March Match of the Month

Miss M and I were deemed the "March Match of the Month"

Here is a bio they did about us in the newsletter:

"Carrie and Miss M have been matched through Neighborhood Youth Services for almost a year. Together they have tried many activities; they don't ever seem to have a hard time finding things to do. Sometimes, just hanging out together at Carrie's house, eating dinner, playing games, doing art projects or reading creates the perfect evening.

Carrie and Miss M like to take part in a lot of the Mentor Duluth and community activities that are offered, like seeing plays, going to the hockey game and have a blast at the summer Mentor Duluth BBQ. They also enjoy many other activities such as visiting parks, going to movies, or blowing bubbles. Last fall they had a chance to ride on the pumpkin train, but their all time favorite thing is trying different art projects together. They've done collages, card making and have recently starting knitting together. This summer they hope to try some camping or canoeing.

These two are a great fit for each other. Carrie says they just enjoy being silly together or she likes to say, be "goofballs." Carrie said, "Miss M is such a sweet girl. She's incredibly talented and creative. I have really enjoyed being with her." Miss M shared that she likes being matched with Carrie because they always have fun together and she always looks forward to seeing her!

Congratulations to the match of the month, Carrie and Miss M!"

March Match of the Month

Miss M and I were deemed the "March Match of the Month"

Here is a bio they did about us in the newsletter:

"Carrie and Miss M have been matched through Neighborhood Youth Services for almost a year. Together they have tried many activities; they don't ever seem to have a hard time finding things to do. Sometimes, just hanging out together at Carrie's house, eating dinner, playing games, doing art projects or reading creates the perfect evening.

Carrie and Miss M like to take part in a lot of the Mentor Duluth and community activities that are offered, like seeing plays, going to the hockey game and have a blast at the summer Mentor Duluth BBQ. They also enjoy many other activities such as visiting parks, going to movies, or blowing bubbles. Last fall they had a chance to ride on the pumpkin train, but their all time favorite thing is trying different art projects together. They've done collages, card making and have recently starting knitting together. This summer they hope to try some camping or canoeing.

These two are a great fit for each other. Carrie says they just enjoy being silly together or she likes to say, be "goofballs." Carrie said, "Miss M is such a sweet girl. She's incredibly talented and creative. I have really enjoyed being with her." Miss M shared that she likes being matched with Carrie because they always have fun together and she always looks forward to seeing her!

Congratulations to the match of the month, Carrie and Miss M!"

Eating Out and Plays

Last week I decided that maybe Miss M and I should do something other than hanging out at my house. Sure she loves a home cooked meal and I love doing craft projects with her and of course her love of my home cooked meals, but why not a change?

I had a gift card for a local restaurant so that's where we ended up. Steve met us for dinner which was nice. Before dinner, however, we browsed Barnes & Noble for a while. I have never been in the children's section before and it's hard to say who had more fun - me or her!

We looked at all sorts of books, games, stuffed toys and crafty book/kits. I also convinced her that she really should read me a couple stories. She is convinced she "hates reading" because it's hard for her and I keep gushing over how great reading is, how fun it is and how I do it every day and she's not bad at reading at all - she's great! And she's not bad!! I really have no idea what a 3rd grade reading level is but we work it out and she can read things and we keep moving forward. I love the look that she gives me when she's trying to figure out a word - a questioning sort of "huh? is that it?"

After the bookstore we headed to the restaurant where she was delighted by crayons and a placemat to decorated. She ended up doing some sort of scribbly Jackson Pollock copy but hey, the kid was happy so so be it. I am sure the mello-yellow jacked her system up but I figure once in a while it can't hurt, right? Right? That being said I didn't have to try to get her to bed that night so...heh...maybe it's not the best idea. She gobbled up her spaghetti and TWO meatballs and got to take leftovers home.

We did some more "shopping" after that and had a good time. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit.

Last weekend I took her to a production of HOLES at the local Children's Theater. She had seen & enjoyed the movie (I hadn't seen it or read the book). It was fun, it was well done and again - nice to be out and doing something different. I think she would be incredible on stage and am trying to figure out how to nurture that. She has expressed interest in auditioning for plays (this week's auditions were for Pinnochio) and also for the drama classes taught by the Playhouse Conservatory (where I used to teach). Sadly though - I am not THAT involved in her life where I can be there to take her to all the rehearsals, all the classes, let alone pay the tuition for classes, etc. Her Mom likes to get the kids (ages 8, 10 & 13) all in the same activities for ease of transporation, etc....and obviously as they get older their interests change and will divert...but right now it's just not happening. Little Miss M has a great voice and a spunky personality and is so dramatic so for now I will just continue to try to nurture those creative & expressive outbursts and we'll take it from there.

Updates and things

To tide you over...a few photos from the past couple of months...

Excited to open Christmas presents
This reaction was 100% real. I gave her the "Madison" MyScene doll - complete with winter attire & skis!
The gift bags she made her family - with the pencils & mice inside (we didn't quite get to everything).
To tide you over...a few photos from the past couple of months...

I'm not sure why the pics are sideways - they're not on my computer. Hmph.

Slacktastic!

Wow, I've been a big slacker over here, huh? Probably because at my other blog I've been posting daily....

Miss M and I got together one night this month to hang out, have dinner, work on homework and knit. While I was making dinner I showed her a very cool site (www.allsorts.com) where Miss M was able to dress Zoe in various holiday outfits. She loved it! It kept her occupied for probably a half an hour straight. I would hear "oh that is sooooooo cute" coming from her and "don't look, don't look, I'm not done yet." Too cute. Her knitting on the "nifty knitter" is coming along but she gets mesmerized by my needles and sort of stops what she's doing. I need to get her some actual needles - any suggestions on what would be a good needle size, yarn or project for a very eager 8 year old?

Last week we got together to work on some Christmas crafts. She's making little goodie bags for her family. I had all the supplies out on the table when she got over to my house. She exclaimed "this is fun and we haven't even started yet!" - We didn't get everything done but we have some time to work before Christmas.









Today I am going to see if she wants to go to "HAPPY FEET" later this afternoon. Looks like a cute flick and I'm sort of in a movie-watching mood.

The Super Secret Pumpkin Patch

I took Miss M on the North Shore Scenic Railroad's "Pumpkin Patch Train" this year as a Halloween treat.


The train was advertised to take us to a secret pumpkin patch where we could pick a pumpkin, ride the train, see the museum, enjoy a magic show and other goodies. And that's mostly what we got.

The Train ride was fun - I hadn't been on the NSSRR in a long time so I enjoyed it and Miss M was excited too. We traveled north through town to the secret patch location. It was not "ideal" (as it had been in my head) but it was okay. It was just a grassy area located about 5 miles (or 30 mins by scenic rail car) north of where The Depot is. They had pumpkins, hay bales, etc set up and once off the train we got to go choose the pumpkin of our liking. Miss M grabbed on immediately - a very nice one I might add!



After picking our pumpkins it was back on the train for the ride back to The Depot. We were entertained by a magician along the way. Back at The Depot we enjoyed cookies & lemonade, Miss M had her face painted and we watched the full magic show. We didn't have a lot of time to look at the trains & the Children's Museum but that gives us a good excuse to go back!

She had fun and that's all that matters.

Pumpkins!

More details tomorrow....

Shrek 2

Tonight I picked MariAnna up after school and brought her to our house. It was a simple evening, but I hadn't seen her in a couple of weeks so I just wanted to get back to basics (again).

We had dinner (grilled cheese sandwiches & tomato soup - perfect for a 'crisp' fall day); we worked on spelling homework and she asked if we could watch SHREK 2. Naturally I obliged!

The house is still a bit upside down from refinishing our floors last weekend, so we sat in the kitchen, on the couch (!) watching Shrek & his pals on my laptop. Dang that thing comes in handy!

Next up...The Pumpkin Train!