april thirtieth

Have you ever realized how weird the word thirtieth looks? Yeah, me either. Lots going on around here. Of course you remember the break? Here it is today.

It is getting better. I am walking normal again. Yes, the manicure helped. Although I bumped into a pillow today and thought I was going to pass out from the pain. A pillow!

Jacques has been pretty busy all week with work, staff duty, dinners, softball and coaching. So here is what I am working on when he is out of the house.

I have been working with tracing paper. I am in the middle of doing silhouettes for the boys then eventually Jacques and mine. This is Zach's practice traces. I have yet to do one that I truly LOVE and want to use. Maybe soon. This picture is a great profile, but I am debating about the chin and mouth open pose. I have yet to get a profile picture of Ryan and Jason. But I had fun last night just playing with the paper..

Zach "sort of" let me trace his little hand, but I WILL get a better one. Ryan ripped the paper every time I uncurled his fist. Jason was more than cooperative. In the second photo, you can see Jason's hand under Zach's. And in the last my hand is behind Jason's. I may make these better and do something with them. Maybe a frame? Not sure.

So I found this cup at the Goodwill for .50 cents. I splurged and bought it. Don't worry, I know what you are thinking. That this exquisite item with such a hefty price tag, may put me in the poor house. I assure you, it will not. Anyway what I am getting at is that I went to check retail, as I am sure this was somewhere between $15-30 dollars, over at SoapNet.com. When I get there I see some neat stuff, but no mug. But the reason I am rambling on here is, did you know you can buy the same stuff seen on your favorite soaps? No Joke! All sorts of things from the show. You can even shop by character. What kind of goodies can you get? How about a sink faucet, a sofa, jewelry, a fireplace set, artificial flowers, undies, a paring knife.. you name it! There were 250 Pages of stuff just from All My Children. That is over 625 items.

Okay, this was a long one. But now I have to tend to my little chittlens. But for even more you can head over to flickr for a bunch more photos from the last couple of days. Hugs, M

conquer.

3 Boys, 3Baths, 3 Bedtimes. Check. Check. And Check.

busy.

Updating my flickr account. I am adding a bunch of my scrapbook layouts over there. Hugs, M

tuesdays toes.

This is from today. Five days after the break. Also note: I was able to paint my toes today. It's still sore but I am getting around better. More posts later. -M

things i desperately need and or want

more space
a closet organization system
more kitchen drawers
a larger desk
a shoe rack
a purse/tote rack
a basement
a garage
a laundry hamper system for each member of the family
bathroom pull out drawers or medicine cabinets
multiple bookshelves
a matching bedroom set
a better scrap space
a never ending supply of clorox wipes

Okay I am done whining now. Our house is a small 3 bedroom with no garage or basement for storage and we have a lot of crap. We rent because we see no need to buy then get orders for a PCS and strapped with a house we can't sell for months. And it's not a good idea to invest in a nice set of bookshelves or a shoe rack because (and this may come as a total shock) but movers that are hired don't always "handle with care" and every time we move, something is broken. Last time it was our wash machine which they estimated at $350. You can not replace a wash machine for $350 just so you know. The time before it was an antique cedar chest I purchased in Nebraska at an antique shop. There was a nice 2 foot gash in the lid. So there, I don't want to buy nice things until we are done moving and settled somewhere. But I still want them. Now while I do really need a medicine cabinet that is above the sink to lock up hazardous materials from 2 sweet baby boys that will soon be crawling, I really just want a matching bedroom set and a better scrap space. -Out.

weekend work.

Just a few quick layouts and projects that I have been working on this weekend. Luckily, I don't need my foot to scrap : ) Hoping for more time to work later. Hugs.

the color purple.

Welp, here are my toes last night. I know, a lovely shade of purple, huh? So I am still limping around and today the hubby is going to tape them up, which is what the doctor recommended. I will wait and see if I need to get it seen. Happy Sunday. More photos and posts later. -M

Broken.

That's right. Last night I busted my foot. My piggies. You can see the swelling and it is starting to bruise. This could be the ugliest picture I have ever taken. So last night around 6:30 I went to help Jason and ran into a large space heater in our room. Instant pain. I sat for a few minutes then as I got up to leave, I about collapsed. I couldn't walk. I had to hop. I was in so much pain. So I get myself settled. I am still home alone at this point. The hubby's plane will get in around ten. I figure if I can just get the babies asleep I will be good until he gets here. I try walking on my heel, but the pain shoots right up my whole foot. I try using a "cane" to help. That didn't work either.

So I call him to let him know what has happened. He says,"Don't tell me this now. Are you kidding?" I tell him I am not kidding.... Then he tells me his flight has been delayed until 6 am tomorrow. So now I am home another 16 hours by myself with a broken foot. Great, This should be fun.

Flash forward to this morning. I had no trouble getting them to sleep but when I stood up to carry them to the bed, I almost collapsed. Then Zachary was restless all night and I had to go back and forth from his crib a bunch of times. I noticed the sheets were to heavy on my poor piggies too. Anyway the hubby should be home around 10, but Jason has a game at 9. I will see if I can get my shoes on and load up a car seat x 2. And to make matters worse, I have tickets for tonight's 2008 Poets and Pirates Stadium Tour Kick-off with Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn, Gary Allan, Leann Rimes and Luke Bryan!

tgif.

Thank goodness it's Friday. I am ready for the weekend and hoping to get some more pages turned out. I did this one this morning, still loving this paper. Jacques has been in Boston the last few days and Ryan has had a low fever in the 99-100's since Wednesday night. I have been watching that carefully. Jason missed Monday at school because he woke up at 2:30 am and did not go back to bed until 6:30 am. I didn't figure he would perform well if I woke him and sent him to school. Wednesday night, Jacques and Jason went to the school's sports banquet where they were presented with trophies. Jacques coached both season's of soccer and got his own trophy. Between all four of them, I may need a room just for their trophy collections.

I also wanted to let you all know that Jason is still a hoot. Here are just some random things he said today. 1. "Mom, do you realize that there are a lot of vans like ours?" 2. "Mom, if the babies are wearing the same thing, I can't recognize them." 3. "I need to call Uncle Ian. Is he done at college yet?" Seriously the kid uses some great words and in the proper way. Way to Go, Buddy!

Well it is 5 pm now and I have gotten lots of scrap and organizing done. And I started another new mini. More photos later. Or tomorrow. Whenever. -M

two projects.

Can you tell that I am loving this paper right now? Yeah. Most of the pieces are from Cupcake Scrapshop's March Kit. And the labels are from Paper Source, Thanks Elise. The first mini is an everyday may album for photos and journaling. The second is a Sara Binder and is for Paper Adventure 08. Hugs, M

new photos.

Are up on flickr. Remember you will need to be a contact now to have any access to our photos. So email me if you have any troubles. Thanks. See this post for more info. Hugs, M

my 8 great accomplishments

From Marci Lambert at Make Art Everyday "Lately I've been thinking about things I've done that make me proud of myself. Big things, little things. I randomly came up with enough things that I thought I could make a list. And maybe you could come up with your own list. It's so easy to put ourselves down and see all our flaws. But I think it's worthwhile to celebrate the good in ourselves."

So here is my great list, not the necessarily the greatest. And in no particular order:

* Carrying the twins full term and giving birth to two healthy babies, at once : )
* One word: Jason.
* Celebrating almost 7 years of marriage
* Being a stay at home mom raising 3 boys!
* Jason's vocabulary.
* Having practically NO DEBT, but the car notes.
* Having a hobby that I am good at and proud of and knowing that I can make money doing what I love while, and
*Preserving family history for my children, grand children, and great grand children.

What's your list? Hugs, M

may i have your attention please?

Sorry about the confusion folks. But I wanted to let you all know that our family flickr account has gotten better security. I now have all the photos marked PRIVATE so you can no longer see them unless you sign up for FREE as a friend or family member with the invite that I sent you. You should get it in your inbox (check your junk mail if not) because the email is coming from me and flickr. Also if you did not receive the email, email me and I will add you to the list of friends and family. I apologize for this inconvenience, but I am feeling better about who will be able to see our family photos now. Email me with any questions or to be added as a contact. Sorry again.

Uncle Paul and Lewis, you need not worry. You are already signed up with flickr and are in my contacts.

us.

Hello. Here we are. Sorry we have been MIA. I am in the process of posting a weeks worth of pictures over on flickr. Be sure to check them all out. I have posted 18 so far. You will need to go to page two over there to see them all. There are so many they are getting bumped up to page two, know what I mean? We have had a busy week over here including soccer practices and a game, Jason's school fair, Disney on Ice and more. The cuttlebug I am holding above is Zachary and the photo is from tub time on April 16. Hugs!

i will be here today.

thank you, elise.

I found this little beauty waiting patiently for me in the mailbox today. It was made especially (and pink) just for me by ms. elise blaha. Big thanks. You can get your own elise mini at Etsy.

So tonight I was able to try the new Pikes Place blend, thanks aunt janie. Ummm yum! But I am a little concerned about the cup. It is black. I am accustomed to the wonderful forest green on my daily cup. So I what I am hoping is that it is a "for a limited time only" cup. And upon further inspection of this un colorful cup, I noticed it says Pikes Place on the cup, so maybe it is only for this blend which may lead me to re think purchasing this flavor. So if any of you scary.. I meant lovely Barista's are out there and can answer this, please do.

And now that I have you all worried about the color of your coffee cups, I would like to cheer you up by telling you this: It's National Grilled Cheese Month! Start Celebrating! Hugs. -M

my new bling.

So everyone knows that I am addicted to black coffee. That's right, I take it straight! It is healthier that way too. Not to mention the Bucks, Yum! Anywho I saw this ring on Etsy and had to have it. I got it from Elle P. Designs and there is a sale for Buy two get the third 75% off. Be sure to check her stuff out. It is all beautiful. Photos by Elle P. Can't wait to get it here. Hugs!

hello monday,

There are a bunch of new photos up over at flickr.

zachary scott tonight.

It must be a mom thing. I don't know why I am compelled to post three almost identical photos. I guess to me they are all different. I see different faces and personality in the shots. I don't know. Stop hounding me and just enjoy them all.

6 shots, 4 legs, 2 babies

You do the math. They had a great check up and are both in the clear. Woohoo! Zachary and Ryan BOTH weighed in at 13 pounds and 3 ounces. This is the first time they have weighed the same. I was super excited. Zach still has the bigger noggin but is 1/2" shorter than Ryan at 23.5" long. Ryan is 24"long.

They both had their second round of shots, 3 each. Fun.. Did I mention I was all alone at this appointment? Yeah, Fun. Ryan went first. Then Zach. One the first poke, they both looked at me and was like, "Oh yeah, I guess I should cry." But on the last two they sting, so they were screaming at the top of their lungs.

Shortly after that Ryan fell asleep in the stroller and Zachary was awake in my arms. We had to wait the usual 20 minutes then we left. We are home now and all is well. I have to go pick up Jason at noon so we will leave in about an hour. Happy Friday : )

tub time.

random.

1. McDonald's Sticker 2. Chocolate from Ten Thousand Villages a nonprofit fair trade organization and shops 3. Open chocolate piece 4. Palawa Hope and Love stones made by Haitian artisans chiseled from local stone. Also from Ten Thousand Villages. 5. EK Success colored pencils from Julie that I love. Thanks!

the super seat.

So we got the boys' a super seat. One for now, two if it is a hit. But for now Ryan sits better in it and he LOVES it. He spent a lot of time in it yesterday. It helps support babies that are unable to sit up. babies usually learn to sit up unassisted around 7 months, so this gives them another option until then. It is great for him to be up and off the floor. He can see the television great in it. He also loves the Spidey and Hulk toys that his big brother lent him. Photos all from April 8 See him waving HI?

Zachary ROLLS over!

Way to go, Zachary! I really thought he would make it over yesterday. He has been so close for a while now. Ryan rolled over exactly 2 weeks ago. Such big boys. No stopping them now.

happy tuesday.

weekend mini.

Here is a quick mini that I put together last week before our getaway, that way when we got home, I just had to add in the photos and papers that I picked up. And here is the full view. I have been debateing about wether to round the albums corners or not. Hugs!

weekend recap.

We are home from a beautiful weekend spent here in Montreat, North Carolina. We went away on Friday for a 3 day Strong Bonds Marriage retreat for military couples in Jacques unit. Later I will share more about the event itself. I learned a lot.

And here are the boys enjoying their first trip out of state and hotel stay. Zachary is sleeping in late because he had a rough night walking the halls with his daddy. Ryan is such a morning person.

And Jason had a great time hanging with the Cooper's kids. Daycare was provided for all the kids and they loved it. The twins stayed with us.

Zachary enjoying the elevator music. Still trying to catch up on his sleep.