May Catch Up

I haven't had a month as busy as May 2012 in a long, long time.

To celebrate Thomas getting into the high ability junior high program, we took their grandmothers to Zaharako's for dinner and ice cream.  The boys love the music.

And the ice cream of course!

 

We spent Memorial Day without a single commitment on the family calendar.  Hooray!

We slept in, got caught up at home, and swam swam swam.

 

It was really cool to see our friends (and my fellow Litwits) on the Wall Street Journal online!

Yeah Stacy and Walt and their beautiful Barbets!

Now that the boys and I are settling into our summer, things have slowed way down.

This past week Thomas started 7th grade Band Camp.  He's playing trumpet still, and loves going each morning for an hour.  Two more weeks and then a big city-wide concert that we'll all attend.

While Thomas is in band each morning, Brennan and I run errands.
He needed deodorant so we stopped in at Walgreens and I let him choose any brand/flavor he wanted.

Here's what he chose.  Ooookaaaay.

We also stopped in at the spice/olive oil/vinegar store.  I needed a Moroccan blend for a new dish.  Brennan had never been in the store before and absolutely.loved.it.  We walked away with his choice of Balsamic.

Brennan mixed up the Moroccan spices for me - making a ras el harout.

On Wednesday we went to the Presbyterian summer camp where the boys will be attending a week each this year.  I was asked to come out and speak to the counselors as they're going through their 2 weeks of training before the campers start arriving.

We had an absolute great time - having lunch with the counselors (all college students), chatting with them about kids with special needs and what parents go through in sending their child to camp, and then we went out and played two really fun games with all the counselors.  It was a great afternoon and I feel really good about the boys being there this summer.

On the way home we spotted the Russell Stover outlet store.  AND they were having a sale.

The boys were jumping up and down excited.  We stopped in of course.

I saw this online and thought it a good reminder for this extrovert.

And finally, are you familiar with the RedBall Project?  Find it online here.  I love these photos!

 Happy June!

Spring Cleaning 2011

As I mentioned in my 2012 Resolutions post - 12 in 12 - my big resolution for January is to spring clean the entire house.

As a couple of you observed - it's not exactly spring yet.  But as I've mentioned a few times - I really don't like waiting until spring when the weather is finally nice to do these inside chores.  January just works for me.  I got started on Monday and it's going really well! 

And from the looks of the January magazine covers at Target yesterday - I'm not the only one who likes to clean out and organize in January.  And many bloggers are doing the same thing, so I know I'm in good company!

I'm using a combination of my Google calendar approach for spring cleaning that I shared here, and the notebook approach that I borrowed from Sarah at Clover Lane a couple of years ago and that I've shared here and here.  The two work really well for me. 

I love nothing more than weeding out and taking a load to Goodwill.

Somewhat related, in case you didn't know, you can clean your car floor mats in the washing machine.

I cleaned two cars' worth of floor mats Monday and they look so much better.

If you're looking to spring clean in the near future, here is a great list I found on Pinterest from Kelly at "The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking" that you could modify and follow.  It has been repinned numerous times!

And, while we're talking about Pinterest, here are some other gems:

Source article

source article

site that allows you to read books free online/then they donate a book for world literacy

ha ha

source

Have a great week!



Catching Up - Random October and November Photos

I'm a little behind on my random photos, and sharing them on our blog so bear with me.

Last month all the 6th graders did a Parents Night presentation on MesoAmerica.

Thomas did his research, paper, and presentation on Quipus, which is knotting and the way that the Mayans and Aztecs counted by making knots in ropes. 

Thomas created a game for the kids coming through to try their hand at Quipus. 

He did a great job with absolutely no help from David and me.

Brennan is in his first serious play this week. 

I've been volunteering a lot at the school because this is a challenge for Brennan. 

He's doing well though. 

The first performance is today at the school and I'll be there, along with the other 4 performances this week!

He is Grandpa George in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

He's under the covers at the Buckett Home for much of the play.

Here he is in his "old man pajamas" and gray hair. 

This kid has soooo much homework. 

The advanced program that he's in has really been an eye-opener for him.

He's doing well but definitely staying challenged.

He's pretty quick with his homework so we can usually make it to swimming but the volume and what they're learning is pretty incredible.

This is my typical afternoon view - Brennan studying while I'm getting dinner ready so when we're back from sports I can pop it in the oven.

We are so excited that Gary and Melissa's little girl Adelynn Rae has arrived!

Addie was born on the 17th weighing in at 9 lbs 10 oz!

She is going to be in NICU for a few more days and I'm looking forward to seeing the family tomorrow!

A Scottish friend shared this on facebook recently - offering to confuse the rest of us even more than we already are about the British Isles.  I think I just call it all "Britain" and am done with it.  This is rather confusing!

My blog friend Anna recently became a U.S. Citizen! It's been fascinating to hear about the process. She shared this link to the Naturalization Self Test. It's really interesting! I've gone through it a few times. Congratulations Kiwi in Texas!

Hope you're having a great Thanksgiving week!

What to Take to Thanksgiving?

My friend Mary shared this on facebook.

I'm hosting Thanksgiving again this year for 2 other families.

That's 13 adults and kids.

I don't even have to make the turkey this year!

Luckily we won't need the Pilgrim-themed Taser or the Vegan Loaf :)

Take Them a Meal

Are you familiar with the website Take Them a Meal? 

This might be old news to all of you, but I am new to the site and think it's fantastic.

I wanted to share it with those of you who may not yet know about it.

If you ever need to organize meals for a family, this is the site to use.

You send friends a link to the meal coordination you've set up and that's it!

Friends will sign up to take a meal and the website sends them a reminder a couple of days before their day.

The family receiving the meals can check to see which nights a meal is expected so they can plan ahead.

And the site is free.  Perfect.

This is a sample schedule.

If you want a certain day you just click on Take and fill in the detail of what you'll be taking.

If you're the organizer, it's a very simple process to set up a schedule and send the link to those you think might be able to help a family in need.

The website has a number of links to help you think of meals to take, it includes recipes, and frequently asked questions.

A family in our church is going through cancer treatments right now.

A church member set up the schedule and sent it out.

Within 3 days they had the entire monthly schedule filled in.

I signed up for last night and typed in that I was taking fish and vegetables.

Then I found out one of the family members can't eat fish, so I went back to the schedule to figure out what else to make.

It was great to see the full schedule so I didn't duplicate.

Wouldn't want to eat lasagna 3 nights in a row!

I wish I had known about this website a few months ago when I was coordinating meals for a local family.  But, now I do and will be using it!

Have you ever used Take Them a Meal?

all photos from the takethemameal.com website



Photo-a-Day: Tornado Damage

iPhone photo

We have been through some bad storms and tornadoes the last few days.  Tuesday night high winds took out trees near our neighboorhood and last night the sirens went off 7 times between 3:30 p.m. and 2 a.m.  Lots of tornadoes sighted.  We've been without power since 6:00 last night and don't expect to get it until (hopefully) tomorrow.  There are more storms coming through this afternoon and evening.

This is a barn about a mile from our house.  We always check out the horses and cows that live here as we're driving into town.  I hear they all fled to the field and were OK when the tornado took out their barn.  Across the road from the farm the power lines are all hanging down.

David had the yard and pool looking pristine clean on Sunday and now it is leaf and debris covered, but that's the extent of our "damage".  We're thankful everyone is OK.  The kids had a 2-hour delay to school today which helped.

Praying for those families in the midwest who've lost family and property in the storms!

Spring 2011 Photos

I have lots of random photos taken by our phones from this spring that I wanted to share, so bear with me.

The last 4 or 5 weeks have been really, really rainy and chilly around here.  It's great for our yard but we haven't been outdoors enough.  During the breaks in the raindrops we have managed to have some outdoor fun.

Several weeks ago the boys and I took a long bike ride together.

Our family bike rides always include a stop at a favorite ice cream shop.

See Thomas's dimple?  So cute.

Thomas loves, loves, loves to stop and look at all the sculptures throughout town.

One of the parks that we ride through was flooded and we had to go through some seriously muddy puddles.  When we got home the boys were sooooo proud of their muddy bikes.

Brennan has been enjoying being a Cub Scout this year.  One Pack meeting they had some outdoor fun.  Here he is with a slingshot for the first time, shooting dog food.

I got an iPhone and absolutely love it.  The boys play on it all the time.  My friend Laurie told me how to take a photo of what's on the screen.  I showed Thomas one day (see the texts from my hair stylist).  And now I get to see all sorts of super fun photos of my phone when I finally get it back.

Their favorite game to play on my phone - Cut the Rope. 

Mother's Day was a lot of fun.

David surprised me with flowers and a gift, and a sweet card from my 3 boys.

Thomas made me a number of origami creations.  He is really talented.

Brennan planted a plant for me for the kitchen at Cub Scouts.

They let me go off and have a couple hours of fun with some friends and I had some good quality time with the boys.  They've recently discovered No Bake Cookies so we made some together. 

Brennan really wanted to treat me to dinner for Mother's Day.  He talked about it all day.  I picked Panera on our way to the movie.  He forgot his wallet and was devastated.  We decided he would treat another time.

The Japanese community hosted a We Pray for Japan fundraiser downtown.

Along with great food they had 3 concerts to raise funds for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.

We enjoyed great food and then toured the soon-to-be-opened Commons.

The Prom had been held there the night before with over 1000 students in attendance.

Next weekend is the official opening of our newest city building which has an awesome indoor playground, concert hall and lots more. 

We were there the night the old Commons closed for the Bringing Down the Commons party.  It'll be fun to be there for the opening of the new building next weekend!

Moving sculpture, Chaos, is still a prominent feature in the lobby.  Thomas loves Chaos.  There is a school system-wide essay contest and the student chosen will get to push the button at the opening ceremony to start Chaos back up. 

Looking at the names of those who made it all possible. 

Bike racks out front. 

It's been a quiet spring for us. 

Looking forward to finishing out the school year strong and then diving into a fun, and hopefully warm, summer!

Hey Jude

I saw this on facebook and loved it.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I love hearing about products that friends really like.  One friend is a bzzz agent and she sends regular reviews of products she's tested.  Always fun to hear about products that are new to me.  The problem is, I tend to try everything out and end up with a lot of items that I only use once or twice.

Below are 10 items that I love and won't replace any time soon.

DHC cleanser is wonderful.  I was using harsher cleansers but have found that this olive oil one works wonders.  DHC has a lot of interesting samples that you get when you place an order.  This is one of their products that I can't live without.

I think a lot of people use their cleanser to remove their eye make up too.  I've tried that but really need a separate eye make up remover.  This L'Oreal one I love and have used it for years.  I've tried the Wal-Mart and Target versions of L'Oreal's and they're fine, but the L'Oreal one is the best for me.

I really love this moisturizer.  A friend gave me a tube a couple of years ago when we were walking a lot for the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk.  I haven't used anything since.  There are SPF 80 and 100 versions of this moisturizer, but I like the 70 the best.  It goes on smoothly and isn't oily at all.

I've tried lots of eye creams over the years.  This Aveeno one is my favorite.

I can never seem to get the right shade of foundation until I tried this one from Clinique.  This is about the only Clinique item I use any more, but I love it.  I'm #21.

The truth is, lately I'm not in makeup a whole lot.  That's one of the reasons I'm behind on the 52 in 52 photo project!  I'll get caught up this week though.  One of the reasons is because I'm working out more throughout the day.  Here are the exercise bottoms that I especially like.

Champion brand is great.  They have sizes that work for me and they are very comfortable, and last forever.  I like these capris especially.

A friend gave me Ethel gloves last year and I really love them.  They're great for handling roses and mulch.  I don't wear gloves all the time when I work in the yard, but sometimes they're necessary.  These are great after multiple washes in the washing machine too.  We found them at Lowe's but they have them on amazon too.

I mentioned in a post a couple of months ago that we had switched from plastic Tupperware/Rubbermaid to glass.  It's been a great switch.  It's so much easier with the glass ones since we can reheat right in the glass and I feel like I can serve the food on the table in them (rather than Tupperware).

And if Tupperware wasn't exciting enough, here's a suggestion on reusable dryer sheets.  I had seen these recommended repeatedly and bought them on amazon.  They are towels that you keep in the dryer and don't have to use Bounce dryer sheets.  They are wonderful.  I believe they last 6 months but mine have lasted longer than that.  I haven't had a static issue in forever, and usually I do in the winter. 

And after all that cleaning, our favorite "product" for fun is Netflix.  We've been members for years.  I think I've only had one time when the movie arrived with an issue and they sent a replacement that same day.  We can even watch select movies from Netflix through the Wii now.  It's pretty amazing.  The boys have seen a lot of older movies that aren't in stores anymore and we've been able to see a number of programs that don't come to our local theater or on our channels - or we don't want to spend the $$ on at the theater.  David's watching the HBO "Rome" series right now. 

So that's it - 10 items I highly recommend and use daily.  I'd love to hear if you have used any of these items and what you think!