April fools...

Teaching middle school is really just begging for a good April fool's joke. My kids tried a few on me, with little success. I think my attempt for my last class was just what we needed to end this crazy, rainy Tuesday. I told my last group of students that I made them something special for always being awesome.  The first group who was cleaned up for the day got the first peek at their brown-es.

I think I got a few of them. And yes, I had to explain it to some. Since I only tried it with my last period no one had spoiled it for them, and they were even able to get a few kids from other classes after the bell rung for the day.  I had at least ten students in my room after school looking for the leftover brownies.  It was fun, and I will surely do it again next year!

well hello october

My favorite month is officially here, and life is good.  Still crazy busy, but good.  And to really put the whipped cream on top of the pumpkin spice latte, the weather has been perfect, and almost fall-like.  I even broke out a jacket or two last week on my bike rides to school, and the crisp morning air has just put me in a very good mood.  [Last fall was crazy hot, and I was crazy pregnant = not my favorite thing]. This is my first October as a mom, and man, I'm loving it.  Sure, decorating for Halloween posed to be a tad challenging since the spaces I used to use are now in the perfect reaching height of a little someone. Thankfully, I have a fantastic mantle in our new [old] home that is perfect for holiday awesomeness.  And a really cute front porch that loves some fall decor as well.  I've always dreamed of the day when I would get to dress my babes up for Halloween, and this year, it is all happening. So because it is now technically October, here is the first [and I'm sure not last] post of Everly is some October lovin' goodness.

happy fall, happy october!
p.s. no glitter was consumed in the making of this post
and least not that I know of

independence day

I hope everyone here in America enjoys our Independence Day.  For me, it started in true history teacher fashion with some Revolutionary War documentaries, and I was laughing to myself because all of the commercials were clearly geared towards middle age men, but I'm ok with that.  And after a new shiny manicure, a last minute craft project, a fresh batch of rice crispy treats, and some flower arranging in mason jars for today, I'm ready to relax by my grandma's pool, try to survive the last day of this ridiculous heat wave we've been enduring this week, and most importantly, celebrate this pretty great nation of ours that overcame some pretty crazy odds to gain independence.

oh, and you better believe I hit the 4th of july clearance rack

at target pretty hard the other day

so stay tuned to ridiculously cute patriotic baby photos soon!

happy fourth of july!

happy easter

well, it looks like we will be celebrating our easter indoors this year

due to some spring showers that have come our way

hope you enjoy this day, however you find fitting

we will be making brunch at my grandma's

having an easter egg hunt with some very grown children, and a baby

and we will soak up the last moments of spring break

oh hey, I'm 20 weeks old

this week I've gotten to spend lots of time

with some of my favorite people

over the weekend I spent practically all day lounging on the grass in the shade

the weather was perfect

I also got to see my auntie in Oakland yesterday

where something big happened

I sat in a high chair at dinner for the very first time

it was a pretty big deal, at least mom thought so

mom also decided to take me down to the lake by auntie's house

to take some Easter-ish photos yesterday

in other updates, I'm still fitting into newborn and three month outfits

I tried my first bites of "real food" this week

but I think that deserves it's own post, so more on that later

I'm still rockin size one diapers, but now I can fit in both huggies & pampers

[huggies used to big way too big for my little legs]

Sophie and I are officially best friends

and I am now talking in so many different voices and pitches

my feet have also gotten centimeters from my mouth, I'm determined

and occasionally, my grown ups tell me I'm panting like a little puppy

not sure what that's all about, but hey, I'm having fun

-Everly Mae

happy st. patrick's day

Everly and I have been dressed in head to toe green this entire weekend

to celebrate our first st. patty's day with our little lady

and since this was my last weekend before I go back to work

I am thankful that I stayed extra busy with family and friends

and all things green

wish me luck tomorrow

I'll let you know how it goes

and no, I don't want to talk about it right now

denial is key I think

lovely things

being the day of love

[at least according to the card companies]

I feel like I should list some of my most lovely things

I love waking up with Everly snuggled as close to me as she can get

and I love the mornings we all get to sleep in together

I love that after her eyes open, a smile is soon to follow

I love that her baby feet never stop moving

and if they have, her hands have taken their place

I love how she makes eyes for her dad

and snuggles into him much differently than she does me

I love when E pretends to be shy and hide her head in the bend of my arm

only to flash her smile once again to whoever may be catching her attention

at that moment

I love how she holds my hand when nursing

or plays with my shirt

I love that moment when I look down only to see her smiling up at me

and I love that even though it has been our biggest challenge

we didn't stop nursing somewhere along the way

I love that after being together for seven years

the mr. and I can spend today just loving our family

I love that we ate leftover Stouffers lasagna for dinner

and that we had six valentines days just the two of us

and one with all three

celebrating Dr. King with positive/negative art [out of the files]

it is no surprise that I do A LOT of art with my classrooms, and many times I re-use and tweak art lessons to fit any of my classrooms.  However, one of my favorite art projects of all time is one that I have only had the opportunity to do ONCE with my own students.  So, seeing as how it is that time of the year again [happy birthday Dr. King] and once again I have no chance to do this art project with my own students, I'm sharing it here so hopefully many kids out there will get to experience the awesomeness of the project!

I have shared this lesson on this blog twice now [here & here].  I have only taught this lesson with my 5th grade students, but I would say that it is very doable with 4th graders on up.  If you teach 2nd or 3rd and your students have been introduced to many art projects, are fairly proficient with scissors, then go for it.  When I taught my 2/3 combination I was really my students first introducer into the world of art, so we skipped this project for the year [they would have been able to do something of this level by the end of the year, so you just have to judge your own class].

Now yes, I know that it is the Friday before the holiday for Dr. King, but it is not too late to do something with your classes to celebrate his birthday.  In fact, a four day week sounds like a perfect time to fit in some Dr. King art and writing.  I am guilty of being an inspiration only teaching blog, and I'm not one to add linkable resources for the projects I do here [sorry, that's probably not going to change].  However, Nicole over at Teaching with Style is one of those awesome teacher bloggers who includes the goods with her posts!  So, Nicole was inspired by this lesson, did it with her 2nd graders, and linked up some freebies to do the lesson with your own kids.

If you haven't done positive/negative art before, I suggest looking at the Blick lesson plan to help you out [it was the only one that made sense to me, and Nicole used it too, so it must be helpful].  I would also make sure to make your own Dr. King example [probably a few to make sure you really have it]before starting this with your class, or disaster may strike!

This lesson will really challenge your kids with following directions, something that all our kids need practice with!  Also, I was lucky enough to have a document camera [ELMO] to use while doing this project with my kids.  It is a STEP BY STEP project.  Because you need ALL the paper you are cutting, having kids go off on their own can turn out problematic.  Also, make sure your kiddos have clean hands before starting this project because once you get glue stick, dirty ball wall hands, and white construction paper together you can kiss those squeeky clean projects goodbye!  I love baby wipes to get this done quick and easy by the way.

I paired this art with some "I Have a Dream" poetry writing with my kids, but you could really take the writing portion anywhere that works for your kids.  Good luck and if you try this project out, I would love to hear how it goes [and see a picture if possible].

our first christmas morning

I figured I should probably share our christmas morning

before it loses all relevance

[especially since I still have a few from the actual day as well]

so here we go...

yes, our morning was pretty much focused all around our E
she spent so much time loving on all of us
it was a great way to start off christmas day
the morning was filled with stockings stuffed with rattles
and all things little
a family in new jingle jammies
matching scarves
and oh so many awesome moments with the little miss

christmas eve

as you get older, the more christmases you seem to have

and no, I'm not complaining

but even as we add more celebrations

 there is one day that has stayed the same 

ever since I was a kid

so getting to add our little everly to christmas eve

just made it even more amazing

check out the first present she opened for the evening

I am not a huge shoe person

so even though I am guilty of buying E way more clothes than she needs

I haven't bought a single pair of shoes

however, now that she has these ridiculously cute boots

she has been sporting them on the regular

welcoming in 2013 [with a photo booth of course]

last night we rang in the new year our favorite way

sushi dinner

hang out with great friends

a fun little photo booth

and our everly of course

who celebrated being eight weeks old the best way she knew how

hanging out with all us grown ups

 

we are so excited for this year

on the horizon for us includes

weddings

graduations

new jobs

new babies

and so many milestones for everly

so here's to 2013

things are looking pretty great

feeling the post holiday blues?

with all the joy that came with Everly's first christmas

[I promise I'll get through all those pictures soon]

there also has been some post holiday blues too [at least for mama]

never will we have another "first christmas"

and as the weeks go by I am trying to soak up every minute with her

I look at photos from even just a couple of weeks ago

and she is such a different baby than the one I am looking at today

so I think all this means is I will continue to be camera crazy

and will stare at her for as long as I humanly can

and realize that with every change and every day that goes by

there are so many more exciting moments with Everly

and even though she will not always be so little

she is always going to be our daughter

and the fun is just beginning

and seriously, check out that pouty face

it is just too much cuteness, and man, does she know when to break it out

I think we are going to be in trouble when she gets bigger

christmas eve [photo booth]

now that all the "kids" in the family are in their teens and twenties

and with the new addition to the family - miss everly

I wanted to find a new fun tradition for us to start on Christmas Eve

so that's just what we did

I made a simple backdrop out of black felt and some large ribbon

bought some fun $1 props at Joann's

downloaded the Incredibooth app to my iPad 

[which I already had played around with on my phone as you can see here]

and had fun

I think I will be breaking this out for New Year's Eve too!

we'll be off christmas-ing for a while

I promise that I will have my camera in tow over the next couple of days

to catch all of Everly's first Christmas moments

but for now I'm wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas

and as you can see above

we already started celebrating last night with our first Christmas

and I cannot wait to have so many first Christmas moments with our little E

retro menagerie holiday prints are back

well, it is pretty much my favorite time of year

and my favorite etsy shop, Retro Menagerie has brought back their holiday prints

when decking the halls I like to change out some of the art on my walls as well

it is nice to fill those frames you have been looking at all year with something new

and the prints designed by Jaymee Srp are an excellent way to do that

my home currently has the Stacked Gifts print hanging up

and, a great feature of Retro Menagerie is each print can be designed to order if you wish

so if you do not have a red and green color scheme for the holidays

these prints can be changed to fit your home

go check out the whole holiday print collection here

I promise, you will like them