Knocked Up

Well, it's official!! I'm having a baby! Honestly, the words don't even seem real, even though I've been saying them now for almost 13 weeks. And little Vladi should arrive August 5th!

Thanks, Vladimir Guerrero, for getting a base hit for the Rangers during playoffs when I had had a few too many beers and promised to name my first child after you.... whoops.

I am sure the next 6 months will be interesting, as the only indicator that I am with child is the (extreme) emotional roller coaster I have been riding. Weee! I'm just giving anyone fair warning if you plan to:

a) watch TV with me, particularly any programming involving animals, babies, families, or current events

b) cross me

c) say something nice to me

or, dear Lord,

d) go to church with me

In all seriousness, I have been overcome with what a blessing this new journey is and truly feel so blessed and grateful for this gift. We'll have a new piece of work in our lives before we know it!

With that, I will leave you with a few of the funniest comments my elementary students shared with me when I told them the news:

-Wow! You are going to get a SERIOUSLY big belly.

-Your stomach is going to hurt REALLY bad for like 5 minutes before you have the baby.

-It's going to kick you right in the stomach!

-I'm not sure if I'm going to like your baby. I have to think about it.

-Will you still be my friend?

Stacey

I need a beard.

Your next spelling word, kids, is the word beard. B-E-A-R-D. For example, "Your dad has a beard."

"No, Mrs. Chambers!!! He DOES NOT HAVE A BEARD! Why would he???"

Okay, okay, maybe, "When you grow up you might have a BEARD!"

"NOOOO! Mrs. Chambers!! Never!"

Wow, okay...I didn't know having a beard was such a bad thing. A lot of people do! Do you not like beards?

"Mrs. Chambers. This is very bad. Beard is drugs, and you are not supposed to drink beard until you are 21 or maybe never at all."


HA! Just an average day with 8 year olds.....I need a "beard."
Stacey

Roast Bun

Disclaimer: Benchmart testing is taking place all week. Side effects include: boredom, grumpiness, and getting unreasonably punchy and giggly. The last symptom may or may not be the cause of the following post.

One of my little students was reading a passage yesterday about a rose bush as part of this testing. This meant that I was unable to help him with any miscues or mispronunciations in this passage. Unfortunately, the little guy is not yet the strongest reader.

The rose bush story turned into a story about a roast bun. I am sure you can imagine this story about the roast bun being planted in the backyard. The roast bun needs to be watered. The roast bun needs the sunlight. With time, the roast bun will be a large and beautiful roast bun with lots and lots of beautiful roasts.

Roast buns + afformentioned punchiness and giggliness = hilariousness in Mrs. Chambers' classroom. That is all.

Laugh when you can,
Stacey

It's Pajamas! P-A-J-A-M-A-S!

Since my last post, my time has been split between running around like a mad woman and being completely attached to my couch. And you know what? I am perfectly fine with that! This week marked the start of 2011, Jared's 29th birthday, and a fresh start to new semester at school. And there's really nothing I love more than new beginnings.

This week at work I got to enjoy the giggles and jokes of my cute students, and I was reminded of why being a teacher can be so much fun. I remember smiling on Tuesday afternoon thinking, "If I can just hold on to these sweet moments, my positive attitude can keep me going throughout semester, despite the stresses that will undoubtedly come." And of course, my students reminded me of the importance of attitude in their subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Before the break, I gave a student a pair of special pajamas because I had shared with him that getting a new pair of pajamas was a tradition that my husband and I shared each Christmas. This week, I learned that the pajamas were the only gift this student received this Christmas. (Imagine my heart physically breaking on the spot). The amazing thing, though, is that he was not complaining about this to his classmates, but rather sharing in the joy that he got some "really cool pajamas - tops AND bottoms!!!" His first pair. Talk about the power of attitude!

Later in the week, I was getting on to one of my students because he was slacking off when he was supposed to be working. After my reprimand, he mumbled under his breath, "attitude!" You've got that right...I about blew my lid. Was he SERIOUSLY going to say that to ME?! Of course I had an attitude, and it was because of his bad attitude. And so it could continue...

When it's all said and done (and we've heard it a million times) attitude is everything. I can choose to see the joy in the pair of pajamas or choose to fly the coop every time an 8 year old slacks off.

In the new year, there will be many things to worry over and stress about, but mark my words - I'm joining Team Pajamas. Anyone with me??

Stacey

Turkey Leftover Magic

I love Thanksgiving! The cooler weather, leaves falling, family, yummy smells from the kitchen, and of course- leftovers!

Before we moved back to Texas, we celebrated about 4 or 5 Thanksgivings with our dear neighbors and friends Liz and David. Liz owns Thanksgiving, and she also introduced me to the infamous "Turkey Wreath." And for that, I am eternally thankful. Now I look forward to the wreath just about as much as the actual Thanksgiving meal.

Here goes:

Ingredients

2 pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 C. mayonnaise
2 T. honey Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
2 C. cooked turkey, chopped
1/2 C. celery, sliced
3 T. fresh parsley, snipped
1/2 C. dried cranberries
4 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded (1 cup)
1 egg, separated

Preheat oven to 375.

Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. With wide ends of triangles toward the center. arrange 8 triangles in a circle on a baking stone. Make the corners of the wide ends will touch and points will extend over the baking stone.

Measure mayonnaise, mustard and black pepper into a bowl. Grate cheese into a bowl. Mix filling. Scoop filling over seams of dough, forming a circle.

Beginning in center, lift one dough triangle across mixture. Continue alternating with outer triangle, slightly overlapping to form wreath. Tuck last end under first.

Separate egg over bowl. Beat egg white lightly; brush over dough.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Viola! Turkey leftover Magic!

Gobble Gobble,

Stacey

Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Well, I had to finish out the poem, eh?

Something borrowed -- during the move we borrowed LOTS- trucks, muscles, ladders, tools, paint brushes, referrals, and ideas. To everyone who helped...THANK YOU!

Some of the referrals we got were SO helpful, so I'll pass along the love:

Shout out to: VanPoole Properties www.VanPooleProperties.com

Metroplex Property Inspections 512-791-2920

Erik the Mover (seriously the best movers I've ever used) 469-583-5484

Carnival Painters/Jeff Murrey (so clean and professional!) 817-627-8848

KHovnanian Homes - come be our neighbor!

Pottery Barn Customer Service--for replacing our bed hardware (we lost it), and our bed footboard (we scratched it) for FREE!

Something blue -- Our bedroom! So my claim to fame is picking out the worst paint colors ever. HOWEVER, this time I think we hit the nail on the head. We love it. It's called Misty Morn by Behr Ultra.

Wish I had a pic to post....hint, hint, Santa.

Stacey

Something Old

Along with all my "something news" we are enjoying at our new place, discovering our "something olds" has been surprisingly pretty fun. Minus some heavy lifting, a broken item or two, and finding a few items that I have no idea how they survived 3 moves (i.e. Jared's 2 foot tall plastic Miller Lite bottle)...the unpacking process has been pretty great. Some of our stuff has been in storage for almost a year and a half!!! So this old stuff has been fun and also hilarious to unpack.

Here are some of my faves:

1. My recipe box! Ok, let's face it -- living with mom is practically like living with a human recipe box, which was pretty awesome. Nonetheless, I am super excited to have access to my favorite recipes whenever I want!

2. My wedding album. I mean, it's not like I look at it every day or anything, but it's fun to have it there just in case I want to.

3. My bread maker. Totally and absolutely forgot I owned one. Score!

2. My Anthropologie robe. For some reason this got packed away. It's just the most perfect robe, and I actually squealed when I unpacked it. I've worn it every night. I am wearing it right now.

1. Buddy's clothes. Don't judge. He loves them.

Stacey