KIDS TALK.

Assignment:
Character description. Who are they? What do they look like? What do they do? And what do they say?  
.
I mentioned once that your child's teacher knows more about you then you might guess. Kid's talk...or in this case...kid's write. One student chose to describe his mother for this assignment. I laughed pretty hard at the image he painted of what his mom does all day...


.
What...you can't read that handwriting? Really?

Fine. Let me translate:

"My mom lie's around a lot, watches TV, and eat's ice cream. She also eat's burritos."


Apparently, I need to teach another lesson on correct apostrophe usage. But besides that, funny right? 
.
What would your kid say that you do all day? Hopefully it's not: 'lay around and eat burritos'. Ha!

LUCKY RAINBOW KID's CRAFT for MARCH

 

My third graders make these lucky leprechaun rainbows every March to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. They are easy and soooo pretty hanging up in a row.

 

Take a paper plate (dollar store find) and cut it in half. On the sides that pop out (the bottom of the plate), paint a stripe for each color of the rainbow in order. Fill in any left over space at the bottom with the final color (purple). 

Make sure you get uncoated paper plates or the paint won't adhere. 

Then set aside. I always divide this project between two days to give the plates time to dry. 

 

I do the prep for this phase beforehand. 

Cut one streamer per color (about 12 inches long). Then, I cut each streamer in half long ways (hot-dog style). Now there are two long, skinny streamers per color. 

 

Now attach each streamer to the blank side of one of the plate halves with glue...right along the straight edge. Line the streamers up with the corresponding rainbow colors. 

It looks messy, but it's okay because no one will be able to see it in the end. 

 

Staple the two paper plates together with the rainbows facing outward. 

 

And finally, enjoy. Hang in the classroom, in a window, or somewhere they can catch a breeze. 

Possible Variations:

Add cotton clouds, glitter, or...I've had students who pasted hand drawn pots of gold to theirs!

Good luck!

AURORA's BAPTISM

My sisters and I.

MITT ROMNEY

Mitt Romney came to Idaho Falls this week. I wanted to go, but it was in the middle of the work day. Hearing all of the buzz about it got me thinking...

I am not very political. And there is a lot I don't understand about national debt and taxes and social security...but I do know I believe in:

1. Traditional family values
2. More money for education with less federal regulation
3. The Death Penalty
4. Eliminating the option to live on welfare for years without accountability
5. Drilling for oil in America starting...yesterday
6. Big army
7. Small government that butts out of people's personal lives 

I am definitely a conservative.

With Mitt Romney--a Mormon, being the republican front-runner in this upcoming election, I am put in a unique situation, being a Mormon myself. I feel a greater responsibility to make an informed decision here. 

Romney's religion seems to generate a lot of media attention. And right or wrong, it may be the deciding factor for some whether they will, or will not, vote for him. 
.
I don't understand the person who would never vote for him in a million years based on his Mormonism alone. This is so closed minded.
.
For example:
"Ahh! Don't vote for him! He's a MoRmON! We don't want a cult member in the White House! His prophet will end up making all of the decisions, and it's a conspiracy to convert the world!"
.
But it would be just as closed minded to vote for him because he is Mormon. 
.
In contrast:
"Hooray! A Mormon in the White House! Any decision he makes in office must be the right decision! It will solve all of the world's problems!"
.
Just because Mitt Romney is a member of the religion I believe and live, does not mean his views on government will match mine. And there is no guarantee he will be an honest, upstanding politician either. Nobody is perfect.

{source}

I don't want to be the kind of person to vote that way...or ever be accused of such. Instead, I will understand each of the candidates' platforms, backgrounds, and track records. So then IF I do end up voting for Mitt Romney, it won't be because he's Mormon, or because he's probably a shoe-in for the Republican candidacy anyway(if he's going to win, I might as well vote for him, right?). It will be because he is the one I can trust to most closely match my personal, political views based on my research.


Well, there you have it. My extremely limited spouting on politics. Take it for what it's worth. I am not campaigning for any certain person, just encouraging you all to be informed. 

                                                  Source: google.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I welcome any comments...even of different opinions. But I am NOT opening it up for vicious attacks on me, my religion, or my political views. Be polite. Please and thank you. 

DEAR FRIENDS,

.
That's all. 

Love,
Rachel

NOTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK

Source: flipflopsandpearlsdesign.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Hi. It's just me trying to make another decision for this house of ours. 

My dream would be one of these deep, white apron front kitchen sinks I've seen everywhere lately. Unfortunately, from what I've seen so far, they cost a thousand buckaroos...at least. 

But I found this IKEA copycat for a third of the price. I think it's pretty, but it isn't very deep. Because of some poor planning on our part, after taking 4-5 steps through our front door, you get a clear shot of the kitchen sink. I'd like to have the option of keeping my dirty dishes out of sight, because I don't want them to be everyone's first impression of our home. 

This is a picture of the IKEA sink installed. The white farmhouse sink seems timeless and will look sharp with our white cabinets and black counter tops. 

But we also found this pretty, under mount sink from Home Depot for about 40 bucks more than the IKEA one. This one is SUPER deep and it would match our stainless steel appliances. 

This isn't the best picture, but it gives you an idea what the Home Depot sink looks like installed. 

Any advice? Anybody own either kind or have a preference one way or another? We'll need to get one ordered in the next few days! 

WEBSITE WEDNESDAY {This Healthy Homemaker}

Check out This Healthy Homemaker. 

From a passionate, well-informed mother of 3, you can find:

1) Healthy snack ideas
2) Sugar ins and outs
3) Home remedies for common ailments
4) Vitamin and supplement info
5) Book recommendations 
6) Healthy meal recipes
7) The truth about white flour and processed foods
8) Links to sources and research-based articles 
9) And many more useful tips about about things like washing produce, homemade laundry detergent, sneaky ways to get kids to eat healthy, and even the ketchup brand to buy without high fructose corn syrup!

After perusing the posts, read the comments too. Apparently, there are mothers everywhere struggling to raise healthy families in this junk food obsessed, fast food eatin', sugar-addicted society. Check it out and join the conversation!

Say "hi" to my super fly sister-in-law Andrea, while you're at it.