Mike and Sarah

Every year Macy's in downtown Minneapolis puts together an elaborate holiday display on their 8 th floor. I lived in Minnesota for 13 years and seeing this holiday display was something we did every year!! Now that I am all grown up, it isn't always on the list of things to do anymore over the holidays. Luckily, my friend Erin suggested we go together this year! The theme this year was A Day in the Life of an Elf , which was advertised as "back by popular demand, meaning it was the same display as last year. This made me quite sad because, despite their efforts to make it seem exciting and popular, I think everyone knew this was most likely the result of the lack of budget everyone is facing these days. Nonetheless, I was still happy to see all the families in line with us we shuffled our way through. It's a great tradition and certainly brings back wonderful memories for me =). I thought this part was super cute. This is Santa's "mail room"! The el...

So many parents ask me what they can be doing with their kids at home to support what we are doing at school. Well, to be honest, one of the best things you can do besides reading is writing! People seriously underestimate the power of writing with kids. I know it may sound like an ancient activity to parents who only use computers, but your child is writing everyday at school. So, here are some ideas for writing with your child at home: - write their name (most kids should be able to write a close version of their name by age 4) -make a list (grocery list, weekend activities, what they'd like to do with the babysitter that night) - letters/cards to grandparents (we all know these don't have to be lengthy, grandparents will love them) - Write a letter to Santa! When writing at home, encourage your child to use their sounds to identify letters or words. When they are unable to identify the correct letter, help them by saying the sound of the letter, then the letter (b..b..b t...

Our 3rd full fay in Maui was much better than the 2 nd . The bike ride down Haleakala was another must do in Hawaii, so we decided to add it to our list. We were picked up at a local Starbucks and brought to the debriefing area where they gave you some really cool wind breaker type clothes because it can get really chilly on the top of the mountain (and by really cool, I mean bright yellow tarp like clothing that made it difficult to move). We also had to watch a video about the bikes, safety, and how dangerous it is to bike down the mountain. Hmm , bright plastic clothing and danger around ever turn... we were set! We rode a van to the top of the mountain and quickly learned this was going to be a great experience. We had dressed warm enough s o we didn't need the tarp clothes and our tour guide was great! Our group had about 12 people, and we were the only newlyweds! We arrived at the top of the mountain where they gave us some time to sight see. This is called a Silversword...

... having a supportive family is key. Since we had Mike's parents here this weekend, I felt this newlywed truth was appropriate. As we were planning our wedding I can't tell you how many times Mike and I would pause and say to each other, "our families are amazing." Painting is only the beginning! We have many milestones still ahead and look forward to sharing all of them with our great families. We love you!!

Mike parents left early on Sunday because there was snow predicted for the day. Once they left, we quickly went to work putting everything back in its respectful place. After that, it was my turn to break out some of the new decorating items I purchased during the shopping excursion the day before. We chose Toasted Almond for the walls and painted the entry way, hallway, kitchen, and living area. It's crazy what a difference a little tint of color can make. One of my purchases was the new chalkboard dots above the cabinets. They are 17" circles which is perfect for that space. You can't see it but I wrote Merry Christmas and drew winter pictures in them =). No more huge white wall! It is now Blue Tang . We weren't too sure how it would turn out because the first coat actually matched the blue painters tape, yikes! But after the second coat and moving the furniture back we are getting used to it. The rest of the decorations are now on top of the entertainment unit. ...

We celebrated the beginning of our break by welcoming Mike's parents to town. We called them about a week ago to tell them we had an itch to do some painting in our apartment (it was just too white!). They decided they were up for the challenge and graciously made the 5 hour trek to Iowa to help. Although I was fully prepared to roll on some paint, the boys told us the best thing we could do for them was to occupy ourselves outside of the apartment. Well, our arms didn't take much twisting, so off to the mall it was for Patty and I! We had so much fun and not only did we help our boys out, we also helped the economy too! We made it back just in time to watch the blue paint go on our accent wall. We broke open a bottle of wine and took the role as official "ooh" and "ahh"ers while they painted. Takin' a little rest while the paint dried... they did a great job! Once the painting was finished, we all washed up and enjoyed a night out on the town.

The day before winter break is always exciting! Each year, we gather in the gym for our annual Winter Sing. 600 kids packed in a gym and they all know the words to about 10 winter/holiday songs... always makes me cry!! Happy winter break to all the teachers out there! You definitely deserve the break!

We officially have one day left of school and then two blissful weeks off! They will be a full 2 weeks, busy yet restful at the same time. Up first on the agenda................ Paint the apartment! stay tuned =) Just a little shout out to my great friend Ashley... ahhh remember college when they gave you 3 weeks off for all the "hard" work you did during the sememster. Yeah...me too, I definitely worked harder then, than I do now... sense the sarcasm ... love you Ash (and miss ya too)!

One of our favorite wedding gifts has been our Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker. I know, this makes us sound old, but honestly... it's amazing. Mike and I are really big fans of anything that requires minimal effort and produces wonderful food, hehe. Sundays are our favorite days to make something in the crock pot, mostly because we can then feast on leftovers for the week. Below I've written out the best resipe we've found for pot roast in the crock pot. I'll tell you this right now... when you make it... it'll taste so good, you won't say a word during dinner! Crock Pot Roast 1 Chuck Roast 5-6 potatoes Carrots Celery 1 can of beef stock 1 package of Dry French Onion Soup mix Prep.: Brown meat on all sides in a skillet Cut vegetables into edible sizes- We used one head of celery and 3/4 of a bag of baby carrots, you can add more if it'll fit in the pot and you enjoy vegetables (don't add less though because you need the flavor) Peel potatoes Place browned ...

Author Spotlight Mo Willems I simply cannot say enough about this incredibly clever and talented author. He is the author of numerous children's books inlcuding, my personal favorites; Knuffle Bunny (awarded a Caldecott honor in 2005) and Knuffle Bunny Too . Other series include, The Pigeon series and Elephant and Piggie series. Willems offers easy to read books that spark a high level of interest motivating even the most reluctant young readers. My first graders absolutely love anything written by this fantastic author. Aside from writing, Mo Willems also has impressive artistic talent. I am so excited to share that I have recently discovered Mo Willems doodle blog: http://mowillemsdoodles.blogspot.com/ If you are looking to add new books to the bookshelf this holiday season, which I highly recommend you do, you can't go wrong with Mo Willems!

We had a great weekend with our friends in Des Moines. We went to a new bar (well, new to us) called Heroes. Basically, it is a great place because the DJ takes requests (and I make a lot of requests). Lots of dancing, great times! On Sunday, Mike and I spent a good amount of time cleaning our apartment. I consider myself pretty lucky to have a husband who splits the cleaning duties with me! I do have to say, I am a master at cleaning bathrooms- thanks to a high school summer job I had cleaning bathrooms at the amusement park, Valleyfair! Mike is a great duster and can vacuum with the best of them =). We are very excited for this week to be over, being the last week before winter break. We are looking forward to spending the holidays with our families and having a little time off. T- 4 days... but who's counting!

On the second day of our honeymoon we decided to venture to the other side of the island of Maui to experience The Road to Hana, a Hawaiian adventure we were told we had to do. As we left the resort side of the island, we noticed the weather changed quite a bit... the beautiful blue skies over our hotel changed to huge gray clouds. This was the point in our adventure where I had the feeling things would not go as planned. Now, the Road to Hana is supposed to be a gorgeous long winding road through one of the most scenic parts of Maui. Well , we made it about half way. Why you ask.... because it was freakin' raining. Yup...in Hawaii...raining...the whole time. We did find a neat little garden type area where we stopped to get some pictures. I wrote the place off quickly because I asked the man at the entrance if it was a nice day yesterday and he said, "oh yeah, we had nothing but sunshine all day." great thanks a lot We were able to take a few pictures, but you can e...

In an attempt to give some consistency to my blogging, Mike suggested that I have a couple staple posts. Since this is an attempt at a newlywed blog, I've decided to give newlywed truths a try. Newlywed truth #2... let things go... While chatting tonight, I asked Mike if he felt we had learned anything substantial during our 4 months of marriage. His response, " we've learned to let things go ." This is so true so I will do my best to try and explain. Mike and I have been together for 6 years and I can say in those 6 years, we definitely had our share of pointless arguments. The least effective part of pointless arguments is they reach a point where you don't know what you're arguing about anymore. The worst part of pointless arguments is they can ruin your plans (I know anyone reading this who's been in a relationship knows what I'm talking about). I'm not quite sure why this was but I honestly think a lot of it had to do with maturity. During ...

We were sitting on the couch after dinner last night, around 7pm, and noticed that the School Closings ticker said that my school district was closed. We were a bit confused because it was a little late to still be posting information for the current day. Mike said, "grab the computer and check our websites." Sure enough... both districts were closing for another snow day!! We must have checked the sites and the calendar about 50 times before we believed what we were seeing! Two days in a row, this is crazy! This is our courtyard, usually you can see about a 1 1/2 feet of the building. Oh the weather outside is frightful... A weekend in the middle of the week is nothing to complain about... however, we're both excited about going back to work tomorrow. It's funny though, after two days of literally being by each others side every minute... I think we're going to miss each other =). Luckily, our students keep us quite busy during the day!

This picture was taken from our window so it's not too clear. In the distance, you can see the river. One of the elements that made today so dangerous was the wind. There have been times where the wind picked up and we couldn't even see across the courtyard. This is the walkway from the street to our courtyard. I took the picture so you could see how much the snow was drifting. It's pretty chilly too, needless to say we spent the day inside. One of our favorite snow day activities is making cookies! We took a precautionary trip to the grocery store on Tuesday night to make sure we had all the cookie essentials. I used to make cookies all the time with my mom, definitely a favorite childhood memory. I'm happy to say that Mike enjoys that my cookie making skills are quite refined from all my experience. I look forward to the day we make cookies on snow days with little ones =).

After a blissful morning of sleeping in... we peaked outside to see that the snow indeed contiued to fall overnight. All the news reports are saying " stay in, don't go ANYwhere." Our thoughts on this... no problem! A glimpse of Vine Street just outside our building on December 9th, 2009. Something totally random and ironic... the 6th Harry Potter movie was released on DVD yesterday. This is interesting to us because when the 5th Harry Potter movie was released about 2 years ago we had a snow day too!! So, of course, we are absolutely thrilled to have yet another snow day to fully enjoy the new movie! Harry Potter... one of our fave's... we'll probably watch it at least 2 times today!

... we drink. I'd like to point out this is not true for all teachers, but when you're 25, a newlywed, no kids, and live in an apartment near one of your closest friends who has a snow day too... you drink. After an hour or so of looking at nothing but the news stations School Closings ticker, our wishes came true... no school for both of us! So we called our friend, Ojash over to begin the festivities. Thanks to an iphone app., we learned of a fantastic game called Find the Water, which consists of a small cup for each person. One contains water and the others contain a grown up drink resembling water (ps. there was a warning on this game app that it'll do the trick quite quick... imagine that!). So Mike took the liberty of serving up the first couple rounds. Now... one would think being the server would give you a slight advantage in this game but Mike proved this assumption wrong. After 6 rounds, Mike was only able to Find the Water once... poor guy. Ojash and I did o...

Mike and I are eagerly awaiting the announcement telling us whether tomorrow will be a snow day or not. Des Moines received about 5 inched of snow throughout the day today and they are predicting possible twice that amount overnight. Snow day... we shall see. Unforunately, school districts are notorious for taking their own sweet time with the official call so we may not even know until very early tomorrow. Just to prepare, we're making Puppy Chow tonight, wouldn't want to have a snow day without Puppy Chow would we?

Skiing in Duluth, MN We finally got our first big snowfall here in Des Moines and it looks like more is coming! Being a Minnesota girl, I absolutely love the first snow fall. It's so peaceful and brings back many memories. Mike's favorite snow memory is playing snow football as a little kid. Fortunately, he was able to continue this in college with an annual snow football tournament with his fraternity brothers. I'm glad that this is a happy memory for Mike because all it brings back for me is nerves... 20+ grown boys playing football in the snow and ice with no padding and various football skills... not so fun for your girlfriend! My favorite memory of snow was building a huge fort with my dad when I was younger. It was awesome... we even put Christmas lights in the snow so it glowed. It was the talk of the neighborhood. We hear there's more snow coming tonight and into tomorrow... this could mean a snow day for both of us! Not sure if we'll be that lucky though =...

Last night we went out with some friends in Des Moines and discovered that one of our favorite bands was playing! Tripping Billies is a Dave Matthews cover band and they come into town every once in a while. We didn't even know there were here so it was a pleasant surprise. We did miss the first set but we got in for free, so it wasn't so bad. The band travels all over the midwest and they put on a great show.

I can honestly say the hardest thing for Mike and I as newlyweds has been cooking meals for each other. We both grew up in households where our parents did all of the cooking. So aside from the totally easy list of things to make (mac and cheese, grilled cheese, etc.) we really don't have too many fully cooked meals under our belts. On top of all of these things, Mike is a super picky eater, so this adds an additional challenge to finding recipes for meals that will actually be eaten. Tonight I served Roman Style chicken courtesy of Ms. Giada De Laurentis. I've been wanting to try it for a while and finally did it! It was a huge success!!! We even had our friend Ojash over to dine with us since most recipes are fit for 4+ and we always end up with some left over. The boys were so kind to give the meal 4 out of 5 stars! If you'd like to make Roman Stly Chicken, click on the title of this post. Something to note: I used only boneless skinless breasts and green peppers inst...

It's not always that exciting! Mike and I are being super exciting tonight and... sitting on the couch and talking. To give you all an even cooler mental image... we're not even drinking grown up drinks... sweeeeeeet... we know =). Anyways, we got on the subject of wrestling. Living in the great state of Iowa where wrestling is huge we, non-native Iowans, have both decided that we do not understand this phenomenon. I just can't seem to get on board with the idea that young boys have to pay such close attention to their weight. I can't imagine what that must do to them during such an image-conscious time in their lives. Mike responded to this by bringing up the point that for many years, no one thought of the mental aspect of the training that goes along with wrestling... only the athletic part of it. This I understand, all sports have their grueling truths about them that you can't quite understand unless you have actually experienced them. What spor...

So... I was totally going to write my first cooking post, but our dinner plans changed, so, I'll share some pics from the honeymoon! The Monday after the wedding Mike and I hopped on a plane to Maui, HI! Hawaii was actually a pretty easy choice for us. We both had never been before and figured we wouldn't have a chance again for a long time, so... Hawaii it was! @ the Minneapolis airport... thoughts on this day... my oh my do we need a vacation! The view from our hotel... it was incredible. Both of us have taken tropical vacations before but I don't think any of the places we've been are as beautiful as Hawaii. The most amazing thing is the trees have these gorgeous flowers blooming all over and a constant breeze so literally everywhere you go smells incredible! Our first day... couldn't have asked for better weather. Thoughts on this day... actually Mike and I didn't do much thinking or talking on this day... we had been on wedding overload for so long we were...

We need some help!! So... Mike and I really love our apartment. It's in downtown Des Moines, so close to everything yet far enough away from both of our schools that we don't run the risk of running into students or parents on a regular basis ( yes, you have to think about these things when both you and your husband are teachers ). We have plenty of space, great friends nearby, and lots of things to do. All that aside ... we need some decorating tips!!! Our entryway... probably the best dressed part of the apartment. The basket says Merry Christmas (obviously a seasonal thing) but we usually have a fancy bowl there to house our keys and junk. Trouble spot #1- This random window!! We want something unique but also functional... and can never decide on anything! Trouble spot #2- Our HUGE wall!! If take a look at yesterday's post, you'll see our "busy" wall that houses our entertainment center, table, and currently our Christmas tree. Welcome to the other ...

It is officially our first Christmas season as a married couple! As we were decorating together tonight I had to laugh to myself because last year at this time, when we were engaged, I remember thinking, "I can't wait until next year to celebrate our first married Christmas together." Now it's here... crazy how time flies! Someday we'll have a real tree... but for right now... this is perfect... Mike did a great job spreading the branches out just right. So festive... we really are quite proud of ourselves... time for some hot cocoa, a good book, and some snuggle time!

Ahh... the Monday after a break. Mondays in the teaching world can be rough. For me it means some of my first graders have gone through 48 hours of very little structure in their lives and for Mike, in the middle school world, it can mean... 100+ kids who did not get enough sleep! The Mondays after 3+ days off however... let's just say it can be 3x worse! I do, however, love hearing my kids stories from break. One boy was trying very hard to explain some special pie his grandmother makes. After a good 2 minutes (which is long when you have 20 more students to listen to) of trying to get the details of this great pie, the story ended with an allergic reaction that made him sick!!! At the end of it all he said, "but don't worry Mrs. Pentek, I'm all better now!" ha! Luckily, a rough Monday makes coming home that much sweeter =). ... a few more wedding pictures to enjoy...

This picture made all of us laugh! It is a know fact in the Pentek family that Mike tends to stick to white food, even on holidays. Turkey, mashed potatoes, and rolls should always be placed near Mike on the table. Pat and Amy were fully prepared with 36 rolls for 12 people to eat during dinner!!!! Mmmmmmmm! We had 2 turkeys this year. Pat and Amy's traditional oven roasted turkey and Uncle Mike's deep fryed turkey. Both were delicious! Our lovely host couple, Pat and Amy, and their bird! They're so proud!! Obviously one tricky thing about being newlyweds is deciding which family to join for various holidays. This year, my family made it easy because they chose to head down to Florida for the Thanksgiving break... so we packed up the car on Wednesday afternoon and ventured to St. Charles, IL (Mike's hometown). A typical Thanksgiving with the Pentek's includes many family members mostly from Mike's moms side of the family and an occasional family or two from h...