Monday, July 13, 2009

Mmm, Science Fiction.

One of the things about getting married is that you do things that your spouse likes to do. One thing Austin enjoys is watching sci fi movies. He enjoys this a lot. I had the privilege of watching all the Star Wars movies with him and now I'm watching the Star Trek movies (starting with #2 because apparently the first one was pretty crappy). I'll be honest though - I don't really get into this stuff. I think most of them are kinda corny. I did watch the new Star Trek movie with him and I liked that, mostly because the special effects were up-to-date. Still, I love to watch these movies because Austin loves them. :)

So today I spent nine hours with two children: a 9-month-old and an 11-month old. Fun times. I absolutely love babies and the crazy screaming/crying/pooping does not stress me out, but having two babies do that at the same time is slightly overwhelming. They were not siblings (obviously) so there was only one of everything and that was difficult, especially since the 11-month-old is a toy thief. Nap time was super fun because 9-month old refused to sleep in her crib (she wanted to be held) and 11-month-old cried for 20 minutes before falling asleep. I have these kids for the next two days and I have some new and different strategies cooked up in my mind...

Well, this whole blogging thing is keeping me from watching the movie, so I'm out.
-Katie

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

The Slate Has Evolved...

I have been doing a lot of comparison shopping for my teaching supplies. As it turns out (and I predicted this), the teacher supply store prices are insane. I am not going to pay over two dollars for a single Expo dry erase marker.

Right now, Walmart is the place to buy some of the basics. Their glue sticks are 25 cents and you get two in a package. I spent $3.75 for 30 glue sticks, and you can buy the exact same thing at Office Depot for $13.99. Give me a break! You can also get Crayola colored pencils (12) for a buck. For those of you interested, Big Lots is the place to buy scissors - you get a pair of those antibacterial ones for a dollar, and they aren't the kiddie ones. I think a 14-year-old can be trusted with normal scissors.

I went to Hobby Lobby also and found a little gem in the clearance section. I had seen this new invention on the Container Store website and thought it looked cool, but not cool enough to spend $19.95 on.






It's called the Cocoa Slate, and it's basically a customizable dry erase board. It's double-sided with clear plastic on each side and a slot to put your own paper in the middle. This was ideal for me because when I am teaching, I often reach for paper to show a student how to do a certain math problem, diagram or graph. I use a LOT of paper this way, and I thought I could save some money buy "going green" with the dry erase board. The Slate also comes with a CD with over 500 inserts that you can just print out and stick inside. (I just discovered that http://www.cocoaliving.com/ has the same templates for free, just in case you lose your CD. Very handy!) Ingenius.

Hobby Lobby had these in the clearance section for just under $11. I bought one and I love it! It came with magnets but I think I'm just going to hang it by the handle. I have a feeling that my students will want to play with it. I might make it a reward for good behavior/work. :)

In other news, Austin and I went to Denton last weekend to see my family for the 4th of July. It was a lot of fun! My Pop (dad's dad) was there and so we got to see him. We played a lot of card games and enjoyed seeing everyone.

While at home, I found a CD that I had forgotten about. A few years ago, a man named Andy Gullahorn came to Community Church (my church in College Station) and did a little show. I think he was friends with Ross King or something. I bought his CD and then never really listened to it. I brought it back to Houston and I am now in love! His music is amazing and I love his clever and humorous lyrics.

Some really exciting news now - I'm going to be an aunt!! Austin's sister is pregnant and due just after our one year anniversary. I have already decided that it's going to be a girl, but I guess we'll see!

I think those are the only updates I have for right now... I wanted to post some pictures but the memory card from our camera is not being identified by my lovely laptop. I'll get Austin to fix it later. ;-)

Love to you all!

-Katie