Oh my, this is going to be tricky! I'm trying to push myself to be more committed to my business and that includes my blog. I've been creating classes for Outschool, resources for Teachers Pay Teachers, but I have been neglecting my blog. I searched Pinterest for some ideas, and of course I found a million things to blog about. I narrowed down my list and this one seemed doable at the time. Now I'm on the struggle bus.
1. I'm a mom of 3. This one probably isn't all that interesting and fairly obvious (it's in my bio). What I don't usually share is all of our struggles in the beginning. Big B was 6 weeks early and then contracted a nearly deadly virus at 20 months that left her with some forever challenges. Little b was an eater and as much as I wanted to breastfeed, I didn't have a work environment that supported pumping and I just couldn't keep up with the at least 30 ounces of breast milk she drank at daycare. Little brother B was a terrible sleeper and constantly had ear infections and snot. By the time he was 2 and not talking I knew something was up. After tubes in and adenoids out his hearing still hadn't improved and neither did his speech. Now he wears 1 hearing aid and I always feel bad when I have to tell him to be quiet. He's got lots to talk about.
2. I'm a wife to my high school sweetheart, Cody. We actually met in Kindergarten and I thought he was kind of cute because he was taller than me. Then in our 8th grade class photo my cousin picked him out and said I should date him. 2 years later he asked me to Homecoming our sophomore year and the rest is history.
3. I didn't always want to be a teacher. I wanted to be an architect for a really long time. Even in high school, I thought I wanted to be something "more than just a teacher." Ugh, I thought I was so smart, like a typical teenager. Anyway, I decided to sometime before I applied to colleges that I wanted to be a teacher. I really knew it all along, but tried to fight it. SO STUPID! I still love architecture and check out house plans daily.
4. I'm a Hawkeye! I went to the University of Iowa and loved almost every minute of it. Game Days were my favorite and I had season tickets to football and men's basketball every year. I still love to watch the swarm rush on to the field with Herky and the flag. GO HAWKS!
5. My favorite color is yellow. Like, I REALLY LOVE YELLOW! Everyone that knows me knows I love yellow, too. Having a favorite color in preschool is pretty important; this is a frequent discussion in my classroom.
6. I love POLKA DOTS! Yellow polka dots are perfection!
7. I'm way into Bees. All my children's names start with B, but I'm talking about the insect. They are just so joyful and hard-working. I also really like honey so you get the connection.
8. Speaking of black, I wear a lot of black. My mom told me I'm too young to wear so much black, but I have 4 pairs of black leggings and their all my favorite as are my 4+ black dresses/tunics that I wear to work. Just because I'm a preschool teacher, doesn't mean I have to dress in denim jumpers and apple sweaters.
9. Here's another frequent preschool question: what is your favorite food? I always say apples and peanut butter. It's a great healthy food for me to talk to children about, and I would love for it to be true, but if I'm totally honest ice cream is my favorite. If we've learned anything from Cookie Monster in the last few years it's that ice cream is just a "sometimes food" even though I want to eat it ALL THE TIME. Even in winter. I don't understand people that say they can't eat ice cream in the winter. I'm not eating it outside so why does it matter what season it is? I'm definitely eating ice cream in my jammies on the couch after my kids have gone to bed. It tastes better that way.
10. I have an Autoimmune disorder. It's called Hashimoto's and it means that my thyroid doesn't work like it's supposed to. This came on after I had my kiddos and I struggled with for years before we found a solution. I could write a whole list about this (and maybe I will some day), but for now it just means that I follow a new diet that eliminates gluten, soy, sugar, and dairy. I hate when people ask, "what can you eat?" DUH, REAL FOOD! There's a whole world out there outside of processed food, and while I still struggle with the lack of convenience foods that are compliant, I feel like a real person again when I eat real food.
11. My hobbies are all crafting. I love to do needle felting, wood working, wood burning, painting, and any other projects my daughter comes up with. I love it all so much I ultimately want to turn it into another side hustle or at least my retirement fun. I've made a set of wooden blocks for my son and needle felted a few trees to go with.
12. I'm super clumsy. I regularly trip over everything. My husband calls me "strug-a lot." Apparently, that's my dinosaur name.
13. I LOVE DINOSAURS! We recently went to Colorado on a family vacation and we visited the Dinosaur resource center. My son loves dinosaurs, too, but let's be real, I loved this place the most. The kids loved the gift shop the most.
14. I really enjoy cooking. When my babes were little I made their baby food. I really took pride in making them veggies and fruits from grandma's garden. Now, due to my food sensitivities, I have to cook everything at home. Luckily, my husband likes to grill and smoke things so I don't have to cook everything. My new adventures in cooking include gluten-free baking and finding veggies my whole family will eat.
15. I garden. Cody's grandma starts all my plants and I plant them in my every expanding garden each year. We always have the best luck with tomatoes and zucchini. I can never use everything we grow and I try to give away as many as we can.
16. I love holidays. Cooking and baking for Christmas is my favorite. My mom and sister and I used to go to my grandmother's kitchen every December to make Christmas Candy. Fudge, Peanut Butter Fudge, Divinity, some pink stuff that was my dad's favorite. One year Cody's grandma gave me an old cookbook that was full of holiday baking. Each year I get it out and make 2-3 things from it even though I can't eat any of it now. I'm probably best known for my chocolate chip cookies. I really only use the recipe on the back of the Nestle Tollhouse package, but my dad asks for them every Christmas and for his birthday.
17. Speaking of holidays, decorating for Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I have a huge Nativity that I set up. I only have white lights on our tree and I will never put colored lights on my tree. We also have white Christmas lights up outside. We love driving around looking at Christmas lights as a family. This tradition started with my parents and now it continues with my family, slightly different now. We go in our pjs and bring our own snacks.
18. I love hiking. Being outside in nature is one of the only places I can truly relax and let go of my responsibilities. It's best if I don't have cell reception so I don't feel the need to check my email. We just had the best Saturday driving to a wildlife refuge to see the buffalo and then going on a hike at the nature center. Fresh air is the best medicine.
19. I whole-heartedly believe in Vick's VapoRub. I feel like the dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding who sprays Windex on everything. I'm not one for a lot of medication, but Vick's on the chest and feet every night is a cure for my kiddos. I've been known to cover my whole face when I have a sinus infection.
20. I couldn't think of 20, so this one is from my husband. He said that I am determined and I set goals for myself and work hard to reach them. I hate getting compliments; I never know what to say back. I do work really hard for the things I am passionate about. It's hard for me to work with people that see teaching as just a job, when it's my life's passion. My goal to be a teacher was met, then I figured out preschool is where my heart is and I went back to school to get my Early Childhood Endorsement, and then I became a teacher director, and then the Director of the local non-profit preschool. This was my ultimate career goal and I met it just this summer. Boom!
21. I thought of one more. My favorite television show is The Office. It's always funny and I've seen it a million times. "Dinner Party" is probably my favorite episode. I watch it almost every day, usually before I go to bed each night.
Wow! 21 facts about me. Probably way more than you needed to know, but there it is.
If you've read this far, you deserve a Dundie (Office reference).
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