frogs

One small habitat $10.00

bag of aquarium rocks $6.00

water conditioner $3.00

frog food $3.00

net $2.00

glow in the dark plant for frog to hide in $5.00





4th grade science project African dwarf frogs adopted by Megan.... Free. hahahahaa, the 'free' is what cracks me up. These little frogs have cost me quite a bit so far, for being free.



The past month or so the 4th graders have had different little critters on their desks to observe for science. The first ones were millipedes, then these frogs, then next week are crabs. I told Megan she could 'adopt' something when one of the chapters was over. Personally I'm glad she ended up with the frogs. They are so cute compared to the millipedes! *shudder*



I'll post a photo of our newest additions tomorrow after school.

YO Maddy. I'm calling you out girlfriend....

I don't remember what it is you are supposed to do when you challenge somebody. Don't you slap them with a glove or something like that?

Let it be known, on this day, if she takes this challenge....

I know some of you watch Monk. After the season finale the other day, I was talking to her about it. I think at some point Natalie and him will end up together. Maddy thinks this is wrong and that there are no romantic feelings between the two.

I don't think that it would be ideal, because he still loves Trudy, but I've noticed that Natalie seems different than she used to in the earlier episodes. She's just a little too quick with a wet wipe, don't you think? ;) - and she's lonely since her husband died.

But after the last episode when she found him at the car wash after thinking he was dead had me thinking. You know how TV shows like to ruin everything and hook up the characters. Even if you want them too, the show always sucks after the characters hook up. (Daphne and Niles, Rachel and Ross, Pam and Jim...) but I can see it happening with those two when the show is over, for a series finale. I will bet Maddy RIGHT NOW that happens. What do you want to wager? I would like a case of coke. Mexican coke from Costco! What do you want if you win?

I know Maddy thinks I'm nuts. (But I bet I'm right. Haha!)

Game on sista!

little blog album

Still more random....

I need to get back to blogging at least, everyday. I'm all caught up on my little blog album I'm working on for this year so I need new stuff to print out and put in there!

It's an idea that started from Maddy. She is doing one in a different format, but the idea was pretty cool. It's basically like the Week In The Life class that we took at CKU, but for an entire year. It's great because little stories and some photos that wouldn't otherwise be scrapped get put into an album. And it is fast to work on too. Plus it houses my photo of the day that I have still been doing but have been horrible about posting!

I'm using a kolo album for mine. I have been using 4x6 prints that can slide in, but I'm thinking about getting 5x7s next so I just have a little bit of trimming to do. Either one works really, but the OCD in me doesn't like that tiny bit of manilla paper showing from the edges of the smaller photos.

I just haven't had time to do big pages like I used to. I'm not forgetting them, but this at least makes me feel like I've done something.

It has already been fun to go back to the earliest part of January to remember little things I had already forgotten. Ha, like being "fired!" - Or photos I had taken just because I was bored and had a camera with me. Like the obligatory photo of myself in the car side mirror that most scrappers have done. I was waiting in the pick up line at school for Matthew. But hey, it gets ME in the album, and the camera covers up most of my face. You can see the cool zig zag part on my fabulous hair though. (Thinking of June here) ;)

Trevor is home with me today. Fever and general yuckiness. Not that I'm trying to be negative, but you know how it goes when ONE gets sick. It means it's bound to hit somebody else, then possibly one more, and then usually ME. Aw, and it's the beginning of the week.

Oh and when I find a new favorite thing to eat I tend to eat it so much and pound it into the ground. Right now my current addiction is a grilled pepperjack cheese sandwich and a small V8. Mmmm.

random

Nothing really exciting to blog about, but I have some random things I’ve been thinking about.

I wish I had an English accent. I could listen to a person with a British accent read the phone book for hours. I would like to sound that cool.

I wish U2 and Green Day would do an entire album together.

The weather is perfect, and the trees are starting to get new leaves.

While waiting at the doctor today I realized I had rubber lettuce and bologna in my purse. A pair of socks, a box of raisins and a small collection of cars. Why am I carrying this stuff around with me?

All three of my kids must be in a growth spurt right now. They are seriously eating… A LOT.

And speaking of U2, right now I’m sitting here, taking a break from the daily stuff and watching one of my U2 concert DVDs. Man, I love these guys. I swear they are like a drug. If I’m ever tired or bummed nothing can bring me up again like them. It seems so weird that it’s been like this for sooooo long. 1983. War album. Ever since then, I feel like I have had a soundtrack to my life. Certain songs from different eras can put me back in a time and place so quickly and bring back memories. Like musical scrapbooking.

I’m always so glad that I fell in love with a band that is still going. I STILL have stuff to look forward to. I don’t know if Mike ever thinks about it, but thank goodness he liked U2 girl of Corona del Sol, and I wasn’t given the nickname of Dexys Midnight Runners girl (who??? My point exactly.) instead because the poor guy still has to listen to U2 every. Single. Day. (Or maybe that’s why he took a job where he has to fly back east for weeks at a time. Hmmm.)

One love. Peace out ya'll.

SCORE!!

Hey, have I ever mentioned how much I love Target?

I have to give credit where credit is due here. I 'like' valentines day. I'm usually not crazy about it enough to decorate or anything like that. So the thought of hitting Target for valentine clearance hadn't even occured to me.

Until Maddy called me on Friday morning to ask me to do some personal shopping. She needed more of these treat boxes for Ellie's birthday. Sure, twist my arm I wasn't planning on going that day, but for a friend I'll go to Target. ;)

I found her boxes and then found some other stuff I thought I needed. A red velvet cupcake kit and pink sugar cookie kit, complete with cookie cutter and sprinkles. Plus some melting chocolate, and a couple of silicon baking pans with heart shapes to make muffins or heart shaped brownies or something. All of this was 50% off and super cheap. I figured one of the kits would be a good weekend project for the kids and I to do.

Then as I'm in bed last night I'm starting to obsess with, "Why didn't I get that? Or this?" Sure enough first thing today we end up at Target again. Only today stuff was 75% off. OK, so here is where Maddy comes in. The girl is brilliant. You all know her party making abilities and how Ellie has had the most cool and incredible parties right down to the perfect invitations.

Megan's birthday is in October, but maybe I should get some treat boxes for goodie bags. They'd be cool to have around anyway. They don't say valentine anything on them. Hmm, oh! I need paper plates! 40 cents for 10 paper dinner plates, desert plates, treat boxes... oh, pencils for treat boxes, little pads of paper, drink stirrers, cups.... I went a little crazy. Even the metal tree for birthday cards. Yeah, Megan's party this year is going to be themed around the cupcake and heart designs on the valentines stuff. We're both pretty excited about this. - and the best is it was all under $20.

Plus I got enough treat bags for next year for all three of the kids school parties, and adorable Lego valentines for Matthew. Bring it on. I'm ready for next year.

I love Target. I do. I reeeeally do.

Whew, now that little milestone is over.

First it started with lots of tears and reluctance, along with screams of, "But I can't do this!!!"

Then the same with this one who pleaded and promised that he'd learn to ride his bike when he turned 12 years old. "I promise I'll do it if we can just wait awhile!!!"

So after our history with Megan and Trevor and the trail of tears, I expected Matthew to be the same and wasn't too excited about the idea of teaching another one how to ride a bike. After the track record with the other two, I honestly thought that potty training was easier! Matthew was still cautious, but seemed more excited about learning how to ride his bike without the training wheels.

Surprisingly he met the bike riding challenge a little better than the other two. There were a couple of tears, but it was only because he fell off once, but he shook it off pretty quick.

Could it really be this easy this time around? (Of course it was for me since I was just the one taking pictures and Mike was the one running back and forth.) But after a couple of times down the street we had a new bike riding pro!! Not only was he so happy about staying upright, but he’d see how fast he could go, and how quickly he could stop so he could admire the skid mark behind him. Even the one time he forgot to use the brakes and ended up in a bush didn’t seem to extinguish his determination to go faster next time! Yessss. The last one out of the three!

Bike riding freedom!

OHMYGOSH.

Hello hello......

Happy early valentines day. Normally I'm not that mushy about valentines day anymore. I mean Mike and I have had 20 of them together now. 20!! Holy cow. But being that he was home this week, and my mom willing to watch the kids for an evening, we had a date night.

We went out for dinner and then to see: U2 3D at IMAX.

Oh my gosh. Chills, goosebumps and happy watery eyes. I mean I got to see the sweat on Edge's forehead. (Yes, that is a very good thing.) This is pretty much what I invision heaven to be like. Front row seats at a U2 show. Complete with digital sound. Mmm mmmmm. I still ADORE these guys. :)

Look, I gotta go, yeah I'm running out of change....

Like.....WHOA!!!

Yeah, I've been a bad blogger. I don't know, why. Partly I haven't been feeling it lately, and partly because I have been using my laptop more and the photos are downloaded into my other computer. I wouldn't want to have to walk ALL THE WAY into another room to actually post from that computer now would I? ;)

Here I am on the laptop again though.... so no photos today. I will get better about that again. I promise. I don't know why I haven't even been feeling the blogging thing. I like it. I especially love when I go back a year or two and see what I was writing about then. That is what makes this so fun.

A lot of my normal things I haven't been feeling much of lately. Scrapping, blogging, etc. I can't put my finger on it. I noticed that a lot of other people have been this way lately too. Have you noticed the major scrap people (Tara, CZ?) have all blogged about how they don't enjoy it anymore? It freaks me out a bit I have to admit. Because I love both of them.

I know I'm not quitting. I still love the process, and read blogs and 2Peas to keep up with CHA and all of the new stuff coming out. I think I'm just --- tired.

So, I was telling Lisa a story about something that happened yesterday and it had me thinking. Serendipity, crossing paths, and how small this world really is.

Mike and I were walking to the park yesterday a couple of streets away from our house. A woman pulls up behind us and says, "Do you guys live around here?" It took me a second to realize who this person was. When she's not in her element at school I couldn't figure out why she looked so familiar. - It was Matthew's teacher.

Long story short, she lives in our neighborhood and... on our old street!! Only she lives across the road that goes through the subdivision. Not like it's a big road, but it separates the two different builders in here. She has small kids, and there is a park that is on this street.

How it took this long for us to figure this out is weird. We've both been in this neighborhood for 6 years now and we had to have crossed paths a million times and not known it. Hey, she even drives a volkswagen which I am SURE I have given the 'cool, I miss my volkswagen' nod to if she drove by me.

The world really is a small place. There are so many times that in my own life I know I have crossed paths with people that ended up being a big part of my life.

The biggest example is Mike. Yep... at my first job at Peter Piper Pizza I remember when he'd come in with a friend of his. He worked at the University Theater where they had to dress up in costumes for work. Mike and his friend wore black and white striped jailbird costumes. I remember them coming in to where I worked. One would come up and order the pizza, and the other would go play video games. (That would be mike) But wouldn't it have been something to see him and know what was going to be in the future? Doo doo doo dooo...

Then, to end up parking next to him on the first day of our senior year in high school. The first full year that Mike had started going to the high school that I had been going to. (He transferred from another school when his family moved to chandler.)

doo doo doo dooo....

There are so many more examples of times our lives crossed paths before we actually met each other. I mean, Phoenix is a pretty big area, so it isn't like I'm talking about a few square miles. The University Theater was in Tempe, miles away from where I worked. And still miles away from the high school where we ended up meeting. What was it about this paricular pizza place?

Even a group of friends. I can even apply it to them. Look, how many times did I probably stand next to Lisa, Maddy, Beth, Shanna, Michelle or Kaelene at Scrapbooks ETC before it took another entirely different event for us to meet. What if Maddy never said, "Hey come to Sonic with us for slushies!!" What if Lisa hadn't sit down right next to me (after both of us almost bailed for not wanting to go meet new people!) I must have looked like a crazy person carrying my pizza box of all of my scrap belongings (Oh those were the days before multiple carts! Haha!) back and forth across the parking lot. Should I go? No. Ok, I'll go. No. I can do this at home. No, I'll go... ugh... just go already.

Granted, that was a scrap related event, but still, two of those people weren't even there that night, (Beth made an appearance to take pictures) and after Maddy kidnapped me I didn't know if I'd ever be able to get in touch with Lisa again. (After finding out that we were long lost sisters after all.... who needs therapy when you have somebody else who has the same issues, right? Haha!)

I just find this whole thing facsinating really. You never know that somebody you see on any seemingly mundane day may end up being a part of your life later on. Sometimes it takes several times for paths to cross, but eventually we collide. - and you are glad that you did.