It's been a long time.

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. Things have been crazy in our house. The hubster’s dad had a stroke and a heart attack, in ICU two times in a month. Then once life started to get back to “normal” the hubster had a surgery. There were several complications from the surgery, and it took my whole month of December.

Of course the holidays, were amazing. Like super amazing! We got to spend it with the family, and we got to bring back three awesome kiddos to spend a week with us. We went to several different places here in Nashville. Did you know there are still arcades? Yep, we spent a whopping hour there. ;) We traveled to the museum, the main library (that place is amazing-a play place in the kids’ room!), and then roller skating! What made my life happy was when I asked what their favorite activity was for the week, their reply was a shocking “the LIBRARY!!” Be still my heart!

Anyways, we had fun, but (oh too) soon it was time to go back to the REAL world. EEEK. Anyways, I got ahead. I never got my spark, my excitement for returning to work. Do you ever get that dread in the pit of your stomach? I totally had it. It was depressing, until I got to school. I got into my room, and felt energized. I felt relaxed. I felt ready to spice up my room. I cleaned and organized my corner. (Remember that I took the plunge and got rid of my desk?) It was amazing what my room did to boost my mood. Is that odd?? I think not.

How does your classroom help you get in a better mood? Here is my list

1.    The smell. I can’t handle a lot of smells. It’s amazing what a good smell will change your mood. Hawaiian Breeze is my smell. I call it the “Thinking Spray” that I spray during tests and when someone doesn’t let out a good smell. ;)

2.   The arrangement. I walk around the room, and I’m not a small person. This year, I got rid of desks for tables. Well, it seemed amazing at first. Then I started bumping into one another. We were so close that it wasn’t a great idea anymore. Then I put the tables together! Duh!

3.   The organization. If everything has its place, then the room just comes together. The stress lessens. When people come in they compliment rather than turn up their nose. This is the hardest thing for me. I have stacks and stacks and stacks of papers. They are just all over the place. I am getting better. I have a copy machine room box. Everything I need to copy goes in the box. Also, I have a stapler, whole punch, pencils, pens, or whatever else I might need while I’m in there copying.

I hope everyone has a great long weekend! J