Just for the Record...

1. I did actually finish The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes for the Book Beginnings and Bookends. Just a little later than scheduled. But just wanted to let you know that I did finish the whole book.

2. My key necklace is just a necklace. Not a key to my house, a treasure chest, an old key that I found or my diary. Thank you 4th graders for your creative thoughts.

3. I sat here for a good while trying to think of a number 3. Because well, 3 things just sound and look better than 2. But I've got nothing. Apparently my 4th graders used up all my creative brainpower to think of ideas for my key necklace.

Dragon Tattoos and Silly Bandz

I have been waiting for this book since July and I finally got the notice
that it was on hold for me at the library! I can't wait to get started!

I'm a little obsessed with find fun fonts and alphabets from letteringdelights. And then, spending hours creating things that probably would have taken me 10 minutes. But, I'm sure that my kids will now all be motivated to reach their reading goal now that they have cute cards...right?

Win got a haircut. He always look hilarious when he gets his haircut and ends up being three-fourths the size he was beforehand. Oh, I wish you could see his tail...it's ridiculous.

I got my first silly bandz. Yes, they are cool and yes,
I feel special that one of my fourth graders gave me one.

Hollywood Glam

Last night, I was able to celebrate my dear friend's birthday with her. Kari a wonderful friend and she always celebrates her birthday in style. This year the theme was Hollywood Glam and glamorous it was!

We of course were asked to dress the part...and sign in when we arrived. I have to say that I just dressed up with no one in mind, however, I became Sarah Jessica Parker when I walked through the doors. Here is the official sign-in:


Here are some of the movie starts that arrived:


And me with the beautiful birthday girl!


The night also included a yummy Coldstone cake, extra-long Twizzers (have you seen these things?), a "paparazzi" photo session and movie charades...good times had by all.

Head on over to Kari's adorable and entertaining blog, The Diaries of the Traveling OPI's, to wish her a happy birthday!

Weeknd Camping & Birthdays

I love the weekend even more now that school started.

On Friday, I left school in a hurry to pack up for a night of camping. Warm clothes- check; sleeping bag- check; extra blankets- check; lots of yummy snacks and drinks- check! It was chilly and windy- but we survived! We had a great time roasting hot dogs, sharing stories by the campfire, and sleeping in tents. In the morning, we got our things packed up just in time before the rain hit and we headed to a cozy breakfast place to warm up and get some breakfast before heading our separate ways. I love these girls!


On Saturday night, I got to celebrate my nephew's birthday. Henry turned one!
My sister hosted a bug themed birthday party complete with ants on a log, awesome decorations, and a candy buffet.

Here I am with the birthday boy!



He was a little hesitant with the cake at first, but then he dug right in!


Happy Birthday dear Henry! I can't believe you are already one!

Henry also happens to have the same birthday as my niece, Megan. Megan is our oldest niece/nephew as she is turning five today! She also is our only niece which means it is extra fun to buy her presents! :) Happy Fifth Birthday Megan!

Friday Wishings

I'm so happy that in less than 50 minutes, it will be Friday.

I'll be even happier when the school bell rings at 2:50 tomorrow afternoon.

I'm exhausted.

I can't imagine actually teacher 5 full days next week since the last weeks have only been 4.

We had Parent Night at school tonight. I think it is my least favorite night of the whole year. I like seeing the parents and hearing how their child is liking fourth grade so far. The problem is that I pretty much hyperventilate when I have to speech in front of a group that is over the age of 12. However, tonight was okay. I'll give myself a 7 out of 10 for not running out of breath too many times.

I'm going camping tomorrow night.

Have I mentioned how I'm not really a camper.

And it's supposed to be cold...maybe even some rain.

But, I'm going with really great friends and because of that I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Classroom Reveal

Welcome to my classroom! Each year I try to do a different theme.
I've done a water, travel and safari theme in the past, but this year I did a western theme!
Yee haw...let the tour begin!

This is the bulletin board outside of my room.
Each cowgirl/cowboy has a lasso with a student's name in it. I'm not going to lie- I would never make those cowboys/girls again, they took me FOREVER!

A closer look...

Our door...come on in!

This paper was my first inspiration to make a western themed classroom.
Martha Stewart- you make everything beautiful.
Too bad I could never find this pad of scrapbook paper again.

The rainbow of locker tags... I heart the turquoise one.

This is not the best picture, but each chair had a bandanna wrapped on the back of it. As you can imagine, the boys had them around their necks in 2.0 seconds the first day, but they did look adorable while they lasted. This was my mom's idea- she is planning my sister's wedding right now and thinks maybe she has spent a little too much time looking at chair covers. :)

Write 'Em Cowboy!


Part of our writing center...

Our calendar and schedule area...

Boy and Girl Bathroom Passes...

Mailboxes, our school's theme verse for the year, and colorful book boxes...

I absolutely love this banner that I made for our window...
too bad it didn't really show up for the picture.
It has alternating bandanna and jean fabrics.
I made it using these awesome, no-sew instructions from Abby's blog.

Lasso A Great Book!

Our Book Nook organization area...
I forgot to take pictures of all of the bandanna pillow covers
that I sewed- they're fun- maybe I'll post them later.

Our vocabulary words will go here...right now they just have western words on them.

Our library area... and the huge cowboy boot that is a hit in our classroom.

Our wanted bulletin board. I took pictures of the kids the first day dressed up in a western vest, cowboy hat and bandannas and then printed them in black and white and hung them on the posters. I wish I could show them to you- they turned out so cute!

I love birthday! And who wouldn't love a birthday hat with their name on it?

Boot Scootin' Behavior Board...
we can only hope that I don't have to use this much this year.

Our job board...

This is above our door. It turned out larger than I had imagined,
but I actually like it that big...it adds some color to our room

Wrangler of the Week...each student gets to bring in pictures to share.
I always start out with a poster about me.
Yes, the large picture in the middle is me when I was in fourth grade.

Oh, how I love decorating my room. I think that is one of my favorite feelings...the feeling you get when your classroom is all decorated...the name tags are perfectly on each desk, the books are all in order, the notebooks are all new, the locker tags are all straight, and everything is in it's proper place just waiting for students to come. Ah! Too bad I have to wait another 365 days for it to come again. Until then, we will saddle up for the rest of the year...it's going to be a good one!