Monday Made It {{July 29}}

How does time fly by so fast in the summer time??? Seriously, it feels like I was just waking up after a night out celebrating the last day of teaching for a beloved team member && now it's almost time to go back to work. Where has the summer gone? I guess it's time to start making the most of my carefree days before they've all slipped through my fingers. First things first with the make the most of summer before it's bye bye umbrella drinks and hello water bottles... Monday Made It with 4th Grade Frolics. I have a few different things to share this week, I've been busy designing, printing, laminating and hot gluing so grab a cup of coffee and settle in for a trip to crazy town. Speaking of crazy town, this is my hoarder closet storage closet..my own little slice of crazy town:

Don't dial the number for Hoarders on TLC just yet, it's all making the trip back to the school with me as soon as they let me back in to work my magic. . .which isn't coming soon enough. I'm starting to get really anxious...I've never waited this long to set my room up and to say I'm going crazy would be an understatement. Buuuuut for new carpet, I'll hold tightly to my bottle of chill pills and anxiously await the all clear email. My first MMI project has nothing to do with teaching...maybe once you get home from teaching, but definitely not classroom material {{ain't nobody got time to be fired}} It's definitely a must for an overly anxious caffeinated teacher (I should really try to break myself of this coffee habit) who is more than ready to jump at the chance to organize and clean her classroom (sad, yet true...I'm keeping it real y'all).

Project #1: Homemade Wine {{Raspberry Zinfandel}}

We finally got to bottle up this sweet stuff last night and as always it's delicious. It was 4 weeks in the making, but we have 28 bottles to last us until the next kit is ready. The starter kit is a little pricey...and the wine packets are about $70, but with 28 bottles coming out of the kit it's way worth the money. Think about buying 28 quality bottles of wine (I'm not talking box wine ladies) at the grocery store && what that cost would be...yeah, I'll keep my arm and leg please and thank you. We've made about 8 different flavors and I haven't been disappointed by any of them. They were all delicious (especially the Strawberry Riesling...holy cow yuuuuuummmmm). The wine is a little stronger than store bought wines...I'm talking one glass and I'm relaxed...what's not to love about yumminess that takes half the calories?? Seriously the less time doing push ups and burpies...the more happy, happy, happy my life becomes!

The rest of my MMI projects are all teaching related. If you haven't been reading lately, I decided to redo my classroom this year: changing it from the beachy theme to an owl theme. I've been bouncing from store to store picking up owl pieces that I have to have (ok, want to have...but have to have because they're too cute not to get) for the past few weeks. That's part of the reason why my closet looks like the hot mess that it is right now. I forgot how much actually goes in to changing the theme of your classroom- -all of the tiny touches of the beach that have to be stripped away (cubby numbers, book bag hook numbers, job chart, alphabet line, behavior chart, outside wall display, Meet the Teacher Night, etc, etc, etc)...does your head hurt yet??

Project # 2: Job Chart
My biggest project: a new job chart. Currently mine is a store bought one of overalls. I have no clue why I got overalls...I guess it was cute and it worked. When I first started teaching I hadn't really "found" myself as the designer/organizer that I am now. It was in me, but I didn't really have a clear vision of what I wanted because I was too focused on not drowning. My excuse for the other 5 years...it wasn't a priority? I wasn't as anal as I am now? I had too much time to think about things this summer because I can't set anything up yet? Any way you cut it, overalls just weren't cutting it anymore for me && it was time for a redo. {{nothing against overall job charts if you have one like my old one}} So keeping with the colors/patterns I used in my behavior chart, I put together a job chart. Whooooo's Helpin'? is available in my TPT store {{here}}. If you happen to be using an owl theme as well the work is done for you. If owls aren't your thing, my intention is to upload a variety of themed job charts so anyone can join in on the fun. Why not right? In the download you'll get 2 versions: a ready to print version or a print, place on scrapbook paper matting and then laminate version. I used the second option because it saves ink (enough said) and the scrapbook paper colors are more vibrant (and you can customize the colors a little more). I hot glued a ribbon chain to each side of the chart to hold it all together && a ribbon loop to the top of the chart for easy hanging. The accent bow came from the Hobs (Hobby Lobby). Each job card has a dot or two printed on it. These dots correspond with the amount of kids that assign each job to. My class typically has 18 kids so my job chart has 18 job dots. You'll see clothespins on the job chart...I covered these in two kinds of Washi tape. If you haven't heard about this you better ask somebody for reals. It's amazing...I got it Office Depot...and I'm in love! The clothespins will be used to assign jobs--each student will have a clip with their name on it. Easy breezy, lemon squeezy y'all!

Project #3: MTT Night
My next MMI project has to do with Meet the Teacher Night that I've blogged about {{here}} and {{here}}. I won't go into all of the nitty gritty, but our MTT Night is done drop in style. The kids and their parents drop in to check out our rooms and ask any questions that they may have. I set up my back table....errrr by set up I mean deck it out (I'm a tad bit of an over achiever). I have a sign in station, an estimation station, and a sweet treat station. When my kids and their families enter the room, they receive a to do list. This leads them to the back table, to their seats, and finally to me at the door to check out && get their sweet treat. I've found that it cuts down on some of the awkwardness/anxiety of the night by giving everyone a set list of things to do. It keeps everything organized and above all it looks put together and cute. First impressions are everything and who doesn't love a cute room? The packet in my TPT store has everything you need to make your Meet the Teacher Night styled, organized and simple. You can get your copy by going {{here}}. &&& no worries if you're not into owls, I'll be putting together packs for other themes during the week.

With time ticking away before Kathy Lee and Hoda Woman come on I need to wrap it up. So, until next time live, love && get ready to teach because it's coming up quick ready or not!

Meet the Teacher Part 2 && Fashionable Pin-spiration

Last night I blogged about Meet the Teacher Night...check it {{here}}. It was way too late for my brain to care about staging my focus table so I saved that for today. Like I said last night, decorating and planning are kinda my things. I might not have gotten my moms blue eyes but I sure did get her talent of making things look good.With all of the whats and wheres mapped out last night, today was all about putting the pieces together && filling in the missing design gaps. This is what I put together today...

Now, keep in mind a few things are missing and obviously the table will be different (that standard light colored school wood instead of my rich cherry), but not too shabby! The frame to the left (pink) is my sign in reminder. The pink frame has this sign inside of it:

A mason jar with pens will go next to it. In the picture the "pens" are really straws, but who has a gazillion matching pens at home? Not this chick. The metal owl came from Hancock Fabrics (thanks Rachel @ A Tall Drink of Water for the heads up). In the middle of the table I have 3 different sized mason jars sitting on a silver serving tray (wedding gift finally coming to good use). The hydrangeas in the jars are fake in the picture (they'll be real the night of MTT). To the right of the serving tray is my "Guess-timation Jar." The orange frame has this little sign inside of it:

 

The "Guess'timation Jar" is empty right now (to the left of the orange frame) && I have a good reason for it. I'm going on a cruise in 2 weeks && I have absolutely zero will power when candy is around. If I bought Starbursts to fill it up for the photo op they would be gone by the time MTT Night rolled around and I would have to fill it up again. I hate working out as it is...I don't need any extra calories to burn. To the right of the orange frame is a mason jar with markers in it for the kids to fill out their guess-timation slips. I used the same chevron ribbon that I wrapped the pen jar with to wrap the marker jar. I need to get another bow so that they match and that jar will be finished. The guess-timation slips are not pictured...I'm saving my ink at home && waiting until I get to school to print them out, but they're pictured on my last blog. The table runner is made up of 3 different colored place mats that one of my sweet little babies from last year gave me as an end of the year/house warming gift. This will more than likely change when I have the task of covering my not so attractive kidney table that is  light school colored wood. I'm thinking a solid table cloth with a chevron runner in the middle.

Now for everyone's favorite part, the treats. I mentioned last night that I bake cookies every year (I'm crazy I know). There's something about a cookie baked from scratch that just can't be beat...even the ease of buying them already made is no match for the taste of a fresh cookie. I also like knowing what's going into the cookies so if a parent asks a question about an allergin I know what I used (you just never know with store bought ones). So after they cool (and my husband has taste tested them) I put 2 cookies into each clear treat bag. I tie it up with curly ribbon (and think about my favorite movie The Elf while I curl them). Then comes the cute part...the tag. Last year I used sticky labels, but this year I'm kicking it up a notch. I re-discovered my Slice tool and all of the fabulous things that it can do this summer & was dying to use it again on another project. For the labels I designed them on Publisher and then printed them out. They're 2.5 inches in diameter so I used my circle punch to cut them out (bought it from Michaels for pretty cheap...before Hobs came to town). Then I used my slice to make a 3 inch scalloped circle tag and glued it all together. So cute & so easy...seriously the hardest thing was making a decision on what colored paper to use.
 

There you have it...MTT Night in a nutshell. Simple, cute, && easy. But wait, it's about to get even easier...everything  MTT that I've blogged about will be going into my TPT store by Monday. If owls aren't your thing I'll be putting a few different themes up. I have a few loose ends to tie up before it's the way I like it, but it'll be up on Monday at the latest and will be part of my Monday Made It link up blog. With clipart added into the package I can't offer it as a freebie (that requires purchasing a special license), but it won't cost you an arm and a leg.


After putting all of my teaching stuff back into my hoarding closet...I mean temporary teaching storage closet... I was blog hopping and found a linky for back to school outfits. I'm still in complete denial that I have to go back to work soon so I'm not thinking about a meet the teacher outfit or a first day of school outfit just yet. Buuuut there's still tons of summer fun to be had and putting your best foot forward is imperative. My closet is full of cute dresses, colorful tank tops, and skinny skinnies. I definitely know how to throw things together and look put together (atleast I hope). However, I'll be the first to admit that my normal attire for this summer looks like this hot little number...

Too hot to trot I know, I know. I personally love yoga pant type pants and a tank top...ocassionally I even make it to the gym because I'm dressed like this. When I actually do go out in public for something other than a gym session (or grocery shopping) I clean up nicely. Pinterest has been my inspiration for a lot of my outfits... && some I think of all on my own only to find that Pinterest thought it was cute too. Love it when that happens right?!?! The last part of tonight's blog is dedicated to the outfits I wear/plan to wear...you know when yoga pants just don't cut it as appropriate. I might be on a teacher's budget, but just because you're on a teacher's budget doesn't mean you have to look frumpy dumpy. High end names have never appealed to me...I work hard for my money and I'm not going to blow it on one shirt just because some magazine says you'll be cool if you buy it.  You can get the same look for a fourth of the price. The majority of my closet is budget friendly. Yes I have a few splurge pieces (mostly shoes and jewelry), but what girl doesn't?  Here are a few trends that I LOVE more than frozen grapes....

Trend #1: Coral {{anything coral}} Everywhere you look coral is one of the hottest colors around. Paired with navy blue stripes && it's {{shut the front door material}}. I'm not a big shorts person--I'm really insecure about my legs (I think it's God's way of getting back at me for stressing my Dad out when I wore all of the short shorts that I wore in high school). I should be thankful that I have 2 functional legs I know && I am..but every woman out there has an area that they aren't completely secure with and for me it's my legs. I really break out into a sweat at the thought of wearing them. Ironic because I have so many cute outfits that involve shorts. Anywho, my pinspiration is on the left and my {{got it in my closet}} version is on the right...

I changed the top from being long sleeved to a tank top--it's summer time in Charleston...do I really need to give another reason??
Top: American Eagle
Shorts: Target
Shoes: Steve Madden (looooooovvve Steve Madden)

Trend #2: White Shorts {{with a frayed hemline}} Nothing says summer better than a pair of white shorts && a great tan. While my tan is fading quickly, the white shorts are stocked and ready to go.

I've never been a huge fan of the flowy tops...I'll save those for when I'm prego (maybe)...so in my version I have a more fitted top. If there's one thing about a trend it's that you've got to take it and make it your own.
Shirt: TJ Maxx (shout out to the budget Barbies out there)
Shorts: Jessica Simpson
Shoes: GAP

Trend #3: Chevron {{any and all chevron}}
Hi, my name is Amy and I'm addicted to chevron. That is a support group I wouldn't mind being a part of because chevron addicts are pretty fabulous. My choice of chevron comes in the form of a dress. It's not hard to copy an outfit on Pinterest when there's a link to the store that sells it && it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get it into your closet.

Dress: Red Dress Boutique
Shoes: Steve Madden
Belt: Nine West?? (on sale at Belk...not a splurge)

Trend #4: Maxi Skirts
There's an Ecard pin floating around out there in the land of Pinterest that explains maxi skirts the best...you feel dressed up, but they're just crotchless yoga pants. Whatever it is...I love them. I was hesitant to buy one because I'm short (5'4") and I didn't want to trip over my skirt (I'm clumsy as all get out). But when I saw this one on the Red Dress Boutique's website I took my chances and I'm so glad I did.

Top: Target
Skirt: Red Dress Boutique
Shoes: Nine West (even though you can't see them...again on sale at Belk)

Now that I've officially missed the entire beginning of the movie we rented, I'm getting the evil eye to shut this lap top down for the night. Soooo until next time, live, love, && make yourself feel beautiful...even if it's in yoga pants!

Meet the Teacher

Back to school emails have been pouring in lately && I'm just not ready to face the reality of the working world yet (working from home on teaching stuff...yes...working in my classroom teaching...not yet). Sooooo each time my phone dings with a new email I close my eyes, take a deep breath and pretend that it will be an email saying that I won a shopping spree (crazier things have happened and a girl can dream). The first time my work email dinged it was saying not to come up to the school until further notice because new carpets are going in. I'm stoked about new carpets (no more mystery stains YAY!), but not being able to get into my room until the week before we go back (and 3 days before I set sail on a cruise) has put me into panic mode. && now hearing that every first grade teacher's stuff is out in the hallway while the carpet is being laid 1 room per day has me freaking out even more. I'm a control freak, and self diagnosed O.C.D...my stuff being in a hodge podge in the middle of the hallway is officially my.worst.nightmare!  Here's what I'm workin' with...

August 5: Estimated completion date
August 6: Annual Summer's End Pool Day
August 7: Road Trip to Florida
August 8-August 11: Cruisin' the Ocean
August 12: Back to Work
August 15: Meet the Teacher

I'm not stressed about being able to get it done if they finish on time. If I have the 5th and part of the 7th before we hit the road to assess any damage that may have more than likely occured in the move && start setting up, I'm golden. I can push things into place and get my new stuff hung up before I even start packing for the cruise. If they finish behind schedule, I'm up the creek without a paddle drowning my sorrows && worries in an umbrella drink.

With getting into my classroom completely out of the question I've got to do as much work at home as I can. Time is going to be tight that first week back--we don't have a full work day until the day of Meet the Teacher. M.T.T. night is always really exciting, but I'm always stressed out trying to get things put away, decorated, and set up just right. First impressions are everything and I wouldn't be my mother's daughter without caring about the presentation of my classroom. Our M.T.T. night is done "drop-in" style from 5:00-7:00. Our students and their parents get to come into our rooms, check everything out, and get any of their questions answered. I always give my kids a checklist of what they need to do with their crew while they're in the classroom. Mine for this year is up to the left.

There are packets of information/forms at their seats that they need to take home with them && an estimation jar on the back table. I always, always bake cookies  as a little sweet treat welcoming them into first grade. I tie them up in clear treat bags with curly ribbons and a label (bear with me I know I'm crazy). The whole process takes each family maybe 10 minutes (sometimes longer if they have a lot of questions/anxiety).

My back table is where everything is set up... && I set it up as the focal point. When you walk into a party (not a college frat party, but a grown woman party...a shower of some type) there's always a table that's the focal point. Most of the time it's where the food is, but ain't nobody got time to cater a M.T.T. night && I'm definitely not having any time for food and drinks on my new carpet. My table is set up with the sign in sheet, the estimation jar, some fresh flowers, etc, etc, etc. A table cloth goes down to pull it all together. Of course I spaced out and didn't take a picture of my table from last year. It wasn't anything spectacular...don't get me wrong I had elaborate plans, but they got the boot when I ran out of time (and the power to not be frazzled). It was cute, but it wasn't something to jump on a couch professing your love for (sorry Tom Cruise). This year I got an early start && I'll just go ahead and say that it's going to be absolutely fabulous. Last year I took the simple route and used a folded piece of cardstock for my table signs...this year my signs are frame worthy...so I bought some frames from the Hobs (Hobby Lobby) and fired up Publisher to make these beauties.
 

The sign in frame will obviously go next to the sign in sheet (can't make that until I know who is in my class) && that will go on a glammed up clipboard (on the to do/order list). In the past I put their treats at their seats (rhyme not intentional), but after last year's running of younger siblings I decided against that for this year. This M.T.T. night I'm putting all of the treat bags into a basket next to me at the front door. That way I can make sure that only my students leave with a treat bag (and only 1 treat bag). I would love for everyone in the school to have fresh made from scratch cookies, but not when I'm the one baking them.

Another yearly tradition of mine is to have an estimation jar on the back table. Each student makes an estimation and writes it on a piece of paper. Mine last year were very plain Jane (I was a little embarassed when I saw them) so they got an update to this...

Something to hoot about huh?!? On the first day of school we sit down as a group to count the candies in the jar (I usually use Starbursts because they're wrapped). The person that gets the closest (without going over) gets to take all of the treats home...after they give everyone in the class 1 piece of candy (there will be no riots on the first day of school if I can control it). There are always at least 80 pieces of candy packed in the jar so they still have plenty to themselves even after being forced to share a 17 pieces.

My to do list is still a mile long && what teacher's list isn't at this point in the summer?? Of all the things on my list shopping would have to be my favorite. It's on my list of things to do because I need owl stuff- -ok need is a stretch--I realize that my "needs" are actually "wants." Either way I went shopping looking like the sweaty hot mess pot that I am after working out and picked up some pretty cute things. I'm loving this owl stuff! Who knew switching themes could be so much fun? My brain has officially turned into a pumpkin && it's way past the time I said I was going to make myself go to bed so until next time blogging world...live, love, and shop a little...ok a lot...shop a lot! :)