Christmas Open House

You’re Invited!

What: Christmas Open House
When: Saturday, December 3, 2011 from 10:00-5:00
Where: Dawn’s House (1721 N. 2560 W. Lehi)

Check out all the great projects you can do…

"25 Days and Counting" Christmas Advent

Set of 25 bags with toppers.....$12.00

Display can....$5.00

This daily count down to Christmas will be the highlight of your family's holiday season. The mini cello bags hold small candies, prizes and notes to make each day fun.

This is a close up shot of some of the bags and toppers.


Christmas BINGO

Set of 4 bingo cards and calling pieces....$5.00

This fun Christmas activity is the perfect thing for family night or a gift for someone you love.

Large Cellophane Treat Bags

Set of 4 for $5.00

You know the perfect treat to give your neightbors this holiday season, and now you have the perfect way to give it to them.

This is a close up of the bag topper.

Toppers will be customizable with different images and sentiments available.


Hot Cocoa Trio

$1.50 each or 4 for $5.00

This trio of mini cellophane bags perfectly holds all the makings of a yummy cup of hot cocoa! They work great alone as a quick gift for your kids to give their friends. You can also pair them with a holiday mug full of chocolate for a great gift.

This is a close up of the bag toppers.

Snowman Treat Boxes

$2.50 each or 4 for $7.50

These boxes are incredibly cute, and deceptively easy to put together. Fill them with your favorite holiday treats and wow co-workers, neighbors, friends or family.

This is a view of the inside of the box.

Gift Card Holder

$1.50 each or 4 for $5.00

These adorable gift card holders make giving gift cards easy and fun!

This is a close up of the bag topper.

Toppers will be customizable with different images and sentiments.

NOTES:

*Registration and payment are required by November 22nd

*You will need to bring your own adhesive…or order $20 worth of projects and I’ll buy your adhesive for you!

*Can’t attend the open house but you want to purchase kits to make your own projects…you got it! Email me for pricing and timing details.

*Want me to make the projects for you…you can have that too! Email me for pricing details.

Email me with your wish list or questions:

dawnrtaylor@yahoo.com

No...MY mom is the best!

It's Mother's Day. I think there is some sort of unwritten rule about writing a blog post about my mom....so here we go.

I know that I am biased, but I truly have the most remarkable mom in the whole world. She has spent the better part of her life raising five kids...by herself. As a child I did not appreciate everything she did for me. As a teenager I made her life ridiculously difficult (sorry mom). As an adult I have come to love her for the incredible person she is, for the amazing mother she was and continues to be, for the being one of the greatest grandmas ever, and for being one of my best friends. Over the 30 years of my life I have learned a lot of things from my mom...here are a few.

Fair isn't everyone having the same thing...fair is everyone having what they need.
In life you only change one set of problems for a new set of problems.
Family comes first, always.
Put others needs before your own needs.
Cookies are helpful...in pretty much every situation.
It is ok to feel happy, sad, frustrated, tired.
I am good enough...and so is everyone else.
Accept people for who they are.
There are lots of times when it is best to keep your opinions to yourself. (I'm not very good at that one yet)
Work hard and do the best you can. And after all of that if things aren't perfect...you'll survive.
Life isn't fair. Deal with it.

I love my mom so much and I know how lucky I am to have her.
Happy Mother's Day!

hate. Hate. HATE.

I hate cancer. I seriously HATE cancer. I want to punch it in the face. I want to kick it in the shins. I want to make it cry. And I'm sure I don't feel or understand even the tiniest bit of what it is like to have to face cancer. But I do know that I hate that people that I love have to face it, have to deal with it, and have to accept how it alters their lives forever.

I've been thinking a lot lately about that hatred and what I can do about it. What I want to do is to find a way to somehow help families whose lives have been turned upside-down by cancer. But here's my problem. I'm not a crazy brilliant scientist who can solve cancer. I'm not a multi-billionaire who can give money to the crazy brilliant scientists to help them solve cancer. And I'm certainly not a celebrity who can wear a pretty dress to a party to raise awareness of the need for multi-billionaires to give money to crazy brilliant scientists so that they can solve cancer. I'm just Dawn.

But then I thought...I can plan a party. And sometimes I can make people laugh. Is there a way I can use these two "skills" to make a difference? I'm sure gonna try. But I need your help too.

Join me...

Saturday, May 14, 2011 for the

i HATE cancer

POINT 5k

10:00am

Olympic Park in Lehi Utah

Registration Fee: $5 per person

(additional donations will definitely be accepted!)

Oh wait...does that say a "POINT 5k?" Yes it does. And here is why. Did you know that a 5k is OVER 3 miles!?! Come on. I would never make it. Black out, heart attack and death would surely set in before I ever made it to the finish line. So I thought and thought about how to make my fundraiser more accessible and then it came to me.....a POINT 5k!! (you know .5k). That is approximately 0.311 miles or 1640 feet. That seems much more realistic. I mean, if I (dawn rachelle taylor) can do a POINT 5k then anyone can do a POINT 5k!

So please come! Please Come! PLEASE COME! And bring your family, friends, neighbors, former boyfriends, former girlfriends...EVERYONE! Let's show cancer just how much we all hate it. And more importantly, let's show the families dealing with cancer just how much we LOVE them.

I "heart" Monticello

I love Monticello Utah. Most people don't even know where it is (my answer: about 45 minuites south of Moab...and no it is NOT warmer there). But I have loved it for as long as I can remember. Being here this weekend has, like always, brought me relaxation and peace that I just can't seem to find at home. And I can't seem to stop making a mental list (I do love a good list!) of the things I "heart" about Monticello.

I love that the air smells fresh and clean...except when it smells like wood burning stove (which is a smell I love even more).

I love that I can see so many stars here...I had sort of forgetten how many stars there are since I never see them.

I love the sound of the wind chimes...which is fairly constant since the wind is ALWAYS blowing in Monticello.

I also love the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

I love that you can literally go to the store, buy something, and get home within 10 minutes.

I love the 1 stop light sitting right in the middle of town...and I love that I'm not sure it is necessary.

I love that I can really think here...things seem to slow down for me here and make it possible to really work things out in the crazy jumble of my mind.

I love that people wave and say hi...even though they don't know me, they are sure they know someone I'm related to, so that is good enough.

I love the mountains behind grandma's house.

I love the way you can see for miles and miles because there is only open space.

I love my family here.

Now if they could get a Super-Target here...I might think about moving here.

I Didn't Die

HUGE relief, right?
I know all of you were so worried (maybe) about me since I posted about turning 30, and how I was going to blog about all my exciting (maybe) new experiences...and then I haven't. I know some of you were thinking, "Did she try to read 30 books in 2 days...and her brain exploded?" But no worries, I am fine. I am working dilligently (maybe) on some of my list, but my life has just been too crazy to post. But I promise some awesome (maybe) blog posts in the near future.

I Am 30 Years Old

I am 30 years old. I can say it (barely).

Over the past few weeks, as my birthday loomed in the future, I "might" have been obsessing about what it means to be "30." And the conclusion I have finally come to is that I have absolutely NO IDEA what it means to be "30." I cannot seem to define this age and this moment in my life. There is so much I love about my life and so much that I do not want to change...but also I feel as though my future is this huge open space in front of me and it is my responsibility to fill it...and (because I'm a perfectionist) to do a fantastic job of filling it. 30 years from now I would love to look back at this day as the day I truly took control of my life and made it what I want it to be!

So I have created a list (me make a list...shocking I know) of things I want to experience during this year that I am "30." My plan is to do these 30 things before December 10, 2011 and (lucky you) blog about them all.

Please to enjoy my list: (in no particular order)

1. Celebrate my 30th Birthday in Vegas!

2. Learn to cook with Tofu.

3. Go somewhere completely new to me.

4. Read 30 books that I have never read before.

5. Try rock climbing.

6. Sew something, on a sewing machine, all by myself.

7. Teach Emma to cross stitch.

8. Spend an entire day at a movie theater, going to movies one after the other all day long.

9. Re-pierce my ears (the 4th time is the charm?)

10. Get my arm pits waxed.

11. Make Beignets.

12. Take a dance class.

13. Go paragliding.

14. Learn to make Grandma Allie's Rolls

15. Figure out (and implement) the best possible skin care regimen for a woman in her "30's."

16. Go real camping, in an actual tent, for at least 2 nights.

17. Write a children's book manuscript.

18. Try Indian food.

19. Live 2 weeks without spending ANY money.

20. Spend an entire day (open to close) at a bookstore.

21. Go on a random road trip.

22. Make, write, and mail a card to 30 people who have influenced my life.

23. Learn to crochet.

24. Be caffeine free for 3 months.

25. Keep a plant alive for 6 months.

26. Do something that absolutely terrifies me.

27. Take an art class.

28. Eliminate 30 items, that I don't actually need, from my life.

29. Learn to make toffee and caramels.

30. Buy myself something with a diamond in it.

I am accepting applications from people who would like to join me for any of these (hopefully) super-awesome experiences.

Stay Tuned..........

Potty Time

The question that has been nagging me lately is this:

Why won't preschoolers flush the toilet?

I really can't figure it out. It takes mere seconds, seconds! I know that they are old enough to know that it isn't a monster that is going to get them. And it doesn't take an abnormal amount of finger strength to accomplish. But it seems like a very large percentage of preschool aged children I work with are not inclined to flush the toilet after they go. I swear I say "did you flush the toilet?" at least 20 times a day...really I'm not exaggerating. I haven't been able to come up with an answer...I think it is one of those great un-answerable questions (related to the chicken and the egg one) so I suppose I'll just have to try to move on.

But while we're on the subject, here are some funny moments...

Little Boy: "Hey, Miss Dawn. I have the itchies, the bum itchies."

Me: "Oh really?" (in my head: "GROSS!!" but I am a professional....sort of.)

Little Boy: "Well, I haven't really been wiping my bum very good lately."

Me: "That doesn't seem like a good idea."

Little Boy: "Yeah, usually I just use one toilet paper to wipe when I go poop. But my mom said to use 3 toilet papers to wipe when I go poop."

Me: "That sounds like a really good plan. And also, don't itch your bum at school."

Another day and another little boy...

Using my "super-spidey-sense" I *knew* that one little boy needed to head into the bathroom.

Me: "Do you need to go potty?"

Little Boy: "No."

Me: "I really think you do."

Little Boy: "I don't."

Me: "Then why are you dancing around?" (okay so maybe it's not a super-spidey-sense)

Little Boy: "I just want to practice my dance moves."

Me: "Oh really? Then stop dancing."

Little Boy: "I can't."

Me: "Because you need to go potty. Please go into the bathroom and go."

Little Boy: "Oh I know! I can just pinch it...then I won't have to go anymore."

Then he did in fact pinch it (yup...it's exactly what you think) and apparently didn't need to go anymore because the dancing stopped.

I have to say that although I LOVE being a preschool teacher I do sometimes day dream about having a job where I am not required to care about the bathroom needs, habits, or issues of anyone other than myself. I wonder what a day would be like if I never said "Do you need to go potty?" or "Did you flush the toilet?" or "Did you wash your hands?" or (and this more than any other) "Did you have an accident?" I don't think I would miss that...but I would miss "my kids." So I will keep worrying about what is (or isn't) going on in the bathroom in exchange for all the painting, silly jokes, games, singing, giggling, pictures that are drawn for me, and hugs that I get. Oh yeah, and also all the funny things they say.

But I will still keep trying to get them go when they need to, to wash their hands after and mostly to flush the damn toilet!