pastry chefs

yesterday kelli and i watched seth and lexie to give my aunt a little time off. kelli made them spaghetti for lunch (no, that is not a typo-kelli really did make lunch) and then they watched a movie. after that, they wanted to make cinnamon rolls, so i assisted them with that. while i was getting a cookie sheet, kelli took pictures of them in their "cooking attire."

there are no pictures of the baking process. i was helping them, and kelli was on the internet. and there are no pictures of the cinnamon rolls. they disappeared almost as soon as they came out of the oven.

sorry.

be impressed. be very impressed.

i am not very big on breakfast. many times i can take it or leave it, but there is one thing that my mom makes that i absolutely love.

biscuits. not those grand, pillsbury, store-bought ones. no siree. i like the biscuits where you roll out the dough, use a biscuit cutter, and brush some melted butter on the finished product. yum! so whenever my mom makes them, i eat a whole lot of them.

well, like i knew it would, my mom felt like i should start making them myself if i wanted them (i'm so hurt). so yesterday when kelli and i went to the store, i got the pioneer baking mix to make my own biscuits. this morning, i got up, made coffee, and began rolling out the dough.

ok, at this point, i have to say that making the biscuits is super easy. i mixed two things together. that's it. ok, back to the story.

anyway, there were some hilarious moments, like realizing that i needed a ton more flour than i had (can anyone say sticky fingers?). and of course, roddick was by my side at all times in case something edible fell from the counter. then when i took the biscuits from the oven, they looked more like cookies than biscuits. yes, i know...i rolled the dough out too thin. oh well, now i know for next time.

the good thing is that they tasted as good as i remember. yay!!!! now i can add biscuits to my growing list of things i can make.

christmas 2008

christmas this year was just amazing. we had a christmas eve service at church then went to my wita's house for dinner and to open presents. for as long as i can remember, we have opened presents at wita's house. now it's fun watching lexie and seth get excited about their presents.

christmas day we got up and drove to la grange to see my other grandparents. when we got there, the fence was closed. jo and sam, my grandparents' dogs, came up to the fence to make sure we were not suspicious people. i took advantage of the extra time to take pictures. unfortunately, i only got three pictures the whole trip.

anyway, i've compiled the pictures that i (and my dad) took during christmas into a slideshow.

warning: although i didn't include every picture i took, the slideshow is still 35 pictures long. you might want to grab a snack to eat while you watch!

lexie the chef

seth the cowboy

a little r & r

this has been such a relaxing day. i got up early because we were leaving town to come see my grandparents. the trip itself was not bad, considering i slept most of the way. i tried listening to two sermons on my dad's ipod (one by my godfather, steve coronado, and the other one by mark batterson-love him) but i kept falling asleep. and no, it wasn't because they were sermons.

anyway, when we got here we had lunch, opened presents, and then my day really got better. did anyone else see the most amazing end of the spurs and suns game?! roger mason made a three at the buzzer to beat the suns by one point. it was AMAZING! that totally made my day. after the game was over, i decided to take a nap. apparently i was tired because i slept for 3 hours straight. in fact, when my mom came in to wake me up for supper, it still took me a long time to get out of bed. man, that was some gooooood sleepin'.

mom just made some super yummy chocolate cookies (to appease the chocolate craving i suddenly had) and those with dr. pepper is just about the best snack ever.

i have lots of pictures from our christmas celebrations, but i'll put them up when i get home. hope your day was as equally relaxing!

siblings

i just wanted to share one of my favorite pictures of the night.

merry christmas!

i hope you have a wonderful christmas filled with family, fun, friends, and lots of food!

oh my goodness

i just came across these old but super cute pictures of seth. i don't remember how old he is here, but isn't he just adorable?!

what's up?

not much...

early christmas present

i just came home, and my sister was bustin' at the seams to give me my christmas present. at first i wanted to wait until we could open all our presents as a family (my immediate family opens gifts before the christmas eve service).

that feeling only lasted a few seconds.

she reeeeeeeally wanted me to open the gift now, and i reeeeeeally wanted to open the gift now so opened it.

guess what it was?

a pink patent purse!!!! i have been wanting one for a long time, and kelli remembered and got it for me. (ok, the only reason she remembered was because i kept reminding her.)
i love my purse =)

the car

before i start with the pictures, i need to say that my car is a huge blessing from God. i needed a car, and wanted a certain kind. God provided both. i wanted a car like my last one: a honda accord leather interior, 6 disc changer, and sunroof. i know, sounds selfish and something that i can't really afford. my mom kept reminding me that they got a great deal on my old car and not to expect the same thing to happen twice. but i didn't think that praying could hurt, especially since He had already answered a rather large prayer request just the week before. i had about a week and a half to look for a car, and i was going to be in florida for a week, which left me with very few days to buy a car. two days before i had to be at inservice for school, i bought my car. there were so many little things that came together and i don't want to bore you with the details, but i do want to share with you my favorite detail.

when it became apparent that i would need a new car, i told my dad exactly what i could afford. i quoted a price that i wanted to pay a month. when we sat down with the finance guy (two weeks after the conversation with my dad), he showed me what my monthly payments would be: $.45 more than the price i quoted my dad. i almost cried; instead i whooped for joy! i turned to my dad and exclaimed, "DAD! THAT'S WHAT I TOLD YOU! THAT'S WHAT I TOLD YOU!" poor finance guy. he didn't know what to make of me.

so i bought a car. oh, and did i tell you? it's a honda accord with leather interior, 6 disc changer, sunroof, AND satellite radio. isn't God good?

i got it!!!!

thanks to a unexpected, generous check, today i was able to buy the camera that i've been wanting. i picked this camera out in october, but i couldn't afford it then.

dad, kelli, joey, ryan and i went to store after store looking for this camera. unfortunately, it was sold out at best buy and target, and i couldn't find it at office max or sears. we decided that our last two stops would be office depot and wal-mart, even though i didn't hold out much hope for either one. when we got to office depot, my dad asked the guy if they had the camera that i wanted. he looked, and lo and behold-they had it! not only that, i got it for $30 less than i would have gotten it at target, best buy, or wal-mart! i'm excited about that kind of a deal. so i went to wal-mart and got a camera case and a memory card (the camera came with one but the memory wasn't big enough). i'm super excited about my purchase, so expect more picture posts. we'll start with one that i have been promising for quite a while now: my not-so-new-anymore car.

enjoy!

vacation has started

at 9:34 a.m. that's what i time i woke up this morning! woo hoo! after the fabulous christmas program last night, we went out to eat with some friends. while we were getting ready to eat, sarah invited us to watch a movie at her house. for the first time since school started, i said yes! of course i was tired and even fell asleep during a small part of the movie, but i think it was the principle of the matter: i stayed up late and slept in.

so now today i have a lot to do, but i'm glad i started my day off right =)

freedom!

that's right, people: i'm free! well, for the next two weeks at least.

i had an incredibly busy morning, but it was fun. i had to finish wrapping my students' gifts, but i couldn't find clear cellophane ANYWHERE. but my mom had the genius idea of using saran wrap, and voila-it worked! actually, my superhero, can-do-anything aide did it for me since i was entertaining six year olds and their parents. i love her. anyway, i totally hit the jackpot today. i got great gifts and it was so much fun opening them up in front of the kids. i got jewelry, chocolate, stuff for my house and nativity sets.

and of course, this comes with a story: when i opened one of my nativity sets, i said "oh this is beautiful! i'm going to put this in my house!" one boy looked puzzled and asked, "you have a house?" when i said yes, a girl put her two cents in: "i thought you lived with your mom."

i couldn't stop laughing. poor kids. they probably always think i'm laughing at them.

actually, i am. but i do it in love.

anyway, joey and i went to lunch at red lobster (yum, yum!) and then i came home and slept for two glorious hours. it was heaven! now i'm getting ready for our church christmas banquet, which i'm sure will be fabulous. enjoy your weekend!

p.s. one of my gifts was a huge fleece blanket with coyotes on them. they look like our old dog, spunky, which makes me love blanket even more. i even took a nap with it today. so i love it. ok, bye.

stuff

i have about five things i want to post about, but alas, i have no time. i guess i could have last night, but i was too tired. i do have a post coming soon about ryan though. among other things. gotta go, bye!

rejected photo

but i still love this picture. roddick looks like he's trying to get away from kelli. which might actually be the case!

red lobster

i love red lobster. i love their shrimp scampi, which is just about the yummiest shrimp ever. and today when went for lunch, i saw that they added a pretty much amazing lunch menu. you see, back in the day my favorite meal from there was the dockside shrimp and chicken: grilled chicken over a bed of pilaf rice and shrimp scampi. oh man, it was delicious. suddenly my favorite meal went away...just like that. i was very bummed.

then, miracle of miracles...it is on the lunch menu! i had shrimp scampi and wood-grilled chicken over a bed of rice. that just made my day! (obviously, since i'm blogging about it.) anyway, the rest of the day was just as great. i got to take my usual long nap, and then after church the six of us went to eat and then went to see the lights. fun, fun!

it's a great start to the week. have a great week!

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

i couldn't resist putting this on here.

remember the remote control that mom took with her to the basketball game?

kelli did the exact same thing when we went to miles yesterday! because some of the same people that were at the game on monday were there yesterday, we all had a good laugh. yet another reason my mom and kelli are so much alike.

good times, good times.

fun with friends

i just have to say that this is the best day that i have had in a long time. i got to sleep in which was so nice. and by sleep in, i mean wake up, eat breakfast, and then go back to sleep. when i finally decided to roll out of bed (kelli was yelling at me), we went to the park so i could take pictures of kelli and roddick for christmas cards. i did a lot of laughing, but i also realized that i am not a photographer. and roddick isn't photogenic. not a good combination.

anyway, later we drove to miles for ryan's basketball game. um.....well....here's the deal: some little boy was pushing ryan around (more like down) and the refs weren't doing anything about it. about the third time, i was really angry and even his laid back coach was yelling at the ref. it made me wonder that if i got that mad about someone pushing my brother around, then i wouldn't be a pretty sight when my own kids played basketball. i realize that basketball is a physical sport, but what happened today was just downright ridiculous. oh well, the game is over and ryan is still alive.

i got to eat dinner with my friends and then we went to see the lights on the river. there were so many hilarious moments that i can't really pick just one. or two. let's just say that i love hanging out with my girls.

now i am exhausted with no clue why i'm still up. ya'll have a great sunday!

school, music, and craziness

first of all, i would just like to say that i agree with kylah. kylah, you have validated everything i have felt for the last two days! you know it's bad when the teacher next door told says, "i'm sorry you're having such a rough time." um...yeah. even my aide has noticed how crazy things have gotten. but this too shall pass; we only have 6 school days left. hallelujah! and the christmas concert tonight put me in a better mood.

i told my mom that seeing my students stand on stage and sing their little hearts out made me fall in love with them all over again. as they stood with their beautiful dresses and cute little christmas ties, it was hard to imagine that these were the same kids who were driving me crazy just hours before. but they're my students and i love them. i love them so very much. i told them today that they were my favorite first grade class and they were NOT impressed. "miss hernandez, we're your only first grade class!" they exclaimed. how did they get so smart? and who is their teacher?!

and yes, i realize that i haven't yet told you of my recent decisions. i know you're hanging on the edge of your seat waiting for the recent revelations of bethany's life. but my parents just walked in with dinner, so i'm outta here.

c-ya! (how's that for a throwback to junior high?!)

"i'll give a dollar to whoever can find the remote"

i cannot even begin to tell you how many times we heard my dad say this when we were growing up. but if someone was looking for it last night, they weren't going to find it.

as i said earlier, we took a trip to midland last night. when i got to my parent's house to pick them up, my mom was watching t.v. right before we left, my mom's phone rang so she was on the phone while she got ready to leave. while we were in the car, mom was looking through her purse for something when she came across something that didn't belong in there.

the remote.

apparently she was distracted while getting ready to leave, so when she turned the t.v. off she just stuck the remote in her purse. but she forgot to take it out of her purse when we got home, so it went to school with her today too.

dad, do i get a dollar?

when did it get this stinkin' cold?!

did anyone else see this coming?! obviously i don't check the weather often enough. however, am taking advantage of the opportunity this weather has afforded me.

i'm in bed.

ok, not in bed for the night. but i had to get under the covers because i was so cold.

sorry for the whiny-ness...

i almost forgot

i have made some recent decisions lately. (did anyone else hear "i have decided to follow Jesus" after you read that sentence? i did. i'm such a nerd.) and these are actually serious ones, not like growing my hair out. although, as far as decisions go, that one was pretty life-altering.

no, one of these in particular has the power to change the rest of my life. i think. if all goes according to plan. which, as we all know, can change in a heartbeat. but who knows.

do you like my choppy sentences?

but due to the state of my exhausted mind (like you couldn't tell) i will have to blog about it later. plus, i think 3 posts in one hour is more than enough. but i will tell you that three are somewhat related (ok, a lot related), and another one is something i've thought about off and on. PLUS i have a funny story about my mom. i can't remember the last time i wrote a funny story about her, so it's past due.

g'night, ya'll!

move over, mister

have you met my cousin? if not, you're about to! my crazy cousin cheli and her fiance (fiancee? i don't know) have started a blog to chronicle their love together.

oh boy.

but let me tell you, you're going to like hearing about my family from a different perspective (i think). she's the funny one in our family (kinda hard to imagine, huh?) so i'm sure she'll have you laughing. and anything mean she says about me is a lie.

which reminds me...cheli, you're deadmeat for that comment earlier. love you!

whoooeeee

what a day! we just got in from midland where ryan had a basketball game. i've decided that i could be a ref. i could just make up some calls and decide the rules as i go. sounds easy, huh? all "ref-ing" issues aside, we had a great time, and loved the dinner afterward! for those of you who played on the same volleyball and basketball team with me (like in jr. high...stretch those memories!), we ate at michael's. oh the good times we had there.

i've got an early and full day tomorrow, but here i am checking blogs. it's just the way i roll.

oh no. kelli's making roddick mad by messing with him while he tries to sleep. gotta go intervene.

because my printer is really slow...

i now have extra time to blog about school.

i have cute kids. you know that. i know that. the rest of the world knows that. i'm already amazed at the improvement that they've shown since the beginning of the year. it's pretty major.

but then we have days like tuesday, where all their genius seems to be more of a fleeting moment.

we were reading a story in reading group about how a little girl was upset that it was raining and she couldn't go outside and play. her mom comforted her by telling that she could have sunshine on the inside. so the girl spends her day helping around the house and finds out that helping others brings her happiness-thus, "sunshine on the inside." after the story was over, i asked how the little girl made sunshine on the inside. one of my super-smart girls looked at me like i was so dumb for not getting it and calmly stated,

"she turned on the light."

poor, dumb miss hernandez.

decisions, decisions

there has been a decision to be made in my life. it's been hanging over my head for over 6 months now. i've thought about it, stressed about it, prayed about. people gave their opinion as if i wanted it.

like a rock in my shoe, this issue has been my constant companion. i made a list of pros and cons. i did some research on the internet. i went back and forth in my mind as to what the right decision was. and tonight the decision has been made. there is no looking back. i am at peace. i have decided that....

i'm growing my hair out.

whew, it feels so good to get that off my chest.

hmmm....

waiting until december 4 and the first real cold snap at the year is not the time to find out that you have no winter clothes.

finally finished

i just finished reading a really good book, in a pit with a lion on a snowy day. not gonna lie, this book challenged me immensely. go read it. now.

windbreakers

"miss hernandez, this is my windbreaker. it's called a windbreaker because it breaks wind."

i couldn't help it. i laughed. hard.

i love my kids.

monday, monday

can you believe it's already december?! holy cow, this year has gone by fast.

we just got in from abilene where ryan had a game. there are games tomorrow as well and i'm just pumped. i love me some basketball, especially when it's my little brother that's playing (like i have a big brother).

i was glad to see my kids today. i didn't think i missed them, but when they walked through the door i realized that i had. they're just so stinkin' cute. i love them. they said some funny stuff today but i'm too tired to blog about it. just take my word for it.

gotta go to bed...have a great tuesday!

marines vs. the world

i'm going to get in trouble for this, but oh well!

for those of you who don't know, our family is a marine family. anyone who has gone into the military has gone into the marines only. i have 4 cousins who have been/are in the marines, and one uncle who was in the marines for 32 years. i've grown up hearing that the marines are the best branch of the military and that no one comes close. so when i first read this joke from www.ajokeaday.com, i literally laughed out loud. i've included it here for your enjoyment.

---

One reason the Military Services have trouble operating jointly is that they don't speak the same language. For example, if you told Navy personnel to "secure a building," they would turn off the lights and lock the doors. The Army would occupy the building so no one could enter. Marines would assault the building, capture it, and defend it with suppressive fire and close combat. The Air Force, on the other hand, would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy.

the kindness of strangers

like i said earlier, i had to get the oil changed in my car today. (okay, actually it had to be done earlier, but i kept forgetting. oops.) anyway, if you get gas at town & country, then you can save the receipt for a dollar off an oil change. the most receipts you can collect is 10 receipts, for a total of $10 off. pretty nifty, eh? anyway, for some reason i didn't have 10 receipts in my car, which made me kinda sad. i had 6, which still wasn't bad. i mean, that's $6 i don't have to pay, right? however, being the forgetful person that i am, i forgot to get the receipts out of my car when i dropped it off. i was annoyed but not upset.

as i was sitting in the waiting area watching the virginia vs. virginia tech football game (like i care), a man with his teenage son came up to me. the man asked me if i was getting my oil changed, and when i said that i was, he asked, "have you paid out yet?" after i told him i hadn't, he handed me a stack of receipts while he explained, "i have these receipts that you can give them for $10 off the price of the oil change. you can have them." i sat there in shock for a while before i realized that he was still holding the receipts out, so i took them. after i thanked him, he just shrugged and said, "well i have a whole stack of them and nothing to do with them."

i was so touched that he would just hand them out when he could have saved them for a later time. it's inspired me to be a blessing to someone else.

family fun

like i said before, one of my favorite things about any holiday (my birthday included!) is all the family time. we had dinner together last night, went to my uncle b's house afterward, and then moved the party to my wita's house. we even watched a couple of home videos with my cousins acting completely crazy. it was fun remembering thanksgivings gone by.

then today started with a family breakfast. now there are many reasons why i love my family, but this morning my favorite reason was because breakfast meant eating at 10 a.m., not some ungodly hour like 7 a.m. after a yummy breakfast, i realized that i had to get the oil changed in my car. that was fun. then i met my cousins and sister to run a whole slew of errands, with a stop at chick-fil-a for lunch...of course! tonight is movie night for the girls in the family while the boys go to a basketball game.

i love days like these.

on the road again...

after an extremely short visit to my grandparents house, we are now back home. we drove into town, picked up the dogs, and came home. we've only been home for 30 minutes and already kelli and i have unpacked our bags and decorated for christmas (please don't be impressed; our decorations consist of a really small tree that sits on our t.v.).

now we're about to go eat with the family (second time this week-so much fun!) and then who know what after that...maybe buzz word!!

have a great weekend, everybody!

life is good

don't you just love thanksgiving?

i do. we come to la grange every year to see my grandma and papa. it's nice coming here because it's so quiet and peaceful. we left super early this morning (like 6:30...see?) and got here about 11 this morning. after we ate, i took a 2 hour nap. that's right, folks, 2 hours! this was the sleeping that i was looking forward to.

what has made this thanksgiving extra special is that i got to meet some more cousins of mine. i have a friend who always make fun of me because she says that i seem to meeting new family all the time. what can i say...i'm mexican!

anyway, i'm glad for this break from school (hallelujah) to spend with family and count my blessings. i think i just may make it through the next three weeks to christmas break.

happy thanksgiving!

out of town

so i had a crazy busy week before thanksgiving (who hasn't?) and now i'm headed out of town for a conference. when i get back, i will have so much to blog about!

headaches

headaches are...well, a headache. this is day 3 for me having a headache. not the dull ache, but the sharp pain. so much fun. normally i can figure out why, but for some reason this one has me stumped.

hmmm.

i do feel much better now than i did earlier though. i slept for almost 2 hours when i got home, then went to my parents house for dinner. we had beef tips over rice-that will make anyone feel better! after we ate, ryan taught me and kelli how to play wii music. it was hard! i think i'm a little bitter because kelli had a better score than i did. stinker. another thing that made my evening better was talking to my cousin cheli on the phone. she always has funny stories and tonight was so exception. i love my family.

oh, and by the way...4 more days until thanksgiving break!

tattling

i hate tattling. hate it, hate it, hate it. if one of my students starts to tell on someone, i just send them back to their desk. it's ridiculous. that said, i'm going to tattle...on myself.

there are a few of my students, boys in particular, who have a habit of saying "dang it." i've told them multiple time not to say that, so they know that particular phrase is not allowed. as i was finishing up reading groups yesterday, i got a note from the office. the note said that we would have a jean day at school on monday since we brought so much food for the food drive. i got really excited until i realized that due to a previous engagement, i would not be at school on monday. before i could stop myself, i said "dang it!" a little too loudly.

oops.

i looked up and saw one of my sweet little boys standing right by desk. as soon as i looked at him, he gasped (a little too dramatic if you ask me) and immediately started looking around for someone to tell that "miss hernandez said dang it". before he could get to anyone, i exclaimed "no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no! don't tell anyone what i just said-it was a mistake!" he still had this grin on his face that said oh, i have something on you! of course the whole class heard me tell him not to say anything so they naturally started asking questions. one of the girls even pulled him aside to ask him. i saw him shake his head, but i wonder how long his silence is going to last.

that's what i get for opening my big mouth. dang it...i mean...see what i mean?

a full day

whew! it has been a full, great day! i knew that it would be busy, but it was fun too. i had to go to wal-mart to fill a prescription this morning, and when i went to pay for it, they had my old address on file. we moved in 2000, so apparently i haven't been sick enough to need a prescription medicine since at least then. i'm pretty healthy!

anyway, after i left wal-mart (i was there over an hour...gee whiz), i grabbed lunch, came home and took a shower, and then went to the first of two baby showers today. the first one was for a friend of mine from high school. i say high school, but we've really known each other since the 2nd grade. since she and her husband don't live here, i obviously don't get to see her a whole lot. it was really great seeing her. it seems weird that my friends are having babies though. i told kelli that we weren't old enough to have babies and she said, "uh...yeah you are!" the shower was so nice. i loved the way they had it set up, and my favorite part was that after they opened the presents, everyone gathered around them and prayed for them and their baby. how cool is that?

i left that shower and went home to rest for a little while, then i picked up my mom and went to another baby shower, this time for another longtime friend who also attends our church. we had a really great time and even had some yummy hamburgers.

after the shower was over, i headed over to my friends' house for taco soup and games (yes, i ate again). while pauline was cooking the soup, i was telling the girls about the baby showers. at one point i mentioned that i was so glad that we didn't play games at either of the showers (i absolutely abhor playing games at showers) and pauline said, "oh, that's good to know for when we plan your baby shower!" maybe i should concentrate on getting married first. =)

the taco soup was so delicious, and we had cornbread to go with it. so, so good. then we played apples to apples and, of course, buzz word! i'm happy to report that i was on the winning team this time. woo hoo!

truth be told, i'm kind of sad that tomorrow's the last day of our fall campaign. i have learned so much and have been reminded of God's greatness through this entire campaign. but i'm excited to see what else God has in store for solid rock church.

like i knew it would

today was so much better than yesterday!

i drove to school just not feeling like myself. i seriously considered not getting out of bed this morning, and that feeling doesn't happen often. i did some work once i got to school, and then i had a 7:30 meeting. my principal had some things to say that really encouraged me. when i walked back to my room, there was a cute pink bucket full of vanilla and chocolate fudge! talk about a mood picker upper. =)

then the best part of the morning came. i only had to teach for 45 minutes this morning before my two room moms and 3 other moms and grandmothers came to do a project with my class. not only did my little darlings behave, but i got an extra 45 minutes to catch up on my own work while the moms were doing the activity. woo hoo! i really do have amazing room moms. they have bought me so much stuff for my classroom, and then they told me before they lefttoday that they are wanting to change out my bulletin boards so i won't have to. i'm one lucky teacher!

all in all, it was a much better day like i knew it would be. i still can't wait for the thanksgiving break though!

i know!

i know, it's been a long time. but alas, the basketball season is upon us, and that really has most of my attention....well, other than school!

ryan had a game last night, and he has one tonight in midland. in fact he's playing right now. i wanted to go, but i had a meeting at school earlier tonight. it's probably for the best, considering that last week i went to his game in abilene, and since we got home late, i was exhausted. it took me the rest of the week and weekend to recuperate. i'm loving basketball season, though.

school has been hectic. i'm even behind on lesson plans. well, behind for me. i still have time to turn them in. and don't even get me started on my little darlings! let's just say that it's been a rough couple of days. one of the teachers told me earlier this week, "now i'm just warning you-the weeks right before thanksgiving and christmas are not the most fun. the kids are ready for a break and we're ready for a break. until that break comes, just hold on." oh man, she wasn't kidding. but what i love about these first graders is that every day is a new day. when they come into the room tomorrow, all will be forgiven. isn't that great?

speaking of great, my lovely little brother brought me a sonic drink two days in a row! (oh yeah, so did jeremy.) gotta love sonic drinks. it made my days bearable.

so....i think that's it for now. have a great rest of the week!

because i know you're waiting for this

the update you've been waiting for is here! prepare to be disappointed-i live a very boring life.

• first graders don't get rhetorical questions. they just don't. after seeing my kids bump into each other for about the fifth time before lunch, out of exasperation i asked, "how many times have i told you not to run in the classroom?" one of the boys turned to his friend and said, "hey, how many days have we been in school?" they don't get rhetorical questions, but they sure do get sarcasm.
• basketball season has officially started. tuesday we traveled to abilene for ryan's first basketball game. it was a good trip, even though his team lost, and we got home about 11:30. i'm still feeling the effects of that night. i think i'm going to sleep all day saturday. except for lunch with pauline. and dinner with my family. and a couple of other things that need to get done. but other than that i will be asleep! i am excited for the season. watching my brother and cousins (micah and hannah) play is one of my greatest joys.
  
• two more weeks before thanksgiving break. that's all that really matters right now.

whoa baby!

i should blog more, huh? i would tonight, but i'm just too tired. i'm sure i'll have time tomorrow.

i'm sure of it.

maybe.

happy november!

i feel like this year has flown by. i distinctly remember the beginning of 2008 and now it's close to ending! so strange. time needs to slow down!

last night our family went out to eat to celebrate my cousin micah's birthday. after dinner we went to my uncle's house to play games. it was girls vs. boys, and i am very sad that the girls lost.=( it was still fun, though. i somehow knew that playing buzz word with the family would make it hilarious. sure enough, my family did not disappoint.

i really have nothing new to say. i don't remember anything super exciting about school, and i didn't really have an exciting saturday...pretty much all i did was sleep all day (oooh, tia y, i just remembered that i needed to call you back. sorry!). i'm beginning to think that i should never make any plans for saturdays. i'm loving the relaxation.

hey, wait-don't we turn back our clocks tonight?! hallelujah!!!!!

dear daddy

dear daddy,

it's been said that you're a wonderful, wonderful teacher. many have sat under and been blessed by your preaching. the two things that you have been called to do, you do well. but you have done neither one as well as being my dad.

i may get my physical attributes from mom, but my personality comes from you. i guess that explains our shared ocd moments, the need for everything to be clean, and our excitement for the first day of school, not because school is so exciting because everything is so new-crayons, pencils, books.

you were my very first role model. you were the one who taught me to hold onto my values and never let go. i learned to trust in God because i saw you trusting in God. my kids will have a safe, secure and happy childhood because you and mom saw to it that we had that growing up. my kids will know Jesus because of your influence. when i hear people speaking highly of you or talking fondly of you as their pastor or teachers, i just think, "that's MY daddy!"

the past couple of years have been the sweetest yet, because you've become so much more than a father. i look forward to the next few years because i know they will be even better.

i'm sorry you didn't get to do much on your birthday, but we'll make up for it at the party.

thanks for being my daddy. i love you.

what now?

today i bought two games for us to play as a family-buzz word and apples to apples. i took them to my parents house after dinner, but it ended up being just me and ryan along with my parents. kelli was studying and joey was working. such responsible children.

anyway, as we were playing buzz word, it became apparent that i knew quite a bit more than ryan (he really didn't think that was possible). i even beat him on sports questions a couple of times, which REALLY bothered him. but every time he would beat me to an answer, he would look at me and say, "what now?"

seriously, ryan. i beat you at buzz word AND apples to apples.

WHAT NOW?!

be still, my heart

the spurs first home game of the 2008-2009 season is tonight. the only thing that could make this night better is if i were actually in san antonio watching the game.

oh well.

steel yourselves, people

i haven't procrastinated on my lesson plans in over a month. next thing you know, i'll be giving up dr. pep---

oh, i can't even type it.

"quality time with Jesus"

one of my good friends texted something to me a couple of weeks ago that really had me thinking. she told me not to forget to spend "quality time with Jesus." maybe this is me overthinking this a bit, but i found her choice of words interesting. if she had just said "spend time with Jesus" i probably wouldn't have thought anything of it. after all, i hear it a lot. but it was that phrase: quality time. it made me think of the love language.

i've read in the book the five love languages, and other books have said the same thing, that we tend the exhibit our own love language. for example, my love language is gifts (i know, sounds a little materialistic...ok, a lot materialistic). therefore, to show someone i appreciate or love them, my first instinct is to buy them something. it's something that we all do, whether we are conscious of it or not.

(on a side note, i think it's why i've had such a great year. the parents of my students have already bought me things for my classroom. who wouldn't love that?!)

i've recently come to realize (like in the past month) that God, in His infinite wisdom, did not instill in me quality time as my love language. why? because me having quality time with people sometimes just doesn't happen. i've grown up with my dad having two jobs and my mom continually helping him out. but i've never felt unloved by my parents or that i was neglected. why? because both of them didn't need to be aroud 24/7 to make me feel like i was worth anything. don't get me wrong-i love spending time with my family. the highlight of my week is friday nights when we go out to eat and just enjoy that it's the weekend. and i'm always up for going to my parents house and just hanging out. but growing up, my parents did what they needed to do to give us a secure, godly environment, and it worked. sure there were times that i complained. but that was just me being a brat. shocker, huh?

all this to say (sorry, i'm a little wordy) that when i received that text from my friend, i was immediately convicted. i thought i'd been showing God that i loved Him, when in truth i was just doing everything but spending quality time with Him. i was attending church, tithing, and having my quiet time. but it wasn't quality time. and it became even more apparent this morning when i talked to kelli. she had asked me a question about something, and here's what happened:

me: "it's funny that you should ask me about that, because i talked to the Lord about that very thing just a few minutes ago."

kelli: "oh really? and what did the Lord say?"

me: "actually, i told the Lord-"

kelli: "wait. YOU told the Lord?"

me: "uh.........."

ouch. so God has been dealing with me and continues to deal with me about this issue. i am thankful, however, that i have a friend who is willing to encourage me in this.

now go out and buy me something so i feel loved. =)

daddy's home!

thank you to everyone who prayed for my dad today. his surgery went well, and he arrived home about 15 minutes ago. please keep praying for him, though, because he's in a lot of pain. it hurts to see him like this. =(

we appreciate your prayers.

my orthodontist hates me

well, not really. here's the story:

i had to go back to the ortho to get my new retainers today. i sat there in the chair, trying to learn how to put on my retainers and take them out (hey, i had a hard time, ok?). anyway, when the nurse was finished, she said, "ok, now the doctor has to see you and then you can go." when my orthodontist came over to check on me, i instantly knew there would be trouble. he grabbed my top retainer, looked at it, and sighed really loudly. i heard him mumble, "this is not what i asked her to make."

sure enough, they made the wrong type of retainer for me. guess what i had to do over?

that's right: impressions.

everyone in the office just gave me a look of pity because they all know how i am-a big baby. i thought about not getting the numbing spray, but when the technician put the tray in my mouth just to see if it fit (there was no goo in the tray at all), i gagged. the numbing spray was the lesser of two evils. the good news is that they only had to do it once.

stupid impressions.

random

none of my thoughts have been coherent enough for a post. thus, the bullets:

• this is week 2 of having-something-to-do-every-night week. can i whine about being tired?
• i know i haven't posted any pictures of me sans braces. well i have, but i'm not sure if you could tell or not. maybe i'll take more pictures.
• speaking of pictures, i'm wanting a new camera. i was at best buy last night with my family, and i started looking at them. mine is so old and slow, and i really, really, really want a new one. really. the thing is if i save for just 2 months, i can get it. i'm really questioning my patience though. now that i think about it, if i have to wait 2 months anyway, i might as well ask for it for christmas. ok, hernandez family, who's gonna buy me the camera?!
• still tired.
• when i was in elementary school, i remember being really jealous of my teachers. they were able to have drinks on their desk all the time, but we couldn't. the teacher i remember having a sonic drink more than anyone else was my 3rd grade teacher (does anyone else remember that?). whenever we would complain about it, our teachers would say the same thing: "when you go to college and get a degree, you can have all the drinks you want." i have taken that to heart. joey came by yesterday with a drink for me and my aide, and my kids started their complaining. "miss hernandez! why can't we have a sonic drink? that's not fair!" guess what i told them? that's right-"when you got to college and get a degree, you can have all the drinks you want." i've become my mother AND my teachers all rolled into one. yikes.
• speaking of sonic, one of my student's stepdad owns the area sonics. before i knew that, i told him my favorite fast food was chick-fil-a. double yikes. i was mortified when someone told me later what he does for a living. open mouth, insert foot.
  
• my dinner is cooking as i type-beef tips over rice. it smells so good in my house right now. so good.
• we're doing parent-teacher conferences right now. i have them before school. i have them after school. i'll probably have to reschedule some during school. thus, i'm tired. but they are going so well. i am truly blessed to have a class whose parents are involved in their child's education.
• actually, i'm blessed period. i have a great family. great friends. great church family. great job with great teachers. a great car (oh! i owe you pictures on that one too, huh?). and i'm about to tear into my delicious supper. yes indeedy, i'm blessed.
• this has turned into a rather long post, hasn't it? i'm not finished.
• i think because i've had such long days, this week has gone by slowly. i feel like it should be friday already. oh i wish.
• i'm gonna have a great weekend! my cousin's coming into town (with her friend) and i love spending time with her. i always laugh when i'm around her. actually, most of the time i'm laughing at myself because she's making fun of me (wait a second...). then on sunday morning lennon is preaching at our church. that's always exciting news!
• food's finished cooking. gotta go!

i'm still alive!

i know some of you were concerned when i didn't post for a while. if you weren't, pretend you were, ok?

anyway, i had a fantabulous weekend with the girls. i felt so much like a college student again! let's see...friday night courtney and i went to a dessert theater put on by our school. it was really cute. then i went to the asu homecoming pep rally and bonfire (which i totally missed last year-my senior year-because i was studying for my certification exam). the bonfire was extremely hot (shocker) but the weather was cool so it all evened out. later we went to baker street where i ran into my other friend who recently moved to fort worth. it was great seeing her again. i was seriously falling asleep over my white phantom, though.

then on saturday i spent some time with my family (grandma's doing a lot better, thanks for praying), had lunch with them at sunset grill, then met courtney for pedicures. there's nothing quite like getting your toes done to make you feel all girly and "princessy." love it. after we ran errands, i went home to rest before the big game. unfortunately, there was really no point in going. we left when the score was 21-0, but then the other team scored while we were leaving. =( BUT we had some fabulous shirts! kelli went with the girls to get the shirts made while i was getting my pedicure so i didn't get a choice as to how mine looked. but i've got to say, kelli did a pretty good job! i loooooove my asu shirt.

so, um...that about sums up my weekend with my friends. it was definitely overdue. wanna see pictures now?

at the pep rally about to walk over to the bonfire

i walked from the pep rally to the bonfire then back to my car in these heels. i feel empowered!

at the slaughter...i mean game

modeling our shirts

all of us at chilis. it doesn't look like we're too sad about the game, huh?

in rare form

yes, this is another post about my darling students. today they had me almost rolling on the floor laughing. let's begin, shall we?

on one of the papers yesterday, there were about three words written and they had to come up with a rhyming word for each one. the last word was horn. two kids wrote down porn. when my aide pointed it out to me this morning, i almost spit out my coffee. try explaining to a 7 year old why they can't use that word (and for the record, i didn't explain at all. i just said, "let's see if we can come up with another word.").

in my bookcase, i have about three or four brainbusters...you know, those flashcards with all sorts of information on them. they've been sitting there all year, but my kids have just discovered them within the last two weeks. now someone will come up to me so see if they can stump me. they think they're asking me really hard questions (what's 4+4+4+4+4?) so when i answer them correctly, i'm just the smartest person in the world! =) anyway, today one boy asked me to spell dinosaur. i said d-i-n-o-s-a-u-r. he turned away and said, "man!" he came right back and asked what s-h-a-r-k spelled. i told him shark. he looked at the girl standing next to him and said, "man, she's good!" next was a girl's turn. she asked me a math problem-some simple multiplication problem-that i answered easily. she looked at me with big eyes and exclaimed, "how do you know all this stuff? did you go to law school or something?" i could not even answer her because i was laughing so hard. it kind of makes up for the "our teacher's not very smart" comment. kind of. sort of. not really.

later i walked them to p.e. and because the coach wasn't quite ready, i sat with them for a while. one of the girls spoke up and said, "hey, miss hernandez, today's dribble day!" i wasn't quite sure what that was, so i asked her what she meant. turns out they dribble basketballs on thursdays. allllllllllrighty then. after she explained "dribble day" to me, i told them that i used to play basketball. you would have thought that i told them that i had been to the moon. they gasped and just looked at me like "yeah, right!" one boy looked at me with disbelief-"a girl? played basketball?" ohhhhhhh no he didn't!

i debated whether to put this last one on here, but it's not like you don't know i have blonde moments. here we go....today as we were saying the pledge of allegiance, i completely spazzed. in the middle of the pledge, i started saying the pledge to another flag. totally in the middle. i stopped everyone, admitted my mistake, and tried again. would you believe it? i did it again! now i do know the pledge to the american flag, i promise! but my brain was just refusing to work. so i stopped them a second time and we started over. holy cow! i did it again! i finally had to look at someone's folder (they have all the pledges in their folders) and say the pledge of allegiance with the words right in front of me.

the good news is, tomorrow's friday!!!

funnies from today

one of the horrible things about braces is getting the impressions done. they stick a mouth mold filled with nasty goo into your mouth to make impressions of your teeth. when i got it done before they put my braces on, i gagged. nobody told me i had to do it again after i had the braces taken off. again, i was less-than-thrilled. then the technician told me that she could numb my throat so i wouldn't gag. all it involved was her spraying something in the back of my throat. it sounded like a great idea to me, so i told her to go for it. i gagged on the spray. lovely. to make matters worse, the impressions on my top teeth kept coming out wrong, so they did that particular impression FOUR TIMES! being the incredibly smart person that i am, i told them to keep numbing my throat so i wouldn't gag on the goo. i gagged on the spray three times instead. seriously, what is wrong with me? (jeremy, don't you dare answer that question!)

then, the technician made me laugh because when she would take the mold out of my mouth, she would say, "now this is going to suck a little." she meant that it would create a suction, but i was definitely agreeing with her!

i didn't tell my kids exactly where i was going today. i just told them that i had a dr. appointment. when i came back, my aide asked the kids, "can you tell what's different about miss hernandez?" it took .9 seconds for a couple of them to figure it out (i was also smiling really big-that may have helped). one of the them said, "miss hernandez, you look beautiful without braces!" i'm still wondering how i should have taken that.

whatever. my braces are off and i'm happy!

lessons from metal

three years and one month ago exactly, i sat in an orthodontist's chair while my ortho and his nurse put braces on me. i was nervous, scared, and less-than-thrilled. there i sat, a 21 year old with more than braces on my mind. my heart was still bruised from poor choices that i had made nearly a year before. i remember feeling overwhelmed with sadness, and getting braces at that time was not helping.

i've often wondered about the timing of my braces. had it happened any earlier, i wouldn't give them another thought, had it happened any later, i would have refused to allow God to heal me. funny then, that he used something i was not crazy about to teach me a few life lessons.

i had my braces on for 3 years. that's 3 birthdays, 3 christmases, 3 thanksgivings, 3 of everything. and to be completely honest, having braces was painful. my teeth were sore, i couldn't eat, my jaw hurt, the list went on and on. admittedly, i have a very low tolerance for pain (which makes giving birth a scary thought for me...good thing i don't have to think about it for a while). but within a month of getting the braces put on, i had oral surgery to have 8 teeth taken out. i lost 10 pounds within the first 2 months of my braces. as much as i want to lose weight now, i'm not going that route again.

likewise, these past 3 years are not what i would call the best 3 years of my life. things didn't happen the way i planned them. God obviously didn't like my ideas. but in the process of having braces, God taught me something more valuable: anything good that happens comes with a side (or a stinkin' main dish) of pain...also known as growth. there are some great things that happened as a result of these past 3 years-namely pauline, bekah, erin, sarah, and mindy. had life continued the way that it was going, i wouldn't know these girls. we wouldn't be friends. pauline wouldn't be urging me to "spend quality time with Jesus" (more on that later). instead i would be wrapped up in my own world, too self-involved to care about the needs of others. these girls taught me to never give up on someone, because when i felt like i was drowning in the joy that is student teaching, they kept up with me. they called me, encouraged me, convinced me that i needed to play and not just work all the time. mindy made me feel loved when she told me about her dream. knowing that i was nervous about my oral surgery (wouldn't you be nervous about parting with eight teeth?), she dreamt that she went through the same surgery at the same time that i did so that i wouldn't have to go through it alone. she later told me, "i know i can't be there with you, but i'm praying for you." there's just something so wonderful about your friends praying for you.

three years and month later, i sat in the orthodontist's chair yet again, this time to get the braces off. as dr. k was working on shaping and polishing my teeth, i thought about the past three years. no, they were not fun. yes, they hurt. but no, i wouldn't trade them for anything. mostly because i can't (hey, why wish for something you can't have?) but because God used them to shape me into the person i am now. i'm not polished, not by any means, but God's still working on me.

this is where i burst into song: he's still working on me, to make me what i ought to be-well you know the rest...

God used the process of braces to teach me that life hurts. situations stink. people are unkind and unfair. those you love will let you down. but God doesn't wastes those hurts. he uses them to bring good situations out of bad ones. he makes something beautiful out of something ugly. and my sore teeth-albeit straight, sore teeth-are good reminders of the past three years. i don't want to lose what i learned about God's faithfulness and provision.

fortunately i have the retainers for life. oh yes.

for once in my life...

i'm happy to be awake at this ungodly hour. why, you ask?

because my braces come off today, silly. i can't believe you already forgot! how lucky you are that i was here to remind you....

good times

this has just been a wonderful day. i pretty much did nothing all morning, then took a shower and met pauline for lunch at ichiban. oh man, it was so good! i think i could eat their rice every day. yum yum.

then pauline and i went to my school so i could show her my classroom (she hadn't seen it yet) and when she left i worked for a little over 2 hours. i feel like i got so much done today, but of course there's always work to do.

now i'm getting ready to go to lake view for my dad's concert. i'm the sound person, you know! i get paid pretty well for that gig...a meal at franco's. can't beat that. and then tomorrow is the biggest day of all...

MY BRACES FINALLY COME OFF!!!!!!

go ahead. clap for me.

God bless christopher columbus

because of him, i have a day off from school today.

i just love him!

a nice surprise

yesterday morning i got a nice surprise: my best friend from high school (and elementary and junior high) texted me and told me that she would be in town this weekend. i was so excited! i haven't seen her since she got married (over a year ago...yikes!) so i was definitely going to make time to see her...like i'm so busy. =)

anyway, we met tonight and it was so great catching up. we were on a time limit, but we definitely could have talked much longer. now that i think about it, back in the day we would be in school together all day, and then talk on the phone after school until my dad told me to get off the phone. yes, i was one of those girls. i'm sure you're shocked.

as i was driving home, i realized what a blessing our friendship has been to me. we met in the 3rd grade and have been best friends since then. as expected, we didn't see each other as much in college, but we were able to pick up wherever we left off. now she lives far, far away from san angelo, but i still consider her my best friend. God has definitely been good to us. i love you, amanda!

the best day

the other day in reading group (ok, it was closer to 2 weeks ago) we were reading a story called "the best day." after we had finished reading it, one of the boys stuck his hand in the air and said, "MISS HERNANDEZ! (first graders speak in all caps...at least the boys do) THE WORST DAY OF THE WEEK IS MONDAY!" i smiled and was about to say something when another boy added, "YEAH, BUT THE BEST DAY OF THE WEEK IS FRIDAY!"

how do they know this? they're only 6 years old! but speaking of bad days...

today was definitely not the best. i had a ridiculously high number of kids in trouble for-you guessed it-talking. there were even two boys who haven't gotten in trouble all year, but when i told them to stop talking, they started right back up again. i'm not a big fan of disobedience. so when i told them to pull a card, there were tears. one of the boys, however, had a slightly different perspective:

as we were getting ready to go home, he came up to me and told me that he wouldn't get in trouble at home for what happened at school. i know for a fact that his parents discipline him, so i asked him why he wouldn't get in trouble. he calmly shrugged and said, "because i'm already in trouble!" it turns out he got in trouble because his writing grades haven't been too great-not because he has bad handwriting, but because he isn't trying hard enough and rushes through his work. so i guess he got a free pass since he was already in trouble. ah, first grade logic. i love it!

the first attempt at a picture

it was kelli trying to take the picture, not me.

the verdict

well here, take a look and tell me what you think.

after i grilled the steak, i wrapped it in foil and let it sit for 5 minutes. it's a great way to get the juices out, which i immediately poured back on the steak when i unwrapped it. then i poured the caesar dressing over it and topped it with parmesan cheese. it's definitely a keeper! i've never had a meal from peppers that i didn't like, but this one is definitely tied for first-the other one being crusted beef tenderloin.

yeah, be jealous.

tonight for dinner

we are having steak caesar and diced red potatoes from preppers.

wish you could be here. =)

oh, and the southwest mac & cheese was delicious. just thought i'd let you know!

happy belated birthday...roddick

yes, our dear roddick had a birthday this week, and i was too tired to blog about it. poor baby!

anyway, on tuesday roddick turned 2...or 14. whatever. it's hard to believe that we've had him for a year and a half already. he's such a cute-albeit a little crazy-dog. someone asked if we were having a party for him, and i told them that roddick has no friends because he's so agressive. poor baby wants friends but doesn't realize that it's his own fault he doesn't have any (sarah, macy doesn't count. they aren't even married!).

anyway, here's last year's picture. yes, his party hat has his name on it. grandma made it for him. he's spoiled.

there's so much to blog about

but i'm just too tired. maybe tomorrow.

maybe.

an incredibly amazing day

yes, it's true. i had a wonderful day. let's start at the beginning.

it's my goal to get to work by 7:00 every morning. on the days it actually happens (like twice since school started), i get 45 uninterrupted, blissful minutes to myself. it's pretty crazy how much work i can get done in 45 minutes. but like i said, i don't always make it by 7. so my realistic goal has become 7:15 a.m. this morning, i got to work about 7:10...pretty good considering i was so completely slow at getting out of bed when my alarm went off.

anyway, i got a lot of work done before i had to pick up my kiddos, and the morning just flew by. i walked them to p.e. and when i got back to my desk there was a cute pumpkin dish filled my favorite-m&ms. yummo! there was no card or name, so i asked my aide where it came from and she said, "i don't know...i guess the autumn bug!" hmmm.....at least the autumn bug knows my taste!

when i walked my kids to lunch, i discovered that we had a teacher luncheon today. i had no clue that it was supposed to be today, but it was definitely a nice surprise! we had all sorts of great food. i would just like to say that i have a new favorite casserole (actually i wasn't even sure i had a favorite casserole before this). somebody made a hashbrown casserole with crushed corn flakes on top. yummo!

later, my sweet momma bought me a sonic drink. i am always in the mood for a sonic drink! then after school, i met some friends at preppers. i'm thinking that preppers is God's gift to non-cookers. kelli and i have some incredible dinners for this week: southwest mac & cheese, steak caesar, beef & broccoli, and mediterranean shrimp. that's right, we have all that. and the servings are only for two, so sorry. =) however, you NEED to try preppers if you haven't. it is seriously amazing. there are no words to describe how great this place is. and when you go, call me to go with you. i think i'm addicted to that place.

and finally, i came home and worked on lesson plans that are now completed for next week. i was productive today. i don't know what to do myself.

COMPLETELY out of the ordinary

i just finished my lesson plans for next week. on a monday. not the monday after they're due. the monday before they're due.

i feel like i don't even know myself anymore.

i washed my car

and it rained. again.

so next time you want it to rain, tell me to wash my car.

mixed emotions

ah, first graders. let me give you some background on this latest story.

my kids have spelling homework every day except wednesday. i send home a paper that has the list on the top, and a place to write the words on the bottom. i completely forgot to put their spelling homework in their folder thursday, so as you can imagine, i had some very confused parents and students friday morning. of course my students were very quick to point out my mistake. later that day we were taking a math test, and i was calling out combinations to them and they had to write down the answer. i made another mistake (which cracked them up) so i said, "miss hernandez is full of mistakes, isn't she?" while everyone laughed, one girl said, "but you're still beautiful!"

wait. the story's not over.

later my kids went to the library, and the librarian gave them a riddle. after library time was over, the librarian dropped off the class and told them that she would tell me the riddle to see if i could get it. they all got a big kick out of the fact that i didn't get the riddle (hey, it was hard!) and when they calmed down from telling me the answer, i heard one boy say under his breath, "our teacher's not very smart."

yeah. it was a great day.

mechanical pencils

so one of the drawbacks of 1st grade is the constant sharpening of pencils. i try to keep a rather large number of sharpened pencils, but by the end of the day it always dwindle down to...zero (side note: i found all those missing pencils this morning. they were behind a bookcase.)

anyway, a couple of weeks ago one girl came to me and asked me to sharpen her pencil. i sharpened it and then jokingly said, "and don't come back for 3 weeks!" my aide laughed and said, "wouldn't it be nice if we only had to sharpen pencils every 3 weeks?!" i suddenly had an idea: i would invent a pencil that didn't have to sharpened every day. then about 5 seconds later it hit me...

we already have that. it's called a mechanical pencil.

my life is complete

today i did two things that i absolutely love to do: watch a volleyball game and eat chick-fil-a for dinner.

what else do i need?

from the mouth of babes

remember this post? it hasn't happened yet.

the other day in reading group, the girl sitting next to me pointed right under my eye and asked, "is that a birthmark?" when i told her no, she replied, "well it's darker there than the rest of your skin."

these kids are killing my self-image.

my brother's a movie star!!!!

as some of you know, joey has been involved in musical theatre for a little while now. it's really neat that he gets to do it, and i've enjoyed seeing him in his element. this past may, joey was ryan evans in high school musical. as it turns out, my 1st graders are huge fans of that movie.

about the 3rd day of school, joey brought me lunch (chick-fil-a of course) so i introduced him to my class. a mom told me a few days later that her daughter told her, "mom! my teacher's brother was in high school musical!" she was clearly very impressed.

last week joey was a sweetheart and brought me a drink while i was at school. i was just finishing up reading groups when he walked in. of course my kids got really excited, and then even more so when they saw that he was wearing his high school musical shirt. i heard someone ask him, "are you going to be in high school musical 3?" he laughed and said no.

later my aide just kind of mentioned in passing something that i think is true: they think joey was in the movie, not the play.

my brother's a movie star!

my belly is happy now

i love, love that chicken alfredo. it is very yummy. and speaking of yummy...

our principal provided lunch for us today! he made brisket and the rest of us brought sides and desserts. i ate way too much, but it was so good. i love my principal!

i got a new student yesterday. i'm getting a new student tomorrow. i was definitely not expecting this yesterday morning when i got to work. the good thing is that it's early enough in the year that getting them caught up is definitely do-able. and they're cute. speaking of cute...

i have a very vivid memory of something that happened years ago. the first grade teacher at the time opened the door to the school office and exclaimed, "i love first grade!" that's how i feel now. every single day my kids do something to make me laugh. every day is different because i never know what's going to come out of their mouths. they're just so cute. don't get me wrong-they can be little stinkers too. but they're just so cute doing it.

today is my friend's birthday. happy birthday! i hope your husband took you out to some fancy restaurant. next time you come here, come see me. i miss you (oh, and i heard the veggie tales' song "his cheeseburger" and i thought of the class. ah, good times...).

i'm missing jeremy's soccer game. (correction: i'm missing jeremy's soccer game...at the base! i'm thinking my work could have waited. darn it.) i have this list of stuff that needs to get done TODAY and i have yet to get started on it. maybe i should quit procrastinating.

maybe i should quit drinking dr. pepper.

maybe i should just quit talking crazy.

um...

i was totally going to blog, but my pasta just came.

you're going to have to wait.

story or question?

first graders are fun. and funny. and they have about a million stories to tell you every day. we could be doing math, and someone's hand will shoot up so they can tell me about the time they went to the grocery store with their mom. if i listened to every story, i would never have time to teach. so now whenever someone raises their hand, i ask them, "story or question?" what's funny is that the past couple of days, i would just look at whoever would raise their hand and they would say, "oh never mind."

i realized tonight that i am way too much like my first graders. tonight cheli, kelli and i went to starbucks, and i wanted to tell a story for every topic we talked about. in fact, most of the time when i talk, i'm not even telling half of what i want to. there are so many things that run through my head that it is so ridiculous. but hey, i like to talk. is that really a surprise?

for some of you, i would be very careful how you answer that question. you know who you are.

lazy saturday mornings

this was the first saturday that i really got to sleep in since school started.i woke up at 10. it felt soooo good.

then i decided to get up and make breakfast (or is is brunch?). kelli and i had pancakes and bacon and orange juice/sprite. it was so very yummy.

i'm glad i slept in though. i've got a whole list of stuff to do. bleh.

this never stops

so today was picture day at school. i really liked that our photographer had set up outside by some greenery, especially since it was such a nice day today.

my kids were doing such a good job standing in line quietly without causing too much damage to each other. i should have known that it wouldn't last. sure enough, i heard one my girls yell,

"MISS HERNANDEZ! _____________ PUT RED MARKER ON HER LIPS!"

yes, one of my little darlings took her red marker and colored her lips.

i called her over, but i couldn't even say anything to her because i was in so much shock. there it was in all its glory. red, red lips. finally after about a minute of silence, she said, "do you want me to go wash it off?"

my brain kicked in and i replied, "yes! please go wash it off...now!"

oh my. oh my.

small groups

almost four years ago, lennon gave me and kelli an incredible opportunity-he gave us the chance to lead a small group. kelli led with her friend olivia, and i led with my friend kylah (whom i love so much!). anyway, since february of '05, i had taught a small group every semester until i student taught last year. i have great memories, but i have to be honest and tell you that my best memories involve that first semester. i would get to kylah's house earlier than everyone else and talk to her and delana. then i'd stay after everyone left and talk to her and delana. actually, now that i think about it, they were probably tired of me every tuesday night! sorry!

it's been over a year since i led a small group, and now my dad has given me a chance to once again do something that i enjoy so much. we're doing a fall campaign at church, nothing's too hard for God. there are small groups that go along with it, and kelli and i are leading the one for the young adults. i'm so excited about it, and i feel a little like i'm coming home to something familiar.

yay for small groups!

a little note on snacking

first of all, those chocolate-covered almonds i got from heb are delicious. i took the bag with me to work today because my aide and i always get sleepy around 1:30. i figured it would be a good way to stay awake. but then i got hungry around, oh, 7:30 (i didn't eat breakfast), and then i couldn't stop. i gave the rest to her and told her to just take them from me before i ate all of them. she said, "oh, i don't want to eat the rest of them." i looked over a little later and there was 1 left. i told her, "see?! they're addicting, aren't they?" they so totally are. i'm contemplating another trip to the store.

because kelli and i were feeling incredibly unhealthy last night, so in addition to our sweet snacks, we also bought ruffles with ranch dip. two words: never again.

i ate some when i got home (after eating half a bag of chocolate-covered almonds) and after i put the bag of chips away, i started feeling sick. now my stomach is not at its best (trust me, you don't want the details) and i can't help but feeling that if i could just throw up, i would feel a lot better.

tmi?

anyway, i guess that's a lesson for me to not be so unhealthy. we'll see how that goes.

why grocery shopping at night is fun

first of all, there aren't a lot of people in the store at 9:15 p.m. there were numerous parking spaces to choose from. so nice. then kelli and i got our chocolate fix. i'm happy to report to you that i got the chocolate-covered almonds that i wanted, not the sugar free stuff. sorry, dad, no almonds for you this time. also, i think that shopping at night makes me spend less money. i'm not sure what it is, but i spent about $20 less than i usually do. hmmm.....

i did have a major blonde moment though. we were in the drinks aisle, and i was looking for the 8 oz. cans of sprite. i don't normally drink sprite by itself, but i love it with orange juice so that's why i was wanting the small cans. i kept looking and looking, but i couldn't see them. finally kelli said, "they're right in front of you." i still couldn't find them. kelli came over and pointed to them while i said, "oh...." they really were right in front of me. literally right in front of me.

yeah. i was tired.

anyway, as we got ready to put the groceries away, we somehow managed to set of kelli's car alarm. i'm pretty sure the people on our block are saying some really nice things about us about now.

i'm ready for bed. good night.

seriously, people

of all the posts i've written that i thought i would get a lot of comments on, the one below wasn't it.

apparently there's a lot of comedians in my family-adopted or not. (jeremy, did i miss the whole adoption conversation? nobody gave me a vote. i'm just sayin'...)

i'm so glad you're all concerned for my welfare. now if you could just focus all that "concern" into something i could really use...LIKE DINNER!

love you guys.

last year at this time

last year at this time, mom went on the annual high school retreat. joey was still in high school, so he was with her. that left ryan and my dad at home all by their lonesome. even though i wasn't living at home, i felt that it was my responsibility to take care of my boys.

we went out to eat all four nights she was gone. dad paid.

today my mom left for the annual high school retreat.

daddy, call me.

getting old

i feel like i'm getting old. tonight at ihop i drank coffee instead of dr. pepper (kelli made fun of me). i didn't go to the girls' house afterward because it was too late for me. and the clincher that i'm getting old:

i have a retirement plan.

i feel old. like 28.

holy cow. holy stinkin' cow.

i just read the introduction to the first born advantage. it is way good. i feel like this guy knows me.

if you're a firstborn, go get this book. right now. go!

snap

i decided this morning not to go to ryan's cross country meet because i wasn't feeling well. my mom just called me to tell me that he came in 2nd.

i'm seriously mad at myself.

only a white chocolate mocha would make me feel better.

friday night fun

it's friday! woo hoo!

we had dinner chick-fil-a (always a good choice), and then my mom and i went to sams. let me tell you, if i had more money that i actually do, most of it would go to post-its and sharpies. i am so ridiculously addicted to those things. i didn't need any post-its (you should see my desk) but i bought some more anyway.

dad i hope you're not too attached to those post-its in your office. don't be surprised if those are missing soon. just a small fyi.

anyway, after that mom and i went to family christian. if you haven't been there in awhile, be forewarned. they've moved things around. i was so confused. however, i did find a couple of books, one of which is the first born advantage by kevin lehman. i read his book on birth order and it was pretty good. i think this one will be too.

anyway, it's been a nice, relaxing friday night. and i'm so ready for bed. i feel old.

completely out of the ordinary

lesson plans are due every friday. mine usually make an appearance in the box sometime after friday...except for the past two weeks! for the second week in a row, my lesson plans are completely finished and sitting on my desk at school, thus giving me time to sit on my bed tonight and look for the perfect blog background.

i haven't procrastinated for two weeks straight.

something must be seriously wrong with me.

whatcha think?

after many hours and hours of searching, i ended up on the same site that kylah got her background from.

go figure.

but i have succeeded! do you like it?

i AM married!

as i may have mentioned before, my students are a bit curious of my personal life (which, incidentally, has spilled over to the 2nd grade; now they want to know if i have a boyfriend and if he's hot. insert shocked expression here).

today one of the teachers was thanking some people for helping with a skit that her class had done, and she said, "and thanks to mr. hernandez for helping build the set." one of my boys turned to me and said, "so you ARE married, miss hernandez! that teacher just said mr. hernandez, so that's your husband."

i laughed and said, "uh, no, it doesn't really work that way, sweetie."

because you'd better believe my last name is going to change. oh, you'd better believe it.

buzz word

go find the game. and then call me because i want to play it again.

it is soooo much fun. and obviously i stayed up way too late playing it. but it was fun!

maybe i can teach 1st graders how to play it...

warning! warning!

kelli is very upset that no one has commented on the picture of her and roddick in their spurs shirts. she says it's "the cutest picture ever."

so please comment on it. please.

my sanity depends on it.

sorry, charlie

no funny stories today. unless you count the boy who tried to discuss my assigning of homework:

"you know, miss hernandez, monday isn't such a good day for homework. we're kind of tired on mondays and we have two things to do tonight."

it was at the end of the day while i was rushing everyone else out of the room. i was not amused.

change

since everybody seems to be harping about change lately, i've decided to jump on the bandwagon...and change my background.

problem is, i didn't realize how picky i was. it's taking me forever to find a background i really like. i found one, but the description is in spanish, and since i'm not too good with the espanol, i don't really know what i'm doing.

any suggestions?

two of my boys

they were playing sponge bob square pants.
kids.

they make me laugh

you know how kids repeat things they hear?

yeah, that happened to me.

my kids have this horrible habit of COMPLAINING when they don't like something. sorta reminds me of some people i know...like me. anyway, yesterday i told them to stand up so we could do some drills when they started in the latest of the complaints. one of the girls quieted everyone down and said, "guys! we're lucky to have a teacher like her. QUIT WHINING!"

the room was completely silent until the boy next to her turned and said, "nice speech."

this happened at approximately 8:30 in the morning. it was a good day.

the newest spurs fan

kelli and joey were bored tonight.

very bored.

i came back from my meeting to find this:

that's MY shirt! well, it was my shirt...



kelli and roddick...and joey in the background

two

two stories from the past couple of days:

#1 today my aide was helping a girl who likes to take her time doing her work. she said, "okay, let's work on your subtraction." the girl looked at her, threw up her hands and exclaimed, "wait, wait, wait! let me do this on my own, and then we'll see how i do." well, excuuuuuse me.

#2 yesterday as i was passing out papers, i walked by one girl's desk. the papers she had on her desk fell off, so i turned around to pick them up and said, "oh i'm sorry. did i make your papers fall?" the little boy behind her said, "no, it was just your wind." it's not what you think!

(by the way, it was the same boy who wrote his name in chinese.)

chinese

when i couldn't read one of my students' names on his music paper, i asked him why.

he replied, "that's because i wrote it in chinese!"

thank you, music teacher, for telling them they could write their name anyway they wanted to.

sweet boy

if you've been reading this blog for a few months, then you might remember me writing about a certain boy in my third grade class who made teaching fun and interesting. i have so many stories about him, and just because he isn't in my class anymore doesn't mean that the stories have stopped.

a couple of weeks ago i was outside with my class, waiting for their parents to pick them up. his class walked out and he stopped to talk to me. he asked me how first grade was going, and i told him, "oh it's good. kinda tiring, though." later he came back and told me, "miss hernandez, i thought i'd come give you a hug since you've had such a tiring day."

then yesterday he surprised me even more. thursday night, we sent letters home with all the kids that had some school information on it as well as the updated teachers' wish lists. friday morning i was working in my room before school started, and he came in. he had made a #1 out of legos, and handed it to me. he told me that he saw on my wish list that i wanted legos for my classroom, and that was all he had, but he wanted me to have it. he told me, "i'll check at home to see what else i have." i was so touched by his generosity. i told him that i appreciated it, and he responded, "well i know it's not a lot, but maybe it'll keep your kids occupied for a few moments."

what a mature 4th grader!

but it meant so much to me that he saw my wish list and gave me what he could. i talked to his mom (my principal, remember?) and she told me that he is intent on finding stuff for me, because it will help me out. can anyone ask for a sweeter boy?

cross country

if for any reason you thought the title of this post had anything to do with me, yeah right.

ryan's cross country season starts today. thus, the very early post on a saturday morning.

you know you're running late when...

...you plan to leave the house at 6:53 a.m. and by 6:45 the only thing you have accomplished is a shower and makeup. i'm not kidding. i still had to do my hair, get dressed, and make my lunch.

i got in my car at 7:08 and promptly drove my ridiculously late self over to starbucks.

priorities, people.

tomorrow is friday

and for that i give thanks.

nosy rosies...

a conversation i had with my first graders today:

kid #1: miss hernandez, do you live with your mom?

me: no, i don't

kid #1: well then who takes care of you?

***i began to ponder how to answer this question

kid #2 (to the kid next to her): i think she's married

me: i'm not married (with no bitterness at all in my voice...)

kids begin talking amongst themselves...why is she not married? is she going to have kids? who takes care of her? where does she live?

oh the mysterious life of a teacher...