I have a new talent or hobby, I guess...

A few weeks ago we had a Mom's Afternoon In at my friend Natalie's. Natalie is very talented in the jewelry making department and I asked her to teach some of us her trade. So we had a very nice afternoon at her house where she taught us the basics. Well she got me hooked and I wanted to do more. I had her go to the Craft store with me to get me started as I had no idea what to buy to start with.


I decided my first project would be for myself. I would make a necklace and bracelet to wear to my 20th high school reunion this weekend. It was fun picking out the beads and fillers to create my one of a kind jewelry.


So now that I have done a couple for myself I think I have the hang of it....So I think I will be making some new things to give as gifts this upcoming holiday season beause a homemade gift is one made with love...right?? :)


Here is what I made for my reunion:

We were "Boo'd" this week, how about you??

Well the "Booing" phenomenon has finally made it's way to our neighborhood. Tuesday night one of my neighbors snuck up on my front door step and left us a treat! (I figured out who did it by the way). When I opened up our goodie bag it had a cute Ghost dish and a bag of Reese!! Yummy!! Anyway, this meant it was my turn to pick 2 unsuspecting neighbors and get them. So Wednesday night I made my way down to their houses and left a bag of treats and waited... I did not ring the doorbell and leave like some because it was late, but instead waiting until morning anxiously waiting for them to find their bags. It has been fun watching the Boo Sign go up on Neighbor after Neighbor's door... how long will it take it to go all the way around the neighborhood??

Found an interesting new hobby for those who like Stamping!

We receive a magazine called "Our State" every month (thanks Mom and Dad Jacobs) that we just love reading! It is all about things, places and people in North Carolina. In this month's issue was an article about a new type of treasure hunting called "Letterboxing". It caught my attention, and I read it and just thought it sounded like so much fun!! Basically it is a hobby where you go find boxes hidden all over the state. Inside the box is a stamp (either handmade or store bought), ink and a notebook. When you find the box (you have to follow clues) you then take that stamp and make a copy of it for your journal and then you put it all back hidden so the next person can find it. It just sounds like fun!! Maybe when the kids get a little older it would be a fun family activity. Modern day treasure hunting, sounds like fun!!

Here is a link to some more information:
http://www.letterboxing.org/


Jennifer N have you heard of this???? I instantly thought of you and your stamps :)

Baby Come Back...

Okay have you seen the new swifter commerical with the "Baby Come Back" song being played...well my kids LOVE this commerical and they sing that song all the time. Well Alex came home today and showed me a note he wrote to his little girl friend in his class named Rose. Now a month or so ago he told me she was his "girlfriend" and they were writing letters back and forth to each other. He brought one home and I had to take a picture of it because he was writing on it again and giving it to her the next day. It was cute! He even wrote her a poem

"Roses are Red, Buttercups are Yellow, Violets are Blue, I love you" and then he wrote You are sweet. Love Alex

She wrote back: "Alex, your poem is nice, your heart is very sweet" Your Friend, Rose

Then he wrote her again: Dear Rose, you are very pretty

Then I never saw that note again...

Well then apparently they broke up and he asked her back today.

Today's note is even cuter!! I was crying I was laughing so hard (as was Kerry) when we read it. Alex, too, was even laughing.
So here it is!!

Hand Soap does not go in your eyes!!

We had a little excitement around here last night... We got home from soccer practice around 8pm. I asked Alex to go wash his hands while I put Nik in the shower so we could then get ready for bed. Alex comes back into my bathroom (where I was getting ready to put Nik in my shower) to see what we are doing. I asked him if he washed his hands, he admitted no he had not... So I tell him to get it done. So I turn around to check the water in the shower and Alex starts screaming like mad and saying he can't see. I turn around and at first could not see what he had done, then I noticed something dripping down his face around his eyes and I realized it was my Arbonne Cleansing Gel. He decided to try to use that instead of Daddy's soap and b/c I don't use it that often the opening had gooped up and when he pushed on it, the soap flew out and landed directly at his eye level. So I ripped his clothing off and threw him in the shower. I did not want to leave him to run to the kitchen to find Poison Control's number so I called 911 (then got a lecture from the kids about not calling unless it is an emergency!)... Well I considered my son's vision and emergency. They patched me thru to Poison Control once I explained why I called. The nice lady on the other end told me to put him in a shower and rinse out his eyes... DONE already, now what. She said to have him stand with the water hitting his forehead and then have him blink blink blink over and over for about 10 minutes flushing his eyes. After that I put a cold wet compress on his eyes for about 15 minutes per her instructions and sent him to bed.

He awoke this morning with no side effects and no pain :)

So that was our excitement for the evening last night!

Nikolas Learned a New Trick Today

Nikolas learned to ride his bike without training wheels today with the help of MOMMY :) Yes I taught him to ride, of course, he made it easy as he picked it up very quickly. So I only had to do the run beside him for a few times before he had it. I have been trying to get him to ride without the training wheels all summer but he was resistent. He just goes so fast with them on there I am afraid he will flip the bike. So today I told him he either had to start riding the larger bike with training wheels (Alex's first bike) or try the little bike without. He did not want to at first but then he changed his mind and said, "let's try!" I did tell him that if he could not do it we could leave the training wheels on for awhile longer and try again but he said I want to try!

We are so proud of him!!

Remember to always hug and kiss your husband before bed

I have been wanting to write about this for awhile but just have not felt I could just yet. Many of you know I frequent different birth chat boards for my kids, well on my June 2006 board there is a family that has suffered so much loss this year and I think about them daily. Allison and her husband Marc had a baby girl in March, she passed away at 5 days old from SIDS. This was devastating as it should be but as a family they healed. Allison got pregnant again recently and is due with a baby girl next spring. Unfortunately, tragedy struck again. About a month ago, Marc (30 yrs old) died in his sleep one night.

So I am just floating thru each day trying to figure out how this online Mom friend of mine can function having lost not only a baby this year but also her husband. I just can't wrap my mind around how she just does not fall apart.

I know she is staying strong for her kids and will have his memory with her all the time and see his face in her kids face. It just makes me realize more and more how fragile life is.

So every night, kiss your husband and your kids, tell them you love them each and every day!!

Not Freaking out Anymore!!

Well Nikolas' new teacher starts on Monday and I am totally at peace about it all now. It was an emotional week, I think most of it stemmed from "fear of the unknown" more than anything. We knew as parents what we expected our kids to learn this year in Ms. Diane's class and we were all just upset at that. Ms. Felicia (the new teacher) sounds just wonderful based on Lisa (the director's) description. She has an early education degree and has been a teacher many times for all different ages. She fully knows what she is walking into on Monday and is excited and ready. I am now very optimistic that this year may turn out even better for our kids and that change is good in many circumstances. I am making a basket of all sorts of things to give her on Monday to welcome her, so hopefully if she is nervous that will help ease things for her a bit before diving into a room of 10 4-5 yr olds. Check back next week for an update to this situation :)

Trying to not freak out!!

I got some bad news today... Nikolas' teacher has decided to leave teaching and go back to nursing (I think). She gave notice a week or so ago before she left for a vacation. The director called me today to tell me in person and to let me know she has found a very nice replacement and that it has been explained to Ms. Felicia (the new teacher) that we parents have very high expectations for this Pre K class. I have spoken with a couple of other Mom's in the class and we are all going thru a range of emotions, anywhere from totally ticked off to understanding. I think Ms. Diane is just burnt out and did not really realize it until she got back into the swing of teaching again but I hate that we (meaning us personally) are going thru this situation again!! Nikolas went thru a teacher change last year right after Halloween. Thankfully it went really well so I hoping for the same. I am trying to stay positive, hoping that a new teacher means someone who is fresh and eager to make this a good year for this class and to really prepare them for Kindergarten!! I have been up and down all day and I am just tired of worrying about it right now.

I think my biggest fear at this point is Nikolas just not liking this new teacher and then not wanting to go to school.

Ugh!! Why oh Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some Recent Pictures...

We have been busy the last few weeks, hence me not posting much here. But I have some pictures of all that activity to share since I have not gotten them on the picture site yet.

Here are some pictures from Nikolas' first soccer game at the beginning of September. He is number 8 this year. He is one of the smallest on the team b/c he is with 5 and 6 yr old children playing actual games this season instead of just learning skills.





We got in one last trip to the pool the weekend after Labor Day, yes it was still somewhat warm enough down here to get in. The kids said it was chilly but it was in the high 80's outside so it felt okay to them I guess.



Just this past weekend we took the kids up to Spencer to the NC transportation museum. Thomas the Train was there so we saw him and did all the fun festivities. And we rode on the Caboose Train (up in the top section) the boys thought it was pretty cool.

This past weekend was Kerry's birthday also, here he is blowing out his candles on the cake I made him.