Hamptons

I just got back from a work related retreat in the Hamptons. The home that we stayed in was huge, but also very warm and filled with tons of those oversized couches and armchairs that you could just nap in for days (which we all did), and the owner of the home was an incredible host that basically fed all 12 of us around the clock. Their son is a musical prodigy that attends Juilliard, and the family runs a camp for his classmates each summer out of this house. We stayed in the wing that houses these Juilliard kids, so it was funny to go to sleep in a room of 3 bunkbeds each. It felt like I was back at a high school church camp again. The only downfall was the ice, which covered their street, the path to the beach(and the ocean as well, in the shallow zones), and their hilly driveway. I have many battle scars on my body proving that ice and my feet just don't agree. I gave up eventually and slid down as many hills as I could. We all did. I'm glad to be home now and back with Scott, but all in all, it was a pretty okay way to spend the weekend.

Mrs. DeVore

If you ever want to hear the truth, ask a child. Luckily, I have 9 of them in my class that speak the ultimate truth....they call me pretty. No truer words were ever spoken.
(To translate the blury writing, the above picture says: I love Mrs. DeVore. She is lovely. She is for God. She is Mrs. DeVore. She is pretty. She is funny. She is filled with lots of love.")

(My right arm is on a diet, and my left shoulder may have a tumor...not sure...)

CT and a Play

If I waited for Scott to finish his post on pictures from Fl, then this blog might not get updated for quite some time. Therefore, I'm skipping him. Maybe that post will show up later, if he ever gets inspired....

I started work almost immediately after we returned from our vacation. Work took me out to the beautiful state of Connecticut this past week. It was the first time I had ever taken the Metro North train, or been to CT. I don't hate either one.

The houses in Greenwich are beautiful.





Scott woke up before the sun rose the other morning (I know, I'm in shock too) and met up with his buddy Thad. Together they waited for tickets to a play called Hair, which was held in the outdoor theater of Central Park. They got them! Thad's friend Bryce was one of the stars, so it was fun to sip wine out of our plastic cups and watch him do his thing. They don't allow you to take pictures there. People are hired just to watch for law breakers like myself, and if they catch you, they check your camera for the pictures and make you delete them. I got busted, but since my camera is on my phone, I played it off like I was just searching for a signal. Here's my money shots (they are pretty blurry, the guard was right next to us and it made me nervous. No way was he touching my iphone!)

Memorial Day

The (little) ladies and I had a fabulous tea party at Alice's, on the Upper East Side, this weekend.





Then I met back up with Scott and we headed down to Battery Park City, where the Wolma's live. Cole and Raymond came down too. The area we had our picnic in reminded me of a scene from You've Got Mail.




You can see the World Trade Center construction site pretty clearly these days. Here's what it looks like as of Memorial Day.




Dana posted a pretty sweet discussion that she had with her son Jonathan concerning this site. Read it here if you have the time.

Write this down

Our new address as of today:

DeVores

546 Main Street #1005

NY, NY 10044

Send baked goods, gift cards, and/or money...now.

Also, a HUGE thanks goes out to the sweet families (of the school I teach at) that live on Roosevelt Island with us. We are going to one's house for a homecooked welcoming dinner tonight, and for the next 2-3 nights, dinner is being brought over by others. Do not let this stop those of you who live in FL or other parts of Manhattan from sending items though......we do not discriminate against "non-islanders."

~Amy~

Auction

Tonight was my (Amy’s) school’s annual auction at the Union Club. Our auction speaker this year was Kathy Lee, as in, Regis and Kathy circa the 1990’s. She was actually a great speaker and spoke on the importance of Faith-she even poked fun of herself a bit with tabloid rumors based on her life. Scott’s photography services were bid on several times, his business cards were grabbed up by people I had never seen before, and most importantly, the school raised a pretty decent amount to help with the coming year. If any parents are reading this, and you were one who bid on a house in the Hamptons, or perhaps the private plane, I’m open to traveling, just throwing that out there….

Faith like a child

Today while walking my class to their favorite home away from home, the gym, one of my boys saw a sign being held by a homeless man stating "God isn't real, give to me and not the church." My boy looked confused, but I didn't think anything of it, because he is naturally a deep thinker type with odd facial expressions, until we crossed the street and he reached out to take my hand. He says to me: "Mrs. DeVore, that guy is SOOO wrong, and do you know how I know?" "How" I asked, holding my breath for the answer, because really, with 7 year olds, you never really know...."because, the Bible is thousands of pages long, and who would waist their time writing that much stuff if it wasn't even true?!" His face was one of pure horror and shock combined. I thought for a minute and then all I could say to this 7 year old with wide eyes was, "good point love, good point."

Room With a View

The thing about NYC is that there is never enough room. People live in apartments that are 400 sq ft or less, 2-4 siblings share one bedroom, and schools such as mine share space with a Baptist Church. My classroom is held in the church's nursery, which means that every Friday afternoon all of my stuff goes into storage, and out comes the cribs, toys, and highchairs. I need to be thankful though, because I am one of the few teachers who actually have their own room. Others have to share with another grade using only a thin divider in between. My room is also the largest, plus boasts the best views due to a full wall of windows. Here it is, my classroom, home of the 2nd grade at The Geneva School of Manhattan.



12 little chairs for 11 little students



Lots of room to spread out on the floor for reading



Our Library, displaying artwork and silly stories from our first day of school today.



The view from the window ledge seat



View from my desk-Starbucks



The view from my rocking chair-Carnegie Hall. Not too shabby.