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.

August Currently: Short and Sweet

On a bright and sunny Thursday, here's a positive spin to a 3:45am wakeup....

Of course I would've loved a few more hours of sleep--especially with school starting in a little under 2 weeks. (!!) But I'll be honest, I did miss the munchkin. I ventured out last night with a few teacher friends to do some back-to-school classroom supply shopping at Lakeshore. (Fun but overwhelming, for sure! That's a post for another time!) Post-shopping we dined out at Stone Hearth Pizza and capped off the night with build-your-own cupcakes at Treat Cupcake Bar. (Thank you Mr. Lovie for the night out!) But I missed Miss K. Her spontaneous smiles. Those cheeks. Her sweet "talking." And those cheeks!

And, when she does wake up in the middle of the night/early morning, there's a good chance she'll nap for a substantial time (read: an hour or so) in the morning.  And voila-- I have a few minutes to pump, shower, eat breakfast, straighten a few things up around the house, run the dishwasher, prep laundry, catch up on a few Bloglovin' posts and maybe squeeze in a quick post of my own! (Several of those tasks being completed simultaneously, right Mr. Lovie??) :)

Excited to link up with Farley for my first Currently.

 

 

 (I'm only just noticing my typo under wanting and wishing I had edited it better! It's not an easy fix so I've got to let this one go. Better editing next month!)

 

*I am in love with all things Ladybug Teacher Files! I love how bright and bold her collection is--not to mention it will all match! Click here to check out her fabulous Teachers Pay Teachers shop.

Miss K is awake! Time for cuddles and a walk!

Five on Friday: Back-to-School Freebies and Baby Outtakes

Are you following me on Instragram? No!? You totes should. While I may not blog every day or even every other day, I manage to sneak some "me" time in every day to chronicle my life on Instragram--just another creative outlet I have been drawn to--be it shots of the babe, Fat Mum Slim's photo-a-day, third grade happenings, flashbacks, sweet deals and buys, baking creations, or daily excursions.  So follow me @thirdgradecupcakes if you don't already. 

 

Beyond the day-to-day mommy responsibilities of snuggling, reading, entertaining, feeding, soothing, rocking, bottle prepping....I attempt to tackle a daily to-do list that often includes neighborhood errands, laundry (about every other day), emails, thank you notes, birthday cards, prep for an upcoming bridal shower or baby shower, household organization (baby clothes, sorting and rearranging my clothes, sorting baking toppers and accessories into organizers, creating a gift wrap station downstairs, rethinking the unused contents of the linen closet)...

If and when that is accomplished and the baby naps, I selfishly choose between pumping, showering, school prep, reading, BlogLovin' (for fear my unread items will creep beyond 99...), Pinning, Instragramming (Is this even a word?) and chronicling our daily happenings or the aforementioned household organizing. I'm finding it hard to sit and devote solid time to create, format, tweak, and perfect activities that could hardly be shared or sold alongside the likes of the fabulous Hope King and Amy Lemons! 

So while I have not found much time to sit down and create lessons, activities, and units from scratch for TPT recently, (where is the time!?) I have stolen a few minutes here and there to print, cut, laminate and prep a few fabulous activities and back to school goodies from a few of my favorite teachers and bloggers.

So here is my Five on Friday.  

 {one}

What better way to welcome back-to-school than with a photo shoot and these adorable {free} printables from A Blissful Nest, found at Living Locurto. 

(Click on the image to take you to the printables!)

 {two}

 Another back to school goody I did last year and will be sure to do again this year is Shenanigans in Second Grade's Hope King's fabulously colorful tag and sunglasses found on Amazon. The kids loved them last year, and I'm excited to use them in a first day photo shoot. 

(Click on the first image to take you to the printable. 
The photograph of the shades will take you to the product page on Amazon.)

 

 
 

 {three}

Third grade math begins with number sense and place value. Here's an I Have Who Has game from Math Coach's Corner that I am in the process of cutting, gluing, matting, laminating, and re-cutting. 

(Click on the image to take you to the {free} printable!)
 

 

 {four}

I'm looking forward to starting the year off with this Back to School iPhone from the very talented Katy at Stickers and Staples. 

(Click on the image to take you to the TPT product page!)

 {five}  

I have been in love with Pitner's Potpourri's fabulous math and literacy activities for a long time. I'm trying to get ahead as best I can, so I am tackling a large pile of fall/Halloween themed activities now. I'm in the process of prepping this fun literacy activity. 

(Click on the image to take you to the {free} printable!)

  

And on a personal note, this week marked a few milestones around our house...

Miss K turned 3 months old...

 (I love her face in that one!) 

  

 (Really, Momma? This bunny isn't even real...)

And, the hubby and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary yesterday. The traditional gift is leather so he opened up a love note in a leather journal and tickets to next week's Patriots game bookmarked within. (Because football's are made of leather...Duh. Just go with it. :) )

What will our fourth anniversary bring? 

What milestones and everyday joys will we experience in the coming year?

No matter what, I've got my very best friend by my side.

A Giveaway; Five on Friday; Mommyhood

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First off, be sure to head over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade to enter Farley's fabulous School Outfitters giveaway-- $100 to spend? Yes please!

Earlier this week I had high ambitions for blog posts for Tech Tuesdays...

  and Throwback Thursdays...

and those days came and went without more than a few minutes spent in front of the computer. (Blogging mommas--what's your secret!?) :) But that did mean more time with this munchkin!

With it being Friday, and all, here is my Five on Friday. 

{one} 
 

Don't get me wrong, I love summer. And I love hot weather. But I've had enough of this oppressive heat wave. (Today's heat index hit 104.) A morning stroll has become a part of our daily routine. I need it. Getting out of the house with the babe is not the easiest feat. (Change her, feed her, change her, soothe her, pack the diaper bag, prep a bottle, ready, set, go!) So daily walks are great. The dog is super happy, I get fresh air, some sun, some exercise, and it often soothes Miss K to sleep. And after a day like today when napping was not on her agenda, a walk would have been wonderful. But alas, cabin fever set in--for all of us. And days when morning walks aren't possible because of the weather or our schedule, an evening run has done wonders for the long days, busy days, and slow days. Hence, while I practically live in running gear. So for those reasons, I could not be happier for next week's more tolerable weather.

 

{two}

We are loving Miss K's nightly sleeps. Footie pajamas and these velcro swaddles have been the answer! I haven't seen 3:30 am in over a week! She typically wakes anytime between 5:15 and 6 now. While it still makes for a long day--napless for Momma--I'll take it. I do wonder what life around here will look like come late August when school starts again...

{three}

I desperately want to tackles folders upon folders of TPT classroom goodies. (That is no exaggeration.) I cannot. find. the. time. Nor do I see any time in the near or distant future. I am finding I need to choose the ones I want to create the most and the rest will wait. The idea of having enough time to CREATE new TPT products sounds impossible.

  I'm struggling to find a balance with mommyhood and third grade and it is so.hard. Reality is that it will only get harder come late August. 

 Just picking up a book and getting through one paragraph as been a challenge. When Miss K is content/napping, it's a mad dash to eat breakfast, shower, pump, prep the bottles, empty the dishwasher, switch the load of laundry--napping..reading..TPTing takes a backseat--way in the back.

{four}

Yesterday was the hubby's birthday and it began with blueberry muffins--a birthday tradition that began on his doorsteps ten years ago. Miss K and I brought him lunch and surprised him with cupcakes and the fixings for an ice cream sundae bar. Tomorrow is our annual birthday barbeque here at the house for friends and family.

{five}

I received this email yesterday,and it revealed some fabulous news! Woohoo! My class is getting a set of 5 iPad minis! This makes the two iPad workshops I am teaching in August all the more valuable!

Today started with morning snuggles,

and lacked any semblance of a good, solid nap, 

was filled with on-and-off-again fiery, ugly cries,

dragged, and dragged, and dragged...

but then, moments after one of those cries...

and after another...

I may not always know exactly what you need or what you want, and I may doubt myself every hour of every day, 
but my patience and love for you will never falter. 

I love you sweet Kensington.