100 Days of School Project

Thank you to all of you who helped Katelyn reach her goal of 100 emails! It has been an exciting time as we collected the emails. (although in hind site collecting buttons would have been a lot easier! Then again, it wouldn't have turned into such a fun time of guessing how far away emails would come from, or seeing who we would get an email from next!)

To begin with we sorted the emails by the place they came from. Then with Zach's help we alphabetized the locations and grouped them by states and countries. We finally found a use for the jr. globe that has been sitting in Zach's room for 3 years! We used it and Katie and I spent time figuring out distances between Ohio and the other locations by having Katie touch the two points on the globe so we could record it on our list. Zach of course helped out by remembering the numbers and then judging which was the farthest distance.

Katelyn also enjoyed answering the questions people asked her, and then creating her cover for the binder and the awards for some of the participants with Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus.

Congratulations to all who participated. Hope you enjoy viewing the awards. These are just the fun ways Katelyn came up with looking at her emails!

Here's the statistics for the project!
Katelyn's 100 Days of School Project
100 Emails
Some Fun Ways to Look at the Emails
Quickest Email Mrs Fields
From the Closest Location Zachy My brother, downstairs
From the Farthest Location Mr. Dan, Antarctica 10000 miles away
From the Coldest Location Mr. Dan, Antarctica
From the Hottest Location Miss. Whitlock, Anguilla
From a Doggie (and his Daddy too!) Jessie and Mr. Carl
From the most people in one Family Hamilton Family 5 emails
Favorite Email Miss Kaitie Worlds' Best Babysitter
Multiple Locations Coach Jim PA/NJ
Best Hockey Fans It's a tie between all the Strongsville Mustang
Fans and the Red Wing Fans
Mrs. Citro helped gather the most emails with all of her connections in New York

Mr. Eldred helped get the email from the farthest and coldest location

Locations, # of emails, Distance (based on our jr globe distance function)
States
Ohio 48
Alabama 1 530 miles
Colorado 1 1200 miles
Florida 3 880 miles
Illinois 1 360 miles
Indiana 1 180 miles
Iowa 3 550 miles
Kansas 1 840 miles
Michigan 3 290 miles
Nebraska 1 840 miles
New Hampshire 1 560 miles
New Jersey 1 460 miles
New York 16 480 miles
North Carolina 2 420 miles
Oregon 1 2100 miles
Pennsylvania 1 220 miles
South Carolina 1 400 miles
Tennessee 1 350 miles
Utah 1 1500 miles

Countries
Anguilla 1 2200 miles
Antarctica 1 10000 miles
Canada 2 390 miles
England 1 3900 miles
Indonesia 1 9800 miles
Mexico 1 1500 miles
New Zealand 1 8400 miles
Portugal 1 3700 miles
Scotland 2 3500 miles
Spain 1 3800 miles

Winning isn't everything, but!!!

What a weekend we just went through. I realize as first time travel hockey parents that this weekend was NOTHING compared to many more we will experience. Just the same it was intense. The weekend actually started on Thursday evening as our Mite 3 Mustangs took the ice at the Raymond A Robinson Memorial Tournament in Cleveland Heights. The Tournament was really put on well. Tickets for pop after each game for the kids, dog tags with the tournament logo on the front, flowers for the hockey moms to wear. Prior to the tournament we had a schedule complete with locker rooms in our hands. It was great.

As the boys stepped on the ice Thursday night they were geared up for an exciting time of hockey. They were set to play Euclid a team that we had come back to beat in our first tournament experience back in October when we placed second overall in the Halloween Hockey Tournament in Euclid. This same Euclid team we had also beaten fairly easily on our home ice, but then lost too in a "not so much fun to watch" game a few weeks ago. Needless to say this was the game we were not looking forward to. We knew the boys could focus, get their heads set in the game and with the great coaches we have make it through the game. The only catch...OLYMPIC SIZE ICE!

Let me just say, the ice surface was huge. The last thing I said to Z as I left the locker room was "pace yourself, this won't be the same as the rinks you are used to." Now I realize hockey players have to play in different types of rinks all the time, but when you're 7 and 8 years old, Olympic Size Rinks are just huge! Regardless, the boys took the ice and held their ground during the first period. The second period opened up with Euclid scoring 2 goals. But then we answered with a goal of our own. Our parents are an amazing group and one of our parents made a spirit gear shopping trip before the game and came prepared with pom poms and plastic horns and cow bells for the occasion. We chanted, we cheered, we hung in there with our boys. Encouraging them to dig in, play hard, and just letting them know that we were with them. Finally, in the third we did just that tieing the game with a goal by Zach. It was one of those don't let this rebound get away from you bang away at it goals that ended up on his back hand and he was able to bang in. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, and as we left the rink that night we were certain that they would be the team we would meet should we make it to the finals.

It's not about winning, it's about doing your best and having fun. It's also not about thinking that just because you have beaten a team every time you've faced them this year that you are going to win the game. Our second game was against Parma, and the boys knew it was in their grasp. They dug in and scored 7 goals, and held Parma to only 2. Zach scored 2 of the 7 with a hat trick for Wyatt and a goal for Joey and Gavin. WOW! Somehow it seemed like just maybe this could be our tournament.

Then you get to the rink on an icy cold day. Check the standings and think....what is going on! We tied Euclid 2-2 in a tough game, beat Parma 7-2 in a fairly tough game that we were able to dominate in, BUT Parma Beat Euclid 3-1?!? I literally had to ask several of the other parents of our team to go read the score board. Is that right?! It was and it sent us back to the locker room to remind the boys not to get it in their heads that they could win against the team we now faced. That's not to say that we couldn't but. The team we now faced Cleveland Skating Club, had tied Parma, and tied Euclid, and we had beaten in regular season play. From looking at the standings though you soon realize anything is possible.

And anything was possible. We played an intense, edge of your seat game with CSC. Blake our goalie was incredible. He had some stops that were unbelievable. Our parents cheered, their parents cheered. We encouraged our boys (and possibly girls, not sure) and lived each moment of the game as though it was never going to finish. We hit the post again and again. Z had amazing breakaway only to have the puck slide off his stick right before he went to shoot. In the end we scored 1 goal to take us past them and into the championship game against....PARMA!

The team headed off to dinner at the Mongolian BBQ, and had a good chance to try to unwind from the game. The problem with 7 and 8 year olds, as they get tired they get hyper. They were so wound up many of us wondered if they would wind down to much before game time. We headed back through the frigid air to the rink. The boys put their sweaty, stinky gear back on. They wore one sock of each color at the suggestion of their coach and got ready to play. I'm not sure what Coach Matt said to them before the game, but whatever it was he was able to get them to focus on the task at hand. (wish he could of given us a pep talk as we were all nervous wrecks before the game ever started). Once again we learned that you can't judge one game by another one. The game was close, and hard. We spent the majority of the time, in their end. Their defense was strong and kept shutting us down. We hit posts, we had an awesome shot that the goalie really should have been applauded by us for as he snatched it out of the air.

In the end, our hat trick boy who had missed the CSC game as he was at his brothers game out of state, came back in the nick of time to lead us to a 2-0 victory. We jumped to our feet cheering on the boys that had worked so hard together. A team that has learned so much this year from 3 great coaches. A team that knows now that winning isn't everything but it sure feels GREAT!

Way to go Mustangs! The Queen song "We are the Champions" is yours to enjoy! 2 Tourny's so far, and we've walked away with a First and Second place finish. Not sure what is in store for us as we head to our next tournament next month in Niagara Falls, New York. The only thing we do know is that we face.....PARMA in our first game there, and I'm sure it will be an edge of your seat kind of game.

Time for a little Queen

As soon as 2 loads of laundry are folded, menus and grocery list are made for the week and 2 days of bible study homework are completed I will be posting a very exciting update from a very exciting hockey weekend.

You might want to find a Queen CD so you'll be ready to sing along...

How hard can it be?

I believe I am fairly computer savvy. I check email, a lot, obviously I blog, and I shop online so HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO ORDER PIZZA????

I just spent the last 40 minutes trying to find the best deal. After all the kids only want cheese and I thought other toppings might be nice. Then we decided a dessert to go with it would be fun. With Phil enjoying Lotusphere, why not. Finally settled on domino's. Of course, to order on line you have to register, and have to use a password with 6 characters, 1 of which has to be a numeral. Ok, made it past that, added the online computer coupon, selected what I wanted on what side of the pizza, and I'm off and running. Finished ordering and then was asked if I would like to track my pizza?

Track the pizza??? Is that necessary? Isn't the teenager working at Domino's tonight going to read the screen with my order, slap it together and send it over? Do I really need to track it. Man I feel old, what happened to opening up the phone book to pizza. Picking the one you felt like having, calling the number and having it show up at your door. While waiting for it of course you frantically had to search the house for cash to pay for it, or better yet find the checkbook.

Ok, it's a lot harder then it used to be, but in the name of modern conveniences my pizza might be in the cooking stage?!, Don't know the pizza tracker page is currently not refreshing!

Next time, we'll be prepared!

American Heart Association

If you've ever considered donating to the American Heart Association both my kids would appreciate any help they can get. They are participating in programs designed to raise money for this worthy orgainization. Zach is doing hoops for hearts and Katie is jumping for hearts. The following are the email messages that can be used to gain support. Having just sent emails out to get 100 emails for Katie it seems like a poor time to send out emails to get support for the American Heart Association.

If you are intersted follow the links below.
From Zach:
Hearts are important, ! I'm participating in the American Heart Association's Hoops For Heart program at my school. I can't wait to shoot some hoops on the basketball court at school to fight heart disease & stroke. Can you help by making a donation? Thanks!The American Heart Association's online fundraising website has a minimum donation amount of $25.00. If you want to donate less, that's ok. You can just send the check right to me and I'll make sure the American Heart Association gets it.Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support American Heart Association – Great Rivers

Some email systems do not support the use of links and therefore this link may not appear to work. If so, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://www.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=249041&u=249041-202186072&e=1465161804



And For Katie:
Hearts are important, Hi! I’m joining in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope For Heart event at my school. I will be jumping rope to help the American Heart Association raise money to fight heart disease and stroke. Can you help me by making a donation? Thanks!The American Heart Association's online fundraising website has a minimum donation amount of $25.00. If you want to donate less, that's ok. You can just send the check right to me and I'll make sure the American Heart Association gets it.Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support American Heart Association – Great Rivers Affiliate******************************************************************************Some email systems do not support the use of links and therefore this link may not appear to work. If so, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://www.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=249042&u=249042-202186072&e=1465081077******************************************************************************Katelyn Randolph


Thanks!

100 Day Project Update

Katie's goal of reaching 100 by Saturday did not happen. With 2 weeks left before her project is due she is sitting at 95 emails. I'm really not worried as there is so much time. While we're waiting for the last 5 emails we're starting the sorting process. We're going to try and group them in categories and tally up our results. Hopefully, by the weekend we'll have a listing of where we've received all the emails from. Check back...it could be surprising!

Flat Stanley in NEW ZEALAND!!!!

This post has been written by Zach!
I just received news that Flat Stanley made it to Wellington, New Zealand.

While there he got to sail to the South Islands. He saw the oddly-shaped "Beehive" building, the executive office building for the New Zealand Government. He also got to hang out with cousin Matt Mueller. http://www.muellerworld.com/wheres_matt/. Matt has this really cool job, he gets to work on movies! It was really nice of him to take him all the way back to New Zealand with him. Maybe someday I'll get to visit there too.

I wonder where he will turn up next?!

100 emails!

WOW! So far Katelyn has 47 emails. Ranging from up at our school from our son's teacher, all the way to Portugal, Spain, England and The Netherlands! We still need 53 more. Katelyn's hopeful that she will reach her goal by Saturday. We'll see.

100 Days of School

The 100th day of school is quickly approaching. Katelyn, our kindergartner has been asked to collect 100 items to bring to school. The first thing she thought of was books. Now we of course have well over 100 books, but...I AM NOT LUGGING 100 BOOKS TO SCHOOL. So, we began to brainstorm we came up with paper clips, hot wheel cars, buttons etc. We figured most of these other kids would think of. That's when I suggested what about emails Katie?

She thought that was a fun idea. We sent an email last night to those in our personal account and then in my business account. We simple asked that people send her a quick email to say "hi" and where they were from. Five minutes after we sent out the email we received an email from Houston. Since then I have received 34 emails. Ranging in location from Strongsville, Ohio (which is just down the road) to England! She is so excited to hear from people, as most have sent her a little message. It's made it even nicer today as she is home sick from school.

We still want this to be her project. Therefore we are reading each one, and then will be locating them on a map together to figure out which came the farthest, the closest, the fastest. She also predicted that it will only take 3 days to get 100 emails.

If you would like to help out with this project just drop her a note to Katelyn at randpkz@yahoo.com

Night with the Monsters!

Last night our team joined the rest of the Strongsville Youth Hockey Club at the Lake Erie Monsters game.

Here's the team with their brothers and token sister, as they are waiting for the most exciting part of the whole evening...

GOING ON ICE THROUGH THE BLOW UP MONSTER TO START THE PLAYER LINE UP!

The boys skated through the Monster with their Coach and then were able to stand with the players for the National Anthem. They looked so cool standing there on the ice with the team. After the National Anthem they exited through the Monsters bench and then came back up into the stands. After watching the rest of the game, I'm thinking the wrong team exited the ice. Maybe they should have let the Mustangs take on the Bull Dogs as the Monsters truly were not that scary.

Regardless of the score the kids had a good time. Eating junk food, and watching a live hockey game.

The game had a pretty good crowd. Strongsville Youth Hockey contributed with representatives from most of the teams that play through the club. Katelyn, who will tell you she really doesn't like hockey, also had a good time. Especially when Daddy snagged this t-shirt as it was launched into the stands.After the game Phil and Zach were able to go on the ice and skate and get autographs from many of the players. They had a great time, and we were glad that Zach and his team were able to be a big part of the evening.

Zach got both of his gloves signed and his t-shirt too. Here is Zach's impression of Dan Cleary, with a full face mask on that is. Notice the black eye?!? Unfortunately, we can't even say that it was a hockey injury because of the face mask. Instead, he has to fess up to the fact that his snow board hit him in the face this weekend when he went sledding.

Sorting Photos

Just received 200 photos in the mail today! I now have all of the photos from 2007 either scrapbooked or at least printed. This is the first time I've been this close to having the year prior done at the start of the new year. Why is that?

Well 2 things really. First, Memory Manager software from Creative Memories has allowed me to sort, edit and delete pictures so that when I go to print my photos I have only the ones I really need. It also tracks what photos I'm printing so I don't have to worry about that either.

Secondly, the power palettes by Creative Memories are phenomenal. They allow me to quickly crop photos, match with paper, and get them into my album. In a moment of true honesty I'll let anyone reading this in on the secret that my pages are done from September - November but not one is journalled. It's the hardest step to take. Oh, well. So, next Thursday at my all day workshop I plan on powering through the rest of 2007!

How awesome it will be to have it finished.

For more tips checkout www.mycmsite.com/kropwithkathy

It just figures

Starting off a new year is like starting a new blank piece of paper. Everything is fresh, clean..ok well not clean, but it's a new start. Hung the calendar in the kitchen and carefully marked things out that will be taking place this month. Finished transferring all the info from my consultant calendar, and made sure to mark all of the hockey games in red. This morning, I put the new tournament schedule on the calendar, walked down to my computer and IT"S CHANGED! UGH!

I'll admit I quite type A. I like things to be just right, not that they always are, and not that I can't be flexible, but on occasion I rewrite the to do list if it looks messy. It's my area of control what can I say. So now, I need to go back up to my calendar and cross off and rewrite 3 hockey games. Just goes to show that even in 2008 I need to be more flexible, or use a pencil to write things down.

Let's Get this New Year Started!

WOW! Did 2007 go fast or what?!? Seems so hard to believe that it's 2008, but here we are and in 363 days we'll be saying wow...didn't 2008 go fast too!

Kiddos are back to school today. It's been so quiet...ahhh the sound of the washing machine churning away. I've really enjoyed having the kids home, it has just been hard since we've had so much going on. Kids sick, family in, hockey tournament, family in. Of course with them going back to school means time to get restarted on everything. Laundry, cleaning, Christmas decorations put away, bedrooms taken back over...the list goes on, but so does time. Eventually, it will get done.

The thing I'm really excited about getting back to is my business with Creative Memories. I took a bit of a break while the kids were on break. What a great advantage to working from home. I was able to continue to take orders, and process orders, but not have to leave the house for work. So, now it's Jumpstart January. I'm working on finishing the 2007 album, doing a digital Christmas album and booking some events for January and February.

There is the cutest mini display board that hosts can earn for free. I have mine with the kids Christmas cards, sitting on my work table. It's such a neat product.

The everyday display board is also incredible. We currently have ours in the Red Wings Room (ok, we're obsessed with hockey around here). The board itself comes with magnets and clips to attach memorabilia in a great display format so that it can be changed out or left as is. We plan on changing ours out whenever we get to the next Red Wings Game.

The thing I think I continue to love the most about Creative Memories is the something for everyone product line. I still love the traditional album making products but the new stuff is so exciting and fun that it makes treasuring family memories all the more fun and easy. Off to work...I just love what I do.

I'm always looking for consultants to join my team, if you want to love working...drop me a line! or look on my website www.mycmsite.com/kropwithkathy and sign up today.

Go Fish

This summer when we were in Iowa my friend Andi introduced us to the Go Fish Guys. http://www.gofishguys.com/guys/index.html Their music is deemed as great music for kids that won't drive their parents Bonkers! So great that I find myself listening to it, without the kids around. While we were there she gave us the CD "Superstar". We listen to it quite often, usually recalling her boys reactions to different songs as we hear them. For Christmas she sent us the "Snazzy" CD.

I decided to GO FISH and I'm HOOKED! The beat, the words, the style is all great. The words though I think is what has really got me. There is a song called the Mom Song that is truly right on.

Do you know the name of Elmo's Fish? http://www.gofishguys.com/music/index.html Listen to the Mom Song, but look out you'll be hooked soon too!

What a blessing to find music that we can enjoy and the kids can too!

Flip a Card

Father and son bonding time is so important. It was nice to see my boys having time this weekend together. What had started as a shopping trip, with little sister in tow, turned in to Dad and Son time as I met Katie at the bottom of an escalator and took her home to get ready for a birthday party.

They boys I'm sure talked about many different things as they wandered the stores together. Upon returning home Zach proudly showed me the puck that Daddy had miraculously created from a piece of foil. He was amazed that Daddy could do such a thing. (Not much of an amazement to those of us who grew up with foil in our lunch bags on a regular occasion, but...to a 7 year old in today's world WOW!) I know I said that it was great, and watched him play with it off and on through the evening.

Two days later....

I was up at school yesterday and stopped to ask Zach's teacher how her weekend was. She'd been babysitting all weekend, and I was interested in hearing how it went. As Zach walked towards us I could tell immediately that he must have had a hard morning. Poor kid, would of gotten away with me not knowing except for the complete look of guilt on his face. BUT, needless to say he looked like he was in trouble so, naturally I asked his teacher if something had happened. She said he had to Flip a Card first thing, but couldn't recall why. So, she asked him.

"I was drawing on my desk" he replied.
"You were what? Zach, do we draw on furniture?" I asked shocked, please he knows better he's 7!
"No, we don't."
"Please don't do that again, you know we don't do that" I said then walked away after mentioning to him that his teacher had not even been telling me about that and that he could have told me later had it not been for the look of guilt all over his face.

I mentioned to the teacher how at least he feels bad when he gets in trouble. His sister...well that's another story.

So much later in the evening when I finally stopped for the day I remembered to tell his dear father about the situation. As I'm recalling the event at the cafeteria, Phil is looking the opposite direction and motioning for me to hurry up with the story. WHY? Well......

You see during Dad and Son bonding time over the weekend, and the great making of the foil puck, Phil began telling Zach about the great games he and his friends used to play on their desks at school. Everyday in their lunch bags they would have foil wrapped sandwiches, as there were no zip lock bags, so they would make balls and then this one boy would smash them and make them into pucks. They would then proceed to DRAW the different team symbols on their DESKS and play hockey with their pencils. He even explained how he used to make the Minnesota Northstars symbol. Ok, he never said you should draw on your desk, he also never mentioned that he couldn't draw on his desk or shouldn't.

Mind you we know our son very well so at this point we are both laughing envisioning the possibly full scale version of a hockey rink that Zach was probably starting to make by clearing off the stuff of everyone he shares a table with and drawing out on his desk. We could envision the Redwings crest, the goal lines, and the circles as we've seen them on paper many times.

So, this morning I asked Zach again, what were you drawing on your desk yesterday?
I don't know was the reply...I can hardly wait for Phil to get a real answer tonight.

In the meantime...If you are going to be telling your children stories of your youth please remember that somethings after being shared need to be followed up with..."you should never draw on your desk or any other furniture!" before sending them off to school. Or else they too might have to flip a card!


Phil will be following this with a response trust me, my version is much better!

Create Your Own Beautiful Cards!

The cost of cards these days is crazy. True you can find some here and there for .99, but generally speaking it's a lot more than that. Pictures to me say so much more, as do the words I would choose to write verses the words some card maker who doesn't even know my family might choose.

That's why I've begun to use Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus for all of my card making. It's quick, it's easy and it's Personal!

Here are a few samples of cards I've done recently.

Beautiful cards for .19 at the most! Certainly, can't beat that. Invitations, Thank yous, Birthday Cards, or just because. They'll never be the same again. AND Most people would think twice before just throwing out a picture. For more information on making photo cards go to www.mycmsite.com/kropwithkathy and look at the Storybook Creator Plus Software. or email me at kropwithkathy@yahoo.com

Need to go make up a photo card template for 2 classes at my children's school. Their teachers are using them as cards for the kids with Polar Express pictures! Activity today, card tomorrow!

Just Another Manic Monday

I think the Bangles had it right back in the day. It's just another Manic Monday! It doesn't seem to matter how much I plan, or get things ready for Monday morning. It is still crazy around here. Today it was the same old thing, make your bed, brush your teeth, get dressed EAT YOUR BREAKFAST. Of course, most of those things got done. Walked the kids down to the bus, Katie in her PJ's as it's Polar Express Day for Kindergarten. Came home to finish drying my hair to find...1 bed not made, clothes all over the floor and a light on!!!!! MONDAYS! Hopefully, tomorrow will be better in that aspect.

Off..to work time!

The Great Gift Search

Here it is December 14th and I'm on the great gift hunt. Normally, I have a list and know exactly what I'm looking for. This year has been a bit different. We made our list, I even took the kids to Toys R Us to look for things they might like. Then we divided up the list between their Aunt and 2 sets of Grandparents. That's why I'm stuck.

I love my kids, but they simply don't play all that much. They play pretend, they create contraptions and make up stories. That is wonderful play. It's great for their imagination and for them getting along. It just does nothing for the pile of Rescue Heros, legos, and Transformers in one room, or the entire doll house, polly pocket and Barbie toys in the other. I want my kids to have nice things, and toys to play with....but it's really hard to spend money when they don't seem to be all that interested in anything.

So...the dilemma is what to get, and of course where to get it. Like every other family it seems we've contemplated getting a Wii. Unlike many we're not in a dire search for one. If we should find one, we'll be happy but we're not out in line at 4 am to make sure we get one. If I knew we'd be able to get one the Santa shopping would be that much simpler. 1 girl and 1 boy game DONE. So...now what to do. I guess it's back to wondering the aisle of Toys R Us and searching for the just right gift. At least there are 4 mornings left before school is out. I should be able to find something between now and then. At least I hope I can.

Merry Christmas, hope your shopping has been easier!

On a good note, the decorations have been up since November 10th and the baking has been started, can't complain about those areas.

Hymn to a Good Wife

I've been sick all week, so perhaps it's the time spent getting extra rest. Maybe it's the end of the year. Whatever it is I'm finding myself in need of reshaping my day, and my thought process. Which brings me right back to Proverbs 31.

This is a hard Proverb for most women. It tends to make us feel at first glance like we could never accomplish these things. God does call us to "be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect". Certainly not an easy task. And from the time I've spent in the Word I believe not a task that He expects us to complete while here on earth. What He in is great wisdom is asking is for us to work towards doing the right thing, working diligently. Back to Proverbs...

A good women is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously all her life long.

WOW! Isn't that awesome. I know there are things that bug us about our spouses, I'm sure mine could name a few things about me that he'd like to change. But the point is when there are those things that you would like to see different don't talk about them with everyone!!!! I get so sick of hearing all the stuff people are doing wrong. Why not concentrate on what they are doing right. If we all spent time focusing on the good things, the small annoyances would be just that...SMALL.

Today, try it. See if we all can just say positive things about the people we love. And when others start to complain, why not say, have you made a list of the good things lately.

New year, new life, new focus. Positive and joyous! God wants that for us.

The other focus is on the verse that says
She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day.

Ok, I'm not a morning person, BUT there are ways to organize the day and get back focused on what needs to be done. Working from home allows me the freedom to get things done around the house, while getting work done. But I've strayed away from setting business hours, which in turn has slowed down my business.
Time to get back to Calendar Blocking.

That is taking the day and breaking it down into workable sections of time. Time to focus on different aspects, job, family, etc. For me that's going to mean starting at 9 and working on Creative Memories paperwork, connecting with my team, or working on album projects to refresh my business until 11. From there I can work on other things in the day. If I don't make work a priority it won't work itself.

Let's get going and get inspired to do the right thing and get focused on living a wonderful life!

Merry Christmas!

We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Both the letter and the card were made with Storybook Creator Plus Software. It's an amazingly easy software that allows you to make Storybook albums, cards and personalized letters. Check it out on my website www.mycmsite.com/kropwithkathy

Flat Stanley in St Louis!

Flat Stanley has made his first stop in St. Louis, Missouri. He actually landed first in Glen Carbon, Illinois and then Zach's Aunt Barb and Uncle Chuck made a trip into St Louis to take his picture. Here is the letter they emailed us.

Dear Friend Zach,

Your Aunt Barb and Uncle Chuck took me to St. Louis this morning. St. Louis, Missouri, is a city in the Midwest. The city is on the banks of the Mississippi River. St. Louis is famous for many things, but there are two places which we went to see this morning. The St. Louis Arch is one of the great tourist attractions in the United States. It is a national monument that is 630 feet tall. In front of the Arch is the "Old Courthouse". It is very historic. I have had a good time in St. Louis. This afternoon, I'm leaving on an exciting trip. You will hear from me again soon.
Love from your traveling friend,
Flat Stanley

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas!?

Dusted off the treadmill today and decided to actually use it again. Life has been so busy that walking has seemed to consist of up and down the stairs doing laundry or at the store. Regardless, it's time to get moving yet again. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that's the pattern I'm in as most of us tend to cycle through that way as well.

I figured if I'm going to walk again maybe I should catch up on the news. Of course the big news story today is whether we should say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas". That's the news?!? Personally, there are some people in the world that need to focus on something productive. Can you imagine if all the people who spent time and money fighting over taking "Christmas" out of advertising, away from the tree, and also "God" out of our lives actually took the that same amount of time and money and focused it fighting a cause they can actually win where the world would be? Cancer research could be advanced, children could be fed, the education system could be in much better shape.

So...Merry Christmas everyone! In this home "God" is in control and in God we still and always will Trust!

I'm off to spend some money...still labeled in God we Trust, Christmas shopping!!!! Should be fun!

Thanksgiving is almost here!

Hard to believe another year is wrapping up. It seems like once Thanksgiving arrives the next thing you know it is time to change the calendar to a new year.

This year Thanksgiving will be a little bit different at our house. Tomorrow Grandparents will arrive and will be greeted outside by our 2 scarecrows, still tied to the front tree. Once they come into the house they will leave fall behind and enter into the Christmas season. With my Creative Memories Open House last weekend we went ahead and decorated for the holidays ahead of time. Now the only Thanksgiving decorations up are the 2 Turkeys the kids have made on the refrigerator. Oh, well...Christmas will be here soon anyway.

This year we'll be able to relax and enjoy company instead of rushing to decorate so I suppose all in all it's a good change.

Happy Turkey Day!

Celebrating the Holidays with Creative Memories

Our house is already decorated. Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is not yet here and yet the Christmas tree is up and the stockings are by the chimney. Tomorrow is my Holiday Open House for Creative Memories. It will be a fun time to celebrate with customers and to gather wish lists for their holiday dreams. Just in case anyone happens to visit my blog in search of Creative Memories I thought I'd post my holiday specials. They are good via email or phone only up until 10pm tomorrow night!
Digital Collection $121
includes Memory Manager $39.95
Storybook Creator Plus $59.95
and
Storybook Plus Content-Collection1 $35
regular price $134.90

Picfolio Calendar Bundle $37
Minutes Picfolio album $20
in your color choice
Storybox photo mats and journaling
boxes $10
your color choice
Calendar Mats $4.50
Calendar Weeks $4.50
Calendar Months $4.50
regular price $43.50

ABC Bundle $49
ABC album $23
ABC monogram stickers $8
Playful Milestone Album Kit $12
Page protectors $5
Black Pen $1.20
Tape Runner $7.50
extra page and extra page protector FREE
regular price $56.70

Tape Runner $10
Tape runner $7.50
Tape runner refill $5.00
Regular price $12.50

Purchase any Album,
or Coverset with pages,
and Page Protectors and get a FREE
tape refill!

Happy Holidays!

Flat Stanley visits Big Creek

Flat Stanley made his first trip out with a stop at Big Creek Elementary School. He visited with the boys and girls who will be tracking his progress as well as the progress of a classroom Flat Stanley who will also be sent out to explore the world soon.
As each Flat Stanley roams the world the students will track his progress on a map in the classroom. How exciting it will be for them to learn about different places and the people who live in those places.
Our Flat Stanley is almost packed, he heads out tomorrow on his first adventure. Check back here to see where he has been.

Introducing Flat Stanley

This is Flat Stanley...
well at least Zach's version of him. Flat Stanley is from the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. Which is a story about a boy who has a big bulletin board fall on him which ends up making him flat. The story continues with what life is like for him once he is flat. In the story he gets invited to go to California for a trip. He really wants to go, but the family can't afford to send him. Then they realize that they could mail him.


Based on the idea of mailing Flat Stanley off to California, we thought it would be fun to see how many places our Flat Stanley could visit between now and the end of the school year. Today he is going to visit the school to have his picture taken with Zach's class. Then he will be folded, carefully of course, and shipped off to...
You'll just have to come back and see where he's been. We're asking everyone we mail him to, to send us a picture of them with Flat Stanley. Then after they take a picture with him they are suppose to mail him off to see the world. Who knows where he could end up.

Zach would love to see him travel all over. The one place he'd love for him to make it to is the Joe Louis Arena to take a picture with the Detroit Red Wings. If anyone has any connections to the Red Wings let us know!!!

Hockey Halloween

This weekend the Strongsville Mustangs Mite 3 team played in the Halloween Hockey Tournament in Euclid, Ohio. It was our first tournament and boy was it exciting! On Friday night we arrived at the ice at 4pm ready to face the Euclid team. It was a very tight and intense game. No need to worry not only were the boys playing well, with Denise and Nick leading the way on defense. But with the expert coaching of Coaches Matt Dobriansky and Marc Pignataro the boys were able to create great scoring chances which led to hat tricks by Andras as well as Zach.

With a 7-6 win over Euclid the boys were ready to face the Mahoning Valley Phantoms.

The game again was edge of the seat exciting. Coach Matt even pulled the goalie at the end of the second period to try and create an additional scoring chance. While we were all absolutely confident in his decision, I can't say that we weren't nervous anytime one of their players touched the puck. We survived the last few seconds of the second period and were able to end the game in a tie.

One thing we've learned about tournament hockey is to expect lack of sleep! After shipping Katie off to Grandma and Grandpa's for the night we headed back to Euclid at 5:30 AM to face Cleveland Heights. The boys were able to control the game, which allowed our coaches the chance to change things up and give all the players a chance to play different positions. It was really exciting to watch one of our boys who usually plays defense take a few face offs. I showed him the pictures I took of him playing center tonight. I told him I was so excited that he was getting to play another position for a while I couldn't help but snap....10 pictures of it!

We one that game 8-1!

What a thrill for the boys when Coach Marc told them in the locker room after the game that they were going to be playing in the Championship round! I wish I could have seen their faces. This team has learned so much from their coaches in the last few weeks. They still have much to learn, and there will be harder games as well as some that are a bit easier. But to come from beginning the preseason with 7-0, 11-0 and 10-0 losses, adding 3 brand new kids to the team 2 weeks before, to playing in the championship round of a tournament is very exciting for 6, 7 an 8 year olds. Ok, it's exciting for thirty something year olds as well!

So off we ran to church before heading back to Euclid one more time for the 3:45 game. As we gathered in the stands many of us parents talked about how proud we were of our kids, and how nervous we were as well. The team we were facing was the same team we had tied. The team that had just beaten Euclid 11-2. The team that all of us had spent the last few minutes reminding our boys before leaving them in the very capable hands of the coaches to "look out for number 14 and 10!"

The nervousness continued as they took the ice. We yelled and cheered encouraging things to the team. We told them they could do it, we yelled even louder when Anthony scored the first goal or the game. We felt that we could do this. #14 took the ice and the puck, and yes he scored all 5 of his teams goals. He ran his team t0 a 5-2 victory. The thing he was not able to defeat was the Mustang's parents pride in their team.

Our boys came in 2nd at their first ever tournament! Our boys played hard up to the very last second on the clock. Our boys looked to their coaches and listened and tried to follow the instructions they gave. They didn't play perfectly, but they played their hearts out. The took a few penalties as they threw themselves in front of #14 to try and slow him down. Our boys learned a lesson, that made many of them leave the ice in tears. Yet, having spent time with their parents this weekend I know when they got in their cars to head home they were being told how great they had done and how proud they had made us all. No, they didn't win, BUT they came away from the game knowing that they can play as a team, work together and do their best.

I just came from practice tonight where once again they pulled on their jerseys and went out to practice as a team. Preseason is almost over, and there is still a lot more hockey to play. Win or Lose these boys will be learning and growing in their hockey skills under some great coaches. They'll take the ice at each game knowing they can count on their parents to be the loudest, most encouraging fans they will ever find. The last thing we yelled as we left the stands on Sunday was "We're proud of you Mustangs!" and we truly are.

What's the score?

It was a whirlwind weekend. Grandma and Grandpa arrived on Thursday night just in time to head off to the Girl Scout Hayride. We only had 4 tickets for the actual ride so Grandpa joined Phil and the kids and off they went.

I think we might have mentioned that the hayrides usually have a stop in the woods to throw hay!

Luckily, they were on the last ride before the rain started coming down. They seemed to enjoy themselves. I think I'm glad I stayed behind.

Friday, the kids had off so we spent time together as a family. We played 4 or 5 board games, went to the mall and then the kids stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa and Phil and I headed off to small group bible study.

We made it home just in time to watch the end of the first hockey game of the weekend. Unfortunately, the Wings lost the game. I know I was certainly crossing my fingers that it was not a sign of the weekend events to come.

Next morning we were up bright and early to head off to Kent State University for Zach's 9AM hockey game. Not a bad time for a game, except when you have to leave at 7AM to get there. (of course this coming weekend we're going to need to leave at 5AM for a game, so this was nothing!)

Go Mustangs! They did an awesome job with their game. They ended the game in a 3-2 loss. BUT... there was a goal that the refs didn't count where the puck clearly crossed the line before the whistle blew for us. Then there was a goal that counted as the buzzer went for the period for them. THEN there was the penalty that should have been called on a beautiful breakaway that Zach had when he got yanked down from behind...so needless to say, the game could have gone either way. (not that I have an opinion on which way it should have gone!)

They really played well regardless of the score at the end of the game. It was neat to play at KSU too, the arena was very nice.

Who can resist more hockey in a weekend! Certainly, not us. Especially when the tickets are FREE. So, off to the Lake Erie Monsters game we went on Saturday night. The game wasn't all that exciting. They are in a building year, but I can't say I'm disappointed that Colorado's farm team doesn't look that great.

The kids made incredible signs for the game. We all had a lot of fun. Of course I think most people were cheering for the Indians during the last period when it was up on the screen during the game. Not sure anyone would have known if the Monsters had gotten a goal.

Finally, we ended the weekend with another great Hockey game. This time the Mustangs took on Rocky River . With some great coaching from Coach Matt the boys held on to win the game 3-2 almost getting one in the empty net. Zach ended up his week of hockey with 5 goals being scored. He played great and best of all...He had a lot of fun.

We had an awesome weekend too, of course the final event for the weekend...hockey! Watching the Wings teach the LA Kings a thing or two.

Next weekend promises much of the same. A few Wings games on Center Ice and Zach's first tournament.

24 pages in 3 hours!

How can you get 24 pages done in 3 hours time. It's easy with power palettes! I spent the first 1/2 hour cropping the pictures. I cropped them all in one setting. The next thing was putting the pictures in the order I wanted them in for the album.

From there I just layed out the pages, pictures and paper and stuck them down. That took about 2 hours total. In the last 1/2 hour I went back and journaled on each page and added some stickers that came with the mod power palatte. 3 hours total and one project done!

Recharged

It's October 1st. I can hardly believe it. Seems like the days, weeks, months just fly by. It is beautiful outside and I have to admit I really love fall. I love the change of the colors, the crispness in the air. The fact that I can still wear my favorite flip flops, even with jeans. (I never claimed to be fashionable). Of course it's also the START OF THE NHL SEASON! We raised the Red Wings Flag yesterday, and it will fly until the end of the season.
The only problem is, WOW our Internet/cable/phone people are not sure what NHL options they have for us this year. We may have Center Ice, then again...we may not. UGH! I would think that they could get it together at least by our first game would be nice. So...here I am on hold with them again. Hopefully, this time the answer will be that they will be carrying it.

(Have you ever noticed that the music on these hold calls is too loud and the voice sounds like you just walked into a funeral home? Just a side funny.)

Back to the whole fall thing. It is a wonderful time to get some things done around the yard and house. September was my kitchen and laundry room clean out months. I did get it done too! Now for October, the yard needs cleaned up and the closets need cleaned out. 31 days! I can do it.

The thing I am realizing more and more is that the more time I spend in front of the computer the more I am forgetting to look up and enjoy the world around me. No more! I think working from home should have some perks. With that in mind, for each hour of on task work I think it is only fair to be able to enjoy 15 minutes of doing something that I just feel like doing. Journaling in my albums, reading a book, walking the dog. I think in the end I'll be far happier, and more relaxed.

Life is good, so why not enjoy what we've been blessed with!

Fall...may just be the one season that recharges me.