We found Sparkle in the freezer this morning wrapped up in the new scarf that K's grandma made her! Guess she was missing the cold weather at the North Pole!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Monday, December 2, 2013
Sparkle 2013 - Day 4
Looks like Sparkle was itching to go to Disney World...me too Sparkle, me too. ;)
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Sparkle 2013 - Day 2
I brought home my class pets for the Thanksgiving break so they wouldn't freeze in my classroom. We have two hermit crabs - George and Captain America. Sparkle apparently thought K's Sebastian toys needed to go in the crab tank as well ;)
Sparkle is back!
Our scout elf made her return from the North Pole yesterday. K was more than excited to see her! As soon as Christmas decorations starting popping up in stores (you know, right before Halloween) she started to ask when Sparkle would come back to our house. I kept telling her the day after Thanksgiving, which in 5 year old time is a million years away. So to say K was happy to see her yesterday morning is an understatement.
I posted the first picture of Sparkle this year on Facebook to share with my family that is literally spread out across the globe and for my friends. I put a caption about how I didn't want to hear how creepy the elf was, or how bad of a mother I was for "lying" to my child, or that it was all a bit over the top. Last year, several comments were made - most in a passive aggressive way (posting right after I posted a picture, about how as a mother they would NEVER even dream of having an elf). I tend to take things like that more personally than I should...I wish I didn't, but I do. Hey, we all have our flaws. All that said, I have decided to post my Sparkle pictures here on my blog so that I'm not so annoying on Facebook. :)
Side soapbox here: why do we all feel like our way is better? I've seen so many people posting about this and that and how their way is THE way. Whether it's decorating before or after Thanksgiving, having your kids believe in Santa, if you have an elf or not, shop on Black Friday or stay home, etc. etc. etc. Who cares??? Everyone should do what is best for their family!!! Do what makes you and your family happy and forget what everyone else thinks! (I'm trying so hard to take my own advice here friends!)
Stepping off...
So, back to Sparkle. My friend Leigh Anne and I were texting on Thanksgiving and she asked me if Sparkle was going to be hosting a North Pole breakfast.
A what?
Let me just hop on over to Pinterest for a second....
Oh crap. That's a North Pole breakfast.
Well, heck yeah Sparkle is going to do that! Why? Because I didn't know about it and now I do, and I am so up for that challenge. I'm sure there is a support group out there for me somewhere.
So I went to pull out all those random Christmas cups, plates, etc. that students have given me over the years, and before I knew it my table was ready for a North Pole breakfast. Well, all expect for the actual food. K-cup hot chocolate - check. Anything else? Nope. And this was Thanksgiving y'all. And right as all the stores were opening up for Black Friday. Yeah....panic mode set in because I am not going to fight Black Friday crowds for breakfast foods.
Lucky for me, but not so lucky for him, my husband's boss had called and asked him to run several reports....on Thanksgiving. Yeah - he was pumped let me tell you. (I know, I know, he has a job and I'm very thankful for that, but I just wanted him to have a break for one day!) So Cody had not left for his traditional hunting trip just yet, and I did the "Honey I love you so much would you please just do this one tiny thing for me before you leave" face and he totally fell for it. I love that man more than he will ever know. So one trip to the convenient store later, I had doughnuts...okay, maybe two trips because apparently I failed to communicate that I wanted BOTH chocolate and powdered doughnuts instead of one or the other. I'm telling you - I married a saint y'all.
So a few cut chocolate chips and lots of senseless pretzel breaking later, I had Rudolph and Frosty doughnuts. Whip up a little letter on the computer - print - cut - finished.
North Pole breakfast - BAM!
K woke up the next morning singing, "Where is Sparkle, where is Sparkle? I don't know, I don't know!" That right there made it all so very worth it. Well, that and her face when she saw everything!
Sparkle also brought K her new Christmas pajamas and some matching ones for Caroline which she was so excited about!
I posted the first picture of Sparkle this year on Facebook to share with my family that is literally spread out across the globe and for my friends. I put a caption about how I didn't want to hear how creepy the elf was, or how bad of a mother I was for "lying" to my child, or that it was all a bit over the top. Last year, several comments were made - most in a passive aggressive way (posting right after I posted a picture, about how as a mother they would NEVER even dream of having an elf). I tend to take things like that more personally than I should...I wish I didn't, but I do. Hey, we all have our flaws. All that said, I have decided to post my Sparkle pictures here on my blog so that I'm not so annoying on Facebook. :)
Side soapbox here: why do we all feel like our way is better? I've seen so many people posting about this and that and how their way is THE way. Whether it's decorating before or after Thanksgiving, having your kids believe in Santa, if you have an elf or not, shop on Black Friday or stay home, etc. etc. etc. Who cares??? Everyone should do what is best for their family!!! Do what makes you and your family happy and forget what everyone else thinks! (I'm trying so hard to take my own advice here friends!)
Stepping off...
So, back to Sparkle. My friend Leigh Anne and I were texting on Thanksgiving and she asked me if Sparkle was going to be hosting a North Pole breakfast.
A what?
Let me just hop on over to Pinterest for a second....
Oh crap. That's a North Pole breakfast.
Well, heck yeah Sparkle is going to do that! Why? Because I didn't know about it and now I do, and I am so up for that challenge. I'm sure there is a support group out there for me somewhere.
So I went to pull out all those random Christmas cups, plates, etc. that students have given me over the years, and before I knew it my table was ready for a North Pole breakfast. Well, all expect for the actual food. K-cup hot chocolate - check. Anything else? Nope. And this was Thanksgiving y'all. And right as all the stores were opening up for Black Friday. Yeah....panic mode set in because I am not going to fight Black Friday crowds for breakfast foods.
Lucky for me, but not so lucky for him, my husband's boss had called and asked him to run several reports....on Thanksgiving. Yeah - he was pumped let me tell you. (I know, I know, he has a job and I'm very thankful for that, but I just wanted him to have a break for one day!) So Cody had not left for his traditional hunting trip just yet, and I did the "Honey I love you so much would you please just do this one tiny thing for me before you leave" face and he totally fell for it. I love that man more than he will ever know. So one trip to the convenient store later, I had doughnuts...okay, maybe two trips because apparently I failed to communicate that I wanted BOTH chocolate and powdered doughnuts instead of one or the other. I'm telling you - I married a saint y'all.
So a few cut chocolate chips and lots of senseless pretzel breaking later, I had Rudolph and Frosty doughnuts. Whip up a little letter on the computer - print - cut - finished.
North Pole breakfast - BAM!
K woke up the next morning singing, "Where is Sparkle, where is Sparkle? I don't know, I don't know!" That right there made it all so very worth it. Well, that and her face when she saw everything!
Sparkle also brought K her new Christmas pajamas and some matching ones for Caroline which she was so excited about!
Yep, that's her tongue sticking out folks. She's one classy gal. Also gotta love that bed head look she has going for her! ;)
So there you have it folks. Sparkle is back and going strong in our house! In a world where kids grow up way too quickly, I'm happy that we can have a little bit of Christmas magic in our house again this year.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Catching up
I swear I feel like the catching up part of my life never stops...but surprisingly I'm okay with it right now.
Let me explain.
I have TONS - y'all - TONS of housework to do. I haven't been to the grocery store in two weeks for a real good old fashion stock up on everything for the week trip. I have paper from school I need to file sitting neatly in my "To File" folder. I have pictures to print. I have cards to write and send. Cooking? Well..... we'll get back to that. I did mention my house is pretty much a wreck right?
But dad gum it, I really think that this is the best school year I've ever had in the making.
My class is amazing. I love the parents of my kiddos. I seriously keep waiting for something bad to happen, but it just doesn't. Trust me, it's nothing I did or am doing. I just have a great mix of kids this year.
K's school is hands down amazing. I was so worried about switching her schools this year, but I LOVE her new school. She has made some pretty awesome friends and her teacher is nothing short of phenomenal. I also cannot tell you how wonderful it is with her being less than five minutes from both my school and our house. We have so much more time together now and I love every single second of it.
These moments - with my family and with my class are moments I can't get back. Why should I stress over the little things when the little things WILL ALWAYS BE THERE. It's so crazy that it took me until now to realize that as soon as I finishing cleaning it's time to clean again. Or that when I finish one thing on my to-do list a bagillion others suddenly show up. I'd rather spend time reading with my kid or dancing around like a goob with my husband just to make K laugh. THAT is what living is for.
I'm not sure I'll ever truly catch up on what "they" say is important, but my goodness right now life is good. :)
Let me explain.
I have TONS - y'all - TONS of housework to do. I haven't been to the grocery store in two weeks for a real good old fashion stock up on everything for the week trip. I have paper from school I need to file sitting neatly in my "To File" folder. I have pictures to print. I have cards to write and send. Cooking? Well..... we'll get back to that. I did mention my house is pretty much a wreck right?
But dad gum it, I really think that this is the best school year I've ever had in the making.
My class is amazing. I love the parents of my kiddos. I seriously keep waiting for something bad to happen, but it just doesn't. Trust me, it's nothing I did or am doing. I just have a great mix of kids this year.
K's school is hands down amazing. I was so worried about switching her schools this year, but I LOVE her new school. She has made some pretty awesome friends and her teacher is nothing short of phenomenal. I also cannot tell you how wonderful it is with her being less than five minutes from both my school and our house. We have so much more time together now and I love every single second of it.
These moments - with my family and with my class are moments I can't get back. Why should I stress over the little things when the little things WILL ALWAYS BE THERE. It's so crazy that it took me until now to realize that as soon as I finishing cleaning it's time to clean again. Or that when I finish one thing on my to-do list a bagillion others suddenly show up. I'd rather spend time reading with my kid or dancing around like a goob with my husband just to make K laugh. THAT is what living is for.
I'm not sure I'll ever truly catch up on what "they" say is important, but my goodness right now life is good. :)
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Goodbye Summer!
Tomorrow I officially start back to work and K starts her new school. This summer was by far the best one I've had since becoming a teacher and it all boiled down to priorities.
I let some things go and made some more important. Basically it meant more family time and less worrying about school. In fact, I didn't go to anything school related (workshops, my classroom, etc.) until August. I've never done that before - even before I had Kaitlyn. But that decision allowed me to focus on my precious family and I don't regret a single second of it.
This summer I was able to get our new house unpacked (mostly...there is still that pesky garage). I was also able to spend some time decorating and updating. There is still so much of that to do!
We took our first BIG vacation as a family and had a blast!!!
K and I did some local things like Sea Life with my mom who retired last year.
I took a road trip with a wonderful friend and K to see some of my college friends and one of their new babies.
K and I spent hours at home doing "art projects", cooking, playing, giggling, and just being together.
I loved every single second of this summer and it taught me to pay more attention to my family because they need me and I need them.
I know my students need me 100% of the day when I'm there and that's exactly what they'll get. And I can't do my job the way I do without doing outside work. But I'm making a promise to myself that I will try not to do any work for school once I pick up K from her school until after she goes to bed. She needs me to be Mom once I'm home - not Mrs. Bush first. I know there will be meetings and what not every now and then where I will have no choice to "work" while I have her with me, but gone are the days of coming home and getting right to work on my classroom stuff.
My family deserves it.
Happy new school year to all my friends out!
I let some things go and made some more important. Basically it meant more family time and less worrying about school. In fact, I didn't go to anything school related (workshops, my classroom, etc.) until August. I've never done that before - even before I had Kaitlyn. But that decision allowed me to focus on my precious family and I don't regret a single second of it.
This summer I was able to get our new house unpacked (mostly...there is still that pesky garage). I was also able to spend some time decorating and updating. There is still so much of that to do!
We took our first BIG vacation as a family and had a blast!!!
K and I did some local things like Sea Life with my mom who retired last year.
I took a road trip with a wonderful friend and K to see some of my college friends and one of their new babies.
K and I spent hours at home doing "art projects", cooking, playing, giggling, and just being together.
I loved every single second of this summer and it taught me to pay more attention to my family because they need me and I need them.
I know my students need me 100% of the day when I'm there and that's exactly what they'll get. And I can't do my job the way I do without doing outside work. But I'm making a promise to myself that I will try not to do any work for school once I pick up K from her school until after she goes to bed. She needs me to be Mom once I'm home - not Mrs. Bush first. I know there will be meetings and what not every now and then where I will have no choice to "work" while I have her with me, but gone are the days of coming home and getting right to work on my classroom stuff.
My family deserves it.
Happy new school year to all my friends out!
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