August 25

Back to the dated titles. . . they're just so much easier than using the brain cells to think of something witty! Here's some random Monday Ramblings.

Went school supply shopping for Ian tonight. . . you know, for the wierd things some middle school teachers want. I'm thinking that when the kids get schedules a week before school starts, they should have teacher supply lists up on the website so that every parent of a middle schooler isn't cruisin' Staples/Office Depot/etc for wide ruled notebooks on the first day of school! I saw no less that 10 families that I knew in that store while looking for supplies tonight. Happens every year.

Alaina's been after me to find her a giraffe print lampshade. She has a "little" obsession with giraffes and after getting her giraffe print bedding for her birthday last year, she's so over the lavender lampshade in her room. It so "doesn't match!" I had no clue there was such a thing as a self-adhesive lampshade until I went shopping with my sister today and mentioned the need for said giraffe shade. So going to have to get one and do her up a cute little shade as a surprise.

Have you guys ever visited to Vanilla Joy? I'd never heard of it, but saw a link to go there on Lisa Bearnson's blog. Has some cute ideas of things to do with kids, some interesting looking recipes. . . and most of all, some terrific scrapbook giveaways this week. You should check it out!

If you do not know the story of Steven Curtis Chapman's family's loss this past May, you should check out the article in the current People magazine. I'd stopped buying it several years ago, but did buy this issue (the one with Elizabeth Edwards on the cover) so that I could read the Chapman's story. The Chapmans (and the 3 older kids) were also on Larry King Live and GMA while Andy and I were in France. Especially interesting to me was Larry King's day after recap statement. Steven wrote a 4th verse to his song "Yours" after Maria's death and you can now find it on iTunes. The Chapman family has really been able to show the world how through faith, you can make it through the hardest times.

Another new school year

School started up again this morning and the kids were all excited to go back. Alaina spent all of yesterday saying "I can't WAIT for tomorrow!" Allison, as always, was perhaps a bit apprehensive. Ian was just glad to be getting back to school so he could hang out with friends. Unfortunately, he didn't get to do a lot of that this summer. Here are pictures of the kids before they left for school. I think this is the first year I didn't get all the school goers in a photo together! Last year, I made Ian get up that early to take the group picture . . .but then it was a LONG wait until he actually had to be at school. He's playing the baritone for the second year -- he's gotta lug that thing back and forth to school everyday. My next door neighbor told me this morning she wished he reconsider riding a bike to school with her daughter and the girl across the street. I think the days of him wanting to go to school with them are gone -- at least for now! tehehe . . .but told the neighbor there was no way Ian could balance that honkin' thing on a bike!



The girls were juggling backpacks, paint cans, and in Alaina's case, lunchboxes. We always buy something off the teachers' wishlists, if they have them posted, to bring in the first day of school, so Alaina's backpack was full of baby wipes. She was a trooper and carried it all in herself!



Each year, we bring the teachers a first day of school gift. For at least the past 5 years, it's been a decorated paint can. I had a bit of a hard time figuring how to make one look more manly this year, as we have our first male (elementary school) teacher. I fill them with whatever I can find that I either remember always running out of when I was a teacher or know might be something they'd need/want. This year's cans had: 2 packages of "teacher" stickers, a magnetic notepad, a calculator, rubber bands/various clips, a set of dry erase markers, post-it notes, hand sanitizer, some sharpies, and Hersheys Hugs and Kisses. I usually try to decorate them to match the teacher's rooms (as we go the Friday before school starts to meet the teachers), but this year, there wasn't any obvious theme for either teacher's room. So my goal for Alaina's teacher was for it not to look girly, and noticed Allison's teacher had bright colored curtains on her windows, so I went bright with her. Here's what I ended up with:



It's a little lonely around here. . . definitely a lot less noise! However, I am free to go shopping and out to lunch with my sister who ended up with the day off.