Laid back weekend

It's been a blahhhh weekend here. Lots of chilling, not much else. Trying to get my sleep patterns back the way they should be. Getting mentally prepared for tomorrow. That's about it. Bedtime!

In a Scrappy kind of mood

I signed up for a card swap somewhere around 3 months ago. I just couldn't seem to get motivated, though. Tonight I finally finished. Whoooopie!! They're going into the mail tomorrow (I forgot to take pictures), and I feel like I've got a monkey off my back. Don't know why - I love playing with my paperstickyfoldystuff, but for some reason I just couldn't find my mojo. :(

Now that those are finished, I have a page all ready to be assembled, and it's one that I'm actually excited about! I'll try to be sure to share a photo of it when I'm finished.

We got a LOT of things done today that needed to be done. We shipped one package today, have two more ready to go out tomorrow, all my Avon is invoiced, just waiting on the shipment to come tomorrow. I've got his life insurance application thingie ready to turn in, got a sweet rebate form ready to mail. Needless to say, I can now see the top of my desk. Yeee haw!!

On another note, my sweet honey and I are making plans for a mini-getaway to celebrate our anniversary in a couple of weeks. I'm SO excited!! A whole weekend with my honey sounds SO wonderful. I'm thankful that he likes to work, but I miss him when his hours get so long.

So that's life at the moment.

Two major blessings this week:
1. Peter got a great review and a halfway decent raise. Makes the paycheck look much nicer. :)

2. I was putting something in the oven the other day and the lid slipped off. I thought I had enough room to just reach in and pull it back where it needed to be and I managed to get my knuckle right on the preheated element!! It hurt, but I ran cold water over it and it never even blistered. It is turning brown and scabby, but it's totally dry, and should be healed very soon. To me, that's a miracle, and I'm VERY thankful. :)

*Smile*

A Dog Day

No, not a dog day of summer, just one of those days when I feel like this....

So after at least a month of pretty good days, today has been one of THOSE days. The kind where I don't even want to be around me. Peter was a sweetheart this morning and took the two older girls to do some errands - thank you, Honey! Val and I hung out and nibbled on Jelly Belly's. The quiet was sweet (while it lasted). As much as I love the girls, there's just some days when I want to hear absolutely nothing. Hence, I've also been avoiding the computer. Ughhhh.

A huge portion of my irritability is the lack of sleep. Not just sleep, but quality sleep. I'm averaging about 5 hours a night again, and that's broken sleep. Double ughhhhhh.

My mantra today? - It will all be better tomorrow.....

Hopefully. :)

Smiling

Usually I try to avoid the camera at all costs. I don't think I'm very photogenic at all, not to mention that since I'm a scrapbooker, it's usually me behind the lens. The other night we went out to celebrate a big occasion, and I handed the camera to Faith, simply as an afterthought.

THIS is how the photo turned out. I'm really pleased. Too bad we couldn't get Princess Emma to smile along with Nene. Thanks for taking a nice photo, Faithy. :)

Ads vs. Reality

This is pretty cool. On the left is how fast food chains would like you to believe their food looks. On the right is the real way it looks when you get it.

*NOTE*
I wouldn't recommend clicking on any of the links at the bottom if you're easily offended. :(

New horizons

Last night, while visiting with Lori and Mom, we started talking about genealogy. Since we come from an Amish background, all of our genealogy is done for us. All we have to do is pick up a book and we can trace our roots all the way back to the 18th century. I realize how totally cool that is - most folks have to work on researching their ancestry. We can trace our forefathers back seven generations, at least. How cool!

Anyway, while talking about it, I made mention that I'd really like to trace Peter's ancestry. He started giving me information, such as his father's birth year, then his grandmother's birth year, and we're pretty sure that his great grandparents were slaves. So now I need to go to his hometown and start researching. I have two names, his father and his paternal grandmother. I'm hoping that he'll talk to his Mom about her ancestors while we're there. I think it would be awesome to be able to present him with details of his ancestors.

Fifteen years together, and I'm still learning things about him and his family, such as his grandmother's name. His mother has siblings I've never heard of, and every once in a while, a name will crop up that I recognize. It just is so intriguing to me to NOT know, since our family is so blessed to have our history written down for posterity. So in addition to being the scrapper in our house, it looks like I may also be the family historian for the Davis clan. Of course, that is depending on how much I can actually find out, since his paternal history only goes back 4 generations as we know it.

So keep your fingers crossed that we can actually find something out. Looking forward to the challenge now....

New photos!

Since it's been a while, it crossed my mind today that I really need to upload some new photos. These were all taken yesterday. The girls are growing so fast, it almost takes my breath sometimes!

The Three Amigos

Don't you just want to pinch her little cheeks?? You just KNOW I'm going to scrapbook this photo!!

Blahhhhhh! Monkey wore this outfit last winter, and now Val's getting to wear it. It always makes me laugh and want to say "blah, blah, blah". :)

A very UNhappy Val. She so did NOT want to have her picture taken. Silly girl...

Sweet Sisters.

We're letting Hannah's bangs grow out, but in the meanwhile, they're a royal pain in the neck. So a few weeks ago, I couldn't find the clips I normally use while she's here, and just grabbed a ponytail holder and put her bangs up. No problem, right? Well, THIS is how she came to me yesterday morning. She just thinks it's the bees knees to have her very own ponytail right up front and center. She's so funny!

Bad blogger....

So I've been slipping - sorry about that!!

Life is GOOD, folks, life is sooo good. :)

Changes are happening, and I'm (finally) feeling more myself. I'm happy and excited by each new day again. Some things have been taken care of in the past week that have made a HUGE difference - you just can't beat that!

I've actually been playing in my paperstickyfoldystuff again. Yay, me!! I made five cards the other night while Lori and Florabeth were here visiting. It's so nice to all be in the same room and be able to do different things.

Tonight Lori, Mom and I went to a card class. We made 16 cards from one sheet of 12"x12" paper. We came home with some lovely cards and neat ideas for cards we'd like to make in the future. I also came away with two stamp sets. Of course, one of them is SHOES (not that I like them or anything), and the other is one I've been eyeballing for a while now. I'm excited!!!

On another note, our baby girl has FINALLY decided she's ready to walk. Not only walk, but beat up on her sister. Guess what they say about paybacks is true. LOL She gets around quite well, but her preferred mode is to walk barefoot. She's not really happy about trying to walk in shoes, but she does when she has to.

Hannah's gotten some quality time with her Nana over the past week. She hung out at home with her Mommy today, but that's cool. She went to a crop in Birmingham with me last Friday night, so I'm sure she needed a two day break from us. LOL

Amber was such a good girl today - I just have to brag on her. She came to me this afternoon and said "Nene, I'm tired. I lay down now, please?" How on earth can you refuse???? So she went and sat on Peter's lap and took a nap with him. Such a sweet girl...

Peter's been taking a little time to be at home more. It's SO nice to have him here. He just doesn't know how incredibly much I miss him when he's working so many hours. He is such a sweetie, and makes my heart smile.

So that's what's going on in our world. Not exciting, not incredible, but it's life, and best of all, it's MY life! Nothing at all to complain about... nothing at all.

Be good and say "I love you" to those who matter the most. If you see someone, smile - it may be the only one they see all day.

*SMILE*!!!

A Day Out

We don't have many days where we can just GO around here. With Peter's wonky schedule, we have to plan things weeks in advance, and even then, it doesn't always work out. But yesterday, we got to go visit a very dear friend and recharge our batteries a bit.

Terri and I were close friends in high school, and when my daughter was born, I asked Terri to be her godmother. We had all sorts of adventures together as teenagers. We lost touch with each other when I moved away in the very early 1990's, and didn't reconnect for around 13 years. Our phone rang at Mom's one day, and when I answered, it was Terri! We met for lunch, and it was as if all the years had just fallen away. We haven't been able to get together as much as we'd like over the past few years, but that link is always there.

So yesterday, we made the trip to Arab to visit her. It had been a year since we've seen each other, which is just sad when you think about it. There's not that many miles separating us, but time and schedules just don't work the way we'd like them to. But we took all three girls and just went up to spend the day. On the way up, we stopped at another friend's house, but didn't get to stay that long. (We'll do that another day!)

She fixed a fabulous lunch and we visited while the girls played with her daughter. And boy, did they play!! They had toys strewn all over the place when we left. The girls did put some of the toys away, but she wouldn't let them do much. :) The baby hung out with us, and helped us eat our lunch, although she'd already eaten. We talked and looked through old photos, revisiting a few of our old memories of high school days while Peter took a short nap. We all had such a great time that we lost track of time and were late getting the girls to their Mommies! But Peter and I came away feeling refreshed and recharged. That's what friends are for, isn't it?

Thanks for the wonderful day, Terri. Muahhhhh!

Terri and I. She's the pretty one on the right!

Peter was napping, but Val decided she was going to get into his lap, even if he didn't help her. And she did, too!

A sweet moment. I tried to get a picture of her playing with his whiskers, but she moved, and I missed my shot.

Not sure what this thing is called, but it's a mask and when you talk into the mouth piece, it distorts your voice. Hannah thought it was pretty cool, but I'm just glad it stayed at Terri's house!

Hannah and Ayla playing dress-up. Hannah was a "stepmother" (she's got a fascination with Cinderella at the moment), and Ayla was a ballerina.

Two sassy divas! Love the maribou slippers and feather boas. Aren't they just too funny?

Where milk really comes from

Hannah and I had quite the conversation last night. She came bounding into the room with excitement just shining on her face. I wrote down our complete conversation so I can have it for scrapbooking later. :)

Hannah: Nene, do you know where milk comes from?

Me: Where?

H: Cows!!

Me: No, it doesn't! It comes from ELEPHANTS!

H: No it doesn't. It comes from COWS!

Me: Uh-uh. It comes from elephants. Just ask Faith!

H: Nuh-uh, it comes from cows. My Mommy told me so.

Me: Your Mommy was teasing. It really comes from elephants.

H: No it don't! Elephants don't have those squeezy things on the bottom!

Me: (laughing too hard to respond)

H: Milk comes from COWS. Elephants just come full of water.

By this time I had recovered my breath enough to ask Peter for my scrappy idea notebook and a pen and was furiously writing all this down. She's just way too stinkin' funny sometimes! She makes my heart smile, though, and that's worth it all. :)

Silly Little Girls

So far, this week has been a good one for all of us. The girls have been in fine form, exhibiting much imagination and silliness. Of course, the camera has been called into use quite often the past few days. A few examples:

Who needs to discipline the children when they'll do it themselves?? Don't know where Hannah came up with this idea, but she taught Monkey, and it looks like they did a good job of it!

We got this box last night and since I've got such fond memories of playing with boxes as a child, I left it out for the girls to play with today. They've had MUCH fun with it, as you can probably tell from all the creases on the sides. Monkey decided she wanted to take her nap in the box, and since she fit, I let her! Couldn't resist taking photos for posterity, though. It's a good thing she's so tiny - she fit perfectly!

She's making progress!!! We got her to take a few steps on Monday, and a few yesterday, but today she just stood there. It's really just a matter of time before she takes off, and then are we ever going to be in trouble!! She just looks so proud of herself here. Love this baby girl!!

On another note, something really funny that she did a few minutes ago (funny for me, not so funny to her), is chew on her thumb. She's teething and her thumb is always in her mouth when she sits down or is sleepy. So I was holding her and she had her thumb in her mouth, drool running down her arm, saturating my shirt, and all at once she started screaming and crying. Since I hadn't moved, but was simply typing on the computer, the only thing I could figure was wrong was that she BIT her thumb!!! It's really funny to watch her when she does this, since she does it at least once a day. Seems like she'd figure out not to bite down, since it's gonna hurt! She's just too funny, and always keeps us in stitches.

Another monkey?

I put Val in the floor, and when I turned around, this is where she was. She had loads of fun sitting and wiggling in the chair, until she apparently tried to stand up in it and fell over. Then she screamed and cried, but Peter set the chair back up and told her to do it again, and she did! Funny girl. Wonder if I'm going to have to watch her for climbing?

Fun, family & food

Last night, we went out for my nephew-in-law, Jon's, birthday. Here's a few fun shots of all the festivities.

Jon demonstrating his famous "deer in the headlights" look.

Princess Emma playing with wrapping paper, happy as can be! So nice to see Mommy so happy, too. :)

Sweet things come in small packages. All wrapped up with a big ol' bow...

Since we were in the back of the restaurant, they had Jon and this little girl stand on chairs so everyone in the rest of the place could help us yell "Yeee Hawww". Love the look on his face. :)

And finally, I learned that contrary to everything I've ever been taught or told, THIS is actually the correct way to wear flippies. Thanks for the lesson, Teacher!!

Little Artists, Funny Girls, and Hollywood Calling

The girls wanted to color today, and I remembered having this vinyl tablecloth that I use for painting. We moved everything from the center of the room and the girls helped spread it out. it was perfect - I didn't have to worry about them making a mess, and they had a blast.

Val's such a ham. All I had to do was blow her a raspberry and this is the look she gave me. :)

Hannah looks so glam in this photo - sorta like all those Hollywood starlets you see on the cover or a magazine. Just one more moment that takes your breath away and makes you really realize that she's growing up faster than any of us realize. Beautiful baby, isn't she?

A slithery situtation

One of the selling points for our house was the large back yard. I think we've got one of the larger back yards on our street. It's nice and shady, with a lovely patio and a swingset for us, as well as a swingset for the girls. Everything we wanted, right? Right, except for one issue.....

I haven't been in my back yard since early spring 2006. Why??? Because of snakes. Ugh. Peter killed several last year, and even the telephone dude caught one going through the ventilation grate under the back of the house. He killed it and took care of it. Let's just say I didn't get near the trash can for weeks afterward. I have this little issue with the slithery creatures - they absolutely terrify me. I did force myself to pet my nephew's snake a few years ago and it really wasn't that bad at the time, but my phobia has grown since then.

Peter cleared out all the excess bushes and weeds in the iris bed, then trimmed all the bushes around the house and mowed the yard over the weekend. He came inside and informed me that he had killed two snakes in the backyard, and he'd killed one earlier last week!! Eeeeeekkkkk!!!!

Now, I'm supposed to go out and help him clear out the garage, and there's a hole in the foundation behind our dryer out there that goes directly under the house. Can you say TERRIFIED to open a box and find an unwelcome surprise?? So I think I'll just sit in the back of the van with my feet pulled up off the ground and just supervise while he does the box opening. Yep, I'm a wimp, but then again, who among us truly likes creepy crawlies? (with the exception of Brooke and her oh so lovely Vanessa?)

Just sharing

It's been a little while since I updated, so here's a bunch of fun pics for you to look at.

It's been a long but rewarding week. I've managed to clear out a bunch more clutter (thankfully!!), and we made a head start on cleaning out the garage. We got the front half all sorted, and have loads of stuff for donation or sale. Of course, we had to put most of it back into the garage until tomorrow, when we want to pull it out again and sort through the back half. But at least it's getting done, and we can actually walk through there now! Looking forward to getting rid of loads of stuff that we've accumulated over the years and being able to build Peter a worktable so he can use the garage as his workshop.

Anyway, on to the photos....

Hannah cheesin' it up for the camera. We're letting her bangs grow out, and she's so beautiful without all that hair in her face. I think she likes it much better, as well. :)

Monkey having a rough hair day. Love the look on her face, though.

Val still hasn't started walking, although she clearly wants to. She's 13 months old, so it's just a matter of time before she takes off (hopefully). This is her signature pose - "Pick me up, please!".

Val was sitting beside me eating fries & chicken nuggets, and when I looked over, this is what I saw. Doesn't she look like a little pistol? Love my baby, though. :)

My sweet Honey Love really gets into his work. Lori, Mom and Florabeth came up for supper the other night, and he changed the brakes on Lori's car while we did "girlie" things. We howled when he came in and we saw how "lovely" he looked with grease all over him. I'm just so thankful for a wonderful husband who is so handy and willing to help others. He ROCKS!!

And last, but not least, THIS is what happens when you turn a Florabeth loose with your camera! Apparently she was bored silly, but I really like this picture anyway. Don't her eyes just POP out at you? Pretty girl.....

Rain, Crazy Drivers & Best Friends

Yesterday, I finally got to take the babies to meet my best friend in Birmingham. When we started out, it was gloomy, but we didn't actually get into rain until we got almost to our destination. We had a fabulous time visiting, and the girls fell in love with Shannon, and I think she fell for them too. While we were there, the Heavens opened and the rain came down. It abated for a while, and she walked out with us, and just as we got to the van, it really opened up again. She ran back into the house, I jumped into the van, and Peter closed the sliding door and went between the seats to come out on the other side, slammed it closed and got into the drivers seat. Boy, howdy! So glad we've got two front facing seats in the middle seat now, because he would never have been able to do that with the rear facing seat in place.

It took us 1.5 hours to go from Helena to the North side of Birmingham. At one point, traffic came to a crawl, and they were making both right lanes merge into the two left lanes. A scant mile up the road, they were merging both left lanes into the two right lanes!! And at 2:30-3:00pm, no less!! We found out why both lanes were closed - there was a pretty bad wreck, and an SUV was sitting on its hood and front windshield! Thank goodness we were able to make it back home (well, to the bank) at exactly 5:00pm, without any other incidents. We almost saw one one more wreck, but the drivers were able to avoid actually hitting each other. Seems like when it rains, people drive crazier than they normally do, which is saying a lot.

Overall, even with the rain, traffic woes and a few tummy issues, we had a fabulous time. I came home with loads of Stampin' Up, Pampered Chef and Tastefully Simple goodies. Yay!!! The time with Shannon was awesome, and much needed. Thanks for putting up with us, girlie!! Muahhhh! :)

Tastes like ewwww??

I'm feeling much better, but my tummy still has an issue with food. :( I've been living on peppermint tea, toast & eggs. Oh, and weirdly enough, I've found that chicken teriyaki from one particular restaurant also agrees. Go figure. Thanks to my friends for all the ideas and suggestions.

I got this tea for Christmas, in the "Calm" variety. All the ingredients made it sound like a very yummy tea, and I've been having a bit of trouble getting my days and nights straight again after the weekend, so I had a cup tonight. Well, it smells like this, and it leaves a taste in my mouth similar to the one I get after using that. So to get the taste out of my mouth, I had to nibble on lots and lots of these. Needless to say, I am NOT impressed. I think I'll stick with my chai and peppermint varieties from now on...

Sick of being sick

Ever get one of those "24 hour" bugs, and anxiously anticipate the end of those 24 hours when the end should be looming in sight? Yeah, me too. Invited family up for dinner and some computer time on Thursday night, and woke up sick on Friday morning. I was so sick I actually took Monkey to bed with me, called Meg and told her to just send Hannah inside, as I left the front door unlocked. That's pretty bad, huh?

Anyway, Peter and Mom took care of the girls for me on Friday, since I wasn't in any shape to be in charge, and Mom spent the night with me, just so I wouldn't have to be alone. (She's a sweetheart, IMHO! Thank you SO much for all you've done for me this weekend, dearie! I love you!)

So now it's Monday afternoon. I'm still sick. I'm drinking black tea, eating toast and eggs, nibbling on peppermints, and still that's all I can keep down. Peter went and got some medicine for me to help with the nausea, and that seems to help a little. Mom's coming by to bring me some peppermint tea in a bit, and hopefully that will help as well.

This is the LONGEST 24-hour bug I've ever had the misfortune to catch! Reckon the time change over the weekend got it messed up and it forgot to leave? I'm so tired of feeling ukky.

For those of you who read my blog and can pray, please do. I really need to be feeling better so I can be my best for my husband, my home and the little ones. :)

Pretty Darlin'

Hannah got to go to a wedding yesterday, and hung out with Mom, Peter and me for a while, until her Dad picked her up. Since Mom was here, I asked her to French braid Hannah's hair, simply because I thought she'd look absolutely adorable. Then Peter took her outside to take some photos of her in her pretty dress, which is also her Easter dress. Mom did a great job on her hair, and Peter got some really great shots.

Our little girl has grown up so very much, it's almost scary to realize that sometimes. She is so absolutely beautiful, and makes my heart smile, especially when she says "Nene, you're my best heart". Just had to share our little sweetheart with you all. :)

Chefs in the making?

I pulled out a toy baking set and toy food for the girls the other day. They all spent several hours "baking" and "cooking". I don't remember ever "tasting" so many different pretend dishes as I did that day. Every thirty seconds, one of them was at my side, wanting me to "taste". Even Val got into the act, although she's not walking yet, so she couldn't ask for a taste tester. What fun we all had, though. It's such a wonderful thing to watch the little ones finding such joy in simple things like this.

Twirling Divas

The girls wanted to "dress up" the other day, so they both were "Princesses". They were pretending to be ballerinas and Hannah had a blast trying to teach Monkey how to twirl.

Presidential Questions

I try not to bring politics to my blog, but when I got this in my inbox today, I just felt the need to share it. Hope it strikes you as it did me. :)

A mother asked President Bush, "Why did my son have to die in Iraq?"

Another mother asked President Kennedy, "Why did my son have to die in Viet Nam ?"

Another mother asked President Truman, "Why did my son have to die in Korea ?

Another mother asked President F.D. Roosevelt, "Why did my son have to die at Iwo Jima ?"

Another mother asked President W. Wilson, "Why did my son have to die on the battlefield of France?"

Yet another mother asked President Lincoln, "Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg ?"

And yet another mother asked President G. Washington, "Why did my son have to die near Valley Forge ?"

Then long, long ago, a mother asked...

"Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem ?"

The answers to all these are similar -- "So that others may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom."

STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS!!!

Sweet Babies

The girls found this maraca in the toybox and decided to put it to good use - as a microphone! They were looking out the window, singing to the birds. They were just too cute to pass up the photo opportunity.

Singing to the birdies...

Hannah really gets into her song!

Just waiting for Val to take off and start walking.... She's been standing in the same spot for almost 30 minutes, but won't let go of her fears. One of these days, she's bound to take off!

Val = Cute, Cute, Cute!

After the struggle we had with Monkey, trying to get her to leave her hairbows in, Tavy and I decided to start Val off early. I wanted to start fixing her hair last week, but it simply slipped my mind. So this morning, after her nap, I went ahead and put her hair up for the first time ever. Her hair's almost not long enough for anything, but I finally got this cute little ponytail to stay. She's just too stinkin' cute for words! So far, she hasn't even tried to mess with it, which is awesome. I just hope she leaves it alone and gets used to it so we don't have to fight with her. :)

Credit Card Offer Opt-Out Information

I got a letter yesterday from a pre-screened credit card, and on the back, I saw that they have information on how to opt out from all those junk mail credit card offers. Here's what the notice said.

Prescreen & Opt-Out Notice: This "prescreened" offer of credit is based on information in your credit report indicating that you meet certain criteria. Credit may not be extended to you in accordance with this offer if you do not meet our criteria, including, but not limited to, meeting our income, verification, and ability to pay requirements. You have the right to prohibit information contained in your credit file with any consumer reporting agency from being used in connection with any credit or insurance transaction that is not initiated by you and the right not to receive prescreened offers of credit from this and other companies. You may exercise this right by calling toll-free 1-888-567-8688 or writing to the following consumer credit reporting agencies: Experian Inc. P.O. Box 919, Allen, TX, 75013; Trans Union, P.O. Box 97328, Jackson, MS, 39288-7328; Equifax, P.O. Box 740123, Atlanta, GA 30374-0123.

I thought this was pretty cool, since we get offers for credit cards almost daily in the mail. I shred them as soon as they come into the house, because we don't use credit cards. Hopefully, you'll find this information as useful as we have.

I'm SO proud of you!

Peter came into the office this afternoon to ask me if I thought his sweater might be a bit on the big side. He bought it last winter, and it fit him great then. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it absolutely hanging on him. He's lost around 65 lbs in the past year, without even trying! I'm jealous of his success, but am very proud of him and try to be supportive in every way. Needless to say, this sweater will be making it into the sell box first thing in the morning. Gooooo, Peter!!! You look GOOD!! :)

(BTW, the bookcase he's standing in front of is his latest achievement in the household projects. I think he did a great job!)

Sisterly Love

The babies are getting so big! They were playing the other day and I managed to sneak a few shots of them. Too, too sweet. :)