Getting Excited Here!

tomorrow's the night (have I mentioned it here, yet?) the jewelry, crafts, art, and children's clothing party I am having for my mom. she is the featured artist, and she is so ready with SO much stuff!

dude .... i mean endless treats, and treasures. the stuff is fantastic, and all personally made. she is so dang talented! and i am so proud of her! we are currently investigating a website for her, and once up and running, you can bet i'll be listing it here .....

i have 45 people coming, and a caterer. (oooo the decadence!) and my dh is planning on hanging with the kiddies until they head to bed, and he may sneak out after they are sleeping to "escape all those women" haha

so, i will post some photos, and show the goods. she will be taking orders for anyone interested, too.

report cards

so, first i'll do the school report:

yep, first quarter is finished. the kids have completed their beginning steps to the new school year.

i am so proud. :O) so, so very proud.

C received an excellent report, and K's is just wonderful, too!

clearly, they love what they are doing (save for the music class that C received a little less in effort than other areas, when asked about it "well, mom, it's kinda boring ... we sing and clap, and play instruments. I'd rather do P.E." hmmmmm i can see that, no question) and they BOTH got outstanding social and behavioral comments. both teachers feel strongly that they are happy to be in school, and love helping other kids, and possess a strong desire to learn, their reading and comprehension skills are well above level. math is a strong component in their days, and they are tracking very well with this, science is a strength and C has a special affinity towards it, with the teacher really highlighting that! :o) and lastly, and probably the one item that really makes my heart swell with pride (and daddy's too) are the comments about their pleasantness, their magnetic personalities, and their terrific sense of humor. i for one, find it especially gratifying that they include this info in the report card.

see, shouldn't i be so proud?

second - thanksgiving dinner report card:

a resounding A! My sil and brother did a fabu job at their first go of it, and the kids all had a blast! 7 grandchildren and 8 adults, 3 dogs (ours stayed home, otherwise there'd have been 5 dogs) .... :o\ and we all made it, ate it, and enjoyed it. yum. favorite holiday BY FAR.

thirdly - the extra long weekend report card:

definitely an A as well ... right now winding down from the beautiful sunny Sunday here, i was alone with the squirts, dh attended the Patriot's Game, and deservedly so - his birthday today - and the kids and i had a very mellow day. they were playing outside most of the day, i popped in an out, played a little, and chatted a little, and then tonight we 3 snuggled for a movie - The Wild. good one ... liked it. they were snoozing since 7:30 (did i mention the busy part of the long weekend???) and they are so happy to be in their nice clean sheets. :o) i'm about t-15 minutes to do the same .....

so, about a year ago this time, i mentioned on my first time blog entries how thankful i am for the utter lucky status i have .... here i am again, utterly lucky. :o)

i am thankful for:

my beautiful healthy family
my wonderful supportive husband
my terrific, and comfortable home
my lovely friends, on so many levels
the flexible career we both have
the opportunity to share the lives of my kids
the honor to be part of this family
the ability to express my thoughts, and opinions
love, freedom, and peace of mind

and one last thing -

as we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. J.F.K.

what are you thankful for?

have a great Monday!

"The book you want to write, what's going to be in it?"

that's what the *imagination prompter* said to me last night.

i haven't clicked on that in months. several months.

and that, that simple statement was sitting there, staring at me from the screen.

i sat back in my chair. swallowed hard, and cleared my eyes. how on earth did that prompter know what was on my mind. what's been on my mind for months ..... all i can think of is my book. i even thought of a title. i've got the frame, and the theme.

now i need to just go.

doing it isn't even a scary thing. i am not afraid. 5 years ago i was. i am not any more.

i believe that there are ways of reading "signs", and ways of perceiving "signs". this spoke to me.

this prompt has me.

i even wrote it on a paper next to my monitor here.

it is time.

i need to do this.

this is the face of a girl

that lives right behind my house. she moos, and she watches the people stroll by, and meanders through the roomy farm she lives on. we watch her from our house, able to see her walking around, enjoying her life. we walk over to visit her, and moo to her and her farm-mates. and most of all, we hear her talking to her family, and filling the air with her voice. she recently had a baby, and she tenderly cares for her. there are three babies that were born, and the mommies are amazing with them. it is so neat to see it, and talk to my kids about the circle of life.

i love that we live in the fourth (or maybe the third?) largest city in our state, and there is a girl that looks like this behind my house.

she has a few sisters with her, and some two legged animals with wings, too. right in front of her house is a pond with *tons* of Canadian Geese. there are bunnies, and chipmunks, and skunks, and hedgehogs too.

yep, the country is everything that it's cracked up to be. there are three other farms right next to us (and about 10 within 2 square miles!) the largest right near us is that aforementioned girl's, but the next largest is about 3 or 4 minutes walking distance away. there they have horses, lots of them, and my little gal here *loves* to visit her girls at that one. it is wonderful to go outside at night, with all the little house lights on, and just listen to the breeze. the quiet is delicious, and the clean air is spectacular.

i feel so lucky to be here in the place. so very lucky......

a terrific weekend here. fun with some friends friday night at our house, two hockey games (a win and a loss - but very well played, nonetheless) piano lesson (with an awesome report from the teacher that she is doing so, so well!) gymnastics practice, the beginning of some car shopping with a great test drive, some holiday shopping, and now, snuggling with clean kids under a blanket for a good family movie night.

good stuff. 'tis good, I say.

have a great night!

10 things that make me happy today

* a layer of stress has been removed from this house, peace is restored, smiles abound
* my kids laughed ALL day today - with each other
* my son had an absolute blast with hockey practice tonight
* my daughter thought that her 4 hour playdate with her friend today was a slice of heaven sent JUST to her
* my dad came over for dinner and loved the chicken soup I made
* Thanksgiving is NOT at our house this year
* my parents house sold, after 15 months
* I am chipping away at holiday shopping
* my husband cleaned the basement today, getting ready for finishing
* I *MAY* be able to have a scrapping area all to myself down there

what makes you happy?

I have so much to write ....

and so little brain power to do it tonight! ;)

It has been a long week, one full of too little sleep (even for ME!) and full of lots of organizational things - as well as work. (sheesh, you'd think people would understand that I have lots of life to be gettin' on with for work to be in the way. ;)

ahem.

but it was a good week, all the same.

holiday cards are done - even printed! and some holiday shopping is even done - i am chip, chip, chippin' away at that list for Old St. Nick! (just stumped on hubby .... any suggestions?)

got my first-evah mom's (as in MY mom) party invites all set for the handing out. (having her art wares showcased here at my house for a holiday shopping extravaganza ...) very excited about that! she is UBER talented, and finally - FINALLY - has her stock up for selling. have 45 people on the invite list, and all can bring a friend - I secretly hope she sells out of stuff so she can have people pining for her art. :O) it'll be arts, jewelry, crafts, children's clothes, and trinkets she has been making. oh, she is so talented. i am so excited for it! anyone wanna come?

getting closer to the solid plans for Disney after xmas for the baseball tourney.

beginning the pre-holiday purge of kids "things" going - clothes, toys, stuff - so that in the receiving, we are also giving. in addition, getting the adopt a family plans solidly in place as well.

just general good things going on. hair cut tomorrow. out with my cousin in the evening, and then hockey and piano for the weekend. good stuff.

just lots of it.

:o)

I love this

..... and the entire roll of film I shot for our holiday cards!


this is one from the roll, and it's not even the "chosen one" for the cards .... but i love,love,love it!




I have to explain that the photo shoot was such a blast with giggling, and silly faces, and just an overall feel of glee from them. it was a roll of 24, and i am needing to choose only one. ;)

jeez, they are getting SO BIG!

boys ...

here are my two fellas..... well, K's *and* my two fellas.

she and I are the luckiest gals on the face of the earth. aren't we??? look at these two faces, just two peas in a pod ... we were on a trip to the pumpkin patch here afew weeks ago



and this ... this is the smile that melts my heart. and hers, I am telling you. man, she loves her brother, and that is an absolute treasure! :O)





and really, what would a post-Halloween post be without a silly candy haul photo of the cheesy-grin fella? he was mid sentence / song when I snapped, but the glee in his smile kills me. He was Manny Ramirez for the ToT'ing, so that explains the eye black.

good stuff this age they are at. :O)

Be

just like that.


be.

i look out into my world, into the faces of my children, and my husband. They are so content. So pleased with the here - with the now. They are just be-ing.

it is joyful to see it. It warms my heart, and tickles my soul.

i love them.

so very much.

my son had a playdate this week that made him so happy, and so giggly. it wasn't anything out of the oridnary for this kid. he plays everyday. he has friends over all the time. he is over someone's house the rest of the time.

why does this make you so happy? i ask .... because mom, J is so fun, and his house is so cool, and we laugh. A LOT - my belly wiggles when we see each other. :)

i see mom at the store today, and she confirms the giggles that occurred. she tells me that J fell off his chair at dinner he laughed so hard, and she enjoyed having my son with her for the afternoon. you know, she says, his face, i just love his little face .... i think he is the cutest kid in the world. (this coming from a mom of two beautiful, and scrumptious boys, by the way)

yeah, i echo, the giggles are what get me every time, too.

my daughter announced she wants to help people with all her heart someday, and be a doctor. or a veterinarian, you know, i've always wanted to do that when i grow up, mom. but this day i want to help people. maybe i'll help animals tomorrow.

yeah. anything is possible, kid. anything.

unique.
genuine.
gentle.
funny.
open.

be.