New Year's Eve 2012

I hope you had a wonderful 2012...and I am wishing everyone a blessed 2013 filled with love and laughter. :)

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Sunday, December 15, 2012, a day of silence by teachers to honor and remember the children, teachers and faculty....the entire community of Newtown, Connecticut.

Summer Sweet Summer

We are having an amazing summer around our house. Although time is flying by as usual, it's easy to sit and think about how wonderful it has been already. No big vacations this year or activities, just the usual things and a lot of relaxing. Last week was our church festival, which DH has co-chaired with his friend for 8 years. It is a huge undertaking, and it takes time all year, everyday that week and of course the whole weekend. It requires not only DH, but our whole family works so hard with him. With great relief it is over and this was their last year to be in charge. It is time for another group to step up and take over, and for us to let that responsibilty go. Such relief that it seems to have gone well...numbers will tell in a month or so....and that we are finished with it is such a lift off our shoulders. DH has been grateful to all who help each year, and we continue to pray that others will step up with the new team. If a few members of the church and school can do what we did, just imagine what could be accomplished with everyone helping out!

School has been out since May 18th....I attended a great Smart Board conference last week, and have read a little here and there for school while watching t.v. or by the pool. Mostly I have given myself permission to NOT do any school stuff for a while. Loving teaching as much as I do it is so easy to work on school things everyday and lose hours or days in it, but instead I am making myself wait and actually step away from it a little. If I don't, summer break will be over before I know it and I won't have given myself that physical, mental and even emotional break that I really need to give myself from a job I love but takes so much from me and my family all year.

Our house is always slightly cluttered, and you can find a hairball or dust of course....but we live here and I'm actually really pleased with how together the house is this summer overall. I took the first few weeks of break and decluttered some major areas that nag at me all year, and even cleaned up most of the flower beds...major undertaking. There is always more to do, but overall it's just a comfortable lived-in look. ;) I can sit on the porch with a good book and not feel guilty, and that is priceless.

Plans for the next few weeks include a camping trip (major relaxation), a conference in Indy (taking the boys), and in July starting to work on school again. For now, I'm going to go refill my coffee and relax.

I hope anyone who actually reads my blog is enjoying summer in their own way too...and that you are finding time to do the things you love with those you love. :)

Ahhh, summer sweet summer. R.

June!

Sorry about that Christmas card holder/April Fool's Day post that came up on June 1st. I had prepared it way in advance and dated it for later...well guess what...so busy it is now later! Anyway, it didn't make sense...but thanks Missy for commenting on the card holder. I will post it again later. So busy catching up at home and this is our 3rd week off school. I will say I am getting a lot accomplished that always seems to fall to the side during the school year...so that is good. :) Hope you are relaxing and enjoying your summer! R.

National Scrapbook Day!

Super fun day for me today...scrapping all day! I did a few challenges, missed one deadline but at least ended up with a cute card, and visited my favorite scrap sites. Still going, but thought I'd stop for a moment and share some creations. Hope you enjoy and find some inspiration for your own scrapping goodness. :) This first project is for Missy's challenge at Quick Chick Designs (click on her button on the right side of my blog to visit her too). This challenge is part of the My Pink Stamper blog hop. She asked us to use the theme "Get Moving". I took it to use the pics of DS2 as he was moving across a waterpark course all day...and I took pics of one of his successes! He had so much fun and I've always wanted to turn these pics into that flipbook. Thanks to Missy and NSD I can now share this idea with everyone. :)

I tried to upload a quick video to show you how the flip book works but I couldn't get the video to load, so here are a couple of pics from the book to give you an idea of how it works. Super simple project, but DS2 is thinking it is very cool of him...and so maybe I'm cool too? ;)

More scrap goodness from NSD!

I absolutely *LOVE* the Home lo. Love it, love it, love it! :) The card got icky with the letters...they were so small and glue was everywhere...definitely need to work on attaching individual small letters to my projects. I usually use my Xyron machines for this stuff, but these were so small I thought they might fall through my small machine so I used liquid glue..Zots maybe? Anyway, someone (me) needs to do that better next time. DS1 said he would use the card to give to me for Mother's Day...lol. Off to scrap more! I'll post more if I can. Have a great NSD! Rhonda :)

"REST" one little word that has lost its meaning today :)

Hello! :) It's been a very busy time for us...every weekend has been filled with great major events. Today I actually had to write on my personal calendar "REST" just so I would do it when the day came. Of course, REST now includes helping DS3 complete a project presentation for tomorrow, and placing orders for my classroom next year which are due tomorrow. We have had the Bridal Shower, DS1's Prom and After Prom, and a Retirement party for a teacher at school who has been there for 40 years! Still working on another end-of-the year retirement gift we are giving her the last day of school, so of course that is being worked on during my day of REST. lol Oh yeah, and I will REST over laundry too. I will add some pictures soon of the toys we made at the Humane Center last weekend when I brought in the 6-12 year old kids for an activity day...all were made with recycled products and the kids really enjoyed doing their part for the animals. At school this week we made fish which are hanging in our Kindergarten classroom. We started our Ocean theme last week and will continue for part of next week too. I hope your day truly is RESTful, and your week is fantastic! Rhonda :)

Promises

So I kind of promised to share more Easter crafts this week..but with a four-day school week packed with learning and an Easter egg hunt, Stations of the Cross, and myself and my DS3 having dentist appointments that required me to leave school a little early two days this short week...well, that promise just didn't happen.

So, let me take you on a walk through my week and Easter weekend....

I Promise never to forget to stop and see my childrens' shadows...they grow and grow and they are always there for me to see (mine too sitting by him taking pictures, lol).


I Promise to always stop and enjoy the beautiful scent from these lilac bushes. My Grandmother would have been 105 on March 31st...she lived to be 101 and we still miss her so, but we appreciate the fact that she truly had a long and beautiful life. She loved these bushes and when DH commented on them the other day I knew just how much the simple smell of those beautiful flowers brings joy to so many and I promise not to forget it.



I Promise to laugh at the male people in my household that are happy over things that are hilarious to me...like a new big screen t.v. A total splurge for a wonderful man who works so hard to take such great care of us...I promise to laugh at these guys when they confuse me but also appreciate them tremendously.


I Promise to enjoy sunsets...at the beach...on our porch...and along a road.


I Promise to always make a shower or party more personal by doing more than buying everything...using my creative abilities for my cousin has been a joy. It's going to be so beautiful and she will love it! Here are the pom-poms we made for decorations. Totally a Pinterest find...love them!


I Promise to enjoy Easter dinner on the good china with three boys in the household...

I Promise to be so grateful for those same boys helping me plant a ton of Hostas from my Mom, which is a lot of work, but add such beauty to our home...

and....I Promise to always Thank God every day and night for this family that I am blessed to be a part of each day.



I wish you all a Happy Easter and a blessed Spring!

Rhonda :)

It's Palm Sunday, April and Easter Project Time!

Today, as we start Holy Week and head back to school I wanted to share with you a project I make each year with my Kindergarten kiddos. It's so easy, and so beautiful too.

We start with cardboard cut-outs of crosses, glue elbow macaroni on them and let them dry. I love to see how some kids use only a few pieces of macaroni and others use as many as will fit.

Over break I stopped in at school to feed the bird and the first grade fish, and picked up the crosses. I bought a $4 can of gold metallic spray paint, and they turned into these beautiful gold crosses. The kids are going to be so excited to see them on their desks tomorrow morning and I am so excited to see my kiddos!

I will share some other Easter projects this week and some beautiful pictures from around our place that prove Spring is here. Have a great week! :)

Rhonda :)

Zoo Album

Here's a mini-album I made for my boys. I had so many pictures of our trips to the zoo that I decided to just put them into a mini-album, instead of doing large 12x12 pages over and over. I think the album turned out really cool.


















These two pages are so touching to me. They are simple in style but say so much with the words and the pictures...years apart...still convey the same message of brothers who really care for each other. <3



I especially love the humor and boys' input on this last page...each boy wrote part of the saying and then signed their name below...I like that it incorporates their handwriting and that it is funny because it's totally us. :)



I wish I had information on all the items I used, but it is all stuff I collected over the years from swaps, purchases and my own creations as I put it together. I hope it's an inspiration for others. :) The album is about 24 pages, so I've put a lot here, but lucky for you not all..... thanks for looking! :)

Rhonda :)

March Lions and Lambs

We made these and hung them in the classroom throughout March. I make them each year with my students and am always in love with how different each turns out to be when we finish. The project does take a couple of sessions over a few days, but it is a great break from all the academics we have to do at 5 and 6 years-old...especially in February and with no snow days this year it has been a LONG winter. :)



Next up...rainbows for April!

Rhonda :)

Spring Break and post-it-note holders

Hello! Super happy to be on Spring Break this week. Spent time yesterday completing the Bridal shower invites I showed a week or so ago...each one ended up a little different...but they look nice I think.

Today I spent a little time working on my DS3's baby book...a little frustrated because I can't figure out the months for some of the pictures because my old camera didn't show the date...so I made it to month 4 and stopped for the day.

Before starting that project I made these super cute post-it-note holders for little gifts that I plan to give some friends when we return to school. Shhh...don't tell. ;)

The original idea is from mychicnscratch.com. I'm still new to this blog thing, since I never posted regularly in the past so it's like starting over everytime I do...lol. Anyway, I am hoping that I'm not breaking any rules, but if I'm not giving enough info on something please feel free to let me know. So, I mentioned the blog I found these at, and here is the addy: http://www.mychicnscratch.com/post-it-notes/

And here is my version:

This is the outside...

And here is the inside...

Isn't it fun...you can slip it in your purse, teaching bag, diaper bag, or spot in the car and have it when you need a quick note. These were easy and fun once I had the materials and figured out how to do it with the Cricut cartridge that I had here at home.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'll be sharing more this week since I am on SPRING BREAK! Ahhh...really need time off.

Rhonda :)

Kindness

All during Lent the kids and I are talking about how we can be more like Jesus...and even though they are super kind and loving kiddos, we push to do even more than usual. So, this year I created a 'Garden of Kindness'.

I sent home directions and little squares where they write what they do and bring it to school. Each day we spend time talking about their kind actions. Then they get to hang them under the 'Garden' and add a piece to our garden.

They get flower stems, leaves, flowers, centers, etc. We will also be adding butterflies, bees, caterpillars, lady bugs -- and whatever else we need as they do more and more good deeds during Lent.

Whatever the Cricut can cut, they will get to add. They are super excited, and it's fun to see what they come up with to do for others. I am so blessed to be with these kids each day...greatest job in the world. :)








Oh, and how cute are those frogs from Leap Day? Each one is so unique...found that idea last minute and they turned out so adorable. Love those last-minute finds...they are often the most treasured over time. :)

Edited 3/26/12...here are some updated pictures as our Garden of Kindness has grown. :)

Xbox Birthday!

I tried to make a super cool xbox cake for my DS3's 11th Birthday...well, not as easy as it sounds or looks on youtube.

It's nearly impossible for me as a less than expert-cook to make a cake that is not lopsided as it is...however this time I actually followed the directions and made not one but two fluffy French Vanilla cakes. Really, who knew that using a mixer vs. a whisk, and mixing it for the entire time rather than much shorter times would make such a difference? Okay, probably everyone but me. So, now I know how to make cakes after 40++ years. :)

Well, making the cake is easy, cutting it into an xbox controller shape is easy, however, stacking the super fluffy, moist cakes on top of each other and then trying to ice them is impossible. I know, should have used fondant, but they still would have fallen apart after I cut it.

So, on to cake 3 and 4....iciing container 3 and 4 too...and voila' I had an xbox cake for a great kid. Everyone enjoyed the story of the cake at my expense (no worry, I am strong), unfortunately me and DS2 could barely look at that cake after all the 'mistake' parts we had eaten as we worked on the final product earlier that morning.

Here's the cake...not going to get me on any baking show...but it was incredibly delicious (they say). ;) (DS3's name is blurred, it actually looked nice cut in green fondant.)

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

Since Dr. Seuss' Birthday was on the weekend (3/3) my class and I celebrated on Monday, 3/5. It was such fun! We have a retired librarian who comes in to read to the class each month, and she always comes as the Cat in the Hat in March. My class loved it!

We read books of course, and had other activities, but I really liked the One Fish, Two Fish jello and fish snacks...easy and cool for the kids. Thanks to my DH who bought the ingredients for me the night before when my 'to do' became more complicated than I expected on Sunday.

Here is a picture, not as great as the pic on Pinterest, but it's mine. :)

Shower Invitations

Since I am officially a Pinterest Addict - seriously, I have to only get on when I can devote 2 hours or more and then I must stick to the strict time limit or my butt would go numb - I have found so many great ideas on there for a bridal shower we are holding for my cousin.

However, I needed to come up with invitations, and it's hard to not only find what you like but to put it together in real life. Amazingly, last week after my DS3's 11th Birthday I threw this idea together and I have to say I *love* it. What do you think? :)

We are also including "Wishes" and "Recipe" cards to make a gift for her from everyone. Here is an example of the Recipe part...made with Stampin Up! stamps. I will edit or make my own for the Wishes part. :)



Now, of course I have 100s of great 'stolen' ideas for everything else...and I will be using many of them with my Mom's approval since this really is her shower for her Niece and I'm just helping..but Pinterest and my own imagination are making this FUN!

Valentine's Day Countdown!

Tonight as soon as I posted my previous blog entry I saw this on top of my craft cabinet and remembered that I wanted to use it as a Valentine's Day Countdown for my boys.


So, out came the Simply Charmed cartridge and these Love Bugs were created for the Valentine's Countdown mailbox.



Each day I will add something for them to the box...just like our Advent box (which we love). :)

I also made one for my nephew which I will mail to him...he loves mail! :)

Each Love Bug will have a message about just one of the many things I love about the boy who receives it.

Valentine's fun! :)

January happenings....

Well, I actually scrapped this past weekend...I made 23 adorable critters from my "Create a Critter" cart for my Kindergarten kiddos. They 'love' them. We will attach them to their writing binders tomorrow, and as the year goes along they will also write about their critter. Fun for the kids and scrapping for me. I'll try to post a pic.

Working really hard on organizing my classroom info for Common Core Standards, RTI, and ideas for a standards based report card. It's so much to take in...and so much to plan...organization is the key, but it's so hard to get it together.

Open House this week at school...prayers going up for good enrollment numbers!

Using a new Christmas present a TON...my Toshiba Thrive tablet. I would love to use it more for school...including cool apps for the kiddos to use. Any ideas are welcomed....I see lots for the Ipads, but as a techno rookie I don't know how to find the good stuff for my tablet yet. :)

Off to do some web surfing for ideas...school, scrap and home...not necessarily in that order. Bottle of wine opened and a glass poured...I think I'm ready to surf...but I 'must' limit my time on Pinterest! ;)

Take care!

It's My Birthday!

I have to say I am so totally blessed. I have had such a great day...it was filled with so many wonderful moments. Woke-up to my great family and all in a good mood...even a two-arm hug from DS1 the teen. Coffee, everyone ready on time...left and arrived safely...into my classroom and my desk was filled with goodies. Oh, met at the door by an adorable little student who opened the door for me and then handed me a gift bag. So cute and so sweet!

Donut, coffee, and some of my favorites as gifts from some fantastic friends. Lunch with those same friends, and plenty of smiles and laughs as we worked through our day.

A surprise visit from my parents with their arms filled with my favorite cake: German Chocolate Cake, and flowers that I can later plant in my yard. Time to sit and chat with them while my students were in gym class. How wonderful!

A great rest of the day with literally hundreds of Happy Birthday wishes from my students and all the kids I saw at school today, texts from some great friends that I don't get to see each day and my family calling and texting such loving wishes, and the phone calls with Birthday wishes and a hilarious voicemail message with an 'original' Birthday song.

Received a beautiful vase of blue and purple flowers that are gorgeous from my DH and sons...left those at school to enjoy all week! I headed home to a glass of wine (or two ;) ), Chinese take-out, and now getting read for cards and cake/ice cream with my guys.

It just doesn't get any better than this for me...this is the perfect day. :)

If this is the start to my year, and many years to come, then I can't wait to live those days...they are going to be fabulous! :)

May your day be filled with the blessings that touch your heart each day as mine was today.

Take care!

Let it snow!!!

Well, no snow here still....I'm so bummed. Remember this from last year?



This is winter...and I miss it. :)

First post of year

Hoping for a snow delay tomorrow. Having a great school year with my kindergarten kiddos...the rest of school is not as great though. Too much is not meshing anymore and we are not the same. :(

Just wish there was a magic wand to make things better for everyone. :)

The New Year is promising for our family...we are happy and healthy..so life is good!

God bless everyone this year. Special prayers going out to many this year as they go on without precious loved ones.

R.