My Happy Pills

For the last 2 1/2 years I have been having lower back problems. My back would hurt pretty frequently. I would go to the chiropractor and that would fix it for a couple of weeks.  It wasn't really bad pain until about 6 months ago. Around then, my back started to be bad enough that my husband started to bug me about seeing a doctor. I finally saw a doctor for it a month ago. He referred me to both a massage therapist and a physical therapist. I have had 3 massages now and have had one physical therapy appointment where I was given several exercises/stretches to do to help strengthen my core. So with the massages and the stretches, I should be feeling better right?

Wrong!

Last week my back started to hurt worse than ever! My massage on Wednesday did nothing to lessen my pain. When I met with the doctor, he asked if I needed better pain medication than the Advil I keep taking. I told him no because up until last week Advil had worked pretty well. I regretted that. Technology is great though! I just went online on Thursday night, emailed my doctor, and had a prescription at the pharmacy Friday afternoon. That's when I started taking what my students now refer to as "my happy pills." They asked how my weekend went. They knew that I was having back problems because they can tell when I am in pain. So I told them I was on a pretty heavy medication that knocked me out. I slept most of the weekend. My kids wanted to know if I was going to pass out in class. I told them that unfortunately, I can't take my vicodin while I am working. It would NOT be the best idea. I don't think very clearly on that medicine. 

I just thought it was funny of them to refer to the vicodin as "my happy pills." Cute. I am happy on them though...

Science Rocks!

I have really enjoyed teaching science all day so far. Last year I taught two sections of math and science and one section of social studies. I was asked if I would prefer to teach all math or all science. I decided to do science since I liked the curriculum better and I love the head of our science department. So far it is going great! (Besides my 6th period class...) I love teaching this subject. I get to do some very fun things.

We are doing something called Interactive Notebooks in all the science classes. They are composition notebooks that all the students use every day in class. Having these has really cut down on the major problems I had last year with kids losing notes, not having paper, etc. It is so nice not to hear the excuse, "I don't have any paper Mrs. Huntsman! And so and so wouldn't let me borrow any!" That is great! 

Anyway, the last two days I have done some fun activities with my kids. Yesterday, we learned about inferences. We have been learning about observations and trying to make sure they are actually observations and NOT inferences. The kids kind of struggle with this. So I did a demonstration where I lit what looked like a candle and had them make observations. It was actually string cheese in a candle holder with an almond sliver for the "wick." The almond sliver burns for a few minutes because of the oil in the almond. They made observations for a few minutes and then I told them to observe one more thing...and I took a big bite out of it, "wick" and all. The surprise on their faces was fantastic. I had some kids say that they thought I was crazy for a moment! Here is a picture of what it looked like. Just know that I had the lights off (there was some light from the windows) and did not allow them to come close to it at all. 

It was pretty fun. 

Today we talked more about observations and inferences. I had a picture and two comic strips that we looked at today. They made observations and then inferences. I made them provide evidence for every inference they made. I think by the last one they really had the concept down. 

I just have to mention this last little note....I am just curious. Have you ever heard of anyone allergic to citrus? I mean, so allergic that you will throw up if you even smell it? I did an activity where the kids smelled some cotton swabs that had been soaked in different scents. One was orange extract and a girl said very dramatically that she was allergic to citrus (after she had smelled it). I don't know if I believe her. Does that make me horrible? I believe that she is allergic, but not that just smelling it will cause her to throw up. She didn't have a reaction at all during the rest of class, but she told me that she threw up later. Wouldn't the reaction occur sooner? Whatever. I called dad to make sure that I covered my bases and will not bring in any citrus to my classroom! 

Do the Puyallup!

Today we braved the Puyallup Fair. I just kept hearing about all the fun and good food! It has been at least 9 years since I've been and about 3 (? he thinks!) years for Brett. My mom got two free admission tickets from work and I got one, so the three of us headed off for some good food and the experience. We ended up spending some money (mainly on food!), but we had a great time! I don't think I will make the fair an annual thing, but it was a lot of fun.


Our first stop was for a scone to hold us over until we reached the infamous "Earthquake Burger!" That is what Brett wanted from the fair.




Those things are HUGE!


This is what I had left. I could not eat that whole thing.




Brett ate all of his plus some curly fries we shared with my mom. I barely ate any fries. The burger was just too much for me.


My mom came to the fair with one daughter and spent several minutes on the phone with her other daughter. Vicki said that she can't help that she is cooler than me. Whatever!


This was the part I was excited about! Funnel Cakes are the best. Seriously. Brett told me I should learn how to make them, but that would NOT be a good idea. They are too good and way too fattening. I am already tempted to make good treats all the time. But really, this was my second favorite part of the fair.


Brett really wanted an elephant ear. I had never seen one, or at least couldn't remember what one was, so I was fine with that. He really enjoyed his treat.


This was my favorite part of the night. Spending time with my husband. He is wonderful!

He bought me a bouquet of wooden roses. It is kind of starting to be a little thing with us. He buys me something rose themed when we go someplace cool...Anyway, I was teasing him and told him that now I don't have to keep this single red rose I got from an ex-boyfriend. He told me I could keep it because now he is 12 times better than him!


Aren't the roses beautiful? It was hard to take a good picture of them.

6th Period & My Classroom

This post has two purposes.

1. Complain about my 6th period class and

2. Show the pictures I took of my classroom.

Now back to purpose 1. My sixth period is really hard. Most of the class are VERY low academically. I can handle a few in a class being low. I just give them extra support and sit some really good kids by them. That doesn't work when you have 18 really low kids! I was literally running around my classroom during 6th period trying to answer questions, keep kids on task, and make sure they were doing the assignment properly. I was also trying to help the two new kids who missed our hour long Interactive Notebook set up on Monday. I thought I was going to be dead by the time 2:45 came. My feet and head hurt so bad!
I honestly don't know what I am going to do with this group. I am going to have to do more direct instruction and way more examples together before I can set them loose. I really thought they could handle what we were doing. It really wasn't hard and NONE of my other 7th grade classes had a problem. I am thinking at this point I will do things much different than my other 4 classes. Obviously can't change curriculum, but I can change the way I teach it. We will see. They might possibly kill my by the end of the year...

Onto purpose 2:
I have spent some time setting up my classroom. It has been fun actually. I am pretty proud of how colorful and bright it is. This is definitely an improvement over last year. I didn't really care then. I was concentrating on just making it through my first year.

Just a note...

I just want to make sure that people understand that we are renting this house. We did not buy it. We can't afford to buy at the moment. We are also trying to decide if we can all stand living together (us and my mom) before we commit to anything. Also, we are a three income family. Makes it a little easier to afford the rent for a nice place. Things might change when we have a kid.

Work, Work, Work!

I really didn't like the picture of the library. It is a little embarrassing! Since Brett was sleeping, I thought I would take the time to try to clean it up a little bit...Here is the result!

BEFORE




AFTER





I can't take all the credit. My mom and Brett woke up from their naps, were impressed, and motivated to help a little. We actually started to organize the books by category. Go figure. It is amazing what you can do in..oh goodness! 4 hours! I am surprised how much time passed.

Our New House

So I have been meaning to take pictures of our house so that people can see what it looks like...and finally today I had the time. Brett is taking a nap, so I have the time. I will try to make it so that you are getting a virtual tour...




This is looking in from the front door


The Dining Room on the left as you enter


The hallway to your right as you enter


Here is a picture of the Living Room


A view of the Living Room from the kitchen. Brett has really enjoyed having his desk down here. That way he can spend time on his computer and not be too far from me at the same time.


A view of the kitchen from the Living Room


I included this view of the desk (it is on the right hand side if you are looking at the kitchen from the Living Room) because my mom and I cleaned it off yesterday. I am proud of what we accomplished...


This is the stairway. We have three levels. It makes it really nice for my mom. You'll notice we still have boxes on the stairs. I will eventually take care of them



These two pictures are of our library. It is a disaster at the moment. We have been concentrating on other areas of the house. You'll notice it is lined with bookcases. I am excited to have it done because it will be a nice place to relax when it is! =) Wish us luck on cleaning that mess!


The library is on the left, the door at the end of the hall is to the garage. Across from the library is the bathroom...See below!




This house has 3 3/4 baths! We were so shocked. Why would they put a shower in this bathroom? There really is no point. Oh well.


Going up the stairs...


The spare bedroom. It is full of boxes that we can't decide where their home should be.


This is Vicki's room. It looked better when she was here...I really miss her actually.


This is the upstairs bathroom.


Looking down the hall. First door is the hall closet, next is laundry room, and last is the master bedroom.


The laundry room





Pictures of our master bath. Notice I skipped our bedroom. Total disaster area. Clothes everywhere. I am working on being better at putting them away after I wash them. It isn't going so well.

So downstairs has a bathroom, bedroom, and a rec room about the same size as our living room. I don't want to take pictures because it is my mom's area and it still needs a lot of work. It is difficult to pack a 3000 square foot house into that small of a space. In her defense, she has a ton of David's stuff that she can't get rid of until he comes home in mid October.


So that is the tour of our house!

Testimony

Today was fast sunday. I never remember the night before, so I don't usually fast. I love the first sunday anyway because of sacrament meeting and hearing members of the ward bear their testimonies. 

Today we had many youth come up because they were challenged to do by their leaders. I love hearing the simple testimonies of the youth and children. They have such sweet thoughts and I can really feel the spirit when they speak. There was one Samoan boy (about 8-10 years old) who came up with his younger sister (about 4-6 years old). He quickly bore his testimony and then the two of them sang the first verse of "I Am a Child of God" in English and then in Samoan. It was really cute and powerful. The spirit was so strong.

Our sacrament meeting ran about 10 minutes over because we had so many people come up, so I didn't get a chance to share my testimony. I thought I would take the opportunity to share it on my blog. Even if no one else reads it, it will help strengthen me. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church on this earth today. The teachings of Christ are there to help us have true joy in this life. Christ suffered in the garden of Gethsemane so that we would have a way to repent of our sins and return to our Heavenly Father and Mother. He not only suffered for our sins, he suffered for our sorrows that we are sure to have in this life. Life is hard. Christ knows that. Heavenly Father knows that. They both provided a way to remove the suffering from us. It takes great faith to put our burdens on Christ's shoulders, but it is worth it. I have to continually tell myself that. 
Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. He doesn't always give us the answer we want and He doesn't always give us the answer right away. I know. I am praying so hard for a baby right now, and my answer hasn't come yet. I have faith that it will come though because He has answered the other ernest desires of my heart. He brought me to a place (physically and emotionally) to meet the man who became my eternal companion.

The Bible and The Book of Mormon are the word of God. I am reading the Old Testament and I can see that everything comes back to the Lord. The symbolism is incredible. I love the spirit I feel when I am reading the scriptures. It is so strong. I can truly testify of the power of the word and how it can bless your life if you hunger and thirst after His words. 

I want to finish my testimony with the lyrics to a song called "His Power." I love the words and music to this song. They are so powerful.

"Even though I’ve heard it said
I cannot believe that God is dead
I sense His hand in everything I see
I hear His voice in melodies
His spirit is alive in me
I read His sacred word and I believe

It was His power
That calmed the raging sea
It was His power
That caused the blind to see
And by His power
The multitudes were fed
Men rose up from the dead
And by His power
He gave His perfect life to ransom us

All who now believe that God is dead
Will one day bend a knee and bow a head
And every tongue will then confess

It was His power
That calmed the raging sea
It was His power
That caused the blind to see
And by His power
The multitudes were fed
Men rose up from the dead
And by His power
He gave His perfect life to ransom us"

God lives and loves us so much. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Kids say the darndest things...

There is a reason I am a teacher. I have figured out over the last 24 years of my life that this job was made for me. I just enjoy being around kids and helping them explore the world around them. I have always been a little bossy, so it really is the perfect job for me.

School started on Tuesday and I have to admit I was excited. I was tired of not really having anything I HAD to do. I wanted something worthwhile to do with my time. Instantly I had PLENTY to do. I put in so many extra hours this week. I am exhausted! I slept in so late this morning that Brett made fun of me. Oh well. I needed the sleep. My classroom looks great though. So that is worth it. I am reminded of something Stephanie (an old friend- you can read her blog here http://thefantasiafamily.blogspot.com/) said. She was talking about all her projects and how she likes the feeling of accomplishment knowing that she did this with her own two hands. That is how I feel about my classroom right now. I worked really hard on it and I am happy with it. (I didn't take pictures, but I think I need to. They will come later!) The hours were worth it.

Onto the real reason for the post. I love the things that kids say sometimes. I am lucky enough to be around them and marvel at how their minds work. Here are some comments made this first week:

1. Student 1 talking about me with student 2: "Does she want to have any kids?"
Student 2: "She works at a school all day!" hehe

2. I am short because I don't like vegetables!

3. I am short because my parents are short.

Those two bring up nature vs. nurture...=)

4. This one made me feel good. We were talking about how they need to have (or fake!) respect for me and that included them paying attention (which they weren't doing at the time).
One student raised his hand and said, "If it makes you feel better...I love coming to 6th period and it isn't because it is fun. You are just so enthusiastic and happy. You are so young and we have some common interests."

At least someone notices that I like what I am doing! =)

Welcome Alexender Jay

Last week my best friend Jessica had her first baby. It is a baby boy who weighed 9lbs 9oz! Poor Jessica was in labor for about 15 hours. Oh well. It is worth it! He is adorable. I wish I could be there to meet this precious little boy.

Goodbye to Friends

Last night Brett and I said goodbye to two of our good friends. Jason and Nick drove back to Rexburg today. I am really going to miss having them around. The group is not the same without them. I am glad that they are working on their education and on their relationships...both guys are dating wonderful girls. Unfortunately for Nick, his is here in WA. Fortunately for Jason, his is in Rexburg. So one was very happy to leave and one was not excited at all. Oh well.
Here are a couple pictures and videos of past adventures.


This is Nick, Jason, and Ryan right after they bleached their hair together in our bathroom.


At my birthday one year, Travis (another friend of ours) did this to Jason. I am SOOO glad I was able to tape this. Priceless.


Jason, Brett, and I on a white water rafting trip. I highly recommend going sometime. It is a great experience.


We were hiking and Nick and Jason had to go up to the top of this hill. The only problem was that Jason had a really hard time getting up in his flip flops. So he took them off and threw them up to Nick. Nick was able to get one, but the other went into the trees...here is the funny outcome.


Here is Nick (on top of the tree), Jason (hanging from the tree), Brett and I.

We will miss you guys!