Summer Fun and a Blog Hop

What a summer it's been! Here's a mere snippet of the fun we've had the past few weeks:

• baking for a teacher friend's boyfriend's birthday

• a visit from a teacher mentor I worked and learned from in college

 

•  my second Finish at the 50 race on July 3rd

 

 

• a rainy day July 4th play date

 

 

• a stroll along the Cape Cod Canal and a pool date

 

 

   

• numerous ice cream dates (which will continue Mr. Lovie!!) 

 

• kiddie pool fun at Memere and Grammy's

• a run-in with this cutie pie while leading the camp's Trailblazers group at the pond

 

• more cupcake baking for our school's art teacher

• a Trailblazing trip to the zoo

 

 

• a teacher-friend's fabulous wedding, lawn games, and cupcakes courtesy of Sweet Mack Bakery--that's me!

• Cupcake Club at summer camp

 

As you can see we have had one heck of a summer and it's not over yet!

But, I love back-to-school and I can't wait to tackle my ever-growing list of back-to-school tasks, set up my room, meet my newest kiddos....I just love it!

While I may not be doing much creating on the teacher front, (okay, none) I am happy and eager to share fabulous finds!

I recently finished prepping a few activities...

...like Hope King's place value Base Tents activity which she has as a Facebook fan freebie here.

3rd Grade Gridiron's Economics Vocabulary Mix Up (click on the picture to snag)

 
Baseball Multiplication freebie from Third Grade Doodles (click the picture to snag)

My future is so bright... QR Code and Regular Writing Prompts and Activity (click the picture to snag)

And just this morning I came across this SoCal blog hop....(click the image to surf away!)

  
and started following a few fabulous West Coast teacher bloggers like....

Teaching... The Art of Possibility

Sailing into Second Grade

A Grace-Filled Classroom

A Kindergarten Life for Me

A Teachable Teacher

 

Miss Kindergarten

Ramona Recommends

Fancy Free in 4th

 

...just to name a few!

Not to mention I spent an excessive amount of time gawking at Kristen's colorful organization tonight over at Ladybug Teacher Files and fell in love all over again with her fabulousness.

PTL for Teacher Pay Teachers' back to school sale this week!

Hello Summer!

I've had blogging on my daily to do list for days now, and on my mind for weeks.

Particularly with the recent gorgeous weather (with the exception of Arthur), I find it harder and harder to bring myself over to the computer to sit and blog. (Not to mention the comfy, cozy, relatively-new leather couch we have that I tend to pass out on after a long day of third grade and mommy duties or more recently summer camp, errands, mommy duties, house chores, daily excursions to the splash pad, local Y, play date, lunch date, playground--you name it! By 6:30/7 when Lady K is off in Dreamland, or adorably babbling to Mrs. Owl, Puppet, Lola, or Hippity, I am EXHAUSTED.

My "me" time is spent catching up on blogs, updating my third grade classroom blog for parents and families-- mrsmacksbatchofthirdgraders.blogspot.com,  finding new places to explore courtesy of mommy friends and 365ThingstoDoontheSouthShore.com, running when I muster up the energy, and chronicling our days on instagram @thirdgradecupcakes. Oh, and baking for my up-and-coming bakery Sweet Mack Bakery. (Shameless plug: Like us on Facebook and follow our sweet treats on Instagram @SweetMackBakery.)

Here's a snippet from the start to our summer...

• I run my first half marathon with Kelsey, a teacher friend of mine who is getting married next weekend.

• Mr. Lovie and I FINALLY enjoyed a movie date night. (It had been our third attempt, and well worth it.)

•  We enjoyed a neighborhood stroll with Memere and Grammy.

• Kensington had a play date with sweet Kaelyn in Hingham. 

 

• This little girl was sickie and enjoyed a Mommy/ Daughter day at the outlets.

  

• In the world of third grade we began our balloon surprise countdown to summer. Oh boy, did we have some fun!

•  Never a dull moment during mornings with Momma...

•  Playtime with our little family.

• Enjoyed Kelsey's "I Do" BBQ and baked for the occasion. 

And that's only a wrap-up of the end of May!
 

Teacher blogger mommas, how do you do it all--they're all 25 hour/day jobs--teaching, blogging, babies! Any advice is welcome!!

Two new year's summer resolutions are to blog more consistently and make more time for me and Mr. Lovie. The school year is too often consumed by planning, grading, creating, laminating, and prepping, that I want to take full advantage of these summer months for family and Mr. Lovie. I couldn't do this ride without him.

What a difference

I'll be honest. 

I hit a rough patch last fall, and had an awfully difficult time seeing far off in to the distance to June.

Each day was a challenge, and I longed for Friday. Weekends were a physical break from the classroom, but hardly a mental break. The challenges and anxiety consumed me. I wanted to do it all. I wanted to be the doting wife, loving mom, attentive daughter, thoughtful sister, and talented teacher. Yet I felt constantly defeated and craving a few more hours in each day.

It took time.

It took talking.

It took patience.

It took perspective.

It took the support of my family and friends.

It took hormones to get back in balance. 

And what a difference. 

I now look forward to my classroom. I look forward to my kiddos, their silly stories, their handdrawn illustrations, their homemade crayon candles. I look forward to the crowd of kiddos around me with questions, anecdotes, stories, and concerns. (Okay, maybe not that crowd that follows me at the start of the morning bell...)

But I'm having fun again. As odd as it seems, I knew I was feeling better when I started baking again, when I started crafting, when I took time to see friends again.

I'm back.

And here's a peek at that fun I've been talking about..