October Snow

          Life has been so busy (as to be expected) but I am taking a break and catching up on the blog (even though I'm pretty sure no one reads it, but that's okay!).  I was told by my professor that my 18 page lit review was a "good start" but need to be completely reorganized and rewritten.  Awesome.  I fixed three pages yesterday, and haven't done anything today.  There's only so much motivation one can find for literature reviews.
          Last Saturday there was a freak snow storm.  It was the weekend before Halloween and we got way over a foot of snow.  I didn't mind, I love snow.  I keep this state of mind until about March.  Then I'm ready for it to be gone.  Snow is one of the awesome things about living in New Hampshire.  Since Scout is just about a year old and came from South Carolina, he had never experienced snow before last weekend.  It was so fun watching him rumpus around and eat as much snow as he could.  He is definitely a snow lover.  I think he's kind of bummed it's all gone right now.  If only he knew soon he won't be able to get rid of it.  Here are some pictures of him playing in the snow:

           Needless to say, He had a great time in his first snowstorm.  Here's a video of him rumpusing around:

          In other news, conferences at my school are this coming week, which has meant long nights at school in preparation.  We have a ton of stuff we have to go over for each conference which has meant a lot of prepping.  Toby's school had conferences last week, so he was able to have 2 days off.  He actually took a day to do nothing last week which is so great.  He doesn't do that often enough.  Me, I take any excuse to step away from schoolwork (like blogging).
          Well I guess that's about it.  Life is the same as always - wonderful but hectic.  Graduation is 6 months from yesterday, which is exciting and insane at the same time.  I have so much work left to do before I'm ready to walk across the stage.  We'll see what happens!

Break Time

          I've been so close to a breaking point this week.  I have a huge paper due at the end of October, and I'm having a very difficult time getting the ball rolling.  I've asked my adviser for help and direction, and he's been no help.  I spent a huge part of this week just complaining, and that's no help.  It's rolled into me being in a foul mood and that's no good for anyone.  I contacted a librarian at the school for some help, and it looks like that might help get me through.  I decided I'm only going to let myself complain about this one part of my big project. Everything else I just need to suck up and deal.
          In order to help clear my mental state, I decided to take today off.  I haven't even thought of graduate school today.  I was in a great mood at school today and we had such a wonderful day.  The kids were super and we had a lot of fun.  Tonight, I could have done a ton of work, but I didn't.  I stayed at school until 5:00 to get some grading finished, then I left.
          When I got home, Scout and I went for a run.  Besides a run last weekend, I haven't run in a long time.  It wasn't long, but it was great.  It felt very good to get some exercise.  In my life, exercise has always been my way of coping.  Then I surfed the internet for a while while hydrating myself, and now I'm going to plop in front of the tv, watch a show or a movie, then head to bed early and read my book.  
          It's so important to take time for myself during these busy times.  I can sometimes be a little weak emotionally.  If I don't take "me" time, I will go crazy and break down.  It's also important to appreciate the good things in life no matter how rough things are.  Toby is the most amazing man in the entire history of men. I am so lucky to share my life with him.  We are going through these hard times together, and I wouldn't be able to do it without him.  My family is close, and I'm so lucky to have them.  They are another important piece of my support system.  This includes Toby's family, too.  I have a wonderful job that I love so much.  Although it can get hectic with pressure and things to do, the kids make it all worth it.  They are so special and I am so lucky to be a part of their lives.  Scout is doing well.  He's a happy, healthy dog who is a great companion, especially while Toby is working these crazy hours.  We are healthy, thank God.  See, look at all of these wonderful things I have in my life!  I could go on forever.  Although life is tough, there are always blessings to count.  It's important to take time to appreciate things in life while we have them.

Work Overload

          Toby and I have been so busy lately, it's been difficult to find time for us that doesn't involve talk of work or school.  I'm spending my Sunday catching up on some assignments that are due next week.  I would love to be relaxing and reading a book that I picked out instead of one assigned to me.  Toby is off at work, poor guy, so it's just me and Scout hanging out.  I'm glad I've got him to keep me company!
          I did take some time off yesterday.  A friend and I went to a horse pull.  One of my students (whose mother I work with) has grown up around horse pulls.  Her family hosts one every year.  It was a neat experience.  I always love seeing students out of school, too.

          One thing I love about my Master's program is that it's more independent work and less on campus time.  This means, though, that I have to stay disciplined and focused on assignments.  There's a big 20-page paper due at the end of October, so I am very temped to not do anything until the middle of October.  I know how mad I would be at myself if that's what happens.  I made an outline today to help give me some direction.  I find the rest of my sources next week and begin the paper.  Hopefully I'll be done before the due date.  The paper is not officially due until March, but there will be lots of revisions to do in between now and then.  
          I have another class that I was looking forward to.  It's all about teachers becoming leaders in their schools.  It's not nearly as exciting or informative as I had hoped.  There's a lot of extra work to pile on top of the research class's work.
          Work is going well, but it's busy, too.  We changed our whole structure to the RTI model which has added a whole new ball to juggle in the air.  I'm hoping we'll see results in the kids' work, but in the mean time, it's a lot of planning and extra work.  The main thing, though, is that the kids are doing well.  They make everything worth it.  I can't say enough how much I LOVE having my kids from last year.  They are such a wonderful group of kids and remind me why I got into teaching in the first place.  They are the most important part.  It takes so much time for planning, grading, modifying, meeting, etc., but in the end, it's all about the kids, and I just love working with them!
          Poor Toby is just as busy as I am, if not more.  He's working and interning and going to classes, too.  Thankfully he is able to deal with his stress in healthy ways.  When we do have time we get to spend together, we have a great time.  We try to not talk about work or school, and just focus on being together.  All of this work now is temporary.  Once it's done, we can move onto a new chapter in our lives where we have more time to spend together and Master's Degrees!  We can't wait for the day.
          Scout continues to be wonderful and bring joy and excitement to us every day.  He's a smart dog and super playful.  Right now he's passed out because he spent all morning chewing on his new bone.  He peed on my parents' carpet (twice!) last week, but has never peed inside anywhere else.  He is still a big snuggle bear and a love bug.  He loves going to day care and seems to be a very happy dog.
          It's been nice reflecting on where I am right now, but now I need to get back to work.  I have to do work for work, then back to work for grad school.  Again, this is temporary.  I should also appreciate where we are right now, because I'm sure future posts will be of me complaining of being even more busy than I am right now!
         Graduation is in:  229 days!!!

First Day of School!

          It's amazing how quickly the first day of school snuck right up.  It was a marathon trying to get everything set up, but by Tuesday night, the room was all ready for Open House.  This Open House was so great because I knew all of the students (besides two) and their parents, so it was nice to see everyone again and hear how their summers were.  

          Wednesday was the first day, and it was fantastic.  Looping is such an amazing thing, and I hope I have the opportunity to do it more.  I know my students, so on the first day, we were all comfortable and ready to get back to work.  Of course there were first day things that needed to be taken care of, but because I know the kids from last year, I know what they can and can't do, what accommodations help them work best, and how to keep the ones in line who need help making the right choices.  One of my paras worked in the room last year, so that is great, too.

          5th grade is very different from 4th grade, and requires the students to really step up and take on more responsibility.  I am so impressed with how the kids have stepped up to the plate and really taken on the role of 5th graders.  They have lockers, they are in charge of writing their homework assignments down, they switch classes, and are given more freedoms.  They have done a great job transitioning out of the elementary part of the school and into the middle school side.

          I absolutely love my job.  Although there are some days that are better or worse than others, I feel so lucky to be able to hang out with kids all day.  I like them and they like me and we all work well together.  The two new students are transitioning well into the new school and are a great fit for our class.  I am so happy the first day, and the first week, went well.  I makes me look forward to the 176 days we have left together!  I look back fondly on all of my classes, and I feel very fortunate to have this class a second year in a row.  It's fantastic!

          Here are some pictures of the room right before Open House.  The papers on the desks are parent info sheets, and the things on the back table are their name plates for them to pick their seats.

The Scout Master

          As posted below, we had a tragic experience with our first ever dog, Ellie.  When we came home from vacation our house was empty.  Even though we had had Ellie for such a short time, we became dog people and our home became a dog home.  Elaine, the wonderful woman from New England Lab Rescue, was very understanding of what happened to Ellie and said she would find us another dog.  She sent out a kind e-mail to all of her contacts explaining what had happened and that she was looking for a good, family-friendly lab.  She got a response immediately.  There was a dog named Scout in Maine looking for a new home.
          Toby and I talked a lot about whether we should get a dog right away or not.  After much thinking time, we decided it would be best to get another dog settled into our home and routine before we both go back to work full time.  We called Elaine who put us in touch with Heather, the founder of New England Lab Rescue, who was fostering Scout.  The next morning, we got in the car and headed for Maine.
          Knowing we were getting a new dog gave us a purpose and a light at the end of the tunnel to head towards while we were grieving for Ellie.
          The second we met Scout, it was like he knew we were there to adopt him.  He put his head right in our laps and made us fall in love with him instantly.  We seemed to fall in love with us pretty quickly, too!  Heather was so kind in giving us the beginning essentials for life with Scout and we were soon on our way back home.  He was a trooper in the car and came into our house without a problem.  He is a little snuggle bug and loves attention.  He also knows when it's time to lay down and chill out.  Because of what happened with Ellie, we are super careful and he stays in a crate when we're gone.  He does great in the crate!  
          About Scout:  Scout is a true rescue dog and survivor.  He and his sister were found by an elderly woman tied up under a trailer in South Carolina.  Having an apartment, she couldn't take them in so she drove 30 miles a day to feed them.  When she realized no one was coming back for them, she called a rescue place.  They took them in, neutered/spayed them, gave them all their shots, and prepared them for a trip up north.  Apparently black dogs don't get adopted very often in the south :-(  Heather had Scout for about a week when we contacted her, and she said he was one of the top 10 dogs.  He's about 9 months old and is just purely awesome.  
          Toby has been able to bond with Scout because he was on vacation last week when we got him.  With Toby's work schedule changing soon, it will be nice to have a companion in the house.  We have started letting him roam the yard when we are there watching him, and he does well.  Like I said, he's a snuggle bug!  He sleeps on the bed with us and we spoil him rotten!  Although we are still so sad with what happened to Ellie, we now have Scout and we are in love with this little boy!
          Here are some pictures of our handsome boy:
          In the car on the way home from Maine:

           Here he is playing with his new bone he picked out with Toby:

           Such a beautiful dog!  You might notice the lumps on his elbows.  Those are from laying on concrete for long periods of time before he was rescued.

He is such a well behaved dog!

           This is one of my favorite pictures of him.  He is so photogenic!  He loves playing out in the yard!

          

All Dogs Go To Heaven

          It has been one roller coaster of a week.  So many things have happened in so few days, and they have ranged from wonderful to traumatically depressing.  Our brand new (to us) lab was hit by a car on Sunday morning.
           We adopted Ellie on Wednesday night.  We had a vacation already planned to Bennington, so we decided to take her with us.  We had to downgrade our hotel room, but it was totally worth it for her.  We drove out to Bennington (2 hours) on Friday afternoon.  Toby and I LOVE vacations.  We had a great time in the car on the way out there and settled into our hotel just fine.
          On Saturday, we went to the Obelisk which is a monument for the Battle at Bennington.  It was some anniversary weekend, so people were dressed in Revolutionary outfits and they set off a cannon to start a 5K.  We brought Ellie with us, and she had a great time seeing so many new people.  The canon was her (and my) least favorite part.  We left her in the car for about 15 minutes while we went up the Obelisk.  She was just fine when we came back to her.  We were so proud of her being a good dog while we were gone.
          We went back to the hotel and crashed for a while just spending time together and watching tv.  We also played some Bocci Ball.  Life was great.  It was time for lunch, so Toby and I thought we'd leave Ellie alone for about 2 hours while we head to the brewery we were so excited to go to.  We checked on her on our way out through the window, and she was great.  We had an awesome time at the brewery and brought great leftovers back for later.  We were living on cloud 9, so excited to come back to our dog.  When we got there, she wasn't there.
          At first we thought maybe she was making too much noise, so the hotel staff brought her to the office.  We went to check with them, and they had no idea what happened to her.  They said they saw a dog with a blue collar come into the office at 1:30 but then the dog walked right back out, like she knew her owners were waiting for her.  We left at 1:15, so she had escaped 15 minutes after we left.  She was never seen again.
          We went back to our room frantic.  It turns out she broke the screen and climbed out the window that was open a small amount.  We got her leash and some treats and hit the road.  We drove up and down so many streets, calling her name and asking everyone we saw if they had seen her.  Toby dropped me back at the hotel, I called the police and animal control to let them know what was happening.  My parents went to our house to check our messages because her tag had our home number on it.  We don't have cell phones so they forwarded our calls to their cell.  Toby would stop in every half hour to check in, then he would go back out searching.  We finally tried going to sleep and had a sleepless night.
          At 5:00 am (after 15 hours), we woke up to loud banging on the door.  We both jumped out of bed and ran to the door, expecting to see Ellie.  There were two police officers there who relayed the sad message that Ellie had been hit by a car.  She was on a highway with a 50 mph speed limit, only 1.5 miles away from the hotel.  It makes us so sad to think she was so close and so lost, just looking for us.  We couldn't go back to sleep or enjoy vacation after that, so we left.  
         We came home and called my parents to let them know what happened.  To say we were devastated doesn't even begin to explain our feelings.  Our hearts were broken and our home was empty.  We just felt so terrible that we rescued this sweet girl and she was in our care for less than 3 days before she died.  We tried to sleep but couldn't.  And when we could, we had bad dreams.  
          I finally called Elaine from New England Lab Rescure, the wonderful woman we adopted Ellie from.  I felt we had to tell her what had happened.  I couldn't explain without crying what happened and how terrible we felt.  She felt terrible, too, and told me she would find us another dog.  We were so amazed to hear that from her.  She sent out a mass e-mail to all of her connections looking for another great, black lab.
          She found another lab for us named Scout.  I'll explain all about him in another post, because this one is for Ellie.  Knowing we were getting another dog was the direction we needed to pull through this terrible experience.  It was a motivating factor, a light at the end of the tunnel, to help us through.  Ellie was such a wonderful, sweet dog.  There will always be a place in our hearts held just for her.  She was our first dog we had together as a couple, and the first thing that made us as a couple into a small family.  It saddens us to think  or talk about her, but we know she is now getting all of the care, love, and attention she'll ever need.  She doesn't have any reason to run away any more.  
          Sweet, sweet Ellie Girl <3

Ellie the Beautiful Black Lab

          Super exciting and unexpected news - we got a dog!  Here's the story:
          I have been trying to break Toby down for a long time to let us get a dog, but he has never caved.  Unbeknownst to me, a coworker of his was also trying to break him down.  The coworker's sister works for NH Lab Rescue.  The sister was about to pick up two labs in our area, told her brother, who told Toby, and Toby said okay, we'll look into it.  I had no idea any of this was going on, until I got a call from the sister telling me she was calling about the two labs.  I was like, come again?  Are you kidding?  She said that Toby told her brother he was interested in getting a dog and that's why she was calling.  I was having a very difficult time believing this!  She offered to stop by before she brought the dogs home with her (an hour away) just so I could meet them.  She said that she had several other people interested so there was no pressure to get one that night.
          She came over and had Ellie (formerly known as Starr) and her 10-month old puppy.  They were both excellent dogs from the beginning, but I realized Ellie was more calm and relaxed.  I know that Toby isn't the biggest fan of up-in-your face dogs, so I thought Ellie was the best choice.  Luckily Toby got home in time to meet them and we decided to keep Ellie that night.  
          She is a super calm dog.  She's been a bit timid adjusting to the new environment, but she's taking it like a champ.  For a rescue dog, she's very happy and loving.  She already knows "sit" and is learning other commands quickly.  She's also adjusting to the new name fine.  She's going to need to be spayed very soon but we hope to let her adjust a little more before that traumatizing experience.  Toby gave her a bath last night at the groomer my brother works at (and Toby used to) and that was terrifying for her.  She got over it fast, though, with lots of treats.
          Here are some pictures of her first two days with us:
          Here she is checking out the dining room / living room for the first time.  She likes to hide under the table.

           Getting to know the place.  Isn't she so pretty?!

           Toby had to help show her where her food bowl is.  That only needed to happen once.  She definitely knows where it is now!

           Here's my brother, Devin, hanging outside with Ellie.  Once she gets her tags we'll let her roam more.  He's so great with dogs!

           This is one of her "spots."  Right by me and under a window.

          We're super excited to have Ellie.  It's fun acting like a little family with someone to care for.  She's a great dog and a perfect match for our life!  More pictures are sure to come!

Trying to Organize the Plate

          I finished my summer research course yesterday, which I'm totally pumped about, but I still have a lot of work ahead of me.  The summer part of the year-long research course is really just an introduction to the research part and a way of identifying an area of study.  
           I have my area of study identified - peer-tutoring.  I am going to research the impact peer-tutoring has on the students involved.  I hope to see an improvement in academics for both the tutors and the tutees (haha funny word), but I also hope to find that peer-tutoring improves the tutors' leadership skills - their ability to initiate, their confidence and self-esteem, and so on.  We'll see - check back in May!
          So I like checking things off of lists and seeing how far I've come.  I've realized the following:

• 45 pages were written this summer
• 24 / 36 graduate credits have been completed (since last summer!)
• I am 1 / 3 of the way finished with my research course
• I have 100+ pages left to write
• I have 2 semesters left
• There are 269 days left until graduation!

          I know that I am going to be saying this more and more throughout the next few months, but I cannot wait until graduation.  I am looking forward to the work and research I have ahead of me, but life without graduate school is hard for me to picture at this point, so I can't wait to see it again!
           Toby starts his internship this fall which is awesome because he gets real life experience being a guidance counselor in a public school, but a bummer because he has to work weekends and holidays when he isn't interning.  It's going to be a hectic year ahead for the both of us, but we are very grateful that there is an end in sight!
          On a completely different note, school is starting in less than a month, and I have so much to prepare for.  I went back into school today for a couple of hours and have a lot of work ahead of me weeding through the stuff that was left for me in the new 5th grade classroom and getting ready for teaching a new grade.  We are also restructuring to an RTI model, so there are going to be a lot of changes.  I am excited, but also overwhelmed.  I am working on finding ways to make sure my full plate stays organized.  I have a lot on the plate, but I can't let it get all jumbled up into a big mess where I don't know where to start or what to do.

New Grade, New Room, New Stuff!

          Even though school doesn't start until the very end of August, whenever August first comes around, I am itching to get into my classroom.  I'm changing grade levels and classrooms this year, so I'm super excited about finding a new layout.  I went into school for about 2 hours yesterday just to play with furniture arrangements.  When I walked in, this is how it looked:

          I'm always amazed at how quickly and efficiently the custodians clean the whole school.  The always do an awesome job.
          I sat and pondered for a long time on how I wanted the room to look.  I moved furniture, didn't like it, so I moved it again and again.  The SmartBoard is on one side of the room, and I have a whole white board on the other side, so I want the room set up in a way that both ends can be the front.  There's also no cubbies or coat racks because the kids will have lockers, but I had to make a space for them to keep their stuff like water bottles.
          Anyway, after a mostly unproductive 2 hours, I think I have an idea of how the classroom will be set up.  That's the easy part.  Unpacking and finding homes and preparing for the kids is a whole other job - but I'm excited!  

          The library shelves are under the white board, and the horse-shoe table is in the corner with the bean bag on top.  I stood on my desk to take the picture, so it's shoved off in the back corner.  
          I wish I could go in more, but unfortunately grad school assignments are eagerly waiting to be finished.  We have class all day on Monday and then the summer semester is over!  Only two more long, full semesters left!

Papers and Birthdays

          It's been a busy week full of paper writing, so I've had to put off blogging for a while.  Last week, once Toby went back to work, it was time to get down to work on my  School Law paper.  To say it was frustrating is an understatement.  After two days in the library, though, I was able to produce a 9-page paper and prepare my presentation.  I presented and turned the paper in on Thursday, and am super glad to be DONE with it.
          I wrote my paper on Off-Duty Teacher Conduct - and the consequences some teachers suffer.  This includes teachers posting pictures of them holding alcohol on Facebook or being caught having an affair outside of school.  It's amazing what some teachers get fired for.  It's frustrating that teachers are held to such a high standard in some regards (having to act like saints 24/7) but such low standards in others ("those who can't, teach"; overall disrespect for teachers as a profession).  It was an interesting topic to research, but I am happy to be done with it!
          Before the mayhem of trying to write my paper, it was the July birthday weekend, which is always one of my favorite times of the year.  My mom's birthday is a day before mine, so we always get to celebrate together.  She turned 60 last week which is crazy because she doesn't look anywhere near 60.  I took her out for pedicures, chocolate from the local chocolate shop, then we went to a local bakery for breakfast goodies.  The day after was my birthday, and Toby, as always, over did himself once again.  We had a nice birthday celebration at his parents' house last night which involved fresh lobster and cheesecake!  YUM!
          I hope to get into my classroom a little bit this week to get some things settled.  I'm in a new room so I have a blank slate which I'm excited about.  I always love getting in and playing around with furniture set-ups.  I also have more paper writing to do for my research class.  We'll see how that goes.  Graduation can't come soon enough.  We're down to 279 days!

Vacation!

            We just booked a mini-vacation!  We're headed out in August.  We like to try to get away for a little bit each summer.  You would think that with me having the entire summer off, and Toby having three weeks off in the summer, we would have time for more than just a weekend, but sadly that's not how it is.  Every week Toby has off, I have either work, class, or a workshop.
          We decided to go to Bennington, Vermont.  We've been through there once before and stopped at a great brewery, the Maddison Brewing Co.

          We loved the brewery, and it was a really cute Vermont town, so we decided to head there.  The drive out is beautiful and it's not too far, maybe two hours.
          I stopped by my school yesterday to visit my students in summer school.  It was so nice to see them!  On my way home, I bought some stationary, and am currently writing little letters to each student just checking in on how their summer is going.  I can't wait to get back into another school year, but I am enjoying my time off.

Kitchen Completed!

          For two days now, I've been saying "Our house has been in ruins for three weeks now, ever since we started the work on the kitchen."  Well, once I looked at a calendar, I realized it had only been a week and a half.  The work actually started two weeks ago today, and life, and the kitchen, is all back to normal.  We decided we needed to re-tile the floor.  We had stick-on vinyl before, and it was peeling up, dirty, and disgusting.  
          Here's the before:

We picked out some great tile and found a good tile company to install.  Of course the job didn't turn out to be as easy as they predicted, because there were two layers of vinyl and lots of rotting wood underneath.

They laid down new plywood:

Then the tile began!  From tear up to sealing the tiled, grouted, floor, it took one whole week.  

After the tile was finished, we decided to repaint the walls and replace the base boards.  Toby did a great job measuring, sawing, and putting them in.  It really tied the kitchen together.

After a serious "deep clean" of the whole house yesterday, the kitchen was put back to normal  The food is back in the pantry, the appliances are on the counters and hooked up, and the sink is working again (that's a whole other story!).

The kitchen is definitely brighter, and a happier space to be in now.  Soon the table is going to be replaced with a two-person pub table.
          The next big project is to redo the basement, where our bedroom is.  The carpet needs to go and the walls need to be painted.  Toby also thinks it's the perfect opportunity to get a new TV.  Before any of this can happen, though, two papers need to be written.  One is for my school law class - off-duty teacher misconduct, and the other is my annotated bibliography for my research class.  Oh!  And another journal for the research class.  I guess I need to get to reading and typing and less blogging!

Introducing . . . The Iselins!

          I've been wanting to start blogging for a while now, but never thought our life was exciting enough to write things down.  I say this as we are both neck deep in graduate school and our kitchen has been torn apart for two weeks, so I guess we have some things going on.  So, anyway, here is my attempt at a blog for the Iselins - Me - Brenna, and my husband, Toby.  Your average American-dream style couple.  We've been married for two years, own a home in our college town, both work in the educational profession, and are working towards our Master's degrees.  We are counting down the days until May 5 (290 days - that's right, less than a year!) when we both graduate.

          I plan on sharing a lot on here about the final year in graduate school, more home improvement projects, and life in general.  

          In the meantime, I need to get back to working (supporting Toby working) on the base boards for the kitchen.  More on that project later!