Scrapbooking

I have been playing around with Power Point and made these three pages.  I think they all turned out great!  Would love to hear what you think!!

Orange Chicken

I have decided that I really need to start using the slow cooker more so last night I made Orange Chicken in it.  It turned out very good, although I may try some other recipes to try and get it a little more orange tasting instead of BBQ flavored.  I also need to figure out how to make the rice "sticky".  Any ideas??

J and I love chinese food and we eat at Tokyo Joes fairly often.  Adam has been using chopsticks for a couple years now, without helpers!  It's rather amazing actually.  Noelle is still using helpers but she is rather good at it all the same.  I am actually the only one in the family who can't use chopsticks.  I'll have to practice on that if I am going to continue making Orange Chicken.

    

Shadow Scrap Page

I really wanted to try making a scrapbook page of Shadow.  This was the best I could do using Microsoft Picture It! Photo 7.0.  I love Picture It! for everyday editing of pictures, but it wasn't all that great for scrapping.  I just couldn't get the color I wanted for the background, I was shooting for a tanish color.  I guess I need to finish saving up for a better program!

A New Set of Eyes

I love her new glasses and so does she! Especially the clip on sunglasses!!

Crafty Noelle

Noelle loves to do art projects !!

Grandpa Ron sent this neat dolphin puzzle to her and she painted it and then we put it together. I also glued it later since the fins and tail kept falling off.

She also received a great foam notebook from Grandma Sheri last weekend. She loved putting the letters on and coloring/decorating the pages inside!

I was using Adam's scissors to cut out the picture for the carriage and so Noelle decided she wanted to try. So far as I know it was her first time. She did a great job and I am happy to say that only paper was cut! After this picture was taken I did put a headband in her hair as a precautionary measure. LOL

Meet Shadow!

We got Shadow on August 23rd. He is a 6 month old coon/fox hound. For a puppy he is very well behaved and learns quickly. He follows some commands already; he will sit and come, and we are working on stay and bed. He is not very big on playing, but he is getting there. He more just wants you to love on him and let him lick you. I would say he is fully potty trained since the only time he has a problem is when he is being purposefully defiant (hmmm, I don't know anyone else like that LOL). If I don't take the time to love on him right when he comes inside or is let out of the kennel he goes upstairs and will pee right in front of you, while you are watching and yelling!! I think he even let me know that he wanted to go out to potty tonight, he stood at the back door and gave a little bark-like noise and when I came downstairs he started wagging his tail and looking outside. I let him out and he went right away! He is a very good dog and a great fit for our family. He doesn't bark much, usually only if other dogs are. He stops though when I say "friend". He is not bothered by the normal things dogs bark at. He usually shows no reaction to kids on the field behind the fence or the doorbell. He will prick his ears up at sirens but then goes back to sleep right away. The kids are doing good with him and are starting to understand that he prefers to be loved on than to play, usually.

Back to school with a cow

Adam is halfway through his first quarter at school and I finally took a back to school pic a couple weeks ago. He likes school and generally enjoys being there and gives us no trouble with his Friday Folder homework. He reads level 1 books really well and we are starting to work on level 2's a little. J and I are a little frustrated that he is not being challenged in school yet though. The papers he brings home of finished work are way too easy for him. His teacher says she is aware of it and he will begin to have extra work next week. We will see how that goes. It also frustrates me that he only goes to Kindi for 2 hours and 40 minutes a day. Given his abilities he would really take off if in a full day program.

This morning was the first time he has ever had trouble leaving me to go to school. When I went in his room to tell him to finish his morning chores he was laying in bed sad, but dressed. He said he didn't want to go to school because he would miss his (stuffed) animals. He was crying and gave each one a big hug before he climbed down. When he got to his mobile he greeted a friend by going up and kinda pushing him (the friend seemed to think this was okay). I tried to him him that that's not how we say hi to someone and the floodgates opened. He was fully attached to me and wasn't letting go. His teacher had to pry him from my leg and he was in tears. I am not very emotional and never cried on any of his first days of school, but I was having a hard time not crying this morning. I think that having J out of town this week is starting to take its toll on him. And on top of that he has a mosquito bite on the back of his ankle. When he gets bitten it swells up huge and is very painful for several days. He usually has to take it easy and ice it a lot. I did give him some ibuprofen before school but decided not to give him Benadryl, based on his already poor mood. I told him to take it easy at recess and informed his enrichment and Kindi teachers of the situation. Poor little guy, I guess we will have a movie and video game afternoon today!