Mission Organization Linky: No more junk drawer!

Hello friends! I'm linking up with A Modern Teacher to share a way I'm getting organized at home. Now I will admit that I really didn't take on a HUGE project at home...I have two boys under two and the chaos never stops so there are several areas of my home that need a major face lift right now but..........I'm not that brave and I'm short on time! So I started small with...THE JUNK DRAWER!

*Don’t judge!*

Admit it y'all...you have a junk drawer. Everyone has a junk drawer. I have tried to organize this bad boy before but nothing ever stuck. I was running around Target today and found some fun washi tape. I decided to use the washi tape to label a drawer organizer. I labeled each section and planned out what I was going to put where. Anything I hadn’t used in a year was tossed.

I made a section for mail, tape, sticky notes, clips, pens, my iPod, my reading glasses and one that says BBW (bath and body works). The BBW section is for my car air freshener refills and the extra wallflower I’m not using right now. I always need a place to store goodies I get from BBW.

I also took all the receipts I had in Ziploc bags and placed them in that pink chevron container. I was using that chevron container for coupons and then it just started collecting receipts…so I guess I should just use it for receipts since I stink at couponing. (I seriously don’t know how they do that extreme couponing thing…that’s just nuts!)

So there you have it, a nice and tidy drawer! How long will it look like that you ask?? I am not making any promises on how long it will last but it sure looks nice now doesn’t it?! J

Head on back to A ModernTeacher to see some other organizational ideas for your home!

3 Weeks No Cheats and HALF OFF!

Hi friends!! I want to share a little something I’m going to try for the next 3 weeks. Rachelle at For Blogness' Sake is starting "3 Weeks No Cheats" round 2. My friend Ashley at Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd is joining in and I'm on the bandwagon!

Now, I just had my second baby and he is only 9 weeks old so I definitely have some pounds to shred. My problem isn’t necessarily my diet but I’ve had a really hard time staying motivated to work out regularly. I use time as an excuse and I really shouldn’t…right? Everyone is short on time no matter how many kids you have or what responsibilities you have…so I need to stop using that as an excuse…right?!

For my 3 weeks I am going to stop “cheating my way” out of a healthy, active life style. Yes I want to shed the rest of my baby weight and then some, but more importantly I want some energy back. Chasing a toddler, nursing a newborn and everything else I need to get done in a day requires a lot of ENERGY and when I don’t exercise I have zero of it. So here we go…exercise every day! (I know you should have “rest days” to help your body recover so on those days I might just do a light activity such as walking or yoga.) I’ll be posting my updates on Instagram so y’all can keep me accountable!!

I also wanted to share with y’all that just for fun I’m having a half off sale in my store. I’ve placed 5 items on sale for HALF OFF today only! Here are some photos of what I’ve got on sale for just today:

Dr. S Inspired Classroom Decor: 

(Click on the title of the product to see the preview in my store)

My Kindergarten TEKS cards in Zebra or Chevron

My Alphabet Bracelets Pack

My Best Selling Second Grade Science Notebook

Only half off until tomorrow!! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Vegas Recap! {Pictures and Gratitude!}

I'm linking up with A Burst of First to share my Vegas adventures! :)

Oh. My. Gosh. Y’all. I just had the BEST time in Vegas! I cannot begin to explain how rewarding this trip was. Being able to meet and talk with fellow teachers from around the country (world actually) was priceless. Don’t get me wrong, the sessions were awesome too. I was truly inspired by some amazing teachers. But I truly think the connections made with other teacher-authors was my favorite part!

I had the best roomies EVER! Marcy from Saddle Up For 2^nd Grade (a fellow Texan who uses the word y’all about 5,000 times a day just like me!), Angie from Mrs. Olson’s Lucky LittleLearners and Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in Second. These women are AMAZING!! I truly enjoyed every minute with them. We shared our joys, struggles and excitement for being teacher-authors and of course…had some fun!! J Here are some pics from my trip:

Marcy, Me and Angie

All of my roomies with Mel D!

Blogger gals at the conference

Happy Hour with TpT Founder Paul Edelman (who is such an amazingly nice, down to Earth guy by the way)!

Becoming a blogger and a Teachers Pay Teachers teacher-author has truly been a life changing experience for me. It has opened the door for me to be a “work at home” mom which I truly appreciate. In our society today it is very hard to live off of one income alone, especially when you have children. Being able to blog and create for TpT gave me the opportunity to provide some income for my family AND be with my babies. I cannot be more grateful for that experience!

On my flight back, I was doing some reflective thinking about the trip and I came up with these important takeaways…

  I’m doing something right!

During my sessions I got some tips and tricks from TpT authors and I found that many of the things they shared, were things I’m doing. That made me feel really good. A lot of times this part-time business of mine can get pretty lonely. Before this trip I didn’t have anyone to talk with about my experience, I felt very isolated so I really had no idea if I was doing things right or not. Being able to listen to some of the top sellers share their methods made me feel really good about what I’m doing. *Patting myself on the back* J

    I am NOT alone!

I absolutely loved sharing the same joys/gripes with my fellow TpTers. It was so nice to share troubleshooting strategies with each other. I loved feeling like I’m not the only one who gets really frustrated with hyperlinks sometimes!! Haha! Or that I’m not the only one who finds it hard to balance time working and time spent with family. I am so thankful to have people to share my joys and struggles with! *Mushy, I know…but totally true!!*

     People Actually Read My Blog

Haha! I know that sounds really silly…of course people read this blog, my blogger dashboard tells me I have tons of views every day…of course people read this…right? But to actually meet other bloggers and have them know who I am was completely mind blowing! My biggest shock was when Katie from Teacher to the Core said, “Oh ya, Teachin’ Little Texans!” and gave me a compliment. I was like Whhhhhhuuuut??!  Seriously, blew. My. Mind!  She is an amazing blogger and wayyyyyyyyyy beyond where I am at in the blogging world and it just made my YEAR to know she actually reads this little old blog of mine. Thank you Katie for your kind words!! You seriously rocked my world and I’ll be talking about meeting you for MONTHS!

    God is GOOD!!

Ok so I already knew this. There have been so many moments in my life that I think about how I was SO close to some catastrophic event happening and then something happened and all was good. That has happened too many times in my life for me not to be a firm believer that God has my back! This trip has helped me see that yet again, God is good. Meeting these amazing women, working in this revolutionary business that allows me to mesh doing what I love with being with my babies and supporting my family…it’s unreal y’all. So, so, SO thankful.

Now…if you have stuck with me this far THANK YOU! I hope y’all know I truly appreciate every page view, every comment, every like and every second you spend with me. I have so many great things planned for the future and I hope y’all stay with me! Sending all of you a *big hug*!

Head back to a A Burst of First to check out the other Vegas stories!

It is almost here!! {and a SALE!}

You've probably heard about Vegas from many bloggers this week. I cannot explain how excited I am to be going to the very first TpT conference! I can.not.wait. I'll be rooming with some of my bloggy buddies and I cannot wait to meet them in person. We've already had a mini culture shock, two of us are from Texas and the word "y'all" is always a point of conversation! Ha! :) Love y'all, best word ever!!

Thanks to Kristen at Easy Teaching Tools for the cute badges! Check mine out:

Tonight I'm linking up to share the sale in my TpT store starting the 9th through July 12th. If you follow me on Instagram you'll see all the Vegas pictures early! ;)

You can head over to Surfing to Success to see all the other ladies joining in.

Chevron Editable Teacher Binder Cover Pages

Hey friends!! I hope you are all well. I've been very busy finishing up projects, caring for my two little ones, trying to manage the massive chaos that is my household, enjoying the Blog Hoppin' Scavenger Hunt, getting ready for VEGAS anddddddd making y'all a nice freebie for back to school! Woooo that was a long sentence wasn't it?? :)

I feel so bad because since Brandon was born my poor little blog has been neglected. Sooooo I wanted to share a little gift to my readers who are sticking with me! Thanks for your patience! :)

I had so many teachers tell me that they loved the polka dot versions of these last year that I decided to make some chevron pages for you in 16 different colors...oh and they are completely editable!! You can pick them up in a PPT file here. Enjoy my friends!!

I also wanted y'all to know that I am now on INSTAGRAM! :) I kept thinking it was time for me to join Instagram but the Blog Hoppin' Scavenger Hunt totally gave me a reason to! If you haven't checked that awesome contest out, you've gotta go look! If you're on Instagram make sure to follow me @Teachinlittletexans! I added a nice little spiffy gadget to my side bar where you can see my latest pics. I even found a nice follower who used my hashtag #teachinlittletexans when they shared a picture of one of my creations in their classroom....LOOOOVE the LOVE! Thanks y'all!

I have about 800 things I need to do before I leave for VEGAS on Thursday...did I mention that I'm going to VEGAS?! I feel the need to type Vegas in capital letters every time I type it...ya know...because it's VEGAS and I'm going! So excited!! :) I'll be there attending the Teachers Pay Teachers conference and I just. can't. wait. If you don't follow me on Facebook and Instagram...make sure you do to see all the updates! When I get back I will have some pretty awesome news! Wink wink!