a new room

Alfredo got the girls' furniture all moved downstairs today and got their new room set up.

Here is a shot of their room before. It was painted and decorated before Michelle was born in this cute purple with a bug theme. We loved it. But the girls have Precious Moments bedspreads (which were given to us) and Disney Princess sheets and they have outgrown the room and the decorations. Here is the new room as of today (without any toys moved in yet... we didn't get that far.)
Check out the lamp. We think it is very cool and totally matches the polka dots on the bedspreads and the canopies.
Michelle, of course, struck a pose (or 10) to show off her new room.
Even Ella was willing to smile and pose for the camera. She loves her new room. We'll see how actually sleeping in it goes tonight. We promised they could keep their lamp on all night.
One more shot from a different angle.

cool math trick

Yesterday I spent my day at a math inservice for teachers in my district. (my last day of work... wahoo!) Part of the day was spent learning alternative algorithms for computation. To put that in plain English, we were all taught a specific way to add, subtract, multiply and divide (particularly with large numbers....think long division). Yet the way we were taught is not the only way to solve these problems... nor is it necessarily the most efficient or easiest way. It is just the way that has been taught here in America for a long time (but not necessarily in other countries.)

So we learned other ways that kids might think about problems or that might help kids be more successful at solving problems. At the very end the presenter shared a cool trick that works... but I don't really know why. I hope I can explain it. It's called the Russian Peasant Method of multiplication.

Take any two numbers to be multiplied. half the first and double the second until you reach one. (If you get a half, say 12.5, just write 12 and keep going).

For example: 24 x 25

half is 12 50 doubled

half is 6 100 doubled

half is 3 200

half is 1.5 so write 1 400 Now cross out any that start with an even number on the left (so you cross out 24, 12, and 6.) Now add the second half of the problem (the part on the right so 200 +400) This is your answer.... 600


Here's an easier number:

8 x 7

half is 4 14

half is 2 28

half is 1 56

cross out the lines that have 8, 4, and 2.... so the answer is 56

Hope that makes sense. I recognize that it isn't that fast and I don't know why it works. But it was pretty cool. Try it. You'll be surprised.

big girl

Ella started preschool today (it's summer camp at Write Start). Janene was nice enough to not only take the girls to preschool and pick them up, but also to snap some pics for me since I was at work. It sounds like it was mostly a good day, but Ella did cry for a little bit. (She said she wanted to play with her dinosaurs she brought for show and tell and teacher said it wasn't quite time yet. So then since she was crying, she didn't get to do her show and tell. Poor Ella. She was too upset to even tell Michelle or Mrs. Barnett why she was upset.) But Ella was so proud to be a big girl and get to go to school. She can't wait to go back. Michelle was also thrilled to be going to summer school (it was her idea) although she's sad that most of her friends aren't in her class anymore, especially Abby.

TTA: Favorite sights

For the next five weeks, the Tuesday tell alls are about the five senses. This week is sight. Here are some of my favorite sights.

my girls hugging, kissing, holding hands, dancing together

books... especially a pile of new books from the library, waiting to be read

(I know I have way too many books and this is just a fraction of them)

the beach... the tide rolling in and the lap of the waves on the sand.

My girls laughing.

Ella "reading" to herself.

Michelle dancing... She has rhythm, like her daddy.

My girls sleeping. There is something so sweet and innocent about young children when they are asleep.

the temple... any of them. Salt Lake is special, because that is where we were married. We walked around the grounds of the DC temple on our honeymoon. Many others are very beautiful and all are so peaceful.

my students performing or really working hard and finally "getting it"... there's something magical about seeing kids have an "a-ha" moment

family

friends

my grandma's house... it has been sold now, but it was always a haven for me as a child. In fact, when I was in labor with Ella, I used it as a focal point to get my mind off my pain and it worked better than I could have imagined. When the contractions were bad, I would imagine I was young and curled up in my grandpa's lap on their couch hearing a story. The images were so vivid that it really kept me from feeling as much pain.

cell phones

If anyone has any old cell phones lying around their house that are no longer being used, send them my way. My sister, Suzy, is running a marathon to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has committed to raising at least $4900 (and is about 80% of the way there). Anyway, she can recycle old cell phones which gives her money for the race.

Also, if you are interested in donating, see the link on the side. Her race is June 21 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Here's a few more details about it, from an email from Suzy:


I just wanted to give you an update on my marathon training and fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

My training is going great! I've been doing 21-mile runs for the past few weeks, and I feel ready to run the full 26.2 miles (June 21 in Anchorage). Here are a few stats:
Time to run 21 miles: 180 minutes (3 hours)—approximately an 8 ½-minute mile
Total marathon training miles I've run (starting 2/11/08): 447.5
Pairs of shoes I've worn out during that time: 3
My fundraising is also going well. I've raised 76% of my goal of $4,900. The money I'm raising will support blood cancer research and provide patient services to those with blood cancer.

If you haven't had an opportunity to donate yet, it's not too late! You can make a tax-deductible donation quickly and securely by going to my personal fundraising Web site: http://www.active.com/donate/tntdms/suzyqbills. (At my Web site, you can also learn more about the Society, blood cancers, and the two individuals I've dedicated my training to.)
Every donation, no matter the amount, will help those running the truly long distances—those battling blood cancer. Thanks in advance for your generosity. And on behalf of the true marathoners, thank you, too.

writing

On Sunday morning, I was finishing up preparing a lesson for young womens. Michelle decided she needed paper like mine to write on. She first wrote Ella's name several times by herself. Then she wanted a big piece of paper to write on. With my help sounding out the words (but not actually telling her any of the letters) she wrote all of our names plus Dora and Isa. She was so proud that she had to take her paper to church and show all of the young women. (She had a yucky cold so I didn't want her to go to primary and share with all of the kids. She did a pretty good job of being reverent while I taught the young women. And she thought she was pretty special to get to go to class with me. She and Ella sometimes come to the activities but never to class.)



Here she is, still in her nightgown, busily writing.
Her strip of paper with Ella written. She wrote this all on her own.
I'm impressed. She wrote her J backwards and one of the N's, but she's doing pretty well I think. My sweet girl.

new paint

We have decided to move Michelle and Ella downstairs and their current room will be the baby's room (since we only have 2 rooms upstairs). Since they are moving downstairs into what is actually the master bedroom, Alfredo said they could get new comforters and paint their room. So we painted Saturday. It is a very bright pink... about the same color as the sides of my blog. Here are a couple of shots of us painting...although Alfredo did almost all of it. I'll post more pics when we get their stuff moved downstairs and the room set up. I think it will be pretty cute. Michelle is especially excited. I'm a little nervous, but I think it will be okay.