Terrific Three!

Here is my terrific THREE year old...

I can't believe that Eli is already 3- time is just flying by. But he still wants to be my baby, so i will soak it up as long as he will let me! Happy Birthday, Big Boy! We love you more than we can ever thought possible & can't imagine how we ever lived without you!

Meet & Greet

Today was Kindergarten Open House.... which was more like an information session for parents on the actual class Jackson will be going into. He was able to find his cubby & his seat, all labeled with his name of course.... He was officially embarrased for me to take his picture (gasp!) ... so i only took one & he told me i could take his picture with the teacher.. tomorrow please...

That's right, folks.....
Kindergarten starts tomorrow. I can't believe it! I am trying to stay positive, because really, all i want to do is curl up & suck my thumb.

I do not want my child to go to school.
I do not want to leave my child with a total stranger for the entire day. I do not want to worry that he is making friends & standing up for himself (& what he knows is right!)

I do not like it. I do not like it Sam, I am. I do not like Green Eggs & Ham.

I know this is for his own good in order to be a productive member of society, but who wants to think about that with a 5 year old? And i know these things are harder on mom's than on the kids. But let me tell you... the first word i get that someone is being mean to my boy.... oooooooohhh.... i am marching right up there to see who it is & who's mama i need to talk to.

He is still my first baby & i can't BELIEVE he is old enough to go off to school. He is supposed to stay mine forever! And now he is going to see & learn all kinds of new things that are going to make him a "kid"- not my baby! He is going to lose some of that innocence.

However... he is excited, so i am trying to go with that. At least in front of him. And i know he will learn lots of positive things. He is excited that he gets to go to the library once a week & to the computer "room" as he calls it, & he is excited about the cafeteria (of all things! ha!) , and all the Lego's he sees! And he is excited about the playground he saw in the school yard. So, if he can be happy.... then i will try to be happy for him!

Oh, but i pray for peace- for me & for him. And i pray that he will make friends & that he won't be fearful or anxious. Oh, Lord..... take care of my baby!

A big surprise on the porch.....

Eli was pretty excited to find this on the porch when we got home from his first day of preschool....

First Day of Preschool for Eli

Today was Eli's first day of preschool! He was super excited & woke up ready to go! He helped me get his lunch in the bookbag & was very cooperative for all my picture taking! I was fairly nervous about how this was going to go because he has been having separation issues again at church.... but....
He walked right in! And he did seem a little nervous, so i made a quick getaway & when i came back .....
He was all smiles! He had a great day, Ms. Beverly said & he even pottied for her! yay! She said there were no tears either after i left. So it was a great day! I hope Thursday goes just as smoothly!

"Mittey Mouth Birfday"

Translation: Mickey Mouse Birthday! Eli's Birthday is this week.... so here is a little forshadowing.... Any guesses as to what i will be doing with these?


You are free to guess... but you'll have to check back to see how it turns out....

We have decided not to do a big party this year though. We are going camping over the weekend & are going to "celebrate" with a mini party while we are there. I have already packed my gifts & the gifts that Peto & Aunt Debbie sent his way..... I am sure we will have a great "party!"

More crafty goodness...

So, the crafty bug hasn't left me just yet..... I have made a few more fun projects.....

I made some coasters (& i think i will make some more for teacher presents and/or Christmas gifts)..... They are made out of tiles using a permanent ink pad for non-porous surfaces. Then i heat set the ink so they wouldn't run when a glass is placed on the coaster.

I added felt tabs to the backside corners so that they won't scratch each other or the tables.
I also tried out a new product that i had been eyeing for awhile. I made magnets out of 2 inch tiles. I used alcohol inks & a blending solution to make the background color. Then stamped the image with the same non-porous ink pad. Heat set these also, but i am not sure it was necessary...Then i had the idea to try a coat of diamond glaze to the top for a shine & it turned out pretty well...
It dried so shiny & I love the glass look it gave them. The possibilities for this project are endless!! I am pretty excited, can you tell?

We also had a birthday party to go to for a 5 year old boy in the Jackson & Eli's bible class.... so i decided to decorate another paint can & fill it with goodies. I put smarties, some push up pencils, little notepad, & a nerf ball inside.
I couldn't help myself... i HAD to use stickles.... on the cupcake liner & the "flame"...
And i added his name to the top (put stickles dots on the letters too) & then added a little ribbon love to the handle.
After that project, i did this little project... I made little goodie bags that i am going to hand out to the little kids in the bible class i am teaching this quarter. Next Sunday is the last Sunday of the quarter so this gave me an excuse to make something!! So i made another project with the labels that i have been stamping.... homemade goodie bags with covered Hershey's nuggets!

FUN TIMES!!

Poor Kitty...

Tuesday morning Jackson let Lola in to feed her. She was fine, i promise. But when i came in after work, she came to me limping. She was hopping actually... she didn't want to put any weight on her hind leg. She didn't really want me to look at it or touch it either, & kept jerking away & meowing. From the first glimpses i was able to get at her foot, i thought she was having another allergic reaction to a bee sting or something (this happened earlier last month) & figured that the swelling would go away in 48 hours like it did before.

Nope... try again. By Wednesday evening, she was laying around, & i had to carry her up & down the stairs. She was pitiful, so i called the vet first thing Thursday morning & they fit her in. Thankfully, she was eating & drinking as normal, so they weren't too concerned. But they had to shave her paw, & "drain" it because she had punctured it on something. What? I have no idea! But she was sent home with 3 days of pain meds (2 times a day in liquid form).... and 10 days of antibiotics (2 times a day in pill form). And she is on "house arrest" for at least 5 days because "feet are tricky" & are hard to get well. So thankfully she has done this alot for the first 3 days thanks to the pain meds.....She would just lay around, looking miserable for the next couple of days.

Her foot looks great here.... It was cleaned up & drained... & this was a couple days later. Those antibiotics worked fast!

But now that she is done with those pain meds & the antibiotics are working, she feels better & is VERY ready to go back outside. She is frisky & chasing things, chewing on things, meowing incessantly (at the door), & stalking. One thing i don't like about cats (& i like most everything about cats) is the stalking. I don't like that anticipation of being pounced at! There is a reason that she is an indoor/outdoor cat... she NEEDS to get her energy out - outdoors! But in the meantime, she is having a blast...

What a week!

Hopefully this week won't be as eventful as last week. In one week we had a pool date planned, 2 work days for me (kids to Mema), speech which we had to cancel because i forgot i had to switch a work day to accomodate the kindergarten assessement. We also had preschool orientation for Eli! It was going to be busy for sure.... but i had no idea JUST how crazy it would because....

I literally locked my keys in my Jeep twice in one week. We have no spare key & no AAA. And the fact that i did it once, much less twice, tells you that i was stressed & fretting around & was just being forgetful! (Technically once was Jackson's fault, but we won't go there.) We were locked out after trying to get into 3 different pools that were closed for maintenance in our final attempt to hit the pool this summer (poor Emma was soooo sad), but after Randy finally rescued us all, we ended up hitting Pullen Park & making the best of the rest of that afternoon. But then..... i did it again - only 3 days later while i was parked at the elementary school..... That time, i actually cried. I had had enough for one week & was just coming out of the school after hearing all about sending my kid to Kindergarten. Thankfully, my sister rescued me this time.

In fact, she not only rescued me, but she stopped by my house on the way to the rescue to get the cat so that i wouldn't miss the appointment that i had scheduled for her since she had come in limping the day before. She picked me up, Lola in tow, & took us all to the vet, waited in the waiting area with the kids while i had Lola's foot checked out. (I have decided that it is impossible to EVER get out of the vet's office for cheaper than $100 bucks!!) Then she took us home. Isn't she the best sister ever??? Nevermind that Jackson had to ride with no car seat, just the seat belt. And Eli rode in Emma's no-back booster. What else were we supossed to do? Randy got the Jeep unlocked after work... He left his truck in the school parking lot & drove the Jeep home. But then he had to do this......

Apparently after having to "jimmy" the door twice.... the locks didn't like us so much. He had to take the entire door apart to fix it. So, it was just icing on the cake, really! All in all, it just wasn't a great week.

At least the preschool orientation went well for Eli. He is totally geared up & ready to "paint at my kool (translation: school)." I guess if i am going for the glass half full approach here, then technically the K assessement went well also. Jackson teared up a bit when he had to leave me to go with the other kids & a teacher, but when he came back he immediately said, "I got to play with LEGO's!" It was pretty dreadful to hear about all the rules & technicalities of public school while we waited, which just furthers my whole dread about Jackson losing his child qualities. He is going to have to start growing up & beginning this week. I hate that- but i know he is ready for this, but is a mom ever ready??

Cute Curtains!

Today officially marks the 2 month mark of living in our new house. And by looking at the house, you wouldn't know it. The dining room still has home decor scattered all over the table with totes & a few boxes on the floor. The master bedroom is still un-decorated, as well as the boys rooms. However, most everything is unpacked aside from about 5 boxes total (for the whole house!). Those boxes require a project of some sort in order to utilize what is in the boxes.

But anyway- i say all that, to say that tonight we FINALLY hung the curtains in the kids bedrooms. I am so excited because they turned out so cute! My mom & i (who am i kidding?), i mean, MY MOM, took the curtain from their old room which was a navy panel along with a plain red twin sheet & we made the valances from those two things to coordinate with the colors of their bedding. They both have the same bedding because they were sharing a room with bunk beds that now are un-bunked & in separate rooms. So their rooms look basically the same, but i did want to make them "their own", so i decided to have my sister monogram the curtains so that it would give them a special feeling to their own spaces. (I got this idea from a friend who has her girls' valances monogrammed, so thanks, Mere!) One room has a red top & blue bottom & the other is vice versa. Rebecca got them back to me tonight, so after church we put them up! THe kids were in their jammies, waiting for bedtime, watching us hang a rod & curtain! It was kinda funny, but Randy appeased me & went with it (he knew i was excited!)

Check them out.......... and did i mention that the boys love them!!

Next up.... i need to paint the coordinating pictures that Randy sketched out for me on canvases that also match the print on the bedding. Projects, Projects, will they ever end??

Gettin' Crafty!

I have been in such a crafty mood in the last week. I just can't help myself! And i have made some cute things too.....

My favorite is this "paint can." It is so adorable, that i think i will make some for Christmas presents too!

I started with a basic clear/metal can that i got at Archiver's for $3.99. Then i added some paper around it, scalloping the edges first. Then i stamped a cute little image that reads, "The road to a friend's house is never long." Then i matted it to an orange piece that i embossed with my Cuttlebug beforehand. Then i added an eyelet to each end to attach the green ribbon to. And lastly, i added the really cute double flower to the side of the image with a yellow brad.

For the top, i used my Cricut to cut the circle to the correct dimensions, adhered it to the top, then added another cute coordinating flower with a polkadot brad in the middle. Then for the finishing touch, i added some coordinating ribbon to the handle.

THEN.... i went to the office supply store, got some labels, and stamped them. And then added them to the Hershey's Nuggets i bought.....

Then i filled the container with them. Isn't this sooooo cute??? I love it! Oh, and i added a Target giftcard in the midst of the chocolate for an added surprise for the recipient of this beauty.

Did i mention that i made a coordinating card to go with it?

This started a cardmaking frenzy that kept me up until 2am one night. But i needed to make some cards for upcoming occasions in the next 2 weeks, so it was fitting!

I have 4 baby gifts to get together as well as one little boy's birthday.... so... i made all these!
That little bird is saying, "Tweet Baby" & the other card here is just a basic monogram card with tractors for the birthday boy (who loves anything transportation!)And these two are for two other girls i know, both having baby girls! One i work with, & the other i used to work with but am still close with!The last one was my favorite- it reads :"Everything's better with two." And it is for Randy's cousin's wife who is having TWINS! Yikes! So Aunt Debbie, don't spoil the surprise if you read this post before the shower...... That card is hitting the mail this week with her gift.....
I went to the office supply store today to buy envelopes to get a head start on Christmas cards, but decided to hold out for a sale. I hope this card making bug sticks around!