I'm Officially an Aunt!!

Ryan Grace Ridings graced us with her presence today! She is the most beautiful baby I've ever seen! I'm super tired, it was a long day, but I'm so proud of this little booger and her new parents that I had to post before I went to bed. 

Behold the cuteness...

She's a little miracle and I'm so excited to watch her grow up. And spoil her rotten. And kiss her face off. 

Love you, RG. Welcome to the family! 

The Master Plan

Ha! That post title makes it sound like I have an evil plan in the works. Maybe I made an evil laugh when I typed that. Maybe. 

Well, okay. I did. But, I don't have an evil plan, I was referring to my master bedroom. 

Here's what this room looked like at the beginning of the week. 

I honestly loved this room. It was fun and colorful and inviting, all good things. But, when my roomie got engaged and I knew she would be moving out, I admittedly started cooking up a plan to redo this room. Since I was going to have to decorate a whole new room anyways, I decided to move my current stuff into the guest room and make a beautiful new retreat! Good plan, right? 

Well, my roomie got married this weekend and as soon as the wedding was over, literally the next day, my mom came over and we got started. 

I painted the guest room Restrained Gold, which is a Sherwin Williams color. It's warm and inviting, which is just what I wanted. (See below.)

I moved my headboard in, a black desk and one nightstand. I didn't have to buy a single accessory or anything for this room! (Part of the plan, people. All part of the plan!) 

I used my same bedding, too! It's not the best bedding in the world, but it adds to the eclectic feel this room has going on. 

I used the same curtains, too! I also pushed the chest under the window to make some faux window seating! 

Okay, I just realized that I did buy that thing over the headboard. But, to be fair, I didn't buy it to hang there. I bought it for another room ad just ended up putting it there. So, for just the cost of paint, one wall thingy and a curtain rod, I have a brand new guest room! 

Now, since I spent very little money on the guest room, I was able to buy a few things for my room! And I was a-ok with this because I spend a lot of time in there. 

I knew I wanted the room to be three things: calming, pretty, relaxing. Those were my inspiration (along with about a hundred pins from Pinterest...) 

I knew I wanted gray walls. And I wanted white bedding. So, for Christmas this year, I asked for this duvet from West Elm. 

It's soo pretty! And, I stuffed it with two (yes, you read that correctly) down comforters that I already had. 

Also, I had found some gray chevron fabric in October that I knew I wanted to use. So, for more inspiration, I started looking at curtains. I honestly don't usually buy store-bought curtains. I like to buy fabric and have my mom make them for me. But, I was having trouble finding what I wanted. And, when I walked into Bed, Bath and Beyond, I was shocked at their selection! I couldn't decide between about three different choices, so I did the only logical thing I could think of: I polled people on Instagram. Yes, I did. 

And, lo and behold, everyone chose the one I was leaning towards! 

I think they were 30 dollars per panel and I had to buy four. But, I used a Bed, Bath and Beyon coupon for each and saved about 30 dollars total! 

Okay, wanna' see?

I moved my dresser to this wall across from the bed. I wanted it to look symmetrical and not-junky. So, I put a Wal-Mart lamp on either side of the tv and hung an old sunburst mirror from Kirklands above them. 

My mom and I made the headboard out of an oatmeal linen fabric. I don't buy any accessories or wall hangings. I already had them, some in storage! 

We painted the walls Amazing Gray, which is pretty much the softest, prettiest gray ever! 

My mom made me this table skirt out of three sheets from Wal-Mart! She's pretty amazing, huh??

I used the chevron fabric to make giant pillows and bought the bird pillows at TJ Maxx for about 20 dollars each. 

I love my new room! It's calming, pretty and relaxing: exactly what I wanted! 

I did some work in some other rooms and I'll share that stuff soon. I'm waiting on one thing to come in. Stay tuned! 

Whale, What's Your Opinion?

It's no secret that I'm kind of obsessed with killer whales right now. After watching the documentary Blackfish, I got kind of interested in these majestic creatures who are too smart and too emotional to be held in tanks. I've wanted to share some of this with my students, but honestly didn't have the time with all the testing hoopla.

Well, as luck (or bad luck) would have it, we had to go to school last Monday. That was supposed to be the first day of our two-week Spring Break. But, with all the snow days we've had this year (none of which actually resulted in me seeing snow, of course), we had to make up the day. I decided that instead of drilling them on test stuff, we were going to have fun! And, boy did we!

A day or two before our make-up day, I had two kids draw a huge killer whale on some butcher paper during centers. I didn't tell them what it was for, but it sure sparked all their little curious minds! They were so excited for what was to come.

The next day, I assigned them a partner and gave them some websites to find information about killer whales in the wild.  They wrote facts on post-it's and then put them on the massive poster. They found a lot of facts!! Afterwards, we talked about some of the interesting information and then I showed them some YouTube videos of killer whales in the wild.

Next, I had then write one paragraph about killer whales in the wild. The paragraph had to have a topic sentence, three details and a closing sentence. We used a blank paragraph template, but I totally forgot to take pictures! 

On the actual make-up day, we started by making a blank poster out of construction paper about killer whales in captivity. I had them divide their paper into a PRO and CON section and we talked about what those mean. 

I showed them a thirty minute video on YouTube called "The Making of Believe." It's a behind the scenes video of SeaWorld Orlando and the trainers interactions with the whales. It was important to me to present the kids with both the good and bad of captivity and let them from their own opinions. You can see from their posters that they started off thinking captivity was great! 

Then, I pulled up a website for kids about the negative effects of captivity.  They added the new information we read under the CON section of ther posters. 

Overall, I think they were shocked at te information we uncovered. The fact that the whales harm the trainers, even kill them, was pretty surprising to them. They said that after watching the video SeaWorld made, they would never think that! Which led to a great discussion about bias and how companies only share things that make them look good to the consumer.

I had te kids write another paragraph using the template about killer whales in captivity. I told them they could include any facts: good or bad or both.

Lastly, they wrote one more paragraph stating their opinion about whether killer whales belong in captivity or not. They had to include reasons that they felt that way.

They worked so hard on their writing and did a really great job! I was very proud of them, because frankly, writing is not their strength. At all. And, try as I might to fit it in, we just don't have a lot of time to devote to it. 

I know it's hard to read because I'm blogging from my phone. Sorry! 

I hung all their work in the hallway. 

I'm so glad I went ahead and taught this little mini unit. I debated about whether it was a good use of time or not. But, I decided that any time I can engage my kids, teach them about hot topics and current events, help them practice research and writing: that's always worth the time. 

And besides, we all need a break from multiple choice now and then. 

Even the teacher. 

Maybe especially the teacher...

Life Lately.

Man alive. 

I blink my eyes and it's March, y'all. When did that happen? 

And, could someone please tell the weather that it's March? Because we just had a snow day today and we have another one tomorrow! 

I'd like to pretend that I'm one of those teachers who is so sad to miss out on a day of learning with her children, but I'm going to be honest with you: I cheered when we got the call. Almost an obscene amount. 

Judge me if you must :)

I'm going to do one of those posts where I just purge all the pictures on my phone. That seems to be my method of operation lately, so why rock the boat? 

I'll start with Valetine's Day. (Wow. I'm a bad blogger.) My kiddos made Love Bugs! They were pretty excited to make these little creatures.

They had to write poems about their bugs. I'd say about half of them did a fabulous job. And, the other half? Well, they tried. Who says poems have to rhyme anyways? The one above was my favorite. I mean, how can you not love a poem that rhymes ambitious with Candylicious? And, who doesn't love pizza rolls? I know I sure do! 

My kids spoiled me rotten, too. Perhaps my best gift was a black lace ( see-through) shirt. I held it up and exclaimed "Thank you!" to the little girl who picked it out and she said "You're welcome! You might want to wear a shirt under it!" Thankyouforthat. 

In other school related news, we set DEA goals that week. I decided I was going to lay it all on the line and set class goals and individual goals. And, y'all, there are some BIG rewards on the line! I had them use stickers to track where they are and they will be easy to move after we take the next test this week. I'm excited to see how much they've grown. Fingers crossed!!

We also kicked "can't" to the curb! And that goes for me, too! 

In baby niece news, we have found some GREAT deals lately! My mom and I have been scouring thrift and consignment shops an found some good stuff!

This sweet little dress was 8 dollars!

Seersucker dress for 4 dollars.

Smocked bubble for 10 dollars.

And, drumroll please...

Smocked bubble for 1 dollar and 75 cents! 

It's fun to find super cute stuff that is cheap. It's all about the hunt! I've also bought a few things for myself :) I'll share those later! 

My little FiFi is doing good! She's as cute as ever. Here are some pictures of her lately:

Last night, it was sleeting and raining and icing. Hard, y'all. I didn't know what todo about taking her out. So, I just put her Halloween costume on her! Ha! She was, ahem, not very pleased with me. But, frankly, I'm used to that :)

She leads a very stressful life. Clearly.

I rearranged my living room. Again.

And, my mom made me this new table cloth for a future nightstand. But I hated to wad it up and throw it in a closet, so I set it up downstairs. 

There are some major house changes happening over here in the next few weeks. My roommate is moving out and getting married and I am doing some major house stuff! Stay tuned for all that! I'm talking moving bedrooms, painting, purchasing a couch: big stuff! 

Lastly, I'm going to leave you with three things I'm loving right now:

1. Cry Baby gum

I bought it for my kids. To hand out as a treat. (Yes, I'm evil. But, I love it when they make crazy faces beause it's so sour! And, before you call DCS, I always give them the choice of sour or regular.) 

But, I can't stop chewing this stuff! Why is it so good? 

2. Girl Scout Cookies

No explanation needed. But, just know that that box is loooong gone, people!

3. Baby chicks

My mom and I went to visit my grandmother this weekend. We went in this country store called Rural King. (No idea. They sell goat food, Duck Dynasty merchandise and Cheetos. So, if that sounds like your cup of tea, be my guest!) But, as we were strolling along the garden section, I heard a chirping. And, I trend to my mom and said "Do you hear that?" She did, so we headed that direction and they had like 12 giant pens of baby chicks! It was seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen! Ever. In the history of the world. 

SEE?

Okay, I'm off to bed. And, when I say "bed" I, of course, mean watching a Real Housewives marathon. Of course. And, I'm not enjoying the Lisa gang-up. Not one little bit. Those ladies better leave my Vanderpumps alone! And that's all I have to say about that. 

Good night, dahhhlings! 

(You read that like Lisa, didn't you?)