Ready or Not... Here I Come Second Trimester!

Here is the update that a friend of mine used when she was pregnant for her blog! She just had a beautiful baby boy about a week ago and it was awesome reading this every week and following her through her amazing journey! I hope that everyone enjoys reading it and following this with Michael and I too!

12 weeks, 6 days


How far along: 12 weeks 6 days according to the size of the baby but according to the doctor, 13 weeks 6 days.

Size of baby: Size of a peach (3 in.)

Total weight gain/loss: -2 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Nope, not yet. Not even showing yet!

Gender: Boy!

Movement: None yet!

Sleep: I wake up about twice a night to go to the bathroom then I wake up around 5:30 and can't fall back asleep for about 30 minutes. I also get neck pain when I sleep.


What I miss: Eating chicken


Cravings: Fruit, milk and cereal, potatoes


Symptoms: Neck pain, fatigue


Best moment of the week: Being able to eat a full dinner again and going to the gym on Wednesday! I was able to see so many people that I haven't' seen in a long time!


Worst moment of the week: Waking up at 5:30 being bored and being constantly hungry! Also, this horrible neck pain. The only thing that relieves it is Michael rubbing my neck for me!

Positive = Positive

So, this blog is supposed to be about all things positive, right??? What could be more positive than...

This was actually the second test that I took because who actually only takes one? I was very surprised and happy at the same time when I saw this. The surprised was mainly due to me getting pregnant so quickly after my miscarriage back in January! I guess 3 months isn't too quick but for me, I was surprised! Anyway, due to what happened last time, my OB decided to send me to a specialist just to make sure that everything was going ok. But before I went there, I had my normal first visit and ultrasound with my OB. At 6 weeks, here is what she saw!

There was a heartbeat and the baby was in my uterus! The next step would be to go to the specialist. About 3 weeks later, we ended up at Children's in Plano. The doctor we saw was amazing. She answered any questions we had and was very patient. She knew our story from last time and seemed to know exactly how we felt. Now for the ultrasound! At 9 weeks, here is what we saw!

This is a 3D image! It was pretty cool but still didn't set my mind at ease because the doctor couldn't tell us much other than the ultrasound looked how a 9 week ultrasound should look. We left there with an appointment for 3 weeks later and a little disappointed. So I "patiently" waited for 3 weeks to pass, not telling many people about my pregnancy due to last time. At this point, only close friends and our parents knew! We wanted it that way in case something were to happen. I don't know if I have every been so nervous to see a Dr. before. The day was finally here! We get there and the sonographer came in. She said to save all the questions for the doctor. She pulls the baby up on the screen and the first thing I do is as a question! "Does the baby have a heartbeat?" She said remember, you need to wait for the doctor. Obviously, she didn't understand how I was feeling or what happened last time. Finally we heard a heartbeat! Then we saw our baby moving like crazy! It was amazing. Here is what we saw! 

If you look, you can see to the right that the baby is holding onto the umbilical cord like a little blanket! It was crazy looking at it. This is also a 3D picture! Then the doctor says that she can give us a gender prediction. The sonographer told us one thing, then the doctor came in and asked if she told us anything. I said yes but I wanted to know what she thought. They both said the same thing! 

IT'S A BOY!

The doctor said she would be shocked if it wasn't a boy. The above onesie is what Michael and I bought after finding out we were having a boy! It is little colored golf shoes! So, if you can't tell, we are very excited parents-to-be! Thank you to everyone who knew and kept us in your prayers and thoughts. I am going to "borrow" my friends baby update that she used in her blog for a weekly update. You will get to see that in a few days! It's pretty cool! I am so blessed to have this positivity in our life and I am very excited to get to share it with everyone! I am currently at 12.5 weeks and am due between January13 - January 21! We can't wait! I hope that everyone has a positive Tuesday! 

Easy Mexican Rice

So, this is the first meal that I am going to post on here. It is for Mexican Rice! This recipe is so yummy and can be changed any way you like to make it more hot or less hot, which is why I love this recipe! I don't like all the ingredients so I usually leave some out and it still tastes great. And, the other great thing about this recipe is that you don't have to watch it. Seriously!!! So here goes...

1 cup uncooked WHITE rice (I've tried brown rice to make it more healthy and the rice never split.

2 cups cold water

2 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed

Olive oil

1/2 an onion

Coarsley chopped small roma tomato, chopped into about 4 pieces.

Hot pepper of your choice, sliced lengthwise

Tomato sauce (Buy the small can cause you won't use but about 1/2 of a small can)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

Salt, to taste

Put about a tablespoon of olive oil into a medium sized pot. I would recommend using a non-stick pot or yes, it may burn. Heat the olive oil to a medium temperature, add the uncooked rice, and brown in the oil. Make sure all the rice is lightly coated in oil. You do not have to stir the rice very much at first but when it starts browning more, you will want to stir more to make sure it browns evenly and doesn't burn. (This is what makes the rice split like mexican rice is supposed to.) Towards the end of the browning, add the garlic so that it gets sautéed.

Next, dump the water on the rice (This is the fun part because it will steam loudly and I think that's cool!) Add all the other ingredients too! This is where you can play with taste and add or delete the ingredients above. I will tell you later what I do! Stir well and cover with a lid that has a small air escape. Reduce the heat to medium-low to medium and let cook for 20-30 minutes! Cooking time and temp varies with each stove so check after 20 minutes to make sure it isn't burning. The fun part of this recipe is "do not peek" while the rice is cooking!

When it is ready, all the water will be absorbed, the rice will fluff, and each grain will be split open. It should be dry, not saucy.

So, here is what I do different. First, I omit the peppers and sometimes the roma tomatoes if I don't have them. Sometimes I add a little more garlic just cause I like the taste of garlic and I don't usually measure out the tomato sauce. I just pour till it seems like enough. But like I said above, you won't use more than 1/2 a small can. Also, I have found that medium low head for about 23 minutes makes my rice perfect! I hope that you enjoy making this recipe. It is soooo easy to make cause you don't have to watch it so you can focus on another dish like enchiladas! If you try it, let me know what you think and have fun!

Here is a pic of what your final product will look like! ENJOY!

Meal of Week!

The other night, I was awake at 2:30 cause I couldn't sleep and I was thinking of what I could do more of on my blog! Then I remembered that I have a ton of recipes that I could post on here. So, once a week, I am going to post a recipe that I have made before and tell you what I think about it. I am going to try and get pics of each of the dishes to post but they may not always be available! The foods are going to be anything from appetizers to desserts to main courses. If you know me, you know that I love easy! So, that means that all of these dishes will require pretty cheap ingredients and should be fairly easy to duplicate! I will start tomorrow with a recipe for mexican rice! It is super easy and super yummy! So tune in tomorrow for an awesome recipe!! YUMMY!

Classroom woes!

Well, our school got word the other day that we needed to be out of our current facility by June 30th! I know, you're thinking, "that doesn't seem very positive Valerie!" But, contrary to what you might think, I think it could turn out to be very positive! My principal is currently in the process of looking for a new facility for us for next year but more than likely, the facility will not be move in ready, which means that I will need to pack up all my stuff and store it somewhere until we get the go ahead to move into the new building! So, earlier this week, I set out to begin packing. Here is what I was up against!

Now I know it doesn't seem like much but that is just a little bit! When taking this pic, I was sitting on the floor of my room, not sure where to begin! It was very overwhelming! I began to pack. Then started to get a headache so came home and slept for about 2 hours. I asked Michael to come up to my school the next day to help me finish! He did and we finished!!! I was so excited to be done! But wait... Now what to do with all this stuff??? I decided that I am just going to have to suck it up and get a storage unit somewhere close to keep all my stuff for about a month! It shouldn't be too expensive.

Over the past year and a half, my life sure has thrown me curve balls that, at sometime, I felt actually hit me right in my gut! When I found out about us having to be out of our current building by June 30th, I wasn't too worried! First, cause our principal is AWESOME and one amazing woman! Second, cause I have learned that things always happen for a reason! Even though we may not know why it happened at the time or see a reason behind it happening cause we are hurt too bad, there is a reason. This has taken me an entire year and a half to learn and I had to go through things that I NEVER thought that I would have to go through but I learned it! If I would have been put in this current "no building" situation before all this stuff happened in my life, I would be completely freaking out right about now! Probably filling our applications and begging for interviews but instead I choose to trust! I see it as a new beginning for our tiny, new, amazing charter school! I absolutely love where I work, who I work with, and all the kids that I get to help everyday. I would and have bent over backwards for each of them! They are all truly amazing. I just can't see, through all that, how this could be a bad thing. So, as I take my new turn on positivity, I would just like to tell all my Manara friends... Don't worry, be happy! We will all be together again, happier than ever, in August! Stay positive penguins!

How to eat vegetables and like them!

So, I went to the store the other day and if you know me, you know that one of my favorite foods is mac and cheese! I love it. My favorite is velvetta shells and cheese so of course that is the one that I grabbed! But then... I stopped. I saw a kraft box that said veggie pasta. I always heard good things about veggie pasta so I decided to give it a try. So, I put my favorite back and grabbed this healthier version.

It says that it has a 1/2 cup of veggies per cup! How could I go wrong with that. Well, it took me a couple of days to make it because we just don't keep milk here at our house anymore. It ends up going bad too fast so we don't buy it unless we specifically need it. So this morning I went to the store (hungry) and bought milk, along with other things!  :)  I came home and was ready to try it. I boiled the water, threw in the veggie pasta, drained the pasta, and mixed in the milk, butter, and cheese powder! The powder is the reason that I usually don't buy this kind. I made me a bowl of the veggie mac and cheese and OOOMMMGGG! It was really good. It tasted like normal mac and cheese. I couldn't believe that there could actually be veggies somewhere in there. Here is what the final outcome was.

It looks normal and sure does taste great! So, if you have a problem with getting your kids to eat their veggies, just tell them that they are having mac and cheese for lunch and problem solved. I hope this is a positive meal for your day! If you try it, let me know if you found it as delis as I did! Good luck my positive penguins!

Schools out for Summer!

This means that I have lots of time to do a lot of nothing! Now, don't tell my husband that because he would say that I have lots to do. And... He would be correct. I began this first week of my positive summer vacation by saying that I would focus on one room of the house a day. (We live in a 900 sq. ft. apartment so it's not like it should be that hard!) Anyway, I kind of did the kitchen on Monday. Then I woke up this morning with a migraine from you know where! :) Needless to say, I did not have a good day. I took two naps today that totaled about 3 hours. It is only about 9:00pm right now and I would have no problem crawling in my bed and falling asleep right now. My head is still pounding! I have done the netti pot, tylenol, claritin and nothing!!! Still pounding. I'm sure, looking at this bright screen is doing me good! I was supposed to clean the bathroom today. I went to the store and even bought special bathroom cleaner cause I like trying out new things. It seems to motivate me to clean. So, I'm moving the bathroom to tomorrow. Then I have the daunting task of cleaning out our closet. I want to have a yard sale soon and I know we have a bunch of junk, I mean, stuff in our closet! So, I will keep this blog updated on how I do with my cleaning! I know that would be so interesting!

Onto another topic that I don't think I have talked about on here before! By beautiful dog, Hannah! She is our two year old miniature sheltie! Here she is...

She is one crazy dog! We took her to the dog park last night and there was another dog there. Hannah just barked and barked cause that dog wouldn't play with her! We have never found another dog who has as much energy as she does. It is ridiculous. The owner of the other dog just said, "Wow!" We bought her from a breeder in Ferris for an undisclosed amount of money but she has been worth every penny! If I could have every asked for a dog, she would have been it! She brings Michael and I the positivity we need in our lives! She is wonderful but crazy!

Well, I know this post is a bunch of nothing but I haven't been on in a while and needed to just talk! I think I want to they and start having actual topics! So, if you can think of specific topics that focus on positivity, let me know and I will see what I can do! Hope everyone has a positive night!

The end is near

As this school year comes to an end, I can't help but think about the last day of school last year. As I dismissed my kids for the last time, I was furious. They were horrible that day and were just not listening. As I was walking down the hallways on the last day of school last year, I saw some of the other teachers crying and said how much they were going to miss their kids. All I could think was, "Good riddance!" Now, maybe that isn't the most positive attitude to have, but you didn't know my class last year!! :) Just kidding! They were a pretty good bunch of kids but they definitely had more bad than good days.
Anyway, this year has flown by and I have become super attached to this years class. Much more than the year before. I honestly think that some of that has to do with me and my better classroom management as well as me not flying by the seat of my pants on a daily basis. I am actually prepared for each day and that make it so much more smoother! I love it. As I was planning out our last day of school on Tuesday, I almost began to cry and thought, "What is wrong with me!" This is the last year that I will be teaching kindergarten. There is a one of a kind innocence about a 5 year old and I will never regret getting to be apart of that innocence for 2 years. My kids have been giving me more hugs lately. I ask why are they giving me and hug and they say, "Just because!" How awesome is that. Would a third grader do that? Would I want a third grader to do that? :)

Another reason I almost started to cry was this is my last year with the only team that I have every known. They have been my rock these past two years in more ways than just school. They were there for me this past year through everything that I have been through, no questions asked, no matter what. I love these girls more than anything and would drop whatever I was doing if they needed me too. I would hope that they know that. They are some amazing teachers that I have learned so much from and hope to continue to learn from. We are a crazy bunch and we all just seem to melt together. I don't think that I could have asked for a better teaching team and I definitely couldn't have asked for better friends. As I said, they are truly amazing. So, here we are:

 From left to right, Me!!, Nehal Elramly, Andrea Conroy, and Valerie Kaulsky!

Yes, two of us are named Valerie! We think it was just easier for our principal! I am going to miss seeing these girls all the time. It's not like we aren't going to be in the same building but I know that it just won't be the same! I am excited for my new team and look forward to what we grow together but I will always see this team as the best! We have accomplished so much and I am so proud of us!

I don't think that I am ready for this school year to end! I know that I am going to cry and I have never done that before! I guess we will see how my kids handle that! Well, have a great day all my positive penguins and stay positive!

It's official!

Well, I got the official news today that I will be teaching third grade next year! I am very excited and nervous at the same time! I know that it is going to be a challenge, but I am very up for it! I am very excited about my new team. They are both awesome people! I feel very sad to leave my current team but I know that we are all onto bigger and better things! It is going to be amazing! Anyway, that's my positivity for the day! Hope everyone has some positive in their day!

Office Depot or Office Max?

It is almost the end of the school year and I wanted to do something inexpensive and fun for my kids. So, they are each getting an award for a different thing. For example, I have best smile, best scientist and so on. I think the kids are going to love it. Anyway, I spent a while getting the awards ready today by creating the myself on powerpoint. They looked awesome. I head to office depot in Las Colinas at 1:20 and they say they can't get to it right away but they would have it ready at 3:00. I wasn't too thrilled by this but ok...I leave and come home to take a nap! I wake up at 2:45 and head back up there. I walk in the store and the lady says, in not a too nice of tone, I haven't gotten to your stuff yet! I'm like ok, fine! I walk around the store and look around. An HOUR passes and still nothing. I start creeping around the checkout area and she says ok, let me get it! She sticks in my flash drive and says, "Is this a PDF?" I say yes! She says, "Oh, we can't open PDF. We don't have Adobe." In my head I'm thinking, what? You don't have Adobe and your a computer/office supply store! So I say nothing and walk out. I am beyond frustrated. I come home and am so upset. I wanted to get these printed for my kids so I would be prepared. I decide to go to office max. I know that would be the only thing that would make me feel better! So, I go back to Las Colinas to office max. I walk in and am greeted by a person who asks what I need. I tell him that I have a PDF document on a flash drive that I need printed on card stock. He says, "OK! Walk around the store a little and I'll have it ready in about 5 minutes!" Wait...What? It is that easy? You mean, I didn't have to waste 3 hours of my life at office depot? I am shocked! So, I walk around the store and find some reusable straws to buy and silver sharpies. I go back to the counter to pay and my stuff is waiting for me! I look at the finished product and am beyond excited!

So, maybe not every office depot is bad, but the one I went to today sure was! I will definitely be choosing office max over them next time! And I think that my kids will like the awards! Maybe it will entice them to put some positive in their life!!! Have a great night!

I've been MIA!

I haven't posted in a while again because we haven't had Internet at our house and I'm way too busy to post from school! Also, with the anniversary of my step dads death on Tuesday, I kind of laid low for a little while! But I'm back with all my babbling!

Well, I am anxiously awaiting Sunday! We find out what grade we are teaching next year. I really want to teach third grade. Not cause I don't love my little babies in kinder but I feel that I want to teach more content than skill. Now the 4 or so kids whose parents requested me as their teacher next year I feel bad for. What if I move to third grade? What would they do? They would survive and I'd still get to see those little babies! So, Sunday can't come soon enough. Third or kinder are my options for next year. Well, not really options cause I have to go where I'm told but I know that either way I'll be happy! So until next time you positive penguins!

Better late than never!

So I haven't posted since Thursday! Not cause things haven't been positive, just cause I've been busy. I am planning a volunteer party at my school that happens next Friday and I finally got all the supplies ordered for it. I had to pay for express shipping to make sure it got here on time. Some of the things ordered were personalized so they said that it could come later than when I needed it. I was so worried. Well... I received an e mail today telling me all my items have been shipped! Yay! And I just have to say that a positive outlook on life makes life so much more enjoyable. I don't remember if I have said that before but there it is. I feel like I have more energy and I feel like I smile more! What harm could come out of that. Well, time to go eat taco cabana with Michael now! See you all Sunday! It's gonna be a tough one.

Positive trumps negative

So, in my quest to be more positive, I have been seeing more clearly how negaitve I used to be. Which is good becuase that is the whole point of this blog. To make me more aware of my negative attitude and to turn it into a positive attitude. For example, I was stuck behind a school bus this morning cause they had to stop for the railroad tracks. You know...safety and all! Anyway, they stopped for a whole 5 seconds and I almost missed the green light and I was already running a little late for work based on my standards. I could feel myself start saying, "Come on bus, just go." But then I stopped and thought, how can I make this a positive thing? What would I put on my blog about this? So, here it is! At least those kids on that bus have a driver who is safe enough to stop for so long to make sure a train isn't coming. At least those kids are going to school and not getting into trouble somewhere else. I think that I can be a few minutes late for safety, especially for kids' safety.

I have had many more negative realizations and I am shocked at myself and wonder how I got this way? And then I wonder how many other people are that way and just don't notice or choose to do nothing about it? What a better world we would live in if some people just gave the benefit of the doubt or saw the positive in things. Believe me, I know that it can be hard to see the positive. I'll talk about that beginning on Sunday. But if there is one thing I have learned this year it's that positivity makes life so much more easier and happier!

Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.
Hans Selye

Have you tried this today? I know it's hard but so totally worth it!

Smart phones really are smart!

So, I was so frustrated that we didn't have Internet access at our house right now cause how am I supposed to be inspiring!!! Then my husband said, "you know you can get it on your phone?" Well, no! But alas, here I am blogging from my phone! Wow! Now I can be positive from anywhere! And look:


I can even add photos from my phone! This is a ladybug that I saw at our field study! So beautiful! So, what's my positive note for today? You can be positive from anywhere! (just be sure auto correct doesn't take over!) Have a stupendous night!

Field study = Positivity

We went on a field study today to the pond down that street! It was a fun time and the kids really had a chance to show off their learning. Before we were going to leave, one of my kids said, " Mrs. Torres, I have a compass in case we get lost." I ask, " Do you know how to use a compass?" She says, "No!" I just laughed! What a positive attitude she had in regards to helping us get back to school in case we got lost. (By the way, the park is maybe a mile down the road from our school! We weren't getting lost!) The innocence of children really makes me see the innocence in many things! I wish that I had more days like I had today. But I know that a day is what I make of it! If I want it to be positive, I just make it positive. Who says everyday can't be positive? And with that I leave you with:

"Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude toward us" 

-JimmyJohn N. Mitchell

What is positive?

Everyday, I am going to find one thing that is positive! That is, I will search in all that I do and all that I see to find the positive. I will post pics if possible and why this particular event was positive to me. I am trying to go in a new direction in my life and positivity seems to be the only way to go! So, here goes nothing! My positivity begins now!