Thirty-one

Yesterday, I met up with my great friend, Emma, and she delivered my thirty-one stuff I ordered at her party.  This was my first thirty-one purchase so I'm excited to see how the merchandise holds up and if it's everything I'd hoped for.  

As a first timer, I was a bit overwhelmed at all the items.  I didn't go totally unprepared.  I had been looking at the online catalog for a while and had a good idea of what I wanted.  I knew I wanted personalized lunch bags for the girls.  I let each of them pick out their own patterns and font for their names on the front.  I knew I wanted something too, but I had no idea what.  I guess I was hoping that something would really pop out at me when I got to the party.  

The consultant had tons of stuff for us to look at.  I found the lunch bags that I was ordering for the girls and I have to say...I was very disappointed because they are h.u.g.e.  Like I could pack a whole weeks worth of lunches in them huge.  I think I asked eighteen different times if there was anything smaller.  Of course, the answer was no every time.  I even looked at the possibility of ordering something that was not an actual lunch bag and using it for that.  Unfortunately,  doing that meant that I couldn't get the girls the patterns they had picked out themselves.  

Ultimately, I decided to go ahead and get the humongous lunch bags that are about the size of the girls themselves.  Luckily, they use them for lots of things other than just lunch at school.  They will be perfect for snack bags in the summer at the pool and for long car rides on vacation.  

Since I spent over  well over $31, I was able to take advantage of a great deal.  I got a nice size utility tote for just $7.  This will be my new tote for all of my teaching materials that I lug back and forth to school.  It has lots of pockets on the outside and has lots of space inside for all of my stuff that I never really seem to use but have to have anyway.  

Here's a peek at what we got:

You can check out all of the thirty-one products for yourself here.  Enjoy!

New stuff

Nothing is better than setting a shopping goal and then actually achieving it.  Yesterday's goal was to find some reasonably priced cheap, but cute, shirts for Kinsey that would get her started for the fall season.  I wanted to purchase at least five shirts for about $30.  Sounds impossible, right?  Not so much.
I went to Old Navy and found some amazing deals!  Almost their entire inventory is on sale right now, so that made my goal even easier.  I was able to get three long sleeved shirts, two short sleeved shirts, and one zip up fleece.  A total of six items for just $32.  I even snagged two of those shirts for $1.39 each and got two shirts for Kaitlyn.  Here are the girls in their best catalog poses, each with one of their new shirts.

 

Last night we traveled North to Fort Wayne to visit our family.  This is an eventful weekend because while I'm here I got my hair cut (pictures below) finally.  It has been so long since I cut my hair so it was long over due...as evident by the pictures.   

And, yes, I have the same sweater on in different colors.  That was totally unintentional.  When I packed for the weekend, I didn't realize I grabbed the same thing in two different colors.  Actually, I didn't even know I bought the same sweater in different colors.  In my mind, they were two absolutely different sweaters.  When I got my hair cut, it made my neck itch so I changed...into the same sweater.    

Also, I get to meet up with my friend, Emma, and get all of my 31 stuff that I ordered last weekend. I will post pictures of my awesome new merchandise tomorrow when I get it!

It's time for the YMCA

Swimming seems to be the default fun activity that we do around here.  Anytime we have nothing to do, swimming is always the answer.  Our YMCA membership gets a great workout.  

Our swimming trip was pretty uneventful...even for us.  There weren't many children there because, again, all the schools around here are still in school.  There was one other parent there, who of course couldn't resist asking me why my children were not in school.  Only this time, she didn't think we were skipping; she asked if my children were home schooled.  I have learned quickly that people around here don't like it when children are not in school (even when you try to explain that you are on fall break for two weeks...it's like they don't even hear you) and they will certainly ask what the heck you are doing.
Geesh...I wonder how today will go since we are going out shopping.

The Tooth Fairy's mailing address

Jason and I try to be the best Tooth Fairies we can possibly be.  However, sometimes, it's a pretty tough job and last night was no exception.
It sounds like an easy gig, I know.  Sneak in to a dark bedroom, trip over the only toys in the room that always hurt your feet (or make obscenely loud noises), feel around under a pillow, replace a tooth with a gold dollar (well, that's what this tooth fairy uses), all while trying not to wake a sleeping child.  What could possible go wrong?
What could go wrong is that the child might not be the calmest sleeper in the world and somehow lose the little bag the tooth is in from the time you put her to bed to the time you go in and try to replace it with money.  Such was the case last night when I tried to do my tooth fairy duties.  I could not find that tooth anywhere!  I searched until she started to stir and then the heck out of there.  I even sent my back up fairy (Jason) in to try to find it.  We had no luck.  We left the gold dollar under her pillow and knew we would have some damage control in the morning.
When we woke up, Kinsey was as happy as could be with her gold dollar.  It was Kaitlyn, however, that was distraught by the fact that the tooth fairy did not take Kinsey's tooth.  In a very sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes with one little fist, she holds up the little tooth bag with the other and says, "Do you know how to mail this tooth to the Tooth Fairy?  She forgot it."

A successful day

Today is day two of our fall break and I already feel like I've gotten more accomplished than I have in the past nine weeks. Today's agenda included:

• Setting up a new life insurance policy for myself ü This is something that's been on my to-do list for about nine weeks now.  Good thing I'm still alive and kickin'.  
• Finalize & close all bank accounts at our old bank to complete the transfer to the new bank ü After standing in line behind one person for almost 20 minutes with two children in tow, I was not upset to bid this bank adieu.  I know it's not the bank's fault the person in front of me couldn't make up her mind, but it is frustrating when the line is almost out the door and there is only one teller anywhere to be found.
• Try a bubble painting project outside with the girls ü Although we did complete this project, it didn't turn out like I'd hoped.  I read some fun craft projects online for the girls to try during our time off, and this one sounded fun.  It also helped that all we needed were bubbles and food coloring (both things I happened to have).  I don't know if you've ever tried to blow bubbles and intentionally try to get them to land on a piece of paper, but it is almost impossible.  We ended up putting the paper on the ground and blowing the bubbles directly onto the paper while hovering about 5 inches above the darn thing.  Since it was breezy, of course the bubbles kept blowing away, thus not creating any kind of cool design on our papers.  I am also positive that our neighbor was not watching her dog do his business outside, but was instead staring at us to see what the heck we were trying to accomplish.  To which I answer, absolutely nothing, neighbor lady.  
• Let the girls make their own mini pizzas for lunch (the recipe is on my recipe page) ü This is always a success.  A delicious success.  If you have children that love to help in the kitchen, I highly suggest trying out the recipe with them.  It is super simple, quick, and fun!
• Take the girls to the park to play ü Man did I get eyeballed today!  Let me remind you that my children and I do not attend and teach in the same school district that we actually live in.  So when I was in public with a kindergartner and a second grader (who were not in school), I got some funny looks.  We were asked by four people...yes, FOUR...if we were skipping school to enjoy the beautiful day.  To which I laughed to myself and thought about how Kinsey cried last year when she had to leave school two hours early because she was deathly sick.  There is no way she would ever miss school intentionally and ruin a perfect attendance record that would jeopardize her end of the year awards.  Second, do I really look like or come off as the kind of parent who would let their kids skip school; to go to the park no less?  I kept looking around the park half expecting police to jump out from behind the benches and ambush me for truancy.  The other park parents probably feared for the safety of my children (and theirs) as I looked around very paranoid, like I shouldn't have been there or just broke the law and ran to the closest park I could find.   I should have pulled out my cell phone and started talking in code and then ended it with, "They'll never find us here."  I'm constantly amazed with how interested people can be in a total stranger's life. 

• Make cupcakes with the girls ü In my mind, this is always a good time.  What child, or adult for that matter, doesn't love frosting the perfect cupcake, putting on colorful sprinkles, and taking that first bite of a warm, gooey cupcake?  Exactly.

• Have the girls work on their homework packets from school ü Yep, this was about as fun as it sounds.  But...mission accomplished.  I guess all that fun has to be balanced out with something.  

Yesterday, Kaitlyn told Jason and I that she only falls asleep and takes a nap when she's "had a really busy day and worked really hard like at school and stuff."  

Judging by those standards, today was a very successful day :)

Blog? What blog?

I didn't realize how quickly my blogging went down hill until today when I spoke with my dad on the phone.  He asked me what we had been up to, promptly followed by, "What happened to your blog?"  I usually rely on my blog to keep family and friends updated on the happenings of my life.  Most of the time, he calls to get more details about a story I've written.  When he knows nothing at all, I know I'm slacking. Unfortunately, when the school year began, most of my free time ended.
So I apologize blog world, and family, for the lack of posts recently.  Luckily, we are on fall break for the next two weeks so I will try to do some exciting stuff, think some really important thoughts, or even catch Kaitlyn sleeping in funny ways to give you all something to read about over the next two weeks.
Until any of those things happen, I'll fill you in on what we have been up to around here.  Kinsey started (and finished) soccer with the YMCA.  I have to say that her performance as a soccer player was not what we expected.  I was expecting her to run like crazy and be super determined because she was so excited to play.  She has done one soccer clinic, at which she did great.  We thought she'd get out there guns blazin', but when she started picking grass and chasing butterflies, it looked more like ADD than a promising soccer career.  She did manage to score a goal one game.  We all cheered for her and told her what a great job she did, but she looked at us funny.  In the car, Jason and I congratulated her on her goal.  She replied, "That went in?  I didn't even know I made a goal."  Despite that, she did have a great time and loved every minute of it.
Interesting tidbit, half way through the season, we discovered that her coach attended the same college as Jason and I.  She scoped out our Manchester blanket on the sideline.  That made for some good small talk during awkward silences.  When she asked what year we graduated, my mind went blank and I told her the wrong years.  All those dates seem to get jumbled up anymore. Oh well, I'm sure she didn't go home and look us up to check.

Kinsey's soccer team minus two players

A little update

Since the start of school, we have been non stop around here.  Since I have a moment to catch my breath with a long Labor Day weekend, I'll update you as to what has been going on with us lately.

New Job:  Jason took a new job with a new bank.  He is very happy with this move and seems to be settling right in.  In true Jason fashion, he is getting restless with training and wants to jump right in and begin selling.  It is a great promotion with better opportunities for advancement so we are both excited!

New Car:  Jason bought a brand spankin' new car.  I guess since he got a big promotion, he figured he needed a car to match.  Just joking...the truth is that he was driving my Impala which was just simply worn out.  (That tends to happen when you put 150,000 miles on a car in just over six years.  We drive a lot.)  He ended up with a 2011 Impala, only much fancier with all kinds of bells and whistles.  He thinks he is really cool and loves to remind me that my car doesn't do all that fancy stuff.  

Soccer:  Kinsey started soccer two days a week last week.  Yep, I'm officially a soccer mom now.  I just need the mini van to match.  She is loving it.  They have just had two practices but start their games next week.  She is really excited to get her jersey and soccer pictures!  I'll get some pictures up soon!

School News:  Probably the most exciting for me is that my donors choose project has been completely funded.  I can't say it enough, but thank you to all of the donors that have helped me with this project.  Because of these donors my classroom will be getting over $750 worth of new books for my classroom library.  I was so worried when I put this project on #1 because it was my first project and I wasn't sure what the heck I was doing #2 I knew I was asking a lot.  Donors choose tells you to try not to make your request larger than $400 and mine was $756.  I braced myself for my project not getting it funded in time.  I have to say, I was so taken by everyone's generosity.  Thank you again to everyone!