I am so excited to be linking up with Ashley and Angie again this month to be linking up for #2getherwearebetter to share all about things that we LOVE!!  In no specific order I am going to share with you five of my favorite things that I LOVE!!

There are many things I LOVE!  It's amazing how many things you say that you LOVE and it's hard to break it down to just five, but I picked my favorite 5 to share with each of you!  I hope that you enjoy finding out more about each of these!

I started bullet journaling this year, and you can read more about my plans for my bullet journal here. I am LOVING it!  One of my favorite things about it just might be my flair pen and washi party I have every time it is time to write in my journal.  I love that I am able to reflect on my day, plan out my future, and see my growth.  I love that all of my ideas are in one place, and that I am able to see how they are changing, evolving and helping me become the teacher, mom and wife I want to be!!

I know you know who these two women are!!  They are AMAZING!!  These two talented ladies are some of the first teachers I was able to meet thanks to the fantastic TPT world!!  Ashley is one of the most organized teachers I know, and has amazing energy!!  She always fuels my dreams, and helps me know that I can do all that I set out to achieve!!  Angie has a heart of gold, cares deeply for her family, and is so thoughtful! I LOVE watching Angie's weekly scopes because she continues to inspire my math block!!  Both of these ladies are so inspiring and continue to inspire me daily!  If you do not follow them yet, I cannot share enough how much you need to!  Both of them give me so much to be excited about and I can't wait until the next time I can see them and hug them!!

I have been LOVING my interactive lessons!  We have been engaged in lessons, working away in our interactive notebooks and working with hands on activities.  My students love their notebooks, and know exactly what to do to make sure that they are learning their new skills, practicing what they ache learned, and showing me what they know!  I am so happy that we don't have days full of worksheets, but are able to get up, move around the room, and have fun while we learn.

My bloggy besties are some of my favorite people!  These three ladies are AMAZING!!  I talk with these ladies DAILY!!  They inspire me, keep me motivated, encourage me, pray for me, and LOVE me!  I am so thankful for TPT that they brought these ladies into my life!  Jennifer, Ashlyn and Caitlin are amazing teachers that I know would do anything for me if I asked!  Ladies, I am forever in debt to you, and couldn't imagine my life without you!  Can you believe that we live so close, and without TPT we might never have met!?!

The final thing I love and one of the most important in my life is my family!!  I have some of the most supportive parents IN THE WORLD!  They love and support me in every venture I go on!  They are willing to do anything to help me, including taking extra trips to the Dollar Tree, Target, Walmart, Michaels, Hobby Lobby or anywhere else we might find amazing teaching supplies!  Plus, my parents, and my in-laws, take care of my sweet babies!  My precious Bubs and Princess are the light of my life, and I am so thankful that I am their mama!  My biggest fan, even if I forget it sometimes, is my husband!!  He is so supportive of my TPT venture, and I couldn't be more happy with where we are.  We are continuing to improve our marriage every day!  Who said that just because you were married you don't have to date any more!?  I am so thankful that he continues to support me, love me and date me!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Cassandra

Happy New Year!!  We have made it and we are now in 2016!!  Can you believe it!?!  I am so pumped for 2016, and I am even more excited to be bringing in the new year with Farley!!

I am determined to get all of my work done for the weekend tonight, so I am rocking out to the top country station as I sit here and work tonight.  I want to make sure that I finish my break the same way I started.  I started break by not working and just enjoying time with my family.  I am determined to be able to do that this weekend as well!

I LOVED every moment of break, and being able to spend so much time with my sweet babies and hubby!  My husband is so supportive of me and has been right by my side with everything that has been going on.  I am forever grateful to him, and was so excited to be able to spend so much time with him these past two weeks.  I would love to be able to go out on a date night though, since we didn't get to do that as much as we had hoped over break.  I am looking forward to one later this month though!!

I am excited for tomorrow night because we are going to get to see friends who moved to Iowa a few years ago!!  They now have a sweet baby boy who we also get to meet, so that will be so fun!!  They moved right our sweet baby girl was born, so they didn't get to watch her grow up either, but these friends are our family and we used to have dinner with them weekly!  It will be great to catch up and spend time with them!!

My word for the year is BELIEVE!!  I am going to run with this word this year!  I am going to put it every where.  I am a fighter, and I stand up for what I believe in!  This year I need to make sure that I continue to do that, but also that I continue to believe in myself.  There are some crazy things going on and I don't know what this year is going to hold for me but I am going to have FAITH and BELIEVE that God is guiding my every path!

Make sure to check out Farley's blog so you can see what everyone else is up to and what their one little word is!  I would love to hear what yours is too!

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Cassandra

Congrats to the amazing Cassandra for turning 30!  Woo-hoo and welcome to the club, my friend. I have to say, I’m loving my 30s. Enjoy this new turn in your life adventure!!! I had the pleasure of meeting Cassandra at this year’s TPT Conference, and more specifically at the Splash Bash pool party that I co-organized with another dear bloggie friend, Ashlyn from The Creative Classroom.  Immediately I could tell that Mrs. Third Grade was such a gentle, kind, warm soul, and that has certainly proven to be true. I have to admit I’m envious because these two lovely ladies both live close enough to each other to occasionally hang and geek out over teacher topics...wish I lived closer...but I’m more than THRILLED to have been included in this amazing celebration for Cassandra!

A LITTLE ABOUT ME:

My name is Lindsey Petlak and my blog is It’s Elementary, My Dear! If you’d like to get to more about me personally and professionally, click on over to “Meet Lindsey” and learn a little more about who I am and what I’m passionate about. On TPT I sell curriculum, marketing materials, and art prints / stationery.

Here’s the quick run-down of things I love and lessons I’ve learned as I welcome Cassandra as the newest member of the 30-Somethings club!

FOOD:

I LOVE food...I mean LOVE IT. Eating and cooking make me extremely happy, cookbooks or magazines are some of my favorite reads, and talking about food is something I could do endlessly. Don’t believe me? Check out my Instagram and you’ll notice that food floods the feed!  Here’s the PROBLEM:  Like all of you, I’m SUPER DUPER BUSY...all of the time….relentlessly. So, I’m trying to focus on how to have the best meals (taste and health) without breaking the bank or taking too much time. Stay tuned, because I’m making big plans to post about meals and menus in the near future!

FAMILY:

My little family means the world to me. We call ourselves the “Three Bears,” “Three Amigos,” and “Three Ps (for Petlak) in a Pod.” My husband and I lovingly adopted our son, Grayson, at birth and it has been the biggest blessing beyond belief. We are forever grateful to be his forever family. So many teachers are going through their own adoption journey, so if you have any questions or stories to tell, feel free to reach out to me!  We had the BEST summer, like summer of my DREAMS, and it was really pretty low-key.  The important part was that the three of us spent so much time together, relaxing and just having some good old fun, which made summer amazing...but going back to school a slight bummer.

Feeling the same??  Check out my post on the blog and in Scholastic Instructor Magazine for tips on beating the back to school blues.

FUN:

Having fun is a MUST, especially in the field of teaching. Whether it’s with your colleagues, blog-o-sphere teaching buddies, or your own friends and family, you have to take time to lighten up. I take a lot of things seriously, but not myself. I laugh at myself regularly, and try to embrace as much fun as possible. For example, my team LOVES to coordinate goofy group Halloween costumes, I recently dressed up as Axl Rose with colleagues as other members of Guns-n-Roses and performed a lip sync (Check it out here!) for the entire district, including administrators and school board members…..and we WON.  Step outside of your comfort zone, try some new things, and have a blast!

FASHION:

Fashion is so much fun! It’s a way I love to play with color, pattern, and express my inner creativity. My favorite part?  Trying to put together outfits that look great, and are SUPER INEXPENSIVE! This all started because I noticed I would get compliments on my clothing or accessories and people thought they were from expensive places….HECK NO! I grew up where Wal-Mart was the closest thing to a mall for over an hour, and let me tell you, that makes you get really creative and resourceful really fast.

You’ll see lots of outfit shots on my Instagram feed, and I love linking up with Chandra and Caitlin for What the Teacher Wore Wednesdays (RETURNING SOON, so stay tuned and please link up for FUN!) to share my love of fun fashion finds without breaking the bank. Keep watching on the blog for fab fall fashion at a fraction of the CO$T!

KEEPIN’ IT REAL:

I’m not an expert in anything, really...but I know one thing: I’ve got to keep it real. This lady is all about efficiency, tips, tricks, and techniques to help we teachers make it through the daily craziness that is our life work.  Read on below for a few of my “most real” past posts and I hope they are helpful for you!

• 5 Odd Items Every Teacher Needs to Keep On-Hand
• 5 Ways to Beat the Back-to-School Blues
• 5 Classroom Items I’m Glad I Ditched
• Clever Classroom Storage Solutions (Part 1) (Part 2)
• Quick Covers for Ugly Classroom Surfaces
• Creative Student Work Displays
• Extraordinary Classroom Uses for Ordinary Items

Thanks so much for this fun guest-post opportunity in celebration of Y-O-U! Happy Monday everyone!

Hugs, Lindsey

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Cassandra

Man, oh man where has my summer gone!?!  This is my LAST summer night!  I really can't believe that I report back to work on MONDAY!!

Tonight I am linking up with Farley for Currently!!  It's being sponsored by the amazing Sandy from ELA Everyday!!  I met her in Vegas, and can I just say, LOVE her!!

My #bloggybestie Ashlyn got me hooked on Pretty Little Liars this summer!!  I have been watching every second I can!!

I am LOVING my family!!  My babies and I came up to my mom's for the long weekend so that way we could escape the heat!!  Of course while I've been here I've been talking with some of my amazing blogging friends!!

I am wanting to start Whole 30 again, and I am going to start it again this month!!

During May, our last month of school, I always take bagels on Fridays!  I am thinking that I am going to start a tradition like this for the beginning of the year too!  How fun to start the year on a positive note as well as end it on one!!

Don't forget to go check out Farley's blog and link up with what you are up to!!

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Cassandra

I can't believe I only have one more Friday of summer!!  Next week is my last week of summer!  Where has time gone!?

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to bring you my Five for Friday for this week!

I was so excited that we were able to begin our week on the beach in Orange County!  I lived in Orange County for five years, and those years were some of the best years of my life.  I LOVED living so close to the beach, and being able to drive PCH whenever I wanted to.  It was a blast to be able to bring the kids, and walk on the beach again!

I was able to get into my classroom again this week!!  I am so excited that I am ALMOST done with the decorating!  Plus, my partner and I got together and we were able to plan outline two subjects until November!!  AMEN!!

These ladies are some of my best friends!  I LOVE that I am able to chat with them daily, and that they are a great support system that I have!  Do you recognize them!?  If you don't, please go check them out!!  Ashlyn, The Creative Classroom, Jennifer, The Blessed Teacher, and Caitlin, The Kinder Garden.

We had to take our kiddos to the allergist this morning.  Last summer they were both diagnosed with being allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, her eggs, and him dogs.  It was time for our annual check in, and we are hoping that with some new studies baby girl will be able to outgrow her allergies!!  We had to wait to get some blood work done, and nothing entertains a 2 year old more than a camera!!

I LOVE this song!  One of my favorite Jeremy Camp songs!!  I love that he shares with us at the beginning of this video too!!

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Cassandra

Good evening everyone!!  I hope that you have been enjoying your summer as much as I have!!  It has taken me all week to recover from #tptvegas15 and I still don't think I am!!  I had lunch with the amazing Jennifer, The Blessed Teacher, today to talk about Vegas!  I still can't believe it was only last week that we were all together!!

Tonight I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to bring you my Five for Friday!

 We didn't come home from Vegas until Sunday, and what an eventful trip home it was!!  We had to drive over a tire in the road on the way home, and needless to say $200 later our car is fixed.  Luckily we were able to pull over to the side of the road so my husband could remove this plate from under our car!!  Plus, we were safe and fine!  I am very thankful that it wasn't worse.

I was very excited to get into my classroom two more days this week!!  I am so happy that things are starting to come together!  I was able to work with my new teaching partner too, so we were able to start moving things around in her room too!  This is just a little sneak peek at what I was working on earlier this week!!

On Thursday I had my babies all to myself while my hubby was working in his classroom!!  I was able to take them to run some errands with me.  They LOVE to go to the pet store, so of course we had to go!!  I am very thankful that they haven't asked to bring anything home yet!!

I'm super blessed to have reached 4,000 followers on IG!!  I never would have thought my following would get that high!  I LOVE IG, and it is by far the social media I use the most!!  I am on there ALL. THE. TIME!  To help celebrate I'm having a super easy giveaway!!  All you have to do is repost the image above on IG, and use the #mrs3rdgrade4k and you are entered to win!  I will choose a winner on MONDAY!!

I am LOVING this song right now!!  It is fantastic and speaks straight to my heart!!  I can't wait to start this new school year with this as my theme song for the beginning of the year and during the hard times!!

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Cassandra

I am LOVING summer break!  It is flying by, but has been so much fun!!  We had a great week, and I  know we are going to have a great weekend!!

This morning I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!!

This week my hubby and I celebrated 8 years of marriage!!  One of our favorite places to go is the Melting Pot!  I was so excited that my hubby let us go there!  I was totally okay with breaking away from Whole 30 to do it too!  I love feeling great, but the Melting Pot is SOOOOO yummy!!

This week I took my babies to a splash pad!  It is a ton of fun!  We usually go with friends but our friends are out of town right now so we went by ourselves.  We left before all of the big kids ran us over, but we still had a lot of fun!  My son LOVED the water slide, and my sweet girl wanted to just run in the water!

This week was the FIRST TIME all summer that I was able to get into my classroom!  I was SOOO excited to finally be able to get in!  I usually like to have my room ready to go before summer starts so that way I don't have to think or stress about it over the summer.  This year I was blessed to move classrooms, so I was able to get in and start setting up!  Here is a little sneak peek for you to see what I've been up to this week!

This morning my son and I ran back to my classroom to drop off a few more things and we are heading up to grandma and grandpa's house to drop the kids off before we go to Vegas!!  I can't wait! Can you tell how excited I am!?  I am already decked out in my TPT gear!!

This is my hubby's new favorite song and my son sings the chorus too!  LOVE IT!

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Cassandra

I am excited to be linking up for my Pinterest Pick 3!!  I love these because it gives me time to browse Pinterest and I can tell my hubby it's for my blog!!  I'm linking up with PAWSitively Teaching and Inspired Owl's Corner today!

I LOVE Pinterest for trying new recipes!  I'm excited to take a break from Whole 30 during July since I will be in Vegas for #tptvegas15 and then the next weekend we are headed to Orange County for my best friend's daughter's second birthday!  While we are home I think that I am going to HAVE to make these!  They look AMAZING!!  My kids LOVE pizza, so hopefully these will be a big hit in our home!

While we are in Orange County we are going to be staying at the Disneyland hotel too, but we haven't told our kids yet!!  We aren't taking them into Disney since they are only 2 and 3, but we are doing a character dinner!!

I am LOVING the idea of having an autograph book for them though, so that way they do have a take away, and we can keep these pictures forever!!  I know we'll take A TON of pictures, and how sweet would these be?!  Plus what a great gift to give to our baby girl's BFF!?!

I have had a wreath sitting in my house FOR A LONG TIME!!  By wreath I mean one of those green foam wreaths that you are supposed to do something with!!  I was inspired by this pin to dig deeper and figure out how I could use it in my classroom.

I really like wreath 2, and guess what, it doesn't even need my green foam wreath I already have, so I guess I can save that for something else!!  Now I just need to go find some felt!!

You can check out some other amazing ideas for this month below!!  I hope that you are inspired to spend your summer doing something non teacher related!!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Cassandra