The Best Blogs in the Universe

Want to go blog hopping with some of the best blogs in the universe?  Teaching Blog Addict has a huge collection of A+ teaching blogs that you can search through and visit!

After you check out your grade level, be sure to check out the other tabs as well, such as the M (Multi-Age), SE (Special Education), S (Specialty), etc...  

(My blog is listed under the M tab!)

Simply click on the picture below!

Happy Hopping!

Ultimate FREEBIE Collection-HAPPY BIRTHDAY TBA!

Have you been over to Teaching Blog Addict (TBA) in the last few days?  If you haven't, you really need to stop by!
We are hosting an ultimate FREEBIE celebration to celebrate filled with FREEBIES for different grade levels!

Click on the picture below to head to the 

PreK and Kindergarten FREEBIES:

Once you are there, you will find 8 or more pages of 50 FREEBIES to each page!  

And that is just for PreK-Kindergarten!

Click on the links below to find the other grade levels:

1st-2nd Grade

3rd-4th Grade

5th-6th Grade

So get your printer ready and stop by to grab some amazing FREEBIES!  

You are also invited to link up your own FREEBIES!

How amazing is that?

I feel so blessed to be an author for TBA and can't believe it has already been 2 years!  I look forward to celebrating many, many more!!

HAPPY, HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TBA!

Hurricane Sandy-Teachers Help Teachers

Hurricane Sandy was nasty.  

She came and left a path of destruction in the Northeast that it has never seen before.  Some of my loved ones are still without power and/or are displaced from their homes.  It has been almost two long, and cold weeks.  Others lost every little thing they own.

Laurah over at The ESOL Odyssey is organizing a movement to help other teachers affected by Sandy, called:

She is reaching out to those who have create materials to share or own a store on TPT or TN, and would like to donate some products to help other teachers in need.  

Click on the picture above and then follow the directions on Laurah's page.  It is so easy and every little bit helps.  She will be working hard to gather the products and distribute them to schools and teachers in need.  Teachers of all grade levels are encouraged to participate.

Will you help out too?

Thank you Laurah for doing this!

The Big Apple

This weekend I headed down to the Big Apple to meet some of my bloggy friends and fellow TBA Authors!  Although the New York City is only a 3 hour drive for me, I do not go there often.  It is intimidating to me and I am petrified of driving in NYC traffic.  But I did it, I did it!!

Many were in NYC to attend the BlogHer '12 conference and we all met for dinner.  Those who were attending the conference shared some tidbits they had learned.  Otherwise we spent the time chatting and eating!  

It was so very nice to meet everyone in person!  

My hubby came with me and was very supportive about driving down to meet people we've never met before!  He is shy and reserved like me, so I was happy to have him by my side because I definitely had some butterflies fluttering around in my tummy.  It was my little one's first trip to the NYC and she had a blast both in the city and socializing with everyone at dinner!!  (She on the other hand, is a little social butterfly!)

Did you know that when you attend a BlogHer conference you get logs and lots of free stuff (swag)?  Well, although I ended up not being able to attend the conference, I came home with the very best swag of all!  

This swag was made with love by my bloggy friends!  

(Thank you Hadar and Teri!)

And look how awesome these pens are!  

They say, "TBA Author and proud of it!"  

(Thank you Leslie!!)

Okay, now let's have some fun.  

Do you recognize all of the ladies in the first picture?  

Here we go, going from left to right:

Leslie from KindergartenWorks

Erica Bohrer from Erica Bohrer's First Grade

Teri from A Cupcake for the Teacher

Hadar from Miss Kindergarten

Charity from The Organized Classroom Blog

Tamara from Teaching With TLC

Angela from The Cornerstone

Crystal from Kreative in Kinder

ME!!
Mel D from Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations

Tell Me More...

I have been trying to catch up on some blog hopping and I came across this great little linky party that Mrs. Lemons is having!  Yes, I know I am a little late, but I still wanted to join in the fun!  

So here are some little facts about me, that you may or may not find interesting...


I am definitely a morning person vs. a night owl.  I tend to be go, go, go during the day and it is almost impossible to watch television or read after my daughter goes to bed at night.  I all too often fall asleep the second I sit down to relax!  I love to get up early to get things done anyhow, so I guess it all works out!

My mom is one of the most important people in my life.  Here we are at one of my bridal showers in 2004.

If I were to be stranded on a deserted island and I would only be able to have two items with me, I would choose mascara and KETCHUP of course!  I LOVE ketchup.  It just makes everything taste better!  What would you choose? 

I feel so blessed to have married my best friend.  Poor guy is stuck with me now...

My hair is naturally curly, but I never realized how curly it really was until I knew what to do with it in college!  I do straighten it when I have the time and patience.  Here I am with it straightened a few years ago.

And here I am with curly hair the same month.  Don't mind the close up shot or the goofy girl to my left.  (It's hard to find pictures of yourself when you are always the one behind the camera!!)

I love turtles.  I think they are fascinating little creatures!

I am a Nationally Board Certified Teacher.  Here I am with my colleague, Jill, at a special dinner party a few years ago.

My two children complete our family.  Here they are playing doctor of course!

Speaking of my children, Saydie loves to be covered up and tucked into her own bed at bedtime.  Do you cover up your pet?  Although my hubby would disagree, I think it is a normal thing to do...right?

Lastly, Paige has enjoyed catching so many butterflies this summer that I think she just may turn into a butterfly herself!  (Check out the picture below.  What do you think, should I be concerned?)

So that is it for now!  Make sure you join in the fun too by linking up if you haven't already!!

There's No Place Like TBA

Happy Summer to you all!
I haven't posted since I was still in school because I have been enjoying every little bit of my first two weeks of summer vacation!  Wooo hooo!The weather has been A.MAAA.ZING!  Hot and sunny each day, which has allowed me to enjoy the new pool we just installed this year!  My days have been spent going to the gym, drinking my iced coffee, floating the in the pool with my little honey, spending time on our boat, and eating ice cream...lots and lots of ice cream!  It has been nice to take a break from thoughts of RtI, APPRs, SLOs, and any other educational acronym for a little bit and just focus on my little one and having fun!
Did you know that today is International Blog-Hopping Day?Over at TBA we are celebrating with a Wizard of Oz theme because there is truly NO place like TBA for educational blogging of course!

My fellow and authors and I invite you to join us in the journey by clicking on the picture above, which will take you to 9 different routes on the yellow brick road.  You will then be able to find some fabulous FREEBIES and link up your own posts along the path if you choose.
I have linked up two FREEBIES for:and

Hope to see or hear from you along the way!  Have fun!!

Introducing...

Want to meet some new bloggy friends?
I met these ladies around the block recently and just had to share them with you!

I would like to introduce you to  Sara from

Sara is a newbie on the bloggy block!  She is a Pre-K teacher and has shared her first FREEBIE, which is an adorable Ladybug Alphabet Match game.

(Picture from Teaching Munchkins.)

Another fellow Upstater (like me) is Laura from

Laura shares resources and ideas that range from 2nd grade and up!  Check her out!

I also wanted to to introduce you to Mrs. Pollard from

 She certainly isn't new to blogging, but she is fairly new to me!  I found her through Pinterest and have been enjoying her posts ever since!  She just had a fantastic giveaway that I WON and I am sooo thrilled about!  Woo hoo!  Thank you Mrs. Pollard!

Hop on over to check them out and send them some love!

Get Your Hoppers Ready!!

Did you know that in just a few days the authors of TBA will be holding a Bunny Hop full of FREEBIES?  This Bunny Hop will take you through several AMAZING blogs each day, who will each be offering an AMAZING FREEBIE and will be lasting an entire week!  
A little bunny told me that the hop will be coming through here toward the beginning of the hop!! (wink, wink)

It all begins April 1st so try to rest those hoppers of yours because you won't want to miss a single leg of our FREEBIE trail! 

The Common Core, Goals, Parties and BOOGIES!

So do you want to know what the Common Core, Goal Tracking, Party Math and Boogies (yes THOSE boogies) have in common?

Well before I answer that, let me ask you another question.  

Do you follow Teacher's Market or Like her Facebook page?    

If you don't, I really think you should!  You can use the links above to access her pages.  Elizabeth shares contests, grants, freebies, deals, and coupons  to help teachers save in the classroom.

I won the following items all because she promoted the contests and giveaways on her blog and/or Facebook page!

Here is what I won:
An amazing Boogie Wipes Classroom Kit!

This really cool Ring the Bell Electronic Goal Tracker from Educational Insights through What the Stuff Toy Review

A neat Party Time math game from Remedia Publications

And finally, a super-useful K-5 Common Core Flip Chart from Mentoring Minds

I am sending a BIG 

THANK YOU 

to Elizabeth at Teacher's Market for all that she shares and to all of the companies for their generosity in sharing their products through giveaways!

Since I was feeling lucky I bought a lottery ticket...but apparently I am not that lucky!  You can't blame a girl for trying though, right?!

Happy Birthday To...CLOSED

Guess who will be celebrating a birthday on March 7th?

Little, ole' ME!

And guess how old I will be?  
1!  
I will be 1!

March 7th marks the 1 year birthday for my blog!


Seems like it was just yesterday that I was sitting here stalking blogs and debating whether or not to start one of my own.  I was so afraid that no one would want to read anything I had to share.  I have learned so much and have met so many amazing people from around the world.  I thank you all for following and sharing your ideas with me and look forward to what this next year has in store. 


So let's CELEBRATE!!


What better way to celebrate with you, than to have a giveaway with some of my wonderful bloggy friends from 

We have a collection of early literacy, math, and science activities to share with you!  Here is a little preview:

What can you do to win?

Visit one or all of my bloggy friends (by clicking on the pictures above) and come back to leave me a comment about what you love about their blog!  You will get one entry for each separate comment you leave.  While you are visiting, make sure you become a follower so that you do not miss an amazing post from any of these amazing blogs.

I will choose a winner on Wednesday March 7, 2012. 

Winners must be a USA resident, 18 years of older.  I will choose a winner by using the Random Number Generator.

Thanks and good luck!

Are you a Stylish Teaching Mommy?

Do you know Allison from 

If you don't, I recommend you definitely hop on over to her blog!  She is a wonderful kindergarten teacher who shares great resources, activities, and lessons used right in her classroom.  Although we have never met in person, Allison is actually a teacher in a neighboring district.  

(Hopefully we will be able to meet up soon Allison!)

Well, she has started another blog that I am sure will be amazing, called

 Her tagline states, "Where Style and Fashion Meet Bake Sales and Play Dates."  She plans to feature fashion finds, easy recipes, and other fun things!  Sounds great to me!  I love to hear about fashion finds and easy to make recipes to fit into a teacher's budget and schedule!!
Head on over to check her out.  I think she plans to do a giveaway soon!!

Snow? Bird? Both?

I have gotten many emails asking me two things:
~  how did I add the cute little Twitter bird
~  how am I able to make it look like there is snow falling? 


Did you see them?  Aren't they neat?  

If you are interested in adding some fun things like these to your own blog, then you must visit and become a follower of:

They have easy-to-follow tutorials to help personalize your blog!  
If you click on the picture above, it will take you to the Twitter bird tutorial.  
If you click on the picture below, it will take you to the snow tutorial.

(Picture courtesy of www.spiceupyourblog.com)

The tutorials are all written when viewing Blogger in the Old Blogger Interface.  If you aren't sure how to switch back to it, all you need to do is go to your Dashboard and click on the little gear in the upper right corner, then select "Old Blogger Interface".  (See the screenshot below)

Then follow the directions listed in each tutorial.

The Animated Twitter Bird requires you to edit your HTML.  Editing your HTML can be scary.  Just be sure you download and save your full template before changing it!  That way you can just paste it back in if you make a mistake. 

You also have the option to preview the changes before saving them, which is also something important to remember.  

The Falling Snow Effect is not quite as scary.  You are simply going into your layout and adding a gadget, just like adding somebody's button to your sidebar.

Hey, if I can do this, so can you!  I have learned SO VERY MUCH since I started this little blog!  It has been so fun!!


(By the way, I was in no way compensated for this post or am related to Spice Up Your Blog other than being a follower myself and sharing this great info with you!)

My Favorite Follower Award

I was thrilled to receive a sweet comment from Cindy 

awarding me the

Cindy is the author of an amazing kindergarten blog called:

Each time I visit her blog, I feel as though I am walking right through her classroom!  I love how she shows her week in pictures!  She shares amazing ideas and materials. If you haven't checked out her blog, I recommend you do so!  

Thank you Cindy!  It is such an honor to receive this from you!

I wanted to take the time to honor two specific authors who continue to make me smile almost every time I post something by leaving sweet, encouraging comments!

Thank you to 

Jennifer at:

and 

Annie at 

All of the comments and feedback you provide are so important and I thank each of you! 

I love checking my comments to find things from a simple "Thank You" to more detailed comments.  They all mean so much.