Time Away

We all had a little time away from home the past two weeks.  The kids enjoyed a week with Nana and Papa on Kelley's Island.  Enjoy, doesn't quite cut it.  They had a blast!  I am not sure what I was worried about leaving them, but they had the time of their lives.  Making memories with their grandparents is a wonderful gift!

Nick and I flew into Ft. Lauderdale, visited with some old friends, tried the new surfer frenzy "Paddle Boards" and had an amazing dinner with an old Round Hill Family!  Friday we cruised on down to the Keys to the most amazing, off the beaten path resort!  Casa Morada fulfilled all our expectations and more! The serene atmosphere was just what the doctor ordered!  Saturday morning we got up early with Captain Chris for a back country fishing exploration.  It turns out, I LOVE TO FISH!  We had a blast.  The boat ride alone in the Gulf of Mexico was breathtaking! We fought a huge Tarpin but left without a big catch.  We were served drinks on the water by a dear man named Bernardo from Ecuador (He raises shrimp).  We swam in crystal clear bath water along the Gulf coast.  We saw dolphins and sea turtles.  We enjoyed quiet meals and uninterrupted sleep for 5 days.  Life is good!

I spent the rest of the week in Ohio with my family.  The Chicago city mice met the Virginia country mice and had a ball.  They performed in two America's  Got Talent shows in Nana's living room.  Hilarious!!! Had a great meet up with my old HS pal and discovered a great new park (you know the good kind...tire swings, zip-lines, double-wide slides).

It's always nice to return home to your own pillow.  I am now back to focusing on the last days of summer and the school year ahead.  It's hard to believe this time has gone so fast.  It always does.

Wordle and Glogster

My summer days have been so well spent.  This summer I made a conscious effort to not over schedule my kids with activities.  I am also trying not to over schedule myself.  I am up for re-certification of my teaching license and while it has been adding to my plate, I have learned about some pretty amazing new tech trinkets.  Wordle and Glogster were introduced this week in my online class.  Glogster is the new way of creating posters online.  Remember buying poster board to finish school projects?  Well, today kids can simply access Glogster and digitally create a poster for classroom assignments. I will show you first hand the effects of Wordle at the end of this post.  In between pool time, I have been able to create some useful items for my upcoming school year!
Click below to view my Wordle of this blog post and my first Glogster Poster!

MY Wordle

Glogster

Outdoor Kitchen!

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Our outdoor kitchen inspired by

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/outdoors/a-play-kitchen-for-the-outdoorsb-organic-150550

turned out to be a hit!  The kids washed dishes and Mary Kate proceeded to wash the windows with the baster!  That's my girl!  I love free and easy ideas!  Thanks borganic.net!

Summer has begun!

My little man can float!  Yeah Charlie!  What a great week of swim lessons!  Now if we can only get Mary Kate to go to a lifeguard.

An unexpected surprise phone call from a former student and former colleague/friend, turned into a really fun blueberry picking experience!  Thanks Genny!  Can't wait until our next adventure!  

Aren't these kids just the cutest!

Wikis-What?

Tomorrow I am presenting WIKIS with a fellow teacher at the Active Loudoun Staff Development program.  You may be asking:  What is a WIKI?  Just a simple website that can be used for your own personal classroom, that allows students to collaborate, edit and write together.  It also allows for teachers to set up assignments and for parents to access information about your class.  Check out the You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY
I can't wait to implement this in my classroom next year!  More to come on WIKIS

On another note:  Summer has almost begun.  Swim lessons are going well for at least one of my children.
Charlie loves it.
Mary Kate does not and will not, I mean refuse to go to any lifeguard.  Hmmm. the funny thing is... she is completely fearless in the water.  Maybe next summer.

Not too shabby and chic!

We had a not too shabby weekend with my mom and Greg.  The beautiful "chic" wedding of Matt and Lauren in the Virginia countryside, followed by a day of Vineyard hopping was fun filled!

Mmmmm Good!  Mary Kate thought so too!

My little man sang his heart out to "This Little Light of Mine"  He is determined to not let anyone blow it out!

The fam and the kids' other sibling, Lillian!

Updates and anecdotes

Charlie-
"Mommy, I know where ice cubes come from....The North Pole"

"Papa?  Did it hurt when you lost all your hair?  You can really see ticks on your head!"
Papa is bald and he took it very well, LOL

Charlie is currently obsessed with superheroes and his wardrobe includes a lot of black and gray.  I am having a hard time with "character shoes" but managed to find some old chucks with Batman!  He still insists on being Batman when he grows up.  However, he still longs to be Santa.  The other day, Mary Kate and I pretended to sleep (I really did doze off) and Charlie delivered presents to us in his full santa suit.  He insisted that I wanted a suitcase from Santa and I found myself arguing with Santa about wanting a bigger bathroom.  I got a suitcase.

Mary Kate-

" I want numbers!  I want numbers!"  Mary Kate has taken a love for Dancing with the Stars.  She goes as far as performing for the family and then demanding numbers.  "I want numbers.  I want numbers!"  She is always able to get a 10 from Daddy.  Charlie and I are usually good for a 9.

She must wear dresses that spin!  She puts on at least 3 a day and usually pairs them with pants that don't match.  She then proceeds to put on shoes that don't match.  And there you have it, a clown everyday!

Nick-
Still drives my wild side.  There are times that his wild ideas and spontaneity ruffle my feathers, ok...it usually does.  But he had a brilliant idea to have our first annual Kentucky Derby Party!  It was fabulous and my feathers were not ruffled.  I hit every thrift store the morning of and cleared out all of the fancy hats.  I hit the dollar store for some red roses and rose garlands!  Charlie fell in love again and I don't have any pictures to show of the event because I was enjoying myself so much!  Now that is a successful party!






















Me-
My Mother's day was classic and filled with typical moments of a 5 and 3 year old.  Quick recap...
Lunch at Uncle Julios (not the Verybille Mexican Restaurant-which we heard objection to all the way there)
A spilled drink on a 5 year old's T-shirt (not good)
One 5 year old melt down
One 3 year old having an accident in her panties on the restaurant chair
A bus boy dropping dirty dished on our unfinished lunch. mmmmm
Let's just say, we got a free lunch and got the hell out of there.

I had a sad realization after visiting Anthropologie that I am not young anymore and
the prices seem absurd.

Good news... I will be teaching third grade in a school that is amazing and homey and only 15 minutes from my house.  We are talking quality of life changing!!!  I feel so lucky right now that I just may need to play the lottery this weekend.

Our life in a nutshell.