Teaching's a Hoot!: March 2017

Monday, March 27, 2017

I'm back!

Time has sure flown! In the two years since I last posted, I've had many changes. I was ready for a change at work and switched to a position as an ELD (English Language Development) specialist last school year, which I love. I work with all grades K-5. I really enjoy challenging myself and trying new things out.

And speaking of trying new things out, I have a REALLY big change coming soon: a new role as mommy! My husband and I are thrilled to be expecting our first child - a boy! - in early May. These sonogram images were from my 7-month appointment and I'm now 8.5 months along. This baby is a true blessing and miracle of science because we went through IVF last year, which was quite a long process, but so very worth it!

We have a head!

And a leg!

Now that I'm 34 weeks, baby is now a butternut squash and boy, do I feel it!

I am now 34 weeks along and baby is as big as a butternut squash!

Since we found out the gender at the 5 month ultrasound, I have been going crazy with baby fever! I've wanted a kiddo for so long and FINALLY it's time for a child of my own! I scoured Pinterest for nursery ideas and spent lots of time creating my dream baby boy nursery. One of my favorite things to do is find ideas I like on Pinterest and find a way to do them cheaper, which I'll share below.

I wanted a peaceful, serene nursery that was not too baby-ish. Something our baby can grow with. I focused more on the neutral colors of gray and white for the accessories and an espresso finish for the furniture.

{Furniture from Million Dollar Baby, ordered from an adorable local boutique

"Silvermist" paint from Sherwin-Williams, I used the Emerald base}

Pinspiration: stacked up ABC blocks and a glass jar full of pacifiers (the jar is empty here, but full now!)

{A-Z bookends and elephant pull toy via Pottery Barn Kids.

White ceramic owl bank by Mud Pie via Amazon

Light/sound projecting owl by Skip Hop via Amazon

Baskets by Sweet JoJo Designs, similar via Amazon

Swaddling blankets by Aden & Anais via Amazon

Musical lamb by Gund via Amazon

Mini hot-air balloon via Amazon}

Pinspiration: cheap IKEA Mosslanda picture ledges used as bookshelves!

I stocked up on super cheap board books at the local library's used book sale and cleaned them all up.

Pinspiration: gray glider chair from Pottery Barn.

My much-cheaper version is by Delta via Target.

{Changing table, mercury lamp, diaper pail, and large basket via Target

Poopoose wiggle-free changing pad via Amazon

"Baby stuff" tote via Home Goods}

Pinspiration: set of 4 animal pictures from Restoration Hardware.

My version: prints purchased from Etsy and Sondrum frames from IKEA.

{Similar fuzzy white pillow via Amazon

Similar fuzzy white blanket via Amazon

Rolling laundry basket - to get up and down the stairs easier! - via Amazon

Gray & white wool ball garland on crib via Etsy}

Pinspiration: gray floor pouf from Restoration Hardware.

My version: from Walmart

Pinspiration: gray and white striped rug via Crate & Barrel.

Splurged and bought the C&B version because I couldn't find a cheaper version I liked.

{Cloud mobile via PBK, mobile arm purchased separately

Stuffed llama sold out on PBK, similar on Amazon

Stuffed penguin by Aurora via Amazon

Light-projecting stuffed frog prince from Amazon

Crib sheets by The Peanut Shell via Amazon

Owl security blanket by Blankets & Beyond, similar via Amazon}

In addition to all this baby fever, I've spent many hours working on creating more products for my TpT store. I've been focusing a lot on creating Spanish/English bilingual products (with my wonderful hubby as my editor) and even more mini-books about the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) because I found that there was a lack of resources for both on TpT. I previously had only created NGSS materials for 2nd and decided to expand to other grades as well. They are definitely a passion project of mine! I now have 13 mini-books in my NGSS collection, which you can see here.

Some of my new Spanish products: