WILW

I'm loving YOU for reading even though I haven't posted in a week! Seriously.Love.You.

I'm loving my sweet friend Jenny! She is the most real and genuine person I know. I am so blessed to know her and her precious family. Jenny is marrying a wonderful man in November and we got to celebrate with her this weekend in Austin.

 Jenny, Sena, me, and Jordan

We had a blast at her shower on Saturday. Then, later that evening, we went to the Duchman Family Winery and to Trattoria Lisina for dinner! 

I'm loving The Domain. Enough said.

I'm loving this scarf from Old Navy. 

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I'm loving this project inspiration from Hobby Lobby. 

Sprinkles as the base for tea lights. Genius! 

I'm loving the cooler weather we're expecting over the next week. We desperately need it in south Texas!

As always, I'm loving my supportive husband!

Oh How Pinterest-ing!

I will be making one of these when we buy a house next year. Only, I will replace my kid is selling the same crap that you are with we don't need our oil changed

source http://www.etsy.com/shop/icehousecrafts via Pinterest

OPI Espresso

source http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/fashion via Pinterest

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. Yes please!

source http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/ via Pinterest

Valentino. Love.

source http://styleredux.blogspot.com/ via  Pinterest

I have to have this.

source http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/ via Pinterest

sourcehttp://sheridanfrench.blogspot.com/ via Pinterest

Happy Wednesday y'all!

Teacher Week: where it all goes down

Today is all about pictures of our classroom!

I decorate our room in animal print every single year!

I forgot to bring my camera to school :( BUT...you can go here to see the pictures I posted last school year. Not a lot has changed this year! I'm a creature of habit! 

These are the curtains I made for my huge windows in our reading nook! I added a big comfy bean bag to it this year!

Teacher Week: teacher talk tuesday

I love reading about other teachers this week!

Today's topic is providing advice for new teachers!

Become good friends with your custodians, librarian, and the secretary! They run the school! If you are polite to them, they will help you in any way they can! They will be your best resource!

Avoid the cynics! You will soon figure out who they are. 

First impressions count.

Communication with parents is key. Reach out to them.

It's okay NOT to know every answer! 

I know a lot of teachers say you shouldn't eat in the teacher's lounge. I agree and disagree. Our team always eats lunch together in the lounge and we love that time. If you find that there are cynical teachers in there, then I would avoid it.

Be flexible. Things will come up and things can change at a moments notice. 

ENJOY teaching. It is the best and most rewarding job. 

Overplan. It's better to have too much and have to get to it the next day, then to not have enough. 

Be firm, fair, and consistent. You are their teacher, NOT their friend. 

Remember that you are only one person and there is only so much time in the day. Don't over work yourself by staying late trying to get everything done. It's not going anywhere. It will still be there when you return the next day. 

Don't forget to smile!

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Teacher Week: meet the teacher

I am so excited to participate in Teacher Week with blog hoppin' this week!

This is my fifth year in education. 

I spent my first year teaching 3rd grade ELA in Houston. 

I taught 4th grade in Waco for two years as the Lead Teacher. 

This will be my second year to teach 4th grade in San Antonio.

I absolutely LOVE what I do and can't imagine any other career!

We live 25-30 minutes without traffic from my school.

It works well for me since my school hours are 7-3. I hardly ever hit traffic!

 I have 6 members of my family in the education field. 

 I decorate my classroom in animal print every year.

Our 4th grade team is self-contained {we all teach every subject to our own students} and I prefer it that way.

I have established an economic system in my class. Each student has their own job { ex: Line Leader, Attendance Clerk, Light Engineer, Paper Supervisor, etc} They get paid {in treasure bucks}for their jobs each week and get to go shopping on Fridays. They must pay 'rent' on their desks once a month. They fill out an application for their job at the beginning of every 6 weeks. I teach them about keeping their 'money' in the bank, how to write checks, and budgeting!

I work with an awesome team! There are 6 of us this year! I am so thankful that we are able to work so well together!

obsessed

I love to be organized. I love making to do lists. I love colorful things. I love stickers. I love tabs. I love planning.

Meet my new best friend!

My Erin Condren Life Planner arrived this past Friday! It was better than I imagined! I chose the picture this!-cut out

How great are these tabs?!

I love the zipper pouch and the double sided keep it together folder!

I can't get enough of these fab stickers for parties, game day, girl's nights, appointments and so much more! They also included lots of awesome blank ones for your own color coding needs!

Erin and her fabulous team out did themselves with the fun extras! The gift labels, let's get together cards, and the abundance of coupons for future orders was such a nice surprise! 

Now, to add to my OCD, I had to order a Teacher's Lesson Planner too! I chose peace in pink & lime!

I love the pages in the front to jot down classroom events and volunteers! The substitute page is great too!

I love the pages for student and staff birthdays!

The absent log is great too!

There are 7 pages dedicated to student check-lists to keep track of permission slips, signed progress reports/report cards, and anything else you need to keep track of!

I love the month views and the opposite page for goals and to-do's for the month! I wish the monthly views only had 5 weeks in them instead of 6. I feel it's a waste of space. I also really wish the daily boxes were a bit larger so the stickers would fit. I had to cut the ends off mine to make them fit :(

The weekly planning pages are perfect!

Just like the Life Planner, there are tons of stickers! I love stickers!

The Teacher's Lesson Planner also has the same zipper pouch and keep it together section which I love! I also received lots of personalized labels and stationary for this planner as well! Such a sweet surprise! I hope the Teacher's Lesson Planner has tabs next year! 

Erin Condren, and her staff are rockstars! They are so quick to personally respond to emails! They worked around the clock to get everyone's planners ready for their original ship date after their site was hacked.

I can't wait to order more fun things!

Kung Pao Chicken and Fried Rice

We made this for the first time last week and it was delicious! One of GH's cow-workers is from Hong Kong and she taught me how to make Fried Rice!

Kung Pao Chicken Ingredients

2 large boneless-skinless chicken breasts, diced
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
  1/4 cup green onions (chopped)
  4 garlic cloves (minced) 

1teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts

Directions

Combine chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat sesame oil in wok over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.
 

 Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and powdered ginger to the wok and stir fry for 1 minute.
 

Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix well and add the sauce to the wok.

Return chicken to the wok and coat with sauce. Stir in peanuts. Heat thoroughly. Top with additional green onions if desired and serve with fried rice.

Fried Rice Ingredients

3 cups cold cooked rice {at least 1 day old}

3 eggs, beaten

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup frozen veggies {we used a carrot and pea mix}

2 T canola oil

4 tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. sesame oil

1/4 cup green onions
1/2 cup diced onion

Directions

In a wok or saute pan heat 2 T canola oil to medium heat. Stir in veggies, onion, and green onions and saute 3-4 minutes. Stir in rice, sesame oil, and soy sauce and reheat the rice.
  
Push the rice and veggies to one side of the pan and 3 eggs and cook until set. Stir fry the rice and rice and eggs together until well combined. 

   Stir Fry 5-10 minutes. If the rice seems a little on the wet side, continue cooking until the rice is the consistency you prefer. 

 

WILW

I'm loving my team at school! It just has a better feel with the staff and I know that will only trickle down to the students and make for a much better atmosphere!

I'm loving that my idea to get some freezer friendly/crock pot meals ready for the start of school has become a reality! I've have several meals ready to go and this weekend I'm going to get at least 2 more done! 

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I'm loving these Pinterest finds from this week

 Cheesy Garlic Sticks {via}

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I'm loving that my Erin Condren planners are FINALLY scheduled to arrive this week!

I'm loving that we are still planning our annual girls weekend trips!

Of course, I'm loving my sweet and supportive husband!

Happy Wednesday y'all!

DIY crayon wreath

Remember the Crayon Wreath that I posted about here? Well, I finally made one a couple of weeks ago!

Materials

craft paint and paint brush
8" embroidery hoop
12" embroidery hoop
3 boxes Crayola Crayons {I only used 2.5 boxes}

hot glue gun

Paint Pen or Permanent Marker {to write on the embellishments if desired}
Large Ribbon
Embellishments {I used a wooden painted star and an apple from Hobby Lobby}

Directions

Unscrew the screw from both hoops and hot glue the ends together.

Paint the embroidery hoops the desired color using a paintbrush, and allow the paint to dry completely, about 30 minutes.

 
Lay the embroidery hoops onto a work surface so that the smaller hoop is inside the larger hoop. Make sure the hoops are centered. 

 
Remove crayons from the boxes and begin laying them on top of the two hoops, around the entire surface. I preferred the colors to be randomly placed all around. Doing this before you hot glue them will ensure you get the right spacing. I also had to make sure the label was facing the correct way with each one.

Once you have the crayons exactly how you want them, begin to remove them one at a time and glue them back in the same spot.

Glue the embellishments directly on top of the crayons. I cut a piece of leopard print ribbon and made a loop and hot glued it to the back of the hoops so I can hang it at school.

it's ok

It's okay....

to throw a temper tantrum the night before returning to work after having the summer off!

to shed a tear when the song Boy's of Fall comes on the radio. I NEED fall and football to get here ASAP.

to not want to do anything today because it's my birthday!

to live in south Texas and own more fall and winter clothes than summer clothes. 

to consider driving a standard 30 min to work and 30 min home a workout. 

Happy Jersday loves!

football

Lindsey at Running Down a Dream is hosting a football link up today! I can't wait for fall! Mainly because fall means cooler weather, pumpkin bread, cozy sweaters, colorful socks, and football!!

I have two favorite college football teams. 

1. Texas Tech. My dad's side of the family is from Lubbock. I grew up loving Texas Tech. My dad's older brother played football for Tech and now, his youngest son, my cousin Alex is playing football for Tech!

2. Baylor. We lived in Waco for a couple of years before moving to SA. If you're familiar with Waco, you know there's not much there. So, we had season tickets every year. GH is a huge Baylor fan! Baylor is the only college sports team that we can both cheer for! But, I will not cheer for them when they play Tech!

Our fave NFL team, the one and only, Dallas Cowboys!

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I grew up in the DFW area until 8th grade. Every year my dad had Cowboys season tickets. I still remember January 31, 1994 when the Cowboys won the Super Bowl defeating the Buffalo Bills. My dad bought us matching Super Bowl shirts to wear to the game! I wish I still had them!

GH is one of the most hardcore Cowboys fan I've ever met! Every game we {yes, even Bella} always wear our Cowboys shirts! 

A couple of years ago, we went to my MIL and FIL's house for Christmas {a few days early} and it just so happened that the Cowboys were playing that day so of course we dressed accordingly! 

Between the Rangers last year and the Mavs this year, this HAS to be the Cowboy's winning season! Super Bowl champs 2012!