teachers are the best

like i had mentioned before, school started last week for my kiddos and during our open house we came bearing gifts.

teachers are so important and we certainly value them each year. a good teacher can make all the difference to a child and how their year will turn out. 

fortunately, we have always had wonderful teachers that teach at our school and that truly care for the students. 

it seems i gain a new friend each year that my children are in a different classroom. i do what i can to help out and support their role as important people in my children's lives.

 chocolate and coffee...two of our favorites :)

 we even had something for the teacher's aid, an apple stress ball...just in case :)

 my daughter also had gifts for her best friends, bracelets that she made them over the summer.

i am expecting this year to be great!

unique seasonal eye chart

this is pretty darn cleaver...

 visit her website to get the free printable if you like!

Tatertots & Jello

chalkboard door!

over the weekend we accomplished one thing that was on our "wish" list.. 

chalkboarding our mudroom/garage door.

we had talked about doing this for a long time and finally accomplished it over labor day weekend!

 my husband took the hardware and door off then sanded all the rough spots.

 

after putting the door back, he painted two coats of chalkboard paint on both sides using a high-density roller.

 

we let it dry for 24 hours before testing it out.

(older sister was staying with some girlfriends...lil sis was missing her)

it has turned out to be both practical and fun!

school days

my kiddos started school last monday 

and since kindergarten we have taken their picture

in front of our front door to document their first days and keep track of their growth :)

here are camille's first day photos

 

2008 - kindergarten

 2009 - first grade

 

2010 - second grade

 2011 - third grade

(notice my beautiful pots - yuck! i will be replacing those soon)

***

here are carigan's first day photos

 2010 - kindergarten

2011 - first grade

i already have the pre-cut mats for these pictures and the future pictures to come. it is hard to believe how much my oldest has grown in such a short time and i know i will be surprised with my youngest as well :)

candy-corn banner

i absolutely love this candy-corn banner and plan on making this with my kiddos soon :)

i just need to figure out how sew first, no big deal :)

how about you,

do you have any fall projects in the making?

funny friday foto

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a biodegradable dvd player created by our children with our very own "family mystery" movie :)

thankful thursdays...

i'm thankful that...

"...we are family"

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i am a young mom, with two children, married to her high school sweetheart. one thing about me that i think is pretty obvious...my family is very important to me!!!

*

my husband and i have chosen how we want our family to look like. we have our own traditions, our own rules, and our own discipline.

*
we both have great parents, but we don't do everything the way they did. we might have each taken a few things we really liked from our own childhood traditions, but a lot of what we do has our own flavor.
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individual families can look different without anyone else being right or wrong. don't be afraid to make your own rules. stick to your guns on things that are very important to you. never let anyone on the outside make you feel guilty for doing something that you feel is important for your children.
(as long as you aren't causing them any harm of course)
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end the end, what comes around goes around. our own children will then get to decide what will work for their families. we get to impact them today and then support them tomorrow.
 *
i am so thankful for our own unique family flavor :)