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.

25/365 - Clue

January 25, 2011 - Clue
Originally uploaded by tchrmom819

January 25, 2011

We were able to get finished with dinner early enough, and had no other plans tonight, that Liam and Ben asked me to play a game of Clue with them. They had sunk their teeth into the Clue Jr. game and decided to ask for the 'real' Clue game for Christmas. They've both actually gotten pretty good at it (after Ben realized that the cards in his hand couldn't be one of the 'whodounit' cards in the envelope and stopped guessing those) and give me a run for my money. I won tonight's game, but it was a close one.

24/365 - Who builds a building with a flat roof?

January 24, 2011

As I was working in my classroom after school today, I could hear the steady drip, drip, drip of water from my leaky roof. This leak has plagued me for the year and a half that I have been in this classroom. It also was the reason my next-door-neighbor vacated the room at the earliest opportunity and moved next door. Most of the fall and late spring, it is silent. But during the rainy late-fall, all winter (with all the melting snow), and early spring, it is a constant reminder that the company hired to design our school building (and many other exact copies in the district) must have been absent from architecture school the day they covered roof design.

So, as I was finishing up for the day, I heard my drip, drip, drip turn into drip, drip, drip, drip. Yep, leak #4 has taken up residence in my room. The previous leaks had rendered the corner of my classroom unusable. Now, this new leak has creeped into my group meeting area. I am so irritated by this because I really liked the room arrangement I had going this year. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure out how to rearrange my room so that I could keep as much traffic away from those red buckets as possible and have the most usable learning space. I'm just going to take a deep breath and embrace the change.

23/365 - Bubbles!!

January 23, 2011

Most kids run screaming when a parent utters the word "bath." Not my kids. My two oldest loved baths, and even now enjoy taking showers. My youngest cries if he has to wait any length of time after it has been announced that a bath is imminent. The 9- and 7-year-old beg to take baths with their baby brother, which I think is more about playing than it is about bathing. But, with as big as they are getting, our tub just cannot accommodate three growing boys together. No matter who is in the tub, it is made even better by the presence of bubbles! Who doesn't love a good bubble bath? Bubbles just make me smile. So, here's a smile from me to you.

22/365: A Full Slate of Movies

January 22, 2011

Those readers out there who know me personally, are aware that my husband is a film critic. This week, many film critics, actors, actresses, directors, and producers have descended upon Park City, Utah for the annual Sundance Film Festival. Unfortunately, circumstances prevent Kevin from joining his colleagues at Sundance. So, he has created "Kevindance", his own DVD film festival from his couch. These movies include mostly films that he has been sent for reviewing purposes, but also some that are just for fun. Today's photo entry is a picture of the 2011 selections for "Kevindance," which I will also be subjected to, er...joining him for.

21/365: Our First Snow Day

January 21, 2011

We found out before going to bed last night that we would have a snow day today. It was good news for me, because I'd already written three days of sub plans this week and wasn't looking forward to a fourth, though I felt like I shouldn't be back to work yet. It was good news for the kids, who were really itching for a snow day. I like this picture because it shows not only how much snow has accumulated, but it reminds me that warmer days of sunshine and dinners on the grill are ahead.

20/365: View from a Sickbed

January 20, 2011

So, this is now my third day home from work with strep. And because my husband and youngest son are also home all day, and we don't want either of them getting infected, I've been spending my days in the basement, where my bedroom is as well as a family room complete with t.v. and Blu-Ray player. So, as I lay on the couch between naps, this is my view.

19/365: Saying Goodnight

January 19, 2011

Since I was sick in bed with a nasty case of strep, my dear husband punted and took my picture of the day for me. Our two-year-old loves to give "his boys" hugs and kisses at bed time. So, on this night, he climbed in bed with them and they all had a big group hug. What sweet little boys we have.

18/365 - Sick Day

January 18, 2011

I woke up this morning with a sore throat, chills, headache, body aches and earache. So, I wrote lesson plans, called for a sub, left a note for my husband to make a doctor's appointment for me, and went back to bed. After a visit to the doctor, and a diagnosis of a likely strep throat, I picked up my antibiotics and went back to bed. Next time I woke up, my dear husband had made some home-made turkey noodle soup. Good for what ails you.

17/365: Haircut Day

January 17, 2011

Some may look at this pile of hair and say, "Ewwww!!" Well, me too. But, this is the combination of the hair that was cut from all three of my boys today, so I just had to take a picture of it. The longer I looked at it, I noticed that they are three different shades, and I can tell you which boy they came from. The things you never thought you'd do as a mother, huh?

16/365: Sunday Morning Doughnut and Coffee

January 16, 2011

It's Sunday morning and that means it's time for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, coffee, and a family movie.

15/365: Young Readers

January 15, 2011 - Young Readers
Originally uploaded by tchrmom819

January 15, 2011

My husband and I were watching a movie in the family room and the boys were in another part of the house. At a quiet point in the movie, I hear my 7-year-old talking. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but there was no response from either of his brothers. When I went to investigate, I found Ben reading to his 2-year-old brother and Nick with a stack of books in his lap ready to go.

14/365: Pizza and Beer-A Friday Night Tradition

January 14, 2011

Our Friday night family tradition is pizza, beer (for Mom and Dad), and a family movie. Tonight is Doughboy's Pizza and the 1979 family movie, C.H.O.M.P.S.

13/365: Un-Decking the Halls

January 13, 2011

It's a little late this year, but we finally got the Christmas decorations taken down, boxed up, and stored away. The tree is out in the back waiting to be chopped up for fuel for our fire pit come Spring and Summer. I think it took so long this year because, not only were we super busy once school started back again, but un-decorating the tree takes so long, that it was hard to find the time and energy to get it done. And now that it's gone, the family room looks so huge!

12/365 - Books, books, books

January 12, 2011

I took a trip to the Public Library and got two big stacks of books for my classroom. The kids were thrilled with all the new titles and topics to explore.

11/365: A Snowy Greeting

January 11, 2011

The snow started to fall not long after the students arrived for the day and continued through most of the day. This is the amount of snow that had accumulated on my car by the time I headed out for the day.

10/365: Weight Watchers Program Materials

January 10, 2011

A week ago, I joined Weight Watchers again. They have a new program that lots of people have been getting excited about. It's time to get serious about losing weight, so I thought I'd give it a try. Tonight was my weigh-in after being on the program for a full week. I lost 6.6 pounds! These program materials are going everywhere with me from now on!

9/365: Playing in the Snow

January 9, 2011

After lunch today, I sent the boys outside to play in the snow and burn off some cabin-fever energy.

8/365: Nutrition Labels Are My Constant Companion

January 8, 2011

Since I joined Weight Watchers almost a week ago, I am constantly reading nutrition labels and figuring out the 'points' of the foods I'm eating. Fruits and vegetables don't have nutrition labels and are "freebies" so if I stick mostly to those, things will be much simpler, and healthier too.

7/365: Mama's Gee Gee

January 7, 2011

This is the blanket I cover up with when sitting in my chair to watch television or to work on my laptop. We got this as a wedding present in 1996 from a high school friend of my husband's. It's no longer pretty with its many snags and snarls, but it sure is warm and cozy. My two-year-old calls all blankets "gee gees" (don't ask me where that came from) and this one is "Mama's gee gee." It's time for another weekend and many comfortable hours curled up with my "gee gee."

6/365: Beyblade Battle

January 6, 2011

The boys used some of their Christmas money to buy the Beyblade Battle Arena. Then, of course we had to have a battle. Mom won!

5/365: Molar Madness

January 5, 2011

Liam lost yet another tooth. This time, a molar. When he went to bed last night, it was barely hanging on after many agonizing attempts to yank it out. When he woke up this morning, it was just sitting in his mouth. It was a good thing he didn't swallow it.

4/365: Resolutions

January 4, 2011

As all good New Years start, one of my resolutions is to eat less, exercise more, and lose weight. So, this is how I start my day. I lace up my tennis shoes, grab my water bottle, and head to the gym.

3/365: Back To Routine

January 3, 2011

It's back to the nightly routine of making lunches for me and the boys.

2/365: Snuggling

January 2, 2011

After a busy day of doing absolutely nothing, Nick was wound up like a top. He climbed up on my lap like he often does, grabbed his bear, stuck his thumb in his mouth, and fell asleep. It took me a while to register that the whirling dervish was out cold. I won't have this snuggle-up moments forever, so I just cuddled a little tighter and enjoyed it for a moment.

1/365: Lost Tooth = Cheezy Grin

January 1, 2011

Ben lost another tooth on New Year's Day. Here's the cheezy grin, minus the tooth.

Carr 365 - How it came to be

I've spent a lot of time over the last year and a half exploring websites of friends and co-workers. One of the things I've seen that I've really enjoyed has been photo mosaics from 365 projects. When my friend and co-worker Cathy tweeted that she was interested in doing this project right around the time I was considering it, I took that as a sign that I should do it as well. After all, Cathy's great technology ideas in her classroom have led to me taking some technology risks with the students in my first grade classroom as well.

For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is a project in which the blogger takes a photograph a day for an entire year and posts it on their blog. At the end of the year, the reader has a glimpse into the world as seen from the blogger's lens. The blogger has a lasting archive of how they spent their year. I am already a big picture-taker, so I found the idea of committing to taking a picture a day a great challenge. As a scrapbooker who never has time for her hobby, I found the idea of undertaking this project to be an entertaining substitute. So, here it is, my 365 Picture Project. Thanks, Cathy for walking this road with me and leading the way in so much of the technology I have incorporated into my life this year.