First Day of School 2011

It's hard to believe Summer is over and the kids are headed back to school. Why can't Winter pass that quickly?! This year I have both girls in school all day and Grant will be starting Preschool 2 days a week early next month. Am I emotional about this? ummm....not really. The years DO go by so quickly....but for now...I'm happy to have a couple of hours without distraction and interruption. Selfish? maybe....but it's true.

Here are my girls this morning...all ready to begin their adventures at school this year. There are WAY more pictures of Lauren...it's her first year of all-day school. Plus I was lucky I was allowed 2 minutes of photo time w/my high schooler. Here she is....Junior year:

And here is my FIRST-GRADER!!! (The Littlest Pet Shop lunch box that took 30 minutes to choose)

Like my new backpack?

Because this Mom won't have it together someday to remember:

A vet....2 years in the running! We shall see!

And this year, a little something new. I wish I had saved where I borrowed it from...some wonderful blog somewhere online (sorry). But Lauren was visited by the First Day of School Fairy! Check out the fancy note she left her...and the special friend for helping with a good night's sleep!

With her Mommy and Daddy:

The walk to school....

The crossing guard....God bless this woman!

At the school!

Her FABULOUS teachers! Tag....you're it!

Wait! What? It's going on 12:30 already? This day is going fast! I hope my girls are having an awesome first day....and that it's going as fast as it is here at home. I think I will have 2 VERY tired kids on my hands tonight. Happy 1st Day of School 2011!!!

Are you all tired of looking at poor injured Grant? Well today's your lucky day! A NEW blog post! Woo-hoo! It's been so long though...i'm not even sure where to start! I guess we'll just start where we are...or at least where we were recently. How about Easter? We'll start there...and since I'm just getting started with this again...we'll just let the pictures do the talking.

I do have to say...I took about 12 picture of these kids....Grant would NOT look at the camera. I'm pretty sure Bailey is threatening him through her teeth here. Good thing for him he's so stinkin' cute in that tie and cap...otherwise we would have been ready to clobber him.The Grandpa of 'em and the Grandma of 'em...COLORING EGGS!
I'm going to TRY, TRY, TRY to get back to regular posts. (if I'm not talking to myself here...and if I'm not...if you even care).

Respiratory virus, ear infections in both ears, croupy-sounding cough... My little guy's sick. =-(

Tooth Fairy Time!

My 5-yr-old lost her first tooth last night! She was sooooo excited! She's been working on that sucker for weeks now. She really wanted to show-and-tell that tooth at school today, so she dictated a letter to the tooth fairy asking if she could keep her tooth to show her friends. She also requested some Littlest Pet Shop stuff (ha!).

I was really worried she'd wake up when the "tooth fairy" arrived...she's a light sleeper. Luckily the "tooth fairy" made it in and out without incident. She DID leave fairy dust (silver glitter) next to the pillow and in a trail from the door to the bed. (bad idea in hind-sight...now I have to vacuum).

Here we go...down the fast road to growing up. =-( Here's a picture of the proud missing-tooth girl.

I have no idea why it looks nothing like her...maybe a weird angle..who knows.

A post about our late family Christmas 24-hr crazy getaway coming soon!

Soon we are getting together with my Dad's side of the family for Christmas. Yes, it's mid-January...but it's the only time my brother can make it. Ye who lives farthest wins. I'm SOOO excited to see my nephews! All four of them! I'm especially excited to meet my newest nephew, EJ. He was born in September and I haven't held him yet! Horrible!

It will be a 24-hour gathering (wish that was a joke). We'll drive about 5 hours there, stay 24 hours and head right on back. The kids will be out-of-control. As Oprah says, "This I know for sure." We are going HERE and staying in one of the villas. Now that is my kind of "camping!" A waterpark AND amusement park indoors? My kids are going to go NUTS! And a Bears game with the whole Schlafer side of the family? AWESOME! (please win, please win)


I have a million things to do before we leave. Wrap gifts, pack, finish MAKING gifts, cook breakfasty stuff to share, etc.


I'm actually sewing a gift for my Grandma (and hopefully Grandpa too if I have time). I do NOT know how to sew. If it weren't for online tutorials, I wouldn't even know how to thread my machine! I found this great tutorial (perfect for grandparents) at I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar. It LOOKS simple, but I didn't have anything circular in the house that was 22 in. in diameter to use as a template. Enter: math. (strike ONE against sewing). I finally figured it out and had my material cut and ready to sew. THEN she says to iron. IRON?! (strike TWO for sewing). I can't believe I didn't quit right there. Ironing +math=my personal hell. But I pressed on (get it? iron.."pressed" on? ha ha). My stitching is horrible, there isn't enough rice in one section....but it resembles the example given! SUCCESS! AND it's heated and around my neck as I'm typing this. It works! Here's my version:


I bought the fabric last summer at a garage sale for 75 cents. (score!) I skipped the button closure on this puppy though. The weight of the rice inside holds it in place, so I'm not messing with any sort of closure on it.

In other news, I happened upon Target's 75% off toy clearance this morning. We are now set for Valentine's Day, Easter and birthday parties....under $85 spent. GREAT deals on some very nice things. I'm so happy I shopped ahead last summer at Target's SUMMER toy clearance - I only purchased one toy this Christmas. The rest came from my secret hiding place in the basement. Although I'm totally toy-ed out after Christmas and cleaning/purging old toys, I knew if I didn't pick up some things now, I'd really regret it later.

Well, back to sewing. Happy Friday!

SNOW DAY!

Today was a snow day for my preschooler. I was excited to avoid the cold trips to and from school, but I would be lying if I didn't say the day grew LONG.

We filled the day with a little painting, Play-Dough and Polly Pockets (today's snow day is brought to you by the letter "P.") We watched a movie, made lunch, folded laundry and still they were bored. (the nerve!)

I should have thrown them outside to play, but it was pretty windy and we have BIG PLANS this weekend, so there is absolutely no getting sick allowed.

In desperation, I pulled out the glue sticks and paper and craft supplies. Lauren had "Family Fun" homework (so not) that had to be done, so we busied ourselves with creating our very own dinosaur. Here's Lauren's creation:

I helped her (obviously), but she was very decisive about each detail. I think the girl had a vision...unfortunately, my artistic abilities ruined her dream and "Crystal the Princessaurus" was the best we could do. Still to all who know Lauren, I think you'll agree that there is quite a bit of her portrayed in this assignment.

We finished that up, ate dinner and by then I was exhausted. But what kind of Mom is too tired for a bedtime story? Enter the perfect compromise for days such as these. Have you heard about it? Barnes and Noble has ONLINE storytime! Check it out!!! This month's book is Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola. Scroll down for a link to past books. My kids listened to four of them tonight.

Fitted Sheets....hate them!

I've watched tutorials on this subject before and still my fitted sheets end up in a big wad in the closet. But it's a new year...and I think 2011 is the year I'm going to get this right once and for all! In case you aren't there yet either...here's a nice how-to:

I'm 39 years old and I still needed this reminder. I think it's especially a great message for women young and old. Let your light SHINE, ladies!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberated others."

- Marianne Williamson A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles

My quest to get organized continues for day 2! (Well, it's MY day 2...the challenge is actually on day 4 I think). Up today? Under the sink. I was so excited to get this disaster cleaned up that I forgot to take the "before" picture. I did take a picture of the piles of cleaners, rags and bags after I emptied it. Just picture all of that thrown under the sink in total disarray. So here's a picture of the almost "before."

Here's the empty cupboard, all washed down and ready for pretty new contact paper:


And finally, the "After":


I still want to get the bottle-holder shelf thingies they sell at Wal-Mart that screw on to the back side of the cabinet doors. I saw them at A Bowl Full of Lemons (hosting this crazy organization spree on her blog). That should clear up even more space under the sink. I had to run to Target today though and no way do I have the time or the mental capacity to hit Target AND Wal-Mart in one day. That back-of-door metal shelf/container idea will have to wait for another day.

This morning Lauren woke up and told me she had the BEST dream last night! I asked her to tell me what happened. "I was in a magical land and there were rainbows and a unicorn, and even the unicorn had a rainbow horn! And there was a rainbow lake and a rainbow seahorse!"

Oh, to be a little girl again!

It's January - a new year - and I've caught the organization bug. Tonight I tackled the linen closet. It's a small closet and most often you can't even shut the door because of the towels and toilet paper falling from the shelves. There...I said it.

So here's a before picture:

The donate pile:

And alas...the "AFTER"...

Aaaah....MUCH better! (until the load of towels and sheets in the laundry room need to be put away)

I can't believe it...but my baby girl has a LOOSE TOOTH!

How did this happen? Already? I mean...she's just 5!

Is that normal? I'm not ready for teeth too big for her little head. I'm not ready! But, she is wiggling and wiggling...and it is getting looser and looser. So I set out to make a tooth fairy pouch for her. The first attempt? CRAFT FAIL!

The second attempt was a passable fail....we're going with that one. It would look better, except when I went to thread my bobbin I heard a sound like a pin falling down into the machine. Then I also noticed craft glue dried-onto the machine. Hmmm....someone's been sneaking into my stuff again! Could it be the same kid who put my Blackberry under the armoire...along with the food chopper? I think he's just messing with my head! Also the heat-activated velcro...LIES! I had to stitch the velcro on...and that's where the frog came in...to cover up that horrendous stitching. Anyway - here's the tooth fairy pouch:

If you sew....don't judge. At least I'm trying!

Lauren was invited to a FABULOUS "Fancy Nancy" birthday party recently. She was to dress up "fancy" and be dazzled by jewelry making, a hair styling station, a runway and more. To say she was excited would have been an absolute understatement. Here she is before the party:

And here are a few shots of the party thanks to a Mom who stayed: