Light Sabers outta Pool Noodles

 Thanks be to Pinterest for this wonderful idea. I really would like to thank the inventors of this beautiful site. It has allowed me to not use any brain power to create the most amazing birthday parties the last few years! This is a genius idea and not one I would have thought of. I went to the Dollar Tree and bought 7 pool noodles for $7. Using my bread knife---because, lets be honest, when do I make bread? I sliced those noodles right in half. 

I had duct tape--who doesn't have duct tape--and already had black duct tape from crafting the Valentine Batmobile box, so I was set. All I had to do was wrap them up. I insisted the Jedi Knights help me with this project as they would be the ones using them. It was around 11 at night when we started this project and they were a bit goofy and a bit tired and a lot cranky.

After you cut them you have to cover the end. I used two pieces and covered the ends in halves to ensure I could cover the entire end. Once you do this, I used four more strips of duct tape to get the right amount of silver. We two 1" strips of black to wrap near the top and the bottom. We then put three "buttons" of black on them and called them done. Super easy. Took less than 30 minutes to make 14  light sabers! You can see the final product in the top picture on the left. 

Thank you again Pinterest.

Gliding Along Above the Ohio

On our way to soccer last Saturday morning, J-Bird and I saw nine hot air balloons floating along the sky. It was a beautiful morning--around 60, no wind and just beautiful. Seeing this majestic balloons gliding through the skies was breathtaking. With the crazy drivers here and the amount of traffic, I knew I shouldn't be taking pictures while driving. I relinquished the power to J-Bird and he kept telling me to slow down. Okay, sure on an interstate with people passing me going 80. I will just slow down so he can get a picture. Honestly, I'm surprised he even got this one. 

Scholastic Book Fair 2016 Teacher Preview

 So here is what is consuming my life right now. Cupcakes for teachers. I barely had time to complete the Jedi Academy Party and it was on to Book Fair. I cannot wait to share ALL the work I have done with this. So excited. Tomorrow night is family night. I will post more then! :)

Jedi Mom

Hey! So, I got a new shirt off of Etsy. It is pretty fabulous. I'm not going to lie--it is amazing. I had never bought anything off of Etsy before and I'm totally in love with this new concept of paying someone to craft for me. SugarCoatedDreams is where I will get fun shirts from in the future. Fun times. (Or as we say in Kentucky....EARLY TIMES!) More to come on the Jedi Academy 9th Bday party! :)

I wanted this shirt in time for the Jedi party, but it showed up two days late. Not the fault of the Etsy person as I didn't order it until too late, but now I can wear it and feel like I rock. Just wish I would have smiled for the selfie!

The end of the Flight Unit means a visit from Amelia Earhart!

Amelia Earhart came to town to help the kids finish off their flight unit and while she was in town she stopped by and read a story to the students. This is a fabulous way to make history come alive for the kiddos. 

I make sure when I go into the classroom I am ready to give facts and answer questions about the life I am reenacting. I had NO idea how many records Amelia Earhart made for women in the field of aviation. It was truly remarkable. The book by Brad Meltzer highlights Amelia's triumphs, but it does not discuss her disappearance or her death. I appreciated this when reading to the younger audiences--Brad's book was perfect for my kindergarten and first graders! 

The older kids got a 20 minute reenactment of Amelia's life--the 4th graders even got me for a full 45 minutes acting out her life. It was a great day to kick off Spring Break.

J-Bird Turns NINE!

 J-Bird turns nine today! Enjoy the pics of his life---almost a century old! :)

Patiently waiting for J-Bird's Arrival--at the park with Obe Wan

He is coming....my water broke. It is only a matter of time.
A LONG wait as it had to be a C-section as this boy didn't want to come out.

Proud Daddy! He is here on April 9th, weighing 7'4"

That's my brother? Where is his nose?

Meeting people for the first time! How young we all look!
Auntie Trista, Sydney & Addie were still in town from Easter!

Meeting his Nana

My sister and brother

I had never noticed that I was sleeping in this pic! Funny.

Mimi & Papa meet their last grandbaby.

Soon to be Aunt Cristin holding J-Bird

Big Boy is ONE! 

He's a farmer now and ALWAYS wearing
those boots. Both boys wore them. Nasty things.

We're three now and we LOVE to be without a shirt. 

Happy 4th Birthday! This is our cowboy phase. His party was at CowTown.

This is the the Movie themed party! He is now five.

Woo-Hoo! Turning 6 in kindergarten and looking forward to summer time!

Family party at age 7! 

Friend Superhero party age 7. 

Gotta love the new dooo! He is eight here! 

Walking Dead party--age 8

 And now, we skip to current day and a picture I took of him over Spring Break.

Can you believe he is 9? Look how big he is getting. WOW.
Happy Birthday my awesome kid!

A trip to Natural Bridge, KY

My Dad, StepMom & the four of us

What a great way to spend spring break---in a cabin in the middle of NO where! It was only for 3 days and two nights, but it was fun. We enjoyed time with my Stepmom's family. They are very different from her, just as there are times when I can be different than my siblings. It is fun to hear stories from the past and there were plenty of stories to share! We spent one day just the four of us. We thought we would go on a Zipline tour. I was even mentally prepared to spend a small fortune, but thanks to J-Bird's weight we couldn't go on the tour. Oh DARN! You had to 70 pounds and the poor guy is only weighing in at 62 right now.

There's my Dad waving at those of us who hiked!

J-Bird adored StepMom's nephew--he is 17 and graduating this May. He was super patient and kind with J-Bird!

Yep, so the grandparents, Ryan, and my boys all rode up on the Skylift. Suckers.
While Jennifer, Jared and I walked.

Never far from work that one. Stupid phone.

Natural Bridge is in the far left side. You can see it if you squint.

The group of us. Stepmom and her sister are in this shot. Night & Day different! :)

J-Bird kept getting super close to the edge. He was really freaking out his father! 

Pi Day Visitor to the Knobs

What a fun way to celebrate National Pi Day! The Excel Teachers at my school are amazing. The 4th graders were to bring a pie to help celebrate the day. They know how much I love to dress up, so a month back the math teacher asked me if I could read some Math books to the students dressed as Lady Di of Ameter. I jumped at the chance. Through the school year of costumes I learned the Head Custodian (not the PC name used these days....) was into Renaissance fairs and had mentioned she once had a plethora of costumes. Due to a flood in her basement she lost most of them, but she had a few left. I asked Ms. Mary if she had one I could borrow--not only did she have the dress, but she had a homemade crown. It was amazing. I had a long blue Rapunzel wig to go with this costume. It was a hit! 

For the 1st graders I read a different story and had so much fun telling them about ones, tens and hundreds. They are my best audience as they are used to the visits and my crazy antics.

I have two more costumes and then the year will conclude. I have even started greeting the kids in FULL costume when they come to school in the morning. What a hoot!

Our 2nd Easter on the Knobs....

Well, it wouldn't be right if my neighbor next door didn't do something rude on Easter. Last year he had his team of roofers putting his roof on starting at 6 a.m. This year he at least waited until 1 p.m. to have a guy come and mow his yard. He never seems to be home on Easter so this doesn't effect him. I get mowing and roofing, but please do it on days that aren't a religious holiday. He is a church goer and a family man, so I truly don't understand why he doesn't respect this Sunday.

Enough of my neighborhood complaining! So, as I stated my Dad and StepMom came up for Easter. My Father challenged me to find a church home for his visit. I did and boy was I surprised when we went to church. I have been going to the 9 a.m. services with all the gray hairs....we stayed out so late at the NCAA game the 9 a.m. service wasn't an option. I fixed breakfast and had everyone dressed and out the door early as the 9 a.m. services are always packed. I was scared we wouldn't have a seat. HA! What a laugh that was. The 11:15 contemporary service was wide open. I am going to go to the 11:15 service again this week and see if it was an Easter thing, or this is just a small service. If so, I'm down with that! :) The boys enjoyed the service, so I believe I will keep going and make the boys go with me. They have some good things going at this church, so I'm excited to have a church home. It is different than Presbyterian and a far stretch from Catholicism, but I think this is okay. We're going to church which is always my hope!


We came home to ribs, Easter baskets and an egg hunt. The boys had 102 eggs to find. There was money hidden in the eggs with their names on them. It makes it fair; however, Papa Jeff decided it would be funny to get rid of all of his change and put it in one of the eggs. As luck would have it, Josh found the egg. Poor Obe Wan. He is always a day and a dollar short....

Happy Easter! :)

Yummy RIBS!