What I Wore Wednesday...plus some more!

If I post on a Wednesday, I use the same post title.  Every time.  I'm thinking I need to get some creativity flowing around here!  Anyway, let's start out with the weekly bad-quality, bad-lighting bathroom photo shoot pic.  Nothing too exciting today.  A gray top from Forever21 (probably 3-5 years old. no joke), black pants (always!), and a new bracelet I got from Target the other day!  (Target is my fav in case you were wondering.)

I also decided to hop on the handwriting bandwagon and submit my "sample".  I wasn't tagged but I am inviting myself anyway!  :)   Join in if you want so I can see your writing....I'm not tagging anyone!

Here are the writing "prompts"...........

1. What's your name / blogger name?
2. What's your blog's URL?
3. Write "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
4. Favorite quote?
5. Your favorite song?
6. Your favorite band / singers?
7. Anything else you want to say?
8. Tag 3 - 5 other people.

So after a long 4-day weekend, I came to school and found a mailbox full of papers.  Not the most exciting welcome back gift.  BUT, in the pile, I found a letter from a 1st grade student.  I've worked with her class in the past, but only 2-3 times this year.

Dear Mrs. P,

What is your favorite colors?  You are the best.  When are you going to tech us?  I like you.  You are fun. 

From,

Emilee

Totally made me smile.  On the back of the letter was this cute picture.  I later asked her about it and she informed me that we're wearing crowns because we are princess friends.  Why are 1st graders such cuties?!

I have to share a pic of my doggies snuggled up in bed last night.  <3

Confession: I am currently inhaling these. I can't stop.  I'm getting a stomach ache but I keep shoveling them in.  Help me!

Happy Friday (for real this time)

So I made the Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies from Bakerella's blog!  Talk about easy.  I almost felt guilty for not doing something homemade but these are so perfect for Valentine's Day!  I didn't end up making the frosting she suggested because the hubby doesn't like cream cheese frosting.  I just used a large can of whipped Duncan Hines vanilla.  Here is the finished product:

I feel like everyone in blogland has been raving about TJ Maxx lately.  There are a few stores in town but nothing super close to me. [Insert Snooki whine...]  So anyway, I improvised and went to Marshall's.  They had a lot of good deals (I almost picked up a super cute pair of nude Guess pumps but talked myself out of it.)  I ended up getting a new dog bowl, a new dog toy, a pair of sunnies and a St. Patty's Day t-shirt.  My doggies are obsessed with the new bone.  It has a squeaker AND crinkle filler.  Whoa.  The shades are Kenneth Cole and super cute.  It's so hard to find sunglasses that are narrow enough to work for me and these work!  The best part?  I got everything for under $20!  I feel like this was maybe just a preview to what I could find at TJ Maxx....I might need to make the 15 minute drive to the store.  Yes, 15 minutes.  I'm spoiled by having most amenities within 5 minutes from my house!

TGIF....and some contests!

Ok, I know it's not really Friday but today is my "Friday"...no school tomorrow (or Monday)!  I'm so excited to have a long weekend to relax and (hopefully) get some things accomplished around the house!



The hubby and I are finally celebrating Valentine's Day tonight.....can't wait to see what he has planned!  Monday I came home to a bouquet of our wedding flowers and a card that I have saved for tonight.  My hubby can be so thoughtful sometimes! <3  I'm in the process of making these cookies for our belated Valentine's celebration.  They are currently cooling so I can fill them with frosting!

Today while going through my students' writing books, I found something that made me laugh.  I had one of my reading groups reading books from the Frog and Toad series.  In this case, the students had to write about the problem and solution in one of the stories and then illustrate what they wrote about.  This student wrote a thought bubble with "dammm!" when she meant to put "bammm!" (she has a reversal issue).  Cracked me up!

I found a new obsession.  My co-worker introduced this to me last night.  95% organic (and gluten free) chap stick!  (or should I say chap ball...haha)  Either way, she bought me one and I love it!  It's so moisturizing and smells/tastes amazing!  I have the flavor that is in this picture.  One word. YUM!  I might have to buy another flavor to keep in my purse (I kept the first one at school.)

There are a ton of giveaways going on in blogland right now!  Don't miss out on any of them!

Erica Bohrer is giving away her Reading Response Activity Sheet Book at her blog, Erica Bohrer's First Grade!  I know this book would be extremely useful for me since I work with kids in K-3 right now!  I love following her blog, she shares some great activities!

Also, there is another giveaway over at Fabulous in First.  In this contest, you are entering to win everything in Michelle's TPT store!!  What a deal!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I don't know about y'all (why do I feel so inclined to say that after reading so many southern blogs?!) but the weather here in Ohio is beautiful!  65° and sunny and I can hear birds chirping outside my window.  Ahhhh :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

When I was little, I remember being so excited to decorate my Valentine's box and picking out super cute cards to exchange!  (I was never allowed to get the fancy cards - those were too expensive!)


Today at school, I didn't see ANY boxes to fill with cards, no decorations and I only saw a few Valentine's cards.  I guess now that there are so many children who don't celebrate Valentine's Day (among other holidays), the school has simply decided to ignore the holiday.  It was a little depressing but very understandable.  Luckily, I only have one student who doesn't celebrate so I was able to do some Valentine's activities with my other groups and modify the activities for her group.


My team went in on Valentine's together so that every student would get the same gift.....I wasn't super excited about them but the kids loved them so that made me happier!  I also bought some fun pencils (thank you, Target dollar spot!) and the kids made this craft. 

One of my students has had some difficulty remembering what to do while in my class.  I wanted to create something similar to a social story, but not in a book form since we wouldn't really ever have extra time to flip through pages.  I decided on a poster that I can hang near his seat.....he LOVES it!

One last thing.  I bought myself a gift.  My district has a shopping network similar to Craigslist for all district employees.  The shopping network has a variety of goods and services (total teacher thing to say) for sale.  I browse through it fairly often to check for good deals.  Last week, I purchased this storage organizer for $15!!  I was excited because the same organizer is currently for sale at Target for just under $70!  The unit I bought is gently used (and missing one bin) but still, I'm excited for some cheap extra storage!

Accessory Swap!

Confession: I've had a super lazy day today!  I woke up with a massive headache which made me nauseous....ugh.  Thank goodness it was the weekend.  I know it sucks being sick on a weekend but I can't call in sick this coming week - it's conference week!  In fact, I have two before school tomorrow!

Anyway, Elisabeth over at The Adventures of Miss Elisabeth: Diary of a First Grade Teacher is having an accessory swap!  You can sign up until this coming Thursday (Feb.17) and you only have to spend $15-20!  What a fun way to meet some new blogger friends and get some fun accessories!  Check out her post and don't forget to grab her button when you sign up!

Freaky Friday.

Today isn't really freaky at all but who remembers that movie with Lindsay Lohan before she .....I don't even know how to say what happened to her!  Either way, that was a cute  movie.

Now onto my Friday.  Nothing special to report today but I had a few things.  Last week I went to Kirkland's because one of my friends buys EVERYTHING for her house there....I hadn't been in a few years and wanted to check it out!  I browsed around and found a lot of cute things I didn't need but I did convince myself I needed this cute sign since it was on clearance!  I like how it looks over our bed with our "monogram".  What do you think?

When you see this next picture, let me explain before you judge!  I know it's not Halloween. Or fall.  BUT, my kiddos were obsessed with pumpkins lately because another teacher has been handing out pumpkin stickers (?!).  I found this nonfiction book and we practiced our fact finding skills.  They can't wait to do another about spiders (gross)!

That's all for today.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

What I Wore Wednesday...plus some more!

To start, I have a horrible picture of what I'm wearing today.  I know the picture is bad....I took it with a cell phone in minimal light....sorry!  Shirt is from Forever21, cardigan from Express, basic black pants, silver accessories....nothing too crazy!  After wearing this outfit, I feel like the shirt looks a little maternity-esque.  That's ok with me though, don't judge.

Now that the ice from the snow and ice storms is finally gone....I figured it was time to post a few pictures!  During this storm, we had two snow days in a row!   It was nice but I was glad to go back after two days off!  The super windy storm caused our trashcan to blow/slide half-way down our street!  Here is a pic of my sweet hubby going to retrieve it.  Also a pic of one of our bird feeders....poor guys didn't have food for a few days since their feeders were frozen shut!

Now onto some school stuff.  Yesterday I woke up feeling exhausted for some reason.  I haven't been sleeping well and I did NOT want to get up.  I wore my hair in a pony and felt super gross and tired.  I went to cafeteria duty that morning and a little girl said "Mrs. P, you look so pretty today!"  Made my day so much better!  :D




I've been blog-stalking a lot lately and have found a ton of great ideas to use with my kiddos!  One fun activity I found is a making words activity.  This activity is great because it can easily be modified for higher level and lower level.  If needed, you can even tell the students to sort their words into 3-letter, 4-letter, etc.  My kids had fun making challenging words!  You can find the activity here over at Mrs. Carroll's blog!

I also found another fun activity for comprehension.  Unfortunately, during my crazy blog-stalking fest, I went download crazy and can't remember where I found this one.  If you know, please let me know so I can give credit!  EDIT: This activity is from Mrs. Patton's blog!  You can find it here!  Thanks Mrs. Patton!  This was easy to make and the kids love quizzing partners or playing teacher and quizzing a small group!

What activities have your students been loving lately? 

Monday: check!

Ok, so I just had to get that sad post off of my top entry....it was depressing me!  Who else is happy that Monday is over?!  I'm sure some of my readers watch The Bachelor.  What did you think of tonight's episode?  I have never watched until this season and I'm totally (embarrassingly) addicted!  I started watching because Alli was on and she went to my high school.  I guess I don't really have a logical excuse to watch anymore except the fact that I'm addicted!  I can't wait to see Michelle GO!  P.S. If you know of any spoilers, ZIP your LIPS!  I don't want to hear them!

Mrs. Patton from Pattons Patch is having a contest!  Head on over to her blog to check it out.  Who doesn't love scrapbooking?!  I know I do!  I entered to win the super cute pet quick book, what are you hoping to win?

Tears....

....are the silent language of grief.  - Voltaire.

I found out over the weekend that a woman who had previously taught at my school passed away.  Cheryl had some medical problems (which caused her to take a hiatus from teaching) but in the past few months, her health was seeming to improve.  Cheryl left the world way too early, she wasn't even 55.  Rest in peace, Cheryl, you will be remembered always. 
I never had the chance to meet Cheryl, but I could tell today how much of an impact she has made on my co-workers' lives.  We had a morning meeting to discuss the events that had transpired over the weekend.  The school provided some "counselor" type people for grieving students and faculty.  It was a sad day with a lot of tears, hugs, and memories.  I chose this quote by Voltaire because I really didn't know what to say to the teachers in mourning.  I never knew Cheryl so I couldn't even put a face to a name today.  Instead, I just provided a shoulder to cry on and a friend to hug.  I hope I helped some of my co-workers get through the day, it was a difficult one.

Meet the Teacher!

One of my fav bloggers, Cara at First Grade Parade, is having a blog party!  Hopefully I can find some new teacher blogs to love and stalk :)





So to start, here's a little bit about myself!

I'm a 25 year old teacher, wife, sister, daughter, friend, etc.  The list could go on!  I've been married for a little over 2.5 years (our 3 year anniversary is coming up in May)!

I've been with the hubby since HS (although we didn't meet in school - he's 4 years older than moi)!  He is my best friend and I love being married!  We don't have any kids yet but that will come soon...enough!  We do have two furbabies who are our "kids" for now.  We have two 5 and 1/2 year old Yorkies named Chip and Dixie and they are spoiled rotten!

I've been teaching for less than a year since this is my first year!  While in college, I taught preK for about 2 years and I also worked in the corporate world (SO not my style)!  After graduating college, I substitute taught for a year in three local districts.  I think it was a great experience but I'm glad I only had to do it for one year.  I now work in the district I live in as a Reading Specialist.  I work mainly with third graders but I am also currently tutoring some K/1 kiddos.  (I love the primary kids!)  Teaching is definitely my passion and I love what I do!
I'm lucky to have an awesome sister.  She's 5 years younger than me and we get closer every year.  She is in college for education also but she is going for art education.  She's a great artist and I'm really proud of her!  We are totally opposite but it works for us.  P.S. Neither of us are adopted.......we just look like it!

I also have a wonderful mother.  She is amazing and we talk every day.  I don't know what I would do without her.  We're very close and I wouldn't change it for the world!  (She would hate me if she knew I was putting a picture of her "somewhere out on the internet"!!)  :)

I love to travel as much as I can!  Before I met my hubby, I hadn't seen the ocean (I was 17).  I had only been to Chicago, Michigan, Indiana and Orlando (one time).  After meeting the hubs, we've been lucky enough to do a ton of traveling together!  We try to go to Hilton Head every year to visit his family, we are able to stay in a family condo down in Florida almost every year, we went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, went on a Caribbean cruise with some of my family, still visit Michigan to see my family every year....and so on!  Here we are on our cruise and another pic from our honeymoon!  I. love. the. BEACH!  (and warm, sunny weather.)  We're planning on a trip to Florida for Spring Break (can't wait)!!

Being from Ohio (born, raised and still live here), I am a huge Ohio State fan!  Go Bucks!  I love Buckeye football and basketball (#1)!  Here is a pic of me with some of my best friends from this past football season.

Now that you know my life story...........time for the Q&A!

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a teacher?                                             
A:  That's hard because I've always wanted to teach.  I guess I would probably be a stay at home mom and make a ton of crafts and brush up on my photography!  

Q: What are your hobbies?                                                                                    
A:  Learning to cook/bake, birdwatching (nerdy, I know!), READING, crafting, taking pictures (I'm NOT a great photographer by any means but I'm learning).....                                                             

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?                     
A:  I have always wanted to be a teacher!  My mom has a home movie of me at my kindergarten graduation walking up to get my "diploma" from Miss Crispin and stating "I want to be a teachol!" (no worries, my speech has improved!)
   
Q: What are your guilty pleasures?                                                                  
A: Oh dear.  Reality TV (Jersey Shore, Real Housewives, Teen Mom), HGTV, Bravo, Food Network.  I live off my DVR!  I also love cheese (anything is better with some)!  I can't live without a Coke Zero or a coffee :)

Q: What is your biggest fear?!                                                                       
A: Spiders.  Gross.

Q: When you’re on vacation, where do you like to go?                                   
A: Somewhere tropical!  I love the warm weather, palm trees, sun on my face.......mmmmm, can't wait for Spring Break!
                                                         
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?                                                   
A:  "Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about."  It's so easy to give up on things but things take work!  It took me 6 years to get through college (two colleges) and I wanted to give up so many times.  I'm so glad I didn't because now I'm living my dream as a teacher!  Such a rewarding career :)

Q: What do you value most in others?                                                                   
A:  Loyalty, honesty, trustworthy......

Q: If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass down to your kids, what would it be?                                                                                                        
A:  My sense of humor!  I inherited it from my momma and can't wait to pass it down :)

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in the world….living or dead…who would it be?                                                                                                               
A:  My Grandma Cathy. :)

Now tell us one random thing about yourself:

My classroom is probably the size of your walk-in-closet (or bathroom) but I love it because it's mine!