mini me mitchell's

My classroom!

2011-08-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

You heard it! I got a pre-k teaching job and my room is finished!!! It is just another huge stepping stone for me! Last year at this time i was homeless, penniless and hopeless. Today, I am so happy. The last thing is my house- andI am still working on getting that!!

Above: My circle time area- where we will go over months, weather, helpers, pledge, letters and alphabet. My talented assistant drew the overalls on the left and added pockets with the list of helpers. You can barely see it, but under I used a crystal light container and wrapped it in scrapbook paper with some ribbon and tacked it to the board to hold the names of my students for the helper chart.

This is my birthday board. I used a plastic planter with brown shred, cut out flowers and labeled them with names and birthdates. Above that are ladybugs with the kids' names printed with "look who's been spotted."
My science table is below that bulletin board.

Our theme for September is "all about me" so my board in my classroom is a huge all about me poster. Everyday for the first week I will ask the class a question and work on hand raising, and patience and write down their answer on our BB. It also helps me get to know them as well.

this is just my board and the colors and shapes.

Here's some pics of my new classroom!!!

Trust

2011-08-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I left Ethan at day care and picked the big kids up from their first day of school. About 1/2 hour before I picked up the E he fell and hit his head on the concrete floor. The teacher was concerned, which in turn made me concerned. But this morning I read this i my devotional:
Entrust your loved ones to me; release them into my protective care. They are much safer with me than in your clinging hands. If you let a loved one become an idol in your heart, you endanger that one-as well as yourself. Remember the extreme measures I used for Abraham and Isaac. I took Isaac to the very point of death to free Abraham from son-worship. Both Abraham and Isaac suffered greatly because of the father's indisciplined emotions. I destest idolatry, even in the form of parental love.

When you release loved ones to me, you are free to cling to My hand. As you entrust others into my care, I am free to shower blessings on them. My presence will go with them wherever they go, and I will give them rest. This same presence stays with you, as you relax and place your trust in me. Watch to see what I will do.

Wow- that's what I needed. I was so worried about his head, but didn't want it to show. Then I put him to bed and he went straight to sleep- he never goes straight to sleep. But I know God is watching over E and I just need to give my worries to God.

fun pics

2011-08-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

This is by a red barn- I love it!!!

Sunday we wanted to go to this great children's museum in a small town outside SA. We drove all the way up after church and it was closed. So we made the best of it and took pics. My favorite thing to do- my kids least favorite thing to do these days!! But I did get a few smiles out of them- bribing them with going swimming when we got home!!!
The bottom pic was taken right before E stepped into an ant pile. He has about 20 and bites from his toes to his back and they are all pussy (too much info I know)

First day of school

2011-08-22T19:30:00.001-07:00

Here they are on campus!!

Bryce 4th grade

Ashlee 3rd grade

both of my cuties!

Ethan wanted to join in the fun!! He just woke up and came out with his spider man book!!!
Ashlee already made some friends. She was in summer camp with her!! Several of the girls that came in after I left were so excited Ash was in their class!! Her teacher said they were screaming with excitement just like little girls do.

I asked Bryce if he wanted a picture with some friends he made during summer camp- but no. "No mom, boys don't do that." At least I got one of him at home!!!

Wait with me

2011-08-22T03:42:00.001-07:00

So this post is actually from yesterday, but I didn't get around to it.

Yesterday in my devotional I read: Wait with me awhile. I have much to tell you.You are walking along the path I have chosen for you. It is both privilieged and a perilous way: experiencing My glorious presene and heralding that reality to others. Sometimes you feel presumptuous to be carrying out such an assignment.
Do not wrry about what others think of you. The work I am doing in you is hidden at first, but eventually blossoms will burst forth, and abundant fruit will be borne. Stay on the path of life with me. Trust Me wholeheartedly, letting My spirit fill you with Joy and Peace.

Wow, I am on the path God wants me on. So many things have changed in my life since last July when Daryl filled for divorce. But now I am starting to see some great things come out of the pain of it all. I home schooled the kids and after that I wanted desperately to be a teacher. God placed me at a private school as a pre-k aide. After not getting enough hours the day care that is part of the school offered me 40 hours a week plus free child care! Wow! Then this past summer I taught their kinder summer program and devised 9 1/2 weeks of lesson plans. Last Monday the director approached me and offered me a FT pre-k teaching job. Plus all 3 of my kids get to go for free and I am there when they are there- no 9-6 type thing.

I am still desperately trying to buy a house and get me and the kids settled, but it is all in God's time, not mine. So God is so good. A year ago things seemed doomed for me, but God has redeemed me and given me hope.

I am doing things I never thought I'd be doing! Like adult choir. I sang up on stage for the first time yesterday. I was so excited. I can't wait till next week. Also B and A are volunteering in Kids church and E is still 3- so he just goes witht the flow.

God is amazing. Be on the lookout today for God in your life!

Back to school already!!!

2011-08-22T03:37:00.000-07:00

My kids have their first day of school today. They are both excited. Last year they were in public school and this year they are in private school. So far they have home schooled, public schooled and now private school. From where I started last school year, with the divorce and shock of having to put the kids in "real"school and me getting a job, I have come al ong ways with God's watchful hand and lots and lots of prayer!

To everyone who is starting a new school year, Good luck and may God bles you this year with peace, wisdom and favor!

Pics will come tonight! Be on the look out!

2011-07-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

so we just got over me and 2 of my 3 kids getting sick. Saturday night Ethan woke up at 3 am and never went back to beduntil 5 am then woke up for good at 7 am. Sunday Bryce woke up at 11:00 and threw up until 12:30 am. Then woke up at 5:30 right before I was getting up to get ready for work and threw up again. Then Ashlee started getting sick Monday. She threw up at 6:30 pm and then again at 9:30. I am so tired. I had to get up early this morning for work and worked all day. I am ready for bed.

2011-07-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

This is a chair and farm table I bought from Goodwill for $30 total. It came with 2chairs and the table- but I onlyhave 1chair done so far. But total $30 WOW!!! The price was $39, butI asked them for a discount because there was a knick in the table. They said yes!!! This is the after: I painted it cream and distressed it.

This is the table it was stained and had cob webs all over it
This is after: I painted it like sage color and distressed it with a lighter green/gray color.

Awesome!!!!! I love it. Next project: A tv armoire- when I can find it!!

2011-07-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

So most of you know that Daryl and I are divorced. It all started last summer. It has been a wild ride this past year but I know God is in control and I know God has something great planned for me and my kids. I am excited for school tostart again and for my life to start again. I am in a better place now than I was a year ago. I have a wonderful job teaching at Concordia, my kidsare now in school and thriving. I am getting the debt paid down that Daryl so willingly gave me ion the divorce, I am saving money to get my own place and in August I am goingto start adult choir. Most of you know I love singing, but I am the world's worstsinger. I can't carry a tune for nothing!! But I got a wild hair and decided to interact with adults for once. The past 9 years Ihave devoted myself to raising my 3kids and 11 years as a great wife, but now it istime for me. I am excited, but very nervous- anyone wantto join me? It would help sooth my fears of talking to adults!!! I can teach,play,pray etc with kids, but adults especially men I am terrified of speaking. So any takers call or email me !!!! You can look for me (or just listen)I'll be the one with the horrible singing voice!!!

2011-07-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer!!

Omaha

2010-07-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gone on vacation and ended up being sick the whole time? Well, we haven't exactly been "sick", but we have had our fair share of doctor appointments. A few weeks ago my sister's and i took the kids to feed some ducks at a pond and then went for ice cream. Ethan was gobbling down his and took a chunk out of his plastic spoon, we had to rush him to the doctor, he was fine, but I was scared. Then the next week we were out at Missy's house (about 20 minuites outside of Omaha) and were getting ready to have a bob fire when Ashlee came running out. her ear was in so much pain. I left my sisters in a rush and forgot to ask where an emergicare was in omaha, and by the way i lost my cell phone a few weeks ago. So I drove through Omaha trying to find a doctor. I stopped at 3 places and had no luck. I drove through a lot and saw 2 guys. I am thinking why couldn't there be 2 women they would for sure know where a doctor office is. But I stopped and asked anyway. The one guy had to call his wife to get directions. So after an hour of searching and Ashlee screaming in the car we found an emegicare. I got the kids out of the car and realized Ethan's eye was crusted over, so both he and Ashlee got checked. She had a major ear infection and he had pink eye. Both Bryce and Ashlee woke up at 2 am both with different ailments! Bryce's knee was hurting and he needed Motrin and Ashlee's ear hurt still and she needed motrin!!!

Let me think what else ethan has gotten in to? He drank a tiny bit of my wine one night and told me he ws going to pass out, he ate dirt from one of mom's plants, he has put tiny shreds of tissue in his nose and I think that is it for now.

What a trip so far. Not a dull moment for me!!

Omaha

2010-07-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

We have been in Omaha since June 6th. We left home on Saturday the 5th and got to Omaha on Sunday afternoon. We have loved every minute of our trip so far. Over the Independence weekend we actually got to light fireworks and watch big firework displays. We have gotten to see all of the family, be here for my youngest sister's graduation party and for the 4th. What fun we have had. Once I get back home I will download some really fun pics. Happy summer ya'll!!!!

AWANA Awards

2010-05-04T04:54:00.000-07:00

Ashlee with her award!

Bryce getting his award!

Sunday night Bryce and Ashlee got their AWANA Awards. Ashlee was on a role again this year,she learned and recited her regular book plus reviewd it and did an extra credit book. That is a lot of verses to remember! I am so proud of her, she has such a great memory. Bryce did a great job too. He finished his 3rd year book and almost finished his review. Way to go Bryce! Bryce will be in T & T next year so his award this year was a sparky plaque, he is so excited about it that he carries it around the house with him and just keeps looking at it! I am so proud of my little sweet kids!

Here's Emily, Bryce,Ashlee and Amy.

2010-04-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

Friday we went strawberry pickin' at Marburger Orchard near Fredericksburg. We got there right at 9:00 and were oneof the first people there so we were able to get the best of the best. We picked over 6 pounds of strawberries in less than half an hour. Ethan had fun picking and eating and making a huge mess. He had strawberry drips all down his arms, face and clothes! After strawberry picking we madeour way to the Wildseed Farm down 290. Ashlee made a new friend right away. This dog. Dumbo, jumped up and hugged Ashlee and kissed her. He just wouldn't leave her.

Bryce and Ashlee in the Poppies

Some kind lady asked if she could take our picture, so here we all are in the poppies!

Spring Concert

2010-04-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

Last week Bryce and Ashlee got to perform in "big" church. They got to sing 2 songs at the begining of church. It was so exciting to see them up on the stage.

Action shot!!!!

2010-04-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

After climbing out of his bed the other day during nap time, Ethan fell right asleep that night due to the lack of nap. But in the morning I heard a thump and went to check a few minutes later only to find that sweet boy reading books under his crib. He had taken his pillow and a stuffed animal along with plenty of books to keep him busy!

2010-04-07T05:23:00.000-07:00

Look at this sweet 2 year old. He wanted to wear "big boy" underpants yesterday,so I said yes. Oh to be out of diapers. Youknow when the poo poo starts smellin' it's time to get them on thepotty. And boy, do we need the potty! So we started offpretty good. He wanted to go out back with his tennis shoes and undies- cute huh!

Then it was time for nap.The older kids and I sat down to do school work. All of a sudden Ethan comes to the stairway and says "I'm up mommy!" I couldn't believe my eyes. The kid climbed out of his crib. His crib has been my sanity lately while dooing school work. He has not been wanting to take naps, but will play in there for hours! But not yesterday. I kept putting him back in his bed for an hour and a half. He never did take a nap. Everytime I laid him back down I would tell him not to getup again and he would lookat me with those sweet eyes and say "yes, mommy" and every time he would get back up again! So any advice will be considered in this situation. Especially since we do the school work while Ethan is napping- What am I going to do?

So yesterday ended with no nap, Ethan still in big boy underpants and wet at dance class with a big puddle bythe front door. I was so tired, we came home had frozen pot pies for dinner, took baths and went to bed!!!

2010-04-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

My first egg hunt!

Happy Easter!

A bit late I know, but we had such an exciting Easter it was hard to get to the computer. We dyed eggs, of course! Ashlee loves hard boiled eggsand looks forward to Easter every year. For whatever reason Inever make hard boiled eggs except at Easter! We had an egg hunt with some neighbors and ate tons of food. We went to church early Sunday and it was beautiful. I love the worship time and Sunday was no exception. The music was awesome and so touching. It is amazing to think what Jesus did for us and how much He loves each one us and how He wants each of us to give our hearts and lives to Him. God Bless and Happy Easter!

Bluebonnets

2010-03-29T04:29:00.000-07:00

Tis the season for Bluebonnets. It has been several years since we have been able to take bluebonnet pictures. We had such a drought last year that they didn't bloom. But this year is another story. Everywhere we look there are bluebonnets. And we are taking advantage. I could not get a good picture of all of them together. They kept saying the sun was in their eyes- proof by the squinting!!!

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

Ashlee lost her 6th tooth while Aunt Stacy visited! Aunt Stacy prepared the tooth to be pulled and Uncle Kevin pulled it out!!!

Playing in the water! Spring time in Texas!

St. Patrick's day Family Fun Night with Tessa and Kasen.

Stacy and I got to get dressed up and have a night on the town! We wore heels and everything!!

The boys at the park!

The girls at the River Walk!

Ashlee, Kasen, Tessa and Bryce at the Alamo!

The Alamo

Spring Break has come and gone and we had a blast. We didn't go any where special but we did have my sister and her family in town for 4 days. They drove from Nebraska, where there was snow on the ground and another snowstorm in the forecast. It was so beautiful here- in the 70's, perfect for just about anything.

We went to the Alamo and to Hemisfair park, we walked around downtown and saw the sights! We got to play in the sprinkler and have watermelon, we tried going to the zoo, but there were so many people there it was unbelievable. I hade never seen that many people at our zoo.

All in all, we had a terrific time!

Ethan's first dentist appointment

2010-03-09T04:34:00.000-08:00

Ethan had his first dentist appointment a few weeks ago and it didn't go well. I got a few pictures of him on the dentist chair before we got looked at- but that's it. Once the hygenist laid back the chair and started to put her tools in his mouth it was over. You should have heard him cry- it sounded like he was getting his teeth pulled or something! It took 3 of us to hold the kid down just to look in his mouth. After the dentist came in she said that he could have flouride if I wanted to hold him down- we opted to wait on the flouride until next time!!!

Lost Tooth

2010-03-09T04:31:00.000-08:00

Ashlee has lost her 5th tooth with 2 more very loose. We went to the dentist last week and she said it was just fine- but she is going to have a full mouth of "big" teeth soon! That makes me very sad. It seems to me when they start loosing their "baby" teeth they aren't "babies" any more. She seems so grown up at 6 years old. And all because of those darn "big" teeth!!! Just kidding, but really it is a mile stone in life when they start loosing baby teeth and start getting big teeth!

Switchfoot

2010-03-09T04:27:00.000-08:00

Bryce took up guitar lessons last September andhas really enjoyed it. I heard on K-love that Switchfoot was having a free mini concert in our town a few weeks ago. So we decided to go and bring Bryce's guitar to be autographed! I got pics of the band signing his guitar. The line was solong that theywouldn't letme take pics with the band, but at least I have them signing the guitar!

Valentine Family Fun Night

2010-03-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

For our Valentine Family Fun Night I had the kids make some wacky heart shaped glasses out of red foam and pipe cleaners. We cut the foam into heart shapes and punched wholes in the sides to insert pipe cleaners. They made their Valentine's for AWANA club, made a flower bouquet out of heart shaped doiles and made lots of yummy treats.

2010-03-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

This morning I entered Ethan's room (now 2 yrs old) to find him naked- he had taken off his diaper and jammies and had just been playing in his crib. When I asked him why he took o ff his diaper he told me "Guess why mommy!" What- I couldn't believe that at 26 months he said that. I laughed and laughed. What's next!!!

2010-03-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

Gosh, it's been a long time!!! I have not been able to log into my blogspot website?!! I don't know what has been wrong. But anyway I am back and I have lots of fun ideas for family fun nights, gardening with kids, homeschooling and much more.

Bookmarks

2009-07-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we made bookmarks. I cut thick paper to size, let the kids punch holes in the top and string ribbon through and then they decorated them. It was a fun, easy and inexpensive project. Now they have bookmarks for all of the Magic Tree House books they will be reading this summer!

Ash and mommy

2009-07-10T18:29:00.001-07:00

Tonight after the boys went to be Ash and I had a little tea party, We had a few sweets and of course tea! She is decked out in a lovely paper flower bracelet and a pretty pink and orange bow!

Bryce's MRI

2009-07-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today at noon I took my sweet boy to get an MRI of his head. In the past several months he has awoken from sleep, vomited and went limp and unresponsive. I called the ambulance the first time and they took him into ER thinking it was a seizure. This past time (Tuesday Night) we took him in the car to ER. They admitted him right away and after 6 hours in the ER, they suspect complex migraines. The MRI is a precaution, that there is nothing else wrong. We are praying itis only migraines and if it is migraines that they would be lessened and eventually cease.
Here's Bryce getting ready to have his MRI done.

Sewing Lesson #2

2009-07-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today we used the sewing machine! They actually did a great job. I took the pockets off of a pair of old jeans, the kids picked the fabric to sew onto the back of the pocket and then picked ribbon as the strap. Ashlee is using hers for a sewing pouch- she has scissors, thread and things of that sort, Bryce's is used for school supplies- his pencil, eraser, scissors etc. They turned out pretty cool.

Tommorow: Bedtime eye masks!

sewing lesson #1

2009-07-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, even thouogh it is summer we at the Mitchell house are still doing a little school work- although most of it is fun stuff! So today the kids had their first sewing lesson. They used a needle and thread and made pin cushions. They both did a great job. Ashlee's is a cupcake and Bryce's is supposed to be a car- but I think it looks more like a blue pig- maybe?
Pretty impressive huh?

4th Of July Weekend

2009-07-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

This was the first 4th of July weekend since I have met Daryl (11 years)that he had off all 4th weekend! And what a fun weekend it was.
Friday we went to a fish fry with some good friends. We were out in the Texas heat though. It was 102 degrees! WOW! The food was great. The kids said it was the funnest day ever- we took them to a gas station and they got to pick out candy and gatorades! (They rarely get candy so this was a special treat!)

Here are the kids and a friend standing very close to some very big cows! Here's Bryce standing very close to another big cow- he is contemplating whether or not to shoot the cow with his water gun! He did get the cow wet and the cow mooooed very loudlyasto say "more,more I am hot out here!"

Daddy and Ashlee
Ethan and our friends dad!
Saturday we went to Lake LBJ. It was so much fun. Actually it was Bryce and Ashlee's first time out on a boat and first time at the lake! We got to our friends house and went straight to the boat. We went to a sand bar and the kids played andplayed. Ethan enjoyed the sand, as did Ashlee. She liked making sand castles and Ethan enjoyed tearing them down. After a few times Ashlee said- "that's ok mom, he can do it!" What a sweet sister. Bryce enjoyed having all of the dad's toss him in the air to fall straight into the lake! We also enjoyed a BBQ, golf cart ride and we got up close to several deer! Bryce gathered some pine cones in which he'd like to use to make Christmas gifts! Look at these goofballs!
Sweet boys!

Here's Bryce getting tossed into the air!

Today I took the kids to the Circus! What fun. I haven't been to the circus in years- well I'd say 25 years at least! I am old! We had such a fun time. The circus has so many new acts and the clowns aren't as scary as I remember! Ashlee really liked the trapeze and Bryce liked the motorcycles! We all loved the tigers! Ethan enjoyed most of it. He really liked the freshly squeezed lemonade!

I woke up this morning with some bad allergies and I can't take anything becuase I am still nursing! I am dead tired and ready for bed. We had such a fun,but exhausting weekend!

Happy 4th Of July everyone!

Fun Day

2009-07-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Today, after I picked my kids up from VBS I picked up a friends kids and brought them over to our house for a fun filled afternoon. We first made sugar cookies. I gave each child a bit of the dough and let them have at it. They all did very well. They even put the cookie cutter close to the edge as to get as many cookies out of that one piece of dough as possible! My grams taught me that!!
Next, they played on the water slide in the backyard. Today was actually bareable. It was only 97 degrees or so!!

Then we decided to make our dinner- homemade pizza. Earlier today I made the dough and let it rise, I split it inot 5 sections and gave each child their own throw away tin with their name marked on it. I let them decide what they wanted on their pizza- they chose the normal- sauce, hamburger, pepperoni and cheese. We also made icees to go along with dinner. I think they all enjoyed making their own pizzas!

Yummy Pizza!!!

He is such a boy!!!

Now they are in watching Bethoven's 2nd! I have a free minute!!

Date with mom

2009-06-30T09:42:00.001-07:00

Me and Ashlee atthe Children'sMuseum!

Saturday afternoon I took Ashlee on a date downtown to the Children's museum and Saturday nightI took Bryce to see the movie UP. It was sonice to be able to get away for a few hours with just one of them at a time. We had such a nice time, just gettingto talk to one another without interuption from one of the other kids! This is our second "date night". I think we will continue the monthly tradition from here on out.

Family Fun Night: Watermelon

2009-06-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight we celebrated the watermelon. I made watermelon salsa, watermelon salad, watermelon smoothie and added green food coloring to my rice for the rind of the watermelon, then added red coloring for the middle. Ashlee wanted nothing to do with the chicken or rice becuase itwas colored. Even though chicken is her favorite!
After we ate we made a watermelon maraca, bobbed for watermelon and Ashlee made a watermelon to play pin the seed on the watermelon, but we had no seeds- I bought a seedless watermelon!!! But a good idea!!

Helicoptor ride

2009-06-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here's Bryce and I before we took off! Here's Bryce and Ashlee after we flew in the helicoptor. This is Bryce in the co-pilot seat!

Here's Ashlee next to me- after daddy talked her into going!

On Sunday we went to the Kendall County Fair- Bryce, Ashlee and I rode in a helicoptor for about 5 minutes. It was so fun. Ashlee wasn't going to go with us at first- but then she decided it might be kind of fun! I was a little scared- the helicoptor had no doors and only a seat belt holding us in. Ashlee sat almost the entire time with her head in my lap, Bryce got to be co-pilot and he had a blast- no fear. I sat very close to Ashlee holding her tight- as I was a little scared myself. The view was beautiful though. Ashlee held down the speaker button twice and said, "Mama, I love you!" What a great experience!

Here's the view from the helicoptor!

Ragtime Cowgirl

2009-06-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

Ashlee had her dance recital rehearsal last night and will have her recital tonight. But here are a few pics from the rehearsal.
Here are some of her classmates! Aren't they cute! They all look like Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders!!

Birthday's

2009-06-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

Bryce and Ashlee are 6- Are they twins you ask? NO!!! Bryce will be 7 in a few short days. Ashlee turned 6 on May 30th and Bryce turns 7 June 5!!! Yes, Ashlee arrived one week before Bryce turned 1!!!So parties this year: Ashlee had her party at Bath Junkie!! It was great.We had so much fun creating stuff for the bath!! You know, girly things!! I made cute little sandwhiches, and pink cupcakes with green icing. For a cute goody bag I filled chinese style boxes with a popcorn mix. I used pastel colored candies, pretzels and popcorn. The staff at Bath Junkie is incredible. They are so kind.
Bryce had his party yesterday and we did a jungle theme! Turned out better than expected. I made paper bag vines and cut cute palm tree leaves from green construction paper, we had an obstaclec ourse which consisted of the kids putting binoculars on, carrying a monkey and sleeping bag and putting on a backpack.They had to jump over quick sand (brown rug) go through a bat cave (under the rock wall of the play set) up the ladder and down the slide to alligator alley (2 blow up alligators from Oriental Trading) back to the base camp box! It was fun. Food consisted of dried ants (craisins and white raisins) worms (sliced hot dogs) beetle wings (potato chips) alligator teeth (sliced apples) and snake eggs (grapes). We also served hot dogs and sausage for dinner, along with frog eyed salad and potato salad! The last hour of the party we had a gal face paint-she did jungle animals and the like!

Parties are over for one more year! So on to planning next year!

Summer time Fun!

2009-05-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

School is ending and summer is begining! What do we do all summer? Well,here are a few ideas to keep the summer rolling!

This is a work in progress so keep checking back- there will be more added and I am looking up the websites for easy access!

First, this is my favorite part-mostly because I like planning things!!! These are not complete lists- I am still thinking of ideas, crafts and food to implement, so stay tuned....
Family Fun Night list:

Circus Family Night: This will entail popcorn, cotton candy, peanuts and hot dogsto eat! Then we will put on a circus show, Ashlee might walk the tight rope(on the ground of course!) Bryce might be a lion tamer and Ethan will be a clown! We will have face painting and a ring toss and a bean bag toss. I went to the dollar store last week and found a ton of circus themed candy and things for our night. I got plates, napkins etc. to match.

Luau Night: I also found a ton of stuff for this night at the dollar store also. I got each kid a tiki goblet, we will make hula skirts and flower leis, I got plates,napkins etc for the theme night. We will have Hawaian food and beverage- I am not sure of the exact menu yet.

Monkeying Around Night: i went to Micheal's a few months ago and found wooden monkey masks for $1 that we will paint, I am going to get monkey plates and napkins, we will have chocolate covered bananas, monkey mix which consists of coconut, dried bananas, dried mango and m&m's.

Fitness party: We will start out by stretching, then hula hoop and hopscotch. After we will have a race through some cones, up the playset and down the slide! We will award a medal for participation (purchased from Oriental Trading) For dinner we will have a salad bar with some healthy treats! We will talk about the food pyramid and healthy eating.

Night time fun: Take out some flashlights and go on a night walk, or make shapes and things with the flashlight! Sit on your driveway and look at the stars, create snacks with stars- cookies, milky way milk shake, star fruit etc.

Caterpillar: Study caterpillars and how they create their cocoon and become a butterfly. Make a sock caterpillar, read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carl, make and eat some of the food from the book, create an edible caterpillar from banana slices, 2 red M&M's for the eyes, 2 pretzels for the antenna and mini chocolate chips for the mouth. Youo can also add a fewgreen sprinkles!

Pizza Party: Make homemade pizza- starting with the dough. We always make a sweet pizza treat also by adding melted butter and topping with cinnamon and sugar! We will sometimes make a breadstick pizza also by adding melted butter and parmasan cheese. We will have a cheese eating contest and do math with pepperoni pieces. I will have the kids make a pizza shaped table mat and laminate it.While they are cooking they will wear their apron and chef hat we made last summer. We may also make a pizza cake! (Just a cake that looks like a pizza!)

Ice Cream night: We will start by sampling many different kinds of ice cream and charting which ones we like the best! We will make homemade ice cream and create our own ice cream flavors. The kids can draw ice cream cones and cut circles of contruction paper and all of the toppings they like! If there is an ice cream factory close by such as Blue Bell- take a tour to start the fun!

Since we homeschool I am not sure exactly when our last day of school will be but I am going to do this soon:
School's Out Party: I am going to let them choose one piece of art work to make a shirt from to wear throughout the summer,one piece of artwork to make notecards from and one piece of artwork to frame in their rooms! We will have a race to the start of summer whereI will paint a piece of paper and hang it up for them to break through and start summer. I am going to get sand buckets and fill them with chalk, paints maybe a few pieces of candy and a summer toy(from the dollar store) I will paint their name on the bucket. I think we will also make a school scrapbook for us to remember the highlights of our 2 homeschool year!

We are going to have a bake sale for the food network.It is called The Great American Bake Sale. http://www.greatamericanbakesale.org/ for more info.

We will also have another Lemonade for Life sale. http://www.water.cc/ for more details.

I am going to try to make a kindness calendar. I would liketo at least once a week do something to bless someone else either in our neighborhood or in our larger community. I am still working on what to do each week. Here are a few ideas: retirment home, cards to a hospital, volunteer to clean up our neighborhood park, cookies to a neighbor. I am also going to have them be nice to one another and at the end of the day if they accomplished what they wanted by being nice to eachother they can add a sticker to their chart.

Another idea is a boredom buster box. Now I really need to think about this- The idea is that when your children say "I'm bored" you have an idea of what to do- which is dig an idea or challenge out of the box- here are the 5 areas socialstudies, science and math, art and music, recreation, literature and writing. I think I will use the Brain Quest Cards i got the other day to help me with the ideas. So what you do is take a different colored index card and write out the different challenges so they are color coded. Let the kids decorate an empty shoe box and insert the cards. This way they stay "smart" all summer long!

Community ideas:

LynLivy's Art House (she is on my favorite blog list!)

Scobee Palnetarium 733-2910

Red Baloon bookstore reading time Fridays at 10:30 http://www.thetwig.booksense.com/

Lakeshore Learning Saturday craft 11-3

Mcnay Art Museum

McKena children's museum in New Braunfels www.nbchildren.org

Sea World

Zoo

Fiesta Texas

Landa Library- they have a great playground, shade and picnic tables I think reading time is Wednesday's at 10

Tower of the Americas- if you want to splurge

University Bowl- bowl for 99 cents before noon- but get there early as the lanes fill up fast! http://www.ubbowl.com/

Melanie's Pottery Playhouse

Magik theater 227-2751

Marburger's to pick peaches- near Fredericksburg www.marburgerorchard.com

Pump it Up http://www.pumpitupparty.com/

Free movies at Regal theaters www.regmovies.com/freefamilyflicks

Paint,Paper,Scissors- art time

Witte- free Tuesday's after 3 pm http://www.wittemuseum.org/

Pixie skate http://www.therollercade.com/

Missions Baseball http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/

Young Chef Academy 402-0023 www.YoungChefAcademy.com/stoneoak

Ice skating http://www.northwoodsice.com/

My Art Studio- plenty of art classes to choose from www.myartstudiosa.com

I am also compiling a reading list for the kids- they will read one chapter book a week- so with this in mind we will make a book mark and laminate it for them to use.

Science projects:

Rock Candy: Recipe:
1 1/2 cups water
6 cups sugar
food coloring
3 6-inch lengths of string
Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and add 3 cups sugar,stirring until dissolved. Slowly add remaining sugar,reheating water if neccessary.When all sugar has dissolved, pour into 3 heat proof jars or glasses. Stir 3 drop food coloring into each jar. Tie the string around middle of a pencil and lay atop the jar so string hangs into the liquid. Crystal will begin to form in about one hour. If a layer forms on surface break it,when the water evaporates the candy is ready.

Vacation Bible Schools:

Castle Hills First Baptist June 22-26

Cornerstone June 16,17,18 All day

Northside Church of Christ July14-18

CBC July 20-23 9-noon

Oak Hills Church July 14-16 6-9:15pm

Churchill Baptist Church July 20-24

Concordia Lutheran June 22-26

This summer I am going to try to get the kids involved in helping me with more of the baking and cooking. I want them to know how to bake and measure as it helps with reading skills, math skills and coordination. I do not want to spend the summer in front of the tv. I want to get out and do! I also would like them to help garden and plant flowers!

Bryce's sunflower

2009-05-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Bryce plants every seed he finds- watermelon, sunflower,apple, cherry etc! So last October we planted pumpkin seeds from our pumpkin we carved. We started to see something growing and expected it to be a pumpkin, however by the looks of it- it is a sunflower instead!! Lesson here- never pull anything that looks like a weed- it may turn out to be a beautiful sunflower!

Secret Keeper Girl

2009-05-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

This is what Ashlee looked like before we left- yellow headband, silver shoes and a white and turquoise purse!

Here she is at Secret Keeper Girl

Last night Ashlee and I went to secret keeper girl. It wasa lot of fun. Although it is meant for girls between ages 8-14 I thought Ashlee might be mature enough? It gave me some great ideas for when she does hit that tweens and teens,but nothing was really applicable yet. We did have fun though.I recomend this for anyone with girls.

The purpose for Secret Keepers is that God has made one man for you and to keep your stuff a secret until you know who that man is and you get married etc! Especially in today's society it seems like girls show off so much skin that there is nothing left for the imagination. I think it is a great idea to show our girls how to dress modestly yet cool and up-to-date!

Here weare before it started!

Mother's Day

2009-05-14T18:38:00.001-07:00

OK, so I am a few days late- but I asked my kids a few questions the other day just to see what they would say. Here goes:

What do you wish you caould change about mommy?
Ashlee: Nothing
Bryce: Nothing

What does mommy do well?
A: be a mama
B: shopping and cleaning

What does mommy doin her sparetime?
A:I don't know
B: have coffee with her friends

Who is in charge at home?
A: mom and dad
B: MOM!

Why did God make mom's?
A: To take care of everyone
B: So they can help their children

What is mom's favorite channel on tv?
A: Food Network
B: Food Network

What is mom's favorite radio station?
A: K-Love
B: K-Love

What is mom's favorite saying?
A: Maybe
B: No

How old is mommy?
A: 33
B: 33

How tall is mommy?
A: 6 inches
B: 20 inches

What color of hair does mommy have?
A: yellow and brown
B: blondish brown

What color are mommy's eyes?
A: green/blue
B: blue-green kind of like a kiwi

What does mommy do all day?
A: with a laugh- I don't know?
B: clean, mop, go to the grocery store, watch tv, play outside and hang out with friends!

Look what we did!

2009-05-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

A few months back I purchased this kit from LynLivy's Art House! It is called the Root Viewer- sorry I can't tell you the name brand but go and ask if she still has them- it is fascinating! What you do is add the soil, water and the packet of seeds that are included. We planted carrot, celery and radish seeds. But what is neat is that you can see the roots growing, forming and digging down into the soil for the water. One of our has actually sprouted up and out, the other 2 are being kind of slow- but you can still see the roots!

My Picasso's

2009-05-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

Here's Ashlee painting a great abstract piece!

And Bryce is painting his famous flowersin the grass! (He always paints flowers in the grass!)

And here's baby trying to paint, but most of it got on himself! He enjoyed painting his hand and leg!

I decided to take the kids' art easel out back and let them paint while I was doing a few outside chores!! It was a great new idea!! The mess is outside!!

Science Fair

2009-05-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight we did not have our regular family fun night. Instead the kids participated in our very first homeschool science fair!! Ashlee's project was about decomposition and mold and Bryce's was about what vinegar does to the shell of an egg! Bryce got third place- competeing against 2-6 graders! Ashlee received 4th place against 1-6 graders! Iam so proud of them. We learned a lot and had fun!

Friday Family Fun Night- Garden party

2009-05-05T19:09:00.001-07:00

I guess I forgot to post our Friday Family Fun night!!!We had a garden party- sort of. We learned about germination, we made flowers out of a straw, doily, sunflower seeds and real leaves. They madea greenhouse- we first put a few lima beans in water for about an hour, then took them out and put them in a baggie with a wet paer towel. After we taped the baggie to the green house! They made a flower snack- they used a piece of celery for the stem, a rice cake with peanut butter and sunflower seeds for the flower center and green leaf mint candies for the leaves and those peanut butter candies for the petals! What else did we do? I also drew a flower and cut out the center for a flower portrait.

AWANA Awards

2009-04-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here's mom and Ash!

I am so excited Ashlee has completed her first year in Sparks. That means she completed her kinder book and has learned well over a dozen verses. But she didn't stop there, she reviewed her book for a second time and challenged herself to a second Awana book. So this year she has learned over 2 dozen verses! She is an amazing little girl!!

Bryce has done much the same. He is in his second year of Sparks. Last year he completed his book and reviewed it. This year he completed his second book and reviewed it as well. So he has learned over a dozen verses just this year also!

Children have such wonderful minds that can remember everything! Even God's Word! They are amazing! I recommend Awana to anyone looking to get their kids involved in church and learning God's word!

Ashlee lost her first tooth!

2009-04-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ok yesterday she said her tooth was wiggly and she couldn't stop thinking about it and trying to move it. This morning she woke up and just kept wiggling it with her tongue. All day long she played with her tooth. We went to the park this afternoon and she sat inside the basketball court while the other kids played basketball and wiggled her tooth!! We walked home, she wiggled her tooth, we sat down to dinner (taco salad) and she took a bite and said her tooth hurt, so I told her to use the side of her mouth-but she didn't-she took one more bite and her tooth fell out in her mouth!! I was just as surprised as she was. She was so excited and gleaming from ear to ear!! She couldn't stop smiling all night. She even went next door to tell our favorite neighbors (Robert and Darby) she had lost her tooth!

As for me, I am not as excited. To me losing a tooth means she is getting older and she is not a little girl any more. She will always be my baby, but she won't be "little." This makes me very sad. Pretty soon she will have a whole mouth full of grown-up teeth, she will be driving a car and going off to college before I know it. How sad, but good sad!

Family Fun Night: Earth Day

2009-04-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated earth day by doing some recycling. We had some epmty jars so the kids made an elephant and a cat face on the lid of the jar. They are going to keep their "treasures" in there.They colored a picture of the earth,made a recycled bag- which we will be using in a bit to collect trash in our neighborhood! They planted a sunflower seed and also grass seed into a plastic cup which we will later turn into a face with crazy hair!!! Have fun celebrating earth day and doing something to help our earth!

We are also planning on going to one of the schools around and asking if we can come once a week and collect all of their capri sun juice boxes. I heard of this great organization where you can send in the juice boxes and they recycle them into bags,purses etc instead of letting them pile up in the garbage!!! One school had gone from 7 trash cansa week to 2 just by recycling! Great idea!!

Vaso Vexel?

2009-04-18T10:47:00.001-07:00

Last night after I put all the kids to bed and they were resting peacefully, I thought I heard something so I went up to check on them- to my surprise I found Bryce hunched over the bathroom sink with vomit all over. I was surprised because he hadn't complained of feeling sick. I brought Bryce into his bathroom to clean his mouth and wash his hands.He just laid his head down on the counter so I tried to get him to get in bed, as I got him off his step stool he fell over.I tried picking him up, but he was nonresponsive and his body was limp. I picked him up and immediately started to get him to answer me. His head started to fall backward and he was just limp. My husband wasn't home, so I called one of my neighbors,my husband and 911. Bryce at this point was still nonresponsive and passing out. It seemed like an eternity before the fire truck got there. When they arrived they were very concerned about him,which in turn made me scared. My son was just laying there,limp and nonresponsive. He was turning blue and throwing up. The paramedics called out that something was very low and started working even faster. Finally the ambulance got there and they got Bryce on the strecher and hooked him up to the IV. He was finally able to shake his head when the paramedic asked him a question. He vomited a few more times and went back into a passed out state where he wasn't responding. Finally we were off to the ER. Once we got there he was more alert. He got blood taken and more fluid through the IV. What they determined was wrong was (vaso vexel-I am not sure of the spelling) that he was on the verge of dehydration,once he vomited it made him dehydrated which made his heart rate go very low and that is why he was limp and nonresponsive. The doctor's said it usually only last 5- 10 minutes however, Bryce was nonresponsive for almost 1 hour. I am so thankful that he is ok,but I am still very worried. I tell you this becauseI had never heard of this and had never seen anyone do this after vomiting.
Thank you Lord that you healed Bryce and took care of him.

Happy Birthday Jen

2009-04-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

I am the WORST friend in the entire world. I have forgotten my very best friends birthday. I am so sorry Jennifer. She is always there for me, she knows when to pray for me, when to give me advice and when to just listen. We teach AWANA together, we take Bible study together and she is my only follower in blog world! She has been there for me through thick and thin! She is my friend and I forgot her birthday. Please forgive me!

I am sorry.

Happy Birthday to you!!

He is Risen!

2009-04-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Bryce and AshleeHappy Easter to ya'll! I hope everyone had a wonderful, blessed Easer today. It was lovely weather here and we had a nice day. Bryce and Ashlee woke at the crack of dawn,but not to get their Easter basket, but to go to church . They wanted to call their friends they had invited to see if they were going to go with us!!

After church service we had a picnic with a visit from the Easter bunny!

Here's Ethan- he freaked out when he saw the bunny for the first time!

There was also a petting zoo with ducks that Ethan really liked!

Later this afternoon Bryce got to help daddy mow- you see he is in his swim trunks and rain boots!

Tea Party

2009-04-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the little princess!!

Today we had an impromptu tea party! Ashlee came down stairs and asked me to help her into her very cute and frilly dress. She said she was pretending she was getting married and having a tea party. Since we had the time I asked if she wanted to have a "real" tea party.Of course she said yes! So she invited me Bryce and Ethan! I prepared some blueberries, deviled eggs, tea,of course, a peep for each of them and I also had on hand sugar cubes!! I gave Ashlee my fancy tablecloth and napkins and had her set her little table up stairs. She wanted to use all glass so we had to have fancy napkins!! We had such a nice time. It was so cute to see Bryce and Ash play like they were adults at a real party!!
Later in the afternoon we went on our monthly trip to the retirement home. We passed out egg shaped cookies. Many of the residents recognized us from the past few times. Ashlee and Bryce even got to help with an Easter Basket raffle they were doing. They called out the numbers.

What joy it is to see them with a servants heart! All afternoon wherever we stopped Bryce told people we had stopped by the retirement home to deliver cookies, all of the people he told were so surprised. That makes me sad, it just shows that there isn't enough people thinking of others- people are too focused on themselves and what others can do for them and not focused enough on what they can do for other people. Ipray this inspiresyou to get out and Do something!!

Family Fun Night: Easter

2009-04-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

My very own Easter Bunnies!Easter is on Sunday,but I wanted to do so many things this year that I dedicated a whole family night to it. We had our very own easter egg hunt, crushed cascarones on each other and had a potato sack race. We also decorated our easter eggs tonight and watched the Easter Carol by Veggie Tales.
This is after the egg hunt!

Here's our potato sack race!

Isn't she cute!!
Look at him!!

For dinner we had bow tie pasta with ham and peas. This is a meal both of my kids will gobble up! I set out an egg and a peep for dessert. Last year I had gotten a table cover that you could color- but it turned out to be vinyl and very hard to color on- we even used permanent marker, but the kids got tired of my 5 color choices. So it was only part done. Cute idea, but not worth buying again.

Here's what the table looked like!

After dinner we made egg nests. I melted chocolate bark. After it melted I added chinese noodles and mixed. I scooped out a bit and the kids decorated with peeops and chocolate eggs. Very Cute!Craft time: the kids made stained glass cross windows using tissue paper.I cut paper to look like a rounded window, drew a cross in the middle and the kids colored the cross and glued on tissue paper. I also had purchased make a scene stickers last year- bunny scene and easter scene. So the kids decorated construction paper with that. We also started a paper mache egg diorama. It is not complete yet because it is drying, but once we get them done I will post a picture.

Last we made Resurection cookies. Now you are suppose to do this Saturday night before you go to bed, but I wasn't sure if we'd get it done so we are a day early on this, but my kids are old enough to understand.

Recipe: 1 cup whole pecans 1 teaspoon vinegar 3 egg whites pinch of salt 1 cup sugar zipper baggy wooden spoon tape and Bible.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pecans in zipper bag and let kids break with wooden spoon into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten bythe Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19: 28-30.

Add 3 egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life so we could have l ife. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the mixing bowl. Explain that this represents the tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our sin. Read Luke 23: 27.

So far none of the ingredients are appetizing. Add one cup sugar. Explain the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to him. Read Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16. I had my kids recite John 3:16 to me!

Beat with a mixer for 12-15 minutes until you see stiff peaks form. Explain the color white represents purity in God's eyes for those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in the broken nuts. Dropby the teaspoon full onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus was burried. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie shee tin the oven, close the door and turn off the oven. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door shut. Explain Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED!! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16: 20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give each child a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow!! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9. He is Risen!!

Happy Easter Ya'll!!!

Strawberry Patch

2009-04-08T19:16:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the strawberry patch. It was so much fun! Bryce and Ashlee had a lot of fun picking out the "perfect" berry. We left this morning around 8:30 and got there about 9:30. We stayed until after 11:00. I packed the kids a lunch and we sat in the back of the truck to eat!

We ended up picking 5 pounds of berries! And guess what- we have successfully eaten half of them just this afternoon!

What a fun day. Here's Ethan looking and trying to pick some berries of his own! We got to sample a few berries while we picked and Ethan really enjoyed them!
After we left the strawberry patch we stopped by an old school house.The kids thought it was so cool and asked if we could invite our homeschool group up to polish the floors and clean the windows. They thought it would be a nice idea to have our school day up in the old school house! They also asked if this was the kind of school I went to since it was established in 1857- I told them Iwas old but not that old!!

Summer break

2009-04-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

Ok here is a million dollar question- what to do over the summer. I know it is still a few months away- but boy how time flies when your having fun!! So I am planning and preparing now! Ihave my calendar out and ready to mark it up! So if any of you have any fun or unique ideas please pass them along and in the next month or two I will compile a calendar and post it! Thanks

Daryl

2009-04-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Today Daryl went to church with us again! For those of you who know us, ya'll know I have been praying for 6 years and in the past 2 months he has come to church 3 times! Yahoo!!! I am so excited seeing God work on Daryl's heart. It is amazing to see! I have to remember God is in control- not me.

Sea World

2009-04-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today we got to goto Sea World. We have had passes every year since Bryce was one! We had such a nice day. We had lovely weather, decent lines and saw several shows- including Diego. They even passed out photos of Diego after the movie! We had a nice time- However, I've forgotten what it's like to have a 14 month old- especially with big brother and sister. Ethan wanted to walk, eat popcorn and ride the rides!! Poor guy!!
Well, at least one of them is smiling!!!

Family Fun Night: Fish (Lent)

2009-04-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is Ashlee's windsock!

OK So we were planning on going to a fish fry tonight but the baby was tired and I knew it would be disasterous to even atempt- so we made fish sticks and fish jello at home.

Then the kids made a fish windsock (I photo copied a fish from my April Mailbox Magazine,then the kids colored them and glued them together with some streamers for the tail), fish photo frame ( I had foam left over from another project so I cut circles in one color and then cut fins and a tail from some other colors,the mouth is a purple foam sticker and then they added some sequins to jazzit up)
Don't they look so excited to take this picture! They are tired of me taking pictures they say!!

Here's Bryce's windsock!

It was a fun, fast Family fun night tonight- we have to be at the soccer fields at 7:30 am!!!

Family Fun Night: Girls night pedicure

2009-03-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Look at this face!

Saturday night daddy took Bryce to a BMX bike race- so it was just me and Ash. We decided to have a pedicure and facial!! I scrubbed her hands and feet, filed her nails and even gave her a facial- with cucmbers over her eye lids!! You know for those puffy eyes!!!

It was a blast.

She is sooooo relaxed!

Pretty toes!

Ashlee even rubbed lotion all over my feet and face!!

Family Fun Night: St.Patty'sDay

2009-03-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our St. Patty's Day Family fun day! It was a blast.

First we made lunch- we had loaded baked potatoes, I made lemon jello with whip cream and put it in a champaigne flute! We made Shamrock punch- which is just ginger ale and green sherbert, I also made a fruit rainbow.It was very cute. I also had bought a few years ago some small black pots- so I put rolos in it for their gold.

Then we did some art work. The kids made shamrock wands, a rainbow picture with paint and a leprechan sticker scene.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Her first sleepover

2009-03-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

My sweet little girl is growing up. She is staying at our neighbors house right now. I am a little nervous. This is her first actual sleepover. I wanted to cry when she asked me. My neighbor came over and said she would love to have Ashlee-I wanted to say no thanks- we have plans,but Ashlee was so excited. Of course Bryce wanted friend to stay here- but no luck there.
So here's Ashlee on her first sleepover.
Here she is with her friend!

Family Fun Night: Dr. Suess

2009-03-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

We actually had a family fun day. We wanted to watch Horton Hears a Who tonight and the kids woke up at 5:45 am- yes 5:45 am and never went back to sleep! So we had an early night. Today we read Green Eggs and Ham and I had the kids write a few sentences about the main idea and then they drew a picture ofthe main character, they also wrote a few sentences about the main character. After that we made green eggs and ham! Bryce wanted nothing to do with it so Ashlee recited the book to him- asking if he'd eat it in a box or with a fox! Next we did a few crafts: They colored in a picture of green eggs and ham that we plan to turn into a table mat by having it laminated, they made a cat in the hat puppet with a white paper bag and we colored in a picture of the hat itself! Saturday at Lakeshore Learning we made Cat in the Hat hat's- they are wearing these!

Family Fun Night: Chinese New Year

2009-02-27T19:22:00.000-08:00

This week in school we were learning about the Chinese New Year and Chinese customs. We learned about how the chinese have a lion dance to ward off evil spirits, for this we created lion masks and danced around.

Here's Bryce holding up his mask! And his other projects: Dragon, lantern and Chinese writing!

Here's Ashlee with her lion mask, dragon, lantern and chinese writing!

The kids learned that chinese write from top to bottom and use liquid and a paint brush to write calligraphy instead of a pen,like we use.

Friday we topped off our Chinese study by making and eating chinese food. I even made homemade egg drop soup- it was delicious. To make boil 3 cups chicken broth with a bit of salt,while this is boiling beat 2 eggs and a few green onions. After broth boils add egg and onion to boiling broth and stir constantly to seperate eggs. You're done! Enjoy.

Then we made semi-homemade fortune cookies. We used already made pie crust from the refridgerated section, use a circle cookie cutter and then fold over and add sprinkles. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes!You can add the fortunes using non toxic pen,but we didn't do that. While the cookies were baking the kids made a dragon using craft foam and wired ribbon. They turned out very cute!

FamilyFun Night:Let's Rodeo!

2009-02-20T18:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to the rodeo, so tonight I decided to have our own rodeo! Ashlee was feeding the donkey!
Bryce found a wallaby to pet! Unusual farm animal?!!!

There was also a few pot belly pigs and some baby pot belly pigs- they were really cute. The deer tried to eat my skirt and one of the baby's socks (my friend's baby) off to eat- the deer wastrying very hard to eat it up!!!
Earlier today the kids decorated their bikes and we had a "bike" rodeo! It was so cute.

For dinner we had rodeo themed foods: corn dogs and funnel cakes (find the recipe below). We were going to make homemade pretzels,but the kids got tired very early tonight.

As you can see, Bryce really likes the funnel cake! He is licking the plate!
Then I found last year a brown and a pink foamy cowboy hat along with foamy rodeo stickers Michael's for 1/2off. The kids decorated their hats and also used horse themed stickers to decorate a green sheet of construction paper. I found these stickers at http://www.orientaltrading.com/

They decided to wear mommy and daddy's robes! You cannot tell all of the decorating they did on their hats,but up close you can!

We had a reallyfun night. I think we will make the pretzels tomorrow night!

Here's the funnel cake recipe!

11/2 cups flour

2 eggs

1cup milk

3 tblsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

11/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 baking powder

1 1/4 tspsalt

Combine all ingredients. Drop mixture through a funnel into vegetable oil and fry until golden.Remove and add powdered sugar.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T17:04:00.000-08:00

This is a bit late, but we had a very busy weekend and I wasn't near my computer, and if I was I had 3 little people tugging at me for attention!!
So here's a late Happy Valentine's Day to you! (These are the pictures I had on my valentine's day cards!)

2009-02-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

As I was having my quiet time this morning I was reading a verse that I read often, but somehow this morning it had new meaning.
And the holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressedin words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:26-28

My new favorite thing

2009-02-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

Baby Ethan who is now 1 still really enjoys nursing, so in an attempt to move him to a cup/bottle/ or sippy cup I came across this really great straw cup by Munchkin. It doesn't leak and the straw can get pushed down so it doesn't get dirty. I love it. Ethan loves it. Although he still wakes up many times a night to nurse- but during the day he really likes his new cup. It is really convienent and easy. The only thing is, if it does fall into the dirt when the straw isn't covered- dirt goes into the straw and will not come out until you have washed it. we found this out the other day while at the snowball free for all. So watch the straw!! Oh yah, I found it at HEB, but I have seen them at Wal-Mart and Target!! Happy sipping!

Snowball free for all

2009-02-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday (yesterday) we went to our church's snowball free for all. It was so much fun- however it was 70 degrees and the snow melted quickly- well the machine made snow!!! The kids had a snowball fight, played a few relay races, bounced in the bouncers, had snow cones and made marshmallow snowman treats!! We had a blast for 3 hours!! We heard one little girl run off the snow pile saying "I hate the snow, whaaaaaaaa" She was not used to the bitter cold of snow hitting her face. It was a shock to many of the kids how cold and hard the snow can be- especially snow made from bags of ice that had been shaved down!

Going down the bouncy slide!

Bryce had such a great time with the snow! And he's got really good aim for a 6 year old!

Here's Ashlee with snow all around! And she loves to pose!

All in all everyone had a great time throwing snow in the sunny 70 degree weather!

Family Fun Night: Football party

2009-02-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

This is from Friday. I have been zonked this whole week- Ethan has been up all night long with his teeth- this is why I haven't posted anything!!

Friday Night Football:

We started our night with some yummy tailgate chili and corn bread!

The kids and I made football shaped sugar cookies and of course gobbled them down. After this I had them make a flag using foam and a straw. They used marker and the foam stickers to decorate. I was going to have them make a field goal post out of straws and make a paper football but I was exhausted- so we all went to bed!!! Short night but it was fun!!

Before and After

2009-02-05T19:22:00.001-08:00

I got my hair cut and colored on Friday!

This is before: Medium length and in real need of a color. I think I saw a few gray hairs appearing?

And this is after: Goodness, look at t hat big nose. This is not such a great picture, but I like my hair in it!! Just overlook the huge honker!

Sing for Jesus!

2009-02-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

Ashlee gets to have a solo in the kids choir spring program. I am so excited. And so is she. More info to follow. I will let ya'll know when it is!

Missionary to China

2009-02-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

Last week at AWANA we had one of the ladies from church speak to the group about gooing to China on a missionary trip. She had gone last summer with the church. As she was telling the kids of her experience she mentioned that the people there can only have one child. Ashlee said the people from Texas should adopt them then. The gal went on to ask if anyone would want to be a missionary when they grew up. Ashlee said she couldn't because we have three kids!!!

Funny!

Ethan's first birthday party

2009-02-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here are Bryce and Ashlee making the paper mache caterpillar!

Today we had Ethan's first birthday party. The theme was The Hungry Caterpillar! It was a blast. Once everyone got here and we ate- food from the book of course! When they finished eating we played a fun game. I drew many of the foods from the book onto poster board and the kids and I colored them in. After that we cut them out and I hot glued dowels to the back so I could stake them into the ground. On the back of each food I had instructuions for each family to do (ie. bark like a dog, hop on one foot or do 10 jumping jacks) then they had to take a sticker and place it in on their sheet, kind of like bingo. The first team to finish won a bag of gummy worms- or caterpillars in this case.
Here is the food I drew!

Here's the birthday boy with the caterpillar! I took each family's picture with the caterpillar and leaf. I will use this as my thank you card!

Then came cake and ice cream. I made cupcakes with gummy worms sticking out and got swirled sherbert.
Here's the sweet birthday boy! We sang happy birthday to him twice. A little boy came in on the tail end of the song and wanted to sing really badly, so we sang again!!! Ashlee helped him blow out his candle! He was not interested in his cupcake- he wanted cheerios instead! When i tried to give him some icing he started to cry!
For the decorations the kids and I made a paper mache caterpillar, we hung balloons from the ceiling to look like a caterpillar and I bought leaf cutouts from Wal-Mart in the scrapbooking section and hot glued the little pom poms on to look like a caterpillar. I hung paper flowers from the chandaleir and each of the kids made a hand print sunflower. To do this I got a yard stick or a ruler, green paint, yellow paper plate, sunflower seeds and cutout yellow hand prints. Paint the yard stick green, hot glue the yellow paper plate to it, then glue the hand prints around the back of the paper plate and finally glue the seeds to the middle of the yellow paper plate.
The hand print sunflower you see here is made with a ruler!

You can barely see the caterpillar on the table. the leaf is the same color as the table so it is hard to see.

Home Solution #3 Dull picture frame

2009-01-29T05:19:00.000-08:00

On another blog I sasw this great idea. What she did was to take ribbon and an old brooch and hot glued it to a plain picture frame. It does wonders for the look of the frame. So I actually made 2 different sized bows- 1 slightly smaller than the first. I had the ribbon and the brooch here at home so it cost me nothing.The frame i got at Wal-Mart for $6.00. Here I hot glued both bows together and then added the brooch as the last deatail.

I hung the frame not just on the wall but on a coat hanger- I got this at Wal-Mart several months ago for $2 or $3.

AWANA Crafts

2009-01-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

My friend Jennifer and I have recently started coming up with and preparing the crafts for AWANA. We are preparing crafts for kinder through 2nd grade. I love doing crafts and we think the kids are enjoying it as well. Here are the first 2 crafts we've done.

Angel craft: cut 1 triangle for the body, 1 circle for the head and cut a small doily in half for the wings. We typed out a verse and let the kids paste it to the angel. Here we have hearts stuffed with newspaper and tied with yarn. We again typed a verse and letthe kids paste it onto the heart and some decorated the hearts with markers.

This week we are making the 10 Commandments out of a white paper sack. I will get the picture up soon.

Ethan's first tooth brush

2009-01-25T19:36:00.000-08:00

We all got new toothbrushes yesterday. Ashlee decided ethan needed one too. So we bought him a new toothbrush and little einstein toothpaste! Ashlee was the first to brush his teeth. Well, he actually just licked and sucked it- but it was cute and oh so fun!

Royal Mess

2009-01-24T19:21:00.000-08:00

I am currently taking Beth Moore's new bible study Esther. Las week our leader asked us to tell about a time we had royally messed up. At the time I couldn't think of anything. But as I picked the kids up and got in the car Bryce asked "Mom, can you tell us about the time you locked us in the car?" "Oh yah." I said.

So here's the scoop. Ashlee was one and Bryce was 2 at the time. We had just gotten out of Saturday night church and went to Chic-fil-A for dinner. Eveything was going well until I put the kids in the car. You see they are only 11 1/2 month apart so to get 2 toddlers under 2 in the car safely I had to hold Ashlee in my arms and coax Bryce into his seat and buckle him in with one hand, then I had to go around and put Ashlee in the car seat. So as I did this I laid my keys on the backseat floor and I must have hit the lock button. So after putting Bryce andthAshlee safe and snug in their car seats I closed the back door. And instantly, almost getting my fingers stuck in the car door, remembered the keys were on the floor. As instant as that thought was I heard the doors lock! I thought no way could the doors have locked. But yes, indeed they had. I waited a second and debated whether or not to call my husband- I thought no, he would only make fun and I didn't need that. So I went inside and asked the plethera of teenage boys working there if they could break into my car, oddly enough none of them could break in. So after about 15 minutes we called the locksmith, he said he'd be there in 5 minutes, however 5 minutes became another 15 minutes. And let me tell you it was hot- the end of August at 6:00 pm in Texas! So we called the fire department- they were there in a very timely manner and tried everything to break into my truck. Nothing worked. My poor kids were sweating to death by this time, so we decided they would break the window. It took about 6 swings with the ax before the window broke. Ahhh, my babies are safe. The the police say Miss, can we get some information. I was so scared they were going to take me off to jail. But, they didn't So after the fiasco was over and I calmed down I called my husband to tell him about the whole thing and how my window was broken, but the kids were safe!! Guess what he said- call On Star, they can open it in a second. Oh my gosh- are you kidding me! I was crying and felt like such an idiot. I should have called him from the begining! Duh!

Family Fun Night: Winter and Snow!

2009-01-23T19:29:00.000-08:00

Here's our wintery table- decorated with cotton balls for snow and their water bottle snowmen they had made earlier in the month!

Ok so it was what 75 degrees here today, so we had to make believe a little. We have been talking about winter weather all month long so I thought this was perfect. First they drew a picture of a snow filled hill with snowflakes and a snowman. Bryce's actually was him and a friend having a snowball fight!

Then they glued white foam squares onto a round ziplock bowl to create an igloo. I first cut a whole in the top, then they glued the squares on. They each got to the gor of ten to see how many cotton balls they could get into t he igloo. Neither one got any until they got right up close to it!

This was super fun. I took a bowl of crushed ice and sat it in front of them. Then I added shave cream and had the kids dig in and tell me what they thought it felt like. A few things they said were: Gross, the arctic or north pole, sticky and cold. They had fun feeling it and then they got the shave cream all over the table, their jammies and their arms!

They made snowman soup- which is just hot cocoa with a peppermint stick and 3 hershey kisses! The last thing we did was to make a snack- we made snowmen out of bananas, apple slices, mini m&m's and mini chocolate chips, and a skewer.

Bathing Suits in January?

2009-01-20T18:55:00.000-08:00

Bryce and Ashlee thought it would be a blast to have a swimming party the other day. It was nice out and if you were out running around one could break a sweat, however it was a bit on the cold side for water. So we met in the middle, they got to wear swimming suits and blow up their water rafts and slide down their slide as if going down a water slide!I think they had fun! Last days of summer?!!

Whooooa! Look at me slide! I even have a snorkel for added fun!

I am having a whale of a time!

Daryl and kids

2009-01-20T05:05:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness- here is a picture of my husband, Daryl, with our kids. He hates taking pictures, but since it was my birthday he gave in!! I know his eyes are closed (he is not a good picture taker!) But you can see how much the kids look like him and not me! It's uncanny!

Scripture cards: Home Solution #2

2009-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

I am trying to start my new year off by praying fervently for my kids. This is what I have started- I have had the book Power of a Praying Parent for years and have enjoyed the prayers. Well, I thought I needed something to reference while we were out or if I didn't have my book handy. So I made a list of all the things I wanted to pray for for each child. I am still working on Bryce's, but I have Ashlee and Ethan's list ready to go. I read what was in the book and then wrote out the scriptures I thought applied onto note cards (I have blue for Bryce, pink for Ashlee and green for Ethan.) This way I will be able to carry the verses with me at all times and if I need to refer to one topic I can easily do so.

Ethan turns 1

2009-01-20T04:57:00.000-08:00

Ethan's One! Here are the kids at the Rainforest Cafe! We always seem to sit by the elephants, however this year bryce was not scared!

Me and the kids!

Here's ashlee by the panda- doesn't it look really real?

We had such a wonderful Sunday ya'll. It was peaceful and slow. We went to church andthen came home for lunch and laid Ethan down for his nap. He slept for a long while. After he woke up we gotready to go to the Rainforest Cafe! Ethan was mesmerized by the scenery. He didn't cry or get frightened at all. At the end of dinner we had the waiters come over and sing to him- he just looked in amazement. And then we dug into the dessert! It was a wonderful day. And now he is one!

Here's Ethan while the waiters were singing happy birthday to him. He was just looking at them, not even paying attention to the ice cream right in front of him that daddy is trying to sneak a bite!

Home Solution #1

2009-01-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

OK so I thought I would let you in on a few fun home solutions I have found. So every Friday I will give you an idea of something I have incorporated in my home- to make life easier, to make the house more organized etc!

Home Solution #1:

I got this idea from one of my sweet friends and I love it!
I went to Target and bought several sizes of canisters, one I bought was the very large, clear glass canister with a lid. I put all of our snacks in there- as Iwas trying to get the kids away from too much sugar! So I put mainly healthy snacks in there, but other stuff too. But this way they don't have to ask, "mom, what can I have for a snack?" It is right on the counter in their reach. Now they do still have to ask permission for a snack, but I don't have to go to the pantry and name off everything we have! I also use this big canister to store lids for cups and bottles and sippy cups.

I also put all of our markers and some cool crayons in a jar on the counter- that way they are always in reach and we never have to stop to look for them!

Ethan's first haircut

2009-01-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

Here is Ethan before his 1st haircut. Looks so big!

Here he is during his haircut! He was very good and patient!

Here he is when we finished! What a handsome young boy!

2009-01-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

I'm 1 (almost January 18th)

Look at this cute birthday boy! We got pictures with him digging into his cake. But when we first got there and the photographer tried putting his hand into the icing he started crying and he didn't know what to do so he started to crawl toward me which means his foot and leg got right into the cake- so that's why his foot is green! After he tasted the icing a few times he decided he loved it and started eating it by the handful- we couldn't get a smile out of him he was concentrating on eating the icing!

Cheerleading

2009-01-14T19:52:00.001-08:00

Ashlee started cheerleading a few weeks ago. She has been to several practices and last saturday was her first basketball game to cheer at. She had so much fun and did well. I loved watching her have so much fun. Here they are waiting to cheer the basketball players as they enter!

Here's Ashlee and Emily! How Cute!!!

Cute Snowmen

2009-01-14T11:07:00.000-08:00

Bryce and Ashlee created very cute snowmen out of cotton balls and a water bottle. I let the bottles dry out for a few days, then I gave them some cotton balls to shred apart and insert into the bottles. After that they decorated the body of the snowman which was cut from white contruction paper. We added hats and scarfs and googly eyes. bryce added pipe cleaner arms! They turned out very cute.

Happy Birthday Ethan

2009-01-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

Ethan will be 1 on Sunday! (and I will be 33! yahoo!!) We went to the pottery place yesterday and did some very cute stuff. Bryce painted a snake, Ashlee painted a beautiful princess mug and I amde Ethan's footprints into an elephant head. It was such fun. Today we are going for Ethan's one year pictures. It should be fun. He will be grabbing into a cake!! Tomorrow he will get his first haircut! What a fun week.

As you can tell Ethan was a bit upset- he was ready to get out of there!

Sleeping beauty

2009-01-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

Ashlee had a very hard time going to sleep on this particular night. I sent her to her room countless times and I even had to take out the wooden spoon. After a while of not hearing her I went to check and this is what I found!

She was sleeping so sweetly with her new doll.

Afternoon tea

2009-01-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

It has been so beautiful here, so the kids took advantage the other day. My kids love tv, so the other day I felt like their viewing had gotten out of control, so I hid the remote and they have no clue. They think it is lost, so on this very beautiful day we couldn't find the remote so it forced them to find something to do with their time. Afternoon tea it is! They pulled out the beach towel, brought out some snacks and water and had a blast- they were smiling and laughing and getting along. It was one of those very proud mom moments when all is well and everyone is getting along! After their tea party they wanted to turn it into a beach party and go swimming!

2009-01-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

The other project we did this week was to read The Mitten by Jan Brett. This was the first time I had read it and it was very cute. We enjoyed it. After we read the book the kids colored a mitten, we punched holes and thread yarn through it. The colored all of the animals in the story and cut them out and pasted them to a popsicle stick. We then reread the story and the inserted each animal at the appropriate time. It was fun and they used a lot of skills: coloring, cutting, following directions (really waiting for the appropriate time to insert the animal!)

2009-01-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

Since we are studying winter and snow this month we made a snowflake. So easy and really fun. You will need 1 wide mouthed jar, Borax (laundry booster), booiling water, blue food coloring, white pipe cleaner and string of some sort. I cut my pipe cleaner in half and you will need 3 so you can fashion a 6 point snowflake. Just twist one pipe cleaner around to hold them in place. Then take the string and tie around all 6 points and leave a little string at the end to grab it (once your ready to take it out of the water.) Take and add the boiling water to the jar, add at least 3 tablespoons borax and the food coloring. After you have mixed it well insert your snowflake and let it sit at least 24 hours. Afterwards you will have a very real looking snowflake!

Snowflake tortillas

2009-01-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

We just started back to school today and we are talking about weather, winter weather in particular. And that means snow and snowflakes. So what I did for snack today is to take a tortilla (freshly made kind from HEB), warm it in the microwave, just until it is a bit warm, then I folded it just like I would for a paper snowflake and started cutting. I heated up some oil in a large pan and made a snowflake tortilla chip. When it was finished cooking I took it out and let the oil run off, laid it on a paper towel and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar. It was so tasty! The kids loved it too! You can also add lawrey's salt to make a chip that is great with salsa and guacamole!

homemade doll wardrobe

2009-01-05T18:25:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend Ashlee and I made a very cute wardrobe for her new doll. We used one of daddy's shoe boxes, some scrapbook paper and I had a broken dowel I had once used for making hairbows.
What we did was cut and paste all of the scrapbook paper onto the outside and inside of the box and lid. Then I hot glued the dowel in place. It fits her doll clothes and hangers perfectly. She is so proud of that she even brought it to her friends house to show them! We have a few finishing touches: I want to try to attach the lid somehow to the box so it can open and close like a real door and add some ribbon around the dowel- just to make it pretty!!

New Year's celebration

2009-01-01T18:41:00.001-08:00

I decided it would be fun for the kids to have a new year's celebration of their own. I had remebered last year reading that the children's museum had a countdown to noon for all of the kids and I tought it was brilliant. So we invited a few friends over, made party hats and party blowers (courtest of marthastewart.com),made chocolate fondue, decorated cupcakes, made magnets- what God wants us to improve this year and did party poppers. The kids had a blast. Almost all of the kids siad that they thought God wanted them to be a better sibling! How sweet. And wouldn't that be a nice New Year's treat!!

I have pictures, however, I have no idea how to get them from my e-mail to my blog. So when I figure that out I will add the cute pictures!!

Christmas morning at the Mitchell's

2008-12-25T09:51:00.001-08:00

This morning I did something a bit different. I put my kids on a scavenger hunt for their gifts. I set out Santa's gift under the tree, where they could see it first thing when they woke up. They were so excited to see what thet had received. After they played and looked in their stockings they decided it was time for mom and dad. It was so cute how they were so excited for us to open our gifts. They finally realized they had seen other gifts wrapped with their names on it a few days earlier. So I gave them the riddles, we had 3 originally, then daddy came home a few days ago with a play station so I added one more riddle for that. My family lives out of state so my mom sent a few gifts for them as well. I added that to our riddle sheet. They had so much fun opening each gift and looking at it and taking time to thank us and enjoy the gift. I didn't hear any argueing, fighting or is there more, I want more! It was so nice and peaceful.

Santa also left a letter asking the kids to contiue being good, wise kids. He thanked them for the cookies and cocoa and he also reminded them that today is the day of our Lord and Saviors birth. We said Happy Birthday Jesus! What a day to reflect and be truly thankful for our health, families and salvation.

Merry Christmas!

Ethan's First Christmas

2008-12-25T09:40:00.001-08:00

He's concentrating! He couldn't figure out exactly what to do
until brother and sister helped him out!

Look at that smile!!

He was having a blast opening one of Grandma Patti's gifts. He thought he could use it to climb!

It was so fun watching him open each gift. By the time he finished he was a pro!

Wrapping

2008-12-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

My pretty tags, ribbon and bows! Oh and sparkle!!

Ok, I wanted our gifts to look extra pretty this year so I took out all of my scrap ribbon, pretty papers and pens and added ribbon around the gifts and name tags. The tags turned out so cute and the ribbon and bows were so pretty. On Ashlee's gift tags I used sparkle nail polish to give it added flair. I added candy canes and candy bracelets for added fun. But then my husband appears with the gifts he had wrapped for me! It was so funny.

Daryl's gift wrapping!!!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-12-24T21:55:00.001-08:00

Putting out the reindeer food they made!

Twas the night before christmas when all through the house
everyone was sleeping but i was still awake!
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes I could get around to filling them there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of crazy mom danced in their heads!
And daddy asleep like a baby and I in my shower cap,
wanted to settle down for a long winter's nap. (but the work never ends!!)
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I arose from my computer to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
tore open the curtains and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the fake snow,
Gave a luster of real snow to objects below.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but the food the kids set out for the reindeer.
With a jump that was quick,
I knew in a moment I had to be quick.
More rapid than eagles their coursers they came,
and they whistled and shouted and called my name.
Now, mommy, now mommy, now mommy,
Is one of the reindeer named Tommy?
To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall,
now dash away, Bryce and Ash, dash away all.
I was dressed in pink from head to foot,
my hands were all yuk from cutting, tieing and taping
A bundle of toys I just finished wrapping
I looked like a crazy person there clapping!
I spoke not a word, but went straight to work,
and finally got to the stockings, and turned with a jerk.
Could it be, did they wake?
No, it was just daddy taking a break!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!

I am not very good with rhymes, but I thought i'd give it a try. I just finished eating santa cookies, drinking cold hot cocoa, wraping and hiding gifts and I remembered I need to go and clean up the reindeer food the kids left. Well, unless the real ones stop by for a treat!! We live out of the city a ways and we get lots of deer!

Merry Christmas to all!!