Birthday Present

Yesterday was my birthday and this is the little gizmo I got from my hubby and daughter. It's called a Zen and it is a MP3 player. It holds music, audio books, videos, photos and has an FM radio. I have never owned a MP3 player, iPod or anything of the sorts so I have had a lot of fun playing with it. It's a tiny little thing, about the size it appears here on the screen. I would say it is about 2 inches tall and has an excellent screen quality. I will be using it mostly when I am out walking in the mornings, which I hope will help keep me going longer. I have been wanting some audio books, so I will be making a trip to the library this week to check out some of those to download on my new toy.

For The Bride

We were up and moving early this morning and now I am trying to kill some time before my SU party. This card design is by Janine Tinklenberg.

The torso and bottom of dress where made using her patterns. She used the heart from the SU Daisy Crazy set to make the bodice. I don't have that set so I measured the width and length of the torso and made a heart shape in a print shop program.

The bouquet is the SU circle scallop punch with holes punched around the edge with a 1/8th hole punch. The flower stamp for the bouquet is from the SU Simply Said set.

For the necklace I strung tiny white pearl seed beads onto some thin wire and attached the wire to the back of the bashful blue cardstock.

There is a a piece of white tulle attached to the bottom half of the gown which was a P.I.T.A to attach.

The bodice has opal glitter glue on it for a little sparkle.

Now I just need a bride to give it to.

I Have Been Stamping

I finally felt like going back in my scrap room and doing something productive in it. I had to get some projects together for a SU workshop this weekend and it kind of put me back in the mood. I don't want to show any of the projects we will be doing tomorrow, but here are two cards I made to add to my sample box.

Stampin’ Up! © 1990-2007

Stamps: Garden Whimsy
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava
Other: Mat Pack (paper piercing), scalloped circle punch (heart shaped corner top left)

CASED from Mary Brown

Stampin’ Up! © 1990-2007

Stamps: Pick A Petal, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Basic Black, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Groovy Guava
Ink: Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate
Other: Mat Pack

I have also been working on a little prototype of a treat box I am thinking about making for Cam's class for her birthday. I will show that after I play with it some more.

It Starts In Kindergarten??

When I was in junior high and high school I always knew of at least one kid in the class whose parents essentially did their homework for them. I remember how unfair it seemed for little Susie to always get A's on her reports and projects because her mom always did her work.

A few years ago I worked for someone who had an only child that attended a private (and very snobby) school here. The daughter would come to work after school and sit and copy book reports that her mother wrote for her. We would all make a joke of it and the mom would say how unfair she thinks it is that the teachers expect a 3rd grader to be able to write a good book report on their own. At that time I remember feeling sad for the little girl because I knew her mom was just making things harder for her. If the mom ever decided the girl was old enough to do it herself, the girl was going to struggle because her mom always did the reports for her.

So I have always been aware that this kind of thing happens. What I didn't know was that it starts as young as kindergarten. Cameron received a homework project last week to make a family tree. She was to draw a tree on a 1/2 sheet of poster board and use various materials to create each member of her family. The emphasis of the project was to be creative. There were step by step instruction that all started out with "have your child........" . It was due today so the kids were gradually bringing their trees in the past couple of days (other kindy classes are doing this too). Wow! I never knew how many 5 & 6 year old artists there are out there. I saw trees with trunks that had roots coming out from the bottom, and amazing shadowing. Trees with perfectly placed leaves, and even simple trees that were just a circle on top, but boy were they painted really good with water colors. Not a smudge of green paint on the outside of the circle. I wont even get into the portraits of the family members I saw.

Seriously people, do you think the teacher grew a brain yesterday??? These pictures will be up in the classroom for parents to see on Tuesday at open house. Don't you realize that your child's tree is going to look ridiculous next to the trees with the lopsided tops and faces that have one really large eye and one small eye?? How sad that some parents just don't get it.

I Needed That

It's been a hard week and a particularly hard morning , so earning another star at WW this morning was a nice pick me up. 2 weeks while in Michigan I had gained 4 pounds!! I didn't go last week so it was a must for me to go today. Not only did I lose the 4 lbs I gained 2 weeks ago, but I lost another 4 in addition to that, so 8 lbs total. Yay!! I got to change my blink again! Total weight loss now stands at 46 lbs. Go me!

Terrific Tutorial Tuesday

How cute is this Dixie Cup? Apparently it was at the SU convention.

This tutorial is in a different language, but you can figure it easily by the pictures. Window Trick.

How to make your own ghosts like Hedi Swapp.

A basket full of apples. Very cute.

I Really Don't Like Chaos

Here are the some what short notes of the past 2 days.

-I was ahead of the traffic yesterday when picking her up.
-Was told I could not be in the building by the classroom to get her, I needed to go outside by the curb pick up.
-Heard an announcement that made me think she was going to come out the front doors.
-Discovered that was just bus children.
-Back to the breezeway with about 50 other parents, kids coming out in lines, teachers hollering for parents to move back so the kids could come through, no one really moving, kids trying to make their way through, just chaos and confusion.
-Finally get her and decide it would be best to stay in my car tomorrow and pick her up at the curb. There are 4 kindy classes and I am sure all those parents where kindy parents. Hopefully they will do the same to avoid the chaos from yesterday.

-Head out early this morning to avoid the rush, one of the first cars in the lot at 7:15.
-Walked her by the car loop to show her how the kids were getting out of cars and we went through the doors she came out yesterday as her class is right next to them. ** After Labor day parents are not allowed to take their kids into the school so she has to learn how to the drop off/pick up thing.**

-Walked into her class about 7:35 where the teacher told her that the school bell didn't ring yet. -I flat out told her that just like picking her up yesterday I had no idea where we needed to be or what we were suppose to do, where was she suppose to go when I drop her off at the curb (no teachers were in that area when we walked by). She said that kindy lines up at the front of the school.

Sigh

-Back out the doors, by the car loop, so I could explain to Cam that we did it wrong and show her the right way. She was going to have to go to the front of the school and stand in line outside until the school bell rang at 7:45. There was one teacher with a kindy sign, 2 rough line of kids and some parents.
-Bell rings, we follow in line and Cam shows ME how to get to her class and I make her put her stuff in her cubby by herself.
-She didn't want to go to school this morning and she was a little whiny when we got there, but no tears and no clinging to me this morning. We walked to her desk and she was excited to show me her supply box that was in her desk. They had a picture to color while the kids came in just like yesterday. I was able to leave her with no problems.

Aside from being a little frustrated about not knowing where to go and what to do, I was a little concerned that I had to help another child find her classroom. While Cam was putting her stuff away a little tinny girl with a soft tiny voice came up to me in near tears and said she didn't know where her classroom was. When I asked her teachers name I could not understand what she was saying. So I figured I would walk with her to the other rooms and see if she recognized one of them. The first one we went to I asked the teacher if she belonged there. I got the feeling this little girl had already been to that room and the teacher knew she was lost and sent her down the hall (this was the first room in the hall, makes sense the girl would go there first). The teacher couldn't understand the name she was saying and said to me, "check the next room" and went back to talking to parents. O-K

She finally recognized her room and I made sure with the teacher that she belonged there. I understand that the teachers need to stay in the rooms once the kids come in if another adult isn't there, but I felt like the little girl was kind of brushed off TWICE by the same teacher. Anyone could clearly see the girl was a little scared. The teacher could have at least stood with her by the door to see if she recognized someone, or for another staff member to come by that could help her. There were kids all over the place in the hall, she shouldn't have been sent back in the hall to find the room herself. The girl came off a bus because she had a bus sticker on. I know an adult stands by the bus door to make sure the kids go to the area they line up in. But I don't understand why a new student, in kindergarten, alone on the second day of school didn't have more help from staff in the building. I kept thinking, what if this was Cameron that didn't know where to go and no adult helping her and she was scared? I just don't understand why in this first week there are not staff members in the kindy hall helping the child get to their class?? Maybe I am expecting too much from the school, I dunno. It's the 2nd day of school, ya know? The kindy kids are brand new to all this.

Hopefully the pick up today with me going through the car loop will work out and tomorrow will be a smoother beginning and end now that we know what do.

Aside from all that, Cameron was in a good mood yesterday when I picked her up and she seemed to really enjoy all the things they did. I am not sure why she didn't want to go back today??

1st Day Of School

Everyone was up and ready to go this morning. Unfortunately we didn't make it into the building on time. I hate being late for anything, but we had no idea there was going to be so many cars at the school and that it was going to take us 20 minutes to get into the parking lot. We actually have to follow in line with the cars dropping kids off at the curb. Once you drop off you follow a path that has you crossing the bus lane and going through the parking lot and out. So between waiting for kids to be dropped off, stopping for buses coming in, and the massive line of cars going through the parking lot trying to leave... it took 20 minutes. Ugh!

Then you have to go from the parking lot to the school using the cross walk AND crossing the line of cars going through the parking lot. And the cars take priority over the pedestrians or else the cars get backed up even more. The old bitty directing cars from the drop off to the parking lot was not in a friendly mood once Travis and I left the school. She was barking at the other staff people who were directing traffic in the parking lot saying they weren't moving the cars fast enough. The whole set up is a bit odd.

There were a lot of kids still coming in after we left so we weren't the only ones late. So lesson learned this morning, be at school by 7:20 tomorrow.

Travis and I took her to her room and the kids were at their desks coloring a 1st day of school picture so after putting her things in her cubby I took her to her desk. She didn't want me to leave. I was a little surprised at that. I figured if she was going to get upset it would be tomorrow after the excitement of today was over. A brand new box of crayons to color with and a ladybug necklace with her name on it wasn't even enough to side track her. The teacher gave us a moment and then she came over to talk to her so I could break free of her grip. We had walked a couple steps down the hall and Travis remembered that we needed to tell the teacher that she would be picked up, not riding the bus like we originally planned. When he went back in she had already settled down so I think she will be just fine.

When I went to school the first day was always a half day, but not here. The school day doesn't end until 3:00 (I'll be in the parking lot at 2:15), today is no exception. So I am little worried about how she will do for the whole day. I know she will adjust in time just like she did at preschool, but I just hate to leave her when she is teary eyed like she was.

The fact that she is going to be gone all day is probably going to hit me around lunch time because that was when she was home from preschool. Something tells me noon to 3:00 is going to feel like forever. I am so anxious to know how she did and what she thought, and just hear all about her day. I'll be cleaning house to pass the time.

I Think We Got Everything

Tomorrow is the first day of school (already?? ) and I think I finally got everything she needs. Geez, I knew about the school supply lists before this year, but I had no idea how extensive and specific these lists are. My first thought was "boy, times have changed" because when I was in school we only needed your basic supplies in a pencil box and maybe a notebook and folder or two. Of course we always had to bring boxes of tissues in too. Then I was talking to my mom about what I had to buy for Cameron and she was shocked. She has been working in various elementary schools as a parapro for the last few years and she said their supply lists are very basic (like when I was in school). So I started doing some searching online comparing Montgomery schools and Plymouth-Canton schools. Wow. Here is a general kindergarten school supply list for Plymouth-Canton schools:

2 - #2 pencils
1 pencil box, plastic (Labeled with name-standard size – no handles)
Crayons (pack of 16)
2 dry erase markers
4 large glue sticks
Fiskar’s children scissors (cheap at Office Max) – Label with name


Now this is Cameron's kindergarten supply list:

Kindergarten
2 Pump bottles Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer (no refills, please)
1 Container baby wipes
2 Boxes of tissues
2 Rolls of paper towels (Bounty "select-a-size" are great)
2 Bottles of WHITE Elmer's glue - 4 oz.
5 Large WHITE Elmer's glue sticks
4 Boxes of Crayola crayons - 16 count boxes
2 Boxes of Crayola washable markers - 8 count, original colors
1 Pair of blunt tip metal scissors (Fiskar brand is great)
1 Pack of Expo markers (dry erase markers)
1 RED plastic folder (pockets and prongs)
1 BLUE plastic folder (pockets and prongs)
2 Pack of YELLOW #2 wooden pencils (sharpened)
1 Pack of white copy paper
1 Rest mat (red and blue plastic tri-fold)
1 Watercolor paint set (8 count)
1 Pack of assorted construction paper
1 Backpack (NO ROLLERS)
1 Box of sandwich Zip-Loc bags (GIRLS ONLY)
1 Box of gallon Zip-Loc bags (BOYS ONLY)
1 Box of Goldfish (GIRLS ONLY)
1 Box of Teddy Grahams (BOYS ONLY)

In addition to that, we went to meet the teacher night last Thursday where the teacher gave us a list of a few more things she has to bring with her on Monday

2 - 1" 3 ring white binders
1- Pencil pouch with clear front and zipper
1- small supply box
1- Mead composition book
1- Container of Clorox wipes

The first list said not to put names on anything except your backpack and rest mat because the supplies will be collected and given out as needed. I have to tell you, I am not real happy about sending in supplies that my child may or may not use for herself. We had to put all the supplies in her cubby when we went so I am hoping the teacher will keep each childs basic supplies desperate. I would be really upset if Cameron needed new crayons and was handed some cheap off brand ones that someone decided to bring in instead of the Crayola ones I bought. If you know crayons then you know how frustrating it can be to color with waxy, clumpy cheap ass crayons. Ya know? I would much rather buy the 4 boxes of crayons and send 1 to school. When she needs new ones then I will have them at home for her. Same with the markers and glue.

I am very interested to see how this is all going to work and if she brings home projects that are going to use up 5 jumbo glue sticks and 8 oz of white glue.

Her school (like many here) require uniforms as well. Thankfully you can find the specific clothing at most stores here so that wasn't too much of a problem. I just haven't been able to find any Khaki jumpers in her size that I wanted to buy. She can only wear white or navy blue shirts (no logos at all). Khaki, or navy shirts, shorts, jumpers and skirts. If their are belt loops a belt has to be worn (something I just realized I forgot to get). Solid color shoes (no open heel or toe) in white, navy, brown, gray or black. There is also a plaid color she can wear that needs to be bought from a uniform store. Same solid colors go for sweaters and jackets which I don't even want to think about right now with it being 105 outside.

I bought six tops and six bottoms (she needs an extra to keep at school just in case) plus shoes. After joining the PTA and purchasing a T shirt for her to wear on Friday spirit days, all the school supplies plus a lunch box - I figure I spent at least $200.00 and that's with shopping all the sales. Ouch. I wasn't expecting to have to spend that much. Next year I will know. Oh, and I forgot about the juice and snack she has to have everyday. They prefer you purchase this through the school - for $4.00 a week. No way am I doing that! I can provide her with snack and drink for $4.00 a month. Juice has to be 100% juice and no sugary snacks. She will already have a juice box at lunch so I would prefer her to have water, or crystal light so I will just send a small reusable bottle of something for her. Much cheaper!

I can't believe my baby it going to be in kindergarten.

I Still Can't Believe It

I didn't have time to mention this before leaving on vacation, but it is a big deal and needs a post. The night before we left for Michigan Cameron said she wanted to go to Libby Lu and have her ears pierced. We have asked her about it in the past and she was dead set against it. Then out of the blue she said she wanted to do it. I was expecting her to bail at any time and she didn't. She was a brave a girl and looks so pretty with her flower birthstone earrings.

Wish A Mile

On Sunday we met my dad at the finish line in Chelsea, Mi. My brother (who wasn't able to ride this year) and SIL and their 2 kids went with us because my SIL's dad and sister also ride.

The kids made signs and were very proud of them. They wouldn't let anyone hold them for them.

They were coming in fast so I got one quick (blurry) shot off of my dad which I thought was neat because it had the finish line sign in the background.

After the ride, each team meets with the child that they raised money for and are each presented with a medal. This is my dad receiving his metal from Curtis.

After pictures we all headed to the food building to eat. The event was catered by Carabah's restaurant with some yummy food. They had loads of stuff for kids to do and lots of fun little freebies for the kids. Lots of fun for the families.

This is a picture I took of a man named Kevin as he finished the ride. I think this is his 5th ride for Make A Wish and he is amazing. I am not sure of his age, but he is disabled.He completes all 300 miles on his bike with only the use of one arm and one leg. What an inspiration! He got a huge welcome at the finish line and was also honored the night before at an awards ceremony that the bikers had at one of their stops.

Some interesting things I learned about this fund raiser. It was actually started 20 years ago by two men from my home town of Canton. They had bet each other that they could ride from Canton, Mi to Mackinaw, Mi. The decided if they were going to do it they wanted it to have a purpose and Wish A Mile was born. Their goal this year was to raise a million dollars. They succeeded that goal with $1,340, 995.00 and was able to grant 167 wishes!!! WAY TO GO RIDERS!! The oldest rider was 74 and the youngest was 12. Amazing.

And as I have said before, I am so proud of my dad and so happy for him for being able to ride all 300 miles! I know he was very nervous about this journey. 5 Years ago this would have been an impossible task for him as he weighed over 300 pounds and suffered a heart attack just a couple years before that. During the ride he carried a picture of himself at his heaviest and a picture of Curtis, the boy he was riding for. If he was struggling he had the pictures to remind him of what he had achieved and why he needed to push on. He is already looking forward to next years ride!

Back Home

We are back in hell (literally, it is that hot) after 2 weeks in Michigan. We arrived Wednesday afternoon which was a day later than planned due to a flight delay on Tuesday night. Thankfully I was notified while checking in at Detroit that there was a delay that would cause me to miss the connecting flight in Atlanta and was able to go back home with my parents. I could have been stuck in ATL.

We had a busy busy 2 weeks. We arrived on Tuesday and had a couple days with my dad before he left on his 300 mile bike ride for Make A Wish. Then my mom, Cameron and I had a few days to spend together. I was able to visit with my Grandma and with my cousin and Uncle which I hadn't seen in a few years.

Sunday we met my dad at the finish line in Chelsea, MI. ( A seperate post coming about that).

Monday until Thursday we spent at the campground. Camping is something my family has done for years (starting in tents) and my parents continue to camp, however now they do it with the luxuries of a new camper. My niece and nephew spent a couple days with us so the kids could play. It was unusually HOT in Michigan while we were these so when we weren't at the lake, the camper air conditioning was really appreciated.

We had one day to rest and then Cameron and I were on our way Saturday morning with my brother and his family to Michigan Adventure Amusement Park. We spent the first part of the day at the water park. Cameron being the water bug that she is was just in heaven. She really took to the wave pool.

The second half was spent riding rides and playing games in the park. We were there until close at 10:00pm and since it is a 3 hour drive home we drove an hour and then stayed over in a hotel. Then we drove home the rest of the way on Sunday. I had a water camera with me at the park so I have to get the film developed before I can show pics. I hope they came out.

Monday night we had just a small get together with about 15 friends and family for an early birthday celebration for Cameron. Her birthday isn't until September, but this is going to be the first time she is unable to have a big party in Michigan so we had a little one.

Tuesday we packed up to head home in the evening, but like I said we got delayed and went back home with my parents. We started home early Wednesday morning. It was a great trip!!