How Many Times?

As I followed the other kindergarten class through the hallways, I watched the 2 girls in the back jump down the stairs and ramps. This has happened many, many times before.

I said, "Girls, do not jump down the stairs! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

One little girl replied matter-of-factly, "five."

"Okay, well I've already told you six times. So knock it off."

Five. That is the new magic number for how many times it takes to obey. Lovely. Now I know.

OH NO!

So today I had jury duty. I won't go into a long bit complaining about it, you all know the drill. And honestly, I wouldn't mind it if it had been during the summer. But getting a class ready for a sub is a big deal- and the work that comes after a sub is a bigger deal.

But anyways, I digress. Here's my good kinder story...

I gave my class a big speech Monday afternoon about having a sub and what that would be like. But they are in kindergarten. So I decided to email their parents too. I emailed them all, told them I had jury duty and asked for them to please remind their children that Mrs. R would be taking care of them all day and to be good.

One mom from my class is a prosecutor here in town, so I was really hoping to end up in her courtroom- I was certain that would mean a quick dismissal. Unfortunately that did not happen.

I did see her today though, and this is what she told me happened last night at her dinner table:

Student "Mom, tomorrow we are going to have a sub."
Mom "I know. Mrs. Sawyer told me. She is actually going to be at mommy's work."
student (in tears now) "Mom, are you going to put Mrs. Sawyer in jail? I don't want her to go to jail!!"
mom "no, she is not going to jail."
Student "Dad, is she telling the truth??"

Oh I love my kinders!! And boy do they love me!! turns out this sweet little one only knows that mommy's job is "to put people in jail." So I understand how she could think I would be going to jail if I was at mommy's work.

I can tell you one person who will be happy to see me at school tomorrow!
(and the 2nd most excited about me going back tomorrow is my courageous sub! Thank you!!)

Excuse Me Mrs. Sawyer

We were cleaning up centers when I saw a little girl run across the room yelling, "Excuse me Mrs. Sawyer. Excuse me." and then she proceeded to start grabbing my elbow until I listened.

I looked down and patiently said, "yes ma'am"

"I pooted. Excuse me."

"oh. okay. well, I didn't know that. But you're excused."

I love kindergarten.

Literally

After having dealt with 40 million questions in 2 minutes from 14 different students, I snapped. Not literally.

But very calmly I explained that this is NOT how kindergartners act. I should have "pulled sticks" for all of that talking out. But I am being nice.

But, tomorrow nice Mrs. Sawyer is going away. Mean Mrs. Sawyer will be here. And you should know that you will lose sticks for talking out.

I noticed a little girl crying. I figured it was because she had been talking out, so I kept going on and on.

finally I stopped and looked at her, "Asia, what's wrong?"

"Are you ever going to come back?" She asked.

Oh man. She thought I was really going away. Note to self: kindergartners take everything LITERALLY. duh.

And it begins...

It doesn't take long for kids to feel comfortable and loved by someone. And as soon as they do, they begin opening up. WAY up!!

(the rest of this post is rated PG -13. You were warned)

This morning, we walked into the classroom, put our backpacks on the hooks, and began walking to our seats. This takes less than a minute to do. And in that first minute this is what I heard.

Student 1: "Mrs. Sawyer, I had a nightmare last night. I didn't sleep well."

Student 2: "Mrs. Sawyer, I peed in my mom's bed last night."

At that point, I said "OK, let's take a seat and be quiet." Oh man. It's already beginning.


And here's a story from the other kinder class.

Day 2 of school. They were working on patterns. We like to use manipulatives, draw, clap, whatever we can to get them interested. So she was doing a pattern of "head, shoulders, knees and toes." over and over.

Then she asked the kids to come up with one. Remember this is day 2 of school. A little boy stands up and says "boob, boob, penis."

"Oh okay. let's move on."

I love kindergarten.

Oh How Your Garden Grows!

Back on July 4th, we had an extreme garden makeover. It was fabulous. Remember this...

With just some love, lots of water, and plenty of sunshine, we now have this...

(yes that was actually the same flower bed, just a different angle)

Remember my cute little wagon?

Now you can just barely see it!! I filled it with yellow zinnias- which have taken off! Not to mention all of the flowers surrounding it!! You can barely see dirt anymore.

And our crepe myrtle has just blossomed out of control!! (we found out the real trick is LOTS of water. and singing to it sometimes. Just kidding. But I do talk to my garden most days, I tell it how lovely it is. It works. Try it.)

Look at how many roses we have blooming now.

As you walk down the sidewalk, you are followed by a full bed of lantana and pink roses. And I mean full!! LOVE IT!

And here's the bed under the guest room window right after it was planted. See the cute sweet potato vines in the front? And the knock out roses just waiting to blossom?? Here it is now!! You can't even see my cute little red buckets!! Wow! And I have to trim the sweet potato vine constantly to keep it off the flowers! wow!!

There's the bucket!! Oh it's full of white vinca- and look fabulous!! And notice how the roses have just filled right in!! God is sooo good!

Looking back toward the driveway. It really is a beautiful walk in the morning. Even at 7:00 a.m.

A close up of the fabulous roses! Oh how I hope the color comes through on your screen!

Remember my little statue? I love it! But now you have to really look for it. Which is exactly what I wanted, an unexpected surprise! Not a prominent figure, but a secret gift :)

We filled the big urn on the porch with pink and white vincas. Remind me to alternate the colors as I plan them next time, not half and half. Half and half is kinda weird. But they have grown a ton!! And they just bring some height to the garden.

Did you notice the awesome copper pot next to the urn?? well- that is our garden hose holder- from Smith and Hawken. Don't worry, we haven't actually put a hose in it yet. Only because we never actually put our hose away. but we will one day. and it will look great!

And that my friends, is what God does with some sunshine, water, and flowers. I taught my kinders today that God is creative! And my garden proves it in every sense of the word!

Renters Only

A few weekends ago, we headed out to Canton, TX for First Mondays. What is First Mondays you ask?? Only the worlds LARGEST flea market and trade show. Because, of course, everything is BIGGER in Texas! I mean seriously- it is huge! We went just for fun because my sister was here visiting and it is quite the experience! And I was also looking for a mirror for my newly built half bath.

And this is what I found...
You are correct. There is actually no mirror. But I also needed a shelf for the bathroom because the tiny sink cannot hold a soap dispenser, and this has a shelf. It's also super cute. And it has 2 towel hooks. And I like it. And it was only $35. And I thought that a mirror could be hung on it very easily. Of course, I still didn't have a mirror.

Plus, once I saw the back, I was sold...

Here's the close up: "This toilet is for renters only. Keep Out!" Yes, it used to be a door and apparently a bathroom door for renters only. weird. but funny.

So the search was still on for a mirror. Only this time, it was much more simple- because the white "thing" was so cute, the mirror could be pretty simple and plain. I bought a couple of VERY plain mirrors at Michael's- one rectangle, one round- the kind without a frame that you might place a candle on. Didn't look quite right. Plus I wasn't sure how to actually hang those mirrors.

Then I went to Marshall's and found this...

for only $15. (it was on clearance)


I haven't actually hung it yet- but look...

I think I will probably center the mirror so it won't be resting on the shelf. But it was easiest this way for the picture taking. Cute though, huh?

I'll post a picture when the project is complete. Hopefully I'll actually do it soon. But I am PRETTY good at procrastinating.... so, we'll see.

Off to yummy dinner to celebrate my first "week" as a kindergarten teacher!! (I say "week" loosely, because we've only had school for 2 days.)

Ready or Not- Here They Come!

Today was the first day! Wow! It came, and it's gone! Right now my sweet kiddos are taking a nap. Well most of them are. There are a couple who are basically refusing, but I have the lights off, worship music on, and they are laying on their nap mats. And I get to blog! I like naptime!!

Here they are in action!!

Aren't their little uniforms so cute!!

(I did have pictures posted of each kid, but I think it might be better to not post those- for security reasons.)

And who wouldn't want to come to kindergarten with these two as your teachers??

We skipped the pigtail braids- but Julia did wear cowboy boots with her skirt. I gotta get me some of those. (and yes, that is proper grammar that I plan on teaching!)

Oh- gotta go wake them sleeping beauties! See you tomorrow!

Kindergarten Round Up

I have been diligently working in my classroom all summer! well, not ALL summer, but pretty often. I had to pack up my entire classroom, even the things that were not mine personally. I moved my stuff to my new kindergarten room and the school's Spanish stuff to the new Spanish room.

Just so you can REALLY appreciate my work, here's the "before." This is a picture after the other teacher had moved out, but the furniture had not been taken. New furniture was brought in for me and all of my boxes were there. Lovely.

Disgusting.

But here's the AFTERS!!

Welcome to Kindergarten Round Up. (we went with a western theme this year)

(don't mind Julia walking out of my room, she refused to turn around for the picture, so I took it like this. And I told her I was going to post it. And I did.)


Calendar Corral

entrance to my room. a little nook full of blocks, puzzles, and other fun games.

My desk area.

The two happy kindergarten teachers!! Tomorrow we plan on dressing western and wearing our hair in pigtail braids for the first day! What a great look to go on each child's 1st Day scrapbook page! ha!

One day I had so much to do in my room, I didn't even know where to start. So, I got out the Modge Podge and the Western tissue paper and went to town.

Just look at what a Pringle's can can become...

Have a box you don't care for? Add some cow print and a red lid! All better :)Have an ugly white cabinet from Walmart that has moved with you to 2 apartments and 2 classrooms and is yucky? Just use some spray adhesive to cover the door and staple a seam on the "table cloth" piece. (Yes, I used a stapler to make a seam. Don't hate me for being creative.)

Our daily assignment folders.... We are calling them My HORSE-- Happy Organized Ready Student Everyday. Did you bring your HORSE to school today?? Presh. (we noticed a little too late that the cowboy on the horse are actually cowboys AND cowGIRLS. While this one worked out just fine and dandy, most of the boy names are on cowGIRLS and most of the girl names are on cowBOYS. oops.)

Our Reading Bags. Right now this contains their blend ladders and later will also have their reading books. Don't know what a blend ladder is?? Me either! ha!

Here's the big bulletin board in the hallway. "Wanted by God" - each paper has a child's name on it. Tomorrow we will take their pictures and paste them on. Oh cuteness!!

Here's my classroom "Wanted" bulletin board- each hat has a child's name on it.

And the dreaded "sticks" chart. First notice the cuteness... the pockets are denim blue jean pockets- love it!! So each child starts with 4 sticks each morning, if they break a rule, they have to pull a stick. Pull all 4 sticks in 1 day and go to the principal's office. Oh yes. It happens.

Thanks for joining me on a tour of my classroom!! I can't wait to see it full of kids tomorrow! I'm also so glad to have it documented, because it will never be this clean again. I can guarantee it!

Wish me luck! Pray for me! I'm excited and nervous- all at the same time!!

Amazing Invitations

When I was in 2nd grade, I met a girl name Megan. She was so cool. She had pretty blue eyes and her brown hair was always styled so cute. even in 2nd grade. Her mom would take the front inch or so of hair and french braid it across her head, making a headband of hair. I was amazed. I wore my stringy hair straight and long and stringy.

I immediately decided Megan was cool and knew I wanted her to be my friend. She must have liked stringy hair, because she became mine.

And that was the beginning. We were inseparable for all of elementary school (except for a few weeks when a "3-way" best friend necklace was involved). Anyways, Megan moved to Texas after 6th grade. So I immediately decided that I liked country music and I visited her a few times each year.

The friendship has amazingly lasted all this time. Of course we would sometimes go a few months without talking much, but it's that easy friendship that always picks up right where you left off.

Fun thing is that we now both live in the same city! So we're 22 years older and still best friends.

And Megan is now engaged! Super fun times. I should have known that her wedding invitations would be more than fabulous- I mean she always had more than fabulous hair!

So here is a blog dedicated to Megan's invitations. If I had known how cool they were all going to be, I would have saved the shower invites too. (but I didn't).

The Save the Date...
(sorry for the small image)

The paper is actually cream colored and torn on the edges. And you can just barely see a tan image in the background of a chapel in Santa Fe. (because the wedding is in Santa Fe). I love the brown and turquoise colors!

Even the back is cool. If only you could see the tree at the bottom- there is a blue M + R on the trunk!! Oh the details just thrill me!

And then the wedding invitation arrived. Simple, yet sophisticated!

Have you every seen such fancy writing??? a true piece of art- in words!

Next was the fun bachelorette weekend invites! Even the itinerary was cute- but I didn't include a picture of it.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better. This cute package arrived in the mail.

The WEEKEND invitation...

Here is it untied. WOW. (her brother drew this amazing picture.) I mean are you kidding me??

Oh yes, it is an accordion fold. Here it is unfolded. amazing.

Here's the back. So so cute.


A picture of the newly engaged couple. (You may notice that the bikers drawn on the fabulous picture have on the same color shirts and bikes as Megan and Roy in this picture. DETAILS!)

A note from the couple...

The map on the back. Even the map is a work of art!!

I didn't get close ups of the weekend details... but I promise it's going to be a blast!!

A welcome dinner on Friday

Pool and Picnic Party on Saturday afternoon

Spirit of Santa Fe (rehearsal) Dinner Saturday night

Wedding on Sunday

Send off Brunch Monday morning

and each event description includes a time, place, attire, and activities. And for this many "attire" options, they included an "attire card" (man I feel fancy and special!)

(I'm personally looking forward to wearing my "fun party dress" to the Santa Fe Chic Spirit of Santa Fe dinner!!)

And a special invite like this requires a very special reply card. so many choices! so many boxes!!

Maybe one of my favorite things is that each event also equals lots of yummy food and dessert!! I've been talking with Megan throughout the planning process and I know all about the food and cakes... and I'm excited!!

Seriously though- how cool are these invites? I hope they amazing factor comes across over the internet- because I hold in my hand my new favorite invitation. And I plan on using it someday for something awesome that I'm going to do. I'll keep you posted :)