Hey y'all!
I haven't posted for over 6 months and that is just sad and plain embarrassing. But, the huge span of time in between posts means that I have a WHOLE lot to catch up on and lots to tell. =) And that is super happy!
First and most importantly, I GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!
WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! My sweet, handsome guy and I pinky promised to love each other forever and ever and I couldn't be happier. =) My dress was a puffy, lovely mess, my groom was as handsome as I'd ever imagined him to be in all my little girls daydreams, and the day was beautiful. We were married at my parents's home in Arizona and were extremely blessed with amazing, uncharacteristic weather for Phoenix. It rained throughout the entire day before, which brought a delightfully cool wedding day for us. We were surrounded by family, friends, and so much love...the day couldn't have been any more perfect! However, our wedding challenge came three weeks before the actual day. Two weeks before school finished up, my husband (then-fiance) and his best friend were in a serious car accident. He ended up with a wrist badly broken in two places, requiring surgery, screws, plates, pins, and a whole lotta TLC. He also fractured a lower vertebrae and broke a rib. GAH! So, basically, I am simply beyond thankful that he's still here to be mine forever.
Needless to say, the end of the school year was extremely stressful for me! Ha! Car accidents, planning a wedding's finishing touches, and wrapping up a year with my littles was a LOT to handle. But, we all made it through with flying colors! We managed to squeeze in two field trips, field day, two book studies (Because of Winn Dixie and Frindle!), and a whole lot of multiplication and division practice. We made our learning even more fun than normal, courtesy of the lovely Amy Lemons.
Her multiplication practice is packed full of fun activities, like sorts and flipbooks, as well as craftivities that helped my littles take ownership of their learning. And since multiplication was so much fun and so hands-on, we decided to use her division unit, Dishing Out Division, too! We enjoyed our math AND reading times very much and I felt that my students did an amazing job working hard near the end of the year.
The end of the year also brought a bunch of new changes for our school. We have a brand new principal coming in, our Dean of Discipline will be new, my teacher partner from last year (who happened to get married on the same day I did! HA!) will not be returning, AND I'm moving to a brand new room! I spent a whole lot of my time near the end of the year packing up and taping boxes, getting ready to transfer them to my new room before hopping on a plane to go get married. =)
Planning has begun!
I have many grand plans for the following year, including revamping my lesson plans to make them even better than last year, blogging at LEAST once a week, practicing yoga every. single. day., and keeping track of my blog/Pinterest/TPT sales using my new Teacher-Seller Planner and Data Tracker from Lovin' Lit! I feel like this planner is going to be super helpful for me to keep track of how often I'm posting and creating. It's a deep desire of mine to make this year a year of disciplined work and enjoyment...intentionally staying present in every moment and using my time to the best of my ability, both personally and teacherly. =) I'm also using my amazing Erin Condren Life Planner to keep my life appointments, fitness and health goals, and school commitments all in order and right in front of me so I can stay on top of things as much as is Alleah-ly possible. Haha! My kiddos call me "Miss Forgetty-Pants" because I'm always forgetting something, so these planners will be majorly helpful in keeping me organized.
Meet Lilly
SO...we have a new last name and husband, a new classroom, new planners and plans, new coworkers and classroom, AAANNNNNNNNNDD....a brand new car!!! We decided that it was time for my sweet, dependable, old Madam Lola Corolla Bloomingdale to retire into a restful last few years of life. She was the best and it was so hard to let her go, but I managed to get myself into a brand new version of her!! Introducing Miss Lilly Corolla Rostocar! Bahaha. I love her so much...she's new and fresh and so very happy.
So, I'm starting this new year all new, fresh, happy, organized, and excited! I'm really looking forward to starting the year feeling that some of my ducks are in a row and that I at least have a plan for having some of those things in line. I can't wait to get my Facebook page up and running, even though it is only it's infantile stages at the moment. We'll get it up and running super soon. We'll also be up and running on Instagram super soon too...just little things leading up to the new year's beginning! Feel free to jump in to follow the fun! =) Catch up with you really soon...