Vacation Reflection

Well....another February break has come and gone (almost) and I always sit on the Sunday before going back to school and marvel at the LACK ofthings that I got accomplished. We had the added pleasure of sickness in our house this break so it made me feel as though I did nothing for my 9 days off. I decided that to make myself feel better, I would make a list of all of the accomplishments that I had over the past week. Here we go (in no particular order)

• Had a great February Cookout with the Fiorentino's and Lopez's.
• Hosted Bunco.
• Made a sewing machine cover (without a pattern)
• Hosted my in-laws for 2 days and watched Dave and his Dad repair our dining room floor and get it ready for the next stage of refinishing.
• Babysat Jenny's Cricut cutter and finished "the hallway project"
• Went to the dentist.
• Went to the orthodontist.
• Made a pair of flannel pants.
• Went to dinner and to see Rascal Flatts (thanks Colleen!)
• re-covered our metal folding chairs with new vinyl.
• Cleaned up my classroom........a little bit.
• Helped Natalie with a bunch of craft projects.
• Read the book for bookclub next week.
• Started (and am almost finished with) a book that is on my "to read" list.
• Did a little shopping.
• Went out to lunch with a friend.
• Kids went to Chuckee Cheese (Thanks Chris!)
• Took care of sick kids (and sick me)
• Watched some movies (Grownups, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Pacifier, Bolt)
• Watched an RIT Tigers hockey game
• Folded a lot of laundry
• Went to Wegmans a billion times
• Purchased a couple of Dr. Seuss units from Teachers Pay Teachers and did some planning for next week. (FYI- Dr. Seuss' birthday is Wednesday)
• Made good use of my unlimited texting.
• Will watch the Oscars tonight (even though it is a school night and I should go to bed early!)

Wow! Maybe this break wasn't as unproductive as I thought it was!

Bunco!

One of the things that I look forward to each month is Bunco! Who can complain about 12 ladies getting together to play a game and try to win some money? Not to mention the beverages and the snacks! This month it was at my house. Fun was had by all. I love that I have a claim on February and always try to do it over break so that it is not a school night. If you have never played Bunco before, collect 12 of your friends and start a group. You will not regret it!

Sew Something Sunday #5

Well, I kinda wimped out on SSS this week due to visiting in-laws BUT since it is February break, I have a great opportunity to publish Sew Something Some other day this week. I did pick up a needle and thread and do some repair on the zipper of my jeans so technically I guess I did sew something. I am hosting BUNCO this week and when I host it is PJ night. I will be working on my PJ's for Tuesday night. I am also babysitting my friend's Cricut machine for the weekend so I may have to enter a "cut-something-Monday" post!

A Pink Snow Boot Kind of Day!

It was 50 degrees in Rochester today! Of course we went out to play in what was left of the snow. It is really hard to believe that we had "feet" of snow just a few weeks ago. As we were getting dressed to go out and play, my rule is that you must have boots on to play in the snow. One of my boys did not have boots but REALLY wanted to play in the snow on this perfect day. The only extra pair of boots that I have are my daughter's old bright pink boots. He thought about it for all of 3 seconds before he said "I want the girl boots!" We stayed out for about 25 minutes and DID NOT want to come back in. Who knows what tomorrow or even next week will bring but I don't think that we have seen the end of pink snow boot kind of days!

I have a sweet hubby. I woke up Monday morning to find these downstairs and the sweetest part is that he got Natalie her own card and bouquet. Whatever boyfriend she has in the future has a LOT to live up to!

Sew Something Sunday #4

I cannot believe that I got a project in today! Natalie and I were very busy doing Valentine's Day stuff and I thought that I would not get to this but never fear, a simple project saved me! I have been meaning to do this project for a while. I had some fabric left over from my purse project last fall and since the fabric is reversible, it was a perfect solution to a couple of problems. I needed some kind of case to protect my i-touch while it was in my purse. I also needed something that I would be able to see once it went into the bottomless pit that is my purse! Natalie suggested that I sew a little snap on the top (excellent suggestion) and then I sewed on the decorative button. I may crank out a few more of these for my i-pod loving friends!

I want a Cricut!!!!

But since I don't have one (yet), I will be happy using Jenny's. I am doing a project for my front hallway and am going to do a 4 sillouette collage, one for each season. I cut summer and winter at "cut and tat" night last night (don't worry friends.....strictly harmless, but hysterical!) and got the frame at Michael's for $5 with my coupon. I am collecting 3 more coupons so that I can go back for the others. This is actually a 12x12 scrapbook frame. Too cute. Thanks Jenny!

Girl's Craft Day!

With Dave at work and Nate away with a friend for the day, what else were we to do? We made 5 Valentine bracelets (3 for Nat's teachers and one for each of us). I reminds me of how grown up Natalie is when she can make these projects with only minimal help from me! She attached some heart-shaped tags to them and they are all set to go! What girl doesn't want a little bling for Valentine's Day?

Snack time!

This is the latest "little thing" that I have been craving lately. It is the perfect night-time snack! Crunchy, salty, sweet and just the right amount. OK, so I have to pick it out of my teeth for days following it but it is worth it! The only thing wrong with the mini-bags is that when someone asks me to share, I have to say no. The good thing is that it only takes about 2 minutes to pop your OWN bag.

Sew Something Sunday #3

There definitely was some pressure to get this SSSunday edition out! I had to work at our library booksale fundraiser from 1-4 (prime sewing time) so I picked an easy project to finish. I had the fabric and it was already washed and pressed. Ta Da -- flannel pants for Natalie.

I have to admit that after working the book sale (and before dinner at Mom and Dad's) I went to Joanne Fabrics to get a couple of things and noticed that flannel was on sale for $2.50 a yard. Since I only need a couple of yards to make some nice cozy pants for me, I got some! Next project will be 2 pairs of pants that look a little like this:

Can't wait!

Thanks Mother Nature!

I can't believe it! We have a snowday today! The thing about this snowday is that it really wasn't snowy. I wanted to post a picture of my kids playing outside in the snowy yard BUT Natalie went to the YMCA to swim with a friend then went out to lunch and came here with her friend...and I am going to take them to the friend's house to play for a little while later this afternoon. My son got a call from his friend and went to the elementary school to go sledding.

So, on this snowday, nobody was home long enough to have any great photo "ops". I put in a picture of Natalie from last year. She still looks the same and the picture is still appropriate. I imagine that I will be heading back to school tomorrow, regardless of the weather. School districts do not like to be made fools of so I guess that there will not be another snow day for a while. Good news is that the groundhog DID NOT see his shadow so spring will be coming soon anyway..........right?