Amy & Ashlynn's Luau

My best friend Amy is having her first baby next month...due August 15th. Today I had a Luau themed shower for her at my house. We had a great turnout and Amy & Ashlynn got LOTS of fun stuff! She is due in less than a month and we are ALL counting down the days!

FINALLY...a place to call home!

The Dodge's
On December 31st, 2008, Ben and I signed our lives away and bought our first house!!! It was certainly a roller-coaster ride...but it was WELL worth it. Our house is in a great area...one of THE BEST school district in Ocala. It's also right around the corner from my grandparent's house...so that's really cool. I wish that Mamaw was still here...there probably wouldn't be much separation between the two of us though! She'd be here...I'd be there...we'd both be out shopping, TOGETHER! I really miss her. I've gone by the house a few times now and walked around in the backyard and just sat in her old swing. It's really comforting. I know that she would be SO PROUD of me for who I've become and what I've accomplished. I know, I've gotten a litte side tracked. Yesterday was her birthday and she's just in my thoughts right now.

So MY HOUSE! One word...AMAZING! (Yes it totally deserves the CAPS! and the exclamation mark!) It was built in the late 60's and has a lot of character. We FINALLY managed to close on it during my Christmas Break but since it was almost OVER we worked our hiney's off over the course of about 4 days! And when I say we, I mean my ENTIRE FAMILY! We are so BLESSED to have such an amazing bunch of people in our lives. My daddy is TOTALLY my hero! :) All of the work really paid off and the house looks awesome.


The before pictures....

The after pictures...

FOUR WEEKS IN....

And I am SO ready for a vacation!!!! I LOVE my job and ADORE my kids...but I'm ready for a break! :) We are supposed to be getting "lead money" from the state (money they give to us as a reimbursement to cover out of pocket expenses in our classroom).....and I think that it will do wonderfully placed in Mrs. Dodge's VACA fund! Where should I go?? Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated! I just want to get away for the weekend....leave on Friday afternoon and come back Sunday afternoon. Hook a sister up! But seriously....I love teaching more than I ever really expected to. My kids are wonderful...fantastic babies. AND might I add...we had our first day of EVERYONE being on GREEN!!! YAY!!!!! I was so proud of them! :)

Rain...Rain...GO AWAY!!!!

I have always been the type that REALLY enjoys a good thunderstorm and rain.....but I am SERIOUSLY over this storm! I have had 4 days off this week and haven't even been able to go shopping!!!!!! :( I have become REALLY connected to my couch.....I think that I've reached novice couch potato status. I am looking forward to some SUNSHINE!

First day of KINDERGARTEN!

SO...today was my first day TEACHING! It was a WONDERFUL day.....and of course CRAZY!!!!!! :) I could've used a LOT more time. It went by so fast. In Marion County we do what they call "Stagger Start" in kindergarten. Each class is broken up into thirds and the first third comes on Monday, the second on Tuesday, and the third on Wednesday. THEN...on Thursday we get them ALL! It sounds like a really great idea...and it made today SO nice....but now we are having "Hurricane Days" tomorrow AND Wednesday!!!!! This means that I got to meet 5 of my kids today....and got to know them VERY well.....and now I'm not going to get this special time with the rest of my class. :( That makes me so sad! SO...the next time I go in...I'll have my ENTIRE class! I'm excited...but it just stinks that I won't be able to have that time with them like the others. Ahhh...Nature. :)

However, today was FANTASTIC! I had 5 GREAT kids and absolutely NO behavior problems!!!! Now, on Thursday I'm going to be adding another 14 kids to the mix....and 14 DIFFERENT attitudes...SO it could be a different story. :) Hopefully they are ALL little angels like the first group! That would make for an AMAZING year!

Well....despite the STINKINESS of the hurricane and all, I AM looking forward to spending the next two days at home with my wonderful, amazing, INCREDIBLE husband....AND my cute, sweet, snuggly puppies!!!!!! Bring it on "FAY".....I'm ready for ya!

I hate mornings!

So Ben apparently is addicted to the Olympics (I say "apparently" because this is the first Olympics that we've seen together!) and he had me up ALL night last night watching with him. Of course, I snuck a little blogging time in too. :) I think that it was around 3:00 when we finally went to bed and around 4:00 before we went to sleep as the Olympics then followed us into the bedroom. ;) (Oh how I love my Benjamin!) Then my bestie called this morning at 9:15 and woke me up....so now what?? I can't go back to sleep!!! Do I sit here and blog and waste some time doing "Audra things" or do I go get started on those darned listening center books??? Maybe I'll just make some coffee and sit here for a while reading up on the lives of those I'm interested in. :) Yeah....that sounds nice. Have a great day!

Three out of five isn't so bad...

So....with the economy the way it is and all of the budget cuts that have taken place around the country over the past several months.... the budget for education in our great state has been DRASTICALLY decreased! They pretty much froze all teaching positions (at least in Marion County)....and reserved those spots for Full Time CERTIFIED substitutes! Long story short.... to take on one of these positions you have to be certified to teach in the state of Florida but you only make $100 a day (which might sound good...until you hear that it's only for the days that we are actually IN the classroom and can't be stretched over the course of the entire year). Also, it comes with absolutely NO benefits!!!! Really?!?!? So... 18k a year with no benefits to do all of the same things and have the exact same responsibilities as a regular teacher does?? Hmm....something just doesn't sound right there. HOWEVER, this is what I took for this fall....because it was my only option if I wanted to teach (without leaving Florida). :)

BUT......NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS! My principal called me today and informed me that she had a "regular" kindergarten position open up and that it was for ME! Surprised??? Stoked??? Shocked??? Esctatic??? EMOTIONAL??? I don't even know what word would best describe my reaction to that phone call! Holy cow....."Thank you! Thank you so much!!! You SO just made my day!!! Oh my gosh I'm so excited! Seriously...you MADE MY DAY!" I think that was about what came out of my mouth for the first minute of the conversation. :) Gosh...it still makes me want to pee my pants! lol.

So...what does this all mean to me??? I have a JOB...a real JOB! With $$$ and benefits! My husband has this plan for us..... 1) Get married 2) Graduate 3) Get a job 4) Buy a house 5) Have a baby! WELL.... #1 CHECK, #2 CHECK, #3 CHECK.....NEXT??? :) Besides teaching....I can't think of ANYTHING that would make me any happier than having a child! I am looking forward to parenthood and can't wait to start a FAMILY! YAY!!!!! My life is SO amazing!