Weekend Goodness

Sarah and I went to the south shore farmer's market.
They had thai tea! I was so happy :) 

Of course we got brunch afterwards. 

My parent's dueling political signs.
Every election my mom puts up a sign for the democratic candidate and my dad puts up a sign for the republican candidate. 

Wee Seamus is a year old! Happy birthday, little one :)

These (gigantic) pumpkins make my heart happy. 

The sunsets at my parent's house are the best. 

Aunty Kathy's Cheesy Popcorn:
delicious, unhealthy, and brings back good memories of being babysat and burnt microwave popcorn

Cashew balls. 

Coconut! 

Things Kids Said on a Wednesday

"Rocket ships can only blast off. They can't blast down."



As a kid got in line right after he was dropped off at school- "Mrs. McElwee. . . I have a question"  What's your question?  "Why do horses run so fast?"



"I'm gonna hit a baseball so hard and get a toouuucchhdowwwnnn!!"




"I have a dog. He's a girl. He's black and big. I can't remember its name."



"Can we have ice cream for snack today?" Oh I really wish we could :)



All the boys decided to be a little crazy instead of sitting nicely on the carpet. I asked, "why do you think we shouldn't cartwheel, karate chop, wrestle, or flip around in this classroom?" Answers: "Because someone's forehead might get a scratch", "there's way too many kids in this room", "my mom would get mad", "criss-cross applesauce with hands in your lap" (which is how I want you to sit. . . but that doesn't really answer my question).



"I can only draw girls. I don't know how to draw boys, so i can't put my brother in this picture."

Weekend Goodness

Both of them are so goofy! 

We haven't been to the dog park in a while- the dogs were happy to be back! 

I visited Meagan in Madison on Saturday.

We went to the farmer's market (and both got honey), got some treats, and had sister time.

Caramel apples are BACK at the caramel apple place.
I am SO excited!
(The caramel apple places is also know as Basse's and they have my favorite caramel apples) 

Dan came home from the grocery store with another one of my favorite treats. . . a pumpkin (for the seeds, of course)!

I could live off of these things :)

We also had dinner with some of Dan's family, got to visit Nora and Maeve (or week-old nieces), got to hold Nora and Maeve, and now Dan's making chili for dinner. It was another good weekend filled with lots of love :)

Things Kids Said on a Wednesday

I'm not sure why, but the school was buzzing today! Everyone's class had so much energy- mine were not excluded! Luckily, my classes are still pretty manageable when they have extra energy- it usually means extra dancing, which is fine by me! 

A kid in my class keeps telling his dad about a kid named "Jayvon" in our class. . .  there is no 'Jayvon'. No one has a name that sounds like 'Jayvon'. I asked the kid to show who "Jayvon" is and after looking around the room, he said "He doesn't even go to this school!" Hmmm. . . "Jayvon" will continue to be a mystery to both me and his dad :) 

Things kids call me: Mrs. Kelly, Miss McElly, Migelly,  Miss Elly, Mrs. Elwee, Teacher, and a small handful can actually say Ms. McElwee. I respond to pretty much everything these days :) 

One little guy told us he needed to use the bathroom. My assistant teacher started walking with him to the bathroom. Mid-hallway, the little guy pulls down his pants and started trying to pee in the hall! Luckily, my assistant stopped him and got his pants up. Unfortunately, he didn't make it all the way to the bathroom before he started going. Next time, let us know you need to go sooner! 

Before one of my classes started to get ready to go home, a little guy started tearing up. He told me he didn't want to go to bed and he wanted to stay at school all day. I asked him if he wanted to sleep at school- he didn't- and said he wanted to sleep at home. "But the next day, I don't want to sleep. I just want to be at school all day instead." I found out at pick-up time that he really doesn't like naps. 

Another little guy told me that he has an Iron Man costume on. I asked if he meant that had had one at home. He said, "No. Remember how we have to use 'thinking brains' at school? I'm using my thinking brain to put on an Iron Man costume right now. I can't really wear an Iron Man costume to school." 

One little girl told her mom that we have dance parties at the end of each day. I love this! We kind of do. Before we get ready to go home, we do some dancing. Best part of our days :) 

Weekend Goodness!!!!

First  comes love. . . . 

We (Dan's sisters, mom, and I) hosted a shower for our soon-to-be sister-in-law, Emily.
I was in charge of the parfait bar. 

Then comes marriage. . .

Our friend, Amanda, got married this weekend!

Then comes babies in a baby carriage. . .

My nieces were born on Saturday! Dan and I are so unbelievably excited they are here!

They were just over four pounds each and doing well so far! 

Meet baby Maeve.
I love her so much! 

Meet baby Nora.
1. She has a wonderful name :)
2. I love her so much! 

To round out the weekend, Dan and I watched the Packers win with some friends. It's going to be hard to beat this weekend anytime soon :)

Things Kids Said on A Wednesday!

School is in session and this group is a talkative one! This only means one thing. . .  Things Kids Said on a Wednesday is back!

Where to begin. . .


One of my kids this year is a Spanish speaker and is in the process of learning English. He said a very long sentence in Spanish (very happily) and I said, " I don't know". A little annoyed, he repeated his sentence. I speak almost no Spanish, but I did recognize the word 'mochila' (which I was pretty sure meant 'backpack'). I asked "mochila?" and he said "si!" and said another long sentence that I didn't understand. I told him I didn't know again and told him to show me. Instead, he crossed his arms, rolled his eyes, sighed, and walked away. A little while later, he came back and tired again. I still didn't get it. This time he screamed and sat on the floor. After school, I asked his aunt and she figured out that he wanted some M&Ms from his backpack (I was on the right track!). . . which I wouldn't have let him have anyway.


"Teacher! I'm back! I saw you yesterday!" - said by a kid as he walked into school to get dropped off. Yep, little one, I'll see you Monday through Thursday until summer :)



"My mom wrote you a note. It's in my packpack." Ok, can you get it out for me? As he handed it to me, he said "It says I got stung by a bee three times!" Woah- are you okay? "Uh- huh. It hurt but then mommy crushed it."


A little girl was looking at my school id and said "I wish your hair was exactly like it is in your picture."



One little guy was talking and rolling on the floor while I was giving the class directions. I asked him if he heard what I said. He responded, "Yes. You said 'Use your listening ears'." That's definitely not what I said, but it is what I want you to do!


During snack time, a boy asked if he could get the brownies from his backpack. I asked him if the brownies were just for him or if there were enough for the whole class. He said that they could be for the whole class but we have to cut them up very, very, very small. What a sweet kid! I told him to save his brownies for after school.

Weekend Goodness

My cousin is having a baby girl pretty soon! She has 2 boys already, so she didn't need a complete baby shower. Instead, she had a 'sprinkle' to get a few girl things :) 

Snuggly little kitten

Sometimes you can't pass up dessert :) 

It felt a little like fall in our house today- hot chocolate was in order. 

I made crepes for dinner. I spread a little lemon curd on mine and sprinkled them with powdered sugar.
Dan put nutella and banana slices in his. 

One of the best smells is warm banana bread (with chocolate chips sprinkled on top). 

I love that we're having a few fall-ish days! On to week 2 of school tomorrow!

Back to School!

I was going to do a post after the first day, but I was so tired I did nothing but lounge around and eat snacks when I got home. Same thing yesterday. Today was 4K's last day for the week (they don't come on Fridays, but I still have work to do) so tomorrow will be filled with a little less energy than the first few days.

The kids (so far) are adorable! Most of them are very polite and kind. I forgot how little they seem when they first start school- such new four-year-olds. I only had three kids cry when they got dropped off the first couple of days and all three of them stopped crying as soon as we got to our classroom! 

 I have an assistant this year, which is great! She has been so helpful and it makes such a huge difference to have another adult in the room. I'm especially glad to have her because I have 17 kids in each section, instead of around the 14ish who showed up each day last year. 

Another new thing is that my classroom got moved upstairs into this back kind of secret area of the school. My room and special ed's room are back there. At first I was kind of unsure about being so far away from the rest of the school, but as of right now, I like it. I'm not worried about us being loud (4k tends to be loud) and we have a nice wide hallway space to use. 

My mom helped me paint my new room this summer. It used to be a dingy white color- it probably hadn't been painted in about 12 years. Now it's a cheery (yet calming) light blue. 

The kids have already started saying adorable/hilarious things. I can't wait until things settle down a little bit and I can pay closer attention to the things they tell me. So far, one kid told me I am the best teacher he's ever had! (I'm the only teacher he's ever had). Another kid sang some song in spanish from his dad's car and did some break dancing as he sang. Awesome. 

Aside from a tantrum or two and a couple kids testing their limits, the first week went really well! I'm excited for them to learn their routine so we can start doing cool things. :) 

Weekend Goodness: Lac Du Flambeau Edition

There were tornado warnings galore on our way up north. We didn't see any funnel clouds!
It was late-ish by the time we got to the cabin- we spent the night eating snacks and chatting with our friends. 

The dogs jumped in the water right away the next morning :) 

 Dan and Mike spent a good chunk of each day fishing their hearts out. 

Sarah and I spent a good chunk of each day relaxing and reading magazines. 

Dan and I stopped in Stevens Point on our way home. Rosie just moved into a dorm and we wanted to check it out :) Happy freshman year, Rose! 

My mom, Molly, and Meagan watched Chrysanthemum while we were gone. We found a few surprises around our house when we got back. Haha! 

As always, the weekend went by way too fast! Tomorrow is the first day of school. . . wish me luck!