January Mosaic

After seeing a mosaic of the month's photos on another teacher's site, I was really interested in creating one for my own monthly photostream. After a little bit of searching, I think I found a method that will work for me.

31/365: Enough TP?

January 31, 2011

When I arrived home tonight, I found these three big packages of Charmin toilet paper on the steps just inside the garage door. Now, I know we are a family of five, but I don't think we need quite this much TP in stock. As it turns out, my husband's aunt, who stocks up on Charmin and Bounty nearly every day, decided that these rolls were too old to use and was going to throw them out. What?! Toilet paper doesn't expire, it's toilet paper! But, that is her logic and there is no arguing with it. So, now the toilet paper is ours. Another glimpse into the wackiness that is the Carr family.

30/365: Obsolete?

January 30, 2011

As I was sitting in my dining room, calling my mom (on my cell phone, of course) I glanced over and saw our cordless telephone/answering maching sitting in its usual place. I tried to recall the last time I made or received a call on that phone, and I couldn't. I use my iPhone for everything and it allows me to be reached anywhere, any time. I don't even give my home phone number as a contact number anymore. For me, the wonder that once was the cordless telephone, has now become ancient and obsolete.

29/365: Pool Fun

January 29, 2011

On a wintry Saturday afternoon, having three little boys with some big-time cabin fever can lead to a Mom with a desire to pull her hair out. Add to that a Dad sick on the couch with strep and you've got the perfect excuse for a trip to the gym. I packed the kids up and headed to the gym where I put the kids in the play areas while I did my workout. When I finished, we headed to the pool. Liam and Ben love jumping off the diving board and Nick enjoys splashing Mommy. Today, he got brave, grabbed a pool noodle and started kicking around. Before we knew it, he had let go of me and headed off on his own. Lots of fun for my three little fish. Can't wait for summer!

28/365: Chipotle Friday

January 28, 2011

It's finally Friday, and that means Chipotle for lunch. Every Friday, three teaching colleagues and I leave the moment our kiddos begin recess and head to the local Chipotle. What's great about Chipotle is that the service is incredibly fast. Although we only have 45 minutes until we have to be back for our lunch duties, we are actually able to sit down at the restaurant and have conversation over our yummy meals. I was inspired to make this my picture of the day when my friend, and classroom-next-door neighbor Cathy, pulled out her phone and took a picture of her meal for her 365 Photo Blog. Check it out at Merely Day By Day (it's on my blogroll to the right and below.) Lunch at Chipotle is definitely one of the highlights of finally reaching Friday.

27/365 - Alarms

January 27, 2011

I am not a morning person. However, so much of what I need to do for myself takes place in the morning. I have to work out in the morning or I just can't fit it in. I get to school early enough to plan before school starts. I just can't plan to do anything after school because a lot of times, I need to get home for dinner and family time and to be with the boys while my husband goes to work (at the movies.)

The longer I've been with my husband, the more of a night-owl I've become. Unfortunately, being a night-owl and an early riser do not support each other in making me a well-rested person. On average, I get about 5 hours of sleep a night. That's not enough. I make up for it on the weekends, but by the time the weekend rolls around I am really dragging. It's gotten so bad, I have to have multiple alarms to wake me up. I have one alarm (on my old phone) that goes off at 5:00 a.m. Then, the alarms on my cell phone start going off, they are set for every 2 to 3 minutes. The next step, which I'm afraid I am fast approaching, is having another alarm across the room so that I have to actually get out of bed to turn it off. So sad.

26/365 - Calendar

January 26, 2011

It's about this time of year that I start looking toward the Spring, and the eventual end to the school year. I think about all that I haven't accomplished yet and all that still needs to be done before I send my little first graders off to second grade. I will admit that I get incredibly overwhelmed. I haven't kept up with adding to my calendar very well, so I found myself in near-hyperventalation mode today during our team meeting as we were discussing looming deadlines and upcoming professional development days. February 1st alone is jam-packed with activities from start to finish. And all this is just school-related commitments. That doesn't even take into account what I'm needed for in my home life. This is when I count on my lovely teammates to remind me to take a breath, relax, and do what I can do and don't stress over what I can't. Thanks, ladies, you're support is invaluable.