Mother Hubbards Designs

Creative Gift Ideas Part Two

2011-12-08T15:08:00.001-05:00

Book Basket

Continuing with our creative gift ideas, another idea was a book basket. We had our daughters put together a book basket based on Little House in the Big Woods. In the basket (metal pail) they included a copy of the book, a sack of peppermint sticks, a stuffed animal horse, ribbons (like Laura would have worn), and a bonnet. This idea could be for any book. You just need to put together objects that go along with the book. This gift would also work for any age, depending on the book of choice.

Memory Jar

Another idea is to take a mason jar (or any empty, clean jar) and put cards that have memories on them. This is a great gift for a mom or grandmother. Everyone writes different memories on a card or tag they have with that person. Along with the jar, include a journal for the mom/grandmother to write her memories as well. It would be great to have 365 cards in the jar so she could pull one out each day. What a great way to have a journal with all of the memories in it.

Blessings Jar

Wouldn't it be great to write a blessing or something special each day of the year for one year and pull out one blessing each day the next year? This was another mason jar idea that we had come up with. On the outside of the jar we glued words from the song Count Your Blessings. Tie a cute ribbon around the top of the jar along with a tag that a scripture verse written on it. A variation of this would be to put in different scripture verses for them to be pulled out daily or weekly or even monthly.

Seasonal Candles

In a basket we put four candles, one to represent each season. On each candle we labeled them with brown kraft paper spring, summer, winter and autumn. On a tag we found scripture to go along with the season. You could also do this for twelve candles. One for each month. Again, find scripture verses for each month or season or just twelve of your favorite verses.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks are great to give along with a book. You can make your own or buy them. I have made two kinds and both are very simple. The first one is a corner bookmark. Here is a video tutorial http://www.thehybridchick.com/2010/01/corner-bookmark-video-tutorial/

I also make one using charms and stretchy string from the jewelry making section of the craft store. You cut an 18 inch section of string and thread the charm on it. Tie a knot next to the charm at the bottom (string should be in half) and tie a knot near the top. I will try to get pictures of the bookmark up soon.

Stay tuned for post number three!!

Creative Gift Ideas for Christmas Part One

2011-11-25T13:14:00.001-05:00

In preparation for the Christmas holiday, I am putting together a list of creative gift ideas. I will share links for instructions on how to make them. Most of these are very simple, fairly inexpensive but nice to put together for an easy gift for a neighbor, children, parents, grandparents. Most of these are gifts that another woman and I put together for a Creative Gift Ideas presentation to a mom's group at a church in our area.

Glass Magnets

The first gift is a relatively easy one - Glass magnets. The link shows using lettered scrapbook paper for making the magnets. This is a great idea for a child just learning letters, or how to spell or read. Another way to use these would be to make decorative magnets using scrapbook paper. These would also make a great gift using pictures to make a gift for a grandparent with pictures of the grandkids.

http://papervinenz.blogspot.com/2011/09/back-to-school-magnet-board-tutorial.html

Tile Coasters

The next gift is also easy. I made some tile coasters using inexpensive tiles from the home improvement store, scrapbook paper, mod podge, and polyurethane. This were very easy to do. The longest part of this project was the time it took for the glue and polyurethane to dry. Here is a link to how to do these.

http://www.curbly.com/users/DIY-Maven/posts/6125-Curbly-Video-Using-Paper-Napkins-to-Make-Decorative-Tile-Coasters

I used scrapbook paper instead of napkins. I also used mod podge to glue the paper to the tile. Then I put three more coats of mod podge on top of the paper. After that was completely dry I put a coat of polyurethane and let that coat dry. I put a second coat of polyurethane on top to ensure a good seal.

Quiet Time Basket

As mom's we don't always have time to have our quiet time with God. However, this a very important time for us to connect with God. It helps us to be better moms, wives and women in general. I put together a basket that contained Ann Voscamp's book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. I also included a pen, a journal and a ceramic travel mug. The journal was a composition book that I altered by covering with scrapbook paper and ribbon. Here is a link for an example of an altered composition book. http://www.squidoo.com/altered-composition-books?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster

For the pens, I took a scrap of paper 3 1/2 inches by 7/8 inch and a Pentel RSVP pen. I removed the top and rolled the paper around the barrel. I then slid the paper down into the barrel and replaced the ink tube and top.

Girlhood Basket

In this basket we included a book, an eye mask, fuzzy socks, a pillowcase, rag rollers, bath salts, notebook, and pen. I picked up the eye mask and fuzzy socks at Michaels in the dollar section.

Here are in the instructions for the rag rollers: http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2008/09/works-for-me-ra.html . I really need to make these for a stocking stuffer for my daughter.

Here is the link for one style of pillowcase: http://raisinghomemakers.com/2011/sewing-tutorial-how-to-make-a-pillow-case/ This link does not have a contrasting border.

Here is a tutorial for a pillowcase with border. She also has some great tips so be sure to read through the whole tutorial before starting. http://kirstencan.typepad.com/kirstencan/pillowcase_tutorial/

I will continue the ideas in the second post. I hope that some of these help you with your holiday gifts. Remember, even if you are not a crafty person you can still put together a great gift very inexpensively.

God's Great Power

2011-10-29T20:24:00.000-04:00

Tonight as I was cleaning up some stuff, I ran across some papers. I was ready to throw them away, but decided to look through them to see if I needed to shred something. In the stack of papers I found a song that Eoin had written. It brought tears to my eyes. I asked if he had copied it from some where or if he actually wrote it. He said he wrote it and did not copy it. Here is the song:

God's Great Power (he says to the tune of Amazing Grace)

The power of God is so so great. It saved my soul. I asked He gave. He is the Lord. He healed my heart. Sin is conquered. No greater power than God's presence.

I know that it is short but the words came from his heart. Simple words that mean so much to any of us that believe in the power of a mighty God. Simple words from an 8 year old boy. I still tear up when I read them.

Simple words that come from God.

Will this ever be a hit song. No, but it will be a hit with this mommy who loves her little man so much.

Busy

2011-04-19T16:44:00.000-04:00

We have been busy. Life has been busy. School has been a work in progress at best. Some days are great and run smoothly but other days.....let's not even discuss them. It seems we are having more of the 'let's not discuss them' days than we are the wonderfully smooth days. Part of it is because winter is NOT ending in these parts. We had several inches of snow yesterday morning. It was melted before dinner but still. It was tough to wake up to that again. It is almost May and I am craving warm sunny days of spring and summer. My patience has been sorely lacking with the kids and myself. But let's move on to other things than my complaining, shall we?

Eoin- this little man turned seven in October. I am starting to see the compassion for people that he has most days and he is working at being a very obedient young man. He is growing up and it is getting hard for this momma to see at times. I wish he was still a little tiny baby at times but I know that this is good. He started playing baseball this spring and boy has that been a learning experience for this momma. The equipment that is required ........ uh, we won't talk about it. Let's just say that his daddy had to take him shopping for a very important piece of equipment he needed if I ever want to have grand kids, and I do. I was so not ready for that one though. It really threw me for a loop.

Emmalee - she is now nine and growing up. I am seeing so many changes in her personality. They are good though. She is patient, kind, compassionate and helpful. This girl is beyond helpful. I love it. She has a real passion for creative writing and dancing. She has begun writing a book about a princess and a lost horse. She is very obedient and loves to read her bible daily.

This year for school we used My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures. It has been a good year but we are starting to get tired. We have been traveling the world and it has been fun. It is a very good curriculum and there are a lot of fun things to do with it. However, I have found that for my kids, some of the concepts are wee bit above their levels so far. I believe that it is good to know where many of the countries are or at least what continent they are on. But, I know we got tired of the same routine with each country. Color this picture, color this flag, etc. I understand the concept of teaching children where the countries are before studying about the ancient civilizations. Anyway, after discussing with Mike continuing with MFW next year or switching to another curriculum we have decided to make the switch. I have purchased Tapestry of Grace Year One. I spent a lot of time praying and agonizing and getting other mom's opinions. Mike and I looked over the scope and sequences that MFW Creation to the Greeks and Tapestry Year one had on their websites. Mike preferred what was on Tapestry of Grace. He also liked that we buy the base curriculum over the next four years and just change the books the kids read until they graduate. I like that too.

Another subject that we had to change curriculum for this year was math. Emmalee was struggling so much with Horizons 3 math. Mike and I discussed this and decided to switch her to Saxon 3 math. My thought was that Saxon would at least help to build up her confidence with math before going back to Horizons. She finished Saxon a couple of weeks ago and is back to working through Horizons. We are going to have her finish Horizons 3 and then move her into Saxon 5/4.

There were so many times I thought over the last few months that I would love to do a blog post but just haven't gotten here. I promise that I will try to be more purposeful about getting here over the next few months. We are just busy and missing the warm weather.

Curriculum for 2010-2011

2010-08-02T21:33:00.000-04:00

As you can see we started school today. Here is a list of our curriculum for this year.

Princess: 3rd Grade

Language Arts:
Reading - Combination of Sonlight Level 2 advanced and Level 3 readers, and BJU reading. She will also have chapter books for free reading.

Explode the Code - finishing book seven and book eight.

Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting Book C
Spelling - Sequential Spelling Book 1
English - BJU English 3

Math : Horizons 3

Boo Boo Bear: 2nd Grade
Lanugage Arts:
Reading - Combination of Sonlight level 2 intermediate and level 2 advanced readers, and BJU 2 reading. He will also have chapter books of his choice for free reading.
Explode the Code - Finish book five and hopefully get through book 6 and start book 7.
Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting Book T
Spelling - Sequential Spelling Book 1 also (same as his sister)
English - BJU English 2

Math: Horizons 2

The bulk of our school will be My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures.   It covers geography, bible, science, music and art. Princess told me tonight that she was excited about this year because it looks so fun.

We are doing a few other things as well but this is the bulk of what we are doing.

First day of school 2010-2011

2010-08-02T19:41:00.007-04:00

We started a new year of school today. It went well and I am happy with what we have for curriculum.......so far. I usually am happy with it until around Thanksgiving. We are going to be busy this year though. We have lots to learn and do. I will take you through our morning.

Here are pics of them still sleeping:

Then of course you have the traditional first day of school pancake breakfast. This year it came from McDonald's because I didn't sleep well last night and didn't get up early enough to get the pancakes ready for my little munchkins. I don't think that they really cared though. As long they got pancakes I think they were a happy group.

And the traditional first day of school pics in front of the house. Of course, I am a little biased, but I think they are little cutie pies.

Reminding myself that I am not superwoman

2010-04-07T15:03:00.002-04:00

I read this today. I needed it today. I am not superwoman. I can not do it all. I must have priorities. This is a season of my life at the moment. It will not always be my life. I will have an organized clean home.......someday........maybe.........when the kids leave. I hope the link helps you too.

Homeschool and Headaches

2010-04-06T13:29:00.002-04:00

Let me just say that homeschooling two children and migraine headaches do not go well together. This allergy season is one of my worst so far. It is really getting hard to do my normal day to day stuff when these headaches are bad like today. Normally, I don't complain about them because it is just a part of life, allergies and headaches. But, today, I feel the need to say that I am tired of them already. Okay, enough of that pity party. Back to my regularly scheduled day.

Movies

2010-02-21T00:36:00.002-05:00

Hubby has been gone for the last few days. I have been recovering from a virus. The kids have been sick as well. So, we have been watching movies. I have watched a couple that have made me think a little. Not because they were great thought provoking movies but because they hit upon something I have been thinking about lately.

The first movie was No Greater Love. It is a very good movie on forgiveness. How many times a day do we say to our spouse or our children "Please forgive me" or "I forgive you?" Do we really mean those words? I know that I may say them but not necessarily mean them. I think I do and I want to do that but I don't really forgive them. According to dictionary dot com forgive means to cease to feel resentment or several other things. But for this it is to cease to feel resentment. Do we really stop resenting the action or the person right then? Do we never bring it up again? I can think of many times I have not forgiven someone for their actions as I should have. God commands us to do this. I need to do this in order to become more like Christ. It isn't always easy but it must be done. I must pray for the Lord to help me with this.

Another movie was Julie and Julia. I must say that this movie made me think about how I serve my family with food. Do I serve meals to them with passion or do I serve them with an attitude of something I HAVE to do? I hate to say it but most of the time it is with an attitude that is not at all servant hearted. It is with an attitude of another check off of my to do list. Does this mean I should cook my way through Julia Child's cookbook? Not necessarily but I should be willing to try new things. And most of all I should want to cook for my family out of love and certainly not duty. Another thought from this movie is that I should also find something that I am passionate about and it would not have to be cooking. It could be many different things. What am I passionate about? I am passionate about God and my family. If these are my passions, why then do I not put them first? Why do I put other things first like facebook or e-mail or searching the blogosphere for something that is not fulfilling to me? Why do I spend hours 'researching' something that is really very low on my priority or 'passion' list?

As you can see these movies have impacted me even though one of them was in no way a Christian movie. I have decided to work on forgiveness. I am also going to work on something I am passionate about, my family. I haven't fully decided on how to do this but I do want to start cooking more for them even when hubby is at school or out of town. I do enjoy cooking but have felt that everything is very dull and boring right now. I want to set a goal of trying something new once every two weeks. It can be anything, a dessert, a main entree, a side dish. I desire to be more like a Proverbs 31 or a Titus 2 woman. I think that by trying to cook more and try new things this is serving my family and will eventually get me to be more of a Titus 2 or Proverbs 31 woman.

So I ask you, is there anyone you need to truly forgive? Is there any way you can have a passion for something that can also help you to be more servant hearted?

A Snow Day

2010-02-10T14:21:00.002-05:00

We finally got a measurable amount of snow. Of course the kids can't wait to get outside to play. The problem, Eoin has pneumonia. It probably isn't a good idea. However, I am really considering letting them go outside to play for a few minutes. They would probably come back in after a few minutes. Emmalee does not handle cold very well. They have also realized that the neighbor children are out of school today. Of course, they asked me why they had to do school. Well, because Daddy said so and we must obey Daddy.

So, instead we made some snow icecream. YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!

So much I need to blog about

2009-10-06T14:05:00.002-04:00

There is so much that I need to blog about. I just haven't had the time. We were without internet service for two weeks. A few points to blog about later: school progress, discipline, lost tooth, apple orchard and my facebook post a few days ago. Lots of people thought I had lost it completely.

2nd day of school

2009-08-18T14:58:00.007-04:00

Today was our second day of homeschool. Our first day was a bit more hectic because we had swimming lessons in the morning. I didn't want our first day of school pictures to be in swimsuits so I waited until today to do first day pictures. School has been going very well. The kids seem to really like what we have chosen for this year. It will take a while to get them used to the routine. However, I do feel good about this year so far. But it is only day two.

Here are some pictures of the kiddos and our first day of homeschool.

Emmalee - 2nd grade

Eoin - 1st grade

Here are pictures of some activities we did today.

So much stuff, so little time

2009-08-06T10:40:00.000-04:00

We are getting ready to start our homeschool year. I have researched more hours than I really want to admit. This is what we are going to be using this year.

My 2nd grader:
Math - Horizons 2 and flashcards. I did purchase another math workbook to help cement the skills for her. She struggles with math most of the time. We will do only four days a week to allow lessons to go through the summer.

Language Arts - BJU English 2 and Reading 2, Spelling 2. She will also be reading chapter books that she picks on her own. I like BJU English because it incorporates writing, grammar and phonics skills. I am not thrilled with the spelling. I will probably make some adjustments to their program but I am not going to switch right now.

Handwriting - BJU 2 for this as well. Again, I am not thrilled with it but it will work for now. I might make up my own copy work sheets

My 1st grader:

Math - Horizons 1 and flashcards. He is very good at math and probably could pass his sister up if I would push him a little harder.

Language Arts - BJU 1 reading, phonics and spelling. Reading seems to be where he struggles. He is a slow reader. He needs more practice and he will catch up.

Handwriting - BJU 1 for this again.

Both:

We are using My Father's World Adventures for Bible, history, geography, art, music and science. For Latin, we are using prima latina. It will interesting to do Latin. Mike and I are excited about learning it as well.

There will be other things we do that I have forgotten to list here. I can think of a couple of others already. They will both be doing explode the code books and we will be doing life skills training.

If you go to the not back to school blog hop you can find out what more poeple are using

Not blogging much lately

2009-08-06T09:34:00.002-04:00

I have found that I have been too busy with many other things to find the time to blog. However, I do hope to change that.

We are getting ready to start our school year and I have decided I want to blog about our homeschool journey as well as family life. I think that it would be fun and a way to remember what we do during the year. So many other homeschooling moms blog about their journey and I enjoy reading the posts. I don't know if many will read this blog or not but I do hope that those who do will at least get a laugh every so often.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T21:53:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We are very excited in this house for Christmas day. Of course, the kids are ready to open the presents that are under the tree. But they are also excited because it is celebrating the birth of Christ. We have been doing a lot of activities over the last month relating to Jesus and Christmas. They have really been enjoying it this month. We have been doing a tradition that started when I was a little girl. The kids have been opening one small stocking stuffer since the 20th. We do it for five days before Christmas. It really helps to alleviate the excitement a little bit. Now I just hear for about 20 minutes in the morning "when do we get to open our present" rather than listening to it all day long for several days.

We wish everyone a very happy and wonderful Christmas.

First day of school

2008-08-11T16:34:00.002-04:00

Today we started back to school. Emmalee is in first grade this year (how did that happen?) and Eoin is in kindergarten this year ( again, how did that happen?). I can honestly say that this is going to be a more difficult year. Emmalee will do fine. She knows the routine and reads very well. I think she will fly through the phonics/reading portion of the year. Math will probably bog her down though. Eoin, oh little Eoin. I love him but man can he be difficult. The whining, arguing, disobeying really starts to take its toll after a few hours. We will have a fun year, though. He was so cute when I woke him up this morning. He hopped out of bed and said today is my first day of school. He was so excited. I am sure that after we get a good routine down, he will thrive and do very well. I also have to remember the first month with Emmalee. She and I spent several days in tears that month. I just have to remember to get some great pictures of them today and we will be set. I was going to wait for Daddy to get home so I could take some with him.

179 days left. I am looking forward to summer already.

Homeschooling

2008-08-08T18:21:00.002-04:00

We are preparing to start school on Monday. Yes, I know it is early but we will be able to take every other Friday off. The kids are excited about. I can not believe that my baby, Eoin, will be starting kindergarten this year. He will be five in October. Where has the time gone?

I have spent the week preparing lesson plans, organizing books, making copies, etc. There are fleeting moments where I think we are crazy for homeschooling and when will I ever get a break. Then I stop and think why would I entrust the raising of my children to someone else. Someone who really doesn't know them. Someone who has twenty other students to get to know and teach as well. Why would I do that? Yes, homeschooling is tough but there is never a day (full day, just moments) that I wouldn't want to be with my children. I love seeing their eyes light up when they 'get' something. I love being the one who is teaching them so much. And as long as the Lord will provide for me to stay at home and to teach my children why wouldn't I? I do believe that we all have to do what is best for our families and I believe this is best for mine. Yes, it does make us different but we are okay with that.

Someday, I will get some pictures up of the kids. Really, I will. We have taken some great pics this summer.

2008-06-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

Oh wow, so much has been going on. In mid May we bought a wii game system. We are having so much fun as a family. The kids really like the bowling. We play against each other. Emmalee and Eoin are doing quite well with their scores. Tonight they both bowled over 200. Emmalee bowled 215 and Eoin bowled 207. They each had five strikes in a row. I bowled a measly 139. I can't even compete with them. But, I am glad to see them having so much fun with it.

Emmalee had her dance recital last weekend. It went well. I was very proud of her. I will post some pics later after we get them off the camera and camcorder.

Eoin Funnies

2008-05-07T15:29:00.002-04:00

Eoin has been quite the little ham today.

First, he was playing 'news anchor'. He was sitting behind a chair pretending it was a desk. He was 'reading' some stories and then went to the weather. He said it was going to be sunny, rainy and cloudy today. (It was sunny this morning, now it is rainy and cloudy.) The temperature was going to be 'warm'. It is warm here today. After the weather he said " Now I am going to smile and then I am done." He turned to the 'camera' and smiled just like you see the anchors do and said "I'm done." It was one of those moments I wish I had my video camera out so I could have captured it.

Second, he ran into a chair and hit his head. He bounced back and looked at me and said "sweeeet".

Some days I wonder if I should just go get a job and not be around them. I wonder if I am doing the right thing. Then things like this happen and I know that I am doing the right thing by staying at home and homeschooling them. Why would I turn these wonderful moments over to someone else? I would miss so much.

Where is spring?

2008-03-28T11:41:00.002-04:00

I was wondering if anyone could please tell me where spring is? I know the calendar says it is officially spring but after another four inches of snow, I am seriously beginning to wonder if we are ever going to thaw out. I know that I live in Michigan and I should expect snow. But it is almost April people. This winter seems so long to me. The kids are begging to go outside to play and I am ready for them to go out to play. I am ready to start spring cleaning and to open the windows to allow fresh air in. I am ready for sunny days. The kids are ready too. They ask every day if it is hot or cold. When I say cold and they need to wear long sleeves and pants, they ask if it is ever going to warm up so they can wear shorts and tee shirts. I tell them it will as God's light (sun) is on longer and longer each day. I know that on Memorial Day it can either be 90 degrees or it can be 40 degrees. It doesn't help that Easter was so early this year. On Good Friday we had 6 inches of snow. It was gone by Tuesday. At least the snow is disappearing quickly these days when it does come.

Okay, enough complaining. I am very blessed in the fact that I have a roof over my head, food on my table consistently and a nice vehicle to drive and clothes for my family. Many families in this area of Michigan are struggling right now to have a roof over their families heads. Many families don't have enough food. The auto industry that supports this area is really hurting. The families of those in the auto industry are really hurting. My husband has a great job with great benefits. God has been very good to us. He has provides many things for us and I am ever so thankful for those things. Even when I don't want to be. Like this weather. I am thankful for it even though I complain about it. I know that eventually spring will be here and we will be able to go outside and enjoy the creation God made. We will get to see the flowers and the trees start to bud and bloom and the grass turn from brown to green. It will happen. I know it will.

Emmalee is 6 and Eoin is 4

2008-03-07T11:10:00.003-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since I have been here. It has been so busy the last year. We started homeschooling both of the kids in September. Emmalee is in kindergarten and Eoin is in preschool. Eoin sits with us or is at least listening while I help Emmalee. He is catching on to so much stuff. He read a book the other night by sounding out words. Mike and I were both shocked. He is catching on to addition as well. When I do flashcards with Emmalee, he yells the answer faster than her at times. Both of them have a passion for learning for I am grateful as their mother and teacher.

Emmalee turned 6 in February. How do I have a six year old? It doesn't seem possible. Oh, how I wish I could relive some of those early times with her. She is starting to grow into a little girl and grow out of the preschooler stage. Her face is looking older now. She has till not lost any teeth and she is okay with that.

Eoin turned 4 in October. Again, how can that be? It seems like just yesterday I was holding him as a tiny little baby. He is now officially a preschooler and growing up to be a little boy and eventually a man. I wish I could go back and relive some of his younger moments too. He can be very stubborn but then turn around and be so delightful.

Homeschooling both of them has been a great experience for me. I love it. I love watching them learn and seeing how proud of themselves they are. I love everything about it even though it is hard.

Both of them have been my "velcro" children lately. They have been stuck to me like glue lately. They do not want me out of their site for more than a few minutes. That is fine for now because it won't be long until they are thinking mom is 'icky'. However, I do need a small break from them every so often. I love 'rest' time.

Mike and I are teaching Awana Cubbies again this year. It has been a great year. However, Mike wants to return to school himself in the fall and I think we will not be able to teach next year. That is okay. It will give me a few hours once a week of kid free time. It will also take some pressure off of me and I will be able to do some planning for homeschool during that time.

Well there you have a quick review of the last year.

Sprinkler fun

2007-05-25T23:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the kids played in the sprinkler because it was so hot. They had so much fun. I had forgotten how much fun something as simple as a sprinkler could be. They were riding their bikes through the sprinkler and getting drenched in the process. After a while they were tired and needed a nap. The crankies were starting to appear in them. Mama doesn't like the crankies so I made them go lie down for a while. They both fell right to sleep. They were tired. But they had fun in the sprinkler.

Tonight we had our weekly family movie night. We watched Madagascar again. They enjoy movie night because they each get to snuggle with mom or dad. I enjoy it too. I know it won't be much longer and they will not have the desire to snuggle with mom and dad. I am thankful for the time I get to spend wit them. Sometimes as a stay at home mom, I struggle with patience. But I have to rely on the Lord to give me the patience and the wisdom to know what is right.

The long weekend is ahead for us and I am looking forward to it. Mike will be off on Sunday and Monday. Hopefully we can get the garage cleaned out and get ready to work on some home improvements. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Summer is here and where have I been?

2007-05-24T09:02:00.000-04:00

Summer is here in this beautiful state called Michigan. At least for a few days. We have been so busy with stuff lately. I finished up the MOPS year at the beginning of May. I was responsible for crafts once a month and I am glad to be finished with that. It was fun but also time consuming. We also finished AWANA for the year last week. Again, it was fun being the cubbie director but I am glad to be done for at least a few months.

Mike has been working a lot of hours lately. He is also starting to fly r/c planes and has been doing that a lot lately. He will usually take Emmalee and Eoin with him so they can watch and it gives me a few hours to do something by myself. Last night I went grocery shopping while he was flying. It is amazing how much faster things go when I don't have two little blessings following me around.

Speaking of blessings, they are both doing great. They both earned their Cubbie book awards last week and were so proud of themselves. They have been playing outside a lot. They love to ride their bikes. Now if we can just lose the training wheels soon. They have both been sleeping late in the mornings. It is probably a good thing we are going to homeschool because they are both night owls and like to sleep in.

Emmalee is having to wear a patch because she has a weak eye. The doctor said it should only be for the summer. Eoin is growing bigger and stronger. He loves to play and pretend to growl and scare things off. He is still my baby and always will be. I love to watch their knowledge grow. They are always asking questions. Eoin is starting to do 100 piece puzzles. I think he might be an engineer in the future. He likes to see how things work and is very mechanical. He is also very persistent and will work on something until he gets it right. I am so proud of both of them. They are very sweet kids.

Emmalee's 5th birthday

2007-02-18T21:08:00.000-05:00

I am posting this late. I can not believe that she is five years old now. She has gotten so big. It seems like just yesterday she was a tiny baby. We had a princess tea party for her birthday. She had six little girls dressed in their finest princess atire here. They had tea and played and had the grandest of times. Of course I spent the night before in tears because I couldn't believe that she was going to be five. There is something kind of surreal about having a five year old. It means they are old enough for school. If we weren't planning on homeschooling then she would be going to public school. The thought of that is just too much for me, sending her out into the world without holding her hand. Yikes!!!

Anyway, she is a precious young lady. She is constantly amusing us with her antics and comments. For example, this week she recieved a card in the mail. She turned the envelope over and says, "ooohhh, it's a Hallmark." I laughed so hard. Of course, I am raising her right and to only expect the "best."

Hopefully, this week I will be posting a few pics of my precious family.

Have a great week.

New Year, New stuff

2007-01-03T06:39:00.000-05:00

Well, 2007 has started. I am feeling good about this year. So many things to look forward too. So much to do too. Do you ever get the feeling that you could stay awake 24 hours a day and not accomplish everything on your to do list? I have been feeling like that recently and decided to shorten my list and lower my expectations. I feel that I have been missing out on so many fun times with my children lately and I don't like it. My hope and prayer for 2007 is to finally get my house organized. I don't want to do it all in the month of January but do a little each week so that by the end of the year I will feel that I have accomplished this goal.

We had a great Christmas this year, just the four of us. Emmalee and Eoin were really into the presents this year and had a lot of fun opening them. After all were opened, Eoin asked where the rest were. He didn't quite understand that when all were opened that was it. We had to explain that several times before he understood it. His daddy made him a train table for Christmas and we were up until the wee hours finishing it. That was his big gift this year. Eoin loves it because I'm not nagging to put the trains away before bed now or getting upset because I keep stepping on them. Emmalee's big gift this year was far less expensive. She wanted a doll with hair that can be brushed. We got her a doll from Target that is an American girl knockoff. It works for her and was far less expensive. She thinks it is an American Girl doll.

We asked Emmalee and Eoin what Christmas meant to them. Emmalee replied that Jesus was born and we get presents. Eoin's reply was "we get presents mommy." He didn't quite get the whole meaning of Christmas but Emmalee is really starting to understand. She can practically tell us the whole story about Christmas now without much prompting. Of course, this is only when the mood strikes her right.

I have to comment on how cuddly and loving Emmalee has been lately. Every night before bed she asks me if she can come sleep with me after Mike leaves for work. Of course I say that she can. As Mike is getting ready for work, either he or I will go in and get her out of bed and put her in ours. She loves to walk him to the front door and give him his lunch box and his smoothie. She will kiss him goodbye and tell him to have a great day in a very sleepy girl voice. Then I take her to the front window and we wave goodbye to him. She makes the same comment every morning, " He loves it when I wave to him." Then she and I make our way back to bed and cuddle and snuggle until she falls back to sleep and I do some computer time.

Eoin is starting to be a boy though and not really like all the cuddles and hugs. He is doing very well with going potty on the "big boy potty." He has had only one accident in the last three days and has stayed dry during the night as well. I see very few pull ups being purchased in the future.

Time to post this and maybe get a little more sleep before the kidlets wake up for the day or my alarm goes off again to get up.

Wishing all of you the Happiest and Healthiest in 2007.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Eoin

2006-10-23T07:21:00.000-04:00

October 22, 2003 was a great day. It was the day my precious son was born. I thank God daily for allowing me to be your mom. You are so sweet and have a loving nature. I still can not believe that you are three this year. You are no longer a toddler but a preschooler. What happened to my precious baby boy.

Happy Birthday Boo Boo. I love you.

Mother Hubbards Designs

2006-10-10T09:52:00.000-04:00

Well this will be the start of my first blog. I hope it goes well. We are a small family with two young children. Most of the stuff will be of them. They are just too precious not to talk about.