You better watch out

Runny nosed Christmas carols,
all the way from Illinois.



I hope Santa finds you wherever you are tonight.
Merry Christmas!

feliz navidad

i am on break!
i am free!

our final day was celebrated in mexican style,
(sombreros, serapes, robozos)
complete with Las Posadas, a procession with mary and joseph seeking an inn,
and ending with a place to stay in the gym,
complete with pinata.

our afternoon was full of christmas cards and gifts
and chipmunk christmas carols
and guacamole and salsa
and inflatable cacti, to complete the effect.
what a day.

i am so happy to be at home and relaxed and at peace.
i am ready to celebrate.

we leave tomorrow for chicago
and our days will be full of little ones
and snow
and gift wrapping
and family
and love.

what to do

what to do when your sister-in-law goes into labor a few weeks before expected?
get started on the quilt, of course.
iron.
pray.
cut.
pray.
drink homemade hot cocoa.
pray.
blog.
pray.


this quilt, for my dear friend R, was given as a wedding gift last week. i was thrilled to use the fabrics that she had given me as a gift- and i knew she would like them.


and this, this little crooked advent calender, is to remind you that we are already 18 days in.
only seven to go.


and then a few more positive thoughts and a bit more positive energy into the universe for J and K, and little baby Vanessa, on her way...

Rock On

When we studied rocks, we wrote rock stories... of all kinds.

I thought I'd share a few that I had typed up.

Its so amazing to be a teacher

and watch what these kids create.

Rocky and the Rock Band

Rocky was a dog, just a dog, until one day a rock band came by. They said “Do you want to join our band?” Rocky said “yes.” Rocky played the drums. George played the guitar. Henry played the drums with Rocky. They got put on T-shirts and hats. They got put on TV. They traveled all over the world. They wrote a song called Learning in the Car. They decided to name their band Rock Out. The End.

D's Rock Book

The bank was robbed. “It’s time for a bat case. To the Rock Mobile!” “There they are!” “You will never get us,” said the robbers. SMASH! “The robbers got caught,” said Bat Rock.

The Stolen Wife

It was night when Rockman’s wife got stolen. He was asleep. The Rock was mad. He was on the case. He found tracks which led to the mystery man’s house. Rockman took care of him. Then in happened again. He left his wife there.

first snow

It came down yesterday
and the kids were beyond excitement.
Catching snowflakes in their mouths,
scrounging snow off of benches to make snowballs.
Their energy level was off the walls,
with snowflakes melting in their hair,
and all of us traipsing back inside, wet and tired.

Last night at home,
there was a hush.
The snow still fell lightly
the tea kettle whistled
the iron steamed
the incense burned.

This morning, there is only a dusting, ice, and a two hour delay.
I am sipping my coffee
feeling rejuvenated.
It was a day when I woke up before the alarm went off anyway.
I made my phone tree calls,
greeted with excitement and negativity,
and was reminded once again, that i wish i had a waffle maker.

Now I brace myself for another day,
beyond excitement.

New Fun

in january, i made some resolutions for the year.
i am revisiting them this week, as i look back to one goal:

this resolution has many parts to it. the gist: have fun. i have discovered that i need to go far beyond my comfort zone to be social, to be active. todd and i love to be home, love to hang out together, to nap, to eat, to relax, to watch movies, to be mellow. in short, we are homebodies.
my resolution is this: have more fun. get our more. be brave. take risks. do something different. try something new each month to get out there and get active.
my first step was to invite people to our house. now on the list: bowling, church, local museums, travel to baltimore and d.c. (preferably with friends), meet someone new, find all the local thrift shops, find a book group or sewing group, take another class at the community college... any ideas?

well, we have been trying new things.
we've made new friends.
we've gone bowling.
we've joined a church.
we've done a few of the local attractions.

this week, we also decided not to make excuses,
try something new,
and go to a curling lesson with our friends, D and R.
and its a blast.
let me tell you...
it is way harder than in looks on the olympics.
its a great work-out as you run on the ice and "sweep".
and it takes a lot to get used to.
but if you've never tried it...
its worth it.
so. much. fun.




what have you done that's new this year?

turkey belated

I am not sure where my head has been,
but I have been very preoccupied,
with stress or just thoughtfulness and business.

Now, I am finally ready to share some of the fun pictures from the family visit.
It was so amazing to have everyone here for the week.
A week full of laughter and food and playfulness
and swimming and horses and cooking and more food
and parks and movies and napping and eating.

Here's the girls + Willy,
The whole family,
and then Easton and his new best friend.
He was so good with the kids, it was great to see.

And then the family had to play American Idol Karaoke, of course.
Laughing until we were crying.




And the kids needed new play pillows, so we a fun project on our hands.


Food, fun, family, and frivolity.
This is what the holidays are all about.

Thanksgiving

This is what it looks like at our house.
Meet the family.

life update

it has been a week full.
full of dad here
and dinners in and out.
full of walks with the dogs
and cold november air.
full of grocery shopping
and holiday preparations,
apartment cleaning,
recipe selections,
and lots of wine tasting (sulfite-free, of course).

we have been wandering the streets of easton
and dreaming about the future.
playing cranium with friends
while children play nearby.
eating cookies and dips,
and spoiling ourselves with treats and friendships.

the week has been full of teaching
about dinosaurs and extinction
about thanksgiving and native americans
about how thankful we should be
and all the things we should be thankful for.

our fridge is full
our home is warm
our family arrives tomorrow.
we will be together.

what more could we ask for?

i will never outgrow...

i will never outgrow my love for a warm pair of tights and a skirt good for spinning.
to see what other people love to wear click here.

gratitude

we can feel blessed and happy.
for this i am grateful.
i am grateful for week-end festivals, even if they are in celebration of "waterfowl",
because you can still spend time with your family
and watch dogs retrieve and jump from docks,
which is actually more fun than you'd expect.



we spent the week-end with my dad who is visiting through turkey day.
we ate amazing green curry and thai soups in annapolis,
warming up from the cold fall air.
we walked the dogs and watched them swim.
i planned the menu for the week ahead.
todd bought planters to move our herbs inside for the winter.
the last of our garden is harvested.
i am engrossed in a good book, both on my iPod and my bedstand.
holiday preparations have begun.

for all of this,
i am full of gratitude.

exhaustion

first, i apologize for my MIA status as of late.
i am exhausted.
happy, but exhausted.

things feel abundantly joyful around me,
peace and happiness at work,
a caring community of friends, new and newer,
kids who follow directions,
praise from my supervisor at work,
hope for new things to come.

today i went on a fieldtrip
with 34 children and 22 chaperones.
we were spoiled.

my partner and i wandered around the
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
looking at gems and dinosaurs
amazing photography
and were just filled with wonder for the world around us...

while the parents all had their kids.

we drank coffee in the cafe,
and shared jelly bellies...
savoring each new flavor
and loving to guess what each one would be.

a return to childhood,
a day to enjoy the support around us,
and sip a cup of coffee with a new work friend.

this is halloween

beware of ghosts, ghouls, goblins, or dogs that can steal your heart.


it took a whole lot of jumping and treats, but i finally got the shot i was after.

happy halloween!

gladness and sadness

there is so much to be glad about here.
and i am appreciative of every moment,
each day of love.
enjoying friends, new and old,
sunny days and rainy days,
fall festivities and cooler air.

yet there is also a sadness.

i lit a candle in church today,
for baby althea grace.
born to my sister and her family this week
at just six months.
we are mourning her loss
and i am deeply sad,
that i never got to know her.
sweet baby, althea.

may you light a candle for their family
and keep them in your thoughts.

How do grown-ups change?

After reading a social studies passage about "growing and changing" the kids were asked,
"How do adults change?"

The top three answers were:
1. They run slow.
2. If they drink alcohol.
3. They do it and then they don't have any energy.

Kids crack me up.

parade of parents

its conference time again.

exhausting, challenging, tiring

this smile is enough to make my cheeks sore for the next two days.

we met until 8 last night and we go all day today.

i love the chance to communicate,

but i am never quite sure how what i have said has been interpreted.

and then there's the girls' cliques and clubs to work out-

ah, second grade.

my husband was sweet enough to brighten my day.

my business:

the calender marks all the fun we are having, birthdays and conferences, picture day, and ice cream parties, programs on bullying, and then halloween, of course.

all, of course, as we finish out our rock theme and move into dinosaurs.

i am in preparation for boy nephews, i suppose... all these dinosaurs.

the things we learn when we're teachers...

in the works

when willy went to visit my parents, he fell in love with a little bear that was mine when i was young. out of bear-preservation, we needed to make willy a replacement that could be all his own. so while he was here, i let him pick out some fabric and then in about an hour, i traced the old bear, sewed a new face, cut and sewed the body, and stuffed him up, halloween style.

he's a bit awkward and mangy, but you gotta love a personalized bear, made while you watch.
build a bear has nothing on me.


now i have begun willy and maggie's christams gift. its an advent calendar with a small gift each day, to make the holiday last. christmas has so much from santa that i figured this would be way more fun... and it already is.

creating the calendar, selecting and wrapping all of the little gifts, and being able to start christmas at thanksgiving.
now that it what its all about. :-)

a week of...

this week was full of:

• a monday off for napping
• decaf coffee with soy creamer
• two apple days
• peace and yoga
• friends and conversation over mexican food
  
• dinosaurs
  
• second grade stories
• a delicious bean and spinach soup
• "veggie" parmesan cheese
• sweater days (yeah for fall!)
  
• baseball
• organic sea salted peanuts from the farmers market
  

this week-end should be full of:

• more baseball (go Red Sox and Rockies)
• more peanuts, maybe a new flavor this time
  
• visits with an old dear friend (a high school teacher of mine)
• farmer's markets and flea markets
• juried craft shows
• crafting of my own
• groceries and cooking
• cleaning and napping
• a roasted veggie lasagna, prepared yesterday and waiting in the fridge
• getting gifts in the mail
• washing the car
• cuddling up in fleece.

easton got his come off, too, so perhaps a walk is in order...

the visit in review, a week later

it was a super fun time.
todd made a new fan, reading halloween books and playing with plastic snakes.
also, he taught willy drive in three different vehicles: a golf cart, boat, and tractor.



we scored bubbles for $.25 at the school rummage sale and go to play outside a bit.



took a boat ride on a gloriously warm fall day.


and does it get any cuter than a boy in jeans with no shirt?

we caught crabs, just to look, and harassed them a bit on the dock before releasing them.


then of course ate out at our favorite little crab pickery, where willy could feed the ducks, and we could eat outside. willy did actually eat some crabs, after declaring them "disgusting" in the cutest surprised tone ever after sarah pulled one open.
Yum.


p.s. In case you were wondering, sarah is due with a girl in january. :-) #3.