A couple of pounds and bring on the summer time!!

LIfe is trucking along at a crazy speed it seems.  I cannot believe I am already nearing my first completed year of teaching!  It seems like I just started, but there were also times when I never thought I would make it to the end of the year!  I am a bit torn at the end of this school year.....I already signed my contract, so I will be teaching again next year.  Not quite sure I want to, but it looks like I am doing it anyway.  But I am also amazed at how much I learned and how much better I think I will do next year with a year of hit and misses under my belt.  (I kind of feel bad for my students that were my trial run this year.....But I think they learned some good things, had a good time, and I guess I just have to liv and learn!)  But I am also sad that I won't have my group of 7th graders next year for any classes because I don't teach any 8th grade classes.  I really will miss them. They are an annoying, crazy, misbehaving, irresponsible bunch of stinky kids, but they are also amazingly intelligent, articulate, talented, and deep.  I will miss teaching them next year.  I hope next year goes better.  I hope I enjoy it more, get everything done I need to, and like the new students.  But I am SO SO SO SO glad for summer now!  How exciting to NOT have to think about school, lesson plans, etc for almost 3 whole months!  Wahoo!  Bring on the summer time!  Oh, and I am doing alright in the weight loss department.  I have lost a few more pounds, but still not where I want to be.  I have a couple more weeks to lose a bit more before family reunions!  For some reason, I think without the stress and craziness of school I might be able to lose weight a little easier....Hopefully anyway! :)

Working out....

I am amazed how the whole concept of working out has changed to me over the years.  In high school, I worked hard at sports (I wish I would have worked harder) but things came kind of natural to me.  I was never in amazing shape or anything, but I was healthy and looked alright......In college I REALLY pushed myself.  I wanted to be the best, I wanted to finish first, and I wanted to be in the best shape possible.  I took diet and exercise to an unhealthy extreme, but I did feel good about how I performed, how I looked, and how hard I worked.  I worked hard to stay in shape right up to the day I got cut from the USU basketball team.  Then I kind of stopped working out.  I mean, I have worked out here and there over the years, but nothing like I used to.  Working out for me is a very hard thing to do just because.  I need a reason, a motivation, a driving force.  I loved working out knowing it would help me in college basketball, but now it is harder.  And I actually still love the feeling of working out, playing sports, and sweating.  I just find the motivation to do it comes very slowly......Also, I complain about how I look.  I complain about how I feel.  I complain about what having an almost 11 pound baby inside me has done to my body.  Trust me, my body will NEVER be the same.  Sad, nasty, saggy skin and stretch marks!  (Sorry for the overshare!)  I know I can help it a little thought, but I really haven't done much about it.  I have lost the baby weight so slowly, and hae only now finally reached pre-pregnancy weight with Jack.  The bad thing is that I weighed too much when I got pregnant with Jack because of a miscarriage and a bit of depression that followed that.  I have tried to watch what I eat lately and it has paid off.  I have lost about 10 pounds since February.  But I am still not where I need to be.  I am documenting my goals and why I want to reach them here and now, so that I have witnesses, perhaps people to check up on me (if anyone actually reads this blog), and something to be accountable to. The goals:   By the first week of June I want to have lost at least 7 more pounds.  I want my stomach to be flatter and my arms and legs to be more toned.  I want ALL of my clothes to fit a little better. Here is why:  1) I just want to look and feel better about myself.  2) I want to prove to myself that I can still work out and push myself like I used to 3) I don't want my older, skinnier, tiny, work-out- aholic sister to judge me this summer when I see her.  I want her to be impressed by how I look.  I want her to notice that I have been working to improve my body.  I know this isn't a good reason, but as I worked out today, that is the thought that pushed me to work harder.  Here is how I am going to do it:  I am going to keep a food journal and keep track of what I eat with the Weight Watchers points.  I will also include in this journal what I do to work out that day.  I am going to walk, run, do elliptical, lift free weights, and do pushups and sit-ups every night.  Hopefully, by this summer I am in shape and feel good about how I look.....just in time to start trying to have another baby..... :)  Wish me luck!  

Parent Teacher Conferences

NOT a fan of Parent Teacher conferences.....parents arguing in front of me.....excuses.......breaking bad news to parents.......unfulfilled expectations....etc.  Glad they are OVER for the year!!  Oh the joys and lameness all combined into one all consuming ball of emotion that is teaching!

My Child~

So I am fully aware that I have a pretty WILD and CRAZY child.  He is not shy.  He loves playing with adults and other kids.  He is not clingy to me, but still will cuddle with me.  He is so friendly and says hi to everyone.  He loves to watch basketball and shoot hoops.  He loves to play with and walk his doggy.  He is Mr. Independent and likes to feed himself.  He likes to run, wrestle, jump, yell, and dive off beds and couches.   He is one of the happiest, friendliest social babies I have ever seen and I LOVE that about him!  Now I am sure he gets a lot of his loudness craziness from Dustin and me.  Dustin and I love to play loud and crazy with him.  We love to tickle and be silly and make him laugh.   Others might question some of our parenting techniques, but all that matters to me is that I have noticed that I have an extremely HAPPY child!  He is tough and rarely cries or whines.  He talks a ton, gives kisses, and laughs at everything. He is so, so smart!  I feel VERY VERY lucky to have the son that I do.  My friend said something the other day like we are given the children that we are meant to have and that we  can deal with.  Thankfully, so far there is very little "dealing" with Jack, but there is a whole lot of enjoying Jack!  Thank heavens for my SWEET, WILD, CUTE little boy!   I sure do love this CRAZY kid!  



P.S. The only thing I have ever found my Jack to be afraid of is pom-poms. Thankfully he has overcome that fear and loves them now. He calls a pom pom a "go." So cute!

March Madness!!

My husband is lucky he married me. I know that sounds a bit pompous, but let me explain why. I LOVE LOVE LOVE sports, especially basketball. I can sit and watch basketball for hours. I love watching ESPN and Sports Center. (Dustin and I have done that together since we have been dating.) Sometimes I wish I wasn't so obsessed. Like last night when Davidson, featuring Stephon Curry and St. Marys, featuring Patty Mills (both amazing players) played each other and I stayed up way too late watching the game because it was a good game and I can't turn off or fall asleep when there is a good basketball game on. But anyway, I sure do love this time of year. March Madness seriously is one of my favorite times of year. I can sit and watch basketball games for hours on end, game after game, and there have been some GOOD games this year! My bracket is crap now (but not as bad as "Jack's" that Dustin helped with) but I don't care. Brackets keep me torn anyway: I really want the underdog to win, but I want the higher seed to win for my bracket's sake. Anyway, I hope everyone else is enjoying March Madness as well. I always feel a little sad when I know there will be no more college basketball games to watch for several months. But for now we have a few more weeks to go! Happy March Madness!

Classic picture!

Does it make me a mean mom that I absolutely LOVE this picture of crying, bundled up Jack? Classic. Classic, I say. I love it.

Go NAVY!

Well, I am done coaching basketball for the year. I absolutely loved the team of middle school girls that I coached this year. They were a really great TEAM. Our motto was, "We're a TEAM, not a PLAYER." Because other teams had one girl that did all the scoring, but on our team everybody scored, or shot, or played awesome defense. And EVERYONE improved! That is why I coach....to see a team come together like this one did. It was great to watch and see! Anyway, just wanted to say how proud I am of my girls and how much fun I had coaching this year. It was crazy with Jack at practices or finding places for Jack, but it was a great experience all the same. Their record wasn't great (they ended 4-8) but they came together at the end of the season and won 4 out of their last 6 games. All their losses but two were by 6 points or less. Lots of close games! They were great and it was a wonderful coaching experience. Plus, they got me a spa gift card which is awesome and I can't wait to use it! Thanks Navy team for a great season and for making me feel like a successful and very proud coach!