You need a little love???

So, we're in the middle of test prep week. Can we say booooorrrrrrrr-ing!!!!!

I'll be happy if we can get through the week and none of my kids have followed in Calvin's footsteps...

I can't blame them, though. There has got to be a better way to assess 7 year olds.

But there was a bright spot in my day.

In the middle of all the- 

Make sure you fill in the bubble completely!  

What answer would make the most sense? 

NO! Don't Mark on the Paper!!!!!

One of my sweet little guys made me something.  This is where the love comes in.

He put it on my table and said, "I love you Mrs. B."

This was the something he put on my table.

Awwwww.......ummmm....is it just me or does it look like.....

It didn't help that when he put it on my table he put it on upside down.

That's just so sweet.

You know it's a tree, right?! 

Of course it is.

What did you think it was?!

Thank you Hobby Lobby

As you may know, we were on Spring Break last week. And I know many of you are on Spring Break this week. 

Are you in need of something to do with your own kids?  

Unfortunately for us,  the weather which was awesome last weekend, decided not to cooperate. 

The first few days weren't bad, but since Tuesday afternoon, the highs haven't been over 45.

That being said, this mama needed some help keeping the kids entertained. There are lots of choices for my 6 year old, several for my 2 year olds, but not too many for BOTH ages.

We went to Hobby Lobby hoping for inspiration and as usual, it didn't disappoint.

I was able to pick up some Spongebob workbooks and coloring sheets for my older son. And I found these for my 2 year olds.

Oh my goodness! I can't tell you how wonderful these things are!!!! 

Honestly, the little pen that it comes with is not the greatest, but when I just gave the twins a little paint brush and a cup of water, they had so much fun!!!! 

They loved it because the picture appears as the water "erases" the white cover/film on the picture. They felt like they were really painting the pictures. And the best part?!?!

You can stand the book up on its side to dry and after about 10 minutes, they can paint the picture all over again. 

What?!?!

It's the best!!!

I've found the Sesame Street book, but there's also Disney Fairies, Spongebob, Dora, Mickey Mouse. Many styles to choose from, if Elmo isn't your child's thing.

I highly recommend these for any of you moms who need something to do with your toddlers.

Two thumbs up from me!!!

Now run right out to Hobby Lobby and pick one up!!!

5 for Friday (Spring Break Edition)

Here it is...the end of my spring break week. :( So sad...but we've had so much fun. I'll tell you a little about it and at the same time, link up with Kacey at Doodlebugs Teaching for 5 for Friday!

Okay 5 Random things from this week.

1. BRANSON!!!!

That's where we go here in these parts...it's about a 2 hour drive so we often go to Branson, MO. Funny thing, though. Even though I was born and raised in NW Arkansas, I've only been to Branson a few times. As a kid, my family wasn't interested in coming to see the shows and I only remember going to Silver Dollar City as a school trip. (Steal your Dollar, as we call it.)

My MIL was nice enough to come with us because I would never take the three boys on a trip by myself if I didn't have to. Just not worth the hassle, but with two adults, it's much more manageable.

Since I knew the twins would only be able to handle a few hours before having meltdowns, I didn't want to go to SDC which costs around $50 for kids, $60 or so for adults. That kind of money warrants a whole day. There is the famous

Only we didn't go in to see the show. Outside of the beautiful building, all of the horses used in the show are kept in their stables, which are open to the public. You can walk by and see the horses very close and that was enough for my boys. They are still talking about it three days later and I didn't spend a penny. Love it!!!

2. CAKE!!!!

I made this glorious thing yesterday. What's that on top, you ask???

Yup. Those are chopped up creme eggs. This cake is awesome!!!!

I got this recipe from Shay over at Mix and Match Mama! I have been trying a lot of her recipes lately and this one is my favorite by far! Click her blog name to go on over. 

You should definitely give it a try!!! 

3. Friends!!!

As busy as we are, we just don't usually have time for play dates and fun things like that. But any time I have a vacation from school, we always try to take advantage of that by seeing friends and spending time together.
That's what breaks are all about!

4. New Wreath

As I planted some flowers last weekend, I kept staring at my front door thinking...I need to get something up there. It's been bare since January and we took the Christmas stuff down. I went over to Etsy and looked at some wreaths for sale over there and thought, I could make that.

So, I went to Hobby Lobby this week and got some silk flowers, a grapevine wreath and a few other essentials. Here is the final product...

My 6 year old son said, "Wow. That's pretty."

I didn't even pay him.

That's all I need. :)

5. Finally, quality time with my boys. 

They keep my busy, keep me young, and turn my hair gray (thank you, hair salon)
but I love them dearly. 

Who could resist these guys?!?!

We were forced to stay inside most of this week, but we made it! And boy these guys have a ball together!

I hope you had a great week, too!

Thanks for reading!!!

Five for Friday

This time I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for 5 for Friday. A little late as always.

These 5 random things will be like this blog, some real life, some school life. :)

1. Day 1 of Spring Break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the weather is great so I told the hubby ( I really don't like it when people refer to their husband as the hubby, but it's easy, so I see why...) Anyhoo...I told him the one thing I HAD to do this weekend was get my toes done! It was mandatory. We had a full day, so it was literally a run to the shop for a quick soak and polish, but that's ok. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.

The hubby said, "Purple? Really."

You better believe it! Spring is in the air and my toes needed to feel it! They remind me of Easter which makes me happy! I was going to get a mani, too, but I just didn't have time. They were busy at the nail place today and we had to get to the ball game, which brings me to #2.

2. Hog Baseball!!!!

You know I love my Hogs! They're even the inspiration to this blog design! (Thanks, Barbara!) Learn about that fabulous designer here, if your blog needs a new look.

I'm an Arkansas girl born and raised. I attended the U of Arkansas (even though I tried to go away. That's a whole other story I'll tell another time!) and my dad is about to retire after being a professor there for 40 YEARS! I really can't believe that!

So, I love my team and had to cheer on my hogs. We can even take all the boys as long as we keep feeding them the junk food, they're good. They lasted all nine innings today and our friend kept telling us how he couldn't believe how well behaved all 3 of our boys were. I'm a prideful mama. I've got some good boys. :)

3. Pattern Blocks

At school this week we began our Geometry unit and specifically our standard was 1.G.1 Distinguish between defining vs. non-defining attributes. So, we got out the good ol pattern blocks. I told them to make a flower. No more direction than that. These are some that they made...

I love the uniqueness. Then we sorted and graphed. I need some new material, people. Do any of you have some great pattern block lessons or any others to accomplish these Geometry standards? We just began this unit and will continue it for several more weeks. So any ideas you can give me will be appreciated! :)

4. Gardening

 With the weather being so nice, I just had to go get some flowers. I took the boys and we got some pretty flowers and got them planted fairly quickly. 

Funny thing. I got the boys some kid sized tools, a couple of shovels and a hoe. And that hoe I got, is really a perfect size for me to use, too. It was great! :) Who knew?!?!

5. Testing!!! Yuck.

So, we're on Spring Break this week, we'll be back one week, then it's time for First and Second grade standardized testing. We take the ITBS. We've taken it for several years now. I actually created a little test prep document that you can find for a measly $1 on TPT. It practices the Language and Punctuation skills which are oh so confusing. Because of just finding the mistake in the sentence, they have to fill in the bubble next to the LINE that CONTAINS the mistake. Anyway, go pick that up if you need some Test Prep practice when you get back. :)

That's it! Hope to hear from you soon!!!

Let's Get Acquainted!

I haven't really had any fabulous ideas to post lately, so I've found my best bet to keep me posting is joining in on linky parties. So today, here's the latest...

Thanks for the great Linky, Latoya! You can read her blog here.

So, you're supposed to take your initials and write about three things you like or like to do.

My initials are JLB.

J-Jammies. I've posted about them before. I love my jammies. I am in them as often as possible. I often put them on around 6:30, right after we put the twins in their jammies. That's all I have to say, right?! Yes, I have two year old twins and a 6 year old. All Boys. 

Enough said.

I deserve my jammies.

L-Levitate. Sometimes I can levitate.

Or....sometimes I look up L words on a scrabble list and see the word Levitate and think it would be funny if I said that.

I'm sorry. Seriously.

I can't pick just one, so it has to be Love and Laughter.

Like this. I mean, does it get any better?

I know all of you who are parents understand but I never knew how intense love 

could be until I had these three.

And laughter is mandatory in this house. No one can take themselves too seriously around here.

And B-Baseball! Specifically Razorback Baseball!!!

I love my hogs and I especially love sitting in the sun and watching those guys play some baseball.

Luckily, my boys are getting big enough now that we can all go and as long I keep giving them something to eat, they're good.

What do you think? You could link up. too, or just leave me a comment below. 

Do you live in your jammies, too?! Please tell me I'm not the only one.

March Currently

So, I'm linking up today with Farley for her monthly Currently. Go on over to her blog to check it out!

In the meantime...

Listening...Silence. Something I have learned to appreciate more than ever.  I love those quiet moments when I know my boys are peacefully sleeping.

Loving...My new shoes from Nordstrom are coming soon! I can't wait! You can see them and
read about them here.

Thinking...Our school lives can be soooo dependent upon our secretary. Ours is wonderful and has been there for literally 30 years! She has become a great friend and I just hate it when she's sick and not feeling well.

Wanting...A change. And truly needing one, too. I've taught first grade for eleven years now and although I love it, I'm starting to get the itch. I'm not sure if it's for a new grade, a new school, or what. My awesome principal is leaving though, so that's causing more of my indecision.

Needing...some warm weather. I'm so ready to get outside and play with my boys. We live outside when the weather is nice. I'm starting to feel cooped up. Maybe having to do with my Wanting answer.

The last were difficult because if you read Farley's directions, you were supposed to find words that begin with the first letter of your first name. J is a tough one. But I managed. :)

First of all, I'm a girl, so of course I like jewelry, but I have really gotten into the big necklaces and bracelets lately.
I LOVE my jammies. Not really any specific ones, just my jammies in general. I should. I practically live in them when I'm home. Sometimes I put my jammie bottoms on as soon as I get home from school. They come on by 7:00 at the latest. It's those boys. They wear me down. Ha!
And finally, I don't hate jasmine, I hate that my jasmine tree/plant that I've had since my husband and I got engaged over 11 years ago is in a sad state.
I have lots of indoor plants. I really love them. I'm not as good at keeping up with my outdoor plants, but I do pretty well with my indoor ones. But my jasmine keeps getting spider mites on its branches. I keep battling them, but they keep coming back. Sorry if that bores you, but if you have a green thumb and have any advice, I'd love to hear it.

So that's it. Link up and comment below!!!!

Oh the Glory!!!

First of all, I must apologize for my non-teacher-y posts lately, but I am kind of swinging this into a "life blog" instead of just a "teacher blog." Yes, teaching is my life a lot of the time, but there are a lot of other things I like to talk about to.

Like these gorgeous things...

Oh my goodness! Do these beautiful things say Spring or what?!?! I just love them!

I just picked these babies up at the shoe sale at Nordstrom's. The internet is a wonderful thing, I tell you. I can't wait for them to arrive!!! (By next Thursday, in case you're wondering.)

I am sooooooooooo ready for spring!!! I know. Just a post or two ago I was complaining about our lack of snow days, but if we don't have any snow, I'd just as soon it WARM UP!

But....if you're like me, you will need to make a quick trip to get a pedicure. I am embarrassed to tell you how long it's been. Let's just say, there's only a little color left and I'm pretty sure it's a fall color, but I'm not even sure.

You're welcome for that! And you're welcome for telling you about the shoe sale at Nordstrom's. Be careful if you go to the website. I dare you to not find something you would love!!!

Happy shopping and let me know what you get!

Five for Friday

I'm linking up today with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for five random things for Friday.

1. We are in our "American Contributions" unit for LA Common Core so last week we studied George Washington and this week we studied Abraham Lincoln. 

They made a lot of CONNECTIONS (as the standard insists) between the two presidents, but I did still have a few confused souls.

"No, George and Abe were not friends. George died before Abe was born....yes, I'm sure they would've liked each other."

"No, Abe was not the 61st president."

"No, George's wife was not named Michelle."

But overall, they really got it and I was just happy that by the end of the two weeks, I don't think anyone thinks either one is our current president. That's saying something for seven year olds you know.

By far, the most well received assignment this week was done after we read the story, Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers by Karen Whinnick. 

Since the girl in the story, Grace, wrote to then Mr. Lincoln, I let my students write to our current president.

They LOVED this!

2.Where's the stinkin snow?!?!

I keep reading about all these snow days my midwestern blogging friends are having. I must say, I'm quite jealous. This is us....

Looks snowy enough, right?!?! Notice the grayish black asphalt? It stays that color. No matter how much snow we seem to get. I'm getting sick of it. Time's running out!!!!

3. Awesome treasure box idea, if I do say so myself. I was getting sick of collecting the junk lovely tidbits and happy meal toys to put into my treasure box and I'm also always trying to think of ways to get the students to use more technology in the classroom. I put these two ideas together and thought of these...

I made four of each card and put them in my treasure box AND when they "cash in" their cards, they have to give me the card back, so I don't have to make any new ones. And believe me, these cards don't seem to get lost. ;)

4. iPad Apps

Now that my school is starting to purchase more and more iPads, I'm constantly looking for more and more that are good AND will sustain the students' interest. I came across Cimo's Spelling. This little app is great practice for phonetic spelling and sight word practice. I also noticed it can keep track of the student's progress if you take the time to enter their info. Great stuff!!!

5. Why is it that I think of something I think my two year olds will love and it bombs and something else is the most fun?!?!

I bought easter eggs thinking those would be fun for hours, then they searched for the eggs once and wouldn't give them back to me because they were now Theirs. Done. Game over.

Then, I'm loading the garage fridge full of Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke and they come up dying to unload the boxes of drinks for me. I mean, yeah, one or two cans shouldn't be opened for a couple of months but other than that, they did a great job.

Oh well.

Link up and have fun!!!