A is for Apple, B is for Blessing

Ugh, it's the first day of Fall and it's too rainy to really go out and enjoy it!  Our plans for today involved getting hot pumpkin/apple drinks, going apple-picking, and seeing the beautiful leaves and scenery up here as the colors change.  Instead, we've spent the day inside in our comfy clothes trying to stay dry and warm (minus the short trip to the PX for wine and a few grocery items...you know, the necessities in life.  And yes, we may have gone in our comfy clothes.  But seriously, a world where it's not appropriate to wear yoga pants to the store on a rainy day is not a world I want to live in.)  The upside is that there is a Dunkin' Donuts at the PX so I at least was able to have a hot apple cider...

On the bright side, since it's been a rainy day at home, I've had a chance to actually get stuff done.  Our TV broke earlier this week, so we had to finally break down and buy a new one.  H wasn't too upset about that, because it meant we could finally get a flat-panel TV that he's been dreaming of/drooling over for the past year.  Thank goodness for clearance TVs and financing options, because otherwise we would have had to move the 19-inch console out of our bedroom and hope that you could see it from across the room on the couch!  However, due to making room for a larger TV and stand, plus all the packaging materials, our livingroom was absolutely a mess, so today was the perfect opportunity to get the house cleaned up and do some laundry--oh the joys of being a housewife! :) 

It's also given me a chance to start planning out some ideas for my new classroom.  This past week, I was hired as the lead preschool classroom teacher at a local preschool & daycare, and I couldn't be more excited!  I'll be taking over for the current lead teacher who is leaving next week.  Yesterday was my first full-day in the classroom shadowing her, which I will also be doing next week until she leaves so I get the chance to get used to a typical day in the classroom.  It's going to be an interesting transition from a Montessori to a public, non-Montessori setting, but I can see already that there are a lot of opportunities to introduce some Montessori ideals into the classroom that the kids would really benefit from.  The classroom is already set up in centers and follows Creative Curriculum (which I haven't looked into too much yet), but I see a lot of ways to incorporate Montessori - there are already some Montessori-ish works and ideas in place, they just need focused and used properly.  I've been talking about these ideas with the director and with my assistant teacher, and I'm excited about what's to come for my little ones!  There's so much potential with a new classroom, and I just pray that I can get my assistant teacher on-board with some of these ideas (she has never seen a Montessori classroom and doesn't really know what it is, so I'm hoping that she'll be open to learning and trying it).

God's abundant blessings just keep coming our way, and I feel so blessed to have a Savior who cares so much for us and who takes care of us!  Even when I'm worried about what's going to happen and when it's going to happen, I have the comfort of knowing that His timing is perfect and that He will provide!

-M

Spring Cleaning

March is almost here. This is good for a few reasons.
#1: That means only 3 more months of teaching!
#2: Spring break is coming up, which means a week of relaxing (although SB is in April for me now that I teach high school...but March means it's getting close!)
#3: Spring is right around the corner :)

I'm sooooo ready for March. I'm ready for the weather to start to clear up a bit, for the sun and the birds and to see the ground again as the snow melts away. I'm also ready for some intense spring cleaning. Our place isn't a mess or anything, but we could use some reorganization around here. Clutter tends to give me anxiety, and the clutter around here has managed to pile up over the past 7 months. March brings spring cleaning, and I'm going to become a cleaning fiend.

Here's my list:

• Clean out the livingroom closet
• Clean out the hall closet
• Clean out our bedroom closet
• Organize the top of the fridge
• Organize the bookcase in the livingroom
  

The last two of these will probably get done this week (or at least started) since my mom, sister, and nephew are coming up on Saturday and I'd like the house to look mildly organized. But I'm starting to feel the spring cleaning bug and wanting to start organizing--now if only I can get H on board... :)