$102.45 in Products for $23.33 at Office Depot!!!!

Yesterday was my birthday. Someone secretly told Office Depot about it. They knew.

Up to 90% off!!!! The store near my sister is closing and she was kind enough to go with me while I searched for deals and then help me take all these pictures! 

Seriously though, it makes me sad to see a store closing, no matter what kind of store, and I sincerely hope all the employees were able to find positions elsewhere.

The haul...

The DEALS:

I'm not sure what I will do this much washi tape, but for $0.59/roll I just couldn't pass it up. There's always Pinterest inspiration, right?!

There were a lot of post-its left. I might have to make another trip. The idea of all those post-its all alone makes me sad. They need to go home with me. 

Those rolls are adhesive book cover. I'm thinking I'll be able to use those next year to cover composition books after the kiddos decorate them. 

My wonderful sister helped me look all these things up on the Office Depot website and the total came to $102.45!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! Am I the only person who sits in the car and adds up how much everything would've been at regular price? 

Happy Birthday {to me} Sale

It's my birthday, so I'm having a sale!! Everything in my TPT store will be 20% now through Wednesday!  

Don't you just love Grumpy Cat?!? 

I hope you have a fantastic day! 

Christmas Edition {Five for Friday}

Hi, friends! I hope you've all been enjoying some restful holiday time with your friends and family! I know I have. I'm still in vacation mode here and I've vowed to take a little time off from work, so I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share some peeks into our Christmas celebration! 

One of my favorite parts about time off is getting to catch up with friends I don't get to see often. On Monday morning I went out for breakfast with my friend Tracy. It was great to actually have the time to talk and enjoy the company rather than yelling at each other across hall as we pass with our classes in tow!! Unfortunately, we forgot to take a picture - next time we've got to remember, Tracy! 

Yesterday I met up with my BFF and her little boy to exchange gifts and have some lunch.  

Isn't he a cutie pie? 

We had a fantastic time celebrating the birth of our Savior with our friends and family. We are very blessed!! 

This was take #2 because I somehow managed to delete the first picture of us from my phone. Tell me I'm not the only person who does this? 

I couldn't leave my four-legged kiddos out of the celebration! Here they are waiting on their toys and then playing with them.

My sweet husband got me an Erin Condren Life Planner for Christmas. I am officially hooked on these things! This makes my 3rd year using one. I loved looking at all the different cover choices. It always takes me forever to decide which one to go with! 

Here is this year's (far right) with the planners of years past....hehe....

I predict 2014 will bring many new meals to our house. I got 2 new Pioneer Woman Cookbooks for Christmas!! Yay!!!

Are you a PW fan? What recipe should I try first? 

Let the Break Begin {Five for Friday}

I've been on break since Wednesday at 12:30 and I'm loving it!! I hope everyone is finished up with school now and enjoying so much deserved time off! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share 5 random things from my week! 

My kiddos practiced using adjectives with this super fun activity from Collaboration Cuties. 

We got together with some friends and made these ornaments. 

And hammed it up for some group selfies! 

Wednesday was a half day and we went to the movies to see frozen - awesome day! I am in love with this movie. It's one I could watch again and again!! 

After the kiddos left on Wednesday we had our faculty Christmas dinner. It was catered at a local place near our school and the decorations were gorgeous! 

Check out Gracie's drawing of Charlie! I love that she included his red collar! 

Engrade {Tried it Tuesday}

Happy Tuesday, friends! I'm hoping your week is going smoothly! Today will be my last full day before break! Woo hoo! We are watching the Polar Express and comparing it to the book, of course! 

I'm linking up with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for a Tried it Tuesday that has been a long time in the making. 

I have been using Engrade, an online gradebook since school started. I wanted to give myself enough to time to really use the program before I shared my thoughts on it. 

With teaching three different classes and two different subjects, I've found it easy to keep up with everything. One of my favorite features is the ability to print missing reports. I frequently print these reports and send them home in Tuesday Folders so parents are aware of any assignments their child hasn't turned in. 

Another neat feature is the ability, with just one click, to have a report that lists all the assignments for a grading period and the child's grade on each one. I have found this really helpful and time saving when prepping for meetings and calls with parents. 

When entering a new assignment you are taken to a new page. There you enter all the information about the assignment AND you also enter the grades on that page. I like this because there is only one column of grades on that page and I know I won't accidentally put a grade in the wrong column. I've used other grading programs where it was all too easy to accidentally add grades to the wrong assignment. 

A few more things I like: 

• at-a-glance class statistics (class average and missing assignments)
• easily begin a new grade period 
• give parents/students access to their grades anytime
• categorize assignments
• weight categories
• drop lowest grade

Do you use Engrade? Any tips or tricks you can share with me to make it even better? 

Last Full Week in 2013 {Five for Friday}

Finally, time to get on with the Five for Friday!

I somehow managed to make it the who day without a child pointing out the fact that it was Friday the 13th! 

We finished up our study on media messages. 

Click on the picture below to see the product we used in my TPT store. 

We reviewed prefixes and suffixes using these crazy fun cootie catchers from Literacy Spark. My kiddos thought this was the coolest thing since sliced bread! For real. Check 'em out here. They were fantastic!! 

AND....it took me 20 minutes to learn how to fold these things...and I had a little mental freak out when we started them in class because I was so afraid I couldn't tell the kids how to fold them, but all was well! We survived. 

One of my little friends brought this sweet gift for me today. It was certainly a much needed pick me up! 

That box is way too nice/cute to throw away, so I'm already brainstorming what I can use it for! 

I am in love. Run to the nearest store and get this!! It's amazing. 

All the amazingness on Monday Made It inspired me and I got crafty with the Silhouette and my Interactive Reading Notebook. 

Now, how do I keep from destroying it?? What do you use to cover your decorated composition books? I have a students who has a clear plastic sleeve that fits over his, but I can't seem to find that anywhere.