Pierced Ears

This is Ella's sad face because she doesn't have her ears pierced. She has asked a few times over the last six months about getting them done. But then she gets cold feet when we agree to take her. When school started and she asked again, I made a deal with her that if she brought home a good report card, I would take her to get them done. Well, last month she brought home a GREAT report card. I offered to take her for the piercings. She thought she would wait until her birthday instead. But something changed this weekend. She was suddenly ready. So off we went to the mall.

No time to waste. We got her into that chair and did it before she could even think about changing her mind.

Only a few small tears! She was such a brave big girl.
I love that she picked out the pink flower earrings. I had tried to talk Marley into these when we took her two years ago. They are so Ella!

Here she is at home. This time with a smile on her face.

Guess what Ella would like for Christmas?
More earrings!

SHE is here!

Here is my new niece, Mya Kristene.

Born Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008

6lbs 10oz

19 inches long.

This is my niece, Abby holding her.
Beautiful Girls!

Big brother Adam (21 months) is beginning to warm up to the idea of sharing his home and his family members with a new baby.

My brother, Tod and his wife, Jenn with their lovely family.

Welcome to the world baby Mya!

Love,

Aunt Na~Na

Extra Special Thanksgiving Blessing

(WARNING: Turn the music off at the bottom of this page before playing the videos)

This year our family had some great news to share with our families when we gathered for Thanksgiving Day. Our first stop was lunch at my parents house. Marley was asked to share the information at this house. She was instructed to wait until everyone was seated for the meal. She had a little trouble getting everyone's attention but once she got them listening, she had everyone's undivided attention.



Then it was on to my in-laws home for dinner. Ella had the pleasure of sharing the good news here. She worked her announcement into her meal time prayer. It is hard to hear her blessing of the food, but you can make out the ending where she makes the big announcement. You can tell my in-laws were not expecting to hear what they did.



After dinner I went to the local hospital to visit my brother, his wife and my brand new neice, Mya. I had the pleasure of making the announcement to them. How nice it will be for Mya to have a cousin so close in age. I will post more about Mya's arrival when I get some good pictures.

What a pleasant day with so many wonderful blessings and so many wonderful family members to share them with.

This post will be a true test to see who actually reads my blog! I will be waiting to get your comments.

Pumkin Dip Recipe

Pumpkin Dip

1 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
1 c. Cool Whip

Mix, chill, then serve!

Great with ginger snap cookies, graham crackers, animal cookies or Nilla wafers. Also makes a great topping for pumpkin pie, gingerbread cakes or pancakes and waffles. I have also dipped apples in it as a fruit topping.

If you are watching your figure, you can substitute fat free sour cream and cool whip without noticing much change in the flavor.

I have been giving out this recipe for years. It has become known as

Angie's Pumpkin Dip Recipe, but I can not take the credit.

I was given the recipe at a Pampered Chef party I went to many years ago.

I have seen other similar recipes. I have tried some that call for cream cheese. But I always come back to this one as my favorite.

I have already made it twice this year and plan to make more for Thanksgiving.

Let me know what you think!

New Baby Boy

He's Here!

Amanda and Nate's baby boy made his way into the world on

Friday, October 17, 2008

Such a good little boy, he made his mommy so happy by coming one day before his actual due date.

Welcome

Grant Joseph

7 lbs 9oz ~ 20 inches long

My favorite picture is this one.

My mom, proud Aunt Wanda rushed to the hospital tonight to see him.

She says he is "really cute."

I thinks so too! But unfortunately I have a terrible head cold and will have to wait a few days before I can get my hands on him.

Amanda, Nate and Baby are all doing great.

Happy Fall Y'all

Fall is in full bloom here. What a beautiful weekend we had in south central Pennsylvania! Too bad I was sick and couldn't get out and enjoy it. Terrible head cold, trouble breathing. Couldn't stand to be outside, especially once my hubby mowed the grass. The rest of the family was able to get out and have fun. This is a video the girls made one day after school last week. I thought it was cute. Hope you think so too.

Would you consider being the Gym Teacher?

About two weeks ago my phone rang at 6:00 am
which is not that unusual since
I am a substitute teacher and
this is the time of day
I frequently get my assignments.
Each morning
when that phone rings two things happen.
First,
I curse because I have to get up.
NOW!
Second,
I get excited about the day.
I start to think about the kids
and the material we will be covering.
I love seeing different faces each day
and learning new subjects.
Every day when I go into the school
I walk away having learned something new.
I love my job.
My part-time job!

On this day,
the principal on the other end of the line
was out of luck.
He wanted me to come
into the high school that day.
I had to turn him down
because I was already booked
in another building.
But our conversation did not end there.
He went on to inquire
if I had some free time this week
to come talk to him
about a long term position.

Wow!
Great!
Sure!
Long-term positions sometimes
pay more than the day-to-day jobs.
This was a wonderful opportunity.
My eyes were open now.

Then he dropped the bomb!

"We need someone in the Phys Ed/Health Ed Department."

Huh!
Uugh!
You're kidding, right?
I have never done a single day
of Phys Ed teaching
in my entire life.
I think there must be someone
better for this job.
I don't want to do this.
But somehow at 6 am;
in my half awake mind
I agree to meet the principal the next day to discuss the position.

And here I am.

Two weeks later.
I am officially the long-term Phys Ed teacher.
My assignment,
as I have chosen to accept it,
has no pre-determined end.
I will be serving the high school students in this manner

"until a newly hired teacher is able to take over the position."

There is a slight possibility that this could mean

until the middle of January 2009!

In the first four days of my new job
I have learned that
my gym shoes are ugly
and uncool by high school standards.
I hate wearing running/jogging pants.
I don't own a watch....
which is a very necessary tool for my job.
Jewelry is not allowed.
Lipstick doesn't go with running pants and sneakers.
No gum or drinks allowed in the gymnasium.
The locker room smells
worse than I remember.
I really don't like coaches......of any kind.
I lack the ability to motivate people
to do things they have no desire to do.
Softball is boring.
A mile is very long distance to run.
Teenagers will rarely run before lunch
unless you threaten their grades.
Gym class is cruel.

This covers what I have learned about Phys Ed.
You need to know there are two aspects of this job.
I also need to teach two sections of 11th grade Health Ed.

Remember 11th grade?
Remember 11th grade health class?

I didn't remember until the principal said

"There may be certain parts of the health curriculum that will be uncomfortable for you."

As Oprah would say,

this was my Aah-Haa moment.

Oh, I get it!

Right.

Now I remember 11th grade health class.

More cursing (inside my head...I was standing in front of my boss.)

In four days of health,

I haven't learned much.

We are in the middle of chapter 9

Mental Health

I have determined that I do appear to be of sound mind.

Which makes me qualified to teach the dreaded next chapter.

That's right.

Looks like I won't be escaping this one.

Unless the administration can interview

and hire a new teacher by next Monday.

Because by then I will be smack in the middle of the

Contraception Chapter

Followed by STDs and

Fetal Development.

That's right.

Dear Lord!

Pray for me!

Oh yeah,

Did I mention that health classes are co-ed?

Union Mills Field Trip

Yesterday I had the privilege of being a chaperon on Ella's class trip to the Union Mills Homestead. Dating back to 1797, this homestead was started by two brothers originally from Littlestown, PA. Rich in history that includes a key role in the civil war, it is a fascinating place to visit; even for someone like me who has very little interest in studying history. Six generations of the Klein/Shriver family lived in this home. Originally, a four room log cabin, it grew into a 23 room estate. This picture only shows half the house.

Ella with some of her best girlfriends in front of the spinning water wheel which powers the mill. It was the first commercial mill in the US providing flour for much of PA, Maryland and Virginia. Completely restored, the mill is still operational today. However, it only produces enough flour to support the interest of it's tourist.
Listening to the lesson on how grains are ground into flour.
Sifting the flour after it comes through the milling processes.
Sacks of the finished product for sale at the end of the tour.

I think the bags are so neat! I didn't have any cash on me so I couldn't get one. Maybe I'll stop and get one some other time.
During the tour, the teacher had asked us to find
all the things on this scavenger hunt list. My group found all but one which was very good. I had a great little group. It was nice to spend a day with Ella and her classmates. I won't be spending much time in the elementary school in the near future. I have been asked to fill another long term position at the high school. I am unsure how long the term is! More details in the next post.

Buddy Unchained

In September, the Adams County SPCA sponsored a Children's Art and Essay Contest entitled Buddy Unchained. Children across our community were asked to draw a picture or write a story from a dogs point of view. Buddy is a fictional dog who is chained 24/7. The SPCA is hoping to help pass legislation to make chaining animals in this manner against the law. Marley's third grade class participated in the contest. Our school had several winners including Marley.

For her accomplishment she was given an engraved paw shaped medal, the Buddy Unchained book and this adorable stuffed beagle.

She created a drawing of a dog chained outside in the rain. His owners are inside a cozy and warm house and they are telling each other how much they love each other. When the dog sees the family he questions, "Does anybody love me?"

Marley's drawing will be on display at:

http://www.adamscountyspca.org/

We have been checking the site periodically in hopes of seeing her work. Since she did it at school, we haven't had the opportunity to see it yet. Hopefully it will be posted soon because every time we go to this site we see an animal we just might want to adopt.

I love that Marley's teacher was willing to take on this assignment. What a great way to incorporate humanitarian needs with the learning experience. This is how we raise young children into caring and responsible adults.

Save The Date.....

The Phish reunion that Trey has been hinting at has officially been announced.

What fantastic news!

Phish 3 678 9

Our NON -REFUNDABLE hotel is booked.
Pre-Order Ticket Lottery Application is completed ( in duplicate.)

We have a road trip planned.
It's been a long long time since my last tour!

"If it's free, it's for me!"

I had a friend in college who was always in the know when something free was being given away anywhere on the Penn State campus. Free Ice Cream Day at Ben & Jerry's. Free movie day at the theater. Free samples of laundry detergent. Free t-shirts. You name it, Jerry knew where to get it. Thankfully, he was always willing to share the good news with his friends and I frequently joined him on excursions to claim our freebies. One of his favorite saying was, "If it's free, it's for me!" I can distinctively remember him taunting this battle cry on the ride home from one very successful day of dumpster diving for new furniture for his apartment. While I no longer find myself running around town in Jerry's station wagon in search of overflowing dumpsters, I do still love freebies.



A few months ago my sister turned my attention to a website that offers new freebies every day. She shared with me a few of her great offers and instantly I was hooked. I click on this site daily. Most offers take 4-6 weeks to arrive in the mail and recently my mailbox has become a daily treasure box.

Look what I got today!

Magic eraser, 2 samples of Fiber One Cereal. Downy Coupon, and Cottonelle Fresh Wipes. All in one day!

I wanted to share this great site with my friends. Now don't be a hog and take all the good stuff. Save some for me!

Here is the link.

http://www.shop4freebies.com/index.html

I recommend setting up a free gmail or yahoo email account to use on these sites because you will get some spam when you register your info. Most of the companies involved are very reputable. (i.e. Wal-Mart, Proctor and Gamble) I am not afraid to give out my address.

I am so excited to go to my mailbox each day and get cool stuff instead of just junk mail and bills. I am currently waiting on a Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie, Jelly Beans, a Correction Pen and some new Healthy Cat Food for my kitties.

Freebies aren't just for me anymore.

Good Luck! Let me know what you get.

PS- Does anyone know what ever happen to Jerry?????

Silly Bolt Fan

Our local high school football team had their first home game of the season last night. It was a beautiful night for a game so our whole family decided we would go and support our team. When you live in a small town like ours, the place to be seen on friday nights is the football field. I love living in a small town. Marley and Ella have terrific school spirit and got all dressed up for the occasion. This included using our favorite body crayons. Marley is a pro at using the crayons and making the school emblem. She offered to do Ella's face. What a great job! Ella was busting to show it off to us. We all waited patiently as Marley finished her face in the bathroom.

Marley was so proud to show us this!

Of course, she did the entire work of art while looking at herself in the mirror! Everything is backwards. The funny thing is we had a little trouble convincing her it was backwards because everytime she looked at it (in the mirror) it was right to her. I thought for a minute that it would be fun to let her go to the game like this. I was wondering how many people would even notice that it was wrong. But decided it would be better to wash it off and start over. Didn't want people staring at her trying to figure it out.

Here is my artwork on her face. Now convinced that her letters were indeed backwards, she agreed that this was better.

And we were ready to go. We walked to the field and arrived half way threw the first quarter. The Bolts were kicking some major butt. They had already scored two touchdowns. Found my Dad, nephew and brother-in-law sitting in the stands right next to my gal pal, Lori. Ella got a free fan football that was thrown out after another of many more touchdowns. Thanks to Uncle Mark for catching it. The girls sat in front of the cheerleaders and cheered along. Lori and I chatted while watching her son on the field. The Bolts won the game! How could we loose with fans like this?

Living in UPPERCASE

I have long admired the elegance of the products in the Upper Case Living catalog. I have awed at the decorations some of my friends have purchased for their homes. When I received an invitation from my aunt a few weeks ago, I was eager to attend my first Upper Case Living home party.
It was a "Make-N-Take" party. Here is the wine bottle I made and brought home with me the night of the party. I LOVE it! My aunt had a fantastic turn out. It was so much fun crafting with her friends. The wine and snacks she served where really great too. Everyone got into the spirit. I had already decided before I left home that I was going to buy something for my kitchen that we just finished painting. I studied the catalog carefully and decided on this.....
My order was just delivered and I couldn't wait to get it on the wall.
Ray helped me hang it on Labor Day.
A closer look.
I was pretty nervous about getting it on. So worried I would ruin it. Thought for sure I would get it off center. The sales consultants kept promising that it was easy. And it really was. I highly recommend this product to anyone. I am just thrilled with mine. I love to see this kind of stuff. I think it adds so much to the room. Ray liked it too...which is saying a lot!
I know I will be getting some more.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

When my children returned to school this week they were faced with the age old question, "What did you do this Summer?" Ella's teacher even made answering this question an assignment from which the class is going to make a book.

As I sat looking over my files of pictures tonight I was reflecting on all I had done this summer. While my blog has served the purpose of recording most of the activities my family was involved in over the last three months, I did notice a few pictures of things I forgot to tell you about.

As the Summer comes to an end won't you take a look at these.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2008

I carted around my children.

In doing so, I came to the realization that Marley needed a new nickname. I started calling her the "Multi-tasker". Every time I was rounding up the kids to get into the car, I had to wait for Marley to run and get something. She can not ride idly in the car. She always has to be doing something. It used to be that she would grab a book. Then she started grabbing two or three books. Then she started playing with a deck of cards. By the end of the summer we had to deal with this. This is Marley doing a 100 piece puzzle on the ride to my mother's house. For those of you who don't know, my mother lives 3/4 of one mile from my house. It takes us exactly three minutes to get there. My Multi-tasker can not waste three minutes.

I completely missed posting about the High School Musical Theater Camp the girls attended at EPAC. It is hard to get any pictures in the dark theater.
But I got some behind the scenes. Ella made lots of friends.


This is Marley and Tori waiting to get their certificates at the end of their show. Tori joined us all the way from Philly for the second week of camp. She is the daughter of a girl I grew up with in my church. It was nice to get to know Tori more and have her become friends with my daughters. She is promising to come back next year.

This is the praying bunny we found in our front yard one Sunday morning. He sat there for a really long time. He appeared to be praying. Honest to God. Too cute!
This is the Diaper Cake my sister and I made for our cousin Tasha's baby shower. Isn't this cool? It was so much fun.
Marley in front of the Hanover Public library.

She posed for this picture as we walked to the Dutch Days Festival. Marley and I were able to enjoy this day together while Ray and Ella were busy with other plans. It fact, it is the day she decided to start scrapbooking and we worked for two solid days getting her books started. I just love how this picture turned out. It just captured the fun moment we were sharing.

My presence was often requested at performances that my girls were conducting. They would practice for hours and then I got to watch the shows. This was the last show of the summer.

The fashion show by Marley, Ella and Madi.

This one was set to music.
and went on for a long time
in fact my camera batteries died during this fashion show
but not before this beauty came down the run way.

It went on for so long that by the time it was over, we were all very hungry and I needed to make lunch quickly so we could get to the pool in time to meet our friends. Lunch is never easy at my house. This day I had four people to feed and I was insisting on something healthy. Everyone had to have some fruit. As each person gave my their choice, I was rapidly washing the fruit and placing it on the cutting board. I turned off the faucet and turned to find this staring back at me. Now this is what I call a Happy Lunch. I had to stop and snap a photo.

Over all , it was a really good summer.
Hope yours was too. Wishing you good health and much happiness.
Happy Labor Day!

Time to get back to work!

The First Day

August 27, 2008

My baby Ella is ready to start her first day in

Mrs. Smith's first grade class.

Marley is starting third grade in Mrs. Smith's class

That's right. Both of their teachers are named

Mrs. Smith.

Ella has Mrs. Amanda Smith. Marley has Mrs. Nancy Smith. They also were given the same class number ( #4 ) and the exact same specials schedule where they have gym, library, music and art on the same day of the week. I have mixed feelings on whether this is going to confuse me or simplify my life. I already filled out one of Ella's papers thinking it was for Marley.

They were excited to go, but a little hesitant as we stepped out the front door.

Walking with her new backpack,

Ella is on her way to spending her first full day at school.

Last year she begged to stay all day when her AM kindergarten dismissed at lunch time. Has it really been a whole year since I had to explain to her that next year she can stay all day?

I was thinking what this sign was saying.

How do you STOP them from growing so fast?

Almost there.

I gave them each a hug and a kiss at the front door. Surprisingly, there were no tears this year. Not even from me.The last shot before I walked home .......alone for the first time in a long time.

Big Fish

This is Marley, Kali and Maddy sitting at a lake.

It happens to be the lake at Cunningham State Park

near Thurmont, Maryland.

We went here on Tuesday for a play date with Kali,

her brother Xander and

my college gal pal Betsy.

Betsy is far more outdoorsy than I.

But I can enjoy a day in the natural elements.

The kids enjoyed swimming with unknown creatures

in the disgusting lake

while I watched from the blanket.

Seriously, I do enjoy the outdoors.

Then Xander suggested we go fishing down stream.

The thought did not excite me,

but the rest of the gang was into it.

I went along.

I can recall having fished three times

in my entire life.

Including this time.

That means I fish once every 1.3 decades

...on average.

That is how much I love this kind of fishing.

Now if we were talking PHISHING

.....that's much different.

That I will do much more willingly.

This fishing involved digging worms out of mud

Cutting them into smaller pieces with a pocket knife

Which Marley took full control over.....Yuck!

Not sure why this surprised me.

This is the same kid who took much interest

in her dead pet fish

Checking to make sure it didn't have a pulse

before she put it in a make shift coffin.

Remember?

Marely told everyone the story of how a worm once

laid baby worms

right on her hand.....Yuck!

I had tried to put that memory out of my head.

Why are my girls

who have no brothers

willing to touch such things?

We baited hooks by piercing the worms.

More yuck.

We Casted our lines.

Ella impressed me with how quickly she mastered this task.

Betsy gave her one brief lesson and

then she was on her own.

Waiting for a fish to bite.

Marley had great patience for this.
Kali caught the first one.

Marley was so happy to get the next one.
Xander's fish.

Honestly, he is not going to throw it

The sun was in his eyes while I was trying to get the picture.

And then I got the BIG ONE.

I really was proud of myself.

And I impressed the kiddos with my skills.

That look on my face is me thinking about

having to touch the seaweed

and get the hook out of his mouth.

But it all went well.

I was able to do it.

Then I threw him back in

......literally.

So, my experienced fishing friend

explained to me how to gently place them back in.

Ooops.

I'll know better next time.

Sorry fishy.

Thank you Betsy for the invite to join your family at the lake.

We'll have to do this again sometime.

I should be ready Summer of 2018.

Just kidding.

It was really fun.