Schultütes

AKA:  "Carrots" and "Party Hats"

Whatever you want to call them, they were a hit!

In fact, this was the "best day of school EVER!"  

Back-to-School Schultütes

I used a combination of this and this tutorial and they were quite easy to make.  I especially liked using the wrapping paper on the Schultütes for the girls, they turned out so pretty!

We are now as ready as we are going to be (It just isn't possible to be totally ready, is it?), for our first day of school tomorrow, and my children are finally excited!   They have been begging all week to postpone school "just one more week."   Not any more! ;)

When do your children begin school for the year, and do you have any back to school traditions?  I think this just might be the start of one in our home.

The New School Room

I've been meaning to post a few pictures of our new school room for quite awhile, and just haven't had a chance until now.

This room has gone through many different stages.  When we first purchased our home over 9 years ago, just a few months before our oldest was born, it was to be the room for our children.   At one point it belonged to our three oldest just before we added on more bedrooms.  At that time, the closet was removed from this room (to add a little extra space to our small living room) and a hallway was built into it to attach the addition making it much smaller than before.  With the new bedrooms for the children, it became a storage guest room.  After Snuggles was born it then became the nursery.  Though, honestly, Snuggles rarely slept in this room.  In the winter months it is just too cold at night for a baby, plus being so snugly, he always preferred being close to his daddy and momma!  Now with another baby on the way, it was time to shift everyone around to make a little better use of our home.  The boys went to the old school room (which also was our old master bedroom when we first bought this home), the girls moved into the boys old room, Snuggles moved into the girls old room for now (he'll join his brothers in a year or so) with plenty of room for the baby to join him, and that left this room for school.  (Our home doesn't have a dining room, and the kitchen is just too small...)

It is much more cramped cozier than our old school room, but it should work just fine.  Plus, trying to figure out just what to do with everything has really helped in making our home a little more organized.

Well enough explaining, I'll get on with a few pictures!  I took these pictures a couple weeks ago (or so) and I am still in the progress of fine-tuning the room, which I am sure will be an ongoing process as we begin using it more often starting tomorrow, our first day of school for the year!

~ From the Doorway ~ 

My desk is just inside the door (it is a bit cluttered right now with two computers as I work on transferring everything over), the boys desks are on either side of the window, and the table takes up the rest is in the middle of the room.

Since taking this picture I did give-up on trying to squeeze around the end chair, and it has been moved out for now.  We don't really need it right now anyway.  You can also see the beginnings of the girls Madeline Lapbook in the basket on the table... It is still in progress and the girls have been having so much fun with this one.

~ The Boys Desks ~ 

The desk on the left has a built in bookcase on the end which I use for our CD's (Glory Stories, Music Masters, Wee Sing, and a few others) as well as all of our Father Lovasik books and other religious books.

The desk on the right didn't have a bookshelf, but I placed one I already had at the end to use as well, since I never seem to have enough room for all of our books.

The boys also have their shared American History timeline above their desks...

... as well as a basket each for their binders, geography scrapbooks, science lapbook, and Book of Centuries .

~ A little more artwork by my Aunt ~

~ Liturgical Year/Seasonal Shelf ~

I am hoping to paint this someday either brown or green... I will have to take a picture now that it is filled with all of our Feast of the Assumption books and crafts!

~ On the Opposite Wall from my Desk ~

There is our United States map... I am still trying to decide whether or not to hang up our World Map, or just stick with the globe.  It could go above my desk, but that's about it...  We'll see.

Our Art Shelf is below the map, on top of some stacking shoe organizers which are now holding puzzles, pattern blocks, lacing shapes, and other school time toys.  (Thanks again Jen for the inspiration!)

~ Just inside the Door ~ 

Just inside the door are some darling bells I purchased at the Homeschool Conference in May from Our Father's House, a picture of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (from the Monks in WY ) since she is the patron of our homeschool, a magnetic calendar for our saint magnets, and a little cabinet which holds some more books and craft supplies. 

~ From the Window ~ 

I have my bookshelves along the hallway wall.  Here is another picture from a different angle... They were SO hard to photograph!

 

~ Lots of WONDERFUL Books ~ 

History and Liturgical Year Picture Books

Some of My Favorites!

And LOTS of paper and file folders.

As you can see, I've managed to cram quite a bit into a pretty small area, but right now everything has a place, it is organized, and it seems to be working much better than the old school room...

Now, I do have one area that still needs a little work... It is the shelf on TOP of the hallway, which you can see above the bookcases -- just not in any of the above pictures.

Here is a closer look:

It looks kind of funny right now with just the one curtain hanging down in the middle, but what my children don't know is that behind that curtain are quite a few of their Christmas gifts all wrapped and ready for December.  

My plan is to keep items I am not using this year (or season) up and out of the way. I also want to try and find (or perhaps make) a few curtains that would nicely hide it all.  The rest of the craft supplies, the ones we use on a frequent basis, are now being stored in my closet -- and another work in progress as I try to organize it all, but it is coming along nicely.

So, there you go... A little peek at our School Room.   Now I am off to finish getting ready for tomorrow!!   I have a few Schultütes to make.

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On the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe

Today, August 14th, is the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

After dinner this evening my children asked to listen to The Knight and Our Lady! The Story of St. Maximilian Kolbe while coloring Charlotte's wonderful coloring page.



They also asked me to post their finished pictures for you all to see:

Left:  by Captain (age 9)  Right:  by Rascal (age 7) 

Left:  by Twinkle Toes (age 5)  Right:  by Chiquita (age 4)

In the meantime, also inspired by Charlotte, I tried making some St. Max's Candy for dessert.

I ended up using pecans, since that is what I had in the freezer.  The candy didn't turn out anywhere near as pretty as Charlotte's, but I do have the same china ☺and my children thought the candy was delicious!

Thank you Charlotte!!!  

St. Maximilian Kolbe ~ Pray for us! 

Random Summertime Photography :: Slip 'n Slide

Or rather, Slip 'n Wipe Out!

(I was surprised the camera caught this exact moment earlier today.  Chiquita was fine and laughing when she sat up.  She then headed to the end of the line to try again!)

An Urgent Prayer Request

...for Mary Ellen Barrett's son Ryan, who has been missing from a camping trip since yesterday evening.   He is 14 years old and is also autistic.  Please pray for his safe return!

Update from 4Real:

We have heard tragic news that Ryan's body has been recovered. Please pray for this family and all who are suffering. 

Please join us today in praying the Seven Sorrows for Mary Ellen. 

Update from Michele:

We are so very sorry to have to share the devastating news that Ryan Barrett has drowned.  Our heartfelt love and prayers are extended to Mary Ellen and Dave and all the Barrett family. Words cannot convey the depth of this sadness.  We pray that God will grant them strength and peace in this horrible time of loss.

Please, please, please pray for Mary Ellen and her family...

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.    And may perpetual light shine upon him.  

May the soul of Ryan Barrett and all the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Small Successes :: August 13, 2009

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

~ 1 ~

I began organizing and de-cluttering some of my kitchen cupboards and drawers. Here are a few before and after pictures:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

~ 2 ~

We hosted a "little" family get-together this past Saturday since some of our relatives from out-of-state were in town. I made WAY too much food, but we were able to enjoy the leftovers for days! My favorite was the Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad (I'll try and post the recipe soon), though the Blueberry-Strawberry Cobbler I made from the leftover berries was delicious too!

~ 3 ~

After starting to read "It's So You! Fitting Fashion to Your Life" this past weekend, I went through all my clothing and have a few stacks of stuff that is "So Not Me!" lol!! (I actually took the following picture before I was finished, and there is another stack next to those pictured!)

I found it interesting that most of the clothes in the stacks are things I hardly ever wear, even though I "like" them...

I must admit that I was disappointed to read that green is not in my "color palette" and I am really hoping that I am one of the rare women with "cool undertones" that can get away with wearing chocolate brown. It's another one of my favorites!! On the other hand, yesterday I was wearing a shirt that I picked up at Motherhood on Monday (following the guidelines for my body type and color palette from the book) and hubby kept saying "You look really nice today!" You know, there just might be something to it all!  (Or perhaps his anesthesia hadn't completely worn off!)  ;)

~ BONUS ~

I guessed correctly!! I just knew she was a little girl! Now, I need to start thinking about pulling out all those darling little outfits which have been packed away for over 4 years. Yay!!!

What are your Small Successes this week?

Stop by Faith and Family Live to read more of this week's Small Successes.