Best Christmas Present EVER!

I work with the best people in the world. Seriously. When I went to work there 10 years ago (in the middle of the school year) everyone welcomed me with open arms.

Our school secretary is the nicest, most kind hearted person you will ever meet.

She spoils my kids rotten! Even Meagan, who no longer goes to my school.

Before Garrett started kindergarten he knew he could always count on Ms. M. for a treat and a carton of chocolate milk.

Ms. M. bought the Garrett this gift for Christmas. It a full of little sticks and marbles that are magnetized.

Even though it was Garrett's gift, both kids have played with it non-stop since he opened it.

Garrett makes letters with the sticks, reins for his Webkinz reindeer, a racetrack for his car to follow - you name it and he's made it.

He practices patterning, his colors, counting, and he doesn't even know it!

Thank you so much Ms. M! We love you!

(She bought Meagan a really cute purse but I can't find the picture I took of it right now. Oops!)

You have to see it to believe it

Last weekend I went to Houston to visit with my old friends Crystal and Elaine. I have talked about both of them here before.

Crystal - Elaine - Me

Crystal recently moved back to Texas after having lived in Colorado for the past several years. Elaine has lived in Houston for a couple of years now. Elaine is an artist - check out her website here - and had a show opening in Houston last Friday night. It is located at the Art League of Houston in case you are interested. This show was like no other I've ever seen before.

Elaine's sculptures are of taxidermied animals (she rescues them off of eBay - she doesn't hunt) that have custom made crocheted sweaters. She totally outdid herself with this show - if I do say so myself.

Not only did Elaine create several new sculptures, she also created habitats for each animal/group of animals, had a gift shop, had brochures, etc. She created everything she would need for:

It was totally awesome. My pictures DO NOT do her exhibits justice. Part of that is my fault - new camera and all - and the other part is ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE! The place was SO packed Crystal and I couldn't even see Elaine while she was giving her artist talk, let alone hear her.

Elaine, I am so proud of you. I can remember how you wanted to be an artist even when we were kids. It isn't everyday when you have a friend who has followed her dreams. I love to tell people that I have this really cool friend who is an artist.

Congratulations - all of your hard work paid off!

(Do I sound like a teacher or what???)

Happy Birthday to Me

On Wednesday there was much whispering and giggling between Meagan and Garrett and much shushing by Jimmy. At 7:00, after asking the location of any glue sticks in our house, Jimmy and the kids disappeared into Meagan's room. Not one but two doors were closed in an effort to prevent me from seeing or hearing any goings on.

When I awoke Thursday morning and stumbled into the living room this is what I found:

My husband is truly wonderful. The gift means more to me than he will ever know. The fact that he took the time (over an hour) to make all of these letters with our kids and then stay up late to put them all in place means more to me than any gift he could have bought.

Jimmy, I love you and thank you so much for the banner. He also gave me a beautiful Willow Tree angel. My picture of it was too bright so it looks like a big blur. Digital photography hints anyone??

Here is Jimmy and I at my mom and dad's house on Thursday evening.

Here is me with my mom and Meagan and Garrett. Garrett was obviously not happy about having to stop playing with his friend and pose for the picture. Meagan, on the other hand, is a total ham.

Here is me with Nana Mary. If you read this blog regularly you know that Nana is the mom of my best friend from when I was a kid. She is a big part of our lives. Love you Mary!

Here is my with my friend Elice. We have known each 0ther since we were kids but in the last few years have become close friends. We scrapbook together and our kids are about the same age.

Here I am with the German Chocolate cake my mom made for me.

Despite feeling ill, my mom also made me a wonderful dinner. She made homemade roast with carrots and potatoes and gravy. YUM! Thank you so much Mom! One of these days I am actually going to learn how to make it myself. Garrett even asked me the next day if I knew how to make chicken like grandma did. I was puzzled by his question. He said, "You know, what we ate for dinner last night at Grandma's." I told him no, I don't know how to make chicken like that yet. (Especially since it was roast!)

I work with the best teachers ever!

Here is a gift bag full of goodies that V brought me: Club crackers to ward off munchies during our planning period, a pretty pink mug for my water, a cool round hair brush, chocolate (yum!), Lysol spray and hand sanitizer. This is what E brought me: an adorable pen/note holder, two mini staplers (I'm famous for misplacing mine!), a note cube, a memo pad, hand sanitizer, and white out tape (we go through A LOT of this stuff!).
Thanks girls. I LOVED both goodie bags.

The two girls that I work with are amazing (and not just because they brought me great beginning of the year gifts)!

V and I have worked together for five years. She is the most organized person that I have EVER met. She is also a math whiz. She is busy with three beautiful children of her own but still finds time to get us organized for whatever is coming up. She is great with coming up with projects for all of our kids, but excels at working with gifted children.

E is new to our school. She was a first year teacher last year, however, if you walked into her room you would NEVER know it. She has reminded me what it is like to be a teacher who is excited about teaching and sees the students for who they really are. When you teach in a grade level with high stakes testing (and who doesn't these days??) it is easy to lose sight of what really matters. Working with E has allowed me to step back and see the big picture.

We are very close and work together extremely well. We complement each other. We can even complete each other's sentences. Somehow, I have the job as our spokesperson. (I don't know how that happened! <--- read with sarcasm!) V is our long range planner who keeps us organized, and E is our cheerleader who keeps us going, even when the going gets rough.

Girls, thank you for being you and making our grade level a great place to work!