All in Place

I made these family clipboards a while ago and today they finally made it to their "home" on the wall heading down to the basement.

The main purpose of these is to be able to take all the papers that muddle my fridge or calendar and clip them to the appropriate family member that it belongs too.

I am not the "hanger" of the family. I can create but for some reason "hanging" eludes me. Today though with drill in hand I made my pilot hole and screwed in the hooks.

Of course, tonight when Dave gets home he'll tell me he was going to do it but it is nice to surprise him with the fact that it is already done.

As you can see, I already cleared off the fridge of the kids school agendas and papers. I love organization!!!

Back to School

Yesterday the kids headed back to school after a week off. Sunday night the complaints started about having to go back - mainly from Emily. Both kids like school and when they are in the routine of it there are few complaints BUT give them a week off and it all changes.

Matt greeted the morning under his Wall-E blanket and took his breakfast into his room to eat (all occurring under the blanket). The biggest concern was how they were going to react to having to get back into the groove of homework.

Well it went better than I thought. Matt is always my biggest concern in the area of homework. His feeling is he worked all day, why do I have to work at home too! So, it can be a long drawn out process. Thankfully it went pretty quickly....he did go off on a few tangents.

Emily did most of her work at her desk in her room. They have started division in math ....oh boy!!! We did have to spend some time working on her second Study Guide for her Book Report that is due on the 12th of March - the first guide was due today. We are trying to get her to understand it is better to have project "work" done early and relax than hold everything off to the last minute and have to rush which will bring panic. I do think she may be getting it.

Today is a new day....we will see how homework goes tonight. Hopefully with ease!

Time for a Pet???? Hmmmmm

I have to say that Emily and Matt have been very good about our not having a pet but their patience is starting to wear thin.

We've been able to put it off citing different reasons and life circumstances but I think they've worn us down. One thing we have come to agreement on is what kind of pet we can get - a Guinea pig. Thankfully my childhood experience with rodent pets - mice, hamsters and gerbils - has made me okay with this pet option.

This afternoon while I had my afternoon of quiet Dave took the kids to get my car washed which also turned into a pet recognizance mission. They ended up at PetSmart and got all the info on what we would need and how much it would cost. Too funny!!!

Dave and I have decided that around mid March we will be bringing their dream of a pet home for them to enjoy.

Oh here is a funny thing..... earlier today Dave asked if we did get a Guniea pig who would clean the cage out with the yucky droppings both kids chimed in their answer - "mom". Oh, they have so much to learn!!

Project Life

I've really missed scrapbooking. With all my craft projects, it has taken the back burner but is always in the back of my mind. I love the premise of documenting the kids lives. Maybe it is a result or should I say "scarring" of having so few pages in my family album - love you mom!!!

Lately, I've seen a new way of scrapbooking called Project Life. Basically the ideas is scrapping each week on a two page format. What drew me to it was how it simplifies scrapbooking. It isn't necessary to take a slew of pictures at an event unless you want to do a two page format of that event - like a birthday or vacation. Another plus about it is that I can still use the paper and embellishments that I already have in abundance. The thing that has always tripped me up with traditional scrapbooking wasn't making the layout but taking the time to journal. I could never keep it simple. Project Life has you journaling on cards the size of a baseball card so getting a full layout done can be accomplished. Yesterday I downloaded to order the pictures I have taken since the first of the year. Picked them up today, so some time this week Project Life will begin. I'll post what it looks like after I get a few layouts done. I am excited to get back into scrapbooking!!!

Break It Down

This morning after getting ready for church I found Matt doing some break dancing along with Phineas & Ferb. Matt definitely has the moves. Don't you love his red socks too!!! This kid is obsessed with these socks. :)

Choices, choices, choices.......

For a while now, instead of buying cookies we have been making them. Now I am not going to make it sound like I've become Betty Crocker making homemade cookies BUT I will admit I use Betty Crocker. Thankfully Betty Crocker has a wide variety of cookie mixes. You can tell just by the variety we have here at home - chocolate chip, molasses, pumpkin spice, oatmeal chocolate chip and peanut butter. The reasons I like to use these are: the ease of making - butter, oil and eggs are the only things I need on hand; the mixes only make usually 2 1/2 dozen cookies - so you don't get sick of them before they are finished; the bags have at least one and some times two Box Tops - which the kid's school collects.

Surprisingly for mixes the cookies are yummy but then again we are a talking Betty Crocker....this woman knows her stuff. So in the future when I say we are baking cookies you'll know our "trick".

Hmmm.....What Does this Mean???

Since we have been watching our expenditures, we have cut back significantly on our Dunkin Donuts indulgence. No longer do I get a "medium cinnamon just milk" each day. Okay, I admit it most days it was two cups - medium sized, not small. Now if I have 3 cups in a week it is rare - having the Keuring at home has helped me sustain my coffee addiction though. :)

The other day when the mail came I found a "gift" from Dunkin, this little black card. Apparently I am an "appreciated" customer so they sent me this card loaded already with $10 to spend. Hmmm..... I wonder if this is their way of saying, "Hey, our sales have gone down please come back to us." I am curious to see the reaction I get when I bring this "exclusive" card to my local DD.

In a sad way, it does make me feel appreciated and even though I haven't been giving them a lot of business my LOVE of coffee still exists.

Crafting for Friends

One thing I am always happy to do is help friends when it comes to crafting after all crafting is my passion.

My friend, Jen, is homeschooling her daughter and son. She asked if I could help her make some work binders for the kids writing materials. It was so much fun making these books for them. The nice thing about making these in binder form is when the kids interests change so can their covers. Enjoy your books Amelia & Eric.

Ho-Hum

Today is a bit of a ho-hum kind of day. The kids have been home for the week for winter break and we kept the time pretty low key - not too much running around. I find that most school breaks we over schedule events and then the kids don't get a time to recharge.

I was looking forward to the weekend with Dave being in the mix of the kids being home but of course, the first weekend he is asked to work any overtime at the consulting job is this weekend. So, this morning he left for a meeting at church and from their to work.

The kids being home is wonderful but I find I get nothing accomplished when it comes to projects. The kids are good at keeping themselves occupied but I find whenever I start to get involved in a project then they need me. So, up in my craft room projects are lying in wait for next week.

Today the weather has changed - cold and windy - so going outside isn't high on my list, plus Jersey traffic on a Saturday is not fun to be in.

Today I decided to "clean out" my computer. I like to "favorite" a lot of links and then find my computer muddled with unnecessary information, so I "spring cleaned" my bookmark files. Also, I have found that using Pinterest I can "store" those links there and not on my computer.

What the rest of the day will hold, I don't know but I will "make the best" of it.

Spring is Coming Up at the Wessel House

We have started with our Spring/Easter decorating here at the house.

The first task was the centerpiece for the dining table. The vase is filled with Sweettart jelly beans and Peep bunnies. Emily chose the daisies which are dyed these beautiful bright colors. As we get closer to Easter, the flowers will be changed to my favorite, tulips - or maybe hyacinths. Next on the agenda, Peep wreath topiaries. Stay tuned for a picture. :)

Soaking in the Sun

The kids were so hilarious. After our outing to DD, they decide to "rest" on the lawn and soak in the warmth of the sun. You would think it was 90 degrees out. :)

Biking Through Lodi

Today is a beautiful day here. The sun is shining and although there is a cool breeze the temperature is in the 50's. I decided the kids and I would take advantage of the day and head down to the Dunkin Donuts across from their school. I gave them the choice of riding their bikes or taking their scooters. They both decided on their bikes, I walked. It went well....I just had to remind them to watch for cars going in and out of driveways/parking lots. Emily was always a little bit ahead but never crossed streets without me and Matt, he stayed close to mom. When we got to DD, the kids got drinks and shared a cookie. Me, I got the most important thing - "a medium cinnamon coffee with just milk". The trip back went as smooth as the trip there. Both seemed to really like the outing "into town". This may be a "thing to do" on our summer "to do" calendar.

Good Morning Sunshine!!!

Day four of winter break started with a homemade breakfast of pancakes. The kids love a little extra "doctoring" to them so I added strawberries and a few dollops of whipped cream. The kids cleaned their plates. Yummy!!!

A New Addiction

I've been limiting my time on Facebook as of late and have actually kept to playing only two games - Hotshots and Words with Friends.

The other day I got my Valentines day "present" which was originally suppose to be Dave's Christmas present - a Kindle Fire. In the end, we knew I would use it most as I tend to be the "reader". Emily was thrilled were getting it because it has the game Angry Birds on it.

Well, it came the other day and let me tell you Angry Birds is an addicting little game. :) I have a feeling Emily and I will be competing for "play" time. I don't have any book material on it as of yet but look forward to not having to lug books with me when I go away on trips anymore. Now I only have to bring the Kindle.

Mr. Clean

All the cleaning and organizing we have been doing over break has brain"washed" Matt into doing more cleaning.

Yesterday, I heard a bunch of spraying so I called for Matt and this is how he entered the living room - gloves, sponge, Windex and paper towels. He decided the trucks in his room needed a little "spring" cleaning too! I had no intention of stopping him!! Keep cleaning little buddy!!

Day 2 of Cleaning

On the second day of winter break, Matt and I tackled another area of "craziness" the downstairs play area. This is where Matt keeps all of his LEGOS and other toys that cannot be kept in his room. Emily has all of her "toys" organized in her room, so this was a job just for Matt and I. The end result was a nice neat walkway into the hall leading to the outside door in the basement. One thing is for sure.... he is not lacking when it comes to play items. I don't think Matt would agree with me on that though.

Room #3 - Living Room

I just couldn't stop with the kids rooms... I had to take it to the rest of the house. The living room found a new "look" this afternoon. Just a few shifts of the sofas and the end tables and viola a whole new look. I know it seems foolish but even this small of a change makes me happy!! Who knows what will happen the rest of this winter break.

Room #2 - Emily's Room

While I was working with Matt "spring cleaning" his room, Emily was busy working on her own room.

The funny thing is that Emily's room pretty much looks this clean all the time except for when she is in the middle of playing. When she is done, she puts everything right away.....you'd never know that she was playing in there.

It was nice though to have her take charge of her own "spring cleaning" - she even dusted all her furniture and shelves. All I did was run the vacuum after I vacuumed Matt's room.

I so love clean rooms!!!

Room #1 - Matthew's Room

Today we decided it was time to do some "spring cleaning" during winter break.

Matt and I went through all the toy bins in storage shelf and then his closet. The finished product looked awesome.... now if only it can stay that way for a while.

Matt tends to love to bring out all of his toys but struggles with putting them away. I thought that if he helped me "organize" them then maybe it would encourage him to keep it clean. Tomorrow we will be heading to the basement where his LEGO collection is "housed". It will be a little more work!!!

Ahh.... Winter Break Begins!!

Good morning!!!! You have to love the first day of a school break knowing you don't have to get up, get ready and out the door. The kids did have a bit of a "lazy" morning. I did tell them though that they had to be dressed by 9 - they were up between 7:30 and 8. Here's to the ease of a schedule free morning!!

Silly Hat Day

Friday was silly hat day at school. The kids each made their own hat for this "event" and they loved that they didn't have to wear their uniforms that day too!! Emily considered hers to be like a peacock. Matt's hat project coincided with having a Show and Tell item that included something to celebrate the 100th day of school. So, we combined the two "events" and his hat had 100 antennae on it and I think we also added 100 buttons. They were both very proud of their creations.

4 Years, 2 Months and 5 days!!

4 years, 2 months and 5 days is how long it took for us to get our oil tank removal completed. On the 16th, we finally got our letter from the State of New Jersey saying that no further action needed to be taken in regard to the removal.

We had the tank removed on December 11, 2008. At that time, they found a leak the size of an eraser head in the the tank. It required soil remediation. Then, they had to put in a well, which meant taking samples for a certain period of time and submitting those to the state. The engineer's report was submitted after the state changed the "acceptable residual levels" so we had to have it dug up and remediated again. At the end of that dig, the levels were zero so then it was just paperwork with the State.

Imagine the excitement I had the other day when I opened this letter. Our "ordeal" has ended ....well not yet. The company still has to come out fill the well and level the land. At least, if we needed to do anything with the house we have the paperwork that shows we have done our part. Never, did I think it would take this long......so happy it is finally over!!!

Mr. Bernice's Bucket

This year it was hard to decided what to do for Emily's teacher for valentines day as he is a younger man.

Light bulb - another idea from Pinterest.

Emily filled a bucket with M&M's and then decorated the outside with glittery heart stickers. With the bucket goes a poem "My Magnificent & Marvelous Teacher". To make it a little more personal, I asked Emily to write out the poem.

Sadly, due to her strep throat, she wasn't able to take it to him today but she will take it when she returns to school. I am sure he will like it.....after all, who doesn't like M&M's.

Curtains of Love

I've been trying to do "different" things this valentines day. My biggest resources has been Pinterest.

I purchased some sticky backed hearts. On the sticky side, I placed scrapbook paper and on the other side I wrote reasons why we love Emily and Matt.

Last night while the kids were sleeping, I placed the curtain of hearts in their doorway - the paper side facing out and the "love notes" facing in their rooms. The idea was in the morning they would wake up and when coming out of their room they would see the reasons they are loved.

With the remaining hearts, I made a "curtain" in the pass through between the kitchen and the dining room. On the side facing where they eat breakfast, it says "We love you" and on the other side the white sides have valentines stickers decorating them.

Sadly, my "surprise" didn't go as planned. First, Matt was taking forever to go to sleep. Once he was finally down, Dave helped me hang the ones that go in their doorway. A little bit before 11 we thought we heard someone. Sure enough, Emily had gotten up to use the bathroom. She saw the hearts in her doorway. I explained that they have reasons why we love her on them and said "go to bed". LOL!!

What was the sweetest was in the morning I heard Emily explaining to Matt what the hearts were about and how they had reasons why we love them.....and then they read them aloud. Mind you neither of them had ventured out of their rooms to see where Dave and I were, they were truly caught up in the moment.

I'm so glad that I did this.......now, I just have to do it every year. Hmmmm, what have I started? :)

Later today, they will get their love jars and I'm curious to see their reaction to those. Hopefully just as good as the "Curtain of Love".

Love Jars

I got this Valentines day gift idea from the site Pinterest. I love that site!!

I made Dave, Emily and Matt a jar that holds little notes inside telling them reasons why I love them - making them "love jars". Technically I should have done a note for all 365 days of the year but I just ran out of time. Sadly, I did not stick to my "schedule" of how many notes I calculated must be written per day when I originally decided to make these jars. So, I am going to tell them they can take one each day or when they just need a reason to know why I love them. I also figure I can add to the jar as time goes by.

I am excited to see their reactions - somehow I think the kids will wish they had gotten a toy instead. Oh well, maybe next year. :)

A Gift for the Teacher

This year we have been trying to make more of the gifts that we give to the kid's teachers. Valentines day is perfect time for a made gift.

This is a chipboard album that I bought at Michaels. I decoupaged paper on to each side of the heart. The cover shows "I love Mrs. Tronza" using stickers and another piece of chipboard that forms the "T".

On the first page it says "because she is" in stickers and then each page has a colored heart where Matt could write things he loves about his teacher.

The book reads as follows, "I love Mrs. Tronza because she is nice, powerful (love that one), good, fine, kind and pretty. Each page Matt decorated with other stickers I had.

The back cover reads "love, Matt". We are hoping Mrs. Tronza loves her gift.