HO HO HO!

heres my kiddo at his christmas program---he was so much fun tonite. his class sang rudolph the red nosed reindeer (bet you didnt guess that!) he took center stage and as soon as they started singing i started taking pictures. then all he would say is "mom, quit taking pictures of me!!!" i couldnt help but smile. proud mommy moment~ 

due to popular demand....

im posting on my blog again! haha its been awhile i know but with everything thats been going on its taken a backseat. so here's the mega update:

*grandpa is still in the hospital and will get out on the 13th. thats good and bad news. he doesnt get to go home. he has to go to the skilled nursing unit at green briar. my gma was sooo upset that he wouldnt be home for christmas. cant say i was real happy about it either. but if the extra therapy helps then its totally worth it!

*phoebe's starting to walk--only when she deems it totally and completely necessary! thats a little aggravating...but shell get the point eventually (i hope)

*she is also totally afraid of santa claus! i think thats pretty funny actually :) marek on the other hand thinks that he needs to speak to him on a daily basis...

*so today im hopefully taking the kids to see santa (by myself --wish me luck!) making cheeseballs for EVERYONE ...and choco covered pretzles...AND doing some jewelry work on the side (with bothe kids...again with the luck business!)

*i just started selling memory works stuff..its been a bumpy start but hopefully ill get the hang of it soon! they have such great stuff that i cant get in a 100 mile radius (so if you need anything gimme a hollar!)

ok i think thats about all the updating im doing for today...maybe ill post again before 07 rolls in :) 

misdaventures in laundry

this is why you dont leave blue crayons in your pocket :) dont you love little boys!? btw my entire load looks like this... 

today was a bad day

my grandpa had a stroke yesterday. he cant move his left side (face arm leg) . those are the facts. what i wasnt expecting today was to see my grandpa as a husband. as my grandma's partner in crime. i dont know if i can totally put into words what i saw today. i was ready to see all the tubes and blood and gore--i can handle that . the flood of emotion was what caught me off guard. my grandma loves him and depends on him so much and i saw the pillar of my family fall to pieces today. he was scared. he was afraid. the way they touched each other and the things they said to each other made me view life in a new way. theyll be married for 55 years in august. and even though hes had heart trouble these past few months there was no doubt in my mind that he would soar thru all of that and make it to their 60th anniversary. now i have doubts. these people are my rock...the reason im a sane individual (some people would doubt the sane part). i know this is kinda a rambling thing but i just needed to commend them, both of them for their dedication to family and the love that they share. ive never seen him cry. and today he did--in front of me. i helped wipe the blood off of his face and held his hand when he needed it. i was his voice when he had none--it couldve been so much worse...it just made me fast forward in my life 45 years...is this how its gonna be with me and brad??

saturday blahs

im not doing anything special today. went to the store, saw some people, gonna scrapbook later (hot chocolate and scrapbooking!) gonna work on some christmas presents tonight. worked on my christmas list and budget (or lack thereof) dont have alot to buy except for the kids. mareks pretty well taken care of but all weve bought phoebe is PJs! shes hard to buy for. she doesnt need as many toys and stuff cuz shes still sooo little but i didnt get her hardly anything last year (she was barely 3 months old) so i dont want to jip her 2 years in a row. i just look at all the toys and nothing grabs me. *sigh* oh btw thanks to cam for my bat mask! i can now move on with my life :)

all hallow's eve

this is the day that Marek has waited very impatiently for! hes been practically ready to come out of his skin...jumpin around and counting down the days. we only took phoebe to family's houses cuz as always it was so freaking cold!! he had a blast going from house to house and it just made his night when he got "meneminems" and in case you didnt know --thats M&M's :) he even had a trick or treat song that he made up and sang as we went from house to house (think 80s hair metal) dont know where he got that style but we might have a future lead singer on our hands :) he was soooo tired by the end of the night he passed out cold in the car...maybe well hit some more houses next year...btw brad was appalled by my trick or treating skills ---i guess he thinks they are supposed to die out when you get older...thats why halloween is my fav holiday--i can still trick or treat by living vicariously thru my kiddos ...i dont think that makes me a bad person does it?? :)

bat-tastic

here's our pumpkin for this year...Marek decided on this one and after we carved it he changed his mind! maybe next year phoebe will actually have a vote too!

Its Party Time!!

we had a blast doing the party thing! the kids had ghost cookies and other treats (green foamy punch yummm) we colored and painted pumpkins (i think every one was a little nervous about that!) we had a costume contest and of course EVERYONE won something (they were all so cute how could any one choose?!) and they got a big goodie bag of treats --the jelly beans were esp for my special girl Clara (she loves those darn things!) i cant wait to do this again next year...

let the Halloween festivities BEGIN!!....

this past saturday we took Marek to the Halloween carnival at the National Guard Armory. He always has a ball...and this year is no different. He wanted to be a knight...but not just any ol' knight---a BAD knight! and hell get really offended if you forget that little adjective :) That pretty lady in a princess costume is my best friend's mom. she looks forward to seeing him in his outfit every year. and i must admit i love to make his costume just to get the ohhs and ahhs from onlookers and the "oh wow did you make that?" call me crazy :)










we planned on taking phoebe this year but it was just too cold and nasty outside and she's already got a runny nose. so maybe next year huh!? shes his princess..and i cheated and borrowed a costume for her this year but i should get points for making her princess hat (and it sounds alot easier than it was believe me!) next friday is the Halloween party at my house and i cant wait to see what that turns out like. im sooo excited!! this is my favorite time of the year and in my opinion it goes WAY too fast

 

I WANT MY SEI!

i have this problem... with this paper. i want all of it all the time! and not just this line but this BRAND...they always have the coolest stuff. so much fun to use!

i should be getting my cosmo cricket anyday now. im sure youll be seeing a post about that too. i bought the whole line of the christmas paper that just came out and some of the wanted too. ive never used it before but it looks gorgeous! cant wait to get my scrappy paws on it! 

our day at the Maze

im only running slightly behind here...we did this last weekend! we took the kids out to daze in a maze south of covington and had a blast!!! they had a small petting zoo (when i say small i mean some kittens some ducks and sheep 2 horses and some cows) but they also had some adorable potbellied pigs!





even phoebe got in on the fun..she got to play with the kittens and as always...anything with fur is a "kittie" the cows were kitties and ducks were kitties and the cats were kitties!



then we actually started in on the maze...we gave marek the map and just let him be the "lay-der" weve argued and argued with him about the correct way to say LEADER but he still insists its layder...so whatever. it was kinda fun not having a specific direction...everytime we got to a dead end marek would say "oh no were doomed!" my kids are nothing if not dramatic! :)

he got super excited when we found the halfway point and the flags and stuff. there was a TON of the maze we didnt even attempt because the kids got tired...id like to go back one day with out them just to see if i could get thru it---me with no sense of direction :)

 

at the patch

so here we are at the pumpkin patch...marek had fun..of course that means i didnt get any really great shots of him either...always on the move! phoebe didnt want to be held either so in all of our pictures shes squirming to get down! did manage to get a few good shots in so i do have something to scrapbook :) and i will have another chance to get the awesome fall photos that elude me. me and cammeron are going to daze in a maze on friday with all our kids (should be fun) im thinking about submitting layouts to some calls and contests. thats never really been a driving force for me but im just a little curious---am i good enough??well see i guess


 

holiday frustrations

sooo... i was starting to make my kids' halloween costumes . phoebe is going to be a princess (at the request of my son!) and marek is going to be a "bad" knight. i was highly disappointed in the selection of fabric in this hell hole town! i went to hancocks and found nothing for her princess hat (unless i wanted orange and black) and didnt find anything at all to resemble marek's chainmail material. so went to the lob. they were just a smidgen better and i got stuff to do her hat BUt nothing for the chainmail...and they actually told me to try to buy the costume instead of make it! obviously i dont wanna buy a CRAPPY costume otherwise i would be a walmart fighting the crowds for another horrible costume! i cant justify a trip to the city right now just to see if a few stores might have the fabric im looking for (although the day without children would be nice) if anyone has any kind of suggestions im completely open to them...sigh...why does everything have to be so stinkin complicated>??!!
and ive cut my christmas cards already...getting ready for the christmas card crop-im actually excited about cards can u believe it :)

halloween party invitation

so here it is...im pretty proud of it! although its not an original idea and cammeron actually made me an example to use :) i stamped where and when stuff on the inside using my awesome new ctmh stamps (mmm stamps!) i didnt make a ton so it didnt take me long but even if i did make alot of them its a pretty easy one to mass produce. i was so excited to get them going and now i have a list of supplies for the actual party...i cant wait ...now i have to make costumes (sigh) a mini martha stewarts job is never done :) 

Party day

so this was Phoebe's first birthday...went pretty well i guess. Stayed up til 3am decorating and icing the cake-why do i do that EVERY year?! i always think its gonna look like crap but in the end it looks pretty good i think (for an amateur) got a few good pix (phoebe was not very co-operative) neither was her brother on his first bday...all he wanted to do was play with the balloons-he didnt care what was in the packages! When we gave her the cake to dive in on she was very polite...just dipped her finger in there and licked it off-i got antsy and grabbed her hand and smooshed it in there but that didnt phase her. she just went back to dippin her finger again. got some great presents so thank you everyone who came..cute clothes fun toys yummy cake...cant ask for more right?

 

after crop hangover

thats what i feel like today...after running around like mad the past 3 days - its finally over...im a little disappointed in the amount of pages i got done...but the quality is by far getting better. now i just wish i could do quality in a short amount of time! i feel like i couldve utilized my time better but i spent alot of time helping others and socializing :) i feel though that i got to know a friend better this weekend so its a good trade off-got a new croppin buddy out of the deal too! now its crunch time and on to phoebe's 1 yr birthday party. i feel so completely unprepared for it all- and maybe its bc im procrastinating the whole thing..like maybe it wont happen if i dont make the decorations or something. that sounds dumb but i dont know why else i would do what im doing which is NOTHING! :) anyway back to the old grind

i luv parties

it used to be "i love to go to parties". The kind where the bass would vibrate anything that wasnt tied down-flashy lights-abandoned warehouses-sketchy people. those kind. NOW it the kind that involve cake pans and wilton icing colors. balloons streamers and fun curly ribbon! (isnt it crazy how much kids change your pov?) im having a ctmh party today and i was worried about what we are gonna eat and drink! btw its gingerbread cake with cream cheese icing...couldnt think of anything fun to drink (that didnt involve vodka!) so were just drinkin coke and water. but the main event is phoebe's first birthday party. Im not sure when exactly i lost control and started planning birtday parties MONTHS in advance. i know it wasnt mareks first party (although you can see symptoms of extreme OCD in the pictures of the table) but now its just way out of control. NOW i make all of my kids birthday cakes and most of the decorations myself (who needs hallmark right?) Everything is theme related. cookies punch cake even the wrapping paper and presents are theme related (my son turns 5 in january and i already have his superman party planned!) whats wrong with me?? why do i obsess over events that may never be remembered? i guess its bc i always wanted parties like this...and i had a few (my favorite was the one we had at the Eagle Arcade...anyone remember that?) and maybe its bc i want my children to know that their birthday is their special day. and that its special to me too. the day they came into my life and changed it forever. wow now im getting teary :) im sure ill post pix of the glorious event (sept 23rd) ill enlist the help of the midnite birthday squad (just me and cammeron...some squad huh?) this week ill be really busy with last minute touch ups. so i prb wont blog much...not that youll miss me or anything (my 4 readers!) and next weekend is my giant crop (3 days of scrappin fun!) and then ill be totally busy the whole week b4...just know that every nite ill be up til midnite stuffing goodie bags and wondering if my wrapping paper matches my table decorations well enough...and how the HELL am i gonna make my homemade birthday banner look the way it does in my head??
so ta-ta for now

garage sale find

went to a garage sale at the end of my grandparents street yesterday. they had a bunch of old things and random chairs and stuff. the best thing there though was this HUGE trunk sittin in the driveway. it was beautiful it was all lined with green paper and still had the box that sits inside. and i love that old smell. when you thumb thru an old book and inhale the scent from the paper. that smell. bought it for $10...i really wanted to know if there was a story behind that trunk. all the guy told me was that he thought it was prb 100yrs old or so..now its part of our family-to store blankets and handmade doilies from grandma...

Fall's on its way

...and im excited! my favorite time of year...i have so much going on this month im having a hard time keeping it all straight. This Saturday at 2:30 is my Close to My Heart party. So if any of you out there have any orders for me you better turn them in or come to my party! :) Its Lori's last party so before she joins the "private"sector again so lets make it a good one. (im making pumpkin bread to get us in the mood!) Then the following weekend is her last BIG crop. Everybody who is ANYBODY is going to be there! (i know i will) I think she has 3 seats left...itll be packed and well have awesome goodie bags and prizes-gonna get some cropping done while im there for 3 days *i hope* then the next weekend is Phoebe's first birthday party...I cant wait for her party but i CAN wait for her to actually be 1. She's already acting like a 1yr old (except for the whole walking bit). I found a pair of booties that she wore alot when she was born yesterday *tear* I cant believe its been a whole year! Oh well time marches on...

FINALLY!

today i finally got my scrapbook area going! so instead of seeing books in the living room, pictures stored on the fireplace and under endtables, and a constantly growing stack of paper and embellishments on my kitchen table all of that will be back in a place where only i have to look at it! :) its not totally done yet but its a good start-wouldnt have happened if CAMMERON hadnt been nice enough to get rid of a table that nobody wanted! :) so thanks for that! hope i can be more productive now with my own creative space! hope to get some pictures by the end of the week so i can knock out some more pages...stay tuned for creative GREATNESS!

...and here's Charlie!

Isn't he beautiful? Jen's so lucky to have a healthy baby boy. He was born on Sept 1. I was lucky enough to get this cute picture that looks like hes smiling :) Momma's doing fine and big sister Clara is in for a big adjustment. This lucky baby already has 2 nicknames-we were taking an informal vote in the hospital room...Mani-pooh or Man Cub. I think Man-Cub won out. It was hard to leave yesterday. I could've stayed all day and not put him down once! Can't wait to see them all again!

It's Alive!

Hmm. What's this do?