Back to School Time

I have been busy the past two weeks working in my classroom to get it ready for the first day of school this coming Monday. This might sound crazy, but I actually enjoy getting my room ready. I love decorating and organizing my room and getting it all ready for the new school year. We moved to another building this summer and our old school building has been bulldozed and they are beginning to build our new one. When we move in the new building I plan on buying new stuff to decorate with and coming up with a theme (I am thinking animal print and a jungle theme maybe), but for now I kept all my old decorations.

Before

Before

After

This door leads to Robyn's room next door. I love these signs I found at Mannings..the yellow one says, "Kids at Work"

This is what is on each student's desk for the first day...a packet for their parents with paperwork to sign, a pencil, name tag, bookmark, crayons, and a fun packet to begin working on.

A closer look at the bookmark because I think it is so adorable :)

I found this fabric for $1.50 a yard at Wal-Mart and my Mom helped me make these curtains. I was so excited when I found this fabric because they are white with numbers all over them and I am going to be the fourth grade math teacher this year so they were perfect! Last year we were self-contained and taught all subjects to our own classes, but this year we are going to be departmentalized so each teacher is going to teach one subject and the students will switch classes. Math is my favorite subject, but I am going to miss teaching everything.

Our Class Plant

My cousin is going to make us shirts this year with this bling on them...isn't it so cute!
I saw a t-shirt the other day that said,"You don't scare me..I teach!" and I laughed because that is so true :) I also saw another one that said, "Queen of My Classroom" and I would have bought that one if it was in my size :)

I know this year is going to be a great year and I am ready to start school tomorrow! My mom showed me this scripture the other day and I have been praying it over my students...

"My students will love instruction and their hearts will not despise correction. My students will obey the voice of their teachers. My students will incline their ears to those that instruct them." Proverbs 5:12-13

How-To Make a Baby Blanket

I decided to try and make a baby blanket for my friend Katie's baby after seeing one that a friend of mine made out of fabric that was really cute. This is the second one I have made and I love how they both turned out. I gave it to Heather at her baby shower a few weekends ago. If you can sew at all you will be able to make this....it is easy and makes a great gift for a new mom to be!

Step 1: Buy a yard of flannel fabric in a solid color and another yard of flannel in a print.

Step 2: (If you want you can get the solid color monogrammed with the baby's name on it before you begin making the blanket). Then, iron the fabric and put the right sides facing each other and pin it all the way around.

Step 3: Pick a thread color that goes with the colors in the blanket, and sew a stitch 5/8 of an inch all the way around the blanket, leaving an opening a few inches wide.



This is a picture of the opening I left...it just need to be big enough for you yo get your arm through

Step 4: Cut the fabric at the corners on the angle so that the corners will poke out when the blanket is finished

Step 5: Reach in the opening and grab a corner at the opposite end and pull it through, turning the blanket right side out ( the monogram and pattern on the fabric should be on the outside now)

Step 6: Iron the blanket again and then sew the top stitch 5/8 of an inch all the way around this time and you are finished!

Karah's finished baby blanket

For this blanket I chose a pink and white stripped flannel and a chocolate brown because these were the colors of the nursery. Let me know if you make one..I would love to see it!

Houston Trip

Mom and I took what I call a "mini-vaca" to Houston this past weekend. I got on Priceline and got a 4 star hotel room for $50 a night! That was the first time I had tried the "name your own price" thing at Priceline and I was so excited that a 4 star hotel accepted my $50 bid. We stayed at the Hilton Post Oak right by the Galleria...for $50 a night!!! We stayed Saturday and Sunday night. We had to bring my brother to a friends house in Katy on Saturday, so we went to Katy Mills Mall first and then drove to our hotel later that day. Glenn is getting a new company truck so he stayed with his friend, Bart, for the weekend and then Bart brought him to the airport on Monday so he could fly to Arizona and pick up his truck.

Mom and I love going to Houston for the weekend and shopping at the Galleria. I really wanted this to be a relaxing weekend before I start work again in a few weeks. We ate at my favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory, almost every meal and indulged with a piece of their new Reese's Peanut Butter Cheesecake. I have never eaten breakfast at The Cheesecake Factory, but we did this weekend and it was soo good! Everything they serve there is so big that mom and I just ordered one meal and split it all weekend. I am glad we don't have The Cheesecake Factory in Beaumont because it could be really bad on my waistline :)

We shopped and I found some good deals on clothes for work at the Galleria and at Katy Mills Mall. I bought a new black purse, which I have been looking for for a while and a big picture frame for a wall in my bedroom at Garden Ridge...I have been looking for something to go on that wall for a while now and it is just perfect! The only thing that was missing this weekend was my camera. I purposely didn't bring it on this trip ( I know, I can't believe it either). Like I said earlier I wanted it to be a relaxing weekend and even the thought of taking pictures all weekend seemed like work to me....sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the moment and not have to pose for the camera all the time. So, you will have to use your imagination on this trip :)

The past few weekend have been busy, but a lot of fun. I am hanging on to every bit of summer I have left. I am pretending that my classroom is already all set up and not all packed in boxes and that I haven't gotten phone calls from my co-workers telling me they have been working in their rooms for the past few weeks and that I haven't even been up there once!

Dallas Weekend

I have been looking forward to this trip all summer long! One of my best friends, Heather, is having her third baby and Britni, Carrie and I threw her a baby shower this past weekend. I wanted to see Britni's little boy, Pierson, so I left last Thursday and drove to Britni's house in Weatherford. Steph and Ross are on the way, so I stopped in Waco and spent the night with them on Thursday night. It is always so good to get to see my sis and Ross...they always make me feel so welcome. On Friday, I left and drove to Britni's house.

Here is my little birthday buddy (he was born on my birthday). He is so cute and has changed so much since I have seen him last. He is walking now and talking more. He says" go-go" when he wants you to take him somewhere, "bye-bye" and waves, "mama", "dada", "cookoo" and points to the cookoo clock on the wall (Britni says that he has to show the cookoo clock to everybody that comes over), and he says "hi car" to all the cars on the road....too cute!

I love this picture that Britni got of me reading a book to Pierson. He hadn't seen me in a while so I thought it would take him a little while to warm up to me, but he immediately came to me and brought me a book to read to him...it made my heart smile :)


Friday night, Britni and I went out to eat at this really nice restaurant in downtown Weatherford. It was so good to get to catch up and get some good girl time in. Saturday morning we headed to Carrie's house in The Colony. It is about an hour and a half away from Britni's house and Jan rode with us. Jan was my roommate in college for two years and she lives 30 minutes from Britni. It was so good to see her and catch up with her too!


When we got to Carrie's we got busy setting everything up. This was the food table with sausage balls, fruit, and tortilla rolls. Heather's colors are brown and pink.



This was a framed prayer for baby Karah that we used for decoration and was part of our gift to Heather.


The cake was so good..it was a white cake with a white chocolate cheesecake filling

Carrie made this diaper cake and it was so beautiful....this was also part of our gift to Heather and part of our decorations.

The Cake Table

Britni had the idea to get a book and have people sign it instead of a traditional sign-in book. That title of the book was, "God Gave Us You" and I thought this was such a great idea.

Heather, her mom, and her girls (Hannah and Sara)

Heather and I met when I was in college. She and her husband were the college group leaders at the Church I attended. Sara was crawling around in diapers then (I feel so old). As long as I have known Heather she has wanted to have a third baby so I was not surprised when she told me she was pregnant. There will be a gap between their youngest and this new one, but Sara and Hannah are going to be great big sisters and helpers..they are so excited about the new baby! I am too and I can't wait to hold her! Heather is planning on having a natural birth at home like she did with Hannah. Britni and I wanted to be there and she said we could. I have always wanted to be there for a home birth because it is something I think I want to do someday. If it works out I will get to be there....I might change my mind about wanting to do that someday afterwards :)

Carrie, Heather, Me, and Britni

Heather and her cute baby belly...she isn't due until November, but we had to do the shower now because of everyone's schedules.

Heather, Britni, Carrie, and I all met when we were in college at our church and it was so good to get to see so many of the girls that were in the college group with us. Our college group was called, "Reality Check" and it was such a special group. We met together every Wednesday, had small groups each month, took many trips together and hung out all the time. It was a tight-nit group and almost everyone is still in touch today. They hold such a special place in my heart and I know everyone feels the same.

Heather, her Aunt, and her Mom


There was such a good turn out and it was so good to see everybody!

Marianne and Me

I love this picture of Stephanie and Jessica with their sweet babies.

I had to show you one more picture of baby Jacob with his mom, Stephanie...look at that cute face :)

Stephanie and Nicole introducing their babies

Heather opening presents...I made her the blanket she is holding. I love how it turned out...it is really simple and I am going to put the directions on how to make it on my blog soon.

Britni and Pierson

After the shower we all sat around and talked and talked for hours. I am so grateful for good, Christian friends!

I spent Sunday at Britni's and then left to go home. Here is another picture of Pierson with my keys..he LOVES keys and it is so funny to me the things that kids like to play with....he has toys everywhere but all he wanted was my keys or my cell phone to play with :)

This was my first vacation of the summer and so I had some fun on the way home. I love this little barbecue place and I stopped there on the way home and had the best chopped beef sandwich and lemonade..it doesn't take much to make me happy :)

Then, I stopped at this cute little ice cream shop in Huntsville and had a cookies and cream ice cream cone while I walked around the town square and shopped at all the cute shops. I was loving it and then to top it off I found a pair of Seven jeans at the resale shop for $15 that fit me perfect....that just makes me smile and was the perfect ending to a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Bubba!

My brother Glenn's birthday was on Sunday, but we celebrated it tonight by going to eat at Carrabba's and then coming home for cake! My dad and Glenn are both working crazy schedules right now and it worked out great that they were both off at the same time. I couldn't have asked for a better brother. Glenn is such an amazing friend and brother all rolled into one and I am so glad that he is back in Texas and we get to spend more time with him!

Grammy and Glenn

Our Family...minus Steph and Ross of course :(

I will see Steph and Ross tomorrow because I am driving to Britni's house and I always stop in Waco on the way (I'll bring y'all a piece of cake!) Britni, Carrie, and I are throwing a baby shower for our friend Heather Saturday in Dallas and I am so excited to get to see everyone.

Happy Birthday!

Crock Pot Chicken

Last night I decided to experiment and put some ingredients I had on hand in the crock-pot and see how it turned out. I woke up this morning to a house filled with the smell of food cooking. I think the crock-pot is the best invention ever made! I ate my crock-pot chicken for lunch and it was so yummy! The recipe is easy and healthy and you probably have everything already on hand. Here is what you need...

3-4 chicken breasts (depending on the size of your crock-pot), thawed out

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 cups of chicken stock

frozen green beans or any vegetable you like

Idaho potatoes with skin on, quartered (or red potatoes)

Tex Joy Seasoning

Put the potatoes in the bottom of the crock-pot and sprinkle Tex Joy all over them ( I had Idaho potatoes on hand, but red potatoes would be good too). Add the green beans, garlic, and onion, on top of the potatoes. Place the chicken on top of the green beans and sprinkle Tex Joy on top. Pour the chicken stock over the chicken breast. Cook on low overnight for 7 to 8 hours.

Hope you enjoy!

Happy Fourth of July!

I celebrated the Fourth of July this year at my friend Katie's parents house in Wildwood. Alecia and I drove out there Saturday to visit and watch the fireworks over the lake at night. I was excited to get to see Katie and Alecia because we don't get to see each other that often. We get together once a month and have a girls night, but it always seems so long in between. I was also excited to see Katie's baby Ryan....he is changing and growing so fast.

Me, Alecia, Ryan, and Katie

Isn't this dessert so pretty...I got a pic after everyone dug in but you can still see the stars and stripes. It was so good..one of Katie's friends made it with blackberries from her backyard!

We enjoyed sitting on the back porch talking and playing with Ryan..he is so adorable and so much fun : )

I love this picture of Ryan and his daddy wearing matching camo hats

Everybody getting ready for the fireworks

Fireworks over the Lake

I am so thankful that by God's grace I was born in a country where I am free....free to believe what I want and worship God. I know how blessed I am to live in America and that freedom doesn't come free. I pray for the troops today and remember everyone who fought for our freedom! If your like me get your Kleenex before you watch the video. The song, "God Bless America" makes me cry every time I hear it.

Happy Fourth of July!!