Saturday, October 31, 2015

halloween 2015

we only barely managed to get costumes together this year. and only because some great friends helped out.

taylor pulled out last year's power ranger costume, and it still fit.
elizabeth had a friend lend her a dress, and another friend lent her a hat, and she ended up as one of the cutest witches i've ever seen!
shannon pulled out elizabeth's costume from last year, and went as a princess.
ashley had a friend lend her a dress (that was temporarily altered. an adult small does not fit a 5 year old.), and shaun turned his fedora into a witch hat.
michael started as a pumpkin, and ended as super hero mix. batman shirt, captain america shield, belt, and arm band. he also had a cape. i call him my super michael.

i refused to take the kids out to play until my house was semi clean. so we got a later start than we normally would have.

we headed up to the art lab for their halloween carnival, and the chance to see nana. we let the kids play the games for about 20 minutes, and then got some pictures. during the pictures, elizabeth threw up. thankfully, not on the floor, or anyone. she was able to make it to the bathroom where she spit it into the toilet. we promptly packed up and started home. only to have kronk give out on us. we ended up running with the hazards on, and maxed the power out at about 25 mph. when we got off the highway to come into town, he stopped and wouldn't start again. a kind lady stopped an towed us to the gas station, where shaun put some gas in, and she then followed us home to make sure we got there.

looks like we are "grounded," and i won't be able to make my grocery run monday morning...

gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. for the opportunities that arise to pay it forward.

2. for the 4 bags of stuff i'm getting rid of today!

3. for birthday cards from great-grandparents. they make the kids so happy!

Friday, October 30, 2015

gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. for layering clothes.

2. for a few minutes to relax.

3. for the ability to make homemade costumes when there's no other way...

Thursday, October 29, 2015

j is for jumprope

ashley,




michael,



i is for igloo

ashley,
the i is kinda hare to see, and the igloo is a little boxy...

 she totally missed the i's in is...

michael,


h is for horse

ashley,
 a handprint art horse!



michael,



gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. that baking cookies heats up my kitchen.

2. that soup is an inexpensive, filling meal.

3. to be able to get in a full day's worth of school!

alphabet book credit

i realized, that i really should share where i got all these goodies from. 

page 1 is a simple uppercase letter out of construction paper decorated to look like something that starts with that letter (with the exception of x). as we are doing TJed, all of the items are classic.

page 2 has the first poem, it comes from confessionsofahomeschooler.com this is the poem that michael looks for letters in, and is left clean in ashley's book.

page 3 in ashley's book is the second poem. it comes from carr creations at teacherspayteachers this is the one that ashley has to look for the letter in.

page in ashley's book is simply looking for letters and items in magazines.

the whole idea stemmed from this. however, i tweaked it to free things, and to fit what i was looking for.

however, ashley has something similar to this, from headstart.

g is for goat

ashley,
ashley did not want to turn her g into a goat...



michael,
strange looking goat. i made the pieces too small.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. for friends who don't make me feel like a charity case.

2. for windows that close.

3. for warm sweaters and socks

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. for rain. when you can't work outside, the inside gets cleaned.

2. for water in general. we're made mostly of water.

3. for those tender mercies the lord sends our way.

Monday, October 26, 2015

gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. for less expensive options.
less than $20, and i have enough laundry soap to last me 5 months. and i substitute this for the laundry beads.

2. that even when things are hard, i can still get the basics done.

3. for leftovers that i can turn into another meal. a DIFFERENT meal.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

f is for fish

ashley,
we started adding in handprint art! for some reason, ashley wanted a black fish...
 hm, page 3 seems to be missing.

michael,


gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. for "artsy" kids.

2. for friends who become family.

3. for my faith in my savior.

backyard rexpo

a good friend of mine held an expo in her backyard. she wanted to be able to connect with other vendors, and hopefully sell a few things. she didn't advertise a whole lot, and not many people showed up to look.

we put my rugs and my new hotpads. we also had the pallet bookshelves, headboard bench, and shauns ability to do portraits. shaun also brought his paints and started a landscape (from his imagination).

a few people loved the rugs. no one even looked at the hotpads. lots of people commented on the painting in progress, and someone even said they loved the bench. and we did give someone contact info for a painting commission.

i was slightly disappointed that no one purchased anything, but not overly surprised. however, i was extremely disappointed in one of the other vendors. as i was hauling stuff back to the car, she stopped me and asked me what i used to make the rugs. i told her i used old tshirts. she responded by saying that she could easily do that. (i could easily make the crocheted hats she was selling as well. but, in no way would i tell her that.)

ok, i realize that trying to sell homemade goods in the mormon bubble is difficult. we are a fairly thrifty people and generally taught to do things ourselves when possible. however, telling an artist who spends their time and effort on making something, that you are going to go do one yourself is rude and demeaning.
yes, i have no doubt you could probably make it yourself. but i didn't show my work so that you could go home and make it yourself. i brought it hoping you'd be inspired to reimburse me for my time and effort.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. for warm blankets.

2. for hot chocolate!

3. for semi-casual outdoor events on cold days.

Friday, October 23, 2015

gratitude

today i'm grateful...

1. for the opportunity to serve.

2. i own a second set of sheets for my bed.

3. for an ocd husband.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

gratitude

today i'm grateful....

1. for the opportunity to try and grow my business. i've been a busy bee lately.

2. for when the children ask for jobs to do to earn money. (not that i always have said money, but i like that they want to do something extra to "help".)

3.for the opportunity to try and find myself again. i hope it works.

skinny

this crazy kid, this one right here, has started refusing to eat.

today, we had a wic appointment for him. he has lost 2 pounds in the last 2 months. he has completely dropped off his own growth curve.

they are putting him back on whole milk (they have started giving everyone 1% or skim milk. my kids need the extra fat...). there is now an option for yogurt, which we are taking, and they are giving me some pediasure to try and put some weight back on him.

i'm really hoping that this doesn't turn into a more serious problem than it already is.

i need to make an appointment with our regular doctor to talk about it.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

gratitude

today, i'm grateful....

1. for warm showers after coming back from water aerobics.

2. for green smoothies (YUM).

3. for seemingly "random" funds.

e is for elephant

ashley,
hm, no tail...



michael,



Tuesday, October 20, 2015

d is for dog

ashley,






michael,

somehow, the tail ended up as the nose...?

c is for cat

ashley,






michael,


he didn't want to turn his c into a cat...


b is for butterfly

ashley,
b is for butterfly. she didn't want to finish it...





michael,


he found them all, all by himself!