Whirlwind....

Last weekend was a whirlwind.

It consisted of:
3 days
30+ hours in the car
1 hour of the worlds shortest college graduation...all other schools should take note
6 short hours with my brother and sister-in-law
18 mushrooms picked out of an AMAZING pasta dish
1 awesome baby shower to go...complete with an
AWESOME diaper cake
4 laps around a gas station in Middle-of-Nowhere, USA
2 people that thought Andy looked like someone they knew
12 bathroom stops
2 games of laser tag
1 horrific batch of carsickness
1/2 a book on tape
1 intriguing murder mystery from 1958

My sister-in-law graduated from BYU-Idaho and we made a quick trip up to Rexburg with my parents. We also decided to take a baby shower with us since Karinda is due next month....and as much fun as it was to drive 60000 (is that an exaggeration Mom?) hours....we probably wouldn't be able to make it to any other shower she was having. Plus, her family was down for graduation so it was perfect. My mom's friend had a great idea for people from Flag to drop off gifts for us to take up. People were SO generous. It was greatly appreciated.

My attempt at domesticity. I was actually very proud of my creations.

The amazing diaper cake made by my mom

When people would drop off gifts my mom had this cute table
set up with treats to give as a thank you

Andy's opinion on the constant gushing of all things 'baby'

Baby shower to go

Graduation
Baby Shower

Idaho Falls

Student-isms

I love the way the world looks through the eyes of a child. Everything is new and different. Most kids still have an innocence about them that allows them to see things in a whole different way. For starters I love when my students bring me presents. Over the years I have gotten quite a random assortment of interesting gifts. This year I would have to say has been the best.

Example #1:
A random jumble of clothespins, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and to top it all off...a cinnamon stick thrown in for good measure. Because what pile of random stuff isn't complete without a cinnamon stick?

Example #2:
I opened the door one morning to find myself staring straight into the sparkling, foam eyes of a giant wooden penguin complete with scarf. The student proudly props the penguin up against my desk and turns to me with a look that tells me he expects applause, a hug or possibly both. I asked him where he got this treasure from and he said...and I quote, "My mom and I pulled it out of the dumpster in front of our house and she thought you might like it." How this mom guessed that I always wanted a giant, wooden, dumpster penguin I'll never know, but I thank her.

Then the icing on the cake was when he looks at the penguin and says, "Some of it was broken and then I dropped it getting off the bus, so more of it broke." Not to worry though. He carefully deposited all the broken pieces on my desk and then with a flourish handed me a bottle of.....
Wood glue.
Excellent.

Example #3:
It was Monday. I was sitting at my desk minding my own business when out of nowhere this little gem appears in front of my face.
Now, I don't know about you....but I was unsure how to react to the situation. I mean clearly this child had taken the time to not only find toothpicks and an orange, but to cleverly arrange the toothpicks within the orange. He hands it to me and says, "I made you a pineapple." I told him that pineapple was my favorite fruit. The best part was that he had carried this delightful treasure in his backpack the whole way to school and since all the juice had leaked into his backpack there was none left to make my desk sticky. Win-win.

I love teaching 1st grade because they kids are old enough to tie their shoes and sneeze into a Kleenex (well at least most are), but they are still young enough that there is none of the attitude that comes once they hit 3rd grade (at least most of the time). However, I had not yet encountered note passing in 1st grade. My kindergarten students were working hard at making a puppet of a duck. Coloring, gluing, trying not to cut hair or clothes with the scissors...all the joys of being 5. Being the mean teacher that I am I made my 1st graders work on boring stuff like reading and writing. Well I look over and I see one 1st grader ever-so-subtlety throw a piece of paper 2 rows over to another student. I go over, pick up the paper and give the girl my teacher look. Then I open the note, start laughing and have to retract the teacher look.
Poor 1st graders. :-) Don't worry. I made it up to them by making them take a timed test....
....and then they made duck puppets.
I love being a teacher!

Baby Aubrey

Andy and I went to Duncan to visit our new little niece Aubrey.
My sister-in-law was nice enough to indulge
my photography obsession love for photography
and let me take a bajillion pictures of this sweet little girl.

In a couple months there will be another newborn in the family.
Maybe I can convince them that it is necessary
for tons of pictures to be taken of your baby.
*Hint*Hint* Parker and Karinda. :-)

Amazing....

Spring Break

Went to L.A with my friend Miranda and my cousin Marli.
We had a blast!!!

Decorating help

We finally got our bedroom painted. Which now leads to the problem of what to do with the headboard. The walls are a pale blue and the bedspread is chocolate brown. Any ideas?

Bad timing

.....as did I. 2 days before Spring Break and my road trip to LA! Oh well. Still going. Still going to have a blast!

Glimpse into my day....

I don't know if any of you watch the show The Middle....
but this clip reminded me so much of every day at school!
You know you're a teacher when you find this hysterical...and you experience this on a daily basis!

Road Trip with Andy

This past weekend we went down to Duncan (don't feel bad if you don't know where it is. If I didn't know people living there I wouldn't know either). I love long drives with Andy. It's nice to just spend time talking, laughing and just being goofy. No trip to Duncan would be complete without a stop at Burger House in Globe-Miami. We spent the night at Paul and Lacy's house where Andy had fun playing with one of our nephews and our niece and I went to a baby shower for my sister-in-law. All in all pretty good weekend!

Not a very good day...

If you are blessed enough to have kids...please do all you can to take the BEST care of them. There are so many kids out there that don't get the love that they deserve.

Little moments....

Being a teacher can be hard, frustrating, exhausting work. You are trying to give so much to these children that some days it takes all you have to give. Being a teacher can also be fun, rewarding and inspiring. Every time that light goes on...you just love seeing a child have that moment of success.
Another one of my favorite things about teaching is the small, innocent, adorable moments that come from being around children. Today at school was our Valentine's Day party. Any class party is an ordeal in and of itself. The kids come in buzzing and don't stop until they go home. For some reason the Valentine's party is like every other party times 10. Never mind just the cupcakes, cookies and juice boxes. There is also the cards and candy that needs to be passed out by each child and the little construction paper mailboxes that the students make. In the past, I've just been glad to get the Valentine's party over and done with. However, this year there were several little moments that just made me enjoy being there with the students.

#1 - Yesterday we were doing writing and I was having my kindergartners write 'I love my________' and then they were to fill in the blank with someone/something that they love. A little boy came up to me and very sweetly said, "Mrs. Ebert...I'm just not in a loving mood right now." I just smiled and asked, "Well don't you love your family. What about your mom and dad?" He looks up and very practically says, "I do love them. I'm just not feeling it right now. Maybe I will in a minute." I reassured him that that was fine and he could take a minute to think about it. It made me laugh. Kids are never afraid to be honest.

#2 - The boxes of chocolates given to me by my students
#3 - The sweet card given to be my a parent. It's nice to be appreciated.
#4 - I let the students come up individually and disperse the cards they had bought into the other students "mailboxes". I looked over and saw one of my little kindergartners putting card after card into the same box. I stopped her and asked why she was putting all the cards into the same box. She said, "It's my box. All these cards have my name on them." I suppressed a laugh and told her that those were the cards that were from her. The other kids names were on the other side. She turned the card over, looked and it and said very matter-of-factly, "Yeah, but I can't read this side."

#5 - It was almost the end of the day. All had survived expect for maybe one cupcake. The kids were cleaning up the trash and one of my 1st graders runs up to me and says, "Mrs. Ebert...I forgot to give you your present." He takes his hands from behind is back and hands me a can of Dr. Pepper. I said, "Oh thank you. Where did you get this from?" He said, "I got it from my house because I saw you drink it once and you like it." I just wanted to cry at the pure thoughtfulness of this little boy.

So bring on the chaos. Bring on the sugar comas.
Bring on the red dyed frosting smooshed into the carpet of my classroom.
If it results in these little moments...bring it on.

Good day...

For Christmas my parents converted all of our families home videos to DVD. They burned them and categorized them all. Basically spent countless hours putting this great gift together for us. When we got home from Flagstaff Andy put all the gifts away and that was that. A few days later I wanted to watch some of them so I asked Andy where they were. Long story short, they were no where to be found. We tore apart all the closets, shelves, and moved the beds. There were many tears and prayers. We searched everywhere and they were nowhere to be found. The only thing we could figure was the box that we had brought all the gifts home in had been converted into a trash box and was thrown out. Our best guess was that the DVDs were in there. I was crushed. All that hard work and a thoughtful gift just tossed away.

Well today Andy came upstairs and said, "I have a surprise for you." and lo and behold there were the DVDs!! I was SO excited! He had been putting away something in the cabinet under our TV and there they were. Now this cabinet had been searched through previously...but obviously not well enough. I am so glad he found them. It was a happy day!

This week I've been the fish....

Confusion!

Which one?!
So many choices!!!!
Plus...they all look the same!
Here's the kicker....they aren't!

Team CoCo

We were sad to learn that Conan would be leaving The Tonight Show. We think he is hilarious. Any person in this situation would have any right to be angry and many would go down with bitterness. In this final show he took the high road and thanked NBC. His message to the fans is something that shows true class and is also a good life lesson for everyone.

"All I ask is one thing, and I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, I'm telling you, amazing things will happen."

I.....

.....want this

....felt like this in the meeting today

....really want to go here

....wish I took this picture

....am anxious for this

.....owe them everything

....have been thinking a lot about him

.....am thankful for this

....am loving this version of this song

.....want to be doing this

.....am counting down til this!!!

Untitled

Can't think of a title for this blog so we'll just leave it as is. I was sitting here tonight...just a low-key at the Ebert house...working on some photos and listening to the rain outside when a song came on my iTunes shuffle. It was one of those songs that you've heard a dozen times, but for whatever reason this is time it left its impact. That's one of the things I love about music. Sometimes songs express what you can't.

In the past few years I have learned that a lot of things that I hold inside are due to experiences that I have had in my past. Recognizing it was 99% of the battle. The other 1% is still tucked in a tiny little box shoved in the back of my mind. I still open it from time to time. Still wonder what exactly the lesson was/is that I am supposed to learn from it all. Today was one of those days when I dusted off the box and took a peek inside. It never goes the way I think it will, but I will say that this time...this song helped put it in perspective. This is why I love music. It's nice to have something to help make sense of things sometimes!

Galileo's head was on the block
the crime was looking up for truth
and as the bombshells of my daily fears explode
I try to trace them to my youth

How long till my soul gets it right
can any human being ever reach that kind of light
I call on the resting soul of Galileo
king of night vision, king of insight

-Galileo by Indigo Girls

Starting Over....

I started over on my Project 365. Last time I think I got to June and it fizzled out. I am determined to do it this time!

Click on the link on the right if you want to check it out!

Event at our house last night

Woke up too early...found this incredibly funny.

How we entertain Annie

Happy Birthday Andy!

Happy Birthday to my very best friend!
I don't know what I did to be lucky enough
to find someone like Andy.
He is a generous, funny, happy, genuinely kind, fun-loving person.
I love you Andy!

Steve Nash

Steve Nash is in danger of losing a spot in the All-Star game to a player that has played five games this whole season and is currently suspended by his own team. Steve Nash is YET AGAIN having another MVP season. Vote for him for the 2010 All-Star Game!!
All-Star Game

All about Andy...

I got this off my friends blog and decided to do it. I answered the questions and then I asked Andy for his real answers and put them in blue. I guess I know him pretty well. I would hope so after six years!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?: Sports
Andy: The Suns

2. You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?: Ranch
Andy: Ranch

3. What's one food he doesn't like?: Stuffed Peppers
Andy: Fish soup

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? Dr. Pepper
Andy: Dr. Pepper

5. Where did he go to high school? Mesa High School
Andy: Mesa High School

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10
Andy: 10

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Sports Memoribilia
Andy: Sports stuff

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Roast Beef
Andy: Roast Beef

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? Pizza
Andy: Arby's

10. What is his favorite cereal? Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Andy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

11. What would he never wear? Skinny jeans
Andy: Biker shorts

12. What is his all-time favorite sports team? Phoenix Suns
Andy: Phoenix Suns

13. Who did he vote for? McCain
Andy: McCain

14. Who is his best friend? Me, of course
Andy: Sara

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?: Ask him to get me something when I can get it myself
Andy: Bite my nails

16. What is his favorite color? Red
Andy: Green

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? German Chocolate
Andy: Chocolate

18. Did he play sports in high school? Yes
Andy: Yes

Things that brighten my day....

My students

Arizona Sunrises

My new umbrella

Holiday Scented Foam soaps

Random things my kids show me that make me laugh

Decorating the house with Andy

Christmas Trees

Our Christmas ornament collection. We buy a new one every year.

Reason to laugh.....

It's been a tough week. It's always a plus to find something to genuinely laugh at.