Today is Ainsley's first day back at school and this year Juliet is joining her. Ainsley was super excited to go back. This is her third year at this preschool and she loves her teachers! There are quite a few returning students as well so she still has her friends but the most exciting part was that she gets to show Juliet the ropes.
Juliet was pretty excited too. I don't think she really knew that we were going to school until we pulled up to the building and she recognized it from dropping Ainsley off last year. She then got excited and off the girls went as quick as can be to their classroom. I wasn't sure if Juliet would be ok although last year she never wanted to leave when we were dropping off Ainsley. When I went to say goodbye this morning, she waved and went off and played. Clearly she felt comfortable and was excited to finally get to stay.
I am so glad that the two of them are finally at school together. I think this will be a great year. The two of them are very close and play well together. I look forward to seeing them grow over the next year and make new friends. I am so glad I found a great preschool in our area. It really helps to minimize first day of school anxiety. For me especially!
Me and my girls
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Back to School Shopping - Part 2
I am really getting excited about my trip to Buffalo with Ainsley. She is excited but she has yet to experience a real shopping spree. I have gone through her closet this weekend and pulled out clothes that are two small or in rough shape and I have determined which clothes can make the transition into fall and which will be put away for next summer.
As mentioned in my last Back To School post, I have a list for both of us so we have a good idea what we need. Of course, I am sure we will find some cute things that neither of us need but will treat ourselves to it anyways. I haven't been shopping in awhile and I need to get some business type attire. I will be attending more sales, conferences and work related functions this fall so I must have options and sweat pants just don't cut it.
The main goal of this trip is for clothing but I couldn't help but look at bedding on the Target website and I really hope some of these styles are available:
How can I resist? They don't have cute bedding at these prices in Canada!
As mentioned in my last Back To School post, I have a list for both of us so we have a good idea what we need. Of course, I am sure we will find some cute things that neither of us need but will treat ourselves to it anyways. I haven't been shopping in awhile and I need to get some business type attire. I will be attending more sales, conferences and work related functions this fall so I must have options and sweat pants just don't cut it.
The main goal of this trip is for clothing but I couldn't help but look at bedding on the Target website and I really hope some of these styles are available:
How can I resist? They don't have cute bedding at these prices in Canada!
Monday, August 23, 2010
How to handle the influx of artwork coming home from school
Getting organized for the new school year is in full swing at our house. For a three and a half year old and a 20 month old (both are going to nursery school) this really only involves buying new clothes for the eldest and some for the youngest and labelling everything! While this is not the full back-to-school prep people of older children go through, there is something we all have in common once school starts and that is answering the question: What do we do with all the artwork?
I don’t know about your kids, but mine are mass producers of artwork. When we do art projects at home, the girls go through pages and pages of drawings and paintings before they are finished. Add to that what they bring home from school and we have a major clutter situation. Some of the artwork is easy to throw in the recycling bin but a lot of it is hard to throw out. Over the past few years of receiving art, I have come up with a few solutions:
1.Use art as art is intended: Frame it!
As we have small children and lots of expenses, when we started decorating our house we found that we had a lot of wall space and no money or inclination to purchase expensive ‘art’. When I was in Grade 4, my parents framed a pastel drawing I had done and to this day it still hangs on my wall. It’s a great keepsake and I am proud that my parents thought it was special enough to frame. When decorating Ainsley’s big girl room, I went through the pile of art we had accumulated and picked out three of her drawings and framed those using inexpensive Ikea frames. I love the look of them and Ainsley is very excited every time I remind her that she drew those pictures. I will do the same for Juliet once we have a collection to choose from. What a great way to boost self-esteem by showing them that what they have created is special.
2.Art as a Gift
To take the framing of art one step further, I have given framed pieces to my parents and in-laws. I find it very hard to shop for them as really, what do you get your parents let alone your in-laws? Whether they hang the art on their wall in the office or at home, it’s a really nice thoughtful gift that is an Original piece of artwork that is priceless. This is a great way to save the art that you don’t want to throw out but at the same time, make room in your house for new art.
3.Art as Fundraiser
This past year at Ainsley’s nursery school we did a fabulous fundraiser for the school using the children’s paintings. Both girls created a painting and it was sent to Acorn Custom Cards, a company which took the art and made cards and placemats. This was a great idea as it provided a fun art activity for the kids, earned money for the co-op school and parents were able to have cards made that showcased their child’s skills and again, the children would get a self-esteem boost by seeing their art used in a new way.
4.Art as wrapping paper and cards
Another great option is to reuse your children’s artwork as wrapping paper and as cards. I love getting home made mother’s day cards and my girls love making cards for others. This is a great use of artwork that would otherwise be thrown out and save you from buying overpriced cards and wrapping paper!
5.The Art Book
This is something I haven’t created yet but have hopes that when the girls get older and start drawing people and animals we can create our own books. I would love to take a bunch of their drawings and work with them to create a story to go along with them. It would be something simple but I love the stories that Ainsley has started telling me about her drawings and think that soon we will be able to start putting them down on paper. What I would do is mount the artwork on scrapbook paper and add the caption below telling the story. To finish off the “art book” we would either insert the scrapbook pages into clear page protectors and put in a scrap book or we could punch holes into the pages and bind with ribbon. I look forward to the opportunity to make our first book by Ainsley.
The other option for this is to not have a story at all and just put together a collection of art and store it in a scrapbook. This is a really nice idea as you could pick a variety of work done over the course of a school year and have a volume for each year.
I don’t know about your kids, but mine are mass producers of artwork. When we do art projects at home, the girls go through pages and pages of drawings and paintings before they are finished. Add to that what they bring home from school and we have a major clutter situation. Some of the artwork is easy to throw in the recycling bin but a lot of it is hard to throw out. Over the past few years of receiving art, I have come up with a few solutions:
1.Use art as art is intended: Frame it!
As we have small children and lots of expenses, when we started decorating our house we found that we had a lot of wall space and no money or inclination to purchase expensive ‘art’. When I was in Grade 4, my parents framed a pastel drawing I had done and to this day it still hangs on my wall. It’s a great keepsake and I am proud that my parents thought it was special enough to frame. When decorating Ainsley’s big girl room, I went through the pile of art we had accumulated and picked out three of her drawings and framed those using inexpensive Ikea frames. I love the look of them and Ainsley is very excited every time I remind her that she drew those pictures. I will do the same for Juliet once we have a collection to choose from. What a great way to boost self-esteem by showing them that what they have created is special.
2.Art as a Gift
To take the framing of art one step further, I have given framed pieces to my parents and in-laws. I find it very hard to shop for them as really, what do you get your parents let alone your in-laws? Whether they hang the art on their wall in the office or at home, it’s a really nice thoughtful gift that is an Original piece of artwork that is priceless. This is a great way to save the art that you don’t want to throw out but at the same time, make room in your house for new art.
3.Art as Fundraiser
This past year at Ainsley’s nursery school we did a fabulous fundraiser for the school using the children’s paintings. Both girls created a painting and it was sent to Acorn Custom Cards, a company which took the art and made cards and placemats. This was a great idea as it provided a fun art activity for the kids, earned money for the co-op school and parents were able to have cards made that showcased their child’s skills and again, the children would get a self-esteem boost by seeing their art used in a new way.
4.Art as wrapping paper and cards
Another great option is to reuse your children’s artwork as wrapping paper and as cards. I love getting home made mother’s day cards and my girls love making cards for others. This is a great use of artwork that would otherwise be thrown out and save you from buying overpriced cards and wrapping paper!
5.The Art Book
This is something I haven’t created yet but have hopes that when the girls get older and start drawing people and animals we can create our own books. I would love to take a bunch of their drawings and work with them to create a story to go along with them. It would be something simple but I love the stories that Ainsley has started telling me about her drawings and think that soon we will be able to start putting them down on paper. What I would do is mount the artwork on scrapbook paper and add the caption below telling the story. To finish off the “art book” we would either insert the scrapbook pages into clear page protectors and put in a scrap book or we could punch holes into the pages and bind with ribbon. I look forward to the opportunity to make our first book by Ainsley.
The other option for this is to not have a story at all and just put together a collection of art and store it in a scrapbook. This is a really nice idea as you could pick a variety of work done over the course of a school year and have a volume for each year.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Back-to-School Shopping Part 1 - My list
I have started to think about my Back-to-School shopping. Not only do I have to get the girls ready for school, but I have to think about what I will need for some of the business events I will be going to in the fall as well as our trip to Cuba in December. Late August is the perfect time to prepare for Cuba as there will be a lot of summer clothes on sale. I haven't done any real shopping for myself in a long time and am really looking forward to it. I will be heading to Buffalo and this year Ainsley will be coming along to shop.
I won't be able to make this trip until early September. I wish I could go sooner but with Ainsley's trip to England, followed by my husband's business trip the only day we could go with my mom and have Brett babysit Juliet was in September before Labour Day weekend.
Ainsley is super excited to be coming with as she loves to shop. We have started our list for this trip to keep us focused so we make sure that we get everything we need.
So far our list includes:
Mommy
-Laptop Bag
-Purse
-Tankinis
-dress clothes
Ainsley
-pants
-sweaters
-dresses
-skirts
-tights
-shoes
This is what we have so far and I'm sure as we get closer there will be other things we think of. Especially since we are heading to Target which I love! I have already been on their website to check out what they have and I can't wait. I wish Target would head North to Canada.
I won't be able to make this trip until early September. I wish I could go sooner but with Ainsley's trip to England, followed by my husband's business trip the only day we could go with my mom and have Brett babysit Juliet was in September before Labour Day weekend.
Ainsley is super excited to be coming with as she loves to shop. We have started our list for this trip to keep us focused so we make sure that we get everything we need.
So far our list includes:
Mommy
-Laptop Bag
-Purse
-Tankinis
-dress clothes
Ainsley
-pants
-sweaters
-dresses
-skirts
-tights
-shoes
This is what we have so far and I'm sure as we get closer there will be other things we think of. Especially since we are heading to Target which I love! I have already been on their website to check out what they have and I can't wait. I wish Target would head North to Canada.
Monday, August 16, 2010
My latest project
I finally found some time this week to finish two beading projects I had started a few weeks ago and thought I would share the finished results. I created a necklace and earring set and a charm bracelet. I will probably add make some earrings to match the bracelet but I will have to find some time for that!
Friday, August 13, 2010
My Fabulous 33rd Birthday!
It's almost been a month since my fabulous birthday outing with my husband. I have been meaning to post about it for weeks and I have finally found the time to download the pics and talk about our day. I had mentioned in passing that my dream birthday would include lunch and a couples massage and I was pleasantly surprised to be heading out of town.
My parents took the girls for the day and Brett and I set out for our day at the spa. We travelled up North to the Millcroft Inn and Spa in Caledon, Ontario. It was gorgeously nestled in nature and welcoming quiet.
We arrived and checked into the spa a little bit early and had time to read and relax before our couples massage. We both had a wonderful 50 minute massage and it was over way too soon. Totally could have gone for twice that time. We then spent some time by the outdoor pool. I was in heaven!
We headed over for a late lunch in the restaurant overlooking the water. I was lovely. The weather was perfect and the surroundings were very relaxing.
We kicked off our lunch with some champagne. Why not? We were celebrating finally getting a day just the two of us. We ended our lunch with the most delicious cheese plate EVER!! We had to order another one.
After lunch we took a walk around the grounds and then headed back to the pool. It was fabulous just to sit by the pool for 2 hours and read. What a wonderful day. There was nothing else I would have wanted to do for my birthday. I think I would like to make this an annual birthday present!
My parents took the girls for the day and Brett and I set out for our day at the spa. We travelled up North to the Millcroft Inn and Spa in Caledon, Ontario. It was gorgeously nestled in nature and welcoming quiet.
We arrived and checked into the spa a little bit early and had time to read and relax before our couples massage. We both had a wonderful 50 minute massage and it was over way too soon. Totally could have gone for twice that time. We then spent some time by the outdoor pool. I was in heaven!
We headed over for a late lunch in the restaurant overlooking the water. I was lovely. The weather was perfect and the surroundings were very relaxing.
We kicked off our lunch with some champagne. Why not? We were celebrating finally getting a day just the two of us. We ended our lunch with the most delicious cheese plate EVER!! We had to order another one.
After lunch we took a walk around the grounds and then headed back to the pool. It was fabulous just to sit by the pool for 2 hours and read. What a wonderful day. There was nothing else I would have wanted to do for my birthday. I think I would like to make this an annual birthday present!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I miss you! Come home!
My week sans husband and eldest child is coming to an end. They will be back Thursday after dinner and while I have gotten tons done (it's actually quite amazing how much I can do with only one child) I am starting to really miss them.
I miss hearing Ainsley's stories about her day and hanging out with her and playing barbies or making jewellery. I miss my husband as he is my sounding board about business and life. It is a bit odd to not have his input on things.
I am glad that this separation is almost over. It's tough not having two of your best friends around.
Come home already!!!!
I miss hearing Ainsley's stories about her day and hanging out with her and playing barbies or making jewellery. I miss my husband as he is my sounding board about business and life. It is a bit odd to not have his input on things.
I am glad that this separation is almost over. It's tough not having two of your best friends around.
Come home already!!!!
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