Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Oh my!!! This is a BEAUTIFUL dress!!!!!
It would be awesome to have that, wouldn't it?
You have to check it out on her website. Gorgeous stuff.


Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

October

We have started early on the pumpkin carving. The kids received some pumpkins this weekend and couldn't wait to carve them. We are going to go again in about 2 weeks to the pumpkin patch to pick some and and get fresh donuts and apple cider. The place we go every year is closed and we need to find a new place.

It is cooling down here, and the colors are starting to pop. It is definitely fall. We intend to fully embrace the season. Knowing full well it will end quickly. It has been known to snow in October. Yuck. Isabella and Brandons winter coats, snowpants, and boots still fit from last year, and Ashleys new set is on order. I don't really want to think about it, but it is coming, and we need to be prepared. This week we plan to: go to the state hospital where they have hundreds of varieties of trees to pick leaves for Isabellas classroom and for home::start on my fall quilt {a little late, but it just kind of came to me that I wanted to make one, so know I am gathering fall colored fabrics}::Decorate the house for fall::break out the hot chocolate for daily drinks::make some apple pie and maybe some apple crumb pie.

I've been gone....

Well, it's been a while, huh? School started last week. Which has been a little crazy, since Brandon goes to one school while the girls go to another. We kept Ashley and Isabella in the Montessori program, but moved Brandon to a traditional school. He has been having a bit of a hard time. This morning I left him in tears(I was the one in tears). And no it wasn't because I was sad to see him go. He has just been giving me a hard time. I wouldn't let him ride his bike to school, because he threw something in my face. But instead of correcting the behavior to then be able to ride his bike tomorrow, he just fought it even more. I am not sure how to get him to understand that the way he behaves once in trouble really reflects on the things he is going to get. He just doesn't seem to understand the you act "this way" you are not going to get "this privelege", no matter how many priveleges are taken away. It is just getting frustrating with him.

But on a happier note... everything else is going good! Isabella started Ballet and Tap yesterday. :) Which she absolutely loves!!! Brandon starts soccer next week. And book club starts next week, if I can get people to join. I have been sending letters to schools regarding our programs at the bookstore that I work at. And has been crazy hectic. We have so much to offer. Much more than just a book store. We run a literacy camp, tutoring, and a book drive. We have monthly parties themed from books, we offer book clubs, we offer birthday parties, and more. Lots more. And I am in charge of getting all the information out there. Let me tell you how difficult that is!!! We have a good 25 plus schools in the area. So, I have to give out and plan all this information and work in the store while I am doing it. Hmmm.

....this weekend we actually did something fun. I have Sundays off from work, so we took a Sunday drive. Besides the screaming and fighting, it was pretty nice. We drove about an hour away, I think, to Northport and a little beyond, as far as we could go before hitting Lake Michigan, and we went to the lighthouse there. When we got there, everyone was just staring out at Lake Michigan, and I soon noticed why... There was a water spout! It was so cool looking, we got there a little too late, because it had been touching down to the water. {to which Isabella said "If your car wasn't so slow we could have made it!"} I took a couple pictures, then ran to my car to get my long lens, but it was already lifting back up before i could take some better pics. But it was neat, and I remembered to bring the kids little Artist cases, so they drew the pictures of the water spouts. We got a couple postcards and drove towards home, we stopped in a little town called Sutton's Bay, and did a little window shopping and got ice cream. Then we went back home. And yesterday Ashley had to go to the doctor for strep throat. I would love to share pictures but, my digital camera died, so I have been taking pictures with my film camera, and I really need to go drop the film off. Let me see if I can find a picture.

There... a picture of my kids and woody! At some little boat thing downtown this summer!

Check out this video!!!!

I found this video today via Stacy's blog {http://stacysbigpicture.typepad.com/altogether_too_happy/} and I think it is pretty darn funny. Go check it out...
http://www.dshed.net/harvest
Well, I have the morning to myself. :) And I am actually scrapbooking! Woohoo!

I tried

Man, have I been busy. I do have pictures to share, I just don't have time to edit them. Meaning rotate them before I upload them. I don't get any fancier than that. And trust me I have tons of pictures to share.
What I am hoping you lovely bloggers will help me with today and at any point in which you read this post, is just a comment on what your favorite book is of all time for children. I am managing a kids bookstore nowadays, and am always trying to get some good books. But when I go to order, my mind is blank!
Well, I have a bath waiting so.... here I go. But please do comment and let me know a good book!
THANKS!!!!

Where has July gone????

Man has it been a crazy week and a half or actually two weeks. We have been so busy with the Cherry Festival last week and I started working this week. I was not really planning on going back to work, but I happened on a new little book store in town for kids, and they were hiring. I had an interview and was hired a mere hour and a half later. The downside of working there is the crazy hours, I am so incredibly tired. I haven't even uploaded the pictures from the last two weeks! I will try to do that later. I only worked 3 hours this morning, but the kids and I are headed back for the pirate party. Will post some pictures from that sometime soon!

July

Checking out our friends new alpacas::July 1st

Isabella::Haserot Beach::July 1st

Mini-vacation to Charlevoix::July 3rd

Week In Review!

Isabella on our hike at the State Hospital. The girls and I took a hike, while Brandon was there for his backpacking class.

A very pretty view on our hike.

We headed to the beach last night!

Ashley at Golf Lessons.

wow. What a week it has been! I can not believe how fast this month has gone. We have been incredibly busy this week, I had my psych and english class this week, Ashley had golf, and Brandon had backpacking and Ashley had sewing. Busy busy. luckily next week calms down a little. I finsh up my psych class, but have lots of work for my english class. Other than that, I don't think much else! Oh I have a kick off event for the Cherry Festival that starts next week. But no shuffling the kids around.

organic clothing

So, I am thinking ahead for fall, {Always like to be planning} and I am realizing that all three of the kids are going to need almost all new clothes. At least Isabella, and Ashley and Brandon need quite a bit. So, I am on the search for Organic clothing, but not blah clothing for them. And my search is leading me nowhere. There are Sooooo many companies catering to baby organic clothing, but nothing for kids {mine are 6,8 and 10} I really want to think this through and not make impulse purchases and buy "junky" clothes. You know polyester and such. And really I can not afford a lot or very expensive clothing. I guess, I am going to have to really take my time, and check labels. Any ideas on what companies, besides patagonia, cater to the kids and are eco friendly. I am more of a GAP person, really, but I just want to be more conscious of materials, and things. I will update on anything I find, but it is hard!!!!

Clothesline Challenge

I have taken the clothesline challenge! Gift of Green started a clothesline challenge for the months of May, June, and July. Basically it is just a challenge to get some to all of your clothes up on the clothesline and out of that dryer. With all the winter months, I can't really get them up all year round, but once the snow is gone and gone for a while (in Northern Michigan you never know when that is going to be.)I start to hang them up. I signed up for the advance, because I try to hang 95% or more of my laundry on the line when it is clothesline season. It normally goes well. I don't like the crunchy towels so I do dry some of those in the dryer. But that is about it. In fact it has been rainy for the last week, so I have just held off on laundry so I can line dry it. It is hanging up now, and hopefully will be dry in the morning, when I wake up because the forecast calls for rain at 7am.

Here are a couple of pics of my clothesline. The first being a week or two ago, when I started the challenge, and the second is from today.

First Day of Summer Vacation

So far it is going okay. We had to start the summer off with a doctors appointment for Ashley. Then since we were out we headed to the library to sign up for the summer reading club. This year it is about bugs, and they have lots of events to go with it.

What a Perfect day!

That is Bella, laying out on a PERFECT day! For me it was perfect, not incredibly hot, but the sun was out. And we had a slight breeze, which normally I don't care for, but it was nice. I was hanging laundry on the line, and she is on the blanket {still in her jammies} writing stories in her new composition book. It is now starting to rain. But I sat out all morning, finishing a book, and eating cinnamon&sugar toast for breakfast, with a cup of tea. I sat outside for lunch too, grilled cheese and pasta salad. For a little bit, I even laid on the blanket with Isabella and started {and finished} another book. Just a quick 250 or so page book of Ashley's called the Doll People. It was pretty good. I figured I would read through her books this summer, and try and encourage her to read through them too, since she won't.

Yesterday I tagged along on Brandons trip to the sand dunes. It was HOT. Almost 90 degrees, but I will not complain, since it is Northern Michigan and the weather changes quite drastically, quite quickly. Just like 2 weeks ago it was in the 50's. But I got sunburned :( It was weird, because when I put sunscreen on the kids {and not on me} I must have dribbled some on me, or wiped some on part of my arms, because I am really red, and have spots and streaks of white in weird places. Oh well. It was so much fun, and that is him {the little dot toward the middle of the screen}.

Ashley got back from her trip yesterday and even though she had fun, I don't think she would like to go back. Maybe, but I don't know. I am a horrible mom, who forgot to pack bugspray. {In my defense, I was worried about not having everything, so I just went down the list, and made sure I had everything that they said to bring, and bugspray as not on the list}. So, she came home COVERED in bug bites. And she is in sooooo much pain. She also somehow bruised her ankle, and it is swollen. So, we are trying to put her back together, and save a trip to the walk in clinic.

End of the School Year

It is soooo close to the end of the school year. The kids have two days left this week and three half days next week. It is quite busy still. But at least it is not busy lots of homework and last minute reports type of thing. Which makes me a wee bit stressed. Ashley, especially, has had an abundance of reports due in the last 2 months. You name it, she had it. Colonial America, Pioneer America, Maya, Design Your Own City, Monthly Book Reports, Michigan History, plus she had book club at school, which they did a play for, and four writing pieces...Expository, Descriptive, Narrative and one more. Just crazy busy, plus weekly homework. She realized the fruits of her labor today though, when she left on a THREE DAY field trip downstate to a camp with her class and the other two upper elementary classes. I unfortunately was unable to attend the field trip, Because my son has his field trip on Friday to the Sand Dunes, and I haven't been to as many classroom functions for him as I have for Ashley. Plus, a big deciding factor was the fact that I am going back to school this summer, and I had an exam today, that I couldn't take any other day.

A couple exciting things that have happened this week is that we had two graduation ceremonies. Isabella is transitioning from the primary to the lower elementary environment, and Brandon is transitioning from the lower elementary to the upper elementary environment.

meme

What I was doing 10 years ago:
Ten years ago was a VERY crazy time in my life. I had my first daughter, Ashley. I graduated from High School, and I started college. :)


5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Work on homework
2. Help Ashley and Brandon with homework
3. Do Laundry
4. Do Dishes
5. Clean up the house

5 things on my lifelong to-do list:
1. Travel the US and Canada
2. Travel Overseas to Italy, France, and other places
3. Get married
4. Have another baby?
5. Own my own house

Sweets I enjoy:
Bottle caps, hersheys, reeses pieces

Last three books I read:
1. PRIVATE Series: #5
2. PRIVATE Series #6
3. PRIVATE Series # 7

Last three movies I saw:
1. 27 dresses
2. Iron Man
3. Spiderwick Chronicles

2Places I have lived before:
1. Traverse City, MI east side
2. Traverse City, MI west side

I am here, and I have been doing something!!!!

See, I told you I wasn't reliable to post frequently. I have good excuses though. I have been pretty darn busy. I have spent the last month or more in my daughters' {Ashley} classroom working on a big project with her class! Before spring break way back in March, they started working on their Colonial America study {they are 4th, 5th, and 6th graders} and Ashleys teacher thought it would be neat to have them do a cross stitch project, and asked if I would teach the kids how to cross stitch. She had this pattern and we went to work. Almost 2 months later actually, we finished. At some point we decided this would be a mother's day gift. The kids were so excited about it, and had a lot of fun. Unfortunately they had a lot of other work to do, so I could only work with them a few minutes here and there throughout the day every day. But we finished last Thursday and they turned out awesome. I stayed up all thursday night and into friday morning {Literally stayed up all night} sewing each of the 26 kids' cross stitching projects into pillows. They turned out incredibly cute, though, and so worth the no night of sleep.

I also started school last week:) I am taking Psych 101. I am excited to have the chance to go back to school, and I will even get in the program I wanted to this fall instead of next fall {or the fall after} like I was supposed to. Lets see I know I have done more things. Ahh yes, I have made some tote bags. 2 for 2 graduates, and 2 for 2 birthdays. I also made this cute little bag that I found on the Craft Magazine blog. It was pretty easy. A little small. But cute nonetheless. I am thinking of making a bigger, matching one to go with the one I made. This one is for picnics. I made some matching napkins, and a baggie for some wet wipes. I am going to make a utensil holder too, and I am not sure what else. http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2008/05/tutorial-fabric-basket.html

Not to mention, we celebrated a sweet little 6 year olds birthday. {On a few different days, too}

Isabella and I headed to the Blue Tractor {a local restaurant} restaurant for a birthday lunch last week. This was her birthday dessert:

Brandon's crafty too:)

Brandon woke up one morning and was apparently feeling pretty crafty. The girls were sleeping, so he decided to make a potato guy of himself. He used a potato, some toothpicks and some strawberry marshmellows. A permanent marker was used for the face and hair. The bottom picture is Brandon's back. He has 30 stitches down the right side of his back. I thought that he was pretty clever to think of doing this.

Good Morning

I have made the switch from Typepad to Blogger. YAY! I know it is usually the other way around, but I can't justify the cost of keeping up the other account. Especially since I haven't been posting very much! I will try to here.
Welcome!!!!