Thoughts and Prayers

My thoughts and prayers are with the families impacted by the tragedy in Oklahoma.

12 on the 12th ~ May Edition

Happy Mommy Day to all of the mothers out there.  I've spent the past few days hanging out with my mom and my sister so it's been great. Today is the 12th of the month so it's time for my 12 on the 12th linky party can I get a woop, woop??  As always, a special shout out to Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for coming up with this great idea. To see some of the options that I have for this party click here. 

So here are some of my randomness from my day today.  If you follow me on Instagram then you have already had a sneak peek of these pictures.

 1.  Flowers for my mom from my sister.

2 - 6  Pictures from my mom's garden.

7 - 9  Gifts for my mom.  I was excited about the fact that we now had matching watches, she was more excited about having 70 bottles of water. . .go figure.

10.  Baby M's first mommy day. . . such a cutie patootie.

I only took 10 pictures today so I'm posting two more pictures from my Instagram pictures this week that are mommy related.

11.  Here are the Mother's Day vases that my kids made in art class.

12.  I got this balloon for teacher appreciation week but I think it counts for all of the moms out there.  I hope you all had a great day that was all about you.

So there you have it a look into my world.  If you would like to join the party just post your pictures and come back to link up anytime this month.  Well I'm off to check my Instagram (Michelle, you have created a monster).  SHINE on everyone

Five for Friday

Time for me to link up with Kacey of Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday party (Saturday edition).

This week all of my pictures are based on my new OBSESSION. . . Instagram.

1.  My curiosity was tweeked when I saw this post from one of my Super Heros (click here for previous post) Michelle from Apples and ABC's.  If Michelle, Rachelle and Natalie were all on board I knew I had to check this Instagram thing out.

2.  Over lunch one of my friends showed me how all of this hashtaging, following, picture uploading world worked ~ THANKS JULIE.

3.  Tuesday morning. . . THE OBSESSION BEGINS!!!  Before leaving for work I made my account and dived on in to this new crazy world.  Here is the first picture I posted ~ FYI the first bell rings at 7:50 so I was SUPER late.

4.  Two of my former students came by to give me a teacher appreciation gift.  When I took out my phone to snap a picture they saw my Instagram app.  Both of their eyes bugged out and one of them said with TOTAL shock . . . "You're on Instagram???!!??" When I said yes they both agreed that was pretty cool since they both have account too.  (Thanks Michelle for making me look cool to fourth graders).

5.  This is my favorite picture from the week.  Here is a collage I posted on Instagram of just some of the treats I received this week for teacher appreciation week. My current students, former students, PTA, and administrators showered me with food, flowers, cards, balloons, candy, jewelry, presents, and gift certificates. This has been a CRAZY CRAZY year for me and this week helped me to remember that even through all of this craziness, I am truly blessed.

If you would like to follow me on Instagram try clicking this link here #simpsonsuperstars. If that doesn't work just search for SimpsonSuperstars and you'll find me there.  I would love to take a peek into your life too.

Speaking of peeking into each others worlds Sunday is the 12th of the month so it's time for my monthly linky party 12 on the 12th. Thanks again to Kacey for coming up with this great idea.

This month I want to shake things up again so I'm giving you three options for the party.

OPTION 1:  Grab your camera and take 12 random pictures from your day on the 12th of the month to post and share with blogland.

OPTION 2: Post 12 pictures on Instagram from your day using the hashtag #12 on the 12th linky. Remember, don't add spaces and be sure to add the word linky to connect with teachers.

OPTION 3:  Time for a little Spring Cleaning.  Post 12 pictures of whatever you want to from any day, any month any year.  Your pictures can be school related or personal it's up to you.  I take pictures all the time that I want to use on my blog but for some reason or another, they never get posted.  Last month I used this party to show you some of these random pictures so that I could do a little cleaning of my picture files. 

So there you have it, pick the option that is best for you and come back on Sunday afternoon to link up.  Well I'm off to write thank you cards for my students.  SHINE on everyone.

Tardy For The Party

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE ARE IN MAY???!!!!???  Seriously, what happened to April? Well instead of FREAKIN' out about how much I have to do, I'm taking a few minutes to hook up with two of my favorite parties.  First up it's time to link up with the one and only Farley for Currently.  Technically, I did my currently last week I just didn't get a change to post it so. . . here is what I was currently up to on Thursday afternoon.

UPDATE:
1. It's stopped raining.
2. Monday is school day 160 ~ YIKES!!!
3. I got my favorite pizza this weekend but without the garlic knots.
4. I did nothing but RELAX all weekend it was FANTASTIC!
5. I am still looking forward to summer.  I don't know where I'm going yet but I can't wait to get there.

If you want to link up with your Currently for May, click here.  Now on to my next party.  I'm linking up with the super creative Kacey of Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday.

OK full disclosure. . . I actually took these pictures a week ago but I didn't have time to post them so here is my Five for last Friday.

My podmates and I came up with this super cute gift for the ladies in the front office for Administrative Assistant Day. I'm so excited that I will finally have something to share on the next Monday Made-It.

My kids have been OBSESSED with speech bubbles so I whipped up these new Author's Purpose cards to use in class.  I love them because they go along with the Spring theme we have been doing in class.  Be on the look out for these in my TPT store soon.

THANK YOU Dollar Tree for always coming through in a pinch.  My Kinders were doing the letter Z so they wrote Z words on their headbands.  My Firsties where doing the /ow/ sound so I had them make cowboy/girl belt buckles to practice writing their /ow/ words.  They all looked super cute that afternoon but the best part was that my Firsties did great on that weeks spelling test.

On Friday the first grade team held a race to recycle day.  As a family project students created cars at home with their parents to bring in.  The kids all did a great job, they were so creative.  Some of them even coordinated their outfits to match their cars, how cute is that??

Well there you have it, some of the things that I've been up to.  Now that you are all caught up, be sure to swing back by later this week.   Not only am I having a sale at my TPT store but I'm also jumping on the instagram bandwagon.  Well I'm off to do some paperwork.
SHINE on everyone!                                                                    

Sunday Social

Today I'm linking up with Ashley from Ashley Lately for her linky party Sunday Social.  

I think this is such a fun way for you to learn a little bit more about me.  Here are my answers to Ashley's questions this week.

1.  What is your shopping weakness?

I spend A LOT of money on my classroom.  Over the years I've learned to slow down a bit but if I'm in the Dollar Tree and I see something I "need" for my class, it's going in my cart.  

2.  What is your food weakness?

I love desserts! Cookies, cakes, pies, ice-cream you name it and I like it.  My pinterest board is out of control with items that I want to make (click here to see).  

3.  What is your go to movie to watch when nothing is on?

I don't really watch movies.  When nothing is on I can usually find an episode of NCIS to watch or a Golden Girls marathon to keep me occupied.

4.  What is your go to breakfast food?

I'm still working on this.  If you asked me a few weeks ago I would have said I have a slimfast shake for breakfast every morning but after having a kidney stone a few weeks ago, I've been trying to cut back.  Any suggestions for something quick and easy? The key word is quick because it seems I am ALWAYS running late to work?

5.  Do you drink coffee?  If so, how do you take it?

I don't drink coffee, lately I've been trying to have a bottle of water in the morning before school.

Well there you have it, another quick glance into my life.  If you would like to see my other two Sunday Socials click here and here.  Well I'm off to do some laundry.

SHINE on everyone.

12 on the 12th ~ April Edition

Well it's the 12th of the month which means it's time for my monthly linky party 12 on the 12th.  Once again a extra special thank you to Kacey of Doodle Bugs Teaching for coming up with this great idea and for passing the torch on to me this year.

Speaking of Kacey, since today is Friday I will also be linking up my 12 on the 12th post with her for Five for Friday.

Starting this month I am changing things up for my 12 on the 12th party and giving you two options.

OPTION 1:  Grab your camera and take 12 random pictures from your day on the 12th of the month to post and share with blogland.

OPTION 2:  Time for a little Spring Cleaning.  Post 12 pictures of whatever you want to from any day, any month, any year.  Your pictures can be school related or personal it's up to you.  I take pictures all the time that I want to use on my blog but for some reason or another, they never get posted.  Feel free to use my party as a way to show these random pictures and clean up your picture files.

So let's get this party started.  This month I'm picking option 2 so here are 12 random pictures from my life.

 1.  My friend made this cute little bag for her son to use with the tooth fairy for his first tooth.

 2. My Dr. Seuss book display for March.

 3.  Daisy-head teachers for the first day of Spring.

4, 5.  My students making and delivering their RAK thank you notes at Christmas.  Thanks Farley for reminding us to take a minute to think of others.

6.  Getting ready to decorate our gingerbread houses during Christmas.

7.  Our 100 day necklaces.

8.  This is one of my new FAVORITE things that I got donated to my classroom this year.  I don't know how I've taught without it all these years.  Thanks Jackie and Sylvia!

9.  We started using my number of the day cards this month.  Be on the lookout for this coming to my TPT store soon.

 10, 11, 12.  ~ Q week at school.

• My quilt from home (my sister made this for me when I first started teaching).
• Quilts my kids made in art class.
• During free time one of my kinder GIRLS made this with her math tub.  The two brown link are the football.  When I looked over at her she was pretending to have the player run with the ball.  When I asked her what she made she said " the quarterback has the ball in HER hand and is running to make a touchdown".  Talk about GIRL POWER, it was ADORABLE.

So there your have it, a peek into my randomness of life.  If you would like to join the party just post your pictures and come back to link up anytime this month.  Well I'm off to teach the future of America.

SHINE on everyone

Five for Friday (Sunday Edition)

I can't believe that it is already the 7th of April.  That means Friday is the 12th so it's time for my monthly 12 on the 12th linky party.  Thanks again to Kacey of Doodle Bugs Teaching for coming up with this great idea.

This month I want to shake things up a little so I'm giving you two options for the party.

OPTION 1:  Grab your camera and take 12 random pictures from your day on the 12th of the month to post and share with blogland.

OPTION 2:  Time for a little Spring Cleaning.  Post 12 pictures of whatever you want to from any day, any month any year.  Your pictures can be school related or personal it's up to you.  I take pictures all the time that I want use on my blog but for some reason or another, they never get posted.  I'm going to use this months party to show you these random pictures so I can do a little cleaning of my picture files. 

I love taking a peek into everyones life so I hope you'll come back on Friday to link up.  Speaking of Friday, I'm linking up today with one of my favorite parties Five for Friday (Sunday edition).

Last week I came back from Spring Break and hit the ground running. I had four conferences, a PST meeting, a pre-conference with my assistant principal, one birthday celebration, Science/Math Night, my teacher observation, a snow cone party, Queens and Quarterbacks day and Talk Like a Pirate day.  Needless to say, my Spring Break was officially OVER.  

One of my students interactive notebook responses.  Look closely and you can see him in the cockpit.

My firsties were studying AR sounds last week so on Friday morning I was dressed like a pirate.  My kinders were studying the letter Q so after lunch I was a queen and by the afternoon I was dressed like a quarterback.  WHEW. . . I thought 50's day and Halloween on the same day (click here) was crazy but this takes the cake.

Two queeens and a quarterback in front of a quilt.  The Arrrrrrt teacher had the kids make these fun quilts at the last minute just to join in on the fun.

Some pirates working on their craftivity.  In the afternoon one of my sweet little queens asked if she could have her face painted like my quarterbacks with the black streaks on her face.  The next thing I knew my pirates wanted their faces done too.  By then I just threw up my hands and went with it.  If you look very carefully at my queen on the left you'll see the black face paint.  It was hysterical.  

After school I was so tired that I laid down on my student table in the middle of talking to one of my friends and she snapped this picture.  How funny is that??!!  I think it perfectly sums up my week.

Well there you have it, a peek at my week.  Here's hoping this week will be a little bit more normal.  Well I'm off to do some lesson plans.  SHINE on everyone

Sunday Social

Happy Easter!!!!  I hope that everyone is having a great Easter weekend.  This week I ventured outside of Teacher Blogland into a new world. . . General Blogland.  Sometimes I forget that there is even such a place but it is out there and just as fun.  I stumbled on this fun Linky Party that is hosted by Ashley from Ashley Lately. Each week she asks 5-6 questions that are just random fun facts about yourself.  I love this idea so I'm jumping in with my very first Sunday Social post.

1.  What is your favorite type of workout to do?

When I workout (and truth be told it's been a while since my last trip) I'm just a simple treadmill kind of gal.  I usually end the session with some sit-ups and planks.  My friends keep trying to convince me to go to a Zumba class. . . maybe this summer.

2.  What is your favorite guilty pleasure candy or sweet?

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Snickers and Twix.

3.  What is one thing you continuously forget to do?

Check my mail.  I drive by the boxes all the time when I enter my condo and for some reason I can never remember to stop.   

4.  Do your prefer post-its or phone reminders? Why?

Post-it notes at school and phone reminders for my personal stuff.  I love the little ding my phone makes when it has a new reminder but I can't have it going off during the day while I'm teaching. You should see my desk at school ~ post-its EVERYWHERE.

5.  What is your favorite picture currently on your phone that always makes you smile?

Here is a picture of me and one of my partners in crime at school.  We were reading Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss hence the green hair and reindeer antlers in the middle of March.

There you have it some random stuff about me.  If you would like to join in on The Social, click here.  Ashley writes next weeks questions at the end of the post so you can get a jump start for next time.  Well I'm off to enjoy the rest of the day with my family.

SHINE on everyone

Five for Friday

Some of you might have noticed that I haven't posted for a little bit and that's because of five wonderful words. . . I am on SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!  This week has been perfect.  I love getting to do whatever I want, whenever I want.  Speaking of the number five, I'm linking up once again with the super talented Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for her linky party Five for Friday.

So here are some random pictures from the past two weeks.

Spring Break = ROAD TRIP.  My mom and I took a quick trip down to our old stompin' grounds, Miami for a quick mini vacay.  Here are some pictures from lunch, one word ~ YUMMY!!!!!!

I get to be a guinea pig and I LOVE IT.  Before I left school, I charged up these new ipod touches that our school received.  I've been trying something new with them over the break.  Stay tuned to see how I'm going to use them in the classroom.

Before we left for the break I read Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss so we had our kids come to school dressed up in crazy clothes. . . they really were cute.

My kinders are OBSESSED with making speech bubbles in their pictures lately.  This bubble says "Wacky Wednesday is fun".  We really did have fun that day, my kids crack me up.

So there you have 5 random pictures.  If you want to join the party click here to link up.  Well I'm off to get ready to watch some more March Madness ~ GO GATORS!!!!
SHINE on everyone