Wow! It's been a while :) AKA Shamless Plug

First...I am very sorry! It has been FOREVER since I have posted! I hope that one or two of you are still with me! I am sure we are all in the same boat, so I will not bore you with how busy I have been :) It has been a crazy time, though! We have added a large deck onto our house, had some interior home repairs, and school starting all in one huge swoop! I am not sure we have had time to come up for air! Let me also say....I LOVE my new 5th graders! They are awesome (even the stinkers). I have a clearly divided class. I have about 5 students who are higher than any 5th graders I have ever taught...and then I have students about as low as I have ever taught. I can see that this year will really be a challenge! I hope I am up to it! It excites me to think about such a challenge! I would appreciate any and all comments/suggestions that you guys have! I have also been making myself crazy with Pinterest projects! I see sooooo many things I want to do/make/cook/post/try... I have really got to limit myself! But this stuff is sooooo cool! I have done a couple of things that I have pictures of (posted below). I also wanted to give you guys a look at my new deck. I am really excited about that as well! It has opened up a whole new world to our home! Please keep in touch and keep me motivated! Thank you all!

I found this awesome use for paint chips on Pinterest. I used it to keep usernames and passwords for my students' programs. We grab these on the way to the computer lab and hang them beside the computer (on a plastic hook) when we are in the room (in case of brain freeze :)...

This is the small side of our new deck! It's rough and unfinished but we love it! This is the small side (about 6 x 24)...if you round the corner, it goes around a dogwood tree and then expands to 24 x 24! We opted for 4 feet wide stairs on both ends (I would highly recommend!!) BTW....we've only lived here 12 years without anything on the back or side of the house!

Thanks for letting me boast :)