Staying Hydrated

I have been concerned lately that I may not be drinking enough water so this was my solution.

I brought gallons of water to school(because I am cheap and they are cheaper than bottles) and plastic cups. Every class period I fill up my plastic cup and try to drink all the water in it during that class period. That's like 8 oz of water every hour. Great idea right?

Yeah, except the need to pee has reached a new level of crazy. I have to run to the potty between every class without fail.

Maybe I need a smaller cup.

Would you hire me?

So, I am pregnant. Yep, sure am! Anyway, I am due in October. Not exactly ideal timing for a teacher. I want to stay at home but would like to do something for a little extra money but not a full time job. Of course, this all depends on Troy getting a job and where and when and .... anyway, I was wondering if I could be a photographer. Not like a full blown, my own studio, all the way, photographer, but a cheaper version for people who maybe can't afford the real thing. I mean, I have no training whatsoever but people have always said I take good pictures and I am kind of starting to believe it. Sort of. Anyway, look at these engagement pics I took of some friends and tell me what you think. Be honest. I don't want to be a fool here.

After looking at these images, I have decided I went a little crazy with the new rotating/cropping tool I found on photoshop. I could change that though.

Okay, let me know what you think....

Amazing

Ignoring the previous post, I am in love with my students today.

I got my TAKS results back today.

My principal wouldn't tell us until he had the whole writing team together. This meant we the scores were great or terrible.

They were great. 96% percent of our students passed. That means that approximately 14 of 360 seventh graders failed. That's it. I cannot believe it. I am so proud of my guys. Do you remember that blog I wrote about two months ago about my students. Read this. This is why I am proud. Because if 14 kids failed, then that means my students really did their best. I had students who weren't going to pass. They just weren't. There is only so far I could take them. Then I had students who could pass, but would have to do it themselves. Would have to decide for themselves that it was worth it. Would have to sit there for hours and even when they wanted to quit and just guess, would keep proving answers and writing that essay to perfection. 96% tells me that they did that. Everyone that could pass, did. Something that I did or said, outside of simply providing the knowledge, made them want it. Maybe it wasn't even me. Maybe it was just a good day. But whatever it was, they did it. THEY did it.

And as a teacher, nothing is better than knowing that for at least one day you made a student want it.

Monday

So, its monday. Again. I am so ready for Mondays to be over. But now that I am teaching summer school it will be like forever. Oh, well.

My students are doing a research project where they have to make an ABC book over a chosen topic like Insects, endangered species, Important People in History, etc. Well, stupidly, one of the options I gave them to do was "Summer." Why I would give such an open ended topic to my classes is beyond me. Anyway, of course, two of my goofiest, not exactly brightest crayon in the box, students chose that topic. Actually, they are bright, just lazy, anyway these are some of the things they have asked me today.
"Can o be for Octopus?"
"N for nest"
A for ants
S for Sanchez(the students last name)

About this point I started to scream at them about how this is a RESEARCH PROJECT NOT SOME RANDOM -WHATEVER-POPS-INTO-YOUR-HARDLY-FUNCTIONING-BRAIN-PROJECT. GET TO WORK AND STOP BUGGING ME.

I may need to take a day off soon. Real soon.

Ever wondered...

Ever wondered what would happen if a pregnant woman went to the grocery store hungry, without a list and with a four year old who was already past the point of frustration from having just come from Hobby Lobby AGAIN? Well, you are about to find out. This is all hypothetical of course. I only buy organic fruits and veggies and whole grains and I NEVER go to the grocery store without a list.

The receipt might contain the following items:
Fritos
Bean DIp
Tortilla Chips
TGIF Spinach Artichoke dip
Root Beer
Vanilla Ice Cream
(You do the math with those last two...)
Frozen Pizza
Frozen Egg Rolls

Now, of course, the said pregnant woman would, of course, buy other items like grapes or Sara Lee's Soft and smooth wheat bread, but you can guess what items have already been partially consumed.

I am in trouble.

Molly's out

Molly means bitter. Therefore, Molly is out. I can't have a son whose name means "bricklayer" and a daughter whose name means "bitter."

So...(and by the way Troy hasn't even heard these so they may be out before they are in)...what about:

Emma Grace: Emma means universal and Grace means Good Will. Universal Good will...
OR
Ella Grace: Ella means bright light - A bright light of good will...
Or
Isabella Grace: Isabella means pledged to God. We would call her Ella for short.
Or
Gracie Anne
Or
Claire Ella
Or
any other combination of ella, grace, claire, and emma, Anne... By the way, much to my dismay, all of these names are on the most popular list, except for claire, for recent years. That kind of bums me out. I wanted something kind of unique.
I also like Ava. I know. Totally random and out of nowhere.

So give opinions, although, like I said, Troy hasn't even heard these AND I am probably having a boy because all I can think of is girl names.
If we have a boy, I still have no clue. None. What are we going to do?

The results

So, I went to my appointment and as I was stepping off the scale, the nurse said, "I have seen worse." Gee, thanks. That makes me feel so much better. While I won't disclose my total weight, I will tell you that in the 16 weeks, and 5 days that I have been pregnant, I have managed to gain a total of 8 pounds. Not terrible, I know, but not fantastic either. See, that means I have gained 6 pounds in 4 weeks. Ummm, not so great, guys. Anyway, here is the good news. I got out my scrapbook last night and compared to a picture of me pregnant with Mason at 18 weeks, I look like I am on about the same track. So, maybe I am just one of those pregnant people that just can't help but show right away. I am sure the dozens of trips to Sonic have absolutely nothing to do with it.

On a much more exciting note, we get to find out the sex of the baby on May 25th! I cannot wait. I really cannot. I am dying to decorate and start buying clothes and so much more. We are having the most difficult time coming up with names. I haven't thought of one boy name I like and the only girl names I like are Molly, Claire, and Madelyn. But none are perfect. We will just have to keep thinking...