off we go like a herd of turtles...

I ♥ Faces Photo Challenge: Pets Only

2009-12-14T13:53:00.003-06:00

Behind this adorable underbite lurks the most atrocious dog breath ever...

This is Rufus. He's a 100 lb. Dogue de Bordeaux. We love him lots... just not his breath.

Drive-by layout posting...

2009-09-12T23:01:00.004-05:00

Just a quick post to show off a couple of my most recent layouts:

Click here for credits.

OK, now I'm off to bed so I don't fall asleep in church tomorrow! LOL!

A brief but powerful lesson in government...

2009-09-06T22:57:00.003-05:00

While I don't like to dwell on politics too much, this is, in my opinion, too powerful to not share.

“Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.” - Edmund Burke

8:47 am...

2009-09-04T08:49:00.005-05:00

So it's 8:47 am (obviously, since that's my post title.) We just got back from walking the girls to the bus stop. This is their first time riding the bus this year. Hannah was sort of "meh" about riding... she rode the bus to school before we moved here. Taylor, on the other hand... QUITE excited. Hopefully it goes well and she remains as enthusiastic about it as she is now. Anytime I can save myself the effort of strapping the two littlest girls into car seats, I'm happy!

Anyway, I digress. We're back home, and I ask Lexi what she wants to do. I'm expecting a "play dolls" or "play on the computer" type of answer. Instead, what I get is "make lunch." Seriously... these girls are bottomless pits!

Momnesia...

2009-06-12T06:46:00.010-05:00

I miss my blog. I really do. I think I'm going to have to rejoin the blogging world. Mainly because I forget so much about the things that happen daily with my little girls. I'm going to have to start writing everything down because I swear I don't remember what happened last week. uggh. I have momnesia.

While I try to remember what happened yesterday, I'll post a few of my most recent layouts:

This one (about my bathtub... yes, I actually made a scrapbook page about my bathtub!) was made with Sharon's most recent kit, Serenity. LOVE the colors in this kit.

Credits here.

This one is of Gabby with her cool shades on. She loves her sunglasses. She calls them her eyes. She will actually say things like "Need eyes, Mommy" to me. Cute. This layout is using Joana's Simply Girly kit.

Credits here.

A big thanks to C a r ol and Cheryl, for the encouragement a while back to come back to my blog. Thanks, girls... even though I'm a little late getting started again!

Busy living...

2009-01-07T22:06:00.003-06:00

Rather than resolutions, I've decided to join the One Little Word movement. I spent the entire last year of my life pretty much in survival mode with Caleb being in Afghanistan and me being the sole caregiver to four little girls and two dogs. I don't want to live like that anymore. Actually, I don't want to live like that ever again. It sucked. So now, my word is LIVE. I want to actually live every moment rather than just holding on and hoping I don't fall off the end of my rope.

It's easier now that he's home. He's been home for about three weeks. I probably should have blogged about it, but I was busy living. =)

I could have blogged about my one little word earlier... closer to January 1st, but I was busy living.

I could have made a list of resolutions that I'd follow for a little while, and I could have actually posted them on here, but I was busy living.

I could link you up to my 365 gallery, but I've been so busy living and taking photos of it everyday, that I haven't gotten them off my camera yet. Maybe tomorrow.

You catch my drift.

It's an exciting time for me, for sure. I've got lots of exciting things to share, so stay tuned. I'll post them when I'm not so busy living. ;)

I will never forget...

2008-09-11T16:15:00.004-05:00

I'm kind of having a hard time keeping it together today. I'll be back later as soon as I can gather my thoughts. Or maybe not.

1-800-222-1222...

2008-08-28T21:20:00.005-05:00

That's the number for Poison Control. I have now officially called them twice. It's a dubious honor, I know, but one that I can claim as my own. I should add that I've called them twice for the same child. This is also the same child that tried to walk into traffic. (I still have nightmares about that) She worries me. Obviously not enough for several of these incidents to occur, but I'm not sure that even if I did walk around in a perpetual state of "nervous, hand-wringing, worried mother" that it would hinder her. Fortunately, I was told by David at Poison Control that her drinking about an ounce of children's Motrin was not going to be bad for her. It might cause an upset stomach, but that would be about it. I should add that about an ounce of children's Motrin is about 6 times what her normal dosage would be. Oh... I almost forgot to say how she drank it. I had opened the bottle and then remembered that I didn't have anything to measure it with, so I put the lid back on and left it on the table. I'm not sure if she's ultra-talented or if I just didn't tighten the lid properly (I'll accept the blame because I don't think she could swing the child-proof cap just yet in her early daredevil career) and when I walked back into the room she was swigging down the last few drops out of the bottle. I guess she was thirsty. Thank goodness it was less than 1/4 full. So yeah... raise your glass to congratulate me as Mother of the Year.

Sloopy Rhinohump at your service...

2008-04-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

I received this email last night from my sister. I'm not a forwarder of emails. Hardly ever. But this came at the perfect time for me... and it totally made me laugh, even though my name is pretty lame. So instead of forwarding it, I'm blogging about it. Play along if you like and leave me a comment with your new name! I need a few more good laughs today!

The following is excerpted from a children's book, Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants, by Dav Pilkey. In it, the evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names...

So:-

1. Use the third letter of your first name to
determine your new first name:

A = snickle
B = doombah
C = goober
D = cheesey
E = crusty
F = greasy
G = dumbo
H = farcus
I = dorky
J = doofus
K = funky
L = boobie
M = sleezy
N = sloopy
O = fluffy
P = stinky
Q = slimy
R = dorfus
S = snooty
T = tootsie
U = dipsy
V = sneezy
W = liver
X = skippy
Y = dinky
Z = zippy

2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:

A = dippin
B = feather
C = batty
D = burger
E = chicken
F = barffy
G = lizard
H = waffle
I = farkle
J = monkey
K = flippin
L = fricken
M = bubble
N = rhino
O = potty
P = hamster
Q = buckle
R = gizzard
S = lickin
T = snickle
U = chuckle
V = pickle
W = hubble
X = dingle
Y = gorilla
Z = girdle

3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:

A = butt
B = boob
C = face
D = nose
E = hump
F = breath
G = pants
H = shorts
I = lips
J = honker
K = head
L = tush
M = chunks
N = dunkin
O = brains
P = biscuits
Q = toes
R = doodle
S = fanny
T = sniffer
U = sprinkles
V = frack
W = squirt
X = humperdinck
Y = hiney
Z = juice
Thus, for example, George W. Bush's new name is: Fluffy Chucklefanny. And my new name is listed in the title of this blog entry.

Go ahead. Do it. You know you want to...

Cinnamon rolls, chocolate-covered strawberries with sprinkles, and grapes...

2008-04-19T11:14:00.000-05:00

Yeah. That was dinner. And no... I didn't make it. That's the creative mind of a nine year-old, people. I asked her where the protein was. She said, "In the milk, Mom." At least she's absorbing a little of what I try to teach her...

Needless to say my middle two daughters, Spazzy McGee and Squeaks McGillicuddy were bouncing off every wall and even the ceiling. Squeaks was still awake last night at 11:45. Why can't that energy be transferred to me?

Why?...

2008-04-18T22:38:00.004-05:00

do kids do this?

What makes the thought of going to sleep in her bed so terrible that this child will stay awake for two hours past her bedtime... crawl rather quietly into the hallway... and then promptly fall asleep in a fully lit area? It's good that I take photos of moments like this. I can remember the sweet stuff. Especially when I want to hang them upside down by their toenails.

ETA: It's now 11:45 pm and my four year-old is STILL awake and trying to sneak out of her room. What is going ON? I'm tired... why isn't she?

Grateful today for these things...

2008-04-13T22:58:00.005-05:00

The subscription to Wonder Time magazine that my sister got for me. Love that magazine... it's a super cool alternative to Parents and other parenting magazines like that.
Hannah feeding Gabby dinner tonight so I could finish making dinner for everyone else.
Ally (the dog) didn't chew up anything today. BIG accomplishment for her.
The way Lexi climbs up into my bed and pulls my arm out so she can roll right onto it. It's a little ritual for us now.
The way Gabby bounces in her little duck tub. She bounces up and down on her little bottom like it's some kind of trampoline. So cute.
Taylor helped me clean up toys tonight before bedtime. Without arguing. HUGE step for her.

Taylorisms...

2008-04-08T22:55:00.005-05:00

My Taylor never ceases to amaze me with the hilarious things she says. (At least I think they are hilarious... maybe others don't. That's ok. It's my blog, so I can post what I want, right?) Today was no exception... we were driving Hannah to soccer practice, and she sees a pizza delivery car (you know, with the sign on top?) She says... "Hey Mommy, there's a car with a triangle hat on his head!" At first I had no idea what she was talking about, but sure enough she pointed and I saw it. Another incident from today: spring has brought houseflies... much to Taylor's dismay. She asked me repeatedly for the "flyswhacker" so she could "whack those pesty flies." And I'll share just one more... the girls wanted peanut butter crackers for their snack. Taylor was quite insistent that her's needed "lids." That girl cracks me up.

Finally...

2008-01-27T23:13:00.000-06:00

Well... I finally have a blog header! It took me long enough...LOL. For curious minds... "Off we go like a herd of turtles..." is something my grandmother used to say whenever we would go anywhere when I was a kid. It really seems fitting for my family now, though. It takes us FOREVER to get anywhere.

Quick post tonight... I have two kiddos who are sick. Lexi has a double ear infection. I found that out when I rushed her over to our neighbor's house (she's a doctor) because Lexi's fever was 104.1. What started out as a simple cold about 4 days ago has now just knocked out my poor little girl. She's so fussy and whiny, which is so unlike her. She is the most easy-going child I know, and she seems to have a really high pain tolerance. The sad thing is, if it hadn't been for the fever, I wouldn't have even worried about anything more serious than just a cold. She hadn't been pulling at her ears at all. I had no clue that's what the problem was. Hopefully, all of the other girls can just stick with a cold and not move on to any secondary infections. Hannah and Taylor are already complaining of sore throats, and Gabby already has the cold. I would like to hope I don't get it, but my throat is already starting to feel scratchy... yuck.

Anyhoo... I hope all two of you who read my blog are doing well! Bye for now!

We're mobile...

2008-01-01T20:27:00.000-06:00

It's official... Gabby is now mobile. She picked the first day of the year to crawl. She's been inching toward it for a few days, but mostly just kinda scooting along. Today, though... she crawled several feet to get to the toy she wanted. Thank goodness my house is already child-proofed twice over!

On a side note, I'm going to participate in Project 365 this year. It shouldn't be too difficult, because once my dear sweet husband leaves, I'll be taking a ton of photos to send to him every day anyway. Here's my first photo of 2008, the Gabster right after she crawled to her toy:

On a scrapbooking note, Two Little Pixels is having a sale. According to Sharon and Megan there won't be too many of them, so if you are so inclined, head on over there by January 15 to pick up some good stuff!

Ringing in the new year...

2007-12-31T21:48:00.000-06:00

So I know I need a new blog header... I will get to it eventually.

Tonight I am pondering Ali Edwards' concept of "one little word." You can read more about it here. To be quite honest, though, I'm not really pondering... the word came to me pretty quickly.

For most people, the new year symbolizes renewal and hope... a clean slate... things along those lines. That's what a new year typically symbolizes for me. This year won't be typical for me. I already know that 2008 will be, perhaps, the most challenging year I've ever lived. My husband is deploying (AGAIN!) and will be gone for a few days short of the entire year, not to mention a few months of 2009 as well. So while I know this year will be so hard, I've also chosen a word that I think will help me get through it.

Embrace.

Here are a few of the definitions of the word on dictionary.com:

to take or clasp in the arms; press to the bosom; hug.
to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly: to embrace an idea.
to avail oneself of: to embrace an opportunity.

It's going to be a tough word for me on a daily basis, but I'm realizing that I need to embrace this deployment to not only make it easier for me to deal with personally, but to make it easier for my girls to cope. And although I'm quite sure I will not be able to always receive it "gladly"... I'll receive it nonetheless, because fighting it will only make it that much harder.

So that's my word. Kinda takes the place of resolutions... I'm not really into those. I'm sure I'll be plastering it all over the walls of my house to help me remember.... LOL.

Happy New Year, everyone. May 2008 bring you all you could ever wish for...

Run! Don't walk...

2007-11-24T19:01:00.000-06:00

Here:

Click on image to go to the store!!

Seriously... awesome stuff. You won't regret it. If you love Sharon's and/or Megan's designs, you HAVE to get their grab bags. FULL of yummy goodness! I'm still pinching myself... wondering if I'm dreaming... how awesome it is to be creating for the two of them! Check out my "pixel chick" blinkie on the side!

And here's a layout I did with some of Megan's stuff... (one of the items is in her grab bag!)

Click on the image to see credits.

OK... off to spend some time with the family... and maybe get another layout or two done. Maybe my mojo is back.

My mojo has left the building...

2007-11-22T08:26:00.000-06:00

Scrappin' mojo, that is... I just can't seem to do a layout that I'm 100% happy with lately. I actually finished one yesterday that I'm about 95% happy with, though!

Click on the image to see credits.

You'd think after almost a month of not writing anything, I'd have something exciting to say. Fortunately, I do, but I can't give you full details... yet. But I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. It'll give me another reason to blog... LOL!

To all of you celebrating Thanksgiving today, have a wonderful and peaceful day with your loved ones. To everyone else... have a terrific day!

Mmmmm... I'm hungry!

2007-10-27T00:35:00.000-05:00

(Click the image for credits.)

LOVE LOVE LOVE these cookies that Caleb makes with the girls. They don't last long in our cookie jar, for sure! This layout was made with Sharon's Simple Sets #24. All I had to do was drop my pictures in and type up a few words, and voila... finished!

It's after midnight, so I better get to bed. Little girls will be waking up before it even gets light outside. You'd think they'd sleep a little later when it's dark in the mornings, but no... they have the most accurate internal clocks on the planet. Lucky us!

It's finally feeling like fall...

2007-10-24T21:47:00.000-05:00

So I'm going to blog as if I just blogged yesterday... like it hasn't been forever since my last one. Caleb's sister and her family just left yesterday after a week-long visit. It was so fun having them here. They have two little boys: Seth is just about the same age as Taylor (three weeks younger than her to be exact) and Elijah is about 6 months younger than Lexi. Fortunately all 4 kids LOVE LOVE LOVE the movie Cars, so they played together all week long with Lightning McQueen and all of his buddies. I'm kinda bummed that they had to leave, but I had plenty to do today to keep myself busy.

I swear... I HATE switching out clothes for my girls. You know... packing away all the warm-weather clothes and unpacking and hanging all the colder weather clothes in the closet and/or putting them away in the drawers. Maybe the problem is that with four girls there are just SO. MANY. CLOTHES. I spent at least an hour just switching out Lexi's clothes. She's two. I did Hannah's last week. It was much easier because she's eight and can help. So now I only have Taylor and Gabby left to do. Tomorrow. If I drag it out any longer I will absolutely lose what's left of my mind.

On a totally random note, Gabby started solids a couple of weeks ago. Caleb has been asking me everyday when he can feed her something other than rice cereal. I let him feed her green beans today. He was so excited. For some reason he loves being the one to feed our girls new things. It was so cute.

OK... going to bed now. I meant to post a layout, but I told myself I was going to bed at 10, and it's 9:59. So I'll post one tomorrow. Or in a week. Or maybe a month... LOL!

Quickie post tonight...

2007-09-20T22:49:00.000-05:00

So I can get to bed at a decent time! Check THIS out! This layout was picked as one of the layouts of the day at Hot Digi Picks:

Click here for full credits.

I'll post some more of my recent layouts tomorrow. I'm so tired I'm about to fall asleep while I'm typing...

A new blog feature...

2007-09-12T17:51:00.000-05:00

I've decided to start a special little column over to the right. I'm sure in no time at all it will expand to a HUGE column, but for the time being, it will be small. It's a list of things I never thought I'd have the need to say. Mostly, things I've found myself saying to my children. I've often told my sister that if she could just hear the random silly things that have to be said in this house she'd laugh out loud for sure. I realize that some of these things might not be funny to others... but they are to me. And basically that's why I'm adding it... so I can remember the things that, at the time, might not be so funny but are comical in retrospect. The first one is today's "Get that sandwich off your shoe." I'm not even going to explain it.

I'm like butter, baby...

2007-09-11T22:58:00.000-05:00

...on a roll... woohoo! I am blogging after only 2 days. I don't really have anything important to talk about, but I did do a couple of layouts today:

Click here for credits

.

Click here for credits.

I completely neglected the three loads of laundry that need to be folded. Yep, they're still sitting in various places around my house. BUT... I got two pages done. So what's more important? Honestly, right now getting pages done is more important because I need to have a year's worth of layouts uploaded to Shutterfly by September 15th. That's a little more than a week before Lexi's second birthday, and I want to have her second year layouts printed up in a book to give to her. Anyhoo... on to more exciting news... I'm on Jennifer Howland's CT now! It was kind of a fluke because I honestly wasn't looking for any more CT spots. However, I totally love her papers (she ain't called the Texture Ho for nothing!) so I made her take me on! =)

OK... so now I'm tired. I'm gonna go to bed. But hey, at least I blogged a little! Nite!

So it's only been a month...

2007-09-08T22:42:00.000-05:00

since I last updated my blog. Why do I even have this thing? LOL! I guess I keep thinking I'll get into a routine and start blogging regularly. I really want to have it going when My Babies' Daddy deploys again. It'll kind of give him a glimpse into our daily lives. At least that's what I hope. Oh, and I don't normally refer to him as that, but he does often call me his Babies' Momma, so I felt the need to reciprocate.

Maybe I don't blog very often because I feel like I need to type so much stuff. Maybe tonight I'll just keep it short and sweet. Yeah... that's what I'm gonna do! So... here's a few layouts that I've just added to my galleries. Scroll all the way down for a super cool YouTube thingy I saw on Miss Mint's blog. I LOVE it. So powerful!

This is from Kaye Winiecki's Clothesline Chic Kit at Pickleberry Pop:

Click here for full credits.

This one is from [ksharonkdesigns] at Pickleberry Pop, also. The kit is called Simple Joys:

Click here for full credits.

Another one with Clothesline Chic:

Click here for full credits.

And this is another from [ksharonkdesigns]. The kit is called Unadorned and is a freebie on Sharon's blog for about 4 more days:

Click here for full credits.

And here's the video:

I'll take random thoughts for 500, Alex...

2007-08-05T22:56:00.001-05:00

You can click on any of these images to see a larger version and the credits:

I'm going to start this and future posts with a layout or two. Mainly because it's more fun to look at something nice rather than just read my mundane blog. I used to post every layout that I did, but that would require me blogging more often. I just can't make those kinds of promises... LOL. I should probably blog more than once a week. Heck, once a week is probably good for how often I've been blogging lately... LOL. For now, though, I'm gonna shoot for once a week and hope to do more.

Now... what to blog about tonight. Caleb just got back from a month long deployment to JRTC. Today was his birthday, so we celebrated by doing absolutely nothing except hanging out around the house and playing with the girls. He gave Taylor the choice as to what kind of cake to make, so she chose a blue cake with blue icing and blueberries in it. Can you guess her favorite color?

Hannah just got back from Florida yesterday, so we are finally a whole family again. She spends most of the summer with her dad, for those of you who don't know. It's hard to be without her for that long, but I'm learning to adjust.. There's always the phone and email, right? We played scrabble tonight. She loves that game, although she hates it that I don't let her win. Maybe that's wrong, but I want her to know that life isn't always perfect, and you don't always get to win. Do I always do my best when I play against her... probably not... but I'm not going to just flat out play horrible just so she can win. Anyhoo... it's always fun when Caleb plays. We get words on the board like "unwarned" and "zens." He's the master at trying to make up words that sound like they might be words.

Why do adults have to ruin all the fun in things for children? My two middle girls are Cars fanatics. I swear we watch that movie at least once a day. Every day. We have the soundtrack, and Taylor can tell you exactly what part of the movie is going on during each musical score. I used to pride myself that my children weren't big TV watchers. Now they just watch the same movie over and over and over. Anyhoo... I digress. My point in all this is that because they ADORE that movie, we have started getting them the little die cast characters from the movies. They are basically glorified Matchbox cars. But our girls LOVE them. So we start looking around online to find the ones that we don't ever seem to find at WalMart or Target. And guess what??? They are "collectibles." That means adults are ruining it for kids, and unless you want to shell out upwards of $20 per car, your kids aren't gonna have some of the fun ones. How sad. The only reason we want them is so the girls can roll them around on the floor and crash them into each other and squeal with delight. We're not gonna keep them in their original packaging and resell them later on for a higher price. I just think that's completely lame. Toys are for kids to PLAY with. They are not for adults to collect. If you are a collector of toys, I'm sorry to offend you, but seriously... are you kidding me? I'll stop ranting for now. I'm just sad that I have had to draw the line and tell Caleb, "No... we are NOT going to spend $35 for Guido and Luigi and the tractor." Even though I know my girls would love them.

I'm going to bed now. I'm sure the baby will wake up as soon as I fall asleep. She has impeccable timing like that. =)

A big fat YAY!!!

2007-07-29T20:09:00.000-05:00

Check this out!!! I just found out on Friday that one of my all-time favorite designers (not to mention scrappers...) is letting me guest on her CT for a few months!

Sharon (ksharonk) creates amazing designs and layouts, as does her creative team, and I'm so thrilled to have a chance to work with them!

It's 8:00 on Sunday night and I am so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open! I just put everyone to bed earlier than usual because I NEED SLEEP! So I'm going to post a few layouts I've done recently, and then it's bed time for this tired soul...

Here are my latest two layouts for ADSR. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can click on the "Scrappin Military Mommies" blinkie over in the sidebar and read all about it. (Click on the images for credits) For Challenge #3:

And for Challenge #4:

And here are a couple more that I've done in the last week or so:

OK... off to bed!

New stuff...

2007-07-14T21:36:00.001-05:00

Lots of new stuff going on... I'll try to post it all in a few paragraphs, as I'm tired and need some sleep. Imagine that!

Gabrielle is smiling! Actually she's been smiling for about 10 days now, but I haven't blogged lately so it's news to the two people who actually read this blog... LOL. Oh the joy it brings to a mommy's heart when the little one who has been keeping her awake all night, every night, finally smiles. I have *almost* forgotten the nearly sleepless nights I've had for the last seven weeks. I haven't actually caught a photo of it yet, but I'll be sure to post one when I do. I also need to put up some photos of Caleb's family. They were here visiting for the last 10 days or so. I love them dearly. It was so great having them here.

On to scrapping related stuff... I'm on Kaye Winiecki's Creative Team (Blinkie's in the right sidebar. Click on it to get to her store at Pickleberry Pop.) LOVE her stuff. I'm super excited for the awesome opportunity to use her designs!

More exciting scrapping news... This layout

won the random entry drawing in last week's Digi-Dare. Doesn't seem QUITE as glamorous as getting my layout picked... but hey, I won't complain. I had fun doing it, and I won an INCREDIBLE prize. Wanna know what I won? Four gift certificates for $10 each. To four different AWESOME designers' stores. Amy Martin at The Lilypad, Karah Fredricks at Blue Flombingo, and Faith True and Nicole Pols (Windgefluester Designs) at The Digi Shoppe. To say I'm thrilled is an understatement! I can't wait to go shopping!

My online scrapping friend, Brynn, and I are partners in the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race 2. It starts on Monday, and I'm excited to get started. We have a team blog. You can click on the blinkie in the sidebar to see it. I'm sure we'll be posting our layout to it when we get started. I'm gonna have to be a better blogger. I won't be able to wait two weeks between posts... LOL.

OK. I'm tired and should really take advantage of my chance to sleep. This is the stretch of night when Gabby usually sleeps more than 2 hours, and here I am blogging. I have problems, I tell you! =)

Niters!

Another blog challenge...

2007-06-29T13:42:00.000-05:00

This post is for a blog challenge posted on Nancy Comelab's blog. "Instead of a LO, let’s go out on a limb a bit and look through our pictures and find, you know…the ones that we just took because we wanted to try and capture on film some special little moment to remind us…and if you can, here’s the catch: Try to find one without any people in it…or at least for the subject." Considering that 99.9% of my photos are of my family, that ruled out a lot. But this photo, I think, is one of my all-time favorites. It was taken in Maui on our second-to-last day of our vacation in Hawaii. My sister, my brother and I had flown there with our respective families to do something that most people might consider not to be such a happy thing. We took our parent's ashes there. We scattered them out of a helicopter above the Waimea Canyon on the island of Kauai. That was where my parents wanted to be... together... because it was their favorite place on Earth. So anyway, I could probably post a picture of the little waterfall over which we were hovering when their ashes were scattered, but I won't. I chose this photo because this helps me remember the happiness of all the times we had for the two weeks following the day we scattered their ashes... laughing and reminiscing about growing up together and memories of our parents. Anyhoo... long story short... I love this photo and it makes me totally happy.

Frame by Nancy Comelab

And here's a layout I did with it a few weeks ago.

Click here for credits.

That's all for now... gonna go play with my little girlies!

Sometimes life takes over...

2007-06-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

and you just don't have the time or the energy to blog... KWIM? I can't believe it's been two months since I last blogged! Not really. I can totally believe that. Quite a bit has happened since then. I gave birth to yet another little girl, so sleep generally takes precedence over blogging. As does changing diapers and nursing the little one, and playing with and taking care of her older sisters.

I'll try to do better, though. I can't promise that I'll blog everyday, but I'll try to stay a little more current.

Anyhoo... going to bed now. I'll try to post pictures of our newest addition tomorrow!

A few layouts and some exciting news...

2007-04-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

Click here for credits.

Click here and here for credits and a larger view.

The top one might be my new favorite layout. It's so simple, but I keep finding myself drawn to simple... maybe I ought to try that more.

And now for the exciting news... Look over on the right hand side of this little bloggie poo! I am going to be joining 2 more CTs... DigiScrapShak (which is really cool cuz it's a store gig, and I'll get to work with lots of different designers' stuff) and Wendyzine Scraps (she's at Elemental Scraps, but I don't have a blinkie just yet.) So anyway, I'm super duper excited!

OK, going to bed now. It's the only time when my ankles aren't elephant-like. =)

Cankles and other random thoughts...

2007-04-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

It's official... I have cankles. I've made it through three other pregnancies and never had them. Lucky #4... brings me big, fat, swollen feet and ankles. Seriously. You can barely see the bone on the outer part of my ankles. And the inner part? Not so much. Can't see that bone really at all. Oh, for those of you who don't know... cankles are basically where your calf meets your foot with no ankle definition whatsoever. I asked the good ole obstetricianologist (that's what Caleb calls him) yesterday what to do. He said to keep my feet up as much as possible. It was right then that I realized I was going to have to call Jeeves, my chauffer, and ask him to pick up my nanny and butler, as well as the maid, gardener, and chef so that I can sit around all day with my feet propped up. I'll get right on that.

On an even more special note, I think I broke my pinkie toe. For those of you who don't know, I sprained my ankle a couple of weeks ago. Now I have a toe that's fat and many different shades of purple and blue because I stubbed it on one of our kitchen chairs. That lovely bruising even extends into my foot. And for some reason, that little teeny tiny pinkie toe is like a MAGNET sending out an irreversible attraction to all three of my children to either step on it or bump it. I can't really wear closed shoes because it hurts too much, and leaving it uncovered... well, yeah... you see how that's working for me with my little girlies... Main point is... I'm a clutz. And it hurts.

There were other random things I was going to blog about, yet now I'm tired after waking up at 4 am with my 18 month old who evidently just didn't feel like sleeping, so I'm gonna take a nap. Maybe if you are lucky I'll be back to finish this blog later... =)

Feel good movie and a layout or three, defining myself and C is for cookie...

2007-04-25T09:03:00.000-05:00

Monday's blog challenge was to blog about a feel-good movie. Because I'm so punctual, I'm blogging it on Wednesday. That's how I roll...

I really can't think of one movie in particular that I watch that one could consider a feel good movie. I really like Say Anything, and anything with John Cusack for that matter. I'm also a fan of all those Meg Ryan chick flicks. Maybe Adam Sandler movies, because they never cease to make me laugh. Except Punch Drunk Love. Didn't like that one, although I went into it expecting it to be a typical Adam Sandler movie, which it wasn't. Anyhoo... I digress...

Here's a layout I did yesterday. I cheated and used the same layout for each of my girls. That's why I love digital scrapbooking. I switched out the pics, and voila! Instant layouts for three girls! And because this is my blog and I can do what I want... I'm gonna post all three pics so you can see my three little cuties in all their glory... Here's Hannah-

Click here for credits.

Just a little note about Taylor's... while one of my daughters has no fear, it is NOT Taylor. She's scared of lots of stuff. Including the slip 'n slide. So instead of running and sliding, she pretty much slow crawled her way down. Hence no cool splash action shots. We're working on that, though...

And Lexi's -

And last but not least... blog challenge #20... defining myself by giving you a word that starts with each letter of my first name...

Loving - very. But not to everyone. Just peeps I'm close to. The deserving ones.
Youthful - Maybe not in years, since I AM advanced maternal age... but I am in spirit!
Nutty - Yeah. Too much so.
Nifty - I'm not really sure if I'm nifty or not, but I use that adjective probably a little too much.

Not a whole lot of descriptive terms I could think of that start with Y. And although I WISH I was nimble, which I'm not now that I'm 36 weeks pregnant, I just couldn't put that in.

Oh... I have one more thing to blog about. Do you remember that song "C is for Cookie" that Cookie Monster sings on Sesame Street? If you don't, go find it here on YouTube. I want you all to share in the misery that is my life this morning. Now that my three year old knows how to press the back button on the DVD player button, we've listened to this song at LEAST 25 times. I haven't counted, but I'm quite sure we're at the very least at that number. And to make things even more fun... my 18 month old knows how to turn up the volume. So now we are listening to it at a much higher decibel level than is probably safe for little ears. And yes... I am letting the DVD babysit my kids while I blog... Bad Mommy...

Two layouts...

2007-04-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Click here for credits.

Fearful Friday...

2007-04-20T10:56:00.000-05:00

No, today isn't a fearful Friday. That's just the title of our latest blog challenge. I'm supposed to blog about a time I felt fear.

The one time that REALLY sticks out in my head is when Caleb was in Iraq for his first tour. He had been there for about 4 or 5 months, and there hadn't really been any incidents at that point, at least that I had been made aware of, of Blackhawks getting shot down. Well, one Saturday in November, it's all over the news that there was a Blackhawk from the 101st that had been shot down. And I knew Caleb had been flying that day. And I hadn't heard A SINGLE WORD from him in over 24 hours... no email, no instant messaging, no phone call... nothing. I tried really hard not to panic, but I also hadn't heard anything from the family readiness group that is supposed to notify us when things happen. I went to church the next morning, still not having heard anything. I actually had to leave church that day. I was so scared that something had happened to him. People knew our situation, and they were asking me if he was ok. I choked back tears as much as I could while telling people, "I don't know... I haven't heard from him." (Keep in mind that I'm 6 months pregnant and way too emotional already...) Finally I just started bawling and couldn't stop, so I left the one place where I actually could have probably found some peace. Although I think it was in God's plan for me to go home, though, because as soon as I got home, I got an instant message from Caleb. He was completely fine, although he knew the entire crew from the aircraft that was shot down. They were in the same battalion, just a different company. At the time I didn't know this, but they shut down all communication out of the areas where the soldiers are living. They do this so casualty information doesn't get leaked before the families are notified. Makes sense, but it doesn't help when you are one of the ones NEEDING information.

Anyway... that's my story for Fearful Friday.

More layouts...

2007-04-19T21:26:00.000-05:00

I'm all caught up posting my layouts... Did these four today. Really it only counts as three, because when I have a layout I really like, I just put another one of my girls' pictures in, and voila... another layout for her!

I've been totally inspired by the Page A Day Challenge at ScrapGal.

Here they are...

Click here for credits.

Same credits as the above layout.

That purple one is of Taylor. She's three now. And the pink one is Lexi, who is 18 months. I'll do one for Hannah as soon as I get one of her baby pics scanned.

Going to bed now. Niters!

Layouts...

2007-04-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

OK, so I've done several layouts that I forgot or was too lazy to post, so here they are...

Click here for credits.

Click here for credits.

Click here for credits.

Click here for credits.

I know... I know. My style is all over the place.

See ya tomorrow!

Three for the price of one...

2007-04-18T20:33:00.000-05:00

I actually haven't been neglecting my blog so much... it's just that I have several things to blog about. All on different topics. So rather than typing in three brand new blogs in one day, today you'll get three for the price of one. Hence the title of this post. "How clever she is" you must be thinking. Or maybe not.

Post number one... I have big news. I am not usually a big tooter of my own horn, but I feel the urge to toot! (my horn, people... not that other kind of toot... geez) If you look over in the sidebar of this oh so lovely blog, you'll see that I am a member of TWO AWESOME DESIGNERS' creative teams. That's big news for me, because I never thought I'd even apply for one let alone be chosen. So I'm super-duper excited that I decided to think about what Shandy said to me on several occasions (Thanks, Shandy... still waiting ANXIOUSLY for your call) and I applied. There... toot over. =)

Post number two... This is gonna seem like a really weird one, but I have to blog about seeing my husband do his job. That probably seems like a really WEIRD thing to blog about. But see, we've been married for four years, and although I know what he does... I've never actually seen him in action. For those of you who don't know, he's a pilot in the army. He flies Blackhawks. And for the first time ever, our two youngest daughters and I got to see him fly. We have only been out to his airfield a couple of times, and never even gotten close to one of the helicopters, so this was a BIG deal to us. I guess if he worked at an office or a fire station or a hospital, we'd be able to see at least a little of what he does. But since he doesn't, like I said before, this was a big occasion for us. He was working with a skydive team from Ft. Campbell, so as an added bonus, the girls got to see parachuters jump out of his helicopter. Cool stuff. Here are a few pics. If you want to see more, you'll have to check back in a few days. I'll be doing a layout of the pictures I took.

And post number three... Last but not least, Shandy's blog challenge is to post a to-do list for today. Seeing as how today is just about over, I think I'll post a to-do list for tomorrow instead. Mostly cuz this is my blog and I can do whatever I want, right? K, so here's my list...

Clean the kitchen and mop the floor. I swear, I could create a small meal with the crumbs and such that are on my floor right now. I wouldn't, but I could if I wanted to.
Upload my most recent layouts to my super coolio blog.
Leave some feedback on the layouts of my peeps at ScrapGal, and for my fellow CT peeps.
Do some fun stuff with the kiddos... like PlayDoh and/or Paint.
Do preschool activities with Taylor.
Take the girls outside for a long time so they can run around and get super duper tired so Lexi doesn't get out of her bed 27 times like she did today. (For those of you who have read my previous blog... I didn't count this time. I just estimated)
Shower at some point... preferably before the girls wake up, but that doesn't always happen.
Make dinner. Don't remember what we're supposed to have so I'll have to figure that out first.

Lather, rinse, and repeat all this on Friday. I swear it's like Groundhog's Day. Although Friday, I get to go for another ultrasound, so that should throw some fun into the mix...

OK... going to bed soon. Have a good night!

Blogging gets put on the backburner...

2007-04-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

I've realized that when things get a little busier for me, this little blog of mine gets shoved aside. Not that I have a huge reader base or anything, so it really doesn't matter. However, I really should try harder to not say "oh well... I'll blog another day." Because one day can easily turn to four, and on it goes.

Anyhoo... with that being said, I have two blog challenges to catch up on...

#15 Tell about a time I've re-gifted or the best present I've ever received. For all you lucky little ducks, I'll tell a little about both. I've re-gifted a few things, but they are usually kids toys that they get for birthdays, of which they already have one or two of the exact same thing. Nothing exciting about that, I know. There have been PLENTY of things I wanted to re-gift, but I just thought the item I had been given was too cheesy to pass onto someone else. Let me tell you about the most obvious and truly tasteless re-gift I have ever received. There were four little juice glasses with really bright colored citrus fruits on them. Got them for a wedding present. I guess they could have been a nice gift had there not been about a quarter inch of dust in them and ROACH DROPPINGS! I kid you not, my peeps. Roach droppings and dust. In a set of glasses that somebody WRAPPED up and put our names on. I don't think they liked us too much...

Now... the best gift I have ever received... my husband got me a Nikon D70 two years ago. I had told him that when we had extra money, I was going to get one. In Caleb-speak, extra money apparently means "I'm gonna go out right NOW and buy that for her because she is the coolest thing since running water." This was about a month before Christmas. He bought it for me for Christmas, although the day the package arrived via UPS, he made me open it. On like November 30th. He's so not good at waiting until the actual occasion to give presents. But he's sweet, so that counts double!

#16 Release some of this useless knowledge that is cluttering my brain.

Here's the problem... I have ENTIRELY too much useless knowledge, but most of it comes in the form of song lyrics and the bands/groups that sing them. Caleb and I have an ongoing game in which we call out the name of the artist whenever we hear a song on the radio. We both rock at 80s stuff. Hair bands, especially. He's super good at oldies from the 50s and 60s. Either way, we both know way more than any human should about musical groups and lyrics. But that doesn't release anything from my brain. So I will try to think of a few other things to post.

Did you know that your wingspan is supposed to be the same as your height? Hold your arms out to the sides and measure fingertip to fingertip and it's the same as your height. Unless you have gorilla arms. And if you actually try this and it doesn't work for you and you have gorilla arms, I'm sorry for pointing out to you that you have gorilla arms. And that was a really special run-on sentence.

Did you know that if you double a child's height at two years of age, it is generally VERY CLOSE to his/her adult height?

Did you know that we just put Lexi in a big-girl bed? She is only 18 months, and really didn't need to come out of her crib. Only problem is... since this darned baby is supposed to be here in 6 weeks, we didn't want to buy another crib. And this little story leads me into my next useless fact...

Did you know that Lexi got out of her big-girl bed 43 times when I put her down for her nap yesterday? I counted. It was only 18 today for naptime. Maybe tomorrow it will be even less.

Did you know that my little family of five goes through at least 8 gallons of milk a week?

OK, OK... I realize these are not the useless facts that you are looking for. Sorry. I'll try harder next time.

Going to bed now. Later dudes!

Two layouts today...

2007-04-12T13:47:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick layout I did while the girls were napping...

Click here for credits.

And another one I did a little later...

Click here for credits.

I'll write more tomorrow. I'm too tired tonight.

Lynn needs...

2007-04-11T08:17:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest blog challenge over at ScrapGal. It's too long for lazy old me to type out, so click on the link if you wanna know what it is.

I googled "Lynn needs" and got lots of fun stuff. Actually, the first several were people that had apparently already played this game. I could have just copied them directly, but where's the fun in that? So... here are some of the more fun ones I found.

Lynn needs a new job. Maybe washing dishes or something. An interesting thought, but I'll be a SAHM for awhile still. With this new one not even born yet, I won't be going back to teaching until she's in school. That's at least 2013. And even then, I'm not so sure I'm in a mad rush to going back to raising other people's children and dealing with their issues as parents and accusing me of being unfair to their children when I expect them to follow certain classroom rules. Anyway, I digress. I already wash dishes. I really think Lynn needs a new job like lying around all day and getting paid for it.

Lynn needs a blog. Not so much. Got one. But thanks for playing.

Lynn needs money. Checks or cash should be sent promptly. This means YOU!

Lynn needs to lose at least eight stone. She is pinning her hopes on a gastric bypass procedure. Ummm, yeah. I realize I'm a little thick in the middle, but I think that's because of this darn BABY growing inside me. And after she's born, that lovely thing called breastfeeding will kick in, so, if things go like they did the last three times, that weight should start to fall right off. And I'm not real sure what "eight stone" is, but it sounds like a lot.

Lynn needs to loose the tattoes. I don't know why people mark their body. When they get old her skin is going to get rinkly, and so are here her tattoes. And she is going to whish that she never had them. OK, so this one cracked me up. I'm not the grammar and spelling police, but REALLY. How many errors can you have in one post? And WHAT are tattoes? Is that like a combined word? Tattoos on your toes? Apparently there is an entire forum dedicated to the discussion of my tattoos. I do have a tattoo. One. Not plural. It's on my right ankle. It's of three little plumerias (my favorite flower) and it's very small. It could be covered entirely by two dimes. I'll take a picture of it sometime and post it. Anyhoo... I'm not really sure how to "loose" it. And I'm quite sure I won't "whish" I never had it. Even when I'm old and "rinkly."

Lynn needs some respect. Maybe she'd get some if she'd "loose" those darn tattoes she's gonna "whish" she never had when she gets old and "rinkly."

Lynn needs to read the Constitution. I actually have, but that was a few years back when I was teaching American History to some fifth graders. Right now, there are much better reads that are much higher on my priority list. Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See, It Looked Like Spilt Milk, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar to name a few.

Lynn needs to bring an empty suitcase. YES I DO... that's EXACTLY what I was just thinking. I would have to get it out of the attic, though, and that is just too much work. And I won't even go into where I'm supposed to bring it...

Lynn needs to have a cute and homey trailer. In tornado alley or in Florida. That would just be awesome. I'd also need a lot of insurance to go with that cute and homey trailer.

Lynn needs to lighten up here and stop taking themselves so seriously. I apologize. I didn't realize I was so self-absorbed. Please forgive me.

Lynn needs ride to San Jose. Because I want to spend 4 or 5 days in a car. With a complete stranger. That would epitomize fun for me.

Lynn needs to stop raiding Dakota Fanning's closet. I couldn't agree more. Being 6'2" and pregnant and all that entails, I'm having more and more trouble as the days pass squeezing into her cute little clothes.

Lynn needs to get a life. Fo shizzle. I couldn't agree more. I'm off to find one right now.

That was fun, Lisa. I actually found myself reading into page 8 of all the hits that came back on google. Then I realized I need to get a life. And on a more pressing note, I need to change a little girl's diaper. So I'll find that life later.

Have a great day, my friends!

"Life is like a box of chocolates..."

2007-04-10T20:05:00.000-05:00

"You never know what you're gonna get."

Blog challenge #13 - Who said it and what does that mean to me?

It means that it's the little, unexpected things in life that make it worthwhile. Meeting my husband where and when I did was unexpected. Two of my children were "unexpected" little surprises. And there have been countless others along the way. I'd have to say, though, that those are the biggies. I learned a long time ago that if I try to have everything planned and mapped out, I'll end up biting into a nougat center instead of a coconut like I had planned. And that would just ruin my day. So now... I like the unexpected. Makes life so much more... interesting.

Forrest Gump said it cuz his momma always used to say it.

Two layouts I did today. I'm gonna try to get one more done tonight, since Caleb has Staff Duty and won't be home until after midnight.

Click here to see credits.

**Edited to add my third layout for today!! Yay!!

Click here to see credits.

Happy Easter...

2007-04-08T20:53:00.000-05:00

Busy day today. I had to go to my favorite store in the whole wide world... WalMart... this morning to pick up a few last minute things that I needed for today. Wow. So fun. For those of you who know me... you know I'd rather run naked through my neighborhood while 8 months pregnant than go to WalMart. I will say, however, it wasn't too bad. I think I got there before the main church crowd.

I picked up Hannah from the airport today. She went to Florida to see her dad for Spring Break. I miss her so much when she's gone. Thankfully she got back fairly early in the afternoon, so we were still able to have our Easter egg hunt in the backyard. I took pictures, but alas... can't find the USB cable right this second. I'll upload the pics tomorrow.

Here's a layout I finished today. The pictures are really low quality. I'm waiting on my sister-in-law to send me the CD of pictures she took when she was here 10 days ago. I really wanted to do this layout, though, so for the time being the pics are super low-res. I'll replace them when I get the good pictures. Anyhoo... it's my two little ones in the tub with their 11 month-old cousin. As the journaling says, we had just eaten a big spaghetti dinner. Of course, Mia looks just fine, while my two little piggies look like they bathed in spaghetti sauce.

Click here to see credits.

OK... gonna go to bed now. Need. Sleep. =)

Another layout...

2007-04-06T21:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a layout I did for a challenge at ScrapGal. I'm so glad for the challenge, because I might never have done this without it.

Click here to see credits.

The name game...

2007-04-06T18:42:00.000-05:00

Today's blog challenge is to, in a nutshell, tell about my name. So here goes...

The name I was given at birth was Janice Lynn. My parents really liked Lynn, but couldn't think of anything that would sound good as a middle name, so they decided to make Lynn my middle name. I have no idea why they picked Janice for the first name. That's the "oh, so exciting" version of how I got my name.

Now for the "not so sure it's true, but sounds way better" version that my dad and mom used to argue about. My dad said I was named Lynn because I was almost born on the linoleum. Apparently for one of my mom's three deliveries, she progressed pretty fast, and they had to tell her not to push until they got her to the delivery room. The only problem with the way this story relates to my name is... my dad firmly believed it was my birth, and my mom swore it was my brother's. I tend to believe her version, because I don't think I'll ever forget many details of the birth of my own children, so how could she. However, I know they used to give some pretty good pain meds back then, so who really knows? And since both of them are no longer alive, I guess I'll never really know the truth. Oh well... it makes for a good story, nonetheless.

I'm sure anyone who has read this feels way more enriched knowing all of this. Happy day for you.

I will tell you, though, that I actually went to court and legally had my name changed. Bet you haven't! I had Janice removed from my name. I wanted to keep my maiden name, but didn't want to have four names. And the name police won't let you just drop your first name like you can your middle name. My husband apologized to me the day we got married for giving me such a "jacked-up" name. So not only did I have to go through my entire childhood telling people that I went by Lynn, not Janice... all to puzzled looks and pondering questions like "how do you get Lynn from Janice?" Now I have the last name that... even when I spell it... which I always do... I always have to start again after the first two letters. People always assume there is a vowel where there's not. And no one EVER pronounces it right.

Wake up people... blog over.

A five minute layout...

2007-04-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

But I LOVE it!

Click here to see credits.

The truth...

2007-04-04T13:29:00.000-05:00

OK, so it's time to reveal what's the truth and what's not. I have a few pictures. Fun, fun!

#1 is true. I did go skydiving while I was pregnant with Taylor. Now before anyone thinks I'm a terrible human being, let me point out that I didn't KNOW I was pregnant at the time. I think I was only about 4-5 weeks along. It was a blast, by the way. I would LOVE to do it again someday, although being the mother of 4 makes you a little less likely to take stupid chances.

This is a picture of my sister and me. I called her up one day and asked her if she wanted to jump out of a perfectly good airplane the next morning. She said, "Sure!"

This is me strapped to the guy I tandem jumped with. I love how we're above the clouds. We jumped at 13,500 feet.

And the next truth is #2. I actually did see Oprah's show in person, only it wasn't in Chicago. If you watch Oprah, you may remember she did a HUGE baby shower for something like 600+ pregnant soldier's wives at Ft. Campbell. Well, I got to go. I got all the cool goodies that she gave away. I will say, however, that we already had a lot of the stuff she gave us (stroller, bathtub, pack n play, etc...) so we gave it to another soldier and his expectant wife in Caleb's company. We did keep a few things, though, including this...

And #3 was almost true. Sort of. I had a super-long and super-difficult first labor. When I was in labor with Taylor, I kept waiting for the real pain to start, but it never did. Long story short... we got to the hospital and I was fully dilated. I delivered less than 10 minutes after we got there. So it coulda happened, but thank goodness it didn't.

So I fooled everyone but Rachael and Kimberly... Thanks so much to everyone for playing. This was super fun!

Two layouts...

2007-04-03T20:03:00.000-05:00

So excited... I got not one but two layouts finished today!

Click here to see credits.

A massive post today...

2007-04-03T06:58:00.000-05:00

Today's post will be a biggie. Mostly because I am lazy, and I've either been spring cleaning or entertaining company for the last week-9 days. I haven't gotten online too much, so I am gonna have to play catch up with the blog challenges. So here goes...

#7 - An article of clothing that I thought I looked good in but in hindsight... not so much. Hammer pants. Such a big thing back in the day. Did anyone look good in those things? Doubtful. I owned about 5 pairs, all in random and ridiculous colors and patterns. And I'm sure I didn't look good in any of them. I will look for pictures, but I have no idea if I even have any. Too bad for you.

#8 - Create a layout based on a previous post. Here it is...

#9 - Snaz up my blog. Since this is a fairly new blog to me, I've already "snazzed it up" like I wanted it. I'll see what I can do. I'll have to work on that and get back to you. EDITED TO ADD: I snazzed it up by adding a little blinkie/button in my sidebarfor Shandy's blog. Click it. Be inspired.

#10 - Name something I collect and add a picture. This is kind of a hard one for me, seeing as how I don't really collect anything. Dust bunnies come to mind, but I'd rather not show pictures. One thing I think I unintentionally collect is little girl clothes. Seeing as how we'll have four of them pretty soon, I don't really get rid of their clothes. So here's a picture of a bunch of bins we have in our garage right now. Actually, that's part of the reason I haven't blogged in awhile. I was spring cleaning, which included getting all of these clothes organized by size and season. In total, there are 27 bins of just clothing. Scary. That's from birth to 8 years old. You can't see them all in this photo, but you get the idea. Like I said... scary. Maybe I should start INTENTIONALLY collecting something. It would probably take up way less space and cost way less money. hmmm......

#11 - Make three statements about myself. Two will be TRUE and one will be FALSE. In the comment section, the two people who actually read this lame blog vote on which one they think isn't the true statement. On the next blog challenge I'll reveal the lie! So...

1. I went skydiving while pregnant with my second child.
2. I have seen Oprah's show IN PERSON.
3. I delivered one of my babies in the car.

So there they are... I'm caught up with the blog challenges. I'm sure everyone is very excited. I am hoping to be a better blogger now that I'm not a hostess to visitors.

Have a great day!!!

A day in the life...

2007-03-22T22:33:00.000-05:00

OK, so the newest blog challenge is to blog about my day. wow. Get ready for some exciting stuff...

Woke up 40 minutes late... which means I woke Hannah up 30 minutes late. That's not a really good thing for a little girl who likes to dawdle and take her sweet time getting ready for school. Fortunately, she got ready in time for the bus, so I didn't have to wake up the two little girls to take her to school. Caleb normally takes her to school, but he was sleeping in (oh, the joy!) because he had to fly tonight.

I had an OB appointment today. I got to go see a civilian provider (the same one who delivered Lexi 17 months ago) because the army finally decided to let me go. It seems Ft. Campbell is going to be having a HUGE baby boom, starting at approximately the time that our newest little bundle of joy is due. They are expecting upwards of 400 babies in June and at least that many in July. Anyway, it was nice of them to finally let me go see the doctor I really wanted to see only 30 short weeks into my pregnancy. I'm happy now.

I stopped at the fish store. We have a saltwater aquarium that we just started up about 3-4 weeks ago. We are still learning, so it seems like one of us is at that store at least every other day. I also stopped at WalMart. My favorite place. I love going there. Not really. I just say that because it's convenient. The truth of the matter is... I HATE WalMart with an absolute passion, and I try to never go there. I still end up there at least once a month, but at least it wasn't too crowded today. I did manage to find some really cute sandals for the little girls. I would have much preferred to shop at Target, but I don't know when I'll get there next. Wow... this day is just too exciting for words.

Got home, Caleb left for work at about 1, the girls napped for another 30 minutes or so, and then we played. I didn't get any laundry or cleaning done today. That's definitely not normal for me, but I think the world will keep going. I made pancakes for dinner. That's the girls' choice. We generally have them if there's a night when Caleb's not home for dinner. He doesn't like pancakes or waffles. I think there might be something wrong with him. =) After dinner we went outside and played in the backyard for over an hour. It was so nice outside. Not too hot, not too cold.

Bathtime followed, along with reading stories over and over and over. We read "A Color of My Own" four times tonight. Fun stuff. Got the girlies to bed, and I sat down to scrap. Here's what I did tonight:

Click here for credits:

I wasn't even really in the mood, but the colors in Shandy's new paper pack inspired me. (Thanks, Shandy!) And now... here I am blogging about something no one in their right mind could even be interested in. And now I think I'm getting ready for bed. I need to clean and do laundry tomorrow. =)

Sobbing over puddles and a layout...

2007-03-20T21:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I think the pregnancy hormones are kicking into high gear... I found myself in tears over the fact that while bathing the little girls, my socks were soaked from the big puddle of water on the floor. Normally, that wouldn't bother me. As a matter of fact, yesterday it didn't bother me. Today... yeah. Caleb had to come to my rescue because I was practically sobbing. What a dork I am.

Here's a layout I did today. Love this picture of Lexi. Caleb has a problem with "tubby foam." He can't seem to apply it in moderation. The girls love it, though.

Click here for credits:

Weekend stuff and assorted blog challenges...

2007-03-19T12:53:00.000-05:00

Busy weekend we just had... Caleb got home from a week-long training in Colorado. The first three days of him being gone were a little on the difficult side, both for me and the girls. He does so much to help out around the house and he's so involved with the girls; we really miss him when he's not here. We started to get into a groove by the middle of the week, and he got back on Saturday afternoon. It's so nice to have him home. Love you lots, honey!

Hannah had her first soccer game. We've had super nice weather all week, and of course the temperature drops to 39 degrees for her first game. I bundled up the little girls and we all ventured out into the cold to cheer on sis. She did great as usual. She's improved so much in only a year's time.

Caleb took Hannah and Taylor to the fish store this weekend. All of the girls have 10 gallon freshwater aquariums in their rooms. Taylor, especially, loves fish. She sings little songs about the fish in her tank. She wants to name her unborn sister Nemo. I think she's going to find herself a little disappointed when that doesn't happen. Anyway, I degress... The girls went with Caleb to the fish store, and for the first time EVER, they didn't see any fish that they really wanted. So Caleb came home with fish for our saltwater aquarium. We set it up about three weeks ago, and it's been cycling. In layman's terms that means it's getting ready for fish to be able to live in it for more than three hours. Anyway, I am happy to announce that the fish have now been living for upwards of 24 hours. YAY!

OK, enough of the really boring stuff...

A couple of blog challenges today, and I'm ALL CAUGHT UP! Blog challenge #4 is kinda hard for me to answer. It's basically "what do you do when no one is around watching?" The hard part to answering that is that usually, the only time there really isn't anyone around me is when I'm in the bathroom. And even then there are usually little fingers poking under the door wanting to know what I'm doing. So, I guess I'd have to answer that I'm probably going to the bathroom or taking a shower. BUT... right now I am actually completely alone because both little girls are napping AT THE SAME TIME! So I am on the computer... blogging and hoping to scrap a quick digital page. So I guess that's the other thing I do. I spend entirely too much time on the computer. Boring answers. Sorry, folks.

And blog challenge #5 is to share a website that I enjoy going to. Since most of the sites I visit are scrapbooking related, I'll leave those out. But I do go to a couple of others throughout the day. Here are a few links:

Our Daily Bread - a daily devotional
FatWallet Hot Deals
Web Sudoku - ADDICTIVE!

So there's a short list of completely random places that maybe you've never visited before. Enjoy. I'm going to work on that page now...

OK... edited this post to add the page I made. Simple and reasonably quick...

Click here to see credits...

Blog challenge #3

2007-03-16T23:07:00.000-05:00

I meant to include this with the last post, but since I didn't, I'll do it now.

I'm a blogging fool.

OK, so the third blog challenge is to tell about a fad I had to be a part of. I can think of several fads that I was a part of when I was younger. Nothing now. I don't care much about what people think now, so partaking in a particular fad at this point in my life is just too much effort. Although I guess there are people who think having a blog is a kind of fad, so I guess that could count for now.

Anyhoo... when I was younger...

banana clips
neon clothing
pegged jeans
big hair (I need to dig up a few pics of this... HILARIOUS!)
dangly earrings
MC Hammer pants
I owned a few Swatches back in the day

I'm sure there are a gazillion more, but I just can't think right now. Too tired I guess.

I'm going to bed now.

10 things that make me happy and other stuff...

2007-03-16T22:48:00.000-05:00

Blog challenge #2.

10 things that make me happy...

This should be pretty easy. I could come up with 50 things if I needed to. These are in no particular order...

1. The smell of my girls' hair after a bath.
2. Weekend naps.
3. Uninterrupted sleep at night.
4. My husband's sweet little surprises for me. Like when he knew I was craving a 100 Grand candy bar. When he went to the convenience store to pick up something else, he bought me all of the 100 Grand bars they had left. Something like 34 candy bars.
5. Holding hands with my husband.
6. Snuggling with my husband.
7. Watching Lexi run up to her daddy with her arms in the air when he comes home from work. The first thing she wants him to do is pick her up. This might not be a big deal to some people, but this little girl didn't even lay eyes on her daddy for the first time until she was 6 months old. And that was only for two weeks. She didn't really get to know him until he got home from Iraq when she was 11 months old.
8. When Taylor says "Thankumadinner." Translation: "Thank you for dinner." She generally says this within the first few minutes when we all sit down to dinner. Such a thoughtful three-year-old.
9. Watching Hannah play soccer. She's so excited to be playing, and she's so fun to watch.
10. Having a little quiet "me" time at least once a day. Doesn't always happen, but it makes me happy when it does.

There. 10 things. I could have put a bunch more, but I'll save them for another day when I can't think of anything to write about.

On another note, I didn't do any pages today. I napped when the girls napped because I had such a bad headache. It was worth it, because I felt better when I woke up.

I think...

2007-03-15T20:34:00.000-05:00

There's a blog challenge going on over at ScrapGal, so I decided that maybe it would get me blogging on a semi-regular basis. I'm only three blogs behind. The first challenge is "I think..."

I'm probably supposed to come up with some kind of deep thoughts to go with that starter, but I'm not going to. I think I'm just gonna put a whole bunch of my random thoughts. So here goes...

1. I think I suck at blogging. But I'm gonna try to get better at that.
2. I think my kids are adorable even though they drive me crazy sometimes.
3. I think I need to thank my husband more for all the things he does around the house.
4. I think I'm going to get my hair cut soon. It's driving me crazy.
5. I think I need a tropical vacation.
6. I think Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies are probably more addictive than crack. Not that I've ever tried crack...
7. I think I need to go to bed earlier.
8. I think LOST better get better soon or people are gonna quit watching.
9. I think my husband rocks.
10. I think digital scrapbooking is super fun.
11. I think I've done enough thinking for one night.

I'll be back in a day or two to catch up on all these blog challenges.

Oh yeah... here's a digital layout I did today...

Click here to see credits...

Happy February 14th, Baby!

2007-02-15T13:54:00.000-06:00

That's what my husband said to me yesterday... seems a little unromantic to most, I'm sure, but if you were married to this man you'd understand.

Everyday is Valentine's Day with him. He is so wonderful at doing the "little things" every single day. He helps with dinner... cleans up dishes... bathes the kids... brushes their teeth... scrapes my windshield and warms up my car when I'm going somewhere... kisses me when he comes home from work... tells me he loves me when he walks out the door... makes me hot chocolate... snuggles with me at night... pats me on the rear... you get the picture. All little things that seem unimportant to most. But they are important to me. I don't need a special day to celebrate my love for/with him.

With Valentine's Day being as commercial as it is, we decided not to celebrate "Valentine's Day." So we celebrated February 14th the same way we celebrate our love everyday.

2007-01-17T09:13:00.001-06:00

first blog...