5 for Friday, Carson Dellosa, and 3 chances to win

Oh my gosh what a week...
I am posting my Find Your Joy
and it will be 5 for Friday...
I know my favorite number is 3 BUT
I have 5 things to share :)

NUMBER ONE

NUMBER TWO

Bub found this butterfly struggling in my parent's backyard and asked my mom if he could take care of it... he found her a flower to rest on.... such a big heart :) LOVE HIM

 NUMBER 3

Our Elf is named Gumbo... yep as in the yummy southern specialty... YUM anyways I have a blast setting him up every morning... here he is fishing with a gummy worm and a bath toy fishing pole and a real fish in the cup below... WHAT??? Bub was so excited!!!

 NUMBER 4

the RACK my class is spreading throughout the school... they are LOVING IT and I know the receivers of the RACK are loving it too!!!... some things we did this week were give a class set of pencils to 3 classes, tape quarters to the sticker machine, give a class set of healthy snacks to a firstie class, and set out random cute pencils :) (((SEE BELOW))))

 NUMBER 5
Carson Dellosa contacted me about doing a review for them and
HOW can you turn that down???

carsondellosa.com

they are one of the bestest companies around for getting teacher supplies and necessities...

so of course I said YES YES YES!!!
did you know they were founded by teachers... me neither so now you do...
you are very welcome *wink*
and one of the items they sent me was this...
a cutie patootie  ladybug pencil topper...
we added a pencil and our RACK tag and
WHA LAA
the perfect little surprise for the littles at our school!!!
we tape them in the Kinder and 1st bathrooms and in their cubbies when they are out at lunch or recess
the teachers talk about how the kids LOVE finding the
"BUGS" and the bathroom requests have quadrupled
because they hope to find one of these...
too bad we only do 3 a day...
the toppers come in a pack of 12 so we can do this for
four days :)

the ladybugs are so cute and it looks like they are chomping on the pencil too :)

do you see that smile... it was his turn to hide a pencil... I pick 4 kids a day to perform RACK and they get to pick from the 4 things I have set aside for that day... usually 1 teacher 1 class and 2 hidden ... and if the ladybug pencils are apart of the choice... they go first... so even fourthies love them :)

GUESS what else they sent me...

a POCKET CHART...

holla....

so I think I need to number this ...

NUMBER 6

I am loving this pocket chart...

and do you see the velcro closure pocket...

YES YES you read that right...

it is a POCKET

BUT the best part is it holds a lot

and because it has the velcro closure your contents stay secure :)

it is AH-mazing how much this pocket holds...

 Here is the 411 (info)
on this pocket chart...
straight from CD (Carson Dellosa)

Mini Essential Pocket Chart - the perfect pocket chart for playing games, tracking behavior,
teaching sight words, and more!
•6 horizontal clear pockets
•1 storage pocket with hook and loop tape closure
•19” x 25”

what teacher doesn't love velcro closures...

 OK and then to top it off they also sent me some
Braggin Badges....
 STICKERS...
which were perfect for the assembly we had today...
every 6 weeks we pick 2 STAR STUDENTS
from every class
and they are recognized in front of the whole school for being AWESOME!!!
and we had some really jealous peeps in the crowd because
my cool Star Students sported
STAR STUDENT stickers :)
we were BRAGGIN fo sho

 

So not only did they send me goodies....

BUT they are going to send these goodies to one of my readers too!!!!

WHAT!!!!

and all you have to do is this

a Rafflecopter giveaway  



and if you are not a winner all of these fancy schmancy things can be found
at carsondellosa.com or at a participating retailer


toodles

Dum Dums, RACK, Monday Made It, & a freebie

 So what do you say... when you get contacted by
SPANGLER CANDY to do a craft using their famous lollies...
well I am NO
Dum Dum...
of course I said YES!!!!

 so here is what I came up with...

 

 First gather all of your supplies...

 Styrofoam wreath, white spray paint, glue, scissors, glitter, ribbon, AND

 a BIG box of Dum Dums :)

 I had darling Hubs spray paint the wreath...
ta daaaaa

 Then I cut the sticks to short stubs  

because the wreath was not that thick and you need to have enough room to push all of them in 

PLUS you don't want sticks hanging out the back :)

 This was going to be a classroom craft but I wanted a trial run....
so I had Bub help out...
I figured if he could do it at the age of 4...
then older kiddos could too

 I let him just stick away...
I cut the stems and he pushed them in...
then I decided to make a border on the bottom to keep his random
StIcKiNg somewhat under control :)
see pic below...

 then I decided to also outline the inside edge too
this really controlled his randomness
so I would suggest doing this first then letting the little ones go at it

 Drew and I started making rows and he thought it was fun to find a different color every time

 we just went on and on and on

 and on and on... I would clip and he would stick

 clip, stick, clip, stick.... ouch... only I could pinch my thumb in between the scissor handles... OUCH!!!

OK so I was feeling really guilty about my kiddos at school 

NOT being apart of this ....

so I took it to school and we added glue in between the spaces...

 see the glue in the gaps???
and then we added...
GLITTER!!!! YUMMY!!!

 I finished the ribbon as my fourthies continued filling in the gaps...
they were confused WHY I was ruining the wreath with glue...
BUT after I explained the sticks were too short to be safe they were
OK with it!!!

 We started our RACK today and so we added our tag
and did a little sneaky sneaky hangy hangy on the Principal's door!!!

 Phone pic is not as pretty :( THO THAD about that!!!
and plus the lovely shade of brown on ALL of our doors...
yes ALL of our doors...  is so LUVERLY...
you really can't see how cute this was!!!
on the brown door... YUCK
this wreath is SUPER CUTE!!!
SUPER CUTE!!!
and it was the PERFECT gift for our first day of RACK!!!

 RACK is
Random Act of Christmas Kindness
we started it today...
I explained what it was and told them that we were going to do Random Acts everyday until the last day before we leave for vacay...
they were super excited...
I gave them this to brainstorm some ideas...

 

They had some really good ideas like....
 hide sparkle pencils in the kinder cubbies
and deliver healthy snacks to a 2nd grade class
and tape 2 quarters to the sticker machine...
cute ideas...
others were... help the librarian shelve books
 help clean up after the kinders in the cafeteria (we eat with them)
some super cute ideas....
and super cute ideas need SUPER CUTE TAGS...

 SOOOOOOO....
I made some cute tags for my kiddos to use through our December RACK...

 

 there is one for the class... asking them to pay it forward and then one that just tells them to ENJOY....
I have these
FO FREE
in my TpT store...
go get it!!!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/RACK-Random-Acts-of-Christmas-Kindness

and to get more YUMMINESS
head over to here
SpanglerCandy.com

 

 THANKS so much to Spangler Candy for asking me to create a craft!!! 
I am super excited about how this wreath turned out and to tell you the truth it was SUPER SUPER easy!!!
Definitely going to do this again!!! 
SWEET!!!

I am linking up with my good friend Tara...
for her SUPER Cute
always PINspiring

http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/2012/12/monday-made-it-december-edition.html

toodles

CURRENTLY December

It's that time again...

Before the CURRENTLY...
let's talk about RAK
RAK stands for
RANDOM Act of Kindness
it means it is RANDOM
you just thought of it...
NOT something you do every year
so when you fill out the RAK space
think of something NEW to do...
it is RANDOM
NOT something you have done time and time again...
NEW NEW RANDOM RANDOM NEW NEW
ok now that the details of that are out...
here we go with my Randomness...
I am going to feature 3 blogs from the November Currently
I am just going to have Bub, Hub, and me me me  pick 3 numbers
first Bub's number
he said two five four so I am going with #254


Ms. Hutten's Buttons...
SUPER CUTE blog
Krissy is from SO CAL and her blog is full of great links, lots of pics, and FUN IDEAS!!!
Her blog design is super cute and cheery!!! Check her out (click on the pic) and tell her Farley sent ya!!!

next number hub's pick...he said #9

http://joyinthejournney.blogspot.com/

Jessica is a 5th grade teacher and you should see her blog...

I love her mix of school, family, and fun!!!

I am loving the little gifts she gave her students at Thanksgiving...THO THWEET!!!
Head over and say HI (but come back)

and my number... hmmm

it has to have a 3 so  #333

Joni is a Kinder teacher (duh) from South Carolina...
Head on over if you want to see some uber cute freebies, Pinterest ideas, and some great TpT products!!!
Click on her pic for the link...tell her HI!!!

SPEAKING of LINKING up
LOOK over there ------------------------------------------------------->
I have a block parTAY
find your grade and link up or look around at the other blogs

NOW for the Currently

I really need to thank my hubs for getting Bub and I a new stroller for walking... Bub and I walked so much in his other stroller the tires went bad... and then got holes and so...
Hubs looked and looked for one that could have a higher wt. and wasn't the cost of a small used car!!!
he also found a coupon online and wha laaa a new jogging stroller and we are walking again!!!
HUGS to my HUBS



Bub is on the waiting list for Pre-School *tear*
he will start fingers crossed in January
my parents watch him right now and they need a break
AND I want him to get some socialization and interaction with kiddos his own age
I know it is for his own good BUT I am terrified... YES I am one of those MAMAs
it took us so long to become parents... I just have a small tiny itty bitty problem with CONTROLLING his environment and safety and well pretty much everything LOL
he will be fine I know... the kinder teachers at my school HIGHLY recommend it and well they are possibly the bestest Kinders I know so I trust them :)
plus it is just half day and 3 times a week...


I really want to learn to make clip art and font.  I love to doodle and I love writing!!! I think I could really make some cute schtuff... just need to know how... anyone anyone...

Dear Santa... I need a new laptop or Ipad... PURTY PLEASE


RAK--- already talked about this...
if you decide to give your mailman a gift great that is RANDOM
if you ALWAYS give your mailman a gift great BUT not RANDOM...
I want you to think of something you can do soon
it doesn't have to cost a lot of money...
think think think...


Alrighty
your turn...
remember the RULE OF 3
head on over to 2 before your link and comment and then come back and leave a comment at the 1 behind yours :)

when you link up... put your state's abbreviation before your name
a follower suggested this so we know where everyone is from
thought it was a good idea
let's see what state wins...
GO TEXAS!!!
(had to say that... I am also cheering for Mississippi my home state)

link up my friends

toodles

SPREAD THE JOY!!!!

So I wanted to just blog...
and vent and share
and well.....


GURLLLLLL... (and occasional BOOY)
I am in one of those years...
yep YEP yep
you know the one...
it is said you only get one of these in your WHOLE career...
I am getting payback for having
THE ABSOLUTE DREAM CLASS
last year...
which is also rumored to happen only once in your WHOLE CAREER *tear*
anywho...
let me say this though... not all of my kiddos are on the naughty list
I do have some on the SWEET and NICE list (bless their hearts)
and there are even a few on the borderline list...
it is all dependent on if the healthy school breakfast was HEALTHY
and the moon is not full
and the weather is not a changing
and all the planets and stars are alligned...
and all vitamins were administered *wink*
you know EXACTLY what I am talking about...
so you get the point...

POINT IS 2 negatives ( behavior and my GRUMPY mood) DO NOT make a positive... it is just a bigger negative and SOOOOOOOO



I decided to look at the good and
APPRECIATE the good!!!
so I took snapshots of the little things that made me HaPPy this week
because that should be celebrated...
FOCUS ON THE JOYS in life!!!!

so here we go...

of course my BUB is NUMBER one and I realized I didn't take a pic of HUBS so HULK will be our stand in... hubs is a hulk... or maybe a hunk...anyways today the HUBS is being played by the HULK love my BOYS

what... look what one of my little girls had on... she loves me AND it is GLITTER... and one of my teacher friends... HI HOLBROOK... gave me a sock monkey tumbler... just because... LOVE IT!!!! and our elf is named GUMBO and he is a hoot and the JOY on Bub's face when he sees it is priceless

I love giving Bub dinner in a muffin tin and HE LOVES it even more... NO he doesn't eat it all... he has to try at least two bites from each... on the menu tonight... yogurt with MnM sprinkles, blueberries, bananas, cashews, spaghetti Os, cheese its, and half of a sandwich...  he ate all of his yogurt, blueberries, bananas, most of his cashews and spaghetti Os, and two bites of sandwich and cheese its... my kid is the PICKIEST eater ever so getting him to eat at all is a struggle so this is a great alternative to the NORMAL plate... and FUN!!! and yes there are 2 spoons and a fork.. that is how we roll

our family pics really capture US... LOVE them... they make me smile when I look at them... wonder if I can make wall paper out of them... can I wall paper my classroom... HMMMM????

they love me... well at least this one does!!!!

So here is my challenge to you...
yes I have a challenge...
we all have times where the paperwork, grading, balance, emails, planning, redirecting, reteaching, testing, demands, concerns, notes, documentation, blah, blah, blah , blah, yadda yadda BLAH... gets us in a grumpy face mood... it is overwhelming.. we have all been there.. or are THERE... sooooooo
whenever you are in the Grumpy Face mood... pull out your camera
and shoot things that make you smile!!!
and then BLOG about them!!!
it will make you happy
it will
PROMISE...
what should we call this...
hmmmm???
 (((thinking cap on and thinking)))

and when you do it...
if you do...
I hope you do!!!!

everyone will be reminded to find the JOY in their life
and then someone else will do it
and then the JOY will be passed on
and then it will spread to someone else
kinda like PAY IT FORWARD...


PLUS  we will get a little PEEP into your JOY!!!
share your JOY
make others smile...
OK
I have a name...

FIND YOUR JOY!!!
(duh it's my title)
use it as your title so others know...


so if you are feeling like you might be in a Grumpy Face mood
start taking pictures of your JOY....
blog about your JOY

share your JOY
and spread the JOY!!!

I am not making this a linky because I think this needs to be spontaneous and fluid....
when the mood strikes...
and even if you are not Grumpy-licious... you can still spread some Joy!!!

toodles

Thanksgiving, Santa, & HELP with SQUIRRELS

I am sitting here needing to do my lesson plans
BUT I am not
and really I am suppose to be writing the ELA plans for the next four weeks...
I AM NOT
not that I AM NOT gonna do it
BUT
just not right now :)
WHY?
I wanted to share with you a few things...
a few things in a VERY LONG
FULL OF PICTURES
AND FUN
BUT LONG
BLOG
and in Farley fashion it will come in
THREE SQUIRRELS :)

SQUIRREL ONE*********** Thanksgiving

I LOVE Thanksgiving
it is my favoritest...really it is!!!
I love getting together with my family like we always do
at my grandparent's house!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE
the food is DELISH
the fun is memory making
and the FAMILY is FOREVER!!!
LOVE IT!!!
here are a few pics to show you how we roll...

food out on the counter

I was in charge of this... LOL and there is no recipe... HA HA it is just a lot of this (butter) and more of that (cream cheese) and cups of this (half and half and whipping cream and sugar) and dash and pinches of that (salt and peeper)  so good BUT OH SO BAD!!!!

my grandpa gets the first plate and his smile is a little naughty...not sure why... not his normal grin...LOL

my little family... in the kids' room

my cutie nephew

other end of the counter and more on the other counters too

my grandparents who are full of life, lessons, and LOVE

bub... of course

since the littles came along we go outside after the FEAST...they run around we watch

hubs took this pic and LOVES it... told me I had to share it... I am... I think I am in deep thought... how many miles do I need to walk to equal the calories I just inhaled.... my guess 1,033 miles

my MIL came to Thanksgiving with us this year... Nana to Bub

my mom with her grandbabies... Mia to bub

my Aunt and her family (she teaches Middle school MATH) BLESS HER HEART

my grandparents and their daughters... my uncle is missing... he lives in Georgia and is SUPER UBER BUSY he runs like some really important plant and I guess they need him there!!!

my parents... THO CUTE

my parents' kids... my little brother Josh (Rooney to me)

my parents' offspring and  family

my grandparents' big family minus my uncle's family :( seriously this was like take number 30 and we still are not perfect

the grandkids and great grandkids (minus 2 in Georgia)

So that is how we roll at Thanksgiving and we ALWAYS have the family pics...
mom makes us
and it always takes like 15 shots per to get a good one... LOL
thankful for family traditions
sad to see Thanksgiving come and go so quickly
I wish it were like a 3 day feast like the real Pilgrims but then I would need to run like 3,099 miles
so maybe not
and I am right it was like 3 days of feasting right?
maybe not but 3 is my fave number so I will go with that...
but I think I am right... someone tell me
and after Thanksgiving...
comes....

SQUIRREL TWO.... Christmas

We always go to Bass Pro Shop to get pics with Santa...
we are redneck like that
NOT really
their Santa display is MAGICAL
and creepy all at the same time
magical because
ONE the picture is FREE
did you see that FREE
not like $18 for some itty bitty pic
FREE
and it is magical because Santa looks real
bowl full of jelly tummy and all and a real beard
although this year ours wasn't as white as this perfectionist would have liked...
BUT that is OK...
I think that job is probably one of the most stressful jobs around...
think about it... you are pretending to be Santa
that in itself is stressing and then you have hundreds of kids sitting on your lap
OUCH
and because obesity of the youth is on the rise (because of teachers RIGHT??? *WINK*)
... it could be painful at times
OUCH OUCH
and they could be sick...
runny noses, coughs, and sneezes
YUCK
and you have a beard that I am sure is a GERM TRAP
double YUCK
and then they tell you all the stuff they want
and if it was like my kid the list was long...
but I do have to say he included some wishes for some friends (awwwwwww)
and then you have to SMILE for the FREE PIC
HOLLA for a free pic
ok that job is hard!!! thanks goodness it is seasonal
and back to the magic...
Bass Pro Shop has all these toys in their workshop that the kiddos could play with... FOR FREE
and I know it is for the hopes that you are going to buy the $249.99 race track... ah yeah right!!!
H to the ELL NO!!!
but Bub did enjoy playing with all the games and toys...
and our Bass Pro Shop has a beautiful Merry go Round... FREE too
and just to prove this is not a paid sponsorship... let me tell you why it is creepy
if you look around the workshop...
you'll notice all of these cute little critters...
like a raccoon, a bunny, even reindeer
all hidden amongst the glittery sparkly snow
and you think oh how cute are those and then ...
it hits you
they are STUFFED
taxedermy...
DEAD
and then it just gets a little creepy...
the glitter helps
because EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH GLITTER
EVERYTHING!!!
but then think...
Santa's Workshop is surrounded by dead glittery animals...
BUT that is what I get for going to the Bass Pro Shop for Santa pics
and well there is glitter...
but as you can tell the Magic out weighs the creep so bring it on...

he was so excited... OH and you are allowed to take pics too... Santa poses for the store's camera and then he will pose for yours too!!! YAY... mine is a little blurry

Bub is talking to Santa... he wouldn't look at him... he was shy for some reason

playing with the off road remote controlled trucks

think he likes it

Hubs likes it too

YAY this is fun

I made him pose for this... NOT HAPPY

Merry Go Round... trip number 1

Trip NUMBER 2

Trip number 3

and trip number four and final time

playing with the trains

and playing with the 249.99 race track

sharing with his cousin Raeleigh

 and I realize some of you might be a little jealous
of this great place
but to squash your little tinge of green
remember the DEAD ANIMALS...
that should do it!!!
on to NUMBER 3

SQUIRREL THREE.... TpT Sale Picks

Yes I am throwing a sale and I am sure you have heard about it...
all over Blogland there is a quiet HUSH before the storm of Cyber Monday...
I really wish it could have started today...
BECAUSE
HELLO I am back at school tomorrow... YUCKITY YUCK YUCK
and I would have spent all day today... shopping from my couch...
and then tomorrow I would talk to all my buddies and get a new list of things to buy and
SHOP again...
BUT I am not in charge and so my WISHLIST grows...
and I want to share with you what is on my wishlist...


I love me some RUNDE... so of course I have some of her things on my wishlist!!!
Here is the one I am adding to my cart tomorrow...

click on pic to add to your wishlist

 My kiddos always need extra help in multiplication facts soooooooo
I am always on the look out for multiplication games... and this one looks like FUN plus it has 15 games

click here to head on over
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Multiplication-Board-Games-With-Monkey-Friends

 and a lot of Ashleigh's things are on my wishlist...

here are a couple...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Prefix-and-Suffix-of-the-Week

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Math-Workshop-Guide

and well that about covers it!!! I think!!!

is your wishlist full... I have like 333 items in my cart...

OK not really BUT i do have like 33 LOL

I might have to buy some today to help me get my plans in gear...

I enjoyed my time off and got some of my to do list done... one was this...

OH NO SQUIRREL FOUR.... last one promise

 I got our FAB family pics in the mail from my good friend Nicole
and she captured my family perfectly...
if you are a central Texas peep... check her out...
she does great work...
here is her facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicole-Hatter-Photography/166915050000670

anyways... I always LOVe making our Christmas Cards and this year...
I knew what I had to have on it...
YEPPERS you guessed it...
BUT
we are stuck on which one we like most...
HELP
they are all the same in design BUT different in PICTURE choices...
so I am asking my bloggy friends to help
leave your opinion in the comments

PIC NUMBER ONE... hubs fave

PIC NUMBER TWO... Bub's fave

PIC NUMBER THREE... the doggies' fave

PIC NUMBER FOUR... my fave

I don't know I kinda like them all!!!
and maybe I'll just print all of them and randomly stuff them into envelopes
LOL
ok HELP.....

thanks so much for making through this super long post... and
I am so glad you made it through...
I am sure it is long because I don't want to work on yucky stuff... like grading papers
and well that is stinky
blogging is fun
BUT I think I am at the end of my stuff to share so...
I am tho thad that I have to now go and work on my work stuff *tear*

TOODLES