Bring it on 2013!

Hey yall! Happy Sunday!

 

I think that technically this is my second post for today, since I posted last night after midnight. But I slept a good 8 hours, had a big ol' lunch with the family, did some laundry, and played with my new Kindle Fire HD in between posts soo.....

 

Today I am linking up with Jen over at The Teacher's Cauldron.

 



 

Every New Year I feel like I make the same resolution {one you all can relate to, I'm sure}. I swear that I am going to start living a healthier lifestyle, go to to gym on a consistent basis, and eat healthier. But, usually around mid February or maybe even beginning of March, I start to slack off in that department.

 

So, even though I am going to try and do all those things again this year, I won't make that my *official* resolution.

 

My official personal resolution for 2013 is to plan ahead and stop procrastinating. I feel like I am the world's biggest procrastinator, and it often comes back to bite me....BIG time. My wallet even took a hit due to this nasty little habit of mine when I forgot to renew my tags on time. Five weeks and $350 later, I refuse to let that happen again!

 

I always tell myself that I work best under pressure...which may or may not be true. But I'm sure I work just as well with plenty of time to spare, I've just never given that a shot! Between starting my thesis class for grad school and finishing out the school year, I know that procrastinating is not an option.

 

My blogging resolution is simple-share the love! I stalk read tons of blogs daily, but I'm usually reading on my phone {and recently on my new Kindle!} and I can't leave comments. I can also tell a difference in the amount of comments I receive when I don't comment on others posts as much.

 

So be prepared to see my name everywhere :)

 

For now I'm off to pack for our little trip to Charlotte. The hubs and I are going to ring in the new year with our favorite band, who are back from hiatus....yay!

 



See yall next year!!!

Arctic Animals {plus a freebie!}

Hey yall!

 

First of all, I don't think I have ever blogged this late before. What is wrong with me? I have fallen into the worst sleeping habit as of late...stay up til 2, sleep til 10.

 

I know I've got another thing coming once school starts back...which is only 5 days away!

Waaaaaaa!

 

Well, today I was finally productive. After spending the last three two and a half days in my pjs, I decided I would try to actually get some work done. This consisted of me taking down all our Christmas decorations, our tree, and lights from outside.

 

Then I took a break.

 

Then I finished up my newest unit.

This 64 page unit consists of graphic organizers and writing sheets for some favorite arctic animals. Students can choose one or more animals to research and write about. They can choose from:

*penguins

*polar bears

*foxes

*caribou

*seals

*orcas

*walruses

*hares

 

It also contains some other fun activities, including an ABC order sheet, a word search, and a writing prompt.

 

Click here to pick up your copy. It {along with everything else in my TPT store} is 20% until the 1st.

 

 



 Here's a little freebie from my new pack :)

 

Click on the picture to get your freebie.

 

Friday Freebie and a S-A-L-E!

Hey yall!

 

Can you believe its the last Friday of the year???

 

So of course I had to link up with TBA today :)
 

 

I have been working on a little arctic animals unit {fingers crossed I get it finished before Monday}, so here is a fun freebie from that unit.

 

Click on the picture to get your freebie.



 

Also, I wanted to let you guys know about a sale I'm throwing in my TPT shop from 12/29-1/1.

 

Click on the picture below to start shopping!

 

Graphics by Scrappin Doodles. Fonts by Kevin & Amanda and A Cupcake for the Teacher



 

If you will be throwing a sale in your shop, feel free to grab the sale image :)

It's a Holly Bloggy Christmas!

Hey yall! Merry Christmas!

 

I hope you all are spending today with the ones you love. I know I sure am! We're off to Christmas #1 with my family. We'll open presents and have a BIG breakfast there, and then head off to Christmas #2 with my in-laws. Presents and lunch over there, and then it's back to my folks house for dinner. I see a lot of food in my future.... :)

 

Who all partciipated in the Holly Bloggy Christmas Exchange???

 

I got my package the other day, and was sooo excited when I opened it! It was from sweet Beth Ann over at Taming My Flock of Firsties.
 

 



 

Beth Ann sure does know me well! This sweet lady sent me...

1. Owl stickers

2. Owl bookmarks

3. Owl picture holder

4. Owl necklace

5. Christmas scented candles

 

Now do you see why I was excited??? Thanks so much, Beth Ann!

 

This is the package that I sent to my partner, Tamera over at My Heart Belongs in First. She has a love for owls, too! This made shopping a breeze...I just knew if I loved it, then she would! It was fate :)
 

 

 

What did yall get for Christmas???

 

Merry Christmas, friends!

 

Christmas Craze

Hey yall!

 

I am officially on Christmas vacation! I am so stoked to spend the next two weeks soaking up time with friends and family. I am also done with school for the semester, and got my grades today-all A's! Whoo-hoo!

 

Hopefully, you will be seeing a little bit more from me, now that I'm not struggling to keep my head above water.

 

Before the break, we had lots of Christmas fun!

 

We did a study on caribou, using graphic organizers from What the Teacher Wants. We completed an informatonal writing piece on caribou, and made a super cute little reindeer hand craft. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap some pics :( but they looked like this...

 



 

...except for we didn't make ours into ornaments.

 

We also had on Polar Express Day on Monday. My littles all came to school in their PJs....they were all so cute!

 



 

I told the students that morning they had to earn their ticket to watch the movie. Throughout the morning, students that were well behaved earned their ticket. Then, when it was time to watch the movie, I punched their tickets. They were so excited to have their very own tickets!

 

We read the book, watched the movie, drank hot cocoa, and completed lots of activities from my All Aboard! The Polar Express unit. If you need some quick activities to do for your Polar Express day, click the picture below.

 



 

The next day (our last), we had a surprise from our elf Jack on our desks. He brought us some Elf Kisses and our very own bells from the North Pole!

 



 

Their excitement was almost palpable :)

 

We spent the morning writing about what we would do if Santa was stuck in our chimney, and made a little craftivity to go along with it. Of course, I forgot to snap a picture {I've been so bad about that lately!}.

 

Then it was time for our party! We made a little snowman ornament craft, had a book exchange, and then ate some yummy food! I had gotten all my littles books for Christmas, and when they opened them, they started chanting "Pete the Cat!" over and over again. It was too cute.

 

 

Speaking of gifts, I was trying to figure out what to get my team for Christmas. I am so thankful to get along so well with the other teachers on my team, because you never know when starting at a new school. I ended up getting them some chevron striped insulated cups from Hobby Lobby, put their initials on them, and filled them with candy. Simple :) and I think they liked them.

 

 

If you like the tags I made, you can grab them here. There are 2 different sizes to choose from.

 

Now...I'm off to finish enjoying my first day of vacation....ahhhh :)





Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary



12 in 12

Hey yall! Happy 12-12-12!

 

I'm linking up with Hadar and Kristin for their 12 in 12 party. I'm all about parties, so why not?

 

Here are my top 12 for 2012

 

12. Favorite Movie

 

Most definitely, hands down, The Hunger Games. I was so excited that I saw it in the theaters 3 times, and have since watched it twice on DVD. Yeah...its that good :) Can't wait for the next one!

 

 

11. Favorite TV Show

 

Parenthood is my absolute favorite show. It makes me cry every. single. week. I love how real all the characters are, and it reminds me of my big, crazy family.

 

 

FYI I'm watching it now and crying as we speak...

 

10. Favorite Restaurant

 

This one's new for me...Buca de Beppo! We first tried it when we were living in Atlanta and absolutely loved it! Then they opened one here in Augusta....score! I had my hubby's surprise 30th birthday party there and it was just as good as the one in Atlanta.

 

9. Favorite New Thing I Tried

 

Well, this one's easy! My favorite thing I tried in 2012 was starting this blog. I started in the beginning of the year, sometime in January, and it has been such a journey! I have met some sweet ladies, been so inspired by so many amazing bloggers, and have just loved getting a chance to have a voice. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being awesome followers!

 

8. Favorite Gift I Received

The hubs got me a Pandora bracelet for our 4th anniversary and it was a complete surprise! It's pretty hard for him to surprise me, because I am such a control freak a little direct and usually tell him exactly what I want. But this one he got all on his own :) I only have a few charms for it, but there are many more on my list.

Not my actual bracelet

 

7. Favorite Thing I Pinned

 

 

Hands down, my most favorite pin was the chevron wall. Why? Well, because it inspired me to create my very own chevron wall! With the help of my mom, 2 gallons of paint, and about 5 hours, we got it done...and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my chevron wall!!!

 

 

6. Favorite Blog Post

 

I would have to say my Favorite Fonts Linky post. It was my first linky party and I thought it was a smashing success. I was so nervous about not getting anyone to link up. But then people did and I had such a fun time reading everyone's posts! Not too mention all the awesome new fonts I found :)

 

5. Favorite Accomplishment

 

This one's easy....getting my first big TPT check! I even took a picture of it, although I never showed anyone. TPT also got me featured in the local paper, which was kind of cool. It has been such a blessing to me, and I am so thankful for each and every purchase.

 

4. Favorite Picture

 

So my hubby turned the big 3-0 this year and I threw him a little surprise party {wow, it feels like I just typed that..ha!). Well, my hubs is quite the funny man. He is always cracking jokes and keeps everyone in stiches. He most certainly does not take himself too seriously, which is one of my most favorite things about him. I wanted to get him one of those face cakes {you know, a cake with a face on it...}so I pulled up a shot I took of him when we were in Gatlinburg over the summer at some silly store. Disclaimer: my husband does not  have a mullet!

 

I present to you....the face cake!

 

 

3. Favorite Memory

 

This year, my hubby and I moved into our very first home, one that is all ours. The whole experience of moving into our first real home is definitely my favorite memory from the year. Here is our little house all decorated for Christmas.

 

 

2. Goal for 2013

 

My goal for the new year is to stop procrastinating so much! I have always been an awful procrastinator, but it has really bitten me in the butt a few times this year. Recently, it was my tags for my car. I completely blanked on paying the taxes last month, and now I'm driving around with expired tags....yikes! That was an awful realization....to the tag office tomorrow!

 

1. One Little Word

 

Patience. I am definitely going to focus on having more patience in 2013. My littles really know how to push me to my limits this year, so I feel like I'm constantly on edge. Hate that feeling! I will focus on being more patient and not hitting that point as quickly.

 

Go link up, friends!
 

 



Winner, Elf Fun, and Monday Made It {whew!}

Hey yall!

 

Are you ready for this? It's a long one :)

 

Today our Elf on a Shelf came to visit!

 

It started when our para brought me some packages. She said they had been delivered that day at the school...and they were for our class!

 



The package was ice cold! We found a note on the package and learned that it was all the way from the North Pole! The note was from Santa, explaining about his little helper that he was sending to us.

 

 

When we opened up the little box, out came our elf! Then we unwrapped the other package and found a book! We read it to learn all about how to treat our elf.

 

The book said to name him, so I took some suggestions and then picked the top 3. My littles then voted on the 3 and the winner was.....Jack!

 

Jack sure is a mischevious little fellow....when we left to go to specials, that sneaky guy moved all our clips alll the way down to orange! He hung around to see our reaction.

 



After the shrieks (and a few tears!) died down, we wondered why Jack had moved all our clips down to orange. We concluded that he must have been trying to tell us we have been naughty today {which, in fact, they were}. We discussed how to change our behavior so that Jack would have a good report for Santa.

 

Don't worry...by the time we came back from recess, good ol' Jack had moved everybody right back up :) 





Now...onto my Monday Made It! I am linking up with Tara for her monthly party.

 



Remember those READ letters that were all the rage of pinterest-addicted fiends over the summer? Well, I took that concept, but made it Christmasy :)

 



 

They are helping to make my mantle more festive.

 



 

Now....onto the winner from my 100,000 pageview giveaway! I was supposed to pick a winner last night...but you know how that goes...

 

And the winner is....Cindi!!!

 

  

Yay congrats Cindi! I am so excited she won, because I got to meet this fun lady over the summer when I was in Gatlinburg! We met in the mountains with Kerri and chatted for hours! Such a great time :)

 

Whew! Did you make it??? I barely did :)

 

Night, friends!

 

Freebie on the First {and a little giveaway}!

Hey yall!

 

Can you believe that it is already December???

 

If you live in the south, its even harder to believe with this amazing weather. Today was a BEA-UTIFUL day with temps topping out at 70 degrees. Perfect day to get some Christmas decorations and a tree :)

 

Today I am linking up with Freebielicious for their Freebies on the First linky.

 



 

Raise your hand if you have a Polar Express day at your school.

 

That's what I thought.

 

Pretty much every elementary school (at least around here!) has some sort of Polar Express day in December. This little writing sheet is *perfect* to use that day to coordinate with the book OR the movie. Click on the picture below to get your copy!

 



 

And guess what else???

 

This little ol' blog has reached over 100,000 pageviews! Wha-hoo!

 

To celebrate, I will be giving away a copy of my All Aboard! The Polar Express Literacy Activities unit.

 



 

To enter, just leave me a comment below telling me what your class/school does to celebrate The Polar Express. I'll pick a winner Sunday night at 10 pm Eastern time.

 

Happy December, friends!