My little crafter

Samantha came to me several evenings ago and asked if I would teach her to crochet. Sh picked it up really quickly and has been crocheting every evening since then after she is done reading. I am so glad she enjoys it. This weekend we are going over to Tacey's house. Kelly and I are going to make earring s with Tacey... she's going to teach us how... and I am going to get some nice yarn for Samantha and Tara and teach them how to make a scarf. Samantha really has the single stitch down but I need to work with her on how to keep the rows all the same length. I love that she enjoys what I enjoy: reading and crocheting...

In a crafty mood...

I was recently in a crafty mood and felted a bottle holder for Samantha to use at school and a pot holder. I was really happy with the way they came out. Tara's brother, Sean has requested a bottle holder after he saw Samantha's.

The bat is Abby... Samantha's newest Webkinz who goes to school with her in her back pack.

These pictures were taken last Saturday of Samantha and Tara playing out in the back yard. They were so sweet to watch as they created an imaginary house that I couldn't be mad at them for digging holes in my garden. They made kitchens in their houses and collected leaves, rocks, flowers and cherry tomatoes to use as food.



This Saturday Samantha and I went to see "Charlotte's Web" at the Columbus Children's Theater. It was a great afternoon and we walked around the North Market before the play.

Balloon lift off

The other evening on the way to book club we saw this balloon lifting off... it was the coolest thing!

Our Fallen Tree

Fall is one of my favorite seasons but I hate that I have a headache every fall for about 2 weeks! I can't wait until they end so that I can enjoy this glorious weather. It is absolutely beautiful out today, sunny and in the 70's.

So, we had a big wind storm on Sunday... the remains of hurricane Ike. I have never seen wind blow so hard in all my life. Around 4pm Rose called and said one of her trees had blown over and was blocking her neighbor's driveway and would we come in and help her clean it up. On the way in John swore he'd kill her if the "tree" turned out to be a little branch. But, it turned out it really was a whole tree! Everywhere you looked trees, branches and debris were blowing around. Samantha was terrified and I can't say I blame her. It was pretty scary out there. I thought a tree was going to blow over onto us while we were cleaning up. When we got home we found one of our trees in the back yard had blown over! It came up at the roots too and landed on our fence. Boy were we lucky... it snapped off a few of our fence boards but none of the broke. John and I had a saw and clippers and were standing there plotting our plan of attack when we heard a noise... and, there coming around the corner of the house was one of our neighbors with a chainsaw! We couldn't believe our luck! He had that tree all cut up in about 45 minutes. It would have taken us hours. Everyone in the neighborhood was loosing shingles left and right but thankfully we did not loose any. Our house is a ranch and there are 2 two story houses on either side of us so I think that helped. Samantha and I went out several time to check the roof and we had to hold hands so Samantha didn't blow away! The power went out around 5pm and came back on Monday morning. Again we considered ourselves lucky because some people are still without power and some schools are still closed because of it.

John had the day off today and he got most of our fallen tree bundled up. It looks so strange without that tree back there! We saved the trunk that our neighbor had cut up with the chainsaw and are going to let it dry to burn in the fire pit next year. John burned some of the small branches and dead leaves which really made it feel and smell like fall!

I'm Confused

I received this collection of articles from my mom. I frequently receive big envelopes stuffed with clipping she's saved up but this one was just curiouser and curiouser... There was the article about the pig... ok, she likes pigs and books so that sort of makes sense... and the Cracker Jack tattoos I assume are for Samantha... but the picture of the little Asian girls and the Popsicle stick that says "cute"???? I am baffled...

Batty Brownies

Samantha made these brownies, they were quite yummy!

Yesterday was Skyline Kid's Night as usual. It's funny how come about Tuesday each week I start to crave the chili burrito.

When we got home the earth stopped spinning and the sky fell in, did you feel it? Samantha realized she forgot her reading book and she has a quiz tomorrow! Oh, the horror. It was a little funny to watch her stop dead in her tracks and to watch the pretty little face scrunch up. She was so upset. She was furious. I told her she was "smad" but she didn't think it was funny. But, in the end I was very proud of her and can tell that she is maturing and learning to reason things out. She is finally able to see that it is okay to get mad or upset but then it is best to let it go, especially if there is nothing you can do about it.

Every year as Samantha gets older I am intrigued to see how she changes and I am thrilled, as a mom, to see that what John and I have been teaching her is working... the things that we pound into her thick head as well as the subtle things she picks up through watching us. I love being a mom and can't remember what my life was like before!

John & Kate

Today is our 13 year anniversary!

9/11 Memoial

On Thursday we had a family outing to the State House downtown where they had this memorial for 9/11... all the flags were really beautiful.

Childhood Memories

My mom sent this adorable little playhouse back with us the last time we visited. I remember when she made it for me... I must have been about 4 or 5 and I would spend hours in there playing house. I was so fun to watch Samantha enjoy it as much as I had.

Samantha Gets in Trouble

...She has an awful habit of not checking her pockets before stuff hits the laundry! I am glad she doesn't chew gum... chap stick is bad enough!

Webkinz Crafts

We got the craft box out today and this is what Samantha came up with: collars made out of toilet paper rolls!

Where I spend my weekend mornings...

Webkinz Carnival

She had a rubber goldfish in a bag as a prize... she had a dunk tank... and she had pony rides... a fun time was had by all the Webkinz!

Him Dad Returns!

If you recall, I recently wrote about how I had gotten rid on one of Samantha's beanie babies years ago... Well! I was at the thrift store and saw him: HIM DAD!!! Samantha thought it was hysterical and she had a whole big reunion between Moon Doggie and Him Dad... together again.

There I go... pissing people off at work!

See what I have to put up with... I'm glad I had my camera to document their disdain for whatever it was I told them wouldn't fit into a trip itinerary or whatever it was that they couldn't have at a show...

What Police Officers Do In Their Off Time

...They sit in massaging charirs!

This is what happens when you leave your camera with your mother all day while you are at school... By Samantha

Baking Cookies

This picture was taken over the summer... I had a recipe for chocolate peanut butter cookies that the girls made... It was fun to watch them following the recipe and discussing cooking tips they'd learned from their mothers... The cookies turned out great!

Samantha's taking an interest in politics...

...I think... She had her giant National Geographic map of the world laid out the other day and asked where Bangladesh was.



(No, I didn't know and told her to go ask Daddy...)

Home From School Today

John was sick Friday night and all weekend... I feel bad for him because he has had a fever off and on which really upset Samantha... Samantha also had a tummy ache all weekend and still didn't feel well this morning so John and I agreed to let her stay home... It probably should have been John who stayed home but he is so hard headed...He went to work feeling awful... So, above is Samantha napping on the chair in the living room... notice the blanket, it's the one I made her!

So, I received 2 notes this morning... the top one was in the form of a paper airplane... The kid cracks me up!
Yeah! Samantha has stopped sucking her thumb! The dentist told her she absolutely had to or else... so, we told her that if she did it by last Friday she could get a new Nintendo DS game... She chose a Build-A Bear game but sadly, this morning her DS needed charged...

It's Almost Fall...

...and I am slowly bringing out the decorations...

Lithopolis Honey Festival

On Saturday we went to the Lithopolis Honey Festival... Samantha is not a fan of having her picture taken with characters but I am!

Summer Olympics

We got together with Kelly's family and Sally's family and had a great Summer Olympic Bash family style... The teams worked perfectly... there were 3 girls and 3 boys that made 2 teams... We started with a torch run.... That's felt wrapped around a flashlight made to look like flames in the above and below pictures... The 2 teams ran around the block in opposite directions... they met back in our yard and pretended to light a big flashlight/torch... John took these photos after their run... notice one team looks a bit more worn out than the other team...

Here the kids are preparing for the torch run...

Each team decorated a flag and then described what was on their flag and what it represented... they had also planned amongst themselves what colors they would wear for their team...

And they marched into the stadium/backyard with their flags... We had Olympic music courtesy of Tim...

They did a pool noodle javelin throw...



And a water balloon shot put...

And each team won a medal for every event... they either received a gold or a silver... Oh, and the girls kicked the boys' butts!

I just loved this shot of Sean... he is going to grow up and be a politician!

We all had the best time and it was a wonderful activity to end the summer before back to school...