Blog Overdue

Happy belated Memorial Day! The long weekend went by way too fast. It was fun-filled but not too crazy.

Friday night, Nolen had an impromptu sleepover with two friends - Garrett & John. Ben took all of the boys and Ella to see Over the Hedge. We'd had some free movie coupons on the fridge for ages so it turned out to be a pretty affordable night. After Ella went to bed, the 3 boys played the soundtrack to High School Musical, a disney channel original movie, and danced around the living room. I'm not sure Nolen was real keen about the dancing around but his friends were very entertained.

Side note - remember Kids Incorporated - 1984? What a great show that was:)

On Saturday we (*gasp*) got a babysitter and went to a party. My friend Jen celebrated her 34th birthday and the passing of her comps - the test she needed to pass to go forward with her Doctorate in Psychology. Several high school friends were there which made it really cool.

I find high school so completely amusing. After the party, I drove the babysitter home and boy did she have some drama going on in her life to share... and she's just 14! She hadn't even been born yet when we all graduated from high school. I think it's funny how everything seemed so monumental back then. Why was that? Hormones? Boredom? Just plain immaturity? Whatever it was, I'm so glad those days are behind me. It's fun to get to know people you knew in high school that you didn't really know at all.

Sunday & Monday we mostly just worked. We're still fine tuning our new website: www.polkadotpotato.com There's so much I want to add but I'm really pleased about how it's coming along.

Mohawks are fun!

Aren't mohawks a blast? Today was the closing ceremony at Nolen's school. So much fun! Our awesome principals had a little bet with the 5th graders - they promised to get mohawks if 100% of the kids passed the science TAKS test (the TX standardized test for 3rd - 11th grades). Well, they got so close - 97% passed which was enough for the principals to make good on their bet...so they had their wives come to the ceremony and give them mohawks in front of the kids. It was great! I don't think this was Mr. Gibbins first mohawk. His wife appeared highly skilled. Mr. Forsyth, on the other hand, ended up with a fauxhawk. And he came very prepared with his own smock.

Included in the festivities were some musical acts: Root Canal sung "Sweet Home MST" and Ms. Patterson belted "We are Family".



We've had such a wonderful year. Every teacher Nolen has had at MST has been fantastic! Nolen's teacher this year, Mrs. Yeager, is wonderful - exactly what Nolen needed - that perfect balance between patience and firmness. She was dancing to the music today. She looks about 12 in this picture I snapped. She's so fun and cute.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I'm sure I'll cry. I get way emotional about these things.

Tiffany Tillman, Provo update and the Potato

Well, it's 4 am in Provo, UT and I can't sleep to save my life. I had some crazy dream about trying to teach with roaches and rats running around our feet and now I can't seem to get those visions out of my head. Just lovely. Perfect time to update the blog...

On Tuesday, I had the most awesome visit with Tiffany Tillman, a new 2006 CK Hall of Fame winner. We're totally kindred spirits. We swapped fun ideas and visions for the future. Our daughters are just 4 days apart, too. How cute are these girls together? And Lita is the sweetest thing ever.

I left for Provo on Wednesday and have had a really enjoyable trip. 8 years in the scrapbooking industry and this is my first time to Utah. Crazy! The mountains are gorgeous, the air is clean, it's just amazing.

Emily is on fire! She feels great and is rockin' the house as usual.

We had several hours to hang out so we went to the mall which sounds really lame but when you rarely get to shop without kids running around, this is a real treat. Ella is now the proud owner of SIX pair of flip flops! I also bought these cute matching t-shirts for my little monkeys. Can't wait to do a photo shoot.

Our newest project is [say a little prayer] just hours from going live. We had one little glitch to get past last night...not sure if it was resolved yet...but it should be... So take a look when you get a chance - www.polkadotpotato.com - and be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you can find out about the grand opening and all the fun things we're doing.

Better try to get more zzzzzz's. 8 am is right around the corner.

Living in the present

Life in general is pretty darn good. I'm excited about the future but having a good time in the present. One of my favorite quotes is by Charles Dickens - "Live in the past, the present & the future." It even resides as a magnet on my fridge. For me, it's easiest to live in the future...I'm always thinking about what's next. Living in the past isn't hard for me. I learn from past mistakes and try not to dwell on things I can't change. Living in the present is the toughest for me but I'm getting better every day.

Those that know me well, know that my scrapbooking is pretty personal to me. I put so much of myself into my craft that I feel vulnerable when I share it. I've sent pages in to be published twice in my life and was lucky enough to see them in print... A Kaleidoscope page in Memory Makers in 2000 and the Scrap City book that was just published. I'm very proud of both creations and honored to have been published but I don't think I get the rush that others do from having their pages in print. For me, it's so scary. But in an attempt to grow as a person and a scrapbooker, I've decided to put myself out there a little more... It's so weird, because I'm really a risk taker at heart. But I like to take risks that have some control over. I don't like to jump out of planes or anything...I guess I can't control other people's tastes or opinions and that's my hangup. A few weeks ago I signed up for the Ultimate Digi Scrapper contest from DigiScrappin.biz. I just completed my week 2 assignment. I'm actually very pleased with the outcome and win or lose, I'm happy with my work. I know it's out there and others may think I'm weird but this is me on paper and I like it. And really that's all that counts because I scrapbook for me.

So, here's the page: Spirit of a Girl

I'll find out on Sunday if it's good enough to go to the next round. But even if it's not, it was great doing the challenge. This was the very first page I've done about myself.

Sunday is also Mother's Day. Gracie is going to be dedicated at church which I'm super excited about. After the service we're going to my mom's house to celebrate the day. Hopefully my siblings and I will all get along for the 2 hours or so that we'll be together. That one {unlikely} event would be the best present my mom could have for Mother's Day.

Here's the pic we took of Gracie that will show up on the screen during the dedication. I think it turned out cute.

It's Greek to me

Okay, I should have known better, but nonetheless...

This evening I decided to be domestic. Ben wanted a vegetarian dinner so I decided to be ambitious and make a Greek salad. I didn't have a recipe but I have eaten my fair share of Greek salads in the past so I felt equipped enough.

I took Ella with me to SuperTarget which always makes for an interesting trip. She took her Barbie cell phone with her. She's amazingly popular for a 2 year old. We had to stop several times while shopping so she could take a "call". I couldn't really understand the conversation but I'm sure it was work-related :) I had to "talk her down" a few times - mostly about chocolate chip cookies and some multi-colored soybeans that she insisted were yummy candy. I always have such a different experience when I take Grace v. Ella to the store. When I take Grace, people just smile and say how cute she is. With Ella, if people smile at me it's one of those "you poor thing" smiles. I get more eye-rolling and obvious fleeing than anything else. Therefore, I've just stopped making eye-contact with people when I'm with Ella. Don't get me wrong about my Ella...she's an amazing child...she just has an opinion about EVERYTHING! I would be frustrated if I wasn't so personally responsible, genetically speaking.

I spent about $20 on the ingredients for the salad - 2 kinds of olives, feta cheese, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. etc. Got home, spent about 25 minutes peeling, chopping, tossing and voila...as my husband put it...it was a valiant effort. It sucked, tasted gross and no one would eat it including myself. So if anyone has a good recipe for a Greek Salad I could certainly use it.