I'm back!!

Hi my friends! I have really missed blogging for the past few weeks. I have been out of internet, which means I have been disconnected from the world! :) But I am BACK!!!

This week I have finally been able to get in my classroom for the first time since school has been out!!! I have been blessed to be moved from 2nd grade (which I loved) to Kindergarten (WHICH IS MY DREAM!) So I had lots to do. I also was moved into a room that hasn't been an actual classroom- it was our OT-PT room, so quite a bit was missing that Kindergarten would need.

They got my Smartboard and Bulletin Boards all hung this week so it's actually looking like a classroom :) It is so fun to watch a classroom come together. I will be posting pictures soon! :D

PIYO

Hey my Fit Fam! I have discovered a new workout that I am just OBSESSED with! It's called PIYO. Totally Low Impact (great for my old lady knees) with High Intensity for losing weight. If you are interested in it, you need to check it out HERE!

If you think this workout is for you, but you're needing some motivation or more information, send in your Beachbody Questionaire NOW so I can get you on the right track!

Yes.... when you're home for the summer you have to work with fact that your child is attached to your hip :) She loves PIYO too!

DIY Canvas!

Does anyone have a love for the HUGE canvases that photographers and other people show off on their facebook pages and websites, but CANNOT stand the price of them!? Well... me either. I am a teacher and a semi-new Beachbody coach, so I don't make the big bucks. But I have this beautiful family that I love to show off and I couldn't stand not to! So, what did I do? I started experimenting.

First, I did not get such a great turnout. I tried using thick insulation for that dramatic pop-out on the wall, and I wrapped the insulation with black fabric because it was on sale. NOT PRETTY. When the heater came on in the winter time, the glue on the insulation to fabric refused to stick and they looked like they started melting off of the wall.... It was not fun and they took forever to make. 

That's when I started using thin foam board. If it came thicker, it would be EXACTLY what I want. But I have to admit, these look pretty good :) 

Materials: 

picture

black foam board

spray adhesive

box cutters 

scissors

newspaper or something to lay board on

Step 1: Measure Your Picture 

I laid my picture on one of the corners and traced around it with box cutters. Don't dig too deep yet just in case your picture moved! 

Step 2: Start Cutting

Use your box cutters during this step, NOT SCISSORS. Scissors leave marks in the foam and it doesn't leave the prettier edge like you want showing. 

It's ok if you are having trouble cutting nicely, that's what your scissors are for later :) You might need to bend the board and cut down the harder side again. 

Step 3: Shave the loose pieces

I know you all are thinking, "you said the box cutters leave a smoother edge!" Trust me, they do. The scissors are good for cutting the roughness off without digging indentions into the foam. 

Step 4: Get sticky! 

I personally like to use the spray adhesive over mod podge only because the spray is thinner, you can't see it under the picture, and you can pick up the picture another time or two (carefully), if you don't square it up perfect the first time. ALWAYS ALWAYS start in the corner that you did not cut. those two sides will always be straight :) Flatten the picture down slowly so you don't have any waves in it.  I use a t-shirt to flatten it down so my fingers don't smudge, scratch, or leave gluey finger prints in the picture. 

VUAH LA! The picture I did cost me a total of $15. $12 Shipping for the picture and a $3 foam board. If you are not a member with Shutterfly.Com then you need to be! They are always having free prints for holidays, as well as free 16x20s!!!!! (Which I can never say no to, as you can tell). It is an awesome website. Enjoy! 

Diaper Cake

Hey all!

Tomorrow is a teacher friend's diaper party (this is her 3rd baby so she didn't want a full shower). Unfortunately I have to miss it to help a friend move (oh the joys of moving!), but I still wanted to get her something :)

Instead of just buying her a box of diapers, I decided to make her a diaper cake! I didn't do anything too crazy, but I have looked at pictures of a couple different cakes and they take up A LOT of diapers! So I played around with these diapers until I got it to work!

Materials:
Diapers (I needed about 100)
Rubber Bands (these will keep you sane!)
Extras (sample sizes of lotion, shampoo, powder, travel kleenex, antibacterial hand wipes, bottles, etc.)
Ribbon
Hot Glue Gun

I started off with folding the diapers in half, one at a time, until I got to 10 (it was hard to hold more than 10 in your hand and keep them folded). I then wrapped them in a rubber band together. The rubber band starts to give the diapers a rounded look to start your first tier of your cake :) 

For the bottom tier, because it's the biggest, I had about 30 diapers total. I added 5 more to this rubber band of diapers, then did another rubber band of 15. After I got my 30 folded and together, I pulled one of the rubber bands over ALL of them to make it a tight circle. Once you've gotten that done you can add a few little goodies in between. I added two zip up nighty from Walmart (one shown). 

To keep this a tight circle, I decided to put hand wipes in the center of the tier. Normally I do baby bottles all the way up, but since this is baby #3, I figured my friend didn't need a ton of bottles (I just got her one). 

I repeated this same process for the next two tiers. You probably need to make the rubber band a little tighter to make it seem smaller, as well as adding less diapers. I probably put 20 or 25 diapers in the 2nd tier and a couple sample bath supplies. 

After you have all tiers done, you need to find a way to hide your rubber bands. I used thick ribbon and hot glued it around them. In the picture it shows my clips holding the ribbon for them to dry. 

You can top your diaper cake with a stuffed animal, a big bow, or anything you like! :) I normally do a stuffed animal so then it can straddle the top of the bottle and I can put a piece of ribbon around it to hole it on. **Not pictured** I also weaved binkies through the ribbon for them to hang. 

Hope this helps!
Happy Creating!

Shakeology Pudding

Hey friends! It has been a while since I have posted, and I have missed it! The blog is going to be going under some construction here in the next few weeks.... I need to get this baby ready for school to start! :) {Cannot wait! Can you tell?}

But anyways, being back in the States from our honeymoon, I am also getting back on track with my eating! Thank goodness. I have missed my Shakeology! For those of you that don't know what Shakeology is, click HERE.

Here is a little recipe that I make for myself and daughter when we have our little sweet tooth screaming at us :)

Shakeology Chocolate Pudding!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 scoops of shakeology (you can also use vanilla)
1 medium ripe banana
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 medium ripe avocado
1 cup almond milk (you can use whatever milk you choose if you don't like almond milk)


Put all of the ingredients in a blender (cut the banana up in small slices), and blend until it is creamy. If it is too thick, you may need to add more milk. Put the pudding in a bowl or small cups and refrigerate for 1 hour. Then serve & Enjoy!

1st Week of School!

Hey all! It is officially 1 month until I can see my new classroom.  Last year I taught 2nd grade, but my heart is with the Kinder babies :) So I have a new team, a new hallway, and a brand new classroom.... and I mean NEW. Last year it was our OT/PT room so it didn't have a whole lot in it that is needed for Kindergarten.

What I am most excited for is my Calendar/Morning Message station :) I feel like that is so important! (and we are making it shorter and shorter, sad day)  Yesterday I started my vision board for it because I want to make sure that everything I want to add is accessible for the students to reach, understand, and relatable with what we will be learning.

One thing that really caught my eye yesterday as I was browsing other calendar stations was this awesome Weather Chart! I love how it has great pictures to go with the words, as well as the thermometer. It gives 2 things for the students to help with also :)

If you love this, check it out over at  Rowdy in Room 300 !

{FOOD ALERT!}

I've been trying to get some new snacks in my life: mostly just adding in veggies. 

I'm just not eating enough greens, so here is a new (around) 100 calorie snack! Sugar snap peas, yum! You can do a serving of these, then add a cheese stick or a handful of almonds. Awesome snack . 

Light ranch: optional (this was for Cody and Hadley lol)

**A recipe I learned today to alternate that ranch dressing**
Mix Plain Greek Yogurt with a Ranch Packet. THAT SIMPLE!

YUM.... I love me some snaps :)