Taxes

I've been very nervous about filing our taxes on our own just because I've never done it and had no idea what to expect. We had intended to have someone do them for us, but it was quite pricey. Today i bit the bullet and I did them online with H&R Block. It was the EASIEST thing in the world. And the return numbers were quite nice too :)

100%

I've never been a 4.0 student and I barely ever got a 100% on a test, but today at work we had an audit done by one of our corporate bosses and my class got a perfect 100%. Only one other class in the entire center did that. It made me feel really good especially in a week where I have been ridiculously stressed with work.

Unexpected Buys

I went shopping today and took my mom along for company. It's our thing that has always been what we did whenever we went out and spent time together. We typically do more browsing than shopping, but when you find a good deal you have to jump on it. My mission today was to buy a new pair of shoes for work. I am incredibly hard on tennis shoes as I am on my feet all day. I decided I wanted to spend a little more money to put into a nicer pair. I also decided we should go into Old Navy since it happened to be next to the shoe store to check out their clearance sales. My mom picks up this bright emerald green trench style coat. I'm like NO way will that ever look good on me. I can't pull something like that off. She keeps holding it up and says "oh just try it on for fun" So i put it on and shes like it looks so good on you we have to go find a mirror. I don't believe it, but to amuse her I say ok whatever. We find a mirror and I put it on. Gosh darn it! It did look good on me! So I now own a green coat. This coat to be exact...

A clean house on my day off

Typically the weekend is my time to clean the house because it tends to pile up all week. Today though our house is clean for the most part (i need to sweep the floor and what not), but there isn't much to do. I can lay in bed and watch tv for as long as I want because there isn't this huge to-do list staring me in the face. In fact if it weren't literally 2 degrees outside right now I might consider going shopping :)

My name

I have a class of 25 preschool children and there is another class in the room of about 15 preschoolers who I spend a decent amount of time with throughout the day as well. All of my children call me Miss Brooke and it is nice when a parent takes the time to learn your name as well. I see these a lot of these parents daily and they still have no idea what my name is. They say thank you in passing because it is what you are supposed to say, but it is really nice when a parent stops to say "Thanks Brooke". I'm flabbergasted at how many parents don't know the teacher's name. Even when I mention another teacher in the room I often get "which one  is that?" There are only 3 of us, come on now. So, if you have kids in school at any level, do you know their name?

Hugs

Sometimes I feel weird hugging people. Actually I feel weird hugging people that aren't my husband, or my family. I love hugs from my preschool kiddos though. Every day I walk into our room and they scream my name and wrap their arms around my leg. Ten kids hugging on me at once almost takes me to the floor some days, but it's totally worth it. It's that little bit of peace before they start tackling each other, stabbing each other with straws, throwing rocks, and peeing their pants. The day ends the same way. I think it's what takes me back each day ;)

Post-It Note Commercial

I'm watching TV and see a commercial for the new super sticky post-it notes. No big deal I get the point they stick better than they used to. What makes me laugh hysterically and pause the commercial is the fine print. The commercial shows a little kid hanging from this post-it on the wall. The fine print says "Just Kidding. It can't really hold a child" It makes me laugh for a couple of reasons. 1. the ridiculousness  that they have to put that on there or someone will try to sue them when their child cannot hang from the post-it and gets hurt and 2. the fact that it says Just Kidding. It makes it seem so light and not serious. I love it.

Speaking of Bubble Baths...

I learned a very valuable lesson this weekend. A little bit of bubble bath in a jacuzzi tub goes a LONG way. A lot of bubble bath in a jacuzzi tub means bubbles EVERYWHERE! I filled up the jacuzzi and asked Steven if he thought it was ok to put bubble bath in it. He said yes. I've never used a jacuzzi tub in my life, but my thought was that it was a big tub it would need a few extra squirts of bubbles. I didn't take into consideration that the jets would make the bubbles keep multiplying. It was fantastic. I felt like I was being eaten alive by bubbles, but it was so much fun! I felt like a kid all over again, it was a mistake, but it was a GREAT mistake =)

Swimming

Living in Ohio means January isn't really ideal swimming weather. We have to wait until about June to really enjoy any outdoor swimming. Today though we are going to take advantage of a day off together and a little bit of extra money and go to a hotel to take advantage of their pool. I'm fairly excited. We both LOVE to swim and I wish we could do it more often as it is great exercise. I'll be sleeping good tonight that is for sure!

Candlelight bubble baths

It's something you always see in a movie and think awe so cute, but so not something that ever happens in real life. Fast forward to today. I have a BAD day at work, totally stressed out for no apparent reason cranky as all get out and Steven and I have this conversation:

Me-"I think I just need to take a long hot shower to relax"
Steven- "Why don't you take a hot bath instead, that's relaxing"
"I like listening to music otherwise I get bored and we have no plugs in our bathroom, so I can't"
"You can use my MP3 player and I'll even go start the water for you"
"Ok, but there better be a lot of bubbles"


He leaves and starts the bath I have to explain to him where the bubble bath is. A few minutes later he comes to the bedroom and says it should be ready soon. I say thank you and walk into the bathroom. A tub FULL of bubbles, more than I've ever been able to achieve in my life, and candles all over the place. It was one of the best things anyone has ever done for me. I instantly started to cry and then proceeded to take a very relaxing bath :)

Chocolate!

I have an issue and I can admit it. If there is chocolate around me or in the house I cannot keep my fingers out of it. I don't buy it often because I know I have no self control (which is ridiculous), but being a teacher you get TONS of candy for Christmas. It's almost gone, but that surely hasn't helped my waist line. I almost just want to hurry and eat it all that way it can be gone and I can try to get back into shape again.

A clean organized house

During the week I don't do a whole lot of cleaning. I should probably start, so that my weekend isn't always dedicated to cleaning, but I like to relax after work and spend time with Steven instead of scrubbing the toilet. I love the feeling though when your house is clean and everything is put away. I'm supposed to be working on that now, but I also like to procrastinate :)

Pizza Rolls

Never as a kid do I remember EVER getting to eat pizza rolls. I ate my fair share of personal frozen pizzas, but never pizza rolls. I didn't even eat them in college and I would consider pizza rolls a great college food. Quick, easy, and tasty. I now cannot get enough of them. I know they aren't good for me by any means, but they are great for nights like tonight when Steven is gone all night and I just don't feel like cooking for one person.

Preschoolers

Teaching preschool everyday can either be seen as a huge blessing and make you happy or a giant stress and make you grumpy. Before the holidays I feel like I was on the grumpy side of things. I was seeing the trouble my students were causing and dwelling in it. This week has been SO much better though and I think it's because I've finally remembered to take the time to laugh and be silly with them. I love sitting down and talking to a 3 year old.

Pictures

I love having pictures to look at and remember days that have long been forgotten. I love taking pictures. I NEVER remember to take my camera though. I would absolutely love to do a 365 photo blog, but I know darn well that I would never have a picture to post and if I did they would begin to look very similar after a few weeks because I live a very routine life. That being said here is my favorite picture of my terrific husband and myself celebrating New Years last night.