Preschool Graduation

I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that Sara will be going to Kindergarten next year; well technically, this year, but you know what I mean. My little snuggle bug is growing up FAST. So far, she loves school and seems to do really well. I sincerely hope that continues. I’m excited for her, but I’m also leery because I’m not going to be there to guide her every step. She’s been going to preschool the last two years, but that was only a few days a week and it was a Christian preschool and everyone was very nice and all the kids were well behaved for the most part. Now she’s going to be going to a public school with all kinds of children from different backgrounds and upbringings. Don’t get me wrong, I think diversity is good, but I’m worried about the little kid that knows all the swear words and the other little kid that pushes everyone around. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, I have a touch of neurosis. Please excuse me. So…anyway, here’s a few pictures from Sara’s preschool graduation. Enjoy!

duga duga

Some of you may know that we’ve been a tad worried about Austin because he is now 18 months and still doesn’t say anything. He babbles like a madman and he understands what you are saying to him, but he doesn’t even say mama and dada routinely. But this morning Austin was laying in bed with me when Jason came in to say goodbye and Austin promptly sat up and said “daaa, dada, duga duga” It was the sweetest thing. Duga duga is one thing that Austin has been saying. Who knows what it means. We think he’s imitating what we say when we’re tickling him. He also says cheese and cook (cookie), but you will only know that’s what he’s saying if you’ve been around him awhile. Otherwise, it would just appear as more babbling. Speaking of which…

And yes, he's in serious need of a haircut...

i've been busy...

I've finally finished a couple little projects I've been wanting to wrap up. The first is a cute little headband. I got the pattern from this website ( http://foofanagle.wordpress.com/2007/06/12/best-band-ever/ ) The instructions are clear and it turned really cute. They have a narrow and a wide version. The one Sara has on is the wide one and I made a narrow one for me out of the same fabric. The cool part...it's reversible and washable! Can't beat that. And it's super fast and easy to make.


The next little project was a little dress for Sara. I got the fabric at Joann's. It comes already shirred, so all you have to do is put a seam in it. Very easy. And she loves it.

I added double straps from ric rac. They don't have to be super strong because the shirring is what really holds it up. They just keep it from creeping down.

And then a little more ric rac at the bottom. I think this is what really makes the dress cute.

And of course the best part about being a stay at home mom...Pretend birthday cakes from my little snuggle bug. And it's not even my birthday. You know you're jealous. :)

I'm just curious, but for those of you that sew and have taught your children how to sew, at what age did you start teaching them? And another question. What kind of sewing machine do you have? Have a beautiful day!

the air circus

EDITED: I wanted to get the pictures up last night, but my brain wasn't working as far as adding any text...O.k. so maybe it doesn't really work that well in the first place, but let's pretend shall we...

They have this air circus every Sunday from 2:30-4. We missed the first half hour, but Jason and the kids went last year so it wasn't a huge deal. Honestly, I didn't want to go, but I'm glad I did. I like to take pictures and this gave me a good oppurtunity. I got some nice ones of the kids I'll post later.

At the show, one aircraft picked up a mail bag like they used to do, another did some acrobatic manuevers, there was a plane that climbed up to 3000 ft or so and shut off his engine and glided down doing loops and stuff. That was really cool. There was a few doing formations. And of course the highlight was the wing walker. The guys real job is a lineman for the electric company. Talk about having no fear of heights. He was great. And I'm sure I'm leaving some other things out, but you get the idea. A real barn storming. Isn't that what they used to call it? So enjoy the pics and I'll post some of the kids later. Oh, and have a beautiful Memorial Day.

Just a few pictures from the air circus that we went to today.

i was so proud of myself...

For those of you with little ones, you may understand what I speak of. Have you ever run into the problem where their footed jammies are perfectly fine except for the holes in the toes from crawling around or are just plain too short? This was driving me nuts, especially with the boys. So, I cut the footed part off and added some knit ribbing, like a cuff, in its place (I think that’s what it’s called). It not only gets rid of those pesky holes, but it adds a few inches in length for a little more wear. I was so proud of myself, until I started wondering why I didn’t think of it before. Duh! If anyone is interested I can post directions.

I got all of my kits out for Ribbon Junkie yesterday. It's kind of bittersweet. It's nice to be done, but I'm really going to miss it. But I just can't wrangle Ribbon Junkie, the move, and all of life's other issues right now. Well, enough rambling for now, have a good one.

me and my baby...

Just me and my baby today. Jason took the older two to an airshow at Andrews AFB. I really didn’t want to go and I really wanted him to take all 3 kids, but my friends, that was not happening. So Austin and I have a big day of cleaning and packing to do. I KNOW you are so jealous you can hardly keep from turning green.

I think I’m going to attack the playroom/office/server room. It would probably be a good idea since the other two kids are gone to go through the toys and purge what they haven’t played with in years. This should be fun. NOT!

And as I was thinking of a new picture that I wanted to post, I realized that Jason has the camera and even more important in this situation…the memory card. Well, there goes that idea. But here’s a picture anyway…(and yes, it’s blurry, and tilted, and Austin is in his diaper-ok so I cropped out the diaper part-, and….but I think it shows the craziness of this place quite well.)

But first a Starbucks run…

imagination and mother's day

Greetings all. I hope things are well in your neck of the woods. It has settled down here somewhat in the last few days. I won't run off at the mouth about the mundane details, but instead I'll share a picture or two.

I will be the first to admit that the kids need haircuts, but, I was just cracking up when I looked up from my desk and saw this. My only real question was how in the heck did she get him to cooperate?

This video is from yesterday at Mother's Day at school. It's just further proof that Logan really knows how to get his grove on, cast and all...and Sara is in there too looking like a ragamuffin needing a serious haircut. I swear it was in a pony tail when I dropped her off... Anywhooo. Enjoy!

uh-oh

I'd say he's a little surprised...Do you think he knows he's doing something he shouldn't? Um, yes...

And at this point, he's like "See, you just can't be mad at this cute little face..." Boy, he's got my number doesn't he.

I have to admit that while I'm not a clean freak by any stretch of the imagination (my house is testament to this), I'm really not all that thrilled with my kids playing in dirt. I know it washes off and their just kids and yadda, yadda, yadda. But it's something about the dirt underneath their little fingernails that they won't let me get out that just makes me want to twitch. And oh my goodness, the hand with Logan's cast...since you can't get it wet, let me just say yuk.

I'm sure most of you already know I'm a little strange and I bet this post just backed up that claim. So I should probably go now. Have a good one.

back to the daily grind...

which isn't always a bad thing...I went to little baby McKenna's funeral earlier this week. I am SO glad I went, but it is probably one of the saddest things I've ever witnessed. My heart just goes out to my cousin Becca and her husband Todd. I pray for them everyday. I don't worry much about McKenna because my Pap is taking care of her, I'm sure. Anywhoo...before I get so teary eyed I can't type...

The kids and I went to the bookstore today to visit Larry and Bob from the VeggieTales. The kids were off the scale excited. I got some video, but am STILL having trobles with it. So when I get it fixed you'll get to see it.

Really, I'm just checking in to say Howdy and let ya know we're all still here and kickin'. I'll get some more pics for you soon. I promise!

sharing

A quick layout I did on Logan's arm. We went today and had his hard cast put on. 2 hours later... He did a great job. I'll get pics of the new cast up soon. It's dinosaurs too!

prayers needed...

Hello all. Just a quick post to request prayers for my cousin Becca and her husband Todd. Their little baby girl Makenna Belle (I don't know if I'm spelling that right) was stillborn yesterday. They found out on Saturday that she was no longer alive. Becca was checked on Wednesday and everything was fine, so needless to say this came as an unbelievable shock. Please keep them in your prayers. Thank you so much.

my little trooper...

Well, since life just can't possibly be easy...Logan broke his arm yesterday. Technically, Sara broke it, but we won't tell her that. They were outside playing and she was swinging and he ran behind her and CRASH! She knocked him down and he just fell wrong and there ya have it. Poor guy broke both the bones in his left forearm. I feel so bad for him, but he's been such a little trooper about it. He did cry, but no more than when he trips and scrapes his knee. He didn't cry when they put the iv in or when they set it, albeit he was on some pretty good drugs, but he was still awake. He's a little cranky now since he's tired and it probably hurts, but I am so pleasantly surprised at how well he's taking it. I'll give you more of an update later, but I have got to go for now.

the word is out...

I've announced officially that I'm closing Ribbon Junkie. It was a terribly difficult decision that I've been struggling with for a few weeks now. As some of you know, I've been incredibly stressed out lately. And I started to have stress induced heart palpitations. Well, at least that's what the Dr told me. And well, he's the one with the fancy degree... So, I've been trying to pare down on my obligations and Ribbon Junkie was a big one. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED doing it, but it was an obligation nonetheless. So....that's the reason behind it. I am thinking of doing some give aways here. I still have TONS of stuff from RJ and need to get rid of some of it before the big move to CA. Anywhoo, I have to go and clean up before Jason gets home. I'll give ya'll a shout later...

School Pictures

For your viewing pleasure...

what my days consist of...

fighting over toys...


tired, cranky babies...


and super cute little kids that I can't get enough of...ok, I lie, maybe I do get enough of sometimes...As usual, things here are OUT OF CONTROL! I've been having a little health thing and not feeling quite like myself, Logan had a ruptured ear drum from and ear infection, and all kinds of uninteresting other things. But I do have a question for you.

The other day I was surfing the news sites and came across this article about grocery bills.

$900 in groceries for a family of 4? I’m pretty sure that’s what we used to pay, but we are a family of 5 with 2 in diapers. Rising prices have DEFINITELY changed the way we shop for groceries. Now we have menus, detailed grocery lists, and try to stay around $150 each week. Sometimes it’s hard, especially when you figure in diapers and that typically puts us over budget when we get them, but we try to factor that in as best we can. We’ve started shopping the ads and check prices online between the 2 major chains here. (Safeway and Giant) One thing that I think would help us even more is if we would shop at the Commissary. Since Jason is in the AF Reserves we have that option. 2 big problems with that is that it is about 30 minutes away and I lost my id card a long time ago and so I can’t go by myself.

Also, gas is CRAZY expensive. We stay home a lot. And I know it doesn’t help that I have a gas guzzling V8 pickup truck, but it was virtually a birthday present, I love it, and I am NOT willing to get rid of it.

And those of you that know me well, know that I’m a Starbuck’s junkie. But I have been cutting that back too. One, because it’s expensive and two, because it’s about a 10 mile round trip, give or take. That’s almost a gallon of gas! Oh, and three because I’m trying to cut back on calories and that’s a boatload of calories in a cup.

I can’t wait to move to California. I know gas will be more, but it seems that most other things aren’t as much as the DC area. That and we have an awesome produce store that is super CHEAP! Well, at least it was when we were there 2 years ago. Maybe I’ll have to resort to growing our vegatables. That is such a scary thought to me the horribly un-green thumb.

So, tell me how has rising prices affected your shopping, etc?

the bear rub

This is soo cute, especially about 2/3rds of the way in.

The Bear Rub

computer issues

I am having MAJOR computer issues right now. I don't think it's my actual computer, I think it's the network, but my internet is SO slow and sometimes nonexistant that I want to beat my head against the wall. And what makes matters worse, is that Jason, a brilliant IT guy hasn't bothered to help me out. Now that just makes me crazy. I sent him an email earlier proclaiming that if he didn't fix it, I was going to tear his computer apart and see how he like it. I'm not exactly sure that he got the email or not...So to make a short story very long, I won't be posting much until I get this fixed. TTFN.

i spy book

got this super cute idea from my new friends over at Quilt Taffy. However, mine didn't turn out as nice as theirs. I don't know if it's because I used smaller blocks or because I'm so lame. But I'm just not feeling the i spy book love. I had planned for a few upgrades, but it wasn't coming together, so I just ditched them. BUT, the good news is that the kids could care less. And that, my dear friends is all that counts. And just to prove how lame mine turned out. I have pictures.




so there you have it. I told you it was lame.... :)

strictly for your amusement

I STILL cannot edit my videos, so you get the good, the bad, and the shakey! But if you can see the video it'll be worth it. Let me tell you Logan has got some moves...

Happy Easter Ya'll!

picture slacker

I know I've been a total picture slacker lately. But I am going to redeem myself today! Instead of taking pictures and otherwise documenting our incredibly crazy life, I've been doing other little creative things. I've really just been sewing different little projects, making cute little hair bows, and crocheting (if you can believe that one!). I actually crocheted Sara a headband. I was a little overzealous and it's kinda big, but I can fix that. When I find it. See, Logan got a hold of it. And, well, you know how that goes.... So, when I find it, I will fix it and take a picture for ya. But in the mean time, here's those pictures. I got a little crazy with the burn tool in Photoshop...



Haven't I seen this before...

Ummmm, I think we have too many stuffed animals....

What you didn't see is when they closed themselves in there.... Enjoy and have a beautiful day! Oh, and by the way, it wouldn't hurt if you commented......:)

a confession...

I have to confess that I have this habit of reading other people's blogs. I have about a dozen or so that I frequent, some more than others. But I came across this lady's blog and she totally cracks me up. The post from today is SO funny. If you need a good laugh, you should check it out. Pioneer Woman Hands down my favorite blog is Cathy Zeilske's. She really cracks me up. I love her humor and she makes great scrapbook pages!

soapbox stories

so here's the link to the peeping tom story, which I still think is WRONG on so many levels...
http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_072130129.html

and here's a link to the child in the car story. And to show how messed up the whole thing was, they have dropped all charges against her....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23615083/from/ET/

But now you can read them for yourself and make your own opinion.

up on my soapbox...

OK, I'm normally not the type of person that goes on a rant about reading something in the news, but today I read two things that really got my goat. One is about a guy in Oklahoma who gets off scott free after taking pictures up the skirt of a 16 year old girl! First thing that comes to my mind is pedaphile. And the second thing that comes to my mind is freak. He was charged with being a peeping tom. But in Oklahoma it doesn't apply if you are in a public place. Only in a place where you have a reasonable sense of privacy. HELLOOOO! I believe the underneath of my skirt is private or why would I have to wear one!

The next thing that got to me is this mother that is being charged with child neglect for leaving her 2 year old (sleeping and buckled up) in a locked, alarmed car, in bad weather to go less than 10 yards away for a matter of a minute or two. The mother went with her 2 other daughter sand a friend to drop off some money they collected to the Salvation Army Bell Ringer. The car was never out of her sight. In fact it was in the loading zone. Come on people! Opponents are saying that in that minute things could happen. Yeah, and pigs could fly. The kid was sleeping and buckled up for cryin' out loud. This is just absurd. And I also read that when she was in custody, cuffed in the back of the police care, the 3 older children were left unsupervised. Now what's wrong with THAT picture.

Anywhoo, I better get to bed, but I just had to get that out. And who knows, maybe it's not at all what the news reported. TTFN

still got the ick...

but now it's a different ick. I will be SOOOO glad when I feel normal again. But I wanted to share a picture with you. It's silly ol' Austin in this tiny box. It was quite surreal looking in person to see him get in this littl box. Other than the sickness, nothing new is going on here. The kids are still crazy and Jason is still working like a dog. :) I hope that ya'll are doing well.

On a sad note, little Olivia passed away on Sunday. Please pray for her family.

Ain't he just the cutest thing ever!!!

you know you have a rather large family when...

the grocery store has a sale on yogurt (20 for $7) and you buy 20 and you would by more, but you already bought all they had!

I've found the kids mantra...

If you're quiet, you're not living. You've got to be noisy and colorful and lively.
-Mel Brooks

ughh

hi ya'll...I have the ick. And have had it for a week. I even went to the Dr yesterday if you believe that! I just can't seem to shake it. But anywhoo...I just wanted to check in and say hi. sorry I don't have any pictures to post. I do have some video waiting, but am having the darnest time getting the software to work. But when I do, you'll be seeing some video of the kids at USA Day at school. It was so cute. Everyone else is doing well. They are doing so well that they are tearing the house up faster than I can clean it. And with me being sick, it's SO out of control... Well, I better go and try to find the bottom of the playroom floor....hugs

3 real quick things...

1. I just wanted to say Happy Birthday! We tried to call but you must of been out. So until I can get a hold of you...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2. Check out this super cute website for hair bows. I'm getting their instructions and hopefully will have some cute things for Sara's hair! It's called Sweet Baby Bowtique.

3. Please say a prayer for a little girl named Olivia who is dying of the flu believe it or not. She's not doing well and really needs to be lifted up. Please pass it on.

I WILL write more soon. :)

and away he goes...

i will survive...

I'm sure of it. But that doesn't mean that it's been easy or is going to be easy. I'm talking about my time as a single parent. I am counting down the days until Jason gets home (friday). I have to say that things aren't ususally this tough when he's gone. I guess the big news is that Logan broke our less than 2 yo, 40" flat panel tv. (i'm not bragging that we have or should I say had a nice tv, just setting the scene.) He threw the remote control at it and it hit the screen and put a crack in it. Now, it will turn on, but doesn't have a picture and you can see the 1/2" shiny mark on it. Needless to say, Jason was a bit upset. It was a good thing that he wasn't here when it happened. :) I don't know if it's related to Jason being gone, but Logan has been an absolute pill. And that's putting it mildly.

But on a happier note, the boys have went almost a whole week without binkies. To some that may not be much of a feat, but let me tell you it is HUGE at our house. Logan hasn't really missed it, but I can tell Austin is having withdrawels. The funny thing is that I thought it was going to be the other way around.

And Austin has been sleeping through the night every night Jason has been gone except for one. Which is another huge blessing. I was begining to think that he would never reliably sleep a whole night. Now all I have to do is readjust my body from getting up every night to sleeping through a whole night. That's going to be wierd.

Anywho, I've burned up the keys long enough, so I will leave you with a few pictures. One is of Sara and her Build A Bear Allie and the other is of Austin "playing" his piano. From this angle he reminds me of Linus on Charlie Brown...:D

AUSTIN WALKING!!!!!

I took this with m y phone so the quality is pretty crappy, but you can still see him walking! I bet he's full out walking by the time Jason gets home!

already???

Sara has got another loose tooth! It's the one next to the one that she just lost. So, I guess the ole tooth fairy better put our house on the GPS speed dial! Jason left today for 2 weeks. Yuk. That means that I am it. And with 2 out of 3 kids with an ear infection, I'm going to be certifiably mental by the time he gets back. And that's if I don't get sick. I've been pounding the EmergenC, so hopefully, I'll luck out. So far, it only has affected those of the male persuesion. Oh, baby crying, better go. I'll post a picture later...

just wanted to share...

...a digital layout I did with Sara and Austin. Those two are pretty close. Now as far as Logan and Austin, they are jealous of each other.

Happy February!

Every month a digital scrapbooking blog/store releases a free desktop template. I've been really good about keeping them updated, except January... So here's February's. If you want it for your own desktop, just email me and I'll send it to ya.

Too bad this isn't a realistic representation of what really goes on around here! :D

walk this way...

Austin took his first steps yesterday! I didn't get any pictures or video just yet since it was only 2 steps 2 different times. But I will! Boy, we've had some big news lately. And how do you like that video of Logan. It makes me smile everytime I see it. I'm lovin' my Flip video camera, but I'm NOT loving the software that came with it. It worked and now it doesn't. I've emailed and called customer support and now I'm waiting on a call back from the tech support manager.

In other news, we ARE moving back to Cali at the end of July. Even if we can't afford it. ;) Sara will be starting Kindergarden next year, so I'm putting my foot down and we are NOT moving anymore after that. I am so tired of moving I could puke. I have been trying to get my self pumped up by surfing the Pottery Barn catalog and picking things out. Ok, let's put it this way, things that either Jason and I will make. That place is SO expensive, but I just LOVE their stuff. If I had my druthers and about $20,000 my whole house would be Pottery Barn. Well, I better go for now, but I will leave you with a sweet picture.

I think it worked...

Can you believe it???

Sara lost her first tooth today! I can't fathom that my baby is even old enough to have loose teeth. She pulled it out in school today. Her teacher told me that they were in chapel and she was messing with it. Mrs. Crawford asked her is she wanted her to pull it out and Sara said no she'd do it. And by golly she did! It should be easy to pretend to be the tooth fairy. She sleeps like a rock!

I still haven't been able to upload any videos, but I'm working on it. Have a good one!

I don't know if this is going to work...

The software that I usually use to do the videos crapped out, so I'm using something different and I'm not sure that it's going to work. But here goes... It's super cute!

Ok, so it's not working, I'll try again later...

Anywho, things around here have been a little rough lately. Everyone has been sick and just kinda in a funk. Ok, I'm the one in the funk, everyone else has been sick. That's why I haven't posted. Haven't really felt like talking. But today is a different day than yesterday (yeah, I know, master of the obvious), so hopefully, it'll be better.

you are entering the video revolution...

...because it's just a lot of fun to watch these silly kids...

more videos

Just for you Grandpa Ted

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I am! We got our tree up and the lights hung. I love driving around with the kids at night looking at all the houses that are lit. They love it. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

She's such a good big sister...

Austin playing with trains. He looks so funny being so little and sitting at that desk.

And because this little turkey is ALWAYS getting into something. Here he managed to get a hold of Sara's lipgloss.

Sara's 5th Birthday. All she wanted for her party was a pinata and pin the tail on the donkey.

And this one is just because he is so darned cute!