Wow. It's March. And America Stuff......

So it's already March 1st. Holy cow. That means my baby is one this month. One. This little devil is into EVERYTHING he wants, none of which you can find in the baby toy section at Baby's R Us. He wants remotes, cell phones, keys, DVD players and the like. And he screams like a woman (ya, it's that loud) when it's taken away from him. Here he is getting into mischief. But he's the cutest.
Oh, and he LOVES T.V. Almost as much as his big sister which I thought would be nearly impossible since she tells time by TV shows (hand over the Mom of the Year award if you want).

We spent last week learning all about symbols of America and George Washington/Abraham Lincoln in school. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. The kiddos made Statue of Liberty projects, bald eagles, Liberty Bells and American Flags. They drew pencil drawings of each president and wrote a riddle about one of their choice. And a LOT more. Phew! Here are some pictures of our hard work.






Oh yes, one more thing. I could not leave this blog post without letting you know that at some point during the week Ms. Hager and I noticed a student with some pretty thick silver earrings. Oh wait. They weren't earrings. They were in fact, index card rings. You know, the kind you can buy at Staples that you can put like 100 index cards on and flip through? Yes, these thick beauties were through her earring holes making them pretty scary red. You can't make this stuff up. Needless to say I made her Mrs. Mallon take them out. I couldn't watch.

More Random Crap

So the other day I was minding my own busines going grocery shopping and these two adorable little girls had to pressure me into buying something. And I cave under pressure. So I took the item home and devoured it within hours. The box that is, not one. I ate the entire box minus one for Eliza. Saying Caramel Delights are addictive is an understatement. I have issues. By the way, they totally did not pressure me. It's a Girl Scout cookie for crying out loud. I think I sniffed THEM down.I definitely NEED this dress for some type of upcoming occasion, don't I? I think I do.I've come to the realization that I am half an 80 year old woman, half a 22 year old woman. Cause I'm sipping on my hot cup of tea getting fired up (more than I should) to watch this girldo some classy things. Jersey Shore is my frenemy.

Mittens

I'm ALL SET with mittens. Mitten weather, technically! We need some sun and warmth this way ASAP. I am not sure how much more of this statment, "I have NOTHING to do!" I can take. I would give anything to be sitting outside pushing Reid on a swing while watching Eliza draw with chalk in the driveway. ANYTHING. In due time, I know, I know. I wonder if I'd appreciate the warm weather as much if I lived down South? Yes, yes I would. In fact I am so sick of snow and this ridiculously cold weather that I am about ten seconds from booking a one way trip to Florida. I think they need First Grade teachers, no? However, the cold weather DOES allow for some insanely cute hats to place atop my baby boy's head. This one is from Papa and Por Por. Is he not the cutest? And, he's like, so completely fine with driving around in a pink flowered carseat.And speaking of mittens, I did a whole unit on mittens this week in school and so I repeat, I am all set with mittens. We read lots of stories about mittens, completed graphing activities with mittens, described mittens while learning about adjectives, and more. They loved one story "The Missing Mitten Mystery" by Steven Kellog and we made these adorable story element mittens. Aren't they cute?
Well since good old Puxatawny Phil did not see his shadow (for once, and only because he couldn't get himself out from under the snow probably) then Spring should be here soon and I can pack away any and all things mitten related. :)

Penguins and Cupcakes

Last week I taught a unit on penguins and the kiddos loved it. One of our math lessons was to measure the height of various penguins and then create those same (roughly)sized penguins on butcher paper. Some of the kids did a great job working cooperatively and worked hard at trying to draw the penguin to look as it does in the picture I gave to them. I am putting together a bulletin board of the penguins but here are a few pictures of what they made!

And this little guy is my favorite. The Chinstrap Penguin.
And I found the recipe for these rainbow cupcakes on this awesome blog this weekend so Eliza and I had to try them out. www.pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com. (it won't let me link to a site right now)So fun!

10 Signs You Teach First Grade

10. You have simple sign language that you use daily for "Stop Picking Your Nose."

9. You use the term "Criss Cross Apple Sauce" at home and assume others know what you mean.

8. You need glue sticks more than pencils and consider it a true emergency when you run out.

7. Two little boys smile, hug, and say "We have SOOO much in common!" and mean it in a sincere and adorable way.

6. EVERY student will volunteer to do ANY (and I mean any) job you don't want to. Like collect scraps and pencil shavings off the floors. Thrilled I tell ya.

5. You know "Sam's Hat", "The Fat Cat", "Mac the Cat", and "At Bat" by heart AND know the differences between all four "stories".

4. You can't do Math higher than a first grade level. Like ask me to solve a problem involving fractions or decimals. I wouldn't be able to. At all. Ask me to draw pictures or use teddy bears to solve 4+7? I can do that. (Ok, maybe this is just me.)

3. You don't sit while the kids are sitting to do work. Ever. You simply can't. You might try, but sure as heck before you can say "criss cross applesauce" someone will be needing your assistance before your tired behind can hit the seat.

2. You have dance moves and chants for things like spelling the word "because" or said". You also have no problem teaching said moves and chants to people in your life that are NOT teachers. Or affiliated with any school system whatsoever.

1. You can translate this spelling and handwriting effortlessly: "The dik wuz in the mub." (The bike was in the mud.) Duh.

Hold. The. (mega)Phone.

My child has slept straight through the night for the past 4 nights. I'm talking 12+ hours. Something his 4 year old sister still can't seem to do. I'll cross my fingers that this ain't no flukey random act and that he just LIKES sleep like his momma. Now off to make a living for the day.

"Beauty" Must Haves...

I am sitting here staring at the computer trying to come up with something witty to write about from this past long weekend. But. I've got nothing. So I just decided that I'll fill you in on my latest must haves. You know, to feel "beautiful". (Snort). Can one really feel beautiful with baby carrots on her sleeve, marker stains on her fingers, and glue on her pants? But every gal has some favorites that change through the years and here are my faves from the past few months that I MUST use everyday.

This really IS a must for me. I discovered this fabulous item recently and am loving it. Because I was born with no eyelashes. I swear. Well, they are there but they are short. I mean, short. Like nonexistent short. My son has longer eyelashes. He is 9 months. SO alas, I use this and feel like a lady with eyelashes.


And I have to thank my friend Nicole for my new found love of this item.
Because body butter is one thing, but coconut? Yum. And I smell the summer and that is a lovely thing. Winter skin? I hate it's guts. But this stuff makes my winter skin disappear (except for the pasty white color). It's a must for everyday and I can close my eyes while I slather it on and pretend I am tan and at the beach lounging on a chair. Or, at the beach trying to get a tan but really finagling Reid under a sun tent, keeping Eliza from getting hysterical over nearby seagulls, and brushing sand off of her sandwiches. Either way. Beach. Ahhhh.

Speaking of feeling tan.I MUST use some sort of bronzer each day. I have to have a little bit of color or else I feel like I am dead. A walking zombie in the classroom. So ya, I need some color. It's a must.

My mom got me this for ma birfdayyyy. And I love it.
Ya, ya, it's not the same scent as my coconut body butter. BUT, its' still yummy and I love it nonetheless. Almost like a champagny fruity scent.

Last but not least.I wouldn't be a teacher unless I had one of these permanently affixed to my wrist. If I lose one from my wrist, I'm suddenly like a crazy person. "I NEED a hair elastic! Does anyone have an extra?!" Yes, I've been known to use the big rubber office supply ones in an emergency. Cause you know, I WILL try to actually do my hair (once a week) but 9 times out of 10 on that one day that I do my hair, I want it UP around 9:15am. God lord. I need these like I need water, air, and food.

So there you have it. My latest must haves. I am sure this post has really enlightenedbored you to death but at least I have a post. Now I can go to sleep.

Zzzzzzzzz

Wow. Having the day off for a snowstorm really wore me out. I think I need another day off to recoup. Right? We did a whole lot of nothing today (aside from eating junkfood and fatty foods the entire day) but still, I find myself having trouble keeping my eyes open at 8:45pm. I'm getting plain old greedy now and would jump up and down if we got a delay. Even one hour. Come on...come on, make the call! I mean, the superintendant is probabaly tired from this day off as well I think.

I did realize today just how much my baby boy differs from when Eliza was a baby his age. With Eliza, I could sit her up with a big ol' stack of books and she would be content "reading" for close to an hour. With Reid? Negative. I sit him up with a big ol' stack of books and toys and within nano-seconds he is rolling and doing that adorable army crawl towards something he shouldn't be touching. Already. At 10 months. I am nervoussss.

With Eliza I could sit her in her highchair and feed her the baby food veggies and she would take her dainty bites and be ok with it. With Reid? He takes a bite of veggies and makes gagging noises and proceeds to spit it out at me.

Having said that, I am sure my little boy is going to be a heck of a lot easier for me in the long run because E sure knows how to give me a run for my money with that four year old attitude she's got. You know the one. Hands on hips, sauntering down the hall, slamming her bedroom door kinda attitude. "You're mean Mommy!" I've got a feeling Reid is going to be a chill little boy for his mommy.

Here he is with his big sis in the tubby tonight. He got to use his new bath chair and let me just say he was LOVING that thing. Splashing and laughing his head off like I've never seen him do before. A-dorable.

Poll

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Snow Day!

It's completely fine that I ate the school nachos for lunch today. Cold and thick cheese sauce and all. And it's completely fine that I had to look at the bum crack of one particular student all day long. And it's also completely fine that my beautiful baby boy decided to show me he was not a fan of pasta primavera baby food by spitting out a huge, clumpy, orange mouthful onto my sweater. Ya wanna know why it's all fine? Because I was told at 1pm today that tomorrow is... (cue the drumrolls) A SNOW DAY! So I get to spend the day catching up on my plans and correcting lounging on the couch with my girl E watching movies with m&m popcorn and brownies. So I'm like 10 kinds of excited and have this overly sense of calm (literally before the storm) right now. Normally by now I would have the entire kitchen cleaned up from dinner, clothes picked up, bags packed for tomorrow, and kiddos getting ready for bed. But tonight? Well I'm just enjoying the relaxation that is about to take place with this girl. Glass of wine? Don't mind if I do. Though the dirty dishes in the sink will just HAVE to be done before I can do so. Have you tried this spicy nacho popcorn? Cause I'm about to! My snack and drink of choice tonight.


And I'll leave you with a picture of my little stinker who I found lying in his crib staring at his crib aquarium that he managed to pull down.

Fun With Stuff

What. A. Day! A long day,but a good day overall. I am wiped. I introduced a new activity at a literacy center today that includes the use of highlighting tape. You'd think I was giving out lollipops to the students. During their book bag center the students are to read their leveled books and also look for words that go with the skill for the week. This week the kids were asked to look for words with r blends and highlight them with the pink tape. Very. Fun. Hence, "Fun with Stuff".

Fun with highlighting tape.

Fun with a (in a) box.

And can I just say how fantastic these snacks are? I'm talking about for myself here. Not Reid (though he loves them, too). I kid you not. Get your coat on and run to the store now (baby or no baby) and get yourself some. Hey, they're healthy. And light. And delicious.

Fun with baby snacks.

Sunday Blues.........and Other Randomness

I finished all my lesson plans today, which only took about 6 hours. And now I am done with just enough time to pack up E's lunch, R's baby bag and get myself ready for a cup of tea and if I can stay awake, a show or two. Nerd alert. Oh. Did you know that I can now recite the entire Stuart Little movie? Well, I learned from E. She has watched this movie 25,672 times since she got it (last weekend) and she lets me know all of her favorite lines. Which is pretty much the whole thing. Her favorite line? When the cat tells Stuart "Read my furry pink lips....NO!". Trust me, it's funnier when she says it.

I'm spending this week teaching all about Martin Luther King, Jr. and am excited. It's one of my favorite units to teach because the children are in such awe about how people were treated; they become so engaged in the stories. I'm going to read:






Mondays are my LONG day. Longest. Day. Ever. Because I have no planning period. And if you are a teacher, you know this means you kinda dread the day. You know you've got nothing except your 45 minutes of lunch time in which you don't even spend it eating. That's when you better make sure you have everything set up and ready for the rest of the day and fight someone at he copy machine for a copy you forgot to make. Oh and take a bathroom break. So as if Sunday nights aren't hard enough already, I look forward to being on my feet for the entire day. Not that I am complaining...

Lastly, I am loving my new pottery barn toy storage boxes I ordered for Reid's room. They were a steal! I ordered two stackable ones. I love finding a good sale.