Catching Every Smile...

After many years of not blogging, because I really just didn't have the time...here are the thoughts going on in my busy mind!!

My mom with Clay.

Home Life: The dreaded day came and the first day of spring break our twelve year old boxer, Sugar, looked at me and I knew she was unable to live comfortably. Eric took her to the vet that morning and I knew there was a huge chance she wasn't coming back. My kids were devastated. We all were. She meant a lot to me but even more than being an amazing dog I got her one of the best/worst years of my life. My mom had suddenly passed away when I was six months pregnant with Erianna. We inherited our family boxer, Clay, but being a new mom I couldn't handle him in our small townhouse so I gave him to a friend that could. I regretted that decision soon after, but knew he was being loved and my friend kept me in the loop with pictures all the time. A few months later we were in a house and a friend at work asked if anyone was able to adopt a dog as his sister was giving hers away. I jumped on it and we had many great times with Sugar. We actually had two other dogs, Ice, an American Bulldog that died almost three years ago and a crazy English bulldog, Captain, that we gave to our friends because he was a lot to handle!!!

My mom with Alex, Samantha and I with T-Bone, our first family boxer.

Losing Sugar reminded me of my mom, and the time of my life when I lost her. I lost her when I really needed her. I was having a baby, just out of college and although I was 24, I still felt like a kid myself! It's been almost thirteen years and so much has happened since she died. She worked with little kids at a little private school and the thought of me doing the same thing wasn't even thought yet. I was destined to be the Food and Beverage director of a fancy hotel! Oh how things changed after I had Erianna and Austin! I had a licensed home daycare, and then became a teacher! Crazy!!! I miss her so much, so losing Sugar definitely brought me back to that time.

Time to walk Sugar and Ice with Lucas, Aidan, Alyssa, Liam, Brooklyn and Ryan in tow!

Erianna and Austin had it made with the home daycare! They had every toy in the world!!!

Obviously losing Sugar really affected my kiddos, they cried all day long, and brought Erianna back to the time of when my nana died. When my mom died in 2004, I was so worried about my nana. She was already a widow, had lost a grandchild about a year prior, and lived MANY miles away in the Isle of Man, England. From 2004, to when she died in 2011, Erianna and I spent a lot of time with her. She would come here and we would go and see her over the summers. We had some great times. Erianna absolutely adored her. It's been six years and she still gets upset from time to time and reminiscing about those awesome times. They had an incredible bond, and Erianna was devastated thinking about her and Sugar.

Lots of fun times between those two!

So after a few hours of tears and cuddles after losing Sugar, my little brother and sister came over to spend Spring Break with us. We had a ton of fun!! My God, I who would have ever dreamed of my dad getting remarried and having kids YOUNGER than his grandkids and their first language being Spanish! Modern family indeed!! Losing my mom was tragic but I am grateful to have those sweet little ones in my life. They keep my dad young and admire him. He has always been an incredible photographer, and now they are toting their own cameras and enjoy their weekend photoshoots with Dad.

Chris and Andrea ready to go early on a Saturday morning!

The day after Sugar passed away, we decided no more dogs, let's travel...kind of. Then I joined a new social media platform, called Nextdoor and saw this post:

I teared up reading it. HIs owner passed away? He was adopted but it didn't work out?! Poor dog! He looked just like Sugar, and was obviously out of that cute, but so tiring puppy stage.... so not even 12 hours later I was at a dog park with him and the four kids, and ended up taking him home for a trial. Eric was definitely not happy about it, but I didn't care. I fell in love and soon enough he did, too. Joe is amazing. We absolutely love him. He is so clever and cute. I also met some incredible people through him. His owner's sister is one of those people you think you've known forever. She's such a kind and loving person. We still keep in touch with her and Joe's family from all over the world, literally!! I have become one of those people I used to think were crazy. I take him everywhere, I buy him new toys every time I go to the store. I bought a DNA test so I can learn more about him. I am that crazy dog lady. YIKES. He even has his own Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mojoe.egandomitrovits

Meeting Joe (and Matt and Dillon)

Waiting at Target to see Tia Edda and get an ottoman that he LOVED to sleep on at his owner's house.

~~Rule #1: Joe is absolutely not allowed on furniture.~~

Also going on in my busy mind at the moment.... It's almost been one year since a day that absolutely changed my life. June 10, 2016 was awesome. We had our end of the year luncheon and I was picked as Teacher of the Year, which was really was so great, because I worked with some top notch educators, and didn't consider myself to be so outstanding. I was also given a really cool opportunity for the following school year. I was offered a position out of the classroom to support students and teachers, I was so excited. What a great way to start my summer! I gave away and sold MOST of my classroom necessities and vowed to have a fabulous summer before the hustle of a new school year and a new position began.

Dr. Sandberg giving me the Teacher of the Year award at the End of Year luncheon.

The very next day I was on the way to Orlando ready to LIVE IT UP!!! First stop was Orlando so we could go on Zero-G and experience a zero gravity flight! Well, unfortunately God had to give me a wake up call on the way to the airport. Someone ran a red light and I really thought I was dead. It was the most surreal feeling when I opened my eyes after the impact and the car spinning across multiple lanes of traffic. It was the worst feeling ever. I was with my Dad and Erianna. On the way to the hospital I can't even tell you the thoughts that ran through my mind. Our guardian angels definitely did their jobs that day. By the grace of God we all survived and I was grateful for that, but still was so shocked and seeing Erianna so hurt was the worst.

My car was hit on the passenger side by a truck.

The truck hit the white van first. The white van was pushed into us, and then flipped over my car and landed on it's side.

The pick up truck.

My baby's first smile after receiving a sweet gift basket from her grandma and grandpa.

The accident was life changing. It made me think differently, it made me slow down in life and focus more on what matters most. My family, not my job. Erianna and I are still not back to normal and it's been almost a year. I also was so floored that the person who ran the red light never called or contacted us to see if we were ok. People were rushed to two different hospitals. There were multiple children involved. It baffles me. Well, the new position I was so excited for I didn't love. I wasn't able to do it after the accident. It was too much. It mentally and physically drained me, and I quit mid-year...

We did finally fly on a Zero-G flight during Spring Break this year.
This is a very symbolic family portrait. It's me and the kids most days, while Eric flies around the world!

Work life:
I'm super excited to be very close to securing a position next school year with Broward County Public Schools. When I first got into teaching, Broward County teachers were getting surplussed, so I didn't even try. I feared falling in love with a class then receiving a pink slip because I was the last one hired so I went the charter route. I decided in December I was going to try and work for the county next school year, and sent out my resume in hopes of an interview. Well, when I was called to interview for two interim substitute positions back to back this current school year at my local public school I was quick to dismiss it. How could I leave halfway through the year, they'll never be able to replace me and it will put extra work on people who are already overworked!

However my family said DO IT, we miss you, you work too much, you hate your job! The interview was nerve wrecking and I didn't think I did well. There were four people interviewing me and I felt so awkward! I had decided I was going to quit my job anyway because my family was right, I didn't love it. My family did need me, especially Erianna. The accident really affected her. She also wasn't being challenged in most classes and she had a witch of a teacher that was making her life absolute hell. Austin had fantastic teachers, but hated going to school because he was constantly in trouble for behavior. I decided I was going to put them in their home public schools as we were finally zoned for decent public schools!

I figured I would substitute until I found a job, or sell bottled water on the street corners in a hot-dog costume if I had to! About a week after giving my notice I got a call and was offered the job! I was able to start the day after I left! Awesome!! The second half of the school year has been brilliant. I missed being a teacher, and I fell in love with teaching fourth grade!! I wish I went to the public schools sooner, the grass really is greener on the other side! I work with experienced professional (ALL CERTIFIED) teachers and administrators. The principal has been at the school for almost 20 years and a lot of the staff have been there for a long time, too. It's a great school culture, a very well oiled machine. It extends further than the school, it's a community. Students play together after school, families look out for one another, local businesses support the school and its' students. It's truly a village mentality.

With some of my sweet kid from my first interim assignment on a field trip!

The butterfly garden is AMAZING at this school! It was so peaceful reading outside with them this winter.

The boys fishing!

Spring Break! I think I had ten kids at my house that day!

The building may not be flashy and new like the charter schools I worked for, but the talent in that school is priceless! I feel a lot more freedom to teach, and less pressure to test. We don't have to give the kids a ridiculous number of tests, quizzes, classwork and projects each marking period, we just need nine grades per subject. Obviously I gave more, but it was nice not having to give them a test every single week and lose that day of instruction. We're given adequate planning time, which means I don't have to work at home to keep up. More value is put on fewer meaningful assessments, and you're trusted to use that data to guide your instruction. There's not a ridiculous amount of paperwork that goes with it. My lesson plans aren't 10-15 pages long and broken down by the minute. Yes, there is a pace I'm expected to follow alongside my teammates but it's OK if I need to spend extra time on a standard with my students!
Technology is prevalent in all classrooms because the principal is hardworking and writes grants all the time, not the teachers! The PTA really works with the teachers and has one huge fundraiser a year, that's it. I don't have a different fundraiser and collection envelope every other week haunting me and again, taking away instructional time. It is just so different. It's really awesome.

Absolutely no regrets though, working at charter schools definitely helped me become a better teacher. I picked up things at different schools that helped me in some way or another. I had so many amazing students and got to know a lot of their families, too! Additionally I made so many friends working at charter schools. The six years I worked in charter schools I worked for six different principals, and eight different assistant principals. A few were amazing and gave me words of wisdom I'll hold on to forever! With a new principal every year you can only imagine how many teachers I worked with! It's nice to have met so many different people and collaborated with them. It made me the teacher I am today for sure. :)