Meg and Mag hit the road

Well Meg and Mag hooked up in North Carolina this past week and it was super fun. We both mentioned how much we enjoy the swap and miss it. But, life is a little crazy this winter so we will be holding off for a bit. Hope to be back on track next year!

Thank you!

Nature Girl loves swap Mail! Here she is hugging her Back To School Swap package from Zoey.

This is wahat we mailed off to Zoey. She loves music and since she hasn't officially started school we went with a musical theme for our package. We included the latest Ben Rudnick and Friends CD, a whistle, a plush friend to share the music with and a book. We hope Zoey enjoys her goodies.

This is the package Nature Girl received. She got a book, mini notebooks, pencils, colored pencils, glue sticks, shells and a set of 6 card games. She's had lots of fun with her goodies! Thank you Zoey!

Better Late Than Never

What is your name?

I’m Liz, mama to S (almost five) and K (three.)

Tell a little bit about each of you.

We live year-round on Mackinac Island. Mackinac is a small island located between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. Cars are illegal here so everything is done via bicycle, horse power and snowmobile. It is a major tourist attraction in the summer, but in the winter there are only 500 of us here so it is the quintessential small town. Since we live in such a small town, I do not use S and K's real names or show their faces on-line. S loves legos, mermaids and princesses, while K loves her baby dolls, stuffed animals and her Leap Pad. I love to sew, quilt and be crafty.

Do you have any back to school traditions?

Not really. S went to his first year of pre-school last year and K starts her first year in two weeks. So far we just take lots of pictures on that first day.

What's your favorite back to school memory?

Fresh milk! My parents were both teachers so they didn’t get paid all summer long. By the time the end of August rolled around money was really tight. My mom would often try to sneak canned milk into a milk carton to try to save money. She insisted she couldn’t tell the difference – but we sure could. Blech!!

Name one thing you like to do with your child.

We really love to read books together. It is one of S and K’s favorite things.

Tell three things you've learned since becoming a mom?

1. Criticizing other parents is easy - until you are one. Then you realize things aren’t quite so black and white.
2. It is different when it is your child. As a teacher people always told me that but I never believed them; now I know it is true.
3. Having a clean house isn’t as important as spending time with your children.
   What do you like to do?

What do you like to do?

We enjoy geocaching, taking walks through the woods, riding bikes, playing at the park, inventing recipes and reading books.

Lisa and Fischer

I guess we are EXTREMELY late introducing ourselves. (We blame the baby.) We had a wonderful swap and want to give a BIG thank you to Amber and B for such an awesome back-to-school package! Fischer is elated! We’ve really enjoyed getting to know B!

What is your name?
I'm Lisa and this is my son, Fischer.

Tell a little bit about each of you.
I am a teacher, but my main student right now is Fischer. I left the classroom shortly after he was born to stay at home with him. Fischer is a very busy boy who loves all kinds of vehicles, sports, space, and anything to do with firemen and their trucks!

Do you have any back to school traditions?
Fischer hasn’t started formal schooling, so he doesn’t really have any traditions yet. Mine, growing up, were back-to-school shopping – my favorite and organizing all of my new school supplies. Like some of you - I still love school supplies.

What's your favorite back to school memory?
My favorite back-to-school memories are actually as a teacher. I love that first day – jitters and all!


Name one thing you like to do with your child.
Fischer and I love to read and sing together. Thankfully, he has no idea that his mother can’t carry a tune! We also love to go to Starbucks -is that bad? ;) Our most favorite thing is to get together with our friends and “play, play, play” – as Fischer puts it.


Tell three things you've learned since becoming a mom?
1. I was the perfect mom – BEFORE I ever had kids!
2. I never knew love like this – Sometimes I miss him when he is asleep.
3. Being a mom makes me want to be and do better.

What do you like to do?
We like to play with friends and family.

Jill And Nature Girl

We're a little late posting our introduction but here it goes.

What is your name and where do you live?
I'm Jill and this is Nature Girl. We live in a rural part of the North East.

Tell a little bit about each of you.
Nature Girl is 5 and begins kindergarten in just a few days. I return to teaching 4th and 5th grade special ed this week. We enjoy reading, crafts and spending time as a family.

Do you have any back to school traditions?
This is Nature Girl's first big school experience as she attended a wonderful little preschool for the last two years. We haven't established many back to school traditions yet but last year I began writing a daily note for her. I leave for my school before she is awake in the morning so I leave a note to greet her. She has really enjoyed this and lets me know if I've forgotten to write the note. She's just beginning to read so the notes should be a good way to practice reading this year.

What's your favorite back to school memory?
Nature Girl says her best school memory is doing projects. I'm a teacher so the best part of going back to school is the school supplies! Who doesn't love buying new crayons and markers. Especially when they're on sale!


Name one thing you like to do with your child.
We like to snuggle up in her bed and read chapter books. It's a good thing she has a full bed. It gets a little squishy with Nature Girl, her dad and I all snuggled up to read a chapter before her bedtime. We look forward to this time of the day. One chapter is never enough and she pleads for another chapter. Of course we give in.


Tell three things you've learned since becoming a mom?
1. There is nothing like the love for your child. My favorite time of day is bed time. I love to snuggle in to read with her but the best time of the day is after she's asleep. When I check on her before I go to sleep she looks so sweet and no matter what kind of day we had I fall in love with her all over again.
2. A child's excitement is contagious. Your child's excitement makes you excited. You believe in the magic of Christmas and fairies again just because your child does. It's wonderful!
3. It's not possible to be a perfect mom but there are a lot of ways to be a good mom.
4. After having a child you will never have privacy again. I have an audience for everything I do. Then again I'm never lonely.

What do you like to do?
We like to watch movies, read books, do craft projects and spend time as a family.

Have you met Misty?

What is your name and where do you live? My name is Misty and I married to Chw (who isn't in the photo as it's the first one I found.) We live in the Boise Metro aread of Idaho.

Tell a little bit about each of your children. We have one daughter, by adoption, who is 10. She is a firecracker- obsessed with theater, art and reading.

Do you have any back to school traditions? We home school so not really. Our "break times" are just about as fun as our "school times" just constructed a little different! :)

What's your favorite back to school memory? New clothes. That's about as exciting as going back to school was for me.

Name one thing you like to do with each child you have. My daughter and I love to swim together and read together. I know that's two things, but they are a definite tie!

Tell three things you've learned since becoming a mom? 1} Nothing is simple, and parenting is the least of this. Parenting a child with an attachment disorder has been like nothing I could ever have prepared for. 2} Enjoy every second, they disappear to quickly. 3} Clothes shopping for little girls is awesome.

What do you do for fun? Swim, read, travel, the wii, giggle, movies...

Introducing Amber!

What is your name and where do you live?

My name is Amber and I am married to Matt. Our son is B.

Tell a little bit about each of your B.

B is 4 1/2 years old and ALL BOY. He is a train fanatic. He also loves Hot Wheels, Superman, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby Doo. He is an only child. B will be attending his second year of Montessori pre-school this fall. He loves going to school and his teachers. B has many grandparents that live only minutes away who enjoys spending time with. He has just learned to ride his bike with no training wheels. One of his favorite things to do is wrestle with his dad, who is the head wrestling coach in our town.

Do you have any back to school traditions?

Since last year was B's first year in pre-school, we don't have a lot of traditions yet. We did the usual photo at the front door with his backpack on. We also took a picture on the last day with is teachers.

What's your favorite back to school memory?

When I was growing up, I would lay all of my school supplies out and make a big display of them. I would pack and repack my bag several times before the new year started. As I was older, I remember my mom playing this one song, "Good Morning Little School Girl" by Johnny Lang so loud. She would dance crazy and after a few minutes we would all be laughing, singing along, and dancing. A great way to get a smile on our faces as we were not happy to be going back to school.

Name one thing you like to do with each child you have.

I love showing B new things that I know will amaze him.

Tell three things you've learned since becoming a mom?

1. It's much much harder than I ever imagined.
2. It is much much scarier than I would have imagined.
3. I didn't know I could love anyone so very very much! He is my biggest motivation to be the best I can be. He is behind all of the choices I make.

What do you do for fun?

We act crazy and silly, we swim, we go to the mall to play trains at the book store. We ride bikes, play games, and visit local parks, museums, and playgrounds. We get together with our friends, have picnics in the yard, and camp in our living room while watching movies.