Glee 3D

Before this summer I had never watched an episode of Glee. I heard renditions of songs on the radio and thought they were fun, but never made time to actually sit down and watch an episode. One day while browsing Netflix I saw Season 1 of Glee...I turned it on and have now seen every episode to date. Please don't judge, but my friend and I even went so far as to go see Glee 3D. While I don't agree with everything in the show I can't help but watch for the amazing mash ups and the random Ohio plugs. Any other Glee fans out there? I'm actually going to try and watch this season...starting September 6th. :)

Cheers

With all the craziness that the first week of school brings my "teachery" friends and I decided we needed a girls night out and tried hard not to mention the "s" word (school). We went to one of my favorite places called Cheers to Art and painted a brand new painting. This was the most detailed painting I've created in all of my Cheers to Art visits and I love how it turned out. It is now hanging in my family room. Here's a peek at our night...

I'm so thankful to work with such fabulous ladies! CHEERS!

Goodbye Summer...Hello 2nd Grade!

Today was the first day of school. I loved getting huge hugs from my former students and meeting my new kiddos, but the first day of school causes a few things to occur...
1. Sleep deprivation. I woke up at 3:30 thinking about how I was going to teach my kids bathroom procedures. Really? That's just not right...but I did recall a cute idea I saw on a blog somewhere, which of course I'll share because I'm sure you are dying to know. Instead of using a hall pass (which I hate because I think it's gross kids take them into the bathroom and then half the time they forget to bring it back) you use hand sanitizer bottles. Mark one bottle GIRLS and the other BOYS (I laminated a star die cut and used a small hook to put it around the neck of the bottle so when we run out of sanitizer we just move the labels). Place the sanitizer bottles in a central place near the door. When a student needs to use the restroom they simply move the bottle of their gender onto their desk. This lets me know who is in the restroom, lets other students know they have to wait their turn if the bottle is missing and it reminds students to sanitize if they forgot because yes this does happen.

2. Loss of social life. I'm actually shocked that I am making time to blog because my list of things to do is out of control.

3. Failure to implement anything successfully but my lesson plans. This just in: my new meal plan is on hold until next week.

4. Boring blog posts. There are no pictures in this post. LAME.

Please forgive me.

Signed,
One tired teacher

Lessons in meal planning

One of my goals for this school year is to cook more often during the week. My problem so far has been the fact that I don't get home until between 5 and 6 and then I get frustrated trying to decide what to make and even more frustrated when I don't have all the ingredients I need. Easy, but not so good fix...fast food. So this year hubby and I decided to get organized. Thanks to Pinterest this turned out to be an easy project. I found an amazing meal planning sheet as well as a menu board and we got to work. I started by making the Menu board because I knew I would be excited to write our weekly meals out. Here's how to make it:

Source: makeandtakes.com via Allison on Pinterest

Find and purchase a 12x12 frame (any scrapbook store will have these), buy one piece of 12x12 paper that will match the colors of your kitchen then use stickers to spell out the days of the week. Put it all together and hang it in your kitchen! If you use a dry erase marker on the glass you can change the meals each week. I can't wait to use this this year!
On to meal planning. This is the meal planner we decided to use because it also serves as a grocery list.

Source: theprojectgirl.com via Allison on Pinterest

                 We got out all our cookbooks and made a list of our favorites (some old, some new) Then we set a goal: 3 dinners/week (we have to be realistic) and we got to work picking meals that we would want to put together.

After we finished that we printed and scanned the actual recipes and put them with the meal planning sheets in a binder. We picked a day to shop for our weekly ingredients (Sundays) and now we just have to implement our plan. Do you plan your meals out each week? How do you do it?

The Help

Before all the wedding craziness I managed a night out with the wonderful ladies from my book club. We read the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett and we all loved it. We were in post-book depression when we heard they were making the book into a movie. We all decided then and there that we would have to see it together. Friday night we met at Bravos for dinner then walked over to the theater. Let me just say I absolutely LOVED this movie and would recommend it to anyone. It is the first book turned movie that I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed with. My advice...bring tissues.

"Ever morning, until you dead in the ground, you gone have to make this decision. You gone have to ask yourself, "Am I gone believe what them fools say about me today?" -Kathryn Stockett (The Help)

My little sister is MARRIED!

My sister's wedding was amazing! The weather was perfect and surprisingly cool for August, the bridal party outfits were so much fun, I made it through my Matron of Honor speech, my sister was gorgeous and her and David are so incredibly happy. I'm still exhausted from the weekend so instead of blabbing here are some sneak peak pictures!

 

Check out this website for a few more beautiful shots!  I just love love!

Wedding projects

My little sister is getting married TOMORROW!

I can't believe how quickly the past few months have gone by! I am so excited to see how everything Alyssa has envisioned comes together. Here are some of the wedding projects we've been working on:
1. Bridesmaid dresses... this picture doesn't do these dresses justice, but my sister got them made by a friend of a friend. She wanted everyone to have a different dress and I can't wait to see all the bridesmaids standing together.

2. Programs...these are homemade and I'm loving the burlap!

3. My favorite project...the photo booth! My Aunt made the frame, Alyssa wall papered and we all helped hang the frames! I think this will be a huge hit at the reception!

Well there's your sneak peak. I can't wait to post pictures from the wedding!

"If friends were flowers, I'd pick you"

Girlfriends and Sunflowers...can it get any better?

These pictures were taken by our wonderfully talented friend Corynne.

Welcome to room 308

I've been slaving away at school for the past few weeks, but I'm happy with how things are coming along!
Here is a sneak peak at my 2nd grade classroom...

This is my 4th classroom in 4 years and I think it's my favorite!

Cubbies with reading tubs on top for Reader's Workshop

Student mailboxes and games

Reading corner and Word wall

I love books. Here is my 2nd grade leveled library!

My big comfy teacher's chair and easel

I absolutely love my view of the city.

100s chart and math tools

Guided reading table with the crate seats everyone is asking me about!

I still have a lot to do, but I'm well on my way!

Beer, Wine and Food Festival

Hubby and I found the cutest little festival the other night. It was actually called Beer, Wine and Food which explains what it had to offer. There were tons of booths set up where you could sample local food and drinks. There was a wonderful band playing and hubby and I were pleasantly surprised at our awesome festival find!

We will definitely be attending this festival again next year!

An angry Bear

Today my cat who we lovingly call Bear caught his first bird. I interrupted him after his initial catch and the bird got away with everything minus a few feathers which remained in Bear's mouth. I don't think my cat was happy with me for taking away his first real live bird as you can see in picture #1. Poor kitty.

Can you see the feathers left hanging from his mouth??? Hopefully he forgives me...I promised him that if he ever catches a mouse I would not stop him. :)