diy | quiet book

Hey everyone! For my Elementary Art class, we were required to create a children's book. I chose to sew a quiet book (with Granny's assistance). A total of 15 hours was put into this project. It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun, and I will be able to use it in my future classroom.

Although, I'm kind of selfish, so I might just save it for my own children one day :)

I also entered this in our class art show and I was one of three winners, so I didn't have to take the final! It was a major stress-reliever, to say the least.

This is the cover. I spent 10 minutes trying to rotate this photo and nothing was working for me, so I got pouty and frustrated and left it this way. :)

I need to add something to the front of this book. I was thinking "Shh..." in the same baby blue color as the strap, which had a velcro circle on it but fell off during my move home. I will be replacing that ASAP. The fabric for the book cover and the strap was just something Granny had laying around, and I picked these fabrics because as you all know, I'm obsessed with pattern mixing!

The first page of the book will help children learn their shapes. There is a velcro circle on the back of each of the shapes, which I cut out of felt. I outlined them with a permanent marker on the muslin. I free-handed the word "shapes" and cut it out from the same fabric I used for the strap. Things I need to change about this page: outline the word "shapes" with a black permanent marker.

  

Isn't this page adorable? The tree, apples, and background are all made out of felt. I found images of cartoon-y apples on Google and then traced them onto felt before cutting them out. The leaves of the apples are attached with fabric glue. Each apple also has a velcro circle on the back of it so that children can pick an apple off the tree and put it in the basket, which has a pocket and is made of burlap. I'd like to add a little bow or something to the basket, just to dress it up a little bit more.

This page will help children practice weaving. Oh, and the eggs carton? Check this out:

One dozen eggs. Which are brown and white because children need to know that brown eggs are just as normal as white eggs (in fact, brown eggs are better).

The eggs have velcro, so they can be mixed up by another person and the child can practice putting them in numerical order. The folds of the egg carton are just a simple zig-zag stitch so that they will stay creased and folded. I think it would be cute to add "One Dozen" to the top of the opened egg carton.

This page is just a notebook and crayon holder and a tic-tac-toe board. There are velcro circles on the back of the x's and o's and in between the squares.

And, my favorite page:

The barn. Oh, do you see that little fluffy thing sticking out of the pocket? Here's what's in there:

FARM ANIMAL FINGER PUPPETS?! A chicken, a sheep, a duck, a pig, and a cow. Seriously, just precious. These are hand-stitched.

Whew! This book was a lot of work. I don't recommend saving it to get done in one weekend. Oh well, we got it done! When we finished, Granny said, "We better get an A."

:)

Love,

Kalli

thankfulness.

Today was the best Thanksgiving I think I've ever had. My family is just way too much fun - we played whist, ate a lot of delicious homemade food, relaxed, sang and danced, and made a video of the best turkey noises!

And now, here's just a quick list of things I'm thankful for today :)

Mom and Dad. For everything. I wouldn't know where to start, so I'll just say what I think is really important. Both of you have instilled a good work ethic in me, which is something I hope makes you very proud. Mom - thank you for being my biggest role model. I hope to be a lot like you one day. Dad - thanks for all the personality traits you passed down to me genetically. You're my hero and the most hardworking and hilarious person I know. It's my goal to meet a guy as hardworking and hilarious as you are, and then marry him (good luck, KP).

My siblings. I wish I could express how much I love you. My favorite thing about us four is that none of us are exactly the same. The bond we share is incredibly special to me, and I can't wait for all the milestones ahead of us that we will reach together. 

My grandparents. How lucky am I to still have both sets, who all are in relatively good health!? Spending the day with all of you under the same roof was such a treat! 

Russell. Technically you're Gus', but you'll always be my baby. I never thought it was possible to love someone who's not a human being so much. I love when you chase my car to the driveway and let me crouch down to pet you without tackling me. You put a smile on my face each time I see you.

My new friends. The reason I love Crookston so much is because of you. You know who you are. 

My old friends. It's funny how you find out who's not going anywhere. The best friends are the ones you don't have to talk to every single day, and you just pick up where you left off the next time you see each other. It's pretty cool. Again, you know who you are.

Red River. It's the cutest, quaintest little church nestled in a grove of trees - absolutely picturesque. I feel so privileged to have grown up with that kind of church as my backbone because I have learned more about myself walking through those doors than I have in any other space I have encountered in my life. 

Home. Kittson county, the farm, SRR Township, Hallock, what have you. The older I get, the more grateful I am to have grown up where I did. I regret that I didn't appreciate it more when I was growing up. I love coming home, and it's so hard to leave. 

Field experience.  I get a reminder of why I have to take classes that aren't necessarily fun, but pertain to my major. Someday, in the less-than-distant future (like less than 3 years...eeee!) I will have my own classroom and this will all be worth it. The kids melt my heart.

Family living so close. For the most part, all of my extended family lives in about the same area. We are all getting together for a birthday party on Saturday, and I just can't wait. It's extremely rare to celebrate with second and third cousins like we do on a fairly regular basis, and that's so special to me.

Good food, clean water, and my health. I have access to good, nutritious food that I need to start eating more of. I have strong legs that are actually kind of starting to enjoy running. My diabetes has never been this well-managed before. It's time to stop with the self-hate and just strive for optimal wellness! 

College. I'm thankful that I get the opportunity to go to school. I'm also thankful that I got a CA position and will have my own room in McCall Hall next semester! Woohoo!

Oh, and here's a few pics from our fun day.

cousinly cousins.

 

 

Whist and a busch light for me!



The turkey hat. I just can't even.

 

Love,

Kalli

baby bailey beav's 20th birthday.

Beings today is my oldest younger sister's birthday, I thought it might be fun to share a few stories about her over her over the years.

Sorry, these aren't the ones that will be featured in my maid-of-honor speech someday. You're just going to have to attend the reception for that one.

One day, little Bailey (she was probably 4 or 5 or so, as she is in all these stories) walked in the house just shortly after we had gone outside to play. Our parents said, "You're back inside so quick? You must've gotten too cold!" and Bailey said to them, "Yep, and me and Kalli don't know NOTHIN' about the broken clothesline!"

Hahaha.

For Granny's birthday one year, all she wanted to do was have Bailey and me over so we could decorate sugar cookies. We had a sleepover, and when we woke up the next morning, Granny told us that she had to run to the store to get ONE THING (butter or eggs or something) to make the cookies. I, of course, threw a fit and insisted on going with her. Once she said I could come along, Bailey decided that she better join in, too.

Evidently no one wanted to hang out with Papa Ray that day.

Anyways, Granny got us all bundled up in our winter gear and loaded into the car and drove us to the grocery store. Before we went in, she told us (I can still see her wagging her pointer finger at us), "We are absolutely not getting anything except for what we came for. Okay?" "OKAY!" we said. We went in the store and - the way Granny tells it - I went one way, and Bailey went the other way (it's pretty comical to hear watch Granny tell this story because she uses a lot of hand gestures and things). Anyways, I climbed up a pop display that had the cases organized in a stair-like pattern, and Bailey knocked over a bunch of stuff with the shopping cart. Granny was pretty not-happy when she got us back to the house, so we each had to sit in a chair for a timeout. Then, she went into the bathroom and burst out laughing because it was so funny.

After the timeout was over, Bailey said to Granny, "I'm sorry Granny, but it wasn't me driving the cart. It was my blankie."

Hahaha. Ahhh. This kid. I tell you what, you can't make this stuff up.

Whale watching in Massachusetts with our good friend, Lolli, who has put up with a lot of our arguments over the years. Thank you, Loll; without you, one of us would probably be dead right now.

One more before I close for the day (this is my personal favorite):

When our neighbors Terry and Joan were putting their house in, we had to dig a hole in our yard so they could hook up to our water line. This created a mucky mess sinkhole-type thing and Bailey and I had STRICT instructions not to go anywhere NEAR it.

Obviously that didn't happen, or there wouldn't be a story, now would there?

Nannie was a new baby, so Mom was in the house with her, when all the sudden she heard some kind of yelling or screaming or something outside. I'm not sure how it went down from there, but Bailey got stuck in that sinkhole we were NOT supposed to have anything to do with, Auntie Janet wound up saving her, and Mom was BEYOND pissed.

Also, I'm pretty sure there's still a little Barney-the-dinosaur purple mud boot buried in our yard on the north side somewhere.

About a decade and a half later (so only recently), we were sitting around the table reminiscing about this funny story (because Mom is finally able to laugh about it now) and I said, "Well, Mom...you know why Bailey went into the mud, don't you?"

Mom: "No, why?"

Bailey and I looked at each other and smiled and I said, "Because I had some silk sunflowers and I picked one apart and threw it in there and told Bailey to go get it."

HAHAHA.

:)

Other things we have done together over the years: the reason I got weaned off the bottle when I was a 19-month-old was because I whacked her over the head with it the day my parents brought her home from the hospital. One day, Bailey got sick of me picking on her all the time, so while I was laying on the floor with my head propped up on my hands watching Barney, she snuck up on the couch and jumped on top of me (I threw a fit, of course). Also, on an outing with Grandma HA to the Farmer's Store, I tipped over our shopping cart with her (Bailey, not Grandma) in it. To punish us when we would fight, Mom and Dad would make us do chores together holding hands. And let me tell you, it's not overly easy to dump a bucket of water in for the pigs when you've only got one good hand. Usually we would head back to the house laughing and skipping. I cut her curly red ringlets one day when MOM was gone and DAD was "watching us" when we were playing salon - they never grew back the same way, and I'm pretty sure she's just starting to get over it, maybe. Over the last 20 years, we've kicked, scratched, pinched, punched, screamed profanities at each other, cried together, laughed together, and (even sometimes) cuddled together. And there is no one else I would have rather done any of these things with.

Happy birthday, dear sister. I love you more than you will ever know.

[This one's my favorite.]

Love,

Kalli

floaty ghost [or, my totally adorby dorbs DIY halloween costume]

So, we've all seen this floating around on Pinterest:

VIA

And I decided I just had to have one for myself.

Like always, I enlisted in Granny's help for this project :) I absolutely love sewing dates and miss them so much now that I am at school.

I went to JoAnn fabrics and found some of what Granny calls "crushed tulle". It's really soft and lightweight, which makes it really drapey and flowy, as opposed to regular tulle like the little girl in the picture, so it doesn't stick out quite like that.

We sewed a tube to put the elastic through for the top of the cover up. Before we put the elastic through, however, we had to sew the tulle to the bottom of the tube.

I let Granny put the elastic through. Maybe someday I'll do it myself.

I also let her start sewing the tulle on for me.

She's a good granny. :)

The next thing we did was cut the eyes and mouth out for the ghost face. I wish I had a video of us deciding where to place the eyes, because it was quite funny - Granny thought one eye should go over each of my, well...you know. Haha. We get to giggling so much - I actually think I like spending time with her more than actually sewing.

After we got the eyes and mouth cut out, we sat across the table from each other and sewed them on.

I outlined them with silver glitter glue shortly before I wore the costume.

Under the costume, I wore an old white dress I had from high school.

And that's my DIY floaty ghost Halloween costume! Super, super cute.

:)

Love,

Kalli

school and memory lane + some random fall pics of russell

Hey everyone!

This is the first time I've logged onto blogger since my last post...and it makes me sad. School is SUCH a zoo right now. I barely have time to read my textbooks, let alone other blogger's posts.

One thing I think is really awesome about my major is that I oftentimes feel like I'm reliving my childhood. For example, in my Creating Meaning Through Literature and Arts class, my professor read us the first few pages of Little House in the Big Woods, and it reminded me of when Mom read Bailey and I that book. We were still living in the trailer house and we sat on either side of her on the old navy-checked loveseat.

Bailey was probably covering her nose with her blankie and sucking her thumb.

Also, we were avid watchers of the TV show then.

Who am I kidding, we still are now.

Or during my Foundations of Education class, we discussed the topic of taking a behaviorist approach to teaching, in which the teacher uses reinforcement to get his or her students to basically do whatever they want. For example, in first grade, Miss Larson always gave the kids that got 100% on the weekly spelling test a piece of candy. Specifically, I remember there being Laffy Taffys and Warheads. Anyways, one day, Marcella and I (and I think maybe Lindsey) were in the classroom by ourselves, and we STOLE a piece of candy from the jar!

I STILL FEEL GUILTY, PEOPLE.

Also, Miss Larson, if you're reading this, I'm so so so so so so so so so so sorry.

But it's not like I didn't get 100% on every spelling test, right? :)

Ahh.

Anyways.

I've been spending a lot of time observing in actual classrooms, which I love. It reminds me of why I'm going through all the projects and lectures and lack of sleep and emotional eating and everything else involved with my major. Seriously, don't go into education thinking it's going to be easy. It's a LOT of flippin' work.

But, I love it, and the more time goes on, the more I'm sure I'm in the right major.

I wish I had some photos pertaining to this post to share with you, but these photos from last weekend of my dog running around the yard with a cornstalk he found will have to do.

:)

Love,

Kalli

wake me up when September ends...

Sorry I haven't posted in a coon's age. Yes, I'm still alive. School has definitely overtaken my life.

I can't say that I don't love it.

I hope you were sitting down when you read that last sentence.

Classes are going well. I love the hands-on ones; the boring, "informative" ones, mmm...not so much. Oh well. They're required, so it's not like I have a choice. One in particular has been a real struggle: Parenting.

I know nothing about being a parent, so how do you suppose my first exam in that class went?

Actually it wasn't that bad, but still.

September, all and all, was a pretty fabulous month, as it usually is. Here's my favorite goings-on:

1) I spent Labor Day Weekend with Granny and Papa Ray at the lake. We only got one day of fishing in as the weather wasn't being overly cooperative, but it was still pretty successful. This is the 40 inch Northern I landed...

He was a beaut.

2) I went home one weekend this month (hope you were sitting down when you read that one, too) and Gus, Dad, and I picked all of the potatoes out of the garden. Then Dad pulled this monster of a carrot out of the ground. I was so disappointed that I didn't have it together and get it over to Lancaster for the Fall Fest big vegetable contest...

3) Haley, Anna, and I went to this thing called outdoor skills day; it was fun! We got to shoot bow and they shot guns (I hate big guns, big no-no for me), and practiced fly fishing.

4) I went to Itasca with some friends for the day one weekend. In the morning, we went to the headwaters and checked out the trails and gift shop. After buying a bunch of food to grill, we realized we forgot charcoal, so we had to eat at this crappy, over-priced restaurant.

Yeah yeah, go ahead and make a joke about how women plan things, I don't care.

In the afternoon, we did *water sports* and went to the museum. It was a flipping blast, the weather was gorgeous, and we didn't tip the canoe.

CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI HEADWATERS.

YEAH I KNOW. TOMMY BOYING IT.

5) My beautiful mother celebrated her 42nd birthday this month.

6) And, instead of celebrating with her, Anna and I went down to the cities to watch the Vikings lose to the Browns.

Haha.

It's what you'd call the fork in the family tree.

7) It was reinforced in my life one night that it really does pay off to be pleasant to people. I was out at a bar and got hungry, so I went to order a pizza. The woman behind the counter asked me how I was and I said good, and I asked her how she was, and then I asked if it was too late to get a pizza. She said, "Yes, we close at 10. Sorry." So I told her that that was just fine and that I would get one next time. 20 minutes later she comes walking up to my table with a pizza and she said, "You were so friendly that I wanted to give you this." Obviously I was in shock because things like this never happen to me, so I gave her a big hug and argued with her about paying for it.

Seriously. A free pizza. After hours.

So, lesson learned, be nice to people, because it works to your advantage.

8) I went to this self-defense seminar. It was so fun! Now I can kick your rear end. So back off, creepy guys hiding in the bushes.

9) These were made on Saturday:

Salted caramel brownie bites and chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.

They're just terrible.

10) My best friend is up for Homecoming Queen here at UMC this week. And she's no stranger to the crown.

Good luck, Hales :)

Love,

Kalli

why I'm going to be a teacher.

Hey, everyone!

VIA.

So, since I am settled into school (for the most part...I just finished hanging my jeans up yesterday. I've never hung jeans up before in my life) and I'm taking all these education classes, I thought I'd share with you all why I'm going to be a teacher.

I'm not really sure of where to start with this one, so I'll just wing it. In high school, I took speech the spring of my senior year, so my class got to organize the annual Dr. Seuss Day celebration. High schoolers were paired up with elementary kids so that they could help them with the various activities my classmates and I had planned for the day. I can't remember all of them, but I think they read aloud to each other, decorated cookies, and made "slime". I got up in front of one class and explained how were going to make this goopy green stuff. Afterwards, three faculty members - who I respect immensely - walked up to me (together) and told me that I needed to be a teacher when I grew up, that I was a natural at the front of the classroom.

I thought to myself, "NO WAY. School has never been for me; why would I want to spend the rest of my life in a classroom? Teachers don't make any money! I'm going to be a dental hygienist; they practically make their own hours and are compensated well for it!"

Side note: I've probably already shared this with you, but, I came home from my first semester of college with a D in Dental Anatomy and my dad looked at me and said, "Maybe you shouldn't be a dental hygienist."

So, anyways. After the EPIC (and you know it was EPIC because I never use the word EPIC, ever) dental hygiene fail, I went through three more semesters at The Tech in Moorhead, just taking generals. Still not really sure what I was doing, Haley and I came to UMC and spent the day together checking things out. I totally admit it, it was love at first sight for me. I always kind of thought Crookston was a janky town, so I was assuming the campus would be sketchy as well. Obviously it is not! Still, that May, I was panicking about what I was doing, so I talked to my parents and asked if I could live at home for a year and work. They agreed, and I talked to Rachelle about getting mostly full-time employment at the Bou starting in the middle of August. I still worked at the pool that summer in Hallock, however.

I remember the moment I knew I wanted to be a teacher so insanely clearly that it's almost scary to me. I was teaching a level two little lady, with long, curly red hair and these adorable purple-tinted goggles, and I had an epiphany. One thing you should know about swimming lesson teachers - possibly the hardest thing to teach a kid to do is back float. It's tough for them to keep their little heads back and their bellies pushed up to the sky just right, no matter what the teacher does to explain it to them. The day that little girl landed her back float was all-around exciting; exciting for her because she learned how to do it without me supporting her back for her, and exciting for me because I had helped her do it.

The greatest reward from that whole job was not the paycheck I got every two weeks. It wasn't the great tan or being done by 9 every night or not having to be there til 9 every morning. It was that moment that your young swimming student achieved a new skill, and that you helped him or her get there. To watch their little faces light up because they are so excited and proud of themselves - THAT is the greatest reward. I am tearing up remembering that moment; I remember thinking, "If I can teach a little one to do a back float, I can teach a little one to read, too."

And now, in just a few short semesters (they really are going to fly by, aren't they?) I'm going to be able to experience that exciting, glorious, smile-so-big-your-face-is-about-to-split-in-two feeling every. single. day. And, I simply can't wait.

:)

Love,

Kalli

Kalli goes to college.

Hello, everyone!

First of all, I would just like to say how good it makes me feel to have so many approach me or comment saying how they liked my last post! Sometimes I don't know how honest to be on here, so it feels good to get such wonderful compliments. Thank you! I really love my little blog and I hope to still post weekly even though I am now going to be quite busy with school.

Now, onto the fun stuff!

Per request of my cousin, Jacki, I am giving you all a little run down of my first few days at UMC. Lets start at the beginning...

Haley and I had been planning all summer to drive down there together so that she could show me around and prevent me from being a complete wandering lamb. We thought we weren't going to take off til after noon on Sunday, so I went to church and adult ed thinking, "Oh, I have plenty of time before we leave." Naturally, I left my phone at home, and I had a missed call and two texts from Hales. The first said "I'm packing up my car and getting ready to leave" and the second said "Call me". In a PANIC, I ran around my room throwing stuff in a duffel bag (ya know, cause I'd only been packing for a week and I was nowhere near done yet) and when she got a hold of me, I was blubbering and  hyperventilating and bawling my eyes out; "I thought I had time to eat with my family!" She said, "How's about I come have dinner with you guys?"

She's the best, really.

HERE'S US ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES. EVERYONE KNEW WHERE I WAS FROM ON MEET-YOUR-FRIEND DAY (AKA SYLLABUS DAY).

Moving in was a breeze. Actually, that's a lie - a breeze would have helped. It was SO FLIPPING HOT. I'm more than ready for that nonsense to be over. My on-campus apartment is really nice (it was built in 2010), and I get along with my roommate just fine! Isn't it silly how you worry about those things?

As always, sorry about the low-quality photos! Didn't my pillows turn out just adorable? One of these days I will write a DIY post about the pillows - and it's going to be called Stupid Easy DIY Pillows, because they are. Seriously, a monkey could make them. Or my dad. Anyways, all of you know of my unhealthy addiction to Instagram, and I discovered a handy little app called PostalPix to order my square photos from! You just download the app and upload the photos to it, provide them with your credit card info, and they mail em to you within a week, for a fairly reasonable price. I don't think I've ever spent more than $5 on an order. The pushpins are just some of those flat headed tacks with buttons from Granny glued to them, and I got the 12x12 cork board tiles from Michaels. They come in a 4-pack!

To be honest, I am absolutely kicking myself for not starting at UMC right out of high school. It is literally my home away from home. The small campus is easily comparable to a small town - you recognize almost everyone you see in the hallways, and most of the time, they say hello to you! Even if they don't know who you are! I also love that I am pretty far into my major, so I have classes with the same professors and the same students all the time (I have 4 different professors in 3 different classrooms, and I'm taking 17 credits). It's a comfort to constantly see familiar faces!

I'm also more and more sure as the more class periods I attend that I am choosing the correct career path. I have one class where we have to read 12 children's books and do little book report-like summaries on them. I get to reread all my favorite books from when I was a kid! For credit! How awesome is that?!

I threw my mom through a loop when I told her I was considering double majoring in Elementary Ed...then I told her I might even be interested in studying abroad in Greece or Norway for 3 weeks.

THEN, I said, "Yeah, I might actually stay here on a weekend."

I think she about died.

Oh, and I sent her this:

And as far as all those other wonderful non-studying college experiences I've gone through, here's what I've got so far:
- "Family" dinner nights over at Haley's with her roommates
- Death Cup (yes, it is what you are envisioning)
- Heart-to-hearts about free will and God's plan for us
- A hypnotist
- Staying up late watching NetFlix (stupid series, they get you hooked!)
- AgArama!!!!!! Kalli joins a club. (I know, unheard of.) This way I get a little bit of ag in my life...maybe I won't be so homesick?
- Going to a dance where I didn't know hardly any of the people in attendance....and actually dancing. Completely sober. This has not happened since high school, people.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers; most of you know I was pretty nervous about moving away from home the last two weeks that I was there. Now, however, I think you should generate your energy towards praying for my parents......it is my understanding that the whole house has fallen apart because I'm not there. Oh, and pray for my clothes left behind, too, as they now have to defend themselves against my little sister's fashion needs.

:)

Love,

Kalli