10 pts if you remember his name without looking!

I didn't make this cupcake; a mom brought it in for Beauty and the Beast fairy tale Friday. I got to eat it, though, and can tell you pretty much what the components are. It seems pretty simple! Since I assume most of you can follow cake mix directions to make a chocolate cupcake I'll just list what each part is.

Base: Chocolate cupcake, orange frosting
Mouth: Twizzlers Pull n' Peel
Nose: Orange Smartie
Eyes: Squished marshmallows and chocolate pieces
Eyebrows, moustache: Black frosting
Hair: Flattened tootsie rolls, almond sliver

SUPER cute and the kids loved it! Bless this mother who made 30 of these cupcakes to be devoured in minutes! Oh, and by the way they were YUMMY!

Consideration

Considerate people...

1) Think about the people in the house they're visiting. Are they going to bed? What do you do? (HINT: The answer is NOT make fun of them for going to bed and then stay up as late and be as loud as you want.)

2) Plan things ahead of time. I don't care how cute he is, how fun the activity, how many people you invited. If you don't ask the parents/grandparents/roomates ahead of time, don't expect them to be happy when you steamroll over them.

3) Listen when said people/parents/grandparents/etc. complain, and don't do it again. Otherwise they will have to smack you.

4) DO NOT pretend you want to spend time with relatives when all you want is a place to sleep. They will inevitably leave their whole day open in case you want to do something, then be disappointed when you shop, visit other people, shop, eat out, visit other people, and crash at their house. Also they will fix you meals that you won't eat. This usually leads to leftovers that get too mushy and icky to eat.

5) DO NOT act as if an employee is stupid. Unless they are directly and verbally insulting you (i.e.: "Hey, you ugly lady with the stupid order!") or giving you the finger there is no call for it. It doesn't help them help you any better, and makes them want to foul up your order/appointment/kid just because you're a jerk.

6) DO NOT call people out on Facebook. Just don't do it. Nobody else wants to hear about how so-and-so is an idiot and insulted whoshisface in third grade and dunked your dolly in the toilet. If you have a problem, talk to the person face-to-face. Calmly is usually good. The internet blows everything up, and unless your an egocentric bonehead you'll regret having posted in your time of anger.

7) Reply to messages. Even if it's a "Hey, I got this and I'm thinking about how to reply to you." Otherwise the sender will resend the message. And send it to your alternate email. And Facebook you. And hunt down your physical address and send you a letter. And Facebook your friends to tell you to reply to them. And email you again.

8) Say things nicely. There ARE nice ways to say, "I think that dress is hideous on you" without going, "OMG THAT DRESS MAKES YOU LIKE LIKE A FAT COW!" And better ways to say "I disagree" than saying, "What is WRONG with you?! Do you have a BRAIN? You have got to be the stupidest person I have ever met!"

9) DO NOT guilt people into doing things. This is hard, because the guilter often doesn't realize they're doing it. If they don't want to do something, moaning about how much you've done for them and how they can't do this LITTLE THING and how you just feel SO BAD and they can't help you and the whole family thinks they're a recluse...it doesn't make them want to do it more, and really just makes them feel annoyed.

10) Compliment people! If you think a girl looks pretty today or a color looks good on a guy, TELL THEM! They won't hate you for it, and it just might make their day.

11) Consider where the other person is coming from. When you complain all day about how people stay on their cell phones, baby their kids too much, are senile, etc. the end result is a lack of empathy on your part, a feeling of betrayal on the part of anyone who relates in any way to your 'victim,' and the general wish on the part of anyone who is listening to stuff your mouth with old socks.

12) DO NOT use "individualism" as an excuse to be rude. Sorry, but being yourself is not a good thing if who you are is an a---er, a jerk wad.

13) DO NOT bring up things said in confidence in a public conversation. Or post them. Anywhere. It's not always easy to tell if the conversation you've had with someone is something they want kept in confidence, so before you relate your hilarious anecdote, think. If your positions were reversed, would you want them to tell this? Is there any possibility you should ask them before telling? More to the point, are you okay with them telling everyone about the time you were in high school and stalked the lacrosse team captain only to throw up on his shoe? Because payback is awful.

14) Apparently always end their lists with 13 useful things and one that they're too tired to think up, but 13 is a horrible number. Right? Right.

*Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a wholly considerate person. I'm still working on it. :-)

10 (or however many) Things I've Learned From Teaching Kindergarten.

...Or stream of consciousness type thingie.

1. Germs. They are real. And evil. EVIL!

2. Nosebleeds seem to be contagious. Either that, or somebody is punching somebody.

3. Kids have no fear. Their idea of a perfect recess game is "Let's run through the play area with this rope stretched between us and see how many people we can knock down!"

4. Kids are so much more patient than I am with each other. They don't mind helping the girl who can only use half her body do things over and over, and they teach each other well.

5. If there is a way to draw on it, they will draw on it.

6. Hand sanitizer is slippery. Especially on the floor.

7. Whining. Don't do it.

8. It's better to try your best and do it wrong than to sit there and not do anything.

9. If you do it wrong, big erasers are magical.

10. Ticonderoga pencils stink.

11. If you have to sharpen a pencil 10 times a day, you need a new pencil. Or to stop drawing on things!

12. Teachers have to have an iron stomach. If it can come out of your body, I've had to clean it up. Or at least keep kids away from it until the custodian comes.

13. No matter how slow, defiant, mischievous, smart-alecky, loud, soft, etc. the child...they can always worm their way into your heart and make you want to make their world better for years to come.

14. 13 is not an unlucky number...right.

First Week

I started work at EC on Tuesday, and I must say I'm enjoying my job very much! I'm working in the Kindergarten with Mrs. T. She has 30 students per class, which makes 60 students total. I monitor student progress, take over in a pinch, and prepare any materials needed for lessons. The kids are sweet, and the work is right up my alley. The hours are nice, too. ;-)

Sunday I was called to be a ward missionary, and I'm a little nervous about it. Hopefully I'll do my best and it will be enough. I find out who my companion is tomorrow!

Tuesday, as you know, I started my job. It went fantastically, but towards the end of the day I started on a headache. Being the silly that I am, I hadn't brought any ibuprofen. By the time I started to drive home, I had a roaring migraine. The combination of stress, little sleep, no lunch and little water brought me to a fog of pain that made it very hard to drive. I was literally praying that I'd be able to make it home without an accident. Coming home, I was so much in pain! Nothing made it better, so I finally asked Andrew to give me a priesthood blessing. He called a brother across the way, and after the blessing I was finally able to sleep. A few hours sleep fixed me up just fine. Thank Heaven for the power of the priesthood, and that Andrew was home and able to give me the blessing!

You may be wondering about the balloon pig. ;-) Fridays in Mrs. T's class are Fairy Tale Fridays. We get to have a parent come in, read a story and do an activity with the class. In the morning the parent made stick puppets with the kids. They had so much fun! This was their first time using liquid glue, however, and the parent didn't take into account...well...let's just say we had a bit of a mess! ^_^ In the afternoon, a mom came in and made balloon pigs, read the story and had the kids make faces on their own balloons. So much fun!