the essence

I &hearts Rust-oleum

2012-01-27T18:42:00.005-05:00

Yes, that's right. Today, my love is paint. Due to chemical sensitivity "normal" things don't always go off without a hitch for me, so, I'm always excited when I can do something without issues.

One of those "somethings" is painting. Painting transforms! It's such a little step for a huge difference! And, I found a furniture paint that I'm able to use without getting sick! Of course, I still call for wearing a mask & painting outside if possible. If not outside, then, at least with the windows open & fan turned on.

My spontaneous project is my bedroom. I started yesterday by painting some side/coffee tables. One was a side table I've had since I was a kid & the other two I pulled from the trash! I was so inspired that today I spontaneously decided to paint...OUR BED!

Well, the frame, anyway. The bed was a gift. We've never been fans of the color of the frame, but, it was totally worth the luxurious king bed!

I've always neglected decorating our bedroom. It's not that I don't want it decorated, it's just never been very feasible or a priority.

I've been itching to paint it, but, thought it would involve the long & difficult process of taking the bed apart & outside & leaving it there for days until I could breathe around it again. However, upon discovering this paint, I realized I could just paint the parts we can see & I'd be able to paint the bed while still in our room AND still be able to sleep on it that night.

Ta da!

I love love LOVE it! I can't wait to decorate.

Kate was hilarious as I was painting the frame. She kept telling me, "Your daddy is going to be so mad at you for painting the bed. He's going to be so mad at you. He's going to spank you like he spanks us."

Thankfully, Ray was very surprised and also loves it! Ray loves it so much that he wants to paint the walls a nice color this weekend. Addison also likes it - she tells me it looks like we're in a store because of the color of the bed!

My Silly Boy

2012-01-26T20:58:00.002-05:00

I just love him so much, he makes my heart melt!

2012-01-25T06:18:00.000-05:00

Publicly Official

2012-01-24T23:34:00.004-05:00

Today was our first day back to our Classical Conversations homeschool campus for the quarter. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the two month break from meeting at campus.

I was really excited for class today. I felt very well prepared for everything in class and my new position as director was going to officially be announced to everyone during assembly. I was definitely excited about that & spent a good bit of time trying to figure out what to wear. Think of me what you will, but, I believe first impressions DO matter. My aim was to be conservative yet chic. I didn't take a photo, but, I did find one that Addison took of me wearing the same outfit the other week (her framing wasn't too good with this photo!).

Everything went really well, I had a little batch of announcements to make regarding the new school year - I'm even going to have to hire about half of my "staff!" I know the Lord will provide the right people and I'm really thankful that the current director will still be there to give me guidance. She has a long history with these moms & knows who will be a good fit to fill these positions.

I'm so excited about this upcoming year!

2012-01-23T19:56:00.001-05:00

Coffee monday with renee!

i was delighted to receive an unexpected call from renee this morning letting me know that she & eva were in town. (i was also very glad we'd already completed most of our school work!) the kids & i met them at westshore & spent a fun afternoon together.

Valentine's Day Window Display

2012-01-20T20:31:00.003-05:00

Did anyone else see all of the felt Christmas tree & heart ornaments at Target during Christmas? Packs of 3 for $1. In reds, whites & then very very bright blues. greens, pinks & purples.

After Christmas they all went on clearance for 10 cents a pack! I grabbed up loads of the hearts, not knowing what exactly I'd do with them, but, knowing I couldn't pass them up.

Today I made my own little window display with the red, white & pink hearts. Hanging them in the window makes them look scant - I wish I'd bought more!

And, lest you think you don't have time for this, it took all of maybe 30 minutes. Easy peasy. All I have time for now is easy!

The rest of this week has flown by in a blur! Tuesday we were back to school for a review day before we officially start back to our tutor sessions next week. Addison rocked the geography review, I'm so proud of how well she knows her states & capitols!

We met Ray for lunch at IKEA afterward (kids eat free on Tuesday, you know!) and walked around to dream a little. I could do so much with all of those organization helps.

Thursday morning we met Briana & her girls at Chickfila for our free breakfast with their promotion this week & then we had gymnastics.

I've also been fighting a constant headache/sometimes migraine for three days in a row. Today I was finally able to get it to go away & I'm feeling so much better this evening!

Tomorrow is girls day! Lunch & coffee out, sans kids!

Fun!

2012-01-19T21:19:00.002-05:00

I just love pretty window displays, including this one that I saw in downtown Gainesville on Sunday. So doable at home, too, lots of paper chains!

Welcome to the 21st Century

2012-01-18T23:09:00.002-05:00

At least that's what we were told when we began getting cable tv for the first time last week. During our marriage we've always relied on our ~~trusty~~ inconsistent antenna. The digital converter box helped a little, but, if it rained, fuggedaboutit.

We've never been able to justify the cost, but, we broke down the other week & added a cable package because it actually lowered our monthly bill!

Now, nearly a week later, I'm glad we've never paid for tv before as we have yet to watch it. I DO enjoy knowing that if I ever do turn on the tv that at least the stations will come in clearly!

Getaway

2012-01-15T20:30:00.002-05:00

With a long weekend for us we took off for a one-night getaway up to Gainesville this afternoon. Our hotel is in the middle of downtown & we had fun walking around exploring the little shops & restaurants this afternoon.

We stopped for dinner at nice Grille attached to the hotel and the walked for gelato at another little shop down the road.

Clay was captivated watching basketball on the tv above our table.

I'm so thankful we're able to take advantage of some of our employee perks more often
now. I feel like it's much easier for us to spend time together without all of the distractions of being at home.

2012-01-14T00:53:00.001-05:00

More science! iodine + starch

2012-01-13T21:32:00.001-05:00

3rd quarter tutor meeting - art projects complete, science experiment time!

Hair Cut!

2012-01-13T10:44:00.000-05:00

When we arrived home from church Sunday afternoon Addison began to beg for a hair cut. She wanted her hair cut "like Lydia," a young friend at church.

Kate decided she also wanted her hair cut, but, wouldn't stop moving her head. I finally put her hair in a pony tail & started to chop it off that way. Kate freaked when she felt a big chunk of hair fall on her legs & I had to finish cutting her hair with Kate turning around in circles.

I don't remember what Kate was upset about in this photo. I promise she was pleased to have her hair cut!

I also promise this looks much cuter in person, a little bit of a layered look.

2012-01-11T23:08:00.000-05:00

Reenactment

2012-01-10T23:20:00.003-05:00

On Saturday we drove up to the Dade City/Bushnell area to watch a war reenactment set between soldiers & the Seminole Indians, which took place in the 1800's.

Ray had never been to a reenactment before & I hadn't been since I was young! Ray so e joyed himself that he says he wants to participate next year.

There was a whole period festival going on with lots of booths full of period items, costumes & information. One gentleman set up "camp," complete with all of the food the soldiers ate while they were out. I was so surprised with how little they ate (& kept thinking how boring it must've been to eat the same thing every single day!).

There was also this absolutely gorgeous tree on the grounds. It was huge & the branches draped to the ground so beautifully!

2012-01-09T23:32:00.001-05:00

Addison is at my parents house for a few days & kate is disappointed that she didn't get to go, too. in order to lift her spirits, i made a "special lunch" on "special plates" for she & i.

Leopard Love

2012-01-06T19:38:00.002-05:00

I have Christmas money. The purse was on clearance. It's mine!

Do You Know What I Did Last Year?

2012-01-05T21:28:00.003-05:00

Last year I blogged every. single. day.

It began rather unintentionally. I'd never before come close to blogging every day & it was sort of an "unofficial" resolution. I just started blogging & after awhile of doing it every day I felt like I'd gone too far to stop in the middle. Even when I was sitting in the van in Jersey just a few minutes until midnight after spending all day in NYC I sent a quick blog post from my phone.

I don't plan to blog everyday this year (even though I have so far!), it's just a little added extra self-imposed ridiculous pressure that I don't need this year!

Amazing

2012-01-04T21:57:00.006-05:00

Monday morning I had a 9am dental cleaning & was done by 9:45. I talked to Ray on my drive home & found out we were going on an impromptu canoeing trip down the Weeki Wachee River! I raced inside to change & then we were out the door. We met up with Ed, Sarah & family for the 5.5 mile canoe trip.

Ray has gone scuba diving here numerous times (including night diving) but I don't recall ever going to this river before. The water is amazingly blue & clear! We saw lots of fish, turtles & manatees. There were also wonderful "jumping trees" of which Ray, Eddie & Magnus took advantage.

While on the river the temperature began to dive & the wind really picked up. By the end it was into the 50's (much cooler with the wind chill!) & the 15-minute wait for the van to pick us up felt a bit excruciating. The heat inside that van felt wonderful!

There was a goodbye dinner already planned for Gabe & Jen & their family & we realized that it didn't make any sense for us to drive all the way home only to turn right back around & go to the dinner. So we went to dinner in all our grungy bathing suit glory. Thankfully, it was at her parents home with a handful of close friends.

Addison loves to take photos & instruct people on posing. Sarah & I were only following her instructions! (And, lest anyone think I'd post a "bad" photo, Sarah gave me permission to post these before I could even ask her)

After dinner our night wasn't over; Ray has an old college friend who owns a gas station out in the area we were at so we stopped by to say a quick hello. By the time we made it home that night it was around 10:00. When I left the house that morning at 8:45 for my dentist appointment I didn't think I'd be gone for 13 (fun!) hours! The kids were absolutely exhausted, too. Kate stumbled inside & crawled into her little play tent (which was already piled with blankets & her pillow) & fell right to sleep.

Wisdom

2012-01-03T09:56:00.001-05:00

This is from today's ODB, an encouraging, convicting & worthwhile read.

The Pursuit

When my husband, Carl, pursued a relationship with me while we were dating, he was serious about it. He called. He wrote notes. He asked thoughtful questions. He bought me flowers, candy, books, dinner, and other gifts. He spent a lot of time and effort in his pursuit of me.

Way back in the 10th century bc, Solomon recommended that kind of serious commitment when pursuing something else—wisdom. A dictionary definition of wisdom, “understanding what is true, right, or lasting,” sounds crucial if we want a life that glorifies our holy God.

Maybe that’s why Solomon used so many active verbs in Proverbs 2 to describe our needed efforts to gain wisdom. He said, “incline your ear,” “apply your heart,” “cry out,” “lift up your voice,” “seek her,” “search for her” (vv.2-4).

Seeking wisdom takes effort, and Scripture tells us where it can be found: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” He isn’t storing up wisdom for Himself; “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (vv.6-7).

Seek God with all your heart. He is the source of all wisdom for your life.

What will it profit when life here is o’er,
Though great worldly wisdom I gain,
If seeking knowledge I utterly fail
The wisdom of God to obtain? —Nelson

You can acquire much knowledge,
but true wisdom comes only from God.

2012-01-02T12:39:00.001-05:00

Spemding the second day of the year canoeing down the weeki wachee.

Happy 2012!!!

2012-01-01T22:21:00.001-05:00

2011-12-31T13:52:00.002-05:00

Another freezing winter day in Florida.

I Remember Now...

2011-12-30T21:24:00.002-05:00

Thanks to my mom for picking up my camera & snapping photos, I saw that on Christmas Eve I gave Clay yet another hair cut. His hair grows so quickly.

My sewing scissors do come in rather handy for giving him a trim, but, I think he may be due for a "real" cut.

It's Thursday Already?!

2011-12-29T22:07:00.005-05:00

The past week is a complete & total blur!

My family came on the 23rd (my moms actual birthday) & we had an early Christmas gift opening. It was really fun watching the kids, I let them pick out presents for the family from the dollar spot at Target. They were so excited to pass out the gifts to everyone & kept asking if there was more they could give. It made my mommy heart happy that they were so eager to give rather than receive. We finally got them to open their own gift from my parents - a tent with tunnel attachment! We plan to connect it to another tent that they have.

My mom brought the girls sparkling cider to drink in fancy glasses - they were quite pleased!

After opening gifts we went on a walk to look at lights around the neighborhood together.

Admittedly, I barely remember the next day. I'm pretty sure there was some coffee and shopping involved!

Migraine

2011-12-28T21:41:00.002-05:00

I'd post something more substantial, but, I have a terrible nausea inducing migraine this evening. Ray has the girls at church but Sarah took the time to work on some pressure points to help relieve some of the pain.

My back somehow went out on my left side & it shoots pain up my neck & around my eye socket affecting my sinuses & making me congested as well. I think I may need a trip to the chiropractor, I've not been in four months!

FWD:

2011-12-27T19:10:00.001-05:00

Movie night with sarah - sherlock holmes!!! (nearly empty theater!)

2011-12-26T21:32:00.001-05:00

My brain is in an exhausted fog. The weekend was very busy with very little sleep.

Today was spent with a house full of old friends & Eddie & Sarah are staying with us for part of this week with their kids.

The kids are all asleep, Sarah & I are doing the pinterest thing & the guys are out night fishing!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:52:00.003-05:00

(Photo courtesy of Megan)

2011-12-24T13:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

2011-12-23T22:54:00.004-05:00

Today is my mom's birthday and we went to the mall after putting the kids to bed tonight. Walking by Hollister, the "Hollister Guys" were standing at the entrance where all the teeny bopper girls stop to take their picture.

As we walked by I convinced my mom that she should get her picture taken with them - sine it's her birthday. I made sure to tell the guys it was her birthday & she commented that she's 50.

I wish you could have seen the guys face on her left. His eyes opened wide & his eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Really?!" It was PRICELESS! As we shopped later in the night I kept busting up laughing whenever I'd remember the look on his face. (It was especially funny since when we'd walked by earlier he'd noticeably checked her out!)

Seriously, she doesn't look fifty at all. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Just Like Mommy

2011-12-22T22:00:00.002-05:00

Addison proudly walked out of my room during rest time yesterday & presented me with her decorated face. She was incredibly pleased!

She wasn't happy because she was wearing make-up, she kept telling me that she wanted to be "just like you, mommy, wearing make-up like mommy." Addison was so happy to be like mommy.

2011-12-21T19:24:00.001-05:00

If you wonder why your gifts are slightly crumpled this year & why is a lot of random tape on the packages, it's because the kids had a blast helping me wrap them!

Fabulous Fifty!

2011-12-20T21:48:00.006-05:00

My mom is turning 50 this Friday the 23rd & a few of us through her a super surprise birthday party this past weekend. It was fabulous, but, one of the best parts is that she was truly surprised!

It was a very small affair, with just a few of my moms closest friends, most of whom she's known for over twenty years. When it came to the decorating, Megan & I infiltrated my moms pinterest. I know we pulled it off when my mom commented, "It looks like I walked into my pinterest!"

It looked so beautiful with bistro lights strung across the lanai with ornaments hanging from them.

My vision for behind the food table was different. It didn't turn out. Imagine it fuller & swoopier. That's what it was supposed to look like. I still love the silver snowflake curtains I made out of ornaments, though!

I saw this on her board & knew we (meaning Megan) had to make it. A photo collage "50." My dad scanned the photos & Megan made the collage. How cool is that?!

The party favors were little silver boxes tied with red ribbon & holding a Ferrero Rocher.

One of my favorite "little details" was the guest book. I picked up the December 2011 issue of Vogue, perfect for my fashionista mom! Plus, it was so much fun going through the magazine & randomly finding the funny blurbs people wrote to my mom!

Sarah, our fabulous interior designer, with my mom. Sarah worked magic on rearranging the lanai into a super cozy space!

Megan, my mom & I. I need to explain the matching dresses. My mom also owns this dress & she said that it's been her dream for us to have matching dresses. We had hoped my mom would wear hers to the party so that we could give her another surprise & get our photo together.

I Had Planned More

2011-12-19T21:54:00.003-05:00

Really, I did. I was going to post photos from the surprise party we had for my mom over the weekend or something fun like that. But, I just don't feel like it right now.

I've spent the better part of the last hour crying as I miss Ellie & today marks four years since her death. I really can't put into words how I feel, I just really miss her & can't stop crying.

I also had SEVEN, yes, SEVEN!!! different teeth filled this morning. Bonus: there were multiple cavities on some of the teeth (equals more money for the dentist) and there was at least one cavity in each quadrant of my mouth meaning that they had to numb EVERY bit of my jaw. Awesome. Another bonus? The way to numb your bottom jaw is essentially the same way they do a spinal block (except in your jaw, of course!). Only, I would be the person for whom it wouldn't quite work. I ended up with quite a bit more injections to numb my mouth than they initially gave me (after some painful drilling!).

The epinephrine combined with nerves made me super shaky for a short while & tonight my jaw aches from holding it open for so long today. I'm so thankful to have this done, though!

I went 23 years without ever having a cavity, but, I've now spent nearly a full six years constantly pregnant and/or nursing and it's done a number on my teeth. Most of these cavities have been along the gum lines of my front teeth. I'd never even heard of that before it happened to me! It's really embarrassing to me that my teeth have become this way even if there was little I could do to control it. (I take care of them, I even carry a toothbrush & toothpaste in my purse & will brush anywhere!)

As I said, I'm just thankful to have this taken care of now. It's been weighing on me heavily for the past few months & causing little moments of panic.

I have a lovely inkling that tomorrow will be quite a bit better!

My Angel

2011-12-18T22:33:00.003-05:00

Tonight was the annual Christmas program at church - by far, one of my favorite Sunday nights all year! It's even more fun now that my kids are old enough to participate more.

Kate was supposed to sing a couple of songs with her Sunday School class but was too scared.

Addison, on the other hand, is our performer & loved being up there in front of everyone! (She doesn't get that from me at all, I was always terrified by that kind of thing!)

She sang with her Sunday School class as well & then also participated in the play as an angel & singing with the other kids.

She's the second from the left in the below photos

Can you tell Addison was enjoying herself?

2011-12-17T20:31:00.001-05:00

Happy 50th, mom!!!

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The Deer in Orlando

2011-12-16T22:08:00.002-05:00

No, there are no deer at my parents house in Orlando. Yet, we had to close the doors leading into the screened in patio & close all of the blinds in the house because Kate is convinced that a deer is going to "get" her.

Several weeks ago we actually had a deer in the backyard at our house. I don't know that Kate has mentioned the deer since, but, tonight it's all she can talk about.

"That deer came up & went 'roar!'"

No, no it didn't. It saw all of the kids through the window of our house & quickly ran back into the woods.

Regardless, she's acting rather terrified at my parents house tonight. To top off matters, my mom has a little wood deer in her foyer which I'm resisting moving next to Kate's bed. I just couldn't do that to my child! (although, it really makes me laugh to think about)

Little Gymnast

2011-12-15T22:57:00.001-05:00

Today the girls each received medals in gymnastics. I love how proud Kate looks!

A wonderful Christmas Time!

2011-12-14T21:54:00.005-05:00

This morning the girls were very excited to make some cookies with me! We made one of Ray's favorites, peanut butter blossoms, which, aren't really a Christmas cookie, yet, I always make them at Christmas time.

When Ray arrived home this evening we finally decorated our tree - we didn't even get it until this past Sunday! That was a fiasco unto itself. We stopped at two different tree farms, each quite a ways north of here, & they were already mostly out of trees. There was nothing at either one for us & we finally ended up getting a tree from Home Depot. It's only between 6-7 feet tall, I'm not used to having such a tiny tree anymore! I did get to buy my favorite kind of Christmas tree, though, a Frasier - it's the little things.

Before decorating the tree we also finally took our Christmas card photo. It made for some fancy decorating photos!

My handsome little guy

Check it out, Addison is totally my daughter. We weren't trying to pose like each other for these photos, we were just minding our own business decorating the tree...

Multi-tasking: eating a quesadilla while decorating

When my parents were first married my mom bought boxes of these little heart ornaments. We always used them as a kid, so, though they may not be the most chic, I always add some to our tree for sentimental reasons.

Ray adding the finishing touch!

TWO cars!!!

2011-12-13T18:53:00.003-05:00

As of this past Saturday we are now a two car family!!! We're all thrilled! We've been a one car family for five years one month two weeks and five days - not that I'm counting! However, if you are counting, you'll note that we went down to one car before Addison was even born.

The Lord provided this vehicle at just the right time. It belonged to Ray's step-sister & all we had to do was get some work done & it was ours!

Isn't it cute? Ray looks *so* fabulous driving his "girl car." (His words, not mine!) I can't wait to get my hands on it - I haven't driven a stick shift in a long time & it's well-known that an automatic just isn't nearly as much fun to drive!

I can't begin to explain the relief that we both have a vehicle to drive. If you've ever been in this situation you know what I'm talking about! I know the kids & I don't have to be stuck at home all day (especially if an emergency came up!) & I also don't have to wake the kids up early in the morning to drop Ray at the bus stop if I did need the car. No more stopping everything in the middle of the afternoons so that we can pick Ray up from work. I'm SO thankful for this vehicle, it's such a blessing!

2011-12-12T22:47:00.002-05:00

For the second time in a week & a half my mom, Megan & Oliver drove over from Orlando for a visit today. These short day trips are so fun & low stress! Almost every time we visit it's for an "event" & we try to squeeze in the "extra" fun things & are usually too tired to fully enjoy them.

We all needed our coffee and some window shopping. We all love looking at the Christmas decorations! On Friday Ray will be on another camping trip so the kids & I are going to drive to Orlando to visit my family again!

Crazy Insane Day

2011-12-11T22:05:00.001-05:00

Today was very long & very exhausting, but, we finally made it home 12.5 hours later. We weren't supposed to be gone all day. However, the night ended on a nice note with lots of laughing with friends!

OPA!

2011-12-10T22:44:00.004-05:00

Last night we had a goodbye dinner for a friend at USF, Beth. We didn't meet until 9 - sad to say, but, that's late for me. We met up at Acropolis, a local Greek restaurant. Fun, but, the food was rather disappointing! Although, in their defense I only tried the tzatziki & a gyro. I make a lot of Greek food at home & LOVE tzatsiki, but, theirs tasted like the spreadable allouette cheese you can buy in a tub at the grocery store!

Anyway, out of a group of 15 people, I was the oldest one there. A sad sad day for me.

I'm also not used to eating a full meal at 11 at night! The gyro was pretty good & the entertainment is fun! There was a belly dancer walking around & the staff go around the restaurant dancing while napkins are thrown in the air (you know, instead of plates)

I'd really hate to be the one who has to clean up this mess every night!

CC Christmas Party!

2011-12-09T18:33:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning we drove down to the lovely south Tampa for our Classical Conversations group Christmas party. We arrived right at 10 so that I could attend a directors meeting & the party began at 11. We ended up with around 35 adults & 90 kids, ranging from babies to students dual enrolled at USF!

I was wondering how one residence in the city would accommodate that many people. The answer is a yard this huge! (The property goes all the way to that fence in the back)

Oh yes, keeping the kids entertained with two huge bounce house slides helps, too. Also helpful? All of those amazing older kids. They're so sweet with the little ones! Also, at one point the kids noticed that there was a problem with the tethers on the sides of the bounce house. Without any prompting, every single one of the kids got off & stood to the side while they went to get an adult to let us know there was a problem. I was impressed.

The food was potluck style on the back porch, with two dessert tables in the yard. Perfect for the kids to run up as they pleased to grab cookie after cookie! (Hey, it was a party!) Clay hung out with me all day, except when he saw the one dad that was able to make it. Clay reached for him & fell asleep o the gentleman's shoulder within five minutes.

And, I couldn't resist taking a photo of the stairs inside the house. How awesome is this?! (I told the owner that I took a picture of her stairs)

A super fun & exhausting day!

Introducing...

2011-12-08T22:55:00.003-05:00

The new director for the Classical Conversations Tampa Foundations and Essentials program! This basically means nothing if you're not familiar with the program, but, I promise that this really is huge!

I'm relieved it's finally not a secret anymore & is "paperwork official." I was approached by the current director about this position over the summer & was immediately shocked & excited.

Being as this is my first year homeschooling and my first year in the CC program, it doesn't really make sense on paper that I would be a director next year. This program is full of experienced well-educated women (attorneys, dentists, executives, accountants) so it would seem as if one of them would have been the "obvious" choice.

However, the current director has been ready to step down & praying about a replacement.

Just recently she informed me that at our initial meeting back in March she felt silly offering me a tutoring position because she knew right away that I would be their next director. She could tell that I have a heart for the program & that I'd done my research on it.

This is totally all from the Lord & I'm really excited about this opportunity! I still have so much to learn & I'm sure I don't know the half of what I'm getting myself into, but, this wasn't brought about by me. I was simply thrilled that we were able to participate in the CC program, I never expected to be taking this step of involvement!

I'll be overseeing our k4-6th grade students (around 65 kids), parents and their 10 tutors and basically keep the program running - hiring tutors, accepting new families, taking care of payments, facilities, etc. I feel as if I'm coming into this program ahead of the game because our current director has done a fabulous job setting policies in place and I already have the main supplies that we need. When I was reading about the program most of the negative reviews were people from disorganized groups with poor leadership. The bar has definitely been set high for me!

I am truly humbled to be taking this position of leadership and am thrilled to be involved with a program for which I have a passion!

Poppies!

2011-12-07T21:40:00.002-05:00

My dad is currently working only 30 minutes from our home. We've been enjoying this & meeting him for lunch on occasion & this evening Dad came to our house for dinner. The kids were beyond thrilled! Clay kept singing to him (it was so sweet!) & Kate kept climbing on my dad's back: "I wuuuuuvvvv you, Poppies."

Party, party, party!

2011-12-06T20:59:00.003-05:00

I love love love Christmas parties! This past Saturday I had the privilege of attending two!

The first was a brunch for the tutors & directors in my classical conversations group at one of the swanky country clubs in the area. As nice as it was the best part was really getting to know these ladies better. We're always so rushed on the days we have class that we barely have time to speak.

In the evening Ray & I had a Christmas party & ornament exchange for the Sunday School teachers & their spouses. One of the best parts? No kids! Rays' dad not only agreed to keep all of the kids during the party but also offered to keep them ALL overnight!

Presents for the ornament exchange! (All I kept hearing in my head was Michael from The Office: "Yaaaannnkkkkeeee swap!")

Ray & I couldn't bring ourselves to simply go home when we had zero obligations so instead we went over to Robert & Brianas house for a night of chatting for the girls & "jamming" on the guitar on the back porch for the guys. It was so lovely! We went home a little after 11 & we were completely exhausted. What a fun day!

The following morning we drove up to get all of the kids & then went to church. We were there until 3 in the afternoon because we had Christmas play practice after the meetings. After practice the younger kids were having a blast dancing together on the stage - they were so sweet!

A Truly Happy Birthday!

2011-12-05T22:53:00.004-05:00

You need only look at the below photos to see how happy Kate was to celebrate her birthday today.

This morning I asked Kate what she wanted for her special birthday breakfast. Her response?

"Um, probably peas."

She does love peas! So, she had some frozen peas as well as some Ritz crackers, cereal & oatmeal.

The kids video chatted with my mom & Megan & then my friend Briana came over with her two girls for a couple of hours this morning. I completely forgot to take ANY photos this morning & only remembered once we were on a walk to Target this afternoon.

Briana gave the girls giftcards today for their birthday & Ray had the van again so we walked to Target. This time I let Kate walk, thinking she'd make it a small distance & then get tired & want to ride in the stroller. Instead, she did even better than Addison & actually ran about one of the two miles! Even once we were in the Target parking lot she was STILL running! I was super impressed.

Kate also received a birthday call from Grandma on our walk - she was quite pleased about that!

We had to get our free kids cookie in the bakery, but, when she found out it was Kate's birthday, Ellie made her a special mini cupcake instead.

We did a little shopping with the gift cards - the girls had the BEST TIME! Ray picked us up on his way home & Kate chose for us to get deli chicken & potato wedges for her birthday which we ate at the Starbucks inside of Target.

We then went home & sang to Kate - can you tell how pleased she was???

We gave Kate her very own brand-new magna doodle for her birthday. She loved it & started drawing on it right away!

Me and my fun little three-year-old!

Saying Goodbye

2011-12-04T22:22:00.007-05:00

Two dear "kids" (one is in college & the other in high school) from church are moving to Brazil this month. Most of their family is from there & Barbara & Andrew decided to move back in order to finish school. They've been here since they were babies (their mom is still here & plans to move back to Brazil in the near future) & we're going to miss them so!

They only told everyone a few weeks ago about their decision to move & when they announced it I spent the morning hugging them & bawling my eyes out.

Barbara is the Sunday School teacher for Kindergarten/Pre-k & the kids are all really sad that she's moving! We had a lovely little goodbye party after church this evening, definitely bittersweet.

Christmas Parties

2011-12-03T23:45:00.003-05:00

Today I had two lovely Christmas parties (all kid-free!). They were wonderful! We are now home & it's almost midnight so pictures will have to wait until later (tomorrow?).

Advent

2011-12-02T23:04:00.003-05:00

The day before December 1 I helped the girls put together their advent calendars (cute little snowmen from the dollar bin at Target).

As each day goes by we glue a white puff onto the appropriate date. Here are the snowmen with their googly eyes & carrot noses attached. (Addison specifically told me that she was making a "mad face" for this photo - lovely)

The girls get so excited to add their little puff to the snowmen each day! Does anyone else do an advent calendar in their home? I have a large one with little doors on it setting on the piano.

On another note, I had Clay model his Christmas outfit for me today.

Adorable!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2011-12-01T21:20:00.003-05:00

Addison's birthday got off to an early start yesterday as we had to wake all of the kids ups before 6:30 & load them into the van so that we could drop Ray off at the bus stop.

For breakfast Addison requested waffles (granted!) and then a trip to Target. Addison was eager to tell everyone that it was her birthday. When the manager at Starbucks found out she disappeared & came back with a package of a dozen mini cupcakes from the bakery which she decorated special & gave to Addison - happy birthday decorations & the two cupcakes with Hello Kitty rings for the girls & a Cars ring for Clay. Wasn't that so sweet??

Addison also spent 40 minutes talking on the phone to one of her friends! She is her mothers' daughter! She was in my room sitting on the window sill a good part of the time, but, Addison would move before I could get her picture.

Addison's dinner request was pizza. In the below photo she's raising her hand in the air & shouting "birthday!"

Addison opened her present from us - a headband she'd tried on at Target a couple weeks ago & and adorable sweater. Think she liked them?

Clay was truly thrilled with his own little cupcake!

Addison & I, getting her birthday photo in our pjs, right before bed.

What a fun day!

A Whole Hand

2011-11-30T22:40:00.002-05:00

Today Addison turned five-years-old! I really can't quite believe that she's five already (or, that I actually have a five-year-old!)

Addison was very pleased that it was her birthday & told anyone she could. No harm in that, it even earned her a package of cupcakes!

They're gone!

2011-11-29T20:09:00.005-05:00

Most all hints of yellow & gold are now shoved into a rubbermaid bin to be stored in the attic until next year.

The girls are thrilled with the Christmas decorations, especially the nativities & advent calendar. I'm really looking forward to starting some Christmas crafts with them, including cookie baking!

I'm also really glad we're on our break from class meetings now. I love the meetings, but, it does take a lot of work. I'll admit it's really nice not spending my Monday nights with last minute lesson planning & loading up the van! (not to mention the early Tuesday mornings!) Of course, we're still doing all of our school work at home, but, the way Classical Conversations works is that we meet for 24 weeks out of the year & go over new material. I love love LOVE that we get the busy holiday season off to just focus on everything at home!

Our science project for this past quarter was to put together the parts of a human body. Each week we learned different parts & the kids colored them. At the end of the six weeks we assembled the bodies on outlines of the kids bodies (we traced each of them onto a big roll of paper).

Let's just say it was a LOT. OF. WORK.

It was an awesome project & I loved it, but, truth be told, I'd have a very difficult time getting myself to do something like this with the kids if we were doing it on our own at home (maybe I feel that way just because they're still so young?) Addison was on her hunting trip with Ray during our final week of class so she & I assembled her body on Thanksgiving.

By the time I did this with Addison it was my third time assembling one of these & it was a breeze! I did one of myself to show my students & then helped my students put theirs together. I'm much more familiar with human anatomy now than I was six weeks ago!

If anyone wants to take on this project at home we used the My Body book. All of the body parts with instructions for the layout are in the book so that you can photocopy them as needed.

It Looks Like October Threw Up On My Buffet

2011-11-28T22:03:00.003-05:00

I like to take the weekend after Thanksgiving to put up my Christmas decorations, but, I just couldn't get the mojo up to do it this time.

Instead I finally went into the attic this morning & pulled down the bins of Christmas decorations & gathered up all of the Autumn decor & piled it on the buffet table. I bought some much longed for Autumn decor this year (those huge over-priced pumpkins! more garland!) when they were 50-60% off at Michael's plus an extra 25% off with a coupon. I could finally justify the purchase when they were that inexpensive! Now, I need a new larger bin to store everything in.

So, tonight, October is still resting on the buffet.

2011-11-27T21:57:00.001-05:00

Long Day. Busy Day.

Goodnight!

6:00 pm

2011-11-26T22:23:00.004-05:00

The past few days have been wonderful for family time. Ray automatically had off of work with the city and this was also our holiday off with our job making reservations.

It was truly nice to take our time & just be. There was an elevated level of patience in our home and it was quite relaxing. You see, for the past several years, most of our days are scheduled around 6:00pm. At 6:00 either Ray or I will get on the phones in the back office and take calls until midnight. The job requires silence in the rest of the house or we can get in trouble with our supervisors - which also adds to the stress, especially when the kids have meltdowns before bed time.

Beginning work at 6 also means a very early dinner for all of us. It also means we don't make plans with anyone or go out to any events together. I'm not trying to sound depressing or down or anything, we've just had to grow quite accustomed to planning our days so that they wrap up by 6.

Which, honestly, it now feels very strange when we have a "free" day when we don't have to be at home & in the office by 6 in the evening.

Yesterday was just such a day & we took some time in the morning to go to the park together. Kate had just discovered this hat &, despite the warm weather, insisted on wearing it.

Addison & Ray played "follow the leader" with Addison as the leader. I don't know where she gets some of these poses!

The girls were not too keen o the lizard that Ray caught. Clay, being a typical boy, had no qualms about trying to grab it in Ray's hand.

Later in the day we all went to Target so that the girls could get a special birthday drink from Starbucks. They thought they were hot stuff walking around with their own whipped cream topped drinks!

And, then, as the magical six o'clock hour rolled around we didn't have to go home, but, instead, went to the mall to watch the Christmas tree light & music show. Luxurious!

If you look really closely in this photo you might be able to see "snow." Yes, even though it was 79 degrees outside, we will make it snow! The funny thing is that all of us Floridians totally love it and the crowd "oohs" & "aahs."

Once at home we put the kids to bed and had one of our eat-junk-food-&-watch-a-movie date nights. In this case, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep on the sofa at 9!

Tonight it was back to the early dinner, make coffee, get Clay to bed & start work at 6:00 routine. I'm really ready for us to have flexible evenings not solely dedicated to work, but there's a part of me that thinks it will take a bit of adjustment to get used to that freedom & new routine when the day comes.

Chocolate and Pumpkin

2011-11-25T22:28:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a most delightful Thanksgiving for our family. Gone was the rush of trying to get to every place we had to be on time. Instead, the night before I made us this delicious Kringle to eat for breakfast & in the morning I also made some pigs in a blanket (yes, me. There's a first time for everything!)

We spent the morning with the parade on, probably actually watching more of it than I have in the past several years combined. Addison really loved the Broadway numbers (always my favorite part) & especially loved to dance along with the Rockettes.

In the early afternoon Ray took all of the kids to see his dad's family while I finished getting things ready around the house. His mom's side of the family began to arrive around 4pm. I made us french bread & fondue in a cute little sugar pumpkin for an appetizer. (I must've scraped out too much of the pulp & ended up with a tiny hole in the bottom of the pumpkin!)

The girls & I also made these adorable little acorn treats for everyone. Cute & yummy!

I totally had fun dressing the table for dinner. I used an idea I saw in Real Simple magazine for kumquat place cards. How cute are these?

It wasn't until dinner was over & I was looking at the photos that I even noticed the kumquats & napkins matched the tablecloth & table runner. It just worked out that way!

Our crowd was super small this year so we had enough space for the adults at the "fancy" table & for the kids to have their own coloring table.

I was really hoping for our family to get a nice enough photo for "Christmas card" quality, but, by the time we were all dressed & ready it was dark & the lighting was horrible.

Even with the lighting I was happy to get a new photo with a portion of Ray's mom's side of the family (it's near impossible to get everyone together so this will have to do for now)

We ended the night by sending up another floating lantern. It was less windy this time & the lantern actually went up more above us rather than flying off towards the woods as it did at the birthday party. Beautiful! Hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T22:18:00.002-05:00

This is the Thanksgiving song that Ray taught to Addison. Ray's grandmother taught it to him & she learned it when she was in kindergarten! It's so cute!

Yikes!

2011-11-23T23:25:00.003-05:00

The other night I minimized my browser only to see a huge MOVING picture of me!

I forgot I had opened iphoto earlier. Actually, I forgot I even had iphoto on here, I know the kids would love to play with it!

Sigh

2011-11-22T20:38:00.002-05:00

Sometimes simple things like a clean refrigerator make me so much more relaxed.

What about you?

The (almost) Ultimate Tangled Birthday Party!

2011-11-21T22:37:00.011-05:00

I must say, I'm really pleased with how the party turned out overall. There are some things I wish I could've done differently (I had planned on using twinkle lights and on making a tower birthday cake, just to name a couple).

However, let's focus more on what did work. I really loved all of the felt banners. I made six pennant banners plus two large rectangular banners hanging on either side of the window in the back of the house & two small rectangular banners over the party favor table. It was really feeling to me like I was in Rapunzel's village, I loved it!

(Here is the link to the sun design I printed & cut out)

In the foreground: pink sugar rimmed glasses!

After passing under some of the banners you entered the family room where I hung 12 paper lanterns from the ceiling. The best part? They lit up! It was so pretty at night. (Courtesy of my mom and the Dollar Tree! Also inexpensive at the Dollar Tree? Batteries!)

Another look at the invitations...

The present table and arts/crafts table. I bought the black-scratch off papers (4 for $1 at Target!) for the kids to draw on (yes, Rapunzel liked to paint, but, over half of my crowd was under 5, they weren't going to painting inside the house!) I remember making these with my mom when we were little. We'd use all different colors on the paper, paint over the colors with black paint & patiently wait for it to dry so we could make our designs. Oh, how things have changed...

Our oldest party guest (9-years-old) created a Flynn Rider wanted poster! I was so impressed!

Speaking of which, the village wouldn't be complete without the wanted posters hanging everywhere!

My darling birthday girls in front of Rapunzel's tower. The kids loved playing with the yarn braid! The tower was supposed to be made of cardboard with a window cut out so the kids could get their picture taken "inside" the tower, but, I couldn't get my hands on a big enough cardboard box.

Our little family!

You want to know something? I completely forgot about a tablescape for this party! I love to tablescape but I was so caught up in the banners & lanterns that I forgot! So, I quickly threw together the birthday banner & used on of the purple tablecloths to hang up. I know, it looks kind of sad! I made one of those tissue paper pom-poms to hang up but I didn't have enough yellow tissue paper on hand to pull it off. I did use my cast iron skillets for the food!

Of course, I've already blogged about the pinata.

The favors turned out nice, too. I used lavender & yellow paper I already had on hand & printed out a thank you massage & then cut the sun design around it. The message was tied to the watercolors with a purple ribbon.

The two thing Kate kept asking for her birthday were chips & cake. My parents gave her a huge bag of chips & a bag of pretzels. Kate was so happy that she hugged them!

My sister, Megan, made this lovely painting for the girls:

This was Addison's face when she saw the painting (she also keeps trying to carry it around the house with her!):

Now, the cake. Cakes are the thorn in my birthday party side. I don't enjoy making them so I've never perfected the art. Now, there are some seriously amazing Rapunzel tower birthday cakes out there. I had planned to try to attempt one. I didn't get around to it so the day before the party I thought I'd just make cupcakes so I also made the little cupcake toppers to go on top. Instead, I did something I've never ever done & I bought a cake. Not even anything special. It was the one that was "Decorators choice" left at the bakery at 8:30 at night. And, you know what? Addison loved it so much she was still thanking me for the cake a day later!

And, a Tangled party wouldn't be complete without REAL floating lanterns! (I searched high and low & the best price/quality I could find were these on amazon. 12 for only $22, including shipping! Ordered on Saturday, arrived on Monday)

Now, I checked the wind on weather.com before we set this off & I really think it was wrong because that lantern blew around a lot more than I was comfortable with. It was so windy that we only set off one lantern. It was still really cool, though!

I know the girls had fun at the party and so did I! (I also know I looked online a LOT for party ideas so I hope this will help anyone else searching for ideas, too!)

The Pinata

2011-11-20T21:43:00.004-05:00

Full party details can be found here

So, I had every intention of getting some good photos and descriptions up from the party today. Instead we had Christmas play practice after church today, when we got home I went grocery/Thanksgiving shopping & then we had sing night at church tonight followed by fellowship & snacks.

All of that equals another long & tiring day.

However, I will show you the pinata. Ta da! The Tangled Tower Pinata (made out of cereal boxes, hot glue & tissue paper)

Honestly, I was really pleased with the results. I was also quite paranoid that it would bust right away or that it would fall apart just from the weight of the candy inside. Thank the Lord it held up so that all of the kids were able to give it a try! Such fun!

The older girls got my girls into dress-up clothes, hence Kate's pirate's outfit. Kate was also nervous about the pinata & started to pick her nose (she also decided to just watch everyone else swing at the pinata!)

The candy was a big hit, though - it also gave me a way to get rid of a bunch of our Halloween candy!!

Best Day Ever!

2011-11-19T23:09:00.000-05:00

Maybe not best day ever, but, the party turned out fine. It also wore us out & Ray & I both fell asleep on the sofa tonight while catching up on "The Office." Pictures later!

Tangled Party Sneak Preview

2011-11-18T23:05:00.003-05:00

Full party details can be found here

I never got around to taking photos of the pinata today so instead you get a glimpse of the invitations.

And, because some of have wondered, yes, I did braid the yarn for each invitation.

2011-11-17T23:01:00.001-05:00

Ray & Addison made it safely home & I've spent the night crafting.

Now that they're back I have the camera again & can start posting more pictures!

I finished the pinata for the party & it turned out pretty cute. Maybe I'll give a sneak peak tomorrow...

Addictive

2011-11-16T21:10:00.001-05:00

You must go play this game! It's so fun & oh-so-addictive.

I find it so addictive that I tried playing while making reservations. It's back-to-back on the phone tonight so I was only able to get to level twelve while switching between the two computers (I even managed to accurately type in a credit card number on the work computer while playing the game on this one).

Am I a total nerd to find this game so much fun?!

2011-11-15T22:39:00.001-05:00

On Friday Ray was going through his bin of old hunting and camping gear in preparations for his big getaway with Addison.

He has some pretty funny stuff in there. The girls thought so, too.

Home

2011-11-14T21:14:00.001-05:00

I drove home from Orlando with Kate & Clay this afternoon, affording time to finish lesson planning for our last class of the semester tomorrow.

Ray & Addison spent Saturday & Sunday canoeing down a river or something with a group of 19 people from Ray's office (they camped along the river, too!) & then Sunday afternoon Ray's dad picked the two of them up & they all drove to Tennessee for a hunting trip!

I'm loving that the house is a little quieter for a few days. I also love that I don't have to cook while Ray & Addison are away! This is like a little vacation for me!

Okay

2011-11-13T18:47:00.001-05:00

Baby Meltdown

2011-11-12T22:06:00.001-05:00

I drove to Orlando with Kate & Clay this morning. The cousins are having fun playing with each other, but, the boys did enter meltdown mode this afternoon:

Favorite

2011-11-11T22:09:00.001-05:00

I made us one of my favorite meals for dinner last night: Carrabbas Chicken Bryan and Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Just thinking about it makes me want more!

Great Works of Art

2011-11-10T19:13:00.001-05:00

Last night we found this new work of art on our lamp. It's called: "Silver Crayon Melted on Light Bulb"

This next piece is "Blue Ink on Formica"

For a small fee the girls will come decorate your place, too!

Because They're Sisters

2011-11-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

It's so sweet seeing the girls growing up together & being there for each other. Lately, they've taken to helping each other get dressed, usually before even coming out of their room in the morning.

Addison always has Kate zip up her dress & Addison likes to pick out Kate's outfit (as in the one below)

Addison likes to tell people they do that for each other "because we're sisters."

2011-11-08T23:37:00.000-05:00

Since last Thursday Kate has been kind of "off." She randomly gets really whiny, clingy & throwing tantrums.

She was fine today until we arrived at school and then she got really upset about which shoes she wanted to wear versus what she had to wear. Kate calmed down quickly & we went inside to set up my room.

When I went to drop off Kate & Clay in the preschool room Kate started freaking out. She's never freaked out about it, she always loves to go to her preschool program! When I passed Kate to her teacher Kate was kicking in her arms & pulled off her glasses. It was awful.

I was finally able to leave her but she kept screaming & screaming until they had to take her out of the class. Which meant, she spent the morning with me!

Thankfully, that's all Kate wanted this morning, to be by mommy, & she was super quiet & well-behaved & enjoyed coloring while she sat in my class.

Because our focus this year is on the US (history, geography, etc) for part of a fun review session the kids had two huge maps that someone passed on to us for them to color. Kate had a lot fun helping them with that!

Kate's pretty much been fine for the rest of the day & I really hope she's back to herself by next week!

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Goodness

2011-11-07T23:02:00.000-05:00

I'm sure I'd be much thinner if I was terrible at baking. Instead, when a craving hits at 8pm, I cave & make my sister's delicious recipe for molten chocolate cake for two.

Worth Every. Single. Calorie.

2011-11-06T22:38:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone else had as nice of a weekend as I! I was able to get a lot accomplished & spend some time with my family & friends. Ready for another busy week!

Time

2011-11-05T21:35:00.000-04:00

Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it. ~Author Unknown

Today was another glorious day. The weather was perfect and Ray took the girls to the air show for 11 HOURS while I stayed home with Clay. It was so fun getting to spend the day with him! I really feel like I get to know my kids better when I get some one-on-one time with them.

I was also afforded that elusive thing called timed today. Time to get things done - like run errands to multiple places and take just a little more time to look around and make wise buying decisions. Also, time to organize. I hate when things aren't organized. I firmly believe that our kids have way too many toys (Ray doesn't share this view with me). I find that they take everything out & once they're not organized the toys are not played with as much.

And, futile though it may be, I organized the toys again today. And, while it will probably be a disaster by Monday, it sure makes me feel good to see the tidiness tonight.

‎Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller

Tastes of Autumn (or, I have a stomach ache from eating too many apple cider doughnuts!)

2011-11-04T23:54:00.000-04:00

Two years ago I experienced apple cider doughnuts for the first time I can remember. I fell in love! I'm sure part of it was the experience: we were up north enjoying beautiful Fall weather & visiting with friends. I found this recipe for apple cider doughnuts & really wanted to try them!

Today the weather was surreal. I never saw the thermometer on the back porch go over 68 degrees! That almost never happens here! It was the perfect day to make the doughnuts.
In progress...

Apple cider doughnut holes! Yummy!

Unfortunately, after I began making the doughnuts I realized that I was out of eggs and I was without a van today. Thankfully Ray worked some overtime this week which is why he took the van and then came home early today! He came home right after the kids went down to nap/rest time & Ray quickly fell into bed asleep, too. I left all of the kids home with him while I went to go to the grocery store for my eggs.

Seeing as I was out all alone in the middle of the day (luxury!) I took advantage of the time & bought my once a week overpriced coffee (peppermint mocha is back!) & walked around the store looking at the Christmas decorations. The drink, the decor, the weather & the semi-solitude all combined made me so relaxed & happy.

Do you have anything that automatically sends you to a happy place??

2011-11-03T23:25:00.000-04:00

This week my dad started a job only thirty minutes away from us so the kids & I drove over & met him for lunch today. It was so nice! We went to Olive Garden & I had a feast (I tried one of their paninis, it was quite good!). The kids loved getting to see my dad, but, I'm pretty sure that he's glad he gets to eat his dinners out alone!

I also failed to get any photos while we were out. I had wonderful intentions to do so & even brought my camera but completely forgot.

So, instead, I'll show you the last sewing project I completed. In case you haven't figured it out all of the little girls we know are receiving little aprons for their birthday.

Fun fabric, don't you think??

2011-11-02T22:31:00.001-04:00

At church on Sunday, the day after the Sunday School picnic, someone asked me if my sister was with me at the picnic.

My mom looks amazing! I look really tired. I can handle the raising/homeschooling three kids & being a homemaker part, I can't hide the tired circles of working until midnight & waking up with sick kids for three nights in a row before this photo.

School Days

2011-11-01T23:47:00.000-04:00

Tuesdays are always so exhausting! There's the planning, planning & more planning that goes into it (yes, I spend a lot more time lesson planning for the class than I thought I would - I just want to make sure I do a good job!) & the whole waking the kids up early to get out of the house thing along with the whole working until midnight tonight part. Not to mention loading everything we need into the van. There's the normal stuff for the kids: backpacks, supplies, snacks, lunch, diapers, waters, picnic blanket & Clay's bed, but, more than that is all of MY stuff. My chart with the new work on it, my huge rolling crate filled with all kinds of notebooks, toys, maps, markers and such.

Tuesdays are not for the faint of heart.

However, Tuesdays are also very rewarding!

Aloha!

2011-10-31T22:35:00.000-04:00

This year I hit up the dollar tree over the summer & spent a whopping $6 on the girls costumes! Clay already had the shirt & I found a blue lei shoved in one of my party supply drawers. And, while people in the north east are enjoying their snowstorm, we get the luxury of trick-or-treating in bathing suits!

If Addison heard the word "hula" she dropped everything & did her version of a hula dance.

Clay felt pretty special getting candy, too!

We only went down three streets, but, by the end of the second Kate was struggling with her pumpkin. "This is heavy. Why?"

Because we came home with nine pounds of candy, that's why!! Yikes! Ray was getting the girls to do a "candy dance" here. Clay just kept grabbing whatever candy he could & chewing on the wrappers.

As Addison laid in bed tonight she kept telling me, "That was so much fun tonight." It was a fun outing for the kids (& adults)! All of the neighbors out together talking & smiling, plus, who doesn't enjoy getting to dress in costume & be given free candy?!

Sunday School Picnic

2011-10-30T22:04:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was our annual Sunday School Picnic and for the first time in four years I was able to go! I've always loved Sunday School picnics and my parents even drove over & joined us for this one.

The fellowship is wonderful, we sang, had a message & one guy even played the saw while we sang!

Of course, the food was amazing, too. I love Brazilian steak, it's to die for! Have you had it before? Such a tasty treat.

Some of the kids had scooters and such riding around the pavilion. Some of the guys forgot that they are closer to forty than thirty now & thought they'd give the toys a try. Ray actually did pretty well!

The kids spent a good part of their time at the playground. Thank the Lord for grandparents (& surrogate grandparents!) to help watch over the kids.

And, why are there no picture of Kate? She decided to join her friend Avery's family for the day!

After leaving the picnic my mom & I had "party" girl time! We went out for amazing coffee & browsing - we were actually able to look at stuff at our leisure! I also found some darling accessories that my mom & I deemed my Christmas present this year. I love them!

My Body Aches

2011-10-29T21:40:00.001-04:00

I'm so exhausted from being on my feet all day. It's a good thing, we were at the Sunday School picnic & then my mom & I went out shopping & then went shopping some more & made it home around 9. I'm too tired for anything else!

Purple and Gold

2011-10-28T23:50:00.000-04:00

I've been getting ideas for the girls birthday party for months now but it suddenly hit me that the date is just a month away! I've finally begun making the decorations. This means cutting out yards upon yards of purple and yellow felt. Here is the inspiration for the main party decor. I love it!

This is where I'm at so far:

That's a lot of little felt suns! Thankfully, work has been slow (I guess people aren't wanting to make many hotel reservations now - or, perhaps guests have finally realized they can find the same rates are online!) and between calls I've had the time to cut out the little felt suns.

Today I also took the time to take care of some of those nitty gritty organizing & cleaning details that have been bothering me. I organized a bunch of little things & put them in a proper place; things like glue, batteries, command hooks, etc. I also wiped down baseboards, window sills, the outside of the microwave, washed out the trash can, cleaned the oven & gave Clay a hair cut, among other things!

It feels so good to get things like that taken care of! I wish I had time to do...more! Why does it seem there's just never ever enough time??

Sweet Dreams

2011-10-27T23:41:00.001-04:00

The other night Addison was "reading" her favorite book as she fell asleep. After she drifted off I found her sleeping next to the book, opened up to a dessert I'm sure she wants us to try!

On the Prowl

2011-10-26T22:40:00.000-04:00

The kids and I walked/biked (a four & two-year-old=the slowest bike rides, ever!) down to the park this morning & Clay was all about crawling around in the dirt but he was a bit quicker out on the huge basketball court. Clay is sooo very close to taking steps. He started balancing on his own two weeks ago & last Tuesday he took the tiniest of a step.

Anyway, that basketball court is the perfect place for a game of chase. I decided to add in a little school review while we were at it by reviewing one of our learning points for the week before a new chase would begin. I just love being able to incorporate learning into everything & making it fun!

Addison is also hilarious when it comes to chase. When she's pursuing me I eventually start to slow down so she can tag me. The problem is that Addison begins to slow down, too, and won't tag the person she's chasing. I think she just doesn't quite get it.

Clay is nursing a very slight cold right now so he & I stayed home from prayer meeting tonight. After putting him to bed I was afforded the time to get some of the nitty gritty cleaning & organizing accomplished. Right now I feel like I can barely finish the basics, such as floors & bathrooms & the extras, like clutter, dusty baseboards & fans are really starting to drive me batty! I'm nabbing any opportunity I can get to take care of those details.

I've been told by other "been there, done that" moms that the toughest time is when you have three or more kids all under the age of five. I've noticed the difficulty more lately, I think with the addition of more structured school (along with the hours I put in each week preparing to tutor the class). I'm sure it would be slightly different if I'd been able to drop another responsibility (like work, ha!), but, instead I added on a couple more piano students. Regardless, I've been told by said moms that managing everything with the kids becomes much easier once the older ones start to reach their mid-elementary school years.

I'm sure it'd be much easier now if someone just came to clean my house for me once a week!

Free Coffee!

2011-10-25T19:06:00.003-04:00

I love getting a free drink - I always add "extras" when it doesn't cost me anything! So, can anyone decipher my order?

Girlfriends

2011-10-24T23:03:00.001-04:00

I'm so thankful for the many many close Godly girlfriends that I have.

While it doesn't happen as often as I'd like, when we have the opportunity to get together & chat for awhile it's always so uplifting & encouraging.

It's also a blessing that my girlfriends have kids who can play with mine while we talk (usually over coffee, of course!). Really, though, I come away from our conversations so encouraged.

Sometimes I have a difficult time getting up the energy for play dates, but, I'm always glad when I make the time for them. I've found that spur-of-the-moment works best for us. Lately, it seems that if I try to plan stuff it ends up falling through half the time. Last Sunday we were driving home from church & made a call to friends who were also driving home & they made a detour & joined us for lunch as at our place (mess & all!). Yesterday I made plans with Ella to come over today. The weather was fabulous (again!) & we were able to enjoy the time outside on the back porch while the kids played in the yard.

Unfortunately, I haven't been as attached to my camera lately & I have much fewer pictures of our goings on. This Saturday is our Sunday School picnic & I plan on taking lots of photos there!

2011-10-23T22:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning Ray had another HUGE garage sale. I put in a little time & made a but more cash than I expected! First order of business was to go out & buy an over-priced coffee. Important, right?

In the afternoon we tagged along with Ray to hang out at the park with Briana & her girls while the guys all played soccer. After getting home & putting the kids to bed I took some more of my garage sale money & bought Ray & I Five Guys for dinner. It was totally completely worth it.

This afternoon was our first Christmas play practice of the season. Ray signed up to help with the practices & Addison is in the play so we all stayed after. First we ate lunch together - doesn't Clay look like such a big boy sitting at the table by himself??

We also came across coupons for free Italian Ice from Rita's so after play practice we all went for an afternoon treat!

After arriving home I spent the rest of the day cooking, cleaning & baking cookies for Ray to take to work tomorrow. I was asked to bake them for a charity sale they have going on. It took a LONG time and did not produce nearly as many cookies as I had hoped!

Text to Blogger FAIL

2011-10-23T16:03:00.001-04:00

I have no idea what happened to my last post! I was posting by a text from my phone & blogger turned it int a bunch of gibberish. A real post will come later, promise!

2011-10-22T23:19:00.003-04:00

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2011-10-22T23:19:00.001-04:00

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Autumnal Flair

2011-10-21T18:56:00.001-04:00

This week has brought absolutely gorgeous keep-your-windows-open-weather. I love Autumn and this kind of weather just doesn't come our way often enough. I have fond memories from Fall and I try to make the most of it now.

This week we enjoyed the lovely weather by drinking wassail & eating pumpkin bread. It was a big hit all around.

Does anyone else do anything special for Autumn?

Sparkles in Your Mouth!

2011-10-20T23:33:00.000-04:00

My mom, good time Maemae, introduced my kids to pop rocks. I was a bit hesitant to let Clay have any so we started with a small bit & he LOVED them! It appears he had to think them over a bit, but, as soon as they were gone, Clay fussed for more.

Addison declared the pop rocks were like sparkles!

This is it

2011-10-19T23:01:00.002-04:00

I've spent the day playing with my mom & sister & didn't take the time to blog. Ray & I actually have the opportunity to get to bed early for a decent night of sleep so more details & photos will have to wait until tomorrow.

Girl Day! (plus two adorable boys)

2011-10-18T23:37:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow my mom and sister are coming (with baby Oliver!). I can't wait to visit!

The girls are very excited, too.

Kate was talking about it with me the other day:

"Maemae is coming. I'll be so happy!"

We'll all be so happy, I can't wait for our day together!

You've Got A Friend In Me

2011-10-17T22:08:00.000-04:00

Heather is by far my oldest friend - I'm so thankful that we're still so close after all of these years. I love this photo of us together at a church potluck in 1988!! What's really crazy? In this photo I'm right around the same age that Addison is now.

Here we are last December, all grown up!

Autumn Harvest

2011-10-16T22:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we took the kids to the Pioneer Settlement in St. Pete for the Autumn Harvest festival. We loved it! Ray & I are both very partial to history and exploring old buildings and artifacts.

They had live music and lots of games for the kids. The girls played "find the rat" - basically tossing a lot of hay around looking for a plastic rat. Fun for all!