Archives for January 2015

Fun Photos Friday #32: These Boots and our Readathon Update

funphotosfriday0130_2015Hello and happy Friday! It’s a cloudy morning with a light snow falling outside my window. I thought I would share a few things for my Fun Photos Friday post. The first being our boots all lined up at the door after the snow adventures this week. It’s always a transition for the boys to start wearing their snow boots each year. They don’t want to wear them to school because then they have to change into shoes and back when they leave.  But by the end of the season they still want to keep wearing them.  Nicholas outgrew his snowsuit so I need to get him a new one but Apollo as you saw in previous posts, has stress tested his suit to the max. He loves laying in the snow and when I think way back (don’t say anything), I liked to lay down in snow too when I had my snow gear on. After this blizzard, I did stop and grab handfuls to marvel at the sparkling flakes. They were like beautiful crystals.  I always liked when they talk about how no two flakes are alike and I love that idea.

readathon1The Readathon on Saturday was a success in our home. I made fresh scones for us to munch on while we dived into a 2 hour reading session.  It was suppose to be three hours but I broke it up into two 1-hour sessions since they are a bit younger and didn’t want them to get fidgety. It was a total success. They brought their books and we had a great time.

readathon2Leao joined us too so it was a family affair!  Apollo of course brought his bear Bee and I’m not sure but I take it that having Bee sit on his head on while he read, relaxed him. It was so cute I had to take a picture. Of course Nicholas would not cooperate for a photo. He had to make ears behind my head. I’ll take it, since at least he was smiling!

readathon3At our second session, we had popcorn for a snack while we read. I got a good deal of reading during our readathon without guilt because we all were reading. It was really nice. I would love to have even a one hour session where we all read together more regularly. Something definitely to consider.

Well I must go get some work done but I did want to let you know that I will be having my first Book Give Away on Tuesday so do be sure to check out the details.

Have a blessed weekend my friends.

Belinda

 

One Little Word (OLW): My Album – January prompts

binderSo I mentioned before I am participating in Ali Edward’s One Little Word class. So I chose to use the same 8×11 binder I used last year since I have space. It also saved me the time of pick one and creating the spine label.

page1I removed last years while I photograph this so it doesn’t get in the way. So each month, we receive a video, a PDF, sometimes digital files and prompts to help us keep our word visible throughout the year. January’s prompt is unique in that we have to really define our word and explore our intentions for the year. On my first page I used some fun foam stickers to spell out my word and then I printed my blog post and cut it to fit a 6×12 sheet of patterned paper. I had left over page protectors in various sizes from last year so I used them.

page2I think my color scheme for this year is black with yellow, aqua and pink.  I like the combination. They are vibrant and make me smile. Besides I have a ton of products those colors. I used a Project Life card I downloaded off the internet with a pink star sticker for the next page.

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I cut down a 9 pocket page to 6 for more interest. She provided 3×4 journaling cards for us to define the word, find a quotation and a few others. I printed them out then cut the titles out and stuck them to another card for added dimension. I found some craft letter stickers to spell out my word again and attached them to a Heidi Swapp’s Dreamy Project Life edition card which happens to coordinate nicely with my color scheme.

page3I used a few photos one of healthy food and the other of some of the books I plan on reading this year to help me with one of my goals. I  really love how cutting this page protector down gives a fun tactile experience to the album.

page4The right page lists my intentions for the word.  I typed it out because I simply couldn’t fit it all on one sheet. I used a wooden arrow and washi tape to embellish this page. Simple things. The purpose of this class is not really so much a fancy album but the process of living with a word for a year and exploring what it brings to your life. So it alleviates the pressure to make it “too pretty”.

page5The last prompt page I used my favorite butterfly washi tape to decorate. I will be sure to share what I do for February so stay tuned in my friends.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Blizzard of 2015: The Aftermath = 2 Snow Days for the Boys

blizzard2015_1This is what I woke up to on Tuesday morning. So much snow and the snow didn’t stop until another 24 hours. I admit, the first sight is so beautiful. It’s so white and perfect since it is untouched.

blizzard2015_2Then reality set in when I got my boots on and headed out to shovel the walkway and clear the cars and found that the wind had pushed the snow onto your enclosed deck!  This photo is from the inside. Oh and yes, that is a halloween banner hanging from the flag pole. Nope, I didn’t get around to changing it…Don’t judge.

So I had to shovel off the deck with Leao before we headed out to our clean up work outside.

blizzard2015_4This is what was left of my car before I began my clean up. Love my SUV but they sure do hold a lot of snow on the top!  I put layers on so I didn’t get too cold until I was almost finished.

blizzard2015_5This is a picture looking back at the house from the driveway while I took a break from cleaning the car. I even listened to Pandora while I shoveled to keep me motivated and moving quickly.

blizzard2015_6The boys loved having two snow days. Yesterday we let them go explore in the snow and they took the opportunity to use the pile of snow from the plowing to slide.  Leao even joined in to show them how it’s done!

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The boys played until I bribed them with goodies to come inside.

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They loved playing in it and Apollo especially loved laying and rolling in it. Which made me cold watching him but I knew he was having fun.

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Apollo’s already asking when he can play out in it again. I told him school today but maybe tomorrow after school for a bit. I had to drink two cups of tea and crawl under my blanket with my heating pad to shake off the chills. But I do love looking at it so much. So I will try to keep my complaints to a minimum.

Have a blessed day my friends.

Belinda

 

 

From the Cafe…A storm is brewing

The calm before the storm or should I say the chaos before the storm? Well it is a bit chaotic here. We have a big snow storm coming and everyone is preparing for the worst. The meteorologists are like kids in a candy store. All smiles while they say this will be a historic storm with 24 – 36 inches and winds as high as 60mph and power outages.  Historic? Did they really say that? I do believe it is good to prepare people but the choice of words can make or break a mob.

I opted out of grocery shopping yesterday because I figured the stores would be mobbed. I went this morning and let’s just say, I wasn’t in there with a few stay-at-home moms and retired seniors, I was in there with a big old line of people. So I’m leaning a little toward the Chaos in answer to my initial question.

For me, I have mixed feelings. We have had a rather easy winter to this point, no real snow just really cold air. So a part of me is so thrilled that I can watch the storm from the comfort of my home. It’s beautiful watching snow fall. I especially like the big chunkie flakes.  I like being cozy under a blanket with the boys and Leao close and of course a good book to dive into.

There’s also a bit of a thrill of the possibility of a snow day for the boys.  Last night, I told them to charge all of there devices and find their book lights so that if we lose power they have more options. I feel there is a beauty in the absolute silence that power outages bring. I’m not saying for long periods of time but for just one moment I like to hear what total silence is like, no humming sound from all the appliances, nothing. It’s beautiful to have total silence. We rarely experience it. What we typically call silence, is not.

I am at the Barnes and Noble cafe typing this and looking out the big window at the tiny flakes falling and the ease at which the traffic flows now.  When in 24 hours, this ease will vanish but only for a little while so I prepare to enjoy it before the feeling of dread sets in and the shovels come out.

If you live in the path of this storm, be safe and have a blessed day my friends.

Belinda

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