The Memory Book -- Almost a Memory Itself...

Taking a short breather in between the 3rd grade memory book project and the 3rd grade slide show presentation project! We're a little behind schedule (due to circumstances beyond our control), but we keep plugging along and I'm sure that it will all be good in the end! I am done with my part of the memory book, now it is being copied and hopefully bound and hopefully ready in time to be handed out to the students next week!

In the meantime, I am satisfied in the knowledge that 1) the end of these projects is in sight!, 2) they will hopefully be lovely when they are finished, and most importantly, 3) I am spending this crazy time working on something special for my daughter. And, she has been a big help to me -- helping to identify some of the kids that I do not recognize, helping to distinguish during which years some of the pictures were taken. She even provided me with a great quote that I used for the back cover (which, accidentally got printed on the back of the front cover and then laminated, so now it is technically the inside cover... Again, out of our control!). It was a quote from Walt Disney (one of her absolute favorite people!) and it was so great that I also shared it with my boss who likes to put quotes on his meeting agendas -- he used it for his directors' meeting this week.

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney

In addition to her helping me with the project, I have tried to discreetly put in a few things that will be special for my girl. (But of course, would also be appropriate for the other kids!) The front cover text is in "Disney Print" a font in the style of Walt Disney's handwriting. We were scrambling for pictures for the 4 collages that we did -- Kindergarten, First, Second, and Third Grades -- and so I was able to sneak a couple of extras of my girlie in the Kindergarten and Second Grade collages (those were the years I was assigned). And, some of her friends may be featured a little more than some of the other kids -- although, truly, some of the other kids are just NOT in enough pictures and their parents did not send many in. Some kids clearly seem to gravitate to the camera, I have learned through this experience! We did scrounge to make sure that every single child has at least one picture in each of the collages -- for kindergarten, I had to cut and paste 2 girls from my daughter's bowling birthday party (you can hardly see the bowling lanes behind one of the girls...). And for the second grade collage I did an amazing job (if I do say so myself!) on cropping one of those same girls out of a picture taken of a different class in the cafeteria, and making it look like it's just a nice picture of her. My girl and I sat and looked through -- no joke -- close to 100 pictures to find one of this little girl to no avail. I finally found this one on my own and was so excited that I had to call my girl down to show her what I did -- she was impressed! Again, this girl obviously does not seek out the camera!

In addition to letters from the teachers, pictures, and "biographies" from the students, we have a word search with all of the kids' names, a page with their favorite things -- songs, movies, tv shows, food, school subjects -- which we created from a survey that we handed out at school, and a page that lists their first names and their career aspirations (my girl chose, as I had anticipated, "author"). We also have 4 pages for "autographs" from friends and teachers. On each of the autograph pages, I put a quote about friendship. In another little nod to my sweet girl, on one of the autograph pages I put a sweet quote from "Piglet & Pooh", Piglet being her very favorite character!

""Are we going to be friends forever?" asked Piglet. "Even longer," answered Pooh." - A.A. Milne

I know that this is only a third grade memory book (although it's felt like a high school yearbook at times this past week...), but my daughter was lucky enough to go to this wonderful little school for the past four years and we have a lot of wonderful memories of her time here -- if we can capture even a portion of that for ourselves and for the other students and their families, I think it has been time well spent!

"Cherish the moments for they too, become memories." - L. Kaliski

Still Working on the Memory Book...

Still plugging away on the third grade memory book... Did I mention there's a slide show too, and it will be set to music? Did I mention I really need to curtail my volunteerism? Kidding (sort of)...

Be back soon!

Happy Memorial Day!

It has been a busy Memorial Day weekend, between my working on the Memory Book project for my daughter's third grade class and my husband working all weekend. Yesterday our town held it's annual Memorial Day parade and for the third time in her nine years, my eldest daughter marched in it! Daddy had to work, but Grandpa, Gramby, my little girlie and I staked out our spot with lawn chairs and a cooler of snacks and we waited for my girl to march by with her Girl Scout Troop. We got a couple of pictures of her marching -- of course my video camera decided to act up right as I was ready to film her -- and then it started working again immediately after she passed by! Anyway, my girl is the one holding up the big sign -- which she held over her head for the entire mile-long march! What a trooper! She had a great time, but was ready to head back home for a swim in the pool! I had invited a few friends and Grandpa and Gramby (of course!) over for a little bbq after the parade. It was very low-key, but that's just what I like! Not too much fuss - just good friends and family! The kids had a great time in the pool, the guys sat watching them and chatting, and the ladies chatted while pulling together a quick dinner.

I was proud of my 9-year-old for marching in the parade, and I was also proud of my 3-year-old for sitting so patiently through the whole thing! Between getting there early to get a seat, waiting for the parade to start, and then the parade itself, my girl pretty much sat in one spot for 2 hours! To help entertain her, I had a bag with books and toys and aside from looking through one book and munching on a couple of snacks, she sat on my lap clapping and waving her little flag the entire time! I pointed out to her every time a soldier came by, and explained that we were there to celebrate them -- that is what Memorial Day is all about. I think it's important to make sure that my children understand that this parade is not just about the clowns and the bands (and ALL of the politicians marching...), but it's about our troops - past and present.

As I've mentioned (maybe one or two times...), I LOVE holiday decorations! The weather has been so nice here and the pool is swimmable (is that a word?) and with the impromptu parade "after-party" I decided to pull out my 4th of July decorations early! I figure between Memorial Day, Flag Day and 4th of July I can leave them up until July!! (Check out Paddy, -- he's all dressed for the season, too!) I love to make the holidays festive for my family, and any friends who happen by. It's a small thing that I like to do to show my family that I care -- and I think that it adds to the special feeling of a home!

Today Daddy is home and we are looking forward to spending the day together, outside enjoying the pool and the nice weather! Enjoy your day with your family!

Keeping Your Chin Up!

My friend Christine wrote a great post on her blog the other day, where she describes her daughter telling her she's the "worst mommy ever" simply because Christine would not buy her cotton candy at the grocery store.

I think we've all been there -- feeling under-appreciated -- this weekend my cotton candy moment was with my 9-year-old who never once said thank you for the hours of help I gave her with her first big school project. My husband and I went to the store and bought her supplies on Friday while she was in school -- everything on her list. Then Saturday she certainly did not appreciate my gently (at first) suggesting that she finish her essay so that she could enjoy the rest of her day. We got through that with some struggles and then Sunday there was a large display to make. The supplies that we purchased just were not going to work out. She was definitely not fond of me at this point of the day -- there was a definite breakdown...of communication... She did not come out and call me the worst mommy ever, but there was a vibe that I was getting. Anyway, we regrouped and I put the kids in the car and off we went to the store to buy more supplies. Then lots of technical help and consultation on the construction of a farmhouse, barn & silo and voila, the project is finished and where did the day go? She took the project to school yesterday (a day early) and got to be the first to do her presentation. She told me that she'd had the best day -- the presentation went great and everyone loved her display. No "thank you", but I was happy that she was happy and proud of the work she did.

I think one of the frustrating things about motherhood is that it takes SO long for our children to understand and appreciate what we do for them -- possibly until they have children themselves! (I'm sure our parents feel our pain -- or at least are pointing and laughing like, "see what you put me through?") You just do the best that you can and you enjoy every single sweet moment that comes along -- and they do, all the time! The other night, I came home to a glass of water with 3 buttercups floating in it -- a "bouquet" from my sweet little 3-year-old. Our children love us and appreciate us, just in their own quiet ways sometimes! And that's ok -- they'll realize what good parents we are -- when they have their own children! ;)

Rained Out at the Ball Game!

I have 6 people coming for dinner tonight, so instead of vacuuming, I thought I would post about what we did last night! Makes sense, right? :) Last night we went to "school night" with the Red Wings -- our local minor league baseball team. Our 9-year-old daughter's school was selling discounted tickets to the game and we thought it sounded like fun! Our littlest girl had never been to a baseball game before and we were all excited for a fun family night doing something a little out of the ordinary for us! We were excited, that is, until we parked, and then it started pouring ran as we walked to the stadium...

Some of us, myself and my little girlie, had a hard time recapturing that excitement, as we sat in the pouring rain for the better part of two hours. My other daughter was in her glory -- hanging out with her friends -- I don't know that she even really noticed the downpour! Halfway through the game (close to 9pm), she was ready to stay for the entire game and the fireworks that were supposed to take place at the end. My husband was on his way up from his 3rd or 4th trip to the concession stands -- he never did get anything for himself! -- and it started to pour again and he caught my eye from the bottom of the stairs. Without words, we were able to communicate that yes, we were all ready to go and the girls and I would meet him at the entrance to the concessions. That was a wordless exchange. Not the case with my 9-year-old and I... "IT'S TIME TO GO -- DADDY'S WAITING DOWNSTAIRS -- IT'S POURING -- LET'S GO!" "I have to say goodbye to my friends!" Ok, no problem. The little girlie and I start making our way down -- she's still saying goodbye. We call to her a few times -- she's oblivious to us -- still saying goodbye. We get to the entrance of the concession stands -- she does not look like she is joining us anytime soon! I take the stuff out of my husband's hands and he hikes back up to our seats to escort her down -- during that exchange, she apparently realized that we were no longer up there with her (we could see her the whole time -- she just could not see us), so that seemed to put a little spring in her step, and she quickly came back with her dad.

All in all, it was cold and wet, but my girl had a great time with her friends, we didn't melt in the rain, and we decided that this would be a lot of fun to try again on a dry night! Oh, and we also decided to make SURE that we always have umbrellas in the car!! (This is a picture of our girls standing next to a horse made entirely out of baseball gloves!)