Right Now

Scrapbooking is not my favorite. LOAD is almost done and I'm glad ... I have been surviving on about 5 hours sleep each night this month ... love my layouts ... but I'm burnt out this time around.

I'll be ready again in February to do it all over again but I'm glad Saturday will be my last layout.

Wardrobe Malfunction

I felt like we were really ahead of the game on Halloween this year. All of our costumes we purchased. Normally I would rather make our costumes but my mom bought the older kids Superhero costumes for their birthday last year and I figured that would be a great family theme for Halloween. We had everything ready a couple weeks ago except a pair of pants for Aaron which I picked up yesterday at Goodwill. The kids' preschool party was today and since they only had a half day of school today they were to wear their costumes to school. Parents were welcome and encouraged to wear a costume too. So last night we gathered everything to make sure we would be ready and I pulled my Superwoman costume out the closet. I bought it last year after Halloween half price. I thought I tried it on apparently not. When I looked at the shirt I thought that's really short. And it was like crop top, a tad bit longer than bra length short. I looked at the photo on the package. The model had her stomach covered and she is by no means a skinny mini, kind of chunky, not that I can talk about that sort of thing. I checked the size .... medium. I thought is this a girls' medium? It said Women's. I've gained about 15 pounds since last year thanks to no breastfeeding but I certainly haven't gotten taller which is the main problem. I tried everything pull the shirt down to meet the skirt ... more cleavage than I ever care to show ... I pulled the skirt up higher then other things were showing. It came with a belt but only a couple inches wide I needed to cover about 6 inches of belly. So the belt only made a stripe across my tummy. Aaron said it looked fine ... it did not. He said I should wear a white shirt under it ... reminded me of a beer belly ... I don't even drink beer. So today the hauled the kids' to JoAnne Fabrics and bought 1/2 yard of matching blue fabric for $1 and added to the bottom so I can be modestly covered ... as Superwoman should. Now there's also a boot cover issue I think I'm going to spray paint some boots tomorrow. Kind of feel like I made part of my costume ...

and we have next year's theme all picked out and are going back to making them.

Almost 2

This week Reese turned 23 months old. How did that happen???

*She is super busy, way more busy than the triplets were at this age. It's a good thing she came last instead of first.

*She loves dogs! She hears them barking when we are outside, she looks for toy dogs in stores, when you say we're going to Grammy's she asks about her dog, Bug.

*She is only about 21 pounds. When we are in a stores and she's talking and walking around ... people ask me how old she is. She looks like she about 12 months instead of 23.


*Speaking of her size, food is not her favorite thing. She is on pedisure ... she won't eat food for breakfast eats very little lunch and will eat some food for supper. Of course, she's always ready for cake, candy, or anything sweet.

*She is getting into TV: Baby shows (Baby Einstein), Wiggles, Elmo, and Woody (Toy Story).

*She is a non-stop talker ... it wears me out. She is totally aware of everything that goes on here. I love the way she talks and it's funny that she repeats everything.

*She's the girl version of Ethan. She likes many of the same things he does and plays with him a lot.

*She is also Baby crazy ... real ones and the doll version. She spies babies everywhere we go. She squeals when we walk down a doll aisle at a store.

*She wants to walk everywhere, not ride in a cart or be carried, she hates her own carseat so when the kids are at school she picks Ethan's or Addison's to sit in, she wants to drink out of regular cups but makes a mess, plays in the sink, and doesn't sit in a booster chair to eat.

*She can hold her own with the big kids. She hits and yells and bosses them as much as they do her.

*Two things that she says that make me smile "Mama, I carry you." when she wants me to pick her up and "laaa laaa, Elmo's Girl" She is singing the beginning part to Elmo's World. She loves to sing the alphabet song and twinkle, twinkle little star. She doesn't quiet do it all or in order but it's cute.

*She counts: "two, three, four, five" all the time. I don't know what happened to one.

*She just started saying "I love you, Mama" when I tell her I love her.

*She just started saying "I love you, Mama" when I tell her I love her.

New Favorites

Sunday was a really nice day for a change. I had already taken the kids outside to jump in the leaves earlier in the week but Aaron was at work. He told them after church and brunch, he'd rake some piles for them to jump into. I didn't have a lot of luck photo-wise the day I took them out but Sunday I got some good ones.


I have lots of fun photos of Ethan playing ... he wasn't interested the first day, but today he was all about the leaves.

I love that I got all 4 of them running ... one of the few photos I have of all 4 of them where you can see everyone's face and no one is crying.





Caden is my budding photographer. Not too bad for a almost 5 year old.

Reesey didn't understand the whole leaf thing on Tuesday. But today she knew what to do and I got these cute photos of her.

This is my favorite!

Well maybe this is my favorite...

and this one is close second or third ... hope your fall is as fun as ours.

Fall Fun!

Last weekend we went with Aaron's sister and her kids to our favorite Pumpkin Patch, Tanner's. Ashley was nice enough to let us borrow her van for the week so we were able to go. It was a little chilly because we got there at 9:30 but it was fun.


The kids rode ponies.

And waited patiently after their turn on the ponies.

The hay maze is fun for the kids, little and big.



I think we took up more than half the seats on the barrel ride.

We rod out to the apple orchard.

Ethan struggled to pull off the apples, he's quite dramatic.

There were issues with the apple bag and he insisted on carrying one. Then it got too heavy and there were some breakdowns {by him, me, and his dad}. Finally he decided it was okay for Aunt Ashley to carry it.

The apples taste really good in the orchard.

We picked out a couple pumpkins.

Our annual family photo in the orchard.

Then there's the goats. My kids love goats. So does Ethan and Reese , a lot, like more than I would think is humanly possible.

Maybe that's why out of nowhere she started jumping for them. I already have a scrapbook page on goats. But I feel a couple more coming on ... I possibly may have to have an album solely dedicated to my goat pages.
It was a fun day!

Hug them a little tighter

Over the past couple years I've become a news junkie. Maybe because I'm home all day and there's nothing on TV except stupid soap operas and talk shows. I watch the news most of the day and no, it really doesn't change throughout the day although once in a while some breaking news comes on like Balloon Boy, a high speed car chase, or new news about Jon and Kate. I keep watching mainly because I get really hooked on certain news stories like when Caylee Anthony came up missing. There for quite some time I could have been one of the prosecuting attorneys on that case (except that I didn't go to law school or own a suit to wear to court). I knew just about everything about that. A little obsessed ... a bizarre case that I couldn't quite understand how your 2 year old could be missing for more than a minute without you asking anyone and everyone to help you find your child ... but then again looks like Caylee wasn't really missing. Haleigh Cummings is a sad mystery too that I watch for new updates. I continue to follow these stories mostly through Nancy Grace on HLN. Then this week little Somner Thompson came up missing while walking home from school with her siblings.

This story grabbed me. I'm not sure why ... her age is close to my kid's, Somner is 7 and mine are almost 5. She's so darn cute. I kept watching her mom just break down over and over again pleading for someone to help her find her baby. And when they did on Wednesday in the dump, I cried. How can that happen? How can she be in 2nd grade on Monday and on a 20 minute walk home, she's gone. Why does that happen? It's so frightening as a mom. I know my kids are still really young, almost 5 and 2 but how will I ever let them do anything without us or a family member? I don't know that answer. I do know that Somner's mom said she was friendly and outgoing and didn't know a stranger. I think about my own kids and they are the same way. Any of them would walk away with a stranger, if the person seemed nice. Ethan and Reese would do anything to see or touch a puppy. So it's long past time that we need to be teaching about strangers and safety.

Here and here are a couple of places I found that some good information. I think it's hard to get started. I don't want them to be scared of people nor do I want them to think all people are "bad" but we need to learn safety. I think this will become a regular ongoing conversation in our house

along with a few extra hugs and kisses.

Another interruption ...

I'm going to interrupt my candy corn binge (I hate those chocolate candy corns -- yuck) to



to what I think will be my new obcession:



Pumpkin Spice Kisses. I think the people at Hershey's are out to get me and they just sit around and think of flavors of kisses I would love. I loved the cheesecake and the raspberry ones and pretty much all the other flavors I have ever tried and I have a thing about pumpkin. Who am I kidding? If it's candy, I'll eat it.

Today . . .

My sis, Keely, posted this on her blog and I thought I'd copy.
Outside my window...It was really nice today for a change. Crisp and clear. There were tons of fluffy clouds in the bright blue sky. The leaves are really starting to change into all their colors -- I just love fall.
I am thinking...about how glad that I am a stay-at-home-mom although it is very hard in lots of ways. Its a sacrifice for us financially but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love that I am not missing a thing with our kids and that Aaron and I are the biggest influences in their lives.
I am thankful for...generous people like my sister-in-law, Ashley, for letting us borrow their van for the next few days so we can get out and about and my friend, Cathi, who just offered to give us their extra freezer so we can stock up on bread. I am thankful that Aaron was able to be on-call this month giving us some extra income that we really needed.
From the kitchen...Not much went on there today, we didn't eat breakfast and we went to my in-laws for lunch and tonight Aaron went for a Buffalo Wild Wings run for a late movie date food for us after the kids went to bed. I like to cook but it's nice to get a break once in while.
I am wearing...my PJs: flannel bottoms with blue and white stars and a pink old navy t-shirt. I am for comfort not for style.
I am creating...a layout a day for my LOAD project . . . 17 days in a row.

I've got Christmas presents in mind that will take lots of creating time.
I am going...to Tanner's Orchard tomorrow with Aaron's sister and her kids tomorrow. We're going to play, feed the goats, venture out into the pumpkin patch, and my favorite, pick apples.
I am reading...tons of inspirational blogs. Megan Duerksen from whatever and Stephanie from NieNie Dialogues are 2 of my favorites. They are both moms of 5 and 4 kids, both have fabulous ideas to share, both are great photographers, and I find them both inspiring in very different ways. I love their positive attitudes and outlook on life.
I am hoping...both our vehicles keep running for several more months, Ethan learns to write his name before kindergarten (God, please give me strength to work with him on this), and we can continue "to fit" in our house for a while longer without going insane.
I am hearing...the movie, "Little Miss Sunshine", Aaron chewing on ice, and the furnace kicking on.
Around the house...We stopped everything this morning and cleaned up the toys. I am ready to paint the dining room walls and we have a cement board floor in our kitchen waiting for ceramic tile. I moved a few pieces of furniture around yesterday and want to do some more just to change things up a bit. The kids are excited about Halloween and their upcoming birthdays.
One of my favorite things...pumpkin pancakes.
A few plans for next week...hopefully our van gets fixed, as well as Ethan's glasses, I get some photos ordered, and I start plans for the kids star of the week activities at pre-school.
A picture to share...

Hope you're weekend is as fun as ours.

We interrupt my Creativity

for another scraplift.

Yesterday I didn't get started on my LOAD layout until 9pm. I was tired. I had no ideas and what photos I would use. So I was searching through saved layouts and I found one by Jennifer Johner. So the easy thing to do was lift it and since my creative process involves making a creative mess, it was a given to do something quick.

I can tell when I need to clean my scrap desk: it's when I start sitting on the floor to scrap. It appears at this point that my desk has now thrown up onto the floor too.

Last night after working on the floor for a while and covering it, I moved to the bed. Which means I have to clean up today, no matter what.

Anyway, I love Jennifer Johner and her style of scrapbooking. I know exactly why too. She sews on everything even across titles and chipboard and just anywhere and everywhere on paper. And not in a nice neat way but a messy/shabby sort of way: I'm all about that. I love sewing on my pages. During this LOAD, most of my layouts have some stitching on them. The other reason I love her is she uses scraps of paper. I have a hard time letting go of scraps, even really little ones. My sister makes fun of me for this. At the last crop, I brought my box of scraps, organized by color, thank you.

I use them constantly. I can't bare to cut into a new big sheet of paper for a little piece. I always look through my scraps first to see if I can make something work. Jennifer's photos are pretty amazing too. I love her perspective and how many of her photos are taken from futher away. I tend to be right on top of my subjects when I photograph. I think I need to try to vary this a bit more.

So I'm off to clean and try to be a little more original in my scrapbooking today. I hope the creative juices flow with me and you too!

Trying to stay positive

So the word today on the van is maybe it will be ready to go on Monday or Tuesday . . . uhhh, what? That's not what I expected or wanted to hear. That will make it 2 whole weeks without a vehicle. That means besides school, the kids haven't gone anywhere. I went to the grocery story and Shopko a week ago. I've been to the post office, I walked to school in the rain and cold more times than I care to count . . . oh, wait I forgot the title of this post . . . what good things have come out of this? There are some.

*We've spent less money which is really good because a few months ago the recession hit us hard and we are at the bottom of the bucket (I think our bucket may have a hole in it). So no impulse buying, no eating out, no buying groceries on sale because they are on sale.

*Our pantry, freezer, and refrigerator has been cleaned out. I mean there's space to add things usually there's not. Aaron stops at the grocery store when we NEED something usually bread, of course, and my diet mountain dew.

*There's a chance I may have lost weight. There's no food, there's no stopping through a drive through because I'm in town. I had cheese and crackers for lunch yesterday. Today I had an egg sandwich. I haven't actually gotten on the scale but I'm sure hoping it's a smaller number.

*I can keep on laundry.

*I'm not having a problem doing my LOAD project. Usually have it done during Reese's nap. Here's yesterday's project:


*I've caught up on my blog reading. I was way behind with more than 500+ posts. Now I'm under 200 (still a ways to go).

*I've got some Christmas ideas stirring around in my head just need to write it down on paper.

*I've got Reese's birthday party planned out and ordered a couple of little things for it.

*We haven't bought any gas for over a week. Aaron's driving the work van so NO gas purchased at all!

*The highlight of my day is the post office and this week has been especially good when I received 2 packages of happy mail. One from May Flaum who I discovered a couple months ago. I really like her scrapbook pages and her blog is fun. I took an online class from her at BPS and am thinking of taking her kit class next month too. My sis, Keely, sent me this package of fun goodies today.

Of course I've ate half the package of those cookies today. They are so good probably won't be seeing a lower number on the scale now (see above). I wish everyday there would be fun stuff at the post office!

Don't ask about the condition of my house, I've never quite seen it this bad but I had all 4 kids home on Tuesday (low grade fevers) and then Ethan threw up first thing this morning so I kept him home today. I can't quite get ahead of them on the cleaning/picking up front.

So when you're out and about shopping and running errands and buying gas think of me . . . you know where I am: at home!

When your {head} Gasket Blows

So our van broke down 9 days ago, it has been at the mechanic since last Thursday and Aaron's little truck is at the plumbing shop because he's driving his work van since he's on call for eternity {as he tells it}. So we aren't able to go anywhere that we can't walk, so we are limited to the post office and school and we could go to the park if it wasn't so cold. We have been at home for a long time and this past weekend was a glorious 3 day weekend for Columbus day. We've tried to stay busy.
I declared Saturday to be "stay in your PJs all day" day.

We dug out our Halloween decorations. The kids love this, of course this makes them think that Halloween is now and they should be getting into their costumes and trick or treating immediately.




My sister left this dresser here last time we went to the flea market. I finally decided to decorate it since I wasn't sure when she was coming back to pick it up. Wouldn't you know, the next day she arranged for my dad to pick it up for her. I really liked it decorated for Halloween. I improvised with another little table.

We made Monster treats with some left over candy from the Labor Day Parade. The kids really loved this. Ethan made two monsters which is unbelieveable because normally he doesn't participate in projects we do at home.



Aaron ended up going out on 2 calls on Saturday so we watched movies and I let them stay up way too late and they began to expire. A good reminder to me that they NEED their regular schedule.

On Sunday, we cleaned and then I dug out the hundred piece puzzles.

They enjoyed these and we tried to teach them the rules of puzzles which I think they sort of understood.

I have some retro puzzles from yard sales that I used in my teaching days. Hulk, Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles, Ghost Busters. Caden was very impressed by these.

For lunch, I made an awesome tex mex chicken sandwich from Rachael Ray with a few modifications minus the avocado sauce and egg.


On Monday we ate banana pancakes which were more like crepes and not so great. But I had a sous chef to help me out:

Then we decided to go for a walk and collect leaves.

Woody had to accompany us

I guess he had a little trouble walking.
We found some pretty leaves but it was chilly

and the kids were all working on colds so we didn't go too far.

Our trick or treat buckets were great leaf holders.
Addison and I tried to do some projects with the leaves: rubbings and stamping with paint. Nothing seemed to work well but she tried for a while.

Of course in all this craziness I still have to find time to do my LOAD projects. It's way harder to squeeze it in when everyone is home but I kept up.

What's even more impressive is that these are all my own creation, no lifting on any of these.



It was a crazy and LONG weekend but we survived and maybe someday I'll have a van to drive again. It's one way to use up all your food though we have done a lot of eating while we've been stuck at home.