my state of crazy

Time Marches On

2012-02-17T09:01:00.003-05:00

One more layout to share with you. This one makes me a little sad. Maybe not sad... maybe reflective? No, a little sad.

Journaling: 2 different pictures... the 1st was taken in 2010 on our front porch in Michigan. The 2nd was taken in 2011 on our front porch in Indiana. Even though these pictures have so many similarities, I can't help thinking about all that has changed in the time that flew by in between these 2 photos. So much has changed, while less has stayed the same. I am reminded by these two captured moments that I must treasure each and every moment, taking nothing for granted because time goes by so very quickly.

(Click here to view full credits)

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February BYOC

2012-02-17T08:52:00.005-05:00

I am SO late getting these layouts up to share with you. So I'm going with 'better late than never.' How's that? Again this month, the Lilypad's BYOC is GORGEOUS! And I didn't have nearly enough time to use all the amazing stuff I wanted to use! MUST find time to go back and use everything at least once because I love it all!

I did manage to get 2 layouts done with it...

The first is just an everyday page of Meagan and her Pet Shop toys. Everywhere. They take over the house. But she loves them.

Journaling: 'pet shop love is still going strong. she still loves to get her animals out and set up shop in the middle of the floor.'

(Click here to view full credits)

The second, I did for a Digi Dare... 29 (because this year is Leap Year, so Feb has 29 days) reasons I love my kiddo... he's a pretty cool kid!

Journaling: "29 of the ten billion reasons I love you...

1. Your heart for God is inspiring 2. You look past others' imperfections 3. You see the value in each individual 4. You are patient 5. You are humble 6. Your imagination is incredible 7. You have a great sense of humor 8. You are super smart 9. You are a loyal and faithful friend 10. You befriend the friendless 11. You will go out of your way to do what is good 12. You take correction with a good attitude 13. You encourage others 14. You are slow to get angry 15. You're passionate 16. You can laugh at yourself 17. You draw awesome comics 18. You are a very talented writer 19. I love to watch you do gymnastics 20. You don't try overly hard to impress others 21. Your self worth isn't wrapped up in what others think 22. You still come in and snuggle me in the mornings before school 23. You put others before yourself 24. You are unselfish...(most of the time) 25. You have a gentle spirit 26. You are generous 27. You dare to dream 28. You love to have fun 29. You make me happy"

(Click here to view full credits)

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weekend

2012-02-14T08:12:00.004-05:00

So much has happened since last Tuesday... we've been on the go go go in quite the non-stop fashion, so I've not had time to sit and post anything.

Circle of Stars was this weekend. Friday I picked up trophies and dropped them off at the meet venue... then went straight to work... then went straight home to get Bas off the bus... then straight back to school to pick up Isaac and Meagan... then we had to go to the store to buy a birthday gift for Meagan's friend (party on Saturday), and then home for dinner, which I didn't get to eat because I didn't get it done in time before I left to take Sebastian to gymnastics. Then at 10:00 we (my mom and I) went back to the meet venue to help set up the awards stage. We were there until almost midnight. *sigh* It was quite the day.

Saturday was the 1st day of competition or Circle of Stars for the boys. 3 sessions. Long day. Very fun to watch the level 9 and 10 boys compete. Plus, I saw an old friend from childhood... a guy that I went to gymnastics with, grew up with, went to school with, etc. It was really REALLY odd running into anyone from my hometown HERE. But cool.

Sunday morning Sebastian competed. And did GREAT!! He ended up winning 1st on High Bar, Floor, and Parallel Bars, 2nd on Rings, 3rd on Pommel Horse, and 1st All Around!! Yea! He did fabulous! And I would share some of the videos with you, except I managed to lose my camera case at the meet, and thus the adapter that lets me transfer images from my camera to the computer. Boo. Not so happy about that.

We left Sebastian's meet and went straight to Meagan's meet. By the time we sat through his meet, though, she was wiped. She didn't feel great. She barely ate lunch (a few nibbles), then complained of a stomach ache and fell asleep in the van on the way to the meet. No bueno. She had a good meet actually, although you wouldn't know it by the scores or awards. But she had set 4 meet goals for herself, and she made 3 of them... 1) bridge kick-over on the floor, 2) body position on vault, 3) stay on the beam!! She scored an 8.7 on beam, and got an 11th place award, so at least she didn't walk away empty-handed... after her brothers morning of cleaning house in the medals department, I don't think that would have been too pretty for her to get nothing.

So yes, we had a LONG weekend. And I have a lot to get caught up on... not the least of which is sleep, or groceries, or laundry. I might see if I can get something accomplished before I have to leave for work. Laundry and grocery list maybe?

Oh, by the way, I've finished the 1st 2 books of the Hunger Games trilogy, and am dying to download the 3rd to finish! I am super surprised by how much I've enjoyed this story so far. So maybe I'll try to squish some reading time in there somewhere. I hope.

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Rookie

2012-02-07T08:51:00.003-05:00

Day 2 on the job (yesterday) went well. I've had some funny - and some not-so-funny - experiences already. I've had girl drama to contend with; I've had a few heartbreaking moments that made me just want to hug and squeeze a few kids; and I've had this kid......

During the 2nd grade recess, a little boy came up to me. He said, "I've been watching you. You might be new, but you're GOOD." I smiled (trying not to laugh) and thanked him. Then he ran off and played. As they were all lined up and heading back inside, though, this little guy popped up again. He gave me a high five, and he called over his shoulder as he was walking inside, "Good job, Rookie!" I cracked up! What a character!

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Checking In

2012-02-03T16:01:00.004-05:00

What a day this has been! A very good, very productive day! And a Friday too!! What more could I ask for?!

By 6:30 this morning, all three of my kids were awake. More than awake, they were UP and in motion! Very unusual, especially for Meagan. So we were done with breakfast by 6:45. By 7:10, lunches were packed, kids were dressed, teeth were brushed, and Sebastian was out the door and off to school. I started a load of laundry, and the kids did their 20-minute clean up. By 7:45, bedrooms were clean, their clean laundry was folded and putaway, and everyone was ready for the day. Wow!

Today Meagan's class had a class 'slumber party' at school. They had earned enough tickets to be rewarded with a party, so they decided on a slumber party. They all wore PJ's and slippers, and they took pillows, blankets, and books for quiet reading time. Beautiful! She was super excited about it, and loaded her backpack up with seven different books to make sure she had plenty of reading options.

I got a few more loads of laundry done, and a bit of other stuff done around the house. Then at 11:00 I checked in at the school for my first day on the job... I got a job at the school as a recess aid. It's a few hours a day, every school day. I love that! I get to keep my time at home so that I can do snacks, dinners, dr. appointments. Plus I get to see my kids at school each day. My evenings are still free to be available for the kids, and I'm making a few extra bucks each week! What a blessing! It was fun really. The weather was beautiful today, so that probably played a part in my enjoyment. The people were all very nice and super helpful, so I think I'll enjoy this all in all.

After school and homework, the boys played Dynasty Warriors on PS3 for a little while. Lilly waltz right up and made herself comfy. She didn't seem to be one bit concerned with Sebastian's comfort, OR his ability to play effectively. *lol* Spoiled cat.

This evening we are cleaning up the house a bit to get ready for the weekend. And tomorrow morning the kids and I are loading into the van and heading north to spend the day in Michigan! I'm not at all looking forward to the drive, but I am super excited to see some of our friends that we haven't seen for far too long! Wish me luck getting 3 kids up and out the door by 6:30... althought it worked today, so maybe if tomorrow morning goes like this morning did, we'll be alright!

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Project Life 2012: Week 3

2012-02-02T08:27:00.004-05:00

Steadily getting caught up. Really, I don't think I'm too far behind at this point. I just have last week (week 4) to do. Can you believe we're already in week 5 of 2012?! This is nothing short of astonishing to me! I mean, Christmas feels like it was eons ago!

So, I managed to get my week 3 printed and put together. I'm still doing nothing fancy. My goal continues to be 'Get it done.' I want to have an album to look through, even if it's a plain one. The end.

Week 3 was lots of ever-day stuff as well as LOTS of time spent in downtown Indy. I had the pleasure - really truly, it was one of the most surprising perks of my week - to walk the path through White River State Park to get from the zoo parking lot (where I parked way cheaper than anywhere else during the week days) and the JW Marriott (the event venue). For starters, I didn't even know the zoo was part of a whole state park conglomerate. But it is. There's the zoo, an IMAX theater, a museum, a baseball field, an amphitheater, an NCAA Hall of Champions museum, and more! I was very pleasantly surprised by all of this. And there is a beautiful walkway that connects all of the attractions with sculptures and views that just brighten a person's day. So that's what a lot of the photos on this layout are from. I really enjoyed that walk. :)

So next week will be crammed full of photos from gymnastics meets... two meets in one 7-day span! Oy! I think I'll work on that a bit this morning and see if I can get caught up today!! Wish me luck!

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Queen City

2012-01-31T10:12:00.004-05:00

Sebastian had a meet in Cincinnati this past weekend. The host gym was Queen City Gymnastics... a very well-coached and super-talented team! It was a BIG meet. It took a LONG time to get through SIX events (equalling 12 rotations - 2 flights per event... sigh). Their check-in time was 5:00pm. We walked out of the building sometime around 11:00pm. Late.

Sebastian did a GREAT job! He's so talented and loves this sport so much! It is such a joy to watch him! He started on floor... had to step out of his handstand at the very beginning, but picked right back up and went on. Plus, he did both of his bonuses this time (a press to handstand and a round-off back handspring)!! Yea!!

Pommel horse actually went very well. Mushroom (a secondary part of pommel horse for the lower levels) did not. But oh well. Pommel horse is a tough event anyway. He'll get it.

Rings and Vault he scored a 15.0 on both! And he scored near a 15 (14.7 maybe?) on high bar.

And on Parallel Bars!! Oh my word! He looked incredible! And his score... 15.5!!! Out of 16.0! Fabulous! I thought I'd share his Parallel Bar routine with you. (Turn the volume down, I have a loud mouth! *lol*)

The results:
Floor: 9th place
Rings: 7th place
Vault: 3rd place
P. Bars: 1st place!!!
H. Bar: 9th place
AA: 9th place

He is already looking forward to his next meet! He is sure that he will do better on both floor and pommel horse, and he has set a goal for himself to win parallel bars at every meet this year. I think he can do it!!

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Grandpa's Girl

2012-01-27T17:01:00.003-05:00

Friday means new releases at The Lilypad! This week, I actually had a chance to scrap (late at night after the kids went to bed) one layout. I used new goodies from Allison Pennington and Jenna Desai, as well as some of my favorite alphas from CD Muckosky. *love*

These are photos of Meagan and Grandpa H. from our train ride last October. I love the expressions on their faces. You can just tell by looking at these pictures that they're buddies.

(Click here to view full layout credits)

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Project Life 2012: Week 2

2012-01-27T16:51:00.003-05:00

Finally finished up my second week of Project Life! I got a bit behind with all of last week's events, so I took one day earlier this week to try to get caught up a bit. I resurrected my *ancient* photo printer... ancient as far as technology goes... I think it's at least 5 years old. Probably more. The last time I remember using it, it was to print out photos from a day trip when Meagan was just 1 year old!! It still works pretty well! And having the ability to print the photos right here without the waiting and running to pick them up helped me to just get it done. Love that!

So here's week 2. I have yet to regain my paper-scrapping comfort zone, so I am still keeping it pretty simple. Maybe as I get my groove back, I'll fancy it up a bit. Or maybe not. I think one of the things i like about this project is the ability to get it done pretty quickly without much fuss. I'll save my digital pages for those layouts I want to fancy up a bit.

Here's the 2-page spread:

Left side close-up:

Right side close-up:

I also added a few 8 1/2 x 11 pockets to hold the kids' report cards. If I ever get around to actually setting up a school album for them, I'll pull these out and move them to that album, but at least for now they won't get lost.

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First things First!

2012-01-26T09:33:00.002-05:00

What a week we had last week! I spent a good chunk of my time running back and forth between home and downtown Indy for the Circle of Stars meet that our gym hosted this past weekend. Thursday was set-up, and the meet ran Fri-Sun. I was there every single one of those days. For hours. And hours. But it was good.

Meagan competed Sunday afternoon/evening. She had to be there at 3:15. I think we left the parking garage around 8:00. I was a LONG day.

But she did great!

First event... beam. Eh, okay. She had one fall... that sillly handstand has gotten her twice now in competition. She scored an 8.0. On to floor. Floor was a train wreck of sorts. She didn't make her bridge kick-over, and so the rest of her routine sort of fell apart from there. *sigh* 7.6 on floor.

Vault was next. She runs like a mad woman... that's good! And she hits the board with power... also good! Problem is, she has a tough time controlling her momentum, so she ends up taking steps at the end to stop herself from launching into the wall. *lol* Still, even with the steps, she scored an 8.6 on vault. Pretty good!!

Bars was last. Never know what you're going to get on bars. She has the ABILITY to do the whole routine, but I had only ever known her to make one of the elements ONE time in practice. Ever. And she certainly did NOT make it during warm-ups. And in warm-ups, she flew off of the bar on her dismount and bounced on her booty. She got up and announced "I'm Okay!!" for the whole gym to hear. *smile* So we weren't really sure what to expect when she mounted the bar.

But... she totally shocked us all. That child turned in the best performance of her life! She MADE her middle circle (the element she has only ever done once) like a PRO! Her form was amazing... there were none of the bent legs she usually has. And she not only did her dismount without the butt-bounce, but she STUCK that puppy! It was beautiful! I almost cried! Even before I saw her score, the tears were threatening. And when her score was posted, all of our parent friends who were sitting around us started cheering for her... she got a 9.0!! Her first score ever to break out of the 8's (or 7's or 6's for that matter). I was SO beyond proud of her! She did so great!

As we were walking over to the awards room, she squeezed my hand and said, "Mommy, I think a 9.0 is pretty close to first place." I wasn't sure it WAS first place, so I said, "It just might be, baby girl." and left it at that.

So here's how awards went for her...

6th place on vault

1st on bars!!!

and 6th AA

Considering that this meet had teams from Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, and on and on, I'd say 6th place AA was pretty good! We were all so super proud of her!

And a bonus, John Roethlisberger (a former US Olympian) was on of the announcers for awards, and Sebastian had the chance to meet him face to face. As John walked away, Sebastian looked at me and almost whispered "That was COOL."

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2012-01-20T07:12:00.003-05:00

Just in case you're wondering where I've disappeared to...

This weekend is Circle of Stars, which is a meet that our gym hosts. It's a big deal, as it's one of the qualifying meets for the Nastia Liukin Cup. We've been planning and prepping for quite some time. Set-up was yesterday, and the meet starts first thing this morning. Meagan competes Sunday evening. I'm working at the meet today and tomorrow, as well as during Meagan's session. So this will be a LOOOOOOONG weekend, and I will be MIA. I'll try to get back in the swing of things after this weekend. I just wanted to let you know I've not fallen off the face of the earth.

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Project Life 2012: Week 1

2012-01-14T12:20:00.002-05:00

I'm still getting used to doing this whole thing with paper. Feels weird, being a digital scrapper and all. But so far I think I like it.

And I did get week 1 done! I think I like how it turned out. I'm hoping that as the year goes on, I'll get a better feel for this and maybe get a little more creative. OR maybe not. Whatever. My real goal in doing this project is just simply to document daily life for the year. And to have something immediately tangible to flip through and look at. That's huge for me.

Anyway... my week 1:

An up-close look at the left side:

That top right picture is the ceiling of part of the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. It's covered with beautiful glass pieces, and they have an I-spy sort of deal set up where you have to find different glass pieces in the big sea of glass and color. Very cool deal.

And a close-up of the right side:

I attatched a Smash pocket that I had in my craft stash and used it to store letters from our sweet friends Val and Carrie. Getting those sweet notes is definitely a highlight of our first week of 2012, and it deserves a place in the album.

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Let's Eat In!

2012-01-14T12:15:00.003-05:00

Well, I had tossed around the idea of posting recipe cards here on this blog, but it felt too jumbled and confusing to me. I decided to start up a new blog that is dedicated solely to my efforts to eat in more and eat out less. It's called Let's Eat In. I'll attempt to document my journey through 2012 as I try to get away from the drive-thru and into the kitchen. I've added a permanent link to the blog in the top right corner of this blog... Also, it's been added to my blog list to the right, a bit further down. If you want to check it out, please do! Follow me, or add me to your Network Blog list and updates will post on Facebook. Pretty easy!

So, I'll probably be moving my recipes and such over to that blog in the future. Plus, I'll be sharing lots of other recipes, tips, and feedback there. I'm hoping that maybe taking the time to document this journey will maybe help someone else feel inspired to eat in too!

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Why I hate religion... but love Jesus

2012-01-13T09:29:00.001-05:00

So much truth and purity and beauty in this. Makes my heart fill with worship for Him.

Today - 1st Digi Dare of the year

2012-01-08T14:57:00.004-05:00

The first Digi Dare of 2012 is up, and I love this one! The focus is on a one word focus for 2012. I admit, I didn't really give this a lot of thought. But then again, I don't think I really needed to. I think I just knew what my focus for the year needs to be. TODAY. I want to focus on the present. It's the only thing we have guaranteed, and it should not be wasted worrying about what has yet to come. More than that, though. Not just to be present in the moment and enjoy today, but also to do the most with today that I can. If this is the only day I may ever have left, how would I live it? With passion and purpose, I hope. What better focus to have for the year than to practice living each day with passion and purpose? So for me, this is my word. TODAY.

Quote: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." -from Kung Fu Panda

(Click here to view full credits)

Hope you'll come play along with us this week for the dare! This week's sponsor is Karah Fredricks... I adore her, and her amazing designs! It's worth a few minutes of your time to give this one a try, trust me!!

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Recipe Box

2012-01-06T09:10:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd try something new for 2012.... a recipe box so to speak. Because I know so many of us struggle with what to make for dinner, as well as having the time to actually MAKE the dinner, I thought some 4x6 recipe cards of the meals we eat as a family might be helpful. I'll share meals that are pretty easy and don't take centuries to prepare, as well as some helpful tips for time management to make dinner-making less of a dream and more of a possibility.

This was dinner for us last night:

Grilled Chicken Salad

TIME: about 35 minutes (only because of making the hard boiled eggs), otherwise, 5 minutes
TIPS: I made the chicken ahead of time... diced it and cooked it through. Then cooled it and froze it until I was ready to use it. I took about an hour on one weekend afternoon and prepped a bunch of chicken all at the same time... some diced cooked, some trimmed for chicken breasts, some trimmed for chicken fingers. Then I froze each type and labeled it for easy identification. For this meal, I took the chicken out of the freezer a day ahead and put it in the fridge. Then, just before adding it to the salad, I warmed it in a skillet (with a lid) with a bit of water and some italian seasoning. SUPER easy and quick for throwing a meal together in a hurry.I also made the eggs ahead of time and kept them in the fridge until I was ready to slice them and throw them on the salad.

Parmesan Breadsticks

TIME: 20 minutes (including oven preheat time and bake time)
TIP: I knew I wouldn't have the 20 minutes to spare for dinner time, so I made these before leaving to pick the kids up from school. Once they cooled, I but them in a container to keep them fresh, then warmed them in the microwave for just a few seconds before serving. I prefer them fresh from the oven, but this is a doable alternative when time is short.

Double Stuffed Potatoes

TIME: 15 minutes start to finish

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would you believe it!

2012-01-04T20:46:00.002-05:00

After MONTHS. I mean, really. Months. Of waiting for this door to be fixed. And all the residual stuff (i.e. floor, trim, paint) to be taken care of properly. Months.

Today, finally finally, the finishing touches were put on the trim and the door. The nail holes have been filled. The trim has been patched. The door has been painted inside and out. It looks......nice. We no longer have an eye sore in our dining area.

*HAPPY DANCE*

I'm thinking we might finally be able to put this baby to rest. Move on. New year, new door.

(Is it sad that this is one of the major highlights of my day?)

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Other highlights...

* Meagan and her friend had a tea party with her new tea set. Water in the tea pot, banana muffins, and apple slices with Goober peanut butter and chocolate. mmmmmm.....

which leads to another highlight...

* I made banana muffins today. I had 3 VERY ripe bananas that were at the use-it-or-lose-it stage. So I printed off a recipe that I found online... a recipe that doesn't require anything fancy. No wheat germ. No buttermilk. Just the basics. And they were delish! Mini muffins are the best!

* I got a lot of laundry done today. Yes, that's a highlight. I thought it might be time to commence with laundering when I overheard this conversation this morning:

Sebastian: Isaac, I'm out of pants. Do you have any I can borrow?
Isaac: Yeah, if you don't mind wearing my football pants.
Sebastian: Uuuuh..... I think I'll just get some out of the hamper.

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in pictures

2012-01-03T21:58:00.002-05:00

I love the whole idea of documenting life in pictures. I love capturing every-day moments and truths of who we are and how we live... the in and out of daily routine is colored by the little nuances that make each moment unique.

This year, so far, has been uneventful by many standards. We spent the first day of the year lounging around the house. Other than peeling myself up every now and then to play a game with Meagan or to make a meal (barely... does Fruity Pebbles count as lunch?), I mostly just laid around and tried not to feel as bad as I felt. But moments like this one helped...

(Meagan staged a comeback and beat me at the Lego dragon pyramid game.)

Monday, day 2 of 2012, Lucas took the day off of work. We woke up to snow and bitter cold weather. But I was feeling quite a bit better than the day before, so we decided to venture out. It was our first day out of the house and DOING something since the start of Christmas break it seems. We spent entirely too much time trading turns being sick. Blech. Anyway, we took the kids to the Children's Museum to see the frogs while they're still on exhibit. I, however, forgot my camera. I do have several photos that I took with my cell phone, but alas, they are still trapped on said cell phone. So, imagine some frogs. And smiling kid faces.

Moving on. :)

Today we said good-bye to Christmas and officially put every last trace of holiday decorating away in the corner of the basement where it will wait until next Christmas. It feels SO nice to have the living room back to normal. It almost feels empty after having been so cramped and crowded for over a month. The kids were in charge of de-ornamenting the tree. Wow. I had to break up more than a few arguments over who would put which ornaments away. Really? *sigh* Too many consecutive days together with no real break. They're ready for some new scenery and new faces to look at I do believe.

And finally FINALLY today, my Christmas gift from Lucas arrived!!! He got me the Clementine Project Life kit and album, and it is just as beautiful as I had imagined it would be! I am so excited to give this a go for 2012. The Clementine kit just makes me feel all warm and happy. I'm happy. I sat in front of the fire tonight and caught up on the first few days of the year. Hopefully, and in theory, I'll be able to keep up with this daily. Here's to hoping I find my rhythm and don't fall behind. Falling behind is bad news for me.

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catching up and starting over

2012-01-01T12:13:00.005-05:00

Although I seriously fell of the Project 365 train in 2011, I am determined to get back up and plow through. I WANT an album of our year. No exceptions. No excuses. I am really working hard on getting caught up. So far, I'm on week 15. Yeah, I know...

My plan is to print the album in two volumes... in 2 26-week increments. Otherwise, the album will be too big - too many pages for online printing companies to accommodate. And since I'm not willing to leave stuff out, 2 albums is my best solution.

Here's what I've done in the past few days. Seems having lots of down time for sickness can prove to be a pretty effective method for getting lots of scrapping done. That's a plus.

Week 10:

My birthday, some nice weather for outside play time, and a trip to Indiana for our home inspection. The kids' first time seeing the new house.

Week 11:

St. Patrick's Day, a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's, a school music program, and a farewell party with friends.

Week 11 Extras:

There were way too many photos of the music program and the friend party to not devote a special page to each. These were some of the kids' last memories made in Ohio before having to say goodbye to the school and friends they had come to love so much.

Week 12:

Moving day, sleeping in empty houses, a family date at Pizza Hut, and the few last moments with friends before leaving.

Week 13:

Lots of boxes. New house. New school. New new new.

Week 14:

A trip to the park and a peek at the train museum. A new tree and some grass! And lots of How to Train Your Dragon.

Week 15:

A rocket launch. Warm-ish weather. The return of gymnastics to our lives.

Week 15 HOUSE PICS:

And a peek at the progress made in our home so far. We've tried really hard to make it livable for the kids in all the major areas that will matter to them. Still lots to do, but it's a start.

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As for the 'starting over' part of the title... it's the first day of a new year, and I am starting this endeavour all over again. This year I will be using Becky Higgins' Project Life. You can find a link to Becky's blog in my blog list to the right. I'm thinking I'll try this approach for 2012 and see how it goes. I'm sure I'll tweak it here and there to make it work for me. And that's fine. The only thing that really matters is that my kids have an album to look back at to remember the finer details of daily life around here. Because it's all the little moments that we stand on, and that move us forward to the next big moment.

If you haven't committed to doing something like this, but think you might be interested in giving it a try, PLEASE do! There's no pressure for perfection. It really is just about capturing life just the way we live it. Anything is better than nothing. If you're not sure where to start, Becky's blog would be a great resource. And there's a whole forum section at TLP devoted to Project Life. Come check it out, and jump on in!!

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the saga continues...

2012-01-01T11:04:00.005-05:00

We just can't seem to get our act together around here. Just when I thought maybe we were turning the corner, Meagan got hit with another round of stomach bug, and I got slammed with a fever and head cold / flu junk that just won't let go. I've been running a low-grade fever for four straight days. No fun.

That being said, we DID go out for New Year's Eve last night! We were all just tired of being couped up. So we used a Texas Roadhouse certificate we got as a Christmas gift. Meagan and I got on 'fancy' dresses (both made of cotton, so not SO super fancy, but it was still fun to get dressed up). We called ahead (thank God!), so when we got to the packed-to-overflowing restaurant, we only had to wait about five minutes for our table. Love! And we had a very nice dinner together as a family! My favorite part... sitting next to my husband... and while we were sitting there waiting, he grabbed my chair and scooted me closer to him just so he could be near me. I love that. *mushy girly sigh*

We came home, got comfy, and laid in front of the fire, watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. Meagan crashed about half way through the movie (and slept until 10:00 this morning). The boys stayed up until midnight. They thought it was creepy that people on tv all started kissing at 12:00. *lol* And Sebastian said Lady Gaga is even creepier than Justin Bieber *double lol*

So one more day of laying around and trying t get better.

And a very few pics from last night... (I finally got around to downloading the pictures off of my camera... almost 350 pictures... I still had stuff on there from Isaac's birthday 2 weeks ago).

The boys got lightening bug jars from Grandma and Grandpa H. for Christmas. They drive the cat NUTS! Isaac named his Verde because he got the green one.

He was TRYING to make the goofiest faces possible. Of course he was. He's a boy.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
**********

...

2011-12-29T10:08:00.003-05:00

Would you believe that Tuesday evening Meagan started getting sick. Four or five hours of yuck. Then lots and lots of hours of sleeping. She was on the couch all day yesterday, and from the looks of it, today is shaping up to be another couch day. Blech.

I woke up this morning not feeling so hot myself. So today will definitely be a lazy day. I'll see if I can feel up to getting our Christmas pictures off of the camera so I can share a few.

So far this has been a bit of a bummer for a Christmas break. Hopefully we can find at least one day before they go back to school to get something fun in. I hope!!

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update

2011-12-24T10:03:00.003-05:00

well here's how it went down. our night was such that it did NOT end up on my list of all-time favorites. isaac got sick several times before finally falling (and staying) asleep around 10:30.

at 9:00, meagan was crying consistently about her ear, and was ASKING to go to the hospital to get it fixed. *sigh* poor thing. so we went to the emergency room. ear infection in her left ear. they gave her numbing drops, tylenol with codine, and an antibiotic. i brought her home, and she also crashed by 10:30.

and they decided to still sleep in front of the tree. illness and all, they weren't willing to give up on tradition. so they spread out their blankets on the floor, and watched movies (except meagan who was at the ER while the boys watched tv). by 10:30 they were all asleep in front of the Christmas tree. we left the tree lights on for them over night.

and they all woke up super happy and feeling fine this morning. isaac ate breakfast and is doing fine. meagan is bouncing around like last night never happened. so i guess we're on the mend! yea!!!

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Bummer

2011-12-23T17:28:00.002-05:00

I have one who just started throwing up.

I have another who has likely got an ear infection.

Tonight's "sleep by the Christmas tree" has been postponed until either tomorrow or Christmas night.

Please pray that they get better and that the rest of us stay healthy.

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a girl with a plan

2011-12-21T09:13:00.002-05:00

Well, I've worked with my paper planner for a few months now, and I'm struggling with it a little bit. Not because it's not electronic. But because it doesn't have enough space for a to-do list or a task list of sorts. There IS a to-do list section in the back, but it's separate from the calendar part, which, try as I might, just does NOT work for me.

I figured I'd take another look to see if I could find something that might work a bit better for me. I did a bit of online searching last night, and found this mom agenda planner that I think will work... plus LOVE the color (it's me, don't you think?)

So, I placed an order first thing this morning. I thought that the start of a new year might be a good time to transition to a new planner. Plus, a little perk, this one has a specific spot for dinner planning at the bottom of each day. So I can at least jot down a reminder at the bottom of each day regarding what's on the menu for that evening.

I think I'll still keep my separate menu planner, though. I've really liked it, and it's been working out well. Have I ever showed it to you? I don't think I have...

In my desperation and determination to get a handle on our dining habits, I went to Wal-Mart. *lol* Seriously, though, I found a CHEAP planner on sale there - of the $3 variety. It's a basic planner with a calendar for each month and a 2-page spread for each week. So I do a high-level view on the calendar page. On each day, I write down the general meal I'm planning for that day. That way I get a better over-all view and prevent things like, say, eating 5 beef-based meals in a row, or eating tacos 2 days after we eat burritos. Stuff like that. It also helps me plan for specific days of the week that are busiest for us. For instance, I have ZERO cooking time on Thursdays, so I know that a crock pot meal or a super-quick make-ahead meal will be needed. The calendar page just helps with the overall menu concept for the month.

Then. On the daily pages, I can fill in the details of that day's meal... the main course, the sides, any desert I might want to plan. I use the daily pages to help me assess our food inventory and grocery needs. Also, this helps me better plan for using up the fresh veggies that we have on-hand by making sure to include them in the week's side dishes. It has helped to drastically cut back on our grocery budget in the past few months. I've gone from about $850 a month on groceries to about $650-$700. Nice. I think so far for December I've only spent about $550 in groceries. I'm amazed at what a little planning can accomplish!

So what's on the menu for tonight? Layered Enchilada Bake with fresh veggie toppings, tortillas and fresh salsa, and mini cornbread.

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light it up

2011-12-18T16:16:00.001-05:00

A quick addition to my 2010 Christmas celebration album...

"The Christmas tree lights are always such a chore, but I love it when they're done. The soft glow of the colorful bulbs twinkling against the evergreen just makes me feel all warm and happy inside. It's a perfect illustration of the cozy warmth of Christmas."

(Click here to view full credits)

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bits and pieces

2011-12-17T11:18:00.004-05:00

it's been a busy week, but there's always time to see life for what it really is, for what's most important. and there's always time to take a moment to record and capture those things that are worth remembering.

so here are bits and pieces of our daily life, captured in photos... the things that bring a moment of joy in a busy day, or that evidence the peace and love that exists in our crazy house.

sebastian was home from school on thursday and friday with a stomach bug of some sort. he felt much better by friday, and was able to eat semi-normally. he still mostly just laid around like a couch blob though. the perks of sick days... kitty snuggles.

a highlight for me this week... a moment of having a relatively clean living room, a fire going, the christmas lights on, and my kindle in hand. that equals one peaceful, quiet moment and a happy me.

the cat found a new snuggly spot to sleep. how cute is she!

yesterday the younger two played outside for a bit, during which time meagan discovered a fossil in our box of rocks in the garage (a big box full of the rocks we collected from the yard before the grass was put down). naturally, finding one fossil yesterday MUST lead to excavating for more fossils at the breakfast table. As soon as breakfast was over, she hauled in a rock pile, got out the tools, and went straight to work. i loved every minute of watching her in her bug-eye goggles, scraping and brushing the dirt from the rocks in her pile. SO worth remembering.

and, oh! i forgot to show you our little elf. i had a feeling i was being too ambitious. but it's good to at least start with a goal in mind. in the end, i DID make the frock. i DID put ruffles on the shirt sleeves. i DID start to make flowers for the headband. and that's as far as i got. time ran out on me. so we settled for sparkly glitter stretch pants, red glitter shoes, and red bows glued to the sides of some white socks. I pinned the felt flower I had made to a way-too-big santa hat that grandma brought for her. it worked. she was cute. she was happy. and the program went really well. we'll call that a win.

today sebastian & meagan have a christmas party at the gym, and then after that we're going to take isaac out to dave & busters for his birthday. food and games! what more could that boy want?! i have to wrap his gifts quick, and bake some cupcakes. and we will spend the weekend celebrating his birthday... just the 5 of us.

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it's been a while

2011-12-16T10:28:00.003-05:00

my days of suits and heels, hosiery and business professional attire have gradually slipped by me until they've become a thing of my past.

until this week.

tuesday i had an interview.

before you get all worked up, it's for part-time work. just something to do during school hours to earn a bit of extra $$. nothing major. but still. a suite was required. so i had to go shopping. since it's been y.e.a.r.s. since i last bought a suit, the ones in my closet were either outdated or undersized (that's the nice way to say it, no?). i found a jacket, skirt and shirt at dress barn of all places. and a new pair of heels at payless right next door.

i gotta admit, it felt pretty good to get all dressed up. and i felt super tall in the heels. a girl could get a rush off of a little extra height every now and then.

the interview went well. interviewing has never been a thing that makes me nervous. i just see it as a chance to talk to new people. and you know me, i LOVE to talk to people. i'm a talker. :)

so we'll just see if my measly few available hours will be enough for some company out there to work with. i'll keep you posted. but if nothing else, i at least got a really cute outfit out of the deal!

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Hold the Lettuce

2011-12-16T10:13:00.004-05:00

Another layout for my Christmas album for 2010. I know these little hamburgers were already included on one of the pages, but I wanted to sort of zoom in on them and include them as something extra special. Because I LOVE these little cookies... not even that they're that good, but just that they make me happy. So cute. For who-knows-what reason, they just make me feel Christmasy. I guess hamburgers will do that to you? *lol*

Journaling: "the hamburgers have been a part of my Christmas memories since childhood. Chocolate cookies, 'nilla wafers, food coloring & icing, and some shaved coconut. when i was young i didn't like coconut, so Mike woudl make me a few cookies with no 'lettuce' on them. now, though, i add the lettuce because i love the bright color they add to the cookies. delicious!"

(Click here to view full credits)

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First Meet layout

2011-12-16T10:02:00.004-05:00

Well I'm a bit late in showing off the December BYOC... it's been a bad month for blogging... Lucas teases me that my blog is becoming a once-a-quarter update. Anyway. Better late than never. I used the December BYOC to make a very non-holiday layout of Meagan's first meet. Be sure to check out the BYOC. And!!! TLP is running a daily special throughout the month of December. Something great is on sale every day!! Okay, on to the layout...

(Click here to view full credits)

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what a weekend!!

2011-12-12T08:51:00.004-05:00

wow! we sure do like to challenge ourselves around here! why not try to cram 10 different things into a span of 2 days? *lol* well, that's about what we did this weekend. nuts. here's how it went...

friday evening, sebastian had his last gymnastics practice before his very first meet (more on that in a moment). he had to be at practice by 6:30, but we had to go early so he could try on pants for his uniform (i know, nothing like last minute, right?). on top of the 6:30 practice, guy & jane were coming in from ohio to stay the night for isaac's birthday party that would be on saturday. they were set to arrive at our place at - you guessed it - 6:30. i called and told jane that i was taking sebastian to practice, so they decided to detour and head to the gym instead. i'm not sure she has ever really gotten to see him, so i know she was excited to get a chance to sit and watch... although i'm not sure she was excited about 2 1/2 hours worth *grin*. anyway...

so they met me at the gym. guy dropped jane off and headed on to our house while she stayed at the gym to watch. however, i also had to make a run to toys r us, since i was pretty close to it and the sale i wanted was ending on saturday. so i left her at the gym and headed to the store. nuts. that's all i can say. i am not such a toys r us fan, and this was not a great experience... moving on...

so i got back to the gym in time to watch the last few minutes of practice, collect everyone, and head home. when we got home, we loaded EVERYONE up into 2 vehicles and headed to wal-mart to find isaac his birthday gift from grandma & grandpa... a bike! so we got home from wal-mart with a new bike and tired kids sometime around 10:00. definitely bed time at that point!

saturday morning brought with it a birthday celebration. although isaac's actual birthday isn't for another week, we were (at least some of us) able to get together this weekend to celebrate. so he got to open some presents, have some cake, and eat the best pizza i've ever had. yum!

for the rest of the afternoon, the kids played... the new zelda game (skyward sword) for wii, and zelda spirit tracks for ds... and meagan invited a friend over to keep herself entertained. the ladies (jane, my mom, and i) wrapped what Christmas gifts i already had, and then we headed out to the stores for more! i now have almost all of my shopping done! i need to get just a few more lego sets and a few bins to store them in. and then i am D.O.N.E. love that!!

saturday evening, the we had a mini Christmas with my mom, since we will not likely be able to get together for Christmas until well into january. boo. then after opening a few presents, we tortured our children by sending them straight to bed... we had to be up at 5:30 to be able to leave in time (6:30) for sebastian's meet. we were on the road by 6:45...close enough. it was a long, boring drive due north for 2 1/2 hours. long. boring. long.

his meet went SO well! there was only one little glitch along the way - the boys' pants got a bit mixed up... some kid took sebastian's pants by mistake and sebastian kept trying to convince the kid they were HIS pants, and blah blah blah. it threatened to escalate into a full-blown derailment of my child's mental state. but it was redirected, solved, and forgotten before it got too out of hand. thank God!!

not a ton of pictures because it wasn't the best set-up for photographing without making the entire world angry. i snapped a few shots of warm-ups and a few of awards (yay!). other than that, i opted for video. but here are a few of the photos i took at least...

this is sebastian (right) and one of his good buddies on his team. they're both the same age - there are only 3 older boys on his team, the rest are 6-7.

vault warm-ups...

team huddle on floor before the meet got started... i like his coaches SO much! they're both so super encouraging and very strong technical coaches! great combo!

okay, on to awards!

yep, he got 6 medals and a ribbon for 4th, plus their team won 1st! it was a great day for him!! he asked me last night when his next meet is because he's ready for another one. i think he got a taste of winning, and he likes how it tastes. *lol* his next meet is in january, and i THINK it will be in cincinnati. i think.

and let's just say his winnings did NOT go unnoticed by his sister, who astutely observed, 'i think sebastian has more medals than me now!' she decided she just has to stop falling off of the beam and then maybe she'll get more medals! i think she might be onto something *lol*.

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Parmesan Potatoes

2011-12-08T22:06:00.004-05:00

A pinterest-inspired recipe. I found a few different potato recipes that sounded tasty, and I sort f mashed them together to come up with this potato recipe I made for dinner last night.

* gold potatoes washed and quartered (or smaller)
* microwave the potatoes until they're fork tender (about 10ish minutes or so?)
* coat with melted butter, grated parmesan & parsly
* bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until golden & crisp.

Yum. Although I think I would use red potatoes (or maybe idaho?) next time.

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meet #2

2011-12-08T21:52:00.002-05:00

as promised... a few pictures and some results. last weekend was meagan's second meet. it was a horrible meet as far as organization and set up. definitely no bonus points for the hosts. but whatever.

as far as meagan, though, she improved in almost everything. every one of her scores went up EXCEPT beam... she fell of THREE times. 1. 2. 3. uggh. i felt aweful for her, but she stuck it out like a trooper. i could tell she was frustrated about it though when she walked back to sit down. i was really proud of how she handled herself though. no crabbies. she just sucked it up and moved on. love that!

she ended up placing 14th on vault and on bars. she placed 20th all-around. so she walked away with 3 medals (yes, they're extra generous with their awards at this level... she loves it!). it was a good day. and apart from the beam score, all of her scores went up from her first meet. YAY! she was only .775 points away from qualifying for state, so it looks like by the end of the season she has a good chance of being able to compete at state. good for her!!! we're so proud!

meg and some of her teammates while they were waiting for the first session to finish up:

vault warm-up... fun action shot:

we sat right by the vault runway, so she went nuts when she saw us. so fun!

awards...

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small update...

2011-12-06T22:22:00.003-05:00

i know my blogging has been stinkin' it up lately. i know.
i swear i'm still around.
for some reason i have about zero energy left in me by the time i actually get some blogging time. and i just don't feel like sitting at the computer or writing anything even remotely interesting, let alone witty or entertaining.
i'm there again tonight. it's 10:25, and i am just finishing up my project for the evening.
it's been a long day.
but i thought i better check in so you didn't start to wonder.

for starters, i DO have a few pictures of meagan's meet over the weekend. i'll post photos and results soon... maybe tomorrow?

we've been busy. i hate that word. i hate to answer 'how have you been?' with 'busy.' it's not really a state of being. it's just, well... busy. dumb. but that's what we've been. lucas has been working lots... thankfully he in on vacation this week and can just have some down time.

the kids have all had dentist appointments in the past week and a half-ish. and me. no cavities for any of us. just lots of trips to the dentist, because of course we could not get them - any of them - scheduled on the same day.

believe it or not, we are STILL working on getting this back door issue squared away. the builder rep and a few other people came today and talked with lucas and me about it again. and then the door people called and set up an appointment for december 15th to come see what's wrong with it. so much for having it DONE by thanksgiving. nope, that did not even a little bit happen. *sigh* oh well... if it gets done in the end and we don't have to foot the bill, i will be happy.

i finished my first attempt at meagan's elf costume tunic. but i did it tonight after she went to bed, so i'm not actually sure whether or not it fits her. i'm not so super sure about the arm holes. but we'll see. it didn't turn out exactly as i had pictured it in my head, but i think it will do for a christmas program. and maybe it will do for a few wears besides that, maybe. we'll have to wait and see once she actually tries it on. i'm definitely not jumping ahead of myself, seeing as i haven't actually sewn anything since, oh, about 6th grade. nice.

we are also in the middle of decorating for christmas still. for some reason i'm just not really in the mood for it all yet. i don't feel like dragging out the boxes. or trying to find a place for things in yet another house. or dealing with the mess that has to be put away once the decorations are in place. but since people are coming to our house this weekend for isaac's birthday party, i figure i should probably get the boxes out of our little downstairs 1/2 bath, which is where i shoved them when the builders came this morning. so it's really much more of a storage closet than a functioning restroom at the moment... could prove to be problematic if i don't take care of that soon.

so there's what we've been up to. lots of gymnastics. lots of daily life. lots of feeling sleepy at the end of the day. we are all still working on getting over our various forms of yuck - meagan's cough is slowly slowly lessening, and my head is producing much less gunk than it has in the past few weeks. but neither of us are 100% yet, which just compounds the tired. so on that note, i'm going to go lay down in my nice squishy comfy warm bed and watch the season finale of covert affairs and fall asleep. i shall TRY to get back in the morning and get some gymnastics pictures and results posted for you.

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creative

2011-12-02T13:54:00.002-05:00

it's time for a new digi dare, and this week i'm the digi hostess. this week's dare is all about telling the everyday stories through a photo that does NOT contain people. what!! no people in the picture??! it has always been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and it's so true. the pictures that capture the random, most inert objects that surround us just might have the greatest stories to tell. for example, in my layout, i focused on a photo of an open box of crayons. and while it doesn't look like much, this picture means so much to me because it screams every-day life in our house. there is not a single day that passes that we aren't shuffling around meagan's markers, crayons, scissors, and paper. really, truly, the child is always ALWAYS drawing, writing, or creating something. and we have piles of papers and art projects to prove it!

come and join us for this week's dare. there are lots of prizes up for grabs, and we have some great sponsors for december!!

here's my layout:

journaling: every day - every single day at our house includes some kind of art work by Meagan. she is the embodiment of creativity.

(click here to view full credits)

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stuffed socks

2011-12-02T13:49:00.003-05:00

i have another page done for my 2010 christmas album...

the kids get giant stuffed stockings from grandma & grandpa h. every year. they LOVE it!!

(click here to view full credits)

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maybe a little ambitious

2011-11-30T09:52:00.004-05:00

in 2 weeks isaac and meagan have their music program at school. meagan has to be dressed like an elf. which means iiiii have to make her an elf costume. hmmm...

well i'm not too hip with the idea of spending money to make something she will never use again. sooooo.... i got this brilliant, although admittedly VERY ambitious idea (considering i haven't really sewn anything in YEAAARS and i only have 2 weeks to pull it off). i decided to make her a little elf costume that she can reuse... maybe even wear for school or play clothes at least. here's my idea...

(i digress for a wee little second... if you haven't tried pinterest yet, TRY IT! it's full of creative genius and inspiration like you would not believe. plus some pretty practical tips, tons of recipes, decorating ideas, you name it. try it, you'll like it.)

i fond these ideas on pinterest. i think i will (TRY TO) alter them to work for what I have in mind.

this shirt for her elf tunic... in her size, not mine, obviously. i think i'll use maybe a 2" ribbon for the draw string in the front. let it hang down mid-thigh or just above the knee.

then these cuties for her leggings.

i'm thinking find some wal-mart leggings and sew the ruffles on. shouldn't be THAT hard, right? ???

and then if i get super ambitious, maybe one of these 2 headbands to match

or

we'll see how it goes. i'm going to start with the tunic and go from there. if i feel like i'm going to have a nervous breakdown with the shirt, then she's getting plain ol' pants and a store-bought santa hat i think. *lol* i'll let you know how it goes.

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today was good

2011-11-28T19:28:00.004-05:00

today was one of those days that doesn't really look out of the ordinary on the surface, but it was a really good day. it was made up of all kinds of little things that made me smile.

for starters, meagan had a dentist appointment this morning, which meant she didn't have to rush out the door to catch the bus, and we got to spend a little girl time together. not much, but some. i'll take whatever one-on-one time i can get with any of my kiddos... seems one-on-one time is hard to find these days.

then i found some SUPER deals on gifts for the kids at amazon today. i guess i have cyber monday to thank. but seriously, like $20 off of lego kits and whatever... shhh, don't tell.

i also found a super great deal on a gift for lucas... but that's about all i can say about that or he'll guess what it is. he's a brat like that.

and then i got gas and paid $2.99/gallon. seriously! the price did not start with a 3 for the first time in a looooooooooong time! that in itself was worth the party!

then i got to spend a bit of time browsing through barnes and noble. i was getting books for the kids for christmas. but there is just something about the atmosphere of a book store that i love. i love my kindle.... LOVE... but i hope book stores never go away. i love the little kiddy reading corners tucked away here and there. i love the isles and isles of paper and glossy covers. it all just makes me feel happy. maybe i'll look into getting a job at a book store. i could see loving that.

then it was off to get the kids from school. i love that as soon as they all pile into the van now they start telling me their favorite part of the day! it's the best. even the 2 little girls that we car pool with are always so excited to share their days. it's great!

and even though i had to sit through 2 hours and 15 minutes of gymnastics practice (car pool break down due to auto repairs), it was kind of nice. meagan is all of a sudden not looking like she's lost. she has gotten quite a few of her skills, and has only one on bars and one on floor to master. the rest is a matter of form, which is hit or miss on any given attempt. but it was still fun to see her excitement at her progress! and sebastian is really looking fantastic! i'm so proud of him! i can't wait for him to get his first taste of competition. it's just around the corner!

so there you have it. it was a good day. in all the ordinary sort of ways. i love that.

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Wish Lists

2011-11-27T17:15:00.002-05:00

This is for everyone who keeps asking me for the kids' Christmas wish lists. I have made a page full of their wish lists, with links to many of the items they want. You can find the link at the top right of my blog. If you buy something from the list, PLEASE let me know so that I can cross it off the list. I know everyone gets their feelings a bit hurt when duplicate gifts pop up. Hope this helps you out with your Christmas shopping!!

Holiday Album 2010

2011-11-25T21:49:00.003-05:00

I've never been good at scrapping holidays. I don't know what it is about them, but I just scrap around them. Like they never even happened. It's sad really.

I've decided this is unacceptable. I WANT my kids to be able to look back and reflect on past holidays. So I decided to start with last year's Christmas. My plan is to put together a Christmas album that documents all of our ways we celebrate the season... baking, decorating, gift opening, and so on.

Just as I decided to dive into this project, The LilyPad designers came out with a Document Your December collection... PERFECT for the project I have in mind!! Here's what I've done so far...

Cover:

(Click here to view full credits)

Baking:

(Click here to view full credits)

Muddy Buddies:

(Click here to view full credits)

(Click here to view full credits)

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Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T18:02:00.004-05:00

Wow, I have been out of commission lately! Last week I came down with a sinus deal, and have been laid out and sleeping every opportunity that I've had. But thankfully I'm on the mend, and I have had plenty of energy for the cooking and festivities of the day.

I started cooking at 8:00 this morning. We finally sat down to eat around 2:30. After clean up and a bit of down time, Meagan talked me into (aka... begged and begged and begged until I caved) putting the lights on the Christmas tree. Hopefully the lights will be on by the end of the evening, and tomorrow we can dig out the ornaments.

We stayed home for the holiday, just the 5 of us. Lucas had to work this morning, although I was thrilled when he came walking in the door at 10:45!! What a great surprise!

We had turkey, green beans, twice baked mashed potatoes, apple cranberry stuffing, and dinner rolls. Plus apple pie and chocolate brownies. Believe it or not, the tribe is getting restless and beginning to ask for food again.

So that's it from me for now... just stopping in for a quick update since I've kept you waiting. I've got to get back to tree lights and dinner making. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!

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an all-around champion

2011-11-16T10:49:00.002-05:00

well, meagan (and the rest of us)survived her first meet. it was early EARLY in the morning. we got up at about 5:30, left the hotel by 6:45, and checked in at the meet at 7:30. warm-ups started at 8:00. but it was run pretty smoothly, and there were very few delays, so the meet was done, and awards were being handed out by 11:15. still, it felt like a very long day. we were tired. SHE was tired. but she had fun.

i thought i might get in a wee bit of trouble if i didn't share at least SOMETHING with you. so i found a few pictures that edited okay... horrible lighting and far distance equals not-so-great photos all around, but these were alright for what it's worth.

getting ready to warm up. this is meagan and her buddy T. T and meagan are in the same practice group at the gym, and they are together a LOT.

they warmed up and stretched as a team before breaking into their different groups for rotations. their team brought 42 level 3 girls to the meet, so there she had teammates on every event at any given time. it was like a small silver and black army.

her first event was beam. then they followed olympic rotation after that. beam, floor, vault, bars. her beam routine started out really solid. great form, even a smile. she did her handstand and stayed on, but she got pretty wobbly at that point and never fully recovered. she ended up falling off on her split leap. but she got back up and finished with no problem. her score on beam was an 8.000 even with the fall. i was pretty excited for her!

floor was next. her weakest even by far. she isn't such a fan of the dance elements. in fact, she once told me about a month ago that floor is pretty dumb because she's a gymnast, not a dancer. that girl. the good news, though, is that she told me yesterday she is getting pretty used to floor and now she likes it. so that's progress.

anyway, she still is trying to get her bridge-kick-over (the forerunner to a back walkover), so she lost points for having to be spotted... but better than losing points for a fall i suppose. it was also her first time ever doing her routine to the actual floor routine music. they've been working all this time in practice just to learn the order of the elements. so floor is a work in progress. her final score was a 6.000. ouch. :) she still came away with a smile on her face, though.

third was vault. that went well. she did a really good first vault, although had too much power so took a few steps on her landing. her score was 8.000. i didn't get any pictures of it though because i was recording with the video camera.

last was bars. again, she still doesn't have all of her skills on bars. but she has great form anyway. she got a 7.300 on bars and placed 16th on bars, which means she got a medal. which means she was thrilled!

her bars medal...

and she placed 21st all-around.

once they had handed out all of the all-around medals, the announcer said, 'here are your level 3 all-around champions!' that's all meagan heard. she came running over to me and said, 'mama, i'm an all-around champion!!' i LOVE that girl!

**********

11.11.11

2011-11-11T08:52:00.004-05:00

what are we doing on this monumental date in history? we are gearing up for meagan's first meet. that's what we're doing.

she has her very first gymnastics meet tomorrow, and i have a list a mile long of things that need to get bought, packed, and done before we head out. but my to-do list is by no means the focus of today. she is. she is beyond excited. and more than a little nervous. she chattered about her meet all morning while i did her hair. she told me (and showed me) how you make pretty hands for dance elements and soluting judges. she told me that you get higher scores if you point your toes, have straight legs, and keep your feet together. she told me that she isn't all the way ready for this meet yet.

i told her it's not time to focus on the scores yet. that her day of being a rock star gymnast is coming, but that it's okay if it's not tomorrow. that tomorrow her focus should be checking out the meet and seeing what it's all about. it should be trying to get her floor routine to line up with the music (since she has never yet actually PRACTICED it with the music, that in itself would be an accomplishment all on its own). i told her to set a few goals, like staying on the beam, or sticking her landings on dismounts. she said, 'my goal is to do everything great.' hmmm... i don't think she was listening in all that time i was talking *lol* what can i say, my daughter is a hyper competitive perfectionist. not sure what else there is to say about that.

anyway, in preparation for their first meet, they had a mock meet earlier this week at their tuesday practice. she wanted to have curly hair, so we curled it all up. this was her for school on monday actually:

then she slept on it monday night, and we pulled it back into a spider web on tuesday for practice...

you should have SEEN the excitement and buzz in the gym on tuesday. it was a sea of glittery leotards, fancy hair do's and over-the-top giddy little girls. giddy.

parents weren't allowed to stay for the mock meet... not enough seating, plus maybe a bit of a distraction to the girls who really just needed to focus on what the coaches were saying. BUT i did manage to see her beam routine. she was just mounting when i got there to pick her up. she stayed on. it wasn't a train wreck. it was actually pretty cute. maybe not technically spectacular, but super adorable nonetheless.

so yes, tomorrow at 8:00 am the show starts. it should be quite a day. it will, at a minimum, be a VERY early morning for us. please be praying for her and her teammates that this will be a positive experience for them. i'll let you know how it goes.

p.s. sorry for the horrible picture quality... these came from my cell phone, and they were all pretty much taken in horrible lighting with very little chance at a still shot. lol
**********

fyi

2011-11-10T14:43:00.000-05:00

it's snowing.

that is all.

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the bad A word

2011-11-10T12:15:00.004-05:00

meagan informed me tuesday after gymnastics that one of her teammates had said the bad "a" word during practice. my response was something to the effect of 'that's not a nice thing to say. we shouldn't talk like that' blah blah blah. she went further to say that sometimes her brothers also say the bad 'a' word, to which sebastian IMMEDIATELY took the defensive declaring he doesn't say that stuff... ever... oddly, isaac stayed pretty quiet *lol*. so the conversation went on for a few more minutes, talking about the way we choose to use our words, and so on. then there was a moment of silence, which was broken by meagan saying, "annoying. that's the bad 'a' word isn't it mamma? annoying isn't a nice word to say.'

i couldn't help but do a mental forehead slap. i KNOW better than to assume i know what's going on in her brain. i didn't see that one coming at all. so now i know why she was throwing her brothers under the bus *lol*. she went on to make sure there was a distiniction made between annoyING and annoyED. apparently, annoyed is an okay word to say because you're saying how YOU feel. but annoyING is calling somebody else something that's not nice, so we shouldn't say that. i guess i see her point. so i learned something new. and got a good laugh in the process.

motherhood is never dull.

**********

smell my feet

2011-11-08T09:23:00.003-05:00

okay, it's only taken me a week and a day to get this handful of pictures edited and uploaded to share with you. *shrug* i have no excuses other than being busy. sorry to keep you waiting. i figured at some point the saying 'better late than never' might not even apply, and so maybe i should get these guys up here before christmas rolls around. ya think?

so without further adeu, our halloween 2011 pictures... well, a few of them...

(little sisters. *rolls eyes*)

(this, by the way, is just about the only photo i have of sebastian looking at the camera with his eyes open. he seemed to keep ducking out of camera range... quite the opposite of his sister... i know i said it last year too, but it just seems like he is on the cusp of being 'too old' for all this jazz. makes me a bit sad.)

i dare you to look at these next two without at least smiling. she cracks me up!! this might be a face only a mother could love? *lol*

like i said, our trick-or-treat trip around the neighborhood was brief. not a lot of houses participated. and our neighborhood isn't all that big to begin with. so i didn't get to be the mammarazzi that i usually am. but i got a few pictures, and we had a good time. and it was BEAUTIFUL weather. for that i was VERY thankful!

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Polka Dot Pumpkin Cupcakes

2011-11-03T12:54:00.003-04:00

I found this recipe on verybestbaking.com and tried it last night for desert. On those evenings when I make a not-so-favorite meal, or one that's new to us (which I think both could have applied last night), I try to make desert to kind of ease the pain of trudging through the dinner part. So these were desert last night. They were pumpkin-y and tasty. And I made a tray of mini's for after-school snack today.

Credits: Sahlin Studio Kitschy Kitchen Mixed Media

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this is how we boo

2011-11-03T11:36:00.003-04:00

finally the halloween season is behind us. while halloween admittedly is my least favorite of all the heavily-celebrated holidays, i confess that i rather enjoy certain aspects of it. i do enjoy the pretties - the decorations and glittery things, the fall colors, and even the bats & spiders. i enjoy the costumes and the candy and the fun parts of it, even if the day itself is quite yucky.

so i thought it would be fun to put a mini album together to kind of highlight all of the fun things we've done this halloween season to celebrate and enjoy the holiday. i used papers from allison pennington's for the love of halloween papers:

I also used Sahlin Studio's monogram journalers on just about every page. those are great every-day must-have's in the digi stash. 1 million percent versatile! love them!

anyway, here's the album... it will have to suffice for a glimpse at costumes until i can get a few more photos edited.

COVER

PUMPKIN PATCH

SCHOOL PARTIES & INSIDE DECORATIONS

SPIDER PUMPKINS

OUTSIDE DECORATIONS

CHILDREN'S MUSEUM HAUNTED HOUSE

CANDY APPLES & COOKIES

COSTUMES

TRICK OR TREATING & PASSING OUT CANDY

CANDY SWAP & TV TRADITIONS

all of the envelope pages will have additional 4x6 photos of that particular event (like the kids making their spider pumpkins, or each of their costumes, and so on... i just haven't gotten the 4x6's printed yet).

this album was super easy to make. i used a pack of kraft envelopes and 5x7 notecards that i got at hobby lobby 50% off (so like $4 for 50 cards & envelopes). i had 5x7 printed at snapfish and picked them up at my local meijer. then i adhered the photos to the cards, punched holes in each card, and bound the album with 2 jump rings that i had on hand.

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update

2011-11-03T08:11:00.007-04:00

don't throw stones. i KNOW it's been over a week with no updates.

sometimes life is busy. too busy to sit and blog and edit pictures and whatever else.

so i thought i'd give you all a quick update before i go get read for the day. at least this way you know i'm still around. so here you go, an update of sorts, in random bullet point format.... *lol*

* we went trick or treating. there were very few houses participating. kind of a bummer. but they still have 3 buckets of candy, so i guess it worked out.

* tomorrow is gymnastics picture day. i'm about pictured out. school pictures. football pictures. gymnastics pictures. small fortunes for printed paper. *sigh*

* the door MANUFACTURER is coming to our house today to see if he can figure out why our door leaks. personally, i say, 'who cares WHY it leaks. it leaks. give me a new one.' clearly we are on two different pages at the moment.

* i made pumpkin muffins for desert yesterday. and bean soup for dinner. surprisingly, my two pickiest eaters both LIKED the bean soup. who knew?! i'll try to come back and post the recipe for the muffins later. it's pumpkin season, yum!

* i have managed to at least find the floor in the closet. i have a lot of organizing and arranging and sorting to do in there still. that is quite the undertaking.

* we got a king size bed. my parents had one in their guest room that they wanted to get rid of (downsizing to a full that will fit in there better i think). so they gave us the king. and we about peed our pants laughing at ourselves trying to move this thing up the stairs to our bedroom. poor lucas has ME for a lifting partner *rofl*

* tomorrow is grandparents' day / special person day at isaac and meagan's school. my mom is coming. she'll be meagan's special person, and i'll be isaac's. should be a good morning.

* we are coming up on meagan's 1st gymnastics meet. it's next weekend, and she is starting to get nervous. team pictures are tomorrow, and next week they will do a mock meet at one of their practices.

okay, so since the door people are coming in about 2 hours, i should go get cleand up and dressed. somehow i think pj's are inappropriate attire when conducting a 'give me a new door' meeting. i'll see if i can get some time later to come back and post a few things.

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your time is coming

2011-10-25T08:35:00.002-04:00

i threw this together in about 15 minutes last night... just a fun, quick layout warning our new-found pumpkins of their impending doom. bwaahh haaa haaa haaa!

(click here to view full credits)

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the pumpkin train

2011-10-24T10:54:00.005-04:00

i love it when we have the chance to do something out of the ordinary with our kids. even better is when extended family can be involved as well. i think it just makes for great memories. how can i not want that for my children?

yesterday we had a day like that. we took a train ride to a pumpkin patch. we spent about an hour there, picking out pumpkins, of course. but there were also a few farm animals to pet, and a hay maze to go through, and a ring toss game (that isaac loved because he LOVES to win trinkets as prizes. LOVES it), and a hay ride to and from the fields. it was a very simple, no-fuss, back to basics way to spend the early part of our day.

the train departed from the transportation museum at the park in town. meagan was beyond excited to be going on a train destined for a field full of pumpkins! she was definitely ready to go!

while we waited to board, there were engines and cars and cabooses to peek at. they have a collection of old - some VERY old - trains that are waiting to be restored. i'm so thankful that someone cares enough to restore and maintain something that was such an integral part of our culture at one time. sadly, if no one does it, these giants of the past threaten to slip out of our awareness altogether. i love that our kids have had so many chances to see trains up close and to enjoy them and develop a love and fascination with them.

(don't you love how excited meagan is? she's great! and sebastian is always so serious. it's funny how different they are.)

it seems boys will FIND a way to see inside those compartments and cubbies they want to see into. *lol*

on the ride there, meagan made a simple, yet profound observation. she said the best part of the train ride is that you can just sit and talk, and you don't have to be distracted by where you're going like you do when you're driving. she really values quality time, and no other statement could have made that any more clear.

meagan was really the only one (besides grandpa) who got excited about petting the farm animals. but she was thrilled with it, despite her brothers' disinterest. she saw an opportunity to learn and enjoy, and she took it.

i swear this was this girl's dream come true - to have a wide open field full of pumpkins at her disposal. she took off running through the pumpkins, headed straight for the biggest one she could find (there weren't many big ones left, since we're so late in the season, and many of them had holes in them and were beginning to rot. but she did manage to find one that was big enough for her liking, so she was happy.)

the boys had a good time, too. don't get me wrong. they are just so much more subdued about their enjoyment. they no longer wear it out there for the world to see. i guess they're just getting too grown up to run around care-free all the time. :(

grandpa wore meagan's gloves while she was picking her pumpkins.

(i don't know what it is about these far away pictures, but i just love them)

riding home with the loot.... it was a good thing we had an extra seat in our section...

when we got back to the park, grandma stopped in the shop to find the kids each a t-shirt to help them remember the day (as if they could ever forget it). i snapped a few pics of them just hanging around waiting, and i was pleasantly surprised at how they turned out.

it was a long morning, and we were all quite hungry, so we made a straight line to logan's steakhouse for lunch before grandma & grandpa headed back home. what a great day!

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one more thing to share

2011-10-22T11:30:00.002-04:00

outside decorations for holidays are a big deal for our kids. they LOVE them. and for some reason, decorating for halloween is always so much fun for them, no matter how much i may dislike the holiday. luckily there are certain aspects of this season that i don't mind - namely those things that naturally occur in the world around us, such as spiders, pumpkins, cats, bats, leaves. i'm good with all of these things.

meagan wanted to put spider webs all over our house. i, however, don't care for the stringy, messy white spider web stuff you can buy. so i saw an idea online, and thought it might be a good compromise for us. here' the end result:

super easy. i used mini command strip tabs. put 8 around the window. then used yarn (purple/brown/gray/black blend... meagan's choice) to make the base of the web... 1 vertical from tab to tab, one horizontal from tab to tab, and 2 diagonal from tab to tab (like an asterisk). then use a LOOOOOONG piece of yard doubled over to loop around the asterisk-shaped base, tie it off, and trim the extra. finally i used a twisty tie to fix a glittery spider to the web and voila.

original instructions can be found

here

... . i deviated a bit from her instructions, but same basic concept. super easy. took about 15 minutes. and CHEAP. i like cheap.

here's the rest of our outside ensamble.

we also have lights on the bushes, which, by the way, are working now. hooray!

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what i did yesterday

2011-10-22T11:03:00.003-04:00

remember my crazy mess in the front room?...

well, last week (i think) i made a target trip and got 2 desks (for $50 each) and a storage unit ($69) to start down the path or organization. once i got the furniture put together, lucas brought sebastian's computer down out of his room (a move that was greatly motivated by the fact that the child has a rather nasty allergic reaction to dust and dust mites), and set it up, along with the old green laptop, in the front room for the kids. now there is a lot less on the floor... still a pile in the corner, but it's SO much better than it was... and i'm working on the master closet so that i can get the corner pile dwindled down significantly.

so yesterday i decided to go a step further to get the front room put together. my plan, besides the desk and storage unit, is to put a bookcase on either side of the window, and a sitting bench under the window. well, we just so happened to have a bench, although it was in pretty sad shape. wood slats had busted off of it, and it was VERY worn and not-too-pretty.

so i emptied it out and drug it down to the garage, masked the front of the drawers with masking tape, and spray painted it dark brown.

When it was all done and dried (which took a lot less time than i had expected), i hauled it into the front room and dressed it up a bit with a few throw pillows that were just lying around.

in a matter of maybe 2 hours total it went from this:

to this:

i still plan to make a new cushion cover for the older-than-my-kids cushion that's on it, but for now this will due. so here's the front room as it sits currently:

quite an improvement from a week ago i think. yea, i love the feeling of progress.

*****

and since the bench didn't take all that long, and the paint supplies were already out, i decided to drag a dining room chair out to the garage and get started on it. we got these chairs for bargain price from a red lobster that was remodeling. but they are nasty. ugly. worn. and in need of some sprucing up. they will soon become the same dark brown as the bench. i've got one almost done already, and have started a second. i figure if each chair takes me one can of paint, i will have a total of about $45 into refinishing six chairs. that's not a bad deal, $45 for 6 chairs.

the before and after:

*****
and just for fun, i thoght i'd share this random picture of my daughter who was building a HORSE in the garage while i was painting this morning. yes, this is a horse. use your imagination. hers works great!

okay, i'm off to enjoy my saturday... and maybe get some laundry and closet cleaning done. by the way, please pray for sebastian. he's not feeling well today at all. we have a big exciting day tomorrow, and i really hope and pray that he makes a speedy recovery so he can enjoy the fun.

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Sweet Treats

2011-10-20T11:58:00.002-04:00

I've managed to get quite a bit done in the past few days - bathroom cleaning, front room organizing, halloween decorating, laundry, etc. All I really have to show for it is one layout though. Our Halloween decorations pooped out on us in the rain - they kept popping the GFI, which I guess means they don't like the rain. So they're unplugged at the moment until it will stop raining long enough for me to go fix the issue. The bathroom is clean and sparkly, but you don't really want to see a picture of my bathroom, I'm pretty sure. I DID manage to get two desks and a storage shelf for the front room, and that is well on its way to being a functional, not disasterous room, but I'll wait until it's a bit more finished to share that with you.

So that leaves me with this one little ol' layout. This is still one of my favorie every-day summer memories from this year. We did something TOTALLY out of the norm for us and bought candy and pop for our afternoon snack. We sat out in the nice warm weather in the grassy area next to our van (in the Target parking lot) and had a junk food binge before gymnastics. Good times. I think my kids wondered what had come over me when I told them "yes" to the candy bars and root beer. *lol*

Journaling: We took advantage of free time before gymnastics & got a junk food snack at Target. We sat in the parking lot and enjoyed our last bit of summer before school started up again.

(Click here to view full credits)

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Hoppin' Hall-O-Ween Blog Train

2011-10-14T21:33:00.004-04:00

Hello hello! Welcome to the TLP / Oscraps blog train for our huge Halloween bash! I hope you're planning on joining us in the forums and the shops for all the fun and festivities! There are LOTS and LOTS of prizes to be had! Not to mention chats and costumes and fun with friends.

Have you seen the huge collab kit between the two stores? Be sure to check it out... both parts... you won't want to miss a single bit of it! Here's my first page with this GINORMOUS kit, and I'm sure there will be more to follow.

And just for hopping on board the blog train, here's the quick-page version of this page for you to grab!

The image is clickable and should take you straight to the download. In case that doesn't work, click here instead.

Once you've grabbed this little treat, be sure to follow the train to the next stop: Laurie's Blog. And just in case you missed the stop before my blog, here's a link back to Sue's Blog. Happy train ride! Thanks for stopping by!! Have a Hoppin' Hall-o-ween!

Hoppin' Hall-O-Ween

2011-10-14T17:01:00.002-04:00

This weekend, TLP and OScraps are combining forces to bring you one giant-sized halloween bash! And to kick it all off, the fabulous designers have created this unbelievably HUGE and GORGEOUS collaborative kit! Check out the kit, and come back tomorrow... there will be a blog train full of quick pages and give-aways! You won't want to miss it!

right now

2011-10-11T08:42:00.007-04:00

One of my favorite things about my blog - and about scrapbooking and picture-taking for that matter - is the way that it captures the subtle changes in life. Yes, there are milestones and major moments, but it's the day-in and day-out of life that constitutes the greatest majority of our lives, and that moves us from one milestone to the next. I love to look back and remember where we've been and what we've seen and done and gone through. It gives me such a deeper appreciation of where we are. Sometimes, it's nothing so deep and retrospective, though. Sometimes it's just fun to reflect and smile at the memories.

So here are today's day-in and day-out that will all-too-soon be tomorrow's memories. Here's where we are right now.

Right now the kids are really into Goober pb&j. Not that it's my favorite thing in all the world, but I don't mind it. For now. When the jar is empty, we'll go back to the regular peanut butter in one jar and jelly in the other. But they love the pb&j stripes, which, of course, make it taste all the better. I will admit, I AM quite a fan of Goodber peanut butter and chocolate. Super tasty as a special little treat for pretzels or nuts or apple slices. Soooo yummy!

Right now we are watching our very last Netflix movie. It has to be returned by this Saturday or we pay for it. After being loyal Netflix customers for YEARS, we have sadly come to the decision to cancel our subscription. The service has just become something other than what it once was, and the price is no longer justified. We kept it this long because we were finishing watching the last season of Tudors on the instant stream. So now all we have left is this one last DVD to be mailed in. And our Netflix memories. *lol*

Right now there is a battle waging in our living room. Isaac has rediscovered his Civil War men, and he has them set to strike on the coffee table. True, it provides a little extra clutter in the room, but it's SO cute. There is just something about little plastic army men that stirs up nostalgia, don't you think? I love it.

Right now Charming (aka Big Guy, aka world's largest teddy bear) and the food buckets are setting up camp in the corner of the living room, tucked between the couch, end table and love seat. This has recently been dubbed Meagan's 'fort house,' and she plays in it when the boys are too busy with boy things to pay attention to her. Sometimes she even gets permission to pull the love seat cushions off and use them for walls or beds or whatever else she dreams up. I remember doing this quite often as a child... I LOVED making cushion forts. This should most definitely be present in every childhood, whenever possible.

Right now these two (the bunny and the hippo) go with Meagan EVERYWHERE in the mornings. As soon as she wakes up, she snags them up in her arms and drags them down to breakfast. Usually wherever they land for breakfast is where they stay for the rest of the morning, since she is truly MY daughter and takes every last possible second to get ready and goes running out the door at the last moment to catch the bus. Today they will probably sit on the Mt. Dew box and await her return (unless I get struck with the mood to clean... but I doubt it.)

Right now THIS is the scene in our front room. Pretty nice, huh? I have never really been thrilled with the way our furniture got set up on move-in day, but I've never known what else to do with everything... so it stayed where it was. Well, I've finally gotten bit with the bug to make a change. I want to LIKE our house and the way it functions. So I'm on a mission. However, it seems the mission has stalled a bit, leaving a BIG pile of random junk in the middle of the floor. Must see what I can do about that this week. I can't keep stepping over it. Boo.

Right now I am enjoying our newly-repaired kitchen floor. Due to water damage from a leaky back door, the floor had been torn up for a solid month & a half, maybe longer. We have been waiting for the door to get fixed properly before they would put the floor back down. So, now they say it should all be good. We will see. But I like not seeing sub-floor. And I like having the table in the middle of the floor instead of shoved up against the wall. And I LOVE my bargain rug I found at Meijer for $7.49. I was in need of a rug to put under the table that would be about 5x7 - wide enough to accommodate the table plus the stools when they're pulled out from the table. I was hoping to find one that was black-ish in some fashion, since the kitchen is being done up in green and black mostly. So when I found this 5x7 gray rug clearanced for $7.49, I felt OBLIGATED really to purchase it. I mean, it would have been fiscally irresponsible of me to pay the $150-ish I was thinking for the rugs I had been checking out. I bought it thinking it would be a cheap temporary solution until we could save up the money for a real rug. But now that it's down, I gotta say I rather like it.

So I think the rug will stay for a while.

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Gearing Up

2011-10-10T10:11:00.004-04:00

It's almost that time of year.... the time of year that gives me the greatest sense of mixed emotions.... Halloween. I love the pumpkins, the fall festivities, the colors, the snacks, the candy, the CUTE costumes. I hate the origins, the deeper meaning and all it represents, the decorations of living dead and evil and darkness. How can we give one holiday such a duplicitous personality? *sigh* It makes me crazy to think about it really, and I feel so torn.

I've had to learn to compartmentalize on this one. To put my angst aside and focus on the possitive aspects of the holiday. The fun and cute and festive parts. We have explained, and will continue to explain, to our kids what pleases God and what clearly displeases Him. And we hope that they will grow up understanding the very clear distinction between the two. I hope they will direct their decisions accordingly.

At any rate, we are gearing up to decorate and make caramel aples and paint pumpkins. The kids have picked out their costumes - a ninja (again), a swamp lizard, and wall-e (she INSISTED on being a robot, but told me I would take too long to make the costume myself, so we bought a wall-e costume *lol*).

Halloween scrapbook supplies are out in full force as well. I've managed to put a few layouts together in the last week, although I'm really struggling for creativity right now. Here's what I've got...

The Costume:

journaling: "The Red Queen: One red velvet dress with heart patches glued on, a gold crown with red jewels, and lots of makeup."

(click here to view full credits)

Not Too Spooky:

journaling: "for me, it's really a challenge to find the right balance in celebrating Halloween. i absolutely detest the origins of the day and the costumes of walking dead and visions of death - it's so contrary to all that I love and believe in. BUT, it is also a holiday geared towards kids - fun costumes and pumpkins and candy. I don't want my kids to miss out. We do participate, but we try not to let it get too spooky."

(click here to view full credits)

How do YOU celebrate Halloween? I'd love to know. Do you go all out, or to you feel a bit torn like I do?

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Hatch and Release

2011-10-09T12:00:00.003-04:00

Remember how I told you a while ago that Meagan got a butterfly house for her birthday? And her caterpillars came in the mail, but they had been killed by the extreme summer heat? Well, mid-September her new caterpillars came in the mail - four of them - and they were all well and good.

We had them for about 4 or 5 days before they climbed to the top of their little cup and wrapped themselves up in their chrysalists. Lucas transferred them from the cup to the mesh butterfly house. And then we waited.

It was really a very cool process to watch. Look how amazing... just before the butterflies break free of their cocoons, the cocoon becomes very translucent, and you can see their wings...

This was the first butterfly who hatched.

We had set the house on top of a book shelf so they were up and out of the way. One evening, the cat went nuts and started jumping straight up in the air and ricocheting off of the book shelf (moron), which is how I initially realized the butterfly had hatched. I called to Meagan, and she (and everyone else) came running to see her very first butterfly.

Right away we got some fresh flowers (from the flower bed out front) and mixed up some sugar water. We put the flowers in the bottom of the house, and used a medicine dropper to put some of the sugar water inside of the flowers.

It took a few days for all four of the butterflies to come out. Note: If you're reading this and you are raising butterflies for the first time like we were, please know that they bleed after they hatch. Out of their butts to be exact. No, it is not due to internal injury (which was my initial suspision, as Meagan had sort of monster trucked the first poor butterfly shortly after it hatched.)They all did it. I guess it's just what they do. So don't panic.

So one by one they hatched. And we watched as their wings dried and grew stronger. And soon they were all fluttering around the house and wandering up toward the top of the house.

It was a tough thing to explain to Meagan that they weren't really pets, but that they would be much happier if they could be free to fly around and play and have fun. I gave her an example that she could understand - what if she was ready to have sleepovers and play at her friends' houses, but instead we just kept her shut up in her room all the time because we wanted to keep her near us? She understood that it would not be healthy for her, and it was not healthy for the butterflies. So she agreed that setting them free was the thing to do. And by the time it was actually time to let them go, she was pretty excited about it all.

She carried the house out to the back deck... closest to the field, which is where she decided they would probably best like to live.

Unzipped.

And then one by one, let them go.

And every single one of them did fly out over the field, which made her very happy. She said, "I just knew they would want to live there. And I bet they will make friends with all the white butterflies who are already out there."

She did good, and she is looking forward to getting MORE butterflies on her next birthday. I think I can live with that.

Oh, and one last note. She is now considering being a "Butterflyologist" when she grows up.

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Raise Your Hand

2011-10-09T09:20:00.002-04:00

Raise your hand if you're tired of checking my blog only to find the same thing that was here last time.

Yeah, sorry about that. This week was a bit nutso and left no time really for me to be able to sit down and blog. *sigh* I have no real plans today to speak of (we got up, got ready, and drove to church only to discover that this weekend there is no church because the church is doing a community service day. I remember that now, but I had forgotten. And since we have no idea where or how they are serving the community, we can't exactly participate. So we turned around and drove home. *shrug* So all of a sudden, my morning has cleared up a bit).

So I'll go find my camera, download and edit pictures, and come back to share some with you. I'll be back.

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Sebastian in Action

2011-10-01T13:56:00.004-04:00

The last practice of the month is the practice that parents are allowed to stay and watch. Last night was Sebastian's last practice, so I recorded a few of the things they were working on. My favorite to watch him do, by far, is rings. He has done such a great job cleaning things up, working on his technique and wanting to learn to do things right. His hard work is really starting to pay off!

(After his dismount, before he re-chalks and gets back up, he and his coach were making up a secret handshake for when he's a rock star. I thought that was pretty great that his coach took the time to encourage him like that.)

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Work It!

2011-09-29T11:19:00.003-04:00

I think God has lit a big fat fire under my butt in the past few weeks.

First, I felt super compelled to read (aka, tear through) Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. It was inspiring and empowering. It was an eye-opener. I have new perspective. I'm a little overwhelmed. But in a good, manageable way. This book was a good thing for me. Because Lucas works and I am home, I am the one who "takes care of" the money stuff. Confession time... in the past year, that has consisted of little more than paying the bills and shoving receipts in a drawer to deal with at some later date.

No more! Today and tomorrow I am working on getting receipts entered, papers filed, and my front room generally de-cluttered. A gigantic undertaking, but it can be done! It MUST be done! For my sanity and peace of mind. Then we shall re-evaluate our budget and make some necessary changes. Two giant bits of wisdom that Dave Ramsey crams into a few little words: 1. Baby steps. 2. Start with the END in mind. Yes, I can do this!

As if that weren't enough, I've also suddenly been motivated to start working out once a day. I dug out the old EA Active for wii and started a new 30 day challenge this morning. I did the intense workout. Then I nearly fell down the stairs from my jell-o legs (can you say inline skating? *lol*). So I'm really planning on keeping up with that during the weeks especially. Maybe I'll chill on weekends, but there's no reason not to take 30 minutes from my Mon-Fri.

So there you have it. I am on fire! Pumped! Ready!
Wish me luck!

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I'm feelin' fallish

2011-09-29T10:55:00.003-04:00

Okay honestly, I TRIED to do a post the other day. I spent a solid 45 minutes only to find out that the photos were GIGANTICALLY HUGE and wouldn't fit. So I took the post down. I will have to do some photo editing before I can share those pics.

I can share a few layouts though... again. Seems that's about all I've got for you lately. But there WILL be more to come. And at least you have SOMETHING to look at, right?

So, the theme for my scrapping lately seems to be AUTUMN. Lots and lots of autumn.

Tractors:
These are actually a few of the pictures I attempted to upload yesterday. A few weekends ago we went to the 19th Century County Fair at Conner Prairie. It was a pretty gloomy day that threatened to rain, but the weather held out for us. We had a lot of fun. We checked out lots of the old tractors at the fair. Old. Old. And still in fantastic shape. Very cool.

journaling: ‘This year we went to Conner Prairie’s 19th Century County fair. There were food booths, egg launches, VERY old fashioned rides, and tractors, tractors, tractors! It was amazing that these very old machines were still in working order.’

(Click here to view full credits)

So Glad You're Here:
Layout #2 uses some old pictures. These are from 2009 I think. Meagan had a field trip to the apple orchard / pumpkin patch, and Grandma H. got to come along! Good memories (although it was FREEEEEEZING cold!)

Journaling: You loved that Grandma H. was able to come on your orchard field trip with us! I know she loved it too. The two of you are such good buddies.

(Click here to view full credits)

Apple Orchard Hay Ride:
Same field trip. We took a hay ride out to the apple orchard, and they dropped us off right by the trees where the kids were supposed to pick their apples.

You should be able to read the journaling on this one I think.

(Click here to view full credits)

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My "Dumb" phone

2011-09-26T14:45:00.003-04:00

It came today! It's charging now... when I get home from being Mom-Taxi I will put my smart phone away forever and move forward with my 'dumb' phone. I am SO excited!

As I was backing up my contacts in my 'smart' phone, I found that it has randomly deleted various phone numbers, and even some complete contacts. Phone numbers I used to have stored are there no more. *sigh* This thing has been the dumbest smart phone ever! Ever!

In other news, I went over to Pier 1 today and applied for a holiday sales position. I thought it would be fun to do something outside of the house for a bit. Until recently, I have not felt like working out of the house was what I should be doing, even though I contemplated it several times. So when this 'holiday sales' position first came to my awareness, I mentally sat it aside. But it kept popping back up. I've prayed about it. I have peace about trying it. If I don't get the job, I'm okay with that too. But I think this job could be a tool for us to reach a few of our goals, and to help me get engaged and meet people outside of my limited circle. So we'll see.

Now I'm off to pick up the kids and run to gymnastics, come home and make dinner, then run to football, then back to gymnastics to pick up, then home to supervise homework and showers and such. *sigh* Evenings are busy busy around here, but I do love every minute of it. I love where I am right now. Being a mom is the best. (Most of the time, *lol*).

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Fabrics Make Me Happy

2011-09-24T22:07:00.003-04:00

I confess, I have a rapidly growing addiction, and it comes in the form of fabrics. *sigh* They just make me happy. Fabric in curtains, on pillows, in bedding... fabric on chair covers and seat cushions and blankets and quilts. Fabrics that haven't been made into anything yet, just waiting to become something fun (like a really cute apron maybe... i have a thing for aprons, too!). So here's my tribute to my love for fabrics...

For this week's Digi Dare...

journaling: the colors, the prints, the textures. it all makes me feel all cheerful inside! i love floral prints and polk-a-dots and damask. i love cotton and linen and corderoy. mixing and matching and cooridinating and contrasting. i love it all! i would say that it's my infatuation with all things pretty & fabric that has prompted me to learn to sew.

(Click here to view full credits). Be sure to check out this week's Digi Dare. It's the last week to play for gift certificates from our FABULOUS September line-up of sponsors!

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Back to Basics

2011-09-21T14:00:00.005-04:00

Sometime last year I decided to try a smart phone for keeping my schedule and tasks in order. Got a Droid. Loved the Droid. It was working for a while.

Some time this summer, I downloaded a reputable app to my phone. Since then, it has been nothing but trouble. I have reset the memory several times. I have restored it to factory settings. I have done everything I know to do. I even took it to the Verizon store and had that guy try, but he didn't do anything except tell me I could buy a new phone. Grr.

As it is now, for months my phone has done a random shut-down trick where it turns itself off and then refuses to turn back on. It doesn't matter if the battery is fully charged or not. It has a crazy mind of its own. I've been stuck on several occasions where I really needed to get to my calendar or contact list and have been unable to because my dumb phone has been in the middle of one of its fits.

No more. I have decided to "upgrade" to a not-so-smart phone, do away with the $30/month data package, and get a paper planner. This has been one case where the concept of the technology is fabulous, but doesn't match the reality of the technology. Paper planners won't slam closed and refuse to open at critical moments. They will not discard and lose precious information. True, they're not as fun as a fancy phone, and the paper planner will NOT ding reminders at me throughout the day (hopefully this isn't too problematic... those dinging reminders have saved me a few times!). But I've had it with this phone and overpaying while it under delivers. Time for me to go back to the basics!

I went this morning to see if I could find one. I got this one at Barnes & Noble, and I've spent a good chunk of the morning / early afternoon transferring information. I really like the format of the pages. Like the little birds on the cover. And it's big enough to have space to write, but not so big that I need a suitcase to haul it around. I think this one will work for me *crossing my fingers*

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Rake, Jump, Repeat

2011-09-21T13:36:00.006-04:00

I have a NEW COMPUTER!!! Yay! (insert happy dance here)

And so of course the first thing I had to do with it was make a layout! I have been on some SERIOUS Photoshop withdrawal.*lol* And it is a scrapbooking dream come true. For real. So fast. So pretty. So on my list of favorite things.

Here's layout #1 I did with my new beast... a few pics of Meg and one of her friends in Ohio raking up the leaves so they could jump in them. I've already scrapped quite a few of these pictures in this layout, so this new page will go along with the other one.... which is why there is ZERO for journaling on this page.

Some of the products I used on this layout are on sale today 50% off as part of The Lilypad's Something Old Something New (every Wednesday, new and older products of the designers' choice marked off for one day only... so be sure to mark you calendars for Wednesday's SOSN sale!). You can see a full list of credits here.

So now that I'm back to having a computer to work with, I'll try to get back in the swing of things with blogging. I have quite a few pictures on my camera waiting patiently to be downloaded and shared with the world!

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i'm on my way!!

2011-09-18T20:59:00.002-04:00

i'm on my way back! tonight, after MUCH research and near-purchases, we finally just did it. we bought a computer. a laptop. a really cool one. i get to go pick it up at the store tomorrow. as SOON as my chiropracter appointment is over tomorrow, i'm heading to best buy! so excited to finally have a functional computer of my own again! maybe, just maybe, i'll be back in action by tomorrow evening. if not, then soon. but i'm on my way back, baby!

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Fatter Albums

2011-09-16T11:05:00.003-04:00

Adding more pages to the scrapbook albums (well, in theory, if I ever actually get around to printing and assembling that is).

Froggy Friday at The Lilypad again! This week the store is CRAMMED full of gorgeous new stuff! Must check it out. Must!

Layout #1: Using new goodies like Valorie Wibbens' Now I Know My ABC's Paper, Amy Wolff's Cardboard Puddle Jumpers, and Sahlin Studio's Modern Words: School Grades.

Just Meagan and some basic facts about her 1st grade experience.

Layout #2: Another Meagan layout - this time capturing the simple truth that makes our Meagan who she is... the girl says what she's thinking. All the time. For this layout I used the new Sass Mouth kit from The Tattered Pear.

Layout #3: Last layout to share with you today is my layout for this week's digi dare... to document adjectives - good and bad - that describe someone you love. Heaven knows there are about a million ways to describe Isaac. He is one-of-a-kind! For this layout I used some papers and alphas by Allison Pennington as well as a few other goodies.

(Full Credits for all layouts are listed in my gallery)

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Breakfast of Champions

2011-09-16T10:58:00.003-04:00

this morning, meagan wanted to eat a bowl full of junk for breakfast (cookie crisp... not that i don't love cookie cereal as much as the next guy, but i don't feel it constitutes a healthy breakfast, it's really more of a snack or a treat).
trying to get her to choose something healthy to go along with it just wasn't working. Until... i stumbled across something on accident, and she LOVED the idea! She still got her cookie cereal, but only just a tiny bit, and she got a bowl full of good-for-you yummies to go with it.

i sliced a banana into a bowl, sprinkled some cocoa and almond granola over the banans, added a shake of cookie crisp, and then covered it with almond milk. she chowed - i mean CHOWED - that breakfast down! loved every last bight of it. and she got a full serving of fruit and very little junkity cereal to go with it. win / win.

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here's your perfectly normal pancakes, kids!!

2011-09-13T21:29:00.004-04:00

i am hooked. i crack up every. single. time. that i watch this. you must watch. it's good fun!

our kids are already quoting lines from this one... this is the 6th episode. the other 5, and a few extras here & there, can be found on youtube as well.

enjoy!!

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Today's Noteables...

2011-09-09T21:25:00.002-04:00

A few highlights of the day, because I can't stand not blogging, so I MUST do something! :)

* I sort of took the day off today (can you do that when you stay at home?) I did laundry, but have yet to foldit as of 9:30pm. I scrubbed the shower. I emptied and loaded the dishwasher. I got the kids to and from school. And I followed up with the builder guy about our door/floor. And I made dinner... barely. That about sums up the extent of my responsible behavior for the day. Other than that, I browsed blogs and forums, I did a layout, and tinkered around the house. I didn't even make lunch... get this (Karen, if you're reading this close your eyes for a minute...) I ate Doritos and a Little Debbie cake for lunch. Um, yeah. That's not the healthiest lunch I've ever had.

* Sebastian had practice tonight. He can now do his round-off back handspring on his own. He got moved up to the 'harder' practice group. He seems to love every second of gymnastics, and he's doing really well at it. Makes the driving and the hours worth it.

* Monday I start a carpool with another gymnastics mom. SOOOO excited about this! She has 2 girls that go to the same school as Isaac & Meagan. The youngest is also in 1st grade, and she and Meagan are becoming fast friends. Makes me happy.

* Tomorrow morning we have a football game, and I get to work the concession stand. As of right now, Isaac's team is ranked first in their age group. So I guess they're doing alright. He still really really enjoys football, so that's good as well!!

So now I'm off to watch TV and fold laundry... and get football gear together for tomorrow... and maybe pack for a quick trip to Ohio for a football party tomorrow night. Lots to do. Why not start at 9:30?!

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At least it's something...

2011-09-09T13:06:00.003-04:00

I am still right where I was the last time as far as my computer situation goes... but I did manage to get 2 pages scrapped in the past 24 hours. One last night and one this morning after the kids got on the bus. (I decided scrapping was a good addition to laundry folding and shower scrubbing for the day).

First layout: Autumn Walk... these pictures are from last October and our trip to the apple orchard. I have about a billion pictures from that day. Here are 2.

journaling: "through rows and rows of apple trees we walked, the sun shining down, the cool crisp air rich with the sweet smell of fruit from the trees. this is what i love about autumn."

(Click here to view full credits)
*****

Layout #2: You have a good heart... just a LOT of journaling that describes a pattern of behavior in Sebastian's life. It seems he is drawn to those who tend to be forgotten by others.

Journaling: Sebastian, since the very start of your school years, you have continued to amaze me with the complete compassion and kindness you display for others. In 1st and 2nd grade, Nick was in your class. Nick was autistic, and really struggled at times to stay calm and to focus in class. As time went on, your friendship and your connection with Nick developed to the point that your teachers sat the 2 of you next to each other so that you could help to calm him when he began to get upset. You would know exactly when he was starting to get frustrated, and you would talk softly to him and rub the back of his neck to sooth him. You did all this with complete disregard for what others in your class might think of you, and for that I am exceptionally proud of you.
When we moved to Ohio, there was a boy named William who moved to the school mid-year. William was Asian, had a huge language and cultural barrier, and had a very difficult time making friends. You came to us one day and told us how sad you were for him, and we talked about ways you could possibly choose to help him. You decided to reach out to William and become his friend, even though it was difficult at times to relate to him, or even to communicate with him. When we moved away from Ohio near the end of the school year, one of your first thoughts that you expressed to me was that you were sorry to leave William, since you knew you were his only friend. You hoped someone else would be kind enough to be his friend when you were gone.
As soon as we moved to Indiana, you met Evan, a boy in you class with Down Syndrome. While others teased or laughed at the way he spoke or did certain things, you saw it as an opportunity to make another good friend. You got to know him, learned what he like and what made him laugh. And the 2 of you really enjoyed hanging out together during school. Because this was your last year in elementary, you weren't sure if you would see Evan once you moved up to Intermediate School. As it happened though, a few days ago you came home all excited and told me you had seen Evan in the hall. You said hi to him, and he said hi, but you weren't sure if he knew who you really were. We talked about that as well. Maybe he doesn't recognize you outside of Mr. V's classroom, but if you were able to spend time with him, he would remember you for what a good friend you have been to him.
And now yesterday at dinner we were talking about your school day. Daddy asked you if you did any bucket-filling things during the day, and you said, "Well I did sit with a new friend today at lunch. He is a special-needs boy who has autism, so he always sits alone in a maintenance closet at lunch time. I think it's too loud and crowded in the cafeteria for him. But I didn't want him to always be alone, so I asked if I could sit with him. And one other boy who normally sits with me at lunch came too. So the 3 of us ate lunch in the closet."
Sebastian, I can't even tell you how good your heart is. That you are so selfless in the things you choose to do for others just makes you truly special.

(Click here to view full credits)

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it's me.

2011-09-07T19:24:00.004-04:00

just stopping by to say hi. i thought about blogging something fun today, but there would be pictures involved and, well... i have to say that having lost access to my laptop has put a serious kink in my blogging. it has a lot to do with the downloading of pictures from my camera to someone else's computer that's not mine. (i'm afraid i'll lose track of them somehow.)

i will do my best to get up and running again soon. bear with me. don't forget about me. i haven't forgotten you.

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God answers prayers... here's proof!

2011-09-02T23:08:00.003-04:00

I love it when God answers the little prayers in my life. It makes me so aware of His love for me... that He would bother with the little stuff is just so sweet.

First answered prayer... the computer. Lucas's co-worker had a thing let us borrow that allowed Lucas-the-tech-geek to hook up both my laptop harddrive and external harddrive to his computer and transfer my files. ALL of my files. Not one single picture or document or layout lost. Incredible! I am beyond happy and relieved and ever-so-grateful for this!!!

Second answered prayer... car pool posibilities!!! Tonight was Sebastian's first night practicing with the team. I dropped him off and then went to Target for a while to pass some time and look around. When I went back to the gym, there was one open seat in the viewing area. It was by two ladies who clearly knew each other and were carrying on a conversation that had absolutely nothing to do with me... so I just sat there in silence and watched practice. Yet somehow, I happened to sit down right next to the only lady I've met at this gym so far who lives in the same city as me, and whose kids go to the same school as my kids, and whose kids need to be at practice the exact times and days as my kids, and who needs the opposite end of the car pool benefits as me... so if I could pick her kids up from school when I pick my own kids up, and then drop them all off at the gym for practice, she would be able to bring them home on Monday & Wednesday (the two days that I was in desparate need of help with no viable solutions having presented themselves before this evening). Then she wouldn't have to scurry out of work and battle traffic to drive 45 minutes out of the way, and I wouldn't have to drive back and forth like a maniacal lunatic trying to be in two places at once.

Thank You God for the open seat!! And for somehow breaking into that conversation for me. And for then turning that conversation to the car pool somehow. The way You work things out AMAZES me. Every single time. *happy sigh* Oh, and thank You also especially for rescuing my pictures. This makes me beyond happy.

:) <---- that's me, smiling.

Have a lovely night tonight. Don't forget to say your prayers before bed. Today has been crammed full of evidence that He listens to them.

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think happy thoughts

2011-09-01T21:51:00.003-04:00

yesterday i had a few minutes to pass waiting on sebastian to get home from school. i sat down in front of my computer. it was working fine.

then we went to pick up tweedle dee and tweedle dum. when we got back, it was not working fine.

it had shut down and would not restart. the start up screen was all flickery and weird. then it went to a white screen that would slowly fade to cloudy purple. yes, very attractive feature for a computer, don't you think?

hmmm...

this is not such good news. according to my techy geeky husband, there is hope that it is just a graphic card or some other such business, in which case i will NOT have lost the two months of summer pictures that i have yet to back up (yes, i know... silly silly move on my part). this is my hope, and i am thinking happy thoughts and praying lots of prayers for my pictures. if i can just get the pictures off of there, everything else can go. no big loss. but the pictures.

we are hoping to attempt photo search and rescue this weekend. so please think happy thoughts for me and my trapped photos. they're fighting for their lives right now. we are hoping to avoid all photo tragedies. and then i will renew my commitment to diligently back up my dang pictures.

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that's a good start

2011-08-31T08:09:00.002-04:00

when the day starts at 5:30 with tiny taps on the shoulder and a little voice whispering, "momma, i want to snuggle you," you know it's going to be a good day.

that was the start to my day yesterday. how can you turn down baby girl snuggles? they won't last much longer after all. so i went into her room and snuggled with her for a few minutes, then tucked her back in so she could sleep for another hour and a half at least.

and if that would have been it, i would have been thankful for the start of my day. but it got even better. when i went in to wake her up at 7:30, this is what i found...

tiny toes peeking....

.... peeking out from the most giant teddy bear blanket ever

and this sweet little face, sleeping peacefully.

that was a good way to start off my day. a very good way.

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What must the teacher think? :)

2011-08-30T07:12:00.003-04:00

Meagan's class has been doing a color focus for the first few weeks of school, focusing on one specific color each day. Yesterday was BROWN day. She wore a brown shirt, she practiced writing the word BROWN, she even did colored brown pictures.

Then her teacher asked the kids to flip over one of their workbook pages and draw a picture on the back using the color brown. Okay, so when I think of all the possibilities that a little girl might possibly draw using the color brown, a few things come to mind right away - teddy bears, horses, kitties, houses, trees...

Getting closer with the trees... HERE is what our daughter drew.

I LOVE this girl! She is a riot! She drew a deer hunter with a bow & arrow, preparing to shoot a deer (with spots AND antlers... very interesting). She drew his brown boots, and is camo pants and shirt (she told me they were his hiding tree clothes, LOL). She drew trees that he had cut down for fire wood, and the fire, and even an umbrella (???) in case it should rain I suppose.

I LOVE is bare chicken feet! And the deer - how can you not love that deer? I just wonder what her teacher thought when she got this picture? It's hard to say, but I think it's a safe bet that she is in for a year of interesting moments and surprises with our little girl.

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Gone Missing

2011-08-27T23:09:00.003-04:00

This was maybe one of the scariest moments I've ever had as a mother. It's up there.

Tonight we were watching a movie in the living room. Because it's been nice in the evenings, and because we are 'fresh air people' we've had the air conditioner off for a few days now. Meagan, however, was not entirely into the movie, and she was uncomfortably warm. I suggested to her that she go down in the basement and play, since it's much cooler, and there's lots down there to hold her attention better than the movie was. She took me up on the suggestion, and dissappeared into the basement for the duration of the movie.

Fast forward to 10:15. Movie's over. Time to heard everyone upstairs to get in bed. The boys headed up to get their showers and pj's and all that jazz, and Lucas called down to Meagan to come upstairs for bed. A few minutes later, still no Meagan. I called down to her. No response. I went upstairs, thinking maybe I had just missed her. Not there. In the meantime, Lucas had gone down into the basement to get her, but couldn't find her down there. Empty basement. She's not on the top floor. And she's not on the main floor. The realization hits quickly that we can't find our child. We did a double check - basement, bedrooms, living room. I went in the garage, out the front, out to the back deck. No Meagan. I ran next door to see if she had gone over there to play and we just didn't hear her leave somehow. No, not there (our poor neighbors are probably wondering if they live by crazy people). When I ran back home, Sebastian met me at the front door and said they found her.

All I can say is releif flooded my whole body. Where was she? She was in the basement just as we had originally thought. Even though Lucas had tripple-checked and not seen her. She had gotten tired, and crawled under the computer desk, pulled the chair back to its original pushed-in position, and proceded to curl up and fall asleep. Sound asleep. In a rather uncomfortable looking position. But safe. Thank God, safe!

In a matter of ten minutes, I may have experienced every possible human emotion. In short, that sucked. I don't ever want to know what that feels like on a dragged out basis, and I absolutely hate that reality is that many parents have known that feeling and have not had the happy ending that we had tonight.

That was scary. That was awful. And there are no words to describe how completey and utterly relieved and thankful I am that she was safe the entire time. She is now tucked safely in her own comfy bed, completely unaware that she caused any alarm at all. As a mommy, there is nothing better than knowing she is safe right now.

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Sharing Time

2011-08-23T21:05:00.004-04:00

Time for sharing more layouts. These were two quickie layouts for me. I NEVER do a page in less than an hour, but both of these came together in no time. Love that!

Over the weekend Sebastian had to put together a report about himself. One of the things he included in his report was a blurb on his favorite books and why he likes to read so much. We piled up some of his fave's and took a picture so he could put it on his board (he had to have a photo for each of the 8 sections... so we put photoshop elements to good use). I thought while I had the picture and the info fresh in my mind, I would document it for our scrapbook as well.

Journaling: "According to Sebastian... Here is a stack of my favorite books as of Aug 21, 2011... Jack Sparrow - because they're full of fun adventures; Junie B. Jones - because Junie B. is so funny and she says and does really funny things. I wish I could write as funny as Barbara Park; Ready Freddy - because Freddy always has to find a way to solve problems and get out of trouble."

(Click here to view full credits)

Another every-day inspired layout. Lately I've been having to have a LOT of conversations with my daughter about her snack habits. She constantly is asking for ice cream, cookies, fruit snacks... even if we don't have it in the house, she still asks. It drives me bonkers! I want so badly for her to start forming healthy habits early so she's not having to struggle against bad habits later in life. *sigh* Seems this will be a long, drawn-out battle with her.

Journaling: "Of all our kids, Meagan, you are by far the worst eater when it comes to choosing healthy foods. You are a junk food junkie and would snack on cookies and ice cream all day."

(Click here to view full credits)

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Making it up as I go - Spicy Sausage Tortellini Soup

2011-08-22T20:39:00.006-04:00

Sometimes I cook off of a recipe. Sometimes I cook from memory. Sometimes I cook based on whatever random foods I have available.

My plan today was to go to the grocery as soon as some repair people came to fix our closet doors. They had given me the 'sometime between 12 and 2' deal. Had they come closer to 12:00, instead of 1:15, I would have had plenty of time to get to the grocery and get home before Sebastian got off the bus. As it was though, had I attempted a grocery trip, I highly doubt I would have been back in time.

This left me with only one option for dinner... make something up. I looked in the fridge to see what I had. A pack of whole wheat cheese-filled tortellini. A pound of bulk sausage. A pack of bacon. Some veggies. And a bit of cheese. Not a lot to work with. After scanning the pantry for on-hand options, I decided to try to make up a soup. I only had beef boullion, so I decided to try using the sausage with it to see how it went. Here's what I made:

And here's how...

Ingredients:
7 cups of water + 7 tsp beef boullion (aka 7 cups of beef broth)
1/2 lb ground sausage, cooked & drained (I cooked the whole pound and split it... I'll use the other 1/2 for pizza tomorrow...after I go to the grocery, of course!)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 cup matchstick carrots
1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed & cut
1 package refrigerated whole wheat cheese tortellini
1 tsp garlic powder (I would have preferred fresh garlic cooked in with the sausage, but I had nothing fresh to work with really, so powder had to do)
1/2 tsp dried basil
generous dash of pepper

Instructions:
1. cook sausage, drain
2. bring beef broth to a boil
3. add carrots & seasoning, stir to combine
4. add tortellini, boil ~ 3 minutes
5. reduce heat, add sausage & spinach; cook on low until spinach is softened & soup is heated through

We served a quick pack of dinner rolls with this, as well as a plate of fresh tomatoes & mozzerella.

Results: Isaac LOVED it. The kid ate three bowls and 2 rolls, plus a slice of cheese (no tomatoes for him). Meagan loved the tortellini, sausage, & spinach. She ate around the carrots and ate some of the tomatoes. Sebastian wasn't so much of a fan. He liked the tortellini okay, but he does not like spicy anything, and this was just too spicy for him.

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I'm Watching You...

2011-08-22T07:13:00.003-04:00

I think we have a new pet. I started staining the deck railing last week, and as the stain dried, I noticed a grasshopper who kept hanging out on the new darker wood. At first I thought absolutely nothing of it, but I noticed him (her? it? ... we'll go with him) again later on. And then again. And then he was still there the next day. And the day after that. It's like this guy has an affinity for the stain.

Finally after three straight days of noticing this guy hanging around, I thought maybe I'd get a photograph of the newest addition to our household. So I grabbed my camera and headed outside. I took one picture... this one...

... and then Mr. Grass Hopper spun around, looked straight at me, and began to move around to try to hide from me. If I moved one way, he moved the other. If I tried to sneak up around on the other side, he quickly adjusted so that his eyes were on me and his body was concealed. Smart bug. Of course at this point it had become a challenge to get one decent (not dark and shadowy) picture of this stinking insect.

I don't know if I really call this a success, as much of him is still hidden, but I finally gave up. I think I got totally outsmarted by one of the tinier members of nature.

And in case you're wondering, I saw him out there 2 days this weekend. He apparently has taken up residency on our back deck. Maybe he'll keep me company this week if I get a chance to finish staining the railing.

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Saying Goodbye to Summer

2011-08-20T19:44:00.005-04:00

It seems to me that around here school starts much earlier than I've ever been accustomed to, which means that we had to do summer wrap-up in the middle of August. Weird. But we did it anyway.

The last week before school always means a few things for us. First of all, it means shifting bedtime and wake-up time to more closely reflect school sleeping schedule. That's a must. Anything else is just asking for trouble.

But more fun than that, the last week before school means relaxing the reigns a bit and doing things we maybe wouldn't normally do, or maybe just doing a few special little things that don't get done as often as we might like.

Here's a look at some fo the ways we spent our last week before school...

PB&J Pizza! One thin, whole weat organic pizza crust, all-natural peanutbutter, and low sugar jelly / jam. Pretty simple stuff. Pretty tasty. Pretty out-of-the-norm for lunch around here. But yummy just the same. (In case you're wondering about cooking instructions - spread a thin layer of PB and top with a moderate layer of jelly. bake according to pizza crust instructions for about 5-6 minutes)

(okay, so this is really not the greatest picture ever, but I thought I should show you the finished product)

*****
Because we will have so many hours of gymnastics practice each week, at any given time there will be three of us who will need somewhere to go for 2 hours during said practice. Since the library is just around the corner from the gym, we decided library memberships were in order. Our trip to the library prompted a need for a wish list of books to read. So we detoured to Barnes & Noble to browse the children / youth section. We made a list about a mile long! While we were there, the kids each chose to use some of their money they had saved to buy a book. The boys each bought a Zelda book, and Meagan bought a Biscuit the Dog book. I'd say we spent a good 90 minutes in their browsing. I love that the kids thought that was a fun way to spend the day. I love that they want to spend their money on books. All good stuff.

*****
2 days before school started, we took what might very well be our last real chance of the season to head to the beach park. It was funny to me that the boys took their recently-purchased Zelda books and sat on a piece of playground equipment to read.

Meagan, however, wanted no part of sitting still at a park. She went off on her own and climbed and played. Isaac eventually ended up joining her, but Sebastian read the whole time, only looking up from his book long enough to move to the shade.

*****
This was maybe one of my most favorite little moments. The last day before school, we made a last-minute shoe shopping trip before gymnastics. When we were done, we still had about an hour before practice, so we got a 'snack' of complete and total junk and headed outside to eat. Because we wouldn't DARE eat that stuff in the van, we sat in the grass beside our van and had a curb-side picnic of sorts. Snack consisted of 7-Up and Airheads for Isaac, 7-Up and a butterfinger for Sebastian and rootbeer and gummy bears for Meagan.

Did you know there are rules for eating gummy bears? I'm not sure I remember them just right, but it's something like this: Red: Eat the heads off first; Green: Squish them before you eat them; Yellow: tear them in half... you get the picture. :)

And this was my own personal contribution to snack time... Mt. Dew and Butterfinger.

Definitely out of the norm for us, and it totally took my kids by surprise that I was actually letting them get something from the check-out line, but it was a fun last-week-of-school thing to do.

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Friday Layouts

2011-08-19T11:05:00.003-04:00

Two layouts to share with you from today's Froggy Friday releases... All new products are 20% off through the weekend.

Swab the Deck
Remember the pics of the kids out spraying down the deck... and each other? *lol*

Journaling: "I sent the kids outside with a job to do... spray the deck off. I guess it's safe to say they did exactly what I asked them to do. But the deck most certainly was not the only thing to get wet. I stopped cleaning in the kitchen and grabbed my camera. I just couldn't pass up such a priceless moment - I love the way they were laughing and playing together."

(Click here to view full credits)

Lookin' Good

Journaling: 'A shopping spree for shades at Meijer ended in Meagan dancing through the isles of the store wearing the pair she picked.'

(Click here to view full credits)

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As Promised... Let's Get This Party Started!

2011-08-19T10:45:00.004-04:00

I'm not usually a 'woot'-er, but this is cause for celebration! School's back, baby!!! Seriously, I LOVE my children. I also love it when the house is quiet and peaceful and stays clean for a solid ten minutes after I clean it. It's the little things in life, ya know? So Wednesday's back-to-school festivities were welcome by all! The kids were super exctied to get back, and I was super excited to get back to normal (although now that I think about it, it's been a LOOOONNNGGG time since I've had anything that actually resembles 'normal'... but anyway).

Sebastian is in 5th grade this year, which means he has officially graduated from elementary school and is now in intermediate school. The school he is in this year houses fifth & sixth grade for the whole community. I think there are about 1500 students in his grade alone, if I remember correctly. Gaah! I graduated with 200-ish. 1500 is a LOT of kids!

Anyway, his bus comes somewhere around sunrise, otherwise known as "early o'clock".
This was the scene out my window as I watched him walk to the bus stop...

See, early. So 6:15 wake-up time proved to be a bit harder for him than he was expecting. As for me, although I have never been known as a morning person, I'd have to say that I quite enjoyed the early start to the day. Collapsing in bed at 10:00 that night is another story... it's safe to say that it will take some time to get our sleeping patterns adjusted.

Wow, I'm rambling (this is what happens when I don't blog for a while!) Okay, pictures of Sebastian...here we go...

The "I'm too grown up to smile" face:

The "Dang it! Mom made me laugh" face:

The new kicks:

And the walk to the bus stop:

To spare him the utter embarrassment of his mother standing outside in pj's with a camera, I skipped the picture of him actually getting on the bus. The sacrifices I make as a mom. :)

After Sebastian left on the bus, I had about 20 minutes of quiet time all to myself before waking up the other 2 minions. With all of the super excitement about school, and two kids in action instead of one, round 2 of getting ready was a little bit crazier. I would expect nothing less where Meagan is involved, though, really.

And the pics... Unfortunately, I forgot to change my distance settings after I got Sebastian's bus stop pic, so some of these were a bit blurry on the faces... oh well. It is what it is.

My Cheez-ball!

and her new shoes... Twinkle Toes by Sketchers... The girl loves her shoes!

Showing off her big giant pink bookbag (we went away from cutesie character bookbags to slightly more expensive, but hopefully better made ones this year. I'm hoping to actually finish a whole school year without having to replace one!)

And Isaac:

(I totally forgot to take a picture of Isaac's new school shoes... oops)

And the bookbag shot:

I just thought they looked so cute together walking to the bus stop. As you can see, the sun has made it all the way up past the horizon by the time they get on the bus...

As for how it went... Everyone had great reports after their first day! Everyone knew at least one person in their class. The teachers were good. The schools were good. The bus was good. All good. They all seem to have a pretty positive outlook on it all so far. That's a good place to start!

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Warp Speed

2011-08-17T21:23:00.001-04:00

Seems time is moving at warp speed lately and I just can't find good quality time to sit down and blog. Tomorrow I will do my very very best to make time to post some pictures from today - the 1st day of school! See you tomorrow.

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Buh Buh Buh Buh

2011-08-16T21:50:00.002-04:00

Ever seen this? This was just about the point I had reached by bed time tonight. Let's just say bedtime could not come soon enough, and HOORAY for school tomorrow!!

On the plus side, EARLY this morning I did get a compliment from someone about how well behaved my children always are. Yes, if it weren't for that single solitary compliment this day would be wildly out of balance, with the scales being tipped heavily toward parental insanity. Thank God for night time and fresh starts and new days. We would all be nutso without such things.

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Split Personality

2011-08-14T21:24:00.003-04:00

We've been having some issues with Meagan keeping her room clean lately. The other day it took her the better part of 3 hours to half-way pick up her mess. I finally ended up throwing all of her out-of-place items into an over sized laundry basket, and told her to put away everything in the basket. I warned her that if it wasn't put away properly, it would come back out and she would start over. In the end, her room was clean - very clean. Looked great!

Tonight when I went in to tuck her into bed, I found yet another disaster brewing on her bedroom floor. The basket of CLEAN clothes was dumped and strewn all over (because she was looking for pj's, of course), and her marbles (for who-knows-what reason) were all dumped out and spread around. Before I would tuck her in, I told her she needed to put the clothes back in the basket and pick up the marbles. I left to tuck the boys in, giving her a few minutes to work.

When I returned to her room, she was just finishing up the last few marbles, so I bent down to help her finish. While we were cleaning, we had this little conversation...

Me: Do you remember how clean your room was the other day after you put all your things away?
Meagan: Yes.
Me: It needs to be that clean all the time.
Meagan: It's just hard.
Me: Well tell messy-room Meagan to stop making giant messes and leaving her things out everywhere. Clean-room Meagan needs to be in charge and tell her to pick up after herself. Then you won't have to be doing this all the time.
Meagan: (with a sigh) Yeah, but the thing is, Clean-room Meagan doesn't really visit that often.

Really, how can you not love this girl?!

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Up and running (well, walking) again!

2011-08-14T19:10:00.001-04:00

Great news! Isaac is up and moving wonderfully! Friday was really the last rough day. Friday morning he was pretty slow moving. Friday evening, he was much better. Saturday, he was basically back to normal, although he missed his first game of the season - better to be safe since he could barely walk the day before. Today he is outside playing in the yard. Walking great, and I just glimpsed him out the window a moment ago running through the yard in the midst of a sword fight with his sister. I think we're good to go. He will try practice tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed!

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Quick Update on Isaac

2011-08-12T12:21:00.004-04:00

As of right now, it is not looking so good for Isaac to make his first game. He is still hobbling rather than walking. It would require a miraculous turnaround before tomorrow that would enable him to run and block and tackle. Hmmm... He did tell me though that he still wants to go and watch the game with his team even if he can't play. What an awesome kid. I like him. I hope he heals quickly.

Lunch Date. Zoo Date. Tree Date?

2011-08-12T12:05:00.005-04:00

After having been in a total scrapping slump for about a month, I am finally finding my may out of the dark. I managed this week to make several layouts, and I don't hate any of them. Some of them I actually LIKE. Seems I'm heading in the right direction. Baby steps.

It's Friday, which always means a few things... (1) It's a great day for new releases at TLP and (2) it's time for a new Digi Dare. I have layouts for both of them today!

First, the Digi Dare... It's my week to host the dare, and since I had a lot of catching up to do for 2011, I kept it sweet and simple. This week is all about scrapping a group of photos and getting caught up. Please stop by the blog & check out the dare. Play along - there are $40 worth of digi goodies up for grabs this week!

Here's my layout for it...

Journaling: While in Urbana, Meagan played with B & A outside in the yard. The boys told Meagan they didn't know how to climb a tree. My tree-climbing girl thought that was unacceptable, so she taught them. Step-by-step until they were all in the tree together.
(Click here to view full credits)

And I have two layouts to share using new releases for Froggy Friday. Check out the Store at TLP to see what's new!
First, a layout using Sahlin Studio's new kit, word art, and alpha. (Can I just say this is one of my favorite layouts I've done in a while. I LOVE it when layouts of good pictures turn out good. And I love these pictures of Isaac and his friend together.)

Journaling: It had been way too long since you had seen or talked to C, so the moms arranged a meet-up date. We decided to meet at the Toledo Zoo since our membership had not expired yet & it was close for them. It worked out great! We met C and her family at the gate, and the 2 of you fell right back in stride like you never missed a beat. You still laughed and talked and played like you did every day when you were together. I'm so thankful for this day we got to spend with your best friend in the whole world. It was so good to see you laugh again.
(Click here to view full credits)

And another layout using Valorie Wibbens' new kit.

Journaling: We went to McDonald's for lunch today while our house was being shown. It was most definitely nothing extraordinary as far as food goes, But this turned out to be one of those days I will cherish as one of my favorite memories. We just had a really good time enjoying each other and laughing and talking. Life should be filled with more days like this one.
(Click here to view full credits)

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Eyes on the Prize

2011-08-10T21:01:00.003-04:00

What a night! So much happened in such a short time. Tonight was our football / gymnastics combo night. We had eaten dinner, and had everyone heading in the right direction to get in the right vehicle with the right parent to go to the right practice. And then... Isaac ran across the yard for who-knows-what reason, and rolled his ankle AGAIN. Lucas took him to practice hoping he could shake it off and get going once practice started. But when they got there and started to get out of the truck, Isaac couldn't/wouldn't put weight on it. So they turned around and came back home. He plopped on the couch with some ice and a PS3 game. The good news is, by 8:30 he was walking on it... gingerly, but walking. I think that by tomorrow he will be good to go.

Meagan had her last practice in her current class tonight. She has been invited to move up to team starting next week. Can I just say that she is super excited about this! Super excited! And being the little rock star that she is, she earned another medal tonight at practice. This time, her medal was for doing 7 pull-ups in a row. Now she only needs the medal for splits all the way down on two sides... she is oh so close! Plus there is a t-shirt for holding a 20-second headstand. She has a ways to go on that still *lol*.

*****
Keeping in the same train of thought, I thought I'd share a layout I did this week. I did it for the August Formula Challenge at TLP... 1 photo, 1 paper, 1 alpha, 1 element, and 1 font. Sounds easy. It was not. I am a 'dump everything on the page' kind of scrapper. being limited to one of anything - especially one picture and one alpha - was NOT easy. But it was fun to do, and quite the challenge!

Journaling: 'At Deveau's you get a medal for making it to the top of the rope for the 1st time. It took you three months of trying at nearly every single practice. Every time you tried you made it about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up, and then climbed back down. Who knows what was different on this day, but I could see the determination on your face. You got to your usual stopping point, looked up at the top of the rope, at the bell waiting there to be rung, & you kept going. I am certain that you made it on sheer determination alone. I could tell it was hard, but you did it! Today you got your medal! And it was GREAT to see the excitement and pride on your face as you ran to show me!"

(Click here to view full credits.)

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a good day despite the junk

2011-08-08T15:35:00.004-04:00

so let's see what kind of fun i can share with you today...

well, we took the cat to the vet. she won't stop throwing up all over. all over. all the time. it's awful. so we took her to the vet. blood work and a urine sample. we should get the results back tomorrow to see if they show anything. but i basically told the vet, 'our goal is to keep her as comfortable as we can for as long as we can, but we are not paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars for all kinds of surgeries and whatnot. it is what it is. if we can treat her with something simple and inexpensive, fine. if not, we'll talk.' he had said one of the next things might be biopsies... like $800 - $1,000. um, no. no that will NOT be happening. i will not spend a thousand dollars to cut a cat open, test her tissue, and maybe be able to help her, maybe not. no thank you. so that was a fun conversation. blah.

i went to the bank today to make a deposit. i also asked for $25 cash back. when i got home i realized she had only given me $20. so we went back to the bank, only to find that she had gone to lunch and no one else could help me because she had to reconcile her drawer, blah blah blah. she eventually ended up calling me and saying that she found her mistake. she credited $5 back to our account. no harm in the end. just annoying.

i made an eye appointment for sebastian. his eyes have been bothering him, so it's time to get this taken care of as well. i'm hoping the appointment will be productive and he'll get some relief. let's hope.

also had the fun of calling four different people to try to get some home warranty repairs going on our house. the floor boards by our back door have swollen up from water intrusion. we've already had the floor & door people out. and then nothing happened. well, miracle of miracles, it rained yesterday after a month & a half of no rain. and we had the joy of discovering a puddle on our kitchen floor where the rain was rolling right down the door and right into our house. oh joy.

on top of that, i'm trying to get the kids to participate in cleaning up their rooms and the basement. those days are always interesting.

so there's the kind of fun day i'm having so far. it's still a good day. we're all in a good mood. feeling very blessed by all the wonderful things we have around us. we're all getting along relatively well (isaac and meagan are always a bit iffy in that department). it's a good day - despite all the yucky junk that's been involved.

time to start planning for dinner and getting things rounded up for football practice tonight.

later.

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Pool*Side

2011-08-05T10:37:00.003-04:00

It's the first Friday of the month, which always means it's time for a new BYOC at the Lilypad! Check out the new August BYOC. It's on sale all weekend! And it's GORGEOUS!

Here's my layout using some of the BYOC goodies. These pictures are from our first trip to the pool at the park near our home. It was super hot, and therefore super crowded! Every time Sebastian went under water, he got stepped on or got a butt in his face. But it still felt great to get in the water and cool off.

(Click here to view full credits)

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Randomness is my life

2011-08-03T22:17:00.003-04:00

I can't really put together a focused blog post that centers on one event or idea... because my life is going in about 20 directions at once. So you get what I have to give. Randomness.

Sunday on the way home from an extra football practice, we saw a hot air balloon (which is really common). What was different about this hot air balloon was that it looked REALLY BIG, as in, it was VERY close to the ground. The closer we drove to it, the more it looked like it was going to land in the field behind our house. We hurried home, and as we were pulling in to our neighborhood, we actually saw the chaser vehicle pulling out of said neighborhood. So, what else was there to do but bust a U-ee. We chased the chaser trailer. Yup. We're that cool.

It ended up being in a field just north of 'our' field. When we got to it, it was JUST starting to disappear behind the houses. We were right under it at one point. This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice really, but this is what happens when photography takes place out a moving van window.

*****

Football is going well. Much better than day 1. He likes it enough to actually endure the heat to go out in the yard and play with Daddy. For Isaac, my child who is self-proclaimed allergic to hot, this is a major thing.

And they are learning tackling at practice. After eight years of telling our children not to hit others, we now do a complete 180 and tell them to hit them at full speed as hard as they can. It is one funny observation in cultural barriers. They run at each other and then stop just before impact. It will definitely take a bit of coaching to make them willing to hit and be hit at full speed.

(Isaac's in the center... he's the medium-length white sock kid... don't know a better way to tell them apart, since they all seem to dress in all black).

Do you see? It's a smile. He is having fun. Makes me happy when he enjoys himself.

high knees... sort of.

(He's holding the yellow pad... the one about to fall flat on his butt... he quickly learned to stay low in his stance so as to avoid being smashed to the ground.)

*****

Yesterday, on the pretense of cleaning the deck off to get ready to stain it, I sent my kids outside and turned them loose with the hose. They had a fabulous time. I got the kitchen floor cleaned and mopped. And beleive it or not, my deck actually got mostly cleaned off. Win Win.

Spraying each other in the face and then cracking up. What are brothers for?

See, a clean deck.

*****

We got caterpillars in the mail yesterday. They have yet to move. I think they were boiled. But we'll give them a few days... the instructions do say that they may not move much for the first few days. So we'll see.

Speaking of pets... anyone want a cat? She's great. She is litter trained and sweet and loving and all those things. Her only major flaw is that she pukes up food piles all over the house about 5 times a day. Grrrr. I am seriously getting tired of cleaning up hair balls and regurgitated turkey piles. Blech. This cat's got to figure out her issues or I may lose my mind!

So there you have my random bits and pieces. Oh, I ran tonight. And actually didn't hate it. In fact, I sort of liked it other than the occassional leg cramps. And then I came home and ate a brownie, but only because Meagan and I had made them earlier tonight (she wanted to have a cooking session, and it was a choice between brownies and cupcakes. I'll take brownies every time), and I didn't want to break a bitty heart by not tasting her masterpiece. Okay for real now, I'm ending the randomness. I need to go to bed.

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Great Things

2011-08-01T13:11:00.002-04:00

One more layout to share with you, using more Allison Pennington goodies!
I took these pictures of Isaac at the zoo a few weeks back.

The journaling lines read:
"As your mom, I get frustrated when I don't know how to help you work through your emotions and deal with circumstances around you. I know the past few years haven't been easy, but you are doing great & making so much progress! I wish there were some magical fix I could give you to make it through the hard parts, but the truth is, I know this is between you & God. Lean on Him. Learn to know Him. Trust Him for everything. He is going to do great things with your life someday. He wants to do great things for you now."

The journaling in the circles comes from a song & reads:
* be strong in the Lord
* never give up hope
* (title) You're gonna do great things
* God's got His hand on you, so don't live life in fear.
* Forgive & forget, but don't forget why you're here.
* Take time to pray

(Click here to view full credits).

Spin Me Daddy

2011-08-01T13:03:00.002-04:00

I think I might be one of the luckiest girls alive. I love that moments like this exist in my life. I love that I am blessed to get to play with some fabulous scrapbook products to get to make pages about moments like this. Lots of love going around.

These pictures are from our 4th of July weekend spent with family in Ohio. We went to Lucas' Aunt & Uncle's house, where he used to go almost every 4th growing up. Unfortunately, because of his work schedule, we couldn't stick around for fire works, but we got to be there for lots of fun with cousins, which is way more important than fire works anyway.

I love these pictures of Meagan. I mean, really, wasn't this one of the greatest parts of childhood? When someone would pick you up and spin you around and around and around until they just couldn't spin anymore because they were too dizzy and too tired. Seems the adults always get tired of this game WAY before the kids do!

(Click here to view full credits).
By the way, the super talented Allison Pennington, who made this lovely kit, is the featured designer at DST this month... and this is the featured kit! Go check it out!

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This Guy

2011-07-31T15:25:00.004-04:00

I went to church today.
I saw this guy perform. ------> Jon McLaughlin
I cried.
His song was A.MA.ZING. Really, I cried.

Did you know he was Oscar-nominated for a little song he wrote for Disney's Enchanted, called So Close? (If you click on that link & watch the video... or if you watch the movie... that's him singing it on stage.)

And then he talked, and his heart for God is so real and so passionate. Even in the midst of all of his success. What a beautiful thing.

And then he sang again.
And I teared up... although didn't full-out cry. But his songs are just beautiful, and he performs then so genuinely. And gives God so much credit.

September 10th he will be performing near our home with the Indianapolis Symphony. I want to go. Really. Even if it IS a football game night - like a really important football game night. I still want to go.

If you're anywhere even remotely near Indy area (Fishers, actually), you should consider checking this out. All of the proceeds of the program will go to help homeless and run-away youths in the inner-city Indy area.

Just thought I'd share.

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Medals, Movies & Memorable Moments

2011-07-30T14:17:00.003-04:00

The last few days have been full of fun! And lots of little moments that I don't want to forget.

Almost every week at gymnastics, Meagan's coach has the girls try to climb the BIG rope. Once they get to the top of the rope and ring the bell that's up there, they get a medal for it (a la the medal she got not too long ago for doing straddle holds). Wednesday was her class. She tried her hardest, but didn't get any further than she normally gets, which is about 3/4 of the way up.
BUT, Thursday she had a make-up class, so she got another try at the rope. And this time, SHE MADE IT! All the way up. And rang the bell! It was SUCH a big deal to her! And she was super excited about earning yet another medal!

It's a little hard to tell how high this is in these pictures... Just keep in mind that I'm sitting on the 2nd story taking this picture, and she is over my head here.

Sebastian has been loving his new level in gymnastics and is super excited about the possibility of team this competitive season! Rings and high bar tend to be his favorites, although he really enjoyed P-Bars this week also. I think the day he comes home from practice and tells me that pommel horse was his favorite thing, I may fall over from shock! He's not such a fan of that event, but his love for the rest seems to make up for it.
I got a few pics of him at practice this week, but almost all of them have other kids obstructing the view (or parents who walked right in front of me just as I snapped the photo... sigh). I did manage to get this one and was able to crop the other kid out well enough.

Yesterday I took the kids to one of the theaters here in town that has a free kids' movie program going on this summer. This week they showed Nannie McPhee Returns. Cute movie. They had a great time. Plus we ate popcorn for breakfast (not the best breakfast choice, as I got a bit of a stomach ache from it, but they loved it!).

We also went to the lake for some swimming time yesterday afternoon. I learned from previous attempts, and we took dry clothes with us to change there after we swam... thus leaving the pile of sand and stones in the locker room rather than all over my carpet. Worked like a charm!

Besides all of that, we've just had some great every-day ordinary moments this week... like playing in the sprinkler. Meagan drug all her pet shop animals out to the front yard and sat in the "rain" playing Littlest Pet Shop.

And Isaac, well, Isaac did this....

Summer is good.
Summer is almost over.
School is just around the corner.

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Cast Your Nets

2011-07-29T21:53:00.003-04:00

It's Friday, which means Froggy Friday at TLP (Check it out... the sale lasts all weekend)! This week Sahlin Studio released the PERFECT kit for all of my photos of our trip to visit Grandma & Grandpa's campground. Here's my first layout using this adorable kit... I KNOW there will be more. 'Cause I love this kit.

(Click here to view full credits)

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Thank You Shrek...

2011-07-28T14:43:00.002-04:00

Actually, thank you Charming, for breathing new life into a 'classic' with your kareoke rendition of Right Said Fred.

My kids were dancing around today singing 'I'm too sexy for my shirt.' They laughed and told me Charming was singing that at the end of Shrek, but they didn't know why. I thought it only right to give credit where credit is really due, so I dug up this lovely tidbit... straight out of my childhood.

No way are my kids going to go through life giving Charming credit for something as world-changing as that little diddy. They watched the whole video, with their eyebrows raised and their mouths hanging slightly open... of course a giggle or two here and there. At the end of it, the boys said, "Okay, that was a little weird." And Meagan said, "Mom, SEXY means you don't like something, right?"

*LOL*

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