Let's Talk About... ME {Miss Muir}!

It's officially "Teacher Week '13!"

Today's theme... Meet the Teacher (hey, that's me)!

So I'm going to talk allll about myself today.  :)

I'm Miss Muir & I {duh} love teaching!  I'm currently 28 years young. I grew up, lived, & taught several years of 1st grade in Pennsylvania.

This year, however, I'm getting married - eeee! {Happiness!}  My amazing fiance just happens to be in the military, so after many discussions we decided that I would follow him & move my job - there have got to be kids that need taught anywhere we could possibly be stationed at, right??

First stop{for me at least}: Delaware!  We've been settling into our new house all summer, & in one week I will begin my new job... 2nd Grade!

I LOVE our engagement pics - our photographer is fabulous:

I also love our story.  It's not the most exciting of all, but it's ours, & I think it's sweet.

We are from the same hometown & met during a day at a local amusement park with mutual friends when we were 16.  Once we could drive, we "went out" a time or two, but typical high school life got in the way and it just didn't work out.  We stayed in touch talking a few times a year just to say, "Hi," & would run into each other around town every few years.

Fast forward 10 years since we first met.... he was returning home after a few years of being stationed overseas.  We began talking a LOT in the few months before he finally came home, & decided to get together.  It was pure bliss from that first moment that we saw each other.  {Did I mention, I get all swooney when he belts out Brad Paisley tunes in the car?}  Now that we've been through a few years of long distance, a {too long} deployment, & hours of Skype dates, he proposed & the rest of our happy lives are to-be-continued... 

A few other random facts about me:

1. I will be teaching 2nd grade this year!

 

2. I enjoy working out (mainly running, kickboxing, circuit training with weights, or a Chalene Johnson or Jillian Michael's DVD).  It's also a great way to listen to some awesome tunes & clear my head after teaching my little ones all day.

3. I'm a middle child.  I have an amazing family, & they {along with others, too} have been fabulously helping us plan our wedding. Aaaand they've also put up with my {few & far between} bridezilla moments.

{That's my little sister, who's also my maid of honor, & I showing off our fav pair of matching fall boots.}

4. Garlic is my FAVORITE food group of all time! {Wait. Garlic isn't a food group?! Nonsense.} Luckily, the fiance puts up with my garlic obsession & eats whatever I make for him.

I promise I don't just eat it raw, haha!

5. If I'm not on my computer, I'm usually on this fabulous piece of technology.  I resisted giving up regular books for the longest time, but now I just can't get enough of having a gazillion books in one!

6. I've also got some of the best friends in my life that a girl could ask for! {Praise the Lord!} They have helped me grow & encouraged me to embrace life and all of the adventures that come with it.  They are always supportive, & I'm lucky to have them! {And that they put up with me, too!}

I'm sure I'm missing a TON of things about me.  It's hard to get someone's whole story & personality from just a little blog post.

I can't wait to hop around & read all about the other fabulous teachers out there!

Check them all out here:

Hello, Friday! :)

While I'm sad to say good-bye to yet another summer week, at least it's FRIDAY!

Here are my top 5 things for the week:

1: This FABULOUS deal from Target {I've sooo been on the hunt for new poetry binders this year}!

$0.99 Durable, Clear View Binders! & in multiple colors!

2: Got my ring cleaned, & now it REALLY sparkles - almost needed shades when the sweet lady at the jewelry store handed it back to me.

3: Our little quick trip to Smith Island, MD. Sooo unique & fun.

4: Prepared my Birthday Book & Crazy Colors words for my word wall.

{Click the pics to check those out!}

5:  I can FINALLY & OFFICIALLY say that I will be teaching 2nd Grade in DE this year!  I will sooo miss my PA firsties & amazing teammates/school, but I'm excited for a new adventure! Anyone with 2nd grade tips, please?!

"I Ain't Ever Gonna Beat this Summer!" But it's B2S we gooo...

Soo many fun things to share today! First since it's still summer, my top 5 things of these past summer weeks.  I'm linking up with Adventures in Teaching!

In no particular order...

1. Our girls' getaway to Washington & Oregon! We spent a TON of time in Olympic National Park, Forks {heyyy Twilight}, Seattle, Portland, Mt. Hood, & even got to walk on the Oregon Trails {I mean, talk about pure floppy disk era flashback awesome-sauce!}

2. I got to help coach Kids in Motion camp this summer - an amazing camp for girls, run by the most fabulous people you will ever meet.  We focus on fitness, nutrition, & self-esteem.  This was our view from a hike up Mt. Nittany in central PA.  AMAZING!

3. MOVING! Need I say more?! This was quite stressful & yet wonderful at the same time.  Now I get to see the love of my life every day - sprinkles for that!

4. I discovered a new love of Italian Sweet Creme Creamer, all thanks to one of my favorite friends from college during a trip to Wilmington, NC {that's her in my pic below with the glasses}.  She has me addicted to adding it to my iced coffee - mmmmmmmm!!!!

5. And the absolute BEST part of this entire summer was all of the amazing time I got to spend hanging out with this handsome, funny fellow - loooove him something crazy!

{Shhh! No one tell him this pic is on here!}

And now for my favorite B2S things for my kiddos.

1. Classroom Coupons! This is a pure genius & simple idea - seriously, check it out.

2. These lovely items from the Target Dollar Spot.  They will make great book boxes for my new kiddos!

3. Finally, some reallllly good pencils from Ticonderoga!  Need I say more about the absolute importance of GOOD quality pencils?! These things are gold, people.

*I'm also loving my new crayons for my color word wall - adorable! {Click the pic to check them out.}

Just printed & laminated mine last night while watching Shark Week!!

Happy B2S everyone! :)

Livin' for the Weekend! {& it's only Monday}

Happy Monday {I know, I know... not the weekend anymore, but I'm still gonna post about it}! I just love weekends! Even in the summer cause it's mostly just us teachers that are busy "not working" {even though we are} all week. So, weekends are friends, family, & fiancé time!

This weekend was spent doing absolutely nothing educational for my classroom. Instead, I worked on painting up these little gems for my bedroom.

They are the frames for mirrors & I'll hang one on each side of my bed - I hope it turns out adorably!

The rest of this weekend was spent on an island in Maryland with some super sweet friends! This place was a gem - so remote & relaxed. We're so happy they invited us to visit!

Here's my view from our boat trip over to the island. {seriously... You can only get there by boat!}

It was windyyy!!!

Feeling relaxed now & ready for my last week of summer {aahh, can you believe it?!}.

  

I also have some Monday Made-it & Manic Monday Freebies for my classroom to share with you!

These are book bin bookmarks! The numbers match the ones on each kiddos' book box {some super cute ones that I found at the Target dollar spot I might add... I'll show you those if my room is EVER ready}. Hopefully *fingers crossed* this will make returning books to the correct bin even easier.

These are the numbers I used along with some free paint sticks from Wal-Mart & some sunny yellow spray paint. :) {Click the picture}

OR here they are with a chevron pattern.

I also made & finished my new helper jobs this week - they look like ipods to go with our *rock star* theme! {I love the helping hands!}  The jobs & helping hands are available here if you'd like your helpers to rock out, too!  I simply cut a regular sheet of 8.5x11" cardstock in half to make the rest of the ipod - this way it could match your own personal classroom decor super easily!  The numbered hands are stuck on with velcro so that I can easily change them each week.

{Click the pic to check it out}

If you follow me on bloglovin' & on TPT, leave your email in a comment below.  I'll email a Rockin' Classroom Helpers file to the first two!

It's Friday!!

I couldn't be more excited that it's finally Friday!!! I love that I get to spend weekend time with my favorite guy... we've *hopefully* got some fun things planned for this upcoming one {cooperate weatherrrr}.

But since I <3 randomness the most, here are 5 random things from my week {and it's sure been a busy one}.

1. I danced the night away with this handsome guy at my beautiful cousin's wedding...

2. With the help of my amazing parents & best friend, all my school stuff is now in the 1st state! (give or take a few straggling items).  Of course I shed a few tears leaving my classroom behind - but now it's someone else's to enjoy!

3. I am about to dive into cutting up all of this fruit! Hopefully that means it'll be a healthy week!

4. I ran 12 miles this week! Sprinkles for that - but I better get on the ball cause I've got 23 miles to run in the next 10 days to meet my back-to-school goal. Eeeeep!!!

5. I finished up some lesson activities for a beginning of the year book I'm going to use this year - it's a pigeon book by the one and only Mo Willems.  And I'm so excited to post it in my new store!

Follow me here

And check out these fun & polite activities!

Then go and link up to see everyone's weekly top 5 random things!

Favorite Teacher-y Things!

I am in back-to-school full swing! Eeeeee!  So thinking about how fast this last week and a half that I have left will go, I am all about my favorite teacher-y things that will make the next 180 days till summer go by in fabulous style...

1. This is a MUST.  My planner - I don't know a teacher who can live without her/his planner.  I have turned around and driven back to school or home quite a few times when I've forgotten my planner.  I always score the Staples calendar aisle for the perfect one (& I found the perfect one years ago... I just pray each year that they keep making it - so far so good! Praise the Lord!).

It has each month laid out followed by each week of that month with lots of space for making notes/to-do lists.

2. Crayola Poster Markers! I'm am obsessed with these! I pick up a pack whenever I find them.  So far I've only ran across them at Hobby Lobby & Michael's.  They're much thicker when they write than regular markers, making them just *perfect* for anchor charts & anything my kiddos may need to see from far away.

3. My supply organizers are essential to making our days go smoothly! I have one for each day of the week {thanks Michael's}.  I just put my supplies in the bin when I'm planning & then everything is ready for that day - it's especially great when I have a sub on short notice... I just say, "it's all in the {day} bin!"

As teachers we are incredibly flexible from day to day {heck, minute to minute for that matter}, but these 3 things are my MUST HAVES to make it through the year!

Check out other teacher favorites here...

I also LOVE my new favorite beginning of the year book - check out all of the activities to help teacher your students how to be super polite! This is on saaaale because it's brand new. {click the pic}