Summer Fun

What fun things do you have planned for the summer??
We will be continuing our homeschool work for at least part of the summer. I'm thinking normal schedule for the rest of June and part time only in July and August.
As far as fun, here are some of OUR ideas.

Trip to one of the local springs

Pick your own blueberries

Snorkeling at the jetties (on a weekday to avoid the crowds)

Camping trip to Caverns, bonus if it's during one of the meteor showers

Make a Fairy Garden

Make a toad house

Tie dye a t shirt, pillowcase, etc 

Mommy and Me painting class

Pool day at local park

Build a stick raft and try it out

DIY Glow in the dark bowling with a friend

Make a butterfly feeder

Build a simple tiki hut

Nighttime walk on the beach

Water park day

Early morning shell hunt

Bake cinnamon rolls

Free movie days

Play dates with homeschool friends

Painting with nature-leaves, flowers, sticks

 

Fall Wish List

Temperatures are getting cooler and I can't wait for Fall and all the fun activities. There are so many things I want to do with little R but know time, distance, and $$ will put some limits on it. BUT, girls can dream right??

OUR Fall Wish List

• Pick your own pumpkins (somewhere!)
• Paint pumpkins
• Collect fall leaves
• Crafts with fall leaves
• Pumpkin craft
• Corn Maze and more at Sweet Seasons
• Peanuts and fun at Holland Farms
• Make caramel apples
• Make pinecone turkeys
• Make pinecone bird feeders
• Plant spring blooming bulbs
• Plant lettuce
• Camping at Joe Wheeler for Thanksgiving
• Bake a sweet potato casserole
• Bake pumpkin bread
• Smores by the campfire
• Fishing at cypress Cattle
• Play in a pile of leaves
• Church Fall Festival
• Buy discounted costumes for dress-up 
• Visit dad
• Play w/ cousins

 

40 Things to Accomplish this Year

Since I turned 40 (GASP) last month-I decided to come up with 40 things to accomplish this year in lieu of "resolutions".
So here it goes...........
1) Add pictures to at least every third blog entry
2) Take more pictures (or have hubby do it) of R and I's art/craft/learning activities
3) Make R 2 hooded towels
4) Make at least 5 hairbows or hair accesories for R-4 down 1 to go
5) Make a hairbow holder for R from old frame
6) Put flowers on my Mom's grave-It's been almost a year and I still haven't been. Not sure when I will actually be ready, if ever, but I think I should be able to before the year is out.-as of 4/5 I've made the arrangement
7) Plant my little garden by mid March this year.
8) Lose 10 pounds (and keep it off)
9) Apply for my CAP
10) Attend at least 1 conference in Substance Abuse field-sent the check off on 3/4, conference is later in March-DONE
11) Write my Dad (or send a card) once per month-done for Jan and Feb
12) Blog post about my dreams/hopes for R-completed 3/03
13) Complete 6 scrapbook pages of R's pictures
14) Send homemade snacks to Dad x 2
15) Have 3 freezer cooking days
16) Trip to Atlanta aquarium
17) See Rock City :)
18) Plant sunflowers-4/3, in peat pots
19) Get family pictures done
20) Make personalized onesie for Brayden-my great nephew
21) Sew 4 pillowcases
22) Use a menu planner at least 2 weeks per month
23) 1 crockpot meal per month
24) Work the spring consignment sale-done
25) "applique" two shirts for R for spring
26) Bake some bread-not from a mix-done, made a honey wheat but awfully dense, not light and airy
27) Read a book just for entertainment
28) Tie dye something with R
29) Go on a date with the hubby
30) Paint our bedroom

31) OKAY, I'm stuck so I'll list 10 more later :)

I plan on making myself accountable on some of these by blogging about the finished product, result, trip, etc :)

Gratitude

Definition of GRATITUDE

a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation

a feeling of being grateful for gifts or favours

The state of being grateful; thankfulness.

My mom's recent diagnosis has reminded me of how thankful I should be for what I have...even the little things. So, here is a list for the world to see.

Things I am thankful for:

A healthy child
Parents who care
In-laws who are helping
A home
My car
Flowers
All of my senses
The ability to work
Having a job
Reasonably good health
unconditional love
Air conditioning
Food for my family
GOD
the bible
Church
Music
Good coffee
Krispy Kreme :)
Having had my parents around till now
Doctors
medications
change of seasons
the beach
mountains
sunsets
rain
intelligence
having at least a little common sense
a husband who helps out w/ baby
Nichole-she takes wonderful care of little R
my 3 critters
silence (not that I experience it alot)


These are just a few of the thinks I am thankful for. A few years ago, Oprah mentioned a gratitude journal on her show. I haven't done that but I do make it a point to think about all I have to be thankful for..even the small things.

Things to do before I die

As part of my job as a counselor, I lead group treatment sessions every week. One of the topics I have used in the past and used again today was what are 20 things you want to do before you die. Previously, I've played the Tim McGraw song Live Like You Were Dying and then explained the activity but not today. I didn't decide until after I was at work to do this activity.
SO,in keeping with a theme-I'm blogging about my own bucket list of things to do before I die.

Learn to speak another language, fluently
Have a home in Puerto Rico
Get out of debt
Get my LMHC
Sell my creations on ETSY
Learn to sew
Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
Swim in a phosphorescent bay
Spend the night in the rainforest
Be unplugged (no TV, computer, phone, etc) for one week
Kayak with Orcas
Take an Alaskan Cruise
Meet my grandchildren
Move to western North Carolina
See the Northern Lights
Take my child to swim with the manatees
Take my child to Disneyworld
Go on a photo safari
Paint a picture and hang it in my home
Have a "real" garden-you know, the kind that actually feeds my family
Live far enough away from the city to have chickens, not a pen full just a few laying hens
See the Grand Canyon
Ride a camel
Dig for Thundereggs
Be an extra in a movie
Have a house with a big porch- rockers, porch swing, hanging plants, the whole old southern kind of porch
Come up with a "signature" dish
Take guitar lessons
Learn to play a CCR, James Taylor, or Simon and Garfunkel song on my guitar
Find a church where I feel at home
Teach a college level course
Forgive some people (I'm currently working on this )
Grow my own fruit
Become comfortable with my body-whatever size it is
Foster creativity in my child
Foster a sense of wonder about nature in my child
Learn how to start a fire with sticks or rocks-no flint, no matches, etc
Research edible plants and have a working knowledge of them for wherever I live
Have an emergency fund
Take a survival class
Go to Jerusalem and walk where Jesus walked
Own an RV
Visit all 50 states
SIMPLIFY!!
Take R fishing
Wake up to snow on Christmas morning
Make something R will actually want to wear
Teach R to swim
Learn to fix R's hair :)
Volunteer on a reservation
Go back to Ireland
Hike at least part of the Appalachian Trail
Go to Costa Rica
Trip to the UP of Michigan to hunt for Lake Superior Agates


Well, enough for now. I guess I better get busy making the money I need to do some of the traveling I want to do.