Brunch... the much easier choice for Christmas

I haven't posted in a while.. life has been a little chaotic! I wanted to share a yummy french toast casserole I ended up serving on Christmas. This year, Jeff and I hosted since I didn't want to venture far being so close to my due date. :) We decided a brunch theme would be a nice change of pace, especially since Thanksgiving was a mere 3 weeks prior and the thought of turkey and ham was not exactly appealing to this preggo lady. :)

Everyone brought a quiche, fruit, or breakfast bread. I made yummy breakfast potatoes and the below casserole. It was super easy and I didn't have to do anything the night before. It was delicious. :) There weren't left overs!

The casserole is in the white pan

Ingredients:

4-5 cups of torn challah bread (or any thick sliced bread)
5 eggs
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup maple syrup
*optional - sprinkle some brown sugar over the top before you bake for a nice sweet crusty top!

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Grease 9x13 casserole dish.  Pour about 1/2 cup of syrup in the bottom of the casserole dish.  Layer torn bread on top of the syrup.  In a large bowl beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.  Pour egg mixture evenly over bread in casserole dish and press bread down to make sure it's completely soaked.  Drizzle remaining syrup over top of bread and custard.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until casserole is puffed up and golden brown on top.  Remove from oven and drizzle additional maple syrup on top and serve while hot.

Visit this link for the original post: http://everydaysisters.blogspot.com/2011/07/quick-easy-french-toast-casserole.html

Sleep? ...

Sleep in the third trimester? ...

• You flip over like a pancake every hour at night because your hips hurt
• You wake up every 2 hours to pee and because your hips hurt you have reposition
• You are hungry for a snack at 1 am after waking up to pee
• You then have indigestion at 1 am because you had a snack 
• You sit in your baby's rocking chair in the middle of the night making a to do list, because of your indigestion
• You finally go to sleep at 4:30 am and then your husband's alarm goes off at 5:30 am and you are wide awake again..

Here is the funny thing, I am exhausted right now (and probably a little more snappy at moments than I realize, so sorry to my friends, students, family, and colleagues now and for the next 18 years), but I don't really mind (the being tired part- maybe I will be nicer as I get used to it). Don't get me wrong, I would love to sleep through the night without getting up to pee, without having the dog wake me up, and without a to do list running through my mind. I also know my body is just preparing me for when my little man arrives. When I think about the short 7 weeks (or less) I have left before I get to hold him in the middle of the night, I no longer care.

Now, I am sure someone will have to remind me of this when I am crying on the floor, without shower, or sleep when he is here. Just remind me to read this post. :)

Reading Logs

I love using my monthly reading logs because...

• They are simple
• They hold my 5th graders accountable
• Parents are involved in reading at home
• Students use math skills to calculate minutes read
• They are cute (yes this is a reason)

Do you like the samples? Find the whole school year pack here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Monthly-Reading-Log-Pack-900350

 Everything in my Teachers Pay Teachers store is 10% for a limited time!