Wardrobe Wednesday

I thought I would try a new approach to Wardrobe Wednesday. Usually, I take a photo of myself in an outfit and post a picture. I always say where I got the pieces from and I usally say where I am going in the outfit. This week I decided to do something a little different. First of all, my camera I just bought in February is out of commission and I sent it in to Canon to get fixed. My fingers are crossed that since it is under warranty, I won't have to pay to have anything replaced.

I found a spring outfit that I thought was cute since it included layers and a floral dress. I then went searching to find similar pieces at a reasonable price.

Spring Dress

You can find this look for less by buying these separate pieces and putting them together:

Forever 21

Flora Contrast Dress $12.80

Old Navy

Women's Jersey Blazer (petite and tall sizes too)

On SALE $30.99

Express

Shimmer Skinny Belt (coral, black, earth, blue, white)

$19.90

Forever 21

Safari Girl Bracelet

$5.80

Target

Mossimo Pattie Wedge

$29.99

ALDO

Bano Sunglasses

$12.00

Total Price for Outfit: $111.48

Healthy Snacks for Kids or Kids at Heart

As a teacher, I am constantly interested in learning about healthier snacks for my students. We have parents that bring in cookies, munchkins, cupcakes, etc. and that is great, but I also try to sneak in a healthy snack that they might enjoy too. Just recently, we had an "International Game Day" at school. We invited the parents into school and their kids taught them how to play games from around the world. We learned Mancala (Africa), Stuck in the Mud (Australia), Gaga (Israel), Escargot (France), Lupo Del Ore (Italy), and Checkers (originally from China). After we played games we indulged in foods from around the world. The parents volunteered to bring in foods and we had so much it was amazing. The children were able to try new things! As a class we decided that we wanted to contribute as well, so we made our own kid friendly sushi from Japan!

Here is the recipe below (make it with your kids because it is so much fun)

Kid Friendly Sushi

What you need:
- Loaf of White Bread
-Cream Cheese
-Shredded Carrots
-Strawberry or Raspberry Jelly

1. Cut the crust off the white bread.
2. Roll it out with a rolling pin to get it nice and flat.
3. Spread cream cheese and jelly to make one kind of roll or cream cheese and shredded carrots to make the other roll.
4. Use your hands to roll it up.
5. Cut the long cylinder into smaller rolls.
6. Ta-DA!!! You have kind friendly sushi! Enjoy

*Substitute with peanut butter and jelly or add in cucumbers to the cream cheese and carrot roll

Peanut Butter and Jelly Roll

Cream Cheese, Carrot and Cucumber Roll

Cream Cheese and Jelly Roll for a healthy lunch

Okay, next recipe I have was something I stumbled across on the Today Show. I am really excited to make it with my students when we get back from Spring Break. It is so simple and healthy! It is banana ice cream. All you need is one ingredient....bananas!!!! It doesn't have any extra sweeteners and it is great for vegans or people that are gluten free. Follow the recipe below.

Creamy Banana Ice Cream

1. Peel your bananas

2. Cut them into small pieces

3. Freeze them for about 1-2 hours in a zip-lock bag

4. Blend them in a food processor-scraping the bowl when they stick

5. Scoop it out and put it in a bowl to eat

Extras:

*Add in peanut butter to make peanut butter/ banana ice cream when your blending

*Top with dark chocolate chips

*Add an avocado to make it really creamy

*Add vanilla extract for flavor too

See Step by Step Picture Directions of Creamy Banana Ice Cream

More fun recipes to come....off to the beach with girlfriends for now! I will add more later!



Computer Games for Kids

I think that with all the technology under our fingertips, there are some really great websites for kids. In my classroom we have two student computers for the kids to use during their free choice time (I will explain this in another post). We also have an excellent computer lab with a teacher to instruct them, and as the kids get older we have ipads for them to use in 5th grade. My students are just learning how to use the mouse and the keyboard. It really is surprising to see how many of students come into school at age 4 with competent computer skills. Below are a few of my favorite websites:

1. www.starfall.com - I love this website because the students can work on their calendar skills, learn their ABC's, sing songs, read books all while having fun!

2. www.janbrett.com- She is one of my favorite authors for children. After you read her books, you can go on her website and make masks, puppets, cards, etc. I love using her printable characters to re-tell the stories.

3. www.pbskids.org/ - This is great for interactive educational games. Word Play is great for introducing "big" words through a game.

4. www.sesamestreet.org/ - I love this website for math games! They have amazing games for patterning, shape sorting and counting. They also have some wonderful literacy activities too.

5. www.onemorestory.com/- This is a website that you do have to subscribe too, but it is totally worth it for the classroom. Once you subscribe, you can pick a book in their library to have read. I like to put these stories on during snack time on the smart board and we listen as a class.

If you have any other websites you like to use at your house or in your classroom let me know! I love to learn new sites to visit.



Cell Phones Do Everything

What would we do without cell phones?? It is crazy how dependent we have become on these tiny little devices. I can remember my first phone in high school. It was the size of a brick and it was the weight of a brick. I remember I had "face plates" to change the color, but I always liked the turquoise the best. I kept it in my car and only had it for emergency use only and I really never used it. Then I went on to college and I got a little smaller phone. I changed my number to an Arizona area code so that my new friends in AZ could call me. It was unheard of to really call long distance on cell phones at the time and if you did it was so expensive. I had a plan that allowed me to only have so many minutes. I remember always going over that plan and my Mom would make me pay for the extra minutes I racked up. By the time I left college, I had free weekend minutes and calling long distance was very common. I moved to Florida and used my cell phone for all my calls. Once my husband and I moved into our condo we didn't even consider getting a house phone because we could use our phone to make calls and let people in our gated community through the cell phone. Even now our home alarm system is connected through our cell. Eventually smart phones came out and you could check your email, send photos, use social networking sites, download apps, etc. Everyone seems to text each other now and if you have a question someone will just pull out their phone and say "Let's Google it." It is amazing how technology has changed in my lifetime and it will be very interesting to see what is in store for us next!

Picture Perfect Cell Phone Shots

Sending a photo off to my Mom to let her know it was beach day

Photo of a new hair color to my friend

Letting Dave know that I was on my way home

What would we do without cell phones???????????????????

Spring is in the Air

Finally, Spring is starting to arrive all over the country and that awful snow and cold will soon be gone. My favorite time of year is Spring. Although, I don't live up north anymore I love when the birds start chirping again and the windows are open and everyone seems to have such a happier attitude. I am looking forward to visiting Kansas in mid April so that I can enjoy some of that Spring time glow. I am passing along one of my favorite Spring/Summer recipes. It is super easy; it is great for dessert after a BBQ or just something fresh and sweet! It is a happy ending to any meal. Enjpy!!!

Fruit Pizza

Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powder sugar

1 cup fresh peach slices

1 cup halved or quartered fresh strawberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

 

*Any other fruit you like (kiwi, apples, banana, raspberries)

 

DIRECTIONS

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 12-inch pizza pan or spray with cooking spray. In pan, break up cookie dough; press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust.
• Bake 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Spread mixture over cooled crust. Arrange fruit over cream cheese.

 Cut into wedges or squares. Store in refrigerator.

I have also drizzled melted chocolate over the pizza too for an extra touch!

Here are some photos of other ways you can arrange your fruit pizza:

Wardrobe Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! I am on Spring Break this week and next week, so I am enjoying my "me" time and doing things I love like cooking, running, shopping and hitting the beach & pool. I also have been using this week to go to some doctor appointments and also I am going to the Spa tomorrow for a much needed massage. The outfit I have posted was for lunch out! I also ended up doing some errands and shopping at the Sawgrass Outlet mall!

Tank Top: Forever Twenty-One

Open Vest: Nordstrom

Capri Skinny Pants: J.Crew

Belt: Limited

Necklace: Forever Twenty One

Shoes: Victoria's Secret



St. Patrick's Day at SAS

I love celebrating St. Patrick's Day in school!

The week leading up to St. Patrick's Day I destroy the room so it looks like the leprechauns came through the classroom with a mission to mess up the room. I throw chairs on the floor as well as toys. I take green BINGO markers and stamp them all over the bathroom sink and toilet. I sprinkle green glitter on all the tables. The toilet becomes green with food coloring.  As the students come in for the day, they can't wait to see what the leprechaun has been up to all night.

The day before St. Patrick's Day as a class we come up with a "trap" to catch the leprechaun(s). This year the students came up with three traps on each of our tables. The first trap they made was a bowl full of glue. The kids put snacks all over the table to lure the leprechaun into the glue so that he gets stuck. The next table was a built with Magna-Tiles to capture the leprechaun. The third trap was really thought out. The children decided that the leprechaun(s) must be scared of people because he/she never comes around people. So, they drew pictures of people with scary faces meant to startle the leprechaun and then they spilled water on the table so he would slip and fall. Finally, we wrote the leprechaun a note and asked him why he was so naughty and why he kept messing up our room.

The morning of St. Patrick's Day the students came into the classroom excited to hopefully find the leprechaun. Instead they found miniature (baby) socks that were stuck in the glue. The leprechaun slipped out of his socks and got loose. He also ate some of the snacks and turned the glue green. He wrote a note back to the students but it was backwards. You had to hold the note up to the mirror to read it. They loved having a note from the leprechaun.

We enjoyed the rest of the day with rainbow jello with whip cream and green cupcakes!

Rainbow Jello with Whip Cream

Rainbow Jello Recipe

Ingredients

1 6oz box of Jello in Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue (5 boxes total)
Water

Supplies
5 bowls
glass 9 x13 baking dish

Directions:

To make jello add 1 1/4 cup boiling water to one packet of jello. Mix until dissolved.

1. In two separate bowls prepare blue and green jello.

2. Pour blue jello in baking dish, and let cool in fridge. Let set for 15 minutes.

3. Pour green jello gently over blue jello. Return to fridge. Let set for 15 minutes.

4. While jello sets, in two separate bowls prepare yellow and orange jello.

5. After 15 minutes have passed pour yellow jello over green jello. Return to fridge.

6. Prepare red jello.

7. After the yellow jello has set for 15 minutes, pour orange jello over yellow jello. Let set for another 15 minutes.

8. Pour red jello over orange jello. Let set until firm.

* I find this best to make the day before.

* Also, make sure the jello you pour on the set layer is not to hot otherwise it will melt that layer.

Above is the Letter from the Leprechaun

Wardrobe Wednesday

In honor of Spring Break, I picked an outfit that is great for travel. I know that when I travel on airplanes I get very cold because they blast the air conditioning once you are up in the sky. I find it convenient to bring a pair of socks in your bag to put on once you are settled in your seat. I also think that you have to wear shoes that are easy to get on and off so that you can go through security quickly. When I travel, I like to wear loose fitting clothes because you are doing a lot of sitting and you don't want anything that constricts your body. I highly recommend wearing layers so that you can take off a layer when you are hot. I do a lot of travel to cold climates and then when I get back to Florida I am melting in my heavy clothes from traveling. I usually step outside the Fort Lauderdale airport and start stripping in the humidity while I am walking to my car! That is why I always make sure to have a tank top under whatever I wore on the plane. Also, if you have something that you don't want to get smashed in a suitcase like a floppy hat or a Fedora hat, it always helps to wear it during transition.

Spring Break Travel Outfit

Hat: J.Crew

Sweat Suit: Juicy Couture- Bloomingdales

Tank Top: Old Navy

Shoes: Target

Bag: Bought it through an Elementary School Fundraiser (great for travel and the beach)

Cake on a Stick?!?!?! Cake Pops!!!!

I recently have been dying to make Cake Pops, but I didn't have a reason so for our Supper Club on Sunday I decided to make them. They are seriously my favorite treat right now. It just so happens that a Mom in my class made them for Valentine's Day and some of the teachers made them for a baby shower and a housewarming party too. Now, all of a sudden Starbucks has hopped on the bandwagon and they are selling them too.

Here is how you make them:

1. Buy any cake mix from the grocery store i.e. chocolate, funfetti, white cake, etc.
2. Bake the cake as directed and let it cool.
3. Break the cake up into little crumbles and mix in 3/4 of an icing container i.e. vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc.
4. Roll the mixture into small balls i.e. you can use an ice cream scooper
5. Put the cake balls into the freezer for about 2 hours
6. Take the cake balls out and use lollipop sticks (buy at Michael's Arts and Crafts) and dip them into melted chocolate i.e. white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate
7. You can even add sprinkles
8. You can then let the cake pops harden on wax paper or after dipping them stand them in styrofoam up right

Tips:
-When you dip them in Chocolate use a deep bowl to keep the cake pops smooth
-You can use a potato masher to dip them into the chocolate to keep it less messy (I will try this next time)

Great Websites for More Unique Cake Pops:

This one is great for step by step directions and photos:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/cake-pop-lesson-1-the-cake-ball/

If you want to see some amazing Cake Pop photos go here:
http://www.bakerella.com/

So, here is a photo of the eight Cake Pops I brought to Supper Club, the rest of the Cake Pops went to school for my students to eat:

Here are some great photos from the internet:



Gluten Free Cake Pops above

St. Patrick's Day Cake Pops

Halloween Cake Pops

Starbucks Cake Pops

Weekend Fun

This weekend went by really fast! I did my usual tutoring Saturday morning and then went for a beautiful run with Katie. Afterwards we grabbed lunch and then went off to a housewarming party. Saturday night, Dave and I babysat for Carly so that Traci and Bob could attend a wedding.

Sunday was a gorgeous day. Dave and I decided to finally go to Morikami. Morikami is a beautiful museum and Japanese garden, that happens to be a few miles away from our house. We had so much fun walking around in the sun, watching the turtles swim and learning all about the Japanese culture. They have an amazing bonsai tree section. We ate lunch at the cafe that over looked the water, and I had the most delicious sushi!

Check out the website for more information: http://www.morikami.org/ 

Here are some photos of Morikami

Here are some photos of us!