To My Kindergartener

He started school this morning,
And he seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside him
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as he took his place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw him as
he first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When he began to talk.

This little boy so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though he must have grown
To boyhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar his first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with him
And keep him by the hand
To lead him through the places
That he couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew he would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But he must have his chance to live,
To work his problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little boy
With friends and work and play;
He's not a baby anymore --
He's in Kindergarten today.

To My 3rd Grader

You were six months old and full of fun
With a blink of my eye, you were suddenly one.
There were so many things we were going to do,
But I turned my head and you were two.

At two you were very dependent on me,
But independence took over when you turned three.
Your third birthday, another year I tried to ignore,
But when I lit the candles, there weren't three, but four.

Four was the year that you really strived,
Why, look at you now, you're already five.
Now you are ready for books and for rules.
This is the year that you go to school.

The big day came, you were anxious to go.
We walked to the bus, going oh, so slow.
As you climbed aboard and waved goodbye,
I felt a lump in my throat and tears stung my eyes.

Time goes so fast, it's hard to believe
that just yesterday you were home here with me.
And tomorrow when the bus brings you home
and you jump to the ground,
You'll be wearing your cap and graduation gown.

So I'm holding to these moments as hard as I can,
Because the next time I look, I'll be seeing a man.

(author unknown)

Snack Caddy

Well, school starts here on Monday (wahhhhhh). This year, BOTH boys will be in school from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Yeah...mama's not handling that well. For the past almost decade, my life has been all about being a stay-at-home mom and having a little one here for me to take care of. It's going to be eerily quiet on Monday once the boys are off to school. I don't like change. And I'm not handling this very well. Especially the part about my baby (BABY!) starting Kindergarten. Where did the time go?!! *sniff

Anyway, I decided that today (Saturday) would be a great day to try and get some things around the house organized for the upcoming whirlwind that is known as.....School.

First on the list, washing all the new school clothes! I've got that going right now.

Secondly, I cleaned out my fridge and made a "snack caddy" for the boys. I found this idea on Pinterest and knew I had to do this! (btw, if you haven't joined Pinterest yet, DO IT!)

I made some little snack baggies of fruit and other snacks and put them in the shower caddy I found in the Target $1 section. I also put snacks that were already in the fridge into the caddy. This way, when it's time to pack a lunchbox, I can just grab and go! Also, when the boys get home from school, they will no doubt immediately want a snack...so, instead of having to fix something, I can just tell them to go pick something out of the snack caddy! :)

Some of the things I included are:
Strawberry banana applesauce
Fruit cups
Bags of grapes
Bags of pretzel sticks
Bags of Cheez-it snack mix
Ritz cracker snack mix
Chocolate Chex mix snack bars
Peanut butter crackers
Fruit snacks
Rice Crispie treats
Applesauce squeeze pouches

Sooo simple, yet such a time saver! I will change out snacks and add new stuff in every now and then just to give a variety. As you can see, there is plenty variety for right now, even for picky eaters. ;) I put the caddy on the bottom shelf of the fridge, so it is easily accessible for the kiddos.

So...there's my attempt at being organized in the snack department. :) Now, back to washing school clothes!

Summertime 2-Pager

If you haven't checked out this month's kit from The Scrap Room, you really must head over there and see it! One of my favorite lines from this kit was the "Sweet Summertime" collection by Little Yellow Bicycle. LOVED the bold, bright colors! They matched my park pictures perfectly. :) Love it when that happens. Here is my 2-pager featuring that collection:

Hope you are enjoying the rest of your summer...what's left of it, anyway! Thanks for looking. :)

A couple of new summer layouts :)

Another quick post today just to share a couple of summer-themed layouts I've done recently. Summer's almost over, but I still have plenty of summer pages to do!

First up, my youngest son's silly grin on his last day of preschool. They had an outdoor "Splash Day" party, and I finally got him to be still for a second to snap this pic. I lifted this page from a page I had saved to my computer a long time ago...I don't know who the original artist was for this page, but I loved how the page was laid out, so I lifted it:

My husband designed these t-shirts for my family for the 4th of July. They say, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom":

More pages to come later! :) Thanks for looking.

School Layouts

Just a quick post today to share a couple of school-related layouts I've done recently. I guess all this back-to-school talk (boo!) has me thinking of all the school pages I need to get done! ;)

First up, my oldest son's 1st grade recycling project. He took a cracker box, a macaroni box, and an egg carton and created this adorable alligator:

Secondly, my oldest son's 2nd grade Valentine party this past school year. I love getting a good group shot of all the kids in his class. That will be fun to look back on in years to come. :)

Yep, it's definitely almost back-to-school time. This year is especially difficult for me because my youngest son starts Kindergarten. My BABY!!! I have cried so much over this already. It's just hard letting your babies grow up. :( For the past decade of my life, I've been taking care of a kid at home...and now they will both be gone to school full-time during the day. Makes me sad....but I know they will both love school this year. :)

Now, finishing up my back-to-school shopping....that's another story........

Guest Designer at Pebbles Inc. Blog! :)

Hey readers! I've got some exciting news to share today....

I am this week's Guest Designer over at the Pebbles Inc. blog! Wow, what an honor. I have loved Pebbles products ever since I started scrapping, and they just keep on getting better and better.

I was given a big box full of Floral Lane and Ever After collections to work with, and I had a blast! Be sure and leave a comment on the Pebbles blog for your chance to win a giveaway from one of the most generous scrapbooking companies out there! ;)

August TSR Reveal!

Wow, wow, wow. I say it every month, but this month's kit from The Scrap Room is awesome! As always, there are 4 fun, new collections to work with, so here are my projects:

American Crafts "Campy Trails" collection:

My Mind's Eye "Hattie" collection:

Simple Stories "100 Days of Summer" collection:

Little Yellow Bicycle "Sweet Summertime" collection:

*PLUS* A 2-pager with the Little Yellow Bicycle "Sweet Summertime" collection!! Can't reveal that one just yet! ;)

So hurry over to TSR and order your kit today! Thanks for looking.