Everyday Love

Our Week

2012-01-27T16:15:00.001-05:00

This week...

On Saturday, Andrew and I took a trip up to see my tennis friends.

Kim made a wonderful lunch and we had fun just hanging out.

Andrew and Lili met each other for the first time. :)

On Monday, Andrew had his 2 month doctor appointment.

Poor guy...3 shots!

He is growing up so fast

...but he still hates his baths!

On Thursday, we had a playdate!

Hopefully the first of many!

Aiden, Andrew, Allie and Elise...from oldest to youngest

We also put our house up for sale this week.

So we've been busy cleaning and packing things up...

we'll see what happens.

2 months already?

2012-01-24T20:42:00.001-05:00

At 2 months, you...

-weigh 12.12 lbs ( 72%) and are 22.25 inches long (21%)

although Dad was determined that you were not that short

and so we re-measured you to be 24.5 inches long so who knows. :)

-celebrated your first Christmas

-slept through the night!

-went on your first trip to Canada

-still hate taking baths

-love to be cuddled

-give out lots of smiles :)

- are quite the"coo-er"

-love riding in the car and listening to music

-can't live without your pacifier

You are such a sweet boy!

We love cuddling with you and watching you smile!

We love watching you grow-

but hope you don't grow too fast! :)

Books of 2011

2012-01-14T23:26:00.003-05:00

Last year, I reviewed books that I had read in 2010.

I always enjoying reading what others are reading and their reviews of them on their blogs,

so here is my list. Now, this isn't exactly a list of books in 2011. I have read a lot of these in 2012 already, but they are fresh in my mind and I figure it's close enough. I have been enjoying reading on maternity leave and also enjoying my new Kindle Fire. I also love that I can get books on my Kindle from my library! It makes it easy to try out lots of new books! :)

The Art of Racing in the Rain

I liked this book. Didn't love it as much as I thought I would after reading raving reviews on it, but it was still good. I found myself thinking about what my own dog might be thinking while reading this book since the book is told from the perspective of a dog.

Divergent

I read this after hearing that it was similar to The Hunger Games which I loved (more on those later).

This book was wonderful and although it had some similarities to The Hunger Games, it is different and just as good. The only bad thing- the next book doesn't come out until this spring!

Leaving

I keep saying that I'm done reading her books, but I just can't resist.

This is a new series for Karen Kingsbury, but still has all the same characters in it. It was a typical Karen Kingsbury books and I will probably be reading the other books in the series just to see what happens.

Kindred Spirits

This book was just okay for me. I didn't love it, but it wasn't bad either.

Between Sisters

This is the first book that I have read written by Kristin Hannah. I really enjoyed her writing and plan on reading a few more books by her. This book started a little slow, but quickly picked up and connected the characters in ways that I didn't expect at first. An enjoyable read!

The Girl in the Blue Beret

This book had good reviews and I always love World War II stories, but I was not impressed by this book. It was slow and went off on different stories often, but most of all I hated how it ended. I kept looking for another chapter, but it was just done.

Sisterhood Everlasting

If you have read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, you need to read this one. It was a quick read and a good story involving all of the characters that I came to love in the traveling pants series.

The Hunger Games

Loved this series! I know most of you have already read these books, but if you haven't, you really should try them! I can't wait for the movie to come out this spring.

The Ape House

I had hopes that I would like this book as much as I liked Water for Elephants. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. However, it was still a good book and worth the read.

I also read a few other books that I got free on Amazon and really aren't worth a review. :)

Any recommendations for books to read this year?

Christmas 2011

2012-01-14T15:02:00.002-05:00

It finally snowed yesterday...like really snowed!

So, in honor of it finally looking like Christmas here is my Christmas post for 2011...

Even though Andrew had no idea what was going on,

we had a great time celebrating his first Christmas with him!

On Christmas Eve, we went over to my parent's house

for dinner, church and presents.

Watching everyone open presents is hard work!

On Christmas morning, we woke up and headed to Canada.

Andrew was a great traveler and slept the whole way! :)

Andrew was able to meet his Great Opa and Oma

who were very excited to meet him!

On Boxing Day, we got together with Dan's friends from high school

The whole group...

Dan's friend Andrew with our Andrew

Merry Christmas!

One Month!

2012-01-13T21:45:00.001-05:00

Andrew,

We can't believe that you are one month old!

You are already growing too fast!

At one month old you...

-have been to two doctor appointments.

At the first one you weighed 7 lbs 14 oz.

At your two week appointment you put on some weight!

You weighed 8 lbs 11 oz.

-have had lots of visitors to see you. You are a well-loved little boy!

-sleep a lot! :) You sleep for 3-4 hours at night.

-like swinging, listening to music and you love your bouncer.

-have been babysat by all of your grandparents.

-were baptized on December 18 with your cousin Caroline.

Happy One Month, Andrew Bennett!

Andrew's First Week

2012-01-11T13:23:00.003-05:00

As I said in the last post- lots of updating to do, so here is Andrew's first week recap six weeks later. :)

We took Andrew home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon

and had a fun first week with him celebrating Thanksgiving.

On Wednesday night, we went to Papa and Nonnie's

for some chilli, gingerbread house making and to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday.

Here is Andrew and his cousin Caroline-

Caroline suddenly looks a lot bigger and Andrew looks teeny tiny in his car seat!

Winston has been good with Andrew so far- just curious. :)

Trying out the swing

One Week Old!

Hanging out with Daddy

Welcome Andrew Bennett!

2012-01-06T17:48:00.002-05:00

Lots of updating to do on this blog...

We welcomed our little one on November 20th!

Andrew Bennett

8 lbs. 4 oz.

20.5 inches long

Born on 11/20/11

11:00 pm

We had lots of visitors that were eager to meet little Andrew in the hospital!

Papa and Nonnie

The Boys :)

Great Grandpa and Grandma

Uncle Trevor and Aunt Sarah

Cousins!

Meeting Aunt Trisha, Tommy and Henry

Aunt Jenn

Aunt Emily


Aunt Rachel

Annie, Tony and Aiden

Kate and Kendra

We love you Andrew Bennett!

It's Getting There...

2011-08-20T17:32:00.002-04:00

The few weeks we have been working hard on baby boy's room.

We started with this...

And after moving and selling all of our office furniture,
we started the work on the room.

Dan worked hard on the bead board for the bottom half
of the room. It wasn't easy with the crazy walls this
old house has, but I think it turned out pretty
professional looking.

And then the painting began...
My dad came over and painted the whole room-
from the ceiling to the windows to the closet!

Dan even built me another little shelf in the closet- how handy is that!

Now the fun part can begin-
the dresser is in the basement waiting to be carried up,
the chair is waiting its' fate to see if it will fit in the little corner or not,
and the crib that was supposedly on back order until October should be here next week!

I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

Baby Gender Reveal

2011-08-11T19:07:00.002-04:00

Last month, we had our ultrasound and were able to find

out if we are having a boy or girl in November.

The night before I made some cupcakes...
I had to be very careful to not mix up the
pink and the blue- wouldn't that be sad if I got them confused? :)

First, I tried putting the chocolate disks in the batter
before I baked them.
Which sort of worked, but some were hard to see, especially
the pink ones.

So, plan B was to dig out a piece of the cupcake
after it was baked and stick in the chocolate disk.
Worked like a charm.

My mom had bought some balloons and
there were some gifts for the little one...

And then, after lunch, it was finally time to reveal what it would be...

IT'S A BOY!

I took some videos of my mom and dad finding out.
I love their reactions!

California Dreamin

2011-07-29T21:34:00.003-04:00

Alright, time to update the blog, seeing how we traveled to the west coast in June and it is now almost August! Plus, I have lots of other things to update on...

In June, Dan and I traveled with Dan's parents and two of his sisters. We started off
by flying to Las Vegas. Although Dan has been there more than a handful of times,
I had never been there. The strip was quite something.
The next morning we were on the road.
Our schedule was dictated by two things: one the time and location of some ballgames
and the fact that Dan and I had a wedding to attend the next weekend.

Our first stop was Hoover Dam.
It was super hot, so this visit consisted of us parking, walking a short bit,
taking the obligatory pictures and getting back in our air conditioned cars.
We didn't need a tour anyways- my engineering husband was able to
fill us in on any information we felt like we needed to know. :)

We then kept driving to get to the Grand Canyon.
It was an amazing sight to see!
It truly is one of those places that you just have to see in real life-
pictures can't capture it.

The next morning we were able to drive through
the Sedona Valley. It was an unbelievable drive and
I was in awe of God's creation!

We spent time in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Mainly trying to stay cool, but we did manage to do some
shopping and laid out by the pool.

We also found a Sprinkles!
A special treat for my birthday! :) Yum!

We also went to a baseball game in LA on my birthday, which
I sadly have no pictures of. But, it was fun and I got to eat my
nachos that I requested as part of my birthday present. :)

In LA, we took a bus tour of the city...

Beverly Hills,

Hollywood,

Venice Beach...

Dan and I split ways with his family for a few days and
headed down to San Diego to celebrate our friends
Nate and Sarah's wedding.

I can see why people live in San Diego- the weather is perfect!

The wedding was beautiful and Dan made it through
his best man's speech (which was pretty good if I do say so).

Early Birthday Celebration

2011-07-06T08:45:00.002-04:00

Well, it's not so early anymore, but at the time it was...

I left for vacation with Dan and his family a few days before it was my birthday,
so I celebrated with my family a little early.

We were leaving for the airport at 1:00pm so we started off with a birthday breakfast
so that we could fit all the celebrating in!

Then it was off to the mall for our yearly birthday pedicures!
While the girls were getting pedicures, the boys made their
way through Build-A-Bear.

I think somebody liked his bear!

Then it was off to open presents!

And eat some cake!
Good thing I had some helpers to help me blow out the candles!

On my actual birthday, we went to a Dodger/Tigers game in LA.
And at Nachos for dinner as my birthday request. :)

NKOBSB

2011-05-29T15:51:00.002-04:00

NKOBSB

Oh yes, I went to the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys Concert
this past week. :)

It's funny how you remember words to songs that you haven't heard for years!

I absolutely loved watching their choreographed dances
in their matching outfits.
Boy bands should definitely make a come back.

Now, if only N'Sync would come back on tour...

Baby Cakes

2011-05-15T13:44:00.003-04:00

Last week, I left a little surprise out at work...

Because I had an announcement to make...

They had no trouble figuring it out...

I'm pregnant!
Dan and I are expecting our first child in November!

Spring Break '11

2011-04-11T21:05:00.002-04:00

I could NOT wait for Spring Break this year!
And it did not disappoint...

The weather was perfect.
Perfect for laying by the ocean.
Working on my tan.
And reading.
(The Hunger Games is as excellent as they all say by the way.)

We even had sea turtle eggs steps from our chairs.
Which I learned lots of random facts about.
And reminded my of the book I read last spring break
The Last Song which was a wonderful book
and then a horrible movie.

Life Lately

2011-03-27T20:48:00.002-04:00

Oh, where have a been lately you ask?
Grading, more grading, writing report cards and meeting with parents for conferences.

Yep, that about sums it up.
Well, at least the boring part of the last 2 weeks.

Here are some of the more exciting parts... :)

I got to meet lovely Liliann Marie Ruth!
and of course visit with her mom and the rest of these wonderful girls!

I had a movie and pizza night with 4 of my 4th grade girls!

We watched Ramona and Beezus which had me reminiscing
to my childhood where my sisters and I watched
Ramona and Beezus the TV series over and over again.

My class filled up our marble jar and voted to have a Spring Fun Day!

Complete with Bug Juice and Dirt...yum!

Plus the countdown is on...4 days until Spring Break!
It can't come fast enough!

Annie's Baby Shower

2011-03-14T21:33:00.005-04:00

Annie and I were roommates in college for 3 years and she still

is one of my best friends. Sheri and I were so excited to be able to
host a baby shower for her this past weekend!

We played games...

opened gifts...

ate...

enjoyed each other's company...

and had a great time celebrating and anticipating
the birth of Annie and Tony's baby boy!

Can't wait to meet their little one!

Mothers Know Best

2011-03-07T20:23:00.002-05:00

I'm struggling to come up with anything to write about.
I've really haven't done anything exciting in the past week.
I went to bed at 8:30 on Friday and we did dinner and a movie on Saturday.
Nothing exciting.

So, it was between this and a review of the movie we watched.
Which just might have to bust out later this week if
nothing creative comes to me.

I've blogged before about how Dan and I met.
It was in my early blogging days though, so if you missed it,
you can read it here.

If you want the short version, here it is:
Dan and I met on a college trip to Europe.

The prof on the trip would always take random
pictures of the trip and then send them to our parents.
This was a big deal.
Which I can't really imagine. But, it was.
It seemed like a lot of work to get those pictures uploaded each
time we visited a new company, but then again this was the
first trip where I used my digital camera.
(Goodness, first recording onto VHS tapes and now cameras...
how far we have come in just a few years)

Anyhow, this was one of the pictures that he took...

Look closely.
I'm in the tan coat and Dan next to me in the black coat.

So, after I told my mom that I liked a boy from the trip,
she claims...yes, she claims, that she knew it.
All from this picture.

I mean I guess looking back at it, maybe.
But, if you had no idea that we liked each other,
I find it hard to see how this picture proves
or suggests much of anything.

But, I guess mothers know best. :)

The Bachelor

2011-03-01T21:16:00.004-05:00

Oh, The Bachelor...

Yes, I know that it is a ridiculous show, but I just can't
quite bring myself to stop watching it.
I've missed a few seasons here and there, but usually
it is one of the shows I watch.

I've been watching it from the beginning. And embarrassingly enough,
I actually own the first, and worst season of The Bachelor.
Why they would make this season into a DVD is one question,
why I would buy it is another.

Actually, I remember buying it late one night in college with my friend, Lisa.

Lisa bought Blue Crush, and I bought this.
Ah, those were the times.

Let's just all agree that the first season of The Bachelorette was the best.
Not only because it ended up actually working out, but Ryan's poems to Trista
(enter squeal here) made every episode worthwhile.

It was also a nice bonding activity for my college roommates and myself.
We would have weekly Bachelor parties and
even record episodes if we had late tennis practice.
(By "record" I mean actually pressing record on a VHS player
with a VHS tape-which makes me feel old)

Anyhow, how many of you are watching this season of The Bachelor?
Love or loathe Brad?
Cheering for Chantel or Emily?
More importantly, are you loving the views of South Africa?
(You know my love for South Africa.)

Back to Lisa and her Blue Crush love...
Lisa has started a new blog that recaps episodes of The Bachelor,
Lisa Doesn't Know.
She's funny. If you know her, I think you'll agree with me.
If you don't, check it out and see for yourself.

No Power=No Fun?

2011-02-27T20:50:00.006-05:00

I'm glad to say that this week looks like we will have power

the whole week. Last week, as I briefly wrote about, we were without
power. We ended up being without power from Monday at 12:30am to
Wednesday at about 4:00pm. It was cold!
Luckily, my parents got power on Monday night, so we were able
to warm up at their house. It's funny how appreciative you are
to have power after you have gone without it for a few days.
Wednesday night we were giddy as we were able to open the
garage door and turn on lights when it got dark.
We blasted the heat and turned on the TV much to our delight.

So...

What do you do with no power?

Admire the beautiful ice and snow that is causing the power outage

Comfort your skitterish, cold, confused dog

Of course, play Playmobile Vet Hospital with your 5 year old nephew

Cuddle up by the fireplace

Roarrrrr... A Dinosaur Birthday

2011-02-25T21:51:00.003-05:00

Someone had a BIRTHDAY!

A DINOSAUR birthday!

This special Birthday Boy turned 5 this week!

Love the 5 year old smile. :)

The Dinosaur Bean Bag Toss was a hit-
isn't my sister a talented dinosaur drawer?

We played games, ate dinner (too slowly if you ask the Birthday Boy),
opened some fun presents, sang Happy Birthday and ate cupcakes.
A great way to celebrate my nephew, Tommy's, birthday!

He was quite excited about his presents!

Happy Birthday, Tommy!

I can't believe it was five years ago that we
drove excitedly to the hospital to meet you!

We love you!

Snow Day

2011-02-21T23:27:00.004-05:00

Snow Days are WAY more fun when you have heat and electricity.

The power went out at 12:30 am
and hasn't come back on yet.

Our house is 45 degrees right now.

I forgot how cold it gets without heat.
And how boring it is without electricity.
The combination of the two made for a strange and rather long day.

Luckily, my parents' power came back on tonight,
so I'm nice and warm (and on-line) at their house.

Hopefully tomorrow's snow day will be warmer! :)

Teacher Talk- Management

2011-02-17T17:42:00.006-05:00

I'm linking up today with Abby's Teacher Talk Thursday.
Today is all about management.

I don't consider myself an expert in this area at all,
but I can tell you what I do in my classroom. :)

I have a chart in my room that looks like this:

Each student has 5 red Velcro squares next to their name.
The 5 squares represent tickets that they will receive at the end of the week.
If they misbehave, they have to remove one of their squares
from the board. At the end of the week, I pass out their tickets.

They can buy all sorts of things with their tickets.
Pens, Lifesavers, plastic animals, stickers,
passes for no homework, sit by a friend, hot chocolate,
sit at the teacher's desk for a day and much more.

If they lose all of their tickets in one week, they have to write
a note home to their parents. This rarely happens.

My first year I tried passing out tickets when I saw
good behavior, but I had a hard time with it.
I don't know- it just didn't work for me.
And, you have to do what works for you.
That's probably one of the best pieces of advice that
I have received. Make your management plan yours.
This one works for me. It's simple, which I love.

I also have a marble jar in my classroom for whole class behavior.
When they fill it up we vote on what reward they would like.
I love planning their rewards! But I'll save that for another post.

In other exciting news...
I have a teacher blog!

School Day Love

I started it a little bit ago, but wanted to wait until
I had a few posts up to tell you about it.

And since those of you who aren't teachers are probably
a bit tired of reading (or ignoring) my teacher posts,
I can move them over there.
(Although, I'll probably still post some here too!)

I hope you'll come follow along!

This Past, Past Weekend

2011-02-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, I did pretty much nothing.

I ate pizza.
I watched two chick flicks.
I graded papers.
I cleaned our closet.
I went to church.
Pretty much nothing exciting.
And I loved it.
But it doesn't leave too much to blog about.

So, I'll go back a weekend.
Because it was much more exciting.

On Saturday night, we surprised this lovely lady with a birthday party!
It was well planned and she jumped just a bit when we shouted SURPRISE at her!

We ate cake, played Scategories and went bowling.
I had a picture of bowling, but it didn't really turn out.
So you'll have to trust me- we went bowling.

Here are all the girls from the party (minus Al who came later!)

Hope you had a great birthday EMILY!

On Sunday, we celebrated another birthday- my Grandpa's!

He had some help blowing out the candles.

And isn't this just the sweetest picture?

This weekend will bring more birthday celebrations as the
little boy in the picture above will be turning FIVE!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I think I have mentioned before that my husband
refuses to celebrate Valentine's Day.
He doesn't think it actually counts as a real holiday.

So I picked out this card from Tinyprints to give him.
(Just because he doesn't celebrate it, doesn't mean that I don't!)
I think it is perfect!

But, I also liked this card, so he is getting two of them. :)

Although, let's be honest.
Dancing probably shouldn't be on there.
Since dancing can be added to the list of things he refuses to do.

However, I think he is softening...

When I came home from work on Friday, he had a treat for me.

Not for Valentine's Day.

For February.
And it just happened to be Valentine's Weekend.

A new charm for my Pandora bracelet!

I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating!
Whether it be Valentine's Day
or
just the fact that it is February! :)

(photos are from www.tinyprints.com and www.pandora.net)

Valentine Treats

2011-02-13T13:47:00.002-05:00

I am so happy with how my mailbox Valentine treats turned out for my niece and nephews. And from my nephew's reaction this afternoon, he liked them too!

I used a little mailbox from the Target Dollar Spot, put their names on it with vinyl and my Cricut. I’ve been wanting to try cutting vinyl on it for a while- it was actually very easy to do!

I mailed the pink one before I had to to photograph it, but it was just as cute!

Then, I filled them full of Valentine treats!

Heart shaped chalk, Slinkys, stickers, crazy windy toys…

LOVE!

South Africa

2011-02-10T22:17:00.005-05:00

My senior year of college, I went to South Africa for 3 weeks.
I fell in LOVE with South Africa.

The country is beautiful and amazingly diverse.

We visited an African village, spent time hiking waterfalls and mountains,
saw animals closer than I could ever imagine and talked with
wonderful people who had precious stories.

3 weeks in South Africa is not enough time.

I think this song by the Paul Coleman Trio sums it up nicely.
What a beautiful song!

(I should mention that the photos in this video from
YouTube are not mine nor are they actually
from South Africa. I just love the song!)

Allyson's Baby Shower

2011-02-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was my friend Allyson's baby shower.
Emily, Kari, Kim, Gwen and I had fun planning the shower together for her.

The night before we met up for some last minute shopping, creating decorations, and making cake balls- yum!!

The morning of we got the place all decorated!

Cupcakes- pink of course!

Flowers in baby bottle vases. Last minute inspirations are the best! :)

Can you believe how small the little clothes are? Adorable!

Kari was in charge of the games...

First, the anticipated Poppy Diaper Game.

And then matching celebrities with their kid's names.
I wasn't very good at this game.
Guess I need to get back to reading more US Weekly magazines.

Then we were able to shower Al with gifts!
Look at that cute tennis outfit! Perfect for the tennis girls shower!

All of us girls that were able to come to the shower.
They are all awesome friends!

Me with the lovely mom-to-be!

We can't wait to meet her precious little one!

Win got a haricut!

2011-02-06T13:00:00.001-05:00

Winston got a haircut last week. A much needed haircut.

Here he is just a little bit shaggy!

And here he is with his new do...

Just look at that face!

He always looks about 30 lbs lighter and like a different dog when he gets his hair groomed.

We love him shaggy or not!

Snowy Lunches (Teacher Talk)

2011-02-05T16:38:00.003-05:00

Here is my post just a few days late for Teacher Talk Thursdays
with Abby from Snyder Stories.

This week we could share basically anything we wanted to...so...

Since this is what I happen to be working on, I'll share about Snowy Lunches.

Snow is here! The winter blues are also here. :(
So, enter in Snowy lunches to erase a few of those blues away.

It always sounds very simple and border line silly when I explain it.
But the one thing that I can't explain to you is how excited my students always get for this.
It's ridiculous actually. You are going to thing, "That's it! That's all there is to it." and yet some of my students have told me that it was the highlight of their year.

First, I split my class into groups. Usually I have about 4-5 kids in each group, depending on how big my class is. I always find something similar about all of their names, like- they all start with an "A" or they end in a vowel or they all have five letters in them. This some how makes it more special and creates a sense of fairness for the kids.

Then I send out invites to the kids. Nothing fancy. You can see and hopefully download my invite at the end of this post. No promises on the download though- I don't really know what I'm doing with google docs yet. But, I tried.
I always put them in envelopes and decorate them with stickers and make them look lovely.

The day of...
Throw a plastic tablecloth over a table in your room. Put a bag of chex mix in a bowl (a snowman bowl if you have one). Place the plate of snowball cookies that you made from pre-made sugar cookie dough and gobs of white frosting. Put place cards or placemats and a paper plate at each seat. Then, you are ready!

I've made place cards out of construction paper in past years.
But, this year I found some awesome paper placemats at Michaels on sale this summer.
So, a few letter stickers and ta-da. A place card and a place mat.

Aren't they cute!?

I love them! And I realize that they don't really fit into the whole snowy theme, but they are too adorable for me to care.

I wish I had more pictures of the cookies and table set-up. I'll post some next week or so when we start the lunches in my room.

I should also mention that the kids eat lunch with me in our room everyday. Which probably isn't true for most of you. But, that might make it even more special if they get to stay in your room with you during lunch instead of going to the cafeteria!

And here is the invite that you may or may not be able to click on! :)

Meet the Teacher- Link-Up Party

2011-02-05T15:26:00.003-05:00

The next two posts are going to be teacher posts, tomorrow
I'll be back with a non-teacher post. :)

The First Grade Parade is hosting a "Meet the Teacher Party." I love reading teacher blogs- it is so fun to see what everyone is doing in their classrooms.

First, here is a bit about me.

I've been married for 2.5 years.
We have an almost 2 year old dog named Winston.

This is my fifth year of teaching. All the years in fourth grade. I can't believe that I have now been teaching longer than I went to college for. I don't know why that seems crazy to me, but it does!

I have 2 sisters- one older, one younger. Love them!
Here we are at my little sister's wedding this past New Year's Eve.

Now for the Q & A

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a teacher?
A: If I became talented enough...a photographer.

Q: What are your hobbies?
A: Crafts, reading, tennis, teaching (yes, I do think that counts as a hobby!)

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I was one of those kids that always wanted to a teacher. It made choosing classes in college super easy.

Q: What are your guilty pleasures?
A: Diet Coke, Vanilla Lattes, trips to Target, watching the Bachelor

Q: What is your biggest fear?!
A: That someone will choke when they are eating with me...I jump when one of my students starts to cough when they are eating their lunch!

Q: When you’re on vacation, where do you like to go?
A: Anywhere WARM...where you can lay in the sun!

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: Put God first in your life.

Q: What do you value most in others?
A: Hmmm, today I'll pick kindness and humility.

Q: If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass down to your kids, what would it be?
A: Patience. Not that I'm always patient, but a bit of it has come in handy more times than I can count.

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in the world….living or dead…who would it be?
A: My family. I love having lunch (or dinner) with them.

Now tell us one random thing about yourself:

I love roller coasters, purple skittles, and stars.

No School- Wahoo!

2011-02-01T21:17:00.002-05:00

My apologies to those who have jobs where they don't have any snow days...

The BIG storm is here!!! There is already 3.2 inches of snow on the ground as I type this and the worse of it is to come.

While I am totally ready for spring, I'll be happy with the snow as long as it gives me snow days.

Tomorrow will be snow day #2 for us. There should always be at least 2 snow days a year...or so I say.

So 2 minutes before school got out, the secretary came on the loudspeaker to announce that school had been canceled for tomorrow. (Insert obnoxious cheers and yells from 4th graders here.)
As I was about dismiss the students, I said something like, "Enjoy your snow day tomorrow! Yea for snow days!" Or something to that effect.
All of a sudden I got a lot of questions.
"Why are you excited for a snow day?"
"Don't you have to work tomorrow?"
"I thought you always have to work and never have fun."

Um, yeah, I plan on sleeping in tomorrow, watching TV, drinking hot chocolate and having TONS of fun. :)
Perhaps by noon I'll be ready to do a bit of grading papers- but we'll see, we'll see...

Pom-Pom Necklace

2011-01-30T12:46:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, I saw Little Miss Momma's tutorial for this Pom-Pom necklace.

And I knew that I had to make it.

So, off I went to the craft store to pick up the materials.
Little Miss Momma really has much better instructions than I could give, but basically you...

Cut out lots of felt circles,

Scrunch them up,
(obviously, I'll never be a hand model!)

Glue them down to make these lovely things:

Arrange them and add a chain so that it looks like this:

And ta-da, you have made a fabulous necklace!

This is as good as it gets when you are trying to
take a picture of yourself through a mirror. :)

Teacher Talk- Organization

2011-01-27T22:40:00.002-05:00

Abby @ Snyder Stories is hosting the first Teacher Talk Thursday today.

I meant to take some pictures at school today to go with the theme of organization, but in the rush of trying to get my report cards done, I forgot. So, here are some organization things from my classroom based on pictures I already had on my computer.

Nothing is really profound, but I always like seeing other classrooms, so I decided I'd go ahead and join in...

Two of my favorite things...
1) Mailboxes- My father-in-law was nice enough to make these for me, just the way I wanted them. Each student has their own box, but there are also extra boxes on the top for notebook paper, white paper, and extra copies of assignments. It works great!
2) On the right, you can see my kid's book boxes. They use these to store the books that they are reading and their writing notebooks. It makes for less mess in their desks and we can always find where they are!

This is my writing/math/craft center. The drawers store all of the math manipulatives that we use often- dice, counters, compasses, etc. The shelves below hold math game sheets. On the right, all of our decorative writing paper is stored and of course, you can see the craft supplies scattered around.

I'm not sure that I love my way of organizing books, but it works for now. Basically, each book is just sorted by the author's last name. I do like storing them in containers like this so that the students can flip through and see all of the books that we have.

Simple, yet a life-saver! My first year I struggled to find a place to put all the random schedules and papers that I needed to display for my kids to see. So, I just made them their own board. This year happened to be my ocean theme, so the board was titled, "Commotion in the Ocean." It has our hot lunch schedule, intermural schedules and anything else that the kids need to easily see. I just staple it up and let it be!

Thanks for the fun idea, Abby!

Happy UnBirthday To Me

2011-01-26T22:06:00.001-05:00

Today was my birthday. Not really. My birthday is in June. My sweet room moms wanted to throw me a birthday party. Since my birthday is in the summer they were going to do it on my half-birthday, but that was over Christmas break, so today was the day.

It really was quite strange. Some of my kids entered the room in the morning with birthday cards for me. Which is very, very sweet, but also very strange when it is not your birthday! I love to read notes that my students give me. They are always so adorable and just plain nice.

Some of the girls made me a few gifts:

Remember these!? Seriously, the “Your the best teacher” must of taken forever to make! (And apparently we have work on the difference between YOUR and YOU’RE)

And now for my favorite…

Yes, yes it is…a duck tape wallet! A pink and teal duck tape wallet to be more exact.

Look at the awesome cupcake cake! When my kids saw the cake they asked me if I loved apples. Yes, I love apples! I’m sure that’s why they chose it. :)

I also got a ginormous card which was all signed by my class. I love 4th graders! One signed it “your BFF” and all my silly boys signed it with their made-up names so Larry, Bob and Mr. Bean all signed my card today. :)

Cooking is NOT my Forte

2011-01-22T11:01:00.003-05:00

Needless to say to those who know me, cooking is just not really my thing. Regardless, my friends and I had a "freezer meal cooking night" last week. Which is actually awesome because now I have quite a few meals hiding out in my freezer!

This year we decided to each bring two recipes and the ingredients for those recipes.
*Note to self: try out the recipes before you bring them!

I searched the internet and found a recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip muffins and macaroni and cheese.
And, I received this cute little recipe book from my mother-in-law for Christmas:

Isn't it cute!? It has a lot of their family recipes written in it which I love!
So, anyways (I promise this is going somewhere) it has a recipe for Cauliflower Soup in it. Dan really wanted me to make this and thought it would be a great recipe to bring, so I did.

We cooked at my friend Sheri's house and made Kara and her recipes first.
They had great recipes for Taco Soup, Chicken Alfredo Lasagna, Chili and Stuffed Shells.
We took a break for dinner and brought some meals over to our friend Annie's house since she wasn't feeling well. Then, we continued on. It was time for my recipes.

Let's just say it being 10:00pm and doubling a recipe that involves a lot of liquid is not just the best idea. Especially when you don't really know how the food is supposed to look. However, we made it. The soup looked a bit runny, but I didn't really know how it was supposed to look and the mac n' cheese just made a ton of mac n' cheese.

Home I went with all my goodies.

The next morning, Dan is looking at his phone and
sees that his dad sent him a text-
"Call us about the Cauliflower Soup. Something is wrong with the recipe."
(We had called his mom earlier to ask about an ingredient.)
Um, too late now?
Apparently the soup is supposed to be creamy, not runny, so something did go wrong, but I'm still not sure what. Perhaps it was the fact that we were trying to warm things up in sections since we didn't have enough pans. :)

Don't worry though. I taste tested it the next night, before
anyone else had a chance to.
It is runny and probably not the best soup ever, but it is edible.

So anyone else want to sign up for making freezer meals with me?

Let the New Year Begin with Love!

2011-01-18T21:43:00.005-05:00

Here we go...round two of wedding pictures and there are lots of pictures to be seen!

Bridesmaids...

We had fun taking pictures outside. It was a bit cold, but also surprisingly warm for Dec. 31. I love the look of the icy pond in the background and can't wait to see the professional pictures.

The church entrance...

Cute ring bearers and a flower girl...
not the best pictures, but you get a taste of the cuteness. Tommy did an awesome job pulling the wagon down with his HUGE muscles!

Cutting the cake...

The happy couple...

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1...Happy New Year!!!

Congrats Sarah & Trevor! We couldn't be happy for you two!

Ready for the Walk Down the Aisle

2011-01-16T19:00:00.001-05:00

Forgive me for again splitting an event into two posts, but some events are just deserve two posts. :)

The weeks before my sister’s wedding, Sarah, was full of preparation for the big day. I had the two weeks before off from work due to Christmas break so it worked out well for me to help out.

I love wedding projects and was glad to help out with a few…

Sarah saw a picture of an aisle runner that she loved and put me in charge of recreating it, so with some help from my dad and my other sister, Trisha, we were able to make a similar one.

Many hours were spent punching circles out of gold bags and gluing them onto fishing wire… it was a labor of love. It was a nice touch for above the dance floor. These were equivalent to the tissue balls from my wedding… a lot of work, but a nice touch. It is still up for debate what project took more love.

The day before the big day, Trisha and I hosted a Bridal Luncheon for Sarah, her bridal attendants and some special family members.

After rehearsal, we celebrated with dinner.

All the girl cousins…

My family…

Sisters… this should probably replace my picture of my sisters and I that is on the side of my blog since that picture was taken 6 years ago at Trisha’s wedding rehearsal.

We went back home to all get our beauty sleep and then we were ready for Sarah & Trevor’s Wedding Day!!!

It all started at the hair salon…

Almost ready…

We had a wonderful lunch at our friends’ house. I love this picture of my mom and us.

I love the hanger that she bought for her dress to be displayed on. She got it from this great etsy shop. Isn’t it adorable!?

Here she is…beautiful!

And all tucked in the car ready to meet her groom!

More to come!

Christmas Craziness…part 3…the end

2011-01-12T22:05:00.001-05:00

The final Christmas post! If you’re sick of the Christmas posts, don’t worry- I am too. But one more…just one more!

First up… Christmas Eve

We always celebrate Christmas Eve with my family, beginning with a delicious dinner, then attending my favorite church service of the year- a candlelight service, and present opening to end the night.

Tommy was just a little bit excited about Christmas and Henry was more into eating Christmas goodies than opening presents.

This is the only picture that I have of myself during Christmas…so here it is, for better or for worse…

The famous poinsettia wrapping paper. My dad is in charge of wrapping his own gifts. He bought this paper on sale about 10 years ago and it is still around! Little did I know that one of my favorite gifts was wrapped in this beautiful paper- a Kindle!

On Christmas morning, we woke up and took off to Canada to celebrate Christmas with Dan’s family.

We were both very excited to give this gift. Can’t say that O loved it, but he was a good sport and modeled it for us. Isn’t it adorable!?

I was in charge of creating a scavenger hunt for people to find one of their gifts. It took me a while to figure how to make a hunt for 7 adults without having it be too simple or ridiculous. But, I found some cute clip art from lettering delights and put my creativity to work.

Clue #1- They had to unscramble the letters on the ornaments of the tree.

Clue #2- Each person had different clip art cut outs with letters to unscramble on them.

Clue #3- Each stocking hat had two letters on it- the letter for the word was the letter that comes between those two (confused?)

I had a good time watching people fly around the house and outside searching for their clues and presents.

We also celebrated Dan and his sister, Rachel’s birthday, shopped the Boxing Day sales, and played an intense game of Monopoly.

Dan’s high school friends live all over the place so it isn’t very often that everyone is able to get together…but there was one day that worked out for everyone. It was great to see everyone!

It was indeed a merry Christmas!

Christmas Craziness…part 2

2011-01-08T22:09:00.001-05:00

Before Christmas, I got together with some good girlfriends (I’m sure you’ll recognize them from previous posts!) and we had a little gift exchange.

First, we had a yummy dinner. Look at the cute table settings that Allyson had! I love the mitten silverware holder and my K ornament!

Time to exchange gifts!

And of course a picture in front of the Christmas tree!

Only one more post about Christmas and then my sister’s New Year’s Eve wedding! I’m almost caught up on my blogging- yay!

Christmas Craziness

2011-01-06T22:43:00.001-05:00

Wow, I knew that I was behind on posting about Christmas, but I thought that I could quick whip up a post and move on. I didn’t realize how many Christmas pictures and activities I had to write about. So here is the first installment of Christmas twenty-ten.

Christmas at school starts Dec. 1 and the excitement gets higher and higher the closer we get to Christmas.

To start, we always pick at least one present/book under the tree to read. I’ve blogged about this before, so won’t go into detail, but it is always a fun!

The last week of school was c-r-a-z-y. We had a snow day on Monday which was awesome but made the week wonderful, short and hectic. We first had the joy of making gingerbread houses. I say gingerbread houses, but really they are cardboard houses. The boys were double layering theirs this year to see how much candy could possibly fit on their house.

And then we made Christmas gifts for parents. We stuffed feathers, painted glitter and then glued on beads. Oh the beads! I always demonstrate every year. “Use a dot of glue and then put a bead on, so there are polka-dots of beads around your ornament.” And then, without fail, the globs of glue are put on and the beads are thrown on the ornament in no particular fashion. I cringe and try not to let my controlling self come out. Especially when they say that we are almost out of beads. Of course we are almost out of beads! You were only supposed to use about 20 and you have 200 on your ornament. Anyways, they are done and wonderful and oh so fourth grade-ish.

The last week of school ended with my good friend, Stephanie’s wedding which was a great way to end it! Steph and I started teaching at my school at the same time and instantly became friends. She is kind, hilarious and has a great outlook on life. She has now moved to Colorado and I miss her terribly! Congrats, Steph and Jeff!

Part 2…coming up…

Books of 2010

2011-01-05T20:18:00.002-05:00

I’ve seen several blogs post about the books that they have read and loved reading them, so with no shame in copying the idea…the books I read in 2010, in no particular order…

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

I read this book as part of a blogging book club. It wasn’t a book that I probably would have read otherwise, but I loved it. It was full of suspense and made you want to keep reading it.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I picked this book up from the library based off recommendations for books similar to Sarah’s Key. It took a few chapters to get into it reading it in the form of letters, but the characters are so adorable that you want to figure out what happens to each of them.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

I really did love this book. It was a very sweet, typical Nicholas Spark book. However, my love changed when I watched the movie staring Miley Cyrus…they completely ruined it for me.

Above the Line, Take Four by Karen Kingsbury

Oh, Karen Kingsbury. If you love Christian fiction books, I’m sure that you have read her books. I get hooked on her series and can’t resist reading them. Yes, some of them are very predictable and the way she reminds you of things you have already read does drive me a bit crazy, but I really do love her books for an easy, interesting book to read.

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

I also read this as part of the blogging book club and can’t say that I really liked it. I struggled to get through it and just didn’t really connect with any of the characters.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I just finished this on Sunday, so technically it could be a 2011 book, but I started it in 2010, so I’ll add it on. It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I did, I could not put it down. It is an amazing story and a book that I was sad to finish.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

My sister let me borrow this book from her and to be honest it sat on my shelf for a few month. However, I was intrigued by it because I really do love World War II stories, which this story is. This book did not dissapo0int and is a great story about the Holocaust and WWII.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

I read this book as part of a small group Bible study. I love the message of this book and am amazed by the characters’ stories.

Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist

I had heard great things about this books. Quotes from it on friends’ blogs and facebook walls. So I was excited to read it. I read it with a group of girls for a small group Bible study. It is an easy read about life and faith. I loved reading about Shauna’s life and how she sees God in it.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I listened to this book on CD. Dan and I listened to it on our trip out east this summer. For the most part, I really did enjoy the story- it is an amazing story. There were a few times where it seemed to drag a bit, but it could have also been the fact that we had been in the car for 5 hours.

10 books for 2010…hopefully there will be 11 in 2011.

I feel like I read other books this year, but I just can’t remember what they are. I’ll keep better track for next year.

Any book recommendations for next year?

The photos are linked to their sources.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T20:05:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

You would think that since I had 2 weeks off for Christmas break that I would be caught up on my blogging. It’s amazing how fast 2 weeks goes when you aren’t working. Plus, there was Dan’s birthday, Christmas and my sister’s wedding in there. Which yes, I plan to recap soon, very soon.

For now, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2010-12-20T17:34:00.004-05:00

CHRISTMAS!

School is out!

*Our last day of school was on Friday. After Christmas carols, swimming lessons, secret friend exchanges, a Christmas lunch, a movie and a party, the day was done and I was officially on Christmas break! WooHoo!

The presents are all wrapped!

* I really love wrapping presents and having them all ready under the tree. Therefore it makes me sad that Winston eats EVERYTHING in sight and I have to have them hidden in our front closet. But, they are all ready to go!

And the Christmas cards are all in the mail!

* Next year, maybe, I'll send them out before the week of Christmas, maybe. :)

A Whirlwind Washington (DC) Weekend

2010-12-13T21:04:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, Dan and I traveled to Washington DC for our friend, Ben’s wedding. Ben, Dan and I all went on interim to Europe together my sophomore year. Ben has this wonderful sense of adventure about him and someone that you could always count on to give you sensible advice.

After college, Ben moved to Chicago to work and we were able to see him quite often. However, after a while he decided to quit his job and move to DC to pursue a relationship with Jenny. We do miss seeing him, but are glad to see him happy and in love with Jenny.

We woke up soooo early. I don’t really do well with early mornings, but seeing how I was able to miss a day of school, I guess it was okay. We caught our plane and landed in DC around 8am. Our hotel room wasn’t ready, so we dropped off our bags and headed out to do some sightseeing.

First we walked around on the National Mall…

saw the National Christmas Tree…

grabbed some white chocolate peppermint mocha…

mmmmm…

visited a few monuments…

went to a few of the museums (I love how they are both free and fabulous!)

and finally went back and checked into our hotel room.

Dan had to head out with the guys to try on their tuxes and then we both went the the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

The next day, we had a bit of time before Dan had to be ready for pictures. One of the other groomsmen works at the Capitol Building so he volunteered to give us a tour. It was awesome- he pointed out all of the interesting facts and things to see. One of the best parts of the tour was being able to see his office. His office has a balcony off of it that is at the front of the Capitol Building. I didn’t even know that you could go out on those!

Here we are on the balcony…it was an awesome view of the city!

The wedding was amazing! I loved the songs they used in their wedding ceremony and the reception was beautiful!

The happy couple…

Allyson and I hung out most of the weekend together since both of our husbands were in the wedding…

Dan and I with the groom…

Craft Night!

2010-12-08T22:03:00.002-05:00

This weekend, we had a little craft night…

We started with a lot of this:

Mixed it with a bit of concentration:

And some time: (let’s be honest- some time = 7 hours, but who was counting?)

Until it started to look like this:

We also made another craft that I LOVE, but with Christmas coming, some people might find it wrapped up for them…so until Dec. 26, it will have to be a secret. :)

Chi Town

2010-12-01T21:16:00.001-05:00

A few weekends ago I went to visit my friend, Lisa with my other friend Kate.

Lisa and I met on my first day of college. Kate and I met on my first day of first grade. Both are still dear friends.

Kate and I drove down to see Lisa’s apartment in downtown Chicago. It made me want to live in Chicago…the shopping, the food, the energy…I love Chicago!

We first decided to visit the famous Sprinkles Cupcake shop for a delicious treat.

YUM! Yes, it was as good as it looks.

Next, we went shopping. You don’t have to ask me twice to go shopping. :)

I got an awesome shower gift for my sister that I know she is going to love. I’ll share once the gift is given this weekend.

We then went out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant that we went to solely because they have the “World’s Greatest Margaritas!” which proved to be true.

After visiting some other college friends, catching up on our gossip magazines, and a good night’s sleep, it was time to head home.

We kept meaning to take a picture together all weekend…however, having Lisa’s doorman take it on the way out was the best we did.

Which by the way, I decided that being a doorman would be a great job. I feel like it would be a very intriguing job watching people come and go, imagining stories about each person…anyways… here’s the picture…

Thoughtfulness…

2010-11-23T18:07:00.001-05:00

One of my students came in this morning with a gift bag… for mwah (if that how you even spell it? I’ve spent way too much time thinking about it!)

I opened it up and what did I see?

A cowboy boot stocking!!!

The note said that they say this at the store and thought that I just had to have it for my classroom this Christmas season. (Check out my post on my classroom theme for it to make more sense)

It’s the little surprises in life that make me happy. :)

Back to school I go to listen to some awesome 4th graders sing their hearts out!

There is no one like our God…

2010-11-15T23:03:00.001-05:00

Wednesday Morning Music Devotions are a highlight in my classroom. I just find a youtube video that someone else has nicely put together and play it for my kids. They can write, draw, listen or pray during the song. I love looking at what they draw and write. Their faith is deep, trusting and pure.

This was last week’s song. I love it. What a great reminder of what God is doing in our world and what he still plans on doing.

There is NO ONE like our God.

He is the God of our school.

He is the God of our homes.

He is the God of our city.

He is our God.

Greater things are yet to be done.

God of Our City- Chris Tomlin

Daily Deals

2010-11-13T19:02:00.001-05:00

I’ve been looking for a piece of furniture for our sunroom, but just looking around- no special trips to look or anything. So, today when I was out browsing stores, I found this beauty outside waiting for someone to buy it. I loved it at first glance, but expected, like most times, the price to be too high for it to move off of my wish list. However, when I looked at the tag, it was on special for today for…take a guess… 50 dollars! One of the doors needs a new stop, but other than it is in perfect condition. I think I may get some baskets to go underneath and maybe, maybe paint it black.

The other deal of day was not quite as good as it sounded. Our mall periodically sends out e-mails that if you take the e-mail to the customer service desk, they will give you a gift certificate. I’ve done these before and they really are awesome. I mean free money- who can beat that! Well, I don’t know if it is because of the holidays coming up or just more people are on the e-mail list, but whoa! there was a crazy line to get the gift card. But, an hour later, I walked away with a $10 gift card in my hand. :) I guess it’s not bad for an hours “work”.

Shutterfly

2010-11-08T23:06:00.001-05:00

Oh, Shutterfly how I love thee…

I have used Shutterfly for pictures before, but they really have a lot of other things to offer…

First of all, I use their website hosting for my classroom website and it is fabulous! Easy to use, password protected, parents can download pictures right from the website- it really has been an awesome tool for my classroom.

Anyways, this year I am planning to their holiday photo cards to send holiday cheer to all. :)

I think that it is always so fun to receive Christmas cards from friends especially when they have a cute picture on them.

Here are a few of my favorites from Shutterfly:

1) I think this card is an awesome idea for combining the card and the yearly Christmas letter. We don’t really have much news to write about this year, but if you had kids I think it would be great.

2) I LOVE this card. I thinks it’s adorable. Some of you might even see it in your mailboxes…

3) I love that this card as a photo strip like style to it. Plus it’s only 55 cents a card…what a steal!

4) Also, I think I might pick up some of these labels. After writing my address over and over again last year, I definitely think that it would worth it…and my envelopes will look cute too!

5) Their photo books make awesome gifts for Christmas. I have made a few before for my parents and my sisters. They are fun to make and are so fun to look at a few years later!

Plus, as a bonus, Shutterfly is offering bloggers 50 free holiday cards- awesome! Click here for more info!

There are so many options to choose from. I’m sure that it will take me at least another week to decide! Hopefully I’ll have them out sooner this year than last as I didn’t start them last year until I was on Christmas vacation! I’ve told you before- I tend to procrastinate. :)

Enjoy looking at all of the Christmas card options that they have!

Tennis & Showers

2010-11-07T15:24:00.001-05:00

The last few weekends have been filled. Teacher conventions, report cards, showers, tennis, Halloween…finally here is an update on some of the weekend happenings.

My sister had 2 wedding showers- both were delightful! It made me get excited for her upcoming wedding!

One was at ladies shower and last night it was a couples shower. It’s always fun to go to a couples shower since the guys have usually never been to a shower.

I have not played tennis in a looong time. However, when I received an e-mail asking for players to play in an alumni match, I happily signed up. I sort of forgot the fact that I would have to play and more focused on the fact that it would be fun to see everyone… oh well…

We had fun reminiscing about our days playing on the team, looked at old team photos and cheered each other on.

Tennis was one of my favorite things about college and I have continued to be blessed by the girls that I played with. I hope the current team has just as much fun!

Allyson was the alumni team’s coach since she is preggers and not able to play. This weekend she had a party to find out if they are having a boy or a girl. Check out her blog to see the fun way they found out. (She actually hasn’t posted it yet, but I’m sure that she will soon…it’s worth the wait!)

Procrastination

2010-11-05T00:39:00.001-04:00

Are you one of those people that has everything done early? Or are you like me who at 12:16 AM the night- well, I guess morning- her report cards are due, just finished them? Nothing like procrastination.

Really, I like to think that I do my best work under pressure. My best college papers were written at 2 AM. And getting my house cleaned- always best done when people are coming over in an hour.

I really had the best intentions of getting my report cards done earlier this week. I knew that I had a busy Wednesday and Thursday night, so my plan was to get them done by Tuesday. That would have been a record for me and in the back of my head I knew that it would never happen.

I have a policy that I never ask anyone else how their report cards are coming along. Because I know that there are actually people who finish theirs on Monday and Tuesday the week they are due. And that just makes me jealous. So I never ask.

To bed I go… lots of last minute, important stuffing to do in the morning. I do my best stuffing under pressure too.

I tried...

2010-10-28T06:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was sort of one of those "I tried..." days.

It started off on my way to work.
I tried to be on time (on time according to me, since we don't really have to be there until the kids come in, but I like to get to school about an hour before that), but...
half way to school I realized I had forgotten my belt and turned back home to get it.
Which is just crazy- why could I not just go without the belt for a day?

I tried the night before to make cookies for my students, but...
I used whole wheat flour instead of white and they turned out tasting horrible.
Have I mentioned what an excellent cook I am?

I tried to help my students get better grades on their projects, but...
if I hand it back to them and tell them check for capital letters and that they are written in cursive and they hand them back to me after looking at them for 2.8 seconds with nothing changed because they think it is good, well... I tried...

And I tried to fold all of laundry, but it just didn't want to be folded... or wait, maybe this was one of things that I didn't try to do yesterday, but definitely should have! :)

Sarah's Bachelorette Party!!!

2010-10-24T20:27:00.008-04:00

Last weekend was my sister's bachelorette party! We had an awesome weekend celebrating! My sister, Trisha and I, hosted the weekend for our little sister, Sarah.

We took the train down to Chicago on Saturday morning!

We grabbed some lunch and then hit Michigan Ave for some shopping!
Some of us had some last minute outfits to find for that night.

Trisha and I went to the hotel a little early to set the rooms up.

Zebra robes! :)

Snacks for the rooms. Complete with martini and ring cookies made by Trisha.

After getting ready for the night out, we walked to the restaurant. On the way, we walked past the place that Trevor proposed to Sarah, so of course we took a picture.
Aren't you jealous of her crown?

We went to an awesome Italian restaurant- ate delicious food, drank the strongest drink ever, and embarrassed Sarah as she opened her gifts!

After dinner we went to The Lion King! I loved the show!

Then we headed back to the hotel for the next part of the evening. First, Trisha and I gave the 2nd part of our gift- a panty line! We found the poem here, made a few changes, and stuffed them in wrapping paper tube for her to pull them out one at a time while we read the poem.

Then for the part of the night that I might have been most excited about.
Trisha and I had this idea to make a scavenger hunt for the night.
We had a lot of fun coming up with clues for the hunt and creating the hunt books.

Each team had a book with clues that had to do with Sarah and Trevor.
Then, each clue had a page with more clues to help them find the place.

It was so much fun running around Chicago searching for the places!

The girls taking a picture for bonus points and a few of the winners with their prizes.

Then out for drinks and some dancing!

We had such a great weekend celebrating Sarah and hanging out in Chicago.
Can't wait for her wedding on New Year's Eve!

a fourth grade review

2010-10-08T18:07:00.003-04:00

just another week in the 4th grade...

you wish that this someone made this for you:

oh, yes- it is a NEON coloring book. complete with peace signs and neon hearts.

my broken keyboard. winston jumped up on top of it and took a few keys with him. it's quite a popular topic with my fourth graders- they find it very entertaining.

and...4th grade chapel. we were in charge of chapel this week. last year we had it at the end of the year and it was a bit stressful so we decided to sign up early this year. it was great. singing, skits, nervous kids, proud parents, and worshiping God. and now it is done and i don't have to worry about it for a whole year which is just pure awesomeness.

Fall Fun Weekend

2010-10-04T20:53:00.004-04:00

It was the perfect fall weather this weekend- well, a little rainy, but other than that pretty good I'd say!

Friday night- Dan and I went out for dinner and then to see The Social Network. The movie was pretty good other than I fell asleep for a small part of it- the downside of going to the movies on a Friday night after a long week.

Saturday morning was all about soccer! First, we went to my nephew's soccer game. It is funny seeing a bunch of 4 year olds chasing each other around the field. Good times. We took a short break to warm up and then headed back to the fields to watch a group of girls from my class play in their soccer game.

The rest of the day was spent at the apple orchard...

Sheri and her hundred something pounds of apples!

Kara, Annie and I... our apples were only about 20 pounds :)

We headed back to Kara's and whipped up a few apple crisps and pies. Yum, Yum!

Just for the Record...

2010-09-29T21:15:00.002-04:00

1. I did actually finish The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes for the Book Beginnings and Bookends. Just a little later than scheduled. But just wanted to let you know that I did finish the whole book.

2. My key necklace is just a necklace. Not a key to my house, a treasure chest, an old key that I found or my diary. Thank you 4th graders for your creative thoughts.

3. I sat here for a good while trying to think of a number 3. Because well, 3 things just sound and look better than 2. But I've got nothing. Apparently my 4th graders used up all my creative brainpower to think of ideas for my key necklace.

Dragon Tattoos and Silly Bandz

2010-09-24T18:52:00.008-04:00

I have been waiting for this book since July and I finally got the notice
that it was on hold for me at the library! I can't wait to get started!

I'm a little obsessed with find fun fonts and alphabets from letteringdelights. And then, spending hours creating things that probably would have taken me 10 minutes. But, I'm sure that my kids will now all be motivated to reach their reading goal now that they have cute cards...right?

Win got a haircut. He always look hilarious when he gets his haircut and ends up being three-fourths the size he was beforehand. Oh, I wish you could see his tail...it's ridiculous.

I got my first silly bandz. Yes, they are cool and yes,
I feel special that one of my fourth graders gave me one.

Hollywood Glam

2010-09-19T16:52:00.004-04:00

Last night, I was able to celebrate my dear friend's birthday with her. Kari a wonderful friend and she always celebrates her birthday in style. This year the theme was Hollywood Glam and glamorous it was!

We of course were asked to dress the part...and sign in when we arrived. I have to say that I just dressed up with no one in mind, however, I became Sarah Jessica Parker when I walked through the doors. Here is the official sign-in:

Here are some of the movie starts that arrived:

And me with the beautiful birthday girl!

The night also included a yummy Coldstone cake, extra-long Twizzers (have you seen these things?), a "paparazzi" photo session and movie charades...good times had by all.

Head on over to Kari's adorable and entertaining blog, The Diaries of the Traveling OPI's, to wish her a happy birthday!

Weeknd Camping & Birthdays

2010-09-12T17:32:00.004-04:00

I love the weekend even more now that school started.

On Friday, I left school in a hurry to pack up for a night of camping. Warm clothes- check; sleeping bag- check; extra blankets- check; lots of yummy snacks and drinks- check! It was chilly and windy- but we survived! We had a great time roasting hot dogs, sharing stories by the campfire, and sleeping in tents. In the morning, we got our things packed up just in time before the rain hit and we headed to a cozy breakfast place to warm up and get some breakfast before heading our separate ways. I love these girls!

On Saturday night, I got to celebrate my nephew's birthday. Henry turned one!
My sister hosted a bug themed birthday party complete with ants on a log, awesome decorations, and a candy buffet.

Here I am with the birthday boy!

He was a little hesitant with the cake at first, but then he dug right in!

Happy Birthday dear Henry! I can't believe you are already one!

Henry also happens to have the same birthday as my niece, Megan. Megan is our oldest niece/nephew as she is turning five today! She also is our only niece which means it is extra fun to buy her presents! :) Happy Fifth Birthday Megan!

Friday Wishings

2010-09-09T23:08:00.002-04:00

I'm so happy that in less than 50 minutes, it will be Friday.

I'll be even happier when the school bell rings at 2:50 tomorrow afternoon.

I'm exhausted.

I can't imagine actually teacher 5 full days next week since the last weeks have only been 4.

We had Parent Night at school tonight. I think it is my least favorite night of the whole year. I like seeing the parents and hearing how their child is liking fourth grade so far. The problem is that I pretty much hyperventilate when I have to speech in front of a group that is over the age of 12. However, tonight was okay. I'll give myself a 7 out of 10 for not running out of breath too many times.

I'm going camping tomorrow night.

Have I mentioned how I'm not really a camper.

And it's supposed to be cold...maybe even some rain.

But, I'm going with really great friends and because of that I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Classroom Reveal

2010-09-02T19:12:00.008-04:00

Welcome to my classroom! Each year I try to do a different theme.
I've done a water, travel and safari theme in the past, but this year I did a western theme!
Yee haw...let the tour begin!

This is the bulletin board outside of my room.
Each cowgirl/cowboy has a lasso with a student's name in it. I'm not going to lie- I would never make those cowboys/girls again, they took me FOREVER!

A closer look...

Our door...come on in!

This paper was my first inspiration to make a western themed classroom.
Martha Stewart- you make everything beautiful.
Too bad I could never find this pad of scrapbook paper again.

The rainbow of locker tags... I heart the turquoise one.

This is not the best picture, but each chair had a bandanna wrapped on the back of it. As you can imagine, the boys had them around their necks in 2.0 seconds the first day, but they did look adorable while they lasted. This was my mom's idea- she is planning my sister's wedding right now and thinks maybe she has spent a little too much time looking at chair covers. :)

Write 'Em Cowboy!

Part of our writing center...

Our calendar and schedule area...

Boy and Girl Bathroom Passes...

Mailboxes, our school's theme verse for the year, and colorful book boxes...

I absolutely love this banner that I made for our window...
too bad it didn't really show up for the picture.
It has alternating bandanna and jean fabrics.
I made it using these awesome, no-sew instructions from Abby's blog.

Lasso A Great Book!

Our Book Nook organization area...
I forgot to take pictures of all of the bandanna pillow covers
that I sewed- they're fun- maybe I'll post them later.

Our vocabulary words will go here...right now they just have western words on them.

Our library area... and the huge cowboy boot that is a hit in our classroom.

Our wanted bulletin board. I took pictures of the kids the first day dressed up in a western vest, cowboy hat and bandannas and then printed them in black and white and hung them on the posters. I wish I could show them to you- they turned out so cute!

I love birthday! And who wouldn't love a birthday hat with their name on it?

Boot Scootin' Behavior Board...
we can only hope that I don't have to use this much this year.

Our job board...

This is above our door. It turned out larger than I had imagined,
but I actually like it that big...it adds some color to our room

Wrangler of the Week...each student gets to bring in pictures to share.
I always start out with a poster about me.
Yes, the large picture in the middle is me when I was in fourth grade.

Oh, how I love decorating my room. I think that is one of my favorite feelings...the feeling you get when your classroom is all decorated...the name tags are perfectly on each desk, the books are all in order, the notebooks are all new, the locker tags are all straight, and everything is in it's proper place just waiting for students to come. Ah! Too bad I have to wait another 365 days for it to come again. Until then, we will saddle up for the rest of the year...it's going to be a good one!

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes- ch. 21-35

2010-08-30T21:28:00.002-04:00

Here are my answers to the discussion questions on The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes chapters 21-35. It's been a great read so far! Join on in the discussion from Book Beginnings and Bookends.

1. Do you think Tim is the one sending the money?
I'm not sure. Maybe. It doesn't really sound like something that his character would do especially if there is nothing in it for him. I'm not sure who it could be though. I thought maybe it could be Naomi, but they didn't seem to have extra money that would allow them to do that, so I'm stumped.

2. So far, there's been a lot of discussion on CeeCee/Eve and her choices. What choice(s) would you make differently from her?
Well, I don't think that I would ever get myself into her situation, but I do think that since she has started to live with Mariam, she has made pretty good choice. She has created a new, healthy life for herself.

3. What do you like about Jack? Are there things about him that you don't like?
I like that he is funny and carefree. He seems passionate about life and his relationship with Eve. He also appears to be a great and loving dad. There really is nothing that sticks out about him that I don't like.

4. What are the differences between CeeCee/Eve's relationship with Tim and Eve's relationship with Jack?
Eve's relationship with Jack is real and true from both sides. Obviously CeeCee and Tim's relationship was pretty one sided and just wrong for many reasons. I think that Eve has matured quite a bit which shows in her relationship with Jack.

5. Do you think Eve is to blame for Cory's fears? What could she do, specifically, to help Cory feel like less of an outsider?
Yes and no. Probably part of how she was raised as to do with her fears and Eve is very protective of her. However, part of it just seems to be her personality.

6. Do you think Eve appropriately answered Cory's questions about her father? Do you think Cory will question her father more as she grows older?
They were hard questions to answer, but she went with her plan and stuck with it. I think she did fine answering the questions although I'm not sure that I would have gone with the story that she did. I'm sure that Cory's questions about her father will come up later on in the book.

Oh, the Places You'll Go

2010-08-29T21:48:00.002-04:00

When I was growing up, we always had some first day of school traditions. My sisters and I would all gather in the living room and listen to my mom read, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss. This became such a tradition in our house that it actually became part of my Dad's speech at my wedding. When my mom would finish, we would talk about the places we might go in 3th grade or 8th grade or whatever grade we happened to be in that year. Then we would always receive our bedtimes for the year.

In the morning, we would always wake up to a place mat at our breakfast spot wishing us a Happy First Day of School. Oh how I loved the first day of school growing up!

I can't say that I have the same excitement tonight as I'm getting ready for the first day of school tomorrow. I am excited to meet all my new students and start off our year on a good note but, I'm also a little sad that my days of lounging around in the morning, laying out in the sun, spending hours trying to figure out my sewing machine and staying up late watching TV are done. Tomorrow I'll be back to prying my eyes open in the morning, keeping track of 21 students, and grading hundreds of papers which although they don't sound half as fun as my summer days I know that I'll love (almost) every second of it.

Better get off to bed- it's past my self proclaimed school bedtime.

Road Trip 2010- Part 2

2010-08-25T15:20:00.003-04:00

After we went Boston, we headed up to Bar Harbor, Maine. I had heard that this place was beautiful and the reports were not wrong. It was such a cute harbor town with beautiful views of the water. We stopped at the local grocery store, grabbed some lunch food and went to rent bikes. We then rode our bikes to Arcadia National Park. To get to the park, you have to ride up a steep hill. Now, I'm still going to claim that the gears on my bike were messed up, but Dan would argue otherwise. Either way, I thought that I was going to die right on that hill. I'm not Miss Fitness, but I also am not that out of shape. I just could not get up the hill no matter how hard I pedaled! Once we finally made it, things got a bit better. The park has lots of bridges that you can ride to, so we scouted out a few of those and found a nice spot to eat our lunch. We didn't stay too long, but long enough to have a nice ride and get a feel for the park. We headed back into town to return our bikes, walked around the town and then headed to St. John, New Brunswick.

Nothing exciting in St. John- just a place to stay the night and have dinner at.

In the morning, we started our drive to PEI (Prince Edward Island). I was very excited about this part of our trip since we were going to visit the Anne of Green Gables' house. I love those books and movies! We also got ice cream at a delightful place called COWS and went to see Inception at a movie theater by our hotel.

Our next stop was Halifax. We have a friend that is living there right now, so we were excited to see her. We went shopping and drove around a bit until she was out of work and then we headed to her apartment. She picked out an awesome restaurant to eat at and we ate some more ice cream...who can ever have too much ice cream?

The next two days were a lot, A LOT of driving! But it wasn't as horrible as I had anticipated. The first long day we drove from Halifax to Quebec City. We made decent time and were able to get to Quebec City with enough time to explore the city at night. I was expecting to like this city as much as I did, but I loved it. It was so fun and different! We walked around in the Old City and looked at Le Chateau.

The next day was our drive to pick up Winston and visit with Dan's family...then, we went back home. If you missed part one, you can read it here.

There's one more post coming about our road trip...border presents...I'll leave you in anticipation. :)

The Secret Life Of CeeCee Wilkes

2010-08-24T00:55:00.004-04:00

When I heard that Rachel and Erin were creating a blogging book club, I knew that I just had to join in! I've always wanting to join a book club!

We are reading The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain. I honestly had never heard of the book and was a little intimidated at the size of it when I went to pick it up from the library, but it really is a great book! Full of suspense, intense characters, and a story line that keeps encouraging you to read more. I'm loving this read.

I missed last week's questions, but here are my responses to the week 2 questions. To join in on the blogging book reading fun, check out Book Beginnings and Bookends.

1. Where do you think Tim and Marty are at this point in the story?
I have no idea, but probably up to no good or somewhere deep in hiding. I do wonder if they had any contact with their sister, Andi or if they figured out what happened in the cabin with CeeCee and Genevieve.

2. What were your thoughts as CeeCee was helping Genevieve deliver her baby?
"This is CRAZY!" I have no idea how she didn't freak out (more than she already was). I can't imagine doing anything like that at age 16...or now.

3. After Genevieve died, what would you have done with her baby if you had been in CeeCee's shoes?
It really turned into such a mess and I felt bad for CeeCee because of the disaster that unraveled. I think at the point I would realize that I was in WAY over my head, and turn myself in to the authorities or a trusted friend.

4. Why do you think CeeCee/Eve is still holding onto hope that Tim will come for her?
I think that she is holding onto that hope because she truly was in love with him. And really, who wouldn't hope that their first love would heroically come for them?

5. How do you think Eve will establish her new identity in Virginia?
I think that she will find a job and get herself together in Virginia. She will somehow move on from her experience and embrace her new life.

6. What do you think of CeeCee/Eve now after she has gone through with the kidnapping, the delivery of the baby, the escape, and the relocation?

I think that she has a good heart and wants to do what is right, but is having a hard time doing it. I like her character, but am still mad at her for going along with Tim's plan. I keep wanting to tell her, "If only you thought about what you were signing up for!" Hopefully she has learned and will gain some maturity from the experience.

Road Trip 2010- The Beginning

2010-08-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned earlier, my husband and I took a road trip out east a few weeks back. We had roughly worked out where we would go each day, but didn't have a detailed itinerary or any hotels booked, which I'll admit made me have nightmares of spending the whole week sleeping in the car. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

Day 1- We drove to Dan's parents' house in Canada and dropped off Winston. He was in for a treat of living the life of a country dog for the week.

Day 2- We woke up early and hit the road. The first stop on our journey was to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Obviously, top on my list of things to see. :) Just kidding, but my husband loved it. After a few hours of baseball history and facts, we kept driving- destination: Boston.

We arrived in Boston around 10:00 at night. As I said, we didn't have any hotels booked as we were hoping that Priceline would help us out. It didn't. Not one time. Boston did have quite a few hotel options though and we chose to stay right off the highway at the end of the subway line. On our 5th try, we found a room.

Display of No-Hit Game Balls

Dan studying the Hall of Fame wall.
I was done with this display in about 5 mintues.
Dan was done too- about 30 more minutes later.

Day 3- Boston

I was bound and determined to fit as many things as we possibly could into our one day in Boston. We took the subway to downtown Boston and started our day at the aquarium. My friend had recommended the aquarium and it was awesome. We were there early enough that we were able to see the penguins being fed and cleaned.

Next, we headed to the Swan Boats. This was on my list of things to do as I loved the book Make Way for Ducklings as a kid. Apparently in Canada this is not a popular children's book, so Dan had no idea what we were doing or why I wanted to go. Please tell me that someone else read and loved this book!

Next we headed over to visit the MIT museum which was full of robots and crazy inventions. We also got tickets for a River Boat Cruise later in the day. We then hopped back on the subway towards downtown again with a mission to follow the Freedom Trail.

We followed the line of the Freedom Trail and had fun looking at the small museums along the way. We almost made it all the down the trail, but as soon as we spotted Paul Revere's House, we had to dash back on the subway to make it to the River Boar Cruise.

On the River Boat Cruise, we saw Harvard, the skyline of Boston, MIT's campus and learned some interesting facts about Boston. It was relaxing and fun to do minus the screaming children behind us.

We finished the day with dinner at PFChangs and then headed back to the hotel to rest before heading to Maine in the morning! Next up- Bar Harbor, Maine, Prince Edward Island, Halifax and Quebec City!

21 Little Cowboys

2010-08-22T21:15:00.003-04:00

6 completed...9 to cut out...6 more to make...

if only I would have been satisfied with the pre-made cut outs at the teacher store

at least they're cute- right?

Teacher Week: Online Resources

2010-08-16T09:35:00.002-04:00

So, Teacher Week on Babbling Abby's blog was last week, but I'm just now getting a chance to catch up with the last two days. Well, really I'll just be catching up on the last day. Day #4 was classroom tours which I loved seeing and would love showing you around my classroom. But, my classroom is in destruction phase right now as I get everything ready for the new year. I was just going to show you how far along it is right now, but I just can't do it. I need it to be perfect for the new year before it is revealed on here...so stay tuned. I promise to show you pictures when it is ready which needs to be in 10 days, not that I'm counting or anything. :)

On to Day #5- Online Resources...there are so many of them and I'm always discovering and rediscovering new ones. Here are a few of my favorite for myself or for my students.

1. Proteacher- I love finding ideas from other teachers on this website. It is great to get answers if you have questions or need ideas for something.

2. Edheads- If you teach science, you need to check out this website! I use it with my class when we study simple machines, but they also have interactive games for weather, knee surgery, the brain and more.

3. Laura Candler- Laura is a 4th grade teacher who has a wealth of resources ready to use. Check out her file cabinet!

4. Beth Newingham- I love Beth Newingham! I remember finding her website while I was getting ready to set up my classroom my first year and thinking that it was amazing! I still think that and if I could pick a classroom to go visit for a day- hers would be it. She also writes for Scholastic and has a ton of good information there as well.

5. Mrs. Renz's Math Resources- This is a great website to bookmark for your kids. It is full of links to games and activities that go with a variety of math topics.

Have fun exploring!

Teacher Week: Creative Ideas!

2010-08-12T15:39:00.004-04:00

Day #3 (which yes, was yesterday) at Babbling Abby's Teacher Week is Creative Ideas. Here a few of mine!

Below you can see a picture of my behavior chart. I spent the first year of teaching trying to follow the exact same behavior plan that my colleague had. I learned the important lesson that you need to do the behavior plan that works for YOU (no matter how cool the other one sounds). Each child starts the week with 5 tickets which are represented by the red squares on the chart. If they disobey the classroom rules, then they loose a ticket. At the end of the week, I pass out the tickets that they have earned and they can buy prizes with them. Pretty simple- which is just how I like it.

My class can earn marbles and when they fill up the marble jar they get to vote on a special day. Although they think that they pick the special day, I have always been able to talk them into voting for the day that I want- which usually has already been planned. Below is one of my favorite special days.

POP day- We learn about onomatopoeias and palindromes. We practice math using popcorn word problems and charts. We learn how PopRocks work in computer lab. We watch movies that show us how popcorn is made. We read popcorn books and popcorn poems. We say a "popcorn" prayer at lunch. And finally...we eat popcorn, popsicles, and poptarts and watch the movie Mary POPpins. :)

Christmas Ideas- I love the month of December and all the Christmas projects and fun it brings. The picture below is of a bulletin board that I have always put up. It starts off as an outline of the manger Christmas scene and ends up being filled with small construction paper squares. The kids love working on the mosiac when they are done with their work.

The other thing that I always do at Christmas time is wrap up one Christmas themed book for each child. I pull a name a day (or two) and that person gets to unwrap the book of the day and decide if they would like to read it to us or if they would like me to read it to the class. They always are anxiously waiting their turn to be called.

Teacher Week: Must Haves!

2010-08-10T18:26:00.002-04:00

Today's theme from Abby's blog is teacher must-haves- here are 10 of things that I use a lot in my classroom!

1. Craft Supplies- a have a huge cupboard of the most random collection of craft supplies. Somehow just about every item has come in handy at one point or another- glue guns, buttons, ribbon, beads, googly eyes...

2. Ziplock Baggies- I never would have thought that I would use baggies as much as I do- holding flashcards, crayons, random collections that kids find in their desks, teeth that fall out, ice for a bruised knee, left over snacks...

3. Staple Remover- gone are the days of broken fingernails and ripped papers- I adore this type of stapler remover- it makes bulletin board take down so much easier!

4. Spoons and Forks- like a mentioned earlier, my kids eat their lunch in our room with me. I don't think a day goes by without some child needing a spoon or a fork.

5. Laptop- a drag my laptop back and forth from my house to my classroom everyday. I use it all the time to look up ideas, type up worksheets and tests, and about everything else under the sun. I only wish that I had a projector or a smartboard to hook it up to...ah, to dream...

6. Love and Patience- I really don't think any explanation is really needed, but at times I need to remind myself to use these two things continuously in my classroom.

7. Warm Winter Coat- recess duty is really not on my top ten favorite things to do, but nonetheless, as part of my job, I am required to have recess duty once a week during the day, about twice a month before school, and every six weeks or so for a week after school. I live in Michigan and our playground is on an open field- it is cold!!! One of the best purchases I made was a warm winter coat for recess duty.

8. Poppin Pattern Bulletin Board Accessories- I adore these patterns and think that they instantly can make anything look great!

9. Pencils- a have this awesome pencil holder in my classroom, (which I thought for sure I had a picture of, but after looking for a good half hour for it, gave up) but it takes hundreds of pencils to fill it up. And those pencils are usually gone by Thanksgiving time. Sometimes I want get stubborn and refuse to pass out anymore pencils, but really- they need pencils to do their work- therefore, pencils are a must.

10. Candy- yes, I know- candy rots kids' teeth, but it is one of the best motivators that I have found. It is actually quite amazing what a kid will do for a piece of candy- I'm not talking about a huge candy bar or really even a bite size one, I'm talking about one lifesaver or A smartie- really it is quite amazing. Of course, some of that candy is for me. ;)

Teacher Week: Open House

2010-08-09T21:13:00.005-04:00

My husband and I just got back from driving 3200 miles on a fabulous road trip. Seriously, I thought that maybe it was a bad idea to drive so far in such a short time, but we really had a wonderful time at all the cities that we visited and driving together. I had planned on blogging about the first part of our trip tonight, but then I was reading Rachel's blog and followed her link on her blog post to Abby's blog. Abby is hosting Teacher Week so I decided that it would be fun to participate.

Today is Open House day so here my little get to know you in number list form...

1. I have always wanted to be a teacher. No problem deciding my major in college, it was decided on when I was 8.

2. I teach at a Christian elementary school. I feel blessed to be able to pray with my students every day and show them God's goodness that is in everything and all around them.

3. I also happen to teach in the same school system that I went when I was in elementary school. It is in a new building and yes, I do teach with one of the teachers that I had. She was my favorite teacher!

4. This year will be my fifth year as a teacher. I can't believe that it is already my fifth year- it sort of makes me feel old. I have taught fourth grade every year. I love fourth graders, but also wouldn't mind teaching a lower grade- manly because I love crafts and well, you can only make fourth grade boys do so many of those (although I try and push the limit every year). :)

5. I love coming up with themes for my classroom every year. Really, I should probably rotate them at some point, but that would be no fun! This year I'm working on a western theme. Yeehaw!

6. My favorite time to work at school is late at night. It doesn't always work for me to go in then, but especially before school starts and I'm getting my room ready, it is the best time. No one else is around (not that I don't love them, but they get be distracting), I can use the copier and laminator without waiting, and I can crank up the music in my room.

7. Two years ago I got married and invited my entire class that year to be part of the wedding. It took some creativeness to come up with that many jobs for them to do, but everyone had some part in the day: handing out programs, playing their violin, guest book attendant, passing out rose petals... They looked adorable and did a great job. I also had fun planning a mini reception for them at the church.

8. One of my biggest annoyances as a teacher is when it is an indoor recess before school starts. Although that does annoy me by itself, my biggest problem is when the kids come in a half hour before school starts and then ask me why I don't have the schedule up yet or where the morning work paper is. I still have 30 minutes to get ready!!!

9. One of my favorite things about being a teacher...ah, there are too many! One of them though would be listening to 4th graders talk to me or each other at lunch time. (We eat lunch in our classrooms.) They are a lovely mix of loving being a kid and trying to be grown up- it usually is endearing.

Summer CatchUp

2010-07-27T22:46:00.003-04:00

Summer Catchup:

1) Weddings, Weddings, Weddings

For some reason, I thought that we were over the summers packed full of weddings, but we have definitely had a fair share this summer, including one weekend with 3 weddings! They have all been wonderful and we have been able to celebrate with lots of friends!

Also, my sisters and I helped my mom throw a wedding shower for a family friend. It was complete with a candy bar- yum! I also adore the R and M letters and might just need to buy my own letters for my house. :)

3) Tennis Camp, Art Camp, and VBS

My summer vacation started off with leading a girls' tennis camp, which although fun was warm and a bit stressful to be leading with a threat of rain every day. Art camp was last week and ended with an awesome art show in the dark. This week is VBS- my sister and I are in charge of the props for the stories. We successfully built a boat for today, so the rest should be a piece of cake.

4) Celebrating 27

My birthday happens to be on the longest day of the year. Nothing exciting. Was spoiled with gifts including a necklace from Dan, a GPS so I won't get lost anymore and a sewing machine. Watch out for all my sewing projects to come ( once I learn to use it!)

5) Happy 2 Year!

Dan and I celebrated 2 years of marriage on July 19. Dan was actually out of state for work, so hopefully we will be able to celebrate on our vacation next week.

Updates, Updates

2010-06-08T22:59:00.002-04:00

Oh, I have many updates to post...

- The 3 wedding weekend
- End of School Craziness
- Cute Bridal Shower
- Summer Plans

But, school suddenly was ending which meant that I became very busy trying to find time to finish everything. So, you will just need to wait a little longer. Good thing that school ends at 11:40 tomorrow morning!!! Hello summer!

Raccoon Eyes

2010-05-24T20:17:00.002-04:00

Today was hot. I mean really hot.

I took the day off from school to help coach our high school girls tennis team at their regional tournament.

Well, actually I took Friday off, made my sub plans, drove to the tournament site and then drove back to school, sent my sub home and spent the rest of the day with my kids since the tournament was canceled due to rain.

Anyhow, Friday was freezing and rainy and today was a heat wave.

I knew it was going to be warm, but I really couldn't image how hot it would be. So now I am stuck with raccoon eyes, and a less than awesome tan line.

Good thing I don't have 3 weddings this weekend. And a strapless dress to wear to them. Oh, wait- I do.

I tried taking a picture of my burnt face, but I just wasn't comfortable putting it up- it's just too beautiful. :)

Winston's Grand Adventure

2010-05-15T17:01:00.006-04:00

Oh Winston, you have had quite the grand adventure.

When I got a call at school that you had gotten picked up by a nice lady because you were out in the middle of the street, my heart jumped a little bit. Imagine if we came home and you weren't there!

We picked you up from the vet since the nice lady dropped you off there. You were not phased.

Even though we were told that you were got out and our neighbor put you back in our yard.

And you got out again.

And then followed a jogger for a half hour.

Jumped in front of a car which then stopped and picked you up. She said that you were so good at her house- just sat there and ate some food. Why don't you do that at our house?

They wanted to keep you. We would have missed you though. Even though you bark at us, run away, and are a bit crazy we would miss watching you eat ice cream, running around our yard and trying to cuddle with us as if you were a little pup.

The Longest Week Ever

2010-05-09T20:36:00.003-04:00

Do you ever have those weeks where they just never seem to end?

I don't know if it was my lack of sleep or my class that has spring fever or the long, hot rehearsals for Grandparent's Day.

All I know was that it was a long week.

I thought I was going to lose it when I had to make sure 75 kids were quietly waiting in the 80 degree gym. I really thought I was going to lose it when one of my students insisted on doing the opposite of whatever I said. And the cherry on top was when I had to stand out in my flip flops in the pouring rain to greet the parents as they dropped of their students.

And yet, God seemed to be pushing me along so that I could make it through the week.

He reminded me of how much I really do love my students as I watched them sing their hearts out.

He reminded me that I am appreciated when I found a note from one of my students on my desk.

He reminded me of the blessings family brings as I greeted proud grandparents into our classroom.

And He reminded me that there is always a new day waiting and a gift of forgiveness when one of my students called me on Saturday morning to apologize to me.

Tomorrow begins a new week. I bet it's going to be a good one. :)

Vera Crazy

2010-05-02T18:53:00.004-04:00

I don't know how many of you have Vera Bradley bags, but I happen to love them. They are perfect for weekend getaways (or trips to see my in-laws) and always come in fun patterns and colors. The bags are made in Fort Wayne, Indiana which is just a couple hours from my house. Each year, they have a big sale at a convention center where they sell their stuff for a discounted price. I have been once before, but this was my first time at the spring sale.

My grandma, mom, sister, 7 month old nephew, and myself ventured to the sale on Thursday night. First, we had to drop off my 4 year old nephew at my brother-in-law's work. He informed us that he was wearing a button down shirt because that's what you wear to work and that no girls were allowed at work. :)

Now, this place is packed with Vera stuff and crazy people trying to grab their favorite patterns. I just about got dizzy from it all. We had so much fun finding our stuff and sorting through it all. It was so crazy though that I forgot to take pictures. However here is one from their facebook page to show you how much Vera there was...

I ended up buying a lot of notepads and candles for gifts and a "Saddle Up" bag in Raspberry Fizz which I am super excited about!

Here is my mom trying to push all of our purchases to the car. Don't worry- there's no baby in the stroller- just lots of Vera.

And here is how my nephew felt about all of this...

Stop and Start

2010-04-27T22:17:00.003-04:00

I woke up this morning and planned on getting to school early this morning. Instead, I starting reading blogs...so of course I was not early! Anyways, while I was catching up with my favorite bloggers, I was missing feeling connected with the blogging world. I realize that I went strong with blogging for a few months, then stopped, then tried to start again, just to stop again. But, here I go again. :)

So my wonderful blogging friends, let's try this once more.

Summer 09

2009-10-10T20:21:00.004-04:00

Summer has definitely come and gone. It's freezing here today and is supposed to snow on Monday! However, here is a very short recap of my summer.

June 09

-Picked up our new puppy, Winston

It's been quite an adventure, but he is cute!
-Celebrated my 26th birthday

My parents got me a Cricut for my birthday (which is the reason for the picture!). I love it!

July 09

-Happy One Year!

-Calgary

We went to Calgary to visit our good friends from college.

August 09

-Got ready for a new school year

So, obviously there was a lot more stuff that happened this summer such as afternoons at the pool with my sister, mom and nephew, or discovering that our house had termites, or participating in an art fair with my sister, or receiving weekly e-mails from my mom on tips to clean my house. But, the main events are here and I'm sure I'll get around to writing about the rest when it is winter outside and I'm wishing and longing for summer.

I'm baaack!

2009-09-26T10:32:00.002-04:00

Has it really been since Mother's Day since I have blogged? Well, yes. Yes, it has been.

Somewhere in there life got a little too crazy for me to fit blogging into it. Not exactly sure with what. No life changing things happened this summer.

Anyways, school is back in session. I'm on a somewhat regular routine again. And...I'm ready to start blogging again!

I've missed you all! I think I've caught up with most of the blogs that I follow, now I just need to caught you all up with my life. Another post will follow with that- just wanted to let you know that I'm back to blogging and excited about it!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-12T19:40:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day a few days late! My family celebrated on Saturday night with dinner and dessert. My sisters and I went in on a gift for her mom and got her this lovely Toss tote:
In school, we made these gifts for the moms in our class. I have to say that my kids were overly excited to give these to their moms. We first made to flower pens, then painted the pots, added a bit of ribbon and wah lah!

Here is what our classroom looked like during the project:

And here is the finished project:
Isn't this the sweetest note:I've posted quite a bit about school stuff...don't worry there are only 3.5 weeks left!
Then I'll move on to a new topic. :)

Campout

2009-05-07T22:12:00.003-04:00

Last week at this time, I was apprehensively looking forward to a camp-out at our school. 3 other teachers and myself auctioned off a sleepover at our school's auction.

Well, the night was a hit! The kids really did have an awesome time- really, how could you not when you get to run around the school all night! We set up their tents in the hallways, ran them around in the gym, and had a Super Sleepover Scavenger Hunt, and watched A Night at the Museum. Around 2 am, the kids finally started going to sleep. 8 am come around quickly!

In the morning, the kids sleepily went home...and so did the teachers. I just wore my pjs home, but was greeted by many cars lining our street for the neighborhood garage sales. I quickly tried to sneak in our house without being seen in my pajama pants! Hopefully this Friday night, I will get a bit more sleep!

Thursday Night...Oh So Close to Friday!

2009-04-30T21:51:00.002-04:00

This post may be very random, but oh well:

1. I bought the 30 Day Shred last week since so many of you had written good things about it. So far I've only done one workout- I need the motivation to do it everyday.

2. 10 more days of coaching tennis- yeah!

3. Does anybody else who loves scrapbook/craft things love checking PeachyCheap out every morning? It's been a new addition to my morning internet checklist.

4. Wish me luck tomorrow night. I will be having a giant sleepover at my school with 24 kids (and 3 other adults).

Have a wonderful Friday!

P.S. My google reader is bursting at its' seams- I will get to all of your posts this weekend- sorry for the lack of comments lately.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2009-04-27T20:40:00.003-04:00

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

ugg, so I coach the JV tennis team at our high school and it has it's up and downs. Today was a down. It was looking like it was just about to rain for most of the day and I had a tennis match after school. I was hoping the whole day for one of two things- either rain before school got out or wait until we play for it to rain. Well, neither happened.
The tennis match was about a 40 minute drive away and today was the dreaded day...the day I had to drive the huge passenger van. It was sprinkling when we left school. I saw the Athletic Director and asked if we should still go. Yep, it wasn't raining there- YET! Half way there it is pouring rain- I called and asked if it was cancelled- nope. Anyways, we finally made it there in the pouring, pouring rain and turned right around to drive another 40 minutes back in the rain. I wouldn't have wanted to drive 40 minutes in my own car by myself in that rain, instead I was driving an enormous van going 60 mph on the highway with a group of high school girls.

On a better note, last week I went to go visit little Winston...

Ideas for Book Character Day?

2009-04-22T21:32:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was fabulous- fabulous weather, good time with friends, my sister's birthday party and just an over-all relaxing time. Thank goodness that it is almost the weekend again. Although, I am sad that I already know I won't be able to sleep in due to a tennis tournament that I have to coach for on Saturday morning.

I need your help. Friday is Book Day at school and we have to dress up as a book character. Any ideas?

Puppy Love

2009-04-15T21:24:00.003-04:00

You might remember my post on whether or not to get a labradoodle. Little did I know that we actually would be serious about getting a dog.

Last Friday, the puppies were born! We had said that we would only get a dog if a cream one was born. The puppy we were hoping to buy was from a girl's family in my class.

On Monday morning, she walked in:
Me: Hey, M! I heard your puppies were born this weekend!
M: There were no cream ones.
And on she walked into the room.
Later that day, she says in a very sad voice..."Does this mean that you won't buy one of my puppies?"

Anyways, they had 2 brown ones and 7 black ones born. We decided to go ahead and visit the puppies and look at one of the brown ones.

It was love! So small and adorable!
Here is what our puppy looks like (although we forgot our camera, so it isn't actually ours)We still have time to back out if we change our minds, but it is looking like we will soon be bringing home our new puppy, Winston.

Oh, Night! Where did you go?

2009-04-14T23:05:00.004-04:00

Seriously, where did the night go? I told myself that I would do things tonight- like grade some papers, design scrapbook pages, laundry...! Tennis practice was even canceled due to rain so I had extra time.

In my defense, I did try to make-up one of my pilates class at the gym, but it was full when I got there so my drive to be productive sort of went down hill from there.

As soon as I sat down on the couch, I think I was done for the night...plus there was American Idol AND The Biggest Loser on TV tonight!

I also told myself to get to bed by 10 tonight- opps! I'm already not looking forward to dragging myself out of bed in the morning.

Tomorrow is another day, perhaps my list of things to do will be accomplish then. (although, honestly- I doubt it!)

Easter Recap

2009-04-12T20:07:00.003-04:00

As promised, here are the pictures from Easter...

To start- here are the goody bags I made for my nephews and niece. They were stuffed with some candy, socks, bubbles, egg chalk, and other goodies. They were so excited to get them!

Next up, these lovely cake pops that my sister and I spent most of Saturday making. I got the recipe and idea for Bakerella's blog. (Really, they look much cuter on her website!)

We also made this fun fruit chick! We tried to make something that looking like the baskets from Edible Arrangements. Ours didn't exactly turn out that way and we both decided that we would never want to work there- this was hard work!

Here's our Easter picture...yes, we somehow color coordinated with Dan's tie and my sweater.

My parents ended up having 24 people over for Easter between relatives and friends...so it was a party in their dining room! Here is one of the tables- I love how springy it looks!

My nephew wanted me to take a picture of his jelly bean wand/tower.

On to the egg hung!

There was about one thousand eggs to find. The person who found the most won this bunny and poses for a picture with my grandpa.

Here is everyone counting up their eggs... there was some tough competition! We had a great Easter! Hope you did too!