Kidz

I saw the littles Thursday and Yesterday, I can't get over how SILLY they are!

Julian keeps a running inventory on what cars are where, identifying all of the cars that he knows and who they belong to. We were at Starbucks, Mom, Dani and I all met there from work (and Dani from errands). The cars were parked side by side and Jules starts naming them "Boppy Da" (Grammee's Car), "Mommy Da", "Shasha Da" (Sherry's Car). Periodically throughout our visit, he'd go to the window and verify that they were still there and name them off again. SO SILLY! He's learning to say "AnnaBelle" instead of "Ablableble" for his sister. He will enunciate when prompted "Anna.Bella". At one point while waiting I was having him repeat words, he's getting better in his enunciation, but most of it is still Julian-ese. Cute and silly (possibly why he's doing it). Dani says that when he's not around Belle he speaks more often and more clearly. He's learned the sign for Tree and the signs for Fork and Spoon (probably so that we can squelch some of that "F" word stuff from my earlier post) and last night was signing "Tree" every time the staff at Chili's would put a "FORK" on the table!!! We laughed so hard when we noticed. He was giggling too, so I know he was giving us a show. When asked, he signed "Fork" properly.

Annabelle is in FULL Tinkerbell mode. She has - in a 24-hour span - "requested" ("I NEED a -----") a Tinkerbell jacket. Tinkerbell Wings ("for my back" "so I can FLYYYYYY"). A Tinkerbell phone (her "Roara" [Aurora] phone is missing and we are thinking her BROTHER might have put it in the trash, he's been putting random-non-trash items in there lately). I haven't told her I'm going to Disneyland because I know she'll bedevil her momma the whole time I'm gone with "I'm going to Disneyland with Sherry" but when I told her I was going to fly away on an airplane, she turned her back on me. She had been sitting with me at the dinner table, leaning on me, loving me and chattering at me and she physically turned her back! I noticed as my mom pointed it out. I took her in my lap and told her that I was not moving away like Grandpa Joe had to do (he's living in NC), but I was going on vacation, like when her Grandpa John and Grandma Lynn flew to Jamaica and came back with presents for her. THAT did the trick, the whole face lit up from the brooding eyes becoming beams to her concerned look transforming to a vibrant smile! I'm so glad I realized what was starting to bother her, before it took root.

I just hope I can find her whole "shopping list" but she knows that I'll try and "if they have one Could you bring it to me?" As for Julian, I'm thinking Mickey Mouse and Trains!

Long Weekend (and Gratuitious Links)

It seems as though it should have been a 3 or 4 day weekend with all I've squashed into it. We went met up at the Theatre with Emily and the girls to see Twilight. I was thrilled! We were all thirlled! It was a great movie! It wasn't spectacular in and of itself but it was Twilight...! It was fun watchin with a 12-year-old girl and her friend, you get a completely different perspective of the movie.... ("I hate what they did with his hair"... "Oh now they're going to make-out"... etc.)

That was after work (for me, after school for the girls) on Friday. Afterward we went to dinner at the Training Table (great food) and had a great time talking Twilight and Disneyland. We were with the little girls we're taking along with us so it was neat to be riding the high of one event and having another one to look forward to.

Yesterday we had planned to stay home and do little-to-nothing. On e we toured the pantry and refrigerator, we decided to run out and grab something quick for breakfast because we didn't have the makings for anything we were in the mood for here. As we discussed locations we wished we had a Chick-Fil-A here in town. All of a sudden, Cindy turned the car around, the doggies were in for a treat, because we were going for a long ride into the city to get Chick-Fil-A breakfast (which was TOTALLY worth the adventure into the city-it was DeLicIouS!) and then we decided to hit the store for a few groceries and remembered that we also needed dog food. What started as a quick errand to give the pooches a short ride and get some eats turned into a day-long shopping trip. We hit Michaels because they were there. Then PetSmart, Whole Foods and Target. It took half the day to do that bunch of gathering. Later we remembered that we didn't have a few recipes with us or a list of the ingredients for them so we had to return home and later we headed to Walmart for the last bits. We should have all of our Thanksgiving incidentals by now...

Today I met with my mom to give her the tags I made for her Thanksgiving treats for her coworkers. I also helped her assemble the bags of goodies... ok, so I tied them and tagged them... I helped. We decided it would be fun to meet at Starbucks and do it, that way I could be in town when Cindy got off work and could pick her up and Mom wouldn't have to come all the way out here to my place. It took a couple of hours to get it done and we had gingerbread and coffee (chai for me) and tipped well while we used the table. It was fun and we're super-regulars so the "kids" working didn't mind (especially since we know how to tip). After we had all of the packets assembled, there was some time before I had to meet Cindy so we went to Walmart to kill time. We looked at clothes and shoes for little-ones and found (and Grammee bought) some sweet Princess shoes for Belle.

I had to drive to the Airport to pick Cindy up and then I had to wait because she had a terrible time getting off... some slacker decided not to show up for their shift and not to call to inform anyone of their intentions. I had to wait in the Park-and-Wait area (where there are no facilities and I was beginning to regret the second cuppa-tea) for 45 minutes, but I had a bit of a snooze while I waited.

Once Cindy was off we went to get my car (which had camped out over the weekend at my sis' place. While we were there, Alex was playing his Wii and the kids had just roused from their naps and were feeling quite silly. Belle was taking inventory of her Tinkerbell things including her Tinkerbell Movie and Movie Soundtrack and finally decided she wanted her poster (from the CD) on her wall in her room (after being asked by both her mommy several times and me, the day we got the CD). Jules was taking inventory of My Keys ("Sha-Sha's Keys"). He knows his name now, "Judi Fop". There's also "Mommy Fop", "Daddy Fop" and "Ablablable Fop".... oh and when Tinkerbell isn't "Lella" (Cinderella); she's "Ablablable" (same as Annabelle). He's also very concerned when he finds a DVD or CD case that's empty.... he asks, very intently for the "C.C.".... It's all quite wonderful!

I'm now sitting in a darkened room, enjoying some sit-down, peace and quiet. Ahh.... Relaxation...

They Came!!

After a year of planning, paying and anticipation, our trip is just 18 days away and today, our travel papers arrived!

The packet looks just like the one we got when we went in April of '07, with a little bit of a different look to the Park Hopper tickets and the commemorative coin is a 2008 (instead of '07). Oh, and we're flying this time - so airline info is in there too.

It's so exciting any time we are heading to Disneyland but especially so this year because it's during Christmas. As I was mentioning to a friend the other day, Cindy and I have always wanted to go to Disneyland at Christmastime and every year we feel the same way -- it seems to self-satisfying to do something so extravagant at this time of year.

We had discussed and even requested time off in April this year after spring break ended (we learned our lesson after the crush of crowds last time). We were planning on going and hoping that Dani would let us take Belle and Jules or at least Belle. She wasn't ready for them to be so far away for so long at that time so we started talking about trying for Christmastime (close to Cindy's birthday).

Things got exciting when we shared our thoughts with Cindy's SIL (Emily) and nieces. Madison (11 at the time) and McKenna (just turning 7 then) were keen on going and Cindy piped in with "too bad you'll be in school, we'd take you with us if you weren't." {{Ok... when using this tactic, be prepared to back up your words because you might get this reply:}}

Madison's wheels were turning - you could see it - and she chimed in with "We're off track when you're going to be gone, we could go with you!"

Good thing we were prepared to back up our words. We did some talking with Emily and the kids, planning fun things to do and left lunch prepared to do battle with Mark (the girls' dad) to bully and cajole (his wife and girls did most of this) him into letting the girls come along with us.

At one point this year, economic crunch smacked down into our reality. They were going to give us money towards the kids fare/admission, etc. but things weren't looking good for them to be able to do so, and we were asked to find out what the penalties were to take the kids off our trip plan. By this time their airfare had been paid in full and the penalties would have been near $700 (not penalties but loss of money because we couldn't get a refund on their fare) so we told them not to worry, give the girls spending money and we had the trip covered.

Now, with just 18 days to go, paperwork in hand, I can hardly believe it's real!!! I'm going to leave the (most likely cold and possibly snowy) land of Utah and travel hundreds of miles to my favorite place on earth just so I can see ARTIFICIAL snow! If that isn't hilarious, I've lost my touch!

A 4-Letter Word that Starts With "F"

At 2 years old (as of Friday 11/14) Julian's newest verbal challenge has me in stitches. He now calls every utensil a Fork.

He doesn't pronounce the word as "fork"... no, it comes out as an entirely different four-letter "F" word that also ends with a "K".

You can imagine the conundrum when his mommy and daddy first heard the word. "Where did he hear that word?"

It was only later that they discovered he was referring to a spoon or a fork. Sometimes the word "Work" comes out as "F..." well, the Julian pronunciation of "fork".

We're all enunciating the "ORK" part of the word now, every time he says "f...." (you know), we agree and repeat "fORK"...

He'll get it, but there are sure to be lots of people looking his direction until then!!!

Twilight

I'm so excited. I'm going to see this on the day it releases... we're not doing the midnight thing - although that would be fun - because we're taking some tweens with us.

We've already bought our tickets and I'm taking off work early that day. I just saw the trailer for the 2nd time on the TV (I'd seen it many times on the computer) and that just made me want to shriek with glee...

Getting Closer....

It's just 3 weeks (and 6 days) until we leave for Disneyland.

In my wait I find that I'm being obsessive about trying to find any information on definite "must see" items for the Christmas season in Disneyland. I haven't found anything new but I look almost every day.

I want to know what the weather will be (not what the record highs and lows are...) while we are there so that I'm prepared. What if I go with all my "average daily temperature" stuff and find I need stuff for cooler weather or warmer weather??

I know, it's just that "perfectionism" that makes me and everyone around me crazy...

I haven't even allowed myself to think about traveling with an almost-8-year old and a 12-year old.... both girls. No, there won't be any D.R.A.M.A....!

Uh, wait, the 12-year old has been all drama since at least age 3!! What was I thinking????

Winter Gathering

I was prepared to take photos of snow covered trees this afternoon and while was playing with my camera, I could hear what sounded like running water and birds. I know there's no water nearby but there could be birds, so I wandered into the direction of the sound and looked up into the tree at the end of the parking lot and there were branches of birds, probably fattening up and gathering for the start of their migration south.

It was so cool to see and so overwhelmingly loud that I had to try to capture it on video. I managed to get a portion of it, and it doesn't exactly do the real life cacophony a lick of justice... but it was pretty cool that I had the camera with me.

And So I Voted!

I'm not really a "voter"... I mean, since I was 18 I think I can recall voting 3 times. But, I'm trying to be a better person and a more responsible American so --- even though I had no idea until the last minute how I would cast my vote. I even considered a write-in... but that seems like, oh, a cop-out. It would be a wasted vote, and though I'm not sure my vote counts for anything (the whole delegates thing has my head spinning) I did it.

I made sure I was caught up in my work so that I could escape a few minutes early - every minute counts when you commute 1-hour each way and there might have been a line. I was pleased and surprised to find that there was no line at the time I got there (I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten the same pleasant result if I were even 1/2-hour later.

It was a painless process. I hadn't been sure, even up to the moment of casting my vote, but I made a choice. I'll have to live with it, so I hope it was the right choice.

If nothing else, this (extremely long) campaign season and election were immensely historic. Gender, Race and Religion have been called into question, some were defeated, based on the above? I don't know? But this year has definitely been HISTORIC.

Santa Baby!

I know, it's just BARELY November... But I'm easily distracted and since I was supposed to make 3 birthday cards today, I was actually locating a surface on my scrapping table that I could possibly use... and I came across a piece of Rusty Pickle Christmas patterned paper. It had been hiding in a cabinet and had become scrunched in several places.

As I was pondering it's usefulness, I decided it would work well for cards, gluestick would hold it sufficiently down so that the crumpled parts wouldn't be too noticable if at all. I was off and running, making holiday cards.

I got to the sticker that said "Santa Baby" and although I didn't have a Santa, I was thinking of how to use the sticker anyhow, when I saw a pile of Imaginesce white flowers. They were half peeking out of a small stash of supplies I'd already used and I was reminded of Santa's beard. A red bling, some blue bling and a pink flower and all I needed now would be a Santa hat. This PP is riddled with Santa hats (although they look to the naked eye like harlequin-diamonds) Cut one out, fold it in half and you have a basic Santa hat. HOW you trim it is entirely up to you! You could just cut it in half instead of the fold but this paper was printed on one side only and I couldn't get that jaunty flip of the point if I hadn't folded it.

The trim is MM Snowflake trim. The bling is Darice (red/clear) and MAMBI (blue). I think the pink flower is American Crafts...

New !!

SCRAPBOOKER’S CLUB HOUSE ANNOUNCES:

THE NOVEMBER 2008 “CHALLENGES BY DESIGN” COLLECTION!

November 1, 2008 will bring a “Challenges By Design” Collection to Scrapbooker’s Club House.

We can’t wait to reveal the challenges that the SBCH Design Team has planned for November!

Come over to the Club House and see what the Design Team has in store to challenge you and get your mojo goin’! You’ll be getting layouts done and cards made…Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Come join us and be inspired & challenged: meet new friends, too. We’re the friendliest scrappin’ spot on the ‘net and for your convenience, we have a fully stocked store just stuffed with scrappy goodness!

Here’s where to find us: http://www.scrapbookersclubhouse.com/home.htm

And here’s the Challenge Forum: http://www.scrapbookersclubhouse.com/forum/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=13
The Scrapbooker’s Club House store: http://www.scrapbookersclubhouse.com/oscommerce/catalog/

Update

I had to drop out of the competition (below) because it's month-end at work and they've decided we all have to stay until all our edits are done. This means long, late days and less creative time. I shouldn't have procrastinated beyond the weekend, but I thought I could manage it under the wire again.... just goes to show that my theories aren't always that sharp!

Ah well! More opportunities are always around the corner!

Moving on to Step 2

Creatively Yours is having a 2-step designer search and I've made it to the second step. Here is one of my cards (my personal favorite) the other can be seen on the CY blog with my "mini bio"

Now I've got to get on that second step and get creating with the Layout Sketch!

I made this card for my coworker's birthday, she LOVEs H'ween so I did it up with my last-year's stash of Scenic Route papers, MM and Prima flowers, Imaginesce (black) bling and rubons and K&Co (TOT & Jack O') Bling. I put a black glittered "Happy Birthday" on the inside to complete the sentiment.

Surprise!! Free Concert....

It was Friday after work, I was driving around, trying to help my mom finish some last-minute things before she would be leaving for her vacation and Cindy called me and told me she got tickets from her boss to see Reba and Kelly. Well, not only did she have tickets ($60 tickets), but they were 11th row, floor seats!

The catch was that we both needed to get from clear across the valley, Cindy to pick up the tickets from her boss who was too miserable with a cold to enjoy her tickets and I had to drop my mom off at her car and get across town to meet up with Cindy at my sister's place (so that we could take only one car). We needed to do all this and get downtown by 8 pm (it was after 6).

I borrowed my sister's camera and was determined to smuggle it in in my bra if I had to. I'm glad I didn't have to because her camera is much bigger than mine!! I just hid it in a pocket of my giant bag that couldn't be seen in a cursory bag check. Of course, there were many others there with cameras so my "covert operation" wasn't really necessary.

The show was preceded by the swearing in of 14 new Air Force recruits, which was met with a heartfelt standing O and whoops and cheers of support. We are a pretty supportive state, and quite proud of our servicemen. We are home to Hill Air Force Base.

Reba & Kelly put on a terrific show, the stage setup was one of the finest I've seen in a long time and the musicians with them were amazing. The opening act was Melissa "Barbara Jean" Peterman.

Hilarious!

I'm so glad I got to see this show and although I was not really a Kelly Clarkson fan, I think, now that I've seen her live, I am.

It's OFFICIAL

Last night we finally made the last payment on the December Disneyland trip! I'm so excited!

It's been 18 months since my last vacation and I'm really ready for another one.

I've heard nothing but good things about Disneyland for the Holidays and I can't wait to see it for myself.

I'm aware of the possibility for rain and the probability for crowds, but I'm excited nonetheless. I've been there and experienced extremes of both, so I'm not worried.

I can't wait for December 8!!

For the First Time

My li'l man, Jules- he loves me, I know he does by the sweet way he runs up to me when I come to visit. He's such an exuberant little boy and full of cuddles. Today is the first time he's talked to me on the phone, and the first time he's actually said my name!

I was talking to my sis, my niece wanted to talk so she said "Hi" and started telling me all kinds of fun things they were doing right then (Mommy was cooking dinner and she and Julian were playing cooking) then I hear a "drive by" "Hi Shay Yah"! What a sweet moment. I remember it wasn't long ago that Belle was calling me "ShayYay" and now my sweet buddy can "say my name". I won't linger long over the fact that he said my best friend's name over a month ago, but "CiCi" (for Cindy) is much easier to say than "ShayYah"

He's just shy of 23 months and his vocabulary is FINALLY becoming more intelligible and it's mulitplied in just the last couple of weeks.

What a cool moment.

An Outing with Grammee

Today was a fun outing with mom and my niece and nephew. We had wanted to go to Liberty Park and the Tracy Aviary but it was chilly and rainy so we had a contingency plan, the Living Planet Aquarium. Belle usually asks to go four places, the park, the zoo, Lagoon and to see the "big fishies and the little fishies" so we were sure our plans would be fun for her either way.

As we pulled away from their house, I told the kids where we were going. She had asked if we were going to the zoo so I told her it was too rainy. She followed that up with a request for Lagoon, definitely too cold and rainy for an amusement park. I told her we were going to see the fishies. She informed me that the fishies were in the Quararium. Very good for a 3-year old!

We met with Grammee (my mom) and headed in the direction of the Aquarium (I still want to call it a Quararium) but we were very early so we filled some of the time with breakfast and song at Starbucks (we were having a grand time, especially mom when they played the old western classics). We didn't kill enough time at Starbucks, so we were trying to think of something entertaining to fill an hour. Everything I tried was met with comments from the back seat "I want to go to the quararium, where is the quararium?" "It's up the street" "Let's just go to the quararium up the street"

How do you argue that logic? You don't without a tantrum, and I didn't want any of those so I went to the aquarium and parked. I let her know that they were still closed and we'd have to play and keep busy for an hour. They did well for the first half hour because the rain let up a little and we were able to get out and do a little running and walking. When the drizzles came back and escalated to a downpour we hurried back to the Trailblazer and huddled under the open hatch while the kids played in the very back until they finally opened the doors.

Things went very smoothly, and Belle was very taken with the Jellies. As we left the exhibits, she asked for a Jelly from the gift-shop. I didn't know if we'd find what she wanted so I warned her that we may not find one, but we were both pleasantly surprised when we not only found 3 different plush Jellies to choose from, we found that one of them was pink and purple (her very favorite colors). We couldn't interest Jules in anything, every toy we would show him would get looked at, we would be told "no" and he would put them away.

We had just enough time for lunch before we needed to get the kids home to mommy and daddy, and Jules was just too tired to eat. He fell asleep not 2 minutes after we left Wendy's.

It was a nice outing, I'm glad we got to do it on a cold and dreary day.

A Good Score

Today was my day off. I did a lot of bartering of my daily tasks in order to get the day off just so I could go to the Making Memories Warehouse sale and I was so happy to be out. I got there 15 minutes early and waited very well (I'm not a patient waiter) if I do say so myself. Once inside, I was on a mission, I only had a few "must haves" in mind. Flowers, brads (not the teeny standard ones but different ones, unique, fun, beautiful... and trims, any I knew I didn't already have. I would also keep my eyes out for some of the Tiny Type sticker letters because I was feeling like a bit of a schmuck after the spring sale where Heather had requested some but I couldn't find any.

Today, I scored! Lots of Buttons and Blooms, a few 5th Avenue and Noteworthy embellies and trims, some gorgeous brads (flocked, flowers, etc.) and, and, AND.... the Tiny Type alphas!

I filled my box without a care for price - then it hit me, I have $100 cash in my pocket plus a few ones to get over the sales-tax hurdle... Ok, pull out some things that I don't REALLY need.... ring up the rest.... how much? $122??? Take some off. Add these (I am blushing to admit that this was about the tiny types - they were in my overflow pile)... $100.69? Good to go!

Oh, hey.... I have a few more $1's in my pocket, give me the rest of that stack of tiny types, I want some too.

It was a good haul! I got home and went through things, rearranged buttons and flowers, and discovered I really need a new system for my flowers and buttons!!!

I've got to put my thinking cap on for that....

Photos of Julian and Annabelle From the Wedding

On September 14, 2008, my nephew Julian and niece Annabelle were to be ring bearer and flower girl for their Aunt Nancy's wedding.

Julian was dressed in a sweet khaki suit and Belle in a pretty green dress. At the last minute, we were informed that Julian wouldn't be the ring bearer because they weren't sure that he would be able to do the task. My BIL and I were both disappointed but my sis was relieved. We all had our own ideas about his ability. Alex and I were positive he could have done it.

It was alright though, because he was not aware one way or the other, Belle, on the other hand had been excited about her performance as flower girl so at least she was still on the roster.

It was so fun to watch her take her job so seriously, not letting her basket of petals out of her sight.

She was adorable in her new (and rightly dubbed) "Princess Shoes" and ruffled socks. She was sad to have to take the lovely items off when the "party" was through.

They were both so sweet, and though our little 3-year old girl is going through a naughty phase they were both very well behaved and very patient throughout the long day.

A Notebook for My Mom's Vacation

I wanted to help my mom have a great vacation so I started finding things she could do. There were enough pages for a small book so I put some lovely Making Memories Passport line paper and embellishments to good use.

This book has 5 pockets for post cards, maps, notes and whatever else might be collected on the go.

Welcome!

Thank Goodness for Scrapblog! Isn't the header for this blog sweet?! I had a lot of fun designing it for this sweet new space.

I wanted a fresh start for my blog, so much history in the others, stuff I want to keep but no longer need to have public. So many creations scattered between 2 resources, I would like to just keep everything handy in one place.

Thanks for dropping in! More to come soon, I PROMISE!