Leah With Love

Archives for August 2016

Finding Motivation

I wake up each morning with grand plans. I'm going to finish this, photograph that, add this to the website, publish that post, play this with the kids and clean that in the house. I start my to do list, adding things one by one. As the day begins, I get to work checking things off as I go. And then the mid morning slump hits and the motivation I woke up with is long gone. Around 10am, one little is down for a nap and the second is playing quietly. This is the time of day when I can get a good chunk of work done but there are so many days where my motivation has vanished. By this point, I've ... read more

Breakfast Cookies & Printable Lunch Notes

Today ends the second full week of school. These past two weeks have completely flown by, especially now that I'm back to work. One of the biggest adjustments in the back to work life is getting everyone ready, fed and out of the house in the morning. The mornings we all have to be packed up and ready to go are pretty hectic. I'm grateful that we have two days during the work week that I don't have to worry about getting the kids out of the house. Those mornings are definitely a little more calm. One thing I've been doing that has saved so much time and stress in the morning is precooking ... read more

Summer Entertaining + Printable Wine Glass Tags

One of our favorite things to do over the summer months is have friends and family over. Whether it's for dinner, a planned party or impromptu get together, our door is always open. Since we entertain a lot, I've figured out how to throw together a party in just a few hours. No stress involved, just some essential things I know to grab to make the get-together a success. The benefit of being able to throw some things together quickly is you can be ready in an hour or two, aren't running around frantically and you'll be able enjoy yourself more throughout the party. Heck, maybe you'll even be ... read more

Friday Favorites

Oh friends, what a week it's been. I don't think I've ever been as ready for a Friday to get here as I have this week. After a half day of daycare, Luke was exposed to hand, foot and mouth. We found out last Thursday and his symptoms started on Friday. Any parent who has had a little one with HFM knows how absolutely horrible it is. He had a fever for a long time, wouldn't eat, was up every three hours and just spent days crying in pain. My heart was completely broken and having to go to work everyday was tough. But my mom has been an angel with both littles this week. She's been home with ... read more

{Free Printable} Teacher Survival Kit

Back to school is upon us. Teachers are working hard preparing their classrooms, getting things ready for their new group of students. Kids are anxiously awaiting their class placement and meet the teacher nights before the exciting first day of school. This year I was fortunate to experience both, as a parent of a little one excited for a new year and as a teacher. Something I always taught in my classroom (and will touch on immediately with my new class) is empathy. My students know that I view our class as a family. We're together for as long as their with their parents each day and it's ... read more

“Tickled Pink” Back to School Gift

 My sweet girl started back to school for VPK last week and couldn't wait to meet her new teacher. Of course, the second we walked in for meet the teacher, she was super shy. It was one of those holding on to moms leg, peeking around to give one word answers to the questions. I've learned in these moments not to push her to talk or play, just to let her observe and take her time. Thankfully, her teacher was able to ask some questions to get her to warm up and the chatter box in her came out. This moment put my heart at ease, I know this school year will be wonderful for her. Two days later, ... read more

Supporting your Schools

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I think I'm as ready as I'm going to be. The lunches are packed, AG's uniform is picked out, my clothes are out and backpacks are filled. Tomorrow will be the first day our entire family has to get up and out of the house together. I'm hoping all the preparation we've done beforehand will help speed things up. From the teacher stand point, my classroom is ready and my plans for the first three days are done. Since I've gone back to teaching this year, I've had to purchase tons of things for my classroom. Many teachers spend their own money to make sure ... read more

Sight Word Pockets

Today I'm excited to share another easy sight word activity with you to use with your littles. With all of the teaching supplies in all of the stores this month, I've been picking up some extra things here and there to add to the "mommy school'' closet. One thing I picked up a bunch of are these library card pockets. I grabbed two packs with plans for sight word and word family practice. The sight word practice is what we started with. All you'll need for this activity is the library cards, a sharpie, popsicle sticks and tape. I love how the outside of the library pockets have a space to ... read more

10+ August 2016 Desktop Wallpapers

You know that the start of the new month around here means you'll see a new roundup of desktop wallpapers. This is one of my favorite posts to put together each month and from your response, one that many of you look forward to. So, lets welcome August together! August is not only the end of summer, it's a month of celebration in our house. Hubs celebrated his birthday yesterday and our sweet girl will celebrate her 4th birthday next week. She's also starting pre-k on the same day and I'm going to be back in the classroom teaching full time this year as well. Talk about big changes for our ... read more

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