I'd Hate to be the Garbage Man!

Today I put 10 stinky diapers, molding applesauce, Greek yogurt (that stuff is nasty), a dead hermit crab and his habitat, and a decomposing pumpkin in one garbage bag. Poor, poor Mr. Tom.

Trick-or-Treat Tradition

Growing up, our final destination on trick-or-treat night (the Thursday before Halloween) was Nanny & Pappy's home. There we would spread blankets on the floor and count our candy. Mum would check it to make sure no one drugged us. I honestly never remember her taking any of our candy -- we always gave her the MaryJanes and the Bit-o-Honeys and once in a while a Milky Way because we knew she liked those. Dad got a couple Reese's pb cups and an occasional Snicker's bar. :)

After we had some candy, Nan would serve warm gingerbread with warm lemon sauce or whipped topping (I usually wanted both), and cider (hot or cold -- I like mine cold). And Nan always had some sort of chips around because of all the sugary candy... it was nice to have something salty.

Tonight is the Thursday before Halloween. I'm far too old to be going trick-or-treating, but I made gingerbread and warm lemon sauce. I bought whipped topping but I wasn't feeling it and Jesse doesn't like it so we stuck with the lemon sauce. It turned out delicious!

Trick or treat? I, for one, choose treats!

Renewed

Since I was sick on and off the entire month of October, I've had a lot of time to think about what was wrong with my life --  at work. I thought about how I didn't want to go, how I wasn't a good teacher etc... and I probably made things worse in my mind. But now that I'm feeling like myself again, I have resolved to be the best Montessori Toddler Teacher that I can be! I've been bringing in real life objects and projects to teach the children. I want them to go home and tell their parents about stuff that you would never think that a toddler would know!

The first thing on my agenda was guacamole. How many children do you know that like avocados, and guacamole! I now know 11 children (1 wouldn't try it) that love it! One child asked his mom for avocados for breakfast. :) She was shocked! Mission accomplished.

Another thing I did was, I got out "Chica-Chica ABC" with a felt tree and velcro letters. An extension to that...I put coconut flavoring on a cottonball and put it in a scent tube. And to top it off... I brought in a real coconut! The children were fascinated as I poked a hole in it, poured out the milk and then smashed it with a hammer! They thought it was the coolest thing. And then they all tried the coconut. It was delicious! We love fresh coconut. (I was planning on taking coconut macaroons in the next day but that is when I came down with the stomach flu and was puking my guts out... I'll take macaroons in another day.)

Today we scooped out pumpkin guts (we also named the parts: stem, skin, pulp, meat, seeds...) and made a jack-o-lantern, closed the curtains, turned off the lights and stuck a flashlight in the jack-o-lantern. The children gasped as they saw the face illuminate. :) So worth getting covered in pumpkin guts. My job is fun again. :)

Best Play Dough Recipe Ever!

I was given this recipe when I was in college that we used in the preschool at BYU-Idaho. And I came to find out that it is the same recipe that we use at Penn-Mont! Same exact everything... it's even from the same book. Cool beans. I will now share it with you.

#3 Play Dough (stove-top recipe)

Mix in a medium pot:
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup salt
2 Tbsp. cream of tartar

Combine and add:
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. vegetable food coloring

Cook over medium heat and stir (about 3-5 minutes). It will look like a "globby" mess and you'll be sure it's not turning out...but it will. When it forms a ball in the center of the pot turn out and knead on a lightly floured surface. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag. Edible but not tasty!

Certifiable

A couple months ago I sent some paperwork to the PA Dept of Education to see if I could attain my PA Private School Teaching Certification. If I could get it, that would give me a substantial increase in pay... so I prayed, and prayed... and yesterday I received a large envelope in the mail from the Dept of Ed and guess what..... I got it!!!!!!! Wooooohooooo!!!! Yay me! :)

(I do better with short posts...)

Sick Again

I am sick again. All of the toddler teachers are out today. Some sort of stomach flu. It's nasty. :( Can I have a break!?!?! I hate being sick.

Stinky Cheese

My sister Bek always raves about Grueyer cheese (our piano teacher's husband bought some for her at Wegmans [awesome grocery store in State College]). I've never tried it and last night when Jesse and I went grocery shopping I said I would like to try it. We bought some -- rather expensive ($6) but it was a treat so it was ok.

I opened the wrapping and took a whiff.... it smelled like a mix between a dirty diaper, moldy vegetables and a pair of football cleats. I was like, "That is stinky!" Jesse laughed and said it probably tasted better than it smelled. I held my breath as I cut the cheese (haha) and we both took a bite.... The grossest cheese I've ever tasted. We laughed and laughed and spit it out.

Bekah: we have some cheese for you next time you visit. :)

Emergency Room

At 3am on Saturday morning I woke up feeling a little off and really itchy. I looked at my arm and I had a large welt! Where did that come from?! My feet were swollen and itchy as well. I was a bit nervous because I've taken enough first aid classes to know an allergic reaction if I saw/had one. I started getting really nervous as I analyzed how well I could breathe. I could breathe fine but I got to thinking that I couldn't. I woke Jesse up and asked him for a priesthood blessing. He gave me one, I felt calmer then we went back to bed.

We don't know what caused me to have an allergic reaction. Maybe the amount of herbs I took at one time to get rid of bronchitis, maybe the food coloring in Jesse's birthday cake that I made him... I dunno.

The next morning I woke up feeling ok but as the morning went on I became painfully itchy everywhere but especially my hands and feet. I took some allergy medicine and then we went to my parent's house to watch General Conference. I felt ok the rest of the day but took more allergy medicine when I could. That night I woke up again around 3am and my lips hurt real bad. I went into the bathroom and my lips were swollen to ten times their original size! I started to panic. I woke Jesse up and asked for another blessing, this one was short and afterwards I asked, 'should I go to the Emergency Room?' He replied, 'maybe you should.' So I said ok and we went.

It was my first experience being in an ER for myself. They took me pretty fast probably because I looked like Mick Jagger and they knew that I shouldn't. :) They gave me an IV of Benadryl and Prednisone and a Zantac tablet. I was SO tired because I had already taken Benadryl before we went and then they gave me more..... the swelling went down in my lips pretty fast, though not completely. Right now they're still a bit swollen. Jesse doesn't like it, he said, 'your lips are too big.' :) Now I know I'll never want to get collagen injections!

I'm staying home from work because the ER doctor said that I should take it easy, the symptoms will go away in a couple days. I hope so!