First, I'd Like to Thank....I've Won An Award!

I am so honored to have been awarded the Liebster Award from 6 fabulous bloggers.  All of the people that nominated me just made my day.  Thank you to everyone who nominated me. Since there were 6 bloggers, you're gonna get ready to learn A LOT about me.   

So here are the rules:
1) You must post 11 random things about yourself
2) Answer the questions that the nominator created for you
3) Create 11 questions for the people you nominate
4) Choose 11 blogs you love that have less than 200 followers and link them to your post
5) No tag back.. but please leave a comment on THIS post with the URL of the Liebster so I can learn more about you!

So here goes:

11 random things about me:

1.  I can't walk straight.  My feet look like they are walking in different ways.  I should have been a ballerina.
2.  I know more about football than a lot of guys.  My favorite team is the Clemson Tigers.  Go Tigers!
3.  I became a mom last January.  Brayden is my world.  It's hard to imagine my life without him.
4.  I always try to stay happy.  I usually have a smile on my face, even when I don't want to smile.
5.  I am very emotional.  Any sappy movie or commercial will bring on the water works.
6. My sister and I were pregnant at the same time.  My nephew, Caleb, is 11 days older than my son, Bradyen.
7.  My favorite color is blue.  I can't stand the color pink.  I'm definitely not a girly girl.
8. I am clumsy.  I fall and trip over everything all the time, including my feet.
9. I married my high school sweetheart.  In February we will have been together for 10 years.
10. Christmas is my favorite holiday!  I love all the smells and sights.
11. I love to watch TV.  Favorite shows currently: Grey's Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, Revenge

Next are all the questions asked by the fabulous bloggers. Get ready to learn all about me!

                                         First up is Bailey from Mrs. Sturdy's Class. Her questions were:

1. What is your favorite dessert?

I LOVE sweets!  If I had to pick one, why choose though LOL, I would have to go with brownies.  Yummy!

2. Beach or mountains?

Beach.  I hate to be cold.

3. If you could travel anywhere you want, where would you go?

I would just like to go somewhere.  I've never left the South in the United States.  I'd love to go to the Caribbean.  A Caribbean cruise is on my to do list.

4. What was the last dream you had?

I dreamed of my students and them not understanding what I was teaching.

5. What is your favorite grade to teach?
2nd!!! I truly believe it is the best grade. :-)

6. If you could go back to any time in your life, what would it be?

January 12, 2012-The day my son was born.  I'd love to spend that day again just holding him.  They're only little for so long.

7. What color are your eyes?

My eyes are blue, green, or hazel.  My eyes change with the color shirt I'm wearing.  My driver's license says green though.

8. Do you have any pets?

I have 1 dog named Molly.

9. Are you a night owl or early bird?

I'm a night owl.  I hate getting up early.

10. Does your classroom have a theme? If so, what is it?

Sorta.  It is a subtle pirate them with splashes of red and black.

11. What is your favorite movie?

The Little Mermaid...I'm a DISNEY freak.  I love all things Disney. 

Next is Karen from An Apple A Day in First Grade.

1.  Sweet or salty?

SWEET!  I love anything and everything sweet.

2.  Beach or mountain house?

Beach.  I'd love to be there right now.  I need a vacation.

3.  What is your favorite season?  Why?

Summer.  I hate to be cold and love the long days. 

4.  What kinds of things do you collect?

I don't collect anything.  Pinterest ideas maybe...

5.  Coffee or tea?  Hot or cold?

Sweet Iced Tea!  I'm learning to drink coffee though.  Being a momma requires coffee...:-)

6.  What would your ideal vacation be?

Setting sail on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean.

7.  What's the most recent book you have read?

Honestly...50 Shades of Grey.

8.  Target or Walmart?

Target.  The people in Wal-Mart get on my nerves.

9.  Funniest thing that ever happened in your class?

Hmmm....Book Character Day-I had a Michael Jackson impersonater.

10.  Early riser or like to sleep in?

Sleep in.  I'm so glad that Brayden likes to sleep in too!

11.  Favorite sweet to make during the Christmas holidays?

I don't bake.  I just eat! :-)

Next is the Realistic Teacher.



1.  What is your favorite genre?

Humorous Fiction.  I love to laugh.

2.  Do you parallel park or find another spot?

Find another spot.  I don't parallel park...EVER. 

3.  Do you have any tattoos? How many? Of what?

None.

4.  What is your favorite book?

Oh, the Places You'll Go.

5.  When did you last laugh?

Probably five minutes ago.  Brayden had a ball pit on his head and he was chasing the dog around the room.

6.  Where have you traveled and what was your favorite place?

I don't get a chance to travel often.  My last real "travel" was my honeymoon and we went to Charleston.

7.  Do you like to dance?

Yes, but I'm not good at it.

8.  What is your favorite type of music?

Country  music.  Oh, how I love the South!

9.  Have you ever, or would you ever, go skydiving or bungee jumping?

I don't know.  I've thought about it, but I think I'm too chicken.

10.  Do you garden?

Nope. I kill everything that I grow or plant.

11.  If you could eat lunch with a favorite person who would it be?

My momma.  I love her so!

Next is Coffee Cups and Lesson Plans.

1)  How did you pick your blog name?

I wanted to have something to do with 2nd grade.  The monkeys made me think of surprise!

2) What made you start writing a blog?

I wanted to share what I was creating with other amazing teachers.

3) What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

Just spend time together. Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is among our favorite things to do at the moment.

4) Coke or Pepsi?

Pepsi.

5) Who is your favorite music group?
Lady Antebellum..I love country music.

6) What would you purchase if you had an unlimited budget?

I would pay off my bills and buy my mom a new car.

7) What is your favorite book to share with your students?

Anything that has to do with Mo Willems.  I love him!

8) What household chore do you like the least?

Folding clothes.  Ugh...I need to do that now.

9) What professional book or conference changed something about how you teach?

Whole Brain Teaching...check it out if you haven't.

10) What is your favorite color?

Blue.

11) If you could eat lunch with a famous person, who would it be?

Channing Tatum...LOL!

Next is Colleen from Fun and Fearless in First.

1.  What is your favorite subject to teach?

Reading.  I LOVE literacy centers!

 

2.  Favorite holiday tradition?

Buying a Christmas tree after Thanksgiving dinner.

 

3.  Favorite book to read to your class?

Anything written by Mo Willems.

 

4.  Favorite guilty pleasure reality show?

I don't really watch reality shows.

 

5.  Favorite movie?

The Little Mermaid.

 

6.  What is your best childhood memory?

Drinking hot chocolate and putting up the Christmas tree with my family.

 

7.  What is your least favorite household chore?

Folding clothes!

 

8.  What are you afraid of?

Snakes, spiders, the dark

 

9.  Salty or sweet?

Sweet!

 

10.  Where is your ideal vacation spot?

The Caribbean.

 

11.  What sparked your interest in blogging?

I wanted to share my ideas with other amazing teachers.

 

Finally, is Christina from Apples, Books, and Crayons.

 

1 - If you could be any animal for one day what animal would you be and why?

Hmmm...maybe a penguin.  They're my favorite animal. 

 

2 - What is your favorite flower?

Sunflower

 

3 - What is your favorite pizza toppings?

Pepporoni

 

4 - What is your favorite childhood television show?

Full House.

 

5 - What do you like to do on a day off?

Spend time with my son Brayden.

 

6 - When at work - make up or no makeup?  

Make-up. 

 

7 - Disney World or Disney Land?

Disney World.

 

8 - When you were a kid did you always want to be a teacher?

No, I knew I wanted to work with kids.  I always thought I'd be a pediatrician.

 

9 - What is your favorite song?
I don't think I have one.  It changes from day to day depending on my mood.

 

10 - If you were stranded on a deserted island what three things would you want to have with you?

My husband, my son, and something to eat.

 

11 -   If you could choose to speak with any one person - dead or alive - who would it be and why?

I'd love to have been able to talk to Dr. Seuss.  I'd love to have talked about his ideas and my love of his books.

 

I'm suppose to nominate 11 blogs, but everyone I have found has been nominated.  Let me know if you know of any who aren't. I'm still gonna be one the lookout!  Make sure you check out these wonderful ladies who have awarded me.

 

If you made it to the bottom of this post, I hope you enjoyed learning some things about me.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I'm working on some addition games at the moment.  I can't wait to share them!

 

Lots of love,

 

Giveaway Winner, Thanksgiving Picture, TPT Sale..Oh,my!

Drum roll please.........We have a winner! Katie Smith from I Want to be a Super Teacher is the winner of the FANTASTIC  prizes from me and my blogging friends.  Katie, be on the look out of an email from all these wonderful bloggers.  Please leave your email below!

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Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway.  The comments were so sweet.  I truly am thankful for each and every one of you.  You've all made me such a better teacher! :-)

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  My family sure did! Brayden enjoyed Thanksgiving.  Cranberry sauch was not a hit but pumpkin pie sure was! :-)

My muchkin' loves to eat! I'm going to be busy searching all over for good deals on TOYS and books for my munchkin' on Monday.  It is his first Christmas.  I'm so excited to see his face on Christmas day.  I can't believe his first birthday is approaching so fast.  He'll be 1 in January.  Where did the time go? :-(

Now for some exciting news...

Thank you to Ashley for the SUPER CUTE button!

I decided to go ahead and start my sale TODAY so that people who are looking for activites for tomorrow can get ahead start on the sale.  EVERYTHING in my store is 20% off.  TPT is having an ENORMOUS sale on Monday and Tuesday.  If you're like me and wait until Cyber Monday to get started, then you need to listen up.  Everything in my store is 20% off AND (here's the exciting part) TPT is also giving an extra 10% off at checkout WHEN you enter the code CMT12.  My shopping cart is already full of goodies.  I love sales!

Here are some of my best sellers:

Here are some new/recently added items in my store:

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday.  Happy Shopping this week!

Lots of love,

Non-Fiction Blues

Happy turkey week, friends!

I am SO, SO excited that tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  The one day of the year when I feel that it is okay to eat and eat and eat.  I am lucky enough to have had today off from work (we go back on Monday) and was thinking about my kiddos.  In my reading center, I had them doing a non-fiction scavnger hunt. Needless to say, I realized we have A LOT of work to do on understanding non-fiction text features.  The week after next, I will be reading only non-fiction texts during Interactive Read Aloud and really focusing on that non-fiction standard.  From what I've heard about the Smarter Balanced tests that will be coming to my state very soon, there is a lot of non-fiction reading involved.  To help them remember the text features, I made some colorful posters.  I can't wait to hang them in my room for my kiddos to use.  We will be doing another non-fiction scavenger hunt and I am hoping that they really start to understand the non-fiction text features.  Click on the picture below to download the non-fiction text features posters that I created.  I hope you can use them with your kiddos!  I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win tons and tons of great prizes from my blogger friends. Click here to go back to that post. 

Lots of love,

100 Follower Giveaway

I am so lucky to have such amazing followers.  I feel blessed to have people that care about what I have to say.  You have all made me be a better teacher.  To celebrate 100 followers, I am having a HUGE giveaway.  I have some fabulous blogger friends that have teamed up with me to give away some amazing products.  You definitely need to follow all of these amazing bloggers if you are not already. 

And the super, fabulous, amazing bloggers are:

Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.

  Teacher to the Core is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.     Lanier's Lions is giving away 1 item from her TPT store. 

Peace, Love, and First Grade is giving away 1 item from her TPT store. 

Fabulously in First is giving away her Second Grade Math Vocabulary Posters

Ginger Snaps is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.

  Smedley's Smorgasboard of Kindgergarten is giving away his ADORABLE Gingerbread Man packet.

  Polka Dots & Pencils is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.    Joy in 6th is giving away a $10 gift certificate to Starbucks. 

Elementary Matters is donating 1 item from her TPT store.

  Kinder Craze is giving away her Number Word Book Emergent Reader.   Smiling in Second Grade is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.   

Reading Olympians is giving away 1 item from their TPT store.

HoJo's Teaching Adventures is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.

Small Types is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.

The Convenient Teacher is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.

Second Grade Spin is giving away $10 worth of amazing products for the winner to choose.

Simple Steps to Sentence Sense is giving away a grading scale .

Beach Sands and Lesson Plans is giving away 1 item from her TPT Store.

  Kindger Glynn is giving away 1 item from her TPT store.

  And...ME!!! I will be giving away 3 itmes from my TPT store!

    What a giveaway!  Enter below to win these AmAzInG products from these FANTASTIC bloggers! Good luck!  The winner will be announced on Sunday.     

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