14 in 14

What an amazing year 2014 has been!  Best year yet and I'm going to share fourteen of my favorite memories from the year with you.

{fourteen}

Starting the year with this man is always a blast and a blessing. Love him.

We had planned to join a group of friends for New Years and after getting all dressed up and fancy…we stayed home. Just the two of us and it was glorious! 

{thirteen}

This picture holds lots of memories. It was my second day of spring break (who wants to be going into surgery on spring break?!), my hubby's friend from France had just arrived in the US for the first time and had to spend the first few days in the hospital with me (he became a very close friend after that), I was having my ovary removed, and I was already pregnant and didn't know it!

{twelve}

We welcomed my fifth niece into the world!

Taylor Grace is some sorta special and she has the sweetest big brothers.

{eleven}

 

I received two Donors Choose projects.

One project included a set of Guided Reading books. This sweet boy (who was bouncing as he read…hence the blurriness) learned how to read!!

{ten}

I was pregnant for the majority of 2014.  I must say that pregnancy is not for me. I have ridiculous amounts of respect for women who can pop out and raise more than one kiddo.  It is no joke! I would not change anything for the world now!

{nine}

I got to spend a lot of time relaxing by the water with good friends and family!

It helps that I live in FL and am only an hour away from the beach.

{eight}

We became homeowners again and bought another "fixer-upper!" :)

I can not find my picture of the house before there was any work done to it.  Imagine three HUGE pine trees littering the left side of the picture and a TON of shrubs and crappy bushes littering the yard in a very unkept way.  Not to mention green shutters with red plates on the side of the house displaying the house number. YUCK!

{seven}

I discovered the world's greatest form of peanut butter thanks to my fellow friends on IG!

{six}

Disclaimer: I have shorts on!

I was surprised by my two favorite Aunts who traveled from afar to join me at my first baby shower. This is the aftermath of that shower. We were organizing and condensing. I was truly blessed by the amount of gifts we received and am blessed to have such an amazing family. 

{five}

I got to take the most amazing baby-cation with my hubby in Cali in July.

Best (pre-baby) week ever.

{four}

The greatest memory…the birth of my son, Max Parker.

My world is forever changed.

{three, two, one}

Max

Seriously can not get enough of him!!

It has been one amazing year.

My goal this upcoming year is to take better pictures! lol

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? 

Wait…WHAT?

What I find hilarious is that my last post was the October currently. 

Seriously, where has the time gone? 

I don't even really have time to be writing this post, but I thought maybe you might be worried about where I've been. Because I'm such an important part of your daily lives, right?! :)

I have not listened to Jack Johnson in a lifetime and I'm so glad that the hubs decided to start our morning off with his melodic music! 

Holy cold front!!! Friday reached a high of 80 and then Saturday reached a high of 61.  For us Floridians, that's a big deal.  Not to mention we had a wind chill too! This nice change in weather won't last long for us, as it's suppose to get back up to the 80's next week. whomp, whomp

This morning marks my ninth month of pregnancy, which means the Little Dudder will be here THIS MONTH!  As excited as the hubs and I are, I'm freaking out just a little bit! We still don't have the nursery all set up {the construction worker man of a hubby, has "big plans" for what we're going to do with the new guest room, so all the guest room items are still hanging out in the nursery}. It will be happening this week. Fingers crossed.

I realized that he could come early, so I will be packing our hospital bags today. Just in case. 

Did I mention we need to finish the nursery?!  Dear heavens!

My maternity sub plans are coming together really nicely though.

I got to interview some prospects and we've selected a current Kinder intern who has been at our school for the past two years.  She knows us, our curriculum, the school, and knows my kiddos {for the most part}. HUGE sigh of relief.

My sub binder is coming together really nicely and I will be adding pages to the packet in the next week, as my OCD-self found some more things that could be added to help cover all bases while you're away from you room.

This could be a blessing or overwhelming annoyance for subs, but I'm loving all the details I'm leaving. She shouldn't miss a thing or have to second-guess anything while I'm away! :) Relinquish control. I must relinquish control.

Click book to check it out.

I am currently reading Jenny McCarthy's book Belly Laughs and it is 

HI-LAR-IOUS!

Perfect book to read while pregnant.  If you're looking for some real information in a funny, relatable way then this is your book!

My goal this month is to share something I'm doing in the classroom with you.  Really anything before the Little Man comes. I promise to do my best!

Until then, check out some more amazing teachers.

Currently Time

I blinked and suddenly it was October and time for another currently!

Listening: My hubby is slightly obsessed with Mr. Wiz Khalifa and I find myself listening to it every morning and every night. Pretty sure this baby is going to come out a little 'gangster!' lol

Loving…this cold front! I say that somewhat sarcastically as cold fronts in Florida are not really "cold" fronts at all.  More like cooler, slightly more enjoyable weather where I'm not sticking to my clothes mid-morning.  I certainly yearn for actual seasonal changes and leaves that begin to change colors in October rather than January.  Being now eight months preggo, I am beyond ready for some cooler weather…whatever that may be.  As long as it's not in the 90's anymore!

Thinking…did you read that part…eight months preggo?!  Now that I am 8 weeks into the school year {it still feels like the beginning of the year to me} I need to get going on getting my maternity binder all set. I started a couple weeks ago and then got completely side tracked with all the hoops our district is requiring us to go through now! 

Wanting…a facial! I love to get pampered. Who doesn't?!

Needing…time to slow down.  If you've read anything thus far, you can understand why. :)

Treat time!

I am putting two three products {I am currently using} on sale for the weekend!  Hope you can find some use in them as well!

You can read more about Mrs. Wishy Washy here. Click the picture to check it out in my store!

Click here to read more about The Biggest Pumpkin Ever!

Both products will be receiving a facelift soon. Be on the lookout. :)

You can read more about the Long-Term Sub Binder here and see the new covers here! 

I hope you are all getting to enjoy some sort of fall weather!

I'm off to get some work done and then watch my Seminoles play some football.

Happy Saturday!

*Don't forget to head over to Farley's blog and join in on the fun!

Pete the Cat FREEBIE!

What primary student (and teacher) doesn't love Pete the Cat?

My kiddos have been loving reading all our fun Pete the Cat themed books!

With their predictable text and their engaging illustrations, what better way to review color words AND teach cause and effect than reading this awesome book:

The song can be found HERE along with all things Pete the Cat!

I wanted to work on cause and effect with my kiddos, as well as work on our color words.  This was the perfect book.
As we read, we stopped to discuss what the cause was and what the effect was.  They did awesome!

We then completed the following reader's response.

Don't you love the water 'squishing out' of the shoes! :)

You can download the response sheet HERE. 

Happy Saturday!

Five for Fraturday!

I try and I try and I can never make it happen on a Friday! 

What's that saying…"There's no tired like teacher tired on a Friday"

That rings very true for this preggo teacher. :)

Here's what we've been up to.

We have been working hard on our reading stamina as we prepare to implement the Daily Five {it will really only be 3 rotations a day} in our classroom.  I have used the Daily Five method for the past five years and will always use it. I love the 'Sisters' and what they have taught me!

Also..don't mind the extension cord that this poor sweet boy is laying on. We have yet to get our technology pieces mounted, so taped extension wire it is! :)

Zero the Hero visited our room this week! We learned all about the number zero. We started by reading the book, then watched a quick clip on teachertube, and made these adorable little zero the hero masks while we searched for the numbers with zeros on the end {when we count by 10's}. 

They were too cute! 

Here's the book we read:

Click to check it out

The activity we completed with our Zero the Hero masks:

Click to check it out…it's a freebie!

We've been practicing our colors and color words all week with a little help from Frog Street Press and my corresponding Rainbow of Colors book!

We first learn the adorable song that goes with each color word, brainstorm a list of items that are that specific color, and then complete our pages in our book.  We are doing really great with spelling color words.

You can check out my Rainbow of Colors book by clicking the image below.

Click HERE for the Canadian version.

I must say…I am in love with this adorable little craft and bulletin board idea from Jennifer from First Grade Blue Skies.  It's perfect for beginning of the school year and Open House on Monday! :)

I will say, I did have everything already pre-cut for them. It was more of a 'following directions' and 'working on gluing' project. From previous experience, I wasn't ready to let them cut, glue, and follow multi-step directions during the second week of kindergarten. lol

You can find this adorable craft along with other great beginning of the year activities HERE

Another great resource we've been using this year comes from non-other than Cara Carroll. She literally is my 'go-to' girl! 

We are working on numbers 1-5 (with a splash of zero) and really 'digging deep' with number sense. Her Don't Forget my Number packet is perfect for any primary class! She has number anchors 1-20, multiple recording sheets to extend students learning, multiple hands-on and engaging activities to be placed in math tubs, used as whole group lesson, or small group games, and SO, SO, much more!

Check it out HERE!

What a busy and exciting week for us in kinderland!

Now onto getting lesson plans done for week four. :)

Happy weekend, friends!

September Currently

My favorite part of every month!

Seriously….have you guys been watching this ridiculous show 'Bachelor in Paradise?'  I mean it's like watching a train wreck.  It's so bad, but I can't not watch! ha!  

Well I turned 30 this past Saturday.  

I don't feel any different. Should I?  Should I feel "older" or, even, wiser?

This is me at the beach today. 30 and 27 weeks preggo.

My hair's a mess. I forgot my sunscreen. I was craving beer hardcore. But…I got to spend lots of time with two of my great friends! Can't beat that!

I am praying for the next 13 weeks of my pregnancy to go nice and smoothly. As excited I am for the little man to get here, I feel like my list of things to do before he arrives is never ending!! Could be because I'm such a dang procrastinator.  It's bad.

I know my three vacay spots that I chose were not exactly specific, but seriously if I could go to any island in Hawaii for any amount of time I would. Same for Europe and Australia. 

So…whose gonna take me?! :)

It's a Celebration!!

OH WAIT…

I'm really not sure how I should feel about turning the 'big' 3-0.

Being 27 weeks pregnant also doesn't help with my emotions. Ha!

I am planning on pampering myself today and then watching some college football! Of course I'll be rooting the loudest for my fave team..FSU!!!

But for now, I would like to share some of my joy/sorrow/anxiety of turning thirty with you!

Click image to head on over!