My Job

I don't think I can accurately sum up what I do on a daily basis to anyone. It's not just part teaching and part paperwork; it's part everything...
This week was Red Ribbon Week. It was my first year as the coordinator and while I made tons of mistakes it went very well. However, I was exhausted everyday after school. Everyday I immediately came home and changed into comfortable clothes, which is ironic because this was the only week we could wear jeans to work! So by comfortable clothes, I mean pajamas.
Red Ribbon was a lot of fun for the kids and a big headache for the teachers, I'll admit. One of the greatest things it did bring though was healing.
This week we showed a slideshow about the Student Assistance Team (which I lead). We just wanted to let students know we're out there and we care. We help students with all kind of problems. While we've had the Student Assistance Team in our school, this is the first year we've been this visible. After we showed the slideshow we had some students who were visibly upset, remembering what happened last year. However, one of them said, "if only we had this last year."
We had three referrals just in this week. And while it means more paperwork for me and my team, it also means more help for our kids. It was good for me today just to sit and talk to a student. We just talked for about 20 minutes and it was great. Don't know if it made a difference in her life, but it did in mine. I think we need to take more time just to talk to our students. We need to get to know them.
I love my job. Even with all the paperwork, annoying parents, immature kids, and my low paycheck, I still love teaching!

8 weeks

My little Sampson is growing up so fast. He's already 8 weeks old. I'm excited for him to get big, but I still like having a little puppy. I hope he doesn't grow too fast. Time for shots this week and then time to make sure he doesn't become a daddy! Murad and i aren't ready for a granddoggies.

Well, next week is Red Ribbon Week at school. A little nervous, but I hope everything will go exactly how we planned. I have a great team, but you just never know.

Let's see what else. Wedding plans...hmmm...even though the wedding isn't for a while we have two potential wedding dates, a potential ceremony site, a potential reception site, and a definite photographer. We definitely want a small wedding (around 100 people or less) and we want a classy, fun Dallasy ( I know it's not a word) wedding for our close friends and family. Luckily, Murad and I have the same vision as far as colors, style and food. We definitely want good food for our guests and selves. However, we disagree on a lot of other things. I guess this is preparing us for marriage! My mom has been great. She has basically agreed to everything I want to do and she's come up with so many ideas to make it unique. After the first of the year, I plan to really start planning and setting things up, but for now I'll just read my bridal magazines and dream!

Motherhood

Well, I'm in my first week of puppy motherhood. I absolutely love it. Murad and I keep marveling on how much we love Sampson. Oh did I mention that Murad and Sampson share the same birthday? How awesome is that?

We get so many compliments when we walk him in our neighborhood. He loves to play, but he chews on everything, even me!

Motherhood is hard. I feel like I know instinctively what Sampson needs and wants, having grown up with a dog. However, it is hard work. The 3am restroom breaks are killing me. And our apartment is a mess. The list could go on. It's just hard enough being a puppy-mommy and I can't imagine being a real mommy.

I just worry that in a few years when Murad and I have kids that I won't be a good mom. My mom was such a good mom. She worked full time, volunteered for PTA, made our lunches each day, sewed our clothes and Halloween costumes, and our home was always clean. Not only did she work full time, but she worked as one of the most challenging professions, a nurse. I just don't know how I will do it! I admire my mother and all the mothers around me so much. It's hard work! I'm so devoted to teaching and I know when I have children I will continue to work full-time in education. I just hope I can balance everything. I hope I can still have a somewhat clean house, be a great mom to my kids, excel at my job and last, but not least, have a wonderful marriage. These are all the things I want. Let's just hope I can get them. We may have to set aside money for a house cleaner, but aside from that, I'm positive I can do everything else, right?

My New Favorite Picture

This is my new favorite picture! I absolutely love it! I love him so much. He is the most perfect dog ever. Yesterday we had another couple over for dinner and they brought their Pekingnese. At first Sampson shyed away, but when Gizmo (the Pekingnese) went after his bone, I saw a flash of anger come through. So precious!

Sampson Campbell

Well, Murad and I decided to start early on our family. Even though we're not yet married (a year and five months to go), we decided to get a puppy. We adopted Sampson, a Siberian Husky, last night. One of my students' dogs ended up having puppies back in September and we snatched one up. We are very excited to have him in our home. He fits so perfectly with us. He's a cuddler and he's very playful. He likes to chew, but surprisingly he hasn't chewed on too many important things. He also likes to pee indoors, but that's expected. I've posted some of my favorite pictures of Sampson, Mama and Daddy!