You know you're a teacher when...

This made me laugh out loud. For all those teachers out there, or for anyone who knows a teacher...

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU'RE A TEACHER?
by Jeff Foxworthy (found via Pinterest)
You get a secret thrill out of laminating things
You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line
You walk into a store and hear the words, "It's Mr./Ms. _________!" and know you have been spotted.
You have 25 people who accidentally call you Mom at one time or another
You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes
You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period
You start saving other people's trash because, most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
You want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off."
You believe chocolate is a food group.
You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids are sure mellow today."
You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least 5 items
You ask your friend to "use his words" to explain if the left hand turn he made was a "good choice" or a "bad choice."
You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
You, understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents.

Happy (late) 16th!

We got the same shirt for both our birthdays!

I'm still working on catching up on Happy Birthday posts. So, today, let me wish a very belated Happy Sweet Sixteen to my youngest sister, Carrie.

Carrie is truly an angel. I am so blessed to be her older sister. Here are a few reasons I love her.

1. She helps me have faith in myself.

2. She loves to read.

3. She likes things that are cute.

4. She quotes obscure tv shows and movies.

5. She sings with me.

6. She doesn't let me talk unkindly about myself.

7. She is determined to do whatever she sets her mind to.

8. She makes me laugh.

9. She can shake her booty.

10. She's really good with little kids.

11. She loves helping me in my classroom.

12. She finds joy where other people wouldn't.

LOVE YOU CARRIE GIRL!

Cheer up dude, it's Christmas

Bringing Dutch and American holiday traditions together since 2001.



Our annual visit from Santa Claus at Patti's party

My attempt at being cute and crafty this year. Christmas gifts for teachers and friends. (And it looks like I finally found some vanilla!)

Christmas gifts for my kiddos. (I gave them colored pencils. :) )

Zoo Lights!

First-ever manicures!

First-ever Christmas tree!

Cute baby cousins at Patti's Party

Mellie's Concert in the Assembly Hall

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

My lovely Oma

I must admit that I'm woefully behind on Happy Birthday posts. It's been birthday season around here, and I just haven't been able to keep up.

Let me start my belated birthday posts by wishing a happy late birthday to my lovely Oma. This year was a big birthday for her, and I don't want to let the year end without writing a little ditty about how much I love her.

I love my Oma because:

* she feeds me goodies whenever I visit
* she has a great laugh
* she gives great hugs
* the way she says "I sure love ya" every time I leave her house
* she let me live with her for five years, and never complained when I brought friends over
* she has taught me so much about living by faith
* she has the best Dutch accent
* she loves to take trips to Top It for frozen yogurt
* sometimes she mixes up her figures of speech. i.e. "Up a tree without a paddle" or "Every person has a lid."
* she is unfailingly optimistic
* she can sew anything
* she has a fascinating life story
* I can ask her advice, and she'll answer honestly
* she loves the holidays, and she especially loves baking for the holidays. I love it when she says, "Well, you'd better try one to make sure it's okay."
* the way she'd sing "I'll Be Seeing You" as I'd walk upstairs to my bedroom every night in college

For all these reasons and many more, I am so grateful to be Sibylla VanKeizerswaard's granddaughter.

I love you, Oma!

Sunday Thought

This video was shared in Sunday School today. I hadn't seen it before, but it really touched my heart. I love watching Elder Nelson flip through his scriptures. I'm sure those scriptures have seen many hours of studying and prayer.




"With faith, you can handle difficulties, knowing that, with an eternal perspective, all will be well."

Sleepykins

Hopefully my two "little" sisters won't hate me for posting this on my blog, but I just love this picture. It says so much about my sisters. Sleeping side by side on the couch? NBD. It's just how we are. Seriously, there is no one on earth I love to hang out with more than my three sisters.

Plus, this picture reminds me of what I probably should be doing right now... sleeping.

Better go get some shut eye.


P.S. I went to Temple Square tonight to hear Mellie sing. She did wonderfully well!
P.P.S. I finished some Christmas shopping tonight. And, boy, will the people on my list love me. Finding the perfect gift for someone is my favorite part of Christmas.

The Great Vanilla Shortage of 2011

Sunday night I came home from a family shindig in Logan, totally pumped to whip up some of my mom's famous chocolate chip cookies.

"Hold up there, Maggie," my inner voice told me, "Better make sure you have all the required ingredients."

Flour? Check. Sugar? Check. Chocolate chips? Check. Vanilla????

There was no vanilla to be found.

In despair, I decided to wait another day to make the most delicious cookies ever invented. After work on Monday, I rushed to the store to find the much needed vanilla.

They were out. The little space for the vanilla bottles was totally empty. Apparently I'm not the only one who likes to bake around the holidays. I sighed deeply and continued pushing my sorry little cart down the aisle.

When I got home, I made these instead.

Like my grandma always told me, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Or "When the other bakers take all the vanilla, whip up a pan of brownies."

Survival Mode

I would like to tell you that I survived. My apartment (and I) barely made it through. Now the floors are clean, the shelves are dusted, the dishes are done (it got ugly there for a while), and there are even two new lightbulbs in the bathroom.

I have returned to the land of the living.

Until next time finals week, parent teacher conferences, and Christmas cheer all fall within the same darn week.

Is it normal for your left eye to twitch just a bit?

In the next ten days, I plan to:

help host a ward service project

attend Stake Temple Night

celebrate Sinterklaas with my Dutch family

buy my mom a birthday present

go out to dinner for my mom's birthday

give a tour at UMFA (come one, come all!)

attend a church meeting

attend Stake Conference

get a pedicure

type a paper for my college class

go to two classes - one for the district, one at the U.

hold Parent Teacher Conferences for 29 students

go on a field trip with my class to Ballet West's Nutcracker

see Forgotten Carols with the family

attend at least three Christmas parties

go on a date

travel to Logan for my cousin's mission farewell

take three quizzes

Does that give anyone else a twitch? Pray for me. ;)

At least I have pictures like this to keep me laughing. This was taken last December at our annual VanKay Sinterklaas celebration. Oma was a good sport.

Brutal honesty

I used to have two blogs. One for my random thoughts/life, and another for exciting happenings as a third grade teacher. Well, thanks to being totally nuts and deciding to go back to school this year for my master's, the third grade teacher blog is gone...

But sometimes, I just have to write about my day job. It's so great.

Like today. One of my students came up to me, looked me right in the eyes and said, "Woah! Your eyeliner is out of control today! It's a mess!"

Thanks. I needed to hear that.

This is the same girl who informed me, when I asked if there were any questions on the assignment, that my hair was "sticking straight up on top, and it looked funny."

Kids are brutally honest. At least none of them have told me I look pregnant yet......This year.