Company Girl Coffee

Howdy chicks. Come in, have a seat. I just finished a cup of french vanilla coffee, would you like some? Or, if you prefer I have tea or hot chocolate.

The last time I visited a Company Girl Friday the kid's school was holding a carnival fundraiser. Some of you asked to see pictures of the event. If you are interested click here for some pictures and information on the evening.

This morning has been a slow one. Once again I'm battling a cold, or maybe allergies considering the time of year. Either way I'm finding myself in a NyQuil fog while trying to get the kids off to school. I'm slowly waking up and plan on heading to the consignment store later this morning. A credit should be waiting for me; an Easter outfit.

Ahh, a new month of Small Things, and apparently Rachel Anne is working on a new look. Head over to check things out. On Tuesday I was all set to hand in my points for March when I realized my log was missing. So, this month, I'm hanging it on the fridge ... once I print it out.

Though, out of April's first three days I've only completed ... well umm ... I hope to complete today's, "simplify something." I'm all for the simple things in life. Yesterday's, filling up a garbage bag with donations or trash sounded like fun, but shelved this one for another day. Granted, I receive no points but I'm in the process of organizing our stuff for a yard sale in May. I already have several HUGE plastic tubs filled, plus piles of stuff in the guest bed room.

The play room will be going through a massive cleaning out, along with the rest of the house. I'm excited because all the proceeds will go towards reorganizing the play room. As the kids are growing so are their needs. We hope to put a desk in there, along with new storage items.

It has been great chatting. Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm off for some retail therapy and then to find ways to simplify my day. You are welcome to stay awhile longer, or head over to Rachel Anne's for more Company Girl Coffee.

Under the Big Top

Friday the school hosted a carnival. All the games had circus related names, thanks to some creative college students. There was food, games, and an auction. The committee had 8 weeks to plan this fundraising extravagance. This was the first carnival and auction the school had hosted for many years, meaning none of us on the committee had done this before. So, after 8 weeks of sweat and planning this is what we came up with.

The local paint your own pottery store offers a great fundraiser for schools. The store provides plates, supplies, and the use of their kiln, at a discount. Each class places their thumb prints around a plate, someone very creative (our art teacher) decorates the plates, and the pottery store fires it. What comes out are some beautiful plates and a keepsake for the winning family. (At a different school one of these class plates went for $2300. Yes, you read that right, with a "thousand". The highest one of our plates went for was around $200; which still seems outrageous to me, but it was for a good cause.)

Each class also assembled a theme basket for the auction. Along with donations from local business' the auction was a success.My sister-in-law was on the food committee. Before the carnival she was ready to throw the cotton candy machine out the window. Thankfully one of the volunteers had worked a cotton candy machine before and my SIL was saved from a sticky h***.

EM spent the evening asking for cotton candy, she even threw a cotton candy denied tantrum. I kept saying no because she doesn't eat the stuff. And if she doesn't eat it that means JT will end up eating it, and he doesn't need sugar, or I will eat it, and I don't need the calories. Near the end of the evening she finally gave in and ate her popcorn, finished the popcorn, and then asked for cotton candy. (I'm guessing that she thought if she ate what I wanted her to then she would be allowed to eat cotton candy. Yeah, not so much.)

Games, games and more games. The teachers provided most of the games. The Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers, Big Sisters also came in and hosted activities. (This made the games committee job very easy.) The two and half hours slated for the games was not enough time. But it didn't matter. To play a game each child (or adult if they so wished) had to purchase a game ticket. At the end of the evening, or the parent's patience, the ticket was handed in for a prize bag. The prize bag was the same, regardless of the number of games played.

We projected 350 kids (plus adults) and around 425 game tickets were sold. Our fundraising goal for the evening was $1500. Though we don't have the official tally yet, it is safe to say we cleared $5000. Oh yes. That will buy some new playground mulch, maybe a smart board or two. Or, my personal request, repainted parking lines.

A very big THANK YOU goes to the committee and our fearless committee leader Melissa. Our teachers who went above the call of duty (like always), the many volunteers (many high school and college students who spent a Friday night hanging with us), the custodial staff who were at the school all day, late into the evening, and returned Saturday for another function. And, finally to all the parents and children who's attendance made this a success.

Is your school planning a carnival, or maybe thinking about the possibility? Oh, it is so worth the hard work. Does your school host an annual carnival and/or auction? Leave a comment and tell us how it works. As we reflect on Friday's event we are looking at what needs changing for next year, and would love to hear how other schools run their carnivals.

Quick Tip

If you have not heard of Bloggy Give Aways then you are missing out! This week they are hosting the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival. At last count 873 bloggers are participating, obviously I am not one of them (Melanie, hope I'm not in trouble for using the button. Figure any advertising, like you need it, is good.) Check them out, follow the directions, leave a comment, and you will be entered to win their giveaway.

By the time you read this there may be 900+ giveaways so head over their now and start enterting. The Giveaway runs through November 3rd, so you are totally forgiven for not visiting me until the 4th. You will be busy clicking and commenting, I understand.

Good Luck!