Almost April

April's "Be a Better Me" is all about teaching. It's appropriate because it's almost the end of the year. About this time of the year, I begin to keep my eye on the prize-- summertime. But that's really not the prize. The real prize is the amount of growth each student has made since the beginning of the year. In music class, it's about instilling the love and appreciation for the art and understanding how it relates to their lives. The prize is about the students-- not about me. So April is dedicated to becoming a better teacher.

Here is a list of things I need to do in order to improve my teaching (of course, this list is predominantly endless, every teacher can improve on their teaching-- this is just a simple "rough draft"):
1. organize better (CLEAN THAT DESK!)
2. plan (find a better lesson plan layout and implement next year!)
3. communication skills (including parents.... scary!!)
4. hold students accountable
5. use active learning (well, duh! This is quite easy in music class)
6. get kids motivated (band and choir could use some attention in this area-- the little kiddos, not so much!)
7. take courses to better my understanding (planning on taking Orff Level II this summer at Baker for graduate credit!)

I was going to try and make a list of ten, but I can't think of more. I'll list more as I think of them.

My first number to tackle is of course, number 1! I need to clean! I took mom's little handheld vacuum cleaner to school so I can clean out all the instruments. They are so dusty! They should call my room the Dust Bowl! I already took them all off the top of the shelf and windex'ed that nice and clean. I'm just working on the insides of the shelves. I want to get it nice and organized while I'm cleaning. The Sopranos on the top, altos in the middles shelves and of course, the basses on the bottom. This will make it easier to teach different sizes. I also need to COMPLETELY strip aways EVERYTHING on my desk, and basically start new. There are so many dust bunnies on my desk, it's making me sneeze! Piles and piles of papers and things that DON'T BELONG there! Becoming more organized and clean is one of the first steps!

I will try and take before and after pictures so you can see the progress (and by you, I mean cyber world... since I have no idea who actually reads this blog!).

Planning-- it takes time, and I feel like I'm out of the loop since I missed October, November and December. I have already done better with lesson plans and actually following them. Sometimes I mess up and decide I don't want to do a certain activity with a grade level, but for the most part I will plan better.

I have the best job in the world! I work with teachers who care, students who are respectable and accountable and a building that has technology that is out of this world. I will improve!





****These are pictures that I took at the beginning of the school year. They should not be considered when looking at before and after photos.****

Sunday

Here is how I spent my Sunday:

Church-- Palm Sunday-- I took McCoy up to Children's time for the first time! We also got Palm branches to wave and McCoy wanted to eat the leaves!

Lunch-- Leftover Pizza from Domino's. I had ham and pineapple and Whit had pepperoni and sausage. We exhausted the leftovers.

Wal-Mart-- well... we had to get a few items and 66 bucks later! We got a cute little outfit for McCoy and more rice cereal.

Cupcakes-- I baked cupcakes for tonight's family dinner! And they are healthy, just for Codi!


BOTTLES-- I tried to find out if any of my bottles were leaking because I have had some problems the last few weeks. Twice, a bottle has completely spilled out. So, last night I put water in EVERY bottle to see if they were leaking. I dyed the water and set them on a paper towel to see which was the culprit. It didn't work. But I had to wash them all and that took forever!


Sonic-- a must have Cherry Limeade.

And of course, this:

Trouble with Pumping

*****WARNING!!! THIS IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!!!****

About two weeks ago, I noticed that I couldn't produce very much milk when I was pumping. Before that, I was pumping almost 4 ounces on each side. I normally pump on my drive to school (yes, yes, yes, I pump and drive. So what? That's the only time I get to pump. Talk to my governor.) I would pump to and from school and once after lunch-- if I'm lucky. Sometimes, I don't get that after lunch pumping session in because someone needs to talk to me or I need to do something for school. I usually have only 30 minutes to eat and pump, and sometimes I can't get it all in.

I noticed a couple weeks ago that I couldn't even get two ounces out, on both sides! I was totaling two ounces. After a few days like that (no stress, to my knowledge), I was like "This is not going to work for me". I sought out other ways to boost up my milk supply. I began some researching online, sought out kellymom.com, and ask for suggestions on the trusty Facebook. I love to talk to my Facebook mom friends. They are so helpful (most of the time-- except when I ask about buying a van!! HAHA). I decided to try Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle, herbal supplements. I read that Fenugreek makes your sweat, milk and urine smell like maple syrup-- that can't be all that bad? (In hindsight, it is really gross). I took it pretty faithfully for about two days. I haven't really seen a difference. However, McCoy was asleep for six hours (well, from 10 pm-4:30 am) and my right was just BURSTING. So, I had to get up and pump. 5 ounces (total)!!! Maybe my milk supply is back. But I did have to pump at 4:45 in the morning, and that totally sucks (get it? Sucks?!). I'm hoping that the Fenugreek/Blessed Thistle worked and I don't have to take it anymore. I might try it for another week and then see if I can stop.

I do want to mention, I stayed in bed all day Friday and mostly Saturday and took Whit's cousin Alexis' advice. I believe it really did help. But I'm not sure how much of that I can do-- I don't know how often I need to do that. I'm really glad that my Rezound Retreat got canceled yesterday because I wouldn't have had enough bottles for daycare. Poor McCoy. I hope this isn't the end of pumping and breastfeeding for him. I'm not ready to give it up and I know McCoy wants his booby!!!

I feel this deep connection with breastfeeding, as if I've been doing it my whole life. I couldn't imagine not doing it. I know that it's not for everyone (just ask Nick!), but I don't know why anyone wouldn't do it for their children. I'm not sure how long I will breastfeed, I defiantly don't want to stop at 5 months. I'm not stopping. I will continue... I will keep going.

Happy 5 Months, McCoy!

Today McCoy is 5 months old!

In reference to my previous post, I decided to be ready with food for McCoy. Looking through my two baby puree books, I read the complete first chapters of each book. I learned that food can be frozen for about six weeks (or 3 months according to some websites). So, I had to go to the store anyhow, why not pick up some organic carrots?

I got a package of about six organic carrots for $.99. I strolled to the baby food asile to see how much carrots were. According to Amazon.com, there is a 8 pack of baby food (in the plastic containers) that basically cost $.61 per oz. But if I did the math right, I have 14 oz of pureed carrots, and now I just made that for $.07 an oz!! And I have about 7 settings of carrots ready to go! I also bought avocado (according to my book, it says that avocados are not recommended for freezing, but I looked it up online and it says it is totally fine!). So tomorrow, I will mash up some avocado and freeze that as well.

I'm not sure if this falls under the "become a better finaical keeper" or "become a better mother" or both!

Preparing to Boil the Carrots


Getting Ready to Puree the Carrots


Pureed!


Into Freezer Cubes The Carrots Go!! (This is a Beaba Freezer Tray that I bought at the Here We Grow Again sale in the fall-- I think I paid $7.00!)

Ready for food?

I think McCoy is ready for big-boy food. He wants to eat every hour and a half. I thought that as they grew they could hold out a little longer. But this isn't the case right now. Maybe he is just growing. But I heard when you are growing, you sleep a lot. And McCoy, my little McCoy hasn't taken a decent nap since last week! I'm feeding him cereal, and he does okay with it. He doesn't really eat all that I put out in front of him, probably only about 10 spoonfuls (if that). But I'm thinking that this growing boy needs some more food. I probably will talk about this and talk about this, but not do anything about it until we see the Ped again. This is what I did when we started cereal. I gave it to him one time, and then I waited until we went to the Doctor and he gave us the "okay" to give him cereal twice a day. And then it was like everything was okay. I started giving cereal. But I'm not sure. I think he acts ready but who knows? It's so confusing. I saw a website about first feedings. It just makes me want to read more. I currently do not have any jars of baby food ready in the house. Maybe I'm not ready.

This is a very rough blog. Sorry.

101 Things in 1001 Days (Update II)

Just an update on my ginormous list... I have completed 28 tasks. I am working on doing more, but with the new baby and all... I'm doing good to get these done. I just wanted to repost my list to show that I am still doing it all.


The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in 1001 days
Start Date: August 2, 2009
End Date: April 29, 2012

House:
1. Organize the master room closet
2. Organize the baby’s closet
3. Move stuff back into the basement
4. Install doors and trim in basement
5. Organize the Tubberware cabinet
6. Buy new pots and pans (Paula Dean)
7. Wallpaper master bathroom
8. Paint hallway bathroom and hang up mural
9. Keep the kitchen clean
10. Replace all burnt out light bulbs
11. Organize under the sink in the master bathroom
12. Clean out refrigerator once a month
13. Clean out the pantry
14. Donate old coats/jackets to Project Warmth
15. Organize drawers in kitchen
16. Re-organize red shelf in dining room
17. Clean out storage under stairs
18. Reorganize seasonal decorations
19. Get new tires (Elantra)
20. Keep car clean for at least a month (clean it first!)
21. Plant trees

Hobbies:
22. Finish wedding scrapbook
23. Make homemade birthday cards
24. Scrapbook for the baby at least 2-4 pages per month
25. Sew (by myself) baby’s 1st Halloween costume
26. Finish Whit’s stocking
27. Decorate the fireplace mantel
28. Make homemade Christmas gifts
29. Learn to pickle cucumbers
30. Learn to sew a zipper
31. Take a photography class
32. Take a cake decorating class
33. Start and finish baby’s Christmas stocking

Personal Enrichment:
34. Get a new hairstyle
35. Start photography 365
36. Keep a blog
37. Use the library more
38. Send birthday cards to every family member
39. Start/continue to use reusable shopping bags every time
40. Send Christmas treats to families
41. Make a compost pile
42. Make a rain barrel
43. Join a church
44. Frame Whit and Tenessa’s baby pictures and hang them in the hallway
45. Start Master’s Degree
46. Take Level II Orff Training
47. Read Chronicals of Narina

Entertainment:
48. Attend a local festival
49. Go to a pumpkin patch
50. Organize a Progressive Dinner
51. Have a fondue party
52. Go to a wine tasting party
53. Go to a dinner theater
54. Go on a picnic
55. Take a nature walk with Whit and baby

Baby:
56. Join a “story time” with baby
57. Buy an Air Purifier
58. Make baby food and freeze
59. Cloth diaper at least part time
60. Teach baby sign language
61. Read the Bradley Book
62. Give birth naturally (sort of!)

Music:
63. Learn to play a difficult piece on the piano
64. Practice piano at least once a week
65. Keep better records for piano lessons
66. Start hand bells/chimes at school
67. Log all piano books and put them in order
68. Paint piano drawers

Wellness:
69. Don’t go out to eat for a week
70. Don’t go out to eat for two weeks
71. Don’t go out to eat for a month
72. Drink only one soda a week for at least a month
73. Walk at least three times per week
74. Lose 25 pounds
75. Take trips to the park weekly (when baby is born and weather is nice)
76. Use up all shower gels and lotions before buying new
77. Participate in a Benefits walk

Cooking/Baking:
78. Make a dinner plan for the month
79. Bake a pie from scratch
80. Decorate baby’s 1st Birthday cake
81. Cook less from a box or frozen bag
82. Bake a cake from scratch
83. Use the cookbooks more
84. Use the vegetables from the garden to cook

Financial:
85. Pay off at least three credit cards
86. Pay off at least half of student loan (as of September 2009)
87. Keep a log of gas spending for four months
88. Get all bills automatically taken from bank
89. Start using coupons
90. Sell books on Amazon.com
91. Read Dave Ramsey’s book/information
92. Make a savings plan and stick to it
93. Borrow items from friends and family instead of insisting on buying new
94. Buy a camera
95. Pay off the Yaris
96. Have a yard sale
97. Start an IRA or CD type of savings

Travel:
98. Plan a summer vacation
99. Stay at a Bed and Breakfast
100. Go camping with baby
101. Use the cabin at the lake five times

Been Awhile

Four out of five people who make New Year’s resolutions tonight will eventually break them. In fact, a third won’t even make it to the end of January. Resoulations

Well, I guess that's me. February was "become a better financial keeper" and although I did a pretty good job of this, most of what I did was a continuation from before. I tried to read a book about coupon-shopping but it wasn't any different from before. Bills are still being paid, coupons are still being used, one credit card was paid off completely, "what's the cost.com" was still being utilized-- a savings plan was not put in place.

Now March is a whole other subject. "Become in better health"-- I vowed on March 1st to stop ALL chocolate intake. That lasted for about a day. Maybe just a half of a day. I know. Why couldn't I do it? I found myself telling myself I was going through wtihdrawals, that I HAD to have some. I found myself eating it in excess because I needed it so badly. But, I am not doing all that bad-- I have been eating Smart Ones every day for lunch, drinking more water and making healthier choices for snacks and dinners. I have been eating sugar free cookies (because I have to have something sweet), and drinking less Dr. Pepper. I can't just stop everything. That's unrealistic and frankly, it's my life and I don't want to!!

In other news: McCoy is rolling over! A lot!



McCoy got an exersaucer from Grandpa and MeMa Schale. McCoy loves it! Although we are still a bit wobbly! Dr. Yu said it was time to start his exercises with one of these things. They are so expensive! So I was waiting until Suzie and I went to the Here We Grow Again sale coming up in the next week. But grandparents beat me to the punch... as always.



When I'm not stalking various people on Facebook, my new obsession has become cooking "freezer pleasers". These are recipes from Taste of Home that are made to freeze. So far I have made 4 dishes. I have so many ready-to-eat healthy meals in the freezer right now, that I don't have many more dishes for cooking! I should go out and buy those tin-foil pans.

Well, that's about it for now. I promise to try and update more.