One Squirrel On A Wire

Happy Saturday

2011-09-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

It was a great day! We went to The Farmer's Market downtown again with friends (all peeps not pictured, some departed before I had a chance to whip out the camera) and it was even better this week due to it not being 100 degrees! It was so nice to wander around the vendors and enjoy the vibe. We all agreed that for some reason everything tastes better when it comes from The Farmer's Market.

I bought some delicious soap from "The Soap Lady" which is so pretty and smells so good you almost hate to actually use it. The girls each bought a spider from Twisted Spiders. One bought a necklace and the other got a wicked cool hair clip. I am not a fan at all of spiders but something about Twisted Spiders take on a spider makes them awesome!
Then let's talk about Happy Monkey Hummus because I am addicted! Last week the girls picked the Coconut Curry and this week we got the Beet with Balsamic Vinaigrette which was a little taste of heaven.
I also picked up some fresh green beans which the whole family loves and of course a pastry to share.
The kids loved hanging out with their friends. My youngest daughter especially enjoys her time with her future husband (sandwhiched between all of the girls!) His cousin (behind them) is trying to push them closer together in the picture because she is positive they will get married someday!
There is so much to see and do it is an awesome sensation overload.
I really could hang out at The Farmer's Market all day, it makes me so happy!

Daddy and Son hung out while we were gone and when we got home we spent some quality rabbit time with Storm the Rabbit.
My son is OBSESSED with animals, I am wondering if he will be a vet someday?! He asks all day long to pet Storm. He isn't the least bit afraid of her, even when she nips he just laughs and says "Storm does owwie!"
I think that Daddy wore him out while we were at the Market because he ended up falling dead asleep on the floor!
The girls went to play with a friend and then returned to spend time with their dad who had barely seen them all day and then we were surprised by another friend who was able to have a sleepover!
I always feel so lucky that the girls friends love their little brother so much. They include him in everything they are doing and he just feels like one of the kids! (I was going to say one of the girls but that just sounded weird!)

The Art of Digital Design Two class at Jessica Sprague is going really well. The students are learning alot and growing so much as designers.
I can't wait to see what week three brings!

Happenings

2011-08-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am not such a good blogger. I always tell myself I need to be better but then I ask myself why? Why do I need to be a better blogger? Then I realize that I am spending WAY too much time talking to myself and I need to stop!

This summer has FLOWN by. This was one of those summers that I never wanted to end....until about nine days ago. Then it seemed we were all getting on one anothers nerves and there was way too much whining going on and I realized that we are all ready for a new chapter in our book of life to begin which means SCHOOL!
"
This little fella is supposed to start school in September and I cannot wrap my head around it and feel good. When I think about him going to school it makes me feel literally sick to my stomach.
There are many factors that are contributing to this feeling. The main one being that he is my baby and my last child. So letting him go to preschool means that he is growing up!
He also was in a speech therapy program that did WONDERS for him! They think that his main issue was that his mouth muscles were just not strong enough to form the words, so once he started getting stronger with help from his speech therapist he started talking. It has been the most amazing thing to finally hear him speak, he chooses now to use words over gestures or acting things out and it seems like he talks more and more every week that passes.
Because of this he qualified for a preschool that has speech therapy services. They obviously feel like he has further to go with his speech. If we don't send him to preschool then he won't get the services that they are offering to provide him because he qualifies for the program. We could get him private speech therapy and then I wouldn't have to worry about sending him to preschool, which is always an option.
I go back and forth on what is the best thing for him....and for me!

In the meantime Carina and I have been at full swing with all sorts of projects in the works!
Her Art of Digital Design II class begins on August 22nd. The class is AMAZING!!! I literally just sat there with my mouth wide open as I proof read it.

And yesterday I did the photoshoot for the next phase of goodies that Carina has up her sleeve.

Here are some sneak peeks. You will know more when you get the newsletter so if you aren't signed up go to Carina's BLOG and sign up.
I have a particular fondness for this little person....

While all of the madness was going on someone else just stayed at his Nana's house and rested.

Chicks and Bunnies and Allergies Oh My!

2011-06-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

Before we get into the summer stuff let's do a quick check on the chicks...

I had this great plan to stuff them all in my shirt and make a run for it. But then I came to my senses and realized that Tausha might realize it was me when they all just happened to disappear after our visit!
Carina has been nice enough to indulge my daughter with her rabbit obsession taking us over to the neighbors whenever Grace wants to see them....

It was windy on this particular day so she held "Twinkie" close and comforted her. Right now we are teetering on the fence about whether or not to get her this rabbit.
She has her name on a hold list for her and is absolutely smitten with her soft grey fur.
The only problem is that my daughter appears to be HORRIBLY ALLERGIC to rabbits!
By the time we get in the car to leave her eyes have nearly swollen shut, there are welts on her chest where the rabbit has been touching her, she sneezes out of control and is pretty much miserable.
It's super sad.
The last visit I gave her an allergy pill before we went to visit and it was a much better visit with no sneezing and welts. But will she have to take an allergy pill every day before visiting the furry little creature?
We have about 34 days to figure this out!

Let's get crabs!

2011-06-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Let the summer vacation begin!
Today was the last day of school for the kiddos and it was bittersweet. They are sad to be leaving their friends and teachers. My youngest daughter began crying at dinner last night when she told me about her teacher packing up the classroom while they watched a movie.
She loves her teacher.
I love her teacher.
She was like a wonderful fairy sent down to watch over my girl this school year.
My oldest daughter also was going to miss her friends. And her teacher, not the sub that had to fill in for the last two months because her amazing teacher had to leave with some serious medical issues, but her real teacher.
I bought a little plant for her to take her sub today to say thanks.
"She doesn't deserve it." Was her reply. "I will take it to my real teacher."
And so that is what we will do!

After school the girls brought some friends home to play play play and then after the friends left my youngest daughter said,
"Let's get crabs!"
Huh? Isn't that usually something you hear being yelled out on a street corner where hookers congregate?
"You know, crabs. The crab place. Crabs!"
And I did know.
Red Lobster.

For some reason those girlies have a thing for Red Lobster.
So we decided to make it a special night and go to Red Lobster for an end of school year feast!
I know, I know. You can stop shaking your heads....it isn't that bad!
It is hard to believe that next year I will have a second grader and a fourth grader.

And don't forget a preschooler.

And I guess Po is planning to go with him to preschool since I will only get that from him if I pry it from his cold lifeless grip!
He carries the entire set of these Kung Fu Panda toys around in his arms. It takes him a very long time to get from point A to point B with so many toys.
And everyday he reminds us that we have not yet gotten him the bird.
"Ma, no bird?"
Today we stopped by McDonalds to see if that blasted bird (crane) has come out yet. Nope, not yet.
Maybe Friday.
We pulled away from the window with a little boy screaming..."NO BIRD!" as big fat tears streamed down his face.
Smile son, it's summer!

All that and a bunny

2011-06-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Currently Carina and I are in the middle of critiques for her Art of Digital Design class that she is teaching at Jessica Sprague.
It is an AMAZING class that she and Jessica have put out that teaches you all of the secrets *shhhhh, don't say it too loud* of digital design!
One of the assignments in the class is for the students to create kits with papers and elements that they then send in for Carina to critique.
How may you ask do I fit in to all of this?
Oh, you didn't ask?
Well, I'll tell you anyway! I am Carina's Executive Assistant at Carina Gardner Inc. So for this particular project I get to prepare all of these creative kits for critique by her. She then gives them great feedback on how things could be improved or let's them know they are on the right track with their design career after which I scan and upload them back to the students.
It's like being a teachers aide at a really awesome college!
As the pile of critiques begins to dwindle down we decided it was a great day for some down time so Carina called me and told me that one of her neighbors chickens was currently having chicks hatching in their coop and another neighbors rabbit had a wonderful litter of bunnies and if I wanted to witness nature in all of it's glory I better get over there toot sweet. (She didn't say toot sweet but my mom has always said it and I felt this was an appropriate place to throw it out there!)

The chicken mom was not too happy to see all of these little faces and big faces peering over the the side of the coop at her as she worked with delicate pecks to help her little peeping chicks out of their eggs...

It was truly amazing to watch this feathered mother knowing exactly what to do.
"I see the head!" My oldest daughter shouted.
"It's bloody!" The other kids were shouting.
Birthing babies is bloody business I tell ya!
So we decided to let the mother have a break and headed next to the House-O-Rabbits.

I know...right?
My daughter just stood there like that with the bunny pressed to her cheek.
She fell in love.
She has already come up with ten different names for the bunny.
One of those names should be Perfection!

My son wasn't so sure what to think of this wee small thing. He wanted to pet it but then he didn't want to pet it but then he wanted to pet it.
I wanted to tuck all eight bunnies down my shirt and in my pockets and just casually vacate the premises.
Back to the chickens....

My husband thought I was full of garbage when I told him that chickens were the new puppy in the pet department around the suburbs.
I could have shot pics of them all afternoon.
But then we had to stop to play for awhile.
Carina was offering to push my girls on the swing with an "underdog".
That is when you push them while going completely under the swing so as to get a higher push for them and then there is the element of danger wondering if the person in the swing might fly backwards and knock you down if you don't get out of the way in time!
My girls looked at her like she was on crack.
Why would they possibly want to go that high on the swing?
Her girls thought it was better than candy!

It was a perfect break in the day!
Now back to critiques which will be finished up sometime tonight or tomorrow!

The Good Old Days

2011-05-31T09:36:00.001-07:00

What ever happened to the good ol' days. The good ol' days of film where the movie stars were amazing and the films were romantic and you could just sit back and be taken on a journey to another time and place with the stars of the film leading the way!
I just finished a wonderful book about Cary Grant....

who was truly one of the great actors of all time. Because the studios that produced the films back in the day had such tight control over their stars images there is such a great mystery as to what some of them were like in real life.
The studios had control over what they wore, who they were seen with, even what their names should be. If the name sounded to strange or too ethnic they just went ahead and changed it! ( Otherwise it would have been The Wizard of Oz starring Francis Gumm instead of Judy Garland!)
Cary Grant was a star from the 30's clear through the 60's and there was a time period when in less than two years he made thirteen films! THIRTEEN FILMS! Nowadays stars take years off in between projects.

He could play the charming romantic man, the comedic foil or the sinister Hitchcock leading actor...a guy with a bit of an edge that you weren't sure if you trusted or not?

As I was reading the book I decided to check out some of his more famous films from the library.
I watched Hitchcock's "Suspicion" and "Notorious" and was totally taken aback with how sinister Cary Grant could be in "Suspicion".

And now wonderfully romantic and passionate his connection with Ingrid Bergman was in "Notorious".
I have always loved old movies but for some reason the younger version of myself would never watch a Jimmy Stewart or a Cary Grant movie. Something about their distinctive voices that bothered me. Then as I became an adult I decided that maybe I could listen to those two actors without ripping my hair out and low and behold I was introduced to something wonderful!

If you haven't watched old movies I highly recommend them. They take you to another world, one I wished we lived in today.
The fashion, the manners, the hair styles, the cars! (Holy mama the cars! Who decided it would be a good idea to stop making those incredible cars and make the cars we have today?)

Next week AMC is having a Cary Grant marathon on with some of his biggest hits. I myself have the TIVO going for almost 24 hours to record them.
Who are some of your favorite old time movie stars?

HOORAY FOR FALL!!!

2010-11-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Dear My Chemical Romance,

2010-11-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

Have I told you lately how much I adore you?
And how absolutely over the top estatic I am that you are finally coming out with a new CD?
My son heard enough of your music while he was in the womb that he also seems to perk up when I mention to him that the new CD is coming out. He is only two but let me tell you he has the chorus of your new song down.....na, na, na, na.
(He also likes the Wiggles so do not fear that he has somehow been corrupted by rock n' roll.)
I want to download the new songs as they pop up on ITunes but that feels like reading the end of a book before you read the beginning.So, I think I am going to have to wait until the release date on November 22 and get the CD so that I can hold it in my hands and listen to it in one fell swoop!
You make me happy! Your music makes me happy! Bright red hair makes me happy!
And being happy is good stuff.
(Do not let the man in the spandex scare you, he is harmless and fully clothed!)

(People c'mon, tell me that you aren't intrigued by what is going to happen in the story? Are the Killjoys dead? Why are the bad guys taking the boy? Will the boy live......
Well, here is a trailer I just saw for the next song "Sing" and can I be honest with you.....I got all fluttery with happiness like you do on a really great rollercoaster, or when you open a Christmas present and realize as you are opening it that it is what you really really wanted.....
FLUTTERY!!!)

So just to sum up this letter My Chemical Romance you:
A. Make me happy
B. Make me fluttery
C. Are the Christmas present that I really really want. You don't even have to be wrapped up in a box. Just bows on your heads sitting under the tree and I'm good!

(And no I was not drinking when I wrote this post)
Love,
Me

Halloween Halloween Trick or Treat

2010-10-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

The other night my husband and I were trying to remember all of our Halloween costumes from when we were children.
And sadly I could not remember them all!
These are the one's I do remember in no particular order:
Raggedy Ann
Princess Leia
Flapper Girl
Navy Sailor (used my dad's old Navy uniform)
Roller Disco Girl (It was my best fried Merri's idea. We went as twin roller disco girls and got to wear our roller skates! She was a genius)
When October rolls around I have to say that while I "like" the idea of Halloween the actual stuff that makes up Halloween creeps me out.
I don't like being scared.
No if and's or but's about it.
I HATE super scary costumes. Especially one's that conceal the identidy of the people behind them.
My mom used to ask me why I was bothering going to the Haunted Houses with my friends when I was literally sick to my stomach before going!
This year Miss Thang is going to be a Vampire.
Not your Cullen style vampire but this style....

While I preferred her years as Pop Princesses and Sassy Cats and whatnot I have to say this actually turned out pretty cool!
She wore it for her piano recital where all of the students dressed up (even the teacher dressed up) and played Halloween songs.
Her song was "The Wily Witch".
In other bits of random news that sort of have to do with Halloween and sort of not....
check this out.

Wouldn't you say that Keith Richards could qualify as ghoulish? Which puts him smack dab in the Halloween category!
I bet you didn't know I collect random biography/auto biographies, books on rock musicians, their wives/lovers/friends/roadies etc. from the 60's?
I started reading this book (Life By Keith Richards) on my Nook (you get the first 25-72 sample pages for free). Then today I trucked on down to Costco (cheaper there then anywhere else...sorry local booksellers) to pick it up and finish it. I had to have the hard copy for my collection.
Brian does not like to let me forget that when we met I said that Keith Richards was sexy.
He thought I meant this Keith Richards

But I meant this Keith Richards.....

The younger, pre-decomposed Keith Richards!
I am not sure how much new information I will get out of this book but it seems like it will be a good read!
And now it is time to go do some reading, watch the finale of Project Runway and get some sleep.....from the looks of that picture of me and the bags under my eyes I must need some!

Truly Great

2010-10-26T07:46:00.001-07:00

My husbands grandmother passed away a little over a week ago. It was a very special thing for my children to have a great grandmother. I could barely fathom the idea of them having a great grandmother when I lost two of my grandparents by the time I was five years old, my mother's father passed away before she was even married and my dad's mother passed away when I was twelve.
I always told my husband he was so lucky to have a grandmother still alive because I would have loved to have that kind of time with my grandparents now.
He was right by her side the last few days of her life.
The children miss her. Especially my Little One. She has taken it the hardest. She has a very tender heart.
They loved to go and visit their Grandma Mae.
They loved her stories.
And my boy loved the tennis balls affixed to the bottom of her walker to keep it from sliding.
He thought those tennis balls were the best thing since sliced bread!
The last visit the kids had with her was such a great visit.
Despite her having bits of dementia coming on, the last day the kids went to see her she was on the ball!
She told them stories about the dog the she bought for her children when they were little. She was remembering all of the wonderful details of her life that were beginning to fade.
The Boy crawled up on the bed beside her and she held his hand.
She always got such a kick out of him.
Grandma Mae loved the girls but there was something special about The Boy!

I miss her.
I wish that we had spent more time with her.
Her four children gathered together from different parts of the country.
They had not been together the four of them altogether in nine years!
They have vowed that they will not let another nine years pass before all four spend time together.

Death is a funny thing.
It brings people together.
People who are living and people on the other side.

When I think of Mae now it is with a smile, because I know she is the arms of her beloved Clive who she has waited to long to see again. (Over 30 years). And she is at peace.

She would be good at long distance running....cross country running.....

2010-10-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our big school fundraiser jog-a-thon. Little one was gearing up and training hard for the event, trying to surpass her awesome record she set last year for herself. She ran around the track fourteen times. FOURTEEN TIMES! And when I saw ran I mean RAN. The lady standing next to me in the pouring rain where we cheered them on said "I have been watching her, not only is she running the whole thing but she is doing it with a smile on her face!"
A toothless smile I might add.
Thank goodness we took the jack-o-latern shots because that night she was doing homework and suddenly got a weird look on her face and spit out her other tooth!
Anway back to the jog-a-thon.
The rain was pouring down on and off through the whole event but those kids just pushed on through. It was very inspiring to watch!

Miss Thang here preferred to call it a walk-a-thon-talk-to-your-friend-a-thon but hey at least she did it! She ran parts of it and when I cheered her on and yelled "run run!!" She would give me the funniest look like I was the biggest dork ever and shake her head like "no, that's okay I am doing just fine at this pace!"
The d.j. was hilarious. I am pretty sure I was the only person laughing at him. The kids looked at him like he was on crack when he would make jokes or sing along with Lady Gaga while he cheered them on. And the other parents didn't really even seem to notice that he was there....but me...I was his best audience!
What a great day and a great idea for a school fundraiser. Beats the heck out of wrapping paper and pecan brittle sold door to door!

Design House Digital

2010-10-06T17:48:00.001-07:00

So I had to scrap a little ode to the jack-o-lantern!

I used the wonderful Kate Teague's Life:October the complete kit.
This is a GREAT kit! It could be used for so many hybrid projects. My cute friend Stacy used it to make a great invitation to her twin's birthday party.....I wish I still had the invite, I would post it and show you all and then everybody would be invited to the party! (just kidding!!)
And if you are in the market for some Halloween-ess how about Carina Gardner's new line HAUNTED.
Here are some Hybrid projects done with this line.
I want to post a page I did with this line but can't get my photobucket to work right now....stinkin' photobucket.

The Little Jack-o-lantern

2010-10-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

My little one has been working on pulling out one of her front teeth for the last two weeks. One afternoon last week I offered to help and apparently I pulled it the wrong way because she burst into tears and told me she no longer needed my help, she would do it herself!
Then the other day she came running to the car after school, put her cute little face up to the window and gave me a HUGE grin.
HER TOOTH!!!!
And it wasn't even the tooth she was working on it was the other tooth!
Now the original loose tooth is all wonky and sideways making her look like this little jack-o-lantern.
Perfect for Halloween!

Speaking of Halloween have you started your costume hunt?
We have and aside from finding some vampire teeth we are good to go :)

If you want a good happy laugh....

2010-10-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

And I mean a good laugh but also a laugh where you sigh really big at the end and say awwwwwwwwwwwwwww...then you have to go to Mila's Daydreams.
I don't know the whole story behind the blog but I do know that this woman needs to make a coffee table book of these pictures when she is done because I could look at them all day long!
My daughter thought these were the cutest pictures she had ever seen. And it made me wonder what I did with all of the time I had while my babies were napping?

Touche'

2010-10-02T22:00:00.001-07:00

The other day my youngest daughter arrived home from school ever so excited that a dentist had visited them in class! She pulled out her little bag filled with wonderful tooth-ish loot including a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, etc. and some little purple tablets to chew which would show them if their teeth were clean, ala Glee! (tell me you saw Glee last week...I am still tossing around quotes from that episode!!)
My Little One babbled on excitedly about everything the dentist had talked about and when she was done bubbling over with excitement my "glass is half empty" nine year old cocked a hip out to the side and announced,
"In my opinion that dentist was just trying to advertise himself to get some new patients."
I turned around, eyes wide, mouth opened and said "Why do you have to be so negative about it! I am sure he was just there to teach the kids about keeping their teeth healthy and you're ruining it for her with that kind of attitude!"

A few hours later as I was cleaning up the Little One's backpack I emptied the bag from the dentist and inside found a flier announcing that he would be accepting new patients to his practice and how important it was for your child to have clean teeth and that he was the man when it came to finding your child a dentist.
Damn.
So with my tail tucked between my legs I went into the nine year old's room and issued an apology for shooting her theory down so quickly.
She gave me a lovely "I told you so" smile and accepted my apology.
And for the last twenty four hours I have been treated to different renditions of...
"Hey mom, remember when I told you that the dentist was trying to get new patients and you said...."

She hates dogs and old things

2010-09-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I went for a girls getaway to This Resort. It was lovely and oddly warm for this time of year.
There was much Swiss goodness to partake of including a delicious bakery on site where the people moved slowly and the goodies behind the glass sparkled with evil delight making it impossible not to induldge in their goodness!
I was only forty mintues from home but I must have spoken to my children and husband a zillion times.
We dig each other like that!
Long ago my friend and I christened these getaways as "Sleep-o-rama's". The idea of the sleep-o-rama is to sleep,digital scrapbook, sleep, eat, sleep....well, you get the idea. Only the sad thing is that the older we get the less sleeping we seem to do on these "sleep-o-ramas". We are too busy multitasking in our regular lives so we must feel the need to multitask on sleep-o-rama too?
We also took some maternity shots since she is heading into the home stretch with Baby B.

She calls her other children her little bear cubs so I was quite pleased to find a little bear on the carousel to show that she has another little cub on the way!
And of course we had to do the heart on the belly because c'mon, who doesn't love the heart!

On every sleep-o-rama we get laughing about something fantasticly funny (only to us). Our husbands say that we think we are soooooooooo funny....I say we KNOW we are soooooooooo funny!
I think one of my favorite quotes from this trip came from my pregnant Pookey when upon my discovery of a wonderful yard full of decrepit old iron furniture and discarded gems she replied....
"I hate dogs.....and old things."
There was something about the delivery of the line that I felt like it needed to be stitched on a sampler and hanging on the wall of her home.

Look Alive Sunshine

2010-09-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

The other day I received an email with the link "WATCH THIS".
Now I wasn't scared of what it might be because in the header I knew it was from the My Chemical Romance website.
Who is My Chemical Romance you might ask?
They are only my favorite favorite favorite band.
The kiddies have their Beibers, the tweens have their JoBros, the oldies but goodies have their Elvis and the Deadheads have their Dead, but I have MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE.
So I click the link and up pops this video (above).
Well, my heart started palpitating and my palms got all sweaty because I knew what this video meant.
It means.....THE NEW CD IS COMING OUT SOON!!!!
They have been on hiatus forevertus and it has been brutal.
I have missed their music, their faces, their amazing look and conceptual videos.
The last album The Black Parade was all blacks and whites and greys. Visually stark but musically powerful.
I don't think I listened to anything but that album for probably four months straight!
Looking at the video above I am so inspired.
Love the colors and the futuristic yet 70's style Mad Max-ness of the whole thing.
From the first beat I was hooked and have been humming the song all week.
It is like the most evil teaser to give such a quick glance and listen to what looks to be an amazing song and video.
Love Gerard's red hair!
Love Frankie with any color hair.
For someone who loves photography I wanted to be on that video set snapping stills from every angle!
Inspiring!!!
Oh My Chemical Romance I can't wait to invite you back into the fold and blare your new CD from my sound system....please release this CD soon!!!

Blogging

2010-09-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

I really suck as a blogger.
It's not that I don't have anything to blog about, I do, I do have things to blog about. But then the things will come and go and I won't blog about them and then more things come and go and come and go and pretty soon I'm so far behind on blogging anything interesting that I just don't do it.
Plus the stuff that I find interesting may just be interesting to me!

The night before the school year started I said a little prayer to please, please make time slow down.
And then my daughter turned nine.
I know she probably gets tired of us talking about the day she was born, or when she was little, or telling her about clever things she did when she was three.
Last night I held her close and kissed the top of her head that now sits right below my chin when she is standing and I told her how much I love her.
"You are a really wonderful girl."
I said.
"You were a terrible baby but a wonderful girl."
And then we both laughed. Because she was a terrible baby!
I was reading through her twenty seven birthday cards that she got from her classmates yesterday and the common theme in most of them was that they loved how nice and funny she is, they like her smile and they like it when she helps them.
Those are really awesome qualities.
She truly is one of the funniest people I know.
She reminds me of an old time comedienne.
Think Abbot and Costello or Laurel and Hardy.... or even Lucille Ball.
She is the master of the pratfall and her timing is genius!
And she is nice. She wants to make sure everybody is included and hates injustices of any sort being done to people.
Helpful......I am glad she helps her friends because when I ask her to do something here I am usually greeted by a MONUMENTAL sigh of irritation.
Unless I ask her to give me a hug!

On her birthday she kept talking about how exciting it will be when she turns sixteen.
Her dad and I almost had a heart attack.
Little does she know we will never let her turn sixteen! That is forbidden!

I am Happy

2010-07-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Today I was walking around doing the normal everyday things I do around the house and I realized how totally happy I am.
Right now, this time is a wonderful time.
I love every moment and can't wait to see what new things everyday will hold.
But I also love the mundane things, those groundhog day sort of things that you know will happen at least once in each of your twenty four hours....maybe even twice if you count the number of times my oldest daughter will complain about doing something around the house.....hmmmm twice was being very generous. Let's go with twenty times and then if she comes in around fifteen I'll be happy!
I am just so completely, totally happy.
And knowing that makes me even happier!
Perhaps that makes some people want to puke?
It reminds me of this one episode of the Golden Girls where the ever happy sunshine Rose was perplexed because this man at work didn't like her. How could he possibly not like her? Once she realized this she tried even harder to be bouncy and filled with joy. She baked him cakes, she greeted him with cheer.
But he told her that it didn't matter what she did he just didn't like her.
She was happy.
It made him want to puke.
I don't know what any of this has to do with anything?

This person is someone who always make me smile. She blows my mind with her talent, I am lucky to call her my friend.
I was also lucky enough to get to photograph her family and I can't believe I haven't shared it.
It is a rare treat that I get called upon to shoot pictures.
My family takes top priority, so when it works out that I can roam free and follow around beautiful people and capture their memories for them I do it!

This is just a wee small sample of what we shot.
It was a very good day!
She has some amazing things in the work (fabric,paper scrapbooking goods, digiscrapping goods)...you must check her out!

Summer Musings....

2010-07-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

Summer has been good.
Soooooooooo good!
One of those summers where I truly don't want it to end.
Lots and lots and lots of swimming which has been amazing! Especially when you had a daughter who told you a little over a year ago that she hated water and would never ever swim.
Thanks to B. both kids are swimmers! They couldn't wait to get back to him this summer and show him what they could do.
We also had our Cousin Max come and visit! We miss them. The girls can't get enough of Uncle J. and Cousin Max. We missed the whole family before they were even gone.
There have been camps and playdates and sleepovers.
Golf lessons, tennis lessons, piano lessons and more.
These kids better never say they didn't do anything fun when they were kids!

(all products By the amazing Carina Gardner)

(Template by Tiffany Tillman, Paper and embellishments by Sara Schmutz)

(all products By the amazing Carina Gardner)

(all products By the amazing Carina Gardner)

Now onto summer musings.....
*When you go to get a massage for horrible tension headaches it probably should be mandatory that they explain to you that your therapist at some point will be walking on your back.
*Red Mango Yogurt.....great idea, no high fructose corn syrup, not chalk full of sugar, but what is with the smell in that place? If I am paying $5.00 for a so/so cup of yogurt the least you can do is make sure that your place does not smell like an unflushed toilet.
It was baaaaaaaaaaaaaad.
*No shirt guy....you are okay looking, but do you really need to take your two year old on walks in her wagon with no shirt on? That seems so 80's. Plus if you are going to be shirtless maybe you want to go to the gym. It't not that you are fat...just jiggly.
*Mel Gibson....WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! You obviously need some help, some serious help. I want to believe that they were empty threats but dang! And why so much heavy breathing? Did you run to the phone from the backyard or something to answer the phone?
Th-th-th-thats all folks!

SIX

2010-07-08T06:50:00.000-07:00

Finally!!!
She has been waiting, and waiting and waiting to turn six.
When she was small I was her whole world. Her favorite phrase was "My Mama!" as her older sister would patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) explain to her that I was both of their mama's not just hers.
And she would look at her big sister and say "MY MAMA!"
She truly is an amazing kid. She is strong, and sweet and beautiful and smart.
We always tell her she is the size of a toothpick but she is probably the strongest one of all of us!
This morning she asked for breakfast in bed.
She wanted eggs and bacon.
She sat there eating her breakfast just giggling and giggling.
"So when am I six?"
"You're six now!"
"But am I not six until my party?"
"No you are six now!"
*giggle giggle*.
Happy Birthday six year old!

Total Eclipse

2010-06-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

I have sequesterd myself from all things Eclipse. No commercials, no watching interviews or reading press with the cast.
Tonight I went to see the movie with my mother-in-law who is a new fan after reading my stack of four books in less than two weeks.
I am going to give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!!
Am I obsessed with the books. No. Did I enjoy them. Yes. Did I adore the character of Jacob long before he was the cute muscle man Taylor Lautner. Yes. Did I take flack for being teacm Jacob back then. Yes. Is it politically correct to be a Jacob fan now that he is hot. I would say judging by the super squeals and clapping from the moment he walked on the screen....yes!
I thought the squealing and whatnot as actually cute. Some sour pusses in the ladies room after the movie found the teeny boppers to be annoying. When they are thirty eight they will think it is cute that some girls are having fun.
And no, the teeny bopper squeals were not from myself and my mother-in-law!
Edward looked mighty fine in this movie. M-i-g-h-t-y F-i-n-e. And that cute Taylor has some great acting chops. He commands the screen when he is on it that is for sure!

Now onto other pressing matters.
Tonight my cute hubby called from the grocery store when in the middle of our conversation I randomly said ..."Okay, tell me what movie is this from........."do you hear that? it's the winds of change".
He got it!
It was not easy and while I had confidence in him I would not have blamed him if he was wrong.
But him getting it right just further confirmed that he is the one for me!! :)

TWO

2010-06-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

Last night after we had put the kids to bed and cleaned up the remains of the family birthday party my husband looked at me and said "Can you believe our baby is two?"
No I couldnt.
As I tried to fall asleep my mind wandered back to two years ago.
After nine months of intense vomitting and depression I had finally given birth to my baby boy.
The puking was supposed to stop. The pain was supposed to stop. The depression was supposed to stop.
Try telling that to a big mess of placenta that is left in your uterus by a bunch of inept doctors from a joke of a medical clinic.
I tossed and turned replaying every awful moment of the month that followed.
The horrible ambulance rides.
The blood clots the size of the human liver.
The IV's and medications and people looking at me with blank confusion when I asked
what was wrong with me.
The ten days in the hospital with visits from my children and newborn baby whom I feared would not know me.
The hours of waiting for someone to figure out what was wrong with me.
The frustration of a husband who wanted his wife home.
The amazing help from friends who pitched in to help.
The nights of fear in the hospital as machines beeped and hummed all around me, wondering if I fell asleep would I start to bleed again and never wake up.
The blood transfusions, the weakness, the thoughts that my world had stopped but outside that window the rest of the world went on without me.
A diagnosis, sugery, a promise that things would be better now.
When I returned home I held my boy, let him sleep beside me, talked to him, sang to him. Tried to make up for the time we were apart despite my lack of energy.
More bleeding, returning to the hospital days later and being told nothing was better.
My girls thought I was going to die.
My husband thought I was going to die.
I thought I was going to die.
I have never cried more in my whole life.

Then I had to stop thinking about all of it. Erase it all from my mind before I started to drive myself crazy.
Because I am fine.
My boy is fine.
My boy is two!
He is funny and happy and wild and sweet. He loves Toy Story, and running and wrestling with his sisters and the new puppy. He is delicious and dramatic and tender all at the same time!
Happy birthday J-Boo.
We love you!

Guest Announcer......

2010-05-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Bees had a guest announcer today and I have to say she was the best announcer I have ever seen!

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-09T22:50:00.001-07:00

There are no words to express the joy I feel at being their mother....they are everything to me.

WOO HOO!!!!

2010-05-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

12 Years

2010-05-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

For 12 years this little guy was by my side.
We found each other at a very low time in my life.
We vowed to take care of each other and we did.
He was tormentor to many, loving of few.
I look around in all of his usual places and he isn't there.
We have all heard his bark the last few days, so in a way I guess he is still here.
It has been raining hard and the girls say that the rain is a sign that he is up in heaven barking.
He is also most likely gnawing on God's ankle.
That is just the way he was.
I wish that I could have just one more day to hold him but the vet said he was a very sick little boy and it was his time.
I hope he forgives us and knows that it was out of love that we set him free.
12 years.
Thanks for all the great memories Cody.

Your days cannot go wrong when they are filled with....

2010-04-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hugs.
People told me that little boys were so lovely and affectionate.
This little boy gives the most amazing hugs to all of us everyday.
And not just one hug.
One hug is for losers.
He believes in dozens upon dozens of hugs throughout the day.
How can your day go wrong when you are being hugged like this.
Sometimes I can be stressed out and I will feel his little arms wrap around my legs.
It makes the stress melt away.
Sometimes I can be in a hurry and he will wrap his little arms around my neck and press his face close to mine making me stop whatever I am doing and relish the moment.
Suddenly I am not in such a hurry anymore.
Sometimes we can all be whirling around him going in different directions to do homework, cook dinner, practice the piano....
And he will stop us.
And he will hug us.
He makes everyday beautiful.

*The vintage cabinet cards are from the talented Danielle Thompson. Today they are on sale at Jessica Sprague for $1 for One Buck Wednesday.
Your collection of digiscrappin' goodness cannot be complete without an item from Danielle!

DESIGN HOUSE DIGITAL Hybrid Mania!

2010-04-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

First thing that is very important to mention....You don't have to scrapbook to partake of the goodness that is DESIGN HOUSE DIGITAL.
This month we are working on hybrid projects. I have to say I was not too hip to what a hybrid project was before joining the team at DHD. I had done hybrid projects before but didn't even know that was what they were called!
It is sort of frightening and amazing at the same time some of the hybrid projects these women create!
Check out THIS ONE or THIS ONE.
Are those creative enough for you?
Some hybrid projects I have worked on are.....
This baptism announcement

I wanted to make a special announcement for her and because of the colors I immediately thought of Jen Allyson's Vanity Fair coral papers and frames. I love the way it looks like the little girl is peeking through a field of wild flowers on the left hand side!
I just created a 5X7 template in photoshop and then layered all of the writing and photos. I stroked the main photo with a color from the papers and added the lyrics to a song around the outside in smaller scrolled writing so as not to distract from the photo and information.

This is another fun spring hybrid project.....
"

How happy does Deena Rutter's HAPPIER elements and paper make me you ask?
Oh, maybe you didn't ask? But I will tell you anyway!
They make me so happy that when it came time to change up the mantle for spring I printed off the sweet birds and word bubbles, added fun spring messages in them and clothes pinned them to the wonderfully twisting branch that I have lying across the mantle.
Then I used some flower templates found by google searching "flower templates" and printed a bunch of flowers and centers, multi layered them and used the puffy squares to adhere them to one another to give them a 3D look and added those here and there.
I love my "Happier" spring mantle!

And how about using them on clothing.....

Last Friday was Art Night at my daughters school and I was put in charge of the kindergarten auction project. I cannot tell you the thought that I put into this....it was getting sort of crazy because I couldn't come up with anything that made me excited.
And then it hit me....T-SHIRT MANIA!!!!
*I had the kids do two handprint t-shirts (one girls and one boys with the teachers handprint on the back)
*Then I took a head shot of each child doing a smile and a crazy face and created a shirt with a collage of the kids and teacher on the front saying "Everything I need to know I learned in..." and on the back their crazy face collage and it says "Kindergarten!"
*The Boys drew monsters and bugs and the girls drew flowers and their faces which I then scanned in and resized laying them out as a collage and mounting them on Carina Gardner's "Oh Boy" The ABC's paper and "Pinfeathers Jumping Mushroom" paper for a little more oopmh!
One shirt says "We Are Not Scared of Monsters" the other shirt says "A Bug's Life"
and the girls shirts say "The Earth Laughs in Flowers" and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

Stop by DESIGN HOUSE DIGITAL and see what clever hybrid projects you can come up with. And when you are done post them in the gallery!

And tomorrow there is a BLOG HOP that will be going on so if you stop in at DHD you can get this kit below for FREEEEEEEEEEE.

Busy Busy Bee

2010-04-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've been juggling lots and lots of balls in the air as of late and so far they have stayed in the air!
I designed some really fun shirts with my daughters kindergarten class for our school Arts Night. The shirts were auctioned off on Friday night.
I have also taken on some spring photography clients which has been awesome!

I mean c'mon, seriously, could those kids be any more beautiful!? The little girl is one of the most hysterical children I have ever met. I had the pleasure of doing her pictures a few times years ago (B.B. before baby when my world was turned upside down and shaken like a crazy snowglobe!) and I am happy to say she is still the same crazy beautiful spitfire she was the last time I saw her!
And the little boy....yummy!
I haven't seen him since he had big squishable cheeks and no hair! His aunt is a wonderful photographer living in Indiana so I was quite honored to be able to take his pictures this time around.
How about those curls? I was dying!

And on a seperate note of importance do not forget to head over to DESIGN HOUSE DIGITAL. They are continuing their Mad Mondays which include tons of great items on sale and one free item. See all todays specials RIGHT HERE.
More posts on my t-shirts and some fun hybrid projects with digial scrapbooking items to come!!

True Love

2010-04-12T00:35:00.000-07:00

My son has a true love.
Normally he goes for the Cougars, the ones who will keep him in slices of bread and fistfuls of french fries.
And then he saw her.
Those cheeks.
Those eyes.
That pacifier.
That studious scowl.
And he fell.....he fell hard.

When you say her name he makes kissing noises.
He brings her toys.
He brings her treats.
He makes hats for her out of her snack bowls.....

If she wants to go outside he will find a way to make it happen....

He will find her a nice little cottage that they can settle down in together....

When she's hungry he will put on her hat and go to the store and get her food.....

He will toss a fistful of sand in her face and she will forgive him.
He will attempt to paint her hair with the crayola sidewalk paint brush and she will forgive him.
He will give her a shove and she will shove him back.
They will forgive each other.
And then they will get on the trampoline and jump.

The girls say that he will marry his true love.
Only time will tell.

An Easter Tale

2010-04-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

It is 10:30 pm and I am waiting.
Waiting to make sure my children go to sleep so that I can fill their Easter baskets and hide them for tomorrow mornings basket hunt.
What's that? Oh, you are wondering if the children are awake because they are excited?
Oh no.....no, no no.
The children are awake because they are SCARED TO DEATH!
It has become somewhat of a well known fact that the children in my house fear anything of a magical/fanciful/gift giving nature that may or may not come in your house and leave you things.
This list includes:
LEPRACHAUNS
THE TOOTH FAIRY
THE EASTER BUNNY
CHRISTMAS ELVES
and of course the ever popular....SANTA CLAUS
Honestly people, I am at a loss.
I do not have any idea how this happened or why they can't just stop thinking about it and let the magic happen FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!
Now, I do have to say that it is a good thing that the children are wary of strange men/animals/winged creatures, intruding in our house.....but GEEZ!
They suck all of the fun out of every holiday for us.
It has gotten to the point where we have to leave Santa a note on the porch, with cookies and clementines for the reindeer, stating that he is to leave the presents on the porch and mom and dad will come out and get the presents and put them under the tree at a later time.
Then we have to make sure that the screen is locked, and the door too.
That still didn't stop Little One from being up until midnight this last Christmas, lying in the bed hysterically crying everytime she heard the slightest creak.
AND OUR HOUSE IS OLD, IT HAS A LOT OF CREAKS!!!
At one point I found myself mumbling like a crazy person under my breath that I would be so freaking happy when they realized that it was all a big story.
And the elves......oh my gosh don't even get me started on the elves.
That is a story that is better left for a whole blog post on its' own because lemme tell you it is classic.
So back to the list....Tooth Fairy is to leave the money in the kitchen by the door. Do not attempt to step one foot more in the house and don't even think about going near the pillow.
The tooth will be waiting for you by the door!
Leave your money and GET OUT.
So now onto the Easter Bunny.
As I am typing this I can hear my oldest daughter out in the family room telling her father that she swears she hears the bunny and she is worried.
HE ISN'T REAL....HE ISN'T REAL I want to scream!
Then I want to run out there with her Easter basket and all of contents and pour them at her feet and say "HERE IS YOUR STUFF.....I AM YOUR BUNNY!" At which point I will bounce around the room like a wild eyed lunatic.
But it won't help.
Because I did something similar to this when I had to screaming hysterical daughters fearful of Santa's Elves. Do you think that calmed them down to know that they did not have to fear the Elves?
OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
That just made my oldest cry even harder that she was only person in her class who didn't have a real elf.
Are kids just smarter nowadays?
I don't remember ever being worried about these things.
I don't remember thinking for one second that these "people" didn't exsist.
They were as real to me as the planets and people in Star Wars were.
The people that invented all of these things is on my list.
And all I can say is that I hope that the girls little brother is a little more inviting to these holiday/childhood things.
Otherwise we're screwed!
Happy Easter everybody!

(And thanks to my lovely Vanessa for the beautiful flowers. They smell amazing and they make me smile)

Goodbye March.....Hello April

2010-04-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to a winter wonderland!
It almost made up for this winter being so lame.
I said almost.
So it's time to say goodbye to March.....

(left to right: 1)"look I can take off my shirt" 2)stomach flu recovery 3)the light breaks through 4)the Irish twins 5)thank goodness for the Gramps taxi service 6)family board games 7)ELVIS 8)Barbie Karate Class 9)Handsome 10)The most boring phone call ever 11)Her patented pose 12)DUZZ LIGHTYEAR 13)James and the Giant Peach with Grammie and Papa 14)Reading to sister 15)If it's on the ground you must want me to jump in it and roll 16)Kid of the month 17)Waiting for sister with Buzz 18)Relaxing
19)Bunny 20)Big sisters are the best 21)New job 22)Oui Oui Monsieur 23)The Great Escape 24)Hanging around 25)Off to school 26)Retro Star Wars 27)Soccer girl with her dog 28)Congrats to the neighbors and their new baby girl 29)Hanging out in the princess tent 30)Watching the storm blow in 31)the storm

2010-03-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

I love KITCHSY DIGITALS. Her creations and the world and colors she immerses herself in are amazing.
She created the frame I used above on my flower photo. The fact that it has old writing and the name Gladys scrawled on it makes it all the more delightful and unique.

This morning I started the morning off still nursing my annoying head cold and drooling over the new Stella McCartney line at Gap Kids. It is so spectacular I just wanted to cry! The colors are amazing and the retro details are breathtaking. Her lines don't strike my fancy for boys but the girls items are delicious enough to eat.
If only I had endless supplies of money to blow on such wonderful things. Just this romper alone is enough to send me over the edge. It goes up to a large size and I tell you I would purchase it and force my daughters to wear it if I thought it would work!
It has that fantastic feel of the 1900's. I picture the girls wearing this with a beautiful parasol strolling down the beach watching their brother gather seashells.

This afternoon I took the two youngest outside for some fresh air. We watched a wonderful storm blow in bringing cold winds and dreamy haze.
My head hurts, it has hurt all day.
Hopefully the cold will depart soon and take my two little one's colds along with it!

Oh and don't forget to hit my fave DESIGN HOUSE DIGITALS. They extended their Mad Monday sale through today so you can get your one kit free and your other three kits for one dollar!

Nocturnal

2010-03-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight we turned on the t.v. while we ate dinner.
Normally I don't allow t.v. on while we eat dinner but tonight it was the only way to get some peace and quiet and enjoy our meal because my son was a whiny mess.
He would eat his fishsticks.
He would eat his carrots.
He would eat his bread.
But he wanted to do it with t.v.
And I wanted a peaceful meal.
So he won.
We watched The Goodnight Show on Sprout. And pretty soon Brian and I were discussing the fact that fireflies are nocturnal.
Nina was explaining to Star that Lucy the firefly got to stay up late because she was nocturnal.
"I didn't know that fireflies were nocturnal?" I replied, suddenly very interested in the Goodnight Show.
"Oh yeah, they are totally nocturnal."
And for the next ten minutes we talked about fireflies.
It was a great discussion and I learned something new.
I guess that Goodnight show at dinner isn't so bad afterall.
Maybe tomorrow they will talk about why Nina wears those same pajamas every single night?
Those pajamas bug the crap out of me so I would definitely tune in for that!

Hello Saturday

2010-03-13T23:24:00.000-08:00

The girls went to see a musical version of James and the Giant Peach today with their grandparents. They gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up!

My son is wildly obsessed with Toy Story. He carries his three Buzz Lightyear toys with him all over the house, along with his Woody and Jessie and now his brand new Zurg. It takes him multiple trips to get them where he needs them to go. "Duzz, Duzz!" is his new battle cry.

It's official, one of my new secret pleasures is watching the Barbie boys compete in karate lessons. I usually play the part of the Barbie who has come to the dojo looking to take classes. Troy and Ryan (from Highschool Musical) then engage in some crazy karate moves.
"How come you guys aren't wearing clothes?" My Barbie always says as I try to stifle a giggle.
"Just pretend we are." States my exasperated youngest daughter as she twists and turns them through the air with a lot of grunting.
It's awesome!

Have you been watching Glee?
If you love clever then you need to watch this show!!!
I caught onto it midway through the season so today I had to go to Blockbuster and get Season 1. I am on episode 4 and it ROCKS!
Whoever writes that show gets my seal of approval because they are my new hero.

On a side note I was watching Season One Project Runway episodes that I tivo'd yesterday and I can't get the name Wendy Pepper out of my head.
She was one odd duck.

And look, I know this is not going to be a popular thing to say but today I stated out loud that I was very disappointed in you winter.
You really didn't do your job very well.
There was basically no snow and too much cold.
If it is going to be cold at least give us a winter wonderland.
Tonight I stood outside while the dog looked for a place to do his business and I listened to the silence.
There was a little snow on the ground from today but not much.
And all I can say is too little too late.
It's Spring so it's time for you to move on and I guess maybe we'll see you next year!

(All the wonderful frames are from Design House Digital's amazing Spencer Nugent. Sketchy Elements.)

Design House Digitals Promotion

2010-03-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

Have you been over to DESIGN HOUSE DIGITAL lately?
You’ve heard about the Post 20 layouts and get $20 promotion this month, right? Too easy? Need more of a challenge? Go above and beyond by submitting 30 qualified layouts, and you will qualify for both the $20 credit AND this very adorable, very exclusive kit.

“You and Me”, a bright and cheery collaborative kit by Carina Gardner, Jen Allyson, Deena Rutter, Audrey Neal, & Sara Schmutz, contains 10 patterned papers, 10 textured solid papers, and 11 coordinating elements.

This kit is ONLY available to participants of the DHD challenge, taking place between March 4th & April 9th, 2010. Need more info? Check out our gallery promotion blog post.

Happy Scrapping!

I just used the kit and I LOVE it!
This is what I came up with.....
"
I would love to see what you come up with!

Around the way

2010-03-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

I've been around but I haven't been around.
We've been sick and then well and then sick again....and now well.
The stack of laundry to be folded grew taller than me.
My cousin John came to visit with sweet little Max.
The kids were in HEAVEN.
We saw them, then Max got sick then I got sick then John and Brian got sick and we didn't get to see them anymore and they flew back to the land of recycling.
(if you move back I'll give your son a sucker every single day!)

I did something really stupid to my hair that I have regretted every hour on the hour since doing it....

Everytime I walk past a mirror I scream out in horror!
I have taken a photo every single day which I am quite proud of.

(Apparently it is quite tiring talking on the phone?)

I've been feeling down and downer and then sort of up and middle-ish.
And now the phone is ringing and I'm off to start the day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T21:05:00.001-08:00

(Design House Digital and the amazing Smitten Mega Kit By Jen Allyson).

Costco

2010-02-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

We've been stuck inside of the house all week.
The two little one's have been sick.
There has been no school.
But there has been LOTS of whining.
And LOTS of tissues used.
And the constant hum of steamers going on in the background of our day.
Finally I had to leave the house one afternoon to stop by the post office and send off a little package to my beloved Megan.
It was hard to be irritated with the two sickies when they sat behind me looking like this....

He often wants to hold her hand when we are driving along and she always obliges him.
I call him her little gingerbread boy because she is slowly turning him into a mini version of herself.
So imagine his surprise today when she returned to school finally and he was left behind!
When we picked her up he gave a shout of happiness.
I needed some fresh air and groceries.
So we headed to Costco where the two of them reacquainted themselves over the most massive spread of samples I have ever seen.
Seriously if you can get to Costco in the next two days YOU MUST!!!
Little One lives for her Costco samples.
There was a sample table about every three feet.
"THERE'S ANOTHER ONE! MOM LOOK OVER THERE! MOM MORE SAMPLES!!!"
The Superbowl is coming and Costco is ready to load you up with food.
At one point I looked at my son double fisting a pesto and chicken sandwhich on mini bread pitas and a pulled pork BBQ sandwhich on a bun....and my daughter with a cup full of chips and a cup full of chocolate covered raisins her face smeared with honey BBQ sauce from her honey BBQ wing and I sighed and said "I am so exhausted from all of the yummy samples!
Then Little One called out....
"MOM LOOK THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!!!"
And off we cruised to pick up some Boboli pizza triangles and I realized that staying inside for the last three days was totally worth it because on the fourth day God gave us an awesome trip to Costco and we all felt better.

Work in Progress.....

2010-02-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm currently messing around with the background on the blog so don't be alarmed if it looks horribly wrong!

Crabby

2010-01-31T19:20:00.001-08:00

My husband kept calling me crabby today.
"Why are you so crabby?"
"Geez crabby."
"Wow you are crabby."
Was I crabby?
At first I didn't feel so crabby but then I started to believe what he was saying.
I had a long night filled with terrible dreams.
The kind of dreams that you spend the whole next day trying to shake off.
I wish that someone would have woken me up early this morning so that I wouldn't have these dreams stuck in my head.
I had heartburn before I went to bed.
Maybe I have been eating too much Cafe Rio lately?
Tonight I watched Beyonce perform on the Grammy's.
I wonder if Beyonce is ever crabby?
I am betting not.
That woman has more energy and talent and beauty and did I mention energy.
I wish I had that energy.
Maybe if I had that energy I wouldn't be so crabby!
It all comes full circle doesn't it :)

Spotted.........

2010-01-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

One squirrel alive and well playing in the trees!

Dollar Days at Design House Digital!

2010-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

Whoa this is a great deal!
DOLLAR DAYS IN FEBRUARY.

"We had such a great launch in January that we wanted to thank all of you by selling brand new kits EVERY SINGLE DAY in February for $1 each!

Check back every day to see the new $1 kit(s) released that day. All these awesome kits will be returning to regular price at the end of February so snatch them up while they are at this introductory price.

Also, because of all these daily releases, the designers will be releasing regularly priced kits on THURSDAYS only. These regular-priced kits will be 30% off on the day of release only as usual.

Thanks for all your support and have fun scrapping!"

SA-WEET!!!!

And while you're there picking up new kits for $1 nake sure to check out the amazing Audrey Neal and her WINTERBERRY KIT

OR how about....

THE SMITTEN MEGA KIT by the uber talented Jen Allyson!

That pink on brown wood grain is gorgeous. She also has a pink on pink wood grain too that is deeeeeeeeeeeeeee-licious.
Happy Scrapping!

Zippy

2010-01-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

This blog is named after my squirrel.
I call him Zippy.
The girls say he isn't really mine and he isn't my pet, but I beg to differ!
Zippy has been around for years. He lives in a pine tree kitty corner from our yard which he gets to via an intricate monorail system of telephone/power lines.
Zippy sightings are like a ray of sunshine.
I can be having a rather average day and suddenly I will look up and see Zippy running along his wire and it puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step.
This winter Zippy has been busy.
I always though that squirrels hibernated in the winter.
Maybe I shouldn't get all of my data from cartoons like "Over the Hedge"?
I have seen my squirrel practically everday for the last month. One day I caught some awesome photos of him running on his monorail with an acorn in his mouth.
Yesterday Zippy needed my help.
A rather sinister looking group of blue jay's were congregating in the backyard. When Zippy is irritated you can hear his high pitched chirps. I saw him winding his way through the branches of the tree in our backyard, chirping his little lungs out as a bluejay sat on the wire above him.
The wire he uses to get back to his home.
Well soon another bluejay came and then another and Zippy took off down into the bushes.
He never comes down that far in the yard.
His chirping became more and more frantic.
Suddenly the bluejays began to dive into the bush!
Grabbing a broom I ran to his rescue.
Barefooted I slipped on a pair of my husbands sandals that were on the backporch and made my way across the dirty crusted snow.
"Get away from my squirrel." I shouted as the bluejays became more agressive.
Slamming the broom into the swingset I hoped the loud pings would scare the bluejays away but it did not.
Zippy's chirping stopped.
I swung at the branches of the bush, worrying that maybe Zippy would think I was after him and not the gang of bluejay's.
"Leave my squirrel alone!"
The bluejays began to fly off one by one until the yard was silent.
I stood still listening for Zippy.....but there was nothing.
Carefully I trudged back through the snow to the house, hoping I had given my squirrel enough time to get back to his home.
Only time will tell.
There has been no Zippy sighting today.
Keep your fingers crossed.

Project 365

2010-01-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

So how is your Project 365 going?

As Ferris Bueller says "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

January Frost

2010-01-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

Staying home isn't so bad

2010-01-17T21:03:00.000-08:00

When you stumble upon moments like this you realize that it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you are with your family it's all good.

Are you doing your PROJECT 365 ? This link gives a great description of what it is all about.

I worked on a 365 project last year that ended up being my "100 Days" project since I was only able to get through 100 straight days. If you are doing this project I urge you to PLEASE not be too hard on yourself. If you miss a day then skip that day and go onto the next OR just take extra pictures the next day and substitue one of those for the day before.
You aren't being judged on it and there is no wrong.
Also I think people get so hard on themselves thinking that the pictures all have to be these amazing works of art.
They don't!
Last year I took a picture of my dirty dishes !

Over at DESIGN HOUSE DIGITAL because they are going full steam on Project 365, each designer has come up with some great 365 kits to make compiling your days much easier.
I chose pieces from CARINA GARDNER'S 365 COLOR KIT , 365 A MONTH OF NUMBER STAMPS,DISTRESSED WHITE ON WHITE paper and an ESSENTIALS MASK.
I wanted to keep it all very simple so that the photo spoke for itself.

So, if you are thinking of starting a PROJECT 365 of your own it is never too late. Get out your camera and start snapping! You will be surprised how quickly you will get into a groove of having your camera with you.

Good luck!

Right Now.....

2010-01-15T19:24:00.000-08:00

Right now we are supposed to be in Las Vegas.
We are supposed to be enjoying warmer weather and skies that are not clogged with gunk.
We are supposed to be wearing light jackets and letting the kids hit golf balls on the driving range.
We are supposed to be celebrating my husbands birthday with an evening out together while the kids stay back at my in-law's Las Vegas house with them.
Instead we are home.
A few months ago we were going to go to Las Vegas and ended up staying home because of our dog.
I will preface this by saying we are dog people.
I was raised with dogs, my husband was raised with dogs. Your dog is a member of your family and you treat him as such.
We love our dog.
A few months ago we found out our dog has diabetes. He was becoming slightly incontinent so we took him in to see if there was something we could do to help him. They were concerned by his blood sugar so they tested him.
Normal is 158.
He was 750.
Not good.
We started giving him two insulin shots a day and canceled our trip because it isn't very nice to ask your parents to watch your dog when he may or may not unknowingly pee on your furniture. Add in the two shots a day and it would have been quite an undertaking.
They would not have cared about the shots. One of the dogs I grew up with (Ben)had diabetes.
When my parents were trying to decide what to do (to live or not to live that was the question the dog might have posed to them) I swayed them in the "live" direction with my best, loudest, most passionate soap box speech.
"YOU CAN'T JUST KILL HIM BECAUSE HE HAS DIABETES!!! BECAUSE IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR YOU! MAYBE HE WANTS TO LIVE!!!"
And so we gave him two shots a day and he lived.

We've been giving Cody two shots a day, cutting out his table scraps and giving him lots of extra love instead. He has perked up, come back into the fold as it were. What we had attributed to old age (he is twelve) turns out was really the blood sugar level of 750 that was getting him down.
My mom wanted me to have him checked out before we left for this Las Vegas trip. She wanted to make sure his blood sugar was okay before they took him under their wing.
We took him in last week and found out his levels are at 150.
He's right on target.
We didn't cancel our trip because of the dog this time.
We canceled because of the job.
My husband really needed a vacation. Some time away from the job to regroup and feel good about the job again.
This isn't helping.
But at least he has a job.
So we will stay home and be grateful he can support us and we will go to the auto show for his birthday like we do every year, and I will make something yummy for dinner.
And we'll dream about our next vacation.

Siskel & Susan

2010-01-13T14:00:00.000-08:00

After posting the title of this post I wondered if that totally dates me? I mean, does anybody remember Siskel and Ebert the movie critics?
When I was in highschool I wrote a paper of them. I am sure that won't surprise some of you. The paper had to be well researched, no less than ten pages typed with footnotes citing your sources.
There were papers on botchulism, George Washington, and The Depression. And then there was my paper on Siskel and Ebert Movie Critics Extrordinaire.
I got an A+.
I wonder how much of that grade was for originality!
I mean c'mon, that had to be a breath of fresh air for the teacher when she flipped open the cover and saw my title.

So that brings us to the present post.
I have always loved movies and movie stars. If I hadn't seen it I knew who was in it, what it was about. I could tell you who wanted to be in it, who was seeing who on the set and what the director was trying to show you with their sweeping panoramic shots.
In college one of my favorite classes was a class on modern cinema.
We watched Citizen Cane and it blew my mind.
And then I had kids.
With each child I became less and less sure of what was playing at the local cinema. People would say the title of the movie and I would just sit there blinking, trying to get my memory bank to pull up some info but there was nothing.
So it seems as of late that the children must be getting a little older because suddenly we are watching movies again and loving it!
Most of them have been rentals but one I got to see in the theater and it was one I had been wanting to see really bad!

Pookey Stacy and I went for her birthday after a yummy dinner at Stella. And OH MY GOSH was that movie funny!!!
It had many points in its' favor....Meryl Streep. Alec Baldwin. The darling Steve Martin and this guy.....

Who I ADORE on oh so many levels.
He was AWESOME in the movie.
The writing was great, the acting was great, it was soooooooooo funny.
Now, if you are divorced or recently divorced and might still have some deep dark hidden love for your ex-spouse it might not be so funny.....so keep that in mind!
Some other movies we've seen recently have been:

Inglorious Basterds.
If you like Quentin Tarantino you will like this movie.
If you don't like Quentin Tarantino than stay away....far away.
The acting was stellar, the violence not as gratuitous as it usually is in a Quentin film.
And the story was sad yet sadly true.

Away We Go.
It also has my beloved John Krasinski in it (see photo above). The acting was wonderful, the story was slow moving and sad but also beautiful and funny. Ooooh here is a good word....touching. It was touching.
Brian calls it a "Susan Movie." Which means that it is about characters and there is nothing in it that blows up spontaneously.

The Proposal
LOVED IT!!!!! Freaking hilarious. And Ryan Reynolds ROCKED. And it made me remember why I used to like Sandra Bullock movies.

There's Something About Steve
HORRIBLE.
HORRIBLE.
HORRIBLE.
Everything about it was bad. And it made me remember why I started hating Sandra Bullock movies.

The Hangover
So awesome and funny and clever and did I mention funny?
My husband is still laughing about parts from that movie and so am I.

Four Christmases
Eh.
Just eh.
It wasn't bad it wasn't good it was just eh.
It had a lot going for it....Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon. But it just never went anywhere.
If you don't have anything good to rent and you want a nice light okay movie then it's okay to rent. I say get it at the Redbox for $1 and you won't feel ripped off.

Twilight: New Moon

Loved it! That being said New Moon was my FAVORITE book of the series. Long before Taylor L. got nice and ripped to play Jacob I was a fan of the "dog." And this book was the reason why. While Edward was everybody's ideal Jacob was mine and I took a lot of flak for this!
This book had me rereading New Moon and basking in the happiness I found when I read it the first time.
It is still my favorite book of the series and I thought the movie was great. I definitely want to see it again.

Well folks that's all for now.
I'm sure I forgot one or two but I'm just happy to say I actually had enough to make a list!
Siskel & Susan signing off.

Dr. Frankenstein and her Monster

2010-01-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

Once Upon a Time.....

2010-01-09T19:48:00.001-08:00

Once upon a time I had dark brown hair.

And in my mind I still do.

A few weeks ago I went to a Christmas tea with my mom and daughters to one of her friend's home. There was a woman there that I have met a handful of times but for some reason she never seems to know who I am.

My mom will introduce us like this is our first meeting and I will remind her that we've met before.

My mom always says this woman is the funniest most clever, sweetest woman. I have yet to see that side of her but I'll take my mother's word for it.

This time when we met she did the same thing she always does when we "meet". Looks at me with a confused look, sizes me up and down and I can tell by the look in her eyes that she does not know me from the checker at the local Albertsons (Fresh Market if you're nasty!)

And then she says "Didn't you used to have black hair?"

"Ummmm no, it is dark brown."

"Huh." She huffs out. "Well, I think I just remember you with black hair. But this is nice."

To which I looked at her confused.

Because to me my hair still is dark brown.

I still look like the same person I was ten years ago, twenty years ago, thirty years ago.

It is only the reflection in the mirror that has changed.

Sometimes I think I will go back to being dark brown.

But not today.

Creativity Overdrive

2010-01-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

One of the many things that I love about being a Decorator at DESIGN HOUSE DIGITAL is seeing how someone can take the exact same products and create so many totally different layouts! This week on the DESIGN HOUSE BLOG there is a post with nine different decorators using designer SPENCER NUGENT'S products that you can see HERE.

I used his WITH LOVE paper pack.

Spencer has quickly become one of my FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE designers. I love the whimsical designs and the colors that he uses.
This page I created using his LONDON BRIDGE argyles and plaids paper pack. And I also used one of TIFFANY TILLMAN'S Scrappable template's that are awesome. They are so easy to use. She has each layer broken out so you can deal with the background and pie pieces in four seperate steps and then the title and journaling are also on different layers.
LOVE THEM!!!

Right or Left.....

2010-01-05T21:12:00.001-08:00

We have two left handed children in the house and one left handed husband. We are eagerly awaiting the status of the baby.

He has started loving to write on paper so today I was watching him to see which hand he used more.....tricky little guy!

The Dude Tub

2010-01-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

Overheard while walking past the bathroom where the girls were having a bath together.

(pretend boy voice)G: "Hey what are you doing, this isn't a dude tub!"

(pretend boy voice)Little One: "Just move over I want to get in."

Then I walked in to find the guys together looking quite handsome and nonchalant in the "Dude Tub".
This wasn't even going to be my picture of the day but since it has been cracking me up all day I thought that it better be "Day Seven."

And of course I had to add another Design House Digital layout. This is my New Years Eve layout. I used Carina Gardner's 365 Seven Photo Masks Simple and Jen Allyson's Design 365 January Kit paper and Design 365 Journal Papers and January Stamps.

The site has a great area called CLASSROOM with some tips and hints on learning the basics of scrapbooking as well as some fun things like creating circular text which I had no idea how to do until I went to see this tutorial!

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-02T13:26:00.001-08:00

.
I'm not really one to make new years resolutions. In the past I have given it a whirl only to let myself down when I don't stick to them, so in lieu of resolutions I just pick some things to work on and keep them to myself. That way no one is let down if I slip up now and then and am not perfect.
Yesterday I started working on decluttering my office and storage. This is the perfect time of year for it since I am already pulling apart storage to pack away all of the Christmas decorations.
The only problem with decluttering is it seems to infect the entire house. You start in one area and move things from that area to another area and then another and pretty soon it is everywhere. Right now I am sitting on the floor of the family room surrounded by things from the office (since the office floor is filled with more things that I'm working on arranging.)
The kids have gone to a movie with their dad, the baby is sleeping (actually he is crying but there is no way he can get up from his nap yet considering he has only been sleeping about 23 min.) This is a perfect time to get my decluttering virus under control but instead I am surfing the net, checking out the fun going on over at DESIGN HOUSE DIGITALS and watching National Lampoons Vacation.
Speaking of DESIGN HOUSE DIGITALS I am so excited to be in on the ground floor of this new design/digital scrapbooking website. I have come on board as a "decorator". Which means I will be designing all sorts of layouts with the fabulous products.
This is one of my first creations using Carina Gardner's O CHRISTMAS TREE and Meredith Fenwick'sDINER CAR kits.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

I hope all of your New Years Eve's were filled with claim chowder, chicken noodle soup, bingo and the Disney rockin' New Years Eve Countdown! (or something just as fun!!.)

And honestly who would have thought that Bingo could be so much fun. There were prizes involved which made the stakes much higher.Little One won two games in a row and for one of her prizes picked a Clementine orange. How can you not love a kid who will pass up a snack pack of Oreos for a Clementine orange?!?

There was also a very pathetic game of foozball between myself and my husband which had me yelling things like "YOU'RE CHEATING" and "STOP BLOCKING THE BALL" as he scored at will. I believe I actually scored three points for one of the games (one of those points was scored when he accidentally hit the ball in my goal). Let's be grateful there are no pictures from that debacle.

And we think that someone might want a big screen t.v. for his birthday this year!

Just Kickin' It

2009-12-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

My son has decided that he loves to kick the crap out of me while I'm changing his diaper. The harder he kicks me the harder he laughs and if he is able to get a good swift kick to my boob or better yet catch me on the chin if I'm leaning in too closely, it makes his whole day!
It is one of those situations where you can't scold him because if you scold him then he thinks he is a champ and it makes him laugh even harder. So tonight I tried to just ignore him. I honestly had no idea he could kick harder than he had previously been kicking....but he can!!
It's times like these that you wish you were the same size as your baby so that you could lay down across from him and just kick him right back. The two of you kicking and kicking in your matching footie pajamas until one of you gets tired, grabs your blanket, rolls over and just goes to sleep.

Day 2 {Project 365}

I love my sons room. It makes me so happy when I walk into it and see the bright red rug, the eclectic striped elephant pillows. I love the cluster of frames with pics of him, a shadow box with a Black Apple dunce print and a small clay gnome we bought for him in San Diego, and the paper airplanes. Ooooh how I love those airplanes. I had my husband make some of his "world famous" paper airplanes out of double sided scrapbook paper. He only knows one style of airplane and he stands by the fact that these planes fly like a dream (they totally don't!). The thought of my son waking up and seeing his daddy's prized airplanes dangling above his head is a wonderful thing.

Day 3 {Project 365}

She claimed she was in some sort of zen like state in the tub. I love the random Troy Bolton doll floating by as she zens out. Zac Efron....now that's my idea of a zen like state *snicker*

Design House Digitals

2009-12-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

Ebay

2009-12-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

I have been a member of the Ebay community since 2001. It has been such a great "friend" over the years, finding me lost treasures of my youth....helping me begin and complete collections.....sell things that I thought I wanted to collect and later realized I am not cut out to be a collector....and on and on.
I've bought movies, clothing, books, cameras, and numerous beauty items.
At one point I was a member of the amazing boutique community where I was inspired to design and sell jewelry. It was a crazy community that was a bit like a sorority where you almost had to "rush" your way to the top selling groups. If you were in those groups you were golden and you were able to work with some of the top designers creating jewels for their awesome creations.
Basically I have always been a big supporter of Ebay.
If someone can't find something I am the first to say "Have you checked Ebay?"
So it is with some irritation that I report that for the first time since 2001 I have been ripped off by two sellers. Not once....but TWICE in the last month!
I am grateful that it wasn't for large amounts of money and that it wasn't for some item that I was counting on for my children for Christmas presents. They were both movies and were under $6. But still I find it hard to beleive that people would rip people off for such a ridiculous amount.
I have always been very good about checking on my sellers.
Too many negatives.....I won't buy. Not a seasoned seller....I won't buy. I check their negatives to see what the negatives are given for. I always check where the seller is located as I don't like to buy from overseas.
But this time I apparently was willing to give the benefit of the doubt. One seller was brand new. I figure we are all brand new on Ebay at some point and people should be given a chance to build up their feedback right?
Well I won't be the one doing that anymore!
This seller had about ten items for sale and now their feedback is all negative from people like myself who never received their items.
The other seller is apparently just a jerk who may or may not mail you your movie.
I will now be very very very wary about my purchases on Ebay. It might have been a small dollar amount this time but next time it could be for something that costs quite a bit more and I am not willing to take that chance anymore!
I'm sticking with ETSY from now on! (at least until someone there rips me off too!!)

Let's Begin

2009-12-28T19:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas.
It's the most wonderful time of the year....with the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer!! Gosh how I love that song, everytime it came on the radio this holiday season I would burst out into joyful singing that had the kids in equal parts hysterics and amazement that I not only was singing but also acting out the song with hand motions!
I really enjoyed the holidays this year. I don't know if it had something to do with getting all of my Christmas shopping done early, or if I am finally settling nicely into being the mother of three that made it so calming? Whatever the reason it was truly wonderful.
Today I decided to start back up with a brand new Project 365. For those of you who don't know what this is, the idea is to take a picture a day for 365 days in a row. It ends up being a photo journal of your year.
I tried Project 365 last year and actually got through 100 days which I was quite proud of! I bound the 100 days in a BLURB book that is waiting to be printed as we speak.
Instead of waiting to start on January 1st I am going to start today!
He has just discovered snuggling into a nice blanket on the couch.