Decorations Are Up!

Our decorations are always a work in progress, but this year we were a little later than usual (which is late,) and did not have them up until more than a week after Thanksgiving. In our defense, Thanksgiving was early this year! :)

T chose a shorter, chubbier tree than usual. He said it just spoke to him. How could we say no to that? 

Our tree is a crazy mix of kid made ornaments, gifts from students and family, keepsakes from our favorite places, and treasures A made for us over the years. M has only pulled ornaments off 5 or 6 times and the entire tree itself only once. I am feeling pretty good about that. 

My favorite ornament on the tree is this one. A few years ago, my Granny gave the little sister and I a box of her oldest ornaments. Each year I hang one on the tree. I tell the boys a funny story about Granny as we hang it. I still cry though. She is missed and the holidays always make it a bit harder.

As for other decorations, my second favorite spot in the whole house is our fireplace. Our family tradition is to decorate it with books. The books do not last long before being grabbed. Sometimes they read them. Sometimes we read the books to the boys. Sometimes they build with them. Sometimes we find them in the kitchen, on the floor when we are walking to turn on the lights and almost slip and fall on our face. Sometimes... :)

Another tradition we have is the big reveal. We do not reveal our Christmas card until they have been mailed. So silly, right? I know! 

In the meantime, from our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

12 Days of Christmas, Teacher Gifts

People usually remember I am a teacher around this time of year. How do I know? They say things like, "So...what do teachers really want for a gift?" 

I like to keep my responses varied and fun depending on the audience. 

Sincere
"Gifts really are not necessary. We really do love what we do."

Silly
"Nothing. Please, no gifts or goodies or notes."

Snarky
"I think the pay we deserve would be a great place to start." 


Serious
"Anything you give your child's teacher will be appreciated. You might also want to throw in a handwritten thank you note." 

With any response, people usually go to question 2 and ask what I give T's teacher. This is an easier one for me. Our family is all about gift cards. We find out our teacher's favorite place or places and along with a beautiful note or favorite candy, send a gift card. You can't go wrong with a gift card. You just can't.

Last year though, my teacher BFF had an amazing parent give her a 12 Days of Christmas gift. Each day as they counted down until winter break, the parent sent a note and goodie to go with it. For example, on the 5th day of Christmas, her student gave to her (sing the tune!) 5 golden pineapple rings! Soooo cute! Susanne reminded me this year so I could do the same for T's teacher. Wanting to keep it personal for his teacher, we sat together and thought of items for each verse. Here's what we came up with! See if you can make the connections!

We included a cute note each day. Here's an example- "On the 1st day of Christmas, my 2nd grader gave to me... a partridge in a pear tree." On the back, we wrote, "or in our case, a super cute bird ornament." We also contribute to the class gift because well, our teacher rocks! 

Click the picture to download a set of free, blank cards to print! 

Your child's teacher really will appreciate whatever you give him or her for the holidays! As cheesy as it sounds, it truly is the thought that counts! 

Being Brave

Oh friends, it has been awhile. Too long in fact. I've been busy. I've been really busy. 

I survived back to school, fell hard for my awesome new class, rocked fall break, dove headfirst into conference week then wrapped it up with a quick trip to Disney World. Then I looked up from life to see that November is coming to a close. 

I do feel like time is going too fast, but I do not think I am missing anything. You know what I mean? I've put a few things on the back burner (mainly housework and the blog) and tried hard to be present, be myself, be the person I want to be. Wait, I think that is called being brave. I'm trying more of that these days. I am being more brave. It's true. Just call me brave brave mcbravey pants. I'm the Queen of Brave. Braverita. Brave on the rocks with a dash of sparkly something! I'm brave! 

It's brave when you forget balance and deal with what comes head on. Juggling mom, wife, teacher is no joke. I thought about taking a year off. I thought about doing something else. I thought about what I could always be doing better as a mom, wife, teacher, daughter, sister, etc. I thought  and thought myself into more worry and strife than I deserve. It's brave to be trusting and here I am. 

Brave presents itself in funny ways. When you have to stand up for what is right, it is brave. It is uncomfortable sometimes especially when you are standing against the norm, whatever that norm might be. I am not shy and I am passionate about a few things. While I have always been brave in talking education, I've upped my brave game for my other passions, too. It feels good. I want my own children to be brave in this way maybe more than all the other ways. I want this type of bravery for my students, too. Brave is no joke. 

It's brave when you try new things and put yourself out there. I did it though. Order my brave shirt and put that puppy in the mail! Later when I am feeling a little more brave than tired, I'll give you the details! 

Brave is admitting that you can't do it all. I.can't.do.it.all. Even though I really, really want to. I can't. and that's ok. I'm going to rock (or at least attempt to rock) this mom, wife, teacher thing and see how far it gets me. :)

What We're Reading Sunday

Summer means extra reading time. Wait, summer should mean extra reading time. That obviously does not apply to moms! I have read maybe, MAYBE 1/4 of the books on my summer reading list! 

T on the other hand, has been reading. He has finished The Dragon Masters series by Scholastic and anxiously awaits the next book. We also read The BFG by Roald Dahl together. He's diving into some nonfiction about spies at the moment and has another Branches read lined up after that one. 

We have also been reading to M. He is going through a phase where he doesn't listen at all, takes the book, blabs for a few minutes and throws it on the ground. So sweet. So, very sweet. We are hoping he will fall in love with Eric Carle's Have You Seen My Cat? as T once did. Let's just say, we are going to keep hoping. :)

I am reading and rereading these books. Mindset and it's classroom buddy are great (the book more than the resource guide) and they deserve revisiting. The chapter books are new to me and I wanted to read at least one in each series before putting them in my library. I always read the first in the series. No pressure first book, but it is pretty serious. I enjoyed both.

But....time, I just need more time. That's something I usually say during the school year, but it is even more true in the summer. I need more time to read. I need more time to read to the boys. I need more time to pretend I'm reading but really sleep. 

Here's to making time, finding time, and reading time! What are you reading this summer?