will you be my meow-entine?

you know you're with the perfect person when you find yourselves sitting on the couch, watching tv, and eating leftovers with your kitties at your feet on valentines day.

no sarcasm whatsoever.

i love my husband.

whirlwind.

this week has been quite the whirlwind.

so, most of you know that i teach a group of elementary kids (all boys!) with emotional and behavioral problems. i started the year off with eight kids and got a couple new ones as the year progressed. we are a super tight-knit group and i just love my students! these kids are extra awesome because they are so accepting of everyone and are extremely friendly and kind. no matter how hard it is for me to get out of bed sometimes and face another day, once i see my kids, my attitude completely turns around because they all make me so happy. i just can't say enough good things about them! 

last week, wednesday to be exact, i received an email saying that i would be getting a new addition to my class who would begin to come to my class on tuesday. two hours later, i received another email telling me that another student (a little girl) would also be added to my class, also beginning on tuesday!

i think it's safe to say that i am scared out of my mind.

friday, i met with the new little girl's parents and she got to come visit the class and see what her new school would be like. the first time i saw her, she ran up to me, threw her arms around me and said, "mrs. lake, mrs. lake!!!!! i love you!" my anxiety eased a bit, but i was still a little concerned about how the boys would treat her. 

after we walked into the classroom, my sweet boys lit up and were so excited to meet their new friend. in fact, one of my kids showed her where her desk was and even pulled out her chair for her! she was even able to come out to recess with us and the boys just treated her like she was one of them. as i watched them all play together, i felt so much love for my students. i felt so grateful for their sweet personalities and how much they care for each other. the little girl's parents kept saying how special these students were and how they had never seen a group of kids (let alone a group of older boys!) accept their daughter as quickly as my kids did. it was the most heartwarming sight to see, and i would be lying if i said i didn't shed a few tears watching them.

a lot of these kids have experienced some pretty severe abuse and trauma in their lives. they are used to being known as "the problem kids" or "the bad kids" and the majority of them have had to change schools because their teachers just couldn't handle their behaviors. i wish that all those people who had given up on them or hurt them could have seen them this afternoon as they reached out to this little girl and made her feel like she belonged. 

for as difficult and frustrating as this job has been thus far, i couldn't be more happy or grateful to have had this opportunity to get to know these sweet boys. they have taught me more about compassion and love than i ever thought possible. 

this post brought to you by binford tools

i don't know if it's the cold weather or their budding love, but these kitties just love to cuddle each other!

one of my new years resolutions for 2014 was to blog every sunday.

so far i've totally nailed it.


in all seriousness, i simply forgot what my resolutions were (which i think is the number one way to not achieve those resolutions) and just never thought to sit down and write about stuff.

i think my other excuse for not writing is the fact that nothing that exciting has happened lately. just the regular school and work stuff.

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yesterday t and i helped his sister and her husband move into their new place, which is this super-nice basement apartment with all-new everything and a walk-in closet in the master bedroom and a huge kitchen with lots of counter space and i'm drooling now.

i just walked around their place and thought about our tiny basement apartment with all-old everything and a small closet in the master bedroom, and our tiny kitchen with like three feet of counter space and i felt myself growing more and more jealous.

i hate feeling jealous.

as we drove home, i told t about how i turned into a big, green jealousmonster while we were there and you know what he said (other than, "isn't it great that we only have to pay half as much in rent as they do?")?

he said, "well, let's use that feeling and make our home nice."

the man is a genius.

i'm grateful that we get to live in such a great place with our little family and kitty-children. now we can show our gratitude by taking pride in our apartment and making it nice and homey.

so, let's consider 2014 the year of (home)improvements.
*insert tim allen noise here*

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have i mentioned lately how much i love being a teacher?

i really love going to work everyday.

it's definitely not an easy job (by any means) and sometimes those kids really drive me nuts, but there are days that are just pure magic.

for instance:
on friday, i told my class that if they worked really hard in the morning, we could have a dance party before lunch.

they LOVED that idea and got so excited and all of them worked without complaining.

that dance party turned into a dance contest and, i have to say, those boys have some killer moves! it was a definite eight-way tie.

it was so magical and cute to see these kids do their signature moves to their favorite songs with 100% confidence, but it was even more incredible to see them cheering each other on and encouraging each other.

i just loved it!

my little band of misfits never cease to amaze me.

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it has been so cold.

teeth-chattering,
bone-chilling,
goose-bumpy,
nose-runny
cold.

i would really like to be here right now.

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and, finally, to all those who are feeling like me and need some encouragement to get through the dreary month of february, look no further than this song by the great wilson-phillips.

i am not embarrassed at all to say that i belted this song in my car four times in a row after class last week.

until next week!