Messy matter

This is what happens when you tell one of my children to go and clean up the playroom without being specific as to what "clean-up" means.

Which is why I spent 20 minutes this morning looking for the tennis shoe that was located inside the entertainement unit along with the mass of cords. Logical place for it, right? Only I didn't find it until after he had gone to school mad because he had to wear Crocs.

Notice the flip flop? I found it underneath the entertainment unit when I was down on my knees looking under the couch for the tennis shoe. Wonder how long that has been there?

Halloween

We went last week and picked out our pumpkin from the pumpkin patch at Hibben UMC. We decided that this year we were only going to get one pumpkin because carving three pumpkins takes a tremendous amount of time not to mention the cost. It was much easier for the children to agree on one pumpkin than I thought it would be. The kids let me take a few pictures of them in the pumpkin patch even though Haley was not very happy about it. I told her she would thank me when she was my age and she had nice pictures to look at.

Our busy schedule prevented us from carving the pumpkin until Halloween Day. The kids are now getting old enough to pretty much do everything themselves once the top is cut off the pumpkin. Haley and Holden did most of the work but left a little for Harrison so he would think he had a part in carving.

Our neighbors had a Halloween get together at their house so we all went down for dinner before trick or treating. This year was the first year in a long time that I actually got to go with the kids trick or treating because Haley and her friend handed out candy at our house. We had a group of 9 children (8 boys and 1 girl) who went along with us. It was funny to see how fast they moved from house to house. Harrison and Helena were always in the lead. I think that Harrison was all about getting as much candy as he could and Helena was all about chasing Harrison. The kids had a good time and came home with a huge bag full of candy. If all the kids in the neighborhood got as much candy as our kids did, there will be a lot of busy dentists come this winter.

Here are the boys in their costumes :

Holden as "The Scream" and Harrison as "Ninja Warrior"

NOTE: The nunchucks in Harrison's hand are foam. He did however get in trouble for hitting the other kids BEFORE we even had dinner so they had to be put away.

Yeah. I thought my blog was deleted and it wasn't. Maybe I will actually keep uo with it now. More updates later.

It's good to know....

Many times the only correspondence that you receive from teachers is to discuss a problem that your child is having with school work or behavior. It's good to know that sometimes teachers go out of their way to send a nice note to parents just because. I received one of those notes on Friday. It said:

Good Afternoon!

I am Haley's ELA teacher and just wanted to tell you what a joy she is in class. I am enjoying getting to know her and am realizing how smart and polite she is. She is a wonderful role model and you should be so proud of her. I hope my little one grows up to be just like that!

Have a wonderful weekend and don't hesitate to email me should you ever need anything.

Needless to say I was quite impressed that this teacher would take the time to send me an email just to say that and I was certainly proud of my little (or not so much anymore) girl.  It's nice to know that she has that effect on others.

52 Weeks/52 Things

Here's another list of things that evolved as I was doing my Me album. It's a bucket list of sorts. These are things that I haven't done (at least not in some time) that don't cost a ton of money and therefore are attainable. My goal is to do one a week over the next year (thus the 52 weeks/52 things).

In no particular order here they are:

1. Plant some flowers

2. Handwrite a letter to someone

3. Bake cookies

4. Make a digital scrapbook album for my someone special

5. Get a massage

6. Go for a bike ride

7. Book a weekend trip somewhere

8. Get a new hairstyle

9. Walk on the beach

10. Spend a day photographing things I love

11. Spend an afternoon thrift store shopping

12. Make homemade bread
13. Have breakfast in bed

14. Have fondue

15. Take a cooking class

16. Buy someone flowers just because

17. Make homemade ice-cream and have a sundae bar

18. Go to a flea market

19. Have a mother/daughter day

20. Go to the movies with my husband
21. Sew an apron

22. Make cards to hand out at the nursing home

23. Go to a flea market

24. Buy some pretty shoes

25. Have pajama night with popcorn and movies

26. Take a candlelit bath

27. Make chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream for the kids

28. Pick fresh fruit/veggies from a farm

29. Buy flowers for myself

30.  Get a facial

31. Take a photography class

32. Learn a new word

33. Volunteer at a non-profit function

34. Restore an old piece of furniture

35. Go to the zoo

36. Frame and hang pictures of the kids on the wall upstairs

37. Dress up and go out to dinner with friends

38. Paint the hallway walls a fun new color

39. Make curtains for Haley

40. Learn a new song on the piano

41. Sleep late

42. Make a purse

43. Organize my closet

44. Make new artwork
45. Cook dinner for friends

46. Jump on the bed with the kids

47. Take the kids hiking

48. Take a walk downtown to explore the city

49. Learn something new

50. Bake a cake for someone

51. Buy a new color of lipstick

52. Read a Classic Novel

A to Z Gratitude List

I am working on a scrapbook called Me: The Abridged Version. In it, I am chronicling things that are a part of my life in encyclopedia style from A-Z. As I was making my list of things, I started thinking of all the things I am grateful for. Here is my list which only includes one entry per letter even though I surely could have come up with dozens more.

A to Z Gratitude List


A – Air Conditioning

B – Boisterous children

C – Chick-fil-a

D – David

E – Every extraordinary day and waking up to begin each anew.

F – Family (and friends)

G – God and the freedom to practice religion

H – Haley, Holden and Harrison

I – Internet - how did we ever live without it

J – Jeans, my favorite pair that fit just right

K – Kisses from my kids every morning and night

L – Love

M – Magic Eraser (how does it work?)

N – naps

O – Organized space

P – Parents

Q – Quiet Time

R – rainy days

S – sweater weather

T – Target

U – Underwear

V – Vacuum

W – Washer (and Dryer)

X – XTI, Canon (my camera)

Y – Yard sales

Z – Zillons of little things like butterflies, spring rain showers, bright flowers ….. and on and on

Because it never hurts to be reminded.....

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round

or listened to the rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight

or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down, don’t dance too fast,

Time is short, the music won’t last

Do you run through each day on the fly

When you ask ‘how are you?’ do you hear the reply?

When the day is done do you lie in your bed

with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don’t dance too fast

Time is short, the music won’t last

Ever told your child you will do it tomorrow

and in your haste not seen his sorrow?

When you run so fast to get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day

It’s like an unopened gift thrown away

Life isn’t a race so take it slower

Hear the music before your song is over…