Kiss the Pig

Every couple of years, our school PTA does a fundraiser called "Kiss the Pig." For a week, students bring in change (no bills allowed) and put the coins in containers in each teacher's classroom. The two teachers whose students raise the most money have to kiss a pig. If the students raise over $1,500, the principal has to pucker up as well.

At the beginning of the week, we had an assembly and they brought in an ugly full grown pot-bellied pig. One of the fourth grade teachers in particular was really grossed out and didn't want to have to kiss that pig. Of course, she ended up getting lots of money and was in the lead until the very last day. She ended up taking second place because the kindergarten parents decided that they really wanted Pat, the kindergarten teacher (pictured on the right) to be the one to have to kiss the pig. Fortunately, the day of the final assembly, they brought a super cute piglet to do the actual kissing. Juan (on the left), had to kiss the pig because he was trying to get his students to put money in other teachers' containers instead of his.

All in all, we raised just over $1,530 to help pay for a water fountain for our playground. You can watch the video from our local paper here. It's pretty funny. You'll see the ladies putting on lipstick and the pig squealing when they tried to kiss it. Enjoy!

By the way, I was one of the winners when we did this two years ago, so I had the honor of kissing the piglet then. It wasn't bad at all, but I was happy not to have to do it this time. A couple of my students told me that they didn't want me to have to kiss the pig because they said my baby wouldn't like it.

Quotes and Questions

Thursday was the big day when I told my students that I'm pregnant. At least one of them had already found out several weeks ago (although I'm still not entirely sure which co-worker spilled the beans), but did an excellent job of keeping quiet. I showed them the ultrasound pictures, which they though were pretty cool. The first big question was whether or not I would bring the baby to school so that they could see it. They were trying to figure out if they would be in school in July. Then, of course they all had an opinion as to whether it would be a boy or a girl. Here are some other fun quotes:

"You don't look pregnant!" :) Thanks!

"How much weight have you gained?" I explained that I didn't know, but that I had a doctor's appointment soon and would find out then. Several students then proceeded to get out the bathroom scale we use for math so that I could weigh myself.

"Do you think it will hurt when your baby comes out?" I answered, "Yes, but it will be okay." The student then quickly went back to her friends to report what I had said.

As soon as I told them, a couple of girls ran right up to touch my belly and say hi to the baby. I have a feeling that it will get touched a lot as it starts to show more.

That afternoon I helped my partner teacher by teaching her class while she did some individual assessments with students. She told the class that I would be their guest teacher, to which they were quick to add that my baby and I would be their teachers.

By the end of the day, they had shared the news with anyone and everyone. My students from last year were asking me if it was really true that I was having a baby and parents were congratulating me. I'm sure there will be many more fun questions and comments to come.

Introducing Baby Q (who doesn't want us to know if it's a boy or a girl)

We had our first ultrasound yesterday (week 19), which was fun. Well, it was fun at first, but the lady was in training and it took forever, so it became less and less fun as time went on. That and our little one was having fun playing with its toes and didn't want to uncross its legs so that we could see if it is a boy or a girl. I tried emptying my bladder, walking the halls, poking it, and moving around, but it just did not want to cooperate. Ugh! I suppose it already has quite the personality. It was not thrilled with being probed and was moving quite a bit, just not the way we wanted it to move.

The profile shot.

A little hand playing with a foot.

More Tag Blankets

I have been making lots of tag blankets lately to give away or sell. They're a good project for evenings after work since they are so quick and easy to make. Plus, they take inexpensive remnants or re-purposed fabric from clothes we no longer wear and allow me to use the ribbon that otherwise just sits in my craft closet.






I just got a couple more cute remnants yesterday, so there will be more to come!

My First Attempt at Quilting

I decided to try my hand at making a quilt. This one is crib-sized, so it's probably a good one to start with since it's not huge. Kirk is very excited about it. Each time I finished a section, he loved it more and more. The camo is Realtree AP, which is his favorite, and the solid pieces are the legs of two pairs of his old pants that were ripped and he could no longer wear. I hated to throw them away, thinking that I could use the fabric somehow. I'm glad to have finally found a use for them. There is obviously lots more work to do to finish it, but it's a good start.

I used a few pieces with seams to add a little extra interest.

Silly Hedgehog

For some reason, Bono has decided to forsake his yogurt container house for the comfort of squeezing under the yogurt container that holds his water bottle. As you can see, he also likes to sleep with toys next to him. He always makes sure that there are toys at the entrance of his house when he sleeps. They must be his alarm system.

A Definite Touchdown!

We had some friends over yesterday for the Super Bowl. Kirk made his famous barbecued chicken. I made deviled eggs and jalapeno popper dip. I found the dip recipe on the Big Red Kitchen blog last fall, but hadn't had a good reason to make it yet. She said it tasted exactly like jalapeno poppers, which is absolutely true. It was a huge hit and I will make it again for sure.

Jalapeño Popper Dip

2- 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temp
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1- 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
1- 4 ounce can sliced jalapeños- double if you like heat

1 cup panko bread crumbs (I used regular home-made ones)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted

In a food processor add the first 6 ingredients and process until smooth. You do not need to drain either can of peppers. Spread the dip into a greased 2 quart casserole (I used a 9" x 13" Pyrex, which was just fine too). In a bowl mix bread crumbs and the other 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Pour melted butter over top crumb mixture and mix well. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the dip and bake in a 375° oven for about 20 minutes. You want the top to get browned and the dip to be heated through and bubble gently on the edges. Do not over heat this dish or the mayonnaise with separate and you will have a grease puddle in your dip. Serve with Buttery crackers or a sliced French baguette (we served with Wheat Thins). Serves 8-10.