8:41 AM | 
Posted by
K.Dingfelder
13 July 2008
I see RED!
Otto was on a site visit on Thursday and picked some wild flowers for me! He stuck them in his water bottle and brought them home! Aren't they beautiful?!
Saturday afternoon we took a trip to the Prairie du Sac Winery with our neighbors!
Here's Heather and James!
This sign made us laugh!!!!
Otto played with the Dodgeville Community Orchestra. He only practiced with them once, but he did a wonderful job!!
I see something RED!!! It's our first tomato! And what did I do? I ripped it off the vine and made Otto eat it! He said it was delicious!! We can't wait for more to ripen!20 April 2008
Week in Review
MONDAY:
We finally had some nice weather, so I decided it was time to make more chalk bubbles! The kids and I had a blast making bubbles on the pavement... But I think I need to start making something new!TUESDAY:
Spent a lot of time outside with the kids! And had a very busy evening trying to get some work done. Created taco seasoning from scratch. It was tasty, but spicy.
WEDNESDAY:
Joanna was working in Wausau, WI this past week (approx. 2hrs from Madison) and we decided to meet up for dinner one night. We met in Westfield, WI at a place called the Haystack Supper Club, which happened to be an 1hr drive for both of us. It was difficult to find, but well worth the trip. They had very good food! And tons of it! It was GREAT getting a chance to see her, even if it was only for a couple hours!
Da sent Otto and I a package. He wouldn't tell us what it was, but it showed up on Wednesday afternoon. Turns out it was a couple of Twins hats!!!
So we put them on!THURSDAY:
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... we spent most of our time afternoon going around and cleaning the apartment for our guests coming for the weekend. Even though the place wasn't a pigsty we still feel like we need to thoroughly clean everything!
FRIDAY:
Art & Rob show up to eat BBQ Ribs! It was very tasty and fun!!
SATURDAY:
We took them to the Farmer's Market. Of course we bought Spicy Cheese Bread, Squeaky Cheese Curds, and Beef Jerky!!!
We took them on a tour of the Capitol building, then headed down State Street to eat at Ian's pizza and check out some of the shops!
We took them to the Henry Villas Zoo! It was a ton of fun!
Then we headed to Edo Garden for dinner!
Our Hibatchi chef was awesome! We'll definitely request Chef Andy again!!!SUNDAY:
We started our morning off with a wonderful brunch made by Otto. Headed out to run some errands and stopped for some ice cream at the Chocolate Shoppe!!!
Then they left to head home. Art is like my unbiological father, and Rob's my unbiological brother!!! It was SUPER GREAT for them to come visit us!! And we hope they come again!Otto and I have a new project! Another garden...
First one needs a plastic tote (ours is 27 quarts)
Then you need to drill holes in the bottom for drainage.
Line the bottom with a thin layer of gravel.
Make sure the table is sturdy on the ground so it doesn't tip over.
Put a couple screws through a couple of the drilled holes.
This is to make sure the tote stays on the table and doesn't slide off.
Top the gravel with soil. (We use Miracle Grow Moisture Control)
Then plant everything. (we planted lettuce, green onion and tomato plants) We'll see how this turns out!On a side note our indoor garden is doing well!
Here's the Cilantro!
The tiny Oregano!
Of course the Sweet Basil!!
And our newest addition! Chocolate Mint! I'm gonna attempt tea!13 April 2008
Recent Happenings
We decided to plant an indoor garden! Otto wanted Strawberries, so he bought a kit which he put together in the green pot on the right. I wanted to work with some fresh herbs, so I plant Spearmint in the round container and Basil, Oregano, Cilantro in the square planter. So far the Basil is zipping right along... Oregano is slowly starting to sprout, and I found some Cilantro peaking through! Spearmint is no where to be seen and the Strawberries too... I will have to take pictures to chronicle their development!
Today Otto decided he'd finally put up the bracer for the shelf in the laundry room! Doesn't it look nice!! Glad to know I'm going to be marrying a "Fix-it Guy"!
Last night we got together with some of our friends for dinner. We decided to celebrate our engagements and a try a new place at the same time! We had dinner at Samba Brazilian Grill!
Otto & I were engaged on 09/28/2007, James & Heather were engaged on 11/02/2007, Nick & Elaine were engaged on 12/22/2007! This is the first time we've all been able to get together since it all happened!
At Samba they have long skewers of meat that they cook. Each night they have a variety of 8! The variety last night was: Flank Steak, Sirloin, Rack of Lamb, Leg of Lamb, Parmesan Crusted Pork, Polish Sausage, Steak rolled in Bacon, and Roasted Duck. You're given this pillar, red on one side and green on the other. It starts with the Red side up, when you're ready for the gouches to come to your table you turn the Green side up. Shortly after the gouches just start showing up with huge skewers of meat to carve at your table! And they were amazing!!! So tasty!
But, before you start with the meat they have a an area dedicated to salads, cheese, vegetables, olives, and more. One of the salads was a Wasabi Octopus Salad...
Otto bravely tried it and declared it quite tasty, but HOT!
I asked the waitress for a suggestion for something to drink. This is a Batida! It has passion fruit puree, Cacacha and cane sugar. They even placed a cherry at the bottom! It was GREAT!!!
But not as great at their desserts!
Elaine and I shared their Samba "S'mores"! It was AWESOME! So sweet and yummy, yet spicy! We'd definitely go back to have it again!
James and Heather shared Cinnamon-Chocolate Mousse! Also, very yummy!!!
Otto and Nick shared two scoops of Mango gelato! They were really enjoying it!
07 April 2008
Accredidation Review
Our facility has begun that time of year when we go through the accredidation process. This means lots of paperwork and reviews. Luckily my co-teacher and I were at the top of the list. It took us a couple of days to fill out the paperwork, but today we had our review. I was sort of nervous... but who wouldn't be nervous about someone scrutinizing you as you're trying to work with 12 two year olds!
When I showed up to work today at 8:15am she was already sitting in our room making some notations. (note: in the morning since my co-teacher doesn't arrive until 8am our kids are dropped off in another classroom) So, I walked down to the other classroom to get our kids and meet up with me co-teacher. We brought the kids back and tried to start our day as close to normal as possible. But our kids are smart, they picked up on the fact that some random person was just sitting in our room. We introduced them and just started doing our own thing. Most of them ignored her, while others kept going over and trying to engage her. Anyway, she stayed through the end of lunch, then left so we could get the kids settled down for nap time. All-in-all I think it went really well. Our kids acted differently though. Some exchanged roles, while others we nothing like their normal selves. It was very strange. Now we just have to wait to have a meeting with her to talk about her notations, questions and suggestions. At least now I can breathe a little easier... not so much pressure anymore!
When I showed up to work today at 8:15am she was already sitting in our room making some notations. (note: in the morning since my co-teacher doesn't arrive until 8am our kids are dropped off in another classroom) So, I walked down to the other classroom to get our kids and meet up with me co-teacher. We brought the kids back and tried to start our day as close to normal as possible. But our kids are smart, they picked up on the fact that some random person was just sitting in our room. We introduced them and just started doing our own thing. Most of them ignored her, while others kept going over and trying to engage her. Anyway, she stayed through the end of lunch, then left so we could get the kids settled down for nap time. All-in-all I think it went really well. Our kids acted differently though. Some exchanged roles, while others we nothing like their normal selves. It was very strange. Now we just have to wait to have a meeting with her to talk about her notations, questions and suggestions. At least now I can breathe a little easier... not so much pressure anymore!
06 April 2008
Das Essen Haus 2
Friday night we got together with some of our friends to have dinner at the Essen Haus! It's a German Pub/Bier Garden. Their food was awesome! And the service was even better! We had the best waiter ever!!! When we couldn't decide on a beer choice he brought us out some samples, answered any questions we had, and even went up to the band to request a couple songs for us! It was alot of fun and I hope we do it again!!!
Here's Dan and Ashley, our 2nd Neighbors!
Here's Anne and Ryan, our 1st Neighbors!
And of course here's Otto and I!!!
Here's Dan and Ashley, our 2nd Neighbors!
Here's Anne and Ryan, our 1st Neighbors!
And of course here's Otto and I!!!
24 March 2008
Happy Spring!
The Tillison's hosted Easter this year up in Farmington, MN. A nice 4.5 hr drive from Madison, WI! But well worth the trip! Chelle and Kyle did a great job with the Ham and Fish... but I was hoping for Kyle's World Famous Macaroni and Cheese with Peas... maybe next year. Mom, Da, Gram and Tami came up as well! It was just one big family gathering!
Here's a few of the photos I took!
.JPG)
Sibling love! Rob and Chelle!! (with a glimpse of my Mom in the background)
Kayla (Oldest child) and Daddy (Kyle) relaxing after all the excitement of the day.
Rhys (Middle child) with his thumb where it always is... in his mouth.
Baby Tyler (Youngest child) with a huge smile on his face!
Here's a few of the photos I took!
.JPG)
Sibling love! Rob and Chelle!! (with a glimpse of my Mom in the background)
Kayla (Oldest child) and Daddy (Kyle) relaxing after all the excitement of the day.
Rhys (Middle child) with his thumb where it always is... in his mouth.
Baby Tyler (Youngest child) with a huge smile on his face!
20 March 2008
Blogging at Work
You might be asking yourself... Why is Kris blogging at work? Isn't she supposed to be watching a room full of two year olds? What's going on?!
Well, I'm on a state mandated 1 hour break... and I felt like posting something. I really don't have anything in particular in mind, but we'll see where this goes.
I realize I haven't written about my classroom in a while. Well, I now have 12 two year olds. 12! :o It's more than a little insane, all the time! Luckily my co-teacher is there! I no longer believe "The Terrible Twos" as a myth... It is very much a reality of my everyday life! Now imagine that times 12! I seriously wonder how I come home sane most nights...
Although, they aren't "Terrible" all the time. And it is well worth the work we put into it to see how far they have come since they first came into our room. I just wish we could get past the biting, slapping, hitting and utter freak-outs over the lack of communication and social skills... Eventually all of our kids will be more verbal, and potty trained! But that's also the time they leave our room and we end up getting more... who are younger and lacking all the skills we just finished teaching the ones who left our room. It seems to be a neverending cycle.
Randomly, nothing having to do with work. I just started reading No Country for Old Men. I wanted to read the book before I see the movie. I already one of Cormac McCarthy's books called The Road, and I loved it. I've looked into some of his other books, but none caught my interest until I heard about this one. So far the story has been fast paced and adventurous!
Some other books on my docket at this time are:
Benighted
PS I Love You
Change of Heart
Pillars of the Earth
Those are the only ones I can remember at this point... but I know there are more. If you have a book suggestion I would love to hear it!
Some books I have read recently:
Germ: If You Breathe It, It Will Find You
Dexter in the Dark
The Road
I Am Legend
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Anyway, I better get back to work. My break is nearly over and I still need to go and fetch snack from the kitchen. Hope everyone has a nice day... and beware of that nasty snow we're supposed to be getting. :( NO SNOW!
Well, I'm on a state mandated 1 hour break... and I felt like posting something. I really don't have anything in particular in mind, but we'll see where this goes.
I realize I haven't written about my classroom in a while. Well, I now have 12 two year olds. 12! :o It's more than a little insane, all the time! Luckily my co-teacher is there! I no longer believe "The Terrible Twos" as a myth... It is very much a reality of my everyday life! Now imagine that times 12! I seriously wonder how I come home sane most nights...
Although, they aren't "Terrible" all the time. And it is well worth the work we put into it to see how far they have come since they first came into our room. I just wish we could get past the biting, slapping, hitting and utter freak-outs over the lack of communication and social skills... Eventually all of our kids will be more verbal, and potty trained! But that's also the time they leave our room and we end up getting more... who are younger and lacking all the skills we just finished teaching the ones who left our room. It seems to be a neverending cycle.
Randomly, nothing having to do with work. I just started reading No Country for Old Men. I wanted to read the book before I see the movie. I already one of Cormac McCarthy's books called The Road, and I loved it. I've looked into some of his other books, but none caught my interest until I heard about this one. So far the story has been fast paced and adventurous!
Some other books on my docket at this time are:
Benighted
PS I Love You
Change of Heart
Pillars of the Earth
Those are the only ones I can remember at this point... but I know there are more. If you have a book suggestion I would love to hear it!
Some books I have read recently:
Germ: If You Breathe It, It Will Find You
Dexter in the Dark
The Road
I Am Legend
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Anyway, I better get back to work. My break is nearly over and I still need to go and fetch snack from the kitchen. Hope everyone has a nice day... and beware of that nasty snow we're supposed to be getting. :( NO SNOW!
19 March 2008
Random Post
I thought this was interesting, so I stole it from another persons blog!
It's obvious that some of the songs work, while others are quite questionable...
1. open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every question, type the song that's playing
5. new question-- press the next button
6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool
opening credits:
“Nothing Lasts Forever”—Maroon 5
waking up:
“Stop” - Matchbox Twenty
first day at school:
“I Wish You Well” - Josie and the Pussycats
falling in love:
“Push” - Matchbox Twenty
breaking up:
“If You're Gone” - Matchbox Twenty
prom:
“These Hard Times'” - Matchbox Twenty
life's okay:
“Follow Through” - Gavin DeGraw
mental breakdown:
“More Than Anyone” - Gavin DeGraw
driving:
“You're A Star” - Josie and the Pussycats
flashback:
“Meaning” - Gavin DeGraw
getting back together:
“Pretending to be Nice” - Josie and the Pussycats
wedding:
“Hidden Track” - Meiko
birth of child:
“You Don't See Me” - Josie and the Pussycats
final battle:
“Angels Weep” - Bascom Hill
death scene:
“Goodnight Goodnight” - Maroon 5
funeral song:
“What's a Boy to do” - Mat Kearney
end credits:
"Wait" - Mat Kearney
(Keep in mind I don't have much music on my computer at this time. I think there is a total of 5-6 albums... I just use the CD's more often and my hard drive is mostly dedicated to photos. Thus, I don't think this is a truly good collection of songs, but they'll have to do until sometime in the future when I do this once again)
By the way, I haven't been posting much due to serious issues with my computer. What are these issues you ask?! Well, my hard drive, which is mainly dedicated to photos, decided to malfunction. It's so bad that HP is sending me a new hard drive next week... :( Luckily most of my material on the computer has been saved to my external hard drive or Otto's computer. Yet, I mourn all the little things I forget about... My friend Chris has offered to backup all my information on one of his computers if I need. I'm seriously debating having him do this just in case...
It's obvious that some of the songs work, while others are quite questionable...
1. open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every question, type the song that's playing
5. new question-- press the next button
6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool
opening credits:
“Nothing Lasts Forever”—Maroon 5
waking up:
“Stop” - Matchbox Twenty
first day at school:
“I Wish You Well” - Josie and the Pussycats
falling in love:
“Push” - Matchbox Twenty
breaking up:
“If You're Gone” - Matchbox Twenty
prom:
“These Hard Times'” - Matchbox Twenty
life's okay:
“Follow Through” - Gavin DeGraw
mental breakdown:
“More Than Anyone” - Gavin DeGraw
driving:
“You're A Star” - Josie and the Pussycats
flashback:
“Meaning” - Gavin DeGraw
getting back together:
“Pretending to be Nice” - Josie and the Pussycats
wedding:
“Hidden Track” - Meiko
birth of child:
“You Don't See Me” - Josie and the Pussycats
final battle:
“Angels Weep” - Bascom Hill
death scene:
“Goodnight Goodnight” - Maroon 5
funeral song:
“What's a Boy to do” - Mat Kearney
end credits:
"Wait" - Mat Kearney
(Keep in mind I don't have much music on my computer at this time. I think there is a total of 5-6 albums... I just use the CD's more often and my hard drive is mostly dedicated to photos. Thus, I don't think this is a truly good collection of songs, but they'll have to do until sometime in the future when I do this once again)
By the way, I haven't been posting much due to serious issues with my computer. What are these issues you ask?! Well, my hard drive, which is mainly dedicated to photos, decided to malfunction. It's so bad that HP is sending me a new hard drive next week... :( Luckily most of my material on the computer has been saved to my external hard drive or Otto's computer. Yet, I mourn all the little things I forget about... My friend Chris has offered to backup all my information on one of his computers if I need. I'm seriously debating having him do this just in case...
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