Luke's Art Walk

Luke's elementary school had their second annual Art Walk last Thursday night.  What a fun event to show off the kids' art work.  We have a wonderful art docent program at our school... it's run purely by parent volunteers.  I teach two classes:  Luke's 3rd grade class and a second grade class and I thoroughly enjoy it.



Luke's class art work.  Abstract art inspired by Wassily Kandinsky.  Prior to the actual lesson we listened to snippets of classical music.  The kids were asked to describe the emotions that they felt during each composition.  They had so much fun and recognized a lot of the classical music from 'Bugs Bunny' cartoons!



My second grade classroom... also abstract art inspired by Wassily Kandinsky's 'Concentric Circles'.  All of the kids did one circle (a few kids had time to do two!) and then I put them all together to appear as a mural.  I love the way it turned out!

I had to show this version of 'Concentric Circles' as well because I thought it turned out gorgeous.  This was done by a 4th or 5th grade class.

During the Art Walk, parents and students walked the halls to see the art displays and then they also got to go to each classroom where all of the previous months art projects were displayed on their desks.

Immersed in the Opera

My daughter, Hayley, auditioned a few weeks ago for the local high school production of 'Phantom of the Opera'.  Well, she got in and we're so, so excited for her!  She will be playing the ratcatcher in the Masquerade scene... I know... it doesn't sound like a very glamorous part, but I tell ya, Miss Hayley is thrilled!  In case you didn't know, small children used to be hired as ratcatchers in Europe as a form of pest control.  According to Wikipedia I guess there are still ratcatchers in India and in other developing countries.  She will also be in the Ensemble for the rest of the show. 

Well, for those of you who don't know about the world of drama, let me be the first to tell you that it consumes 1) you, 2) your theater star, and 3) your entire family!  I don't mean this in necessarily a bad way because the positives definitely outweigh any negatives (endless hours of rehearsals, lots of waiting around, etc.), but it absolutely does take over your life from the moment of auditions until the closing night!

This time around, however, I (as a parent of a theatre kid) have not only just dipped my toe in the drama water, but I just dove in head first!  For starters, I'm embarassed to say that I did not know the story, so the kids and I watched the DVD last weekend (LOVED) and I just finished the book (which I highly recommend, but be prepared it's WAY different than stage or movie).  Now we've been listening to a couple of different versions of the soundtracks (stage and screen)... gorgeous music!  Did I mention that, in my absence at the theatre one day, I was nominated to be the parent communications coordinator for this production?  I have spent the past week and a half trying to decipher names and e-mail addresses for about 100 people (parents, cast & crew, and orchestra).  I finaly got them all listed and put into one gigantic distribution list only to find out that the computer does not like huge distribution lists!!  Thank goodness I have an on-site Tech advisor to come running when he hears me screaming at the computer, "OMG... about 30 names just bounced back at me!!!"  Well, I'm happy to say, after about 5 or 6 hours all is well with my distribution lists... yes, plural... I now have 4 lists for the cast, crew, orchestra, and parents!

Anyway, wish me luck on this fun endeavor and I hope you can all come and see the musical... Save the dates from the middle of April through the end of April.  I'll keep you posted!

Brace Face (Phase One)

Well, the day finally arrived... Luke got his braces and head gear put on!  He was a great patient and a very good sport about the whole process... and what a process it was!  We were there for about two and a half hours.  Not a tear was shed, not a word of complaint.  It was only during the last two minutes of the visit when the orthodontist was walking us to the door and telling Luke of all of the foods that he needed to stay away from that a silent tear slid down his cheek.  It was shed for his beloved popcorn...

The wonderful Dr. Kashner!

Colors of choice today were orange and green.



This was the challenging part... the Expander... he's got to live with this thing for at least six months!



The dreaded head gear!  I have promised him that he'll never have to be seen in public with it on.

My special boy... mommy will always love you!

Paint Chip Bookmarks

A person can never have too many bookmarks, right?!  I have always loved them since I was a little girl.  In fact, I still have a favorite one that my swim coach gave me when I was about eleven.  I have always been attracted to the  spinning display of them at the bookstores and I own more than my fair share, so when Hayley asked me what the big appeal was about bookmarks I told her that for me they were kind of like shoes are for most women... you can never have too many! 

Anyway, I just made a bunch, and I do mean a bunch, of these totally cute bookmarks that I saw on a great blog !  I took the idea one step further and laminated them.  I still have to get some coordinating ribbon, but even without it I think they're too, too cute!  Notice the names of the colors on this one?  Perfect for little Valentine gifts for a few of my book-lovin' friends... 

Lists & Goals

I'm a very goal-oriented person and I'd also like to think that I'm a fairly disciplined person.  So with that, it's odd for me to say that I've never been one to really make New Year's Resolutions.  You would think that the two things (goals/discipline & resolutions) go hand-in-hand for a person like me.  I've been giving it a bit of thought these past couple of weeks and I've finally come to the conclusion that if it's taken me this long to simply decide if I want to make the commitment to make a resolution that I probably won't have the resolve to follow through with whatever I come up with.  Soooooo, what's a girl to do?!  I want a challenge!  So, I've decided to get back to my roots:  List Making!  I used to make lists daily, but for some unknown reason I've really fallen out of that habit during this past year.  In the past my lists have been filled with the typical things that assure that my house stays clean, my family stays fed, my kids stay on schedule and that I fulfill all of my commitments that I've volunteered for.  If I have it in writing I make much more effort to accomplish sctufffff.  Soooooo, in addition to getting back to my daily list making (that I won't burden you with) I've decided to make a monthly list of things that I'd like to make happen during each month.  My plan is to post this list on or around the first of each month and see what I can knock out.  This month's list is going to be somewhat short since I'm getting a late start so here goes:

JANUARY'S TO DO LIST:

for pleasure:
read three books
go on a 'real' date with my husband


for my creative soul:
totally complete my Project 365 book
make paint chip bookmarks
to try a new vegetarian recipe

just to be nice:
put together a care package for my niece
make 40 baby shower invitations for a friend

home upkeep:
organize and clean out gift wrap drawers

service:
donate blood

personal health:
make it to the gym 3 times per week

Have I mentioned how I love Shuttefly?

Classic Chartruese 5x7 folded card

Unique party invitations and announcements by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Look what I just ordered from Shutterfly!  Actually I only had to pay for shipping because Shutterfly sent me 10 free cards.  Love their quality.  I chose shots from my garden this past summer.  I put photos of my sunflowers, pumpkins, and tomatoes on the inside... So, so fun to create.  They'll make lovely note cards... maybe you'll get one!

We're Joining the Work Force Again!

Well, it's been quite the year!  This exact day last year Wes lost his job and today he was hired with a different software company!  So, so thrilled right now!  Even though we've technically had a challenging year, it's really been an awesome one as well (more on that later...).  We've been very grateful to have dad home this past year, but we're equally grateful for him to get back to work and feeling good about himself!

Christmas 2010 Highlights

I have been so neglectful about posting during this Christmas Break.  Just got caught up in life and relaxing laying around on the couch watching endless TCM (Turner Classic Movies) movies that I've DVR'd OR as Wes likes to call them, my black and whites.  The Deti Family actually had a wonderful Christmas Season filled with lots of friends, parties, food, and did I mention food?!  As I sit here typing this entry I feel my third stomach roll forming... no joke we ate a lot of sweets!  Well, here's a view of our Christmas highlights.




FREE Christmas Cards!  I took advantage of the 50 free card offer that Shutterfly was offering to bloggers (and my 10 free cards from Lisa's Shutterfly party!).

 


Making Homemade Gifts

 


Jake, the happy recipient of a "no-sew" blanket!

 


December 13th... Wes' 48th!  Enjoying his favorite dish from his favorite chain!  Poppy, our psycho dog, really should be in this photograph because the reason that we're having Olive Garden take-out instead of actually enjoying the meal in the restaurant is because we can't leave our anxiety-ridden dog for longer than 15 minutes, but hey, that's a whole 'nother blog entry!

 


The story of Jesus' birth... Luke played the wiseman in the middle.  Too cute!

 




All Wise Men wore green crocs, right?!  The reason he's wearing green crocs in the first place is because he told me that the Sunday School teachers told him that he would be going barefoot during the play.... riiiiiiiight....

 




Silly Christmas Cookies

 



The endless search for a star tree topper finally ended this year!  We I found a star that we I finally loved!  I think we've gone without a tree topper for about three years now!  And, yes, that is a cobweb in the upper left-hand corner of this photo... it couldn't be seen with the naked eye.  And, yes, it along with the air vent right beside it are both clean now!






Annual traditions... can't believe that I used to make the gingerbread pieces from scratch!  Not only did it come in a box again this year (thank you Wilton!), but it also came PRE-ASSEMBLED!

 




Windy, stormy weather... yes, this is what I have to clean up everytime we have a windstorm!

 




This looks like a violent hail storm, but it's actual just snowing.

 




Annual Kein-Deti Christmas Gathering... jammies are optional.  Dar and I having been taking this option for the past couple of years... when in doubt, always go for elastic waistbands this close to Christmas! 

 


Favorite ornaments... this one's Luke's!

 





Hayley's favorite ornament.  When my dad was alive he had met a sweet Japanese girl on a flight.  They became Pen Pals (such a typical thing for my dad to do) for the year or two before he passed away.  She sent my dad this musical paper ornament that Hayley has adopted!

 




Annual shopping trip to Bellevue Square, Snowflake Lane (waaaaaay too crowded this year!) and our Marriott family overnighter! 

These were just a few of the memorable moments/scenes from our Christmas Season! 
Now I'm looking forward to s-l-o-w-i-n-g down...