..:i teach:..

Today, my teacher girls and I are headed to Ikea! I am so excited and have a laundry list of things I want for my classroom. Probably will have to hide all the goodies until school starts as we are going to be *hopefully* moving soon! I wanted to take a moment to talk about my 'job' it seems silly but as the school year get closer, I (don't you dare tell anyone else this!) am a tad excited to get back into my classroom. Something about a new school year makes me still giddy!

I teach. I am a teacher, a friend, a student, a 'mother figure'. I wrangle 20+ kids on a daily basis under the age of 6. I dance, I sing, I clap, I cry, I skip, I hop, I say things I never thought I would *see: don't pee on the walls, that's not chocolate milk on the floor*... at least not until I had my own kids, but above all else, I teach.

I teach little munchkins how to find their name and locker on the first day of school. I peel kids away from parents while they both cry. I make phone calls and send emails everyday. I walk into my job thinking I have the best job in the whole world and can leave feeling like I never want to come back. 

It's all part of the same beast. 



KINDERGARTEN

You can't explain teaching to someone that's not in this profession. Much like every other job in the world, no one really understands everything that goes into my little four wall, box of a room and most of you would vomit to know what really happens in that classroom bathroom!!!

I get called Mom, Grandma, Teacher, etc. on a daily basis and getting married in the middle of a school year... I mean what was I thinking lol, they had no idea who I was! 

I have been teaching 3 years now. I love the stories, the kids, the growth, my school and my friends. I work with the best people around, and that makes all the difference.

You see, I knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was an itty-bitty-3-year-old. I stood up at preschool graduation and thought it was my show to run #truth. I announced to everyone that I wanted to be a teacher, like my mom. Teaching is hard. I would be lying if I told you anything different. It tests your limits but then I sit and think of any other job I could have and I realize, there is not any place different I would rather be. I am a teacher.

If you can read this. Thank your favorite teacher, they would love to hear from you...

..:food:..

So, let's get right down to business here. Today, I want to share with you something that actually has some substance.

I have been on quite a journey this past year with food. 

Last summer, I got a nasty bacterial infection that no one could figure out. A few ton of dr. visits later, over a month of yuck and lots of blood work later, it all resulted in me finding out I have an intolerance to gluten... for.stinkin.real. how did I make it 25 years without knowing this?

I don't actually understand this 'intolerance' business. I know I do not have celiac but my numbers can hit that range and aren't exactly sure what makes my counts jump and how much I can stand before the symptoms reoccur. So, I just avoid it as much as I can. *read:cookies, cake, wraps

K. promise, getting to the point...

Food is such a powerful thing. Fueling your body with what you need is so important. My dear Advocare girls say it best "you should be filling up your body with premium gas, it's the only engine you have got" #realtalk

Gluten free is not always the easy thing to do. At first, it wasn't as 'in' as it is now and people didn't quite get what it meant, heck, I didn't even know what it meant! But, through trial and error and lots of breakdowns I feel like I finally have a control on it all. Am I perfect? Oh hellllllll no. I still make selfish food choices and usually make the poor hubs pay for it with my anxiety, stomach pains, headaches and bloating. However, it is getting better!

Since finding this out about myself, a lot more people have decided for many different reasons to be GF. All I can say is thanks peeps because now, they put those perfect little circles on the front of my cereal boxes to let me know that I am in fact, making a good choice.

So next time, pick up a bag of corn chips and salsa with me and munch on you GF lovers of mine. And be a little kinder to those with food allergies, we don't like it either! So, lets all get along ;)


p.s anyone found GF wraps that don't break in .3 seconds? Sister needs a taco!

..:who is this chick?:..

HELLO, AMORÉ'S

I figure, you must be wondering, "who is this chick?!" If you are anything like me, I enjoy pictures WAY more than words. In my eyes, there isn't anything better than a solid, good-ol' fashioned, over edited collage... #amiright

So there's pretty much all you need to know about me.

just kiddin'. I also like wine. There's no pictures of wine. But really...

let me introduce you to the people above....

-There's the hubs, often referred to as Jason, bubs, or J if I really feel lazy! We were married on December 28,2013 and after wishing for a white wedding, you wouldn't even stinkin' believe it ended up being 56 degrees out that day! Nevermind the fact it was -12 when we got home from our honeymoon with lots of snow... but I digress.

-The parents, mostly called Mom or Dad... maybe the old folks, but all kidding aside, they are pretty solid people with a way better social life than I.

-The brothers, there are three of them and they are the big men on campus around here, meaning I am the baby of the fam. They are all married and have made me an auntie 7 times to 7 crazy, loving boys. There's no jokin' real men marry teachers... my mom was a teacher and all my brothers married one as well.... and so did my husband ;)