Saturday Stumbles

[So glad you found me! I'm having issues with my domain and am probably going to have to change it. Please help me spread the word so everyone else will know where to find us!]

Aren't things supposed to slow down when school gets out? Apparently I didn't get that memo. I'm finishing up a year long program at school to become certified to teach gifted students. It almost as intense as a masters program! Plus I have a training seminar for a summer camp I help direct, cupcakes for a bridal luncheon, and a church event where I'll be selling Thirty One products!

But enough of that...onto the stumbles!

Tile Coaster tutorial

Outdoor Color Match game

Outdoor Streamers

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No Mess Marble painting

Pom Pom Cupcake Topper tutorial

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Homemade whipped Cream

Tuna Melts

Check the guidelines if you're new here and then link up below so we can all read your stumble worthy posts!

Saturday Stumbles

Let the summer begin!!  Friday was the last day of school...oh happy day :)

Now onto the stumbles.

Paperboard Mystery Message
What a fun message to receive in the mail!

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Marble Race
This will probably be making an appearance with my nieces and nephews sometime this summer!

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BLT Lettuce Wraps
I really need to just put myself on a diet of lettuce right now, but I'm thinking I like this lettuce recipe better :)

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Paper Quilled Earrings
These are made of paper!  They are beautiful, but a little intimidating.

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Alright, let's hear it!  What are your stumbles this week?  If you're new, welcome!  Check out the guidelines then link up below.

Pajamas for Kelly

A few weeks ago, Kelly was your everyday mommy blogger: a frugal, vegetarian, natural and green living, PhD student, living in Mississippi with her husband and almost two-year-old son, Simon. When her vision started blurring, Kelly thought she needed some more sleep and less time at the library staring at a computer screen.

As her vision worsened, however, Kelly underwent medical tests and found out she has a rare type of brain tumor sitting on her optic nerve. She will travel to Johns Hopkins next week for consultation and surgery. In the best case scenario, Kelly will be in the hospital for five days and recovering nearby for two weeks. If the surgery is less successful, Kelly will lose her eyesight. She would need to stay in Baltimore at least a month to go to rehab and learn to live as a blind woman.

I have never met Kelly.

She is a friend of a close friend of mine.

But Kelly could be me.

She is 29 years old and has a toddler. 

I can't even imagine what she is going through right now.

The Plan:  

A group of us want to help Kelly have the most comfortable hospital stay and recovery possible. We're asking if you would consider donating just $3 by clicking on the "donate" button. The money will be used to fulfill Kelly's wish of having some wonderful, new, comfy pajamas for her time in Baltimore. We're hoping to have enough to throw in a gift card to Trader Joe's, so her husband can buy some prepared foods for their family that fit with their dietary preferences.  Will you help by pitching in $3? We'll let you know on Monday how much has been raised!

Aside from the money we raise, there are several online businesses helping us out too.  Moxie Mandie and Twiggie Makes are both donating portions of their proceeds to help Kelly.

Quick & Easy Teacher Gifts

I'm just about to wrap up my 9th year of teaching middle school. That’s 9 rounds of Christmas & End of the Year gifts. Throughout that time, I’ve gotten some…um…interesting gifts!

These are merely some suggestions. Middle school presents a whole new set of circumstances. In elementary school kids have 1 or 2 teachers all day, but when they get to middle school they can have up to 8 different teachers! I know it’s overwhelming and can really add up…but it doesn’t have to!

Here’s a few tips to help you out:

* DON’T feel like you have to buy for every teacher. One option is to spend a little more money on those teachers you feel put a little extra effort into your child and something smaller for the rest of them.
* DON’T, for the love, give us a-noth-er mug!! (Oh, and filling it up with candy doesn’t make it any better!)
* DON’T give us a whole bag of candy or chocolate. Unless it’s a specific kind of candy or chocolate you KNOW your teacher loves, don’t assume we want to gorge ourselves on a bag of candy.
* DO consider a nice, handwritten letter. One of my favorite gifts I got at Christmas was from a parent who wrote me a note in a card about how much I helped her daughter ease into middle school and helped her self confidence in science. I treasure that validation as a teacher.
* For future years, DO study and take note of of your teacher … either at an open house, a parent-teacher conferences, or just volunteering in the class. If you’ve never seen her wear any kind of pendant or brooch, then don’t assume she’d love a cubic zirconium, purple bird pin. Does she wear bracelets? Bows or ribbons in her hair?

With the last week of school being this week, here are some quick and easy gift ideas:

1. GIFT CARDS
Honestly, you just can’t wrong with these. Ice cream card, gas card, grocery card, office supply card, iTunes, Target or Wal-Mart card. Honestly, any gift card you give will probably be spent on classroom anyways, so it’s an investment. My all time favorite gifts are Starbucks gift cards. Don’t feel bad for getting your teacher a $5 gift card. Chances are, someone else will too so they add up!

2. PAPER REAM
All teachers need paper. Why not spice it up and let your child pick out their favorite color.


3. KITCHEN GADGETS
Who doesn’t love kitchen gadgets? Why not put a bow on a nice grater with a note: Thanks for being a “grate” teacher.

4. EARRINGS
This one walks a fine line. If your child’s teacher is young and dresses fashionable, then a pair of earrings from Forever 21, Charlotte Ruse , or Charming Charlie would be a hit.

5. FLIP FLOPS
How cute would it be to dress up a $2 pair of flip flops from Old Navy with a bow tied at the top?  I keep a pair of old, ragged flip flops under my desk for those days that I just can’t make it in my heels!

6. UMBRELLA
There’s nothing worse than walking out of the building after a long day, seeing the rain and realizing you’ve left your umbrella in the car!  Between the carpool lane and the bus lane, we usually get stuck parking far away from the building, so on those rainy days it really stinks to forget your umbrella.  A teacher would love to have a cute umbrella that she could keep in her room for such days.

7. HOMEMADE GOODIES ON A CUTE PLATE
You can get some really cute, cheap plates at Crate & Barrell or even Target.

8. MAGNETIC BOOKMARK
Don’t negate practicality. I got one of these one year and use it to keep my place in my teacher’s edition book.

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9. PENCIL VASE
I got one of these my first year teaching and still put it on my desk every year. Using colored pencils would be a cute variation, too.

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 10. CLIPBOARD
 Here's a great tutorial for making an ordinary (and cheap!) clipboard look worth much more than what you actually paid for it. 

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 I hope this helps and alleviates any stress or concern about those end of the year gifts.  Honestly, we will appreciate anything you get us. I certainly didn’t go into teaching for the end of the year gifts! I love what I do and want to be the best teacher I can be.  I won’t love your child any less if you get me a “World’s Best Teacher” mug filled with leftover Halloween candy…just don’t be surprised if you see it in a garage sale!

This post is linked to Oh Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday.

Saturday Stumbles

Here we are at another weekend!  I've got my cousin's wedding to go on Saturday, so I'm excited about that!  I'm making the groom's cake...red velvet. 

My stumbles this week are all, once again, food.  I'm thinking next week, I should stumble diets!!

Bloomin' Onion Bread - Think Outback's Boomin' Onion...only using bread.  Yum!

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Strawberry Lemon Limeade - This just screams summer!

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Santa Fe Chicken Salad Wrap

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Cilantro Lime Black Bean Panini

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Are you hungry yet?

Link up below!  New?  Check the guidelines.  Regular?  Thanks.  Browsing?  Welcome :)

Saturday Stumbles

Welcome to the weekend! I hope you came across some good things this week.

Fingerprint Jewelry

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What a great gift for a mom or grandmother.

Self Tailoring

It's amazing to me how clothes, even though they're the same size, can fit so differently. These are some great tips to fix those long pants or loose straps.

TRASHing the Birthday Party

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Now, I love me a good themed party, but I don't know if I'd have the guts to pull this one off, but I sure do love all the details that have gone into this.

Salted Chocolate Covered Fluffer Nutter Wafers

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With a name like that, it's gotta be good, right?!

Fluffer Nutter cupcakes

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I'm new to "fluffer nutter" and can't wait to try it!

Alright, let's see your stumbles!  Check the guidelines if you're a newbie and if you're not...then welcome back!  It's been kind of slow the last couple of weeks so let's spread the word and get all the stumbles we can!!  Have a great weekend!

Saturday Stumbles

My stumbling was pretty light this week because I was finishing up a major project for one of my classes that was due on Wednesday. Ugh! But now it's done!!! YAY!

I've just got a couple crafty posts for ya today.

Flip Flop back straps
Genius. Yet so incredibly simple. Too bad I don't sew.

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6 ways to recycle an old t-shirt
I hate throwing old clothes out, but love the idea of reusing them for parts!

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Alright stumblers, you know the drill. But just in case you ARE new around here, check out the guidelines then link up below.

Saturday Stumbles

I hope you're hungry today because all of my stumbles are recipes!

Homemade Parmesan Potato Chips

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Fiesta Lime Rice

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Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta, Fresh Corn & Blueberries

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Tortellini Spinach Bake

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Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

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Did you find stumble anything other than food?!  I hope it's some exercise tips for my sake!!  Just check out the guidelines then link away!!!

Saturday Stumbles

I hope you enjoy a nice Easter weekend. Here are a few links to enjoy:

Alternative Easter Egg hunts
A few years ago I became the resident Easter egg hunt planner for my nieces and nephews. Knowing that they would get tons of candy, I wanted to do something where candy wasn't involved but just as fun!

Itty Bitty Cinnamon Roll bites
Oh the lovely deliciousness of these cuties are too much!

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Framed Necklace Organizer
A very vintagey cute way to organize my mess of necklaces.

So, it's a short list today, but what have you stumbled? Check out the guidelines, then link up below:

Saturday Stumbles

It's a rainy Friday weekend and I just finished off a Billy Barou from Moe's.  Perfect night, if ya ask me :)

And now I get to share with you all the fun stuff I stumbled this week...and read what you stumbled!

Showcasing kids' artwork
Much cuter alternatives to the ole fridge!

Creative wedding guests books
Amanda has come up with a list of some of the most clever things I've seen!  These are so fun and a great way to commemorate your special day.  If you know someone planning a wedding, you've GOT to show them this post.

Pillows out of placemats

 Ok, this has got to be the easiest craft I've seen that looks the most expensive.  Can you believe how expensive pillows are?  I mean, really, I just can't bring myself to buy them because they're ridiculously expensive.  But these look like ANYTHING I might buy in Target or Crate & Barrell...but so much cheaper!

Magnetic quilting
Ok, this one is interesting and one that I can see in my near future with my niece and nephew. 

...and my token food stumble

Mock Frozen Yogurt

 This looks delicious to me.  My only question is where do you find Grade B maple syrup.  Anyone know?

Now I want to read what you've stumbled!  Read the guidelines then link up below!  Have a great weekend!

Ultimate Blog Party WINNER!

  <---- "What! You too?" Is the part of the quote from this one.

The winner of the $100 Target gift card is Jacqui at Echoing Him.

Congratulations and thank you so much to all of you who participated!!  

Saturday Stumbles

The end of another week.  I've been on spring break this week and it's been great not being on a schedule  (in other words...being a bum!).  The weather has finally warmed up and spring is here!

So my stumbles this week are celebrating spring in some way:

Spring cleaning
Real Simple is great at repurposing items and these are all storage items.

Spring Mason Jar
A lovely addition to any mantle.

 

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A mossy vignette
I just love everything about this and the little bird's nest and eggs will be making an appearance on my mantle!

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Easter countdown

You've probably seen this in christian bookstores, but here's how you can make your own Easter story using Easter eggs.

Alright, let's have it!  What did you stumble this week that we've GOT to read?  If you're new here, check out the guidelines and then link up below.

Top Ten Tuesday

A few tried and true things I've used to occupy my niece and nephew. 

1. Create their own drawing book
Get an ordinary spiral notebook and some foam stickers (can get at any craft store) to decorate the front cover.

2. Nature scavenger hunt
Write about 10 or so nature items (pinecones, rock, flower, clover, leaf, etc) on a piece of paper.  I made a chart on Microsoft words and used pictures.  We walked around the yard and crossed off the items we found.  It was a hit!

3. Measure things
I pulled out a tape measure and showed my nephew (5 years old) how to use it making sure to line up the 0 with the end of the item, then we looked at what number it went to.  He loved measuring all kinds of things.

4. Hide the Heart
On Valentines Day, I made these heart shaped bean bags with them.  Then they hid them and I tried to find them and vice versa.  This was a HUGE hit! 

5. Bath
When all else fails, they love taking baths.  A good way to burn about 20 minutes!

6. Photo session
Just taking pictures (maybe even having them dress up) is always a hit.  I also use this at restaurants waiting on our food arrive.  Or once I used it waiting outside a store for his mom to get finished.

7. Ball & slide
This is so simple but I was surprised at how much they loved it.  We took an ordinary ball.  Kind of like a mid size ball...bigger than a tennis ball, but not as big as a kickball (does that make any sense?!)  Anyways, the goal was to roll it UP the slide and try to get it to stay at the top.  The slide was similar to this one, so it wasn't as hard at it sounds.

 

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8. Baking cookies
I mean this one goes without saying.  I just use the break and bake kind and let the kids put them on the baking sheet.  They think they're "cooking"!  Shhhh....don't tell them otherwise!

I haven't tried these two yet, but they are on the agenda for tomorrow while momma has a hair appointment!
9. Photo puzzle
I'm excited to do this with them!

10. Coke floats
A good ole fashioned coke with ice cream.  I hope they like them!

For more Top Ten Tuesday, check out Oh Amanda

Saturday Stumbles

It's that time of the week again, my Stumblers!  What nuggets of goodness did you stumble this week?  I have to be honest.  I haven't done much.  I'm swamped with life right now.  One of my problems is that I'm a procrastinator, so when I have a major unit project due in a class I'm taking, hostess responsibilities for my cousin's wedding shower and an ever approaching deadline for some curriculum I'm writing, it makes for a pretty hectic week!

Teaching innovation and entrepreneurship
This is not something you would see everyday here on Simply Staci, but I was fascinated!  The article is about teaching kids how to creatively solve problems, but what was captivating to me was the video almost toward the bottom.  It's long.  LONG.  About 50 minutes, but I sat and watched the whole thing!  It's amazing the creativity some people have. 

Game Winning Homerun Turns Tragic
Another video, but this one will revive your hope in the human spirit.  Especially about teenagers.  This one brought me to tears.  And it's only 5 minutes!  Be prepared to be inspired!

Camping-Inspired birthday
I seem to be on a birthday kick, but this one was too precious to pass up!

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So now it's your turn to link up below what you found stumble worthy this week. Check out the guidelines and link away!

Psst! Want to win $100 giftcard Target giftcard?! Check out my Ultimate Blog Party post and contest!