My Tuesday "Done" list. As opposed to My Tuesday To Do List

This morning my alarm clock went off at 5am.
I was out of bed at 5:18.
I threw on jeans and a bra. Meaning, yes, I kept on the shirt I slept in.
If you need to stop being my friend, I understand.
I rubbed the mascara off the bags underneath my eyes, threw my hair in a ponytail(or something distantly resembling a pony tail), grabbed the car keys and my grocery list and headed to HEB. I pulled into the parking lot at 5:32am.

You see, I have The Plan. The Plan to get it all done. The laundry, the groceries, the photo shoots, the teaching, the mothering, the running, the...everything.
A plan.
A beautifully designed, well thought out plan that takes into account Troy not getting home till after 10 at least three nights a week and that he leaves for work at 6:30am. A plan that works with photo shoots on weekends and teaching all week. A plan that allows for long runs and laundry doing, grocery buying and meal preparing.

However, The Plan was beautifully written before school started.

The Plan failed me last week. Miserably.

I won't let it beat me, though. Sunday The Plan started all over.
Sunday was laundry and long run. Good job.
Monday is get-a-little-ceasars-pizza-and-work-at-school-with-the-boys-until-they-can't-stand-it day. Check.
Monday is also supposed to be groceries day. Fail.

So, hello Tuesday.

So I arrive at HEB. It's closed until 6 am.
I return home take the world's quickest shower, put on make-up, throw my wet hair in a bun, put the jeans back on and, you'll be happy to know, a clean shirt, and head to HEB again. I buy all my groceries in, like, 26 minutes, because I have to be back home before 6:30 so Troy's not late.
I was successful!
I put away the groceries.
Work clothes on, hair done, boys up and dressed, guzzled the coffee, and on our way by 7:10.


Bell rings.
Serve breakfast to 16 4th graders.
Teach a three part, fairly interactive review lesson on Nouns and Verbs to my first class.
Meet with the other teachers during conference.
Reply to about 11 emails during conference.
Teach my second class.
Eat lunch while reading 16 very comical journal entries (My mom is extreme. Totally. My dad is chill, though.)
Write note to parent regarding student while nibbling on dessert.
Blog about my sweet sleeping boys. 
During Homeroom, meet with students to discuss AR goals.
Teach my third class.
Host 20+ 4th graders for inside recess because IT WILL NEVER BE COOL AGAIN.
Read a chapter of a book to the kids left after the bus bell rings.
Dismissal.
Call FOUR different numbers to find someone to pick up a student who wasn't picked up.
Then I submitted a technology help ticket, registered for two workshops and submitted the paperwork, requested the subs, emailed a few more people, found my desk, made copies, prepared for tomorrow...

Picked up Grant.
Cleaned our very disasterous front porch.
Grilled Fajitas for dinner.
Played Wii with the boys.
Marveled at Big Ants with the boys. (They seriously carried an entire potato chip into their home. We were way impressed.)
Ran 4 miles.
Showered.

And now, I'm about to edit a shoot.
and I've blogged twice today.

And I say all of this not because I want you to think I'm superwoman.

I'm saying it because I need me to remember that I'm human.

Because if you could see all the things I didn't get done today, you'd realize how ridiculously behind I feel. You'd understand how I could look at my Still To Do list and think, "I'm just not good enough at any of this."

And so I'm writing all of this down, because that's just stupid for me to feel that way. Look at all I did today! And thats another reason I need to write this. Look at what I can get done when I have a plan, when I set goals!
I just hate this time of year and love it at the same time. It's such a great time to start fresh, get in a routine, and set some goals. But that means it's also a great time to feel like a complete and total failure when you...fail.

But even though I didn't grade that stack of papers or hang up my word wall...still...or make those manipulatives, I still did a lot. And that's something to be celebrated.
I'm just sick of my To Do list stealing my joy.

So, it's just not gonna no more.
Said the English teacher.

Nerd alert

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I re-read gone with the wind recently. I'm interested in the civil war to an excessive degree. It's just a fascinating time in our nation's history that, at first glance, seems to be a very straightforward conflict, but it really changed our nation in such complex ways... And I'm just nerdy and like it. The hoop skirts are fun too.
Anyway, just a few days after finishing Gone With the Wind, I saw the Civil War today app in the featured section of the app store.
The App store by the way is a very very dangerous place for me to visit. Very. 
The Civil War Today is a day by day account of what happened exactly 150 years ago in the civil war. You can't read ahead. So every day for 4 years, I'll get a virtual civil war "newspaper."
(if apps and iPads even exist in four years... Seriously? Can you imagine what's coming?)
Anyway, it details events of the day, has historical images from the time period, and my favorite, actual diary entries and letters from the people of that time. And way more.

Nerdy me really likes it. I will admit that I get a little lost in all the names and can't always keep track of what general is on what side, but overall, it's just...cool.
In the nerdiest way possible.

Stop 1

School.
It's coming. And soon.
That's for another post.

I had to drop off some supplies I've accumulated this summer... like those post-it's. 24 pads for $7.50! Score!

And I had to grab the chicken wire I had in my classroom. It's for a project I wanna do this week at home. You might wonder why I have chicken wire in my classroom.... Sometimes 4th graders get a little outta hand.
jk. It was a display thing... :)

Stickers.

Because 4th graders will do just about anything for a sticker.