A little review...

I was a little embarrassed to buy it, but I had to see what all this hype over Twilight was about. Of course, I've seen the books displayed at Barnes and Noble, but I figured they were some poorly written youth novels...not something I would enjoy at all. When I started to see the previews for the film on TV, they looked intriguing, but I still wasn't sure the movie was for me. If you know me, you probably know that I love books, so the only logical thing to do in this situation was to read the book to see if the movie was even worth considering. I love the book Dracula, and several other books about supernatural subjects, but I have to admit that I am rather picky about them. I don't want to waste my time reading (or watching) some ridiculous, poorly written, dime-store novel. Lately, I've seen postings and reviews all over the Internet, magazines, and TV claiming to love Twilight, all of them increasing my curiosity. Even my sister Lindsey (who HATES to read) mentioned that she had read the book and enjoyed it. That was what convinced me to give it a chance.

Needless to say, I was skeptical when I picked up Twilight on Saturday afternoon and carried it to the checkout counter. Jason and I finished our Christmas shopping and drove back to Mount Vernon. Later that evening, I pulled out the book and began to read...and kept on reading. I finished the 500 page book yesterday. Now, I'm a fast reader when I'm interested, and though this book was by no means a difficult book to read, it was well-written and so engrossing that I couldn't put it down. In my opinion, it is one of the most original and exciting novels I've read in a long time. It may be intended for teenagers (the characters in the book are in high school), but I found it very enjoyable as an adult. If the film is anywhere near as good as the book, it is going to be fantastic. It's one of those books you don't want to end. I have a feeling I will be buying the next book in the series very soon...

I give it two thumbs up!

Note: I think you do have to have some appreciation for fantasy to enjoy this novel. If you get hung up on the realism of books and you can't have fun with subject matter such as vampires, this may not be the book for you. For example, Jason may not like this book. I think this because in the movie The Lakehouse, he could not accept the idea that the characters were sending mail through time. If something like that bothers you, you probably cannot enjoy this book. Otherwise, happy reading!

La, La, La, La...

Today was the much anticipated Christmas program! The children did beautifully (for the most part). We started out by doing a fingerplay about Santa Claus, then we did a song in Spanish that we've been working on since the beginning of the year, called "My Hands on My Head." From there we sang Jingle Bells, then did another fingerplay (The Chubby Little Snowman) and then finished up with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." I think the parents really enjoyed the performance (though it couldn't have been more than maybe 7 minutes long!!). I couldn't be more proud!

Lately I've been feeling like I haven't really made much progress with the kids this year, but doing the parent teacher conferences has boosted my confidence a little. All of the fourteen families I met with (out of 33, not a good turn out!) said that they had no complaints about my classroom and the ones that were at Head Start last year said that I was a big improvement over the old teacher who was fired. Several mentioned seeing big changes in their children at home. Although there are a lot of things I want to change about the class, and a lot of progress still to be made this year, I feel like maybe all the work I've put in thus far hasn't been totally lost on the kids. And next year I will only be a better, more prepared teacher!

Snow Day!

Well, today was another snow day. For the kids anyway. My lovely employers have a policy that on a snow day, the teachers still have to go into work in order to get paid, even when the roads are so bad that children cannot come. So, you have the choice of staying home with no pay or driving to work in dangerous conditions. Since my upcoming Christmas break is largely unpaid, (I don't have enough vacation time to cover the days off) I don't want to miss any days that I could be getting paid, so I went in. I made it to work safely, but two employees fell in the icy parking lot, and one had a minor car accident trying to get to work. Shouldn't that say something to the administration???

Anyway, it was a relaxing day for the most part. We cleaned the room for the kids' Christmas program tomorrow, and tried to finish up last minute paperwork that needed to be submitted before the break. We even stuffed gift bags for the kids (they all get fruit, a book, and some other little things for Christmas). After the work was done, we also got to have our own Christmas Party. Gifts were exchanged with our "Secret Sisters", which was a lot of fun. I got a Willow Tree angel (which I love!), a nice cinnamon candle, a Warm Vanilla Sugar gift set from Bath and Body, some Christmas votives, some lotion, and an adorable ornament. Then we all ate at Cracker Barrel. It was so nice to be together and enjoy each other's company, instead of getting into a huge argument like we did yesterday. It's tough working with ten other women!

Anyway, I can't wait until tomorrow, when the parents come to see the kids sing. I am so proud of all of them!!! I wish I could post pictures on here of them singing, but I think that's illegal.

Memories of Christmas' Past

Yikes, it's been a while since I did this! I tell you, Thanksgiving just really got me out of my routine and upset the the balance between work and home that I had. I can't seem to get caught up on my work, which means I have to bring it home, and then I get behind on housework (not to mention my favorite TV shows!) Ok, well that's a little bit of an exaggeration...I would never miss my fav shows! But I really feel as if these past few weeks have been a struggle. Only a few more days until Christmas break though! Then it will be 17 wonderful days of freedom!!!

Despite my busyness, I did manage to decorate for Christmas. The tree is up, the presents are wrapped (well mine are; I believe Jason still has several under his side of the bed that I can't wrap for him!) and the stockings would be hung from the fireplace with care, if only I could find a stocking holder that wasn't hideous. Imagine that...I finally get a fireplace again, and I can't decide on stocking holders! And some of my Christmas decor is still lost in the black hole that is my garage... Still, I'm pleased with my artificial tree.

Jason and I have an ongoing debate about how to decorate the tree. I like a fairly uniform tree....my ornaments and beads are gold, and the lights are white. Jason, however, likes more of a hodge-podge tree with all different ornaments and colored lights. Here's what we ended up with:

Though our tree has a gold theme, the ornaments are different, and every year we add new ones. Jason's mother gives us each a new ornament each year. Mine are usually a dragonfly or an angel, while Jason's are Army ornaments telling his rank and duty station. There are also special ornaments because of big events in our lives. Here are some from last year:

My ornament

Jason's ornament

Our El Paso ornament from the Youngs

Together at Christmas (After Iraq)

I'm sure this year we'll have new ornaments to add to our tree, and with them, the memories of another year gone by.

Jingle those bells!

My brain is tired today. This was a crazy day at work, and not because of the kids. It was because of the staff. This is the part of my job that I hate. I didn't want to have to manage other adults...managing 34 preschoolers is enough for me! Why do these adult women have to be so childish??? Why must I become a mediator for ladies who are closer in age to my mom than myself? They take the smallest things (say, leaving the names of two very unhelpful aides off of the classroom newsletter) and blowing them way out of proportion (like, "I don't feel like I belong in this classroom"). It makes me want to scream, honestly. I shouldn't even say more, because I could go on and on about it. AGH!!!

I am so excited about our holiday program though. The kids are working hard to learn the two fingerplays and songs we'll be performing next week for their parents. It's going to be really cute. Hopefully we can get most of the kids to actually sing...I still have several that just stare while we practice. I never knew that Jingle Bells was such a hard song for children...I'm pretty sure I knew most of the words when I was in preschool. I guess it just depends on what your parents teach you though. Nevertheless, my kiddos will know (most of) it by Christmas!! And then it will be two weeks of vacation!! Woohoo!!

Jason just got home from Indianapolis, so I should probably go spend some time with him. Today he's been home from Iraq for exactly one year...and what a great year it's been!

It's a Wonderful Life.

Today, like many other days in my life, I was struck by just how lucky I am. I spent much of today doing laundry and cleaning, while I listened to Christmas music and paused numerous times to admire my Christmas tree. It occurred to me that I have many things that other people want. I have a wonderful husband who loves me (and spoils me at Christmas, judging by the Kay jewelry box already under the tree), while many people are alone during this holiday season. It breaks my heart to think of my grandpa, and how hard it must be without my grandma this year. Furthermore, I live in a beautiful, (usually) clean home, while I know that many of my students live in decidedly gloomier abodes. Will they have anything under their trees come Christmas morning? I can also appreciate that I have a beautiful head of hair, which I know my mother would love to have right about now. We get so caught up in our lives that we forget to appreciate these things that we have been given. So, next time you are complaining about your housework, or your spouse's annoying habit, or your bad hair day, take time to reflect on how blessed you are to have a house to clean, a husband to argue with, and even the hair on your head.

There is so much that I have been blessed with that others don't have the luxury of sharing. That is my thought for the day. :)