LOOK WHAT I WON!

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A $60 dress from Shabby Apple!

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I had never heard of Shabby Apple, before I saw it on the blog, Love Actually. They were hosting a giveaway of one of the dresses, so I explored Shabby Apple's website to see if I was interested.

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It was love at first sight.

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An entire collection of super-classy, feminine, and {for the majority of them} modest dresses. When I saw the 500+ comments after this give away post, I had no real expectation of actually winning.

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You can imagine my surprise when I saw THIS. Thanks, Love, Actually! I never would have been able to justify this much money on a new dress.

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Here are a couple of my other favorites from the website. I know I sound like a commercial or something. But, just think of it as one friend, passing on something she loves, to another friend.

Andrew and I are supposed to go on a hot date when the dress arrives in the mail.

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I think that can be arranged. ;)

*Oh, how I pray that that dress is long enough on me!
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BUMMER.

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WACKY WEDNESDAY

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Probably my favorite day of the entire school year

I may or may not have spent an entire hour putting this outfit together.
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A student asked me if I was supposed to be Tocahanna.

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What do you mean? I asked him.

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Well, you're part Chinese, part Vampire, part Hawaiian was his response.

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I laughed heartily...

but I'm still not exactly sure what he meant.

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SNOWMOBILE

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We had never been on one before this weekend. It's an experience all Idahoans need to have to truly experience the extent of an Idaho winter. Quite honestly, it felt exactly like riding four-wheelers or wave runners (sports we Arizonians, are a bit more familiar with)--just a whole heck of a lot colder. And from the other side of my goggles, our red, sporty snow machine, and my new red coat, were spoiled by a horrible orange tint from my perspective for the extent of the afternoon.

{What? I really hate orange, okay?}

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Also, we were on a double date with my little sister. Weird is the only word to describe it. Last I looked, she was 12-years old. How did she get to be twenty-two?And why do we feel the inexplicable urge to set everyone up on blind dates? From past dating experience, I am very much aware of how horrible they tend to be.

Luckily, it wasn't nearly as awkward as I expected. And our friend Jesse, showed us all a good time.

{That's Becca and him below}

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And that's Andrew and me looking like we

just escaped from a science fiction film.

{...Luke, I am your father!...}

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But I have to say, the setting was sure incredible. As we climbed higher in elevation, it began to snow softly. It was simply magical...

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Some of the magic must have rubbed off on Andrew,

because he was flying over all sorts of crazy jumps.

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{Jesse, Becca, and I}

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Check out those beautiful mountains behind me!

{and the windburn on my cheeks! brrr...}

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Hooray for outdoor adventures!

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IN LOVING MEMORY

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Chloe Hazel Blevins

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Our hearts ache for our dear friends, Ethan and Katrina, whose little angel passed away yesterday, unexpectedly. We know her sweet spirit is very much alive with her Father in Heaven.

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*Even if you don't know them, would you mind
sending a little prayer of comfort their way?

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Another zero-degree thermometer reading brought us inside for morning recess. Later, I overheard, between two boys, the following conversation in class:

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"If you could go anywhere in the entire world,

where would you go?"

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"Hawaii."

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"Me too, my friend. Me too..."

(shaking his head with a sigh)

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I love these cute kids talking like little adults...so serious like. But I have to say, I wanted to respond with an, "Amen, little brother." Just a few days ago, I drove to the grocery store with the window down. It was my way of celebrating an incredible 47 degrees outside.

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HOMECOMING!

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Lane's back!

After serving faithfully for two years in the LDS

Kobe, Japan Mission,

Lane has returned to the States.

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*At the MTC two years ago.

Andrew making fun of his brother's 'dork dot'.

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We won't get to see him for another month.

But, we love him.

And we're so proud.

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JUST ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS

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Between work, school, and church callings,

sometimes dinner ends up looking like this:

• Andrew tapping away at a calculator, an Excel Spreadsheet open on the computer, and Survey of Accounting open in his lap...
• While I flip through Grammar Made Simple: An Easy-to-Use Teaching Resource, between fork fulls of my sweet n' sour pork.

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How romantic.

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I REALLY DO LIKE TOAST.

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Press that little play button and take a minute to listen to this. How could a song about toast, accompanied by a banging toaster, be a disappointment? I promise it won't be. If this silliness doesn't make you grin for even a second, I'll send you 20 bucks.

I'm tellin' ya. Funny stuff.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AURORA!

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My little sister is turning six years old today. As we live sixteen hours away from said sister, we had to get creative in the way we celebrated it. Aurora Babe, this is for you. It's not supposed to be funny, so don't you dare crack a smile. As for the rest of you...please don't watch this unless you plan to feel extremely embarrassed for the both of us.

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TRUE LOVE

We make a good team, Andrew and me.

Despite our challenges learning to live with each other.

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For example, Andrew is NEVER to TOUCH ME while I'm applying eye makeup (Very important to his physical safety). And I am not to deem Andrew's stinky toots: the end of the world. (They may be even slightly funny--believe me, I've come a long way).

Because, I don't think we could ever NOT live with each other.

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Without him, my cell phone would never get charged.

(I can hardly ever find my phone, let alone keep it charged.)

And without me, the lint trap in the dryer would never get emptied.

(I swear, our dryer will one day explode on us)

And besides, who else would eat all the bugs from his hair?

You see? A Perfect match. We need each other.

Happy Heart Day, my love!

BALD AT 24.

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*not my picture
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I don't have kids...technically.

Figuratively speaking, however, I have

22 eight-year-olds of my very own.

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I love them to pieces.

This does not mean that they don't, very often,

drive me completely zany.

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I have:
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my incessant shouter

my continuous supplier of interesting facts (guess what!)

my story teller (often untrue)

my daily homework forgetter

my "my dog chewed-up my homework" excuse teller

{no joke. she's probably used this excuse 3 times now.}

my perfectionist

my slowpoke

my complainer

my crier

my competitive twin brothers

my frequent pee-er

my nose picker--okay, make that plural
my slurpy sniffler

my obsessive song singer

my daydreamer

my can't-sit-still-to-save-his-life-er

my pencil tapper

my mini socialite

my forgot-to-take-her-medication-today-er

my interrupter

my complete slob

my drama queen

my karate-chop kid

my bossy project manager

and my little tattle tale

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I often hear of mothers who get sick of hearing:

"mom?"

Mom?

"Mother?"

"Mommy?

"MOOOMMMM?!"

all day long.

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Imagine the insanity of hearing:

"Mrs. Ashmore?!"

Mrs. Ashmore?

Mrs. Ashmore??

from 22 kids at once, for eight hours straight.

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I may have more than once declared:

"WE ARE NOW GOING TO HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE IN HONOR OF MY SANITY!"

(The kids then giggle silently and watch the clock...while I gather my wits.)

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Or:

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"If ONE MORE STUDENT calls my name without raising their hand, I am going to go insane, rip out all of my hair, and you will have to live with a BALD teacher for the rest of the year!"

(The kids laugh at my silliness, but oh-so-importantly, remember to raise their hand to get my attention.)

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I, also, often hear of parents who love to watch their child sleep peacefully after spending a noisy, chaotic day chasing after them. As a third grade teacher, this sacred time for me is silent reading time. I LOVE Silent Reading Time. The plan is to use this time to catch up on the million and a half things that always have to get done (grading, planning, filing, straightening, creating, e-mailing, copying, etc.) while they are engrossed at their desks.

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I've found myself, on more than one occasion, however,

simply sitting...and observing...my little ones read.

They are so entertaining to watch!

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Reading something intense?

Their brows furrow in earnestness.

Reading something funny?

Their faces break into an involuntary grin.

How about something surprising?

I've seen eyes widen and mouths drop in astonishment.
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The warmth in my heart that these few minutes affords, reinvigorates my drooping levels of energy, patience, and joy in the chaos. The fifteenth and sixteenth fact about deep sea creatures? Asking them, yet again, to wait their turn and refrain from interrupting? The third nose picker this morning, I'll send to the sink to wash his hands?BRING IT ON. It is really, all just so much fun. I've just been reminded why I love this job. Maybe, I'll get to keep this hair of mine, after all.

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BEDBUGGS

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Meet Krista.

She is an old friend of mine who has started up her own Etsy Shop.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/bedbuggs.
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I like her cute ideas, so I am passing them on to you. Wouldn't these make the cutest gifts? {sneak peek below} If you like what you see, leave a friendly comment on her blog , buy something fun, and help support her new business!
http://jacobkristaflamm.blogspot.com/
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She makes:
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Hairbows
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Hats {love the brim!}

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And my favorite--her own original invention:

BedBuggs!

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These hot/cold rice packs come with a removable, washable flannel cover (like a pillow sham). They can be zapped in the mircrowave, or placed in the freezer depending upon on your needs. .

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Just a few of the options. {scarab beetle}
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More to choose from on her site. {bee}

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GROSS.

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The Wal-Mart in town?

Totally Ghetto.

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But there is no excuse for the

mind behind this arrangement:

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The donut shelf touching

the live, goldfish tank?!

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I never thought the sight of Ho-Ho's could make me gag.

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LOVE LETTERS

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Shouldn't we all send and receive

more notes like this?

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*sigh*

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PLAYING HOUSE

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*Rachel Meynder's Blog Header

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I've been meaning to bring up the blog of Rachel Meynders for awhile now. It's my favorite. She's a hip, LDS, stay-at-home mother of 2, in the Portland area. Her blog makes me happy for several reasons:
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1. She paints such a beautiful, honest picture of what young, every-day family life is really like. It's not always easy, fun, or glamorous (think along
the lines of baby barf and laundry) ...but she still manages to find joy, humor, and artistry in even the simplest of situations.

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2. She can make me laugh, smile, cry, sigh, or think deep thoughts. I like the mix of silly and significant.

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3. Rachel gives depth and distinction to the homemaker's life that I appreciate in this cynical society of ours.

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4. I love how she can transform the mundane into something truly entertaining. Like, the shoes she wore to the grocery store? Or last night's
dinner? Somehow, she totally makes me care.

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5. I like her pictures. They're unique. Often times, they have the ability to tell the entire story or convey the overall mood without any words whatsoever.

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6. She's creative. She'll occasionally post fun crafts, recipes, etc.

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7. She keeps it simple, short, and sweet.

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8. She blogs every day. I like being able to count on the fact that she'll have something new and different each time I check up on her cute family.
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I thought I might as well pass it on to you fine people. Hurry and check out the blog HERE now! I bring it up because Rachel is going private on Sunday. If it looks like something you'd like to stay in touch with...leave her your e-mail for an invite. She's super chill about it. As she said in her last post:

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"Let me know if you want in on this action! Whether I know you or not. (don't feel weird if I don't, we all blog stalk.)."
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I see blogs of note, give out 'awards' to other blogs that they deem worthy of recognition. I experimented with an award button that turned out kind of pretty, I guess. I just couldn't find a way to word it that would appear in any way, I don't know...desirable. I mean, I do not have a blog of note. Why would anyone want to advertise that they've been acknowledged by little 'ol me??

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I mean, seriously.
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So, sorry Rachel. No fancy award. Just know:

I think your blog is pretty darn cool.

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THE TALE OF TWO BRAINS

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Andrew was assigned to watch this video for his Family Relations class. He enjoyed it so much, he called me in to watch it with him that evening. Basically, I laughed til I cried. I recommend watching this with your spouse if they're around. It'll make it even funnier.

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I love the way this dude illustrates what goes on in my head with the buzzing, emotional strings...connected...to...EVERY-THING! I couldn't have explained it better myself. It's impossible for me to stop all the buzzing and connecting and emoting going on ALL THE TIME! I swear, being a girl is utterly...exhausting!

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As for Andrew and this "nothing box," I'm not so sure. He goes stark crazy doing "nothing." If he has nothing to do, Andrew'll start pacing the house like a caged animal. But as for the boxes not touching each other...holy cow. My man is definitely a one-track-mind kind of guy. He'll become obsessed with one idea until it is resolved and put away forever. Whereas for me, because everything is so interconnected, I don't think I could focus on only one thing, like, ever. I tried once. My brain nearly exploded.

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Can anyone relate?

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*If you're interested, check out the other clips by this guy on YouTube.

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