the hoppe pad: July 2013

Sunday, July 28, 2013

A teacher's wishlist...

With school fast approaching...I started a middle school wish list for our school that range in prices from a little to a lot. So I was thinking I would share some ideas in case you were wanting to start the year by gifting your teacher. Of course, paper, dry erase markers, clorox wipes and Kleenex (you would be amazed on how many boxes of Kleenex the kids go through!) are always needed. Then there is some fun stuff too..

You can buy a gift certificate to teacherspayteachers.com where teachers share items that they have used with success in their classroom. My "cart" has $27.00 sitting in it as we speak! It is a fun resource.

Gift cards. This is kinda two-fold. I love to get gift cards in $10 increments for places kids love (iTunes, movies, food places, etc.) that I can use as rewards for my students. I like to do monthly drawings for the kids if they have done all their homework or other criteria for the month. Then as a teacher I love to get gift cards to amazon.com to buy things for my classroom, books, etc.

Wine (OK this might not be super appropriate for every teacher and/or school situation but you know some teachers would love it...and yes, I do love Apothic Red..thanks! Ha!) I was thinking that wine or food for teachers would be a great gift. (Of course, not to drink at work but at home after a long week with all the kiddos!) Even buying the teachers lunch for a random Friday at school or something is always a big hit...you can get other parents involved and host a huge salad bar in the teacher's lounge...always a big hit!

And the best gift you can give is to work with your teacher and student to make sure your student has a great year! Help your student stay organized and prepared each day.

And if you are a spouse of a teacher...you should definitely buy her a new watch for the school year like this one above. (hint, hint!)

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Thursday, July 25, 2013

Where has summer gone??

Wow! In just three more short weeks we are back in the swing of work/school and I cannot believe it. As a working mom (especially since I have worked this summer)...I have had the mom guilt (but who doesn't...I think it never goes away?!) Anyway...I was trying to think of ways to have some last minute summer fun moments with Norah and hope I have a few up my sleeve! I think to catch the ole' family blog/scrapbook up...it is best to have a bullet post...and yes...this is a wordy post. :)

A wonderful woman I was blessed enough to meet during my short time in Pawleys Island passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer. She was a phenomenal woman and I cannot say enough about her. I pray for Mrs. Ellen's family to have peace and know that she will not be forgotten.
Norah is changing so much...she has lost 4 teeth total...she is starting to "sass" us at times (not acceptable!)...but all in all...she is amazing and we are so enjoying her at every stage! She has had a great summer and has enjoyed her camps and times spent with friends and family (thank you to everyone who has helped me out or just spend some quality time with her...she has loved it!)
To be honest, these last couple of weeks have been a blur...a lot of work involved and trying to balance home life, but still we have had a lot of summer fun. Work has been busy but great! It reminds me of how much fun I had working with my Mountaineer Team at The Hollow. I think it is going to be a great year and love the positive energy everyone has for the new school year!
Norah is now at another camp with the famous Mrs. Flo and Mr. Phil at school each morning and at night this week she is going to a great activity night at a local church...she is having a great time!
Another thing to mention is that Norah and I have lived in Pawleys Island for a little over a year and Jeff has not quite made that mark yet (I think October will be about 1 year for him.) We are super thankful to have met some incredible people and be involved in a great Church, groups, etc. I still depend on Amazon.com for many "necessities" and have moments of homesickness for Charlotte...but feel so lucky to live here. We look forward to the many years to come in Pawleys Island!
Today Norah had her annual check up since she is now the big 6 years old. Of course, she is still off the charts in height and weight...and received a perfect bill of health. And I learned that she won't get another immunization until she is 11! They did say that she needs to see a dermatologist so gotta make that appointment.
So if you made it through all that...picture time!

We were lucky enough to be invited to the Ribbon Club Dance in Georgetown by our friends-The Wilcox family. Here is Glenn and I right when we arrived! We had a great time! I even ran into some folks that confirmed what a small world it is around here...how nice to catch up!

At the end of the night of the Ribbon Club dance...I remembered that Jeff and I had not taken any pics of us...hence, the self car portrait that you see on many of our date nights! :)...I sure do love my hubby!

Norah's 4th tooth (her second front tooth) came out in the morning before camp...so this was taken right after it happened...she was so excited. Later the Tooth Fairy stopped by and left chocolate gold coins and money....she was over the moon! She deemed the Tooth Fairy the best ever!

Both pics above are from last night when Norah and Ellie headed to Nick at Nite! The first one is before they took a shower and the next one is after a shower...they put on their matching dresses! So cute!

Well off to have a little down time while Norah enjoys another night out getting messy!

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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Books and Stuff...

So I had to take a break from "Winter of the World" and just read some "fluff" books for a fun escape. The last couple of weeks I have read the following:
"From Ashes" by Molly McAdams, "Losing It" by Cora Carmack, "Faking It" by Cora Carmack, "Where'd you go, Bernadette" by Maria Semple, and "Unchartered: An On the Island Novella" by Tracey Garvis Graves. The first three are pretty basic...easy-no-thinking, fun reads.

The "Bernadette" one is different. It is written in a lot of e-mails and I really didn't know where it was going at first but still continued to read it but once you read the entire book and look back on it...it was good and makes an interesting point. "Uncharted"...well I LOVED "On the Island" (I mentioned the book HERE and HERE) and I just found out that they are making a movie based on "On the Island" too! So I loved "Uncharted" as it went along with a story line that was mentioned in "On the Island." Now I'm debating to read another fluff book before reading the book club book....or head back into "Winter of the Worlds?"

Also have you heard that JK Rowling wrote another book, "The Cuckoo's Calling" under a pseudonym? It actually looks interesting so it has been added to my "wish list." You can see article HERE about it being confirmed that it was Rowling who wrote it.

I cannot believe there is only really one month left of summer for me...boo! Even though I have worked this summer, I have still gotten to do fun stuff with Norah and have that free time. Once school kicks in gear...everyone will be so busy! Of course, football season will be here which is always fun so that is a trade-off....

I've been looking at things for my classroom and just in general about to get my room ready. I found this clock that I would love to have in my classroom...only a true math nerd like me will appreciate it...but how fabulous!

Source

Well we are off to start our Sunday!

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Friday, July 12, 2013

Princess Week plus...well a little of everything!

Norah went to Princess camp this week which included learning all about manners. Today it ended with a proper tea at Ms. Flo's house and a dance. It seriously was so cute!!

There was work and the usual stuff...a trip to the pool, grocery store run, etc. Then there was the extra stuff. Doctor visit for Norah (rash...I still think I am going to take her to a dermatologist in Mt. Pleasant) and me (kidney infection which required blood drawn, a shot, and 2 prescriptions...I mean I have had the most random medical stuff since moving here!) Speaking of doctors...that has been one of the hardest things down here as it is so different then being in a "big" city like Charlotte. I have actually found a doctor for myself I really like (Dr. Howard) but I am seriously thinking of switching Norah to a pediatrician in Mt. Pleasant as the office we see here is so strange...they will not let you make an appointment and it drives me crazy! This is the second time something has happened and I call and they WOULD NOT make an appointment...instead I had to go during their walk-in hours which was a bad time for me (hello...some of us have to work) and you have no idea how long you will have to wait. I do not understand it at all. Anyway...let's move on to some fun stuff.

Book club was this week at Amity's house and the food was phenomenal as well as the company and the next book was picked..."The Lost Wife" by Alyson Richman. I think it will be a good one!

We had dinner tonight with my mom, Denny, Jake and Betsy...so great to meet Betsy! Hopefully will get to hang out with them tomorrow some too! We went to Louis at Sanfords and the food and atmosphere was great. Now we are waiting to see what the weekend holds for us (fingers crossed to have some chill time in there sometime!)... and hope the weather is good!

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Sunday, July 7, 2013

Whew...whirlwind of a week...4th of July 2013...

The week started with a lot of rain so we saw a movie, read books, ran errands and did chores around the house. Then Jeff's mom came in town (the weather turned awesome!) and we hit the beach, watched a parade, had a great time with friends, had good food and drinks, watched fireworks, more beach time, more family visits with my mom and Denny and Jeff's brother and family. It was A LOT of fun and by Saturday afternoon we were worn out...but in a good way! Today we took a family boat ride and it was so peaceful and relaxing...and now just trying to prepare for another week back to the grind/work. Here are some random pics from the week!