Reading: Books I Have Been Reading

I wanted to share with you some books I have been reading.  I am a sporadic readers so I have many books going at one time.  Some I just browse through.

Children:
Pottywise- I need to start potty training Keelin.  So I am refreshing myself since it has been 2 years since Bryson was potty trained.
Preschoolwise- Now that I am home with Keelin all day I am learning that she can be a big stinker so I have to structure her day and make sure she is on a good schedule and I am disciplining her correctly.
Childwise- With Bryson he is going through the stage where everything is done his way so I am reading to learn how to train him to make some decisions for himself but also let him know that we are in charge.
Parenting with Love and Logic- Using this as a reference.  Great book!

Money:
 Be CentsAble- Easy read and great tips

Cleaning:
Clean Home Green Home- This has great ways to clean and with all natural products.  Once I get organized I am going to post the recipes for different cleaning solutions.  I think it will save money plus be better for our household.  With children in the house it makes me very nervous to have chemicals around that could harm them especially when there is natural solutions that clean just as well out there.

**A lot of these books I do get at the library.  I have fallen in love with the library - what a great free resource we have.  Our library is within a network so if they don't have it at the local library but it is within the network chain you can get it.  You place it on hold and it is delivered to your local library for you!

Recipe: Maurice Salad

If you love pickles you will love this salad!

1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 Tbsp. sweet pickle juice
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp. Chopped Onion
1/4 cup minced Sweet Pickle (add more if you like pickles)
Large Head of Lettuce
1 cup of cheese- Cut in cubes or you can use shredded

3 hard cooked eggs, minced (optional)
1 tomato, cut into thin strips (optional)

Since I am vegetarian I don't add meat but you can!
1 cup turkey, ham or chicken deli meat sliced thick and cut into cubes

Combine mayonnaise, pickle juice, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir in eggs, onion and pickles.  Allow to refrigerate 1 hour (optional).  Break lettuce into bite-size pieces.  Add dressing to lettuce and cheese and toss salad.  Add salad to bowls and top with meat and tomato.

Craft: Ruffly Felt Rose Wreath

This looks like fun to do!

http://www.domestifluff.com/2009/11/how-to-make-a-ruffly-felt-rosette-wreath/#more-252

Recipe: All Bean Chili

2 cups black, red kidney or other beans, soaked (I bought a bag of beans and cooked them in the crock pot over night.  You could also buy canned beans and just drain and rinse.)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 onions diced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped (I used 2 teaspoons of mined garlic)
4 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
3 cans of diced tomatoes (I bought chili ready)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
A dash of red wine vinegar

Garnish: sour cream, cilantro, cheese

Cook beans or have the cans ready.

Saute the onions in the oil in a skillet over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes.  Add the garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, cumin, oregano, paprika and crushed red pepper.  Lower heat and cook until the onions are soft, another 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes with juice and cilantro.  Simmer for 15 minutes, then add beans to the mixture.

Continue cooking so the flavor can soak in.  If you need to make it more soupy add some water.  Add a dash of red wine vinegar.  Taste to see if you need to add more spices to help with flavor.

Serve it up!!!

Recipe: Pasta Fagioli

This was a soup I made last night.  It had a great taste and it was really easy.

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups of chicken broth (I used vegetable broth and used more than two cups to make it more soupy)
1 (15 oz) can of while beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 1/2 oz.) tomatoes
1 cup Barilla small pasta
1 cup cut green beans
1 cup frozen lima beans
2 cups spinach leaves, cut small
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of Basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Combine oil, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in large saucepan.  Cover and cook on low heat until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add broth, all beans and tomatoes.  Cover and cook about 15 minutes.  Add greens and pasta.  Cook until tender.  Add salt, pepper to taste and pinch of basil.  If desired, add more broth to make soup less thick.  Stir in cheese and serve.

Recipe: Stuffed Shells

Oh yummy...I made these last night and they were delicious

Stuffed Shells

1 (16oz) package of Jumbo Shells
2 lb. Ricotta Cheese
1/2 lb. Mozzarella Cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (29 oz) jar spaghetti sauce or homemade sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained (optional)

1 1/2 hours before serving, prepare shells as label directs.  Combine Ricotta Cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, salt and pepper and optional beef in a large bowl.  Stuff each shell.  Grease 13x9 pan.  Spoon some sauce into the bottom of 13x9 inch pan; lay shells (seam side down) over the sauce in one layer.  Spoon remaining sauce evenly over the shells.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake 30 minutes or until shells are heated through in 350 degree oven.

I prepared these in the afternoon and cooked them for dinner.  Served them with Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread and Pasta Fagioli Soup (recipe next).  It was so good!

Organize: Reading Blogs through Google Reader

One of my friends was over and showed me how she follows are these blogs through Google Reader.  It is SO great.  I have always wanted to keep up on blogs but just couldn't get to everyone of them so this way I can go to Google Reader and see them all and also see if they have updated.  Of course, Google is AMAZING.

Here are some of the blogs that I subscribed too and I can't wait to find more now! (Sorry I just copied from the edit menu of my Google Reader.

	Bargains to Bounty	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://feeds.feedburner.com/BargainsToBounty
	Coupons Equal Cash	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://www.couponsequalcash.com/feeds/posts/default
	Ginas Skinny Recipes	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://www.skinnytaste.com/feeds/posts/default
	Hip2Save	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://hip2save.com/feed/rss
	Joyfolie	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://www.joyfolieblog.com/feeds/posts/default
	Living Proof Ministries Blog	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://blog.lproof.org/feed
	Rawkinmom's Blog	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://rawkinmom.wordpress.com/feed/
	Summer's Living	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://summersliving.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
	Sweet Josephine	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://coreysgal.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
	the anderson crew	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
	The Domestic Wannabe	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://thedomesticwannabe.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
	The Mistress of Oxford			Add to a folder...
	http://themistressofoxford.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
	thebluebirdsnest	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://thebluebirdsnest.com/feed/
	You paid more than me	Rename		Add to a folder...
	http://youpaidmorethanme.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Activity/Recipes/Fun Stuff: Family Fun

I love this website and their emails they send out.  I have gotten so many ideas from them and they are all very fun things to make - whether it is food or a craft!

http://familyfun.go.com/

Craft: Valentine's Day

This looks like fun to do.  I might just give it a try!

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/heart-art-666144/

Recipe: Poppers

My friend makes these and I feel in love with them so I have to share them.  This is a great appetizer or I make rice and serve it as a meal.

20 to 24 jalapeno's (the bigger the better but not the huge one)
1.5 packages cream cheese (you can use light)
1 pack Italian sausage or veggie crumbles
1.5 cups Parmesan Cheese

Cut the jalapeno's in half and clean them out really good. If you don't they will be to spicy.  If you get all the seeds out they are not that spicy at all.
(Tip cut them under water and it helps not to get the yuckies on your fingers)

Mix everything else together and stuff each half.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. You want them to be brown on top.

Finished and Delicious Product

Parmesan Cheese, Cream Cheese, Morning Star Meal Starters Sausage Style Recipe Crumbles & Peppers

Organizing Pictures and creating Photo Books to capture memories

I LOVE pictures especially once we had kids.  Don't get me wrong I loved them before kids but kids are such easy people to take pictures of.  With having kids and building our family, I want to make sure I capture every memory (or as many as I can).  I used to paper scrapbook all the time but I just didn't have time to do it anymore.  You know how it is - dragging out all the stuff late at night when the kids were sleeping, only getting a few pages done, putting it all away and not pulling it out again for another month.  I just could not keep up on it so I went digital.

One day I went to order pictures from Costco and they have a program they use called MyPublisher.  It is a very very simple program which I like because I can use it and I can do it fast.  There are other fancy digital scrapbooking sites out there but I have stayed for now with MyPublisher because they run great deals too.  When I am creating my photobooks I want as many pictures as possible and some explanation.  I have come up with a pretty good lay out that I like.  I do a family book for each year and then if we do a special vacation I will do a separate photobook because there always tends to be a lot of pictures:)

In my family book, I start off with an intro page to compile the year for the Begley family.
I organize the pictures by month.  This way I can work on it throughout the year.
At the beginning of each month, I do a page with the Month and Year and then I do a split page.  On side is Bryson and Keelin's milestones and the other side is all the events we did that month.  Then I fill the pages to follow with pictures to reflect the month and the events.  You can choose many different styles and you can print up to 100 pages. 

Once I complete the book, I upload it to the site and have it printed.

Here is two that I have done:


The Begley Family 2009 Book

The Begley Family Disney Vacation 2010 Book

Organzing Clothes for Kids

I got a tip from one of the momLife ladies about a clothes organizer for the closet so I got one.  On laundry day I fill it up with pairs of clothes.  Throughout the week the kids can pick whatever outfit they want to wear.  This way I know what they are wearing but they still get "to pick".

Here is a picture of Bryson's (Keelin has one too)

This organizer is from Target $15.  There are lots out there but I wanted something that will last.  This has other closet organizers that match for later use too.

Organizing Front Closet- Shoes

Since moving to Grandpa's house we have a front closet.  This is where we keep coats and shoes.  I hate all the shoes being everywhere so here is what my closet looks like.

I got these baskets at the Dollar Tree.  The green basket has some hats and gloves in it.  The Red basket is Keelin's shoes and the Blue basket is Bryson's shoes.  Mine and Shawn's go on the racks.  We also have a hall tree that has a place for a few pairs of shoes so that is where the wet shoes go so they don't get the other shoes wet.

The baskets have worked great for the kids.  I like to have the shoes lined up nicely and they just don't do that so the baskets have relieved me and they know exactly what to do.

Scripture Memory and Daily Reading

A friend and I are doing a scripture memorization for the year 2011.  You memorize 24 scriptures throughout the year and check in on the 1st and 15th of every month.  We are doing it through Beth Moore's Blog - http://blog.lproof.org/

Also my friend expressed that she was doing a Life Journal so I decided to do one as well.  http://www.enewhope.org/firststeps/journaling/

This year I really want to focus on growing closer to God and learning the scripture.
My first scripture is Proverbs 15:1 (NLT)
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh word stirs up anger.
I need to hide this one in my heart especially when dealing with kids.

For the journal, I am going to read through the Bible in a year with "The Daily Walk" Bible.  I am going to journal as directed on the Life Journal site plus add a little journaling about my day too.

I have chosen right now to do my reading first thing in the morning in bed.  If I get up and start moving I do other things besides reading the Word and really doing it with my whole heart and spirit.  I will then do my "day" journaling at night before I go to bed.

I am excited to see what God has for me and my family in 2011 as I strive to draw closer to HIM!

Pictures with the Kids

I am not one who goes to get the kids pictures taken professionally but my mother-in-law has been wanting to do it so of course I was in.  We went to Upon A Dream Photography and Boutique.  It was great.  Check out the website!

UPDATED: Brain In A Binder

UPDATED!!!

Last fall (2009) I went to a Hearts At Home conference.  I did a session with Karen Ehman called "Keeping Your Ducks In A Row".  She gave all types of great tips for organizing.  One that I loved was Brain In A Binder.  It is crazy and yes I am still getting used to.  She keeps hers on the kitchen counter and I keep mine in my organizer in the back room with my desk stuff.  I have pictures below so you can see mine.

The cover is the picture of my family - My Husband Shawn and my two kids, Bryson and Keelin.
The next page is my "mission statement" - the reason I do what I do
I combined my Daily Task and Weekly Task into a spreadsheet form that I hang on my bulletin board by my calendar.  That way I can always see and so can Shawn.  I use this so now I spread out the house cleaning through out the week plus the monthly to do's are on there as well.  I really like it so far!
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

The next several pages are my Yearly items (I am still developing these because I just started)
The next page is my Weekly Menu and Shopping List.  I create several menus and rotate them so I don't have to think of new foods every week. (I am working on this still - we are changing the way we eat so I haven't got into a groove yet.)

The next section is folders - there are 5 folders - Family, Shawn, Salena, Bryson and Keelin
This is where I file all the papers that pertain to whomever.  Invites, calendars, schedules.  My calendar doesn't have enough room to put all the details so I write the basic and then put the details in the appropriate folder and refer to it when needed.

This has been helpful so far and I look forward to using it more as Bryson enters school and has more things to be a part of.

Another thing she does is a Today Clipboard.  You get a clipboard that opens up where you can store stuff.  On the clipboard is a "Todays Sheet".  You write things for that day on it.  The items inside are those that need to be taken care of that night before bed.  Example: A permission slip for school.  When you kid comes home and gives you the permission slip you place it in your clipboard and before you go to bed you fill it out and place it in his bag.
This is great because you can keep the papers all in one place.  I am sure as your kids get older they will know to put important papers in your clipboard.  I can email the sheets too so you can see what I have and start with that.  I am still forming mine but I love it so far!  (salbegs@gmail.com)

Here's a link to Karen's page too : http://karenehman.com/home/2008/03/18/moms-brain-in-a-binder-ready-to-order/

Here is a link to the teaching from Hearts At Home that you can purchase (CD or MP3): http://www.catapes.com/viewresults.cfm?cid=134
Keeping Your Ducks In A Row would be for this concept.

Below are pictures.

Front of the Binder

Mom's Mission Statement

Yearly Task (one page)

Menu

Shopping List (one page)

One of the folders

Today's Clipboard

Inside Clipboard

Organizing Meal & Some Recipes

Here is some documents of what we did in our momLife group around meals and recipes.  There is some great stuff so enjoy!




momLife Meals and Recipes- click here for document

Recipe: Hot Chocolate

Equal Parts of:
-Hot Cocoa Mix (Swiss Miss)
-Nonfat Dry Milk
-Coffee Creamer (dry)
-Powdered Sugar

A couple of tablespoons is good in a cup of water.

I usually by the big of each and mix to make a lot of the whole season
This is so creamy and yummy!

Recipe: Egg Strata

Egg Strata- A friend gave me this delicious and easy recipe
8 eggs lightly beaten
2 cups of milk
6 slices of torn bread (softer)
1 cup grated cheese extra is okay
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce

Add whatever you want:
1 pound sausage, browned and drained
Veggies

I like to add
-Green peppers, onions and sausage style crumbles by Morning Star (vegetarian)

In a large bowl,
Add milk to eggs - mix
Add rest pf ingredients
Spray an 11 x 13 pan with Cooking Spray
Pour ingredients into pan cover with saran wrap
Refrigerate over night
Cook at 350 degrees
45 to 50 minutes

Christmas- Keeping It Organized

So Christmas can be the time of year that all craziness breaks loose.  You get overwhelmed by wrapping all the gifts and putting away all the gifts.

Here are a few tips that I use:
-A few days before Christmas I go through the kids toys and clean out what they don't play with or haven't played with in a while.  If they are done with them completely I put them in a box and will store them in the basement for either a garage sale or to give away.  If they are toys they still want to play with, I will box them up and get them out later in the year and switch something out.  This doesn't really happen to often because when my kids are done with a toy they are done (so I'm I).

-For wrapping, I use one style of wrapping paper for Bryson and one style for Keelin so I don't have to put names on all of the presents.

-I use the same wrapping paper for both of them for Santa's present.  My kids only get one present from Santa "because there are lots of other kids who need stuff and you can't take all of them."

-Also so we don't get carried away I seen a Victorian Poem that I liked - SOMETHING YOU WANT, SOMETHING YOU NEED, SOMETHING YOU WEAR, SOMETHING YOU READ
So then we buy something for each of those (since my kids are little they might get a while outfit not just a shirt because it is not that costly yet).
We also like to add give - so the kids begin to understand the meaning of giving

-When we put away all the presents there is room in the rooms because we just cleaned their toys out a few days ago.  Sometimes I may even put some of their new toys away and bring them out in the few months so they don't get overwhelmed by all the new stuff and never play with it all.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!!

Organizing My Purse

These are some tips that I got from a friend of mine who loves to switch purses.

In my purse I currently have:
-A notebook
-Coupon organizer
-Wallet
-2 sunglass cases - One has my sunglasses and the other has my ipod and headphones
-In my front pocket, I have lotion, chapstick, cell phone
-In the inside pocket, I have face powder and medicine in a case

I like to keep it clutter free but also easy if I need to switch purses.  I also like to buy purses with some organizing compartments.  REI has great purses for this - they aren't fancy but they are practical. (http://www.rei.com/product/763408)  Something like this.

My friend keeps her stuff in small make up bags so she can take them out and put them in another bag in seconds.

There are some cool purse organizers out there now but I thought the make bags was an inexpensive way to switch back and forth from any size purse.

Organizing Medicine and First Aid Supplies

These area of life can make me a little crazy.  Once kids arrived in the picture medicines invaded the house.

I have two small plastic boxes with lids in my hall closet.  One has first aid supplies and the other has medicine in it.  This is where all medicine is kept that can fit in a box.  On the shelf next to these two boxes are the larger bottles like Pepto, throat spray, etc...  This is very simple and keeps everything is a safe and organized place.

Every so often I pull out the box and clean out the expired meds.  I love having them all in one spot so when someone asks me for a band aid I don't have to go search the house in every cabinet looking for it.  I know exactly where it is.  Or if the kids need medicine I can go to one place and find it.

Organizing Movies

My son LOVES movies.   A few years ago I was with my nephew and he went to get the DVD out of the case and snapped it in half.  So learning that hard lesson I had to figure out something for Bryson so he would not break every DVD we bought.  Plus I would hate to have all the DVD cases out somewhere.  Not just because of looks but because the kids would spend most of the day pulling them off the shelf and I would spend most of my day picking them up.

I bought some boxes that are perfect for the DVD's. I bought them at Target - square, brown cloth boxes with CD/DVD sleeves inside.  They hang like filing folders.  You could organize by number or name but with a kid that is impossible to teach that system.  They hold a lot of CD/DVD's and works perfect for Bryson and looks good for me.

I like these boxes to because they are easy to put away if Bryson needs to have them taken away because of ugly behavior.  I just grab two boxes and put them in the closet and not tons of DVD cases.

Organizing Toys

With kids automatically toys come along with them.  With two kids, 5 and 2, we have lots of toys.  Not only two kids but a boy and a girl so we have different toys.

I have found that the fabric drawers are the best for organizing the kids toys.  Bryson has 2 shelves in his room with his boxes on them and also some under his bed.  Each box is for a certain toy group (trains, cars, woody, buzz, tech decks, tools & doctor stuff, of course a miscellaneous box for the odds and ends).  I have put all games in Bryson's closet so they are not pulled all over the place but I have to get them down for him.  With Keelin around things get lost very easily.

For Christmas, Keelin is getting her boxes now that she has toys that will fit into them. As a baby you have big toys and now she has baby dolls with accessories, doll house, kitchen accessories, dress up clothes and other little girl toys.

With the new house I am wanting to make an area in the backroom for toys so Keelin has hot pink boxes and Bryson has navy blue.  I love them and they are inexpensive too.  Target and Wal-Mart both carry them.  Target usually runs some good deals on them. (Called Fabric Drawers).

This is Bryson's room

This is in our back room.  I want to get a bookshelf or something better but this will due for now.

Update on the Begley Family

There has been lots happening in the Begley family.  Shawn and I left our jobs last week due to difficult circumstances.  Now we are beginning the next journey that God has for us.

During our break time, I want to do some organizing around the house since we have one room in our house that needs it.  With Christmas around the corner I need to do some organizing of the kids toys.  They have way to many things so I need to get that craziness together before more things enter our house.  Also I need to get into the basement and do some organizing and get rid of them or at least get them ready for a garage sale in the summer time.

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I am looking forward to 2011!!!!

Organize: Couponing

So I have started this whole couponing thing and trying to use my coupons to the fullest value I can.  It is actually quite fun.  I don't go all over and go crazy but just using them at Meijers and checking out different sites are great.

Some of the websites I love:
www.bargainstobounty.com (also on Facebook)
www.couponsequalcash.com
Centsable Stewarship (on Facebook)
savingslifestyle.com
http://meijermadness.com/

These are just a few I have browsed through!

Organize: Checklists and Charts

I was searching the internet to find a good checklist for daily cleaning of the house and a chart for the kids.  I came across a great site.  The custom chore chart is great!  I am going to use the weekly cleaning checklist too but create it more like I would use it.  But it is an idea I can launch off of!

http://cleaning.lovetoknow.com/Printable_To-Do_Lists_to_Get_Organized

Organize: New Update on Organizing Area at Home

Well we are all moved into our house now.  Just waiting patiently for a kitchen.  But everything else is settled in.  We are slowly getting things hung up and put in the perfect spot.  Of course there has been many times of rearranging but it is all coming together.  The basement looks a little crazy but we are hoping to tackle that this weekend.

I had to update my organizing area since we have moved so I wanted to share those pictures.  I am really loving this new set up.  I love the hooks so that Bryson can hang all of his stuff up.  In the black box there is an empty slot that he puts all his papers in from school and I check that every night, do what needs to be done and then stick it back into his bag.  In the morning time he knows where to get his backpack and lunch box from.  I also love that my printer is out now all the time instead of in the closet.  This is by far my favorite corner of the house.  It is in our backroom, which will be a room that will have some cozy funiture and some of the kids toys in it.  It is right off the kitchen so it is a great location to go to when I get the mail, to sit and pay bills, to sit and print and to just hang out while the kids play.

Wall Organizer: Ikea
Calendar and Bulletin Board: Wal-Mart
Black Organizers on Desk: Target

Organize: Moving

Our house is almost sold!  We are going through lots of paperwork with the bank and real estate agent so our prayers are still going up.  With that, Shawn's grandfather passed away over a year ago and has a house in Livonia that his dad has been working on - remodeling.  We are set to close on our house by the end of September.  With the moving day coming soon there is so much to do.  We are over at Grandpa's house painting, working on the floors, bathrooms and kitchen plus I am trying to figure out how to pack things at the current house.  I am so thankful that I have kept all my storage items in rubbermaid containers and have kept clutter out of my house.  I am one who hates to have LOTS of stuff!  I was at Home Depot and they sell great moving boxes so I think I am going to go and pick me some up!!  I have made a list for each room of how many boxes I need.  I am thankful the house is only 6 miles away from our current home so I don't have to pack for a LONG move and we can move in shifts.

Small Box - 1.3 cubic feet $.67
Medium Box- 3 cubic feet $.97
Large Box- 4.5 cubic feet $1.37
Wardrobe Box- $9.98
Bubble Wrap- 10 square feet $2.97
Bubble Wrao- 36 Square feet $6.98

Also I am going to use the office paper boxes that we get a work to pack with.  I figured they would be great for the kitchen stuff and books.

Also at UHaul they make some great labels for boxes so whoever is helping move knows where to take the boxes.  I used these on our last move and they were great!
http://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Moving-lifting-tools/Moving-Labels?id=2824

First Day of Kindergarten

So yesterday my son started Kindergarten and it was great.  Bryson's teacher is Mrs. Griffin and he is loves her.  He is meeting all kinds of new friends even though he can't remember all their names yet.

Seeing it was the first day of school, I could not believe how much paperwork came home with Bryson.  I was so thankful for my red clipboard that I have had but not really had to use.  (see previous post).  When I went through his bag I put all the paperwork in the red clipboard and once the day settled down I opened up my clipboard read all the paperwork and filled out what was needed and placed it back in his folder in his backpack.  It was so easy because I knew it was all together in my red clipboard to go through.  I didn't leave it in his backpack and happen to forget about it!  I know this red clipboard is going to come in handy because I have a feeling school is full of lots of "homework" for parents.

Bryson will be doing KSACC too so therefore we will have papers from KSACC, Kindergarten and PTA.  I am going to start off on a good note and keep it up throughout the year!!!