2020....Are you seeing clearly?

So, obviously my plan to restart my blog years ago didn't happen.  Between teenagers, work, health, and a traveling husband, I've stayed a little busy.  It's hard to believe how much life has changed over the years.  It's also hard to believe it is the year 2020.  I mean 20-20, in my brain, has been associated with perfect vision, not a year.  The 20's was the decade when my grandparents were born.  It was the decade that roared with economic property.  I read an article describing Americans in the 20's as in a perpetual good mood with their modern inventions, jazz music, and dancing.   It seems crazy that we can now say we are living in the 20's.  I wonder how this decade will be referred to years from now.  Will the 20's roar again?  Will we be in a good mood?  Will 2020 lead to our nation seeing clearly rather than continuing to try to see through the fog we are currently in?  Will you see things clearly? 

I don't make resolutions, because I break them almost instantly, but I do give myself missions, and the year 2020 has me wanting to see things clearly.  I want to clearly see the treasure of each day.  I want to clearly see the impact of my words, both said and unsaid, and my actions.  I want to clearly see the good in people, even when they irritate me.  I want to clearly see beyond the surface and see people and situations for who and what they are.  I want to clearly see the needs of my children and husband and what my role is for meeting those needs.  2020 is bringing some big changes for the Potater Patch family, so more than anything, I want to clearly see God's will and follow it.

As fast as the years fly by, I want my focus to be clear for the 20's and I wish the same for you.

So cheers to 2020 and perfect vision!

Lesson of the Day:  Don't get caught in the fog.

Well, I guess a three year break is enough!

I don't know why I took a break from blogging, but I've decided to revive the PotAter Patch.  The tater tots might have a few things to say from time to time as well, especially one very crafty girl who needs an outlet.

In the last three years, the hubs and I have crossed over into our 40's.  Wow, I know!  It doesn't seem possible, but we are here.  The J-man has outgrown his mama, has become a teenager, and has finished all 3 years in Jr. High.  My very creative Ladybug is about to hit the double digits and has decided she wants to be a movie director when she grows up.  They are great kids.  I know I'm biased but they really are.

A lot has happened during my 3 year absence, and we've learned a lot of lessons.  Hopefully, I can get you caught up, share some lessons learned, and add some new adventures to the non stop crazy of our little family of four.  So as I said in my very first blog post:  Welcome (back) to my patch!

Then (2012)

In the Middle (end of 2014)

Now (2016) @ Star Wars Premier

Lesson of the Day:  3 years zips right by.

Naughty...naughty...naughty....

Yesterday, when I was correcting my new student for making fun of one of my little sweeties with speech issues (one of her many infractions since arriving on Tuesday), she said to me in the most nasty voice, "Well, if YOU hadn't interrupted me..I was..."  Needless to say that's all she got out before she got a lecture for the record books about choices, kindness, and respect.  What a little toot!  It's going to be a fun 2 months until the end of the year!

Hurray for Saturday!!!

Operation Nerf War

This past weekend, we celebrated the J-man's 11th birthday with a highly anticipated nerf war.  It was quite the event.  A few days after the invitations went out, the questions started, "Can my dad come too?" or "Would it be okay if my husband stopped by?"  So of course, I sent a message saying, "Dads are invited too," because we all know they are all just big kids at heart.  I don't know who was more excited, J or his friends and their dads.  Anyway, we started at the house with "Nerf Bootcamp" where they practiced their skills (many of my ideas where thanks too blackberryvine.blogspot.com and a few other nerf parties blogs).  After Bootcamp was complete, we headed up to the school playground (it's in our neighborhood) for the epic battle.  They had a great time and I'm sure they all slept incredibly well that night.  The J-man had a fantastic time= Mission Accomplished!



 

 

First year of the non-theme cake.  He just wanted homemade fudge cake with oreo cookie crumbles.

Check out the supply bags:  I didn't have to make any of the dart holders I saw online so I  bought Home Depot tool aprons for 77 cents a piece, printed our Nerf war logo on iron-on sheets, and ironed the logo over the Home Depot label.  It turned out pretty awesome because it gave them kind-of a cool camo look.

Stations were:  Moving Target Balloon Challenge (shoot hanging balloons...very challenging due to the windy day), Knock Out Challenge (shoot army men off the swing set ladder), Tin Can Callenge (see how many tin cans they could shoot off a ledge) and their favorite....

Target Practice:  Normally I don't condone this type of behavior, but when J saw that somebody had done something like this online, he just had to have it.  He and his friends are what you call the anti- Biebs.  Not fans at all...he kind-of makes them want to throw-up according to J.

The Party Goers (Teams were based on the safety glasses they chose.)

Gearing up for battle.

J's look for the day.  Don't you love the flashing mohawk.

And the battle begins...

 

They played capture the flag.  This was one team's base.  No one won because they hid the flags too well, but they had great time just the same.

Even Ladybug got into the action.  J's friends were not one bit hesitant to put her in charge of flag protection.  For a long time she sat under this bush with the biggest nerf gun I've ever seen, shooting anyone who got close.  Here she is after one of the dads.  She was sitting next to me when all of a sudden she yelled, "Oh, no you don't!" and took off after him.

Happy Birthday, to my favorite 11 year old!  It was a great day!

What?!? His birthday is only 2 weeks away?!?

So, in my crazy way too busy life, I totally lost track of time.  On top of all of my usual stuff, I've been trying to make sure everything is ready for our grade level field trip (approval, permission slips, letters, payments, etc) which is on March 7 the day before a very special young man's 11th birthday.  For some reason I had it in my head that it was 3 weeks away.  A couple of days ago, I came to the shocking realization of, "What!?!  You mean it's only two weeks away?!" Holy Moley!  Forget the field trip, I've got a party to plan!!!  Needless to say, I've been in a party planning frenzy this morning.   You know I can't go with the store bought, out of a box birthday (not that there is anything wrong with that).  Luckily, we already had a theme picked out and I had already scoured the Internet for ideas for invites and games.  It's just a matter of putting it together.  Here's a preview minus real names and such.  It should be a fun one!  More to come...

You rock, Valentine!

So I know I've been the worst Blogger ever the last few months, but my life has been so busy, I'm physically too tired to think and type anything that makes sense. Hopefully, that will be improving. Anyway, if you'll remember, I love making my kids' class valentines and the fact that I'm ridiculously busy doesn't change anything. This year I think I've come up with the cheapest and one of the cutest yet.  For the Ladybug's class and my classes, we're giving these to rocks. I'll post the final Valentine later along with the J-man's last class Valentine..sniff...sniff.

Merry Christmas from the Potater Patch!

 

Ridiculous...

In the words of my sweet little 6 year old daughter when she saw this picture,"Oh, man!" (and with such expression that it made me laugh out loud). She truly is a girl after my own heart.  I think I'm going to have to try this soon, chocolate chip cookie/oreo/brownie bars (baked with hot fudge sauce).  BUT...the first day of fall is tomorrow.  I'm going to have to back some pumpkin bread this weekend.

First Day of School

 

 

Yes, I know, I'm 3 weeks late but I've been just a little bit busy.  Here's our first day of school pictures.  It was J-man's first day of 5th grade.  He loves being the big man on campus.  He was selected to participate in safety patrol for the first 9 weeks...big priveledge.  It was Z's first day of first grade.  She loves 1st grade and her teacher.  This past Tuesday, she started speech and the Lovely Girls Club which both led her to announce that Tuesdays are her absolute favorite day of the week (she has a really great speech teacher and Lovely Girls is awesome~check out the link). I'm also having a really good year so far too.  I'm now co-team leader of 3rd grade and teaching math.  I have a really great team of new teachers to our school.  My class is also proving to be very sweet and well behaved (drastic change from last year).  I'm hopeful and praying we all have a fantastic year.

Happy School Year

Kids acting silly after Back to School Party at Church.  First and fifth, here we come!

Since I've been pretty much a-wall this summer, I thought I'd give an update.  This summer has been CRAZY busy.  Going from here to there, taking kids to one grandparents, then another, camps, VBS, parties, friends, family, play dates, doctor appointments, dentist appointments, swim lessons, and lots and lots of driving to get to all of these places.  We finally slowed down during August and have basically spent the month floating and playing in our neighborhood pool, until this past week, when I went back to work. Wasn't it just yesterday that the last school bell of the year rang? But, here we are again and it starts tomorrow!!!!  AHHHH!  I guess, ready or not...first, third, and fifth grade, here come the Potaters.  First day pictures...coming soon....

Need a laugh...just spend an afternoon with these clowns!

Shiver me timbers! I got me hook stuck in me nose.

He's definitely Alan's.

My fruit bowl overfloweth

This time of year I tend to be somewhat of a fruitaholic. I just can't help myself. On my list was oranges and bananas but as you can tell, I was seduced by the fruit aisle. It would be a wise guess that fruit salad will be on the menu tonight...maybe even a fresh peach cobbler. YUM-MO!

"The moon is out and it shines so bright."

That was a line from some play I remember from high school.  Funny how some things stick in your head.  Found these pictures today and was fascinated by them.  Some French photographer took a series of pictures titled "Moon Games" with the moon (in various states), people, and simple props.  They're really cool.  If you click the picture it will take you to the website.  If not, here's the link:  http://digital-photography-school.com/moon-games This is now on my list of pictures I'd like to try to take...one day if I ever get around to those photography lessons.

Enjoying seafood at a restaurant on the bay.

Rain rain go away!!!

Okay, so like for the first time in forever, the hubs and I are on a short beach getaway by ourselves.   We have the perfect condo and a quick walk to the beach. We couldn't wait to spend our one and only full day here playing in the waves and laying on the beach soaking in the sun...but the weather had different plans. Rain rain and more rain. We braved it this morning and went anyway but I think we were wetter from the rain than the ocean. I'm holding out hope that the weather men are wrong and the sun will eventually shine. 

The Big #6 Lalaloopsy Party

As I said in my last post, Ladybug's 6th birthday and party was last weekend.  She decided months ago that she wanted a Lalaloopsy party.  You know I love to plan a party and a Lalaloopsy party I knew would be bright, colorful, and fun.   In the end, my sweet girl absolutely loved her party and her friends had a great time too. 

Here's what we did.  First, when the girls came in they decorated a picture frame with big bright buttons and their name.  (This is a tradition at our house.  I always take a picture of their friends at the party, normally with the birthday boy/girl.  Then, my kids type thank you notes that we stick to the back of the picture or add "thank you" text to the front of the picture and send it to the party goers as a thank you card.  So normally one of our crafts is some type of frame.)  Anyway, after that, the girls played a Lalaloopsy version of the game Sorry while we waited for those last few to arrive.  Then, we started the big craft.  All Lalaloopsy girls are sewn out of something in particular (a princess gown, an astronaut's uniform, etc.) and they all have a pet, so what did we do?  Well, we sewed together Lalaloopsy pets.

First, I chose about 7 different simple, Lalaloopsy pets.  I made a pattern, cut them out of felt, and glued simple details with tacky glue.  With a small hole punch, I punched holes all the way around the felt shape.

I found plastic needles at Hobby Lobby and we showed the girls how to do a whip stitch around the outside with yarn, stuffing them with cotton before they finished.  

The girls were THRILLED with their pets, especially since they made them.

 

Check out the button cookies.

I still can't believe she's six.  She's such a wonderful little girl.  I'm so proud to be her Mommy.

 

We played pin the eye on Bea Spells a Lot.  I was surprised at
 how much they enjoyed this.
 

Even Big Brother joined in on the fun, much to the girls' delight.

All in all, it was a great party.  It made the birthday girl's day and that's what mattered most!

The Big #6 (Before the Party)

The Little Miss had her highly anticipated 6th birthday last weekend!  Here's the pictures of the before party and decorations.  She chose a Lalaloopsy party theme.

Love this picture of my babies.  J-man wrote his sister the sweetest birthday card.

They both look so big in this picture.  Where did the time go?

Meet Sprinkle Spice Cookie, the doll a certain Mommy searched high and wide for.  Z was thrilled.

 Now on to the decorations....
Alan and I decorated the night before the party, after Z went to sleep.  She was so excited when she came down on her birthday to find the entire downstairs "Lalaloopied" with giant flowers hanging from the ceiling, bright pom-pom-button garlands, and birthday banners everywhere (you know how I love to get crafty with the graphics).  Here are some of the pictures.

 

 

 

 

I debated forever what to do for a cake (see my last post).  Since she was insisting on strawberry cake mix, I made Neapolitan cupcakes.  They had brownie bottoms, strawberry cake tops, and vanilla buttercream icing.  I used pencil toppers on cookie pop sticks as the decorations, which the girls loved because they could take them home.

 

Pictures of the actual party coming up next...