Not Your Everyday Bacon and Eggs!

Mmmmm, sweet and savory...God's taste bud gift to the world.  Perfect for a morning play date...in this case, the last one of the summer [whimper].  These were so delicious that I think maybe I ate more than the kids!  Not to mention they went so well with the lattes I made - for the mom's not the kids.  Is it gross to mention that I'm salivating a little bit right now?  Okay moving on, I love making things for other people and my friend, Steph, is ALWAYS finding the coolest little food creations for kids, which is where I saw this awesome version of "Bacon and Eggs."  I was trying to track down the origin of this recipe but it looked like a recipe that had been around for quite some time but whomever came up with it was dead on!

A little logistics if you will.  I used one bag of Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks from Trader Joes', a bag of white chocolate (melted in 30 second intervals, stirred, and melted another 30 seconds in microwave), and purchased a large bag of M&M's.  For the most part I got approx 2.5  dozen "Bacon and Eggs" until I ran out of yellow M&M's and then I got about another 1.5 dozen with various "rotten" eggs as  I liked to call them!

...and yes, always a straw with coffee for the preservation of white teeth and lip gloss!

The First Day of School

  You are Braver than you Believe Typography Word Art Print by RawArtLetterpress on Etsy

I've kissed my summer good-bye and embarked on yet another school year.  Ten years ago I got the keys to my first classroom.  It actually makes me a little teary eyed as I think about that first year with 175 awkward little 7th graders that I was charged with teaching Medieval World History to.  Most of them are beginning their third year of college this year and a few I'm still in touch with and I'm so honored that they value me enough to keep me in their lives (okay, I'm actually crying now as I type).  Some classes I remember so well that I see them all staring back at me in their little seating charts smiling as if they were pictures hanging on the wall of Hogwarts.   Sometimes my job super sucks, let's be honest ... under appreciated, bureaucratic crap, overworked, stacks of papers, crazy parents who don't understand why their child got a "C" on a paper when the parent themselves actually wrote it, or the worst which to me is the loss of a student.   Last year one of my amazing students, who I had helped get into college, died in a car accident on her way home to visit her family Easter weekend...just tragic.  However, you take the good with the bad and you just can't put a value on the interactions in the classroom on a day to day basis.  I start this year as always, passionate about the subject I teach, slightly burned out from last year, yet still excited about this year for being trusted with the job of building better people.  How much U.S. History are those 11th graders going to absorb into their brain [hardy chuckle], who knows!  Most of all,  I hope they feel loved and valued each day when they leave because they are ... at least by this adult.

Back-to-School Demands...I kind of have big hair doesn't that qualify for Diva status?

While waiting for the kids to get their back-to-school hair cuts on Monday something possessed me to pick up some type of People magazine, normally a Newsweek or Architectural Digest sort of girl.  While thumbing through, I landed on a list of what famous individuals demand when they are hired for their talents.  Not like I believe anything written in those, nonetheless, I thought "Hey, I have award winning talents too!" why is their talent valued so much more in society than my talent?  I've been working on my talent for a decade and half...really perfecting it for the past ten years.  This is my talent:  I have the unique and rare ability to manage thirty plus seventeen-year-olds in one 20'x30' room.  Via a combination of historical storytelling and tongue and cheek, I'm able to teach the principle arguments between the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists AND manage to only have one student fall asleep through the course of the day.  Then using a fog machine and strobe lights, I tap my inner performance arts skills with a one woman song and dance of The Preamble by Schoolhouse Rock, "Hey, do you know about the U.S.A.?  Do you know about the government?  Can you tell me about the Constitution?..."  After that, I use Freudian hypnosis strategies to help students memorize any possible way a Constitution or Bill of Rights question might be phrased on a standardized state test (that student's have no personal stake in doing well on other than personal achievement).  Mind you, this test is taken nine months later and student performance determines my job security and cash for my school.  That takes some serious skills and by golly I have some demands for when I return back-to-school tomorrow...yes, on a Friday!

First off I would like these waiting for me in the classroom....mmmmm!  These ones specifically, don't think you can fool me with some grocery store donut that we all know is far inferior!

2 Dozen Apple Cider Doughbabies by donutandmore

Since I sip on my coffee between classes it needs to stay warm to keep those vocal chords in check and at full alert to make sure no one is texting in the classroom!  A cozy is essential for optimum alertness!

MADE TO ORDER Hot or Iced Coffee & Tea Sleeve: An Apple A Day by PlaidCupcakeDesigns

After I've spent hours of my own personal time creating a phenomenal lesson plan, students can show their appreciation for me with a material token of gratitude....

Gold Leaf and Apple Green Stone Lariat Necklace by DanaCastle

or cash donations work just as well!

An apple and money for teacher, cute 1950s by PassionateKitsch

These I would like to keep in reserve for after school because some days, teenagers are just straight up rotten!  Also, let's be honest on rare occasions my "brilliant" lesson plan leaves even me bored out of my mind for fifty-three minutes.  In either case a pick me up is most necessary!

Martini Lollipops in Apple, Blueberry, and Pomegranate by sweetniks

I'll store them in this, no one will ever suspect those lollipops are spiked.  Hmm, maybe I'll let the janitor in on my little secret because only God knows what his job is like while cleaning those restrooms!  Wait, is there even still a janitor or did that luxury go out with the last round of budget cuts?  Either way these charming vintage canisters will spruce up my thirty year old desk!

Vintage Krischer Aluminum Apple Canisters by TheBountifulBird

These talents are performed four times daily before lunch on average of 180 days a year.  

Ahhh, I have a feeling it's going to be a good year!

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

My new ride, an Electra Townie and I love it!  I needed a bike that could roll around town with the kids but then could clime the rolling hills of the beautiful California Coast and Yosemite Valley.  The Townie is a cruiser BUT has 7-speeds....we were meant to be!  I've added some fresh leather streamers from the handlebars but it still needs a basket in the front and some fenders but I think its love.

Is it lame that Mr. Rogers got the men's version of this bike but in chocolate?  I don't care because they are awesome and this is what we bought to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary with this summer.  We hitched them on the car, drove to Lake Tahoe sans kids, and rode the wonderful trails between Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics, and the north shore of Tahoe...it was fantastic!  

Peek-A-Boo Kitten Ruffle Bloomers...they're the cat's MEOW!

This wonderful fabric is a tribute to Tammis Keefe, a mid-century artist.  Her drawings are so delightful and are often featured on wonderful linen hankies from that time period....really, they are so cute they make you want to swear off Kleenex for good!  It's taken me a long time to cut into this fabric...a cat here, a cat there but I've finally created something for Maggie that I wanted to carry in the shop to spread this kitty cat goodness!

Peek-A-Boo Kitten Ruffle Bum Bloomers by PinkyBleu

The haphazardness of the ruffle juxtaposed with the world's cutest kitty is beyond me!  It's as if I walked into my sewing room to find that kitty rolling around in a bolt of fabric but it was just too cute to be mad about!

Ooooooooo, so cute it hurts!!!  Perfect for the summer to fall transition as Maggie rocks it with her yellow jelly shoes now BUT come fall we'll throw on some leggings, her red cowgirls boots, and a long sleeve underneath!

(Maggie's adorable bracelet is handmade from ModernBird)

Sherlock Holmes, I presume?

The boys are currently obsessed with espionage.  While in Washington D.C., they insisted I get them two things, 1) an Albert Einstein bobblehead from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (which they saw in Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian), and 2) something to spy with from the International Spy Museum they read about in their This is Washington D.C. book by M. Sasek.

This year the boys had their birthday party at a local treasure called Storyland that features children's literature play areas.  The kids love Storyland, so keeping with the literature theme and their love for espionage work, we came up with Sherlock Holmes.

Ummm...how amazing are these handmade party goodies?  All the children had tweed hats and mustaches, designed by OhMyGluestick, that I then put on a stick to help with their disguises.  Goodie bags are always a party favorite but I wanted a party favor that would be fun to get but not another piece of mass produced plastic made in China that would just be thrown away. The mustache soap was handmade by CreativeLoveliesbyJ and they were awesome, useful and they promote bathing...which is always good for children [wink]!

You know your kid is a nerd when...

There are lots of indicators that I'm raising nerdy children, which I take much delight in.  It was pure motherly joy the other day when I caught Jack eavesdropping on a conversation at Starbucks as one woman described her recent visit to Mt. Vernon to another woman.  As I noticed Jack gazing at his book but sort of leaning towards our neighboring table I asked him, "Are you listening to their conversation?" Coyly he answered, "yes" and when I asked him why, he replied with guilty pleasure, "They're talking about Washington, D.C.!" with a gleeful smile.

So was I surprised when Jack wanted to face paint flags on all our faces today....no!  If you can figure out which flags Jack painted then I am going to be pretty impressed.  Mind you a fat paint brush and kindergartner painting skills do not make for easy flag identifying.

If you can identify any of them I'm going to be really impressed!  Lincoln selected Switzerland and Japan.  Maggie selected Italy and Mexico which, not surprisingly, ended up looking identical.  Jack selected the British and German flags for our second session of flag painting.  Mr. Rogers sported the Philippines flag and myself a French flag and we both had the good fortune to get some imaginary flags by Lincoln on our cheeks.