Funny things our kids say (and write!)

Riggs' is not a big fan of writing which is funny because his dear old dad loves to write (and does it well). Anyways, I thought I would share a few of Riggen's funny writings today. They make me laugh so they go on our cork board in the kitchen so all I need to do is look at them and smile. The first one's prompt is "what if there were no clocks?" Riggen's response: "I would freak out. Also if there were no clocks we would get out of school late. I would not like to get out of school late because I want to go home and play Zelda." ha, ha, ha! Second one's prompt is "What if trees grew candy?" Riggen's response: "I would grow a tree in my room." 'nuff said.

Community Drivewary Basketball

When I got home today, there were 4-5 neighborhood boys playing bball in our driveway. not sure how we became the neighborhood bball driveway, but it is nice to see kids out and about today. Now I wonder if having the only 6th grade girl in the neighborhood is the reason?!?! oh no, Matt and I are in trouble!

Fried Chicken!

Today I learned how to make friend chicken from Sally, my mother-in-law. You sure don't want to know how its made, but holy cow, it sure tastes good!

Scrap Night!

Yep, scrap night is here! We met at Wendy's and had a good time talking about the ups and downs of life! So glad I have such close friends!

Bball!

Kate had a bball game tonight and her shot and save turned the corner for her team to win by 1 basket! Way to go, Kate!

A trio!

Yep. Tonight was a pretty rare night. Matt and his band played at People's Court tonight. They were "background" music for the Des Moines Leadership Academy. So, I suprised him by attending with good friend, Jenn Mavin, and we had fun "crashing" the party as groupies. A great night out!

It's a slow night. The laundry shoot is haunting me.

Tea!

Tonight I had CLIO class (which is really a bunch of history nerds from the district chatting about history) at Smokey Row and a colleague asked me about my tea--why I liked it, how I started drinking it-you get the idea. I have tea nearly every morning and students can find me slinking in the hallway filling up my tea pot; they shoot me sly smiles.

How did I start drinking tea? My mother in law always served tea and I thought it tasted funny, almost like dirt. But then I tried various flavors at her house and started warming up to it. When I visited Australia, I drank tea quite a bit. I LOVED tea break at 10am (it didn't hurt they had sweets to go along)! Then, when I went to China, I learned the purposes of tea (at least in China anyways): to make the water suitable for drinking and to help it taste better! I drank a ton of tea in China, but they don't fuss with tea infusers or the exact temp of the water. They just heat it up and dump tea leaves in the pot. When the tea leaves settle to the bottom, it's ready.

I've also become a "tea pusher." Green tea satiates appetite and others are known to help with heart disease and actually reduce cancer. Other benefits include reducing the risk of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cholesterol levels. My friends are avid coffee drinkers, but I don't own a coffee pot so they have to drink tea at my house. Some have even converted!

But, we tea drinkers are "rare" in the states; thankfully places like Gong Fu tea and Teavana help us along! So, here's to tea and all the comfiness (and health benefits) it provides! ...and feel free to stop by any time; I'll put a pot on for you!

Reading

So, tonight Riggs and I were sharing the couch while reading. I was reading "Lincoln and His Generals" (hasn't everyone read it?) while he's reading his big book of dinosaurs. About every 2 minutes Riggs interjects with a fact. The most recent? The stegasaurus' brain is the size of a walnut!

Riggs

Today Matt went off to rehearse for the charity event he is playing for on thursday and Kate went shopping with a friend. So it was just Riggen and I. He loves to play games and so we played Pictureka a few times this afternoon. He's great at it! Then, we had to go buy some new shoes for him so he hid under the desk-he hates shopping. But, we found shoes within 5 minutes and we were outta there! It's nice to just hang out with him.

Bowling!

Tonight Matt is hanging with some friends so the kids and I invited the lady Mavin's to do something. Jenn had a great idea to go bowling-perfect for this cold night! Poor Brea was sick so she missed out by Lexi showed off her great bowling skills with Jenn! A great night of chatting and bowlin'! Complete with hairband videos and loud music.

dinner is served!

One of my favorite dinners tonight! Rotisserie chicken, fresh green beans, crescent rolls and a fresh assortment of drinks!

wow!

So I had a terrible day today. Lots of reasons why. I came home very sad and frustrated. I went running. I got home and my daughter cleaned the entire kitchen, did the dishes and organized the shoes. I'm speechless. I have the best daughter in the world and this was a great gift! Thank you, kate!

Beds and Eats!

Tonight we went to the Sleep Number Store at Jordan Creek with the kids. It was quite a feat! Mathew and I have been trying to find the perfect bed for his back pain and my side sleeping. We were worried about the kids having to wait around at the store-they were great! In fact the saleslady and a random couple both told us what well-behaved kids we have. It made me smile. Afterwards, we stood in Scheel's trying to decide where to go to eat. We decided on Cheesecake Factory because no one (except me) had been. They have this new, great skinny menu. I had the BEST tuscan chicken and Mathew had jumbalaya pasta! yum-o! Then, Kate snapped this pic of us!

Fire Station!

Carlisle has an all-volunteer fire station. We are pretty proud of it. We are attempting to get a new station built as the old one has been around awhile and is next door to the library-kind of unsafe for the kiddos. Since Mathew began class tonight, I get to take on the responsibility of going to Boy Scouts with Riggen on Tuesdays. Tonight we visited the fire station! The boys were wild, but Riggs had lots of great questions. My favorite question he asked how long it takes for the firemen to put on their gear-60 seconds! Riggen said that's as fast as lightning! :)

Adventure Time!

A few weeks before Winter break my family "discovered" Adventure Time. They love it! I'm not sure I love it, but they do have some witty lines. They have great character names like "Lumpy Space Princess, the Ice King, Fynn and Jake the Dog." Tonight they featured a new one so we were all hanging out watching Adventure Time!

Stools!-not the loose kind.

Yep, finally got the much-needed counter stools for our house. It's only taken over a year. I'm so excited about the color and Riggs is excited about the fact they swivel!

Jazz Fest!

Kate plays trumpet for Carlisle's GOLD Jazz Band. This means she's the only 6th grader in a band of 7/8th graders. They played today at Urbandale and Matt and I's old band director, Dan Stecker, gave them judge's comments. I felt old, but Kate was wonderful, if a bit nervous!

Thank goodness for parents!

January 13, 2012-Thanks to my parents for bringing dinner and hanging out with us this Friday night! It made the evening much more enjoyable!

Inspirational!

So today's pic demonstrates my great friend Sue, who had just been awarded "Women Impacting ISU" status! This means her picture gets placed on the 2012 calendar all over campus and then some. We met up with additional friends to celebrate her great recognition! Way to go, Sue! (It will be the only ISU thing to ever hang in my classroom.)

Books!

I've been excited to read this book for awhile but i have an unwritten rule that if it is over $10 on kindle, I won't buy it. However, after lugging this massive tome around for the last few days, I think I could have splurged and bought it on kindle!

Music!

January 10, 2012-I love music. In high school, I was in choir and band. I thought I could sing and play; actually, I can't do either well (or at all). But I sure do love to listen to it! I had a big crush on Matt because he was the lead trumpet player and was quite talented-cheesy, I know. (He also had a garage band.) When we dated in high school, Matt and I would stay up just listening and talking about music. I like a variety of music, although I'm not too fond of metal music. I listen to my ipod all the time: in the car, at work, exercising, at home when I'm cooking and cleaning and sometimes when I'm reading. I have to admit that lately I've had trouble finding new, good music that I like...and then voila! I discovered Yael Naim. Actually, I've listened to her for awhile now, but just got this new CD (yes, CD) at Xmas. It's great! I also bought they new Whitley album; it's great too. So, if you have good music suggestions, send them my way, or if you are in need of some suggestions to mix up your playlists, let me know; I might be able to help.

January 9, 2012- SURPRISE! Mathew brought home flowers for me! They brightened my day and my kitchen! Thanks, love!

January 8, 2012-I had a difficult time selecting today's pic. Matt wasn't too keen on his photo being taken in his Steelers jersey, as they are currently losing their playoff game right now. But, I thought this was appropriate because I'm not particularly fond of oranges--but love clementines, or as the new marketing campaign calls them, "cuties." Kate reminds me that they are for kids because they have no seeds, are small and easy to peal. But hey, I'm a kid at heart!

Kate and Leonora have been friends since 2nd grade. Animal Crossing brought them together. They are two peas in a pod and this morning these were two bugs in their blankies. They are prepping to make cupcakes shortly!

January 6, 2012-Friday nights are typically pizza in our house. I'm lactose intolerant and Matt's Crohn's gets agitated with dairy, so that means two different pizzas. Cheese for the kids and no cheese for us.

To new beginnings!

January 5, 2012-Today had to break records for temps in Iowa. I think it reached 60. I was planning on wearing a wool skirt with tights until Mathew told me the good news-there went the tights and on went my favorite skirt, with my favorite Dansko sandals!
January 4, 2012-Kate has been REALLY into those crazy cupcake shows on TV. It drives me nuts. So, she spent her amazon gift card on buying her very own cupcake book-she can't wait to get started! And, she was told she looks like a starburst in this outfit; I happen to agree although she's my starburst.
January 3, 2012-My other resolutions involved getting healthier. I've always been a pretty good exerciser, but have vowed to do it at least 4 times per week this year, so here's proof I'm on my way!
January 2, 2012-Yep, the day before school starts for the kids, they are cramming in all of their homework they didn't do over break!
January 1, 2012-I made puppy chow by the kids' request. It's Riggen's favorite and I think he ate 1/2 the bowl!

My very good friend, Susan Lammers, began posting a picture every day for her 36th year of life. I thought it was a great idea and thoroughly enjoy viewing her pictures, but I didn't think I could do it. When I made my resolutions for the New Year, I vowed to be more creative. One way I'm attempting to accomplish this is through 365 days of photos for 2012. So, here's to being creative, here's to Susan and here's to celebrating life!