Our Weekend

This weekend was pretty low key. And very restful!

Friday night I ended up going to the mall with my sister Meg to get a new baby shower gift (since my Etsy order didn't arrive on time... grrr) I ended up getting her this little dress.

It's so funny because when she opened it everyone commented "that is soooo Mandy". I guess I do tend to zero in on a certain kind of look. I just know what I like I guess.

Saturday Nick and Reagan participated in the Heart Walk with Grammy Sylvia in honor of her father. The weather cooperated and the didn't have any rain (like forcasted)!

While the boys were walking, I was at the baby shower for my old friend Kristin. It was at a beautiful place and everything was perfect. She is seriously glowing and I can't wait for her little beauty to be born. (She is due on Reagan's birthday). If only they lived in Arizona !

Today I was feeling pretty crappy. My cough is seriously never ending and Im exhausted!! This is going on week 4 of being sick... What on earth?!?! So, I have napped and read magazines pretty much all day. Thank goodness for weekends.

Hope you all had a great weekend!! This is our last full week before parent/teacher conference week (all half days) and then a week OFF for spring break! Whoo hoo!!

More Flat Stanley

As you read below here ...... my class has been doing a Flat Stanley project. We got a couple more this week that I thought I would share with you. And at the end I took some pictures of the thank you notes my kiddos wrote. They seriously made my heart melt.

Flat Stanley went to Texas to visit my sorority sister Lindsey.

She made an adorable scrapbook of Stanley visiting a fire station.

She sent my sweet student lots of fire truck themed goodies.

Flat Stanley also went to visit another sorority sister of mine in Australia. She took him to the beach and a sent my student a bunch of Australia books!

Here are some of my favorite thank you notes my kids wrote.

"My heart is popping happy!"

" I love you so much in my whole life."

"No one ever gave me something as good as you."

"I love you with all my heart and wish you were a movie star."

"Go cheeseheads!"

Ummm pretty sure he means Packers!

WILW

Happy Wednesday!

I'm Loving that I am finally starting to feel better. It seems like I have been sick forever! I went to the dr last Tuesday and was told I had a sinus infection. I went back to school on Wednesday and I had 6 kids out with the stomach flu..... yikes! I took off Thursday because I was feeling horrible. Went back Friday.... prob not a great idea but its so hard to be absent when you are a teacher! I literally slept all weekend long... so much for a fun 3 day weekend! :( But anywho--- I still have a nasty cough but my energy is back so that is a plus! Bad news- my teamates are all out sick now! Ps I still have 3 kids out sick.... these germs are a nighmare in first grade!

I'm Loving that I get to see an old friend this weekend. My high school BFF/sorority sister Kristin is having her baby shower on Saturday. She lives in Cali but is having a shower here.... so happy to see her and her preggo belly. If only her gift would arrive from ETSY. I seriously hate waiting for packages!

This was us at another friend's wedding in 2009. I was 9 months preggo.

I'm Loving that my friend/sorority sister Ashley put one of my kid's Flat Stanley's on the news yesterday. She is a broadcaster is Chicago and is sweet enough to do this for my kiddos every year! They feel like superstars!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJZTbDhH230

I'm Loving my sweet boy. He is such a ham and keeps me smiling 24/7.

I'm also Loving this sweet boy.

He takes such good care of me and was amazing when I was out of commission this weekend!

What are you loving today?? Link up with Jamie and let us know!!

Flat Stanley 2011

One of my absolute favorite things to do with my first graders each year is a Flat Stanley project. I start be reading them the book and then we start or map skills study. I tie it in to our reading anthology story "Me on the Map" and during vocabulary/social studies time we talk about how to read a map and use cardinal directions.

Before this ,I put out a facebook note to all my friends/family members who would like to "host" a Flat Stanley. My students decorate a Stanley and a write a letter. I then mail the letter and a picture of them to each of my friends/family members. They friends/family then are supposed to do something with the Flat Stanley, take a picture, and write a letter back to the student. They then mail it back. It is starting to become quite the competition between my friends. They have gotten quite creative!

Last year's project was amazing! Read about it here and here.

Here are some pictures of where our Flat Stanleys have traveled to so far this year.
Flat Stanley went to a cow farm in Montana with Nick's Aunt Lisa.

Flat Stanley braved the Minnesota snow with my sorority sister Courtney.
Flat Stanley went to work with my childhood friend Emily at the Kansas Children's Hospital.

Flat Stanley went to a basketball game in Southern California with my high school bff Kristin.

Flat Stanley went on an oceanography trip in Laguna Nigel, Ca with my parent's friends.
Flat Stanley went to a fun park in Washington with my sorority sister Angie.

Flat Stanley went to an Air and Space museum in Tucson with my high school friend Ashley. He went back to Tucson to visit my Aunt Marty and went to the zoo. Stanley went to Texas to visit my sorority sister Erin and they went to the stockyards. Stanley went to Texas again, but this time to visit another sorority sister Lindsey and her kindergarten class.

Flat Stanley also went to the Superbowl with my dad. Notice the cheesehead?

He met some more football players, got autographs, and some cool memorabilia.

Flat Stanley went to South Dakota to visit my work friend Holly's family. Brrr.

He also flew to New Jersey to visit another work friend (Kate's) family.
We continue to check our mailbox at school every day and the kids are dying with anticipation. Thanks to those of you who have participated!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day Loves!!!

Yesterday I went to a Valentine cookie decorating party. Some of these ladies were hard.core. I was by far the amateur... but I decorated my cookies, caught up on a lot of girl talk, and laughed a lot. Always a good time.

Last night, Nick, Reagan and I went out to dinner .... we thought we were beat the crowds and have an early V-Day.... clearly we weren't the only ones with that idea! So after seeing lines outside the restraunts we had in mind, we ended up at Island for some burgers. It was still a treat to be with my two Valentines.

We don't really get into V-day gifts. Just cards usually. But I picked up a few movies for my guys (an ELMO Valentines movie for Reagan and "The Other Guys" for Nick).

Today at school was a fun and busy day with all of the Valentine festivities.

I got so many great ideas/printables from you fellow bloggers (thanks!!!).

We did conversation heart graphing, patterning, and skip counting. (Thanks to What the Teacher Wants). We also read lots of V-day books and wrote Valentine poems for our parents. At the end of the day the kiddos exchanged their valentines.

And check out the loot my first graders got me. They seriously crack me up. I'm not sure what it is...... but in the low income school I teach at , every year, my kids go all out for Vday.

Reagan LOVED the dancing flower. It sings Ashley Simpson's "L.O.V.E" and dances all over. He kept hitting it saying "more, more" and dancing along with it. Too funny.

Hope you are feeling as loved as I am today.

XXOO