Pitty Pat is Ready for Summer!

Hey Y'all,

Well. Paddington is ready for summer. This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at school and yesterday they gave all teacher's frosty beverages and lays. Guess who found mine?????

Bring on the margaritas!!!!!!

:) JKP

Myrtle Beach Has It's Own Washcloth... Thanks Lion Brand!

Hey Y'all,

Well today I took a much needed Mental Health Day. I am worn out. Put a fork in me. I knew if I was going to make it in one piece through the next 8 days of school and move my classroom (more on that in a bit!) I was going to need a day to chillax. And that is what I did today! Thanks to our little coastal storm friend out the in Atlantic, Myrtle Beach has entered into a monsoon season. Yesterday I was on the beach for about an hour before the dark clouds and lightening chased me indoors. Today we had some more showers, which prompted a great nap time for me and Pitty Pat. So, today was a great relaxing day!

I love to cruise the Internets looking for new knitting patterns when I have some free time. I love to go to the Lion Brand website because it is a great resource and they are always adding new patterns to their library. I am on a dishcloth kick right now, because I am making something really cool to put in my ETSY store with them. Well, lo and behold, today I am looking through dishcloth patterns on Lion Brand and I discover that they have some new patterns dedicated to beaches in the USA! And, believe it or not, Myrtle Beach has one! The Myrtle Beach Wash Cloth is quite cute, if I say so myself! I guess because I live here, I don't think of Myrtle Beach as a vacation spot, but I guess the folks at Lion Brand know what they are doing!

Also, here's some big news! I haven't announced it on the blog yet, because my principal hasn't made the announcement at school yet, but it's the secret everyone knows about, so it's not really a secret any more! I also went to a training last week, so I think it is pretty safe to announce that........ I AM MOVING TO SECOND GRADE next year!!! I am thrilled! I have known for a couple of months, but was under a gag order not to say anything. I am very excited and looking forward to working with the little ones again. I have enjoyed third grade, but if you know me, then you know 2nd grade is the perfect fit for me! So I will kick off year 14 of the teaching career this fall in second grade! Yippeee!!!! Imagine Pitty Pat and I doing the happy dance here!

Well, let me run, it is Pitty Pat's dinner time and then we have to get in our big walk.

Tootles!

:) JKP

Here We Go......

Well Y'all,

It's not even June 1st yet, and lookie loo at what we are seeing on the weather front! If you have been watching my little weather storm tracker on the right hand side of the blog, you saw this little inkling of a storm pop up on Friday. The weather folks don't think this is going to turn in to much, but it is definitely worth keeping an eye on! With that said, I am off to cut the grass and spend the day at the beach! :)

Yesterday I met Mom in Charleston, and Zoe had a happy reunion with Mom. I am now down to one dog and forgot what that is like! Pitty Pat and I have relaxed this morning and have enjoyed taking our walks again.

Well, let me run. I have grass that needs to be cut calling my name!

p.s. Happy 200th post to me!!!!!

:) JKP

Aaden Bear

Hey Y'all,

I thought you might enjoy seeing a very cute baby wearing one of my creations! My friend Jessica has to get credit for the adorable baby, but the bear hat is all me. I kinda think Jess wins this one!

I am still working on my inventory. I will announce soon when the shop is up on Etsy! Enjoy the weekend everyone! I am dodging motorcycles this weekend. It's Bike Week here in Myrtle Beach, and boy are the bikers here. Pitty Pat and Zoe keep growling at the vroom, vroom!

:) JKP

The Easy Button- My Version

Hey Y'all!

This week I got a pleasant surprise! One of our radio stations here in Myrtle Beach, Star 92.1, held a contest last week for Teacher Appreciation Week. They asked for folks to write in why they thought their teacher or their child's teacher was special. One of my parents wrote in, and I was one of the lucky ones chosen! They drew 3 names a day, and mine was picked last Friday. I went and picked up my $50 gift card today! I can not tell you how appreciative I am. They are cutting our supply money next year, which means anything I buy for my kids will have to come out of my own pocket. Since my pockets are very empty as of late, getting started next year for school was going to be a BIG challenge. Now this gift card will really help! Here's a link to a similar promotion. If you know and love a teacher, nominate them!

We are officially down to 15 days of school. I hope I make it. State testing ended today, which is a good thing, because I do not have ANY fingernails left. It was that bad. Whew. Now I can focus on having a little fun with my kids and getting my Etsy shop up and running. I have a great name picked out, but until the shop is open, I don't want to spill it. My name came from an idea I had to name my own knitting store if I ever opened one. So hang tight.

Well let me run, Zoe and Pitty Pat are at it again. Time out for dogs. Totally.
:) JKP

There Are Times in Life When I Wish I Had a Bigger Squirt Bottle....

Hey Y'all!

Well, it is the eve of state testing here at Barks, Howls and Growls alot. I am pretty ok, but just in case I will be taking a Benadryl later on tonight so I can sleep! Last night the PASS (our state test) nightmares began. Yes, waking up in a cold sweat, I think not. I had a dream where I was in the middle of the test and I realized that I hadn't taken any of my teaching stuff off of the walls. Pure panic folks! The scary part was that it was so REAL. Ugh.

Anyhoo, I am also taking a Benadryl tonight because my horrible allergies/allergic thing has struck again. Y'all may remember that in January I started to break out in hives. All.Of.The.Time. That has since gotten a little better, but I have had to make some major changes in the way I do things. I have had to switch to a sulfate free shampoo and conditioner (Pureology rocks!), I can only use Aveeno or Purity (by Philosophy) to bathe with and I have to avoid anything with the color red. No eating, drinking or even looking at the color red. I am not sure what is going on with me, but I know red dye makes it worse. Making these changes has helped alot, but the hives are the pits. I also switched all of my cleaning supplies so that won't trigger anything. Dr. Bronner's pure castille soaps are the bomb to clean with and they smell good too! I have also had to switch my makeup, which was hard too. I have always been a die hard Philosophy girl, but recently I was breaking out from that too. I am now using Pur Minerals and I am happy to report that I am doing very well with that and it looks pretty too!

My mom officially moved to Beaufort last week, and where she was going to rent promptly fell through. So Miss Zoe is staying with us longer than expected. Which means that I have had to break out the ol' squirt bottle again. Last summer when Pitty Pat was in Puppy Kindergarten, my trainer told me to use a squirt bottle to curb any "unwanted" behavior. Last summer Pitty Pat kept wanting to pick up earthworms off of the sidewalk and eat them, and the squirt bottle method worked like a charm to cure him. So, when he is being hateful to Miss Zoe or acting silly these days, the squirt bottle has made an appearance. However, some days, it is just not big enough!

Well, let me run. Dancing With the Stars is on... and I have some knitting to do!!!!
:) JKP

Is it Summer Vacation Yet?

Hey Y'all,

Well, we are on the end of the year countdown. I have 24 days of school left. Whew. Usually, by this time I am frantic about state testing. And I am a wee bit stressed. But not as stressed as I usually am. I have 6 days to review my kiddies and then it is over. However, I have a strange calm surrounding me this year. Some of my kids will do a great job and some won't. It has been like that all year long. It is what it is. I can't get upset about it any more. That's not to say I won't throw up during testing days, but I am trying to be Zen about the whole thing. Also, there's a very big chance that I won't have to go through this next year. I can't say anything more yet, but let's just say I have confirmation that next year is going to be a little less stressful and a lot more enjoyable from a teaching stand point!

I think Mr. Pitty Pat is ready for summer vacation too! Paddington has a funny habit of putting his toys in places where I am bound to find them. On my pillow as I go to sleep. In my shoe that I am about to wear. I got to school this week and had to reach in my purse for my school ID.  Look what I found.

Yes. That is his tennis ball in my purse. Pitty Pat is VERY long and loves to stand on his hind legs. He must have had his tennis ball in his mouth and put it in my purse. Yup. I think he wants summer to hurry up too!

Yesterday, I had a ton of errands to run. While I was at Tar-Jay I came across a toy that has two tennis balls on the end and squeaks. Y'all. That meets all of the requirements for a toy for Pitty Pat. So I bought it. I don't think it has left the boy's mouth all weekend.

Notice, he has already chewed off part of it! But it still squeaks!

Yes. It is his favorite toy. Paddington also likes to squeak his new toy and then squeak his other toys to compare them. Yup. My Pomeranian is smarter than your honor student!

We have quite a busy week coming up. My mom officially moves to Beaufort on Friday to start her new job next Monday. I have a ton of review to do with my kiddies.

On the knitting front, things have stalled! My teacher friend is due THIS WEEK and her sweater is still on my needles. Also, I need to get cracking on my ETSY inventory. I have been fighting this incredible exhaustion for about a month now. It is getting to the point where I go to bed at 8:30, sleep until 5:30 am and I am still tired. I think a visit to the doc is in order as soon as testing is over. I feel like I am in a fog most of the time. I have starting taking vitamin d.. which I am very deficient in, as is my ENTIRE family, so maybe that will help. But, I do think I need to be looked at by a professional too!

Well, Mr. Pitty Pat and I are going to take a little ride in the car. Word on the street is that Bruster's has Blueberry Cobbler ice cream today. Actually, did you know you can sign up for a text message alert when Bruster's has your favorite ice cream? Yes you can!!! And y'all know I am all about the blueberries. YUMMY!!!!!!!

Tootles!

:) JKP