One goal down!!!!

So awhile back I set some goals for myself to reach by the time that I was 35. I didn't tell anyone about my list but this week with the help of two of my new friends I was able to cross one off my list. I am now on the design team for our local scrapbook store, Scrapping at the Pink House. I will have "homework" assignments consisting of creating scrapbook layouts using new products that come in to the store. The layouts will be displayed on the walls at the store to entice shoppers to purchase those products. I can't tell you how excited I am. Thanks Erika and Ronee!!!!

So, here is my first "homework" creation. This was what I had to work with. The new scallop heart cardstock from Bazzill.
This is the finished product. I absolutely love it!

I am not usually a hearts and flowers type scrapper so this really made me step out of my box. It was a challenge but it was a lot of fun and I think it really works. Michelle, the owner of The Pink House, loved it so I guess I got the stamp of approval. I wasn't sure if we were supposed to use personal pictures or not so I just left the frame blank. Next time I will use an actual picture. It was nerve wracking putting my work out to be judged for the first time but exhilarating as well. I am looking forward to many more assignments and challenges!!!

So I made two more frames tonight for Christmas presents. I have really been enjoying the creative process. It has been so long since I have felt the urge to create that it has really been a lot of fun rediscovering why I love to do it in the first place. I am giving these to Matt's sister and grandmother for Christmas. The picture is Matt and Melissa with all of the kids. I took it this summer at the tractor show at the Park. I really love it and am going to blow it up for our house.

We are in total Christmas mode at our house and with less than 24 hours to go, I do NOT have enough done! I am going to be scrambling tomorrow for sure. I think I have one more place to run tomorrow and then I will be completely done. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, right? The kids are all excited. Skylar sang at church this morning and it was so sweet. They broadcast it this evening and I am hoping that Joe was able to tape it so that we can get a copy. She is so earnest in her singing. (Even singing along with the soloist when she wasn't really supposed to, lol) She also had Gwen pull her other front tooth so tomorrow I think I am going to have to get her on tape singing "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" How could I not? Hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas. I know we will!

I have been feeling crafty lately so wanted to share a couple of my latest creations. This was the card that I made for Skylar's teacher Ms. Wallace. I made her a stationary set with 12 cards and envelopes


This is the Christmas card that I made to go with it. I loved it and hated to part with it but that is what you do with cards, right? lol

And this is an altered frame that I made for my boss Julie with a picture that I had taken of her Mom and daughter. It was my first attempt at altering anything and I think it came out pretty well. I would have loved to add a big brown flower at the bottom right but didn't have one in my stash (I know, crazy, right?) lol I hope that she loves it as much as I do.

I have more to share but no pictures yet. I am really excited to have found a wonderful group of ladies that scrap/stamp. They are truly amazing women. I don't think I have ever felt more creative and inspired. We had a get together on Wednesday night and we laughed so hard that when I left, my face hurt. Oh yeah, good times! lol Thanks girls! Can't wait until January!!!

Pay It Forward Exchange

I found this idea here and thought it was too cool so I thought I would get in on the fun. I will send a homemade gift to the first 3 people who comment on my blog requesting to join the PIF (Pay It Forward) exchange. You may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it!!! The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making the same promise on your blog. (If you don't have a blog, just promise somehow). I can't wait to see who I will be giving to. To join, just cut and paste this to your blog, and comment away! So get posting!

Brayden Funny

Just got a call from Mom's house. Brayden just had to tell me what happened. This is how the conversation went:

Him: "Mommy, I caught a lizard (pronounced 'wiz-ard')"
Me: "You did?"
Him: "He bite me on my lip (again pronounced 'wip')"
Me: "On your lip????? What were you doing with him?"
Him: "I try to give him a kiss an' he bite me on my wip"
Me: (laughing uncontrollably) "Well, let's not kiss anymore lizards, okay?"
Him: "No, they only kiss uh-ver lizards!"

Oh, the magic of a child. lol

Short Week

Well, this is a short week due to the holidays. Skylar is out of school tomorrow. She was too excited this morning because they were having a holiday program at school. I got a huge, unsolicited, excited hug as soon as I got out of the shower. Gotta love those unscripted moments of pure bliss.

Of course, two minutes later it was the battle over what to wear and all love for me was forgotten about when she couldn't wear her shorts and tank top out in the 50 degree weather!

Her: "But Mommy, pilgrims didn't wear jeans!"

Me: "Well honey, I don't think they wore polyester cotton blend shorts with flowers on

them either!"

Her: Something along the lines of "UNNNNGGGHHHH"

(Anyone with kids under 6 will know exactly the noise I am talking about. Admit it, you are hearing it in your head right now! lol)

We are gearing up for Christmas already. I think this is the first year that I am actually almost done with my shopping before December. I have the kids pretty well done which is a huge relief. I have the Christmas music playing in the background and a Christmas bear on top of my computer monitor. Friday will be the tree picking ordeal. Matt dreads that day every year because I have been known to travel to 6 or more places just to find that "perfect tree" only to go back to square one and purchase the first tree we looked at. lol Hey, it's Christmas!

I took some pics the other night for our christmas cards. I think that I have enough good ones of all three to piece together something workable. Thank goodness for Photoshop! lol Out of about 50 pics, Skylar is only really smiling in about two. The rest are all goofy looks and expressions. It was comical to fast forward through my slide show and see the progression of the faces. That's my girl! I will have to share pics later so I don't spoil my Christmas cards.

PS - Okay had to share one of the funnier ones. lol

Some crafty-ness

I actually got crafty today!!! I have been reading all of these creative blogs and have really been inspired but just have not found the time or the energy to sit down and do anything. Well, I took a vacation day from work today and actually sat down in my craft room. I have been working really hard to organize and clean it out. Pictures to follow on that later. lol But these are the two projects that I created today. The first is a button tree that I made for Mom for her birthday. Turned out really cute. Think I will have to make myself one! lol The inspiration came from Ali Edwards' blog who is an editor for Creating Keepsakes. You can find the details here

I have also been wanting to do some more cards ever since my Saturday with the Split Coast Stamping girls and this is what I made today to send to an online friend who lost her mother this week. I thought it came out really cute and I hope that she receives some measure of comfort from it. I cannot imagine what she is going through right now. My thoughts and prayers are with you, Valerie.

Anyway, that is what I have been up to today. I made Mom a chocolate fudge cake and lasagna for supper and surprised her. She was shocked. She thought that Daddy was taking her to Jersey Mikes (a sub place). Couldn't let her not celebrate her birthday. Here is a picture of the cake. It was a recipe from Paula Deen's magazine and was absolutely wonderful. Brayden kept saying, "Momma, it is de-wishus" I added pecans to the top after I took this and it was just perfect!

Halloween Pics

Finally figuring out how to post multiple pics to this durn thing. Anyway, here are the kids Halloween pics. As you can see, Matt got in the spirit as well. They had a great time and got loads of candy.

Quick Update

Just wanted to write a quick little update this morning. A couple people have asked how my weight loss journey is going. I have to say that I was so excited today. As you may know, we are doing a "Biggest Loser" challenge at work and that has really helped to keep it in the front of our minds and try to make better choices. All of the ladies in the office are having a friendly competition. Although I have not lost the most, I am proud to say that since Oct. 1st, I have lost a total of 10.2 pounds. I am thrilled. I have reached my first goal and now am moving on. My next goal is to lose another 10 pounds by Dec 1st. Pretty aggressive but I think I can do it. I just have to be really good during Thanksgiving and start working out again. Since we have been sick the last two weeks, I have kind of been slack with that. My ultimate goal is to be 160 by the end of the year. I don't know if I will make it but that is what I am shooting for. It is good to have high expectations. No beating myself up if I don't make it, but I need to challenge myself to work the hardest that I can work.

Happy Halloween!!!!

Wow, I cannot believe that it has been almost a month since I wrote here. I am not doing very well as a blogger! lol

Things are going good. The kids are all excited about going Trick or Treating tonight. Skylar is going to be a cowgirl, Brayden a fireman (what else? lol Of course, not surprising, this morning he decided that he wanted to go as a Garbage Truck. NOT! lol) and Peyton is going to be a ladybug. Supposed to be in the 60's so perfect weather for it. Pictures to follow later.

We went to the fair last weekend with Mom, Dad and GGMa and GGpa. Everyone had a good time. Brayden and Skylar rode until they couldn't ride any more. Skylar has decided that as soon as she is big enough, she and I are going to ride the "grown up" rides. Oh fun! I kind of like the kiddie rides where I can just put them on and let them go!!! I even managed to get Brayden to ride with an "older woman" (she was 4! lol) so that I didn't have to go around and around in a flying Dumbo!

Well, I will close for now. Will try to get the costume pics up tomorrow. Happy Halloween everybody!!!

A word of thanks...

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who read my last blog and offered sympathy and words of advice. Believe me, it was appreciated. I didn't really expect such an outpouring. It was really meant to be kind of funny and to get the attention of the one who needed to hear it. I am sorry if I upset some of you. That was not my intention at all. I have decided to stay away from that subject from now on and focus on the kids and other happenings. This is supposed to be an upbeat, happy kind of blog and so shall it remain.

So, in kiddo news...they are all looking forward to the visit by the Gigi's this week. (For those of you not in the know, the Gigi's are my grandparents aka GGma and GGpa to the great grands.) They will be here on Wednesday and Brayden and Skylar have been counting down the days. Peyton is too little to really understand but she knows who they are from their picture and can even sort of say "Gigi". Hopefully everyone will be on best behavior (at least for the first day of the visit, lol)

S and B are still enjoying choir. They seem to have settled in to routine now and are making friends. B still balks in the morning when we drop him off at Sunday School but he marches right in to his choir class like he is Hot Stuff. I don't know why. Maybe because he made the decision himself to start choir as opposed to having to go to SS. S has her first Brownie meeting tomorrow night and she is really looking forward to that. She heard that they have horseback riding camp in the summer and was all over it. Ohhhhhhhh, I am not looking forward to cookie sales! Somehow we have managed over the last four or five years to avoid them but I am thinking this year it is going to be kind of impossible. lol

Speaking of fattening things...I said that I was going to post about my weight loss journey here to keep myself accountable but I have not been very good about it. I stopped watching my calories and walking for awhile there and got right back up to where I was (Man, it is so easy to do, isn't it?) Well, anyway, we have started doing a Biggest Loser Challenge at work and that has really been motivating. We have about 10 people at our facility competing and it really makes for a great challenge. We started last Monday and at first weigh in I was 186. By Friday I was down to 182 and this morning I weighed in at 181.4. My goal is 180 by Friday's weigh in. I am back on the wagon and riding shotgun. Thanks for all the encouragement and I will keep you updated as we go along.

Have a blessed day!!!

I have discovered...

There is a term for my life as it is right now. I am what's known as a "Gamer Widow" or to be more specific, a "Warcraft Widow". Seriously, look it up. You can find it on Wikipedia or Urbandictionary.com. Apparently, I am not alone (at least metaphorically speaking) in my abandonment. It seems that there are millions of us around the world. Significant others who have been abandoned by our partners for the love of a computer game. I guess it should make me feel better to know that I am not alone, but it really doesn't. I am beginning to think that these games should be outlawed or at least restricted in some form. It is all he thinks about from the minute he gets up in the morning until the time he comes to bed at night (actually the wee hours of the morning would be more accurate since usually it is well after Midnight). At first, I blamed the computer. I wanted to throw it out the window. Even went so far as to flip the breaker on that side of the house one morning just to turn it off. (Okay, so that didn't go over so well. lol) Then I started to blame the game. If I could just shut the server down. Corrupt the software. Maybe break a headphone. (Well, one of the kids did that for me and that didn't work either.) Then I started blaming myself. Maybe I was just lousy to be around. Maybe I was not fun enough or attractive enough to hold my husband's interest anymore. It seems I have run the whole gamut of emotions...kind of like in the grieving process, I guess. I don't blame myself anymore however (which is a good thing). I have decided that we all have choices to make in life about what the most important things in our lives are. For me, my faith and my family come first. I have to trust that God put me where I am today for a reason. I certainly have been blessed with three of the most beautiful children around so who am I to complain? I just hope that one day all of these gamers out there who are neglecting their real life relationships for their online guilds, wake up and see what they are missing out on. Children will be grown, wives will have gotten used to being alone, and it will be too late. Until then, I think I will design some t-shirts "WoW Widows Anonymous: While they play, we seize the day"

I've been interviewed

A new blog friend of mine sent me some interview questions that I wanted to answer here. Thought they were pretty fun!

1. What would say is your best physical feature and why?
My best physical feature is probably my eyes. I love how they change with my moods and colors. They range from a deep green to a color that my dh refers to as "custard". I wasn't really thrilled with that mental picture at first but it really is a pretty good description.

2. Pie or Cake?
Yes please.

3. What would you name your new baby if you found out you were preggers today? Boy name and girl name?(since I don't know you, I don't know if this one gives you a heart attack.....if it does, I am sorry!)
I would go with "Trouble" because I would be in a whole lot of it! (DH got 'fixed' after baby number 3! lol)

4. If your fairy godmother appeared and offered you 3 wishes, what would they be and why?
I would wish for: Enough money to pay off all of our debts, a new car as mine is now at 260,000 miles!, and a maid that would come in and clean my house twice a week (Pretty self explanatory, lol)

5. What does the word "love" mean to you?
Whenever I hear that question, I always immediately think of the line from Love Story, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Unfortunately, I could never quite accept Jenny's cavalier attitude about things and I happen to believe that love means having to say you are sorry a lot. I mean a whole lot! Ask my 3 year old! (and my dh!) lol

Thanks for the questions Roxann! That was fun. All right guys, who is next? Let me know and I will send you your 5 interview questions and we will see what new things we can learn about you!

Breaking News...Breaking News...ALERT

It is official! It has been a long time coming and a very much anticipated event, but I am proud to announce that it has finally happened...

Skylar has lost her very first tooth!!!!!

She is just beside herself. She has been wiggling and wiggling for two months now. In fact, we first noticed the wiggle on her birthday so as you can see, it really has been quite a wait. She decided yesterday morning that she felt like it was wiggling more than normal. She worked on it all day. Every time she had a chance she had her fingers in there wigging and testing it. And then, finally, right before bed, she and her Daddy popped it out. She was just giddy with excitement. Had to call both Grandmas to tell them and then made a big production about putting it under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy. Sure enough, before I could even get out of the shower, I had a most excited little girl banging on the door. The Tooth Fairy had come in the night and left her a five dollar bill and a silver dollar. (Did you know that the rate of inflation these days is astronomical?!?) She couldn't wait to get to school this morning to show off her gap. Such a difference in attitude as we get older. I would be mortified but to her it is a huge Badge of Honor. LOL

Off the Wagon

Well, life has gotten crazy and I have fallen off the wagon on pretty much everything. Diet, walking, scrapping, cleaning, blogging...you name it. End of the month is usually stressful in the life of an accountant but this one seemed to be especially so. Finally through it though and time to get my life back in order. That in itself is enough to throw me off because, like my son, I need to have order in my life to be on an even keel. Even if everything is not in its place, everything has a place and in my crazy world, that is enough for me. lol

Kids are doing great. Skylar has been having some challenges at school but she will get it eventually. Brayden and Peyton have enjoyed having Grandma mostly to themselves. Mom said this morning that yesterday on the way to pick up Skylar, a truck almost ran out in front of them and she said, "Jesus Christ". Brayden immediately piped up from the backseat "Where Grandma, where?" and was searching the sky. Big ears, little people...lol At least he knew who she was talking about. I am grateful everyday that we have such a wonderful church that has such an impact on the lives of our children. I love that they are involved and learning all the time. No choir this week because of the holiday but both kids went last week and enjoyed the singing and the fellowship. Brayden was a little hesitant at first (okay, so he ran screaming back down the hall, lol) but when Matt went to pick them up he was singing his little heart out. Amazing.

Anyway, I will close for now. Off to the chiropractor to hopefully get this stress pummelled out of my shoulders. Love and kisses...

PS- Have to add for Grandma's peace of mind (and her sterling reputation) that her response to Brayden's query about Jesus was that she was "Just praying, Honey". Way to pass it off Grandma! It is amazing how good we get at deflecting when we become parents! lol

Update

Wow, so much has gone on this week. Where to start?

Well, Skylar started school on Monday. She loves her teacher and has been doing well so far. We had a couple of snafus with the bus, but I think we have finally worked things out. (It didn't pick her up two mornings in a row. She will now be riding with a teacher from her school.)

Brayden turns three TODAY!!!! I can't believe my little man is growing up. Time just goes by too quickly! We had his birthday party at Chuck E Cheese on Tuesday and he had such a good time. I don't know what we are going to do with all the cars and trucks we have accumulated as of late. We could start our own garage! lol They are his favorite though. He is all about trucks these days...dump trucks, cement trucks, pick up trucks, flat bed trucks. You name it, he knows it and believe me, he is yelling it at the top of his lungs until you acknowledge that yes, you do see the truck. Yes, it is a big truck. Yes, you saw that it was red. No, you don't know why it is going that way. lol I don't think the boy knows how to take a breath. It is a constant stream of questions and comments from him. And I thought Skylar was going to be my talker!

As for me, I have lost two pounds this week. I am so excited!!! I am feeling better about the denial as well. I have decided that this is something that I really want and if I have to fight for it, so be it. I went to consult with a chiropractor yesterday to get his opinion. That was kind of scary. He did x-rays and my spine looks like the spine of a 70 year old. (No offense to those who read my blog that are 70! I am sure yours looks much better! :-D lol) Seriously though, it is pretty curved at the top and showing early signs of osteoarthritis. He wrote a letter for me stating that he thought a reduction would alleviate the pressure on my spine and stop most of my back pain. I am going to talk to my surgeon again today and see what else he recommends. Will update when I know more.

That is pretty much it so far. Peyton and Matt are doing good. Matthew has been home this week so that has been fun for everybody. The kids will be sad when he goes back to Alaska as I am sure he will be too.

DENIED...

That is what my letter from CIGNA says regarding my request for preauthorization of breast reduction surgery. According to them, my surgery is "not medically necessary". Apparently it is okay for me to carry around an extra 5lb bag of sugar on my chest everywhere I go. It is okay that I cannot walk down the street with my shoulders back because within five minutes, I ache from there all the way down to my lower back. Apparently, it is normal to walk around with DDD's. It is okay that I can't sleep on my stomach, throw a bowling ball straight without having to compensate, or sit at my desk all day without propping up "the girls" on the top of it. Can you tell I am a little bitter? lol Well, I assure you. This fight is not over. They don't know what a hornet's nest they have stirred up. I already have about 100 pages of documents and studies in front of me supporting my case. I've got the Internet and baby, I am not afraid to use it! If I wasn't paying so much in premiums every paycheck, I would almost feel sorry for them. As it is, they are not going to know what hit them! :-) Back to my research...

Who knew?

It is amazing how one little moment can transform an ordinary, not-so-great day into something spectacular. Today started out pretty crappy. Everyone bailed on church this morning which left me trying to corral and keep track of all three kids and get us dressed and there on time. Pretty stressful to say the least. Neither Brayden or Skylar napped today and both were pretty miserable by 5pm. Needless to say, I had had enough. I took Skylar to her first night of Children's Choir (which she enjoyed by the way), and when we got home the other two kids were in bed. Brayden was still awake though and greeted us at his bedroom door. Skylar and I had had a very grown up conversation on the way home about their behavior throughout the day and so she took his hands and went in to his room with him. I just stood in the doorway and watched as they stood next to his bed in his darkened room. She explained to him that if he "behaved" next time that he would get to go and have fun and sing too. She then told him that he was going to Grandma's tomorrow and she would be going off to school. She put her arms around him and asked him if he was going to miss her. She said that she was going to miss him very much but reassured him that she would indeed be there in the afternoon to spend time with him. He put his arms around her and they stood there like that for what seemed like an eternity. Then she kissed him on top of his head and he turned to give her a goodnight kiss and he climbed into bed. Who knew that starting first grade would make someone wiser than all of her six years? Who knew that one little act of caring could touch a Mother's heart so deeply and teach her that even when things seem so bad, there is always hope? Who knew?

Getting positive

Wow, this has been a rough week for me emotionally. I have been going through old photos for a scrapbook that I am doing and it was really painful to see some of the old pictures of me. I know that you can't help but gain weight when you have kids and that your body changes as you get older, but looking at those pictures, I realized just how far down I have gone. I have literally put on 50 pounds in 7 years. That is outrageous! Anyway, I made a conscious effort this morning to do something about it. It isn't going to melt off with what I have been doing. That much has become, oh so, obvious. lol I have been half-heartedly working on it for a few weeks now with less than stellar results so now it is time to get serious. I started with FitDay.com this morning tracking all my stats and figures. I have tracked everything I have eaten today and made some really good choices. I have done a couple of sessions on the treadmill and walked at lunch. I fell like I have made a really positive start. My first goal is to lose 23 pounds by Jan.1. That averages out to a little over a pound a week which is totally doable. Looking at the overall of 50lbs was really discouraging but now that I can see the light and that it really is manageable, I am excited. I wasn't going to post this because a.) It seemed a little depressing at first and b.) Well, it really isn't fun to tell the world that you are a cow. lol But, I figured by posting it here, I will have to be held accountable. Anyway, wish me luck. It is going to be a long journey!

Skylar's Going to 1st Grade!!!!

Well, I took Skylar yesterday for her 1st grade testing. I can't believe it! 1st grade! My how time flies!!!! She is going in to a new program here that combines 1st and 2nd graders. Each incoming 1st grader (novice) is paired with a 2nd grader (expert) and that is their buddy for the school year. The experts are supposed to help them get adjusted to the new setting, help them learn and obey the class rules, and work with them on their school work. The program does not focus on a set curriculum but is based on where each student is at in their learning process and is tailored to their individual needs. I am so excited for her because I think this is going to be a great program. She needs that extra challenge to stay motivated and I think this is going to be a perfect fit. Her teacher seems like a real sweetheart too and Skylar liked her right away. She can't wait for the first day of school. She picked out a brand new pair of camouflage tennis shoes at Target, grandma got her a "girly" camouflage shirt and with her sassy new "wedge" hair-do she is all set. Not what I would have picked to wear for the first day of school, lol, but should be the start of an interesting year! lol

Scrapping

Well, today was a very long day. I just got home from Mom's house. We spent a nice quiet evening in the "Green Room" working on some of the scrapbooks that we brought home from the Convention last weekend. It was fun and nice to be able to sit and chat. Since Mom started keeping the kids, I don't get to spend much time over there since the weekends are her downtime. The kids get their Grandma-time but the big kid misses out on her Mommy-time.
:*( That is a new one just for you, Mom. It means crying. lol Have to explain these things to the digitally-challenged. Anyway, the kids had a good time with their Daddy. They went over to Gwen's and swam. Brayden has gotten braver now. He has moved off of the step. Last weekend, he let Matt swim him around the pool and tonight he discovered that he can stand up on his own in the shallow end. Much improvement!! Skylar and Peyton are both like fish. Skylar is swimming underwater in the deep end like a pro and boy, Peyton would go on her own if you let her. She has no fear that one and she adores the water. Good thing, since it was 107 today with a heat index of 120! That is just too durn hot!!! Can't wait for October!!!

Skylar Funny

Funny for the day:

On the way to Mom's house this morning we started talking about ice cream. Skylar decided that ice cream was made out of snow, and then started asking questions about snow. This was the conversation:

"Mom, you can eat snow, right?"
"Yes, baby. You can eat snow. Just don't eat the yellow kind."
"Why?"
"Why do you think?"
She pauses a moment and then giggles. "Because it has pee pee in it!"
"That's right, baby."
Another pause from the back seat.
"Mom...you shouldn't eat brown snow either, right?"

Only out of the mind of a six-year old!!!

A New Adventure

Well, it seems like everyone and their brother (mine included! lol) is hosting a blog these days so I thought that I would try my hand at it. It is a really great way to get things on "paper" and keep up with the everyday events that we sometimes let slide by. Mom, Donna and I went to the scrapbook convention in Charlotte this weekend and I had such a blast. I was really inspired by all of the layouts and especially our instructor, Jessica Sprague. She was very focused on making sure that we knew how important it is for future generations that we write stuff down and "have our voices be heard". She has a great blog on her website where she posts some really funny stories about her kids and how they spend their days. Hopefully, I will be able to achieve the same thing here although I really don't know how she keeps up with it and two small children. lol I am doing a little digital scrapbooking as well so look for those layouts to be published here as well. I think that is it for now. Hope that you enjoy!!!