Roll the Dice FREEBIE

Hey friends!  TGIF tomorrow!  :)  I'm pretty proud of myself for getting up every.single.day this week.  We have our Staff Christmas Party tomorrow.  I don't know how you do yours, but we always go to someone's house and we usually get it catered.  You're supposed to bring an appetizer or a dessert and a white elephant gift.

White elephant gift exchanges make me nervous.

That's because once I saw someone open a toilet seat lid.  For real.

And I also saw someone open something naughty.

In front of our principal.  

Who never weans jeans or pants of any kind.  In other words, she's a lady.

And this was . . . well, it was just plain ole naughty.

I'm always afraid.  VERY afraid.

I tend to be nice and get gift cards because I don't understand the White Elephant part of this . . . obviously.  

But I have a handle on it this year.

I want to bring dryer lint.  From my dryer.  I want to put it in a box with tissue paper and wrap it up.  WRAP IT UP.  

HA HA HA!  

But I'm afraid that if I do that, I'm going to open up something even more embarrassing.  Like . . . like . . . well, I don't know, but I know it will be just awful.

So I imagine I'll be getting a Starbucks gift card.  Like always.

I have no White Elephant gifts for you tonight.  No.  Only the regular, gray kind.

A freebie, if you will.

I shared this last year, but that's when google docs and I didn't get along and so I used Scribd.  

Google docs and I are on good terms again.  So just click the picture and you'll be all set.  Students need two dice.  Or they can play in partners.  Whatever.  Roll the dice.  Add the sum.  Draw the picture.

Best part?  There are pictures and words so you should be able to give this activity out during your nap time and no one should bother you.

Just make sure you use the foam dice.  That's what I have.  SILENT DICE.  

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Leave me some love if you grab it! :)

And wish me luck with the White Elephant Gift Exchange . . . not to mention, it's an UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER party.

Now I have two things to worry about . . . Sigh.

Shoes and Such Revisited

I have survived two days of being back in school.

TWO WHOLE DAYS.

I only have 13 school days left until my 3 week winter break, but I'm not keeping track, or counting down, or crossing off numbers on the calendar, or using an app that tells me how many hours and minutes left until December 14 at 3:00pm, either.

I don't have to keep track.  Everyone else is and it's also on the marquee at school.

My class has been MIA.  I had four kids absent yesterday and then two decided to vomit later in the day . . . and since they did it outside and on the way to recess, it didn't affect me at all.   

Then I had some come back today and others not come at all . . . with a total of seven kids out.   

I'm still holding strong on fighting off this dreaded whatever-is-going-around disease.

BUT.

I had a different thing going on with me entirely today.  I've talked about this before.  You can check it out {HERE}.  

BUT.

I got new flats.

From Nordstroms.

Let's recap:  I have a fancy-pants laminator, and now I have fancy-pants flats.  (on sale)

Check them out:

{SOURCE}

I know.  Not only did I do a good job for a girl who does not know fashion in any way, shape, or form, but two other teachers were wearing them today.  Fashionista teachers, too.  I KNOW.  

Okay.  So here is the problem.

They HURT like a son-of-a . . . . . . . . . . . . gun.  

(I wanted to say it, but I didn't.)

I got those no-show-super-low-cut socks to help -- they just slid around inside of the shoe.  They are worthless.  WORTHLESS, I tell you!

By about 2pm, I was DYING.  And crying a little.

So I asked my kids if they wanted their normal, nice, easy-going teacher for the rest of the day, or more of a crazed, fire-breathing dragon of a teacher.  Their choice.

A few wanted the crazed teacher that breathes fire.  Is it just me or do you also have two or three smart aleck's in your room?

I don't know why they think they can outsmart me.  I'm old.  

So I sent those three kids to the ACTUAL CRAZED FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON TEACHER on our campus.  (Is it just me or do you have one at your school, too?)

Oh, stop.  I'm just joking.  

Well, not really, but my feet are still hurting so just excuse my behavior.

In the long run, I took my shoes off in the classroom for the last hour of the day.  And then I was kind, and I smiled, and I nurtured my kids, and learning was had by all. (Just not the kid who was too busy poking a hole in the cap of his water bottle to be a good listener.  This is the NEW THING IN MY CLASS that the kids have created to torture me.  Luckily, it has replaced a sound effect or two for the time being.)

Anywho, I need help if you have it.

Number one:  Do I take them back and get a half size bigger?

Number two:  Do you know of socks that work better?

Number three:  Since they are "ballet" flats, will they break in?

Number four:  Are they nice enough to wear to a party that says "Dress Like You're Going Out"?  (Because, let's be real, going out for me means taking the dog to the park in actual clothes or going to school.)

Well, that's all. 

I'm not going to talk about the TpT Cyber Sale.

YET.

Commercial

Well, in the interest of being completely open and honest with you, I have to tell you that Saturday was a repeat of Friday.

It was an accident.

I didn't mean to stay in pjs all day again.  Really.

Honest!

We were going to go to church, but then the hubby's aunt couldn't make it so we decided to go to the Sunday service.

The other reason for another pj day is that the husband got sick.

We have both been fighting something, but I won.  This is because I no longer have the delicate condition that I used to have when I first started teaching.  Now I have a mighty immune system and the common cold just can't hold a candle to me.  My husband, on the other hand . . . well, he's just a big ole baby.  

Ah-choo.  Ah-choo.  Ah-choo.  Ah-choo.  Ah-choo.

Ah-choo.

Seriously - I'm not kidding.  I think my record is four sneezes in a row, but I'm like most people and normally just sneeze the obligatory twice-in-a-row.  My hubby - notsomuch.  His record is like FOURTEEN IN-A-ROW.  

We decided early on yesterday that I could stop saying bless you.  I mean, I really would rather not waste my words.  So I said a "blanket bless you" and then I just ignored him for the rest of the day.  Minus the few times that his sneezes catapulted me off the couch.

Oh, AND he used that medicinal magic rub on his chest or his nostrils or his windpipe - I don't know, but my house no longer smells like Caramel Apple Scentsy, Apple Cinnamon Air Wick, and Dog.  It smells like some medicinal magic rub that stinks to high heaven.  And Dog.

I am going to have a bad case of the Sunday Blues tonight.  Having a week off will do that to a girl.  It will all be fine once I  shoo the kids off at 3pm  open that door in the morning.  I just know it.  Hello.  I'm Positive Polly.

Not to mention, I'm going to do some Cyber Monday shopping.  I've got my eye on new pjs and books and chocolate.  And a bunch of amazing TpT products, as well.

Oh . . . well . . . I don't think that was sneaky enough.

You caught me.  I'm gearing up for a commercial.  

Ready?

My kiosk is on sale!  But continuing in the whole "honest and open" thing, I have to let you know that I don't have any themed items for Christmas or winter.  I don't know why I don't.

Oh, wait.  Yes, I do.

We're supposed to  I generally  Sometimes I  We stick to the mandated curriculum where I teach.

But just in case you're looking for things IN GENERAL, here are some things I've got on sale.  (Everything is on sale, though.)

And my newest pack:

(click on any of the pics to check them out)

Okay, okay, you can stop fast forwarding now.  :)  The commercial is over.

Here is a freebie from the new Rhyming Pack.  It's one of the printables.  Just click on the pic to download it for yourself.

Okay, I'm off to church.  I may have to sit by myself because I don't want to sit next to that annoying guy who keeps blowing his nose.

After Thanksgiving and My Shopping Cart

Happy Couple of Days After Thanksgiving.  Hope yours was happy and restful and yummy.

Here's how my Thanksgiving went.

Slept late.  Ate cinnamon rolls and drank coffee.  Chilled.  

Then the hubby and I went to my parents.  Fun was had by all.  My mom made a DELICIOUS meal (I had ham, not turkey) and then we played Things.  This is our go-to game.  My family is immature and silly and all we do is laugh and mess up and start over and repeat ourselves.  It's a hoot.  I do believe we could have our own reality TV show.

We also played the Wii.  And can I just say that I got three strikes in a row IN THE TENTH FRAME?  That's how long it took me to figure out what I was doing.  I killed it, people.

We also played Catch Phrase.

Can you tell where I get my ramblings from?  We don't stay on any one thing for too long.

Yesterday was absolute heaven.  HEAVEN.  I only got out of my pjs to take a long bath (And just so you know, other people take their dogs to the park in pjs, too.  I'm not the only one.)  The hubby and I played Words with Friends (with each other) and watched movies and ate and napped and just did whatever.  It was so so so so so so so so so so so so so so nice.

I don't really know what our plans are for today, but I know that the big TpT sale is coming so I've been making a wish list.  Here are some of the things I am planning on getting (besides a new pair of pjs).

This is from Mary over at Sharing Kindergarten

Click (HERE)

My kids love the Old Lady books.  I think the old lady reminds them of me.  These activities will be perfect for those couple of weeks few days when I don't feel like teaching when I'm out of curriculum right before break.

This is from Jodi over at Fun in First

Click {HERE)

It's coming down the pipe that our District Assessments are going to start including a fluency part . . . something to do with Common Core and all that . . . what do I know?  I'm pretty sure it's true, but I also think I was either daydreaming during that part of the training or being recognized as a famous celebrity blogger (I'm a big shot).  So it's not exactly my fault if I really don't know what's up.  But anywho, I love Jodi's stuff and this looks like an amazing place for me to start.  

Last, I have to do this from Teri over at A Cupcake for the Teacher

Click {HERE}

Oh my word - look at those adorable elf shoes!  Those alone do it for me.  But I definitely need a cute writing activity for my bulletin board so this will be perfect.  I LOVE IT!

I'm also going to have my kiosk on sale starting tomorrow . . . 

I know this says Monday and Tuesday, but I'm getting a headstart.

Early bird and all that.

Thanks, Ashley, for this cute button.

Look at the snowman drinking coffee.

And that penguin on the bottom of the cart like it's a 2 Liter of Soda.  

It just cracks me up.

I'll be back tomorrow with more specifics.  You probably don't need the specifics but I feel it's necessary.  You know - it has a lot to do with my need for writing super long posts and explaining everything down to the littlest detail.  Including what I'm having for lunch today.  

Jersey Mikes.  Just so you know.

In the meantime . . . 

Turkey Day and Winners

Well, lots of my blogger friends are creating and recreating and cooking and cleaning and doing all kinds of productive chores . . . and can you guess what I've been doing?

Not as much couch time as you might think.  

Pooh.

Instead, I met a friend for lunch yesterday and then I went shopping.

For myself.

I did some damage, but now I actually have things to wear for when I do eventually go out shopping for others.  Or so that I can look good whilst doing online shopping which is what I prefer.

Today, the hubs and I went to a movie and to lunch and to Target and to Best Buy.  We saw lots of Crazies from Crazy Town at Best Buy . . . they were the ones in the lawn chairs and sleeping bags.  Already.

And I know they must have thought we were the crazy ones going into Best Buy a whole day and a half before Black Friday, but that's because crazy people don't know they're crazy.  

That's what I've been told, anyway.

We saw the new Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence movie.  Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss, by the way.  It was good, but not as much of a romantic comedy as we had hoped for.  It was mostly dark.  With a lot of hotness from Bradley thrown in for good measure.  And while he never took his shirt off, he still looked good in a trash bag.  Literally.  In a trash bag.  I say, trash never looked so good and I need to go buy a Hefty bag and see how it looks on my hubby . . . 

Tomorrow we will be going over to my mom's for dinner.  And that's all.  For the first time in a really long time, we are not going to both families on Thanksgiving.

When I told this to a friend, she immediately asked if we'd had a falling out.

I suppose that happens in real life and that's actually a really good reason other than the one I have.  The one I have (and which also happens to be the truth) is that we're tired of going both places and spending the entire day away from Sydney and our home and our couch and our comfy clothes.

So I said in a hushed voice, "Yes.  We had a huge falling out and I still can't talk about it.  It's too raw."  Sniff.

Okaaaaay, nooooo, I didn't say that.

It doesn't matter what I said in order to make myself look good.

Anyways, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?

Here are the random winners for the Antonyms and Synonyms Picture Cards.

Ladies, check your email!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I am so thankful for everyone who reads my ramblings.  :) :) :)

Happy Turkey Day!

What I've Been Up To

I am on Thanksgiving Break!  We get the whole week!  Do you hear the angels singing?

Not only that, but it started with a Girls Night Out on Friday after school.  We had tickets to the 4:00 showing of Breaking Dawn Part 2 The Saga Continues And Then It's Over Forever So Let's All Cry At The End.  

I am not a crazy obsessed fan with a matching T-shirt, but I did buy my ticket ahead of time along with my Milk Duds.  I would have pre-ordered the popcorn, but I couldn't find that feature.

The movie was great.  I don't know if it will win any awards, but our theater audience was big on spantaneous clapping, and laughter, and tears, and whooping so I'd call it a success.

After the movie, we went out to eat.  I mean, really - the milk duds, popcorn, and soda were just the appetizer.  And it's not like I ate a whole meal at dinner.  A friend and I shared mozzarella sticks
 and some kind of egg roll situation and that's all.  

And, no, I didn't share my wine.  That's where I draw the line.

THEN . . . Saturday was a whatever kind of day.  Plus church.

And Sunday was a baby shower.

But this, my friends, was not your normal baby shower.

THIS was brunch.  At a restaurant.

No silly games or hats or toilet paper involved.  Just food, mimosas, and good people.  

Brunch is usually lost on me since I don't like breakfast (for those of you who remember), but they had pizza and pasta and dessert and bread and crackers and all manner of carbs available.

In other words, I felt pretty full and sick to my stomach within an hour or so.  And then I was obligated to eat cake, obviously.

It was WONDERFUL.  I highly recommend you invite me to that kind of a baby shower - I will get you a really good gift, I promise.

Today I've been catching up on TV  lounging  laundry and bills and the dishwasher-removal-of-dishes-that-I-can't-stand and re-vamping my Antonym cards, as well as adding Synonym cards.

By the way, can you say synonym?  Because when I say it, it comes out as cinnamon.

Here's a sneak peek:

(click here)

As always, I'll give these away to three random people if you leave me a comment with your email address.  

And let's announce it on Wednesday night sometime.  How's that?

Here's an antonym freebie for ya from the pack.  Just click to download.

Well, I'm off, and the hubby isn't, so I said I'd cook.  

If you have any information leading to the hijacking of my personality and brain, please let me know as soon as possible.  Thank you.

Busy Bees

Well, the rumors are true.  

I was attacked this morning.  Yep.  And it's not the first time.

I was reading our morning story (with great expression and flourish and flair, I might add) We Gather Together, Now Please Get Lost by Diane de Groat, when one of my kids raised her hand.

Let me explain something to you.

My kids know we don't interrupt the teacher when she is reading.  

Number one:  It's not polite.  

Number two:  It's rude.  

Number three:  It's . . . well . . . just don't interrupt me.  I don't like it.  It's like a commercial during The Housewives that I haven't recorded.  It's not good - let's put it that way.

So I ignored the child with her hand raised.

But she persisted.

Ugh.  I finally said, "Do you have an emergency?"

"Yes," she said, quite earnestly.  

"What's up?" I said, tiredly.  And almost positive that it wasn't an emergency, at least none of the lost limb variety.  

"You have something in your hair," she replied.

My first thought was . . . seriously?  I just got my hair done last night and if it's not a stupid mole on my ear, then it's something in my hair?  Really?

I asked the kids in the front row if they saw anything.

They didn't.

In a very shaky voice, she said, "It's on the side."

I turned my head to the side.  The front row gasped.

I thought, that's not good.  Surely it's not a booger?  Or cream cheese from my bagel thin?  

So I swiped my hair.  Flick.

Buzzzzzz.

And yes, it was a bug.  In fact, it was a bee.  A killer bee, to be exact.  Don't ask how I know.  I just know.  Nothing is ever just normal in my life so that settles it.

The bee landed on my new girl who came back today.  (When I told the hubby this story tonight, he said he couldn't believe I flicked the bee onto a student.  In my defense, I didn't know it was a bee until I flicked it.  And, also, aren't kids more resilient that adults anyhow?)

My new girl was still and silent.  (Another reason I like her.)  I said, "Come here.  Let's go outside."  

I am proud to say that I said it quite calmly.  I am actually very afraid of bees.  This could be due to the fact that I was trapped in our staff bathroom with a wasp one time.  I say trapped because I was in such a panic that I could not get the lock undone (there we go again). One of our male teachers was on the other side of the door listening to me scream and wail and act like a baby as he tried to jiggle the handle and help me escape.  Turns out, you just slide the lock to the right.  I can do it really easily on most days.  Just not when I'm being stung.  Yes, it did sting me.  And, if I press my inner arm really, really, really hard, you can still see where the stinger was.
  
But as my new girl stood up to come outside with me, the bee flew into the general direction of where all my kids were sitting on the carpet.

I'll let you imagine the rest.

Go ahead.

Oh, and don't forget to add the detail of the parent volunteer, as well.  

Yep.

It was mass chaos.

When I was able to gain control (nothing that a fire hose and a megaphone and a few tranquilizers couldn't handle), we returned to our seats.  I turned off the lights and opened the door in the hopes that the bee would go for the outside light.

He sort of did.

He went to the window.

I hemmed and hawed about killing it myself.  

But I was skerd.  Skerd silly, people.  And I was trying to be brave, but every time I went up to it, I chickened out.  

I decided to call for back up.

Our custodian came (who is amazing, by the way) and he asked, "Where is it?"

My kids whispered, "By the window."  (I had told them not to make a sound or the bee would hear them and sting them  possibly come over to where they were.  Those five minutes of waiting were really peaceful.)

Mr. Custodian went over to the window.  He asked, "Do you want me to kill it?"  

What to say?  What to say?  Please don't kill the killer bee?  Please allow the killer bee to live another day?  Please do not traumatize these first graders?

Well, what could I say?  Me?  The one stung by the wasp in the staff bathroom as I was trying to get out?  

I chanted right along with the kids, in my best whisper voice, "Kill it!  Kill it!  Kill it!"

Oh, just kidding.  Relax.

In all honesty, I just nodded.  Pretended to be sad.  I mean, we had no other choice.  It was a KILLER BEE.  Our hands were tied.

So our custodian killed it with his bare hands.

My kids cheered.  And laughed a little.

And then we returned back to the carpet and finished the story.

The rest of the day went really well . . . until a cricket showed up at the Writing Center . . . for real.

People, I can't make this stuff up.

Stuffed With Thankful Thoughts

Well, I'm on day 4 of my four day weekend.  This is it.

Big sigh.

It's okay, though.  Because this time next week, I'll be on Thanksgiving vacation.  So it's all gravy.  Literally.

I'm joining Lyndsey over at A Year of Many Firsts to take a quick moment to say all that I'm thankful for.  Well, I won't say every.single.thing or we'll be here all day so I'll try to just hit the bullet points.  I'll try really hard.

 1.

First, I'm thankful for the hubby.  He is a big, giant Teddy Bear that tries to act tough, but he's not.  Not really.  I mean, don't mess with me, just to be on the safe side, because he's very protective of me, but deep down, he is a Teddy Bear.  Sometimes, the guys at work call him Grumpy Bear.  Also, Care Bear.  As you can see, Bear is a theme here.  My family has this huge Teddy Bear joke with him -- I won't go into it here, but trust me.  It's DYING LAUGHING HILARIOUS.  SNORTING DYING LAUGHING CRYING HILARIOUS.  

The hubs watches chick flicks with me.  He cooks because I don't want to know how.  He sews my buttons because I don't want to know how.  He fills my car up with gas because I don't want to know how.

We both enjoy movie marathon days.  And we both love love love dogs.  And we both enjoy food.  And going to the movies.  And wine.  And traveling when we can.

That about sums up our similarities.  

Yep.  I'll say that does it because I don't like the History Channel.  Or jogging.  Or video games.  Or snowboarding.  Or snoring.

2.

My church.  That picture is actually taken at church a month or two ago.  The mister and I help out with the Baptism ministry once a month.   I love my church.  

3.

Well, obviously, I am thankful for my family.  My mom, dad, brother, older sister, twin, two nieces, and three nephews.  We really have a good time together.  Lots of laughter.  See Teddy Bear reference.

My family is comfort to me.  Hugs and relaxing.  Food.  Games.  Laughing.

I'm thankful my parents are still together.  And in love.

4.

My school.  I love my job.  I am so blessed to have a classroom of my own on the grade level that I love, at a wonderful school in an amazing location.  

Mostly, I am thankful for my girls at school.  I would die without my girls.  They let me be myself.  Our lunches and get togethers and chit chats save me.  I am super super super thankful for Laurie, Heather, Stephanie, Kristy, Alicia, Natalie, Meghan, and Nicole.

5.

Sydney.  Awwwww.  I am just so thankful that she is still going strong and is still here with us 16 months after we lost Foster.    She makes me so happy.  She can also be very naughty and that can drive me crazy, but still.  I wuv her.  Even when she waits until I've sat down on the couch, gotten comfy under a blanket, and sighed a big sigh . . .  Only to slam the back door blinds against the window in a big ole temper trantum because I should have known she needed to go outside.  Oh, and did I mention she has a doggy door?  Turns out, my niece and I are the only ones using it.  

6.

Blogging.  TpT.  Hadar at Miss Kindergarten.  Love this girl and our newfound friendship.

There.

I'm thankful.  :)

Teaching Tip Linky Party {Edited}

Happy Sunday to all of you.  This marks day 3 of my four-day weekend.  It's slipping through my fingers!  Luckily, I'm only going to teach for four more days and then I get the whole week of Thanksgiving off.

You should hear my husband complain about the unfairness and unjustness and unequalness and all sorts of other un-things about this.  I just remind him that he has never sat in a child's urine before so there's no comparison, especially when he goes to two hour lunches almost every day.   

Today, I'm linking up with my BBFF Hadar over at Miss Kindergarten for a Teaching Tip Linky Party.

I am going to be stalking this linky for all the tips I can get.  I love tips.  Speaking of tips, I stalk Teacher Tipster a lot, too.  

My tip comes from Rick Morris.  He's a Management guru that I've never had the pleasure of meeting in person.  But I have read all four of his books and I visit his site often, too (nerd alert!).  I'm also pretty sure that this tip has been around for AGES.

However, I waited until about two years ago to implement it into my classroom.  Not because I'm stupid, oh no, just because I wanted to make sure there was enough research done to support its validity.  (That sounded good.)

My tip is TABLE CAPTAINS!  

Go back and reread that with an echo.

TABLE CAPTAINS!

I have five tables.  Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue.  You could have numbered tables or more tables or whatever.  

Anyways, one person at each table is the captain.  The next day, it moves.

I use the Table Captains for all kinds of things.  

"Table Captains, please collect the blah blah blah."

"Table Captains, double check your tables and make sure no one left their lunch box, sweater, jacket, Angry Bird, string cheese,  bracelet, cell phone that they're too young to have, crayon, etc."

"Table Captains, please make sure everyone wrote their name now that we have sung (sang) the Name Song and I've asked everyone to write their names three trillion times and I've asked everyone to put a checkmark next to their name and I'm tired of finding one paper without their name on it and why do you all keep doing this to me?  Is it a conspiracy?"

The best part (for me) is Meaningless-Paper-Passing-Out-Management.  Or Passing-Out-Meaningful-Curriculum-Worksheets-Management.

After I have taught one of my amazing lessons on the carpet and my kids are practically exhausted from all the newfound knowledge that they possess, I follow up with the holier-than-thou curriculum worksheet that I'm told to follow up with.

I count out six worksheets (I have six kids at each table with the exception of one so I'm always messing up, but my kids know where to put the extras so it's okay and hey, I'm HUMAN.) and say, "Red Captain."

The Red Captain comes up and grabs the six papers while the rest of that table group heads back to their seats.  The Red Captain will pass out the papers at their table.

Then I count out six more papers and say, "Orange Captain."  The Orange Captain comes up and the rest of the table group goes to their seats.  Or I say, "Blue Captain."  Or whatever.  Just go down the line and ignore the kids who say you always call their table last.  (I don't.)

Did you notice that you don't have to have any student names memorized?  This helps when you try to call a student by the name of Melissa, and half-way through pronouncing her name, you realize you actually meant Sarah, but then it hits you that it's really Lilly, until later when you find out it was little Mike and he was in serious need of a hair cut.  

No names necessary.  Just shout out, "Table Captain!" and someone will come running.

It's also quick.

Unless someone forgets that they're the Table Captain.  Then I'm left holding a stack of papers and trying to stay awake.

My principal and assistant principal were patrolling one day when they saw the Amazing Paper Passing Out Management with their very own eyes.

What I really wanted to say was, "Move it along.  Nothing to see here."  (I mean, is it just me, or do they only come before or after I have done an incredible lesson with bells and whistles and applause?  Seriously?  You're walking through while I'm passing out papers??!!)

Instead, I said something along the lines of, "Oh, I'm so bummed.  You just missed all the newfound knowledge seeping into my students' brains."

They said something along the lines of, "Oh, no!  Pee-shaw!  THIS is wonderful!  Look at how smooth this is going.  What training!  What skill!  What a wonderful tool for Passing Out Curriculum Worksheets!  You should do an inservice on this!"

Or, at least that's how I've built it up in my head.  

To be clear, I know I was given a compliment.  

I'm pretty sure.

Anyways, I have these cool nametag desk holder plates that I got from Really Good Stuff and have blogged about before:

{source}

I made these little guys to have at each table.  I printed them on cardstock, laminated them, and they fit perfectly into the holder next to the nametags.  They do not fall over, either.  They're awesome AND they defy gravity. 

I also have generic ones in case you don't have Color Tables.

**EDITED:  I added a Purple Table Captain Bear for Rebecca and anyone else who might need it.  :)

Just click the pic to grab your free copy.  If you don't have the nametag holders, you could use a magnet for the side of the desk or tape or velcro or whatever.

So that's my super long post about a simple tip that probably should have taken me only ten words to tell you about, but took more than three thousand.  It's just my way.

What can I say?

Be sure to check out all the other tips over at Miss Kindergarten's! Or, if you have your own idea, link up!  :)

Picture Dictionary Freebie AND My Aching Neck

Happy Saturday, people!  I'm on Day 2 of my four day weekend.  So far, it's been amaze-balls (as Guiliana Rancic would say).  :)

I'm a little ashamed to tell you what I accomplished yesterday, but since I'm a firm believer in telling you every.single.thing in my life, I'll do it anyways.

I slept in.

And I slept wrong.

My neck and shoulder blade, and the area in between the two, was all a mess.  

OW.  

And, just so you know, I have a high tolerance for pain.  I can take it.  I have had several kidney stones . . . and if you know about that, then you know I'm basically a super hero.  

But this kink in my neck . . . it was like Kryptonite.  Or, in my case, a vegetable.  It brought me to my knees.

I took Tylenol and Aleve.  And I try not to take that stuff because of all the heart medicine I'm on (not that I can't, but I prefer to limit the amount of pills I take in case I'm ever asked to pee in a cup or something like that . . . you just never know), but I was DYING.

The Tylenol and Aleve didn't help.  

I determined I needed couch-rest with appropriate amounts of junk food, TV watching (Guiliana and Bill, for example), blog stalking, pinteresting, reading a new book, and napping.

The husband determined that I needed to rub some sort of medicinal magic that he brought home from Asia (he was there for a work trip) on the wounded area.  

Just so you know, this medicinal magic rub stinks to high heaven.

I can't stand it when he uses it on his shins after a run.

Or when he uses it on his quads after a run.

Or when he uses it on his feet after a run.

Or when he uses it on his neck after a run.

I think maybe he needs to stop running, but that's just me.

I said NO.  No thanks, I'll live.  Pass the chips.

He insisted.

Oh, and he suggested water.  He always says I need to drink more water.  If my ear is hurting, I must be dehydrated.  If my fingernails are growing too slowly, I must be dehydrated.  If I am thirsty, I must be dehydrated.  People, it gets old because all I really want is a coke zero.  Or wine.  Obviously.

Well, I gave in. 

And let me tell you.

This medicinal magic rub made me tingle.

Ahem.

And then I was stinky.  

I feel great today so I have no idea if that stuff actually worked or if I'm just all better.  Let's hope it's legal.  And that it washes off.

In the meantime, just to be a tad bit productive, I revised my A to Z Student Picture Dictionary.  I had some requests to make them as whole pages.  

Click {HERE} to download the Aa page in half and whole page format, as well as in black and white and in color as a *freebie*. 

Other than that, I have actual plans to leave the house today.  It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm out of chips.  Or chocolate.  Or soda.

Really.

Before I go, I need to mention that I'm a part of Little Miss Organized's 100 Follower Giveaway.  Be sure to check it out -- there's lots of good stuff to win, including a Starbucks gift card.  Peppermint White Mocha, anyone?  Does that count as water?  What if I say non-fat?

Click to enter!  :)