All things considered...

You know what?

All things considered...I have a pretty awesome life.

I have a job that I actually went to school for.  I have a job that I love to do.

I have a job.

I have a great apartment, in a lovely town.  (I really think "lovely" is the perfect adjective for my town.)

I have a lot of pretty great things in my great apartment.  The short list?  A comfy bed, a red couch, a beautiful entertainment center...a FANTASTIC kitchen.  (No really.  It's awesome.)

You know what else?

I don't have cancer or any other disease/affliction that keeps me from living a comfortable lifestyle.

I'm healthy.

It may seem random to take a moment  to realize these (fairly obvious) things.  But for serious...all things considered, my life rocks.

How about yours?

Thoughtfully yours,

♥ Marlee

The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing. ~Zephaniah 3:17

Strength.

[source]

I'm lately finding that I have to turn to other things for strength.  And there are a number of things from which I draw strength and just a little bit of lifted spirits.  Here's the short list; the long one would take way too much time to compile.

1. God
2. Family
3. Friends
4. Hot chocolate
5. Laughter
6. My students
7. A hot bath
8. A good book
9. Homemade soup (Well, just about homemade anything)
10. Music

What do you draw strength from?  Share your top ten!

Here's looking at what will hopefully be a week that gets better and better.

Goodnight, friends.  I'm turning in early!  (Another great source of strength--a good night's sleep!)

Until next time,

♥ Marlee

Cleaning, and a little creeped out. (And also some cooking.)

Happy Saturday, everybody!

(Oh, and welcome, Fall--I've missed you so!)

I'm beginning to think that something has changed in me.  I've always been someone who wasn't really concerned with cleaning.  I would pick up here and there when I absolutely had to, but normally, I just don't really care about it.

And then this week happened.

Suddenly, when I'm waking up in the morning, I'm making my bed.

I eat breakfast and clean up my dishes.

I'm packing my lunch the night before, which saves me time in the morning.

When I get home from work, I'm immediately taking out the dishes from my lunchbox and putting them in the dishwasher.

What?

Who?

Me?

And so, here I sit on Saturday morning, after 5 consecutive days of actually pretty diligently cleaning up behind myself, and the only cleaning I have to do is running the dishwasher, doing a load of laundry that includes my sheets, and maybe running the vacuum later.

Holy crap, guys.  I'm becoming a cleaner.

It's hard for me to really connect in my brain that it's not even 11 on a Saturday morning, and my cleaning is done, except for putting things away later.

(On that note, I need to go put my laundry into the dryer.)

SEE?  What was that?!?

It would creep me out even more if I didn't totally feel like I'm reaping the benefits of this change.  I don't have a lot of stuff to worry about in the evenings when I get home from school, and this week that's been more of a blessing than ever.   I'm able to come home, heat up some dinner, and then crawl right into my nice neat bed when I'm ready.

Here's hoping it's a habit that sticks.  (Even though it still kind of creeps me out.)

Also on the docket for today is cooking a new batch of...something...to stick in the fridge (and maybe the freezer) for lunch and dinner stuff.  I went through my pantry and my freezer, and I think I know what I'm going to create.  Here are the ingredients so far:

-4 hamburger patties, which I plan on browning and chopping up
-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
-garlic pepper
-rotini pasta

Sounds delicious, right?  I figured I could do the meat and the soup and kind of make my sauce just right, then boil the pasta and make some magic.  Here's hoping, anyway...

I suppose that's all for now.  I have some papers to grade and lessons to write, and wouldn't you know, I have plenty of time for both...

...must be that cleaning thing.

♥ Marlee

When words fail...use someone else's.

This week has been...difficult.  I'm good, work's good, my kids are (pretty) good.  But rather than expound upon my week, let's turn our attention to some wise words from others, eh?

"There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience." ~French Proverb

"When I do good, I feel good.  When I do bad, I feel bad.  That's my religion." ~Abraham Lincoln

"Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it.  Autograph your work with excellence." ~Unknown

"A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he always has good company." ~Charles Evans Hughes

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world." ~George Bernard Shaw

"The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology." ~Red Auerbach

"It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

All good stuff.  Just thought I'd share.

See you on the flipside, kids--tomorrow's Friday!  Yay!

♥ Marlee

Soup's on! [Update]

Just to cover the bases, here is a handful pictures from before and after:

I try to make my own stock.  It always tastes better!

Aside from the stock/chicken, here's all that went into the soup.

And, here's the finished product!  Looks kind of amazing, right?

It so is!  Guess what I'll be enjoying for lunch this week?  

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend, friends!  I know I will!

♥ Marlee

Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living.  For soup can do more to life the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish. ~Louis P. De Gouy

Soup's on!

As I type this, I'm in the midst of enjoying a lovely bowl of oatmeal on this fine Sunday morning.  I'm staying home, which is a rarity for me on a Sunday, and I decided that I wanted to make some soup.  Ergo, whilst I am enjoying said bowl of oatmeal, I also have chicken boiling on the stove in my awesome soup pot.

What am I making, you ask?  Well, friends, I was digging through my pantry to figure out exactly what my ingredient options are, and then I found a few things that sounded particularly delicious as additions to chicken soup.  Here's the breakdown:

-I'm currently boiling a chicken breast and a number of drumsticks, all of which are skin-on and bone-in. (For the best flavor.)
-The chicken was already brought to a boil, so now it'll simmer for a good while, especially since I pulled the chicken straight from my freezer.
-Waiting in the wings (sorry for that pun), are the following ingredients:

~A can of Cream of Chicken soup

~A can of corn

~A can of cream corn

~Onion powder

~Pepper

~A couple bouillon cubes, just in case

So ultimately I should wind up with some sort of creamy chicken/corn concoction.  I'm really excited about it!  I'll take some pictures later when it's finished and share the end result with you.

Oh and also, to make this an extra productive Sunday, I'm doing a small load of laundry, and I'm grading papers and writing lesson plans today.  I'm like flipping Wonder Woman, right?

Happy Sunday!  What are your plans for today?

See you later!

♥ Marlee

Confessions of a Book Nerd

I'm kind of a book nerd.

It's something that I'm not terribly shy about, but it's also something that I don't tend to have in common with too many people.  Some of my closest friends understand my book nerd tendencies.

I'm pretty much up for reading almost anything that's well-written.  I tend to read a lot of young adult literature, which I blame on my elementary education major, but I suppose what it really boils down to is that I like a lot of the themes and elements of young adult lit.  I didn't read Harry Potter until I was in college, and that kind of opened up a new world to me.  I discovered another gem, The Bartimaeus Trilogy.

It only grew from there...I worked summers at the Y, and I would check out tubs of books to bring to camp for the kids to read, but I read them just as much as they did.  I read The Spiderwick Chronicles; I picked up and laughed out loud reading Junie B. Jones.

Over the years, I have found and fallen in love with other series--The Hunger Games, The Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, The Charlie Bone series, The Gregor the Overlander series...the list could go on and on.

I also read literature actually intended for my age group, promise!  I actually just finished reading The Help not that long ago (LOVED it!), and I usually am reading a couple of  books at the same time.

This has become much more rambling than I intended.  Let me get to the meat of this mess, k?

I read because, for me, it's an escape.  I love getting totally wrapped up in the world of a book, and just forgetting about my life for a little while.  I spent many hours in the halls of Hogwarts, fought side-by-side with Katniss in the Hunger Games, and had great adventures with Percy, Annabeth, and the rest of the half-bloods as they made their way fighting monsters in Manhattan.

I suppose in the grand scheme of things there are much worse things to be addicted to.

What do you like to read?  Why do you enjoy reading?  It's not everybody's cup of tea, but if you're someone who can proudly wear the title of "book nerd," hit me up.  We have a lot of talking to do!

Until next time,

♥ Marlee

A good book should leave you...slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

The Heart of a Teacher

So, last time I posted, I shared some stories with you about funny happenings in my classroom.

Today's stories aren't quite as funny, but they are infinitely more meaningful.  They, to me, truly paint a picture of the heart of a teacher.  Teaching requires the wearing of many hats--you aren't just the students' instructor.  Sometimes you are a parent, a mentor, a counselor, or a cheerleader.  I've only been teaching now for a few years, and I can't count how many different hats I've had to wear.

I'm one of those teachers that always, always, ALWAYS wants to find a way to reach that "unreachable" student.  It's my goal that by the time a student leaves my room, they know without a doubt that I care about them.

This year, I have two students that have recently really caught my attention as needing love.  They need to be "reached" on a level that they don't seem to get outside of school.  For anonymity's sake, we won't call these two students by their names.  Let me introduce you to them, though.

The first of these two students is a sweet young lady who obviously doesn't get a whole lot of positive attention at home.  I can tell this by the choices she makes--she usually will do things to receive negative attention before she tries to earn positive attention.  She would choose it over not being noticed.

Well, I've gotten a lot of great tips from her teacher last year on how to approach her.  I tried to be patient and found myself quickly getting frustrated at first.  Then one day, I took a moment to speak to her alone while we were outside, and here's how that conversation went:

"Want to know a secret?"
- (Confused, slightly intrigued look.)
"Before I knew your face...before I had even laid eyes on you...I loved you."
- (Silent surprise.)
-"Yep.  I thought to myself, 'I'm gonna love on that girl so hard she won't even know what to do with herself.'"
- (Beginnings of a smile.)
-"So look.  I love you.  Even when you mess up, I still love you.  I don't love your choices, but I love you, and that's not going to change, okay?"
-"Okay." (Still smiling!)
-"And the reason you keep having consequences like this for those choices is because I know what you CAN do, and I love you too much to let you make those poor choices.  You're smarter than that!  Do you think you could try to make some smarter choices from now on?"
-"Okay." (STILL smiling!)

Now, our conversation may have been a little longer and a little more detailed, but that sums up the gist of it at least.  For the rest of that day, she was an angel.  She volunteered to help me with just about anything, and it was a welcome change.  Since then, I have ended every day by telling her I love her, just to make sure she doesn't forget it.

Yesterday was the first time she said, "I love you, too."

My heart just about melted, guys.  For serious.   It's about baby steps with this one, and we've taken quite a few over the past few days.

Student number two is a kind of quiet kid.  He's not a very big guy, so he's easy to overlook.  That is, he would be easy to overlook if he wasn't constantly getting into trouble for not paying attention.  If there is trouble to be started, this one is often the one to get it going.  I've been kind of suppressing my growing frustration with him, because deep down, I know that he needs to be reached.  I need to find a way to get to him and have him know that I care.  Because as the old adage says, "They won't care what you know until they know that you care."

So today, on the way out to recess, we had a chat.  I crouched down to speak to him at his level, because this move alone can make kids more relaxed and open to discussion.  And I started the conversation this way:

-"I bet people underestimate you a lot.  Do you know what that means?"
- (Sort of nodding, but mostly because he's not listening and thinks this is the desired response.)
-"It means that people probably look at you, see that you're a little guy, and think you can't do a whole lot.  Does that happen to you very often?"
- (Making eye contact now, he nods.) "Yeah, that makes me mad."
-"I bet.  But guess, what?  I know differently.  You are a smart guy.  I've seen you do math, and you're great.  And you know what else?  You're a lot smarter at reading than you know.  I wish you'd give me a little more effort so that your work can show what you know."
- (Listening, which is kind of a big deal.)
-"Look.  You are smart.  Do people tell you that very often?"
- (Shakes head no.  My heart literally breaks in two.)
-"Well, I'm saying it now.  So hear it.  You.  Are.  Smart.  I would love for your choices to start reflecting that."
- (Nods head in agreement.)
-"So tomorrow, let's start working to make smart choices, okay?"
-"Okay."

I'm not sure that I've totally gotten through to him, but I know he needed to hear what I had to say.  I'm hoping that with a few more pep talks, he'll start wanting to give more effort at school.

I've said all of that to say this: the heart of a teacher must be many things.  It must be bigger than you can fathom, stronger than the hardest steel, and yet soft enough to empathize with students who come from all walks of life.  The heart of a teacher is gentle, but firm.  It's tender, but tough when necessary.

Teaching is hard stuff.

I love my job, and I look forward to being able to share stories about these two kids as they progress over the rest of the year.  Here's to many many more baby steps in the right direction!

I'll post again soon.  Until then,

♥ Marlee

PS - One of my students spontaneously came up to me in class today and said, "Ms. Bourey, I love you!"  This is why I do my job.  (For serious.)

True story.

One of the coolest things about my job is getting to spend time with kids.  Anyone who has spent any amount of time with kids knows that one of the best things about them is that if they think it, they usually say it.  And because of that, hilarity often ensues.  I thought I'd share a few examples with you tonight.

Story number one comes from the first day of this school year.  One of my favorite books to read at the beginning of the year is called First Day Jitters.  We were having a discussion about what it means to get jitters, and what kinds of things give us the jitters (spiders, snakes, thunderstorms, etc.).  I had a new student come in in the midst of this discussion, so once she was seated at the carpet, I asked her if she could think of anything to add to the list.  She looked thoughtful for a minute, and then said, "I have one."  Her response?

"The po-po."

...right.  So, I wanted to make sure I understood her, so I asked, as calmly as possible:

"The police?"

"Yeah, the po-po."

At this point, I'm not really sure how to respond, so I just say:

"Well, I suppose the police do make some people nervous..."

At this point, I'm hoping we can take the conversation in a different direction, but my new child says, with great emotion:

"Yeah...my daddy's runnin' from them AAALLL the time!"

(Awkward silence in which I debate if I should call child protective services but decide to just move on to someone else's answer.)

----

Another anecdote from the beginning of this school year.  I was giving a classroom tour, and I wanted to introduce my students to my writing center.

One of the things I'm really excited about is finding a repurposed use for my teacher desk.  It merely served as a place where things piled up last year, so I decided this year to find a new way to use it.  Hence, the super awesome writing center.  

I wanted my kids to notice that this was a teacher desk, as I thought they'd be pretty excited about getting to use it.  So during my classroom tour, I walked over to it, patted it lightly, and asked my students what they noticed about this table.  I told them it was special and asked them to tell me what kind of table it is.  In unison, 22 voices confidently said:

"Wood."

Well, they were technically right.

I guess I just need to be more specific when I ask my questions, huh?

----

My job is pretty great.  I hear all kinds of funny things, and I'll do my best to share them with you as they happen this year.  I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope you had a chance to check out Shannon's blog party over at shannon*bear.  There are some really great giveaways going on, so be sure to check it out.  If you made your way here because of my post over there...welcome!  I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures in third grade (and life in general).

Have a great evening--and an awesome week!  

See you soon.

♥ Marlee

Blog party!

Hello, friends!

I know I've been a bit remiss in updating this thing lately, and I promise that I'll work on fixing that soon. I have a handful of anecdotes to share with you from these first couple weeks of school. Third graders are great.

I wanted to make sure that I alerted you to an awesome blog party happening tomorrow on Shannon's blog, shannon*bear. She recently reached a big goal of gaining 100 followers, and as a celebration of her accomplishment, she is having a series of guest posts, including a little vlog from yours truly. It all starts around 9 tomorrow morning, so be sure to head over that way and check out the merriment. I know I'll be eagerly awaiting my arrival home after school when I can finally sit down and read through everything. :)

That's about it for right now...I'll catch up with you kids soon!

Happy Friday eve!

♥ Marlee