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Tampilkan postingan dengan label In. Tampilkan semua postingan

Minggu, 13 Agustus 2017

In the Cookie of Life Teachers are the Chocolate Chips Free Printable


Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week!
I love Teacher Appreciation Week...and not just because I am a teacher ;)

I like giving little goodies to my kids teachers throughout the year (and giving them THIS questionnaire at the beginning of the school year is super helpful)
Because of my Back to School printable I know that both my girls teachers love Chocolate Chips Cookies, so earlier this school year I made a printable and attached it to a mason jar full of homemade cookies!

 Since Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up, I thought I would share the printable with all of you!
This is a super simple and who doesn't love homemade chocolate chip cookies?
You could even add a gift card to this if you wanted to make it extra special.

Here is what you need:
-Printable {download at the end of this post}
- Wide mouth Mason Jars {I got mine HERE}
- Bakers Twine/String
- Chocolate Chip Cookies (I use THIS recipe)

I love mason jars & think everything looks cuter in a mason jar, so that is why I like to put things in mason jars as gifts :)

And, I also love bakers twine, so I just wrap a bunch of it around the mason jar, add a tag & viola!
Super cute gift!
The mason jar fits about 5 cookies (and keeps them nice & fresh!)
Of course, you could always put the cookies on a paper plate & cover it some clear wrap and bakers twine and the printable to that, but I like mason jars because it is easy for my kids to carry and/or put their backpack and I don't have to worry about the cookies getting smashed! :)

Here is the printable:
{Click to download. Right click & then Save.}

If you have read my blog for a while, you know that Cookies are some of my FAVORITE treats!
The girls and I LOVE making cookies, especially cookies that have chocolate chips in them.
I was browsing through my Recipe Box and realized that I have several Cookie Recipes that use Chocolate Chips, so here are some recipes you can use for this printable:

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies:

 Monster Cookies:

 
Chocolate Chip Snickers Cookies:
 
 Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies:

I have really yummy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe also, but I realized I haven't blogged that yet! I will try and blog that soon :)
 
Need more Teacher Appreciation Ideas?
Here are some other free printables that I have on my blog that would be perfect for Teacher Appreciation and/or End of the School Year Gifts!

Cupcakes in a Mason Jar + Free Printable:
{HERE}

I'm so lucky to have a teacher like you Printable (I add a gift card to this)

{HERE}


Thank you for being my Teacher (Cookie in a CD Sleeve with gift card)
{HERE}


Thanks a latte for all you do:
Get the printable {HERE}

I love this idea because this is what is inside the box....my favorite Anthro mug & coffee gift cards :) Thanks for helping me bloom printable:


 {HERE}

The World Needs S'more Teachers like You Printable
Printable {HERE}

 S'mores Bar Recipe {HERE}

So, there you have it.
Several easy (& cheap!) gifts you can give the teachers/coaches/office staff in your life as a way of saying Thank You. These work for Teacher Appreciation Week, End of the School Year or Just Because!
And, the beauty of these gifts is that you could always attach a $5 or $10 giftcard to any of these treats (if you want to) 
Trust me, as teachers, we ALWAYS love gift cards :)
Happy {almost} Teacher Appreciation Week to all my fellow teachers out there!
Keep up the good work! It's almost Summer....we can do it!!
Hope some of these ideas are useful to you!
********
And, as a reminder, I have a $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway going on that ends on Friday!
Click HERE if you haven't entered yet!

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Selasa, 08 Agustus 2017

40 Bags in 40 Days Lent 2014


Tomorrow is the first day of Lent, which mean starting tomorrow, I will be doing a 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, like have done the past 2 years.

 The idea of 40 Bags in 40 Days is that during Lent (40 days) rid your house of 40 bags of "stuff".
This "stuff" can be things you don't use... junk, clothes you don't need/wear, clutter, old toys, garbage, etc.

To me, Lent is a time of prayer, self-reflection, sacrifice, self-control and renewal.
To me, a good home de-cluttering can go hand in hand with the Lenten season, just like our houses/blogs may look put together on the outside, on the inside we are a mess and need an intervention & de-cluttering ourselves.

In 2012 when I did 40 Bags in 40 Days for Lent,I gave AWAY 24 bags of stuff to Goodwill.
I threw AWAY 28 bags of stuff.
That is 52 bags of stuff we didn't use, need or wasted.

Last year, In 2013 when I did 40 Bags in 40 days, 
I gave away 18 Bags of stuff to Goodwill.
I threw AWAY 26 bags of stuff.
That is 44 bags of stuff we didn't use, need or wasted.

So, over 2 years we have gotten rid of a total of 96 bags of STUFF (aka "CRAP")
 
EWWWW.

I learned a lot the past 2 years doing this project.
I always keep my house pretty clutter free, but doing this project makes me realize we still have a lot of stuff we just don't need.
 I realized how much CRAP we have.
I realized how MUCH we have.
It has made me think about what I buy & what I bring into our house.
I ask myself, "Do we need this?" or
"Is there room for this?"
It has drastically changed my thinking, and for that I am thankful.
But, I am still a work in progress.

And, YES....I am doing this project again this year.
Because there is STILL more stuff I know I can clean out & get rid of.

Here is my 2014 List:
This printable was created for me last year by Jenny.
You can download it HERE on her blog!

I've got my list ready, I've my bags ready.

I will some more tips in the next few days to help you with this project.

Take a Deep Breath.
You can do this.
LESS is MORE.
Let's get rid of STUFF.
 Are you in?

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Sabtu, 27 Mei 2017

Potty training tips in 3 days


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Minggu, 23 April 2017

Week In Pictures


Recent happenings through the eyes of my phone camera.

Made my favorite - Recital Fruit (Kristin and Lindsey...I know you are drooling)!  (Strawberries, bananas, mandarin oranges and marshmallows)


Still rocking the "You Only Live Twice" OPI polish.


I love tumblers.  Especially cheap ones like this from Walmart.


When the husband won't take you to hibachi - you make it at home!  (I guess we did have it two weeks ago...)


Got the bridesmaid approval on Pinterest!


Some dirty little girls got a bath!


Finally got PicFX and putting hearts on everything.  Can't stop.



House Fried Rice at Tokyo in Shakopee.  YUMMY!


My first born that gets no photo love - Sushi!


Can you tell I love taking pics of my pets?  Sprinks loves posing for shots, though.  How can I deny her that?


Valentine's cupcakes from my love from our favorite - Cocoa & Fig!  Black Velvet with cream cheese frosting...I die.


Excited for a fun filled day hanging with my friend Lindsey, then Valentine's dinner with Natey tonight!  Happy Saturday!
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Sabtu, 11 Maret 2017

Day in the Life Heads Up for Spring 2016


It's that time again!! Who is ready to document the bajeezus out of a single day?
All Photos-253(round up post from Winter 2016 found here)

The details:

Any time from today until April 14th you should record your day in detail. That gives you two weeks to decide on a day.

It can be as specific or as general as you want. I personally tend to record these days as a note in my phone, including specific times of day as I'm psychotic with details. Totally not necessary for you to do the same, as simple is probably better and means it's less overwhelming! I try to jot down quotes from the kids, to mention my thoughts as things are happening, and to keep track of the nitty gritty details in a day. I would probably remember enough if I just sat down and tried to type it all a day or two later but I don't trust my mommy brain *that* much. So a note on my phone is a must for me.

Snap pictures as you go along, the easiest method being with your phone but if you are feeling extra energetic, a 'fancy' camera also works for a post like this. Sometimes just taking a screen shot of your phone to remember the time of day, or an email you read, the weather forecast, et cetera is helpful as you write up the posts. I also like the seemingly random pictures of messy houses, meals, receipts, pets, the scenery from your parking lot spot, your house, and so on. Making collages for your pictures is helpful when it's difficult to choose which images to post (always a serious issue for me). Again, get as detailed or as general as you want with the pictures, but I think the mundane details are what makes these posts interesting. Don't forget to get pictures of YOU in this post, either. Get your friends and family involved. Maybe purchase a selfie stick (I just got one and you can bet your butt I'll use it this time!) but step in front of the camera for this post.

My method is that I just email myself the iPhone 'note' from the day, and then I paste it into my blog post as a foundation. I'll go back and clean it up, elaborate on thoughts/events, and make sure it's written in English instead of just abbreviations from my note. Then I will add the pictures after that. Whatever method works for you though, as there are many ways to write about a single day in your life!

It's a lot of fun to read back on my own posts, and it's also quite entertaining to read everyone else's day. If you want to play along this quarter, here is what to do:

1. Record any day from now until April 14th. Type it up and turn it into a blog post. You can do it!

2. Email me the following to mylifeintransitionblog at gmail dot com by April 15th (happy tax day!):

*your blog title,
*your location (state or country is fine),
*the link to your post,
*attach the file of the photo you want to be featured in the round up post.
*optional: give me your Instagram name, perhaps I will attempt to tag everyone over there if extra energetic.

3. I will post everyone's link and picture by April 22nd here on my blog. Get the popcorn and clear your schedule for this one!

I love reading these posts from women all around the world, and encourage you to try it even if you aren't a blogger. And it's definitely not just for mommy bloggers, either! You could turn these posts into a photo book, you could let them live online if you have a blog, or you could just look back on them and reminisce about the glory days once life settles down a bit more (ha!). Laura, the original founder of this Day in the Life link up, also records an entire week during one of these quarterly sessions. That is something I've never tackled before, but maybe someday if I'm feeling particularly adventurous. I know she makes those posts into a photo album book and her family is going to greatly appreciate the time it took to record every day events.

I will do these quarterly: January, April, July, and October. USUALLY, you can expect to record your day and post about it in the first fourteen days, send it to me, and I will continue to post the round up by the twentieth of those months.

So pick your day (or week) and get to it!
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Kamis, 09 Februari 2017

Moms Make it Work Jessica SAHM Husband in Grad School Solo Parenting


Today for the Moms Make it Work series, we have Jessica posting as a Stay at Home Mom to her daughter. Jessica emailed me asking if she could write for the series, as a mom who often parents solo while her husband puts many of his hours into graduate school. Although Nate's Doctorate program was not quite as intense as Jessica's husband's program, her post reminded me a lot of that first year of Truman's life when Nate was still in school and I was working *almost* full time. Having a husband in school is definitely a different ballgame than 'just' working full-time. I remember that well. And then they are moving out of state---again, reminds me of our big move so many years ago (pre-kids, though). Anyway, this post is not about me but it just goes to show that although I am not a SAHM and Nate is no longer in school, I can still identify with almost every poster in some way--even though our situations are quite a bit different right now. Which is why I think this series is still so interesting, and look forward to reading each post. Enjoy!


momsmakeitwork

Howdy! I’m Jessica, and I am from Texas. My husband is just finishing up his PhD in Aerospace Engineering and we have a 17-month old daughter. Our situation is a bit unusual as my husband is a full-time graduate student and I am a stay-at-home mom. “Make it Work” is a pretty great way to describe how we do it. I usually skim blog posts, but I read every entry for this series and find everyone’s journey so fascinating. If you are interested in following our story further, you can follow me on Instagram (rawrasaurz).


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What is your background story? What was your career/schooling before you became a mom? And where are you now? 

I was born and raised near Austin, TX. Growing up, my mom worked the first 3 years of my life and was a SAHM for the next 8 before going back to work and eventually working from home. I liked seeing her role as both a SAHM and a working mom, and I could always picture myself doing both.

I met my (now) husband my freshman year at Texas A&M University, and we both graduated 3 years later with our undergraduate degrees. My undergraduate degree was in Marketing, and I was not too thrilled with the job opportunities that the field offered at that time. I found the degree was very different than what I anticipated, but with only a few hours left, I figured I would finish it anyway. My husband stayed on to get his PhD, and I decided to pursue a Masters in Elementary Education at a different university where I graduated in December 2010. He had proposed in September 2010, and we scheduled our wedding for October 2011.  After we got married I moved in with him and, because of the timing, could not find a job as a teacher so I started a less-than-dream job just to bring in an income. 

I tried to keep looking for any teaching opportunities, but I had no connections in the local school district, and I had been hearing about a lot of people getting pink slips. Since we knew we only had 2.5 years left there and I always had interest in being a SAHM, I decided that it would be a good opportunity to start our family since I couldn’t really focus on a career of my own right now.

We were lucky that my husband’s PhD is fully funded by a fellowship that has covered all of our everyday living expenses. My entire salary I pulled for the year I was in my job went directly into savings, so we knew financially, it was more than a feasible option. We ended up having our daughter in December 2012, which was perfect timing since school was off and my husband could spend some time at home with us. It also helped that my husband’s advisor was understanding and let him have the time off.

While my husband’s fellowship sounds great, it does have a few catches. He has to work a minimum of 8 weeks for them every summer, and he has to work for them for the same number of years they paid for his schooling after he graduates. So, when our daughter was 5 months old and we didn’t want to pay an exorbitant amount for short-term housing to accommodate all of us, my daughter and I packed up and went to my parents’ house about 2 hours away while he went to Florida. When he came back, we were a happy family again, but it was crunch time for him to finish his dissertation, so he was working all week and weekends. When things started getting behind schedule for him in December, we went to stay with my parents again off and on for the next few months. This past March he finally defended, but he still had a lot of little things to do for graduation, so he went from working around the clock to working more regular hours. He also still goes in for a few hours every weekend to help other people on their research. 

The good news is in a few months, everything will change. We will be moving out-of-state (location to be determined), and he will start working full-time. I am excited to move out of this phase of our life but a bit worried about moving away from our “village”.


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What are the best parts of your situations? What are the challenges?

Best of all, I get to spend every day with my daughter and watch her grow and learn. My husband’s schedule, while demanding, has been fairly flexible.  If I really need him for something, he can come home and do it. Having my parents nearby has also made things much easier for us.



It has been really hard putting his work above all else, and I have gotten very frustrated at the time he has to put in and the pace at which his research has progressed. I am very happy to be past his deadline and closing that intense period of our lives. I think overall, as hard as it was for me to feel very alone at times, the most challenging thing was the fact that my husband wasn’t able to experience a lot of firsts with our daughter. 


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Is this how you expected it to be pre-kids?

Not really. The long days can really get to me sometimes, especially on days that my daughter is really fussy. I never know what time my husband will be home, and it usually ends up being an hour or two after what he estimates. For the times that I was at my parents’ house, the majority of the responsibilities fell on me. The worst was dealing with all the night wakeups. It isn’t all bad, just not how I pictured it. I’m amazed by how much more exhausted one 17-month old can make me than a classroom of 20 4-year olds.





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Is this your ideal situation? If not, what is?

No, but I wouldn’t change our decision to start a family when we did. I had always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but I also saw myself as a working mom. I could never decide for sure what hat I wanted to wear, but with the lack of career opportunities, being a SAHM kind of became the default choice. I never imagined being a SAHM while my husband was still a student. I imagined we would own our own house by the time we became parents and a multitude of other things.




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Do you see yourself making a career change (whatever that means) in the next 5-10 years? Or is this current set up staying put for the long haul? 


We hope to have 1-2 more kids in the next few years. I plan to be a SAHM until my second is in Kindergarten. This should coincide with the time my husband’s obligation for working in his job should be up. If we decide to try to relocate at that time, I would ideally get our family settled in our new location and look for work then. I still would love to be a teacher, but I am open to other options as well. One option I have thought would be a good fit for me is spending ~5 years in early childcare and then teaching Early Childcare Education at a college level part-time. 

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Tips on how you make your situation work for you:

Flexibility and letting things slide. If the house doesn’t get cleaned, it doesn’t get cleaned. If we are having a rough day, we might have a bit more TV time than I would like. I think it has also been important that I try not to do it all on my own. If my husband is too busy, I can go to my parents to give me a break. If I really feel like I need my husband to come home, he will come home for an hour for my daughter’s bedtime to help me get to the end, and then go back up to the lab and work until midnight. 



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How do you handle mommy guilt?



I honestly am not lamented by mommy guilt. The only thing that sometimes bothers me is that my daughter doesn’t get a whole lot of interaction with other children. I am pretty confident in the choices I make and don’t stress over the little things. I know there is no perfect way to accomplish anything in motherhood.



Advice for new moms struggling to decide if staying at home is the right choice?



I don’t think you can know if it is right for you until you try it. Some weeks are really rough and evaluating your self-worth as a contributing member of society can be difficult. Sometimes you feel like you accomplish very little in the day-to-day, but when you look back, you will have a lifetime of memories.







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How do meals work in your family? Meal planning? How often do you grocery shop? Who is in charge of this task in your family??



 Our week-to-week differs so drastically, there is no set way we do it. I always do the grocery shopping and usually only go once a week. I hate eating out, so we do make most meals at home, but they are in no way complex or impressive. Some weeks, I will have a plan in place; other weeks, I just buy whatever meat is on sale and throw something together. Occasionally, my husband will get a cooking bug and make a few meals in a row.



How do you keep your house clean? Power cleaning after bedtime? Staying out of the house as much as possible? Cleaning while kids are awake? Purging often? Cleaning schedule?


My husband is the cleaner of the family. He typically does the dishes, vacuuming, and cleaning the kitchen and bathroom. I do the dusting, organizing, and laundry. We both constantly pick up toys. Most cleaning is done after our daughter goes to sleep so that she doesn’t follow us around undoing it all.

   {Thanks, Jessica! Find the rest of the MMIW series here}

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Selasa, 07 Februari 2017

Learn How to potty train boy in one day


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