It's a BOY! Celebration and Giveaway!

I can't believe it! I'm going to be a mommy to a sweet baby BOY!

We already had a name picked out for a boy and a girl, but I'm not gonna lie... I always liked the boy name we had picked out more than the girl name... Good thing, huh?!

We had our ultrasound on Wednesday and my mom came with us! Our ultrasound tech told us when we needed to close our eyes and we were both good... we definitely didn't peek! My mom and mother-in-law threw us a gender reveal party on Saturday and I gotta tell ya, that three day wait was KILLING ME! It was so amazing though to see the little nugget move! I can't feel him yet, so it was a very strange to see him move around so much! The ultrasound tech said I have a "mover" and wished me luck... Yikes!

The grandmas did such an incredible job setting things up. Sorry in advance for the picture overload...

Beard or bows, who knows?

He or she, come in to see!

My brother was super Team Girl! Haha. Love him!

The grandmas before the party!

My mom couldn't find any good napkins so she stamped some colored ones. She's the coolest.

This was how she did it! It was a book themed party (people gave us baby books!) She got this box that looks like a book and the title is "Always believe that something wonderful is about the happen." Perfect, right??

We were so anxious!!

Can you tell we're excited? Inside was a little boy doll with a baseball cap and a mustache onesie. We are also doing a dinosaur theme in the baby's room so my mom put in a little toy dinosaur. <3

We ripped the pink streamer off the tree so the neighborhood would know IT'S A BOY!!!

We felt so much love yesterday. I couldn't believe how many people were there and just as excited as us to know if the little nugget was a boy or a girl.

To help celebrate the big news, let's do a giveaway!!! Check it out!

I'm giving away a $50 shopping spree to my store Daisy Designs to not one, not two, but THREE winners!!!!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday Scoop: The Feeling Better Edition

Thank the heavens that I am feeling more like myself today. I was out for an entire week last week! I originally went to the ER and was told I had the flu! I went because I'm also pregnant, you see, and having a high fever that Tylenol doesn't help... insert panic stricken face here. After my trip to the ER, I wasn't feeling better at ALL, so I followed my gut and went back to my regular doctor who graciously squeezed me in. Turns out... I did NOT have the flu, but a really bad upper respiratory infection that was on the fast track to pneumonia! Yikes. I miss my students terribly and hate that an entire week was wasted on sub plans. :(

Either way... I am feeling much better! And with feeling better comes inspiration to blog and create, which is how I have spent my Sunday so far!

I have felt so much better that I FINALLY was able to finish up a work in progress! This summer I'll be watching my best friend's little guy and he is obsessed with trains! So I created this little set up for him to play with this summer. I am so excited to share it! It is also HALF OFF for the next 48 hours so check it out or pin it for later! Click the pictures below to head there now!

Sick on a Sunday

Am I doing a Currently? Why, yes I am! I am currently sick on a Sunday and am definitely not going in to work tomorrow. I just finished the dreaded sub plans for tomorrow. I hate being out but I've had a fever since Friday night and spend Saturday in the ER. When you are pregnant with a fever and can't keep food down, you get scared. Well, turns out I have the flu! I've never had the flu in my life! Great timing...

Thanks for the fun linky, Farley! One of my favorites.

Have a great week, everyone. I'm gonna try to get some rest. Booooo.

Science Videos: Rocks and Soil

We started a new unit this week! Hooray! We started our Science Unit on rocks and soil so I went video hunting and found some real gems! Take a look below. I wrote a brief statement about each and how/why I will use them with my students. Enjoy!

If you have a Brain Pop subscription, the video on soil is AWESOME. It really allows the kiddos to understand the concept of living and non-living things that are important within soil and introduces tons of vocabulary words! You can't play the video without a subscription, but if you want to check out the site, click the image above.

If you are looking for a longer video, here's a Sid the Science Kid video "The Dirt on Dirt." I love how the little guy goes around and interviews his classmates on what they think dirt is made of. It shows students that everyone may have misconceptions.

My students love these little song videos I dig up on YouTube. Here's one on the types of rocks. Short and catchy!

Very interesting, good length of only 7 minutes, and has lots of REAL photos and videos. Also includes the goofy host, so... win/win.

My students had a hard time with the vocabulary word humus, so I found this amazing time lapse video of fruits and vegetables decomposing after 74 days. It sparked tons of great discussions like "why did the strawberries decompose first?" and "why were there new plants sprouting at the end?" My class begged to watch it three times today, so I'm pretty certain they'll know what humus is now. ;)

There are a ton of resources out there for this fun Science Unit and I'm working on a integration unit to put in my TpT store as we speak! In the mean time, enjoy these few videos I've found with your students! Do you have a great video to share as well? Post the link in the comments!

Sunday Blues

I know it's early, but I gotta tell ya, being pregnant just makes me want to stay home and get my house ready! I mean, I'll have all summer to prep the nursery and buy cool things and set up the things I receive from baby showers... but I want to start now! Can you tell I'm excited? I don't even know if this little shrimpy is a boy or a girl yet! (Although, I really think it'll be a girl... anyone else just get a feeling when they were pregnant?).

So this Sunday, I've got a bad case of the Sunday Blues. My sister-in-law has been living with us for a while, but she moved out last month which actually gives us a legitimate guest room! My home office has been crammed into the guest room and it hasn't been very inspiring in there. So now that we have the space, we are renovating my work space as well and I cannot be more excited! I've got so many ideas and pretty much everything picked out and... well... I just want to stay home and make this place my own!

That being said... here's my Sunday Scoop. Because really, there's a LOT that NEEDS doing over these things that I WANT to do. :/

Thanks, Teaching Trio for the fun linky! Still one of my all time faves!

I don't think my Scoop post today needs much elaboration. However, I will ask now for suggestions for things to binge watch after Gilmore Girls. I've already done Friends recently so not that (although I could easily do it again...). What are your thoughts? What are you binge watching right now?

While I'm at it, I'd like to share a new forever freebie that I posted in my store last week. It is a quick printable I created as a Word Work center material, but it's great because I don't ever have to change it! I just make a TON of copies of it and then just change the content. You'll love it. To download the freebie, just click the image below and don't forget to leave a comment on TpT! I'd love to hear how it is working in your classroom.

Happy Sunday, teachers!

Some BIG News!

Happy three-day weekend, teachers! As you know, I've been slower to post on my blog lately. I have been apologizing profusely and feel like an awful blogger... but I've been keeping a secret... It's time to fill you in!

*cue suspenseful music*

That's right, folks! My husband and I are having a baby in August! We have been busy with sharing the news, doctor's appointments, and since I just finished my first trimester, let me tell ya, I haven't felt my best... So although I've been neglecting my blog a bit, now that I'm in my second trimester and feeling great (and hungry), I should be getting a bit better with posting new blog posts as well as new products.

Let's go ahead an discuss what is on your mind: "An AUGUST baby?! You're a teacher!!" Yeah, the timing isn't great. My husband and I have been trying for about a year and I seriously did not plan this timing. The due date is August 19th... which will likely be the first or second week of school where I live. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. We are delighted to be starting our family. I've decided to take through Christmas break off from work, rather than the customary 12 weeks, because let's be real here... no teacher wants to START their year right before Thanksgiving Break. I'll spend the holidays at home, thank you. ;)

I can't wait to tell my students this week! I found a pack on Ms. DeCarbo's store that she created for her bundle of joy announcement that I snatched up that is perfect! If you want to take a look, click the image below. It's good stuff!

Thanks for understanding my absence, dear readers. I'll try to be more consistent since I don't feel like throwing up anymore (thank the Lord).

Oh dear...

What happened to the first week of February? Where in the WORLD did it go?? This has got to be the fastest time has flown by for me. I feel just awful about neglecting my little blog the past couple of weeks, so I thought, what better way to hop back on board than with a Sunday Scoop! It is one of my favorite linkies, after all. Thanks, Teaching Trio, for providing this one. Love it!

HAVE TO DO:

1. One thing you may not know about me is that I sing. I used to be a Musical Theater major but wound up finishing my college years with a degree in Education. The goal at the time was to teach theater. I fell in love with teaching and although I do teach at a community theater, I wouldn't trade my regular teaching job for the world! My mom is a song writer and she's asked me to come over to her house and record a new song. Let's hope it is a hit!

2. Nothing like waiting till the last minute, am I right? I was SO pooped at the end of last week and when my principal said "plan elsewhere" over the intercom on Friday afternoon, I bolted and took a nap. My lesson plans were put on the back burner. Gotta get them done!

3. My husband's 30th is on Friday AND our class Valentine's Day party is that day as well. I have a lot of shopping to do to get ready! Friday is going to be a big day. Stay tuned for pictures and maybe even a video. My IG and FB pages will be covered with them. :)

HOPE TO DO:

1. I'm working on a fun new product and I'm hoping I can squeeze some work time in today. One can only hope.

2. Bra shopping is probably one of my least favorite things to do in the entire world. But it's that time.... I hope to get it done today, but I won't be unhappy if I don't. Sigh.

HAPPY TO DO:

1. I am just happy to be posting today! I feel so guilty for neglecting my blog for the past couple of weeks. I know that I will definitely be posting again on Friday this week. I've got some fun things to share that day!

If you are not following me on Instagram, get on it! There was a really neat Freebie loop last night that you can still snag the goodies from. Click below to follow me on IG and tap each picture to get the freebies in everyone's profiles. I got some GREAT things to add to my Valentine's Day resources that I will certainly be using this week. Have fun and happy weekend!

Share the love and tag a teacher friend for this awesome freebie loop! Temporary links to the freebie are in each participant's profile. Tap the picture to go to the next freebie and like and follow them all! #freebieloop #freebies #teachersofinstagram #teacherfreebies #teacherspayteachers #teachersfollowteachers #iteachtoo #iteachsecond

A photo posted by Amanda Smith - Daisy Designs (@daisydesignstpt) on Feb 6, 2016 at 3:59pm PST