Being Present ....... And Being a Teacher

These last two weeks included going into my classroom to slowly work on things. I love where I work and what I do. I have had team leader meetings, meetings for a differentiation presentation, and have gotten time in my classroom to set up. 

Almost set up!

This all gets me excited for my next group of students, but also brings some worries. I have previously struggled with being present for my daughter during the school year and I am worried about falling into the same patterns again. Starting next week, I will have many things on my plate: my classroom, my Master's classes, and spending time with Madison (including bringing her to all of her practices). 

I would love to hear everyone's tricks on staying balanced throughout the school year! I'm sure someone out there is an expert- or at least more proficient than I am. Help!

I want to be a perfect mom, student, teacher, daughter.... Maybe that is shooting too high! LOL I just can't see letting any of those slip.

I need to consciously be aware of scheduling time (not procrastinating) and sticking to my schedule. I am going to focus on this and hope that I see better balance this school year than last. 

I will just have to remember this adorable face so I can stay focused, be efficient, and get time to spend with Madison!

Being Present ........ While Away

Being away from my daughter was a new hurdle for me. I wanted to be present for her still, but I also wanted to be present for the experience. I was excited to be traveling for my school to learn more about differentiation from the guru herself, Carol Ann Tomlinson. 

Flying into Virginia was scary. I was already nervous to fly because there had just been a plane accident the day before I was supposed to take off.  I was in a plane that held 48 people, which meant it was VERY small. We flew through some turbulent weather and I was very thankful that the last week I had spent a lot of quality time with my daughter. I felt every bump and there were MANY! Luckily, we landed safely and I was able to calm down and enjoy myself.

Pictures from the Airplane

We checked in to our hotel and then met up as a group for dinner and drinks. After finally going to sleep, we wake up to a LOUD alarm. I begin hitting all of my electronics, thinking that my colleague (who I am rooming with) is going to kill me for rudely waking her up in the middle of the night. After I realize that this alarm is obviously not coming from anything of mine, we get ready to leave. My colleague opens the hotel door and asks someone in the hallway, "Are we going outside?" His response was, "If you don't want to stay in a burning building you are!" So, we finally wake up a bit and head outside. 

Fire trucks rolling in

After a while, the hotel was cleared and the alarms were reset and we were able to go in and finally rest!

The rest of the week was mostly uneventful. I was able to focus on differentiation with Carol Ann Tomlinson during the day. I would highly recommend going to her Summer Institute on Differentiation, or at least attend one of her many conferences she has throughout the year. I learned so much that I am excited to try out in my classroom this year. I felt like a better teacher just by being in attendance!!

FaceTime after Madison went to Brookfield Zoo

During the evening I was able to be present for my daughter through FaceTime. 

We talked about her tumbling accomplishments. (She can do multiple back handsprings now!!!)

 It made both of us miss each other less because we were able to talk to each other and we could see each other's faces as well. 

I loved that I was able to feel close to Madison even though we were more than 700 miles away. So many people think that technology causes us to be less present with each other, but it was used oppositely for me this week!

In the end I was able to be present for my own professional growth as well as being present for my daughter. This gives me hope that I will be able to better balance this throughout the school year too. This will be a focus for me this year. How do you find the right balance with work and family? This is something that I feel I will continually struggle with....

Flight Home
Virginia / High Above the Clouds / Illinois

Being Present ........Before a Trip

It is odd that when you know you won't be around for awhile, being present becomes easy and important.


I had a school business trip from July 7th - July 12th. This would be the first time in my daughter's conscious life that I had to leave her. Knowing that I would be gone for a week, we had many things planned.



The first thing we did was go to the parade and watch fireworks. Madison's cheer team was in the parade, so I went and cheered them on as they performed some stunts for the audience. When the parade ended we went out in search for some fireworks. This is something we do every year and always enjoy. We went to Barrington High School and watched their fireworks. They were good, but I still am a big fan of Sleepy Hollow's fireworks. We will be going back to Sleepy Hollow next year.


We saw Despicable Me 2. Instead of sitting in our seats and watching the movie, we put up the arm rest and cuddled and quietly talked about our favorite parts. The Lake in the Hills AMC just upgraded their theater and you now sit in leather recliners while watching the movie (and the prices did NOT change. Check them out if you are in the area. It was a great price for such comfortable viewing!


We got pedicures. Instead of reading a magazine and playing on our phones the entire time, we talked and laughed. This is a favorite of ours and we have been getting pedicures since Madison was 2.

It is the little things in life that make a huge difference. I need to be this present even when I am not going away. This is my goal. I am glad I got to accomplish it this week and was able to build memories with my daughter.

Being Present at....Monster's University

Monster's University came out on Friday!! We have been looking forward to this for a long time. Madison has shown me every trailer that she could find and we have talked about needing another Monster movie since we fell in love with the first. When we are really looking forward to a specific movie I will venture out to the iPic theater.

We started the night at the colorful fountain. Madison used the time to make a video and practice a little tumbling. We went to the 11:30pm show, which was more of a problem for me than for Madison.






Movie, Dinner, and too much fun!

We got the nice seats that include a blanket and a pillow. Madison, of course, brought Sully who needed to come watch himself on the big screen (although I didnt get him any 3d glasses). We love this theater because we can eat dinner and we have SO much space!

We both made it through the movie without falling asleep and gave the movie two thumbs up. I especially liked Pixar's short film "The Blue Umbrella" that was shown before Monster's University.

Why am I doing this?!

I am the type of person (as I am sure most of you are too) that takes on WAY too much. I have decided that instead of quantity I need to focus on quality of the time I spend with people, especially my daughter. I will be chronicling some of the time here on my blog.