Are the Prayer Candles Lit?

Well tomorrow is finally our last TAKS test of the year!!!!! Today we attempted to get in one last review but both the kids and I are all SCIENCED out. We did manage to get in a good hour or so which isn't bad. With hopes and prayer they should WILL do great! Since this will be their last test at the elementary level and I'm sure they're tired of hearing me tell them over and over how important this test is I asked their parents to email me a note of encouragement and support so that I could include them in their TAKS Survival Bags tomorrow. You see the day before the test I usually tell them that on test day when they "think" they're done (for some this comes way toooo soon) and are about to raise their hand and say "Mrs. Lopez, I'm finished." to imagine their Mom or Dad right next to them. I tell them to imagine what their parents might say. Things like "Are you sure you took your time and checked your work?" For most of them this is enough to keep them focused and on task on test day. The response from parents was AWESOME and so cute. I know their faces are going to light up when they read them tomorrow. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers! :)

Thanks Holly!

I was so excited to see this yesterday in one of my comments. My new blog friend Holly was gracious enough to think of me and I couldn't be more excited! Check out her blog at Pink is My Signature Color.
The Rules of Accepting and Sharing this Award

1. Put the logo on your blog or post 2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude 3. Link to your nominees within your post 4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award 5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award. 6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude.

To me an attitude of gratitude is the best way to get through life. Robert and I thank God for all we have been able to accomplish and the love we share. I am so grateful for my loving family, friends and experiences that have made me who I am today. Everyday I am grateful that I have a classroom of 5th graders to teach and co-workers to learn from.


I am going to pass this award on to...USC Emily, Patty, Twice as Nice, Maverick Anthony, Jen, Rebecca Jo, Quotes from the Queen,Lori, Holly & Ashley! If any of you ladies have already received this award, then consider yourself extra loved!! :)

WANTED

I need the Priceline Negotiator BAAAADDDD right now. Our marathon relay in Corpus Christi is 18 days away and most of the hotels out there are booked. The ones that aren't are going for a little more than we want to pay. :( We tried looking online tonight on Priceline for a good deal because we've had success with them in the past but priceline seemed to have flatlined. We really want to stay two nights and make a weekend out of it but if Mr. Shatner doesn't come through tomorrow that may have to change. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Some Spring Cleaning

Earlier this week Robert came home from work and told me he was feeling like he could never catch up with all the paper work his job entails. I suggested that maybe he should consider going in on the weekends for about an hour to try and catch up. It took a while for the idea to set in but he finally agreed that I was right. Apparently he went in the next day and told his principal he would be showing on on Sunday and she thought it was a great idea, she even suggested he try and get a couple of the other males to come in to and work on their messy disorganized desks. So this morning we headed out to his school for what should have been an hour except when I walked into his office I found something like this:
I turned to look at him and he was standing there with a frown on his face and puppy dog eyes and said "I told you I was having trouble staying on top of things." Needless to say that one hour quickly turned into three. While he worked on getting caught up on credit recovery and attendance paper work, I organized and filed the stacks that were cluttering all his workspace. We even set up his new mini fridge and stocked it with some goodies for those busy days he can't even leave the office for lunch.Here he is after I we finished working: Better, much better!

Feeling the Spring Fever

When my alarm went off this morning at 6:15 I thought twice about getting up to go run the Spring Fever 5K. It was too late. Charlie had already noticed I was awake and was ready for our morning routine--some playing in bed with at least one of his toys, full bowl of food and the necessary trip outside. I made it out to the race about 20 minutes before start time and waited for my friends who had decided to come out and run with me. They showed up just in time. Every time I race I always look for a "goal girl." This is someone who starts off ahead of me who I hope to pass by the end of the race. Today it was random girl in purple and lady in polka dot tank. About mile 2, I saw my chance and went for it. Polka dot tank wasn't too happy, she kept trying to stay ahead but finally I paced myself a little better and stayed ahead. I ended up finishing 2nd in my age group with a time of 27:50. After the race Robert and I went out and fulfilled my weekly TJ Maxx fix ran some errands. On our way home we stopped to look at a model home in a new subdivision and I fell in love with the design. It's amazing how they can deck the homes out so well, I only have to open the door half way before the words "I love it, I've found our new home" start to come out of my mouth. There's nothing wrong with dreaming right???? Later in the afternoon we went out to the Dodge Arena to watch some of my boys play flag football and almost all my girls perform their dance routine during halftime. It's awesome to see them shine outside the four walls of our classroom. Our evening was spent at Robert's high school's Military Ball. He was the lucky administrator in charge and I was his date. It was so funny to see his kids on the dance floor with their glow sticks and asking him to please turn off all the lights in the cafeteria. So glad that awkward high school phase is long gone!!!!!As a teacher this is how I know spring is officially here: we are busy with something every weekend!!! Hurry summer, hurry!!!!

Why is Change so Hard?

I started teaching 8 years ago. Today I find myself at the same school dealing with the same issues. Don't get me wrong. I love what I do, my kids and the teachers I work with but I can't help but to think there's other things for me to learn out there. At the end of the last school year I was hoping to get an administrative job elsewhere but it just wasn't my time. My husband tried to get me to transfer over to his district but I was too afraid to leave where I was at. Plus I think part of me wanted to hold out one more year in hopes another position would open. Well, the position did mysteriously open up over the summer but I wasn't considered. As this school year starts to come to a close again change is on my mind. It's time. I know it but to get the gears in motion and actually start to get out there and talk to people is not so easy. P've been checking neighborhing district websites almost daily and today I saw a new position posted that I'm really interested in. This weekend I'm going to revamp my resume and next week I've promised myself to start dropping them off and trying to make a good impression. I thought I might get to working on that resume tonight but no luck, I'll just keep telling myself I think I can, I think I can.

3 Weeks Early

Wednesday afternoon right after school let out I received a text message from my sister in law that their new baby girl Lexi had decided she was ready to meet the world. Her due date wasn't scheduled for another three weeks but she was in labor! We waited all night to hear word and finally yesterday morning got the great news that Lexi had made her arrival. Since they're in San Antonio and we're not the first pictures we got to see were wall photos the proud Daddy posted on Facebook! She's too cute. Since I'm an only child I had never been an aunt until last June when we got married. We have been blessed with a new nephew and now niece in a span of only three months. Both beautiful and healthy! I had my friend's cousin make the cutest name frame for her (pic below) for her a while back and hadn't got around to sending it out. I kept thinking no worries I have time, at least three weeks. Apparently babies don't follow the same time schedules we do! Since she beat me to the due date, guess I better get that to them ASAP.

29 Days to Go

As a teacher this is the time of year I start counting down the days to summer vacation and considering a career change. We have one more TAKS test to administer next week which is science and to be honest I'm sick of reviewing, reviewing and reviewing. All week all we have done for more than half of our school day is SCIENCE. Yes, it interesting, yes it's fun but it gets to the point where it's just too much. What to do? What to do?
On a brighter note I'm really looking forward to the weekend. I'm running a 5k early Saturday morning and then heading over to Dodge Arena to see some of my girls dance and some of my boys play flag football. They have been practicing hard and are so excited to show off their skills! I'm sure they will do great. Even better is that when we get back to school on Monday that countdown I mentioned earlier will be at 27!!!!!!

Amazing What a Little Bribery Can Do

Two weeks ago my 5th graders and I spent a whole day stressing over testing the Math portion of the TAKS test. We had prepared and prepared and prepared and last night I find out it had all paid off. My kids did an AWESOME job! Every single one of my students passed and 21 of my 23 earned commended performance! That means they missed 4 or less of the 40 questions on the test. Now, I knew they had it in them, they performed last year and in March when we took the Reading test. However this time around I really pushed for them to get commended. I know it probably wasn't the best thing to do but about a week before the test I just went for it and did it: I bribed them. It happened in the middle of TAKS Review #1674849. They all had this glazed look in their eyes and I knew I had lost them. I stopped right in the middle of a problem and explained to them I had all the confidence in the world that they would pass. What I needed from them was to ROCK the test, show those people at the testing agency exactly what we knew and how we weren't going to let a test like this BEAT us. Then it just came out of my mouth "Commended performance on the Math test will get you a No Homework pass for math for the REST OF THE YEAR!" Some of them asked me to repeat what I had just said, others looked like they were ready to pass out from the excitment. Ok so they had no idea our last six weeks curriculum in math really doesn't require a lot of math homework anyway but I needed them to really give it their all and they did! In one week we test Science and I'm already thinking of what to throw at them next!

Easy Sunday

With today being Robert's birthday he got to make all most of the decisions all day. For lunch with the family he decided on Costa Messa. Their food is really good and the service is terrific. Unfortunately they don't take reservations and so when we walked in and asked for a table for 12 they gave us a worried look. Luckily we only had to wait about 25 minutes before getting our table. We all shared a few botanas and for dessert a yummy chocolate ice cream cake from Marble Slab. After lunch we were off to Lowe's. Like I said he made the decisions. When I asked him what we needed from there he replied "Can't I just look around?" I was completely confused. I know what look around means at stores like Target and Walmart but Lowe's? People like to "look around" at Lowe's. Definitely news to me. As he wandered in and out of the aisles I found myself looking for clearance items. Good thing because I came across a great area rug for a nice price. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the couch, Robert playing Call of Duty and me searching for some great Ebay deals. Before bed we started talking about a trip this summer. I think we finally decided on Cabo San Lucas. We are going to have to spend some time researching hotels and things but we are excited about it. With all the great pictures some of these places post it's hard not to be!

Happy Birthday!

Tonight we went out and celebrated Robert's birthday which is tomorrow.Since it's after 12 he is officially 32!!!! Dinner was at Cheddar's (our favorite place). They were pretty busy when we arrived so we ended up having to split our party of 12 into two tables--a girls and boys! Turned out to be perfect since the boys attention seemed to be on the Spurs vs. Mavs game and ours was of course on more important topics such as babies, drinks and what annoys us about the husbands! After Cheddars we ended up at Thirsty Monkey for a few drinks and more talk. We truly have an awesome group of friends and appreciate each and everyone of them for their love and support. In three weeks we'll do it all over again for my birthday. Can't wait!

Running Skirt Ahead

If you read my previous post I wasn't too happy this morning about running a 10K but glad I got over it and finished. As we were waiting for the race to start I spotted a cute girl all decked out in her race outfit: pink NIKE tank, pink Ipod, and cute pink running skirt. She caught my eye because I've been thinking about investing in a running skirt for a while but hadn't really seen anybody run with one on. As the race started she took off while I lagged behind. My goal was to keep up with her but as I got into mile 3 it seemed impossible. The pink skirt became my inspiration and motivation. Mile 4 running skirt still ahead. Mile 5 pink skirt still ahead. Finally when I see the end in sight I pushed myself until the pink skirt was closer and closer in sight. Finally I passed the skirt and ended up ahead by about 3 minutes!!!! Final time 59:19!!! Thats a personal best for me for a 10K! My reward: thinking a running skirt is in my future!

Me and my wonderful ideas

Its 6:55 in the morning and I'm starting to wonder if this 10k was a good idea. 30 minutes until start time.

Paws for A Cure

Tonight a group of teachers from my campus and I participated in the 2009 Relay for Life in McAllen. We have raised money and pledged to walk to help find a cure for over 5 years now. This year the saying on our pink t-shirts was "Paws for a Cure." (our mascot is a grizzly, hence the paws) It's awesome to see all the different groups that make it out to show their support and walk in memory of a loved one. Some groups go all out with the tents, BBQ, and costumes. One of my favorite things to see are all the luminarias that line the track and stadium. We were there a little early today and didn't get to see the full effect but the feeling of hope was definitely in the air. Robert and I ended up walking for about 45 minutes. I was worried about doing too much, I have a 10k planned for the morning. To see all the survivors there in their purple shirts was AWESOME!!!!!! Especially when they lapped us and they RAN by! What inspiration they giev us all!

Babies R Us Adventures

Saturday we have a baby shower planned for a good friend of ours so tonight I headed out to Babies R Us to pick up some gifts for her from her registry. I always worry about stepping foot in there for a couple of reasons: 1. I always end up buying more than I expected. Everything is just too cute to leave on the shelves. and 2. Am I going to walk out wanting a little one of my own that very instant???? Luckily tonight I only had to worry about the first reason. I went in with one thing in mind and walked out with a cart full of stuff. Aurora met me there to help and we ended up driving the poor girl behind the register a little crazy with our coupons, splitting the total, and thousand questions. We finally made it out with this:
and this: .
and this:
There were a few extras also thrown in there. Can't wait to see her open them all up!

Productive First Day Back

So today was my first day back after being off for Easter Break. My kids and I got a lot done today as we continue to prepare ourselves for our last TAKS test===SCIENCE. It is definietly crunch time. After tutoring I stopped by HEB on my way home to pick up some stuff for dinner. Chili was on my mind and I ended up making this: It's called Chili con Pollo and no that's not how I set mine on the table, borrowed the picture from pillsbury.com. It turned out really good and the cornbread muffins on the side were a good choice. I decided to eat some before bootcamp tonight so that I wouldn't have to eat too late. Probably not such a good idea but I was just too proud of my creation, couldn't wait till after 8 to try it. Bootcamp was tough tonight considering our last meeting was on Thursday! I dragged for most of the hour and was so relieved when it was all over. Tomorrow I'm going to try and play catch-up and attend another session in Mission. Hopefully come 7 tomorrow I'll still be up for it. I have a 10K scheduled for Saturday morning so any activity I can get in before then should help.

2 of My Fave Women

Just finished watching Oprah and loved today's episode with the stars of country. I think Robert fell in love with Carrie Underwood before I did and I'm positive it was for completely different reasons. She's so talented and always looks so well put together, everytime I hear her belt out a song I get chills. If you asked Robert for his reasons his response would probably have to do with her physical apperance which I can't blame him for.;) As for Oprah, well there's little not to obsess over love.

Sign Language at the Dentist Office

Today was my 2nd appointment with the dentist and I was nervous about it all morning. As soon as I got there they applied some medicine to numb the area he would be working on. After about five minutes he got working. Amidst the sound of the dreadful drill he asked me to use sign language to let him know how I was doing. He wanted to see one of these if I felt ok:. I was so glad that most of the procedure was pretty painless. There were a few times I could really feel the pressure and instead of a thumbs up I was tempted to use another gesture using my hand and fingers but didn't. After about an hour he finishes his job only to tell me that he was only able to do a pulptomy on this one tooth and will be referring me to a specialist to take a second look. WHAT??????? Oh well, at least round one is over with. Can't wait for the next one!:(

Back to Reality

Friday after the garage sale (went really well!!) I drove out to the beach to meet Robert ans spend a couple of relaxing days out there. It's funny but as soon as I drive into Port Isabel this calming and relaxing feeling comes over me. For us the beach has really become our home away from home, a place to leave our worries behind. Charlie and I drove over to Boomerang Billie's to have lunch with Robert. I think they were more excited to see each other because they spent the next 5 minutes they spent chasing each other around. We enjoyed some lunch and drinks at the bar and then headed out to the park. That evening a friend of ours invited us over for some BBQ and we spent the rest of the night talking and laughing. The next morning I woke up around 8 to make sure I got a run in. I ended up running about 5 miles and the weather was great. Sun stayed in and there was a nice breeze the entire time. For lunch we stopped by Daddy's for their famous fried shrimp. Although it was a chilly afternoon we still made it out for about an hour and enjoyed doing some people watching. We ended up back at our friend's for more food and fun. Today it was back to reality. After being home for a couple of hours we headed over to his aunt's for a late lunch. The food was soooo good and it was great to see our nieces enjoy hunting for eggs and looking for people to crack them on. With all that food this weekend going out for a walk tonight was sooooo necessary. Luckily Aurora was up for it to and we ended up making it through a 4-miler. Tomorrow I'm off to the dentist for my second visit. He's going to start working on one of my molars tomorrow so I'm hoping I survive the pain!!!

Ocho-Eight--8

This is my first time being tagged. Thanks Jen! So here it goes:

8 Things I am Looking Forward to:
1. Our weekend at the beach
2. All this TAKS testing to be over and done with
3. June 3, 2009 --Last day of School
4. June 28, 2009 -- First year anniversary
5. Summer at the beach
6. Moving in a different direction with my career (new job, new school, new ditrict??)
7. Baby, maybe babies
8. Owning our own house

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went to work.
2. Helped get the RV ready for the beach this weekend.
3. Had dinner with Robert & Aurora.
4. Stressed out over the upcoming Science TAKS.
5. Showed our apartment twice!
6. Blogged.
7. Spring cleaning to get ready for garage sale.
8. Watched the View, Oprah & Real World/Road Rules Challenge

8 Things I Wish I Could do:
1. Eat healthier
2. Run a marathon
3. Bet in Vegas and win
4. Own a place at the beach
5. Cook every day
6. Visit a different country every summer
7. Take a vacation on a whim
8. Always keep my bank account loaded.

8 Shows I Watch:
1. The View
2. Oprah
3. Real Housewives
4. The Hills
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Real World
7. The First 48
8. Any reality TV

8 people I tag:
1. Rebecca Jo
2. Mariana at Maverick Anthony
3. Patty at Little Miss Sunshine
4. Quotes from the Queen
5. Kelly
6. The Twins at Twice is Nice
7. Lori
8. Anyone else who wants to play!

Not bad for my first time!

Waiting for Daylight

As soon as there's daylight tomorrow, it will officially mark our last day of school before Easter Break!!!!!! Eight hours of work and then we're off for 5 days!!! Even though this has only been a four day week for us it has been tough with the testing and trying to get things wrapped up before we leave. On Friday I'm helping at Erica's garage sale so tonight I went through my closet and drawers for Round 1. I didn't do too bad for Round 1, was able to fill up a bag worth of clothes. Basically I would look at something, ask myself when was the last time I wore it, and if it was more than 6 months ago it was out. Tomorrow I'll go through for Round 2 and then look through the rest of our closets before heading out to her house to help set up. Friday afternoon after the garage sale Charlie and I are off to meet Robert at the beach. He picked up our trailer this afternoon and we cleaned it out and got it ready for the big weekend at the beach. At first I wasn't too thrilled about being out there on such a busy weekend but after the last few days I think we all need the break! Can't wait to be holding a cold beverage in my hand and looking at views like this:

Two down, One to go

This was what my students looked like most of the day as they worked on their Math TAKS-----------------------------------
I myself had some trouble sleeping last night and woke up a little nervous this morning. I can't imagine the pressure they felt. You can't help but ask yourself "Did I do everything I could do to get them ready for this?" I feel confident though that they all did the best they could and hopefully when results come back we are all still smiling. As soon as I turned in all my exams and got my room back to normal for tomorrow I was out the door. It's definitely that time of the school year when we all feel drained like this little guy: Let the countdown to Round 3 begin!

Monday Evening in Pictures

I'm not sure if Mondays are just always busy or if I just drag round all day and leave things to do till the very end of the day but here is what my evening looked like in pictures:
1. Caught up on TiVo before bootcamp.





2. Outdoor Fitness Bootcamp. Week 2 = Longer and Harder Sets. That whistle is so annoying.








3. Dinner with Robert





4. Wal-Mart - Needed pencils for my students tomorrow. They are taking the "BIG, SCARY" Math test!!!!I made them a little Survival Kit. The contents:
A "Sharp"ened Pencil - Almost as SHARP as you, the pencil is to help you record the knowledge you’ve learned!
A Prism Viewer - To remind you to STAY FOCUSED throughout the test!
Eraser - To use when you CHECK YOUR WORK!
Skittles - To boost your test taking brain power!







5. Finally off to bed!

Feeling a little Marthaish

On my way home the other afternoon I passed by a house with a beautiful fiesta wreath outside their door. I immediately thought two things: 1. I'd love to be in San Antonio to celebrate Fiesta and 2. We need one of those for our door. Here's a picture of what one looks like that I found on craigslist:
After lunch today we stopped by Michael's so that I could buy the supplies I needed to put one together. Well once I got in there and started looking around I found some other decorations I loved even better: shells!! In all different shapes, sizes and colors. They were perfect and if I could manage to put the wreath together we could possibly keep it up through the summer. As soon as we got home I started working and about 30 minutes later this was the final product:
As I walked over to show it to Robert he takes a double take and says "Where did you buy that? It's nice." My response: "Uh, nowhere. I just made it." "It's the Martha Stewart in me." His response "Who's that?" Apparently today it's me!

Nothing to Cry About

Saturdays have really become our "go out and get things done" days around here. This morning I was up by 8 because I was due for a long run. I set out for 4 miles but it was such a cool, breezy morning I ended up going for 6.5. To reward myself I stopped by Old Navy and Starbucks on my way home. By the way if you're a fan of Old Navy and you haven't checked out oldnavyweekly.com you must. Every week they offer great coupons (40, 50% off a single item, etc...) and we all know their prices are already awesome. After my two pit stops I dropped off my car to get one of the back windows tinted. You see a week ago I got in my car to discover someone had tried breaking the back passenger window. It was completely shattered. Upon closer inspection, it looked like either a small rock had been thrown at it or possibly a BB. Thanks to GEICO it was quickly replaced on Tuesday. From the tint place we drove over to Sprint to get Robert's new phone checked out. Turns out he got a lemon, many of the functions weren't working and thankfully he was able to walk out with yet another new phone. Up next was the carwash. No sooner had we walked in the door did my phobe ring letting me know my car was ready to be picked up. Back out we went. After resting for about an hour we drove out to Weslaco to attend their annual OnionFest. Basically it was a chance to see how many different food items people add onions to (tacos, hotdogs, hamburgers, baked potatoes, fajitas, brisket, and lots of onion blossoms) and cool off with some frosty beverages. Robert and I both enjoy spending time outdoors and although it was sooooo hot it was nothing to cry about. We had a great time and the food was great.Note to self: Next year don't forget the breath mints! Finally after watching some basketball games at his cousin's we are HOME!!!!!! Time for bed.

Valerie, is that you?

Before bootcamp this evening I relaxed on the couch for about an hour and caught up on Oprah. Usually I try and watch while cooking dinner but this week was so busy I never had the opportunity. I had heard a lot about Wednesday's show with Valerie Bertonelli and Star Jones so I decided to start there. Good choice. How good does Valerie look???? She looked awesome (maybe a little too tan in the photo shoot, not this one)in her swimsuit and I felt like she was really honest about the hard work she puts in every day to maintain. I kept rewinding and rewinding the Tivo just to get another glimpse of her. In a way I guess it was a good thing I watched before working out because she kept popping into my head throughout the workout. It was good motivation. Up next was Star Jones. So glad she finally decided to come out with the truth and apologize to her co-hosts on the View. I mean really who didn't know about her secret surgery. Still not completely caught up with everything on my TiVo, so I'm off to watch more. :)

Random Target Trip #1098

Although I still think their return policy is ridiculous, it's really hard for me to pass by a Target store without stopping. It never really seems to matter if I've just visited one earlier in the week or not, in my opinion they are all very different filled with great buys for me to find. So tonight on our way home from date night I convinced Robert to stop and "just look around." Needless to say we walked out about an hour later with some pretty random items in our shopping cart. Everything from bread, to deodorant, to socks. My favorite buy though has to be this Ultramax water filtration system by Brita:
I'm hoping that this will eliminate all the plastic water bottles that I carry around with me all the time. We can go through a 24 pack in a few days around here and I know how bad they are for our environment. I've been feeling pretty guilty at school while teaching my kids about the importance of going green while carrying around my water bottles. After Robert set it up we both tried it out and I'm glad to say it wasn't bad at all. In fact I couldn't tell the difference between the Ozarka water and our new filtered water. :) Yet another example of how you can always find something great at Target even when you're just stopping to "look around."

A new Lover... Etsy

My slight addiction love for Ebay is not a surprise to my friends and family but I've just discovered something new...Etsy. Sure I'd been on there a couple of times before but I had never actually purchased anything. Monday night I caved in and made my first purchase. Here it is:

We're planning a baby shower for my friend in a few weeks and I found these adorable ladybug invites on Etsy. It was perfect. I contacted the seller, she sent me the JPEG file and I drove down to Walgreens to get them printed. So easy and incredibly adorable. I've been back on a couple of times tonight looking for more things to go with her theme such as:

or this:

This could be dangerous!