Wow – I can’t believe this weekend is Memorial Day! I swear sometimes the days drag on but the months and years just fly by! So, let’s catch-up shall we?!?!
The Good
Last time I blogged, I showed you the awesome kit that Bunny and Kim put together in celebration of my Baby’s 1st Birthday! So many of you left comments and well wishes on my blog and 4shared that I can’t even begin to say Thank You enough! Because Nadya’s birthday was on a Monday and all of our potential party-goers were out of town, we decided to celebrate with just the 3 of us and then have a joint party with my twin niece and nephew in the middle of the month (the kids are 26 days apart). Nadya had a great day – but was really worn out by the time we opened presents and had cake…she had to take a nap in the middle (it probably didn’t help that we waited until Daddy was home from work to start the festivities!). Here are a few pf the pre-party photos, she really likes balloons and she had to “help” wrap her present from Daddy (I used Kim B’s Groupies for the frame clusters). Then, she insisted on opening a present early – before I got her dress on her, but it worked out since she selected the package containing her scooter from Daddy…the two of them enjoyed going over its various “features”.
And then, of course, the MOST important part – the CAKE! I used For Nadya by Bunny and Kim and Bunny’s Simply Layouts Templates.
The Bad
Yep, it was a rough week for my little brother, but the story does have a silver lining and perhaps the proverbial blessing in disguise! Sean had finished his finals and was all set to graduate from High School this Saturday – he’d received the final approval, had his cap & gown, the invitations had been mailed…and then the phone call came. He was not going to be allowed to graduate, the make-up work he had done was not going to count and so he would end up being 1 credit short..in English. Now, a wee bit of background, Sean has ADHD and Asthma plus CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome due to being on asthma meds since he was 3) and he’s “Gifted”…so he falls into Special Ed for more than 1 reason and as such there are some special rules and guidelines that apply to him…ones that the school chose to completely disregard. Instead of notifying my parents back in February when the Counselor thought there was a problem and instead of sending the weekly grades and assignments via email to my parents as is outlined in his IEP, they labeled Sean as lazy and stupid and refused to have conferences with my parents because “Sean needed to learn to be an adult”…anyway I digress…no more blame game…Sean is justifiably upset. Here’s where the Silver Lining appears…in NM there’s a program for Home Schoolers that has been tied into the former GED system and has 4 levels of testing and programs – the highest being College Prep (and results in a FULL High School Diploma)…in fact less than 60% of graduating Seniors in NM can pass this test immediately following graduation. So, Sean takes the Level 1 pretest in 15 minutes, so they give him the Level 4 pretest that would allow him into this program and scores an 89% without studying. Then yesterday he took the English and Social Studies subject matter tests – he scored an 800/800 on the English portion and 700/800 on the Social Studies portion (anyone else see the irony in the PERFECT English score?!?!) I think today he was working on the Writing section (essays are not his forte, especially those with time limits). He also went to the NMSU-A Admissions Office to get his paperwork for college finished and confirm he’s taking the ACT in June. Did I mention these tests are EXCELLENT prep for the ACT?!?!?! Anyway I digress again, the Director of this program reviewed Sean’s progress and his High School information and …drumroll… Sean is going to graduate with the other members of this program next Friday…so he will get to walk! He was so relieved and I’m so proud of him for not staying down, but for getting up and finding another solution that’s probably better for him anyway! And, in light of all of this (and I’m not slamming all educators, I know there are some really awesome ones out there), I’m seriously considering looking into the requirements for being a Guidance Counselor and/or Student Advocate…we’ll see how it pans out…I don’t plan on going back to work until Nadya goes to school anyway…
The Party
So, we have LOTS to celebrate this month! My baby and the twins’ First Birthdays, Sean’s overcoming a seemingly insurmountable obstacle and subsequent Graduation, Memorial Day…so many things to be grateful for! We had a party here for my baby, one at my mom’s for all three of the little ones, and we’ll have one next Saturday with my Grandparents for Sean. I’ll show more pictures then!
TAGGED
Thanks to Bunny and Renee, I’ve been tagged…so without further ado…
1. Link your tagger(s) and list these rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
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1. I am a learned extrovert – when I was younger I was painfully shy – to the point that being forced on stage or talking to strangers made me burst into tears. Then my 8th grade English teacher felt it best to humiliate me into speaking up…the rest is history…(oh and he really did regret doing that…I tend to become slightly evil when humiliated and provoked…that was his 1st and last year teaching)
2. I don’t make friends easily, but once I do – it’s pretty much for life – I guess I figure if I’m going to take the time and effort to get to know you, and
I like you, then it’s best to keep you! I guess some would call that Loyal others would call it Stubborn! LOL
3. I HATE HATE HATE HATE rodents…to the phobia level…although I can tolerate squirrels and bunnies…mice and rats and ewwwwwwwwwwww
4. When I was little I wanted to be President when I grew up…not so much now…I’ll settle for Queen of my world!
5. I believe in Love At First Sight – I knew the day I met my husband that he was the one…it just took awhile for him to come to the same conclusion – we dated for over 8 years before we got married
6. My 2 favorite drinks….Vanilla Cream Dr. Pepper from Sonic and Pina Coladas (no mixers though – I make mine from “scratch”)
7. I’m a huge Disney fan – at least from an animated movie and sound track perspective
All right, who to tag that hasn’t already been tagged…let’s see I think I’ll follow the Wench’s lead…if you wanna be tagged, you’re it…if not, that’s aight!
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Oh, before I forget, thanks to Nikki, I did the Muppet Quiz….
You Are Scooter
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Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick.
You’re always willing to lend a helping hand.
In any big event or party, you’re the one who keeps things going.
“15 seconds to showtime!”
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I’m outta here, at least for the moment. Have a great weekend!
For the card base, I used Riding Hood Red CS shaped with fabulous SVG freebie from Lindsay (I’m borrowing my Mom’s little Cricut for a while so I had to create something). The bonbon is a doodle/digital stamp hand drawn by my dear friend and uber talented Kim of KimB’s Designs (you can snag this wonderful image between now and November 16th at DSO or DSV – it’s part of Kim’s birthday grab bag 1). I printed the image twice, colored the first one with Copics and Sakura pens, then colored the Holly from the 2nd image, trimmed it, and attached with glue dots for added dimension. After trimming with my nestabilites, I sponged Rocket Red Brilliance ink around the edges. The mat is from DCWV Glitter Holiday mat stack. The DP is from the Harvest Holiday collection by Debbie Mumm that I accented with more glitter CS from the Mat Stack that I cut with a scallop edge punch by EK Success. The sheer organdy ribbon is from my stash as are the accent pearls (I think I used most of my white ones on this card!). I stamped the joy sentiment from SU with White ink and drew the faux stitching by hand with a white gel pen. I’m actually quite pleased with the results although I think I’ll skip the Rocket Red Brilliance on the edge if I make another of these.
I had a couple of comments regarding using Paint.net and gradients, so I downloaded the free program and created these tidbits – which I am currently working into a tutorial. I’ll let you guys know as soon as I’m done.
Disney DVD