Pinky & Sisters

hello 2012

2012-01-01T17:45:00.001-05:00

- goodbye 2011.

- I feel like last year was sad times and I'm sure there were definitely good times, but thinking about it, the sadness permeates all my memories and I am glad to have a fresh start and I'm dropping all the "weight" of 2011.

-Speaking of weight, Please let this be the year I finally stick to a diet! I started out with promise again today with a nice walk with the family, consumed many glasses of water, and counted my "points". I will NOT fall off the wagon during March! I'm glad I sucked down three of Grandma Sally's cookie bars yesterday! The guilt makes me too self conscious to look at cookies/candy today!

- New Year's Eve was spent enjoying what has fast become a Schneider classic evening, Karaoke! Santa brought the girls drums and microphones. Grandma gave Nora a guitar for Christmas and with some support from YouTube and an iPad, we were singing our hearts out!
Our favorites: Blackbird, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift (Nora) Neil Diamond (Craig) Jolene (me!) and Charlotte loves Momma Mia! I am frightening esp. when I'm channeling "Smells like Teen Spirit"! (hello hello hello!)

-Girls fell asleep before midnight, but due to my obnoxious horn blowing, they woke up to see a little off the ball falling! Gaga and Bloomberg sharing a smooch was disconcerting, though!

-After my December Daily failure, I'm hesitant, but I'm going to attempt a Project Life this year. It will be fun. :) Nora and Charlotte are on board and have already contributed some drawings for our title page! It's going to be a true family journey!

- So yay for 2012! I'm looking forward to this year! Happy New Year all!

scrappin again

2011-11-14T14:19:00.002-05:00

I have many a Studio Calico kit sitting unused.

It was time to break them open.

My kits pretty much get combined with the previous month's kit and everything else on my desk.

I can't tell the difference in what came in September to what I received in November.

Then when I'm sick of playing with it, everything broken down and combined with regular old stash.

Love that new iPhone!

I haven't used my camera in so long!

Well, I broke it out to take photos of these layouts,

but it's usually iPhone all the way, baby!

Last Friday, we had some snow while we were sightseeing at Letchworth State Park.

It made me happy because I LOVE snow!

I think it's great and living in western NY, we get LOTS!

Where has the month gone?

2011-10-25T09:26:00.000-04:00

This month has flown by!

So I'm in the mood for a quick recap before I forget what we've done!

We're in full swing with red ribbon week at school.

Last week I took these photos because each girl had to send in a picture of then being "helpful".

Yes, Charlotte's photo is totally staged and Pinky was not a willing participant!

She was "helping" me feed the dog aka hold dog hostage with a bag of kibble while I took several unsatisfactory photos because they were holed up in a dark corner of my scrap room!

Miss Nora's photo is totally genuine.

She did empty that dishwasher and put away every dish!

Bravo Nora!

Playing with my new iPhone means taking "artsy" pumpkin pictures.

The composition here....I don't know!!!

I thought the pumpkin picture would look good in my scrapbook pages of fall! ha!

Halloween party at a friend's house included decorating spooky cut outs.

They look delightful and they must have tasted good because I never got one.

They were eaten up after this photo was taken by two little girls. Hmmm.

Oh my gosh!

Fried cake doughnuts never tasted better!

My attempt to get scrappy.

Charlotte's attempt to hijack my scrappy.

And Nora's successful cookie decorating.

Both girls are going to be pirates this year and I can't wait to see them together in their costumes.

Last year, they were both witches.

I love that they have been coordinating their costumes the last couple of years!

Bravo ladies!

Come to me!

2011-10-08T10:25:00.002-04:00

Finally!

You will be mine and I eagerly await your arrival!

And if you do not show up on Friday, I will cry.

A lot.

Bye Summer, Hello Fall

2011-10-05T11:00:00.001-04:00

Charlotte Jane is in first grade!

Say what!!!

Our fashion social diva has a full day of school, finally.

I worried about having some stinky mornings, because she is NOT a morning person,

but she has adjusted very well. I think it's because school is fun!

She doesn't mind getting up and an earlier bedtime helps too.

Nora took the photo above. I think she did a splendid job!

Next I'm going to scrap Nora's 1st day of 2nd grade. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of Nora with me and Craig. I didn't feel confident about handing over my D90 to Charlotte, at least in the presence of Craig! I mean the poor guy looks a little uncertain with Nora holding it! Ha!

Sure sign that summer is over. The tearing down of our little pool.

Farewell!

stop drop listen

2011-09-28T18:36:00.000-04:00

September has been too busy with the start of school and all its activities.

It's good to run outside and just play in the rain.

It's good to be a kid.

For a little dog....not so much!

A to Z list

2011-09-23T11:18:00.002-04:00

This A to Z list has been popping up on several blogs I read. I thought it looked fun and absolutely easy! This month has been the busiest month that I can remember in a long long time. Back to school, girl scouts, faith formation classes, travel, and the PTSA have been running me into the ground! I haven't scrapped all month, so hopefully today is the day I make a comeback!

In the meantime, some blogger filler!

A. Age: 36, yikes!

B. Bed size: King

C. Chore that you hate: dishwasher

D. Dogs: Pinky dog, just the best dog in the world!

E. Essential start to your day: getting girls on the bus.

F. Favorite color: green

G. Gold or Silver: white gold

I. Instruments you play: once upon a time, piano and flute. Wished it were guitar!

J. Job title: mom

K. Kids: Two wonderful girls! :)

L. Live: Rochester, NY

M. Mother’s name: Sally

N. Nicknames: Annie

O. Overnight hospital stays: four

P. Pet peeves: rude people

Q. Quote from a movie: "Bond, James Bond"

R. Right or left handed: right

S. Siblings: five brothers and one sister

U. Underwear: I still like to buy my underwear in packs of 5 or 6! I do own nice underwear that I purchase piece by piece, but I still prefer cotton undies that come in bulk packages!

V. Vegetable you hate: collards

W. What makes you run late: snooze button gets me all the time, even today as a matter of fact!

X. X-Rays you’ve had: kidneys & definitely teeth

Y. Yummy food that you make: pizza
Z. Zoo animal: bats

Remembering September 11th

2011-09-11T16:10:00.000-04:00

10 years ago I was working in a bookstore in Newport, RI getting ready to open when my co worker came into work and told me about a commuter plane crashing into the World Trade Center. News junkies that we were, we grabbed an old radio in the back office to listen to updates. Disbelief and horror were the overriding emotions we felt listening to the morning unfold.

I got a call from Craig who was stationed at the naval base in Newport. They were getting their information from the television like everyone else.

It was a surreal day. Tourists wandered in, not knowing what to do with themselves. We were all strangers united by grief and I cried with people I'll never see again. We kept our radio on all day to hear as much information as we could.

We closed early that day. I got the call from my district manager giving me permission to close around 3. There were two older women in the bookstore, tourists, I told them we were closing for the day and I'll never forget how annoyed they were with me. They didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

The bridges leading to Newport were closed. The naval base was on high alert.

I drove home, kissed my husband, called my family in Rochester, and called my friends who worked in Manhattan. We were all okay, but so many weren't. We met up with some Navy and Coast Guard friends at our favorite local dive bar and shared a couple pitchers of beer. There was no music blaring from the jukebox, no darts being thrown, and really no conversation. It was silent companionship and grief watching the world change on television.
Life changed that day. Military life changed and American life would never be the same.

Irene...you can't keep us from having fun!

2011-09-03T14:03:00.000-04:00

Guess who finally got a mini vacation in?!!?

We went to Cape Cod for the weekend and guess who else came?

Hurricane Irene!

Yes....that rotten, no good hurricane tried to spoil our fun.

I didn't let it, no way...no how!

Above is a photo of the Mass pike.

It's Friday, August 26, and everybody is leaving!

We went for our friend Seth's wedding. It was super pretty and just a few raindrops, not enough to mar the festivities!

Nora enjoyed her first lobster. Girl loves shellfish!

The wedding was on Saturday and yes, we were under a tent.

No, we did not blow away.

It was very pretty!

Earlier that morning, we went down to the shore to check out the waves.

It's not an everyday occurrence, to hang out on the coast when a major hurricane is predicted!

It was gray, windy, and a little surreal.

The hurricane was battering the Carolinas, so our area was safe for the time being!

These horseshoe crabs were making toward the high grass off the shore.

They scared the pants off of Charlotte! She walked up to them not realizing and started screaming!

We whisked her out of "harm's way", but she continued to whine whenever she caught eye of them!

Nora and I had to carry her across that part of the beach several times.

Turns out she's not a fan!

Look how cute!

From the beach, we could see the preparation people were taking to protect their seafront homes.

Many boards across windows and a few homes had snazzy metal shades that pulled down.

It was something I've seen on television, but to see the preparation taking place is unreal.

This is a photo taken from the car on our departure Sunday morning.

We left the cape about 7am to try and beat the hurricane.

We made it off the cape and then halfway through driving through Massachusetts, the heavy rains came.

It rained so hard, it was ridiculous!

Thank goodness, Craig was driving.

I know I would've had to pull over and sit it out!

He drove like a champ, even through the Albany area.

Which was actually the worst of it!

When we got home, I saw on the news they closed the thruway after we went through.

All in all, it was a great time!

We loved the little taste we got of Cape Cod!

The wedding was lovely and the girls were so excited to be there!

We were all so hungry for a little taste of vacation life after our stinky summer!

So it was a grand success and even Irene couldn't take it away from us!

And because I have to post a layout, here's my latest.

Hugs and Kisses to Lulu having her first week at Ithaca College right now!

We love you and are so proud of you!

xoxox

Signature Accent Challenge

2011-08-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

This challenge stumped me at first because I couldn't think of what my signature accent could be! I don't sew on all my layouts, or mist/paint, and I don't always use large embellishments. What I do every time is I make layers of patterned paper. A layout doesn't feel right to me unless I can shove paper under paper under paper! Sometimes I throw tags, tickets, and assorted memorabilia under a photo! I can't help it! I like a good pile! Hee!

I have been remiss in adding that all of these challenges have come from Shimelle's blog! I'm guilty of not giving credit to Shimelle for all of these wonderful challenges in my previous posts. Thank you for all the wonderful inspiration! I think I can safely put away my August Studio Calico kit. I used it well in creating layouts for these challenges!

Retro challenge

2011-08-15T12:44:00.001-04:00

Red, white, & aqua color challenge

2011-08-14T18:14:00.000-04:00

august blogust

2011-08-07T12:33:00.000-04:00

I feel like such a Debbie downer!

I also have this stupid head cold that is making me wacky.

I'm not sure why I had big expectations of a fabulous summer, but it's really not in the cards!

I blame Facebook!

I think Facebook is depressing.

Anytime I log on, it seems like everyone under the sun is having this jet set lifestyle this summer!

Status updates from luxurious vacation spots, photos of smiling people enjoying themselves, and I'm

sitting home with a head cold, Charlotte has a cold, and Nora has a dog bite on her henie!

Ugh.

Am I the only one who feels pitiful after reading status updates?!

So instead of frowning, I'm going to try to be upbeat.

Things that make me happy!

My new Studio Calico kit.

It's full of beautiful blues, greens, and I'm almost afraid to cut into it!

grab bag 1

Scoring a grab bag at Studio Calico on reveal day.

Well my super hero sister scored it for me!

Not one, but two bags!

I went to see the last HP movie and I left her instructions on how to get it at exactly noon.

I never had a doubt she wouldn't get it, you see, I went shopping with her on Black Friday!

She's fierce!

grab bag 2

Another scrappy score of The Girls Paperie from Tuesday Morning.

I'm not a theme scrapper and I don't collect holiday theme papers, but this was too beautiful to pass up.

It was the stamps that pushed me over and I am not a stamper, but the silhouettes are too cool!

Another thing I am happy about?

The tile wall happening in my kitchen!

Craig's been working on it for the last two days and I'm almost gleeful!

The end of our kitchen remodel is near!

Our dining room lights make me happy!

We bought the glass shades at a store where they sell old house parts.

then after a stop at Home Depot for pipes, we were in business.

Craig built these and I love them!

And this girl makes me happy!

She's healing and has a great attitude about everything!

Of course, it might have something to do with apple TV.

She loves movies and there is an endless supply of them on here.

We've watched every talking dog movie ever made.

I actually watched a dog movie starring Valerie Bertinelli made in the 80s.

Not exactly a killer Facebook update!

summer bummer

2011-07-30T13:51:00.000-04:00

I think I can finally write about this.

Nora was bitten by a dog.

My sister's year old German Shepherd bit Nora's bottom when she was jumping in a pool.

Because of the momentum of jumping in the pool and the dog's bite meant to keep her out of the pool,

it was a pretty aggressive bite. :(

It was a terrible day for everybody. There is no blame or any fault, it was one of things that just happens in a blink and there's no stopping it. We're all adapting and changing up our summer and Nora has been a super duper brave girl and I'm so proud of her!

New favorite summer activity.

Playing in tents in the backyard. One tent is a store where all kinds of glamorous items are sold.

Another is a beautiful mansion where occasionally little dogs are held captive.

There is lots of make believe and I love listening to the girls spin their stories.

It's amazing how they can entertain each other.

Our half bathroom off the kitchen is finished!

Hallelujah!

As Nora would say, "It's a Christmas miracle!"

Gratuitous donut picture.

We love sprinkle donuts!

And a few layouts, I have a working photo printer again.

Life is still good!

Thanks for stopping by!

Some layouts

2011-07-26T12:05:00.000-04:00

Have a nice day.

July 1st!

2011-07-01T13:15:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it's July already!
In four days, Nora & Charlotte start their swimming lessons at the
community pool. When I signed them up back in May, it seemed so far away! I'm going to enjoy our lazy unscheduled days before we have to start running around again! Swimming is the only thing I signed them up for this summer. Neither girl was interested in softball. We were fortunate to figure out last summer, soccer was not for us! ;) As far as camps go, we decided to hold off for another year. No rush!

So the girls have been loving their sleepovers at their Grandma's house. So have I, let's be honest! :)

Pinkydog is still not a fan of bath time. Especially the mad fighting that ensues over who gets to hold her in her towel.

I'm still trying to clear off my desk in the scraproom. I keep finding papers and embellies I forgot I owned. So I'm trying to use them up before I lose them again! Happy July 1st!

just another layout

2011-06-23T12:47:00.000-04:00

Love the smile, sister!

Charlotte's party!

2011-06-22T14:54:00.003-04:00

On June 11th, we had an Alice in Wonderland tea party for Charlotte's 6th birthday.

Charlotte's kindergarten class is very party happy, so I thought after going to all these birthday parties

all year, Charlotte should have one as well.

Charlotte had 10 of her friends over and she loved it!

She wanted to wear an Alice costume to complete her ultimate birthday

and she looked adorable!

It was Charlotte's first party where we invited lots of friends.

Usually we have family parties or go somewhere special.

Holey Moley!

It felt like I planned forever and it was over in a blink!

Here are some photos Craig managed to get before the party started.

Once the party started, it was all hands on deck to keep everyone entertained!

It was fun, but exhausting!

Snap!

Keeping 12 girls (10 guests plus Nora & Charlotte) happy

was sometimes challenging!

But there was plenty of candy, cupcakes, pizza, and snacks to go around!

I made all the cupcake picks and food tags with some old Anna Griffin papers I've had in my stash!

I loved how easy it was to make it all!

Paper punch, glue, and stamp it!

I bought a helium tank on sale at Toys R Us and had tons of light blue, black, white,

and red balloons all over the yard and house.

We had streamers hanging in doorways, ceilings, and light fixtures.

Most of the decor photos have some party guests in them, so I won't post them, but trust me it was cool!

Our craft for the party was decorating birdhouses.

I picked up 15 birdhouses in Michael's dollar section when they were 40% off!

What a steal!

I bought paints, foam brushes, sequins, and feathers.

The girls loved making their birdhouses and showing them off to their parents when

they picked them up!

It was a lot of work and I won't lie, stressful, but

it was totally worth it because everyone had fun.

Charlotte was Alice for the day and she loved the attention (definitely the presents!).

But next year, we're going back to having a small family party!
Is that being a bad mom?!

Happy Friday!

2011-06-17T10:30:00.000-04:00

Wednesday

2011-06-15T15:16:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit obsessed with Million Dollar Decorators on Bravo. I usually love all things Bravo, so no surprise I fell for this show. But there is one reason I keep coming back...Martyn! Everything is just Delicious! Ah, I love when he says that!

Last night, he had to go back to an estate in Mexico to show the staff how to clean the house he had decorated.
"We're going to need a lot of margaritas to get through this!"

He's a bit over the top and I love him!
Watch this show, if not for my beloved Martyn, tune in for the decor!
It's all so delicious!

Are you still out there?

2011-06-14T10:44:00.001-04:00

I'm still here!

Here's a super condensed version of what we've been up to!

Doing the same old stuff.

Making weekly trips to Home Depot, Lowes, etc for our Home renovation.

Our kitchen is almost finished, just need to finish our tile walls.

Last month, we went to the Lilac festival!

Which is extremely popular not just here in Rochester, NY, but with

my two girls. I admit I tried to skip going because of the incessant rain but

Nora and Charlotte were adamant we had to go!

They enjoyed the flowers, the walking, even the rain, but best of all....the row of concession stands.

Snow cones anyone?

We broke out the bikes and Pinky has new reasons to fear for her life from Charlotte.

Charlotte looks absolutely gleeful, but assured me Pinky was never in any danger.

Uh huh.

Good thing, the Pink dog is savvy to Charlotte's ways.

I'm still churning out layouts and getting crafty.

I made invites and decorated for the PTSA sponsored Staff Luncheon at the girls' school last month.

I've always been very active at their school volunteering and helping out in both their classrooms and for the PTSA, but now my role has gotten a lot bigger because I was asked to become a PTSA Building co-chair for their school. It's exciting and I'm looking forward to it!

This is an Alice in Wonderland tea party I hosted for Charlotte's birthday.

12 kindergartner girls and a whole lot happening.

This party deserves it's own post for which I'll edit some pictures and put up this week.

This party was this last Saturday and I'm still, like really tired from it!

Our sweet Lulu looking absolutely lovely for her Senior Ball!

Especially standing between such sassy bookends!

I can NOT believe she's graduating this weekend and off to Ithaca College in the fall.

We are so proud of you and we WILL be stalking you all summer to spend as much time

with us as you can!

Bwahaha!

quick post

2011-02-17T15:53:00.001-05:00

My girls have the best cousins!

I am the youngest in a family of 7, so they have quite a few cousins!

Nora & Charlotte are the youngest and I can say with absolute

certainty, that every single of their cousins would not hesitate

to pick up some bubbles and sidewalk

chalk and get down to play with them!

I love my family!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T10:11:00.002-05:00

Yippee!

I adore Valentine's day.

The girls are off to school with their little valentines.

All the girls get a Barbie valentine with a pencil and the boys will receive a

Batman valentine with a Batman pencil.

No treats this year.

In the beginning of the school year, we got a letter asking we not send in candy or cupcakes for birthdays,

only stickers, pencils, or something non food related.

I think it's part of preventing childhood obesity.

I totally understand this, but sharing a sticker on your birthday is

not the same as a cupcake or cookie.

Just saying....
So for V-day I sent in pencils, just in cause there is a candy ban on holidays as well!

This layout came together super quick thanks to Shimelle's free class

at Two Peas 4x6 photo love. I'm a big fan of Shimelle's

classes and participating in a free class led by Shimelle and offered

by Two peas...sign me up!

Have a very Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

wildcat weekend

2011-01-30T15:36:00.000-05:00

Yay! CHA weekend! I look forward to this weekend to see all

my favorite manufacturer's new products!

I am totally loving everything I've seen so far by my favorite Sassafras!

Love the whimsy and free spirit in their lines!

Crate paper, The Girls Paperie, Cosmo Cricket, Studio Calico,

and the house of three stuff by Pink Paislee are ranked very high on my list as well!

Another reason I love this time of year...all the challenges to participate in!

I'm a girl who loves a good challenge!

It pushes me creatively and I always end up with some new favorite layouts.

Especially if its a challenge I'm not entirely comfortable with, like self portrait in a mirror.

Ugh.

I look crazy eyed, for sure!

But it was fun to journal, overcooking all meat just a normal dinner hour around here!

Not dealing out trichinosis here, not on my watch!

Reminds me of a time when Craig and I went to this expensive restaurant

and we both got a chicken dish (not a very inspiring menu)

and he started eating it and got this weird look.

I saw his look, started freaking out because I know it meant BAD stuff.

He wasn't going to show me, but I made him turn his dish toward me and it was RAW people!

He was eating a raw chicken cutlet!

Ugh...mine was cooked, but I pushed my plate away!

Needless to say, we never returned to that restaurant.

I still shudder when I drive past it!

A calm moment for Charlotte.

My girls have been fighting like wildcats this weekend.

It seems like there's a fight a minute.

Alright, so I'm exaggerating, but they're picking fights over every little thing!

I'm exasperated.

Next weekend they are spending with their grandma.

Another reason it was so sweet to move back where there's family!

Scraproom = disaster area!

Confession

2011-01-24T14:59:00.000-05:00

First layout made using my who's who kit from Studio Calico.

I love the colors so much!

This is one beautiful kit and I've can't stop printing out photos to scrap. I

have a couple of more layouts that just need some finishing touches.

The thermometer outside the window read in the negatives this morning.

Having my birthday in the winter, I love the snow and cold,

but it's getting kind of ridiculous!

My girls were waiting for school to be cancelled this morning.

No such luck for them!

Confession time

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills anyone?

My guilty pleasure of this TV season.

What a C-R-A-Z-Y episode last Thursday!

Hello Reunion! You can not get here soon enough!

keeping busy

2011-01-19T13:22:00.001-05:00

I think these photos were only taken 2 years ago. Eep! They look so little!

On a different note, how long does an unopened jar of pumpkin butter last?
I think I've had it 2 years. Its from Trader Joes and I just never got around to using it.
I know I have a jar of capers that's at least 4 years old!
That's one of my problems, I'll see an obscure item on a grocery store shelf and pick it up because I read a recipe once and this was required. I never go back to the recipe though. I think it's time to clear some stuff out!

Very exciting

2011-01-07T09:38:00.002-05:00

Featured layout of the day at Two Peas on 1/6/2011!!!

Yes, I took photo of my screen.

I couldn't help myself!

This girl has been very social lately.

More play dates and birthday parties than we've ever experienced before.

Craig joked that Charlotte needs to tweet her whereabouts to her followers

and I'm getting a workout being her social secretary.

This girl is doing so well reading books by herself.

She has to read a small book everyday and we log it.

Yesterday I bought her two new movies for her collection @ Blockbuster.

She read her book aloud on the car ride home so she could start her movie marathon

when she walked in the door. She LOVES movies, any movie-all movies.

All these layouts were made using the Dec. Studio Calico kit plus an add on

patterned paper supplement. I've actually made 6 layouts so far.

Not one Christmas or winter related.

It's been a very versatile kit.

I finished my December daily a week ago.

I do like it and feel accomplished, but then I put it away.

It turned out to be more of a chore than a pleasure toward the end.

I'm glad I made it and I will definitely appreciate it more a couple months down the road.

So because of Dec. daily burnout, my layouts henceforth will not feature any

Christmas theme!

top 10 of 2010

2010-12-31T19:49:00.001-05:00

So all the cool kids are doing it , so I thought it would be blog worthy to do it as well.

My favorite layouts I have made in the year 2010.

Above my all time favorite collection from Cosmo Cricket featured in the layout

"Schutt Apple Farm". I loved the papers from Earth Love so much, I bought the

collection at 2peas then scooped up a stack when I saw it at Michaels.

Michaels, please carry cosmo cricket again?

Made this for a class I took of Shimelle's. Paper strip love and of course my pip!

I was getting friendly with my cricket here. I had a period of a month where I used it for every layout. Must try that again. It was kinda fun, but now I have a slice,so.....

Simple love for the Anna Griffin papers. They are busy papers, but when it works, I want to use Anna on all my layouts. Until it doesn't work, which happens too often...

I posted this layout only on my blog and in the gallery for Shimelle's class "Something for almost Nothing". Then before I could post it anywhere else I saw it posted on 2peas. Not my layout, but a complete scraplift.

I made it for a prompt from Shimelle's class to use a challenge prompt from 2peas to inspire my layout. I made this, posted it Shimelle's gallery and while reading the message board, saw that several ladies were also using the prompt to enter the 2peas challenge. I thought I should as well. So there I went and lo and behold, a complete scraplift of my layout was already present. I called Craig into the room showed him the lift, we laughed, and then promptly forgot about it.

I liked this one as well.

I used those lovely OA thrift store papers.

I ADORE these photos!

There is something so fun and just so our life about them!

My sister and my girl Nora laughing it up!

That's the good life...

More paper strip love, I love bits and pieces and I'm wild about this photo still. Love a snoopy smile!

This layout I whipped up the morning Nora went off to school. The photo was taken, printed, and scrapped to go to school for show and tell. It came home a wrinkled mess. Yes, I was a little....disappointed, but it was a success for Nora and that's what mattered!

My blossoming love for the 8 1/2 x 11 photo!

Collage my photos and print it out!

Makes my two pagers so fast and effortless.

xmas shopping!

2010-12-13T13:49:00.000-05:00

Who are those cute mannequins!

We have to amuse ourselves while shopping

with Grandma Sal!

These photos are all part of my December Daily.

Got everything downloaded, but the stinkin' printer is not cooperating!

My epson was free, but it's been a colossal pain in the you know what!

Eating lunch with my girl Nora at the market cafe in our fave supermarket Wegmans.

Sitting there watching the shoppers below.

Ahhh...December!

2010-12-08T15:07:00.000-05:00

Once again...December Daily
will I finish it this year?

I'm up to day 7...sounds promising!

Making ornaments for our homemade Christmas.

Trying to catch up with my scrapbooks.

Everything is a 2pager and my favorite?

Printing out collages on 8.5x11.

Fast and easy!

I love the snow!
I really do...maybe because I'm a December baby.
This is a July baby and she' doing her best.
Poor thing!

I voted...did you?

2010-11-02T13:18:00.000-04:00

This little one came with me today to vote. She's wearing her sticker at school right now. She loves it!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T08:51:00.000-04:00

Here's to another busy week!

Hope everyone had a great holiday.

we had wet snow, suffice to say the girls only hit 10 houses with their Dad and came back at the house within 30 minutes!

We hardly saw any kids and we have lots of candy left.

Hello Weight Watchers.....I need you!

Good it's Friday.

2010-10-22T10:34:00.005-04:00

Is it wrong that I want to process the heck out of all my photos!!!

Only one in today's post, but I want to flip them all!

Restrain yourself Ann! ;)

Today is a half day for Nora and Charlotte has AM kindergarten and what am I doing with my free time?

Surfing the web and doing laundry.

I feel like I should be doing something more constructive before they get home in an hour.

Oh well. :)

Wednesday was a trip to Powder Mills park for some fall photos.

I read somewhere our clothing options should be neutrals for fall photos.

No way.

Craig & I couldn't get these two girls to stage a photo if our lives depended on it!

So it was off the school bus and to the park to catch the sunlight.

Craig's photos are as beautiful as always. I need to steal some for my layouts!

For the record these are my photos, his are lovely.

The girls were somewhat cooperating.

In most of my photos the girls are looking at his camera.

Here's some evidence. :)

Guilty pleasures this week:

Top Chef: Just Desserts

There is a lot of drama with pastry chefs.

I'm seriously convinced one chef is bi-polar and if he hasn't seeked treatment, he should

immediately.

Jersey Shore : Yes, I watch this ridiculous show.

Last night was last episode of season and it was just alright.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

I love the Real Housewives of New York & New Jersey so much.

I want this show to be good so bad....those messes in DC lost me after one episode.

fun.

2010-10-01T13:40:00.002-04:00

Loving my Studio Calico kit from September! Sigh...such a lovely batch of papers and embellies!

I absolutely adore the colors!
Working on Girl Scout stuff this weekend. Selling cookies and making 25 pins to swap for Camporee next weekend. We're still undecided on what pins to make. I want to use craft stuff I have on hand and just purchase the pins. We'll see how it goes!

Have a great weekend!

Back in school & more kitchen pics

2010-09-21T12:04:00.007-04:00

1st day of Kindergarten!

Woot woot!

So adorable and so proud!

The Bus was very late. So I didn't get any good shots of her getting on the bus.

But I got some the other day, but I thought I would keep them in sequence.

So Charlotte's in the pm class which means pick-up is 11:45.

Here is Nora getting off the bus on her 1st day!

Woot! Woot!

Her bus stop for pick up is at 8:20am, down the block at the corner with some 2nd graders.

I actually took some pictures in the am, but I thought the ones of her getting off the bus came out a little better.

She's wearing her new boots. She loves them because she picked them out with her Dad at Target and they remind her of Wizards of Waverly, and still rocking the occasional Hannah Montana tee.
Oh yes....that black vest is glittered!
And you can never have enough denim leggings!
Four pair at last count!

Big News!
The kitchen floor is in!

Oh it's beautiful!
I'm in love and we're going to put these hardwoods throughout the house!

I left you with a glimpse of what my new windows looked like, so here they are in full.

Love the circle window. I've never had one before and I've always admired them.

It's just cool.

The other windows have a crank and I can open them all for a major wind or just one for a gentle breeze!

You can see my counter tops here.
Ugh.
That was difficult.
A story for another day.
I'll also take a better photo of them when they are not dusty!

A brand new stainless steel bottom freezer refrigerator sits in the near corner.
Yes, I have polished it up since this photo was taken! :)
We're actually painting the cabinet doors today.
Getting exciting around here!

More kitchen repair

2010-09-18T13:51:00.002-04:00

We're replacing one wall of windows in the kitchen.

Replacing drywall and adding a whole new ceiling.

Holy crap.

Let me get my camera was my reaction to this hole on the side of my house.

That's our veggie garden next to the house!

Our garden is quite big. We ate the corn. It was delicious and the tomatoes are never ending.

Unfortunately the veggies piled up while we were without a kitchen, but lucky for everyone else because we were constantly giving it away.

Oh yeah, back to the kitchen. Within a day that giant hole turned into this.

I can say with pride I helped quite a bit.

Well... with all the lifting, cleaning, and swearing!

But Craig's been the real beast!

I can scrapbook again?!

2010-09-16T13:27:00.003-04:00

A little break from my home improvement stories to tell you about my little Nora.

Yesterday my little kindergartner Charlotte and my first grader Nora got off the school bus and Nora stormed up the driveway yelling at Charlotte,
"You lied to me! You said you would sit with me on the bus!"

Charlotte, age 5, already a pro at avoiding conflict calmly tells Nora,
"I didn't see you."

Between me & you, I think she saw her!

Charlotte has just been busy sitting with her newest pal from her kindergarten class, Lila. She likes sitting with her new friend, she knows she can see her sister at home and play with her then.

Nora doesn't have a friend from her class on the bus. It shouldn't be a big deal, but Nora is very shy and unless someone makes a move to sit with her, she'll sit by herself. I also think she's been looking forward to sitting with Charlotte on the bus.

So yesterday, Nora blew up at her sister and underneath her bluster I could tell she was very sad that she sat alone. She cried, we hugged and talked about maybe sitting with someone else who sat by themselves. Maybe that person just wants to sit with someone too. She felt better after our little talk and we read some books together (Charlotte banned from the room by Nora's decree!)

So I sit here hoping that today will be better. I told Charlotte to sit with whomever she wants and her sister will do the same. If you want to sit together, if you don't want to sit together, that fine too.

So it's only our first full week in the bus and I'm really hoping all goes well today. My heart hurts so much when my girls' hurt.

Be back later with an update and maybe finish my kitchen story. :)

ETA : Charlotte sat with Nora on bus Friday, but she kicked and pinched Nora. Nora wanted to report her sister to bus driver. But thankfully she reported Charlotte's behavior to us. Charlotte....Argh.

I used to blog once

2010-09-15T12:05:00.002-04:00

I used to blog once upon a time.

Then I bought an awesome house with great "bones" in a fantastic idyllic neighborhood.

We (Craig & I) were going to turn this old ranch into our dream house. Years of subscribing to magazines like Cottage Living, House Beautiful, Martha Stewart's Living, This Old House, and every other magazine I can't think of right now.... we were ready to abandon our brand spankin' new McMansions and create the perfect home!

What a colossal pain in the a**!!!

We've done this before 10 years ago with our first house. It was dirty and disgusting, but we were young and tore that house up inside and out and made it a beautiful and unique home.

Fast forward 10 years, we're at it again. We're older, busier, and now with two kids and a dog, this has been harder than even I could have imagined.

It's terribly draining physically, mentally, and financially.

I worry about the NAILS sticking up and out everywhere!

"Wear your shoes" "Don't go in there!" "Don't touch that!"
were (are) daily admonishes!

The whole house felt inside out. The kitchen was a wreck, 2 bathrooms in a state of wreckage, and our two main rooms were also construction zones. The dust and dirt was incredible. I felt like I traded my nice life in for this stressed out mess and I felt like I was suffocating!

A home should be your refuge, your safe place, but I felt ours was anything but! Just the opposite, it was place I just had to get out of everyday!

So I would wake up and take the girls somewhere everyday. The mall, museum, a movie, walks down by the lake, playgrounds, get us all haircuts and many a time, we just went to Grandma's house.

But things have gotten better lately.

Long holiday weekends that give Craig extra time to work on the house.

Craig has been amazing with all the work he's been putting into the house.

I don't think I'll ever say it enough, but he's a real champion when

he has the time to get this stuff done. Nobody works harder than him, balancing his real job, remodeling a house, and still fitting in time to spend with his little girls.

It's been amazing to watch him.

Now with school in session, I'm not running around trying to think up things to keep our girls entertained daily. Yay for school!!!

And that's not all.

There's a kitchen that is definitely making a comeback in a major way!!!

These photos are only part of this story. More photos in tomorrow's post of a kitchen at it's darkest hour (eek!) and (dare I say it, dream it!) it's future glory!

Patience grasshopper.

what we're obsessed with.....

2010-07-23T11:56:00.003-04:00

1. Always new scrapping supplies. I can't help being in any store and looking round for something I can use in a mini album or layout. I bought some cool travel stamps at Anthropologie the other day. I was looking for a skirt, I bought stamps. :P

2. Swimming swimming and more swimming! We can't get enough pool time. And maybe one day I was obsessed with buying the girls some swimsuits at TJ Maxx. Can't beat buying a Nike suit that was originally $70 for $10. Love running into deals like that!

3. We are 100% obsessed with the TLC show Toddlers and Tiaras. It's my fault. I was flicking the channels around one rainy afternoon at my mom's house and ran into a marathon. I abhor and adore this show. As the mother to two little girls, it's kinda fascinating but a real trainwreck! Now I know what's a formal dress and what constitutes full glitz. It completes me! It's definitely been my summer guilty pleasure!

4. Finishing my sister's album of her trip to Las Vegas. If you ask me it is the most awesome album I've ever done and it's already gone from my house.

5. Arranging my crafting supplies. I want to get some photos of my scrap room for prosperity but I start organizing and immediately somehow get inspired to make a project and abandon all motivation to organize my room. Soon it will get done!

Hi Summer

2010-07-03T12:35:00.003-04:00

Well Summer is in full swing around here.

See my little girl blowing me her last kiss as a kindergartner?

Next year it's a full day of school when you're in the first grade!

This little one still loves playing dress up and wearing her endless supply of eye shadow

she got for her birthday. Our preschool days here are over. Next year Charlotte will be in the afternoon session of Kindy like her sister was this year.

This guy is slowly destroying the house around us still. I thought I would take a picture of him painting though. I don't want to show you the bowels of our house. That's right.
We're down to the base flooring around here and walls without drywall. :(

Our garden is absolutely thriving!

It's so green and beautiful!

The deers think so too.

If you look at the tomato plants on the right, you can see they are missing their tops.

Down to the bare stalks.

We set up a barricade last week and it seems to be working.

Soccer is still going strong and swimming lessons start this coming Tuesday.

Plus with other stuff we've got going on, we've been very busy this summer.

I've been scrapbooking everyday and I feel like I'm getting kinda caught up.

Some days I get 3 layouts done and the next day a two pager.

My basket I keep my finished layouts in is almost full and I need a niece

to come over and put them into albums for me again. Hint...hint!

Taking photos of them doesn't get done in the summer. I finish them, hang them in my scraproom until the next one takes it's place. I've been a scrapping samurai these days!

So until next time....

We wish you and your family a happy and safe 4th of July!

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

2010-06-07T16:16:00.002-04:00

Eek! My little Charlotte Jane is five years old today!!
I can't imagine my life without her!

She's only five, but already one of the funniest people I've ever met! She is the best little girl. I laugh every single day because of something funny she says or does. She does it intentionally to make me laugh too! She is kind, friendly, and such a joy in our lives!

Boy, she is smart too! Always eager to learn and ready to spell and rattle off her ABC's or birthday or whatever!

And don't you wrong her sister Nora!

Never did a sister have a fiercer defender! If on the playground or tot lot, someone takes a swing or toy away from Nora...watch out because Charlotte sees all and won't let you get away with it!

She's still my baby though.

She still lets me hug and squeeze her and sometimes talks in that baby talk that only I understand much to the dismay of her father!! :)

Boy, I love this baby so much and everyday I give thanks to God she is in my life!

Happy Birthday Charlotte Jane!

Monday Musings

2010-05-24T12:47:00.002-04:00

1. I watched Lost all night last night. From 7pm straight to Jimmy Kimmel.

I liked the ending, I felt closure and I've been a very devoted fan since the first episode.

It was semi- annoying that my neighbor chose to mow his lawn last night when my show started and in the last half hour Craig started mocking the end and calling it a fairy tale.

But I had two strawberry daiquiris in me and it rolled off my back!
He's been watching too many of my shows, so he kept waiting for the vampire or the werewolf to pop out!

2. Washing all the sheets and bedding today .

3. It's supposed to go up to 84 degrees today. Nice.

4. Nora has a mass/party for her last day of faith formation today.

4. Charlotte did not want to go to grocery store today, so no fresh corn

or veggies with dinner. Sad.

5. Dancing with the Stars finale tonight. Go Evan & Anna!

6. American Idol tomorrow night. Go Lee!

He had me when he sang Simon & Garfunkel's The Boxer.

LOVE love Simon & Garfunkel!

I think pretty much all his song choices have been outstanding...Simple Man ... awesome!

Sunny days

2010-05-20T18:23:00.003-04:00

Did you have a nice Mother's Day or treat the mothers in your life to a lovely Mother's Day? We did alright here! Beautiful original art by Charlotte and a gorgeous pin by Nora. I got to sleep in and woke up to find my family waiting for me to make breakfast. Not joking. I immediately shamed Craig into going out and getting donuts for the family. No big Sunday breakfast here cooked by yours truly!

We've had some fine days here in Rochester sometimes known for our crummy weather! So we've been spending as much time outside as we can! Running, playing on playgrounds, blowing bubbles, and riding bikes have occupied most of our time.

I've also thrown down a challenge for our family.

Benches on Parade has started and we're running around our fair city trying to take our photo on as many benches as we can find. I think we've only had a photo taken on 5, but we've got time! On this day we grabbed my niece Lulu to come along with us as well as Pinkydog!

The bench above was sitting in front of Salvatores Pizza/Donuts Delite. Donuts Delite was a special place I remember my dad taking me too. I'd sit at the counter on a stool and get to pick out my own donut. It closed some time ago and just reopened as some sort of partnership with a local pizza chain. I haven't eaten there yet, but I want to go back soon. Pizza and donuts in one sitting? Yummy!

We are also hard at work building a center for our backyard garden. Last month we started our seeds indoors and they are ready to plant. We're almost there! It's going to be awesome and I can't wait to grow our own vegetables. The girls are very excited!

Lalala

2010-05-06T10:52:00.003-04:00

My house is driving me crazy.

Home renovations stink big time, esp. when we're ripping things up and out and they're not being renovated right away.
Thank goodness for my scraproom and kids playroom.
They're the only rooms I don't feel like I'm living in a junkyard!
I'm being generous including the kids' playroom.
It's usually a mess, a toy strewn mess, but at least not a construction mess!

Early morning nonsense

2010-05-03T06:54:00.005-04:00

I was up at 5:00 am this morning. Pinky who sleeps on a pillow near my head started barking. Strange noises coming from the girls room. Then I hear running feet. My sleepy brain tries to process these noises and I had to jump up and check it out. Nora was awake, so I asked her what was going on. Apparently she rolled over her zhuzhu pet in her sleep with started all his noises and movements, it woke her up, dog was barking, so she ran and hid it behind pillow in the family room. Clever girl.

She goes back to sleep, so I take Pinky outside. In the early dawn , I do not see the two deer in my backyard, but my dog does and barks her face off. Ugh. Get her in, but I step on the mushrooms growing outside the door. The girls like them intact because fairies live in them. I stomped a fairy house at predawn. We'll see how that goes over later. Maybe they won't notice. Right!

I haven't started my week in the life album yet.

I took a ton of photos last week but haven't been motivated enough to put an album together. I mainly take photos of the girls doing whatever we're doing. I got some real cute cool photos so I'll go through them hopefully today.

This dreamland layout is my new favorite just on the size of the photo alone. I got an Epson r1900 awhile ago and I've (Craig) finally gotten around to printing out 12in photos out on cardstock. I LOVE it! I could print these out all day. I love the texture of the Coordinations cardstock. It's 4 for $1 at Joanns this week, so Nora and I went yesterday and loaded up!

Nora lost her first tooth last week! I've been so nervous about her silly teeth because the adult teeth are coming in

and she hasn't lost the baby ones yet. She still has another one just hanging there. I want her to just pull the thing out but easier said than done! It will be out this week, it just can't hang there forever, right??

Top photo is my new fave photo of Craig with his girlies. They adore and love him so much! Those sticks! They have a collection by my back door. I'm not sure why they're stockpiling all the dead branches from our yard and the neighbors, but I know I get in trouble when I try to throw them out!

NJ Housewives on tonight! Love Bravo! They have all the best reality shows. Love my NY & NJ Housewives. Sorry sister. Top Chef Masters has been a bit of a snore, I'm still rooting for your Rick Moonen. Watching Gale Greene creeps me out though. Does she creep you out?

Help I need somebody!

2010-04-13T17:02:00.003-04:00

Candy from Mr. Paul from Brasil! Yep, with an S, not a Z. Said so on our package! :P Nora and Charlotte hae eaten two pieces each and are gunning for more! Must watch them!

None for me though because.....

Oh My.

Did that root canal HURT! I've had one before, it wasn't too bad, but the one this morning.

I swore at my dentist. Really. One of the times I almost jumped out of my chair, I yelled "That f____ hurts!!!! Two c-sections, one popped rib, kidney stones, appendicitis, braces, a prior root canal and I survived them all, only to be brought low by a darn tooth!

Total disaster in my scrap room. I want to make stuff, but it's so messy!
Kinda obsessed with these ribbon flowers.
I want to make them in every color, esp. white.

Glee is back tonight. Thank goodness. My reality shows were boring me. Well, not Christian Siriano's special on Bravo, "Having a Moment". Still love him. Top Chef Masters, Runway, and Idol have pretty much been a snooze. Dancing isn't bad because I like Evan and Pam Anderson. I voted for her online last night. I definitely think she's better than others and she doesn't deserve the boot! Kick off Kate & that Bachelor dude!

weekend update

2010-04-12T22:21:00.002-04:00

I finally used that last piece of yellow Hambly transparency for the last prompt in Something for Almost Nothing class. I believe I used pieces of that sheet in my last three layouts.

I loved that sheet, I could buy a couple more and never tire of using it.

We went into the weekend with both our Saturday and Sunday planned.

I always play it by ear, but I wrote some stuff down we didn't want to forget.

For Saturday, it was a showing of Where the Wild Things are at the library.

Not sure if I liked it.

Definitely long, the creatures seemed bipolar and maybe the part where Carol rips the arm off his friend that bird, what's his name?, I wasn't expecting it and I thought it was freaky.
The girls walked away from it fine.

Well, like I said I was freaked!

Now Sunday was fun!

Princess party at Strong Museum.

Hair do done up at Rapunzel's Salon.

Butterfly garden.

Charlotte could not wait to get this "bug" off her!

"Get a picture mommy and can you take it off?"

Nora loved all the butterflies, could not get enough.

Charlotte was ducking every second like she was

under attack!

Visiting the Fairy godmother or Anne Boleyn!

Over four hours spent at the Museum including

a carousel ride and lunch in food court.

Then home for a bike ride around the block.

Good Weekend all around.

Tomorrow I have a root canal at 8am.

Lord help me.

Did you have a nice Easter?

2010-04-05T18:31:00.002-04:00

I'm going back to 2007 for this layout. A trip to the National Zoo in D.C.

with our always fun cousins Al & Lu.

I made this for a challenge for Shimelle's class.

I used a prompt from the HMITM blog that required the use of clouds

and nine embellishments.

Flower challenge.

Nora was upset that Charlotte scratched her.

I didn't journal that!

Instead I wrote a note to Nora about always believing in herself and having faith

things will always get better.

Made these two for a Two Peas crop on 4/2/10.

Look at the sad faces.

We were discouraged.

That darn Easter Bunny either forgot us or really hid our baskets good!

Found them in Mommy's Scraproom!

Let's compare.
Did your sister get something better?!
(Charlotte's hair looks like that every morning, it's painful!)

Hey cutie

Coconut cookies!
Yum!

Nice day Rochester!

2010-04-02T18:39:00.002-04:00

It's very VERY rare to have a perfect spring day in Rochester before Easter, but today we did it!

A lovely day by all accounts that was spent down at Charlotte Beach with Tons of other people.

Lake Ontario was cold & looked questionable, but we braved it.

The beach is not officially open yet, so it was littered with driftwood and yucky stuff.

There was no stopping these two from kicking off their new Old Navy flip flops to dip their little toes in the water!

I see a theme

2010-03-28T16:52:00.001-04:00

One rectangle

of pattern paper

coming right up!!!

What did you do this weekend?

2010-03-22T01:03:00.002-04:00

Charlotte was a fashion superhero.
Also went to a birthday party without me or Nora being there. Very cool. :)

We chalked.

Nora went to the movies with her cousins.

I scrapped a bunch of new layouts.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T13:10:00.002-04:00

My wee lassies wish you a Happy St. Paddy's Day today!

Prompt 3 for Something for Almost Nothing class was to use ribbon. I pulled out these blue scraps, photos, & ribbons and then laid them on my desk. I've been hoarding October Afternoon & Scenic Route scraps and thought it was time to use them. Craig walks by and says "that looks nice" and so I just glued them down. I guess you can say I didn't over think this one! Hee!

Close up because I can!

No, I've never posted a close up before and decided to throw one up. No awesome techniques were used in the creation of this page, except I did make that little muslin flower.

But not as cool as this sham-rocking shamrock!
Made for me by the little loving hands of the very talented Miss Nora!

Prompt 2

2010-03-12T16:55:00.003-05:00

Our second prompt for Something for Almost Nothing.

I used old KI Memories, American Crafts, K & Company, and Sassafras papers.

The little paper station I took a photo of a couple posts down houses a lot of my loose scraps.

I just pulled a bunch out and glued them down.

I like how it turned out, so I'm going to make five more! :P

I'm working through my stash!

YAY!

Is it over?

2010-03-11T10:39:00.003-05:00

Prompt one for Something for Almost Nothing class is to incorporate metal into your layout. I was inspired by that yellow metal rimmed tag to make this layout. It is so cheerful and sunny, I pulled out this photo of my Charlotte & my mom at Jen's wedding last May.

I worked backwards on this one. Usually I pick the photo, then papers, then throw some embellies on. This time I had to find the metals to use so they dictated the page.

It was actually a cool way to design a layout.

Now my rotten day!!!

1. I can't convince Craig to drop off 2Nd part of Charlotte's registration for kindergarten

at elementary school this morning. The girls and I will all have to go this evening.

2. Charlotte does something to Nora which causes her to run screaming into my arms.

As she's telling me Charlotte's misdeed, I notice she has a tooth coming in behind her

bottom baby teeth.Nora does not have any loose teeth yet, so I call to make an appointment for her at dentist

I take out my wallet to get some information and set my wallet by the phone.

3. As I'm walking Charlotte into school I'm feeling the Spring day and step into the grass.

Sink into mud to the top of my shoe.

Clean shoe off in a puddle of dirty water.

4. I go grocery shopping.

I get everything loaded on conveyor belt, and remember my wallet is sitting home by the phone.

I feel like an class A dork, apologize to the cashier, people behind me. Run home red faced to get my wallet with my money and return to store to pay for my suspended order.

5. Leaving grocery store and stop at a 4 way stop. For some silly reason I assume everybody should stop at these!! Except the teenage girls who can't be bothered with stopping and almost run into me. After much horn blowing and expressing my displeasure, I thank my lucky stars and get myself home.

6. It's only 2:30.

This & That

2010-03-08T10:34:00.005-05:00

Yay! I'm taking an online class called Something from Almost Nothing taught by Shimelle!

Can you tell I'm a wee bit excited?!

I have a non- blinking blinkie on my right sidebar. ---->

So the class starts tomorrow and we have been given our first challenge.

Take photos of your stash!Now I sometimes feel like a glutton with my scrapbook supplies

so here is only a glimpse of what I've got going on.

I didn't tidy up before photo time either.

Looking at the photos now, I see my missing Joann's ad.

(Sorry Sister for stealing one of yours yesterday!)

I've got a drawer & shelf full of cute stamps. I NEED to use them.

I'm not a card maker, so I have to work them into my layouts some way.

One of the bowl of buttons that I forget to dig through, plus a bowl of fabric & felt pieces.
In my defense, I do use these items for making barrettes and headbands for my girlies.

Speaking of my girls....

How are funny are these photos from Chuck E Cheese?

Charlotte HATED the monster truck ride!!!!

I had to scoop my poor little baby out mid ride!!!

Unlike her sister beside her with the biggest smile her face can hold!

Nora must have spent at least $5.00 in tokens on that ride, but it was

the best spent money because she absolutely LOVED it!!!

Looks like I have a wild woman on my hands!! Now who's going on the roller coasters with her when she's big enough?
I think we can safely assume, Charlotte won't be volunteering!!

Snow Day for real!

2010-02-26T12:55:00.002-05:00

I know it's probably crazy, but I love being snowed in! Big fat snowflakes are falling down and I love it!

Sure Craig & I already shoveled the driveway so he could get into work, but I'd do it again. The girls are home, no school for Nora & no field trip for Charlotte today.

We are just goofing around today. A little TV this morning, but we've been playing games for the last hour.

We ate pizzas made with sauce, cheese & flour tortillas. Maybe a little ice cream cake left over from Nora's b-day sounds good for later.

Let's see if we can get crafty today. Then I have the trifeca: snow, ice cream cake, & crafts !

Happy Birthday Nora!

2010-02-23T23:29:00.002-05:00

This kind & beautiful girl made me a mama 6 years ago today!

She changed my life forever and I'm humbled and grateful for her love

and presence in my life!

I can't believe she's in kindergarten and learning so many new things.

She read me one of her little books the other night and I was so proud of her.

She's so sweet with her little dog Pinky and always looking out for her.
And always best friends with her sister Charlotte!

Let's not forget she has been my personal alarm clock for these six years!

From the night we brought her home from the hospital (never slept that first night) to this very morning when she crawled into bed next to me to whisper it was her birthday!

Even on her overnights to her cousins house, I get my morning wake up calls!

Loving this baby every day and thank you God for giving her to me!

Happy Birthday Nora!

2010-02-23T23:28:00.001-05:00

Olympic haze

2010-02-22T10:40:00.002-05:00

Love love the Olympics! Can't stop watching them every night, go USA!

Nora totally kicked it into high gear last week and worked on picking up the playroom. It was worthy of a celebration, so we ate chocolate covered graham crackers and drank tea out of little bitty cups. Well, not me, I gave up all cakes, donuts, cookies, bagels, breads, muffins...etc. for Lent. So far, so good!

Charlotte & I are going to Walmart this morning to pick up a booster seat for her. She's almost ready for one and we'll need an extra car seat this week for Nora's little friend we'll be driving around.

We ended up at Walmart at least once a week in VA and I can count on one hand all the times I've been to one since moving back to Rochester. I've since turned my back on Walmart in favor of Wegmans. Love me some Wegmans!

Greetings earthlings

2010-02-15T18:38:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Well a day off, which means I can say Happy Birthday Lulu! So many birthdays this month! Bad month to start a diet, but isn't every month a bad time to start a diet?!
So we've been super crafty over here this month. Making flower clips for little girls hairdos thanks to this tutorial. I can't stop making these things because it's so quick & addicting. If only the girlies would keep them in their hair longer than 5 minutes!

Our crafty little valentines for Grandma Judy who watched the girls so Craig & I could go out and have a proper date. We went out to eat at Venetos again and ended our night having a slice of cake at Phillips European Restaurant. I saw a flier while I was in there that they have a cake happy hour!! Hello?!?! That's got my name written all OVER it! I'm sure my enthusiasm scared Craig and then I intimidated him into sharing his dessert with me. I wanted the Viennese Meringue Torte, so did he, so I had to order something different. I think it's a waste of dessert opportunity to get the same thing because that's what's sharing is for, right?

Well, I didn't like mine as well as his, so I brought mine home and ended up eating half of his. Oh divine justice! Don't order my cake again!

Nora & Charlotte made some super sweet lady bug valentines to pass out and I forgot to snap a photo of them. I just bagged them up to put in their backpacks so we wouldn't fool with them too much! I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in the ones they brought home from school.

First...not everyone gives out valentines.

I know, weird.

Charlotte's preschool teacher sent home a list of ten kids in her class. We made 12 sweet treats for her classmates, teacher, & teacher's helper. Apparently only 4 kids besides Charlotte handed anything out. Where's your Valentine's spirit I wanted to yell! Then Charlotte's teacher didn't let her use the cute v-day box we made last year. Her 4 cards came home in a stapled piece of construction sheet. :(

Nora did a bit better in her class of almost 20 kids. Half participated and she got to decorate her stapled sheet of construction paper! :)

I loved giving Valentines, making them, and sorting through them when I was a kid.

This was a different experience. It made me a little sad because I was as excited as the girls. Don't worry they are fine, not scarred from the lack of love greetings, but I might not be the same!! ;)

Today I am

2010-02-05T15:08:00.003-05:00

-Grocery shopping and bring cans & bottles back

-Trying to figure out dinner

-Saved by Craig, we're going out to eat

-Trying to convince the girls cleaning is cool

-Not surprised no one is on my "Cleaning is cool" campaign

-Watching "Funny Girl" w/ Nora

-Thinking about Valentines for the girls classmates

-Laundry

-Reading a library book

-Empty and fill dishwasher

-Surfing Internet

-making scrapbook pages

-reading library books to the girls

And that is my Friday at least up to 3 o'clock!

Forever is a long time to wait.

2010-02-02T17:53:00.002-05:00

Nora and I feel like we've been waiting forever.

Nora for a playdate with her friend Ren.

She's going home on the bus with her friend and staying for dinner on Thursday.

I've been waiting for Lost.

I get mine first!

pop culture break

2010-01-29T09:06:00.003-05:00

Can we stop writing about John Edwards already?

I didn't like the slime when he was running for president, vice president, then president again. Since then we've been assailed with his adultery, love child, and cancer stricken wife. Go crawl away and take your shame with you!

Obama state of the union, didn't watch it (watched the Kardashians) but I read up on Obama criticizing the Supreme Court. I try to keep my political opinions confined to people within shouting distance, hee, but I will just state for the record this bothered me. Then Schumer clapping away over the shoulders of the Supreme Court...grrr. Totally inappropriate and I've watched it on YouTube like 5 times. What's my problem now?!

Project Runway still bores me. Goodbye Ping, sorry your team mate and his model threw you under the bus and then decimated you with it. Your couture gown was ridiculous though.

Miss these babies. They are currently at my sister's enjoying a sleepover. I'm listening to Glee Cast mix on Pandora, our favorite in the morning. They just played "Seasons of Love" from "Rent" which could be Charlotte's favorite. As evidence...she pulls a chair over to the ipod station thingy to pump up the volume. She also likes "Defying Gravity" from "Wicked". Both of my girls LOVE musicals. They're serious about them. During this award season, they are thrilled they keep seeing "Donna".

You might hear this at my house.

"Nora... it's Donna!"

"She looks different, where's Sophie?"

"Oh good...Harry Headbanger is there too."

Yep...they've seen "Mamma Mia".

Meryl Streep up for her Julia/Julie role is everywhere and Colin Firth sightings have been plentiful.

ETA : Nora & Charlotte made their own tie dyes they are wearing in this pic. Awesome job!

I can't stop reading

2010-01-27T14:26:00.003-05:00

I feel like I haven't picked up a book in a long time and just read for the fun of it.

I'm curing that right now!

I can't stop reading.

I'm either starting a new book or just finishing one.

I missed reading.

Plus I haven't grocery shopped for anything other than staples since Christmas.

Does anyone else feel like taking a break from the supermarket after

buying for Thanksgiving and Christmas?

So I'm in the middle of my creative dinner menus.

I won't bore you with the details, but I'm going to have to start

making real dinners again with Craig no longer commuting.

He'll be home for dinner now, so some of my "inventive"

dinners haven't passed the muster with him.

Not everyone likes frozen tortellini with tomato soup.

Plus i have my shows coming back on.

I had to watch last episode of Lost last night.

Now I'm ready for the final season.

Also American Idol is so boring and trite.

I can't watch that show again until they narrow it down to the top 20.

Kara is so annoying.

ETA:

Winner Winner Chicken dinner!

This LO won me an Epson Printer from Two Peas in a Bucket.

Thank You Two Peas & Epson!

uh huh.

2010-01-15T12:57:00.002-05:00

Real good week.

Craig is going to get his transfer from Buffalo to Rochester on Feb. 1st.

YAY!

Hopefully the snow we're famous for holds off until his long commute is over.

Project Runway started last night. Back in NY, the way it should be!

BUT....dare I say it....yeah kinda boring.

I think it peaked with Christian Siriano and it's been downhill ever since.

Excited for all the new releases coming out after CHA.
I know I will have to get a little of this, this, and this!

All so delightful, esp. to this mama of girls!

All this too.

2010-01-13T14:08:00.003-05:00

The roof over our porch is sagging. I never noticed, I'm not very observant. Craig has seen it, of course, and he is correcting it right now. He's out there in the snow, ice, and cold jacking up the roof. Not sure what's next, but I didn't for see this being our next home improvement project. Oh well.
We are working very hard on writing our letters and numbers over here.
Kindergarten is tough these days.
Not the writing part, but we're also working on addition and sight words.
Sight words are words like "like" "the" "and".

Target dollar spot has been fantastic lately in helping us with this. We've picked up some flash cards, writing boards, and writing place mats. Every morning I pick out a sight word flash card and we go over it, use it in a sentence, and stick it on the refrigerator. Periodically throughout the day, we return to our word to make sure we still recognize it and maybe if we can spell it. This is primarily for Nora's benefit, but I've kept Charlotte in the loop. Give her a head start on this too!

drive by

2010-01-09T22:42:00.003-05:00

My house is an official all out mess. Christmas presents are being used and haven't found a permanent home and we've been staying in because of all the snow! I think I'm going to have to organize a cleaning or walk out....hm mm.

glee kick.

2010-01-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

I have a crush on Mr Schu.

Enough said.

New Year & catch up

2010-01-02T17:25:00.007-05:00

(please ignore disgusting swivel gold chairs - table is a built in- they match - will be tossed in kitchen renovation!)

New Years Eve dinner made by Craig.

Carne asada burritos San Diego style.

Two lemons were used in the recipe between the pico, guacamole, & meat.

Way too lemony for me, I'm a lime lovin' girl.

With a tiny tinkering, it has the power to be a great recipe.

Craig loved them.

I love that he cooked, very nice indeed!

Sorry little Nora!

Picture taken at 11:57 pm.

Three minutes to midnight & the last meltdown of 2009 captured for historical reasons. ;)
Baby did not like watching Kathy Griffin & Anderson Cooper!
Shameless picture opportunity!
12:00 am Jan. 1, 2010
All asleep by 12:08 am

Just a real dump of layouts I've been cranking out this week.
I have more to post.
Playing major catch up.
Can you believe I haven't scrapped bus pictures or Halloween yet?

Trying to make room so I won't feel guilty making my Dec. daily this month.
My pictures will be in this week.

Must work on 2pagers as well.

Not overwhelming yet.

But the year is young.

Goodbye 2009

2009-12-31T13:06:00.002-05:00

What a year of highs and lows.

I was joking with Craig this morning about how much money we had lost this year. Selling our monster house in VA is is tops on the list of things I want to forget about this year. Well, it was all for a good cause. I imagine we can call it freeing ourselves from a materialistic lifestyle and bringing our family home to a place that matters. We have surrounded ourselves with love, support, and simple comforts and living 500 miles away in a 5000sq.ft house never compared to this feeling.

I want to spend more time teaching my girls this year instead of just doing. I'm in the habit of just doing everything to get it done. I'm going teach my girls how to do the things we might take for granted. They are little, but they are no longer babies and I think it would benefit us all I let them have more input in our decisions. They're not going to be doing their own laundry or making their own dinner daily! But we can start with limiting our wardrobes choices for the day and putting our laundry and dirty dishes where they belong. :)

I want to travel this year. We're not moving again for a long time, if ever, so I want to have a family vacation. Disney would be fantastic, as we've haven't been, but I would be absolutely content with a little break somewhere closer. As long as it was interesting & not just Buffalo! :)

I want to take more pictures this year and write more stories.

I want to be a better mother, wife, & person this year.

And if by chance I finally find the natural blond hair I had and the body I once had this year would ABSOLUTELY rock!

editing photos

2009-12-29T17:10:00.000-05:00

Lost in the land of editing photos from December. Be back soon, isn't this one silly?! Totally completely Charlotte!

blizzard...

2009-12-10T16:50:00.004-05:00

Dec. 3rd

Manhattan Square Park

Skating Rink

Roch., NY

Dec. 4

same place

Can't get enough of the ice skating.

Well...I'm not skating...just walking Pinky who pulled

a Marley & Me at the rink.

You know the ocean scene. Yuck.

Dec. 5

missing photo.

Craig & I went out for Chinese.

I have a picture of Craig drinking a flaming volcano on my cell.

Dec. 6

Strong Museum

Allie & Lulu
Madeline's Christmas

Dec. 7

Making marshmallows
YumDec. 9
Snowed.
I actually shoveled the driveway.
Proof.

Dec. 10

Blizzard

That's Craig shoveling the driveway.

The tiny black speck is him!

Difference between Rochester & Richmond

We don't cancel school when it snows.

December what?

2009-12-05T11:58:00.002-05:00

My December daily is kicking my butt and it's only 5 days into the month.

We went ice skating 2 nights in a row which should have provided me with a ton of great pictures, but really didn't.

Hmm...we're going to make Martha Stewart's recipe for vanilla marshmellows. If I don't get a cute photo today, I may have to reconsider this project!

Hello December

2009-12-02T19:54:00.003-05:00

December started with a snowfall!

Nice.I'm attempting a December Daily.

For non-scrapbackers, it's a monthly journal filled with pictures taken daily

and the thoughts wriiten down to remember the day.
I like a snow shot for my first entry. It kinda sets a nice wintery

tone to my journal.

Things to write about on December 2nd.

Aunt Sue watched Charlotte while I volunteered in Nora's kindergarten class.

I tried to watch a tivoed Rock & Roll 25th Hall of Fame Concert.

Charlotte wanted to know why Bono was doing the pee pee dance.

He does spent quite a bit of time semi-hunched over tapping one foot.

Hmm.

I never thought my 4yr old

had anything in common with him.

Nora thought Mick Jagger was old and why does he sound funny?

Good valid questions.

I definitely thought that myself about ol' Mick.

Counting down Xmas ABC family style

2009-11-30T16:43:00.004-05:00

Things I'm doing to kick off the Christmas season.

1. Getting up at 2am to start shopping on Black Friday.

It was wild, it was crazy, and there's a rumor that I may have been

a little extreme in my reaction to $7.50 puffer vests in Target.

When I was through, they needed CSI to make sense of it all.

2. Getting a two hour "nap" after returning from Black Friday

2 little girls jumped on my head waiting

for me to get up so I can start Christmas decorating.

3. Hop out of bed and go to Home Depot to get a real live tree.

Where an unforeseen meltdown occurred because I would not

purchased a seizing reindeer for my front yard.

4. A picture does not convey the wretched state of this reindeer.

He's my nightmare and a 4yr old's dream.

5. Yay! A shot with the flash when all else fails.
We're happy we found a tree.
That lost a thousand needles in the back of my minivan.
And through the house.
That I vacuum up everyday.
It smells real nice though.

6. A tree lovingly decorated by the hands of 4yr & 5yr old.

7. I can take the pictures to prove it, but I'll leave it to the closeups
to convey the serenity of a loved tree.

8. Me - "Nora, can I take your picture by the tree?"

Nora: "uh huh."

Me: " Can you look at me and stop watching 'The Dog who Saved Christmas'?

Stranger in a strange land.

2009-11-24T13:37:00.004-05:00

Hello sweet freedom!

Yep. We're healthy again and both girls are back in school.

Charlotte wanted to play with her leapster this afternoon and told me she wasn't going to school.

Hmm.

I almost had a mini panic attack and then a firm "Put your shoes on,

Leapster will be there when you get home", may have been uttered by yours truley.

And out the door we were!

Crisis averted.

( bad picture of this layout. It looks very cute in person. This photo...not so much!)
It's bad enough when I have made little trips out of the house I feel like a stranger

in a strange land. Now is not the time to be disorientated.

I've got to be on my game to get all those toys that are wanted by my twosome.

Charlotte has already discovered one present. I have to find a good hiding spot in this house.

She's quick. She found it in my closet which she's never gone in before. Nora neither.

Oh well. At least it was only the one.

Bored and .....oh yes BORED!

2009-11-18T13:26:00.003-05:00

I've been home with this little cupcake this week. She's been sick, mostly that heavy wet sounding cough. We've had one night with a fever, but our days have been fever free. Still not sure what we have. But let's get healthy again ALREADY!

Someone in Nora's class has strep according to the note that came home yesterday. Please don't breath in Nora's direction. Can I say that?!

Nothing else happening in our spunky little world. Come on, I've been house bound! I know when I get out I'll probably be talking too much to everyone I see.

Trolling the black Friday ads online and I think I know what I'm getting everyone for Christmas, except Allie. Allie...you're hard to buy for! I just can't buy you any more clothes....that will end up on your floor, books you won't read, or music you can download. I was thinking a gas card, but there are no cool gas stations like Sheetz or Wawas. Hmm...

Drive by

2009-11-14T12:35:00.003-05:00

Title hard to read.

"Little Adventures"

Nora is on the road to recovery after an epic battle with high fevers and a rattling cough.

We missed a week of school and assorted activities.

Now I'm on a Charlotte watch. Craig and I have managed to stay healthy so far.

We did pass a few cooties to Uncle Bobby and we're VERY sorry for that!

We've had a rough week so this was super cool to see today!

Go me!

we are.

2009-11-09T17:48:00.001-05:00

are we or aren't we?

2009-11-07T11:03:00.002-05:00

I'm stressed out.

I've been so cautious about keeping us cootie free that I'm tuckered out.

Is the flu season almost over?

Nora had a cough last week and I kept worrying it was going to develop into something worse.

She looks and sounds good today, so Charlotte told me she wasn't feeling well.

Nora received an invite to a birthday party at a bounce house on Monday and I've

called the mom to tell her we can't make it. In my defense, Nora almost always does get sick with a germ after those places. A trip to the Strong Museum closed us down half a week!

Yes, we sanitize all the time. Maybe too much? Can you become immune to it?

(Charlotte's not in the bubble! She's outside in the previous picture and decided to go in!)

Is it possible to be too paranoid of H1N1? Is it as bad as I've read about? The girls had their flu shots and I was ready to call for the swine flu shot after Halloween, but I have yet to hear anything good about it.

One family told us after our neighborhood Halloween parade, they each got the shot and were never sicker in their lives.

Oh be over flu season, you turning me into a paranoid hot mess!

evidence.

2009-11-04T09:59:00.004-05:00

Here I am editing pictures to send off for developing and I come across this sequence. It cracks me up! Typical storyline of two sisters.

Sweet pose for mama.
I'm going to throw you out of my picture now, lovingly of course.

You're taking too long, must use more FORCE.

reaction

"MOM!"

(the getaway.)

One room at a time....

2009-11-02T10:05:00.003-05:00

Dorothy and Cinderella hope you had a Happy Halloween! So we've been missing in action around these parts since early August I see. That must have been when we started the renovating the scrap room. We have been living limbo wise computer wise since then. Plus we were busy with new schools, schedules, and getting a new routine going. Well it was certainly worth the wait because we have a MARVELOUS scrap room now!
I will post photos soon because right now three crafty tornadoes have hit it hard!

Nora has a new haircut. We call it her "kindergarten cut" and it is not visible in this photo but it brushes her shoulders and she looks adorable. She is in the afternoon kindergarten class which runs from 12:00- 2:30. She absolutely is loving kindergarten and is making new friends. She even has some friends on the bus who are in 1st and 2Nd grade! She is so darn cute getting on and off the bus everyday. Craig usually has Thursday and Fridays off and Nora likes to have her out front bus wise on those days.

Charlotte has preschool 2 days a week at Seton School. She probably wishes she had more days there. I initially signed her up for 2 days because I have Nora and Charlotte's schedules coordinated and I was worried about Charlotte's pick up time conflicting with Nora's drop off from the bus. Turns out we have a 45 minute window between the two. Charlotte is making little friends as well.

We have been making little steps forward on the house since we moved in during July. We've taken down some enormous pines on the side of the house. We've had the scruffy weedy backyard cleared so we can plant some new trees in the spring. Craig has gutted a bathroom and has done more projects than I can remember and the best thing to happen was he built us the best scrappy room ever! I can't wait to share pictures.

Family and friends love our scrap room and understand our need and enthusiasm for our room. When I talk to the neighbors and they ask what we've been up to, I tell them we finished our scrap room/ craft room, I'm met with a blank stare. I have to tell them Martha has one. I still think they don't understand!

Ducks & dinner

2009-08-09T16:35:00.004-04:00

Craig has been working non stop since he moved up from Richmond, VA. So yesterday

was his first day off in Forever and we decided to make a family day out of it.

First we headed out for a delicious breakfast at the Highland Park Diner.

Then the farmers market which was very crowded. Each girl got their own tote to carry the fruit and veggies they each picked out. Nora spotted some fuzzy peaches and green pears. Charlotte spied some broccoli.

A stop in the afternoon in Pittsford to walk along the Erie Canal.

Which would not be complete without stopping to feed the ducks.

Love this picture! :)

My diet was destroyed this weekend because we had a kid free night out. My glorious niece

Lulu kindly said she would watch the girls and Craig and I were free to go out to dinner.

We went out with my brother Kevin & his wife Debbie to Veneto.

I love living in Rochester!

Monday the diet will be salvaged.

Used a sketch from Two peas class Super Sketches to create this layout. It was super fast to make. Love when that happens!

Lesson for today: Proper footwear

2009-08-07T19:18:00.004-04:00

So in my never ending quest to drop some lbs. I've been walking.

Also trying to eat the right foods, exercise, blah, blah, blah....

Not exciting. I do like to walk though.

I missed my morning walk so I made an effort to get a walk in the afternoon.

Why I walk in the a.m.

1. Craig is still home until 9am and he can watch the girls while I walk unfettered.

2. Nobody's out and I don't have to stop, talk, or wave.

3. It's still pleasant in the morning. No overhead sun or heat making it sticky.

4. Did I mention the lack of parental responsibility?!

So I grabbed my camera and my kids after admonishing them to wear proper footwear and we left for Cobb's Hill Reservior. It's literally at the top of our street.

It started off pleasantly enough.

We walked a bit, stopped for pictures in front of the breathtaking (insert joke)

Rochester city view.

Then we continiued our 0.69 mile walk. How do I know this? It was posted all over.

Maybe it was in case someone freaked out they were walking too much.

Who would that be?

Maybe the two little girls who took off running and were chased down a red faced

woman screaming their names and mumbling some others!

After we took picture above (why is the dog the only one looking at me?) we started walking again at a leisurely pace. Maybe that was because Nora was wearing flip flops and Charlotte's shoes were on the wrong feet. I did try to be a good parent and fix them, but I was told by Charlotte she liked them that way.

Halfway around the reservior and the girls were Done.

Done.

Hence why I sneak out of the house and walk alone.

I can't seem to work on my house!

2009-08-05T16:41:00.003-04:00

So everyone knows by now about the big move. Richmond, VA to Rochester, NY.

I've had oodles of really good pictures sitting in my camera since May.

I can't stop printing them, sharing, staring, and scrapping them.

So here are some pictures taken in May.
The beautiful bride, my niece Jen had a destination wedding in St. Pete's Beach, FL.
Best time ever!

Back to my story.
I have a house that's new to me, but it's old. Like built in 1950s old.
Our last three houses have been new construction and you walk in to everything new and shiny.
The new house needs a do over. It's not bad, but it's long overdue for some updating.
I'm not motivated to do it.
I know, I know.
I will be, but I want to start slow.

I plan on living in this house forever.
It's a perfect size ranch in a beautiful established neighborhood.
We're still in the subarbs, but the top of my street is the city.
Love that.

But I can't do it all at once.

Rememeber I sold a lot on the other end?

Now I have to buy new stuff.

Rome wasn't built in a day!

Plus I LOVE that I get to scrapbook again. I've been collecting supplies like it's my job.
Like my full time job.
Don't tell Craig, he can't tell what's new scrap crap and what I've unpacked!

We're back!

2009-07-17T14:41:00.002-04:00

Guess who!

We're back in Rochester!

Hooray!

Can you tell I'm excited?

I have a zillion stories to tell and a mountain of pictures to sort through.

I'm finally back online with my computer and I'm ready to blog again!

Pictures from Jen's wedding

2009-05-20T11:41:00.002-04:00

Here's the site of Jen's photographer and she has beautiful photos from the wedding.
Check it out!

http://www.jasminestarblog.com/index.cfm?catID=2

Silly laptop not letting me create as link! Sorry, old school cut & paste into your address bar!

Randomness

2009-05-17T06:03:00.002-04:00

Absolutely random list

1. An extra$10 is never too much to spend to ensure we get 2 double beds next time we stay in a hotel. Two adults, two kids, one dog in one double bed is a travesty. Hence this post in the
middle of the night. I'm waiting for everyone to wake up so I can get my sleeping shift in.

2. First dance recital is over One more to go. Nora and Charlotte were absolutely fearless and
beautiful and I have the video to prove it! It will be posted as soon as I can figure it out. Craig said I can post pics and videos w/ my mini laptop. I'll be sleeping through my lesson
tomorrow.

3. House on Burray is no more. After several sleepless frantic nights Craig and I managed to
pack what was left of our possessions. Through the mother of all yard sales, craigslist, and the dump we were able to condense 7000 Sq ft(includes basement) into 4 6’D x 7’W x 8’H
relocubes. Don't worry, I didn't cry too long. But it was very difficult.

4. Pictures from Fl are popping up on FB. Yuck for me....yay for Nora & Charlotte!

5. I should have had a root canal done last summer. My tooth is killing me.

6. I couldn't recycle all my mags I've been collecting, but I couldn't in all conscience pack them
when I was throwing out so much good stuff. I packed them under my clothes in the back of
the hummer and I've been going through them while living hotel life and tearing out the pages
I like. Then I recycle them.

7. Wondering how I'm going to entertain 2 kids all next week? Wish we could leave after
tomorrow's dance, but I also don't want the kids to miss their preschool graduations or
Tammy's wedding.

8. Nora and Char are obsessed with Aunt Suesue! There's tons of playacting involved and I
overheard a scene being played out in the back of the truck today. Nora always plays the
part of Suesue and Charlotte covers Allie, Lulu, Tasha, & Crack. Today "Suesue" was scolding
"Tasha" for not having on her seat belt!

9. Nora talks in her sleep. She just woke herself up and came over to hug me. LOVE her!

10. This makes me happy. http://www.vw.com/routan/gallery/en/us/#/exterior/0/

I'm still here!

2009-05-15T13:28:00.002-04:00

This is a blog post without pictures> BOO!

It's 1:30 in the afternoon, our first day of hotel life and Charlotte just kicked Nora. Not the first time and certainly not the last. I have them watching PBSkids. They're strangely hypnotized by Mr. Roger's right now.

Our house in Chesterfield, VA closed today and we're living in an extended living suite to finish off our schedule. We have dance recitals this weekend, preschool graduations next week, and a wedding Memorial Day weekend.

I took tons of photos of our quick trip to Fl last weekend. I'll be posting them as soon as I get settled in a new house.

In the meantime, I'll try to update as much as possible!

We're moving!

2009-04-21T11:11:00.004-04:00

Sorry I've been absent and not posting, but we've sold our house! Very exciting because we are preparing to move! So the not so exciting part is that I am constantly packing! Boo.

I have probably 95% of the kitchen packed, everything we not selling on craigslist packed in the family, dining, living room, and study packed. I have started packing the girls bedrooms. We're in the midst of sorting out our children's books. I'm letting the girls decide which ones they want to sell and which ones they want to keep. What we don't keep or sell will all be going to charity.

I am dreading packing the playroom and I'm holding out on that because I don't want to pack that too soon because where would we be without our oasis of toys.

So packing has been eyeopening. Who knew we had glasses we could use as a straw? Or so many coffee mugs from Las Vegas? My personal favorite has been finding all these wooden salad bowls I forgot about. I know I'll NEED them someday, they're coming with me!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:07:00.000-04:00

On a mini blog break because we're visiting family in Rochester, NY!

Home is where my babies are!

2009-04-08T09:35:00.002-04:00

Something that is very meaningful right now.

Hello

2009-04-05T18:02:00.001-04:00

Little yard work this weekend,

and playing,

and scrapping!

Can I brag for a second?

2009-04-01T15:17:00.003-04:00

These two girls had a fantastic visit to the dentist today! It was the first visit ever for both and they were both well behaved and had an all around perfect visit! No cavities or problems with either girl and the tooth I was worried about with Charlotte is fine. She fell off a kitchen breakfast stool a bit ago and there was bleeding around her tooth. I was worried it would turn grey. The dentist said it was fine and no worries.

Nora had an x-ray and the dentist thinks she will start feeling some loose teeth in six months to a year. Tooth fairy time! I can't tell you how relieved and proud I am! Dentist time does not equal scary time!

You can say that again!

2009-03-29T17:36:00.000-04:00

Scrap Space

2009-03-28T15:59:00.003-04:00

I have my scrap space located in a closet in my kids playroom. It's very convenient because I'm with the girls and everything I own is within arms reach.

My desk is laminate kitchen top from Home Depot installed by my husband with some accessories from Ikea on the walls and an Ikea stool. I keep the majority of my pattern paper stacked on the floor. Not the best solution, but when I'm looking for something, I usually find some paper I forgot about!

The top shelf of the closet holds all my paints, ribbons, buttons, & flowers. Buttons & flowers are in spaghetti jars that have been through the dishwasher a couple times. To the right of the paints is a box like container w/ 3 drawers where I keep alphas, rub-ons, & stickers.

To the left of the paints is another little unit where I keep acrylic stamps and stamp pads. Also filled with random embellishments. I keep my wood mounted stamps on top of said container. Hanging from closet rod are containers from Ikea where I store adhesives, deco scissors, and more randomness.

It was too quiet when I was taking my pictures earlier. I had to investigate and found the girls in a new hideaway behind the rocker in Charlotte's room!

I'm sold

2009-03-26T12:36:00.001-04:00

http://blogs.nypost.com/tv/archives/2009/03/the_office_pool_1.html

Thank you & please don't come again!

2009-03-23T13:20:00.007-04:00

We woke up on Saturday morning with an itch to go somewhere and do something cool. We've explored north of Richmond (Fredericksburg, DC, Annapolis, etc.) west (Charlottesville, bunch of small towns) and east of Richmond (VA beach, Williamsburg, Newport News, Norfolk, etc) but we've never gone further south than Petersburg. If you've been to Petersburg, you'd know why!

Road trip to Raleigh, NC! Why not less than 3hrs away, we'd do some sightseeing, shopping, and eating.

I was running around that morning getting quick breakfast for kids, cleaning the house in case we had buyers looking (go ahead let's laugh together...HAHA!) and someone asked me if they could pack some candy for the trip. Sure, why not, and the girls stuffed stuffed their pockets with left over gum, lollipops, and now & laters from the pinata at Nora's bday.

Check out Charlotte's lips above. Let's not forget the box of munchkins we bought with our coffees at Dunkin Donuts. Charlotte loves mini donuts. She's known for it, her thing!

First stop in Raleigh was the welcome center downtown which was housed in the Museum of History. Pretty cool place and Nora and Charlotte made a quick weaving craft.

Charlotte seemed more impressed with the sample provided than the craft she made with her Dad. Nora's little place mat came out wonderful!

Next stop had to be lunch because I was starving and I did not partake in the candy extravaganza happening in the backseat. We passed by a cool looking outdoor pizza joint called the Mellow Mushroom. The place was very busy and we had a 30 minute wait and we were given one of those lighty buzzy things and off to the bar area to wait. Craig got a Hefeweizen, me a Woodchuck Cider, and two sweet teas for the girls. We opt to pay for our drinks then and it only costs $8. We're in love with this place, Craig & I are gushing & enjoying our drinks when a little voice says.....

"I'm going to puke"

"What?" says Craig

My eyes get huge! It's Charlotte saying this...dejavu...holy crap..she'll really do it!!

"Grab her!!!!" I yell at Craig

He grabs her and in a split second decision he runs holding her to the men's room.

He just opens the door, the whole bar is watching, and Charlotte's vomiting major into the trash can right inside the door.

The door swings close, some people are still staring at the door, then they turn to look at me.

He took her into the men's room. What can I do?! I stare at the door with huge eyes and then Nora and I are just sitting there looking at each other.

Then the buzzer light thing on our table starts jumping around like crazy which would have attracted attention if people weren't looking at us already.

Craig and Charlotte return to the table.

"Our table's ready" I say uncertainly.

"Grab your beer, let's go" he says.

And we went...right to our outdoor table and ate the best pizza ever! I don't know if we're evil parents, but it's not like we could just go home!

Charlotte was absolutely fine after she threw up. Lesson learned.... pinata candy and Dunkin Donut minis + road trip = near disaster. Must pack GOOD healthy snacks for road trips! Disaster was adverted by quick thinking!

Look! Buffalo Rd, I mean BuffaloE RD.

Then we went to the Triangle Township Center for some retail therapy. I bought some little things in Archivers. Then we went to Z Gallerie and some woman who worked there yelled at Charlotte for touching a water fountain in the store. Come on, you can't tell children not to touch falling water! It seemed like she was following us around, so we took off.

Raleigh was nice to visit, but we probably won't be going back again any time soon!

Love Denim

2009-03-19T14:35:00.002-04:00

Love love love denim jackets on little girls in the spring!!!!
I think Pink looks like a show dog here, just saying!

Have a beautiful day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T11:06:00.000-04:00