Am I Getting Too OLD For This???

Nope, I'm not talking about scrapbooking or crafting....

I'm talking about some of the little things that we teachers do.

This week was literacy week. As one of the middle school teachers I went out of my way to make sure that my students were actively engaged in reading, writing, speaking, and listening to literary things. To end the week today some of us thought that we would do a little something special.

We selected either an author or a literary character to portray.

I've been racking my brain for a few weeks to try and find something creative to do. (I rarely do anything halfway....)

It was Wednesday of this week when my character finally started coming together: a blue robe and a red stretch scarf from the second hand store, a little acrylic paint, a few bobbie pins, and a toy lizard.

The result:



Don't recognize her??

For those of you without younger children, I was Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus series.

Here's a full length look:



Don't get me wrong. I LOVE doing whatever it takes to get my students to enjoy learning, but somehow I think that maybe....just maybe.....after 27 years of teaching, numerous costumes, silly songs, and silly dances that I might just have passed my prime.

There were a few others who joined in on the costume event:



Before I left for school I asked Keenan, "Be honest, will you be glad when you leave home and you don't have to deal with any more of my foolish things?" He answered, "No, I've gotten used to it."

Oh well, at least I have some great photos to scrapbook and some memories to document....

The Creating Bug....

My creative spirit has renewed itself. I have been busy at work the past two weeks on a mini album that will be a gift for a dear friend. I'm actually making two of them, so I still have a bit of work to do. The hardest part is done however, since I plan to use the layout from the first album as the basis for the second one.

I've also been playing around a bit with Photoshop. I figure that I should develop a bit more "techno savvy" when it comes to photos and editing. I started by locating a quote that would reinforce my One Little Word and decided to try creating my own "subway art" piece.

Here is the result:



Not too bad, eh?

A New Year...... A Renewed Me

Happy New Year!!

Welcome to the first day of 2012.

I realize that this is really just another "tomorrow" that has become "today", but it really does kind of feel like a new start, doesn't it?

With that in mind, I have chosen One Little Word to guide me and my thinking through the remainder of the year: RENEW.

My hope is for this year to be one of renewal: renewed energy, renewed enthusiasm for life and my career, renewed creativity, and renewed romance within my marriage. I will endeavor to devote more time to the things and people that truly make my life better. I will renew my focus on things that count; things that truly make a difference.

In the past I have, too often, allowed work, stress, and the woes of the daily grind to weigh me down. I have focused on the negative and forgotten to take the time to be grateful for what I have. It is my hope that I can renew my focus on myself, my family, and the positive things about each day.

Keep watching this blog because, if things go as planned, I hope to have many more positive things to share with you.

Oh My Goodness!!!

I knew it had been a while since I had posted, but I didn't ealize it had been THAT long! Life has been keeping me VERY busy. A new school year with new common core standards and new literature has kept me hopping. I'm still working and reworking things to try to get a classroom routine that I really like. (Maybe I will get it all figured out before next year.)

I've also been busy crafting. About a month ago I decided that I wanted to try to make one of those cute winter caps that looks like an animal. (You know.... you see them EVERYWHERE in the stores.) I got online and searched for several patterns then tweaked them to create my own. The result was a maroon owl cap that I thought was kind of cute.



Kari wore the cap to school, several of the kids saw it, and the rest is history. As of today I have crocheted and sold at least 50 of these lovely hoot owls. I have also adapted the pattern and created puppy dogs, a Hello Kitty, and even a teenage mutant ninja turtle. I joke the kids that one day they will look back and remember the year that Mommy "made" their Christmas. It is really only a small bit of a joke. The money is really coming in handy to purchase things from the kids' wish lists!

All of that crocheting has kept me kind of busy though, so I haven't gotten to scrapbook in a VERY LONG time! It has been so long, as a matter of fact, that I can't even tell Glenn what type of scrap stuff I might enjoy getting for Christmas. That is saying a LOT! I've always been able to give him a very specific "what I would buy for myself" list and he usually gets whatever I've asked for.

Ths year I just can't seem to think of anything that I really NEED or even really WANT. Bless his heart, he keeps asking, but I just can't seem to come up with anything. Any ideas?

I Bet You Thought I was GONE!

Well, I'm not......

I've just been really busy, with the start of school. I'm teaching reading this year and I'm working on all new units. That has kept me busy a lot!

Today I finally took some "me" time and sat down to create. I scrapped a simple little page of my daughter crocheting. I combined some really old papers that have been lieing around for a long time with a new tool that I recently purchased, the Sew Easy.

For those of you who have wondered about this tool, it really is pretty easy. I just picked the style of stitches I wanted and then rolled the head along the side of a ruler, creating the holes. Then I stitched in the holes.



I'm sure hoping that I get more "me" time really soon. I've missed scrapbooking!

My Boy is Back in Town.....

Can you hear me singing???

Can you tell that I am HAPPY!!!!!

We went to Danville yesterday and picked Keenan up from Governor's Scholars, where he had been for 5 full weeks. It seems like FOREVER for me......

He had a GREAT time and has matured a lot.

While he was gone we did a bit of shopping.....

Right before he left, Keenan took his driver's test and got his license. Of course we started talking "car". We weren't really sure when we would be able to purchase one for him, but we knew that he would need one to get back and forth to evening college classes during his senior year.

Glenn got what he considered a good deal and we were able to purchase Keenan's dream car: red Nissan Altima 2 door coupe. It was hard, but we kept the purchase a secret from Keenan for almost a full month. When we left home yesterday we decorated the car with beautiful bow.



As we neared home, Glenn handed Keenan 3 cards. He opened the first one to discover a birthday card, to which Keenan said, "Why are you giving me birthday stuff already?" He opened the second one to discover a Christmas card. After a few seconds it kind of sank in that he had a BIG gift waiting and he kind of knew what that meant. After the 3rd card which was a graduation card, Glenn presented the small gift box with the key inside. The look on Keenan's face was simply priceless, but his face when he finally made it home and sat in his car for the first time was even better.

My Girl....

My girl turned 14 this week. It almost seems impossible that it has been 14 years since I gave birth to her and brought her home from the hospital. Those 14 years have been very lively ones! Everyone kept telling me how different boys and girls were, but I wouldn't have dreamed how different until Kari came along. After a couple of years with Keenan, I really thought I had this kid thing figured out, but I have to admit that it has been really different raising a daughter.



Kari is our free spirit, fun loving child. She would rather be out running or playing a game with a friend than sitting at home reading a book. She is much more independent than her brother too, and sometimes that independence creates conflicts with us.

Even with the problems, arguments, and conflicts, I really wouldn't change a thing. I am so happy to have her in our lives. Happy birthday Baby Girl!