Be As You Are

Project Runway ~ Sherrill Style

My girls are constantly creating "projects".  Up until now most have involved cardstock, markers, stickers, tape, staplers, and other various scrapbook supplies found in the craft area.  The other day Anna came to me with a box of Kleenex and asked if she could use them.  What kind of mother would refuse her child of a tissue?  Certainly not me.  I should have heeded the warning signs when she exited the room announcing "Hey Stella, we can start our project now". 

Several days have passed since the tissue acquisition and I've thought nothing of it ~ until this afternoon.  During my daily toxic waste clean-up of the girls' room, I spotted a stray Barbie doll laying on Stella's bed.  Hmmm....the dress did not look familiar.  Upon closer inspection I became VERY impressed.

The dress is made out of one Kleenex tissue and a standard-issue rubber band.  I am now pulling the Hello Kitty sewing machine out of storage, loading thread bobbins, and going through the fabric collection on this rainy afternoon.  There is no telling what other creations are floating around in those sisters' heads.  Watch out Stella McCartney, Stella Sherrill may have her own line one day!

You Know You're Getting Old.....

You know you're getting old when your favorite cartoon strip changes from Cathy to Frank and Ernest.  Love Friday's cartoon:

Need I say more?

I Got NOTHING.....

Today is Monday.  Very busy day but nothing very "blog worthy".  However, I must continue on with the blogapalooza so here's a photo from this afternoon:

 

Mmmmm.....

~Apple Valley Orchard (October 4, 2009) 

There are many highlights to a rainy day apple orchard visit.  One of those being a yummy apple cider slushy.  So good! 

Climb, Climb Up Big Mulch Mountain!

 
Today our school had a "Clean-Up Day".  So many students, families, and teachers came out to help spruce up the school grounds.  One of the highlights of the morning had to be the big mountain of mulch.  Parents and teachers were filling wheelbarrows and delivering loads around the school while the kids found the mountain itself very entertaining.  See the little boy at the bottom of the mountain?  That's our friend D.  D would climb to the top, announce "Uh Oh", then proceed to slide down mulch mountain.  This happened many, many times.  Hey Merica, how many pounds of mulch did you recover out of that child's pants?

The powdered donuts were another big hit at this morning's event.  Well, well would you look at who made it into another one of my photos?  My man D.  This child will steal your heart in a matter of seconds.  Too sweet for words.

D's big brother L helped Miss Anna carry a load of leaves to the curb.  Those kids worked so hard this morning.  Loved seeing everyone take pride in the school campus.

Merica, this next photo is for you.  Really had to BEG L to pose for this photo ;)

 
Great weekend.  Wonderful weather and lots of time outside.  Could not get much better.

You're in Trouble When....

You're in trouble when you go to Facebook for a routine "status" check and find this particular post from one of your teacher friends:

"A certain little girl in my Kindergarten group just informed me that my coffee is not healthy for me.... words of wisdom from a 5 year old...."

My immediate thought was "surely not" but then my friend suggested I ask Anna when she returned home.  Uh-oh! 

 
(October 1, 2009)

And to think we were concerned that she would NEVER talk.  Sometimes you get what you ask for PLUS a few additional surprises.

Wastin' Time

As a wife and mother of three children you know I have an abundance of time to kill.  Most of my friends know that I'm a confirmed Facebook junkie.  Yep, no surprise there.  However, another web site that is quickly becoming a favorite is this one:

People of Walmart

Now please don't send me emails telling me how mean it is to poke fun at people shopping at Walmart.  This site is not like that terrible Walmart Bingo game (right Raven ~ hehe).  Checking this site has become part of my daily routine.  Why do I check EVERYDAY?  To make sure my photo is not posted ~ DUH!!!!

Get the Hint?

 

I never know what I'm going to find when I perform my daily search through the kids' backpacks after-school.  Jonathan's generally includes some homework assignments and possibly a progress report from various teachers.  Anna's folder is filled with various letters of the alphabet crafted in a "beautiful" collage (my favorite was the the marshmallow-covered M that left a nice sticky residue on the folder).  The most interesting search generally occurs in Stella's backpack.  For those of you who know Miss Stella, you understand that she is my creative child.  Loves to write.  She is currently keeping a personal notebook which is filled with many wonderful writings/stories/illustrations.

Mrs. Melton has asked each of her students to write their vocabulary words in a sentence every week.  Students use their Agenda Notebooks for this assignment.  Of course Miss Stella has this assignment completed by the time she arrives home on Monday (they are due on Thursdays).  The vocabulary sentences are always filled with very entertaining messages.  Let's review this week's assignment (posted above):

~I'll do my chore.

~It's a dog! Thanks mom. (Love the use of the exclamation mark)

~Wouldn't you go to Disney World rite now?  I mean shouldn't you?"

And my favorite....

~Where's my westie?

Also, the note on Saturday is a reminder to me that I promised to get the girls toes painted.  She makes use of the planner for MY benefit similar to the way I use my planner for Jeff's benefit :)

Miss Stella is a very bright child who is also very PERSISTENT.  She has been asking for a Westie for several months and has not wavered on this demand.  Jeff and I are working hard to make this happen. However, we are currently having braces put on our eldest child and that's about all we can handle at this point.  Keep writing Miss Stella.....

Homework

Miss Anna is living it up in Kindergarten.  We have our moments in the mornings (just like with her older brother) where she claims to be sick, too tired to raise her head from the pillow, or unable to move her legs (the excuses get more creative as we progress through the school year).  However, once she gets into the car and arrives at school, Miss Anna is ready to learn. 

One of the rites of passage for all of Mrs. Tara's Kindergarten students is the nursery rhyme "folder".  Students are given one verse every Monday to memorize and recite on that Friday.  Anna enjoys her homework.  The first thing she does is color her page for the week.

Love how she's working so hard on coloring the Dapple Gray Pony brown.  Notice the tongue sticking out ~ a sure sign of intense work.

Dapple Gray Pony

I had a little pony,

His name was Dapple-gray

I lent him to a lady

To ride a mile away.

Greenway Photo Fun

Here in beautiful Cleveland we are experiencing nice Fall temps ~ it's about time!  Sunday afternoon the rains stopped and waters receded enough for our family to venture out of the house and onto the Greenway.  The Greenway outings are generally a "bonding" time for Jeff and the kids.  Let's face it, I do not enjoy exercising in the heat and humidity of summer.  Well, now that I think about it, I don't enjoy exercising AT ALL!!!!  Sunday afternoon Stella BEGGED me to go with them so I did.  It was nice and cool so not much sweating was involved.  Could not go without my beloved phone (which is equipped with a pretty decent camera) so I captured a few Hallmark moments:

My family is nuts and I don't know where on Earth that get it from ;)  I must explain the photo of Jeff in front of the vet.  First of all, it was HIS idea.  He cannot blame this one on me!  After the birth of our surprise/third child, I tease him about getting "fixed".  This sign was too tempting for my poor hubby to pass up.

Jonathan was in rare form and kept finding photo ops.  The one with the falling lamp post was all his.  With the recent local flooding came soft ground and fallen lamp posts along the Greenway.  He went over and "posed" for the photo while a "nice" Greenway cop sat in this golf cart and watched.  Jeff just knew we were going to be reprimanded.  Oh ye of little faith.  The officer just laughed and told us that it was an awesome photo.  Ha!