update

So I changed Natalie's wave machine so the occasional seagull will fly by, and I set her Nemo toys on her pillow. I told her that if she moved, Nemo would fall down, and that she needed to lay still so she can here the birdies. And guess what?! Not a peep out of her for over an hour! SHE IS SLEEPING!! WHOO HOO *doing the very quiet happy dance*!! Now I am off to revel in the silence :O)

exhausted

So Natalie has not taken a nap in 3 days. I am beat!! I forget how much I rely on her down time. I use that time to clean, scrap, return emails, blog, whatever. And now I am so behind! And she so NEEDS her naps. Without them she is such a pill! She puts the *Terrible* into Terrible Twos. And she normally not like this.

I am racking my brain trying to figure out why she is just not napping. Is is because Sissy is at school, and Natalie is just out of sorts? Probably. Or is it because she working on some new skill? Likely. I also wonder if it is because she is tired of being trapped in her crib? Maybe. I have tried everything that I can think of to make her nap: wear her out playing, running errands, pushing naptime back an hour or so, giving her milk, what ever I can think of. But to no avail. I am so frustrated.

My last idea was to transform her crib into a daybed. So yesterday, we made a big production out of taking the front of her crib off, and we went to Target to get a big girl pillow. She didn't take a nap, grrrr, but she did go right to sleep last night, and she slept all night in her new *big girl bed*! I hope this is a good sign! I know it is just a phase, but I am so ready for her to be back to her sweet, pleasant, napping self!

Natalie SLEEPING in her Big Girl Bed! Aahh, a sight for sore eyes :O)


And speaking of getting back to normal, my mom and dad finally have their electricity. They had lost it initially last Wednesday when the first storms rolled through. But it came back on about 3 am Thursday morning. Then about 10 am that same morning, my mom saw the transformer blow, and they were dark again. Friday, of course, brought a new round of storms and damage, and they didn't get any power until last night. They were out for one week! Yuck. And with the temperatures as high as they have been, things have been pretty miserable for them. Not to mention the fact that my dad relies on his computer for business, and my brother needs his for school. I can only imagine how long it will take for them to catch up with what they need to do. Some 43,000 customers in the area still don't have power. I hope the powers that be see this as a wake up call to do something to prevent this from happening again. The most widespread outages occurred where there are older lines that are not run underground, and are near large, older trees. What a mess this has been for our area.

my birthday week!

It is my birthday week!!! I am turning twenty~nine for the 3rd time on Sunday! So I am really looking forward to this weekend! I know it is only Monday, lol, but I love having fun stuff to look forward too! On Saturday, we are getting together with my girlfriends and their families for a bbq. Fun! Fun! And Sunday (my actual birthday) is also my dad's birthday. So we will do something with my parents and my brothers.

Of course, I have no idea what I want for my birthday. I really like surprises, so I am usually tickled with whatever I receive! I would love a Wacom tablet, but $$ is a little tight, I would feel so guilty getting it. Maybe for Christmas :O)

I did a little scrapbooking today. I have gotten some fun new kits lately that I wanted to play around with...
Corinne's first day of kindergarten!!! She is now a *school-ager* Credits: Tan paper and inked edge from Jan Crowley's *Little Black Dress;* Orange, Blue, Green and Yellow papers from Heather Roselli's *April Showers;* Flower template and inked edges from Christine Smith's *Freestyle Flowers II;* All kits are available at The DigiChick. I also used Atomic Cupcake inked Edges, Dani Mogistad's circle stitch, and the font is Vintage Typewriter.

And thank you ladies for suggesting some good walking tunes! You gave me some great ideas that I hadn't thought of!! I am really enjoying my morning strolls! I feel better already! My goal is to fit into my new jeans by September. Wish me luck!!

Finally Friday!

What a week it has been! I have just been out of sorts all week, and very little seemed to go my way. But today is a new day, so I will embrace it!!

With everything, I was still able to get a little scrapbooking done...
Here's my 2 yo enjoying the lazy days of summer! Journaling: Ahh, the life of a two year old! No cares, no worries! It doesn’t get much better than this! ~ Natalie Anne ~ July 2, 2006 Credits: Papers, elements, and alpha from Heather Roselli's fun new *Tropical Summer* kit, available at The DigiChick. Fonts used: 2Ps Gingersnap & Baskerville

And I have still been walking! I walked for an hour today - whoo hoo! I just need to find something new to listen to on my ipod. So far I have walked to Maroon5, 3 Doors Down, John Mayer, and Train. I like to mix things up a bit, but I am running out of upbeat tunes. I have a lot of country and jazz, and some R&B on my ipod, but they just don't motivate me to move. Any suggestions?

We are celebrating my friends birthday tomorrow, so I am off to go find her the perfect gift, on a limited budget. FUN! I am usually way ahead of the game when it comes to gifts, I like to buy months in advanced. But I have not been inspired! My own birthday is next weekend, and I haven't a clue what I want, either. I guess I will just wander around the store until THE PERFECT GIFT jumps in my lap. I may be a while, lol!

Have a great weekend!

Corinne's First Day of Kindergarten!

ahh, yes, the BIG day has arrived! Our district goes year-round, so school starts early. And so far no tears :O) While I didn't expect any from Corinne, I wasn't sure how her dad and I would react. My hubby, Adrian, had already claimed he was going to cry like a baby, but he is doing a great job holding it together!

Last night was *meet the teacher night*, so we went up to Corinne's school to drop of some school supplies and to see her teacher. We found Corinne's seat, her cubby, and her hook. She had some questions that she wanted to ask her teacher, so they had a nice chat. Her big question was *what kind of homework will we have?* She is so excited to learn, and to make new friends, and to do homework!! We took a couple of pics, of course :O) Natalie was so excited, too, that she even wore her own backpack!


Corinne and her kindergarten teacher!

Last night, Corinne had a little trouble falling asleep, but once she did, she slept really well. She woke me up about 7:30 and we got her all ready. She was so excited and ready! I don't think she was very nervous at all. We took lots more pics, and then the time came - the School Bus had arrived. With barely a look back, she got on the bus and was off!!


I just can't believe my baby is in Kindergarten!

there is a reason...

I am grateful. Very grateful. I have two very happy, very healthy little girls. I have a loving and respectful husband who provides me with the opportunity to stay home and raise my girls. I have a wonderful extended family, and amazing friends and neighbors who make my life so rich. I live in a beautiful home, drive a reliable car, and I am healthy. In a time where there is so much pain, suffering, and unhappiness in this world, I know that I am truly blessed. I just have to believe that the bad days are meant to remind me of what is really important. I have to have faith in that.

dread...

You know that feeling you get at the pit of your stomach when you are uneasy about something? Yeah, that's the one. Well last night I started to get that feeling. I am having a hard time shaking it, too. And before I went to bed I tried to put my finger on what was causing it... the hospital bill from Natalie's run in with the coffee table last year? my long awaited float trip that is now over? my 31st birthday, coming up next week? the piles and piles of laundry that need to be put away? the impending deadline to sign up for my master's program, if I want to go? our building in the city that just isn't selling? my baby's first day of kindergarten that is coming up on Thursday?

AH HA!! That's it! I so totally thought I was okay with her starting school. Oh, was I wrong. I am really not looking forward to Thursday. And my hubby is already saying that he is going to cry. My goodness, we are going to be a mess. And my sweet Corinne, she has been looking forward to this day for years. She is so excited! She got her haircut short today, so that she would look like a *school ager.* She is growing so fast! Why can't time just slow down a little? Well, I am excited for her, she is ready. But I am going to miss her so much. Her school is full day, she wont get home until 4:30 :o( I have to remind myself that she isn't going to college, it is just kindergarten. Enough of my feeling sad, though. I did make a LO to highlight her new school clothes that we bought last week...

Journaling: July 11 - Mommy and grandma took me shopping to buy some new clothes for me to wear to Kindergarten!! I got a new backpack, some cute outfits & my favorite - a new pair of shoes!!!
Credits: Papers and Alpha are from Heather Roselli's brand new *Teddy Bear Picnic* kit available at the DigiChick. Atomic Cupcake chalked edges. Kids Font.

We're off again!

I am jumping on really quick to say bye! I am heading off on my luxury vacation - 3 days, 2 nights tent camping and rafting down the river in Bourbon Missouri! Ahhh, the good 'ole midwestern life! We like to get to the camp early and set up, so we will probably leave here in a couple of hours. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I will see ya'll when I return!!

bad days and mojo

Wow, what a day yesterday turned out to be. It just seemed like the bad news just kept on coming. Nothing too serious, just crap with finances and my hubby's real estate business. But all you can do is press on, and learn your lessons. I am just so thankful that my hubby has been able to follow his dreams, even if the sacrifices have been more than we bargained for. I know we will succeed, I just hope that it is soon.

I have to say that I was afraid the bad day was affecting my scrap mojo, but I worked it all out with a scraplift!

This is lifted from Zoe Pearn's LO for Heather's Scraplift Challenge at TDC. I hope I did it justice :O) Credits: Papers and Elements from Laura Alpuche's *Poolside Paradise* available from the DigiChick. Messy frame from Laura Alpuche's *frameworks* series, also available at TDC. Font is Papyrus.

I also created another fun layout that I can not share just yet!

I have to go now, Natalie is starting to get into things, and she has been known to destroy a room in under 10 seconds flat. TTFN!

new school shoes!

Sniff, sniff. My baby starts kindergarten in 8 days!!!! Our district goes year round, so this milestone is especially early. To mark the occasion, my mom and I took Corinne out to do some school shopping. She got a new backpack, some fun outfits, and best of all, NEW SHOES!! They were a special treat from Grandma, and I hardly think she has taken them off since yesterday :O) Aren't they cute?


I am also very happy that I got to walk again today!!! It was only for 30 minutes, but it feels great! And I am stoked that The DigiChick is starting a new challenge that will help motivate me to keep up my new habit! Checkout the details here!

Now I have to go clean and pack. We are going camping again this weekend, but this time WITHOUT the girls~ YEAHHHHHH!!!!!! Can you tell I am excited? lol!

got 'er done!

Okay, so I really couldn't think of a better title. I know it is bad :o) . But, I finished the LO that I lost earlier!! Yea!!

Credits: All papers, elements, and alpha are from Laura Alpuche's new kit *Poolside Paradise* available at The DigiChick. Paper tear is Atomic Cupcake's and the font is vintage typewriter.

lesson learned...

I know, I know! ALWAYS save your work!! GRRR!!!

I was just completing a couple of LOs that I had been working on, and right in the middle of running an action, *POOF!* my 2-page LO was gone! I should have saved my work. I know. There really is no excuse. All I can do is hang my head in shame and laugh. But I know next time I will be more diligent about saving.

The bad news is that instead of having a cool new layout to share, all I have today is my frustration. Sorry!

Hopefully I will be able to recreate my LO.

Something to think about...

I got this from a friend, it really gave me something to think about. I hope you enjoy it...

A POEM ABOUT OUR GIRLFRIENDS.........

Someone will always be prettier.
Some will always be smarter.
Some of their houses will be bigger.
Some will drive a better car.
Their children will do better in school.
And their husband will fix more things around the house.

So let it go, and love you and your circumstances.

Think about it!

The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart.
And the most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children.
And the richest woman you know, she's got the car, the house, the clothes.... might be lonely.

And the word says, "If I have not Love, I am nothing."
So, again, love you. Love who you are.
Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say,

"I am too blessed to be stressed and too anointed, to be disappointed!"
"Winners make things happen-- Losers let things happen."

Be "blessed" ladies.....

Have a wonderful day!!!

fabulous friday!

So, Friday is here already! And what a Friday it will be. I have so much to do! (Run errands, pack for camping, go to grocery store, clean - nothing like waiting until the last minute!) But I am also very proud of myself, I actually woke up at 6:30 (AM!) and walked with my neighbor. It is amazing how great it feels to get some exercise and shower before my girls wake up! I have been dragging my feet about getting started, I stay up way too late on this computer. But I really needed to do it! And now I hope to continue! We'll see!

Rock Stars, Book Clubs and more!!

Did ya watch RockStar last night? Oh, I had forgotten how much I enjoy this show!! I was addicted last summer, and I am very excited that it is back. There are some pretty incredible artists competing this season. They performed everything from Janis Joplin to Coldplay. It will just be interesting to see what the band, SuperNova, is looking for. I have a couple of faves, but I think it is too early to really see how good they are.

Tonight is my book club meeting! Whoo hoo! There are a few other moms in my neighborhood who have girls that are my daughter's age. And we try to get together every month or so, but truthfully, we hardly discuss the book. But it is a lot of fun to get together and chat without the little ones trying to get our attention. Tonight we are supposed to meet at Bahama Breeze - Yum!! And the last book we read was called "A Girl Named Zippy"...

FROM THE PUBLISHER
"When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would run around like a circus monkey, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back in time to when small-town America was still trapped in the amber of the innocent post-war period—people help their neighbors, go to church, keep barnyard animals in their backyards. "To three-year-old Zippy, it makes perfect sense to strike a bargain with her father to keep her baby bottle—never mind that when she does, it's the first time she's ever spoken. The words never stop once Zippy finds her voice, and it is a voice that Kimmel captures perfectly page after page. In her nonplussed family, Zippy has the ideal supporting cast: her beautiful yet dour brother, Danny, a seeker of the true faith; her sweetly sensible sister, Lindy, who wins the local beauty pageant; her mother, Delonda, who dispenses wisdom from the corner of the couch; and her father, Bob Jarvis, who never met a bet he didn't take. The world seen through Zippy's eyes is vivid and occasionally mind-boggling, especially when Zippy grapples with the meaning of time and has to go lie in a "worm hole" to recover. "Whether describing a serious case of chicken love, another episode with the evil old woman across the street, or the night Zippy's dad borrows thirty-six coon dogs and a raccoon to prove to the complaining neighbors just how quiet his two dogs are, Kimmel treats readers to a heroine as appealing, naive, and knowing as Scout Finch as she navigates the quirky adult world surrounding Zippy."


I really enjoyed reading the book. The author was a bit of a trouble maker, and I loved seeing the world through her eyes. The book was a very quick read, and also very touching. I would definitely recommend this book!

On to fun stuff! Here are a couple of layouts that I have completed this week...


I finally scrapped Natalie's Birth Story! Here she is at her second birthday party. Credits: Papers and Elements from Heather Roselli's brand new *Growth Spurt* kit available today at The DigiChick. I used Laura Alpuche's Arrows from her *Stampworks* series, also available at The DigiChick. Fonts are kids and ashleighshand.


Here are my girls with Grandma and Grandpa the morning of July 4th. They were going to a parade!! Credits: Papers, Elements, Word Art, and Alpha from Heather Roselli's brand new *i pledge* kit available today at The DigiChick. I used Laura Alpuche's Messy Frame from her *Frameworks* series, also available at The DigiChick.

Thanks for looking!

my family

credits: Red paper from Heather Roselli's new kit *i pledge* and heart stamp from Laura Alpuche's Stampworks series. Both are avialable at The Digi Chick! Font used is Papyrus.

ahhh! It's Wednesday already!!

As much as I LOVE long, relaxing holiday weekends, I can't help but feel way behind the next day! And this week is no different. I keep thinking today is Monday, and that I have plenty of time to accomplish my weekly tasks. But NOOOO, it is Wednesday, already! AHH! I have been doing laundry all morning, and making lists of all the things I need to get done this week. And we are taking the kids camping Saturday. So I have to add packing and planning to my list. I have so much to do!! So I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Add to that, all I want to do is play with my pics that I took from this weekend! Hopefully, I will get a bunch of stuff done this afternoon, and when the girls go to bed, I can scrap.

TOOT!!!

My holiday weekend started off very well! On Friday, I learned that I was one of 6 chosen to join Heather Roselli's Creative Team ~ yeah!!! I am so excited and honored to join such a talented group of ladies. Everyone is very supportive and creative, I know I am going to have a blast on this team! Throughout the contest, I created some fun layouts. Here are the two that were my official submissions...



Credits: Papers and elements are from Heather Roselli's *Simply Delightful* kit available at The DigiChick. I used Atomic Cupcake's gel letter action on the title.



Credits: All Papers and Elements are from Heather Roselli's new kit *Boys Love Critters* available at The DigiChick. Atomic Cupcake Chipboard action used on title.

I can not believe that it is the Fourth of July already. This year has just flown by!! I hope everyone has a very safe and happy 4th!