I Put My Crafty Pants On!

So the other day, an idea came to me!

"Lightbulb!" ( in the voice of Gru!)

I've seen some really cute things people are doing with twine;

and then it hit me:

Why not wrap some Easter eggs with some?

So I did!

And I LOVE how they turned out!

My husband even complimented me!

(He usually dislikes hy hair-brained schemes!)

So here they are!

I used hemp, plastic eggs, and a hot glue gun. It took me about 10 minutes per egg.

And I decided I would place them in my Goowill find from this post.

 My son couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a photo shoot with his trucks while I was taking pictures :)

 And they became part of my Easter decorations on my table!

Thanks for stopping by!



April

April is National Child Abuse Prevention month.

Millions of American children suffer and fall victim to abuse or neglect everyday.

Here are some statistics:

courtersy of childhelp.org

• A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.
Almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.
Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
In 2007, approximately 5.8 million children were involved in an estimated 3.2 million child abuse reports and allegations.

Child abuse is a vicious cycle.

Education is a huge preventative.

Therefore, in my Child Development class I will be implementing weeks worth of lessons on child abuse.

Most young teen mothers and fathers do not even know what counts as neglect and abuse.

And one of the main causes of abuse is emotional immaturity.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with signs of abuse, whether it is physical, verbal/emotional, or sexual.

Gettin My Nutrition ON!

Once upon a time,

not so long ago,

I acquired a bachelors degree in Dietetics.

Now I'm a teacher after reassessing my goals and what I wanted from life.

But my love of nutrition has stayed.

I saw this book in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

I checked it out at my local library as something to help me make more simpler meals that take less time.

(Let's face it, I'm exhausted after raising and teaching 65 different kids a day! And cooking....well...)

But this book is SO much more!

It is about improving your diet so that you are healthier.

It teaches you about getting away from the packages and wrappers and going back to where food once came from.

It compares our epidemic of weight related diseases to what cigarettes were 50 years ago.

All the "easy way out packaged meals" and "fast foods" are packed with ingredients that ARE NOT EVEN FOOD!

The book basically teaches you step by step how to begin incorporating whole food items into your processed diets.

I know we are not that bad off, since afterall I know a good bit about this kind of stuff.

But it has been 7 years since I graduated, and new information is presented to us everyday.

So don't follow diet gimmicks, don't avoid certain foods, eat items in moderation.

And as a guide, pick up this book:

"Simple Foods for Busy Families"

By: Jeannette Bessinger, CHHC and Tracee Yablon-Brenner, RD, CHHC

Another plus, the authors are moms as well, so they incorporate tips for children who tend to be picky.

Oh, and those readers who are in my area, I have the only copy available amongst our libraries. If you want, I can let you know when I'm done!

Happy Reading and Learning!



Kids Say the Darndest Things

My son has been quite the artist in wording lately.

Not necessarily the words he has learned recently.

(Like things smell refreshing, not just "good").

But more or less the context and actions he adds to it.

For example:

The other morning when I was getting him to get dressed, he pulls down his underwear to moon me, and says, and I quote "How ya like that?"

Now, I have no idea where he could have gotten that from.

I assure you I do not walk around the house mooning my child, saying such things.

Another example:

Last night we were having a popcorn snack.

My son and husband were sitting next to each other on the sofa, and their conversation went as such:

Cy: "Hey Daddy, look at me."

J: Turns head in response "What?"

Cy: Breathes two puffs of breath in my husband's face and says

"And that's what popcorn breath is!"

I wanted to roll on the floor laughing :)

Little Rascal

Sorry about the red eye folks. My computer didn't want to fix it!

Friday Finds!

So it's a Friday morning,

the sun is shining,

and I am off of work still for our Mardi Gras holiday.

And I had the urge to go thrifting.

Look what I found!

I hit up 2 of our local thrift shops: Goodwill and The TARC Cedar Chest.

Just for knowledge, TARC stands for Terrebonne Association for Retarded Citizens.

It is an institution that was developed in our local area for mentally challenged citizens by a couple in 1952 who's daughter suffered brain damage from a high fever.

They create jobs and teach skills to the people so that they can live fulfilling lives.

When I have stuff to donate, I drop it off at their store instead of Goodwill, and I frequent often to shop.

Any little bit helps!

Anywho, I spent a total of $16.61!

At Goodwill, I got:

The bird cage candle holder for 2.99.

The other bird thing (not sure what to call it!) for 1.99.

A shirt and pair of shorts for Cy for 1.99 each.

And a shirt for me for 3.49.

I cannot guess what this would be, but I plan on finding some bud vases and putting flowers in it.

Besides, I just couldn't pass up the cute little bird!

Then at The Cedar Chest, I found:

A school uniform shirt for Cy for 1.50.

A race car book that you put a picture of your child in for the faces of the characters for $ .10

And the two bunnies were $.75 each.

I couldn't pass up the cute couple!

So here are my finds! I think I might start making the rounds once a month to see what treasures I find!

Have a great weekend!




EDIT: Duh! It's a condiment holder! And the freckin' bird came off! Super Glue to the rescue!

What I Got?

Of course my symptoms start on a Friday.

Wound up leaving work to come home.

My attire has been my pj's.

My diet has consisted of water, gatorade, cereal, toast, crackers, motrin, and delsym.

My hunger comes in spurts, but it doesn't take much to fill.

I've used a whole big box of kleenex.

I cringe everytime I cough because it hurts so bad now.

My nose is so plugged, I couldn't smell the cookies my hubby baked last night.

My fever has not gone under 100 since Friday, with the highest being 102.8.

(Too close to 103 for my comfort)

But what sucks is that when I get to go down, the sweating causes me to get hot, and start coughing.

Damned if I do, Damned if I don't.

So, What I Got?

I'll let you know the answer after 2:45!

(That's when I got an appointment.)

After Appointment: Well, it isn't the flu (like I thought) thankfully.
Just a nasty sinus infection.
Hopefully I'm on my way to getting better.
My son is missing his Mommy.

Confessions of a Mutha!

Hi. I'm Alison.

And I still use the baby monitor for my 3 1/2 year-old.

Yep.

Every night before I go to sleep, I turn it on.

Reason: because I'm a hard sleeper and I'm scared that if my son calls me or gets sick, I won't hear him.

Which, has happened before.

My hubby is a light sleeper, so he usually hears.

So, yeah......who knows when I will stop turning on that monitor!

Any of you mothers have some confessions?

Monday, Monday, Blah Blah, Blah Blah Blah

Monday.

The start of a new week.

But I'm being pessimistic, so it's the end of the weekend.

I had butterfingers today.

I seemed frazzled and not together.

(Seriously, I apologized to my students even.)

Got home.

Got me some love from my Cy boy since I don't see him on Monday mornings because I have duty and have to leave the house before he wakes up.

I almost cried on my way to school because of this. Even though he is almost 4, I am still not over having to leave him.

Took me a little nap in my comfy clothes on my warm sofa in my warm blanket.

Those crazy people with the nontoxic cleaner that they like to eat to show that it is nontoxic woke me up by trying to sell me the stupid stuff.

And my 2 dogs don't know how to share. Growling, yelping, and squeeking toys fill the air.

Thank God for Tuesday!

Tues-day ([tooz-dey)

• NOT Monday!

Decision Dilemma....

For the turn of the year, many people are making resolutions: getting healthy, losing weight, getting organized.
For me.......I need to face the decision to have another child or not.

A HUGE decision!

So many thoughts about it have gone through my head. I will try to categorize them, including the pros and cons of each.

1. Time: I am a full-time working mother (which is much different from the typical blogger as far as I have gathered!). So AFTER I'm a mother to about 60-70 other high school kids, I come home to be a mother to my son, a wife, a cook, and a housekeeper. Now I'm not complaining because my husband does help out a great deal. But, I'm also usually exhausted. I want to make sure that I give Cy enough of my time. How does that happen with a newborn? Especially if the 2nd is a wild one like most are if your first is quiet.(which he is!) I want to make sure that Cy gets the attention from me he needs and deserves. And of course the baby needs and deserves time as well.

Also, I'm approaching 30. This year is now or never, because as far as I'm concerned, 30 is my cut-off age of conception.

2. Siblings: I love both my sisters. One is 4 years younger; the other 19 years younger. Me and my sister right under me were also best of friends growing up. We played together all the time. We fought some, but we are sisters after all! We still enjoy doing many things today. I want Cy to have that. I want him to know what it's like to have that person to lean on and to hang out with. But on the down side, what if Cy and his sibling fight constantly? Then I guess I will be over 30 and bald! LOL!

3. The "Only-Child" Stigma: I have a cousin who was the only child. He lived right behind us. He came play at our house EVERYDAY. At least he had us, but he was bored and lonely without a sibling. But then when I hear a student talk about being an only child (which happens because in Child Development, I have a lesson on birth order), I usually question the pros and cons of their life. I'm sure they think I'm some weird psycho, but I've had quite a few who have said they love being the only child. But then I have my parents who swear it is "unfair" for a child to be the only........but is it?

4. The Perfect Number: Of course since I dreamt of becoming a mother since I was a little girl, the magic number of children for me was 2. For Jeremie, it was 1. We've had some conversations about it, however lately they've been rather spontaneous and ending up with the discussion not being done fully due to where we are at or what we are doing at the time. But I've always wanted 2.....until now.

5. Finances: Kids are expensive! I don't produce milk, so formula would be like $150 a month ( I had WIC for Cy, so $100 was free). And diapers! And wipes!

6. Space: I seriously wouldn't know where to put the poor child!

7. Sleep!: I honestly don't know how I survived when Cy was a baby and I began working. Cy woke up every 2 hours on the dot until he was 3-4 months old to eat. Some days my day started at about 3:30/4:00 in the morning.

But aside from the mentioned above, a baby is a miraculous thing! The tiny clothes, the coos, the love, the miracle of pregnancy and creating a child......it is truly a blessing!

I just don't know what to do, how do I make my decision? How will I know my decision is the right one?

I want what is best for my family, but do I really know what is best at this point?

For now I'm praying for God to help answer these questions.....I just hope I don't miss His message!

Flashback Friday!

I am flashing-back to almost 2 years ago. My son was 2 soon to be 3, and decided to take a bath with bath gel while still fully clothed and not in the bath tub! I don't remember what I was doing when this took place, but it sure was funny!

There was no way I could be mad! Look how cute he was (and still is)!



What did we get ourselves into? Flashback!

So I figured I would participate in a Flashback Friday! I always read Tia's wonderful blogs, but never participated.

Well, I am flashbacking (is that a word?) about one of my dogs, Mater. He is named after the Mater off of Cars because that is my son's favorite movie. He is a boxer. He weighs over 70lbs. He will be 2 years old on March 1st; and it will be 2 years that we've had him in April.

He likes to hog bones and toys. Sounds like Chewbacca. Dryer sheets and peanut butter are irresistable to him.

I came across the pictures of when we first got him, and can barely remember him being so small. More than likely that is due to the crap I had to put up with him. At 4 months old, he started with dominance issues. I NEVER saw a puppy act the way he did. We had no idea what to do. The Dog Whisperer became an everyday name in the household. I read the books, watched the shows.....it seemed endless. Needless to say, the entire summer of 2009, I fought (physically, lol) with that dog everyday. I even thought of giving him up. But, I just couldn't. So through neutering, training, positive, and negative reinforcement (yep, a shock collar, but what else can you do to stop a then 50-60 lb dog from charging you?), we pulled through. But as he has matured, he has become the dog that I wanted to love. He is our family. He is a clown. And he makes me smile.

So here is Mater, like Tow Mater but without the Ta! ;)