Snow Expose

Snow. Is it a beautiful winter precipitation which is also enjoyable for people who desire to engage in winter sports? OR is it just another mess? Let's have a look at the facts:

Fact 1: While snow may be somewhat pretty when it is falling, it is far from "beautiful" when it is all mixed up with road salt and being sprayed onto your windshield by giant trucks on the freeway, and now that your car is covered with snow-salt sludge you have another mess to clean up.

Fact 2: The extra snow in your driveway is not desired and must be removed which is just another mess to clean up. (and it is not fun to shovel said snow.)

Fact 3: The salt stuff you have to sprinkle on the sidewalks makes your hands yucky so then you have to wash your hands which means having to use more items than you normally would and then you have just another mess to clean up.

Fact 4: Cleaning up after all the wet, slat sprinkled shoes that come in your clean house is just another mess to clean up.

Fact 5: People getting in car accidents are just another mess for the police to clean up.

Fact 6: Having to wear additional clothing to keep warm in the stupid snow makes for more laundry which is what? Just another mess to clean up!

So the facts speak for themselves. Snow is officially just another mess to clean up. So enough with the "snow is so beautiful" and "snow is so cool" and "snow is so Christmasy" talk. The only thing you can factually say from now on is "snow is just another mess to clean up."

Happy Birthday To Me

There isn't any big exciting story to share with you on this my 28th Birthday. I am not excited about turning 28 but I am trying this thing where I just keep saying 28 over and over in hopes that it will loose some of its horrible power! But I do have 2 funny preschool stories to share that are both birthday related.

Today one little boy came up to me and gently touched my arm and said,
"Miss Dawn. I am glad it is your birthday. You are beautiful."
I replied, "Thank you, that is a very nice thing to say."
He answered, "Well, that's my job!"And he shrugged as he walked away (as if he was some old man who had spent years doing the same job day after day and was resigned to the fact that this was just the way life was.)


For my birthday I brought cupcakes for snack for all of my classes and today as one class was eating them one little boy said, "Miss Dawn, these are SOOOOOOOOO good. Will you give my mom the recipie?" I thought that was so cute that he obviously comes from a family where recipies are shared regularly and he really wanted to make sure this one made it into the loop. Then all the other kids also wanted me to share the recipie with their moms. So if you are one of those moms here is how I made them:

Step 1. Have someone go to the store and buy a yellow cake mix and package of chocolate frosting for you.
Step 2. Convince someone else to bake the cupcakes for you.
Step 3. Frost the cupcakes with the chocolate frosting that someone else bought at the store.
Step 4. "Decorate" the cupcakes with a few holiday M&M's (because you happen to have a bag of them sitting right in front of you)
Step 5. Eat the yummy cupcakes

I know it is a labor intensive project...but the result is definately worth it!

Sad Story

Emma called me the other day to tell me a sad story....a story I know well. It is a story of little brothers and broken dreams (okay maybe just broken toys) and I had been there and I felt her pain vividly. She sighed as she told me, obviously holding back the flow of tears.

Emma: "Pratt broke my doll." (sniff sniff)

Me: "What doll?"

Emma: "The little one." (exasperated that I don't immediately know...but she has a lot of dolls)

Me: "Oh Emma. That is really too bad." (I still really have no idea which doll she is referencing)

Emma: "Grandma is trying to put it back together....with glue. But you can still see cracks in it." (her voice cracks somewhat poetically)

Me: "What does this doll look like?" (up to this point I was envisioning a soft baby doll and I did not see how the glue worked in to the equation)

Emma: "Oh! Auntie Dawn! Don't you know? It is the guy who watches sheep in heaven!!"

Me: (stifling a giggle) "Oh it is from the nativity scene."

Emma: "Yes. And I just can't believe he got it."

Me: Continuous consoling for several more minutes followed by suggestions for keeping things away from baby brothers' hands.

Today you choose your "moral of the story"
Be grateful there is already someone assigned to watch the sheep in heaven.
or
Take time to explain that the nativity scene actually happened on earth, not in heaven as the angles in attendance might indicate.

One Word

This is a blog tag that you have to answer each question with just one word. Tera was doing it and then she tagged me. I thought it would be easy....turns out, it's not so easy!

1. Where is your phone? Purse??
2. Where is your significant other? Dunno
3 .Your hair color? Red-ish
4. Your Mother? friend
5. Your Father? helpful
6. Your favorite thing? shopping
7. Your dream last night? forgot
8. Your dream/ Goal? vacation
9. The room you're in? full
10. Your hobby? sleep
11. Your fear? shower-curtains
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? beach
13. Where were you last night? mom's
14. What you're not? predictable
15. One of your wish-list items? house
16. Where you grew up? Orem
17. The last thing you ate? salsa
18. What are you wearing? jammies
19. Your TV? on!
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? on!
22. Your mood? sleepy-ish
23. Missing someone? yeah
24. Your car? dirty
25. Something you're not wearing? jeans
26. Favorite store? Pebbles
27. Your Summer? short
28. Love someone? likely
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today

So if you are up for a challenge go ahead and consider yourself tagged!

Thankful

Of course at this time of year it is traditional to ponder on and express gratitude for our many blessings....and I feel that mine are especially abundant. I thought I might share with you the list of things I came up with that I am grateful for.

1. Notebooks and pens (particularly the cute kind) because they allow to make lists such as this.
2. Mountain Dew and/or Dr. Pepper........they receive equal billing because they both provide the caffeine I need daily.
3. The chance I have to play with Little People toys and call it my "job."
4. $4.00 Prescriptions at Target
5. Mascara and Lip Gloss......my two favorite make up items because they make a difference in under 5 minutes.
6. Peanut Butter Cookies....especially the amped up kind with Rollo's, or Kisses, or tiny little Snickers bars.....so yummy.
7. Websites that offer free shipping!
8. Gas Prices..........yes I know they are just another sign of the weakening global economy and that I should be distressed over them......but I just can't be distressed over $1.66 a gallon, I tried and I can't do it. So I'll just be grateful instead.
9. Novels, and not just any novels, I am talking about the kind that are pure fluff. The kind that require minimal brain power to read and enjoy. The kind that DON'T make you think about anything important.
10. Disneyland.....the happiest place on earth.
11. All things Internet.........I am starting to wonder how I ever accomplished shopping, learning, finding things, communicating, knowing the news, or wasting countless hours before the Internet.
12. My preschoolers who when asked what they are thankful for say "Miss Dawn!"
13. Clorox Anywhere Hard-Surface Spray.......every germ haters dream-in-a-bottle.
14. My DVR at my new house......ahhh.

There is really so much to be grateful for! And obviously I am also immensely thankful for my home, my freedoms, my Savior, my preschool, my education and I am most thankful for my family and my friends....who are really just an extension of my family. (Well, to be entirely honest, caffeine and friends/family are probably tied.)

LOL (times 5)

So the past couple days in preschool have had a few funny moments that I thought I would share:

Moment #1:
Miss Dawn "My friends should be sitting on their bums with their arms folded." (trying to get them to focus)

Little Boy: "Miss Dawn! I CAN'T do that!"

Miss Dawn: "And why not?"

Little Boy: "I can't sit on my thumbs AND fold my arms!!"


Moment #2:
Little Girl: (addressing the whole class) "You better listen to Miss Dawn!! Don't you know the reindeers are seeing if we are good?!"

note: I have not said anything about Christmas yet....let alone threats of Santa's wrath.

Moment #3:
This week we were learning about the letter "U" so we were naming things that start with that and I said umbrella. Then a little girl starts singing "ella, ella, a, a, a, a, a!" These are the lyrics to a popular pop song and she was totally dancing while she belted them out.

Moment #4:
Little Boy: "Miss Dawn can I use markers?"

Miss Dawn: "No. You can use the crayons that are out."

Little Boy: "Well, there are no more crayons left."

Miss Dawn: "Oh really?" (I of course know that there are 4 rubber-maid boxes FULL of crayons). I turn and look, "I see a bunch of crayons right there."

Little Boy: "I guess I meant that I don't want to use crayons."

Miss Dawn: "I guess you did mean that, but the answer is still no markers."

Moment #5
A little girl walked up to me and said "Hold still....you have a spot" as she licked her pointer finger and proceeded to rub her finger back and forth on my chin. Then she looked upset and so I asked, "Is it not coming off?"
She shook her head and I said "It's called a freckle. I have a lot of them, and they don't come off."
It was a little gross....but SO cute. And the cute totally outweighed the gross.

These are the moments when I wish there was a camera constantly recording the goings on of the preschool.

Christmas Treats

Today I was walked through the store I thought to myself:

 "Man it seems a little early to have Christmas stuff out. What happened to Thanksgiving?! (Grumble, Grumble, Grumble)"

But then something caught my eye......delicious cadbury mini eggs (the Christmas edition). And I thought, "Well, I guess they will put the stuff out as long as there is money to be made!' (As I put a bag of the treats in my cart.)

Then a little while later as I strolled past the ice-cream section of the store I saw something else that grabbed hold of my attention......peppermint ice-cream. And I thought, "Not everything is horrible I guess." (As I put a container of ice-cream in my cart.)

Then as I stopped to grab some crackers for preschool I saw some intriguing candy-cane oreos. (The cream part has a candy cane flavor). And I thought, "That is a new and exciting Christmas twist." (As I put a package of cookies in my cart.)

Then as I was on my way out I saw Candy-Cane Hot Chocolate. And I thought, "Well, by the looks of my cart I guess I am quite glad all the Christmas stuff is out already!' (As I put a container of hot chocolate in my cart.)

And then as I stood in line I thought, "I think the real problem with Christmas stuff being out already is that everything is sugar-related." (As I took an item or two out of my cart.) I figure I have 6 weeks to enjoy all the splendors of the Christmas season!