before & after

I promised somebody that I would put a couple of pictures up of Trevor's room today. These are only a couple of before and after pictures that I have. I still haven't taken a lot of pictures of the other changes I made in there, but at least you can see what it looks like when you walk in. Two of the walls are red and the other two are tan. These pictures really don't show how much work was done in there, and how colorful the room is now. I'll have to get some better ones.

I also have hung a couple of vintage surf signs on that wall beside his bed, and I am working on the surfboard that I am making for the big red wall.

I'm so happy that he loves it.







I'm also done with Matthew's room now. I finished my 'altered' window covering (a roman shade that I turned sideways and re-sewed the straps on so that it would fit the width of the window.) Plus I got a cool bi-plane kite at a pilot shop that I hung from the ceiling. I promise to post some pictures of his room tomorrow! It is finally beginning to feel like home, and like we have some roots. Which feels great after years and years of moving! :)

a good mail day!

I am in love with the mailman, and the UPS man today. They both brought me goodies. I got a framed poster that I ordered, that is already hung up on the wall. I had a nail ready for it. (Just like Michelle. wink wink.)

Plus I hit pay dirt with my favorite catalogs. The only thing that could possibly make this any better would be if I got my CK in the mail. (Which should be here in another week, based on when Beth got hers. I always get mine about 2 weeks later. Grr.)

So I plan on spending some quality time with my catalogs later tonight.

Nothing exciting going on here. Happy friday! Woohoo!

three times the charm, right?

Hmm. Well in real life the letters don't go off the page, and FLY isn't crooked. Scanners are so weird.

Anyway... today I went to a friend's house. A lady in our ward, who every single Wednesday has anybody come over to work on whatever they want while the kids play. Some were knitting, some making cards, some not doing anything at all, and me... scrapping. Or at least adhering a photo collage to a piece of cardstock and doing a rub on title.

I didn't bring much to work on. Plus I didn't bring my stash of embellishments. Just rub ons. So I put this together. I know these photos have now been on my blog 3 times. Once from Matthew's birthday, once when I learned how to do a photo collage, and now in layout form. But hey, another piece of paper that is off the top of my desk and into an album.

Right now I seem to be more about getting some of these 'event' layouts done. I don't scrap in order, but my kids look through my albums A LOT and their favorite pages are the events that they remember doing. So I'm kind of scrapping heavy on those right now.

The best part of today is that Matthew had a blast! His friend from preschool was there, and I honestly didn't hear from him for 4 hours. The backyard is like a toddler haven complete with treehouse/swingset, sunken trampoline, sand box, and various ride on toys. AND I got to have some adult conversations during daylight hours! Yay!

activity day!

Can I just tell you how much I love my calling at church? I don't think I ever came right out and said anything on my blog, but some of you know that I am an activity days leader. Pretty much every other week I get to play and have fun with 16 8-11 year old girls.

I was paired up with a woman who is the -be all end all- of planning. Seriously, this lady was the Daisy leader when Megan was in Daisy Scouts. She is amazing.

Like today. We went to the church family history center next door to the Mesa temple. The girls all started out kind of quiet like they didn't think it would be fun at all. I mean they just all got out of school, so how fun does it sound to go to some old library, right?

A few minutes for a talk about what the center is about, and then they were all allowed to go search on the computer for some of their ancestors. Most of the girls were able to find somebody, and they just thought that was the COOLEST thing ever. I wish we would have had more time, because as we were getting close to needing to leave, they were all wanting to look up birth certificates and marriage certificates for their great great grandparents. It really is fascinating stuff, and I wish I knew more about finding information. My mother in law used to work there, so she is an expert. It was confusing for me and the little bit of information we found, so I bet once you know what to do you can find even more incredible information. Like how a person died from the death certificate. Just amazing.

So then we headed home, a caravan of three MAVs (Mormon assault vehicles) my car full of girls, windows down and singing along with the Hanna Montana CD. :)

I believe I am officially 'scrapped out' for the week. I have had the sea world photo collage sitting on my desk for such a long time. It feels good to have it on a page and put away finally. Look at how little those kids are! :)

I have been enjoying using a lot of the baby pictures that I found. I don't really feel like I need to 'keep up' with my scrapping, but when you get some done from so long ago I do get that sense of pride and accomplishment that Megan pointed out the other day! LOL! Does that mean I win?

I think you can read the journaling if you click on the picture of the layout. Unless you like to squint. ;)

The one of Megan in the bathtub (yes that's my 8 year old!) is a somewhat lift of the awesome Joanna Bolick. By the time I finished the others I wanted a no brainer scraplift.

Psst. Michelle. Notice that I used the Heidi Swapp journaling blocks! I use the manilla ledger ones all the time, who would have thought those cute pink ones would bring me so much happiness!

So now my brain hurts. It might be time to focus on painting walls upstairs for a few days now.

i LOVE kids.

Maybe she is practicing for the teenage years or something. Last night I asked the boys to pick up a pile of hot wheels and put them back in the bucket that they belong in. Of course there was a chorus of "Uuuuugh" complete with pouty faces and slumped shoulders. OK, if I make it FUN they'll want to do it right?

"Let's see who can pick up the most hot wheels!!! Woohoo!" - and they quickly start running around picking them up tossing them in the bucket.

When the frenzy is over, Trevor asks, "So what do we win for picking up the most hot wheels??? What is the prize?!?!?"

Megan, who has been sitting on the couch watching the whole thing pipes up with dripping sarcasm, "A sense of PRIDE and accomplishment." (like... duh!)

"Trevor... meet pole."

One that I have been working on during the day today. - While the little ones were watching a bit of TV.

Trevor had this huge, swollen spot on his forehead. One of many bumps, bruises and scrapes and I'm sure there will be a million more to come. Hopefully no broken bones though. ;)

Here is the journaling:

"Trevor... meet pole."

It happens at least once a week. I pick Trevor up from school and there is a new band-aid somewhere on him. I'm beginning to wonder if he just likes to hang out in the nurse's office or if this is something totally normal in the life of having boys. Boys play hard.

I asked Trevor why he was sporting the cool neon band-aid on his face. Like it was a badge of courage his reply was simply (like it was no big deal) "I was playing tag and I ran into a pole on the playground." Ouch.

- and a bit of Basic Grey for my girls Lisa and Beth. ;)

Isn't technology awesome?!?!?

A couple of days ago I found a box with a bunch of APS canisters. I knew these were from around the time when I was pregnant with Megan, and when Trevor was a baby. I had a few of the original photos, but thought that most of them were lost forever.

Can I just say how much Costco has changed my life??? I took the APS film to have them put on to disk. Now I have them digitally in my computer, where I can fix some things on the photos AND reprint them when I want! Woohoo!

So now I have a whole slew of baby photos to work on. Maybe someday soon I'll actually have my baby albums done. Matthew was lucky enough to be born during the digital camera age, so there are a TON of pictures of him as a baby. Poor Megan and Trevor, I tried to take a lot of pictures on the old film cameras, and I did get a lot... but so many were missed because I didn't know if I had captured what I wanted to.

I'm trying to keep my baby layouts super simple, since you know, they are baby layouts. I always like simple baby layouts. These are a couple of my favorite pictures of Trevor when he was a baby. It is hard to look at these and realize that he is the six year old that I just dropped off at school this morning! He still has those big, wide eyes. :)

a lesson in diversity.

I think I mentioned these two on valentine's day. My friend Jayme was laughing the other day when she was over and watching these two play together. Missy and Isis. I figured I should write a little something about them, because really they do make me laugh every single day.

Missy seemed a little sad for the couple of years that her dog friend Dixie (our beagle) had been gone. She was old and having health problems and had to be put to sleep. Missy, Dixie and Katie had grown up together since puppyhood.

Enter: The cat. I don't even know what it was that made me change my mind. I never liked cats. I had severe allergies to them when I was little, and even though it got 'better' as I grew up, I still got really itchy and sneezy around them. Better meaning that I didn't poof up and have a hard time breathing.

I started to notice within the past few years that I could stand being at a house with cats in it. Maybe this allergy was getting better. So we did it. We got a cat. Can I just say now that cats are awesome? They really are funky animals, and totally hysterical. We even added another one: Charlie Alpha Tango = CAT. We just call her Charlie. Charlie fetches, and meows when you even look at her. (She lives upstairs, since her and Isis don't get along at all.)

Anyway... I think Missy has found a new best friend. Isis. They are inseparable. They nap together, and play together. Isis will go up to Missy when she wants to play and chew on her tail, or rub up against her face and then leap back like, "OK, come chase me!" Missy, will chase her, and even put the cats head in her mouth and make noises like she is attacking her. To somebody who doesn't know that they are playing, you would think that they were killing each other.

The only time they get annoying is when you happen to be in the middle of the chase. I swear I have almost been knocked down by these two when they go running across the house or down a hall that I happen to be in at the same time.

Who would have thought that Missy the tough pig herding dog would have found such a little friend in a cat. I wonder if Dixie and Katie are up in doggie heaven wondering what in the world happened. Aren't dogs supposed to chase cats?

they're here!

In honor of Beth's post that was in honor of my post about couches... Haha!

It is funny that they don't look as enormous in the pictures as they really are. Even the delivery dudes said, "I didn't know they made couches this big!"

That leather recliner in the corner used to dwarf our other couches. - Or the recliner that I lovingly refer to as "Fraiser's dad's chair." Although this one isn't ugly or held together with duct tape. I don't know what a recliner ever did to me in the past, but I used to love on Fraiser how he hated his dad's chair. We would have gotten along just fine. I promised Mike that he could have his chair when we got our house someday. He never forgot.

Actually I do know... the recliner just throws a kink in my "must have everything line up" including furniture OCDness. BUT. I am learning to live with it, and actually do sneak sitting in it on the nights that mike is out of town. Shhhh!

I am so happy that these are HERE. I love them. These are finally ones that weren't handed down or bought in a pinch. I picked these out, I thought about them before hand and counted down the days until delivery, just like having a baby.

PLUS ... my scrap girls are coming over tonight! Which pretty much means that not much scrapping will be going on but more than likely eating a lot of sugary foods and holding Maddy's new baby girl Sadie. Who is finally making an appearance tonight! I get first dibs on holding!

Woop! Woop! Couch day!

I went out this morning to kill some time while my youngest was in preschool. Guess where I went?

Target. Are you all that surprised?

I found the CUTEST acrylic cups with hearts on them. OK, actually I knew the cups were there, I was just hoping that they would still be there since the valentine's stuff went on clearance for 50% off today.

I have no idea why, but the acrylic cups that they put out for each holiday make me so happy. They feel good in your hand and I even swear that they make drinks taste better! Even water. :p

I love Craigslist. OK, not as much as Michelle even though she claims to not spend the same amount of time there anymore. I have to admit that that girl has found some AWESOME stuff from there. I have no idea how she does it, but the stuff that she has found has made her house look gorgeous.

I love it though because anytime you get a wild hair you can pretty much sell anything on it. Last night Mike mentioned that our couches are coming today, so we better get rid of the old ones. He put an ad up and I am not kidding those suckers were gone in a half hour.

Now my family room is bare until this afternoon! Couch day! Tonight I am going to bond with them, as I eat popcorn while watching people starve on Survivor, and drink out of my new heart cups. Life is so dang good. :)

valentines day.

happy valentines day! I think even the dog and the cat are into it this year. This silly cat adores the dog. Follows her around, plays with her and right now is snuggled up next to her in a sunny patch out in the atrium.

AND Mike is actually home for the night! It has been a rough couple of weeks. He leaves before 6:00 in the morning and sometimes doesn't get back until 10 or 11 at night. So tonight was a nice surprise. So were the roses that he brought for me, and this vase of little pink carnations for megan. She had the cutest smile on her face and was SO happy to get flowers from her daddy. She has really been having a hard time with his new hours. Really missing him. He gives her flowers every year for Valentine's day too. (The boys get taken care of too, they just aren't as sentimental.)

Oh, and have I mentioned that my new couches come tomorrow?!?!?! Wheeee!

Happy valentines day to all! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO!

because I'm the mom.

Because *sometimes* you just want to sit down and watch an episode of CSI all to yourself, and not have to share!!!!

This was a note that I found last week at the end of the stairs. Usually we watch something all together, like American Idol or something kid friendly, and have popcorn.

This night the kids were in bed, it was late, and I had the munchies. Yeah, even during some graphic, bloody crime scene... popcorn hits the spot!

I know everybody else is on pins and needles just waiting for the much anticipated (by me!) season 4 of Kim Possible starting today! ;)

Is kim going to be able to handle the tweebs (Tim & Jim, twin brothers) starting at Middleton High?

Does Bueno Nacho get the bendy straw back?

How does Bonnie handle the new Kim & Ron dating thing????

Oh my gosh!

(I know, I'm a nerd.)

A what?!?!?!

My dog was in need of a bath. Big time. The thing is, she is not fun to give a bath to because she sheds SO badly after a bath that trying to catch the hair before it goes down the drain is a job for one other person. It has been too cold to give her a bath in the yard with the hose, and the mobile grooming people that we called last week never returned our call. So...



the other day I was in the car with Megan and Trevor. I had seen this car wash a thousand times when I passed it, and even 'thought' I had seen a sign that said SELF SERVICE PET WASH. Huh? Could that be right?



I turned in. I had to check this out.



Sure enough, along side the stalls to wash your car, are two stalls with a huge stainless steel sink and a ramp. A menu of shampoo/conditioning/flea & tick rinse, etc. Plus a "soothing" dryer to dry your pet. If you call hurricane force winds coming out of a vacuum hose 'soothing' to an animal I suppose. It gets the water out of their hair like those fan dryers at a car wash! Pretty cool!

So that was our big time family fun today. Take the dog to the self service pet wash. I'm not so sure that Missy had as much fun as the kids did, and yes, I had fun getting pictures of the whole ordeal. I highly recommend this for family home evening. ;)

And who knows.... maybe next week it will be the cats turn!!! (just kidding, for the animal rights people.) ;)

They are home! (and I need caffiene!)

I'm sitting here waiting for Matthew to get dressed. Mike and Matthew got home after midnight last night. Matthew was hard asleep when he pulled into the garage last night. He woke up and gave me a funny look like he didn't know where I came from! He was so tired, and he went upstairs to go to bed. This morning I have been hearing about all of the fun that he had at Disneyland with his daddy the past couple of days. It sounds like they had a great time. I plan on having some pictures printed for him later today, and I'll put them in a small book. I did this after we went on Thomas, and he spent hours looking through the pictures.

I am craving a diet pepsi like crazy right now. Yes, this Coca Cola girl has since moved on. I needed to make a change. My body just can't take the sugary regular soda like it used to. So I am taking steps, small that they are.... to better drinking health. I started drinking diet soda. (Lots of water too, but lets face it.... water isn't always that exciting.) Believe it or not, diet pepsi tastes so much better than diet coke. It makes me kind of sad to not frequent McDonalds as much as I used to. I have noticed that now when I order something for the kids that the guy who used to work the register at the first window is now gone. Now you order and they take your money at the second window where you get your food! Do you think that because of my $4 a day habit being gone that they had to let an employee go?!?!?!? ;) I'm sure I was a big chunk of his weekly paycheck.

Off to the grocery store with my little guy. It is so good to have him back home!!!!!

valentines.

I finished up my valentines that I started late last night. The little boy that I was watching today took a nap and let me do a little bit of scrapping. It always feels strange to me to scrap during daylight hours. This is usually a nightime thing. ;)

Mike is also on his way home, so I am excited about that. He had been in California with Matthew since Sunday afternoon. They went to Disneyland!

When Megan and Trevor turned four, he took each one to Disneyland. Just a special trip with each child and daddy. I love how the other two still talk about going there with him, so I can't wait to hear what matthew has to tell me later today!

Infact, Megan and Trevor were both so good about not being upset about them not going. Trevor didn't say anything at all, and Megan said, "I know I had a special time with daddy, so it is Matthew's turn." Such a big girl. Truth is... if it were me and I was 8 years old, I would be incredibly bummed!

We have all had such a good time the past several days. I got to spend a lot of time with M & T that I don't ususally get to spend with them since Matthew tends to monopolize my time. I really enjoyed being able to reconnect with these guys. You know what? I have cool kids. I just love them so much.

9 more days until new couches!

Sore.

I don't know if it is the bike riding, or the painting. Which requires some moves on top of a ladder similar to ones I have seen in Cirque du Soleil. All I know is that I must be getting to dang old for this. I absolutely cannot feel my butt or my legs today. Walking hurts. Sitting hurts.

On a good note though, another room painted and Matthew will get to see it tomorrow. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Target? I went there today for underwear and tape. I was happy to come across a couple of aisles of clearance bedding!! Woohoo! I had an idea in the back of my mind of what I wanted to do for Matthew's bed. It was a yellowish quilt from the surfer guy collection. No luck finding that, but I did find a really cool Woolrich faux suede down comforter. 50% off. Yesssss! It is the same color as the surfer boy quilt, but this has the softest microfiber side. - and yes, I checked, and rechecked.... it is machine washable! Perfect for a little boy. Then I got some cool khaki pillows little pockets in them.

I also stopped by Devine Memories today and die cut some things for Megan and I to make Valentines for her class party. I'm hoping that we get started on them tonight before I totally procrastinate and we are doing them at midnight the day before VD! I like to think I'm on the ball - occasionally. ;)

weekends.

Can I just say that this was a great weekend??

On Saturday we went out in the front of our house to ride bikes and scooters. Trevor for some reason hated riding his bike after the first time he learned how. He had a bad fall and was convinced that he wasn't going to ride it again until he was a teenager. After a little crying and coaxing, he finally got on it yesterday. Now of course, he LOVES it. (The first thing out of him this morning was asking when we were going to go for a bike ride.)

Then yesterday I finished painting Trevor's room (pictures soon to follow, but blogger isn't letting me post them for some reason.) We got his curtains hung and moved his video game stuff into its own 'gaming center.' Last night when he went to bed he told me how cool he thought his room was! That felt good, and I have to admit that I like hanging out in there now too.

Today Mike and Matthew went off to a super secret place. (I know where, but I'll reveal tomorrow.) So I had Megan and Trevor by myself. We went out for lunch and then did a little shopping. I kind of kept hoping that Trevor would forget about bike riding, but then I realized that I didn't have Matthew with me! So I could actually go on a bike ride past the front of our house! We took off on a 4 mile trip, over to a park where we played for a little bit and then rode our bikes back home. This made me realize how I can't wait until Matthew can ride his bike and we can do this more often. It felt soooooo good to be outside.

Tonight I am going to finish painting Matthew's room, so when he gets home tomorrow he'll be surprised that his room is done. Kind of like extreme kid room makeover. He isn't expecting it at all. Plus I plan on going to a pilot shop tomorrow and getting this really cool plane to hang from his ceiling.

It just feels SO good to have had such a nice weekend, and to have been able to have spent some really good time with the kids. :) I admit that sometimes we get so busy on the weekends that hours can go by with them doing nothing but watching TV or playing nintendo. I always feel guilty after a day like that, but sometimes that is the only way to get some of those big weekend projects done. They are just too little now to let them go outside without one of us being there.

Now, getting geared up for a new week! :) - and only 11 more days until new couches! Woohoo!

music.

Shocker! U2 has temporarilly been ejected from my CD player in the car. I have been listening to Chris Daughtry that Mike downloaded for me the other day. (Thanks Mike!)

I still think Chris was robbed. Then again it isn't like he is suffering without having the American Idol title. ;)

Also in heavy rotation right now is Green Day, which was sparked by the U2/Green Day song The Saints. I heard it at Chili's the other day (of all places) and came home and directly put it in the CD player at home. I forgot how awesome that song is. I wish they would do a whole album together! Mmmm.

I'm not dissing my boys, they are just getting a little break. ;)

9 more months!

Hey, just a reminder.

Halloween is 9 months away.

For some reason that just doesn't sound that far! Yay! I'm saying this as I still have my pumpkin pillow that Beth found at Target, next to me. :)

I don't usually have Halloween stuff out this time of year. I'm not that crazy about it, LOL! Matthew fell in love with this pillow and confiscated it before I could put the Halloween stuff away. It is usually on his bed, but for some reason it is down here with me tonight. I guess just to remind me.

I also heard the kids talking about spring break today! Is this for real? When is that... in March?

I am all kinds of confused.

Wheeeeeee!

Another day of not much going on. T man is home sick again today. We had a lot of good snuggly couch time yesterday, and today looks like it will be the same. Which is ok because it is overcast and drizzling. Add to that one 6 year old who smells like strawberry shampoo, and dressed in one fuzzy cozy robe.


This past weekend Mike and I went flying up to Laughlin. It was a date night, and we went up just for dinner. We went in this really cool plane that Mike calls the 'mini cooper' of airplanes. It is small, but really fun to fly in, and Mike says just as fun to fly. I'll take his word for that!

We had a nice dinner up there and then headed home.

Coming into Phoenix from the direction that we were coming was so pretty. You can actually see the glow of Phoenix at night from so far away. When you finally come up on it, it is just gorgeous. - Mike had called in to get permission to do a touch and go at Sky Harbor airport. That was FUUUUUN! We came in behind a 737, and I loved being out there with all of the big planes. We landed and then went right back up again. I have to say that I admire those air traffic controller people. They are the masters of multi tasking. When you realize they are talking to you, plus all of the other planes up there getting them lined up to land. The neatest thing was when we were taking off from there, and I looked back. All of the planes that were getting ready to land looked like fireflies. It was cool.



our ride for the day -

Nothing exciting going on here. Which sometimes is good. Especially after picking up the kids at school today. I came around the corner to get into the pick up line and there was a fire truck with lights on (Our favorite truck # E252) I have to say that is the worst feeling in the world, and I know that every parent who came around that corner had the same thought as me:

Please don't be my child. Not that you want anybody's children to be hurt or sick enough for the fire department to be called, but it is such a sinking feeling when you don't know what is going on.

I don't know the whole story, but apparently the little girl is fine. But it just makes me happy to say that 'nothing exciting is going on here today.'

Well, maybe one thing... and I am totally giddy. :) New couches. Mike and I picked some out this morning. I absolutely cannot wait, even though I am trying so hard not to think about them since they won't be here until the middle of February. I have to agree with Matthew who didn't understand why you go to a store and don't come home with them. I want them now! But I have to be patient. Which I am not so good at. ;)

I love being a homeowner. Isn't it funny how some things that used to be so mundane are so exciting once you have a house? Like couches... and rocks. You know, after going through the landscaping process I know a little bit about boulders. Big rocks are EXPENSIVE. I drive by other houses, or shopping centers that have huge boulders and I know that a big old rock probably cost several hundred dollars to over a 1,000 for one about the size of my youngest child.

And how in the world did it end up to be Friday already????

a correction.....

I must apologize for my huge mistake on my last entry. BETH contributed the heart brad! ;) And what an awesome heart brad that it is! I believe it makes the WHOLE page! I have to give credit where credit is due. ;)

I also have within arms reach, the very cool tube of Cherry Coke chapstick that was in my little swap item from her too. So I'm sure that was part of my inspiration for that layout. :)

a 10 minute layout!

I SWEAR it looks so much better in real life!!!

I wanted to try a layout that didn't scream 'Kerry' the linear scrapper. This one was actually so fun to do.

I found this old picture of Megan when she was 3 years old. (Ignore the hideously ugly couch) I miss those days when she was that little. So many things went through my head. Man, I spent hours crying because I never thought I would hear her talk when she was that age. We went through a year of therapy. In her quiet little way, she was still my sweet, happy baby girl.

This was also a time of transition when Mike and I were dirt poor. So unfortunately I don't have many pictures from that time, and developing was expensive.

*****

I used a bunch of things that were sitting on my desk, along with a few things that I got in a swap with my friends over the weekend. The Heidi Swapp words and the heart brad are from Michelle. Thanks Michelle! And the transparency and the tag I bought in Prescott.

The journaling says:

Megan loves all things girlie. Dress up gowns, feather boas and shoes. The more fu fu the better. Sometimes she will get dressed up and I get to eat lunch with a princess - tiara and all.

work in progress.

What a FABO weekend! Me and the girls headed up to Prescott for a scrap getaway at Lisa's house. As always, she is such a great host. Yummy food, and her house is GORGEOUS! Not to mention, there was snow on the ground, and little snow flurries when we went out to do a little shopping at her scrapbook store up there.

We left early on Saturday morning and Beth and I stopped to get all of the road trip necessities. Sodas, Starbucks, and pastries. It was just four of us this time, so we all were able to ride in one car.

Maddy was missing this year, but she had a pretty good excuse. She had her baby! Congratulations Maddy! Now I am expecting her to bring Sadie with her to the next crop so I can do some serious baby holding.

And Kaelene! She had a good excuse too! She got married! Wow. A lot of changes going on in our little group right now. Congratulations to her too!

Believe it or not, we all actually got quite a bit accomplished. I started 3 pages that I need to still do journaling on and add all of the fun stuff until they are complete. To me that is the best part, when you are almost done and you already have the foundation of the layout. I didn't have all of the embellishment stuff with me, so that is why I am finishing the pages up here.

It is always fun to spend time with these girls. Especially the amount of time that we got to spend together over this weekend. If a road trip doesn't tear you apart because you can't stand the thought of spending another minute with the people you are stuck with, it brings you closer together. (It was the latter with these girls by the way....) They all crack me up, and the things we talk about are equally funny. I love that scrapbooking has helped me to meet these people. I am lucky to have such great friends. (A little weird at times, but I love them anyway.) ;)

******

On another note.... but still going with the road trip theme.....

if you haven't seen Little Miss Sunshine. DO. NOW. I am always at the tail end of seeing great movies anymore since I rarely make it to the theaters unless it is a kid's movie. So when this came out on pay per view I couldn't wait to see it. OH MY GOSH. I can't even explain it. It is just an incredible movie. Every emotion...laughing so hard, then crying, then you just want to go squeeze your family at the end. (Also for me, it made me miss my VW even more!)

So another week begins.

hummingbirds.

When we moved into this house, there was a hummingbird nest in the ficus tree right outside the window. I got into the habit of checking all the time to see how mommy bird was doing, and if the babies had hatched yet. Finally one day, I put up the feeder, kind of in hopes that the mom wouldn't have to work so hard to go find food. (I mean, I would have appreciated if somebody moved the refrigerator closer to me when I had infants right?)

Since then the evil landscaping people have killed my ficus tree, and I put a new one in. It is much smaller right now, which kind of bums me out.

But the hummingbirds keep coming back. Lots of them! I still love to watch them, and they actually get kind of mad at me when I am out in the atrium. They will buzz and hover right by you like this is their spot... not yours!

Today it is raining, and I don't know if it does anything to make them more active, but they have been stopping at the feeder like crazy. Providing cheap entertainment for both me and the cat who doesn't realize that she can't jump through the arcadia door.

So I just wanted to share a picture of one of my visitors today. They are the cutest little things!!

In the Wiggles world.

I have good dreams, I have bad dreams. I have COOL dreams where I get to hang out with U2 and Edge and I are the best of friends. Last night though, all I can say is that I must really be exhausted. This has been a crazy couple of weeks. I have been really tired, and it is starting to show.

I spent all of last night (I would wake up and then drift back off into the same dream) as a stand in for one of the Wiggles. Now I haven't watched the Wiggles in years because Trevor was the last one who was into that. So I have NO idea where this came from. I just got a call, and had to replace Anthony for a few shows because they knew that I had seen them all and knew all of the words. I had the blue shirt and all. I swear, dreams are so dang weird. :p

Go Matthew! Go!

We've never been to Michigan, have no ties to it, and none of us are even into sports. But Matthew HAD to have this hat. He would stop and look at hats when we would go to Target. When he got a Target giftcard for Christmas, he decided that he wanted the hat.

Why a Michigan hat? Actually, to him it isn't that. It is his favorite color (blue) and has a big letter M on it for Matthew. That is how he knows that it is HIS hat, and not his brother's. (His brother - L.A. Haha!)

I have to admit that he looks adorable in it, and he doesn't like to go out without it most of the time. Which in a way makes me cringe because we always get asked many times while we are out if we are visiting from Michigan. Pretty far from it actually since this little boy is a sixth generation Arizonian! Most people just kind of giggle when I tell them the story behind the 'M' hat.

A NONsleepover.

That is about what it was. Megan had a friend spend the night last night. It is a new girl who moved into her school right after Christmas break. They have been inseparable since last Monday.

The story that this little girl comes with just reminds me how important family is. How important my children are to me. This little girl couldn't live with her mom anymore. Her mom has a drug problem. She would go to school dirty and the other kids would make fun of her and throw sand in her hair. Long story short... she was officially adopted by her grandparents. They just moved here and moved her to a new school to get a fresh start. This is what amazes me. They are nice NICE people, and I admire them so much for stepping up to the plate and making a decision like this when they were in their retirement years. It can't be easy, but I'm positive it will be worth it. And so nice that this little girl won't end up lost in the system.

This poor little thing, you can tell, comes with a lot of baggage. She tries so hard to be friends with everybody and even tried paying Megan $5 for being nice to her after just a couple of days of school. :(

She was so polite to us. It just breaks my heart to think of what kind of life she has had already, at just 8 years old.

Just go hug your kids. Realize what a blessing children really are. They can go through so much and still have the sweetest little spirits, and trust us even when their trust has been broken by so called adults in the past. I am so incredibly lucky. Really.

Brrrrr!

It is freezing cold. In the 30's outside right now. Does not make for a happy desert dweller. I am going to go hide under a blanket for awhile.

Until then, here is a picture of my little stinker today. :)

This also goes to show Beth's theory that Arizona really does have a season called Fall. Today was a perfect day. I noticed when I had driven by my ward building earlier in the day that many of the trees had dropped a lot of leaves overnight. It looked so pretty with the bright green winter grass.

So when I picked up Megan and Trevor after school, we drove by and got out to play in the leaves. The kids had so much fun! They ran through them listening to them crunch under their feet, and the boys made a big pile that they would run and jump in. It made for about 30 minutes of fun, and a chance for me to get some pictures of the kids. (Megan calls me momarazzi since I am always following them around with a camera.)

I have to add that it is truly frightening how much Megan looks like me in this picture. Seriously, if those were green corduroy bell bottom pants and a necklace made of macrame', that is what I looked like at the same age! Genetics are a weird, crazy and funky thing!

blah blah mornings.

A new semester at school. It is hard to believe. The funny thing is, in this photo they look much less enthusiastic about going to school than they did in the first day photo!

It could also be that we ALL are having a hard time adjusting to getting up early again. Christmas break spoiled us. Me especially. Megan was so helpful, and when the kids would wake up in the morning she would make toast or pour cereal for everybody. Which made it possible for me to sleep until 9:00. Those were the days. It almost seems unfair to be up before the sun is even up right now.

I'm hopeless. I need caffiene.

*****

Punch buggy gone BAD.

Does anybody else's family play Punch Buggy? You know, when you are out and each time you see a VW beetle you are supposed to yell PUNCH BUGGY! I think the old rules are you are supposed to actually punch somebody next to you and yell it, but I have changed the rules in our family to no hitting.

Anyway... our point system goes like this:

Old beetle: 5 points.
New bettle: 1 point.

Today after we picked up the kids from school, Mike asked if I wanted to take the kids and do an errand with him to North Phoenix. OK, technically it is 'family time' and I knew we would get dinner out of it.

We are playing our game, and I am all smug because *I* have 13 points. It is always pretty exciting to get a 5 point car, let alone 2! I was pretty stoked. Mike only had 3. He was driving, so he had a handicap, but he yells faster than I do, so it works out even. I also might add that this particular game was getting so heated that the kids bowed out and we decided to do teams instead. ;)

So feeling bad for the poor guy, I come up with a new rule. "If you see a VW THING, you get 20 points!!!" I haven't seen one in years, so I figure I'm pretty safe with coming up with this silly rule. I was throwing him a bone, right???

Would you believe we passed by a VW restoration place???? In less than 10 seconds, Mike calls PUNCH THING! PUNCH BUGGY....blah blah blah. I stutter and can't even call a one point bug. I'm just yelling, "Aaaa! Aaaaa!" Mike got FIVE 5 point old beetles and a freakin' THING! 45 points in one shot. Next time I'll keep my mouth shut. I'm a sore loser. :p

I know....it's long. Grab a soda and some cookies or something and read.

Before Megan was born, my mother in law gave me this great book. It is called Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It has been well read, and has marks on the cover from being carried around in suitcases from the trips it has taken, the moves to various houses, and several pages are dog eared. It is a simple book, each month kind of has a theme, and each day has a date and you can read just one page. It is a cool book to have throughout the year, as it starts on New Years Day. I also have enjoyed that over the years that I have owned this book, the meaning of it changes with your life.

Can you tell I love this book? Anybody who is into the current trends with scrapbooking would really like it. It is kind of along the lines of what Ali talks about with the everyday stuff being important.

Today's little entry is titled: Standing knee deep in a river and dying of thirst. Here is my favorite paragraph from the page:

The revelation that we have everything we need in life to make us happy but simply lack the conscious awareness to appreciate it can be as refreshing as lemonade on a hot afternoon. Or it can be as startling as cold water being thown in our face. How many of us go through our days parched and empty, thirsting after happiness, when we're really standing knee deep in the river of abundance?

Then I peeked at tomorrows entry, which made me think when I was sitting on the couch just relaxing and looking outside earlier today.

How happy are you right now?

Do you even know? Most women know what makes their parents, partners or children happy. But when it comes to an awareness about the little, specific things in life that bring a smile to our faces and contentment to our own hearts, we often come up short....

blah blah blah...

then this:

What is missing from many of our days is a true sense that we are enjoying the lives we are living. It is difficult to experience moments of happiness if we are not aware of what it is we genuinely love. We must learn to savor small, authenitc moments that bring us contentment. Take the time to slowly arrange a bouquet of flowers in order to appreciate their colors, fragrance and beauty. Sip a cup of tea on the front stoop in the sunshine. Pause for five minutes to pet a purring cat. Simple pleasures waiting to be enjoyed. Simple pleasures often overlooked.

Let us grasp a new idea this year. Let us grasp the awareness of what it is that makes us truly happy. Let us consider our personal preferences and learn how to recoggnize, then embrace, moments of happiness that are uniquely our own.

I know that this is an epic long blog entry for me, and thanks if you have read it all! LOL! I love this book. It is kind of like an owners manual for life. It reminds you of things when you start to get busy and caught up in other things and whooshes me right back to a level where I know that I am OK. I normally don't get all this 'woo woo heavy' on my blog, but in everything I have been doing today I keep thinking about it.

So the small everyday moments that make me happy include: getting an email from a friend or family member, that first moment after school when I pick up my kids and everybody is happy to be going home, watching my cat lay in a patch of sunshine coming through the window, (Laura knows the spot since she and the cat had to fight out who got to sit there!) snuggling with my kids on the couch on cold days like today, completing a layout that I LOVE, and that first sip of a coke in the morning! I know there are more, but those are the first that come to mind.

I'm scrapping tonight. So I'll post something later!

head vs. heart

I am not allowed to go to Petsmart ever again.

Last night after dinner we went to Petsmart to get some food for the cats. First of all, Megan and I head over to the horse stuff. I miss having a horse sometimes, and just the feel of picking up a bridle or running my hand over a saddle just FEELS GOOD.

Then over to look at the kitties. (You know, because it really isn't a store, to the kids it is an indoor zoo where you have to go look at all the animals, fish, birds.....) OK, so I KNOW I don't need anymore cats. Remember me? The one who used to hate cats? Well there was a big yellow tabby named Benjamin. He looked like Morris from the old commercials. He was cool. I had to be strong. No more cats.

Then a little yellow lab puppy that was supposed to be in the training class comes running up to me with total cuteness. Mike and I have said that when our current crabby dog is gone, we will get a lab. Not that we are hoping for anything to happen to missy, we are just planning you know.

I get over the giddy little puppy and Mike finds me. He tells me about this woman who was getting rid of a 3 month old black lab puppy. Oh noooo. Please don't tell me that. Mike and I kind of looked at each other, kind of like a staring contest to see which one was going to give in or be the sensible one. I wanted to give. I was this close to giving. A lab puppy??? CUTENESS!

Then I realized how little time I have as it is. A dog let alone a puppy takes so much time right now. I finally had to be the hardass and say we didn't need a dog. Especially if Mike is going to be gone for lengths of time.

So, I am never going there again. There is way too much temptation.

small rant.

Small rant. I swear, 2Peas seems like a bunch of old women sitting around trying to think about things to gripe about. Grrr.

Except Michelle and her happy post about Cathy Z'z blog being back! (Which I am totally giddy about too!)

forever friends.

Wow, that dark photo really shows how much lint is on my scanner!

This is quite possibly the easiest layout ever, heck it's almost criminal! All it is, is a photo and a sheet of 7 Gypsies paper. I really liked how the words fell on the paper along with the photo, so that I didn't want to add anything else to take away from it. I like to pretend I spent hours in Word layering all of those letters. ;)

This is just one of my favorite pictures from the day after Christmas when we were outside playing with new toys.

New Years Day!

I could probably copy and paste my entry from last year, since that is exactly how last night went. All that waiting up until midnight, only to be dissapointed by the total lackluster welcome of the new year by our neighborhood. Let's face it, we are a typical suburban neighborhood with lots of little kids. There are some parties, but for the most part I think people just fall asleep and wake up in the new year.

The kids stayed up and we stood outside in the cold. Finally we yelled happy new year and went back in. Mike and I were SO tired, but kept trying to stay up since the kids were excited. About 10 minutes before midnight he said, "I should have thought about this two hours ago...change all the clocks back two hours so we could have gone to bed at 10:00." Next year I am going to remember that. We could even turn on the New York station on the satellite to prove to them that it was officially a new year. Heehee!

*****

Today we took the kids out to lunch and then to Freestone park. We brought their new scooters with them. They were so funny. Instead of staying on the sidewalk, they found these huge dead grassy hills that they would ride the scooters down. They had a great time. The best is that they wore themselves out running back up the hill before going down again! Hopefully that means tonight an earlier bedtime for them. They need to start getting back into a schedule anyway since school will start again in another week.

Megan got a pair of Heelys yesterday. They are the shoes that have the skate wheel in them. She has been practicing so hard to get the right stance to actually skate on them. It must be a lot harder than it looks. I secretly wish that I had a pair. Could you imagine being able to push a cart around Target with a pair of those? Not that I want to cut my shopping time in half, but think of the square footage I could cover with those! Wheeeeee! I could knock down any other woman headed towards a clearance endcap like one of those roller derby girls.

Happy new year! I am actually so happy that 2007 is here. Not that 2006 was bad, I'm just happy to get a fresh start. To know that there aren't any major holidays or birthdays in our family for several months. I don't even have any resolutions to speak of. I know what I need to do, but if I write them down or even label them as resolutions, I'm bound to give up on them. I have to admit that I plan on doing the 'photo a day' thing, since, well, I pretty much do anyway. No big jump for me there, but I'll try my best to post them throughout this year. Um, starting tomorrow! Haha!

This should be a very good year! Best wishes!!!!

TWO posts in one day! I'm on FIRE baaybee!

Why is it that spring break never goes as smoothly as winter break? My kids haven't been bored at all. Oh yeah, it must be the hundreds of dollars worth of Christmas presents that is helping us all to keep our sanity! Amazingly everybody plays together and are sharing!

Which also leads me too... them letting me get another scrapbook page done. Thanks guys!

Here is one that I did tonight. It is funny how it isn't anything that I had in mind. I think I like it, but it is kind of funny how sometimes your ideas don't make it to paper.

Here is the journaling:

I know that I had my camera with me, as I always do, and it helps that you are always such a willing model. I'm sure I found a pretty spot and thought that the weather and the overcast day made for perfect outdoor lighting . I would take your picture really quick.

Looking at these though remind me of the day that we spent together. An appointment to get your haircut, a stop at Target, and to Justice to spend your gift card. No big events really, but while these are all good memories they are not the most important of the day. What made the day special was the time that we spent together. Just being mother and daughter. I love you! December 27, 2006.

I just realized that the first paragraph on the page says "I'm know..." instead of "I know..." so now there is a big fat letter 'I' sticker covering up my typing mistake! D'oh!

Happy new year, and happy one year anniversary!

I was the LAST person that I ever expected to start a blog. I used to look at Maddy's and think she was SO cool and so computer savvy. Far from this computer illiterate girl who pretty much only knew how to surf 2Peas. Believe it or not, I actually was the one who found out how to start one myself. Usually Mike is the first person I ask when I need help with something computer related, but I remember he came home from being out and I showed him what I was able to do. I was so darn proud of myself! I still ask him for a lot of technical help, but hey...I'll get there.

The coolest thing is being able to go back an entire year and see such random things. A lot of them I never would have scrapped, and since I don't keep a regular journal to write in everyday, so many of these little reandom things I know I would have forgotten if I didn't blog about them. (It was also fun to watch my ticker count down to Halloween!)

Sometimes I just type out something that I think is funny that my kids say, sometimtes I write about something that is heavy on my mind. I love that I am able to keep it all in one place.

I also like that I can share with my friends, and it has been an incredible way to keep up with what is going on in their lives too. It has been a cool way to keep in touch.

It also reminds me that I CAN put together a complete sentence without pausing or grasping, "What is that word again???" You know, that mysterious thing that happens after childbirth that turns you into a ... oh whats the word.... the one who can't remember words.....

I hope that someday my kids can see what our everyday life was like, and hopefully be able to see growth in the way that I think.

Happy anniversary blog! And HAPPY NEW YEAR to everybody!!

Big truck and small boy.

The planets must be aligned or something, because I found some time to scrap tonight.

No more breaks for me, because I forgot how much I really love doing this!

Just a silly one of my little boy who loves construction trucks - or anything with wheels really. ;) The journaling is probably hard to read, so here it is:

Matthew has always loved construction trucks. Usually they are working on the other side of a fence from where we are, which hasn't stopped us from occasionally finding a place to park to watch them as they move dirt around or dig holes. On this day, we went to drop off his sister at the church building and imagine how surprised and happy he was when THIS was in the parking lot!! Unfenced!

drumroll please......... my first attempt!

Pssst. Beth. Look what I can do! ;)

I actually got most of the way there by myself too, until I hit a wall and needed to ask mike for some help on the computer. (Little pat on the back thank you very much.)

Get ready for a lot of photo collages, because they are fun. Like these pictures... these are from Matthew's birthday, and I dreaded scrapping them. Now after putting them all on one single 8x12 sheet, I can order the collage from Costco, stick it on some cardstock, add some embellishments and BE DONE! I am pretty dang excited about this!!!

I'm always a few steps behind in the computer area. I'm terrified of the day that my children know more about using it than me (and let's face it, that day is near!), so I have quite a bit of learning to still do.

There was a comedian years ago that said something funny that I always think of when I realize how far behind I am. It was something like:

"On the information superhighway, I am on the dirt washboard access road."

Charlotte's Web

Mike ended up having today off from flying, so instead we all went out to see Charlotte's Web together. It has been FOREVER since he has had a day off, so it was really nice to be able to go out and do something as a family. - It was such a great movie. Dakota Fanning is absolutely adorable in it too.

Even though I knew what was giong to happen in the end, I still ended up getting teary. I think I really loved Charlotte even more since her voice is done by Julia Roberts. She has such a great voice for such a sweet character. Another one that I LOVED was Templeton, done by Steve Buscemi. I think I have loved him in just about every movie he has ever been in, plus he was in the Sapranos, that I love too. He just makes Templeton COOL.

The funniest thing happened on the way out. - There are several scenes where they show the smokehouse where of course, Wilbur is destined to end up until Charlotte comes along. So we are all leaving with that 'feel good' feeling of just seeing a movie, knowing that Wilbur is ok, blah blah blah....

To get to our car we had to go through a sidewalk area that runs behind some of the restaurants. Behind a wall, you see the top of a smoker from El Paso Barbeque... with smoke coming out of it and that yummy smell of smoked pork!!! Mike and I looked at it at the same time and just died laughing!! Talk about irony.

another confession....

I have a confession. This is either one of my worst or best things about after Christmas. The garbage. It probably isn't much of a secret that I have some Monk like characteristics. But I have to admit that today I am very proud of myself.

I patiently waited for the recycle truck to come pick up the can from last week. Waiting in the garage was a huge stack of boxes, cans and plastic. As soon as the truck came and dumped out last week's stuff, I broke down all of the boxes and put it all in the big blue can. Some things had to be put in the voids left from the boxes, like cans and plastic blister packaging. It is like a tetris puzzle to me. A challenge.

Now our entire Christmas (food and stinky stuff excluded...which has already been picked up) is all tucked in the recycle can for next week's pick up. :)

Life is good.

well that was quick

I HAVE RECLAIMED MY FAMILY ROOM!!

The tree is down, and the cat is ticked off. She thought she found a new favorite spot underneath it to sleep all day. She was seriously giving me the evil eye from a few feet away. I had to constantly remind her of where she came.... pound kitty. You can't be so pampered that you forgot that six months ago you were laying on a concrete slab. Reality check kitty. ;) Always remember from whence you came.

I did ask the kids if they would mind if the tree came down. Honestly, I would have taken it down on Christmas night, but I remember how much I loved the Christmas tree when I was a kid. I used to go sit and stare at it for hours. It could be that I was just watching to make sure that it didn't catch on fire. Who knows. We used to have those big lights that got really hot. Maybe that is where my OCD of checking and rechecking hot things comes from. Like candles that I KNOW I blew out, but I still have to go back and make sure the flame didn't spontaneous combust again. It is deep seeded in my mind from the old Christmas tree! See, now who needs therapy when I just figured that out all on my own!

Still, I am glad to have a big open spot in my house again. The kids kind of like it too since it has already been filled with another train track. - And was it MY idea to get the boys nerf machine guns??? I have been dodging flying nerf bullets all day. You have to love it though. They are having so much fun with all of the new toys.

One of the weirdest things was tucking the green and red totes back into the storage under the stairs. I really don't get into other holidays like I do for Halloween and Christmas, so I realized that I won't be pulling any of those color coordinated plastic totes out for many more months. Those boxes kind of give me hope during the summer when I see them and know that cooler weather really does exist here. :)

breathe in... breathe out....

Today has been a great day! It helped that I slept in until 10:00, which I really needed after yesterday.

Mike and Trevor went out of town overnight. Trevor has been asking Mike if he would take him flying, and he promised him that as soon as he was on winter break he would. Tonight they are going to see a movie and out to dinner. I heard from Trevor and he sounds like he is having a really good time spending some one on one time with his daddy.

Megan, Matthew and I went out and did a little shopping. I wasn't planning on being out today, but they both had gift cards that were burning a hole in their pockets. Matthew had a Target card and knew what train he wanted. There has also been a baseball hat that he has been eyeing every time we go. Funny enough it is a Michigan hat. We have never been in Michigan, let alone near it. But to him it is blue (his favorite color) and has a big yellow 'M' on it for Matthew! Several times today people would ask us if we were visiting from Michigan. LOL!

Then we went to use up Megan's giftcard. It was for her favorite store... Justice. She had been wanting a net canopy thing that goes over her entire bed. She knew that is what she was going to spend her card on . Happily, it was 30% off! Yay! Plus, she found a shirt that she fell in love with that was on clearance. I figured I would go ahead and get it for her anyway. We go up to pay for everything and a woman who had been in earlier had spent so much that she earned several Fun Cards. These are cards that you get when you spend over $50. They can then be used on your next purchase over $20, and they are worth $10 off. We were a lucky recipient of a nice random act of kindness. Megan got both her canopy and her shirt for the value of her giftcard. She was so happy that she was able to buy both of the things that she wanted all by herself.

Then we went out for dinner at Chili's, and are planning on a girl night tonight complete with doing nails and watching Cheaper By The Dozen together. Matthew has been playing with all of his new toys, so it has been pretty quiet and relaxing. It just feels so good. I think this is the best part of the Christmas season. It feels like things are kind of back to normal, and we are able to spend time together since the kids have a couple of weeks off.

Finally, it feels like I can exhale! Now if I can just reclaim my family room by taking the tree down!

silent night.......

Finally. All is calm, all are tired.

It never ceases to amaze me how several months of preparation, shopping, hiding, wrapping, all can come to an end so quickly. Like every other family with small children, ours went through the first wave of Christmas presents in a flash. The first wave being the ones from santa and mommy and daddy. The second and third waves being from nanas and papas and aunts and uncles that came over later in the day. Each pile of gifts were torn open. I told my mom that it doesn't seem right... that the unwrapping should at least take a few more minutes than the time it took you to stand in the checkout when buying said presents.

I hope next year to switch things and everybody take turns opening a present while the others watch for a few minutes. We figured that wouldn't seem like something Matthew would be able to handle quite yet. No matter what, it was still a very nice day. I am amazed at how much my children got, and the neat things that we got too.

The boys both fell asleep pretty easily last night, but Megan wasn't able to. I finally got into her bed to play with her hair and hope to get her to sleep around 11:00. She kept talking, and finally I had to pretend I was asleep so she would stop. Poor thing. I could hear her whispering while she counted down from 100 several times. Finally she nodded off. Then it was go time! Get those presents out, take a bite of the cookies left for santa and go to bed.

5:45 in the freakin' a.m. and Megan comes in to wake me up. Did I even go to bed last night???? The boys were still sleeping so hard that I got up with megan and said that she could open her stocking stuff and play with that for awhile. That kept her busy while she watched the clock. At exactly 7:00 she woke everybody else up. Then the sound of thundering feet running down the stairs.

Matthew had specifically asked for this big Curious George that he saw a few months ago. I thought for sure he would have forgotten about it, but sure enough when he saw santa THAT is what he asked for. It was sitting on top of the tree, and Matthew just laughed so hard when he saw it. Megan and Trevor got what they asked for and then some. Megan wanted a Razor scooter, and Trevor wanted a Pokemon game for his nintendo.

Now hopefully a couple of hours before other people were going to show up. I also had gotten mike a big lego airplane that came with all the fun stuff inside too... like a beverage cart complete with little glasses...and rows of seats. Every boy needs a toy on Christmas morning right? He put that together before even taking a shower. I think he liked it!

Soon Mike's parents showed up with Cheryl, then my mom and sister and her family. My dad unfortunately was sick and couldn't come. It was weird without him here. He ususally loves Christmas. :( - But it was the second and third wave of presents. More stuff. More paper, more sorting and cleaning up. It was awesome.

The adults somewhat got a break because of my nephews. One is 14 and the other almost 16. They had a lot of energy to play with my kids... who also had a lot of energy! I owe those two!

Somehow though, the time went by fast today. Everybody left, and we were exhausted. Trevor wanted to watch his new Pokemon movie, and I fell asleep next to him on the couch. I kind of felt bad because when I woke up it was dark outside. It hit me that Christmas was coming to an end.

So here it is, the end of another Christmas. I hope that my kids are able to remember today and hope that they have good memories from it. I remember how magical Christmas was when I was their age.

Now.........

I am going to crash.

I think they are ready!!!

The kids cracked me up today. They are SO excited about tomorrow morning. We have the same conversation pretty much every year.

In our other house that didn't have a fireplace, they would ask how Santa got in to leave presents.

"He has a key."
"Well, then how does he not set off the alarm?"
"He has the alarm code."

The past two years we have had a fireplace. Much to their relief because it has to be easier for Santa. Although, one problem... our fireplace is in an outdoor atrium in the middle of the house. So poor Santa still has to have an alarm code to get in. Things must have been much easier in the days when people left their doors unlocked. I don't think our kids can fathom that, and worry so much about santa being able to make it into everybody's houses on Christmas Eve.

I caught them today making sure that everything is clear for tonight. LOL!

Ah, finally... Christmas spirit.

Just a couple of more days! Would you believe that I am finally in the Christmas spirit too? Just in time! I think it helped a lot last night that Mike and I went out to finish up our shopping. My mother in law had all three kids overnight, so that left the entire night for mike and I to do everything without worrying about a schedule.

It also helped that yesterday was COLD. It was in the low 40's in the Phoenix area during the day, and I heard that the snow level was at 3000 feet. I'm pretty sure we saw it trying to dust the top of South Mountain when we were coming back from downtown Phoenix. Plus it drizzled and rained all day. It finally looked like a winter day. It was a bit uncomfortable at times, getting in and out of the car and going into stores or the mall, but it felt like Christmas. At least what appears to be Christmas type weather for us desert dwellers.

We went out for dinner, went shopping, came home and wrapped presents for hours in front of the TV.

I'm getting excited about Christmas day! My family, Mike's family, and their friend Cheryl (who Trevor instantly fell in love with when we went out for dinner awhile ago) are coming over. It should be nice.

Mike cracks me up. I think I am either the coolest (in my eyes of course) or the geekiest, that I now have a cell phone that instead of ringing has the sound that Kim Possible's commmunicator makes. I hope people start calling me! ;) It makes me laugh whenever I hear it. As you know, I think Kim ROCKS. :)

I think today I just have to make one more attempt out to Target. (darn!) My wrapping paper is running low. The last time I was there I couldn't find a cart to save my life, and I felt like a salmon trying to go upstream to the back of the store to find a box of kitty litter. I imagine today is going to be even more scary. Wish me luck. After that, I plan on shutting the doors, and locking myself in my house for the rest of the weekend. Snuggling with my kids who are home from school for two weeks. Yay!

Merry Christmas!!

random...random...random....

Trevor stayed home today. He was up coughing all night, and he looked like crap when he woke up. So I told him that he was staying home. Of course a few hours later he is fine and running around the house. So I decided to take both boys with me to do some errands. With a baby shower at my house tomorrow night, and Christmas this weekend, I couldn't waste a day. Whether I am feeling well or not. The way I have been taking it, you would think that airborne is candy. Plus Mike was nice enough to let me sleep in today to get some rest, so I'm sure that helped.

One errand was the Hallmark store. Holy cow, with two boys all I kept saying was, "DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!" I thankfully made it out of there after a small panic attack and I'm sure a few extra gray hairs.

Then to Target. I know I forgot some things that I needed. I even had a list. But they each ask questions every 30 dang seconds and my train of thought is GONE. I criss crossed the store about a dozen times remembering things that I needed. Ugh. I'm not so sure it was worth trying to take them because I'm pretty sure that I have to go back tonight.

*sigh* Little boys. We were walking back out to the car and I was watching them walk together in front of me pushing the cart. They were pretty cute watching them jump over every crack in the pavement. Remind me that someday I will miss having them go to target with me.

Speaking of missing, I miss scrapping. I don't think I have done anything in a month now! At least it feels like it. I want to so bad, I even wanted to try doing one of those Christmas journals....how in the hell do normal people have time to do that everyday plus the stuff that you have to do to prepare for Christmas anyway?? Psychos. They have to be. (sorry Jen, but you are amazing me right now with yours!) Maybe I'll do an after Christmas journal. With wads of wrapping paper.

That is pretty much the only update from here lately. I'm still pretty happy after Survivor last night. Next season looks pretty dang good too! I just love this show. It could also be that Jeff Probst reminds me of Bono sometimes when he is wearing the sunglasses. That gives me the warm fuzzies. Who knows. It is a cool show. I have to say that I would have been happy either way of who won. I was wanting Yul, but I think Ozzy was awesome in the game too. I think this is the first season in a long time that I wouldn't have been disappointed either way. (I still think Terry the pilot was ROBBED last season.) I'm still a bit bitter about that. Heck, I can't even remember who won at this point! That is how bitter I still am.

Happy last week before Christmas!

Yay for Yul!

A really quick update, since I am not feeling well...

but.....

I got one of the things that I wanted for Christmas!

Survivor -

YUL WINS!!!!!!!!!

Yes!!!!!!!

And my faith in reality TV continues.... ;)

Smart kid. Matthew told me this today:

"Dads go to work so that mommies can stay home and scrapbook."

I'm glad to see that he notices ALL the other work I do around the house. ;) But no matter what, it is still a pretty good gig.

I really don't like Maddy right now. I keep thinking of her perky self while I got railroaded into decorating for Christmas tonight. In a weak moment yesterday, I told the kids that we could put up the tree tonight after Mike got home. THE TREE.

Lets start by saying that I had to pull out about 5 totes of decorations before I could even see the box that the tree is packed in. It is all under a closet that is under our stairs, so I have to crawl towards the back, bending over trying not to hit my head. Of course with every box I went to retrieve, all three kids would follow me into the freaky dark little room that is under the stairs. It is L shaped, and of course all of the Christmas decorations are past the curvy part of the L. Each box the kids would jump up and down, "Is that the tree? Is that the tree???" Me: "If I don't have room to put these plastic totes, then the tree is never coming out!!! Now excuuuuuse me!"

Well now somehow the tree getting pulled out tonight has turned into decorating the rest of the house with Christmas stuff. Matthew keeps pulling ornaments out and placing them on tables and chairs throughout the downstairs. I can't wait to find all of those later tonight. I could say no, but he is having so much fun decorating. I am starting to see why my mom did most of the decorating while I was at school, and left just enough for me to do to keep happy. Smart mom! ;)
Just think though, she not only had to deal with putting each branch into the 'trunk' of the tree, she had to string lights and then deal with my dad and I throwing icicles in clumps all over the place. I'm sure there was a lot of late night rearranging by her.

Have I mentioned how much crap I bought last year at Target? I have to admit that I had some pretty sorry decorations for years. We had that "just got married, need cheap decorations" look, for umm... 14 years. I had a lot of nicer things in there, but I am so happy to finally be able to replace my ugly plastic bead garland that I bought at Sprouse in Wickenburg. So, I have to admit that I am kind of excited about how many things I had forgotten that I bought, that still have tags on them. Of course the best part is knowing that most of it I got for 75% or 90% off, so I just giggle at my $10 iron reindeer that cost me next to nothing! I have a little herd of them now.

Mike was laughing at me that some of the ornaments that I bought last year resemble pumpkins. They are pretty glass, and yes, now I see it. They look like pumpkins. Silver and orange pumpkins. Who says Halloween can't be a little part of Christmas?

So wish me luck. I'm going back out into the battlefield of tissue paper and ornaments. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. I reeeeally just wish that Maddy would bring her cute self over here and either help me or sing some Abba Christmas music while I'm decorating.

early resolutions

Oh there is no hiding it. You know what that picture says. Especially if you are an addict like me. ;)

I haven't had a soda today. One morning down doesn't seem like much, but when that is the first thing I need in the morning, you KNOW what a big deal it is!

With Christmas shopping I have also rediscovered the mall. And clothing stores. Somewhere along the way, after baby number 2, I stopped having any sense of style. I used to be a Gap girl, Eddie Bauer, etc. kind of girl. I wasn't totally trendy, but I had a little somethin' somethin' going on. Then I got lazy and into the habit of buying a new tshirt whenever I would need to go to Target to pick up diapers.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but you know what I mean. My comfort zone is ONLY that by now. I realized the other day when I needed something a little more dressy, that I really don't have anything! Except formal stuff left over from cruises. Plus according to one pea, I am a frumpy mom. Apparently I need to run out and buy myself a pair of kitten heels. ;)

Yesterday I found a ton of stuff on clearance at Dillard's. (See, the best part of living in Phoenix is all of the summer stuff is on clearance, but we wear that stuff year round because of the weather! It's all about the LAYERS. Why can't I say that without thinking of Donkey and parfaits? Everybody loves parfaits!)

I was so happy that I actually found several things that came home with me. But it was staring at myself in the mirror that hit me. I NEED to do something. The thing is, and I have known this for awhile, that I don't really take care of myself. I don't eat well. I eat ... pretty much crap. A coke and a pop tart makes a great breakfast right? Somehow I don't think I am setting the best example for my kids either. Bad mommy.

So I'm going to give this a try again. Baby steps. To eat better. I am starting it now instead of January, because if I do that I know I am setting myself up for failure. I'm one of those that comes up with New Years resolutions and never follows through. Unless that resolution is to drink more coke or eat more chocolate!

totally random stuff.

Fa la la la la

.... crappy scan.

This layout almost deserves a layout about how it was made. The "chillproof" tag is what started it all. We had several days where it was unseasonably cold here. It is fine when we can get used to it, but it was seriously in the low 80s one day, the next day a cold front came in and the high for the day was in the 60's! Desert dwellers don't do well when that happens. We all seem to freeze.

Anyway, the tag came off the hat, gloves and scarf that we had to run out and buy for school the next day. It is a shimmery, pearl color. Cool inspiration can pretty much come from anything.

I took the photo that first morning before school, but didn't have it printed yet. I ended up at Shanna's house the next day for a little get together crop before she gets married. Michelle needed something from the store she works at, and being the VIP that she is, she was able to get us in after hours. ;) I found all of the paper that I wanted to use on this layout. Then, as we are standing by the back register waiting to check out, Beth notices some scraps in the trashcan back by the die cutting area. She picked it up and asked Michelle if it was the new bazzil bling paper. (It is just frosty cardstock.) It was a cool pearl color. Beth plops it back in the trashcan and notices some big pieces of chipboard in the trashcan. We start to pick out the chipboard scraps. (The were pretty sizeable scraps, usually we aren't so desperate!) Anyway... in the trash is enough of the bazzil bling left over to quickutz the word "cold", and somebody had also thrown away that awesome snowflake that had been die cut from the bling as well! (I added the diamond dust and it worked perfect!) I grabbed them. So now we are laughing that we are officially dumpster diving for scrap supplies. Never underestimate a scrapbooker.

***********************

Regrouping. It has been a week of regrouping for me. You know how sometimes things just feel like they are out of control? You take one step forward and two steps back? This month has seemed like that. In many aspects of my life. Family, friends, church, keeping up with the house, Christmas... pretty much everything. I think I was in a funk actually.

Somedays I just feel like I am treading water and just trying to make sure that I have accomplished enough at the end of the day so I don't start out behind on the next one. That is when I need to realize that some regrouping is in order. I think I started to realize it when I was at Shanna's house. We are all so busy right now, and each month gets away from us. I find that I really miss when I can't connect with these girls. Even though, sadly, some of them were missing this month due to personal things not allowing them to get away. But I always feel when I have been with these people that it feels so good afterwards to have caught up again. To realize how lucky I am with the people in my life. My family and my friends. I love you all. Even the ones that I don't get to see often. I think of you all the time.

Church. Sometimes it feels like such a pain in the rear to get up on a day when you feel lazy and know that you have to go for a three hour block. Then there is trying to get the kids to sit through an hour long of sacrament meeting, and due to the time of our block, I'm always starving during sunday school and relief society. - Once I go I always feel much better. I am so grateful for the church that I belong to. I honestly don't think it matters what faith you belong to, but just that feeling of coming out and knowing that you have reconnected with the Savior is an incredible feeling.

Heck, even my house. I was in a bit of a protest the past couple of weeks. I would do some things that needed to be done, but I never got to the entire house and always felt like I couldn't relax due to knowing that things still really needed to be done. I know the things could wait, but there is that gnawing feeling in the back of my mind when you have some whacked out perfectionist OCD about cleaning. Not to mention finally tripping over enough laundry scattered on the floor. I finally got it all done this weekend, and I feel like a weight has been lifted.

Christmas... Ok, still working on that one. I plan on getting the tree out tonight and I'm going to just let the kids do all the decorating of it this year. (I'm sure I'll go back and rearrange a little)

So, regrouping is a good thing. Just every now and then I need to remember... take a deep breath.... attack it all, or just reprioritize.

all I want for Christmas.....

I just love Thursday night TV! I'm getting really frustrated with it right now. This is what I figure:

All I want for Christmas is:

for Yul to win Survivor. I don't think anybody I have ever rooted for has ever actually WON Survivor. Come on, Yul totally deserves it.

The Office. I am so mad at Jim. I almost boycott this show last week when he and Pam said that they were just friends. Come on Jim. That new girl sucks. Pam is so sweet. I want those two together for Christmas.

CSI. I just want Grissom to stay. Enough said. The show will suck without him.

I haven't watched Real World/Road Rules challenge yet, but I want more drama!!! Tina never should have left.

I know, I get pretty wrapped up in Thursday night programming. I admit it. ;) But is my list too much to ask???