Help Wanted!

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

Shark Reef

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!

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...

A BOY!!!

Happy Birthday Elinor!

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

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

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.