Saturday, September 11, 2010

September 11, 2001

This is the same post I made last year on this day. I still feel the same way.

These are not my photos, but when I was in NYC last year we went passed this fence. It is outside of a firehouse at Greenwich Ave and 11th St. Someone organized school children and anyone else who wanted to participate and they created tiles to decorate the fence. All of the children had different reactions based on where they were and who they lost.
We all have our own memories of where we were, what we were doing and how we felt. In an odd way, this day pulls us all together.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Claire and Lilly's Birthday Party Featured on Ohdeedoh


Today I received an email letting me know that the girls' birthday party would be featured on Ohdeedoh. Ohdeedoh is the children's division of Apartment Therapy.
Check it out!
The girls are very excited and think that this is going to make them famous.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

A Day Late. Happy Birthday Coco!

I tried to schedule this post for yesterday and the pencil post for today, but messed up on the dating of the posts. Oops.
Anyway.....Courteney is 20. I can hardly bring myself to type that number. Time flies! I met her when she was 4. Married her Dad when she was 5 and loved every minute of having her as part of the family. When the little girls were born, she sucked them up! She loved doing everything for them. She is the best big sister they could ask for. They start to cry when they think of her moving out next year. (She is living with us for her first 2 years of college and for that I am thankful.)
She has had a lot of ups and downs, but those things have made her the amazing woman she is today. Courteney is kind, gracious, considerate of others. She puts her needs on hold to help those around her. She loves her family and friends deeply.

Coco:
I love you very much. I am proud of you. You never cease to amaze me.
love, Jen

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Back to School Teacher Gift

I looked for awhile for a teacher gift for back to school. I wanted something useful and not just clutter for their desks. I found some great ideas online.
Here are a few I considered:

Crayon Initials. Very cute, but quite possibly clutter.School Supplies 6 pack. Loved this, but what would I do with that much Starbucks Coffee drinks when I don't drink coffee.
Ultimately, I went with this idea from Made with Love and Glue.

Her version was made with glass hurricane vases, but I found my cute ceramic container at Hobby Lobby for 1/2 off. Total cost of project was about $5.

I filled the container ($2) with pencils from the dollar store (2 packs - $2) and used a rub on initial and wrote the teacher's name with a paint pen (on hand). Packaged with clear gift wrap an tied with a bow!
Teachers always need extra pencils and the container can be used for multiple things after the pencils are gone.

Start of School Madness

Typically I post pictures of the first day of school. However, having one in 3rd grade (which started Monday) and one in Kindergarten (which started with Camp Kindergarten yesterday and continues with the official first day today) it is more like the first week of school.
It kicked off with Claire's first day of 3rd grade on Monday.Claire was very excited that she got the teacher she wanted this year. Mrs. Pfruender goes to our church and the girls just love her. I am looking forward to having Claire in her class.
Claire and her best friend Cam hugged as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time. In reality they swam together on Saturday.
Tuesday meant Camp Kindergarten for Lilly.Her friend Zach from church met us on the way in. He is in the other class, but they will still be able to play on the playground.Lilly's teacher is Mrs. Bosma. The teacher that Claire had for K retired, so this is our first time having Mrs. Bosma. I can say that Lilly thinks she is great!
Camp Kindergarten was lots of fun. They made backpacks, bugs, snacks, took a hike through school and sang songs. Click to see larger
At one point Lilly looked at me from the reading circle and whispered "Will you stop taking pictures?" As you can see, I did not.

One more meeting tonight and then I think we are finished with their school stuff for awhile. Good thing my students come back next week, otherwise what would I do?