What??? No Way!!!

Remember how I said I might regret that 2 hour nap when I tried to go to sleep tonight?  Yeah, well...here I am WIDE awake at 1:12am.

BUT...

I am SO excited, because when I gave up tossing and turning, and got up to check my email, I found this!!!

I've been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Rachel at A Tall Drink of Water !!!  Can you believe it?!?  The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

So, what is a Liebster?  Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.  Blogging is about building community, and this is a GREAT way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs!

How fun is that? 

I especially like the name 'Liebster' because when I was growing up, my Uncle Paul was stationed in Germany.  While he was living there, he and my Aunt Mary adopted a sweet little girl, who is now my lovely cousin Sabine (a super-mom with four beautiful children of her own).  When Sabine was just a tiny girl, she taught me many German words and unknowingly sparked my interest in learning more.  That's why I ended up taking 4 years of German in high school!

Anyway, this is how the Liebster Award nomination works: 

1. In a post about your nomination, link back to the blog that nominated you.

 

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers

 

3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator

 

4. Share 11 random facts about yourself

5. Create 11 questions for your nominees

6. Contact your nominees and let them know you nominated them.

 

That's it...well...actually that's a lot, but totally worth it! 

 

So, here goes:

 

My Nominations:

Amanda at Oh The Places We'll Go in 5th Grade (my friend, fantastic teacher, and all-around wonderful person!)

 

Lindsey at Teaching Snip-its  (she's so creative and has some awesome stuff in her TPT store!)

 

Lindsey at Mrs. Johnson's Little Prowlers (if Liebster doesn't describe her and her blog, I don't know what does)

Jen at Teaching and Laughing (her blog title says it all...she loves to teach & to laugh!)

Robin at Sweet Tea Classroom (I love everything she pins on Pinterest!)

 

 

11 Questions from Rachel at A Tall Drink of Water:

1. How long have you been teaching and what grades have you taught? 
 I'm actually a pretty new teacher.  When my kids were all in grade school, I enrolled in a Licensure to Master's program and earned my teaching license two years ago.  This past school year I was an interim teacher in 1st and 2nd grade.  Next year I'll have my own classroom  (yay!) teaching 4th and 5th ELA and Social Studies.

 

2. What was the best concert you attended?

Oooh...this is a tough one, but I'm going with SKILLET (a hard-rock Christian band).  They have an amazing pyrotechnics show, and these incredible moving stages that go up and down along the back wall of the set...during a couple of their songs there's a violin player and a cello player on them.  Pretty amazing.  Its also the first concert I took my children to.  And what's not fun about waving a frying pan around in time to the music?!?

3. What is the one thing you must do before going to bed?

I either read, or play a few rounds of whatever game I'm currently addicted to enjoying...right now its Candy Crush.

4. What is your favorite thing about where you live?

We live in North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I love that we can go up into the mountains (2 hrs) or to the ocean (4hrs) in a reasonable amount of time.  It's a beautiful place to live...we've only been here for 2 years and still have a lot to explore!

5. Do you have any pets? If so, how many and what kind?

We have a sweet, sweet dog named Maia.  She's a goldendoodle (cross between a Golden Retriever and Standard Poodle).  She just has the most wonderful nature...happy to lay by our feet while we watch tv, and just as happy to go hiking in the mountains.  LOVE her!

6. How did you think of your blog name?

When I was teaching 2nd grade I started a blog called Sunshine in Second Grade.  But when I got my new job teaching 4th and 5th, I wanted to choose a name that wasn't grade specific.  My BFF is the queen of alliteration and helped me come up the The Poole Pages.

7. Do you have a guilty pleasure?

I still have the palate of a 5 year old...I love pizza, goldfish crackers, and any fruity, chewy candy :/

8. Where was your favorite vacation?

My favorite vacation EVER was a trip to the Bahamas with my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law.  I didn't have to take care of anyone but myself...just the beach, books, long walks collecting shells, and card games at night.  It was a little piece of heaven :)

9. Where did you go to college?

I got my BA in Business from Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI and then went back to Alverno for their Licensure to Master's program.  Alverno is well known in southeastern Wisconsin (where I'm from) and their education program has a great reputation.

10. What's the funniest thing a student has ever said to you?

This is awful to admit, but if I don't write these kinds of stories down, I forget them!  This year I'm planning to have a 'memory' jar in my room where we can write down funny or memorable moments. Then we can take them all out at the end of the year to reminisce :)

 

The only one I can think of at the moment is when one of my 2nd graders was looking at the yearbook and asked me why I looked so much younger in my picture than in real life!

11. What is one thing you cannot live without?
 I can't live without Jesus in my life.  Trying (key word here!) to live my life as he taught pushes me to become a more loving and accepting person, and trusting in salvation gives me hope.

 

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. I could literally spend an entire day reading (and have)...I love a good book.
2. I love the smell of coffee, but not the taste.
3. I'd like to learn to play the guitar and the piano.
4. I can't stand the taste or smell of seafood.
5. I like to sing along to the radio (really loud) in the car.
6. I met my husband when we worked for the same company.
7. I like to stay up really late at night so I can have the house to myself.
8. I miss my kids being little...teenagers don't want to hang out with their parents :(
9. I made the queen-sized quilt that's on our bed, and it's one of my favorite things.
10. I eat Kashi Go Lean with almond milk every morning for breakfast.
11. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up.

11 Questions for My Nominees:

1. What is your favorite teaching memory?
2. How long have you been teaching, and what grades have you taught?
3. Where are your favorite places to shop?
4. What is your favorite movie?
5. What's your favorite kind of cookie?
6. What's the best gift you ever received?
7. What is hanging on your living room walls?
8. What's your favorite area in your classroom?
9. Your classroom runs on love, laughter, and lots of _________?
10. What would your 'perfect' Saturday look like?
11. What's the one thing in your classroom you can't live without?

Whew!  I think that's my longest blog post yet.  Thanks for sticking with me!