It's been a while!

I haven't posted on the ol' blog since October! Not too much has been happening around here besides work and Christmas! So here is a random photo update from my phone!

Here is a hilarious picture that one of my first graders drew of me, Gil, and Laila. So cute!

 Laila has recently "gained access" to the whole house. When we went to work, we used to keep her in the basement with a baby gate. We decided to give her a few test runs with access to the whole house. We were a little bit nervous because she still jumps on the kitchen counter and grabs things every once in a while. It was a risky time of year to try this out with the Christmas tree out. But she's been a good pup...besides deciding that her new favorite place to lay is the off-limits cream couch!

Gil and I took Laila to a Christmas tree farm to cut down our own tree this year. It was super fun, freezing, and Christmas-y! Way better than going to a random parking lot or store to buy one!

We had Gil's work holiday party. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from that night, which is sad because I loved my dress this year. Here's a random shot from the dressing room when I bought the dress. Definitely a dress I can wear again! The party this year was at the Riverfront Ballroom at Cobo. It was a cool location, but I had a bad cold and didn't feel great the whole night. Booo.

We headed to the West side of the state for Christmas and drove through a snowstorm to get back home. I love finally having snow!

Laila's been loving it too!

And finally, my best friend, Erin had her baby! I couldn't be more excited for her and Matt! They are going to be great parents!!!

Looking forward to a great 2013!!

I've been looking forward to these all week...

 

Trader Joe's is once again carrying their pumpkin pancakes. I'm  not a big fan of pumpkin flavored things (unlike Gil), but this mix is pretty darn good!  Great way to start a Saturday morning, if you ask me!

Last weekend, I went shopping for some fall decor for our house. I'm pretty bad about decorating for the seasons, so I wanted to have something fall-ish for the house. I don't love Halloween decorations for the home, so I was looking for fall decor instead. I went to Michaels and bought the little hanging star below.  I actually bought it to hang on the front door, but when I pulled out our seasonal decor when I got home, I saw that I had bought a fall wreath last year. No recollection of this! 

So I took down the Ikea fruit photos that usually hang in the kitchen and hung frames that have yet to be used in the house, along with the star. It's nice walking into the kitchen and seeing a change, since it's pretty much looked the same in there since we moved in!

Really dark iphone photo!

Mums on the front porch

Summer is definitely my favorite season, but I've enjoyed the cold air after such a hot summer. Here's to sweaters, pumpkin pancakes, changing leaves, and apple cider! Now on to some lesson planning and house cleaning. Happy weekend!

This & That & a Baby Shower

It is definitely cooling off here in Michigan!  Last weekend, I put out some fall decor and bought some bright yellow mums for the front porch.

 

So pretty!

 

Laila will literally lay outside for hours after I get home from work. The dog does not like the heat and basks in this cold air!

This upcoming weekend, Gil and I have no plans and I'm pretty excited about that. I feel like we haven't had a whole weekend at home together in quite a while! Our yard is in need of some work and we have a bunch of chores to do around the house. It will feel good to get caught up on that! I also need to transition the garden into fall. I'm not sure of what all that entails, but I will figure it out. I'm already excited for the garden next year because I'll have a better idea of what I'm doing! This year we got lots of tomatoes, jalepenos, some lettuce (which Gil thought was super bitter), basil, and a couple bell peppers. Can't wait to plan for next year!

This past weekend, I had Erin's baby shower. Cutest baby bump ever!

You can't tell from straight on, but she's got quite the bump going. Over the years, we probably talked about one of us getting pregnant a thousand times and now it's finally here!! Also, I just want to take a second to give Erin props for being super healthy and fit during her pregnancy. The girl ran five miles the day before her shower. Laila and I were lucky to run a mile and a half the other day! You go girl!!

And that is the end of this super random post! Have a great week everyone!

Here's How My Classroom is Lookin' These Days...

 Now that school is in full swing, the classroom definitely has that "lived in" feel! I feel like things are always a mess, but it's a busy-learning in progress-kids kind of mess. Here are a few shots from around the room:

Classroom Library

Daily Five and Math Workshop Schedule

Messy Reading Table

Friends & Family Picture Board in Progress

Classroom Promise

Rock Collection & Sand Vials (Experiment in Progress!)

Sadly, I have to take down the poms. Darn Fire Marshall!

Conscious Discipline Sign with Student Pictures

It's so sunny when the blinds are open!

Interactive whiteboard

 

Individual Book Boxes for Each Student

First Weeks in First Grade...

The first few weeks of the school year are over...it's almost October and I'm surviving! As usual, I'm exhausted at the beginning of the school year. Starting at a new school, in a new grade, in a new classroom was overwhelming at first, but I'm starting to get the hang of things now. I am feeling extremely lucky to have gotten this new job and although I knew my old job had unreasonable demands, I can now really see how stressed out I was all the time (for the past four years!). I'm so excited to be working in a positive environment! Now I just need to learn to relax a little because my last school kept me on edge all the time and I still haven't let go of that feeling at work!

I don't have any updated pictures of my classroom, but I will have to grab some soon because it definitely looks different in there with student tables and student work up!

Quick Traverse City Trip!

 Last weekend, Gil and I headed up north to Traverse City with our friends, Jon & Tina. We got up there super late on Friday and headed to a cute little place called Brew for some martinis. On Saturday, we headed to the Leelanau Peninsula for some wine tasting.

We made a quick, impromptu stop by Sleeping Bear Dunes. It was windy and cold and rained on and off all day. But still so beautiful, of course!

We were gonna stop by the Cheese Shanty in Leland for lunch, but didn't really think about where we'd eat our sandwiches. Way too cold and rainy to eat outside! We ended up eating in Glen Arbor instead.

Leland

Raining across the lake

Tina making the trek in heels...haha trooper!

 Sunday we watched the Lions lose in overtime at the Jolly pumpkin on Old Mission Peninsula. We also hit two of the wineries beforehand, 2 Lads and Chateau Chantal. Love 2 Lads, one of my favorite views! We drove back home after the game was done.

And when we got home, there was some produce waiting to be picked in the garden! Fun, quick weekend! Oh, how I love Northern Michigan!!

Fall is in the Air!

I just finished new teacher orientation today. I am so excited to be teaching in my new district. It's awesome to become part of a school district that really puts students first, values their staff, is constantly learning and improving, and encourages teachers to take risks! I can tell it's going to be a great year. I'm pretty excited about all the quality professional development I will be participating in this year, including a series on Reading Workshop.

I have been in my room here and there this week after orientation most days. I still have a lot to do, but things are coming along. I really need to focus on first week lesson plans now!

Today after orientation, the new hires from my building all went out to lunch with the principal and vice principal. So fun! Next week, the rest of the district reports back to work. We have PDs and some time to work in our rooms. My building is open til 11 pm all next week. Hopefully I will not be needing those late hours!

And now, some random pictures from the week...

 Table tubs! Love the aqua ribbon that I added. Unfortunately I ran out of it before I finished, so back to Meijer I go.

 Target run for classroom things! Pillows and table tubs on clearance...score!

 Ikea bookshelf in the corner. Thanks for putting that together, Gil!

Saw this lesson plan book at the teacher store and thought of my mom! Mary Engelbreit.

I'm getting really excited for fall...apple cider, donuts, leaves falling, crisp air...
Have a great weekend everyone!

Back to School...Goodbye Workouts!

That's usually how it goes for me! The minute I get busy, I get really good at excuses for not working out. The past week or so I've been at school setting up the room and I haven't worked out at all. I'm trying to think of ways to keep me motivated.

I was thinking about signing up for a 5k in October or November. Having a commitment like that may help me get off the couch after a long day to fit in a run. My runs over the summer have been about 2 or 2.5 miles typically. While I don't really need to train for a 5k distance-wise, it would keep me running more regularly and I can definitely improve my pace.

Over the summer I did a lot of 30 day shred workouts and really felt like I got stronger adding some weights to my routine. I definitely need to keep that up!

Here's hoping I can stay motivated during the school year! I have a later start time this year, so I would really love to try a few morning workouts each week. I've tried that before and it didn't last but hopefully I will be less exhausted this year not getting up so early!

This always cracks me up to hear, but I think it may be true:

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If anyone has any tips to pass along to stay motivated, feel free to pass them along!