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Thomas and Elle have started gathering jar after jar of acorns, just like last year. Still at 50 cents a jar. Ava is joining in on the fun this time. She'll be happy to have earned a gumball but Thomas and Elle have bigger goals. Both are trying to collect enough to fill 20 jars each and they are already talking about what they will buy with their $10 at Target.
While I was browsing through the Pottery Barn magazine I noticed the linen pinboard in this picture. I've made a couple of these so I was curious how much PB was charging for theirs. $149! Crazy! My version is $15 - $20. Here's how to do it -
All you need for materials are one sheet of Designer Tack (purchased for $10 at Menards), 1 1/2 yards of fabric (You could choose any fabric you like but I always go for a linen look alike. I buy it at Joann Fabrics for $3.99/yd.), and a stapler (refer to the next picture for the type of stapler to use since I don't know the proper name for it!).
Before you begin, iron your material and remove the plastic from the tack board. Lay your material out and then center your tack board in the middle of it. Staple 2 of the sides that are opposite of each other. Keep pulling the fabric tight as you staple so that you end up with a nice, smooth board.
Before you staple the last 2 edges, you need to do the corners. I'll try to explain how I do this but it's probably better to just look at the pictures or find another way that works for you! First lay the corner out flat, like in the picture above.
Grab the corner of the fold and pull it up to the edge of the tack board. Make sure the fabric is smooth.
Use your thumb to hold the edge in place while you smooth and staple.
Pull up the rest of the fabric, paying close attention to the edge again to make sure it is smooth and tight then staple in place. Finish all 4 corners and then staple the sides remembering to pull the fabric tight again as you staple.
There are several different options when it comes to hanging it. I've used whatever I've had on had. For the one in my sewing closet I used 3M removable mounting tabs and they've worked great. Today though I used two little round screw eyes and wire from my picture hanging kit. 
Here it is hung up in Thomas's room. We recently did a little redecorating in his room. He wanted a Star Wars, hockey, football, skateboard, and baseball bedroom. This pin board is my answer to that! :) He chose Star Wars bedding and now he can hang all the sports posters he wants on this pin board. 
He's happy with it!
Elle and Ava had so much fun swimming in the lake together this weekend. Ava is getting to be such a good little swimmer with her life jacket and noodle. Elle is a good teacher!
We will be start schooling again right after Labor Day. Just a few weeks away! For Elle that isn't soon enough, for Thomas it's too soon. :) I was kinda feeling like Thomas but now that all of our curriculum is here I'm getting excited to start again. We are doing some new things this year that I think we will all enjoy. I've been busy getting everything organized and ready. It was fun to pull out some of the preschool stuff for Ava and think back to when Elle was that age. I still have some work to do to get the room ready, including a fresh coat of paint and furniture rearranging.
For those of you who are curious, this is what we will be studying this year -
Bible - We will be reading aloud together Little Pilgrim's Progress and going through the study guide.
Math - Math-U-See again. We love this program. Thomas will be in Zeta and Elle in Gamma.
English - This year we are trying Shurley English.
Reading - Beyond Five in a RowHistory - The Mystery of History, Vol. 1: Creation to the Resurrection. This is probably the subject I am most excited about! Thomas and Elle will be studying this course together and I will just adapt it accordingly.
Science - Exploring Creation with Astronomy. This is another subject we will all do together.
Geography - Both Thomas and Elle will be doing Daily Geography Practice. In addition, Thomas will be doing Beautiful Feet Book's Geography Through Literature and Elle will be learning about the United States using books recommended through Simply Stated.
Handwriting/Writing - Elle will be doing A Reason for Handwriting this year. In past years we've used Handwriting without Tears and have liked it. I still am planning to use the manipulatives in that course with Ava because I feel that it is such a great course to get them on the right track. Elle loves to write though and HWOT tears doesn't offer her enough practice in the workbook plus she was getting bored with it as it felt like she was doing the same workbook over and over. She also loves coloring and this new book combines both. At the end of each week she gets to pick a page to write her memory verse on for the week in her best handwriting and then color or paint it.
Thomas won't be doing a formal handwriting course this year. Instead he will be doing more creative writing and get plenty of practice with typing as well. I ordered Story Starters to help get the creative juices flowing!
Spelling - We are sticking with Sequential Spelling.
Art - I have had I Can Do All Things for a couple of years and just haven't been consistent with it. Elle really, really wants to do art this year though so I think we will give it another go. One of the goals for myself in schooling this year is to encourage my kids creativity. Even if it means messes and incovenience for me. That is another post, for another day.
As for preschool for Miss Ava I've already posted my plan here. The only thing that has changed from that plan is that we are going to wait till January, or even next year, for the math primer. She's not quite ready for that.
All of my black-eyed susans are in bloom right now. I just love this flower. They were given to me by a friend when she was building her house. They were going to get destroyed if they weren't transplanted so we dug them up and moved them to my yard. I put them in a sunny spot directly in our sandy, sandy soil without any added black dirt. Luckily they thrive in sunshine and sandy conditions. They have multiplied over and over in the last 4 years. So much so that I was able to dig several up to do a plant swap this spring with another neighbor. Hostas for black-eyed susans. 
The flowers are doing much better than the veggies this year. So far we've harvested 3 red cherry tomatoes and herbs. This just hasn't been that warm of a summer. It didn't help that we got the garden in late either. Oh well, there's alway next year to try again.
We are back from our little vacation. We had a great time!
Scott and Thomas really enjoyed watching Tiger Woods and the other pros at the PGA Championship. I'll let Thomas fill you in on the details at his blog. Look for that soon!
The girls and I shopped till we dropped. I couldn't resist these absolutely adorable red ballet flats for Ava at Baby Gap. Elle got a pair just like them in bright pink. Sure wish they would've came in my size!We were having such a great time that we decided to wait on Valleyfair and go next summer instead!
We are taking a Minnesota vacation this week, or as Thomas calls it a Minncation. We spent today out on the lake. Had to take advantage of the hot temps we are having! Scott had a little work that had to be done so he brought the laptop on the boat. I think he should have the boat be his office more often!The rest of the week includes going to the PGA Championship, shopping at the good 'ol Mall of America (The Lego store and the American Girl store are must stops according to the kids), and Valleyfair. Should be lots of fun!Thomas said that this video of him doing tricks on the knee board this afternoon is definitely 'blogworthy'.
Or as she calls it, sagepi. It is her absolute favorite meal and the most hilarious/disgusting meal to watch her eat.
A few weeks ago Thomas was at a week long summer camp so it was just the girls and I at home. One of the mornings we decided to paint our fingernails and toenails. I did theirs first and when they were dry they took off to play. I stayed in my bathroom and spent 10 minutes painting mine as well assuming that the whole time they were playing together. When I came downstairs Elle was practicing her dance routines that she was learning at dance camp that week but Ava was no where to be found. We kept calling her name and looked through the house but couldn't find her. I opened the door to go out in the garage hoping that I'd find her riding her bike on the driveway and instead saw that the light was on in the vehicle and she was sitting in her seat with a really big smile on her face. I was relieved to have found her but when I went to get her out she'd locked all of the doors and somehow managed to get herself buckled into her seat enough that she wasn't going to be getting out without my help. The funny part of it was that she was sitting there chewing on about 5 or 6 pieces of gum that she'd remembered were in the front by my seat. She couldn't have been happier about it. She was all smiles chomping on that big wad of minty flavored gum. I went back into the house and got the keys to unlock the door. As soon as she heard the doors unlock the smile disappeared from her face. She knew she was in trouble! One thing is for sure, she keeps life very interesting around here! :)
This afternoon my friend Steph is over and I am showing her the little I know about blogging. Her blog is going to be so much fun. She's really creative and is always doing all kinds of really cute projects! I'll post the link to it when she's got it all set up and going!
Here is a recipe that I got from her that we enjoy each summer. Your kids will love it!
Summer Slush6 c. water4 c. sugar
1 can (46 oz) pineapple juice2 cans (12 oz) frozen orange juice1 can (12 oz) frozen lemonade
Squirt, Sprite or 7-UpBring to a boil water and sugar. Sugar must be dissolved completely. Pour into a 5 qt. ice cream bucket or container. Add pineapple juice, orange juice and lemonade. Combine all ingredients and freeze. Scoop one part slush into a tall glass and add one part Squirt. Stir to combine the slush and the pop.
Add a little white rum to the slush before freezing to make it an adult beverage! :)
Thomas and Elle have started gathering jar after jar of acorns, just like last year. Still at 50 cents a jar. Ava is joining in on the fun this time. She'll be happy to have earned a gumball but Thomas and Elle have bigger goals. Both are trying to collect enough to fill 20 jars each and they are already talking about what they will buy with their $10 at Target.
While I was browsing through the Pottery Barn magazine I noticed the linen pinboard in this picture. I've made a couple of these so I was curious how much PB was charging for theirs. $149! Crazy! My version is $15 - $20. Here's how to do it -
All you need for materials are one sheet of Designer Tack (purchased for $10 at Menards), 1 1/2 yards of fabric (You could choose any fabric you like but I always go for a linen look alike. I buy it at Joann Fabrics for $3.99/yd.), and a stapler (refer to the next picture for the type of stapler to use since I don't know the proper name for it!).
Before you begin, iron your material and remove the plastic from the tack board. Lay your material out and then center your tack board in the middle of it. Staple 2 of the sides that are opposite of each other. Keep pulling the fabric tight as you staple so that you end up with a nice, smooth board.
Before you staple the last 2 edges, you need to do the corners. I'll try to explain how I do this but it's probably better to just look at the pictures or find another way that works for you! First lay the corner out flat, like in the picture above.
Grab the corner of the fold and pull it up to the edge of the tack board. Make sure the fabric is smooth.
Use your thumb to hold the edge in place while you smooth and staple.
Pull up the rest of the fabric, paying close attention to the edge again to make sure it is smooth and tight then staple in place. Finish all 4 corners and then staple the sides remembering to pull the fabric tight again as you staple.
There are several different options when it comes to hanging it. I've used whatever I've had on had. For the one in my sewing closet I used 3M removable mounting tabs and they've worked great. Today though I used two little round screw eyes and wire from my picture hanging kit. 
Here it is hung up in Thomas's room. We recently did a little redecorating in his room. He wanted a Star Wars, hockey, football, skateboard, and baseball bedroom. This pin board is my answer to that! :) He chose Star Wars bedding and now he can hang all the sports posters he wants on this pin board. 
He's happy with it!
Elle and Ava had so much fun swimming in the lake together this weekend. Ava is getting to be such a good little swimmer with her life jacket and noodle. Elle is a good teacher!
We will be start schooling again right after Labor Day. Just a few weeks away! For Elle that isn't soon enough, for Thomas it's too soon. :) I was kinda feeling like Thomas but now that all of our curriculum is here I'm getting excited to start again. We are doing some new things this year that I think we will all enjoy. I've been busy getting everything organized and ready. It was fun to pull out some of the preschool stuff for Ava and think back to when Elle was that age. I still have some work to do to get the room ready, including a fresh coat of paint and furniture rearranging.
All of my black-eyed susans are in bloom right now. I just love this flower. They were given to me by a friend when she was building her house. They were going to get destroyed if they weren't transplanted so we dug them up and moved them to my yard. I put them in a sunny spot directly in our sandy, sandy soil without any added black dirt. Luckily they thrive in sunshine and sandy conditions. They have multiplied over and over in the last 4 years. So much so that I was able to dig several up to do a plant swap this spring with another neighbor. Hostas for black-eyed susans. 
The flowers are doing much better than the veggies this year. So far we've harvested 3 red cherry tomatoes and herbs. This just hasn't been that warm of a summer. It didn't help that we got the garden in late either. Oh well, there's alway next year to try again.
Scott and Thomas really enjoyed watching Tiger Woods and the other pros at the PGA Championship. I'll let Thomas fill you in on the details at his blog. Look for that soon!
The girls and I shopped till we dropped. I couldn't resist these absolutely adorable red ballet flats for Ava at Baby Gap. Elle got a pair just like them in bright pink. Sure wish they would've came in my size!
We are taking a Minnesota vacation this week, or as Thomas calls it a Minncation. We spent today out on the lake. Had to take advantage of the hot temps we are having! Scott had a little work that had to be done so he brought the laptop on the boat. I think he should have the boat be his office more often!
A few weeks ago Thomas was at a week long summer camp so it was just the girls and I at home. One of the mornings we decided to paint our fingernails and toenails. I did theirs first and when they were dry they took off to play. I stayed in my bathroom and spent 10 minutes painting mine as well assuming that the whole time they were playing together. 
Summer Slush
Yesterday Thomas turned 10. Ten!!
He went and golfed 9 holes with Dad. He loved that!
He spent lots of time working on putting together his new Star Wars Lego kit too. 
Chocolate sheet cake was a great way to end the day after his birthday meal of grilled steak! It was so cute to watch him to try to come up with his birthday menu for the day. I think he changed his mind on his cake 4 times. The only thing that he could decide on for absolute sure was steak for dinner!
