July Currently

I'm linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for July's Currently. 

You know what else that means?! Ahh! It's my wedding month, people! :) FINALLY!

Listening: I am currently listening to my television because I am binge watching The Following on Netflix. I am thoroughly enjoying the fact that I can watch new series back to back since I am on break. What in the world did I do last summer without Netflix?!

Loving: I am loving that I only have ten days until I get to marry my best friend in front of God, our loving families, and wonderful friends! No need to say any more.

Thinking: I am thinking about what crafts I am still needing to complete before next week. One thing I know for sure I need to do involves candlesticks and plates. Can you guess what I could be making? 

Wanting: I am wanting to chop my hair off in the worst way. Alex doesn't care for short hair; however, my hair is in some serious need of help. Blonde highlights were not kind to my scalp or to my hair when I began doing them a couple years ago, and I can definitely tell now. I want to get it cut up to around my shoulders in hopes of getting rid of the majority of what is harshly damaged. After all, it will grow right back, right? Lord knows I could use something that would be a little less work when getting ready! I need to keep it it's current length for the wedding so that I can have my hair styled the way I want it, but after that, I have no reason but to go and make a change.

Needing: A full body massage! When I stress, I tense my neck and my shoulders a ton.  Combine that with my poor posture and you have one veeeeeeeery sore lady. I'm hoping I can talk Alex into finding a spa in or around Gatlinburg, TN while we are there for our honeymoon so that we can get some much needed, and well deserved I might add, massages.

All-Star: It is true. I am an all star jump roper! I was on a competitive jump rope team from first grade through sixth grade when I was growing up. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involves my jump rope team. I am extremely excited about starting up a jump rope team at my school next school year. I received a Play60 grant from the NFL team, Indianapolis Colts, as well as a grant from the Scott County Youth Grant Making Council in my town. I will be using the money to jump start, no pun intended, our jump rope team. I will be having students from first through fifth grade as part of my team and we will practice and perform all school year long. This has some great opportunities that other team sports in our district do not, since younger grades will be able to participate and it doesn't have a particular season such as a fall or spring season sport. Last year we received word that our county, Scott, was 92nd out of 92 counties in the state of Indiana for health. When I heard that, I felt very compelled to try and make a difference since I am in a position where I could greatly impact the health of our young ones. So, the Bouncing Braves was created. Here is the logo I created for our team. Our school is Vienna-Finley Elementary, so the V comes from our school logo. I. AM. PUMPED!!!

Have a great July, and I can't wait to share all of the fun that this month has in store for me with all of you in the upcoming weeks! :)

June Currently

I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for June's Currently. Wait... did I just say June?!  

As you can see, this month's currently isn't the typical monthly themed currently to go along with the summer fun that June has to offer. That is because Farley is raising money for Wimberley, Texas. This town is very dear to heart for many reasons and has been hit hard by the horrible weather that has been going through Texas lately. Along with people and houses being washed away from flooding, pets are becoming homeless. There, thankfully, is a shelter in Wimberley called the Wimberley Adoption Group and Rescue, also known as WAG, where the pets can stay until their owners come and claim them. Since there are so many pets going to WAG due to the devastation of the flooding, Farley felt it was a good time to collect donations for WAG, and I completely support that. Being an animal lover, and a golden retriever mom, this completely touched my heart and I didn't think twice to click the donate button. If you are interested in reading more about how you can help, head over to Farley's blog by clicking the blog button above or by clicking here to see how you can donate, too.

Okay, now onto my June Currently.

Listening: I am currently listening to the various songs I have on my End of the Year DVD that I am working on for my sweet Kinders. If you follow my Facebook page, you have probably noticed that I post tons of pictures of my class doing anything from arts and crafts to working in literacy centers. I take pictures, and document in a sense, the big things that occur in kindergarten, such as field trips, while also focusing on the things that we do every day as part of being a kindergartener, such as literacy centers. I do this so that at the end of the year when I create a movie for them, it captures every essence of their time in my class as possible. This year my video is THIRTY. MINUTES. LONG. Think I might have overdid it a bit? Oh well... It'll be well worth it to have all of those moments in one place for them, and their families, to look back on down the road. While DVDs are burning, I am also cutting out the DVD covers and telling myself that I will not cry this year at graduation. Better yet, I better just not volunteer to speak at the end. I was good until then last year.

{These are my DVD covers this year.}

Loving: This one was hard because it is a bittersweet kinda thing. I am loving that there are only six more days until summer break, only five with students, but it also makes me sad because I am going to HATE to give this group of kiddos up. Like seriously, going into slight depression mode over it. Kindergarten, probably more than any other grade, you can really tell just how far you took your kids. How so? Well, let's be honest. I had kids coming in who had never even held a pencil before the first day of school and several who had no idea what kind of contraption a pair of scissors were. Now, they are reading and writing sentences! It's remarkable! I love teaching kindergarten for this very reason of growing a student so much in your time with them, and it is SO rewarding; however, it is hard to believe that I will be letting these sweet, remarkable kiddos go on to first grade while I get a whole new set of kiddos who are back at square one. Can you say hello, ain't-no-tired-like-the-beginning-of-the-year-kindergarten-tired?

Thinking: I have an aide that I am so grateful to have in my classroom every morning for about an hour, and sometimes at other times if other classes don't need her during their time. I am trying to come up with a gift for her before the end of the year, but haven't been able to find the perfect one yet on Pinterest. If you have any ideas, shoot them my way. :) 

Wanting: Popcorn. My favorite snack is popcorn, and it is so hard for me to sit down to watch any of my favorite shows without having some. I am out, and The Bachelorette is preparing to come on. This is a crisis if I have ever seen one!

Needing: I was really tempted to put popcorn here, too. lol. I may have a serious problem. No, but seriously, I am needing a good massage. I am a teensy bit high strung. Okay, maybe a lot, and it tends to make me tense up when I get stressed or anxious over things. I'm forty days out from my wedding, and there are six days left of school. To say I'm stressed and anxious may be putting things lightly. When I go to bed at night my back and shoulders ache, and a good massage would do me good. I'm thinking we may have to schedule that for our honeymoon when this is all over and done with. 

Summer Lovin': Like I said before, only forty days out from my wedding, so that means that the majority of my summer break will be devoted to all things wedding. I have my dress alteration next week, my trial hair run in two weeks, my bachelorette party in three weeks, and the list goes on and on for what I have got going on. I'm looking forward to every single bit of it, but I sure do wish the summer was longer so that I could have more time to get some R&R after the wedding before jumping back into school. Oh well, it'll all be worth it. :)

I hope everyone has a great June!

May Currently

I am linking up with Farley over at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for the May Currently.

Listening: My fiance, Alex, and I recently subscribed for Netflix and have been binge watching Prison Break ever since. This past week my allergies have been horrendous and have caused some serious migraines and today I have felt under the weather as well. With that being said, it has given us the excuse to stay in, even though it is gorgeous outside, and get started on the fourth and final season of this series. 

Loving: It has been a BEAUTIFUL weekend, and although I'm feeling under the weather, it is still SO much better seeing the sunshine coming through our windows.

Thinking: We only have twenty-five days left of school, and there is still so much I need to do before the end. Among many other things, I need to get my graduation gifts together for my sweet kiddos. It took FOOOOOOORRRRREEEEVVVVVEEEEERRRRR last year, so I'm anticipating it will again this year. 

Wanting: I am in need of a serious vacation as soon as possible. Thankfully, I will get a vacation following my wedding, but it seriously cannot come soon enough. The beach is calling my name!

Needing: Like stated before, my allergies have been atrocious, and although I have taken both of my allergy prescriptions for the day, they are still not controlling everything very well. I need relief. :(

Summer-

Yes: If you have been following me on Instagram or here on my blog, you know that in July I am getting married. We are in the final stretch to our big day with bridal showers and bachelor/bachelorette parties scheduled, and we couldn't be more excited!

Hope: Alex and I have yet to plan our honeymoon. Procrastinators? Nope. Just two people trying to pay for their wedding on their own, and a honeymoon has had to be put on the back burner in order to have the wedding of our dreams. We will be doing something, and we both are preferring a beach vacation, we just don't know where yet. Hopefully it'll get sorted out in the next month or so. 

Dream: I commute thirty minutes on the interstate to work five days a week and elsewhere the other two days. My car has unfortunately felt the strain of the commute, and although it is a great little car and even better on gas, I am hopelessly dreaming of a new, more luxurious car. I promised Alex that as soon as the wedding was over, he would be first up for a new car, but then it would be my turn shortly after. Marriage is about compromise right? 

I hope everyone enjoys their sure-to-be busy May! :)

Currently- April

I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for April's edition of Currently.

Listening: I am listening to last night's episode of 19 Kids and Counting. It was an episode I have been anxiously waiting to watch, but I could not get Alex to watch it with me. In the episode, Jessa Duggar is getting married, and watching it just gets me so excited for my own wedding in three months! (Wait, did I really just say THREE months?!)

Loving: The sunshine! I'm not too proud to say that I deal with seasonal depression, so when the weather begins to change and the sun starts shining more and the temperatures start to rise, it does AMAZING things for my mood and state of mind. 

Thinking: I have a ton on my plate this week. I am a bit overwhelmed right now with things for my kiddos and for my classroom. I thought it was a brilliant idea to schedule our class play for the first Friday back from our spring break. It sounded so great at the time, but in hindsight, I wish I would have waited another week or two. This week has already been crazy busy with getting back into our routine, because let's be honest, any time that we have a break, Kinders forget just about everything. We have also been celebrating Easter all week and I have had so many cute, fun activities planned that I have had to ration because we have to make sure we practice our play throughout the day at some point and still get through all of the essentials along with everything else. I am wanting to have an Easter egg hunt with my kiddos on Friday, but I'm really unsure of when I will be able to fit it in. There just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes.

Wanting: another Kentucky win on Saturday! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know that I am a HUGE Kentucky Wildcats fan. I am so excited about their season this year, and I am so pumped for them to play Wisconsin in the Final Four on Saturday! Go Cats!

Needing: Dr. Pepper. I have been working on some props for our class play at home for the past two hours, and I am still not finished. I need some caffeine so that I can power through the rest of this tedious work! 

Eggs-plain your name: Well, for right now, it perfectly fits my class because of obvious reasons; however, when I get married in July and my last name changes, it will eggs-plain the beginning of my teaching career as an unwed Kindergarten teacher. (Yeah, I didn't give it too much thought when I created my blog that Alex and I would be getting married anytime soon, and then he literally popped the question a couple months later. Go figure. Story of my life, but I am SO excited!)

Have a great April!

December Currently

I have waited eleven months for December to finally be here, and I'm so excited that it finally is! I can't believe that it is already here, but excited nonetheless. I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for the December Currently, so here it goes.

Listening: I used to be the person who had to ALWAYS have music, television, or some kind of noise going on at all times just to be able to focus or feel at ease. Not anymore. Teaching has ruined that. After hearing my name five thousand times a day and hearing little voices all day long, I am finding that I will drive forty-five minutes home from work without realizing I didn't even have any music on, or I will sit on the couch and cuddle with my dog without turning the tv on. Silence has become so soothing to me. With break and Christmas right around the corner and my students in an uproar 24/7 over both events, silence is what I'm needing. 

Loving: Christmastime! I love Christmas as much as everyone else does; however, I refused to put any of my decorations or my tree up until after Thanksgiving. Call me old fashioned or whatever, but I didn't want to get so caught up in the excitement of Christmas, the buying of gifts and catching all of the deals for Christmas before Thanksgiving was even over, that I completely forgot about the purpose of the holidays- being thankful for the time that I have with my family, and that began with Thanksgiving before Christmas. As soon as Thanksgiving was over though, folks, IT. WAS. ON! And it has been on ever since. I'm vigilantly counting down the days until Christmas!

Thinking: I am as wound up about break being in three weeks than my kiddos, but I just know how to handle it a little a lot better. Thankfully we will be so busy with all of these various Christmas related parties and events here in Kindergarten that the time is sure to fly by... I hope. 

Wanting: I probably picked an awful time to start eating healthier since the holidays will be jam packed with yummy foods, but I am trying to get in a habit of making better eating choices so that when the holidays and special events come around, I can enjoy them without having any guilt. One of my good girlfriends talked me into going to a SGT, Small Group Training, class at the gym twice a week for six weeks, so I figured if I am going to get back into the gym and bust my booty, then I had better make it worth my while and get my eating in check. I'm three days in and have cut out all carbs until 6 p.m. each day, and then have a low carb dinner as well. It is about to suck the life out of me because I loooooooove my carbs and soda. I'm already about over my salads. Here is to hoping I can stick with it. Studies show it takes 66 days to create a new habit. I have 63 days to go. Ugh.

Needing: Sleep. I feel like I am always putting caffeine or sleep on this one, but honestly, I am just tired all of the time. ALWAYS!

Giving: I am happily giving away a Christmas freebie from my Christmas Literacy Pack. Click the image below to grab it. :)

If you enjoyed this freebie, check out my Christmas Literacy & Math Pack. (Both also sold separately.)

I hope everyone has a wonderfully safe and blessed holiday season! 

November Currently

I am so sad to see October leave, but that just means we are all one month closer to December, and that means closer to CHRISTMAS! I am linking with Farley over at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for this month's currently. So, here it goes...

Listening: When working on anything, I always have music on. I have recently latched on to SafetySuit and have obsessively been listening to them on repeat on Spotify. 

Loving: My fiance, Alex, and I just got our engagement pictures in the mail this week and we are still just oozing over them. We are so impressed with our photographer, and we are even more excited for her to shoot our wedding now. 

Here is one of our favorite images from our engagement session. 

Photography by Christine Cherry Photography

Thinking: I have been sitting on the couch waiting for my medicine to kick in and working on some products for my TPT store, and now blogging, but I really need to get up and get dinner going before it gets any later. I haven't had much of an appetite with not feeling well, but some tortilla soup sounds amazing! Thankfully it is a simple meal that doesn't require too much prep or watch.

Wanting: I am battling a serious chest cold, complete with nasal congestion and chest/back pain. This has been going on for a week now, and I'm really just wanting nothing more than to be able to breathe so I can get a good night's rest. Is that too much to ask?! 

Needing: I had given up soda for three weeks when Oktoberfest rolled around in my town, and that was about the end of that. I decided to have a cheat weekend and it became a cheat week to a cheat rest of the month. I need to give it up again, but it is just so incredibly hard! I also need to get back into the gym. As soon as I get over this chest cold, it is on.

Reading: My mom and I had a girls' day and went and saw Best of Me based on the book by Nicholas Sparks, and I was a complete and utter emotional wreck during and after the movie. So many emotions that I wasn't, but should've, been prepared for knowing it was based from Nicholas Sparks, but still... Even though I don't typically see the movies before reading the books, and typically don't go back and read the book after seeing the movie, I do know that the books are almost always better, so I'm interested in reading more in depth into this emotional story. Seriously, go read it.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful November, full of yummy food and great times with family. 

October: Currently

I honestly can't believe that it is already October, but I couldn't be more excited! October is by far my favorite month of the year, with December coming in close second for Christmas purposes. October is the time of year I get to break out my scarves, celebrate my birthday, pick pumpkins, and use all of my favorite pumpkin scented items. I am linking up with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her monthly Currently. Be sure to check this out because I have a goodie for all of you! So here it goes...

Listening: I have been so busy and had so much on my mind lately that I completely forgot all about doing this yesterday on the 1st of October. Thankfully my BFF, and Matron of Honor, Jena Hudson at Sew Much Music texted me and reminded me last night. So, here I am with my clothes for the work day in the dryer de-wrinkling while I sit and sip my V8 Energy drink and blog. 

Loving: As I explained above, I love October. Birthday, pumpkins, pumpkin scented everything, cooler weather, scarves, leggings, boots, etc.

Thinking: I am starting to get a little overwhelmed by all of the things that I have going on this month, but I am very blessed for all of it.  Just to name a few, this coming weekend the city I live in, Seymour, has it's annual Oktoberfest. I never miss a year of going, and this weekend will be no different. I finally get to take Alex this year since he isn't training for his next physique competition until November (thank goodness!), so I am excited to enjoy it with him. Alex and I have our engagement pictures in the morning on Sunday the 12th and meet with the pastor at the church we want to get married at that evening. We have our Fall Break the 13th through the 17th this month and plan to get a ton of wedding things checked off of my list. The end of the month doesn't slow down much either with my birthday, my in-laws celebrating all of our October birthdays (there is something like twelve of us!), some football and, of course, fall festivals and fall parties at school.

Wanting: I am EXHAUSTED! I have been getting back into the gym after work, and I don't know if that is draining the life out of me or what. All I know is that I seriously think I could sleep for a week.

Needing: I gave up soda a month ago, and my McDonald's Dr. Pepper on the way to school was seriously the best part of my day. I'm sure you can imagine how I feel now that I have cut it out of my life. I have added in a small can of V8 Energy: Orange Pineapple, but it just doesn't get me all the way through the day. Something has gotta give here for the above reason!

Trick or Treat: TREAT! I am going to discount my fire safety items in my store with Fire Prevention Week just around the corner. I have taken off a dollar on each item and will leave it off until after Fire Prevention Week. Check out my Fire Safety Literacy, Math, & Activities Pack, as well as my Firehouse Glyph (included in my activities pack and separately). Grab them while they are discounted!

Click the below pictures to view the item in my store.

Have a great October!

September Currently

I can't believe that it is already time to do the September Currently with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade! I always enjoy these because it really causes me to sit down and reflect and think forward into the next month because it always makes me realize how quickly the next month has come. So, here it goes...

Listening: My BFF, Jena Hudson at Sew Much Music, is over spending the better part of the day with me, and our choice of music to play while working on TPT products and things for our classroom is always The Best of the 90's. Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Hanson, & N'SYNC really get the creative juices going. 

Loving: I know that I am in good company when I say that I am a fall fanatic, and I am seriously so ecstatic that it is not too far away anymore. I honestly think that fall is the only reason I didn't go into deep depression when summer break came to an end. I love pumpkin scented everything, and very little makes me happier than seeing it back out on the shelves right now. I'm looking forward to hoodies, bonfires, cool air, colorful leaves, and all the various fall festivals; more specifically, I am looking forward to my city's Oktoberfest the first weekend of October. I'm sure I'll have something in my October Currently all about my excitement for that. Alex and I will also be having our engagement pictures taken this fall, so I am really looking forward to that. 

Thinking: I wish I had one more day to get stuff done before the work week. I realize that I already had one extra day to get things completed this weekend because it was a holiday, but let me tell ya... holiday weekends are so much busier for me. We end up spending more time out running around, more time with family, more time for friends, and more time for relaxation. It isn't until the night before going back to work that I realize I had big plans for getting stuff accomplished, and very little of it happened. I am preparing to start sending home our high frequency words on flash cards, and I have sixteen sets of weeks 1-4 words that I need to get cut out and put into baggies so they can get in binders tomorrow to go home, but am I actually working on that or the 5,679 other things I need to be doing? Nope. I am doing this blog post. Priorities, people! ;) 

Wanting: food and caffeine. I have yet to have either of these mandatory things today, but I am looking forward to Pizza Hut and a Dr. Pepper for lunch. Mine and Jena's go to meal on our days together.

Needing: to cut out lamination. Like I said before, I have so many things to do and I have probably five pounds of lamination in the backseat of my car that needs to be cut out. I will be driving my fiancé and puppy crazy later this evening with cutting it out, and we will all be finding and picking up pieces of lamination out of the carpet for a week, I am sure. 

3 Trips: Hawaii- I have always wanted to go to Hawaii. I love going to tropical places to vacation and relax, and Hawaii has always seemed to be the epitome of that. 

Australia- Birthplace of Keith Urban, home of koala bears, and beautiful scenery. No need to explain this any further.

London- I love traveling abroad, and although I have been to Europe, England wasn't one of our stops. I would love to go and walk around in a foreign country where I can understand other people, and where they can understand me. That would be another reason for Australia as well. 

I hope everyone has a great September! 

August Currently

It is Currently time again! I am linking up with Farley over at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for August Currently.

Currently I am...

Listening: to my classroom air conditioner. I am soaking up the last bit of peace and quiet in my room that I will get for awhile.

Loving: my new and improved classroom!! I worked so hard over the summer to create the perfect atmosphere for not only myself to teach in, but also for my students to learn in. 

Thinking: about lesson plans for next week (the first week of school). I unfortunately will be out of the room for a few days next week, so I have to make sure that I have foolproof lesson plans prior to being out.

Wanting: to go shopping for back to school clothes. Back to school clothes shopping was my favorite day back when I was little. Now that I am a teacher, I have an excuse to go clothes shopping all over again! (But lets be honest, I could find almost any excuse to go clothes shopping in all reality.)

Needing: CAFFEINE! I gave up soda a few days ago, and I am drrrrrraaaaaggggging! Back to school time was the worst time to decide to give up soda and caffeine. *Sigh*

1st Day You and Kids: Technically today, August 4th, is my first day back because our school district puts on a half day, week long program for incoming Kindergarteners called Jumpstart. This allows the students to become familiar with the school, us teachers, and the rules before the actual first day of school. Throwing out the technicalities, August 11th is our first teacher day, and August 12th is the first day for students. 

I still can't believe that the summer is over with, but I am more than ready to get back in a routine and to meet my new group of Kinders!

July: Currently

I am linking up again this month with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for July Currently. 

Wait, did I just say July?! I feel like I literally just posted my last link up for June Currently! Nonetheless, here is my July Currently...

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as I am. June was a busy month and this upcoming August will be even busier with: two concerts, Kindergarten Jumpstart, the beginning of school, my best friend's wedding, a trip to the Bahamas, and my love's birthday. With that being said, the rest of my July I plan to get some serious R&R so that I will be ready to tackle all that August will have in store. :)