Happy Easter and Super Egg-Cited!!

Hello my lovely friends-

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter with family!

This is going to be the shortest post I have ever written but I am on my way to Grandma's House-
Over the River and Through the Woods- not really- she's like nine miles away, but it is taking forever to get ready and it is not helping that I am hiding to post this and they think I am getting ready......

I wanted you all to see what I have been working on for my class

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fishing-for-Fluency-Facts-to-10

We are working hard on those parts of numbers- not just memorizing facts- I think they are going to love
Fishing for these Facts!!!

Since it is a holiday and since it is my first product in a LONNNNNNG time it is ONLY $4.00 for just today Tomorrow it goes back up to $5.!
so head over and grab it to get yourself ready for the week!



(I have some great stories to share from the Great Date Night) but I can only hide so long)

Happy Easter!

Five for Friday {March 29}

WAAAAAAA!!!! It's the cry heard 'round the world-
(well at least around my block)
It's the LAST Friday of Spring Break!!!!

There are still good things ahead though for the last couple of days- so much to look forward to-
And the big plus is that it is Friday and we get to Link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for :

This week was relaxing for the most part-
Until......

Until I took Chickadee to the DMV to get her permit.
I know what you you're thinking:
"Squirrels, you don't look old enough to have a child who drives..."

Oh? You weren't thinking that???
Wait, now you are just pretending you were to make me feel better- I appreciate the compliment!

We spent 2.5 hours of our lives at the DMV Wednesday morning. My plan was to be there 20 minutes before the doors opened so that we could be one of the first ones in line.
Apparently I am not the genius that I thought I was- because 50 other people had the same idea!.

I made a few observations while we were there-
(And even though I said "few", remember, we were there for 2.5 hours.

Here's what I noticed:

1. It's never okay to wear sweatpants in public, Dear Sir.

2. There's a good chance their gonna take your picture today- spruce it up bit,  folks.

3. Babies. Call a buddy. Text a friend. SOMEONE has got to be available.

4. Whispering is not a practiced skill in many households. Grown ups should know how to use their inside voices.

5. No one cares how cutely you dressed your toddler today- we are not here to entertain her.

6.No matter where you sit, there will be awkward eye contact throughout your DMV experience.

and finally

7. There are 628 ways to respond to "You do not have the correct documentation."

It was an adventure to say the least.


Anyway, here she is.
What once was a tiny bundle of screaming, pooping, puking, non-sleeping, crying-all-night joy is now legal to be behind the wheel.

She has requested that I not share her photo- so I disguised her- SMELL IT, Chickadee!

__________________________________________________________________

Mr. Barkley has been mischievous as usual this week.

_____________________________________________________________________

This is the town I live in folks-  no words.

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My third and fourth pictures serve two purposes!
This week marks a milestone in Cutie Coffee Across the Country.
I mailed off a cutie cozy to my 25th state!

Half way there folks!!! Check and see if your state is sporting cute coffee!

You can click the map to check those out!!

I have a few little things to take care of this evening-
LIKE PERPETUAL NOTHINGNESS!!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Smooches!

WTH !?!?! Wednesday

 Howdy Folks from the world of Spring Break Land!
Things here have been semi- uneventful- no major vacations or getaways.

I scrolled through several of my past posts (rather narcissistic, I know, but I'm like Dory over here! I can't remember what I wrote about two weeks ago, let alone two months ago!)

I noticed a trend- I noticed that WTH Wednesday disappeared!

For you new followers- WTH?!?! Wednesday and ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDIN ME FRIDAY!!?!?! were my favorite posts to write for a long time.
Usually nothing teacher related (SURPRISE!!)
But loads of fun!!!


Without further ado....I give you
WTH Wednesday!

 We went on a short (and I mean very short) trip to East TN this past weekend. Left here on Saturday, came back on Sunday. And guess who drove THE WHOLE WAY by MYSELF??? Yep. It was me. Well, the Littles were in the car, but none of them can drive. They just eat pringles and argue over whose stuff is up too loud!

While we were on our way there. I held up my phone and snapped a few shots (I swear I didn't aim. and I never looked at my phone after that until we were safely parked in the driveway)....that is a lie, but it made me feel good.

My question after stringing these together- is
WHERE THE HECK  is everyone going in such a hurry????

I was doing 70- sometimes a little less, but hey! There are mountains between here and there!
Why is it so important to be there (where ever "there" is) so quickly?
It's a beautiful drive (until you try to get off of the interstate because of a hail storm on the way home, get lost, freak out, make your kids cry, and make a 4 hour trip into a 6 hour one)
But seriously- Where's the fire???


On the way there we did have to stop a few times. I like for our family to stop in the SAME designated area each time we are on a trip. That way there are no surprises.
I would rather NOT stop somewhere where they have attached the key to the bathroom to cinder block with a chain.
Call me crazy (and many do) but I just don't feel safe unless we are somewhere extremely easy to locate- should we disappear.

Littlest Little was NOT having it. His body told him, "Hey, buddy- you can pretend all you want but we all decided in here that we're letting this Fanta go ....soon!"
So we had to stop.
Here.

WHO THE HECK wants their store front to look like the store from EVERY scary movie EVER made???
We were totally creeped out!
After locking everything in the van up tight, I walk in with them only to see a sign at the door that says
RESTROOMS FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY!
So I had to run out, get the squirrel stash, buy MORE pringles and PRAY that no one touched anything while I was gone!!


Obviously we made it there and back- whew!

We got in  on Sunday night and The Mr. had made a nice pot of chili. So we talked about our visit with his grandfather (The Mr was unable to attend this little getaway because of work)

It was hard to fall asleep that night knowing that the following morning was a Monday and I was going to  be  off of work and had a whole week ahead of me. Maybe some yard work- visit my parents- clean out the office (I SWEAR I am working on it Bubbly, I HAD to take a break)...

This is what we woke up to...

WHAT THE HECK is Mother Nature smokin???? It's the end of MARCH people- there should NOT be snow here!!
So I didn't get to garden, no visiting, and I may have only worked on organizing the office for a minimum  maximum of 45 mins!


While getting ready for more wintery weather I had to make a run to Wally World. I made sure I purchased everything we might need if we were caught in a snow drift. Especially if those things we needed were junk food items.... It is safe to say that we are all set in that department.

Look at what I discovered as I inhaled ate a bag of M & Ms on the ride home...

WHO THE HECK is "full" of m & m's after half of a bag?? These are the itty bitty ones too- next to the register.  I may have discovered that I have been overeating on candy for years!!

Alright, we gotta speed this post up or it's gonna be WTH Thursday...

I tried to enter a Rafflecopter last night. It said there was a mistake. This is where it directed me. Rafflecopter Techs may now and forever be my favorite people.

Love the searches that bring friends here....however I am curious...

WHO THE HECK am I negotiating with??? And what are we negotiating? Are we talking money here? Who are you???? If we need to talk- let me know!! email addy is up top!

Usually a funny search is the end of such a post- but tonight, I have a special treat... I want you to see WHO THE HECK I got to meet today!!!

My BFF Neighbor Teacher had some "friends" on her porch. She called me right away because she thought that I could talk to them and find out where their mommy was...
I tried but all I could  get out of them was A LOT of squeaking!!!
NOT KIDDING, FOLKS! Squirrels are some noisy friends....I have no idea why anyone would compare me to a.....
nevermind.

So anyway, she made some phone calls and found a wildlife rehab to take them to a county over.... they were only in my life for a short time (30 mins) but I felt such a connection.....They will be missed!!
(And yes that is one of the Littles in a Ushanka, it was almost 70 today)

If you are on Spring Break and you are somewhere warm and sunny have a blast and enjoy every second!
If you are headed out the door to work in the morning, have a blast and enjoy every second!!

Smooches!!

Five for Friday {March 22}

Oh Everyone in the Squirrels household is "Happy, Happy, Happy!"
Today at 3:10pm my Spring Break officially started!
So I have my bikini ready, my suntan lotion is packed and my fake ID is ready to go to the beach!!!

Wait, hold on- that was the case 24 Spring Breaks ago-
Today?
Not so much....

Those buses rolled and we were BUS DUST!!!!
My bag may or may not have been ready to go when said buses GOT here today!


We do have our bags packed because there is a little trip for part of the break- but there will be NO beaches, we do NOT need suntan lotion, and NO ONE will be seeing this Squirrel in a bikini......I shudder....


On top of the break, today's bonus is the link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and
Five for Friday. Here are five randoms from the week

1. First we'll start with what we see when we leave for school.
Each morning Littlest Little and I turn the corner from my house and when the sun is shining, we say

"Morning, Shrek!"

It's the shadow of our van....but doesn't it look like Shrek?? Anyone have a vehicle that looks like Fiona? We should hook them up!

2. After only SEVEN days of being live, my Donors Choose project was funded! I was floored- the generosity of  family AND strangers is overwhelming!
This is the Cubby Station that I will have in our room soon. I can't wait to use it for their binders and their belongings!

3. Mr. Barkley became a full fledged hunter/giver of gifts this week.
He felt the need to stalk, capture, {kill} , and then share with me what I thought was a little field mouse.
Not so. It was {I stress}  WAS a baby mole.
A moment of silence please.

Bad boy.

4. Great news on the classroom front.
This week Miss D arrived!
Miss D is our student teacher. She is a sweetie and I think my sweeties are already in love!
She has already had a placement in another grade at a different school, so she is way past the "observation" mode. She already took over a few lessons!
I went in this last weekend to create a "space" for Miss D in our room. It is only 2 months that she will be with us, but I really felt like I needed to do this. When I student taught I never felt like I had a place to unpack and be a teacher. I didn't want Miss D to feel that way~ (and I don't think she does)

5. And this was just a few minutes ago, actually- I had to wait on "My Guy" at the nail place- We didn't have much time, so I went with a color (I haven't had a "color" on my nails in Y.E.A.R.S!!!!!
And now I have something that I have NEVER had on my nails.....

SQUIRRELS!!!!!!

I will be on an off for this next week- I have to get my "workspace" straight .....we'll see!
Smooches!!!!

Last Call!!! {for St. Patrick's Day}

Ah.. I remember when I used to hear the words "Last Call! "
The Mr. and I were quite the social butterflies back in the day.
Now "Last Call" around here means "Did you brush your teeth? Are your clothes set out? Is your backpack ready?"

Yep- Last Call has lost it's true meaning for this Ol' Squirrel-

This afternoon however, it means Last Call {last chance} for The It's Your Lucky Day Sale!

It's over in just a few hours (more or less depending on when you read this)

This is what you will find 20% off in my store for today only!

Fry Phrase Rings  Only $2.40 today!

These are Ah-mazinly simple to assemble and helped my sweeties tremendously! If I have a parent volunteer show up unexpectedly- these are great because they are portable! I have a three rings of each set in and around the room. Granny will show them a phrase and and ask them to turn it into a sentence (orally). I take them out into the hall- sometimes we wait a while to get into where we are going (TRAFFIC)! So I go up and down the line and they "whisper read" what they see. My higher ones will quiz my lower ones.....it's pretty sweet to watch!
 

Super Fluency Practice-  only $3.20 today for 12 games and the recording sheets!

 They have become very fluent with the shift in our math program (don't you love shifts?) These have helped a ton! I love during math centers walking around to monitor and I hear "BOOM!" POW! Pretty funny stuff!

One on One Assessments only $2.40 today!

I love those because they think they are playing a game with me and I am recording on our intervention plans- two birds, one stone!

Well I am off to find something green to make for dinner. I think the closest I might get is going to a restaurant that has green in their sign.....I am off to the school in a few (don't freak) for just a bit to put the finishing touches on a surprise for my student teacher who starts tomorrow!
Have fun shopping! See ya around later this week:)
Smooches!

Smelly Freebie and A Sale!

Yeah! It's Saturday!!!
I can't stay and talk for long- they have "opened" the building today and that means I can go into the hall on a Saturday without setting off any alarms and alerting the CPD!!! Whoo hoo!

(I know exciting, right)?

But before I go I wanted to share two things with you- a Freebie and ...........
.........drumroll.........
A Sale!
And it is a One Day Only Sale! More to come on that...
But first-

You have already read about my obsession with Scentos Smelly Markers- it has gotten to the point where when
The Mr. goes to Walmart, he will take a picture of a pack and ask- "Do you have these yet?"
Yep, it's bad.

But the firsties love them as much as I do!!!
We play games  with them Stop! Drop! SMELL IT! SPELL IT!  and we use them in SPELLING CENTERS (thanks to First Grade Blue Skies.)

And now we are creating "Secret Smelly Spelling" - {Shhhh...It's a Wig, I mean a Secret}

I got this idea from a combo of MOFFAT GIRLS Fun February post and the idea of using watercolor paints.

Paints are great- but unattended- on-your-own-the-teacher-can't-always-see-me-paints can be a nightmare!!!
So I thought for those of us who have a secret fear of getting a phone call from every single parent because "Johnny" painted all  of the children when you weren't looking, this is a great alternative.

Super Simple to set out.
Super Simple to do independently.
Super Smelly and Super Fun!

1. Set out a bin with Secret Smelly Spelling pages, a list of words, white crayons and smelly markers (you can use reg markers- but it doesn't smell as sweet!)

2.  Sweeties write their words with white crayon.

3. After words are written, sweeties go over them with smelly markers. The lighter colors work better.

4. Voila! All done!

You can make this a partner activity by having two of them write their words on separate papers, trade, Reveal! and Read!
Click on pic below to grab a free copy for yourself!

I hope your sweeties have as much fun with it as mine have!

Now- the Sale!
Mrs. Wheeler is hosting a Lucky Day Sale  Linky for one day only! Click the button below to head over and see how many wonderful bloggers will have 20% off on Sunday !

Some of my items that you might want to check out:

Fry Phrase Word Rings {1st, 2nd, and 3rd 100 sets}

Addition Fluency Games

One on One Assessments

Now it's time for me to go to work- Blarg! I should have gone to college to be a Princess. I don't think they work anywhere near as hard!!!
Smooches!

Five for Friday March 15

Hello! Time for Doodle Bugs Teaching Five for Friday!!!

1. Can we start out by sharing this word problem that went with my Mr. Green's Gold and it's GLARING mistakes???
Guess how I noticed?
Yep, another teacher pointed it out to me- AFTER it has been up for a week- AND been posted on my blog- BLARG!

2. Best way to get them cleaning?
Take a picture of their mess and tell them you are going to post it on the class site for  ALL of their parents to see.
The sweetie with the pink and brown butterfly bag was quick to point out that "your mom will recognize your bag on the computer and you're gonna get in trouble".
Pics never posted.
Floor is clean.

3. Had a presentation to prepare for a faculty meeting this week. Stayed up way to late (again)
Truman kept me company:)
Totally added to the acknowledgments!

4. One of my sweeties' awesome dad packed him a "Green" lunch today.

5. With all the crazy cuckooness this week- I am looking forward to checking my mailbox tomorrow and scooping up these little gems.
I ordered them from Etsy- Are they not the cutest? I think  you should all go order them!!
When I go to  "my guy" this week to get my nails filled, I am totally going to have him add a few of these decals and shellac over them!!!

 Hop everyone has a terrific Saturday!!!

Sleep? What's Sleep?

 Happy Almost Friday!

Here in my world, I am 50 mins away from Friday!

Why am I still awake?

Who knows!?!?!?

Sleep is something that has become an "incidental" for me. It just kind of "happens when it happens" lately. 

I used to jump on the chance to go to sleep and naps were mandatory!!!

And now I am lucky to be asleep between 12-1 am and then the alarm starts going off 2am so that The Mr can get ready for work. Some of the Littles are up between 5:30-6am, then Littlest Little and I are out the door between 6:45 and 7:00- depending on if I have a meeting or not.

 

And then I go ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL day.

Rinse.

Repeat.

 

WTH????

I am assuming it will catch up with me eventually- until then I guess I'll continue to stay up eat unhealthy amounts of junk food, catch up on the DVR,and blog stalk.

-----------------------------------Me!-------------------------------------------

If you follow my FB page, or my twitter, OR my pinterest- then you already know that I have a new Donors Choose Project up and running- 

I'm uber excited about it- I am also excited that I have had my mom, my sister, The Mr, and my students' parents fwd and post until their posting fingers cramp up!!!! 

This is the "formula' email that they are circulating for me-  thanks for checking it out:) And you would not be hurting this Lil Squirrels feelings at all if you chose to share the link-

 

I just created a request for my classroom: Getting Organized With Miss Squirrels.

If you chip in to help my students, you'll get awesome photos and our heartfelt thanks.

Give to my project by March 20 and your donation will be doubled thanks to the DonorsChoose.org Board of Directors! Just enter the code INSPIRE on the payment page and you'll be matched dollar for dollar.

Your support would mean so much to us.

Thank you,
Miss Squirrels



Getting Organized With Miss Squirrels

Miss Squirrels

Every day my door opens with smiles because we all are so glad to be here! Although it can quickly become confusing and cluttered when materials aren'... read more My students need an organized space to put their folders, agendas, and binders each day, keeping their daily school to home communications together.

(When you hover on Help My Classroom, it will look like you are heading off to "Pin" but it actually does go to the link)

Watch Oprah Winfrey explain DonorsChoose.org (2:23)

About DonorsChoose.org:
DonorsChoose.org is an award-winning nonprofit organization that provides an easy way to make a difference in public schools. Teachers across the United States post classroom project requests on our website and citizen philanthropists like you choose which projects to fund. DonorsChoose.org then purchases and delivers the requested materials.

DonorsChoose.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in the State of New York

DonorsChoose.org, 213 West 35th Street, 2nd Floor East, New York, NY 10001.

Five for Friday

Happy Friday! It's time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Fabulous Five for Friday Linky!

If you have been hanging around this week, you know that I celebrated my birthday this Thursday.
I received lots of gifts with squirrels:)
I love them all.
This is in the running for my absolute favorite!!

Shhhhhh.... I already have one- but I didn't tell my firstie that- he was too excited  while he was giving me the bag.
When Littlest Little came in at the end of the day he saw the game in the bag.
He said "Oh Mama! You ......."
I love that he saw "my look" and chose to end the sentence "......were wanting that game!"
I love that boy!

The game is The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game.
(I posted about the one I bought last year- this one means more (puffy heart).)

Place the acorns in the tree.

Spin the spinner.  Land on a color, pick up that acorn. Land on the sad sleeping squirrel, you don't get to pick up anything.
Land on the sneaky snacky squirrel, and you can take someone else's acorn! Sneaky Squirrel!!!

Look at the little guy you get to pick up the acorn with!!!!

Place your acorn on your tree stump. First one to fill their tree with acorns wins. And it takes longer than you think!!!

I also played some games this week with my Littles. Grandma sent us these GIANT cards!

Hmmmmmmmm, do I have any 5s??? Let me see.....

Enough with playing games right now though- I have to get my beauty sleep.
I got talked into bowling tomorrow.
AT 9am!!!!
With these nails!!!!

It's for a good cause though:)


Have a great weekend!!! I'll be back with SOMETHING educational- I swear!