Golf Tournament, Playground, and Packing... OH MY!

It's been a crazy few weeks in the Delisle house, and looks like we are in for a few more busy weeks before things start to settle down. I sort of feel like I am in autopilot at the moment, trying to just keep chugging along until the school year comes to an end (which is in 14 school days... not that I'm counting!).

So what's been happening?

Well, plans for this year's Isaac Timothy Delisle Memorial Golf Tournament are underway, and we couldn't be more excited. This year, part of the proceeds from the tournament will benefit Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, and we are grateful to be able to support such an incredible organization. We've been busy solidifying dates, holding organizational meetings, and starting to solidify hole sponsors, prizes, and giveaways. Things are really coming together already, even though the tournament isn't until August 19th. If you're interested in playing or helping in some way, please feel free to leave a comment or email me!

Also, Isaac's playground will be built at our church in the beginning of June! A week from Saturday, the groundwork will be completed, and on June 11th, we will be having a community build to assemble the structure and cement it into the ground. On Father's Day, our church will be holding a dedication ceremony as well... I thought it will be so special for Spencer to do that on Father's Day.

Needless to say, these to things alone have been keeping us busy, on top of wrapping up the school year, packing up my classroom, and chasing around a cute, busy, fast little toddler! She is just a riot these days, talking up a storm, running everywhere, and making her preferences known. Her hair has gone from straight to curly, and at her last doctor's appointment she finally broke the 18lb mark! At almost 15 months old. She's a peanut :)

Stay tuned for updates on the playground in the next few weeks!

Giveaway Winner!

Thank you all so much for your advice on ways to save money! So many great ideas... from where to shop, how to make your own laundry detergent, and even how to grow plants upside down!

Blogger had quite a hiccup in its service at the end of last week, and several of your comments were deleted. Never a good thing in the middle of a giveaway. So, as promised, any comment labeled "duplicate," or that I recognized as a re-written comment if yours was deleted, was counted twice.

I had high hopes of my cute Ellie drawing a name from a basket. However, today included quite the nap-standoff. So.... I went with random.org instead. As I counted down the comments, each re-written comment was counted as two consecutive numbers. Random.org kindly generated for me the following random number when it picked something between 1 and 48...

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 48 Result: 39

Jeni V.

I have no idea how to do a screen shot and then import it into Blogger, or I would have. :)

Anyhow, congratulations, Jenni! Please email me at coolteacher79@yahoo.com so I can ship the Laura Story "Blessings" CD to you. Make sure you write "Laura Story CD winner" or something like that in the memo line in case your email goes to my spam folder. I want to make sure I don't delete it.

Thank you all again for your great ideas. They are so helpful!

Blogger Deleted Your Comments!

Blogger has been having some technical issues the past few days, and somehow, many of your comments have been deleted :( I had been up to 53 (and read every one!) but now it is only showing 16.

So, if you have the time and are willing and able, please go back and check if yours is there. If not, and you could repost your lovely ideas, I would appreciate it so much!!

And, for your hard extra work, if you re-post a comment that was deleted, I will count that comment twice in your chances for the Laura Story CD giveaway. Just be sure to note (duplicate) in your comment.

Thanks!!!

Input Needed... and a Giveaway!

This post is going to be fun... at least I think so! A solicitation for tips and advice, and a giveaway wrapped into one!

Since I will stop working at the end of this school year and we will be going down to one income, I would LOVE to hear your practical money saving tips.

We have been on a tight budget before... early in our marriage, we made it a priority to get rid of our debt. School loans, credit cards, car payments... we paid off everything but our mortgage (though there is a plan in place for that, too!). So being thrifty isn't a new thing. But, pinching pennies seems to be a lot harder when you have kids! :) And when you've been used to living on two incomes and are cutting that in half.

I am particularly interested about:

- How you are able to reduce your grocery budget while still eating healthy (and for me, this includes buying the organic versions of the "dirty dozen" fruits and veggies.) I already shop sales, plan my menus around them, make a list and only buy what's on it (usually :) ), and buy generic versions whenever possible. It's also important to me to use environmentally friendly cleaning products, and those tend to be more expensive. Except for vinegar... but I have a serious, serious aversion to the smell of vinegar and just wouldn't be able to clean with it. :(

- What things do you do with your kiddos that are fun, memorable, educational, and creative without spending a fortune? (Even the little petting zoo near us is $12 admission!!)

So here's how this will work. Feel free to leave any tips and pieces of advice in the comment section. For every comment you leave, you'll be entered into the giveaway. (So, if you'd rather leave 5 tips as 5 separate comments, go for it!).

And what will you win?

None other than one of my favorite CDs... "Blessings" by Laura Story!

UPDATED-- Several of you have mentioned planting my own vegetable garden. Great idea! We live in a townhouse with a hardscaped patio out back and not really any room to plant veggies. Our townhome is an interior unit, and with the way it is set up, our kitchen counters don't face the window. So... if you have any tips on planting a veggie garden given these restrictions, I would love to hear them! :)
Comments will close on Saturday, May 14th at 5pm EST. The winner will be announced on Sunday, May 15th, so be sure to check back!

The Unacknowledged

I want to preface this post by saying that I absolutely believe in the spirit of Mother's Day... in a day to acknowledge mothers, those who are like a mother, and most of all God's divine design of motherhood. In some ways, hearing or reading the words "Happy Mother's Day" feels so good to me; and at the same time, it is hard ... because there is a little boy who I will never get to hear whisper those words to me. There is someone missing; the little boy who made me a mother first isn't here. And while three Mother's Days have passed since having Isaac, this particular day is not one that has gotten easier.

This morning in church we were encouraged to wish the moms out there a happy Mother's Day during the greeting... something I think is a truly wonderful thing. Yet at the same time, I thought about people who were likely to be in that room who were probably having a really hard time this morning. About the man or woman who recently lost their mother; about the husband whose wife recently passed away... the mother of his children; about the parents who just lost a child that they long for and love so dearly; about the couple who longs to have children and yet after months or years of trying to get pregnant just... haven't; and about the couple who has pursued parenthood through the beauty of adoption, only to have that adoption fall through.

For many, Mother's Day is an incredibly happy day; but for others, it can be a day that is also full of sorrow. And for them, that sorrow can so easily go unacknowledged.

So, I would encourage you... if you know someone who may go unacknowledged this Mother's Day because their situation is outside the scope of a card that Hallmark creates, acknowledge them anyway.

Acknowledge their hurt or sorrow; acknowledge that this day may be one that is difficult. Let them know that you remember them, too.

And what would a Mother's Day post be without pictures of my sweet kiddos...

Isaac and Ellie~

I am so proud of both of you and am so thankful to be your Mom. You are both incredible. I love you!