A Whirlwind of a Week

This week is flying by--I can't believe that tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Here are a few of the latest happenings:

*Another Saints victory on Sunday!! They made us all a little nervous, but they pulled it off in the end. Who Dat!

*Hurricane Ida "blew" through. The weather was tame, but we still got a hurricane day out of the deal--a.k.a. No School. I was a little bit bitter however, because while my coworkers were sleeping in on Monday, I was...

*Driving to Baton Rouge with my grade level partner for a two-day kindergarten conference. We got some great ideas for our classrooms, but even better...

*Shopping at the mall of Louisiana and the outlets in Gonzales! We got some great deals! My new favorite color is that deep shade of purple that is everywhere this season--I got a dress, a skirt/cardi combo, and a pair of Nine West heels--all in this fab color! I picked up a few other things (including some Christmas presents), so I'll just leave it at that.

*My first day of the work week was Wednesday--it was wonderful.

*Gearing up for black and gold day at school tomorrow--we had one last Friday too. Getting ready for a day of listening to kindergartners chant "Who dat! Who dat! Who dat say dey gonna beat 'dem Saints!" It's actually pretty cute.

*And hooray--it's almost the weekend!!!!

Micah

Donors Choose

My first Donors Choose project has been approved and posted on the organization's website!

Most teachers have a laundry list of things that they need/want for their classrooms. Sadly, however, funds are very limited--we wind up spending a lot of our own money. But there are some things that are just too expensive to invest in all on your own. Donors Choose is a website that works to help out with those problems.

Through Donors Choose, teachers can write a project proposal that describes their classroom and their classroom needs and request certain materials. Donors then choose the projects that they would like to give to, and the website administrators coordinate the funds and the ordering and delivery of the materials. The website's statistics say that 80% of projects are funded.

I have TONS of things that I'd like to have for my classroom, but I decided to start with a listening center. My kids LOVE to be read to, and a listening center will ensure that they have one-on-one reading time every day. The total cost is about $366, and the minimum donation is $25.00.

I know that New Orleans is still on the minds and hearts of lots of people. I became a teacher in NOLA because I felt that it was my contribution to the city's rebuild project--kids are still deeply affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Donors Choose is an excellent way to help the city--even if you can't actually make a trip here. If you or someone you know is interested in helping out, please follow the link below to my project:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=337369&verify=393296936

The website can answer any questions that you might have. I'm so excited about the possibility of attaining these materials for my kids. Now that I've written one project, I'm excited to keep working toward getting more materials that my kids need!

Halloween Weekend

Rhyne and I had a great and restful Halloween weekend. It was so wonderful!

Last week was long for both of us, so we decided to stay in on Friday night. I brought a pizza home from school (we had a pizza party to close out Red Ribbon week), so we curled up on the couch with our Domino's and some movies. We took in a double feature: Dead End and The Changeling. Both scary movies, but seeing as how it was the day before Halloween, it seemed like the right thing to do.

Saturday, we slept in!!!!!! Once we finally got out of bed, we got ourselves together and left for Slidell. I had to return my book on tape to Cracker Barrel, and Slidell is the closest one to us--so we drove across the lake and made a day of it. We got slightly lost--it seems like this happens every time we go to Slidell--sometimes even the GPS lets you down. Anyway, we finally made it to CB, returned the book, and got some delicious breakfast (even though it was already noon at this point).

After Cracker Barrel, I made Rhyne take me to find a Kirkland's. My mother got this precious nativity scene there, and I wanted one for myself. The trip was a success! I can't wait to display my nativity for the holidays.

Once we left Kirkland's, we drove all the way from Slidell to Kenner--for those of you who are not from around here, that's pretty much driving to the two farthest points that are still considered to be part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. It's a pretty good drive. We had an excellent reason for making this trip, however. The Friends of the Jefferson Parish Public Library were holding a book sale at the Pontchartrain Center! For people who are book lovers like Rhyne and myself, this was like heaven on earth. We spent around $50 on books, but when you consider the fact that the books were anywhere from $.50 to $3.00, we got tons of stuff! We were really pumped because Rhyne bought a lot of books that he's going to need for next semester--which means that we've hopefully actually saved ourselves some money by purchasing them this way.

We finally tore ourselves away from the book sale in order to get home before 5:00--Patton and Brooke came over to watch movies and celebrate Halloween with us. We ordered Chinese and ate the FABULOUS bread pudding that Brooke made--I've got to get the recipe! We also watched THREE movies--The Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I was a little hesitant about the third one (and it still wasn't my fave), but it wasn't as bad or scary as I thought. It was actually the story of an agnostic attorney coming to faith in God through the trial of a Catholic priest who was accused of negligence in an exorcism he performed on a young girl. Interesting stuff.

Yesterday was church--I helped out in the nursery. We come straight home afterward and had a relaxing afternoon at home. I took a nap, read, and watched countless episodes of Friends while I worked on some stuff for school.

Is it Friday yet?
Micah

Daylight Savings Time=The Twilight Zone

I remembered to set my clock back last night. Believe me, I never have trouble remembering to fall back. It's the best night of sleep of the whole entire year.

Rhyne and I were getting ready for bed last night, and I pointedly said, "I'm setting the clocks back, okay?" I didn't want any double-fall back mishaps. So I set our alarm clocks back, thinking we were good to go. What I didn't count on, however, was the possibility that our power would go out in the middle of the night...which it did., for some reason unbeknownst to me.

I woke up in the early hours of the morning. I rolled over and looked at my clock...which was blinking at me. Uh oh, I thought to myself. What time is it? I got out of bed and peeked out the window--it was still partially dark, so I knew we hadn't slept in so much that we would be late for church. But the question still remained--what time is it?

I walked into the living room. Our mantle clock was not set, and the atomic clock has a mind of its own. It said 4:50, but I knew better than to trust that time. I picked up my cell phone, but in my groggy state could not remember for the life of me if it automatically updated itself...same situation with our computers. I suddenly realized how few non-electricty requiring clocks we have in our home. So I wandered from room to room in our apartment, my mind screaming I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!

Finally, my sleepy mind began to function again and I thought to myself Go and look at your watch.

My watch said 6:50...which meant it was 5:50.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I looked at my cell phone...which said 5:52...the correct time.

I stumbled back to bed, set the alarm on my phone, and went back to sleep.

Who knew that daylight savings time could be so mind-blowing?!

And now, I really do need to go and reset all of the clocks.

Tick tock,
Micah

Arkansas Recap

Last weekend, I took a much needed trip home to Arkansas to visit family and friends. My college's centenniel homecoming was on October 24th, so it seemed like a good excuse to take a long weekend back to Jonesboro. I left New Orleans around 1:45 on Thursday afternoon and drove the whole seven hours alone...in the rain. I was exhausted by the time I got to my mom and dad's around 9:00. It was a pretty uneventful trip...with the exception of setting off my car alarm at a gas station in Canton.

I spent pretty much all day Friday with my mom, doing what we do best--SHOPPING! I bought holiday decorations and a few Christmas presents. It was a fun day. I'll have to do a holiday decor tour when I get all of my new stuff up.

Friday night we went to dinner with my dad's parents, and then I went over to my friend Lindsey's house for a get-together with my best friends from college--otherwise known as the Belles (note to self--I need to do a post dedicated to the Belles). We hung out for a few hours--Jenni carved a pumpkin while the rest of us sat around and watched (which is pretty typical). It was so good to see everyone--it's the first time that ALL four of us have been together since New Year's 2007.

Here are all four of us at the BCM Alumni Drop-In.
Left to Right: Jenni, Corley, Micah, and Lindsey (plus Baby Ella, a.k.a. Petite Belle #2)
I woke up Saturday morning and went over to Jenni's for Homecoming Brunch. Jenni is always the best hostess--she's an amazing cook. Here she is cooking our breakfast--isn't she precious?
All of the guys disappeared into what Jenni's husband refers to as "The Man Cave," so it was just us girls at the breakfast table...which was probably for the best. I think we tend to talk in code/inside jokes when the four of us are together...we call it BSP.
Here's Corley giving herself a pre-game manicure. She has the most beautiful natural nails of anyone I've ever met. And she's constantly painting them. Some things never change--I spent hours in college watching this girl sit in a chair in our living room doing her nails--whether we were watching TV, chatting, or working on homework. It only makes sense that the nail bag came out as soon as breakfast was over.
After breakfast we got ready for the BCM Alumni Drop-In. We felt like we needed to make a Belle Entrance, so we arrived fashionably late and walked in together.

It was SO great to see so many old friends and aquaintances. I stayed the entire two hours. It amazes me to see and hear what everyone is doing now. And so many people have kids!! I know I'm 26, but I still feel like I'm too young to have a child of my own! It's crazy.

This is me with Amber...who I absolutely love and adore. She was the assistant BCM director my freshman, sophomore, and junior years of college. She is one of the sweetest people, and she's so funny. I haven't seen her since my wedding and I was so very glad to see her.

And here are all of the Belles with Arliss and Sue. Arliss is the BCM director, and his wife Sue works part time as the administrative assistant. Everyone loves them--they are the best!
This last picture is of Natalie, Lauren, Corley, Lindsey, and me. We all started as freshmen together. Natalie is working on her PhD in psychology at Auburn and Lauren is a 7th grade English teacher. Corley is in New Orleans at the seminary (she wants to do college ministry), I teach kindergarten, and Lindsey has a degree in social work. Another fun fact: Lauren and I grew up together in Jonesboro--we go way back.

After the BCM drop-in, I went back to my parents' to pick up my mom. We went to the game for the halftime show to watch my brother march with the band, and then we went home. ASU won, so it was great!

I went to church on Sunday and had dinner with my in-laws Sunday night. Monday morning, it was time to come home. A quick trip, but it was much needed!

On my way home, I stopped at a Cracker Barrel and picked up a book on tape for the drive home. I think that's what I'm going to start doing every time I have to make that drive alone. It goes by so much faster, plus I think it keeps my mind more alert rather than just listening to music. I borrowed While My Sister Sleeps--it was a pretty good story.

So that was my trip--and now I'm so ready to go back for Thanksgiving!

Happy November,

Micah

A Warm Welcome

I'm back from my fabulous weekend with family and friends in Arkansas. I have pictures and stories to share, but no time to write or post those things at this moment--my friend Brooke will be here to pick me up in approximately 10 minutes.

I did, however, want to let it be known that I returned to work and my precious little kindergartners today. Sometimes those kiddos make me feel like a million bucks. I walked downstairs to pick them up this morning and was bombarded with hugs and cries of "Mrs. Putman! You're back! I missed you so much!"

And of course they had to catch me up on what I'd missed in the two days I was gone. Little Boy had to miss recess because he was acting up. Second Little Boy cried because he missed me. Little Girl had to flip her card for talking too much. So-and-so got new shoes. The whole class had cupcakes on Friday for Someone's birthday.

Kindergarten--it's a happening place!

But perhaps the brightest spot in my day came at the end--one little boy's mother came to pick him up and told me, "Little Boy was getting dressed this morning and told me that he sure hoped Mrs. Putman would come back to school today."

Teachers out there (particularly those of small children) know that sometimes you feel like all you do is fuss and fuss at your students. It's so nice to know that despite my fussing, they love me anyway.

Welcomed back,
Micah

What Goes Around, Comes Around

My mother has a set of wooden blocks in red and green that spell out "Merry Christmas." She's had them since I was a kid. Every year at Christmas, she displays them on the edge of the piano in the living room. That's always been their holiday home.

Somewhere around the age of 12 or 13, I discovered that the word "Christmas" also contains all of the letters necessary to spell "Micah." Let me tell you, this was an exciting realization. I swiftly rearranged each of the blocks to spell out "Merry Micah," and stored the extras behind the front rows of letters. I thought it was great.

My mom, however, did not appreciate the message of "Merry Micah" anywhere near as much as I did. She would change them back to Merry Christmas almost as soon as I got them to say "Merry Micah." And then I'd come back through and change them again. It was almost like a game to see how long it would take mom to discover what I'd done.

This tradition has not changed even though I'm now an adult (at least that's what they tell me). Mom puts out the letters, I go to work rearranging them. And now I've got my husband messing around with them as well.

A few weeks ago, I was perusing the aisles of target and I stumbled across these cute block letters:

I bought them and instantly removed them from the packaging when I got them home. I've proudly displayed them on a bookcase in our living room (the C.S. Lewis shelf, in case you couldn't tell). And moments after I put them out, my husband walks into the room and says,"Ooh, blocks! What can I spell?"

I'm afraid that my bad habits have helped to create a monster.

I begged and pleaded with Rhyne not to constantly rearrange the letters. And so far, he has complied. I'm constantly checking though.

Mother, I apologize for years of rearranging the Merry Christmas blocks. I've learned my lesson, and it won't happen again. It only took a mischevious husband to teach me the error of my ways. Thank you for loving me despite my occasional silliness.

Micah