oops

Yeah, that was 49 in a 35 right there. They have a new speed trap on my main drag…and it’s a total drag. Dude had the nerve to pull me over on my way to yoga, and he took his sweet time about it too. I mean, come ON. “Ma’am, did you know your were speeding?” Um, YEAH. I was speeding because I’m in a hurry so could you light a fire under it already.

He just killed my “ohm” and my Karma and my feng shui and kung fu and all that stuff. It’s so pointless to have to rush to get to yoga. And it’s even more fun when you have a 3 year old in the back seat telling you you’re going too fast all the rest of the way there.

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I create fun and colorful flashcards for children. When you do that long enough, you begin to see the world as a series of flashcards. Sometimes they are funny. Sometimes they are warm and fuzzy. Sometimes they are mildly innappropriate. Come see the snark at The Flashcard Zoo Blog.

Frugal Friday – Date Night Edition

It’s the little things in life, not the big and extravagant ones, that I get most excited about. To give you one example, my dad and I have our father-daughter dates at Sam’s Club on Saturdays and I’m giddy all the way to the store! We walk down the aisles and pick up all of the samples. If we are feeling really crazy, we’ll get a hot dog and coke on the way out!

To further explain my excitement about the little things in life, I’ll tell you about last Friday. Last Friday, “Enrique” and I went on a date. Not that dating him is a little thing in life, but many might not think of our date on Friday as anything exciting. I’m not “many” because it was actually my idea of the perfect date! That day, I wasn’t feeling well and he had a long day so he decided to keep it low key. He picked me up and we went to one of my favorite places ever, Central Market. I could spend hours walking around Central Market – tasting samples, looking at the wide selection of fruit, alcohol, cheese, pretty much everything, and filling my cart with something from each aisle – I just love it! I am also a fan of music, especially live music. Lucky for me, Central Market has live music on Friday and Saturday nights. We looked around at our dinner options and each decided to prepare our own salad from the salad bar. We (by we, I mean he) paid for our salads and we (by we, I really do mean we) walked outside to listen to some really fun music. There were family friends talking and laughing as their children were running wild on the playground and all over, there were friends drinking coffee and others eating gelato. It was just a fun, yet relaxing, environment and a great way to wind down from a crazy week.

We left Central Market after dinner and drove over to Town Square in Southlake. By this time, the stores had already closed so we just walked around and picked out our favorite things in the store windows. As much as I enjoy the thrill of buying a dress that I have fallen in love with at first sight, window shopping can be just as much fun!

Moral of the story: For me (and hopefully for you, too) dates aren’t about how much money you spend, but more about how much fun you have with the person you are with. This is just one idea of a fun date for those of you who are on a budget, or just want to try something else besides dinner at a boring restaurant with mediocre customer service and a movie.

Got any other fun, inexpensive date ideas? Holler!

Kindergarten Debacle

All of the end of the year activities are in play.  Today, we are going to Chase’s Kindergarten awards program & picnic!  It is very exciting.  Not as exciting as next year’s Kindergarten awards program & picnic will be when we are actually celebrating his conclusion of Kindergarten.

Oh the joys of repeating Kindergarten.

Have I mentioned that I am not thrilled fully convinced that this is best for my boy?  I don’t think I have.  I have mentioned it to some of my loved-ones but not to you, some of my dearest imaginary , invisible, Internet friends in the world!  I am sure many of you will have a contrary opinion to mine but I am going to go ahead and put mine out there…because, well, its my blog.

Chase is very young.  His birthday is July 24.  He has struggled a bit through Kindergarten.  BUT.  He is a very sharp kid who has achieved a “Satisfactory” rating on his report card in almost every subject throughout the majority of the year. Over the past few months, he has blossomed in maturity & retention of reading/writing concepts in leaps and bounds.

NOTE: Shauna has no problem holding kids back a year for growth.  Shauna does not necessarily believe that Kindergarten is the most beneficial year for that to be done for Chase.

I think that the basic concepts covered in Kindergarten are going to be quite boring for my boy next year.  I am afraid that my obedient, well behaved child might fill his boredom with silliness & acting out.  He may not, but time will only tell.    The teachers & staff are recommending another year for Chase because they feel like he “just isn’t ready” for First Grade. Our school has an amazing reading recovery program for first graders (that Mackenzie participated in this year) – I know that if he moves on to 1st grade, he is likely to be involved in that program and it did wonders for Mackenzie!  I feel a little irresponsible wanting my child in that program but I can see Chase quickly getting right where he needs to be.

When I signed the letter that was written up for me requesting for Chase to re-do Kindergarten, I asked if I could re-evaluate the situation at the end of the summer. I don’t think it is fair to measure his maturity 5 months before it is even time to start 1st grade. I do have that option so we will just see where he is in a few months.

I honestly feel like I am up against an educational regime on this though. I feel like if I decide to put him in 1st grade – I have this huge group of people looking down on my parenting skills.  Which isn’t really fair.  I want to do what’s best for my boy & I just have this gut feeling that this is not it. (NOTE: I absolutely adore Chase’s teachers/administrators and know that they are trying to do what they think is best for him as well, we just differ in opinion.)

OK – well thanks for listening to my rant.  Again, I am sure there are some adverse opinions on this.  Feel free to put it out there but be nice.

Shauna rambles and rants over at Blah Blah Blog when she isn’t keeping your favorite website up and running!

Sounds of Lewisville Summer Concert Series

$$ Join Our Weight Loss Challenge $$

A unique way to lose weight has come to Flower Mound, TX!

This 8 week program advises proper nutrition, food choices, and encourages exercise. Each person receives personal weekly one-on-one coaching!

Call for DETAILS on an Upcoming Challenge!

The cost is ONLY $29 for the 8 Week Class! (WOW!)
$$ Prize money will be paid out in CASH prizes to 3 winners.
Specific rules will be in place.

Three Challenges to Choose From:
Ask about our Online Challenge!
Every week for 8 weeks…LOTS of GREAT Information shared!
(Arrive 15 minutes early to weigh and measure…and get ready for FUN!)

Location: Herbal Way (Atrium Building next to Braum’s on Main Street)
1001 Cross Timbers Road, Suite 1085
Flower Mound, TX 75028

For more information or to Pre-Register:
Call TODAY: (214)738-7942
OR
Submit the form below and Pat will be in touch with you shortly!

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Adventures at the Dallas Zoo

Parking: $5.00

Entrance fees: $11.00

Lunch for one adult and one child: $16.00

Welcoming summer with some splashing fun at the zoo: Priceless!

We had a fun day at the Dallas Zoo today with our friends. Between the Dallas, Fort Worth, and Gainesville zoos, we go to a zoo quite often. But it never fails that we learn something new and discover new animals each time. And it’s such a simple way to have fun while you learn! Nicholas’ favorite part of this trip was the meandering river in the children’s zoo where kids are welcome to splash around and get wet which of course Nicholas had to do!

Nicholas also enjoyed the pony rides. He likes to pretend to ride an imaginary horse around the house so it was fun getting to ride a real pony again. I think this was just his second time on a pony.

In the children’s zoo there was a neat climbing structure made out of rope to look like a spider web. Nicholas and another little boy had lots of fun playing here. Nicholas is pretending to be a bug caught in the web and the other boy is the spider coming over to grab a little snack.

We saw lots of the regular animals like giraffes, elephants, tigers, monkeys, etc.

But we also a new creature. There were three albino crocodiles! Two babies and a one adult. (Why did Blogger rotate my picture for me? It’s not supposed to be vertical!)

Our absolute favorite part of the Dallas Zoo is their Nature Exchange. It’s is just so cool! Nicholas can bring in anything from his collection of nature “finds” such as seed pods, rocks, shells, dried leaves, etc. He can get points for the items he brings in and he gets more points for being able to tell the Nature Exchange workers all about the items he brought. He also gets points for the quality of the items, the effort taken in collecting or preserving the items, and for keeping a nature journal. He can then use those points to trade in his items for other items in the Exchange. And let me tell you, they have some cool stuff in the Exchange!

Just to throw in a little bit more education into our trip, I asked Nicholas to read the signs so we would know where to find certain animals we were looking for. He is doing really great with his phonics work but he also used some common sense in reading the words. He would read the first part of the word and then just guess at the rest of it but it was successful enough for him to find the animals he wanted to see.

Rachel sits up well enough now that she can sit in the stroller without being in her infant carrier which means that she can face forward and see all of the action. It certainly makes it more fun for her but it also means that she doesn’t get bored as easily and is less likely to want to be picked up and held during an excursion. Hooray! It’s not fun to have to hold baby, push an empty stroller, and keep up with the 5 year old.

Kim is a Flower Mound mom who can be found juggling life and savoring motherhood at Savor the Days.

Decorating: What Floats Your Boat?

During the summer months, my family likes to go out on the lake in our boat. My husband grew up boating and water skiing. I, on the other hand, did not. It is a lot of work to go out. There is a lot of preparation. I can’t hook up the trailer. I can’t back the trailer. Although, I did provide some entertainment for the men at the boat ramp while attempting to back the trailer into the water. They found it quite amusing. The job that fell to me that I could manage was making sure the plug was in the boat, so we wouldn’t take on water. Well….you can guess what happened. I forgot the plug, and we began to sink. You might ask, “What does this have to do with decorating?!”

Is your space more of a challenge than you had anticipated? Did it just not turn out like you had planned? Is your room sinking?

Recently, an associate of mine, Beth Batke with Finishing Touches Redesign, wrote an article after she had seen an episode of the Rachel Ray show. On the show, a fashion stylist took 3 different women in black dresses and gave them 3 different looks. Hmmm….Beth suggested this is what Interior Redesigners do as well!

I decided I would go by Second Home Furniture, a local furniture consignment shop in Lewisville, to play. With their permission, I used one sofa and gave it three different looks. Everything used was from the store! Here are three ideas to get you afloat.

Option 1: For the Texan in us all!

Option 2: Traditional in Style and Complimentary in Color!

Option 3: Funky and Fun!

If you like what you see, go by the store and tell Stacy and Barbara I said, “Hi!”
Second Home Furniture
1288 W. Main Street #132
Lewisville, TX 75067

Cheap

“What IS that” you ask? Those are toothpicks…broken in halves. I was visiting my parents this week and went to the cabinet to get a toothpick. Every single one I pulled out of the box was broken in half. I asked my mom “why do you only have broken toothpicks?” Her answer? “Your dad doesn’t want to use a whole toothpick so he breaks them in half.” Now, you might think they have fallen on hard times, but they haven’t. My dad just can’t bring himself to be wasteful of even half a toothpick.

I shouldn’t poke fun because he did teach me the value of re-using coffee filters and squeezing every last molecule out of the toothpaste tube (my husband would throw it away but I can brush my teeth for 2 weeks with the toothpaste that’s left) and getting two more hair washes from an empty bottle of shampoo by swishing water around in it and not throwing away the bottle of ranch dressing until you have rinsed it out with milk and used it on a salad. But breaking toothpicks in half? I would NEVER do that!

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I create fun and colorful flashcards for children. When you do that long enough, you begin to see the world as a series of flashcards. Sometimes they are funny. Sometimes they are warm and fuzzy. Sometimes they are mildly innappropriate. Come see the snark at The Flashcard Zoo Blog.

Baby Boo Crawl

REGISTER TODAY!  Only 5 spots left!

Planning for your first baby?  Burbmom has discovered a unique one-of-a-kind way for you to get started!  A group of local businesses, including Burbmom, have joined together to create a fun and productive way to help expecting women prepare for baby.

Peekaboo Design Group, owned by Kim Hendry, is presenting the first ever Baby Boo Crawl. 

“We were looking for a fun way to help expecting Moms prepare for baby,” says owner Kim Hendry, “We came up with the ultimate semi-private baby fair on wheels!”

The event will start at Lone Star Baby in Dallas where 5 Moms-to-be and a friend will board the baby planning bus.  Guests will sip cherry lemonade and enjoy pressure point massages as they tour the town getting first hand advice from local professionals such as Jack Smith of Infant House Baby Proofing and Jennifer Barnard of Baby Begin.

The guests will discover fun food and drink at stops like Baby Bliss and Pickles and Ice Cream where they’ll learn the hottest trends in nursery design, photography, maternity wear and the latest in pampering Mom, Dad & the Grandparents.

Each woman will be given a clipboard where she can keep notes.  At the end of the trip Peekaboo will collect the notes to create a personal planning guide along with a nursery color and product board to help the parents prepare.

Renee Gibson, baby planning partner for Peekaboo Design Group says, “Our job is to make sure that the Moms walk away from the day feeling like they’ve accomplished almost all of their checklists.”

“After helping dozens of couples prepare for baby I’ve always thought this would be the simplest and most efficient way to help expecting parents prepare,” Hendry said.

The event will be held Saturday June 6th 10am-2pm.  The cost is $150 for 2 and includes food, drink, transportation and a personal baby planning & nursery design consultation with Peekaboo.

To register, see the link at www.peekaboodesign.com.

Online Mazes for Kids

Nicholas loves mazes. If he sees a maze, he must work through it. I often go online and just print mazes for him but I recently found a neat way to throw in some counting practice as well. Check out this website… www.printactivities.com

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With these mazes you start with the number one and you must travel to the adjacent box that has the next sequential number in it. This link is for mazes counting by 1 up to 100. However, this site also has mazes counting by 2,3,4, and 5. When Nicholas first realized that there was a little bit of work involved in this maze, he said that he didn’t want to do it. But he stuck it out and got the hang of it and finished it up pretty quickly. So we’re working on some of the harder mazes now. There are also lots of other great educational printouts on this site as well.

Kim is a stay at home mom of two kids who writes Savor the Days.

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