Cuteness

My Niece Maddie is 2 1/2 years old. I know I might be a little biased, but I think she is about the cutest thing ever. On Monday, she excitedly came to my Mom's birthday party, ready to give Nana the "Gift" she had wrapped. She gave it to Nana and said:

"There is no somethings in there. I just brought it!"

It was Just wrapping paper that Maddie had kind of rolled together- minus anything inside- in her first attempt of wrapping. It didn't matter that there wasn't anything inside, it was still the best gift of the night! So cute!

Monday Morning

Alarm beeps . . . I groan, count down the days until spring break (five)

Monday morning, gotta love it!

Up, dressed, lunch packed (aka - frozen Hot Pocket and a yogurt thrown in a bag)

School - trying to get organized for the Superintendent visit (one of the perks of being a first year teacher!)

Stress. Lots of it.

Students enter.

Giggles. Smiles. Lots of noise.

Cute little boy walks up and says: "Thank you for being my teacher" while presenting me with this:

An entire pan of decadent fudge.

Awwww! (and YUM!)

Teacher smiles.

Better morning.

HAPPY MONDAY!

So THAT's Why!

Today's conversation cracked me up:

Me: We are going to be reading Freckle Juice for our next read aloud. I read this book when I seven, just like you!

Student: In first grade?

Me: No, I was in second grade. I have a summer birthday so I was always the youngest in my class.

Other Student: Is that why you're not married?

Me: Um, no. Pretty sure that doesn't have anything to do with it!

Student: Then why aren't you married?

Me: I haven't found anyone I want to marry yet.

Girl Student: Yeah, cuz girls get to CHOOSE who they marry (apparently boys don't?)

The fact that I am single and still old enough to be a teacher seems to fascinate my students. Seriously, at least once a week someone comments on my marital status. However, going from Freckle Juice to Marriage in the same conversation is impressive, even in my class!

Que Vergonha! (How Embarrassing!)

I have been in a blogging funk. March has been slow - lots of work, not much fun to share. I promised myself that my next post would include a picture (which it does, it just happens to be from google) Since nothing of great importance has been happening, I thought I would share with you one of my embarrassing moments from living in Brazil, since I have plenty of them. This one, however, I had forgotten until last night.

You know those dividers that you set on the belt at the store to divide your groceries from the person behind you so you don't end up paying for their double-stuffed Oreo's? The ones that sometimes look like this:

I had never thought much of them, though I used them often. When I arrived in Brazil I spoke NO Portuguese, and it was slow coming! Each P-Day my companion and I would go grocery shopping. She would load all of her groceries onto the belt, at which point I would put the divider down, then load all of my groceries on the belt. When the checker got to the divider he/she would always shoot me a nasty look, put the divider back, and then check out my groceries. Week after week the checkers would give me funny looks. I had NO idea what was going on.

Finally, after many weeks, I was starting to become more comfortable with Portuguese. It was at this point that I noticed something interesting written across the divider. It said (loosely translated): Lane Closed. Please try next lane. I was so embarrassed! They weren't grocery dividers, they were used when the line was closed!

Moral of the Story: When in Brazil, do not try and use the grocery dividers. They do not use them the same way we do, and will earn you some really interesting looks :)

Anyone else?

I am so, so happy that Daylight Savings has ended! Of course it is nice to have the one extra hour of sleep one day in October, but I don't think my body ever really adjusts to the time change. I much prefer springing forward. Yes, it stinks to lose one hour of sleep, but life is so much better after the first day! It makes me happy!

Plus, when I left school today the sun was still (way) up, and it felt like spring. YAY!

Outside of my Comfort Zone

I was asked to be on a panel yesterday for group of girls about to graduate from high school. I was kind of worried about it, because I really don't feel like I have a bunch of wisdom to share, especially when most of the questions were related to dating (really, NOT an expert in this area!) However, it was fun and the girls were all really cute.

After the panel, we were taken back to the parking lot on snowmobiles. I have only been on a snowmobile once in my entire life, and it was YEARS ago. When I asked where I was supposed to sit, the man told me that I needed to sit up front because I would be driving.

Seriously? What if I crash it? I asked. (I really thought he was kidding!)

He just laughed.

I started out really, really slow. He told me that I needed to go faster or else I would kill the snowmobile. Whoops! Within a few seconds I was feeling more comfortable, and then I realized that I was having fun. It was so exhilarating! It was only a five minute drive (which was good, considering the fact that I was not dressed warm enough for a snowmobile ride) but it was so much fun! Turns out I did not crash it, and I found that I would really enjoy snowmobiling as a sport. First skiing, now snowmobiling. Maybe winter sports could be my thing!

It was a really great way to end the week.

Rules I Thought I'd Never Have to Make:

1. Keep spit bubbles in your mouth

2. Push the door all the way open before you go out

3. Absolutely NO washing your hands in the toilet

Gotta love 1st graders :-)

Favorite Photo Friday

My ward always did a Road Show each year while I was growing up. I participated in lots of them, but this one was my favorite. I don't even remember what the play was, or how old I was. What I do remember is dressing up as an old woman with two of my friends. We stuffed our dresses with pillows, and sprayed our hair white. I got to play the ornery old women. It was so much fun! I giggle every time I see this picture. So fun.

Happy Birthday, Dr Seuss!

In honor of Dr Seuss' birthday, our school served Green Eggs & Ham today. This led to the following conversation:

Student: (confused) Where do green eggs come from?
Me: From green chickens, of course!
Student: WHOA!!!
Me: I know!

I am such a great teacher, where would these kids be without me ;-)

Killer Deal

My sister is having a party where we will be making these beautiful creations:

I didn't go to the last party, because I couldn't imagine that the final product would turn out so great, but after seeing it in person, I will DEFINITELY be making one this time around! If you are interested, let me know!

WHO: YOU! And anyone else that you'd like to invite.

WHAT: A DIY Antiqued Temple Portrait Class

WHEN: Friday, April 30, 2010 -- 6:30 pm

WHERE: the church near my house

WHY: Because you can make a gorgeous antiqued temple portrait, very similar to the ones sold at Deseret Book or Sam's Club, for a fraction of the cost ($53 and 3 hours of your time, to be exact, as opposed to $250). There's eight different temple pictures you can choose from (click HERE to see examples), and it's simple enough that anyone can do it-- including me, so you know it can't be too difficult! :)

HOW: Click HERE to see a few of the details of how I made mine. If you're interested in joining in on the fun just leave a comment or email me and I'll send you an email with more details. Just think of what an AWESOME Mother's Day/Father's Day gift this would make for someone special!

P.S. If you want to see a finished picture in real life before committing, I have one! Please come over and visit... and just love it when friends come over. :)

P.P.S. Really and truly, please feel free to invite anyone you know who may be interested in joining us! It could be a really fun Girls Night Out. :)