Abi on the Map

This is another awesome project that I found on Pinterest.com!!!! I know all of you are probably tired of hearing about it, but it is such a cool website! You have to check it out!

The direct link to the project is here. It's called 'Me on the Map' and involves a bit of craftiness...but not too much. A perfect project for Abi! Here goes:

The finished product

 We live on the planet Earth



On the continent of North America

In the United States of America

In the state of Texas

Our city

 

Our street

 Our home

Abi and I were both very happy with the finished product!!!

Make Your Own Fabric Storage Boards Tutorial

Most of you will probably read this and think..."what took this chick so long to get with the program?" But I'm hoping to inspire those of you that have fabric stashes that look like mine did look!!! I have only been sewing for about 9 years now. I learned by watching my mom sew while growing up. I used to also help her pin  quilts. I got up the courage to actually use a machine when my mom passed down one of her older, very basic models. Thanks mom, I owe my desire to sew to you! Since I first started sewing, I have never really been sure about what I should do with left over and unused fabric (unused because sometimes I'll see a print that I fall in love with, but am not quite sure what I should do with it!) So, they all have been thrown into a big storage bin...where it has been collecting ever since!

Storage bin 1

 storage bin 2

Once upon a time, I did go through these and do my best to sort by color of fabrics. And once upon a time, you could actually stack them neatly in the bottom of my sewing room closet. But those days are long since gone. I decided that the closer I could get to a fabric store fabric bolt and the thriftier I could be would be the best option to go with.  This is what I settled on:

Supplies needed

• Foam Poster board ( 1 board makes 3 large bolts and 3 small bolts)
• A rotary mat
• A rotary cutter (I used a blade that was due to be replaced anyway, and just picked up a new one when I picked up my boards)

One board measures 30in x 20in

So, I cut three 10in pieces (giving you three 10in X 20in pieces)

 Set two of the boards aside, and measure 14 in on the remaining board.

 Cut on the 14in mark. Congratulations, you now have a large and small bolt!!

On the large bolt, I measured a 1in crevice so that I could do this after wrapping my fabric:

Use a rubber band to secure the fabric onto the bolt! 

 On the smaller bolt, I cut a crevice on the 2in mark

Again, to secure the fabric with a rubber band

In case you're wondering, YES, it is a lot of work. Yes, after cutting 9 foam boards, I have barely made a dent in my fabric collection. And Yes, Mark is going to have to build me shelves to store these now. But I think it is going to well worth it in the end!!!!

Putting It Together

It is a difficult task to come up with creative ways to teach. So, for all of you teachers out there. KUDOS to you!!!! Luckily, I have a trusty new website that I frequent called Pinterest.com...you may have heard of it! I have already tried 2 recipes that I have found there. And next week I plan to use at least 5 different homeschooling resources/ideas that I've found. One of the ideas that I will be using is linked to this blog. It is a great way to practice contractions! I couldn't find cupcakes so I went with bees:

I introduced these to Abi by telling her that the words on their wings were too heavy. She needed to match it to the contraction, or the shorter way to write the word. Then the bees could fly easier!

Abi was very excited to play this "game" and got them all correct the first try!

One of the recipes that I tried out (from Pinterest) was nothing short of delightful! Here's the link to the official website. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product and by the time I retrieved my dish from the Friday school break room...you guessed it...none were left! But I made sure to snap a pic of recipe number two. Pumpkin cream cheese whoopies, or better known to me as, a little taste of heaven!! Here's the direct link for that website. Just to give an example of how yummy these things are, I made them TWICE this week!!!

Check back next week to see the other fun things I've collected from Pinterest!!!!!!

Finish Line

I am embarrassed to say that my latest sewing project I actually started at the end of July! I had very little motivation when it came to working on the project because I wasn't really a big fan of the fabric that I had to use for it! I made it for a girl that works with my little sister. Even though the fabric was YUCK! I still managed to complete the whole order last week. FINALLY!

I like the fabrics separately, but I don't think they go well together

Lots of pieces

Around the Clock

 The last couple of weeks have flown by! I can't believe that we have been back to school for 3 weeks now! We have been so busy that our time passes so quickly!

First, Abi started ice skating lessons, her sport of choice for this year. So far, she is really excited each Saturday morning. Though, I won't count my chickens before they hatch because last year when she started gymnastics she was pumped about it for the first couple of months. It was  downhill after that. So, we will see!

 On her way to her first lesson

 Crystara, an awesome skater and friend, helped Abi find her way around.

My cutie pie

On the ice

Last Friday, September 16, the kids and I started Friday school. Friday school is what we call our co-op through First Class Ministries. We're off to a great start! 

First day of school pics

Austin's 1st day of Destruction! class- taking apart a dishwasher

Sorry this pic is blurry, but the kid's were moving while leading worship

Austin had his first official baseball game with his new team this week. His colors this season are navy blue, silver, and white. That's a big change from red, black, and silver! Kid pitch is also a LOT different from coach pitch...the games move a LOT slower! 

We lost. It was a polar opposite type of game than we are used to...we'll chalk it up to the new team trying to mesh. 

What a daddy's girl

My little ball player

Brazos, here with Austin, played on the Vipers with Austin and is now on his new team

Number 23 like his name sake (Austin Jordan after Michael Jordan)

 We got to hang out with a cutie-patootie, Miss Pacey, a couple of times this week. While we were with her, we took a trip to visit her big brother, Luke. Luke is also Abi's best buddy, so it was really a treat for her!

Luke and Abi



 Abi had a birthday party to attend today for Becca, one of her sweet friends. She was on top of the world!!! The party was at 'Sweet and Sassy'.

After her haid and makeup

Singing on stage

Austin sent a very special, thoughtful gift for Becca.

He gave her a rock 

When you lifted the rock up, he had a special little treat

The card read: "You never know what you'll find when you look under a rock!" SO SWEET!

Becca recently got an American Girl doll. It only seemed fitting to give her a bed for her new pal. Mark and I made her this farmhouse bed (plans from http://www.annawhite.com/) and I made the bedding from my fabric stash. I was quite excited when it all came together...I like pretty things!



Keepsake and Why Marbles Matter

This week I have a keepsake that I want to record. Hopefully, one day, the kids will look back over this blog and laugh at the incredibly silly stuff they did and said!!

On Wednesday, both Austin and Abi finished their work in record speed! But the rule we have in place is that the TV does not come on until 2:30pm. Even then they are only allowed an hour of TV. It's okay though, because Austin and Abi are pros at breaking out the imagination! On this day, they were using Bakugans to rule over their own lands. As I cleaned, I noticed that they had gone to the garage and borrowed the painters tape to mark off each of their own territories on the living room floor (which I didn't think to snap a picture of!) They each had some of the Bakugan and were making them interact. Austin, being 100% boy, wanted tot battle Abi's Bakugan and insisted that they go to war. Austin repetitively threatened to invade her territory and take it over. Abi, being Abi, refused Austin at each offer. Eventually, in frustration she blurted out, "Austin, why do we have to battle? Why can't we just live in peace? If you plan to come over her to my territory, you're gonna have to sign a  peace treaty first!" I laughed out loud that she knew and used the term 'peace treaty' in the correct context!!! That was a keepsake moment!

If you're reading this than you probably know my Abi is a firecracker! Last year's homeschooling brought many challenges, as our personalities constantly collided! This year has been refreshing (so far)! I can tell that as she gets older she is easier to work with. Or maybe it's that she has learned that throwing a fit gets her nothing but further behind in her work. Or maybe it's that we've found curriculum that keeps her interest at a peak. Whatever it is...I am thankful! This week in science, Abi learned about mammals and the 5 characteristics that qualify an being as a mammal. Her lesson included:

A fact finding scavenger hunt!

 Abi had a list of questions that paired with the 18 cards that I hid around the house.

and a picture poster (I though I had more magazines for her to find pictures, but I guess I recycled them!! oops!)

I'm still waiting for Austin's supplement for his science book to come in the mail. Luckily, his book has a few activities to do in the meantime! This week he learned about conservation of momentum in moving masses. His activity gave him the opportunity to observe momentum in different ways. Here, he lined marbles up in the crease of a hardcover book. He then rolled one of the marbles into the other and was able to see that the energy of the marble just transferred through the line of marbles and knocked the ending one away. He was very excited to see how it worked. It didn't hurt that the explanation in his book of how momentum works was about hitting a baseball!!

 He also used dominoes to observe

After Austin's project, the kids kept the marbles out and played old fashioned marbles just like on Charlie Brown!!! Well, almost old fashioned...this is the indoor-because-it's-way-to-hot-outside version!