I've been slacking again...

To keep up with my teaching certification, I need a certain amount of professional development credits by a certain date. I am currently in need of 106 hours and have 1 year and 5 months to finish up those credits. I'm not exactly sure what happens if I don't get all my needed credits before time is up, but I don't want to find out. Luckily I'm able to take free classes online that get me anywhere between 5 and 15 hours of credit, it just depends on the class. And all I need to do for them is some reading and writing. I'm actually enjoying it because I've written a few lesson plans already. Most teachers would probably say that they dislike writing lesson plans, but I actually like it!!

For each course you have about 90 days to finish it and I currently have one that I'm enrolled in that I have 1 month to finish. All I need to do is create a lesson plan and then come up with an authentic assessment to go with it. I've got an idea of what I want to do so now I just need to get to it and write!

I divided it out and figured out that i need to get an average of 6 hours of credit per month in order to reach my 106 hours needed. If I take one class that is worth 10 hours or 2 that are worth 5 per month, I will definitely reach that!! If I can, I'm going to see if I can get more than 6 hours of credit per month just so I can get it out of the way!

This is where my bullet journal is going to come in handy!! I need to start making a daily spread for each week so I can look at my schedule for the week and plan when I'm going to work on my class work. If that means there is less time to play video games, then that's what I'm going to have to do. If it means of my days off of subbing that I don't take a nap while the kiddos nap, then so be it. I need to stop being lazy and get my class work done so I can finish my credits!! I know it will be a lot easier to keep up with my professional development when I get a full-time job, but until then I just need to take as many of these free classes as I can!!

My ideal future classroom

I've been thinking a lot recently about what I want my future classroom to be like. I have decided that I'm ready to start looking for a full-time teaching position to start in this fall. I have been saying that I wanted to wait until Big E was in Kindergarten before going back to work full-time, but ever since I started substitute teaching again, it is making me want to do more than just subbing.

I don't always get to do what I love every day that I work. Sometimes all the teachers give me to do is busy work for the kids where they just work in groups on a worksheet or work by themselves. There are some days that I actually get to teach some lessons to the class, but I'm ready to be doing that every day I work. I'm ready to be in charge of my own classroom of kids. I'm ready to have tests and worksheets to grade. I know it's going to be a lot more work than I'm doing now, but I'm ready for it!

So here is what my future classroom would look like:

As the students walk in, they would make see something creative that I've made from Pinterest where they will make their lunch choice for the day. I have a few ideas of what I'd like that to look like. This is one that I found on Pinterest that I really like.

I found this on Pinterest as well that I love for a paper turn in area:

On the first day of school we would talk about rules and why they are important. We would also come up with expectations both of what I expect from the students and what they can expect from me. It is hard as a substitute teacher to get the respect that you deserve from the students. Unless you are in the same classroom a lot, those kids don't really know you and think they can get away with goofing off and not acting the same way as they would if their teacher was there. But when it is your own classroom and you you lay down the rules right from the start, it is a lot easier to get the respect you deserve. So I want my classroom to be a safe place for the students where they feel like they belong. I want it to be like our own little community where everyone respects each other. 

Here is a link to my Pinterest board for my classroom. I created it a few months ago around the same time I was interviewing for the long-term 5th grade substitute position. Just the idea of possibly getting a full-time job got my wheels turning in my brain on what I wanted to do with that classroom. Even though I didn't get that position, I'm still thinking about what my future classroom is going to look like. I get so excited just thinking about having a classroom I can call my own! I know it is going to happen one day!! Until then, I'll keep searching Pinterest for even more ideas!!

We're so close!!!

*Spoiler: Don't read unless you have watched the episode of This Is Us from January 23rd.*

We are so close to finding out how Jack died on This Is Us!! Ever since the first season I, just like the rest of the This Is Us fans, have been sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to find out what exactly happened to Jack!! For most part of this season though, I've been pretty content without finding out anymore. I was just enjoying the storyline and didn't care that they weren't telling us any more.

But then they started giving us these little clues here and there like they did in the one episode when they forgot to get batteries for the smoke detector. And then in the preview for next week Kate said it was her fault. My theory is that the reason she was hesitant about getting the dog at first, is because maybe Jack went back into the house for her dog and that is why he died.

One thing I love about this show is how they allow you to put little pieces together and try to figure it out for yourself. I can't remember watching any other show that is like this. We know that Jack died but they haven't told us yet. And I kind of like it that way because it's like solving a mystery.

The one thing I'm not super excited about is that the next episode isn't on until Super Bowl Sunday and us not having cable means that we have to wait until the next day to watch it. Well, my hubby leaves for a work trip the day after the Super Bowl so that means we have to wait until that Friday to watch it!! So until then, I'll just have to do some more thinking about what I think is going to happen next. Tell me, what are your thoughts on This Is Us? I wanna know!!

Planning a trip...or 2!

So I'm not sure when exactly either of these trips are happening, but I just made 2 spreads in my bullet journal to start saving for them!! My hubby and I are going to go to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and then as a family we are going to Disney World!!! The Atlantis trip will hopefully be before the Disney trip. I'm hoping that we go to Atlantis within the next 5 years. A great part about both trips is that we shouldn't have to spend much, if anything, on our flights because of all the traveling my hubby has done for work. We can use the points he has accumulated so that part of the trip will be covered. The only flight we will have to pay for is from Florida to the Bahamas because Southwest (the airline his points are with), don't fly out of the country.

Here is my tracker for our Atlantis trip:

And here is the one for our Disney trip:

Like I said, neither trip will be anytime soon, but if feels good knowing that we are going to start saving for them soon. Neither trip will be cheap, but they will totally be worth it!!!! The hubby and I haven't had a big trip away with each other since before the kids were born, so that was more than 4 years ago. And I can't wait for my kids to experience Disney World!! We want to go when they are 7 and 9. I went to Disney when I was 8 and I only remember a few things from that trip. I would say we should wait until they are both a little older than 7 and 9, but at the same time I want them both to be young enough to enjoy it. I know there is something at Disney for anyone, no matter what age they are. But I really want Big E to still be into the Princesses when we go.

I can't wait until I can start filling in these squares on these pages to show our progress of saving!! My plan is to try to put $50 towards both of them at the same time. Some weeks we may get to put money into the savings and some weeks we might not. Once I get a full-time teaching job we will definitely be able to start saving a lot more. But until then, we'll save when we can and not stress about how much we have in there. I know in the end that we can make both trips possible!!

Things I need to stop saying

So for a while now I've realized that Big E is a huge sponge just taking in everything she sees and hears! But recently she's just been picking up more things so it's got me thinking that I really need to watch what I say when I'm around her. It's not like I swear or anything, but there's just certain things I don't want her saying.

The biggest one is "What the heck!" Now I know most would agree that "heck" is a lot better than "h-e-double hockey sticks", but it's still a word that I don't want my almost 4 year old saying. So starting now I'm going to try to get that word out of my vocabulary. Instead I can say "What in the world?" That I don't mind hearing Big E say.

I honestly can't think of anything else I say that I don't want her to say. I just knew that was the # 1 thing that I should stop saying so she doesn't repeat it. Obviously I don't want to swear in front of her because I don't want her saying swear words. But like I said, I rarely swear as it is, so I don't think I have to worry about slipping in front of her.

Little E is becoming a little sponge as well. For being 18 months, he doesn't really talk too much to where you can understand him. But the few words that he does say, wow! I'm so surprised he knows them. Yesterday we went to Target and there was a school bus parked in the parking lot and my husband said that Little E said what sounded like "school bus". Around Christmas time when people had Christmas lights up, he said the word "lights" and I had no idea he knew that word. It's crazy because they really do know more than you think they know. So everything they hear from the adults around them to the TV and music they listen to is super important that it isn't anything bad.

Between a movie on Netflix and Big E's tablet, that's how she knows her ABC's and can identify them! Now she's starting to learn the sounds from a game she plays on her tablet. So while they may recommend that kids under 5 not watch TV or use tablets that long each day, some use is alright if it is educational. It definitely isn't a replacement for me teaching my kiddos that stuff, but it helps!

So what are some things that you say or use to say that you know you shouldn't say around your kids? Leave me some comments! Have a great rest of your Sunday!!

Why do I want my house to be clean?

For the past month or so I've been posting pictures on Facebook and I even wrote a post about this topic here. I've been struggling with keeping my house clean because there were constantly toys everywhere!!! Well, we went through the playroom and living room thoroughly one weekend and got rid of some more toys that the kids don't play with anymore. We got a 9 cube storage unit for the playroom and moved the little kiddie table from the corner to the middle of the room. That table gets a lot more use now than it ever did in the corner!!

We have a new rule that we clean up before snack time every night before bed. We also clean up before lunch on weekends and the days that I don't work. This has been working very well and I can honestly say that I feel great since we started doing this. With Little E I still have to help him with it a bit, but once I show him that we are putting things into bins, he follows. And Big E fights me sometime with cleaning up but I just tell her that she doesn't get lunch or snack until it is cleaned up and then she starts.

It's so funny how a small change like this can make me feel so good, but it does. Just looking around the house and seeing it all cleaned up makes me happy and feel accomplished. I wish I could say the rest of the house looks as good as the downstairs does, but it doesn't. I'm slowly working on that though. I need to clean off the top of my dresser and clean out my closet sometime soon. I also need to go through both kids' closets and drawers and weed out the clothes that don't fit him!! Little E is in 18 month clothing and I still have 12 month pants in his drawers!! Before you know it he will be wearing size 24 months!!!

In the past I would stress out about not having enough time to clean up and having toys all over the place. But I finally feel like I've found a system that works for us. Sure I still have dishes piling up in the sink every now and then and sometimes the counters aren't the cleanest, but that's ok. Another thing I'm proud of is that I'm teaching my kids at a young age to keep the house clean and pick up after themselves! I remember when I was younger that my bedroom was almost always a mess!! Maybe I wasn't taught at a young age to pick up like I'm doing with my kids, who knows.

Video gamer here!

I think one thing that most people don't know about me is that I love to play video games!!! When I was younger I played some console games on Playstation 2, Wii, and even a Sega Dreamcast!! My kids will never know what that last console was, haha. I even played some computer games like The Sims!!!

Well, when Big E was about 3 months old, my dad and step-mom kept her for a weekend while I went to a concert and my hubby had airsoft for a day. That was on Saturday and then Sunday we were both at home and only had planned to go see a movie. Either before or after seeing a movie, I asked my hubby to teach me how to play one of the video games he plays on the computer. He has always been a big computer guy. He is great with them!! And he loves playing video games!!!

So he taught me how to play Minecraft!!! I instantly fell in love with the game and we would play every night and then all day Saturday and Sunday. You have to remember that this was when Big E was 3 months old, so pretty much all she did all day was eat and sleep. So for a while, our Saturday's and Sunday's were filled with video games!!

Then we started playing a game called ArcheAge. I'm pretty sure that anyone reading that has heard of World of Warcraft or WoW. Well, this is a game that is kind of similar to that game. The one aspect of the game I love is that you can own land and then plant things such as rice, corn, lavender, irises, and much more. Then you use those materials to make things and you can sell them to get gold. The whole point of the game is to create gear for your player and then you do quests to level your character up and you fight other players. I think another big aspect of the game I love is the people that we play with. They have what is called "guilds" which is a team of people that you play with. These are people from all over the world that play! We have been in a lot of different guilds within the past 3 and a half years that we've been playing this game. And we talk to them online when we play which is awesome! We've had some fun times and conversations playing with people that we don't even know in real life!! One thing that is funny is when you talk to these people for a while and you haven't seen a picture of them. Then when you finally do see a picture, it's nothing like what you imagined they looked like!!!

Now that Big E is older plus we have Little E, our only game time is at night when they go to bed and naptime on the weekends. I used to be so into gaming that during naptime during the week I would go down to the basement and play! I've stopped doing that now because while they are napping I like to either take a nap as well or catch up on some cleaning!!

Early intervention

As you may know, Big E was a premie born at 32 weeks. Because of that, she got evaluated by early intervention to see if she qualified to get any services. Based on the assessment she did qualify on the social aspect of the assessment. I thought that was a little silly though because at the time she was only 3 months old. So a special instructor started coming to our house every week and we found that it was a little more important at the time to work on getting her to start moving. We started with rolling over, then crawling, and eventually walking. She did all of those a little later than usual but that was expected due to her being 2 months early. She was evaluated again after one year of services and she qualified again but this time it was based on language development. We were so focused on getting her moving, that her language development wasn't quite where it should be, but the person that came each week said that was normal. So that next year we focused on getting her to talk more and she definitely did! Now our special instructor was only coming every 2 weeks because she said you wouldn't see too much progress week to week. Towards the end of that year she didn't even really need to come but we enjoyed having her come every other week to hangout with us for an hour! I still keep in contact with her and chat with her every now and then!!

So now fast forward to Little E. He was born at 39 weeks so he didn't get evaluated for early intervention. But at his 18 month check up earlier this week, the doctor said he is borderline for being concerned about his language development. So, I called up early intervention and requested to get him evaluated. It could end up that he doesn't qualify, but I'd rather just get him evaluated just to see. There's no cost to us which is amazing!! So if you have a child ages birth-5 and you think something may be up with some aspect of their development, see if there are early intervention services offered in your area and see how they can help you out.

More on my decision

I didn't make it to church this past weekend like I wanted to but I'm ok with that. I've been doing some more thinking and have had some good conversations with 2 of my friends. I told both of them that I've gone pretty much all of my life without being a religious person and that I'm doing just fine without it. They both essentially told me the same thing, but in 2 different ways, that I may think that I'm doing alright without religion, but I just don't see what I'm missing yet.

One of my friends that I talked to (who is also a fellow oily user), related this to people who don't use oils. They think that they are doing perfectly fine in life with oils but then all of a sudden they try them and boom, they work for them and now that person can't imagine life without them. So maybe I just need some sort of experience like that to make me realize that I do need religion in my life.

Part of me still thinks that maybe the reason I'm having these thoughts is because I need to meet some new people and gain some new friends, but I don't know. I recently bought and received a book of Bible stories for kids. It has 2 different levels of reading it. You can read through it and just read the words at the top for younger kids which is a shorter version of the stories. Or you can read the bottoms of the pages as well for older kids. So I'm going to start reading through this book with Big E and just see what information from that she picks up.

Then this summer I'm going to find at least one vacation Bible school for her to attend so she can learn more there. A friend also suggested that I start by asking her simple questions like "Do you know who made the trees, the clouds, etc." And then next Christmas, I will definitely be talking about the true meaning of Christmas with her. I think by then she will be able to understand a little more than she will be able to now.

The main thing that has been going on in my mind is that as long as my kids know right from wrong, I'm happy. The simple lessons like "treat others the way you want to be treated" and saying "please", "thank you", and "your welcome." As long as I raise my kids to be good people, I know I've done my job as a mother. There is a lot of bad in this world and I don't think it is ever going to get better. But I can sleep easy at the end of the day knowing that I taught my kids to do the right things in life. And to me, it doesn't matter if we go to church or not. Just being taught the good values in life is the most important thing.

Here is what I have decided

This post is a follow up to my previous post, A kind of uncomfortable post. So if you haven't read that one yet, read that one first and then come back to read this one.

I texted my hubby while he was away for work last Thursday and told him that I was thinking about maybe checking out a local church with my mom. I told him about the blog post I wrote and wanting to start reading the Bible. I asked what he thought about that and mentioned the fact that we never talked about religion before. I also told him that I was nervous to even bring up the subject because I didn't know what he would think. Well, he said he isn't interested in it at all. And I am totally ok with that. But it got me thinking: why do I all of a sudden have an interest in religion and reading the Bible?

Part of me just wanted to stop having thoughts about religion and just forget about it all. I mean, I'm going to be 28 soon and for the past 12 years or so of my life, I haven't gone to church or read the Bible and I'm doing just fine. It just got me thinking, what am I going to gain by going to church? Well, one thing I'm thinking I could gain is new friends. As I've written about before, I've been struggling with my friendships recently. I was just telling my husband the other day that I actually don'e even know who my friends are anymore. Sure I have some people that I text and talk to on Facebook regularly, but then there's also people that I talk to way less now than I used to. And it's been a while since I've seen a lot of my friends or hungout with them. So maybe by going to church I'll meet some new people and maybe that's just what I need.

So I've decided that I'm going to keep using the Bible app that I found and follow the "Bible in One Year" plan. It's been a bit hard keeping up already but I'm determined to stick with this. I'm going to even try to get a day or 2 ahead every now and then so I can stay on track. Also, next week I'm going to go to a local church with my mom for an event they have for new members. It is a non-denominational church and I think it is going to be a great fit. They have what seems to be a great children's program so I'm excited to learn more about that.

I'm also going to start watching Veggie Tales with Big E and see what she picks up from watching that. I can maybe look into getting some children's books that would introduce her to the idea of God and religion. My aunt suggested finding a vacation Bible school this summer so I'm' definitely looking forward to doing that!

I still don't think the reason I want to jump into this is 100% clear to me yet, but I'm excited to see where this journey will take me! Like I've said many times before, everything happens for  reason so eventually I will find the reason for wanting to pursue these thoughts!

I learned something new...

You know how people say "You learn something new everyday"? Well, here is the thing that I learned today: Steve Jobs got fired from Apple, the company that he co-founded. Then he went on to create a company called NeXT and he had a part in creating Pixar. I was in for a learning support teacher today and when I came back to the main room the students were in, the class was discussing an article about Steve Jobs. They were talking about how important it is to work with others because Apple then realized that they needed Jobs working with them. Just think about what could have happened had Jobs never worked with Apple again.

Or think about what would have happened if Apple never fired him in the first place. Would Pixar have been created and be as big as it is today? Who knows. It's another one of those times where we can say "things happen for a reason." Even bad things that happen to us can turn into positive things if we have a positive outlook. When something bad happens to us and we are only looking at the negative, we can't find anything positive from that experience.

What is one moment in your life that you look back at and think "If that hadn't happened, my life would be completely different." For me it would be meeting my husband. If we had never met, I wouldn't have my 2 precious children. And there would be people in my life that I don't know. So be grateful for every moment in your life, even the bad ones. Because if you stay positive, then positive things will come your way. It's all about mindset!!

A kind of uncomfortable post...

A few months ago I had started writing a post like this one but then for some reason I just scraped the whole post. I decided to write this post again because it's something I've been thinking about recently. When I was younger I used to go to church and was even part of a youth group at one point. I'm not sure why I ever stopped going to church in the first place. I had never seen myself as a religious person. It's not like I don't believe in God, because I do. I just don't go to church or pray or even read the Bible.

Within the past few months I was around some friends that were talking about God and religion and it just got me thinking about all of this. Yes I've been doing fine going about my life without praying or reading the Bible, but I just have to wonder what I could gain by doing those things. I'm not saying I'm going to go super religious and change every aspect of my life, but it wouldn't hurt to read the Bible.

And that is exactly what I plan on doing. I have the app YouVersion Bible on my phone and I plan on using that app every day. They have all kind of plans to go through and I have chosen the plan called "Bible In One Year 2018". Each day has a devotional to read and then some passages that go along with it.

I'm not exactly sure yet what doing this is going to do for me. I haven't even told my husband how I feel about this. He isn't the religious type either. But a time is going to come when we need to discuss this and figure out how we are going to raise our children in regards to religion. A part of me felt guilty during the holiday season because we didn't talk at all about the real reason for Christmas. I know the story of Christmas (and I'm pretty sure my husband does as well), but like I said, religion just isn't something we talk about. Big E and Little E don't hear about religion from anyone. And I honestly don't know how to introduce them to God or Jesus. Big E got a book at my baby shower called "Sweet Dreams Princess: Bedtime Bible Stories, Devotions, and Prayers". Maybe I just need to start with that. I'll start reading through the book with her and go from there. I'm not sure exactly what she is going to think or be able to understand from it. She actually understands more than I think she does sometimes. So she may surprise me!! And then I think I should see if they have a version of this book for little boys and I can start reading it to him when he is a little older.

Do you have any tips on how to introduce your little ones to God? I think what is making it hard for me is that it's not something that has been naturally in our house from the time our kiddos were born, so it's not just new to them, but new to me as well. I'll take any tips you have!!!

2018 is here!

Well, another year has come to an end and a new one has begun! And I am so excited for the year to come! I can honestly say that going into the new year, I've never felt the way I'm feeling now. 2017 was a great year but I know that 2018 is going to be even better! There have been so many great things that happened last year that are just going to make this year even better!!!

Today me and the kiddos spent the day with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (my hubby was traveling for work). One of my family members said something about the new year not being anything to celebrate because it's just going to make you mad anyway. I completely disagree with this! It is all about mindset. If you think your day is going to be a bad day, then it will be. If you think it's going to be a bad year, then it will be. Seriously, life is what you make it so you need to stay positive and not think that everything is going to go wrong.

One thing that I've learned about myself in 2017 is that when it comes to friendships and relationships, sometimes I can rub people the wrong way. A huge example of this is in my Young Living business. I'll admit that when I first started the business side of Young Living, I was all about the kit sales, getting people to join, and making money. But with this business, what makes us stand apart from other MLM's out there is that the product sells itself. People are buying you, not the oils. You have to build relationships with people before you can even think about getting them to join. You can't just push oils on people who aren't ready. If I had understood this about a year ago when I started the business, I may be at a different point in my business right now. But there's no use thinking about what could have been because we can't change the past. All I can do now is look back at my mistakes and learn from them and make some changes.

This year I'm making it a goal of mine to take care of my relationships a little better. Kit sales will not be my top priority. I really want others to experience the oily lifestyle and kick toxins out of their life, but I can't force them to do that. I need to gain their trust and show them that I care about them and then everything will fall into place.

So let's cheers to 2018!! Here's to hoping that all of you have your best year ever!! I've started making a list of things I want to do, places to visit, so that I can make sure this year is one of the best years I've ever had!!