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Many Hands Make Light Work

Thank goodness there are "many hands" at our house today! This weekend, the city of Rayne is hosting their annual Frog Festival. Our small family business will be out there on Saturday, selling our wares, thanks to my super boss. She was willing to share a booth with us. So after tackling the few tests we have to complete today, our family will be preparing the basket of goodies we will be bringing to the festival. If you are in the area, come check out all our Kittles Family Artworks goodies and the textile goodies from the Sew What! shop.

I used to sell my jewelry under the name Rond Alainn when we were living in Texas but when we moved back to Louisiana, I had to stop. We had to find out all the ins and outs of selling things in Louisiana and we had to make new connections. There was no time to do that immediately since we also had the task of settling into the routine of living in a new place. Our old friends had, of course, moved on and grown in their own paths and made new friends, which meant we had to make new friends, as well. You know how the saying goes: "Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other, gold." There's truth in that saying. I'm happy to say we've kept most of our old friends and made some awesome new ones, adding to "the family we chose."

I can't type too much today but I wanted to share a bit of my excitement about being able to sell our things to the public at a live event. It's been so long since I've done so, that I'll have to dust off all my displays! I've also had to refresh my packaging and supplies, and check through all my tags and pricing... Crazy! Well, what is life but a wild roller coaster ride, eh? Have fun! I intend to do so.

Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

Origin spirits of the past - Opening Theme (good quality)

 Our family really enjoys this movie and the opening theme is especially gorgeous when you have a good speaker system. Even if you don't enjoy animated movies, check out the theme song and listen with an open mind. They lyrics are not in English but it's a really beautiful piece of work.

http://www.youtube.com/v/0xGoR23Wouk?autohide=1&version=3&feature=share&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=8D9cLKw_jwfsCoKlcAZ-Zw&autohide=1&showinfo=1

Recycled Gift Tag Tutorial

Hello again! I've never posted a tutorial with photos before. This is my first attempt. I like playing with my photo apps and this actually gave me another opportunity to do that. I hope you will enjoy the tutorial and find it interesting. You might get a laugh or two out of it, as well!

Homemade Gift Tags
I've been collecting warm beverage sleeves from our trips to the local cafe because I love the texture of the corrugated cardboard. I thought I'd cut them apart and use them in a scrapbook but then I read this post on Colorful Threads of Life blog. My husband drew my attention to the post and I really liked the ideas posted there which included nifty gift wrap ideas using recyclable items. So here's my spin on homemade gift tags.

Supplies Needed
one warm beverage sleeve (will make 3 gift tags)
Scrapbook paper of your choice (scraps will work if they are at least 2.5" square)
Pencil
Scissors
Hole Punch
Eyelets in desired size
Eyelet tool (which comes with most packets of eyelets)
hammer
Sharpie Marker in desired color
Optional Embellishments (i.e., glitter and glue or glitter glue, sparkly mesh fabric, ribbon/string/hemp cord)

Once you have all your supplies together (and you know how all the tools work... :O ), the project goes together pretty quickly.

Step 1:
Cut the warm beverage sleeve into pieces starting at the place where it's been glued together. Mine were perforated so I cut along the glue line and along the perforation there.This opens up the sleeve and allows you to cut all the sections apart.

 I end up with 3 large cards and 2 small cards when the cutting is all done. Set aside the small cards for possible use later. (I'm thinking I'll use mine as two-piece tags, one reading "To:" and the other reading "From:" but I'm sure I'll need smaller eyelets for that.)

Step 2:
Taking one of the large tags from the previous step, use a pencil to trace this shape on the back side of your scrapbook paper. I chose to use Christmas paper because that holiday is fast approaching and I'm nowhere near ready for it!

Step 3:Cut out the shape you just drew on the scrapbook paper. You could also use scrapbooking stencils if you wish to create specific and perfect shapes for your tags. Just be sure the stencil is not too much larger than your tag. Unless you are using cardstock, the paper won't be stiff enough to hold its shape. (For instance, if you want to cut out a star, if the points of the star extend beyond the edge of the cardboard tag, they will bend, ruining the appeal of your tag.)

 If you want some of the textured cardboard to show, cut inside the line you drew. I had to trim away a good bit before I was happy with the result.

Step 4:
Place your scrapbook paper, printed side up, on top of your cardboard tag. Place it where you want it and hold it in one hand. Using the hole punch, punch a hole for the eyelet you wish to use. The eyelets I chose were 3/16" (4 mm) so I was able to use a standard single-hole punch. 

Step 5:The eyelet tool that comes with eyelets used in sewing has two parts: a thick, round disk with a bit of a groove in the top which the eyelet front will sit in; and a round cylindrical piece which is flat on one end and has a rounded and recessed point on the other. (I chose to use 2-piece eyelets which means they will have a back piece. They seem to have a smoother finish and are less likely to end up with rough edges.)

 Using the eyelet tool that came with my eyelets, I placed the top part of the eyelet face-down onto the round disk. This is important! Be sure the part of the eyelet you want to show is facing down on top of the round disk! If you don't place your eyelet into the tool correctly, it will not hammer into place correctly and you'll end up with sharp ragged bits of metal that look terrible and present a bit of a hazard. (Ask me how I know...)  Place the top part of the eyelet face-down onto the disc part of the tool. Place the scrapbook paper (face down) and cardboard tag (corrugated side down) on top of the eyelet, lining up the holes over the eyelet. You should see a metal tube rising above your paper pieces. Next, place the back piece of your eyelet over the paper and tube end of the top eyelet piece, lining up the holes. Be sure the rounded edge is facing up. Using the long cylinder, place the rounded point into the hole and gently pound the flat end with a hammer until the eyelet is locked in place. Be sure not to hammer too long, or your paper pieces will wrinkle.

Step 6:
Remove your tag from the tool...or your tools from the tag. Essentially, your tag could be used this way without any further embellishment, especially if you like a more rustic design. The Sharpie markers are used to address your gift tags. You can add any other embellishment you like to your tags to dress them up. I used a bit of glue and some superfine glitter on mine. I also used a length of cord (between 6 and 8 inches long) to string through the eyelets in my tags.

Here's is the photo of my finished tags. I have four now because I had four pieces of scrapbook paper I wanted to use. I also like a bit of imperfection in my pieces so I'm not unhappy with the uneven edges or not-quite-perfect shapes I ended up with. I like that all my tags will be unique when I'm done creating them.

 Feel free to share this blog post. Any of the pictures can be clicked on to enlarge them. They are my photos, though, so please keep that in mind. I don't mind if you copy and paste this blog post to a word document for your own personal use. Happy creating! :)

Bands, Firetrucks and Cotton Candy

This is Rice Festival weekend. The Rice Festival is held every year in October in the town of Crowley, LA and it's a pretty big event. There are live concerts, fair rides/games/food, and parades. Today was the children's parade and all the area marching bands, schools and organizations that wanted to participate were there. It wasn't so big as to be overwhelming for my husband who is not a big fan of crowds but large enough for my girls to get a good taste of the parade atmosphere. One of my son's friends (who we've sort of grafted into our family as our second son) plays a drum for one of the local high schools so we got to see him marching and playing his drum. What fun!

 Our youngest wants to be a fireman when she grows up. She's always excited to see anything related to firefighting and fire safety. She was very happy to see the firetruck coming down the street, though I caught her as she was turning to look at me with my phone for the picture. Oops... :) She was also excited when she saw a fire hydrant. Can you say 'obsessed with firefighting'? *chuckle*

 Our girls had never gotten a chance to eat cotton candy and I told them last year we'd try to make it out to the festival so they could get a taste. It didn't happen last year for some reason. So this year, we managed to get them out there. And this is what they did with the cotton candy after their first couple of bites. Smart girls, eh? I'm pretty sure it's better for you to use cotton candy this way. :D

I hope you've enjoyed the photos. A little more info about the rice festival might be in order. Why celebrate rice? Well, it's one of the major crops of the area. While I don't like the massive amounts of chemicals our local farmers use, nor the type of seed they use, it is their livelihood. Getting a bunch of Cajuns to change their minds about something they believe in firmly or something that's been tradition for a long time is almost impossible but I can guarantee you will get nowhere trying to push new beliefs on them while condemning their current practices, no matter how much scientific evidence you provide. I can say this, though. They do what they do with all their hearts and they do it to the best of their abilities. I can definitely give them kudos for that. We celebrate their efforts and one of the crops that pays the bills. It's just a bit of time out from all that hard work to let loose and enjoy fun and laughter with family and friends. There are also contests, like rice eating contests. There is usually a large area where artists and small business owners are able to set up their booths to sell their goods. There is so much to see and do at the Rice Festival. You should definitely stop by if you ever get the chance.

Physical Education

We always seem to just "wing it" for physical education in our homeschool. I find I can teach them about good nutrition when we make meals at home. We live in an area with a large yard and have been blessed to live in areas which were close to playgrounds which all provide room for free play. All thee of my baby goats love (or loved in the case of our oldest) to climb: trees, old swingsets, basketball poles...Perhaps I have a trio of monkeys instead! But when an opportunity for other activities arises, I do my best to take advantage of it. While there is a martial arts dojo in our local town and both girls are very interested in learning a martial art, our budget does not allow for it at this time.

So, since martial arts is not an option, we are, instead, learning about horses and horseback riding from one of my dad's good friends. I think this is a good skill for anyone to learn and an excellent form of exercise. We are also creating a lapbook (We're using the lapbook available through 'A Journey Through Learning'.) which will help us remember safety tips and information about the care and keeping of horses. We'll even be able to learn a little bit about the different kinds of horses and donkeys. (We are beginning our riding lessons by riding donkeys because they are smaller and a bit less skittish.) Because the lapbook is specific to horses, we'll use books and online resources to learn more about donkeys.

I took a few photos at our first lesson and edited them a bit with my phone. I think the photos came out pretty well and I had fun playing with the textures, actions and frames. I hope you enjoy them, too!

 The above photo shows the girls listening to my dad's friend talk about some horse safety rules.

 Above and below shows each of the girls getting the feel of the donkey's movements while he is being led.

Art and Science

As I mentioned in my last post, we've started a unit study on stars and stargazing. Today we studied a little more about galaxies. I thought it might be fun to let the girls use wire and beads to create an artsy model of a galaxy. This is what we ended up with. Now you can criticize if that makes you happy but we're pretty happy with the end results. :D Hope you enjoy the photos!

Spiral Galaxy and Irregular Galaxy, respectively

 a

Lazy Autumn Evening?

Do you see the question mark? Here's the story behind it.

Today was such a gorgeous day! I could almost forget the fact that today was a Monday. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless blue sky while a soft, cool breeze tossed the leaves around in the trees and stirred up my hair. I went in to my part time job, not sure what to expect. (I work with some interesting and generally happy folks. I count myself pretty blessed to know them.) Work went on without a hitch and I'm keeping a close eye on myself so that tomorrow is the same. I came home to find most of my dishes washed and my baby goats ready to work on schoolwork. (Well, OK. School is school and if they have to write anything of length, they're generally not too happy about it but they did their work without complaining too much. Kudos to them!) It just so happens we're starting a unit study on Stars and Stargazing this week. We created Sky Journals and they had a blast filling out the first entry while John took some star trail photos. (Speaking of which, if you'd like to see John's photography and talk to him about it, you can find him at J.D. Kittles Wordpress and J.D. Kittles Photography on facebook.) While the girls wrote about what they observed and drew a photo of the observations, I heated up milk for their hot cocoa and prepped my supplies for working on my next project. I managed to get my to do list all checked off and I still don't feel any more tired than on any other day. This is the reason for the question mark. Today really felt like a lazy day but so many tasks were completed! I'm seriously feeling good about that. :) Just wanted to share it with y'all. I haven't been able to post for quite some time. I blog for our business at Kittles Family Artworks 2012 at Wordpress if you think you might be interested in reading those posts. We post at least one a day on that blog. I hope all the links work. Please let me know if they are not. I hope you've enjoyed this post and that you are enjoying the autumn weather (or current seasonal weather) wherever you are.

Laugh a lot! Remember to breathe...

Check Out Steam Powered Giraffe!

Check out this article from Organic Consumers Organization

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_28148.cfm
I don't know about you guys, but I want to know what's in the food I'm feeding my kids. I found this article in my email this morning. I really hope the word gets out and the people defeat the corporations in Washington state. Eat well. Live better. Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

Let The Project Begin!

It's no longer my birthday. As a matter of fact, it passed about 2 weeks ago. However, I ordered things for my birthday so they've continued to come in over time. The last of my birthday gifts arrived today. I'm so excited! I can finally get started on my shabby chic window treatment. Our kitchen window is tall and thin and just happens to be in the inside corner of our carport. (That's a covered parking space for those of you unfamiliar with that term.) Needless to say, we only get good light through it during the early morning hours. I wanted to bring light in and still be able to cover the opening. We'll see if my idea works. Here's hoping! Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

Craziness and Libraries

As crazy as the title of this post is, it's a great representation of what life has been like in our family over the last couple of weeks. About 4 weeks ago, my sister and I were informed that we were going to be hosting a baby shower for one cousin and one cousin-in-law (a double shower, as it were). Two weeks ago, I found out we were expecting 50 people at this double shower. o.O I don't mind. Not really. I just prefer to be asked rather than told. I do have stuff to do every day. And I'm not sitting at home every weekend twiddling my thumbs, as it must seem to some folks. {chuckle} Oh, well. My cousins are awesome people and they both deserve a baby shower and it's such a great thing to celebrate... I can hardly remain annoyed. :) I'm sure everyone will enjoy it. To be fair, my sister is tackling most of the work, since she is aware of our situation. Also about two weeks ago, we had yet another shift in our income. Needless to say, a bit of scrambling had to be done in order to make sure we had what we needed to make ends meet. Thankfully, my boss allowed me to come back to work early. (I was going back in December or January, originally.) But that meant speeding up my lesson planning, which was supposed to happen during the entire month of August. So for the last two weeks, I've been putting in as much time as possible on the lesson plans. I know this presents more questions for some of you, my faithful readers. "How are you going to home school when you're working?" "It's a part-time position with plenty of time left for teaching my children." "How are you still sane?" "I don't know. I'm pretty sure if you looked closely, you'd seen a couple of God's fingers supporting me so I don't collapse." Seriously, though, my faith has a lot to do with how I get through tough times, how I look at situations and circumstances, how I perceive the things around me. It's my faith that gives me just enough hope to continue putting one foot in front of the other. I used to be a very negative person but I'm finding that as I grow up a little more each day, my outlook is more positive and forward-looking. I like that trend. I am going to do everything I can to continue that trend. Reflection is always good. A mind that recognizes reality is a fabulous thing, too. But a mind that is also receptive to possibilities? Wow! What a lot you can do with that!

So the next part of that kooky title is 'libraries' and you're probably wondering what in the world all that craziness above has to do with /them/. Well, the library is one of my favorite places. Next the the little local coffee shop, it's definitely my favorite place to go. If it qualified as a place to 'go out' to on Friday nights, you could definitely find me there. But part of the old draw was the fact that no one else had discovered the beauty of a wonderfully silent (or mostly silent) library. I know a computer system does make the library run a bit smoother than before. I'm a geek, though, and I prefer looking through the card catalog manually. It required you to focus at least long enough to find that book you really wanted. I can't stand the fact that the library now has computers that are free to use for anyone. This means that on any given holiday or Saturday (the only times I'm able to go), I will find my local library teeming with life, which does not lend itself well to the beautiful silence of old. I still like hanging out at the library. I love the sights, scents and atmosphere. I wish I was at the library right now. And I wish more people went to the library to read than to check their facebook pages. {sigh}

Laugh a lot and remember to breathe...

Science Fun

We love adding extra fun things to our school curriculum. When I discovered Aurora Lipper's free online classes and experiments, I was pleasantly surprised! She speaks clearly, in a way that is easy to understand. If we have questions, there's a nifty chat box available. The chat box also works for class interaction. I have really enjoyed our time spent in those classes and I believe it's been really interesting and fun for the kids, as well. She has a fabulous-sounding science curriculum that I'd love to try. If you would like to check out Supercharged Science, click here. (Again, no one pays me for these opinions. I just write about things I have tried, things I find interesting, and things I like.) Laugh a lot and remember to breathe.

A Contest from Karla Akins!

Karla Akins is hosting a pretty nifty contest on her blog. If you are not a regular reader of her blog, I would definitely recommend it for those who are aspiring authors, pastors' wives, and fellow bloggers. Her posts are pretty interesting and she often brings out some really thought-provoking topics. Back to the main reason for this post...the contest! You can find it here. She's giving away an Island Cabana Wax Warmer. Check it out!

Musical Art and Fun

I love music. A lot. All kinds. You can imagine my joy when I happened upon the 'History of American Music' unit study from HLN. As part of the 2 week study, my baby goats had to create a working musical instrument. Our youngest chose to make a guitar. Our middle child chose to make a drum. Our oldest is working on a steam whistle but because there were additional parts needed, his project isn't complete. I was pleasantly surprised with the girls' projects. I thought I'd share the fun with my readers. I purchased the Arts and Art History Unit Study Bundle, which includes the History of American Music Unit Study, from Currclick.com. If you'd like to check out the bundle, then click here. If you'd like to check out this one unit study, click here. No one pays me to say anything in my blog posts and I'm going to keep it that way. I'm just letting people know what I'm using and putting out the links for folks to check it out if they would like to do so. Hope you enjoy this post!

Floral Fun with Family and Friends

As a home school mom on a strict budget, I'm always on the lookout for affordable learning experiences for my baby goats. When looking for those, I try to remember to talk to friends and family to see if they'd be interested in sharing their gifts and talents in a fun way. They can be excellent resources for information on different jobs, talents and hobbies that you may feel like you are lacking in.

I was happy to learn that my friend Chantelle, who has been my friend since Kindergarten, was a licensed florist. I was even happier when I found out that she was willing to teach my girls how to create floral arrangements. It cost us only a small amount, as I had to purchase the flowers. I found some nice options at a dollar store and waited for sales at some of the bigger craft chains to get a few special stems. I'm pretty sure I didn't spend more than $25 to create 3 arrangements, which is a pretty good deal for flowers that never fade! We used containers we had around the house (a mason jar, a shallow basket and a ceramic vase) and floral pebbles that I had purchased a few years ago for another project. Those can be purchased inexpensively at a dollar store. My girls learned about balance and how to blend color and shapes to add to the appeal. They also learned how to make corsages. They had so much fun they were wondering when we could do it again! What a blessing it is to have wonderful friends who are willing to share their knowledge with others! Thank you, Chantelle, for giving us such a fun class to participate in!

Here are some photos I took to share with my readers. I hope you enjoy them, even though the quality isn't the best. Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

A New Giveaway from All Free Jewelry Making!

As I was shopping for supplies and ideas for my creative side, I happened to find this nifty giveaway from All Free Jewelry Making. The prize is a super nifty, magnetic frame that you can 'stick' your jewelry on! What an interesting concept! I doubt one of these would be enough to make sense of my cluttered and clustered jewelry but one must start somewhere, I suppose. So, if you are like me and you need a little organizational help with your bedside table or the top of your dresser, check out the giveaway here. While you're there, the folks at All Free Jewelry Making have some quick and easy projects that you could do with your children or do on you own, if you wish. My baby goats have been making knotted charm bracelets with me this summer and the time spent together with them is priceless. (Photo blog post coming soon!) Time passes so quickly... Until next time...

Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

Fun With A New Photo App

I should really start this post by saying that I am not a huge fan of my touch screen phone. Touch screens,in general, seem to dislike me and are more often disinclined to respond to my prompts than not. On the bright side, apps are fun and interesting. I found a nifty photo app called Pixlr-o-matic which offers vintage effects, textures, and frames you can apply to the photos you take with the camera already installed on your phone. I have another camera app called Picsart. This app has more features than the previous one and it is also a "camera". You can take photos with the app, itself, not having to revert back to the default camera that came with your phone. I'm keeping both apps on my phone because the Picsart camera is tons more user and lighting friendly than my default camera and the special effects, textures, and frames on Pixlr-o-matic are very much my style, earning both apps a 5-star rating from me. I'll share the three photos I took last night. The lighting in the room was horrible and my younger baby goats are usually in motion more often than not. So...using the Picsart camera and the vintage finishes from Pixlr-o-matic...

My Baby Goats' First Concert

If you are nitpicky about anything you term 'religious', then this is your heads-up and you might wanna stop reading here since I'm certain this will fall into that category for folks like you. If the previous statement has piqued your curiosity and you want to continue reading, please feel free. Tonight, my husband and I took the baby goats to their first concert. We saw Jimmy Needham. I already liked what I heard on youtube. "Clear The Stage" snagged me with lyrics that were well written, real and to-the-point. And I've already claimed "Rock Bottom" as my theme song. But this concert solidified my respect for this artist. Not just a singer, not just a song writer, he also thinks deeply and shared some of those thoughts with us. I needed to hear those words tonight. So now, not only my do my baby goats have a pleasant memory, so do I. I also have a fresh perspective to delve into. Am I doing 'all to the glory of [my] God'? Am I really? Eating? Drinking? Walking to the mailbox? Am I? Am I looking to and relying on the One person who can truly satisfy me? Am I? Or am I too busy to stop and receive the bountiful feast He wants to give me? We couldn't have chosen a better first concert for our baby goats. They got to enjoy real music with real lyrics sung by a real human being. Thanks, Jimmy Needham, family, and crew! Keep doing what you do. God is doing an awesome work through you. Thanks so much!

Photo by J.D. Kittles Photography. Used with permission.

First Day of Summer School

Today marked Day 01 of our summer school session. I made the mistake of referring to it simply as a summer session and my middle child said, "Huh? What's that mean?" so I went back to the long version. I'll have to remember to tell her to look up the word. Anyway, if a first day of any activity can be any kind of indicator in this household of ours, summer school should pan out fairly well. I have to say we did really well today and I'm proud of my baby goats for sticking with it and getting their work done on time. I put a little more effort into forming a plan of action for the weeks I wanted to be doing school by modifying the use of a Unit Study Planner that I found through Newbee Homeschooler's blog. I used Unit Study planner page 4b but I used it as a basic curriculum planner, not to plan unit studies. I like the idea of unit studies but I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it so we still use textbooks, literature books and workbooks. I only make a basic plan because I like to retain some flexibility and I also have to plan for 3 students, one of whom will be graduating soon. I find it extremely frustrating when I take tons of time and make a meticulous plan only to find it gets tossed aside after the first two weeks because one child got sick or we had to make an unplanned trip. Those kinds of things are detrimental to my sanity so using the KISS method is the best for me.

I really am looking forward to having lots of fun-filled learning experiences with my baby goats this summer, especially since the first day went so well. We'll probably have some bad days but with a good start, we have a better chance of succeeding. My two youngest will tackle 4 subjects and my oldest will tackle 5. We'll just be brushing up on our skills and keeping what we've already learned fresh in our minds. Now some people say, "Well, they /need/ a summer break." Really? If that's so, then why are so many other kids complaining of boredom already? Besides, by only taking a 3 week break, I'm certain my kids will be ready to go when the next school year arrives. And I'm equally certain that more of the skills they learned throughout the previous school year will remain intact. So without further ado, tally ho! Onward to a vast wealth of knowledge!

Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

Flashback to Biloxi

My baby goats went to Georgia to spend part of their summer break with their grandparents. (Shout out to the grands for taking them on!) When we met them in Mobile to bring them back home, we decided to take a short stroll down memory lane. We took a detour and drove down Hwy 90 from Ocean Springs to Gulfport. We stopped at Sharkhead's so TheRo could see it. After all, she was born there! It's certainly different than it was when we were stationed there but it's still a nifty place to go. We took a moment to walk on the beach and smell that wonderful air that can only be found there. The girls played in the sand a little and we tried to remember which buildings were wiped away by Hurricane Katrina. I was really glad to see business was still carrying on and people were still visiting. I miss living there, for certain. What a joy to be able to enjoy it all again, even if only for a short time.

It's National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month and as a home school parent, I am always on the lookout for nifty things to add to my curriculum, things that will add flavor to our lessons. It just so happens that a friend and Brother of mine has published a book of his poems on Kindle. It's well-written, calling vivid imagery to mind, and the reader is in no doubt as to the meaning of the words. So I wanted to send a shout out to him and his lovely work on my blog and hopefully send a few of my followers in the direction of his book. Without further ado, please take a look at 'The Life of a Dreamer' by Deacon Rogers. If you love poetry and you love emotion-filled passages, then you will enjoy this. It's inexpensive and you will be helping a local artist who is just getting started. I'll send out some thanks in advance. :) Remember to breathe and laugh a lot!