Playing Catch Up!

...with a little bit of this and a little bit of that today~

A very happy birthday to my grandmother, my childrens' "G.G." I spoke to her today on the phone, and she mentioned she enjoyed a celebratory cappuccino during lunch. She hasn't had a jolt of caffeine in years, so her afternoon was probably spent hanging out with this fellow:



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It has been a busy first week of school with students. A lot of joy, tons of enthusiasm, a bit of drama, much-appreciated reassurances, and a remarkable amount of support from parents, students, new colleagues and administrators. I knew I would *love* returning to teach in the land of Oz!

Reading the comments many of you have left and the e-mails you've sent to me about my classroom decor, teaching philosophy, and your unselfish sharing of ideas, links and resources has been the icing on the cupcake, truly. I'm looking forward to exploring your sites and updating my blogroll this weekend! Professional Learning Communities and Collegial Ties certainly can and DO exist worldwide now!

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~Poppytalk Handmade got my attention with School Days, a back-to-school and fashion market.

~ Now that I'm teaching in a school that utilizes Smart Boards in the classroom, the nostalgia of chalkboards has hit me... Poppytalk has been similarly affected!

~Frazzy Dazzles has me wishing we were neighbors, crafting friends, because she captured The Very Hungry Caterpillar perfectly for her daughter's birthday!

~The family wants me to try Crispy Yogurt Chicken, thanks to The Pioneer Woman Cooks...

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Tomorrow is Purple Day in my classroom! Yes Mom, I'll be wearing my purple cowboy boots- but the students will be enjoying several stories about Harold and his purple crayon:

Mother's Day

Feliz Día de las Madres!



...most especially to ma mère, who will appreciate the tri-lingual touch!

Happy Birthday Mom

Love you!

Present in the Mail

Today I put something in the mail for*my* Mommy's birthday:



I'll let you know what it is after she lets me know it's arrived!

Another Tidbit Tuesday

*It was wonderful spending time with Shannon last week/weekend! Crafting, shopping, driving, laughing, and a few hysterical games of Trivial Pursuit with Dear Daughter were just what the doctor ordered. I shared photos of Rosie's Workshop with you, but I won't be done with her thank-you chipboard book until sometime tomorrow since I ran out of color ink for my printer. Funny how that happens right in the middle of some fun craft!

*Old Mesilla was windy and dusty for our last excursion, so much so that the weekend vendors stayed away. We visited a few shops, but mostly the kids ran, twirled, and otherwise stayed away from all things breakable:



...while Shannon and I ventured a bit closer to the pretties we found:





A shopkeeper even pointed us in the direction of a little nook inbetween shops similar to the ones that Tara had just posted about :









* It was incredible being part of Oprah's "webinar" last night, with author Eckhart Tolle, discussing A New Earth. Incredible until everything crashed- my screen froze up, and nothing would load. Apparently with a global community of participants (over 139 countries were represented), the web slows down a bit. Okay, more than a bit. But it was still amazing. I still have to visit Oprah.com to download the rest of what I missed last night. New ways of thinking, paradigm-shifting... very neato topics. We'll see what happens next Monday night!

* Catching up on my blog-reading, I came across a link to housemartin who posted something that made me think of my mother: knitting. Go look. I want the rug. You have knitting needles that size, don't you Mom?

* Another link I stumbled across features sock monkeys, but not the old brown and cream ones- these are happy happy happy!

* Sally Jean has posted her list of suggestions for ways to celebrate March...

* And finally, right before the ol' diet starts up again, Smitten Kitchen posts on homemade devil dog, ding dong, or hostess cake.

For Mom