what we're obsessed with.....

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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?