Classroom, Montana, and Maybe More :)

I realize it's been a little since my first/most recent post. I never intended for that to happen. My goal was/is to post every couple of days. So far I've not been so good at meeting that goal, so improvement is in the works!!!
This post, I plan on getting more into the "swing" of how I will usually "blog". So here it goes:
This past week has been extremely eventful for my husband and I. As I mentioned before, my husband and I were both overwhelmingly blessed with being hired as 3rd grade teachers at 2 schools in our district. Now the summer is drawing to an end, and this is an eventful time for BRAND NEW TEACHERS!! On Monday, I got to see my classroom for the very first time!! Talk about excitement!! I can't even describe the feeling I got when the school secretary handed me that key. But, when I opened the door the daunting task smacked me right in the face. I had a lot of work to do. Luckily, Nathan (my hubby) was off that day and he was there to see me through those first few overwhelming hours! We got to the school around 1:00 and only planned on staying an hour or so, but ended up staying until 5:00 pm! We got a lot done. After those 4 short hours, my room went from looking like a leftover mess to looking like this:

I know there is still much to be done, but this is so much better than before! My room was a 2nd grade room last year and the previous owner was, well, a little disorganized. I finally got all of HIS stuff OUT and am now ready for my stuff to find its home. Also, I have no desks as of yet and am lacking a carpet and kidney table. Once I have all the pieces of the puzzle, however, it's going to look GREAT! I plan on covering all bulletin boards to meet the state standards and adding many personal touches. The kids will be seated in "tripod" groups of 3 so as to accommodate Kagan cooperative learning strategies. I'll also be bringing in a few plants and playing soft music to make the room "brain-based". I'll be sure to post more pictures once it's finished.
On Thursday, Nathan took a day off from his temporary insurance job (since we have to have $$$ while we wait to start teaching) and we went to his school to work in his room. I must say, I'm a little jealous!! All of his furniture was ready to go and he got WAY more done than I did. After working all day (minus a trip to Long John Silvers for a bite to eat!) his classroom looks awesome.

There is actually a little more done that the picture shows, but I forgot to take a picture of the finished product!
Tomorrow, Nathan and I will go to our new-hire training together and I am looking forward to it! I think it will just make the dream of being a teacher even more of a reality! Then, on Tuesday, I'm going back to my classroom while Nathan is at work to do some more work in my room. Hopefully my furniture will be in there then!!
On Thursday, Nathan will be finishing his room and meeting with his principal for orientation, and on Friday, I will be finishing mine! Needless to say, this week will be very busy for the both of us!
Also on Thursday of this week, my mom will be making a rather eventful trip. She, along with Nathan's mother, grandmother and sister, will be traveling to Montana and South Dakota to visit Nathan's younger brother who is in the Air Force. This is a huge event for my mom because she A) hates to fly and B) has always dreamed of visiting the Big Sky Country!
I am very excited for her and I pray for them all to have a safe and fun trip!
Well, I think that covers it for now!
I promise to post sooner than before!
Katie