It’s May 19th, the school year is winding down, our summer plans are vamping up, and I feel like a ball of nerves. There is so much to be done! In order to stay focused, I downloaded a super cute “To-do List” and started writing everything I need to do in my classroom…it’s 3 pages long now, but I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I can cross things off! Hubby will tell you that my ping pong balls in my brain are out of control right now….and he’s not wrong.

Today was our church’s first child-friendly service. It was so fun to be a part of the planning group – such a fun bunch of parents and our pastor! It was super fun to see the kids engaged in the whole service – from ushering, to helping at act out the scripture – to the fun camp-like songs, to helping show the message of The Sower… my heart was exploding as Kirby sang the songs out loudly and volunteered to be part of the scripture re-enactment. Punky helped with the offering and ushering. I look forward to planning more of these services with the awesome group we have.

Kirby’s baseball is in full swing now. Tuesdays and Thursdays are booked now through the end of June. He was so excited to be playing “real baseball!” no more t-ball. He gets a real uniform. He gets to wear cleats! He gets to wear an athletic supporter! (Gasp!) He loves playing baseball – just like his big brother! As a spectator, I forgot just how little the start out and how it resembles herding cats during the games. Fun, and oh-so-cute!

Punky’s team has started out too – it’s really fun to watch this age level! The game moves much faster than when they were younger. He’s been really working on his diet as well as exercises to strengthen his gluts and hamstrings to help him run easier. I gotta give the kid credit – he’s working hard! Love his perseverance. He’s excited to get back on the field!

Planned some yummy meals this weekend – seriously – you need to check them out. They were so tasty! Here’s a few of our family faves right now (CLICK ON THE LINKS!):

Instant Pot (or slow cooker) Greek Chicken: A HUGE hit with my boys!

Basil Pesto Chicken Bake (with fresh mozzarella – yum!)

Chicken Fajitas (oven baked): Oh so yummy with homemade salsa and guacamole!

Kielbasa, potato, pepper and onion hash – SO quick, healthy and delicious!!!!!

Tomorrow night, Punky is making us dinner – Pepperoni Pizza Bubble Bread. He learned how to make it in his 7th grade FACS (Family and Consumer Science) Class.

He was bummed that I wouldn’t be able to eat his dinner as I have been following a modified Keto diet. (I stay far away from carbs and sugar – except for my glass of wine!) I assured him I would try some. To date, I have lost 32 lbs and am still going strong. I am about 1/2 way to my goal! I am feeling great! (Blood pressure has also been improved as have some other counts!) Kirby commented on Friday as we walked up to his daycare provider’s house, “Mom, your tummy is much skinnier than when we went to Florida. You look good!” My heart melted. I try not to talk about weight in front of them, but I am actively working on it! It’s nice that he noticed!

I have been trying super hard to keep everyone’s schedule organized – along with our meal plans. I splurged and paid $30/year for Cozi Calendar app. It has been a life changer. Everyone can view the calendar from their app. I plan out meals on Saturdays for the rest of the week. We usually can stick to them unless we are really pressed for time. Each family member is a different color. Each team can be pulled up all at once for their schedule or viewed on the daily family calendar. Hubby adds his things to the calendar as he plans things with his friends. Now if we can get Punky to check it so he’s not surprised every time we say we are going somewhere and he claims he doesn’t know about it. (Another blog post, but living with a middle schooler is so much different than teaching them each day! WOWZERS!)

I found out what I am teaching next year and I am PUMPED! I will be teaching all Math classes – three Essential level math classes and then pushing in to 2 mainstream pre algebra blocks in 7th grade. I am so excited! (For a quick recap, I taught mainly ELA until I became SPED LEAD and then when I returned to the classroom, I did a year of setting 3 EBD, and then the last 2 years teaching a functional math class along with my essential studies classes.) I am so excited!

Punky and I have a plan for the summer. We are going to slowly weed through each room and purge. We’ll be holding a garage sale sometime during the summer. After purging, I have plans to paint each room – not sure that it all happen over the course of the summer as we have some amazing trips to take – but the purging will happen for sure! I’ve been showing him that a solid 45 – 60 minutes together and things go really fast! He’s excited to sell things – and have his Summer Cool Down business open during the sale! I promised him a cut of the profits in return for his help! He’s all in!

I seriously just had to go fix SIX “the” words in the paragraph above as I always type them “teh.” Ugh.

I am on a HUGE farmhouse kick right now. I always leaned that way, but I am NUTS about it! I love Rae Dunn pieces – all of her Large Letter style! I have plans this summer to repaint the kitchen (Goodbye ORANGE!). I even bought a few pieces for the new look. 🙂 We’ll see how ambitious I am – but I’m sure it will be exciting after Punky and I clear things out!

Speaking of farmhouse – I HEART Decor Steals! Have you checked them out yet? Oh my goodness! Each day is a new “steal” and they always have such cute things at CRAZY low prices AND shipping is always just $5 ! I recognize a lot of their things in other cute independent stores I shop at around the area – and let me tell you, those items are NEVER at the Decor Steals price! Check it out right here!

Here are some of the items I have purchased the last few weeks: (That coffee mug rack will hold my Rae Dunn mugs and platters ❤ – the birdhouse was for my awesome Mama for mother’s day – the you and me sign is for hubby and my bedroom when I repaint and those gorgeous wreaths! One is on our front door and the smaller one is on a wreath hanger in our living room = GORGEOUS!)

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I spent yesterday working on my files from school. Today, after church and after a yummy chili lunch, I took a 3.5 hour nap on the couch! (I did see Peter Rabbit before I fell asleep – that was a cute movie!) Now, off to make lunches – and hopefully snuggle up with Hubby to watch a few Big Bang Theory episodes – as we need to catch up before we see the Series Finale that aired this past week.

Not sure this counts as a “Stream of consciousness post” as it turned out to be just a quick “KETCHUP” on our lives these days!

Blessing to all of you! Be kind…and keep being YOU!