Being a mother is a work of "heart"...

Well, I am about two weeks late posting all of the fabulously thoughtful things that my children gave me on Mother's Day.
From Jake, my oldest son, I received this beautiful hand painted butterfly and this jewelry box that closely resembles the Holy Grail! Totally fabulous!


From Daniel, my youngest son, I received this touching teapot poem and some tea. He also gave me a gorgeously wrapped (he was so proud) mug that included his very own finger-painted artwork. Love this!




From Cristina, my oldest daughter, I received a "blinged" out card with a sweet little hand-written note inside. I also got a beautiful poem with her cute little handprint at the bottom. Such a treasure!




From Gabriela, my youngest daughter, I received this lovely plate with her name and handprint painted on it. Her little handprint is so small and adorable!


My adorable husband put the WiiFit on hold for me (we have since received it) and bought some movies for me that I had been wanting:






Although, I am so touched by these amazing gifts filled with love, the best gift I received was spending the day with my fantastic four and my amazing hubby!

Three of my four children can SWIM!

Well, it looks like this is the summer that Daniel becomes a proficient swimmer. We have only been in the pool two weekends and he is already swimming with no floaties! Not bad for a 4 1/2 year old!


Not to be outdone, Gabriela is getting braver and braver when we are in the pool with her (the only time they go without floaties). Gabriela has intermittent strabismus exotropia which affects her depth perception. It sometimes makes her a little hesitant to take risks, but not here. Check her out!


Then, there is my little fish, Cristina. She started swimming last summer and just keeps getting better and better. Rene and I were laughing at her backstroke. You can tell she is obviously right handed, as her left arm does not want to cooperate.


Ironically, when we shot these videos, my oldest, Jake, was at Competitive Swim practice. I'll have to add some video from his upcoming swim meet!

Pool's open...

Not much to say, I really want to catch up. I'll do it a bit at a time.

Here are some shots of the family swimming. Enjoy, they did.

Thumbs-up??????

No. That is not a fashionable bracelet from one of my children for Mother's Day. Oh, no. That is a reminder of what happens when I am cutting veggies for dinner and I get distracted.



I lost the outside tip of my right thumb. To add insult to injury, I have to walk around like I am perpetually giving EVERYONE the "thumbs-up" sign. I am thinking of adding a leather jacket and slicking back my hair. I can be the FONZ. Ayyyyyy! Ugh.

The big move...

They are finally going to begin construction on our elementary school. We have been waiting for this day for about 10 years now. We will be at a temporary school site until (fingers crossed) Fall of 2009. Here are all of my classroom possessions ready for the big move....



However, I brought the piano home with me. The kids have had lots of fun making beautiful music ever since it has been home. The bad blond wood is not the most attractive, maybe I can paint it????? Suggestions?

Music to my heart....

To my ears, not so much. However, at the Spring concert, I noticed that the school's strings have made dramatic improvement from the Winter concert. Jake is playing viola and I am so proud of him.

My little music man.


(Don't you just love the boy's mussed hair?)
Love you, J.L.

So, here it is...

I can't believe that I am finished with my National Board Portfolio.

Would you believe that last night, after I taped up the box, I cried? I did.



Although I look at this box like my fifth child, it goes in the mail tomorrow and I couldn't be happier to see it go. :-)

Rainy Day Picnic...

I am still buried beneath my National Board Portfolio and Master's program. Therefore, most times my children are left to their own devices for entertainment. While taking a break from typing, I walked in the kitchen to find a smorgasboard on the kitchen floor. Upon further inspection, you will notice that this program is also impacting the food choices of my family. Apparently, we aren't too proud for Easy Mac.
*blushes*

The stuff of which dreams are made.

Gabriela and Daniel's pre-school classes and Cristina's kindergarten class have been learning about winter weather patterns. With all of the talk of snow, mittens and sleds, the kids were a little confused. Living in Southern California, they aren't afforded a lot of opportunities to experience those things. However, thanks to the recent rains, the mountains received snow! So, the school rushed a field trip together and voila, instant realia. Rene took the day off to go with them (and took Cristina, too) and it seems as though they had a blast!




For days now, Gabriela can't get enough of her snow gear. Here is a sweet little picture of her curled up for a nap donning pajamas, snow boots, and her big winter jacket. Sweet dreams, snow kitten.

Low-tech hacker alert...

Our family life and commitments can get a bit chaotic. I have always counted on our family calendar on the refrigerator to keep our lives organized. It is a just a perpetual write on/wipe off style of calendar, but it has been fantastic at keeping us on track.
However, recently, my calendar is not my own. The last week or so, when I come downstairs in the morning (remember my kids wake up at 4:45am) something funky has been happening to my calendar.
Events have disappeared, for no apparent reason. In their place, some hieroglyphics that can only be attributed to one person. I mean to say, this has one person's name written all over it. No, literally. It has Daniel's name written all over it. Not in the conventional left to right orientation that one might expect. In the "I'm gonna make it fit in this square, even if I have to write it in a circle" fashion. To be fair, I see Cristina's signature prominently placed, as well.
Although I am totally in love with coming down to these surprises every morning, I am going to have to come up with a new system of keeping our commitments organized. *sigh* Until then, beware the low-tech hacker that is 4 years old and about 3 feet short and his sidekick Curly Macgoo.

Ollie, Ollie, Oxen Free...

Or something like that. Not that I have delusions of being missed, however if anyone is seeking, I am hiding under all of these papers. I hope I can dig my way out soon. Anyone seen a Saint Bernard with a little barrel of whiskey around his neck? If so, I could use him. Well, not him as much as the whiskey. :-)

Accelerated Readers...

Below you will find a picture of a pretty happy bunch of students. Our class was the first class at our school to earn our Accelerated Reader shirts (provided by PTO-THANKS).

The students have to read grade-level appropriate books and then take a multiple choice comprehension test on the computer in order to earn points.

In my classroom, it is a team effort. Once a student has earned the 20 points necessary to earn a shirt. They adopt a less proficient reader and read books with them, during independent reading. They pick books to read that they haven't read (or taken a test on) themselves, so they are not having to "mark time" while helping out their buddies.

In order to better illustrate my point with my students, I share with them that when a platoon of Marines are completing an obstacle course, they work together in order to successfully finish the obstacles.

For example, if they are climbing over an extremely tall wall and not everyone in the platoon is strong at the skill of climbing, the most proficient climbers will climb first. Then, they will secure a rope and toss it down to help his peers. They remain there to help their platoon until all have safely and successfully conquered the obstacle.

I like to think that these situations are analogous. This year, our universal theme is relationships. Relationships between one another, in nature, and in history. I like to provide as many opportunities as I can for my students to build those relationships.

I'll admit, it puts joy in my heart to see these students "tossing a rope down" to support their peers.

Here they are, looking happy as clams:

So tired.....

However, I have been tagged by Darcey and I will do my duty and answer and then (LOOK OUT!) tag others.....

So here goes...

1. Name your 2 favorite scrapbooking topics: my four beautiful babies and everyday life.
2. What are the 2 best places you've been to? St. Maarten and some hidden spots in Mississippi
3. Name 2 things you do every day: have coffee and play with my kids (not always in that order, but I can't be held liable if that order isn't followed!)
4. Tell us 2 things that pretty much everyone knows about you. I am an open book and I kid because I love.
5. 2 places you wish to visit: Prague and New York City
6. 2 things you may not know about me are: I am petrified of wild rabbits and I need everyone to like me.
7. 2 nicknames you've had at some time in your life: Shay-Shay and Cotton-Top
8. Name 2 of your favorite drinks: Gin Martini (extra dirty) and Gin & Tonic
9. What are 2 interesting (in a good or bad way) jobs you have had in your life? I worked in the games department at an amusement park in Memphis (Libertyland). When I first began teaching, I delivered the LA times for extra money during the summer.
10. What are your top two fun things to do after work? Mine would be to scrapbook/go to crops and the other is shopping! This one is tough because I have NO time after work. It would have to be much later after dinner and the kids' bedtime routines. It would be to surf the net and check in with my scrafty friends and to read for pleasure.
11. Here is my addition: What are your two favorite times of the day? Dinnertime-bedtime, when my house is beyond chaotic and the time just after it when it is so quiet that the silence is deafening.
Notice a theme? :-) All of the questions have 2 in them. Answer the questions, add one question of your own (this tag started with 4 questions) and then tag 2 people. Simple enough?
I am going to tag Christy and Melissa.

Have fun!

Funny of the day...

Rene caught this little diddy early yesterday morning and we have been quoting it ever since:

Enjoy!

For whom the bell tolls????

It tolls for me..... and my husband and our kids, as well. Tomorrow, we all return to our normally scheduled life.


No more impromptu trips to the beach.





Only classrooms, books, and teachers' dirty looks. Oops, wait that last part isn't true. :-)