First update in quite a while!

Finally! It feels so nice to be typing on the laptop and actually writing! I'm pleased with the work the computer repair place did. It was a great price too. While we had to wait almost 3 weeks because the screen was backordered, they replaced it within about 3 hours this past Saturday. We were using the laptop hooked up to our desktop monitor. Not very convenient. The only time we were even bothering was to pay bills or for Jason to do his homework.

It's been a very busy couple of months around here. Ethan and Alex finished swim lessons for this session just a couple of weeks ago, Catechism is wrapping up for the year this next weekend (I believe) and all the hard work they put in to play rehearsal paid off. Saturday was spent at Catechism in the morning followed by "call" at 5pm and the show at 7pm. I went alone to watch that night, while Jason stayed home with Jackson. It turned out so great! The director did a great job casting the parts. The actress who played Annie has an amazing singing voice! As well as many of the other actors and actresses. Ethan and Alex did good in their parts. I wish I would have gotten some pictures or video but no luck. On Sunday, Jason's parents came up for a visit and to go to the show. The boys had to be there at 1, and the show started at 3pm. Jackson slept for about half of it and near the end he got antsy so we stepped out. It worked out nicely since I had gone the previous night. Everyone else was able to enjoy the show.

We had the Blue and Gold banquet a few weeks ago for cub scouts and my parents came up for it. It was really nice.

My dad's SMILING!! For a PICTURE!!

My beautiful momma and handsome daddy! They just celebrated 41 years of marriage!

My dad showing the boys his Eagle Scout card!

Daddy and Jack-Jack <3

Our Pinewood Derby was March 23rd and Jason's family came to watch and to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. It was great to see Jason's dad, sisters, brother and niece. We missed having his mom come up but were glad his mom and dad made it to the play. Alex's car did really well coming in 2nd and 3rd for each race. While he didn't win a trophy OR a spot in the regional races, he had so much fun and loved making his car this year. We all got to see Jason in action emceeing the race. He's such a ham...

Last week, Jackson and I spent the whole week volunteering at the Scholastic book fair. It was crazy busy for a lot of the time, but we had a good time. He keeps begging to go to the "library" - where we held the fair - and to school, since he got to hang out in the preschool classrooms on and off throughout the week. I am so thankful to the preschool teachers and the other 2 moms who were also working at the fair, including the fair chairperson. She did an amazing job with it, while also working in the preschool in the mornings. She was always right there when I had a question or needed a hand and I hope I did as good a job as she says I did. She even bought pizza Friday night for my boys and I and her family! And took Alex to the spring carnival while E, Jack and I kept the fair open late that night! Talk about awesome teamwork. I would work with her again in a heartbeat. Plus she's such a nice lady! Shout out to CINDY!!

I wanted to write a quick update on our winter fun list so here goes.

We dropped a few more things: sledding; snowman/snowfamily; ice bubbles; s'mores; origami; coloring contest.

We did the following but mostly without pictures: paint a picture - just mom and Jackson; make a fort; play payday - just the boys.

Also I decided to move a few things to our Spring activities. It will be an "unofficial" bucket list and will most likely blend over into Summer. Just things we still want to do but haven't yet. No pressure. Those items are: Lego movie; bonfire; ice skating - indoor arenas are plentiful; go for a hike; video game contest; Detroit Institute of Art; Detroit Historical museum; library event.

The family portrait is being added to our 2014 goals.

Unfortunately, we fell very far behind on our "Saint studies". The nice thing about it not being required is that we can do it at our own pace and will catch up and keep going throughout the year :)

Tomorrow I'll share a 2014 goals update since it's somewhat long!

By the way, April is Autism awareness month! In fact, today is World Autism Awareness! Let's not just promote awareness, but acceptance.

What I wore: Dressember #RealMomStyle

Since I'm doing Dressember this month, I've chosen to wear a dress Every.Single.Day. 

No big deal, right? 

Well most people who know me (and as I've shared here) I'm typically a jeans and T-shirt girl. Its the rare occasion that I dress up, especially the last few years as I've been struggling with my weight. The nice thing about doing the month-long commitment is that I'm doing something good and its getting me to take care of myself better. I have actually been caring more about my appearance and am having fun with this. I'm rotating between 7 different dresses and trying to change up how I wear (most) of them, whether it's a different pair of shoes or tights, some jewelry, a skirt over the dress, etc. 

Anyway, today was a pretty good day and we (the 3 boys and I) made it to 10am Mass at our parish. Its been far too long and we are trying to make an effort to change that. All three boys were very well-behaved. Alex got to go to the children's liturgy for ages 3-9 during the readings, Gospel and homily. E stayed with me and followed along nicely in the book. Jack sat on my lap and didn't mind being held. No crying and minimal talking and that was just me ;) In all seriousness though, Jack was quiet and when he did talk it was not horribly disruptive and got a few chuckles, even from Father Chris. He even used Jackson (by name) as an example of how to be, seeing everything in the world with wonder. 

On to what I wore today:

3/4 sleeve boho dress in Reddy Set Go (red)from Old Navy
Super opaque control top tights in Deep Red - No Nonsense from Meijer
Brown belt from Walmart
Andie tan fashion bootie SM New York from Sears

Linking up over at Thrifty and Chic Mom :)

Remember that I'm wearing dresses everyday for #dressember this month to help support a great cause, to raise awareness to end human trafficking and to raise money to support International Justice Mission in it's efforts to rescue victims of slavery and trafficking. Please consider donating, even just $1 can help! Go here to donate to my fundraiser: http://www.ijmfreedommaker.org/account/6874/Crystal-Hamernik#

Little Miss Suzie Homemaker and Dressember

 A few months ago, I heard about International Justice Mission and I started following them on Facebook. There's been many stories of human trafficking in recent years, even from around here, and my hometown is said to be one of the biggest areas for it!

When I saw IJM post last week about a campaign called Dressember, I read a little more about it, and thought to myself "Hey, I could do that!"

I have the freedom to wear what I want and do as I please (for the most part). It's cold here in Michigan this month, but that just means layers and tights. Besides, being cold just reminds me a bit more of the WHY behind wearing the dresses. Others have noticed what I'm wearing, and after the compliments, they ask why I'm dressed up. This has opened up conversations with a few people and they were surprised!

I think the biggest reason they want to know why I'm dressed up is because I've always been a jeans and t-shirt girl.

It's funny how that works though. There's been an unexpected side effect of this, even only 3 days in. Having always felt most comfortable in jeans, I'm finding that I feel differently about myself.

The perspective you get when wearing a skirt or a dress can be eye-opening. I feel more comfortable, even in heels, though I prefer my flats. I feel pretty, self-confident, feminine. Others pick up on that. They notice not just what you're wearing, but the attitude.

I'm having a lot of fun deciding on my outfit and accessories each morning. Taking seven dresses and changing the looks up to make a month's worth of clothes is challenging, in a good way! It's taking creativity already!

Hi-low dress (Walmart), sweater (Torrid), silver tights and leopard-print flats (for inside) (Old Navy), boots for outside

Also finding how easy it is to do anything in a dress is entertaining. Baby J and I went grocery shopping yesterday, something I've never done in heels and a dress (not weekly grocery shopping anyway, for over an hour!) and it was interesting, the looks from people. Not bad, just hmm...

Jason laughed at me yesterday when I took out the trash all dressed up, and then today I threw on an apron while I did dishes and laundry to keep my dress clean. If it had been jeans and a t-shirt, I wouldn't have bothered. I wouldn't have cared. I actually feel more pride in my appearance, not in a stuck-up way, but a "hey I deserve to take care of myself and look nice" kind of way, I guess.

Apron from dollar spot at Target! (around Valentine's Day a few years ago)

So not only do I feel like I'm doing something good for somebody else, it's making me feel better about myself, too! :)

Julie says... ;)

I'm going to continue where Crystal left off, school fundraisers. I'm all for them, if they are being done correctly. They are a great way to raise money for our schools and teams, but I think we lose sight of why we do them and how we do them. Some places seem to be taking things a little too far. Our school used to do your usual bake sales during concerts and parent teacher nights. No longer is the day of after school bake sales, it's an everyday thing. The administration realized that they could generate more funds by targeting our children during school hours, when parents aren't there monitoring what is being bought. They started doing "Terrific Tuesdays", where the kiddos could buy an ice cream sandwich during lunch. After learning that technically they weren't suppose to be selling unhealthy treats in the cafeteria due to Michelle Obama's Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFK), so they moved the sales to into the hallway. Seeing how successful the treats during lunch were they started adding more days "Wonderful Wednesdays", "Fantastic Fridays". We now have treats for purchase 5 days a week during lunch hours. Ranging in price from a quarter to $2, your child can buy (depending on the day) cheese filled bread sticks, nachos/pretzels and cheese, cookies, ice cream, freezer pops, chocolate covered pretzels, cupcakes ,or brownies. Approximately 75% of students are buying these treats EVERYDAY. The students (as young as kindergarten) are throwing away their healthy lunches for the chance to be first in line to get the "good stuff" before it's sold out. There is the still the order form fundraisers, chocolate candies, pizza kits, cookie dough, candy bars, and pies.
I remember when I was kid doing maybe one candy sale a year. There were wrapping paper, cards, and holiday themed novelties to be sold also. Whatever happened to hosting a car wash to raise funds for new uniforms?! When did everything start revolving around food?
There are so many non-food related fundraisers. Why not sell a school cookbook (I still have a much used one from when I was in elementary school). Parents/grandparents (or the kids) pay a small fee to have their recipe featured in the cookbook and then the school sells completed cookbooks. They could even have the journalism class do this. School store are great, they shut ours down because they sold candy and chips. What about selling pencils, pens, cool folders, fancy erasers, and notebooks. I know my boys are always losing theirs. Kids are competitive, hold penny wars between classes; whichever class gets the most change earns extra recess. Post pictures 2-4 good spirited teachers (whom have agreed to this) and whichever teacher has the most change in their jar gets pied by the teacher with least amount. You don't have to even have them pied the "winner" could have to wear goofy glasses, hula skirt, fake mustache, or purple hair for a day. Who wouldn't have loved to see their principal wearing a neon pink wig?! My favorite is doing a 5k or Fun Run, this can be done on the school grounds. It gets the family out doing something together and it gets people moving. Top runners get their picture on the cover of the school paper. How about silent auctions? These can be done along side concerts, sport events, conferences.
Some healthier food related fundraisers, holding a school wide spaghetti dinner twice a year (and do a silent auction the same night). The kids get to enjoy a meal with both their family and with their friends. Set up a fruit stand to sell healthy snacks before school or during lunch. At most schools there is usually leftover hot lunch meals, why not sell them a la carte.
I really bothers me how food seems to be the center of everything. That if you sell enough cookie dough, you're class will win a pizza party. Food used as a reward, whatever happened to extra recess or class outside. That's a topic for another day.
~Julie

What fundraisers does your child/ren's school do? Do you support these fundraisers?