TAKS TEST

The past two days we have given the TAKS test to our third graders. I swore my life away to the secrecy of the test and vowed not to look at it or inform anyone of the information on it....hmmm. Well, anyway, I'm tired of this silly test. On Tuesday, we gave the math test. Our "babies" spent 2-3 hours working on this test. I was blown away at the intensity of which they worked.....their little faces puzzled...stretching their little hands after using strategies...wondering when it's time for lunch....asking the most important question, "Aren't we having recess????"....work, work, work. Today we gave the reading test and they spent 3-4 1/2 hours. These kids are serious about this test and they don't want to disappoint anyone! I wanted to kick the test makers in the face. Why do they give a test that requires these children to sit for this length of time? Surely there is a better way to test them. Adults don't even sit for this length of time and work on anything. High school students who take SAT or ACT tests work for 3-4 hours...(I think). It is so much stress on these kiddos. I realize there must be a way to measure their knowledge, but it has gotten out of hand and from what I hear, the test will change and become even harder. Surely there is a way to test in a shorter amount of time! Funny thing is....we usually know who will pass it before the test is even passed out for them to take! The new test will be called STAR...I believe. We shall see what the STARs have in store for us!

Hillary's Shower for Denton

Denton Karl Thom....due to arrive the last of June! We can't wait for him to join our family! Cari bought beautiful flowers in Austin and made the cute initials! Leanne Jackson make an adorable and delicious cake! Gina's punch was a BIG hit!

Two adorable girls....Madilyn Bryce Thom...she'll be the big sister and Averi Grace Poe...she'll have a new cousin!

Hillary and I.....She's so beautiful! She has that "motherly" glow! Lisa and Darlene enjoying some refreshments!

Cari helped Hillary record all her gifts. She got the cutest little boy clothes! He'll certainly be the best-dressed newborn boy in town!

Maddie and Averi enjoyed holding Tristin! He'll have a playmate soon!

Gina (aka...Aunt Jeanie...as Maddie calls her) enjoying some time with the little ones.

Hillary and Dennis....both so thankful for all their gifts for little Denton!

Dillan's Prom

This was Dillan's first prom and he asked Megan Massingill to go to the prom with him. Megan was expecting Dillan to pick her up at 4:45, BUT Dillan didn't get home from Lubbock...where he had gone for cotton judging (where the team won 8th in State!) until 4:15. He went to his dad's to get his tux and went to the Bottlinger's to get Charlie's King Ranch truck and finally got to the house at 4:35 to get ready!

He jumped in the shower and got his tux on. Cari was a great help with his cuff links and hair! She dried his hair while I put on his tie while he was buttoning his shirt!!!!

It was a group effort, but we got him out of the house in 10 minutes!!!! He headed to Megan's lookin' pretty good!

Megan looked adorable! I can't believe they are old enough to go to the prom!

They all decided to eat at Storm's due to lack of time to go anywhere else! As Dillan backed out of Megan's drive, he backed up and reminded me he needed $$$$ to eat! Thank goodness they were only going to Storm's.....I didn't have that much cash with me! Here he is with Megan, Nic, and Maura. An entire crew of Juniors joined them at Storm's.

Dillan threw in a few poses for me. He's such a funny fella!

Actually....Nic and Megan are dating! But Dillan loves Nic, too!!!!!

I had to leave for work, but Cari and Hillary went to the Grand March to get more pictures! It was fun to see them all dressed up! I find it hard to believe they will be Seniors next year! It has been a fun group of kids to watch grow up!!!

Mama Cox's Buttermilk Pie

Over the Easter weekend I pulled out a frozen buttermilk pie that I had baked at Christmas and then frozen "for later". Well...noone touched it! So I kept two pieces and gave the rest to Cari and Kevin....telling them to take a piece to Dillan. Our two pieces were eaten last night. Dillan came by this morning on his way to school and wanted pie for breakfast...for some reason he hadn't gotten his pie from Cari (????). So I promised him a pie for dessert tonight. This is my grandmother's recipe and it is delicious and super easy. I doubled the recipe and it gave me 3 pies. I usually make my own crust, but because of time and convenience I used a Marie Callender's frozen crust today! I'll give the recipe for a single pie. Like I said, I doubled the recipe and made three pies. They freeze well. Just let them cool and wrap them in foil. Stick them in your freezer and enjoy later. I always think, "If you're gonna make one, you might as well make 2 or 3!"

Cream 1 stick of (real) softened butter with 2 cups of sugar.

Add 3 heaping tablespoons of flour and continue to mix.

Beat in 3 eggs (mine came from the Evanson's. Aren't they beautiful?).

Add two teaspoons of vanilla. I've used all my Mexican vanilla, which I love!

Add 1 cup of buttermilk and mix well.

Pour into an unbaked 9 inch pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes.

Enjoy your pie..........It is a real treat!

Mama Cox's Buttermilk Pie Recipe

1 stick butter

2 cups sugar

3 heaping Tbl. flour

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter, sugar, and flour. Add other ingredients. Mix well. Pour in an unbaked 9 inch crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Steps for a fun Easter Weekend

1. Play a game of basketball....get all hot and sweaty! 2. Have a picnic! My grandkids love to have picnic in Nana's backyard. We had grilled cheese sandwiches, Chex mix, mandarin oranges and a root beer. Denver wore an old wig for the occasion!

3. Go to the Polster's for a "reproduction" lesson! They have a pond with two frogs mating and a whole pond full of frog eggs!

Momma and Daddy frog getting it on!

4. Take lots of pictures while playing in the driveway!

5. Learn to ride a bike! Donald taught Denver how to ride a bike and he really took off on it! He had a few "ouchies" from falling, but he really did a great job!

6. Paint Easter eggs! We boiled about 3 dozen eggs and they were beautiful once we colored them.

We even had company! Bella came over for a lesson in coloring eggs...unfortunately she got some of the dye on her dress. Sorry Alyssa!

Averi and Maddie as they colored eggs.

Results of a good time! It took lots of Ajax to get our fingers clean!

7. Get all the cousins together! Tristin loves his older cousins!

8. Make homemade cinnamon rolls with the girls! This was so much fun and Averi and Maddie were very helpful!

9. Go outside to get a little sunshine! Tristin loves to go outside! Cari will be quite busy this summer!

10. Have an Easter egg hunt and inspect all the goodies! We got all the eggs hunted just before I went to Crossfire to work! I hope everyone had a blessed Easter! As you can see...I did!

Making Cinnamon Rolls

There is nothing better than homemade cinnamon rolls. I have to confess...It has been years since I've made any. But I had all the grandkids with me Saturday morning and we decided it was the perfect morning to get flour all over the kitchen and ourselves.

Denver didn't care to help, but Averi and Maddie loved getting on the stool and helping Nana roll out the dough.
Tristin didn't know what to think about all the chattering!

Averi helped me ice the baked cinnamon rolls. We had been waiting 2 hours for this!

And the finished product......

This recipe came from my dear friend, Beverly Phillips. It is really easy and delicious!

Beverly's Cinnamon Rolls

2 T sugar

6 T shortening

1 tsp salt

Mix together until smooth.

Stir 1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk into above mixture.

Mix 2 packages dry yeast into mixture.

Add 4 cups flour and mix with wooden spoon.

Cover with damp cloth and let rise until double or about 30 minutes.

Take half the dough and roll out flat on floured surface.

Pour 1/3 stick melted butter over dough and spread.

Cover with sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up and slice. (Repeat for other 1/2 of dough) Put in pan and let rise 30 min. Bake 10-15 min. at 375 degrees.

Ice immediately!

Beverly's Butter Icing

1/4 cup soft butter

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 T cream or milk

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Mix in order given. Beat on medium speed until thick enough to spread - more cream or sugar may be added to give desired consistency.

After cinnamon rolls are iced....eat immediately! These are best with a glass of cold milk or cup of coffee. But they are especially delicious when shared with someone you love!

Enjoy!

Gone too soon

My heart is heavy tonight. I just learned that a former student/friend has died. Denial....Oh, no...are you sure? It couldn't be true.....But it is. A young man is gone. I taught him in 3rd grade...he was only my daughter's age. I was in the play, Dearly Beloved, with him. He was funny and happy and had ambition. He had gone from being one of my students to a friend. I'm so sorry for his family. I'm glad he was my friend. I'm glad I got to spend some of his last days with him. I have happy memories.

The other young man who was killed was married to one of my former students. My heart is breaking for his family...for his young wife and child.

I pray for these families...for peace and for understanding.