Sunday, August 26, 2012

Itchy itchy itchy hives!!!

Good Evening Everyone!

I am pretty much done with back-to-school sales now since they are very few left. I know Office Depot has 5 cent pencil cap erasers  but nothing too exciting. So yesterday was fun! I had my friends over to craft. The plan was to eat lunch and then make pocket chair covers BUT I got as far as cutting the fabric. So they are still not done but I guess I have over Labor Day holiday to do them. As we were crafting, I started feeling itchy behind my ears. I scratched for a while and then it started to spread as if I were getting a rash. Well soon enough, it spread all over my body! I had full on hives. I thought of everything I ate and nothing was out of the ordinary. The only explanation I can give is maybe the yard work I did on Wednesday caused me to have small hives on my legs where I touched the plants. Only thing is that I am EXTREMELY itchy. I took Benadryl and all it did was knock me out! We went out to dinner and had a wonderful time. I wasn't itchy and slept throughout the night. This morning I woke up and yet again I was covered in hives. I couldn't even think straight because I was concentrating on the itching. LOL! I finally decided to go to Urgent Care. I am now on 3 different prescriptions! We still don't know what caused this but it's no fun. As I type, I just discovered a hive on my lower lip and boy does it hurt! Enough of me telling you about my problem.....I have a few more pictures from our remodel.

We have a bonus room now! We used to have 3 bedroom 2 bathrooms but now we have a third bathroom. (It isn't very pleasant and I don't have to use it but it's pretty funny) Just take a look.....


Our third bathroom! NOT!

Our massive trash can. We have thrown all kinds of junk in here. Can't wait til it's gone!

I cut this piece of fabric. That's all I did before I got hives.
Here is a picture of my Aunt Susan and I at her Birthday Party weekend in Scottsdale. I love you Susan!!! Happy Birthday!!!!!
My pictures were a mash of a little bit of everything. Sorry! I am now off to take my medications and grade my homework folders before I go to sleep. Have a great evening! Have a wonderful Monday!

Clarissa

Thursday, August 23, 2012

And so it begins........WOOHOO!!!!

Good Evening Everyone!

Well the time has come for our contractor  to start the work on our master bathroom! It has been a process and I am finally excited to see some destruction! I got home and it really wasn't that bad. I was expecting a huge mess with lots of dust. My first impression was that I was impressed but the longer I sit in our master bedroom the more dust I see and my eyes are watering. The dust is so much I am not sure I want to run our fan as we usually do. LOL! All in all, we are going to start the tile work and get the shower and tub installed soon. After that we replace the toilet and paint. The last is to install the vanities and mirrors. It will be another 6-8 weeks until we have our bathroom back but I am very excited. Here are some pictures of what I have so far.....enjoy!

Ben has to brush his hand across my dresser and this is the amount of dust we have and are breathing in as we speak. LOL!

Another dresser with a even amount of dust.

The ugly wallpaper is gone! The shower is gone and the old tub. They are currently in the garage but it's awaiting new plumbing.

This is what started the WHOLE remodel. We had water that leaked into the walls and softened the wood. Now we are getting a whole new bathroom.

This is another part which needs fixing since it looks like it has rotted.

Me in the "tub"! I am so excited it's finally getting done! We only have been planning this for 1 1/2 years!
So that's it! What has happened so far. I had made arrangements with my dear friends who were nice enough to let my pampered pooch stay at their house for the day. Tomorrow Snuggles will have to go back since they are going to start fixing the walls and maybe install tile. I think the funniest thing that Snuggles did was not want to leave our friends house because she is spoiled there. It was a little embarrassing pulling her leash and her resisting me. Oh grilled cheesus! I hope she has fun tomorrow. I am just happy it's Friday. This year I feel like I am falling behind on things but I try my best to keep myself on my toes. Oh well! Goodnight all! Happy Friday!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Cheers to family and great sales! (well maybe not so much the sale part....)

Good Morning Everyone! 

I have been here in Scottsdale for the weekend to celebrate my Aunt Susan's birthday!  She is my Aunt but also has been a second mother to me. I love her and wish her many more wonderful birthdays to come! It has been a weekend of laughter, much needed family time, and we have made many memories.Cheers! (oh wait, maybe a little early for the cheers since it's only 8:30 in the morning! LOL!)

Onto the sales for this week......(don't be too disappointed since sales are starting to wind down)

Office Max
25 cents for.....
index cards (limit 1)
40 pack of assorted erasers and grips (limit 2)
12 pack of #2 pencils (limit 3)
$1 BIC Round Stic ballpoint pens 12 pk (limit 2)
50 cents for composition notebooks (limit 3)
50 cents for glue combo packs (white glue and 2 glue sticks OR white glue and scissors) (limit 3)
Expo and Crayola products (selected items) buy 2 get 1 free!

Office Depot
1 cent for 2 pocket folders (limit 10)
1 cent for slider pencil boxes (limit 3)
25 cents for 8 pack of #2 pencils (limit 3)
25 cents for 5" scissors pointed or blunt tipped (limit 3)
25 cents for student compass (limit 3)
$2 for a 4 pack of Sharpie Chisel tip markers 
Buy 1 Get 1 Free on Select Crayola and Expo products

Target
$4 for 3 pk Paper Mate Clearpoint mechanical pencils (MY FAVORITE PENCILS!!!)
$5 10 count Sharpie Markers pack

Staples
With a $5 minimum purchase you can get 1 cent spiral notebooks (limit 6)
25 cents for white glue (limit 4)
50 cents for index cards (limit 2)
50 cents for 2 pack composition notebooks (limit 2)

I hope everyone who reads and follows my blog is also having a wonderful restful weekend. Have a great Sunday, thank you for reading and happy shopping!

Clarissa

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The first days of school....I have survived so far

I know I know...I said I would post on Sunday night but time got away from me and the thought of being able to relax a few extra hours was too enticing to give up. Overall the first two days were SO MUCH better than last year's first two days. My kiddos are responding really well to the signal and yes I do have a turkey or two that I have to control but overall I am really looking forward to watching this year's class grow. We got class lists on Wednesday night (the evening BEFORE school started). It was a rush to get every one's names on stuff but it happened. The only glitch was making sure we had bus paperwork on every kid. After pulling the team together and figuring out who rode bus, we did it! Not an issue any longer which makes my life easier. I guess the best moment of the first day of school was when I was in the boy's bathroom explaining the rules and procedures for how to properly use the bathroom. I had a student who was jumping up and down while I was explaining where #1 goes and #2 goes. (I know it sounds gross but they are 5, I leave no stone unturned.) Well I asked the student if he could wait a few minutes until I finished, he said yes so I continued with my script. All of a sudden...he springs a leak and urine comes flying out of his pants. I quickly rush him into the stall and slam the door! We all walk out and return after I hear the flush and he comes out of the stall. I continue to use him as a model student while we show the rest of the boys how to use the sink and how to properly wash our hands. LOL!!! Great story that I will never forget.

This week has been great so far. I am up to 22 little angels. We have higher numbers than last year which is good in some ways. I always forget how needy Kindergartners can be but they love people who care about them. I truly care about each and every one of my students. I make sure they are comfortable and safe. I make sure they learn and get help when needed. It's been a BUSY first 4 days to the school year but I know the next 175 days will be amazing!

So here it is.....the moment you have ALL been waiting for........

MY CLASSROOM!

Tonight at parent orientation for 1st - 6th grade, I snapped some pictures to make sure I posted them. I am very proud of my classroom and my students really like it too. Enjoy!

These are birthday cupcakes I made for my birthdays throughout the year. I write their names and date on the "wrapper" part. I laminated them so I could erase the previous year's students with a magic eraser and write them on with Sharpie.

My calendar board. It is still a work in progress but as you can see it's bright, colorful and cheery!

This is my new calendar to go with the border. I also used the Cricut to make the apples, buses, and year. I did this last year but I thought it was a cute idea to share.

Here is a close up shot of my days of the week. I also used the Cricut to make all the signs except for "board". They are also colorful and the students respond well to both visuals.

Here is a picture of my rules, rewards and consequences board. We are doing a school wide behavior program which is meant to encourage good behavior. We call it PAWS here it is. I fell in love with the mini dog bones and bullet points. LOL!

Funny story about this picture, I have been a English Learning Development teacher for 4 years now and the state requires you to have a Grammar Wall posted in each ELD teacher. Well I went through the trouble to Cricut the names of each part of speech BUT since incoming Kinders tested proficient, we now only have 1 ELD class! Woohoo!! This means that the grammar wall almost doesn't need to happen but we shall see.

Here are what each student has. One summer, my best friend and I went to the Jr. high wood shop to use their tools so we could make crayon holders. These are a teachers dream! They are super organized and you can see what they are doing. My friend was the best at helping me.

I have gotten inspiration from another Pinterest guru and she suggested organizing the materials you need for the month in each cubby. I took it a step further and Cricut cut the letters and used the black and white background. GENIUS! All I can say is I LOVE THEM!!!\\\

My welcome back board with the kids first day of school drawing.



For the first time in 6 years, I have never had a desk. The reason why it's messy is because it's the beginning of the year and I have a million and one things to do. LOL!

Here is a close up of my organizers. I also have my write n wipe picture frame. So cute! Both Pinterest inspired ideas. All I can say is that Pinterest is a teachers dream and to all those who add their ideas, THANK YOU!

Last but not least, MY NEWEST ADDITION TO MY CLASSROOM IS MY CHAIR POCKETS!!! This was the first and it's a little lop sided but it goes with my black and white theme and they are ADORABLE! I hope to make them before I start grad school again. This is the cutest thing I have ever made!

So there you go! My classroom in a nutshell. I hope you enjoy! I am excited to share these pictures with you and show off my labor of love. I hope to inspire others to shoot for the stars OR call the looney bin for me. LOL! Nite!

Clarissa

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sales, sales, sales!!!

Did your ears perk up this morning when you saw my post that said "SALES?!" Well do not get too excited because there are not a whole lot this week but I did manage to find some deals. This weekend was meant for recuperating after the first two days of school. So far, my class is great! I am super excited to see how much they will grow and learn this school year. Not a lot of criers but I have two that rely on a stuffed animal to get them through the day. I already have notified parents that I am going to start "weening" them off the stuffed animal this week. It shouldn't be that bad. I have more to post about my week last week but I will do that this evening, now onto the sales!

Office Max
Deal of the Week: 5 FREE spiral notebooks (10 if you are a teacher) with a $5 minimum purchase!
Buy 1, Get 1 50% off of Crayola products, Sharpie products, Expo Products, BIC, Elmer, Post It. Make sure they are regular price to get the deal.
There are also a bunch of deals where you pay full price for the product and they give you "rewards points" later. They also claim it's like paying 1 cent for your purchase. 
Some deals that fall under this are binders, batteries, and labels. Check out the website ad for more details.

Office Depot
1 cent (limit 3) spiral notebooks
50 cents (limit 3) Office Depot brand 2 pk black dry erase markers
$1 for 12 pk mechanical pencils (limit 3)
$5 Mr Sketch 12 pk smelly markers (these are great for grading!!)
25% off teaching supplies and Carson Dellosa stuff!

Staples
Pay $6 and get and Easy Rebate for $5 (so you only pay $1) for Copy Paper
R-Zebra Z Grip Black pens: pay $4 get $4 back in easy rebate
With a $5 minimum purchase 10 cents for composition notebooks (limit 3)

Michaels
25% off purchase PLUS an extra 10% off with coupons (go to website) from 4-8 PM TODAY!!!

Target
This store did not have outstanding deals but they had a lot of college stuff and organization stuff on sale. If you are still looking for organization for your classroom or home, now is the time to buy! 

Well I guess that is all for this week about sales. I do love this time of year! I have bought everything for my classroom as well as everything I will need for grad school classes. Happy Shopping and I will post my adventures of last week this evening. Have a good day!

Clarissa

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Here is to a new school year and to wonderful people!

Twas the night before the first day of school and all through the school...(you know where this is going)

It is the night before the first day of school for me and all of my Flowing Wells friends. We were treated to a wonderful district assembly this morning full of fun, laughter and entertainment. The entertainment was top notch (as always). It is amazing to see schools come together to put on a fantastic show for one another. I always love seeing friends that I have worked with that have moved onto other schools. Its nothing like Facebook but it's really enjoyable. After the assembly, I attended a tradition my mentor teacher started and four of her six student teachers (who all work in the same district) all went out to lunch. We had a wonderful time catching up on girlie things and talking about our future in the classroom. When I got back to school it was BUSINESS! There was one minor detail my principal, assistant principal and I had to work out and that was......CLASS LISTS! The rest of the school had theirs for a few weeks already except poor Kindergarten. I was just beginning to hate the State of Arizona for trying to segregate our non-english speakers and separating them even more by giving them a placement test (which I helped administer all day yesterday), 51% PASSED! The great news to this is that instead of 3 English Learning Development classes, we now only have 1 and the other 4 are Fluently English Proficient! I was so excited and my team was as well. We worked hard the rest of the afternoon separating informational papers the teachers needed, made lists, wrote out their name tags and what not. I think I left school around 7:45 and came home to only do more work. I can now say it is all done and I am ready for the day tomorrow. I had a stressful past couple of days but I am forever grateful for the people in my life who helped me.

I would first like to thank my dearest and bestest (not a real word, I know) friends Karen and Tricia. They came to my rescue yesterday afternoon when I showed up to Tricia's office stressed out and they helped me set up everything so I could focus on class lists today. They have always been there for me through thick and thin and I do not know what I would do without these two WONDERFUL people. I would then like to thank my Kindergarten team who pulled together these last few days to make sure we were ready for the first day and they separated paperwork to go to the designated teacher. Nice teamwork and I am so happy to be working with all of you. Next up is Ben. I probably drive him crazy and nuts with all of my teaching craziness but somehow he is patient and understanding. He ran to Wal-Mart to get me last minute name tags so I didn't have to go out in the rain and get them myself at 8PM this evening. You are truly the best and I love you! I am also very thankful for my crafty friend Amy who helps me make my crazy dreams of crafting come true. You have worked tireless hours getting the school ready for our first day and I appreciate all you do for our staff as well as be a friend to me. Thank you! Meyer, Favela, Trott, and my administration. Thank you for helping me keep a smile on my face when I was frustrated over not having a class list. I am beyond thankful for your friendship. You are why I am a "bulldog" and want to stay a "Bulldog 4 Life". Last but not least, my readers. Like I have said before, you are wonderful for reading about my life stories and I appreciate you! If I forgot anyone else, I do apologize. It is probably due to the lack of sleep and excitement I have for tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading and I hope to have fun stories to tell tomorrow!

Clarissa

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Weekly sales....and gratitude!

Aaahhhh!!! Summer is officially over....I am a little sad because I did not get to finish all of my goals I had set for myself this summer but I am coming to terms with it. I have been a busy bee this past week getting my classroom ready and meeting my potential students since we are in limbo over class lists. Anyways, here are the deals for this week......

Target
$1 each for the following items...
             -90 count 3x3 post its
             -1 5-star subject notebook
             -2 pack black sharpie 
            -3 count Sharpie highlighter
49 cents each for the following items...
            -100 pk index cards
            -10 pk Roseart markers
            -12 ct Roseart colored pencils
            -24 pk Roseart crayons
            -70 sheet one subject notebook
            -pencil box cases
            -Scotch magic tape

Office Max
Deal of the Week: 5 FREE Composition notebooks with a $5 minimum purchase. If you are a teacher you can get 10 FREE notebooks.
25 cents for #2 pencils 12 pk (Limit 3)
25 cents for Filler paper (Limit 3)
$4.99 for 8GB jump drive
If you go online and look at there ad, there are some printable coupons you can use that are good deals as well. For example: $2 for a 72 pk of #2 pencils!

Office Depot
1 cent for white glue (Limit 3)
25 cents for filler paper (Limit 3)
25 cents for 3 pk pink erasers (Limit 3)
Sharpie packs are buy 1 get 1 free!
50% off all Crayola Dry Erase Products!

Staples
With a $5 minimum purchase you can get 1 cent filler paper (limit 5)
Also with the minimum purchase you can get 50 cents for a 5 pk of mechanical pencils (limit 2)

This weeks deals were pretty blah. Although there are some great deals! I hope you are almost set to start the school year off right. I woke up this morning at 7 after trying to train my body to get up at 5:30. It is going to be a tough week but I am looking forward to meeting my Kindergartners! My room is very cute and I am currently working on making chair pockets for each of my students chairs. I can't wait til they are done! To all of my readers who have started school, I hope your school year has gotten off to a wonderful start. To all of my readers who are getting ready for the first day, I hope your school year is a wonderful one. To the parents who read this, I hope your child has a wonderful connection with their teacher and you are involved in the classroom as much as possible (I know we appreciate it!). And finally to everyone else, thank you for investing your time to reading this blog. I can only express how appreciative I am of your support. I hope to keep up this blog throughout the school year. There is never a dull day in my life so I am sure I will be sharing many great memories with you. Have a wonderful Sunday and happy shopping!

Clarissa