This morning Harrison and I lazed around until time for his tumbling class. I have been meaning to take some pictures of him in the shower for a scrapbook page. It's a joke around here that no one is safe in the shower. If Harrison hears the shower running he is sure to come and ask if he can get in with you. I jokingly call him Mr. Clean. Of course more appropriately I should call him Little David because that's who he takes after. But anyhow, I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots for my future scrapbook page. He is so stinkin' cute!

Since today was Harrison's last day of tumbling, instead of doing my usual workout while he was in class, I opted to stay and take some pictures of him. Of course being the ham that he is, he kept running over asking me if I had gotten a picture of him jumping or tumbling or doing one of the other different things they do in class. I snapped quite a few pictures of him but I thought this one of him attempting to do a cartwheel was really cute. I'd say we need a bit of practice.

Tonight we had to run to Home Depot to order a piece of molding to replace some that has rotted around the kitchen window. On the way, Haley said (or rather yelled) "Gross Harrison don't pick your nose". I turned around to see what was going on and he said "I wasn't picking my nose, it was floor". I said "Floor?" This went back and forth a few times and still I wasn't getting his point so he said "No, like Hair." And I said, "Oh, fur." Then he rolled his eyes like, yeah that's what I was saying all along. We all fell out laughing.

I got a few cards done tonight. I even made one for David's boss. I was shocked that he would actually take something I made and give it to someone. That is the best compliment of all. Of course when I tried to get it from him to take a picture he told me not to be ridiculous. So no pictures of that card but I thought I would share a layout I finished recently. This is an older picture of our family (my parents, grandmother and brother with my kids). I really like the quote: "You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you as you are to them." Desmond Tutu.

Whew! What a week we have had. Not only have we been busy around the house doing some spruce up projects, but we have also had lots of school things going on. Haley had her EOG tests this week. This ultimately determines whether students are ready to move up to the next grade. She was also fortunate enough to have a Holocaust survivor come and talk about his experience. Haley has done a lot of reading on that time period and was familiar with the places he talked about.

On Friday afternoon our baby "graduated" from preschool. While most of the 4 year olds are going on to kindergarten next year, we have decided to let Harrison go to TK and then start kindergarten the following year. So while it is sad to see him growing up, I am lucky to have another year with him at home. Here is our proud graduate showing off his diploma with mom and dad.

Saturday was Holden's first day of baseball practice. He played t-ball a couple of years ago but this is his first experience with "real" baseball. He was a little hesitant at first but his coaches were great at instructing him. He ended up hitting the ball twice and catching it once. When we left practice, he was all smiles and ready to play again.

Today after church, we took the kids to the YMCA waterpark. It was hot and crowded but the kids had a good time. Dad and I opted to watch from the sidelines although I have to admit that after about an hour I was contemplating a dip in the ice cold water. This evening we took the kids to see Shrek 3. It was really cute and one of the few movies I have seen that is as good as the first one.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day so I think it is appropriate to thank all the men and women who have served and are serving our country in the armed forces. If you would like to write a soldier you can access a form at the America Supports You website sponsored by the Department of Defense. You may also want to check out A Million Thanks website. This website was started by one woman who wanted to make a difference.

Painting

My parents came up on Sunday night to stay for a few days. They have been helping me get a few things done around the house. I painted the boys bathroom yesterday morning. Then yesterday afternoon, I started painting Harrison's room. I finished that up this morning with a some help from the little man himself. I tried to put him off but he was a persistant little booger so I ended up letting him help me paint the corner behind the door-just in case it ended up looking messy. He actually did a pretty good job except for at the very end he started brushing up with the paint brush and got the bristles all scrunched up. The second picture is of him looking at the bristles and laughing at himself for messing up the brush. Holden's room is a "surfer" theme but Harrison chose a cowboy theme for his room. I have already purchased the fabric so now all I have left to do is actually sew the duvet cover, dust ruffle and curtains. Tomorrow I am starting on Haley's room. We bought the paint today. She is not a frilly girlie girl so we went with Pale Apple (think light lime green) for the wall color although pink would have been my choice. After all that painting I may have to take a break for a bit.

Harrison only has two days left of school until his summer break officially starts. The other two have two weeks before school is over. They are counting down the days and looking forward to the summer.

Our new friend

Yesterday as I was sorting through the mail I came across an envelope addressed to Holden from West Africa. Now Holden is 7 and I couldn't figure out why in the world he would be getting mail from Africa. My first reaction was that it was some mistake or hoax. He said he hadn't signed up for a penpal at school so I just couldn't figure out why he was getting this letter. Well, we opened it and found a wonderful surprise.

Back at Christmas, Holden had filled a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child through Samaritians Purse to be delivered to a needy child overseas. We filled the box with goodies and then included a picture and a letter telling them a little about Holden. We also included our address on the off chance that they would write back to us. But guess what! They did write back and it was amazing to see the joy in Holden's face as I read him the letter from this child. Here is a picture of our new friend Aseta.

Aseta is from the West African province of Burkina Faso. Her family farms for a living. She has two sisters Ramounato and Awa. Holden will be filling another box for Aseta and her family. This is an awesome opportunity for him to learn about children from other countries and to see how fortunate he is to have such nice things.

I've been busy these past few days. I wish I could say it was mostly scrapbooking or stamping but it hasn't been. With the end of the school year approaching, it seems they are trying to cram as much as possible into the 3 weeks they have left. I am room parent for Holden and Haley so that means being involved in all this stuff. Well, I learned my lesson and think that next year I will let someone else take the reins.

It was a beautiful day here and the kids spent most of it outdoors. I am thankful for that since I needed to do some heavy duty cleaning. Of course being outdoors usually means that they are tearing everything they can out of the garage. I walked out to to throw out the trash and found Holden and Harrison washing and waxing the John Deere Gator with David's expensive car wash stuff. They knew they were in trouble because they took of running around the house.

I did manage to get a little creative work done the past few days. I finished up 12 cards for a card swap. The stamp set is Unfrogettable from Stampin' Up. The colors are Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Bashful Blue, also from Stampin' Up. I love this set.

I also finished a page layout challenge from my Yahoo scrapbook group Scrapbookingfriends. The challenge was to do a layout using specific instructions in the exact order they were given. It was a little tough for me but I think that it turned out okay.

One of my favorite stamp sites A Muse is holding weekly contests where you can win free Merchandise. It’s already the third week that this is going on, but you can still join in the fun. Check the A Muse blog for details on the contest then check out this weeks sketch challenge.

Thought for Today:

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." Diane Ackerman

Why Is It and More

Harrison and I made chocolate chip cookies today. I told him to wash his hands before we made the cookies and he looked at his hands, front and back, and then proclaimed them clean. Here's a picture of him being the cookie helper (as he called himself). Okay so now you know the truth. I don't actually make cookies. It's more like I scoop and drop the cookies. But honestly they taste just as good and they are so much less trouble.

Today when I picked Harrison up from school, he saw one of his friends leaving and pointed out that he didn't speak very clearly. I said well he might have a speech problem. And Harrison said "Yeah, it's because he eats all those vegetables." Guess that's his excuse now for turning away the squash I put on his plate.

I washed loads and loads of clothes yesterday and today and got to wondering why is it that it takes me two days to wash, fold and put away the clothes and by the time I finish the hampers are all already full? Then I started thinking about some of the other why is it questions and thought I'd share some of my perplexing questions.

Why Is It That.........

• no matter how much I spend on groceries there is never anything to eat in the house (according to the children)


• if I am in a rush one of my children has to poop


• the dog has a bowl full of water but prefers to drink out of the toilet


• the milk is always almost gone


• homemade salads never taste as good as the ones you buy at a restaurant


• dust reappears within hours of dusting


• boys can't seem to hit the toilet


• everyone's clothes never seem to end up in the hamper but next to it


• dog hair sticks to carpet (and everything else) like velcro


• I never have postage stamps when I need to mail something


• Gaining weight is so easy but losing it is pure torture and on that note....


• French fries taste so much better than carrots


• someone will eat all but the last five pieces of cereal and put the box back on the shelf


• the one touch transfer on my camera never seems to work when I need it to (like now)

I am sure there are a million why is it questions that go through my head each day. I should start making a list so that one day I might find the answers to these questions. Or maybe there really are no answers.

I am working on some cards but didn't get them finished so I thought I would share one of my older projects. I actually made three of these and I punched every single one of those squares. It took a long time but I think the end result was well worth it. Haley was a cat girl, Holden was Incredible Hulk and Harrison was a construction worker.

I have been MIA for a few days

It's been quite a few days since I have been able to post. We left Friday afternoon to go out of town for the weekend and didn't get home until late Sunday evening. I spent the majority of yesterday and today trying to catch up on things I didn't get done while I was gone. I think I might be catching up but don't hold me to that.



Saturday evening, Haley and I got to spend the evening with my Mother and Grandmother at a Mother/Daughter banquet at my mom's church. It was a nice evening. They had prepared a nice dinner and program for us.

Mother's Day was very nice. My children and husband bought me some wonderful cards and gave me a gift certificate to the local scrapbook store. The card that the children gave to me was a fill in the blank card. I thought I would share some of the cute things that they said.

• Harrison likes when I take him to get chocolate
• Holden says that I am creative
• I make Haley laugh when I do "yoga" moves playing tennis (that's a story for another day)
• Harrison likes when I say "good morning"
• Haley thinks I make good break apart cookies (does that say anything about my baking skills)
• Holden likes when I buy food
• Harrison says I make the best chocolate milk

It will be fun to look back when the kids are older and laugh about their cute comments. I hope everyone had as nice a Mother's Day as I did.

This is the last post for a few days since we are heading out of town for Mother's Day. I didn't get any creative work done today although I did manage to get my craft space cleaned up and organized after my last few projects. Harrison was out of school today so we just hung out around the house and enjoyed not having anything specific to do. I got this cute picture of him clowning around wearing all of Holden's hats. He looks a bit like Elmer Fudd.

This afternoon after school was out, I had to run to the post office. On the way over, Harrison and Holden were picking at each other. I finally tried to run interference and told Harrison not to worry about anyone but Harrison and he said "That's fine because I changed my name to David." I tried hard not to laugh but it was funny.

We have been redoing (or rather just doing) Holden's room in the beach/surfer theme per his request. We painted and put up chair rail and got some cute black and white beach photos of him framed. The topper though is this awesome surfboard shelving unit that my talented husband built. We saw it in Pottery Barn and it was well over $100 but he built it and customized it to Holden's room. Notice the Lowe's race car box on the top right shelf. This contains one of Holden's most prized possession. An autographed car from Jimmie Johnson. David brought it home to him last week and he spent the entire day carrying it around. I was afraid he was going to rub off the autograph.

Anyone want a dog? Free? All you have to do is ask. That about explains my feelings today toward our lovely canine. I woke up this morning feeling under the weather with a huge headache and dizziness so I crawled back in the bed for a bit while David took care of the kiddos and got them off to school. When I got up (still feeling a bit woozy) and let the dog out, he decided that he was going to have fun with me and headed off toward the end of the cul-de-sac. Well I had two choices 1) run after him in my pajamas or 2) let Harrison run after him. I choose number two. While Harrison took off after him I went upstairs and threw on some clothes. When I got outside I called him and he came running toward me. I thought great for once he is listening. Well, noooooooooo. He ran toward me and then straight past me and down the other street. I finally caught him and let's just say I had a few choice words for him and then banished him to his kennel (I'm thinking that might be a good option for bad children as well). This isn't the first time this week he has done that. I thought he might actually be starting to listen but he totally blew that theory out the water. Not to mention all the chewed up things I have found this week. He is on my list.

I did start feeling better today and managed to get a few more teacher gifts done. I made these cute post-it note pads. I used the thin weight coasters and cut them down to 3.5x3.5 then covered them with designer paper (cut to 4.5 x 4.5). The inside card stock is 3 1/4 x 6 3/4 and scored at 3 1/4 at from each end. The post it notes are adhered to the back with strong adhesive. I just used cardstock stickers for the flowers but really you could decorate them anyway you like. They make a cute and inexpensive gift.

Just so you all know, I am much bigger than a raccoon. Today as I was washing dishes, Harrison came inside and stood by me rambling on about this and that. All of a sudden he looks up at me and says "Mom did you know you are much bigger than a raccoon?" Geez, where does he come up with this stuff? I really think that one day he will become a wonderful author of children's books. His imagination never ceases to amaze me.

Since Mother's Day is approaching, I thought I would include something a friend of mine sent me today.

Somebody

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby.... somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "normal" is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct .. somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring ... somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "turn out good....somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices .... somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother.... somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.

Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first .... somebody doesn't have two children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books.... somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery ....somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten .... or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back ...somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies; to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married....somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home...somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her.... somebody isn't a mother.

So take a minute now and call your mom, grandma, step mom or someone who has been like a mom and tell her that she is an important somebody in your life.

And to my mom, who I know reads this, you are a very important somebody in my life. I hope you know that but just in case you don't, thought I should let you know.

Ramblings

Ever wonder why your children pick the morning you have no extra time to assert their independence? This morning was one of those days. Harrison has decided that no matter what I pick out for him to wear, it isn't suitable. This morning, as I am rushing about trying to get him ready for school and me ready to go do some volunteer work, he is expressing his dislike of the shirt I have picked out for him by throwing it across the room. I tell him to just pick out a shirt and put it on. Who cares, everything matches jeans and that's what he was wearing today since it was cold. I left him grumbling about the shirt and went to finish getting ready and when I returned he had pulled just about every shirt out of his dresser and had tossed it in a pile on the floor. He ended up wearing a t-shirt from last year that says Woodsie. Guess he figured he would know which shirt he wanted when he saw it. Note to self - reread " The Strong Willed Child".

After volunteering all morning at the school book fair, I had a busy afternoon doing all the household chores I didn't get done that morning. I did manage this evening after the kids were in bed to get the teacher gift boxes done. Each day this week the kids have to bring in a small gift for their teacher (and assistant). I made four of these for the kids to take on Thursday. Tomorrow is treat day and I made homemade blueberry muffins with cream cheese frosting. Yum-o!

As promised, I am posting two of the projects I made at stamp club this weekend. The first is a card using watercolor crayons. I love this method but I need a little more practice. The second project is stamped using bleach. This is a simple method but brings great results. I am putting this one on my favorite techniques list!

Thought for the day: "We could never learn to be

brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world." -Helen Keller

Where does time go? Already it's Saturday night and the weekend is half over. Harrison stayed home from school yesterday. He begged me not to go and when I asked him why he didn't want to go he responded "because I love you so much". How could I turn that down? So we spent the day together.

Last night I went to a new stamp club and made some friends and created some beautiful cards. I will post them tomorrow. I learned some new techniques and can't wait to try them out again.

David's brother and his wife are on the way up to spend the night. David is going to a charity biker event tomorrow with his brothers (the other one is coming up in the morning). I hope the weather is nicer tomorrow than it was today. We had lots of rain showers today but not as much as we really needed.

Harrison helped me make brownies today. He asked me was he the "best stirrer". So tonight for dessert we had brownie sundaes. I indulged so I guess I'll have to add some extra minutes to my workout tomorrow.

Haley is at her first ever babysitting job tonight. Our neighbors were going to a party a few blocks over so they asked if Haley could watch their two boys. I told her how exciting that she was going to have her first paying job. She said "are they really going to pay me?"

Well that's about it for our exciting weekend. Until tomorrow.......

Thought for the day is: "A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles." - Washington Irving.

Today was a beautiful day here. It was a bit warm but the wind made it bearable. I took the kids to the library this afternoon after school. They all seemed to inherit my love for books, especially Haley. Before I even got the car started, she was reading the book she had checked out. Chances are she'll be finished it by tomorrow night.

It was report card day today. Haley made all A's and one B (in math). Holden did well too (no letter grades yet) and continues to improve in his reading. We are very proud of both of them.

I managed to get a layout done tonight even though there has been a special two hour Gray's Anatomy. I am TIVO'ing it just in case I missed anything. These pictures are from a trip to Fort Moultrie to fly kites back in 2005 (I'm a little behind wouldn't you say). The journaling says" My big boy and my little boy. They are so different yet somehow they manage to put all of it aside and are the best of friends. Sometimes they fight, but they don't stay angry for long. Seeing their relationship grow is one of my greatest joys and one of their greatest blessings-even if they don't know it yet."

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

So here's how crazy my day was. I came to the computer to type my blog, saw that I had emails, read them and then couldn't remember why I was at the computer. LOL!

We started the day with a dentist appointment for all three children. It wouldn't be a normal week for us without a doctor's appointment or two thrown in. Good news is Haley might not need braces after all. (My pocketbook is breathing a sigh of relief). Bad news is that Harrison aka The Candy Monster has two more soft spots on his back teeth. That means more white stars. UGH! Thankfully, Dr. Meg released me of total responsibility for his poor oral hygiene by telling me that some kids just had soft enamel. She also mentioned that we might want to break him of his finger sucking habit before it becomes a real problem. Yeah right and I might want to also run for president but that isn't likely to be happening either, is it?

This afternoon Harrison and Sullivan had some fun playing in the tunnels to our Playhut. I wish you could have heard the giggles from Harrison. He thought it was so funny that Sullivan was trying to tackle him.

I worked on some teacher gifts today. Teacher appreciation week is next week and then we have year end gifts so I figured I might ought to start thinking about it. I think they ended up being quite cute. The left one is the front side of the candle and the words say Delight in Life. The right one is the rear side of the candle. All products are Stampin Up.

Thought for today: "Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads." - Herman Melville