I was a tv junkie...

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

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

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...

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

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

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...

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