has it really been 1 year?

No, not since we've been married.  But almost as good as that...1 year that we have been together since Zach got home on February 11th, 2009.  I thought that day would never come and now we have had a whole year together since then.  What a year it has been.  I realize more each day what a wonderful husband and friend I have. 

Stages of teaching:
1. Honeymoon
2. Hostility
3. Humor
4. Home

Luckily the hostility didn't last long and the humor has been helping me get through it all this whole time.

Oh how I love my kids, let me count the ways:

1. I asked my student what a number was and he says, "82, my lady."
2. We talked about honesty and I asked one student to share his journal answer and he said, "Being honest is not lying.  Jesus Christ...(mumbling)."  And then he bowed his head.  I think he thought he was giving a talk.
3. Working on ch, sh, th, wh digraphs and when I asked for examples of ch I got church and a really excited Choose the right!
4. During math one student said, "Mrs. Smith, I'm almost getting hair on my chest...like a man."  Out of nowhere.
5. One student said about another of my students with autism "He is funny."  He replied, "No I'm not.  I don't tell jokes!"
6. The same student who is apparently not funny has a slight obsession with my one girl student and he tends to look at her A LOT so I told him that I would put his star card in time out if he continued to look at her.  He said, "I can't stop.  My eyes just look at her."
7. We did compliments today and I had each kid compliment the student next to him and then they could pick anyone and so I encouraged them to pick the teachers as well.  One student said he liked me because I "help him in math".  It made me feel pretty good after a LOUSY week last week.

Sometimes it helps to remember the good things because some days are really rough.  Luckily I have Zach to come home to and he puts everything into perspective and just makes me laugh.

Grandpa and Grandma

I wish we could be there to help out more, but I am so excited we will get to be home next week and spend time with Grandpa, Grandma, and the rest of our family.  I am so grateful for them and for my relationship with them.  I am also glad that Zach has known them for so long and feels a special bond with them.  Many a double dates were had with these two.  If someone is hanging out with Grandpa this week tell him Stacie says hi and she will be there soon.  And she says, "I love your little heart, I love your little liver, If I had you in my mouth, I'd spit you in the river" and "I love you and you love me and that's the way it's supposed to be."

I really need to start writing down the funny things my kids say so I don't forget them...

• One of my 1st graders was looking at a picture to sort it by beginning sound and he said, "Violin.  I play violin...and piano and guitar."  I said," You do?"  "Yeah.  I'm a rock star."  Totally nonchalant and didn't even crack a smile.
• I sneezed really loud in one of my morning centers and one of my kids said, "That's a big bless you!"

I have to be at school really late for Parent Teacher Conferences and a couple didn't show up so I took a moment to blog. 

Quick update

We are back in school and things couldn't be busier.  Zach has been studying a ton and I have been working a lot.  I'm very grateful for our upcoming Monday off.  We need it.  Zach changed his major to Chemical Engineering and he is already loving it.  My kids are keeping me busy with all their little behaviors that popped up after the holidays and Parent Teacher Conferences this week.  I do love my job though and I want to share funny things:

• Today I was benchmarking them and working on IEP goals with them and later in the afternoon one of my students said, "Thank you for testing me!" and gave me a hug.  It is nice when your efforts are appreciated...cute it came from him. 
• In the last week 2 of my students have, separately and unbeknownst to the other, sang "Don'cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me, don'cha..."

Love you all.  Promise we will be better about this.
P.S. I graduate in 3 months!

You know you're in Utah when...

My school is listening to Obama's speech this week so I decided that it would be good to have a lesson on the President and what he does and who he is.  The morning journal was "Who is in charge of our country?"  I asked the kids and they looked confused until one said, "Jesus!"  So right, but not at school.  Anyway, the same kid looked at me and said, "Barack Obama."  Amazing that he knew that--he's only 6!  Another kid is still convinced his mom is in charge.  Later in the day after communication group where we learned about the president, I had each kid tell me something they learned about the President and what he does.  One kid couldn't come up with anything so I said, "Did you learn his name?"  He said, "President Monson!"  His brother gave the Jesus answer before.  Cute kids. 

Also, I got a text from Zach today and he got to hear President Monson during devotional!  I wish I could have been there.  I didn't always make it to devotionals because of work and my volunteer hours in the schools, but I never missed when the prophet was there.  Good thing conference is in 2 1/2 weeks!

Oh so domestic.

We went to Vegas for Labor Day weekend and I had the crew pick me up from my school so we could head out ASAP.  It was a great trip with family and friends even though the parasail ripped before most of us could try it.  Next time...Anyway, the point of the first sentence was to illustrate that when we came home Monday afternoon I hadn't been home since Friday morning at 7:00.  I came in and noticed the laundry detergent by the microwave so I moved it to the washer.  I would say to the laundry room, but notice our pictures below and see the 5 foot wide 15 foot long kitchen includes the laundry room and water heater closet.  We had lots of wash so I got started with our first load of whites.  I went about other things then came and switched them to the dryer and got another load in the washer.  As I was pouring the detergent into the lid, I noticed there were some dark specks in it.  I suddenly freaked out and asked Zach what was in our detergent.  He then walked in with a look of realization and told me that it was the oil from the fried chicken he made last week.  He decided to use that to store it in since the detergent was basically empty...the only problem was he forgot to tell me!  I felt like an idiot for not noticing sooner, but Zach helped me see the humor and helped me fix the problem.  3 extra washes later and our whites still smell funky.  We laugh about it everyday. 

Random funny story from my class: Today we were stretching our words to hear each sound (beginning, middle, and end).  I decided to have them pretend to be pulling the word out of their mouth to get them to have something a little more concrete (random I know).  We were on bat and I asked one of my first graders what the beginning sound was and he said frantically, "I've got a bat in my throat!"  They are hilarious.  Love my job.