First & Last

It's hard for me to believe that it's the FIRST day of 7th grade for my LAST child and it's the LAST day of Summer before my FIRST day of School tomorrow.

Where we live the 7th graders have a day all to themselves before joining with the 8th and 9th graders on Wednesday. I think it's a great idea so they can all get started without the pressure of the older kids. They get to find their lockers, their classes and have lunch with their old friends and their new friends.

As you can see from the pictures Kenna is a bit nervous and anxious. I was happy that she went to sleep before midnight and seemed to keep it together. This morning she was pretty nervous but did a great job getting ready early and off to school on time.

She wanted me to hurry and take pictures before she left

but, I only got a few because she was so nervous.

It was sweet walking with her up our hill to the light by the corner.

I will miss walking into school each day holding her hand.

That thought made me cry inside.

I was staying strong myself!

She's my babe!

I stood at the corner watching her run off to school.

ALL by HERSELF!!!

Tears started welling up in my eyes. . .

but, I was felling extremely happy because. . .

This is a Monumental, BIG HUGE Step for Kenna!

Makes me PROUD!

Well, I'm headed downstairs to get in some sewing on my LAST DAY of SUMMER!!

By the way. . .

Where did all the time go?????

Fluffy Stuffy Bunnies

Spring has been SLOWLY making it's way to Utah with varied kinds of weather from Snow to Rain to Sunshine and tonight we even had some Thunder! Hilarious, I know! I think we are definitely READY for some SUNNIER DAYS!

Anyway, the bunnies have been hippity hopping around the house and have been begging for a photo shoot. So, without further ado. . .

Here are a few of the bunnies I've been making for Springtime. . .

If you've fallen in love with the Fluffy Stuffy BUNNIES like I did. . . you can find the FREE Bunny pattern HERE and the FREE Bunny Dress Pattern HERE! They are so cute you will want to leave them out all year long.

This wonderful tutorial was created by the FAMOUS Jennie B. Harris of ALLSORTS. She is a very talented designer and artist with many credits to her name. Also, she recently designed an interactive children's book that you can download to your iPad. The information can be found on her blog HERE! You can also go to Apple's APP store and download the book. It's called "Bunnyfur's Easter Eggs" Go HERE to download it.

FYI: Just in case you're wondering. Yes. I did change the pattern slightly by adding bias binding to the neckline of the dress and left the top edges of the dress open for turning and then the raw edges are sewn into the binding.

I made the flower that you see clipped on the Bunny's ear using Felt and one of my favorite flower dies that I cut out using my Sizzix Die Cut Machine. I also made the covered buttons that screw onto a hair clip.

I almost forgot to tell you that I got the cute little plastic pots/cups at BIG LOTS for a $1.00 a piece. They looked like they could pass for little baskets to hold my Bunnies in and they came in lots of pretty colors. I also put candy in the eggs and wrapped the baskets in clear cellophane wrap that I tied at the top with a pretty bow.

Leprechaun Traps

Did you miss me? I missed me too. lol. I will have to explain later but right now I want to say Happy St. Patrick's Day and share with you a few pictures I took today at school. The 1st graders have been working at home on their Leprechaun traps and yesterday they all brought them to school to see if they could catch a few of them during the night last night. They all came to school really excited to see if any of them had caught a Leprechaun. Some of the kids thought they had seen glimpses of Leprechauns during the week and a few kids even found a few notes in the classroom from the Leprechaun. It's been fun watching their excitement grow as we learned about Leprechauns these past couple weeks.

This first trap was made by the student I shadow. He told me that the Leprechaun climbed up the ladder to propose to the girl Leprechaun and when he stepped off the ladder he would fall into the trap. If you see the open area on top of the box, that's the viewing area where you can look in and see the Leprechaun. I thought it was a very clever trap and it made me smile and giggle as he told me how his trap worked. Very Cute!!

When the Leprechaun climbs up the ladder and stops off to get the gold he falls through the slit in the top of the hat. The slit is camouflaged by the gold coins.

I love how this one is decorated with a double rainbow and it's own little pot of gold that hides a trap door that drops him into the fake hillside below the pot.

The Leprechaun climbs the ladder even though there are warning signs telling him to stay off the ladder. lol. Of course, he falls in when he steps off the ladder.

Another trap door. Watch out!!!

This trap has a door that triggers shut when the Leprechaun steps over the threshold.

The lid of this trap falls on the Leprechaun and traps him inside the box.

When the Leprechaun reaches for the gold dangling from the string he falls into the pit. The other trap is camouflaged by glitter and gold strewn about the VERY sticky paper and traps the Leprechaun when he makes his move toward the pot of gold.

I love the instructions on the sign that says. . .

"Go up the ladder and you will see gold. Trust me. I NEVER LIE!!! lol.

Here is a sampling of the Green Treats that each of the kids brought to the St. Patrick's Day Celebration. Lots of sugar, some grapes, and there was even broccoli, although I don't see it on this particular plate, hehehe. I thought the apple juice was a great idea, too!!

I hope you enjoyed our little tribute to St. Patrick's Day.

Best Dad Ever

Happy Father's Day to Everyone!

I saw this photo idea last year around blog land and then totally forgot about it. Recently (like Wednesday) I saw it pop up again and it reminded me that I should make a poster for my husband and my son-in-law because they are the BEST Dad's EVER!!! I called my kids and rallied the troops, everyone was in.

My older kids were a little reluctant when they saw the big letters they had to hold but hung in there and were pretty good sports about it. I guess they like to make me happy and could tell this was important to me. Thanks guys for humoring me. I'm sure you're DAD will love hanging it on his office wall.

The grand kids were another story. Once they saw the letters they were more than willing to have their picture taken. It was a lot of fun taking their pictures and I captured a few precious photos. You will enjoy the silly pictures at the bottom of the post.

I should tell you that I printed the above photos in a 16x20 poster at Costco Photo Center and it was done in just a few short hours. I printed my grandkids poster in an 11x14 size. What a great gift idea for a loved one, a coach, a teacher, a wedding, a birthday, etc. There are so many occasions you can print a poster for. Costco has two paper options to print on (poster paper or poster board) and 3 size options, 11x14, 16x20, and 20x30. They can also make the poster with one photo or several photos which they call a photo collage. I almost forgot to tell you that I got the wooden letters at the local craft store and painted them with white acrylic paint.

Happy Father's Day to Mark and Nick and all the other Father's in my life.

Here are a few darling out takes from the photo shoot.

Enjoy this special day dedicated to Father's and all they do for us. Thanks!!!

Benjamin's ABC Picture Book

This is the post I wanted to post before we headed to Florida but I had to retake the pictures because somehow my husband lost them when he was updating my computer. No worries though because these pictures turned out better anyway.

I had lots of fun making this ABC Picture Book for my Grandson this year for Christmas. I have yet to give it to him as we were apart during the holiday but I will be giving it to him in the next few days when I see him. I know he's going to love it because he love's books and looking at pictures too.

The idea for the book came from a scrapbooking type blog I came across a few months ago now. She had taken the pictures that coordinated with each letter of the alphabet and made a scrapbook page for each letter. She used at least one picture on each page. Then she decorated the pages with paper and stickers before laminating each page. Then the holes were punched and the book was bound with either ribbon or metal rings, I can't quite remember. This was such a great idea and it really resonated with me. I hope you enjoy it and remember that you can file it away for a special birthday or next Christmas. I'm sorry I can't give credit where credit is due, but if you had the idea and you happen across this blog post feel free to let me know and I will make sure to link your post about it. It's an awesome idea!!!!

I've made a few books on my MAC and I love the results as you can see from the pictures below. You may use any of my IDEAS for each LETTER in making your own book or just customize the letter to your own children or granchildren's lives, pictures, and experiences. I LOVE taking pictures so I had a lot to choose from for most of the letters and only had one picture for some of the other letters. I was lucky to have the majority of pictures that I used already taken and only had to get a picture or two from my daughter (the mom).

Benjamin's ABC Book
(Front of Book Jacket Cover)

A is for my Auntie Kenna & Auntie Ariel.

B is for Benjamin.

C is for Christmas and Candy.

D is for Dirt and Dinosaurs.

E is for Easter Eggs.

F is for Father's and Families. They are Fantastic.

G is for Grammi & Grampin. They are really GREAT!

H is for Hats and Haircuts.

I is for Ice Cream. I love ice cream!

J is for Juice. The kind Grammi makes.

K is for Kora. My sister she is.

L is for Love. I LOVE to Play!

M is for My Mother. She's the Very Best!

N is for "Grammi" Noodles. Nummy Num Num!

O is for Outside. I love to be Outside!

P is for Pirates. Arrrr Matey!

Q is for Quilts that Grammi makes for me.

R is for Remembering that Families are Forever!

S is for Scary Spiders. I'll save you Kenna & .....

T is for Tinkering, Toys, & Trains.

U is for Uncle Mark. I love hanging out with him.

V is for a Velociraptor named Benji-Raptor.

W is for Water. Way Wet & Wild Fun!!!

X Marks the Spot on My Map.

Y is for YOU and I definitely LOVE YOU!!!

Z is for Zoo. I LOVE the ZOO!!

The END!

Back of the jacket cover.

Anxiety!

Please notice the time of my post. Yes, it's very LATE and I'm very TIRED. I'm sorry if this get's too long for you. I'm okay if you stop here but, who knows, maybe this will inspire you. I hope so.

I'm going to share one of my personal challenges in hopes that it may help you to know that we are not alone in our trials. We have each other. We can lift each other and support each other in times of illness, sadness, grief, and pain. We can also share in the joyous moments, too.

I'm a firm believer that "We are the Creators of Our Own Happiness" which means when faced with adversity we can choose to be happy or choose to be miserable. This doesn't mean we can't be sad or mad but, we need to snap out of it as fast as we can and see the blessings in our lives and even ask for divine guidance and understanding. I'm grateful for the happiness, the faith, the love, the joy, the peace, the strength and the courage that comes to me through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My faith defines who I am and I'm a better person because of my beliefs.

So, here's what's been keeping me up LATE. . .

Kenna is having 3 baby teeth pulled (the teeth are hanging on tight) and she needs 2 fillings. She's going to be put out for the procedure. Read on and you will understand.

First off, my husband has anxiety and had his first anxiety attack when he was in his early 30's and his father has anxiety and coped with it by drinking. It consumed his life and he became an alcoholic (good news: he is now a recovered alcoholic). Even my husband's grandmother had anxiety. So you can see that anxiety is a part of my children's genetics. I don't think we realized that our kids would be affected by anxiety (most kids have fears) until our youngest was diagnosed two years ago with GAD also known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder and then I looked back and realized oh yes, all my kids have experienced different anxieties in their lives but it wasn't as debilitating as it's been for Kenna. It's too the point where she can't function at times.

Now that Kenna's a little older she usually copes pretty well but at times it turns into a full blown anxiety attack like tonight. She's deathly (ha ha) afraid of dying and so being put out for her dental procedure or flying in an airplane or getting lost or the fear of a car crash causes her extreme anxiety. Sometimes I get impatient and tell her to just STOP it and then we go into the let's manage your fear mode where we talk about it, that usually helps. Now that she's 10 years old she's really starting to recognize that she's different. She gets mad at herself and tells me she hates anxiety and wishes she didn't have it. My responsibility as her loving mother is to make sure she FACES her FEARS. That is one of the best things I can do for her. She's quite a dare devil which is really funny. She loves to ride horses, participate in gymnastics, softball, soccer, skiing and rock climbing too. She's very athletic so I keep her busy and focused on her talents.

It can be hard as a parent to see your kids suffer with any kind of debilitating circumstances whether physical or emotional. Often, I feel like it's a silent disability that many people don't understand and people can be very judgmental and critical. Most people have been pretty supportive but it makes it hard for her to function and she WORRIES (chronically) about everything, especially what people think about her. Often, I'm her voice of reason.

I remember at the end of 3rd grade her teacher was telling me how much she enjoyed Kenna and that she hoped that she would GROW OUT OF HER ANXIETY. I kind of laughed and corrected her by saying that she would never really GROW OUT OF IT but that she would learn how to better COPE with it and then it would seem like she had GROWN OUT OF IT!

It's very late now (2:37am) and I better get to bed. I'm sorry to ramble on a bit and I hope you don't mind my sharing but it will help you understand what keeps me from posting regularly on my blog. I really appreciate all of you that follow my blog and leave comments. I've had a great time visiting, emailing, and getting to know many of you.

I'm so grateful for all the love and support!

Thank You!