Back to School

Signs that the kiddos come back tomorrow:

- I didn't get home from school until 7 tonight.

- My hands are stained with several colors of marker.

- I am deliberating over my first-day-of-school ensemble.

- My classroom is the neatest it will look all year.

- I am far too excited to fall asleep, because I get to meet my new class tomorrow!

Make-Up Monday:Boots Brazil Nut and Vanilla Body Scrub

This body scrub is fabulous-- it exfoliates without being scratchy, and it smells just like yellow cake batter.

Plus, when you run out, you have an excuse to visit Target to buy more.

Future Eggplant Parmesan

I have an honest-to-goodness eggplant growing in my garden right now.

I think it is the cutest vegetable I have ever seen.

To Go With My Harley

Target has these fabulous Frye knock-offs for $49.99, and I am seriously considering a pair.

Because biker boots fit so well into my first-grade-teacher, cardigan-heavy wardrobe.

Because Giant Food is Just More Fun

A couple months ago, I saw this idea of turning a tube of cinnamon rolls into one giant cinnamon roll.

And, yesterday, I tried this in my very own kitchen. (I used Pillsbury Reduced Fat Cinnamon Rolls, because I'm such a health nut).

The Giganti-roll came out just as delicious as I expected it would.

I think I want a three-tiered version for my birthday.

I Love Getting Things On Sale

Two things that you can't tell just from looking at this picture:

1. I am wearing Hello Kitty pajama pants.

2. I am standing on Mr. Kinne's toolbox so I can frame myself in the mirror.

One thing that you probably can tell is how flipping adorable my new scarf is. It was part of my back-to-school shopping at Old Navy, and I am kind of in love with it. It is made out of super soft material, and it matches more than half of my wardrobe.

Plus! Old Navy is having another 30 percent off sale this weekend, so you could get a scarf just like mine for $5.60.

Then, you, too, could take an awesome picture in your spare room mirror, because your husband is not home to take it for you.

Or, you know, you could just do the "getting a good deal at Old Navy" part.

Make-Up Monday: L'Oreal Paris Complexion Equalizer

I love getting a good deal.

When I come home from shopping, I like to show off my purchases to Mr. Kinne and make him guess how much I spent. (He has learned to guess a higher number than he actually thinks, so as not to disappoint me).

When I saw L'Oreal Paris Complexion Equalizer suggested as a cheaper alternative to my beloved (but ridiculously expensive) Clinique moisturizer, I had to try it. Twenty dollars instead of forty-two would definitely qualify as a deal.

The Pros?

The packaging looks very high-end, and the moisturizer even smells expensive. Plus, it goes on smoothly and provides a great base for foundation.

The Cons?

Well, actually, there's just one con-- this moisturizer broke me out like crazy. And, to quote Liz Lemon, that's a dealbreaker.

Love

I have been thinking about how lucky I am to be surrounded by people I love-- both the family I was born into and the family that I have been lucky enough to meet over the years.

I am also extremely lucky to have met and married a man who puts messages in the top of his chicken pot pie.

Sad News

A former student of mine lost his life this week, and I've been struggling with what to post here.

I don't want to show pictures of the calzones I made or the giant caterpillar in our backyard, when I can't stop thinking about this funny, sensitive boy and his grieving family.

I will be back to posting fun things soon, but for now, I'm going to take some time to reflect on the people I am lucky to have in my life and a boy who made the world a better place when he was in it.

It's Just So Ruffly...

Last year, for my first year of teaching, I got the cutest teacher-y clothes from Banana Republic and soon discovered that first grade is not the place to wear clothes that you love.

First grade is the place to wear Old Navy khakis that you don't mind getting ruined.

So, this year, I vowed not to spend too much money on back-to-school clothes.

This sweater, however, is making me want to pull out my Banana Republic card.

Make-Up Monday: Benefit Boi-ing

Silly product name, but a fabulous concealer.

This stuff could cover up anything. I use Shade 02 in Medium, and I find that it blends really easily.

Unfortunately, it only comes in three shades, so it might be tough to find a match. I recommend going into Sephora and checking it out.

Let's be honest-- I recommend going into Sephora even if you don't want to check it out. That place is like a theme park for grown-up girls.

Our Trip to the Cape

Because people who go to Cape Cod?

They call it "The Cape."

(I have actually only been a few times, but I like to sound like I rub elbows with the Kennedys on a regular basis).

We were lucky enough to get away for a couple days with friends, and, as is the Kinne tradition, we did plenty of eating.

The very first thing on our agenda was Lecount Hollow Beach in Wellfleet, where I got flipped over by several huge waves. (See those waves in the background? They were out for blood!)

We did dinner at Moby Dick's, and we made sure to get there old-people early to beat the crowds. Plenty of lobster was consumed.

The next day, we had to pay a visit to our favorite mini-golf place: Pirate's Cove! Mini-golf is not exactly my strong suit... which is code for "I came in dead last."

Lunch was at the British Beer Company, the best British pub I have ever gone to outside of England.

Next stop-- Sundae School! I am obsessed with their Oreo Crunch ice cream.

And, finally, our night ended at the Wellfleet Drive-In, where we saw Despicable Me, which was so cute.

Then, I made the drive home, which we have no pictures of. However, if there were pictures, they would be of me singing along to the Glee soundtracks at the top of my lungs.

Teacher Week: My Favorite Online Resources

I often say that I don't know how anyone taught before the internet.

In fact, I usually take stock of what I need to teach, and then I start Googling. But, there are a few tried-and-true sites that I keep coming back to:

1. Pigeonpresents.com

Are you guys familiar with Mo Willems? He is my favorite children's book author, and he is totally a rock star in my eyes. (Last year, I met him, and he signed my shirt!)

This site has tons of fun resources to go along with his books, including my personal fave, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog.

2. Picture-Book.com

Picture Book features tons of illustrations from popular children's books. (I consider them fancy clip art).

3. Crayola.com

This site is worth it for all of the fun coloring pages alone, but it also has craft projects and lesson plans.

4. Google.com

If you could marry a website, I would marry Google.

Teacher Week: A Little Tour

Want to see how cute my classroom is?

O.K.!

Teacher Week: Creative Ideas

The thing about teachers is they love to borrow ideas.

So, when I saw that Babbling Abby was having a whole Teacher Week with tons of ideas being shared?

I was so in.

Then, well, I went to Cape Cod for two glorious, computer-free days, and I missed the first two days of Teacher Week.

But! But, now I am back.

As you might know, I am going into my second year of teaching ELL first grade, which means my kiddos come from homes where English isn't the primary language. Although I sort of stumbled into working with this group, I am loving the challenge.

When I thought about what creative ideas I could share, a few came to mind right away:

1. Make a big deal about big words. My ELL kiddos absorb words like sponges, and I make a point to teach exciting new words, right along with our parts of speech and word family words. I pick a word a week and reward the students who use the word correctly in the room. It never fails to make me smile when a student tells another student, "You are doing a spectacular job!"

2. Let the students use clipboards and wipe-off boards. They make boring lessons more fun.

3. Incorporate food into the classroom. When my students made their end-of-the-year scrapbooks, the majority of their memories involved food. From our Thanksgiving dinner to our Pancake Party, we managed to use food to cover lots of different areas of the curriculum. My favorite was stringing 100 Froot Loops on a string to make necklaces on the 100th day of school. (This is, of course, easier if you have an extra adult in the room-- and no food allergies!)

4. Keep chocolate stashed in your desks. There will be days that you need it.

Back from the Cape

I just got back from a mini-vacation to Cape Cod, and I am a lovely shade of pink.

I will be uploading beach-y pictures soon, but first I have to thank the lovely Sarah B. for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award. (Thanks, Sarah!)

The Award Rules
1. Thank the person who gave you this award.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 5 bloggers who you've recently discovered and think are awesome (and be sure to let them know).

Here are my seven things:

1. Chocolate-chip cookies are my favorite food.

2. I was a substitute teacher for three years before getting my own classroom. (Three years! It's a miracle that I made it out alive).

3. When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher and a country singer and a McDonald's drive-through worker. (I figured free Happy Meals were involved).

4. I talk about babies more than my husband would probably like. (Can I help it that they are so tiny and adorable? And that they have the best little outfits?)

5. I do not like calling people on the phone. In fact, it makes me anxious.

6. I live less than ten minutes away from my parents and both of my siblings.

7. I have an addictive personality. But, instead of, I don't know, cocaine, I get addicted to snack foods and shows on the CW.

And, now....

Five Super Fun Blogs that I Have Recently Found

1. Babbing Abby

A great mixture of fashion and teaching and family. She is currently running a fabulous Teacher Week, which I will post more about later.

2. Tough Love Knitters

My friend Mollie is super crafty and also super hilarious.

3. Joy Ever After

She has such an eye for lovely things.

4. Glitter Geek

A fellow make-up lover, who also named her cat after a character from How I Met Your Mother.

5. Shannanigans

I am pretty much obsessed with Shannon's blog, and I like to read parts out loud to Mr. Kinne.

Ok, now I have to go try to catch up on post-vacation life...

All Caps

Barney loves to walk on my laptop, and he always seems to hit the caps lock key.

If Barney, had a blog, it would always look like he was yelling.

Make-Up Monday: Nicole By OPI Spring Romance

So, last week, I told you about a nail polish that would make you look more put together and grown up.

This week? I picked a nail polish that will make you look like you are on the way to a Justin Bieber concert.

I was in Target and saw that all of the Nicole by OPI polishes were 50 percent off-- bringing this little bottle down to $3.54.

And, it was too fun not to buy.

It took a little work to fish out the little sparkly hearts to make sure I got one on each nail. But, all of my time and effort paid off:

I will be rocking this look on the beach tomorrow, and all of the ten year olds will be so jealous.

Icebox Cake

After agreeing to bring a dessert to a friend's house on Thursday, two things occurred to me:

1. It was so humid outside that I felt like I was breathing soup.

2. I did not want to turn on the oven.

So, I decided to make an icebox cake, inspired by this recipe on Smitten Kitchen. However, I was not inspired enough to make my own whipped cream from scratch, so I just followed the recipe on the bottom of the cookie box.

You mix a teaspon of vanilla into a container of Cool Whip, and you alternate layers of Cool Whip with these Nabisco chocolate wafers. (You can also grate some chocolate on top, because there is no such thing as too much chocolate). Then, you let it sit in the fridge for a while to soften up the cookies, and you serve it to your very impressed friends.

And, I can pretty much guarantee they will be impressed.

Tiny Ninjas!

I recently discovered these tiny ninjas that you can print out and attach to your cupcakes. As soon as the temperature drops below a billion degrees, I plan to make good use of these.

(Photo and ridiculously good idea via Zakka Life)

Spotted...

I live in Old Navy rib knit tank tops. They go with everything, and they are the perfect layer when the weather turns cooler.

And now! Now, they come in polka dots!

A Hole in One

Two questions I asked Mr. Kinne after I made this cake for his dad's birthday:

"Will people be able to tell that I know nothing about golf?"

"And, also, apparently, that I know nothing about what trees look like?"

Make-Up Monday: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Petal Pusher

This polish is perfect for that morning when you have a meeting or a parent-teacher conference or a big important work thing... and you realize you are wearing chipped blue nail polish.

It is smudge-proof in about three minutes, and it makes you look instantly more put together.

Is it going to last all week? No, probably not.

But, it will make you look more like a grown-up today.