Thirty-One

It's no secret.  I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY!  I try to celebrate it the entire month, but it doesn't always work that way and I have to settle for, you know, a birthday week!  HA!  This year, I have happily turned it into my birthday weekend and it started off on the perfect note this morning with my kids running into the bathroom when they woke up, while I was getting ready for the day, with the Lisa Leonard necklace that I have been wanting forever!  Then, spoiled by the girls at school at school with breakfast and lunch!  A visit from a few former students and then home for dinner at my favorite place in the entire world to eat, Ah-So, with the fam!  Today was a great day!  Hoping to spend time chillaxin' by the pool this weekend in between cooking the golf buddies favorite dinner {a tradition that we do once or twice a year for my dad and his friends that come down to golf!  You can read more about it here}!

In honor of turning 31, I thought I would share 31 fun facts about me!

1.  I am obsessed with spray tanning!  I am a Jersey Shore girl at heart?!  I stop my membership for the summer, but September is coming soon and it will be time to get my spray on!

2.  I am a hoarder of old, gold picture frames.  The gaudier the better!  Some I paint, some I leave alone!

3.  I drink way too much unsweetened ice tea.  I usually go through the McDonald's drive thru and order two or three at a time.  They do sit well in the fridge overnight, that is if I don't drink them first!

4.  I just hired my sis-in-law to be my house cleaner.  It took her three days to give my big ol' house a good deep cleaning and holy cow is it sparkling!  I am sure she is hoping that she won't ever have to do that again and she probably won't, because she is coming in every two weeks to do the basics from here on out!  It is so nice to be able to come home and not have to clean, just pick up!  Best decision ever!

5.  I have been watching All My Children {the soap opera} since my mom birthed me, no joke, and this September it is going off the air!  I don't know what I am going to do when I can't watch these people's lives unfold right before my eyes each and every day!  Sad times for sure.

6.  I teach 8th grade reading.  My first year of 8th graders are graduating from high school this year!  So proud of them!  Before I taught 8th grade, I taught Kindergarten, and those Kindergartners are graduating 8th grade this year!  So crazy to think {and see} them now!

7.  When I first moved to Arizona, I got a job at a restaurant called Bobby McGees.  The waiters and waitresses had to dress up as characters and sing songs and play jokes on customers that came to dine!  It was so much fun!  Wanna know who I played?  Give up?  I'll tell you, the one and only Tinkerbell!  I had the lost boys in the bar mixing up magic potions {drinks} for people and Peter Pan on the grill!  

8.  My foot grew a whole shoe size when I became pregnant with Kyan.  I went from a size 7 to a size 8, which I now where!

9.  I hate doing the laundry and am lucky enough that the hubs does it 98% of the time.

10.  I started my own photography business a few years ago, Rosie J. Photography, and each year it just keeps getting busier and busier!  I am thankful.

11.  I go to bed almost each and every night reading on the iPad.  It relaxes me and lets me escape into another world, everything else goes away when I read.  I am currently reading the YA novel, Some Girls Are.

12.  My word of the year:  patience.  I don't always have it.  I want to though.

13.  I have been married for almost 8 years.  Chad and I tied the knot in Hawaii on the island of Oahu!  It was magical.

14.  I can make a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies, thanks to my aunt Heidi of course!

15.  I am a copy cat crafter.  If I see something out in blogland that has a tutorial {sometimes it doesn't even have to} I try to make it myself!  I get a sense of pride knowing that I did it!

16.  I like to be told that I am doing a good job at ______________.  Fill in the blank.  It doesn't matter what it is, just tell me I am doing it right!

17.  I try to avoid confrontation at all costs.  I don't just mean physical fighting {although I hate that kind of fighting too - and have never been in a fight btw, I would get rocked}.  I try to make everyone happy and don't like when feelings are hurt.

18.  Number 17 being said, I have developed quite the backbone as of late and won't stand to be pushed around, by anyone.  This has helped me both personally and professionally.

19.  I have bad eyes.  I wear both contacts and glasses.  I remember the first time that I told my mom I was having issues seeing, it was a stop sign on the way back from shopping {imagine that, my mom shopping?!}.  What I wouldn't give for lasik eye surgery.

20.  If I could afford to quit my job and just craft all day long, I would.  I am envious of those that get to do just that.

21.  Ten more things to write?  Seriously?  Ummmm....my favorite color is pink!  Although turquoise isn't too far behind!

22.  I am obsessed with all things leopard print.  I know, what am I, like 10?  I can't help it, I have a leopard phone cover, the back cover of my calender is leopard scrapbook paper, even my notebook that I made for all of my team meeting notes has leopard pennants on the front cover!  No leopard print in the house though, the hubs happens to not be a fan, however, I am going to try to find a way to sneak it in there!

23.  My favorite cereal of all time - Lucky Charms.  Oh, okay...healthy cereal, Post Brand Raisin Bran!

24.  I wish I had longer hair, just a little bit longer, but it won't grow.  Ok, truth.  I have an obsession with cutting my hair.  The second it even starts growing, I cut it!  Ugh.  I need to stop, but don't know how.  

25.  I happen to win a lot of things via blog giveaways.  I am lucky like that!  Whenever I tell my husband about my winnings he rolls his eyes and asks me how much it really cost me!?

26.  I have acrylic nails and the best nail lady in the valley.  I get them filled once every month to six weeks.  Bad I know, but she does such a good job and they don't lift at all, so I try to stretch it as long as I can between back fills!

27.  If I had to pick one clothing store to shop in for a new wardrobe, I would pick Ann Taylor Loft.  Love all of their clothes.

28.  Speaking of shopping, I shop mannequins!  Meaning, it looks good on the form, I want to try it on!  I am not very good at putting together outfits, so if I see it already done, I am sold!  If I don't have the opportunity to shop the mannequins, I like the employees to bring me clothes they think will look good on me {why I love The Buckle so much}!

29.  I would rather find something old, refinish it, and make it new again.

30.  I watch too many ridiculous shows on TV.  One Tree Hill, 90210, Teen Mom, Awkward, Jersey Shore, Bachelor Pad.  Thank God for DVR!  

31.  I love tattoos and would love more on my body, just have no clue what I would permanently want!  My four little birds took me forever to decide!  

That is it, 31 things you may or may not have known about me! 

Happy 31st Birthday to me!

Did I leave anything out?  

Have a question for me?  Ask away...

Lola: The Preschooler

Lola is quite the character, if you know her, you know exactly what I am talking about!

She has had two amazing weeks in preschool thus far - even went to school without her big brother to watch her back today {he was at home sick} with a big smile on her face! 

 Along the way I have received quite a few emails telling me about Little Miss Thing, each and every one of them have either made me laugh out loud or put a huge smile on my face and I just think to myself, 'Yep!  That is my girl'!
Ms. Extended Day told me she is an adult trapped in a 3 year old's body!  She hit the nail on the head with that one for sure.  Lola knows what she wants, when she wants it, and has a plan or an excuse to get it that very second or there is going to be hell to pay!

 On the first day of school she refused to participate in PE.  She folded her little arms across her chest and said, "I'm NOT doing THAT!"  Even with a little bit of coaxing, she refused, so she sat on the sideline and watched.  The following Monday, with fingers crossed, new tennis shoes on her feet, and a long talk on our way to school, she still refused to play.  I am hoping that she will adjust to PE {think it has a lot to do with the fact that it is a male teacher, because her other specials classes she does just fine} in the next few weeks!

 She had an accident this week during nap time {something very out of the ordinary for her}, I noticed the second that I picked her up at extended day that her clothes were different.  I had a 5-10 minute conversation with her and she almost had me convinced that she DID NOT have an accident, but was, in fact, just really sweaty and that was why her clothes were wet!  I promise we went back and forth for what seemed like forever before she finally gave in and said she did have one, but then followed it with up quickly with, "MOM!  I am NOT a baby.  Only babies have accidents and I am NOT a baby!"  Alrighty then little girl, gotcha!

I think she must spend a lot of time playing in the play kitchen area ,at school.  Mrs. A, her teacher must have told her that she couldn't play in the kitchen center the next day and Lola told her, "I'm not your friend anymore!" {seems like this is something that comes out of her mouth as soon as she doesn't get something that she wants}, but then told Mrs. A during lunchtime that they were friends again!  Her teachers deserve an award {or a really good Christmas present} for putting up with her feisty little attitude!

But, I mean...just look at her!  How can you not love her?

So proud of our preschool girl!

Love you BIG, Lola!

PS-You likey Lola's shirt?  Every Friday is school spirit day and the kids are encouraged to dress in the school's colors!   Well, I went to buy her a new t-shirt at the beginning of the year and they had NO extra smalls?!  She is pretty tiny, so I cut up one of her brother's old t-shirts from school that doesn't fit him anymore and made it into a tank dress!  Add a little zebra print around the collar and sleeves, a little lace along the bottom {but don't look to close, or you will see its 24,987 flaws} and wah-lah!  It is much more girly and based on the amount of times we got asked about it from the car to extended day this morning, I would say it was a hit!  Chad told me later, after he picked her up, that she paraded around the school and went into different classes to show off her shirt!  She even had little poses down with each stop!  I am so mad at myself that I  didn't take any pictures along the way of me making the t-shirt {to be honest, I really didn't know it would turn out so cute...I was just crossing my fingers I didn't screw it up}, so no tutorial, but her teacher asked if I would make one for her daughter, so hoping to finish that this weekend, along with pictures, so that if you have an old t-shirt laying around, you can make it into a cute little tank dress for your girl too! 

Hard on a mama's heart.

Today was hard.  Like, the hardest one yet.

I drop my kiddos off at school between 7-7:15 every morning at extended day.  Just one of those things a working mama's gotta do.  I start school a half hour later than my kids, but need to be at my school for morning duty/meeting stuff.  Anywho, it  normally takes a little bit of coaxing to get Lola into the arms/care of one of the extended day workers, but today was easy breezy, and she went right in!  The one who I don't ever worry about was the one in tears.

Kyan has been a little ehhhh going into extended day in the morning {only the mornings, he always tells me I pick him up too early after school, which isn't early btw}.  There has been another kid who has kinda been teasing him a little {he is older}.  When I talked to the extended day workers, they knew exactly who I was talking about and promised to nip it right away, and they did.  So what was he so upset about?!  Like upset like, trying not to cry but boogers dripping out of his nose kind of upset.  I took him to the bathroom, he got himself together and then we talked before we went in.  One of the extended day workers always calls Kyan "doughnut boy", like for the past year!  It is a term of endearment and Kyan always giggles when he hears it!  In fact, after 7 days of being at extended day, Lola has earned the name "doughnut girl" by him as well!  They always bring in white powder doughnuts for breakfast {mom of the year award, I know...it is easy and convenient}.  Today, it must have bothered him.  Other kids were starting to call him that too {Mr. Extended Day is cool and they hear him and want to be like him}!  That is what ended up bothering Kyan, I found this out all during our talk.

***I feel like I have to say this.  Mr. Extended Day is so good to Kyan.  They have a secret handshake and he always plays with him in the morning and afternoons.  Kyan adores him and the other Mr. Extended Day!

We went back in from the restroom and I talked with Mr. Extended Day, who felt horrible and said he'd talk to him.  I told him that Kyan might not talk, but he said he would still try.  When I was walking out, I watched him sit next to Kyan and put his arm around him.  I watched Kyan resist for a red hot second, and then lean on him and just start crying.  It was like he released the weight of the world that was carrying on his shoulders.  I wanted to run in and hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but I knew that he was in good hands.  It broke my heart to leave him that way, but I knew I had to leave.  I got in my car and cried.
Before school started, I called extended day and asked if he got better before he went to class.  Ms. Extended Day told me that she talked to him about when she got teased when she was little and how it made her feel and she thought he felt better.  Which made me feel better.

I wasn't myself all day and felt like I was on auto pilot.  Around 2:50 {when Kyan and Lola get out of school} I got an email from Ms. Extended Day that basically stated that Kyan came in, put his head down, and wouldn't talk.  He would go with his sister's group either.  Nothing from him and that she was very concerned.  I called as soon as I got it.  He refused to talk to me. 
Heart aching.

As soon as school was over I went to get him.  Ms. Extended Day told me he was feeling better.  She said that him and Mr. Extended Day talked again about the doughnut boy situation and worked it all out.  When Kyan walked out, he was smiling.  

Thank God.  

We talked about everything in the car and about how he can't just NOT talk to people.  

Hoping tomorrow will be better.  No mama should have to watch her baby cry before, during, or after school.

I am so thankful to the extended care workers for their sweetness with my kids, especially this week.  Lola with her adjusting to life in school and with this situation with Kyan.  They take care of them when I can not.  

PS-I got a call from the nurse this morning {it is Thursday now}, Kyan has been complaining of having a belly ache pretty much all week {I didn't blog about that part, he has been in and out of that office all week, no fever, no puking or pooping, so I had him sent back to class}, but I just thought he was avoiding school or something.  Well, he had a fever this morning, so I needed to go get him.  We went straight to the doctor's office, where he tested positive for strep.  Strep is not a stranger to Kyan, but he has NEVER shown the symptoms that he has currently for it, ever, so I had no clue.  I can usually tell the second he gets it, like I said, he does get it a lot, so when they said strep, I was shocked!  I am hoping that this is why he has truly been off this week.  Time will tell.

My Very First Furniture Makeover: The Dresser

This post should have come months ago, like 8 months ago!  YIKES!  

I really wanted to reveal this pretty little dresser when I revealed my beautiful craft room {that is still in the works} but who knows when that will happen and before I go deleting any more pictures, I thought I better just let ya'll know about the first time I ever refinished furniture!  I have since painted and posted other pieces that I have done, like the nightstand for Lola's room, but realized I never posted about this one...and before I delete all of the pictures from my computer {hence the before photos not being true "before" pics, I can't find them, dang it}, I thought it was time!

The inspiration to even think about painting a dresser came from Julie over at Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss.  When I saw her dresser she painted in festival green, I knew I had to find one and paint it in just as equally happy of a color!  When I need to hunt for furniture, no one better to call than Grandma Shipe!  She called me within a week and said she had something worth checking out!  I made the drive out to her house and was amazed at the beauty that was before me {okay, it wasn't quite there yet, more of a beast, but I could see the potential}!  Got it loaded in the truck and headed home!

Here is how it looked after I finished sanding it!  And let me tell you I sanded that sucker down to the core!  Being that it was my first time painting anything, when I read tutorials online about sanding, it just said sand.  I had no clue how much {or not} to sand, so it went to the bones!  But I did it all by myself and am proud!  I even went and bought a power sander all on my own {that is after I burned out the one I borrowed from my friends, who I still owe a new one to}! 







Do I sand furniture like this when I paint it now - heck no!  Lesson learned!  But the after on this dresser is to die for, so it wasn't all bad.  I painted it using Valspar Interior Eggshell Finish in Aqua Ocean.  I didn't prime it because it was a color/primer in one!  But, I did learn another lesson, don't paint furniture in an eggshell finish.  I can't really explain why, other than I just had to use a clear coat of Valspar Clear Protector in Satin finish to finish it off!   Did you catch that?!  Geesh, so many finishes?! Too many steps, but it turned out beautiful nonetheless!

I like mixing the old with the new, so I did keep the old hardware on the dresser! 

Ta-da!
After going back and rereading this post, it really should be about what NOT to do when refinishing furniture!  Oh well!  I like it all the same :)
It is all done and in my crafty space now {not sitting outside of it in the hallway, like in the picture}!  I feel like that is the one room where I can experiment with color and it doesn't matter!  Maybe one day I will show you what it looks like in there!

Just for kicks, the before and after.

Meeting Baby Ava

With the craziness that was last week and starting back to school for three of the four of us in the house, I forgot to post pictures of one sweet little girl, Ava Lynn!

 

Brian and Jessica added the newest member to their family two weeks ago and she couldn't be more precious!  Uncle B has always been amazing with our kids and we couldn't wait for the day when he joined us in this world we called parenting!  It was fun to listen to him tell Ava's birth story as he held her so proudly in his arms!  Kyan and Lola were so into her and wanted to help hold her any chance someone was sitting down.  While Lola was watching cartoons in Brian and Jess' room, Kyan got to hold her all on his own, he was so nervous, but so excited and so sweet with her!  She is a beauty who looks just like her mama we think!

Congrats Brian and Jessica!  We love you and can't wait to spend more family time with the three of you!!!!

First Day of School!

Today was a BIG day at the Roseland house!

This year all three of us started our first day of school together!  Usually it is just Kyan and I that pack our bags and go to school (this is my ninth year of "first days"), while Lola goes to daycare, but not this year!  This year she joined us, as she had her first day of preschool today!  I am so thankful that it happens to be at the same school that Kyan attends!  So for the next four years they will be at the same school!  They even saw each other in passing today at lunch and both told me about it when I got home from school!  They thought it was pretty cool and Kyan kept saying that he can't believe that Lola is at his school now!

 Kyan LOVES first grade and talked about how awesome it was after school!  I wasn't too worried about his day, he is so easy going that I knew it would be a breeze!  He made some new friends and caught up with old ones from last year.  Lola did fairly well considering...she refused to participate in PE and at one point she told her teachers she wasn't coming back to school tomorrow, BUT they said that she really had a great day otherwise!  She is talking non stop about how much she loves her teachers and how great they are (in her very dramatic diva voice, kinda sounds a little valley girl?!) and can't wait to go back tomorrow!

Whew!  Day one done! Hoping tomorrow goes just as well!

The Power of Words.

Last year I received two very different letters, one from a parent and one from a student.  One via email and one hand written.  Each letter holds a very special place in a corner of my heart.  Words are so powerful to me and I want to forever remember them.

As I started a new year today, I read each of these letters.  I reminded myself that they are why I teach, not for any evaluation or test score (although I value their importance), but for them.

Wow Mrs. Roseland, I was just thinking of emailing you as a result of a conversation I had with A. this week.  YOU have totally changed her life in so many positive ways--she loves everything about you (we do too!).  Where should I start...first of all, you've turned my NON reading, hate everything about reading and books, I HATE READING daughter into a reader!  In all her years of school and having parents as teachers, YOU have unlocked heart heart to reading!!!  I brag on you ALL THE TIME and I can't even explain how you did it---but YOU did!  I thank you for that because the written word is so close to my heart and now A. values it too!  Sometimes late at night we have to make her go to sleep and put the books away! THANK YOU!

Second, you have encouraged her to be the best young lady she can be by modeling that behavior yourself!  You're REAL, and CARING, and FUN, and EASY TO TALK TO, and a POSITIVE INFLUENCE to my teenage, sometimes unreachable daughter! THANK YOU! 

A. adores you and what you stand for.  As a parent, I am so thankful A. is surrounded by beautiful women such as yourself on a daily basis.  I never worry about A. because I know she is well taken care of at school and that is priceless to me!

THANK YOU Mrs. Roseland- you are one of a kind! 

J. L.

PS- Can you teach at A's high school next year? I'll make you cookies for life!  Thank you!

Dear Mrs. Roseland,

If you weren't my 8th grade teacher I don't think I would have got through all the tough times here at home.  I picked you for my hero paper.  Why?  Because when I talk to you, I feel loved like a parent love.  I haven't felt that kinda love in years, and it feels nice to know someone out there loves me.  I didn't get picket to speak at the breakfast, but I'll still type my hero paper for you to keep.

Mrs. Roseland I know I've only known you for 9 months but those 9 months you made me feel like I was meant for something, like I am not just here for show-n-tell, you made me feel wanted, and I thank you for that.  Without you I probably would have ran away by now, but you keep me going.  You're the one who keeps me going.  You're the one who keeps the smile on my face, you're the one who hleped me when I was down.  That is why you are my hero.  That is why I love you.

Thank you Mrs. Roseland.

G.

There is so much that I could say about each of these students and how very different they are, but I won't.  There is so much that I could say about so many of the students that walk through my door and how much they really teach me, but I won't.  Instead, I will leave you with a quote today that spoke volumes to me today and a quote that was instantly added to the book as soon as I heard it in our meeting, a quote that I will live by;

 

Have you ever had a teacher that has impacted your life in a positive way?

Little Girlfriends

 

 I remember when Candis and Michael came to visit us in the hospital right after we had Lola (we didn't find out what we were having, so we were so excited/surprised that it was a girl) and they had only days prior found out that the little bun in their oven was a girl too!  Candis and I were both excited for the day that our girls would be old enough to really play together and I remember we shared those thoughts at the hospital that night!  

Fast forward three and a half years later and that is exactly what we watch!  I would say that Camden and Lola have a special little night gown wearing, baby stroller pushing bond that is unbreakable!  One of the first things out of Camden's mouth tonight was can she borrow one of Lola's night gowns?!  It was hilarious and little did I know that mama brought her the one we got her!  The second they were out of the pool, the Hello Kitty night gowns went on and strollers were pushed.  It was adorable and very fun to watch...that is until the tears started flowing and they were sad about EVERYTHING, you name it and one of them was getting teary eyed about it!  One thing our girls definitely are is DRAMA, but so much fun to watch and be around.  I would say that they have very strong personalities and want things there way (Candis, do you know where they get this from, because I don't?!  Heehee!) but they really do care for each other and Lola was asking if we could go to their house tomorrow five minutes after they walked in the door!  I wish!  We have had such a carefree summer, she isn't quite sure what is about to hit her starting tomorrow!

 Thank you girls so much for heading this way, definitely took my mind off of things tonight and it was so fun watching the little ones play together!  I pinky promise not to let it be until October before we see you again!