Addictions

I already have too many. I would like to thank my "friends" Jen & Laura for the latest. Digital scrapbooking. These girls have dragged me under into the cult-like, online world of creating scrapboook layouts without paper! What is a girl to do with all that paper & adhesive lying around? They say it's faster than scrapping with paper. Maybe once you get used to using the "not-so-user-friendly" Adobe Photoshop. But I'm still having a lot of fun. Jen has become a designer, and she is making her own digital products. To help promote herself she formed a Creative Team. What we do is make layouts using her products, and post them on websites devoted to digital scrapping to help get her name out there. It's fun, and really addictive! Don't worry my paper-scrapping friends. I will never give up my paper. The stickers, the eyelets, the ribbon, the "Jellishments". The list goes on and on!! It's too much fun. It's an outlet for me. A way to escape the house every other Friday night, and an occasional Sunday afternoon. I plan to keep alive the fantasy of the "Scrapbooking Cruise" (yes, there is such a thing!). All my scrapping friends will come along! We will spend days on a boat cruising warm waters, soaking up the sun, swapping embellishtments, and talking til we can't talk anymore! Oh, and let's not forget the cocktails! A girl can dream, right? Well, all this talk of scrapping has me itching to do just one more layout before going to bed. Please check the link to the right to view the latest, and let me know what you think!

The icy blast!

Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since my last post. So sorry to keep all of you on the edge of your seats, just waiting to find out what's been going on here! LOL The BIG event this week had to be the nasty winter weather this past weekend. It all started Saturday morning with some freezing rain. This lasted pretty much ALL day. It was just lovely. We had power outages off and on all day long, lasting anywhere from a few minutes to a couple hours. It was the same with our phone service. Thank goodness for cell phones! Finally, shortly after 10pm, we lost power for the night. The power company was calling crews back in due to the dangerous conditions. They got back out bright and early Sunday morning, and we were back in business by 8am. Sunday then added more freezing rain and snow to the ice that was already on the ground. Luckily there are some warm days in this weeks forecast to help clear it all up. Is anyone else ready for spring?!?!? I can hardly believe it. Dawn (Patrick's sister) is getting married in FIVE days!! I'm really looking forward to the weekend. It will be hectic, and crazy, but loads of fun. I can't believe I still need to get shoe's for myself, and pants for Patrick to wear. Better get out there tomorrow!! Other than the storm we had a pretty uneventful week. The usual running kids to and from school, and Katie to dance class. They are starting to learn their recital routine, and she's getting very excited! More on that later. The CPA just walked in (at 8:43 pm) from a long Monday at work. Time to go be a couple for a few hours!

Big Girls!

Here's Emily, after her first "big girl" haircut. I took her to my stylist, Carrie, for the big event. It's a little hard to tell from the pictures, but there was a lot of lenght (about 4 inches) taken off the back to even it up. Her hair has an adorable little flip in the back, that is just there naturally. Katie got in the big chair for her hair cut first, to show her baby sister how it's done. When it was Emily's turn, this picture shows the most upset she ever got! She was actually getting a big kick out of looking at herself in the mirror! She is enjoying showing off her new haircut. When I ask her about it, she messes it up with her fingers, leans her head onto her shoulder and giggles like crazy! She's quite the ham! We continued with the "big girl" theme of the weekend by getting her a booster seat to use at the dining room table. No more high chair! She was very proud sitting there eating her breakfast this morning. She kept wanting to get down, so she could climb back up again. I'm not sure who's more excited, Emily or me! I'm just happy that we can finally get that big bulky high chair out of there!! Please join me in congratulating my friend, Barbara, on her recent engagement! Yes, MCI friends, this is OUR Barbara! She called a meeting of the BGSC to announce the big news. No, this is not a secret cult, just a group of girls who enjoy getting together for a good meal, and some good gabbing! For some reason, when we started getting together, we decided that our little group needed a name. We are the "Big Girl's Supper Club". Yes, we're all a little crazy. Even though we meet sporadically, when we do get together it's as if very little time has passed. We're thrilled for our youngest member, and look forward to helping her plan the big event! Congratulations, Babs!!

Thursday Thoughts.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure, this is my father-in-law, Wayne, with Emily on Christmas Day 2006.

He is a kind and funny man, a wonderful father, and doting grandfather. He was sweet enough to personally respond to my entry from Monday (2/12) titled "Random Thoughts". I laughed so hard when I read it, that I just had to share it here. Wayne, I hope you don't mind!

DEAR MISSY, I AM SORRY THAT WE FORGOT TO TELL YOU WHILE YOU AND PATRICK WERE STILL DATING THAT HE HAD NEVER BEEN TRAINED ON TOILET PAPER ROLL REPLACEMENT TECHNIQUES. I HOPE THAT IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO TRAIN HIM NOW (OLD DOGS, NEW TRICKS, ETC.) HOWEVER, IF YOU WANT TO SEND HIM TO OUR HOUSE FOR HALF A DAY, WE WILL TRY TO SHOW HIM HOW IT IS DONE. PROBABLY TOO LATE THOUGH. LOVE DADDY DEAREST

My husband gets his sense of humor from his dad! But I also know that's where he learned to be so kind, and loving. He's the best father I could ever ask for my kids to have! Check ou the link to My Digi Scrap Gallery to see a layout I did of my Valentine. I think he's a keeper!

Both Katie and Jacob thoroughly enjoyed their Valentine parties. Emily and I are enjoying "helping" them eat all the treats they brought home! Thank you to the parent who handed out the Dove chocolate hearts!!

Big day here tomorrow. Emily is getting her first real haircut! I was going to wait until her birthday, but it's looking pretty shaggy, and I want her to look nice for Aunt Dawnie's wedding. Hard to believe the big day is in 2 wks & 2 days! I'll post before and after pics this weekend.

That's all for now, folks! It's almost time for E.R.!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mr. Anti-Flower surprised me last night with this gorgeous bouquet of white roses. They are my favorite. As you can see they are already opening up very nicely. With it being the middle of tax season, and with three small children we'll be staying in tonight. But a special dinner will be ready when Mr. Parker gets home.

Snow Day!

It was pretty clear last night that there would be a snow day today! It didn't start snowing until very late, but the forecast was calling for up to 6 inches, and with the 25mph winds, there was going to be a lot of drifting. The wind started before we went to bed last night, and sure enough, when we got up there were big, fat flakes falling. The drifting was so bad that it was onto the covered entry by the front door, and I had to dig a little just to find the newspaper! The kids were excited, because usually "Snow Day" also means "Pajama Day" at our house. There was lots of silliness today, as we tried to stay warm.

We had lots of fun today trying to teach Emily new words. Her vocabulary grows on a daily basis, and we all get a good laugh out of her accomplishments! Yesterday she surprised us as she walked into the bathroom while Papa was showering. As she opened the door, she was tapping and saying "Knock, knock!" She is very proud, and gives us the funniest belly laugh, when we praise her.

Jacob and I had fun playing a little Lego Star Wars II, while Emily was napping. Katie gladly watched and colored us some pictures. This seems to be her favorite activity lately, and there are drawings and coloring pages everywhere you look.

This winter weather is really making me wish I was anywhere but Iowa! It's not much help knowing that in 4 months we'll be getting ready for our Caribbean Cruise! I'm really wishing it was only 4 days away! Oh, well. Since I have to be cooped up inside, I've had lots of time to start planning. There is so much to think about. Believe it or not, I've already started a packing list (thanks to my OCD friend, Karen!!). She's offered lots of tips for what we need to take along. It's our first cruise, so we're a little clueless. So any of you that have done this, let me know if you have any ideas about what you consider a "must" to take along.

Well, we are off to make homemade mini pizzas for dinner! Yummy!

Stay warm, friends!!

Random thoughts

Why is it that I am the only person that lives in our house who is capable of changing the TP when the roll is empty? Just curious. Is anyone reading this silly thing? Is this worth doing? I'm not really sure. Leave me a comment, or send me an email. Let me know you're out there!!! Katie is finally feeling better and back at school. She was only there one day last week. And naturally, over the weekend Jacob and Emily got sick too. Both had fevers, stuffy noses, and coughs. Everyone seems to be better today. Good thing, with Valentine's Day right around the corner. No one wants to miss the school Valentine party! Katie will be giving out Littlest Pet Shop, her latest favorite thing http://www.hasbro.com/littlestpetshop/, and Jacob picked the time honored Thomas and Friends http://www.thomasandfriends.com/usa/thomas_the_tank_engine_us_website_homepage.html. What are you getting for your Valentine? I have an idea, and hope that I can find it in the next 48 hours! Nothing like waiting until the last minute! Well, now that I've mentioned Thomas, Jacob wants to play games at the Thomas website. So, I'm off. Take care everyone!

Winter Wonderland

Wow! It is 10am, and still only four below zero! The wind chills are still bitter, at -19 today! Yesterday wasn't much better with a high of 7, and about 4-6 inches of snow across the area It was coming down pretty heavily all morning and into the afternoon, and was actually breathtakingly beautiful. It was big fluffy snow that left a big white blanket everywhere. It was a nice day to stay in, snuggle up and watch movies with the kids. Since Katie still had a low fever, she stayed home again. We popped popcorn and cuddled up on the couch for most of the day. Well, the new washing machine is awesome. It is super smart, and is doing a great job. I am truly amazed at how much I can get done at one time. Am I insane that I am actually finding the laundry FUN? And I'm a little bummed that I have pretty much washed everything in the house, and have no laundry to do today? I think I need to get out more!!

It's a cold, sad day...

Brrr. That's all I have to say about the weather. Once again the temp is zero with a wind chill of -13. Feels a lot like the movie Katie and I watched already this morning "Eight Below". A very touching family movie. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Yes, Katie is home from school today. Poor thing has had a fever of 102 since yesterday afternoon, along with a sore throat. She has an appointment with the doctor this afternoon. I think she's more upset about not being able to see her friends at school, than she is about being sick. Hopefully it's nothing serious, and she'll be feeling better soon.

It's a sad day here for Bear's fans. Not much more you can say about that one. Well, at least they made it to the Superbowl. There's always next year.

The new washing machine was delivered & installed. Big thanks to the guys from Lowe's who had to do that in the bitter cold. I had to let it "thaw" for 24 hours, so I just started using it today. I'm already on load #2, and at least 5 more to go. Jealous, aren't you?!?!? That's the life when there are 3 small children living in your house. Is it a sign of my age that I'm so excited about a washing machine?

Is this the arctic, or is it Iowa?

I can't beleive how COLD it is! The temp is currently zero , and feels like -21 with the wind chills. It is supposed to stay this way for the next couple days. Good day to stay home and get ready for the big game tonight! We are getting geared up for some football today. Patrick is upstairs watching highlights of past games, and Emily is decked out in her Bears outfit that used to belong to Jacob. It's one of my new years reslolutions to try to maintain this blog. So check back often, leave me comments, let me know what you think! In addition to the excitement of the game, we are anxiously awaiting a call from the Lowe's delivery team. The new Whirlpool Cabrio washing machine is coming today! This was a purchase of necessity. The old one decided to die in the middle of the spin cycle the other day. So the remaining water slowly leaked out all over the laundry room floor. That was a lot of fun to clean up!! But I am excited about the new machine. It's pretty fancy, and has lots of neat features. Plus it has a ginormous capacity, so it should cut down on how many loads I have to do every week. And let me tell you, with three little ones, there is a lot of laundry going on here! Now, I'm off to find out how to add some pictures and music to this thing! Stay warm!!