WIP Wednesday and Back to School

TODAY IS BACK TO SCHOOL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE BACK TO SCHOOL!! No, not just because I get the awesomeness of peace and quiet for several hours each day to do my work, clean, cook and just frolic through my home without being followed by "Hey, Mom!" But I love the newness of back to school. The possibility of learning, meeting new friends, their stinking cute back to school picture with their little backpack. New hair cuts, new shoes, the predictable routine of school. I love it. Thankfully, my boys love school and their elementary is awesome. I try to stay active in the school and PTA, because I believe you cannot complain about your child's school if you don't bother to get involved. But yes, I love the ME time. I get to focus on my work, keeping home and solitude. As much of a people person that I am, I relish my alone time. I choose what's on TV. Crank up my music. Eat lunch without interruptions... USE THE BATHROOM ALONE!!! It's a beautiful thing. So I hope to have a LOT of WIP's to show you now!! :) But honestly, my best, BEST works in progress are these two little boys. They are my most important work, and even though they can drive me nuts, have their issues, I feel they're not too shabby for  my first times :)

Well, when I originally pre-wrote this post I was all ready to enjoy the peace and quiet of back to school. Then I got a phone call asking me to fill in a temporary position at the preschool my little one just got into! (I have worked there on and off since 2001). I said yes, and will start work on the same day my oldest starts school!!! So no relaxing morning coffee for me! I shall enjoy it driving to work! There will be a lot of organizing, daycare shuffling, lunch making, etc that I'm not used to but I'll find my stride.

If it's one thing I've learned, life is always changing and you have to be ready for it! Wake up, do what you need to do, smile, laugh, enjoy and repeat!

~~Amy

Three Weeks Left??

There are three weeks until school starts. THREE WEEKS? Perhaps you read that with a sense of dread and the sound of a mother on the edge.

Ahhh, but you would be mistaken grasshopper...I am actually saying that with a sense of disbelief. Summer has flown by so that there are only THREE WEEKS left until school starts!!?? Yes, summer is wearing thin...I'm running out of ideas that I WANT to do, let alone that I CAN do (Pinterest is great, but only goes so far...)

We've done some awesome things just in the past week!

"Magic Doorway" of crepe paper streamers.

Sponge Water Bombs.

Playing with a cheap, huge Frisbee.

But something great happened today...my older one..H, my "glass is half empty, this sucks" kid, said to me, "Mom, I like when you do all the cool stuff for us like the magic doorway and the water bombs and water bed. Thanks." He usually only shows appreciation when he's sucking up. That's when he walks up and hugs me and says, "you're the best mommy ever, I love you." I have to watch myself, I tend to be worn out when he does this, tired of his whining for something he can't have, or just overall "too busy"...and I too often look at this as his sucking up and say, "ugh what do you want NOW?"

How would I feel if I was on the receiving end of that? No matter his motivation, even if it is selfish and he's trying to get something out of me, I am a grown up, I can say no to whatever it is. But before that, because he said those words to me, I should stop, hug him back and say "Thanks buddy, you're a pretty awesome kid yourself." And I do, a lot of the time. But sometimes I don't...I'm human.

So it was nice to hear that he appreciated the time it takes for me to do the fun stuff. He knows I work from home and I cram a lot into one day. He knows he drives me batty but he's glad I try.

So I hope I make the next three weeks the best three weeks of his summer!!

Back in May I wrote a Pinterest Planned Summer. Let's see how I did so far!

Original List:

*Glow sticks in the bathtub

*Balloon tennis

*Plastic sheet cover your homework sheets=dry erase.

*Make an obstacle coarse with crape paper streamers. They crawl and step over all of it while trying not to touch the streamers.

*Go Dollar Store shopping. Give them each 5 bucks and they're in heaven.

*Tear drop volcanoes. Put baking soda on a tray. Fill paper cups with vinegar and food color. Use a dropper to create fizzy foam!

~~~~~~From my head~~~~

*Join the summer library reading program.

*Go swimming.

*Have Pajama Day, complete with blankets, pillows, a movie.

*Have a lemonade and freezie pop stand.  We made four bucks!!

*Discounted movie trips

*Visit the little local beaches on the lake.

*Sculpt with air dry clay

*Make rainbows and suns from paper plates and tissue paper (or crepe paper)

*Visit Culinary Kids

* Eat LOTS of snowballs!


~~~~~From Various Pins and Blogs~~~~

*Cup Race.

*Use pool noodles to hit blown up balloons.

*Nerf Gun Shooting Range

*Craft sticks and vecro for making letters and shapes.

*Tin Foil River

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So we've done a lot so far! Three more weeks to have a lot more fun!!! Also, a little time to stop and smell the flowers....

~~Amy

2011-2012 Reading List

I've decided that while my children are in school, it's a great time to get more reading in! So I am making my 2011-2012 Reading List. On it will be books I can choose from to read, at least one per month. If I go through them faster, awesome, but at least one per month for the school year (9 months.)
So here we go!

In no particular order:

Tomatoland: How modern industrial agriculture destroyed our most alluring fruit.

Better Off.

The World According to Monsanto

The 4 Hour Workweek

I am Number Six

Possible Side Effects

Sophie's Choice

In Defense of Food

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

The Backyard Homestead

 Eat, Pray, Love

The Hangman's Daughter

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

The Happiness Project

NurtureShock

The Handmade Marketplace

Room

Born on a Blue Day

Sarah's Key

As you can see, most my choices are non-fiction, but that's just the place I am right now. And it's obviously more than 9, because I want to follow my mood, not a list! :)

What's on your reading list??

Jenga Sentences

Since there are only 12 days til school starts here, I thought I'd do a few things to make sure my monkeys' brains don't turn to mush. We've done a few science experiments, but my dad just gave us a Jenga set. I doubted they would stay together as a set, nor would my children have the patience to play it, I decided to turn it into a literacy game!

What You Need:
Jenga Blocks (lego blocks would work too, particularly Duplo)
Address Labels. I used Avery 8160 size. Use what fits your blocks

What to Do:
Print the words you want to make sentences on your labels.
Peel and stick to the Jenga blocks. Print enough to do both sides if you want.

Make some sentences!!

Enjoy!

Summer Fun....

So, my boys have been driving me CA-RAZY! A friend suggested turning off the TV and just letting the boys get used to being bored. I admit, I use the TV and various screens as crutches. I am forever trying to shoved 48 hours worth of work into 24, so I tend to let the kids get away with watching more TV than I'd like.

So I turned it off. I'm really not a huge TV watcher during the day myself, but my boys had gotten used to it as background noise. This TV is also a hand me down and is slightly possessed and may or may not turn back on easily once off, so I tended to keep it on.

Well today, I turned it off all day. My older son, H, didn't get any screen time til his little brother's nap. The day went much better. No, I still didn't have time to get work done until E's nap time, BUT, I did science experiments with the boys, ran errands, cleaned, and was able to read magazines. Best of all, my boys were forced to learn to get along better. And they did!

I can only hope I can keep this  up and the boys will learn they will not die if they don't have a screen in front of them!!

Here's a little of what they do when I unplug their little behinds...

Color with Window Markers from Crayola. Very cool markers, basically dry erase that you wipe right off any glass or mirror!

Splash in the pool together...although that usually does end in screaming and fighting...

Sometimes, they are calm enough to actually sit and talk to the dog....usually they're trying to squish her...

We'll see what tomorrow brings...

What Mama's Been Up To...

I admit...I take on too much...and things slip through my fingers...such as blogging. In my defense, I have stayed on top of Daily Handmade Picks!! I have help with the lovely Danyel of Crazy Socks Crochet helping me do picks. If you haven't checked it out, please do! We really aim to choose unique, quality, lovely pieces each day! One little jewel to feast your eyes on each day!

So, I've not been able to add any tutorials and such for a bit, I apologize! Just WHAT have I been doing?

Well, I've been continuing my Year of Living Frugally! It's going well, I sufficiently stocked up in Nov-Jan so that Feb/March required much less grocery shopping! Couponing, watching sales, stocking up, it really does work!

Also, my littlest one started 3 hour a day preschool early intervention. While that gives me a few precious hours, business has picked up and kept me busy. He is LOVING school, and for those that followed his story, his Autism is what I consider nearly 'cured'. If you didn't know he had it, you wouldn't even notice. Sure, he has meltdowns, and has his little obsessions that you have to work with, but he's three, and some of that is normal!! He's adjusted wonderfully to school, and his speech is doing fabulous! If not for the food issues we have, I'd consider him completely 'cured'. (I say cure, but I look at Autism as you would cancer...you may beat cancer and put it in remission but you never take away the fact that you had it and it could come back. I see Autism like that. If we gave him gluten, stopped his therapies, his symptoms would return.). So I feel very confident by the time he's in kindergarten or first grade, he will no longer need his IEP services and may be able to just need a 504 plan (for his sensory issues). He's doing wonderful, my little buddy!

His big brother is also doing well in school, learning to read and loves kindergarten. I can't believe the school year is almost OVER!! Where has it gone?? He's working hard to learn to ride a bike, and Daddy is working on that with him. :)

Personally, I've been busting my tail on my businesses, my handmade goodies. I thank everyone who takes the time to check out my shops, share my work and purchase my work! I truly enjoy what I do and can't imagine not doing it. Who knows what the future holds, but I hope I'm buried in fabric for a long time to come!! :)


I'm also continued my Operation Simplify! I've successfully purged the house several times, donating the items. I've even purged my supplies! (GASP!) I gave up making handmade soap for profit, as much as I loved it, I realize I just didn't have the time. I will soap some for my boys but has sold or is selling the rest of my supplies. If you need anything, please check out Destash City, I plan to list more there ASAP.

My Handmade Louisiana team is about to celebrate two years!! I can't believe it's been 2 years since Merry, Lisa and I sat in that coffee shop and created Handmade Louisiana!! Stop on by if you haven't lately, we have a lovely new blog author, Baby Deary who is helping me out a ton with the blog!

Overall, things are well, I am happy and the family and businesses are good! I pray each of you are having the same experiences and enjoying this life while we have it! Things are bad out there, life is scary, but I go to sleep each night safe in the belief that we are not alone, God is in control and I pray for all our safety and joy!

Stay tuned, April will be a busy month! It's Badge Reels' 1 year anniversary and since Earth Day is in April, Micro Mops will be having some goodies!!

Happy Spring!!~~
Amy

Back to School Shopping Time!!

Hey gang! I thought I'd share some of the fab back to school sales from my friends!

10% Off at Aunti Franni's!

Custom Embroidery and more!

Check out this cute Cheer USB/Chapstick Case for your little cheerleader!

The Beaded Branch is also having a 10% off sale! Maybe you need something pretty for YOURSELF to go back to teaching, or a special gift for that special teacher in your life? Check out this beautiful choker:

CNewcomb is having a 10% off sale also with his nifty woodwork pieces. Keychains, wall hangings and more! This cute Wall Hanging would be great in your classroom, or you child's room.

My own Artfire shop,, Mama's Little Monkeys is having a 10% off sale! Back to school ponytails, badge reels for teachers/staff, cleaning supplies, and more!

One of my other personalities, Badge Reels is having a Free US Shipping on EVERYTHING through the month of August :) Also now on Artfire with a 30% off sale!!

My Cafemom Teammate Jonie at Childish Thoughts is having a sale also! For the whole month of August, 20% off all items. Refunded after payment or wait for revised invoice. You'll find crayon and car rolls, backpacks, clothes and more!

Two Sugar Peas is having a BACK TO SCHOOL SALE!!! 10% off all orders over $25 and 15% off all orders over $50. Discount dose not apply to shipping and will be refunded by Paypal within 24 hours of ordering.

Free Shipping through the month of August in Hooked Keepsakes Check her out for crochet goodies!

Amanda at Chloe Boutique has 10% off and Free Shipping in Louisiana. Find her on Etsy and Artfire!

Jodie Flowers has a special: Buy 2 patches and get the 3rd surprise patch for Free!! Same with the book bugs - Buy 2, get the 3rd surprise bug for FREE! :)

Over at NOEmpire,  Orders of $25.00 or more have free US shipping

.

Over at Hailey's Beads and Bows You'll find www.HaileysBeadsAndBows.com

15% off entire purchase (use code HBB15 at checkout).  Free gift with every purchase when they mention HML in notes to seller.

Check out these super cute locker magnets from

Freckles Galore

All Crayon Roll $5

All locker magnets 20% off

Now until August 14th!

http://www.frecklesgalore.etsy.com/

So Happy School Year Everyone! :)

~~Amy

It's the Most WONDERFUL time of the year...........

BACK TO SCHOOL!!! Yes I LOVE back to school time! For the past two years Harrison has attended Head Start, which I was delighted in as I am a former Head Start teacher and firmly believe in the program. He is absolutely a better developed child because of Head Start. Many of his sensory issues have subsided due to his time in the classroom already. 

Naturally, I'm excited and nervous for my "baby" going off to kindergarten. I'm also excited for me. I have always LOVED back to school. I don't know what it is about the new supplies, the possibilities, the education, the joy and anticipation of a 'new year'. I actually been enjoying the preparation, the supply shopping, picking out his little bookbag, etc. I have no idea if he'll love school like I did, or come to hate it as his daddy did. Hopefully I can help mold him into a good student who does enjoy it and can help him learn what he wants to learn.

Yes, I am looking forward to some time alone. :) I do have Eli at home, but any mom will tell you the difference between 1 and 2 (3,4,5) kids is all the difference in the world. I enjoy that alone time with Eli because it gives him the same solo time Harrison received by being the first born. Eli also needs a lot more time with me so we can work on his therapies to keep him moving on kicking Autism's butt. 

Eli himself may start school at least part time in January when he turns 3, which I really look forward to because he absolutely needs to be around other kids so he can learn the social cues so absent with Autism. But until then, he and I will enjoy some solo time. :) I will substitute when Head Start needs, they know they can't be rid of me :) 

And if you need some nifty stuff for Back to School, then hop on over to my shops!! :) I have back to school ponytails for the girls at Mama's Little Monkeys, nap mat covers at Nap Mat Covers and even some badge reel ID Holders for your favorite teacher at Badge Reels.

Back to School Ponytails

Back to School  Badge Reel

Michael Miller Nap Mat Cover

Back to School RIBBON Clothespin Magnets

And hey, even if you're kids are ready for school or you homeschool, you still have to keep your house clean, right? So check out my lovely shop Micro Mops full of green, clean, and organizing items to keep your home healthy and happy!

Happy Schooling Everyone!!! :)

Amy