The Wisdom of Six Year Olds

This is Ethan.

(Not Harry Potter in case any of you were confused!)

And Me.

(Not a fancy hula girl in case any of you were confused!)

He is one of those great precocious, too-smart-for-his-own-good,

charming type of children.

This is Samuel.

(Not a super stealth ninja, in case any of your were confused!)

He's one of those absolutely sweetest of sweet little gentlemen that

any mother would be blessed to receive straight from Heaven.

This is Katja.

(Not a darling fashionable orange witch, in case any of you were confused.)

She is one of those BRILLIANT, girlie-girl girls, with tons of charisma and cuteness.

She makes teaching a breeze. I adore this little girl.

This incident is about these three dear-hearts:

So...last Monday, there was some trouble on the playground.

Ethan and his friend Samuel were viciously attacked

by this little girl.

Okay...

that was a total exaggeration. But, it made the story a little better right?

Well, as it turns out, there was a big chasing game going on at recess.

(this is not allowed at our school because of a previous chasing game where hoards of girls chased hoards of boys all over the playground, then quickly changed to

hoards of boys chasing hoards of girls all over the playground

until neither group wanted to be chased and feelings got hurt...long story)

The little gal did NOT appreciate the boys chasing her (who would??) and

let them know it by hauling off and slugging them both a good one.

So, like teachers do, I sat them on the bench outside of my classroom for the big, serious," we-don't-do-that-at-school" talkin' to.

We were all in agreement and everyone said their "sorrys" and "I forgive yous".

Then, to put the final punctuation mark to our talk, I added:

"And, boys, I want you to remember that you

NEVER, EVER, NEVER hit or hurt a girl."

Immediately Ethan replied:

"That's right! They're the ones that gave us birth!"

I released them to go back in the classroom because I didn't want them to see me

trying to suppress my giggling.

These kinds of talks make me so glad that I'm a teacher.

And so glad to share six hours a day with

children like Katja, Samuel, and Ethan.

They are a blessing.

Overheard at the "Reflections" Assembly

One second grader to another:

"I HATE girls! The only ones I like are my mom. And my other mom."

Step-mothers unite!! (I'm one of them...a wicked step mother. Just ask my kids.)

I Want This!

Isn't there a rich millionaire or millionaire-ess who could spot me $700 to make my wildest dream come true? Please? I'll wash all your windows and empty your dishwasher for a whole month.

(Please, Oprah, please read this blog post!)

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Yup! It's official. After three years of working in retail my body has finally revolted (it isn't "revolting"...yet... just revolted!) I've been thinking about it for some time now. As many of you know, I had a horrendous last year physically. Two major and one minor surgery takes a lot out of a body. Teaching 23 first graders and working 20 hours each week at the mall has finally taken it's toll. Something needed to change. I will miss it terribly.

The top five things I'll miss the most are:

1. Denise (my manager). I do love her. And, she's available!! I am such a matchmaker!

2. McKell! She joined the BBW team the same year as I did and I vowed I would quit when she quit. Guess I had to take the lead. Best part...she has been promoted to my managerial job as CSL. Go McKell.

3. The funny customers.

The ones who got overly irritated when I wouldn't accept coupons that had expired six months earlier. The ones who blamed me for BBW discontinuing Pink Grapefruit lotion. The one who made me clean up her daughter's puke (Honest! Hey!

I can do that at school ma'am!) The ones who called customer service and tell them that they enjoyed their visit to the store, in particular that one employee named "Tami". The ones who smiled and got super excited over the deals. The one who stole product by putting it in their empty 32 oz. drink containers and thought we didn't notice...we did by the way! The ones with all the cute kids of whom I would try to guess the ages of. The loyal customers who came back again and again. The customer who bought a CocoCabana splash perfume and had me wrap it up complete with ribbon and all the trimmings, then turned around and gave it to me since I was wearing my "It's my birthday" button...(I really could go on and on)

(I fell in love with this little cutie customer who was reading to his little baby sister the entire time.)

4. Doing floorsets. I had no idea it was one of my talents. I'm a detail oriented person. Who knew??

5. The delicious, luscious, heavenly scents.

Now, I pass the torch to my son-in-law Tyler

who is now the new co-manager at the University Mall. He is an amazing salesman and will do a fantastic job...not to mention, he gets the benefits that come along with a salaried position... (well, besides the fact that he is married to my darling daughter Erika of Oops! I Craft My Pants {off} which is his best benefit of all...in my humble opinion)

So, I bid adieu to my first (and possibly final) retail job. And FYI, they're hiring!

Oh, and Saturday Night Live had an excellent sketch that reference Bath and Body Works. Very cute. Click here.

Homemade Laundry Soap

It's true.

I made my own laundry soap.

Thanks to my friend Maria.

I feel like a really "Molly" type person.

It was the most fun I've had in a couple of hours!

HA!

Sung to the tune of "On Top Of Old Smokey"

She lives in New York City,

Away far from me.

Today is her birthday

We call her A-bbie.

She's my dear step-daughter,

Though I call her my own

We swing in the hammock

Without our cell phones.

She has a cute family.

Forrest is her hubby

He's gonna be a doctor,

Then he can fix me.

Here's Abbies cute daughter

Her name is Audrie.

I think she's a cutie.

'Cause she looks like me!

My Abbie has cute boots.

They're made just for rain.

I wish I had some like it

But I'm saving for a brain.

(are you sick of this song yet?...too bad...)

I love this sweet picture.

It shows so much love.

Those naps with his mommy

Eli sleeps like a dove.

(do doves sleep?)

These cupcakes scream "ABBIE...

MAKE SOME FOR YOUR step MOM"

She'd really appreciate it

So please send her some.

This girl is a great chef

She'll cook anything.

Her talents are endless

She even can sing!

So if you can't tell now

I love her so much

I wish she lived closer

But we'll keep in touch.

I hope you're still singing

This song is quite long

But what is a birthday

Without a great song???

I love you Abbie.

Beware of Blogs!

I asked my first grader to say something about blogs on Halloween. This is what I got. Just TRY not smiling...

You HAVE been warned!