Here's what's going on with us....

I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies - definitely a taste of fall. I'll post the recipe later. They weren't a sweet cookie, more like a bread or muffin, and were best straight from the oven (before they got soggy). I even stuck them back in the oven about 3 days after I made them to crisp them up - delicious.

Dixie eats outside, Maddie eats inside. Maddie is not quite the hog that Dixie is, so sometimes she doesn't finish her food. Dixie has taken to stalking Maddie's unfinished food, and looking rather pathetic in the process. However, she doesn't eat it! She's a good girl.

We got BOO-ED! I now have all of my supplies, so the boo-ing will commence when Will gets home.

Yesterday, my kids "buried" Dead Words. It was a blast! They gave creative eulogies, were very dramatic, and came up with some excellent replacement words to use in their writing. It was the first time I felt at home teaching here - one of the first days I scrapped our "Bed-in-a-Bag" curriculum (thanks, Leslie, for the term!) and did a lesson I was comfortable with, and one that I know the kids would both enjoy and learn from. I'm settling in.


More on the teaching thing - I'm constantly fighting battles here. I want to do what is best for my kids, but it's not what has always been done. Using our reading books, with packaged spelling lists, vocab words, workbooks, and a schedule with the whole week laid out is the norm. To me, this is crap. It doesn't follow our state standards, it doesn't integrate writing, it allows for NO creativity on my part or on the kids' part. The stories are boring. The worksheets are basic. So I'm scrapping it. I came with five file boxes of authentic, teacher-created and proven curriculum written by some of the best teachers I've ever known. So, DUH, I'm using it! Bring on the backlash.

It was clear last night. This is from the Wal-Mart parking lot. See, I could get a good shot - I drove around the whole parking lot until I found a place that I could get Rainier without the surrounding buildings in the way. It wasn't too hard seeing as how the parking lot was nearly empty, what with Wal-Mart and liberals being like oil and water.

Just outside of my neighborhood. Gorgeous night.

And finally, a fall sunset (view from my driveway). Could not be more beautiful. And Will missed it...which is the main reason why I took these pictures. He has missed every nice day we've had in the past month (all three...).

I woke up this morning to clouds and promises of rain by noon. However, yesterday's weather will do a lot to keep my spirits up until the next day we see the sun. Maybe less than a week this time? We'll see. Until then, I'm enjoying warmed-up Kona coffee (I couldn't resist making it yesterday morning). I'm blogging when I'm normally at work, because I just can't bring myself to get there as early as I normally do. I still have an hour until I have to be there. I'd rather spend that time with you. Here's to Hump Day - hope it's a happy one for you!