Merry Christmas to all...

From our family to yours!!!!!!!!

Recess Decor

Sometimes I lose my patience with this little guy. And then he comes in from recess and does this to my desk. Do you see his attention to detail? Then I take a deep breath and count to the end of the day. :)

The Best Gifts...

...are handmade!



This is my favorite bookmark. I've been using it since my first year of teaching. My former student, Matthew, made it for me and it is perfect! I think handmade gifts are just about the best thing ever...outside of Target gift cards that is. :)

Bobcats: Take 2

My school had free tickets to the Bobcats game so I scooped up the last two tickets. We love cheering on our Charlotte teams...can't wait to get to a Panther game again too!

Miss Philanthropy

One of my old students gathered these items from her collection of lovelies for me to give my new students. Quite the philanthropist, right?

Writer's Workshop Corner

We're definitely putting this to good use!

Just Fresh, Take 2

Where I've Been Hiding...

(That rocking chair is always looking for guest readers!!!!)

The Black Friday of our Dreams...

...HIS LIST...

Cords

Sweater

...And HERS...

Letizia Cardigan

Rosettes-And-Ruffles Dress

Correspondent Tote

Frye "Melissa Button" Boot



Lois Lane

Life Size Poster :)

Roxie Cruiser

...................................................................................................................

Then we'd head home to our Family Tree with the perfect Tree Skirt.

Maybe next year??? :)

Our Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving was a bit different for us this year. Okay. It was a LOT different for us. We weren't with family (for the first time in MY life) and we didn't have a traditional dinner. It was an interesting day...

I made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. I threw in chocolate chips too!

Then I spent the rest of the day making Butternut Squash Soup and a Gingersnap Pecan Pumpkin pie. The soup was really good and we had little sage and olive oil crostini on the side. It certainly wasn't turkey and mashed taters! :)

We joined our friend Janet and her family for dessert later on Thursday night. There was so much pie! After we all consumed a few slices we played some Sequence. Nate and I won two out of three...the streak continues!

This year really has been an interesting one for us. We saw The Blind Side* last weekend (GO SEE IT!) and I literally cried through the whole thing. It just reminded me of how thankful I really am for family and the support that we've always had from them. Then I thought of my students and how different their lives are from mine and Nathan's. If I've learned anything this school year it is to truly be thankful for for even the simplest things that I have.

A loving family.
A warm and constant roof over my head.
More food than I really need.

These three things are so easy to overlook. I am thankful for my students that keep both myself and my blessings in check...I hope to never take these three things for granted!

*Did you see The Blind Side? What did you think???

Oops

You know you're a teacher when you find these in your pocket...

Cobb Salad

We made this for dinner. Not as pretty but it was delish!

Not in Kansas: Part Four

Me "Write about your weekend for morning work."

Student "My mom saw a man shoot two people."

American Wife

I had to return my book to the library before we moved here but I plan to check it out again from the library here so I can finish it. I had just gotten to the "White House" part so I'm excited to see what happens...

Anyone else finished it yet?

Not in Kansas: Part 3

It's a big day today for one of my kiddos. She let me know on Friday that her uncle's getting out of jail today.

WWW

The WW tip and recipe/photo are from the WW Magazine March/April 2009 issue.

WWW Tip:

Look-Alike Luxe – Make a festive antipasto platter – not from pricey gourmet items but from the supermarket! Arrange low-fat swiss and cheddar cheese cubes, sliced prosciutto, marinated veggies (artichoke hearts, red peppers, mushrooms), olives and giant capers!

WWW Recipe: (No picture for this yummy and EASY recipe)

Golden Potatoes
Serves 4

1 lb small Yukon Gold Potatoes, cleaned
½ cup skim milk
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp cumin
½ tsp tumeric
Salt
Pepper

1. Microwave the potatoes until fork-tender in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Mash potatoes in bowl with milk. Add remaining ingredients.

2 POINTS

The Power of Ice Cream

I'll buy you an ice cream cone if you carry my new easel through IKEA for me.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiice.

A much needed easel for my classroom. You wouldn't BELIEVE the things my classroom is "missing"...

Flower Child

Our Literacy unit this month is all about responsibility. I asked the children to write about what responsibility means to them. I thought this little friend had a sweet answer.

(For those who don't read First Grade writing, it says "Responsibility means taking care of the earth."

She also informed me that the purple flowers weren't blooming yet, but they would soon...a bit of sweetness on a loooooooong Friday.

Happy weekend to all of you...

Not in Kansas: Part 2

One of my girls came in today with cute jeans on.

Me "Goodmorning sweetie. Your jeans are very cute!"

Her "They're Apple Bottoms."

You know, like in the T Pain song? Oh Lordy...

Wii're Back!

Our friend LaGina scored three free tickets to opening night for the Bobcats so we took the Lightrail downtown for the big game. Soo fun...





Then Nate and LaGina had a it out in Wii...



Sampson got bored.



I planned through December...awesome!



And they played. Til 2. Crazy people.



We're so happy to be back.

Just Rewards

Nate helped me all day in my class setting things up so I treated him (and myself) to lunch at one of our favorite places, Just Fresh. Soo delicious! If you visit us we promise to take you......

broccoli cheddar soup, homemade mac and cheese, turkey in the straw sandwich for him...



dill cucumber pasta, half turkey in the straw and half pimento cheese sandwich for her...



Wonderful way to end our hard working day!

WWW

The WW tip and recipe/photo are from the WW Magazine March/April 2009 issue.

WWW Tip:

Before you go grocery shopping, check your supermarket’s website for the weekly specials. The compare the prices with other stores and plan your shopping trip around the best bargains!

WWW Recipe: (sorry, no picture in the magazine again.)

Thai Chicken Wraps p. 141
Serves: 4

1 tsp canola oil
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
4 cup coleslaw mix
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
2 T chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
Juice of ½ lime
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
2 (10 inch) whole wheat tortillas, warmed

1. Heat the canola oil and sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coleslaw mix, scallions and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage begins to wilt, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the chicken, peanuts, lime juice and soy sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the basil.
3. Top the tortillas with the chicken mixture and roll up. Cut each roll in half on a slight diagonal.

279 Calories
11 grams Fat
5 grams Fiber
25 grams Protein

6 POINTS

Not in Kansas Anymore...

Today I was reading a Shel Silverstein poem to the children before they left for the day. It's about a boy getting caught in his jump rope and basically goes like this:

This used to be a jump rope
Now I think there's no hope
I'm such a dope
This used to be a jump rope

One of my students immediately tells me the following:

"Mrs. Haskin you shouldn't talk about dope."

Me "What did you say, student?"

"You shouldn't talk about dope. You know, the stuff you smoke...dope!"

Me (in shock) "Oh sweetie, you're right dope is bad. Do you remember Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?"

"No."

Me "Have you seen Snow White?"

"No."



This is sooooooooooo not Kansas.

Go Blue...

Bored on a weekday night we decided to put Nate's shirt on Sampson. It was too small. That's right. Too. Small.

My New Crew

Looking for Nate?

He's in the laundry room.

After much research we finally invested in a new washer and dryer. Just like when we got our new vaccuum cleaner for the wedding he's had a blast checking out all the features and functions. I'm loving it as I haven't had to do a single load of laundry since. Yahoo...





P.S. I don't know what they are. Samsung somethings...I'll ask him if you want! I know they were #1 in the ratings.

The Putka's...

Nathan's buddy from college got married in October in Cleveland. We were thrilled to be there but had to cut things short due to our Monday morning drive to Charlotte. So we drove to Cincy, dropped off the dog, headed to Cleveland Saturday morning (with just enough time to freshen up before the ceremony), watched the game at a local sports bar while waiting for the reception, ate dinner with other "old" friends and then hit the road back to get the dog and head to Indiana. Pheew. It was a loooooooong day...but SO worth it to see Carrie so happy.

Best wishes Putka's...........

P.S. This is what happens when Frat brothers have cakes for centerpieces and too much down time...