Thankful!!

This month I've participated in the daily "thankful" posts on Facebook.  Trying to decide what I'm thankful for each day hasn't been difficult for me.  However, today I have the opposite problem--I'm thankful for so many reasons.  So, I thought I'd list them for the world to see. 

• Today I'm thankful for Julie and Denine, the FABULOUS library clerks at school.  They always go above and beyond what is expected of them--especially this week during our book fair.  We wouldn't have been able to pull it off without their leadership, ideas, and hard work.  They even packed everything today while I was out of town.  I'm definitely blessed to get to spend every day with them!
• Today I'm thankful for all the people who have impacted me as an educator.  Spending the day at the KTOY Leadership Conference today reminded me how far I've come since my first year of teaching.  I wouldn't be the teacher, leader, or person I am today without the advice, support, and encouragement of some amazing people!
• Today I'm thankful for the people who have never given up on me--even on days when I wanted to give up on myself!  These are the people who get the 4 page emails from me at 2:30am when I have something on my mind and can't sleep.  Thanks, friends!!
• Today I'm thankful that I created my "story" as an educator--and learned how to convey who I am and what I stand for in a CONCISE manner!
• Today I'm thankful for the radio station 97.9 in Wichita.  They're playing non-stop Christmas music already!!
• Today I'm thankful for all those random expressions in life.  The best one I heard this morning was, "God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason!"
• Today I'm thankful for my siblings.  I always walk away from a phone conversation with them even happier than I was before.  They love me despite all my idiosyncrasies, and are always willing to offer their advice--even if it is unsolicited!
• Today I'm thankful for the little things that made me smile--getting a ginormous stack of my own business cards at the conference (total surprise!!), meeting new educators, Tootsie Pops, learning more about my district KTOY partner in crime, great conversations with 2 wise educators, and being able to relax in my sweats and a hoodie.
• Today I'm thankful for YouTube--especially highlights from the movie Elf!  My favorite scene is definitely the one where it's announced that Santa is coming!

These are just a few of the reasons I'm thankful, and I didn't even include things I mentioned the past 17 days in my daily Facebook posts.  Sometimes I think the world would be a better place if we stopped to think about all the joy we have in our lives each day instead of dwelling on the negative.  I hope people count their blessings every day of the year--not just in the month of November!  We should all live with the same mantra as Buddy the Elf: "I just like to smile.  Smiling is my favorite."

(Click here for a link to the website where I borrowed this picture)

Jilly singing

Jillian--unscripted and unrehearsed--singing her version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Jenna reading

Here's a video of Jenna reading to me on Saturday.  She had never read this story before.  I'm so proud of my girl!!

birthday luncheon!!

Today I was on cloud 9 and felt like a celebrity because I got to be the Special Guest at our birthdays with the principal luncheon.  Since the principal was gone, I got to "fill in" for her.  Talk about a dream come true!!

The set-up alone is enough to make any kid feel special.  We have 2 large tables on the stage for the luncheon, and our crafty Parent Resource Coordinator lines the tables with jumbo cupcake placemats that she designed.  My description doesn't even begin to do the table justice.  All of the students love the special cupcake they get to enjoy after they eat lunch (and I loved it too)!

During morning announcements, students were told that there would be a special guest at the birthday luncheon today.  They were talking about ME!  I was so excited that I could hardly wait for 11:50.  When the time finally rolled around, I was tempted to wear my tiara--but decided this lunch wasn't all about me.  When the Kindergarten classes came in the gym, several kiddos started yelling, "Miss Stuck!!" while pointing and waving.  I just smiled and waved.  5 and 6 year olds make me happy because they LOVE everything about the world!  Each grade level that filed in also waved and smiled.  Yep, I definitely felt like a rock star!  I commented to each birthday group how fun it was to sit on the stage because "you can see everyone in the lunchroom!"  A first grade boy said, "It's like you're up in the castle!"  Later a fifth grade girl said, "It's like being a princess!  You need your tiara on!"

We had lots of fun conversations throughout lunch.  It was hard for me to enforce the whole "you need to concentrate on eating and not talking so much" idea because I couldn't even stop talking!  The best conversations involved Halloween costume ideas, and the kiddos loved describing their costumes.  I then asked what costume they thought I should create, and here are a couple of my favorite requests.  Thank goodness I had a pencil and paper with me to record their thoughts because they are priceless!

2nd grade boy:
"You like glitter right?"  -student
"I love glitter!"  -me
"Well, why don't you be a glitter princess?  You can get a dress and pour glue on it and then sprinkle glitter all over it!"  -student

2nd grade girl:
"How about you dress up as Ms. L" (our principal).  -student
"That would be fun, but what would I wear?"  -me
"I don't know...principal clothes."  -student

"You should dress up as Queen Elizabeth since you're so big!"  -second grade girl
I wasn't quite sure how to take this suggestion...don't think she meant anything mean when she called me big!

Other costume suggestions that made my "super fun" list include The Tooth Fairy, iCarly, Princess Peach, a bag of pretzels, a candy princess, a can of Mt. Dew, and a diamond.  Kids are so darn creative!

Found out I have a LOT in common with a 4th grader and 5th grader toward the end of lunch.  Here's how that convo went:

"Miss Stuck, do you know the best way to eat pizza?  By dipping it in ranch dressing!"  -5th grader
"Ranch makes EVERYTHING taste better."  -4th grade student
"I totally agree with you!"  -me

Every day is filled with lots of moments that bring a smile to my face, but being the special guest at the birthday luncheon is definitely high up on my "must do again" list.  Is it bad for me to hope the principal has to be gone some other month on birthday luncheon day?  Because I would LOVE to fill in again for her!!

Bill Snyder's #1 fan

I boldly tell anyone who will listen that I'm stalking Coach Bill Snyder.  I can't help it.  There is no greater coach in college football history.  Period.  He's seriously like the Yoda of coaches, and has earned the respect of players, other coaches, the media, and the entire Wildcat Nation.  Here's what other people have to say about Coach:

• "He isn't the coach of the year, and he isn't the coach of the decade.  He's the coach of the century."  -Barry Switzer
• "He was the coach of the last century, and may be the coach of this century if they keep going like this."  -Brent Musburger (10/15/2011)
• "Bringing back Bill Snyder was absolutely the right move, and at a young 72 years of age, Snyder could coach for 10-15 more years, God-willing.  With a highway to Manhattan named after him, and the stadium the Wildcats play in bearing his name, it's obvious that Bill Snyder has marked his place in history at Kansas State.  Can he do it again?  Who knows.  But the team, fans, and students believe in Kansas State football again, and that's a heck of a start."  -Mike Stanley (10/13/2011)

I don't just like Coach when he's winning.  I like him because of what he stands for as a person and a coach.  I like him for the message he sends to players about football and more importantly, about life.  Here's my favorite tweet he posted:

While "stalking Bill" has become a joke among my friends, it may seem a little creepy to those who don't know me.  No, I don't wait outside Vanier Football Complex every day hoping to get a glimpse of Bill.  I don't follow him into Hyvee for an autograph.  I'm not that bad.  But, I do take a picture of him at every home game (or enlist friends to take pics of him if I don't have tickets to a certain game).  And I yell BILL!!! every time they show him on tv.  One of my proudest moments as a Wildcat came just a couple months ago when I got Bill's autograph and had my pic taken with him at Fan Appreciation Day.  I actually had met him once before at the KSDE conference a few years ago, but that wasn't a place I could squeal and jump up and down with excitement when I met him.

Maybe "stalking Bill" is a little too creepy.  Instead, I'll just go ahead and call myself a Bill Snyder Super Fan. Coach Snyder, if you're reading this, please choose me to be your "cord carrier" for just one game.  I promise I won't talk to you...ok, I'll try really hard not to talk to you.  That would be a dream come true for this Snyder Super Fan!!

Ok, I would probably be remiss if I didn't mention K-State's #12 ranking in the AP poll!  Not bad considering they were picked to finish close to the bottom in the Big 12 preseason poll.  Plus, the Cats headed into their last 4 games as underdogs.  Check out this ESPN article called Surprising K-State up to 12th in AP poll (BH, thanks for posting this article on FB).  Coach Snyder makes me proud to be a member of the Wildcat Nation!  EMAW!!

Love this new welcome screen at http://www.kstatesports.com/!