Wordless Wednesday...Kind Of!

Welcome to our busiest season! I am trying so hard to keep up, but it seems to always get the best of me! We were out of town and just got back yesterday. If course I paid the house sitters and made plans for them to come back tomorrow! How on earth can we even get laundry done? Maybe we should just buy all new clothes! 

How was your Easter? It was absolutely fantastic for us! We had 4 stops to make but all worked out well and with great efficiency!

Our sunflowers are growing! Now if only it would warm up to allow us a transplant! I cannot wait to see these continue to blossom. The kids enjoy watering their plants every day and measuring their growth.

I love catching my children playing quietly. I always hear that quiet children are up to no good, but so far I have only found friends playing quietly and unwinding from long mornings!

This morning we are listening to Kingdom Keepers book I on CD. This is a great way to get them to settle in for a day of studying! We love our early and quiet mornings where we break a little from the routine!

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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About Me...

Hello my friends! Wow, this blog is old and it's about time I update my about ME page, with my 35th birthday looming on the horizon this coming Monday. Well, here I am. Michelle is my name and I am a married (Disney bride), mother of 3 that is beyond ridiculous in my use of exclamation points, highlighters and colored pens. My obsessions are books, tea and office supplies...in that order. I can often be found with a trenta iced green tea (unsweetened) from Starbucks and that lasts me the entire day while I am also chugging down 1 gallon of water of a day. My color is pink but I am often wearing black, because I find myself carrying too many extra pounds. It's time to begin a new regime that I can stay with, I start Zumba on Monday again and am walking while my kids are running with cross country. I hope to make it to running with them along the way.

This describes me perfectly, I try to be the best at all I do and it may not always work out how I want it to, but I like knowing that I did my best and gave my all. I am a dreamer but a realist first and foremost. I have an insane desire to explore the world and cannot wait to get back to Europe, waiting for my youngest to grow up has taken longer than I wanted but I didn't want to be hauling around strollers or cranky children through my favorite places in the world. I am definitely not one to sit still and I think that is why our homeschool is always on the road, we learn best standing on location and that's probably because those moments are when mom comes alive. I studied to become a tour guide in college and it's where my passion still lies. I love leading vacations and tours and outings and the like, I enjoy planning and putting together adventures and learning experiences and most of all I love exploring the unknown! This could be why I enjoy homeschooling, it is a blind road for all of us and we are learning together.

I am a mother to 3 amazing children that keep my days full and my heart bursting! We are Catholics, using Seton Homestudy as our curriculum and it's what works best for us. My kids are pretty close in age (7,9,10) and all get along pretty well for being siblings! I've been married to my Prince Charming for 10 years and together for 15, he is my complete opposite and I think that's why we work so well together. I am too forward to be with someone just like me! With raising children to be confident and well rounded, I have noticed my confidence grow. I am far from just a mom and know that my children know that too. 

I am a lover of books that loves to sit on the floor of a bookstore and just read covers and smell pages, feel spines and get lost in the world of fellow book lovers. I read with post-its and a notebook, colored pens and a highlighter. I own 2 Nooks and still love the feel of a book in my hands. I write down quotes and questions, memorable characters and anything that catches my eye. I'm a nerd that misses school. I'm sure there is more about me you want to know or maybe I have revealed too much, who knows! Ask away if you have any questions!

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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Tuesdays Tips!

Tuesday is here and with that you get a peek into my life with a shared tip! Scouring Pinterest, I found several LEGO Bridges and decided to put them together onto one page. I then printed out this page, popped it into a page protector and into our LEGO binder. This binder has all their directions, LEGO magazines and any challenges such as this that I put together. It gives them ideas to create and also challenges them to do something out of their norm. 

A large basket in our classroom is designated to new books that have come in from the weekend. They are waiting to be scanned into our database & add library pockets. While in this basket it also gives time for children to leaf through what just came in and just maybe they will check them out!
As this past week was Educator Week at Barnes & Noble, I went a bit crazy, add in a trip to the Catholic store and I was in heaven!
New This Week:
1. The Lost Files of Nancy Drew
2. My Path to Heaven a young person's guid to the Faith
3. Communion of Saints Coloring Book
4. Girls Who Rocked the World
5. Totally Catholic!
6. For Girls Only, Everything Great About Being a Girl
7. Four Perfect Pebbles A Holocaust Story
8. American Sisters Exploring the Chicago World's Fair 1893
9. Minecraft The Essential Handbook
10. George Washington, Spymaster
Two CDS:
1. The Easter
2. SAT Test Express

Make those stuffy old binder clips pretty enough for your classroom with washi tape!

Another peek into our Adoration Bags, here is mine! Mine has my wedding day Bible, bible highlighters and my daily devotional journal. In this journal I keep track of all prayer requests that I have been given, some of my own and also journal about day to day activities that I need to reflect on. After going through a few basic prayers, I pray a rosary and then begin my reflection with my bible as I pray for those that asked for prayers. Read more about our Adoration bags along with our Little Catholic Homeschool HERE!

Remember to enjoy every minute my friends!

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Round Up!

Fall seemed to have arrived while we were on vacation and we came home to a yard full of leaves, the sky turning dark super early, a chill in the air and pumpkin everything...it is an amazing transformation to leave sand, sun, tank tops and shorts to come home to leaves, darkness, long sleeves and jeans! I love Autumn (why we named our daughter that!), don't get me wrong, but it takes some getting used to! We collected leaves in all of these clear cylinders to decorate the house for the season and they looks so cute! We put them on the fireplace and peppered throughout the living room.

The Day The Crayons Quit has to be the most AMAZING book we have read in quite awhile! It is hilarious and sooo cute that we bring it everywhere and have people read it. Have not read it yet? Get to your library or even just head to Barnes & Noble, you will love it!!

With Autumn sneaking up on us, I knew I had to start preparing for Winter. One of the kid favorites is painting in the snow. These squeeze bottles are the perfect size for little hands. My kids absolutely love doing this, even making the paint with food coloring and water is a fun project in itself! You can even use squeeze bottles with food, check this out HERE!

One thing my kids loved in Disney World was the Pirate Map treasure hunt. They had so much fun following these maps that it has inspired our next birthday party coming up in December! We plan on having a treasure hunt themed party, with maps and hunts and prizes in trunks. The kids are so excited and I can honestly say that I am too! Follow my Pinterest Board for this Party HERE!

When we take on new studies, I love to use things that I can find around the house, are inexpensive and can be taken on the go! Learning the 50 states and capitals is made fun with this double sided-popsicle stick game. One side has the state and the other the capital. It can be played like a game of pick up sticks, can be used alone as flash cards. My kids also love making up their own games to play, the have added in a timer and give a time limit, added in a note pad and had each person pick 10 and lay them flat, then write down what would be on the opposite side of the stick, they sometimes grab them and use them to quickly decide who goes first, second and third in other games! I keep them accessible at all times and the kids gravitate towards them every now and them outside of class.

Our car ride was electronic-free and the kids didn't notice one bit! We had card games, travel games, homework and plenty of chatter. We all had a blast and in all honesty 20 hours went by in no time at all! One thing that we always keep on hand are chip clips, they are perfect for holding cards for little hands when playing games!

Remember to enjoy every minute my friends!

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Summer 2014 Bucket List!

June is here and it means so many things to us! Warmer weather, shorter school schedule, more time with friends, pools and waterparks but mainly it means:

Summer is here and so is our Bucket List!! We are so ready to get started that we almost could not narrow the list down to something manageable! You can get your own printable copy HERE! 

2014 Summer Bucket List

3 Kids, 2 Parents, 1 Awesome Summer (Again!)

• Drive-In Movie
• Make Crayon Candles in the Sun
• Make Garden Mint Iced Tea brewed in the Sun
• Visit New-To-Us-Park
• Take long bike ride
• Picnic in the Park
• Go to community Movie in the Park
• Have a mud and water outdoor party
• Bike Wash
• Lemonade Stand
• Neighborhood watergun fight
• Volunteer for a charity in need as a family
• Kids plan and make 1 week of dinners
• Go to a concert in the park
• Zoo trip with friends
• Camping
• Amusement park with friends
• Build a large fort to play games in
• Rainy Day Movie Day!
• Attempt to fry an egg outdoors
• Make a smore in the sun
• Race homemade boats
• Backyard Scavenger Hunt
• Visit 1 new park
• Splashpark Play
• Waterpark Day
• Tie-dye t-shirts
• Make glow-in-the-dark garden rocks
• Make finger puppets
• Ice Cube Treasure
• Painting with Plants
• Hole Punching Leaves to make Summer Garland
• Beach Day!
• Sand Play!
• Neighborhood Smore’s Party!
• Turn Slide into waterslide and fall in a pool of water!
• Keep a summer journal
• Road Trip!
• Wear costumes in public!
• Do School Outdoors!
• Practice 5 random acts of kindness in one day
• Visit 1 new park
• Make a fairy garden
• Build an outdoor car track
• Bike obstacle course
• Have a tea party
• Make a movie
• Make Ice-Cream in a bag
• Pool Play & Learn
• Firepit Party
• Create a special drink
• Outdoor Science Lab
• Chalk-Art an entire block
• Make a wishing tree in a park
• Set up our Park Play Kits in random parks
• Visit 1 new park
• Practice 5 Random Acts of Kindness
• Take a tour of some place new
• Visit a grandparent at work
• Buy dinner for someone in a restaurant
• Install and Fill our Free Little Library
• Have a neighborhood field day
• Make a salad from all garden veggies
• Farmers market visit and dinner from the buys
• Buy unusual fruits and veggies for a sampling day
• Have a giant sleepover
• Make cards and deliver to a local nursing home
• Have a table that the kids run at a garage sale
• waterpark fun #2
• splashpark fun #2
• Try 1 new restaurant
• Buy Ice cream for the person in line behind us at the sweet shoppe!
• Make a new friend
• Have a book swap
• Create a city-wide day of play in a local park
  Make it one to remember and don't forget to enjoy every minute!

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Perfectly Pretty Pancakes

Did you know that you can have fun shaped pancakes that are easy to make without dirtying all your cookie cutters?Use a squeeze bottle! This one gives fine lines, reuse a ketchup bottle for thicker! This opens up the pancake to so many cool shapes and even better: Little hands can do it too!!

Sometimes we all need to be reminded of this very thing! Maybe some coloring time for all ages would help ease the stress in the world...Enjoy every minute my friends!

Right Now...

Right Now, I am:

::Sifting through today's thrift store finds

::Drinking Chamomile tea out of a Disney World mug

::Wishing that today was Friday

::Thankful for my husband and children

::Debating on whether or not to start a new Family Central binder

::Wondering how to get my hands on a Waldorf set of log blocks and not spend a fortune.

::Wanting a hot bath and massage

::Listening to Vivaldi's 4 Seasons

Box Tops!

Box Tops University is coming to Chicago and I'm going! Anyone else planning on attending the April 1st event?

I am the box top coordinator for our school, are you? Share your tips and blog posts concerning box tops!! I am hoping to remind everyone to keep on collecting all through Summer, so that we can come back with a bang!!

When Life Gets In the Way...

Mantle Clock Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 13.00

Where did the weekend go? It's what time already? What DAY is it? Do you find yourself asking these questions often? Sometimes I just want to run and scream and jump out the nearest window. (Hmm..seeing as how i'm on the 1st floor, nothing much will happen, but I would be very cold!) With 3 kids, sometimes life just gets in the way of your good intentions. These past 2 weeks have been crazy, I have not been able to keep up with MichellesCharmWorld like I should be and my new line for my Lollishops store is painfully lacking. We've spent the last 2 weekends in Downtown Chicago for entire days and while fun, I constantly had this nagging sensation that I had to get back to work. It's my busiest time with custom orders, wholesale orders and non-internet orders and yet there I am playing with boats in the water at the Childrens Museum and wondering just how the heart works at the Museum of Science and Industry. I don't feel guilty, since my children and family always come first, but I do feel a bit lost. I schedule my day as it is during the week and even stick to my 3 unhealthy hours of sleep a night, so work as much as I can when the house is silent. The only thing I can do is throw myself head first into mondays! For today, the dishes will wait and the errands will be run by my husband. This morning I will move a small table of work into the playroom and while the kids watch a movie I can get some work done. Not a great solution for every day, but it helps with mondays. Hopefully I will get some new supplies in today and that can help get my creative juices flowing right where they should be! I better run now, i've been invited to a dance party in the next room!

Boombox Adjustable Ring by MichellesCHarmWorld 8.00

Fridays Funky Finds

Fabulous Corset Top by MissAlphabet

As you can tell from my creations, i'm anything but normal! I'm a tattooed formorly pierced mom of the 3! I like fun, fantastic and as Sharpay would say I just want FABULOUS! My everyday life is pretty much the same. I like stuff with a bit of edge or frill or cuteness to it. I want to start out my funky find with a shirt I got on Etsy recently. I loved the pink ribbon corset look of this! It was so pretty and eye catching that I had to have it! I had it in my favorites forever and I know it's not exactly wintery, but it arrived and I threw it on it's warm and soft and soo wonderful. I threw on my armwarmers, rain hat and was good for the day! I think I tore it out of it's package so fast that the envelope is still on the floor somewhere! Run over to MissAlphabets Shop she has the most fantastic pieces ever! I've got my eye on this next:

Summer Strawberry Sundress by MissAlphabet 68.00

Sometimes I love to spend an afternoon browsing Etsy using keywords just to see what I can find to buy next! My favorites are not crazy and full like some and not empty like others, I use them just for items I intend to buy or my husband will buy for me. I like to keep it down to the basics of what I really want and usually try to clean it out of sold items and such every other day. (Just reminded myself to do that!) Go ahead and take a peek at my favorites!These are some amazing treasures I found on my last hunt! I always laugh when I use keywords and my own items pop up! I know I am tagging correctly for someone shopping like me!!From Left to Right:

Coffee Corset by Jenngee 9.00 (I need to buy one of these soon! Perfect for putting in your purse and maing something as simple as your daily Starbucks look fabulous!

Washing Disher Neckly by MichellesCharmWorld 20.00 (This was my ode to making something as not fun as dishes a bit livlier! You know, more fantastic!)

Vintage CareBears Lunch Box from RunOntheSun 11.50 (Lunchboxes have become super fun in my life lately! I use them as purses and little diaper bags, funky, different and eye catching!)

Safety Third Grenade Shirt by SafetyThird 20.00 (This shirt has cool written all over it! For me as a mom, I love that it says safety third! We are always telling our kids to becareful!)

Check out to Etsy and check out all the goodies that they have to offer! Or run out and get all of the items here! It's always fun to have someone else do the hardwork and all you have to do it pay! Hmm..now if we would only get someone else to pay too, then life would truly be....FABULOUS!

The Last of fridays funky finds leaves you with a whole lotta looking you can do for the weekend!

From Left to Right:

Acrylic Star Charms from PinkyNoodles 2.25 (Perfect for the kitschy crafter!!)

Have a Seat Shoulder Bag by BlackBags 54.00 (I love everything about this bag; roomy for kid stuff, easy to clean, unisex look so husband can carry it too as a diaper bag!)

Love to Sew Charm Bracelet by MichellesCharmWorld 12.00 (Perfect gift for the sewing machine goddess!!)

Pink Lace Button Up Leg Warmers by Starlingslaw 25.00 (Totally perfect with ballet flats and a velvet black mini! Argg.. I think I need these!!)