Memorial Day 2012

We had a busy Memorial Day Weekend this year!  Our actual Memorial Day was filled with family time!!  We had a grilled turkey burger lunch at the Miles' and the Kennedy, Logan, Quinn and Zia enjoyed some time in the sprinkler!!

Isn't she cute?!

First sprinkler action of the year!

Logan preparing to run through the sprinkler!

In the morning we went to the Louisburg cemetery and caught part of the ceremony.  Papa Lou, Aunt Barb and Great Papa Henry came as well.  We all spend some time at Sam and Great Grandma Helen's graves.  Then we all went to Miss B's Cafe for brunch. 

Three generations! All in blue!

Papa shows Kennedy the gravesites of other relatives. Quinn says "Wait for me!"

Rare family photo...it was super windy!

Quinn with Great Papa Henry.

It was a great day!

HHT Awareness Month

 In the past on my blogs I have mentioned that I have HHT.  I have spoken about how Sam had HHT.  I have shared little tidbits here and there about HHT.  But it is time for me to begin sharing even more.  Being that this is HHT Awareness Month, I believe this is a fitting time! 

A few weeks ago I took my girls to a local doctor interested in treating children with HHT.  I have had a hunch for quite some time that Kennedy had HHT and figured it was time to know for sure.  Dr. McBride was fabulous...she is the FIRST doctor I have MET that actually has HHT and has children with HHT.  I can't tell you how comforting it was to actually meet with someone who knew what we were talking about!  She quickly diagnosed Kennedy with HHT, as I suspected.  I am looking into genetic testing for Quinn as she isn't showing any outward symptoms as of now. 

Over the course of the next month I will be sharing a bit about HHT and also personalize it for you by sharing how it has affected our family.  I hope you will read along!!  It may affect someone you know! 

First, I ask that you watch this video.....it is worth it!   My doctor, Dr. Chakinala, speaks in it...I will see him again in a few months!

The HHT Foundation's Awareness Campaign has 3 goals:

1. Identify the 90% that are Undiagnosed - The more people hear about HHT - through word of mouth, watching a video, reading a post on Facebook, or researching nosebleeds on Google - the more people will be aware of the disease. This will ultimately lead to self-diagnosis, a visit to a medical professional, or a call to the HHT Foundation. These actions alone can potentially save a life!
2. Educate Medical Professionals - According to a recent medical survey, most HHT patients experience an average of 11-14 years of misdiagnosis by Emergency Room physicians and Otolaryngologists (ENT) due to a general lack of knowledge about the disease. Awareness can lead physicians to seek information and training on how to diagnose, treat, and manage HHT which will ultimately increase the number of medical professionals  who are knowledgeable about HHT and make it easier for patients to receive proper care.
3. Motivate the HHT Community -  We need HHT patients, physicians, and researchers to engage their families, local friends, Facebook friends, and co-workers in the fight to find a cure for HHT. The simplest thing you can do is send an email, which is already written for you, to your Congressional Representative. Although the Foundation has significantly advanced HHT in a variety of venues, we are only one voice - our message is so much stronger, louder, and impactingl when we all recite it together!

Grade ONE - Done!

Yup - here is proof she is done with first grade.  And to think that at the beginning of the year I didn't know how I would survive with her at school ALL DAY.  Yet, I did.  And she loved school - so much that as we walked out of the building she sniffled and said "I don't want to leave school."  I pray she always feels that way!!!

Last fall I created some forms for her to fill out to document who she was at the beginning of the year.  I then kept them hidden all school year.  You can read about it in THIS PAST POST.  We even have her hand and footprints!  The end of the year needed to be recorded as well, so I created a similar version to see how she has changed since the beginning of the year!  She LOVED doing them and comparing!!!

After school let out, Kennedy's 1st grade scrapbook club came over for our year end get together.  :)  So I didn't have her Summer Fun Box out yet!  Then she spent the night with her BFF that night...so the box was waiting for her when she returned the next day!

Her Summer Fun Box was filled with all sorts of fun things we will need to have a great time this summer!!  I also set out the framed list of Summer Fun from THIS PAST POST.  I think the box was a hit!

I can't wait to start sharing all our summer fun!!!!

Summer 2012 "Bucket List"

Tomorrow is Kennedy's last day of 1st grade!  Where did the time go?!

I am sooo excited for summer to begin so we can have tons of fun!  Last year I had a simple method for making sure we included fun things and didn't get stuck in a rut.  I made little 2x2 cards and laminated them.  I wrote a fun activity/place to visit on each one with dry erase marker.  Each week we would draw out a few squares and try to incorporate them into my week.  It worked only sometimes.  Often I didn't have the items we needed, we didn't have the time, the weather didn't cooperate, etc.  Kennedy would get super bummed when we didn't complete a square.

This year I decided to try a different approach.  I have seen tons of Summer Activity Ideas and Bucket Lists floating around cyber space.  And I decided to try my hand at making my own!  My original list of ideas was in the 90s!  Oops!  So I had to cut it down a bit!  I realize we may not complete these all but it gives us somewhere to start!

I found an awesome free summer themed digital scrapbook kit over at this site: Just Jaimee  While Jeff took the girls to the dog park this evening I played around and created our print!!!

I am having it printed at Costco in size 12x12.  It will go in a scrapbook frame and we can use a dry erase marker to cross off our activities as we go!   I am so excited to give it to her tomorrow along with her "Summer Fun Bag!"

Have a super summer!!!!

Birthday Decor

 So....I am finally getting around to sharing about Kennedy's party!  For the family that lives out of state - here is what you missed!

For the camping theme I went with the colors orange, red & turquoise.  I was able to print that adorable birthday sign from this great site here at eighteen25 blog.

For the main food table I covered it with burlap and put small logs/stumps around.  Thanks to Jeff for cutting them up for me!  On the one above is a photo of Kennedy just a few months old.

I made edible acorns for a little snack!

We had some outdoor snacks! Grizzly Bears (gummy bears), Snakes (twizzlers rope), Catch of the Day (swedish fish), Fire Logs (pirouettes).  The kids also had hot dogs & chips and we later roasted marshmallows for s'mores.

Quick little display for the table! I took an 8x10 frame, took out the glass and put in some scrapbook paper (that matched the theme colors perfectly!) and adhered a wooden letter "K" to it!

For the mantle I went simple.  I purchased scrapbook paper that matched our themes and colors.  I punched out scalloped circles and regular circles and layered them.  Then I was also able to find some super fun camping/outdoor stickers to place in the center.  I also got a large letter "K" and covered it with matching scrapbook paper.

Here is a close - up.  We were able to re-use these on her thank you cards!

This was just a quick banner behind the food table.  Again, scrapbook paper and then some awesome American Crafts letters!

Mini Scientist

Last weekend Kennedy asked to do science experiments all afternoon.  That is like music to my ears!  Luckily I had pinned lots of ideas on Pinterest and had found a wonderful website last summer.  We had to search for experiments that included things we already had on hand, which did limit our options. But we still were able to try about 6 different activities!

I only took photos of 3 of them to share. 

Baking Soda Experiment
The first one is just a basic baking soda and vinegar mix.  I had seen a fun one involving color somewhere online and tried to replicate it. We got 4 glass jars and put a few drops of food coloring in the bottom of each.  I covered the color completely with baking soda. Kennedy then poured vinegar into each and guessed which color it was.  I was expecting it to fizz and bubble much more than it did...I think my baking soda may have been getting old.  But Kennedy (and Quinn) enjoyed it all the same!  She also enjoyed mixing the colors when they were done fizzing.

Fireworks in a Jar
This one was easy and fun!  I got a large glass display jar and filled it with water.  In a large glass measuring cup Kennedy mixed a little bit of vegetable oil and multiple drops of food coloring.  She tried her best to mix the food coloring in...the science behind the properties of oil is a bit over her head, but hey, she could see how it didn't blend normally. ;)   Next, she poured the oil and color into the jar of water.  I am not going to tell you exactly what happened - you will want to try it!  But you can check out the photos below!

Milk Color Explosion
This was our favorite experiment of the day! 

Again, this is a super simple experiment.  Fill a plate with milk (the fattier the better).  Add a drop of food coloring to the center.  One drop of each color you have. Place a Q-Tip in the middle of the colors and see what happens!  Then place a little bit of dish soap on the other end of the Q-Tip.
 It was so fun to play around with...even Daddy thought it was cool!




Here are a few places we went for our experiments.  Hope you try some out!

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/milk-color-explosion

Screaming Balloons: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/screaming-balloon

Fireworks in a Jar:
http://www.marthastewart.com/266403/amazing-science-projects

A Sewing Sneak Peek

 So my sweet friend, Jennie, is preparing to deliver her fourth child.  Yippee!!   She asked me to sew some items for her and I was thrilled!  Since she had to go and move away (darn you girl) I am giving her a little sneak before it arrives on her doorstep!

So, here you go Jennie!  A lil peek!  Hope you enjoy snuggling your little guy in his new stuff!!!

BTW - I don't have anything in my Etsy shop right now.  But if you have any items you would like to order, just shoot me an email!! ;)