Sight Words ...

Sight words, blending words - this is how I keep up with all of the words Miles needs to learn each week...

Keep them in the car with you for easy practicing on the go!

Easy Peasy Teacher Gift

For the packaging:

1 mason jar with lid

Raffia or ribbon

Hanging tag with child's signature

For the Munch Mix:

Pecans (preferably from your grandma's farm)

Walnuts, broken into pieces

Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips

Salted Sunflower Seeds

Dried Blueberries, Raisins or Cranberries

Mix, shake, tie up, give & smile!

My very own pencil sharpener...

My Grandma Louise had a manual pencil sharpener mounted on the wall in her hallway closet.  Growing up, I loved to open the closet door and sharpen a pencil or two.  I was always into one thing after another and that pencil sharpener was on the list!  Once I had my fill of the pencil sharpener, I was quickly on to the electric ice crusher and having a go at that.  Poor Grandma Louise - I think I drove her batty! 

When Owen started school, I knew I needed my very own manual pencil sharpener.  Most people tried to convince me to get an electric one - as if!  They did not understand the nostalgia behind the manual pencil sharpener.  Nothing else would do. 

This year, my choice for a birthday gift was not jewelry or a shopping trip to Jacksonville's St. John's Town Center.  It was a Stanley Bostitch Double-Cutter Pencil Sharpener. 

Isn't she lovely?

I have finally arrived!

No thank you ... please?

I have a lot of stuff.  It is everywhere.  In piles, stacked in chairs, tucked into baskets.  At one time it was good to tuck things into baskets - it made for my new house to look lived in and cozy, but that was ten years ago.  My drawers are overflowing, my closets have begun to revolt and throw stuff onto the floor below.  Sometimes anxiety takes me over to the point that my dear, well-intentioned husband gets abused for leaving wayward papers on the counter.  It's just enough to throw me right over the edge of sanity, into the deep and murky pool of insanity.  A place where a happy and smiley girl like me becomes quite evil. 

It could happen.

I am not a hoarder, but I do watch the show and it makes me itch ... it makes me panic.  Before I know it, before the end of the show, I practically run to some crowded corner of the house - a closet, under a bed, a drawer and I start throwing the contents away.

I think we are all a little overwhelmed by all of our "stuff."  Our brains are sitting on "Go!" with to-do lists, our in-boxes are overflowing with action items, our text message memory is full, Facebook is constantly calling, the endless papers that come home from school (fundraisers, forms to complete, graded worksheets, "art" that we form an emotional attachment to) and all of it on the counter.  What about the things that get gifted or given to us by family members and friends?  Every now and then, I will tuck one of these things under my bed to re-gift to a person who might enjoy that sort of thing.  Guilt - it gives me guilt. 

And so, I've come up the following phrases and I have practiced them so that I sound sure of myself, here goes...

"Thanks for thinking of me, but I have plenty..."

or

"I don't really need it, but maybe you could find someone else who could use it and love it."

This is hard and I am not very good at it, but I am trying.  Downsizing has to happen in our three bedroom home of ten years. 

My next step is stop the magazines from appearing in my mailbox, but that would be ... harsh.  Maybe I will save that one for another day!

Phoenetic Alphabet

I've been working in the aviation field since 1996, so by now I should know the Phoenetic Alphabet by heart.  The thing is, I've always been sort of ... rusty.  I always forget J (Juliett), M (Mike) and I (India.)  I always remember W (Whiskey), G (Golf - how easy is that!) and others.       Q (Quebec) is also hard to remember. 

So, the next time you find yourself on the phone, trying to rattle off a string of letters to someone, feel free to use the method below instead of A for Apple.  The Phoenetic Alphabet has been in use since 1913 and although a few letters have changed since then, they still remain the standard for communicating the alphabet over phone or radio.  

3rd Grade with Mrs. Anna Barton...

You have a handful there, Mrs. Barton... get ready! These two might look innocent, but I know these boys - and it's gonna be a fun, sweaty, completely brilliant, exciting, sometimes dirty, but always worth it adventure!  Good luck!

Miles' 1st Day of Kindergarten...

Miles' 1st Day of Kindergarten

Owen's 1st Day of 3rd Grade

I used to worry about Owen more than Miles.  Owen, so fair-skinned with blue eyes, seemed almost puny compared to my tan and tough ("spicy" is what my Grandma calls him) Miles.  I used to imagine Miles, years down the road, taking up for his older brother in high school.  Miles would throw the first punch at any kid picking on his brother and the school would call, and yep, that's our Milesy. 

Then something shifted.  Gradually, I started realizing that Owen was the stronger, more confident one.  Owen is smart and analytical.  He has a curiousity about life and everything in it.  He puts things together, takes them apart, does it again and again.  He asks lots of questions and weighs the answers.  Sometimes he doesn't believe me, Jim or his teachers.  I guess you'd call him a "know it all" and usually I am not a fan of that, but he's my Owen.  Inventor of gadgets and gizmos, lego builder supreme.  He has big plans for what he will invent when he is older and how it will work.  The kid even has common sense. 

When did all of this happen? 

And then there is my little Milesy.  A smaller fella and so loving.  He's still spicy and he's a fighter, but I am not so sure he gets the big picture yet and I kinda worry about him.  He's reading already - that was the goal of the summer, but can he button his shorts after going potty?  Can he reach the sink in the boy's bathroom?  How will he be able to carry the heavy lunch tray?  These are things that I never worried about with Owen...

We survived the first day of kindergarten, and my little fella fit right in.  He sat down at the table in the spot where the little yellow teddy bear labeled "Miles" was taped.  He started working on his coloring sheet.  Wrote his name at the top of the page.  Bless him.  So studious already and I realized I could go - that he was fine. 

There wasn't much of a chance to get sad or emotional.  There were no tears on his first day (just buckets of them the night before.)  I told him "bye" a few times more to make myself feel better.  I gave him a squeeze.  Then I walked out the door.  I thought I was ok.  I think I am ok.  Am I ok?  Is it me I am worried about or is it him?  Am I having a hard time letting go?

That afternoon, Owen bounded into the car like a tiger.  Nothing phases this kid anymore.  I trust him to be smart, to be careful, to be kind and he does.  Poor little Miles forgot his lunch box.  He wasn't much for conversation in the car or at home. 

I know he will learn and he will grow, but for right now, he just seems smaller than the rest and so I worry, as all mothers do...

Bless these children of ours!  And bless us mamas too!

Perfume Tip

Something came over me recently in Ulta - I decided to test out perfumes... A lot of perfumes.  After the first five or so, I came up with this idea...

After spraying the sample card, write the name of the perfume, this will come in handy later when you've forgotten which was which and what was what.  (Cause I am so smart and all... ha ha ha!)

P.S.  I am selling this idea to Martha next week.