manic monday

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this is gonna be a painfully busy week for me.





i like my down time. i like my peace and quiet. i like my OPEN schedule...





but at least it should pass quickly!!





this is the river that runs thru our town. on one of the very few days the sun comes out in the winter.



ok...gotta get back to working on stuff! later!!

beauty

today was the big haircut day...and combined they lost about 10 inches! abby LOVES her cut and can't stop looking in the mirror...ella just keeps swishing her hair back and forth. they look pretty darn cute.

updates

still cold.

still snowing.

but the beautiful sun is shining...and that doesn't happen that often in the winter here.

brrrr...

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woke up to -8 degrees this morning (wind chill -19)...and thats just *freeze the snot in your nose* cold! (yes mom i put that on my blog...i have no decency about me:)

and i am thankful i had to take the trash out or otherwise i would have missed the sun rising thru the garage window and i would never have seen this shot!

and i couldn't leave well enough alone...so i cropped the picture above and converted to b&w and its pretty cool too. looks beautiful in print! enjoy~

i think i found my direction...

my GPS arrived today! lol! so i have it plugged into the old van charging away. always fun to get a new toy...now for the snow to go away so i can safely try this baby out!





here's a little peeky what i have been up to...

making treat bags for the girls classes. i was trying to come up with an easily duplicated idea. if i was giving this as a gift myself, i would probably put alot more detail into, but i think it turned out pretty cute...now to make 39 more:)

excited!

i found out that i have been chosen to be a guest designer for Out Of This Funk...very exciting! they are a new website created to help people out of their scrapbooking funks.

now its sink or swim time! lol! we'll see what i can come up with!

changing subjects completely...i have neglected some things on my blog and i am now trying to catch up! i was "tagged" by my sweet friend kristy to post a picture from June 2007.

so here is a pic from Guam.

i also got one of these:

from wendy price who is so very talented making cards! now i know there were some rules that went along with this...so i will have to go dig them up and see. i will post an update when i find them!!

turkey week recap

my mom and dad left today...and so life is now back to its old routine. it was so nice having them visit. i tried everything i could to get them to stay on longer...threatened to let the air out of their tires, kidnapping, snow dances...but to no avail. its probably for the best...they are catching a window in between weather systems, so they should have a fairly "dry" drive home (knock on wood).

quick recap...

we got to break in my snowblower(14 inches of the white stuff)...lots of scrabble games (and i even managed to get a 50 point bonus for using all your letters on one word...oh yeah baby!!)...lots of great chats, playing games with the girls, rough housing with their puppy bailey and good food. it went by way too fast.

don't all nice trips happen that way??

today was the 1st day of waking to sunshine...it was divine! after saying goodbye to the parents, i headed to michaels to take advantage of their insane cricut cart. sale...enjoyed a nice lunch at friendly's (yum, yum) and then headed home. it was still gorgeous outside, so i decided to get the foot of snow off dh truck and move it around...then i used the snowblower to make a path around the house and then i pulled the sled out and ran the girls around my newly plowed path.

i.am.exhausted.

should be an early night for everyone tonight lol!

mental vacation...

my parents are here and i am officially on vacation! (at least a mental one!)

have a great thanksgiving!

hanging with the preschoolers...

yesterday was my day to volunteer in little one's preschool class. we had so much fun. i really love kids that age! they are old enough to say funny things but young enough not to get the big picture. and they think you are the greatest thing ever!

E had a little trouble "sharing" me...but after she realized it was ok, all was well.

on a different note...i finished this project last night.

here is a mini album that one was one of our class assignments. we had the sketch and journaling blocks provided. i think this would be a fun album to add on to...sometime in the future of course! i am still several weeks behind...but am sticking with slow and steady wins the race!

guess who's 3???

i know everyone always says that kids grow up too fast...but seriously! i just can not fathom that my baby is 3! sniff, sniff.

on a different note...the winner of the 16x20 print from me is....... baker mommy!!

elise, email me some of your favorite pics and i will put them together in a 16x20 print and get it shipped off to you! thanks everyone for the suggestions!

anyone hungry??

isn't this the funniest? one of my dear friends' husbands is entering the Doritos contest to try and get his commericial in for the superbowl. go check it out! this guy rocks the videography world!!





CLICK IMAGE TO START VIDEO!!
be patient, it takes a few seconds to load!!

more disney pics...

Festival of the Lion King

(i highly recommend seeing this show!)

and some more misc. pics:)

enjoy~

a little heartache...and a contest...

my heart hurts today. its officially been 1 month since dh left. and it feels SO much longer.

i sit here wondering how on earth i will make it for another year??

so who has the remote control?? i need to fast forward some time! lol! thank goodness my parents will be here soon. lets just hope they can miss the snow showers we have forecast right now. at least get up here before it hits! lol!

on the suzie homemaker front, i am proud to say i installed my SECOND toilet seat, purchased a snow blower and am ALMOST done making the basement ready for pictures. i also managed to locate all the linen that goes on the guest bed (thanks babe! i knew you would know where to find it!)...so i am officially ready for guests! woohoo!

well, almost...gotta get the repair guy out here to fix a small leak, but other than that...

well, thats about it! here's hoping the heartache (and headache) go away!

ok NOW for the contest...i would love some ideas for keeping my sanity...they can be mommy ideas, or ideas for kids...but i am all out right now...and here's what you can get out of this:)

i will draw a name randomly from the comments section on MONDAY (17th) morning...and the winner will get a 16x20 print from me of a mix of your own personal photos. make sense?? the winner will send me some pics to randomly play with. i will then create a 16x20 print and ship it off to you!!

so lets hope at least ONE person comments, or my heartache might get really bad! lol!

my new strategy...

thats right...this is my new strategy for a happy household. everytime i notice them doing something positive, talking nicely or doing something WITHOUT being asked..they earn a certain amount. then they get to trade them in for things. the list is still in progress, but $5 gets you your favorite outfit...you know the one. yep, the one they must wear EVERY single week...the one that as soon as it gets hung up in the closet, they choose it again. and they can lose them too.

i'll let you know how it works out. so far still have a positive balance.

if you are interested in your own behavior bucks go to www.chartjungle.com


and since i am in a random type mood today (its a full moon today if you are wondering why your kiddos are a little off)...i am gonna go find a random type picture.

a trip down memory lane

i have been thinking about photographs a lot lately. i love them. i could look at pictures all day and not grow tired of it. i have always been this way.



i remember when i was little i wished i could have cameras in my eyes so that i could capture everything that i saw...esp. during those times you just couldn't get a camera out quick enough.



i am trying (in the midst of my already chaotic life) to summon up the will power to create my family year in pictures book. i have made this for the last 2 years and everyone has really loved receiving it. but it is a lot of work...and i am not kind to myself. i don't start early in the year working on it continually...oh no...i wait and wait and WAIT...and then once i receive my little email from shutterfly telling me the photobooks are on sale...i BUST my butt and start editing like a crazed lunatic!



this usually becomes a several day, many, many hour process. but it is so worth it.


one of these years i will actually create my own template for a book.

yeah, right! haha!



but back to thinking about photographs...i am proud at how far i have come as a photographer. i have learned so much and can honestly say i have gotten better at it! so while i was thinking about my own family's photographs, i decided to take a trip down memory lane with some of my sessions with other families earlier this year.


and there is one photograph that really stands out to me. one that was my ah-ha moment.


one that i am very proud that i can say i took.


one that i wish i had of my own family.








thanks to the h's for letting me into your family long enough to capture this.

Hug a Soldier Day

yep...thats what today is! and don't forget it! and if you can't or aren't able to hug a soldier...hug their wife, husband and or kids. and if you can't do that...please say a prayer...

please let those in harms way come home safe.

please let those families missing their loved ones find peace.

please don't ever forget them...not ever.

where's my cape?

i MUST have lost it along with my super powers and my mind! lol! i am pretty good at time management...my college dollars were not a waste...but i just can not manage to get everything done! (insert *gasp*)

this is just not acceptable! surely i can single handedly run a household, taxi 2 children, cook meals, do laundry, unpack the basement, shovel snow (just had to throw that one in there), work on layouts for my class, finish reading my book (that i have already renewed TWICE), stop fights, kiss boo-boos, finish priming all the windows and doors in the basement and touch up the walls, keep the house imaculate (insert hearty laughter), remember to feed the guinea pig, remember to shower...remember to sleep...

surely i can do this!

it must be friday!

cause abby got hurt again! went to pick her up from school and she was in the nurses office tending a bloody nose. guess she got hit in the face during recess (accident)...well as the evening as progressed, her nose is starting to swell and change color...so i guess we will be heading to the urgent care place in the morning....fun, fun.

did i mention that the most popular day in my family to get hurt is friday?? yeppers!

no pics yet, lol!

temptation

the last few days have been trying at best with the kiddos. they are in some kind of funk. i don't know if it has to do with the time change or what...but they have been impossible. i can honestly say every day of november has sucked! lol!

this morning, while i was trying to motivate and move along my grumpy kids, my older dd said she wasn't going to school . she just wanted to stay home...and i must say. i was actually tempted to let her! (scary thought, i know)...the weather has just been gorgeous, in the 60's and i thought it would be fun to have a play hooky day! (well, i thought about it anyways...but i held strong and sent her on her way.)

i remember one day my senior year of high school when my mom showed up at school as a complete surprise and pulled me out so we could go to lunch. i thought she was just the coolest. i felt so grown up! and i have never forgotten that day. i promised i would do stuff like that with my kids too. maybe when they are a little older. its hard for me to rationalize a hooky day right now when abby has already missed 4 days of school due to disney and then will miss at least another week for dh mid tour. but maybe near the end of the year...

here are a couple more layouts i just finished for my class. both of the sketches were provided and everything else was up to me.

the journaling on the 1st one says:

Even as you were turning 5, you couldn't wait to be 6. That day finally came! I just can't believe i have a 6 year old!

the journaling on the 2nd one says:

This was the summer of the bikes. You both got big girl bikes and its been hard to get you off them ever since. Ride on...

post BOO day...and a layout

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here is another layout assignment for my class. we were given the sketch, journaling blocks and had to use bright pink, brown and orange. i really struggled with this assignment. the orange was hard for me to add. i wanted to leave it just pink and brown! lol!






enjoy!

happy halloween

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i will catch up on this thing one of these days! too bad i can't plug my brain into my computer and download all my thoughts! anyways, we had a SUPER fun time trick or treating...heck, even getting ready to go was fun! all the makeup and costumes! very fun!





kids are tuckered out (but not from excessive candy! lol) they kept me moving!





poor little ella was so sad to have her makeup taken off...the tears just poured down!





here's a fun one of my crazy child...more to follow...got some really nice shots of the girls!





right now, i am headed to bed! i am WHOOPED i tell ya! later~

buried deep

well we got it good.... well over a foot of heavy, wet snow. my back is killing me. i haven't bought the snow blower yet. i paid for that mistake! lol! but thankfully i have been shoveling in shifts (every couple hours) and its been manageable.

and the driveway is clear at this time. which is a good thing.

the back deck might need to melt on its own. i can't even get out the door. and the snow drifts that piled up on it are almost as tall as me!

but we didn't lose power. and that is the most important thing!

and if that isn't enough excitement for one day...the rest of the basement carpet is being installed today (including the stairs) woohoo!! i am SO excited!! i can finally put things in their places and unpack some things and really move down there!

i have taken pics but will post later...abby is out of school today and with the workmen here too, its too much for me to try and do right now! be back later!!

the picture above was taken with the kitchen door open (see the nice wall of snow at the bottom)...this is looking at the grill on my back deck. more to come later!

it's coming...

today has been a good start to the week. had to start the day off with grocery shopping which is never fun, but it wasn't bad. until the hail started falling in the parking lot. shesh! crazy weather around here...and that seems to be the main topic! we are getting ready to have our 1st major snow "event" of the year (as they say on the weather channel). 6-12 inches by wed morning...

i am thinking i need to go get that snowblower now...

but more importantly...i need to dig thru the trashed basement and find the winter coats and boots! the girls are beside themselves!

i'm sure i will take pics...curious to see how much we end up with. the only thing i don't like is that its starting out as rain and then changing over...which means the potential for a major power outage!

not.good.

will keep you posted. i am treating myself to an early night of sleep tonight. will post some pics tomorrow!

the very long sunday...

my morning started before 6am, before the sun rose..much, much earlier than i would have cared to start it. it really stinks when you are the night owl parent of an early bird!

so i decided to give the girls a "sunrise surprise"...i made them grab their coats, throw on their boots and jump in the van. they were a little surprised to be in their pj's and going somewhere. we ended up at dunkin donuts (drive thru:) for some munchkins. they were just tickled.

i wish i could say the whole day was a bed of roses...but with 2 mischievious girls (who sometimes **gasp** BICKER) there are no guarantees.

we did manage to carve our pumpkins...that was a huge hit. not only that, but it was entertainment long after the carving was done. we went with basic jack's...so while i was busy cleaning up, the girls were using the carved pieces like puzzles...popping the eyes in and out...on and on. talk about cheap entertainment! they had so much fun. ella was actually upset that we had to leave them outside! lol!

here are some pics from today:

and here are some projects i finished this weekend. the layout is from my class. another one on balance. sketch provided. the halloween treat containers are for the girls parties at school. i didn't make the containers (thank god for micheals! lol)...but i did make the cute little spiders on top.

enjoy~

we now return...

to our previously scheduled program. sorry about that. sometimes i get blips in the emotional radar so to speak. am back up and running now.

been having a lot of nightmares. something new for me, since i don't usually dream or remember my dreams. and these nightmares are awful. so hopefully they just go away. makes me dread going to sleep at night.

ella is having a really rough go and as much as i am trying to hold it together...its breaking my heart to watch her choking sobs.

for the most part, our days are pretty uneventful and on auto pilot...but then when we have a quiet minute to think, it comes crashing down. the girls were able to talk to matt this morning, and that always seems to help...but nighttime is the hardest for all of us. just need a little more time.

matt has been fine. he has been doing lots of training, getting very little sleep. he is ready to move to his permanent place so that he can have the rest of his things and settle in. plus he won't have 300 other room mates to worry about making noise. most of our calls lately have had to do with me picking his brain for what i should do about this or that. questions about the basement, etc. this project was 90% him...so i am at a loss to finish it. no matter what, it will get done. one way or another.

well thats a quick wrap...hopefully more pics to post tomorrow...we should be carving pumpkins!
later~

falling off the planet...

be back shortly!

happy hump day!

this is another layout for cathy z's class. its actually from week 1 and its on balance. you had to follow the sketch, but all the other decisions like colors, embellishments...are your choice. i really love how this turned out and can't even believe i am already scrapping disney pics!

journaling reads:

we didn't know how you would handle meeting the characters. we thought you might be scared of them. well that was not the case. you were a little shy at first, but when you saw that Minnie Mouse had signed your book and dotted her I's with hearts...you were completely won over.

this next pic is a quick glimpse into the basement bedroom. the painting is done (except for priming the doors and window frame). the color is a little funky, but the lighting was bad, it was cloudy and the overhead lights threw a funny cast. but you get the idea. the blue is actually a very pale blue. the door to the right goes out to the main area and the straight ahead is the bathroom.

ok...thats all for now:) happy hump day!

motherhood

i love these~ i found her website and got some good chuckles! helps lift up my day since its so rainy, cold and dreary outside again.

but one thing is for sure...i am VERY glad i am done changing diapers:) i truly love being a mom, but now that my kids are growing up, i can't fathom going back to those baby days...all the sleepless night. heck, what am i talking about...my kids still come in my room and interupt my sleep. but i am thankful.

one day, they won't care about coming in my room anymore. and when that day comes, i will be sad. because it mean they are growing up even more.

right now i would like to keep them in their little time capsule of childhood.

just another manic monday...

happy, dreary monday!




its cold and dreary today and i just want to crawl back in bed! lol! we even have snow showers in the forecast...thankfully i cleaned the garage out yesterday and moved some things around so i can fit the van in there.




actually have had a productive weekend. finished this layout:




its another assignment for cathy z's class. it was a real world color challenge. you had to use muted blue, orange, yellow and brown. she also provided the sketch and journaling block.



and then started painting the rest of the bedroom walls in the basement. gonna put the 2nd coat on tonight and it should be done. also managed to install the toilet seat, so now the bathroom is completely functional. yeah!!





we had really nice weather yesterday, so i took the girls to ride on a bike path nearby. they had so much fun! there was a bridge that they pretended was a roller coaster and went up and down on quite a few times.



just another pic from disney...we were waiting for the spectromagic parade to start at magic kindgom and it had been raining of course. obviously ella was not happy for whatever reason...i just don't know what that reason is...lol! regardless, this picture makes me really laugh out loud.







well, i'm off to start my day...enjoy!