The Dermody Family

Although it is still officially Summer the days here in New England have been cool and crisp for a while now. The leaves have already started to turn and our Summer fun is over. The kids and I were just reminiscing about all the fun we had this summer. By far the kids favorite activity was going to the beach. We all, except for Bill perhaps, wish we lived in a beach house where our back yard was a beautiful, white, sandy beach.

Sean Patrick is now in preschool a few days a week, and he loves, loves, loves it which was a shock to us all. We registered him in early May and took him to see the school and meet the teachers. He was clingy and cried almost the whole time we were there. Now, 4 months later, he is so excited to go to school, and wishes he could stay longer when it's time to go home. I wish I could attribute this to some stroke of brilliant parenting on our part, but no, I believe it's because his best friend, Natalie, is also in the same class. I did expect tears from him on the first day, but nope. He wouldn't even kiss or hug me goodbye. Turkey. His only concern has been to double check that I indeed would not be staying with him at "his" school. Rude. He's a big boy now. Love it!


Shannon is in third grade this year and loves her teacher. Her best friend, Emma, is also in the same class, so that makes it extra fun and special for Sissy. Since Erin is at a new school this year, Shannon rides the bus alone for the first time ever and thinks that is so cool. The only little bump in the road has been new glasses, but as time passes Shannon realizes more everyday that she can actually see better with glasses. Funny how that works, hahahaha. Thank heavens that no one has made fun of her for wearing glasses or every little reassurance I give her will fade into oblivion....after all what do I know? I am just the mom. Lol. It's all good now though, so two thumbs up for third grade.

A new adventure for Erin as she starts middle school as a fifth grader this year. Wow! Can't believe it. This was a big transition. Erin had tons of questions and most of my answers were, "I don't know." Not exactly what she was hoping for. I at least know that much. Back to school night was a week after school started, so Erin went to the first day of school knowing only her homeroom number and her teacher's name. All I could do was remind her that every other fifth grader was in the same boat, and that I'm sure the school staff knew just what to do with all the students when they arrived at school. The first day was a success. Since then she has signed up to join band, but she hasn't selected an instrument yet. She's making new friends and learning all about life as a middle schooler. The combination lock on her locker gives her daily fits, but she's getting the hang of that too. Can't wait to see what the rest of the school year brings for Erin.

Happy Birthday to my favorite 11 year old in the whole wide world, Erin. I can't believe how fast time is passing. One more year of primary at church and off to middle school in the fall. It would be an understatement to say I love that girl.

Love these necklace pendants made from scrabble tiles and scrapbook paper....plus a few other things. We made them in YW a while back and as usual my little girls saw what the big girls were doing and wanted to try too. So, off the craft store we went for the girls to choose their own paper. My favorites are the 13th Article of Faith tiles and the orange ones.
The girls gave their teachers a couple as gifts at the end of the school year because when they would wear them to school the teachers and other students wanted to know where to get them. It was fun and inexpensive craft. If you are interested, we found the instructions and supply list at the website make and takes.

I've decided to change our family blog to a private blog. If you are interested in reading future posts please leave a comment with your email address or email me your information @ jenn.dermody@gmail.com. I will be closing the blog to the public and sending invitations to view the blog at the end of the August. Hope to keep in contact.

The girls went to art camp at the beginning of summer break. Each went for one week, but in different classes. They both LOVE art and they love their art teacher, who is also their piano teacher. The only complaint was that the class was only for one week.

Would you believe me if I told you that I, Jennifer Dermody, exercised, cleaned my room, made my bed, put away all the laundry, read my scriptures, and accomplished random other stuff all before my hubby walked out the door for work this morning? Well, would ya? Believe it or not, it's true. In fact, Bill said to me, "It's the end of the world as I know it." Hahahahaha. Don't worry honey, I'll be sleeping in tomorrow until the kids demand my domestic goddess skills to cook them breakfast.

When you are a 4 year old little boy that insists on being a puppy, your 8 year old sister just might create a way to keep you and your puppy ways contained. Woof. Woof.

Erin and her friend helped me fill 120 water balloons for youth conference and then as their reward for helping, we filled the remaining 130 balloons to bust at home. It took us 2 hours to fill all the balloons and of course only 5 minutes to bust them all.
It's funny to see what each kid thinks is fun with water balloons. Sean liked to take his and treat it like a little baby. He caressed it, patted it, and took it for a swing. The older girls were all about war and strategy. The younger girls really wanted to be like the big girls, but only wanted to bomb others with the balloons but not get wet themselves. LOL, like that's gonna happen. I say if your big enough to dish it out, then be big enough to take it back otherwise you ought not to get involved. In the end all the kids were wet and happy without any complaints except that the water balloons were all gone.........oh and that I made them clean up the yard of all balloon trash.

When we moved into our house almost 3 years ago our master bedroom was green with painted over wallpaper border, green drapes, and grapevines. Yuck.



We had to put the bed in one certain spot because the previous owner didn't bother to paint one section of the wall. Who does that? Turns out that it really is the best place to put the bed, but I don't like to do something that I feel forced into.


Although green is one of my favorite colors, when it is matched with these colors it can drive one batty.


I had been window shopping for a new bedroom comforter for almost 2 years, and finally my budget matched one of the sets that I liked. Thank you, Macy's! ($400, 20 piece set, marked down to $100....sweet!) So I made the purchase stashed the new stuff in the basement and waited for Bill to leave town to tackle the project. Just for the record, Bill didn't get mad and I wasn't hiding things from him out of fear that he would not approve. I just thought that I am perfectly capable of using a roll of masking tape, sanding, spackling, and driving myself to Home Depot to get everything I need. I can prime and paint. Not only do I know how to do it myself, but I can do it all with three kids underfoot. LOL. Girl power. So, that's what I did....with a few little helpers.






And now this is what it looks like. Love it. The walls are "Country Mist" a pale blue. I'm now in the process of finding decor that I like and that matches the family budget because the walls seem naked, but for now I'm happy.