Take a Tip Thursday/The Last Day of School!

This morning, as I woke up Samuel and Avery for their last day of school, Samuel told me that he had good news and bad news. The good news was that it was the last day of school. The bad news was that he was sad about it. I told him that I knew exactly how he felt. Today's Take a Tip Thursday blog has been difficult for me to type, mainly because I keep bursting into tears. The words I'm trying to put down here just seem to keep hitting me really hard. I think it's because I simply can not believe another school year is over. Another school year being over = my kids are getting older. They are just growing up so fast! I wish they would just stop growing... Can someone make that happen for me, please?

Well, we have a little tradition in our home, started by "Yours Truly" about 4 years ago. I love taking pictures of the kids, so it seemed only fitting for me to make it a tradition to take pictures of the kids on their first and last day of school every year. I originally thought it simply would be a cute way of documenting these momentous occasions in their lives. And while it has been a fun tradition, it has turned out to be a really neat way of visually documenting just how much the kids grow over the course of a year. Not to mention the fact that it is truly amazing for me to look back at just how little Samuel and Avery were when they started going to "school," and just how fast the years have gone by.

So, come with me now as I take you for a little walk down memory lane...

First day of Preschool, August 2006.

Last day of Preschool, May 2007. Oh look! There's a new little critter!

Samuel's first day of Kindergarten, August 2007.

Avery's first day of Pre-K, August 2007.

Last day of Kindergarten for Samuel, and last day of Pre-K for Avery, June 2008. Scroll up 3 pictures, and then scroll back down to this one. Other than the fact that Samuel was in desperate need of a haircut, notice how much taller both Samuel and Avery were in this picture. Their heads were both over the top of the bar! And that's just in 1 year. Now that's what I call a growth spurt!

Avery's first day of Kindergarten and Samuel's first day of 1st grade, August 2008.

Last day of 1st grade for Samuel, and last day of Kindergarten for Avery, June 2009.

Look at how much my babies have grown! Yes, I'm still crying...

Trust me when I say that I could blog my heart away right now, typing several paragraphs about all of the many highs and lows we've experienced this past school year. But instead, I've decided not to do that. And by the way, you're welcome. :-) Instead, I will leave you all this "tip"... Cherish each day you have with your children as the gift it truly is.

And now, I've got this slide show for you all to enjoy, full of pictures from the past school year. Happy Summer, Everyone!

Click Here

Random Thoughts - Random Pictures

Random Thought -Random Picture #1:

I'm learning to pick my battles wisely...

With the most recent Swine Flu threat, I started making a point to have all 3 kids wash their hands, a lot! It didn't take long for Isaac to discover that the more soap he put on his hands, the larger the amount of bubbles in the sink. It takes all my strength these days to pull him away from the sink and the bubbles. I'm ready for summer break! :-) Most days I just let him play in the bubbles for as long as he wants to.

Random Thought - Random Picture #2:

The garden is doing great.

Random Thought - Random Picture #3:

Our banana tree finally came back to life.

Random Thought - Random Picture #4:

Isaac has a great big sister.
Random Thought - Random Picture #5:
Avery has a great Daddy.

Random Thought - Random Picture #6:

My cat would stay in this same position all day, every day, if I'd let her.

Random Thought - Random Picture #7:

I am so proud of Samuel...

Last night, Samuel had his Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet. This past year, he earned 5 belt loop awards in Archery, Bee Bee Gun Shooting, Ultimate Frisbee, Flag Football and Fishing. He also earned his Tiger Cub patch, and 9 elective beads.

Random Thought #8 - With Several Random Pictures:

I don't like snakes...

Especially when some guy waves one over my head while it's hanging onto the end of a long, metal pole.

For the entertainment last night, after the Cub Scout Banquet, they hired a snake guy/magician (I don't really know what else to call him). While the boys loved it and showed no fear (they thought the snakes were SO cool), Avery and I had other feelings when it came to the snakes. She pretty much hid behind Hector the entire time. All it took was that man waving that snake on the end of that pole over the crowd at the very beginning of the show, and Avery didn't come out from her hiding spot for the rest of the night. And I was content to sit on the back row and keep an eye on Isaac for the remainder of the show.

Isaac with his friend, Nolan, watching the snake guy...
Random Thought - Random Picture #9:

I am so proud of Avery...

Although Avery's troop was not able to participate in the Girl Scout Daisies Investiture Ceremony (it was cancelled due to the threat of the Swine Flu), she still earned her 3 membership pins for the year. Her leaders asked the local Girl Scout "head-honchos" to make an exception for our girls, in light of the fact that they were ready for their ceremony and would have gone through with it, if it weren't for the Swine Flu. Man, how many times can I mention the Swine Flu in this blog? Anyway, next year her troop will be able to pick right up where they left off at the end of this year. They won't need to re-do anything and start over again, as we were all afraid would be the case. Her leaders are hopeful that the girls will be able to have their Investiture Ceremony rescheduled sometime after the start of next year's meetings. And since the girls weren't able to have the ceremony, the leaders planned an "End-of-Year" party for the girls at Build-a-Bear. Avery had a great time and got a really cute teddy bear, which she named Princess (of course). Princess came with her own Girl Scout Daisies uniform. And this past year, Avery earned 4 petal patches; Light Blue Petal for being Honest and Fair, Yellow Petal for being Friendly and Helpful, Spring Green Petal for being Considerate and Caring, and Red Petal for being Courageous and Strong. She also earned her Daisy Blue Center Flower Patch for learning the Girl Scout Promise, as well as a patch for going to Daisy Day (where she rode Bueno the horse), a patch for selling cookies, and a patch for completing a Staying Safe program.
Random Thought - Random Picture #10:

I feel the same way as Avery...
I brought cupcakes up to school on Friday, to celebrate Avery's birthday with her classmates. She told me that even though she knows she's 6 now, she still can't believe that she's a whole year older.

Random Thought - Random Picture #11:

I am losing my mind...

It's My Day - I'm The Princess! How perfect is this shirt for Avery? I bought it for her last summer, almost a year ago, at the Children's Place outlet store. I paid 99 cents for it. That's right people. I love a great deal! Especially when it comes to really cute clothes. I bought it so that she could wear it to school this year for her birthday. I took the shirt out from amongst the other clothes in her closet early last week, and hung it up in such a way that I could see it and wouldn't forget about it. Good plan, right? So, you can imagine how disappointed I was when I opened up Avery's closet this afternoon (Sunday @ 1:30), only to discover that I had, indeed, forgotten to have Avery wear her birthday shirt to school this past Friday. A year - a full year - gone... I've held onto this shirt in anticipation of Avery wearing it to school for her birthday for a full year. AND I FORGOT!!! :-( She doesn't know it yet, but I'm making her wear that shirt to school tomorrow!!!

And here's my final random thought: Thursday is the last day of school! Wow!!!

Bundles of joy!

I had planned on sharing this news with everyone sooner, but life got really busy... Go figure! I was planning on putting a cute little title on here, saying that we were "expecting." And then I was going to write a blog sharing the wonderful news that we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of several new "bundles of joy." I had even planned on taking a picture and putting it on here. Unfortunately, our bundles of joy arrived much earlier than anticipated. Yep! That's right. The babies have already arrived. All 5 of them!!!!!

You see, our Purple Martins are now the proud parents of quintuplets. The eggs hatched much faster than I thought they would. Thus, I never got a picture of the eggs. But I did manage to snap these pictures today, after I heard the babies chirping!!! Here's the nest in the birdhouse:And here's the babies:
Here's a better picture of the babies (a little to the left, pink bodies, black eyes):

And the mother bird circling up above as I checked the nest:
We met a very nice couple this morning. The man was wearing a Purple Martin Conservation Association shirt, and that sparked a conversation between us. They have been Purple Martin "landlords" for almost 9 years. They have 137 eggs that should be hatching any day now in their backyard birdhouses. They were so nice and helpful. They came into our backyard, cleaned out the birdhouse, removed 2 "unwanted" bird nests, checked the babies for mites (yes, he really checked all the babies!), and gave me tips on how I could be a better landlord to my Purple Martin family. And I just want to say that I drove by their house after they invited me to come look at their bird houses, and all I could think to myself when I saw them was "WOW!" Their houses are very impressive. They have quite a thriving population in their backyard. It really was a sight! Anyway, when I saw those baby birds in our bird house, I started crying. I know, I know... I'm a softy! But seeing those tiny, helpless baby birds in there on my baby girl's 6th birthday, just made me want to cry. It touched my heart to see such a miracle, the miracle of life, right there in my own backyard. And it reminded me of my 3 tiny baby birds, my own 3 miracles of life, 1 of which was born on this very day just 6 years ago.

Happy Birthday, Princess!

Just take a look...

And you will see...

Like the unfolding pages of a book...

Our Princess turned from 1...

T0 2...

Then 3...

Then in the blink of an eye, she turned 4...

And we wished she'd stop growing up so quick...

Still she went and grew up some more...

And then she turned from 5, to the great big 6!

Happy Birthday, Princess Avery Grace. Words alone can not even begin to describe how proud we are of you, and just how much we love you. You make our lives exciting and fun. We love your curiosity, enthusiasm, and zest for life. We love your compassionate, caring nature. We love the fact that you can be such a "girlie-girl" and yet you can get just as dirty and stinky as the boys. We love to hear you sing, watch you dance, create your art masterpieces, and listen to you ask all those questions! We hope that you never lose your spunk. We hope that you never stop asking questions. We pray that you will always know just how special and unique you truly are.

With The Deepest Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Take A Tip Thursday!

Good morning, everyone! If you didn't read yesterday's blog, click here. Reading it first will help you understand a little better what I'm writing about on today's blog. So, are you ready? Because it's time for another...

Take A Tip Thursday!

As I wrote on here yesterday, I've been a little discouraged lately about my dieting and weight loss efforts. In an attempt to get my motivation back, I'm reaching out to all of you. I read an article several months ago that talked about new research that has been done, showing that when kids see their parents exercise, they're more likely to exercise when they become adults. So, I asked a really good friend of mine who exercises on a consistent basis and seems to actually enjoy it (which is something I honestly struggle to understand), if she saw her parents exercising when she was a child. Her answer... Yes! In fact, she and her mom started taking exercise classes together when she was a teenager. The result? She learned to enjoy exercise from an early age, she realized that exercise is a family affair, she's always exercised, she makes it a part of her daily routine, and she's never struggled with her weight.


I, on the other hand, did not go to exercise classes with my mom and I have never learned how to find the fun in exercising. That's one big strike against me. Another strike against me is that I love food. I love cooking and creating new dishes. And I love combining different flavors and textures, to make a truly tasteful meal. Hector pokes fun at me from time to time when it comes to my cooking habits. I can't simply boil pasta, open a jar of Prego, and combine the 2 ingredients to make spaghetti. No, no, no. I feel the need to cook 3 different types of meat, then saute onions, bell peppers, carrots, and mushrooms with fresh garlic, then throw in some olives, diced tomatoes and fresh basil from my herb garden. Now that's spaghetti! And don't forget the verde bread and baked squash. :-)


Who's hungry? Wait a minute! What was my point? Oh yea... I love cooking and eating, and hate exercising. Knowing these 2 facts about myself, several months ago I sought the advise of another friend of mine who knows a lot about nutrition. She gave me some really good "tips." And now I'm going to pass them on to all of you.


* Do not think about all of the little things you need to change as a whole. Instead, pick 1 thing, and focus on it first. Do not see the change as something negative, like you are having to give something up. Instead, see it as something positive, that you are adding something good to your life. Don't take away a negative, add a positive... Her example was to eat a piece of fruit instead of a less healthy snack, just once a day. Very simple. Very easy. I like it!


* If you can't find 30 minutes to exercise all at once, break it up into 2 or even 3 exercise sessions throughout the day. It doesn't matter so much that you do it all at once, but that you get your heart rate up and break a sweat every time.


* Set small, attainable goals. And when you reach each goal, reward yourself. Her example was to not think about the total amount of weight that I wanted to lose, but to set a goal to lose the first 10 pounds. And when I lost the 10 pounds, to reward myself for reaching my goal. Then I should set another goal, and so on.


* And finally, don't give up when you have a "set back." Giving up and going back to your old ways shows that you're still thinking about the positive changes you've made in your life as a short term fix to a long term problem. This is perhaps my biggest struggle. Not giving up... Seeing it as a life long change for the better...


So, now it's your turn to leave me a tip. I would love any tips you are willing to share on dieting and exercising. Something practical... Something that has worked for you... I look forward to all of your tips!