Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  I hope you've had a great week.  We're all ready for the weekend.

The best parts of our week were:

1. Surprise flower deliveries are always a favorite!  Kevin dropped off a beautiful bouquet for me and one for my assistant.  It definitely brightened our days.

2. Leo working so hard to earn the Happy Hedgehog for his class!

3. Trying the pumpkin cookies at Crumbl!  And realizing they were good, but my pumpkin cookies are better.  Let the Fall baking begin.

4. When you are twinning with your teacher and she texts me this picture.  The best!

5. Our new school schedule has me catching the sunrise most days.  I still don't love waking up in the 5am hour, but I have enjoyed the view - a little fog, a little sunrise, a glimpse of a rainbow and enjoying the sunrise over the farm.  Fletcher was so excited to show me the rainbow in the clouds.  The boys have been waking up earlier than ever, too.

6. Sweet gifts from sweet students.

7. You know I love Walmart delivery.  We got a surprise with our latest delivery.  I ordered our usuals, check our porch and found lots of extra bags.  No names on any of it except mine so we got lots of bonus food to try this week!

8. Olive's rec volleyball league wrapped up this month.  She really enjoyed herself, had fun playing with her friends and I think she'll play again.

9. When you know your mom is friends with all the teachers at school, you ask them to send pictures to your mom.  I got this message of Leo painting in Tech class.

10. More sunrises.  Temps have cooled off a bit this week which is a nice change from the 100+ temps last week.

11. Encouraging note and treats from your admin and sweet flowers from your husband make a long week better.

12. Back to School night at Jr. High.  Olive walked me through her schedule.  I am so impressed.  She's got her schedule memorized, her routes planned to see friends, helps anyone struggling with their lockers and is trying new things.  Jr. High Olive is thriving!  She's having the best time with all the new - chewing gum at school, so many teachers, new responsibilities.  It's been so fun to watch her shine!

Science class pet.

13. Mr. Mittens loves a sunny spot.

14. Penny and Pearl turned 5 this week!  We made a pumpkin cake for us and got them a variety of treats to eat over the weekend.  They were tiny babies when Leo was a tiny baby.  

15. My favorite reminder of the week.  True for home.  True for school.

Hope you have a great weekend!  I'll see you back here next week :)

Linking up with Momfessionals

August Coffee Chat

Hey friends!  Grab your favorite coffee drink and let's catch up!

1. Are your kids into Labubus??  Mine are and they have had lots of fun collecting, saving up for and playing with theirs.  It reminds me so much of collecting trolls when I was their age.  I loved going to the mall and shopping for the perfect troll to add to my collection.

2. I have no interest in learning how to play Mahjong.  Anyone else??  It seems to be taking the social media world by storm, but all those beautiful tiles give me a headache.  I think I'd like to host a beautiful Mahjong party; just don't ask me to play.

3. It's been SO hot in the Midwest.  SO hot that we are having to have indoor recess to beat the heat.  I am so ready for a Fall cool down of any kind.  The rumors are that slightly cooler temps are heading our way next week and I'm here for it.  We baked our first pumpkin treat last weekend and are counting down the days until we are making chili and watching football on the weekends.

4. Kevin and I are enjoying watching the newest season of Quarterbacks on Netflix.  We also watched Uncharted and loved it.

5. My bookclub is reading Funny You Should Ask.  It's great so far.  I'm not sure which I enjoy more - reading the books or going out to dinner with my favorite neighbor girls each month.

6. Check on your kindergarten teacher friends.  The first six weeks of school are exhausting!  Those cute kinders ask a million questions, need help with all the things and it's exhausting to establish all the back to school routines.  There's no tired like the first few weeks of tired.  I've been in bed at 9:30pm many nights this month.  And somehow I'm still tired.  Give some extra love to your favorite teachers this time of year.  The kind emails, notes of encouragement and thoughtful gifts mean so much.

7. Junior high girls care way more about all their supplies, accessories and school clothes than boys do.  My boys want comfy clothes.  Throw in a fun logo or two, but comfy is king.  Junior high shopping is expensive and so fun.  We're on the hunt for the cutest spirit wear at local boutiques so that we are prepared for all the Fall spirit days.

8. Do you plant Fall flowers?  I love them, but it's still so hot.  I might just enjoy not having any plants to water this Fall and bake lots of pumpkin treats.

Thanks for the coffee chat!

Zinnias 101

I had so much fun growing zinnias from seeds for the second year in a row.

Last year my friend Kristen from Texas sent me zinnia seeds from her garden and they grew so well for me.  I harvested seeds from those zinnias and then grew zinnias just from those seeds this year.  I was so proud to have harvested and grown them myself.

I learned a few tips along the way.

The butterflies, hummingbirds and yellow finches loved my zinnias this year.  I didn't quite have enough to cut and bring inside, but hopefully one day I'll be able to do that.

I planted 4 pots of zinnia seeds and threw in some marigolds, too.  It's been a HOT summer with not much rain so they are looking a little fried at this point in the Summer.  But I'm still proud of them.

Enjoy the colorful blooms!

Tip #1 Then let the bloom turn 100% brown.  That means the seeds are totally dried out and ready to harvest.  This bloom is about half brown and needs more time to dry.

Tip #2 Pluck out the seeds and put them in a jar for next year.  Leave the lid off for a while to make sure they are totally dry.  If you cap up the jar before they are dried out, then the seeds will mold.  I learned that lesson last year.  I sometimes will add in those little pearl pellet packages that often come with new shoes to help the seeds dry out even better.

Tip #3 Water them well especially when they are first sprouting.  Fight off the Japanese Beetles.  The kids love flicking them away from the flowers.

Next year I'm hoping to plant some rows of zinnias in our vegetable garden!

Back to School Favorties

Happy Friday!  We're ready for the weekend :)

I have some darling back to school favorites to share with you today.  Enjoy some teacher gift inspiration from my first two weeks back to school.

I never expect any gifts from my students so it's a big treat when they surprise me!  I was blown away by the creativity, cute tags and effort the parents put into their gifts.  The kids love to see me using/wearing/enjoying the gifts they give me.

This was my desk after back to school night!  It feels so sweet to be cared for so well.

Our team lead surprised our entire team with our own boxes of chocolates and treats to kick off the year with.  It was a yummy mix of teacher treats.

A sweet parent made us back to school cookies!

The cutest little girl brought me the sweetest tiny bouquet!  It stayed on my desk all week.

Another parent patined us personalized clipboards.  Isn't it darling!?

Going out to lunch with my team!  Chicken Salad Chick always sounds good to me.

Another cute student brought me this basket of apple cookies.

A teacher friend gave out fresh nail polish to start off the year.  Won't this color be pretty this fall?

I have this card hanging up by my desk.  I loved the message and sweet note inside.  Teacher gifts don't have to be expensive - a thoughtful note or email really goes a long way!

This family read my favorite list and surprised me with my favorite cookies.

This cookie on a stick was huge.  And so yummy!

We had lots of highlights this week, but it was fun to document all the teacher favorites :)  Have a great weekend!  See you back here next week!

Kindergarten Milestone

Sending your kids off to kindergarten is such a big milestone.

I get teary eyed just looking at my own kid's cute kindergarten photos.

I dig some digging on my blog to gather everyone's back to school kindergarten photos.  It seems like just yesterday and seeing them with their graduation year signs always makes me tear up.  I remember thinking 2031 was so many years away when Olive went to kindergarten.  Now 2031 feels right around the corner.

Walk down kindergarten memory lane with me...

When Olive went to K, I cried my eyes out.  Her very independent self opted to ride the bus the first day of school and she hasn't looked back.  We made matching bracelets and she has loved school ever since.

When Fletcher went to K, life was weird with Covid restrictions and he didn't love being gone all day.  I was so sad to send him off to school.  We unexpectedly moved to a new city mid year and he had a lot of changes to adjust to.  He had two great teachers that year.

When Leo went to K, we were all so excited!  His big transition happened last year when he went to full time Pre-K and I returned to teaching.  That was hard to go from home with mom all day to full time school.  On his first day of school, he told me at pick up that he had a fun day and was never going back.  Thankfully, he figured out school life really quickly and had the best year.  He excelled academically and made so many new friends.  His adjustment to K was so easy because he had already learned how to do a school day.  The best part of K is no more naps according to him.

I never dreamed of teaching kindergarten.  I thought 3rd grade was the best grade and kindergarten was too little for me.  But now that God opened doors for me to teach K, I LOVE IT!  I love welcoming kids to school, having so much fun learning in K and helping their families learn the ropes of school.  I also have a whole new level of empathy for the teary eyed moms wearing sunglasses to drop off.  They get hugs from me and I try hard to snap smiling pictures throughout our school day to share with them.

Kindergarten is so much fun!

First Week of School Recap

Whew!  The first few days of school wore us out!  My alarm clock goes off at 5:30am every school morning and my day goes full speed until bedtime most days.  I'm working hard to get to know 22 kids and their families and lots of new things at school.  It has been a huge blessing to me to see my kindergarten kids from last year in first grade.  They make me feel like a celebrity with hugs, waves and big smiles in the halls.  The start of year 2 has me feeling more confident and more settled than year one.  I'm thankful to have made all the connections I did last year so that this year wouldn't feel so new.  Overall, we had a great first week and tried hard to rest this weekend so that we could handle five full days this week.

Leo and I had the best first days.  It is SO fun to have recess and lunch together plus see each other a lot throughout the day.  My class is cute.  I've got a few big personalities to learn and am making some changes this week to make everything go smoother.

Olive is off to 7th grade and she loves junior high.  So many friends.  So many teachers.  She has lunch with her besties and sees them throughout the day.  Her daily schedule is highlighted and her routes to classes are filled with friends from elementary school and volleyball.  The newfound independence that comes with junior high is exciting - gum, no assigned seats, option to eat lunch inside or outside and being in charge of lots of things - are perfect for her.  She's feeling confident and so excited for the year.  Her BFF Mr. Mittens was sad to send her back to school.

Fourth grade Fletcher.  He's getting the nicest compliments from his teachers.  He's working hard to make some new friends and keep his same friends from last year.  And I love seeing him at school.  He's so happy to not be the new kid this year and he has his own celebrity status around our building since my current and former kindergarten kids love him!

Kindergarten Leo.  He's working hard and has the funniest stories to tell me at the end of the day.  His teacher is one of my best school friends so that is really fun for both of us.  He has PreK friends in his class and in my class.  Being called Leo's mom by my own students has been a treat!  I love getting to know the kids in his grade.

Overall, we're adjusting and doing well with our new routines.  I'm packing 20 lunches and 20 snacks each week.  Thank heavens for grocery delivery.  I'm laying everything out the night before.  Sharing drop off and pick up routines with Kevin and we're doing it!  We're excited to see what this new school year has in store for our family.  Kevin's college schedule doesn't start until the end of August which means that he's been able to be extra helpful during our busiest time of the year.

Wishing you all a wonderful school year ahead!

Back to School Feels

I have all the feels about going back to school today.  It's the first day ever when all the kids + me return to school on the same day.  A family milestone.  I think the kids are feeling all the feelings, too.  They are excited to see their friends every day, a little nervous about all the new and a little sad about early bedtimes and early wake ups.

We're all navigating new pick up times, new routines, new teachers and new schools. 

3 different grade levels.

2 different schools and school systems.

2 different school calendars.

And 12 different teachers.

20 packed lunches a week.

And more!

I'm so thankful to be returning to kindergarten.  Year 2 feels a lot better than Year 1. I feel more confident.  I love knowing lots of families, have made lots of teacher friends and am no longer a "newb" as my kids say.  I'm hoping my students from last year will come see me.  I know I can't wait to see their cute first grade faces in the hall.  We have a lot of new things happening at school this year.  I'm just thankful that I've got a year under my belt and I'm not new.

We're sad to say goodbye to Summer.  It was a really good one.  But I'm confident that we spent every moment together relaxing, playing, enjoying Summer break to the max.  I am very thankful that my career and schedule lines up so well with my kids.  We love our Summer breaks together and I love that our daily schedules are in sync.

Wishing my family and your family the very best school years!

I'll be back soon - hopefully Friday - with a round of up our first week of school favorites!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Rice Krispie Treats

We tried something new for dessert.  We switched the cereal on a classic treat and loved it.

We used Cinnamon Toast Crunch in place of Rice Krispies.

The classic recipe is the same

1 bag of big marshmallows

3 T butter + enough to coat pan

6 cups cereal

We'd love to try this again with Reese's Puffs cereal or Fruity Pebbles.

Give this swap a try!  Use your favorite cereal and see how it turns out :)