Elf Antics

Elf on the Shelf is something I use in my classroom to help bring the Christmas spirit and help with behavior. This year I have been on my game with his arrival back to the classroom each night, but realize I have 10 more days of the elf antics ahead of me. So I am in the process of toning back the intensity of his endeavors. So far he arrive on the Smart Board but promptly after he:

Brought a tree and decorations to the Dramatic Play center.

Brought an Elf Pet that needs love to help Santa's sleigh fly. 

Decorated the "trees" with more lights.

Another teacher: Sledding in "snow."

Created a countdown chain till winter break. 

My students are having a blast with Chippy this year, wondering each day where he is hiding and what he's been up too. They love giving the reindeer love each day to help Santa on Christmas Eve. Their behavior is decent for December, kids get more and more excited as Christmas approaches. Chippy helps give them another reason to be responsible in their choices/control of behavior.

Unconscious Mutterings - wk 670

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. That’s awesome! :: Dude!!
2. Moldy :: cheese
3. Cloth :: robe
4. Boys :: stinky
5. Chains :: ball
6. Tennis :: ball
7. Chart :: topper
8. Band :: aide
9. Clinking :: glasses
10. Pores :: oily

We got a Dog!

So a few weeks ago we rescued a dog from San Antonio Pets Alive, a great organization that saves animals from euthanization at kill shelters. When we adopted her we opened up space for another dog to be saved. We knew from our time with her at the shelter that she was energetic and sweet, but we still weren't sure why she had been surrendered by her previous owner or if she was going to have any quirks.


We have realized how lucky we are, and she is for us finding her. She is an amazing affectionate dog, who still does have a lot of energy but we have a yard for her to run. She loves tennis balls and chasing a frisbee, and I cannot forget her squeaky chicken. She became part of our family quickly. :) We feel very thankful to have found our Scarlett to complete our home. I highly recommend adopting an animal from a shelter if you can.

Getting a new dog after owning a cat for over 15 years required some changing gears, we have given away most of the cats things after he passed away. The dog also has different needs than a cat, obviously. The shelter gave recommendations on food (grain-free) and basic items needed. Obviously there are items that are more wants vs needs. Some of the basics we picked up for Scarlett were from Target and PetsMart. We purchased a crate at PetsMart but the bed we got did not fit correctly, so we looked online and found this memory foam version, it is very soft and squishy. We have already washed it's holding up awesome, it was a bit more "fluffy" after being washed.  The next things we realized was more of a need was a cover for the back seat of my car, she loves the car and likes to stand to look out the window. He nails are now not directly on the leather seats, she seems to have a bit more traction.

Otherwise we got her all the basics; bowls, food, leash, crate, bed, and a few toys. One spoil factor I got her was a dog blanket, she really liked lying on our blankets and would even crawl under them. So I began looking online, I found some fairly pricey options. I went to Tuesday Morning and found one for $9.99, Scarlett loves it, right now she's enjoying it by the fire. We feel very lucky to have saved our little girl.

Leftover Turkey "Shepard's" Pie

More leftovers from Thanksgiving. This dish uses most leftovers, I used a Martha Stewart recipe as a guide; I put mushrooms instead of carrots, or other leftovers. The other variation I made was adding a bit of cheese to the top and broiling it for a few minutes. Turned out good, wish I would have put more cranberry sauce on that layer. But otherwise tasty use of leftovers. 

Chippy is ready for report

Elf on the Shelf, in my classroom an Elf visits once a year. Since I teach Pre-K I have two half day classes, which during elf time can cause confusion in what the elf's name is that year for that class. Today the Elf arrived, we watch the DVD. Then a bit after I get an IM from the front office that I have a package delivered. My teacher assistant goes to the freezer in the teacher lounge where the wrapped Elf has been chilling. The kids get so excited touching the box that feels like, "ice." I have them each pull on a corner/small part of the box. Overall they are all very respectful of the process which is a lot for a 4 year old. So we open the box and they are all so excited it's Chippy from the movie he came to our classroom. So I still said we needed to vote, as that was our math lesson for the day. So my AM class came up with Chippy and Jingle, Chippy won. My PM class came up with Chippy, Icy, Scott and Conner...again Chippy won. So my elf is just Chippy for the year. So for tomorrow he's hanging out on top of the SmartBoard, it's a simple one, I vary in level of effort year to year.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Plenty of :: stuff
2. Peanut :: gallery
3. Gulp :: big
4. Framed! :: pictures
5. Caged :: animal
6. Chilly :: nights
7. Instrument :: music
8. Officer :: Dowdy
9. Solution :: answer
10. Dolphin :: charm

http://subliminal.lunanina.com/

Thanksgiving Leftovers

All the anticipation and preparation for one giant meal, typically involving lots of family. The table is set and the food is ready, everyone fills their plates to the brim and stuffs themselves silly. After everyone is stuffed and rested it is time to put away the leftovers. Oh my the leftovers! My parents and in-laws always share their leftovers. So I am left with the task and challenge of what to do with that much turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, etc.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

So I like most people went to Pinterest and those short videos on Facebook, and found a million different ideas, I've decided to try out a few.

One website I found was this Easy Turkey Leftovers. The word EASY appealed to me for many reasons. I'm fortunate enough to be on Thanksgiving break right now, but that is coming to a close quickly. Back to work/school on Monday for 3 weeks of excitement in the world of Pre-K. Alrighty back to what I was talking about, leftovers. So the first recipe I tried was the Turkey Sloppy Joes, mostly as it appealed to the husband. Unlike the recipe we did use the entire can of beans but only 1 cup of turkey. It was good did not taste like Thanksgiving had the night before. Good way to change up the turkey.

One-Bowl Cranberry Bread

Next was my attempt to use the very delicious but copious amounts of cranberry salad made by my MIL. First we used some on typical leftover turkey sandwiches (sourdough, miracle whip, turkey, cranberry sauce, munster cheese, and stuffing.) So that made a slight dent, I went to Pinterest again and found this One-Bowl Cranberry Bread. One bowl, sounds good to me. So using my kitchen aide mixer followed the directions using whole wheat flour baked for 45 min. Turned out very yummy. :)

Turkey Tetrazzini

The last thing I made thus far from leftover turkey was a Turkey Tetrazinni, we used Hot Rotel, and I used olive oil in my Misto to coat the pan to saute the onions and mushrooms, whole wheat pasta. Otherwise following the recipe as instructed. It was good, next time I might use milk or cream instead of water to thicken up the sauce more. But it was still really good.

So far lots of success in recreating leftovers as new meals. I hope everyone had a happy and wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. The holiday season is upon us, be kind to one another.

Seared scallops with jalapeño vinaigrette on Valentines day

Menu plan

Planned out and already shopped for the next week or so of meals.

Starting with tomorrow.
Crockpot pulled porks sandwiches w/ salad and mashed potatoes
Cheeseburger Pasta with veggies
Homemade Pizza (have premade crust, we'll do the rest) pepperoni, mushroom and bacon with salad
Hamburgers (grilled with mushrooms) and sweet potato fries
Beef and Mushroom Dijon
Meatloaf (turkey going to use dried stuffing mix instead of oatmeal or breadcrumbs)

I'll throw in a leftover night and a wildcard to give us some flexibility. So I'm planned through next Saturday. So I have over a week to figure out the following week, gotta get back into planning things out.

Meal Plan Monday

Okay so I spent some time over my winter break and planned out some meals. Trying OVERALL to be healthier most are a bit better for you. But as the man likes his food "fatty" I have a few things thrown in that aren't on the healthy path. But it's all about moderation. :D

Monday - Pizza Casserole NEW
Tuesday - Tilapia sandwiches (gonna pan fry tilapai, with some slaw)
Wednesday - Mississippi Roast NEW
Thursday - Paninis (made with leftover meat from Wed)
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Repurposed beef (not planned yet)
Sunday - ?? (we usually go out for lunch so our appetites vary)