School's (almost) Out For Summer!

I don't know about you, but if you have kiddos in the house, they're probably about to drive you crazy.  It's that time of year when kids get summer fever and start to go stir crazy. 

I remember elementary school being the most fun during the last week or two of school - you don't really do much but play, have a field day, a spring fling...all that good stuff.  My daughter is loving life right now because that's what they are doing - just having fun. 

We have a tradition that started in Kindergarten that marks the end of the school year.  I'm really into photography, so I use that to make sure her teacher gets a one-of-a-kind teacher's gift.  Last week, I went to my daughter's class, kicked out her teacher for about 15 minutes, and put my plan into action.

First, you need to buy one of those frames that holds an 8x10 picture and has a white mat around it.  I take the glass out of the frame and take it to class.  Each child signs the mat with their name.  Then I set them up to do a class picture, but not just any class picture.  I take a picture of the kids in the way the teacher knows them best - see what I mean?

I actually ended up with 4 great group shots, so I printed 6 of each so each child will get one to take home, too.  It's a silly but cute way to remember your friends, and it's a way to say "Thank You" to the fabulous teacher for putting up with them all year.

It's really cute when it's finished, too, see:

~Kirsten

Intro to Summer - Outdoor Concert Series

I absolutely love summer, and to me, when the outdoor concert series kicks off, it means we're getting close!  Saturday night, Edwin Mccain was in town!  WOO HOO!!!

We started off the evening with some fun stuff for the kiddos...

A great local band, Three Way Street, opened.  They were so, so good - loved Carol jean, the lead singer chick.  Killer vocals!

Us hot mama's were ready for Edwin McCain!  (That's me on the far right)

And finally, the man of the hour....EDWIN MCCAIN!!!

Absolutely GREAT show!  So much fun with some great friends and great music!  Come on summer!!

~Kirsten

How-To: Recipe Cards

Let me start by saying that I despise, despise making my grocery list every week.  I'm not an excellent cook - I do what I have to in order to feed my family, and I've learned a lot over the years.  But needless to say, very rarely, if ever, will you ever see me posting my new favorite recipe and pictures of how well the dish turned out.  I'm not a fan of being in the kitchen.

Grocery shopping is on my top 5 list of "Things I Hate But Have To Do Anyway".  Ugh.  So, I wanted to simplify all of this.  I wanted a way to make a quick grocery list, a quick (and edible) meal plan, and make it cute at the same time...because, you know, that's just how I roll.

I started off by compiling a list of my most used recipes - the old favorites that I know my hubby and my youngen' will both eat and not complain about.  I typed them up in Excel, listing the name and ingredients for each dish, then also listing the actual recipe and, in some cases, serving suggetions.  (Cuz I don't want to think too much when I'm making my grocery list!)  Here's how that started:

In case you can't tell from the picture, I set my page up in 2 columns  - name and ingredients on the left, recipe and serving suggestions on the right.  That way, I can cut them apart, fold them in half, and voila!  A recipe card!

Well, I didn't like them.  They just weren't cute enough, and they were all different sizes:

OK Kirsten...be creative.

I dug through my scrapbook stuff and finally my creative juices started to flow!  I moved all those lovely recipes that I typed up into a Word doc and formatted them to fit on Avery clear mailing labels - you know, the big ones.  Again, I did it in 2 parts - name and ingredients on one, recipe and serving suggestions on another.  Then I pulled out this great pad of cardstock that I got at Joann's - very cute stuff, and durable, too!

I printed my labels, then folded these here little pieces of cardstock in half and affixed the recipe on onoe side, ingredients on the other (I think you get the jist of it now, right?).  Once I got them all folded and stuck (technical terms, mind you...), this is what I had to work with:

Now, obviously, even though they are terribly cute, they aren't practical for use in the kitchen...yet.  You gotta laminte 'em!  After I did that, I went to Target (fave!) and bought some days-of-the-week magnets (under $2) and a magnetic mesh basket that held them just perfectly ($3).  Both items were by the white boards and such...

Then I slapped 'em on my fridge and voila!  Cute and functional recipe cards that also double as a meal planner!  It's easily accessible because it's on the fridge, it's very functional and durable because they are laminated, and they are really stinkin' cute!

Go ahead...steal my idea.  I promise it'll save you time and hassle, and dress up the fridge a bit!  See how cute these look up against my lovely family photos?  We're so stylin'.

Happy Thursday!

~Kirsten


I'm linking to these fabulous blogs:


Today's Creative Blog
Reasons To Skip The Housework
Tip Junkie
Sugar and Dots
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Ginger Snap Crafts

Election Day...for Student Council!



My sweet Marley was nominated for Student Council!  She has been working very hard on her "campaign" and all that goes with it.  Today was election day, and she woke up bright and early wanting to hurry to school to pass out flyers.  Nothing like a little last-minute campaigning!  :)

I'm so proud of her.  She didn't win, but that's OK.  She was one of 6 kids - 3rd and 4th graders - running for the seat of "Reporter", and she came in 2nd by a very thin margin of only 2 votes!  Go Marley!  I'm just very impressed with how involved she got in this.  She poured her heart and soul into her poster and told everyone she knew that she was running and asked for their vote.  And the biggest accomplishment of all - she spoke in front of all the 3rd and 4th graders at school!  This is HUGE for Marley, because even though she is very social, she has a fear of getting on stage in front of large groups.  I'm so incredibly proud of my baby girl!

And today, after she told me she didn't win, she went on to say that she didn't vote for herself!  If she had, her margin would have only been 1 measly vote.  Still, I'm one proud mama tonight :)

~Kirsten

How Do You Teach Humility?

Humility (noun):  the quality of being humble; modest opinion or estimation of one's own importance

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."  Proverbs 11:2

It's very hard to be humble, and it's definitely not fun.  How about humbling yourself in front of your children?  Admitting when you're wrong...to them?

Marley and I hit a few rough patches the past few days - too much estrogen, maybe.  She is her mother's child...  Anyway, this morning I snapped.  She didn't do anything too terrible, honestly, but it was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

It was bad, too.  It was one of those arguments where I started about one thing, then kept on going..."And another thing!"  "Oh and this, too!"

She cried, I cried.  Not a pretty sight.  We were able to calm down before school (yea, did I mention this was in the car on the way to school?  Nice, huh?) and she forgave me for yelling, but all morning at work, I had pangs of guilt.

Sidenote:  I am horribly guilty.  Horribly.  I beat myself up like crazy.

Anyway, I was sitting at my desk, moping, and realized that it was 11:45am, and if I left at that moment, I could get to school by noon and meet her at the clinic - she has to take Amoxycilin every day this week for an ear infection.  Anyway, I digress.  So I hopped up, grabbed my purse and ran out the door.

I made it to school and beat her to the clinic.  As a matter of fact, Marley forgot so I had to go get her.  She was happy to see me, which made me feel good.  But I wasn't satisfied with that.

I got her out of class to go take her medicine, and when we got in the hallway, I stopped her, got on her level (down on my knees) and sincerely, deeply apologized for my behavior this morning.  The tears came (from me) and I hugged her and told her that it's not excusable when she talks like that, and just because I'm an adult doesn't mean I'm allowed to talk like that.  She hugged me back and said she had forgiven me this morning.  Then she smiled the sweetest smile, gave me a kiss, and all was forgotten.

I am so grateful for humility.  I pray that my daughter will be humble, even though it's one of the hardest characteristic traits to master.  If you call attention to your own humility, you are no longer humble, but proud.  It's a fine line.

I by no means want to say that I'm proud of myself, because I truly am not.  My behavior this mornign was childlike and unexcusable.  But I did the right thing, and in the meantime, maybe I helped to teach Marley a valuable lesson.

~Kirsten

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I love being a mom.  It's by far the greatest gift God ever gave me, but it's certainly not easy.  Sometimes it's incredibly stressful, but it's so worth it. 

Last night, Mother's Day-eve, we did something a little different to kick-off Mother's Day - we spent the evening in the ER!  Marley was playing on the playground, and had just started coming down a ladder, when her hands slipped and she fell backwards.  Her right foot, however, stayed put, lodged in between the rungs of the ladder.  When she bounced back up for a second, her foot came loose and she fell about 8 feet down to land flat on her back.  We thought her foot was broken, but thank God, she's fine.  Not even a sprain! 

Taking her heart rate at check-in

 

Checking out her x-ray - No breaks!

 

Marley got a cool new bracelet! LOL!

But, in the end, through good times and bad, happy and sad, it's all worth it.  Every tear to wipe dry, every boo-boo to kiss, every handcrafted gift that I just have to keep forever, every mess to clean, every tangle to comb through....I wouldn't trade one ounce of this life God has blessed me with.  I love you Marley!  Thank you for the best 9 years of my life!  Love, Mom XOXO