hello Monday

Today marks the start of a new school week for us. Walker, as much as he LOVES school, asked again when his first vacation was going to be! Sometimes our weekends seem as busy - or busier - as our weekdays that everything runs together. We should make a conscious effort to stop and take a breath from time to time (hence the picture of my little crossing guard.) By the way, is that bicycle not the cutest! I am a huge fan of these bikes. Walker learned to ride a bike in about 10 days with this type of bicycle. They are called balance bikes, and the child focuses on the hardest part of the process - the balancing - first. There are no pedals, and they will never need training wheels. Walker went from riding nothing to riding a big bicycle in a week and a half - completely amazing. That Santa Claus is one crafty fellow!

I worked on several projects this weekend - pieces that have been on my mind for a while. I finally sat down and stamped out my sister's necklace for her. Since she will see this post before she sees her necklace in person, " I hope you like this, Betsy!" I'll drop it in the mail to you this week. This piece is great for a mom who wants to proudly display her children's names around her neck. The names are hand-stamped on sterling silver tags and hang from a larger closed jump ring. A double freshwater pearl dangle is included. You could choose from a 16 or 18" necklace. I just love this one, and it would make a fantastic Christmas gift!

Now, my other project is one I mentioned last week. I am going to have my very first blog give-away. I am so excited about this!!! I am going to keep you in suspense (because I know you are all on the edge of your seats) until tomorrow when I post the picture. The only thing you will have to do is leave a comment on my blog. That is easy enough, right? Then, I will randomly choose a winner from those comments. I love to give things away, but I am most excited about seeing who will comment. So, be sure and check me out tomorrow and tell all of your friends! For now, I hope this Monday will be the start of a great week and that we will all take a little time to stop...and catch our breath.

it's raining...frogs!

What a foreign experience it was for me to wake up to a thunderstorm last night. It has been so long since it has "really" rained here. It made it nearly impossible to get out of the bed this morning to get everyone (including me) ready for school. Even at 2:00 p.m., I still find myself ready to curl back up under my covers! Needless to say, the raincoats were not exactly handy by the back door; however, we found them and tried to ride through the biggest puddles on the way to school in order to make it seem a little easier to be out and about so early on such a grey day.

After dropping Walker off at the elementary school, William was on the cell phone talking to his father. While listening to their conversation, I caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror. I noticed that, while I had already been up for an hour and a half, I still had this sheet/pillow mark across my face. Now, if I were turning 26 tomorrow rather than 36, that mark would have long been gone! I told William to tell his father that I would like to have Botox for my birthday...he angrily yelled back at me, "No mommy, I want tacos!" I guess I won't have any "lift" waiting for me when I wake up in the morning, but you can just bet what I'll be having for my birthday dinner!

On a brighter note...I have a cute necklace to post. This piece is for the mother of a little girl who was born last week. She does not know about me and my jewelry, but her mother-in-law does. So, we agreed it was probably safe to post the picture even though the necklace is to be part of her Christmas gift. A 1.25" sterling silver washer is handstamped with sugar.spice.everything nice. Inside hangs a 5/8" disc with the little girl's name on it. A handmade freshwater pearl/sterling silver bead charm hangs from the top. This piece it too fun for a new mom!

Now, I must explain the title of my post today. Yes, it is raining, but I had already told you that. When I was getting the preschool students into the church this morning, I felt/heard a thump on the top of my head. I had visions of one of the kids getting a kick out of throwing a piece of plastic food at my head. Well, I leaned over and shook my head. Onto the ground fell a frog! I should have know it was going to be a strange day!