day 91- The Sun is OUT!!!

day 91- November 27, 2009
The Sun is OUT!!
Yay for the sun! Thank goodness the rain has stopped. It is very cold and windy today. But, I had to take advantage of the good weather (meaning the sun.. the rest I did not like). The dogs and I went for a morning and afternoon walk so far today. It was so nice to get out. I had to take my camera and snap shots of the pretty day!

day 90- happy thanksgiving

day 90- November 26, 2009
happy thanksgiving
Happy Turkey Day!

day 89- old toys

day 89-November 25, 2009
old toys
It is so neat to peek around the farm at all the old toys Chad and his siblings used to play with. This tractor would be great to fix up. If not to play with, then to sit out for show.

day 88- Please come back another day...

day 88- November 24, 2009

Please come back another day…

This is the view from our bedroom where we are staying in MD. We are staying in a small tenant house next to Chad’s parent’s house. It is so nice to have a little privacy when getting ready, taking a shower, etc. I just WISH that the rain would go AWAY!! The dogs are so stinky and wet. They slept in the barn above the cows last night. Not fun. They were barking at them pretty much until 1am. Then, at 5am they began barking again! Chad got up and put them in a small room beneath the tenant house. That worked out a lot better. They will be sleeping there for now on.

day 87- Shaving Cream Fun!

day 87- November 23, 2009
Shaving Cream Fun!
I was so lucky to have spent the day with my two favorite boys- my nephews Toby and Jayden. Toby loves to look at pictures (especially on my computer). While I was showing him my classroom and the children playing, we came across a picture of the kids playing in shaving cream. I thought this would be fun and not so messy for him to play in. So we borrowed some of Uncle Joe’s shaving cream and started playing. Fun! Fun!

day 86- On the Road- all day

day 86- November 22, 2009

On the Road

4:45 am my alarm went off. I rolled out of bed and jumped into the car heading to Maryland for the week! The drive home was the best yet. For the first hour and a half, I was pretty much the only one on the road. It was so nice. By the time I was in DC, the sunrise was ridiculously bright and beautiful. I tried taking a picture (I know this could be dangerous!), but it did not turn out as pretty as it was to the eye. It was so exciting to see the Baltimore signs as I was approaching the tunnel. Later that day, I was on my way to my friend’s baby shower. I was behind a line of Amish carriages. They were coming back from church. I felt like I was on the road all day long. But boy did I enjoy the views.

day 85- finished!

day 85- November 21, 2009
finished!
I am officially finished the farm finger puppets!! I made them for a friend of mine from college. She is expecting a boy (baby Hunter) in January! I cannot wait to meet him. Her shower was on Sunday. She seemed to really like them!

day 84- process painting

day 84- November 20, 2009
process painting
This morning, I explored with process painting. (We had a professional development day and I went to work an hour early to try this out with a few coworkers.) Process painting does not have to have a specific outcome.... just a blank canvas for you to explore, play, and have fun with the materials. I found this article at http://www.ccesf.org/experience.html. It tells you more about process painting and the meaning behind it. I can tell you that it was a wonderful way to start off the day. At first, I was a little scared to get started, but it was a lot of fun! One hard thing about this way of painting is that you are not to give feedback on others painting. So I was stopping myself from saying "Oh I love the colors you picked" or "That is so pretty!"

"Process painting can be your vehicle for exploration. Through painting, you give yourself more experience with this forgotten passion. When you put yourself in front of a piece of blank paper, you express your willingness to explore. Just showing up and saying “yes, I’ll try” is an amazing tool for opening the door to your creative journey. Where will this journey lead? You can’t know in advance. Engaging in process painting, you enter uncharted territory. But if you keep going, you’ll discover many things--joy, wonder, excitement, mystery, compassion. You’ll move through rich landscapes—expansion and contraction; playfulness and doubt; delight, sadness, awe. In the long run you’ll find it is the journey that’s important. Sometimes painting the smallest line, the simplest shape brings immense satisfaction, the warmth and comfort of returning home after being too long away; sometimes just using a color that calls to you from the table of paints becomes an exciting adventure. Can you imagine painting something risky—a body, a strong color, an image you dislike? The risk may shake you up, but it’s part of an exhilarating ride. Soon, the ride becomes more important than the destination. The adventure is so intoxicating that you want to keep exploring, taking risks, again and again." -The Painting Studio

day 83- addicted

day 83-November 19, 2009
addicted
I am addicted to Panera Bread's tomato soup. Is it pretty bad that I went there twice this week??

day 82- Cupboard Cleaning

day 2- November 18, 2009

Cupboard Cleaning

This jelly cupboard is one of our favorite pieces of furniture we have. It was a hammy down (ha ha... I make up SOOO many words!) from Chad's grandmother and parents. When Chad’s grandmother moved out of the Forest Hill home, Chad and I said we would take it! At first, it was used to hold cleaning supplies, then paper goods, candles, and now it is our pantry in the kitchen. I have wanted to clean out the cupboard for weeks and weeks now. Tonight, I told myself, this is the night to be productive!! I have SO many containers and baskets from teaching kindergarten that I decided to use them to organize the shelves. Here is the final product. Nicely clean and organized.

Cute Kid Quote of the Day:

Gabby- “Ms. Megan do you really have eyes on the back of your head. I cannot see any eyes back there.”

Mikey- “That is because her hair covers it.” (as he feels through my hair to find my 'other' eyeballs)

day 81- Morning Walk, bright leaves

day 81- November 17, 2009
Morning Walk, bright leaves
One thing that Chad and I dread doing every day is waking up super early to walk the dogs. Even with the time change, it is still dark outside when we go for our morning walks. As we walked up the sidewalk, I noticed how red the tree is in front of our house. I am going to be sad when this tree is bare. I think it turned red over night! Really. I do not remember this tree having red leaves! I think I may be going crazy!!

Cute kid quote of the day:
“Why do we have to grow up?”

day 80- finger puppets

November 16, 2009

Finger Puppets

One of my recent addictions is making finger puppets! For who… don’t know yet. I love, love, love farm animals so I decided to make farm finger puppets. I found cute pictures on the internet of finger puppets. I drew each animal puppet on a piece of paper. Then, I copied it a few times for cutting. My first and second attempt failed! I forgot to sew everything on the front of it before I sewed the finger together. Once I got the groove of things, I was making about one a night. It is nice to have an hour nap time a day with my class, because I find myself working on them during this time. Plus, I have a real problem. I cannot just sit and watch t.v. without doing something. So this is a great activity to work on while hanging with the hubby!