My New Life

This is me.

This is my current office.

This is why this is my office.

I’ve spent the last nine years as an educator, first in elementary intervention and special education, then as a second grade teacher in public school, and, for the last three, a middle school teacher in the Christian schools.  Now, I’m a mama.  I never thought I could handle staying at home and not working...but here I am. As the rest of America gears up to go back to school, all the contents of my classroom is sitting in piles in my basement.  And I’m sitting on my deck in shorts and flip-flops during naptime, tethered to the baby monitor, with a Black Lab at my feet.  Life is good.

I’ve lived many places. Currently, we live in the Pittsburgh suburbs.  My husband (“Tall Dutch Boy”) is a professor of chemistry at a small university in the area.  Before this, we lived in Austin, Texas while he was in grad school.  Before that we lived in Michigan, where Tall Dutch Boy was born and raised.  I, however, am a died-in-the-wool Buckeye, and I’m working diligently to make sure that our daughter is raised **correctly**….against the cries of “Go Blue” from the hubs’ family.

On April 22nd, our lives changed for the better.  This little face entered the world with the world’s loudest scream, and we couldn’t be happier.  Miss Addie (“Peanut”) is a sweet little human, full of more personality than I ever thought possible for such a tiny little body.  Her daddy is somewhat of a giant (6’6”), so it only seems fitting that my 5’3” self would deliver a 9 lb 9 oz baby, right?  Peanut’s current interests include blowing raspberries, sticking out her bottom lip when she’s HANGRY, laughing with her daddy, and talking to ceiling fans.

Now that I’m home full-time, I hope to pursue some of my interests that I had neither the time nor the energy for during my time in the classroom.  I suffer from Obsessive Crafting Disorder, love taking pictures, am a Pinterest fiend (our house would be a five-star restaurant if I actually cooked all the recipes on my boards), and still want to keep one foot in the proverbial classroom door by writing and designing curriculum and tools for teachers on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Join me, as I share with my little corner of the Inter Webs all about my life as a mama, wife, daughter, friend, Christian, craftaholic, cook, photographer, and teacher-writer.