double dipping.

So tonight, I'm double dipping. On account of Open House last night (1 parent showed up), I didn't get home until after 7. Which pushed dinnertime until close to 8:15, which totally threw my night off. Anywho, tonight is a "twofer". Last night AND tonight with some funny stories in between.

Numero uno. Chicken Kebabs with Creamy Pesto.



2 tsp grated lemon rind
4 tsp fresh lemon juice, divided
2 tsp bottled, minced garlic (this stuff saves my LIFE since I abhor chopping garlic and the smell that lingers..)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 (1-inch) pieces yellow bell pepper
8 cherry tomatoes
1 pound skinless, boneless, chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small red onion, cut into 8-10 wedges
cooking spray
2 Tbsp plain low-fat yogurt (we usually use Greek yogurt for the texture)
2 Tbsp reduced-fat sour cream
1 Tbsp commercial pesto

Preheat broiler.

Combine rind, 1 Tbsp juice, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. Toss with bell pepper, tomatoes, chicken and onion. Thread veggies and chicken onto 4 metal skewers. Places skewers on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray (or foil to avoid clean-up). Broil 12 minutes or until chicken is done, turning occasionally.

Combine 1 tsp juice, yogurt, sour cream, and pesto. Serve sauce with kebabs.


Intermission:
I tell you, kids say the funniest things when you just spend time with them outside of "school". Like one of my students being an Uncle to another student in my class. Yeah, his brother is the other girl's daddy. It's not that I don't believe it is possible - few things shock me these days with my little ones - it's just, wow. The immature person I've had you sitting next to because I thought you were a positive influence on is your UNCLE.

Oh, I thought about getting my eyebrows waxed today. It is a fabulous little nail place that charges $6. Colin knows that if I could just have one "indulgence" a week, it would be getting my eyebrows waxed. However, the thought of anything molten being ripped off my tense, sore, fever-ridden face was not appealing to me. Erego, the bushy caterpillars above my eyes. Which one of my sweet, unashamed little girls pointed out to me today.


Bison Pita Burgers with Tahini Sauce and Tomato Cucumber Salad



Burgers:
1/4 cup red onion
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
16 oz. ground bison (it's really healthy and lean. and GOOD!!)
cooking spray
8 small green lettuce leaves
4 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, halved

Sauce:
1/2 cup plain 2% Greek-style yogurt
1 Tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste) -- I won't give you the recipe we used because it wasn't as "pasty" as expected.
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced (I use the bottled stuff. I'm a cheater. Fine.)

To prepare burgers, combine onion and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Divide portion, shaping each into a 1/3-inch-thick oval patty. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until well-marked and done. Arrange 1 lettuce leaf, 1 patty, and about 1 1/2 tsp sauce in each pita half.

For the tomato-cucumber salad: combine 2 cups thinly sliced cucumber and 1/4 tsp salt in a colander; let stand 10 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture. Combine cucumber, 2 cups thin tomato wedges, 2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, and 2 tsp EVOO.

To prepare sauce, make tahini paste (again, find your own recipe, ours wasn't the best) and combine the other ingredients. BAM!

Cookies and tea with friends, walking the pups, writing lesson plans, and taking a bath. Is it Friday yet?

maple-glazed salmon and tomato-dill brown rice

This recipe has made it into my cute little Anthropologie recipe book. Not only was it quick to prepare and cook (35 minutes because we used non-instant organic brown rice), it is GOOD. Enjoy.

Maple-Glazed Salmon

1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ancho chile powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 lb. Alaskan salmon filets (I'm weird about seafood, so we get the Alaskan sockeye salmon even though it is a bit pricey)
Cooking spray
2 Tbsp. maple syrup

Preheat broiler (come on, how EASY is this?!).

Combine the first 6 ingredients; rub spice mixture evenly over the flesh side of the fillets. Place fish on a broiler pan (or baking sheet) coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness (we went about 8)

Brush fillets evenly with syrup; broil 1 minute.


Tomato-Dill Brown Rice
(It originally calls for couscous and couscous is usually quicker, but it has a lot of wheat in it which bothers me, so we just use our beloved Central Market Organic Brown Rice. Delish.)

Oh yeah, we pretty much changed the entire recipe. Except for the dill and tomatoes.

Cook the rice as directed on the package. Substitute low-sodium chicken broth in for some of the water if you want a little something-something more. When the rice is done, add about a Tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, 2 Tbsp of chopped dill, some Kosher salt, and pepper. Easy peasy.

I'm usually weird when it comes to dill - I HATE pickles and that sour-ey taste. However, the dill marries perfectly with the red onion and I LOVE it. I just can't explain it. You'll have to try it for yourself, I guess. And most of this stuff is all around your house anyways!

Here's how the wonderful meal turned out....



Time for dishes, a walk with One, finishing my glass of favorite New Zealand white wine, and a bath.

warm shrimp pasta salad and sauteed brussel sprouts and shallots.

Although I was often afraid of these green bushels growing up and only tried them as of last year, I have become a fan. If you cook them right (i.e. don't completely drench them in butter or bacon fat), they are fabulous and pack quite the nutritional punch.



Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sugar
3/4 lb. brussel sprouts, trimmed and sliced lengthwise
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, swirl to coat. Add shallots; saute 3 minutes or until almost tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add sugar and brussel sprouts; saute 5 minutes or until brown, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with salt (we use Kosher salt for the flavor) and pepper; toss.

Warm Shrimp Pasta Salad

3 cups uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
cooking spray
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (this totally grosses me out, so Colin does this, but if you don't have a "Colin", you can buy them already deveined..)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 cup cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup minced red onion

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Combine juice, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in salt and pepper.

Heat a large nonstick skilled over medium high heat (we don't have a nonstick skillet, so we used olive oil). Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until well done. Stir in spinach, cannellini beans, red onion, toss to combine. Add the pasta and juice mixture to shrimp mixture; toss.

I am not a HUGE fan of mustard or pasta (but Colin is), but if you really don't like mustard, I would stay away from this dish. The dijon mustard is wonderful with the shrimp and a great alternative to the mayonaise-y pasta salad that you grew up with. We enjoyed this dish and had quite a bit leftover, but it did not make it to our favorites list.


(This was Colin's plate!! haha)

Goodluck.

real simple.

Well, it has been quite the time since I have had the time to sit down and blog, but this Sunday afternoon brings in the smells of a freshly clean house, homemade bread, grilled chicken for my salads for the week, and a clean puppy - some of the things that usually nag at my free time. The lists are slowly (and thankfully) dwindling, whilst still remaining. In fact, one of my "lists" is the one on my iPhone - telling me what I'm going to blog about. What I couldn't do without that thing.

These first three weeks of school have brought on many new challenges in the classroom and out of it. I am learning how to be a teacher. One that is tough, expects much, but one that also "does life" with her students. That, I believe is why my sweet 3rd graders will work for me. I sit cross cross apple sauce on the floor with them taking turns asking about their weekends, share my small anxieties about our puppy or how I still can't tell you what 7+5 is right off the bat, and how I am still learning with them.

I am learning even more of what it looks like to be a wife - faithfully loving and taking care of my sweet husband, who is doing most of the "taking care of" these days, and a child of the Most High - savoring the time that I have with Him and learning what being diligent and cautious of where my time goes really looks like. Some of the times I cherish most are the times that seem the most mundane - those in which at first you wouldn't give thought to worshipping or waiting. When I am alone in a dark bathroom taking a bath just listening and waiting for Him, or when I am passing out warm-ups first thing in the morning waiting for my little ones and I can just have the music on my iHome praying over each of their spots - for the words to say when they want to fight, for the energy to learn and retain the information, for the Band-Aids that need to cover their hurts.

I love my job. Not a day goes by that I don't leave feeling humbled and brokenly thankful. I learned what having "shoes that talk" meant this last week as a boy opened up about how he felt being teased about his "shoes talking". "You know, Mrs. D.," he said, "like when your shoes come apart so your toes show and you're so poor you can't get new ones yet? That's what I'm sayin' when your shoes be talking."

I frequently bring this "job" home with me. While I do bring pocketfuls of beads home with me (I use a bead reward system which rocks), to which I usually discover as they spill all over the floor when I change clothes, I bring papers to grade, phone numbers of parents to call, and a list of things to gather from home for the next day, I usually bring so much more than just the physical things. And I thank the Lord every time I pull in the driveway that I have a husband whose loving arms I can run to and just remain - without words, until things seem to sort themselves out. How Colin can hear my struggles, my frustrations, my burdens and still love me, love my kids, and want to help. Oh, and we are both grading papers these days. Colin is grading for an Ocean Engineering class, and I'm grading spelling tests. Oh the irony....

My dad used to tell me that there is no such thing as having a 50%-50% marriage. That those will fail. Unless you are willing to go 100%-100%, forget about it. There are times when you can't bring 50% to the table, when you can't even bring 20. So always bring your best to your spouse. There will be times they are so broken, busy, and finding their way, and if you aren't "bringing it" (as I tell my kids), you won't make it. So to our sweet married couples: Bring it. 100%.

Now for the lighter side of my blog (and THIS is where my list starts). I'm keeping it short and sweet people, I have dinner to cook. Speaking of cooking. Check out our kitchen. Now, the green paint on the walls is not our first choice, but we are renting and are making do. What you can't see is the extreme lack of cabinet space, to which you will notice our pans hanging from hooks on the wall. My husband is ingenious.



One was excited I was taking pictures. Clearly.



And apparently since Lean Cuisine's are outlawed once you get married, we have this nifty meal planner (I am so OCD organizational sometimes) that lets us plan out our dinners. Oh, and it's dry-erase just in case plans change. Which they do. My goal this week is to photograph our meals and give the recipes on the blog. We are going for inexpensive, healthy, semi-quick meals, which I think pertains to most of the population. So, you will at least have 5 new recipes. Unless you cheat and read Cooking Light. Which in that case, BYE.

NOTE: This was our menu LAST week. I'll be posting the updated one tomorrow. The lighting was bad for picture taking in the kitchen and I couldn't wait to post.



Annnnddd we have a nifty way of keeping track of our recipes. Dang, I just LOVE our Scrabble magnets. Make you some. They are easy, cheap, and cute!



Oh, and Sundays are sweet too. Literally. My other goal is to bake something new every Sunday. Not only will my husband stay with me (kidding, Colin), it will help my become more bake-y. More pastry chef-ey. I love cooking, but am so not skilled in the baking department. Anyways, we had this bizarre bunch of bananas that stayed green for like 6 days and then started to have brown spots. Like passed yellow and collected $200 without us even knowing. I kept those and some of our other old ones, intrigued at what the issue was and decided to make banana bread. The last banana bread was meeehhhhh, but what do you know.....it just so happens REAL SIMPLE sent me an emailed recipe for Banana Bread with Apricots, so we put our two culinary brains together and came up with this beauty!



Banana Pecan Apricot Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour (I used half white, half wheat to appease my original taste-loving husband while keeping him healthy)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup apricots, chopped (traditionally I wouldn't be jumping to bake with apricots, but Colin convinced my after trying some organic Turkish apricots at the grocery store. They were so sweet and when chopped up, were FABULOUS in the bread.)
2 large VERY RIPE bananas, peeled and mashed
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten

Head oven to 350. Lightly coat a 5x9" loaf pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Using your fingertips (come on, it's fun), work the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse crumbs. Mix in the pecans and apricots. And add some flax seed people. It is SO good for you and you don't even know it's there!! Stir in the bananas, buttermilk, and eggs until well blended.

Pour into pan. Bake 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn onto wire rack and cool.

I'm telling you. Make this. Now. Thank me later.

Obsession. Alphabet wall. This might just be a teacher thing, but let the world know that our child WILL have one of these. Somewhere in our house. Thanks Ohdeedoh.



If you are in the Bryan-College Station area, get yourself over to The Village Cafe in Bryan. Colin has been talking about this place for the past 4 years we have been here, but I've recently fallen headfirst onto the "bandwagon" and love this place. 2 dates with friends in the past 2 weeks here. I think we pinky-promised each other we would start to come here every Saturday.



Second to last on the list. Mini-diaries. I'm all about short and efficient, and when I was going through the daily grind of my blogs I follow I found these! Not only are they so cute on the outside....



They are PRECIOUS on the inside. They let you just write short phrases of your "favorites" from the day. I'm all about this. And they are such a good price. She only has a few left so get on over to marta writes and get you some!!

http://minimart.bigcartel.com/product/mini-diary



And last, but not least. The best of the best quotes from my kids from this past week. (These are just the ones I actually remembered and had time to write down!)

Every morning I pick my kids up at 7:30 in the gym. There were 3 girls finished eating breakfast when I got there and they all had some type of glitter/bling/sparkly-ness on their shirts, so I commented them. Duh.
"Girls, I love all of your sparkles today!"
At the same time I said that, one of my boys came up next to me and heard me say that.
"Mrs. D, I've got sparkles too!" (referring to the "bling" on his shirt)
Sure enough. He was correct.

We are starting to write personal narratives in class. I wanted the kids to brainstorm a list of 5 things they would like to write about and then circle three of those things to narrow it down. I gave a few examples: watching fireworks, taking my puppy to the park, getting married, getting a bad haircut, etc. As I was walking around I asked a little girl to read me hers. (Remember I teach 3rd grade....) Her first one was "getting a new boyfriend".

Since my classroom is jungle-themed, I frequently refer to us as being a pack. I remind them that the pack sticks together, and when we are strong together, no one will mess with us, especially Mama Lion (me). The kids love that, but apparently forgot our Pack Pact, as 5 of them got in a pretty escalated fight last week. I whistled for them to line up and get away from each other, but eventually had to run over and pull them away. As I was walking them back up to the building, I was telling the other kids to line up on our line. Out of breath and upset, a little girl reminded the others, "Ooooooooooo y'all best get in line. Mama Lion's face is turning red. I think she is about to growl." Indeed I did. After I turned around and laughed to myself.

Patiently.

36 pounds.

36 pounds. Yes, that's how much One is weighing in at these days. This is the title because I have a lack of creative thinking this evening and Colin just had to move puppy from crying and trying to get in my lap while I tried to type. I was reminded by his struggle that One is extremely large. And getting larger. Just in this last week he has figured out how to get into the bathtub all by himself. So we frequently hear the water turning on all by itself and head into the bathroom to discover our ghost. Goober.

This little ghost moves around the house attempting to make a meal out of our pink chair or laundry hamper. The only two things he enjoys chewing (thank you, Lord!). Thankfully, this pretty pink chair and its shabby chic design camouflages his puppy teeth marks well...



Puppy love. One aspires to to be a hockey player one day. They don't have one of those Air Bud Hockey movies, correct?





We were fortunate enough to have a special person (and her precious puppy, of course) come and visit us last weekend. That's right. My bestest best friend in the whole entire world and her baby, Lucy. I guess that makes One and Lucy cousins. Although Lucy is small, she is packing. She is all muscle and held her own against One. It was such a blessing to spend the day with her and getting to have some sweet time before we go our separate, busy ways.



Last puppy update. Puppy Kindergarten. We attended our first class and received many tips as well as a treat holder with a belt loop hook. This treat holder has the same "coolness factor" as that of the fannie pack, so I guess it does validate Colin's strict adherence to NOT wearing it in public despite its super practicable nature. Perhaps that is why my hot pink Tweety Astroworld fannie pack went out of style.

Okay, school time. Promise broken: no pictures yet. I've actually changed things around a bit, but the pictures will be up this week! I love it. I think my kids love it. Speaking of kids, I have 19 of them. 19 wonderful, exciting, inventive, curious third graders. They are all so different - 19 different personalities, but all so sweetly unique. It has been a great week and the end of the week was really sweet because we are finally understanding how each other work. They know my high expectations and how much I love and respect them, and they will work for me because of that. They love our fun facts every morning:

Did you know that your teeth start growing 6 months before you were born?
Did you know that humans and pigs are the only living creatures that can get sunburnt?
Did you know that pink was the first color of bubblegum because the man making it ran out of other colors?
Did you know that a hummingbird weighs less than a penny?

Now you know!

Oh, and our Girls Bathroom pass was dropped in the toilet the second day of school. The really cute, handmade one I made using a large paint stick and wooden jungle animal. Which brings me to the most memorable quotes from the week....

Girl: "Mrs. D., I'm just wondering something..."
Me: "Yes, sweet girl?"
Girl: "I'm just wondering why all of my teachers are white."

[After the girl who dropped the bathroom pass in the toilet brought it BACK into the classroom [STILL WET] and laid it on the next girl's desk needing to "use it"].....

Bathroom Girl: "Ummmm here you go..."
Girl (appropriately responds): "Girrrlllll, why is this wet?! Whatcha lay this on MY desk for?! (chunks it across the room) SHOOT."
Me: "Just put it in the trash."

Not only did I take away sweet moments, funny stories, and lots of laughs and hard knocks this week as a teacher, I also brought home a yucky cold. I knew it was coming, but I just tried tried tried to keep it away. Failure. As a result, I am now accepting donations in the form of hand sanitizer. Me children are "germ juiced" pretty much every time before they breathe. One of my classroom jobs for the students is being our "Doctor" - making sure everyone is sanitized before making a move. I hope this pays off.

Side note. Colin and I made this quick and easy side dish with our "leftover" produce for the week to go with our BBQ chicken tonight and I have to share the recipe.



Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add green beans and cook for 4 minutes. Immediately remove and drain under cold water (this helps them crisp). In the meantime, back in the pot used for boiling, melt a little bit of butter (1 minute) and add sliced almonds, mushrooms, sliced red onions, salt, and pepper. Add olive oil as needed to keep from burning. Add green beans in 2 minutes before serving and Voila! Delish. So easy. Not wasteful.

Anyways, I am 1 hour and 43 minutes past my 9pm bedtime and the invasion of the college students back to A&M (IMAGINE!!) is making me anxious getting around town, so I need all of the preventative rest I can get.

Love.

P.S. Seriously, everyone put a grill pan on their registry. Any registry. Wedding, birthday, Christmas, baby, housewarming, ANYTHING. Just get one of these.
P.P.S. I never mentioned my better half. He spent so much time this week loving on me behind the scenes: making my lunch to bring to school (killer salads), doing the dishes, taking care of One, picking up dry cleaning, and writing love notes. Too wonderful.

YouTube Inspired

Well Happy Sunday to all. I write this anxiously awaiting tomorrow where I will officially start as a 3rd grade teacher during our inservices. Not that I haven't spent most waking hours thinking, eating, sleeping, "school" at workshops, trainings, and in my room, but I just love the officialness of tomorrow. Like I even ordered a school polo shirt and all. Legit.

As I write this, I am inspired by a sweet YouTube find by none other than the fabulous Hannah Dismuke (aheeeemmmm, my sister because if you haven't noticed, we share the same name....) Oh, and I have a sign outside my room that says "Dismuke". And yes, I still chuckle every time I walk by it.

Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYBuuz1izvs&feature=related

And this. Sorry, Jennifer Marie McCatharn, but who is Justin Bieber again?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-1rP-lI-Bo&feature=related

I'm at a draw as to dancing/singing/twirling with the dog/singing into a hairbrush when I listen to him. I guess that's what every singer dreams his 22 year old fans would do. He should be excited and mailing me a signed CD.

In other news, I found a haircut place that I LOVE. Since I'm married and technically live with my husband in College Station and have a job in College Station, I figured it was time to find a place in College Station. I get extremely anxious about things like this. I mean it's HAIR!! It doesn't grow overnight!! Well it does, just slowly. I got my hair cut and colored there and I feel like there is one thing in my life that doesn't stress me out anymore. I mean Priscilla can even cut my bangs the way I like them (gasp!).

In other news, this commercial makes me roll on the floor laughing, or ROTFL, for all of you tech-savvy individuals. Just something about it makes me crack up. Even if I'm the only one home. In t-minus 1 day I will say goodbye to television all together. Adios Old Spice commercial date, hello 3rd grade.
http://www.youtube.com/user/OldSpice?v=uLTIowBF0kE&feature=pyv&ad=5174223377&kw=old%20spice%20commercial&gclid=CNu926nEvKMCFRsNswod5SbCbg#p/p

Let's take a poll. Which direction do you hang your clothes? Like does the front face right or left? Because my husband does it wrong. I've recently realized that when doing laundry and putting his clothes away. I'm OCD like that and all things must face the same direction, so it's been a struggle letting him know gently this is incorrect. My OCD lets up during school because with lots of little ones touching your things, moving your things, using your things, you've just got to let it go. Thank the Lord for elementary school. I belong there.

Back to the laundry talk, I HATE FITTED SHEETS. Like how do you fold them? I still haven't figured it out. Confession: YouTube videos are no help at all. I told you this post was YouTube inspired. I have resorted to only using 1 of our 2 pairs of sheets. Like I take them off, wash them, and put them right back on to avoid the horror of folding them. When, on the rare occasion I do have to "fold" them, I roll them. Saves time, wrinkles, and bad words.

Puppy is growing SO much recently. Like sometimes I don't even recognize him. This isn't the same boy we brought home from the hospital, errr, ummm pet store. hahaha He has made me realize why I want NO children in our near future. He is still a total waterbaby. A few days ago, he had an accident while we were just finishing cooking dinner. He also walked in it, so I immediately took him to the bathroom and stuck him in the bathtub until I could get dinner off of the grill pan and bread out of the oven. 15 minutes later, I wondered where the little booger was.



Surprise. He was just chilling in the bathtub figuring out how to turn the water faucet on with his head. Genius I tell you!

As for food news, HEB has strawberries for $1.98 and they are GOOD. I am getting "berried out" for the summer because they are on their way out, but the ones they have now are good! So get to HEB and buy 3 packs like I did!

We had another little playdate outside with the pup. He loves being outside almost as much as being in the water. I realized I have NO pictures with our dog-child, so we took a few...



Did you know One was part rabbit?! Neither did we!




Next post (because I'm anxious and like to always know what's coming next): classroom pictures (because I HAVE to be done Thursday for Meet the Teacher night....I am the "teacher" part of that!! EEeeeeeeeee), chalkboard flower pots, One updates (duh), kitchen pictures. Annnnndddd I think my best friend is coming to visit with her new baby (by baby I mean puppy). Eeeeeeekkkk!

Faithfully.

Odds and Ends.

As usual, this blogpost is just word vomit. Sorry for the mental picture. I am having a hard time organizing my thoughts today for some reason and I have been keeping a short list (LOVE lists, duh) of odds and ends to remind me of what I wanted to blog about at some point in time over the past few days. I love to write, but in this busy season of life my writing has dwindled to shopping lists, to do lists, and love letters to my husband and best friends. So, here you have it, odds and ends.

Annndd now my husband is trying to convince me to watch an "iconic" football game from 1983 - BYU vs. UCLA. Negative. Moving on. Train of thought is slowly dwindling. I have spent the last week (8am-4pm) at a Computer Math training for my school, and have spent the leftover time attempting to get my room ready. It is slowly getting there. The only thing missing is kids. Our back room has been converted into an organizational haven.



Speaking of kids, we had a night last week where we got to participate in an outreach in the projects by my school and I got to see so many of my kiddos. It was so encouraging to see them and hear about their lives. I have missed that immensely. While I was walking some home, I was able to meet 3 parents of kids who are going to be in my class this year. As I was walking back to my car I noticed that pretty much every unit in the projects had multiple chairs on their front porches. I just loved that and the sweet fellowship that they had. I pray that though I might not always have chairs on our front porch, my heart would always be in a place to invite people to come sit and talk.

Speaking of kids (again), Colin and I's "kid" is growing up. He is definitely in the puppy stage, but is teaching me a lot about what training him means. It is such an encouragement as I am about to have a class that needs "training". Patience, unconditional love, and reflection consistently come to mind when I think about this season of life with this puppy. He absolutely adores Colin and almost knocks himself off of his own feet as he wags his tail whenever he sees Colin come through the door. He starts Puppy Kindergarten in 2 weeks, but is quite a bit ahead considering he has a Kindergarten-teaching mommy. He knows the words, sit, come, down, go potty, and no quite consistently. Sometimes I worry about him thinking his name is "No, One, no!" We are working on that. Like the day before yesterday he poured out an entire cylinder of uncooked oatmeal, running through the house with the container in his mouth. Or how while I was in the bathtub yesterday, he protested by ripping a bag of flour open and digging in. The combination of wet ears from the water and the cakiness of the flour was lethal and he got his wish of getting a bath. Here are a few pictures of his crazy self playing in the water today. For those of you who don't know, One is a total waterbaby. He does anything and everything to get in water. I even have to take a bath while he is asleep, otherwise he will cry, cry, cry until I put him in (after I am done, of course...don't think he is swimming in there with me).







I love this one...



Puppy likes the herb pots too...



Those ears get him in lots of trouble. Imagine those babies dragging water through the house...



Monkey grass is one of One's favorite things...




One and I had a visitor come and stay with us last week, and I think Onesie found a new best friend. Second graders make really great friends, y'all. Here is my sweet cousin, Zach, and One snoozing.



Oh, yeah. And Zach and his sweet momma brought us some fresh peaches from their recent trip to Arkansas. Let me just try to put into words how much I love peaches. Yeah, that's impossible. Let's just be honest, I have no shame in eating a peach. Juice could be running down my chin and I have no care in the world. Let's just put those peaches with strawberries and Blue Bell and I could pretty much die and go to heaven. Except I don't want to leave my husband and puppy quite yet. I might choose to lay off this obsession. Good thing peaches are about to go out of season.



Okay, last thing. I have a new obsession. Well, my list-making obsession is known to the world, but this organizational method is ridiculous. It is a day-by-day meal planner from OLLIBIRD. I usually have a list on my fridge, but this is an incredible chic, fun way to display, remind, and change with no worries (it's dry erase)! It's called the Scribble Menu and it looks like this:



I had it a 12x16 poster printed off at Kinko's for $15 and got a silvery frame from Hobby Lobby (frames are half off people!) And then my husband hung it in our kitchen for me. You can find it here if you want to download and make one of your own......
http://blog.ollibird.com/2009/04/menu-planner.html

Annnddd now my husband is serenading me to a Delta water faucet commercial. I need to go rescue him.