Gift Card Flower Pot

Addy has 2 more days of school left so it's time I finally finish the end of year teacher gifts. She has been with her PPCD teacher & aides for the past 2 years so I want to get them something that shows how much I appreciate all they have done for her. They have been wonderful & have helped her grow so much!
I've decided that I'm going to make a gift card flower bouquet for each one of these special ladies.
This project turns out really cute & is very easy to make!

Here's what you'll need:

Cute tin pail or flower pot

floral foam (i already had)

fake grass or moss (i already had this too)

floral wire

cardstock or posterboard (had this too)

floral card holders (bought these in the heb floral section for 3 cents each)

glue gun & glue sticks

Start with your tin pail.

 I got these on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

Cut your floral foam to fit in the pail.

Cover the foam with fake moss or grass.

Cut 1 stick of the floral wire into 5 equal size pieces.

Bend those pieces to make small picks & use to secure the moss.

Next take a stick of floral wire & wrap it around a floral card holder.

This will be used to hold the flowers & gift cards. 

I am putting 5 gc in each bucket so I will make 15 of these.

For the flowers, I printed a picture from the internet on cardstock & then cut it out.

Hot glue the flowers to one side of the card holder.

Next, insert the gift card behind the flower into the card holder.

Stick the card holders in the floral foam & arrange to look like a flower bouquet.

Then you can add a paper tag that says whatever you would like.

These will say "Thank you for helping me grow." And Addy signed them!

Finished product

I got gift cards to Starbucks, Sonic, Chilis, Subway & AMC theaters.
This would be great to do with the whole class participating too. Imagine if you were a teacher & each kid contributed a $20 gc to somewhere!

Really !?!

A couple of nights ago I was giving the kids a bath. I went to the kitchen to get a drink & this is what I saw when I came back!

Really Pepper, Really???

She is definitely a water dog!

Once Upon a Time

Tonight, Addy was playing in my closet. After a while, she came & got me & said "Story time." She brought me to my bathroom & had me sit down on a chair (which was really an upside down laundry basket). Then she put on a play for me! She said the words & acted it out & had even set up a bunch of baskets for her setting. I wrote it down as she told me because this is a VERY BIG accomplishment for her! This is EXACTLY what she said...

"Once upon a time

There was a princess

She lived in a castle"

"And Bailey"

"And a dragon... Roar!"

"And open castle & get Bailey"

"Yay! And Bailey is happy!"

"And they all lived happily ever after.

The End!

Yay!"

And then she told me to "Clap your hands!"

This may not be the best story ever & definitely isn't the most detailed story. But for my little girl, WOW was I impressed! Not only is that a lot of words that she put together (she still mostly speaks in 2 or 3 word phrases) but also this was a great social interaction for her! She put this together all by herself & presented it to me! There isn't a prouder mom than me right now!

The ARD is done!

Well, thankfully Addy's ARD is done & went pretty well. Nick was able to stay home with the kids which made it a lot easier for me to focus on the meeting. (Instead of me having to chase Alex around the room & keep him from coloring on the walls & crawling on the table!) So thank you babe! It ended up lasting 2 hours which is by far the longest one I've sat through. Going in, I really had my mind set that a half day of PPCD  & a half day of homeschooling was the best option for her next year because it would give her an extra year to grow & develop before starting Kindergarten. But then someone on the ARD committee pointed out that all the kids in Addy's class are going into Kinder next year & it will be all 3 year olds coming into PPCD next year. That changed things for me. Addy is doing great & she definitely doesn't need to be in a class with 3 year olds. She needs to be around other kids her age for her to model their behavior. At this point though, I was still reluctant to agree to Kindergarten though. Until the Kinder resource teacher made a great suggestion! And so this is what we have agreed to...
Next year Addison will be in Kindergarten (Ahhhh, she can't really be that old yet, can she?)
She will have pull out resource Language Arts & Math with 3-5 other kids (not because she needs the help academically, but because she works better in a small group)
There will be an aide in her classroom to help her as little or as much as needed
& the most important ...
that we can have her repeat Kindergarten the next year if we feel that she is not ready for 1st grade at the end of the year. (this year will kinda be like a Kindergarten trial run)
When I got home, my stomach was in knots. It's such a big decision & I have no way of knowing if it is the right one. But I discussed it with Nick, my mom & Nick's mom. And I spent all afternoon cleaning my house which gave me lots of time to mull it over. And I think this will be good. No, I KNOW it will be good!

Oh & Addy's Kindergarten teacher was in the ARD meeting & she seemed great! She really seems like she will love & encourage Addy & not crush her sweet little spirit. She had a great answer for every question I asked including.... So will it be ok if Addy meows in class. (LOL! I asked this because the school psychologist observed Addy & noted that she was meowing in class) She said I'll just tell her its not the time to be meowing right now.

Tomorrow....

Tomorrow morning I have to go to Addy's ARD which is the annual, review & dismissal meeting for kids with special needs. Oh how I am dreading this. Addy turns 5 in June so she is already one of the younger kids in her grade & she has PDDNOS on top of that. So needless to say, I don't think she is ready for Kindergarten next year. But that is what the school is recommending. I will be asking them to let her stay in PPCD (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities) for one more year. If they won't agree to that I will be taking her out of school & I will homeschool her. So I know either way things will be ok. I just don't want to have to go in there & fight them. And I especially don't want to go in there & hear anything negative about Addison. I just wish they already saw it my way. I am her mother & I know what is best for her! I'll let you know what happens after the ARD tomorrow.

Meet Pepper (if you haven't already, that is)

Last October as I was shopping, I asked Alex what he wanted for Christmas. I showed him several toys but he didn't want any of them. He kept saying "No, puppy!" That's right, all he wanted for Christmas was a puppy. How could I deny him? So I talked Nick into it & right before Thanksgiving we got him a puppy! A black & white cocker spaniel that Addy named Pepper.

She's sweet yet annoying since she's still a puppy. But both the kids love her (and I do too) so she's well worth the trouble!

I'm a Big Boy now!

Last night was a big night for Alex. He slept in his big boy bed all by himself for the very first time. I am so proud of him! I was able to snap a picture of him this morning before Addy jumped on the bed & woke him up.

But I'm TWO!

Alex turned 2 on March 11, 2011 & he knows it. He tells me that he is 2, mommy is 3 & daddy is 4. So apparently, in his mind, he's almost grown!
We went for a walk the other evening & he ran into the street. Nick told him to get back on the sidewalk & he yelled "But I'm 2!"
Nick went to play golf the other day. Alex really wanted to go with him but Nick told him he was too little. As Nick was leaving, Alex started crying & said "But I'm 2."
As we were getting in the car one day, Alex said he wanted to sit in Addy's seat. I told him that Addy's seat is too big for him & yep, you guessed it.... He told me "But I'm 2!"
I don't know what we're going to do with that boy when he turns 3!

Bye Bye Mommy!

Sometimes it's the little things that can melt your heart. Especially with Addy!
She talks a lot these days, but doesn't really have "conversations." So today when I dropped her off at school, she gave me a sweet surprise. She got out of the car & I said "Bye baby, have a great day!" And to that, Addy looked right at me & said "Bye bye Mommy!" Oh, I was so excited!
To most people that wouldn't be a big deal, but for Addy it is! Yay for all the PROGRESS she is making! We are SO SO PROUD of her!

And so it begins...

I've been thinking about starting a blog for awhile now & well ovbiously I decided to do it. My main reason for this blog is because I've been falling behind on my scrapbooking. (& because I like to decorate things. Be prepared to have the background &/or font change everytime you look at this blog. I've only just started it & have already changed the look of it around 30 times!) The first three years of Addy's life are done. I recorded almost every moment on film & now they're in books. But poor Alex, I've barely even written in his baby book. I had great intentions & got OBSESSED & then stopped. Just like just about everything I do. So hopefully the blogging will last longer & my kids & I will be able to look back at my posts & see what fun we had.

Most of what you read in this blog will be about me, Addy, Alex, Bailey the cat & Pepper the dog aka Chaos Incorporated. That's what Nick calls us. Wherever I am, you will find the others close behind. I spend my days with these four loving, laughing, playing, teaching (& learning from Addy, she knows more than I do), gardening, cooking & cleaning & on some days a little crafting.  I love it & couldn't ask for a better job! So join us on our adventures as we learn, play & grow together!