Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, Friends!  It's been a busy week and we are all excited for the long weekend ahead.  Let me tell you about my favorite moments of the week.

1. Beautiful Midwest sunsets.

2. Hanging out on the playground with my favorite kindergartener.  August days are long in kindergarten so I'll take any extra love and hugs I can get.

3. Packing yummy lunches for my kids!  It's my favorite hug from home in the middle of their school days.

4. Seeing Fletcher in the lunch room.  He strategically picks his seat so that he can get a hug and say hi to my class every day.

5. Everything is fun in kindergarten!  Even bus safety drills.

6. We have a coworker baby shower and we were asked to bring an unwrapped gift.

7. When school fundraiser nights line up to take care of dinner!  Chick-Fil-A for the win. Their mac n cheese is my favorite.

8. Fruiti Pebbles rice krispie treats.  We've had a lot of fun experiementing with different cereal treat bars.  Fletcher says these are his favorite so far.

9. Nosey homework helper.  Olive is busy doing homework and Mr. Mittens takes a nap in her backpack.  Jr. High homework isn't our favorite, but Olive is managing it all so well.

10. When your kids offer to help each other.  That's my favorite.  Olive was helping Fletcher study for his end of the week tests.

11. Bookclub dinner on the patio!  A delicious salad and staying out late with friends are my favorite.

12. Backyard sports.  Fletcher had a buddy spend the night and they had tons of fun playing all the backyard games - air soft guns, swings, volleyball, football and a game of jackpot.

13. Pumpkin bread!  We are in Fall baking mode!  I tried a new recipe and it was so good.

14. Jr. High is a funny time in life.  Olive needed a dry erase board eraser.  She grabbed this one and insisted on adding googly eyes.  It's her favorite thing ever.

15. The weather has been so nice this week!!  Temps in the 60s/70s and we are all so happy.  We played outside a ton, cleaned out the garage, caught some caterpillars and hope to start up our nightly walks again.  

16. Popsicles on the porch have become a nightly tradition.  We watch the sun set, talk about our days and the kids eat popsicles.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Linking up with Momfessionals

DIY Teacher Jean Jacket

I knew I wanted to do something special to celebrate the first year at my new school.  It felt like a big accomplishment to return to teaching after 11 years away.  I saw lots of ideas for dresses and aprons, but a jean jacket seemed like the best option for me.

I grabbed this jacket when Old Navy was having a big sale and bought all the paints/patches/supplies on Amazon to go with my school colors.  I tried to thrift a jean jacket, but they were all so stiff and not st stretchy.  Old Navy always comes through with soft, stretchy jean jackets.  Then one afternoon, I got my class list and worked my way through the list painting my student's little hands one at a time.

They thought it was so tickly and then I walked them right over to the sink to wash their colorful hand. 

Each student got to pick their paint color and hand print location.  I explained the project to the whole class and then we got busy stamping during brain break.  I let it dry on my back table.  Then I took it home to add the patches and the polka dots.

My students LOVED when I wore my teacher jacket.  I didn't add names or identifying details.  I just painted 2025 inside the jacket and will always remember my very first kindergarten class.  

It's the perfect jacket to wear on school spirit days or any teaching days, really.  I can't wait to wear it again this year and see my former students in the hall.

Another day, during brain break, I had my class make my assistant a personalized end of the year gift.  I found a big canvas bag on Amazon, used the same supplies from my jacket and helped them paint fingerprint hearts on one side of her bag.  She was a big crafter so she loved having a new craft bag from our class.

Teachers - you'll have to try to make something fun with your class this year!  I've seen dresses, head bands, aprons, skirts and jackets.  Find something that works for you and have your kids personalize it.

Leo Says...

I keep a running list on my phone of the funny/silly/cute things that Leo says.  He talks a lot so I have a lot of content.  I did this for all of the kids and they are some of my favorite blog posts to go back and read.

Let's laugh with Leo!

Can I still call you Mama when I get married?

My eyes won't stop clicking.  Clicking = blinking

We were out of town and he was laying on the pull out couch with Olive.  Olive got up and somehow he fell into the couch.  We were all shocked to realize he was stuck INSIDE the couch.  We tried not to panic.  We attempted several different ways to get him out and then Kevin finally pushed or pulled to give him enough wiggle room to crawl out.  He shed a few tears and said That couch tried to eat me!

I whispered - You're getting a hair cut tonight.

He whispered back - Dang it.

Thank you, babe!

What he tells me after I hand him his library book.

I asked him a question.

His response, I'm sorry my voice is not available.

How many minutes is 800 seconds?  700?  500?

Mom, How many pounds are you?  5,000?

I burst out laughing and tell him that's what an elephant weighs.

He dies laughing.

His class worked hard to earn a pajama day.

My class is s-l-o-w-l-y working towards the same reward.

He said well that's just sad! in reference to my class losing to his class.

I never use the restroom at school.

It stinks in there.

I'll just wait and go at home.

Words he misprounces.  Please don't correct him.

me pressing = depressing

emenies = enemies

racey cups = Reeses cups

blazed donuts = glazed dnouts

sweet fish = Swedish Fish

clovers = Culvers

migula jiggy = thing a ma jig

Minnie Minnie Miny Moe = Eenie Meenie Miny Moe

5 year olds are hilarious.

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!