Pool Play - Easiest Project EVER

Yesterday felt like our first "official" day of summer.  We were all home together and had nothing on the agenda except hanging out in the yard so it seemed like the perfect time to try out a project that I've had on my to-try-list for EVER!

Weekend Recap - Memorial Day Weekend Edition

Happy Tuesday, Friends!!!

Happy Memorial Day

Thankful today for those who have given and those who continue to give. 

Friday Favorites - End of School Edition

Y'all.... SCHOOL IS OUT!!!!!  I'm going in for a couple of hours this morning to tidy up my classroom and finish packing a few boxes and then I'm officially done until August!  I feel like I could stop this post right there and that would be enough FAVORITE for the week :)

First and Last

I still can't believe that today is the last day of school!  Mason was done yesterday - but Luke and I are at school today.... I'm giving and grading exams and then going to Middle School awards and Luke has class in the morning and then Lower School awards.

It's bizarre because I SWEAR that this picture was taken just yesterday!

Carrot Cake (yes... again)

Back in March I shared a really yummy carrot cupcake recipe and mentioned that while they were good I was still on the hunt for a "perfect" carrot cake recipe.  Several of y'all sent me recommendations, but the one that caught my eye was this recipe from Canadian Living Magazine.  Being Canadian, a lot of my favorite recipes are ones that my mom cut out from that very magazine and made all the time growing up so I knew it had to be good :)  

Show and Tell Tuesday - Travelogue Edition

Happy Tuesday, friends!  I had something different planned for today... and then exam week happened and I ran out of time - so I'm going to share my "favorite vacation" post from last year with a few "worst vacation moments" at the end :)

Weekend Recap - Just what the doctor ordered edition

Happy Monday, Friends!!!  Friday morning was the last Friday or the year and we celebrated with silly filters and lots of extra kisses in the parking lot before heading off to class.

Friday Favorites - MJ Swim Edition!

Y'all.  It's finally here!  My last Friday Favorites of the school year!  Next Friday I'll officially be on summer break and I am SO EXCITED!!!  Between the dabbing, fidget spinners and water bottle flipping it's been "a year".  I'm mainly just ready for a couple of months without hearing anyone say "lit" ;)

Sweet summertime

Summer is so close we can pretty much taste it around here.  We've been swimming after dinner, eating strawberries with every meal and trying our hardest to maintain reasonable bedtimes despite the sun and pool having other ideas.

Birthday Interviews

Every year I think about doing those birthday interviews that I see lots of other moms doing and pretty much every year I forget.  Well, I got my act together last night (only a month late!) and decided to interview each of the kids.  And on a total whim I thought I'd video their responses and piece them together into a video.  I love the idea of having their little voices saying their answers to look back on in coming years.  I'm hoping to make this a yearly tradition!

Mother's Day 2017

Our Mother's Day celebrations really started Sunday evening when Dave got home from work and my crew treated me to a few of my favorites - Mexican food and time watching the kids having fun.  

Weekend Recap - Pizza and Pretzels Edition :)

Friday was crazy, y'all.  

Friday Favorites - Mother's Day Edition

Y'all... only ONE MORE FRIDAY until Summer!!! WOO to the HOO!  I am in FULL ON end-of-the-year mode and it's pure insanity.  Last rounds of quizzes, tests, exam prep, exam study guides, awards, a dance, etc., etc., etc.  I am sooooooo ready for a break!

#plantlady

Recently I've been getting a TON of questions about the plants around my house.  A TON!  I am by no means a plant expert in the least, but today I thought I'd share a little bit about the indoor plants I've had success with and how I take care of them.  I ADORE having plants around the house and think they add so much to a room.

Sloppy Joe Pie

Hey, Friends!  Today I'm sharing a recipe that is pretty much guaranteed to give me a gold star from Dave... sloppy joe pie!  Dave LOVES a sloppy joe so when I ran across this recipe for sloppy joe pie I knew it was something that would make him SUPER happy!

Show and Tell Tuesday - Memory Lane

When I started working on this post I quickly realized a couple of things...

1) The 90's were awesome

2) Most of what I remember falls into the categories of toys, snacks/candy, school supplies and TV/books

3) The 90's were awesome.  Yes.  I listed that twice :)

Weekend Recap - Zoo Day Edition

Happy Monday, Friends!

Friday started off extra fun with a Zoo Day Parade!  Mason's zoo field trip was canceled due to rain earlier in the week, but they kept the parade for Friday.  Kids came dressed as animals or zoo keepers and it was so cute!  We got ANOTHER use out of my eBay lion costume find (YES!) and Mason was in character from the moment he put it on :)

Friday Favorites - Nugget Edition

WOO HOO for Friday, am I right??? 

Today it's just Narci and I holding down the Friday Favorite Fort as Erika gets ready to go get her BABY GIRL!!! I feel like I could end this post right here and it would be enough FAVORITE to hold us over until next week :)  It is absolutely my FAVORITE to watch friends follow God's calling for their lives through adoption, fostering, ministry, service, etc.

Spring Gift Guide (teachers and grads)

If you're anything like me you have LOTS of graduations coming up.  I feel like I have a pretty good handle on kids birthday gifts (you can see my post HERE for some of my favorites under $20) but graduation gifts can have me stumped.... and apparently they have A LOT of y'all stumped as well because I've had multiple people ask me if I have ideas!

Tuscan Chicken Pasta

I'm a total sucker for those super quick recipe videos on Facebook and I couldn't get this one out of my head after I saw it.  I whipped it up on Friday after a particularly "trying" week and it was the perfect comfort food.

Beauty Routine Revisited

I've blogged about my "beauty routine" a couple of times (HERE) and (SPOILER ALERT!) I am suuuuper low maintenance.  I've found a few new products over the past couple of months and thought I'd share about them today!

First up is this Microdelivery Peel system.  It is AMAZING!!!  I got this as a sample a few months ago and when I got it out I was a little bit skeptical.  First you rub on the "resurfacing crystals" which feel ROUGH (but that's to be expected) and then take a few drops of the activating gel and rub that on over top.  It starts to get warm and you can feel it working and then you wash the whole thing off and your skin feels incredible!!!

Weekend Recap - Happy May Edition

Happy Monday, Friends!  I'm not going to lie... last week was KIND of a beating.  As the school year winds down the daily classroom routine gets crazier and crazier.  Between assemblies, chapels, meetings, kids out daily for track and band and choir and a million other activities AND throw in my own kids awards, field trips, etc., etc., etc. it can get NUTS!  Keeping track of late work and work turned in early because they're going to be out and who was absent for what reason and blah blah blah.  It can be exhausting.  But I'm hanging in there!  I have great kids and I teach with the BEST people and at the end of the day I couldn't imagine doing anything else. ;)

That said, I did stop at Trader Joe's on the way home on Friday and bought way too much chocolate and the ingredients to make some comfort food!