A Little Bit of This & A Little Bit of That

I was a tv junkie...

2008-08-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

My husband informed me of this last night. It started because Abby was playing w/ my old My little pony toys. Yes, I saved my ponies from 20 years ago. I know - you don't have to tell me I'm nuts. I've saved a lot of toys from my childhood. It was a very happy time for me:) Well, she asked who the girl doll was. I told her that the girl's name is Megan and that she was on the My Little Pony cartoon that I watched when I was a kid. So, with that, I hopped on the computer and went on You Tube and found old episodes of the My Little Pony cartoons that I watched. Abby got to see who Megan was and I proceeded to search for other shows I watched in the 80's. All I have to say is go to http://www.retrojunk.com/ . OMG - I was naming almost every cartoon and show on there. Rob thinks I watched way too much t.v. as a child. Maybe so - but I turned out alright didn't I? Anyways, some of my favorites were Smurfs, Snorks, My Little Pony, Get Along Gang, Thundercats, Strawberry Shortcake, Wuzzles, Care Bears, Muppet Babies, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Jem & the Holograms, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Inspector Gadget, Zoobilee Zoo, Punky Brewster (the t.v. show and the cartoon), Teddy Ruxpin, The Littles, and I could go on and on. I recognized almost every show on that list from the 80's. Hey that is a span of 10 years! Well, anyways, check it out - it was amusing to say the least. I truly enjoyed going back in time. You can see video clips of the intros to the shows. Too funny.

I've Been Reminiscing

2008-08-11T05:16:00.000-07:00

So, I received an email from a friend that talked about if you were a little girl in the 70's. Well, I wasn't born until 1977 but it got me thinking about my childhood a lot. Thought I would share some of my favorites. Going way back - I remember playing w/ this toy a lot!

I just adored that little picnic basket.
Here is a version of picnic baskets that the girls just received for their birthdays in May - so cute:

And of course what kid didn't play w/ little people? I still adore Little people toys today - my girls played w/ them too. Here's the difference.
My little people:

I don't remember what house I had but I definitely remember these people and furniture.

Now for the Little People my girls played with:

OMG - I just love it!
Another one of my favorite toys was the Knickerbocker Dolly Pops:

And of course they had to come out w/ something better - my girls have these and still play w/ them all the time: Snap 'N' Style Dolls

This is Erika

And Elena

And Tamara

And then of course they had to make baby Snap 'N' Style dolls:
Baby Nikki

And Baby Kira

I'm on a roll so stay tuned for more comparisons!

Love these 2

2008-07-29T05:08:00.001-07:00

These pictures were just taken on Sunday at my godson's bday party. They're growing up way too fast. This summer is flying by way too fast. Emma will be starting kindergarten and Abby will be attending pre-school two days a week. I just might have a total of 6 uninterrupted hours a week - what shall I do?!!! I could scrapbook but most likely I'll be cleaning :( We'll see - I have another entire month to think about it. Need to start school shopping - clothes, shoes. Emma already picked out her new lunch tote - Bratz of course. We found it yesterday at Big Lots - $6 - I can handle that! Now we'll look for a backpack and I'm not sure what else she needs. No news on when her screening will be - waiting for that letter to arrive and then hopefully once that's done, we'll find out who her teacher will be. Abby will have the same teachers that Emma had in pre-school. She's super excited. Abby isn't as shy as Emma so hopefully pre-school will go a little smoother for her. I'm worried about Emma being in school all day, 5 days a week. That's a huge difference from 2 days a week just 3 hours each day. And then having the summer off - ouch! I think I need to start practicing getting them ready now. That should be the fun part. Get up, eat, get dressed, get out the door!!! Yea - should be interesting. So, I went scrappin' on Saturday and I managed to get 18 pages done. Even did a few in Emma's baby album that I haven't touched in years. That made me happy - especially since Creative Memories is discontinuing that page size - I better get a move on in that album!!! Here's a little glimpse of what I got done.

This is not all of them - just the ones that still need journaling. I hate that part. The others that I actually completed are already in an album :)
As for Emma's baby album - can you believe she was ever this small?!!!

To think that was 5 years ago. Wow! She's only 2 months old in those pics. I kept those pages pretty simple - not a lot of doo-dads for the CM albums. Now, I just need to keep sorting her pictures from that long ago - pictures w/ no dates on them. That's the stressful part. Need to order and stock up on some pages too before they don't sell them anymore. Well, today is going to be pretty lazy - laundry and stuff around the house. Oh what fun. Rob's birthday is this weekend. Not sure what to get him. We might just be going to the Polish Festival for some family fun. With the gas prices and the oil bills - well it's not leaving much money for fun stuff unfortunately. Times are tough right now - we just have to make the best of it.

I caved...

2008-02-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't been feeling very creative lately - to the point where I'm taking too many pictures and not scrapping any and now I have no room left to store my photos. I guess I lost my mojo. So, I caved and purchased a regular photo album. GASP! I honestly didn't think I would do that. But if there were more hours in a day and more days in a week, I might have the time to get caught up. That's not going to happen so I finally realized that w/ the amount of pictures I take - say from our vacations to the Cape - well, I really do not need to make an entire scapbook album for every year we go. And after I put over 100 pictures in this new photo album of mine - I have to say, I felt some relief :) And I'm very happy I can enjoy the pictures now - they're not sitting in an envelope in a shoe box (because I ran out of room in my 4 photo storage boxes). The girls were ecstatic to actually see the pictures :) Kind of made my day actually. I think on my next trip to Target, I will be purchasing another regular photo album :) Ahhh... the simple life. Ha, ha. Since I went to Target, the plan was to hit Old Navy and buy my dd Emma some jeans that actually fit her. The kid is growing like a weed. Well, I have to say, I'm not the least bit impressed with their selection. I love Old Navy and I'm hoping this is not how it will stay thru the summer. I found one pair of jeans that I liked. Every other pair - quite honestly, looked like it had been peed on. Sorry, but I really don't like a yellowish worn tint in any pair of jeans. I'm good, thanks. Not to mention - the jeans I did really like - Um $24.50 a pair - I don't think so. My kid is 4 years old - I'm not paying that much for a pair of jeans. It just about killed me to pay $16.50 for the pair I settled for. Thank god for that gift card :) Can't wait for some hand me downs. Love those, lol. And I can't find her another pair of sneakers for the life of me either - size 11 1/2 - no where to be found. I've checked 3 stores - is every girl that size right now?!!!! She only has one pair of sneakers that fit her - I'm on a hunt for at least one more please. C'mon, is that so much to ask? I did have an enjoyable evening w/ my Mother shopping though. Abby was very well behaved and Emma stayed home w/ Daddy. I can't remember that last time I took Abby in a store to be honest w/ you. It's usually Emma that tags along. A nice change and she was so good. So, that was Saturday.

Our Valentine's Day was just lovely. Emma was so excited to go to school for her Birthday party - at least that was what she thought it was for, ha, ha. We had baked cupcakes and she had already brought her valentines in early - she knew they were having a party - We've been making valentine gifts for over a week but when she was getting ready for school she said "I hope every one made lots of pretty decorations for my birthday party". I told her it wasn't her birthday, they were having a Valentine's Day party and she said "But we made cupcakes". Ha, ha. I couldn't help but laugh. I explained to her that they were Valentine's Day cupcakes and a Valentine's Day party but she would have her birthday party in just a few months. Kids, the things they come out with. It was so adorable how excited she was to show me all of her valentines when she got home.
Here she is leaving for school w/ valentines for her teachers.

And with the cupcakes - Valentine's Day cupcakes :)

Emma w/ her valentines from her classmates

And a few other pics from our day :)
My little Abby

Gifts from Mema & Papa

Tulips (my favorite) from my hubby - only took him 12yrs. to finally get them for me, lol.

Love Baskets from Mommy & Daddy

So, I might have gone a little overboard w/ the baskets - but that's the fun of it!

Yes, I'm still here

2008-02-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

So, I was informed today by a very dear friend that I'm a very bad blogger. Well, I already knew that but this one's for you, Michelle. So, anyways, since Sadie's passing I just haven't really felt like blogging much. I've been focusing on more important things. Spending more time with the girls - enjoying them, enjoying life, enjoying scrapbooking. Paying more attention to my marriage - really talking and having meaningful conversations. You lose that in the hustle of daily life. Sadie made me realize what was really important in life. That little baby girl will forever remain in my heart. I talk to Tracy at least once a week. The family is managing the best they can. I can't imagine how difficult it must be. Their main focus right now is honoring Sadie's life. They are fundraising right now to have an Angel of Hope Statue brought to Blackstone Valley. You can read more about it here:

I've ordered 3 bracelets already. One for myself, and one for each of the girls - I'll have to take a picture of them to show you - they're beautiful. It's been 4 months today that Sadie went to heaven. Not a day goes by that I don't remember her beautiful blue eyes or that sweet smile. I can't imagine anything more painful than losing a child. Keep them in your thoughts always.

As for my girls, they are growing by the minute it seems. Emma is on and off w/ school. She has her good days and her clingy, "Mommy please don't leave me" days. Geez, I wonder if she would have been better if I sent her every day instead of just 2 days. I wonder what will happen when she starts kindergarten. She's so much like me though - shy, clumsy, such a Mama's girl. She's changed a lot the past few years that I've been a stay at home Mom. She used to be Daddy's little girl. But, now that I'm here with her all day, every day - she wants Me whenever I'm not around. The little stinker even waited up until 10pm for me last night. Refused to go to bed because I wasn't here. Yup, she's a Mama's girl. She got her progress report today. A - stands for Almost Always, E for Emerging and N for Needs attention. She received mostly A's, a few E's, and one N. Remembering her phone # needs attention. Well, her full name, address and phone # is now posted in bold letters on our fridge - I figured she's bound to see it every day. Now, that teacher can't say I'm not addressing the situation, lol. We have a parent/teacher meeting next week. My first parent/teacher meeting. How cute :) Rob will be attending w/ me. This will be his first time seeing Emma's school and meeting her teacher. I think he's excited to go. I sometimes have to remind myself that this is my life now. Hard to imagine that I've grown up, and now have kids of my own. Seems like yesterday that I was in school. Funny, how time flies. And my little Miss Abby - I took her to the library today when Rob got home from work. Emma fell asleep - that's what she gets for waiting up for me last night, lol. So, Abby picked out some books and a couple movies. We brought them home and I started supper. I peeked in the living room and she was sitting at the coffee table with the library books and Emma's toy register - opening each book and scanning the inside of the covers. It cracked me up - very observant little girl. Who knows, maybe she's destined to be a librarian when she grows up. But of course, I went to fetch the camera and take a picture and she was not allowing that to happen. She was all done! Hmmm... Emma so would have posed for the camera but not Abby! Oh well, hopefully there will be a next time and I'll be a little more sneaky! Well that's about it for today. Hopefully I'll be better at updating - now that I have someone to give me a push :)

In Loving Memory of Sadie Grace

2007-10-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

An Angel was born into Heaven on October 5th, 2007. My friend Tracy's daughter Sadie Grace passed away at 415 days old. Sadie was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 when Tracy was just 5 months pregnant. She was not expected to survive the birth but miraculously blessed them with over a year of wonderful memories. Please keep this family in your prayers.

I am thankful...

2007-08-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

So, with all the blahness going on lately I think I really need to focus on some good stuff. With that being said, I am thankful for....

1 - My health

2 - My family

3 - A roof over my head

4 - Being blessed to be a Mom

5 - A hard working husband that makes it possible for me to stay home w/ our girls

6 - Finding a good doctor that assured me that my baby would be o.k. and if by chance there was something wrong that I could handle it

7 - Abby being born perfectly healthy w/out any birth defects from Accutane

8 - My Mother being one of my best friends

9 - My friends that read my blog and then call me to cheer me up (thanks, Michelle)

10- My Father that has helped not only me but many people I know out of a financial burden

11 - Having a year to watch Sadie in awww that w/ God all things are possible

12 - knowing that no matter how down I get about my looks my kids think I'm beautiful and my husband loves me just the way I am

13 - having a big family and knowing that no matter how annoyed we may get w/ eachother, we always "gotcha" back!

14 - my sister Jodi for letting me borrow her camera cuz mine broke

15- moments like this

Busy Busy Busy

2007-08-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

So, I know I've been neglecting this part of my life. I should have know I wasn't going to be good at keeping up this. So many interruptions, so little time. I really have been trying to prioritize my life. What's important, what's not. What needs to be done now, what can wait. I didn't want to face how much there really is to do. I can't say it's been a great summer. I'm still struggling w/ occupying the girls. I still don't have a car. It makes everything really difficult. Always relying on someone else to cart us around or having to wait until Rob gets out of work. Emma is starting pre-school this fall. I am really looking forward to this. The past three years, we've never really had a schedule. I was never one of those mothers that had my kid nap at this time, eat at this time, go to bed at this time. Emma's first year - yeah sure we pretty much had a schedule but when Abby was born - the craziness started. My mother always assured me that it was no big deal and back in the day no mother that she knew had their kids on a schedule. Sad thing is, it's starting to get to me. I'm actually embarrassed when someone asks me what time my kids go to bed. I've always felt like my kids just never sleep. They're up late, up early. Believe it or not, this summer they have started sleeping later in the morning. My original plan was to get up and get ready before they woke up. But, instead I've been staying up later to get scrapping done and have computer time. I knew that once I became a Mother I wouldn't have much "Me" time but I really didn't think it would bother me this much. On top of that I just don't really know who I am anymore. I love being a Mother. I love my girls - I wouldn't change that for the world. But for some reason, I can't make a decision anymore for the life of me!!! I used to be so organized. I used to make lists upon lists of things to do, grocery lists, finances. You name it - I had a notebook w/ everything in it. I was on top of everything. My house was clean. I was polished. And then, well that slowly fell apart the last four years. It's hard to get back into it. I've tried but so many interruptions. So, many distractions. I would love to shut my phone off sometimes. I don't answer it half of the time but seriously, just because I'm a stay at home mom do people really think I have nothing to do all day? This is starting to get on my nerves. So, pretty much this is what I'm struggling with and I'm just trying to get some order in my life. I'm trying to figure out what the hell I like and don't like. I'm trying to organize my house and rearranging furniture. We're in the process of setting up the play room. The girls are sharing a bedroom (not that they sleep in there half the time) but we're getting there. I keep telling myself once they are both in school, it will get easier. Thankfully, Emma will be going to pre-school literally right down the road. We can walk for the first couple of months but it might start getting a little too nippy by November. I don't really want to be trudging in the snow w/ 2 kids in tow, kwim? It's quite a hill, too. And I'm already stressing about getting her there for 8:15am. That's early for us. Considering she won't eat breakfast until after 10am. It's always been a struggle to get them ready (and myself) and get out of the house. I feel like I'm always late for everything. I really need to plan this out. I don't know why it seems like so much work but it is for me. I think I need a professional organizer, the SuperNanny and a Life Coach to help me get my life back in order. I'm not joking. Now, I know why I was so upset about a year ago when my father asked "What happened to you? You fell apart after you had kids". Yeah that struck a nerve. I didn't go there for quite some time after that. To think a year later and I'm starting to realize that he was right. I guess the truth just hurts. I've been dealing w/ a lot of anxiety lately. I know it runs in the family and some friends have mentioned that maybe I should go on some meds. I don't know I'm scared. I have my brother who is pretty much the Health Nut of the Family. He's all organic now and freaking out that eventually the food is getting so bad to buy that he'll have to start raising his own animals to eat. He hates medicines. And although I think he's a little extreme about it, he has a valid point in a lot of areas. I just wish I had his willpower. Change is tough. When you are raised in one way, and well this way is just not working out for you, you think it would be easy to change but it's not. I guess I'm a creature of habit. But then again, I have that issue with getting bored very easily. Constantly stopping what I'm doing to move on to something else. I'm so not focused. My friend Kelly & I joke about this (she said she's the same way). We think maybe we both have ADD. We're not hyper by any means but we definitely have a problem w/ the attenion part. It's probably something we shouldn't joke about but it's just so frustrating trying to figure out how to prioritize your life. I feel like a nut job. I guess I just can't hide the feelings anymore. You hold it in for so long - making it look like you have it all together but I can't even fake it anymore.

Warning: may seem like too much complaining

2007-06-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd warn you that this is really not going to be a happy go lucky post if you know what I mean. It's almost been a month since my last entry and so much has happened since then. I just feel like I've been on this never ending emotional roller coaster lately. Things have just gotten so crazy w/ the girls. I always thought the older they got the easier it would get. Sibling Rivalry has kicked in - full force. One minute they are playing so nice together and the next - you'd think someone was killing Abby. OMG - she just starts screaming and crying and whining if Emma does something to her or just won't give her something. It takes so much to just calm her down. And of course, Emma will run in hide before I get in the room (I think she knows she did something wrong). I just don't know what to do anymore. I've tried the naughty mat and well, then I get to listen to her cry for the entire 4 minutes of that. That 4 minutes seems to last an eternity! And I'll ask her to apologize to Abby and she will but is laughing the whole time - she just doesn't feel any remorse for hurting her sister. I'm having a really hard time dealing w/ her. I thought the terrible two's were bad. I didn't imagine she could get this way. And of course to make matters worse, my car died. Granted, we had it for 12 years - it was only a matter of time. Rob drove it to work everyday and let me have the newer one. So, my little 1995 Toyota Tercel is gone. Rob gave it to his sister's boyfriend. He owns a junk yard. And I was alright w/ it - signed the title over and all but then I found out that would could have gotten a couple hundred bucks for it from some other junk yard. Hello? What were you thinking? He wanted to help him out - well, according to what I've heard out of his sister's mouth, He really has a ton of $$$$, so he really didn't need our help! I think Rob figured that we would have had to pay someone to take the car away and this way if we gave it to Kerry (the boyfriend), it was free of charge to dispose of it. Well, now he'll make some $$$ off of it selling the parts that still work. And we're out of luck w/ no down payment for another vehicle!!!!! Rob wants to take $$$ out of his retirement so he can buy a truck. I'm a little nervous about that - when tax season comes around, how much are we gonna have to pay in for that?!!!!! Thankfully the RAV is paid off. We used our tax returns to pay that off. It was nice not having a car payment for a whole month, lol. Now, once Rob buys a truck we'll have to start dishing out some dough for that. He needs a truck. He needs one soon!!!! I'm starting to get really depressed being stranded home w/ the girls. They were just getting used to going out so much. That's what the real bummer is. Not being able to take them anywhere. And well, we haven't brought over the play cottage and sand box from my Mom's yet so there's really nothing to do around here besides blow bubbles or draw w/ chalk on the driveway. I really wish the driveway was safer so they could ride their bikes. It's just way to dangerous. There's too much of a slope and my fear is they'll end up in the ditch that's right in front of the fence to the neighbors yard. I really needed to let all of this out. I know I go through this every couple of months where I start feeling really sorry for myself and I don't feel good enough. I feel like I'm not a good mother or wife. I feel like all of my relationships are suffering. My friends disappear and I don't know why. It's pretty pathetic. Then I have my sister-in-law that thinks she's super Mom and is always giving me unwelcome advice. Listen lady - if I wanted your advice I would have asked for it. And you're the last person I want advice from. If I wanted to be like you, I'd just dump my kids off at my Mom's all the time so I didn't have to deal w/ them (like you do!). Sorry, had to let that one out. Any chance she gets - she dumps her oldest on my Mother. He's sleeping over there already. My Mom is getting a little too old for babysitting her kids all the time. She takes my nephew for supper (the older one), she takes the younger one so my brother can pick up the other son at pre-school - cuz god like he can't take his kid w/ him to pick up his big brother? Oh, but I'm the one who needs to just suck it up and bring my kids places by myself. Yeah, that's pretty much how she put it. But, maybe I'll just be like you and work two jobs to get away from my kids - or so that's what my brother says you do. So, pretty much I've avoided her lately. Unfortunately, I had to see her at my parents house on Father's Day. The morning was really nice and I was hoping the rest of the day would be just as nice but Rob got real quiet and aloof while we went to visit my Dad. His Mom & StepDad were at the Cape for the weekend so we couldn't go visit them. I don't know if he was mad that we were at my parents' house but this is how we spent Mother's Day remember? We make the rounds - so why would you think Father's Day would be different? He didn't actually say anything but then I got to thinking maybe he was just kind of down because his Father died when he was 7 yrs. old. It wasn't under good circumstances of any kind either. Not that death ever is but his Father took his own life. I know it would always be a sore subject but it seems this year it's coming up way too often. And not by choice. My cousin graduated from High School and his party was a day before the girls bday party. Well, it just so happened, that it was held at the place they found Rob's Father. Needless, to say He wasn't going to that party. My cousin understood and she felt bad - she wished she would have known before she planned her son's party but seriously, it's not something you really go around telling people. Kwim? So, I didn't even leave the invite on the fridge - I didn't want it to remind him of it every day. I was going to go w/ the girls but Abby was sick and was still a little sick for her own party. She was pretty clingy but their party went well. We had face painting for the kids and a pinata. The girls got a ton of new clothes, toys, and gift cards. I pretty much didn't have to worry about clothes for the summer anymore. That was a relief. Oh and before I forget, remember the psycho ex of my husband Rob? Yeah, well, she's at it again. This time, it was a phone call. Thankfully I didn't recognize the cell # so I didn't answer it but seriously lady - do you think I really care about what pictures your daughter puts on her myspace?!!!! If you want her to degrade herself like that (and at 14yrs old I might add) then that's your life not mine. Let's remember that I've been out of High School for 12 yrs. now and I really don't need this drama in my life. I'm seriously thinking of getting my phone # changed now. Like I need her calling here. Come to find out my sister-in-law blamed the whole incident on me (how else would my name have come up?). Whatever, if it helps you sleep better at night to blame things on me then be my guest. I'm not losing sleep over it. We all know who showed the pics to her auntie and who got her in trouble. I'm not even her friend on the myspace and her page is set to private so how exactly would I email pictures of her to her aunt? Drama..... Some people really need to get a life.

Wow, I really had a lot to say, huh? See what happens when I don't get any computer time anymore. Not to mention - it's taken me about an hour to type all this because of all the interruptions from the kiddos. They really hate me being on the computer - well unless it's for their webkinz pets. That's the only thing I'm allowed to play in front of them. Ha, ha! Now, that I've gotten all that off my chest and seriously, if you actually read all that - Bravo to you! Thanks for listening and hopefully next time I post I'll have something happy to talk about. I guess I just need to get rid of the trash in my life and it'll stop stinking? Yeah, someone I know has that as a quote and it always made me laugh. So true though, don'tcha think?

You've got to be kidding me!!!

2007-05-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

My girls are sick - again. I'm hoping it's just allergies. Abby started on Sunday w/ the runny nose and now Emma this morning. Didn't they just get over being sick?!!! The weather has been crazy and I've been having a lot of sinus headaches over the weekend so I'm hoping it's just allergies. Their bdays are this week!!! They can't be sick for their bdays! Maybe we just did too much last week- wore them out the little buggers. We spent Thursday hangin' out at my Mom's and Friday I had an old friend from High School over. Her dd is 13 months old. So cute. She had a runny nose though - so maybe the girls do have a cold. This sucks. On Saturday, we went to my sis-in-law's for the afternoon and we stayed for supper. The girls just love playing w/ their cousins. And of course, I got my baby fill :) Kendra is getting so big so fast. There was a pic of her on their fridge from when she was born - amazing how much she's grown and changed since Valentine's Day. Yup, she's a Valentine's Baby :) I held her pretty much the whole time I was there. And she was so cute, smiling at me and cooing. Ahhh... a baby. Emma really loved being around her too. Rachel was sooooo good to Emma. Painting and making clay sculptures w/ her. Rachel is definitely Emma's favorite person to be w/. She was just following her around the whole time we were there. I love watching them play together. I really thought Emma & Madison would be closer since they are closer in age but Madi plays much better w/ Abby than w/ Emma. Emma likes all the artsy stuff like Rachel so they just click. They so did not want to come home Saturday night. I still think it's a little too soon for a sleepover. They're both still afraid of Mandy's boyfriend so I can't picture them actually sleeping over there yet. It takes them a good hour to warm up to Mandy too. It was a good day though. And then on Sunday, Abby started w/ the runny nose. Madi called me and asked what we were doing. It was so cute. They usually go to Wright's Chicken Farm every Sunday but the girls didn't want to go. They wanted to come play w/ Emma & Abby. Warned Mandy about Abby maybe coming down w/ a cold but she didn't care so the girls came over. We sent out for pizza. And they threw a "surprise party" for each other. No pics, sorry. I'm actually kind of pictured out lately - does that ever happen to you? Just not in the mood to pull out the camera. I think I'm getting overwhelmed w/ all the pics I already have. I'm running out of room. And well, I still haven't developed any since Easter. Not sure where I'd put them, lol. That's why I signed up for a "Use up your stash" (no buying) challenge on SJ. I need to scrap 50 pages before I purchase new stuff. Can I do it? I hope so. I've only done 6 layouts and 4 cards so far. I need to get my butt in gear! I'm working on 2 layouts for the LSS but I'm kind of stuck on one. I did one for Graduation. Weird pulling out pics from over 10 yrs ago. I think it came out pretty good though. I kept it pretty simple. Here it is:

The other one is for an "All About Me" layout. It should focus more on the journaling about yourself than the actual layout. I'm having a tough time w/ this one - I don't know how she talked me into doing it! It's hard to write about yourself when, well, you don't really know who you are anymore. I remember being so sure about myself back in the day - when I was 18 yrs. old and thought I knew everything. lol. But, I've been kind of struggling these past few years. Being married and then having kids right away. It was really tough and well, rocky for a while. It'll be 5 yrs. this June that we've been married. I've always wanted this but I feel like somehow I lost myself through it all. Kind of hard to explain. I need to just keep the layout fun & light hearted. Don't want to share too much w/ the people looking at it at the store. My mug is on the page so they would definitely know it's about me! We'll see what I can come up w/. I'm running out of time though. I will be counting the graduation one towards the challenge - I did get the paper for free but the flower is from my own stash - so in my opinion that counts! So, now I guess I'm up to 7 layouts! Oooooh - I'm making progress, ha, ha!

Unexpected Delight

2007-05-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday was Mother's Day and well judging from past Mother's Days, I wasn't expecting anything to make me smile. In fact since Saturday, I was under the impression that my dh was working Sunday morning. Needless to say he was in the dog house from the minute on! I'm not a materialistic person. It's the little things that matter to me. Being able to sleep in would have been nice - but no he got to do that. Having someone make me breakfast would have been nice - but no he took a shower and I was starving, so I made myself a bagel. I gave the girls breakfast and washed the dishes. Sounds like a great Mother's Day huh? He asked if I was taking a shower anytime soon and I said "I thought you were going to work." But he nicely stated that he'd wait until after I showered. Geez, thanks. So, I took advantage of it and took a nice long, leisurely shower. No kids yelling through the door or coming in every 2 seconds to bug me. It was very nice to be able to shave w/out having to rush or having any interruptions. Yup, I'm taking my time Mr. Well, I honestly didn't expect this when I opened the bathroom door.

That sneaky husband of mine, hurried up, through sandals on the girls, and took them down the street and had them pick me out some flowers. He actually asked Emma which one to get and she said "the big one daddy!" That's my girl! Although I was still mad for him lying to me about going to work - the big jerk! I hate being mad at him and this time he did it on purpose! I really did like the flowers though, so after I got ready, I had him take pics of me & my girls. This is the best one.

Funny thing is I'm not really into flowers, but this really made my day. I especially liked the watering can in it and there was this butterfly made out of green leaves. So cute.

And of course, I just love the picture Emma made for me!

So, we made our rounds to the in-laws to give my mil her gift and stayed for a couple hours, then headed over to my parents house to see my mother. They both loved the scrapbook pages I made for them from the girls. I have to say this was the best Mother's Day yet! Now, if I could only get my dh to surprise me w/out making me mad at him first... Oh and here's a pic of me & my mom. It didn't come out that great but what are you gonna do?

My Beauty Comes from Within...

2007-05-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not perfect - far from it actually. I hate having my picture taken because of this. I can't stop pointing out every blemish and feature I don't like about myself. My mother always says that we are our own worst critics. That is so true. Well, I took pictures of myself yesterday and just viewed them today - those darn batteries died. See what happens when I take self portraits? I kill the batteries, lol. In all seriousness, I need to do this more often - have pictures taken of me. Even if it means I do it myself at an arm's length away. I know I'm a good person on the inside, even a beautiful person and although I don't feel that way about myself on the outside, I know my kids do. They were excited seeing pictures of me - and even if I'm not excited to see them, I know it makes them happy. So, thanks for the challenge Lesle - here's my self portrait.

Oh and I just couldn't resist showing you this one! Cuz this most definitely looks like me. LMAO! I think it was the girls' favorite!

Shhhh...

2007-05-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

The girls are still sleeping :) Oh I know it's been over a week. I kept saying I couldn't wait for the nice weather to get here and look what happens - I don't have any time to blog! Well, we haven't been doing anything real exciting. Just blowing bubbles, taking walks, and drawing w/ chalk in the driveway. It's just been good to get outside. We can't play in the yard because my uncle is trying to plant grass - so we go to my parent's house to play a lot. Thankfully they live only 2 streets away - That's where there outdoor toys are anyways. I was hoping this would be the first year that we could play outside now that they've fixed up the place but man, does it take a long time for grass to grow, lol. Anyways, on Sunday we finally went to IParty and bought all the goodies for the girls bday party! Backyardigans of course :) $75 later we were leaving - you should have seen Rob's face! And that was after the 20% coupon I had for the whole purchase. It added up to around $90 something bucks! Geez! It's not cheap to throw a party anymore, is it?!!! Thankfully the girls were only born a day apart - if I had to do the twice a year, I'd be broke! I still haven't figured out what to buy them for presents either. My original idea was a water table. I'm not sure how much my landlords would like that if they're trying to plant grass, ha, ha! And of course, Emma keeps changing her mind about what she wants anyways. Rob said they'll be getting enough presents - why do we need to get them anything? Clearing throat here - CHEAPO! How can I not get them gifts?!!! Besides that, we usually give them the gifts on their actual bdays! It's easier that way, we recognize their bdays on the actual days and it gets them excited for the party that weekend. Oh we also have a graduation the day before the party for my cousin. Next month is going to be real rough, too. We have Father's Day, 3 bdays, our anniversary (5 yrs!), and 2 more graduations. Yup, I'm broke. I don't think I need to say that I have a big family, huh? Oh well, I'll just keep pinching those pennies!

So last Friday, I took the girls to a Family Fun night at the Middle School a town over from us. The Girl Scouts sponsored it and my niece is in the Girl Scouts so they invited us :) Well, I probably shouldn't have gone, lol. I can laugh about it now but let me tell you my oldest dd embarrassed me like I've never been embarrassed before! They were waiting in line to get their faces painted and they were showing soooo much patience. I was oh so proud :) Only one lady was painting the kids faces and well, needless to say it was taking forever................................
So, a nice young girl volunteers to help out - So sweet I thought. She couldn't do what some of the older kids in front of us wanted (snakes) but she took a few for butterflies and hearts. Nice girl. Her Mom was proud. And then, it was Emma's turn. Oh no - wouldn't even look at the girl. I was like "C'mon honey it's your turn - she can paint a rainbow on your face". So, I walked them over near her chair and Emma wouldn't sit in it. O.k. she's being shy I thought. I picked up Abby and plopped her in the chair w/ no problems. Abby was content as can be. What do you want Abby? "Yeah" she says. O.k., a flower or a heart? "Yeah" she says. O.k.- do a flower - what colors pink & blue? "Yeah". She's sooooo easy to please sometimes. It was really cute. So, Abby's all done and it's Emma's turn - I tell her to sit down so the girl can paint her rainbow. She's just staring at me and then says "No! Not her! I don't like HER!" I wanted to crawl in a hole about then. I firmly told her to sit down and let the nice girl paint a rainbow on her face or we're leaving. So, Miss Emma decides to whine and point to the other lady! My kid's going to be 4 right? Is this normal? I was not happy. I repeated what she needed to do and she wouldn't listen so I grabbed her hand to leave. She started sobbing and screaming and well by this time another kid was in the chair. Thankfully my sis-in-law was there and I asked her to grab Abby and I just picked Emma up and carried her all the way to the car... Kicking and Screaming . You'd think I was killing the kid. I got some stares and of course the sympathy looks - thanks for the sympathy looks - you know that's from the people that have been there, done that!

Well, guess who's awake? Yeah not just one of them - both of them. Emma wants to know why she has lines on her skin and Abby's calling them boo boo's. Ha, they're cracking me up. Well, let me share a cute little pic of Abby before I go - Emma was still screaming and crying to Daddy when we got home so no picture of her, lol.

She's holding a card she made at the scrapbooking booth. Oh and you can't see in the pictures but her pinkies are painted purple w/ nail polish. There was a nail painting room (omg the fumes!) and the girls wanted their fingernails painted. Unfortunately, Abby doesn't keep her hands out of her mouth so the Lady asked if she could at least paint her pinkies - Yeah, sure why not. Then Abby was pointing to another one of her nails and the lady asked her "If I paint the other nails, are you going to put them in your mouth?" And Abby replied "Yeah." Ha, ha - not the right answer. She was good about it when the woman told her that she couldn't paint them then. Too funny :) I told Abby we could paint her toe nails the next day but she won't let me - She's all weirded out about people touching her toes. She hates it when I have to cut her toe nails too. But, she's o.k. w/ the tickles and playing footsies. So cute! Oh and Emma got her nails painted green?!!! Ha, ha!

The Monday blahs...

2007-04-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

So, it's Monday and yes I hate Mondays as it is, but this Monday, it's dreary and cloudy and we're all sick w/ colds. Emma started last week (Wednesday I believe) and I just knew it would spread. Abby started on Friday. I thought my allergies were just acting up w/ the rain last week but on Saturday at the crop it just hit me real bad! So, Laura (the owner) was kind enough to stick a box of tissues next to me since I couldn't stop sneezing. I did manage to stay for the whole crop though. Then at 11:45pm, I was all packed up and ready to check out and I realized I didn't have my keys. It occurred to me that they were in my friend Michelle's car who thankfully just lived up the road. But I had to call home, wake up my husband to get her cell # because I didn't know it by heart, then call her and wake her up to unlock her car. Talk about feeling stupid. Sorry guys :( The keys were there, right in her back seat. Michelle - this is why I shouldn't have taken the ride w/ you to get your pictures, lol. Next time, please come prepared :) Ha, ha! And well, I'm happy that I actually scrapped 16 pages! That is a record for me!! I usually only manage to get 8 done, lol. I had a great time and even won a coupon for a free crop! Gotta love free stuff!

So, yesterday, my friend Tanya came w/ her husband to pick up the toddler bed for their daughter. I really needed to get it out of the old Nursery. Abby hasn't slept in it for about 6 months now and it was just taking up space. Believe it or not, her & Emma have been both sleeping in Emma's bed. I do want to get a trundle bed to fit under Emma's so they can share a bedroom - that's the plan. They are still too little for bunk beds in my opinion so I like the trundle idea better. Even w/ the sniffles yesterday, I was determined to at least straighten out the nursery and turn it into a playroom. The girls have so many toys, they're taking over every room in the house! I threw out some stuff and designated more for a yard sale later this summer. They still have a ton and their birthdays are a month away! Aaahhhh!!! I don't know why I find it so difficult to part w/ stuff. Rob just kept laughing at how frustrated I was trying to organize everything, lol. He kept saying, "get rid of it!" I told him as excited as I am that the girls are growing up, it's still sad to get rid of some of their stuff. He doesn't get it of course. He hates clutter - what was he thinking when he married me?!!! Actually, I was never this bad before we got married. Yeah, I kept cards and memorabilia. And since we've had kids, it's just gotten so much worse. I don't have such a hard time getting rid of my stuff, it's the girls stuff that kills me to get rid of it!!! I really need to come to terms w/ this issue or we'll be swimming in toys after their bday party. Clothes, people - my kids just need clothes, lol.
So, anyways, I did not want to get up this morning! Rob was so good last night - sent out for supper so I didn't have to cook, let me take NyQuil at 8pm and pass out on the couch. I have such a great life. Oh well - we're sick remember? Needless to say, I was not at all happy waking up to an almost 4 year old in my face yelling that she wants my spot on the couch and to get her some chocolate milk! I guess Emma's feeling better, lol. So, while she whines today (she's doing so as I type this), I will be blowing my rudolph nose and wiping snots off of Abby's. Oh the joys of Motherhood :)

7:21 am

2007-04-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

So this is the exact time that the girls have woken up the past two days. Two days in a row at 7:21am. What are the chances that would happen? Although today, unlike yesterday, I awoke hearing the girls in their bedroom talking. They agreed to watch a Blue's Clue's video and I heard Emma turn on the t.v. and pop in the video. No whining, no arguing, no complaining. They actually agreed on a movie and just started playing together - they didn't even run to get me. I laid in bed awake w/ a huge smile on my face. This I can handle. This, I even like. As opposed to the days that they would usually get up between 5:30 and 6am. Ugh! Oh and the days of 4am feedings for Emma. I've had baby fever a lot lately but I think I'm reconsidering. My girls are growing up and although I miss the baby stage, I know there are so many enjoyable moments coming our way. I was a little worried last week, Rob's sister had "the dream". And every time she has "the dream", someone that she knows is pregnant. The last time she had "the dream", Tracy was pregnant w/ Sadie. And the time before that, I was pregnant w/ Abby. And although that time of month came the day she told me she had "the dream", I was still a little nervous because we didn't know who was pregnant. Well, last night Rob informs me that he feels bad because he forgot to tell me something - He's known since last Friday that his long time friend Glenn and his wife Jen are expecting their second child. Well, after I laughed that Mandy was right once again w/ her dream, I immediately called her to give her the news. And needless to say, we were relieved it wasn't either of us, lol.
So, I stayed up until almost 1am sorting my stuff for a crop this Saturday. I thought I already had my bagged pretty much packed. Yesterday, I was talking to my friend Jen on the phone and kept reminding her to print her pictures and get her stuff ready. So, while I was on the phone w/ her I decided to check out what pictures & layouts I had planned out to refresh my memory for Saturday - well, apparently I scrapped all of the pictures I had packed. So, I was a pretty busy gal last night, picking out my pictures and papers to go w/ them. I even wrote down a few titles and journaling. Found a few layouts I like for inspiration. I am so in the mood to scrap right now. I had a hard time falling asleep even at 1am because I really just wanted to scrap the pictures then instead of packing them away! I just like to be as organized as possible because even w/ that, I'm lucky if I get 8 pages done at an all day crop. I think I've pulled together about 12 layouts. That's not including double paged ones though. Maybe I'll set a record this crop! As long as I don't sit next to the two girls that whip out like 40-50 pages. They keep telling me they keep it very simple and I know that but I'm still jealous. I would never be able to pack enough stuff to do that many pages - you should see what I bring already!!! I keep telling Rob I need a rolling tote. My over the should CM bag pretty much busts every time I use it. My plan for Saturday is honestly to pack as light as possible. I'll have to check w/ my girlfriends to see if they'll need anything - I like to share :) Other than that yesterday, I managed to go through the girls closets. I had pretty much already cleaned out the winter stuff and packed it away but there was still a few items and then I was trying to make outfits w/ the hand-me-downs. Well, poor Emma needs a shopping spree and my little peanut Abby - well, I kept telling myself w/ the amount of clothes I had from Emma, Abby would set for the summer. Ummm... no. Little Miss Abby is such a peanut, even Emma's clothes (as tiny as Emma was) are falling off of her. I have a ton of shirts that she can wear but all the pants, capri's, and shorts are way too big! I cannot wait for their bdays at the end of May. They will definitely be getting lots of clothes this year!!! Gotta love my family :) Oh and I spoke w/ the lady that will be making their cake. She said she can do a Backyardigans theme - it shouldn't be a problem. And she delivers. Ahhh love that! I have a combo bday/graduation party the day before I'm having the girls' party so it's going to be a very busy weekend. Now, I just have to figure out what size cake and I still have to go to IParty to buy all the goodies. I still can't believe Emma is turning 4 and Abby will be 3. It just doesn't seem like it's been that long. It's gone by too fast. Funny thing is every year it just gets better. :)

I want to be crafty :)

2007-04-21T05:49:00.000-07:00

O.k. I was never "into" stuff like this when I was younger, so is it a mid-life crisis at the age of turning 30yrs old this year?!!! I always thought sewing, knitting, crocheting was for "old people". Well, if that's the case, I want to be old. This may be old news to some people but I just love those "ugly dolls". Check out this post from Elsie Flannigan's blog - she's far from "old" and she is oh so crafty and I envy her!!! A Beautiful Mess
She's even my "friend" on my myspace, lol. So, anyways, she's funky and I love her stuff - not that I scrapbook like her or anything. I don't even want to - I just admire her style. And then of course, she provides a link to this: Etsy
It's like an ebay for crafters. I'm in heaven right now. I should be doing a million different other things but I'm showing Emma that we're gonna make "ugly dolls". I feel a Michael's trip coming on real soon...

Busy, Busy, Busy making a mess, lol.

2007-04-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

For weeks now I've been sulking over our only "spare" room. It's like the catch all for everything that we don't know what to do w/. It's also the computer room, my scrap room, the room where presents are hidden for bdays and holidays. To sum it up it's pretty much a disaster. Last night, I just lost it and started to organize everything. I really want to be able to scrap more in here and I want the girls to be able to do crafts too. I don't want my husband to lose "his" space either. It's the only room that I let him decorate, lol. So although, the walls are covered w/ his sports memorabilia, nothing else in the room is his! We really can't afford to remodel the room so he wants me to use what we have and make it work as best as possible. It is now an even bigger mess than before I started.

The view from the door.

One corner of the room.

Along the wall.

The kids table.

Pretty bad, huh? So, as you can see I need to hire a professional organizer but I'm not allowed to spend a dime on this room so that would be a big no no. I love the kitchen island that my sister gave me - I've had it since last year around this time. She didn't need it anymore and I like to stand while I scrapbook so it was perfect. Thank you Megan :) I used to have it in the corner of the room but whenever the girls were in the room my back was always turned to them. I didn't like that. And then at night - the lighting is horrible in here so where I stood was pretty much blocking the ceiling light we have. Rob did say that we could look into a new light though :) That's definitely on the to do list. Now, the girls are using a coffee table right now as a desk. No chairs really work w/ it and I hate how low it is but the window is right there and I really can't go too high. I'm wondering if we can somehow raise it a little and I can maybe buy a couple kid chairs to put there. I have this "vision" in my head but it would require me to buy all new stuff so I have to kind of forget about the "vision" and just wing it. Anyone want to come over and help rearrange the room 100 times until I find what works? Yeah, I don't want to do it either but it's been eating away at me for weeks now. Unfortunately, Rob will be away this weekend. They need to get the trailer "vacation ready" at the Cape. Trim the bushes, mow the lawn, make sure the winter weather didn't damage anything too badly. I have a couple gal pals coming over Sunday and would really like to do some scrapbooking - but I don't think I'll be able to clean up this mess in a day, lol. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

Oh, and as for the magic show - Emma really enjoyed it and Abby could have cared less. It was cute and my nephew Drew got to help Fran the Magician Extraordinaire. Emma was sad because she didn't get to help - which is hysterical because she is so shy she probably wouldn't have gone up if he called on her anyways. She kept asking me when it was her turn, lol. I didn't take many pictures because I had some toddlers that kept walking right in front of where we were sitting but I managed to snap a few when Drew was helping Fran. He looks so scared but he was more annoyed because the bell he was supposed to ring when we said the magic words didn't work for him - of course it was a trick bell. I don't think he understood that, lol.

I don't "get" men...

2007-04-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

So, I had a conversation w/ my husband last night - Strange conversation. I was tweezing my eyebrows in the bathroom mirror and he walked in and said "What are you doing?"

I said "I'm tweezing my eyebrows."

He said "Why?".

I said "Because I'm not getting them waxed until next week and they're already a mess."

He said "Why do you wax your eyebrows?".

Honestly, I didn't really know how to answer this so I said "I've been doing it since High School, almost everyone I know gets their eyebrows waxed".

He said "What's wrong w/ you women, do guys get their eyebrows waxed?"

I said "None that I know of".

He said "Stop shaving your forehead!"

Shaving my forehead? What? How do you compare tweezing eyebrows to shaving a forehead? He proceeded to ask me if I tweezed hairs elsewhere on (insert name of body part). This is by far the oddest conversation I think I have ever had w/ him. I pretty much just told him to knock it off at that point. So, now I think I need to have my girlfriends tweeze their eyebrows in front of him so he doesn't think I'm the only one, lol. And he thinks I'm weird (insert shrug smilie here).

So, anyways I'm taking the girls to go see a magician today! It's free at our Local Library so I'm really excited. We will be meeting my sister and both my sis-in-laws and kids there. It's so gloomy out this week, I wish there was more to do. All the kids are on vacation this week so I'm sure the movie theater would be packed. I haven't taken the girls to the movies yet - is that bad of me? I've wanted to but didn't want to take them by myself and I'm not sure how well they will do w/ the darkness of it all. They'll watch movies but Emma is really afraid of the dark. She always wants a light left on. I don't even know what's playing anyways so maybe we'll just need to set up some play dates. They always want to play w/ their cousin Rachel and they don't understand that she goes to school. We'll see her today anyways but I believe she'll be bringing a friend to the library so I'm not sure how much attention she'll be giving the girls. Well, you know me - I'll be taking lots of pictures and I'll share later!

The drama continues...

2007-04-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

So, Thursday night my dh got another message from the psycho. Yes, that is her official name now. It said something along the lines of "I was given a heads up that your wife would have a problem w/ you talking to me (blah, blah, don't remember this line and dh deleted it already) and then she said something like "this is just too weird". Too weird huh? Too weird that someone just could care less to talk to you? And of course it's all his wife's fault, right? Oh, I so did not have a problem w/ this chick up until she called me immature. So, dh didn't reply to her and just deleted the message. Life goes on.

Then, Friday afternoon, I get a friend request - no not from her but it might as well be her! Her daughter friend requests me. The 14yr old daughter that supposedly gave her psycho mother the "low down on the Super NUT Case". Yeah, remember that? I'm sure she didn't say anything about me. See, I never went into the whole story - just needed to vent about what happened. My dh and psycho were never really an item to begin w/. They went out on 3 dates and that was oh like 12 yrs ago. The daughter was 2 at the time. Well, he got out quick when he learned what a loony she was. So, a few yrs later, his sister meets a guy and unfortunately it's the psycho's ex and the father of the kid. Well, Mandy ends up marrying the guy and has two kids w/ him. The whole time they were married we treated his daughter like family - I bought her bday presents and Christmas presents. She was a sweet kid - just had a rotten mother. I've heard story after story about this crazy woman. So, Mandy ends up divorced but her two kids still have Jocelyn as a step sister and well, Mandy does everything in her power to be nice to the wacko so the girls can still see each other. So, unfortunately that woman is in their lives forever. She can definitely stay the h e double tooth picks out of my life though! So, I haven't decided what to do - I was going to message the daughter and "let her down easy" w/out giving too much info about what happened. I'm sure her psycho mother put her up to requesting me anyways - you know since I've now made my page private and only friends can read it. But, I can't message her unless I'm her "friend". Those darn privacy settings again, lol. So, until I think of some clever way to send her a message, it's sitting there waiting for me. Although, they are leaving for vacation today and well, I could add her, message her and then hurry up and delete her as a "friend", right? That may work. Now, just have to come up w/ something clever to say. Hmmmm....

O.k. anyways, so I took the girls to that indoor gym thing Wednesday morning - well, it was more like a big toy room. But they had fun anyways. With the weather being so yucky they haven't been outside and well, this room was plenty big enough for them to burn off some energy. It was great for me too. I got to play w/ them w/ no other interruptions. Real quality time. The hour went by way too fast :( From what we hear though the library in that town has a lot of the same toys and that's free. So, I just might sign up at that library - of course they won't be able to run around there but hopefully the warm weather is on its way!!!! So, here are a few pics from that day.

Abby playing w/ the puppets in the tent.

Emma & Abby playing w/ the cardboard bricks.

Emma crawling through a tunnel.

The girls playing peek-a-boo behind the bricks.

So, we have Direct tv coming today. Rob was fed up w/ Charter - they no longer offer the baseball package that he desperately needs to see the Orioles play ball. He's not getting mad - he's getting even. I'm just hoping we don't get a lot of interference. I've heard that some people really like Direct tv and others hate it. So, keeping my fingers crossed. I figured I would take off w/ the girls while they're installing it. Don't need my kids hanging out the windows when they're wiring everything, lol. That would not be good! So, we'll probably just go to Walmart. Emma's bugging me for that Elmers Go Paint. So, I said she had to pay for it w/ her own money. We pulled out the piggy banks and do you know there was $49 that we rolled in change! I need to get myself a piggy bank, ha, ha! It might help pay for my scrapbook supplies! Rob has a jar that says "Dad's golf money". Do they make one for "Mom's scrapbook money"?

Drama

2007-04-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

Why some people just can't grow up is beyond me!!! I set up a myspace page for my husband on Tuesday night - since half his family & friends are on there. He wasn't even a member for 5 minutes and an ex of his was already messaging him and requesting to add him as a friend. He said he didn't want to deal w/ her so to just ignore it. So, last night she sends him another message about how she just wanted to say "hi" and "didn't want to start any trouble". Yeah, o.k. Well, trouble is exactly what she started. He didn't reply to her so she was messaging his sister asking if his wife (me) had a problem w/ him talking to her. His sister Mandy said she doubted it. Well the ex then started posting comments on Mandy's page. This is how it went:
The ex:
Apr 11 2007 6:50P
Mandy~ I take it Rob's wife did have a prob w/ me writing to him,, How immature lol...haha!!

I have to admit she struck a nerve. I called Mandy right away and told her now I understood why everyone called her a psycho. Just cuz my husband could care less about talking to you doesn't mean you have to drag me into it! So, Rob got a little ticked off - he tried to message the ex and we kept getting an error. Dumb girl doesn't even know she has a virus! So, he posted a comment on his sister's page (poor Mandy).

Rob:
Apr 11 2007 7:16P
she is not "immature"
i just dont like you

Yeah I'll admit - he was pretty direct. But it made me laugh. Well, this is how psycho and childish she is. She just proved it to everyone who viewed Mandy's page.

The ex:
Apr 11 2007 7:20P
This is hilarious..... Like I said Immature.... Your on your sister's page,AND as We both know I did Zippo to you thats fine dude have a nice life w/ your REAL PRETTY WIFE!!

Oh and again:
Apr 11 2007 7:22P
Sorry Mandy Had NO Idea, Jocelyn just gave me the low down on the Super NUT Case!!

So, I guess she's calling me ugly and I guess I'm a Super NUT Case?!!!
Oh and again:

The ex:
Apr 11 2007 7:53P
Got your msg, What a night How stupid huh? So, ya I have no Idea what I did to him, We ended JUST FIne!! Pretty Crazy how controlled some people can be right? But Hey when u look like that anything is possible! haha

WTH? Can people just grow up ya think? No one responded to any of those but I will admit I was calling her quite a few not so nice names last night. By my request, Mandy deleted all the comments this morning but is it really necessary to attack someone's wife just because he didn't want to talk to you? Oh the drama. If I wanted drama in my life, I'd apply for a reality tv show. C'mon! So, that was my interesting evening, how was yours?

Easter Review

2007-04-11T05:13:00.000-07:00

The girls were so excited Easter Morning when they saw that the Easter Bunny left them a basket of goodies. I'm really starting to enjoy the holidays now that they're old enough to enjoy them w/ me. We spent the morning playing w/ their new little toys and of course I had to make 10lbs of potatoes for dinner. Luckily I peeled & cut them the night before :) Unfortunately it was pretty darn cold out and Rob argued w/ me about the girls wearing their Easter dresses. We were going to his sister's house for dinner and she would be having an egg hunt outside later that afternoon. I gave in and found the girls something else to wear - too bad I was way overdressed now, lol! Oh well, they were comfortable in there jeans & sweaters, so that's all that matters I guess. Dinner was delicious! We had a wonderful day there and then headed over to my sister's house for dessert and to see my family. My mom bought the girls the cutest remote control cars - Emma was sooo excited! We hurried up and opened it right away so that she could play w/ it (poor Abby fell asleep on the way there). To our disappointment, the car was attached to the remote by a wire just a couple feet long. WTH? How is she supposed to play w/ it?!!! She basically needed to crawl on the floor w/ it. Now, we know why it was on clearance!!!! Well, stupid me figured out the following day that the wire was supposed to be removed. Duh! Don't throw the box away until you read the directions on it!!!! Anyways, Monday morning I figured it all out - thankfully we had the box for Abby's car and I read it! The girls are just loving the cars and of course there are little dolls & animals that go w/ it. Soooo cute! We had a wonderful Easter - a long day but a great day. So, anyways, we are off this morning to go to some kind of indoor gym - I'm so excited and will definitely fill you in on it later. Until then, enjoy some photos from our Easter Sunday :)

Emma scoping out her basket of goodies.

Abby digging right in.

The girls w/ their Daddy :)

Me & my girls :)

Rob helping the girls find eggs at Auntie Mandy's house.

Abby playing w/ Emma's car (she got the same one). Of course not the best picture of Abby but isn't the car cute? And this was obviously before I figured out how to remove the wire! Lol!

Accomplishments?

2007-04-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

Things Accomplished list
So here's a list of 150 things that one can accomplish in their lifetime. Got this from another SJ member. Mine are in bold.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said “I love you” and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment.
39. Had two hard drives for your computer and a 300 gig external!
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing – nothing extreme but it was a mountain and I did make it to the top 
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs – oh that was soooo long ago!
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love!
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children.....currently Raising
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (45.5 kilograms)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Swam with a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach .
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

39 out of 150 – how did I do?

To Sum it up

2007-04-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

I figured I could type and type and type but well I'm tired so I figured I could sum up the last few months w/ a slideshow. Enjoy:)

I'm a very bad blogger!

2007-04-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

I should have known that I would be a bad blogger. (Note: I started this post on Nov.9th, lol) I guess I go in spells w/ things. I try something new such as this and I'm so excited w/ it and I'm on the computer constantly and then well, I get bored or have nothing to talk about and I go MIA for awhile. I seem to do that w/ a lot of things. I've really just been trying to spend more time in the real world I guess. I felt like I wasn't paying enough attention to my girls being on the computer all of the time. So, you would think I would have a ton to talk about but my life is just not that exciting. In October, we did get some good news w/ Abby and her lead level. It is now down to an 8 so that is a huge improvement. She doesn't need any more testing until her yearly appt. in June. I've been in touch w/ some friends from High School and am having such a good time catching up and reminiscing about the good ol' days. A few of them are even coming to scrapbook w/ me at crops. I think this is the most I have ever scrapbooked. Just wish I could figure out how to take pictures of them w/out the glare effect. I'm really excited to celebrate Easter this year. The girls are at the age where they want to "get into" the holidays. Emma keeps bugging me about coloring the eggs this year. It will be a first for us so it should be interesting. I took them to an egg hunt last Saturday at the local beach and they had such a good time. I've missed blogging a lot and hopefully I'll be able to keep up w/ it. Oh and before I go, I just wanted to thank Lesle from SJ for giving me a push to update my blog :)

It seems like it's been forever!!!

2006-10-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

So, I've been MIA for a while now and it seems like an eternity since my last post. Not too much going on I guess. I've been keeping busy and actually scrapbooking. I've been helping out the LSS in town and am having a blast doing so!!! I actually took my first class there last night. Had such a great time! We made the cutest little halloween mini album. I love it and can't wait to do one for Christmas. Check this out!
This was my first time ever making an album just out of cardstock. The tabs on top can be pulled out to put more pictures in it! I can't wait to put pics of the girls in it. Abby picked out her costume yesterday - She's going to be a Care Bear. The pink one w/ the rainbow on the belly - Cheer Bear I believe. I should probably research that so I know for sure, huh? Emma keeps telling me she wants to be Emma for Halloween. I guess she's not liking the dressing up business but I'm still hoping she'll pick out a costume soon. She has changed her mind a ton of times already. First she wanted to be a pumpkin, then Cinderella, then Dora, then Spongebob. Now she just wants to be Emma!!!! She cracks me up. I'll have to take her to the Party store where they carry more Character costumes and hopefully she'll get excited about it! So, I'm going to a crop this Saturday again! I have no idea what I'll be working on and I'm a little bummed that I can't stay for the whole day. Rob has to help remodel his parents living room. They have to take down a whole exterior wall because it's not supporting the roof enough. Crazy!!! I'm glad I won't be there to watch. So, I have a ton to do and my mind is just filled w/ plan after plan. I need to start writing down reminder notes for myself. I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed w/ everything I would like to get done. I need to pack my scrapbooking stuff for tomorrow and I'm working on some craft projects for the store. I've been super tired lately and haven't been motivated the last few days to do anything. I guess the lack of sleep is finally catching up to me. I'm frustrated that I can't take good pics of the layouts I did from the last crop - I keep getting a glare on the photographs on the pages and I don't want to post them like that. I should just really splurge and get a bigger scanner so I can scan 12x12 pages. If I only had a ton of money!!!!

I'm still receiving layouts for Sadie's album and I'm so thankful for the help from these generous ladies! Sadie is doing well and I thank God for that everyday. The family just had portraits done and Tracy is so excited about them. I can't wait to see them!!!

As far as the deleading goes, my aunt & uncle are waiting for the loan to be approved still. They are hoping to get this done by mid November and if not, then I think we'll be waiting until after the holidays. Can you believe Christmas is just a couple months away?!! I have no idea what to get anyone this year. I have 12 kids to buy for and that doesn't include my own 2 kiddos!!! I'm thinking gift cards this year, seriously! Maybe I'll get more excited about it after Halloween but right now the gift cards are sounding like a good idea. I just don't know what these kids want anymore!!! As for my own two - they have a million toys already and I'm struggling w/ the whole "out w/ the old, in w/ the new" theory! Hopefully I'll get better at that the older they get. I better or it's going to look like a toystore in here!!! Well, I guess I should get busy packing some stuff to scrap tomorrow!!! I really need to go grocery shopping too but my road is being paved today. And besides, I hate going grocery shopping!!!! Ugh!

I'm 29 years old today.

2006-09-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

So, yep it's my birthday. I'm 29 years old and yep I feel old. I never thought I would feel old at 29 - it's really not that old so what's my problem? I woke up this morning to find little notes hanging around the house. My husband wrote Happy Birthday on all of them. Some in the doorways, one on the microwave - I took some pictures and when I loaded them on the computer I noticed the microwave one had 3 0f 29 written on the bottom. Got me thinking -are there really 29 notes hanging around the house somewhere and then I noticed the J.K. on this one.

I had to go back and read the bottom of each note to see what # was on them and I couldn't find #4 for the life of me and then I found it in my purse. Made me smile at least - gave me & the girls a little scavenger hunt this morning. Thankfully there wasn't 29 of them (I think there are only 7 total, including the Just Kidding one). It would probably have taken me all day to find 29. Who knows maybe I'll find more later. Rob is such a goof. So, no real plans - not for today anyways. Still need to do laundry and dishes - a housewife's job is never done, lol. My sisters are taking me out this Saturday - out to eat & a movie. A girls night out - that'll be fun. We haven't done that since I was pregnant w/ Emma (make note Emma is 3). Rob wanted to do the same thing like we did w/ his birthday but the way the weekends are lately - it won't be until October that we get to go out. Something to look forward to.

Well, I got to scrapbook over the weekend! Yeah! I went to the crop on Saturday and I had a blast. Got to meet a new friend from Scrapjazz. Kim's a sweetheart. Amazing how the internet can connect you to people you would have never met otherwise. I only got 5 pages done but I'm so thrilled about them. I haven't worked on stuff for my girls in a long time - been too busy making gifts for others. And then I just got overwhelmed w/ the whole chronological order thing. I'm not doing that anymore. I brought recent pics from this year w/ me and I had so much fun working on current stuff. I'll eventually do the other ones, but in order to have fun and have it not seem like a chore, I need to work on stuff that strikes me at the moment. I'll put them in order on another day. So, now I need somewhere to keep them. I need to buy a new album (not a Creative Memories album which is mostly what I have now). I'm sick of having to trim all of my 12x12 paper. I do have a pink 12x12 album that I was going to store the pages in until I get a family album and do you know I still have to trim the page!!!! I could have screamed last night. Not to mention, I thought if I took the screws out of the album and took the pages out that somehow I would be able to get the page in the protector. Nice thought, still doesn't fit. So, any suggestions on a good album would be nice - please suggest!!! There was a woman at the crop that makes her own 12x12 albums. Both her & her mother stitch fabric on the covers and they use velcro to keep the pages together. It was definitely something to see - I need to get her website address from my LSS. The albums are $39 - a little expensive but I'm still thinking it's an option. I guess she has a ton of styles to choose from. She had said her son kept breaking the pages of the other albums and so her mom & her came up w/ this idea of the velcro. She has the protectors made from a company and they are a side load w/ a flap so the page doesn't fall out. After the stress of unscrewing my album last night, the velcro is sounding like a good idea. I'll let you know when I get the web address. Well, I guess that's about it for now. So, I'm off to do some chores and take care of the kiddos!

A whirlwind of emotions...

2006-09-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Let me just say it has been an exhausting couple of weeks. I've have been so overwhelmed w/ emotions and frankly I'm so physically tired from it all. I don't even know where to begin w/ this posting. Let's start w/ Sadie. Sadie is doing well and had an ultrasound of her brain done last Thursday. Originally the doctors said that the frontal lobes of the brain were missing and this is why she wouldn't have been able to eat, or even breathe on her own. The ultrasound confirmed that the frontal lobes are there and working well. Sadie also had her hearing tested again and she has 60% hearing in one ear. The news just keeps getting better!!! I am so thankful to hear and even see how well she is doing. I attended her blessing at their Parish on Sunday. My mother accompanied me and it was a very emotional service. I felt honored to be a part of their community if just for a few hours. Tracy's husband Brett wrote a beautiful poem that was passed out before mass and it just brought everyone to tears. It was so touching. They also had a slideshow at the gathering held after mass. It was beautiful. Sadie is 27 days old today. A true miracle. I also gave Tracy 6 scrapbook pages on Sunday and explained who they were from and that there are many people from all over praying for their family. She was very touched and I can't wait to bring her some more. I have received 5 more already and that was just yesterday. I've never been so happy to get mail in my life. And to think, it's not even for me!!!! I couldn't have done any of this w/out the help of some wonderful ladies on SJ. I am truly grateful for their generosity. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics to share from the blessing - I forgot the digital but as soon as I have the others developed from my film camera I will post an updated pic of this beautiful little baby.
Last week we spent 4 days at the Cape. The weather could have been a little warmer but all in all it was a great 4 days. The girls got to play on the beach and walk in the bay. We collected sea shells and built sand castles. The town built a new playground right down the road from the trailor and the girls could not get enough of the slides. It was so nice to just sit and play w/ them and give them our full attention. No phone ringing, no emails to check, just the 4 of us. Just our family. We need to do this more often. If Rob only got more vacation time - that would be so nice. The nights were rough but we got through it and the girls didn't even want to leave when it was time to go. It's been crazy since we got back. I had to finish my niece Amanda's 18th birthday gift. I made her a 5x7 album of pieces from her life. Her party was on Saturday and I finished it Saturday morning. To think I started the album in February. I really must plan and finish these gifts sooner than that!!! She loved it and couldn't believe I made her an actual album. I'm thrilled she liked it so much. Then, on Sunday we had the blessing to attend for baby Sadie. By the time I got home, Rob told me Abby was napping and she had a fever. I was very thankful at that point that I didn't bring them w/ me. She's doing better now. Her fever got up to 103.8 yesterday and I called the doctor but they said it's probably just a virus and to keep pumping her w/ fluids and the tylenol. I'm just getting annoyed w/ why she's getting fevers so much lately. It seems like at least one a month and I'm not sure why. Maybe this is totally normal but I hate to see her feel this way. I'm looking forward to this weekend - I have a crop to go to so I need to start preparing for that. To get back to scrapbooking my own children - Yay!!! I really need to get moving on their albums. I haven't even started Abby's yet and Emma is only about 4 months old in hers. I have some major catching up to do!!! All in time, I suppose. I still have lots to catch up on so I should go do some of that! For now here are a few pics of our mini vacation!

"It felt good to hold a miracle"

2006-08-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

This came out of my mother's mouth on the way home from meeting baby Sadie Grace. And I can't get it out of my head. So well put. I did not want to put this little baby down!!! She is so tiny & petite, a true miracle. It was a very emotional visit. I got to see the 7x7 album of Sadie's ultrasounds that Tracy made before she gave birth to Sadie. Tracy said to me "I didn't think I would need a bigger album". She then said how she already has over 300 pictures of this precious little girl and is very anxious to start a 12x12 scrapbook for her. I can't imagine how she is going to do this. Her husband goes back to work tomorrow and her 3 boys are starting school. I want to help the family out so much and every idea I could think of was pretty much impossible. Tracy's husband Brett and their 3 sons all have food allergies, so there was no way I could help w/ sending meals and so I thought about helping w/ the shuttling of kids to & from school but they live about 40 minutes away and I have 2 of my own who are still in carseats so pretty much no room in my vehicle. I thought about helping w/ laundry & cleaning but Tracy informed me that her husband hired a cleaning lady to come to the house. And all I could think of was how Tracy kept talking about Sadie's scrapbook when I spoke w/ her. I know this means so much to her to get these happy & thankful memories into an album. So, I decided to make her a pre-made page for Sadie's album. That way Tracy wouldn't have to fuss so much w/ the creative side of scrapbooking and wouldn't have to take too much time away from Sadie. She holds Sadie night & day and this baby is never put down!!!! The doctors said how it is easier for Sadie to breathe in an upright position and this will put less stress on her heart. I knew Tracy wouldn't have time to do this scrapbook by herself and I could only make so many pages too. Then I got to thinking about the scrapbook website I belong to and all the talented ladies that are on there. So, I asked for help and so far 9 wonderful, talented, thoughtful, generous women are helping me make pages for Sadie's scrapbook. I am so touched by their generosity. I can't thank them enough for their kindness. I've always wanted to make a difference in someone's life. I really think w/ the help of these ladies that Tracy will be so overwhelmed w/ love knowing that there are people in this world that she doesn't even know that are thinking about her family and her precious daughter. I'm simply overjoyed w/ emotion. I will be real busy working on this project for Tracy & Sadie but I will update as much as I can. But before I go, let me introduce you to baby Sadie Grace...

Test Results

2006-08-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

I actually got the results on Monday and I've just been so busy making a gift for my friends new baby that I haven't had time to post. Anyways, Abby's level was a 17 from the last venous test and now it's a 12!!!! Yah!!! So, we just have to keep giving her the iron and we have another venous lead test scheduled for Oct. 23rd. The Social Worker also came today for a follow up and she is just so pleased w/ how smoothly everything is going. She also said she sees no need for another appt and she'll just call me sometime in October to see how things are moving along and then she'll want an update on Abby's level again. I'm just so pleased w/ the results. Well, I really need to get these gifts done - I'm going to see my friend Tracy's baby tomorrow night!!! I am so excited. Baby Sadie is a true miracle. She's very sick and wasn't expected to even be here w/ us but here she is and she's a week old today!!! Such a blessing to their family that they are getting this time w/ her. Sadie has a disease called Trisomy 18 and for the past 5 months we've all been praying so much that she would be o.k. The doctors didn't expect her to survive the delivery, or to be able to breathe on her own, or to even eat. Well, our prayers were answered because she can do all of those things!!! Prayer is a powerful thing. If you have a minute, say a prayer for baby Sadie and her family. Believe in miracles because they do happen. :)

Where does the time go?

2006-08-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

I've been a very very bad blogger. Sorry I've been busy - sort of. Well to give you a little update on the lead situation - my aunt & uncle have one more estimate to get and that company is coming this Saturday. Then they can pick one company, apply for the loans and get it done!!! Abby goes for her blood test tomorrow. To think it seemed so far away and now it's only a day away. Probably won't get the results until Monday though. Other than that, I've been packing away knick knacks that I don't want broken while they delead. I'm starting to take pictures down off the walls and pack those away too. It feels like we're moving but we're not. I just can't wait for it to be all over and done w/. In the end the girls will be safe and I'm hoping our oil & electric bills won't be so high w/ better windows. That will be an added bonus!

On a lighter note, Emma took a pair of scissors and cut some of her hair today! I saw it drop to the floor and thought I was gonna die!!! Thankfully, I can barely even tell where she cut it off. I guess it'll make a good scrapbook page for me to do. I saved the hair so I guess I'll just have to take some pics now. Kids, huh? Hid the scissors really good this time, too.

I love this girl!!!!

2006-08-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

I found this picture of her on my camera from our little shopping trip yesterday. This is my niece Amanda. She cracks me up. I always have such a great time when we're together. She's really more like a little sister to me than a niece. We did well on our trip to Old Navy. I'm not sure her mother will feel that way when she sees how much money she owes me. lol. But she didn't give us a limit so Amanda pretty much got everything she wanted. And we managed to fit it all in the stuff & save bag. I splurged and bought myself a pair of jeans and t-shirt too. I so desperately need jeans. I can never find any I really like. And I REALLY like these jeans. Only cost me about $20 after the discount. Pretty good deal I thought. I managed to get everything done yesterday but when I went to pick up the girls at Mema's they were sleeping!!!!! I was like "Ma it's 4:30pm!!!!". She didn't seem to care. So, I let them nap until around 5:15 and I had to get them home. Let's just say it was not pretty. But I had a hair appt. at 6:30 so hubby got to deal w/ it. Part of being the Daddy I told him. :) My hairdresser chopped my hair off again. It grows so fast and I was getting bored. I got my roots done and I still wonder how they manage to stain my forehead in the process. I hate that!!!! I think I like the cut though. We'll see after I try to style it today. Need something easy, don't have time to fuss too much. Well, when Rob gets out of work today I think we're heading over to his friend's house. The girls will probably go swimming again. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they don't get sick!!!!

It's Friday!!!!!

2006-08-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah! It's Friday! I've always liked Fridays. I guess cuz when I was in school it was the last day of the week and when I worked it was the last day of the week. ha,ha. But for some reason, even though I don't go to school anymore and I don't work (outside of the house) anymore I still like them. Getting moving today and taking the girls to their Mema's house. They will be spending the afternoon there while I take my niece school shopping. I have a 20% off stuff & save bag from Old Navy and it expires today!!!! So, I will have the privelege of reliving the school shopping experience. I miss school shopping. Oh the days when I had a new wardrobe every September. I miss those days - I don't miss actually going to school but I miss the clothes. I have to then squeeze in some grocery shopping, pick up the girls at Mema's, make supper, and then I have a hair appt. at 6:30. Can I do it? I guess it all depends on how long it take a 17 year old girl to pick out new clothes. I could always go to the grocery store after my hair appt. right? Well, I need to get moving so Happy Friday everyone!

Does it ever end?

2006-08-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

So, the girls have been sick again. Abby started on Tuesday afternoon. Out of nowhere at 3pm she had a 102.1 fever. I'm starting to wonder about this. Never any other symptoms just fever. The heat and humidity here has been awful. Been staying inside and keeping the girls as comfortable as possible. To make matters worse Abby threw up all over the two of us Tuesday night. Poor Rob got to clean up the mess while Abby and I took a bath to get cleaned up. And then of course her fever spiked again right after the bath. Emma started w/ the fever Wednesday morning. She was completely fine until around 9am and she fell asleep watching Little Bear on t.v. Sure enough, I felt her forehead and she was burning up. I checked her temp and it was 102.6!!!! What is going on?!!! My mom thinks it had something to do w/ them going swimming at a friends house over the weekend. Can you really get sick just from going swimming? Rob had taken them while I worked at the garage sale on Saturday afternoon. Other than the fevers they're o.k. It was Rob's birthday yesterday. He's 32 now. We had a small cake - just the four of us. The girls got him a huge bag full of his favorite munchies - peanuts, slim jims, spicy sausage stuff. He loved it. And we'll be going out to eat and the movies for his birthday. That's planned for the 12th - it was the soonest I could get a sitter for the girls. We so desperately need a night out together. Can't wait. Abby's feeling much better this morning. All she's wanted to do for the past two days is watch Strawberry Shortcake videos. She's so darn cute. I love Strawberry Shortcake so I'm not complaining. Emma's still sleeping at the moment. Poor thing still has a fever. Still going to take it easy today. Had a killer rain storm last night. Didn't do much to cool things off but it'll be a little less hot today. They're saying just in the mid 90's. As far as the lead issue goes, we got the report back - it pretty much just states exactly what the woman told us when she was here. My aunt has already faxed it to a couple of different companies to get estimates. She'll be setting up appts. for the them to come see the house as soon as they review the reports. Just waiting to hear back from them now. Things are looking pretty good. I should probably start taking everything off my walls - less to do later I guess. Still finding stuff to sell at another garage sale. Ahhhh... Clean Sweep, so nice to finally be able to "let go" of some stuff. I can't wait until I can hang up new pictures in the house. Pictures of the family - that's the plan. That's the kind of art I would like on my walls. Still planning it out in my head. Maybe I'll even make some scrapbook pages to frame. That's a thought.

A few days late...

2006-07-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I know I'm a few days late w/ the results but it's good I promise. :) We had the apt. inspected on Thursday and although we don't have the "official" results it looks good. Lead was found in the windows but all from the exterior of them, so if I keep them closed we're o.k. The only window I have to worry about from the inside is the bathroom. We always keep the blinds closed for that window, so the girls have never been tempted to try to look out of it anyways. In the meantime I can tape it up with duct tape the inspector said. She also found lead in 3 of the 4 closets in the bedrooms. The one that is lead free is in Abby's room - thankfully. Then there was lead in the ceiling and window in the back hall to exit out the side of the house. We never use this exit anyways so this poses no immediate danger to the girls. The rest of lead that was found is on the exterior of the house, around the windows and doorways. All and all I think it's not as bad as I feared. I feel so much safer now that I know where the lead is. My aunt & uncle said this will be fixed very soon. My uncle is in the process of finalizing the sale of his mother's house. So, they will use the money from the sale to cover the deleading and will install new windows. The only other hassle will be having to move out while the apt. is being deleaded and the whole packing up everything we own, putting it in the middle of the rooms so that it can be covered w/ special tarps. This is so the lead dust won't be spread onto our belongings. A total pain but will be so worth it in the end. I know I will still worry until Abby has her lead level recheck on the 18th of August. But I'm feeling much safer now and calmer.

On a lighter note - we had the garage sale. Saturday was a huge success. Yeah, good to have some extra cash. I didn't get to help out much on Saturday but was there all day Sunday. Too bad Sunday was a total bust!!!! Oh well, but I did manage to sell the most stuff. And we're planning another one just on a Saturday this time. We're hoping to have it in a few weeks. Still have a ton of stuff we would like to get rid of. I would have taken some pics but the batteries died in the digital. Oh well, it wasn't really exciting anyways. But maybe next sale I'll make sure those batteries are well charged! Well happy Monday!

Cleaning Freak!!!!

2006-07-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I've been busy cleaning this place we live in. Having a garage sale at my parents house this weekend and let's say I have a lot to sell! I'm selling a lot of toys and clothes that the girls have outgrown and misc. stuff around the house that is just becoming clutter. Feels good to get rid of some stuff - never thought I would ever say that. We also have an appt. for a private lead inspection this Thursday. Things are looking good. It'll take about 10 days to get the results back from the inspection but just knowing that we'll find out where the lead is, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Today we will be spending the day at my Mom & Dad's making signs for the garage sale. It's been so hot & humid lately that we've been confined indoors w/ the A/C pretty much running 24/7. It'll be good to get out of here. I'll post after the inspection tomorrow and give you an update!

What a week

2006-07-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

So a week has gone by. A week of frustration, sadness, confusion, disappointment. I have to say not a good week. I feel like a constant complainer right now but I need to vent a little. A lot of ups & downs this week as far as the lead issue goes. Met w/ the Social Worker on Wednesday and the visit went well. She even asked if my house was always this clean with two kids. Ha, ha! If she only new how it looked before she got here. Not to say it's not clean just very cluttered. Mostly like a tornado hit us with toddler toys. So anyways, to make a long story short, she said the actual upkeep of the apartment looks great and she would be very surprised if they found lead anywhere besides the windows and exterior of the house. This is what we're hoping. The windows are old and need to be replaced and my aunt & uncle (landlords) are aware of this. Lots of pamphlets to read and questions to be answered. After a long week of: we're having it deleaded, no we can't afford it, no forget it I'll just move, blah, blah, blah - They've decided to hire a private lead inspector and this way the problem will still be taken care of but will just take a little longer to complete. If we went through the state, they pretty much only give you 90 days to remove the lead. That may seem like a whole lot of time but it really isn't when you figure in the applying for loans, finding a certified contractor, hiring them, deleading and then remodeling after the deleading is done. This is just so involved but we're chugging along and we're taking care of the problem. Although, this does give me some relief, I know I won't feel completely safe until the procedure is complete and Abby has her next blood test to check her levels. Other than this major issue, just dealing with the daily demands of my two little girls. Still trying to potty train Emma, still working with her on the tip toe thing, still trying to correct her all day long whining - basically dealing with a 3 year old. And my sweet little Abby? Well, still trying to sneak her iron in juices and get her to drink it instead of blowing bubbles in it, still trying to control her temper tantrums, and yes the whining is starting with her too. Gotta love the terrible two's. On Friday, Abby decided to throw one her tantrums at my parents house and then hurting herself in the process. She basically flung herself into the seat part of the kitchen chair causing a huge egg to form on her forehead. Was so not pretty, at one point I really thought I was going to have to take her to the ER. My mom & I got her to calm down after about 20 minutes of hysterical crying and she finally let us put a cold ice pack on the boo boo. The swelling has gone down since then and she just has a little bump and some bruising. I can't wait until she gets out of this tantrum stage! The weekend however was much better - Thank God! On Saturday we had a cake for my brother's b'day and the girls had a blast playing with their cousins. And on Sunday Emma got to have some 1 on 1 time w/ her darling Daddy while I took Abby to visit a couple friends of mine. Emma is such a Daddy's girl and she had pretty much been crying for him all week so I felt it was better to leave her at home with him. They went "fishing". Inside the house of course with her plastic fishing pole and plastic fish. So cute wish I had pics. I do have a few pics of Abby with my friends' little girls. They are both almost a year old and just 3 weeks apart. Both oh so cute! Jadyn is Tanya's daughter and is in the pic w/ Abby in the kiddie pool. I really wish I could have gotten a better pic but Jadyn was just not interested in smiling for the crazy camera lady (me). I have a close up of my friend Jen's daughter Julianna but still need her permission to post it. I like to make sure it's o.k. with the parents when it's not my family I'm posting about. :) So not such a great week but a good weekend. And hopefully I can keep that momentum going!

Lots to do

2006-07-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

So, it's Monday again. Did I mention I hate Mondays? Anyways, I spoke with the Social Worker from the Board of Health on Thursday and we have an appt. set up for this Wednesday. She will be coming to the house to meet with me and she has a ton of information that should answer my never ending questions about Lead Poisoning. She seems really nice and I can't wait to meet her. I also received a phone call from the Inspector that is assigned to my area. But I wasn't here when she called, so I will be calling her this morning sometime. I just want this to be over and done with! Get the Lead out! Make Abby better! That's all I ask. Not too much to ask, is it?

So, anyways to get myself to stop freaking out everytime the girls go near a window, I've been trying to get out more lately. Friday afternoon we just hung around outside blowing bubbles and playing ball. My aunt & uncle put a fence up in the backyard so that has made it so much easier for the girls to play outside. No more worrying about them falling off a wall into the neighbor's yard behind us. Here are a few pics of them :)

That is my aunt in the pic with my girls. She would kill me if she knew I posted this - she kept telling me not to take her picture. I told her I could crop her out. Shhh.... don't tell her. Hee, hee - I'm so bad. And I just love this next photo of Emma & Abby pouring bubbles in the bowl. They're just so sweet when they work together to get something done.

So, I thought that getting out more would tire my girls out enough that when it came time to go to bed it would be less craziness. Well, it doesn't work. We were outside for 2 1/2 hours on Friday afternoon and they still freaked out when it was time to go to bed. On Saturday, we took a walk to my parents house after supper and let the girls run around outside in their yard. They had so much fun. We got home around 8:30 pm. The girls had a little snack and Daddy tried putting on their pjs so I could tinkle. God for bid I have to pee right? Abby through a major fit to the point that she vomited all over herself. There's nothing like giving your kid a bath at 9pm. And then total meltdown for both of them! Bedtime is not easy in this house let me tell you. I have not figured out how to settle them down - they turn into wild animals when it's time to go to bed. I lay down with them and try to comfort them as much as possible but it's not enough. They keep getting up and running all over the house crying. The neighbors must think we torture them. It's kind of embarrassing. I just can't figure out what else to do. I hate bedtime. I try to read them stories - nope they don't care to sit still and listen. It just got to the point that I let them watch t.v. in my bed. When they fall asleep, we put them in their beds and by 2:30 am, Emma's back in our bed and I'm on the couch with Abby. Last night, I was on the couch with both of them. Needless to say I'm a little sleep deprived. Any suggestions? Abby was running a fever all day yesterday and was up on & off all night. Thankfully she didn't seem to bother Emma even though we were all in the same room. This morning her temp was 103. She's not eating well, but other than that and being a tad cranky, there's nothing else wrong. I hope she's just getting a tooth or something. I need to catch up on laundry and cleaning today. Would like my house to not look like a tornado hit it when the Social Worker comes Wednesday. So, I'm off to do some chores and hopefully Abby will start feeling better today. She's taking another cat nap right now. I wish I was too :(

Time flies!

2006-07-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

So, where did the weekend go? I blinked and it was over. Thankfully it was enjoyable. As soon as hubby got home Saturday, I had to run some errands. I helped my dear mother stuff some goodie bags for her annual 4th of July gathering. She is super cute with the goodies :) Then it was off to the grocery store. I hate the grocery store on Saturdays. It is a mad house there. Sunday was a much needed
family day. Hubby & I packed up and took the girls to his parents house. They are at the Cape for the week so we had their pad all to ourselves. The girls played on the swing set and helped daddy wash the car. I can't wait to get those pics back! It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun just being together without the phone ringing, and the normal everyday interruptions. We came home Monday morning. I had some baking to do for my parents party and laundry to catch up on. And as for the 4th of July - it was a blast. My parents throw a great party every year. We managed to still have a ton of fun even with the hot, humid and off & on rainy weather. Lots of food. Steamers, fritters, chowder, burgers, dogs, salads. And the desserts, oh my god. I'm still full. The games are great and hopefully I'll get to participate one year if I hire someone to take the pictures. lol. I really do enjoy watching everyone else. And although I missed my darling little Emma and her Daddy win the egg toss (that's right - my 3 yr. old won the egg toss), I did get to help Abby in the potato sack race. She was so funny, saying hop, hop everytime I picked her up to jump. I couldn't stop laughing. We came in last. lol. I let the other kids beat us. But shhh... don't tell. They were super happy about it! So, here are just a few pics that I took with the digital. The rest I will be getting developed.

And last but not least, since fireworks are illegal in good ol' Massachusetts, my brother found something that would keep us entertained for at least a little while. All I have to say is, I don't recommend having Diet Coke and Mentos for a snack. :) Hope everyone had a happy 4th!

What a trooper

2006-06-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

So, I needed to vent last night. It helped and today I feel a little better. Abby is being such a trooper, drinking her o.j. with the iron drops on command. Not really giving me a hard time about it. Thank God she likes o.j. and thank God I can dilute the iron drops in it. It would be a nightmare if I had to give her the iron from the dropper - She hates taking medicine! So I thought I would share some pics from this morning.
My little trooper drinking her medicated o.j.

And one day, this creative little girl will be teaching me. Paper tearing anyone? Emma making art :)

Consumed with fear

2006-06-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

Two and a half weeks ago my daughters had their routine doctor check-ups. Emma's 3yr and Abby's 2yr. I thought it would be like any other appt. they've had and for the most part it was. Emma still tends to walk on her tippy toes for some reason and so the Dr. felt an appt. with a specialist should be made just to check her out more in that area. I was told not to worry and that most kids grow out of that habit just fine without doing any actual damage. Both the girls had their finger pick for lead levels and I wasn't concerned - they've had this done before and levels were normal. Well the next day, the office called to reschedule Abby for another lead level test. They said her level was still within normal range but a little on the high side and that the finger pick sometimes gets contaminated and they just want to repeat the test. So, not to worry they tell me. The office gives me another appt. in two days and we hang up the phone. PANIC starts to set in and of course the first thing I do is call my mother and cry. By this point, I'm already on the computer doing as much research on Lead Poisoning as I possibly can. I never thought I would have to worry about something like this. Yes, we live in an old house. We rent from my Aunt and Uncle and it needs a lot of work but they reassured us that the house was deleaded before they purchased it some 20 something years ago. Other children lived in this house and they were fine. Now Abby is by far the most "oral" child I have ever seen. I cannot take my eyes off of her for a second. And well the past month, she has been so good. Barely anything goes into her mouth. This baby girl of mine would put everything in her mouth before - rocks, leaves, sand, paper, stickers, markers, crayons - if she could get to it, it went straight into her mouth. She's licked windows, bitten windowsills, she's even licked the floors. Very strange I know - I always stopped her and tried my best to avoid all of these instances. She's also a thumb sucker which I've always thought was the cutest thing in the world until now. So I try my best to calm myself down and put it in the back of my mind. My mother comes to the lab with me and they draw Abby's blood. She did so good!!!! Some tears, a little whimper and that was it. She wanted nothing to do with me of course because I was the one they had hold her down. So, her "Mema" comforted her and Abby pouted the whole ride home. I bought her a balloon and she loved me again. All was forgiven. The next day I get the phone call. The phone call I did not want - the test results were worse this time. So, the nurse tells me that they can't have higher than a 9 with the finger pick and Abby's was a 10 and then when they did the blood draw it was a 17. WHAT?!!!!! Now I have to worry, now I feel unsafe in my own home, now I feel like I can't protect my own child. They assured me it's not that bad and it can be taken care of. I have to give her extra iron drops 2x's a day plus her regular vitamin. The iron should eventually cancel out the lead and chances are good that there will be no harm done to her. They say it's good we caught it this early. I'm still freaking out. The State Lead Program will be contacted with her results and they will follow up with me. Someone will be contacting me to check the house for lead so that the source will be found. The nurses have been wonderful providing me with so many suggestions on what to do. I have never been so paranoid in my life - every time one of my girls goes near a window I'm a wreck. I've done everything to keep them away from anywhere there might be lead. Well, then I find out that the child doesn't necessarily have to bite the object - they could just touch it and then if they put their fingers in their mouths that's how they ingest it. Like I said Abby's been getting better about putting things in her mouth but she still sucks her thumb. And let's face it - 2 year olds want to touch everything! So wash her hands - all the time they tell me. I WANT TO MOVE. That's the first thing that pops into my head. I don't want to live here anymore - it's not safe. The Board of Health called me back today - I was tired of waiting to be contacted by someone, so I called around yesterday and left messages. Abby's case has been assigned and they reassured me that I'm doing everything I possibly can and until they find the source of the lead that's all I can do. I have to wait again. Someone will call me back to set up an inspection of the house. Don't do anything else until then, I'm told. I've been frantically trying to figure out if we can move. Even when the source of the lead is found, then how much longer before it's removed? And well it has already been removed once before, so who is to say they'll get all of it this time? I don't feel safe anymore and I don't know what to do about it.

Here are the clipboards!

2006-06-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah - I figured out the digital camera and downloaded the pictures of my niece's gift. Here are the altered clipboards...

You can also check them out in my gallery at Scrapjazz.

A few hours to myself...

2006-06-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

So, I got a chance to get out of the house yesterday for a few hours (without the kids). My SIL and I went to AC Moore for a Scrapbook Celebration. It was held from 1-5pm. They had raffles, demonstrations and make & takes. And the best part - it was all free! Gotta love free stuff :) We only stayed for about an hour though. It was jam packed with scrap happy people and I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the overall flow of it. Reasons being #1 When you first walked in they asked you to fill out slips for the raffles and one of them had a survey about if you liked the Celebration and what improvements you would like made - Well hello?!!!! I just walked through the door, how am I supposed to critique something if I haven't seen any of it yet? And reason #2 The "Intructors" were not at all helpful at the make & take stations. It was rushed and there was not nearly enough table space. A lot of the customers were beginner scrapbookers and I think they should have had more of a step-by-step process to follow. I guess I just expected more from it - but like I said it was free. I did think the demonstrations were pretty good. I got to see the Xyron die cutter & the Cricut in action. Oh I so want a Cricut but the Xyron definitely seems more portable and more affordable. But to have a Cricut...
The possibilites are endless. So, does anyone have $300 to give me so I can purchase it? Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the cartridges are $90. I think that's the only downfall - a little on the pricey side. Maybe I can talk hubby into getting it for me for Christmas but can I wait that long? Wishful thinking! Although I could use the 40% off coupons they have in the sale flyers. Gotta love those:)

So, which one would you like to own? The Xyron...Or the Cricut...
So, even though it was free to attend the Celebration, I just couldn't leave w/out purchasing at least a little something... And they did hand out 50% off coupons. Being on a tight budget, I knew I had to control myself and I managed to only spend $10! Can you believe it? And this is what I got: 3 stamp pads for $2, Heidi Swapp preppy pink tape

And Making Memories Jigsaw Alphabet

Pretty good deal I thought - plus my SIL let me use her 50% off coupon too because everything she purchased was already on sale. Such an added bonus!

So, just a few hours I was gone and when I returned home, my girls were bouncing off the walls. I don't know what my hubby did to get them all wound up but it took me forever to calm them down. And my 3 yr. old didn't nap either - super cranky!!!! I thought for sure she was not going to make it through dinner. But it made an early bedtime which is not typical for my girls. They just don't sleep - ever. They're up late, they're up throughout the night (we play musical beds) and they're up bright & early. I need like a week vacation just to catch up on some Zzzz's. So, now it's Monday and I have a ton of laundry and cleaning to do. Oh how I hate Mondays.

Mission accomplished!

2006-06-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

So for the past month, I had been working on a gift for my niece's 18th birthday. I wanted to do something special and thought of making her an album but since she's my sister's step-daughter I haven't known her for her whole life and that made it a little difficult to round up some pictures. She's best friends with my other niece and they're in the same grade and what not so I came up with the idea of an altered clipboard about the two of them being best friends/family. I stressed so much about this project. Searching for the perfect paper to coordinate with the colors of her room, searching for the perfect pictures. Taking the pictures to CVS three times because the stupid Kodak Picture Maker was broken every time I went. I even made her a card from the same materials as the clipboards. I worked on it up until the night
before and finished the card that morning (although the ink would not dry completely on the chipboard flowers-not sure why this happened). But anyways, I got to give her the gift at her party yesterday. She cried when she opened it and I thought "Mission Accomplished". My two nieces are so lucky to be family and friends and want them both to cherish this relationship for the rest of their lives. Now, only if I could figure out how to get the pictures of the gift off the digital camera. I'm still working on that one. But for now I'll just post the pics that I used.

So this was the main photo for the 12x12 clipboard. The Birthday Girl is on the right.

And then I did two 4x4 clipboards with the next two photos.

So, all in all I'm thrilled that I actually thought of a creative gift and followed through this time. As for my other niece I have until September to finish her gift. I'm making her a 5x7 album of bits and pieces of her life. And I'm actually almost done with it. Now, only if I could find time to scrapbook my own kids. That's been a tough one.

Here I go again...

2006-06-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

So, I have to admit this is my 2nd attempt at creating a blog. I somehow managed to erase my 1st one after only 6 posts. To think I used to work with computers for a living. lol. So much has changed since those days. When I became a Stay At Home Mom to my two little girls I lost touch with the world around me. I'm so intrigued by all of you bloggers out there. Curious as to what goes on in others lives. If you have struggles with life like I do. I'm still trying to find my place in the world, still trying to figure out who I am, all while trying my best to raise my two daughters. I've been married for 4 years now and we had children right away. It was all I ever wanted growing up - to get married and start a family. I just never thought it would be this hard. I wouldn't change it for the world because that's what makes it so rewarding in the end. I just sometimes wish there were more hours in a day, more days in a week. So here I am, just trying to find time to create and capture all these memories that I want to cherish forever. Because I'm now realizing how quickly time goes by.