I never realized how much effort, time, planning, & know-how it took to start a website, but this is alot! Thankfully its very rewarding.
I feel like Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter, when he was able to pull a memory out of his mind and store it in a jar on the shelf so as to not forget it, and make more room. I think blogging is alot like that. We all have so many thoughts, ideas, brainstorms, light bulb moments, questions, etc swimming around in our heads. And then the one moment comes up when we need to remember one of those things, and we can't remember them! Or remember them clearly.
Thankfully blogging helps with the storage and organization of those thoughts and ideas.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Blogging world -- Going Ahead Anyway
Okay, so maybe there's another website out there that's JUST like the one we envisioned, but you know what? We're going ahead w/ ours too! There's enough room out there in the internet for two parent/teacher websites.
So tonight we figured out the little things about wordpress that we needed to know. We uploaded our tip of the week, our recipe of the week and have most of the "guts" for our week of content.
Only one little hiccup...the contributor for the very first post...being an Advocate for your child....isn't responding w/ her quotable quote or info. Small little hiccup. Thankfully one that we can get through.
Now to work on next week's "B" week. Hopefully some teacher's out there will begin following us at the schoolhouse and want to contribute their words of wisdom. :)
Until tomorrow!
So tonight we figured out the little things about wordpress that we needed to know. We uploaded our tip of the week, our recipe of the week and have most of the "guts" for our week of content.
Only one little hiccup...the contributor for the very first post...being an Advocate for your child....isn't responding w/ her quotable quote or info. Small little hiccup. Thankfully one that we can get through.
Now to work on next week's "B" week. Hopefully some teacher's out there will begin following us at the schoolhouse and want to contribute their words of wisdom. :)
Until tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Blogging World ---- Oh. Crap.
Oh crap. We just stumbled onto a site that is almost EXACTLY like what we envisioned our site to be. Crap. And once again....crap.
So now what to do? Do we continue and still go for it? Do we go back to the drawing board of ideas and content concepts? Do we scratch the project altogether?
Don't know. We have only discovered this and convo-d about this via email. We're going to need a good hour or two convo over the phone to sort this one out. Thank goodness we both have Verizon...
So now what to do? Do we continue and still go for it? Do we go back to the drawing board of ideas and content concepts? Do we scratch the project altogether?
Don't know. We have only discovered this and convo-d about this via email. We're going to need a good hour or two convo over the phone to sort this one out. Thank goodness we both have Verizon...
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Blogging World--Content, here we come!
Checklist real quick...
name of blog...check!
name of website...check!
domain bought...check!
content concept...check!
actual content....ummm need to work on that!
So everyone always says that the key to a successful blog is -- content, content, content... So its time to build that up. We divided up the work load (as sisters we tend to divide and conquer well). So Margie took a couple of the words and Audrey took the a couple. Margie is the organizing queen so she is going to write one tip per week and it will be at the top of the page (we found out this is called a stickie). Audrey loves to cook so she will give one recipe per week that starts w/ the magic letter. :)
Neither one of us are professional therapists or have master's degrees in school counseling, education, etc. so we are enlisting the brains of those around us that do have the expensive parchment hanging on their walls. Thankfully our mom is a math department head of a private school in Atlanta, so we are going to ask her for some info on the addition/algebra piece. We are trying to be as diverse around the country as possible w/ our professionals, so we're looking for a school psychologist or guidance counselor to write up something on "starting school w/ a new attitude" for both parents and students.
Hopefully we'll be able to pull this together in a week. We are hoping to launch schoolhouseabcs.com next Sunday...here's hoping!
name of blog...check!
name of website...check!
domain bought...check!
content concept...check!
actual content....ummm need to work on that!
So everyone always says that the key to a successful blog is -- content, content, content... So its time to build that up. We divided up the work load (as sisters we tend to divide and conquer well). So Margie took a couple of the words and Audrey took the a couple. Margie is the organizing queen so she is going to write one tip per week and it will be at the top of the page (we found out this is called a stickie). Audrey loves to cook so she will give one recipe per week that starts w/ the magic letter. :)
Neither one of us are professional therapists or have master's degrees in school counseling, education, etc. so we are enlisting the brains of those around us that do have the expensive parchment hanging on their walls. Thankfully our mom is a math department head of a private school in Atlanta, so we are going to ask her for some info on the addition/algebra piece. We are trying to be as diverse around the country as possible w/ our professionals, so we're looking for a school psychologist or guidance counselor to write up something on "starting school w/ a new attitude" for both parents and students.
Hopefully we'll be able to pull this together in a week. We are hoping to launch schoolhouseabcs.com next Sunday...here's hoping!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Blogging World--Title and Website
We are sisters and we are both external processors. Do you know what that means? Lots of long phone conversations. :)
So last night, we brainstormed in search of a content-appropriate blog title and website domain name.
Since our content will be organized via the ABC's, we thought it would be appropriate to have ABC's or alphabet in the title. But what else? The branch of motherhood that we want to tap into is regarding the kids education and what a parent's role could be with it. So we started looking for ABCseducation, educationabcs, abcsforparents, etc. Nothing available.
Then we had a light bulb moment....what about something with the word "schoolhouse" in it? The word schoolhouse sounds quaint, old-fashioned (which goes w/ our morals), it implies a more intimate setting for school than an institutional setting, positive attitude, and on and on. So when we searched for schoolhouseabcs , sure enough--it was available!! So wahoo-we have a blog title and a website/domain name!
http://www.schoolhouseabcs.com/
Now the real work starts! Content, content, content...
The next job is to nail down the 5 "A" words that we will explore on our first week. So far some of our ideas are, being an ADVOCATE for your child at their school, having a successful year with your AUTISTIC child, school options for ASPERGER'S, and a couple more are still floating around in our heads....
See you tomorrow!
So last night, we brainstormed in search of a content-appropriate blog title and website domain name.
Since our content will be organized via the ABC's, we thought it would be appropriate to have ABC's or alphabet in the title. But what else? The branch of motherhood that we want to tap into is regarding the kids education and what a parent's role could be with it. So we started looking for ABCseducation, educationabcs, abcsforparents, etc. Nothing available.
Then we had a light bulb moment....what about something with the word "schoolhouse" in it? The word schoolhouse sounds quaint, old-fashioned (which goes w/ our morals), it implies a more intimate setting for school than an institutional setting, positive attitude, and on and on. So when we searched for schoolhouseabcs , sure enough--it was available!! So wahoo-we have a blog title and a website/domain name!
http://www.schoolhouseabcs.com/
Now the real work starts! Content, content, content...
The next job is to nail down the 5 "A" words that we will explore on our first week. So far some of our ideas are, being an ADVOCATE for your child at their school, having a successful year with your AUTISTIC child, school options for ASPERGER'S, and a couple more are still floating around in our heads....
See you tomorrow!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
The Blogging World--What's our point of view?
Now we sisters have decided upon what we have in common--motherhood! But what aspect of motherhood should be our point of view? Toddlerhood? Parenting tips? Entertaining children? Meal-making? Coupon saving? Crafting? What?
There seems to be many different sites that cover those aspects very well. One thing we kept going back to was schooling. Our kind of schooling. Even though we are both Christians and raising Christian kids, and have multiple kids each, we are both choosing at this point to send our kids to public school. The trend seems to be to home-school, so there are many sites on that topic. But that's not what we feel led to do with our families (at least not at this point). So since, we are choosing to send our kids to public school, we want to be as prepared as possible, build strong relationships with the staff and faculty at the school and be advocates for our children in any way that they need. We also want to help other parents join us in creating successful school years for their children.
So how will we organize these thoughts?
We are toying with the idea of going through the alphabet--one letter per week and explore words/concepts that begin w/ that letter during the week. But we've got to get busy because school starts...soon!!!
So tonight's homework....brainstorm blog titles and website/domain name ideas! We need to find one that is catchy, content appropriate and most importantly, available!
There seems to be many different sites that cover those aspects very well. One thing we kept going back to was schooling. Our kind of schooling. Even though we are both Christians and raising Christian kids, and have multiple kids each, we are both choosing at this point to send our kids to public school. The trend seems to be to home-school, so there are many sites on that topic. But that's not what we feel led to do with our families (at least not at this point). So since, we are choosing to send our kids to public school, we want to be as prepared as possible, build strong relationships with the staff and faculty at the school and be advocates for our children in any way that they need. We also want to help other parents join us in creating successful school years for their children.
So how will we organize these thoughts?
We are toying with the idea of going through the alphabet--one letter per week and explore words/concepts that begin w/ that letter during the week. But we've got to get busy because school starts...soon!!!
So tonight's homework....brainstorm blog titles and website/domain name ideas! We need to find one that is catchy, content appropriate and most importantly, available!
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Blogging World -- Wordpress design
Oh my goodness. Blogger is soooo much easier to maneuver than a wordpress layout. Yikes! For a non-techy, Audrey is in over her head. Thankfully, big sis Margie, and her hub Walt, come to the rescue! They navigate it w/ ease.
We were trying to choose a layout. We found some educational layouts, but they were either too young, too weird, to modern or too blah. Finally we found one that has a red schoolhouse on it, to go w/ our name: http://www.schoolhouseabcs.com/ !
Now to figure out where to put everything. We would really like for it to look and feel professional, but approachable. Parent friendly, but also parent-respected. That's a difficult balance!
While that is being set up, we are trying to think of ways to market this new endeavor. How do we get the word out? An unfamiliar shyness creeps in and all of a sudden we both feel like--what if people think its dumb? Honestly, how old are we? And we're still worried about what our friends (or more poignantly, our Facebook "friends") will think about our new pet project. I guess no one wants to fail, and even worse, to fail in front of your friends.
But if they don't still love you after you fail, were they really your friend to begin w/????
We were trying to choose a layout. We found some educational layouts, but they were either too young, too weird, to modern or too blah. Finally we found one that has a red schoolhouse on it, to go w/ our name: http://www.schoolhouseabcs.com/ !
Now to figure out where to put everything. We would really like for it to look and feel professional, but approachable. Parent friendly, but also parent-respected. That's a difficult balance!
While that is being set up, we are trying to think of ways to market this new endeavor. How do we get the word out? An unfamiliar shyness creeps in and all of a sudden we both feel like--what if people think its dumb? Honestly, how old are we? And we're still worried about what our friends (or more poignantly, our Facebook "friends") will think about our new pet project. I guess no one wants to fail, and even worse, to fail in front of your friends.
But if they don't still love you after you fail, were they really your friend to begin w/????
The Blogging World!
We sisters have been talking for a couple months about what we have to contribute to the world via blogging.
Thankfully, the best thing we have going for us is the fact that we are two very different people with different interests and different strengths/weaknesses.
Margie is very, very tech savvy. She has been designing websites for more than 12 years. She can surf the net faster than anyone, and has a keen eye for efficient and asthetic flow. She is a full time working mom of 3 and lives in the civilian world.
Audrey is not tech savvy. She hasn't even had consistent internet for the last 12 years! But she is a networker, a kitchen savvy mother of 4 who lives in the military world.
Between the two of us, we have a 12 yr, 11 yr, 10 yr, 9 yr, 7 yr, 4 yr and 1 yr olds. Since motherhood is the constant factor, that is what we are going to work on contributing to the blogging world.
But now the search continues....the search for a specific and original point of view, catchy title, available website address, contributors and content (lots and lots of content).
So today's task is to brainstorm on what our point of view is. What part of motherhood do we want to talk about???
Off to go brainstorm!! Let you know tomorrow what we decide on!
Thankfully, the best thing we have going for us is the fact that we are two very different people with different interests and different strengths/weaknesses.
Margie is very, very tech savvy. She has been designing websites for more than 12 years. She can surf the net faster than anyone, and has a keen eye for efficient and asthetic flow. She is a full time working mom of 3 and lives in the civilian world.
Audrey is not tech savvy. She hasn't even had consistent internet for the last 12 years! But she is a networker, a kitchen savvy mother of 4 who lives in the military world.
Between the two of us, we have a 12 yr, 11 yr, 10 yr, 9 yr, 7 yr, 4 yr and 1 yr olds. Since motherhood is the constant factor, that is what we are going to work on contributing to the blogging world.
But now the search continues....the search for a specific and original point of view, catchy title, available website address, contributors and content (lots and lots of content).
So today's task is to brainstorm on what our point of view is. What part of motherhood do we want to talk about???
Off to go brainstorm!! Let you know tomorrow what we decide on!
Friday, August 6, 2010
We Love Staples!!
Okay, everyone! 1 cent sale this week!!!
Also, a ream of printer paper will run you $1 as well as a 2GB Flash Drive for $1.
Find out more info here. Be sure to enter your zip code to verify sales in your area!
Happy School Shopping!
Notebook paper is a penny!
Also, a ream of printer paper will run you $1 as well as a 2GB Flash Drive for $1.
Now, for free! (Well, you can get a rebate...)
- Scotch Pop-up Tape Dispenser
- Stickie Notes
- Retractable Highlighters
Find out more info here. Be sure to enter your zip code to verify sales in your area!
Happy School Shopping!
Back To School -Time to Mentally Gear Up!
Very often, the days before school starts are filled with nerves and anxiety.
Will I like my new teacher?
Will my friends be glad to see me?
Can I do this new, harder work?
If you're placing your kids in a new school situation, there may be questions like:
Will I fit in?
How will I know where to go?
As parents, we feel the pressure to prepare our kids with notebook paper, pencils, new tennis shoes and cool t-shirts, but there is much to be done to mentally prepare our elementary school kids.
Consider your routine. Begin going to bed at an earlier hour the week before school starts. Slowly ease your wake up time back to the school wake up time. This will help the kids be rested and know what to expect.
Attend "Meet Your Teacher" day. Many schools will have a time to go and meet your new teacher. This provides kids and their parents to get comfortable with the classroom. Take your time walking from the drop off area to the classroom so your child can get orientated. Let him peruse his new classroom with you nearby. This will help him in knowing that you are comfortable there too!
Start asking questions. It's time to wake up those brains! As you go throughout your day, start to ask questions that will reignite your child's desire to learn.
- "That's an interesting bug! What kind do you think it is?"
- "I just saw a license plate for Georgia. Do you remember what the capital of Georgia is?"
- "You can play outside for 25 minutes. What time will you need to come in?"
- "Let's bake some cupcakes. Can you help me double the recipe?"
Listen. As the first day of school approaches, listen to what your child is and is NOT saying. Does she need reassurance about carrying her lunch tray? Maybe he is nervous about reading out loud in a new classroom. Do what you can to help develop some of these areas where they lack confidence.
And remember this great quote:
"Children have never been good at listening to their elders,
but they have never failed to imitate them."
- James Arthur Baldwin
but they have never failed to imitate them."
- James Arthur Baldwin
In light of this: stay calm, stay interested, and stay involved.
Like I tell my kids, "I'm sure this will be the greatest year yet!"
Brown Bags vs. Reusable Bag
Am I the only one who has the inner struggle on whether to "go green" and use a reusable lunch bag, or stick w/ easy and use brown paper lunch bags?
So this is my thought process:
Brown vs. Reusable
Brown:
+disposable-just throw it away
+you have to have them anyway for field trips, so you might as well just use them
+inexpensive-100 for $.99
+can't forget it at school
+if something spills, just throw it all away, no need to wipe it out
Reusable:
+"green" -improve our carbon footprint
+can use gladware or tupperware containers, then kids just put it back in lunch box and bring home
+can fit more in it than a brown bag
+some are insulatable
What are some of your thoughts? I need some help w/ this decision and school starts SOON!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Fight the School Lunch Boredom!
If I make another peanut butter and something sandwich, I am going to scream!
All last year my first grader only asked for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, my fourth grader asked for only peanut butter and honey and my 6th grader asked for just plain peanut butter sandwiches. Seriously! Everyday!
So this year I am going for it....peanut butter as seldom as possible, maybe not at all!! Well, let's not get too crazy.
So as I googled for some ideas today, I stumbled upon The Hillbilly Housewife blog. I'm from the south, so that title cracked me up! So here is her list for school lunch ideas to beat the boredom of pbj:
*Tuna salad w/ celery
*Egg Salad w/ pickles
*Chicken Salad w/ raisins
*Baloney and cheese w/ mustard, may
*Turkey and cranberry sauce
*Fried spam and cheese
*Fried canned corned beef & sauerkraut
*Meatballs in hotdog bun w/ marinara
*Meatloaf w/ tomato slices
*BLT
*Bacon and fried eggs
*Fried Baloney and fried eggs
*Sloppy Joes
*Turkey and Bacon and bean sprouts
*Sliced cucumbers and butter
*Sliced Cucumbers and cream cheese
*Cream cheese and jelly
*Sausage and Egg biscuit
*Egg and cheese sandwich
*Pork bbq and coleslaw
*Roast beef and horseradish
*beef and swiss cheese
*beef and cream cheese
*Roast beef and fried onions/mushrooms
*Fried hamburger and onions and cheese
*burritos w/ beef or beans and cheese
*Tacos
*Quesadilla
*Baloney, mayo and pineapple ring
*cream cheese and minced peppers
*baked beans w/ pickle relish
*hamburger w/ fixings
*corn dogs
*hot dogs w/ chili
*hot dogs w/ cheese
*hot dogs w/ coleslaw
*chopped chicken and bbq sauce
*ham salad w/ pickles
*fajitas w/ beef or chicken
*baloney, mustard and sprouts wrapped in tortilla
*fried chicken
*leftover pizza
*chef salad
*pasta and meat salad
*bbq chicken
*ribs
*chicken teriyaki
*boiled eggs
Now some of those my kids would love and some might get a raised eyebrow...
But we all need some help thinking outside the luchbox sometimes.
So for now, I'm stocking up on ideas, brown paper bags and containers that the kids could throw away at school, like butter tubs, cream cheese tubs, etc.
Can't wait to see what Margie posts tomorrow...she finds the BEST deals!
See ya!
All last year my first grader only asked for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, my fourth grader asked for only peanut butter and honey and my 6th grader asked for just plain peanut butter sandwiches. Seriously! Everyday!
So this year I am going for it....peanut butter as seldom as possible, maybe not at all!! Well, let's not get too crazy.
So as I googled for some ideas today, I stumbled upon The Hillbilly Housewife blog. I'm from the south, so that title cracked me up! So here is her list for school lunch ideas to beat the boredom of pbj:
*Tuna salad w/ celery
*Egg Salad w/ pickles
*Chicken Salad w/ raisins
*Baloney and cheese w/ mustard, may
*Turkey and cranberry sauce
*Fried spam and cheese
*Fried canned corned beef & sauerkraut
*Meatballs in hotdog bun w/ marinara
*Meatloaf w/ tomato slices
*BLT
*Bacon and fried eggs
*Fried Baloney and fried eggs
*Sloppy Joes
*Turkey and Bacon and bean sprouts
*Sliced cucumbers and butter
*Sliced Cucumbers and cream cheese
*Cream cheese and jelly
*Sausage and Egg biscuit
*Egg and cheese sandwich
*Pork bbq and coleslaw
*Roast beef and horseradish
*beef and swiss cheese
*beef and cream cheese
*Roast beef and fried onions/mushrooms
*Fried hamburger and onions and cheese
*burritos w/ beef or beans and cheese
*Tacos
*Quesadilla
*Baloney, mayo and pineapple ring
*cream cheese and minced peppers
*baked beans w/ pickle relish
*hamburger w/ fixings
*corn dogs
*hot dogs w/ chili
*hot dogs w/ cheese
*hot dogs w/ coleslaw
*chopped chicken and bbq sauce
*ham salad w/ pickles
*fajitas w/ beef or chicken
*baloney, mustard and sprouts wrapped in tortilla
*fried chicken
*leftover pizza
*chef salad
*pasta and meat salad
*bbq chicken
*ribs
*chicken teriyaki
*boiled eggs
Now some of those my kids would love and some might get a raised eyebrow...
But we all need some help thinking outside the luchbox sometimes.
So for now, I'm stocking up on ideas, brown paper bags and containers that the kids could throw away at school, like butter tubs, cream cheese tubs, etc.
Can't wait to see what Margie posts tomorrow...she finds the BEST deals!
See ya!
Back To School
August marks the beginning of a new school year!! This year I will have a 7th grader and a 4th grader. (Plus a little peanut who is only 17 months old so he doesn't count when it comes to "back to school".) It seems with each passing year I find that school shopping gets a little more in depth and considerably more expensive!
We still have three weeks until school starts here in central Florida, so I'm in the "preparation" stage. Here are our goals for this week:
Also, I'm adding tri-fold project boards, foam board and poster board to our school supply list this year. It always seems that we need one of those things...right now!! (Your kids probably don't do that. What IS your secret?!)
The one "must have" purchase of the week?
Target. Memory sticks. Love 'em.
USB Boards, $14; available in Target Stores.
We still have three weeks until school starts here in central Florida, so I'm in the "preparation" stage. Here are our goals for this week:
- Purchase any deals that are "better than tax free" (which is in two weeks).
- Make a list of clothing items that are "needed".
- Take inventory of what supplies we can reuse/recycle from last year or the summer.
Also, I'm adding tri-fold project boards, foam board and poster board to our school supply list this year. It always seems that we need one of those things...right now!! (Your kids probably don't do that. What IS your secret?!)
The one "must have" purchase of the week?
Target. Memory sticks. Love 'em.
USB, dude
Portable USB drives make saving homework, documents, and photos easy. And fun designs such as surfboards, skateboards, and snowboards make these USB drives all the more unique.USB Boards, $14; available in Target Stores.
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