April 15th has come and gone, and our life is finally getting back to "normal" again (whatever that is!). Patrick is getting home at a more decent hour every night, we are having dinner as a family, and the kids are enjoying time with Papa. The weather has finally turned to spring as well. We have had some wonderfully warm days, with lots of sunshine. The kids are loving spending time outside. Emily especially wants to be in the back yard all the time. She loves to swing, slide, and just run around with Lucy. I started this post on 4/23! Ooops! I meant to come back and finish later that day. I recall getting distracted by something, but by now I'm sure I have no idea what that something was! I'm sure it goes by Katie or Jacob or Emily!! LOL Still nothing new to report on the house. We are still waiting on the attorneys to iron out their details so we can close on the lot. We are finalizing contract details with the builder, then will have to wait on the bank before we can break ground. We hope to get it all going before the end of the month. WHY is it that when you want something done yesterday, it takes twice as long as it should?!??!?! I spent last weekend scrapbooking for 3 days! Yep, 3 crazy days, with 3 crazy friends. We scrapped, we ate, we laughed, and had a fabulous time. I hope to post some pictures of what I worked on soon. Hope everyone is doing well. :)

Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE scrapbooking? Well, I'll say it again ... I LOVE scrapbooking! Today I found a great website. It's the blog of another scrapbooking maniac like myself. She has a section where readers can submit a layout about their personal "ScrapSecrets". They are hilarious, and I can relate to just about every one of them! Look here for some good laughs! ScrapSecrets Lately I have been obsessed with the hobby. Buying new papers and yummy embellishments, reading & subscribing to new magazines, checking out websites and blogs of other scrappers! In addition to actual scrapbook pages I have been trying out some new projects. A gift album for a friend's birthday, cards, and decorated frames for new baby's on the Brown side of the family, just to name a few. Maybe part of it is that I will have my very own room at home in the new house devoted to my hobby. It will be a sanctuary of sorts. A space where I can spread out all my supplies, and create to my heart's content. A room where I can "get away" or share time with my kids, depending on my mood! And best of all, a place where I can display some of my work, and leave albums out for people to browse through! I'm so excited, and so thankful that Patrick feels that I deserve this space. I'm blessed to have a family that cares about my passion. The kids have started asking to create pages of their own, so they have all started making small albums of their own work. I love watching them express themselves in this way. Well, time to get moving. I need to get the dining room table cleared off for scrapping!! Have a great weekend, everyone!

New Wheels!

After months of trouble with his beloved Dodge Dakota, Patrick finally called it quits. This week he traded her in for a new GMC Sierra. So far he's pretty happy with it, and the XM Satellite Radio is making the commute more fun! His choices were silver (shown above) or Medium Brown Metallic. He went with the brown. The only difference between the two is that the brown one features Flex Fuel Technology, which means it can run on gasoline, E85, or a combination.

I'm not going to get on a soap box about it or anything, but it's something that Patrick and I feel very strongly about. There is a station that sells E85 in Clinton, so we are excited to be able to help make the earth a little "greener" in this way. I hope that when we are ready to replace my van, we can find something suitable that offers the same option. For more info than you can absorb, just Google E85, Flex Fuel, alternative fuel, etc.

What will you do to Go Green in 2008?

Signs of Spring

It has been a very long time since my last post, and I've been feeling bad about that. So, I thought I would share some recent pictures. Things that are a sure sign that spring is here (at least according to the calendar!). Someone might want to alert Mother Nature that we would never know by the weather!! We have had a few nice days, but they don't last, and the cold always returns. But these pictures warm my heart, and I hope they do yours too! Jacob recently lost his first tooth!! Well, at least the way you are supposed to! He had to have one pulled when he was 2 after a major tantrum, and a meeting between his mouth and the corner of a cedar chest. He's SO excited about his latest "Big Kid" experience! Katie lost her first tooth around the same time last year. She also had one loose when Jacob's came out, so we've had a couple visits from the Tooth Fairy this month. Katie is showing off her face painting. We spent an afternoon at the Putnam Museum over spring break. They were holding their annual "Eggstravaganza" event, and thanks to my old friend we were snuck in at the end for some leftover freebies, and fun. It pays to know people!! The week was cold and dreary, and spent mostly indoors, but we tried to make the most of it. Easter came and went, and was sort of a blur. Since Patrick works so much this time of year, he's not around much, so the holiday sort of gets lost in the madness. I don't think the kids noticed though. Grandma & Grandpa Kay came over to help decorate eggs. We had a quiet morning at home, then met with the entire Parker clan for a big afternoon dinner. As of midnight tonight, there is officially one week left of tax season! YAY!! The days are dragging on and on. The kids and I miss Patrick like you wouldn't believe. His new job is keeping him very busy, and the added commute doesn't help. He has been great about calling to chat with them, and tries to call around bedtime every night. This seems to help. All in all, I think they all handle it quite well, and try to make the most of the time they do see him. Despite the cold, the flowers are blooming. And the darn squirrels are eating them almost as quickly as they bloom!! If anyone can offer some tips to keep them away, I'll take them!! My tulips and daffodils are popping out of the ground, and I would like to enjoy their blooms for the last year we live in this house. Plans for the new house are progressing. We hope to have a final decision about a builder by the end of the week. We both feel very good about one in particular. If all goes according to his plans, we will break ground before the end of the month, and will be done in approx. 120 days! This should get us in the house right around the time school starts in the fall, which would be perfect!! I know I have not been very good about keeping in touch with anyone lately! I want to apologize to anyone I may have upset by that. Being a "single mom" during tax season is hard enough, and with three kids, plans for moving and a new house, and all the other stresses of life, I've kind of let some things go. This picture of Emily kind of sums up how I feel most days!! She loves to sit in these big buckets where we keep their stuffed animals. She plays, reads books to her "friends", sings songs, and just passes the mornings away. Whenever I come to the door I get a sassy grin and a "get-outta-here" followed by a silly little giggle. Well, I hope I didn't leave out anything too important!! I'm signing off for now. Time to head to bed so I can start this all again tomorrow. Take care, everyone!! HAPPY SPRING!!!!