How teens are giving our community a little H.O.P.E. this holiday season

My high school daughter, Briahnna is one very busy student. She is involved in two magnet programs at school and takes all honors/IB courses. She is the sport's editor of her yearbook and is also involved in the Youth Action Council as well as H.O.P.E.. HOPE stands for Helping Other People Everywhere. The HOPE organization at her school collects coats, unwrapped toys and non-perishable food items for needy families in the community. Each year the HOPE chair sets a goal on how many food items they want to collect. The goal this year is over 20,000. Being involved in HOPE means that you have to sacrifice time on the weekends as well as after school. That is very hard with Briahnna's demanding courses, but she manages to get the job done! They have students volunteer for a time slot to collect food donations in front of grocery stores that have given them permission to do so. It's a win-win since the store will sell the items that end up being donated and the teens are able to have a secure place for collections.

As a family, we all pitch in and help where we can. I have volunteered to help purchase food items with any money they collect, since I know how to stretch a buck! Briahnna and a couple of her team members set up in front of Sam's Club last weekend and just in their 2-hour shift, they FILLED my very large car trunk and part of the back seat with so many donations! We helped her to get the items to the storage unit on the school campus to be sorted when they got back to school that following week.

I am so proud of Briahnna and her fellow HOPE team members for all of the time they are putting in to help others. Brie has really been enjoying herself despite having to wake up early some Saturday mornings. She is very passionate about this worthy cause.

We have used this time to explain how important it is to help others to little William. He really enjoyed helping to bring items into the food storage unit. He was sad when he learned that there are so many families who don't have a lot of food in their home. He was devastated when he found out that some kids may not get any toys for Christmas. I love that he is understanding it as much as a five year old can.

HOPE will collect food donations until the second week of December. They are already off to such an amazing start and I anticipate they will make their goal. All of the coats, food and toys will be delivered to a local food bank to distribute to needy families in our community. I look forward to attending the unveiling of all their hard work at the HOPE Assembly next month. I will be sure to post an update.

A fun Halloween surprise for little Spider-man

We headed out yesterday to the annual Trick-or-Trunk event at Brie's high school for some Halloween fun. We didn't let William know that we were going until about a half hour before. He was so excited! He has been really into Superheros and chose to be Spider-man this year. We think he made a great choice!

 Check out those big muscles!

 Oh and that face!

The surprise element of his Halloween fun is that he was going to see a big Spider-man. Little did he know, big sister Brie was behind that Spidey mask. Brie was there already because she was helping out at one of the cars for the HOPE organization. They collect non-perishable food to donate to the community each year. She walked up to him when we got there and called out his name. William squealed when he saw Spider-man. He stood still when Spider-man knew his name and kept talking to him. After a while he said, "Brie Brie?!?" It was the cutest thing. She pulled up her mask and revealed herself. William was so excited! 

Brie wanted to take William for a stroll. Those two were so cute. William had a blast getting goodies and playing on the inflatables. This is always such a fun and safe way to participate in Halloween.

 William got quite an outstanding haul of candy!

I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween :)

More good stuff from our talented teen

I just had to share Brie's latest art project that she is working on for school. She is currently in an advanced class and has been given some challenging assignments. This particular one is a large sketch/drawing of an elderly lady with a scarf on her head. If you saw the original photo she is using to do this project, you would be amazed how close it is to the real thing. Her project is not done and she still has add her final touches. So far, it looks amazing!

She is such a talented young lady and we are so very proud of her! Brie attended a conference for high school students in journalism yesterday and her yearbook teacher submitted a layout she did for the yearbook for a contest. It turns out, she won! My girl has so much talent and she continues to amaze us. I always tell people that she is the girl I dreamed I could have been. Way to go, Brie!

The artist of the house, Brie

Our daughter Brie is such an outstanding artist. She had to draw a horse's eye for an art assignment and it blew us all away with how realistic it looks! She is in an advanced art class that she was recommended to be in from her teacher last year. She wasn't going to take the class at first, but decided to keep it. I am glad she did! There is no need to waste pure talent like that. Great job Brie!

First day of school 2012

Brie (sophomore) & Chardie (Senior) 

I can't believe how fast time has gone by. My girls are so grown up and today they start their new school year for 2012-13. They were up early full of excitement for their first day back. It was a whirlwind of emotion for me. My oldest is a high school senior and my younger daughter has outgrown us all! We had such fun in the car on the way to school. We shared a lot of laughs and reminisced about them being in elementary school. I am looking forward to the stories we will share this year.

Wishing everyone a fantastic school year ahead!

What do you do when you are allergic to everything?

For many years now, our daughter Briahnna has been going through treatment for a variety of allergies. Her first 2 series of allergy testing revealed that she was allergic to all the elements dealing with the outdoors as well as dust, mold, pet dander etc.... Today we took her to get tested since it has been about 3 years and this time was a big shock to us all. She had 30 different allergens injected into both forearms. The left arm was all  foods and the right was pollen, trees and other non-food things. She also had a series of individual outdoor allergens injected via needles into her upper arm. It turns out that she tested positive for everything! 

 You see how raised her skin is? She is allergic to just about everything it seems including all pollen, mold, grass, weeds, trees, dust, pets, and virtually anything that floats in the air.

She never had food allergies before and now she does. Although her food allergies are not all at dangerous levels, it still surprised us since they are the everyday type of things. Now she can only incorporate eggs, potatoes, chicken and several other foods into her diet every 4-5 days. Other things like tomatoes, pecans, peanuts and corn should be avoided all together. We were told that the symptoms of food allergies can vary from headaches, sneezing, itching, nausea or upset stomach. It was recommended for Brie to start a food diary to see what type of reaction she has to the foods she is more allergic to. If they are something she can live with, she can continue to eat them. She made the joke that she would not have been offended if she was allergic to carrots, cucumbers or other foods she does not care for to begin with. The good thing is she will continue on the allergy shots which have helped her immensely. She will have to go from one injection each week to three. Thankfully she is very laid back and does just fine with that sort of thing.

I do recommend that if your child shows symptoms of allergies, you should get them allergy tested. It is so important to know the triggers so you can do your best to avoid them. We were also told that allergy symptoms change every two years.

Do you or your child suffer from allergies that require regular treatment?

Braces update

Brie has been in braces for about a year and 5 months now. Last year in December, she had oral surgery to have a baby tooth removed and to expose the adult tooth that has been growing in the roof of her mouth. It's hard to believe that she still had a baby tooth in the front at the age of 15! Not only that, it would not budge!! She got the tooth extracted at the dentist and went to a specialist for the other part. She had to be asleep for the procedure. It was a rough recovery at first, but luckily she was back to normal within a few days. Now her adult tooth has joined in with the rest of her teeth and is coming along well. We have seen a dramatic change so far and it looks like we will stay on schedule and she will have them on about another year and a half. She recently had some raised fillings put on a couple of her back teeth to help control her chewing. She was devastated and thought she would not be able to eat normally. Well that was short lived.  To say that you are required to watch a video on all the things to avoid with braces apparently meant nothing for Brie! She finds a way to enjoy all of her favorite foods with the exception of crunchy granola.

Thankfully her journey with braces has not been too bad. It has been really neat watching the transformation. The expense is enormous, but well worth every dime we are putting into it :)

Wordless Wednesday {Art}

I just had to share Brie's work that she created in her art class at school. Brie says that this is a girl who is depressed because her secrets got out. This is a really big piece so I might have to end up getting it custom framed. We love it!

Those are locks and keys in the tree. Cool huh?

The life of the SAHM

We have less than 2 weeks of the school year left. Time has flown by. The girls have been immersed in studying, exams, SAT's and volleyball conditioning. Of course I am in overdrive as a mom making sure they have all the necessities to make their days go smoothly. I have been spending a lot less time online and a lot more time on the floor playing dinosaurs, camping, blocks and flashcards. I am really working hard at giving little Will the same head start that the girls were given. You really do get to see the big differences between boys and girls! It does seem a little more challenging getting the boy to sit down long enough to learn something new. I think he does better absorbing information as long as he is moving. This sometimes means practicing numbers while doing jumping jacks! Needless to say, I am in great physical shape!

I still go through those days feeling mommy guilt wondering if I am doing enough for the boy. At the end of the day, he displays a lot of what he has learned through his actions. He is listening and paying attention. You better believe if anyone does something they shouldn't be, William will be the first one to let you know that you are not making a good choice. Those are the times that I think he is listening a little too well :)

I already have the Summer calendar prepared and it looks like the kids will be very occupied. I have some family trips I am planning as well. This Summer, we will take day trips or very short trips to close-by cities. No big vacations for us. I just hope that gas prices will continue to decline. I am also getting back into couponing so that we can maximize our cash.

Have you started getting your Summer family calendar set up? Do you have any fun plans?

Sisters in print | High School memories

It is that time of year again... end of the school year and yearbooks! Both girls got their high school yearbook yesterday and I asked them if they were in it besides the class photo. They told me there was a shot of the two of them together and casually showed it to me.

I screamed out loud like whaaaat??!!! Those are my babies!! I was so thrilled to see that they were a part of a feature they did on students that share the same house and school. They thought I was crazy with how excited I was seeing them together in the yearbook. I think it is neat that they can look back at this many years from now and remember those times. I still glance through my high school yearbooks from time to time.

Just seeing how happy and vibrant they are when they are hanging out warms my mommy heart. It is such a wonderful thing when siblings, especially teenagers get along so well. I tell them all the time that they have a best friend for life! I love my girls so much! I just had to share this with you all.

Have a great weekend! :)

They insist on growing up

I love my daughters. They are the most outstanding teenagers I have ever known. I don't say that because they are my girls, I say it because it is the truth! They don't act like the average teenager. They push themselves to be the best they can in school, sports and every other area of their life. They carry themselves like young ladies and are a best friend to each other. I am filled with happiness when I listen to some of the conversations they have with each other. My hope is that they always continue to be close and be there for each other.

The girls will be 16 & 18 later this year and Chardie is already looking into college applications. She informed me the other night that although she is a Junior, she has signed up for early application/early acceptance with the college she has dreamed of going to since she was 5. She will find out in November if she gets accepted. *sigh* Although I am so proud and I know that she will get in, I feel like she is half way out the door already. Did I mention that the college is local? She insists that she will always be around because she will still crave her mom's good cooking. Of course I will be there to indulge her! 

Now Brie has turned into this mini grown-up overnight. She stand about 3 inches taller than me and shows no signs of the looking like a little girl. She has really grown up so much not just physically but emotionally. Brie is our very intelligent, lively and colorful child. She keeps us entertained! She is also William's go-to person when he gets into trouble. He will go to Brie and explain what he did and tell her how much trouble he is in (very dramatically) Of course big sister eats it all up and consoles him. She doesn't like seeing him get into trouble but you better believe that if she catches him doing something naughty, she will correct him immediately. 

Little William is going to be 4 later this month. Although I have not missed a single milestone (being a stay-at-home mom) my heart still breaks a little seeing him grow up so fast. I am proud of that little boy though. He has met many milestones in the last year. It's funny, just when you think your kid will never do certain things they surprise you and do it BIG! I am trying to get him prepared for kindergarten. Some days I feel like I am doing a great job but most days I feel like I am not doing enough. That's another post for another day. 

I am just so proud of all my children. They are so inspiring and full of light. I take as much time as I can to watch them, listen to them and take in all the greatness they put out in the world. They are going to do very big things in their lives. I feel so fortunate to have such amazing children! 

I love them

This photo warms my heart...

Nerds make my day!

I was driving Chardie and Brie to school this morning like I always do. Wednesdays are my favorite because they have late start. This means a little extra sleep and a more relaxed morning. Even before the girls get in the car they start up with all sorts of chatter, jokes and foolishness. Of course being the awesome mom I am, I fully participate in the shenanigans! I laugh myself almost to tears most mornings. This morning the topic was science classes. Chardie had to double up on sciences since she could not fit Biology in her schedule freshman year. So this means both Chardie and Brie take Biology, same teacher but different periods. Brie told Chardie she wishes they could have been in the same class so that they could work on projects together. This is where I intervened. I told them that I know their projects would be the best of the best because of how much they put into every part of it... research, proper grammar, neatness... They both agreed and then made a confession. They said that when they do projects with other students they redo a lot of it. Brie says she saves all the work in her thumb drive and offers to print the project out for the group. What she really does is fix everything that was wrong or correct typos. Both girls admitted that if it was up to them that they would do the whole project themselves so they can get an excellent grade. I tell you what, those girls amaze and inspire me. They care so much about their school work and strive to be the best. Makes me proud. Makes me want to do even better. Most people think I am nuts for driving the kids to school and picking them up since the bus stop is right in front of our house. It costs me a small fortune in gas each week. I don't care. What I get out of our morning conversations in the car is priceless!

School is back in session!

I was up bright and early this morning to take the girls to school. Chardie was the first one off since she has an early bird class. She was ready and very excited to start her junior year.

I came back home and did a few things for about 30 minutes and then I was back in the car going back to the same school to take Brie. I am giving her up to 2 weeks to get acclimated with her new school scene and then she will get dropped off with Chardie. I am not doing all that extra driving if I don't need to!

I leave you with this classic video that parents all over the place are thinking in their heads ;)


Happy Back-to-school!

Freshie!

Here is our high school freshman dressed and ready to start her first day at her new school!
You can't see it but her bands on her braces are in her school colors...orange and blue.

We attended the freshman parent breakfast and it looks like Brie is going to have an amazing year.

Lately...

It has been so hectic around here. I have been all over the place making sure that everyone gets to where they need to be and doing the last minute appointments before school starts back on Monday. Brie starts tomorrow for "Fresh Start" day. It's the day where only the freshman class will be there so that they can get all the basics of their new school. I have been so caught up in getting things done that it hit me... my baby girl is in high school. My. Baby. Girl. :*(

She is so excited and is not nervous at all. I still pass by the middle school every day and get so emotional! We will attend the freshman parent breakfast tomorrow morning. Of course we have been there and done that but you still do it all over again for each of the kids. The girls have been picking out outfits and accessories and of course changing their mind a thousand times! They are both ready for the next chapter in their lives and we can't wait to see what amazing things they do this year. Funny thing, Chardie has been a bit emotional lately. She said that she came to the realization that she is going to be turning 18 next year and she will no longer be a kid. It made her a little sad because she is in no rush to be an adult. I am in no rush for that either! I will post photos of their first day :-)