Advocate.

BRRRRRRR>>>> it is chilly! I have been enjoying my day by doing absolutely nothing. Mostly, my mind needs a break. I wanted to share a super fun activity that I did with my first graders this week. I put together 8 centers of different objects I had around the classroom (links, straws, crayons, etc.). My students had to count the objects and then record the number on the recording sheet. I had students break the number up into tens and ones to practice place value skills.

 I've been struggling with the concept of advocating for students all week. Really, it's not even a concept. It shouldn't be. It should come naturally...right? I think we get so caught up in lesson planning, tracking data and other drama that we forget to advocate for our students. For some of those kids, school is the safest place for them. It's the only place where they feel cared for. Someone needs to stand up for them and make sure they get what they deserve: a positive learning environment, a caring and nurturing teacher and tools they need to succeed. Next week, my goal is to remember why I became a teacher and support my students needs... Advocate for my students.

OKKKKKKK... On to other things... Andy mentioned that he would like for me to make Quesadilla burgers... like the Deliciously DELICIOUS burgers from Applebees?!? So.. I took on the challenge and I made them!
 
Ingredients:
1 pound hamburger, unthawed
red pepper flakes
cumin seeds
garlic salt
Lawry's seasoned salt
parsley flakes
sriracha sauce
four flour tortillas
2 tomatoes 
1 white onion
olive oil
1 avocado
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

First thing you do: mix hamburger with all spices and 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce. I didn't measure out the spices, I shook each of them a few times. (I know...lots of help, right?!) After you mix the hamburger and spices, make four patties and cook them how you desire. Grill or cook them on top of the stove, that's what I did. While those are cooking, dice up the tomatoes and onion, put it all in a bowl and add a little olive oil, garlic salt and parsley flakes. Set that aside. In a separate bowl, mash up the avocado and stir in the sour cream.  Set that aside. When the burgers are done, put a little olive oil in a different pan and put in the tortilla. Spread some shredded cheese on the tortilla. When the cheese melts, place a burger on one side of the tortilla and then flip the other side of the tortilla over on the burger. Hold it in place with a spoon.  When the cheese is melted against the burger, take it all of the stove and put it on a plate. Spread the avocado mix on top of the burger and then put a few spoonfuls of the tomato mix on top. ENJOY! This was by far the best flavored burger that I have ever made!

Have a great SATURDAY night!
~Stephanie

Positive Thinking

Good Evening Bloggers!!
What.A.Week. *big sigh*  We did our STAR math and reading testing this week along with DIBELS and easyCBM. The kiddos rocked their tests!! YES!
I'm working on some new math lessons that will be available in my TpT store soon! 
Well, I'm keeping up with my New Years resolution! I made two new recipes this week:) Biscuits & Gravy Casserole and chewy chocolate chip granola bars! They were delicioso! 
Both recipes are on my Pinterest board: Yummy Food! 

 

As stressful as this week was, wonderful things happened. In the midst of testing about 160 students I realized that teaching, making a difference, is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I received an e-mail from another teacher explaining that two students in her class who are in Title math are succeeding. They are not only learning new things, they are remembering what they have learned. It was very special to share in their success with this teacher:) I wish this happened more often. Too many times do we focus on the negative aspects about our job. Going back to my 'theme' for 2014: openness, I need to do a better job of being open to the opinions of others. Being... confident in my abilities which will help me be open to new opportunities. That's my peace for the night:):) Take from it what you will~
I'll leave you with this:
 
This totally happened to me this week. I was in the bathroom washing my hands and two high school girls game in and TOTALLY caught me doing this...... OMG. Oh well! What do ya do?!

LOVE- Stephanie

Don't let the steaks catch on FIRE

OK... funny story... Last week I tried to make a new steak recipe...you know to keep up with my New Years resolution... AND>>>>> the steaks caught on FIRE. I turned on the broiler and put the steaks in after I put some some olive oil on the bottom of the glass dish. WELL, I was in Soph's room changing her diaper and all of a sudden I heard a crackling noise...I ran out into the kitchen and there was smoke coming up from the burners and I opened the door to the oven and the steaks were literally on FIRE. OMG. My baby is in her room in her crib and I'm literally fighting fires...I turned off the oven and took out the steaks and the flames went away immediately. Thank goodness:) A note to the wise: keep the oven door slightly cracked when cooking on broil. Needless to say, the steaks were a bit dry...haha
My kindergarten kiddos are working on measurement and I came across a cute activity in my file folders. They measured lines with MaRsHmAlLoWs! And of course... they got to eat them;)

 I put some new products on my TpT store! Presidents day themed math task cards working on division, double digit subtraction and multiplication- for fourth grade. I wrote a new literacy based math lesson to use with measurement and the book I used was What's Up With that Cup? Check it out, I'm using it with my kindergartners next week!

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reads my blog:) It's my outlet and I really appreciated the support:) HAVE A GREAT DAY!!
 

-1 Degrees

Holy Moly! It is freeeeeezing outside today! Good thing I'm staying inside ALL day, dressed in my comfy comfs, drinking some chai tea and working on a few projects! Sophia Lynn is currently bouncing up and down, sucking on her bottom lip and looking at me like, 'mom...maybe you should do something with your hair..' haha...YES.  

So...my New Years resolution was to try new recipes, and that I DID! Friday night I made Chicken Fajita Pizza. YUMMMMMMYYYYY. You need:
- Pizza dough
-2 jars of your favorite salsa
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tsp Spanish Paprika
-1 tsp Italian seasoning 
-1 tsp Fiesta Lime Mrs. Dash seasoning
-4 cups Mexi cheese
-2 green peppers
-1 red pepper
-1 red onion
-1 can black beans
-5 garlic cloves
-1 cup chopped cilantro
- 3 tablespoons lime juice



Set oven to 425 degrees. Cook chicken on top of stove and then chop it into bit size pieces.  Marinade diced chicken in lime juice and spices. COOK the pizza dough first..(I did not do this, I should have). I would cook it for five minutes at least. Drain black beans and set aside. Dice all veggies while crust is cooking. Mix in a bowl with the cilantro and garlic cloves. I used my Pampered Chef garlic press. I LOVE the garlic press.  Then spread the salsa on the crust and top with all veggies. Then top with the cheese. Bake for 8-10 minutes. ENJOY!!! *Andy wanted me to put cream cheese on top of the pizza, so the white stuff in the pic above is the cream cheese. I put little bits of it on the pizza and then let it cook for 3 more minutes. It was actually pretty tasty! 



I'm super excited to introduce a new page in my blog: Fashionista! I LOVE clothes, I seriously have an obsession with pinning clothes on Pinterest..ha.. and more times than not I can never find the store where these cute clothes are sold! So, on this new page are my Pinterest Fashion inspirations and then the outfits I came up with. I also listed the stores that I bought them at. Keep in mind, I'm no photographer;) 



I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend! Keep warm Northwestern Iowa folks!
~Stephanie

The RIGHT Resolutions

Happy New Year! 2013 has come and gone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones:) * I had to share this selfie (which I rarely take) because I LOVE my new Joe Fresh white vest, which I paired with a long striped navy and coral shirt, black leggings and brown Steve Madden boots! 

I don't know about you, but I'm SO ready to get back into the classroom. I have several projects that I need to finish and I'm so excited for our new Elementary Math Leadership Team to get started!

Sophia Lynn is wanting to crawl....badly. She is scooting and pulling herself up to the standing position! YEA!

To bring in the new year, I made a DE-licious salad for dinner! I put three pork steaks into the crockpot on high for 4 hours and topped them with 6 crushed garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and ½ cup of chicken broth. The meat fell off of the bone...it was so tender. I cut up some leafy greens, a tomato and topped off the salad with some feta cheese. Last night I made some dressing for a chicken dish and I had some left so I put it on the salad..YUM. There is a pic below! That recipe for the dressing is on my Pinterest board: Yummy Food!

Yesterday, I was sipping on my Starbucks Chai Tea Latte, thinking, what will my 'New Year's Resolutions' be?? Ughhh…. the pressure…. to make a resolution that I will follow through with. Isn't that the goal? I did some researching and found an interesting article from Forbes: ANew Kind of New Year's Resolution That Will Make You Happy.

                                             Hmmm…. 

Basically, when we figure out what makes us happy in life, we need to learn to create more of it. A New Year's resolution shouldn't be a brand new idea, they should build on what we already have in our lives. These resolutions should be something that we want to continue and commit too. In this article, Caprino writes that we could choose a theme for the year 2014, using one word to describe what we want more of. Words such as: authenticity, peace and serenity.  

 Soooo….. with that in mind I decided to make one resolution and a theme that will bring me happiness and will continue to 'pave the way for more growth' as Kathy Caprino writes in her article. 

* Currently, I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes now and again. New Year's Resolution: try a new recipe every other week while maintaining a healthy diet. 

* My theme for 2014 is openness. I will keep an open mind while engaging in new duties as a teacher, wife and mother. Part of being open is to value new experiences and thoughts while listening to ideas of others and putting judgements aside. 

Yikeskers. 

I have my work cut out for me. I'm truly blessed with all that has happened in the last year and with a few new ideas to keep in mind, 2014 is sure to be a hit:) 

~ Stephanie