Some St. Patrick's Day fun schtuff!!!!!!

You know....St. Patrick's Day is sneaking right up on us, so here are a couple of little things to get you in the mood!!



First up is this card. I'm sorry, but I love how this card turned out and I'm gonna take a minute to show myself some love!!! I started out with 3 shades of WorldWin ColorMates cardstock. Added some white and pulled out my WestTrim green wire to play with. I have always loved writing with wire!!! For me, it's fun! The longest word I ever attempted was "Responsibility" and it turned out great! (hmm...I may have to find that page in Logan's album and photograph it to put up on the blog!! But, I digress....)


Anyway, making that shamrock (or is it a clover? and what's the difference, anyway?! I guess it's a clover, because it's a 4-leaf clover...... But, then, what is a shamrock?!)


Making that shamrock, was much harder than any word I've written with wire. It was a bit tricky to get it to look right between the leaves and the center...but I was finally able to get it to the way I liked it, albeit it took me two tries!! I added the Making Memories, Me.


Simple and coordinated....just the way I like it! :)



The second thing I made was a variation of what I did 2 years ago. I made a zillion of a treat bag similar to this and used Andes mints (for their spectacular green wrappers) and handed these out to teachers, friends, and our pediatrician and his office workers! They loved them!!! And I loved them, too!

Try throwing together some of these treat bags!
They are fun and YUMMY!!!! (and easy!)

9 INCHES **update**

Can you say WHITE CHRISTMAS?!?!?!
Because we are gonna have one!!!!! AWESOME!!!!

The trail from walking outside......Jensen couldn't resist sticking his foot in the snow....

Look at how high the snow is!

And when we tried to close the door.....in came the snow!! OOPS!!

Well....we have officially survived the first full day with in-laws. It hasn't been that bad. Well, up until the point when she feed them cookies at 5:00pm, when Ike and I were paying the bills online. Yes, they went thru over 2 dozen cookies!!! So...guess what my kids ate for dinner?!?!?! Yep, that's right folks......COOKIES!!!! Because they were too full of cookies to eat anything else. Marinne even came to the table to eat and looked at the food and took one bite and said, "My tummy hurts!" WELL, GREAT!!!! Everyone else just refused to eat.

Then, at 10:30pm, Griffin came upstairs and bazooka barfed everywhere!! GREAT!!
I gave him a bath....and made big daddy clean up the barf. (not without telling him...you can thank your mom for that! ha ha ha!!!)

Well....it turns out it's probably a virus, because now Logan has it. Poor guy. He hasn't had this throw up thing in about 2 years....so it was a rude awakening for him! He's forgotten how bad it sucks! So, I feel really sorry for him. I mean, darn it...this is the best snow for sledding we've had. But, I don't want him to be left out.....so we won't go.

And, it's the princesses birthday! So, our plans are kinda on hold for now.....
We'll have to see how L feels later, but G seems just fine.

Have a good one!!!

*******************************************************
Griffin is fine. After a long day....Logan was feeling better by dinnertime! And.......
knock on wood.....no one else has gotten it!!! Yay for that!!!!!!!

FRANTIC!!!!

OK....I AM FRANTIC!!!!!!


#1 - I have to get the gift done for Big Daddy's boss and our friend, K. TODAY!!! And I can't seem to find the paper I need for it! GRRRRRR!!!!!

#2 - In-laws will be here today. Trying to finish up the cleaning, etc. before the scrutiny patrol shows up.

#3 - Grumpy girl is full-blown because I started my period early, again...and I have cramps, a headache and a sore throat. GREAT!!

#4 - All 4 kids are home and their fighting like banshees. (where's the rope?!?! Ha ha ha....just kidding!)

#5 - I haven't wrapped one gift....NOT ONE!!! Can you believe that?!?!

#6 - Christmas cards...ya right. Just couldn't seem to get it together for that. So, I am making a Christmas Web Blog. Really been busy working on that.....stay tuned for the info coming very soon!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!

:) rox

Decorating the Tree.....

So, the tradition is that Big Daddy puts up the tree and puts the lights on and
then we decorate the tree......
(mommy and the kids, that is...)
(Jensen took this ^ picture! Good job for a first try....)

Marinne was overjoyed by it all.....

Logan, the pre-teen just puts up w/ his mother's photo obsessions so I won't fuss at him!

Griffin really enjoyed decorating this year! He took great care in hanging his!

Then, we went on to the other tradition when you are decorating the tree...
....Christmas Vacation!!!

Yes, we let Marinne watch it. I know, I know. Stop judging me!! Yes, there is some colorful language and adult humor......but, what can I say?!?! It's not like they haven't heard things before. And, it's a tradition. Well, crap, now I am judging me!! Oh, well!
At least she fell asleep after 20 minutes!

Jensen was still working hard on the tree during the movie!

The pre-teen was doing this ^!!!!

Griff snuggled next to mommy......


And, Big Daddy enjoying the movie.....he's seen it like 62 times!!!

Update.....

Bird is in the oven....

tragedy averted! (I think!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!! :)

What a Marvelous day!

"o'er the land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE!"

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Happy 4th of July Memories!!





We started the day being LA-Zee! We just took it easy for the morning and after lunch, we mozied on out to the pool!


I snapped this picture of myself before getting wet, because I figured it would be the only one I would end up being in!


The neighbors came over and jumped in the pool, too! Everything was going GREAT, until Ike looked over and noticed the big "wall" cloud coming over the horizon. Amazingly, within like 20 minutes....the cloud grew, our beautiful sunny day changed and the city tornado sirens were going off. Everyone jumped out of the pool and ran it as fast as we could! Can you believe that?!

Sure enough a tornado touched down about 15 miles from our house. And even more scary, there was a tornado that formed (and Ike's station got it on camera) about 5 blocks from our house! (it did not reach the ground...the funnel formed and then went back into the sky.)


Then, it rained off and on for the next 3 hours or so! Talk about a damper on the day!!!!




When the rain began clearing around 5:30....we started getting all the stuff over to the neighbors for our cookout!



<-------- This is Cary....he's excited about this firework!

I had to get a pic of it when I saw the missles said....

TNT!!!!


Hilarious!!!!

Of course, this is Big Daddy.....with one of his 9 million bricks of firecrackers he loves so much!! (Why does this holiday make grown men act like a bunch of children?????)

----->
Too many of these...

<----- Make the princess do this! Poor baby hated it!

I failed to get a pic of the food spread Kelly and I put out, but I can tell you it was good! (and I behaved myself, until this----->)

This concoction is Kelly's homemade ice cream which is FANTASTIC!!!! It's seriously delicious!!!! So, anyway, during the cookout, I measured everything and brought my own "lowfat" chips and my own whole wheat bun for my turkey burger that Kelly measured out for me. I did realllly well.
But then, I had the 1/2 cup of 7-points worth of homemade ice cream with the "measured" 1-point worth of fresh strawberries and blueberries. But, ultimately, I could not resist. And eventually, I had a second 1/2 cup of Kelly's fabulous ice cream. (this time without any delicious berries!)
THANK GOD FOR FLEX POINTS~

I really enjoyed watching the children play and enjoy the day!

This is me and my friend Kelly....she's fabulous! I'm really glad she's my neighbor and I'm even more glad she's my friend!!!

------>
Logan.....dancing around in
"smoke bomb" smoke!

<---- Happy Birthday, America!!! From an American Princess!!!

------->

Look at this American guy and the beautiful sky in the background....eventually, the sun did come back out and then we were treated to these fantastic colors as the sun went down!

<----- A true American CUTIE!!

And finally, the fireworks.....turns out I have no idea how to take pics w/ my new camera of fireworks.....

So, this was all experimentation....coulda been better, but could been much, much worse!!!

Hope your day was *fantastic*!!!!

My rockin' Mother's Day gifts!!!

So, check out what I got for Mother's Day!! Yep, it's all new patio furniture. It's kinda hard to tell, but this table has a ceramic tile top. It's so pretty! It even has a matching lighted umbrella that is solar powered. How cool is that?! Come visit me and we'll throw something on the bbq and we'll break in the table!!!All these chairs need is you and me!!!

Seriously, this place is starting to look like a resort!!!!

(Oh, and too bad you can't see the pool....the water is crystal clear!!)

Yet, another cheesy Valentine's Day post.....

YYYHappy Valentine's Day!!YYY

Much LOVE going out today to my family and friends. I love you all very much!!

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Here's what I love about...

...Ike - I love how hard you work for this family. I love your blue eyes. I love how you've given me your all. I love how you constantly encourage me. You are my true soulmate.

...Logan - I love how generous and giving you are. You are a truly kind, benevolent person. I love how you want to help. I don't know what I would do without you! I'm sorry when I fail you. Because you are my oldest, I mess up the most with you. I love seeing just how intelligent you are. You truly amaze me!

...Jensen - I love to see your pure expressions of love. I love when a moment moves you, you throw your arms around me and tell me you love me. I just love that you do it and don't think about it. I love to see your artistic abilities. You make me wish I was artistic, like you.

...Griffin - I love your sweet smile. You have such a purely sweet nature. I love how you always want to hug and kiss me, even if you use it as a ploy to get back up after I have put you to bed, you little stinker! I love you because you are my baby boy!!

...Marinne - I love you, princess! You have brought pure joy to us and enhanced our lives in a way we never knew we were missing it!! You are beautiful, sweet and funny....even when you are throwing your latest tantrum. I do love you!

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

To my mother - I will always love you. I miss you. You taught me what true love is. You will always be in my {Y}

To my brother - I love you and your family more than you will ever know. You are an inspiration to me. Thanks for always being there.....

To my dad - I love you. Even when I'm upset with you. That will never change. I'm glad we are speaking again. I missed you.

To my Janet - Why do "steps" have to be so complicated? Here's wishing for patience while we continue to get to know more about each other.

To Ellen and Wayne - Thanks for always being there and for all you do. Life seems weird without you nearby. Much love on Valentine's Day.

Where do I even begin to list my friends and what I love about each of them.... but I promise if you post a response, I'll tell you what I love about YOU!!

(ok, cheesy lovefest over....)

YTell me who you are lovin' today and why.....