Reading Corner Flannel Board

I made a neat thing in my playroom recently. I call it a Reading Corner Flannel Board. I had been intending to paint a tree in this corner for quite a while. Well, I made a few changes and now it is a multipurpose tree!

There are a few small shelves behind the center tree section for storage of flannel board story pieces. Also, two small shelves in the trunk are perfect for highlighting a specific story or theme material. Now, I need to create or buy some stories to use!

My local child care resource is going to use this idea in their next provider newsletter. One of provider friends told them about it.

Blog Jam

I keep coming up with ideas that I should blog...but I am not at a computer. Then, when I have computer time, I keep forgetting what it was! Sorry. There is a lot going on for me right now, and I don't always like to share the serious stuff...I want fun & happy to shine through on the blog, and not weigh anyone down with the difficulties of day-to-day life. I figure you all have enough of your own.

So, in my attempt to keep it light, and to let you laugh at me, I'll tell you about something I did recently.

I went to Walmart. Woo hoo, I can hear the excitement now! hahah! I did go...a couple of weeks ago. I was out of many pantry staples, and I also needed some fabric for a craft project. We have no other place to get the fabric locally...so I went. I was kind of trying to hurry, as shopping on Saturdays gets a little crazy due to the influx of vacationing families in our area. I bought a huge container of grape jam. I love jam because it spreads so easily. Went home, unpacked, and got on with my day.

The following week, I went to make pb&j for lunches. I realized I bought jelly instead. Now I have this five thousand serving size jar of jelly. It just is not the same. When all I wanted was jam :)

Any suggestions on how to use it up quick? I am too frugal to just get rid of it!

4 stars

For my non-facebook followers :) I am so excited to announce that my child care has recieved on increase on the state scales...to a four star childcare home. It has been two years since I licensed my home. I have been doing childcare for seven years so far (september 2002). I started out as a legally-operating non-licensed home. I kept 2 children plus my family. Then I had another baby. And somehow, I ended up with a child in my care who was going to have a baby brother. And I had no legal spaces. So, I jumped on the paperwork bandwagon. I wish I had gone ahead and gotten a license at the beginning, since it really hasn't been as terrible as I thought it would be. Anyway, when you start out, you can only have one star for the first six months. Then I started taking early childhood college classes. After that, more paperwork, and I got a 3 star license. I recently had the consulant come visit again, did the paperwork, and have the extra star. There are only 5 stars available, and I am not eligible to get the fifth star until I have the famil child care home rating assessment completed. This is a pretty intensive undertaking, so I am not planning on having it done soon...but eventually.

Last night before school begins!

Officially, tomorrow I am no longer a parent of a preschooler. Cinderella goes to Kindergarten, Jedi Boy is a second grader and Princess Leia is starting eigth grade.

I am looking forward to the routine, I admit it. It is a time to start making dinner a little earlier each day...daily baths for the kids (maybe every other day :~)! Earlier morning wake-up alarms, and more.

I may be a little hectic again this fall, as I am enrolled in another college class for myself. All three kids are doing soccer, and the youngest two are also taking gymnastics once a week.

So, a busy, but hopefully fun fall, ready to go!!!

I used the dishwasher!!!

I surprised my family recently. I loaded the dishwasher & started it! I usually do dishes by hand. If the dishwasher is used, it is because I asked one of the family members to do the dishes.

However, the dishes were in a huge pile and it was late. I went to move some stuff out of the sink to reach the drain plug. The green goo that greeted me was disgusting!!! I figured the only way to clean moldy gunk would be the dishwasher. I got all the nasty stuff in there, and when I found the bottom of the sink, I realized one of my kids had poured their "fruity pebbles" cereal in there. The green stuff was not mold, but a green waterlogged piece of cereal! I laughed at myself so hard.

Dryer woes

I am a weekend laundry warrior! I am home during the days, but it is hard to get to the laundry task while I am working at home. So on the weekends, I play catch-up. Last weekend was especially hard, because a lot of our kids' bedding got dirty with a wetting "accident" 2 times in a row... So...add two more blankets/comforters and sheet sets to the usual pile. I got most of it washed, but the first load through the dryer stopped early, and would not restart. I do not have a clothes line, so I had stuff hanging on the deck rails and the shower curtain rods, plus the small drying rack I have. It was a nightmare...

The Mr. tested everything he could with his special tools & stuff...and he thought he found the problem, yay!!! But then, it wasn't. BOO :( So, he left it there for a while, than came back to try to figure it out again. He found the real problem! Double Yay!!! Except it was Saturday night, and he needed a special part. He called a distant relative that is in the appliance service business. The guy said he would drop the part off on Monday. (ACK!, that long!!! but still). Monday came and went...nothing. So it was supposed to be Tuesday. Guess what? Nothing! I called another family member to inquire about the man. They said he is never very punctual. I was mad that I had not thought to ask about this BEFORE we called the guy.

At this point, I am on the home depot website, dreaming about new super capacity dryers that can hold about 45 pair of jeans & more...

So, Mr. decided to call another guy that lives about 4 houses away...and presto, he left the part at our house while we were out that evening. Sixteen bucks for the part. WAY less money than buying a new dryer. The Mr. got it all back together, and now, I am again a weekend laundry queen. :)

Chief Family Officer hosts a giveaway

Ok, if you know me, you know that my family is no stranger to Mcdonalds. My son used to beg to go to 'the french fry house'. Well, of course we have seen the 30th anniversary beanie babies. We only own about 4 of them now. We had Ronald ( Cinderella gave him away to a friend), and still have Quackly, Yammy, Fable, & Grimace. I'd love to have the entire set...so I am sharing the info with you about the giveaway. Go to chief family officer to enter for yourself!