My Photo Adventure - P365 2010

Moving Forward

2011-02-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't make it to the end of the year with my project 365 (as you can probably see for yourself). I did try though so I think that should count for something, lol. I kept taking pictures past what's posted here - for quite a while actually. But some pretty huge (and life altering) things happened. Mostly bad stuff, but nothing too horrid (okay - that's a lie. There was actually something very horrid that happened - one of the worst experiences in my life actually. But nothing that I haven't grown from - so I'll take the good with the bad I guess and just move on). Anyways - those life altering things really stopped both the blogging as well as the photo taking (much to my disappointment!). And no - I'm not doing it for 2011. It was just too much stress.

I did however, enjoy taking more photos - trying to get different & unique shots. And it really helped me learn my camera (I'm a little bummed I never got to the P365 photos from when I got my new camera as well as my new lens! I may have to do a condensed post for the last 6 months of 2010!). I also found a love for blogging. I used to journal all the time - so this was really nice to be able to just chatter to my heart's content without any care for how long it was (or what I said for that matter)!

So - now that I'm back online, I think I'm gonna blow the dust off this baby (the blog I mean) and get back at it. I've had some fun times already in 2011, and have taken some fun photos! So I'll be sharing that stuff in the coming days! Yay!! :D

Day 172 -- Outdoor Cat

2010-09-08T01:48:00.001-07:00

Guess what? Kallie finally pissed me off for the last time and she is now an outdoor cat! And no - it wasn't another dead animal (or a live one for that matter) that did it. Nope - that stupid fricking cat sprayed all over the house while we slept! OMG! That smell is frigging repulsive! I mean - it's horrid when I'm smoking. But now that my nose has the ability to smell like a non-smoker ... UGH - it's nauseating! She sprayed on the couch where she sleeps and in by her food and litter box! The food and litter box area I can clean - but the dang couch!? Lucky for her I have other cushions for it. In fact - the cushions we were using went to our old couch. I liked them because they fit and were firmer then the ones that were supposed to go to this couch. But I know what it's like to clean cushions (um - fricking impossible!) and I know what it's like to get the cat spray out (um - again - fricking impossible!). So, I threw out the litter, put the food outside, threw the old cushions out and put on the original ones, and closed the dang cat door for good! I'm SO done with that cat! I'll keep feeding her, but that's it! UGH!!

Oh - and to any animal lovers out there thinking I should give her a 2nd chance - this was her last chance. She's had about 3 or 4 chances now. She screwed up when she sprayed (and I couldn't care less if it's a natural thing for her - it's my house and she's not welcome in it anymore).

On a completely random side note - I finished the last episode of Stargate Atlantis today. And while I'm still saddened by what they did with some characters (I went on a venting spell in THIS post) I'm glad I stuck it through to the end. The last two seasons weren't completely horrible, and I'm happy to have experienced them :) And even though I'm REALLY sad that I finished all the episodes (meaning SG1 and Atlantis both) I'm thrilled that the new Stargate Universe is on right now! I kinda wish it was done so I could watch that one back to back like I did with the others, but that's okay, lol. I'll deal with waiting week to week - season to season. Let's just hope it can stay alive for seasons to come! I'm really loving the whole Stargate "universe" (for lack of a better term, lol) - it's an entertaining world, that's for sure!

Day 171 -- Cuddle Time

2010-09-08T01:47:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it - but I've scrapped AGAIN! And this one ... well, this one came from somewhere very private in me. I'm a little shy about putting myself out there so much, but I have to say that all the comments I've been receiving in the galleries that I posted at - the comments have been SO supportive and encouraging! So...yeah, I guess I'm glad I posted it for all to see & read! But first - today's photo.

As I was working on my layout, I would often take a break here or there to just kinda take a breather and make sure I was happy where I was going with it (this used to be my smoke break where I would smoke and stare at it - seeing if I wanted to try something different. Now I just turn my chair around and look in the living room - letting my mind empty out so I can turn back and see it with fresh eyes). Well - I turned around and saw Daddy & Liam snuggling all cute and stuff - and I had to grab a photo :)

And as promised - here's my layout. This layout was VERY therapeutic! I've been trying to find some sort of help for someone like me (ie: no health insurance and therefore no doctor to write a prescription for me). This layout just made me that much more determined to get back on my meds one way or another. Hopefully - soon I'll be able to get stuff figured out and I'll finally find that elusive thing called happiness :)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 170 -- Blooming Beauty

2010-09-08T01:46:00.001-07:00

I have some awesome, yay me! news - I've been plugging away on my garage sale organizing - and I got one side of the truck completely done!! Now I have a place that I can stack boxes of stuff for the garage sale. So I can look in there and say - everything right there is gone. Either cuz I sell it in the garage sale, or take it to Value Village afterwards - one way or another, this stuff is gone :) It feels SO liberating getting rid of so much junk!

Today's photo, however, is far from junk. For mother's day, I got a flower from Connor. He actually grew this at school from a seed!! Last years flower lasted for-EV-er, and was more ... flowery. This one look a LOT more weedy, but oh well, lol. Anyhoo - it bloomed really pretty and I grabbed a photo to share :) Don't mind the butter tub that it's in - it's better than the weird sand/rock thing they put flowers in last year, lol.

Day 169 -- Resourcefulness Is My Middle Name

2010-09-08T01:42:00.001-07:00

I finally did something I've had on my to-do list since we moved in!

During our move, I did a crazy good job cramming as much of our stuff into our moving truck as I could. No spot was left un-crammed! And that meant all the shelves and furniture were used as well. That worked great - except for one shelf. It wasn't a really nice shelf, and apparently - it wasn't very sturdy either, lol. The weight from the boxes caused the top of it to cave it (not sure how else to describe it. It wasn't a shelf - but the top of the whole shelving unit - that broke. It was pushed down until it snapped and broke. There was no fixing it, and besides - I didn't have room for it in this tiny house anyways, lol).

Anyhoo - this broken shelf has been chilling along the side of the house since I dragged it out of the moving truck. With no fireplace, I wasn't sure what to do with it.

In another part of the Moody house, lol - Liam had a cheapie little shelf that always had to be secured to the wall in order to keep it upright and level. It was just two levels - and it liked to move from side to side. Boys are kinda tuff on furniture, so I would secure it to the wall to keep it in place.

Okay - this post is taking WAY too long, lol. Lets finish up by saying I took the back paper part on the broken shelf. Cut it out to fit on the wobbly shelf. Reused the nails that didn't get too bent and nailed it to the back of the wobbly shelf. And we now have one firmly upright and leveled shelf!

Not too shabby if I say so myself!!

OH! My scrapping has kinda taken off!! I'm not really sure why (maybe it's cuz I was so disappointed in my last couple layouts) but I really needed to get a new favorite under my belt. And I think I did it - cuz I just LOVE how this one turned out!!

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 168 -- Leaning Tower of Liam

2010-09-08T01:41:00.002-07:00

I scrapped today! I had to force myself to do this one too - but instead of rushing things like I did with THIS layout (both this layout and the one there were done for the same designer), I made myself really dig into the kit and produce something that really feels like my sort of layout. I don't necessarily love this one -- but I am really happy with how it turned out.

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

I really like the shadowing on this one. And it was a template that I moved around quite a bit - so I really love the final composition that I ended up using....Sorry, lol - I guess I'm just trying to find things I do like about it since there's still something that bothers me about it.... :)

Today's photo was a sweet little moment of Liam playing with Connor's blocks. I was actually really proud of how many blocks he was able to balance - all on his own. The photo below is (obviously) right before his little tower fell (and then afterwards, it was all about knocking it down and not building it up, lol - boys!). So here's today's photo :)

Day 167 -- New View

2010-09-08T01:41:00.001-07:00

And the race is on! It's time to really gear down and get my garage sale going. Having no garage means I don't have any place to move stuff around for organizing purposes - so it's gonna be tricky. Moving the truck was step one. Step two is getting everything out of the truck that I plan to keep. Easier said than done, lol.

However - moving the truck has made me feel LOTS more vunurable. Why, you ask :) Well - I'm SO used to stepping outside and having a good chunk of my view taken up by a giant white moving truck. Now when I step out - I get this:

I feel so exposed, lol. I do feel weird - but it's kinda nice at the same time. Now when someone drives by - and I wanna see them - I can look out the window and actually see them (it got a little frustrating when I couldn't see around the moving truck to see what was making a noise).

So yep - it's a new view. And it's time to get busy! Wish me luck - I have LOTS of work ahead of me before I finally do my first ever garage sale! :) See you tomorrow! XoXo!! :D

Day 166 -- Movie Time

2010-09-08T01:40:00.002-07:00

Someone shared the most beautiful, touching video on Facebook today, and I just had to share it here. Even if I only share it so that I can watch it whenever I want - I just have to keep a URL for it somewhere, somehow. I'm not sure if you'll be able to watch it without having a Facebook profile - but if you've got one, this is a MUST watch! (And just to assure you that it's not anything messed up - the video is of a little baby hearing with a hearing aid thing for the very first time. It's SO moving!!)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=128740680487144&ref=mf

Today's photo was one I grabbed real quick because Lyndsay is working on a TV/Movie kit. I realized I had nothing to use, so I grabbed a photo of the boys watching TV and fell in love with it. It's SO rare that things in this house are THIS calm, lol:

That's all for today!! See you tomorrow! XoXo!! :D

Day 165 -- Layout of the Week

2010-09-08T01:40:00.001-07:00

I here tell that Mondays are supposed to suck. And yet I find myself having pretty awesome Mondays. It's a fresh start. I get my days back and my quiet house back when Tom goes back to work. I woke up to some fantastic news - so let me share :)

I got an email from Log Your Memory asking me if they could publish my Out Takes layout! Not only that - but that layout will be entered into a contest and one person chosen for this month will get a copy of the book (the book that my layout will be published in) for free! Oh I'm SO happy!! This is a HUGE first for me, and I'm beyond thrilled.

After that, I log into my Facebook to catch up on anything I missed while I was sleeping (lmao - yes, I'm THAT obsessed with my social networking, lol - sad, ain't it, lol). Well, I then see a bunch of "Congrats Jen" from some scrapping friends and I learn that I was randomly chosen to win a gift card from Shabby Miss Jenn. I was expecting the average $5 or $6 (the price of most scrap kits) and was just floored when I saw it was worth $15! Wow - Jenn is AWESOME! I knew I loved her for a reason, lol.

You might be thinking I'm done with the good news - but I'm not!! After some time, I finally make my way over to Sweet Shoppe to check up on my CT stuff and see what's new. I see that someone had posted a topic about the new layout of the week, and I click the link to go see who had been chosen. I have to say my jaw just dropped when I saw MYYYYY layout!!

That's today's photo - it's of my winning (not only did I win the honor of being chosen, but I also got a $7 gift certificate! I love winning stuff!!)

And if you're curious - here's the actual blog post http://sweetshoppedesigns.com/blog/?p=4155

Oh - before I leave - no, my day wasn't completely perfect. Kallie is getting on my LAST nerves! That stupid cat brought a dead bird into the house today! Oh. Em. EFFING Gee!!! Yeah - I'm pissed, can't you tell, lol. I tried to get her to pick it up and take it out, but she would NOT do it. So I threw the bird away (outside of course, lol) and kicked Kallie outside. She wasn't allowed in ALL day! And I'm SOOO tempted to make it permanent....I guess we'll see how things go before I make it a permanent thing.

K - that's all for today, lol. Awesome day with a moment of grr-ness :P See you tomorrow! XOXO!! :D

Day 164 -- Lazy Sunday

2010-09-08T01:39:00.000-07:00

Another lazy Sunday. I grew up dreading Sundays. Not that I minded church - what I minded was getting up early on the weekend! I have dealt with insomnia since I was little. I can remember laying in bed, wide awake until long after everyone else had fallen asleep. I thought it was just normal. Besides - what the heck could they give a 10 year old with insomnia! So sleepless nights equaled grumpy mornings. And being woken up to go to church just sucked in my book!

So, being all grown up and what not, it's awesome to have Sunday's truly be a day of rest. I'm not one for organized religion, so I'm happy to use Sundays to lounge about about enjoy laziness :P

I did, however, put Tom to work, lol. Not much - but it was a HUGE step towards finally getting my garage sale done! The moving truck (it's my inlaws, fyi - so no, we're not paying to have it hold our stuff for this long, lol). It's been sitting in our main parking spot since we moved in. I had Tom move it around to the side of my house (basically where a garage would go if anyone had a brain and made one) - and it will act as my garage for the upcoming garage sale. That way I can close the door at night and lock my stuff up. Pretty smart idea, huh :D

Today's photo came when Tom was able to finally park his truck (pickup, not moving) in the driveway parking spot. He let the boys sit in the cab and go for the 5 second ride as he pulled the truck around and into its new home :) I grabbed today's photo as he was finishing up :)

That's all for today!! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 163 -- Escaping the Heat

2010-09-08T01:38:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty hot day today - so the boys got to play in the sprinkler. I ended up letting Connor go next door during Liam's nap so that he & Breanna could continue to enjoy some nice cold water. I went and peeked through a hole in the fence and saw them playing. I was even able to take a photo through that hole - and got today's photo:

OH - and not that y'all know Yari, but I got word from her today that she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. There was some complications after birth - and gave everyone a scare, but she's doing well now (I don't know the details -- didn't ask -- and probably wouldn't share even if I did know) :D SO yay - Cameron is finally here!!

That's all for today! See y'all tomorrow! XoXo :D

Day 162 -- A Moment to Grieve And Then A Giggle

2010-09-08T01:26:00.000-07:00

You know - I'm probably gonna sound weird when I say this - but I choose the shows I watch carefully. And if there's a chance of the ending being completely sucky, then I won't waste my time. I also like to wait until a show is over before diving in and watching it so I can watch all the episodes back to back over the space of a few weeks instead of waiting for each new episode and dealing with commercials. This started with Lost back when it was in its second season - I got used to having it commercial free AND back to back - and ended up being spoiled when I tried to watch it on TV. Ugh! The commercials were just way too annoying. And don't get me started with waiting a week to see the next episode (let alone waiting for the next season). So yes - I actually stopped watching and patiently waited until the show ended before starting it. I have heard mixed reviews on how it ended, so I'm still torn about whether or not I'll watch it...

But that's not what I wanted to rant about. See... People that watch shows on a week to week basis have the chance to return to reality, lol. If a person immerses themselves into these fictional worlds the way I do (hours at a time - every single day with little reprieve), well - the story can really impact you (can anyone say holy shite about Dexter?! I was depressed with genuine grief for weeks after that season finale - which I saw after having watched all the other seasons back to back.) So actually - Dexter is a great example! RIGHT NOW - in hindsight - I really don't care what happened. But I've since come to terms that it's fiction, lol. But at the time, right after watching it, I went through some genuine emotions of grief and denial, lol.

I am in the middle of a series right now that just killed off a main character. And I think I bawled for 10 minutes and am still feeling the grief from it. I know it's fake (I really do - I promise, lol) - but I've been living with these characters for a little over a month now ... *sigh* And then I research it online - yep, he's gone. And not coming back. OH - and while I'm researching - I see another main character is gonna go buh-bye in the 4th season. I'm starting to feel like I picked a bad show to watch. I've got two more seasons - and for all I know, it just gets worse... grrrrrr....

Alias figured it out - listened to the fans and fixed the issues they caused (thank goodness!!). Battlestar Galactica had a complete brain fart and dropped their fans, leaving them with a WTF ending.

Okay - forget my tirade, lol. I was just trying to come to terms with these emotions that I can't seem to shake (normally I would smoke - but that's not an option anymore). I just can't believe they killed him off :(

I did however have an UH-MAZE-ING day with Swagbucks! All week has been that crazy deal where each day the magic awesome bill got bigger and bigger. Gotta go out with a bang, right? So today, it was a 59 bill!! OMG! And get this! I hit that puppy TWICE!!! My first two searches (where I got something) were 59 swagbucks each! I also had a couple referrals get 59. Not to mention the other random (less amount) searches I got! I think I got well over 300 Swagbucks today! :D Awesome, ain't it!!

And today's photo is just a cute little moment between Kallie and Liam. Kallie was licking Liam's finger, and Liam was cracking up from it, lol. It was the giggles that made me turn around (from watching my dang show) and see what was up. I just had to grab a photo :)

And I forced myself to scrap (I tend to scrap while watching my show - so the grieving really didn't help my scrapping, lol). I pushed myself however, because I was lagging on my CT duties and came up with this (not my fave layout - but when you're in a hurry, you just deal with it and move on.)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 161 -- Beautiful Back Drop!

2010-09-08T01:18:00.001-07:00

Nada much going on today! OH - I did have an awesome Swagbucks day!! They've been doing this mega week all week long (instead of just mega Friday) where each day is worth something much huger than normal. Monday was 25. Tuesday was 31. Wednesday was 39 and today was 47! And yup - you guessed it! I got a 47!!! :D I love seeing my Swagbucks total leap that much all at once! Just from one simple search! Who knows - maybe I'll be able to get another $25 card before the month is over!!

Today's photo is something I think a lot of us here in the 'Couve take for granted. It's the backdrop to our backyard. I personally have never taken it for granted - especially after living in Arizona for almost two years (where mountains to them are foothills to me, and rivers to them are barely creeks to me). I love the green - and I know we have to have a mass amount of rain to get that greenery. I'm SOOOO okay with that. And when driving down a very common road for me - I get THIS for a background:

Holy Gorgeous Background, Batman!!! RIGHT!?! I mean - wow! I get to see this any time I want (well, clouds permitting of course). And that's just one. To the left of this a ways, there's another one of these babies just waiting to take your breath away! I LOVE where I live! SOOO much!

OH - and in case you were wondering -- the photo above is a picture of Mt. Hood (a VERY popular skiing mountain). And the one I mentioned - the one that's over to the left? That one is Mt. Saint Helens - an even more popular mountain due to its eruption in 1980.

Welcome to my little corner of the world! Ain't it great :D

Day 160 -- I Find My Pees!

2010-09-08T01:16:00.002-07:00

Today was a pretty good day!! Okay - lets get some stuff out of the way. First and awesomely foremost - Yari of Jady Day Studio is coming back to the digi world!! (I knew she wouldn't be able to stay away for long, lol). After much urging and encouraging, she has decided to open a personal store that will be run on her blog. Just something to keep her name out there and a place to release anything she might make in her down time.

So if you're interested - stay tuned to her Facebook and/or her Blog for further info about that!

OH - and I finally did it. I finally broke down and got a $25 Amazon card with the mass amounts of Swagbucks that I had saved up. I almost waited to get a $50 one, but decided to just grab the $25 one. That's $50 so far this month!! That camera will be mine before you know it! EEEEK :D

Okay! And now for the awesome AWESOME news!! LIAM FINALLY WENT PEE ON THE POTTY!!! *Does a happy dance!* (((It's about dang time! lol))) LOL - We all got so excited and made such a huge deal of it that he got re-energized for the night (oops). And then he "secretly" played in his room for an hour or so before finally calling it a night (he thinks he's much quieter than he actually is, lol) :D

You might think this isn't much - but Liam really hasn't had that much interest in potty training.
Maybe a little here and there, but nothing huge. And for the life of me - we couldn't get him to actually pee on the toilet. The last couple days I have been doing the naked thing - where you let them run around naked so that they either use the toilet, or pee somewhere. He only had one accident - and was able to hold it the rest of the time (I put a diaper back on for nap - and he finally peed then, stinker, lol). Today (the second day) he didn't do any better. But as we were getting him ready for bed, we thought what the hey and put him on the toilet. And I swear it was like he'd been doing it all along - he just peed, lol....

I'm not sure if he just didn't get HOW to pee, or he wasn't interested... idk - but I do know that we made the HUGEST deal out of it so that he'd know how happy we were. He was SO happy and silly - it was such a cute moment :) I only hope this continues tomorrow.

And yes - I got a picture, lol. I kept it tasteful, so no neked baby parts are showing, lol. And his face says SO much, lol. Kind of a "WTH, Mom!" photo, lol. I'm sure he'll love it when he's older :P

And before I wrap things up - I have one more thing to share. Kristin released this adorable travel kit and I finally finished my layout. We've never really traveled, so I wasn't sure what I was gonna do. This one just kinda fell together - and I'm really happy with how it turned out :)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 159 -- Concentration

2010-09-08T01:16:00.001-07:00

I really love seeing Liam's enjoyment with his drawer! I'm tellin' ya - best toy I've ever spent money on (even better then the boxes that seem to rule after Christmas morning!!). We had a quiet moment today, and I turned around (expecting to see Liam getting into something he shouldn't - you know that kind of quiet, lol). Well, this is what I saw:

I really love how hard he concentrates. I have NO clue what he tries to draw, but boy-howdy, does he try!! And I'll leave ya with that!! See you tomorrow! XOXO :D

Day 158 -- Connor, Preschool Grad!

2010-09-08T01:15:00.001-07:00

Today was a BIG day for the Moody house hold! Today, our little Connor officially graduated from head start and will officially start Kindergarten next fall!! I can't believe it! I can still remember making that phone call to enroll him in the head start program! That was nearly two years ago! How is it possible that time flew by so fast! He'll be six at the end of this year! .... I was just holding him, only 7lbs 10oz ...

I bet I'll blink again, and this will be a high school graduation out fit, right, lol :)

That's it for today! I'm gonna go somewhere and reminisce of times gone by and all that mushy stuff, lol :) See you tomorrow! XOXO :)

Day 157 -- Like Father, Like Sons

2010-09-08T01:14:00.001-07:00

Not really up for being uber chatty tonight, so I'm keeping this short and sweet :)

Today was a nice day, so Tom decided to mow the lawn (and yes - I'm still a little shocked when I remember we even have a lawn TO mow! I'm loving this whole house living! screw apartments!). Where was I ... Ah yes - mowing the lawn. The boys really get a kick out of it all. Especially when he first starts. They'll following him around for quite a while. They're not allowed to go in front of or beside Tom - so that's what you'll see.

And in this particular photo - you see Connor acting as the protective big brother. Holding Liam's hand for one - but he always kept himself just slightly ahead/in front of Liam - kinda like a shield :) It's so sweet when I see them together like this :)

See -- short and sweet! See you tomorrow! XOXO :)

Day 156 -- The Birdie's Savior

2010-09-08T01:12:00.001-07:00

So Kevin & Krisstin are moving today! They recruited Tom and his truck to come and help, so he did that most of the day today. And while he was gone - I actually had a little bit of a cat & bird emergency.

Listen - I get that cats kill & eat certain animals. I'm all for it actually. Circle of life and all that. However - when our dumb cat insists on bringing live animals to my front door (which stays open for fresh air, by the by) and she sits there TORTURING these animals .. yeah, enough is enough! I can't listen to little (adorably CUTE) mice squeaking in terror, any more than I can listen to baby birdies chirpie out for help to anyone who will listen.

Enter me!

I shoo Kallie away and pick up this tiny bird. I can see the wings working ... well, good from what I can tell. So I don't think it's a tiny adult bird. I really think it's a baby bird. And by the sounds of the larger bird yapping LOUDLY out side, I was pretty sure it had a pissed off mama.

I actually called the humane society to find out what the best course of action was. They said that it was most likely a baby who was on the verge of flying. And the way they do it is by jumping out of the nest and flopping around for a few days till they finally fly (are you KIDDING me! What a messed up way to do things! But whatever - not my call, lol). So the humane society guy tells me that if I could find a basket or something and put some grass and stuff in it and hang it near where it came from, that would be the best thing.

So that's what I did. I hung up a basket in the tree below the screaming bird and hoped it would all work out. And I took some photos to use for my P365 since it was such a huge deal that I saved (hopefully) this birdie, lol. And of all the photos I took they were ALL horrible. Pictures of the side of the basket, blurry and focused alike - and pointless. All horrible ... save one!! Somehow, out of all these - I pulled back just right and snapped one more before going in (I didn't wanna scare the bird to jump out again!). And I got this photo:

After that, I left to go see K&K's new house. An awesome little 3 bedroom in a quiet neighborhood (lucky bastards, lol). I did learn that they aren't 100% happy with their place - and still want to find a 4 bedroom in the same school district, so if & when they do find one and move - then we might be able to work something out with the landlord of their place and just move in after they leave :D

We'll see I guess :)

Day 155 -- Liam's Spot

2010-09-08T01:11:00.001-07:00

Liam is still tiny enough that he can comfortably sit on us while we chill on the couch. I usually don't have my leg straight like Tom does in the photo below - but the area is the same. Liam will hop over our bent legs and plop his little bum there, letting his little legs hang over ours. I love it when he sits with me. It's the closest I can get to those wonderful nights when he was a newborn and he and I would cuddle on the couch... It used to be impossible for me to sleep without hearing the soft little snores from that boy. It was so hard when he moved out of our room, lol...

K - enough reminiscing, lol. Here's the photo:

That's it for today! See you tomorrow :D XOXO!

Day 154 -- 5 Guys Burgers & Fries

2010-09-08T01:10:00.000-07:00

Quick Swagbucks side note!! I got another Amazon card today along with ANOTHER referral! I can almost feel my new camera in my hands!!! Go me go!

Today was a pretty decent day. Tom told me his sister is starting a new job at some burger joint called 5 Guys Burgers & Fries (kind of a mouth full, if you ask me - and I don't mean in a good way). Anyhoo ... Tom decided to take us and see if this place was as good as he'd heard. If first impressions mean everything -- I have to say I was very UN-impressed! I can't really put into words just how uncomfortable i felt in this place. It was supposed to be a restaurant (I think) where people sit and eat - but it was set up like a fast food joint where you walk around and wait in line to order. Wouldn't be THAT bad if the place wasn't lit up like the expensive section of an electronics store. Not only that - but there weren't any privacy walls of any kind. So you're standing there, waiting to order, and the whole time (the WHOLE time) it's like you're on display to all these people ... just sitting out there, eating, staring at you... UGH - just writing about it is bringing up bad memories.

We finally got the food, and here comes crazy mama with her camera - determined to continue her crazy goal of P365, even if it kills her! I snap a few shots - and decided that this one will be for today:

Oh - and if you were wondering about the food... yeah - calling it horse piss is being nice! The meat had absolutely ZERO flavoring. It tasted like watered beef ... all chewy and bland! The fries were grease potatoes ... and not the good kind of grease (like McDonalds, lol) but the bad kind... Like somehow they figured out how to harness the flavor of burnt. UGH! We will never go back, that's for sure!

That's it for today! See you tomorrow! XOXO! :D

OH - and just in case you like this place - kudos for you! I hate it, so I'm sorry if I offended you :)

Day 153 -- Daddy Smooches

2010-09-08T01:05:00.000-07:00

Holy crap - I scrapped today! I woke up not having any desire what so ever to scrap. But I knew I needed to do something. Especially if I ever expect to reach my goal of two layouts every week - for a total of a 104 layouts this year. I thought I gave myself an easy goal - but I am waaaayyy behind, lol. So yeah - I made myself scrap something. I found a challenge at Sweet Shoppe that called out to me, chose an awesome KCB (Kristin Cronin-Barrow) kit and went to town. And here it is, 2:30am on June 3rd, and I just shut down Photoshop! BUT - I finished and I LOVE it!!

So today I did laundry. All day long - cleaning clothes that weren't dirty so much as smelly. They smelled of storage from sitting in a moving truck for months. So I have been doing an endless stream of laundry - doing my absolute best to fold the newly dried stuff instead of making a pile for later (I did great with that today!).

The kids were stinkers - of course (grrr). OH - we had a parent teacher conference for Connor. He's doing great - and they even liked what they saw in Liam (remember the photo from this post - well they saw the care and patience he took drawing an endless amount of circles. They mentioned stuff like remarkable patience for a 2 year old, and great spatial understanding, and other stuff I can't remember, but knew it was good, lol). They went over Connor's final remarks and left. In a few hours, I'll be taking Connor to school. And on Monday - I'll be going to Connor's school to watch him graduate. And it's for real this time - not a pretend like last year. My baby starts Kindergarten soon. Oh wow!!

Eek - this post is getting WAY too long! Today's photo is kinda not what I was wanting to get, but since I can't see what I'm getting till I upload them on my computer (fyi: broken LCD monitor on my camera for those just tuning in) I wasn't able to see that they didn't' look as cute as I thought (I was going for silhouette - and ended up getting too much light and not enough face. The moment I turn them dark, Toms face just looks ... off, lol. I needed their whole heads for it)...

Ugh - anyways - here's my photo for today :)

That's it!! See you tomorrow!! XOXO!

Day 152 -- Room With A View

2010-09-08T01:04:00.001-07:00

I love when the month starts! That means shopping day at Swagbucks!! I got two more $5 Amazon gift cards today to go towards my new camera. AND - because of those, someone (not sure who yet) signed up under me, getting me a new Swagbucks referral!

And I wouldn't be smart if I didn't do a quick plug - so, if you haven't joined yet -- use my referral and get 30 swagbucks just for joining! And if you ever have any questions - just leave me a comment here and I'll get back to ya! :)

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Jen22

Today's photo is honestly boring - but will probably be a fave of mine in the years to come. Kind of one of those "Hey honey - look at this one. You remember that yard? Man, that yard was awesome!" There was a portfolio challenge at Sweet Shoppe that asked us to scrap a photo of what we see from our front door (kind of a change of seasons photo. Take one at the beginning of every month, etc). Well - I took the photo - thought it was ... completely blah, and scratched the idea of a monthly photo of this:

The joys of living in a wet state - everything is green. Also - the joys of having evergreen trees everywhere means that even in the fall and winter time - those trees don't change much.

So yeah - kinda a boring photo, but oh well - deal with it, lol. That's all for today!! See you tomorrow! XOXO :D

Day 151 -- A Vent and a Smile

2010-09-08T00:55:00.000-07:00

There's a conversational phrase that really just irks me to the core. I mean - I'll be fine one second and then pissed off & depressed (all at once) the moment someone says this. I never could understand what it was about this phrase that really got under my skin, but it happens every time I hear it. And it's a parental phrase. Something someone says when they've been there and done that. You might hear it when you're pregnant, but if you don't - you'll definitely hear it within those first few months after giving birth.

Now the phrase has many sayings; many ways of being expressed. But the general idea behind it is the same. And what gets me is that it's always meant to be understanding. As if the person saying it is laughing at an inside joke with you. And maybe some people can take it that way. But not me. I just feel like they're laughing AT me, because someone forgot to mention the inside joke to me!

The saying - in general terms is this: Oh, just you wait.

This can be about oh so many things. A crying child, a temper tantrum, sleepless nights, worrying about your child's safety, etc. And what I don't get is why someone would think that saying that it's going to get worse, or that there's no end in sight, would actually help the mother pouring her soul out!! I go to a friend, a relative, a stranger even - and I tell them my woes. It's what women do best - lend an ear. We're empathetic that way. But some of those women don't realize that we don't (never!) need to hear something negative! We need to hear that ... maybe you've been there. And not that it gotten worse (even if it has) - but that you made it through! Something - ANYTHING - that conveys hope for the future!!

I won't go into detail about what brought this on. All I can say is to please stop with the little "It only get's worse" comments! They don't help. In fact - they might cause more harm then you could ever imagine. I battle depression all the time. And it's hard on those days when the world seems like a dark, pointless place to live. And the one thing I cling to is hope for the future. It can be something big like watching the 4th of July fireworks on the beach this year - or something as small as knowing I get to sleep in tomorrow! But when someone takes that hope away with something they think is a damn joke... it really makes fighting my own internal battles that much harder! (And my poor husband is left with a sobbing crazy lady, and no idea how to fix her, lol)

Whew - I really just needed to get that out! Someone said that to me today and I did a complete 180 with my emotions and have been struggling to calm down ever sense! That venting really helped! And if I've enlightened you on what NOT to say - so much the better!

And since I've written so much - I'll wrap things up quickly with today's photo! The boys have gotten into this habit of drawing footballs. Over and over and over, lol. I caught this little moment and figured it would be a good photo to share since it made me smile despite my angst :)

Day 150 -- A Cumfy Spot

2010-09-08T00:49:00.000-07:00

So having a cat has changed a few things. I've found more hair (annoying, but I'll deal) and the kids can't get enough. But what surprised me the most is the way Tom got suckered in. My goodness - it's a good thing we never had a girl because she would have him wrapped around her little finger the way that Kallie has him wrapped around her little paw, lol.

I was busy surfing away online when I heard two distinct sounds. The first was the light snoring of my husband who had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV. The second was the lighter snoring of our cat - who was using Toms legs as a bed. I grabbed this photo - not only because it was cute, but because it's not a first. You see, Miss Kallie is ALWAYS at his feet. If he's awake - she's there begging for loves. If he's sitting - she's there, chilling with him. And if he's asleep - then she's sprawled across him, snoring away as well! *humph* lol

That's all for today!! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

FREE STUFF?!?

2010-07-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

♥♥♥Getting Something for Nothing♥♥♥
♥♥♥Using: Search & Win and Survey sites♥♥♥

Okay, I've been putting off this post for a while. Not really sure why - but I figure now is as good a time as any to explain some awesome things on the internet that I have found and LOVE!

First - let's get something straight. I'm a suspicious person by nature! I won't discount something right off the bat - but neither will I do it without first researching the heck out of it. And I always test the waters before I'll ever suggest it to my friends.

Now - I have come across a few things online that have turned out to be genuine (ie: I have been paid by them, or have been paid because of something I got from them). Some pay in money. Others pay in various prizes and gift cards (my favorite are Amazon gift cards - I'll say why later).

Without further ado - let's get right to it!

♥♥♥SWAGBUCKS♥♥♥

This is my favorite so far!! I joined back in December of 2009, and have made a total of $195 (as of July 5th) in Amazon gift cards (with extra swagbucks to spare).

~~ How it works: This is a search & win site. You search using the Swagbucks search engine, and randomly you'll win points (called Swagbucks) which can then be traded in for prizes. The most common prize are the $5 Amazon gift cards (which can be added to you Amazon account - and they'll never expire. And they do cover shipping & handling if you have enough saved up!). The $5 Amazon GC costs 450 swagbucks.

The average search will earn you around 10 swagbucks - though I have gotten many more at higher amounts. You can almost always win at least three times a day (though it is random, so there's no guarantee.) There is almost always a swagcode out every day - on average worth around 6 swagbucks. Plus you can get one for a few things (daily polls, no obligation offers, trusted surveys and having the toolbar - that's 4 swagbucks every day for just a few seconds of your time). This can add up fast! And that's just you! If you get a referral - you'll get a matching amount of every swagbuck they earn during searches (up to their first 1000 swagbucks)!

~~ Prizes: As stated - this can all add up pretty fast! Swagbucks has a pretty huge store (called a Swagstore - go figure, lol). The two most popular purchases tend to be the $5 Amazon gift card (which never expire once they're added to your Amazon account - and you can add more to you account -- meaning they are stackable). And there's also the $5 PayPal gift card - which costs more swagbucks to get - but can then be used anywhere.

By yourself, doing your daily searching and participating, it will take you about 2-3 weeks to earn enough for an Amazon card. For me - this was going to be a free book! Who doesn't like the idea of grabbing some good reading....FOR FREE! :) So that's what kept me at it! Then my friend Jess joined, and with her matching search wins - I was able to get an Amazon card in about 10 days! Oh Me Likey! A few more Amazon cards - my winnings posted every time on my Facebook - and I had a few more referrals. Soon I was getting 5 cards ($25) every month!

Click the image below to use my referral and get 30 swagbucks just for joining!!!

♥♥♥IRAZOO♥♥♥

After such awesome success with Swagbucks, I went searching for more! 99% of the things I found were either dead sites (or dying!) or sites that required you to purchase stuff before getting any sort of points (I'm looking for free people! hello!?).

I came across an online post (sorta like the one I'm writing now) that had something like Top 10 Search & Win sites! There was this site called Irazoo listed on there. I went and found out that it was a site very similar to Swagbucks, just not as hyped up and flashy. They definitely feel new, but I've only heard good things from them. Well - people complain (since I guess free isn't good enough - because they expect TONS of free stuff RIGHT now with next to ZERO effort! - whatever!!!).

~~ How it works: Same as Swagbucks - you search with their search engine, and win random points good for stuff from their store. The store is pretty tiny and the only thing I'm interested in is the Amazon gift card. The average search seems to give you around 35-60 points. They also have Treasure Codes every once in a while - usually worth some pretty high amounts (50-75 points). And they just added a recommendation aspect to their searching. When you click on a search result - a red bar will run along the top of the website. It still seems wonky (cuz it doesn't work with EVERY search) but a 30 second count down will appear on the top right, under the comment box. After the countdown is done, the "Yes" and "No" buttons will activate and you can choose to recommend (or not) the site you visited - and it will give you 50 points! You can do this twice a day for an awesome 100 points!

~~ Prizes: As I said before - the amount prizes are pretty slim right now. They have an Amazon gift card that I have my eye on - but I haven't quite gotten enough points yet! (I'm about 200 shy - but with the recommendations - I'll have it in a couple days!) Since they're still new - I'm thinking they don't have many sponsors. So I'm sure that they'll only get bigger as the hype of Search & Win sites grows! :)

Click the image below to use my referral and you and I will both get 50 point just for you joining!!!

♥♥♥MySurvey♥♥♥

When I first got the internet - way long ago, lol - I went in search of free stuff. I guess it's in my blood for find the easy money, lol. I came across tons of results for survey sights. The most popular at the time (this was in 2001) seemed to be MySurvey. I had no problems with it way back then, but I did find that getting points seemed an endless task - and the prizes were just too expensive. It required referrals to really get anywhere - and I had no real online friends who I could bother :)

Fast forward to a few months ago - I came across my old activation email and went back to MySurvey. The few points I had earned nearly 10 years ago were gone - but I did see that they added a HUGE amount of new prizes - including my beloved Amazon gift cards!! So I got to work getting my profiles all set up (they use these to prescreen you for surveys - that way they don't send you surveys for topics that will never need you {ie: wanted - male, 45, divorced ---- that would NOT be me, and would be a waste of time to send it to me, lol}). So after doing all my profiles, as well as the few surveys I qualified for - I was already halfway towards my first $10 Amazon card!!

~~ How it works: You'll get an email alerting you to a new survey (they never spam your email). If you choose to install their little alert thingy - that will give you a little pop up alert as well. Fill out the survey to the best of your abilities and hope that you qualify. If you don't qualify - you'll still get the 5-10 points for the prescreening questions. If you do qualify - you'll most likely get another 100-200 points for your time & effort!! And what's awesome - when you do qualify - there's a chance you'll get more stuff! I've tested products, watched TV show promos, and helped (I think) to develop products/movies and a bunch of other stuff into what they eventually were when released (I can remember doing a survey about those fabric softener bars that go IN your dryer - as well as what I liked and didn't like about the premise for a show - including the title: Life, Unexpected.)

~~ Prizes: I remember when I first joined - they had like 10 things and the stuff I wanted was so far out of my reach - it's not even funny :P But when I came back to them this year - and I browsed the prizes - I was just stunned at the HUGE list of stuff!!! Yes - they have the Amazon gift cards! They seem to be so popular (and why not - you can get nearly anything you want from Amazon!). They also have PayPal! And -- the prices for both the Amazon and PayPal are the SAME amount -- 1100 points for a $10 gift card! ((So far - from all the sites I've participated on - this exchange of point amounts for prize amounts is the fairest and best!!))

Click the image below to use my referral and get started. And make sure to do the First Chance Survey -- it helps me get my referral points and helps you get your info entered so that you can get more surveys!!!

♥♥♥SurveySavvy♥♥♥

Another survey site that I'm pretty happy with has been Survey Savvy. They don't give you prescreening points like MySurvey does - but the prescreen questions are pretty quick and to the point - so they won't waste your time. But when you do qualify - it's pretty nice. I think the best thing I've ever had happen was the invitation to a private HP Forum where I give my opinion about all things HP and then get paid with (yep - you guessed it, lol) a nAmazon card worth $15, every month. So, if for nothing else - I rave about Survey Savvy, lol. I also have $46 saved up in my account, but I have yet to ask for a check (I'm kinda waiting for them to give me the option to have it paid via Amazon - or for the total to hit something like $100 maybe, lol).

~~ How it works: You'll get an email (usually two for the same survey) and you'll do the prescreen questions. If you qualify, you'll do their stuff and then get whatever the amount specified added to your account balance (they'll say in the email what the prize amount will be - should you qualify).

~~ Prizes: You get paid by check with this one. So far, I've just let my balance accumulate, but you can request a check for your amount (or any amount I think) any time you want :)

Click the image below to use my referral and get started

And what, you might ask, am I saving for!? Well - I love photography (I guess you knew -- considering you stopped here on my Project 365 blog, lol). My Sony A100 DSLR camera has had a good run, but is dying. And instead of investing money to get it fixed, I'm taking that money and putting it towards a new camera. But when I went searching for the one I wanted, I decided that if I was going to get something - I should have it be an improvement (other wise I just might as well fix the one I have and just invest in nice lenses. No thank you, lol - Mama wants her dream camera. Thanks! lol).

So, I decided (I think!) on the Canon EOS Rebel T1i.

I chose this one for a couple reasons. One - the mega pixels is 15.1 -- FIVE more than what I have now! I saw a huge difference between my 8mp and 10mp cameras - so I'm so stoked at the idea of a 5mp improvement!! And two - it's got video capabilities! I'm lacking digital video right now - and I hate not being able to upload stuff online and share it with my friends :D

And that, my friends, is what I've been saving up Amazon money for!! With my work in Swagbucks, as well as my work with the HP forum - my account is currently sitting with $300!!! Isn't that crazy!! It was ALLL for free!! I'm so excited to get my camera!! I have a wedding coming up that I'm getting paid in advance for - as well as I'm working on doing my garage sale - so I plan to have this baby by the end of the month!!

Poo On Posting

2010-07-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

As my little header (which I just updated) states - I was doing so great with my blog! I was finally (FINALLY) caught up and then summer stuck. I really got into sorting my stuff to get it ready for a garage sale that I swear will one day happen! The weather being nice had us all doing more outdoor stuff. And unfortunately, my depression took a nose dive - which affected me in all my creative outlets (scrapping, photography and blogging alike!) I forced myself to take photos, I made some awesome layouts despite not really wanting to, but I didn't get much done here :(

So, soon - oh so soon - I'll be doing some catch up posts :) Despite the depression, June was really an awesome month - full of fun times and awesome photos :) I'm eager to get my memories jotted down before more time passes, so catch up posts are on my to-do list for sure :)

A quick recap - I'm not dropping my P365 efforts. I've been diligent (mostly) with photos. And catch-up posts are coming soon :D

Day 149 -- Have Some DVDs

2010-06-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well, today didn't go as planned. Our friends Dameon and Kaci are moving this weekend, and they ended up using Tom and his truck all day today. I'm a little irked cuz they were no where to be found when we were moving. It took us over a week of 16+ hour days to get our stuff packed and loaded in the truck (and it didn't even all fit! We had to unload some and go back). If Kevin & Krisstin hadn't helped for the little bit that they did, and if my mom hadn't baby sat the boys for those last couple days of moving.... yeah - I'm bitter, what can I say, lol.

So, I was extremely bummed we didn't get to the dresser today. I didn't wanna do it myself - I wanted Tom's help. So I didn't even start. Instead - I started to tackle the task of organizing and transferring all of our DVDs from their cases to the new giganto CD case that I got. I hate putting our DVDs into a case like this, but we just don't have room for the shelf we normally use. And doing it this way really is saving space.

In the middle of it all, I managed to extract myself and grabbed a photo of the organized mess :D

That photo doesn't even show them all. You can't see our boxed sets, plus the kids movies were the first ones to go in there a few days ago. Oh - and when I cropped the photo to go on my blog here, I cut off a couple stacks of movies.

Yep - we have a lot of movies, lol.

Day 148 -- Bath Time

2010-06-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

Connor usually takes showers, so we don't do the double bath thing often. So when we do -- it's becomes a little treat for the boys, and a little photo op for me! :D

Happy Friday Everyone!! Hope y'all have a great Memorial Day Weekend! We have nothing planned, so who knows what we'll do! Well - we do have one plan: we are planning on finally getting to the farthest back corner of the moving truck. And in that corner - currently piled and surrounded by boxes - is my dresser. The sad excuse for a closet here barely holds Tom's clothes. That leaves me with a laundry basket on the floor for my stuff. And with the discovery of more of my clothes the other day - my basket just isn't cutting it anymore. So, yay! I should have my own clothes storage soon :D

That's it for today!! See you tomorrow! XoXo! :D

Day 147 -- Drawin' on the Drawer

2010-06-01T15:40:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that I swore would have zero yelling. That's right - no fighting kids, no yelling to be heard over the screeching. I never turned on the TV - just like the old days. It made the kids a little restless at first - wanting to kick each other and what not on the couch. When the screeching started, I told them to cut it out and made them go and play in their rooms. And that's how most the day went - me out here, them in their room...playing quite happily I might add.

AHHHH -- music to my ears!!!

When that got old, I saw that the weather had finally gotten good enough to let them go out. I couldn't get their shoes on fast enough, lol. Two weeks of rain has made us all a little stir crazy :) When Tom got home, we ended up heading out to the mall to get a tool, and it let us just get out of the house even more!! ((Yes - I had cabin fever a lot - can't you tell, lol)

Let's see... Oh - today's photo is of a cute moment of Liam drawing on his new drawer. He just looked so cute that I had to snap a shot :)

And I found the time to finish one final page for my Sweet Shoppe portfolio for May. I didn't get nearly as many pages done as I'd hoped, but I did get enough for 10 points!! And it was my first try - so I'm way happy! But more importantly - I love the pages I made! And that is what matters most for me!

First -- feel free to take a peek at my May Portfolio. I hope to do a few more of the challenges they have, but this is the one I'll get credit for (and a suh-weet coupon for!)

{{{{MAY PORTFOLIO}}}}

Onto my layout - and wow - do I love this one!! I said back HERE that I would be using the kit you see in that post. But the thing is - these photos are pretty dark. It was early afternoon - and cloudy on top of it. So all the photos have a very gray tone to them. And that kit is all bright and cheery. Lucky for me, Kristin did another rain-ish kit! It's more about sad moments (thus the name Bad Day Blues). And the colors of this kit are just spot on perfect for my photos!!!

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 146 -- Look At Those Pearly Whites!

2010-06-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

OH - I forgot to mention yesterday that me & the hubby hit our 4 month mark as non-smokers!! GO US!! YAY!!!

We had a busy day today :) Today was the boys 6 month dental check up. Last year, when they had their first visit, I had Tom's help. This time, it was all me. The ladies there were nice enough to do it one kid at a time, so I was glad for that.

They did so great with both the boys. Connor was up first - and the dentist started asking questions. I swear Connor gave her the look that we all think about when put in the same situation - why the hell are you asking me questions when you can plainly see that I can't talk!! Liam did even better this time! Last time, while he didn't freak, he also made things tricky (he wouldn't open his mouth, so she had to just make do by moving his lips around and hoping for the best). This time, Liam opened wide and let her go to work :) That's today's photo:

I had the hardest time choosing a photo today! I got some great one's from both! So here's a little collage. That top photo is of Connor's bottom teeth. See how one looks crooked -- that's because it's pushing up between the two baby teeth, causing the slightest wiggle of them bottom two teeth (the dentist lady said around his 6th birthday in November - we should see him losing his first teeth!).

But we're not done yet! After we were done, we went to McDonalds to have a very late lunch (it was already 4pm!). And after -- for being such good boys - they got to play in the toy area :)

Day 145 -- His Masterpiece

2010-06-01T13:30:00.001-07:00

For Christmas this past year, my mom got those little doodle toys (the one's that you draw on it and then slide the little dealy on the bottom to erase and then start again). Well, those lasted only a few days before it was cracked. Then a week or two and a chunk was broken off. Up until finally one was garbage, and finally the other. It was a sad day with the drawers were gone (that how the boys refer to them - it's a two syllable word: "draw" and "ers").

So, yesterday while I was browsing around in Target, I came across a sale that I couldn't pass up. And I bought the boys new drawers. And not the cheap ones that my mom found (LOVE YOU MOM! lol) but the "Kid Tough" Fisher Price ones :)

Today's photo was a challenge over come by Connor!! The drawers came with little pictures on the front. One was of a simple stick-figure type house. Connor desperately wanted to draw one and couldn't figure it out. But something must have clicked cuz he excitedly showed me this! :D

I thought the circle in the sky was supposed to be a sun or cloud - maybe a tree with an unfinished trunk. But he informed me that it was a microphone. I have NO clue why - but hey, it's his picture, lol :)

Day 144 -- Closed Eyes All Around

2010-06-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best intentions don't result in that perfect photo!! Even with all my photoshopping skillz, I consider this photo beyond repair...

Dirty faces aside (I could have cleaned those up, but chose to leave the mess intact) the closed eyes are a disappointment. I nearly deleted these photos outright, unsatisfied with any photos I got today. But as I scrolled through, trying to decide which photo to use for today's photo - the one above kept creeping in my thoughts. Tramping down my OCD, I saw the lighter side of this photo. I know the eyes are closed, but look at those grins, lol. And having seen numerous photos of me as a kid (cute smile and closed eyes! Yeah baby!) I decided to again embrace the imperfections and use this one as today's photo!

And with that (you know I used the word photo 10 times in today's post! I hate repetition, but I don't feel like proofing it and rewriting it, lol. So just deal). Where was I? Oh - and with that, I end today's post!! See you tomorrow! XoXo! :D

PS: PHOTO!!! (I couldn't resisit, lol)

Day 143 -- Cuddle Kitty

2010-06-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day for me! I have been struggling ALL week long to scrap something. I just had NO desire. I would lurk on my scrapbook sites, and just sigh with sadness. But yesterday, a new kit was released by Kristin, and I found the stirrings of scrapping desire raise its head. And after a few hours of photo searching (I was trying desperately to figure out what pics to use with a tropical kit when I've NEVER been anywhere tropical! I finally {accidentally} stumbled across some Multnomah Falls pics that worked PERFECTLY). After I found those, it was on! And yesterday, I pretty much finished up my page! I left it for the night just in case a good night's sleep brought about anything new (it really didn't).

But before I show you that -- Today's photo was of a cute moment between Kallie & Connor. I know, I know - a lot of my posts seem to be about Kallie, but you'll have to forgive me - she's new and interesting, and I'm having fun grabbing photos of these first days of family life with a pet :)

So this was today's photo:

It's cute and I had to choose that one! I just couldn't pass it up! But I can't leave off the reason why I grabbed my camera to begin with. The boys were all chillin' on the couch together, and I didn't think much of it. But something I saw made me pause and do a double take and then run for my camera....

Yep, that is Kallie all blah-ified, laying with Connor, lol. This cat really is laid back, lol.

AND!! I did promise a layout, didn't I? :D Well, as I said earlier, Kristin came out with a new kit. And it's got a tropical feel to it. It's fricking gorgeous, and would be SO perfect for those Hawaii pictures (that I don't have!). But I think it ended up working wonderfully with the photos I did choose - what do you think? :)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 142 -- Story Time

2010-06-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

I hate reading out loud. I hated it in school, and I hate it at home. So, yes - I hate reading to my kids. At first it was because neither were interested in anything I was doing. As a baby, each child of mine just wanted to chew and gnaw on the book. A few months more and now they just wanted to have the pages turned over and over. Normal little boy behavior, I'm sure -- annoying all the same! Then, when they were older, they would sit down and maybe make it through half a book before wanting to be done. And once old enough to sit and listen, they either want the same dang book over and over and over (and fricking over!) or they wanted a book that would take about 40 minutes to read!

Yes - I hate reading out loud!!

LUCKILY!! I have a husband that doesn't seem to mind! He even does those voices that kids seem to love. He can make an ass out of himself and not mind, lol. And when I saw this little moment, I just had to have a photo to remember it by and I grabbed my camera and snapped this shot :)

Day 141 -- Boy in a Box

2010-06-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

You know how kids always seem more interested in the boxes that toys come in, then the toys themselves? Well, my boys aren't any different! And the bigger the box - the more fun!!

I was busy working in the moving truck, organizing for garage sale, while still getting a box or two unpacked and organized. I came across one of those larger boxes (it's one of those that are as high as your bum. And if that's too vague - let's just say that it's about as tall as Liam).

I had just brought the box in, excited to find some of my clothes in it. I had taken an arm load out to be washed (it smelled like storage - yuck) and was talking with Tom about something. I knew Liam was curious about the box, so I didn't bother looking to see what he was doing. But Tom watched, and started laughing at something. So I turned around, and somehow, my little monkey had found a way to climb into the box and get in it!

That boy cracks me up sometimes, lol :) That's all for today!! See you tomorrow!! XoXo!! :D

Day 140 -- Yummy Fly

2010-06-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

Are you one of those stupid, moronic drivers that can't stand when a person goes the speed limit, and lets them know this by riding their ass so close that one little tap on my break could send your effing nose up my tail pipe? My God - if you are -- grow an effing brain and slow down! And get off my ass while you're at it cuz I'm the type of driver that will slow down just to make you happy (mind you - I was going about 5mph over already. You riding my ass only makes me slow down to the actual, posted speed limit!).

Yes - I had a moronic driver tailing me on a 25mph road that is almost always stalked by cops because of the NUMEROUS kids waiting to get on the bus! And this asshat not only tails me, but actually tries to pass me in a dang turn lane. Needless to say my own private battle with road rage was lost as I made sure she couldn't pass me and then also made sure that I went 25mph the whole way until we went separate directions. (To be fair - I did speed up to my comfortable 5mph over after being stopped at a light, but when she didn't hesitate to ride my ass once again, I really had no choice but to slow back down to the speed limit).

I'm evil, aren't I, lol. I think a judge would give me anger management classes, and I know that would only piss me off. So that wouldn't work, would it, lol :P

OKAY! My venting session is over! Onto today's adorable photo!! Despite our efforts to keep the little buggers out, flies eventually make it into our home. And tonight, I got to see Kallie try (in vain) to catch one, lol. And my photo was of a moment when the fly landed in the lamp, and had Kallie spellbound as she tried to get to it.

So, that's it for today!! Please ignore what probably sounds like horrible driving. Trust me, I didn't do anything too stupid, lol. I exaggerated for my venting purposes :P And with that, I'm out!! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 139 -- Rock-A-Bye-Kallie

2010-05-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

Yay - today is the last day of Tom being home!! Tomorrow we resume the normal daily routine where he goes to work and I get the house to myself. Okay - I know, I know -- I have two kids...But being in charge (so to speak) for the day just feels great!! So despite having to be up early to take Connor to school - I am still excited to resume "normal" life :)

Today was just a ho-hum day. Watched some TV. Had some time outs. Petted Kallie. Went to bed (then got back up because Tom decided he wanted the neighbors to hear him snoring, forcing me to get up or kill him!). So here it is, 3:30 in the morning and I'm writing my daily accounting of what happened... But goodness - nothing happened today.

And today's photo kind of shows that. There was an adorable moment where Liam was cuddling with Kallie and singing every song he knew to her (those songs would be ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, and Rock-A-Bye-Baby). It was cute - but it really shows off the Blah way we all felt all day long :)

And with that, I end this post. I really hope I can get some sleep. I have to up in a few hours!!! Wish me luck, lol :P See you tomorrow (aka - later today!) :D

Day 138 -- Playing with Kallie Cat

2010-05-27T23:48:00.000-07:00

Yes - our family dynamic has definitely changed. Nothing huge - but Kallie is a new focal point, that's for sure. The kids can't get enough of her (no shocker there!). Liam especially will crawl around after her, lol. Not run - crawl :P

Today's photo was of a cute little moment where I found Liam and Kallie just chillin' under Connor's bed. I was a little saddened at Liam's closed eyes - but I just remember THIS post and the layout at the bottom of THIS post and smile. Life isn't always perfect, and embracing those imperfections will help my OCD with perfection lighten up just a little, lol.

And with that excitingly short post (yay me for keeping it simple, lol) I bid you all a good night!! See you tomorrow!! XoXo! :D

Day 137 -- Hey Mr. Ice Cream Man!

2010-05-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

Today started out...horrible!!

Let's start at last night. We, being new cat owners, did the best we could to set up everything for Kallie and just hope for the best. And things seemed to be fine until around 3am when she just started meowing and wouldn't stop. I got up and was going to show her where the littler box was, but she darted away before I could and I just crawled back into bed. 4am came more meowing, and I had enough. I got up and was able to catch her, and I opened the back door and let her out. She's an outdoor cat (or has been for the last year with Kaci and them) so that's not the issue. But we were going to keep her in for the first couple days to get used to us before letting her out.

So this morning, around 7am or so, I was finally too nervous to sleep any longer. I just kept fearing that Kallie was hurt and/or scared and didn't know where to find us. So I got dressed and went outside, hoping to find her.....and couldn't. I did this over the next hour as the house slowly started to wake up. Around 8am, I asked Tom to get up with me and help me find Kallie. Without being mean in the slightest (morning grumpies and all that, lol) he got up and got dressed.

It seemed hopeless. I started crying and Tom hugged me. I guess it was us just talking that made her meow. I dropped down to my knees to get a better look under our neighbor wooden fence/gate thing - and sure enough, there she was! She wouldn't come to me, but I wasn't done yet. I ran to the house and grabbed the only thing I could think of - Tuna :) But it wasn't needed because by the time I was at the front door, Tom has Kallie cradled in his arms and was heading back. I think Kallie has chosen a favorite, lol :)

So that happened before I was even awake (on top of a night with horrible sleep!).

Today's photo - having nothing to do with that - was of a sweet little moment where the kids got to be spoiled the way kids should (and in a way that has been hard for us to do in the past). We heard the familiar jingle of the ice cream truck, and Tom booked it out the door. He returned a few minutes later with some treats for the kiddos!! And today's photo is of Connor enjoying his. Okay ... maybe "enjoying" isn't the right word, lol... "Posing" is more correct :P

And with that novel, I'm calling this post done!!! See y'all tomorrow!! XOXO! :D

Day 136 -- Hello Kallie

2010-05-27T23:17:00.001-07:00

At the end of 2009, Scrap Orchard challenged us choose a slogan for 2010 and change our forum avatar to show it off. I thought about the coming changes (moving and hopefully quitting smoking) and I knew what my slogan would be: New Beginnings.

And I have found myself - over the last 5 months - thinking about that avi that I made. I have had so many new and exciting beginnings, that I can't help but smile, happy at all the changes that have occurred thus far :) And today was yet another new beginning for me and my family!!

Our friend Kaci called with a delima. Her and Dameon are moving at the end of the month, and the place they're going to either allows only one cat - or none (I never found out). And they have two or three. I know she got rid of her baby, Ninja! I was shocked about that. And they had one more cat that needed a home. She was a stray cat that just stuck around. A young one when they found her - they didn't have the heart to keep her away. And now they wanted a home for her that wasn't an animal shelter. We resisted for quite a while, but Kaci just kept praising her qualities. Apparently she's a super friendly cat, always tolerant of kids and is a master mouse hunter.

"Fine," Tom says, and I grin quietly :) "We'll take her, Kaci. Okay?"

Yep -- today we started the new beginning of family life with a pet. We've not gotten one before for the same reasons -- didn't wanna train a kitten and get that nasty cat smell. Didn't wanna pay the pet deposit. Just had a baby. Couldn't afford to feed ourselves, let alone a cat....But we're doing good, and it just seemed to be the right thing to do.

And so, please say hello to Kallie. We named her on the way home (trying out many names and coming back to Kallie after a while. Connor said the name though I can't remember for the life of me why he chose that name) :D

We also had a very lazy day today, and it gave me the peace & quiet I needed to finish my layout for Kristin's newest kit!!! I took on one of the challenges over at Sweet Shoppe to scrap about my name. And since my story is a little different than most, I had fun designing this page :)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 135 -- First Days of Summer

2010-05-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

With eager excitement, Tom and I grabbed the new swimming pool and got it set up. Tom got the water started, and I hauled pans full of hot water from the sink (my brother did that for me, and it doesn't take much to take the bite off that freezing water from the hose).

The kids were dressed in their swim suits, and their skin covered in sun block. Then they came out and into the pool they went. Unfortunately, the flimsiness of the slide was just too much and Connor couldn't go on it without risk of breaking it (and thus breaking the whole pool). Liam on the other hand went down it over and over!

Since Connor was stuck to pretty much just sitting there, we brought out the boats and I sat down to keep an eye out as the boys played. Oh - and I was taking photos of course!!!

Today's photo is of a moment where Connor took over the little pool by laying down and enjoying a moment of peace (Liam pretty much dominated the pool by going around and around - and Connor always seemed to be in the way, poor kid, lol).

And if you thought I took a ton of photos - then you totally guessed right!! I snapped almost a hundred photos (of course). Here are some of my faves :)

AND!!! I got a layout done (finally!!) I've been tinkering with it all week. I'm not sure why this one irked me, but I just wasn't happy with it for a long time. I kept going away from it, hoping when I came back - inspiration would hit. And it never really did. I just pushed my way through my slumped and came away with this :D

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 134 -- Walmart Trip

2010-05-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had some pretty hot temperature, and even I was feeling the heat, wishing I had a pool that I could dip my toes into. And guess what?! We aren't in an apartment anymore (one that says you can't use a swimming pool in their grass - not even for an hour!).

So, after dinner, we headed to Walmart and went pool shopping. I knew I was more interested in the plastic ones (not the one's that fold up and fit in a box, but stand up against the fence if you want it to). Add to that - there was a really neat one with a slide on it, and THAT is the one we got!!

Today's photo was a quick shot of us buying it. Connor would have been in the photo, but he was having too much fun hanging out UNDER it while Daddy paid for it :)

Day 133 - Do It Myself

2010-05-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

I found that my baby is growing up! I'm not sure when he decided he was interested in doing things himself (and heaven forbid I even try to help - let alone DO it!). But I guess it was this week, because Liam is wanting to dress himself. I'll go to put something on, or do something for him - and he'll stubbornly tell me that he wants to "Do it myself!"

Yep - that's Liam putting on his pants - 100% by himself. I didn't even tell him which way it goes!! He had a hard time getting them all the way up and the waist ended up rolling inside -- but I just hugged him, saying "GOOD BOY!" and secretly fixed them so he wouldn't get mad at me and repeat that he was going to do it himself, lol :)

That's all for today!! :D See you tomorrow!! XoXo! :D

Day 132 -- Welcome Class of 2023

2010-05-20T22:17:00.001-07:00

So I just did the math so that I could title this post - and my brain still can't comprehend that my little baby will be a man in so little time. Okay - 2023 doesn't actually sound close. That sounds like a life time away. But then I have to remind myself that it's already 2010! Where has time gone!! I just turned 20 there other day - and here I am only a few months from turning 30...

And my baby... Oh Connor is growing so fast!! And today he finally got to visit his new school. And I got a bunch of information. One thing I'm SO thrilled about -- this school has all day Kindergarten (5 days a week). I was hoping for that -- he really needs the stimulation. He's such a smart kid, and being home just seems to suck the smart right out of him, lol :)

Today's photo was a quick one I grabbed before we headed back home (Connor was very sad to leave. And telling him he'll be starting here soon means nothing to him since he has no concept of time).

Day 131 -- Abra Cadabra!

2010-05-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Day one of Tom being home during the day. He got hurt yesterday - he strained/pulled the ligaments in his shoulder, and the stupid doctor told him he couldnt' work. We thought yesterday that it was just for the rest of the day. But he was sent home as soon as he showed up today - told that he would have to wait until is follow up appointment -- which isn't until the fricking 19th!!! Grrrr....

But, I think all will be fine!! His work doesn't seem ready to fire him over it - so hopefully this week will just pass fast and then he can go back as if he never left.

Today, Connor's school was hosting a free magic show. I was a little bummed by the low budget guy that they hired, but then remembered that he volunteered just to give the kids a happy treat. And boy oh boy - did he ever!! The kids just LOVE him -- Connor especially. His reactions were always so loud and happy, lol. I grabbed Liam & Connor and went to get a photo with the magician. I was a little irked that some kids jumped in, but oh well. You can see how excited Connor is and that's all that matters :)

Day 130 -- Case of the Boo-Hoos

2010-05-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

Oh my Little Liam, you must be so confused sometimes. I know life was hard when you and I couldn't really communicate. And I know how much easier things got once you started using your words. But that pesky word "no" really gets to you. You have so much passion. Both for happiness and of course sadness.

You all must think that I have the worst kid - terrible twos and all that. But I assure you - it's cuter than it looks, lol. As you can see - there are times when we just see the funny side of life - and this instant Tom chose to share in Liam's woes by "crying" along with him.

I used to enjoy taking these sorts of pictures of Connor too, lol... Just remember - preserving memories with a camera is important - and it's vital that you capture everything. My goodness - capture those amazing firsts like crawling and walking. And for sure - grab those happy times like palying at the park or laughing with friends. But please don't ignore those tantrums and attitude moments - because those moments are important too. It's life - it's memories - and it all goes towards telling the story of *insert name/even here* :D

Stepping down from my soap box now!! :P Just get it all, will ya people!? I'm so tired of not seeing any cry baby pics :) Sometimes those are the best ones!! :)

Day 129 -- Attack of the Tickle Monster

2010-05-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

So today was Mother's Day. And before you ask - no I didn't do anything special today. In fact - I even got up with the kids instead of sleeping in. BUT - I'm honestly okay with how my day went. I did have a couple moments where I got a little bummed that nothing more happened - but the day was actually really good, so I can't really ask for more :) I have two wonderful boys - both healthy and happy. And I have a loving husband (most of the time) who puts up with my mood swings :)

How could a girl ask for more (okay -- I could ask for more {Canon Rebel if you please} but I'm not gonna ask. I'm just gonna keep saving up my Swagbucks to cash in for Amazon cards and then I'll get my camera all on my own!)

Today's photo was a moment that made me laugh. Connor was in the bath tub, having a good time "swimming" and playing with the duckies and boats. And Liam was just chillin' with Daddy. But then, out of nowhere, the tickle monster attacked, leaving Liam breathless with laughter!! :) I can't wait to scrap this!! :)

AND I got another layout finished today! I know - I'm on a roll!! This one was for Kristin's newest kit Hot Diggity Dog (yes - think Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, cuz I sure do, lol) :D

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 128 -- Payton Turns One!

2010-05-20T08:55:00.001-07:00

YAY!! Payton turned one!! Well - not today exactly. Tomorrow is the official day. But today was her birthday party. EB had it at a park by Lake Vancouver. The weather was just gorgeous - and she had about a million people there, including the cousins from the north :)

First we have today's photo. I'm sure that messy babies exist - the one's that just mow (pronounced like "cow" lol ... I can't figure out how to spell it :P) ... Where was I? Oh yeah - I'm sure that there are babies out there that will mow down on their birthday cake with no care to cleanliness. My babies were not among those kids. And Payton really wasn't either. The parents tried to get her into it - making her hands smash half the cake. But she really didn't want much of it. And at one point - she gave a look that just cracked me up!

Will you just look at that scowl! LOL!!! :D She did that a number of times - usually right after her Dad would get in there and mess with her in one way or another :)

The day turned out to be a lot of fun. Cake and ice cream cones. Hamburgers and water gun things. The four older cousins got to play together - and I got to take photos! :)

I also finished up a layout I had been working on off and all all week. I started it over a few times - not sure what exactly I wanted to scrap about with this kit. In the end, I took some older (adorable) photos of Connor wearing some of my old broken glasses (the lenses weren't in them, fyi) :D

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 127 -- Ian's Spot

2010-05-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

Last year, my husband lost a family friend. Ian Walz was in Iraq when a bomb went off, killing 7 soldiers - Ian included. I didn't really know Ian. He and his cousin Dave lived next door to us when Tom first got out of the Marine Corps. Ian wasn't very talkative. I just remember him being in the background, quiet but nice.

It was shocking when we got the news that Ian had been killed in action. Up till then, I hadn't lost anyone over there. Friends of friends - yes. But no one that I personally knew.

Well, today they had a bench dedicated to Ian. It sits down on the beautiful waterfront. A nice place to come and sit and just remember. My friend, and Ian's cousin Kim, invited everyone to come. Tom had to work, so the kids and I went without him. Her camera was broken, so I took it upon myself to take photos for her. A lot of people showed up - I thought that was nice.

My photo today is the ribbon cutting part of the whole thing. Ian's mom is the one cutting the ribbon. The guy in Red... I think he said he was in some sort of military league that gets things like this bench done for families that want something in honor of a fallen soldier. And the other two guys are politicians I think (one was a mayor and the other a governor if I remember correctly).

I really don't have much else to say. I didn't know Ian enough to ever feel comfortable saying I miss him or anything like that. But it does hurt my heart that so many grieve for him, and I would give almost anything to take their hurt away....But I can't. So I have no clue what else to say other than .... Ian - you are missed by so many. I hope you can see that!

Day 126 -- Down by the River

2010-05-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

We had a busy day today :) I had a Mother's Day breakfast with Connor at his school. I'm not big on the social school stuff, so I didn't really have that much fun. But Connor seemed happy, so I'm glad for that.

Then Tom got home a little early and decided that we needed to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather we were having. So we headed down to the waterfront and let the boys throw rocks and just have a nice afternoon down by the river.

Today's photo is a sweet one I got of Connor. I asked him to take a few seconds and give me a smile, and this was the giddy photo I got :D

And please don't adjust your monitors -- Connor really is that pasty white, lol. The poor kid has never had eyebrows that show up and his lips always look like they have lipstick on next this his white skin, lol :) Just thought I'd warn you - you might need sunglasses when around him :P

And because y'all know I can never just show off one photo when I take 50 plus, here's a little collage I put together showing off the fun the boys had :)

Day 125 -- Liquid Sunshine

2010-05-19T23:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if other people call it this - but we have something here that people refer to as liquid sunshine. And it's one of the most beautiful things ever. Let's see if I can explain it.... Well - it really needs to happen in the late afternoon - when the sun is heading towards the horizon. Overhead is overcast - darkish because of those gray clouds. It's raining - but not hard. It would be misting I guess you could say. Basically - the rain is so light that you can't hardly feel it (if at all).

Then the magic happens. Because the the sun is so close to the horizon - it has the ability to peek through any cloud breaks a ways off. So now you have rain over head - and full sunlight off to the west. And with those harsh rays shining at you - it lights up all those little rain droplets falling down. You didn't really even know that it was raining until the sun lit it up!

I tried to photograph that... And failed. I would have experimented more if I had manual control of my camera, but I'm stuck with auto and guessing - and I didn't get anything that showed liquid sunshine. Not really anyways. One photo kinda showed it - but it's not great:

Just try to imagine that - only MUCH more vibrant and all around you like little pixies or something flying all around you. I always love it when this happens :)

But -- from the many photos I took, one neat one did happen when I got them all on my computer, and that is my photo of the day.

Isn't that neat!!?? I guess people try for rays like that all the time -- and mine was done by complete accident. I mean - you can't even see the rain in this photo (which is what I wanted to get, lol). But you gotta love a happy accident when you get one! :)

That's all for today!! See you tomorrow!! XoXo! :D

Day 124 -- Hiding From Brother

2010-05-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

So the boys don't really understand the ins and outs of hide-and-go-seek (especially since Liam still seems to believe that if he can't see them, then they can't see him, lol). But that doesn't stop them from finding places to hide (sure - Connor helped Liam hide first before going to find him - but hey, they had fun so that's all that matters, lol).

Turns out - Liam & Connor found one of the funnest places to hide in (notices the wet -- dirty -- shoes on my nice clean clothes. Grrr, lol)

Day 123 -- Nap Time Woes

2010-05-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

Some days just feel like the end of the world, don't they :) Well - if you were to ask my 2 year old, I believe he would let you know just how horrible naps can be when you want to stay outside and play.

Today's photo is of a little tantrum that Liam threw. I wish I had been able to video this, because a photo just doesn't show the tantrum he threw, lol. I told him his was time to take a nap, and the woe is me tears started. But so did the 'tude as he stomped his way into his room. But it didn't stop there. He proceeded to plop himself down on the ground where he angrily yanked off his sandals. Then he stood up and stomp-stomp-stomped his way out of his pants.

By now I'm cracking because it was just so melodramatic - and I've never seen him get half naked that fast before, lol. So I ran and grabbed my camera and snapped today's photo:

Oh the injustice of it all!!! How will he ever move forward from this travesty!? :P LOL!!! I'm a dork, but you knew that already, right? :P

I finished my layout for Kristin's newest kit!!! It's the busiest layout I've ever made, but I think it turned out good (and by busy - I mean the papers I used all have patterns. I usually use a solid paper for a background to give a calmer page - and allow one to focus on the photo(s) better) :D

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 122 -- Night Time Routine

2010-05-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh - a body sure does feel good after 12 hours of sleep!! Which I hardly ever get. Last night - I was so tired that I barely remember going to bed, lol. My poor hubby ended up being wired awake and I learned later that he didn't go to bed till 4:30am. Having no idea about this, and already getting his go ahead that I could sleep in and he'd get up with the kids -- I didn't think anything of it when he got up with the boys at 8:30am.

Needless to say he took a good long nap when I got up. And he passed out pretty early while watching the America history thing on History Channel (AWESOME show by the way - y'all should check it out!).

We did nothing today! It was a total lazy day after the long day we had yesterday! And that is fine by me!! I tried working on a layout today for Kristin's newest BEAUTIFUL kit, but I'm not done yet. I'm hoping to have it finished by tomorrow :)

Today's photo is of a regular night time routine that Liam insists on doing, despite our insistence that he knock it off, lol :) We do the normal night time stuff. I'll start with Connor and Tom starts with Liam. We each do our thing with each kid (singing, kisses, maybe a story, etc). And then we switch. Ni-nights are done and we sit down to enjoy a quiet evening, watching TV or doing whatever. And usually within the first few minutes, I see this:

The little stinker will open the door and come out saying a handful of different excuses. The first one is usually that he is poopy (which he never is, lol). Next is that he needs medicine for his eye (all the way back to THIS incident). After that (if he doesn't stay in bed) there's any number of things... He needs his nail clipped. He's got an owie (or twelve) that need something (bandaid, neosporian, kisses, lol). Sometimes he gets smart and won't open the door. Instead he'll find a way to turn on the light and then play for however long he's able to (basically until we finally hear him and put him back down).

Some nights are better than others, but he usually comes to the door at least once before staying in bed and going to sleep. And that's all for tonight!! See you tomorrow!! XoXo :D

Day 121 -- Fun at the Zoo

2010-05-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a long WONDERFUL day - and it cannot be told with just one photo. Nor can it be told with a collage of photos. This one has to be told with lots of photos and a story :) My official photo of the day will be at the very end as my favorite photo of the day (even though - I have MANY photo, I decided that that one was my fave. It was a tuff choice though)!

We got up nice and early (what's new!) and got started with the day right away. We were going to the zoo, and I couldn't wait!! (I think Tom & I were more excited than the kids, lol).

We started the adventure with a little peek at an old train engine that they have set up in front of one of the museums next to the zoo. The boys enjoyed looking at that, but they were eager to see some animals (as was Tom and I!) :D

The line wasn't bad at all (last year it was three times that size) and I hoped that meant that the zoo wouldn't be so crowded. We got inside and decided to go opposite of what we did last year (we hoped that would make it less crowded - hoped that everyone would take the obvious route while we took the less obvious.)

First up was the beavers... or was it the otters. Ugh - I can't remember!! But he was stinking cute!! He kept swimming back and forth on his back, making the kids giggle each time he came close :)

Next stop was the sea lion. Liam got to see one up close -- he swam right in front of him twice!

And I got some cute posed photos :D Don't you just love it when kids are cooperative? :D I sure do!!! LOL :P

The penguins were all relaxing, so we didn't get to see any sliding or much swimming. But Connor did get to see one take a nice healthy poo right in front of him, lol. Mmmm - sounds yummy, huh? LOL

We moved onto the polar bears where they had a neat little size chart. I was able to get the boys and the whole chart before a swarm of people came in! Perfection! :)

And the polar bear was Connor's favorite (at least that's what he said at the end of the day) :D This bear was awesome though. He kept walking backwards, just a bobbin' his head :) It was cute :)

They had a little ice den photo op thing too :) How convenient that I happened to have a photo taking device with me!! Glad they thought of us mamarazzis!! :D

Next stop was a little birdy thing. You could get some sort of nectar/sweet stuff and let the birds eat (or is it drink) from you. Well - we didn't get the stuff, but we did walk through. I was snapping a photo of a bird (below) and Liam tried to grab him, lol. He flew off. When I asked Liam where the birdy went - he pointed and said "Up." :D

The indecisive sky once again covered up with clouds and started sprinkling a little bit, so we bundled back up (after having taken off our coats because we were way too hot).

We continued walking, looking at a few more things. We stopped by this wall that was covered in hand prints. Most of them swallowed up Connor's hands. And Liam really had no idea what was going on, lol.

Trying for photographic, I thought these would make an interesting background. And I might have been right if I could have gotten a better photo. I have serious and silly - but that's okay :) There were too many people who didn't feel like going behind me, so I just called it good :)

I was REALLY bummed when we finally got to the giraffes only to see that they were all inside and eating :( So this was the best I got :(

There was a really neat lizard though.

And the zebras were awesome!! I have no clue what the kids thought - I didn't stop to chat with them, lol. I was a kid for a moment saying "Oh cool! Look at that!" :D

The new lion area was awesome! They worked on this exhibit last year - and it was closed to us. So it was a real treat when we got there and it was like they had posed the lions just for us to see them :)

We stopped at a change donation thing -- the kind that you put the coin in and it goes round and round. The boys LOVED that!!

Oh look - another photo opportunity!! They must LOVE me!! This one was a Jeep that was also a window. And it made it like you were on safari - about to move out into the wild!!

One of the awesome things they added to the lion exhibit was a lot of the local information (local for the lions and Africa - not America, lol) They had these drums set up - and boy, did the boys love that!!

Liam really loved watching the Elephant. He was just mesmerized by everything!!

We stopped to eat and then take a potty break. While Tom & Connor were off doing their thing, Liam and I sat down for a bit. I whipped out my camera hoping for on of those perfect pics :) First I had Liam telling me about his finger. Not sure what was up - but he felt it was important, so I went along with it, lol.

Next came my opportunity to catch those baby blues! I got blue eyes - as well as silly expressions. But that's what makes Liam Liam - so that's okay :)

It got chilly again, so we put his sweatshirt back on. And when I refused to let him have his hood on (cuz it's not photographic, lol) he gave me this show of temper:

Next we headed to the train!! This was what Connor had been waiting for all day!! Notice - Liam got his hood on. Stinker, lol

Waiting for the train to move - we just chilled. I got some cute pics of the boys.

Liam tried to get more coffee (yes - he's got a liking for coffee, lol. And no - we don't let him drink it, but that doesn't stop him from stealing sips when I'm not looking, lol)

And we're off!!

Those reaction pictures are so priceless - especially Liam's, lol!! :) Here's some more during the ride...

There was a long tunnel at the end. Long enough - and with a curve - that you actually can't see a thing for a little bit. I wanted to get a photo of the kids and gave it a shot with Connor (but didn't have time with Liam).

The boys really loved the train. They wanted to do it again - but we told them we still had monkeys to look at!!!

Hey look - a monkey looking at a monkey, lol :P

On our way to the exit, we stopped by the bald eagle exhibit. I got a couple shots that I was semi happy with (I would have loved to have been closer).

Then I was told there was another one even closer. And wow - was it ever. Just on the other side of a tree. I went out of the viewing area and stood on a log and got these:

That was SOOO exhilarating!! I've never been so close to a bald eagle! He was just magnificent. I would love to see one fly some day!!

Finishing things up was yet another photo op - set up for mom's like me :D

Going home took us forever!! Every bridge to Washington was backed up for miles! 205 was backed up cuz some genius thought it would be awesome to close down two of the four lanes on the 205 bridge around 3-4pm on a Saturday! Idiot!! Friggin' IDIOT!!!!! It had traffic backed up for hours!! I have no clue what was wrong with I-5 - we didn't stay to find out. And our friends - knowing the mess that 205 was - decided to drive all the way down to the Bridge of the Gods. And THAT ONE was even backed up!! Something just didn't want people to go to Washington today, I'll tell you what!! But it gave the kiddos some time to nap :)

And now my photo of the day!! There was one moment on the train when I asked the boys to sit together so I could get a photo. There's just something about it that I love. I think it's because their bodies aren't posed by me at all - they leaned in themselves. Connor put his arm around Liam by himself. It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I look at this photo :)

With that final photo - I will end my post! The day wasn't done for us. We ended up going over to our friend house for a couple hours, but this post was more about our awesome trip to the zoo!! I can't wait to do it again!!!! :D

Day 120 -- Keep It Up

2010-05-13T15:19:00.001-07:00

Day two of the new me is going great!! I started today out eating an apple. It gave me energy - faster then coffee ever does. I knew it would - I just don't like tart things as a first meal. But that's okay! I'm excited about the coming changes :D

After Liam's nap - we headed back to the mall. We walked for almost an hour this time. And as a reward - we went to the park to let the kids play a little more (we were going to go to the play area in the mall, but it just felt nasty. There were tons of kids playing around there - and not a drop of sanitizer to be found. So I scratched that plan and headed out to find a park).

It didn't take long to find a park - it would have actually been a block or so away from the house that we originally hoped to move into (back in December). What didn't last long was the playing -- it started raining and we headed home soon after arriving. But not before I grabbed some photos -- my favorite being that of both my boys :D

Day 119 -- New Beginnings

2010-05-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

I woke up today, feeling like it would just be the same as any other day - blah followed by some more blah. I would wish for something different - energy, for example, to do something, anything.... Well, someone going through the hardships of living with a former military man going through PTSD posted a link about the wives in that situation. You can read what I read HERE.

I was shocked at how much I felt like that was my life. Now - please don't get me wrong. I know that my emotional issues in home life is no way ALL my husband's fault. Puleeze! How ignorant would I be if I blamed my unhappiness on him. But I do see that a lot of the problems aren't just all from me (as I used to believe).

But it sparked something in me. The part about needing to remember to take care of myself. I am a caregiver type - and I rarely worry about myself. Soooo....when I went to the mirror to see how I looked, I was floored by how much I had let myself go! I knew I needed to work on some stuff (weight being number one) but dang! I think quitting smoking did affect my weight. I didn't start eating more ... but maybe it messed with what metabolism I did have (I really don't know - but I have gained some weight over the last three months since quitting and that is NOT okay!).

So, today I started the process towards my new self!! After Liam got up from his nap, I finally did what I've wanted to do for a while now. I grabbed the stroller and headed to the mall where we spent the next 30 minutes walking as fast as we were able around the levels. I would have done more - but it was dinner time and I had to get home.

On the way home, Tom called and asked me to stop at the store for some stuff. So I decided to grab some things for me. Apples for the morning (to give me SOMETHING since I'm the kind of person that doesn't ever eat breakfast). And instead of getting cereal that I would pile sugar on, I grabbed some trusty corn flakes and then bananas for the sweet! Also - when I got home, instead of getting more coffee (crammed full of sugar) I grabbed some water.

Today's photo -- the one I wanted to show...well, I'm keeping that private for now. I'm a shy girl and I hate being judged. The photos I grabbed this morning (the one's I nearly deleted) those will mark the "BEFORE" for this journey. Once things are rolling, I'll feel more comfortable showing this before photo - but right now, it IS me - and I can't bring myself to show it. So in it's place is one from the mall. It's kinda blurry, but that's cuz we were on the go and having fun :)

So with that said -- I'm calling this post done! Wish me luck!!! :D XOXO! See you tomorrow!!! :D

Day 118 -- Beautiful Eyes

2010-05-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Connor just got up from bed to do a quick potty-run -- and watching him stumble to the bathroom just now made me smile that little smile of nostalgia :) I try so hard to remember the baby and the toddler that he used to be, but all I can see is a little boy growing up way to fast. I love how zombified he is when he gets up like this, lol. He can't open his eyes because of the light - and he can't help but rub his eyes the entire time. He rarely walks in a straight line as he heads to the bathroom. And I swear he never remembers to flush when he's done, lol.

It's the little moments, right? :)

Today was ... long. Wednesdays are always tough for me - I feel SO tired on them. I haven't a clue why either. But we did visit my parent tonight. That was great for me. We live so close to them, but for whatever reason - we rarely visit. I was so proud of Liam - he sang his ABC's for them as well as Twinkle, Twinkle (this kid NEVER performs - but he did for them!) I took my camera - and stupidly forgot to take a single photo of that. I just enjoyed myself so much that taking a photo never entered my mind.

Luckily I had grabbed some earlier and got one of those "awwww" ones:

Doesn't he have the most beautiful eyes ever? I always dreamed for eyes like those! As he get's older, he'll probably come to hate his long eye lashes, but the girls will most likely love them (just like I love his daddy's) :D

OH - and I can finally show that layout I did up for Lyndsay's newest kit!! The kit was all about berries, and I was worried I wouldn't have any photos to scrap about. But the red checked paper sparked an idea - and thus came a layout about a picnic I had with the boys - a spur of the moment type thing :D

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 117 -- Pud Muddles

2010-05-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

I totally stole a digi scrap kit name for the name of my post. The first time I saw the kit Pud Muddles - I fell in love with the name of it. Oh yeah - and the kit was adorable too and was in fact the very first digital scrap kit I ever bought :) It's a retired kit now - but I still love it!

Isn't that just the cutest kit ever!! And it will most likely be the kit I use when I scrap the photos I grabbed today! We had a little rain storm at our place, and the puddle I have dubbed "Lake Moody" filled up fast! (I hear that this thing will eventually cover the road in fall/winter time. That should be interesting, lol).

So first we have my favorite photo from the 75+ pics I took. It does happen to be Liam - though I had some great one's of Connor too (which I'll show off below). Liam just did this cute little tongue thing that made me fall in love with this pic :D

And because I did take so many photos -- here's a little collage of some of my favorites :D

Up top you can see Connor falling into the puddle, lol. Yes - we knew he was gonna fall. And yes - we encouraged him to run faster and faster, hoping he'd fall, lol. And because we laughed - Connor found it funny as well and kept falling for a while after that :) You can see how wet he got in the photo below it :) The ones of Liam were just some of the cute one's I had a tough time choosing my photo of the day from - that kid is just so dang photogenic (finally!) :D

OH!! One final photo!! I mentioned before that the puddle is big, but I've heard it gets much bigger. He's a shot of all the boys playing - and you can see the whole (well most of the) puddle for yourself :)

Day 116 -- Building Blocks

2010-05-10T00:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm ending this day later than I hoped. Just a few minutes shy of 1am, I had hoped to be in bed a couple hours ago. But the scrapping bug bit tonight, and I didn't wanna stop until I was done - and I just posted my layout in Lyndsay's CT forum, so I am quite happy! I can't show you tonight - sorry!! The kit isn't due out until the weekend, so I've got a couple days till I can show you :)

I got a hold of an old friend tonight too. Liz from my Coffee Brat days :) I still can't believe sometimes that that life was a decade ago, lol. I miss it a lot actually - there was something free and invigorating about that life... But that was a different chapter in my life. And I'm SO okay with that cuz I have my family - and that is what I live for now :)

Speaking of family - Connor got to play with his new blocks today. Well, they're not new. They were actually mine as a kid. I just finally found the box they were in and put them in his room :) He was quite proud of the car he made and wanted to show it to me. I grabbed my camera - thinking a good photo of Connor was due! And I'm quite happy with the shot I got :)

I know he's got kinda a goofy grin - but that's part of his personality, and I won't leave a photo out just cuz he's being a goober, lol :) Anyhoo -- that's all for today!! See you tomorrow!! :D

Day 115 -- Monkeys Like To Climb

2010-05-10T00:36:00.000-07:00

Ugh - Sunday's are kinda sucky for me. Each day on the weekend (usually) is for either me or Tom to sleep in. I usually take Saturday - so that means Sundays I get up with the kids. I did NOT wanna get up today! Since it was only Connor, I was able to snooze for a while on the couch while he watched the Disney Channel. Liam didn't even get up till 8:30am! I wish he would do that every day!

Mowing the grass, BBQing some burgers. These are normal weekend things now. I kinda like the familiarity of these things. I still feel adrift at times living here - having a truck full of our things that we would normally use often -- having those things still packed up can do that to a person -- but these little mini-traditions are helping me feel more grounded :)

Today's photo was yet another lovely example of why Liam has the nickname of Monkey. That boy climbed before he could crawl!! And today I learned that if he really REALLY wanted to get out of the yard -- I have a feeling his determination would make that come true:

Oh, and I got my CT layout for Kristin finished! I always love what sleep does for my creative process. I went to bed hoping it would all work itself out in the morning -- and it did!!! So here's my finished layout :)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

I'm SO happy with how it turned out!! I've wanted to make an out takes layout for months. Ever since I saw this Daily Digi blog post, I've wanted to do it! I've had that post bookmarked on my main browser toolbar since I read it! :)

That's all for today!! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 114 -- Gettin' A Hair Cut

2010-05-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

I got to sleep in today!! Ahhh heaven, lol. My neck is still all crinked, but I'm kinda used to that, so I just deal as best as I can. Being able to take a muscle relaxer last night seems to have helped - so here's to a stress free weekend so that I can be healed :)

Shortly after getting up - I got ready to leave so that we could go. First a little lunch; we don't splurge ever, so it's always nice when we can (yes, Tom's job is still going strong!) We went to the best place around - Burgerville!! :) It's a local burger joint that anyone living here just loves (and if you don't love it *ahem* Marie! -- that just means you're not from here!!) :D

After that was the purpose to getting out and about -- it was time for the boys to get a hair cut! Liam's hair was long over due - so it's a good thing we could finally afford a hair cut, lol. And Liam - the kid that acted like the world was ending when he gets his hair cut -- this kid did amazing!! He was a little unsure at the very beginning, but never did he cry. The only reason why he would pull away was simply because it tickled, lol. And smiles - he smiled through out the whole thing!

He kept doing this little smile that I rarely see, yet love so much. He keeps his lips together, and smiles that way - scrunching his cheeks and now up. His eyes smile too. Well - he kept smiling like that during his hair cut - and my photo of the day was one of those smiles :D

And because I'm a sucker for sharing photos, lol -- here's what I meant about "end of the world" with Liam and hair cuts:

Oh, and I dug into Kristin's newest kit today! Since I was a zombie last night after taking my muscle relaxer, I never got anything done other than downloading the kit. Well - today I spent most of the day on a layout I ended up not making. I just didn't like the kit for it. So I saved my progress on it and decided to use a different kit for it later. I did start a new layout - and I think it'll do well. I got the photos and papers all done. So I'll see how tomorrow goes with the element decorating :)

That's all for today!! See you tomorrow! :)

Day 113 -- Got A Light?

2010-05-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

I think I said it best on Facebook earlier today:

You know - when you quit smoking, it doesn't really make sense to keep lighters. Well - it does, but in that panicky, anxious, withdrawl state - it doesn't register that maybe you should keep at least one... But it will finally occur the moment you go to light a candle and realize you have no matches and all your lighters were thrown away three months ago

Yes-sir-ree -- I kinda hosed myself on that one, lol. BUT - I came across a lighter still stuck in an extra compartment in my purse. And it was my purple one - my fave lighter. So I was able to successfully get that candle lit and let the gorgeous smells fill the house (I love burning candles!!).

But I swear the boys acted like they had never seen a candle before, lol. To a degree - I suppose they're pretty foreign to Liam. If I ever did have any lit in the old house, they were up high on something he couldn't reach as well as couldn't knock over. But even Connor seem stupefied by it, lol. And that is today's photo :)

Day 112 -- Big Boy's Room

2010-05-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

Today was wonderful. It started out kinda rough - I woke up with a stiff neck that only got stiffer. This sort of problem usually makes me wanna bawl all day long and can only be fixed by laying on the couch all day - my body pumped up with muscle relaxers and a feather blanket supporting my neck while I stare up at the ceiling so that my neck is straight and relaxed (yeah - fun times).

LUCKILY -- it didn't tighten up THAT bad (I'm shocked really, lol). I fully expect it to get worse with tonight's sleep - but who knows, maybe it'll clear up.

Let's see...Well - today me & the boys went to the school Connor will be going to next fall! My baby is growing up!! :) He is SO excited about the new school! He was sad he couldn't walk around today, lol. I assured him that we'd come back soon :)

I also got a shelf up in his room to help him with having a place for his things. As he gets older - a toy box just isn't going to cut it for his stuff. And I would like him to have a place to put his stuff up high so that Liam can't sneak in his room and get it (stinker! lol). That is today's photo :) My accomplishment - even being dog tired, and having a totally stiff neck that won't allow me to look left or right (really tricky when you're driving, fyi, lol)

On a side note - I haven't mentioned it (mostly cuz I forgot) but our landlord will be here tomorrow (or maybe Saturday) to have a look at Connor's room. I'm a little peeved cuz he already "had a look" and said he'd be back with a new heater -- that was almost two weeks ago. The short story: I smell burnt rubber. I've smelled it for about a month now. It's either coming from the wall heater or the box fan in there -- I'm pretty sure that's the only source.... The longer store can be found HERE (yes, I'm desperate and am scared. I keep getting told not to stress about it, but how can I when I'm smelling something that smells BURNT!)...

Anyhoo -- I'm just putting this down because ... well - things might go bad, and I want a record of it dang it!!!

Oh - I can finally show you a layout I did with a new kit from Lyndsay! It's SO cute - and that's even including the pink! :P I totally did a girly layout - and I love it!! And my journaling - now that is my favorite part I think... Oh but I love the clustering too... AND - something no one can see -- the editing to the photo (that will be my private hooray! LOL).

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 111 -- Growing Up Fast

2010-05-03T01:34:00.000-07:00

Today was long...and sucky, lol. Nothing really bad happened - I just felt blah all day.

I did try to win some Lilith Fair tickets through our local radio station, and my dang phone UGH! I'm not sure what Cricket (the company we have our phones through) - I'm not sure what they have against me letting the phone ring forever if I choose too - but they won't let me. So let's say - by some miracle I get through on the call in for a prize on the radio. Y'all know how hard that is, right?! I mean - that busy signal starts to drone in your head after the first 10 tries! And then - omg, that's a ring! And another ring! You actually made it through - so that means you actually have a chance at winning!! BUT - my lovely Cricket company lets me know after about 8-10 rings that "The Cricket customer you are calling is not available or no longer in service. Message 20" and then flipping hangs up on me! ARRRRGGGGHHH!!! SO frustrating!! Was I gonna win - I have NO clue. Would I have liked to have had the chance - you betcha!

Oh well, lol. I'm not gonna dwell. I chatted with the radio host chicka (she picked up to let me know that a winner was found already). So that was fun :P

We went to my inlaws for dinner. And I got to see Payton walk!! Sure - it was only one step and then down on her tushie she went - but YAY!!! :D And that was today's photo!! :) See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 110 -- My Pretty Little Boy

2010-05-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

Today was another long LONG day, with the kids starting things out for me just a few minutes shy of 7am. I have to say a quick WTF with the 7am (sometimes earlier) wake-up call... *sigh* I can't blame them though -- cuz when I'm awake, I wanna be up. Who in their right mind wants to just veg in bed when there's mischief to be had, lol :)

I had some goals today - and I finished some of them. As expected, I reached enough swagbucks to get yet another $5 Amazon gift card - bringing my total of free money to $90!! :) If you haven't joined Swagbucks yet - you really are missing out! You get 30 swagbucks just for signing up - so make sure to use my referral and sign up now!

--->Jen's Swagbucks<---

Sorry, lol -- Just thought I'd get a little plug in there. I just can't praise Swagbucks enough! I'm saving up for a camera, and with the help of Swagbucks - I have a $190.00 saved up, with more coming every week :D

Okay - I'm done, lol. Another goal I had for the day was to get a layout done for Lyndsay's newest kit. I can't show you the layout because the kit won't be out for a couple days, but oh my - it's SO cute!! Y'all are gonna love it! I know because I love -- and get this: it's girly! I love a girly kit (a rarity for sure, lol) :P

So for today's photo - Liam had a girly moment (first me with the girly layout - then Liam. Guess being girly is just in the water today, lol). Apparently - there's something fun about hair clips. You know the ones that you fold and they clip down the hair. I always called them clipies. I'm sure they have an official name - but who needs it...Clipies is fun to say, lol. And Liam is obsessed with them! And when he learned they open and can even hold hair in place - oh yeah! He was diggin' that, lol :)

Isn't he just the prettiest little boy ever!? :) What's funny is - for just a second, I could kinda imagine what a girl might have looked like - if she had his features. Wow - so pretty (it's those lashes I tell ya. Liam has lashes that girls would fight over if they could!) :D

That's it for today!! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 109 -- Medicin in the Eye

2010-05-03T01:01:00.000-07:00

The title says it all "Medicine in the eye" :) That's how Liam reminds us that it's time to put his drops in his eye. Yes - our kit is a strange one. I haven't known many people that enjoy getting drops in their eyes - let alone kids. But not Liam :) Sure - he jumps when the drop hits his eye - but he doesn't fight us even a little bit!!

Today's photo was one I got right after :) He was pointing out to me his eye that he got the medicine in. Yes - I see that he instead pointed to his jaw bone, but I think he was trying to make sure he didn't touch it and ruin the medicine's healing powers, lol :)

On a side note - I guess my hubby finished up with his period because he's better now. Not sure what the heck happened over the weekend, but he's already apologized a few times. Doesn't really fix the horrible feeling I still have in the pit of my stomach - but hopefully it won't happen again!!

See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 108 -- Liam's Turn

2010-05-03T00:56:00.000-07:00

Seriously, my husband is having his period! Holy crap!! This weekend has been the worst ever! I don't know this jerk, I swear.... Ugh - I don't wanna go into it, but something crawled up his butt and died because he is being SO horrible! I'm just doing my best to stay on this thing (ie: my computer) and ignore him!!!!!

He helped me by going outside for a good portion of the day. Sundays he likes mow the lawn (and usually mows his parents lawn too). He also decided to wash his truck. And since it was Connor's Turn last time, it was Liam's turn this time :)

And in an effort to stay on my computer, I decided to do another layout with Kristin's gorgeous stuff. I saw this kit when it came out a last week, and LOVED it!! And I was SO thrilled to download and play with it. AND I am totally in love with the layout! It ended up being my therapy while dealing with Tom's PMS! If you read the quote on the strips - you'll understand what I mean about my therapy!

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 107 -- Heeee-Yah!!

2010-05-03T00:55:00.000-07:00

Today was a .... horrible day. I can't really go into it because it's a little too private to put on to a public blog. My heart is hurting, and there's nothing that can fix it right now. Sometimes guys are just assholes and that's the end of it! We as women have our time of the month, and I'm a firm believer that every once in a while - a guy just has to be a dick, otherwise they might explode!

Moving on!!!!! >:|

With Tom outside doing whatever the hell he wants - I played with Liam. He wanted to play with one of my ace bandages, and I got the silly idea to put it on his head. After that - I got the even better idea to copy and old photo I had taken of Tom. One crazy (boring) day in Yuma, Arizona, Tom got creative with an ace bandage and did this:

So my scrapbooking brain took over and insisted I get a photo to match the craziness above, lol. Thus came what ended up being today's photo :)

Liam was saying "Hee-Yah!" under that bandage, lol :D So even though today was absolute s**t, at least there was a moment where I smiled! :)

Day 106 -- From Bad to Worse

2010-05-03T00:43:00.000-07:00

Today was... emotional, lol. Lots of ups and downs. I woke up grouchy (which I hate cuz my poor boys have to deal with my short temper! I just keep to myself for a few until I wake up - that usually fixes the problem).

I stressed myself out though because I wanted to get my first layout for KCB finished asap! Well, I finished and went to see what Yari and/or Jess thought. I loved it - but I also thought it was lacking in something, I just didn't know what. No one was on though, so I gave up and started uploading it to the galleries -- and that's when Yari popped in and I showed it to her. Her reaction calmed most all my nerves - she just LOVED it!!!!

Wanna see it?? Oh - well twist my arm why don't ya, lol :)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

It's grown on me more and more since this morning... I still think it's just missing...something - but I may never know what :) OH - Jess popped in soon after and love it as well, lol....

So that done, I went about doing normal stuff. Soon it was lunch time and the boys sat at the table, excited and ready for lunch. I hear giggles and excited noises ... and then suddenly I hear "Oh-oops" from Connor and a sad little "Owie!" from Liam. I go in and learn that Connor poked Liam in the eye (it wasn't until much later that I learned the whole story -- which took the same question "What Happened" asked 20 different ways to get the answer from Connor. Basically Connor was twisting around, back and forth in his excitement for lunch. Basically just playing. And Liam just happened to move the wrong way at the wrong time as Connor's hand came around and his finger poked/slammed into Liam's eye).

I was upset, but even not knowing the whole story at the time - I knew it was an accident. Liam complained a bit. He would suddenly cry out "Owie" and rub his eye... but then five minutes later he would seem completely fine. He went to his nap crying a bit off and on - and woke up crying out because of it.

By then Tom was home, and he and I decided that calling the advice nurse wouldn't hurt. Because it was the eye - and they don't take chances with the eye -- she said to go to the urgent clinic! We got there and found out the wait time was awesome. We were the next to be seen. And after the nurse left, the doctor came in in a couple minutes instead of the expected 20!

After explaining everything - from the dirt to the finger -- the doctor decided that we should look and see if there was any damage using this staining stuff and special light. Liam did ... shockingly well!! I mean - he really doesn't like people. He was crying about the stethoscope that the nurse lady used to check his heart rate, lol. He wasn't too thrilled with the numbing drops, but after that ... it was like he was in a trance. He just watched her. He didn't mind when Tom had to hold him with his head tipped back so she could look with a light (even picking up the top eye lid to look under). Then she added the stain and then looked again with the blue light. AND!! This shocked me the most (especially since I knew he didn't like getting drops in his eyes). He was wonderful as she flushed the stain out of his eye. He wasn't thrilled about it and tried (towards the end) to squirm away - but he didn't freak out or cry or anything. I was SO proud of him :)

But when that blue light went on there - we immediately saw it! It was ... oh wow, it still takes my breath away and makes me want to cry. It was big (not huge - but big enough). It was shaped like a triangle and was right in the middle of the black circle in the eye. *shiver* My eyes are misting up just thinking about it... I know it looked worse than it was ... but that stuff just gives me the willies.

The doctor's treatment ended up being some drops that we'll put in his eye over the next week to keep infections away. And the biggest treatment was done tonight (and is today's photo). She said that it could easily be healed within 24hrs - that the eye heals crazy fast! And that the best way for it to heal is to keep irritation away from it. The eye lid is irritating - so anyway to have him stare would be good. She suggested a favorite movie, lol. We got home, ate dinner and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks. And he stared happily at the TV for a lot of the movie. And I got today's photo :)

Day 105 -- Boys and Dirt Revisited

2010-05-03T00:07:00.001-07:00

I guess my "awww, how sweet" part of boys playing in dirt is over (grrr). Okay - not over, but I am a tad paranoid now... Okay - first today's photo :) I kinda wish I had gotten a photo of the fiasco (I'll explain next) but I was too worried. But I did get an adorable photo early in the day :)

Liam has this weird obsession with socks. He likes to put them on (especially if they're Daddy's HUGE socks, lol). He like to put cars in them. And he likes to wear them like gloves. And that was today -- glove day :P

Now - onto the freaky, horrible fiasco that came later!!! The boys were out playing - playing in the dirt like normal. I don't know how it all went down, but from what I can gather: Liam threw dirt at Connor. Connor in turn threw dirt at Liam. The bad thing is - Connor got dirt on his arm, but when he threw his - it landed in Liam's face. And Liam's eyes were open!!!

He came to us saying something was in his eyes - and when we looked... Oh God I get chills just thinking about it! There were these chunks in the inner part - where the tear ducts were. Tom took a Q-Tip and carefully rolled those chunks out. But oh ... *shiver* ...there was still dirt under both the top and bottom eye lids (especially along the bottom).

So with a shaky hand, I took my contact stuff and tried my hardest to get the dirt out. It didn't work very well. But with slow determination, I got it all out....Or so I thought. A few minutes later (mind you - he's acting totally fine) I see a little bit of dirt had gathered in the tear duct area (the way sleep crusties do). I clean that off and carefully pull his lower eye lid down. Oh Em Gee!! There was a line of dirt that went all the way across. Not thick, mind you - but enough to make me wanna just cry!!! I mean - it was MUD now!! In my poor baby's eye!!! :(

Into the bath he went. I couldn't think of anything else. I hoped that playing in the bath would allow it all to work itself out. And after an hour of playing - I checked and thank God -- it was all gone! And he seemed totally fine!!

And that was the fiasco I had today!! Can I just have a nice calm day tomorrow - please!! :)

OH!!! I did another layout!! Since Yari is retiring - she put out a free with purchase kit and I finally got a layout done with it! It was a girly-ish kit (not too girly though - but had lots of bright spring colors) and I was really happy with my ability to do such a boy layout with it :D

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 104 -- Boys and Dirt

2010-05-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

Before I go on and on about my fantabulous day -- I'll show you today's photo :D Then read further for my winning call into my local radio station along with a couple other tidbits :D

Today's photo was of Connor showing me that despite his clean freak tendencies, he is still a normal little boy who loves him some dirt!! Notice his foot is under the house, lol :) They sure do love what once was a flower bed! Both him & Liam play in that little section all the time! They love digging in the dirt - Connor loves finding worms :D

Read on to learn about the rest of my busy, busy day!!! :D

I got up at around 7:30am, tired but ready to see if I would learn my fate for the CT call I applied to - but alas, no email yet. I did my normal stuff, and was in the middle of it all when Yari popped in to say hi. Almost at the same moment, I get a new email... And it's a reply to my CT application for Kristin Cronin-Barrow!!! OMG - I was SO nervous....

My first thought was "Okay - get ready for the worse" ... but then that little hopeful part of me (growing by the second) thought "Hey - you know how long it takes to do these calls. And here it is - only a few hours after the call officially closed. If you're getting an email THIS early - there's a chance that it's because she chose you!!!"

I tell Yari to hold on for a sec - that I got an email about the CT (OH! Yari applied too!! Pretty much everyone I know that scraps applied, lol. KCB is a BIG deal!!). Well, I only hesitated for a second and then opened the email... And the very first words I saw were "Congrats!!" AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I freaked - I mean really REALLY freaked! I screamed and laughed and screamed some more. I told Yari the good news - and she doubled my happiness when she told me that she made the team too!! You have got to be kidding me!! That was almost better than making it myself. To find out that I'd have one of my dearest scrapbooking friends with me was SO .... perfect!

So then I was screaming - Yari was screaming (screaming in IM is funny as hell, lmao!). I was clapping and giggling... Yeah - my boys must have thought I was nuts, lol!!!! But wow - I was just (and am still) SOOOOO happy!!

Who would have thought that I'd be here - getting ready to start the best 6mo of my scrapbooking journey... I remember that girl - the one from a year ago ... She wanted so badly to apply to Tracie Stroud's CT. But I looked at the applicant's galleries and then my own - and I didn't stand a chance. And I just couldn't handle the idea of getting rejected. So I just worked hard and improved my layouts any way I could think of... And finally - I took a shot and applied to my first CT -- Valerie N. Designs. And she said yes.... Then again, I took a chance and applied to Lyndsay Riches. And she said yes.... Yari asked ME to be on her team... BTA asked me to be on her team too! ....

Having never been rejected - I know one day it will happen. But not today baby!! No way no how!! Cuz today I made it!! It's official!! I'm on the KCB Crew and I couldn't be happier!! WHOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!

And what better way to show exactly how I feel then with this commercial (which kept popping in my head every time I remembered that I MADE IT!!!!)

EVERYBODY SING!!!
Who's skipping down the streets of the city, smiling at everybody she sees?
Who's reaching out to tickle a horsy? Everyone knows it's ME!!!!!!

OMG -- and I almost forgot!! I have even more news!! The local radio station that I listen to every single day (almost all day long) -- the midday host, Sheryl Stewart, was doing a contest to call in and win something (I wasn't sure what). Well this one was about men & women. The question was: 1 out of 4 women have dumped a guy because he just wasn't what? --- and I thought of the answer "Nice." I said screw it and decided to call in. I got through and gave my answer and she was like "OOOHHHH, you are SOOOO close!"

Then she made a deal with me -- since I was close enough, she'd give me the "official" answer and let me act as if that was what I called in with. The official answer was "A Gentleman" ... Looking back - seriously "nice" should have counted. As it was, I kept thinking - how do I give the answer and have it sound like me. In the end - I think I over did it, nervously chatting until I would run out of breath and have to take one of those obvious breaths in the middle of a word, lmao... *face palm* ... LUCKILY!! Her little recorder thing didn't work - so she didn't air our horrid chat on the air, lol.

And my prize? I won two tickets to the Ski Bowl... Crud - I don't ski, lol!! But when we go pick them up - I'm gonna hope I can get something else - even if it's just a CD, that would rock as well!! Oh - maybe just money .... idk :) I was just totally stoked to win something! :P

Day 103 -- A Peaceful Moment

2010-05-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

So day two on the "Normal" schedule (that I was totally lovin' yesterday) didn't really go as ... happily as yesterday, lol. I was tired - like bone weary tired. My wonderful hubby had been getting up with the kids almost everyday, so getting up with little sleep two days in a row has been a rare thing over the last few months. I know - I'm spoiled, lol.

I'm also not feeling so hot (no need to go into details...let's just say Aunt Flo is visiting. K! I'm blushing now, so I'm moving on, lol). Liam was a butt munch and whined all day long! He also kept getting into the new boxes we brought in on the weekend to be unpacked. Stinker!

Today's photo is of a moment of wonderful peace! After getting Liam down for a nap, Connor was forced to just relax without the TV (I'm anti TV in the day time...well kinda. Not really anti TV - more like I just don't like it too much -- I prefer to listen to music). So he was bored, and I turn around to tell him to play with his legos - and there he is, passed out! LOL :) So that's what I took a pic of :)

OH! Guess what! EEK! Tomorrow I find out if I made it on Kristin's team!! I'm so incredibly nervous! I have no clue if I even have a shot - but my dang self is getting hopeful, even though I keep telling it (it being myself, lol) not to, lol. I have a horrible feeling that if I get rejected, it's just gonna crush me (doesn't help that Aunt Flo will have control of the water works, lol). So goodness gracious - fingers crossed!! I SO wish that I was caught up with this dang blog so I could actually post this NOW.

Grrr.... I think that is my goal for tomorrow -- get more P365 posts up! Anyhoo - like you really care at this point, lol. So I'll hush! See you tomorrow! XOXO! :D

Day 102 -- I Will Kill You With My Mind!!! :D

2010-05-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

Today was... well, in a word -- today was fantastic!! Even when it was a little sucky - I was still so beyond happy!! These kind of "happy & satisfying" days are way too far apart -- and too few of them as well!!

For all intents & purposes -- today sucks in a way that boring normalcy sucks. Get up with the kids. Take oldest to school. Deal with stinker butt toddler all day. Fight nap time. Do laundry. Try to find time to scrap.... Etc, Etc, Etc.

But that's what made the day so wonderful!! It was finally normal!! Tom was at work!!

Yep! You heard right -- he finally went back to work. No more "I'll start in a couple weeks" and then it never happens. Or "They'll give me a call for another interview when they're done with the other applicants" and then they never call. Nope -- none of that for he drove to work, set up his tools and spent the next 8+ hours working at his new job!

So with that going on -- that left me home with the kids! And what a blessing it was! The house was mine again - to rule as I see fit! No stupid TV shows, no hogging the couch, no intrusion on my days!! YAY!!!!

And today's photo is ... well, in a word - hilarious!! At least to me it is! I got that cute photo of Connor blowing the wisher thing (you can see that one HERE) and I thought to get one of Liam. I give it to him and start snapping shots. He never really gave me that "perfect" shot that I was hoping for - but I did get the "I'm gonna blow you up with my mind" shot, lmao!!

OH!! And get this - I had an AWESOME dream last night!! It centered around that CT call I applied for Kristin Cronin-Barrow, lol. I was so zoned in to it that when I went to bed last night, I dreamt about it, lol. I actually dreamed that I got on the team - and then woke up a little bummed when I realized it was just a dream, lol :) But in an effort to make something current using her stuff - I did finish up a layout using her kit around 11pm tonight :) I call it Brothers -- and I love it. It had started out as a turquoise layout to go along with one of the challenges over at Sweet Shoppe, but I ended up changing it around cuz the turquoise background just didn't work right :)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Okay -- that's it! I'm exhausted (and it's only 11:27pm, can you believe it!?) So I'm off to bed!! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

PS!! I just remembered a status I wrote on Facebook earlier and I had to share: HAHA -- so I went to the bathroom, and realized AFTER I sat that I was out of toilet paper. So I send Liam on a mission to get me a new roll. He runs off, heading to my bathroom, and I sit and pray he isn't in my nightstand, playing with my carmex or something, lol. He comes running back all proud - and proceeds to hand me two, tiny pieces of toilet paper, which he had pulled off the roll in the other bathroom, lol!! Just thought I'd share :P

Day 101 -- Car Theft

2010-05-02T22:38:00.000-07:00

So last night, around 2am, my internet shut off. The TV was still good - so I know it wasn't shut off cuz we were bad and didn't pay our bill. Looking at my modem, I can see that things aren't all good, so I knew it was Comcast. I figured they were just working on things, so I decided to just tinker around until it came back on. When my computer told me I needed to run a diagnostic because it couldn't find any networks - the genius in me said "Sure!". Surprise, surprise - it couldn't find any - so it couldn't connect to the internet. DUH - I could have told it that.

An hour goes by (still nothing) and I notice that my modem is fine -- and all lights are green! WTH! I tell it to connect and nothing happens. "No networks found" I do this and that - eventually restarting my computer. Same dang thing! UGH!

So I call Comcast and deal with some chick from India. She had me do a bunch of pointless stuff. Then finally - we got down to business. She had me type to get my IP address. But the thing is - nothing was showing up!? We ended the call when she simply said that there was nothing she could do and to contact the manufacturer of my computer. ARGH!

I went to bed MAD!! The next day (this morning) I call back and luckily got someone from the US. We go through the same things - and I still can't get an IP address for them. Somehow - that stupid diagnostic that I ran last night messed up the software for my ethernet connector. The only way to fix that is to download and reinstall the software for it. But the only way to get it is to go online! UGH!!!!!

So I give up and call Dameon - the guy that built my computer. I didn't wanna have to bother him - but he was my last resort. I tell him everything - and make sure that reinstalling the software would work. He tells me that the software should be saved on my computer for this very problem - and it's just up to me to tell the computer to find it. So, I end up uninstalling the ethernet thingy and then telling my computer to find it again and to reinstall it for me.

And in 5 flipping minutes - I'm back online!! Easy frickin' peasy!! Stupid Comcast! They need Dameon working for them! *HUMPH!*

THEN!! Tonight!! OMG - this was insane!! So, around 9pm tonight, I heard a weird vibration thing. It was large enough that I thought maybe we had had a small earth quake. But too small to be sure... Within a few minutes - I can hear our neighbors outside, being all sorts of loud!

Here's what we can piece together. Some jack ass stole a car and took off with it. He quickly turned down a quiet back road for some reason, still going way too fast. The road he's on comes to a T - only he doesn't know this. Thinking fast, he swerves to the left - right next to our neighbors fence. This might have worked except for the HUGE dips in the grass along that fence. You could see the chunk of earth that got ripped out as the front end of the cars smashes into it. Loosing control, the driver swerves again to right himself, taking out the corner of the fence he had been driving beside. Then, to the right of him - he barely missed my broken Neon, parked behind the same fence. He runs over a baby tree, possibly hitting another one. Continues on through our parking area and goes around our truck - just missing that. Curves around to the right and lands in our front yard - just a few feet from our fence! When we get outside - the car is dead and the door left open - the twerp is gone, and some poor girl just lost her car :(

It's not the best photo - you really can't see much - but you can see our fence and house in the background. And you can just barely see the rear bumper on the ground. The exhaust thingy was off too - it had been found by the fence. And someone had tried to start it - I remember a lot of clunking -- so something (well, a lot of things) were broken under the hood. I just feel horrible for the girl that it belongs to!! I've had my car stolen - but I always got them back to me whole. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before!! Horrible!! :(

There - you can see what I just wrote about. Start at the bottom of the photo - following the blue line up and around. You can see the fence that he took the corner out of, the place where my neon is, where our car & truck are parked as well as the moving truck in our main drive way. The place in the upper right of the photo is where the car came to a rest - right in front of our house.

Pretty trippy, huh?? SO much more could have happened!! So many things could have gone far worse!! Thank you GOD it didn't!! Everyone was fine - and the only one hurt is the heart of the girl who owns that car!

WHEW!! LONG post!! But I had a lot to say, lol :) I'm forcing myself to bed now, so I'll see you tomorrow!!! XOXO :D

Day 100 -- Music Man

2010-05-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day!! First of all - I came across something that I just couldn't pass up! With Yari retiring, I decided that I wouldn't apply for anymore CTs and just take the extra time and scrap for me. Maybe find something challenges that I wanted to try - or use the kits I buy but never have time to use. Well, that lasted about two seconds because this morning I saw a CT call for Kristin Cronin-Barrow!!!! I have loved this girl for years. Her kits get cuter and cuter every week! And now - to have a shot to get to work with her kits - for free!! To have the honor of showing off her amazing kits every week would be SO amazing!!

So, after a brief hesitation (because no one wants to know the sting of rejection) -- and with the urging of my friend Jess telling me to "Push! Push! Push!" the send button on my application email.... I did it! I sent it off!! And as I said on my Facebook - so I will say it here:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! kwim? :D

Wish me luck!! I'll find out if I made it or not on the 14th!! And that day could not come soon enough! I'm so excited and nervous!! Oh I HOPE I make it!! :D

For today's photo -- I got more unpacking done. It's such a slow process - and I fear I may never really get it done. But I came across Connor's guitar. That was a constant promise I made to Connor when we decided that one way or another - we'd be moving at the end of January. I told him that when he had his own room, he would be able to play with his guitar all he wanted. Well, I finally found it and let him go to town!

I really loved watching him go to town on it!! I wish we could afford classes, because I just know that he's got an ear for music! Ah well - maybe one day soon!! :)

That's all for today!! See you tomorrow!! :D XOXO!!

Day 99 -- Accomplishments!

2010-05-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

I got some house work done today! The kid's rooms have these corner windows that make curtains (on a rod) impossible... Well - not 100% impossible, but definitely tricky and not normal :) And my babies have these light blue eyes that are crazy sensitive. When they were just teeny-tiny even, you could tell the light bothered them. They would sleep so much more soundly when it was dark in the room. Once, when Connor was like 2 or 3, we tried putting a night light in his room. That did NOT go over well. He kept getting up - for no reason. He didn't want anything, he was just awake. I took the night light out and he was fine :)

So in their room, I make an effort to get rid of all sunlight so that when the sun rises at the butt crack of dawn - they won't rise with it. In an effort to just get something up that first night we slept here, I grabbed any blanket I could find and flung it up there. Well, here we are, two months later - and those same blankets were still being used as Liam's curtains.

To work I went. One small window (the one too small and too close to have a normal curtain on a rod). That one was covered in tin foil, and then a towel. Ghetto fabulous, wouldn't you say? LOL :) The other one - I was going to hang up a sheet I had bought for it. I even had the rod up. But what I didn't have set up was my sewing machine. And the seam on the sheet was just a tad too small to fit over the rod. So instead, I grabbed a black sheet and made it fit in the window.

With the sun shining on the window, I gave a final test as I shut of the light and closed the door. Not one drop of sunlight made it though my handy work... And while I'm actually crying a little that his room can't have some natural lighting during the day - I'll be way too happy at O'Dark Thirty when he's still sleeping instead of climbing on my desk to find my Carmex (stinker butt!).

Some day soon, I'll fix the sheet so that it fits on the rod and I can hang it up. But for now - this will have to do :)

Day 98 -- Ready For Ni-Night

2010-04-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

So a couple weeks ago - hope was finally blooming in my heart that this whole "living the poor life" was nearly at an end. Tom was going to start a new job in a couple weeks - and I was thrilled! Then, surprise-surprise -- something happens and apparently my husband doesn't have a job. That's why I never get hopeful - because the hurt is so much more powerful when hope is involved and things don't go the way you hoped...

Well, this morning, out of the blue - the guy that had interviewed him and offered him a job (and then said never mind about that job) -- well, he called and asked Tom to come into a second interview. No - the company wasn't shut down (that's what I was told was the reason why he wouldn't be starting work. That they had to close up shop). I guess they just simply moved buildings. Not sure why someone didn't say that last week - but I'm not complaining because shortly after his 2nd interview, he called me saying he starts on Monday!!

And on a totally adorable note - today's photo :) Okay - it's adorable to me, the mommy of the adorable toddler :) With Connor at school, and Daddy at his interview, it was just me & Liam. And without those distractions, Liam is able to just play alone and let his imagination take over. Today it took him to taking care of his monkey :) First he gave him a bath, then meticulously dried him, and finally he covered him up and let him take a nap. He looked so incredibly proud, and I'm sure I mirrored his prideful look since I was just in awe of my little smartie pants, lol. Not a HUGE accomplishment to some - but a moment worth treasuring for me.

OH!! And I can finally show you the awesome layout I did with Lyndsay's new kit!! She finally did away with the pinks and did a boy kit! YES!!! :D

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Day 97 -- Attack of the Tickle Monster!

2010-04-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

Today was fun. Tom let me sleep in (again -- not yet sure if I should be thankful or feel guilty, lol) and then I spent pretty much the whole day working on a layout for Lyndsay's newest kit. I wasn't sure if I was going to get it finished in a timely fashion - or if I would even like it. But once I was done - as is the norm: I LOVED IT! :) It's so awesome when that happens...

Hate it, hate it, hate it, wanna give up, wait maybe it'll work, maybe, maybe, maybe, okay I'm liking this, yep, yep... Oh heck yeah, I love it! ALL DONE! :D

That lovely (depressing) set of emotions is something I feel with nearly every layout I make, lol. I think the perfectionist in my is just too hard on me. She really needs to lighten up and just let the creative side flow out of me (with less stress, thank you very much!) :D

I can't show you the layout today - but you better believe I'll show you it tomorrow!!

Onto today's photo. It was nearing bedtime with the horrible tickle monster struck!! It left no one safe. My poor little boys were the first to be attacked! There were so many screams - I was left acting as photojournalist to this event! I swear I saw my husband directing the monster, but I must plead the 5th (or whatever it is when you don't have to testify against your spouse) LOL!! I know - I'm a dork! But then - I never said otherwise :P

And with that momentary dorkiness escaping through my fingertips, I bid you all adieu! Good night my fellow bloggers! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 96 -- Celebrating 8yrs

2010-04-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

Is it possible? Can it really be true?? Did my hubby and I just reach eight whole years together as a married couple? By golly - I think we did!! :)

Yeppers - it's true. My husband and I have now officially been married for 8 years (and next month, we'll have been together for 9 years!). And how, you might ask, did we celebrate this wonderful accomplishment? Going to dinner? Maybe a movie? Oh I know - a romantic weekend getaway!!

Yeah - let's just say it's none of the above. And while I'm not one that needs these sort of things... doing something other than lounging around, cleaning dishes and breaking up fights over puzzle pieces is just not my idea of celebration... But alas - such is the life of parents when one's own parents cannot take the little monsters for more than an hour or two. So instead of celebrating out and about, we just had a simple day at home with the kiddos. We shared a couple of kisses and said I love you a lot :)

Tom also spent part of the day mowing the lawn. And we let the kids play outside, giving us some nice quiet inside (it was the only present we could give to ourselves, lol). Things were fine until I get told that Liam is all wet.

That's not a diaper malfunction you're seeing, lol. That would be the yellow thing you see right behind his head. Yeah - the hose. And next to it is the water spout for said hose - which Liam easily turned on and wasn't able to move away from before it was too late, lol.

Ain't life grand :D Happy Anniversary to us! Here's to many, many more :)

Day 95 -- Mr. Moody

2010-04-27T23:53:00.000-07:00

Liam and his terrible twos! Man oh man - life is a drama filled tragedy, that's for sure! At least it is when you ask him :) My photo - which wasn't going to be of him. It was actually going to be of Connor - but his ended up being blurry :( ... But out of nowhere - Liam throws a fit because I wouldn't let him get onto my desk to get something (duh!). And out comes this shot:

OH!!!!! And I had some fantastic news!! Last month, the digital scrapbooking forum Digi Scrap Addicts celebrated it's 1st birthday. And they had a little contest that I entered into. Best this - and best that. Like 30 categories. And I entered into most of them. The results were finally posted today!!! And I won in TWO categories!!! "Best Shadowing" and "Best Use of Template." and for those I won two $15 gift cards from the sponsors for each category. How awesome is that.

Oh - and the layouts I won with? Two of my faves of course:

BEST SHADOWING
This was the one for the contest I won HERE. And I'm so thrilled that it won for shadowing because I was actually trying for dramatic shadowing so that it would stand out in the Persnickety Prints contest - and would help me win. So not only did it help with that contest, but the extra attention to shadowing paid off for this contest as well!!!)

BEST USE OF TEMPLATE
And I'm so happy this one won as well. I did this for a CT gig, and I was really sad that I was too late for my layout to be included in the CT advertisement. I had put so much time & energy into it - but that time took me past my deadline. (No I wasn't in any way shape or form in trouble for being late. I'm just kicking myself is all). But I love this one because I tried things I had NEVER tried before. SO MUCH BLENDING and SOOOOO many layers! It was insane!!! I put so many little touches in this -- and to have it win for this meant SO much!! The template is so basic (just the squares) so to have my hard work recognized meant a LOT! :)

And if you're interested in the other winners - you can read the results topic here: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13361

Whew!! That was a long post, lol. Not so much with the writing as with everything I had to share :) Fingers crossed that I can keep with my goal of shorter posts and keep it simple tomorrow! :D

Day 94 -- Choco Bunny

2010-04-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

Real quick before I dig into this post -- the title of this is pronounced "Chalk-Oh" bunny - short for chocolate :) That was Liam's name for what they munched on for Easter :)

Today was emotionally draining. I won't go into the details because it's something I hope to forget with time. So there were no photos from the awesome Easter egg hunt we had. There's video - but it's not digital, so I can't share that.

But what we did get photos of were the mess that the boys created when they dug into their chocolate bunnies (which we weren't going to get them, but somewhere along the way - Liam heard about them. And in this adorable, angle eyed way - he sweetly asked "choco bunny?" *groan* How can you say no to that?!)

So they made a HUGE mess -- and I giggled the whole time, taking a ton of photos of course. One of the earlier photos (but one of my faves):

They actually chose not to finish these. They went into the freezer for safe keeping. And the kids were put directly into the bath where they were scrubbed clean, lol :)

All in all - it was a decent day. And with that - I'm winding this up. See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 93 -- Early Easter

2010-04-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law and his family came down today, so it was decided that we would do an early Easter celebration - complete with dying eggs, an Easter egg hunt, and a fabulous dinner :) Everything went great (as you can see from the collage I put together below). But what I loved the most (this is the photographer in me speaking, lol) was the photo I got of the cousins.

It was suggested by the kids themselves that I should get a photo of them together. The result was the group of the four of them in the collage below. But that wasn't good enough because we were missing little Payton. The photo wasn't complete until she was in it as well. So we headed to the living room where I prayed I could get at least one good one (or enough that I could Photoshop them into that perfect one).

But not Photoshopping was necessary as I got home and looked at my photos. I managed to grab three of the whole group before they were done and wouldn't hold still any long. The first two are cute - but you have the normal moving, looking the wrong way, awkward posing and closed eyes. Totally expected with a group photo of kids.

But the third one. Ahhhhh, that third one was like a gift from God, lol. I can't make it any better than it already is!! Other than a better background (and a slight boost in exposure - which I did do in Photoshop) I wouldn't change a thing! It's SOOO perfect - and it's my photo for today.

And as mentioned above, I did up a little collage of some of the other cute photos of the day. When you do so much - it's just impossible to choose one photo for the day :)

That's it for the day!! I'm hoping our own Easter tomorrow goes as well! It will be the first Easter in this house - and I can't wait to hide the eggs in our big yard! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 92 -- Chillaxin

2010-04-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

Lazy Fridays -- with no drama, stress, or any kind of BS is a favorite of mine! Heck - it doesn't even need to be Friday :) Today's photo represents that sort of laid-back-ness :) I don't have much to say today, so I'll just post the photo and call it good :) See you tomorrow!! :D

Day 91 -- Brushin' The Teef

2010-04-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ahh - the wonders of April Fools Day - a day I detest. I'm NOT a fan of practical jokes. I don't like laughing at someone's misfortune (most of the time anyways, lol - I do watch AFV after all, lol). But when someone sets out to embarrass, or hurt, or something like that - I can't see how that's funny. OH - like those fake lottery tickets where the person thinks they've won 10 grand. OMG - that one pisses me off every time! It gets to my heart... having lived for so long with next to nothing (money wise) it would just devastate me to have a joke like that played on me.

Wow - that took a depressing turn, lol. I guess I just don't like that people find humor in someone else's hurt/humiliation. I have more respect & empathy for our fellow man I guess :\

And now - onto something completely different! (Yep - that entire rant had nothing to do with my photo, lol. I was just annoyed to see how many people made April 1st into a day to hurt someone else! Ugh!) ANYHOO, lol ..... My photo for today is of my little booger showing me his clean teeth. I grew up with horrid teeth care, and my smoking habits didn't help. I'm left with a mouth of fillings - and I hate it!! And what's worse - the same horrible habits were becoming common place with our boys :(

To the rescue came Dad, as he developed an adorable new bedtime routine with them both brushin' theie teef! :P And this photo was right after - and I asked Liam to show me his teeth :)

I also finished a layout today! I've had this kit for a while - I meant to get something done a week ago (yeah - that didn't happen). But I'm in love with the idea I came up with. The kit is all about family - and I have only a few family photos. I wanted to use a photo of a family picture Connor drew, but couldn't find it. Then this idea for journaling came into my head: "Family photos aren't something you see in our house." And the rest of it just fell into place :)

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

Three Months Down!!

2010-04-27T09:45:00.001-07:00

Just a quick little note to say YAY - 3 months down!!! :) As I was uploading some pictures for April, I noticed how Picasa makes a neat little grid with the photos. I thought that would be neat to see all the photos so far like that - so..........

I like seeing them all like that :) NOW!! Onto April!!!!

Day 90 -- Balancing Act

2010-04-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna keep this another short post! I'm just totally stoked to have made it three months into this Project 365 thing - so I wanna get this post done and get ready for April!!! :)

Today's photo comes compliments of Liam and his determination to balance a car on the tip of a little measuring spoon (one of those 1/2 tsp ones). He tried for a very long time, and then - suddenly -- it was balanced!! It fell of course, but that didn't deter him! He just picked it back up and balanced it again. It was almost like once he figured it out - it was no biggie! :)

And so I grabbed a photo of him, carefully balancing that car. Notice the intense concentraion on his face -- if the tongue doesn't say "easy.....steady....eaaasyyy!" -- I don't know what would, LOL!

And with that exciting post, I bid you adieu! And yay to anyone still going strong in P365! Three months down...9 more to go (did I just hear a collective "UGH!" LOL) :P

Day 89 -- I'm Hiding

2010-04-21T10:35:00.001-07:00

I find it hilarious that children have the mind set that "If I can't see them, they can't see me!" LOL!! I don't know when that changes - and they start to fully understand the way eyesight works and that a couple hands over your eyes don't make you invisible to the world :P

Liam, I'm pretty sure, still thinks he becomes invisible when he hides his face. So when I found him getting into the linen closet, acting like he was hidden - it totally made me giggle. Here was my little boy - his whole body hanging out, hiding his face into the blankets like it was all some big game :) He was also putting his stuffed animals up there - I still haven't figured that out yet. He does it every now and then :P

That's all for today!! How did I do on shortening my posts?? Pretty good, I think :P See you tomorrow!!! XOXO! :D

Day 88 -- And The Winner Is.....

2010-04-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Today was crazy!! I mean - from the moment I got up (6:52am thanks to a little stinker butt!! lol) until now, as I finally wind down and write this. You know about yesterday, and my late night efforts to find some votes. Let's just say that my efforts on myspace totally paid off!! I had tons of friend requests as my friends asked their friends to help me (and their friends, and their friends, lol) and then tons of replies telling me they had voted for me!!

I swear it never slowed down after that (well, it did for a couple hours - but we'll get to that, lol). I proceeded to work more on myspace, asking -- no, begging! -- anyone that would listen to please PLEASE vote for me. Back to Facebook -- I did the same thing there. Out comes my friends, asking all their friends for help. Danielle, Regina, April, and a couple other people that I don't really even know - but they helped anyways. They all begged - all day long, lol.

Time actually flew in the evening, as the contest neared the end. I was sitting pretty in 2nd place, feeling confident that no one would sneak up and push me down to 3rd. I had hoped to maybe even take over 1st place, but that Julie girl (the person sitting in first place all week - I don't think I mentioned her name until now, lol). Well - she had friends coming out of the wood works as well, voting for her - almost vote for vote. I'd get one - she'd get one. I'd get three - she'd get four, lol.

There was about 2hrs left, and I was still around 10-15 vote behind first place. I mentioned on Facebook that I was that close, and suddenly I was 9 votes away - and I stayed there. Julie didn't come back with any votes for once!

For the next hour, I kept begging, lol. Lots and lots. Danielle went nuts - taking some irritation in her own life and using that energy to help me find more votes. Soon I was 7 away. Then 5. And before I knew it - I was in 1st place by a vote and then two. But in that final hour of the contest, Julie came back with votes of her own! NOOOO, lol. I'm not kidding you - for the last 30-45 minutes of the contest - it was a dance. I'm ahead - then she is - then me again. Never by more than a couple votes either. And then suddenly, there's 10 minutes left, I'm just barely ahead, and she seems to run out of votes. Me and Danielle sit there - watching the time tick to zero. And as we wait, fearing that Julie would hit us with like 5 votes and take over the lead at the last second.

Then the site suddenly changed. The votes & comments were gone. Then they were back, but you couldn't log in. Then the main page announced the winner!

IT WAS ME!!! OMG!! Somehow, some way - in the final hours on this crazy, week long contest (which was nothing more than a personality contest -- he who has the most friends, wins!!) I was somehow able to take the lead and win by only 4 votes!! Well, 5 votes since 4 would have tied us!

WHEW!!! I got all giddy again just writing that, lol. So yeah - I won! And my photo for today?? Why it's the winning announcement of course, lol :) My entry was #27 - just in case you wondered :P

Time for some cheesy-ness, lol:

Oh wow - I just can't believe it. Uh well, I have so many people to thank. I hope I can remember them all... Um - well of course - thank you Shabby Miss Jenn - the sponsor for the contest, and the reason why I even decided to enter. Thank you Persnickety Prints for running such a fantastic contest, with such a great prize! Thank you, my amazing friends - without which I would have never won! Uh - Lyndsay for posting on her fan page. And Regina and April for spreading the word around Myspace. All my friends who I harassed for a week who finally got fed up with me and just voted already, lol. Every one of you who gave me praise and love and good lucks aplenty! And Danielle... Crazy, crazy Danielle. This girl went farther then me - pretty much threatening her friends and guilt tripping them into voting, lol! Girl - you are nuts, and I owe this win to you! This summer - okay!! :) And I know that I'm missing a few, and I'm sorry for that - but thank you all the same. From the bottom of my heart - thank you!!

**And exit stage left**

WHAT?? It's not every day that I win something like this - and it's not like I'll ever actually win an award that requires one of those thank you speeches, lol. Just let me have my fun, will ya!? :D

TeeHee!! That's all for today! See you tomorrow!!

Day 87 -- Gettin' All Clean

2010-04-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

Head's up about the contest real quick -- So things are picking up. I'm pretty sure I haven't got a prayer for getting first place, but now I'm wondering if I'll be able to place at all!! I woke up today to see some friend begging had been taking place and I was in 4th place - falling towards 5th! So I pulled my ace and went crazy on myspace! It's on people, lol :) And guess what?! It's working!! I'm pulling back into this fast - and I'm STILL getting votes!! Wish me luck! I still have all day tomorrow - so there's no telling what will happen between now and then! :)

In an effort to keep things short today (it's been a long day with that contest - and tomorrow will be even longer I think, lol), I'll just say real quick that it was a good weekend. The kids had fun. They played hard -- and got dirty :) So today's photos was one of a happy Liam taking a bath :D

That's it for today!! I'm so worried that I'll wake up tomorrow and find that I'm in 10th place or something, lol :) Wish me luck for tomorrow!! XOXO! :D

Day 86 -- Childhood Innocence

2010-04-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

Fun times today -- just a fun, relaxing Saturday with BBQs and playing outside! The kids had a great time running around and playing in the dirt :) Liam got his favorite - burgers & fries :) And I got a fantastic photo (I LOVE this one!!)

I think the only thing that could have made that photo better was if you could see the little wispy things (what the heck are they called, lol) -- see those flying away. You know - I remember as a kid, grabbing these and having so much fun blowing them. I'd try to do it in one breath - like a birthday cake. I think I even made a wish like a birthday cake :)

Yes - the innocence of a child never takes into consideration the consequences of blowing these neat little wispy guys around, lol. Now - as an adult all I can think about is each one of those buggers causing another unwanted dandelion to grow wherever it lands, lol. So let's just pretend like that won't happen - and we can go back to just enjoying the photo :)

OH - on a totally random note. The layout that I showed you HERE that I used for the contest I'm HOPING I can place in? Well - I used a template for that layout - and I emailed the template designer (Bre of BTA Designs) to show her what I made. Well, I got an email from her tonight asking if I wanted to be on her CT. Here over the last few days, I've been searching all over for any hint of a template designer in need of a new CT member (I even applied for a guest spot for what I thought was a template designer -- made the team for June -- only to discover that she's moved onto making kits. Grr). So of course - I told her yes! I'm loving her templates - I really think she'll be a good fit for the style of pages I like to do :D

Okay -- I need to get. I seem to be making these posts a little longer with each new one I put up. I'll make an effort to shorten things up, lol :) See you tomorrow! :D

Day 85 -- Blue Screen of Death

2010-04-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

The first time it happened - I was very confused. And when I googled - I became terrified. I had only had my brand spankin' new computer for about three months. So the fact that I had just woken up to find my computer showing me this blaring blue screen, and a few google seconds quickly told me that this was commonly referred to as the "Blue screen of death. -- well, that pissed me off!

In short: the blue screen of death is a warning that something is wrong with your computer. And I don't mean a program is acting up. Or you have a virus. I mean that (most of the time anyways) there is a piece of hardware on your computer that isn't working right - and when your computer tries to access it (whether for normal reasons - like you're trying to find a file on it. Or for other reasons - like your virus scanner is trying to access it to run it's daily scan) - well, if it cannot be accessed, then your computer immediately shuts down to protect itself from further damage and gives you a blue screen with info. Factory defaults can cause this (nothing you did - just a dud piece of machinery). And the most common "dead" hardware I found was the motherboard. I swear every article I found was about the motherboard being bad. Ugh!

Okay -- that wasn't very short. Sorry, lol.

So my issue - which happened three days in a row - was coming from my virus scanner. It was trying to access something, and when it couldn't -- BOOM. Blue Screen.

Talking to the person that built my computer (my computer genius friend Dameon) he told me to update everything. I did and all was well ... for the most part. I would get a blue screen here or there - it was usually weeks apart. But since everything kept working right, I just ignored it and moved on. Dameon isn't one to make house calls - and the thought of hauling this massive tower over there didn't get me excited, lol. I just made sure to back EVERYTHING up like 3 times over so that if it went kaput - I'd be safe from losing anything!

Flash forward to now - about a year from my very first blue screen. I've since learned that my issues were MOST likely connected to my graphics card. It could be a factory default, a software issue - any number of things. I'd talked to Dameon a few times about it - even showed him photos I had taken with the blue screen info. His only advice was he'd have to look at it.

So tonight - after probably the 7th blue screen in a row (once a day) I gave up and asked Dameon if we could take my computer over and have him look at it. He said yes and away we went. And just in case I didn't have my computer the following day -- I grabbed the following photo for my P365:

Icky!! I just hate seeing my desk like that, lol. LUCKILY!! I was able to bring my computer back that very night. And the fix was extremely easy!! After cleaning up stuff on the computer (things I can't even begin to describe -- it's in the inner workings, and I don't get any of it, lol) he then opened up the tower and got a closer look.

Can you believe that it was the fact that the graphics card had fallen!! THAT was the problem!! When Dameon had made the computer - the card just clicked into its slot. No screws necessary! Well - it was necessary because the card had come lose and laid down slightly. The problem with that is the fan & exhaust no longer had an escape. So the card was overheating. So when I was using Photoshop, listening to some music, maybe watching a movie/tv show -- so much visual stuff made the graphics card over heat. And to protect itself - it would blue screen. And us moving in February must have knocked it even more loose. Plus we JUST moved it onto my desk. AND!! This house shakes when the kids jump - so it shakes my desk. It all was enough to finally knock it down so far that it was over heating faster than ever - making me blue screen daily.

That was it! I took home my computer that night and got it all hooked back up! It's now 3 weeks later that I'm finally getting this post up -- and I haven't had any issues since! In fact - I've had an improvement. My computer isn't noisy anymore. It used to be SOOOO loud! You wouldn't really notice until you shut it down for the night - then the difference between the turned on computer and the sleeping computer became SO apparent!

The noise?? It was the graphic's card fan working on over time!!

Something so simple - causing SO many problems!! Thank goodness Dameon knows what's what! He totally saved my computer! Thank you Dameon!! :D

Day 84 -- End of the World

2010-04-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

Ever just have one of those cry fests that would make anyone think that the world as we know it just ended? No? Oh, that's right -- we're not two, and our world doesn't end just because we're told no. It might make us cranky - but nope, no cry fest... oh but wouldn't it be nice if we could cry like a toddler going through his terrible twos! You know - throw a fit with wild abandon - flailing arms and all, lol....

So, as Liam proceeds to throw a tiny fit today, I did my motherly "mamarazzi" duties by snapping the following photo :)

So what do you think - is that the evil eye he's giving me? LOL :P

OH!! A quick update about the contest I entered (which I first told you about HERE). So far all is going well! I'm pretty much holding steady in second place. I'm getting ready to make a little siggie offer to some friends I have on myspace. Basically - they vote for me, and I make them a pretty little sig tag :) I'm saving that as my ace in the hole though. I probably won't ask for help unless I absolutely need it -- and then only towards the end of the whole contest :D

That's all for today!! See you tomorrow!

Day 83 -- DIY Pantry

2010-04-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today was an awesomely productive day!! Lemme tell you why. You see - we're STILL moving in. There are still boxes (full of stuff) through out the house. Don't even get me started on the truck. Thank goodness my inlaws OWN an old moving truck because I don't know what we would have done if we had had to rent.

So today -- I decided it was time to get the kitchen in order - make it more usable. The amount of storage in this kitchen is laughable! I have a total of three drawers - two of which are deep DEEP drawers (so not very practical for utensils - more for dish towels). So that leaves me one drawer for utensils. There's no drawer under the stove - so pots and pans have no place to live. There are some cupboards - but not many. And some of the biggest are big because they're at the corner -- meaning I have some space that goes way back into an area that I can't easily reach (or even see - on the top shelves). Here soon -- I'll get a photo of it (when it's clean, lol) so you can see).

So the point? The point is - I have NO place for food. I used to have a walk in pantry, so I'm used to having a place other than cupboards for food. So today I unpacked some boxes in the kitchen and dug out some shelves in the truck and created myself a little pantry area. I utilized a spot in the kitchen that is pretty useless (a kitchen table won't fit because it would block either the door to the laundry room or the master bedroom).

Doesn't that look pretty!!! I'm so happy with my handy work for the day! :P OH! But I did make a mess today too, lol. We moved in just a tad early for our landlords - and one wall in our bathroom was still undone. All that was left was texturing and then painting. He offered to do it, but Tom (not asking me) told him we'd do it... Yeah - it's was still undone - until today!

I grabbed the can of texture spray that had been sitting in the closet since we moved in and went to work....and promptly stunk up the entire house - BAD!! It had the smell of spray paint. I tried to air it out using all of our fans and opening the doors, but it wasn't working. Then I tried again to see if our bedroom window was openable -- and I finally just realized it was locked (I thought it was sealed shut - we have weather windows on the outside - and I thought our window was sealed shut to keep the cold out). Anyhoo -- I quarantined the bedroom and aired it out all evening - it smells fine FINALLY.

But at least the texture is on the wall. And it's ready for paint... I went to grab that and discovered the landlord guy didn't leave that. *sigh* I have a feeling that wall may never get finished, lol.

Okay - I'm tired and need to get to sleep!! I'll see y'all tomorrow! XOXO :D

Day 82 -- Washing the Truck

2010-04-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day - just relaxing and productive. We had some gorgeous weather, so Tom decided to wash his truck while Liam was taking his nap. He had Connor help him, and it was so fun to watch them working together. Connor washed the hub caps and even rinsed them off all by himself. (I remember being stuck washing the dumb hub caps - I always hated that, lol. Connor didn't seem to mind though).

That's today's photo. Connor rinsing off his handy work! See his tongue, lol -- that's what he does when he's concentrating hard, lol :)

So that's it for the day :) Oh - things are going great with the contest. Lyndsay, amazing sweetheart that she is, posted a heads up about it on her fan page on Facebook (she's got nearly a 1000 fans!). My vote count shot up within the hour. I'm still behind one girl, but I'm hoping that with all my friends' help - I'll at least place 2nd or 3rd :)

Fingers Crossed!! :) See you tomorrow! :D XOXO!!

Day 81 -- Say Cheese For Mommy!

2010-04-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

So the voting for that contest I talked about yesterday (the one I made the layout for) -- the voting started today. And I can already see who the front runners are. I'm kinda surprised a few aren't ahead - but then... that just says one thing. This contest won't be a fair contest (grr). It's gonna be a popularity contest - and the person with the most friends online will win... Ugh -- I hate contests like this! A LOT!!!! I hate pestering people to vote for me - especially this site because it requires registration in order to vote....

Ah well - nothing to be done for it. The voting goes on all week - so we'll see how it goes :)

Today's photo is SO adorable!! That's right - it's another one that has both my boys (did I mention those are my favorite photos? lol) Liam's smile in this is just the cutest :) They were outside playing. It wasn't the best weather for it - but I needed a break, lol :) It wasn't raining - so I wasn't that mean for kicking them out there, lol :)

See? Totally adorable!! Liam was sitting down on a toy - and Connor was standing -- that's why there's such an obvious height difference :) Not that you need to know that - but I just thought I'd say :) Okay - I'm done, lol. See you tomorrow!! :)

Day 80 -- Crazy Hair Days

2010-04-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

today was just a laid back, nothing much happening kind of Sunday. The weather was drizzle-ish, so we didn't send the kids outside. Tom ended up napping for most of the day - which was fine with me cuz it allowed me to finish up a layout I'd been working on. There's a contest that I'm praying I can win. Here's the layout I did:

Full credits can be found by clicking on the image!

I'm totally loving it and I really hope I have a shot at winning!! The winner gets 25$ to Shabby Miss Jenn's shop as well as 75$ to Persnickety Prints (which I hear tell is the place to get your scrapbook pages printed!). There's also a 2nd and 3rd place - so fingers crossed I can get something! It would be so neat - seeing my pages in print!!

Anyhoo - today's photo makes me totally giggle :P Liam had a bath tonight and as I was getting him dressed for bed, I sat him in front of his heater to help keep him warm while I grabbed his jammies. Well, his hair is so fine and babyish, it was actually dried by the heater in less than a minute. And, lol -- it was dried in the UP position, lol. Nothing I did would make it lay down - so instead of fretting, lol - I just snapped a picture. I loved this one - goofy face and all!! :)

Day 79 -- Car Wash

2010-04-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

Do you remember being a kid and thinking the car wash was just the coolest thing ever? No...? Just me then....? Hmmmm.... LOL :P Well I remember loving it - and guess what -- my 5 year old loves it too! The gas station by our old place has a car wash attached to it, and Connor used to beg to go through it. I will say that it was a rare treat for us. I've always found using a car wash was utterly pointless since it rained here so much. What good is a wash when it would be covered in water spots within a day or two. That - and the place that we live now - the tree likes to shed. And there's pollen from somewhere that coats the car daily. So really - there's no reason to wash the car unless it's coated in mud or bird poo or something.

But that didn't stop Daddy from making the day of his oldest boy by getting a quick $5 car wash :) Liam was a zombie boy the whole time, but Connor couldn't get enough. He kept whipping his head back and forth in an effort to take in everything! And when it was over - I had a nice, clean car.....that will probably be dirty before the end of tomorrow, lol :)

Today's photo was near the end of the car wash - as the giant dryer did its thing by blowing all the water off the car (which happens to be my favorite part of the whole thing. I love seeing the water bead and disappear up and off the windshield. It's the little things, I tell ya, lol).

That's all for today! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :D

Day 78 -- For Love of the Dirty

2010-04-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

I woke up to some AWESOME news!! Remember THIS topic (the info about the contest is at the end of the blog). Well - I knew the winners would be chosen today -- so I checked This Post and found out I won!! Yeah - that first layout there -- that one is mine!! Can you believe it!?! That was the first digi dare I ever tried - I cannot believe I won!! I won $40 in prizes!! Holy crap!! :D

Add to that awesome news - I had a blast!! It was a gorgeous day - so I let the boys go play! They taken to digging in the dirt with gusto! There's one little spot that they always go to - and I just love it :) I came across an adorably dirty Liam and had to get a shot of it - don't you just love the dirt chunk on his cheek, lol. And the face... not sure what he was doing - but I loved it and kept snapping away :)

On a totally random note (this is something I remarked on on Facebook this morning): Liam Speak 101: When you are hungry in the morning, then you should eat some Bress-Ass (known as Breakfast to us non-toddlers) :D

That is all for today!! See you tomorrow!! XOXO :)

Day 77 -- Celebrating Irishness!

2010-04-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

Guess what!!! Tom might have gotten a job!! Oh - you didn't know?? Yeah - my hubby's work has been in stand by mode since fricking October (lovely, ain't it - not!). And he's been on the hunt for a new job ever since. He picked up looking when his job - which had promised things would pick up in January - pushed things back to February. Then March. Now April!

Well - his many MANY days of job hunting, application sending, and interview taking has finally paid off! And if all goes well, he'll be starting his new job in a couple weeks!! Take that unemployment!!!! :D

Today's photo is something I meant to do yesterday and forgot. In honor of my favoritest holiday, I wanted to get all artsy-fartsy by photographing a clover :)

I'm really happy with how it turned out :D What do you think?? And with that - I'll leave you with my traditional saying - see you tomorrow!! :D