Going To Design Some Stuff

A fellow teacher and I are going to start designing our own worksheets and unit plans.  We are hoping to work on it this summer.  The stuff we offer will be bilingual...English/Spanish.  I was playing around and came up with this for our homework folders for next year.

Images from:  K.G. Fonts, Frogs and Cupcakes.blogspot.com, Creative Clips

I have yet to decide if I will start a separate blog for the school stuff.  So, stay tuned...I guess.

Project Life Week 12

Here is the layout for Week 12.  The pictures aren't that great.  So here are some I posted to Instagram.

Also, incase you didn't notice, I've done a little work on my blog.  I made a header, added some buttons on the side so you can find my Facebook Page, Pinterest Page, and Instagram Feed.  I also added a cute little signature.  I'm hoping to refine it everything, once I start learning how to edit HTML code.  That takes a bit of concentration, ha.  Anyhow, enjoy your Sunday!

My Car Didn't Catch Fire...So there is always that

So...........
Well, my car is broken.  Don't worry, it isn't something that $1200 can't fix.  The engine was misfiring and could have caught on fire at any moment.  Yesterday morning, during road construction, my service engine light came on.  The car felt funny for a minute and then the light went off.  Thank God because I was halfway to school.  I drive 25 miles each way.

When I started my car after school, all was well, no engine lights.  That was until I got on the interstate.  The light came on.  Once again, I had to slow down road for road construction half way.  The light began to flash and when I accelerated, the car started to violently shake.  So I drove 60 mph the rest of the way home because if I went faster or slower it started shaking like crazy.  I went to AutoZone where the machine said it could be about 10 different things.  Erik decided I should come home so we could decide what to do.  When I went uphill on a street near our house, the light started flashing again.

Long story short the engine was misfiring...which can lead to engine fires (Could explain burning smell the kids and I smelled when we got off the interstate).  It's in plain English in my drivers' manual.  It was also confirmed by the mechanic at the Car Dealership.  So mostly, I am thankful that my car did not catch fire on the way home while I had Maddie and JoJo in there.  I mean really, thank the good Lord.  That would have been horrific.  I will also say, I'm not thankful for the $1200 we will have to pay to have it fixed.  I am also not thankful for having to drive Erik's truck because the seat is so low in that thing I can barely see over the steering wheel.  I actually should be sitting on a phone book.

It should be noted that this post is made in jest, because if you can't laugh then you will cry.  I'm mostly a positive laughing kind of person, so I'm going to laugh and laugh at this latest misfortune.  In the end, I have so many blessings.  So many more things that are important than cars, refrigerators, TV's, clothes, and other material goods.  So while this whole ordeal...year...has been hard, I am trying to remain very thankful for all of the priceless things I have.   The amount of those priceless items is countless.

Goodnight.  Please enjoy your priceless items. :) 

The Eyes Have It

I cannot believe it has been almost two weeks since my last post.  I have been so busy around here.  As I mentioned before, the dishwasher broke (still broken).  Then on Wednesday, the fridge died.  We had to get a new one as the compressor went out and it would cost $400 for the part only.  This was not an expense that I wanted to make, especially with the medical bills rolling in, and the new TV we had to buy.  Anyhow, my kitchen was a disaster.  All I did the entire break was wash dishes and do laundry.  I never finished the laundry.  Since I have a few days this weekend, I'm going to try and get it all done.

Maddie went back to school this week.  The blood in his urine got a little worse.  I've been trying to make him stay on the couch in the evenings.  It's not working out so well.

I cannot believe how fast this month is going by.  Pretty soon we will be in May, and the school year will be over.  Anyhow, here are a few pictures I took of the boys using my new lens.

Whose eyes belong to whom?  Can you guess the correct boy?  Of course, Maddie's eyes are a dead giveaway.  I love this lens.  It's so much fun, but it takes some getting used to.  Here's one of Maddie on the hammock.  We've been enjoying the outdoors since the weather is so nice!

Happy Friday!

Project Life Week 11

Here is Week 11.  I didn't take very many photos this week, with Maddie getting out of the hospital and Wolfie immediately getting the stomach flu.  We did enjoy the warmer weather by sitting outside a lot.  Maddie made a clear wallet out of packing tape.  The kid is the craftiest kid I've ever met.  Week 12 will be coming soon...Maddie has my office looking like a craft closet blew up.  I have no workspace.  How else am I supposed to let him entertain himself?  He's banned from running around and playing.  Have a great day!

Spring Break...Finally

We are finally on Spring Break.  I have been completely exhausted these past couple of weeks.  I slept until 10 a.m. yesterday and finally felt like a normal person.  I have so much stuff to do this week.  My todo list is sitting at 22 items right now.  I'm sure I will be adding to it.

We did take Maddie to the Nephrologist on Wednesday.  He told us Maddie could resume normal activities and the blood in his urine could last for several months.  Erik heard up to a year.  I didn't hear that.  Anyhow, Maddie ran around like an idiot, yesterday.  I told him to settle down.  He had a ton more blood in his urine.  He also woke up with swollen eyes and I nearly fainted.  I mean literally, I told Erik I was going to throw up.  I lay down on the closet floor and broke out into a cold sweat.  Luckily, the swelling went down and his weight was okay.  I think it was really just allergies this time. so he's resigned to the couch right now.  I'm so tired of this blood.  There is nothing we can do to treat it.  I just want him to return to normal.  That's all.  

As a fun fact, our dishwasher broke.  It doesn't do anything.  It doesn't light up, nothing.  Not only that, it decided to stop mid-cycle.  So it was full of dishes and water.  We had to unhook everything and dump the water and rewash all of the dishes plus the dinner dishes too.

See that water running?  Erik told me not to use the sink while the dishwasher was out because it would flood the cabinet.  Well guess who turned it on to wash his hands?  Erik.  After taking the picture I asked him, "Didn't you say not to turn the water on?"  So needless to say, the cabinet was slightly flooded.  There are dishes and things all over my kitchen floor while the cabinet dries.  So, I guess that's it.  I'm off to try and scratch some of these twenty items off my list.  Have a good Sunday!

Document, Document, Document....

This post is coming about for a couple of reasons.

1.  Project Life:  You are documenting your life on a weekly basis.  Since I worked on a few weeks yesterday, I remember how much fun it is.  I also remember how important it is to document things as they happen.
2.  I am reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  It's the story of Louis Zamperini.  It reminds me so much of my grandfather, and I am so grateful that I heard his stories of his time during the war.  I am so grateful that the man took pictures of everything.  We have so many photos of his WWII experience.  Now, it's time for me to document them and write them down.  Otherwise, they will be lost forever.  As soon as I can get a few photos, I will post them for you.

3.  My fellow blogger Nat posted about having tons of photos with no description.  That is another thing I am so grateful for.  My grandfather labeled almost every. single. photo he ever took.  It includes names and places and dates.  In the digital age, photos are no longer in boxes, but stored on the computer.  That's why, it so important to print them out and scrapbook them, or put them into a digital album using Shutterfly or other resource.  Printing them online into a photo book is very easy, and then the pictures are documented with the who, what, when, where, and why.  If you're not into scrapbooking, throw them in an album with a quick description.  If that's too much, when you print them, write on the back of the photo with the information.  My grandfather's pictures are from the 1940s and I'm sure he did not use an acid and lignin free pen, but the pictures are just fine and the information is still there.

So, in summation, document, document, document.  A picture is worth a thousand words...label those pictures with just a few of them.