Happy Friday, friends! And happy (almost) long weekend!!!
This week has been an extra busy one - but it's been so much fun! Now I'm ready for 3 days where I don't have to worry about homework, schedules, a classroom bear, etc. :)
Erika, Narci and I are all sharing our FAVORITES from the week and we'd love for you to join us. Grab our graphic and link back to one (or all!) of us and then share your own Friday Favorites post - EASY!
First up on my list is this writing sample Mason brought home from school. His handwriting is my FAVORITE and his imagination is the absolute best.
Confession time - last night Dave and I went to a fantasy football draft party and I most definitely did NOT budget my time well. I underestimated the time the party AND the blog post I was working on would take and so today I'm doing a "throwback" to a few of my FAVORITE posts...
First up is my chicken pot pie post. I'm making this for dinner tonight with some leftover rotisserie chicken I have on hand and if you haven't made it before you HAVE to try it this Fall.
Today I'm linking up with Shay, Sheaffer and Mel for What's Up Wednesday!
This week's been a bit hectic so far... Monday we met at McAllister's for a quick dinner in between vision therapy, football and parent night at school...
Last week my kids requested meatloaf and I was craving cheesy potatoes so I decided to try out this recipe because it looked easy and sounded delicious. I was able to throw these potatoes and meatloaf together after school and still have dinner on the table around 6:00 and my entire crew ate it. AMEN!
Friday morning we were running behind and the morning was just a bit hectic. Usually I'll drop them off at Lower School and then park and go in up at Middle School but we didn't have time. I looked back at the three of them walking down the sidewalk and caught this. Be still my heart.
Erika, Narci and I are sharing our favorites from the week and we'd love it if you'd join us. Just grab our graphic, link back to one (or all!) of us and share a Friday Favorites post of your own!
First up on my list is my new FAVORITE school tradition. They just started letting Seniors paint their parking spaces and it is SO FUN! My kids have loved driving in and seeing all the cool spots and I've had the best time seeing all the creativity and personality :)
Okay, y'all! I've been a Sam's club member since Mason was a baby and we realized that the formula there was about 1/2 the cost of anywhere else. That discount combined with the diaper prices made our membership totally worth it but since we don't need diapers or formula anymore and a brand new Costco just opened up WAY closer to us than Sam's we're making the switch!
Today I'm sharing some of my Amazon orders from the past month! It's random but there were some fun finds :)
I ordered a couple of these baskets to go in the pantry to hold YumBoxes, lunch boxes and thermoses. I have several of these baskets in the pantry and I love them because you can wipe/rinse them.
It's week two and I thought I'd give y'all a quick peek into my classroom this year. I didn't make many major changes this year but did move a few things around and added a few things.
When you walk in the door here's the view immediately to the right...
Erika, Narci and I are all sharing our FAVORITES again this week and we'd love or you to grab our graphic, link back to one (OR ALL) of us and share your FAVORITES from the week.
First up is the first day of school! Mondays are Dave's day off and I LOVE that he's able to join us for all the first day fun... and my join us I mean take over all the morning duties so I can be in "teacher mode" instead of "mom mode" and be in my room to greet students, help kids open their lockers, try to calm a few nerves (parents and kids) and get ready for my first day with students ;)
I know I've been deep in the throes of back-to-school lately, but today I'm hitting y'all with a big ol' dose of Halloween inspiration :) I LOVE A family costume and when I asked on Instagram if people would be willing to share pictures of costumes that their family has worn I was BLOWN AWAY by the creativity that filled my inbox almost immediately. I've had the best time over the past couple of weeks going through pictures and seeing just how much fun y'all are! Samantha and her precious family were picture perfect, right?!?! I can't get over how spot on their costumes are!
Happy Friday, friends! I still can't believe that inservice week is over and school starts on Monday. This week has been jam packed and kind of a whirlwind but I am SO EXCITED about the school year and getting started next week.
Erika, Narci and I are sharing our FAVORITES and we'd love it if you'd grab our graphic, link back to one (or all!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.
1) What does your husband do for a living?
Dave is the Service Director for a country club which means he's in charge of the food and beverage and service side of the restaurants, snack bars, golf course and then private events like weddings, meetings, etc. He works crazy hours some weeks and there are days his Fitbit looks like this...
... yes, that's for REAL! Look at the stairs.... he says the elevator is too slow :) But he really loves the variety and flexibility his job offers and Dave was MADE for the service industry.
Before we get to today's recipe I want to say Happy Birthday to Dave! He's thirty-five today and deserves every bit of birthday love and celebration because he's the BEST!!!
Last summer I shared a strawberry cake recipe that I loved - well... I've found an even better one. I had about half a pound of strawberries that I needed to use and while I was looking for a recipe to make to use them I found this recipe and decided to make it as cupcakes for a game night we had with friends. They were a huge hit and will be a summer staple around here from now on.
My kids go back to school next week and as much as I'd love another 3 weeks of summer that's just not going to happen so we're fully embracing all things back-to-school and getting excited about Kindergarten, Second and Fourth grades (and year THIRTEEN of teaching!).
My kids are in uniforms every day for school so our shopping is minimal (unless you consider pre-ordering size ups in navy shorts, skirts and polos shopping) but all three kids were in need of some new running shoes after a summer of growing. I picked up these Nike Presto shoes for all three kids and they LOVE them! The boys can both tie their own shoes, but there's something to be said about shoes where you don't have to mess with the laces. I love how easy they are for all three to put on and love even more how excited they are to wear them on the first day. And yes... Mason is INSISTENT that his socks look good this way :)
It's been a whirlwind week around here - last weekend we found out that there was an opening for Mason to attend the last session of Sky Ranch overnight camp and since he's been begging to go we talked it through, prayed about it, paid his tuition and printed off the packing list.
Happy Friday, friends! I'm OFFICIALLY back at work today and while I love my time at home with the kids in the summer getting back to work has been great too. I have the BEST co-workers and getting to hang out with them again has been my FAVORITE.
Erika, Narci and I are sharing our FAVORITES and we'd love it if you'd grab our graphic, link back to one (or all!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.
Earlier this week we did one of our FAVORITE things and hit the golf course for an evening cruise. We've been doing this for YEARS and it's one of my very FAVORITE ways ot spend our time after dinner.
Lunches are packed, alarms are set and clothes are laid out because today we're all back at school! No... it's not the official first day YET but when you're a teacher (or a teacher's kid) your summer break ends a little bit early when staff development starts up.
This summer has been one for the books and today I'm answering the quintessential "first day" question and talking about "What I did on summer vacation" :)
This wasn't a post that I had planned - BUT after showing a bit of one of our FAVORITE activities last weekend and getting an overwhelming response I felt like it was only appropriate to share here on the blog as well.
For years and years my kids have been big fans of making "doodle towns". Pretty much - they describe/request buildings and places, I doodle them out on big paper, they color and decorate them and then we make a town. So fun, simple and I love how their little imaginations come to life.
Even when their imaginations ask for a Whataburger :)
Sometimes I pull the images out of my own imagination and sometimes (when they ask for things like a waterpark!) I use clipart, book illustrations, stickers, etc. as a guide.
I love seeing the colors they choose and little things they add onto the pictures...
... and especially love it when they line them all up to make one big town.
We draw all of these using the big roll of art paper and the roll holder from IKEA. They're cheaper in the store, but if you're not close to one you can find them on Amazon as well.
(linked below using affiliate links)
If you're looking for some inspiration or just a quick and easy project I drew 8 different buildings that you can print off as many times as you like (on regular 8.5 x 11" paper), and then your kids can lay them all together and make any kind of town they want.
I left some of the signs with purposeful blanks so you (or your kids) can decide what kind of store they want, what they want to name the school, etc.
I printed a few copies out for my own kids and I'm thinking watercolors would be fun on them as well.
You can click HERE to access the file to download.
The download is totally free and a teeny tiny token of my appreciation for y'all reading and following along. I'm sure I'll be adding more drawings over time (I'm already thinking haunted house, Christmas tree farm, etc.) and can't wait to see what your kids create. I'd love it if you'd email me a pic of their creation(s) and/or post a pic on Instagram with the hashtag #momfessionalsdoodletown
