Back from Bama and Back to School!

Hey Y'all! We are back from our trip to Alabama. We try to go once or twice a year. This year we went to celebrate my grandparents 60th anniversary. My grandparents are pretty much my favorite people in the whole wide world. I love them SOOO much! 

They had the best time with Jackson. He was definitely the center of attention the entire trip. Daddy and I were really proud of him, he was amazing on the airplane! He pretty much slept the entire flight. YAY!

We sat next to a lovely woman who knew some relatives of mine in Huntsville. She was so sweet! She kept talking about how cute Jackson was and offered to hold him so we could settle in. Well...turns out he liked her A LOT. He ended up falling asleep on her and slept the whole flight. It was kind of amazing. She isn't a Grandma yet, but she'll be a great one day!

Here's a pic of my Gigi and Grandaddy! Aren't they PRECIOUS!!? They've been married 60 years! How awesome is that?! 

So the title of this post is a little misleading, considering the fact that I am actually not going back to school...but my friends are! If you follow my blog you know I resigned in May to stay home with my 9 month old son Jackson. I'm continuing my blog and TPT store as a way to let the hardcore teacher in me have a creative outlet. I'm thinking of looking for mother's day out or nursery school type programs to work at part time, that way I can teach and Jackson can do what he does best...PLAY! Anyway...back to the point...

My good friends at my old school are starting back Tuesday. Well, Tuesday all the teachers have to be back and the kids come the following week. Crazy right!? I taught at a year round school, so summers were usually about 6 weeks or so. I really enjoyed the schedule because we got an awesome and much needed break in October. 

Back to the point...my good friend Hannah asked me to create some Dr. Seuss style printables for her classroom and like a good friend I did my best! I've created her a set of ABC posters, number posters, desk tags, transportation sign and shape posters. I had my mother-in-law watch little Jackson for a couple of hours so I could go help her setup her room. (I'm going to teach vicariously through her this year...she doesn't know that yet...unless she is reading this post, which she probably is because she is such a good friend! Right Hannah?) ;)

Here's a pic of the number posters I made for her:

I told her we have to do something about her green calendar...just doesn't go anymore! (This is why teachers are always broke, particularly at the beginning of the year!! I definitely won't miss the broke part, but will miss the excitement of NEW stuff!)

Here's little Miss Hannah with her monster glue gun. I cut off the bottom of the picture because it made her look like she was a teaching material hoarder...which she kind of is, but I'm pretty sure that just means she is a really amazing teacher. (I was actually a super hoarder, I don't even want to begin to tell you how many boxes of teaching stuff I am storing in my house...it's ridiculous!!)

I need to get more pics, she has a ton of other cute stuff in her room. I made these gift tags for her as well. In second grade I would send home math fact flash cards at Meet the Teacher night and I would attach a cute little gift tag to it. These tags go with her blue/red Dr. Seuss style theme and are about the right size to glue or tie onto a pack of alphabet/number/sight word/whatever flash cards. Pick them up here if you'd like to use them! I made several sets with red/blue stripes or polka dots and I created some that say "Welcome to Kindergarten" and "Welcome back to school!" This way other grade level teachers can use them. Enjoy!

Happy Fourth of July Y'all!!

Today, my best friend Ashley is in town from Mississippi! YAYY!! I am so excited, I don't get to see her but maybe 2 times a year now that we live so far apart. I've known Ashley since elementary school but we didn't become attached at the hip until 7th grade when we had a math class together. We've been like sisters ever since. She is the BEST person in the whole world, one of those people that would give you the clothes off her back if you needed it. I love you Ash Ash! :) 

She's in town with her hubby Kris, I call him "Paul Bunyan". He's a tree man. He is very tall and always has an ax on him...ha ha just kidding! But he is an outdoorsy type and he is hilarious. The four of us, plus my little man Jackson, are going to drive out to Luckenbach, Texas today. If you don't know where Luckenbach is check out their website here. Luckenback is a tiny, tiny town known for it's old general store and dance hall. If you are a Texas country singer, you've played at Luckenbach. I've been going to Luckenbach since I was a little girl. My mom and dad loved driving out there to listen to some good ole Texas music and have a good time. I'll make sure to take some pics of our trip to share with y'all .

While I'm out and about, I'm throwing a sale in my TPT store. 20% off for the 4th of July! Woo hoo!! Y'all have a safe fourth of July and be thankful that we live in the country that we do. Thank you to all the military and their families! Your sacrifices are not forgotten! 

And the winners are...

Alrighty friends, we have the winners from my give-a-way!

Congratulations ladies! I've sent y'all both emails. Thank you to everyone who entered. Y'all are amazing!! Now it's time for mommy, Jackson and aunty Hannah to visit the pool! YAY! Jackson is sporting his Gymboree crab swim set. LOOOOVE it. 

Don't mind the basket of laundry that needs to be folded in the background. It never ends does it!! Time for fun!

Ear tube surgery done and a freebie!

Hey Ladies!

Thank y'all so much for the sweet and encouraging words about my baby boy's surgery. It was SO fast and so easy. Jackson didn't cry ONCE. He was such a trooper. He was very interested in all the people around him and was loving all the attention. His grandparents on both sides came out to wish him well and he was just smothered in love from everyone. It was so nice. 

Also, our ENT is AWESOME! His name is Dr. Bonilla, he is one of the only pediatric ENTs in South Texas and he was incredible. So nice, professional, informed and comforting. The surgery was literally 10 minutes. Then we got to go back and feed him and cuddle with him and it was like nothing had happened. He was completely normal and content. I'm so thankful and feel so blessed that everything went well. Now, let's pray that those ear infections go away!

Here is Jackson getting his vital signs taken. He did SO good. It is extremely rare that he sits still like this. He was just so into all the cool toys the nurse had.

Look at my baby boy's cheeks! He gets it from me... ;) And I LOVE that his squishy, chunky arms are popping out of that wrap! Ha!

We were up very early!

We all went to eat breakfast after the surgery, Jackson chowed down on his cracker and some scrambled egg yolk.

If you read my last post, you know I hinted that I might be offering a freebie today. Well lucky you...because I am! :) I am working on a Dr. Seuss inspired classroom decor pack. My friend Hannah asked me to make something Dr. Seuss-ish but simple, not crazy. She wants her room to have the Dr. Seuss feel but she wants everything to flow and not be overwhelming...so that's what I'm trying to do for her. We are sticking to red/blue/black/white. I've already posted the main pack: alphabet, numbers and shapes. You can view that file here. Now I'm working on some extras: desk tags, labels, sight words and transportation. 

Here are some desk tags and bin labels I've made. I'm posting this for free! If they work in your classroom or home, grab 'em! 

I've included three versions: handwriting lined, a plain line and blank. All versions come in red or blue. You can pick up the file here. Enjoy!

Don't forget my give-a-way ends tonight at midnight!! I'm giving away 2 TPT $10 gift cards to ladies who enter and follow me on Bloglovin! Winners will be announced tomorrow morning. Good luck!!

July Currently!! For the first time EVER!!

OK y'all I'm super excited to do my first currently hosted by Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade! 

I'm a little late...but hey it is July 1st isn't it??! Here's what I got for y'all...

Listening: My husband and in-laws are chatting after we had a nice taco dinner. It's kind of late but it's been a whirlwind of a day. My in-laws come over often and usually stay no less than 2 hours at a time...not complaining! They are awesome!! My mother-in-law helped me so much tonight: held my crazy 9 month old so I could finish dishes, bathed him and read to him so I could get some more work done...yay!! ;)

Loving: Jackson does NOT go to sleep sweetly...he hates to sleep and will do whatever he can to avoid it. So tonight, he went to sleep quickly and quietly...very rare! So happy though. 

Thinking: Jackson is having ear surgery tomorrow. He's getting tubes because he has had recurrent ear infections. I feel so bad for him! I hate ear infections, they're the worst. And as a parent, you really can't do anything to help them other than some numbing drops and antibiotics. It's so sad...I'm praying that his new tubes will solve the problem and he will be all better real soon! All prayers are welcome!! I know it's a pretty routine procedure but I'm a mom, I worry!

Wanting: OK so this currently seems to be all about my 9 month old...lol...sorry!!! He is kinda taking up every aspect of my life right now. Because of his ear infections he hasn't been sleeping through the night and he has slept through the night since 7 weeks old...so it's been rough. I feel so bad for those parents who have kids who never sleep through the night. It's EXHAUSTING! I'm crossing my fingers that these tubes do the trick so we can get my little boy back on his awesome, sleeping through the night routine. 

Needing: Alright so I think I'm taking the longest route to move in to my house. If you follow my blog you know I moved back in March...well...things are still not where they should be. It's been tough because we did a lot of painting and redid some floors and the baby got sick with ear infections...so organizing and decorating has been put on hold. However, I really need to get my booty in gear so that this summer doesn't slip away from me before I know it. I've set some goals for myself (I'll share these later) and I'm trying to organize my office so that I have a nice, cozy and inspiring place to work/blog/read/regroup/create, etc. I found some AWESOME Pinterest inspiration:

I'm going for somewhere in between these two pins...organized but girly. We shall see...gosh I love Pinterest...what did we do before Pinterest??!

Tips, Tricks and Hints:  Make products that you would LOVE for your own room. I found that if I wasn't really excited about something, it didn't come out that great. My best selling unit has been my "Magnet Mania" unit because I was really excited about jazzing up boring old magnets for my kids. My district had a crummy science curriculum and I spent a lot of time making my own unit and it was really easy to make and has done really well on TPT. If you aren't excited about it, don't waste your time!!

Alright ladies...stay tuned because I might have a freebie tomorrow...we shall see. Make sure you go back to Oh Boy 4th Grade and check out some more "Currentlys". Prayers for my baby if you can!! Night night!