Christmas?!?

It's hard to believe that we're so close to Christmas! Where did '09 go? I've been thoroughly enjoying my Christmas break...my mind and body needed it!

We've done many Christmasy things this week! Kitty got to open his stocking tonight...mostly because he smelled the catnip the second el maestro walked into the house!

But even more than the huge mouse, Gideon likes to help me wrap presents!

See? He's taken over the gift wrap.

And whenever I'm in need of assistance, he's there!

Over the weekend we were up at the ranch where Big brother and his family came for a family Christmas celebration! We enjoyed beautiful nieces...

Pregnant husbands...oh, didn't I mention it? Hahahaha...

Chess games...I played the first game of my life. And I was taught by my 9 year old nephew. Who has played chess once. Twice now.

And, of course, there were gifts to be opened...(I have, like, the cutest sister-in-law ever!)...

Merry Christmas, my friends!

And the winner is...

NANCY!

The apron will be hand delivered tomorrow up at the Ranch. See you soon!

Until the Weekend...

This week has been positively dragging by! I am so ready for a break! My students have really been quite well behaved considering the extra sugar/lack of sleep/looming two weeks spent at home...I think I'm the one that can't handle it!

Does anyone else have this issue???

Anyway...to help us through the last little days of this week....and in honor of my beloved mum's birthday today...Let's have a giveaway!

Who wants one of the cute green Christmas aprons? Leave a comment telling us what you'll cook or bake the minute you tie it on!

I'll draw a winner on Saturday morning (or afternoon...depending on when I wake up ;)

I don't usually do this...

But here are two YouTube videos you must see.

#1: Surprised Kitty
The most adorable kitten you've ever seen. And only 17 seconds long! It's worth it. Trust me.

#2: I'm Yours
Are you familiar with the Jason Mraz song? If not, watch this first.

The Apron

To make the fabulously simple Christmas apron, start with your basic dishtowel, approximately 20 by 25 inches.

For the ties, cut two strips of fabric, 5 inches wide by 3.5 feet.


When I'm not cutting fabric that is striped, I like to fold it over itself and iron a crease where I'll be cutting.



Then my scissors fit right in the crease to make a straight (enough) cut!

Fold the each tie in half, hot dog style! Make sure the right sides are together, so you're looking at the wrong side of the fabric. Pin your tie so the edges won't slip.

Then, if you'd like, trim one end at an angle for a decorative look.

Then, using a 1/4 inch seam, sew each tie, leaving the straight end open for turning.

Turn each tie right side out. This may take a while. Especially when you're making, like, 100 of these babies at once!

You'll need to iron each tie flat. Then, place it on the dishtowel....

And fold the towel over the tie...

Pin the ties in place, and make a long seam down over the tie, across the width of the apron, and up the edge of the other tie.

Viola! Your apron is finished!

Really quickly...

Report cards are due this afternoon, so I'm off to work to finish them! But before I go, I wanted to share with you a few pictures that el maestro took last week. Some friends of ours wanted a family picture for their Christmas card...and here they are! (Straight out of camera, no editing or cropping at this point)

Yuletide

My local craft store sells plain dishtowels for 2.99 apiece (2 bucks on sale!). They can be used as-is to dry dishes, or embellished to make prettier dishtowels. Or, you can turn them into a simple apron! I took a look at the example in the store, and headed home to make a couple much cuter, more Christmasy versions, if I do say so myself.

*Sorry about the blurriness...I was still half asleep and swaying a little bit during the photo shoot.*

What do you think? Should I make a few more to have on hand for hostess gifts this season? Should I do a blog giveaway? Would anyone like a tutorial to make one themselves?

Or am I the only person here who even likes aprons?

Good Morning!

Thankful

This year's Thanksgiving break was an absolute flurry of activity! We celebrated all we have to be thankful for with both of our families up at the Ranch! El maestro's parents outdid themselves with a scrumptious meal!

On Saturday, Ollie and his parents came to visit! I had the pleasure of introducing this precious, nearly two-year old to Rudolph and his glowing nose. Ollie learned how to press the button to make the nose glow with just one try--smart guy! We watched the old classic movie and every time he saw Movie Rudolph, he'd say, "Who's 'at?" or "Nose!" It was so adorable!

On Sunday, I kissed Ollie goodbye, tidied up the living, and headed out to a tree farm to help K pick out the perfect tree! When I got home, I sweet-talked my husband into going with me to get our own Christmas tree! But instead of the whole hand-saw experience, we went to Fred Meyer and got a tree on sale...And I've never had such a fragrant evergreen!

Anyway--Today I'm thankful that it's December 1st! This is my absolute favorite time of year, and I'm determined to enjoy every last bit of it! I want to sew, bake, and wrap like there's no tomorrow!!!

What about you? Have your Holidays begun?

I think I'm kinda messed up.

I came to this realization this morning as I was singing a song under my breath.

Last night was the 3rd grade music concert at school, and it went exceptionally well! However I now have a 3rd grade song stuck in my head that may never, ever leave.

The problem is not that I have a song stuck in my head...but the disturbing way that I changed the lyrics. What the kids sing is:

From all you learn here, remember this the best

Don't hurt each other and clean up your mess...

But when I was singing it this morning, I realized that I was singing:

From all you learn here remember this the best

Don't shoot each other and clean up your mess...

Notice the difference?

Where am I? Los Angeles? Chicago? New Jersey?

Maybe I just need some more coffee.

I knew it.

I've always known that I love squash. Except, I've never really eaten it. I remember once, back in junior high, I ate squash at a friend's house and it was just so delicious. The problem is that I've never been able to successfully recreate the moment.

Every fall I've tried my hand at baking squash...but it always turns out too hard, or too yucky. But this year I seem to be improving! I am right now, as I type, snacking on a half of an acorn squash, in all of its buttery, brown sugary loveliness.

I always knew that I love squash.

All is right with the world. And I've accomplished one more thing on my life-long to do list.

If you're interested in my technique, I followed Pioneer Woman's delicious recipe.

Another Try...

Remember Crazy Hair Day last year? Well I tried again this year.

This year I ditched the crimper and went for a custom trimmed dollar store headband/wig...and my students told me it didn't look real.

Of course my husband had to up the ante with crazy facial hair as well. At least, he thought it was crazy. I thought it was sick. I mean, is sick. It's still there...

I don't know if I'll even try to have crazy hair next year. There's no point.

What am I suppose to do?

Operation Christmas Child

Today I participated in one of my favorite holiday traditions! After church my husband, brother-in-law and I headed to Fred Meyer to pack up a shoe box full of gifts to send to a child in need. In years past, I've packed a shoe box with my dearest friend, and she and I always picked presents for a little girl. But this year instead of stuffed animals and Disney Princess chapstick...I learned what a 5-9 year old BOY wants for Christmas! It was so much fun...somewhere in the world a little boy will be receiving...

* a blue wind-up flashlight

*a stainless steel water bottle filled with Werthers candy

*a Spiderman toothbrush

*Spiderman toothpaste

*a matchbox car

*a metal kazoo

*a Nerf football

*a Cars coloring book

*a 24 pack of colored pencils

*a dog-shaped pencil sharpener


...all packed snugly in a Rubbermaid shoe box!

Click here to learn how you can donate to Operation Christmas Child!

Is it that time of year already?

I've found myself extremely hard to motivate lately. Illness and exhaustion are never good motivators, but I think its crazy that I don't even have energy to update my blog!

Here are thoughts I've had recently that never became the blog posts they could have:

*Toilet paper commercials. Have you seen them? I think it's totally bizarre that people go into such advertising detail about this embarrassing product. Hahaha...toilet paper....embarassing...huhuhuh...am I the only one that sees the little word inside of the big word?

*Delicious chocolate. My mother-in-law recently gave me some chocolate mint candies that are absolutely to die for!

*Sewing. I've almost finished another project! But the fact that it's a Christmas present makes it hard to take pictures and blog about it...

So, my friends, you can see that there's really not much going on in this mind of mine. And it's only the beginning of November! Usually I don't expect the mind numbing effect of winter rain until the holidays are over!

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to tomorrow (a day off thanks to Columbus!) as a time to recharge my batteries mid-week and power through the rest of the month!

**Correction: Just kidding about Columbus. Really I'm thanking our Veterans that we'll especially honor tomorrow!**

Gosh.

I was meeting with a friend this evening. As I described to her the conversations that I have with a particular student at least three times a day she said, "Gosh, Beth! That sounds absolutely exhausting!"

You know what? It is! It is absolutely exhausting! A lot of, "When you're ready to ask me respectfully I'm sure I'll be happy to help you," and, "You've chosen step 2 for kicking the wall on step one..."

Sorry...that's kind of a lot of our school behavior plan jargon. But yes, there's kicking of the wall and scribbling of the papers and very very rude outbursts of disrespect (that's right...rude disrespect).

And I could go into the amount of times each day that I have to walk through deep puddles and rain...my cold classroom...and the possible connection that has to my frequent illness...but I will stop there. I am quitting my complaining! No more!

Because....
1. It is autumn.
B. I have very caring friends and family.
Third. I can actually breathe through my nostrils again!

Yes, it has been a long week and another bad cold. But life goes on. And God is good. So I think I'll put a smile on my face and keep living.

And thanks for letting me complain just a teeny, tiny bit. Or even a little more.

A Giggle

Here is a joke, courtesy of my Father-in-law.

What's the difference between the Swine Flu and the Avian Flu?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Answer:

Well, for the Avian Flu, they give you a tweetment. For the Swine Flu, they give you some oinkment.

Conferences

I have to say that I don't even remember any parent-teacher conferences when I was a kid. Is that weird? I'm sure they happened, I'm sure my parents went...but I have no recollection.

This week el maestro and I are teaching half-days at school and then working until 7:00 at night conferencing with parents. I'm visiting half of my families in their homes doing a "home visit" style conference. It is soooo interesting to see the kids on their own turf and to get an idea of what home means to them.

A funny story for you...our school has so many students that are learning English that the population tends to invent words that become widely used. My favorite as of yet--hanitizer.

What is hanitizer, you ask? Well it's simple. Hand Sanitizer. Of course!

Of course, regular hand washing is one of the best ways to avoid the flu this season, but if you aren't around any running water, just opt for an alcohol based hanitizer!

Note to Self

DO NOT EVER GET SICK. Particularly if it is during the school year.

Missing three days of work will cause your classroom to be a wreck, your students to be in chaos, the homework to go uncorrected, and the parent conferences unscheduled.

Don't do it! Er...ever again, that is.

I'm still catching up.

The Problem

In the last year and a half I have found a new love in my life--blogs. I love to post on blogs, read blogs, reference blogs, quote blogs, and...well maybe that's it.

But the problem with this obsession is that there's always another blog to read. On my favorites list are no less than 10 blogs that I check almost every day. It doesn't take as much time as you might think since not everyone posts every single day. But the problem is that bloggers tend to link to other bloggers, and if I like one blog, chances are I will like the blogs they're linked to.

For example, Ollie's Mom has a blog. I read it, and she's linked to another old friend who has a blog. And she's linked to another blog called Centsational Girl.

Centsational Girl is a thrifty home-decor goddess. She posts all kinds of ideas about how to make your house look fabulous for less. In fact, today she's hosting a giveaway for a new beautiful faucet. Check out her blog to enter!

Another blog I've found through the jungle of links is called Chickpea Sewing Studio. Talk about adorable and inspiring sewing ideas! It makes me want to hide away in the office and talk to no one but my ole' Kenmore.

My aunt recently recommended In Praise of Leftovers, a blog dedicated to food and feeding a family on a budget--gourmet style! There are claims that she has posted the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe...which I have yet to test. But I will. Oh, I will.

Why do you read blogs? Is my little life your only venture into the blogging world, or are you a professional? What are your favorite blogs to read? Let's all share our favorite links so that we can spend yet another few minutes browsing the creativity of this world!

I could have danced all night...

Or more truthfully...played the Wii and giggled uncontrollably all night.

I submit to you the perfect fall evening:

-Start out with some Taco Soup to warm you right to your toes.

-Add brownies for dessert...El maestro got a special brownie pan for his birthday...it makes all edge pieces! He was totally in heaven.

-Finish off the evening with a rousing round of Wii Sports Resort.

Wii Sports in which I beat the boys in the first round:

-canoeing

-swordplay

-basketball

Once again, let me explain that I love the Wii for this reason--I can beat my husband at it! Muah ha ha ha ha. But it is not because I'm competitive.



Even with this pesky cold hanging on, I've managed to have a delightful night. And I'm finishing things off with a nice hot mug of Theraflu and a little blog post.

Goodnight Moon.

Autumn

This evening the sun was beautifully highlighting the changing colors in our neighborhood. I grabbed the camera to try and capture a shot of this lovely season.

And the winner is...

Emily!

Congratulations on your new dishtowels. May they dry many a dish. And yes, I put your name in twice...mostly because Shirley thought I should.

Now go ye forth and wash dishes.

Amen.

Delightful time of year

It's Autumn! Officially and for sure. I wore a sweater all day yesterday and a jacket whenever I went outside! The air was cool and crisp, and Fred Meyer has all their crockpots out and on sale!

In honor of this most lovely season, I'm holding another giveaway. Maybe that will make up for the fact that I've been lacking in the new blog posts lately.

To enter to win these lovely fall dish towels (embellished by moi!) leave a comment that answers the following question:

What is your favorite Autumn dinner?

Are you a crockpot lover like me? Or a chicky-noodle soup fiend? (I'll never call it anything else, Nancy. It's just too cute!) A dinner idea in the comments gets your name in the drawing once. A dinner idea with recipe...that'll get your name in the drawing twice!

Contest ends Sunday, October 4th, 12:00 noon.

Curious?

Want to see the cute third graders that I work with each day? Click on this link.

Happy Wednesday!

Hey, Good Lookin'

I've been cookin' again.

El Maestro was excited about the fried rice. Not me. Been there, tried that. It's never as good as the "real thing" from our favorite Thai restaurant.

I was excited about the sweet and sour chicken.

If you're a fan of Chinese take-out, I definitely recommend the recipe.

Better!

Another try with the new dinners. Steak with spinach couscous, from RealSimple. I have to say that I loved it! The toasted pine nuts, spinach, and feta cheese with the couscous was absolutely delicious!

Cutest Classroom Ever!

If I may say so myself.

Our friendly little door

The Learning Center

Sink, drinking water, recycle bin, student computers, artwork, cute plants

Gosh, looking at these pictures is reminding me of everything I must do before the kids get there today! Gotta run...

I tried.

El Maestro had pizza while watching the Seahawks game today. I decided to make an interesting, quick, and healthy dinner for myself!

From my favorite magazine, Real Simple, I tried this recipe for quinoa with kale, sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Not too bad. I forgot the Parmesan cheese at first...I think I would have liked it better if I had remembered that at the beginning of the meal.

It's definitely not my new favorite dinner, but it was fun to try out new vegetables (I've never cooked kale or sweet potatoes before) and eat something healthy.

Tomorrow I've planned a meal that involves ground beef and canned mexicorn. Not so gourmet or good for you...but delicious for sure!

Help?

Does hanging around with emotionally troubled kids make one emotionally troubled?

Because I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed and whiny this evening.

But everything will be okay. Right? Even if the house is a wreck and I have 590.2 hours of prepping to do for next week?

I guess I'll have to take my own advice:

"In this class we don't whine or cry about our problems. We look for a solution and ask for support."

Go!

I've successfully made it through two days of teaching third grade!

Yesterday was quite a shock...not only was I returning to a classroom teaching position, but it was only my second time teaching on the first day of school! Additionally, I've never taught third grade! We had to move the furniture in order to fit the whole class in a circle! Third graders are big kids!

Today went even better than yesterday! My students are bright and eager to please. I was amazed when my students started gluing their projects together today--without my direct instruction! They looked at the sample and did it themselves! Wow!

I'm so excited to continue working with this group of fantastic kids!

Get Set...

Today is my last day to prepare for the upcoming school year! This evening I'll be in my classroom greeting students and parents as they come find our room and drop off school supplies. Then tomorrow, bright and early, we'll start our exciting year!

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I had this weekend with my family! Very nearly everyone was in town! (And that's saying a lot when you're talking a few of my great aunts and uncles, 5 sets of aunts/uncles, 16 cousins, their husbands/wives, and six great grandkids!) Until I can sort through the 500 pictures we took this weekend, I'll just give you a glimpse into my family. This is my grandma, who is 80 years old, about to whack her birthday pinata...

We sure know how to party.