Speechless...

Literally.

I have officially lost my voice.  As in...it's gone.  I open my mouth to speak and nothing comes out.  Nada.  Teaching with a little bit of a voice was pretty challenging today, but tomorrow ought to be down right hard.  18 first graders with a speechless teacher.  Oh geez.

Here's what we have been up to lately...since I have been so busy that I haven't had a single second to think about blogging.  (Insert frowny-face here)

Basketball.  Lots and lots of basketball.

Max went from being a pretty good player to a GREAT one!  I couldn't be more proud!

My cutie stepped in to help out some during the season. 

The boys had a fantastic season and made it three games into the playoffs.  I loved every minute of watching him and wish the season wasn't over. 

Annie and Charlie enjoyed the games, too.

Coloring with Friends

Games

Giggles

Lego's

You name it, they did it! 

Since it has been a while since I have posted, I thought I would throw in these pictures as well.

And two of my favorite things...

*A Cute Butter Bean*

and

*Itty-Bitty Toes*

Lorri



CLICK!

After a few years of planning, writing grants, researching, etc., my school was awarded charter status.  This seems to be the new trend in education...and it is awesome!  Our school chose the School Wide Enrichment Model.  To make a loooooong story short, the entire faculty decides on a "cluster" that they would enjoy teaching.  We each choose what to offer the students based on what we are interested in.  One day a week (for an hour and a half), the students attend the cluster that they have chosen.  They spend their cluster time learning through their interests!  Since the students list 5 clusters that they would like to be a part of, we are able to place them in one of their choices...and keep our numbers down to 14 or less per teacher.  NICE!  Here are a few of the clusters that are being offered right now.

*Dirt and Worms   *Footloose (dancing)   *Jewelry Making   *CSI    *American Girls    *Dogs and Cats    *American Heroes     *Poetry     *Pottery     *Games (chess, etc.)    *Cross Country    *Cupcake Creations    *Jr. Master Gardeners     *Karate    *Chocolate Creations    *Book Cooks   *Photography    *Cross Stitching    *Sewing    *Drama    *My Little Pony (all about horses)    *Computer Creations

~If you are still reading this long post, keep reading!  The best part is coming up.~

Since I looooove taking pictures and editing them, I offered a photography cluster. 

Even though I teach 1st grade, I offered it to 3rd-5th grades.  It is like a breath of fresh air when these "old" students walk in my room.  They can tie their own shoes!

Each cluster is responsible for coming up with their own authentic audience.  We are encouraged to find an audience outside of the school.  It can be as simple as having a poetry reading night at a local library...or helping others!  My cluster students came up with the most precious idea!  We are going to head to the zoo to take pictures of the animals.  Once we edit and develop them, we will be donating them to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta!  We will have them blown up to 8x10's or larger.  The students will frame their pictures and we will deliver them to the hospital.  Then, they will be hung in the children's rooms.  One of my students said, "the sick children will love getting to see zebras, elephants, and giraffes.  Hopefully the pictures will make them smile and forget about how sick they are."  To me, THAT is real learning. 

Over the few months, we have a lot of work to do.  Fun, meaningful work!

Like I said, we have a lot of work to do!  I can't wait to share their photos and experiences with you!

Lorri

February Love!

February is one of my favorite months of the year.  As silly as it sounds, I think all of the pink is a pick-me-up in the middle of a wet winter.  Not to mention all the candy, cookies, and...a box of Valentine's Day cake balls! 

Why can't Bakerella be my next door neighbor?

Yum!  I am not in love with baking, but I actually enjoy making cake balls.  And more often than not, they have turned out pretty cute.  Every time that I make them, I am surprised at how yummy they are.  The question is...Am I brave enough to attempt the ones above? 

*I don't have the best track record with baking.* 

Moving on.  I made this today and plan on printing it out to frame for the month.

How fun is that?

Got any cake ball tricks up your sleeve?  Please share! 

Happy February!

Lorri

Remember This?

It's a Monchichi!  I loved these when I was little.  I had several of them.  I considered getting Annie one for Christmas...until I discovered that they now cost anywhere from $25-$275!  Seriously?  They are only 10 inches tall!  I couldn't believe it.  Too bad I didn't keep any of mine. 

However, I was able to find something very similar!  In fact, this one is much cuter!

I think it is safe to say that Charlie needs a haircut.  Along with everything else (including this blog), haircuts have been dismissed in order to accomplish some of the other gazillion items on my to-do list.  I'm not sure how I have landed myself in the middle of on thousand things at once, but I have certainly learned that even the best multi-taskers can't do this much stuff without letting some things go. 

And so...

...this little Munchichi may have to wait a few more days to get his little mullet taken care of. 

Lorri



You Are My Sunshine

This little girl is my sunshine.

My ladybug.

My love muffin.

My little one.

My cupcake.

My lemon drop.

My itty bitty.

Annie will be turning 6 this month.  I can't believe it. 

It still brings tears to my eyes to think about my pregnancy and her stay in the NICU.  I never want to be that scared again!  Her story (which you can read here) is a roller coaster ride, but certainly has a happy ending.  The day she came home from the hospital, she was only 4 pounds 8 oz.

This picture was taken when she was 7 weeks old.  My hands still look enormous compared to her!

My itty-bitty is growing up too fast.  She still makes smile and warms my heart every single day.

She will always be my sunshine!

Lorri

I Guess It's Time, Clark.

As much as I hate it, it is time to take down the tree.  Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  It makes me sad to see it pass.

Each year we pick out our tree the day after Thanksgiving.  Have I ever mentioned that I am married to Clark Griswold? 

Source

"The bigger, the better!"  I'm pretty sure that is my hubby's motto.  Over the past few years, I have been able to talk him into a skinny (well, skinnier) tree.  However, this year's tree still stands at a little over 10 feet.  Clark.

As in years past, we packed her full of ornaments (for some reason, I think of her as a girl).

The children all have their own (small) trees in their rooms, but I love having all of the ornaments they have made on the big tree.

We will keep a few decorations out through February.  Like these snowmen (minus the red ornaments).

These were on one of the fireplaces at my wedding reception.

They are so sweet.  Hopefully the will bring a little snow our way!

Even though I am sad to see Christmas go, I am looking forward to a few less pine needles in this house!

I hope you had the merriest Christmas of all! 

Lorri

Whoo-hoo!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas!  Hope you did, too!

*Please don't tell the hubby I put this on here.  He just might strangle me!*

Lorri