch:

Fluffernutter Sandwich

Toasted Udi's white bread, JIF peanut butter, & marshmallow fluff

Dinner:

Tandoori tofu with wild rice and vegetables

We found this recipe in "Eat Healthy Your Way" magazine which we picked up from the commissary. If you're interested you can find the recipe here. It was something totally different than we usually eat. The sauce was my favorite part. I like tofu, but it was a little squishy. I think next time Justin is going to pan fry it and then coat it in the sauce. I would recommend it though!

Happy mother's day to my amazing mom, I wish I could've spent the day with you!

KENS 5

Today I went to a presentation about weatherbug, a tool that many schools use in the classroom with real time data. The interesting thing is that the local news also uses the data, so there is a partnership. I spent my day out of the classroom at KENS 5 news with local meteorologists Bill Taylor, Paul Mireles, and Jared Silverman!

This was the little set where the presentation was given. The room was once used to film Air Force news that was streamed all over the world.

My photo op. with the weekend weatherman Jared Silverman, a fellow Big 10 Alum from Penn State.

Then came the live feed segment! Bill Taylor talked about the program on air and they scanned across the audience with the camera. I waved and was pretty sure I was on camera. Unfortunately, I did not have the DVR set up and didn't get to see it.

Lunch was provided for everyone. As a celiac, I prepared my own sack lunch and lugged it in a bag that I squeezed under my chair. I was happy to see Jason's Deli was the choice. They do have gluten free bread, so I wondered would there be any gluten free bread boxed sandwiches? Curious, I wandered over to the table, only to see labeled pieces of paper of white, wheat, and rye. I meandered through the line to grab a bottled water, then ate my lunch discretely out of my bag. Six months into eating GF, I'm still figuring things out. When thinking about my day today, I should have emailed the coordinator ahead of time to ask for a GF meal. The worst thing they could say is no, but I know Jason's Deli would've been able to accommodate. In the future, I need think more ahead than just bringing my own lunch but to call head.

After lunch we listened to the presentation about the features, costs, and highlights of the system. We wrapped up the day with a tour where they shot the weather. We saw the green screen, computers, anchor chairs, Good Morning San Antonio set, the prompters, and the whole set.

Here's a photo of all three meteorologists.

Tomorrow I'll take the info and report it to my principal. Even if we don't get it, what an experience!

Typical Lunch

Today was all day state testing at school, which means lunch is bought for the teachers who are testing. My options for lunch were a Chick-fil-a breaded sandwich, Doritos, brownies, and soda. Of course being a celiac, I do not expect people to make exceptions for me, or do I always trust when they try. I skipped out on the food except for the soda, yes my midwestern friends I now say soda...often! I brought my typical packed lunch.

Items that I often use:

• rice crackers to eat with Boar's head turkey (instead of a sandwich)
• greek yogurt
• Either gluten free pretzels like glutino or GF potato chips like Cape Cod
• Larabar

Of course I cut up some fruit for a little fruit salad

Inside view, I always pack some carrots

My lunch ready to go