Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Little Man!

This past weekend I got to spend some much needed time with this little man.
I had not seen him in a few weeks and I was so excited to hang out with him.
His sweet mom even put him in this owl outfit I gave him.
He is already 4 months old!


 Look at that face!

I wanted him to pose with the little owl stuffed animal.

After spending some time with the little man his mom and I made a delicious and not so healthy lunch.

We sauteed some asparagus. She also cooked some mushrooms but I really dislike them so I couldn't even take a picture.

Probably our most amazing risotto yet. On top we put asparagus and sauteed bacon with onions. We also cooked the risotto in some bacon fat.
I think we both just sat there eating and taking turns talking about how happy we were to be eating such delicious food. Risotto is the best comfort food and it is fancy food in my opinion!

 The first week of school I had a parent come in for Mystery Reader and they read books about donuts and brought in a mini donut maker and made chocolate treats for everyone. I am not a chocolate donut fan so I didn't try one but knew that the donut maker had to come live at my house. So...the next day I hit the store and brought one home for $25.

We went with an apple cinnamon batter and a maple glaze on top.

I quickly figured out that  you don't want to over fill the donut maker.

They are mini and so cute!

I just dipped the cooled donuts in the glaze and they set up perfectly.

Of course sprinkles make everything better!

It was a yummy meal! We have decided to get together once a month to cook a fun meal. 
More to come!
I can't wait for the little man to start eating foods so that I can introduce him to his first piece of bacon.


Sunday, August 26, 2012

The new baby!

This blog title makes me laugh.
A couple years ago my husband's cousin had a baby girl right before Christmas. We were at my in-laws to open presents with the whole family (we open gifts in order of youngest to oldest) and Andy's little cousin realized that he wasn't the youngest anymore so he had to wait to open a present and the first words out of his mouth were "ooooooh the new baby!"
It was adorably funny.

We have a new baby in our family now. My brother is now a dad and I am now an aunt.

Remember this quilt?
Well the sweet baby girl has been born!


I am so excited to be an aunt! This is my first time!

Meet Letty Arline Noel
Here she is at a week old. Her first name is after my sister-in-laws Grandmother and her middle name was my Grandma's name. 

Yes my brother's shirt does say "Letty, I am your father."

I met her a week after she was born at the lake. She was so tiny, sweet, and snuggly.
I could have held her for days.
This has to be my favorite picture ever. So sweet.

 Here are some pictures from our family weekend at the lake.
Lazy mornings on the dock.

Fabric shopping in town.

Pioneer Woman crash hot potatoes.

My view while running.


It was a lovely weekend with special family members. 

I can't wait to watch little Letty grow up and spend more time with her.




Saturday, August 25, 2012

A New Year!

 I have been a bad, bad blogger.  School started a little over two weeks ago and it has been consuming my life! When I am not at school I am at home napping because I am so tired. 

Excuses, excuses, excuses....

School is now in full swing and I am adjusting to the extra early mornings and the voice of 19 children saying my name over and over again.


I have 12 boys and 7 girls this year. All precious and adorable. They are a fun group with some unique personalities. My favorite thing about them so far is the way they pray, so precious. I am either controlling my laughter or wiping my years at the end of their prayers. There is nothing sweeter than listening to a seven year old talk to God. 

I stayed in the same classroom this year, thank goodness. I did end up moving my desk to the opposite side of the room and of course wanted to change some things on my walls. Here are some pictures of my room for the new school year.

I used my same pin wheel wreath for the first couple weeks of school.


I started this wall of little quotes and sayings last year. Isn't Pinterest wonderful?

The bottom little one says "Have an attitude of gratitude." They are placed right by the door so I can easily reference them when we are in line.

This is new- each math game has a big card with directions and then there are little containers inside the shelves that hold all the game materials and the name of the game.

I'd be lost without my cricut.

New fabric covering a table.

New owl signs.

Hard to see but one window says "Welcome to" and the next window says "2nd Grade!"

I LOVE this. I found it on Pinterest and am so excited about how it turned out!! We read the class promise together and then each student made their own face to put around the promise. Two students were absent the day we made them, thats why the bottom looks a little empty.

I love the big polka dot border!





Owl paintings that I have done or students have done for me.


Classroom library

My new class!



Made this HW sign on my cricut.

 This next bulletin board might be my favorite thing I started this year.
I ordered the book "Have you filled a bucket today?" from Amazon and read it to my class on the first day of school. It is all about being a bucket filler and not a bucket dipper. The book gives great examples and illustrations of how everyone carries an imaginary bucket and your goal is to fill someone else's. 


Each child has a pocket on this board that is their "bucket." We have paper slips in the room that the kids can fill out when someone fills their bucket. Once they fill a slip out they put it in the big pink bucket and once a week I read the slips and put the papers in their "buckets."


I got the little pails in the dollar spot at Target and my dad cut them in half so I could hang them up against the wall and they would lay flat. I covered the handle in fabric scraps and stapeled the fabric to the wall to help it stay up.


My owl treat jar from my husband :)

This year has already been a busy one! I am very blessed to work at a Christian school with sweet teacher friends.