Blessed

The world is full of good people. Great people actually. A new friend I made on Scrapbook.com is an incredibly talented crafter, so much so that she continues to win contests! She decided to "pay-it-forward" and chose me to send a package of scrapbooking supplies to. How exciting! I have to show you what all was in there...
there is enough paper, stickers, embellishments and ribbon to complete the entire album she also sent me! (Plus more!)
In the handmade card she included she shared her idea that I could complete a summertime album of all the fun things the kids and I have done over the summer. Better get moving on that one, but there are lots of pictures we've taken of our crafting days, pool days and just playing around the house together. This will be so much fun! I am so excited... and very glad I've still got 3 weeks off work so I can finish this so we can remember all the fun we have had during my recovery after surgery!

I feel very blessed by God to run into people like Deana... people whom you may never meet in person but who grab each and every opportunity to brighten up someone's day. Thanks Deana for being the bright spot in my day.

The loudest place on earth

So, my vote is for Libby Lu's at the Mall. Catherine had her 5th birthday party there today and she had a blast. It was the first time she ever went so that made it even more special. All she has talked about for the past 2 months is getting "hairlights" as she calls them. We get there and find out that's not included so we purchased the thingy that does them. Pink of course. She dressed up as Hannah Montana of course but the girls were all a little shy and wouldn't dance in front of the store in the mall. I think that's probably a good sign that she won't turn out to be a table dancer. So I'll take that. The girls all got their hair, makeup and nails done. They also dressed up and were able to pick out 5 things out of the goody baskets (containing about 1 million toys) and got a bag to take home. You can't see it but she also has glitter hairspray in her hair with her pink "hairlights". You can also see Alisha pregnant at 25 weeks with Ethan!
Catherine and Madison. So adorable. It is fun to be 5. Especially if it involves glitter.

Catherine turns 5!

First of all, I apologize for the changes in font type and size. I don't know what's wrong with this site.

Today our little sweetie turned 5! Seems like only yesterday we were trying to hold off delivering her prematurely, but of course she had other plans. 7 weeks early and weighing in at 5 pounds 1 ounce... she definitely had a mind of her own even then. So, she celebrated at daycare with cupcakes and then Daddy took us out to eat at Fire & Sticks. After we arrived Catherine decided she only wanted chicken nuggets and french fries, which earned Mommy a stare from Daddy. What can I say? Anyway, here are some more pictures from our night. Catherine was NOT happy about the hat thing... but played along anyway.
She loved her birthday cake, it was delicious.


Sam was very scared when the "cooker guy" started up the grill. Actually, Sam was scared at everything the cooker guy did. When he was starting up his act and bounced his wooden things on the grill and made a loud bang... Sam jumped so high I thought he would stab himself in the eye with his fork! He is such a good eater, he enjoyed everything but mostly he just sat there like this...
We went by Grinny's after the restaurant and Catherine opened a lot of presents there. Daddy didn't tell me to take my camera in, so we've got a sum total of ZERO shots. Thanks Dad. Here is Catherine and her Daddy at the restaurant.
TOMORROW, I'll take a few shots of the butterfly stuff she got, it's adorable! I'm hoping Grandma will help us put it up!

Back at our home we had Mawmaw Bessie's (93!) famous "black cake" that she makes for each and every grandchild every year. I'm not sure what she puts in it but I know it has mayonnaise and tooth picks. Catherine then opened her gifts here. You've got to love this adorable handmade hair bow in the shape of a Butterfly! Thank you thank you thank you Aunt Susan! It arrived on her birthday and she was SO excited. We love it! Perfect color too, not that it would make any difference to this girl now! It ain't coming off her head! Have I mentioned previously that this girl is obsessed with butterflies? (I thought so...)Her gifts were beautiful... lots of butterflies to decorate her room and beautiful curtains with butterflies tied on. She also got butterfly earrings from Daddy which are her favorite birthday gift, along with her absolutely adorable butterfly hair bow from Aunt Susan.




Ok, so I think I've had my fill of Hannah for one day. How long does this phase last anyway? Catherine doesn't even know Hannah Montana has a tv show! Shhh... don't tell her! =X

Growing Up...

So now we have pierced ears. All of the girls in our family. Catherine decided she wanted to look like Mommy and big sisters Caroline and Kennedy (at dad's house). Yesterday, I took her to the mall and she picked out her favorite earrings, little pink stones shaped in a circle. Of course, I wanted the diamonds, but this girl has a mind of her own. The "marking" process took quite a while to do, evidently Catherine's ears are not exactly the same. Not the same at all, according to the piercer girl. She kept marking, stepping back and looking, shaking her head, and wiping the mark off and remarking.Five years I've lived with this little girl and I never knew she had such a flaw. (That was a joke). ANYWAY, we wanted 2 piercer girls to use their magic guns at the same time so we wouldn't go home with only 1 ear pierced if she changed her mind halfway through. For those that don't know Catherine, this would have been a real possibility! So, guns in hand...
Catherine still smiling and Mom holding her hands and terrified... kaChink~!~ All done! She made a tiny little face for a nanosecond but was so excited that she hadn't screamed (she had warned me she would) or cried she was just ALL SMILES! So cute! I'm SO proud of her!
I had no idea my hair looked like a lion's mane or something from the back... will have to do something about that when I can sit in a salon chair for a couple of hours =/
Thanks also to Tyler and Alisha who accompanied us on this monumental trip.

We then followed things up with visiting LibbyLu's to sign Catherine up for her 5th birthday party for next weekend. We also signed her up for the VIP (Very Important Princess) club.The music was so loud in there, I think my heart actually started beating to that beat. Fun place, *note to self~~> put Tylenol in purse for next weekend*

Well, was able to find some Bazzill Papers I need to continue working on Tyler's scrapbook... and some of the other layouts I have been wanting to do for the other kids (sorry Tyler). I hope to get them completed this weekend maybe.

Still very sore, can't even explain what it still feels like, but let's just say: riding in my minivan for all our errands and sitting to read books to the kids on their floor is NOT comfortable. It will be 4 weeks tomorrow so I don't know what is going on exactly but I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow. I know I'm optimistic but I really thought I'd be all better in 3-4 weeks max! No wonder they told me I couldn't work for 8 weeks, but I didn't want to hurt this entire time &%#(%^&!!! I mean, I have got places to go and things to see and projects to complete. *sigh*
Anyway, thanks EVERYONE for all your support and encouragement and prayers. God does work in His own timing...

It's An Illness

So now we know... one cooped up mom, 2 preschoolers at daycare (after 3 weeks of being home with mom), full tank of gas, 3 scrapbook stores in Winston Salem... and away we go!
I purchased this from Scrapbook Traditions and Enchanted Cottage. Also ran by AC Moore.

I discovered why scrappers rave about Bazzill Papers. I ended up in the card stock corner at my not-so local scrapbook store (why they have it in the darkest part of the store I'll never quite know)... and tried to match up another color I have for my son's baby book. It is unbelievable how many shades of blue they actually make. To make a long story short, I just stocked up on Bazzill's papers and said I'm done with it. After seeing so many of their shades and lines, I can't imagine there wouldn't be the right color for my project. I also had to purchase their adorable Swatch Box... too cute. According to the label, I now have "swatches of more than 470 of their most popular colors and textures". Whew, wouldn't be able to sleep without getting that! Here's the deal, I have SO many photos to scrap that I just KNOW there must be some type of system or gadget or product out there that after purchasing said item... ALL my problems will be over! *looking over at 17 boxes of pictures* So, now you know how my mind operates, or not.

I am SO happy that I found everything I need to complete Sam's "broke chin" pictures from yesterday (see below blog). Can you believe it... the paper I chose is olive drab green and orange. Yep, you guessed it, Sam's wearing a RED shirt. So after I brought all this stuff home, I decided I'd just print his pictures in black and white, or maybe sepia. I hate loosing color but some of the best photos I've ever seen are in black and white.

Kevin picked the kids up at daycare and took them to Sir Pizza for dinner, so maybe I'll either take a nice, long and relaxing bath (I am SO exhausted, who would have known shopping could be so tiring), or I just might get this page done.

There you have it... my day in a nutshell. Pretty boring, huh? I'd like to spice it up a bit with my big big big news... but that'll have to wait until another day!

The Skateboard Wins

So, today turned out to be a little more exciting that I had planned. Sam decided he WAS old enough to skateboard on Zac's board, but realized very quickly that he might not have been. Evidently, he was standing on it trying to do some kind of "kick" and the board "kicked" him right smack dab in the chin.

Well, lots of blood and tears later, we went to the pediatrician and Dr. Myers fixed him right up. She had to cut off a little of the fat hanging out of his wound (I almost fainted!) and then applied DermaBond (glue) to his cut.
He did very well, only a little crying while she was manipulating his wound but didn't squirm or kick. Good as new... but the bad news is we can't go to the pool for several days (4?). So boo! Man, just when you think things can't get any worse. I'm very thankful he is OK and it's not bothering him at all. He walked in the house, went over to the blessed skateboard and said, "I'm not too little for this". Catherine promptly screamed at him and told him just what she thought of that!
So today we'll:

• cut our chin
• go to the pediatrician for DermaBond
• McDonald's for Happy Meal as a treat
• try to get back on the skateboard
• story time then naps
• make brownies
• make a craft (lots of stuff to choose from out of the craft closet)
  
• play outside in the sandbox (great distraction technique)
  
• watch a movie on DVD (give Mom time to regroup)
  
• play with Madison (and Alisha) when they come over after dinner
• quick shower for Sam, trying to avoid his Boo Boo and bath for Catherine
  
• lots of books in bed (Mom does this when she's feeling guilty)
  
• bedtime 8pm.
  

POOL

So, we never made it to the pool yesterday. Too much cleaning and meals to prepare and then there was naptime for everyone so I thought I'd put up a couple of pics from a previous trip to the pool.

OMG... I might just faint

OK, so the nicest thing happened to me today (and yesterday to be clear). I met a new friend on Scrapbook.com. I made a wonderfully fantastic new friend, Deana, who has this awesome blog. She keeps me going and encouraged about scrapping my families memories. Her scrapbook pages are so great, she won a contest where they sent her some fantastic new products from Paper Minx.

I don't know how to explain how someone else's generosity and compassion affect me, but if you're a "feeler" like me (born into a family of "thinkers"), it's just the best feeling in the world. It makes you want to get out there and do something nice for someone else. So, I just wanted to formally and officially say THANK YOU to Deana. Thank you for being who you are and doing what you do. People you have never even met appreciate your spirit and kindness. I hope one day to be able to run into you somewhere... at a CHA or other scrapbooking function would be even better!

The pic above is the night after my surgery (7/28/2008) when my little babies came up for a visit. They are used to coming to the hospital to see me at work, so at least that part wasn't intimidating. I did have an IV in my hand and was in the nice hospital gown, sitting in the hospital bed. They didn't seem upset by it at all. Sam just wanted to climb on the bed, play with the buttons to make the bed move and watch Sponge Bob on TV. Catherine was a bit more "concerned" and wanted to make sure I had everything I needed. She is such a little mother.

So, I came home the next day and rested for a few days being taken care of by my own personal nurse, my Aunt Dorris, (on the left and Mom on the right) who took WONDERFUL care of me. She brought a little gold bell to have next to me and wouldn't even let me get my own Diet Mountain Dew from the refrigerator in the mornings! She scrubbed my stove and planted Hostas in my yard that she had brought with her from her home in Asheville. To me, that's the best type of garden, shared from someone else's.


After I rested for a few days at home, we all went to see Tyler and Alisha's new house. Alisha cooked a delicious dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread and then served apples with caramel dip for dessert. She beats herself up about cooking but is actually a very good cook! No wonder Tyler wants dinner on the table when he walks in from work! If I had her cooking for me, I would too. Alisha is expecting my grandson in December, works full time and has Madison (4) to take care of. Did I mention that she also had to help move into their new house at 20 weeks pregnant? Tyler being the perfectionist he is, insisted they paint the entire inside of the house and do a few home projects before they could move in. My oldest... gotta love that about him! Want to include a picture of Alisha too so here it is...


Aunt Dorris played "Horsey" with Sam, evidently that is not in my list of things allowed after surgery and he was really missing some rough play. She is a fantastic Aunt and I miss her so much!
She also played dress up with Catherine, I'm not sure who had more fun. This is NOT Catherine's foot in this Cinderella shoe!
Well, these kids are whining to go to the pool. Going to take my camera today and hope to capture some summer pictures. We go back and forth between the kiddy pool and the grown up pool. It feels great to be out in the sun watching the kids swim and play together. Catherine makes lots of new friends each time we go (mostly with the mom's of little girls). Anyone who will listen to her butterfly stories... and YES, she did catch a Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly! She has also caught a Dragonfly and a Hummingbird Moth! Freak of nature, that girl.

Almost 3 weeks

since my surgery. I had some "female" surgery that you'd probably not be interested in (unless you're a gyn nurse) and so now I'm trying to recover at home, take care of my 2 preschoolers, keep this household running smoothly AND not overdo. My doctor says I should still be napping 1 time a day while lying down most of the rest of the day. Hmm... I wonder if he has ever had surgery while being a single parent. I think not.

So anyway,I tried to entertain the 5 & 3 year old in their bedroom for 3 hours this morning while Caroline and her friend Emily slept on the pull-out sofa in the living room, where the little kids usually spend their mornings. After that, I spent 30 minutes cleaning up the kitchen after Caroline's 16th birthday party last night and then played with the kids the rest of the day.

Tyler and Alisha stopped by for a visit, we had a nice time in this beautiful weather just sitting outside in the backyard watching the kids play. I love it when they come by... Alisha is beautiful carrying my little Grandson!