Thanksgiving weekend

This has been a busy weekend! Especially since the weekend started Wednesday night. I came home from school to prepare my dish for sharing at our Thanksgiving dinner. We didn't have choir practice. I had laundry to do as well. Thursday we left town for my sister's for dinner. It was a very enjoyable time. Good food, good company and good fun. The fun included playing Farkle. Do you take risks or not? Dan is good at this game and Chelsey takes risks! Friday I braved Walmart at about 9:30 because I had already accomplished the sewing tasks on my list - the dog coat, mending Greg's jeans, fixing a hat and sewing on Boy Scout badges (I have been doing this for one scout through all his badges and he made Eagle Scout this year). I had to wait a while in fabric, but got some flannel for all the babies who will need quilt gifts this year - I think I counted 8! Our school is having a population spurt. I got fabric for the shutter inserts in the kitchen - an apple print. Thought it might me too much, but I really like it.
I also got paint for the living room. Friday night and Saturday I painted. Now everything is put where it belongs. It is a different look for sure. Dan helped me hang shelves. I am ready for the tree, but will wait a week. Not sure where to put it.
Today after church I want to spend in the studio. I have several things in mind, and want to get the embroidery machines humming on those quilts. We should be able to wear our new choir robes today for the first time. Means it doesn't matter what I wear to church! I have dinner in the crock pot and am ready to go!
Oh, for those who have been waiting, I didn't get pictures last weekend. I had unplugged my camera charger when I painted in the kitchen and it doesn't hold a charge very well any more. I had some great opportunities, but no pictures.
Oh yeah again, it snowed overnight - things are white here.

odds and ends

I keep finding out you're never too old to learn something. It is end of the trimester, so I'm working on updating all the graphs for every goal in each child's iep. I keep the data up to date but don't graph every week, so this is a bigger project than it should be. Report cards go out next week and they are simpler now since we have a building information system, they will be printed in the office. Today as I trudged through stuff, I picked up a couple of things I wish I had known a while back. If I can remember them, they'll be great time savers!
Tomorrow is a work day, and flu shot day. I have many things to get done, more lessons to plan and materials to find/make. I have been working about half a day on Saturdays, but since this Saturday is Dan's birthday, I'm going to try to be efficient and stay at home. He doesn't much eat cake, but some cookies would disappear quickly if I made them, I bet.
Working on some Christmas presents as well and some more unique sewing requests, this week a dog sweater for Chelsey's mom's dog and last week a tree stand cushion. There's always a challenge waiting around the bend.
Last I have a prayer request for all of you. My friend Christy is due to give birth in February but is home on bed rest because of premature labor. They want this baby so badly, please pray for her and her family.

Busy Week

This week is fall parent teacher conferences. The schedule is different from previous years. Traditionally we teach most of a day on Wednesday and have conferences from 4:00 to 8:00, teach a half day on Thursday and have conferences 4:00 to 8:00 and have conferences for half a day on Friday. This year we are teaching a half day on Thursday (kids leave at 12:00) and we will start conferences at 1:00, go straight through to 8:00 and have conferences on Friday from 8:00 to 11:00. It amounts to 30 conference slots, but cuts very popular night time slots in half. Lots of our classrooms have 26-27 children so there isn't much down time. I have only 13 conferences to make.
We are still working out kinks in the schedule. Our all inclusion plan isn't meeting kids' needs very well. I have felt more like an associate than a co teacher in many of my classrooms. I guess if they want to pay me my salary to do grunt work, I should be happy? We have another meeting with our principal this afternoon.
Enjoy this fall weather, winter is right around the corner!

Staying with Emily

We babysat for Emily yesterday so Mom and Dad and Grandpa Dallas could go to the game. We found out that Emily is quite a singer - America's Got Talent, here we come!

This and That

Today is a catch up day. I did some clean up at school - put things I never use in a storage closet and organized what I want out so I know just where to look. This all started because I am looking or a particular material I want to use for spelling. I can't find it anywhere and thought I had loaned it but no one seems to have it anywhere. I wish my rememberer was better - then I could reproduce it from my head. I'm not even sure of the name of it which doesn't help others look for it.
I finally can say I know my students pretty well and all the students in most of the classes now have names even if they change seats! A few still trick me up.
Found out that I need to make another baby quilt, one of the teachers I co-teach with is having a baby at the end of the year.
I have to make apple salad for last Sunday lunch tomorrow. The choir is going to get the proceeds of the luncheon for choir robe fund. I think I will make one up. I bought mandarin oranges, bananas, pineapple and apples. I have to make enough for 30 people - so I'm guessing on numbers of ingredients.
I finally am over my "cold" . Maybe it will be the only one this year?
I'm looking forward to babysitting for Em next weekend for the Iowa State/Kansas State game. I have been working on a really cute item for her from Christmas in my spare time but am waiting for supplies.
I'll try not to wait so long before the next entry -

Oh Wow! A whole month since I posted. I'll blame it on the back to school stuff. Let's see, in August I ... went shopping with my sister; sewed a bunch of things, worked on two baby quilts, one nearly finished today, also some Christmas gifts; school started, so I spent lots of extra time there; went to some parties; set up and ran a choir get together where we picked new robes; measured a bunch of people for those robes.
Dan and Ted have been working on the house. A new deck is in the works for the back door. Painting is nearly done outside, not started yet inside. We dug a hole which seemed to go on forever and ever. The back tree got trimmed and hauled away.
I've discovered some software for sewing that wouldn't run on the Mac but does on my PC so I've been making patterns - we'll see if Christmas presents evolve from that.
I ordered a new sewing machine/embroidery machine with my band $ with a bigger embroidery field. It should arrive by the end of the week. I nearly wore the little one out the last two days working on that baby quilt! I will do some pictures as soon as I charge the camera.

Emily's birthday

Em serves tea from her new tea set.
Emily likes to wear the size sticker from one of her new shirts.

Uncle Greg gets a hug where you can see Em.
Uncle Greg gets a hug from Em.
Uncle Greg building with Emily's new Lincoln Logs.


Emily and friends painting the driveway.
Lynne gave Em her old baby bed and one of her dollies. It was quite a hit.