tales of a substitute teacher....

While working this week, I found a poem pinned on the bulletin board above the microwave in the teacher's lounge. 

The Substitute 

by John Scharlock 

On the day when you fail to arrive 

I will take up the wheel and drive. 

Your lesson plans I will fulfill. 

So do not fret if you are ill. 

While you are gone, 

your class will not burn.

Take your time to heal before you return.

Soon your class will be given back. 

Don't worry the Substitute will know what to do!

I want to share a story about Paul.

Meet Paul:

With curly blond hair and clear blue eyes, Paul could be the poster child for the casual surfer lifestyle. He is in third grade, and enjoys being outdoors and reading books about cars. A sensitive boy, Paul does have a quick temper and is often teased. Unfortunately, I was unaware of this on the day that I subbed for his class.  On this particular day, the students were scheduled to participate in Jump Rope for Heart. After morning bell-work, I took my class down to the basketball court. The entire 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes had been scheduled for the same block period on the court. The teacher in charge of Jump Rope for Heart directed my class where to sit. My class sat crisscrossed-apple-sauce on the cub. Everything was normal, and everyone was happily getting along excited to be outside. Once the teacher in charge gave the signal, my class stood up and rushed out to pick up a rope. I noticed Paul standing near a group of boys. The boys, including Paul, were all smiling and laughing. A teacher turned on the music, and the kids started to jump rope. During the activity, one of Paul's classmates started teasing him about being unable to do the "crisscross" jump. Within seconds, one classmates turned into three classmates. The boy's cruel words hit their mark. I quickly noticed the scene going from bad to worse. Paul's face turned bright red. He threw down his jump rope, and ran off the court towards me. Hot angry tears poured down his cheeks and his fist tightened up into little balls. I could see the whites of his knuckles. It took several minute before Paul was calm enough to explain what had happened. As Paul spoke, I kept encouraging him to take deep breaths. It took around ten minute before he was calm enough to rejoin the class. That afternoon I spoke with another third grade teacher. She informed me that Paul often would loose his temper and when it happened his teacher usually sent him to the office for a cool down period. That would have been good to know earlier. Thankfully, the rest of the day went well. I spoke with the three boys, apologies were made and consequences were paid. Within the hour the boys were back to being best of friends. Boys. 

Happy Sabbath

Today the weather finally decided to mellow out and warm up. The past couple of days have been windy. I've never been a fan of windy days. Maybe a gentle breeze, but not the wind. The wind dries out my skin, gets dust in my eyes and I walk around feeling like a dehydrated cactus. I took advantage of the good weather and decided to take Lucas outside for a quick photo shoot. He's a week away from being 9 months, and I want to document his growth.

He wasn't all that cooperative. Instead of posing and smiling like I wanted, he wanted to crawl around the blanket in search of grass to eat. I soon gave up trying to take outdoor pictures, and moved inside.

Lucas is getting so tall! His list of accomplishments are growing. The most recent accomplishment is walking unassisted. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a picture of him standing and walking all by himself. 

Wednesday was Lucas's 9 month well baby visit. Thankfully, he only had two shots. Its horrible to watch as his little faces reddens and  balls up, with tears streaming down his cheeks and his poor little cries come pouring out of his mouth with the discomfort of shots. It was over soon enough and thankfully he didn't cry all the way out of the Doctor's office.

Spray Painting Picture Frames

I have a rather large stack of old mismatched picture frames. Most of the frames are a light oak,  scratched pine and an assortment of oddly colored plastic and metal.

 Here is one of the plastic frames that I used. First, I removed the glass panel from the back of the frame and set it aside. Next, with a damp cloth I wiped the frame down removing all dust. I placed the frame on the newspaper. I did the painting outside in my back yard. It was a perfect day for painting - no wind and lots of sun. I wanted to avoid using the garage due to the toxic fumes produced by the spray paint.

Here is the frame after I painted it. The metal and plastic frames needed one heavy coat and just a light second coat for touch ups. The wood frames (especially the oak) needed two or three coats of paint. I gave the frames several hours to dry. The paint can recommends allowing the paint to dry for a full 24 hours. I'd recommend following the directions on the can. I had to do a few touch ups due to my impatience.  

Two more frames that I painted. The frames are made from oak. 

The finished product.
My next project is to paint the wall.














Slowly but surely, my cozy starter home is becoming my dream home. :) One step @ a time.



Supplies I used:
Picture frames - used ones I already had ($0)
One can of spray paint -  Rust-Oleum 249854 Painter's Touch Multi-Purpose Spray Paint, Satin Midnight Blue, 12-Ounce ($7.15)
Prints/Photos - used ones I already had ($0)

a listening husband and beef stew

In the months leading up to Christmas I had been dropping hints left and right to my husband that I wanted a crock pot. The idea of being able to leave dinner simmering for hours appealed to me. Low maintenance meals are great for this inexperienced cook! And as always, my wonderful husband delivered. He never said a word. However, on Christmas morning all wrapped up with a bow was my new crock pot. Eager to start, I spent the next couple of days flipping through my cookbooks and searching through thousands of yummy recipes on pinterest. I knew that I wanted to make a beef stew. Earlier that week my husband brought home some delicious beef. Finally, I settled on a recipe I found in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It turned out delicious!

Old Fashion Beef Stew

2 tablespoons flour

12 oz beef stew meat, cut into 3/4 inch cubes 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups of vegetable juice

1 cup beef broth 

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 cups of cubed potatoes 

1 1/2 frozen cut green beans

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn   

1 cup sliced carrots 

Slow Cooker Directions: 

Prepare and brown meat as directed. In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker layer meat, onions, potatoes, beans, corn and carrots. Combine 2 cups of vegetable juice, the broth, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, marjoram, pepper, and bay leaf. Pour over meat and vegetables in slow cookers. Cover; cook on low heat setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on high heat setting cook for 5 to 6 hours. 

I will use this recipe again. However, instead of one cup of beef broth, I will increase the amount of broth to two or three cups and add water to the stew. I chose to set the heat setting on low, and by the time it was done cooking much of the liquid had simmered out. I also noticed that the stew lacked salt. I used a low sodium beef broth. Next time I will add salt. 

The stew is best served hot, on a cold day with warm bread to compliment it. 

Yesterday, it was finally warm enough for Lucas to go outside and play. His walker is super cute. It's designed to look just like a car, with headlights and a steering wheel. At first, he wasn't sure about playing outside. He kept looking over at me with a look at said "so now what?" However, the shyness of being outside wore off and he was quickly cruising around at top speeds.  

My baby boy is growing up so fast. 

events of the week

On Friday, Denny went to visit the vet. It was a sad day for our sweet  puppy. But, as responsible pet owners, we all knew that this day would come. Once Denny got home, my husband put the cone-of-shame on. At first, Denny refused to move while wearing the cone-of-shame. He backed into a corner and just stood there with the saddest expression on his little face. His poor head hung low. All you could see was his little black nose peaking out. In Denny's mind, his life was over and he was doomed to walk this earth with limited visibility and in discomfort. It only took about a day for Denny to adjusted to his new attire. Four more days until the cone-of-shame can officially retire, until then, we all get to listen as Denny bumps around scrapping the plastic cone around the backyard running into stationary objects.

On Sunday I decided to take Lucas outside for a quick seventh month photo shoot. After about twenty-something shots, he finally smiled. The picture on the left was taken in his room just before bath time. He wasn't in the mood for smiling then either. Sigh. I'll try again on another day.  

Here is our mantle all decorated for Christmas. Hubby built a fire and everything looked cozy. Hot coco anyone? With just two more weeks until Christmas, I still have lots to do. I have a few last minute Christmas shopping items that I need to pick up, gifts to wrap and baking to do. 

Tis' the season..

Our family kicked off the holiday season with two yummy thanksgiving dinners, several family photo shoots and a trip to the San Diego Zoo. This year I have so much to be thankful for. We have a house, my husband is about to graduate from Law School, our son is healthy, and we have our family and friends. Growing up my Mom had a thanksgiving tradition of writing what we are thankful for on a special table cloth. This table cloth only came out during the holiday season. It is neat looking back and reading all the different things I have been thankful for in the past twenty-something years. One of my favorite entries written on the table cloth was when I was seven years old. I wrote that I was thankful "that my barbies did not burn up in the fire." Yup, I had my priorities. I've decided to keep this tradition in my own home. I feel that it is a way for our family to keep record of all the things we have been and are still thankful for.

While my Thanksgiving dinner was digesting, I decided that it was time to finish my Christmas stockings. I'm really happy with how the stockings turned out. I found the pattern here on Diary of a Quilter. I still want to add our names to the stockings, along with some decorations. At first my husband wasn't interested in my project. That was until he realized that JoAnn's had Star Wars fabric. :) And as you can see, although I had originally envisioned cute Christmas stockings...my boys ended up with their Star Wars stockings.