Over The Top Mommy

What Happens in the Teachers Lounge, Stays in the Teachers Lounge

August 23, 2013 / Food, The Teacher in Me

Today was my first official day back to my school site for an inservice! After being off and home with my daughter for 10 1/2 weeks, I was kind of sad to be away from her. I do know that I’m more fortunate than most people though to even have that much time off at once. (even though teachers don’t get paid when they don’t work)

Of course, it was all temporarily better the moment I got a hold of this…..

Seriously though…everything is better with a donut….and some coffee!

My most favorite donut in the whole world is a sprinkled donut!

So tell me, what’s yours? *cue for YOU to leave a comment

I’m Going to Blended 2013!

August 19, 2013 / Lifestyle, Social Media Conferences

I can barely contain my excitement about the fact that my first blogger conference is going to be Blended! When I first found out that the 2 SUPER WOMEN behind this conference are BOTH named, “Wendy”, (Wendy from Around My Family Table and Wendy from Choosing Love & Arizona Moms Network), I just KNEW this was meant to be! I’m thinking we’re going to need to start our own “Wendy Club“, right?
Blended is a one-day conference which will be held on Saturday, September 28 at The Double Tree by Hilton in Tempe, AZ. It’s a great opportunity for bloggers to gain knowledge from some powerful guest speakers, meet some of the sponsors and have the chance to network with other bloggers, which I’m finding out, usually up turning into fun, new friendships!
In addition to the hosts, there will be 3 guest speakers at Blended. Maureen Fitzgerald from Wisconsin Mommy, Kimberly Sneed from A Night Owl, and Christine Pittman from Cook the Story.
I am anxious to hear all of them speak and meet them in person, after having followed them online.
You can look at the full conference agenda here.
The ticket includes all sessions, materials, snacks, lunch and what’s sure to be everyone’s fav part….SWAG!!! Everyone loves SWAG! If you live in, or near, Arizona, you should attend! I’m coming from California! You can register for Blended here!

So what are you waiting for? Get registered and come meet me in Arizona! I just KNOW it’s going to be fun! (mostly because I assume that fun follows me wherever I go!)

Make sure to connect with Blended on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,

and sign up for the Blended Newsletter here.

Disclaimer: I’m a Blended Conference Ambassador. I was provided a discounted ticket for my promotion.

How many more minutes til’ Halloween?

August 18, 2013 / Celebrations, Holiday Fun

Today I almost fell over from excitement when I saw a TON of Halloween decorations at Pier 1 Imports that I *NEEDED! Seriously, there was even a Halloween tree with ornaments! I told myself that FIRST I need to get past “Back to School” before I’ll allow myself to think about anything Halloween. (I have little pep talks like that with myself all the time) Then I started looking back on some of last year’s Halloween party pics and I really just can’t wait!
Last year, I ordered these adorable shirts from https://www.facebook.com/sweetmadys for the kids. The girl’s version had a cute little witch on it and the boy’s version a Frankenstein. The shirts are personalized with their names. I was tempted to order myself one! Go check out her page!

Did I mention that photo booth is pretty much a requirement at my house?

Yep, I’ve got my daughter pretty well-trained…and my niece and my nephew and my friends!

And sometimes I’ll even hop in there…but not often!

So how many more minutes til’ Halloween, anyway?

I’m Craving Apple Pie Pops!

August 10, 2013 / Food, Recipes

I’m not sure if it’s because today seemed kind of like the beginning of fall, even though I know it’s not, or what is going on but I’ve had the biggest craving for apple pie pops all day! They’re like little heavenly pockets of apple, in an adorable little crust and served on a stick!
I actually made these back in May after I saw a post on http://aimeebroussard.com/tag/pie-pops/! Mine came out nowhere NEAR as adorbs as hers did, but it was my first attempt, so perhaps my next batch will turn out cuter than these did. Regardless, they tasted yummy and I sure wish I had some right now!

I can only imagine how difficult it must be when you’re 8 and your mom hands you one of these but says NOT to eat it! Does she seriously expect you to just pose with it a whole bunch of times and NOT bite into it? Poor Emi! She’s such a good sport. Just look at those pleading eyes!

Don’t worry, I let her eat it eventually….in addition to a few more!

Getting Ready for Back to School

August 9, 2013 / Celebrations, Crafts & DIY, Printables

I feel like summer has just flown by and little by little I’ve been getting ready to go back to school.
For me, there are 2 kinds of “going back to school”. First, I have to go back to my own first grade classroom. A couple of weeks after that, I have to get ready for Emi’s first day of school!

The first day of school for Emi is kind of a big deal around here. (I’m sure no one is surprised, right?)
I start “hoarding” things for her 1st day of school breakfast, as early as June! I stick them in cupboards, closets, and in the back of my car! I don’t think I even sleep the night before her first day because I’m so busy setting everything up just perfectly, like I’m throwing some big party or something! I’m pretty sure Emi is just excited to see donuts sitting at the table each year.

Earlier today, I was looking back through my pictures from what I did last year and I just can’t believe it’s been almost a year since Emi started 2nd grade!

Whenever there’s a special occasion or a holiday, I love to decorate with printables by Lauren McKinsey! She always has the most adorable collections, some of which you can even personalize before you print! Last year, I was able to use this particular collection for both this table AND in my own classroom!

Check out her collections here: http://www.LaurenMcKinsey.com

This was some of the back to school swag from last year.

I was in LOVE with this lunchbox by Timree, which actually has a chalkboard inside to write a note in.

The personalized folder is also part of Timree’s school supply collection.

You can check out more of her stuff at: http://www.timree.com

These were little pretzel bags filled with Hershey’s Nuggets that were each wrapped with a printable, also from that collection. The best part about assembling these the night before, was that there was no one else around to count how many I’d eaten!

Always remember to send something for your child’s teacher on the first day.

Emi likes to bring something for her new teacher and something for all of the former ones.

(Teachers appreciate that kind of gesture, even if it’s just something small.)

I feel like I’m going to have a hard time outdoing myself this year

after looking over what I did last year!

Guess we’ll find out in a couple of weeks!

On the More Serious Side

August 4, 2013 / Lifestyle, Social Media

I’ve recently come to learn that a friend of a friend’s daughter has been diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic (M3) Leukemia. Her name is “JoJo” and she’s the same age as my own daughter. When I look at her pictures now, I just see someone who looks like she’d be one of Emi’s friends, an adorable, regular little girl who probably likes doing crafts, having sleepovers & watching Disney shows like “Austin & Ally”. I also see someone who, at the age of 8, is about to take the hardest journey of her life, along with her entire family and all of her friends! Currently, she’s receiving treatment at CHOC in Orange, California.

Yesterday, Jojo pulled this lock of her own hair out (it didn’t seem to be that difficult) and made this mustache with it, jokingly. I know that she was kidding around and actually doing so in good spirits, but it still tugged on my heart strings to see it and read about it. I do know that her hair isn’t the most important part here, her health is!

It’s hard for me to keep reading about her journey, but I also can’t stop. I can’t help but want to do something to help. Jojo has made “a wish” for her own Macbook, which is the least she should have to keep her occupied with all of the time she’s going to be spending in bed and getting treatments, etc.
Many friends and family are pulling together to raise money, in order to make Jojo’s wish come true, as well as raise money for CHOC hospital’s Oncology unit.
Cynthia Briggeman is a stylist for Stella & Dot who has so generously donated 100% of her commissions from this online trunk show towards Jojo’s wish. There are some adorable bracelets that look like this, within the latest collection, but check out the trunk show and see if YOU like anything!

http://www.stelladot.com/ts/2vsr5

I’m also linking her Facebook page, which is open to look at and/or join.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/159356360920760/

Stay tuned for more updates on Team Jojo! <3

And Sometimes I’m a Swim Mommy!

August 4, 2013 / Lifestyle, Motherhood

I’m a cheer mom. I’m a tae kwon do mom. I’m a soccer mom. Sometimes I’m a swim mom…like today! Today was Emi’s last swim meet of this summer’s swim team season!
She placed 1st in 25 freestyle 2nd in 50 freestyle and 2nd in 25 backstroke
and this was out of 5 teams!

One of the things I admire most about Emi is that she’s not afraid to do things like this…athletic things
! I could NEVER swim the way she does, let alone compete in swim meets! Although she comes across as fearless, she does actually get nervous sometimes. Personally, I think I’d be “over it” just when someone asked me to put on one of those swim caps!!! (I’m just being honest here)

Ultimately, I not only want her to do things I never did as a child, but also to SUCCEED at those things! So far, I’d say it’s going pretty well! 🙂

Downtown Disney Meet and Greet With Ross Lynch and Maia Mitchell!

July 22, 2013 / Disney, Disney

We watch quite a bit of Disney Channel in our home. For the longest time, all we saw were commercials for the upcoming release of the Disney movie, “Teen Beach Movie”! We set up our DVR to record it, because Emi can never get enough of Disney Channel movies! She LOVES Ross Lynch (aka Austin from “Austin & Ally”) and Maia Mitchell (she appeared on “Jessie” before and is now on “The Fosters“) I’m pretty sure that just during the first week that Teen Beach Movie was officially released, she’d probably watched it AT LEAST 20 times!

Going down the Mickey & Friends escalator, all ready to meet Ross & Maia!

Running to the tram. I wonder if she’s excited?

We are fortunate enough to live near The Disneyland Resort, where they had a merchandise signing event for the movie. Ross and Maia would be making an appearance and signing Teen Beach Movie merchandise.

The part I didn’t realize was that we were supposed to camp out the night before, with all of the other teenagers or we wouldn’t get a “voucher” to meet them. I honestly thought if we got there a few hours ahead of time, that we’d be fine. Now I know for next time! (Will there be a Teen Beach Movie 2?)

HOWEVER, when we arrived in Downtown Disney, we stopped to look around and see which way to go….and there he was! Ross was walking right in front of us…OMG Ross Lynch!!!! All I could think was, “Hey, that’s the guy on that show!” and I’ll admit I was a little stumped, but Emi was the one who EXTREMELY short on words and just had this giddy expression on her face!

Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to you...the backside of Ross Lynch!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you with…the backside of Ross Lynch!

(it’s a Jungle Cruise joke)

So, while the people who had been waiting in the line for HOURS stood far away from, WE were right next to Ross and Maia AND got to be front row when they did some filming for a “Disney 365″segment! I don’t think Emi has ever been that close to one of her celeb crushes and although she was overwhelmed by the crowd, she had a giant smile from ear-to-ear!

I’m pretty sure he’s looking right at Emi in this pic! 🙂

The look on her face is priceless! I think she was pretty happy, wouldn’t you agree?

The Radio Disney Crew was also there, playing with the kids and were passing out swag!

It was great morning spent in Downtown Disney!

Do YOU have a favorite Teen Beach Movie character? If so, WHO is it?

I’m in Love…with an App!

July 6, 2013 / Lifestyle, Social Media

Let me just start this post by pointing out that I am no techy, but I sure do like to pretend that I am!

The other morning, I saw numerous posted pics with the hashtags #HeyRhonna and #RhonnaDesigns_app. As I looked further into it, I realized that July 2nd was the date that this app went live in the App Store!

Priced at only $1.99, I immediately bought it and began using it! I am now hooked and in love with what it does for your photos. I’ve just been sitting on my couch playing with all of the different features.

The following pics are just some very basic examples of what you can do with this app. However, there is SO much more to it!