Today's Card

From my deck of Today Cards:

Today, share one of your insights

-a cherished story, a colorful memory, an inspiring quote, or a new thought

with someone in your life.

Your insight is a gift no one else can give!

I am "THAT Mom"

Ellie did her first ever homework on Wednesday. She was so cute. She climbed up to the table, took her little pen and did a great job. Basically, she had to "help the baby dolphin find it's mommy" and trace the line from the mom to the baby animal.

It wasn't perfect. Some of the lines she had to follow were kind of curvy and she didn't go all the way around loops and things like that. I just praised her effort. After all, it was her first homework and, to me, the road we travel can sometimes be more important than the destination.

I put the homework in her folder to be turned in. When I picked her up, I checked the folder and the homework was re-done with a crayon. All of it. Not just the parts that were less-than-perfect. There was a note on the homework that said:

"Please do your homework with your mom. Please use a crayon."

I asked the teacher what happened and she told me they are to use crayons. Nowhere on the paper did it say that. I asked her if she told Ellie that and she said no, that it was "just how they do it" at their school. I asked if it was in the handbook and I had missed it and she said no. I guess Ellie and I are supposed to be mind readers?

So, I asked her (because I really wanted to seal my position as "THAT Mom" as early as possible in the year), "Did you really make her sit down and re-do this because she used a pen?" and she said "Yes". I asked her if she thought that was excessive and she said "If you don't want me correcting her anymore, I won't".

I tried to explain that it wasn't the correcting I had a problem with. I can totally see why they would possibly help her to re-do the ones she had trouble with. I tried to re-phrase it and she just did not get why I was raising an eyebrow at it.

I know it isn't a HUGE deal but this is one of a series of events so far this year that has led me to the conclusion that this school is not a good match for her (or me!).

It's not that it is a bad school, it's not, it's just that their philosophy is not jiving with how I would like Ellie to experience preschool. I want her to learn something....and that is to learn to love school. To learn to love learning. Not to learn that everything she does needs to be perfect. Or to learn that there is one path to a destination.

I met with Lucas' preschool director and they very much want to have her there. She spoke with me at length this morning about the issues I had.

Best of all, I don't think I would ever NEED to be "THAT mom" at this preschool.

Happy Happy Joy Joy, back to school all over again :/

Rascal Flatts

The new CD "Still Feels Good" came out on Tuesday. It is really, REALLY good! If anyone wants to borrow it, let me know :)

Big Day

Lucas got his orange with white stripe belt today in Aikido! Here are some shots from the test:


Finishing the test:

Taking off the old belt:

Putting on the new one and having a serious talk about the responsibility of having an orange belt:

Congratulations, big guy!

We have a winner

Lynette won the contest! It was line 3 and 7.

Anyone who has met Lucas knows that line 3 was his. But what some may not know is how much he loves to make new friends. He is still talking about "Skyler" who we met at the park a couple of weeks ago.

The 2 lines in the story really captured my wonderful boy.

Gift Boxes

I have been having fun with making the gift boxes I send my pendants in. This one is for someone special and I hope she likes it and what is inside.

Contest

I am adding a contest to my blog today.

The prize is a lovely and cute assortment of scrapbooking embellishments. **Oooo! Aaaaahhh!**

And since some of you do not scrap, I will think of an alternative if a boring, non-scrapping person happens to win ;)

So here is the deal. In Lucas' backpack today, there was a story that was written and acted out by Lucas and 3 of his classmates. The first person to comment in the comments section of this entry as to which 2 lines were Lucas' contribution wins!

And now.....the story:

The Bats Run Away From Their Home Because There are Bugs in There.
by Lucas, Macy, Seth and Grace
September 07

The Bugs followed them

And they went far away.

They were surrounded by police officers because the police thought they destroyed the bugs.

And the bats runned away from their mom.

The bats got lost.

They couldn't find their way home.

They make new friends.

The kids finally find their way home.

The End.

Making New Things Old

Not everyone likes that antiqued look but sometimes odds and ends just look better "old".

I saw a box at the dollar store that I thought would look great in our red, white and blue bathroom downstairs. But I just didn't like the newness of it so I decided to old it up a bit.



You don't need much, just a sanding block and some fluid chalk. I also do a lot of my work now on a non-stick craft sheet. Easy to clean up.



First, take the sanding block and go to town. Sand the edges especially. If you look at the picture below, you will see the difference in the right and left sides:
I sanded all over, including over the stars. You really can't make a mistake with sanding stuff.



This is how it looked when I was done sanding:


Then, you take your fluid chalk. If you have not discovered this stuff for scrapbooking yet, run out and get one. They are $2 and one of the tools I use most. You can ink edges of pictures, picture mats and all sorts of stuff.

Ink it up as much or as little as you would like. Start light and then add more as you see fit.

Next, make sure the supervisor is ok with it:

Finally, you have the finished product:

I love you, Dad

33 years ago today, my Dad passed away from cancer. He was 32 years old.



I wish he could be here, not only so I could know him but so my kids could too. Mum tells me all the time what a wonderful Grandfather he would be and I believe it. He was so smart, athletic, gentle and kind.

I try to keep his memory alive and we talk about Grandpa a lot, go to Grandpa's Park to visit when we are in Canada.

Even though I don't remember him, I feel like I know him. And I miss him very much.


I love you Dad!

Lucas, future author

Write it down

For my birthday, my brother gave me Today Cards

I opened them up today and I wanted to share it with you:

"Write a friend, or just write for yourself.

We walk this way only once. Get it down.

Your words are unique and absolutely necessary"

That is just a little fuel for me to keep on journaling, scrapbooking, and blogging.

Deception Pass

Camping at Deception Pass was wonderful! We swam, canoed, told ghost stories (so funny!) and roasted marshmallows. Went for bike rides, collected treasures and had cooked solely with the fire.

I still love Mount Rainier more, but this was a different setting. There was a nice beach where you could fish for salmon,






















a lake you could swim in (great for the kids)














































and the drive there and back was so pretty.


















I staked out some great sites for our camping trip next year with a few friends. I found 2 adjoining sites, very private, beautiful setting with room for 3 tents. Who is in?

Not As Expected

Ellie went in just fine. Well, she went in fine but then when the kids were singing some Japanese songs, she had tears in her eyes. I think she was upset that she didn't know the words. The teacher scooped her up though so she was fine. When we came back to pick her up, she was very happy and excited that school was "very so fun".

Here are some pictures of the first day of school and dance class:

First Day

First day of school for my boy went off without a hitch. Pick up was pretty hectic but the teacher did say:

"He did wonderfully! He is a natural at making friends".

I had to wake him up to get a good breakfast and get ready. He said he was going to miss me so I wrote a quick note saying "I love you!" on it, folded it up and tucked it in his pocket. He told me he would touch the note if he felt sad at school without me. :*)

Tomorrow is Ellie's first day. Expect a report of tears, "DON'T LEAVE ME!", and grabbing at my leg as I drag her into the classroom. She hasn't been exactly enthusiastic about it.

Busy Week of Newness

It is back to school week and both kids are starting school. Lucas moved up a class in Aikido and Ellie also starts dance school tomorrow.

Tonight was Lucas' first class in his new Aikido class. The kids are all bigger and have higher belts than him but he did great. I also noticed that his teacher is a lot more strict with the higher class and she cracks the whip! Love it!

I made a banana cream pie with meringue on top and we are going to have a nice family dinner and talk about all the changes.

Every night at dinner, we have been doing "what was the best and worst part of the day?" and the kids share their thoughts.

Lucas usually says something like "The best part was spending time with you and the worst part was when you took my Transformer away". Ellie, who has not quite grasped the concept yet, says the same thing every night: "The best part was dancing class". Then I ask her the worst part and she says "Hmmmmm.....dancing class".

???

Nevermind that dance class hasn't even started yet.

"New" Table

I made this little table today:


It is made from the old fence wood that came down in the storm. It took me about 90 mins to make. I plan on painting it either a barn red or black and then sanding it to distress it.

Quite proud of myself! Pat.pat.

I wanted a skinny little table to but stuff on, and maybe a lamp, for the downstairs hallway. It is one of the things I don't like about this house, it is dark and there isn't much you can do with it. So I figured I should redo the hallway and figured a skinny table would look nice. Here are a couple of other angles:

I will be painting the hallway too. I have picked a color called Lion Mane (3rd from the top and the color in the example book):

Throw in a bit better lighting (down the road) and some nice pictures and cute country primitive stuff, I am excited that is coming along.

Is there a space in your home that you would love to re-do?