bike riding.

I am loving that the weather is warmer and we are outside riding bikes more. Just look at these three happy faces!

teacher appreciation.

Today I have busily working on putting together a few small gifts for my girls to give their teachers tomorrow in honor of Teacher Appreciation Day. I am truly thankful for all of the Preschool teachers and my girls have quite an admiration for all of them.

Since the beginning of the school year, not only have I seen my children grow academically, but they have been taught about faith, friendship, compassion, serving our community and responsibility. When I first enrolled them in Preschool, I never imagined it would be become like a family. The girls love their teachers and I am truly content as I drop them off each day knowing their teachers will give them the love and guidance they need.

Because teachers help our children to grow, I created a card for Elle's entire class to give to their two teachers. The fingerprint tree represents the growth of our children and I even added a butterfly (created from two fingerprints) to represent Butterfly class. After I gathered all of the children's' fingerprints, I thought that it was something that should be framed and so I did.
I also put together a small gardening gift for each teacher, which consists of a galvanized tin filled with gardening tools, pink garden gloves and Butterfly Garden seeds. I am hoping they will plant the seeds in memory of this year's Butterfly class.
And lastly, for the rest of the teachers, twelve in all, I wrapped up a container of Altoids Mints with printed paper, waxed twine and a small note of thanks. Simple and inexpensive, but effectively says "thank you" for being a wonderful teacher. (UPDATE:  printable of tag is here.)
How about you? Are you celebrating Teacher Appreciation Day too? What gifts will you give?

beach treasures.

We are back from our weekend trip. It's Monday and it seems as though I am moving slow today. I am putting off the many loads laundry we brought home and just sitting here thinking about the weekend and the fun we had. We celebrated my nephew's college graduation and it was shared among family and great friends. Lucky for us, the locale was on the beach in St. Augustine, which we were able to enjoy the entire weekend.

I know I have said it before, but I truly find peace and tranquility by the shore. It is the place where I feel I belong. The calmness it evokes is amazing. For me it is so enjoyable... just sitting and breathing and listening. It gives me moments to think, to dream, to rejuvenate and time to play with my children. Most enjoyable though are the walks along the shore searching for treasures. With buckets in hand, the four of us walked and walked stopping intermittently when something of interest caught our eye. On this trip, we found tons of shells, some sea glass and even a star fish.

I missed my husband though. Tremendously. I wished he were there by my side to enjoy the peace and serenity too. He loves the shore just as much as I do. It is definitely one of the many things we share in common. I thought of him all weekend long wanting him to be there. However, when he comes home next week we will definitely share all the wonderful beach treasures we found and the memories of our weekend by the shore.

happy weekend.

Good Morning. This is what I woke up to this morning... how beautifully wonderful! The kids and I drove down to St. Augustine, Florida last night for my nephews college graduation. So, this is where we will be for the weekend. Celebrating. And, enjoying the sun and sand.

Hoping you have a happy weekend too.

stylish wine bag.

Would you carry this? I have a friend that would. She is a boxed wine drinker and I think this is the perfect gift for her.

It truly made me laugh when I saw it.

How about you? Do you drink boxed wine? Would you carry this stylish wine bag if you did?

a room of his own.

Finally... after living in our home for almost 3 years, I feel like Slade has a room of his own. A couple of months ago I painted his room a (dark) Alligator Skin green. It was his choice and I went with it. However, it wasn't until this past weekend that I actually hung anything back on the walls and rearranged his furniture

Since, the walls are such a dark color, I decided to accent the room with red. And, it is one of Slade's favorite colors. He has been very helpful in telling me what he likes and doesn't like. After all, it is his room and a place where I want him to find comfort.

Still on my list to do:

1. decoupage the desk with old maps
2. make a large calendar on the bulletin board that hangs on the wall in front of his desk
   
3. replace his ceiling fan
   
4. hang a few old signs that were just too heavy for me to do alone

So, although there are still things I want to do, I finally feel like the room is his. It is all about him and what he likes and enjoys. It's now his place of comfort.