All Manner of Pressing Issues

So I did a little more work in my classroom on Friday. I’m not finished yet but am getting closer. 3 of my days this week are consumed with all day meetings, but hopefully the other two days I can get into my classroom and wrap up the loose ends on the decorating and organizing. I am ready to hit the ground running with planning and back to school paper work.

I realize the yellow bulletin board paper combined with the yellow shelf is a little overkill. I’ll change the paper in October, so surely we can live with it for a few weeks!

I’m excited about the computer table set up. I thought that turned out nicely. The table cloth has owls on it–our school mascot.

Please ignore the clutter around the sink (I’m working on it) and focus on the cute little rug. I found it at Target for $1! Its lifespan may be 2 weeks, but I thought it was too cute to pass up.

I posted all of my calendar math materials on the whiteboard but am thinking that I am going to do calendar on our SMART board this year. If I decide to do that, I’ll try to post the SMART board lesson here so others can use it.

I really love the arrangement of my classroom this year. I think it’s my favorite of all my years of teaching.

I’m hoping my class size is 20 because that’s how many students I have room for at the tables. I know I’ll have more than 20, so I need to quit hoping and just make room for another table. Not sure how that’s going to work but I’ll make it happen.

I’m putting myself and Olivia through back to work boot camp. I’m back into my house cleaning and menu planning/cooking routine. Luckily, I kept a workout schedule throughout the summer that I can maintain during the school year, so nothing new there. However, Olivia is adjusting to evening instead of morning walks. I’ve gotten a few dirty looks from her in the mornings, but otherwise she’s been adjusting beautifully.

I have a meeting tomorrow, but look forward to working in my classroom Wednesday!

My cooking endeavor was neither a total failure or a total success. The chicken was delicious, the artichokes weren’t quite right and the cake was downright disgusting. I read each recipe several times before I even made my shopping list and read the recipes through again before I started cooking. I have no idea where I went wrong on the artichokes unless I didn’t cook them long enough or maybe didn’t cut enough leaves off. The cake was more like the texture of a brownie and the icing was off. I must admit I left the salt out of the cake by accident, but followed the icing recipe exactly. Not sure what happened there. I had a fun time in the kitchen and I suppose that’s what matters most. I didn’t even go to the grocery store until 6pm, so the lesson learned here is to not attack 3 new recipes at 7pm.

I didn’t get a picture of the cake. It’s in the trash can. I deemed it inedible but my husband choked down one slice. Bless his heart.

Today I spent some time working at school. This is only the second time in starting six years of teaching that I have not had to move my classroom. I cannot believe how easy the beginning of the year set up is when I’m not having to sort through another teacher’s “treasures” and make room for my own. I am not finished yet, but I made progress today! Didn’t take me anytime!

Here is the “before”:

And here is evidence of the progress I made:

It felt so good to be back in my classroom today. I enjoyed arranging and decorating and thinking about all the little people who will be spending their first grade year in our classroom. First grade is such fun and I am enjoying making our classroom a special place for my students! Oh, and in a few days I will have a SMART board where that brown board is in front of our carpet area  (above the red stool)!!

This is the little area I am most excited about. I’m not quite finished with it yet, but hopefully will be by tomorrow or Monday. I will put plants on top of the L shaped bookshelf on the right which houses the books for our classroom library. The bookshelf on the left will have a curtain over the front. This is where I meticulously file the books I pull to use for lessons and read alouds. The books are filed in plastic bins. It’s a convenient system that works well for me. I should post about it someday. The children’s chair that is in front of the desk will be moved out of the way of the desk so that a student could use the desk as a workspace while another student reads.  I use the Daily 5 method for my literacy block, so students work independently all over the classroom throughout the morning.

There is a lot I can’t do at school until I get my class list. So, until then I’ll put paper and border on my bulletin boards, get my calendar set up and work on putting curtains on all of my open bookshelves. I keep things on the shelves labeled and very organized, but it still doesn’t look good, so I’m putting up curtains. That’s on tomorrow’s agenda.

My mind is in full-fledged “back to school” mode. The fall is one of my favorite times of year. Bring on those sweet little enthusiastic first graders!!

Tonight we will (hopefully) have supremes de volaille a l’escossaise, artichauts braised a la provencale and reine de Saba for dessert….
Chicken breasts with diced aromatic vegetables and cream, artichokes braised with wine, garlic and herbs and chocolate and almond cake or dessert

Last summer I got the bright idea to make a new bed for Olivia. The bed I made last summer was to go in her crate. At first, she didn’t like it and actually the first few nights after I made it, we had to take her new bed out and replace it with her old, chewed up beach towels so she’d quite crying and go to sleep. Eventually, she came to love her new bed.

When I made her new bed, I made thee bed and then made several covers to go over the bed so I could switch out the cover and wash it, etc

Olivia has gone through a few changes regarding where she sleeps since we moved out of our apartment. From the time we got her up until February, she slept in her crate. Even when Richard and I lived apart because of work, Olivia slept in her crate. At the end of January, we moved. Our box springs wouldn’t fit up our staircase, so for a few weeks our mattress was on the floor. Olivia could hop on and off the bed. This resulted in her starting off sleeping with us and most often she’d move herself into her crate during the night. After the snow cleared away, we were able to get out and buy a split box spring that would fit up our staircase. Olivia could no longer hop on and off the bed with ease. The crate was still in our bedroom, but she started sleeping with us. Eventually this led to the crate being taken apart and stored in the basement.

After awhile, I realized I wasn’t sleeping well because of the dog. We never take her collar off, so every wiggle creates a jingle and she loves to snuggle and stretch out at the same time which means she nearly takes up as much space as a third person. This resulted in me practically hanging off the bed so the DOG could have enough space to sleep!

I finally had enough and decided that she’d sleep on her bed beside our bed. I assumed we’d have to go through a few nights of crying and restlessness on her part, but that I was willing to do it so things would be better in the long run. Well, to my surprise, on night #1 of Olivia Sleeping Solo Boot Camp, she put her paws up for me to put her on our bed and I said, “Livvy girl sleeps over here” and I led her over to her bed and SHE LAID DOWN AND WENT TO SLEEP without a peep! Most nights she still tries to talk me into putting her on our bed, but then she willingly goes over and snuggles down on her own bed. Such a big girl!

This time on my bed-making adventure, I decided to use a couple of more “serious” fabrics so we can have something not too loud to leave out in our bedroom all the time. The more “fun” fabrics will be used for her beds for the back of the car and her doghouse outside.

Last time I used stitch witchery. That involved lots of time, pinning and ironing. This time I decided to try fabric glue. I LOVE the stuff. I’ll never use stitch witchery again. I whipped up the beds and covers in no time! Of course, watching Julie and Julia while I was working helped!

I actually bought the blue fabric thinking it would be cute if we do get to adopt a boy dog. We haven’t heard a word from the Westie rescue. I completed the application a couple of weeks ago and then emailed them a week or so later confirming that they had received it, but still no word. We’re disappointed, but still waiting to see what happens. The organization is run by volunteers  and they get hundreds of applications, so I’m trying to be understanding and patient. Even if a little boy dog doesn’t get to use the blue fabric, I think it suits Olivia, too.

As if making beds and bed covers for my dog isn’t bad enough, I decided she needs a little luggage tag for when we need to take a bag places for her. I ordered it from here, The Monogram Marketplace on Etsy. I got her name and a doggie bone (in light pink and green) on the front and our phone numbers on the back. I can hardly wait to get it in.

It’s kind of starting to sound like it might be a good idea for school to start.

I am not sure what made me do this, but a few weeks ago I started looking online for a Westie to adopt. I suppose I thought Olivia might like a 4-legged friend.

There was a dog named Bentley on one of the local rescue’s website. He was 6 years old and had Addison’s disease (easily managed with monthly shots). I was all geared up to look into adopting this dog, but when I looked this morning, his adoption is pending with another family.

So, plan B. I completed the adoption form and requested a dog named Xander (short for Alexander) or another dog they thought suitable for our home. Xander is 5 years old and was given up because his parents divorced. I have issues with his name, but I realize he is probably too old for us to totally change his name, so I think we will call him Alex.

I’ve always been anti-boy dogs, but i’ve decided it might be kind of fun. Richard says he doesn’t want another girl because he is afraid the girl would be mean to Olivia (she is submissive).

I have no idea what we are getting ourselves into. I am sure having two Westies will be quite the adventure! I am already ready to shop for cute boy collars and cute boy fabric to make a bed for him! I’m already wondering if we’ll need to buy a second dog house or sell our current dog house and upgrade to a larger one for them to share. Can’t wait!

Here is Olivia sleeping on her window bed: