A Christmas Conversation + Baby

My life has changed. Completely. Of course everyone told me that it would but I just didn't realize just how much it would change.

That sweet little boy is my greatest accomplishment. 

So in love.

Now that we have a little bundle of joy, we are beginning our own holiday traditions this year. I'm linking up with Abby from The Inspired Apple to tell ya all about it!

The time of year between Thanksgiving and New Years are my absolute favorite! Time with family and friends is always the best.

Want to play along?

Click the link below to join in on the fun!

So Much to be Thankful For

With so much to be thankful for this year, I am joining the teachers of Primary Powers in a Thankful linky!

For starters, I am super thankful for the little man growing inside my ever-growing belly! :) His due date is in just 16 short days and the hubby and I are beyond excited! We had a very rough year last year, so this is nothing short of little miracle baby! yay!

I am so thankful to have a hubby like mine. The older we get, the more we grow, the bigger our love gets.  We have been together for 12 years, married for 7, and are the greatest duo around {we are not biased at all..lol}.

He keeps me sane, on track, makes me laugh daily and as I watch him become a Daddy I grow more and more in love with him. So thankful that God chose him for me. 

Seriously thankful this year for TPT and the blogging community.

I have grown so much as a teacher the past five years and it is all due to the community of blogging teachers I have had the great pleasure of meeting and learning from.  I owe it all to YOU.

I am also thankful for what TPT has been able to provide for me and my sweet growing little family.  Plus I get to snag so many amazing products weekly from their site. The opportunities are endless with TPT and the blogging world! 

What are you most thankful for? 

Book Talk

I've been M.I.A. for quite some time and for that, I apologize.  Well, maybe I don't.  After the end of a crazy year, I have been thoroughly enjoying summer doing absolutely nothing. It has been wonderful. :)

One thing I have been doing is reading…so I thought I would link up with Deanna today! Click the image below to check out other awesome books!

I love reading. It's such a nice hobby and perfect for when I'm laying by a nice body of water {which I will be doing for the remainder of the week…yay}!

Today, I want to share with you a NON-professional development book. 

If you're looking for an easy and funny read then you need to pick up Mindy Kaling's book: 

{click to purchase}

Mindy is absolutely HILARIOUS! I have caught myself laughing out loud numerous times while reading this book.  

The book is basically about her life, how she got into the tv/comedy industry, and she gives lots of tidbits about working with other comedians and some fun advice {if you will} on life topics. She is hands down one of my favorite comedians, which was confirmed after reading her book {in two days}.

Seriously y'all, this book is worth every penny.  You will find yourself laughing and smiling throughout the whole read and you will not want to put it down. This book is a great read for those who are wanting something to take their mind off school-related topics for a minute and take in a breath of fresh air. Laughter is such great medicine for the soul. 

Other books on my library list:

Another comedian I love!

For some spiritual guidance. Love me some G-O-D!

Already started this bad boy.  Lots of information on the RTI process and how to really provide meaningful interventions. Post on this soon.

I've heard really great things about this book. 

Can't wait to start reading!

Ok…off to do… well... not much! :) 

Happy Summer!

13 in '13

I'm so excited to join Hadar, Kristen, and Traci in this fun {annual} linky party!

Be sure to grab the button and link up at any of their blogs!

Oh man, this one is tough.  I have a slight shopping obsession when it comes to all things relating to clothing! I guess my favorite right now are my leggings!

I probably have every shade and am working on acquiring every printed legging as well! Ha! They're just so comfy!!

I have to admit.  I don't watch a lot of movies.  The hubby and I just never get around to going to the movie theater.  I did go see The Heat with my momma though and we laughed pretty dang hard!! :)

This is a given to those who have been following my little ol' blog.  If you have, then you also know about my depression which resulted in the ending of my favorite tv series.  My friend has been trying hard to get me hooked on Sons of Anarchy…and it's working!

This is also the same every year…Carrabbas Italian Gril.  Do you have one in your town?  You must try!

Being vulnerable.  This is something that I usually do not allow myself to be, but with the events that occurred this year, I learned to let myself be vulnerable and it felt great.

It was a gift to myself, but I am in love with my MacBook Pro!

Asking me to choose just ONE favorite pin is like asking me to choose a favorite niece.  It just can't be done.  Having pinned well over 1500 things this year alone, I just decided to snag one that was close to the top! ha!

{Source}

I love this idea, especially for high school {teaching related}.  I am going to do this with my family, though! If you want to see all 1500 of my 2013 pins, you can follow me HERE.

I'm choosing two {can't you tell I'm indecisive}! Kristin did it, too!

Teaching related post:

10 Things I've Learned From Teaching

Personal post:

Saturday Mornings

I selected these two because the teaching one is fun and it's a linky, so I got to read everyone else's tidbits as well, and the personal post shows you exactly what my hubby and I are like {in real life}.  We love to have fun, be silly, and be creative.  We have grown so much since then, too!

I paid off 4 credit cards with my earning from TPT!

You might be thinking…what in the world does she have 4 credit cards for?  What kind of spending problem does she have?  What kind of crap was she spending money she doesn't have on?  

Well…when I was first in college, I had zero money.  I was/am a hard worker and worked as a server for six years, many times working double shifts 5 or 6 days a week!  I made good money, but could never get caught up.  SO I did what many immature students do…I opened up a lot of credit cards.  My limits were very low but STILL.  It all added up and I would only pay just above minimum.  I was not good with my money {even though my parents tried}.

My goal for 2013 was to get rid of that 'bad' debt and I did!!!  Still have a little more to go but the bulk is paid. (sigh of relief)

bahaha! I can't stop laughing.  Okay, this picture was taken last week at my school's tacky Christmas party!  I am the Christmas tree! 

The jacked girl next to me is a close family friend. She happens to be the bartender where our party was held. Yea, you don't want to mess with her!

There's a better, more clear picture of me on someone's iPhone. (Hint, hint to a certain someone)

One of my besties got married this past July.  Man, I wanna be that tan again!

I would like to reach 1000 followers and add 10 more products to my shop.  I choose 10 because I have 10 ideas for packets written in my little idea book since last year and I need to get to it!  I'm also one to not self-promote but I would like to try a little here and there because I have found that I am able to find so many other amazing teachers in doing this! 

Patience.

With the ending of our first pregnancy, I realized that I need to let go and let God.  It doesn't matter when I want something to happen, it's all in God's timing and his timing is always good.  I also need to work on being a little more patience with my struggling kinders.  

I had so much fun going down memory lane.  Join in on the linky and read others favorites for the year! 

So excited that tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!!!! 

All I Want for Christmas...

I'm excited to join Hope in this fun little linky.

Unlike Hope, however, I do not have a problem receiving gifts! Not that I'm greedy, rather that I love the element of surprise!!  I love not knowing what somebody has thought enough to buy for me! :) 

The same goes for giving, too! I love trying to come up with the *perfect* little gift to give my family and close friends.  

While I love being surprised by my gifts, I don't really enjoy making a list for myself.  Something just doesn't feel right, at the age of 29, writing a Christmas wish list.  BUT, my family request a list and so…there it is. 

Here are some of the things on my list this year:

Hubby and I need some new linens but I hate having to spend my money on them (I'd rather buy clothes).

I love jewelry!!!

I would love to ride more.  How fun does this look?

I have the original Kindle and I think it's time for an update!

Now it's your turn.  Join in on the fun and check out what's on others Christmas lists.  You might find something to add!! 

Only 6 more full days and 3 half days to go for me! I.can't.wait!

Currently December Deals!

I decided I'm going to 'kill two birds with one stone' tonight! 

So…lets get started!

My favorite holiday tradition growing up was going out to eat for my Dad's birthday (Christmas Eve), going to church, and then opening ONE present!  I know that it's what most people do as part of the holiday 'routine' but I loved knowing that's what we were going to do every year and that every year was going to be even better.  The anticipation of what's to come made it all the more exciting! 

My favorite tradition now is watching Christmas Vacation every Thanksgiving (or closest day to) with my mom.  We're adding a drinking game to the mix this year, so it outta get interesting! :)  

My teaching favorite tradition is Cyber Monday shopping at TPT!  I'm not kidding you.  I get so excited to stock up my 'wish list' with as many goodies as I can and use up all my TPT Feedback points to add to the already awesome discount!  I love it.  Here are some of the goodies I snagged tonight.  I already have a couple more items I just added to my cart.  Ready to purchase more tomorrow (gotta see what other goodies people found, might need to add it to my cart too)! 

I love everything that Deedee creates! I've had her Overhead Station packet on my wish list for awhile now and after getting my hands on an overhead right before Thanksgiving break, I've been itching to click 'purchase.'

Kristen Smith has an amazing Main Idea packet that I can not wait to use!  I won't be diving deep into main idea until January and this packet as a lot of nonfiction arctic animal stories that correlate with different activities that focus on the main idea.  

I also got this Guided Reading Task Card packet from Tara West and another amazing RTI packet from Hello Literacy!

And, even though I already have a ton of literacy and math centers correlated with our Christmas themed, I HAD to get Abby's A Very Kinder Christmas pack!

It does not disappoint either! :)

I can't wait to see what you got!  Think I might need it too?  Let me know about any must haves! :)

Link up, too.