Memorial Day

Thank you to all the Americans that have given
their lives to this country. 

Vintage Paper Wreath by White Serenade on Etsy

Fresh Air Does A Maggie Good!

Maggie is under the weather today so we stayed home while Mr. Rogers and the boys went to church.  It is such a beautiful day today that I thought some fresh air might do our little Mag-pie good.  We did a little exploring, a little walking and a lot of sitting and looking at our growing garden as seen here with our Patty Pan Squash.

My favorite "alone" time activity on Saturday mornings!

Almost every Saturday morning I'm able to sneak in about 30 minutes of alone time before the zoo animals awaken  and go on the prowl.  Sitting, reading, looking at beautiful Mr. Lincoln's and sipping my favorite Trader Joes' Pinon Nut Coffee out of my geographical Starbucks mug (this morning from the great state of New Mexico) makes for a happy Mrs. Rogers!

Wonders of the Ocean and Wonderful Children

Lincoln has proclaimed that he would like to be a "scooby" diver when he grows up! We had no idea as we embarked on our weekend adventure that all three of the kids would love the Monterey Bay Aquarium so much! We had to pry Maggie off of every glass wall as she banged and provided loud commentary and high shrilling for all within a twenty foot circumference! Lincoln on the other hand was mesmerized but never failed to seek reassurance that he was not going to eaten AT EVERY SINGLE EXHIBIT! I’m going to go on the record and disagree with The Beatles, happiness is not a warm gun … it’s manhandling overly excited children in large crowds and reassuring them that the hammerhead shark does not eat little boys for its daily snack.

Funny child commentary aside, these were some of the breathtaking creatures we enjoyed.  If only I had taken my Cornell Notes I could report back to you about these wonders but alas...my hands were full!

Amazing!

Mr. Lincoln Blooms!

Um, how could I not by a rose tree named Mr. Lincoln?  Lincoln, however, is somewhat reluctent to tend to them as he insists that he is not a rose but indeed a boy!

The boys and I have anxiously awaited the first blooms from our Mr. Lincoln roses.  We water, we inspect for affids, and mostly we wait for new buds to bloosom.

Maggie Bite!

No, don't worry I just weened her and no longer fear her lethal vampire bites!  However, Maggie was eyeing my chicken sandwich the other night and I just couldn't resist giving her a little bite!

"Ode to The West" Bonnet

This was Maggie’s Gold Rush Party Bonnet! The boys had cowboy boots and hats but little Mag-pie didn’t have anything so I was duty bound to design a special little piece for her.

Pardon her lapse in manners as she had just partaken

in the most delicious 1849 Dirt Cake!

To make this masculine fabric a little more feminine I added hand cut hearts along both sides of the bonnet and frayed the heart edges for a rugged worn look. To also make it more versatile the inside is pink with a black/cream heart and small pale yellow bird. The ties bare a slight ruffled finish to them and are brown, green, red and mustard to add element of interest.

Any little girl that has The West in her heart should have one of these bonnets…ha ha ha! The west encompasses adventure, rugged individualism, a break from conformity, romanticism, beauty in nature and real kick a** women! I’m not going to carry these in my shop but it would be my honor to make one for any little girl worthy of such a claim!

Jack and Lincoln's 1849 Historical Party

Panning for Cake - Dirt Cake in 1849!

Panning for Cake!

Dirt Cake Recipe (adapted from cooks.com)

Ingredients:

8 rolls of Oreo cookies (can you say heart attack?)

1 stick butter

2 packages of cream cheese (16 oz. total)

2 cups powered sugar

2 large French vanilla instant pudding boxes
7 cups of milk
24 oz. Cool Whip (3 regular sized containers)

In main mixing bowl, cream the butter, mix in cream cheese and powered sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together instant pudding powder with milk (you don't need to actually set pudding) and add Cool Whip to pudding mixture. Combine wet ingredients together.

Crush Oreo's into a sand like consistancy with blender. Mix the majority of Oreo's with other ingredients. Use the remaining crushed Oreo's to sprinkle on top or around Dirt Cake for decor.

Yields approx. 30 servings

Both times I've made Dirt Cake it has been a hit.  Here is a picture of it from Lincoln's INSECT party.
 

Jack and Lincoln's Historical 1849 Birthday

1849...another historical birthday party!

This weekend we had a wonderful time celebrating Jack and Lincoln's birthday at a local farm that features a narrow gauge train.  It is a woodsy area and it just screams "1849" in this history girl's nerdy brain whenever we are there.  If you are a Californian and you don't know the significance of this year then SHAME ON YOU!  Having the unnatural need to teach history via birthday parties has developed a strong hold in my life that I have a hard time shaking!  Everything that my mind came up with, centering around this Gold Rush/Wild Wild West theme was brilliant...if only they had come to fruition as I fear no one even picked up on the history aspect of the theme [weep, weep]. 

The western frontiers men armed for the dangers of train riding!

"The Bandits" rob the train at the end of a tunnel!

The weeks preceeding the party were just too crazy for me to embrace my obssessive compulsive ways thus I was forced to silence the control freak within me!  Two items from my brainstorm of over a dozen were actually achieved!

These invitations set the tone and were PERFECT!  They were a steal at $5 for the digital file and then another $5 printed and cut from Office Max on ivory cardstock!  Grand total was $10 for 16 invitations.  The best part is whole punching the month and date on the actual ticket!

Vintage Train Ticket Birthday Invitation

by M2 Studio on Etsy

Other Posts on Jack and Lincoln's Historical Birthday:

Panning for Cake -- Dirt Cake in 1849

"Ode to The West" Bonnet -- Maggie's Party Attire

Getting honored...a plaque and new shoes!

I love my job! Being a teacher, helping teenagers, and embracing my love of history, makes for a wonderful way to spend my Monday-Friday mornings! As my principal read quotes from my students of their experience in my class, I couldn't help but tear up when I was honored at a banquet Thursday evening. Here are two that meant a lot to me [weep, weep].

"My most favorite thing about how Mrs. Rogers teaches is that she doesn't give up on ANY of her students in class. She treats us all with kindness regardless if we didn't do our work, all she asks of her students is to do our best."

This quote means a lot because so many teachers only want to teach the elite students, but anyone can teach those students. The year I realized that all of my favorite students were my "flunkies" was the year I really felt like I had arrived as a teacher. Even though most of them did ultimately fail my class, they knew that they were treated equal, that they were deeply cared for and valued, and for 52 minutes every day they had a positive and safe learning environment.

"What I liked about this class was that Mrs. Rogers was always happy and she loved teaching us."

Although this one sounds more like an obituary, it still resonates in my heart. In high school, the teachers I loved most were the ones that were passionate about the subject they taught....you could just tell they were different than the others. I love this quote because this is what makes seventeen year-olds want to learn more about American history and appreciate the country they live in despite its flaws.

Exciting on a different and completely superficial level was the purchase of my first "grown-up" shoes. If I worked in corporate America, these would have been purchased upon the hiring of my first job. However, I work in a rural school where I step out of my car onto a dirt, or mud, parking lot and then I stand on my feet for a LONG time. So eight years into my career, these beautiful, classic, soft black leather BCBG stilettos have finally arrived on my feet and in my closet. Although, I do not plan on teaching in them, they already have several dates planned with my feet this summer!

So the fruits of my labor go something like this: a plaque on my classroom wall, a kick a** pair of shoes in my closet and countless teenage hearts who have felt loved by me and I by them.  Not a bad living!

Shoe Shopping

Yesterday I went shoe shopping for a banquet that I will be attending tonight. Sometimes I'm just attracted to really ugly things and these shoes are no exception but this is an educator’s banquet and these shoes have no place there [sniffle]! Instead I went with a classic black stiletto for the evening to compliment my Ann Taylor dress. However it was hard to resist the urge to at least try on these leathery spider web gladiator shoes and not feel like I was a budget conscious mother of three for a minute!

They look like they were made to live on my feet...

 ....maybe when they go on sale!

Fresh Strawberries...Yummmm!

The first "crop" of strawberries from our garden!

Maggie Handmade

My wonderful neighbor, Michele, is a blossoming photographer and unfortunately for me my children need to be used as test subjects...I know, sad but true!  Michele captured these truly delightful pictures of Maggie last week on a beautiful spring day...ahhhh, lovely!

The past year with Maggie has been so fun as I have entered into the world of handmade and truly embrassed the creations and talents of gifted individuals around the world!  This is Maggie in her Coriander Dress, topped with her Mustard Capelet...mmmm, she's just like a pastrami sandwich I want to eat up! (weird metephor unless you are a parent, lol).  One of my dear college friends, Kara, made this Mustard Capelet for Maggie's first birthday this year, LOVE it!  The dress is made by LibbyLuBoutique the same Etsy Shop wear I stumbled upon Maggie's Mermaid Dress for her Mermaid Birthday Party.  Ruby, the shop owner, includes these old school bows that, simply put, make me smile! 

Let me just add a note about that last picture of Maggie doing what she does best, EATING!  That girl is the only one of our kids who will eat ANYTHING...green onions, concrete, snails, citrus rimes, rocks (as shown here), flowers but she draws the line at lettuce!

Happy Mother's Day!

This makes me a happy mother!

The Leafy Sea Dragon

We just finished watching IMAX Under The Sea with the kids for our movie night.  Lincoln has informed us of his future career as a scuba diver, so Mr. Rogers felt a moral obligation to reserve this from redbox for tonight.  It is a great, not too long nor too short, documentary on the Great Coral Reef and all three kids were riveted especially by the Cuttlefish...thankfully, they didn't understand the Cuttlefish mating scene as even I was a little confused!

As Mr. Rogers is putting the children to bed, my mind just keeps going back to the Leafy Sea Dragon.  It was so graceful, delicate, and beautiful yet it was like a mythical creature from a fairy tale. 

  Leafy Sea Dragon Greeting Card by Bellzie Beasts on Etsy

Cookies to Tantalize the Taste Buds!

These are my self-proclaimed world's easiest and completely delicious cookies.  The only person that I can credit the recipe for is my sister-in-law who has been baking them for decades and probably picked up the recipe from some church cookbook!

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup Oil (I prefer Canola)
1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats
2 Eggs
1 box Cake Mix of your choice
1 cup goodies of your choice
Yields: approx 2-3 dozen

Cake Mix and Goodies of your choice!

Together mix oil, oats, and eggs for a minute.

Add to mixer your choice of 1 boxed Cake Mix
 After batter mix add 1 cup of any other goodies.

   

Spoon or ball onto cookie sheet (spooning is much faster)

Bake 350 degrees.

For chewy cookies 8 minutes or for crispy cookies 10 minutes. 

Assuming you have enough cookie sheets you can make 3 dozen cookies from start to finish in 15 minutes...maybe not on your first attempt but soon after.  After every test, I make these cookies for my students -- never have you seen seventeen year-olds so giddy for cookies!  The best part is that there are so many flavorful options!  When cake mix goes on sale (10 for $10), my cart overfloweth with cake mix and my mouth salivates with the wonderful flavors running through my mind.

My students' favorites:
Yellow Cake Mix with Butterscotch, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Chips -- lethal
Chocolate Cake Mix with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips
Straight up Funfetti Cake Mix

My favorite:
Chocolate Cake Mix with Walnuts, Butterscotch, and Chocolate Chips
but I always have a longing to sneak some coconut in them!

Cinco de Mayo...Aye Yi Yi!

"Aye Yi Yi!" [heavy sigh] That is what I thought when one of my students came up to me yesterday and asked if I would be celebrating Mexican Independence Day today!  In a humorous manner, I promptly informed him of the real historical signficance, made him repeat it back to me and then made him go tell five other people in hopes of it permeating his brain...was that mean? 

Being a history teacher my one request is that you "brush-up" on the REAL history of Cinco de Mayo and educate the masses while you throw back those margaritas today!!!

DE COLORES -M- Papel Picado Banner by Ay Mujer on Etsy

Have You Seen Poppies Like This Before?

If I didn’t know any better, I would say a bandit planter sewed these peculiar poppy seeds in my front yard last fall! Waiting patiently for the buds to blossom, this is what bloomed this week!  Aren't they beautiful, intriguing, and peculiar all at the same time?  Maybe tonight they will grow into the clouds and I can fetch me some gold in the morning….I better brush up on my Giant handling skills!

Natural Born Snail Killers - Part II

The snails are in full force and I'm proud to say that the boys are back to being the mean lean snail killing machines that I count on them to be! (Part I)  Every night after dinner we have to go and purge our yard of those ferocious beasts!

What is my preferred snail method you ask?  It is organic, non-toxic, promotes physical fitness, and it also fosters the development of hand-eye cordination in children.  It looks something along the lines of this ...

Mr. Rogers lost count at forty-seven terminated snails!

Mission accomplished!