Saturday, December 28, 2013

Tyke Champs!

 Griffin played in his first tournament today.  
He played hard, he had fun, and he came home with a medal!

 Someone is pretty proud, and absolutely loves hockey!
22 goals already this season!

Somebody else that is pretty proud of this little guy!

Christmas!


The boys were up at 7am and the all presents were opened 50 minutes later!

Griffin was happy with his Hockey bedding, ipad, hockey gear and his castle!
Owen was pumped to get his Skylanders he has been dying to get for months, along with his ipad and toboggan as well!

The boys had a great day playing with their new toys, and many games of mini sticks!  Owen was out toboganning by himself with his new sled.  He loves it so much that he kept bringing it inside and even setting it beside his bed while he slept!

We had a wonderful turkey dinner, and during the evening we went for a 
ride to  see the lights!

A wonderful Christmas!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Twas the Night Before Christmas....

 and all through the house
two little boys were waiting.....
cookies and milk ready,
Santa's key on the door,
new jammies on,
tucked into bed
with hopes of the big man 
stopping by for a visit!

 Merry Christmas!!


Sunday, December 15, 2013

So this is what a Hockey Tournament is all about...

Owen's hockey team was in a tournament this weekend, and although they didn't win, they certainly had fun!  Highlight: the pool, sauna, mini sticks, 
and hanging with his friends!

Perfect Winter Day!

 As much as I hate winter, there are some really perfect winter days, and today was one of them.  I started the morning with Christmas baking, and completed all of my cookies by noon.  In the afternoon, we took the boys sledding with friends, and then back for hot chocolate, and cookies, and mini sticks!
Later we had a wonderful turkey dinner at the Brookers!

I tried some new cookie recipes this year... and we now have some new favourites! Not to mentioned, Tony was thrilled that I made peanut butter balls!

Try this one:
CRACKER TOFFEE
INGREDIENTS:
• Saltine crackers (around 40-45)
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
 
DIRECTIONS:
• Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and line sheet with crackers.
• Mix the butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan.
• On low heat, bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes.
• Pour mixture evenly over crackers.
• Bake at 350° for 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers and spread evenly to cover the entire pan.
• Completely cool in the refrigerator then break into smaller pieces.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Cards in the Mail!

Sending greetings from our house to yours!

Gingerbread House Made!

Griffin couldn't wait to make the Gingerbread House!  
One of his highlights of the season......
eating candy ranks right up there as well!

Any bets on how long they will last before having to eat it?
I'm guessing before the week is out!
 

Lucky Day!

You know nothing makes me happier than ice cream, so free ice cream at Menchies was the cherry on top!
 

Behind the Scenes!



If Santa only knew.....
These two monkey's couldn't even keep their hands off each other 
with Santa right beside them!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

My Christmas Tree!

 

Still in love with "My Christmas Tree" !


Visit with Santa

 The best part about the boys visit, aside from the pictures, is the conversation the boys have with Santa.  The questions the boys asked this year included;
How old are you Santa? 800 years old
How old is Rudolph?  700 years old
When did Rudolph start flying with you Santa? Just as a young deer
and so on....
I don't believe they even mentioned their wish list!
Owen is 8, and he has had friends tell him Santa is not real, but this little boy chooses to believe, because "Christmas is magical and you need to believe in it, just like the little boy from the Polar Express!"



Thursday, November 28, 2013

Love this article!


Don't Date a Girl Who Teaches

I stumbled across this sweet, darling blog post by another blogger entitled "Date a Girl Who Teaches".  It lists examples of traits common to teachers and explains why they would be desirable to men. Here's one:
It is easy enough to date a girl who teaches. She won’t want expensive gifts; you can buy storybook for her birthday, flowers for Teacher’s day, craft punchers for Christmas. You can buy her anything but please spare her with coffee mugs; she has lots from her students.
Positively saccharine.

I read the post, then immediately began writing my own version. Friends, I give you:


Don't Date a Girl Who Teaches



Let's say you meet a girl.  She's cute, fun, and when you ask her what she does for a living, she replies, smiling, "I'm a teacher." You probably jump to some positive conclusions about this girl.  She must be extremely patient and have the kindness of a Mother Theresa/lamb hybrid. You might even picture stock images of teachers, laughing as they point to vowels in a workbook, or smiling triumphantly as little Johnny correctly identifies Macedonia on a map of the world. You think about movies and TV shows you've seen where teachers like Hilary Swank, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Zooey Deschanel charm the socks off their students, overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, and manage to do it all while looking awesome. 

Well, I'm here to tell you to snap out of it. Here's what you're really in for.

She will speak to you as if you're a student when you're wrong in an argument (and probably if you're right, too).
She's highly trained in the art of keeping her cool in an argument, and one of those ways of keeping cool is delivering some of the most mind-blowingly annoying one-liners on the planet.  For example:
"Let me know when you're ready to take responsibility for your actions."
"Use your words."
"Was that a good choice?"
These statements and questions, disguised as innocuous, even gentle hints, are designed specifically to make you want to set yourself on fire.

She will go hours without responding to your telecommunication attempts, often without explanation.
If you're one of those people who expects to hear back when you text or call someone, you should probably steer clear of teachers. I know that personally, from about 10:30 PM to 5:30 PM the next day, it's a complete crapshoot whether I will reply at all, let alone promptly.  

She has a near-perfect BS detector.
You will get away with nothing. 

You thought PMS was bad? Try PEGPS.
PEGPS stands for Pre End-of-Grading-Period Syndrome, the period of time before grades are due for report cards. Like PMS, PEGPS is characterized by extreme irritability, poor nutritional choices, and zombie-like fatigue. However, unlike PMS, PEGPS lasts for 2-3 WEEKS and happens four to six times per YEAR. 

And when PEGPS overlaps with PMS, you'd better get the hell out of Dodge, my friend.

She will bring home every strain of every airborne disease within a 25-mile radius.
Hope your immune system's perfect.

She will compare all your problems/accomplishments to the papers she has to grade.
"Honey, I just qualified for the Boston Marathon!"
"Oh, please. I just graded 180 persuasive essays in one weekend."

"That was my mom on the phone. They just put my childhood dog down."
"You think that's depressing? Look at these literary analyses they turned in. Five weeks on this unit and they still can't come up with a decent thesis!"

She won't be able to see you ever, especially during DEVOLSON.
And if she is available, she will only want to watch a mindless movie at home in perfect silence.

If you decide to take her anywhere directly after work, just know that it will seem to others as if you are escorting around a cardigan-wearing, homeless witch with unexplainable stray marker/pen marks from wrist to elbow.

Fellas, let me save you some trouble. If you're in a bar and you see a woman in flats and a cardigan with an oversized shoulder tote asking about discounts, stay away.

Stay very far away.

Love,

Teach


P.S. I was kidding about everything.  You should totally date a teacher.  They're pretty kickass.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

My Hockey Guys!

 Love this picture!  The love of hockey captured!

Thanks to Jenna for more great photos!
Be sure to check her out at: www.jennafayephotography.com






My Beautiful Boys!

 Griffin
6
silly
loving
caring
active
smart
my baby boy
 
 Owen
8
leader
competitive
smart
compassionate
sensitive
funny
my first
 
My Beautiful Boys!

Elliott is Back!!

 Elliott is back and the boys are thrilled!  Each night, Owen has been wishing for Elliott to return early, because he just can't wait to see him!  Elliott is Owen's favourite part of Christmas traditions at our place!

This year, I thought we needed to dress him up a little bit!  A Bulls jersey was perfect!  I sewed his shirt and Tony made his hockey stick and the look on the boys face when they saw him dressed in the jersey was worth the effort!




Elliott returned on Monday morning, and boy did it take a long time for them to find the note and start to look for their elf! They were thrilled  to see him return!

That night on the way home from school, Owen and Griffin were arguing, and I overheard Owen say to Griffin, "Please Griffin, we need to get along, we only have a month to get on the good list, and Elliott is watching!"
Thank you Elf on the Shelf!
 
 Christmas has arrived!  We are all set up and decorated!

29 days and counting!!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Hockey Mom!!


Hard to believe it isn't it?  Me, a hockey mom!
It's true!  and I love it!

Dear Santa... here is a great gift for a hockey mom!

LOVE OF HOCKEY - Sterling Silver Hand Stamped Necklace

Monday, November 18, 2013

Dear Santa



 This year, both the boys were able to write their own letters.  Boy, there was no stopping them once they started.  They were on a mission to write letters to Santa, to be sure Santa wouldn't forget anything on their list!  They even knew enough to add some questions for Santa and to draw a picture.  

Griffin is totally into hockey right now, and more than anything he wants a 
"hockey bedroom".  He has it all planned out.  Painting on this wall, pictures on this wall, I want this wall to look like a rink, with magnets that I can move around.  Very cute!  I have to admit, this is a present right up my alley.  

Take a peek at the bedding I just ordered...love it!!

and this light

 As for Owen.... it's Skylanders, Skylanders and more Skylanders!



Wednesday, November 13, 2013

How do you top this?

Favourite picture ever!
This sums up the boys perfectly!

41 days until Christmas!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Don't you just love kid's Writing!!

I found this in Griffin's backpack.  A message from a little girl in his class!

Remembrance Day


Remembrance day, such an important day, and yet such a hard day for little ones to understand.  I certainly took advantage of every chance I had to explain and help my boys and my students to appreciate, if just a little bit, the importance of Remembrance day.

Griffin gets it!  He is full of questions, he is inquisitive and wants explanations as to why there needs to be war, and offers solutions to end war.  He appreciated our assembly today at school, and was disturbed that the boy beside him didn't know enough to be quiet.  This is a boy with heart.

 This is a picture that Griffin drew after hearing "In Flander's Field"
I love the details... just months ago, he was drawing stick figures.
 
I found this idea on Pinterest, and our school jumped all over it.
What a great way for a school to capture student's thinking and making it visible. 


This is Griffin's Remembrance Day art from school.  I just love that Mrs. M, incorporates art in many of her lessons.  Griffin is just thriving because of it!


This is the art that my class did.  Poppies in Flanders Field
 

Thursday, November 7, 2013

What Should Mrs. Bird be for Halloween?


I did this cute activity with my students on Halloween.  The boys and girls had to decide what I should be for Halloween and draw me wearing that costume!
I picked three of my favourites.  Make sure you scroll to the bottom to see my favourite!