Fun Foto Friday

Such a cute subject who helped with "lighting" to get set up for school photos. Her first official "school photo" complete with flipped up shirt and slightly frizzy hair.

9 on the 9th

I hope she's going to do this again....:)

My List of 9 on the 9th...ummm....thinking...OH I know!

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

9 of my favorite images of my boys from previous years - All 2006 or earlier (and that's early 2006 at that!)

A quick Carla blogging history

I'm going to let you in on a secret, this is not my first blog. It's not even the blog that my closest online friends read. It is the blog I send my family to though. ;) My very first blog I started WAAAAY back in early 2005. We were planning to adopt from China, but knew that I needed to "age into the system" so it was going to take a few months. We were not telling anyone, and I wanted to blog about my feelings. However, I needed it to be PRIVATE because, you know, the adoption was a secret thing! LOL I've gone since then to expand that blog, created one for public that did not mention names...messed that one up. LOL Here I am with the latest variation of my adoption blog. I still have 2 others I post to.

Did you intend to be a blog w/a big following? If so, how did you go about it?

Nope. I'd say I still do not have a following. I think it's something about hooking up with bloglines or something that I've not done. :) This blog is mainly for sharing our daily life and our wait for Katie with friends and family (and the occasional visitor).

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?

That so reminds me of those old college applications! All I want to do with my blog is keep our friends and family who live away from us (that's all of them by the way), a way to keep up with our lives. It also gives me an outlet to write down all the fun and silly things the kids do. I highly doubt I will ever go beyond being a Mommy-blogger.

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
That would assume that I had a focus to start with, right?! LOL

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?

I feel like I'm STILL just starting out! :)


Do you make money with your blog?
Nope, but I'm interested in it. I think I would need more than my normal traffic amount (which is about...oh...1 a week?!)

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?
They know about it, I see someone from their area reading every once in awhile. The rest know about it, but don't seem interested to read.


Head HERE to read more blogging history from people how are MUCH better bloggers than I can ever hope to be.

Works for Me Wednesday!

Baseball is on my brain these days. We're either at the ballfield watching a game. Driving the ballfield for a game. At the ballfield for concession duty, or a practice, or warm-up. Or we're getting ready to go to a ballgame. We only have one child involved in baseball this year, and I can only imagine how very busy we will be next year with two boys involved. Then, to think if Katie plays softball. OH MY, I'll practically be LIVING there every night!

As someone who like to be organized, the chaos in the dugout with 11 little boys was driving me crazy. Thinking the shoe basket had worked quite well, I translated this to the dugout chaos. I went to the Dollar Tree and bought 12 $1 "dishpans." These "bins" are big enough to hold a glove, a hat, a batting helmet, and a drink. The big bat bags go on the OUTSIDE of the dugout (to the back). The bins go under the bench, and lo and behold the boys keep the dugout semi-clean.

There was one unintended consequence I feel I must warn you about. There is now more room for being active, acting like a monkey, and horseplaying now. But the "dugout coach" deals with that. At least the extra bats are no longer being swung about. ;)

Be sure to check out Rocks in my Dryer for more Works For Me Wednesday tips!

Birthday Idea that worked for me!

Birthdays are not my favorite thing in the world. Nor do I like how expensive they seem to have become! Not to mention that both of my boys' birthdays fall in the last half of the year and during very busy times of our lives. Organizing them, paying for them, throwing them...just not something I particularly enjoy. I do it for the kids.

So, last year, I was talking with a friend and she mentioned that she gave her son the money she would have spent on the party as a gift instead of the party. She lets him choose each year. I liked it, but at the same time I wanted to make the idea mine. :)

I chose that every EVEN birthday party year after the age 5 each child gets to choose something in place of the birthday party. A special camp, a special trip, or something that will be non-material in nature. JM's 8th birthday was our "test" year. He chose to go to a week long camp (not going to say, but it's 9-4pm each day for 5 days). :)

This year JM gets a party with friends for his 9th birthday. My original thought was to alternate years, so that this year Samuel would not get a party. But I just can NOT skip his 5th birthday party. So, I made it through the age of 5 they get a party every year (after all those toddler/preschool parties are fairly low-key). This puts me having 2 parties every other year. I would rather make it where Samuel and JM alternate years for their parties. Maybe I should change it through the age of 6? Or JM has odd years, Samuel has even, but they get "big" birthdays as well (like 5, 10, 13, 16, 18...)

Some ideas I have to pitch to the kids for future "replacement parties" - week at same camp JM is attending but different version, a trip to Six Flags, trip to Cedar Point, annual passes to zoo/science museum/children's museum, donate to a charity organization, sponsor a child, etc.

For more Birthday Tips head to Rocks In My Drayer - Works for Me Wednesdays

Spring Reading Thing Update

I caved. I think I've read at least 12 Fluffy Romance Novels now. I started Little Red Book of Selling and Kitchen God's Wife but I'm having trouble reading them. I want pure fluff. I want "brain candy." I don't want to think. I don't want to be challenged. I need mind-numbing after the busy spring I've had with the business.

There's my confession.

Now, for my motivation. July is coming up quick and I really do want to have the Harry Potter books read with my kids, so I'm going to start on that very soon! YIPPEE!!!

My Spring Reading Book List

Okay, I guess here is where I admit my addiction. I adore fluffy romance novels. Especially historical ones, and even MORE especially (is that even proper grammar?) those historical ones set in Regency England, or set anytime prior to 1900 in Scotland. I do enjoy a good time travel book, as long as the time traveler goes to said period that I am thoroughly enjoying obsessed with.

I was not always this way, prior to turning that magical age of 16 when Mom decided I was old enough for my first Harlequin, I devoured many great books. I have read all of Lousia May Alcott's Little Women series (absolutely adore them). I've read, and enjoyed, the great classics from the Bronte sisters. I even started reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. I didn't really care for it though.

Now, my list may seem, well, rather long. But I read fast. Okay, I read fast before kids, now it might actually take me more than a day to get through a book only because my reading time is at night. You know after those little monsters heathens angels are in bed. It all started in 5th grade. My 5th grade reading teacher Mrs. B gave my class the honor of doing 50 book reports in 1 school year. Okay, so most of the class did not feel like this was an honor. She told us that the first one to finish would get a surprise. The challenge was on! I remember my first one submitted was for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and she told me that 7 pages was too long for a book report. I needed to narrow down my enthusiasm for a book to no more than 2 pages. It was tough, but I managed to for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I almost had to go to 3 pages for Little Women. But, I persevered and in January I turned in my last 5 book reports (that Christmas break provided good reading time). Yes, I managed to complete 50 books from mid-August to early January. My friend Sarah told me I was an overachiever. I still disagree with her. ;) I think I shocked Mrs. B. I never got a surprise, and I do not remember her mentioning the book reports much past that point either.

I told you that story so that my list of books did not seem, um, well too shocking. I really have no idea how many books I will read from March 21st through June 21st, but I have some I do want to read. I'm declaring MY RIGHT as the blogger here, to add to the list any an all books I complete (even if they are pure fluffy ooey gooey historical romance novels). ;)

Disclaimer! These are in no particular order, just as the titles popped into my head.

1. The Starbucks Experience
2. The Little Red Book of Selling
3. Passages from the Heart
4. Bridge to Terabithia (to the kids)
5. Harry Potter 1 (to the oldest)
6. Harry Potter 2 (to the oldest)
7. Harry Potter 3 (to the oldest)
8. Harry Potter 4 (to the oldest...oh heck, who am I kidding, I want to reread)
9. Harry Potter 5
10. Harry Potter 6 (yes in preparation for book 7 which I have on pre-order)
11. Joy Luck Club
12. Kitchen God's Wife
13. Paper Daughter
14. Fox in Sox (out loud to 4 year old...ugh)
15. Financial Peace
16. Treasure Island (with kids)
17.

I am hoping to get my oldest to add his own list. While he is in 2nd grade currently, I do plan to give him the wonderful assignment of 50 book reports in a single school year when he is in 5th grade. Hopefully it will further increase his love of reading. Yes, I'm fully prepared for book reports on World War 2. Did I tell you all about the book he chose? FOR PLEASURE?! DK World War II book Obviously he's not entirely my child. Here is his other favorite book of the moment. At least I think it is, I could not find it in his room and I suspect he might have snuck it out to read on a fun-filled trip with the church group (all Dads and boys). Yeah, that would be MY genes coming out. I admit to that. I did take 3 books to Disney World. Yes I completely read 2 of them, and had the 3rd started. Yes, they were fluffy historical romance novels. At least I'm consistent!

Spring Reading Thing!

Spring Reading Thing!

Yes a "carnival" for reading books!!!! :) I'm in heaven, absolute heaven. Now to narrow it down to how many?

But to get me started, Shalee of Shalee's Diner has a book meme.

(umm...sorry her formatting didn't come through, and yes I'm too lazy to fix it...even if I knew HOW!) and well, couldn't figure out how to do her key either. so, oh well.

* bold - did read
* italicize - want to read
* strike - won't read or read but hated it with a passion and if I could burn every copy so that others wouldn't be exposed to such terrible dribble I would do it and people should not be allowed to get paid for such awful writing
* underline - own
* * - never heard of the book
* colored - loved it and would recommend it to others
* If there is nothing done to the title, then that means I'm indifferent to it or I haven't decided about it yet.



The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) LOVED and OWN
To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) LOVED and OWN
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) -LOVED
*Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
*A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
*The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
*Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
*A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling) LOVE AND OWN
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling) LOVE and OWN
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling) LOVE and OWN
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire(Rowling) LOVE and OWN
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling) LOVE and OWN
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Rowling) LOVE and OWN
*Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
The Stand (Stephen King)
*Ulysses (James Joyce)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) LOVE and OWN
The Hobbit (Tolkien)
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) LOVE and OWN
*The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
*Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) LOVE and OWN
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) LOVE and OWN
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
*Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
Dune (Frank Herbert)
The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) OWN
*Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
1984 (Orwell)
*The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
*The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
*The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
*Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Gregory Maguire)
*The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
*The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) OWN
*The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
*Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
*The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
Bible OWN, LOVE, but have yet to read the entire thing!
Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
*Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
*The Blue Sword (Robin Mckinley)
*She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
*The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
*Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
Great Expectations (Dickens)
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
*The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)*
The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
*The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
*The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
The Hiding Place (Corrie Tin Boon) LOVED
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Les Miserables (Hugo)
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
*Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Shogun (James Clavell)
The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
*Redeeming Love (Francine Rivers)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
*The World According To Garp (John Irving)
*The Giver (Lois Lowry)
Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White) LOVE and OWN
*Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)*
Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck)
Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
*Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
Emma (Jane Austen) LOVE and OWN
Watership Down (Richard Adams) OWN
*Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
*The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
*Blindness (Jose Saramago)
*Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
The Talisman (Stephen King)
Lord of the Flies (Golding)
The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
*The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
*The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
Lightning (Dean Koontz) just not my kind of book

How I deal with toys!

My submission for Works for me Wednesdays! Okay, I'm admitting first off that this does NOT work exactly as I had hoped. It does HELP though.

I bought some of the containers that are clear with lids. I bought pretty fabric open boxes. I bought shelving stuff for the closet. I got the kids organized (and no they can't seem to keep it exactly as we started).

We then, as a family, sat down and listed the 20 toys they would keep. 20 is MORE than enough for 2 boys. In our definition of a toy, Legos were 1 toy (no matter that there were thousands of the little blocks). Star Wars toys are another toy. Puzzles are a toy. Boardgames are a toy. Playdoh is a toy. All books are one toy.

Then, after they had selected their "toys" we organized them and gave every toy a spot. This means that now when I tell them to clean their room they *should* know where everything goes. More likely though, I will go into the room point to a toy and ask, "Where does this go? Does it have a home? Is it one of the 20 toys?" If they answer it is NOT one of the 20 toys they can choose to either KEEP it and get rid of another toy or throw it away. :)

One rule is that books and board games are NOT allowed to be selected for throwing away. :)

Here's some of our list:

1. Books
2. Board games
3. Puzzles
4. Playdoh
5. Legos
6. Playmobil
7. Cars (you know, matchbox and hot wheels...and they MUST fit in the ONE box)
8. Star Wars
9. Pirates
10. RC items like Robo Pet and RoboSapien
11. Computer games
12. Playstation and Ninentendo DS games
13. Shake and Go Speedway
14. Stuffed animals (other than the "lovies" they sleep with)
15. Balls to play with (that didn't make it to outside toys)
16. Leap Frog Math desk (I tossed Leapster in with this one)
17. Markers and crayons, and other art supplies
18. Mr. Potato Head (we have lots of Disney pieces to go with him)
19. Take apart cars (hard to describe)
20. K'nex

yagoon time!

Works for me Wednesdays.

As a homeschooling mom who also owns her own business, I find myself juggling things (all of the time). A busy schedule, grading that needs to be done, business things that need to be taken care of, etc.

We found an electronic calendar (and I keep multiple paper calendars as well). The calendar is called Yagoon Time and is free (can upgrade to professional version). We have been fine with the free version so far.

It allows you to have multiple colors for different things. Like my business appointments are in purple, JM's sports practices and games are in dark green, his homeschool activities are light green. Dh's activities are red. One great feature is that if you have multiple computers in your home, and have them networked together then you can update over the network!

Keeping it up to date and accurate, well, for me it's tough to do! LOL