Making Memories....

As time goes by....

Well,I haven't blogged in quite some time.Been sick on and off...that' sno fun when the weather is really nice. :( Luckily,I have 3 great daughters that took care of me and cleaned house and brought me food since husband was working out of state.It's almost like we don't know each other since he's gone so much.I miss watching tv with him at night.I always look forward to that....we just go upstairs in bed and watch tv.It may not be much to some people,but it's a big thing to me...we get to spend time together. :)

Anyways,a few weeks ago my husband brought us to the Cuyohoga(I may need to check the spelling on that) State park in Ohio.It was so beautiful to see the Brandywine Falls,which,in my opinion was much better than seeing Niagra Falls.We had to climb a few steps to get to the top & get close to it,but it was worth it.It was so beautiful and calming....the sounds were so relaxing.A cool thing that happened while we were there was I saw this lady with papers in her hand & I thought I sw the word clues on it,so I told my husband she might be letterboxing,but I was too chicken to ask in case I was wrong about what I saw.Anyways,later on we pass by them & my husband asks them if they are on a scavenger hunt & they say yes,so I ask if they were letterboxing & she was like,"yes!"I was a little upset as we haven't started letterboxing & there we were where there were some letterboxes & we had no clues or stampers with us. :( I just thought that was so cool to actually meet someone who letterboxes since I thought it was a small group of people who did it...never figured I'd come across someone doing it.She said they were from California & would also go letterboxing in Michigan on the way back home...how cool is that!Now I really want to start doing this soon,but most are in areas I don't know my way around,so I have to wait for my husband to return home to bring us. :)

The weather has been gorgeous the past few days,so we spend time outside reading poetry & playing before the snow comes,which is just around the corner....burr!Tomorrow we will go to Chuck e Cheese's and also have our own little poetry circle when we come back home.The girls are busy writing poems and decorating the pages to share with us tomorrow.Maybe tomorrow I will post some of their poems that they wrote. :)They are really good poems in my opinion.

In today's mail we got a calendar of events from the library and the girls were thrilled with all the activities going on.There will be a showing of Hoot,they will have it after hours,so they thought that was cool.This year they have tween programs so my middle daughter was thrilled about that,there's a book club she will be signing up for,I forgot the title of the book,but it looks really good,something about the revolutionary war and kidnappings.I told her we will check it out so we all can read it since it looks so interesting.

We recently watched these movies from the library-

"Duma"-we all give that movie 5 stars

"Eight Below"-only my 9 yr old daughter thought it was interesting,but my other daughters and I thought it was pretty boring....I was hoping for more adventure. :(

I think our next movie on the list may be "Shaggy Dog",although I don't think it's too educational. :) I would love to hear any great movies you watched that you used as a unit study.I only got those 2 movies because others recommended it,so I knew we just had to see them. :)

Next week I think I'll let the girls start their own blog since they think it's so cool.They really want to get one of the virtual pets like I have.I told them they can post their poems,stories & book recommendations on there,too.

Oh,before I forget,let me post a picture of the waterfalls.

Ok,looks like I can't upload the pics right now,so will try again tomorrow.Good night! :)

Another day...

Hello again!Yesterday my husband took off work because he had a phone interview for a possible job down south.Only 3 hours after the interview they called him to go down there in Mississippi for a personal interview.He said he'll go see what they offer,if he can make pretty much close to what he's making now,he may take the offer.He had another interview with another company about 1 week ago & he will be getting another interview shortly.These jobs are all in different states.I am so excited about him getting one of those jobs as I have been wanting to move a little further south.He has a phone interview for a job in North Carolina....that would be a great place to live.Although at this point I'll go anywhere.I like change,I don't like things to stay the same...it gets  boring after a while.

After his phone interview my oldest 2 girls attended a scrapbooking class at our public library.The paper said scrapbook on canvas but when we picked them up,they had a 12x12 scrapbook!I was so excited for them b/c now they have their own scrapbooks & they actually started it there.They both made a page about when we visited Mackinaw City,which is located exactly where the northern & southern peninsulas of Michigan meet...really pretty place.  They were both so excited that they got their own scrapbook and the best part is that it was a free class taught by Michaels...hurray for Michaels!Later I will take a picture of them with their scrapbooks and upload the pictures when I can get hubby to do it.He's been working in Ohio a lot and is planning on bringing us with him this week for the weekend to bring us to one of the state parks that he has visited and said is really beautiful.I wonder if there are any letterboxes there?Hmm...

After we picked up the girls from their class,we went to another library beacuse my oldest daughter won a weekly prize from the raffle...a $25 gift card to Target!She was so excited!We both knew she would win as she had 30 entries.You get 1 entry slip for every book you read & you can hold on to them until there is a prize you want to enter into,so she held on to her slips until Target came along...we had just missed the drawing for the mall gift card,but this may be better as Target has some great clearances!After that,we went searching for a new vacuum cleaner as we haven't had one in a while since ours went kapooey!We bought a Dyson a few weeks ago & returned it the next day as it didn't suck so good,but I did love how quiet it was and how easy it was to push,but the attachments were also annoying.When we were at the library we read in consumer reports that the Eureka Boss was a great buy so we bought that one at Best Buy...the box even says it sucks 60% more than Dyson!It does suck great as you can feel the power when you are pushing it.But the cord isn't so long,I have to keep unplugging it to go to the next room....a real pain in the behind.The attachments are a real pain,too b/c you have to have the vacuum facing you b/c where the hose is,it isn't flexible enough when you are vacumming on the side.It is also very hard to push that button with your foot to recline the vacuum after starting it so you can vacuum...you have to push it at a weird angle for it to recline....I mean,what were these engineers thinking when they made this design?Obviously they must not vacuum since they didn't care about what I consider big issues,it's not like I want to spend more time than I have to vacuuming!ugh!But husband says we'll keep it since it wasn't that expensive and since it does suck good.I do miss how with the Dyson I could vacuum our bathroom rugs without it eating up the rugs,with this vacuum you have to use the attachments to do the rugs b/c it really eats up the rugs even though the rugs are quite big.

Well,I need to vacuum downstairs today,give the girls their assignments (it's just after 8am and they are all still asleep),mop the floors,wash husband's work clothes,and I'm sure there are some other things I need to do.I won't have to worry about lunch b/c yesterday my husband bought us some pizza from pizza hut so we still have one medium pizza & a personal pizza left.Yummy!We love their pan pizzas...my favorite topping is tomato.

I was so excited yesterday my amazon.com order came in,so now we have the cookbook & beading book for our own collection.I alos ordered a scrapbook from their marketplace so I can't wait to get that one as I've never seen the inside of that book.I also want to order the book Mad for Minis by Michelle Charles,I was hoping to find it at the library so I could see if it's as good as I hope,b/c I really love the idea of those minis..like the altoids tins,etc.I have collected some altoids tins and tic tac containers to decorate,but I would love to see what ideas are in that book.Amazon.com doesn't even have that book yet so I can't get a deal on it,I'm too frugal to pay whole price for a book I haven't even seen yet.I love to order from amazon.com b/c i usually get certificates for them by doing various online surveys from different companies & I love the fact that you get free shipping by only spendig $25,so that's a great deal!I just love books and so do my daughters,so I am happy about that.Well,this is it for now,I may type more later today,but we'll see how the day goes...I might take the girls to Chuck e Cheese since I just got 12 tokens sent to me in my email. Bye!

Been busy...

Well,I have just been keeping busy with the girls,so don't have much time to do everything I'd like to do.I played a couple of games with the girls,they did some art work using their oil pastels.They are so proud of their artwork.Then I had to make them do real work,but it's easy for them.I give them quite a bit and they finish fast.Then I washed some clothes,folded towels,made some chicken and veggie samoosas (our fave snack,also a meal).Then I did some online surveys,then husband came home.Now the girls are watching the 3 stooges on dvd and I'm going to go exercise.Well,bye for today!

Just another day...

Well,we didn't really go anywhere yesterday like I had hoped.Husband decided to go to Home Depot since our bank gave us a $25 gift card,so we found some bushes on clearance for $10,so we bought some for our backyard.Our backyard needs so much work,we can't keep up weeding,as soon as we get rid of 1 weed,millions more pop up behind us...it's never ending!Anyways,the bushes look nice already,as long as the weeds don't come back.I love spending time in the backyard with my girls.Sometimes we have picnics,sometimes they read & do school work out under the tree.I really love just being outside when it's a nice day!If the weather is nice today we'll go outside to do some school work.

I can't wait for my amazon.com order to come in,I just ordered Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen & a kids beaded jewelry book.We had checked out the Kids in the Kitchen book from our library & the colors are so spectacular & the recipes are so easy,I just had to have my own copy,so the girls can hopefully do a lot of baking when winter comes.The recipes are so easy & the colors of the photographs are just beautiful!I recommend this book to anybody with kids that like to bake.The beaded jewelry book we also found at the library & the instructions are so easy & the pics are also fabulous,so I was hoping that the girls & I could maybe make some of the jewelry to sell.I really would love to start making crafts to sell....maybe one day.I would love to own my own little shop where everything is handmade,but my husband doesn't think that would be too popular,but I can still dream,right? I'm also hoping to start scrapbooking soon,I have jsut about everything I need,but I'm too chicken to start,I feel as though it has to be so elaborate and beautiful like the ones in the scrapbooking magazines.I  think once I get started,it would be easier,but it's just to get that first page going & deciding what picture I'm going to use,etc.It's a little bit scary,b/c what if it doesn't turn out so good?I would love to have at least one scrapbook done before summer ends.We had a scrapbooking store just down the road from where I live & I had planned to go there for their free sundays where you could use their tools for free,but not long ago I went to that area only to find out that the store was no longer there.  There is another scrapbooking store in my city but it's a little ways and with the price of gas,it really isn't worth driving there.

I'm hoping to find some beginning art books for the girls at the library today to teach them how to make their own art.I know the library in the city next to us has some good art teaching books,but it's a good drive and I don't remember the titles to ask our librarian about it.The girls have some oil pastels & watercolor pencils that I was lucky to find on clearance really cheap,but I wish I would have picked up more.They love to draw pictures & the love using the oil pastels.So far I had them draw a vase with flowers & the other picture was just something that makes them feel happy.I will start putting their artwork in those protective sleeves then in a binder which I will place on my coffee table for our guests to look at.Today I may have them draw a nature scene.I usually get the girls to do their schoolwork without complaint if I tell them we're doing art or going outside b/c those are two of the favorite things.Now if only we had 3 popsicles in the freezer instead of 2,I'd be set! lol!Well,I must be going...need to start washing clothes. Then I have to give the girls their assignments.If anybody has some great book recommendations for art/crafts/recipes,please let me know.Later on I hope to start posting some of my favorite recipes. Bye-bye! Renee

Ann Arbor Art Festival

Well,we went to the Ann Arbor art festival today,got there around 1pm & stayed for about 2 hours.There were so many people.It's not so easy to keep an eye on the girls when people are almost pushing you all over.We didn't really stop at any booths as we really didn't see anything that really appealed to our senses or wallets. :) I guess I was expecting too much,but at least I can say we went & we will know not to waste our gas money going there next time,although we did find some shirts for $2,most were from last year,but who cares.They are especially good for doing yard work,which is what we did when we came home.We didn't get a chance to try letterboxing today as the girls were hot & tired so we had to come home.I am hoping we can find some more fun stuff to do next weekend.Tomorrow is free day at the Science Center in Detroit,so maybe we'll get to go there,don't know yet.With gas just over $3 a gallon here for unleaded,we try to do lots of things all at once to conserve gas.Well,will chat more later.Have a few things I need to do right now. :)

Renee 

My picture...

Hello again!I just thought I'd post my picture real quick.I 'll have to upload some pictures of the girls later on. Well,off to fix breakfast.Will hopefully post later about our day!Bye-bye!

This pic was taken on the Detroit river front.

Fun Friday's...

Today is our first day of blogging...July 20,2006.First off,I'll start by talking about us,we are a family of 5-Renee(mom),Munir(dad) & 3 girls-Yasmeen,Fatima,and Semeeah.We live in Southeast Michigan,not far from the "Motor City".We moved up here in 1999 from Southeast Louisiana.Michigan is really nice as there is a lot of diversity here & there is always something to do,somewhere.So far we have kept the girls pretty busy this summer.They are all signed up for the summer reading programs at the library and have gotten some nice goodies for reading,which they really love & hopefully they can win some bigger prizes in the drawings. :)

Last weekend we went to the cherry festival in Canton,the adults got free t-shirts,while the girls had a few goodies to choose from...they picked the candy necklaces...no shocker there. :) Then they had cherries,of course,water bottles,a few snacks & snowcones which the girls really enjoyed because it has been so hot here this summer.When we first moved to Michigan,the summers were so nice and cool,now they are just as bad as the south!yikes!I can't stand the heat,but I don't care for driving in the snow either,so I don't know which is worse?

The girls and I decided that every Friday would be called "Fun Fridays" and we would play games,etc.They think they're not doing any learning,but they are.Today they played Moneywise,Pooh bear memory game,Multiplication bingo, and hi-ho cherry-o.Dad came home early today so after playing those games,we went to Dick's Sporting Goods store & mom found some great deals...$5 shirts for women & a nice flannel jacket for less than $10.We then stopped by the fruit market to get some fresh peanuts and also honeydew.

Now the girls are writing to some pen pals,they are hoping to get some pen pals overseas.They are also sending out flat stanleys to other families so we can learn about other cultures,what people like to do for fun,maybe collect some recipes & postcards out of it,too.We are hoping to make a scrapbook from the goodies people send us.I think the concept of flat stanleys is so great for kids to learn about others,especially since we can't travel the world with 3 kids at this point in time. I know all 3 of my girls really love it.

Tomorrow we will be going to the art fair in Ann Arbor...I heard there are some crafts for kids to make,so I hope the girls get a chance to make something cool.I am trying to get them to be more creative,sometimes I have the girls draw pictures with their oil pastels,I told them I will put all their drawings in a binder and put ot on the coffee table for people to look through,once they have enough drawings.They seemed to really like that idea a lot.I am also planning to have them make their own family newsletter that talks about what we have done,etc.They are also working on their own "magazines",they have been writing jokes & articles and even have come up with their own little contests...it's really cute!We are also hoping to start letterboxing tomorrow while in Ann Arbor.For those who don't know what letterboxing is,it's basically a scavenger hunt,you look for a hidden container that has a stamp and logbook in it,so you have to bring your own stamp,ink pad & paper pad,you stamp your paper with the stamp in the container,then stamp & sign their logbook.It seems like fun & the park is one we've gone to before,so it's a great way to get exercise and we know there are 2 alone at just that park & then at least 1 hidden at the University of Michigan...I hope we can look for that one,too while we're in Ann Arbor.Well,it looks like I have rambled enough for now,so I need to get on my exercise bike now...I've been doing no less than 25 minutes every single day,even when I don't feel like it.Well,hope you all have a great night out there!