A Few Loose Ends!

I'm sure I've mentioned it before on the blog, but just in case...at the end of each school year I write a letter to the boys. It's just a synopsis of their year and also a little bit of looking forward to their next year. I also include $20 in the letter. This is going to be the kids graduation presents. In all they will end up with $260 and some cool letters from their mom....yeah I know the money is going to mean way more to them at that time, but I hope that one day they will cherish them! 

This year I was a bit behind though I didn't actually get them finished until the first day of school. At least they did get finished though. Next year I'll have to write 3 letters! 

As for what I mentioned in the last post about Ella's clothes....I came up with a plan! If you are a person that was a teenager in the 90's you will totally get this...if not just try to picture it. Remember Cher from Clueless and her AWESOME closet and her super cool computer that would put outfits together for her at the touch of a button. Well...I tried to recreate that for Ella, but in a less techie way.

Ella was given this cute picture book from a friend of my Mom's...thanks Barb. She's had it for awhile and I just wasn't quite sure what to put in it until this idea popped in my head. On two different occasions I laid Ella's clothes out on her hope chest and took pictures of different outfit combinations. The first reason I did this was mainly to see how many clothes she actually had that didn't have stains on them....girl is messy as can be I tell ya! Second I wanted to actually piece together some things she might not normally wear so she could see how cute they were and third...I know my child and mornings at our house are going to be a total bear if she doesn't have her outfits picked out the night before. This way she gets to "shop" for her clothes and it gets to be her choice. At the same time there are limits set in place so she won't try to get away with wearing clothes that I don't think are appropriate for school...like her leotard...or as she lovingly refers to it...her tard! 

So far this has worked like a charm...granted we've only used it for two days, but seriously the fact that she actually wore jeans and a shirt she normally wouldn't was amazing. She did end up taking her shirt off while we were at school because she was hot, but she had her cute pink tank top on underneath so that was okay. When we did get home she changed into shorts, but again I don't care what she changes into after school I just want her to not have a total freak out cow in the mornings. The best part about her clothing catalog...it was absolutely free! I took the pictures with my phone, uploaded them to my blog and then printed them out at the library. I can't tell you how much I love our library!  

First Day Of School For Owen & Jackson - 2015!!

Ready for picture OVERLOAD!!! Okay...here we go! 

Holy cow it's the first day of school already....or maybe I should say, "Thank God it's the first day of school". Normally I am not ready for the kids to go back one bit, but this year I am! I love my kiddos, but they were driving each other crazy. I think they were just plain sick of each other. It will be so nice for them to be apart a bit and get to play with other children. Let's hope that absences makes the heart grow fonder!!! 

This year I made new letters for our 1st Day of School sign...the old one had seen better days! The above picture is actually a retake since the first one with his coat off turned out blurry. He was pretty insistent on not taking his coat off for the second round and the fact that he still lets me take his pictures is a win so...coat it is! 

Of course the goofy face pictures are always a favorite! 

Look at this handsome dude! Seriously such a heartbreaker! 

Jackson by far is the master of the goofy face pictures...he cracks me up! Those eyes!!! 

Jackson - 7 years old - 2nd grade  ~  Owen - 8 1/2 years old - 3rd grade

Weirdos! 

Why can't they act this loving everyday?!?!?  The Sunday before school started Ga-Ga and I went back to school shopping. I had pretty much already gotten everything we NEEDED with a few exceptions. Owen needed a new raincoat and muddy boots, but everything else was covered. Ga-Ga really wanted them to have nice first day of school shirts so off we went. We ended up find really great deals and it was fun to spend the day shopping with my mom! 

There are no words! 

And now for the yearly T-shirt pictures. I really truly hope they will still humor their mother and put these on when they are in high school! I love these pictures! 

Jack's pictures turned out so great. How you ask? See Jack tends to have a fake smile so I thought...I want a true genuine smile...hmmm...what can I do? The thing that popped into my head...."Jack imagine that Owen has monkeys flying out his butt"...yep that did it! His laugh was so great! 

The winning smile!!! 

So big!!! 

Of course the boys ran with the whole "flying out of their butts" phrase so I think at the end it was rhinos and not monkeys! 

Growing up! 

Cute brothers! 

Time for the younger two to join in on the fun! Ella's first day of school isn't until the Tuesday after Labor Day. Then she'll get to have all the fun of having her pictures taken with the sign and her T-Shirt! 

Cute big boy in his new first day of school shirt! 

The only thing that's new on Ella is her pink tank top...it's just like the black one she loves, but she had never actually worn that flower shirt before and she normally hates jeans. There will be another post on how I accomplished this feat!

I thought it would be fun to get a picture of all of them with the sign....I think Zeke is just a little too short for everyone else! 

On the first day of school I always drive the kids...this year we got there almost 20 minutes early so I could find a spot in the school parking lot. Last year I didn't even try and we just parked in the neighborhood north of the school and walked. 

Owen's classroom was actually the first class we passed, but it was also right where two sidewalks connect and where the buses let out so I thought it would be better for us to wait at Jack's class which is on the other end of the school. 

8:10 the bell rang and Ms. Davidson was ready for school. Isn't she the cutest thing!!! 

 After watching Jack head into his class we walked down to Owen's classroom. By this time all the kids had already gone in so it was way less crazy! 

After that Ella, Zeke and I ran all over the place....Fred Meyer's for gas, my friend Kim's house to drop off her canning pot, back to our house to grab snacks, Joann's to buy fabric, the library to print stuff for MOPS, home for lunch, my friend Rachael's to workout and finally we walked to the bus stop to wait for the boys! 

Here they come!

The first day of school was a major success! Jack is happy that his friend Triona is still going to run with him at recess even though she's not in his class this year and Owen was super excited that he didn't have homework, but that I did! Boy was he right...I ended up having to fill out all sorts of forms and have the kids sign papers with the schools policies and so on. It ended up taking me well over an hour to go through them all! I'm sure glad I'm not in school anymore!!! 

Back To School Bash!!!

The day before school starts the kids have an Open House where they get to go and meet their teachers, see their classroom and drop off their school supplies. Ga-Ga and GG...(she's been up from Denver since we got back from Wyoming)...came up after lunch so I could take the 3 older kiddos. I was going to take them all at once, but then it occurred to me that it might be better to take them separately so I could focus on that one child and then I wouldn't have to listen to how bored the other two kids were! I decided to just go in birth order so Owen and I headed out first. 

Owen is in Ms. Howdeshell's 3rd grade class this year. I was hoping that he would get Mr. Heintz...Jack's 1st grade teacher...since he moved up to being a 3rd grade teacher this year, but after meeting her I think she is going to be awesome for Owen. She is a louder teacher and she is quite frank and has lots of rules and expects the kids to become WAY more independent. Let me tell you the gloves come off in 3rd grade. Owen is going to have to take a lot more ownership of his work this year. It's going to be a change and change is always a little painful, but it's going to be great at the same time. 

Ms. Howdeshell's classroom is decorated with Minions and it's got a grown up feel to it. Right off the bat she told Owen to find a desk and put his backpack on it. That taking ownership stuff was already happening! 

Once Owen and I got home I decided to come back with both Jack and Ella. For one thing our schools parking just plain sucks! I honestly thought I was going to have to park in the neighbor north of the school when Owen and I came...luckily I noticed a lady getting in her SUV and got a really good spot. Also I didn't want to have to walk in the rain anymore than necessary! When I came with Jack and Ella I got lucky again and got pretty much the front row spot. Yahoo! 

A couple weeks ago Ella attended Kindergarten Camp and at that point we didn't know who her teacher was going to be. She had already gotten to know 2 of the kindergarten teachers...they had to hire another one since the third teacher found another job, but at kindergarten camp they hadn't hired anyone yet. Ms. Asselin is going to be great with Ella. The theme in their room this year is A Growing Garden of Learners...they have all sorts of stuff that's related to growing and blooming this upcoming school year. You know me...I love a theme! 

Jackson's teacher this year is Ms. Davidson which is SO awesome since she was Owen's 2nd grade teacher as well. I've always thought it would be fun to have the same teacher for another child! I only was able to volunteer in Ms. Davidson's class once last year so I'm happy I get another opportunity to help her out again this year. This year will be her first full school year since she wasn't hired on until the end of 2014. It was nice to see her classroom all set up and ready just the way she wanted it. Also she's going to use this program called Class Dojo. Mr. Heintz used this last year with the 1st graders and I'm so happy it's such a great way to see how your kiddo is doing and it's so easy to contact their teacher! 

Checking out his new desk! 

Per our tradition since the kids started going to public school we always have a Back to School Bash the night before the first day. Ga-Ga & Pa come up and we go to Red Robin for dinner. Since we don't go out to dinner very often this is a fun treat. Of course this year GG got to join us too! 

The Red Robin near our house had just undergone a renovation and it looked really nice. 

The only thing was the windows behind us were leaking from the rain. 

Michael had to actually request a towel since it was splashing up on his arm and the back of Jack's head. Our server was right on top of it and the problem was solved. 

And of course balloons for everyone! 

Lots Of Projects!

Ever since getting back from Wyoming I've been working on lots of little projects to get us more organized. I figured I would just lump them together in one post. 

This first one isn't really an organization thing, but it was fun to make. Last year I made my friend Kim and my mom both covers for their Kitchen Aid Mixers. Now that I have my Grandma's I knew I wanted to make one for myself. I found this super cute fabric on sale at Joann's. I love sunflowers! Since this one has a harvest theme I think I'm actually going to make one for each season so I can switch them out. They really aren't that difficult to make and it's a fun project that can be finished in an afternoon. 

 

While at my Aunt Linda's house we all got to look at my Grandma's jewelry and go shopping through my aunt's jewelry that she didn't want. It was so much fun! My aunt's jewelry is stored so nicely in her top dresser drawer. All these cute little dividers that are specifically for rings and bracelets and necklaces. So organized!!! Anyways...I knew I wanted to do something like that so I cleared out one of my drawers and got to work. My mom was going to sell these black plastic dividers at the garage sale this summer, but I snagged them from her first. I had no idea what I was going to use them for at the time, but I'm so glad I hung onto to them. Now all my jewelry has a place and I can easily see it and figure out exactly what I want to put on every morning. Love it! 

You may remember that earlier this year we did a major overall of the kids the rooms. Ella's room actually became the playroom and she moved into Owen's old room and all 3 boys moved in together. Wow that was a lot of work! A few days ago it struck me that her hutch...the one Papa Martin made from old barn wood...just wasn't being used to it's potential. Sure it held her pretties on top, but inside it was barely used. The only things we put in there were her leggings and jeans. There was tons of empty space. So we moved it out! 

And for the time being we've moved the old bench from the entryway...remember I redid that earlier this year as well. Yes...I know I'm nuts! I thought Ella might be really upset with me taking it out of her room...I mean it's gorgeous...but she was fine! She even said that she didn't really like it in her room anyway. It's been in her room since before she was born so we never did ask her if she liked it and she never told us...who knew! She actually loves having the bench in her room. Her dress up shoes have a place underneath and that for some reason makes her super happy! Also Michael had to hang the black shelf up so her pretty statues could go up there. You'd think hanging a simple shelf would be easy right? Nope....this thing gave Michael such grief and then when he did get it hung up it look totally crooked when it actually wasn't because her heating controls were crooked. We didn't actually notice that it was crooked before though since it was behind the hutch. Once Michael fixed the heating controls everything was all good. 

The lid lifts up and there was enough storage to put all her leggings and her jeans. I am going to be on the lookout for a nice dresser this fall at the Mill Creek garage sales, but I'm not in any rush since she's super happy with it. 

We did have to move a few of her pretties to her vanity and I'm crossing my fingers that they don't get broken, but we'll see! 

As for the hutch...we moved the kitchen island out to the deck to make room for it. The island will be a great place for Michael to have room to set all the stuff he's going to grill. In the past he's been just setting things on the deck railing. Also the storage underneath is great for all the BBQ tools. 

This is the hutches new home! To me it looks like it should have always been here. In fact Ella was so sweet when she first saw it she said, "It looks SO much better in here Mommy!" I have to say I agree! 

My kitchen has kind of a farm theme with sunflowers and chickens so it really does fit right in. 

All my cookbooks used to be stored in my pantry taking up lots of shelf space. Plus have the time I would forget to even look at them. now they are all displayed and ready to be used. I also decided to display my Grandma's rolling pin. It's so beautiful I didn't want it shoved in a drawer anymore! As for the glass cutting board that is there so the kids have a place to put their drinks and the condensation won't get on the wood and ruin it. 

Other than having a place to store my cookbooks my main motivation for moving the hutch down here was to make a lunch station for the kids. With 3 kids in school and my absolute hatred for packing lunches I'm hoping this will help streamline things. On the top shelf are all their lunchboxes and then the containers with their lunch choices. On the bottom shelf is there water bottles, soup thermoses, a basket full of accessories and a basket full of lunch containers. 

I saw this idea on Facebook a few weeks ago and knew I needed to run with it. We just happen to have some extra containers lying around so I put them to good use. Going from L to R....the empty container is actually going to be the one I put in the frig. It will be filled with things like string cheese, yogurt, ham chunks, carrots & ranch, summer sausage. The next one over has fruit snacks and baggies filled with craisins in it right now, but after I go shopping it will also have fruit strips, fruit cups and applesauce cups in it. The next one has goldfish crackers, graham crackers and individual cups of peanut butter. I will also stock it with ritz crackers or teddy grahams. The fourth one over has bars in it...fig bars, granola bars, nutri-gran bars, Z-bars...whatever bar is on sale at Costco basically. The last container is the treat container...right now it has a bucket of candy and also rice krispie treats and pudding cups. All of the containers have tape on the front telling the kids how many they can take from that particular container. They all say 1 except the frig container that one says 2. 

Here's a closer look at the basket in the hutch. It has compartments so the kids can grab a napkin and a spoon if they need one. Also I put all the fun cookie cutters in there if they want to use them to cut shapes into their cheese, meat or sandwiches. That was a lot of work, but it was actually very fun. Lunch to me is the worst meal of the day. I truly truly hate it...even making lunch for myself. So hopefully this helps make packing lunches fun for everyone involved. 

The last little project has to do with paying the kids for their jobs. Normally we would pay them for a job, make a tally mark on their sheet and then when it was time to go to church we'd have them bring down their money and we'd add up how much money they needed for tithe. As you can see from the tally chart we forgot to add it up...a lot! Then the kids would spend their money and end up owing God money they had already spent. So to solve that problem I used a container I had and we wrote God's Money on it and now when I pay them I always make sure I used the correct change so they can immediately take out 10% of their pay and put it right into God's piggy bank. Now they know that all the money in their piggy banks is truly theirs. It's also the start of teaching them about percentages. They already know if they make .50 they owe God .5 and if they make a dollar they owe him .10. It's been good for them to see that even though God has asked us to trust him by giving some of our money he doesn't ask for very much at all. They are getting to physically see that when they put in one little nickle and they still have .45 more cents left. It's the start of them realizing that God is the reason we have money in the first place. It's really all His and it's not ours....He actually is trust us with it and we need to be good stewards of it.