the last day of school.

first day of school.

last day of school!

i found this blog the other day: GottaBook.  he's got lots of children's literature/poetry info and some funny originals. i read a few to my boys -- they laughed.  i haven't spent a ton of time there yet, but so far i've enjoyed what i've seen.  i'm looking forward to seeing more.  

Hello, Summer! -- (A Last Day of School Poem)
by Gregory K.

Goodbye, classroom!
Goodbye, Teach!
You can find me at the beach...
Or in the park or at the pool
Or any place that isn’t school.

Goodbye, quizzes!
Bye, reports!
Hello days packed full of sports
And days when I’m just lazybones
While eating melty ice cream cones.

Goodbye, homework --
Lunchroom, too.
There’s so, so much I wanna do.
I know the school year flew on past…
But please, please summer -- last and last. 

this is GRAND!

ok, this is the first time i've blogged about someone's give away -- but it's really grand.  really, it is.  i've seen a lot of the vinyl cutout and these just might take the cake! 


so, you should trek on over to THE CREATIVE CRATE and look what she's giving away.  or you could even head over to Staker Sensations - etsy shop and take a look at all you'll have to choose from if you should win. (but i really want to win!! wink!) i mean look at this one!! as the mom of 4 (count 'em four) boys i think this would be great in the bathroom for my twins.  loooooove it!

another twisted sketch...

i'm loving the TWISTED SKETCH site!  i think i've almost got my scrap mojo back -- thanks girls!!

sketch #050   --- twist: Old

this took me forever to start -- i was thinking "old pictures, or old looking layout, or old in the title" and none of it seemed to be going anywhere.  so i starting thumbing through some pictures i got from my grandparents house and found these of my little brother. bahahahaahaha.

i have this on my desk still -- every time i walk by it i smile.  my brother is 5 years younger than i am. my sister and i are only 13 months apart -- we treated him like a real live doll.  we'd dress him up, fix his hair, wrap him in blankets -- you get the picture.  and it was even more fun at "Granny and Papa's" house because Papa would let us go through their closets to dress Vic up.  i vividly remember my Granny not being thrilled with us going through her jewelry.  sorry Gran!
my Granny died almost six years ago and my Papa almost  two.  i miss them terribly.  we've lived away from "home" for a while now, so i would only get to see them the couple times a year i'd go back with my boys.  it is still hard for me to wrap my head around them being gone, especially my Pa.  when it's time to load up the car and head back to Oklahoma one of the first things i think about is taking the boys out to the farm to visit and run wild.  it really seems like my grandparents should still be there.

family is such a blessing - and because of scrapbooking i get to relive these memories each time i go through my albums.  i'm thankful for that.

one more challenge...

after finally getting my scrap desk in order and getting things back out to scrap a little i decided to do the card challenge over at TWISTED SKETCHES. this would be "twisted cards #007" challenge: black & white.  for some reason cards are really difficult for me to do.  i see all these wonderful works of art created by some very talented individuals -- but for some reason my cards don't really turn out like that.  who knows, maybe these challenges will help!

i finally did a layout!

i stumbled up a blog a few weeks back called  TWISTED SKETCHES  and i was inspired. i love a scrapbook challenge because it helps me think. i get really overwhelmed with how far behind i am with pictures of my boys, but i really I LOVE TO SCRAP! i love all the papers and embellishments and i love the outlet it has provided me over the years. so when i saw this site -- i bookmarked it and told myself i'd start doing the challenge each week. like i said, it was a few weeks back.


this weekend -- i made myself sit and do a layout. i talked David into working beside my desk so we could talk and i hooked up the sprinkler for the boys so i had about an hour when i wasn't being "mom, mom, mommed".   lo and behold..... a finished layout.


the challenge this week was: COLOUR, any way, any how (twisted sketch #049). here's my take on it.

phewwww. friday.

i remember on tuesday thinking friday was so far off -- and now here it is!!  thank goodness.  the last month of school is always filled with so many things .  you remember, don't you?  the field trips, field days, testing, anticipating summer vacation, taking gifts to your teachers, etc. at our house it's sort of boy brains gone wild.

• Pow Wow days with the kindergarten
• son #4 gave himself a haircut
• Pow Wow days with 2nd graders - for this, i manned the concession stand part of the morning
• a mock trial with the 5th grade gifted class.  that's my son, the bull
• trying to make sure my beautiful plants survive this mississippi heat!!  i've not grown anything in this weather before -- it's a learning experience
• zoo trip with the kindergarten
• making cards for gifts, trying to be frugal
• and lots and lots of getting of the school bus, running inside to change into trunks and running back out to play in the water and ride bikes.

and that just the highlights -- not to mention all the laundry that goes along with 4 boys that love being outside. (well, really just 3 of them)  the smell of little boys and outside = extra laundry, lots of it.  and the rest of the cleaning, goodness.  i really am looking forward to summer.  the boys and i love it -- and i'm sure David does, too, but he spends most of it at the office working.  the boys and i spend most of it in the sun by some form of water.  awwwww summer, we welcome you.

Follow Me Friday.

this is my first go at "follow me friday". i've creeped around a bit on other blogger's pages on this day before -- visiting lots of blogs, making some really great finds. i've been wanting to link up -- so i thought i'd try it today. i hope i do it right.


here's the info - i borrowed it from one of the hostess blogs:

Welcome to the May 14 Friday Follow celebration hosted by One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades!  We invite you to join us every Friday to get more blog followers and to follow other interesting blogs.  It is all about sharing and having fun.

Here's how YOU can join the Friday Follow celebration:

• * Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops. 
• * Grab the Friday Follow button and include on your Friday Follow blog post.
• * Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.
• * Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like
• * Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow
• * Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow

The list is new each week. The links do not carry over. Please link up each week for new participants to find your blogs. The list is only open to add your blog links on Fridays. It will be visible all week to visit the blogs listed.

As hostesses, we realize the time required to participate in Friday Follow.  Due to the overwhelming number of entries each week, we understand everyone, including ourselves, may not be able to follow every blog.  To keep it fun, follow what you can at your own pace.  We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your continued participation!

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets
To add your link to the list, enter your name and URL in the form below and press Enter.

Your name:
Your URL:

Please leave a comment after linking... Thank you!

Linky Widget expiration: in 10 hours.

well, i think that is it. i hope. so if by some odd chance there is someone new reading this -- hello. i'm new to the blog world, but am really loving it!! have a wonderful weekend!

happy birthday, Sol.

today my baby is six.  it seems like each new milestone with Sol is bitter sweet for me.  i remember being so  thrilled when he first rolled over and then sad that it would be the last time i'd be thrilled about that. (then crawling, walking, and so on.)  


six sounds so old, so big kid. being the mom of 4 boys i understand that i'm the bee's knees for a bit and then dad trumps me.  with our older boys it was around six.  there's that bitter sweet feeling again. lol.


i guess if you buy into the whole birth order idea, Solly fits the bill for the baby.  he loves to be the center of attention, he's pretty funny, he's good at getting what he wants. (what?! he's the baby!)  and i have to say, i love having "the baby" around.  i told him the other day that i didn't really want him to get bigger, i needed him to stay the baby.  his response "mom, even when i'm big i'll be your baby."  i'm holding him to it.

happy 6th birthday, Solomon.  i love you.

blessed.

I didn't want to go without saying "happy mother's day"!  what a blessing -- to be called "mom".  i have been blessed beyond measure by these 4 amazing little boys and by their dad.  and although it occasionally breaks my heart to see how fast they are growing up -- i can not wait to see the sort of men they grow up to be.  i know that God has something amazing in store for each of them and i am so very thankful that He chose David and I to be a part of that.

Episode 31 - Cards and Gift Box

this is the tutorial. i really think it's a cute idea!

the last of the appreciation.

wow, this week has been busy!  I've been meaning to get these pics up for a couple weeks now.  while my in-laws were here, my mother in-law was gracious enough to give me a whirl wind sewing class.  we've had one before -- i can make pajama pants.  so we went back over basics while we were making some cute little reusable snack bags.  I've seen them a million different places online and asked here if she thought we (meaning she) could put one together.  she laughed.  i think that means it was a silly question.  anyhow, she arrived with material in tow and we spent all saturday making snack bags and we squeezed in a shirt.

this is the first one -- the "S" is for Sol, the cute boy is not Sol.  but all the boys love the bags and they are going to save me a few headaches.  my boys all have to take a snack to school each day -- you wouldn't believe how many containers grow legs and walk away.  i thought these might be easy to just throw in their backpacks.  we'll see.  word on the street is they would love them more if the fabric was "cool" because they "are not babies anymore".  ok, got it -- and now i'm looking for something that meets the cool quota.


and last but not least - the Gustafsons have finally finished celebrating "teacher appreciation week".  the boys are at 3 different schools, so the event has gone on for 3 weeks.  this is the last thing i ended up doing.

it's a set of blank cards and a cute little gift box for them to go in.  i'd really like to take credit for coming up with the idea, but i didn't.  another thing my mother in-law did while she was here was teach me to use my Cricut.  so i was all fired up -- and she showed me this easy to follow tutorial  and i was off.  it's a clever idea -- and easy!!  and the teacher's loved them. (thanks Momo!)

checking in.

so i'm off to work.  yes, work -- the kind with a real paycheck and everything.  i'm not sure how i feel about it.  although i am sure how i feel about the paycheck.  woo hoo!  i guess in all fairness it's not a real life job -- it has required to me to work for 6 days and today is the 6th and final day.  here's the kicker -- i get a paycheck for 6 months!!  yes, 6 months!  it's a commission deal at the newspaper -- the ad runs for 6 months so i get commission the entire run.  i'm in good with the publisher, wink wink.


but i've got a couple things i've done, teacher gifts and some snack bags that i'm a little excited actually sewing.  and since today is my last day of work i'll be able to post the pics soon.  so for now it's just a pic of my flip flops.  when it's warm it's either the flips or the birks.  i like cute, but i love comfort.  today on the way out the door i decided to cut these cute fabric flowers and attach them to my flip flops.  i make them all the time for my scrapbook pages and decided to see how they would look my my shoes.  i'm a fan.