My Love note to T.V.

In the Gilbert household we love TV... at an almost unhealthy level. If we ever have kids, it will definitely be a hard habit to break:/ But, we cannot have our kids watching it as much as we do! DVR is my best friend...I literally get excited on certain nights just because specific shows are on! LOL! Like I mentioned....weird obsession! One thing I have to give ourselves props on is not having a TV in our bedroom. I read once in college random statistics on how TV's in the bedroom can: cause abnormal sleep habits, have a powerful impact on taking away communication between couples, and how people who have TV's in the bedroom tend to not read as much. Well, reading is a VERY close second to TV for me so this article made me think. When I got married I wanted my bedroom to be a sanctuary. I am proud that Adam and I have stuck to it!

So, our nights consist of sitting on the couch, throwing the ball for the dogs, snacking, and watching the boob tube! Thankfully, Adam can "stand" most of the shows I watch so we can hang out together, watch, and laugh (or make fun of and comment on the unorginality and fakeness- if you're Adam). Right now our FAVORITE show is Rosanne's Nuts on the Lifetime channel. OMG....what can I say! Automatically, I fell in love with her feelings and realizations of how shallow and vain the LA entertainment industry can be and how we as American need to stop being so materialistic and get back to the basics of life. She wanted to find herself, so she moved to Hawaii and bought a nut farm. She lives off the land, works on her land, and yells at everyone! If you have not watched it yet, you HAVE TO! It is HILARIOUS! She goes from 0-10 in 4 seconds and I can totally relate! I love how she has no problem cussing any poor soul out and then four seconds later smiling and chatting with her victim! She's brilliant, powerful, matter-of-fact, and has gusto. All things you don't find in many human beings any more. I envy her so much... she gets to say how she feels to anyone she meets and in any way that she pleases! She doesn't sugar coat or walk on eggshells...what a life:) One day when there's no business, no boss, no parents, no worry about judgments...I want to be just like that:) I don't want to worry about saying the "appropriate" or ...if I have to use this saying (I can't stand it).."politically correct" thing. I just want to be able to say it like it is! Oh well.... these days I'm working on my tact and holding in my feelings...but a girl can dream!

In the mean time...We'll just keep on watching Rosanne and laughing our asses off!!! Enjoy the clip above!

For those who think teachers don't work long hours or years, etc... Read this post:)
So, this week has been the week from Hell for me:( I have been trying to implement so many new things into my classroom and I have definitely bit off more than I can chew:( I didn't have any parent helpers this week either, so my weekend has so far consisted of school work and prep. Monday and Tuesday I went to a conference on how to teach math by only using Number Sense and am in charge of rolling out the program for my grade level. There is a lot of pressure doing this and I am so nervous about being observed by the top 5 "big wigs" in my district... It kind of feels like we are reinventing the wheel at my school with no help:( I had a minor breakdown on Saturday when I found out other schools have math coaches who are modeling in their rooms on a daily basis for practice. So, I got online and began blog hoppin! I found some GREAT things! So, I trucked into my dark, hot school today (YES on a Saturday) and got to work. I spent time creating math reviews, buckets of activities, 5 frames, & 10 frames. I'm getting a little excited about the new learning now:) I also started gathering stuff for my science curriculum. My journals, which have been in my cabinet for weeks, are now all ready to go! (Thanks to kindergartenkindergarten.com) I'm hoping the kids like the dice, domino, and matching/memory games and they give me a good base for independent center time:/ So this year will now consist of Daily 5 Rotations: http://www.thedailycafe.com/ Math Stations: http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9282 Science Inquiry http://kpoindexter.wordpress.com/category/inquiry-based-science/ and Michael P. Klentschy's book: Using Science Notebooks in Elementary Classrooms, and my ALL TIME favorite Writer's Workshop: http://www.ralphfletcher.com/ YIKES!

Our Home Obsession:

I have officially gotten Adam hooked on HGTV's house hunters. We love to travel to places all over the US together and my absolute FAVORITE thing to do is drive around and look at homes. Sometimes I feel so stuck in Arizona with the boring old stucco, "cookie cutter" homes. I get into a funk about how every neighborhood, street after street has no character or charm? And what's up with our doors?!! I LOVE red doors and we have no red doors here:( My other problem is with the actual four neighborhoods here that do have homes with some sort of Spanish, brick detail... and how they are SUPER expensive! I drool over HGTV and the homes that people get to purchase and live in, but at the same time I am too chicken to move out of this city. It definitely has its perks... the weather (even though I want to kill myself this month in 116 degrees during school), the environment (I have started to appreciate the desert and the fact we are hours away from up North and the beach), and you can't forget the fact that we are in the perfect location in the US, where there are no natural disasters. I also have my family here. How could I move away from them?!? Ugh..... So many feelings...If only I could pick up a beautiful colonial house from North Carolina and set it down in my neighborhood here! If you live in any of these cities...you are LUCKY! If you have never been- GO! Some of the coolest homes I've ever seen:)

My Top 5 Cities with Beautiful Homes:
1. Wilmington, NC
2. Seattle, WA
3. Denver, CO
4. New Orleans, LA
5. Nashville, TN

Meet the Family!
With all the talk about our lives I though that I would add in some pictures of the family! Here is Adam and I on our last cruise and of course my little "babies" spooning on their bed:) Enjoy!

All About Us!!!

Meet the Bloggers!
Adam and I have been married for almost 5 years! We met in college at ASU our freshman year! Destiny brought us to the same apartment housing "hot spot" and fate had us in the same math course. It didn't take long for the fun to start. Parties, dates, parties, friends, vacations, and more parties! Adam graduated in Business & Communications, while Meghan graduated in Education. I(Meg) was lucky enough to land a job right away at the school I student taught at and Adam went into the family business- Gilbert Plumbing. On a fabulous cruise down the West of Baja Mexico, Adam nervously asked me to marry him. We were young, stupid, crazy, but in love...and love apparently pulled rank in that decision! As a 22 year old, first year teacher I planned a dream wedding for 240 family and friends!
A year later, we scrimped and saved and bought a beautiful home for the two of us, plus our cat Lola, out in Gilbert, AZ (insert joke here). It was further out than we had hoped, but at that time prices were still high and that's what we got.
One year later came Lilly. Our precious, adorable, hyper, and smart pit bull mix rescue. I lost hours upon hours of sleep over her, picturing this tiny, 5lb puppy attacking me or ripping a bloody head off of our future child, letting the media take over me. I woke Adam up night after night, asking if we should give her back to the pound, where I knew they would "put her to sleep"...such a kind way of putting a horrible, abusive action that is constantly applied to this breed. I powered through my fears and I have loved her more and more everyday and of course she was Adam's best friend from the moment he held her! (Many thanks to the friends and random strangers who helped me along that journey!)
Fast forward a year later to Adam and I driving to Tucson where we would rescue our second pit mix from the "PTS" (Put to sleep) list. My restless nights began again when we got Finn. With two dogs, there were new experiences....the playing. They were like lions! Wrestling, rolling, growling, nipping. WTF was this?!?! Again, thanks to my steady as a rock husband and friends, I learned it was just what these dogs do. The two are inseparable! We are HUGE advocates of the breed and will always empower everyone with knowledge!
These days you can find me at Rover still in my kindergarten corner, where I teach with some of the most amazing, funny, and hard-working women in the world! I feel lucky every day I walk into the school! Adam is getting his MBA at the University of PHX, after a long and sad separation from the family business. We are both loving our careers and can't wait to see where they will take us.
After work we love to hang out at the house...our addiction to TV, music, and computers are borderline obsessive! I fill much of my time watching anything under the sun! While Adam remains a basketball and football lover and forever, always a di-hard Suns fan! We still LOVE to travel and ski together. We are lucky enough to have the perfect combination with my mom's Delta perks and my dad's Starwood points:) Because of them, we have been able to travel the world as a family and experience many adventures! We love being with friends and family; hearing stories, laughing, playing games, making memories, and of course bickering with my little sis!
I have pulled Adam to the "green" side! We try to eat local & organic, shop at Sprouts, wear "free" clothing, volunteer, use NO chemicals, steer clear of any forms of BPA, and really pay attention to the environment. My only failure in my obsession with Diet Coke! hehe! This is us.
Love-

Welcome to our Blog!!!

I am SUPER excited to begin a new personal blog about our life and it's ups and downs! I have been blogging about my classroom for over 3 years and I am a HUGE "blog hopper", spending hours delving into the worlds of others. Maybe this blog will give you a peek into our world! Please visit, view photos, be a follower, and leave comments; lots and lots of comments:)