87 Years of Wisdom

"I learn something new every day", this is a quote I grew up hearing often and then it was quickly followed by "I'm xx years old and I'm still learning!" My grandfather just turned 87 on Saturday and we all spent the day with him have a fantastic time. We heard stories for the millionth time, heard new tales and even laughed until we cried, sang until our throats were sore and ate until we thought we may slip into a food coma. It's not every day that we get to dine with a legend and yes, I truly think my grandfather is one.

9 Things About My Grandfather:
1.~ He ALWAYS has a Jalapeno in his pocket...ALWAYS.
2.~ He left home at the age of 12, so his family would have more food.
3. ~ He was headed for Minnesota on a freight train, when he was beat with a club out of a hay bale and kicked off the train in Chicago, that's how our family ended up here.
4. ~ He showed up as a guest to a friend's wedding, when a groomsman got sick, they grabbed him to accompany the extra girl...that ended up being my grandma.

5. ~ He is ALWAYS in a suit...ALWAYS...

6. ~ He can barely get in or out of his sportscar, but he is still driving around in one that he trades in every few years for another.

7.~ He packed lettuce, picked cotton, drove semis back and forth over the border, drove tractors for farmers and collected bottles for people making their own liquor in basements, all before he was 14.
8. ~ The only family photo he has with both of his parents and all his brothers and sisters was taken in his living room....with his mother in her coffin, dead.
9. ~ He is amazing. 

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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Two Tips on Tuesday

A beautiful day for a beautiful girl! Yesterday our Princess turned 10 and we had a great day planned for her with a few surprised that even her detective skills couldn't sniff out. The holiday season is always a mess for us with travel and so many different family houses to see and then add in 2 birthday parties and today the Epiphany. Tomorrow I am glad to see the tree come down and the house slowly get back to normal. We are peppering school here and there but won't get officially back at it until mid January when all has calmed down and the house is beginning to look like a home again and not a warehouse!

My daughter wants to be a spy for the US government when she grows up and she studies spies like nothing else. When she isn't studying how to become a spy or creating spy devices she loves to design fashions and watch movies. One of her surprises was to take her to the movie theater when 3-4 different movies were starting within 40 minutes and let her pick anything she wanted to see. She picked Night at the Museum again and it was still just as great the second time around. One tip that we use often because we are frequent movie goers is to bring plastic or paper bags with us to the theater.We buy the largest size popcorn they have and then give each child a paper bag with popcorn. All of our theaters offer free refills on popcorn so we then refill it for us to share and we are all set! No talking in the movie for someone to pass the popcorn and no freaking out when someone has had it too long. We do the same with a large drink and split it between 3 small reusable covered cups. This keeps movie going cost effective and the chatting to a minimum. Now that the older kids are 9 & 10, they wanted to sit on their own, so we outfitted them with goodies and away they went (5 aisles in front of us when we had the entire theater to ourselves!)

As we begin to re-do our classroom, one thing I always put out first and have handy is the paper. We keep a wide assortment of paper on hand, this allows little hands to always have access to art supplies and creativity. There are notebooks for on the go, colored paper, cardstock, textured papers, lined papers...you name it, we've got it! Organize your paper and you will also always have a visual reminder of what needs to be refilled or replaced.

Making books stand out and look inviting is all it takes to bring children to the library. Long lost books always seem to find a way into little hands when they are on display!

Happy Tuesday my friends and remember to enoy every minute!

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It Doesn't Matter Where...

A Happy 31st birthday to the love of my life! My husband is an amazing man that has made me the person I am today. He is kind, sweet and patient and best of all so loving. Together we have molded each other and created an amazing family that God has Blessed us with. We love spending as much time together as possible and because he had to work tonight, we took his birthday celebration to him. He blew out the candles in our van and then we shared the cupcakes with everyone. It doesn't matter where we celebrate, as long as we are all together.

This Week in Photos!

Welcome to our week in photos! We had another Blessed week and cannot wait to enjoy our weekend! I hope you are having a fantastic Saturday! We are headed out to dinner to celebrate my birthday with friends and family!! (Yes, I had a birthday on the 23rd! I turned 31 YIKES!! Lol!

With the chill still in the air, we headed out anyway and hit one of our favorite hideaways on the bike path in search of river rocks for our nature table and rock project. we enjoy spending time together and being outdoors!

This week my youngest (he is not in school yet) and I worked on Easter wreaths! This was made of a paper plate and tiny eggs (will post more about this later in the upcoming week) and some ribbon. We plan on giving these out this weekend to family members to help them decorate their home for the Holiday!!
We also worked on our address book after school one day! We are sending out Easter cards and this helps my older two know how to address and envelope and get stamps etc. A fun project that gets everyone involved!
My oldest boy (I really dislike the middle son title! I don't like him thinking that he's in the middle, I know that probably makes me weird! haha) is leader of his school this week (They call it the Big Cheese) and he is all smiles about it!! I am very proud of him, as this is his 3rd time this year!!
We found this tutorial on how to make a felt bunny on Natural Kids, I am hoping to eventually make a pin for the teachers this year, but for now we are using it as a template to cut out Bunnies for our Easter Cards!!!
We made magnets out of a 1.00 puzzle and we had a BLAST!!! The process is so much fun for little fingers, but at the same time we can even use them!! They want to make more and for 1.00 I just may give in!!

Happy Birthday Princess

Happy 4th birthday to my amazing little girl! Princess Peanut, you are the very first light of my life. You taught me how to be a mommy and although along the way we've had some bumps in the road, we're learning it together. Your sense of style has me thinking one day, you could be the next Betsey Johnson! Your smile warms me to the bones and your laughter tinkles like little angel bells. You are a great little girl that reminds me of myself in so many ways, when you sit and read a book, all you ask for is silence and a glass of water. When you make necklaces with mommy, they have to be just right. Your patience with the younger boys shows me what a wonderful person you have already grown up to be. I look forward to the years we have ahead of us together. While often stubborn you fight for what you want and as annoying as it may be to daddy and I, don't ever lose that, There will be many times they you will have to fight to get to where you want to be. Little Autumn-Verona, thank you for making me a better person and I only hope I can mold you into being someone as great as you make me feel. Much love to a girl that makes me feel like a rockstar and may all your wishes come true today and everyday.