I heart summer.

  Today was lots of fun! It started off like all days in the summer: sleeping until 10:30! There's not much that makes me happier than that. Then, this afternoon, I went up to my school and had a puppy play-date with two of my favorite students and their mom/aunt. These sweet kiddos are cousins and I had Natalie in first grade and Philip in third grade this year! I love them and their mom/aunt. She always helped me in my classroom and we loved to chat in the mornings when she walked them to class. They're the sweetest family. When we got to the playground, it started POURING! So, we just sat under the porch at school and talked and hung out for a while. Then, when the sun came out, we went down to the playground. Finley was SO WILD! I have never seen her act like she did: she was running so fast, flipping and tripping over her leash and grabbing mouthfuls of grass. She got sooooooo dirty and had to come home and go straight to the bathtub! Now, she's sleeping. My favorite thing ever is when she sleeps because she's all sweet and cuddly. I'm really enjoying being able to be at home with her in the summer :)

 

Here are some pics from the day:

 

Love them!

Wish my eyes didn't look closed: I'm so squinty!

It's raining, it's pouring....

but, that didn't stop Finley!

Does this look like a puppy who played hard? Ha!

She hates baths. Just hates them.

 All clean and ready for a nap!

 

Yesterday, I took a few things up to my classroom. It was the stuff I blogged about earlier this week. Mostly I just wanted to drop it all off so that it wasn't sitting in my house all summer. I hate stuff just sitting around. And, well, one thing lead to another and... gulp... I set my classroom up!

 

This is new and I am in LOVE!

At the end of last year, I worked on organizing all my books in those red and blue containers. I love how clean and organized that shelf looks now!

 

I honestly only stayed for about two and a half hours! It's so easy to set it up when you aren't changing classrooms and you aren't planning on rearranging anything. I'm not going back up there until July, but I do feel better knowing that some of it is done.

 

Well, that's all I've got to share for now. I wanted to warn you  that I'm planning on sharing some pictures of my house soon because I want to have a Home Tour tab on my blog. And, I don't know any other way to do it. So, if decorating's not your thing, just know that those are more for me than for you :)

 

Toodles, Poodles!

 

 

A productive day...

I'm not sure how it happened, but I actually got a lot done today! Of course, none of it was important, but still!

I went to Michaels and came home with some great stuff!

I apologize because all the pictures turned out blurry. It happens every time I try to blog from my phone. Grrrrrrrr.

The first thing I got was this jewelry holder. I've been looking for a nice way to display my earrings because I am forever losing them. I saw this and thought it was perfect!

I don't know if you've been to Michael's lately, but their dollar bin is awesome right now! I got this cute zebra tray for a buck. 

I don't know why, but I kind of LOVE it!

I also found this cool paper on sale for three dollars. They are cards that you fold in half. I'm not going to use them as cards, though. I'll keep you posted :)

I got a new piece of furniture for my classroom this year that someone gave me. And, I felt like I would need a big piece to put over it because it's pretty massive. So, I grabbed a red frame ad my favorite pack of scrapbook paper ever. I buy this stuff over and over because it's fun, bright and happy! 

I printed off a quite that I had been eyeing on Pinterest for awhile. I found it at eighteen25.blogspot.com. I used some scrapbook paper to make a mat around the quote. 

It's not perfect. In fact, it's kind of messy. But I am sooooo not a perfectionist! So, I love it, ha. It's colorful and kid-friendly. I plan to let the kids make self portraits the first day and I'm going to hang them around it. Well, that's the plan. Who knows if it will happen?

I also have a random space above my board. I tried hanging reading strategies there last year, but it was honestly not great because it was on the opposite side of the room from my guided reading table. So, I moved them and that space was blank half the year. You can seethe space in this picture, it's orange.

So anyway, I decided I wanted to hang some quotes up there this year. I was thinking about buying cheap frames and spray painting them fun colors. But, when I was reunited with my favorite paper, I got an even better idea! 

Still colorful, and a looooooot cheaper! Win, win! I used quotes that I've seen around the Internet, quotes that I say a lot, and quotes that my parents used to say to me :) I like then because I feel like that is kind of just wasted space: so, it might as well be cute, right?

So, yeah. That's what I did today. Want to know what Finley did while I was working? 

I knew I bought all those pillows for a reason :) 

Arkansas

Well, I've been out of town for the last week. The whole family (Finley included) loaded up my grandfather's Buick LeSabre (jealous, I know!) and headed to Springdale, Arkansas to see my brother play minor league baseball. We had a great trip, but it ended a little differently than we expected. My brother got released on the last day we were there. His team had too many pitchers. I know he's disappointed, but we're prayerful that there will be more opportunities for him to play ball. And if there aren't, we'll be totally psyched to have him and Blakely back in Tennessee!

 

Enough about that, on to the pictures!

Matt sent Finley a little text from Hampy before we left. It basically said that she couldn't wait to see her cousin :)

This is my new favorite picture of Finley. She sat and watched me pack forever!

And, she was pretty spoiled in the car! I don't think she spent an hour in the crate that was crammed in the backseat.

Nice night for baseball!

We were even there on Star Wars night!

One day, we drove over to Fayetteville to see the home of the Razorbacks. Can you see that lady? She was taking pictures of her family, who were standing on a roof inside the stadium! We were cracking up. They just, like, tromped through all the bushes and plants and climbed up there. Although, we can't judge because my dad tried to open every single door her could find.  

Oh, this is just the Titanic. We drove about two hours to Branson, MO one day. I have to say, I can happily check that off my list of places I've been and never go back. It was pretty nuts. We basically drove around and looked at stuff, I'm sure it's more fun if you actually do stuff! We did go to an outlet mall, so I guess it was worth the drive, ha!

We ate lunch at this café. Food was great. Entertainment was, well, interesting. There was a lady who was singing live and she was reallllllly chatty with the audience. I have a phobia of entertainers who interact with audience after a particular evening at Shoney's Family Fun Night when my mom had to ask the Shoney Bear to leave our table because I was crying. And I was in 8th grade. Not my most proud moment. So, needless to say, I was pretty busy the whole lunch trying not to make eye contact with this lady.

We got frozen custard at the cutest little shop!

 

In downtown Branson, we went in an old-fashioned 5 and Dime. It was so neat, but really crowded!

Me and my girl :)

I bought a new hat for my beach trip with friends in a few weeks. And, even though Matt's not a Royal anymore, I'm still glad I bought it. It was his team for four years and I'll always be thankful that they took a chance on drafting him when no other team would because he had Tommy John surgery a week before. You know who's not thankful? My grandpa. He's 89 and he's so sweet, but you do not want to make him mad! Yesterday, we were on the way home and my grandpa told us that he left all his Kansas City stuff at the hotel because he never liked that team anyway! We just died laughing.

Me and my "little" brother. And, I just want to say, I look like a COW in this shirt. Moo.

One night, my dad saw a player's family go out onto the field after the game to take pictures. I turned to my mom and said "Guaranteed, we'll be out on that field by the end of the week." Sure enough, the next night, there we were.

 

Some people saw Matt out there and he had to sign autographs for a while. Sorry, Matt!

Pool time was plentiful.

While we were there, I got brave and tried something new. Has anyone tried this stuff? It's spray moisturizing lotion and it is AMAZING! It smells soooooo good and it's not greasy at all. I highly recommend it!

Finley Girl did a great job in the hotel.

I took a picture of her one night in bed with my parents because it will probably never happen again...

Think she needs a haircut?

My grandpa, who never liked the Royals anyway.

Another day, we went to Bentonville. It's the home of Wal-Mart! This was the original store opened by the Walton's.

Inside was a museum. This was Sam Walton's office.

Bentonville has a really nice little square!

Finley was praying that we could go home! It was a looooong week.

Matt and Blakely's dog, Hampy. Isn't she cute?

I think mine's pretty cute, too :)

 

It was a fun trip.

 

Before I go, I want to wish my daddy a Happy Father's Day! He's the best and I love him so much!

What I Listen To (Fun Classroom Edition)

Do you ever have times in your classroom at school when you just want to have a little fun? Or times when you don't mind the kids being a little less "structured"? Or when you need a fun song for a transition or a game?

Well, I certainly do.

I'd say the week and a half before school got out this year, I played this playlist about 50 times. And the kids sang and danced and worked their TAILS off each and every time. It was a lot of fun, I must admit. And, when you're stressed and tired and have a ton of work to do, it always feels good to take part in an impromptu sing-along with your kiddos!

I put together a playlist of fun, clean songs that are appropriate for children that I can play in moments of happiness. And, I wanted to share it because when I was making it, I had trouble finding a lot of songs that were *just right*. I've had the same playlist for about 5 years and every year (first grade or third) the kids are DELIGHTED when I ask them if they want some "fun" music. One day, I tried to find good stuff on Pandora for them and I swear, my kids begged me to play our playlist because they're familiar with those songs and love to sing along :)

So, here's the music we play during the good times...

1. Fun, Fun, Fun - The Beach Boys

2. Baby Hold on to Me - Eddie Money

3. Hakuna Matata - The Lion King

4. Gotta Go My Own Way - High School Musical

5. Upside Down - Jack Johnson

6. ABC -Jackson 5

7. I Want You Back - Jackson 5

8. I Just Can't Wait to be King - The Lion King

9. The Time of Your Life - Randy Newman

10. You've Got a Friend in Me - Randy Newman

11. Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Isreal Kamamawiwo'ole

12. Send Me on My Way - Rusted Root

13. I'm a Believer - Smash Mouth

14. Build Me Up, Buttercup - The Temptations

15. Start of Something New - High School Musical

16. Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts

17. Strangers Like Me - Phil Collins

18. Two Worlds - Phil Collins

As you can see, a lot of old songs and a lot of Disney. But, I'm telling you, every class I've ever had has adored these songs. 

And, there's something so freeing about just turning the music on and letting them sing along as they work. 

Try it, I promise you won't be disappointed!

What I Listen To (Classroom Addition)

One thing I've always done in my classroom is play music. I play it every day, all day. 

And, no. I'm not exaggerating.

I read somewhere early on that it's good for your brain to have soft music playing. So, waaaaaay back in my second year of teaching (okay, 5 years ago) I made a playlist of songs to play in my classroom.

Well, guess what?

I'm still using that exact same playlist today!  I haven't changed a single song. And, did I mention I play it all day, every day? I honestly and truly do not get tired of the songs because if I did, I would change them. They're all just so soothing and calming and I almost don't even notice them except when it's really quiet.

I obviously don't have any scientific evidence to back this up. I've never conducted research on the subject. But, I think it helps my kids. If nothing else, it helps with classroom management and classroom environment. If I ever forget to turn the music on, the kids remind me. And, sometimes, when they're all working quietly, they'll start humming along with the music and my heart melts because it's all just too sweet :)

I'll post later about the playlist I use when we want to have fun. But, for now? These are just soft, sweet classical tunes that you can play during a normal school day.

You can find all these songs on iTunes. I'll list the song first, the album and/or musician second. And, all the Disney songs do not have any words - they're just musical versions.

1. Largo from Concerto in D Major - Vivaldi (Baby Genius)

2. Brandenburg Concerto #2, mvmt 1 - Baby Genius Artists

3. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Baby Genius Artists

4.Finding Nemo - Thomas Newman, Finding Nemo

5. Allegro from Spring-The Four Seasons - Baby Genius Artists

6. Field Trip - Thomas Newman, Finding Nemo

7. Menuett in A - Hits Unlimited (Classical Music for Kids)

8. Relaxing Piano - Relaxing Piano Music

9. Clocks - The Session

10. Dead Already (American Beauty) - The Session

11. Minuet in G

12. Nutcracker Suite, Miniature Overture - I.Q. Music Orchestra (Be Creative)

13. Beauty and the Beast - Jim Brickman, The Disney Songbook

14. Theme from Spin and Marty (Instrumental) - Walt Disney Presents Songs from the Mickey Mouse Club

15. Turkish March - Hits Unlimited (Classical Music for Kids)

16. Reflection (Instrumental) - Jim Brickman, The Disney Songbook

17. Harry Potter - The Session

18. The Sting - The Session

19. When You Wish Upon a Star (Instrumental) - Jim Brickman, The Disney Songbook

20. Only Time - Enya

21.Orinoco Flow - Enya

22.Hooked on Mozart - The Royal Philharmonic, Hooked on Classics

23. Air in G Minor - Baby Genius Artists

24. Fur Elise - Baby Genius Artists

25. School of Fish - Thomas Newman, Finding  Nemo

26. Canon in D - Classics for Kids

I have an iPod dock that just stays at school. And, I use my old iPod that also stays at school. It works really well for me because I have other playlists for school on there that I use. Do you play music in your classroom? What do you play? I'm always looking for new songs I can add so please let me know if you've got any great ideas.

What I Listen To (Gym Edition)

I was thinking this week that I might blog about some of my playlists. I have a bunch and I get a lot of questions about my playlists that I play at school. I'll share those soon. But, tonight I'm going to share another playlist - because I just made it! 

 

So, I mentioned in one of my recent posts that one of my goals this summer is to consistently work out. I've actually been walking every day for about an hour - but I had to get back in the habit of going to the gym. I -HATE- the gym. I never want to go. Once I get there, it's okay. But, getting in my car to drive over there and then having to shower when I get home - uh. I'm lazy, ya'll!

 



I pretty much had to do something to psych myself up to go. So, I did what everybody does: I made a new playlist! I actually haven't made a workout playlist in a long time and any time I've worked out in the last few years (which, admittedly, was pretty much never) I just used my old playlist.

 

I tried my new songs out at the gym today and they were AWESOME! I just wanted to share it in case anybody out there needed a little "get movin" motivation like I did :)

1. Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton

2. Good Time - Owl City & Carly Rae Jepson

3. Here's To Never Growing Up - Avril Lavigne

4. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction

5. 'Till I Collapse - Eminem

6. Arcadia - Ash

7. Die Young - Ke$ha

8. Come & Get It - Selena Gomez

9. Whistle - Flo Rida

10. Done - The Band Perry

11. Up Up & Away - Kid Cudi

12. Feel This Moment - Pitbull ft. Christina Aguilera

13. Starships - Nicki Minaj

14. Pom Poms - Jonas Brothers

15. Don't Stop Believin' - Glee (I prefer this version, because I'm a dork)

16. Cruise (Remix) - Florida Georgia Line ft. Nelly

17. Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO

So, there it is.

 

 Do you know of any songs I should add or any songs that you love to listen to at the gym? I think a good playlist makes all the difference in a good workout :) And, I'm open to any great songs I can add to my list. I mean, if I'm going to be miserable, I might as well be miserable with good music, right?

On Display, On Display, On Display...

 They're baaaaaccckkkk!!!

 

I can't tell you how sooooo excited I was for the Real Housewives of New Jersey premiere tonight. I love all the Housewives franchises. (Well, except for Miami. Who watches that?) But, hands down, New Jersey has always been at the top of my list. I've said it before here on this blog, but I think the Guidice family is comedic gold. Gold. They should have their own show. I know Teresa has her faults, but I think all the other women are just as horrible - if not more so. And, I can't even begin to tell you how happy it's made me to see all the peoples on the internet start sticking up for Teresa. Yay #trehuggers! (Isn't that name hilarious? No, I didn't make it up. Do your research, people!) Ha.

 

I've never blogged about a tv show before. Well, that's not true. I have. But, I've never blogged about an episode of a show before. And I have a lot of thoughts about tonight's episode that I need to share. So, if you're not a fan of the show, this is not the post for you. Sorry.

 

-The show opened up with all the housewives  headed back to the Jersey Shore to see the damage after Hurricane Sandy. Sad stuff. Also sad? Rich and Kathy drove all the way out there to see their RENTAL HOUSE. Really, guys?? The damage to all of their homes was pretty severe. So severe that Teresa walked into her place and said "My house! What happened to it???" Um, a hurricane hit it. Remember? And, then she said she would have "drownded" if she had been in the home because she can't swim. Awesome.

 

-My favorite scene all night was seeing Teresa cleaning out her closet with a massive pile of hooker shoes and bedazzled clothes. And then she informs us that she's teaching her girls to give in times of need. And, really, what hurricane victim doesn't need gold glitter pumps and lacy dresses to wear while cleaning up the remains of their home? I'm picturing people on the Jersey Shore parading around in destruction dressed up like the girls on Sex in the City. Ha!

 

-Milania is my favorite person on the show. Heck, she's my favorite person on any show! But, she mad me sooo sad when she was saying how much she missed her family. And, she forgot little Gino's name! So, I thought it was adorable when Antonia sent her a letter (with her name spelled wrong, ha!) and Milania called her back and asked for a playdate. I'll get to the playdate in a second, but I just have to say how sweet it was to see little cousins love each other so much. Growing up, my cousins were my best friends so I completely understand that. And, best quote of the night comes from little Miss Milania, while holding a cosmetic mirror up to her face: " I hate my nose hairs! I need them to be gone!" LOVE HER!

 

-Now, about this playdate... I applaud Teresa for trying to set one up. She realized that the girls deserved to see each other and immediately let Milania call her cousin to set one up. Melissa was all cagey and non-committal and of COURSE waited until she was at Caroline's to text her about it. And here's the thing. Melissa was wrong. She made the playdate all about her. I mean, did she honestly think Teresa was going to talk about her in front of her child????? Come on. There is absolutely no reason to think that. Do I think Teresa says stuff about Melissa in front of her own kids? Yes. Should she? No. And Joe was horrible to call Melissa "Horsey Face" in front of Milania. But, I've never seen any instance where Teresa's been anything but sweet with her nieces and nephews. And, it's pretty amazing that Melissa brought all this up in front of Caroline, dragging her into it, and then had the guts to say it was none of her business when she asked Joey to dinner. Um, you made it her business. And, you made it America's business by coming on the show to cause trouble. There, I said it. Then, at the playdate, she was awful. She wouldn't let the kids just play and she was kind of mean about the communion, too. I'm sorry, but if you think Teresa is the problem in this situation, you're crazy.

I don't think Teresa is innocent in all this. AT ALL. But, what frustrates me is that all the others gang up on her and say she never takes responsibility for anything. But neither do they! They all do the exact same things and somehow, she's the bad guy? I don't buy that. It just irks me how Melissa and Caroline and Jacqueline and Kathy all feel that they are sooooo innocent and such victims and that is CLEARLY not the case.

 

-So, can we all just take a minute to DIE LAUGHING about the fact that Caroline moved to Hoboken to be closer to her precious sons? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Seriously. She wonders why her daughter has self-esteem issues? Maybe because your entire life revolves around your boys and Lauren feels like the red-headed step child of the family? It still doesn't make me like Lauren, because she gets waaaaay to involved in the affairs of her parent's friends. And, luckily, there was no sight of Albie or Crittofer tonight, so that's always good. One more thing about Caroline: I read online that she was majorly playing damage control this season because she realized that she came off as a whiny shrew last season, and no one liked her anymore. Well, that certainly seems to be the case. And, that's fine. Whatever her intentions, I, for one, would welcome a nicer Caroline.

 

-Now, Jacqueline. Look, her son is adorable and it was really sad to see him struggle. But, don't let her fool you. Her whole shctick all the time is "I don't want the drama!" That's clearly not the case. She wants it. She needs it. She thrives on it. This chick gets in Twitter wars with people all the time. She involves her teenage daughter in it. She eats it up. Always has.

 

-And, why is Kathy even on this show?

 

Okay, that's my two cents on the first episode. Can't wait for the rest of the season!