Thankful

As I lay here awake at 5:30 this morning, I am thankful. 

See, I've been awake most of the night because CE has decided that she doesn't like to sleep.  Instead she wants to be held, every hour and a half. After a few nights of this, I have been feeling increasingly aggravated. Of course my husband is out of town for work and I have to do it all myself. Get up, rock her back to sleep, hold her, get her to stop crying...all that "good stuff" that Momas do in the middle of the night.  

Well God has a way with timing.  

I just layed her back down for the fifth time tonight and emailed my husband complaining about how this was just not going to work, I just need some sleep, what can we do.  Then I got on Facebook. The first post on my newsfeed came from a girl in my hometown. She was also saying she was wide awake, but for totally opposite reasons than I had. You see, today is 2 years for the loss of her baby to SIDS. 

As she writes how she felt when she woke up that morning, just like every other morning, to go in and get her baby boy. What she found in place of her happy baby, was just his body...lifeless. I can not imagine how she felt at that moment. And this makes me thankful. 

Thankful to have a sleepless baby. 

Thankful to have a husband who works. 

Thankful to serve my God. 

Of course I could still use a good night's rest, but that will come in time. Until then my prayer will be for me to enjoy the time spent with CE and to be patient with her as she learns how to live in this crazy world. 

So, until CE learns to enjoy sleeping, I'm just going to be thankful. 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!- 2 Corinthians 9:15 NKJV

September Citrus Lane

My very first Citrus Lane box arrived today.  When I got the notification that it was out for delivery this morning, I was waiting for it all day.  Early this afternoon it was dropped off at my front door, and I ran  trotted to get it.

We received a box for a three month old girl.  Overall, I would say I am pleased with the box.  I am not regretting the fact that I signed up for a six month subscription just yet. We got our money's worth as far as items go, but we won't use everything in the box.  

So here goes my first ever box review.  

At first glance...not too shabby looking

Chime Ball from Skip Hop

When I first saw this, I thought it was going to be too big for CE to play with.  She is just learning to grab things and this thing is pretty fat.  I was wrong.  She loved it.  As soon as she got a hold of it, it was wet...because EVERYTHING goes straight to her mouth these days.  

It has a great chime inside instead of a rattle and the wings crinkle.  This brand is not new to me, but I was glad they included it in the box because I like most everything they make.  

Cute, cute!

Charley Harper 123s from AMMO books

Since CE is still so young, our book collection is still small.  This means that any and all books are welcome!  I am particularly happy to find board books, and this one seems sturdy enough.  This book has great pictures that are bright and it will be a wonderful tool in teaching CE her numbers in the future.  

Yay for books!

Playful Wash from Episencial

I have heard great things about this company, so I am excited to try this out.  The downside to this is, I am not going to use it just yet.  We just opened a huge new bottle of her usual wash, so I will use it up first.  I am impressed that it is made in the USA and it is all natural.  

Skin care

Diaper Rash Ointment from Dr. Smith's

This will be the item that we won't use, at least I hope.  I am sure this is wonderful and I know plenty of new moms, so I'm sure someone can use it.  But luckily, CE hasn't had diaper rash.  We have only had to use cream once and that is because she had a reaction to some wipes that my mom had. This will either be "gifted" to a friend or kept in the drawer "just in case".

Nail Color from Julep

This is the special treat for mom.  I have been seeing this brand everywhere lately and it is a bit pricey, so I must say I was shocked to see it in the box.  But to be honest, I don't have time to have wet nails.  As I type this, I have had to feed a baby, hold a baby, eat, play with the dog and everything else that new moms do.  Don't get me wrong, I would love to try this out for fall, and maybe I will if there is ever a night that I don't lay down as soon as I get the chance!  It is supposed to be fast drying...hopefully I can test it out soon.

Coco

That is it for my first Citrus Lane box.  If you'd like to try it out, you can get your own subscription here.  This link will also give you $10 off your first box! 

These are just my thoughts on these items and I bought the subscription.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  
 


   

I'm Back...and a Mom!

Let's try this again.  It's been quite sometime since my last post.  Like, so long I've had a baby!  I am very pleased to say it's a girl and she is super amazing!  I just love her chunky self:)  For the blog world, we will call her CE and maybe I'll be comfortable with posting a beautiful picture of her later.  She is almost 3 months old now, and we are finally getting a few hours of sleep... most nights.  Hopefully, I will become a little more regular at posting.  

With the arrival of our precious CE, I have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom!!  Which is a lot more work than I could have imagined.  I LOVE it though and am soooo thankful to have a husband who works his butt off so I get to raise this little girl!

Having a baby gives you lots of exciting new things to shop for!!  With this being said, having a baby also makes it hard to actually GO shopping!!  This leads to online shopping.  I can admit, I think I have a problem.  There are so many things I'd like to try out for CE, so I signed her (ok us) up for Citrus Lane today!!  Surely I can share a review of our monthly box.  The first surprise is scheduled to arrive in September.  I am probably more excited than I should be.  If you are interested in Citrus Lane, give it a look.  You can subscribe here and receive $10 off your first box!    

Dollar Tree!!

Today was our first day back. No kids yet, just inservice! On my way home today, I stopped by Dollar Tree. I know I'm not the only teacher who loves to shop for back to school goodies there. Every time I leave school lately, there is always a list in my pocket of things to buy. Today however, I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, you just never know what you may find though! I must say, it was a good day to stop by. Look at what I found:)

These will be great for my Daily 5 rotations.  I found 4 different sets.  Each set has 30 cards to cut apart.  They are antonyms, synonyms, homophones and compound words.  I'm so excited to use them!

These are the homophone cards, already cut apart.  

Of course I had to have a way to store them.  These small pencil bags are perfect.  I will label each bag so I can find which sets need to be put in our centers.  

I just had to share my finds with y'all, I got a little excited!!  Enjoy the rest of your week!

Vista Print Giveaway

This is my first time to link up to another blog... I hope I am doing this right.  Anyways, here it goes. While browsing pinterest, I came upon Angie's blog, Rulin' the Roost.  I was originally looking for the fabulous Word Work Tic-Tac-Toe sheet she had posted about.  After I downloaded that freebie, I saw her giveaway for the $80 to Vista Print.  Needless to say, I totally hope I win:)  We shall see tomorrow...wish me luck!  Now, to make it fair, hop on over and try out your luck!

Spring is in the Air!

It's that time of year. You know, the time when you don't want to do anything at work because you have spring fever. Just when you think you can't focus any longer, it's time for SPRING BREAK!! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my job. But really who wouldn't love an entire week off in this beautiful weather?!?

Instead of having some party all week long kind of break, I spent some time at my parent's house on the lake and made a wreath!

My spring wreath...it turned out HUGE!

Beautiful Toledo Bend
So glad the water is back!!

A view from the barge

And another....love it here

 

Cuurrrrennnntttllllyyy

I've seen this on a few blogs, so I thought I'd try it out!  If you'd like to do one for yourself, you can borrow a blank copy from HERE, like I did:)

Desk Storage

For my new classroom, I needed some small storage for the top of my desk.  You know, pens, pencils, tacks...that kind of stuff.  I didn't exactly know what I wanted, but I was in a crafty mood.  So off to Hobby Lobby I went.  I stumbled upon this small, plain, little wooden box.  

My classroom is decorated in bright colors and polka dots.  I love how happy it looks.  I thought about decoupaging it, but decided the best thing would be to just paint the base.  First, I sanded the edges of the drawers, I knew from experience if I didn't, after a couple coats of paint they wouldn't fit anymore. The colors I chose were Folk Art's- Calypso Blue and Neon Green.  I was pretty sure the fresh wood was going to soak up most of the paint, so I started with a coat of Mod Podge.  After that dried, I added a coat of paint.  I chose to paint the drawers all one color-green and everything else blue.  

I am trying to be very organized this year, so of course I had to label the drawers.  This time I did decoupage the letters.  Using my Cricut, I cut out the words for each drawer, in hot pink glitter paper:)  

After letting everything dry and putting the handles back on, I slipped the drawers in and done!  Very simple, easy, cute and functional.

    

2nd Grade!!!

This week was very exciting for me.  Thursday was my first day with kiddos in my OWN classroom!!  After a semi-freak out Wednesday night (which is not like me AT ALL) I had to be at school bright and early the next day.  I would say that my first day as a teacher was a success, no one was lost and I even ended the day with a smile:)  I am very blessed to be at the wonderful school that I am.  

Over the Christmas break my parents and I worked very hard on my new classroom.  The goal was to make it cheery and welcoming for the students, and I think that I achieved that!

New Year

So the New Year has begun.  We rang it in while sleeping in our big comfy bed...I did actually wake up at 12 due to allll of the fireworks that were going off around us:)  A large pot of taco soup was the best way to end 2011.  It is yummy and super simple.  First, brown your meat, then add all of the other ingredients and cook it until its warm.  I like it best served over fritos, and topped with sour cream and cheese.  

• ground meat- I use turkey
• 2 cans pinto beans
• 2 cans hominy
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 can rotel
• package ranch seasoning
• package taco seasoning
• 2 cups water 

Internet Domination

I've been a member of Facebook for a while now.  The thing is, I am actually much more of a creeper than an active user.  I have never been one to check in everywhere and I think I have had about 2 total status updates during all of my FB years. Recently I have found Pinterest and ohh do I love it!  If there is anyone out there that hasn't found Pinterest yet, well you should check it out.  I have tried so many new recipes and craft ideas.  Also I have found some great websites and blogs through Pinterest.  While I still check out my FB once and awhile, I can openly admit that I am addicted to Pinterest.  Now if I could just keep my house clean and not spend all of my "spare" time on the internet.
Head on over to pinterest and follow me!

Recipe: Martha Stewart's crisp coconut and chocolate pie - Style At Home

What better way to start off blogging than with a pie. I love sweets...that's a fact. This was a super simple recipe and it was pretty good. I made this for Christmas and took it to my parents house. My husband, who isn't much of a dessert eater, really enjoyed this pie. It tasted almost just like a Mounds candy bar and was the best when it was cold. Overall I was pretty pleased with my contribution to Christmas dinner.

I've linked to the original website so you can make one for yourself, just click on this post's title.  The only thing that I did differently was cook the crust a bit longer. It had been in the oven for about 10 minutes, and it wasn't browning. So I moved it to the lowest rack and ended up cooking it about 20-25 minutes altogether.

                                     

Here it goes...

As I'm sure it's very obvious, I am new to the blogging world. I am very excited to be here though.  Wednesday I will be teaching 2nd grade for the first time and I am even more excited about that!!  It is through teaching that I became familiar with blogging.  I have found some fabulous ideas from fellow bloggers for the classroom and I hope that I can one day share some equally fabulous ideas with you.  Thanks for reading and have a very happy New Year!!

Amanda