School Year Eve

School starts for teachers tomorrow. Usually on this night each year, I panic because of all the things I didn't accomplish during my time off. I go into summer with a mental to-do list and check off the items as I get to them. This summer, I really didn't create that list. I am not panicking. I accomplished much. I vacationed for the first time ever with my children. I helped my husband clean out our garage (thank you Mr. Snake!). I spent time with friends and family. I actually read many wonderful books. I tried new recipes. Tonight I will not think about all that I didn't do. I will take joy in the things I did accomplish and enjoy the last night of summer vacation with my precious children.

Hard lessons to learn/teach

Today was one of those days I had to teach my children a hard lesson. Our house looks like a toy factory explosion. Well-meaning friends and family (whom I love) like to express their love for my children by purchasing every toy known to man. While I appreciate this, I don't enjoy the fallout. Ryan and Jenna have not learned the importance of picking up their things. The only way they will do this is if I yell, scream and threaten bodily harm (I'm only half kidding, here). I asked them to pick up today, while I ran errands. When I got home, the house looked worse than before I left-Thanks, honey! I have packed up the majority of toys in the playroom. Some will find new homes, some will be stored and brought back at a later time, and the rest that were really beyond repair have gone to the garbage can. My children are currently in their rooms picking up and putting away. I think (hope) I have made an impression. Fingers crossed.

7 years ago......

it was around this time that I found out that I was expecting a baby. I was several weeks late and actually had books from the library on perimenopause. It never crossed my mind that I could be pregnant. For 9 years I had dealt with disappointment month after month. I had gone through the stages of grief so many times that I was numb. The one stage I couldn't make it through was acceptance. I couldn't accept that I would never be someone's mother. My husband refused to adopt. We had exhausted our resources with treatments, surgery, etc. I was 35 years old and my time was running out. In the Spring of 2002 I began to pray not for a baby, but peace. And in May I finally made peace with the fact that I had to let go of my dream of parenthood. I thanked God for getting me to that stage. Six weeks later, after a bout with "food poisoning", something made me take a pregnancy test. There were 2 lines. Two lines? What did it mean? For so many years I had only seen 1 line. My husband was sure it was a faulty test. The next morning I had to go work in my classroom. I stopped by Wal-Mart before and bought 2 tests. These had +/-. Digital tests weren't out yet. I went in the restroom in my classroom and almost immediately got a +. I called the doctor's office and asked if they could do a blood test. The doctors were not in that afternoon, but the nurses said to come on in and they would do a test. They did a urine test and it was positive. They refused to do a blood test, even though I was convinced that something besides pregnancy was going on. They were sweet, and kept telling me that I was indeed pregnant! About a week later my doctor did a sonogram and I was able to see my little bean. The day I found out that I was having a child was one of the best days of my life. There are not many surprises in life, but this was definitely a surprise. The outpouring of happiness and love that I experienced as people found out about my pregnancy was truly amazing. The people in my world certainly rejoiced for me. I am so thankful for my little boy. He is truly a gift from God. Getting pregnant again was not difficult at all. Dealing with a terrible loss afterwards was hard. Having my little girl was another miracle, but I will save her story and my angel's story for another day. Hug your children and give thanks to God everyday!

CHILDREN'S PARTIES

This was J's 3rd birthday. A princess theme for a little girl who truly believes she is a princess. Another home made cake-made with love. Activities included making candy necklaces and crowns. I think the moms enjoyed this more than the girls. I also set up a playdough table. Favors included the crowns, a heart shaped cookie cutter with pink playdough, white chocolate lollilops and the necklaces. The invitations were cute. I made them to look like ballgowns and included a pink ribbon at the waist. We are already getting ready for next year's party-Tinkerbell or Little Mermaid.

This was R's 5th birthday. The theme was "Cars" I made the cake as I always do-I think homemade cakes make the day even more special. They may not look professional, but it's something I feel I have to do. I always have an activity table and on this day we let the guests put stickers on a racing helmet. We also had pictures frames to make, but didn't get to it. I made them and placed pictures inside for thank yous. I made 3 cars from boxes and we held races. We served hotdogs and popcorn in little popcorn boxes-they were a real hit. Drinks were served in an oil change pan. It was a fun party.

Up!

We finally went to see Up today. It was by far the best movie I have seen in a very long time. The message was so sweet and profound-totally unexpected in most movies today. A children's film shouldn't make me cry as much as this did, but it was so good. I would highly reccommend that families see this together. Definitely 2 thumbs up and then some!

Raindrops on .........Petunias?

I awoke to the sound of rain and thunder today. This is the first significant rain in about 6 weeks. Our grass is turning brown and everything is dying. This was a much needed reprieve.

Teacher gift

I have altered clipboards for the childrens' teachers for the last couple of years. Here's the first I've done this year. I have 2 more to go. They look cuter in person than the pics. I add them and other school supplies to a basket as a beginning of the year happy. School starts for teachers 2 weeks from tomorrow and for students 3 weeks from tomorrow. Hopefully they will like their goodies. As a teacher for so long, I try to be a good parent.

I love Bentos!

I love the Bento box concept. Cute little containers with even cuter lunches---what's not to love? I ordered a few Bento supplies last summer to prepare lunches for R who was in Kindergarten. He is so picky and was not impressed. This year J will be in 3 year old preschool and will take her lunch to school 3 times a week. She is not picky and is thrilled with cuteness. I have ordered a lot of stuff to pack her lunches. Ichiban Kan's online store is going out of business, so I ordered about $30 in Bento boxes and accessories. I can't wait for them to arrive. The little things in life really make me happy. Happy Bento, everyone!