Target Withdraws.

I LOVE me some Target. I can never go into that place and come out empty handed. It makes my soul happy. Really. How can it be that much better than any other place, not sure. I just love it. Love the dollar spot, love the clothes, love the seasonal, the home goods. Love it all. Clark and I use to roam aimlessly through the aisles dropping things in the cart that we did not even know we needed until we got there. It is my happy place.

Totally wish that was me!

We do not have a Target in my town, but there is one 20 minutes up the Interstate in Lexington. It is not far, not hard to get to, but just far enough. I was thinking about it this morning in the shower (again) that I have not been to Target since AUGUST!!! Yes, you read that correctly. I guess that having twins and going back to work has not allowed for me to have the time or energy to get there. Let alone the extra money. Boo! I miss that red cart and that clearance rack!

My life is wonderful, don't get me wrong. However, today I am longing to leave the stack of papers that need graded, not give my babies a bath and have stinky babies for just one more day and head to my happy place. I think they miss me there. I think a diet coke, some popcorn and that red cart are just what I need! That is not too much to ask right??

These are the random thoughts that swim in my head. Could I be more random?

I have decided to link my random Monday afternoon Target daydreaming with Carissa at lowercase letters.
Head on over to her blog and check it out.

Happy Monday.

Life This Week

So, life around here is moving at warp speed. The weeks are flying by and it is Sunday evening and time for a new week before I even realize it. We have not been up to anything exciting, just the daily stuff. The day to day routine is a little more exhausting than it once was and on most nights you can find me asleep on the couch by 9:30. I have missed Revenge the last two weeks and I am NOT happy about it. I try to stop, breathe and take it all in every once in a while because it all is happening so fast. Somehow my BIG BOY can make his own snacks, spell his name, get himself dressed, and seemingly silly things that may not seem like a big deal to most, but as I am tagging clothes for an upcoming consignment sale I just cannot believe how fast it all goes. I just tagged 78 items in the last few hours that my babies have outgrown. Some of it Clark's that Shep never got to wear, but most of it is stuff the babies have outgrown. HOW? How do I have that much already? Again, it happens so fast.  We have not been up to anything that most would find too exciting, but I need to blog about our ordinary because at this rate they will be heading to prom soon! ha!


Becuase I don't really have the energy or any creative blog ideas I am just going to dump my iphone pictures from the week to do a quick recap.  I gave up Facebook for Lent so I have been posting and playing on Instagram a little more than usual as you will notice in my pictures.

Shepard after Ash Wednesday service.

SK proudly sharing her faith.

This week we made time for snuggling and movie watching.



Honestly, this is the face she makes when she wakes up!
So happy to be here each day. We could all learn a lesson from her.



The babies tried rice cereal this week.
Pretty sure he is already blaming something on her. Look at that finger point.
"Sara Kate did it Momma!"- A glimpse at my future

My breakfast. Easy way to eat my oatmeal each morning.
I say easy, but Stuart tried to help me make it the other day and might have forgotten to put the lid on the blender which means oatmeal smoothie all over kitchen at 6:30 am. Not a pretty picture. But the dear man cleaned it all up.

Our buddy Jack came over to play on Saturday.

Sporting our 3 goggles. GO CATS!!

Obviously this girl is mine! I can't say no to that either SK!
(However, I am trying)

Sweet SK was stylin' in her adorable jeans.

My attempt to get a picture of both of them in their jeans = meltdown.

I could just kiss this face all day long.



Now, back to this pile.
Sort, Price, Tag, Repeat.



If this upcoming week slows down, I get the pile of book reports staring at me graded, and the consignment sale items done I hope to get a few blog posts in. Hope ya'll are enjoying your weekend!!

The Duo- 5 Month Update

This month FLEW by again. I am having a hard time with the fact that February is half way over. My littles have grown so much. They have nearly tripled their birth weight and are smiling, laughing, cooing and have even started picking on each other! So funny. They are honestly so much fun- yes, lots of work but I am not sure I would know how to behave with only one. We have gotten so use to our little routine and life is doable. We are trying to be mindful and thankful each day for all of our blessings.

Without further ado, here are their 5 month stats:


Weights:
Shepard- about 14lbs. (5.1 at birth)
Sara Kate- about 14lbs. (5.11 at birth)


Lengths: (as of 1/19/12)
Shepard: 24.5 inches (up from 17 at birth)
Sara Kate: 24.5 inches (up from 18 at birth)


Diaper Size:
Shepard: Size 2 (barely- as soon as we are out of 2s we are moving up to 3s)
Sara Kate: Size 2 (barely- as soon as we are out of 2s we are moving up to 3s)



Clothing Size:
Shepard: 3-6 month and 6 months.
Sara Kate: mostly 6 months and some 3-6

Sleep: (no change since last month)
They are great little sleepers. (knock on wood) They have learned to sleep longer stretches at night and take good naps during the day. We are still swaddling them and they are still sleeping in their Rock and Play Sleepers beside our bed. We have not made the transition to the cribs yet mostly because their cribs are upstairs and we are lazy. ha! We enjoy being able to feed, change and put them back in bed without getting out of ours. Also Shepard is such a little paci lover. If his paci falls out at night he loses his mind. I have slept many nights lately with my hand on his paci keeping it in his mouth. We usually feed them between 8:30-9:30 at night and Sara Kate will sleep until we wake her at 5:30 to eat before I get ready for work. Shepard on the other hand usually eats one extra time in between there at least 3 times a week. Sara Kate LOVES to nap in the swing and Shepard prefers to nap in his Rock and Play or anytime anyone holds him.


Eating: (no real change since last month)
They have still not had any formula. They are doing wonderfully nursing- much better than I ever thought we would do. I have been pumping two times during the day at work and feeding them as soon as I get home. Still eating on schedule every three hours. I am thinking they eat about 5 ounces each time, because that is what satisfies them when I pump and give them bottles. Everyday that we make it nursing I feel like it is a small victory and we made it another month!!!


If I'm keeping it real, I do feel like my life revolves around when someone else has to eat. My brain is always checking the clock to make sure it is not time to feed someone. I am either nursing, pumping or thinking about when it is time to do one or the other. I also know that this stage will be over before I know it and I am going to keep it up for as long as I can. I know my friends are tired of hearing me talk about it, but it does consume my life right now and if I talk about it too much I am so sorry. My biggest concern right now is that I am going on a class trip to DC in 6 weeks and I need 250 oz. pumped to satisfy them while I am gone and I only have 20 so far...hummmmm I hope I get serious about the whole setting my alarm in the middle of the night to wake up and pump before it is too late.

Shepard:
Shep Star is quite the little ham. He loves to smile. He is such a happy guy except for first thing in the morning. He wants nothing more than to eat as soon as his eyes are open. Not much will calm him down until he has a full  belly. He also does not appreciate it when his sister steals his paci. Yes, she snatches it right out of his mouth and smiles about it. I'm hoping he learns to block her soon. Poor guy. We have learned this month that he LOVES the infant carrier. He especially loves it when his daddy wears him. He loves to face outward and check out everything. Stuart loves wearing him too. Anytime I come home from anywhere he is wearing Shep and SK is in the Bumbo or swing. So cute.

Sara Kate:
Sweet SK so funny. She LOVES to hear herself laugh. I swear the child wakes up smiling and laughing. She must have a great sense of humor like her momma! ha! She loves to swing, Bumbo and is learning to love to play in her exersaucer. She HATES tummy time and when bows fall down over her eyes. Not mush else upsets her. She is such a sweetie but yet has become such a bully to her little brother. She is a paci stealer. She tries to hold his hand to make up for it, but I think she likes to watch him squirm when she steals it! :)

They are doing great! We go to the doctor next month for well visits and we will see what he says about starting solids then. I am hoping to make most of my own baby food so if you have any tips on that let me know! I have been pinning all kinds of things related to it. I am kind of excited to try.

Think they have grown any???

Tonight is bath night for all 3 of them and Stuart is out of town. Please say a prayer for me! :)

Happy Wednesday!!

Happy Heart Day!

Today is Valentine's Day. We were surprised with a snow day this morning and Stuart was home with us so it was just a lazy day with all my loves. We did nothing. We played, lounged and just were us all day. I hope you were able to spend it with somebody or something that you love or that makes your heart happy.



 Soon after these pictures were taken we found out we had no school today, changed back into our jammies and saved these outfits for tomorrow!  :)

Happy Valentine's Day To You!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday...on Thursday.

Disclaimer- I had all intentions to post this yesterday and once I got home the evening was NUTS. So my WILW has now become WILW on Thursday! Owell.

Today is a snowy Wednesday. Yes, snowy. We have only had 1 snow day this year and the idea of actually getting out of school on May 17th is getting closer and closer to reality. I cannot believe it!! It was a slight dusting this morning and I'm not going to lie, I woke up hoping for a snow day. But now that the day is nearly over, I am so glad I worked today to get me one day closer to nearly 3 UNHEARD OF MONTHS off of school this summer. So because I went to bed accidentally at 8:30 last night and I am completely rested I am feeling pretty good today. I thought I would take time to link up with Jamie and share a few things that make me smile these days.

I am loving that my sweet kiddos are sleeping at night! (Well the twins are anyway- Clark still gets up a few times, but Stuart usually goes upstairs to handle that! ha!) The babies are going to bed by 8:30 and not waking up until I wake them up to nurse them before I head to work!! Yes, they wake up a few times for pacis lost, but we RARELY  have to get them out of bed or even turn on the light. Yes, they are STILL in our room- but hey, it works!

ANYWAY- I am loving that they are all in bed by 8:30 so I can enjoy some TV time. There are so many shows I love to watch. If I can't watch I always DVR and watch when I can. Some of my top picks are:

Do you watch any of these shows?? I am hooked to them all. Among other things like Top Chef Texas, Criminal Minds, Law and Order, The Voice. I just love night time mindless TV.

I am loving teaching 5th grade reading. I love that we are reading novels and that we are able to have book discussions about them. Children's literature is one of my favorite things and being able to read quality books and have discussions with children about said books is so enjoyable for me. This week we started reading Esperanza Rising and I am loving it and so are they. To hear them whine that we have to stop reading because it is time to switch classes just makes my heart smile.

I am loving the new spring/summer Kelly's Kids line and I am soooooo excited that I am hosting a show next month and hopefully will be able to get some super cute coordinating outfits for my trio. If you want to order let me know and I'll send you the link to order.

I am loving that my sweet babies are starting to take interest in their exersaucsers. They are just so darn funny. Shep only likes his for about 10 minutes and SK can go about 15. Now the swing, she would sit in for hours. I think the saucer is just too much of a workout. :)

I am also loving that if we ever have a problem with the exersaucers that we have a live in handy man to fix them! ha!

I am loving the new TOMS Ballet Flats. I would love one in each color please! Thank You.

I am loving my morning oatmeal smoothie. Thanks to Pinterest I am able to drink my oatmeal! I try to eat oatmeal daily because once upon a time I read that it was good for my milk supply and feeding two babies I am willing to try what I am told. So being able to drink my oatmeal on the way to school has been so great! It fills me up, tastes great, and gets that daily oatmeal in.

My smoothie recipe:
1/2 Cup Ice
1/2 Cup Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Berries
1/2 Cup Light Vanilla Yogurt
1/4 Cup Juice
1/4 Cup Water
HERE is the Martha Stewart original recipe that I have pinned on my board.

I am loving that I am doing a book exchange with Emily and I need 6 more people that want to play along. If you want to be involved email me! You buy one book and your children get up to 36 in the mail. Who does not love mail?!?

I am loving that today is THURSDAY and I am just now posting this. :)

Happy Wednesday Thursday to you!

Teacher Talk- Great Lesson Ideas

Happy Thursday Friends. Today I'm bringing Teacher Talk Back and my goal is to host a link up once a month. That is about all I can commit to these days. Seeing as it is 7:00 on Thursday night and all three of my kiddos need bathed and I am neglecting them to post this! :) They will get cleaned- no worries.

I am getting back into the swing of things after having the babies and being away from school for 11 weeks. I am just now getting the hang of the whole teacher/mommy of 3 thing and starting to feel good about it all. One reason I have been able to come back and feel good about what I am teaching is because of you! I read wayyyyy too many blogs. I find so many good ideas on your blogs that make my life so much easier. I love when I find something that you all have created that I can use in my classroom. I am not sure how I survived teaching without blogs, Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers! One of these days I am going to have time to spruce up some of my stuff to sell on TPT or even enough to feel comfortable sharing it on this blog, but until then I am relying on you to help me!

One of my FAVORITE blogs is What the Teacher Wants. I think that Rachelle and Natalie do such a great job and have so many wonderful resources on their blog that it is one I check often. Thanks girls!!

While I was on maternity leave Natalie posted information about her Wax Museum unit and I was hooked. I bought it that night. I teach 5th grade Language Arts this year and I was trying to come up with a way to study biographies and add a little public speaking and research to meet as many Common Core goals as possible in one assignment and this was it!! It was a great purchase. It is a wonderful packet with everything needed to pull off a Wax Museum.

Click HERE to get to Natalie's TPT Store.

I assigned my kids the project the week we got  back from Christmas break and it was due last week. Let me just tell you they blew me out of the water! They did an outstanding job. They had to read a biography, do a book report, share their report in front of the class and then dress up like their character for a Wax Museum for the entire school. It was great and everyone around here has been signing my praises, but Natalie did all the work! It was an outstanding project that I highly recommend you checking out. This is now a yearly project. I learned so much this year and can't wait to try it again next year.

Here are some pictures of my first attempt at a biography/book report/wax museum:

It was such a wonderful learning experience for my kids and for me! I have 75 5th graders and there were a few things I learned about timing tours through the museum and small details like that, but Natalie did all of the hard part for me. Everything is so user friendly. She included rubrics, parent letters, examples, detailed directions and not only is it all very useful but it is so darn cute!

I took hundreds of pictures of the event and would love to share them all, but I'll spare you that. Just know all my kids did a great job and I was one proud teacher.

So, my question to you is- What have you been up to? Do you have any lesson ideas we need to know about? Do you have any lessons you have created you want to share? A Teacher Pay Teacher site you want to share? A favorite blog? Please link up or at least comment and share some things you are up to. If you have any ideas for the next link up let me know that too!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Friday.
The LINKY will be up all weekend so please come back, check it out and link up if you get the chance. Clink on the link below to join in!