What Now? and Here's to the Moms

So, all my teacher friends are setting up their classrooms this week and just had Meet the Teacher night.  It's beyond weird not to have my own classroom and students to meet.  But it certainly was a pleasure to finally attend Meet the Teacher for my OWN offspring. This was a first for me, since my own night was always at the same time as my kids'.  I was even able to sell some t-shirts at the PTA table...so needless to say I'm feeling very Mother of the Year.  (enter slight sarcasm here)

But, even though I have frequent opportunity of late to give myself a pat on the back for how great of a mom I am (you know what to do), I am having a hard time with this adjustment.  Luckily, my dear mother and mother-in-law are taking pity on me.  They have all of the sudden starting asking me for help with projects here and there, which of course makes me not a little thrilled.  :)  You need help with a... project you say??? PROJECTS!!!  and there's my fix.

For my fabulous MIL, Tiny, I am on a quest to sell some of her fancy baby toys that my little kiddos played with long ago, I have made her a blanket, and I am now about to begin to design her 40th Anniversary Invitations.  This is something I'm very excited about.  I LOVE designing and digital scrapbooking, and I make my own Christmas cards.  But this takes my little hobby to a new level, and I hope I can deliver.

My own dear mother has commissioned a slew of teacher supplies & decor from my collection, and that has made my hands super happy.  If I get to use pretty card stock, glue and fun fonts, that's pretty close to paradise for me.  And thanks to mom, her requests have led me to further develop my Teachers Pay Teachers store, which just might help me get a pedicure once a month!  Yay, mom!

So even though it's not my own household chaos being cured this week, thanks to the moms in my life I am satiated and happy.  Cheers to you lovely ladies.

Introducing The Sawyer, The Shelby and The Sic Em

This was the week of blankets. I've made three in the last 6 days, and this one is named for its new owner, my adorable nephew. I have a happy customer. :) 

Introducing The Sawyer:

The other two blankets were birthday presents for 8 year old girls. 

This is one if them, The Shelby:

While at Denise's, my fabulous sister-in-law, she let me take a pic of the blanket I made for her birthday. I love this one. We are a Baylor family, Denise, my husband and I all attending, but they don't make a Baylor licensed fleece. So in honor of Baylor, and Denise's love for it, I made my own Baylor creation. 

Introducing The Sic Em: 

Want one? Let me know! I'll make it happen. :)

Cheers!

And then, I was a housewife

So, it's back to school time, and I don't have a school to go back to. After 8 years of teaching 4th-6th grade, I'm taking a "sabbatical" from the classroom to be more accessible to my own children. Working 70+ hours a week and 20 miles from home has made being a mom a challenge (some might call be obsessive). I know you teachers out there can relate.

I LOVE teaching, and I am lucky enough to get my teaching fix twice a week as a tutor with the AVID program in my former district. But without a classroom to set up, organize, and make ADORABLE, what do I do for my chaos fix?

What's a chaos fix? Well, it's when I get to find a solution to the dysfunction that has come to a boiling point around me. I have found that I crave this chaos so that I can find a way to make it organized, but the key is to make it super cute in the process. If there's a chance to make a project out of a mess or an organization challenge, I'll find it! I try to fix the issue while giving it "jazz hands" with what I have on hand in the house.

Let me be clear, I'm in no way a neat freak or completely organized.  Anyone who knows me will tell you that the best they can say about my order is that it's organized chaos. (Need those Science cut-ups from last month? No problem, I know exactly what pile of chaos it's in. ;) I'd really call myself more of a project freak. So, taking inspiration from Pinterest, blogs, and other teachers, I get my fix when and where I can in the most creative and thrifty way possible.

On this blog you'll see all sorts of things from classroom organization and lesson plans, to my home projects and crafty solutions. You can find my lesson plans and classroom solutions at my TPT store: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Heather-Van-Houten

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope to see you again!