June Currently

Hey y'all!  I am so super excited because I am now officially on summer break!!!  Whoop whoop!

I kicked it off with a nice lunch with two coworkers.  One, my associate teacher, is leaving our school.  She is going to teach 6th grade Science ALL BOYS!  Kudos to her.  She would totally stay at my school, there just aren't any openings.  The other is my new teamie!  Remember how I've mentioned there's a girl that doesn't exactly show up for work all the time (as in, she's probably missed close to 20 days this year)?  Well, they moved her out of 3rd grade and into a non-testing grade (2nd) so I get to have the 2nd grade teacher as my new teamie...YAY!  We went to Panera (yum!).  For all of you sweet tea lovers out there, and thanks to the linky I know there are tons of you, Panera has really good sweet tea!  Just a little FYI :)

I tell ya, I am so tired!  I'm trying to get this posted so I can maybe go nap upstairs with Gizmo, who by the way, STILL has not come downstairs and I've been home over an hour.  Great guard dog I tell ya.

So, I am obviously linking up with Farley and her June Currently.  Have you seen her new blog design?  CA-UUUUTE!

 Seriously, how cute?! Okay, so here's what I'm up to:

 
A little elaboration:

Gizmo will NOT stop escaping from the kitchen.  I think we may have to crate him.  Seriously, here's just one picture of all of the junk crap household items he has managed to escape from:

HA, honestly, looking at this makes me laugh because we now have large Rubbermaid bins, our large cooler, and Matt's heavy toolbox among our current barricades.  Seriously, our living room looks like we are white trash.  It's embarrassing.  Plus, putting these barricades up nightly and taking them down is ridonculous.  He of course escaped at 4:45 this morning when a huge storm came rolling through. Even though it was a workday, I ended up just getting up with him. Ugh...okay, I'll stop talking about this because it really deserves a post all its own.

Have you seen the commercials for the Hey Batter Batter Blast at Sonic?  I got it today to celebrate school ending & before I can't eat it since I'll be returning to my diet tomorrow.  It was good, but not enough cookie dough and brownie batter.  I guess there never is. 

I would LOVE to go back to NYC.  I went with the hubby's family back in 2007 and it was amazing! 

We went to Atlanta last weekend.  Here are some pics from our trip since I totally spaced and never shared!

At the Braves Game.  The men behind us would NOT stop talking!

At the Georgia Aquarium

At the Gwinnet Braves game.  My college roomies!

At the Ferndale Museum of Natural History

Tristen got married!

There was a photo booth complete with props!  LOVED it!  They actually used this as their guest book!

Finally, I want to go to an amusement park.  I went to Carowinds last year so who knows, maybe we'll go again this year!

I don't think I even have to say it, but head on over to Farley's and link up!

And thanks so much to those of you who have linked up with my first linky!  I cannot believe all the entries!  I promise I'm slowly but surely getting to commenting on all of them!  Still haven't linked up?  Join the fun!

Another One Bites the Dust and Summer Bucket List Linky

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful moms out there!  I swear, I don't know how some of you do it:  blogging on a much more regular basis than me, teaching, and being a mom?!  That is amazing!

I noticed on Facebook that Amber over at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher is hosting her first ever linky!

Her blog is SO cute and I am super excited to be linking up!  This linky is all about the good and bad of this past school year.  Here's mine:

The Great

1.  I felt much more confident about the content I taught this year.  This was my second year teaching third grade, so I felt like the pacing was better this year and I just knew more of what I was teaching.  Your first year in a new grade is always tough!

2.  The Voyager Program I taught flowed much better this year.  Last year, I didn't teach it the way it was supposed to be taught due to time constraints (math was taught whole group instead of small group).  I have an associate teacher who is in my room during this time and we have stations set up.  One station is me, one station is her, and the last station is our computer station.  It worked really well.

3.  Helping my kids grow and develop throughout the year.  I'm not only talking about academics, but social/emotional as well.  The most kids I've had all year is 11, and while that seems great, most of them are very needy and lack social skills.  We've worked really hard this year on proper things to say, and what is definitely NOT okay to say. 

4.  My classroom stayed clean!  Now, I'm not necessarily referring to my work area, but the classroom as a whole stayed clean.  This is mainly due to Find It, Fix It.  Oh yeah, this also definitely does NOT include their desks either...yuck!

The Not So Great

1.  Writing.  There is NO time in my day for formal writing instruction.  This is mostly due to the Voyager program I teach.  An hour and a half of each day is eaten up spent on this.  I've already warned the current fourth grade teachers that my kiddos have basically received no formal writing instruction.  The good news is that next year I won't be teaching the Voyager program so I will be freed up!  We'll also be getting a new Basal and I think I'll be using that instead of solely leveled readers.  Any Journeys fans out there?

2.  Math instruction.  Due to the Voyager program, I can only spend an hour on Math each day.  The district wants us to spend an hour and a half.  I just feel like my Math instruction is so rushed.  It is whole group and it's difficult to differentiate for my kiddos.  The good news is my associate teacher did an awesome job with them during VMath so they have really improved!  Next year, I'd like to do Math centers.

3.  My desk/work area organization.  Like Amber, I planned to start off strong with the Clutter Free Classroom Project.  See my posts here and here as proof.  After that, I pretty much fell off the wagon.  I get to work early (like 30-40 minutes before the kids come), so I really enjoy leaving as soon as I can at the end of the day.  That meant, I was not tackling any of my clutter.  No siree.  No way.  No how. 

4.  Library Books.  We didn't have library as a special area at all this year.  Our schedule was jam packed so that meant no trips to the library.  My kids never checked out books at the library!  In the past, they would switch up special areas halfway through the year so you could get the specials you currently didn't have (like Music, Art, and Library).  Well...this year we didn't.  Next year, if we don't end up having Library as a special area, I will make sure we go during an open media period so my kids can get their hands on some books!

5.  Graded Papers.  I had a great system of keeping them organized, but it was hard to find the time to send the papers home with the kiddos!
That's mine.  I hope you head over and link up with Amber!

I also saw the other day, that three fabulous bloggers are hosting a Summer Bucket List Linky.

 

Here's what I'm planning for the summer:

1.  I still have two classes to go to finish my Masters in Literacy Education.  That will be consuming most of the month of June for me! 

2.  Organize and free up some space on my flash drive.  I don't like seeing this:

Of course, this happened after the awesome TPT jackpot last weekend for Teacher Appreciation Week!  I loaded up :)

3.  Laminate, cut, and repeat. I have downloaded SO many great things.  The summer is when I plan on tackling that. 

4.  Finish our college scrapbook, ahem, four years later.  I'm not too far behind.  I left off on senior year:

Oh yeah, it might be good to also complete our trip to NYC, which was also in 2007.  I yi yi.  I cringe thinking of all the work!

5.  Do something with the THREE BOXES of wedding pictures we have!

6.  Tackle this room.  Like I said in a previous post, we're talking babies soon SO I'd really like to tackle this room. 

Wanna peak at what's in those lovely trash bags?!  R-A-N-D-O-M stuff like this:

Note from Matt (back in high school!), picture from me cheering as a kid, my college ID, my certificate from National Honor Society (high school!), and the cleaner outer for my recorder (from 4th grade!).  Yeah.  Tons of random crap memories.
7.  I'd also like to update our photo albums (also not updated since I graduated back in 2008).

8.  Seal the granite in our kitchen.

9.  Clean our carpets (especially downstairs).  They are straight up GROSS!

10.  Take a technology course.  I've already signed up for this!

Wow.  That's a lot of plans.  I really hope they do a follow up linky because I'm willing to bet only like 3 of these things on this list will be crossed off!  Head on over and link up!

Only 14 more wake ups of work (13 for me since I'm taking the 25th off for a wedding).  The year is definitely winding down.  How many more days do you have?

Have a great week and hopefully I'll be back soon with a freebie :)  Also, don't forget to check out the Giveaway over at Staci's blog!  It ends tomorrow on her (and my) birthday!  Okay, just had to say that again becauze I think it's so funny!

Steve Spurrier's Ladies Clinic & Gift Exchange

I am a total slacker!  I have big plans to post.  And then I just don't.
I have a good reason (somewhat). 

This past Friday night my parents came over and had dinner here.  My mom was spending the night so we could go to Steve Spurrier's Ladies Clinic!  I won't post too many pictures but here's a few:

Waiting to get in.  In this picture from L to R is me, my mom, my sister, and my friend Ashley who teaches with me.

I was pretty embarrassing for them.  See that big ol' grin?  I was literally giddy with excitement.  What you don't see in this picture is that in front of me is a looooong line of people waiting to get their picture with the Lattimore goodies.  They were all cracking up at me because it was slightly ridiculous! I ♥♥♥ Marcus Lattimore!  If people hadn't seen me with that medal, I may have taken it!  (totally kidding of course...but seriously, my obsession runs deep).

I totally started the trend of putting the pads on!  Those gloves are seriously SO sticky!  There is NO excuse for dropped passes.  You can also see I don't hesitate to go in full on freak mode. Which would be why...

I had to ask some random stranger to take this picture (and many others!) for me.  My family and Ashley totally left me.  They claim it wasn't because of my behavior, but I don't blame them ;)

I hate the way I look in this picture, but I could not get over how tall Devin Taylor is!  I'm 5' 8" and I just read today that he is 6' 7"!  Seriously though, I look like I've just been enlightened about something great or like this.

So last year, they had a whole autograph session with the players where you got to meet them, take pictures, and get autographs.  I was so pissed bummed they didn't have it this year.  However, this is where my stalking and nosiness came in handy.  I noticed there were a lot of people in a hallway and cameras flashing so we went over and there were like 6 players!  SCORE!  Otherwise, I wouldn't have hardly any pictures with players.  We were also super close to getting Bruce Ellington's (Bruuuuuuuuuce) autograph, but the coaches made him leave.  Big bummer. 

I told my family it's a good thing I didn't go to USC because I probably would've failed out trying to meet all of these players around campus :)
Then on Sunday I had to take care of everything I neglected during the rest of the weekend.

You know, crap like laundry, getting groceries, and working on school stuff.

Monday I couldn't post because I went to see my mom in the hospital after her surgery.  She's doing great now.  And yesterday I had class.

So there are my excuses.

Did you participate in the Pinterest Gift Exchange?  I did and here's what I got from my super sweet partner who was Leisa Clayton.  She does not have a blog, but she totally should.  She is SO creative!  Here are the goodies she sent me:

This adorable picture frame that even included a picture of the Giz!  It's currently sitting on my window ledge at work.  It makes me super happy :)

This super cute tote bag that she made herself!  Amazing.  See now why I said she needs a blog?!

These great, homemade bookmarks!  My dog bookmark I have right now is SO worn (its over 4 years old!).  Seriously, how cute.  I cannot get enough!

These great writing helpers.  The president one will be great come November!

Okay, I don't know why this picture won't rotate, but I love these bookmarks to give my kiddos and the tabbed clips too! 

She was so sweet and I just love everything so thanks again to Leisa and please let me know if you ever start a blog!

So did you participate?  Make sure to head over and link up!

 totally forgot to take a picture of the gift I made, but head over to The Resource(ful) Room and check it out.

Spring Break & New Goodies!

Today starts my glorious week off!  I am SO excited!

I have BIG plans. 

Unfortunately...I've done nothing yet. 

Aside from sleep in of course.  Thank goodness the pup let me sleep!  We are constantly trying new things to help him (and us) at night.  Yesterday, after Easter dinner with my family, we stopped off at Petsmart and got him these:

This is supposed to help him relax.  We had some pills we gave him before, but they didn't have melatonin in them (we've read online that melatonin is supposed to help dogs relax).

 Gizmo has been peeing a lot in our upstairs hallway.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before.  Well, two nights in a row he peed in our bedroom.  We're hoping this helps, but when I woke up this morning I saw that he had peed (again!) in the hallway.  In a way, the hallway is better because we're going to have to get that carpet replaced when we replace what he tore up.

A Thundershirt.  Yep.  Giz feels all safe and secure now (hopefully).  In fact, he still wearing it now and is sleeping in my lap as I type this. 

Hey, does that mean I can use it as an excuse for why I haven't really done anything around the house today?!

You may have noticed (or maybe not), but I updated my blog button to coordinate with my header.  I realized I better do it quick before picnik shuts down since that's what I used to help create my header.  I'm excited!  I think it turned out pretty good!

I also have started My Fitness Pal again.  If you are looking to lose weight, I strongly recommend it.  It helped me lose about 10 pounds last summer.  I kind of stopped once school started, but I realized I need to go back to it.  I think it's pretty similar to Weight Watchers, but best of all...it's FREE!  I started it back up last Monday and lost about 3 pounds (even though it says 5, that's based on my weight from when I first signed up last summer).  I won't lie...Monday was HARD!   I was starving pretty much all day!  I could've eaten a lot more though because I got this message when I completed my food diary:

One of my favorite things to eat is an ice cream bar that is only 45 calories!  I've seen these on Pinterest, but I've known about them for a long time.  I remember my sister telling me about them back when I was in college.  Wanna know how to make it? 

Here's what you need:  Graham Crackers & Cool Whip.

Lay out your graham crackers.  You could use a full sheet if you wanted.

Put about a tablespoon of cool whip onto half of the crackers.  It does not have to be pretty!

Take the other half and gently press on top of the cool whip.  Place in freezer for several hours or until frozen.

After it has set, wrap individually in plastic wrap.

They are really yummy and a nice sweet treat (for very few calories).

I also made a shopping list for the hubby and I to use.  I was inspired by the one featured over at IHeart Organizing. 

Here's ours:

Grocery List

Much thanks to Kristen over at Ladybug's Teacher Files for the tutorial about the font!

Also, I got tagged again by Run!  Miss Nelson's Got The Camera.

I've been tagged before, so I'll just answer her questions :)

1.  Which do you prefer teaching:  Reading or Math?  Hmm, that's a toughie.  In the intervention program I teach, I chose to teach Reading over Math.  I guess overall it would be reading.

2.  Where's your favorite place to find clip art?  Okay, I am a total clip art newbie.  I like any place that has cheap (or preferably free) clip art!  Some of my favorite places are:  The 3AM Teacher, Scrap Ems, & I also have some Thistlegirl clip art.  I have lots saved on my flash drive though that I'm not sure where it came from...

3.  Do you count spelling tests as a reading or writing grade?  We actually do not do spelling tests this year (gasp...I know).  But when I did, I counted it as writing.

4.  What is your favorite website for your students?  My students have access to VMath Online & Ticket to Read through the intervention program I teach.  I love it!

5.  Do you have a Point and Shoot camera or a DSLR?  I have a point and shoot.  This is the camera I have.  It was on sale at Target around Christmastime for only $99. 

6.  Do you arrive to school early or stay late?  I am no early bird, but I actually get to school early.  Teacher's don't have to be there until 7:00, but I get to work around 6:30 (more like 6:40 recently).

7.  Coke or Pepsi?  Cherry Coke Zero or Diet Dr. Pepper!

8.  Michael's or Hobby Lobby?  Ugh, there are NO Hobby Lobby's here!  I wish there were though!

9.  What is your favorite read aloud?  Probably The Lorax!  I love the message behind it :)

10.  Winter Break or Spring Break?  I'm obviously loving Spring Break now, but I love that Winter Break is 2 whole weeks (except next year...they shortened our break by two days...boo!)

5

Okay, I'm off to go lay out!  

Survey Says...

According to recent reports {read: googling}, our dog is suffering from Canine Cognitive Dysfunction.  This would explain his recent behavior, like literally tearing our carpet:

When I got home today, I noticed he was tearing up the door frame in our kitchen to the garage.  Ugh!  I love my dog (duh!), but this behavior is crazy!  The hubby is a lot more patient than I am because if it were up to me, he'd be crated.  The hubby decided we'll put something heavy in front of the door when we leave. 

Super.

Anyways, on to the survey.  I'm linking up with 5th Grade Rocks, 5th Grade Rules.  I just found her blog from Jill over at Marvelous Multiagers!  I hope you head over and link up...I just love surveys and linkys.  Like Kristin, they give me something to post about.

1. Are you married, do you have a bf, or are you flying free as a single lady/man?
I am married to my high school sweetheart!  We've been together over 10 years!

2. Where did you grow up?

Pretty much the same place I live now:  Charleston, South Carolina!  I love it here and if you are ever wondering where to go on vacation, I strongly suggest Charleston!  It's beautiful here :)

3. Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what is his/her name?

Gizmo, who is currently on a mission to destroy our home.  It's sad though, because I think he's getting near the end.  He is 13 years old after all!

4. What is a favorite tv show you are embarrassed to admit to watching?
Hmm...that's a toughy.  I love mindless T.V. like the Real Housewives of OC & NJ. 

5. Are you a saver or a spender?
A little bit of both.  I am definitely a bargain shopper though :)

6. What is your favorite children's book?
I love The Lorax!

7. Were you the class clown, teacher's pet, or neither?
I was definitely the teacher's pet.  Never wanted to get in trouble, but I also wasn't a suck up.  Just more of a goody two shoes

8. Who is your favorite athletic team?
USC GOOOOOOOO COCKS!  I cannot wait for football season (and to see if our baseball team will make it a three-peat this year).  AND on the 21 (of April), I'm off to the Ladies Clinic where you can meet staff AND football players...whoop whoop!  Okay, I may be slightly obsessed.
9. Where did you go on your last REALLY fun vacation?
We went on a cruise with my husband's family a little over a year ago.  So fun!

10. Who is your favorite actor? Actress?
Actor-Ryan Gosling.  DUH.  Actress...I don't really have one.

source

11. Tell about the last time you cried because you were happy.
When the hubby and I watched The Hangover 2.  Have you seen it?  Oh my word, this scene in particular cracked me up!  {warning: bad language in that scene!}

Note:  If you haven't seen it and watched that video, it probably makes no sense why it was so funny :)

12. What is your favorite season?
Summer, even though it is SO dang hot here.  Ugh! 

13. What is your biggest regret?

I really don't have any regrets. 

14. What food do you just NOT like at all?
Ha, this could go on FOREVER.  I'm an extremely picky eater.  I have the palette of a 5 year old kid.

I don't even like beer or coffee!

15. Who was your most memorable teacher, and why?
Hmm...that's a toughie.  I had some really good teachers.  I have to say I owe a lot to my 7th grade Math teacher, Mrs. Bunch.  It was announced that if you had good grades in her class (don't remember the cut off), that you would be able to take Algebra I in 8th grade.  All of my friends made it, but I didn't.  I had to actually get serious and do my work and try {crazy though, huh?!}, and I was able to get in the class as well.  That jump started me to take school seriously and I've never looked back.

My question:
What school years were your favorite and why?
I really liked elementary school and college and wish I could go back to either one of them.  They were really awesome times.

I hope you head on over and link up too!

MIA & Lots of Linkies

And no, I am not talking about the singer.

I have been totally MIA lately.  I've been stalking (somewhat), but have been super busy with finishing a unit work sample for evals., grad school work (okay, just grad school...I have done no work), teaching, and hanging with the fam.  My posts will probably continue to be sporadic so apologies in advance.

Oh yeah, I've also been officially obsessed with this little thing you may have heard of...

Oh my gosh.  I am obsessed.  The hubby thought I would finish it in a week and it's taken me longer, only because I am so darn tired when I get home and read. 

There are lots of linky parties I'm going to hook up with so please forgive this extra long post!

First up, Jeannie over at Kindergarten Lifestyle is having a "You Know You're a Teacher When..." Linky. 

Disclaimer:  I'm sure some of these are probably repeats so sorry in advance :)

Next linky:  Chrissy at Buzzing with Ms. B is hosting a linky about how you met your honey.

The hubby and I actually met in high school.  We had geometry together in 9th grade.  I was new to the school (relatively...I went to a school for the arts for middle school) so I felt super awkward all the time (who doesn't?!).  Anyways, I always thought he was super cute.  One time in class, a kid was "talking back" to the teacher and the hubby laughed.  Our teacher told him to "wipe that sh**y grin off his face."  I of course thought the whole thing was pretty funny, because our teacher cussed!  Later, I found out it didn't bother the hubby one little bit because it got me to notice him (awww).  Of course, I'd had my eye on him pretty much all year.  One day we actually talked after school while he was waiting on his dad to pick him up.  Normally he was a bus rider, so I jumped on the opportunity to talk to him.  Of course, right as we started talking, his dad pulled up.  I honestly didn't think that much of our convo, I was just trying to be my cheerful self (I was a cheerleader after all...).  We somehow got each other's AIM SN's (that would be AOL instant messenger screen name for all of you non 90s peeps).  I'm pretty sure I probably got his by my stalking ways.  We started talking online a lot and I started hanging with his crew at lunch.  Finally, on the last day of school (after school) he asked me out...online!  He was scared I would say no!  We've been together pretty much ever since!  Here's some pics for your enjoyment :)

Our first picture together!

I hope you head over and link up!  I can't wait to read everyone's!

There was more, but that's enough for tonight.  I think the hubby will kill me if I'm on the computer any longer!

Hope you join the parties :)