Yes, Teacher!: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

Tickle Me Tuesday, 67th edition

Welcome to the latest edition of Tickle Me Tuesdays, where we all share what's been tickling our fancy!

If you'd like to participate (and you know you do!!), here are the rules:

1. Write a short post with anywhere from one to five items that have been tickling your fancy recently. Please include pictures and links :)

2. Make sure to link back to the party in your blog post (you can grab the button or include a text link)

3. Come back here and link up your blog post!

4. Visit some other links and HAVE FUN!

Custom Family Tree by Cozy Blue

Wall Mounted Flower Vases by Pig and Fish

Pearly White Heart Earrings by Dariami

Now it's your turn! What's been tickling your fancy lately?

Blogiversary Birthday Bash Giveaway

Friends! This is an exciting week: Today marks the TWO year anniversary of this little blog of mine... AND I'll be turning THIRTY on Wednesday!!

I have some amazingly talented bloggy friends who are helping me celebrate today with some lovely giveaways. Check out all of this loot!

Shop ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Shop ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Feeling lucky? One winner takes all! Just follow the simple directions in the Rafflecopter widget below!

Little Luxuries

If there's one thing that makes me feel like a pampered grownup (instead of a college dorm student or a broke newlywed), it's nice soap.

This is what my practical husband likes to buy for our household soap - for the kitchen, the guest bathroom, and our master bathroom:

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There's nothing "wrong" with this soap per se... it gets the job done. But it doesn't leave me feeling all pampered and luxurious. And since I'm peeing like every twenty minutes these days (TMI?), it would be nice to wash my hands with a little touch of class. Like with one of these soaps:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

(Collage made with iPiccy)

But then I have to face the inevitable question: "You paid HOW MUCH for this soap?" And my logical, reasonable, common-sense side concedes to his point. It's just soap after all. But.... it does make me feel all fancy :)

What about you? Do you have a little luxury you like to indulge?

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Going to Bat for YOU

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

National Teacher Appreciation Week

In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week (coming up May 7th - May 12th), I thought I'd do a little roundup of ways you can show your child's teacher some love. If you're a homeschooling mom, take yourself out for dinner :)!!

I would love to get this gift!

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Extra points for the adorable factor here!

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Teachers always need more Post-its. ALWAYS!

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Beach towel, magazine, and candy!

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So easy and such a cool gift!

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Display stuff in style!

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This one is the most versatile. You could clip Starbucks Via coffee instead, or thank you notes on index cards, or instant lemonade, or gift cards, etc!

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And of course.... don't forget the card {wink!}

Find this one and more here!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Tickle Me Tuesday, 66th edition

Welcome to the latest edition of Tickle Me Tuesdays, where we all share what's been tickling our fancy!

If you'd like to participate (and you know you do!!), here are the rules:

1. Write a short post with anywhere from one to five items that have been tickling your fancy recently. Please include pictures and links :)

2. Make sure to link back to the party in your blog post (you can grab the button or include a text link)

3. Come back here and link up your blog post!

4. Visit some other links and HAVE FUN!

Yellow Flower Shoe Clips from Czarna Biedronka

Embroidery Art Canvas from Three Red Apples

"Love Life" Embroidered Pillow Cover from Three Red Apples

Now it's your turn! What's been tickling your fancy lately?

Missionary Kid Monday: Defining Me

{For more on this series, click here}

Welcome to the last installment of Missionary Kid Monday! I've so enjoyed sharing this part of me with all of you! (and thanks for reading along!)

I'll start this story with a flashback to sophomore year of high school. I had an English teacher at my boarding school who also grew up as an MK (Missionary Kid). One day, he told us:

Once an MK, always an MK.

And at the time I was all "YES! ROCK ON!" Because being a Missionary Kid is what defined me. More than anything else - if you asked me: "Who are you?" I would have said, "I'm Sarah, an MK". In a life of constant change, of flip flopping between countries/cultures/languages, in a constant struggle to belong, I had found safety and comfort in my MK-ness.

I clung to that identity even more fiercely when I went to college.

So fast forward to my sophomore year of college. I'm sitting in my dorm room with this guy that I really like and that I've been seriously dating for a few months (how serious? He had flown out to visit my family in Europe the summer before!). We were talking about a lot of things when all of a sudden, I said:

I could never marry someone who wasn't an MK.

This guy - who'd lived his whole life on a farm in Michigan - got really quiet. I didn't know it at the time, but that was a sign he was upset and angry. He didn't respond to the statement right then, but he did try to talk some sense into me later.

And I neeeeeded someone to talk some sense into me. Just because I was an MK didn't mean that I could only relate to and get along with other MKs. Somewhere along the line, I had missed that point. It cost me many college friendships.

And it almost cost me my husband! I ended up marrying that common-sense farm boy less than a year later:

It took me a few years - maybe about five or so - to loosen my grasp on my Missionary Kid identity. Slowly, other things became more defining: I'm a Christian; I'm a wife; I'm a special education teacher; I'm an introvert. I will still always be a Missionary Kid, but it's no longer at the top of the list.

What about you? Who are you?

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day, friends!

Project from The Mailbox I did with my students a few years ago!

As one of my kindergartners told me on her way to the bus on Friday afternoon:

"And don't forget to recycle!"

Friday, April 20, 2012

Time is running out

Friends, my days of being a carefree 29 year old are numbered. In fact, I only have twelve more days before the big....

via

Part of me thinks I should do something wild and crazy to celebrate. You know, like dye my hair pink or go crash a wedding. Twenty-nine year olds can be irresponsible like that. The other part of me thinks I should just get into my comfy pajamas and tackle number 26 on my life list:

~~1. Go to a STOMP show.~~
2. Ride in a limo.
3. Take an art class (painting or drawing).
~~4. Own a dog~~
5. Plant a vegetable garden.
6. Win a free trip (to anywhere)
7. See newborn kitties
8. Spoil my grandchildren.
9. See a play on Broadway.
10. Go on an African safari in South Africa
11. Write and publish a book.
~~12. Own a house with a nice backyard.~~
13. Early retirement ;)
14. Host a murder mystery dinner party.
15. Surprise my parents by showing up unannounced on their doorstep... in France.
~~16. Learn how to work the sewing machine and then make stuff!~~
17. Take a year off of life and travel with the hubby in a motorhome all over North America.
18. Eat a greek salad... in Greece.
19. Play a small role in a community theater/play house.
20. Read "Les Miserables" en francais.
21. Live really close to my sister.
~~22. Have a reason to carry and give out business cards.~~
23. Eat freshly caught fish.
24. Go on an Alaskan cruise!
25. Visit either New Zealand or Australia... or both!
26. Eat an entire gallon of ice cream at once. Or, at least, as much as I can eat...
27. Go on a short term missions trip.

What about you? Have you had a "hard" birthday? Do you have a life list?

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Lovely Lust-Haves: Aprons

Part of me thinks that if I had one of these lovely aprons to wear, I'd be MUCH more likely to make something delicious in the kitchen! Some aprons are so pretty I'd want to wear them outside :). Check 'em out:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

What about you - do you wear an apron in your kitchen?

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Baby Bumpdate: 29 Weeks

Time is FLYING BY! Here's the latest:

And I am not even kidding when I say there's lots to do. This weekend, I took pictures of the nursery so I'd have some "before" shots:

I leave the door to that room closed so as not to be overwhelmed :). I figure once we get the full sized bed out of there and get the crib set up, I'll feel a lot better! Right now, I'm just trying to focus on finishing the last six weeks of school without going insane!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Tickle Me Tuesday, 65th edition

Welcome to the latest edition of Tickle Me Tuesdays, where we all share what's been tickling our fancy!

If you'd like to participate (and you know you do!!), here are the rules:

1. Write a short post with anywhere from one to five items that have been tickling your fancy recently. Please include pictures and links :)

2. Make sure to link back to the party in your blog post (you can grab the button or include a text link)

3. Come back here and link up your blog post!

4. Visit some other links and HAVE FUN!

French Paper Straw Flags from Go Against the Grain

Laptop Bag from Track and Field Designs

Deco Tissue Tape from Le Box Boutique

Now it's your turn! What's been tickling your fancy lately?

Missionary Kid Monday: Freshman Regrets

{For more on this series, click here}

I'm embarrassed about my whole first semester of college. If I could go back in time, I'd give myself a good ol' fashioned kick in the pants.

Here's how my outward behavior can be summed up:

I ate.
I slept.
I studied.

Here's what my insides looked like:

I pouted.
I was homesick.
I thought I was better than everyone else.
I wanted acceptance from my American peers - even though I refused to extend them any.

I spent a lot of time on the phone and via e-mail with high school friends who were spread out across the country. I took a road trip to Taylor to visit some of them and wished I had gone to college there instead! In fact, I even ordered a transfer application once I got back.

Meanwhile, all the other freshmen in my dorm were forming friendships. They were establishing the normal clicks that develop during college. I would join in with a few activities here and there, but always as the outsider.

While I was busy pouting and wishing I was elsewhere, I was missing the boat on that crucial stage where new friendships are formed.

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And once that window of time closed, there was no real turning back. So I have a lot of regret about that first semester.

One noteworthy event that November:

My Taylor University transfer application came in the mail. I remember holding it, alone in my dorm room. Thinking: Do I follow my friends for a chance at a happier college career? Or do I stay put here - the only college where I can get my deaf ed degree?

And then that decisive moment of truth when I threw the application into the trash can. That was the moment when I chose to focus on my future instead of trying to relive the past. The moment that I did what I had to do instead of what I felt like doing. That was the moment when I became an adult!

What about you? When did you know you were officially an adult?

Saturday, April 14, 2012

A Blog Makeover!

I've been meaning to freshen up my blog for a while now, and I finally did it! It took my amateur self a looooong time, but I like the final look (and I hope you do too!). Here's a list of the free resources I used:

For my header - Makin' cute blogs
Free graphic elements from Pugly Pixel
Making cute tabs under the header- Mandipidy l
Support from Picnik
Support from PicMonkey

And while you're here, feel free to grab my new button :)

Friday, April 13, 2012

Sick Day

Friends, I'm taking a sick day from blogging. Instead of feeling pressured to deliver something amazing (or even decent), I'm just going to take it easy.

I've had a nasty cold/cough that's lasted for about a week now. I haven't wanted to take a sick day from work because my sick days = my maternity leave. And those days are precious! I even went in to school yesterday even though I had completely lost my voice! My students were endearing, though: they suggested drinking coke, clearing my throat, and eating corn (???) to help my throat feel better.

In the meantime, I am *trying* to get some rest - I end up waking up every 1 to 2 hours at night though from being sick. Good practice for when the baby comes?

Hope your weekend is fantastic!!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

My, um, Style...

This month's inspiration workshop prompt is My Style. This is an out-of-my-comfort-zone kind of post for me to write. I've never done a "what I wore Wednesday" outfit post or anything like that.

Frankly, my approach to fashion can be summed up this way:

1. How much does it cost?
2. Does it fit? Is it comfortable?
3. Is it flattering?

I end up shopping a lot at thrift stores and clearance sales. And I'm perfectly okay with that!

However, if you were to give me a blank check and tell me to get a new wardrobe, there are some stores I would definitely hit up: Down East Basics, Naturalizer, Fransesca's Collections, Gap, and Ann Taylor Loft.

And of course, I would love to accessorize solely from handmade shops!

But these days, seven months pregnant and practically waddling, I go for comfort:

What about you? What's your style?

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

A Quick Easter Trip

On Thursday afternoon, right after school was over, Max and I drove eleven hours to Alabama to visit with family. Never mind that I was seven months pregnant. Or that I had (still have!) a doozy of a cold/cough.

Seeing family was worth it!!! Here are the highlights:

Walking around on Dauphin Island

Exploring the Bird Sanctuary at Dauphin Island

(actually saw some birds this time! It was a first!!)

Watching our dog Barney run and play on the beach

Celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday at the Original Oyster House in Mobile

The least blurry of the pictures our waiter took
(Do people not know how to operate an "old fashioned" point and shoot camera anymore!?)

We left to drive home on Easter Sunday. All in all, we had a great time and it was definitely worth the turn around trip. I can't believe that the next time I see them will be when the baby arrives this summer!!