First Day of School for Sasha! (Oh Boy, are you ready for this one?)

Hey everyone! Well, I  have known for a couple of weeks now that this day was coming. About a month ago, I was on Freecycle.org for Great Falls, MT and there was a post on there for people who are interested in a Parent Participation Preschool to contact Dana. I was skeptical at first..I mean, how good could it be if it is on FreeCycle?

Well, I got to meet with Dana soon after emailing her telling her that I was interested and she used FreeCycle to get the word out about what she wanted to do. AND....she exceeded everything I expected even from a regular preschool. :) She had a plan and had a few moms that were totally on board with her. There were a couple of moms that really only wanted a play group type thing, but were deterred I guess and that left us with 9 kids. Their ages are 2 to 4. Sasha is right in the middle. She is 3 and 3 months....so hard to believe how fast life has gone on.

I have been gathering art supplies and picking up books for the class. A lot of the moms are donating supplies and time. I really love this and all the moms are so nice.

So, Sasha's first day........Well, we put Little Miss to bed last night earlier than normal for her and she slept in today later than normal...so I know she got enough sleep. She looked so sweet in her Yo Gabba Gabba, Brobee, hooded sweatshirt and gray sweats. I tried to do her hair, but she is all about being a TOMBOY right now, so that was shot down quickly and I didn't argue with her.

You will find out from reading my blog that I have a VERY spirited daughter. My parents call it PAYBACK...REALLY?! LORD, HELP ME! ;)

We drove to Dana's house and sang the iCarly theme song all the way there...because Sasha thought it was "Good Moosic For Skoowl". We did get in the ABC song for the last couple minutes before arrival. We were welcomed and then Miss Dana read The Kissing Hand. For those of you who don't know about this book....it is about a raccoon worried about the first day of school. Well, for those of you who don't know Sasha, she loves raccoons. OH LORD. I should have known what would happen and would have made sure to have this sign attached to Sasha.

She wouldn't sit like the other kids and I quickly tried to get her to. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. NOT FOR THE REST OF THE TIME!!! EEK!

Well, then we introduced ourselves. ANYONE...who knows my daughter, knows she LOVES Chum-Chum from Fanboy and Chum-Chum on Nickelodeon. He is a cute little fellow. See??

Well, when asked what her name was and how old she was....she replied, " My name is Chum Chum." I tried to correct her and told the children, " She thinks her name is Chum Chum. But her name is Sasha." Quickly, my little one tells me and everyone, "No, I'm Chum Chum!" OH LORD!

They decided to do game time. They did Duck-Duck-Goose.  Hmmm....I knew what would happen....have you ever seen a train wreck? Well, that is what it felt like to me watching my daughter get up and run and pat people's heads and say "duck" and "goose". I looked at a mom that was on the couch looking so-not-pleased with Sasha's actions. I didn't know if I wanted to laugh at that moment or cry. I really wanted to just FLY away. LOL! With my daughter...you may ask: "WHY?" Well, I think a flight would have calmed her.

Now all this was entertaining...when it came time for worksheets there was a meltdown. Oh my! EEK! WOW! Even with Dana telling me don't worry and Sasha is fine....I saw all the other kids (even the 2 year old) doing their work! I was like, "OH MAN!" What do you do?

She did do wonderful with this lady (so very sweet), Miss Terri. Terri had a way with my girl. They did ABSeas which I helped with. It is a Discovery Toys Fishing Game that helps with he ABC's. Sasha did so good during that and also during the Playful Patterns Game. Puzzle things I am finding she is AWESOME with. She also is an awesome share-er....always has been. :)  I really felt blessed by Terri today....I think when I was at my end and thinking I am a horrible mom..Terri let me know that even her quiet, sweet little one, Molly, could wreak havoc too. (what a relief!)

She was doing a "shaking the wiggles out"

This was one of the many "looks" I got today.

Before, we left after her last meltdown (there were 3), I was talking to an awesome lady (also with 2 spirited kids--LIKE ME!!!!I think humans love when we have things like this in common with people. We don't feel so alone.)Her name was Sarah (sp?). Her daughter, Yliana, was Sasha's partner for worksheets, but Sasha was having no part in doing the worksheets. Now, looking at Miss Yliana, she is so sweet and quiet and followed directions and really blew me away. :) Well, talking to her mama, Sarah, revealed that she, like Sasha, is VERY SPIRITED. I was like, WHAT?! She is doing some dvds called Loving Logic (I think). It is really just not giving into your kids but not having the "FIGHT" that those of us with spirited kids have.  I am gonna look into this and see what it can bring to our "FEISTY TABLE".

Well, wouldn't you know, Sasha was a tiny terror until she got into the car where she said: "I wen to skoowl. Now I go Gramma'sow, Sasha was a tiny terror until she got into the car where she said: "I wen to skoowl. Now I go Gramma's!" Yep, this girl LOVES my mom-in-law to DEATH. Also, Auntie Pat who lives right next door to Gram. So, I went there after picking up lunch and she watched cartoons, visited, ate, and was "THE BEST KID". Yep, I just said that.....the best kid.  Those of you with spirited kids will NOT argue with me that OUR children may be horrid when they have their minds made up, BUT when they are good...they kick butt and are the BEST!

So, was today a good day? I say: OF COURSE! BRING ON FRIDAY! Which is the next day of preschool. Did I enjoy it? Well, not at first.....but the memories....GOLDEN and the learning experience was immeasurable for me.

Thanks for reading. :)

Where Did Time Go??

Wow, could somebody tell me where the time has went? How has he gone from this:

To this????

He has grown so much. :) I am so proud of him, yet so scared to see the time slipping by. Right now he thinks that there is no woman better than mom....no one cooks better, makes him laugh more, or gives better hugs than me right now. But that is right now....too soon I will meet my match and have to try to like the one who will be taking my heart from me. Yes, I have blogged before....Jon is my heart and Sasha is my soul. Jon is my heart because I feel everything he does...when something happens to him I just want to help him so bad. If someone says or does something against him...it kills me. BUT....He is ok and I have never been jailed, which means...I have kept my cool. :) This is good.....he knows I have his back and I am so happy he realizes that. :)

I know that I will love my addition to our family someday (his wife) and what she will bring to the already "crazy" table that we have going. I just hope that Jon can find FOREVER HAPPINESS and not follow the popular trend of divorce. He knows what his mom and dad have gone through and are still together. He knows that anything that is worth it..is worth fighting for. I am proud of this. :)

Other hopes? Yes, I have loads of them for both my kids. I hope Jon goes to college and plays football like he wants. I hope he will always have good teachers and coaches that challenge him, yet see when he is struggling and helps him see what he needs to do. He has had this in elementary school, but with middle and high school coming up...I know the teachers are not as personal. And...that scares me.

I remember the first time he broke my heart...not knowing it of course, or he would have never found his independence. I sure was fine not letting him be independent. It was in the middle of his second grade year. I used to always walk him into the school. From the first day of kindergarten until that fateful day. I was driving to the school and pulled into the parking lot and he says, "Mom, can you just stay here? I can do this by myself." I smiled and said, "Are you sure?" He said, "Yep!"   I still got my kiss and hug and I still do.

He started 6th grade last week and is so excited for school. He loves the things they do and all of his friends. Where is the time going? I used to dance and sing this small little man to sleep at night. Now, he doesn't even want to be tucked in. Believe me, I have asked. :) 

BUT....he made sure I got a goodnight hug and kiss tonight. LORD, please don't let him ever be too big to hug his mother. :)

Thanks for looking. :) 

MMM....and for lunch tomorrow.......

Yummy! :) Let's just say when I went to my garden this evening to get some green pepper for Garth, I got more than I thought I would. :) It was as if God heard my prayers of giving me something good and healthy to eat as I embark on my new journey of weight loss. :)  I went to my cuke and strawberry patch and saw my lemon cukes were going to give me two lemon cukes for eating. They are just like a regular cuke (which I have growing too), but they are more sized for a single person. I love them! :)

LEMON CUKES

Then I went to my garden to get the peppers and LOOK WHAT I RAN into!!!!! SNOW PEAS! :) I had found one a couple weeks ago and hoped for more, but this will be enough for me for a little bit. ;)

SNOW PEAS

Then I got to my peppers. :) I luckily, found some green ones, but looked over and saw my fun, little sweet banana peppers just looking at me and saying, "HI!" So, I grabbed some! ;) LOL! I was able to bring them inside for Garth to put in his sauce, but I had one condition. He had to let me do the chopping of the green peppers. :) AND...he didn't argue, although I think he may feel my relationship with my "green babies" a bit odd. HA! ;)  I was able to chop the green and 2 of my banana peppers. The sauce was yummy! :)

GREEN PEPPERS & SWEET BANANA PEPPERS

I will be putting more of this and some other "green baby" pics on my other blog, The Beautiful Return! :) But I had to share on here too! :) ((HUGS))

FRIGGIN' SWEET!

Hey everyone! :) Well, I have had a kind of rough weekend. My fibromyalgia has been acting up all week and I haven't been able to take my relaxers and actually get my pain under control. My son had The Big Sky Football Camp with Jack Johnson (he is a legend for high school football here in Great Falls, MT) and it started pretty early and i couldn't drive him there safely so I didn't take anything until after I picked him up from camp on Friday. So, for two days I was stuck in bed or on the couch. When I did make it downstairs into my Scrap Cave I was able to work on and eventually finish this:


I love this LO! :) It just came together and looks so much like Jon, my son. The pics are from his 11th Birthday Party. We took him and a couple of friends to a Paintball Park a little bit outside of Great Falls, on Bootlegger Trail. Those who live here know where I am talking about. It was so much fun watching the boys...well, BE BOYS! :) They had me crackin' up! :)

So, now for some details. :) I was able to "pop" the grenades that I cut with my Indie Art Cricut Cart. This is one of my faves, although it is hard to pick just ONE Cricut Cart that I LOVE! ;) TeeHee! :)

I love this part of the LO. To go along with the "Military" type feel of the LO, I took a punch that I have had for years from Paper Shapers and punched the dog tags out. I then took some Tim Holtz chains (not sure this is what they are called, but that would be what attached the tags to the LO. I also thought it may look neat so I "hooked" them on to a big brad (not sure who made it).

I tore the "crazy good times" and "Friggin' Sweet" titles out of a page of We R Memory Keepers, "Teen Angst" paper pad. I also journaled on the pics instead of just on the dog tags. I used the Sakura, Glaze pens in black to do this. Thanks for looking and I hope to be able to blog about some more scrappy goodness soon! :)

Green Babies!

Hey all! Today's post is a just a quickie and there is no layout I am sharing today. BUT.... I was out in my garden this morning while I was watering. I love to look at my "green babies" as everyone knows. And this is what I saw:

Cukes

Pumpkins (I think...they could be cantaloupe)

Sweet Banana Peppers

My goodness! What a neat surprise I had this morning! :) I love that my babies are doing well. :) I also have a lot of roma tomatoes coming too! :) TeeHee! :)

Thanks for stopping! :)

U ROCK!!!!

Hey all- I am so happy that it has been only about 2 weeks since I last blogged and I hope it gets closer and closer in the gaps. :) I have been bitten again by my "Scrappin' Bug"! I wonder where it has been hiding. I sure hope she isn't afraid of the "Gardenin' Bug". Believe me....both can co-exist quite nicely in my life. :) TeeHee! :)

So, here is a question I asked on FB last night: Have you ever seen a pic when you were looking over all of your pics for scrapbooking and been just AUTOMATICALLY INSPIRED???? I am not sure I asked it with quite that much zest, but I did ask it. :) Well, friends, I did just THAT just last night.
I was looking over some pics on my camera and BOOM!--there was a group that SLAPPED me! :) I was inspired to create this:

Yes, this is Miss Sasha, our Aspiring Rock Star. She loves to ROCK OUT! :) Especially to Katy Perry's- "Hot N Cold". This is new for me, because while I can be out there at times and very out going, my first child, Jon, isn't quite the performer..although he IS very out going. :) Sasha will perform where ever, when ever the time seems right--well, to her. ;)

Journaling reads: June '10- Uncle Jack let you use his sunglasses and you had just gotten your own Rock Guitar for your b-day and you loved performing...Especially to Katy Perry's... Hot N Cold. You are such a performer even at 3 years old!

A little side note: Sasha has been calling guitars "rock guitars" for a while. We went to one of Jon's friend's houses the other day to pick up the boys for a trip to the waterpark and Sasha walks right in and the kid's mom had a guitar right in the sun room as you walk in and Sasha got so excited and says: "OOH, a rock guitar!" (Thanks Cynthia!)

What I used: Here's the deal...I hate making lists for my creative stuff the way I used to. I am just gonna write it in the paragraph and I think most of my reader's are smart enough to get what I am saying. AND..remember you can ALWAYS email me if you want me to clarify and I would be MORE THAN HAPPY to tell you! :) OK?! :) BTW- I have a new email addy: goldilocksnthe3bears@hotmail.com. Please put what post you are questioning on in the subject line.

I will say...I had originally bought the WeRMemory Keepers Teen Angst Paper Pack because I thought the papers were perfect for a lot of what I do when I am scrapping my son. BUT...I just had to use it for this LO. I also pulled out my American Crafts Metallic CS out and cut the "U Rock" and Guitar from the Hannah Montana Cricut Cart. I just love this cartridge. It is awesome for girl LOs. :) I also pulled out my Maya Road Office Sheers for the 1,2,3 journaling. :) The 1,2,and 3 were rub-ons from Kand Co. :)

Thanks for stopping! :) ((HUGS))

I'm Back.......(what I have been up to and what you can expect)

Hello Friends! :) How has everybody been? ME?! I have been a busy little bee just buzzing around in my garden, with my kids, trying to scrap here and there and trying to enjoy my self doing it. Yes, I was trying out for more design teams during this, but decided that when the time is right it will happen. Besides, I am still on the MOMS DT for now and that keeps me PLENTY busy..even if it is just dreaming up what looks good for what. TeeHee. I will tell ya though, Miss Jeanie has been up to a lot and as soon as she gives me the go ahead...I will share what she has been up too--through my eyes! :) That may make you go "hmm", but I know you will be as excited as me when I am able to reveal some "Jeanie Goodness". :)

I know I have said it before, but I am so sorry that I got so behind with my blog...AGAIN! I love sharing my life and I love reading comments, so there really isn't an excuse for me being absent from here and from you. I do a lot of Facebook, but if you don't follow me there then you don't know the ups and downs of my life, but more importantly the ups and downs of me. ;)

I really have been enjoying my gardening above all else though. I have veggies and some grapes and strawberries growing in my backyard. It is a very relaxing hobby for me. I am not sure if it is just the "mom" in me that has the need for it or just that I can zone when I am working out there. It's funny that I say work, because for me-it isn't work at all. :)

What is work? POTTY TRAINING! Yes, I have a 3 year old and she is potty training. I couldn't have had 2 more totally different children than Sasha and Jon. Jon was quick to learn everything. Now, before you jump to conclusions- I am not saying Sasha isn't smart or AS smart as Jon....BUT...she is so totally stubborn that I am sure that she KNOWS how to go potty, but won't because she LOVES getting changed. WHO KNOWS!? ;) I just know that she has days she LOVES going potty and days that she just has a stand off. I don't let her win, but I am usually the one that just says, "ok, let's revisit this."

While I am on the subject of work.....Tantrums...those are also a HUGE job to get through. I have had all kinds of friends and family alike giving me advice on getting through and/or getting rid of them. But, we have tried most of them without any success. We have good days and bad...I am finding that it may be a schedule thing for Sash. If I don't push her too long and make sure she gets down for a nap...she is golden. But..man, if we miss it? OMG! Don't be on my block if you have a headache.

As a lot of you know, I also have fibromyalgia and that keeps me from a lot of what I love so much. I am finding that if I take my supplements (Vitamin D, Co-Q10, and B12) though and sleep when I need to that I am ok for the most part and have minimal pain. It is when I am stubborn and PUSH through the pain that I tend to pay for a few days and then I am finding that I am more behind than ever. :P I still refuse to take any other prescriptions for it and I am trying to stick to my supplements and activity. Although, the activity part I need to get better at.

So there you have it. This is what I have been up to since the end of April. :) I have had a few school things with Jon and he has had a football camp he did, but I will post pics and/or scrapbooking layouts for that soon. I hope! ;)