I have nothing to wear...

I actually started this blog before last summer and then I got distracted from blogging and hadn't come back to it.   The idea remains the same, so I will finish and post even though these are summer outfits.  

I had been going through my closet and thinking that I had NOTHING to wear.  I hate when I get that feeling, because it puts me in a spendy mood.   I know myself though,  I am happier on a daily basis if I stick to a capsule style wardrobe.  One of my friends invited me out and we were shopping for something for her when I came across these teal pants and really fell in love with them, but they were an odd color, full price, and frankly TEAL.  What would I wear them with?   Talking with my friend I decided that I would only buy them if I could in my mind put together at least 3 outfits to wear.    I thought of the teal and purple shirt, the black and white shirt and the solid black shirt at the bottom.  

When I got home, I decided to go though my closet and see just how many outfits I could put together. With one $40 pair of pants I was able to refresh my wardrobe and create 8 new outfits.  Success!!  

The moral of the story is... You don't have to buy a whole lot of items or spend tons of money to have a whole new wardrobe.  Sometimes just swapping out an item or 2 can make everything fresh and new again.  

]'/\

Tropical Cheesecake Puddin' Pie

I through together this random dessert yesterday, and it was so good Chris went for seconds.   The crust is made of Chips Ahoy Crunchy Coconut Chocolate chip cookies.  Crush up a column of the cookies and mix with a third of a stick of butter.  Press this mixture into the bottom of a pie pan.  Cut up 2 slightly overly yellow bananas and lay over the crust.  The pie filling is 1 box of banana pudding and 1 box of cheesecake pudding mixed in 3 cups of milk.  Pour the filling over the banana lined crust and put in the refrigerator for at least a half hour.  Slice and eat!!

My Teacher Uniform: Pictures will be added later

A little while back some of you were following along when I had my epiphany  about Capsule Wardrobes and/or Project 333.  When I got my teaching job this last winter I applied Project 333 to my  wardrobe to help make my hectic semester simpler.  The idea is that one uses 33 clothing items for 3 months.  There are a few things that I have learned about myself that I will be tweaking for the fall.  (I kind of let the idea slip this summer, and just pulled things out of my closet randomly.)

I want to look stylish, but have learned some things about myself along the way that I have to take into account when picking my 33 items to use as my wardrobe.

1. I am hot natured.  Even in the depths of winter, when we hit below 0 temperatures time and again, I didn't want to wear layers inside and the very idea of a sweater makes me sweat.
2. I like to sit on the floor with children.  My clothing choices need to allow me to plunk down with a group of students and read them a story.
3. Sitting "lady-like" doesn't come naturally to me, so trousers and maxi skirts are my friends.
4. I am not shaped to wear skirts comfortably.  That's not to say that they don't look good on me, but I need to wear bike shorts, leggings, or pantyhose.
5.  Clothing needs to be easy to care for.  I despise ironing.  I like to look polished, but prefer to just pull things out of the dryer quickly and get them hung up or hang items to dry.  I won't buy dry clean only items no matter how much I like them, because ... well... remembering them at the dry cleaners, additional cost, forgetting/washing/ruining them.  etc.
6. White is not my friend.  It doesn't seem to matter what the fabric is, or how I try to get it clean.  I can never get white clean, so my money is better spent on other things.
7. I've been wearing too much black.  I know it's a staple.  I'm not suggesting that I forgo black in my wardrobe all together, but I really look much better in navy.  Blues suit me better.  Currently in my closet I have 3 different types of black slacks.  I am merely suggesting that I cut down to one and add more variety.
8. I don't swap purses to match my outfit.  I bought myself a really nice brown leather purse last year with a nice classic look to it.  I carry it everywhere except to the race track or camping.  I'm sure it would be fine, but I don't want to take any chances ruining it.
9. I have grown to appreciate detail and pattern on my tops.  I have noticed that when I wear a top with a pattern the whole outfit looks more polished.  I also don't wear a lot of accessories, so this gives some detail to an outfit with little effort.

The plan is that these 33 items will last me August, September, and October, before re-evaluating my wardrobe to adjust for winter weather.

While I love having a capsule wardrobe I did notice that there were a few things that I didn't wear and some of the pieces got worn so often that they wore out. Also I know myself and I need to have enough tops and bottoms for a whole work week to make laundry easier.

I have just shopped my closet and have...

Tops: Green button up 3/4 length,  Blue button up 3/4 length, Purple striped button up 3/4 length,  Black and white geometric button up 3/4 length, Paisley button up 3/4 length,   Navy polka dotted T-shirt, Mulit- colored striped T-shirt, and a School Logo T-Shirt, kacki polka dot button up, and a navy button up with geese on it.

Bottoms: Navy slacks, Black slacks, Creme Slacks, Gray Slacks, Brown Slacks, Jeans

Dresses: Black Dress, Multi- Colored Maxi, Black and White Maxi

Jackets: Jean, Purple Cord, Black Suit

Shoes: Black Flats, cordovan flats, brown Flats, Tennis Shoes, "Hiking" sandal

Accessories: pearls, black geode necklace, black statement necklace, and Turquoise Statement Necklace

So having only two more items to add to the Project 333 style wardrobe I would like to get some mustard colored pants.  (I have been wanting a pair for a few years now, but mustard hasn't been in fashion.  Now that it is, I will be looking for a pair.) The other item that I'd like to add is a gingham button up shirt I've seen a navy one, but since I have a few blue tops maybe I can find a green one or maybe red, but I have to be careful about the shade.

The Importance of Rolling Down Hills

Every child I know goes through the spin phase.  Some children enjoy standing in one spot and spinning.  Some like to ride on spinning amusement park rides.  Some children like to be spun around by an adult holding their hands as their feet take flight.  My child likes to roll down hills.  He is great at finding hills to go down and will often seek them out when we are out places.  

Here's Miles at Putnum Park Raceway 

Here is a trip down the hill at the river front in Evansville.  

So you might ask why I encourage this behavior. I have seen some very compelling research that talks about the importance of building up the muscles around the ear drum and in the ear.  The research was done by Candace Meyer over at Minds in Motion.  There is also some amazing research that links movement to school success and reading success.  Allowing children the opportunity to spin in one way to build these muscles.   Plus who doesn't like to get a little dizzy from time to time.  I went down the hill once, but realized that I was having a Roger Murtaugh moment.

Miles of Pizza

I have been really trying to encourage loose parts play with Miles and so I brought home a large spool when the occasion arose.  He rolled it around the yard and asked what it was.  My reply was that it's what ever he wanted it to be.  He decided that he ought to make a table out of it and because it was raining we pulled it up on the front porch for the evening.

The next day, Miles decided that he wanted to open a restaurant in the front yard and call it, "Miles of Pizza."  He arranged the spool under the large maple tree in the front yard and put his blanket on the table as a table cloth.  He collected up chairs from around the house and decided that he and Dolly would eat lunch outside.  (He told me that I'd be the chef for the restaurant.) I told him that I didn't have pizza to make.That didn't seem to bother him. He stuck with the name, "Miles of Pizza."  I made Miles and Dolly a finger foods lunch to enjoy in the out of doors.

Loose Parts win! 

The Teacher Essentials Box: My list

As you're starting out as a teacher you come up with all sorts of ideas of things that you need to teach, but what do you need to have at school for you?  I mean what are the little discomforts that are going to get you off your A game?  What supplies should you have at school either in your desk or a locked cabinet that will make your life SOOOOOOO much easier.  In my 10+ years of experience I have narrowed it down to just a few personal items that it's best to just keep at school.

1. A whole box of your favorite feminine hygiene products. (Assuming of course that you are a woman that needs these items.) For obvious reasons, you always want to have them on hand.

                                                     

2. Change for the coke machine in a child safe container.  The child safe container keeps little hands from walking away with a few of your hard collected quarters.

                                   

3. Neutrogina Norwegian Formula -This is my favorite hand lotion. It isn't smelly.  It helps my nails grow very long.  It's inexpensive and a tube lasts me almost the whole year.

                                                               
4. Headache medicine I have recently found one that is an essential oil and you put it on the back of your neck.  (It is smelly!)  This last semester I had a headache that lasted 3 days.  One of the teachers that I worked with asked if I wanted to try her essential oils.  I thought it was all hocus-pocus, but at that point I was willing to try just about anything.  I rolled the essential oils on the back of my neck and 20 minutes later my headache was gone. I went back to her and asked for the name.... doTERRA PastTense "tension blend."  My point though is to have some headache medicine on hand.
                                                 
5. A neutral blazer- Some classrooms are like ice.  Some days the "important person from ______" is in the building and it's nice to be able to be more polished.  I find that sweaters are soft and cuddly and some days a blazer helps you put on your "teacher face."  My first black blazer I got from the Goodwill for $4.  There is just something about a blazer that makes you look polished.  It can work over a jeans and your school t-shirt or with a dress, or with slacks and a top.  About the only thing my black blazer doesn't go with is brown and navy.  (Not everything can be perfect.)
                                 
6. Disinfecting wipes (ie Clorox) - Children get sick often.  Being able to wipe down those things that they have sneezed on will help you save those sick days to cash in at retirement.
                                             
7. Quality Tissues - The kids will share germs with you.  I'm picky about my tissues.  I don't want to have nose chafe.
                                               
8. Coffee Mug/Water glass with lid and a small bottle of dish soap.  Stay hydrated for health.  I once heard that teachers are the profession most likely to get a UTI.
                                 

I am not getting kick backs for mentioning the above products.  These are tried and true products that I actually use and would recommend especially to my very best friends.  You can always add to your list or take things away, but I find that I am a better teacher when I am comfortable.  Find those things that you can't be comfortable without and have it on hand.  You might like to chew gum or eat mints.  What ever it is that you need make sure you have it to help you spend your teach time teaching your hearts out!

From Design to Implementation: Miles Designs and Builds a Car

Miles decided that he wanted to design a car.  Above is his concept of a fan car.

We thought a little testing was necessary in the "proof of concept" stage.  So we strapped a fan to the skateboard and tried to move it across the floor.  Success!! 

Then Miles tried to ride across the front hall.  No such luck.  

The boys decided to go with a drift cart design that would use gravity instead of fan power.  

Here they are placing the pieces.  

Daddy did all the dangerous jobs.

Checking the high for the handle.  

Trying it out at the river.  

Desired result obtained.

My turn!! 

Here's Daddy in a drift.  

Here we go again! 

Miles and Chris have plans to paint it green this evening and then go again!!