Art Teacher Meeting

I attended an art meeting with fellow art teachers in my county and here are some of the terrific ideas/lessons shared. We are focusing on the Common Core.... Enjoy!

Easter Egg Trees

OK, I'll admit it, I'm a little crafty at times and love just wandering around Michael's to dream a little. I stopped in after the girls got out of school one day and thought-HMMM what can I do with all this plastic grass at home? I wanted to do an Easter craft with the kiddies and happened upon some styrofoam cones and cute little butterflies, pink baby chicks and sparkly eggs. The girls picked out items for their tree and ribbon to match as did I. When we got home we heated up the glue gun and off we go..... with grass all over! the hardest part was attaching the grass with hot glue, ouch! Be careful if you try this at home and don't let the kids touch during this part! Have fun making your own Easter tree. The possibilities are endless!

Wellness Weekend!

Yes, this is me riding a mountain bike for the first time ever! My hubby has begged me for 13 years to ride one with him and I did it all by myself! I feel energized after a relaxing weekend with the gals from the Siskey YMCA here in Matthews, NC. I highly recommend it in the future to any woman, young or old!
The weekend started with a charter bus ride to camp harrison located in the NC mountains. I laughed the whole hour and a half up there with my seat partners as we were handed out free samples of food and drink and given the agenda for the weekend by the Y staff. I felt spoiled already! Coming around the bend, we saw the sunset across the sky, the full moon with a tee-pee on top of the mountain. The camp staff was on horseback waving as we arrived! Like a picture perfect moment!!! We all screamed in excitement as we unloaded and were given more freebies and checked into our cabin in the dining hall. The cabins were filled with beautiful bunks and heat and air! WOW! I'm not roughing it, I thought to myself. We all took a bus up the mountain to the campfire where live music was playing and we ate smores. YUM! Yes, I ate a whole Hershey bar!
After settling in, we awoke to the music of Denise (the camp director) playing music from her "big, bad truck". I did sunrise yoga and headed out to mountain bike after breakfast. After and hour and a half (and a sore rear end) I fed goats, hopped on a horse and rode a trail around the camp. Yes, I sat on cold water bottles and an ice pack that night! OUCH! We had such perfect weather that we ate outside and had smores by the campfire again the second night. Yes, another Hershey bar! I figured I deserved it after all that working out!
The last morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and decided to zip-line after breakfast. I jumped off a very high tower of the ropes course and zipped across the course screaming at the top of my lungs in fear and exhileration! I did it all by myself! Later that morning, I met my lady friends for a hike to a water fall and ran back down the trail to catch the bus and leave. Too soon for me! I had soo much fun and really let go this weekend. I can't wait to do it again!

Birthday cake and PAINT

My special day (my birthday) started out with fog and my whole family sleeping through the alarms on the alarm clock and dashing the kids to school with no coffee. My husband hands me a card through the car window shaped like a castle with a  princess on the front and a moat with an alligator from my daughter Charlotte. After she shoves a banana down on the way to school, she looks back at me and says-"happy birthday mommy".   From there, I met my husband at Blue Max to pick out a stone pattern for the patio that is going in this weekend. (There is another story to come about this weekend as I will be out of town on a women's retreat and we have friends coming from Florida.) I painted Kandinsky circles with my 1st graders after a serinade of Happy Birthday wishes and a little watercolor mess. Kindergarten was challenging at times but fun as I partnered with a child who has basically every struggle in the world to keep his body under control to the point I have to hold his hand to keep him from hitting others. Ate lunch by myself at Wendy's in the car, got toes painted by asian man that quite the foot massage and continued on to pick up my preschooler. When I got to the school and went to wake her up, she rolled over and had her entire face painted PURPLE! She rubbed her eyes (getting face paint, really tempra paint) on her clothes. After a nice little fight to get her to wake up and put her in the car seat, I continued on to get my 1st grader from the school I teach at. Yes, I ran the gas out of my car again doing this routine that I do every day! $3.51 REALLY???
Anyway, I parade across the parking lot with every teacher staring at my preschooler with the purple people eater face and repeat myself saying "NO, I really didn't paint her face". After collecting a few painting supplies for church, I meet my sweet "preschool pals" group and teach them how to paint rainbows. One of my friends that helps me teach the church  group surprises me with cards from the kids and little cupcakes. How thoughtful, because no one at work wished me Happy Birthday.  After recruiting some youth of the church to hang the bullitin board, one of them followed me home to babysit so my hubby and I could go out to eat. When I arrived, my sweet husband baked me a cake (box mix of course) of my favorite yellow cake, chocolate icing. After a nice spanish dish at a favorite restaurant, it was time to head home and share cake with wax dripping off the candles for a final birthday celebration.
One year older, wiser, and thank goodness tomorrow is St. Patty's day-a normal day, Right???

Ready for Spring?

Katie last year turning 3!

Cold, Hot, Mild, Warm. I wish the weather would make up its mind sometimes. I could really get into this spring thing! There are 4 birthdays coming up this month for my family including mine, my Katie, my mother and father. I really do love this month and the fact my birthday is the day before St. Patty's day too! Everyone loves a celebration! I plan on heading to Camp Harrison with some women from the Y in a few weeks for some R&R and fun. Can't wait to share the pics!

Every morning on the way to school, I love looking at the beauty God created around me. There is one particular tree, a hot pink tulip tree that Katie pointed out one day and said "wow, look at that!" I mean, it was like the burning bush of pink! Coming from the eyes of a child made me think about how the little things often go unnoticed. Today, and everyday, I try to stop and look at my surroundings and praise God for the little things and especially Springtime, where everything is made new again!

Passing of a classmate=the passing of time

A former classmate/cheerleader teammate passed away today. Leaving behind 3 beautiful children. Why did this happen to such a beautiful person? This has been a crazy week! I am deeply saddened by her death and yet moved to press on through daily struggles as a mom. I truly love my kids, but do I really show it every moment of every day? Am I truly thankful for the gift of life? Yes, I know things happen for a reason, but this girl had everything going for her and more! I remember tossing her in the air as she was truly fearless of being a "flyer" in cheerleading. Her laugh was infectious and she had quite the sense of humor. If I remember correctly, I think she put toothpaste on my underarms while I was sleeping during cheerleading camp and made a "mouse" with a feminine product and made it creep down the hall of our dorm at Peace College.
I hope the truth is found out about her death and we all learn from her success in life. May the peace of Christ be with each family member on this horrible day. May she join the other 2 cheerleaders of Apex High School and receive her angel wings in heaven. Rest in Peace Ashley.

Merry Christmas!

We recently adopted a Bishon puppy named Babee and renamed her "Molly". Come to find out, she will be the 3rd Molly in our extended family. My cousin has a dog named Molly, and one of my cousins' names is Molly. Kind of funny. My girls have been smothering her with love all week and she still runs from my husband. She is very attached to me and I feel like a new mom again, sleepless nights, watching the dog pee and poop, feeding her by hand to get over the trauma of adoption. An  older lady gave her too us because "she couldn't give her the attention she needs". Right! This dog just needs lots of grooming, patience and love. What every dog and human needs, right??

Tomorrow is Christmas and we celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I think of Mary as she was pregnant with child and how the baby was born in a manger, probably a nasty place. No matter where it was, it was nothing short of a miracle. I think that sums up my year too and life at the moment. Every day is a miracle and a gift from God. Merry Christmas everyone!