Things Kids Said on a Thursday: Halloween Edition

I don't really celebrate halloween (or any other holidays) at school because not all of my families celebrate. Instead, I do seasonal activities on/near holidays. Today we colored pumpkins, carved a pumpkin, explored pumpkin guts and seeds, made pumpkin pudding, and watched a Magic School Bus movie about bats. . . 

I asked the kids if anyone knows what's inside a pumpkin. A girl shouted out "Brains! My granny cut open a pumpkin and I put my  hand in and felt them!" 

"Are you gonna keep the seeds and cook them? With salt? I like them with salt."       Definitely.

I opened a can of pumpkin to use in our pumpkin pudding and showed it to the kids. I asked them if they knew what it was. Best guess: tuna tartar 

I told the kids that they had to taste the pumpkin pudding they made, but if they didn't like it that was okay. One kid made the worst face when he took a bite. I asked him if he liked it and with a pained look, he nodded yes. He ate about half of his bowl, making a disgusted face each time he took a bite. I told him he didn't have to eat it if he didn't like it or if he got full. He ate the whole bowl. And looked miserable the whole time. 

A kid turned out a hallway light while we were walking into school. I told him those lights were only for grown ups to touch. A little girl added, "Yeah. Cuz you will get le-lec-to-cuted. And then die." 

A boy threw an entire handful of pumpkin guts across the classroom. I asked him if he thought that was a good idea and he said "I wanted to make it splat!"  Good thing it landed on tile- the splat was a good one- now clean up your big mess! 

The afternoon class got to watch the kindergarten, first, and second graders in a costume parade. One kid walked by in a wolf mask and about half my class started crying. The biggest kid, who is about 4 feet tall, wouldn't calm down until he was sitting in my lap and pointed out every single ninja turtle costume that walked by. 

After watching the bat movie, I asked the kids what they learned. Best answers: The movie said vampires aren't real, except I still think they are.  Bats can only see by making a beeping noise or they will crash into walls. I'm going to be Ariel for trick-or-treat.

15 Weeks

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain: Not sure! I have a doctors appointment on Monday, so I'll find out then.
Maternity clothes? Not yet, but I'm not sure the hair-tye trick is going to last much longer. . .
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: My tummy sleeping days are probably nearing the end. . . I like to fall asleep on my tummy but it's starting to get a teeny bit uncomfortable!
Best moment this week: Trick or treating :) I love holidays, so being able to decorate, hand out candy, and have a little party was great! I'm ready for Thanksgiving (crispy turkey skin sounds oh-so-good right now. and so does stuffing. and so does cranberry fluff. . .) !
Miss Anything? My normal amount of energy. . . I've gotten some energy back recently, but I'm definitely not at my usual go-and-go-and-go level. 
Movement: I don't think so, yet. . .
Food cravings: Spring rolls. I wish I had some right now :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of bacon cooking is not appealing to me. I can eat it if I get it at a restaurant or something, but if it gets cooked in my house, that's bad news. Also, I don't want to look at the raw meat in the meat department.
Gender: Still don't know! Hopefully we'll find out in a month or so.
Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? In.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy with random moodiness here and there.
Looking forward to: relaxing this weekend, my next doctor's appointment, hanging out with my nieces, getting more spring rolls. . . 

Weekend Goodness: Anniversary/Halloween Edition

Our neighborhood had trick-or-treating on Saturday!
We had a little party with friends and family as we handed out candy. 

We decorated our house in a "creepy bakery" theme.
One little kid asked if he could have a cupcake and I said "Only if you don't mind fingers baked into them."
He was creeped out and wanted a piece of candy instead :)

Cinnamon sugar pecans with a crunchy spider garnish.
Oh so delicious!

Bones and blood
aka meringue puffs and strawberry jam

Intestines that are good enough to eat!
(Because they are made with puff pastry and apple pie filling)

Chocolate-chip and spider cookies. 

Just a skeleton mixing a hand into some batter.

And the oven with creepy flames coming out

This isn't the greatest picture, but here is view of the "Mad Batter Bakery" that
trick-or-treaters had visit in order to get  their candy . 

Inside, we had extra treats, wine, and beer for party attenders.
The flowers are anniversary flowers from Dan :)
 Happy first anniversary to us! I can't believe we have been married for one year already. 

The trick-or-treaters came in huge groups.
I went inside for about 2 minutes and when I came back out, Dan was frantically trying to hand out candy.
He's asking for back up here! Haha! 

Sunday was equally as busy but in a very different way.
We found a wonderful Hmong market pretty close to where we live.

I have been missing Hmong-style spring rolls ever since moving back to Milwaukee from LaCrosse.
Finally, I found some that are just what I have been looking for!
They are SO delicious.
I have a feeling the people there will get to know me very quickly. . .  especially since Dan and I were the only white people there. 

We finally went apple picking today!
The weather was beautiful and we got some very tasty late-season apples. 

Back to school on Monday! I feel like this week is going to be a very busy one.

Things Kids Said on a Thursday

"You know why I'm doing so good at this, Ms McElwee? Because I'm awesome!"



"Teacher! You have beautiful hair today!"  thanks, little guy. . . I barely had time to do it this morning :)



"My big brother HATES Frozen." (he's about 12) I asked her why and she told me,  "I make him watch it with me every day." What a nice brother




A little guy got to school and right away said, "I don't trust" What don't you trust? "I don't trust girls" A little girl jumped in and said "Even your mom? Your mom's a girl." And he said, "My mom's not a girl, she's my mom"




After I finished giving directions, I asked the kids to raise their hand if they could tell the class what the directions are. I called on a kid who said, "Actually, I don't know. I was singing Frozen in my head."




"Are you gonna tell my mom that I had a good day? Cuz if I have a good day I get to go bowling!"



"Ms. McElwee! I'm gonna invite you to my birthday. It's gonna be at McDonald's and it's gonna be a butterfly party." This kid's birthday isn't until August.



A parent came to pick up her kid and as the kid was leaving, I said bye and told him to have a good weekend. He said, "Bye! Love you! See you tomorrow!"

14 Weeks

How far along? 14 weeks

Total weight gain: Not sure!
Maternity clothes? Nope- still hair-tying and belly-banding my way through my wardrobe!
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Besides waking up about once a night to pee, sleep is pretty good these days.
Best moment this week: starting to clear out our second bedroom so we can eventually move in things for the little one
Miss Anything? I saw some sushi at the grocery store that looked really good to me! I'm pretty sure I would have been fine if I ate it, but I didn't want to risk it just incase. 
Movement: Nothing that I can feel yet
Food cravings: Sweet things- especially custard. I had a huge custard sundae for dinner (part one- part two was healthier) a few nights ago. It was delicious and I've wanted one for dinner every night since. . .
Anything making you queasy or sick: I think/hope the nausea I've been constantly feeling is going away! I've been able to go longer in between snacks and am starting to branch away from white foods! Woo hoo!
Gender: I still don't have any predictions, but friends have had predictions all over the place!
Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? In.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm happy most of the time with spurts of crying at random things. . . still.
Looking forward to: This weekend! We have trick-or-treating in our area this year (it rotates areas through out our neighborhood). We get to decorate, dress up, hand out candy, and have a little party! 

Weekend Goodness

Dan picked the rest of the tomatoes (and one pepper) before it got too cold. Hopefully they ripen by the window! 

My mom and dad came over on Saturday to help start moving stuff out of our second bedroom. There used to be a set of lockers on the now blank wall- Dan and my dad had a lot of fun moving them into the basement while I supervised :) 

Before

After! 

We had some hang out time with our lovely little nieces (and other family members)!
Always a good way to end the weekend! 

Things Kids Said on a Thursday

I overheard a middle-schooler greet her friend by saying "Hey, mama!" The other girl said, "who you calling 'mama'? I don't got no kids."  Adorable/hilarious/true



Every day, for the past 7 weeks, one little guy says "Teeaacherrr! I'm baaaaccckk!" each day he comes to school. :)



We had a fire drill today and a few kids started crying because of the noise. One very sweet girl told the sad kids, "You don't need to cry. There's nothing to worry about. We're all safe."



During station time, one little guy kept slamming his colored pencils on the table to make a loud noise. I was testing some kids and everyone knew they were supposed to stay (relatively) quiet. I warned the kid that if he slammed the colored pencil again, he wouldn't get to use them and would have to switch to crayons instead (these colored pencils are special in our room, so using crayons would not be as fun).  He slammed the pencil again, but before I could go over by him another little guy jumped in. He said, "Ms. McElwee is doing a test. We can't bother her. Give me your colored pencil." Surprisingly, the kid gave it to him. The second little guy put the colored pencil away, took out some crayons, and brought them to the pencil slammer. The pencil slammer started to protest until the other kid said, "Remember: she's testing. Shhhh." And everyone got back to work. It was awesome.



A group of kids were playing with little 1000s cubes at a table. I asked them what the were making and they said "poop!"



A little guy told me he has a new house and his mom is gonna make his new bedroom while he's at school. I asked him if she was going to paint it and he said yes. I asked him what color and he said "spiderman".



A little guy was standing in line, waiting for our time to go to our classroom/ the other kids to show up. A little girl that he really likes arrived. He ran up to her and said "Are you happy?" She nodded yes. He gave her a big hug and walked back to his spot in line.

We're Adding a Pumpkin to Our Patch!

As of today, I am 13 weeks pregnant! Dan and I are very excited to add a new 'lil punkin to our growing family! 

I'm planning on doing a weekly update on how things are going. 

I feel like it's a little cheesy, but it's also kind of fun, and this is a good space for that :) 

So here's the first update:

How far along? 13 weeks

Total weight gain: I'm not totally sure if I'll keep track of this or not. At my last appointment, I was what I normally weigh.
Maternity clothes? Not yet. I do have to use a hair tie so that I don't have to button my pants- most of them are just too snug/uncomfortable buttoned regularly. My sister-in-law (the one who just had babies) mentioned that I should get a belly band to help with this problem- which I did- and it was such a great investment so far!
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: I have been SO tired and not sleeping as well as normal. I wake up to use the bathroom usually once or twice and then wake up randomly through out the night. To balance this out, I've been going to be around 8:30 so I get enough sleep to teach the 4K kids.
Best moment this week: Making it through the first trimester! Woo-hoo!  
Miss Anything? Energy. Not feeling nauseas all the time (unless I'm munching on cheerios or bread). 
Movement: I can't feel anything yet, and won't be able to for a while, but we did get to see our little one wiggle away at the first ultrasound a few weeks ago!
Food cravings: White foods: cheerios, pasta, bread, apples, pretzels, chips. . .
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not eating every hour and a half or two hours automatically makes me want to throw up. I feel nauseas all day long , especially right when I wake up in the morning. Supposedly this should go away with in the next week or so though.
Gender: We won't know for a while. I don't have any predictions either
Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? In.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm happy most of the time with spurts of crying at random things.
Looking forward to: Going to bed tonight :) 

Weekend Goodness

It was a really busy weekend and I did a terrible job of taking pictures. 

Friday afternoon we visited out nieces at their house! They live with in walking distance of us, so Dan and I took nice little fall walk (filled with crunch leaves!) to their house and had some snuggle time. 

Dan had his brother's bachelor party on Saturday. I got to drive him and some brother-in-laws to their drop off point in the morning. A big group of guys took a bus to the Madison area to play whiffle ball for the party. 

I waited to pick them up, they were running (super) late so I left and went to Emily, the bachelorette's, own party. Her party consisted of snacks and drinks at her parent's house, a food tour (which was delicious!), and then part of the group went out after the tour. . . I went home and fell asleep. 

During the small amount of down time I had on Saturday, the dogs had a little snuggle session. It was adorable and of course as soon as I moved to take their picture, they moved too. 

I really wanted donuts when I got up today. So I went to Cranky Al's, got (and quickly ate) a donut or two and brought a couple home :)  

She's a good snuggler too.
(So much snuggling this fall weekend!)

Homemade pizza for dinner. 

Dan is off to the store to get brownies, I have a breakfast casserole in the crockpot getting nice and warm just in time for breakfast, and jammies already on.


Happy birthday, Sarah!

Things Kids Said On A Thursday

We are practicing/ learning last names in my class right now. I asked each kid to say their last name as I called them to get in line. One of my kids is named Justin and when I asked him what his last name is, with out hesitation he said "Beaver!" :) I told him that he is not Justin Bieber, he is Justin. . . and then he filled in his real last name. 

I was walking with my class in the hallway. We walked by another teacher and one of my little girls said to her, "You smell like popsicles!" The teacher asked if that is a good thing or bad thing. The little one said, "It's a really good thing!"

One of my kids got to school and instead of saying hi she said, "Ms. McElwee? Why is your hair so fluffy today?" (I straightened my hair)

During calendar time, a little one raised her hand and said "Your outfit is beautiful today!"

A little guy was playing with playdough and brought a blob over to me. He told me to eat it, so I asked what it was. "Tokey" What's 'tokey'?  "Oh! It's good for you!" 

Weekend Goodness

It was such a cozy, fall weekend. Weekends like this are definitely at the top of my list. 

While Dan brewed some beer, my mom and I went shopping. Meagan came home for a little bit and we got our favorite caramel apples! 

We also got apples and apple cider. 

I made applesauce with the batch of apples I got. 

Even our pets felt snuggly this weekend. 

I made Dan watch Annie with me on Saturday night. I sang him all the songs while Meg and I snap-chatted our favorite lines to each other. We were obsessed with Annie when we were little. 

And I got new sweatpants (from the boys section at target) and new slippers. 

To round out the weekend, Dan and I visited our adorable nieces.

Tomorrow is a busy Monday! 

Things Kids Said on a Wednesday

I just said a funny word! Fart! FartFartFart! - little guy as he walked into the room


"My mom is pregnant. With twin boys." I Asked her mom- she is pregnant... Probably not with twins and won't know if it's a boy for a while- I told her that her daughter has big plans for her!



A kid told me his favorite part of school is gym. 4k doesn't have gym.



A random kid in the hall gave me a chocolate chip cookie- I ate it (which may or may not have been a good choice)- she looked trust worthy.


 I got a bunch of "I love you"s from a variety of kids :)


A kid told his mom he needed to bring a gallon of milk and some muffins for snack today. His mom said I would probably send a note if that was true, but she called to ask about itjust to be sure. I said that sounds great, but you definitely don't need to bring that! Hahah