way too long

I am returning to the land of blog. It has been a crazy six months around here (actually longer than that but since I last posted here) 

Let's begin with the working mom thing- I was doing the subbing gig at the elementary school when another couple of paraprofessional positions became available and I applied again. This time was the trick!! I started in January working in one of the third grade rooms and one of the fourth grade rooms. I also had the fun of doing afternoon bus duty as well as a couple of lunch duties (fourth grade and first grade). Totally loved it. Some days the bus duty was rough but it was just getting the kids to move forward to get on their buses! I remember practically throwing kids aside when the final bell rang. Not these kids. Time changes things I guess.

Waiting to hear exactly which room I will be in for the coming year but so far have heard that I am back in third grade! Very very happy about that. Crossing fingers it will be the same room as before. Totally loved working with that teacher and we got into a great rhythm by the end of the year. The kids were amazing too.

Both the kiddos did great in school and will be advancing to their respective grades come August 31st. I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my Kira will be a freshman! OMG! Seriously. I was just dropping her off at kindergarten and now she is in high school. That went way to fast for this momma to handle. And my baby going into fourth grade? Someone please tell Alex he is not old enough for that! sigh.

The world of the bears is still being good to hubby. Love the new direction the company is taking and love seeing the new licenses they are getting. Minions anyone?? Or maybe Star Wars is more your speed?

Town stuff-- The elections were a process and I do believe that the right people got into the correct spots. Lots of good conversations and the direction of the town seems to be going forward instead of sitting in the past. Best part is that tuitioning of our students out of district to another district has been removed from the table. It has been a very long and drawn out process but in the end it was determined that it was not a cost effective long term solution to our school/ facilities issues. WOO HOO!! Now to determine what shall be done with both buildings- the junior senior high school as well as the elementary school. Never a dull moment here in Newmarket!

Home stuff- We had new windows installed in October/ November. What an amazing difference that made. Our heating bill was lower and the rooms were so much more cozy. And we did not have to put plastic up to keep the drafts out. Happy happy. We had also discussed the possibility of redoing our kitchen. Hubby started playing around with IKEA designs and a few trips to the store later, we have purchased our cabinets! We have a contractor who will be starting in September and a new kitchen will be happening! We have ordered all the appliances as well and are getting very excited to have a new space. Lots of before and after pictures to come.

terri's teases- after the holidays and before I started working every day, hubby surprised me with a major remodel of my office space. Like removed everything and started all over again! We used IKEA cabinets and storage and made my room so pretty! Now I can have a lovely breeze in my space from having two windows open as well as finding everything in my space. After having an open concept room since the beginning, I have discovered that I really am someone who needs to have all my stuff hidden. I get distracted easily.... squirrel.... Anywho- I have the green doors and drawers as well as the teal shelves. Guess they sold out of the teal since I cannot find the link anymore. But it is very pretty with my room. I also got a new desk! We did a long desk top with two of the drawer units at either end in white. Now I actually have space to work and be on the computer. So happy. My mom was so impressed with my space, she went to IKEA as well and picked up some of the storage units to redo her sewing space. Looks pretty darn awesome and so happy for her too.

Because of the remodel and then the whole working thing, I was not able to craft as much as I would like (none). This summer I have been making up for lost time and have created a bunch of cards. Hoping to get them listed and maybe sold. If not, I will have a great stash of cards for my own personal use.

That is about it. I am sure I have missed something. But I shall return. Thanks for taking the time to read. Off to see if I can find any pictures of the items I have created since being back at it.

what a difference a year makes

Last year at this time the town of Newmarket was in a very heated battle. Should we build a new Junior/ Senior High School or do nothing? The town voted to do nothing. Not of course that that is a surprise for those of us who have lived here for any amount of time. You can read about the start of this debate here. To catch up on all the gory details of the fight we undertook, search this blog using the words- vote/ March 11/ Jr/ Sr High School or new school. I was quite vocal and passionate about this issue and still am to this day.

However, as the year has come and gone and we are staring at a new deliberative session, new concerns are being voiced in town. Keep funding a bus that helps the home bound elderly get around or not and should we introduce a full day kindergarten program to our school. Both seem to be items that would not be a big deal in other towns. But here in Newmarket they are very big deals. It all comes down to the bottom line and how it will impact the home owners tax bill.

This brings us to today's deliberative session.

The town portion went very quickly. So quickly in fact, hubby and I had time to grab a bite to eat before the school portion. Love that!! The only issue that was discussed was the funding of an elderly bus. Something that the town of Newmarket has been doing for a very long time. In the end, it will be on the ballot and I am pretty darn sure it will be voted on in a positive way. The total impact on my taxes for this funding?? $.01. Yes you read that correctly- one cent per $1000 of my tax bill. I think I got that.

The reason it was even a debate? The people of this town are always looking for ways to cut programs and save money. To this end, our town administrator (who does rock in this girls opinion) was trying to do whatever necessary to save money and removed this funding. Not because he doesn't like the elderly. Not because he doesn't think we need this bus. But because the town of Newmarket is already giving the entity which runs the bus a pretty substantial tax break on their properties in our town- they have two. Yes the town is federally mandated to do this as they are a non profit organization but once again the town administrator is charged with keeping us running a sound budget and he was trying to do what we as tax payers asked him to do. He was not sneaky about it. He stated to the town council where the cut was coming from and why he removed it. No one questioned it as it was a bit over $10,000 off of the budget. That always makes people happy to hear they are saving.

In the end, after numerous registered citizens came forward to speak, this warrant article will go to the voters to decide if they do in fact want to keep it when we vote on March 10, 2015. It is in your hands Newmarket.

The school portion of the deliberative session. Again so much different than last year. The bleachers were practically empty. Although there were more citizens present than had shown up for the town portion. It was nothing like it was last year. Last year, we were all squeezed into those bleachers like sardines. People were standing in line to voice their concerns about the building of a new school. It was a heated debate.

Not this year. 

Our biggest concern this year is whether to start up a full day kindergarten program in our school. To do this, the school would need to hire one full time teacher as well as four full time aides to help the kindergarten teachers. Our class sizes would be going from 13-18 to about 20-23 depending on the enrollment each year. The best part?? We could be saving money and stress in the end. Catching learning issues early on is the best thing for both the student and the school. With a full day program, these issues could be caught and dealt with sooner before the student goes to first grade and is behind before the school year even starts. Once a student is in first grade the issue has to be established, researched and a course of action taken. This could take from 3-6 months depending on the issue and how quickly it shows itself. Now the child is behind even more and will have a very hard time catching up. If they end up needing special services, that costs the tax payer money. See where I am going with this? This common sense thinking is so overrated. 

The other issue with the all day kindergarten program is our facilities issues. oh yes, those pesky facilities issues have not gone away. In fact they are even more in the fronts of our minds than they were last year. Where to put another classroom full of adorable kindergartners? It was first discussed to add another portable/ modular out in back of the school. There are those that think that is the worst idea ever in the whole world. While it not might be the best, it is not as horrible as it be made out to be. Those portables/ modulars are pretty darn nifty. They have a ton of space. More windows than any of our current classrooms have. To get in you need a key. They have air conditioning as well as room controlled heat. No freezing or hot kids. You don't have the noise of the hallways and they do have restroom facilities available. Would it be better to have a grand new addition to the elementary school to house all of the students under one roof?? oh hell yes!! But seeing as how history has continued to replay itself here in our fair town, that is not going to happen until money grows on trees and pigs fly. We cannot wait to solve our facilities issues. We have been waiting for at least the 15 years I have lived here. Always we are on the cusp of finding the answers to make it all better. I am still waiting on this cusp and I am no longer holding my breath.

To appease the strongest no voters on this issue, the school board and the kindergarten task force worked together on lowering the amount needed to start this program. With the lowering of the cost, this warrant article will not impact the taxes at all! Yes you read that correctly. Voting yes for the all day kindergarten program will not raise your taxes by anything! 

That being said- please vote yes for the all day kindergarten program in March. It is long overdue. If by some miracle we can renovate the elementary school in the future, then we will have all students out of the portables/ modulars. Until then, let us do what is right for this large population of our town and educate our youngest children all day.   

**Lots more to come here on my blog concerning the upcoming election. Lots of information to re-read and my thoughts to get out of my head.**

field day 2014

Time once again for the elementary school's annual field day. It was supposed to be last Friday but a HUGE storm system was parked over New Hamsphire so field day was rescheduled for today which turned out to be a most perfect day for it!! Beautiful sunny weather. Hoping I put enough sunscreen on Alex for the day.

Here is my guy walking with his teacher. As soon as he saw me, he started waving like mad- so cute!

Here is his class with their banner. The last topic they were studying was rocks and minerals and being as we are the Granite State.... they went with it!! Cute kids.

And I cannot forget my kindergarten loves! Here is their sign. All three classes walked together wearing penguin masks. They looked absolutely priceless. At this point when I was taking this picture, they all had taken their masks off since they were hot. It is a rather long parade. It starts from the end of the school that is farthest away from their classroom, and heads to the assisted living facility that is across the street from the school, and THEN down the school's driveway to the field for the calling and cheers from all classes.

Anywho... it is a lovely day for fun in the sun. And hard as it is to believe, Field day is the one school event I do not volunteer for. I will go in and help with costumes and take pictures during the parade, but then I am done. I don't need to be a lobster.

american heart association's jump for heart

Every year Newmarket Elementary School students volunteer to Jump For Heart with the American Heart Association. Both kids have done it and loved doing it. This year the American Heart Association has added a way to collect donation online!! So much easier with family and friends across the country and the use of social media!

The kids can earn rubber ducks when they reach different levels of donations. The first one that Alex is wearing in the picture below is when he received his first in person donation and the lanyard to keep him on.

The second duck he received and I didn't take a picture of it yet, was for his first online donation. As you can see below, he thanked Nana and Papa for the donation as well as his birthday present.

Cute little guy.

Anywho... if you are feeling so inclined to donate to the American Heart Association and want to help Alex reach his online goal of $75 please click HERE. FYI- Alex would also receive another duck for his lanyard. Thank you!!!

happy 8th birthday peanut

Here is Alex's cake. I was overly impressed that they actually had Pokemon at Walmart this year. He was so excited to see the cake when he came home.

Eight balloons for his eighth birthday! Also a plastic decoration in the kitchen.

Some presents for his day!

I added some crepe paper to his doorway while he was sleeping.

Daddy and I delivered balloons to his floor the night before his birthday as a surprise.

Inside his room looking out.

Plastic decoration in his room. I am pretty sure this will move behind his door so he can have it.

 Hallway decorations.

There is my birthday boy!! He is getting so big.

Present time!!

Oh look.... Lego's. Lots and lots of Lego's! Yes all those boxes above were Lego kits. All but one box was the Super Hero sets, the last one is a city set so that they Super Heroes can destroy the city while capturing the bad guys.

Little bit happy.

Big breath. It took him a few tries.

Cupcakes that I made for his class to enjoy. They also received a Pokemon pencil. Pencils are always a good choice for kids.

Happy 8th Birthday Alex!!

dragging the mule to water (UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF POST)

** When I started this post I was angry. Extremely angry. The deliberative session was an emotionally charged event with the warrant article concerning the building of a new Junior/ Senior High School taking over an hour! Yes that was for ONE WARRANT ARTICLE! During this time both sides of the debate got up to speak. All I can say is that small town politics is anything but boring.

The anger I had at the start of this post kept increasing as I was typing which made me very frustrated and angry with myself. I had made a promise once I had left both of the Newmarket tax payers and Newmarket School Solutions Facebook group pages that I would not be sucked back into those types of debates with people who only want to instigate and who spread misinformation as a pastime.

I failed. 

I was once again trying to inform those Newmarket citizens who do not wish to be informed. They are happy with their way of thinking about how the town should handle these large expenses that are rapidly piling up on all of the tax payers. Mostly this consists of WAITING.

Because of that, I am editing my post into a less angry one.

A post I can be happy and comfortable with and try once again to keep my promise to myself. You can drag a Mule to the water, but you cannot make him drink- no matter how thirsty the poor creature is. **

The above picture is a representation of what our new school could look like. I am totally in love with it!! It looks large enough to house the students. No classes being held in the guidance office, music room (except music class), cafeteria or the halls!! It looks like it has windows that are in working order, that will keep the cold out and the warmth in. And look at that parking!! I am totally in love with the parking. Needless to say, parking has never been a big concern around these parts and it is something very valuable at both of the schools.

As you can see, it does not look like the Taj Mahal. It is two stories not three and there is no gym located in the building or an auditorium. The gym as well as the locker and weight rooms will continue to be across the street from the new building. They will be refurbished but the rest of the old school will be gone to make room for parking. (ahhh parking) There will be an assembly hall. This means only 250 of the students can attend an event at one time and the event will have to be put on twice for all the students in the building to see it. Very silly not to have an auditorium in our small town. However, it had to be removed because the 'NO' voters considered it a luxury and unnecessary. Believe me, after sitting on those wooden bleachers for THREE HOURS for the school portion of the deliberative session, I would pay extra in my taxes for an auditorium. 

It came to my attention that there is a new group of Newmarket citizens in town calling themselves, Newmarket Citizens for Responsible School Solutions (NCFRSS). I'm guessing all of us who want the new school should join since we feel a new school is a responsible school solution. Wonder if they would let us participate?

Anywho, they have produced a seven page "information packet" to pass out to Newmarket citizens. I am anxiously awaiting mine to arrive. Within these seven pages are NUMEROUS falsehoods on the school situation. Including many direct slams against both the school board and the superintendent of Newmarket. Where were these citizens during the most recent ballot filing period? I do not see their names running for any of the open positions on the school board so that they can make "responsible school solutions." 

The packet starts with a long and complicated look at the tax increases that are assumed as coming to fruition. I am not going to try to dispute the tax numbers as no one is sure as to what exactly the tax impact will be when we build the new school. There are determining factors that are out of our hands at the moment about interest rates of the bond and how long the bond will be taken out for. I will say that yes property taxes will go up, am I happy about it? Nope not in the least BUT I would rather my taxes go up and I have something to show for it than them going up and having the building closed by the fire marshal at the beginning of the September 2015 school year because once again this town does not look further than tomorrow and their wallets.

Yes I do know we need to do something with our water treatment plant (which has been pushed to the back burner for over ten years) as well as the dam that needs either replacing or removal -both of these projects will increase our taxes (water treatment plant only affecting those with town sewer/ water), neither one for as long as a school bond but don't let those facts get in the way. 

To keep voters from approving the new Junior/ Senior High School construction warrant article, the elementary school is being thrown out as a reason not to spend the money at the other building. The problems at the elementary school include the building being overcrowded and needing maintenance. Yes it is true that it is overcrowded, however it has been since it was built: the kindergarten wing needed to be added shortly after construction was completed, the sixth grade was moved to the Junior/ Senior High because there was not enough room to house those students within the elementary school, there are three portables in the back of the school now for Special Ed and two fifth grade classrooms as there is not enough space within the building. This could have been a simple fix IF the voters had not nickled and dimed the plans to the bare minimums. Insisting that the need for a second story would never be needed so do not construct the building for that possibility. I cannot be the only one who sees that this lack of future planning has hurt Newmarket more than increased taxes could.

I am going to pull a few parts from the NCFRSS packet that I would like to reply to. I hope that every Newmarket resident who is eligible to vote- does their own research on all the issues for both the town and the school side and gets out to the polls on March 11. Vote what YOU feel is best for the town. 

"Only the barest amount of maintenance has been executed over the past several years, ensuring that the school became more and more of a fire and life safety concern and an inadequate environment for our children."

(taken from page 3 of the NCFRSS packet)

The Newmarket Citizens for Responsible School Solutions is correct on this account. But let us look at the real reason this has happened. They are implying that the school board and superintendent are purposely withholding doing maintenance on the building. This is untrue. Monies that SHOULD have gone into maintaining the building had to be cut due to the town's Budget Committee cutting the school's operating budget. The school board had to make the difficult decision to cut the maintenance budget so that teachers and staff would not lose their jobs and affect the quality of education for the students. Again saving money does not always equal the best answer to a situation.

"There is no doubt that Newmarket students would find it more convenient and more comfortable in a local new school."

(taken from page 5 of the NCFRSS packet)

I guess they are saying that they do not care that our students are inconvenienced or uncomfortable in the current building. 

"Take a look at our surrounding communities. No one is building a new school. In fact, those that have in recent years are begging for more students so they can afford to operate efficiently. For example, both Durham and Epping school districts have encountered huge operating costs that have required programs to be cut and staff reduced, and had them look to receive new students from other districts."

(taken from page 5 of the NCFRSS packet)

The two school districts listed have been approached by Newmarkets' school board and superintendent asking for them to take our high school students either as a tuition agreement or as a co-op agreement. Both districts have voted NO to having Newmarket students added to their student population. To keep going out and asking these same school districts because it has been a few years, seems to me to be a large waste of time and money. 

"In conclusion, let's root for our kids, let's provide them with a safe and conducive environment to learn- whether that be here or with one of our neighbors. And let's give them an example of how caring adults can act affordably and responsibly." 

(taken from page 6 of the NCFRSS packet.)

I totally agree with this. We need to provide our students with a safe environment in which to learn. Unfortunately it will not be with any of the neighboring towns. 

Newmarket cannot afford to keep looking at others to solve OUR problems that have been created by being short sighted and unwilling to spend monies at the time, or now. 

"We are facing a self-imposed dilemma as the result of imprudence and negligence over the past several years. But, it's not too late to correct our course and do what's right for our children and their future."

(taken from page 6 of the NCFRSS packet)

YES!! YES!! YES!!

Our school situation is a self-imposed dilemma that is a direct result of the voters being uninformed, misinformed and/ or only voting with the current years budget in their minds. We, as a town, need to make a very difficult decision in order to save our small town, our locally owned businesses, and our families- those with and without children. 

Please vote YES on warrant article #1 for the construction of a new Junior/ Senior High School on March 11, 2014.

*** UPDATE ***

Found that the NCFRSS has a 'website' if that is what you want to call it.

www.ncfrss.com

The only problem is that the only link on the page takes you to a Rick Astley YouTube video. Not sure what that says about this group. updated on February 27, 2014

if you can't say anything nice....

....remove your fingers from the keyboard and turn off your computer!

This is what I have had to do for over a year now because of the town I live in. We are a small town. We began our existence as a mill town. We have no income or sales tax because we decided to live here in New Hampshire. Because of no taxes coming in from these sources- all funds needed to run our town have to come from property taxes. Think about that. All the money that you can spend on a small New England town, has to come from people who own property. Needless to say, our little town doesn't have much in the way of luxuries and has had to cut back some services due to the economy.

Part of these cuts have resulted in losing qualified people who worked with our children in both of our schools, technology not being updated, teachers not receiving raises, books and supplies not being current, as well as repairs and maintenance not being able to be done on the buildings. There are other issues that are going on in our town as well including a new water treatment plant and possible demolition or replacing of a key dam on the river so the money our town does have, can only be stretched so far. 

My problem with this is that for YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS- nothing has been done. Even before the economy took a nosedive. Before the state stopped funding building of new schools. Before the EPA mandated we stop dumping high levels of chemicals into the river and threatened to take us to court. Before all of that, no one wanted to spend money. The feeling around town was "it was good enough for my kids (or even me) so why do we need to do anything?". When my husband and I moved into this town, almost fourteen years ago, both the water treatment plant as well as the high school were issues. We knew this moving here and figured it would work itself out in a couple of years. Boy were we ever wrong! What we didn't count on was the majority of people being uninformed when they vote and that they vote with their wallets. We lived in a few other states where building a new school was not an issue. It was on the ballot, you voted and the building was built. We were shocked each time the issue came up for a vote and failed miserably. Why are people in this town not supporting education of our children? It boggled our minds. And still does.

Water treatment plant. Yup we need it. People who use town water and sewer will pay for it. Fine. I vote yes. What is the problem?? (believe me it is NOT that simple). But that is not what I want to discuss in this post. This post is for my frustration on the school building issue. My inability to keep my cool when people in the town do not have all the facts but go forth and spew them from the top of Mount Washington like they were the Holy Scriptures, has had me backing away from my keyboard as well as not participating in discussions, meetings and online forums for over a year. I do not do well when I want to have conversations and adult discussions with others and members of that party resorts to name calling, mud slinging, lies and bogus facts. This is not middle school, this is real life. We can be adults and discuss our differences without all the drama. Well, you would think that and you would be wrong wrong wrong.

For years our Junior/ Senior High School has been falling apart. I guess I should start on when it was built- 1925. It was too small when it opened because the town didn't want to spend more money on building it larger as they didn't believe a larger building was needed. They were wrong. It was also built so that a third story could not be added- that saved the town money and made people happy.

There was an addition built in 1953. Again that addition did not give the building enough room to house the students. They added on again in 1965. There was one more addition to the school in 1985, that was for the gymnasium/ locker rooms. Again all these additions are not able to hold a third floor. Future planning is not a big thing around here. The aerial view of the school looks like a Tetris piece gone wrong. Now it is too small to meet the Department of Education State Guidelines on classroom sizes and other spaces. We can't put any  more additions onto the school as the land available and the footprint of the school will not support it.

There have been many suggestions over the years as to how to fix this problem in our town. There was one to buy up the land surrounding the school from homeowners so we could expand. That was met with a large NO from the community. It could have also had something to do with the talk of eminent domain that was bantered about town. Bet you can guess who started in with that term. 

There was a suggestion to put the school on the golf course we have in town- again NO was the response from the voters. Most voters felt that the school should remain in the 'center' of town and not on the outskirts. And some didn't even realize exactly how bad the Junior/ Senior High School building was at that time. Information was hard to come by back then and not as readily available as it is now.

Another suggestion was to buy the land across the street from the Junior/ Senior High School and build there.(the land across the street belonged to a greenhouse/ florist family and they were looking to sell the land) That would solve the 'center' of town issue. It took A LOT of work but the land was purchased and now belongs to the school. You would think that should be the end of this whole debate on building a much needed school for our beloved town. But you would be seriously mistaken on all counts!

The first two suggestions would have given us some state aid to help offset the cost to our town. Since those times, the New Hampshire government has put all school building funding on hold. And once they decide to start funding again, they are already millions of dollars behind in what they already owe to towns who had been promised funds before the funding was stopped. We are on our own folks. Which means, the burden is on the town's taxpayers exclusively.

Yes we have made the current building work for many years and things were going swimmingly. Well if you consider that some classes were being taught in hallways and storage was wherever there was space. All of this came to light during a fire inspection. Come to find out the building where we send our students, OUR CHILDREN, was considered failing in many fire and life safety concerns. Because of all the different additions, stairwells were now located in the middle of hallways instead of being enclosed to keep a fire from traveling quickly from one level to another. Many areas in the building do not meet ADA requirements, there are wood floors as well as wainscoting that need to be removed or covered with flame retardant materials, and there was not proper ventilation in the science labs or two proper egresses. These were the larger of many concerns the fire chief had for our building. The entire laundry list of failings was presented to the town along with an ultimatum- if these things were not fixed (or a new school being built) by the 2015-2016 school year, the building was going to be closed. That's it folks. Party is over- no school in town.

Repair work has been done on some of the issues on the school as the debate continues on as to what to do for the long term. Because we have been doing some of the improvements, we have been able to keep the building open. However, this last bit of work that needs to be done will ONLY solve our fire and life safety issues in the building. It will not fix the problems of overcrowding, hallways too narrow, classes being held in the cafeteria or in the 'auditorium'. All it will do is buy us a bit of time before we have to build a new school. And that is what many people in town would like to do. 

WAIT.

Wait for someone else to pay for it.

Wait for the economy to turn around.

Wait for the cost to come down.

Wait until those of us who want a new school, leave town.

But YOU WAIT!!

I am willing to pay for a new school. I believe that education is key to the future. Just because you or your children didn't have it, doesn't mean you should discount it and call it reckless spending or a Taj Mahal.

Will the economy ever go back to where we were ten years ago? Nope. Deal with the present people. The DeLorean is not taking us back in time.

The cost will never go down. The suggestions that were discussed in the past were priced at $20 million, and $35 million. Each of those suggestions included state aid. Our current option is priced at $45 million and no state aid. I don't see those prices going down over the past seven or eight years and they certainly will not go down the longer we drag this out.

Why do I have to leave? I chose this town from all the other towns in New Hampshire. I chose to call this town my home. I chose to raise my children in this town. I chose to experience the small town flavor of living in this town. Why are you declaring I have to leave in order for my children to get the education I want for them? Why do you get to decide when I move? 

I am beyond frustrated on this whole issue. There seems to be a divide in this town. Us versus Them. Not sure what happened and how we can get back to one group of people who want the best for our wonderful town. I do know that name calling, half truths, insults, circle talking and being mean are not going to bring us together. 

Let's talk facts. 

Let's remove the emotion. 

Let's be a community again.

I strongly believe our only option is to build a new school. 

I strongly believe the current proposal that is on the table is one that is fair and reasonable.

I strongly believe we can do this and move forward into the future with pride in our town.

valentine's day goodies

This year I have been working in Alex's classroom of amazing first graders and in one of the kindergarten classrooms for both the AM and PM classes (not to mention getting to hang in the art room once a week) and decided that I wanted to give Valentine's to all those kiddos. 

First came the decision as what to get them all. Since there is always a big demand for pencils in the first grade room, I went forth and found some cute ones at Target in their holiday area. Then somehow counted wrong and ended up with more boy pencils than girl pencils which did not work in a female dominated room. I then hit the dollar store and they saved the day for the girls!!

For the kindergartners, I decided on some fun colored super balls along with some foamie heart stickers. Thankfully I counted correctly when buying the super balls at Target (again in their holiday section) and managed to have a 'few' left over for my kiddos to have (or save them for next year!!)

Then came the decision of how to give these goodies to the kiddos. I decided on a pencil holder type card for the first graders. Below shows the inside of the card that I stamped. I also signed it for each of them.

I also stamped the front of the cards and added their names. I closed the card with some heart stickers I picked up at Michaels since I didn't like how they looked open. Yes I sharpened all the pencils since the students are not allowed to use the electric pencil sharpener in the classroom (sharpen pencils too much, push too hard etc etc) and that would not be fair to the teacher to have to sharpen all those pencils before the kids can use them.

This is a side view of one of the treats. I was pretty proud of myself!!

For the kindergartners, I decided to put their goodies into snack baggies and then add a tag. As I was surfing Pinterest (cuz everyone does) I found these so adorable tags. They seemed pretty easy so off I went. Below are all my love bugs set to be made into tags.

Here is the completed project! I stamped the sentiment onto the red paper and then attached them together with some floss I have. I added who it was to on top of the love bug. Perfect!!

And since I cannot forget the teachers... I made each of them a little bag to hold some Lindt goodness.

Hope your Love Day was a wonderful one!! xx

first day of school 2012

The first day of school comes very bright and early this year for us. And to tell the truth, it was not so bright when I had to get up to get moving. Did not like it one bit. Nope not at all. I would like my summer sleeping schedule back please.

Kira was a bit nervous that day but we tried to keep things light and fun. It took us about five tries to get this photo. She kept making silly smile faces. Yup... she is that tall!! She grew a half inch from July to August! Crazy bean sprout.

All set for sixth grade. Love her new LL Bean backpack! And it was packed FULL for the first day.

An hour after dropping my baby girl at the Junior/ Senior High School, I got to drop off my baby boy for his first day of first grade!! He was so excited!!

He wanted to get in the van so bad and didn't want to wait for pictures.

Last one before heading in the gym to wait for the bell. First grade looks good on him!!

End of the day for Kira and her BFF! These two never take a bad picture.

All in all we survived. Alex is totally loving his new class and teacher. Kira is adjusting to life as a sixth grader. She is loving the fact she has different kids in her classes and not stuck with the 'difficult' ones for the whole year. The best thing so far... she wants to eat food in the cafeteria! They have a fresh sandwich option. That will save me a boatload of time in the mornings.

May the morning light be sunny and bright... but not too early for you!