Good Mother Fairy gets to do a Happy Dance

The Good Mother Fairy worked some magic Thursday and Friday night to finish her own xstitching project - and gets to do a Happy Dance in celebration of the Prairie Schooler Exchange completion! Last night I put the last stitches into the project and then actually sat down in front of my new sewing machine to create a pillow. As a first pillow is concerned, I am very happy with it. And, as you all know the drill...I cannot post a photo of it until my exchange partner receives it and I get confirmation of that. And she will not be able to receive it until I get it in the mail - which is on my "to do" list for today.

With that done, after I get it in the mail, I plan on working on the two Friendship Sampler RRS I have in my possession...and I am hoping to also make it over to my "not so" LNS today in order to purchase more fabric to restart mine. Since it will be a low-key weekend (thank goodness) with older son trying to knock out a few more "end-of-the-year" school projects today and DH needing to put some time in on his work (before he leaves for Atlanta on business on Tuesday) - I will probably be able to sneak away for a few hours. And tomorrow (Sunday) will be a day filled with hockey practices...so all my boys (DH included) will be out of the house from 7am-3pm, so tomorrow might have to be a "clean the house day". But we will see how things go!

Well, that is all I have to share with you all today. I hope to have the RRs complete and ready for photo postings by Sunday or Monday at the lastest.
Have a good weekend and remember....Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Back to "normal"...whatever that means?!?!

Well, the Mr. and Mrs. Frog stayed through dessert on Memorial Day - which I guess was a piece of humble pie and chocolate ice cream - but things are back on track with the Prairie Schooler Exhchange project. I am now about 90% complete with stitching it - but had to put it down yesterday in order to [help] finish my [son's] 7th grade portfolio project...well, let me back up a little in time...to when the frogs left on Monday at 10 and my DH & older son arrived back home.

During their drive from Anaheim to home (which is about 6 hours), Robert plugged the computer into the car and worked on his Math story (end of the year project for that subject)...he typed the story and then started drawing the "illustrations" for the first 7 pages. When he got home, I was instructed to finish coloring the pages so that he could shower and get ready for bed - ok, so the good mother fairy gets out her special coloring pencils and sets off to work (sorry, I just needed to interject a little sarcasm into this). Waving her magic color wand ****poof*** the math pages are colored.

Now - we go to Tuesday afterschool (yesterday)...it is time to start/finish Robert's 7th grade portfolio project. He has known about this project since mid April (during spring break - a good time to start big projects since we were not doing anything else...right? "Whatever, mom!"). The portfolio consisted of a summary of each of his classes, a paragraph regarding a favorite & a not-so-favorite thing he study in each class, and a summary of his extra curricular activities during the school year. Well, he did have all of that written - so all I had to do was read & edit 13 pages...think again! The good mother fairy sat at the magic computer keyboard for 6 hours revising & rewriting those summaries (or it would have been an embarrassment for a 7th grader to turn in a paragraph stating that: "I liked math. It was fun. I learned a lot. The teacher made it fun. So math was fun this year." Too bad the stitching frogs couldn't have visited last night to help!) while the loving son cut, paste and printed photos and scanned in examples of his work in order for the good mother fairy to glue them on to a piece of construction paper (it seems that the loving son is very glue challenged and it was easier for the good mother fairy to do it right the first time so that there wasn't any need to reprint and re-cut the pictures at midnight). So from 3:30pm until midnight, with only a few breaks to make the boys dinner, we got the project done. Thank goodness!

It is Wednesday now...tonight he just has to draw and color 7 more pages for his Math story - which I hope he can do all by himself (BTW, DH fairy did help color and so some of the work last night too...it was a family project I guess). We have an year-end open house for Matthew (younger son) tonight to attend. It is hard to believe that school is almost over.

Well...I am sure that I bored you enough today with my good mother fairy pity stories - so I will leave you with this reminder: Live, love, laugh and don't forget to stitch often (which I am hoping to do tonight!!!)

Lisa

A Memorial Day visit from the frogs

Just when I was getting ready to leap for joy - for my Prairie Schooler Exchange was getting close to complete - a frog family came knocking at my door...and it wasn't to join in my Memorial Day bbq! While I can't post photos and I can't go into too much detail, as this is for an exchange (and I don't know if my exchange person reads my blog) - but let's just say the whole header of my project will have to be frogged and started over...or I could just leave it out (mmmm...that is an idea as the deadline is fast approaching).

Well, since I needed to take a break from sitting and stitching I decided to get on the ol' stationary bike and get some blood back into my legs and feet.

Just heard from DH and my older son...they are on their way back from Anaheim. Robert's hockey (spring) hockey team won the Memorial Day tournament - so he will be bringing home some more metal to place on his dust collecting trophy shelf. So, that is exciting...I guess the championship game was very exciting as they went into the 3rd period tied 2-2. In the last couple of minutes of the game, Robert brought the puck down to the opposing end and passed to another teammate, who shot and scored. Pretty cool to get the assist on the game winning goal. I also heard that he got slammed pretty good into the boards and has a nice bruise & goose egg on his arm. Well, at least it isn't broken. They stopped at a Walmart and got some ice to put on it a little bit ago...sounds like they are making pretty good time; probably make it home around 10:30-11pm tonight. Hopefully Robert can type while riding in the car, as he still has a way to go on some of his projects that are due tomorrow.

Well...enough rambling...it seems that the blood is flowing back in my legs and feet, so I will be hopping off this cycle soon and greeting Mr. & Mrs. Frog in hopes that they can quickly removed the mistake and I can get this complete soon!

Thanks for stopping by! Take care and remember...Live, Laugh, Love and stitch often (hope that you are able to keep the frogs at bay!). Lisa

My new 10 year old!

"Where has the time gone?" Isn't that the question that we ask ourselves when we see our children grow up - celebrate an achievement or a birthday? Well, my "baby" turns 10 today. It is amazing! As Bubbie (my grandmother who past away November 2008) use to say, "Lisa, you have no more babies - you have only young men." Matthew is my youngest; he is a sweetheart and my social child. There is a mysterious connection he & I have, for he always seems to sense when I am out of sorts - giving me a little wink, an extra hug or a sweet "hello". Except for the day he was born (a quick 2.5 hours of labor), he isn't in any rush to do anything (well, except for homework so that he can go play).
On Friday, he was able to invite his 2 best friends over for a slumber party. It was a very nice evening and the boys found that our old 9-in-1 game table (pool table, fuse ball, ping-pong, etc) was very entertaining. I was worried that the other boys might be bored because we don't have any of the popular electronic (like wii or psps or gameboys). But they played fuse ball and pool, making up different games and taking turns most of the evening. Around 9:30, I got out some glow-in-the-dark sticks and took them for a walk around the block. The sticks curved and the ends attached - I was amazed all the different things they came up with during our 45 minute walk...necklaces, bracelettes, earrings, nose rings, glasses and so on. After the walk it was time for some ice cream & cookies, pjs, brush teeth and then at 11pm, time to get in the sleeping bags. I went up to get in bed myself and fell asleep...around 3:30 some giggling woke me up and I found Matthew and one of his friends still up. I told them that they needed to settle down and get some sleep, which I think that they finally did...only to wake up around 7:30am. Matthew thought it was one of his best birthday's ever! Happy Birthday Matthew! I love you!

Saturday, one of the mother's picked up all the boys and took them to another birthday party (I guess May is a popular bday month!). Having the afternoon free, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to look for a sewing machine. I haven't sewn on a machine since 7th or 8th grade when they had home ec in school, but because I am inspired to make different things out of my finished projects, I wanted to get one. Just a machine that does the basic stitches...nothing fancy...not too expensive, but I wanted something reliable. I choose a Brother sewing machine. So far, all I have done is threaded the needle...I do want to play with it a little and practice...however, I have a big deadline!!!! My Prairie Schooler Exchange is due June 1! So, from 3pm until 11pm last night (with a few breaks in between) I worked on my piece. I am about 85% done with stitching it and plan to be done by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. It is nice to have this weekend to relax and stitch! So, since this is an exchange piece, I will not be able to show you any progress photos...but I will keep you updated on the progress.

On another note regarding the Friendship Sampler RR...I have received the next one for me to stitch a heart on (Diana from The Netherlands). I will need to get out and get another piece of fabric to re-start mine and get it back in the mailing circle (we still have not heard from the lady who has mine and another RR "hostage"). The other lady (whose RR is missing), unfortuantely decided to quit - we all in the group are very saddened by her decision, but totally understand. She not only lost her stitch piece, but special silk floss, and very nice zippered bags...and just the fact that it was a disappointment. I was planning to go back to my "not so" LNS this weekend to get some fabric, but the traffic our of the area where I live is really congested due to the holiday weekend. So, I will have to wait or order something on line.

Well, Matthew and I will veg-out this afternoon - maybe go out for his birthday. My DH and other son are in Anaheim, CA for a hockey tournament (which they are doing pretty good - wone 2 and lost 1...they have another game this afternoon around 3:30pm). They are due back tomorrow some time depending if they make it to the championship game.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! Remember...Live, Love, Laugh...and stitch often!
Lisa

Friendship Grows

As promised, here is a photo of my finished project. It is "Friendship Grows" by Lizzie*Kate (a free pattern on her website). I substituted a few of the colors with some varigated DMC, but for the most part used the Weeks Dye Works Floss the pattern called for. I stitched it 2 over 2 on 32count Linen (color: Jim Dandy Brown). I hot glued it on a bamboo pot that has an ivy plant. It is for a mother of one of Matthew's best friends. Since our boys have been in school together, we have become friends and have helped eachother by carpooling or watching eachother's boys. It is nice to have that kind of support when you don't have family to lean on.

TGI-Friday!!!!!!

OMG...this was the week from H-E-double hockey stick-double hockey stick! I feel like I was almost being punished for enjoying the last few weeks when I didn't have to drive to a hockey rink or stress over running the boys to anything after school. This week was the start to a hockey clinic that runs 4 days/week for 6 weeks...from 5pm until 8pm (and then you need to allow 45 minutes on either side for driving to the rink and driving home). In order to save some $ but make sure that the boys are fed, I pack snacks and dinner so that they can eat in the car and in between their respective ice time/off-ice fitness room. This is a really good clinic for each as it includes 1.25 hours of ice time (skills & drills) and then an hour with a fitness trainer. Each son is group with their age group - which is good because neither is in the same location at the same time, but it makes for a long evening for me.

Nevertheless, I have been able to get in some stitching (unless I am in a deep conversation with other hockey moms making it difficult to stitch). I finished one project - which I will post a photo later this evening. Now I have to focus on finishing the Prairie Schooler project for the exchange - mail date before June 1. I will make it, but will need to use this holiday weekend to really focus on it!

This is going to be a nice quiet weekend for the most part. DH and older son left last night, driving down to Anaheim for a hockey tournament. They will be there until Monday. I am here with Matthew, youngest. His 10th birthday is on Sunday. Tonight he is having a couple of boys over for a little slumber party. We have never hosted a slumber party and, due to hockey, the boys haven't really been to too many slumber parties themselves. So, this will be fun for him. I have used the fact that we will be hosting guests (even some 10 year olds) as a reason to clean the house. It needs it...so this morning I have gotten the first floor good and scrubbed! Nice to start a holiday weekend with a clean house!

Well, I don't want to bore you anymore, so I will end this post here. As promised I will post a photo of one of my finishes later today - as I do need to get this one done too for a friend whose birthday was actually last Sunday. Until then...have a good Friday! Lisa

Weekend Recap from trip to Minnesota

I just got home last night and since I didn't take my camera with me (trying to keep the carryon light) I am relying on my parents & sisters to forward some photos my way...so, I will apologize for not having any at this time.

The weekend was very nice and relaxing - very different feeling than the anxiety I use to feel when I would go to MN and stay with my parents. The sister who graduated didn't have a clue that I was coming in for this event. In fact, she & her husband sent out an Evite for a dinner that they were organizing for after the graduation ceremony...which I didn't respond to at first. I purchased my airline ticket in the middle of April, but still didn't respond. After a conversation with my mother on April 30, she told me that my sister was asking if I was coming...and since she hates being surprised, therefore making it fun to surprise her, I told my mother that I would email her and tell her that I wouldn't be able to come. So, on May 1, I wrote an email stating that "due to all the hockey travel our family incurred since the beginning of the year, our finances were tight and we really needed to cut back inorder to catch up." I continued to tell her how proud I was that after dropping out of college when she was college age - going back to finish college 3 years ago and then graduating now with a Masters was totally unexpected...I would definitely be there in spirit and thought, but just couldn't make it in person. The morning of May 2 my mother called laughing..."you did it," she said, "your sister is pissed off at you big time; she is ready to blast you with an email or phone call to tell you that your priorities in life are screwed up."

She never did call or email. Earlier last week I received the follow up Evite that says, "you have not responded yet." So, to make it official, I decided to respond by saying "no" and wrote a similar response in the comment box explaining why I would not be able to attend. So, I get to my parents' house on Friday - that evening my mother has planned to have both of my sisters and their families over for a BBQ. At 5pm, my graduation sister arrives and I hide behind a wall while she gets out of the car and to the front door...just as she starts to enter with her DH and daughter, I walk over to help everyone in the door. She looks up at me, drops her purse, grabs me and starts to cry. She couldn't believe that I actually came. She felt, with me here, her graduation would feel complete. That whole scene made the trip priceless and definitely worthwhile.

Saturday morning she came over and we took a wonderful walk...it was a cool (38 degrees) windy, sunny morning (a perfect Minnesota morning with lush green trees and the blooming lilac bushes). We walked over 6 miles and talked about everything. It was good. I can't say that we have the most wonderful relationship, but as sisters go we all love and support each other. That afternoon was the graduation ceremony, followed by the dinner and then a surprise party thrown by her husband. My parents, grandmother and I made an appearance and then went back to their house.

Yes, my 90 year old grandmother flew up from South Carolina to witness this graduation as well as visit with her grand-daughters and her great-grandchildren (my younger sister has 2 kids). So, aside from surprising my sister and being in MN for her, I got to visit with my grandmother again - as well as my parents. In fact, after we left the graduation surprise party and went back to parents house, we sat around until 11:30 or so talking...mom, dad, grandma (my mother's mom) and I. It was so nice. Since we have recently lost my other grandmother (dad's mom in Nov. 2008) and my grandfather (mom's dad/grandmother's husband of over 75 yrs - Dec. 2008), there was a lot of memories shared and stories told. It is moments like this that are so special - I feel so blessed!

I got home last night - DH and boys picked me up from the airport. Sounded like they had a good productive weekend: Saturday they worked on year end school projects all day and Sunday they had hockey all day. So it was a good weekend for all.

On the stitching front...I worked on my Prairie Schooler on the plan going to MN and on a L*K freebie ("Friends grow") coming back. The L*K is for a birthday present for a neighborhood friend, which I need to finish up tonight.

Hope you had a good weekend too and are ready to start the new week set before us. Take care and remember....Live, Laugh, Love and Stitch often! Lisa

My RR is MIA...but I will not quit!

I finished my heart on Willeke's Friendship Sampler RR and got it in the mail yesterday (a couple days earlier than that May 15th mail date). I wanted to make sure that it was done and out the door before I left for my weekend in Minnesota. I am really enjoying stitching on everyone's Sampler and watching the progression of them all as everyone is posting them after they complete their heart before sending it to the next person. The big bummer is that one of the RR members has seem to drop out and no one can seem to get a hold of her...and there are 2 RRs in her possession - mine and another member of the RR. So while I stitch, post photos of finished hearts and view the progress of the other samplers, mine sits. We have emailed her, left messages on her blog, phone messages have been left on her answering machine and notes have been mailed. But no response on her part. I hope that when she reads my note I sent or if she reads my blog, to know that it is OK to send the RRs on w/o stitching on them & drop out, if she needs to.

I am very upset that mine is sitting whiles others are growing beautiful. While the easiest route may be to send the last RR out and then quit...I have decided not to. I will probably go out and purchase more fabric, stitch my special heart in the middle and then begin a new RR through the mail cycle.

My decision not to quit...
...is due to the warm feeling I get when I open my email inbox and see an email from the Friendship Sampler RR group
...is due to the satisfaction I feel when I put the finishing touches on my heart/name on another members sampler and send off a part of me
...is due to the Friendship I feel with these other women when I read their emails, their blogs and when I receive their sampler in the mail with their special letter

So, my decision not to quit...is because when the Friendship Sampler RR is over and all the RRs have finally made it home, I would like one with a heart from all the women in this group to hang on my wall to remind me that my life was touched by 17 special ladies from around the US and The Netherlands.

I was also going to post a photo of my status on my UFO:Hockey Rivalry, but I will not be able to post one this week because I have been focusing on getting the Friendship RR complete as well as needed to focus on my Prairie Schooler project for the Exchange because that mail date is on/before June 1...which is coming up quickly. So, I will be packing that project as I get ready to leave tomorrow morning for Minnesota to see my parents, sisters, brother-in-laws and my grandmother (the one from South Carolina - my parents have brought her up for my "middle" sisters graduation from business school).

So...just incase I am not able to get to a computer over the weekend...

Remember to Live, Laugh, Love and Stitch often! Have a good weekend, Lisa

Weekend Recap....

Well, it is Tuesday (already), but I wanted to share my weekend before we were on our way to the next weekend of events :)

Saturday, was the year end team party for Robert's (older son) hockey team. The day was beautiful - upper 70s & sunny - perfect for an outdoor get together. It was held at the coach's house - they have a pool & outdoor "non-ice" hockey rink. It was the first time that the boys have seen eachother since we were in North Carolina for Nationals the first week in April - so they had an awesome time playing in the pool & the upstairs computer game room. The grown ups all gathered around all the food...which is typical it seems at functions like this (which I enjoy way more than I ought to...and that is why I need a day or two to recoup). We gave the coaches their gifts of the photo books - which they really loved; as they opened them up to look at all the photos and comment on all the activities the team participated it over the season. My co-manager and I were showered with gifts of gratitude also. I received a beautiful orchid plant (like the one pictured on the post...so, camera was out of batteries so I cheated with some clip art), a couple gift certificates to Norstrom's, a gift certificate for Southwest Airlines and a windchime with a hockey theme. It was bittersweet to be there - I am glad that the season is over and my plate of responsiblities is basically empty, but in a "strange" way I love to be team manager and do all the "behind the scene" work required. I guess, just like the boys, it is good to get a little break before the next season starts up.

Well that activity started my mother's day weekend with a bang! Sunday was nice - just very low key...which I really liked. Robert made me a mother's day card and organized a morning welcome in the kitchen with his card and cut roses (which came from the backyard). Matthew (younger brother) took some of the petals that fell from a rose and scattered it around the breakfast area. I don't do big breakfasts, just typically munch on fruit while the boys eat...but we were all downstairs as a family. After breakfast, DH took them to hockey which went from 9:45am-2pm...and I got the house all to myself. I used that time to get in some exercise (which I needed after eating 1/2 plate of chocolate chip cookies at the team party) and to stitch. I worked on my UFO: Hockey Rivalry for a while until it was time to clean up and leave myself.

For my mother's day gift - I drove to my favorite LNS, Needle in a Haystack...which isn't very local for it is a 45-60minute drive. But the drive there with the windows up and the breeze blowing was nice. I got to the store just as it opened (1pm) and was there until 3pm. I got to view the Laura J. Perin trunk show and got a couple of her patterns: the first is the "Lone Star House" from the American House Series and "Sawtooth" from her American Quilt Series. I have not really done canvas work - done some of the canvas stitches on linen, but I love the things that she designs and felt the "need" to have these projects to put on my list "one of these days". Any way...I did end up with a few Lizzie*Kate projects in my basket and some over-dyed thread to kit those and a couple other L*K designs for exchanges and a friends birthday gift. Anyway...I walked out of NiaH relaxed and excited to get home and stitch.

After another beautiful drive home, I was greeted with a napping husband and the boys on the computers (one actually doing homework and the other playing a game). But I didn't expect anything more - so it gave me time to pick up on Hockey Rivalry (after I finish the other little boy in the picture, I will post a status photo). We did have a very nice dinner all together to finish off the day/weekend...grilled Salmon and Halibut with fresh asparagus and a salad...the boys added macaroni & cheese to theirs.

It was a wonderful weekend. At the end of this week, I will be travelling to Minnesota to see my family. I have 2 younger sisters, and the one that is in the middle decided to go back to school and get her masters in human resources, which she did and is graduating this coming weekend. So, I am going there to surprise her (I don't think that she reads my blog) and watch her graduation ceremony.

Well...this certainally has gone on too long...if you made it this far I thank you! Remember...Live, Laught, Love and Stitch often! Lisa

TGI...Friday!

Thought I would live up to my promise I made yesterday and post a few photos. First, up - since this is a stitching blog...here is my progress on my UFO "Hockey Rivalry" which I have committed to finish on the I've Started, So I'll Finish blog. On the right, is where it was 2 weeks ago and on the left shows the progress I have made in the 2 weeks.












I have been rotating it with some of the smaller projects I have (which I am stitching for a couple exchanges I have & the Friendship RR). I have commited to stitching it anytime I am sitting in my "mommy's corner of the couch"at home. Because this project requires many color changes and color blends, I have pre-threaded many needles and organized it on the needle organizer; thus making this project non-travel friendly...so to sit in the hockey rinks while the boys are practicing, track field during a meet or the bus during a field trip...I take the small projects and leave this one at home to stitch while sitting with the family or watching tv.







Fourth grade Field Trip...yesterday I went on a field trip with Matthew & his 4th grade class. As mentioned yesterday, 4th grade is the year they study California history and then at the end of the year take this field trip. Matthew's class focused primarily on the Capital (for there are so many museums, forts and old cities in Sacremento to go - due to the gold rush and other factors like that). It was fun to do this with him and his class for I haven't been on a field trip with him in a long time. The bus ride was long (2 hours each way)...but having my son and his fellow classmates give us parent chaperons a tour of the Capital was wonderful. They did a lot of prep work, researching the different rooms of the building and statues on the grounds. Below is Matthew giving his presentation outside the Assembly Room...doesn't my "soon-to-be" 10year old look handsome. It was a fun day and a nice opportunity to spend sometime with him, his classmates and some of the parents of his friends. And BTW...I was able to get some stitching done on one of my exchanges (that was small enough to fit in my bag, but caused a little stoppage in the security line when my metal hoop & needles went through the machine. At least I knew to pack fingernail clippers versus scissors!).






Well...this weekend is Mother's Day weekend. As per the focus of our lifestyle, we have a few hockey events - Saturday is the team party for Robert's team (and we will be presenting the coaches with the photo books I put together) and Sunday is Matthew's "skills & scrimmage" clinic in the morning...but never fear I will get my one Mother's Day wish: to go to my LNS! NiaH is having a trunk show of Laura J. Perin. And while I don't do a lot of canvas work (on canvas), I love her designs and have in corporated some of her specialty stitches in my work. Also, I will be able to do a little mother's day shopping to add to my stash as I have some things that I definitely NEED to add for some upcoming exchanges (wink, wink).

So for all of you beloved readers...Happy Mother's Day...whether you are a mother, grandmother or a child cartaker! You deserve a special day! Remember - Live, Love, Laugh...and Stitch on! Lisa

Responsiblity plate is managable...right now!

Good morning-afternoon or evening...whatever time it is when you read this post. Currently it happens to be 4:45am on Thursday morning, as I was able to get this ol' body out of bed and on the exercycle for some exercise before the "real" day starts. Today I am going on a field trip with my 4th grade son. They have been studying California history, which always ends with a trip to Sacramento...the capitol, the old city and a few museams & shoppes. Matthew & his class have been prepping to be the "tour guides" for the capital - which is where this field trip will be focusing. I look forward to listening to his presentation about the assembly room and a few other places around the capitol grounds. The bus leaves the school at 8am and returns around 3pm - the bus ride is about 2 hours one way (so I am planning to bring a stitching project to do on the bus). I have my camera, so I will probably bore you with some photos and stories tomorrow of the trip.

Anyway, this has been the week of Teacher Appreciation - which is now totally complete and thus my list of commitments has lessen (yahoo). The Teacher appreciation week, started out on Sunday with the decorating of the door (which was highlighted in the last post). My 4th grade son and I were the only ones to show up, but I had 90% of it prepped and glued on so it didn't take too long (and I have been down this road before so I knew what to expect). Then Monday morning, I informed the teacher that I would bring the kids into the classroom when the morning bell rung and she was suppose to stay in the room to greet the kids. The first child in line brought in a glass vase w/water and all but 2 followed with various flowers for her. The last two brought her special Teacher "thank you" book and the "gift card bouquet". I always let the kids take the gifts to the teacher - for it is them that need to do the thanking :). Since we have a job share situation this year, I decided to repeat this morning "flower/gift" parade for the other teacher on Tuesday. Both enjoyed the shower of flowers and the gifts. I always enjoy organizing it and doing the projects for it...but I also look forward to it being done!

Now...with this major roomparent responsibility complete...and the hockey season done, thus the team manager responsibilities complete (team party is this Saturday, but I delegated the party details to a few other hockey moms)...my plate of volunteer projects is looking very manageable. Right now my only "committed" projects consist of my Friendship RR and several exchanges...which seem very managable (as they are spread throughout the spring/summer and maybe beyond).
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
What have I been stitching on...I have been working on:

1. my Prairie Schooler Exchange (which is due out of here no later than June 1)
2. my UFO: Hockey Rivalry - which I promise to take a photo of and post my progress
3. the Friendship RR - I received Willeke's and will work on it over the weekend, making sure that it is in the mail by Friday, May 15 (to keep on schedule)
   

Sorry for rambling today...it feels so good to have all these big commitments done. I enjoy doing them, but by the end of the hockey season/school year, I tend to get worn down and just need some "time off" from them to enjoy some "me" time and "family" time.

So, until next time (with photo of the field trip & stitching projects)...remember:
Live, Love, Laugh....and stitch often! Lisa

Teacher Appreciation - projects completed

Tomorrow starts teacher appreciation week at Matthew's school (and state testing for both boys). While I have already posted photos of the Thank You book covers for both Matthew's teachers - I have TOTALLY finished everything that I set out to do for the teachers & the appreciation week. In addition to the Thank You book, each teacher will get a "gift certificate bouquet". A little over $200 dollars was donated by the classroom families for gifts for the teachers...I purchased gift cards to various of stores (Target, Barnes & Nobel, Michaels and a movie theater) for the teachers for their personal use and to use for classroom supplies. The rest of the money was used for real flowers, which each child will walk in one-by-one and hand the teachers a flower.

The other thing our school does for Teacher Appreciation week is request the classroom door to be decorated. For Matthew's teacher's door, the theme was Shining Stars of Learning...or something like that. Each star had a photo of a student...then I created a full moon using a aluminum pie pan covered in plaster, giving it a crater like texture which I painted gray-ish and outlined some of the larger craters to make it look like it had eyes and a mouth (even rosy cheeks). Below is the earth (with a photo of the school) with the sun rising over it.

There are 2 signs posted:

Twinkle, Twinkle Student Stars
Teaching & Loving will take them far
Mrs. Moylan and Mrs. Krier
Provided fuel for their learning all year.

Mrs. Moylan and Mrs. Krier
You are our sun and our moon
And we are your grateful shining stars!
Thank you!

After the teachers enter the room tomorrow (surprised by the door decor) and the students give them the "gift certificate" bouquet, flowers and thank you book...my roomparent job for the year is basically done (as this is one of the biggest projects - or at least I make it the biggest one).

Well, my weekend was filled with crafting...lots of good things, but I am looking forward to just sitting and stitching! I received the next Friendship Sampler RR in the mail over the weekend (Willeke) - which I am looking forward to stitching on.

It is time to hit the hay! Hope all had a good weekend. Remember...Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa

Finishes for Friday!

I can't believe that it is Friday already...I am glad that it is, but it seems like it went kind of fast. It is the kind of week where I got things done, but I can't really remember what I did do. Have you ever had one of those weeks?

Last week I passed out the Teacher Appreciate packets to Matthew's 4th grade class, instructing them to show them to their parents and accomplish the things I asked for (likea thank you letter for each of their teachers, to paste a picture of a themselves on a paper star and add some $ if they wanted to participate in a class gift) and then bring it back to school on Tuesday 4/28. This week I have been collecting the completed packets - out of the class of 27, I am still missing 9. Next week is teacher appreciate week, so I hope to make contact with the families who haven't responded to make sure that I, at least, get their child's thank you notes to put in the Teacher Appreciation books. This is a project that I have been doing for each of my sons' classes since my oldest was in day-care (so about 13 years). Basically I xstitch a design for a front cover and bind all of the children's notes in a handmade book. The teachers love it, because it is special notes from their students bound beautifully (if I say so myself). So, speaking of these books, I put the finishing touches on the front covers (this year Matthew has 2 teachers who have been "job sharing"). Here is the finished products:


















They are the same Lizzie*Kate design - however the one on the left was stitched on white 28ct evenweave and the one on the right was stitched on 22ct hand-dyed aida.

The other big project we have been dealing with at home is Robert's (7th grader) medi-evil period project. There were several options to choose from and he decided to make a Knight's
Helmet...because no one else was...because it sounded challenging. And it was and still is! Basically, he used a baseball cap (with the brim cut off) and fitted cardboard around it and then used plaster rolls to make it hard...and then painting it metallic silver. It is coming along, but he is upset that it didn't look like the picture he printed off from the computer. Yes, there are probably better ways that we could have done it (like maybe putting the plaster over a balloon to make more of a round top)...but working with a stubborn 13-year old, let's just say that this is the best it is going to be unless we started over. I find it really hard as a mother to know when I cross the line to "take over" a project and when I should sit back and "let go", allowing the child to do it. Anyway, I think given the material he is working with and the guidence to finish it, he will receive a good grade. I can't believe that the teacher would hand out a bad grade because the model doesn't represent the photo "exactally". Well, he/we have to get this finished up over the weekend to turn in on Monday.

Well, I hope everyone is having a good Friday! Remember to live, laugh, love...and keep stitching! Lisa