Lexie-loo is FIVE!!!!

Well, I don't know how it is possible...

but all of my "babies" have grown up.

Today our sweet, sassy, full of life,

Lexie-loo turns FIVE!

We thought we had her birthday picked for her

(scheduled c-section)...

but we should have known then...

she likes to shake things up!

After an exciting morning, she arrived...

absolutely perfect...

and her brother could not have been

more proud!

She perfectly completed our family of four!

Fast forward...

and before we knew it...

our little sunshine was turning ONE!

Her first birthday was probably my favorite party I've ever planned.

To see it, click here

With a smile and laugh that light up the room...

you always put a smile on our faces...

even if sometimes we are shaking our heads...

and trying to keep her from killing herself!

Lexie-loo loves a good costume...

and of course some bling...

she is quite the fashionista...

and ALWAYS knows how to make you laugh!

While being sassy as can be...

she is such a sweetheart...

and is always up for a good cuddle.

Can you tell that she loves to ham it up

for the camera, too?

Don't let this sweet smile fool you...

because that glimmer in her eyes is your

warning that she is up to something!

Whether it is posing with one 

of her favorite princesses...

cracking you up with some kind of "extra"...

doing her thing on stage...

or just being "Lexie"...

she is sure to brighten your day!

She is my ABSOLUTE favorite little girl on the planet!

She loves her brother something fierce...

and the feeling is pretty mutual.

She is certainly a princess in our eyes...

and gives the best hugs on the planet!

Lexie-loo...

I hope you never lose your spirit,

remember that you can do anything you put your mind too,

show love and kindness daily,

and even though I am pretty sure that

it was just yesterday that I was rocking you in this chair...

I cannot wait to see how you change this world!

Change Your Mindset

So...many of my fellow teachers are at Get Your Teach On right now...and I am suffering from major F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out) If you haven't heard of Get Your Teach On, it is a PHENOMENAL teaching conference lead by some of the most talented and motivating teachers on the planet! One year ago I had the privilege of being invited to attend the conference in Phoenix, Arizona by my principal...and it could not have been a better year to attend.

Last school year was hard. Like really hard. I had a parent who almost quite literally broke me. Don't get me wrong...over the years I have had my fair share of "difficult" parents and being a teacher means that this is all part of the job description. Last year was different, though. I was literally brought to my breaking point...where I had to call an administrator to cover my class so that I could have a bit of an emotional breakdown where I just cried for a good 20 minutes in the office.

Why? Honestly, I'm not completely sure. Without getting into too much detail, this parent criticized every single thing in my classroom. It didn't matter if I had all of the data to support information, a plan in place, and even adjusted things to meet her requests...she still criticized. The "best" part was when she would tell me, "It isn't anything personal..." NEWSFLASH...Parents...don't ever tell an educator, "It isn't personal." Why? Because it is personal! Trust me...99.9% of us put our heart and soul into our jobs. So for you to tell us, "It isn't personal," is the biggest slap in the face. We spend many nights laying in bed, trying to think of new strategies to meet the needs of all of our students, wondering if we have done enough, thinking about how we can do better, reading up on the latest teaching strategies, planning, grading, and even worrying about those who are going through a tough time at home. So trust me, we take our jobs VERY personally!

Kristin, this is getting kind of depressing...what is your point here?

Sorry...I had to set the stage. ;)

My "O"mazing fellow Bearcats and me at GYTO Phoenix

Fast forward to January of last year...and I found myself walking the purple carpet at Get Your Teach On! The energy and fun of this conference cannot be described...and if you aren't an educator...you might not get it. :) I was so pumped to be able to learn from a teacher who I had followed for years (Amy Lemons) and to just soak in all of the good vibes...and quite honestly...escape the negative vibes I was feeling from this one parent.

Still can't believe I got to meet Amy Lemons and Hope King

Right away, during one of the first sessions, this was shared...and it was exactly what I needed to switch my mindset.

Picture taken by me, of a quote shared at GYTO Phoenix

You see...I had spent so much time worrying about what ONE parent was saying. At the same time I had held back on doing some fun things in my classroom for "fear" of what other teachers would think. Would they think I was doing "too much?" Would they talk about me in a snarky way? Maybe. Maybe they would. Maybe they did. As hard as it was...is...I try not to worry about the negativity. Trust me...if you know me really well...the fact that I am the epitome of "harmonizer" then you know this has been a BIG challenge for me. But it has been so worth it. I have tried really hard each day to not worry about what others might think or say about me...and just be ME!

The rest of the conference was nothing short of amazing! I left feeling ready to take on the world. Ready to bring a whole new level of energy into my classroom. I was ready to try new things...and go for it.

For the remainder of the year, I chose to focus my energy on those who were positive, supportive, and uplifting. Trust me...I still gave 110% to that parent's child...and that child grew tremendously over the course of the year...even if the parent didn't want to recognize it. ;) Every time the parent would criticize something, I would of course reflect on it a bit, and then reread one of the notes other parents had written during the year. 

I can honestly say that it was a year that had a huge impact on my teaching and me as a person. I grew stronger because of it. Which brings me to a book I was given this year. This year our admin team gave us each a copy of the book, The Coffee Bean, along with a jar of coffee beans, and some yummy chocolate covered coffee beans to snack on. Not going to lie...I wasn't super excited about it. However, I opened it up...and read the entire thing in one sitting! Don't worry...it isn't very long...so don't go thinking that I am some sort of literary phenom. ;) 

Image from Google

The entire time I read it, I couldn't help but think about last year. One of the big concepts in the book is to ask yourself, 

Image from Google

Without giving away too much...because I think you should go and read this book...think about how each of those reacts to boiling water. I realized that before my change in mindset, I was definitely an egg. Now, I would like to think of myself as a coffee bean...or certainly working towards becoming one.

She is jumping all over the place. What is the point of this?

I'm getting there! If you are still reading...first, "thank you," second...do you need to change your mind set? I am not going to lie...part of me wrote this for very selfish reasons. I don't want to forget or lose that feeling of empowerment I left Get Your Teach On with! When I am scrolling through my blog later...looking back at my posts...I want to remember this.

But. I also want YOU to feel inspired by this. I know I am not all of the magic that Get Your Teach On is. And if you aren't a teacher, then you are even more confused. ;) I want you to read this and think...

Photo taken by me, of a quote from GYTO Phoenix

Stop doubting yourself...and as Nike would say, "Just do it!" Stop worrying about what others might think of you or say about you...just be YOU!

Back and Better Than Ever!

Oh hey there! Remember me? Yes? Maybe? No?

Well, if you don't know...and this is your first time stopping by...WELCOME! You see, I started this blog TEN YEARS ago...and the last two years I have kind of let it die a slow death. Well, bring on the CPR, because I am bringing it back to life...with a bit of a twist. ;)

When I first started, this little corner of the internet was a way for me to show my handmade baby clothing, burp cloths, blinged binkies, and so much more. I was a newlywed...who had just discovered the world of blogging. Fast forward a year or so...and we welcomed our first little bundle of joy.

This quickly transformed into the musings of a new mom, sharing stories about day-to-day life, and the adventures our little family went on. Fast forward some more...and we added our second little bundle of joy...this time with a little extra sass. ;)

Now, ten years later...here we are. Chad and I have been married for 11 years. We have two sometimes amazing...ok...mostly amazing...kids. I am in the middle of my 16th year of teaching, volunteer as secretary of our school's PTC, and working on a small business I started about three years ago as a Plunder Design Jewelry stylist.

Life has been busy...and I honestly didn't think very many people really cared about this little place of mine. Then I wrote a "little" post back in 2016, sharing my thoughts about our local school board election...and oh my goodness! That post got THOUSANDS of views! Then, sadly...a few weeks of no blogging turned into months, which eventually turned into a year. Trust me...I have several posts "written"...they are just still in my head. Hahahahaha!

So, with the start of a new year, I thought, "What the heck,"...let's bring it back to life! I am hoping to continue to share tid-bits of our day-to-day life, along with some fun jewelry styling, and even a few more serious posts sharing my thoughts on topics. More than anything I want this to be a positive place you love to visit. And you know me...I will always be keepin' it real...hot mess and all!

Feel free to scroll back and see how this blog of mine has evolved over the years!

Maui'd for 10:::Ziplining and Turtles

Well, almost six months later and we are

finally on our last day in Maui! ;)

For our final day we headed up

the volcano...Mt. Haleakala...

for some zip lining fun!

The staff at Skyline Eco Adventures

was absolutely wonderful.

Our two tour guides were hilarious

and kept the entire adventure light-hearted and fun!

To say I was nervous was an understatement.

I do NOT like heights...

at all!

Here are some videos of our adventure!

Here is my attempt at filming myself...

it didn't go as planned...

since I was so frazzled that I stopped

the recording before I went...ha!

After zip lining we still had some time to kill

before heading to the airport.

So, I decided to try and get one more chance

at spotting some sea turtles.

I had read about a beach where the turtles

loved to sunbath.

We headed to Ho'okipa Beach

and were not disappointed!

There were turtles all over the beach!

They were lounging in the sand

on a very busy beach,

without a care in the world!

Before we headed to the airport we grabbed a

bite to eat in Paia and checked off the final item

on our "Maui Must-do List."

We ended our time with the most

delicious shaved ice...because

is a trip to Maui complete without

a Ululani's Shave Ice?

It should also be noted that by this time

Chad was OVER taking pictures of everything. Ha!

We were so sad that our time

in paradise was coming to an end...

but we honestly couldn't wait to get home

to our babies! HUGE thanks to my parents

for watching our munchkins while we enjoyed

the trip of a lifetime.

Maui'd for 10:::Maui Brewing Co. and Anniversary Dinner

 So...I have this thing where when I start something,

I have to finish.

Even if it is a series of blog posts

from a vacation in June...

and it is now December. ;)

So, let's travel back in time a bit...

to one of our final days in Maui.

When we were planning our trip we didn't

want to book a ton of things ahead of time...

we wanted to kind of just "go with the flow"

and be able to relax.

You know what a struggle this was for me. Ha!

After our day of adventure on the Rad to Hana,

we had no plans for the next day.

I secretly wanted to head out and find some sea turtles

to swim with...but Chad had a different idea.

Since I had planned everything to this point,

I went with it...

plus it was our actual 10 year anniversary...

so I figured I should follow his lead. ;)

I'm not going to lie...I was already dressed

and ready to find turtles when he said he wanted to

go to a local brewery.

I wasn't super excited...

but it ended up being an awesome day.

Chad had done all of the research on this one...

so we hopped in the car, and headed out

to the Maui Brewing Company.

We booked our brewery tour and enjoyed

a beer while we waited.

Any guesses on who's is who?

The brewery is on top of a hill...in an industrial area.

The view is amazing...and the breeze was very much appreciated.

Safety first of course...for the tour.

We were lead through the brewery and the entire process was

explained to use of how they brew.

I had no idea what all went into brewing beer...

and honestly, I couldn't really tell you much of what

I "learned." Ha!

But...here is some cool brewery machinery! ;)

One thing the brewery prides themselves on

is being very "green" and reusing/recycling their own "waste."

After the tour...it was time to taste some beer!

I would say the tasting portions were generous...

and in total honesty...left me a bit tipsy. ;)

The brewery also has a restaurant...

with this amazing view!

So, we decided to hang out a bit and

enjoy the best tater tots and nachos!

The entire place has such a neat industrial feel to it!

After a fun outing we came back to the condo

and relaxed before heading out to a "special" dinner.

After some research and asking for recommendations,

we decided to make reservations at

Fleetwood's on Front Street in Lahaina.

They have a beautiful rooftop dining option where you can enjoy

dinner, drinks, watch the sunset, and listen to live music.

Our dinner was amazing and we got to visit

with two couples who were seated near us.

They were about the age of our parents and were so cute!

When they found out we were celebrating our

10 year anniversary one of the gentlemen

insisted on getting our picture.

Love!

10 years doesn't look too bad on us!

A week without kids and responsibilities helps, too. ;)

The sunset did not disappoint.

I wish I could have gotten a better picture...

without the power lines...

and one of all of the women who were

trying to get the "perfect" shot while their

 significant others just sat and watched!

This is one of my FAVORITE pics

of the entire trip.

Just us.

A beautiful sunset.

Love!

Since we like to celebrate in big ways...

we made a stop at yet another ABC store...

and I reached the status of GOLD MEMBER!

Don't be jealous!

This exclusive status earned me the reusable bag.

Hahahahaha!!!!

Oh Maui...how we loved our time there...and dream of going

back some day. Next post...our last day on the island...

ziplining, snow cones, and SEA TURTLES!!!