what i loved about this week

Flowers from Warner. 

She felt bad because last week I was left all alone in second grade. And in a school district where the sub system is not that reliable, this can mean utter disaster. 


Thursday = 5 second grade classes, 2 teachers, 1 sub, kids dispersed and a lot of running around for me. 


Friday = 5 second grade classes, one teacher, one sub... thankfully, some wonderful members of the support staff stepped up to fill in the gaps. Frankly, I'm not sure how much learning went on those two days but there were no injuries or children missing so I view them as a complete success. It really ended up being a great day on Friday. Flowers were unwarranted but so greatly appreciated. They made my day.

A home-cooked, authentic Filipino dinner.  

P-dub's friend from work came over to cook us dinner and show us what we were missing. (Macaroni and cheese is not looked upon as fine cuisine?!? P-dubs had no idea...)This man showed up at my door with all the ingredients he needed and cooked up a storm. 


I think I might love him. I would maybe even trade Howie for him. 


I just can't get over how he can use a few simple ingredients and make the most delicious meal that's ever been cooked in our kitchen. (Of course, he doesn't understand why I need to read the directions to cook rice but, clearly, he doesn't know me that well. Or my husband has painted a very kind, if inaccurate, picture of my cooking skills. Thanks, dear.) I did make him homemade sugar cookies after dinner. And he acted like they were the greatest thing he'd ever eaten. I'm still unsure how sincere this was but I'll take it. 

Seven year-olds. 

There are days when I love my job and can't believe I'm lucky enough to be trusted to teach these sweet babies. And then there are days where everything is hard. Friday was a day where I felt beyond blessed. I caught these little sweethearts looking longingly over the fence to the field where the 3rd graders play. Oh, how they want to play on the field. They think they are ready to be "big kids." I do not. I want to tell them to enjoy every minute they can on the playground. I want to point out that the field isn't that fun. Especially when you don't understand the rules to kickball. I want to enlighten them to the fact that all you do on the field is run around...just like on the playground but minus the slide, swings, monkey bars, and cool fake rock climby-thing. I want them to just be seven. 


Crepes with P-dubs and a dear friend.

After a long week, Nutella cures most of what ails you. Enough said.


Frozen yogurt. 

Today I got a pedicure with a sweet co-worker. Sometimes you just need a heart-to-heart while someone rubs your feet. And there was a frozen yogurt place right next door. Even better. 


Blessed? Oh, yes. 

oh granola

After eating my weight in chocolate, lollipops, and red velvet cupcakes these past two weeks (thanks but no thanks, Warner), I decided it was time to get back to eating things that are at least a little bit good for me.    My sister comes by for dinner and to watch a certain unnamed TV show every Monday, so I decided it was a perfect time to make some almond granola.  I usually make it with pecans, walnuts, and almonds--but my sweet sister is allergic to almost every nut on the face of the earth except almonds and peanuts. Which I think is weird and random because I figure if you are allergic to most nuts the deadly peanut must be on that list. 

 So I've made this life-changing granola a few times but she's never been able to try it for fear of her life. (I just want to say here that this is the same girl who once convinced herself that her throat was closing up because I was burning a hazelnut scented candle. I highly doubt that the supersized candle that cost $3 at Walmart has any sort of real hazelnut in it but I could be wrong. And when she thought it was cinnamon scented there wasn't a problem. I'm not saying she's dramatic. I'm just saying. ) 

I got this recipe from a dear co-worker and it changed my life. It's wicked easy, too.

Get yourself about three cups of some good old-fashioned oats.

In a saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of oil, 1/4 cup of honey, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar on medium. Add 1 tsp. of vanilla and 1tbsp. of water.

While this is heating, add your desired nuts (preferably ones that don't send anyone in your household running for thier EpiPen) and some shredded coconut to the oats. The beauty of granola is that you can really throw in whatever you have...sunflower seeds, wheat germ, flaxseed. None of which I have, but I often wish I were the type of person who did have such things. 

Mix it all up and then pour the honey/brown sugar goodness over the oats. 

 Bake at 275 for about an hour and fifteen minutes, stirring every fifteen minutes. This is the hard part about granola because once you have put all that effort into getting the ingredients together it is a little exasperating to have to get up to stir it every fifteen minutes. But it's worth it. 

When it's done cooking, you can add some delicious dried fruit like cranberries. I didn't have any. I did have raisins but I don't really like raisins and so I'm pretty sure the box of them that is sitting in my cabinet has been there since long before P-dubs and I started dating. That's a long time. 


Side note: Goal for this weekend...clean out cabinets...


Warm granola might just be my favorite thing to eat. Ever. And my sister is a convert. No more store bought granola for that nut allergy diva.  Warner loves it, too. I brought some into school for her today. She brings me red velvet cupcakes. I bring her granola. She is definitely the better friend. 

To be honest,  I'm not exactly sure how healthy this granola is...but I'm pretty sure it's better than eating a red velvet cupcake for breakfast.  

the day after valentine's day

 Really, if you think about it, the day after Valentine's Day is serious business.  (Unless you're Howie, in which case there does not exist such a thing as a serious business day.)

A serious Valentine sweater? Yes. Serious life? Not so much.
He's pouting because I made him wear his sweater...sigh.

Side note--I think it's pretty hilarious to put Howie in people clothes for a variety of reasons. First of all, sometimes I still can't believe I have a kind of a dog that people frequently clothe. Where I'm from, if a dog weighs less than about 50 pounds it isn't really considered a dog. Secondly, the first few moments after Howie dons an outfit are filled with priceless, unadulterated entertainment as he tries to walk while barely moving any of his limbs. Maybe I'm mean. Or just easily amused.

And he's up! Too tough to let a silly sweater get him down...

But let's be real...sweater or not, he's livin' the dream.

 

Anyways, the day after Valentine's Day is serious because ANYONE can celebrate love for one day out of the year. Celebrating it everyday (and sometimes straight up choosing it when you don't feel it at all) is where  the true test of love is.  (I'm gonna admit that P-Dubs has already had a lot of practice with this. I've had my fair share of pretty un-loveable moments in the past year or so and he is a real trooper.)

Yesterday morning, as I was getting my classroom ready for the day a segment came on the Today show about love letters. Now, I'm not a huge romantic or a really mushy person. I don't know the day that Paul and I started dating. And, at our wedding, I was signaling to the DJ that our first dance had gone on quite long enough. That's just way too much time for people to be focused on you and all your whispering sweet nothings, etc.  (I often wonder what newlyweds are whispering to each other during their first dance. P-dubs and I just kept commenting on how awkward it was. But, for the sake of our video that I have yet to watch, I really hope it looks like we were saying really meaningful, sweet things.) But I don't care if you are a romantic or not. I don't care if you are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Whig, or Tory.  George and Barbara Bush are as cute as a bug's ear. And their discussion about their love letters  and how letter writing is a lost art, had me getting all pooly all alone in my classroom. Lame, I know. 

But it really convicted me. I can't remember the last time I took the time to write to tell P-dubs how I feel. So since I couldn't remember I turned to good ol' Facebook to help me out. (Ironic, since Facebook might just be the arch nemesis of the love letter.) And this is what I found.  That little "view friendship" button is actually useful. Huh. 

Devan McLean MinorP-dubs

So ...I bought you a card and wrote some pretty nice things in it. But I left it in my classroom. Maybe I'll save it for next year. And give it to you at Toast. ; )

February 14, 2009 at 12:48pm · 

I'm assuming I gave him that card last year because today I looked in my desk and didn't see it. But the sad part is...I didn't even write him anything this year. Not even a signature on a Hannah Montana holographic Valentine.  That is just wrong and lazy, if I'm completely honest. And, yikes, I just realized that was from two years ago so who knows about last year either. I know my grandmother treasures notes and cards that my papa wrote her when he was alive. And I'm pretty sure P-dubs saves any I write him. He better. Thus, my day-after-Valentine's-Day challenge to myself is to write him a love letter so that one day our grandkids can interview us on the Today show and read exactly how we felt on our first married Valentine's Day. (Ok. So we probably won't be all that much like the Bushes but they can at least read them when they come by for some homemade cookies. I'm assuming by then that I will do things like make homemade cookies.)

In second grade news...Valentine's Day is a big deal. I mean BIG. 

Just LOOK at all those heart-shaped lollipops.
Also, I received some Easter candy. I'm not sure if Easter candy is on sale really early or...

Update: I was just informed that I wrote P-dubs a lovely letter on our wedding day. Maybe I am a romantic after all. 

Happy day after Valentine's Day. Come on by for some chocolate. 

sometimes flu happens

And strep. And flu again. I have taught second grade for five years and have never had the flu. Never having had the flu shot either, I consider this a small miracle...so I’m taking this as a hint that I need to slow down. Apparently our bodies are not made to work for 10 hours only to rush home to continue working until one can fall asleep and dream about groundbreaking ways to teach about the prefixes dis- and un- . (Shamefully, I did that last night…) 

Another sign I need to slow down? One of my New Year's resolutions was to start a blog.  (You see how well that went. My other goals have been progressing at about the same rate so it’s a really good thing there are still 10 and a half months in 2011.)  In my defense, this blog was technically created 2 days after the New Year. Nothing was written on it but it surely was started. 

Since I’ve been so sick and have been forced to slow down, I’ve done more reading for pure enjoyment than I have probably ever done during a school year.  And while summer reading is not usually accompanied by a subconscious avoidance of swallowing (strep kills me and I’m a big baby about it), I have thoroughly enjoyed my little ‘winter reading’ spell just as much.  It has made me feel like a real person again instead of just a teacher.

But speaking of teaching and reading for fun, I’ll end with a little glimpse into the fantastic world of second grade.  Upon returning from lunch today, I opted to read out loud to my kids. (Yes, I sometimes consider Junie B. to be my own ‘reading for fun’ for the day. Especially if it’s about Valentines Day.)I felt like they deserved it. (And honestly,  I didn’t have the energy for “Working with Words.” If you want to see how to incorporate push-ups, jumping jacks, basketball, soccer, and/or acting like a superstar/robot/volcano/hula dancer with learning to read and write words, please feel free to stop by my room any afternoon around 12:30.) As I’m reading I look up and notice that Aldo has a beard. Hmmm.  I ignore it until I can call him over and ask him what he ate at lunch and how in the world he got it all over his face. He looks thoroughly confused and bewildered.  As do I when I realize it’s green marker-all over his mouth and chin. The child ate a green marker. I swear he must have because my kids don’t even have markers at their seats {I think they’re messy—point proved—and look really bad compared to crayons so they’re reserved for really special projects only.} After much motherly scrubbing of his sweet little face the mysterious beard was gone.  Aldo stands by his complete ignorance as to how it got there.

Starting a blog, I feel like my life isn’t really interesting enough to have one. But, then again, if a second grader returning from lunch with a baffling-green-marker-beard isn’t interesting, I’m not sure what is. (Also, I left school so fast to get to the doctor that I forgot my flash drive and school bag...and, thus, a blog is born.)