Postcard Friendship Friday #37

Welcome to another Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Marie at The French Factrice . Stop by her site to join in or see other postcards.

I picked this postcard up at an antique mall. Its not in very good condition, but I like holiday postcards and I didn't have a New Year one. It is very old. I think the postmark says 1907. I can't make out the message on the back. part of it is torn. Someone was happy to hear from Miss Ida though... wish I knew who!

Happy New Year!!

New Year's Resolutions

I don't know about you, but I usually don't make a "New Year's Resolution". I guess I just don't want to set myself up for disappointment! Although 2 years ago I did join the Y on Jan. 2 and I'm happy to say I'm still working out so I guess that one kind of worked out for me!

Anyway, this year I've decided to make one. It is probably the opposite of some that other people make. I'm going to volunteer less. Yes, you read that right! I spent most of this last year organizing and coordinating things for our homeschool group, Vacation Bible School, Little League teams, etc., etc. I've had enough! I have neglected my home, family, and homeschooling all to plan things for other people. I just don't think that's fair to my kids, my husband or myself. My husband actually asked me back in November if I'd go just one month without organizing something. I thought about it and told him I couldn't even think of it until March! That got me thinking. Why should I be the one who does all of this?

Our homeschool group has around 70 families in it, but I am usually the only one who will plan big events like the All Saints Party or the Science Fair. This last year I organized a Valentine Party, an All Saints Party, a Christmas Party, 2 potlucks, a field trip to a bakery and the annual state of the group meeting. I'm also currently organizing our first science fair for Jan. 9. That's just what I've done for the homeschool group! I'm thinking that with 70 families maybe its time for someone else to step up and organize something. I'm not going to quit everything. I'll still plan the little holiday parties for the kids because my kids really enjoy them. I will not be planning a science fair or potlucks next year though. And I'm not planning to volunteer at VBS. I have volunteered at VBS for the last 4 years. Every year I volunteered to do a big job like coordinator, craft lead or PreK lead. This year I think I deserve a break.

I'm finding myself completly burned out. That makes me snippy with my kids and husband, tired, and less motivated when homeschooling. So, my resolution this year is to do less for others and devote more time to my family.

What about you? Do you make New Year's Resolutions?

A Merry Little Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! And it was our first white Christmas ever! The roads were really bad when we were out on Christmas Eve, but thankfully, we made it everywhere we needed to go.

Nathan read the first reading at the Children's Christmas Eve mass. He did an incredible job! Last year he read a prayer of the faithful, but this was the first time he did the actual reading. He was really nervous, but you couldn't tell. He did great. Here's a picture of him. (My pictures in the church always turn out dark for some reason.)


Claire was an angel for the 3rd year in a row. She did really well too! She's become sort of a veteran at being a Christmas Eve angel!

This is us on Christmas Eve before we went to mass in the blowing snow!

The kids on Christmas morning. Claire got a digital camera so I'll have to do a post with some of the pictures she's been taking. They are very, um, interesting!


And here are the kids with our Christmas snowman. He hasn't quite melted away yet...I built him in a shady part of the yard so he'd last longer. Still can't believe we got to play in the snow on Christmas morning!

Here we all are on Christmas morning. We take a santa hat picture every year after we open gifts. Simba was not real thrilled to be included this year! She's trying to claw me with her back foot in the picture!

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Cat

She thinks we put the tree up just for her!

Monday Medicine: Christmas Jokes

In case you need something to entertain the kids on their break, here are some corny jokes I found on http://www.theholidayspot.com

What do reindeer hang on their Christmas trees??

Horn-aments!

What would a reindeer do if it lost its tail?

She'd go to a re-tail shop for a new one!

Why is Prancer always wet?

Because he's a rain-deer!

Why did Santa's helper see the doctor?

Because he had a low elf esteem!

Postcard Friendship Friday #36

Welcome to another Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Marie at The French Factrice . Stop by her site to join in or see other postcards.

This is a postcard I received from a friend of mine in France a few years ago. I think its beautiful. It has glitter on it too, but I don't know how well that came across once I scanned it.

Thursday Tirade

I haven't participated in the Thursday Tirade in a while because I've been sooo busy. I feel like I'm under a mountain of "to do" lists!

We went out of town for Thanksgiving. That was fun, but took my normal week off from school that I use to catch up and relax. So, ever since we came back I've been on the go. I'm so tired! I've baked countless dozens of cookies and still have more to bake. I've taken the kids to paint Christmas ornaments (a yearly tradition), organized a homeschool Christmas party, bought, wrapped and delivered gifts for the needy, shuffled the kids to art and gymanstics, took the kids to buy gifts for their dad, and in between all that I've homeschooled them! Did I mention I was really tired? It doesn't help that my daughter has not been on her best behavior lately either so that tends to run her school late many days.

I'm also very sick of Christmas carols. No, I'm not a grinch, but the stores have been playing them non stop since before thanksgiving! They are usually really bad versions of them too. Its so annoying to deal with all of the shoppers and crowds and have to listen to horrible versions of what was once a nice song.

And the shoppers, and the stupid drivers, and the crowded parking lots. I've just had it with them all! I told my husband yesterday that I don't even want to go anywhere else until after Christmas is over. I really hate feeling this way about Christmas. I just get so worn out from all of the stress. Next year I'm going to have to plan to do things differently. What stresses you out the most at Christmas? Is it those awful Christmas carols or is that just me? :)

Ok, I think I've whined enough for today! The good thing is that today was our last day of school. Now we are off for 2 weeks so I'm hoping to actually take a break from all the craziness.

To join the tirade visit Amy at Just add Walter. She has a great little blog! http://justaddwalter.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: Santa

Monday Medicine: Christmas Humor

Dave Barry is my favorite humorist. Every year he writes about unusual Christmas gifts that are actually out there. Here is this year's list. You can click on each one to read his hilarious description of it. I crack up at these every year!

Dave Barry's 2009 Gift Guide

Educational sperm snow globe
Poop box
Jerky pistol
Nose shower-gel dispenser
Metal-detecting sandals
Whoppair boxing gloves
NFL Garden Gnome
Beer pager
Stink-finder ultraviolet light
Golf club drink dispenser
Wine glass holder necklace (set of two)

Homeschool Talk: Gingerbread Art

Here's a fun idea that I had never thought of before. Our local science museum hosted an "Electric Gingerbread" event today. They gave us graham crackers and art supplies and we made our own creations. Then, they gave us LED lights and batteries and we lit them up. They are on display at the museum for the next 2 weeks.

This was so much fun! We glued the graham crackers together and decorated with art supplies. It was a good lesson in engineering (You couldn't let your house fall down!) It was also a very creative art project. Claire and I build one and Chris and Nathan built one. We had only an hour so I did most of the actual building on ours, but Claire went to town decorating it!

The boys working on theirs....

Claire busy decorating...

My and Claire's finsihed product with lights! We named it North Pole Wonderland.


Chris and Nathan's finished product. They used all white lights so even though they were lit up in real life, they don't look like it in the picture. Guess I should have turned the flash off. They named their Winter Cottage, I think.

This was so much fun and totally something you could do at home on a cold winter's day when the kids are bored!

Postcard Friendship Friday #35

Welcome to another Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Marie at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards . Stop by her site to join in or see other postcards.

Here's a cute little furry friend waiting for Santa. Does Santa visit your furry friend at Christmas? Our cat has a little stocking (at the insistance of my daughter!) I wonder if Santa visits anyone else's pets too!

I see the dog above has put out cookies. Last year, Claire put out the cookies for Santa and went to bed. A few minutes later my husband called me into the living room. The cat had taken one off the plate and was eating it on the floor! It was really funny, but we never told Claire that Simba stole Santa's cookie!

Before & After Pots

I've been meaning to do this post for a while now, and I just didn't have the time. So, I'm stealing a few minutes this morning to do it!

In August we did a little yard makeover. We made a strip of rock along the fence on the side of the house. I wanted to put pot plants there, but I didn't have enough nice pots for all the plants I had. So...I got out the trusty spray paint and decided to give it a try.


These are a few of the pots before. I ended up not using all of them so the after pictures actually include some that are not in this picture, but I think you'll get the idea anyway!


This is after. The one on the right is painted with textured spray paint so it has a bit of a stone look and feel to it. It is actually the big pot in the above picture. The one on the left is actually one of the pots our new shrubs came in. They were big enough to use for flowers and herbs and looked good when painted. The best part was they were just in a pile of stuff to throw away and I rescued them and saved myself some money!

This is another of the shrub pots. I used bronze metallic paint on it. I like the metallic better than the regular tan that was in the first picture. If I do anymore, I think I'll use the metallic.

So, this is my little experiment with spray paint. I used regular spray paint. I didn't even buy the stuff for plastic because I couldn't find a color that I liked in it. So far, the regular has held up fine. I was able to use the old pots from around the house instead of throwing them out and buying new ones, and the spray paint is very inexpensive. I was happy with how they turned out and I'll probably do some more in the spring.

Wordless Wednesday: Lazy Cat!

To see more Wordless Wednesday posts visit Serendipity is Sweet .

Monday Medicine: Christmas Humor

No Christmas humor post could be complete without this Robert Earl Keen Song! Click on the link to see the video. Its really funny!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P37xPiRz1sg

Homeschool Talk: 12 Days of Christmas Game

Here is an idea for a fun, unique christmas game...

Last year I made a 12 days of christmas game for our homeschool christmas party. I laminated 2 half poster boards with the numbers 1-12 on them. then, I added velcro dots. I printed off and laminated the items in the song (turtle doves, lords-a-leaping, etc.) Then, we had the kids form 2 lines and see who could complete the song first. They drew the slips of paper out of a basket and ran to the game on the wall. They had to place it next to the right number. There was someone there telling them yes or no. They had to go until they got it right. It was lots of fun! We have several new families in our group so I think we're going to play it again this year!

Postcard Friendship Friday #34

Welcome to another Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Marie at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards . Stop by her site to join in or see other postcards.


I just had to post a snow postcard today. If you read my blog from Wednesday you'll see why! We had snow! Now, it wasn't a lot and it melted as soon as it stopped snowing, but we here in Texas still get excited when we see it!

Wordless Wednesday: Its snowing today in Texas!

To join in for more Wordless Wednesday fun visit Serendipity is Sweet .

Monday Medicine: Tis the Season!

Since Thanksgiving is over, it seems that Christmas will be here sooner than we realize so each Monday until Christmas I'm going to post Christmas humor. With all the stress of the holidays we shouldn't forget to laugh!

from: http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Christmas/holiday%20images.htm

from: butlerwebs.com

Wordless Wednesday: What I'm most thankful for!

Monday Medicine: Corny Thanksgiving jokes

Want to teach your kids some corny jokes to tell all the relatives this week? I found these at http://holidays.kaboose.com/thanks-games-jokes.html

Why did the Pilgrims want to sail to America in the spring? ?

Because April showers bring Mayflowers



What happened when the turkey got into a fight? ?

He got the stuffing knocked out of him



Why did the turkey cross the road? ?

It was the chicken's day off



Why was the turkey the drummer in the band? ?

Because he had the drumsticks

Homeschool Talk: Little Red Riding Hood

My daughter's literature selection for this month was little red riding hood. Each of the books we read were a little different take on the story. One of the big differences in all of the books was what Red was taking to her grandmother. In one book it was muffins, in one cake and wine, in one bread, etc. Our activity for the book was to make the item and then act out the book. Claire played Red, I was the mother and grandmother, Nathan was the wolf, and Chris was the huntsman.

Nathan as the wolf (Claire made the mask for him!)

Claire as Red...

She had so much fun with this! She looked forward to every Wednesday. (That's the day we do literature.)

She also made a lapbook about wolves. I downloaded it free from www.homeschoolshare.com

Next month her literature selection will be The Frog Prince. I scheduled it for December so we could go see the new Disney movie as one of our activities! She will also be doing a frog lapbook from homeschool share.

Postcard Friendship Friday #33

Welcome to another Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Marie at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards . Stop by her site to join in or see other postcards.


This is a postcard I picked up at the Sixth Floor Museum a few weeks ago. It's John F. Kennedy and Jackie leaving Love field in Dallas headed to Dealy Plaza November 22, 1963...just a short time before he was assassinated. Seated in front of the Kennedys are Gov. and Mrs. Connally. I'm posting this today because this Sunday marks the 46th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination.

To read about our visit to the Sixth floor museum you can click below. (It was another PFF post.)
http://aimeesland.blogspot.com/2009/10/postcard-friendship-friday-26.html

I was tagged!

My bloggy friend Amy at Keeping up with the Schultz Family tagged me a couple days ago. Since I'm a mom, it sometimes takes me a while to get around to doing things! So, sorry I'm a little late. That seems to be happening a lot lately!

This is what needs to be done for this tag. In order to accept this I must share 5 experiences that helped shape me into the mom I am today.

1. My mom was a stay at home mom. She was always there when I got home from school. She made dinner every night. She was room mother and always volunteered at the school. I have followed in her footsteps with those key things...I'm a stay at home mom, and even though I homeschool I'm always volunteering to head up things in our homeschool group so that my kids will have more opportunities.

2. I used to babysit for my cousin Debbie when I was in high school. She was (and is) such a good mom. She always took such great care of her kids and she was fun too. I always wanted to be a mom like her!

3. The decision to homeschool. Once we decided to homeschool our son, that really shaped the kind of mom I was. All of a sudden, I was teacher too so I had to learn how to be both.

4. My daughters surgery. When my daughter was 16 mo. old she had part of her esophagus removed. She had been having problems for months. It took a while for them to find out just what was wrong. Watching your child go through something like that makes a big impact on you as a parent. While she was in the hospital recovering I actually felt blessed. I had a child who was now fixed and going to go home. Many parents there didn't. Their children wouldn't be going home with them. That experience made me a stronger person and mother and taught me that I could handle things that I thought I couldn't. It also made me even more thankful for my kids.

5. Getting married. I had always wanted kids, but once I was married I knew that motherhood was a reality. I had a wonderful husband who I knew would be a good father. I wasn't scared to have our first baby because I knew he was and would always be at my side.

Now, I think I'm suppose to tag 5 other mothers so here you go...

1. Jen at Frugal Fabulous
2. Becca at The Texas Darlings
3. Melissa at Serendipity is Sweet
4. Kara at Eskimo Kisses and Air Hugs
5. Lynda at The Adventures of A Princess and The Bear

Monday Medicine

Check out my favorite comedian, Tim Hawkins. No matter how much I hear his stuff, I always laugh! http://www.timhawkins.net/ Click on "featured videos"

Homeschool Talk: The butterfly project

Here is a good project for homeschoolers or homeschool groups:

In an effort to remember the children killed in the holocaust, Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies. The butterflies will eventually comprise an exhibition, currently scheduled for Spring 2012.

I printed out a simple butterfly pattern and the kids in our homeschool group colored them anyway they wanted. Kids of all ages took part. These are the ones we did...

You can make whatever butterflies you want. I know they are asking for 2 dimentional ones and they can't be too big. All of those details along with the address to mail them to is on their website. Check it out! My kids really enjoyed doing this!
http://www.hmh.org/minisites/minisite/butterfly/index.html

Postcard Friendship Friday #32

Welcome to another Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Marie at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards . Stop by her site to join in or see other postcards.




I'm hosting a Disney Cruise line house party this weekend so I'm in a Disney kind of mood! This is one of the many postcards we brought back from Disney World earlier this year.

Wordless Wednesday: Thanks to all our veterans!

To join in or see more Wordless Wednesday pictures visit Serendipity is Sweet

Monday Medicine: military humor

From the Reader's Digest:

When a fellow ROTC cadet was kept out of Airborne School because of poor grades, his grandfather was confused. "Wait a minute," he said to his grandson. "You're telling me that these days you have to be smart to jump out of an airplane?"

Scott Oplinger

A big thank you to all of our military out there, both past and present!

Blog Award

My bloggy friend Amy at Keeping up with the Schultz Family gave me an award. Thank you, Amy!! You are a great bloggy friend and I really enjoy reading your blog! Amy also has a great giveaway going. Visit her blog to enter.

Now, I'd like to pass this on to my readers. So, if you stop by today, please grab the award. I'd also like to thank you for reading and leaving comments. I really enjoy getting to know my fellow bloggers!

Postcard Friendship Friday #31

Welcome to another Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Marie at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards . Stop by her site to join in or see other postcards.

I'm feeling Fallish today so I'm posting a cute little fall postcard! Fall is my favorite season and cats are my favorite kind of pet so I really like this card!