Sweet 3rd graders!

You remember the 3rd grader who told me not to try and say I was cool?

Today she said, "Can I borrow a picture of you for the summer?"

Totally redeemed herself ;)


P.S. - The kid from Thursday's post during testing? He took FIVE HOURS. :)

3rd graders keeping it real

This morning I'm in the hallway, standing guard like I do, and this conversation happens:

Third grader: "Can I stand here with you?" (Kids always ask me this. They're just trying to get out of class)
Me: "Why? Because you think Ms. Nash is so cool?" (I said cool in a really awesome, cool way)
Third grader: Looks at me with a look of disbelief "Um, don't say that again."
Passing fourth grader: "Ms. Nash, If you're going to act like that, you really need to keep a low profile"

Guess I'm not as cool as I thought I was....

Welcome to Fair Oaks!

I just had this conversation with a 5th grader.
A FIFTH GRADER.

C: "Where you was?"
Me: "Let's try that question again."
"Oh, sorry. Where you were?"
"No, honey. Try again."
"Oh. Where was you?"
"Still not it sweetie"
"Oh. Where you went?"
"Let's try Where were you?"
"Oh, ok. Where were you?"

I love my job....

My sweet babies!

I spent my Spring Break ....guess. I bet you can't. In Charleston! My babies are beyond cute, just so you know. Here are some pics from my trip:













I had a great time. Abby is just talking all the time. You never know what's going to come out of that child's mouth. My sister said the other day, while she thought Abby had been playing quietly, Abby walked over and informed her that she was a "beautiful angel" and that she "drank Mommy's Diet Coke very carefully". She had Diet Coke all down her front at this point :) While I was down there, I was on the computer (frequently - I'm a facebook addict) and she climbed up in my lap and said "I want to look at Facebook" Um, I may spend too much time there. Another time I was on the computer and she said "I'm a big girl" I didn't respond, so she said "I said, I'm a big girl, Sarah!" Oops. Sorry, Abs. Yes, you are, in fact, a big girl. :) My mom was playing trains with her in Lynchburg and she got up to get something so Abby said "Bebe, please sit down". That girl knows what she wants!

Brian got his third haircut this week. That child has UNBELIEVABLE hair. He is scheduled to have surgery to repair the hole in his sweet little heart next Thursday, May 7, so that's something I've been praying about frequently. The week after that, while he's still in the hospital, I took the whole week off to go down there to be with him and help with Abby. My mom is going down the week of surgery. He and Abby are so cute together - they love each other so much!

Yes, I realize that these are not my children. Still. I love them so much!

Today in 3rd grade

We were discussing the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday...

Me: "So what kind of creatures come out on St. Patrick's Day?"
3rd grader: "Groundhogs!"
I correct this and we move on...
Me: "What country do leprechauns come from?"
Different 3rd grader: "Cleveland!"

I guess we have some things still to work on.

Tonight at Kid's Club...

my kids were discussing (as we do pretty much every week) my age. One sweet 3rd grader busted out with, "31 is the new 21!"

Thanks, Sarah. Awesome name by the way :)

Is this day over yet?

So it hasn't been a good day. But that happens. And at the end of it, I get to go to bed!

Honestly, my school is like a soap opera there's so much drama there. I think that's true at all schools. Is it true at other workplaces as well? I tend to think it's more true in schools because it's all women, but I could be wrong...

So yesterday I ran 4.5 miles around my complex. No problem. Kept at about a 12:00 mile, which is my estimated pace for the race. I ran on the treadmill tonight - just for 30 minutes, but I increased my speed slowly to faster than I've done before. (That's what was on the training schedule for today) No problem. (And when I say no problem, please translate that as "I didn't die") Then I got off the treadmill and started walking across the gym - I was headed upstairs to do some weights. Suddenly EXCRUCIATING pain hits my knee. Out of the blue. I didn't cry (inside the gym), but it was tough. I couldn't bend my knee and I could barely, barely walk. I slowly, slowly, slowly hobbled out through the sleet to my car. By the time I got home, the pain had lessened, but not gone away. Although my knee has been giving me some problems, this kind of pain has only happened once before. I've bought a brace and I'm wearing it now. I think I'm going to have to go see someone about this knee issue, but I have no idea who to go see about it. I think I'll ask a trainer either at the gym or at my training run on Sat.

So here's the conversation I had with a 5th grader today. It's quality. Deja has decided that my desk needs to be cleaned off (she's right), so she's done it for me. Now she's updating my pictures of Abby and Brian

Deja: "Oh, I thought these were your kids"
Me: "No, they're my sister's"
Deja: "Why don't you have any kids?"
Me: "Well, I don't have a husband."
Deja: "You don't need a husband to have a baby!"
Me: "Well, yes. I do."
Deja: " No, you don't"
Me: "Well, I do. Having a baby is a lot of work (Deja interjects: "No, it's not") and I want a partner to help me with it."
Deja: "Why don't you just get your boyfriend to help you?"
Me: "I don't have a boyfriend."
Deja: "Why not? All you have to do is go on match.com!"
Me: "Oh, I didn't realize that's how it worked."
Deja: "Yeah. Let me finish your desk, then I'll go on for you and get you a boyfriend."

Man, it's good to have Deja around.

A New Christmas Story

My mom teaches 2nd grade in Lynchburg at a school similar to mine. One of her students wrote this story and I had to share it with you:

God's Christmas

God married Mary but God died. Who could she have a baby with? She found one his name was Joseph. It was a long day. Mary was happy. Because her baby was coming! "Joseph" Mary cried!, "The baby"! Joseph Came and picked her and ran out the door! He run to a barn he help her. He waited and waited! And finally the baby was born. his name was Jesus The End

Warm fuzzies

Sometimes being a teacher leads to great moments. (And often it leads to very stressful moments, but this is not about those) Last week, my 3rd graders were using a basic template to write a poem about something they like. Here's sweet Daija's poem:

Ms. Nash

I like Ms. Nash
Ask me why
Because she is beautful
Because she is funny
Because she bring books to me
Because she is nice
Because she help me on my test
Because she have nice hair
Because she have nice jewelry
Because
Because
Because
I like Ms. Nash

Not to be outdone, Tre'Shanna threw away the template and produced this one:

I like Ms. Nash

She is nice to me
and she help me on
everthing and she
help me on the test
and she her hiar is long
and her shirt is my
fivorte coler love
Tre'Shanna

We may have some work on spelling and grammer to do still :), but I may frame them anyway. I just love these kids! Last week's dance party was another example of how awesome they are :)

Today I went to Charlottesville to shop with my cool friends Sarah and Meg who used to teach with me. We went to the Barracks Road shopping center and David Baldacci was there speaking and signing books at the Barnes and Noble! I love his books and was so excited. Sarah and Meg patiently waited over an hour while I listened to him talk and waited in line to get him to sign a book to my grandmother (I was #65 in line!)

I have decided that in order to solidify my status as a young adult woman, I need to join a book club. Because that's what we do. So I am now officially looking for a book club to join. I don't know how to begin. Any ideas?

The image in my head

So this is how I motivate myself to keep going on this whole weight-loss thing: I imagine that there is a skinny girl inside me. I'm eating right to get her out. But I'm exercising so that when she gets out she's already fit and toned and ready to go. Every time I'm exercising and I'm exhausted I think "Come on, skinny girl. Get stronger now so you can bust out!" I know. Crazy talk.

Something else new and amazing today - I swear I find something exciting every day. I finally went swimming again. I ALWAYS swim over to the ladder to get out because I'm not strong enough to pull myself up out on the side. I've tried once or twice and it's embarrassing. I figured it was a combination of weak arms and a lot of weight to pull up. Well, today I decided to try it while no one was around. I like flew out of the pool! It wasn't even hard! Amazing.

One of my cousins posted her pictures from the reunion and I swear when I see myself I just look like a fat girl. Which makes me think - if I look so much better than I did before, but I still look like a fat girl......wow. Anyway, there's my Debby-Downer moment of the night.

I have got to go get some things done so I can go to SLEEP! This is the latest I've been up all week. Somehow I just have such a hard time pulling myself away from the computer...

Oh, one more thing. We have a new kid coming to school tomorrow who was at our school last year but left. This is the buzz all around school (if you've never experienced a teacher gossip mill, you've missed out on one of the great wonders of the world) b/c apparently it's a really difficult child. So one of my fifth grade STUDENTS is telling me today that he's coming back and she shakes her head, pats my arm, and says "Good luck with that."

Where is my watch?

I just spent several minutes trying to find my watch. It wasn't in the dish on my dresser where I usually put it. I was going through my whole day yesterday, just a little panicked b/c I go crazy without my watch on, "I wore it "running", but then I probably just took it off in the bathroom before I took shower. But I know I had it on at Kid's Club last night because I looked at it 74 times. So why would I have taken it off anywhere other than my dresser last night? Maybe by the computer or in the bathroom... My watch CANNOT be lost. I'll go stark wild. Why is my house such a mess? I'll never find it. What am I going to do?...." and on and on. Mind you, while this is going through my head I have not budged from my spot staring at the top of my dresser to look for it or anything. That's when I spotted it. On my wrist.

I've gone a little crazy about this whole 100-pound thing. I did post it on my Facebook status, which seems a little crazy to me in and of itself :). I'm about to the point where I stop complete strangers on the street to tell them I've lost 100 pounds. Somebody stop me please!

Yesterday I set yet another how-far-I-can-"jog"-without-stopping-to-walk record. 2 miles! I only had about 30 minutes, so I "jogged" the whole time, except for a quick warm up and cool down.

Yesterday, we had this conversation in one of my 3rd grade classes:

Quavell: "If I say a bad word, and then tell my momma I didn't say it, then put my hand on a Bible and swear to God I didn't say it, then God will stripe me."
La'Nasia: "Yeah, God will stripe you for sure"

And in my 5th grade class, the conversation went something like this (although I can't remember who said what):

"Michael Vick is in jail. He's having a good time."
"Yeah, he's having fun. He gets to go outside all the time."
"He gets to play jail-ball. They can like knock each other over and stuff."
Ms. Nash intervenes: "You guys, jail is NOT fun. I'm sure that Michael Vick is not enjoying his time there. It is not a place you want to go."
"Yes, it is. You get to go outside more than we do at school."
"I know it's fun. My uncle went there. He's a felon."

I'll say this for my job - it's never dull :)

Random deep thought I had in the car the other day:
Is having a full schedule the same thing as having a full life?

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Fall Cleaning!

I spent yesterday cleaning out my closet. Here are all my "fat clothes" that are too big for me and have to be gotten rid of:

(and that's my fat cat Christine. She's wondering what she's going to wear when all the fat clothes are gone. Don't worry yet, cat. There are still many fat clothes to come) (Don't let her innocent look fool you) (Does anyone want to adopt her? And her brother? They're great cats. Really.)

Also, here's a picture of me in my favorite outfit from last winter, when I was so big I was just trying to hide in my clothes:

I know, my hair - and the expression on my face - is super attractive here but look past that, ok? Looking at the picture the clothes don't look that big, but trust me. They're really too big. I tried to take one of those holding-out-the-fat-pants-to-show-how-much-bigger-you-used-to-be pictures, and I can hold them out a lot - they really don't stay up by themselves - but I'm still too fat to post it on the internet. Someday!

On Friday, I was working with some of my kids when some men in suits wandered by in the hall. One of my most quotable kids asked me what they were doing and I told her I didn't know. She said, "They must be going to church after this!"

The joys of teaching elementary school...

Today I went to school looking like this:


Yeah. It was Wacky Hair Wednesday! I love Spirit Week. I totally forgot Mismatch Monday, even though I had an awesome outfit. But yesterday was team Tuesday and I did it right - unfortunately, I don't have any UNC pants so I wore some white cropped pants (thanks, K-K!) with UNC socks and shiny Carolina blue clogs, which is a nice look. I also had on a UNC t-shirt, jacket, earrings, hair ribbon, and hair clips. Oh, and my lanyard that I carry my ID and key on is UNC. And I carried a UNC mug. It rocked. Tomorrow is Thinking Cap Thursday (hat day - not so exciting, but I'll bust out a UNC hat), and then is Flannel Friday - pajama day.

This afternoon as I'm walking down the hall I see one of my third graders swinging her arms wildly back and forth above her head. I asked her why she was swinging her arms and she answered:

"I don't got no underwear"

Hmmmm. I decided it was best to leave that one alone.

This afternoon I went for a "run", not realizing that it is HOT AS ANYTHING out there. I mean, really hot. I got so hot I got chills. I literally had goosebumps all up and down my arms. But I did 4 miles. Which is 5 laps around my trail. The first 4 laps I did more "running" than walking - a good bit more, actually - but the last lap I just walked. I considered it my cool down lap. It took me about 50-55 minutes. Something miraculous has happened since I've started working out more - the trail has gotten shorter. I'm pretty sure it has. It used to be all I could do to do 2 laps - and it took me my full 40 minute workout. So the trail must be getting shorter!

Ok, I'm taking a survey here. This is something that I've been thinking about a lot lately. I know, it's whacked out and strange but these are the things that go through my head. And this is my blog, where I write things that go through my head. I'm down about 90 pounds right now (since March when I started boot camp), which means naturally I'm thinking about hitting that 100-pound loss mark. My goal is to hit it before my family reunion Nov. 7. Of course, I've been stuck at the same weight for almost a week now, so I may never get there and this may be a moo point. (you know - a moo point. It's like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter.) (Thanks, Joey!) Back to my question - when I hit 100 pounds lost, do I post that information in my Facebook status? Because it's exciting. But do I want to admit that I had 100 pounds to lose - and I'm still fat? Of course, people knew because - well, they could see me. Still. I know, this is one of those major dilemmas that world leaders lose sleep over.

I best go get in the shower b/c I smell BAD and I am going to teach Kid's Club at church tonight. Call me sometime!

Some thoughts from the head of me!

I love the re-usable grocery bag trend. They hold more and are easier to carry. (And, sure, I'm happy about the environmental goodness thing - whatever. Even though my mom was one of the first people to warn us about global warming and the loss of rainforests. Just ask her)

Actually, my friend Beth gave away pretty red bags as favors at her wedding last weekend. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride with a beautiful wedding. And, to make it all about me - I didn't even feel jealous at this one. Usually weddings are hard for me because of my lack of even the hope of one. Let's be honest - just being around married people is always hard for me. So I push past it and look hard for my happiness for them. And I find it and have a good time enjoying being with them. But this weekend I was just happy for Beth and enjoying being there with good friends to celebrate.

the happy couple

the cake

me and my BFF Julie

The Game Club crew! (see how cute pregnant Julie is?)

I met with my nut, Pam, again today. She was pleased with how I've been doing and even said that she thought she was too hard on me last time. (She wasn't, by the way - I needed to hear it. I honestly had thought I was doing ok but I wasn't) She gave me a lot of new helpful suggestions. *note here - none of these suggestions were for foods that I hate followed by "just try it". This was my old nut's way. This is why I no longer see her* She's very sweet and non-judgemental, which makes it easier for me to be as honest with her as I can, which makes it easier for her to help me. So it's good all around. I told her today that I worried that I never hear from anyone else who is not completely in love with their WLS. I tend to be pretty honest about admitting my doubts and frustrations about my surgery. And she told me that there are other people who feel that way, they just don't go to support groups and follow up appointments like I do. So that made me feel good. I'm going to keep fighting for this!

I'm still so tired it's almost dangerous for me to drive, but I went to bed earlier last night and I'm headed that way tonight as well. I need to give this "getting enough sleep" thing a legitimate shot. ;)

Today as he was leaving, one of my third graders had a ratty piece of notebook paper taped around his arm. I asked him (jokingly) if he broke his arm. He said, "Nah, I'm the QB in football at daycare" I cracked up. There were things written on the paper. I didn't look closely, but I'm assuming they were football plays. (For those of you not in the know - football quarterbacks often wear a playbook on their arm for calling plays)

I'll leave you tonight with a thought from Sunday's sermon. Steve's series on Jesus raising Lazarus is still going on, and this week was on Martha running to meet him. His focus was on how Mary was mixed-up and wrong in a lot of her thinking, but she took her disappointments straight to Christ and that was the right response. He said that we should do the same thing, too - we don't have to get ourselves straight before going to Jesus. We can go to him as messed up as we are. In the passage, Martha is comforted yet Jesus has not yet raised Lazarus from the dead. Here's what Steve had to say about that:

"Jesus comforts not by relieving pain, but by revealing who he is"

Shopping!

So a good friend is getting married this weekend (and let me add how THRILLED I am for her!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I decided that this was my chance to actually get some new clothes. As I'm losing the weight, I'm trying not to shop too much because (theoretically, at least) I'm losing so quickly that I can't wear the clothes for very long. I need new clothes, of course, so I've been shopping places like Goodwill, Wal-Mart, and my sister's closet.

So my BFF and I hit the mall on Wed. in search of the perfect cute new dress. She, naturally, found 3. She's pregnant and it was so much fun shopping for cute little maternity dresses with her! I can't wait to meet the baby, of course (due on my birthday, as all cool kids are) but for now it's fun watching her be pregnant. Anyway. I didn't have much luck. For one thing, it's hard to know what size to get. Obviously, I just have to keep trying things on and different dresses the sizes run differently but still it's confusing. It's a totally new experience for me, though, to be able to say "This is too big. I need a smaller one." I've always worn whatever the biggest size was. Seriously. One time I was in a friend's wedding and just told her to order the biggest size bridesmaid's dress they had. I think this freaked her out, but I was right. It fit.

Ok, too many tangents tonight.

I'm going to cut this story short and tell you that, after much work and heartache, I have found a new dress! This is more exciting to me than it probably is to the average person. For one thing, it was super on sale at Dillard's and I got it for $16! (The only other one that I had found was $90 and I just couldn't go there) Another thing....it's a size 16. Seriously. Let me put this in perspective for you - before surgery, I was a tight 24. When I bought the dress today, the pants I was wearing were a 22. I'll admit they're a little big. But I was thinking I was just barely into a 20. Now, let's be fair. I won't fit into a 16 in pretty much anything else. This dress just happened to run big or something. Still it's exciting to me. (Normally I do not discuss my clothing size. Ever. But I got over it because it's an exciting part of documenting this process for me.) Here's a fuzzy-because-I-used-the-self-timer-and-I'm-having-issues-with-that picture of the dress:

Oh, and here's a kid quote for you from Kid's Club at church this week:
We were discussing standing up for people and one kid was telling us how if a man pointed a gun at his friend he would stand up to him (not to worry - we steered away from this) and another boy chimed in and said,

"I would kick him in...in the bad place"
First kid, "Dude! You can't say that in church!"

Wish I had more exciting things to post, but the search for the dress has pretty much consumed my last few days. This weekend, after the wedding in Harrisonburg, we're going to hit the Green Valley Book Fair. If you've never been there, it's a must-go. And if you're going, it's a must-call-Sarah-and-invite-her situation.

Drowning

No, that title has no deep meanings. Clearly you don't know me very well. It in fact references the fact that it's been raining all day today and is supposed to continue for about 2 more days. If I could just curl up inside and do nothing, I wouldn't mind so much. But this whole "work, responsibility, and being an adult" thing is getting in the way. But I do love listening to it. Here are some gratuitous rain pics for you:





Just a little FYI, my dad and I have co-founded a club. The "Our Life is Sadder and Harder Than Anyone Else's" club, based on the premise that Mom has been hanging out with the two cutest, sweetest babies in the world all week and we haven't.

Not much to report - all of my beginning of the year paperwork is due next week and I'm going a little crazy between trying to figure it all out and the drama that goes along with working with women. (Those of you who work with men or in mixed environments weigh in here - is there a lot of gossiping and "discussing" of others? Or is that because of the estrogen overload?) I swear, this month is dddrrrraaaaggggggiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggggg by.

So it's not so much a kid quote, but I'm not used to kids who are old enough to have a sense of humor and I thought this was funny. I was helping in a 5th grade class the other day and I walked over to help a kid and he told me he was allergic to teachers. A minute later I walked by his desk and he gave this big fake sneeze. I couldn't help it - I laughed. These kids crack me up.

So this weekend is going to be very laid-back, but then I have about a whole month of busy weekends coming up. I'm looking forward to all of the fun stuff I'll be doing, but I'm definitely going to enjoy the opportunity to relax while I can now!

I've been trying to bore myself to sleep and I think it's working now. Nighty night!

Favorite kindergartener quotes

In the spirit of a "kid quote" feature, I thought I'd share two of my all-time favorite kindergarten quotes. Being a kindergarten teacher is fertile ground for funny kid's quotes. Unfortunately, I've forgotten most of them :( But I'll post them as they come back to me. Then they'll be here. Immortalized. Forever.

My kindergarteners were always quite distressed about my lack of a husband (you and me both, kid) and frequently suggested possible prospects. Unfortunately, their suggestions were usually limited to other students, my co-workers, or the student's fathers. But once one of them suggested that I marry my dad. While trying not to get creeped out by this, I gently explained that you can't marry your dad. His response:
"But my mom married my dad!"
I tried to explain that she did not, however, marry her own dad.

This one came out of the blue. We were standing in the lunch line and sweet Allie Sue says,
"You know, Ms. Nash, I just never trust a boy who wears a necklace"

Be glad you can't see me right now...

I'm really sweaty and gross. Really gross. I took a picture to show you, then vetoed it as un-bloggable.

I always think that's a great way to start off a post, don't you? More people should do that. Maybe I should lead a blog school.

Anyway, I just got back from using the trail around my apt. complex. And I'm proud to say that I did a jog/walk combo for most of it. I'm not going to say I jogged half of it, but I did do a significant portion which is fairly amazing for me. I literally used to run like 3 steps and feel like I was going to die. If you have never been really fat, you may think that is an exaggeration, but it isn't. I did about 3 miles in 40 minutes, which for those of you keeping track (i.e., me) is an average of about 4.5 miles an hour. When I started out, I was doing about 3 mph. So that's exciting. And encouraging for me because I'm going through a "I can't see the weight loss" phase right now that's pretty discouraging. But I am definitely seeing an improvement in my exercising, which is good motivation for me to keep doing it.

I've been hungry today, which is strange. It's hard for me to know if it's real hunger or just a habit of being hungry in the afternoon after school. Sometimes I don't feel like I eat enough - it almost seems like the weight comes off better when I eat a little more. But most of the time I feel like I eat as much as an average person does. I probably don't, but it seems like it. There was a girl at my school last year who had this surgery (she's not there anymore), and everyone keeps explaining to me how little she ate. Which makes me feel like they think I'm eating more than that and I shouldn't be. Whatever. I'm working on keeping a food journal to take to the doc and the nut this month, so we'll see what they have to say.

On a happier note - baby Brian is AWESOME. He's so incredibly tiny!!!! You forget how little they are when they're first born. I would be carrying Abby and then I would go to pick up Brian and I would almost throw him b/c I wasn't expecting him to be so light :) He's just as sweet as he can be. I mean, basically he sleeps all the time and only wakes up to eat (what a life). Abby's doing pretty well so far with him - she doesn't pay a lot of attention to him. Of course, there have been plenty of people around to pay attention to her so far. I'm anxious to see how she does when her dad goes back to work and it's just her, her mom, and the baby. But she's pretty exceptional, so she'll probably do well.

I had a lot of deep thoughts during the 13 hours I was in the car this weekend, but I'm too tired to post them now. I'll share them with you another day. Time to drag my nasty 'ole self to store...

Kid quote for the day (a new feature of this blog, brought to you by the letter Q)
I had just finished listening a child read a passage about a slave who won her freedom and was asking the comprehension questions. I asked how she showed courage, and he answered:
"She fought the power"