{TGIF} Week in Review

It's officially the end of the first full week back to teaching. Phew! I can't tell you how many naps I had this week! It's just such a huge adjustment to get up early once again. I'm so spoiled in the summer as I sleep til 9 or 10am most days...and Brookie sleeps that long too! I have never been a morning person and I'm pretty sure it's safe to say at this point that I never will be. I have grand visions of me waking up at 5am and going to get a run in...but that will never happen. My ideas are so much better than reality. Reality sucks.

I do like the schedule of the school year. I find that I get more done when I have more to do. Crazy, right? I'm the eternal procrastinator. I wish I wasn't, but I am. I've been that way since I was a wee student myself. But the message is that I get it done....but life would probably be a lot less stressful if I just did it before it was crunch time. 

One of my favorite bloggers always does a Friday photo dump, where she shares all the photo captures from the week from her cell phone. I love that idea and I just have to borrow it. I don't carry my big camera around with me (as much as I should), so I'm constantly snapping moments with my iPhone. I thought it might be a fun Friday post to summarize the happenings of the week and share those captures. I always find that these insignificant moments today add up to be something meaningful one day!

After being gone for two weeks, this was such a welcome scene home....

This is my view every day as I walk to my classroom. A long quiet hallway into the sun, that always brings promises of a new day. I'm typically one of the firsts to arrive to my classroom from my department. It just so happens that this is the same view I had 10 years ago walking to my classroom, not even knowing the devastation that was already occurring back east in NYC. 2001, it was my first year teaching at Lakewood HS and I was in my classroom when I learned of the news from my teacher friend Kal. I can't believe it's been 10 years. And I really can't believe this travesty ever happened either. When I think back on it, it feels so surreal, unreal.

The evening of 9/11 this year, Dan & I were watching the CBS documentary, 9/11 10 Years Later. I watched that program with so much angst and heartache for what the fireman and people of New York endured. It's just so unimaginable and breaks my heart for all the people that suffered so much loss and trauma. We were in the dark watching the special (which was strangely reminiscent of the post 9/11 days of watching the news as soon as coming home from work, then hours passing, and realizing it's now dark...and there is not a light on in the entire house). All of sudden, Brookie started choking and gagging. It was dark and I had no idea what had just happened. She started throwing up as I caught it with my hands. It was still dark. She then spit out a play plastic food....a tomato. I had no idea she had it in her mouth. She started to cry as I realized what I had just happened, trying not to totally freak out. OMG, she has never been one to put anything in her mouth...even at a young age. I never suspected for a moment that she had something in her mouth. My heart and mind started racing imagining what COULD of just happened. Double that with the fact that I was watching a 9/11 special....I was an emotional wreck. This life...yours, mine, and hers....are so precious!

Considering I'm not a early riser, morning time is just nuts. So you just might understand how annoying this next scene might be to me (especially since I'm not a fan of princess sorts)...

 The frickin' princesses have taken over my bathroom countertop. I found much pleasure in swiping them off with my arm in one clean sweep.  Sorry Brookie. P. S. If I didn't do it, the shark was going to eat them anyways...so in a way, I saved their lives.

I have been busy cleaning out our spare bedroom. You can see our little monkey jumping on the spare bed, loving this new fresh space. But this space will soon be occupied by my older brother. He will be out newest roommate. Brookie is pretty excited to have her uncle live with us. And I am too.

So this week is a wrap! I look forward to sharing this next week with you. Who knows what's in store?