I have been spending a lot of time on the Splitcoast Stampers website because I just had to figure out how to ‘dry emboss’. Well, when I found out there is a cool little machine for it, I was so excited. I researched all night and found that this cute little “Cuttlebug” was on sale.
I told my sweet, adorable husband that THIS is the only thing that I want for Christmas!!!!! I dreamed about it, must have talked about it in my sleep because yesterday my darling husband asked me if I knew of anyone in town who sells it. Well, I had no clue, but I had to find out! I had only seen it online. I made several calls and found out that Jo-Ann Fabric carried it and it was on sale! So Kip got off work early (wow) scouped us all up, took us to dinner and then to the craft store. He asked me to pick out a few embossing & diecut templates to use with my new Cuttlebug. I could not contain my excitement. It isn’t even Christmas!!! I feel so love, appreciated and blessed!!!!
I love my new toy!!! Thank you honey!!!
Some may have heard this story and will get a chuckle out of the title as it is now a coined phrase in the Russell household. It all started several months ago, when I signed up to be a Southern Living Consultant so that I can purchase gifts and stuff for the house at a discount. Shortly after signing up for that, I re-activated my Stamping Up! demonstrator account, because it would be silly not to. Just about a month ago I was at a Beauti-control party and I really like their skin care line so much that I had to talk to Kip about it. I was telling him about the special at the time,that for the low, low price of XX, I can be my own consultant and get 40-50% discount on my skin care, I commented once again “it’d be silly not too!” Ever since then, Kip will answer my questions with… you guessed it, “it’d be silly not to!”.
It appears that I have started my own unique collection. I think that this will be the extent of my collection for this year at least, unless I find a fantastic new snake oil company! ha!
If you ever need any skin and beauty products, crafting desires or needing a new cookbook or wall decor, just ask me! 
It would be silly not to!
Take a look…..and what do you see? A pile of sweet fluff that looks like Kady? Is it a photo of my precious little Kady? No, but when we saw this little fella we had to meet him. He is so light and so sweet and in need of family. We felt we could finally offer a little pooch who reminds us of our Kady just that.
So, you guessed it, we adopted this sweet little guy that we so lovingly named Bennett or Benny There will be moments when we all accidently call him Kady or we see him somewhere and we think ‘he looks so much like Kady‘ or ‘that’s what Kady used to do’.
He does however have his own little personality and just loves all of us. Just like Kady, we get to watch Bennett discover the world around him, every little thing is new to him, grass, wind, stairs, noises. It is so fun to watch him discover it all.
Zippy is not quite sure what this means but he is really trying to be accepting and loving. I think he is finally realizing that there is plenty of love to go around!
Kip and I were talking how neither of us went to Preschool and how fun it is that they even have a graduation ceremony. The ceremony was just so fun, they had a slide show to great music that of course made me cry, Miss Beth prepared the slideshow which recapped their entire year. It was so fun to relive some of those memories. The kids made their caps and they each received a medal. The parents received a copy of a story the class wrote and a journal for each child that included scrapbook pages and projects that they worked on throughout the year.
It turns out that our child is as sentimental as both of his parents. We all have a difficult time with good-byes and endings. Just as I was struggling with this day, my son was as well. Having to say good-bye to his great teachers and classmates was not easy. However, he was very stoic and hid is emotions very well. It took a lot of conversation to get to what was bothering him. Bless his heart.
This day is all that I expected it would be so far; a rush of emotions.? Joy, delight, happiness, sadness and a time of reflection, but most of all I am proud of my little man for all of his achievements this year.? Hayden has really gained so much from this year with his teachers and classmates, he has gained much more confidence and can even enjoy being a kid.? ? I couldn’t be happier for Hayden.? But I do have to say as his mom, I am so sad that this chapter is nearing the end and next year my son will be off to Kindergarten everyday!? If only they could stay little longer!? I look ahead to this time next year and I will be an even bigger sappy mom when Hayden graduates from Kindergarten and Gillian will be graduating from Pre-school.? I know that it will seem like I merely blink and they will be graduating from High School.? They are truly a gift from God.
This week we had a family day at the dentist office. What a blessing it is to have visits like we had this week, both kids were so calm, brave and eager to have their appointments.
I feel for many of my friends who have had really bad experiences at the dentist with their kids. Both kids seem to be progressing nicely with their dental hygiene. Happy to report, no cavities , Hayden’s six year molars are coming in nicely and yes they both inherited my small mouth which makes taking x-rays next to impossible. Enjoy the photos, remember to double click so you can see all of them. Thanks!
I cannot believe the school year is about over, it really just seems like Hayden just started school. It really has been a fun year. I loved being active in his classroom and that Gillian was welcome when I volunteered.
This year we had many fun outings, one of our first ones was to Santa’s Workshop where we had just gone that summer, so the kids were thrilled to be back there! We also visited our Fire Station, Humane Society, a couple of parks (picnic and tennis lessons) and our last adventure was a nature hike in UVP. It was a beautiful day for a hike, all of the kids did amazingly well, including Gillian. They enjoyed climbing on the rocks, using their magnifying glasses and learning where the sand comes from (sandstone). When we got home we talked about how fun field trips are and decided that this summer we are going to plan many fun ‘field trips’. Have I mentioned how happy I am that my daughter will be at this school next year? I love it!
In honor of all the moms, Hayden’s pre-school hosted a ‘Tea for Mom and Me” at school today. They had been preparing for this event for two weeks, with a lovely teapot invitation to start it all off. Then each child painted a terracotta pot and made a pretty pinecone plant for mom.
All of this adorned the nicely set tables. White linens, spring colored candies, lovely dishes and treats. It was all so colorful and Spring-like. Before our ‘tea’ we had a special guest author read her book, which we all got and had her sign. Oh did I mention they even had one of the other teachers take the younger siblings in a classroom and let them play? It was a very special treat for Hayden and I. I sure do love this school, it has truly been great for Hayden and we are so blessed to have gotten in as they have a list of people wanting in. Gillian is looking forward to starting school next year. I will have pictures soon!
Happy Mothers Day!
Ten years ago when we bought our home, we had grand plans for our yard. Pathways, gardens and benches and fountains. A sort of mini-retreat for us.
Eventually we updated our plans to include swing sets, sand pits, trampoline, and plenty of room for playing. This year, both of our kids and the neighbors have taken it upon themselves to add some fun roads and tracks that meander throughout our BIG backyard. The beaten pathways are enjoyed by the kids as they run/drive their big Tonka trucks around and around for hours.
It brings us great joy to see the yard being loved so much. The laughter and chatter of all the activity is far more gratifying than a big, serene sanctuary we had originally planned. This year we are considering a gate between our yard and our friends next door so that the kids can play together anytime.
Although we often think about moving closer to church and into a bigger home, it is our yard that keeps us from acting upon that thought. We have many dreams for this place we hang our hats and call home.
