Miley Cyrus is Gross

But...

The hair color she has is exactly what I want.

What do you think? Can I pull it off?

Don't know what to get your wife/baby momma for Christmas?

Dear Dads (or Moms who read this and then forward on to their husband),

I know what you can get your wife - from your child - that is special, easy, and can go on and on through many gift giving holidays.

A charm bracelet. Easy as that.

Start with Christmas and get the actual bracelet and just one charm. Then, as years go on, through Mother's Days, Birthdays and Christmas', your child can always just go and pick out a charm for Mommy and give it to her. It is seriously so easy.

Here is an example (I will use James Avery jewelry, however there are many more companies that sell charm bracelets. I like James Avery because they have an entire "Create Your Own Charm Bracelet" feature on their website):

Here is a nice starter bracelet to add charms to.

The medium twist bracelet in silver - $49.
Then add charms! Here are a few of my faves right now...

• The jingle bell charm (for Christmas)
• The Birthday Cupcake Charm
• The ABC Apple Charm (I am a teacher)
• The Popcorn Charm (I LOOOOVE going to the movies and eating popcorn for dinner with Rian)
• The Peace Charm (because I love Peace signs and anything peace really)
• The Initial J
• The Baby Shoes Charm (you can get names and birthdays engraved on the bottom!)
• The Flip Flop Charm (because it reminds me of summer and Mexico)

These are just a few I like, but really, if Cameron picks it out...I don't care what it looks like, I will love it!

My Christmas Wish List - 2010

Rian asked me to do this for him, I happily obliged!

These are in no particular order, just things that I have been thinking that I would like.

1. Tiffany Peace Necklace
I have always loved all things Peace. Always. This is a new necklace, just released this year, and I love it. Find it HERE.
2. Amazon Gift Cards
Remember that I recently got the new Kindle? I did. It would be awesome to get some Amazon gift cards so that I could buy books electronically for free! Find gift cards HERE.
3. Kindle Cover
With the new Kindle still in mind, I need some sort of cover for it. You can get those many different places, Amazon being one of them. To find Kindle Covers, go HERE.
4. Sperry TopSider Leopard Print Loafers
I am having a bit of a shoe crisis at my house right now. My feet grew when I was pregnant with Cameron, and I think they are growing again. I went up a 1/2 size with Cameron and we'll see what happens this time around. So, right now I am a bit low on shoes. I ADORE these. Check them out HERE.
That is it! Can you believe it? Only 4 items!

Stay tuned for a play-by-play on what I plan on getting Cameron for Christmas and what I think Cameron should get me for Christmas.

13 Things Your Child's Teacher Won't Tell You

LOVE THIS:

A look inside a teacher's mind could help you understand lesson plans and maybe even guide your child to perform better.

1. If we teach small children, don’t tell us that our jobs are “so cute” and that you wish you could glue and color all day long.

2. I’m not a marriage counselor. At parent-teacher conferences, let’s stick to Dakota’s progress, not how your husband won’t help you around the house.

© iStockphoto / Thinkstock

3. We’re sick of standardized testing and having to “teach to the test.”

4. Kids used to go out and play after school and resolve problems on their own. Now, with computers and TV, they lack the skills to communicate. They don’t know how to get past hurt feelings without telling the teacher and having her fix it.

5. When I hear a loud belch, I remember that a student’s manners are a reflection of his parents’.

6. Your child may be the center of your universe, but I have to share mine with 25 others.

7. Please help us by turning off the texting feature on your child’s phone during school hours.

8. Guys who dribble a ball for a couple of hours a game can make up to $20 million a year. We educate future leaders and make about $51,000 a year.

9. We take on the role of mother, father, psychologist, friend, and adviser every day. Plus, we’re watching for learning disabilities, issues at home, peer pressure, drug abuse, and bullying.

10. Kids dish on your secrets all the time—money, religion, politics, even Dad’s vasectomy.

11. Please, no more mugs, frames, or stuffed animals. A gift card to Starbucks or Staples would be more than enough. A thank-you note: even better.

12. We love snow days and three-day weekends as much as your kid does.

13. The students we remember are happy, respectful, and good-hearted, not necessarily the ones with the highest grades.


Sources: American Federation of Teachers; interviews with elementary and middle school teachers in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, and Texas.

eReaders

I am SERIOUSLY debating getting a Nook or Kindle. I like that you can get books cheaper, read them right away and read a bunch of books without having to lug them all around.

However, I am not sure that I want to give up buying a nice book and cracking it open and being able to "love on it."

What do you think?

Vaccinations

I know this is a topic under fire, however Cameron has all of his and got them regularly. Including the Flu shot and H1N1. I work with a bunch of dirty, gross, sick children. Of which, 8 have had H1N1! 8 STUDENTS IN MY CLASS! I am not going down with that yucky sickness, and I am not letting my family go down with it either.

Here is a post my friend BECKY wrote about the topic. I couldn't agree more. In fact, I wrote an open letter to the person that she is referring to in this blog post. Here is a copy of it, (with names changed for protection) for your enjoyment:

Open letter to Amy:
Well, I hope your kid doesn't get measles and die someday. Or pass it on to a bunch of kids and then it mutates and kills even more people including all of the children

Also Amy, remember when you stabbed your leg because Kevin Arnold dumped you? I do. I bet you were glad you got that tetanus shot because you used a dirty knife to stab your leg.

Regards, Jennifer

Flying Somewhere?

If you are going to buy plane tickets anytime soon, buy them on Tuesday afternoon. I have heard this rumor plenty of times, but...it is true.

I am taking 7 kids to Louisville, Kentucky for DECA Nationals this year. Our conference is the week before the Kentucky Derby. Plane tickets are off the charts expensive. I have been looking for about a week and a half trying to get the lowest price for me and my students. They have been ranging anywhere between $350-500 to fly in to Cincinnati (the next closest airport to Louisville. It is about an hour and 15 minute drive). To fly directly into Louisville, it was even more expensive. So yesterday, I planned on buying their flights for about $350 with one stop in Chicago on the way to Cincy. I knew I needed to buy them tomorrow night at the latest. So I decided to wait until 2:30 and recheck the prices. Remember, they were $350 with a stop at about 9:00am yesterday morning.

I login at 2:30 yesterday afternoon. $242 for a NON-STOP FLIGHT TO CINCY! Can you believe that? It is true, they drop the prices on Tuesday afternoons! Also, I rechecked this morning, and the prices went back up.

My recommendation: BUY AIRLINE TICKETS ON TUESDAY AT 2:30PM MOUNTAIN TIME.