Dynamic Duo Wednesday!

Ahhh, Wednesday. I'm a fan. Halfway through the week, and officially on the downhill slide! :)

Today was Dynamic Duo Day at school. Or larger groups. I like that the students get super creative when these things happen, and I don't like to tell them that large groups don't count.

Here's my group costume today:

Three blind mice- see how they run? They all ran after the farmer's wife; she cut off their tails with a carving knife. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life as three blind mice?

AKA, I got to wear sweats to school. Which is totally the best.

I made the ears out of felt, hot glue, and pipe cleaners. The pipe cleaners are on the back & clipped in- no headbands to mess with! Yay!

Today's activity is going to be a trivia contest on duos. I had the other teachers in my wing (other subjects) come up with some questions for me too, so we have all the main subject areas covered! I'm also including some pop culture questions for the kids, because I want them to know some of the answers! ;)

Thursday is Senior Citizen Day.. stay tuned! :)

Tacky Tourist Tuesday

I must admit, when my StuCo kiddos suggested this, I didn't think it sounded like too much fun. I'm really into going full into the costumes (it helps the kids get more involved), and this one just seemed kind of .. lame. 

However, here I am, dressed as a Tourist!

Sandals with tall socks, black bermudas, fanny pack, Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, camera... the works.

Did you know that Amazon still sells fanny packs? Say what?

I more or less borrowed the majority of this outfit from family. Thank goodness my grandma's never get rid of anything! ;)

This afternoon, we are going to have a Picture Scavenger Hunt. Basically, I took random pictures of items around the school, printed enough copies for all of the classes involved, cut them into pieces, and put them at the different locations. The first class back to me will win a prize (that is yet to be determined, because I'm a slacker.)

The kids all love getting to run amuck around the school, and I thought this would be a fun and organized way to let them do so!

Tomorrow I'll be back with Dynamic Duo Day, a trivia game, and the winners of our decorating contest! :)

Monday Mayhem

I'm sooo sleepy. How is it that the weekend always goes by so fast? Good thing coffee and I are besties. ;)

So. Today is the day. Spirit week begins! 

Even though I work as a middle school teacher, we still do spirit week. We have to co-op with another school to do sports, so I really feel like spirit week is more important-- it's hard to get our kids excited about stuff. Regardless...

Today is Favorite Book Character Day. Here's mine:

 Professor Minerva McGonagall

She's wonderful. And hardcore. I only wish my students thought I was half as awesome as she is!!

"We teachers are quite good at magic."

If you've never read the Harry Potter Series, you totally should. She's the best. 

This is actually the second year that I've been a HP character during spirit week. Last year we had a "magical powers day" where I dressed as Dobby the House Elf (I'm middle front here).

For those wondering, I totally made my own cloak. Without a pattern. Super, super easy (and cheap). 

My hat is just a cheap one I got for $1 and then hot glued the feathery stuff and button on. [My students seem to think that my hat should just stay here all year. I may leave it. :)]

I threw on a maxi skirt, turtle neck, and called it a day!

We also have a door decorating competition with our homerooms, but I took it a little more extreme this year... :)

Tomorrow: Tacky Tourist Tuesday. AKA Hawaiian shirts & fanny packs galore!

Hope you're ready for all the silliness!

[Also- is it cheating to use this to link up to Andrea at Momfessionals? I mean, they're costumes? I'll have these all week, btw. And then our family costumes next Monday. #crazyladylikesdressingup #butreally ]

Friday Favorites! :)

TGIF has never been more true! Well, maybe... but still. I love Fridays!

Today is the end of the first quarter of school- how did that happen? I might've depressed some of my 8th graders a few days ago by mentioning that we are 1/4 of the way done with their last year at our school. Believe it or not, I'm gonna miss them. Sometimes. ;)

Anyway- on to my Friday Favorites!!

1. Since it's the end of the quarter, I'm sharing this. My Brag Board. Anytime a student earns full credit (AKA 100%), they earn 10 House Points (remember? Harry Potter room where they work together towards an end of the year party with their house?) and get their assignment hung up! This has been a great motivator for some of the students, and I love knowing that these are all 100%! Plus, there's several layers of papers there, so I do feel like I've taught them something so far this year! ;)

2. This mug. It cracks me up & it's huge! (My fist is next to it just to show how big it is!)

3. Bible Study this week was all about being encouraging and remembering to build one another up in love (Check Galatians 5:13). I've had this idea on the back burner for a few years, mostly because I didn't know how everyone I work with would react to it. I finally sucked it up this week and just went for it. I covered the bathroom door in our Teacher's Lounge with white paper & hung up a few signs (& have since added some markers) so that we can leave one another encouraging quotes and messages. Listen, teaching is tough. Really tough. Like, go-home-crying-and-not-knowing-how-to-reach-all-the-kids tough. Here's a way for us to help each other out. I'll let you know how it goes! :)

4. Pictures like this. Monster & I went to volleyball senior night last night at our high school. He skipped sitting with me so that he could hang out with some of our college kiddos that were home on break. I love knowing how much these guys have poured into my kiddos, and that I know I can trust them. So much love.

Also, this picture of Monster from last night. Kills me. He was using his "binocwuwers" to watch the volleyball game because we were sitting up in the top of the stands. 

5. Last, but not least, this weather! I am such a huge fan of getting to wear lots of layers and hoodies! (AKA I wore a hoodie and jeans to work today plus a messy bun. Another reason Fridays in the fall are my fav!)

Have a great weekend everyone!! :)

What's Up Wednesday!

Guys. Sorry I'm such a slacker! Long weekends really mess with my schedule, but make my heart so so happy. Alright... back to your regularly scheduled rambling... :)

Anyway... in a manner of switching it up, I'm linking up with some new (to me) faces! Which is actually coming really late.. I might've just found it and loved it. :)

What we're eating this week:

Monday- I went shopping with my mom and sister, so I just whipped up something quick when we got home. I opted for quinoa, kale, and eggs. Delish.

Tuesday: Cheese tortellini with red & white sauce

Wednesday: Porkchops & Veggies

Thursday: Tacos

Friday: Pizza!

What I'm reminiscing about:

Past Halloween costumes... <3

What I'm loving:

This weather! I love getting to (finally) pull out my boot socks... but not having to wear tights with them (yet).

What we've been up to:

Craziness. There's always a bit of that whenever you're involved in a million things & have two littles!

What I'm dreading:

Finishing the living room. We are in the middle of moving furniture to prep for the holidays... and I feel like it's never ending!! [Shoutout to my momma for the awesome U that's hanging on my wall! I have been looking for one for literally years, and she picked one up for me last weekend for $10! Boom!]

What I'm working on:

Besides home stuff, I'm also working on:

-Bible Study for tonight

-Spirit Week (next week- outfits galore!)

-Book Fair

-Parent/Teacher Conferences

-Ronald McDonald House Trip

-Youth Porkburger Sale

-BS Party!!! (Bible Study. Clearly.)

-Passion Conference Trip plans

.... I know I'm forgetting something...

Regardless, here's a photo from our Haunted Hallway last weekend!

What I'm excited about:

So many things! I'm having a LuLaRoe party this weekend, we have a church chowder/fall carnival next weekend, plus holidays, weddings, and fun! Here's the beginning of family costumes...

What I'm watching/reading:

Um, I just finished NCIS and Bones on Netflix, so next up is Flash. I'm also reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with my reading class, so that's always fun! :)

What I'm listening to:

Last night I jammed out to some Dashboard while cooking/washing dishes/working on laundry. Thank goodness for iTunes Radio!

What I'm wearing:

Layers! 

What I'm doing this weekend:

Senior night for football Friday night, LuLaRoe Party Saturday night, and church/youth Sunday!

Those are some of the lovely leggings. I'm a bit obsessed.

What I'm looking forward to next month:

The fact that I don't have a single full week of work in November! Sorry blog, but extra time off makes me a happy camper (or teacher)!!

What else is new:

Hopefully this will work. If not, I'll fix it soon. Monster learned a bible verse!

#bestillmyheart

 

I hope you're all having a lovely week! :)

Wordless Wednesday :)

Weekend Recap - Homecoming Edition

Busy weekends wear me out! But they're also tons of fun for everyone, so it'll be okay! :)

Friday afternoon was the Homecoming Parade - yeah, we're hardcore. Apparently not all towns do this for their high schools, which is practically crazy to me. Anyway- Friday I got to leave school a little bit early (I have awesome coworkers, one of which covered my last class for me!), so I made it home in time to watch the parade. 

So. My boys are sort of known by a lot of the   high school kids. Between camps, church, Tim being a track coach, and my friends... let's just say we have enough candy that we don't need to go trick-or-treating. ;)

That night, we took the boys to my in-laws so that they could stay warm during the football game (the lows were in the 40s, so we didn't want them to freeze). That ended up being a great decision, especially since it started raining and was windy- we ended up leaving after the halftime announcements of the Homecoming Court. Also, the football team ended up winning 72-0. #awesome

Before the game, we opted for a quick dinner of McDonalds (yes, I know. Unhealthy. But we all love sweet tea. And ketchup).

Saturday we had a super lazy day, which was 100% needed. The boys slept until 9:30 - unheard of in this house - so jammies for the day was our best bet. That night, Monster went to Homecoming coronation with me, and got some super lovely pictures with some of our favorites! :)

Sunday we spent most of the day at church (per the norm). And drinking coffee (per the norm).

These two were missing one of their favorite college kiddos during youth group.

Can you guess where Monkey's new favorite hideout is in the nursery?

I hope you all had a great & relaxing weekend!! :)

Five Friday Favorites!

1. This outfit. I'm wearing it today, and I looooove it. So, so much. The sweater and scarf are from Walmart, and the rest is thrifted or crazy clearance. #ilovecheapclothes

2.  My mom and sister know me all too well. They picked up this shirt for me last night, and you better believe I'm wearing it to work on Monday! ;)

 3. One of my classes did a lab this week that required them to make food chain mobiles. There's a yellow circle for the sun in the middle, and the streamers have producers - tertiary consumers on them. I stapled them to my ceiling, and now all of my classes have been asking to make something like this. Anytime that my students get excited to do stuff in class, I'm down for it!

4. Remember a few posts back when I shared the pumpkin Febreeze melts? Oh.My.Goodness. I've currently got them in my Scentsy at work, and it's the best. Think pumpkin roll. Love!

5. It's homecoming weekend! Not at the school I teach at, but in our hometown. My (almost) stepsister is a queen candidate, one of our youth girls is an attendant, and two of our youth guys are escorts. Today's the parade (which really means I'm getting all of my trick-or-treat handout candy for free! ha!), tonight's the game, and tomorrow night is coronation. Hooray for fun! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Lots of lovely pictures are coming next week of super fancy dressed loves of mine! :)

Linking with Andrea :)

Lasagna Soup

Linking up with Recipe Club with Andrea. ;)

I love me some lasagna. I loathe how long it takes too cook, though! Enter: Lasagna Soup!

 What you need:

-water

-spaghetti sauce

-diced tomatoes

-fresh spinach

-meat (I use turkey sausage)

-lasagna noodles

-cheeses

First things first: brown your meat. I do mine in the soup pot, and don't drain it- mine is turkey sausage though, so there isn't as much to drain off as there is with other ground meats. I also add chipotle (just a touch), lots of garlic, salt, pepper, and some basil leaves to mine for extra.

Add in your spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. I used like 1/4 can from the far left sauce because it was leftover... do whatever you have on hand though. I also add a can full of water, because it makes more of a soup consistency. 

Throw in a few handfuls of spinach and half a box of broken lasagna noodles. 

Let it boil for about 15 minutes, and serve!

I always add cottage cheese and mozzarella to my bowls once it's served, but that's what we like in our lasagna. You can add whatever works for your family!

This usually makes enough for all four of us, plus enough for another meal of leftovers (I usually take it for lunch the next day and the boys also eat on it for lunch). Like most soups, I almost like it more the second day!