Lydia's Room...

When Lydia was born I wasn't into all the pinks and girly stuff. I couldn't find bedding that I liked so we decided to go with a cowgirl farm theme. My mother-in-law had made this really cute blanket with barns, cowboys, cowgirls, boots, cactus, etc. all over it. I found some red bandanna material that I used for the changing table pad, curtains, and a bulletin board. The crib bumper was a black with white polka-dots. I hung a cowboy hat on the wall, some thin rope, a few pictures, a mirror, and some old looking lanterns. I loved it.

She still loves cows and playing outside on the farm, but she is turning into a little girly girl also. I decided to make her room a little more girly. I found some material at Wal-Mart that I fell in love with. It is pink and brown polka-dots. More girly girl that what we have now, but not all they way. I wanted to move her into the spare bedroom because it is a little bigger and paint it a light shade of pink. I had a beautiful picture in my head of what this all would look like. However, when I was talking to Gail about it he decided he didn't want to move her into the other room. "She likes her room", he said, "She knows it is her room and she'll get confused." So for now she stays in her room. Darla is going to go ahead and make the bedding, but I'm not going to paint. I did however find some really cute baskets that are pink, brown, and a creamy yellow (the current color of her room) at Dollar Tree of all places. So at least it all will go together. In a couple of years when little brother or sister comes along she'll get booted to the bigger room and Gail will have to paint it then. I guess that is one way to get out of painting duty. As soon as Darla gets the bedding done I'll post some pictures.

Until next time...

Little Graces at Work (School)...

I decided to post 5 little things at work that make my day better.

1. The facts that I have an e-mints classroom makes inside recess MUCH better.

2. I have an entire class set of "Stacking Madness" cups from summer school. (Worth about $400.) Those that don't get on the computer like to see how tall they can build a tower before it falls to the ground. They've had it all the way to the ceiling before and then it crashed - pretty neat.

3. Ordering food for a coworkers birthday and having it delivered for lunch. I really treasure this because in a small town (Lancaster and Memphis) there is no delivery.

4. Those students who are always doing what they are to do and hardly every have to be asked to settle down.

5. And I even enjoy those students who do have to be asked to settle down several times a day because they have great personalities and I find them truly funny. Even though sometimes I feel like pulling my hair out because of them.

This leads me to a funny story. I had a student that wasn't doing the math problem one day. I looked at him and said, "BLANK, work it." He replied, "Work it, OK" and started doing disco moves. The entire class busted out laughing. It was too funny!!

Until next time...

Grace In Small Things...

The small things in life that I couldn't live without.

1. Hugs and snuggles from Lydia in the mornings because she isn't awake yet.

2. Eating weekend morning breakfast in bed with Gail, Lydia, and I. Although I could live without the crumbs it leaves behind.

3. When I open the backdoor to get Lydia out of her car seat she always covers her eyes and laughs like I can't see her.

4. When she is on the potty she always leans over so she can see inside and says "nope, nope" when she hasn't done anything yet. Then she she goes she stands up and claps.

5. The way that Lydia and our dogs, Charlie and Annie, run to the front window when they hear Gail's truck coming home. They all climb up on the bench and sit there.

What Are Your Plans...

I am beyond thrilled that today is Friday. I swear that the short weeks seem so much longer that the regular weeks. Don't know why. Maybe it is because your are trying to put five days worth of material in a four day week. Anyway, I have a busy weekend planned full of cleaning, playing, cleaning, playing, and playing some more. And I couldn't be more excited about it. Lydia has been feeling icky because of her teeth (eye teeth) so I think she needs a weekend of nothing. What are your plans for the weekend?

Until next time...

To My Few Readers...

A college friend of mine (and my sisters) is a clothing designer in St. Louis. She has entered a conpetition for the St. Louis Fashion Week. Please follow the below information and go vote for her.

I have decided to enter my line, Penny Rae Vintage, in St. Louis Fashion Week's contest, Project Design. The line I'm submitting is Penny Rae Vintage Reinvented, in which I take vintage items, such as nightgowns, lingerie, dresses, shirts, skirts, vintage fabrics, etc., and design and reconstruct to make modern pieces. The finalists who receive the most votes win a spot at St. Louis Fashion Week!!! I'm asking for your votes, and if you could, please spread the word. As you can see, I'm a little late in submitting my entry, having been informed about the contest just a few (oh so short) days ago. Thus, I am hundreds of votes behind the other designers.......and need your help! So if you wouldn't mind, please forward this to everyone--your friends, family, spouses, students, classmates, colleagues, acquaintances, etc. You do have to register to vote, but registering and voting only takes about 30 seconds total, and I would GREATLY appreciate your time to do so. Here is the link:http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnNhaW50bG91aXNmYXNoaW9ud2Vlay5jb20vcHJvamVjdGRlc2lnbi9QRF9TUzA5Lw==Click "Register to Vote" on the right. You only need to fill in your name and email address (STL Fashion Week does NOT share your information). You do not need to live in St. Louis, or Missouri, or even the U.S. to vote.Look for "Penny Rae Vintage," and vote!******YOU CAN VOTE AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT, ONCE PER HOUR, so please feel free to vote as often as you can!!******I apologize in advance if you receive this message multiple times--I will be sending this out via email, Facebook, MySpace, etc., in an effort to drum up as many votes as possible. Thank you SO very much for your help and support. I look forward to hearing your feedback, and don't forget to tell your friends to vote often.........

Love,
Melissa Rae Brown

Until next time...
Penny Rae Vintage

New President...

I have to say that I am so excited about our new President. I have worried and prayed a solution to our country's problems. Gail and I are pretty fortunate that we aren't really affected by all of the hard times going on. I just pray that a solution is found before we are. I watched part of the inaugural address at school, but had to stop before the actual speech. I was however, able to watch a videotape of it at home tonight with Gail and my mother-in-law. President Obama just moves me with his words, his wisdom, and his view of the future. I truly hope that he is able to change our country for the better.

Until next time...

I'm a Proud Little Sister...

I have to announce that I'm a proud little sister. My sister has started both a facebook account and a blog this weekend. If you have accounts, look her up. Her blog page is linked from mine - "What Would I Do Without My Children?". She's becoming such a big girl!! (he, he) Love ya, Darla.

Until next time...

Will We or Won't We...

I'm taking a pole to see who thinks we will have school tomorrow. Any opinions?

YEAH!!!

I only have one thought on my mind today - THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY!! At the beginning of the week I wasn't sure I'd make it until today, but I survived. I'm tired, worn out, have half a sink of dishes, carpets that need to be vacuumed, 3 loads of laundry that need to to folded, 1 that had to be rewashed because I didn't pay attention to the facts that they were still damp when I took them out of the dryer, but I made it.

Until next time...

First Blog of 2009...

I had wanted this blog entry to be something inspirational or brilliant, but it's not. Sorry to disappoint you. I had a WONDERFUL Christmas break full of visiting family, playing, sleeping in, and all of that other fun stuff. Now it is back to the real world. Not that I cringe at the thought of returning (I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea), but I just feel really overwhelmed. Usually I just go back, take down the tree, make a few copies, and tada - TEACH. Today was not like that at all. We got beautiful new cabinets in our hallways that we had to fill and organize, which led me to clean and organize the cabinets in my classroom, which led me to clean almost every surface in my classroom, which put all of that other back to school stuff on hold for a little while. I was able to get some productive planning done with fellow teachers and feel great about that. Now it is 9:40 and I have a half empty plan book and 24 kiddos coming early in the morning. And what do I do, BLOG!! Think I'm be productive now? Nope, I'm heading to bed with a book. I'll wing it tomorrow

Until next time.