Russ and I have had a great weekend so far! I returned from a week long teaching workshop on Thursday, just in time for my family to come in town Thursday night. Russ had to work Friday, and Mama had two presentations Friday morning. So, Daddy and I spent the morning grocery shopping and picked up a few packages at the school. We met Mama for lunch and reminisced...or rather, THEY reminisced as we drove through parts of South Jackson passing by Mama's elementary school - Barr Elementary, Farrish Street - stopping at The Mayflower for coffee, and Mama's old house off Capital Street. They also pointed out other things that I just can't remember right now.

This is where the "Brave" part starts:

Friday night Mama's side of the family had plans to all attend the Mississippi Braves baseball game. Nonnie's aunt - more like a sister to her - was very close to my mom. Her daughter, Alice, invited us all to watch the game in a suite!! It was fabulous! This was the first time I had met some of the relatives. And, since Alice and I are both "baseball freaks" we both enjoyed the game immensely! (That's for you, Alice!) Now, this is what I call watching baseball!!

Pops, Mama, and Kristin

Pops, Mama, Kristin, Aunt Patsy, Clint, Derek, and Derek's girlfriend
(Derek and Clint are Alice's sons)

Aunt Patsy and Lee

Clint, Aunt Patsy, and Uncle Howard

Everyone visiting as people arrived - there were 19 of us total!

Jack, Clancy, and Russ

We even had our own waitress! She was great!

Jack and Daddy keeping cool inside the suite

Clint, Vince (Alice's brother), and Alice watching from outside the suite

Pam and Mama - I'm pretty sure they didn't stop talking until AFTER the game was over! Ha!

Pops and me

Me and my sweet Dr. Hubby

Mama + Alice = CRAZY!!!

After the game, we enjoyed a fantastic fireworks show! It really was one of the best I've seen...besides Disney World of course! I think we got home around 11:30 last night!

Once everyone was up this morning, my family headed to Julep to eat brunch. I had never been during the day, so it was a treat for me! It was delish!!! We ate so much, Russ and I didn't eat supper until 8:30 tonight!

After a wonderful brunch, Kristin needed to look for patio furniture at none other than the discounted Big Lots! Russ, Lee, and I were still full and in no mood to shop around. We found relief as soon as we entered the store!

Such a sweet couple, don't you think? Russ said we could put this in the middle of our living room!

We looked over to see that Lee had found a spot to rest too!

Another part of our "brave" weekend was our stop to the nursing home to see Nonnie. I never know what's going to be happening when we visit her there! So, it was a "brave" thing to do! Ha! And we came just in time to see some dancing - I think they called it "exercise!" It was such fun to see Nonnie enjoying herself! She always loved to dance!

Nonnie "cuttin' a rug" with the nurse. The room was filled with other residents, watching as she shook her booty to "Rock Around the Clock"!

After our fun visit to the nursing home, Mama and Daddy reminisced some more! We stopped by the Swinging Bridge. It is closed off to cars now, and has been since Mama and Daddy were in college. But, OH the memories that must have been made here! Ha! So we did it! We "braved" the Swinging Bridge!!!

Lee, Kristin, me, and Russ on the Swinging Bridge

Mama and Daddy on the Swinging Bridge

Fun times and memories!! A "Brave" weekend!

My Play Date With Toby

We had Pat and Felicia over for supper tonight mainly because I wanted my playtime with Toby! The parents just get in the way! Ha! Seriously, it was so good to visit, with Russ and Pat BOTH off today! That never happens! I cooked a new meal that is not in my "repertoire of recipes" and had company to celebrate the occasion. We had a great time while Felicia nursed at the dinner table using her Hooter Hider! I told you we weren't your typical "doctors' wives!" Haha! After I finished eating, I rushed to clean the kitchen so I could have uninterrupted playtime! And I did!

Russ, me, and Toby

He loves his Aunt Megan!

Daddy and Mommy

Notice Toby's face as his dad acts goofy! "Seriously, Dad?"

We enjoyed the evening Pat and Felicia...and Toby! Can't wait for our next play date!

Fully Responsible, Organized, and Growing Students

Okay, so if you've been following my blog for a while, or if you have seen my class blog you know that everything I do is frog themed. I am a huge stickler for organization and things done just so. So, I thought it was appropriate for FROGS to stand for Fully Responsible, Organized, and Growing Students. Why am I such a freak about neatness and organization? Because if a student is organized and neat, their brains are much more capable of organizing information and thoughts in school. There are many ways that I teach organization and neatness in order for my students to become more responsible and grow throughout the year.

One of these things is teaching the importance of an organized desk! You would not believe some of the desks I have seen! Oh my goodness! I mean nastiness! Ha! My students do not come to me with any idea of what "neat" or "organized" means. So, in order to make sure everyone has a standard for a "clean desk" I made a diagram to show them. I got this idea from a website I found this summer.


Throughout the week, I already have students do a desk check...or I will do one. The class will not leave the room until all desks have passed inspection. By doing this enough times, the students know what I expect, and they will straighten throughout the day so that it never gets out of control. With this diagram to remind them, there will be no excuses!

Another way I work to keep them organized is our FROGS Books. I wrote about these last summer here. This has been a huge hit with students, parents, and other teachers. At the beginning of the year, I give each student a 1-in. binder with a clear pocket for a cute cover. I also laminate construction paper with preprinted labels to use as dividers. This is a wonderful strategy for organizing notes, work, and anything else that suits your students. If you want more ideas for these books, go to this link. The students get SO excited when I pass the materials out to put this together. They really feel "grown-up" with such a cute, colorful binder all their own. For the most part, they take very good care of them.

Sample FROGS Book

This year, I have five dividers: Reading, Language, Vocabulary, Math, Science/Social Studies. Vocabulary is the one new divider for this year. One of our weaknesses as a school is vocabulary. I have chosen to use Wordly Wise this year to increase vocabulary. So, our words and definitions each week will be stored in the Vocabulary section of our FROGS Books.

The dividers

I also found some fantastic reference stickers at Dollar Tree. They come in a sticker book. There are 12 large stickers per book. I bought a multiplication table book, place value reference, and parts of speech reference sticker book. I put these stickers on the backs of these dividers for the students to use as reference when needed.

Language divider front and back

Parts of Speech sticker

Math divider front and back

Place Value and Multiplication stickers

So, YES. I am the teacher that spends all her money on school supplies so that she has to eat Pokemon mac and cheese for lunch! But, I feel so much better (and more organized myself!) when the students come in. Everyone has a uniform way of organizing. Organization = Better Students and Teaching!

Even Teachers Have to Eat!

Those of you who teach will understand the importance of eating out with other teachers. It is a RARE opportunity to eat without a student asking for help opening a milk carton, complaining about the food, asking for another fork, or actually throwing up on their tray! Yes. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it! Ha! So, today, I got together with a few "teacher friends" from Van Winkle. We originally planned to eat at Bonsai, but they were on vacation. So, we ended up at Kyoto. Yummy! We sat down to eat at 11:30, and we talked for two hours before leaving! The workers were eyeing us the whole time just waiting on us to shut our mouths and leave! We missed Blaylock and Land...they were unable to come at the last minute.

Me and Strum

Taylor and Pemberton

After lunch, we headed over to none other than School Aids. It's starting to get very busy as school draws near! Can you believe it's already here!?

It was a great afternoon - NON work related!

Homework Keeper

As you know, I've been a little stressed trying to get things ready for the upcoming school year. I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere once I stopped and just worked on one small thing at a time. In the last four years I've been teaching, I have never been satisfied with my homework procedures. I actually give a lot of homework compared to the other teachers I teach with. Yes. I'm every parent's nightmare! Haha! No, really. I only give what the students should already be able to do alone, and they should be able to finish in a reasonable time. But, when the students bring homework back I never feel satisfied with how I check it. My first year, the students turned all homework into a box, which rarely got checked. Then, I had them all place homework on their desks as they arrived, and I would walk around and check for completion every morning. This took too much time for me! Last year, I checked it some, had kids check some, took up some, and graded some. I had serious homework issues last year because I was just not with it. So, at the end of the year...I told my principal one of my goals was to have a more organized homework system.

This is what I came up with. Mrs. Johnson's Homework Keeper. This all came together during one of my recent visits to Office Depot. I was leaning toward a file box passed around with folders for each child to turn in his/her homework. Then, I thought of something a bit easier and more portable.

Mrs. Johnson's Homework Keeper

I bought a 1 1/2 inch binder and filled it with pocket dividers. I will number each pocket - my students are numbered at the beginning of the year. One pocket is for homework turned in, and the other is for homework that I have checked and is ready to go back home. The students will pass this around each morning as part of their morning procedures. They will turn in homework in the "Homework In" side. If the homework is not there by the time I get the binder, they will not get credit for it. Then, if there is homework in the "Homework Out" pocket, they will take that home.

The inside of the homework keeper

Turn in homework here

Checked homework here

Next, I had to think about how I would keep up with homework myself. I made this sheet that will stay between the two pockets. I will write the date, check homework turned in, and make any comments needed. This way, I have documentation (with comments) for parent conferences and for my own knowledge. Especially when it's time to give grades, and I want to add a homework grade.

Homework Record - I also need to add a spelling column.

So, that's it. One of the things I've been working on. I'll post more of the projects I've started throughout the rest of the summer. Which is getting shorter and shorter!

Not Me! Monday

Are you feeling guilty for leaving the windows open to catch a breeze when you know the air is on? Feel like a bag lady for wearing the same shirt for days on end? Get tricked by a fake news story and feel foolish? Well don't! Not Me! Monday was born out of Mckmama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal a few moments she'd rather forget. you may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!
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This Fourth of July, I was NOT terribly excited that Russ actually got his first holiday off! And, because of that I DID NOT insist on eating at Cock of the Walk just so we could eat by the water in a poor attempt at emulating my normal Fourth of July festivities in Pickwick. After eating, I DID NOT also insist on finding a fireworks show in town. After we finally found a spot where a crowd had gathered with lawn chairs, blankets, and coolers for fireworks, Russ and I most certainly DID NOT sit around for an hour waiting on fireworks that never happened! Nope! We always have plans made just in the rare chance that Russ would not be working. I would never sit and sit and sit and sit while getting eaten up by bugs just to wait on a fireworks show that was never planned! That is just embarrassing! No way! Not me!

When Russ began his residency on July 1, I DID NOT text my friend just to say that "I do not like this one bit!" because of the late hours and no contact during the day. And on July 3, after Russ's first night of call, I DID NOT text that same friend back just to say that "My husband looks hot walking in with scrubs and a doctor coat on! I think I may like this after all!" I would never be so selfish as to enjoy my husband's stress and sleepless nights just so that I can enjoy the view when he gets home! Not me!

When asking my sweet hubby if he was disappointed in my "wifely ways" of not being the best cook or the biggest fan of deep cleaning, he absolutely DID NOT say that "It doesn't take much to make me happy. So, you are all I need." He would NEVER say such things without thinking about how they would sound! And, of course, I DID NOT raise my eyebrow in just the right time for him to retract the statement and reword it. Surely he is not that scared of the "eyebrow." Nah! That would NEVER happen to this Party of Two!

Last week, I DID NOT meet one of my blogger friends for supper. And if I had met my blogger friend, it definitely is NOT one of Russ's cousins! There is no way that I would wait this long to meet Sarah and her little boy! I'm much more of a social butterfly than that! No. I would have met her sooner for sure. That just could NOT be me!

And while at the doctor's office today, I DID NOT ask the doctor what my eggs were doing. If I had asked that, I definitely DID NOT continue by asking if they were just "hanging out." I would NEVER embarrass my husband in such a doctor's office with my limited medical knowledge and jargon. No way!

I DID NOT go to Walmart today and have a fine time in the school supply section. I would NEVER leave there with over 60 spiral notebooks, 10 boxes of markers, 10 boxes of colored pencils, 10 boxes of crayons, and a personal desk calendar for me. No way! And I certainly DO NOT intend to go back when all the shelves are stocked with 10 cent folders. And I'm sure I will NOT end up coming out of Walmart the second time with even more spiral notebooks and glue and crayons and markers and colored pencils and.... I mean, that is, IF I had done that today! Which I DID NOT!

Oh! And I am NOT about to sit down to watch the SOAP Network's One Tree Hill reruns and eat Pokemon macaroni and cheese for lunch. I am much healthier than that, and I definitely watch more wholesome shows than One Tree Hill. I, without a doubt, DO NOT own all five seasons of OTH, and I'm NOT stalking the website until season 6 comes out on DVD. Negatory! Not me!

What have you NOT done this week?

Doctor's Orders: No Worries!

Since we're new to the whole doctor thing...I thought the cutesy title would be appropriate. But it's true. I've had worries. Russ has had worries. And I know you have had worries too. During my quiet time last week, I came across a verse that I've heard many many times. But, this time...I focused on it a little more. It seemed so perfect that it came up in my Bible reading on that particular day. It is from Philippians 4:6-7. As I do each night, I read a chapter, then focused on one verse that was applicable to my life at that particular moment by taking notes. I thought I'd share them with you.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

* STOP WORRYING about things that are out of my control. I cannot make myself pregnant. The doctor cannot make us pregnant. Not even Russ can make us pregnant. (Although both Russ and I are both considered highly needed in the process! Ha!) Ultimately, only God can do that. Don't be anxious.

* Go to Him instead!
- By prayer: talking one-on-one, focused, quiet time, and I prefer on my knees.
- By petition - According to the dictionary, petition means a request made for something desired, especially a respectful or humble request, as to a superior or to one of those in authority.
- With thanksgiving - Don't forget to the "count the blessings" I AM given each day. Come to Him with a grateful heart for the life He has blessed me with. Which, by the way, is amazing! One thing I've started doing, after advice from some of the women in my life, is to make a list of at least five things I'm thankful for each day. I always do that before I write my prayer requests for the day. I catch myself noticing the little things throughout the day more and how thankful I am for those.

*Then, present requests - not demanding! ASKING humbly.

It is only then that the Lord promises us "a peace that transcends all understanding to guard our hearts." And He never breaks a promise.

Lay your anxieties at the feet of Jesus and present requests in a one-on-one focused quiet time with Him. Come to Him with thanksgiving in your heart for the wonderful things you've been given. Then, humbly ask for the desires of your heart. And, I always like to ask that my heart grow closer and closer to His will so that my desires will be aligned with his will for my life.

No worries! He is in control.

Praying for Kate

Fun Friday

YES! This is what you think it is! Maw Maw on a motorcycle!! I'm so jealous! I love riding the motorcycle with my dad.

Thought you'd get a kick out of that!

"Honey, I'm Home!"

Russ has officially come home from his first day as "Dr. Russ." The alarm sounded at the crack of dawn o'clock this morning for Russ to leave. Although I should have been the good wife and cooked my sweet hubby a nice warm breakfast, I did not. I did, however, tell him I loved him before he left and gave him a kiss for good luck...which I'm sure was just lovely first thing in the morning! I digress. Too much information. My mom spent the night last night, and she fell asleep on the couch. So, she was able to tell me what she saw when he left in his white coat, pockets filled, with briefcase thingie on his shoulder. He was actually on the phone talking to Jimmy when he left, but she said he looked a little nervous. Naturally. I didn't have much contact with Russ today, but from what he was able text, I still wasn't sure how it was. For example, one of my texts said, "How is it going?" His reply: "It's going." Bless him! Russ finally got home around 9:00, and I did have food this time. Nothing homemade since I spent my day in Starkvegas. But, food nonetheless...hot pizza from Papa John's actually. End result of Russ's first day as a real life doctor: He did it! And he's home. In bed. So, I suppose I'll go join him.

Night night!