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July 29, 2016

Oh Baby! A Giveaway!

I'm 38 weeks pregnant today, people. Where did the time go?? I'm seriously melting in this Florida heat and SO READY to have this baby. Not much longer! It's so worth it.


All that being said, I know it is seriously time for some Back to School shopping! I can't believe I won't be joining in this year, but that doesn't mean I can't help celebrate! So I've decided to do a giveaway!



I'm giving away a $10 Teachers Pay Teachers giftcard (I think there's a sale coming up! *wink) and a copy of this year's edition of my FAVORITE binder pack! It's 114 pages of pure organization glory...


Enter below and tell your friends! And let's hope I'll have some cute baby pictures to share out soon. :)

WE HAVE A WINNER! GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! Thank you to everyone who entered. Be sure to check back for more giveaways and freebies!





a Rafflecopter giveaway

July 25, 2016

Monday Made It! Back to School Decor!

I love Back to School season! Won't be joining in this year with the baby on the way (VERY soon!), but I still couldn't resist whipping up a calendar.


I simply used a black piece of poster board, velco, and the printed pieces from a DIY Calendar pack on TpT! It's pirate themed, of course. One of my favorites!





Ta-dah! The month and the numbers are attached with velcro so they are completely removable. I love the red on black! It really makes it stand out!

Click the image below to get your own pieces!


Next week for Monday Made It, I'm making these poof ball things out of coffee filters! I might even share a video of it! Super easy and WAY cheaper than buying the pre-made tissue paper ones that are not very durable. :)


July 21, 2016

The Seven Truths of Not Teaching for a Year

I am currently approaching 37 weeks of pregnancy in the Florida heat. I am pretty ready for this baby boy to come on, but as the beginning of the school year approaches... I can't help but feel a bit sad that I won't be there. My husband and I made the decision that I will stay home throughout the entirety of this school year. Here are my thoughts on the matter:



1. Feeling the "back to school" envy.
All the sales, all the Facebook and Instagram posts, all the adorable things at the Target Dollar Spot...

A photo posted by PeppyZestyTeacherista (@peppyzestyteacherista) on


A photo posted by Lawren | TN Teacher 🍎 (@teachingisaroyaladventure) on


I want all the notebooks!!!

And my all time favorite thing to do is get my classroom lookin' shnazzy! At least I have the baby's nursery to decorate.



2. That glorious Back to School TpT Sale that usually happens...
My TpT Wishlist always seems to be multiple pages long. At least I can still snag some good deals on Clipart, right? I would like to just go ahead and buy ALL THE THINGS, but money is better spent elsewhere right now. Sigh.



3. Missing the team.
Everyone has a TBFF, right?? I saw that term on Kindergarten Smorgasboard's blog once and it's definitely April and me. If you don't have a TBFF (Teacher Best Friend Forever), you need one STAT! <3 Going to miss her this year. She better not replace me!

Look at her, checkin' in on me and stuff. Feeling so loved. <3 


4. Missing out on the excitement of a new year with new kiddos.
I LOVE the first week of school! I love the excitement of all the students and I even love the monotony of teaching routines and procedures a bazillion times in one week. But I'll especially miss the fist-bumping and high-fives morning welcome I do with my students as they enter.





5. My friends won't be able to text me back until the end of the day.
What is this?? I won't be able to talk to anyone until 3pm?? I officially feel bad for my best friend Heather who is a stay at home mom for all the times I couldn't text her back until after work.



Oh... and there's also this...




6. My cute teacher clothes are being neglected.
I've been pregnant since November, people. Granted, my regular clothes fit fine until about March, but still... I haven't been able to look real cute in some time, because pregnancy got me feeling like...



And now, another year of my clothes collecting dust. Oh well, at least I'll have some time to lose some of the baby weight so that they'll fit next year...


7. But it's all worth it.
There's a reason this is the best decision right now. Whatever your reason is to take some time off, it's worth it.


July 18, 2016

Monday Made It!

Every now and then I get in the crafty spirit, especially during Back to School season! This year is a lot different for me however, as I am 36 weeks pregnant and about to POP! I won't be headed into the classroom this year, but I am still itching to create, create, create! So, I made a little wall art for my son's nursery that I plan on making in the future for my classroom when I return and I just HAD to share! It's time for a Monday Made It!

And keep scrolling for a MARKDOWN MONDAY perfect for Back to School! :)




For this first one, I found some "Pinspiration," of course. This has been pinned on my Pinterest for ages and I finally got the supplies and went to work! This image is from the blog Catch My Party and they have a lot of crafty ideas.


I chose the colors of my baby boy's room and snagged some cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby on sale! Love it when that happens...


In her tutorial, she used Mod Podge, but I found that the hot glue gun was a lot easier and stuck a lot better, so I wound up using it the most. I wrapped the yarn vertically in areas that have a top and then made sure that the majority of the visible yarn was the same direction on each letter.


That "S" was no joke, people. This was after working on it for a while. It took a long time for me to find my rhythm, but once I did, I was whippin' on through that first "A." I got a lot of Netflix watching in during this project. ;) Added perk to crafting, if you ask me!


Finally finished the wrapping and then started hot gluing some dinosaurs to the letters! (Had to move to the coffee table because we needed the kitchen counter lol). I, of course, ran out of hot glue as I was adding those cute dinos... So those letters sat there for like a week until I finally went out for glue sticks.


And VOILA! I am totally loving it. It isn't on the wall yet, as we just finished our baby shower the other day. Once I get that nursery up and running, I'll share a picture of it above his crib on my Instagram! Make sure to follow HERE!




Speaking of baby shower, my mom totally made me CRY! She made the sweetest gift for my baby boy and even though I didn't make this one, I have to share. It is beautiful and completely, 100%, hand stitched.


Everything on the blanket has meaning to us. Our furbabies (Daisy and Pudgy) on on the top right. There's a policeman hat and nurse symbol for my husband's parents. There's a piano and a trumpet for my mom and stepdad. There's a penguin for me (my favorite!) and a Superman symbol for my husband. There's an Italian flag and a Native American dreamcatcher for my heritage. It's so wonderful and I can't express how much I LOVE IT!


Even though I am not returning to the classroom for this quickly approaching school year, I am doing some updating in my TpT shop and stumbled across my old Pirate theme classroom from two years ago. I thought I'd share the images because they are still SUPER adorable! Right now, for TODAY ONLY, the Table Numbers below are on sale for just $1.



My pirate ship desk! That was SUCH fun. The wrap around was created with 2 tri-fold Science Fair display boards. The wood look was created with wood grain contact paper from the dollar store. The red is duct tape, and the port holes are made of polka dot paper plates with blue construction paper. The flag is a matching plastic table cloth attached the a pool noodle (also wrapped in the wood contact paper).


This was our reading corner! The sail is a plastic table cloth attached to a pool noodle (wrapped in the wood contact paper). This stayed up all year, too. I was shocked it made it through the whirlwind of Kindergarten...


Found these frames from IKEA! This is an updated product in my store as well. Click the image to see more.


My paper plate word wall!


And last but not least, my construction paper X. I was in a portable that school year, which meant I could staple into the walls! Made decorating a heck of a lot easier, folks.






July 8, 2016

Five for Friday: July 8th!



What's this?! Am I doing a Five for Friday?? I absolutely love this linky hosted by Doodle Bugs Teaching, but every time a Friday rolls around I lose my mind and forget to post! Not this time, Friday! I got this!


Still pregnant. And melting. I live in Florida, by the way. Check out this weather forecast...

Yep.

But also look at this adorable Daisy shirt I got! Perfect for being pregnant. It's so soft and thin. And any time I see anything related to daisies, I have to have it!

A photo posted by Amanda Smith - Daisy Designs (@daisydesignstpt) on

If you click the image above, you'll head to my Instagram page (my favorite social media site EVER!). Lots of images and updates on products, but also just real life stuff. :)



I have been having loads of fun with my best friend's 3 year old, Liam, this summer. He is spending some time with me while his mom finishes up her internship for her Master's program. If you haven't checked out the two posts I have up called "Learning with Liam," click any of the pictures below to go check them out! The activities we are doing are super fun and easy (I'm a giant pregnant whale. It's gotta be easy...)








I've been working on some products for my store and am pleased to announce the newest addition to the Reading Wonders series! SECOND GRADE! Unit 1 is available now and the growing bundle is really inexpensive at the moment and will increase in price as more units are added.

Click to go there now.

Click to go there now.



Are you getting ready for next year? I'm not returning to work this year to be a stay at home mom (just one year! I'll be back!), but I have to say when packing up my classroom, this storage solution was great and easy to move. I have a blog post all about it, so click the image below to see more photos. There's also a FREEBIE available for getting you started.


Click to download!


One of my favorite times of the year is back to school and I won't be there to experience it this year. :( It is CERTAINLY for a good reason. Baby boy is due August 13th and the first day of school in my district is August 10th. I've made the tough decision to stay home for one year and go back in August of 2017. I adore my job, but I know this is the best decision for us.

My favorite thing to do is set up a classroom, though! I like to change things up every year as it makes things more exciting and fun for me and the kiddos. It also makes each year feel fresh and new and gives me great specific memories of students that I won't have with other groups. If you're looking for some classroom setup ideas, take a look at the pictures below! You can also click the My Classroom tab at the top of the page to see more.





All these pictures are from last year. The year before I was in a portable and I had a pirate theme! All the old images are in the My Classroom tab at the top of the page. Enjoy! And enjoy setting up your classrooms, teachers. I'll be enjoying my new bundle of joy in about 5 weeks! EEK!