Recent Happenings

I am going to have to go with just captions for this post because I am so behind! Luckily, it is because I have been having too much fun. 

Before you get worried, this is a nice police officer that came for our Great American Teach In day mid November. He was telling the students about his career and just to demonstrate he picked me out of the kids and HANDCUFFED ME and put me in the back of the police car. The students' response was cheering and, "Who's gonna teach us now?" We also got to tour a $600,000 RV with heated floors, we had a boom operator from the Air Force, and a lawyer who taught them about the government. 

All of 2nd grade has a Thanksgiving feast together in the cafeteria. Our class's assignment was stuffing. Yes, we made stuffing for 150 2nd graders! It was fun and the students loved helping, especially with my cuisenart chopper! It only made me slightly depressed when during the feast I realized the person I asked to take the stuffing out of the oven forgot, and so the first 4 classes were done eating and didn't get any of it! Bummer.

My mom and dad came to visit for Thanksgiving and decided to join me at school for a day. You better believe I put them to work! They both helped with the Thanksgiving projects we made.

Here I am trying to make sure all my students get to help with the stuffing equally!

The fruits of our labors. We wove placemats, made potato turkeys, and a flower decoration on which they wrote things they were thankful for. 

I put my dad's storytelling skills to use by making him tell my all time favorite story, Rindercella. If you haven't heard it...you have to! My students LOVED it!

Thanksgiving day. Here is my table all set for dinner. My mom made the flower centerpiece which was beautiful! 

Chris and I decided that Thanksgiving is just more fun with a lot of people, so we invited our friends, the Alvarez family and our buddy Craig.

Too busy cooking to do my hair! Oh well. Here we are happy and full.

Believe it or not we ate after dinner! Who can say no to See's chocolates and Craig's homemade salsa and guacamole?

On Saturday we went to Orlando and went to the temple. It was nice to be in the beautiful building and have some quiet time.

After the temple and some shopping we went to Downtown Disney and walked around the fun shops. We had to stop at the most crowded place there too...the Ghirardelli ice cream shop. Mmmm! We should have gotten a picture of that!

On Sunday my mom helped me decorate my Christmas tree. Too bad we had to struggle with the million plugs to get it lit! Oh, it only took 2 hours! You would think the things would be labeled, but no. Before that thing goes down, you better believe I am labeling those suckers! My tree has no star because it snapped! I have to get out the glue gun. Thanks to mom and dad for already bringing presents! It helps my house look so Christmasy. 

Future Fashionista!

I have this 7 year old girl in my 2nd grade class this year that I am going to be keeping an eye out for in about 20 years. The last time I said this was because I believed I would see this other student's name and mug shot on America's Most Wanted. Luckily, instead I will be looking for this girl's face at New York Fashion Week. After morning work I give students who finish early time to either read or color. This girl picked a notebook out of my prize basket earlier this year and has been filling it with what you will see below. By the way, she comes up with the ideas and the NAMES all on her own! I think it is awesome!

How cute are these straps?!

"Just in case you're mad in the morning" she explains.

There's nothing like a fish bodice to hide the hips

Notice the hanger and the word "life." She told me the dress is in a life bag to keep it safe.

How smart to add a turtle neck so you can wear summer fashions in Fall!

She told me she felt she had to add an outfit for the boys. I hope it's for Halloween!

So culturally minded!

This is one of my favorites. Who can resist a dress called "Summer all the time?"

Don't most of us want to extend our legs?

Shocking! :)

I believe she was inspired by Snow White

What Would You Do?

I am the Beehive Counselor at church, and my partner made the girls a little treat last Sunday. She was sweet enough to make one for me too. I happen to be trying to eat better and have been training at the gym for 6 months now trying to get skinny. I would be lying if I said I was just trying to be healthy. Anyway, after seeing what she brought, what would you have done?

This is a huge apple dipped in delicious caramel, then dipped in melted chocolate, then rolled in each girl's particular favorite candy bar. She had slyly asked each person their favorite type as if just having a casual conversation. Mine happened to be rolled in crushed up Snickers Bar.

So... what did I do? I kindly, sweetly said, "No thank you, I am trying to eat healthier." That's what you would have said, right?

NOT!!!!! 

Are you kidding me! I came home from church, enjoyed a green salad to limit the guilt, then dug into one of the best treats I have had in awhile! Chris walked by and told me that I can't claim to be on a diet anymore. Oh well. It was so worth it! Thanks Nikki, I won't hold you accountable for the weight I'm sure I gained. :)

Bathroom Floors

After looking at boxes of travertine in our entry way for oh, 3 or 4 months, we finally got around to getting it installed in our bathrooms! Yea! It looks really nice and we are so happy to be rid of the nasty linoleum. 

The only negative is that now we have the itch to do the rest of our floors. I would love to rip out all of the carpet and flooring, except in the bedrooms, and put in a medium colored bamboo. Chris wants travertine everywhere, or a mixture of the two. I think that a mixture (like the entry way and kitchen in travertine and the main room and dining room in bamboo) will make the house look smaller and choppy. 

 After pricing everything we have realized this is going to be a pretty expensive project. This has also led to Chris researching other tiling that may be cheaper. He is now trying to push Saltillo tile. I think the reddish clay tile is really pretty, I just can't decide if it is the look I want.

What is your opinion? Am I being stubborn by holding out for all bamboo or should I compromise?

Here are some pictures of our new flooring in the bathrooms.

Yucky Linoleum

Ripped up floor

Our bathroom

Guest Bathroom

Saltillo Tile

Bamboo Flooring

Pumpkin Carving to the Extreme

Chris and I went to our friends, Francois and Stacey's house to eat Chili and carve pumpkins. In my head I was imagining these pumpkins with scary faces or cats or something. But no... the boys created some pretty disturbing pumpkins. If you have small children in the room, do not proceed. Just kidding... kinda. 

Francois (my physical trainer), Stacey (his wife), Oliver (his brother)

Me carving my NICE beach scene pumpkin

Yes, Chris was making this face on purpose

My surfer girl and sun

     My sandcastle and palm tree. Everyone kept calling my sandcastle an Aztec pyramid :(

Oliver and Francois proudly smiling. Oliver's was a scene from the movie, "Tropic Thunder." Didn't see the movie, but I guess there was a guy shooting two guns in it. (Far left). Francois' is the big center one. Can you guess what it is? Probably not. It is a baby being eaten by a crazy dude. The baby's leg is being held by the arm, and it is sticking out of the mouth. Disturbing, I know. 

Stacey's is the spider one

Chris's is the one in the front of a pumpkin being shot and his brains coming out the side of his head. Yep, another disturbing one. He was pretty proud of it though. His first wish was to have a carrot sticking out of it, but we only had baby carrots. Why a carrot you ask? No idea!

Close up

It actually got down to 60 degrees tonight! We were *gasp* cold in Florida!

Finger-Lickin' Good

For our Young Women in Excellence night we had a really fun program for the girls. We made it like a Hollywood awards night complete with a red carpet, trophies, lots of good food, and none other than Joan Rivers. We kept it fun and light (and short) and I think the girls really enjoyed it! I did not take pictures of the actual event because we had a guy in our ward taking photos, so I'll have to get those posted later. What I do have pictures of though may not be so flattering for me, but is kind of funny. I brought our chocolate fountain for the occasion (a QVC purchase by my husband), which was a hit until the end when I had to take it apart and clean it. It is impossible to keep clean when doing this and it made me feel like a little kid, having my hands completely covered in chocolate. I couldn't resist taking a few licks, and got it captured on camera. All I can say is Mmmmm... oh, and my disclaimer is that my arms look really huge in the pictures, but I swear they aren't really that big! 

"I believe"

There are some conversations I have with my students that just can't end with me. Here is one of the strangest conversations I have had with a student to date. (You know that you know who it was with...yep, little creep.) 

Set up: I am doing a one on one reading test with him at the reading table. We are about halfway through the test. Oh... and this is soooooo much funnier if you have been to Sea World.

L. Creep: (stops reading mid sentence) Hey Mrs. Harris, can I tell you something?

Me: Sure, why not?

L. Creep: You know what I believe?

An Intrigued Me: No, what do you believe?

L. Creep: In killer whales.

Me: What?

L. Creep: You know, like the killer whales at Sea World. I believe, just like the kid on the         Shamu show.

Me: Well, that's neat, but I think in the show they meant that you should believe that anything can happen if you believe. We already know killer whales exist, so we don't really have to believe in them. 

L. Creep: Yeah, I know. That's what I meant. But Mrs. Harris, I really, really believe. I even have the whale necklace like the kid on the show. Well, I didn't like get to get it on the show, but you know, I got it in the shop.

Me: That's great honey, but we need to finish reading now.

L. Creep: Okay. Hey, Mrs. Harris? Someday I'm going to get the necklace in gold or silver instead of wood.  Cause, you know, I really believe in killer whales.

Me: (trying to hold back a huge sigh): Okay, please read.

L. Creep: I believe so much that I don't think any animals should be in cages like at the zoo or Sea World. It isn't fair. My dad said we can go back to Sea World soon.

Me: Hmmm, I thought you didn't think animals should be in cages. What about all the animals at Sea World? (You know I couldn't resist!)

L. Creep: Well, they're the only ones that like it there.

Me: Okay, honey, you really need to read now!

L. Creep: Okay, but Mrs. Harris? I believe so much that I can like control stuff. (Shrugs his shoulders matter of factly.) You know, like fire and stuff. I really can. 

Me: (ring bell for students to change centers and reading groups and pray I don't catch on fire.) 1 Hour later: 

L. Creep: Hey Mrs. Harris! (Just starts waving his arms up and down in the shape of a whale's tail like they teach you to do at the Shamu show.)

The next morning: L. Creep leaves a hand-drawn picture on my desk of a killer whale with a caption under it that says, "I believe in killer whales." Why do I even try?

Unfortunately, this is not exaggerated or embellished and this is a pretty typical conversation with this child. Oh, and if you haven't seen the Shamu show, it is the cheesiest thing I have ever seen, but apparently it strikes a chord with kids!