The Simple Things

I've seen this on another blog, and it always makes me think about the simple things in my life, so I decided to give it a try; I always think the simple things in life are the best!

Here are just a few of the simple things I'm loving this week:

♥ the leaves starting to change!

♥ awesome play time with two of my favorite toddler girls

♥ my texas-country mixed cd that i made back in march; yes, it's STILL in my car. and i jam our frequently

♥ walks and runs at dusk, especially with a good friend of mine

♥ catching up with my education girls from college (wow that makes me feel old!)

♥ laughing with my silly kiddos at MP everyday

♥ hugs from my sweet, sweet kiddos

♥ laying in bed at night and reading because I want to, rather than because I have to

♥ sleeping with the windows open and the breeze blowing in, because it feels aahhhhmazing outside!

I made it!

Well, I survived my first week of preschool...although, there were several times when I doubted that I would. Man, 3 year olds are tough! I thought having 8 sweet babies in my class would be a piece of cake. I. Was. Wrong. I pick on G constantly for having gray hair; but after last week, I'm pretty sure I won't have any room to talk soon. :/ Although I was doubting my abilities [[and sanity]] by midweek, I managed to survive with my sanity (partially) intact.
However, this week has been MUCH better!! After an okay weekend, I got into school mode Sunday night, and was actually looking forward to seeing my darling little ones Monday morning. I know my mindset definitely helped, because Monday actually quite great; and I ab-sol-lutely loathe Mondays. After work, I went and cooked with my long lost Olive, whom I've hardly seen since graduation. It was so nice to spend the afternoon and evening catching up with each other, as well as playing Paula Deen (sans the sticks of butter). And to top it off, I had an awesome catch up sesh with my bestie from Clemson, who I haven't talked to in over a month. And now I'm wondering how that was humanly possible. This girl and I used to be connected at the hip, I don't even recall life without her, much less how I ever went so long without chatting! She shared some very exciting news, and I am beyond stoked for her and where her life is going!
Today was pretty grand as well, and I feel as if I'm actually making progress with my kiddos {knock on wood}. After spending all afternoon and evening attempting to map out what exactly I'll be putting in the minds of these little ones all year, I'm still overwhelmed, somewhat organized, and worn slap out.
Therefore, it's time for this chick to climb in the bed and read a few pages of the book I started today before I drift off to dreamland!
xoxo,
the lovely linz

oh, hey there!

I don't think I'll ever be really good at this. It's been over a year since my last post. Oh, well. I was just reading through my old posts and thinking how much things have changed. I [[finally]] managed to graduate from college, with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Woohoo!! However, it seems like forever ago that I was with all of my ECED girls everyday; I sure do miss them!! Luckily for one of them, she still gets to see me everyday!! Jamie and I both got jobs teaching at the same preschool; it has been so fun (and comforting!) working with someone I went to school with for two years. We are both so excited to have our own classrooms, as well as our own group of little ones to teach!
While browsing through old posts, I came across pictures of my sweet niece and nephew. Oh my goodness, I can't believe how little they were! Where in the world have my babies gone?! Miss Izzy will be TWO next month, and Caleb isn't far behind- he'll turn two in November. The past two years have seemed to absolutely fly by; I can't believe how old they're getting.
Maybe now that I've finished school (at least until I start working on my Master's), then I can be a little better at blogging. Doubtful. But, we shall try!
This week has been busy, busy, busy; and it's only Tuesday. It was the first week with our kiddos at school. I feel like I lived at MP last week, staying there until 7, 9, or even 11:30 trying to get my room ready. I was running on hardly any sleep, and lots of stress all week. Thank goodness for the lovely G coming to the rescue to help move/lower my tables for my little ones, as well as to put up with my stressed induced insanity!
Hopefully the rest of this week will run smoothly as I try to get my 8 little monkeys (as well as myself) into a nice schedule and daily routine! Ohhh, we can only hope and pray it works that way :)
xoxo,
worn-out, yet wonderful

Things I love

It's been quite a while...and as I sit here, I'm overwhelmed with thoughts of all the little things in life that I absolutely love.

Here's just a few:



last minute lunches with daddy

color coding my planner (yes, i know i'm a dork!)

wearing flip flops

texas country music [i'm on a HUGE gary allan kick right now, and i love it!]

daddy's home made pancakes (these were a saturday morning tradtion at our house while growingup)

riding around aimlessly listening to my favorite cd's

pandora music radio. having it on while working all day = ahhhmazing!

evening walks with the bestie

color coordinating my closet {so maybe i'm just a tad ocd}

a nice big ol' glass of sweet tea [sans lemon]

my [at least 35 year old] cowboy boots

being on the lake all day with my favorites

southern gentleman; not just guys, but gentleman. {these are the select few who were raised right & aren't afraid to show it}

sending {and receiving!} letters and cards via snail mail

sunday afternoon naps

crisp fall air





there are many not so little things that i'm loving as well...perhaps inspiration of a future post

&& days go by

And days go by...
I can feel 'em flyin'
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by...
Yeah it's all we've been given,
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by...
Oh and a woo-hoo...

Although Keith Urban is no where close to Luke Byran on my favorites list, this song has definitely spoken to me. For the first time in a very long time, I finally feel as if I'm right where I need to be. Although I'm very concerned what my life will be like a year from now, after graduating with no promise of a job, I feel very content. Although life may have many ups and downs, I have full faith that God will hold me tight & carry me through.

it's just the beginning

I've officially {finally} completed my first week of my last semester of classes at good ol LU! And boy, am I exhausted!! On the first day, all of our assignments were given, along with some minor (but certainly not reassuring) details on our senior project, clinical, and case study. While I couldn't be happier about my clincal placement, I could definitely use some reassurement on everything that goes along with it! With the ever expanding list of outrageous assignments, I find myself more and more uneasy about what's to come within the next year, as well as what I'm going to do after that!
This week as been overwhelming & draining! I'm looking forward to the long weekend and some relaxation...although I'll probably be doing school work all weekend so I can get ahead, before I get behind! Hopefully it'll be as good as last weekend, when I got to spend some much needed QT with my family...but more importantly, getting to snuggle up with my precious nephew! You can tell in this picture that he just absolutely *adores* his aunt linz! ;)

Tooth Fairy

I'm not a fan of the dentist. never have been. That may have something to do with the fact that I can probably count on one hand how many times I've been & haven't had cavities. My teeth hate me. So, when Doc told me {over a year ago} that I needed to get my wisdom teeth cut out, I grew to dislike his job even more. I finally manned up made an appointment (mostly because the pain of them growing into my jaw was unbearable) to get them removed. When Wednesday rolled around, I came up with every excuse possible to cancel my appointment. None of them were legit, of course. So, I decided to be a big girl and face the man. Contrary to what most would believe if having a conversation with me, I have a very small mouth. Thus, normally creating very large problems for my lovely dental visits. After lots of scary stories of what was going to happen to me, I sat in that seat that I hate so dearly & got a mouthful of shots to numb me up reallll good. It's sad that I'm almost 22 years old, and the dentist knows that I'm still such a little baby...which is one more reason why I'll never move to a far away place, because I refuse to be forced to find another dentist. So, after only thirty minutes {trust me, it seemed much longer} I was puffy faced & on my way home to dream in la la land for the rest of the day. I emerged unscathed (with the exception of 2 missing teeth) from the incident, and have now proclaimed myself a big girl...at least until May, when I go back for a check up!