YET another Giveaway.

Do you love boutique style soaps, scrubs, and lotions? I know I do. Check out this great giveaway.


http://audreysgiveaways.blogspot.com/

Kidorable Giveaways

Check out this giveaway of SUPER cute kids gear. http://mrsnespysworld.blogspot.com/2010/09/giveaway-kidorable.html

Check out this giveaway

Mrs. Nespy's Frugal World has really great giveaways. Check them out. http://mrsnespysworld.blogspot.com/2010/09/giveaway-frecklebox.html

Candles in a can

They are precious. If you would like to win one, check this out.

http://audreysgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/08/mama.html

SWEET smelling soaps

Yet another giveaway by Audrey's Give Away. SWEET smelling bath stuff. CHECK it out: http://audreysgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/08/juicybaby.html

Children's book giveaway

Audrey's Give Aways is at it again and is offering a book giveaway. These books are adorable, check it out.

http://audreysgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/08/books.html

Free Soap

I love custom soaps and hope you do. Audrey's giveaway is giving away one FREE. Check it out.

LOVE Personalized Pillowcases?

I do! Want to win one? Go to this website for a chance to win.

http://audreysgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/08/whimsy.html?commentPage=2

Tea Maker Giveaway

If you love tea, check out this blog's giveaway: http://audreysgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/09/tea.html

Pillow Pet Giveaway

Hey guys! I know it has been awhile but I thought this was worth of posting. If you have kids and would love to win them a pillow pet for Christmas, check out this giveaway.

http://thekingscourt4.blogspot.com/2010/09/giveaway-its-my-pillow-pet-time.html

My Blogging Hiatus Part 2

As promised, I am on to tell you more adventures from my blogging hiatus. We have been itching to get back to the beach since our trip last year with Susannah at The McCords'. We loved it. That was Elijah and My first trip to the beach. (We do alot of firsts today) We feel a need to expose Elijah to as much fun as possible.

This was Elijah a year ago

The main goal of our trip to Fort Walton beach we as not to go to the beach although we did that. My Great-Aunt Kathryn just found our she has the beginnings of Congestive heart failure. She is 80. So, I felt an Urgent need to go spend some time with my Aunt. Elijah loves Aunt Kafy. HAHA.

While we were there we decided to hit up the giant outlet mall in Destin. LOVE IT. I was able to get a cardigan and shell set at Liz Clabourne for $22, Elijah 10 summer tops and blue jeans for the niece for Christmas for $54 and Jonah a Leather Wallet at Fossil for $20. I think that was a successful trip.

Our last day there we finally made it to the beach. We were only there for 2 1/2 days. The red flags were out. Here is why:



The waves were really bad and they feared rip-tide thanks to the winds come from the last tropical storm in the Gulf.

We did get to play right at the edge of the water. Elijah loves to play in the sand until he gets some in his mouth.





We ate at a lot of really great restaurants while we were there but my favorite was ...

Of COURSE...They have AWESOME hot wings.

More of my blogging hiatus coming soon.... I PROMISE.

My blogging Hiatus

Well, a lot has happened since I last TRULY blogged.Where to begin. I have lost my job AGAIN. This is the story of a non-tenured teachers life. We found out that they were letting all non-tenured teachers go in Montgomery County. I thought to myself, "Great, here we go again." So, the Majority of my summer has been spent looking for a job. Don't get me wrong. That is not ALL I have done this summer but I am getting to that.

I was fortunate enough to get to go to KY to spend some time with my sister,brother-in-law and nephew. We had a great time. Below are the highlights:

Day One: Cincinnati Zoo


I love this picture of my family.

This one needs NO Explanation

Vampire Bat (YUK)

Brother-in-law, Sister and Nephew (plus a niece on the way)
My Tired baby and Handsome Hubby

Day 2: Newport Aquarium


The Eel looks like it is going to eat my baby

(Look Mommy an angel fish)

Elijah playing music with the people in the courtyard

We had a great trip and Elijah and I get to mark one thing on our list to do before we die: Fly on an airplane. (Neither of us like it very much).

More from my blogging hiatus to come......

Day of Blog Silence for Cohen

Joy comes in the morning

As of late I have been reading prayer request from a fellow blogger's blog: Kelly at Kelly's Korner. I have been reading about stories of babies being born with broken hearts. I sit and weep realizing I am truly blessed. Although he 5 weeks premature and spent 12 days in the NICU, I have a happy, healthy little boy. My son is the joy of our lives and I weep realizing those parents whose babies have passed due to those conditions will never feel the joy that I do on a daily basis. I take that for granted sometime but NO MORE. I will cherish every moment with him and pray for those parents who are not able to spend that time with their children. Mommy loves you ELIJAH LOGAN HARRIS.

Giveaway

Check out this great giveaway from Frugal Coupon Living.


http://www.frugalcouponliving.com/2010/04/16/giveaway-britax-chaperone-stroller

This is could be an excellent gift for someone or to use for yourself.

Cakes

Hello Friends.


It has been awhile since I blogged but being a school teacher with a little one does not leave me alot of time. I did however want to show you my recent work. For 2 years in a row I have been honored to make the cake for my Friend Susannah's little boy Anderson's birthday. I love making cakes I made my nephews cake this year as well. I am going to leave you with some pictures of my work and if you live close and would like me to make a cake for you leave me a message or comment and I will get back with you.

I'll get you my pretty

Have you ever had a week that never seemed like it would end, well I have. This has been the worst week I believe I have ever had. Let me set the scene:


(for those of you who don't know, I teach 8th grade)

Monday: Pretty ordinary, except the students wanted to do less than normal. The only good thing is that we did not have faculty meeting.

Tuesday: Complete lack of effort on my students part and to make things worse we had a grade level meeting which we knew nothing about ahead of time. Our topics of discussion: UNIFORMS. This is where the drama begins.

Wednesday: We have been so lax on the uniforms for so long that trying to enforce it really has been a point of dissention within the student since we started enforcing it on Wednesday. Well, not only was it a point of dissention among students but teachers as well. Things that had not been an issue as far as uniforms is now an issue like wearing a pullover over their uniform top. Well. I accidently let a uniform violation go by unnoticed. Well, 6th period a co-worker brings this given student back to me and states in a quite demeaning manor "He can't wear this, we discussed this yesterday". Well, as you might imagine, I was LIVID. I felt like I was being "corrected". Needless to say, I sent a email to my co-worker that went like this:

I do not appreciate you interrupting my class to address a dress code issue. That could have been addresses after class. Secondly, if Mr. Dean has a problem with anything I am doing he will come and tell me. Also, We are all trying to not make mistakes but no one is perfect, then when we get to that point we can correct each other.

Thursday: Well this given teacher enters my room on Thursday morning to clarify for my students the dress code. As her leaving, my students started complaining to me. I stated "I can't do anything about it, complain to the principal".

The day continues and I receive this email from the given teacher


Good morning, Mrs. Harris

I did not intent to interrupt your class. I asked for permission to speak to your class, as well as all of the other classes on our hall, to address and clarify the dress code.

At our meeting, as well as the meeting we had with the students this morning, many questions were asked concerning jackets, sweaters, and backpacks. I only attempted to bring clarity and answer question that the students had.

I do apologize for the inconvenience, and I did not intent for you to think that I had a problem with you, or the way in which you conduct your classroom. I have been trying to be a team player and help create some consistency with uniform issues amongst the teachers and students on our hall. I do agree that we all make mistakes, and if there is ever an opportunity for you to bring something to my attention, I welcome the constructive criticism.

Have a great day,

This is my thought: Had she bothered reading the time date stamp on the email. She would have known that I was not talking about the discussion with my students that morning but the situation the previous day.

Here is my reply to the previous email:

I was not refering to this morning. I understand this is alot of confusion among the students about dress code and bags because we all have different interpretations of what is small or large as far a purses are concerned, etc. I was refering to yesterday when you brought me JD. I probably could have handled it alittle better. I just left like it undermined my authority infront of my children. I am sorry that you thought I was refering to this morning.

I do appreciate the fact that you are taking time from your students to deal with the dress code and other issues. That does show that you are trying to be a team player. In the future, if I happen to miss a violation of any sort please feel free to address me outside of my classroom.

I thought I was being nice about the situation. Despite that, the more I thought about it, the more I thought I would apologize to clear the air. It went something like this:

I am sorry if you thought I was harsh or mean. That was not my intention. I also apologize for the confusion that i was talking about this morning. I hope you accept my apology.

I thought everything was over and I receive an email like this:

Mrs. Harris,

I do not appreciate you assuming that I thought you were harsh or mean. We have not even discussed the situation, so apparently, you are going off word of mouth. I am not easily offended, nor do I take things personally, however if you have a question or concern that involves me, I do not appreciate you discussing it with everyone except me.

I wanted to discuss the situation with you, but after 4 individuals, including my principal came to me with comments posed by you, I felt like it would be more appropriate to email you rather than come into your classroom again.

I do mean to be harsh, but I am really blunt and straightforward. I do not, or will not ever attempt to undermine your position. Whatever works for you in your classroom, is your business. The fact that you were offended, was worthy of an apology because that was indeed, not my intentions nor my style. However, the fact that you expressed your opinions openly to your class, and informed them along with other teachers that you would send me an email to express your concerns, was in my opinion, unprofessional.

There is much confusion and as adults, I feel that the best approach would have been a conversation between you and I. I honestly feel like it is a slap in my face to attempt to bring unity amongst the hall, and for this childish mess to be a result of it.

I do apologize for my tone, but please understand that I do not appreciate the assumptions and accusations. I will continue to do my job, and I apologize for the misunderstandings. If you ever have a question, in the future, please address me directly.





I thought apologies were supposed to make things better.


Despite her beliefs I did not discuss the situation with my students. That is unprofessional. I did discuss the issue with my co-workers to get some input on the situation. Completely confounded, I replied.


This will be the last I discuss this matter. God bless you!

All my teacher friends out there, was I wrong and what could I have done differently.

******************************************************************************************************
On a completely unrelated subject, I am so proud of how much my little one has learned. He knows all of his numbers, letters (complete with what the "say"), shapes, colors and the continents. He is growing like a weed much to his mommies dislike. Here are some pics of him and a video. Enjoy:

Simplicity is a good thing

Well, Since we bought new bedroom furniture we have felt a need to clean out the house. We started with the typical (drawers and closets). We have moved on to Elijah's room and toys (Which are EVERYWHERE). This led to some crafts which I love. I thought I would share them with you. What do you think?

We bought the toy box at Target on Clearance and added the removable dinosaur stickers. We are in the process of transitioning Elijah's room to a big boy room.

We really don't have room for a book case in Elijah's room so we found these stackable laundry baskets (also a target) that make great book baskets.

If your child is like mine they probably have too many toys so toy buckets were need to get his toys in order.

(Ignore the mess)

I also made him a toothbrush holder for his bathroom that I think turned out pretty good.

To close I am going to leave you with this video. Enjoy.

Furniture

As stated earlier, my wonderful husband bought me furniture. It was delivered yesterday morning and we spent the whole day setting it up but I think it looks great. What do you think?

My wonderful husband

My husband loves me so much. He bought me new bedroom furniture even though he does think we need it. I love it. We looked on Ebay and saw it. It was reasonable there but we found it cheaper at Signature Furniture in Prattville. Pics below: