Back-to-School is an exciting time of year for parents, students, and teachers! It’s a chance to start fresh and begin another year of learning! 
Prior to the first day of school, I’ve usually spent several days of my summer break working on my classroom. I always want it to be perfect for my students. There are pencils to sharpen, name tags to personalize, bulletin boards to put up and so more.
Once the new school year gets under way, I still find myself spending extra hours after school each week, in my classroom. It just seems like there’s always something that needs to be done.
I have a teacher confession to make: I am so busy trying to get it all done that I’m guilty of not taking care of me. There are actually days when I skip lunch to work in my room or run off homework or cut up paper for an art activity. I guess I have a lot more teacher confessions I could make in addition to that one.
I’ve read a lot about self-care lately and am learning the importance of doing so. It’s important to take time out for yourself during the workday, even if it’s just 5 or 10 minutes at a time. My skipping lunch to work isn’t something I should be allowing to happen and I’m going to change it, in addition to some other things
I was so touched when I received a special teacher care package, filled with goodies, from Udderly Smooth®! It was so thoughtful of them to send it to me and several of my teacher friends. Have you heard of their products? They are beyond moisturizing and have the most adorable packaging! I love cows! Also, all of the products are made in the USA!
The first thing I reached for when I opened the package was the cow stress ball. Stress balls are like the world’s best invention. Kids love them too! It’s definitely something I will utilize in my classroom often!
These products couldn’t have come at a better time because keeping my hands moisturized at work is something else I am totally lagging on. I must wash my hands at least 100 times a day, as I’m always coming in contact with little ones. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration but keeping my skin moisturized needs to be another priority at work.
I put together a list of the things I’m going to try to work on this year at school. I’m going to keep this list on my desk as a friendly reminder and daily check list. I’m there to teach, create, and inspire…but I also need to take care of me!
What are some of the things you need to do to take better care of yourself? Maybe you could make a declaration of those things like I did. 
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Summer’s come to an end and it’s already time for Back to School. It’s sometimes hard to transition back into the busy hustle n’ bustle of the school year. I always try to do something special for the beginning of the school year. It’s sometimes hard to impress teens but I’m hoping I still have it in me. 
When I was out shopping at 
Such cute little Ghostbusters erasers, notebooks, and most importantly, hand sanitizer. Have you seen the film yet? It’s still playing in theaters and was a big hit with our family this summer. If you’ve already seen it, you probably understand my obsession with the movie. If you haven’t, you need to get to the movies! What a fun film! 
After my shopping trip, I was going to go home and put together a fun little first day of school Ghostbusters themed gift bag and make a cute printable to go with it. (see below to print your own out.) 
In addition to the fun school supplies, I found at Walmart, I also loaded my cart up with a bunch of my favorite chocolate candies that I found on the candy aisle. You can never be too stocked up! Here’s what I purchased:
I also stuffed a small Mason jar with some of the candies, tied it with a piece of bright green lace, and stuck a “School Survival Kit” printable on the front. This will be perfect in between classes when she needs a pick-me-up! 
To download any of the free printables I used in this post, go 
Do you do anything special for Back to School? Share with me what you do in the comments.
I don’t know if it was more difficult to get her back-to-school look right (since moms don’t seem to know what’s cool) or to grab a decent picture of her in the outfit? Luckily, we finally got her look and the picture! What do you think? Adorable, in my opinion! 
During the month of August, Northgate Markets are hosting in-store Hatch Chile Roasting events on the weekends. For a list of the locations hosting the events, along with dates and times, visit 
We stopped by the 
Lately, my daughter has been asking me if she could do more cooking in the kitchen. I’m happy that she has an interest in learning to cook, so of course, I want her to. She suggested we incorporate the Hatch Chiles into one of her favorite foods,
I think most adults love “Mac & Cheese”, too. I know I never turn down a simple comfort food! I love the flavor of Hatch Chiles, so I knew it would be a great combination.
I love using our cast-iron skillet so we used it to roast the chiles. I like the way they seem to “dance” while they sizzle. You need to allow both sides to roast really well. It’s Ok for the chiles to appear blackened on the outside. Depending on what you’re making, you either remove that part anyway, or incorporate the blackened part into your recipe, to give it a smoky taste. Mmm! 
After the chiles are roasted to your liking, you immediately stick them back into the produce bag (if they came in one) or else into a plastic bag and seal it, allowing them to “sweat”. After about 10 minutes, you’ll be able to easily remove the outer skin of your Hatch Chiles. It will literally just peel off . You’ll slice open down the center and remove the seeds with a spoon. (or by hand) 
For this recipe, my daughter diced up the Hatch Chiles and set them aside while we prepared the rest of the iingredients. 
Ingredients:
It’s kind of funny to look at the fashion trends for back to school this year because they remind me of when was in high school! Lots of denim, including denim jackets and acid wash jeans, lace, plaids, chunky boots, preppy pieces, florals, and the best part is that they call a lot of it “vintage”.
Champs – Every kid needs tennis shoes. Some wear them every day as school shoes, some kids change into them for P.E. They have a huge selection of shoes in sizes ranging from toddler to adult. Champs also has t-shirts, shorts, workout wear, hats, athletic socks, and more. 
Charlotte Russe – The first thing that caught my daughter’s eye were the shoes! They had a big selection of the ankle boots that I used to wear. They also have a ton of denim choices and adorable tops and jackets. We found a lot of things to buy for school here. 
Claire’s – If you’re a “girl mom” you probably already know about Claire’s. It’s more than just the place to get your ears pierced, it’s the ultimate accessory shop. They have a huge selection of necklaces, earrings, bracelets, hair accessories, backpacks and purses, phone cases and holders, tablet covers, stickers, nail polishes and lip glosses and more! The girls were all over the sparkly pineapple accessories!
Well, as you can see, we had a lot of luck during our back to school shopping! Have you finished all of yours yet?
His adult daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), also lives in the town and works as a forest ranger in the woods. She fails to believe any of her father’s stories are true, as she has never encountered anything such as a dragon in the woods. 
Everything Grace believed in changed the day she met Pete, a 10 year-old boy, who seemed to be living in the woods and have no family or real “home”.
After Pete finally opens up to Grace, he talks to her about his giant dragon “Elliot”, who he lives with in the woods. The rest of the film, you’ll have to see for yourself! I don’t believe in posting spoilers for others. 
“Pete’s Dragon” is such an exciting and magical journey and will pull on your heartstrings…a lot! I absolutely fell in love with each of the main characters, especially with Elliot!
It was so special to be able to see this film with my own daughter and share one of the stories from my own childhood with her in a more modern version. The film is rated PG but I’d recommend it for most children. The only thing that might be a little scary would be the dragon, Elliot. Normally, I just tell my daughter that something in a movie isn’t real, in hopes that she won’t be scared. However, I wouldn’t say that about this dragon. Remember…”Just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it’s not there!”
Watch this hilarious clip of Bryce talking about what it’s like to work with Elliot the dragon on set:
Currently, I just feel like Christmas came early! After it was just last week that the “Paint the Night” parade would be going dark at the end of the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration, this news about the Main Street Electrical Parade is so exciting. However, on the Disney Parks Blog they also announced that the “Paint the Night” parade will actually return on select nights during the holiday season later this year! Yay!
Since I’m also a mom, things like dirty hands and faces or runny noses don’t bother me when I’m in the classroom. I do, however, place importance on cleanliness both at home and in my classroom. I’m really particular about the products I choose, always trying to find cleaners that don’t contain chemicals. I know that I don’t want my daughter coming in contact with harmful chemicals and I”m sure my students’ parents want the same thing for them! 
In my classroom, we like to do art whenever it fits into a school day. Since we don’t have a sink in the room, I have to be creative with cleaning and hand/face washing, especially during art. I truly believe that art is supposed to be messy and I’m Ok with it. 
I was excited to learn about WaterWipes. Have you heard of them yet? They are chemical-free baby wipes that only contain two ingredients: 99.9% pure Irish water and 0.1% grapefruit seed extract. I found mine at Babies R’ Us near the diapers and wipes. I carry around baby wipes with me at all times and use them for everything. For a store locator, go 
WaterWipes are just the perfect kind to keep on hand in my classroom though. I appreciate brands that are considerate about the ingredients they choose to include in their products.
I’ve found WaterWipes to be both durable and effective for cleaning up classroom messes and little first graders’ hands, without containing any of the harmful chemicals that may be found in other baby wipes. I’m looking out for my students so I choose WaterWipes as a safer, natural option for my classroom cleanup regimen.
Right now, you can enter to win one of five (5) $100 Babies”R”Us gift cards. You can enter below through August 18, 2016. Winners will be randomly selected from all of the entries. Good luck everyone!
Park guests can enjoy the convenience of the App in the Park by connecting to the FREE Resort wifi. This will definitely help with your phone roaming and draining the battery so quickly. Having in-park wifi is so much more efficient.
You can download the app for free and it’s compatible with iOS and Andriod devices. Your visit to the LEGOLAND California Resort will be easier when you have control in the palm of your hand! When is your next trip?