Semantics of the Holiday Season

When did it become such a source of dissonance to say 'Happy Holidays'? My mom corrects me by saying, "You mean, 'Merry Christmas'?" I think to myself <please know that it is a daily struggle not to be sassy...even at my age>, "Well, yes, I mean 'Happy Holidays', 'Merry Christmas, 'Have a great day', or whatever the person to whom I am imparting a blessing may perceive...because that it what it is in essence, a blessing. We each bring different experiences or backgrounds which shape our individual current states of mind. So if someone says 'Happy Holidays' to you, just accept it. They may be coming from a different place than you...and if you want to say Merry Christmas, I won't correct you because I know what you mean. ;)

*Just a note...I love you, Mom.  ;) I know what you mean when you say that I should say "Merry Christmas", and I respect the belief. So to you, "A very Merry Christmas!"  <3 , Me

Santa Claus is Coming to Town ***Censored (for Children)

Santa was WHERE?

If your children are at the age where they are beginning to question the magic of Christmas and, like me, as a parent you want to hold on to that innocence for just one more year, you may want to try these sites.

(Click the hyperlinks below to go to the sites.)

Insert Santa into a picture of your decorated living room.

This site allows you to upload a picture of your decorated living room. You then choose a Santa to superimpose in your pic. It's extremely easy and has a cost of three pictures at $9.95.

Insert a 'live' Santa into a picture of your decorated home to create a video.

This site has an excellent tutorial on how to upload a photo, choose a Santa, add music, and edit. The digital video will be sent to your email quickly so that you can view & share it. The cost for the service is $14.95.

My personal favorite: DIY

Due to budget constraints, there is no hyperlink for this choice. lol! I plan to take a picture of my decorated living room. It will be later this month because I like to have a real tree, but I hate the plethora of needles that don the floor by the 'big day'. Again, I digress...Next, I will find the perfect picture of Santa, cut it out, and scan it on the picture of my living room. I can print the picture here at home for only the cost of ink and photo paper, send the photo to Walgreens/CVS and pick it up for $2...or my personal favorite, I'll upload the final pic to my iPhotoStream for FREE. I can just show the boys the picture directly from my phone.

Embracing Thankfulness

As my focus turns from Thanksgiving to Christmas, it becomes more difficult to dwell on all the things for which I am thankful. I can feel the urgency of commercialism nipping at my heels on this Black Friday. With that in mind, this season I am committing to write one thing a day for which I am thankful. I'll post weekly so I don't clog the blog. lol! Now...how am I going to organize the list. Man, I <3 lists!
Week 1- Family (immediate gets their own day: Mr. Sugar, Teen Sugar, and Pre-nager Sugar, then parents, sibling, nieces/nephews)
Week 2- Friends (several a day)
Week 3- Hobbies, Job (fellow teachers, students)
Week 4- Community

Feel free to leave comments about the things for which you are thankful.  (Thankfulness breeds thankfulness.) :)

Making Time to Blog...

So many ideas, so little time. Wow! Isn't that the truth?!?

Have you ever had so much to say, but there is one pressing inconsequential thought that you want to share? All the other details fall to the background because, well, you've already lived them, chalked them up to experience. You know you won't forget them, but this thought might just leave your brain like hot butter. This is, indeed, one of those moments... So, before I forget...I want to share a great idea that I saw online a few months ago. Pinterest reminded me of it just now!

Those of you who use iPhones and are regular photography hounds, listen up! Stickygram is an amazing site to make magnets from your iPhotos. You just upload 9 photos, pay your $14.99 (free s/h), and Stickygram sends you your masterpieces.

                                                                       pic from Stickygram.com

I'll be posting a DIY for similar photo magnets for those of you who are crafty. 

Whenever I write/say the word crafty, why, oh why, must I always follow it with the riff from the Beastie Boys? ♫♪♪♫ She's crafty. She's just my type! ♪♫♪♪♫

Have You Thanked a Veteran Today?

Today I sat in an auditorium and listened as elementary school students shared patriotic poems, essays, and songs thanking veterans for their service. I had a tear roll down my cheek as my 'Little Sugar' sang a solo in a clear, loud, precious voice. So proud!

Veteran's Day has always been a holiday that I have celebrated, but this year, the day took on a much deeper meaning. My incredible husband, 'Mr. Sugar',  is a retired Air Force veteran who served our great country. His time has helped define the man he is today, and for that, I am grateful.
So...to him and to all of our current servicemen and veterans, a huge THANK YOU!

Every year my students make cards for the patients at the VA hospital and for friends who are deployed. This happens to be my favorite of all time. Please forgive the phonetic spelling...

Re-living My Youth While Feeling My Age the Following Morning

Chris surprised me with tickets to see the Foo Fighters at Gwinnett Arena. He was shocked to learn that I had never seen Dave Grohl in concert. This relationship has held a lot of 'firsts' for me. :) (For those of you who do not know my fabulous husband, he is an amazing mix of skater, veteran, electrician, and aficionado of all things musical. He's an amazing musician to boot! Yep, I'm a lucky girl, but I digress....I'll save the story for how we met for another entry.)

The opening bands rocked out. I had never heard of The Joy Formidable, but I couldn't be happier that we got to the Arena early. This Brit and her band ROCKED. She made me wish I had stuck with the guitar when I was a youngster. I've already downloaded their album from iTunes.
**One of The Joy Formidable's songs is on one of the Twilight soundtracks...just a fun-fact. :)

Social Distortion followed The Joy Formidable and of course, they rocked their set as well- old school. And now... back to the Foo Fighters- Dave Grohl ran around like a 20-year-old, but played guitar like a man who has played every night for the last 20 years...Oh, yeah, that's because he has played nearly every night for longer than 20 years. Our seats were directly behind the band...TOTALLY COOL! It felt as if we were absorbing all of the energy that the crowd was throwing to the band. Hours of great energy...hours of great music! Thank you, CR, for a wonderfully rowdy evening. Sweeeeet!

At the end of the night, I found myself being a little jealous of Mr. Grohl. Not because he has a million fans, not because he is ridiculously rich...I was jealous because Dave had the option of sleeping in this morning while I had to go to work. Of course, tonight I am kicking myself for promising to attend a girlfriend's spin class. I'm sure I can sneak in a nap sometime, right?

It's All About Partnership, Attitude, and Expectations

Partnerships, attitudes, and expectations between teachers, students, and parents are a huge part of a child's education.  Parents and teachers who understand this dynamic have the most meaningful relationships from which the children benefit.


I do what I love and love what I do. So do most of my colleagues. The teachers with whom I have had the privilege to work are so passionate about the education of their students. These women and men are well-educated professionals who are trained to teach. Their tireless efforts are inspiring. I am forever indebted to each colleague for helping to shape my pedagogy and inspiring me to greet each challenge with an open mind and empathetic heart.


We, as teachers, understand that learning is a process and not all children learn at the same rate. One of my colleagues told me years ago while we were discussing my own child, "You can't push a river." She was right. My son learned what he needed at his own rate with his teacher's support and my support. There was no room for excuses. When my child's teacher lets me know that my child is struggling, it would never cross my mind to ask the teacher why he or she isn't doing enough to teach my child. It is my job to figure out how I can offer additional support. 


Somewhere in the mix, parents have forgotten that teachers are trained professionals who are entering into a partnership with them. I am fortunate that the parents of my students understand that I have their child's best interest at heart. May it be so for us all...


Ron Clark's CNN Article What Teachers Want to Tell Parents


Round 2: Parent - Teacher Response

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

Well, look who's blogging?

It's about time, I'd say. I need a place to store my thoughts and memories besides my head. Before you chuckle out a witty comment, and since my friends are the only ones reading this....(and of course, Chris and my mom...Thanks! I love you both!), I'll just say that my brain gets so crowded with all the wonderful, silly, annoying, and educational bits that I need a place to store them so I can rest well at night. At least I'll know where to find that thoughtful thing-a-majig when I need it, right?

From time to time, I'll be sharing some posts with my little students. So in honor of their innocence, please keep your comments as clean as a whistle. Thanks a bunch...with sugar on top!