Saturday, May 31, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
random goings on
lots of stuff going on lately.
the kids spring activities are wrapping up. E's class had a field trip to the discovery center in rockford. it's a hands on childrens museum. great fun. the photo is her climbing down the mouse hole under the stairs between floors.
J's class had a mom's day at school. i went and enjoyed some time with him, one on one.
we've been going to garage sales and rummage sales when we see them. i love church rummage sales. they are great for finding treasures old ladies have tossed. i found a great wallet, key and comb set for 75 cents at one a couple weeks ago. it's vintage, made of pig skin and was never used! J is always on the lookout for bionicle pieces. and NL wants to get his hands on polly pockets.
my in laws just got home from springing in arizona. they don't go out until late february, so they don't really winter there, they spring there. we're glad to have them back. i get used to not having them around and doing all the kid schlepping with some help from dh. but, now that they're back i don't have to take the kids on all my errands. mil takes them for home school pre-school 2 hours 3 days a week. plus, she keeps them for lunch one day too. it's heaven! i can get twice as much done without littles taging along.
there's more, but i need to load some photos, so i'll be back.
the kids spring activities are wrapping up. E's class had a field trip to the discovery center in rockford. it's a hands on childrens museum. great fun. the photo is her climbing down the mouse hole under the stairs between floors.
J's class had a mom's day at school. i went and enjoyed some time with him, one on one.
we've been going to garage sales and rummage sales when we see them. i love church rummage sales. they are great for finding treasures old ladies have tossed. i found a great wallet, key and comb set for 75 cents at one a couple weeks ago. it's vintage, made of pig skin and was never used! J is always on the lookout for bionicle pieces. and NL wants to get his hands on polly pockets.
my in laws just got home from springing in arizona. they don't go out until late february, so they don't really winter there, they spring there. we're glad to have them back. i get used to not having them around and doing all the kid schlepping with some help from dh. but, now that they're back i don't have to take the kids on all my errands. mil takes them for home school pre-school 2 hours 3 days a week. plus, she keeps them for lunch one day too. it's heaven! i can get twice as much done without littles taging along.
there's more, but i need to load some photos, so i'll be back.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Happy National Scrapbook Day!
yes, scrapbooking really has it's own day. mostly scrapbookers use it as an exuse to play with paper and lots of online store give away lots of goodies! fun, fun stuff. i'm gonna scrap this am and then head over to my niece's bday party this afternoon. here's a layout that is an ode to my favorite cheeseburger.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Amazing
wow. my kids are rocking the whole school thing lately. i think it's due to grandma's home school preschool. at least that has given them a boost.
e has participated in the school districts young author contest for 3 years. the first year she didn't get an award. but, last year she won at her school and went to the district level (with students from at least 4 grade schools) and won an honorable mention for her story. we are very proud of her. this year she again won at her school! her stories are so fun and i am so glad she enjoys writing.
i've been stressing and praying lately about where e and j were going to go to school next year. e's teacher this year is brand new and i feel he has not taught her to her potential. i was concerned that she would get another "just ok" teacher. at their school they don't take parents requests for teachers. so, with j going there next year i was also concerned about which teacher he would get. there are 4 1st grade teachers at their school and i only think one is really good teacher. i've spent time with them on field trips and such.
well, my prayers were answered for j yesterday when we got a letter in the mail from the district saying he had high academic potential and was invited to participate in the happ program. this is the program that e's kindergarten teacher was sure e would get into for 1st grade. but, because of demographics (the classroom has to be made up of the same percentage of each nationality as the district)she didn't make it. we were concerned that she'd end up with a "just ok" teacher. but, she had mrs. nott who was a great teacher. i was so glad that j was invited to be in the happ program as they do a lot of extra things. the kids are all interested in learning and the teacher doesn't have to teach to such a wide group of skill levels.
and then today the phone rang and it was the director of the happ program. he said he doesn't usually make phone calls to parents, but this was a special instance. he was calling because e had tested into the happ program. and sometimes having children at the same school makes a difference whether the parents send them to there or not. (at the end of 2nd and 4th grades the children are tested again and rearranged based on scores. it's harder to get in though because the kids in happ have a more detailed education). e made it in too!! wow, answered prayers. she won't be too thrilled about leaving her friends, but i think she'll like it once school starts.
i hope i didn't offend anyone with the way i talk about teachers. education for our children is so important. it's so hard to make sure all kids get what they need. revamped somehow.
e has participated in the school districts young author contest for 3 years. the first year she didn't get an award. but, last year she won at her school and went to the district level (with students from at least 4 grade schools) and won an honorable mention for her story. we are very proud of her. this year she again won at her school! her stories are so fun and i am so glad she enjoys writing.
i've been stressing and praying lately about where e and j were going to go to school next year. e's teacher this year is brand new and i feel he has not taught her to her potential. i was concerned that she would get another "just ok" teacher. at their school they don't take parents requests for teachers. so, with j going there next year i was also concerned about which teacher he would get. there are 4 1st grade teachers at their school and i only think one is really good teacher. i've spent time with them on field trips and such.
well, my prayers were answered for j yesterday when we got a letter in the mail from the district saying he had high academic potential and was invited to participate in the happ program. this is the program that e's kindergarten teacher was sure e would get into for 1st grade. but, because of demographics (the classroom has to be made up of the same percentage of each nationality as the district)she didn't make it. we were concerned that she'd end up with a "just ok" teacher. but, she had mrs. nott who was a great teacher. i was so glad that j was invited to be in the happ program as they do a lot of extra things. the kids are all interested in learning and the teacher doesn't have to teach to such a wide group of skill levels.
and then today the phone rang and it was the director of the happ program. he said he doesn't usually make phone calls to parents, but this was a special instance. he was calling because e had tested into the happ program. and sometimes having children at the same school makes a difference whether the parents send them to there or not. (at the end of 2nd and 4th grades the children are tested again and rearranged based on scores. it's harder to get in though because the kids in happ have a more detailed education). e made it in too!! wow, answered prayers. she won't be too thrilled about leaving her friends, but i think she'll like it once school starts.
i hope i didn't offend anyone with the way i talk about teachers. education for our children is so important. it's so hard to make sure all kids get what they need. revamped somehow.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
J's 1st day of Kindergarten
i was really happy with the way this layout turned out. it was fun to find a drawing by J to add. i'm going to submit this one. if you click on it it will show a larger version.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Bedtime
a couple bedtime memories to remember.
E - she loves a quick back rub at bedtime. i started it as a way to stay close as she gets older. hopefully even when she's a teen she'll like a back rub and it will help keep us close. she is afraid of lightening and thunder and will stay awake waiting for the next boom if there's a storm.
J - likes a back rub too. he moans and groans while i do it. he also mumbles to himself, or sighs as he falls asleep.
NL - likes to me to sing a song. he calls it a sing along. last night when i finished "a bushel and a peck" he said "that was beautiful". love him!
NT - he always wants a pacifier and something to snuggle. then he wants to put his hand up my shirt on the same spot on my stomach. he likes it best if i stay until he falls asleep, but lately i'm trying to leave him to fall asleep on his own.
E - she loves a quick back rub at bedtime. i started it as a way to stay close as she gets older. hopefully even when she's a teen she'll like a back rub and it will help keep us close. she is afraid of lightening and thunder and will stay awake waiting for the next boom if there's a storm.
J - likes a back rub too. he moans and groans while i do it. he also mumbles to himself, or sighs as he falls asleep.
NL - likes to me to sing a song. he calls it a sing along. last night when i finished "a bushel and a peck" he said "that was beautiful". love him!
NT - he always wants a pacifier and something to snuggle. then he wants to put his hand up my shirt on the same spot on my stomach. he likes it best if i stay until he falls asleep, but lately i'm trying to leave him to fall asleep on his own.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
AZ
we had another amazing vacation in AZ. two weeks of warm weather and lazy days. perfect. between dave and i we took over 300 photos. there will be tons of scrapbook pages to come!
just like you
we went over to the building where dave's office is after dinner last night to look at the new office space that is being built for him on the third floor. it is much bigger than their "official" space now and dave will have his own office. on the way home J told dave he wanted to do just what dave does and work with him there when he grows up. it was so sweet and dave told him he'd love it if J came to work with him.
62
that was the temperature today here in northern illinois. a balmy 62! it was so nice after the cold days since we've been home. the kids played outside in tshirts. perfect weather for a saturday!
Monday, March 10, 2008
weirded out
so, my sister emails me today with some family history questions. she found an online site with some of our paternal grandmothers family history and she's emailed the guy whose site it is and he has some questions regarding our husbands names and kids names. i told her i was uncomfortable with my kids middles names floating around cyber space. She then gave me the site addy and i went to check out the site. the page she gave me is my dad's page. it has his name, birth year and my mom's name and birth year, when they were married and when the divorced. it goes on to list me and my sisters full names and our birth years. it gave me the chills. totally weirded me out. i'm not sure why, but i'm uncomfortable with someone knowing these things when they don't know us at all.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Layout for Pam's Contest
my buddy Pam posted a sketch challenge on her blog. here is my version.
patterned paper - KI Memories (from my first T2T box)
felt flowers - Jolees, EK Success
paper behind chipboard heart negative - knock, knock
chipboard - Heidi Swapp (i think, it was gifted to me, thanks Tina!)
cupcake wrapper - grocery store (thanks for the idea traci!)
letter stickers - doodlebug
patterned paper - KI Memories (from my first T2T box)
felt flowers - Jolees, EK Success
paper behind chipboard heart negative - knock, knock
chipboard - Heidi Swapp (i think, it was gifted to me, thanks Tina!)
cupcake wrapper - grocery store (thanks for the idea traci!)
letter stickers - doodlebug
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Chelsea's Place Review
I picked up some of the Chelsea's Place collection from Michaels recently. The retail price was $12.99, but I used a 40% off coupon for mine. The above photo, that I took from Michaels sight, shows the line minus the shaped papers. There were 2 packs of paper. I bought the one of specialty papers. The color scheme is fun and I love that the papers all have something special about them. Each sheet is either die cut, glittered or flocked. They are heavy weight patterned papers. So, the papers definitely get a thumbs up.
I also brought home the die cut chipboard letters. They have cute patterns spread randomly through the alphabet. One of the reasons I got them was because I thought they were going to be self adhesive. There is a light adhesive on them that didn't work at all. I placed them on the page and they fell off as soon as I picked up the layout. I ended up using a little liquid adhesive on them to make them stick. The package isn't labeled as self adhesive, but looks like other chipboard letters that are, so I assumed. The fonts are cute though, so I give them a thumbs up as well.
The first layout and the card show the green scalloped paper that is in the paper kit. The second layout uses the scalloped round paper and the embossed red and blue paper.
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