Hints From Home

August Hints From Home

2011-08-23T02:49:00.000-04:00

July's Hints from Home

2011-07-23T02:53:00.002-04:00

June Hints From Home

2011-06-18T03:22:00.000-04:00

May Hints From Home

2011-06-03T04:51:00.002-04:00

April's Hints From Home

2011-04-27T21:53:00.000-04:00

February's Hints From Home page

2011-03-05T03:40:00.000-05:00

January's Hints From Home page

2011-02-09T05:05:00.000-05:00

Extra Kalahari Water Park Pics

2011-01-22T00:33:00.000-05:00

Shift Change

2011-01-22T00:24:00.002-05:00

There are lots of parenting magazines out there with lots of helpful advice for spending quality time with your kids after work. But most of that advice only works for parents with “regular” schedules — working the typical 9-5 office hours.
With our publishing schedule change, my schedule has gone through a drastic transformation. And, I know there are lots of other moms and dads out there working second and third shift jobs.
My question is, how have you adjusted to make the most out of the time you do have with your family?

We need a little Christmas!

2010-12-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

We stuffed ourselves into a food coma at the big family Thanksgiving dinner and woke up to find that Christmas is coming up fast. Actually, the Christmas season apparently began back in October and only just kicked it into high gear on Thanksgiving Day.
I went into our friendly neighborhood Walmart a few days after Halloween and right next to the aisle with the big Halloween candy banner was a Christmas tree.
Being the rebel that I am, however, I've waited until just this week to begin my Christmas shopping (OK, I'm not a rebel; I'm just procrastinating, again).
But it's hard choosing just the right gifts, keeping the number/value of gifts exactly equal per child, and sticking to the non-existent Christmas budget and I always have a mini anxiety attack after each Christmas purchase.
I am getting a little more into the Christmas spirit since the tree is up and almost decorated.
Sam took it upon himself to go out and buy a new, pre-lit tree this year. He's been complaining about the old tree for a few years now. It is kind of a pain to drag it up from the basement, sort all the branches and put it together, but it was always fun to watch Sam and the girls figure it out. And I've never really figured out how the Christmas lights, put away so neatly after Christmas, manage to get themselves into a tangled mess by the next year.
Here's another thing that put me into the Christmas mood: Portable North Pole. At the PNP, you can create a free, personalized video message from the Chief Elf. It was fun to put together and the look on Brookie's face as she watched it was priceless.

October Hints From Home

2010-11-01T22:58:00.000-04:00

September Hints From Home page

2010-09-20T13:36:00.000-04:00

August Hints From Home

2010-08-26T13:36:00.000-04:00

The Duggars visit Camden

2010-07-08T13:56:00.000-04:00

The Duggar family, of TLC's 19 Kids & Counting, were in Camden, Mich., this week to perform special music for a conference.

Since that's pretty close to home, we went up to gawk (sad, but true) and I took a photo for the paper - and lots of photos and video for home.

I think we were all a little amazed when they all started getting off their bus - they look just like the Duggars on TV!

Jim Bob Duggar (the dad) came around and shook lots of hands and handed out a family photo. He spent quite a bit of time just chatting with people and really seemed to be a genuinely nice guy.

The kids seemed to be very friendly and, well, just regular kids. One of the little boys was holding a little sister - and kind of looked like he was going to break her in half - I think the same one was trying to climb a tent pole, one of the little girls was twirling around a tent pole - luckily not long enough to make herself sick. One family took a picture of their children with some of the Duggar kids and one of the little Duggar boys went right over to the dad with the camera to check it out.

Michelle and baby Josie were the only family members that didn't make the trip. Hopefully, they had a little time to relax and recover from everything they've been through.

Lots of people have their opinions on the Duggar family - some for, some against. Some people may think they're just plain crazy. Living with just four girls, I think that could be at least partly true. After seeing them in person though, I think that mostly they are a nice, normal family - just a little larger than most.

May's Hints From Home page

2010-07-08T13:16:00.000-04:00

Sorry!

2010-07-08T13:14:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated, Shawn. That's right, I know you're out there and, for the record, you're the only one who's mentioned that I haven't updated since, well, forever.

Anyway, to catch everyone up on what's been happening, we finally have Megan graduated!
Really, all those years of school were probably a lot easier than the graduation party - especially for my poor parents. They went above and beyond their grandparently duties to host a really great party (it even provided an excuse for them to get a new floor). There was lots of fabulous food, lots of familiar faces, and lots of fun.

Uncle Shawn came all the way from Texas and was promptly put to work - I think he did manage to fit in some Wii bowling lessons from Bailey. The Wii at Grandma's house has turned out to be almost as big of a draw as the pool this summer - and at Megan's party even Grandpa was seen with a controller in his hand. And, I'm not sure what's come over Grandpa lately, but we've even caught him at the computer a few times - I think he may be addicted to mahjong. We can also thank Casey for a few rousing games of Werewolf.

Big sister Kara and her girls were also able to make the trip from Florida - although we didn't get to spend nearly enough time with them. And, big sister Siovan made an appearance, too.

I think we only had two injuries the whole day - one Wii-related injury (you really should watch out for each other when wielding (Casey) Wii controllers or (Grandma) trying to walk around someone wielding a Wii controller) and, I think, the other was just klutz-related (Caitlin trying to maneuver the deck steps in the dark).

Luckily, we have two years until Caitlin graduates - that should be time enough to recover while still remembering what worked this time and what didn't!

My favorite picture of Megan and Caitlin! It almost looks like they like each other!

Bailey, Brooke, Shailynn, Megan and Casey

Makenly (notice the pockets full of pinata candy)

Alivia with her pinata goodies.

Hints From Home- some old pages

2010-03-31T12:30:00.000-04:00

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

August 2009

March's Hints From Home

2010-03-30T13:32:00.000-04:00

A very merry un-birthday to all!
Celebrate your un-birthday - or anybody's un-birthday - with a Wonderland-inspired tea party. And, if you haven't seen Disney's Alice in Wonderland yet, well, "you're late, you're late, you're late!"

February's Hints From Home

2010-03-01T12:25:00.000-05:00

February was another busy month. We did manage to make time to get to the theater to see the new Percy Jackson movie. My brother gave the books to my Dad for Christmas and then he passed them on to me and then I passed them on to Caitlin. They were a lot of fun and reminded me a little of the Harry Potter books - only not as long.
The movie wasn't bad - not quite like the book, but not bad. We also enjoyed the movie previews and are anxiously awaiting "Alice in Wonderland."

My Big, Fat Disney Vacation

2009-12-23T23:32:00.039-05:00

Mmmm, vacation — sounds relaxing, doesn't it?

Really? Then you must be single, have no children — or maybe you're a man. You definitely haven't done the planning, the packing, more planning — and you definitely haven't taken a trip to Disney World with extended family.

I really can't complain (much).

Other than a few minor glitches — some cold weather (hey, if I have to wear a sweatshirt in Florida, it's too cold), a little rain (luckily just one day - but it really poured and I ended up with the broken rain poncho - a lovely fashion accessory), illness (just my brother and sister-in-law while we were there - everybody else, except Caitlin who vomited on two unsuspecting strangers on the plane, waited until we got home) and a lost memory card (the one with all but the last day's pictures on it) — we had a great time.

We left the afternoon of Nov. 25 to spend the night in Indianapolis and our flight left Thursday, Thanksgiving Day and Megan's 18th birthday. We flew home Sunday, Dec. 6. That's right — 12 fun-filled days of family-togetherness.

We planned for the three travel days, two "off" days and the rest of the days at the parks. Even two days at each park is almost not enough time and we went during a not-too-busy time and followed a lot of Tour Guide Mike's suggestions and touring plans (they worked out pretty well, too).

We stayed in a nice, big house in Windsor Hills which is pretty close to Disney property - five bedrooms and five bathrooms (as close to heaven as I've ever been even if I only had a shower instead of a tub - but I'll get over that eventually). (All of the photos in this post are courtesy of my brother and sister-in-law).

With 12 of us - our family of 6, my parents and my brother's family - it was nice to have that much space and having a full kitchen and laundry facilities was very convenient. I think it may be the only vacation I've been on where I didn't have lots of dirty laundry to do when I got home.

We spent our first park day at the Magic Kingdom - and, of course, the first ride of the day was our favorite pachyderm, Dumbo!

Looks like Caitlin's riding Space Mountain or Rockin' Rollercoaster!

Later that day we were asked to participate in Tiana's Showboat Jubilee which was a lot of fun even though it threw off the day's schedule a little bit.

Everybody had a great time being part of the show - even my dad!

We had a lot of fun spending time with my brother's family. They live in Texas so we don't get to spend a lot of time together.

Cousins Joy and Megan did become pretty good buddies on this trip (my very talented brother and sister-in-law made the Minnie dress) and all the cousins spent some fun time together — they even threw their own private, girls-only dance party (poor Isaac - he's the only boy cousin). Even the Florida girls — Shailynn, Alivia and Makenly — were invited. We all played together at the big playground at Windsor Hills and spent some time at the big pool, too (well, OK, I spent time in the hot tub, but the little girls had a lot of fun — especially on the big slide). We followed up with pizza and birthday cake - Megan and Sam had their birthdays on the trip, my dad had his earlier that month and Kara's is at the end of December - but we wouldn't get to see her then so we celebrated early.

Here's the only boy cousin — don't let Mr. Adorable fool you though - he is one very busy boy and the best alarm clock I know.

Here's the whole gang of cousins with grandma and grandpa.

We rode lots of fun rides, saw some great shows, and made memories — lots of good ones and just a few not-so-good ones — on this trip. And, even with as much time as we were there and as much as we did (and as exhausted as we became) there was so much more stuff to do! I don't think anyone on a Disney vacation could ever complain of boredom.

With some of the grandkids being almost-grown-up — not to mention the expense — we probably won't do another big Disney trip together — at least not for a long, long time.

I'm glad we were able to be there for Isaac's first trip — he learned to high-five from the characters — we were able to go a few years ago for his sister's first trip, too. And Joy is at a great age for Disney World — meeting characters and some of the rides we thought she would like, she decided not to go on — but the kid did ride Big Thunder Mountain — definitely a big girl ride.

I know the next time we go, we'll miss having that stroller to sit stuff on and there probably won't be anyone to watch all the backpacks, fanny packs and sweatshirts because everyone will be tall enough to go on all the rides!

We do have one last big trip to look forward to, though. We're going to meet each other approximately half-way and spend some (hopefully) relaxing time in Branson this summer.

Get the music ready for another dance party, girls!

Redecorating

2009-10-16T13:52:00.004-04:00

Well, I spent half my afternoon yesterday redecorating the blog.

I was very proud of myself for figuring out how to get the template to work right and then adding just the right gadgets.

And after all that work, Megan thinks it's weird and can't figure out why I have a picture of little Asian children on my blog - look again, Meg. Those children are not Asian - not that it would matter if they were - they are just cute little brown-haired, big-eyed girls. At first glance they all look the same but if you look closer you can see they all have their very own distinctly individual little personalities - just like my girls.

Trick or Treat?

2009-10-15T08:46:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe, but this year's October Hint's From Home will be our third Halloween page. The girls all know that when their "brother" Jack comes out of Grandma's attic it's time to start deciding on a Halloween costume and planning which trick-or-treat route will get them the most candy!

Jack and Brooke 2008

Caitlin, Bailey, Brooke and Megan share a Halloween snack with Jack 2007

Scrapbook Pages

2009-09-23T12:44:00.007-04:00

Be careful - this online scrapbooking can be addictive. You may find yourself trying to turn all of your pictures into scrapbook pages. I even borrowed a few pictures - the ones of my nephew Isaac and sister-in-law Angie were e-mailed from my brother. The musical picture, I think, was taken by Times photographer Dana Kubanda.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A special day!

2009-09-01T10:58:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday, Brooke and Bailey!

Whoops, it's July

2009-07-07T10:14:00.003-04:00

I really had good intentions. I planned to write something all last month. After all, June was so much more relaxed than May was. Maybe that can be my excuse. I was too relaxed during June - it's summer vacation after all.

Mice don't really look like Mickey

2009-05-14T14:29:00.003-04:00

OK, actually I never really saw the little visitor - just a blur of what looked like Eloise fluff blowing through the kitchen. But Caitlin saw it - and said it jumped a pile of laundry and the dogs' water dish before racing through the kitchen - like Mighty Mouse.

Luckily, we have enough kitchen chairs for everyone to jump on - except Megan who jumped into the bathtub - and the screams!

They say most of the time wild animals are more afraid of us than we are of them - don't believe it. And, of course, there was not a man to be found. Sam wasn't home and neither were the Grandpas - finally Casey (aka our knight in shining armor) came to save us - armed with mousetraps, peanut butter and bread.

He checked under the dishwasher, under the sink, under the microwave cart - apparently the mouse was Houdini or maybe it really was just a really big furball. Casey fixed some tiny little peanut butter sandwiches to put on the traps and placed them where the dogs couldn't reach them - Tucker tried.

Normally, I'm against violence (OK, really it's the mess that bothers me) and prefer the catch and release method but Casey came to save us and I wasn't about to argue with his methods - especially after remembering getting woke up in the middle of the night to bloodcurdling screams from my mom when something ran over her foot in the bathroom - and that was just the hamster. I didn't want some germ-carrying, possibly rabid rat doing that to me and then bringing friends and family to join the fun.

None of this would have been happening if Lucy (the cat) was still alive and here to protect me. She kept the house safe and vermin-free for at least 10 years - other than the ones she left as presents on the porch. The dogs never even barked and I'm not sure they even left the couch to investigate all the screaming in the kitchen.

Well, just a few minutes after Casey left the house, we heard a loud snap - and went flying out the door to stop him from leaving. He came back and the trap was empty so he reset it.

After a not-very-restful night's sleep - with Megan - I peeked at the traps before I left for work and they were all empty. I guess sometime after I left the mouse decided he needed breakfast and Casey's peanut butter sandwiches must have been pretty good because he risked not one but two traps - but only got to eat one snack - RIP little mouse.

Casey disposed of the body - with strict instructions to fling it somewhere that the dogs wouldn't find it and try to bring it back in the house. Hopefully, he was just a nomad passing through and not a family man.

Is May over yet?

2009-05-13T11:48:00.003-04:00

May has been an exhausting month - and it's not even half over yet. There was the academic awards dessert banquet - where I got no dessert (which was the only reason I went in the first place). We got through prom weekend and Sam's "vacation" to Florida (actually he went the last week of April, but we've been listening to him complain about the itching and peeling since then - poor baby). We survived dance recital and the first weekend of Honk - starring my favorite kid (the one that brought me a flower for Mother's Day and is not my daughter). After a tiring weekend, I let the girls miss school Monday (shh, don't tell) and we went out for lunch - they also spent much of the day complaining because there wasn't anything "fun" to do - yes, I have learned my lesson.

Anyone know a pet therapist?

2009-04-28T11:29:00.008-04:00

Poor Eloise, she's a little dog trapped in a big body. The biggest baby ever. (That's her at my parents' house - the doggy door fits their yorkie a little better.)

My parents brought the dogs a present - a nice, big outdoor enclosure - this weekend so that Eloise and Tucker (our shih tzu) could spend some time outside when the weather is nice. We spent all afternoon Sunday putting the thing together.

Tucker absolutely loves it - laying in the sun, occasionally barking and taunting the two huge rottweilers chained up two yards over - oh yeah, in his mind he could take them.

Eloise is, of course, an entirely different story. She's perfectly fine as long as someone stays in there with her - which kind of defeats the whole purpose of the thing. She gets a little whiny and whimpers a bit if someone sits right outside the enclosure - close enough to touch. But leave her sight? Forget it - she's letting everyone in the neighborhood know she's being tortured in the worst possible way.

Even with all the comforts of the house - food, water, snacks, toys - she's having nothing to do with that place unless at least one of her people is in there with her. We've started taking her out for a little bit at a time and trying to make it a fun experience - did I mention I watch a lot of Victoria Stillwell on Animal Planet? She's my idol. But I'm not sure if even Victoria could cure Eloise of her separation anxiety.

Wednesday - the new Monday

2009-04-23T09:15:00.003-04:00

The sun was shining, the cool breeze was blowing ... through the newly-broken window in my living room.

Of course, no one knows how it happened, no one saw anything, ("no one" runs rampant through our house, but we'll save that for another time.) Anyway, I was in the dining room and it sounded like someone (or "no one") had dropped a glass dish on the floor but of course "no one" was doing dishes (he never gets them clean, though). I walked out to the living room where the curtains were blowing merrily through a nice big hole in the window. It hadn't shattered, just two big pieces and a few small shards of glass inside on the floor. No signs of anyone outside - the dogs hadn't barked - no balls, stones, or other projectiles lying around.

And of course this happened right before it was time to take Caitlin to her piano lesson, and while Sam is in Florida and will be there for another week, and my dad had already left for work.

I cleaned up the glass and Caitie and Megan helped me cover the window with plastic, cardboard and a quilt - I was starting to feel almost like MacGyver.

It was a day almost as good as the time we went to get the new puppy - Brooke threw up all over (her, me and the back seat of the car) and then the hood flew off the car on our way home.

Yes, this Wednesday was definitely more of a Monday. But, like my favorite Seussical song says "things could be worse" - but I'm not sure how and I don't want to know.

Happy Birthday, Caitie!

2009-04-13T14:00:00.006-04:00

It's hard to believe - I'm only half a year away from the most terrifying time of my life. Today is Caitlin's 15th birthday! It's getting harder for me to remember the even-tempered, happy baby she used to be - and the shy toddler/preschooler is definitely long gone! Love ya anyway, Failty! P.S. - Thanks for all the help on the Hints From Home pages!

Communication

2009-04-08T08:12:00.021-04:00

Just within the past 24 hours I have read two different columns with a similar theme - communicating with kids with today's technology.

E-mail, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, text messages ... the list just keeps growing.

In one column, the writer was bemoaning the fact that her kids were shunning her on Facebook. Duh.

Really, I do like my kids and their friends, but do I want to spend my free time checking out their Facebook Walls? Do any of them really want me checking out their Facebook Walls?

Do they want me to Twitter the fact that their dirty clothes are still lying in the middle of the floor or send them an e-mail reminder to get the dishes washed?

I remember back in the good old days when the only way we had to talk to our friends was by telephone - not cordless, either (and we had to actually talk to each other). I remember stretching that cord pretty far to have private conversations with my friends. Today's "private" conversations between teens can potentially be seen by millions of others - I'm sure if there was something inappropriate on either girl's (or their friends') MySpaces or Facebooks, I would hear about it.

And their e-mail - well, it's about as much my business as the notes my friends and I used to pass back and forth in school.

I've had discussions with both of my teenagers about cyberbullying - Megan helped write an article on it - and I'm not really too concerned. They know and follow all the rules - we keep the computer in a high traffic area of the house, they only communicate with people they know, etc. etc.

Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to be "the cool mom" - and stay off of their Walls.

Oh, I may decide to get a Wall of my own - I already have a MySpace account I never use - I may even decide to Twitter (hey, most of the time I can't find the cordless phone and I may need to have a conversation with my own friends someday), but if I do I won't be adding my kids as my cyberfriends.

After all, if I want to tell them to put their laundry away I can do it the old-fashioned way, while eavesdropping on their phone conversations and reading the computer screen over their shoulders - cause that's what cool moms do.

March's Hints From Home

2009-04-01T11:58:00.017-04:00

Yikes, it's already April and I haven't even done anything for March yet other than put up the Easter candy poll. I'm hoping that the Easter bunny puts a whole bunch of these chicks in my basket!

We've already tested out some new techniques for our Easter eggs this year - that's the great thing about doing this page - we're getting to do some of the fun stuff twice every year! Here are some of the eggs we colored. We tried a marbeling technique with a few drops of vegetable oil in the dye and also tried some striping effects with rubber bands (you get extra points if you actually get the rubber band to go where you want it on the egg).

Here's Brooke with a basketful of hard-boiled beauties.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

The other activity we tried in March was matching these Cookie Monster cupcakes. My work "neighbor" Tami found the picture online but no directions, so we decided to see if we could duplicate them.

Here's Bailey with our version.

Well, March flew by and I think April may move just as quickly - the end of the school year always seems to go by pretty quickly. Hopefully everyone has enjoyed a nice spring break or is looking forward to one and, if you're lucky, next week the Easter bunny will be hopping by and leaving you lots of these guys!

February's Hints From Home

2009-02-18T11:44:00.016-05:00

For our February Hints From Home page, we made super-easy St. Patrick's Day cupcakes with Airheads Extreme "rainbows", a gold-wrapped candy "pot of gold" (we used a peanut butter cup) and some "gold coins" (yellow sugar crystals).

Blog Poll Results
There were only a few votes on the Hints From Home blog poll - “Should kids participate in after-school activities or just stay home?” - but the results were interesting.
No one felt that kids should just stay home, 25 percent voted that kids should participate in just one activity and 75 percent voted that kids should participate in as many activities as they can.
One reader commented that, “In today’s society many parents seem to be allowing their young children to quit something just because they want to. It is important that we, as parents, always remember that we are the parent. Children need to learn self discipline and everytime we give in they are learning that their whining and crying is better than truly gaining success.”
Another reader shared personal experience, “By the time I finished high school, I had a rounded list of activities to go along with my good grades. I was told by scholarship panels that everyone who applies has good grades, it was my activities that gave me an edge. I ended up with 75 percent of my college expenses for free ... just saying.”
When the Ward girls start an activity, they know they’re in it for the season or year and then they can decide whether to continue or not. They’ve had to work hard to learn dance choreography, memorize scripts, complete 4-H projects and play musical instruments; however, they’ve also had the opportunity to meet new friends, travel to new places and learn from new experiences.

Some activities they thought were going to be fun really weren’t and other activities they thought they weren’t going to enjoy are the ones they’ve stayed involved in the longest. They’ve found interests that will last a lifetime and that could possibly lead to a career they love. And, if it helps pay for college, well, college isn’t cheap ... just saying.

"You're a Good Man Charlie Brown"

If you're free this evening or Saturday evening or have Sunday afternoon free, go see Montpelier High School's musical "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown". If you're a subscriber to the Times, there's a short clip on the Web site of the cast performing "Happiness." And here's my favorite song (and favorite cast member) from the show ...

Lots to celebrate in March!

2009-02-17T12:19:00.007-05:00

There's lots of celebrating to do in March - Barbie, Big Bird, Sparky the Fire Dog, Dr. Seuss - all celebrating March birthdays, there's also St. Patrick's Day, the first day of spring, National Teen-Agers Day, Single Parents' Day, Working Women's Day, and some of my new personal favorite holidays - Potato Chip Day (kettle-cooked barbecue or sour cream and onion, please!), National Goof Off Day and Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.

This month on the Hints From Home page, we'll have St. Patrick's Day cupcakes, jokes from Brooke and Bailey and we'll let everyone know the results of the "should kids participate in after-school activities or just stay home" poll.

We've had some stress this month with my husband, Sam, being laid off, but things can only get better, right? I would be grateful for any tips from those of you out there dealing with the same situation and maybe we can pass them along to others who need them on next month's page.

After school dilemma

2009-02-05T12:41:00.003-05:00

I overheard bits and pieces of a break room conversation this afternoon - sort of a pushy-pageant mom or soccer mom vs. the more laid-back do-nothing-after-school mom. I guess I'm somewhere in between - at least I hope I'm not pushing my kids to do things that they don't want to do - actually, I'm pretty sure they would feel free to let me know. It's hard to know how much is too much or if they're not doing enough - after all you hear about how important it is to be well-rounded if you want to get into a good college. I'm interested to hear other opinions on the subject, so please vote in my poll or leave me a comment.

January's Hints From Home

2009-01-23T12:44:00.010-05:00

January's Hints From Home page has some adorable snowman cupcakes - perfect for a winter birthday celebration - courtesy of Shawna Hammons Heller and her daughter, Ivy.

Ivy celebrated her 11th birthday with a slumber party. And, anyone who has ever let their child have a slumber party knows that Shawna is either very brave - or crazy (hmm, well she does work at the Bryan Times). Well, despite the snow, Ivy's friends made it up the long drive and it sounds like they had a great time.

Ivy's Birthday Cupcakes

The Birthday Girl
If you're like me, you've forgotten to buy Valentine cards for school at least once or waited until the last minute when all the good ones are gone. Well, head for the craft, office supply or stationary aisle for some bright-colored card stock and some two-sided tape. Then head to the candy aisle for some individually-wrapped candy. Dig out the markers and give each card a cute "two" saying.

Caitlin, Bailey and Brooke show off their Valentines

There's a lot to look forward to in February - Groundhog Day, Presidents Day and Valentines Day - and hopefully not too much more cold and snow. If you have any great ideas for our next page (next to the last Saturday in Feb.), e-mail me at jward@bryantimes.com

Back to school!

2009-01-05T11:26:00.005-05:00

I felt a little mean this morning, making sure Megan was awake before I left the house - just a little. It was kind of nice knowing I wasn't the only one that had to get up and head out into the cold though. I'd been a little jealous of everyone else sleeping in until 9 o'clock - or later (Caitlin). Unfortunately, back to school also means back to all of the after-school activities - back to spending the evenings driving from place to place. I will definitely miss my lazy evenings. If you missed our December page, there were lots of different snowflakes to make - hopefully there won't be too many more real snowflakes this winter. We're still trying to come up with our January theme - if you have any ideas to contribute, let us know! You can post comments here or e-mail me at jward@bryantimes.com