Introducing: Mealtime Mondays!

Hey Guys! Ok, in spirit of getting back into

blogging, and a way to keep myself from getting out of control with loading you up on all my new products, I decided to start a new weekly linky! I introduce to you:

Mealtime Monday! 

This linky is designed to share fun and easy recipes of your favorite meals. I know I often find myself in a rut, cooking the same things week after week, so I thought it would be cool to see what other people are cooking and share some recipes of my own! It can be a recipe you found on pinterest, out of a cookbook, or a recipe shoved way at the bottom of your recipe box from your great grandma! :) Here's how you play: 1. Think of {or find} a fabulous easy meal you like to cook, or one you would like to try. 2. Post the recipe {and pictures if possible} of one {or all} of the courses of this meal, with step by step directions. You do not have to post every recipe of every course, you can just add the entree if you'd like, but at least tell us what you paired your entree with! :) You also do not have to make yours as elaborate as I did, I just thought it looked fun this way! :) I will keep the link open until Saturday since this is the first one, and I will try to remember to put the link back up every Monday! Here's my recipe for the week:

There you have it! So find your favorite recipe, and link up! :)

I hope you will join me at least a few times!

Return, Bloggy Makeover, and a Linky Party! :)

So, I know I haven't posted in almost 4 months, but school is out, I am finally starting to get back into the swing of things! That being said, I'm going to warn you up front, this post might be a little long and ridiculously random!

I can't even tell you how insane things have been around here. I honestly don't know how all you fabulous people keep up with it all because I know your lives have to be just as crazy if not crazier than mine! I have approximately 10 unfinished products that I have been dying to finish and post, but have been lucky to have 5 minutes to sit down these past few months. From wedding showers to life changing decisions I can't quite mention yet, my life has been a whirlwind of crazy. However, now that things are slowing down and the decision making process is now left up to God, I can finally start to breathe again! I apologize for my absence, but have made it my summer project to finish all of my products, create new ones, and keep up with my blog at LEAST once a week. Even though school will be out, as you know a teacher's work is never finished, so I will have plenty to share with you this summer!

In other news, if you have seen my blog before, you might have noticed that I finally got the perfect MAKEOVER! I cannot tell you how excited I am about it! After trying out a few different looks, I finally found the perfect place for my custom blog design, Honey Bunch Blog Design! I have to thank Erika and Misty for all of their AWESOME work! They took my vision of what I wanted to the complete next level and I love it! They were so awesome about responding quickly and even checked on me when I would go MIA for a few days! So if you are looking for a new custom design, you should definitely check them out!


Moving on, I wanted to let you in on some things that I will be posting within the next few weeks days. I am in the process of finishing 3 of my 10 as we speak, and hope to have the other 7 within the next few weeks. Now, for you lucky ducks who are already enjoying your summer breaks, you'll have to wait until next year for all of them, but those of you who still have a few days/weeks left, you may find some of these useful! :) This leads me to my next order of business...

I am linking up with Kim from Finding Joy in 6th Grade for her What Will YOU Do Differently?
Linky Party! Boy, is my list a mile long on this one! As most of you know, this year was a little challenging for me. There were days when I felt like the biggest loser and there are SO many things I want to do differently for next year. So, here it is, {which will lead into some of my product previews I was telling you about!}

I don't know about you, but this year I had a horrible time with keeping things consistent the whole year long. I always start these great ideas, like homework charts, reading logs, writing journals, etc...and for some reason they would fizzle out toward the middle of the year, or I would start something else instead. So, next year, I solemnly swear to actually finish all things I start! One thing I already have my eye on to help me with this new goal is Rebecca's Silly Dilly Caterpilly...Buggin' Over Sight Words unit! It looks so cute and will be a great way to get my little sweeties going with their sight words! I can't wait! 

With my crazy schedule and unusually-large-for-my-school class size, writer's workshop kinda fell to the wayside this year. This is something I feel like I really excelled in my first two years, so I am making it my mission to get back to that place, which leads me to one of my products I've been working on:

This Higher-Order Thinking writing journal will allow my kiddos to grow in their writing skills, create independent work for them while I am conferencing during writer's workshop, and hopefully help me work on my consistency! This will be available in my TpT store within the next week!

Have I mentioned how crazy things were for me this year?!? I can't tell you how many times we would get a project or activity all cleaned up and I would think to myself, "AHH! I forgot to take pictures!" OR how many seasonal activities I would take pictures of, with every intent of blogging them, and then the time warp would get the best of me, and all of a sudden it would be the next season, repeating the vicious cycle! So next year, I am going to try really hard to have that camera at my side at all times! :)

Self-explanatory, but this one is my biggest downfall. I can't tell you how many times I have sat down to blog and how many drafts I have in my post column. I just never seemed to find the time to finish anything! So, starting this summer, and leaking into next year, I am going to make a set time every day to sit down and work on products/blog posts, and not get up until I am finished! Here is a sneak peak of one of my products!

This is all finished, I just need to complete my Credits page, so this should be my next product on TpT! Since it's a monthly unit, you will all have to wait until next year, but it's never too early!! :)


Ok, whew! Better stop there before I get even more carried away! So there you have it, I hope you haven't given up on me! I promise I will be around much more this summer! So my friends, go link up with Kim, and keep checking back for more posts and more products! Happy Summer!

Spell It Out! Spelling Homework Menu

Hi Friends! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! I know I am!! I had "one of those weeks" and Hubs is off the whole weekend so it has been so nice to just sit home and relax with him! We even went on a dinner and movie date tonight! It was wonderful!!

Anyhoo I have been spending all some of my spare time working on getting more products on my TpT store and have finally posted my next product!

 



My Spelling Homework Menu packet is up! I cannot tell you how much my firsties LOVE this packet! They love being able to choose their own homework each night, and it makes them more excited about actually doing homework! :) Here are a few samples of what you will find in this packet:

 

 

Visit my TpT store to see more of this product! To snag a copy, click here!

 

Alright friends, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet and go enjoy the rest of my Saturday night with my sweet hubby! :)

 

I hope you all have a FABULOUS finish to your weekend, and stay tuned this week for more products! :)

 

Much love,

 

 

 

Superbowl, Sales, and Currently February

Happy Super Bowl, Friends! I'm up bright and early on a Sunday morning, and I actually feel GREAT! The hubby and I are having our first  little "party" as a married couple at our apartment today, and I couldn't be more excited! It's just a small get together with parents, siblings, and a few friends, but I love attending these sorts of things so I am very excited to finally be hosting one!
That being said, this is going to be a short post, so that I can finish getting things ready!

I'm sure you're all getting geared up for all the big TpT sales today, I know I am! I may be entertaining, but I have already warned everyone that once the food is out and the game is on, I will be disappearing for a while to do some serious shopping! There are so many great sales going on from some EXTREMELY talented ladies, so we are all guaranteed to snag some GREAT products for excellent prices! :)


Speaking of TpT, I still have TWO more copies of my Groundhog's Day unit to give away! I am working on a few other products at the moment, and hope to have them posted by the end of the week! Once I get more of my products up {that you can actually use this year!}, I will have an ACTUAL legit giveaway, I promise! :)


Ok, last but not least, I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for her Currently February Linky party! I tried to keep up with these in the past, but failed miserably, but now that I actually get how to do it, I am going to reeeally try to do all of them...we'll see!

 

Ok, there it is! I just LOVE these monthly linkies and really enjoy reading what everyone has to say...so go link up!!

Now, I REALLY need to get up out of this famous  

"hideous-but-ridiculously-comfy-chair-and-a-half", and get to the store! Enjoy the sales, and keep checking back for more TpT products!

 

Much Love,

The End to a Hectic Week, A Blast of Unexpected Snow, and a GIVEAWAY!

Wow! Where did all this snow come from?? I have to say, I was quite disappointed this morning when I heard the news of a SNOW DAY! Now normally, I am all about the snow days. I am usually that girl checking the news every morning in hopes of a snow storm somebody forgot to tell me about. However, today was going to be such a fun day! It is the end of Catholic Schools Week, so we were going to have a little "Sock-Hop" dance for the kiddos, AND we were supposed to have a teacher swap! The best part? The kids didnt know! It would have been so fun and my firsties are probably so disappointed to miss the sock-hop!

 

For the teacher swap, each teacher was placed in a grade level they were not quite familiar with. I was supposed to go to the 5th grade and the 3rd grade teacher was supposed to come to my room. I am DEFINITELY not familiar with 5th. Let me just tell you I have an ENORMOUS appreciation for all our 4th-9th grade teachers out there because I promise you I could NEVER do it! I think because I am not mature enough to handle the age group. All the attitudes and dirty looks, I'd just give it right back to them! {Which explains why I am in first, and not the upper grades!} So, the 5th grade teacher asked me to do something really kiddish with them to just have fun with and be little again. I decided to do a Groundhog Day mini-unit on making predictions {Even though now I will not get the chance to do it :(}. It also has a cute little craftivity in there. Which brings me to my next topic: A new item in my TpT store!

 

 

Now, this is my first item that will be for sale in my TpT store, so it might be a little rusty. I realize now it will be too late to use it, but you can always keep it for next year! Here is a little preview of what to expect in this mini-unit:

A fun Groundhog Craftivity!

"Do You Think The Groundhog Will See His Shadow?"


 

Some fun little worksheets to help them make predictions using their own words and pictures!

 

This will be up in my TpT store by the end of the day! AND since it's my very first product for sale, I will give THREE copies of this mini-unit to the first three comments before I post this in my store! Like I said, I know it's too late to use it now, but there's always next year! Just include your email address under your comment, and the first three will get this mini-unit for FREE! I know my blog is not very popular yet, so if you could spread the word, that would be FABULOUS! Thank you all so much, I truly couldn't do any of this without you! :)

 

Hope you are either enjoying your Friday at school or, if you're like me, in your PJs at home! Happy Weekend, Friends!

 

Much Love,

 

Linking Up With Love

Hi there, friends! I hope you all have had a fantastic weekend! It's crazy how quickly they zoom by, but there was no case of the usual Monday blues for this girl today! I for one was SO excited to go to school this morning! After being sick and quaratined for the greater part of last week, and taking care of a now sick husband all weekend, I was so ready to put make up on, actually fix my hair, and put on an outfit that does not involve sweat pants or a hood. {I know, what has gotten into me??} Further more, I am ready for a great week with my sweeties, and am so excited to share some of the new stuff I've been working on! This week is also Catholic Schools Week, which most teachers at my school tend to get put out with during all the schedule changes and hyperactivity-promoting activities we do, but I for one LOVE Catholic Schools Week! Yes, I will agree it gets a little agrivating to feel like you've gotten nothing accomplished and to have your students pumped up from all the excitement which once again causes you to get nothing accomplished, but honestly it's one week, the kids LOVE it, and it's a great week to celebrate our school and be thankful for their parents for sending them there! So don't get used to this, but I was actually EXCITED...on a MONDAY morning, to go back to WORK! Crazy, right??

Moving on, I am linking up with Tessa from Tales From Outside the Classroom for her Linking Up With Love Linky Party!

 

With all of the craziness of life, sometimes we forget to really sit down and appreciate God's blessings, both big and little. I don't know if it's the fact that it's almost Valentine's Day, being a newlywed, recent tragedies, or just plain old growing up, but I have spent the past few weeks REALLY thinking of and thanking God for how lucky I am. I have so much to be thankful for, and it's so easy to get caught up in all the "poor pitiful me" moments in life that I don't take enough time to really cherish all of the blessings in my life...until now! So just as a little disclaimer: this post may be a little on the mushy side, and with that, maybe a little long! :)

 

Here are just a few of MANY things that I love about my life and am so thankful for!

 

 

1. My crazy, silly, wonderfully beautiful family.

I would be absolutely nothing without the love and support of these amazing people. Since we're all growing up, spreading out, and moving on, large family pictures are hard to come by, so I will just share a few random smaller group shots! {Keep in mind, not all pictures are recent, so excuse any bad hair or tragic outfits!}

My sister Becca, Mom, Me, My Brother Stephen, and my sweeeet baby nephew and Godson Tanner!

Dad, Mom. Stephen, Becca, Me

Me, Becca, Sister-In-Law- Nicole, and Stephen

 

Stephen, Becca, Me

My baby sister's senior prom!

 

My college graduation! Had to add sweet little Papaw in there..Rest His Soul <3

 

The single most inspirational people in the entire world. I have the best parents anyone could ever ask for. They have loved and supported me through everything I have done, making so many sacrifices along the way. Nothing I have accomplished in my life would be possible without these two incredible role models!

 

 

 

 

 

 

1B. My High School Sweetheart/Love of My Life...A.K.A.- My FABULOUS Husband!

There are no words to describe my feelings for this man! We started dating when we were 15 years old, freshmen in HIGH SCHOOL! {10 years ago!!} Never in a million years as a hormonal lovesick teenager would I ever imagine to get so lucky. We have been through so much together: 4 years of high school, {filled with all your typical teenage romance horror stories which would usually end in, "And THAT'S why no one ever ends up with the person they dated in high school"}, 4 years at two separate colleges 3 hours apart {DEFINITELY wasn't easy, but so worth it!}, and so much more inbetween! After two years of being out of college while he was in nursing school, we finally got engaged in October of 2011, and married this past October 13! Let me tell you, absolute BEST day of my life!! I got to marry my absolute best friend, with all my friends and family, and the most PERFECT wedding I could ever ask for! I cannot tell you guys how happy I am and blessed I feel. We have grown up together, learned so much, and he continues to take care of me everyday, no matter what! I truly feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

"Tool" Couples Shower this summer

End of the night- lookin a little rough, but one of the only non-professional picture of the two of us I have on my computer!!!

 

2. My Female Soulmates, My sisters, My BEST FRIENDS!

These girls are literally the answer to all of my prayers. Have you ever heard the saying "You'll Never Find Anyone As Weird As You Are" ? Well, I have been blessed enough to have found 7 of them that are. My best friends from college, who I have also been through so much with, and will support and defend until the day I day. Our sisterhood bond is something that is undescribable and can never be broken. I love these girls with my whole heart, and am so blessed to have found such a strong bond with such incredible women.

Yes, they brought a cardboard cutout of Zac Efr...Ahem...I mean Troy Bolton to my wedding. He lived with us four two years in both our college apartment and house, so it was only appropriate for him to come dance with us. See what I mean about that whole weird thing? LOVE IT!!!

Can't forget my high school girls! I have known these girls since the beginning of time and no matter how much time goes by or distance gets between us, things will never change!! :)

 

 

 

3. Ok, so I've already had a family post, but I HAVE to mention my inseperable bond with my sister, my best friend!

{Disclaimer: When you are shopping with your sister, and you both buy the same shirt because you will "never wear it at the same place", don't wear it to meet her on Black Friday when you are spending the night out of town and only bring one shirt...she WILL be wearing it too!! :)

 

 

4. BEING MARRIED!! (See number 1B, for shortening's sake!)

 

5. BLOGS!

I seriously do not know WHAT I would do if I hadn't discovered teaching blogs. This has been the single most incredible thing to happen to me. I know I am just now getting around to spreading the wealth and actually posting my products, but I have fallen in love with teaching all over again through all of your spectacular ideas and creative lessons! I would like to thank each and every one of you for that! :)

 

6. Teachers Pay Teachers

For the same reason, this site has made me fall in love with teaching all over again! I have found so many cool ways to do so many things! I can't wait to start posting my items and returning the favor.

 

Now normally I would continue on with some of my more vain loves like TV Shows, movies, actors, clothes, etc...and there will be plenty of time for all that, but today, I'm in such a loving and thankful mood, I'm gonna keep it strictly mushy and ridiculously cheesy!

 

But ya know what? I encourage you to do the very same! Go link up with Tessa and tell us who/what you love! <3 Tis the Season!!! 

Whew, ok told ya that might be long! I am going to hit the hay though, it is WAY past my bed time! I hope you all had a decent if not wonderful Monday! Check back later this week for more products and a giveaway!!

 

Much Love,