Flying Feet Agility Dog Training Champion--KENDYL!

Giving her the Mama look! She better behave or ELSE! 

Woo Hoo! We graduated puppy school last night. Trisha Koetter runs a tight ship over in the Knobs, but darn if it wasn't worth it! I was sweating it out as the past seven weeks went by and I didn't see much progress in my Golden Retriever Puppy---but alas, with one extra private lesson and practicing EVERY DAY we got it! We lost 1.5 points during class because of, not the dog, the handler!!! I even knew it when it happened.

The Entire class--minus five who didn't show up

Me and My Winner Dog!

Kendyl got 1st place in obedience and 2nd place for tricks. I was grinning like a fool and she was happy because she got food. (Girl after my own heart!)

R & R for the Mama

My trip to Baton Rouge was amazing! I arrived on a Thursday and flew out on Monday. Ryan was working 12 hour days at Exxon Chemical Plant, so I shopped, sat by the pool while reading and drinking. I do love a Bourbon Sour. It is amazing how Bourbon has become my new favorite drink. I blame this completely on the husband and the gym boyfriend! Who would have thought their enjoyment of the nasty stuff would eventually become my own? I do not like it "neat" however as it really does give you a KY hug. HA!

I'm back to reality of living the life of a Mom on Fall Break. The boys are staying up till 2 and sleeping in past noon. They are little night owls. I will be sad when school starts back up, but until then I shall enjoy the next 9 days!

Nana visits the Knob for Grandparents day!

The best part about Nana coming to town is the boys will play games. We taught them the art of playing Spades. It was quite humorous. Zachman won; he had more Spades every hand than I did. It was hard not to lose my patience with his luck. I wish he was old enough to take to Vegas, because, darn it, if that boy didn't have MAD skills.

We didn't do a whole lot of anything other than go to soccer, ran to Wal-Mart and lived at the school for book fair, but it was nice to have family here. Some times it is harder than I would like to admit living so far away from everything and everybody I know.....

Vote Trump who is the size of J-bird in his soccer gear!

Small Choir, Big Man on Campus

Zachman is top row, three over to the right of Mr. Stone's head.

Our first choir concert at Highland Hills! Mr. Stone is an amazingly fun and talented choir teacher. Zachman has said he really likes his class AND enjoys his sense of humor. I am not sure the teacher even knows who my kid is because I'm sure they've exchanged less than 10 words from my shy kiddo, but I was impressed nonetheless at Zachman's respect of Mr. Stone. The concert was less than 24 minutes long--my kind of concert. I was sad the DAD was outta town because the time on this concert would have made him proud. Ryan has always abhorred the amount of time 'wasted' at his Mom's concerts through the years, but this one was perfect. They sang songs Ryan would have recognized and had a great tempo too! 

How to create a Book-A-Neer Scholastic Book Fair

Well, you start six weeks out! You have a massive to-do list! I start six weeks out getting my team of volunteers ready, crafting and involving my staff in what is going to go down in the library! This years theme was awesome for me to create settings, characters and school involvement!

You must go through the sharks mouth!

A different pirate costume every day! This is how I introduce the rules to the kiddos!

Fun props help create a mood!

Look at those faces! Awesome!

Talk Like a Pirate Day = Free Donuts

I do it every year. Don the Pirate costume for a free dozen donuts! This year I had three of us, so I got 3 dozen donuts. Last year I walked a box over to the neighbors. I did it again this year! When I rang the door bell, Squared, their 13 year old child, merely yelled--
"Dad, It's Talk Like a Pirate Day! Amy's here with donuts." CRACKED me up. He didn't even say hello or anything. What tradition have I started? Next year I'm making that kid go with me. 

Three buccaneers going for donuts!

OxMoor Soccer Tournament

  J-Bird loves his soccer and he is getting good at it! He is no Messi, but he is striving to be better every game. He had several assists and was great at giving "legal" shoulder throws! I'm so proud of how far he has come. We have 2 more games and the season will be over. We are back up for the Red Team and a tournament in Indy Halloween weekend!

Costume Queen--a Pirate and an old lady costume!

I'm beginning to think I have issues. On Thursday I was Grandma Tildy and on Friday I was Captain Jack Sparrow. All in the name of reading stories to the children of the Knobs. How fun is that?

I'm glad I am done working and can focus on fun stuff around the house and for my boys. Back to laundry. I even told the boys I would make cookies today! :)

Book Fair is taking over my life! BECOME A BOOK-A-NEER

 Okay, the fun times have begun. We are one week away from the Book Fair! I'm super excited as the theme is pirates. This is going to be a blast. We start with the coin drive this week. I am having a guessing game with Pirate booty in the library. I am going to make a large Pretzel container into a barrel and fill it with dirt and gold and beads. They will have to guess how many gold coins. Pretty Excited. We made a Pirate ship out of a box this weekend. I will try to show pictures as we go! I am sewing 5 different pirate costumes. I'm not holding my breath yet as to how they will all turn out. HA!

Scary Halloween Costume for 2016

Need I say MORE??

My eldest son cracked up when I sent this to him and asked him which one was the most scary????

Tee- Hee.

Floating Shelves for the Bathroom done by a GIRL!

I have enjoyed getting to know my power tools. Technically, they are the DH's, but when he is gone, he shares. He shares when he is home too, but this makes it easier on me! :) 

I went to Pinterest and have been spending more time on there figuring out what I want to do with my house than the actual doing, so I figured before school started, ti was time to make the Pinterest boards a  reality. There are floating shelf DIYs all over the place. The trick is to realizing which ones know what they are talking about. The Shanty2Chic is the website I keep referencing. Probably because they are also female and have way more confidence than I think is possible. 

It is amazing how these little shelves turned out. It was the perfect fix for this bare spot. My sister and I had looked at the space every time she comes to town, so now she has a little surprise waiting for her when she returns! 

J-Bird and his love of the game

 J-Bird loves soccer. We hired a Personal Coach for him and we are seeing him grow leaps and bounds. He takes direction well and his coaches have both encouraged him and his ability to listen and learn. This is a trait not all 9 year old boys possess. He had two assists at this past weekends game. Darling Hubby (DH) has been able to be at the last two games and I think this makes a huge difference! GO SIU!

The Ninjabread Man by C.J. Leigh read by Ms. America

Okay, the recording is pretty quiet and I'm far away, but this is what I have been doing. I'm working as a sub in the library for a month while the librarian is out for a surgery and recoup time. I read the Ninja Bread Man by C.J. Leigh this past week. It is one of the books for sale in our upcoming book fair. I made a ninja costume and taught the kids how to make a Ninja head wrap with a t-shirt. It was fun! 

Jedi Knight Bathroom! How to redo a boys bathroom to Star Wars

It was time. Time to take the boring tan walls and make this room a boy bathroom. I started with painting the walls "Rain" by Sherwin Williams. I went to Pinterest and Etsy to find inspiring Star Wars ideas. I discovered a vinyl on Etsy (which I bought) which started the madness of this room.

I also was told by my darling hubby NOT to paint the vanity. I am trying out new paints and discovered with Chalk Paint you don't have to prime or sand. I figured while he is away what he doesn't know won't hurt him. I also figured if I did it correctly--by taking off all hardware and not skipping a step the cabinets would turn out okay. I was a little worried when the polyurethane wasn't drying, but after 7 days it is perfect. I just didn't realize how long it would take to settle in.

I crafted a sign:

I LOVE my Silhouette Cameo! J-Bird is in to Funko Pops, so I ordered a few Funko Pops to put on a shelf above the toilet. I ordered a Star Wars shower curtain and even a R2-D2 shower head! Who would have thought? I think the redo cost me around $300 with the paint and the trim for the mirror. I put trim around the bathroom mirror. The construction grade 'stuff' is all over my house. It is nice and all, but there are ways to improve the 'grade.'

All in all I am totally impressed with the new bathroom. I don't think my Jedi Knights care either way as they just brush their teeth in there, but I do. AND that is all that matters! :)

Look towards the back and you can see the shower head peaking out. It is too fun! 

Book Review: "This is a Serious Book" by Jodie Parachini & Daniel Rieley

 

Release Date: October 11, 2016
Publisher: Greenwillow Books

America's Review:

When you tell a child this is very serious they will embrace this and become somber. Well, until they look around and see the context clues or a donkey who is trying to be silent but TOOTS! Who could not giggle at the antics found in This Is a Serious Book by Jodie Parachini and illustrations by Daniel Rieley? A donkey tooting by page three does not bode for a VERY serious book at all! Reading this book was fun because the narrator is a very stern voice with bold letters and capitalization throughout, but the pictures in the background allow the reader to know the narrator is losing the battle of being VERY serious.

It teaches children there is a time and a place to be serious, but life also offers many moments where you must embrace the fun. The pictures are hilarious as is the font. Even a nonreader can see the font size grows as the patience of the narrator fades and the person reading it will also elevate their voice based on the font changes.

In the Classroom:

There are a variety of verbs and adjectives used to make the characters in the book try to be serious. Using these words found in the text have your students distinguish the meanings--is there a difference between the shades being used (e.g. look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and do the adjectives differ in intensity by defining or choosing them by acting out the meanings (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.D.)

Have students write their own sentences using a verb and an adjective and then make them write two more displaying their ability to make the sentences become more intense as did the narrator in the story.

Things to do in Portland OR with two boys!

OMSI: Oregon Museum of Science and Invention! Buy the MEGA pass and plan to spend at least six hours there! We had a blast. The boys, who had just been to the best children's museum in the U.S. the past week, were boo-hooing this museum. Once we were there they didn't want to leave. We closed down the place. It was full of hands-on exhibits, the submarine was amazing and we enjoyed the shows. Food was a bit pricey, but this is how it is in every museum.

Movie Time! 

J-bird got to be the captain of the torpedo launch.

Very interesting display of fetus' This were real. Some were from abortions, others from miscarriages. Totally creepy.