Papaw

Son, 
        brother, 
                  husband, 
                                 uncle, 
                                          dad, 
                                                grandfather, 
                                                               great-grandfather. 
                                              

My Papaw.

I'm pretty sure this was taken right after she kissed him on the cheek. And he was embarrassed. And she was apologizing, while secretly laughing at her own private joke.

Such a sweet picture. Thankfully, memories live on.

Beachy

It is fall break. I know you can't read the emotion in this statement, but trust me, it's there. 


I wait in anticipation for fall break from about September 1st till October 14th. I was blessed enough to visit the beach this fall break. If you have never been to the gulf area in October, you need to GO. I mean it, now. Get in your car and DRIVE! 


Here are the reasons:


1. It is the beach, duh.
2. It is the perfect temperature for beach dwelling.
3. It is cheap to rent a condo during the fall.
4. It is an easy drive or flight. 
5. It is the BEACH!


Convinced? Here is a picture from our balcony on the 15th floor.

That is all I will say. Just linger on that view for a moment. Ahhh...

Lesson on Toilets (and don't worry, I don't literally mean while sitting ON the toilet)

Unfortunately, I have become very closely acquainted with how a toilet works. Thanks to owning my own place, I have frequented Lowe's and Home Depot to buy parts that I don't actually know the name for. Here is how these conversations usually go:

Man in the colored vest: "Hello, may I help you find something?" (because we both know I look slightly out of place here.)
Me: "No, but thank you." This might seem silly to some, but I have an aversion to being helped in most stores. I am working through the problem, kind of.
Five minutes later, Me: Why is there no one around here to help me?!? But I do actually know this is a ridiculous thought.
Another five minutes later, Me: "Um, excuse me, do you know where I can find a piece to fix a toilet? I think it is called a washer, it's rubber and it's small and it's black?" And my dad told me this much, but I don't admit to this yet.
Man in the colored vest: "Sure, it's right here." (Pointing to something approximately 10 inches from my face.)
Me: "Of course, musta looked right over it." Cue the turn and high-tail it out move.

So, here is the sought after piece. Looks pretty small huh? But my dad assures me it will cause the toilet to flush again. And I trust him with toilet issues. He has fished out many a lego from a toilet in his day.
           
So, he walks me through how to take apart the piece and insert the new replacement seal (because that is it's real name, I learned). I do it fairly quickly and feel pretty self-sufficient. Until the toilet refuses to fill more than once. 


Blast. So, I go to another store and get another brand that is sure to work better and fit my toilet. Same steps, same results.


Must need another piece. 

So I visit the home improvement store for the third time in 1 week. And I get this piece right here. Makes me look like I REALLY know what I'm doing, huh?  


Take three: I open up the tank and go to work. (With my dad on speaker phone, of course. You know when your dad starts answering the phone with, "Hello, this is your local plumber, what's your question?" that you've been spending too much time with your toilet.)


I digress.

I took it apart and put the new part in. Check out this piece. I never knew a toilet had so many intricate parts. 
Not that I have ANY idea HOW it works, but I do know it WORKS!


I never thought I would say it, but the sounds of a toilet flushing may be the best sound I've heard all day.


Success. Sweet success.

Pandas are really that cute!

This week in writing, we attempted to do a little research. I went to the library and chose a bunch of books about all kinds of animals. On Monday when I introduced the topic, it was met with many cheers and applause. Literally. (Another great thing about young children... it truly is the little things.)


So, here is how the week went:


Day One- Browse all the books and think about what animal interests you the most. (Shockingly the insect books grossed the kids out- since when are kids scared of creepy crawly bugs?!? This new generation!)


Day Two- Research your animal and find the answers to your questions in the text using post-its. (Note that just as adults like to use post-its in all their bright glory, children get the same joy. It's SO very adult-like.) 


Day Three- Use the post-it information to complete the graphic organizer. And the kicker for 99% of my class... USE COMPLETE SENTENCES!!! As easy as reciting the pledge of allegiance backwards and as fun as plucking one's eyebrows, I assure you. 


Day Four- Asking myself why we began this project and how my class seems to have 50 students when I need to edit with each one! Exaggerating slightly, but they are so NOT ready to edit by themselves or with partners yet. So, we push through the battle. 


Day Five- Finally made it through the editing and ready to put those sentences into a final draft. Would seem very easy, but 5 sentences in 1 paragraph is a lot of work for these kiddos. Then make a picture of your researched animal (I LOVE to see there pictures, kid art is amazing!) 


Exhibit A: Sweet little girl's finished project. She studied and researched pandas. This picture just makes me happy. Very happy.

Wonder what those panda bears are thinking about??? Bamboo, bamboo, bamboo!

Here's to learning some science!

Second Grade Love

Who knew that second graders know about love?!? But I stand corrected. This was turned in as a writing assignment by one of my little boys. 

It says, "First I went to met my Girul friend. Next I went to the fer with my Girul friend. Last I went to mec donald with my Girul friend and back home."


Oh. My. Goodness. All I can say is that is one GOOD date.

What is this?!?

Sometimes you just run across things or pictures that make you smile. Well, back in the winter, when it was freezing cold and we were eternally trapped in the house... we found some ways to keep ourselves occupied. 


And I must say as well, that Betsy's Nanna helps up in this area. The following pictures are a gift from Nanna. Introducing the "Snap-uggy" (combination Snuggy blanket with snaps) 

Betsy getting snapped into the Snap-uggy.  

 Trying to figure our all the snaps on the Snap-uggy.   
        
             
TA-DA!!! Got it snapped!
                                                     

 "See you suckers later, I'm off to flaunt my new threads."

And I didn't have to be too jealous, 

because Betsy is good at sharing.

                                               

I call this pose my "T-Rex" arms. Rooooaaaarrrr!

Movin' on up

Ringin' in the new year, school year that is. Finally got all my junk... I mean stuff, moved to my new classroom and all set up! I am officially swimming in the second grade sea now.

Since I am looping with my kiddos from first grade, I tried really hard to make it look different than last year. Here are some pictures of our new "home, sweet, home".

Here's the new library station. This is always my favorite part of the classroom. I want it to be super inviting, as if it were a cozy corner in a living room. So I used the old rug from my actual living room. It just happened to match pretty well.

Here is our calendar wall. This year we are trying something different. The students all have their own calendar journals. The pages match the one in the picture backed by blue. It is still a work in progress, but eventually the kids will do calendar with a partner and little assistance from me. (In my dreams, of course.)

This area is the beginnings of the poetry station. The kids each have a poetry journal to illustrate poems or create their own. Also, many Shel Silverstein books, whom I LOVE! And the kids think his picture are hilarious!

And of course, our listening station. I'm digging the shower caddies from Target that just happen to hold everything perfectly! And this time I added a bulletin board to post "I Can..." list (thank you, Debbie Diller) and future listening response sheets to be proud of.

And of course I had a little bit of free time this summer, so I created these cute little animal pictures. I do love decoupage! And I can't turn down lanterns... ever.

And last, but not least, check out our door! I am learning quickly that second grade is indeed a roar.

(And please pardon the rhyme, it just happens these days.)