Life Lately

Greetings from the final stretch of the school year! I simultaneously feel like I'm crawling toward the finish line and also that I'm in shock the end is already here! Today's post is a little "Life Lately" for you!

Mother's Day was certainly bittersweet and it meant so much to me to hear from friends and family on that day. I really really appreciate it. AJ and I went for a long walk, then came home and planted flowers for our front porch. We uncovered the patio furniture and this upcoming weekend we are going to start on our vegetable garden. I've always wanted a garden but don't know the first thing and have never had one. Wish us luck (and green thumbs). That afternoon I finally watched "Moana," (my students were appalled I hadn't seen it), and meal prepped and relaxed. We had my family over Monday night for a belated Mother's Day BBQ. My sister, Libby, surprised my mom Sunday evening and is home for a few weeks before heading back to Phoenix for the summer. It was nice to have everyone together Monday night.

We all got together Saturday night for some Chinese food to celebrate my sister's bf, Joe's, birthday 

I made it my goal to take down one thing in my classroom each day so packing up wouldn't be such a headache come June. I'm happy to report my classroom is practically cleared and I'm always a bit amazed at how much stuff teachers can manage to collect over the years. These last few days of school (8 to be exact) feature fun things like Lemonade Day (we make homemade lemonade and write a "how to" paper on the steps), Field Day, our class pizza party, some quality parachute time, summertime writing, and more. This year teaching has not been my favorite. It was both a blessing and a curse to return to work right after our summer with Hadley. On one hand it was a good distraction and it was nice to return to the familiar, but in so many other ways it was really hard. I know a change of school will be good for my soul and a rejuvenating summer will be just what I need. I will be completely honest, losing Hadley sandwiched between two very difficult teaching years has been a lot to handle. Mrs. Steele needs a break! That said, though, my students are so sweet and I love teaching 1st grade to see all their growth and progress. My students make me smile and that has been so great.

We released our class butterflies!!! 8 years running and it is my FAVORITE unit to teach. 

I devoured this book, "It Ends With Us," in just 3 days. I loved it! I'll do a book update post soon, but in the meantime, I am so glad I decided to be intentional about my reading this year and commit to it. I got a good sized library haul recently and am ready to dive in.

In terms of meal planning, I have been on a peanut butter/strawberry toast for breakfast, salad for lunch, hummus for snack, and grilled meats and veggies for dinner kick. Although I did break out this week and we had teriyaki chicken burgers, salmon skewers, and stuffed shells for dinners lately. I also tried muffin tin omelettes and I love these protein packed little guys. I am looking forward to trying new fillings this summer. I have eaten way too many sweets lately (teacher appreciation week, I'm looking at you) and I have rediscovered my love for Sweet Tooth Fairy cookie dough cupcakes. Uh oh. Boot Camp to the rescue (please!).

I am over the moon excited for: end of the year fun with my class, Baby Bow Bash, celebrating Hadley's birthday, and our summer Oregon Coast visit. Bring. It. On. Have a great rest if your week!

Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie