Like a Row of Berries...

New blog

2009-02-26T07:16:00.003-07:00

I don't think very many people have found our new blog. The address is:

http://rowberries.wordpress.com

Check it out! There are lots of pictures of John!

We're moving!

2009-01-26T07:55:00.002-07:00

Well, we're just moving to a different blogging platform. We are consolidating our other blogs into one on Wordpress. Here's the new address:

http://rowberries.wordpress.com

Update your blogrolls to the new address. We'll keep these blogs up for good times sake (and because the video posts didn't transfer over). We moved all the text and image posts over easily. Thanks for reading!

Brad

2009-01-12T12:58:00.002-07:00

OK, so I lied. One month from today, not yesterday. Dr. Dewey called and set everything up this morning. February 12th, 7:30 am. Yay! Thanks for coming in on your day off, Dr. Dewey! (He did say we was going to go skiing right after!).

tick, tock...

2009-01-11T20:45:00.005-07:00

One month from today! I am so excited to meet this little guy (and definitely to not be pregnant anymore!).

Look What I Did!

2008-12-19T17:46:00.008-07:00

We have had crazy snow lately. When I got home from work today at 12:15, it was not snowing. At 3:15 we already had 6 inches of new snow. Look what I did:

That's right. I shoveled my first driveway. While carrying around this little man:
(Does he still qualify as little?). That's right. 7 months pregnant and killing the snow in the driveway. That's how I do it, folks. (Disclaimer: Brad would not have had me shovel the snow. He was at work and I wanted to surprise him. Plus he has a bad c0ld and I didn't want him to be out in it so I did it while he was gone so he could put up no resistance. I'm that sneaky.)

All the while I was doing it (and it did take a long while) I had my own personal cheerleader:
It was very cute. She stood by the window and waved at me while I was out there. I did come back in to a much messier living room, though. (For more pictures of the cute Elinor Anne, click here.)

Here is an after picture of me right when I finished.
So that is what I did today. Applause welcome. (Notice how long my hair is getting? Crazy).

2008-12-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

10 weeks from today, folks. 10 weeks!

Great Day!

2008-11-20T13:19:00.002-07:00

Happy Anniversary to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip.

More importantly to me...

Happy Third Trimester! Wahoo!

We're so excited for this little guy to come! And no, we don't have a name yet. We still have 12 weeks to figure it out.

Oh, and Thanksgiving is one week from today. Yay!

Bow Auction

2008-11-06T13:36:00.001-07:00

My friend Anne is holding an auction with some of my bows! All proceeds go to benefit Christian and Stephanie Nielson. Check it out!

2008-11-05T21:28:00.002-07:00

I got something done!
It's a little hard to see and not a great picture, but it's starting to feel more like home!

2008-11-03T05:54:00.003-07:00

Dear Anne,

It's time to throw your head back and laugh with joy. It's time to thank the heavens that we live in this day and age. It's time to stock up and hoard. Why, you might ask? One reason:

They're back!
Hello mint M&Ms, goodbye waistline! I love the holiday season!

Your Fellow Mint/Chocolate Lover,
Alicia

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T17:29:00.003-06:00

Overwhelmed

2008-10-30T16:50:00.002-06:00

Overwhelmed. That is how I've been feeling for the last few weeks.

I am overwhelmed at school. I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants ALL THE TIME. I cannot get my room organized (which I still blame on the chaos that was starting at a different school while our classrooms were being remodeled and moving back to our school while I was on partial bed rest). My centers have not been working lately. My students are being lazy--I know that's a harsh term for kindergartners, but it's true. They are not getting their work done. I am overwhelmed that report cards are coming up and I only have 4 students assessed. FOUR! I am overwhelmed by all the things I am not used to in my new district and new school.

I am overwhelmed with my house right now. The garage is full of junk (how did we accumulate that much?) that stresses me out just looking at it. I try not to look. I am overwhelmed by how fast Elinor can totally mess up the living room. I am embarrassed to open the windows because I don't want anyone seeing the mess. I know, pathetic. I am overwhelmed with the amount of dirty dishes in the sink right now and have no motivation to do them.

I am overwhelmed with the fact that I have started throwing up everyday again. Ug. It was a good 3 or 4 week run! But hey, I've only had 1 migraine in the last month. Wahoo!

I am overwhelmed that in about 100 days I will have 2 children under the age of 17 months. Not sure how that's going to work. I am also stressed out that this boy will be dressed in pink!

I am overwhelmed by the very nice post Anne wrote about moi. Read about it here. (Next week you can bid on some of my bows to benefit Stephanie and Christian Nielson on Anne's blog). Thanks, Anne! It made my day!

I am overwhelmed that I am hosting my first Thanksgiving in 4 weeks from today. Excited, but overwhelmed.

I am overwhelmed that tomorrow is Halloween and I still don't know what I'm going to be. Dorothy? Sorry, my pregnant belly doesn't fit into that costume right now. Witch? No luck--did you know that there are virtually no witch hats left in Utah? Sarah Palin's daughter? Ha! I don't want to be too scandalous. Brad and I did have fun thinking of all the funny things I could be--a pregnant cheerleader, Jamie Lynn Spears, Sarah Palin's daughter, etc. I do teach kindergarten, though, and thought the parents would not appreciate it. Anyone know where I can buy a maternity costume? Didn't think so.

I am overwhelmed that my maternity clothes are already not covering my big belly. Seriously. I still have a little more than 3 months to go. Like the wonderful Dr. Dewey reminded me, "You're obviously going to be big." What am I supposed to do? If I get the shirts any bigger, they will literally fall off up top and probably still not cover the belly. Ah well. A lot of pulling the shirt, I guess.

I am overwhelmed by the fact that Elinor just screamed for an hour (I would love to take a nap but not Elinor--at least not today).

I am overwhelmed that we have to have our apartment totally cleaned by tomorrow. Moving is not fun!

Brad and I desperately need a night out. We've only had 1 night out alone together since Elinor was born. Once. We so definitely need it, especially after this month of craziness.

As I was driving home today, I saw a bumper sticker that said, "Life is good." Normally I hate bumper stickers, but I had to smile at this one. Because no matter how overwhelmed I am feeling, life is good. I have the cutest little girl (although very feisty) and a little bundle of joy on the way that already has quite the personality. (Seriously, if I lay in a way he doesn't like, he'll kick me like crazy until I move--and hard!) And I am happy!

Neti Pot Video

2008-10-27T14:42:00.001-06:00

My brother Brett is on his mission in the Czech Republic. In many of his emails he pleads for a neti pot. I've never heard of it so I looked it up and look what I found.

Woes of a Tired Momma

2008-10-22T13:04:00.004-06:00

Between this:

and this:

I haven't had a good night's sleep for over two months. I take that back--I had one good night's sleep on September 25th. Other than that, no good. I would even settle for a decent night's sleep.

Elinor has been up for a couple hours almost every night the last week. Maybe teething? If not, we have NO CLUE what is up. It. Is. Awful. And poor Brad is up with her most of the time. Thanks Love!

This little fella is already huge. I still have four months to go. FOUR MONTHS!! My maternity clothes are already having a hard time stretching over my belly.

I think tonight I will try to sleep on the couch. I think the extra support will be helpful. Here's hoping for some rest!

2008-10-18T16:30:00.003-06:00

Why a Pregnant Lady Should Never go to the Grocery Store Hungry

There were other things, but this is a good mix of what I got.

Mmm...

2008-10-16T21:47:00.004-06:00

My sister-in-law Tor came down to hang out today. We watched Pride and Prejudice and made caramel apples. They turned out pretty cute (and very tasty!).

To make the swirls, we melted some white chocolate chips. We then put the chocolate in a baggie and cut a small hole in the corner, swirled it on, and voila! The first one turned out pretty junky, but our taste buds appreciated it!
Sorry for posting this picture, Tor, but I thought it was funny!

I'm thinking there might be a couple lucky visiting teachees out there!

Help Wanted!

2008-10-13T17:29:00.001-06:00

We need some boy name ideas! We lean toward traditional names (hence Elinor) but are open to any suggestions!

Shark Reef

2008-10-13T16:30:00.002-06:00

While we were in Vegas, we went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. We have wanted to go for a few years, but it is pretty pricey. This time we decided to bite the bullet and just go. We are glad we did! Here are some pictures.

Daddy and Elinor. Not quite sure what face she is making, but it is still cute.

Elinor really liked to look at the fish. The tanks were floor to ceiling in a few places so she could go right up to the glass. A lot of the fish would come right up to her.

My best friend Andrea came with us. Here we are petting a sting ray. They are very strange feeling. We also petted the monster one.

I thought the komodo dragon was really cool, although I wouldn't want to come into contact with one without a think piece of glass between us!

Baby Clothes!

2008-10-13T11:17:00.003-06:00

Now our new baby doesn't have to only wear pink! (That doesn't mean we won't recycle some of Elinor's outfits, we just won't have to do it as often!)

Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry got these super cute outfits for Pat.

I LOVE the socks!
These onsies are from Aunt Tor and Uncle Drew. These are exactly the type of thing that I would buy myself!

Thanks guys! We (and the future Mr. Rowberry) really appreciate it!

And the verdict...

2008-10-07T16:15:00.001-06:00

A BOY!!!

Happy Birthday Elinor!

2008-10-02T10:54:00.004-06:00

I can't believe Elinor is one! Today! I love this little girl and all the joy she has brought into our lives!

Check out pictures of her birthday party in Henderson here.

Good Day

2008-09-25T14:44:00.004-06:00

Today was one of those days that I love teaching. There are days when you ask yourself "What the heck am I doing?". Then there are those days that you look around at your students and think "This is why I am a teacher." Today was one of those days. I'm not sure why, but when we were singing today I had one of those moments. Kindergarteners are so cute and love to come to school. I feel bad because my neighbor teacher has a REALLY hard class this year and I don't. I feel like this is the first year I don't have a really hard class. I have some issues, but nothing like I've had the past few years. I usually do not post pictures of my students because of privacy issues, but I couldn't pass up this one. It's my favorite picture! (We are learning about worms right now.)

10 Things I Like About Kindergarten

2008-09-08T18:40:00.006-06:00

1. It's 3 hours. That's right, three hours. If I am having a crummy day, it's already almost over!

2. I love getting home at 12:30. Can I tell you how much better part time is? Especially since I will be again writing 6 weeks of sub plans soon (yes, for the second year in a row...).

3. Everything is SO cool to the students. For example, today we learned the letter n. The art center was making necklaces out of noodles and assorted beads. Can I tell you who the coolest teacher on the block was today? That's right, Mrs. Rowberry!

4. Snack. We have snack everyday. Too bad I don't eat at snack. It's usually too busy. Ah well.

5. Music! We sing in the morning. We sing after calendar. We sing between lessons. We sing when we've been sitting too long. We sing at the end of the day. We sing just for fun. I love Dr. Jean!

6. They are so excited for school. This is quite a few of my students' first school experience and boy are they excited to learn. I love that they are excited to learn!

7. Kindergartners don't let stuff get under their skin. One minute they could be bawling because so-and-so didn't want to sit by them and the next they will be happily doing their work. Although I DETEST the crying (hmmm...should I really be an early childhood educator?), I do love how they don't get mad at me when I correct a negative behavior. One thing you should know about me as a teacher is I am not like "oh, poor you..." and reinforce their crying. I'm more of the "I'm sorry you are sad but let's make a better choice. What can you do to make the situation better?" teacher. So going back to the early childhood educator comment, I am a great teacher when it comes to create independent learners, but not a great teacher when it comes to comforting the criers--especially the chronic criers.

8. As I mentioned before, they really don't have any inhibitions. They are willing to try anything. The say anything (remember the "Mrs. Rowberry, you look like you're going to have a baby!" comment?).

9. As my sister-in-law Victoria mentioned, they are great for my self-esteem. A ridiculous looking tree that I quickly draw becomes a Monet in their eyes (maybe because I tell them to squint?). Although today they did like my "preschool" tree better than my "kindergarten" tree. Ah well, can't win them all!

10. I love their smiles! I'm not going to lie, I miss my second graders terribly. 3 years will do that to ya. And today I almost cried because I missed teaching with Paula and Erin so much. I feel a little lonely because I am totally by myself. There is another kindergarten teacher, but we don't see each other at all during the day and we both do our own thing. But I am happy teaching the little ones. I will really miss teaching next year, but I am really excited to be a stay-at-home mom with 2 (that's right...TWO) kiddos of my own!

And because picture-less posts are not very exciting, here are some cute pictures of Elinor from this past weekend. You can really see those bottom teeth in one of them. Are you surprised that my daughter likes ice cream?

Oh, and the big news: We are moving! To this townhouse! The bedrooms are downstairs in this one.

Unintelligencer

2008-08-24T05:38:00.000-06:00

Unintelligencer
this be a fuunee translatr tyhat maek ewe soun dumber thna yuo be. dis text wuz created using tehz unintelligencer. mai favs pt abowt da site are thee image uv th' dumb guy oan tha top ov teh page. itz is a incredable pikchur.

Kindergarten Joys

2008-08-21T14:06:00.002-06:00

Second graders have learned a little bit about social cues--like when to say things and when not to say things. Kindergarteners, on the other hand, have little social inhibitions. One example today:

Madison: "You look like you're going to have a baby, Mrs. Rowberry!"

Hmm...good thing I am having a baby. Otherwise I would feel pretty bad about myself today! I am already showing pretty good, so I should probably tell my kids so I don't have more comments like that (at least without them knowing I am pregnant!).

David Hasselhoff Social Network and Chuck Norris Facts

2008-08-20T21:58:00.002-06:00

David Hasselhoff Social Network
Yep, that is real. There is some funny stuff going on here. As I kept surfing for insanity online, I also found some great Chuck Norris facts. Here are some good ones.

There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.

Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.

There is no 'ctrl' button on Chuck Norris's computer. Chuck Norris is always in control.
Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of surprise.
Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.
When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
Chuck Norris uses pepper spray to spice up his steaks.
Chuck Norris CAN believe it's not butter.
Newton's Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal in reaction to a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick.

Not sure why these are so funny, but seriously, they are absolute truth.

Fantastic Contraption: A fun online physics puzzle game

2008-08-07T08:28:00.000-06:00

Fantastic Contraption: A fun online physics puzzle game
This game is incredibly addictive!

Ice Cream Cam!

2008-07-28T09:36:00.002-06:00

In this video, we feed Elinor a chocolate popsicle in front of the camera. It is pretty funny!

Worldly Steak

2008-07-27T22:10:00.000-06:00

So there it is not quite the virgin Mary, but check out these two steaks. Don't they look strangely like Australia (left) and Africa (right)? They were dang good too. Maybe they were voodoo steaks... someone should check to see if Africa still exists.

2008-07-24T11:49:00.002-06:00

Last week I woke up at midnight and ate some Top Ramen. I know everyone hates Top Ramen, but I've always loved it. And it was tasty. I haven't had a good night of sleep for a long time. I wake up at least 3 times a night to go to the bathroom. Seriously. I should buy stock in Jamba Juice. Jamba Juice has been SO good lately. I can't take a hot shower anymore. It has to be luke-warm and I frequently stick my head out of the curtain to catch my breath. The other day I actually took my entire shower sitting down. Can I tell you how good lime popsicles are? I love them. I am making friends with bathrooms and know where they are anywhere I go. Food usually sounds repulsive. I can no longer eat hot dogs. I have cried at silly things lately. Like episodes of Friends, when Farid kissed Meggie in Inskpell, when Elinor pulled everything out of the entertainment center for the 3rd time in one day, when my phone wouldn't charge, I'm pretty sure I even cried while watching Judge Judy one day. I'm not sure whether I'm more embarrassed to admit I cried while watching it or that I actually watched it. I am a new level of exhausted. Like I don't want to get off the couch. Like I cry when I have to get up early. Like no matter how long I sleep at night it doesn't make a difference. What can all this mean?

In the words of my friend Anne,
"I'm growing a person in my uterus."

Riverton City Parade and the Tour de Riverton

2008-07-06T13:04:00.005-06:00

The Fourth of July is a fun holiday, and for the past two years since we've had the shop, we've been involved in local festivities.

We (Infinite Cycles) do the Riverton City parade the night of the 3rd, and do the Tour de Riverton on the morning of the 4th. The parade was fun as usual and we had a bunch of people with us this time. It was hot and fun. This time we felt like we were a part of the community rather than the new kid on the block (like last year). I saw a bunch of our customers and they recognized us.

Cameron and I worked all night (until 2:30) after the parade getting ready for the next morning's Tour de Riverton. This was the 8th annual ride, but this was the first time we hosted it. The Tour started at 7:30 and we got everything together in just enough time. Things went smoothly enough for our first major event. We had way more people come than we expected, which was nice. It was the biggest turnout ever. We still haven't counted the number that actually came, but it was a lot. We advertised the event in some key places and it worked!

So here's the hard part... the actual riding. The course was 22 miles long. 12.5 miles uphill all at once, then back down. I started late so I sprinted through probably 3/4 of the peloton (that's what you call a group of riders in a pack) to catch up with Drew (my brother in law). I would have been fine doing that, no big deal. Here's the problem. One of my employees was taking his Explorer from the start to the water station. I met him at a stop light, and raced him for a long time. Of course he beat me, even in a Ford. I passed a bunch of other people again until I had to stop... and puke. Given the conditions of no sleep, no food that night and day, and an early start, it was inevitable. I got to the water station and helped a few people with technical problems then started again. I was feeling good after resting for a few minutes.
The brutal climb began after that. On the back leg of the course, it is always windy and there are two hills, a long steep one,followed by a shorter much steeper one. I started cramping up in my legs so I started pushing harder and faster in hopes that I would get to the top ready for the downhill before the cramps set in. I barely made it. It is just like when you know a Charlie Horse is coming in your leg and you try to prevent it from hitting. You rarely win that battle. The downhill went really fast. I finished and it seemed like everyone had a good time. Next year it will be bigger and better than this year!

View my GPS file of the ride in Google Earth!

I came home and took a few naps for the rest of the day since the shop was closed for the rest of the day. Those were some good naps. I was pretty sore, but I'm fine now (two days later).

Cheers!
Brad

Visit the TDR website here.

Food Rut

2008-06-25T13:48:00.001-06:00

It's official. Brad and I are in another food rut. So we need some help. Does anyone have any simple summer recipes? We would appreciate anything new!

Etsy

2008-06-16T08:53:00.001-06:00

I set up an Etsy store! Check it out:

arbows.etsy.com

Updates

2008-05-16T23:24:00.003-06:00

Here are a few updates of lives.
Alicia got a new job! She is teaching 1/2 day kindergarten. She will be teaching a morning session at a year-round school. Hopefully next year she will be able to stay home with the Nor.

Brad is busy as ever. We had a very fun time when his family came out to visit for Tor's graduation. We will post some pictures soon. Better yet, go to Tor's blog to see pictures.

Alicia has 9 days left of school! Yay! And her birthday is coming up. And she is flying to Henderson with Elinor on June 4th. Hopefully she can catch up with her Chrises!

Brad got Alicia a new bike. We have been having a lot of fun pulling Elinor around in her bike trailer. Here is a picture of Elinor's first bike ride.

Guest Visitor

2008-04-29T18:02:00.003-06:00

Today we were graced with the presence of a special guest visitor in our classroom. The students were very excited and the buzz lasted all day. Here is a picture of our special guest visitor:
Yes, that's right. We had a nice live scorpion running around our classroom. For those who know me, scorpions are my WORST foe. I hate spiders, but scorpions push it to the next level. We had some screaming, some jumping, and even a little temporary paralysis. We don't know where it came from or if it was all by itself. Oh, and we also found out that it's one of the most deadly scorpions. Ahh! The student who found it was about 1 inch away from it before he noticed. Well at least we have some excitement as the year is ending. Even if it means that I have goosebumps every minute I am in my classroom!

Mmm...

2008-04-27T22:25:00.003-06:00

We are recently coming out of a food rut. When you are in a food rut, nothing sounds good and you are aching for some new recipes. This post is for those in a food rut or anyone else looking for a great recipe!

Chicken Teriyaki Kabobs

Teriyaki Sauce:
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

10 Kabobs:
3 Chicken breasts
2 Green Peppers
1 Onion (purple works great!)
1 Can pineapple chunks
10 skewers

Cook the teriyaki sauce just until sugar is dissolved. Marinade the chicken chunks in the sauce for 1/2-1 hour. Soak the skewers in water to lessen the blackening of the skewers. Cut the peppers and onion into chunks. Assemble the kabobs. Cook on the barbecue until done. Put the teriyaki sauce back into the sauce pan and boil for a couple of minutes. This makes a great sauce. These kabobs are great with rice! We did not have onions for our kabobs, but they add a great flavor!

This is a super easy, super tasty recipe. Happy Eating!

PS--I should mention that I got this recipe from Aunt Judy. Thanks for the idea!

My day

2008-04-14T17:58:00.003-06:00

Here was my day today:

Woke up at 7:00.
Took a long shower.
Went to a doctor appointment (15 minutes total--yes!).
Walked around downtown Provo enjoying the 70 degree weather.
Had amazing Indian food with Jodi and Anne.
Went to Michaels.
Come home and took a nap while Elinor was napping.
Woke up.
Fed Elinor.
Made a couple bows for Emma.
Checked my email.

Same thing tomorrow?

I LOVE SPRING BREAK!

Happy Day!

2008-04-11T18:51:00.001-06:00

and we have Spring Break!

Countdown to Spring Break!

2008-03-26T22:15:00.012-06:00

For all those who are interested, this is how many days I have until Spring Break:
1

This is how many school days I have until Spring Break:
1

WAHOO!!

hulu Opens to the Public!

2008-03-12T06:27:00.003-06:00

Today hulu.com opened to the public. It is cool because you can watch partial and entire episodes of tv shows. They have all kinds of shows, including SNL, Dick Van Dyke, Kitchen Nightmares, I Dream of Jeannie, and even Jerry Springer. Here is a funny clip from the last SNL I watched. I don't know what it is a parody of and I'm not sure why it is so funny, but it is fierce, no, tranny, no, hot mess...

move over stouffer's!

2008-03-10T20:59:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to post this for awhile now. Jeremy and Kristin were supposed to come over for dinner a few weeks ago, but the weather did not cooperate (surprise, surprise!). Here is what we made:
This picture kind of looks gross, but trust me-it's delicious. Here's the recipe:

Two Sauce Lasagna
1 jar (26 ounce) tomato pasta sauce
1 jar (16 ounce) Alfredo pasta sauce
1 box lasagna noodles (12 noodles) cooked and drained
1 container (15 ounce) Ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs

Optional:
1 package (10 ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 pound Italian sausage, browned and drained

Preheat the oven to 350. In large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Parmesan and eggs; mix well. In 13x9 baking dish, spread 1 cup tomato sauce. Layer 4 noodles over sauce. Top noodles with half of cheese mixture, spinach, remaining tomato sauce and sausage. Repeat layers and spread remaining mixture. Top with 4 remaining noodles. Spread Alfredo sauce evenly on top and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake for 15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 10-12 servings.

So I like spinach in small quantities, so I didn't put tons of it in. It was great! Next time I would decrease the sausage, also. I put the whole pound in, but I would probably only put in 1/2-3/4 of a pound. Those are just some suggestions, though.

Happy eating!

Clarification

2008-03-04T14:50:00.002-07:00

What Brad failed to mention is that he lost to Parker first...
Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Alicia gets knocked out by a 3 year old girl

2008-03-03T06:41:00.003-07:00

So the title is slightly deceiving but you were interested, right? Jeremy and Kristin brought their Wii up to dinner on Saturday night and it was a lot of fun. Here's a video of their 3 year old winning in boxing against Alicia.

First iPhone post

2008-02-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone-
This is my first blog post using my new iPhone. This thing can do
everything! Just thought I'd try it out!
Brad

2008-02-19T17:56:00.002-07:00

Dear Smiths Friends,
Thank you for entertaining me while we were all stuck at Smiths. Celeste--I am glad we found each other. If I had to be stuck at Smiths anxiously awaiting the roads to reopen, I am glad it was with you. I am glad we were able to catch up. I mean, what are the odds of running into a friend you grew up with at Smiths during a blizzard? Your kids are adorable. Thank you to the ladies in the restroom who didn't get mad when I had to hog a stall for quite a while to pump. Sorry about that! Thank you for not getting mad when we were stuck in the parking lot for over an hour. Mr. Eagle Mountain man--you crack me up! Anyway, it was great fun to be stuck with all of you!
Love,
Alicia

Winter Storm To The Max

2008-02-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

This storm is crazy! It started as total powder and very windy so some things were totally uncovered while huge banks piled up. It is now becoming wet big flakes of snow, and the wind is dying down a little bit. We'll see how deep this thing gets today!

Pics of table

2008-01-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

So I knew I shouldn't put a time on when I would get pictures up because I am bad at that. And I didn't even take the pictures--I just got them off the IKEA website. The great thing about this table is we can fold it down, put one table top up, or have both up. It's great to fold it down when we have a guest at our house because we can still put our air bed in the dining room. One table top is perfect when it is just me and Brad, and the double tabletop made its maiden voyage when our friends Anne and Taylor came over for dinner. It's perfect for our ridiculously small apartment!

Here is a picture of our chairs, but they are robin-egg blue instead of white.

we have arrived!

2008-01-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

It is official--Brad and I no longer own ANY DI furniture. Oh, and we now have a table AND chairs! I will post a picture of our sweet new addition later today!

7 year olds are hilarious!

2008-01-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Reasons 7-year olds are the best age to teach:

Fashion advice: So I never really pay too much attention to my shoes. I love cute socks, but my shoes do not get a whole lot of thought. I buy shoes I like, but when I put my shoes on in the morning (usually as I am running out the door) I just grab what matches the best. Yesterday I realized that I should put a little more thought into it. I was sitting on my chair and my students were sitting at the carpet. One student said: "Hey, you got new shoes!" It dawned on my that my shoes are actually the part of me my students see the most. They always play with them while sitting at the carpet. Just FYI, they were not new shoes. It was just the first time I had worn them post-pregnancy. All my students could tell me what shoes I wear to school and how often.
Improv singing: I've blogged about the Labor Day Song that my students were singing in December. Yesterday a student (actually, the same one that noticed my shoes) made up a song about crayons and proceeded to sing it to his crayons. He then walked around the room singing it to the other students' crayons. Let me tell you, it was pretty funny.
Melt-your-heart love: The other day I showed my students a video of Elinor laughing. They LOVED it! During writing that day, someone wrote a cinquain poem about her (that's funny, it was again that same student--my other students do funny things, too!). It was adorable. Yesterday, one of my students from last year came up to me. This is what he asked: "Mrs. Rowberry, how is Elinor doing?" It was so cute. I feel kind of bad for my last class. They had to deal with me throwing up multiple times a day for most of the year, but didn't get to see her after she was born! Lastly, I have a student that is going to be the death of me this year. He steals stuff from me, is never on task, and is constantly getting in trouble (not just from me). Well one day recently he got in A LOT of trouble. I had just had a pretty firm talk with him at the end of the day. He got his stuff together and was getting ready to leave. As he was leaving, he turned and said, "Have a great day, Mrs. Rowberry." I thought that was great. He still loves me even though I have to be pretty firm with him. Second graders ADORE their teachers!
I wish I could video my class everyday. They do so many hilarious things every single day that I can't even write them down. Brad asked me the other day that if I could do it all over, would I still be a teacher? My answer is a resounding YES! My class is really rough this year (did I mention I have 17 boys and 8 girls? Talk about rowdy!) and they tend not to listen at all! But I love them and would rather not be doing anything else. (Ask me on another day, though, and the answer may be different!).

Anyway, I completely recommend spending some quality time with 7 year olds. You will be impressed and uplifted!

I can't believe it

2008-01-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Nettie Rosenstein Vintage Coral Evening Bag at Bag Borrow or Steal™
Check out that link. That's right. It is a handbag rental service online. Yes, this bag is over $1100 PER MONTH to rent! Let's be honest people. If you are rich enough to rent a bag for $1100 a month, don't you think you'd just buy it? I don't know what the price is, but holy shnikies! I really do appreciate style and quality and design. I can understand a $150 pair of jeans. I understand a $1000 watch. The difference is you keep them. This bag is just to look amazing at a huge expense. Sad sad thing.

The Funniest Thing I've Ever Seen!

2008-01-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

Who watched American Idol last night? I have never seen anything this funny in all my life. The best part is when he is talking about how Simon is everything. The background music and video effects are everything. The very last few seconds are the best. I can't stop laughing!

Welcome to the 21st Century!

2008-01-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

So my old roomie Christy blogged about technology and how kids get technology so much younger than when we were younger. I mean, could you imagine Oregon Trail on a computer now? It wouldn't take nearly as long to die of dysentery or ford a river and the graphics would be more than choppy, basic graphics on the lovely green screen. This week I have been working with our laptop cart at school. It is crazy that 7 and 8 year olds can do as much as they can on computers. They can even use a laptop pretty nicely! I am pretty sure that laptops were not even a figment of the imagination when I was in second grade! Here is the real reason I am blogging about this: yesterday I was teaching a lesson and was rudely interrupted by a cell phone. That's right folks. A cell phone. And ready for this? A couple of the kids didn't know if it was there's or not. That means that a couple of the kids in my class have cell phones that they bring to school. Seriously? Really? I should not need to worry about cell phones when I teach second grade! Just like Christy, I wonder how much technology will be available for my little Elinor and her future siblings. I hope I'm never so out of touch with technology that my kids (or grandkids) have to teach me about it!

Woot : Fifteen Rejected Doughnut Varieties

2008-01-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

Woot : Fifteen Rejected Doughnut Varieties

I thought some of these were hilarious. I don't get all of them though. Happy New Year everyone!

Ups and Downs of Life

2007-12-30T22:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was not a good day. Elinor was unusually fussy. She was so tired but refused to take a nap. I finally got her to fall asleep in her swing at about 5:00 pm. She slept just long enough for me to take a much needed shower--much needed both for cleanliness and sanity. As soon as I was out of the shower, Elinor was screaming bloody murder. Finally Brad came home when I was at about at the end of my rope. And then it happened. Something that made my awful day worth it--Elinor laughed! She laughed! Brad was playing with her and she let out the cutest giggle. I kept missing it, but the third time, I caught it. She has a very cute laugh. She had been trying to laugh for a few weeks now, but had only been able to let out a squeal here or a squawk there. Of course I whipped out the video camera faster than you can say "action" and of course as soon as I pointed that interesting looking silver thing at her she was much too interested in it to keep laughing with Daddy. Of course. But today--success! We caught some of her hidden giggles on the camera! Check out her blog for the video. In the last week she has really started interacting with the world and with us. She smiles all the time. She reaches for toys. She plays with her new toys (that I have named Ellie and Peabody, but Brad says that it was not democratic, so we may be having a re-naming party). It is so fun to watch how different Elinor is day to day. It is amazing how whenever I am having a hard day, Elinor will do something cute and wonderful that makes everything worth it. I love being a mom!

Movie Review: National Treasure 2

2007-12-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

Greetings all. Tonight we got to leave Elinor with Grandpa Coe while we went to see our first movie in a very long time. National Treasure 2 was the pick of the evening and it was pretty good.

I went in with pretty low expectations. Since National Treasure is one of my favorite movies, I had to at least see it. I give it a 4 of 5. It had lots of cool historical events and national landmarks, just like the first one. It had fewer corny lines than the first one. It was painfully predictable, as Disney sequels usually are, but it was still quite entertaining. The plot was much more shallow. All together, I'd say it is worth seeing and I plan to buy the DVD. Just remember it is a sequel.

a full house beats a two of a kind...

2007-12-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

So we are here in Henderson at my parent's house for Christmas. All my siblings and my nieces and nephews came. It's been a couple years since we have all been together. Now I love my parents' house-it is a big house that my dad built-but 16 people in one house is a lot! (especially when 5 of those are 3 and under). The rooms quickly grew smaller as all the pack-n-plays, swings, and bouncy chairs got pulled out. We have diapers everywhere. When one baby finally gets to sleep, one of the other two start up. It has been a ton of fun to have everyone together (and we got some really cute pictures of the grandbabes), but I am ready for my nice quiet apartments where Elinor can get back onto her beautiful sleeping schedule. I've gotten used to sleeping all night! I will definitely miss Port of Subs, though. Only two months until I can have it again when we come back for Toni's baby shower!

A Man's Day

2007-12-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

Today is what I call "A Man's Day."

Alicia and Elinor drove to Las Vegas for Christmas while I was at work. I don't usually make very exciting plans when I have the day to myself, and today was no exception. A Man's Day is the line that divides freedom from bondage - you can do whatever the heck you want to, but you don't know what the heck to do so you do lame stuff. You all know what I'm talking about. In the not-winter I'll go mountain biking or wash the cars on a man's day, but winter kills it.

From work I
1. got the most ghetto Chinese take-out I know of,
2. got an action movie from the Redbox,
3. ate food during movie,
4. wandered around the house looking for 'that something interesting' you always look for and never find,
5. then went to Ikea (my personal Disneyland).
The first four steps are standard protocol for "A Man's Day." Step five is what makes the rest bearable.

The Ikea trip was a total success! I had a good idea what I was looking for, and knew exactly where it was. After the grand tour of every inch of the showroom, I loaded up a cart with those beautiful flat-pack boxes. I always have to check out the As-Is section, no matter how dismal it usually looks in there. Glory of glories! I came across two shelving units exactly like the two I had already picked out in perfect condition at 31% off because they were retired display models. Total score! That's like free money and I didn't have to throw away the cardboard myself! I did miss out on putting it together though.

Another testament to it being a man's day is that I'm listening to rap music while writing a blog post at 12:30 at night. I'll probably find something else worthless to do while I'm not working on my the new website for the bike shop, then eat more Chinese. More than likely I'll move the furniture around again, just like every other time my wife is not around, before I go to bed.

Tomorrow will probably be about the same, but no Chinese.

Redundant to some

2007-12-16T23:12:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. I wrote a post I think SOME people will find interesting on our baby's blog. Read it here.

I'm getting into the blogging groove with all the different parts of my life. I'm building a number of new blogs for the very much anticipated (by me) new and improved website for the shop, I post fairly often to Elinor's blog, and now this one is new for Alicia and me. Perhaps you will find our lives somewhat interesting as you check in with us over the months and years to come.

The blog's clever name comes from my dad's explanation on how to pronounce "Rowberry, like a row of berries." Not robbery, not rau-berry, not roseberry, not rowen-berry. Just say it how it's written.

And what is a blog post without picture taken by my three-year-old niece? Enjoy!

Oh the joys of teaching

2007-12-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I forget why I love to teach. OK, so a lot of times I forget. Especially when my students are running amok and not keeping their desks immaculate like my anal-ness needs. The other day I was sitting at my desk going through some papers while my students were working on their Christmas presents for their parents. I stopped and took a look around to see what they were doing. This is what I saw:

One student singing a crazy song. He was decorating his September page in his calendar and had substituted the words of a Veggie Tales song with "labor day." Then he started singing the real song (something about celery and broccoli). When he got to the last phrase, he turned to the student next to him and they both finished the song together, vibrato and all.

Three students speaking only in code about who knows what (and honestly, do I want to know what three seven-year-old boys are talking in code about? I think not...). If only I could describe their hilarious facial expressions accurately. You would have died laughing!

"Give me some of your tots, Napoleon!" One student started asking the other students if they had seen certain movies. Soon it turned into a quote fest. Hearing a seven year old quote Napoleon Dynamite is hilarious. Not just funny or amusing, but roll-on-the-floor-hilarious. I wish I would have written down the other movies they were quoting. The above quote is what stuck out most.

One group of girls proudly showing off their masterpieces. One girl shouted out: "What are you getting Elinor, Mrs. Rowberry?" It melts my heart when they ask about Elinor. They almost think of her as a sister. It's adorable.

I spent the rest of the day just watching my students. I didn't care if their desks were messy when they left (well, not too much anyway), or whether they had stacked the chairs or picked up the floor. I just smiled and realized that this is why I love teaching!

Our blog...

2007-12-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

We have been making this blog for Elinor and realized we weren't doing anything for us. I know most of our life story right now is caught up in Elinor, but we do have things to say! So here is our own blog, and hopefully it will be worthwhile!