I am weird

Six weird and random things about me:
The rules are:
* Link to the person who tagged you (Becca and Michelle)
* Post the rules on your blog
* Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
* Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
* Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
* Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

I think I've been tagged twice with this... I finally have a spare minute, so let's think.....

1. When I drink water, usually from a water bottle, I swish the water in my mouth once or twice before swallowing. (didn't realize I did this until I got married)

2. When I talk with my hands (which is often) or drink from a cup, or play piano or most other things my pinky is usually straight. Very refined I know. (Also didn't realize I did this till I got married)

3. I get a surge of energy right about 10-1030 every night. All of a sudden, I get very motivated to clean and do all sorts of other wonder woman things. This usually inconveniences Richie, who would have liked to be in bed about an hour ago. :) But let me just say what a sweetheart he is. The past 2 nights he's stayed up with my till after 12 to help me prepare materials for school the next day.

4. I hate people who mozy across crosswalks. It's even worse if you're a mozy-ing jaywalker. Sometimes I see how close I can get my car to the person just to freak them out a little cause I get so irritated. :) Bless their hearts.

5. If I like movie or certain episode of a show, I can watch it over and over and over again and still love it.

6. I talk to myself! Yup, I'm crazy. If I'm irritated and need to vent ,or want to replay a scenario in my head I usually find myself talking out loud and don't realize it until someone else walks in the room or I see myself in a mirror. And then I say, "Woah, I was just talking to myself." Funny, but I still don't stop after that usually.

I hereby tag:
Natalie
Jenn
Amanda
and...Anyone else that wants to!

Need a Laugh?

While maybe not totally appropriate, this comment made my day the other day, so if you need a laugh, hope this helps! Remember these are 6 and 7 year olds.
So in my class the other day, we had a science lesson on classifying different kinds of animals. We read through a big book that talked about mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and insects. As we read new information, I recorded it on the board. After we got through the whole book, we reviewed what we had learned and I asked the children to share anything else they knew about that type of animal so we could add it to our list. When we got to mammals we reviewed the facts that mammals are covered with hair or fur and that they feed their babies milk. One little boy, who is very smart, raised his hand and said,
"Well, I know something else about mammals."
To which I replied, "Ok, tell us what you know."
Student: "Well about mammals feeding their babies milk... it comes from the boobies!"
.........
He said it so matter of factly that it was SO hard not to burst out laughing!! He kept a serious face until two little girls started giggling about it, then I quickly moved on so as not to have to give a sex-ed lesson the next day. :)

By the way..

HAPPY FALL! I think I can finally pin down Fall as my favorite season. And this year especially because our school gets a Fall break for these next 3 days. Hallelujah. So, i'll be doing some intense lesson planning since when we come back from Fall break, I'm in charge of the whole class. Anyone have any cheap, cute Halloween ideas to do with first graders??

I actually finished a book!

I started a fabulous book before school started and was almost finished. But since school, I have read about 50 pages in 1 month. A slow process to say the least. But I finally finished "Gods and Generals" by Jeff Shaara. It's a book that focuses on a few generals from the Civil War. It's very much a non-fiction book in the sense that it gives you the facts and the 'nitty-gritty' (as Nacho would say) details about the war, but it's also very fictional because Shaara uses those true details and weaves them into a personal story about the people leading the war so you know what they would supposedly have felt like or what their personal life was like. Here is my favorite review of the book.
"Shaara's beautifully sensitive novel delves deeply in the empathetic realm of psycho-history, where enemies do not exist- just mortal men forced to make crucial decisions and survive on the same battlefield...(He) succeeds with his historical novel through fully realized characters who were forced to decide their loyalties amid the horrors of their dividing nation"- San Fransisco Chronicle.
I wanted to read this book to somewhat increase my knowledge of the history of our country and it worked! I understand better now the process leading up to the civil war and understand that the leaders of the South or North were not strictly 'good' or 'bad'. They were decent, God-fearing men who were doing what they thought was best for our country. I hear it's a movie, so if you want to forgo the somewhat intense 500 pages, that may be an option! It also leaves you hanging at the end of the book right at the brink of the Battle of Gettysburg. Luckily Shaara's father wrote the sequel to the book called "Killer Angels" which I've heard is just amazing. FYI.

Alright, easiest, yummiest recipe in the world.
HOMEMADE OREOS
1 Devils Food Cake Mix
3/4 C shortening
2 Eggs
Roll into small balls, place on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 350 for 8 minutes. Let cool on pan. Buy a container of vanilla frosting, spread between 2 small cookies!!
Lately, my favorite way to make cookies has just been to use any cake mix, leave out the water but put everything else in that is says and bake them as cookies. It makes so many, they are tasty, and it's SO easy!! Enjoy!!