Teacher Work Day

Or what I like to call it "Drive Mommy Bat Shit Day". :) They have been up my ass all day. It got to the point that I took them out for a few hours this afternoon. I mis-counted on Monday when I was getting Thank You items for Billy's school. I need things for 14 bags and only got 12...he had 4 teachers, 6 aides, 2 therapists, a bus driver and a bus aide this year. It takes a small village to educate a special needs child. They all adore him and I love each and everyone one of them for it. Some of them only worked with him for two weeks, some a few months and others most of the year. They are all wonderful. I'm having him decorate paper bags with foam letters and numbers (two of his favorite things) and I am filling their bags with his favorite things. They are things that if he could...I think he would give them. So they are getting bubbles, snacks and a hanging butterfly thing like the ones in his tree out front. Now...if I can get him to sit long enough to cover 13 more bags. :) So we hit the Hobby Lobby and a Walmart to pick up the remaining items.....I didn't do too bad...I was short two bags and one tube of Mini M&Ms. :) I decided since Billy has done pretty good the last few trips to the Waffle House and Steak & Shake that we would try another sit down restuarant. Mom...I know, I know..he doesn't get to play...next time McDonald's or Chick-Fil-A. He did pretty good...he did stand up in the booth and tried to sit on the back of the booth, but he ate some of his chicken, not just the fries. We used to not be able to go out to sit down places.....it was too much for him to handle. Not only is he autistic...he has some sensory issues. He is doing much better.....in part to the excellent care and education he is getting from those aides, teachers, and therapists at the school. He has made such huge strides this year..it makes his primary teacher almost cry when she tells me....which in turn makes me cry. He peed in the toilet a couple times for me this week. HUGE. I was so excited to tell his teacher that yesterday....I was dropping off some more toys for the classroom. It worked out great that I stopped in...his teacher told me one of the aides had put out an email asking for art supplies (I had asked about a whole bunch of pom poms I had donated earlier...see how they used them..I'm so nosy)...she was Billy's aide for part of this year and I happened to run into her as I was leaving. She is teaching an art class this summer for a week and needs items. I asked her what kinds and she said anything, but she really likes repurposing items....dude...she has no idea who she was talking to....that is what I do...that is the same kind of stuff I sell at Silver Bella. I am so pumped....when I got home I started filling up a bag of stuff...it is full and I'm on my second bag and I haven't even started digging yet. I love the idea and helping her and the kids out...it is a summer camp type program...she is working to become a teacher. She has a BA in Anthropology.....freaked me out....I have a BS in Anthropology. I know the BS sounds about right for me, doesn't it?? That goes on the list of crap I need to accompish in the next week or so....school ends on Thursday. I have two swaps to finish, goody bags for Silver Bella (I'm a sponsor again), laundry, recycling, I want to go through the boxes in the closet thing in the carport.....I know I have a whole summer for some of that. I need to make a list...always telling my sister to make one and normally I am a huge list maker....I've just been out of sorts since hubby deployed this time. :) I think tonight I just want to go squish the little one...he is just so squishy....yes, command decision....off to squish. Have a great weekend!

A call for MOO cards and artwork

I know two days in a row...that blows my mind as well. :) I was reading my bloglines this morning and saw two blog posts that I though were pretty nifty and wanted to share. The first one was on Jenny Doh's blog. She is enamored with MOO cards...aren't we all?? Well, she has put out a call for MOO cards...you send her one and....go read it yourselves....hop over to my bloglines (I can't get a link to work here) and she is listed as Jenny Doh. The MOO cards I had made for Silver Bella 2008 are slowly dwindling, but I have one left of my favorite and I think I will send it in. It was taken at the top of the Eiffel Tower....I stuck my camera over the railing to get the shot. It was with my old film camera, so I had to scan it into my computer to upload to Flickr...so old school. If you have a MOO card send it in. The second blog post I thought interesting was on Tina Wright's blog....she unfortunately died of cancer. She and Cindy Mayfield (Yapping Cat Studio) are the founders of Paper Cowgirl. Well, her daughter keeps her blog running and has put out a call for artwork to be sold to fund a scholarship in Tina's name. So if you feel like donating some of your artwork or it inspires you to create something new to send...here is that link www.tina-wright.blogspot.com/2010/05/calling-all-bloggers.html . Have a great day.

A caterpillar and fake food

I get such crap when I don't post any pictures on my blog (you know who you are)..so here is a random shot of the evil that was eating my miniature roses the other day. Billy enjoyed meeting him though. Let's see...what I have been up to...I spent a great deal of time last week cleaning off all of Billy's wooden food...it tends to get everything he owns sticky. When I went in for his IEP last month....I talked to his teacher and asked if she might like the food and a wooden kitchen that Bilyl never plays with....okay, he used the kitchen for a jungle gym and would empty the food on the floor. One of the joys of autism....they don't play with toys like normal children. Well, she said yes and had me wait two weeks to bring it in. Boy, I shocked her....she thought it was a few items. Oh, no...I am a fake food whore. We bought all of it before we knew he was autistic. It was a little hard to let it go....but it has made more room in his room for him to run around. I stayed and helped set everything up and go through it all with her and some the aides/therapists. Everyone was so excited. I didn't just want to donate it to a thrift store....I wanted it to do good. So, she had a Little Tikes bulky play kitchen that took up a load of room....we donated that to a new Preschool teacher at the school who didn't have one....the kids in that room swarmed it like locusts. It was so neat. We ended up swiping a sweet, wooden cabinet from the Special Ed Kindergarten teacher (don't worry...I saved some of the fake food for her) that matches the kitchen pretty good. His teacher sent home pictures the very next day....of course, stinky pants played with the kitchen and food at school. That was the first page of photos....the second page showed his classmates and the smiles on their faces made it all worth it.
Enough about that...head over here and see what I sent to my Artsy Mama's May Day Basket Swap partner, Rochelle. www.lolasmommy.blogspot.com/2010/05/dont-hate-me.html It doesn't even compare to what she sent me. I was sick that week and mailed it the day it was due in the mail...so I didn't take any photos. I've been going through a few boxes..trying to get organized. Don't ask how that is going. Well, I need to hit Facebook..my husband posted some photos and now I actually have to go get on Facebook...I try to avoid it if I can. :)

Treasured Tin Swap

Heidi of Dreams Intertwined is hosting a swap. You fill a vintage tin with all sorts of fun goodies. I had to sign up...Heidi is such a great lady. She is a fellow Bella....we actually sat together during the Shadowbox class....I was between her and Heather (Speckled Egg Heather)...very cool and their shadowboxes were excellent. Here is the link for the swap...go sign up: www.dreamsintertwined.blogspot.com/2010/05/treasured-tin-swap.html .

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Here are some roses for you. :)

Markdowns in the shop

I just got done marking down the prices of some of the lace and trims in the shop. Trims 1-13, Laces 1-4, and some of the lingerie laces have all gone down in price. Remember if you want more than one yard of any particular trim/lace...I can set up a reserved listing for you. I'm thinking of retiring those items after the 15th of this month....so if you see anything...I would get it now. :)

Happy May Day!!

I participated in Fated Follie's May Day Petite Basket Swap. This is what I received from my partner, Lynne (www.englishteacup.blogspot.com/).









This is what I got from Rochelle (http://www.lolasmommy.blogspot.com/). She was my partner in Artsy Mama's May Day Basket Swap.








I said I wanted girly and look at this girly, pink loot. She is one talented lady. She has an etsy shop...you need to check it out.











Who says that a quarter isn't worth much anymore?? I got this vintage lamp at a Church Sale last weekend. I have two other similiar lamps (Humpty and Hansel & Gretel) I spent way more than a quarter on those.




























I lost a photo....friggin Blogger can bite my ass. I finally get around to doing this and argh. This is my son's school bus. The bus....all special children get taken to and from school by bus here on Post. My son's bus driver loves to decorate her bus. The kids love it, the teachers love it, the parents love it....someone must not have and complained back around Easter/St. Patrick's Day. She had to take a lot of it down. I thought about it and came up with a way to make the bus happy again. Those children have it rough enough in life that whatever we can do to make their days a little happier..we should. I found the butterflies at Hobby Lobby (we have some hanging in our yard for Billy and the driver & aide are always saying nice things about our yard). It just wasn't enough. I thought it through and one day asked her if a magnet would stick to the roof of the bus....we checked it and it did...then I went nuts. I bought more magnets and a crap load of fake flowers from Michaels. I took them off the stems and hot glued those puppies to magnets. I had won a set of fifty magnets in a box of junk on a blog almost two years ago and finally used them. :) Hoarding pays off on ocassion. I had little wooden ladybugs and they got glued to magnets as well. Now the bus has over 150 flowers, 60 ladybugs and 18 butterflies and everyone loves it. It makes my heart happy. The lost photo was the side of my fridge with ladybugs and flowers on it. :) I don't know about you, but I am so glad April is over. The last fifteen days have sucked. Between stuffy head/sinuses, PCS issues that had me jumping out my ass, appointments and just everything bizarre that life hands you.....I am just bushed. I've been too tired to do anything. I'm hoping May is different.