Classroom is Ready to Go

After a week of cutting, stapling, cleaning, laminating, and setting up, my classroom is finally ready to go. Today at 2 o'clock we had open house. I met most of my new students. Some are ready to come back to school while others are dreading summer's end.

You will notice my classroom is in a portable. At my school all 5th grade is outside in portables.

Enjoy the photos. It will never look this clean/organized again.
My Desk
Signs I made.

One of my students brought me beautiful flowers and a Starbucks gift card! So thoughtful.

I am going to try my best to keep the blog up and running once the school year starts. My teacher life takes up a lot of time and sometimes leaves me exhausted once the school day is over. In addition to going back to school, I have 3 weddings in September. I promise I'll be back, just not sure when.

Take Care Kiddos,
Mrs. Douglas

Celebrating 2 years of Marriage

Today, August 23 marks 2 years of marriage and 9 years of dating. I feel blessed to have such a caring man in my life. He won't even kill bugs! He rescues them from our apartment and takes them outside to safety.

We planned to celebrate our anniversary this passed weekend but JD was sick with a fever and could barley lift his head off his pillow...so I cleaned both bathrooms, dusted, did 3 loads of laundry, went to the grocery store, did school work, and anything else to keep busy. Oh well, there's always next weekend.

JD-Thank you for...

• Making me laugh
• Always taking care of me
• For being my best friend
• Loving the Lord
• Providing for our family
• Loving me at all times
• Playing card games with me
• Helping me grade papers
• Making me a better person
  

Can't wait to see what our year 3 brings.

Wedding Flashback: The Ceremony

For the latter part of our relationship, JD and I attended Grace Church. I grew up in this church. It was here where I played baby Jesus in the Christmas play, wore pink bows and flowered dresses to Sunday school, met some of my best friends, and years later walked down the isle to meet my prince charming.

We saved a lot money by keeping it simple with our ceremony decor and setting it up ourselves. I gathered all my wonderful bridesmaids, mom, and decorating diva, Sandy and headed to the church Friday morning to set-up. Everything we used the church owned. We did pick up some extra tulle and brought along some extra Christmas lights, but other than that it was F-R-E-E.

On the wedding day, we added some flowers and tea lights.
I figured our quests would only be in the church for 30-45 minutes so no need to spend major mullah. We saved the majority of our budget for the reception.
Tip: Some decorations can be moved from the ceremony to the reception to serve 2 purposes for 1 cost.


I cried the whole way down the isle. Didn't really think I would, but couldn't contain all my emotions. We said our vows, officially became husband and wife and were so thrilled to have our closest friends and family there with us.

Wedding Flashback: The Candy Bar

JD and I still talk about the candy bar we had at our reception. It was quite the hit and sadly, somehow we never got a bag ourselves. We wanted our favors to be enjoyable and not wasted or thrown into a junk jar when our guests returned home. Tip: Guests always love an edible favor.

JD and I both LOVE skittles, it's probably our favorite candy and we wanted to tie that into our wedding day. So the idea of a candy bar was born. I also read about it in a bridal magazine so I can't take full credit for the idea.

So we gathered a bunch of different types of candy: skittles, mike & ike's, m&m's, Reese's pieces, gum balls, along with a few types of Godiva chocolate my dad purchased at a discounted price the day before. Each guest was able to fill up a bag for the road. I wish I had overall picture, but you'll get the idea.
It was a relatively low cost. I don't remember off hand the grand total, but I know it was reasonable.
What we purchased:

• Clear candy bags
• Personalized stickers with our names and wedding date
• Candy
• A few glass containers (my mom already had a lot)

We are going to a wedding in September and they're having a candy bar. I can't wait and I'm stocking up this time!!

Wedding Flashback: The Cake

Since our 2nd wedding anniversary is right around the corner, I thought I would reflect on some of our favorite parts of the Big Day. If we scored any deals or saved some cash, or just have any general tips to share about our wedding experience, I'll include our two cents. Take or leave it as you like.

First up, our wedding cake. We were beyond thrilled when we heard the cake was included in the reception package (we had our reception at The Inn at Leola Village) and it came from one of the best bakeries in Lancaster, Byers Butterflake Bakery. Yes, I know we still payed for it, but it was nice not to write out a separate check and have them take care of everything.

About a month or so before the wedding, JD and I went in for the cake tasting and designed the cake. We came up with the shape, colors, and designs on each tier. We had so much fun and couldn't wait for our scribble on a napkin to become a reality.
The cake was AMAZING, so delicious, and was everything we wanted. Oh how I could go for a piece of that right now.

School Supplies & Savings

Reality has hit. I'm facing the music. School beings in 1 week. I officially go back to school Aug. 23rd (our anniversary) but the students do not arrive until the 30th. JD says school doesn't start until the students arrive, but I beg to differ. I'm on the clock Monday, August 23rd, at 8:15 so technically that's when school begins for ME.

Remember when you were younger the week before school began and you got all excited to buy your school supplies, book bag, and some new sneaks? Even in high school you kinda got excited for the 1st day of school. Well I kind of (sort of) get that feeling when I shop for new school supplies. So here's what I rounded up this year.
No that is not wrapping paper but fadeless bulletin board paper. I'm out in a portable and my paper fades quickly so I thought I would give this stuff a try.

I must say a HUGE thank you to my homeroom from last year for presenting me with a sweet $100.00 Target gift card at the end of the year. That really helped me buy most of my supplies, along with a skirt, shirt, and a necklace. Gotta have a little fun right?

I also took advantage of all possible promotions, sales, and discounts when purchasing my supplies.
To my fellow teachers out there-every Friday Michael's is offering 10% off everything, including sale items, if you present your school ID. But even better this Sunday, Aug. 15th from 4-8pm only they are offering 25% your entire purchase. That's for everybody not just teachers. So stock up.
My last deal happened at the teacher store. Some things you can only find at teacher stores. I try to buy at little as possible at these stores because they are expensive. While I was checking out, I asked the man if he had any coupons. He said no, but he would give me 10% off since I was a teacher in Montgomery County and not charge me tax. I said sweeeeet!

So I saved another few dollars just by asking. JD and I have been doing that a lot lately. Check back for a post soon describing our hits and misses while 'Negotiating Douglas Style'. Ha-Corny, I know, but worth it.

I've had a couple of requests to see my classroom. I just moved from one portable to another and am waiting for the floor to be fixed. I spent 3 hours cleaning it this week. I will really try to post pictures of my finished classroom when it is all set-up awaiting my new kiddos!

Our 1st Wedding Anniversary (a year ago)

JD and I are quickly approaching our 2nd wedding anniversary.

Last August we celebrated our 1st year of marriage and it was filled with lots of wedded bliss (and a quarrel or 2) as we adjusted to married life, became part of the working world, and learned to live with 'compromise' (video game playing before dinner was cooked was not a good idea and hitting the "snooze" button more than one time was not allowed, I used to need at least 2-3).

Last year to celebrate our anniversary we went to breakfast. We plan on going to the same place this year too. We then went to great falls for a leisurely stroll, came home cooked dinner and enjoyed our wedding cake. Surprisingly, it was still good! It was a fun, simple day.
Another celebration came about 3 weeks later when we went to NYC for the US Open. We love tennis and got tickets for the men's final match. We also went into the city for a nice dinner.
Watching live tennis is really something. The stadium isn't that big, so any seat has a good view. We also saw Justin Timberlake, Bill Clinton, Ashley Olsen, and Gwen Stefani in the stands.

It was a great anniversary celebration for our 1st year of marriage.

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