PAWS-itive!!!

I am so proud of Miss Kathryn and Miss Sydney.

They both received a P.A.W.S Award at school today!

Every month each teacher chooses one student

from their class to receive this award.

P
Positive Attitude

A
Act Responsibly

W
Work & Play Safe

S
Show Respect

Mrs. Garrison called on Thursday to let us know Kate would be receiving one and could we be at school at 9:30 a.m. Monday? No problem...I had to call back and find out if this was to be a surprise or she would already know.

Surprise...that meant I...

1. Couldn't forget.

2. Couldn't tell the little sisters.

3. Needed to delete all email evidence

4.Had to write it on the calendar without

actually writing it on the calendar!

On Friday I received another Stranahan call... this time Mrs. Bauer wanted to know if we could bring Sydney to the P.A.W.S award ceremony on Monday to receive her very own certificate. I told her that would work out since we were going for Kate! Two great girls who got

to walk down a RED CARPET to some Rockin' music. Lots of fun...

long ceremony due to end of year awards... but worth it.

So happy that Kate and Sydney were able to receive

certificate's at the same time.

A special note...Miss Kate, We can't believe that you're officially a sixth grader at 3:36 p.m. today!!! Great job! It was fun to hear Mrs. Garrison say that all of your former teachers thought you really deserved that award. Thanks for being a great example for your sisters. Don't forget to keep practicing PAWS at home!

Miss Sydney, I know you were embarrassed to go in front of the whole school but we are so happy that you have had such a great year and that your teacher loves you as much as we do! Can't wait to see what you learn in first grade.

Photo by John... he thought it was hilarious when Sydney peeked out from behind Kate instead of stepping out front. That's our silly, silly girl.

Rain, Rain and more Rain!

So cute aren't they? Kate and Syd are spending a night at their friend's house. So the time I usually spend negotiating, cajoling, and reading bed time stories is now all mine. (Insert diabolical laughter here.) So I have time to organize and backup photos, blog, and my favorites laundry and dishes. This may sound like too much fun for one girl but believe me I can handle it! (I sound optimistic about my to do list because it is now a DONE list except for the laundry. Which WILL WAIT until morning.)

Last week John and I took a little time to appreciate the amazingly perfect weather by sitting in our lawn chairs. John was studying and I was "on break," which is what John and I say when we're going to ignore the Rapplings for a few minutes unless there are visible wounds that really "NEED" a band aid. After I went to bed that night it rained and rained and rained. I woke up to our little lake again. Paige wanted to "IM" but not in the pool, in our yard. What a difference a night can make.

John took these out of the back yard Saturday Night. That's when all the water came flooding out of the legs of the chairs onto the drive way.

Nice shot of the fog coming off of the ground.

I remember it was almost two years ago exactly when I sat on the couch with a newborn and waited to see how much flooding we would have at Skrappaper. I was exhausted and worried. How could I help John , manage a new baby, a cranky two year old and bail water. I knew I was loved when Melly, Ken, Lisa and Harvey came to our rescue.

Lisa's off in Mexico right now and Melly's in Indiana but I am so thankful that they were here for me when I needed them. Love you, thanks friends!

"Berry" Good

Felt inspired by this paper(MAMBI)...
You know I can't resist Cherries.

This is either a Valentine or Friendship themed card.
Clear acetate card inspired by these cards by "theValerie" found
on Two Peas in a Bucket. Acetate requires a little bit more advance planning...
I think it's well worth the effort.

Front of Card

Center of Card

Back of Card

Sydney took one look at me as I loaded the girls

into the car for errands and announced....

"Mom your too Sparkly. I think the guys at the store might throw you out."

Well I guess she's a little embarrassed by her mom.

Poor Kid!

I would only make it worse with my pat answer

to all who ask "Why are you so sparkly?"

"I've been playing with fairies."

Yep, I'm 34 real grown up aren't I?

What do your kids want for breakfast?

Every morning I shake my head. When I was growing up we had oatmeal and toast for breakfast. I loved it. My favorite special treat was cream of wheat, Rice Krispies, or Honey Smacks yum, yum, and yum.

Here's how my morning goes....

"Girls what do you want for breakfast?"

I know I probably shouldn't have started asking but it's too late now.

As soon as I finish this question Paige toddles to the fridge and proceeds to bang on it. If I open it she lunges for the eggs and says EH! Until one is scrambled and at her place she watches me intensely. Even my youngest knows that I get distracted easily.

Sydney places her order depending on the produce of the day....

" Um(while staring into the fridge. Like the contents have changed from the night before. Sorry sweetie no refrigerator fairies here.) I want a salad. I think I want pickles you know the sweet ones not the spicy ones. Oh and some of those olives........... Mom, what are those salty things you put on my salad? I want six of them.(capers, yes, my little monster loves capers I have to limit her consumption which is why she asks for a certain amount.) Oh and some tomatoes."

"Syd do actually want any lettuce in this salad."

"No I want a tomato and pickle salad. But no cheese it makes it taste funny."

So here's Syd's breakfast.

Kate as usual wanted sausage. "Just sausage mom" As we all know The breakfast of champions. You have to know that I deny Kate this breakfast frequently due to time constraints and my dislike of a grease spattered skillet before 8:10 in the morning.

And that's how we start our day, every day.

Have fun in the morning! I know I will!

Jolly Holly Christmas

My girls make me laugh! I have a friend who sends out the best letters for Christmas that include "The Best of" Qoutes from her boys. I've never remembered to write them all down. Well Miss Sydney has been on a roll.

We caught her playing dress up and took a couple of photos.

A few minutes after John and I left the room we heard.

"Can I get a little help in here?" Look at who we found!

Sometimes a girl just needs a hand.
We still don't know why she was in the box.

Then John and I were busy,(ha ha ha) finding cool things on the internet. I heard Syd in the hallway, singing over and over,"Have a Jolly Holly Christmas its the best time in the WORLD." She kept singing and became more enthusiastic with each repeat. Gotta love little people especially when they don't get the words right and get the meaning anyway.


Today I laid down for 15 minutes until Kate got off of the bus. Sydney was told to be quite since John and Paige were asleep. When you're four it's hard to be quiet, hey my girls can't even walk quiet. So I expected her to wake Paige up at any second. I saw her go into the bathroom and then for a couple of minutes I heard a lot of jumping. I opened the door to peek in and see what was going on. She was doing the potty dance! Leotard on under her t-shirt....bouncing and saying "I hope someone comes to help me...I hope someone comes to help me!" Poor kid. After we took care of the major crisis I couldn't stop giggling. At least I know she listens sometimes!

My friend, Jean sent me a funny Utube video about Mom's. You may have heard it before but every time I see it I laugh more. Kate overheard me listening and thought it was sooooo funny. "Mom that's you!" I said, "No honey that's ALL moms." Thank goodness for creative moms who can let us all know that we are normal. So have a Jolly Holly Christmas and have a good laugh today. I know I did!