Climbing Out From Under My Rock!

Wow!!! I can't believe it's been a month since my last post! The end of the year was truly a whirlwind. With testing, testing and more testing, I have been so busy helping teachers that I had nothing interesting to blog about (and was lacking the energy as well!) Today is day 1 of my summer vacation and I am excited about doing fun stuff with the twins! Of course I have grand plans for us, we will see how much gets done!!! Today we will be enjoying a lazy day at home and swimming in the pool. They LOVE to swim (in 2 feet of water) and have been waiting for this day for weeks.

We also have booked our Disney Trip for September!!!! The girls are going to be so excited! I had no clue that Disney offered free dinning during the fall! We have almost always been to Disney in July, can you say HOT! As we were beginning to make plans a friend told me about free dinning in the fall and I began to investigate. Depending on which resort you stay at, you are eligible for different dinning packages- FOR FREE!! We are staying at Disney All Star Movies Resort. We have never stayed on the Disney properties, always opting to stay at a condo or house off property, thinking it was cheaper. Not the case when you have free dinning! We were eligible for 2 quick service meals and 1 snack a day, we upgraded to 1 sit down meal a day. This means we are doing a character meal Every.Single.Day. Stay tuned for more info on our trip later!

The best news is the trip is already 100% paid for! Yes you read that correct. I am using money made selling Pampered Chef this month to pay for it! I became a consultant a little over 3 months ago and God is blessing my business!!! I am doing something fun and enjoyable and getting paid to do it! I have also added a link to my PC store right on my blog, so if you need something and don't have a consultant, please use me!!! Items can be directly shipped right to your home! Right now PC is offering something they have NEVER done....FREE new consultant kits!!! You can try out Pampered Chef for nothing this month! If you want more info on making extra money, getting free products, or just being recognized for the work your doing, I would love to talk to you about this wonderful opportunity!

Well I'm off to play in the pool with my girlies!

Quick Cooking Meals

 How many times have you been faced with this question???

Well I have the answers that can hopefully help you!  I have been on a new cooking kick called Power Cooking.  I buy hamburger and chicken in bulk and take an hour during the weekend to cook it and portion it into Ziploc bags. After portioning out the meat, I add various spices and sauces depending on what is needed for the meal.  This makes week night cooking a PIECE-O-CAKE! 

I can have dinner on the table in less then an hour and most nights, I don't even turn on my stove!  

So here is my weekly menu for this week and all include approximate cooking times!  Power Cooking has freed me in the kitchen!!!  

So for those of you who would like to begin your own Power Cooking, here is the basic recipe for make ahead beef:  3 lbs ground beef, 3 onions, 3 cloves of garlic.  Cook it up together and then portion it out in 1 pound bags.  When measuring it out, 1 1/2 cups equals 1 lb.  After you portion it out you can freeze it as is, or add spices to it.  

Here is an easy example: Zesty Taco Salad, take 1 pound make ahead meat and add 2 Tbsp of Southwest Seasoning or a Taco packet.  Mix up and freeze.  When you are ready to make the Taco Salad, defrost your meat, cook for 5 min in the Microwave, chop lettuce.  Arrange lettuce on a platter, top with meat, cheddar cheese, and sour cream mixed with salsa.  Yummo!!!

I plan on posting my menu weekly and adding in new recipes.  I hope Power Cooking will help you get meals on the table quicker for your family!

1 Post, 2 Giveaways!!!

You read the title correct!

I hope that you have felt very appreciated this week! I am teaming up with some of my friends to show some more love!   My BFF Amber over at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher is hosting a Teacher Appreciation Giveaway!  This is a big one!!!  Head over and enter it ends on Sunday!

One lucky teacher will win all of these FABULOUS prizes!

Stephanie's TPT Shop

Amber's TPT Shop

Elisabeth's TPT Shop

Elizabeth's TPT Shop

Lisa's TPT Shop

Christi's TPT Shop

Lindsay's TPT Shop

Julie's TPT Shop

Gina's TPT Shop

As if that wasn't enough, don't forget to enter my Big Birthday giveaway for a chance to win the mega prize pack!  

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Happy Friday!

Belated Birthday

So with all the craziness I have had with my daughter, Raegan, my birthday celebration got a little dragged out!  I am happy to say that today is the day that I will begin the final giveaway!!!

You can win the following prizes: 

Plant Growth Lapbook from Amber at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher
End-Of-Year Extravaganza packs from Deana at Primary Punch
Cinderella Unit from Stephanie at First Grade Fabulous Fish
Adjectives Comparison Unit from Gina at Third Grade Tidbits
Testing Lapbook from Elizabeth at Fun in Room 4B

I am also adding in winner's choice item from my store and $25 gift card to your choice of the following stores, Target, TPT or Pampered Chef (hello, I'm a new consultant!)

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And as if this isn't exciting enough!  Don't forget that TPT is having their Teacher Appreciation Sale that wraps up today!  

And Teacher's Notebook through the end of the week!

When Life Gives You Lemons

So many of you know I have been on this roller coaster of emotions with my daughter having had 2 cranial surgeries in the past 6 months.  We went back last Friday and got a great report and don't have to return for 4 weeks.  This weekend, Raegan decided that it was a little to calm for her liking.  Kenley and her began playing a game during naptime of ripping out all the Kleenex out of the box.  They took it to a whole new level when they began ripping up the the Kleenex.  Raegan must have needed some more to rip up because I hear a large THUMP and ran in to found her on the floor!  She apparently leaned over too far and fell out of her crib.  Monday was spent at a variety of Drs and we were finally left with a cast and a sling.

Bless my poor baby!!!  Got the head wrap from her most recent surgery and now a full arm cast for 4 weeks!  God is teaching me so much through her though!  She is always so happy (look at her smile!) and never loses her joy.  I can take lessons from her when I am having a bad day!  

Also, don't forget TPT is having a Teacher Appreciation sale today and tomorrow.  My store is 20% off for these two days in addition to the sale price.

My Teacher's Notebook is also on sale all week for their Teacher's Appreciation sale. My store is 20% off there the entire week!

Hope you find some good things during the sale!!!

Better Later Then Never!

So I planned on having a giveaway a day all week for my birthday, but that didn't work out so well! My baby had a follow up appointment after her last surgery and that occupied a lot of my attention. So to make up for being late to the party, please enjoy 2 products in this giveaway!

First prize is from Stephanie from First Grade Fabulous Fish. She has donated her Cinderella Pack which is awesome! It has all you need to do a great unit on this popular fairy tale!

 Next up is end of year center packs for ELA and Math for 2nd grade. They are CCSS aligned too! Thanks to Deana from Primary Punch for providing this awesome prize!

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Birthday Giveaway Continues....Day 3

This is the best birthday I have had!   Reading all your stories about your favorite birthday's has been awesome!  Some of my faves have been:

Julie wrote:

"I don't know about best but for most hilarious a few years ago I went out to dinner with a bunch of my friends. My dear friend had her little one, who was 2 at the time with her. He was sitting in my lap when they brought out a birthday dessert for me. Everyone started singing to me and he started crying his eyes out!"

Andrea wrote:

"The best birthday memory is my fourth grade sleepover party. We had a bunch of fun!" 

I remember each and everyone of my birthday parties as a child!  My most memorable one was my 10th birthday.  New Kids on the Block were super hot then and my mom made me a cake with a design of them on it!  I also got my very own Joe doll!!!  Life.Was.Good!

Thanks to Gina, who donated her awesome Adjective Comparison unit yesterday.  

Today's giveaway comes from one my very first bloggy friends Elizabeth from Fun in Room 4B.  She is a doll and I absolutely adore her!  She is giving away her Test Prep Lapbook!  

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I can't wait to read more of your awesome Bday stories!!!!