Happy New Year!

~~~ Wow, 2011 ended with a great bash and 2012 came in relaxing. Hope everyone has a blessed 2012. 

My blogger way of bringing in the new year is a tradition way of asking, "What are your new year's resolutions?"

Mine? Probably the same way it's always been:

1) Organize and consolidate. Here's a youtube video of my dear friend Linda doing a great compact fold to organize your plastic grocery bags. Every since I started doing this fold, my storage space has increased. Try it! it's easy. :) Hope it helps you too. (There's music to it. If it's techno, I don't know how it got there...if it's a cute song, I've been trying to put that on there so enjoy)

2) Exercise. Anyone wanna dance? I'm registering this week and I've also started walking/jogging everyday. My neighborhood has so many hills it's a total workout! I need to lose 20 more pounds.

3) And this is a mommy brain resolution... Get my dates straight. Here are free printables to CUTE year long calendars from Living Locurto. I love the way she displays them too! 

 

Sew many things

My best friend is about to "PoP!" and I got a chance to sew her a few baby essentials.

::References::
Felt Booties
Herringbone stitch tutorial aka Blanket Stitch
Diaper Case pattern
Burp Cloth pattern from "Go Baby Go!"


To be continued...comfort blankies  and baby shower to come

Parenting 101...nope, make this Parenting 201 (a quick advanced course)

I'm a mom and I have a short fuse sometimes...so sue me.

well, don't do that. ...but I probably deserve a good slap on the face sometimes.

I changed my title from Parenting 101 to 201 b/c this is beyond diaper changing and patting the back for comfort. I wish I read this article sooner b/c my older daughter has heard a lot of "reacting" from me that I now need to unwind.

Kids whine and they tantrum BUT I just read an article that mentioned "Responding vs. Reacting." How powerful is that? It floored me b/c I am a reactor forcing compliance rather than speaking from the heart and communicating with a response that I heard my daughters' problems and that I'm their guardian/safety net. As a Christian parent don't you think that this is the way God nurtures us? How horrific would it be if He reacted each time we were naughty? geez, I'd be in deep trouble.

Here is the article I found: Circle of Moms

I'm sharing this because I'm not the world's greatest mom but I can help those who come after me. I promise I'll try my best to respond to my children's needs vs. reacting.

Confessions of a Super Mom

Cheat.

Not at everything but cheat in cooking here and there...voila! ~

I love holidays because you can be creative...especially with the help of blogs these days. For Halloween we celebrated at our Harvest Festival at church but the next day the game was on! We hosted our Bible Study group so Sweet little A and I went to town on some festive treats. Our friend Crystal came a little early and gave us a hand too! Thanks~

Here are some of our treats:

Hot Dog Mummies. Recipe. I didn't put the cheese inside.

Pumpkin Pops with paper spiral straws (cut in half) as sticks. Note for next time: Put more filling b/c the pie crust can be salty if the ratio isn't right. Recipe.

"Bone Appetit" everyone!!!~ On the very top you'll find oreo spiders made by Sweet Little A all by herself. We tried to make oreo pumpkin pops but the melted coat didn't come out perfectly so it's a project for next year.

So you're probably wondering how I cheated...You don't make
the dough, you appreciate the coupons and the pre-made packages of Pillsbury crescent and pie crust dough. You also appreciate friends who offer to help and  friends who make the pie fillings for your pumpkin pie pops. :9 Thanks Jenny!~

My picture that reveals all my dirty secrets. (And yes, the cookie cutters were washed. The stickers were so hard to get off. I'd rather keep them on than to push them into the dough with sticky yucky stuff.)

 

Hope everyone had a  

Happy Harvest-y Halloween!!!!!~

I :heart: Cheap Thrills

I'm happy to say that my couponing efforts have paid off and it held me over until my first paycheck. This past year we've been trying to live under our means instead of within our means and it's been a healthy challenge for us. It's not fun but it's safe. Since work started up again I haven't been able to keep up with the coupons but I plan on squeezing it in when I can and going to Costco in between.

Anyways~some cheap thrills that I discovered in the mean time are 1) make up remover and 2) lipstick.

Some of these things are right under our noses and we don't stop to realize. Last year I experimented with lots of different make up and water-proof make up removers. The best make up remover thus far...

Baby Wipes!!!!! and guess what? We have lots of it in our house. The make up wipes right off and I didn't have to think about a separate purchase. I don't have a preference in a brand of wipes and I've been purchasing whatever was on sale and they all work. A friend told me about it and I love it! Water-proof make up wipes right off with no raccoon eyes or smudged lips. Your face is clean&soft like a baby's bottom. 

 

Secondly, as a teacher and mom with very precious time, I'm looking for make up that will utilize the least amount of effort, cost, and give me the most longevity of beauty. Lipstick has been my item of unlimited cost with the least amount of guilt b/c it makes or breaks a look. I've spent anywhere from $1 to $40 on a lip product (shame on me). Now I know better. So~ for the past month or two I've been using Revlon Lip Color Stay Overtime...of course, purchased with a coupon~

I put it on at a stop light on the way to drop off my kids and it stays on until after school and into my most favorite tv shows at night! Now when I watch the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and see them lookin' good in the morning scenes I know that they didn't wash their face rather than assuming they got all dolled up for that scene. 

I'm making my efforts to "keep up." ;) wink

I love my Revlon Color Stay!!!~ I've tried long-wear lipsticks before and they've always dried out my mouth or leaves a weird residue BUT this has been great. I also have a Chanel one but I've only used it twice for a girls night out and I paid way too much for it (don't ask). Although my Chanel long-wear lip gloss makes me feel extravagant, my Revlon Color Stay treats me the same for fraction of the cost. I think I purchased my color stay at Target for maybe $6. I <3 Cheap Thrills!

Yes, I'm alive. :)

I've been having a really great year with students...which has also been keeping me busy preparing upper grade instructional materials. Man, teachers can spend all day AND night in their classrooms if they could.

Anyways, I found this cute printable from "Honey We're Home" a cute blog that features family life, recipes, organization ideas...and everything I love. :) This little bit says it all for me. Very simply sums it all up. I'm sure my mommy friends can relate. :)

First Day Jitters

One of my favorite books to read on the first day of school (Besides the Kissing Hand) is called

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg and Judith DuFour Love (Mar 2000) where the teacher is the one nervous at the end of the story.

 Eek! I have the jitters b/c I'm moving schools with a new staff, kids that I'm semi familiar with and a classroom that went from rags to riches. So~ I've been looking up blogs a lot but here is a cute clipboard of rules that I came across from one of my favorite blogs Eighteen25

 I think I"ll post this in my entry way. I sure hope the kids follow it. :)

But most of all, I can't wait to frame it and give it as a teacher present to one of my kids' teachers. It's probably more elementary school appropriate so I'll have to be patient for a couple of years.

What a wonderful and budget friendly teacher gift!

Lastly, I came across this great one that I'd like to post on my wall as well:

Special ed can get very rewarding but not without some uphill challenges ...SO~ I must Keep Calm and Teach On. (Post from Hands on Housewife)

To All my Teacher Friends and kiddos...Have a great year!!!!~

AND, Thank you friends who gave me encouraging words to start the year.
Thank you
::Hus & sisters for keeping me safe & preparing with me til 11pm in my classroom as I worked
:: My Mother In Law helped me watch my kids and even helped me in the classroom a bit
::Thanks Hannah S. & Irene for coming to my classroom

You guys are all super stars and out of this world to me!!!!