A Very Merry Christmas

Whoooaa! The holidays are officially over (okay except for New Years but no stress on that one)! Well I guess they're not - we have one more Christmas with Tiffany, Jim, & the twins & then it'll be over. This year it has been exhausting! But all that matters is the kids were so pleased this year. They got a Playstation 2 & have had a blast playing that. Apparently Santa thought they were good kids this year. :)



We even were able to try our first gingerbread house. It didn't come out all fancy like the box but we thought it was cute. I think next year we'll use the hot glue gun.

Now on to the next mission - Kalli's 8th birthday. We're planning her a party at SkateLand in Monett. This will be her first year inviting friends so I hope a few of them are able to come. She's even letting Dylan invite a couple of his friends too. I just cannot believe my baby is turning 8.

Christmas time is coming soon...

I've been busy lately so I haven't had much time to update my blog so here's a little run-down on what's been going down.

Last weekend we went to see the Santa train. Both kids got to sit on his lap and tell him exactly what they wanted. Dylan told him he wanted a PS2 and Kalli wanted an Amazing Allison doll.



This week Dylan had his Christmas program. He was the cutest darn reindeer ever! They sang several songs and then the reindeers took the stage for their performance.



Then to top off this week, last night we went to Silver Dollar City. That place is absolutely beautiful at night with all their Christmas lights. Although most of the pictures we got were blurry (haven't quite figured out the thing yet), we did get some good ones. Oh - and the kids got to make a sculpture hand while we were there & loved that! They turned out really cool looking plus we can always look back and see how small their hands were.

Oh my Freakin' GOSH!!

I cannot believe it. I am still in utter shock. I was just so NOT expecting this. I made it. I actually made the cut for the Design Team at Scraplove. (now I have even more reason to be on there all the time) Emily & I were the two chosen to start out Scraplove's first design team. This is just all so crazy to me. I worked for 8 weeks with such awesome & talented scrappers and it's been nothing but a fun & growing experience for me. I cannot praise those girls enough - all of them are awesome. And to Monica & Flamy - you girls rock! Not only for letting me become a part of their team but for giving us all this opportunity to have fun & do what we love!

tag you're it!

I was tagged by the talented Ashlee, so here it goes...

A - Available or single: don't they both mean the same??
B - Best Friend: Tiffany
C - Cake or Pie: pie (key lime - yummy!)
D - Drink of choice: Pepsi
E - Essential Item you use everyday: deodrant :)
F - Favorite color: pink
G - Gummy Bears or worms: worms
H - Hometown: Aurora
I - Indulgence: junk food
J - January or February: January (Kalli's b-day)
K - Kids & Names: Kalli & Dylan
L - Life is Incomplete Without? my kids
M - Marriage Date: none
N - Number of Siblings:1 sister, 2 brothers (all younger than me)
O - Oranges or Apples: oranges
P - Phobias or Fears: losing someone I love
Q - Fave Quote: Don't worry, be happy. :) (that's all I could come up with)
R - Reason to Smile: today is going to be a good day
S - Season: Summer
T - Tag 3 or 4 people: Bethany, Denise, Linda, Lori
U - Unknown Fact about Me: I have a tattoo
V- Vegetable You Don't Like: Peas (ewww!)
W - Worst Habit: not speaking my mind when I should
X - Xrays: teeth
Y - Your Fave Food: Chicken fajitas
Z - Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Pretty nice, uneventful day...

It started with us going to get Dylan's hair cut. Then we went to check out the house we've had our eye on in Mt. Vernon. We thought we would possibly make an offer today but after today's inspection we're not willing to offer what they'll want. We liked the house - just not enough to spend that kind of money to fix & update it. Which bums me out some. I really want to get into our own home but then again, I don't want to jump into something just because I'm impatient. Tomorrow we're looking again at some open houses so that'll be fun. I just hope when we come to the right house, God makes us know that it's the one.

The most fun part of the day though was driving through all the snow. It is absolutely beautiful to just gaze across the open fields with the glistening white snow - JUST BEAUTIFUL! I brought my camera & ended up with 53 shots. Here are just a few of my favorites:

I've been busy this week...

nothing like a good ole' snow day to help me get some things accomplished. Actually we've had 2 snow days which was kind of nice after going 2 yrs without any. I ended up having to work part of the day yesterday (& then working some at home too on work junk) but I was able to get most of it out of the way so today has been nothing but a lazy day. I love LAZY days! Actually now that I think of it it's not been real super lazy - I've done dishes, laundry, & clean-up everywhere but it's been nice. I didn't have to get up early & I made time to scrap. (the scan looks terrible & crooked - which it's not IRL).

Here's my new layout...

for the Superbowl of Scrapbooking over at Memory Creators.

I've still got one more to do for it & then come up with an "I wish..." titled layout for the DT contest at Scraplove. It's been fun doing these challenges & getting some scrapping done. It was really nice though to have this Thanksgiving break too just to kind of take a break & relax from all this scrapping.

What's going on?

I'm kind of bumming a little. Thanksgiving is next week and we are no where near being ready to decorate for Christmas. For as long as I can remember we've decorated the day after Thanksgiving but this year I don't even have a tree yet. I miss my old tree, my wood snowman, & all my cutesy decoration.


I've been busy this week with the challenges for Scraplove. I got to work with Laura on our Partner Challenge & that was awesome! She is a talented scrapper so I was so happy to get to team up with her. We got to collaborate on our design & it turned out really cute. Then I also was able to do a layout on the fire. Not a normal "pretty" layout but I did get some journaling out with it.

Oh & the other week I was able to do up a gift album for a scrap friend who's having a little girl. Hopefully she doesn't see my blog before she gets her gift & I hope she likes it!

I can SEE!!!

I can see, I can see, I can SEE! I'm not quite 20/20 but I can see to drive, wake up in the night & can read the alarm, & I can see in the shower. It is so so awesome to be able to see! I look a little weird (my eyes have big red spots on them) because the surgery bruised my eyes but WHO CARES? I can see! :) I just hope it gets better & better. Right now the only thing that has been hard is trying to read a computer screen at work all day. Something about the contrast in letters & white space just makes it a little hard to focus.

Today we started a new chore program at our house. I was really surprised at how excited Kalli & Dylan are but I'm not complaining. I gave them each a chore chart & let them try to earn stars throughout the week. The exciting part? - if they have 40 stars at the end of the week they get $2. Whooo Hoo! They are so excited. I think both of them had at least 10 stars tonight. I just hope they keep it up. Dylan was my main reason for doing it because he has a real hard time remembering to do homework & clean up his room. Now he has incentive for it. :)

I'm about ready to hit the bed but I wanted to post my latest creation for the Design Team contest at ScrapLove. The challenge this week involved using a CD cover for inspiration. As I couldn't find any of mine that I wanted to attempt to create, I went on a search & found a CD to use. It's a really simple layout but I was amazed that I forced myself to fit 6 pictures onto one page. Anyways, here's how it turned out:


I may be kicked off this week but Hey - I tried & I've actually gotten a lot of scrapbooking done. :)

I'm actually doing it...

I'm having Lasik done on my eyes- TOMORROW! I've been saying forever that I've wanted it, just didn't think I was ever able to have it done. I'd been told before that my cornea was too thin & I just wouldn't be able to have it. After getting all sorts of measurements taken at my appointment on Wednesday, I was told that they weren't sure about me being a candidate for Lasik (that they would have to put my numbers into the laser machine) but I for sure could do the PRK. They said PRK was more painful and took longer to recover but that they both would achieve the same results. But good news was - they called me back & I can have Lasik done.

It will be amazing after all these years to be able to wake up & SEE CLEARLY! I'm excited but nervous at the same time. {Guess that's the hypocondriac in me} What really hit me hard on how bad my eyesight is was when I kept hearing the phrase "You are SO nearsighted" and also when they told me my eyeglass prescription was 20/60 (old old glasses that I knew were not the right strength). The doctor then mentioned that you couldn't pass a driving test without eyes at 20/40 - so that was a real wake-up. I shouldn't even be driving with these ugly things.

Anyways after sitting & sitting & sitting & thinking about when to have it done - I opted for Friday. For 1) I had to leave contacts out for 3 days prior (they've now been out 6 days) so why mess up another week of wearing these ugly, embarassing glasses, & 2) I didn't want to mess up Thanksgiving weekend, & plus 3) I won't have to miss hardly any time of work. A half day for the surgery & then whatever follow-up appointments.

I'm just so happy. I can't even believe that tomorrow I will be able to see better. This is going to be so awesome to be able to wake up & see. Not have to fumble around for glasses or stick contacts in.

Design Team Challenge...

It has been {so fun} working on these Scraplove challenges. Each week they give us a challenge and test our abilities to try & find people to become a part of their design team. I really doubt I'll make the cut but at least this gives me incentive & ideas to scrap. This week's challenge was "One of Each". Quite a {scary} challenge if you ask me but here's what I came up with....



The layout is a picture of Dylan at our very first Springfield Cardinals game. I had a couple front shots of him with the field behind him but {I loved the perspective of this one} with him taking in the whole experience. I got a little creative too with the journaling block by making the background the stats from the Cardinals' games.

Lucky enough for me though, I got immunity this week because I picked one of their favorite manufacturers - KI Memories (and I love love love them too). Anyways, I'm excited to see this week's challenge so I can get busy & come up with something.

New fall pictures!!

I so love it when it's fall! It is the perfect time to go out and shoot some awesome photos. Today we went over to Tiffany's and let her take some shots. They all turned out really cute but here are some of my favorites. (Oh & if you notice all the Kalli shots - it's because she is a total poser!!)

This one just makes you want to smile. They all look so happy! Lexi & Dylan don't look too thrilled getting another picture but Riley sure is having a good time!

Here's my poser girl! She's quite the cutie though isn't she?

I love this full scenery with both kids! Tiffany really did an awesome job with this set-up.

Here's my handsome young man!!

Kalli once again! :)

House fires really do suck...

Well I don't know where to really start. It happened to us on August 15, 2006 around 3 am. Jerry had fallen asleep on the couch & woke up because he smelt smoke. When he got up & looked, he saw a red glare on our wall from our garage. He ran & looked & thought it was the mower on fire so he ran woke me up & we got the kids up & ran out the front door. The smoke detectors went off just as we were running outside. I just thank God that he woke Jerry up with the smell because we wouldn't have been able to get out the front door had we waited for the detectors to go off.

As soon as we ran out the doors we had grabbed keys & moved our vehicles across the street. By time we were across the street our whole garage was gone and the flames were coming out of the roof. Jerry had called 911 as we were running out but by time they got there, the fire had already went through our south side of the house. It was the most horrible thing to sit across the street unable to do anything & no one there to just stop it. They were able to stop it before it reached the entire north side with the 3 bedrooms but everything that did not burn up is water, heat, or so far smoke damaged it's not salvagable.

At first all I could do was cry. Now that I've not been to the house every day, it's getting easier. What I just focus on now is that WE ALL GOT OUT SAFE & THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS! We can replace stuff, we can't replace people.

We finally found out last week that the insurance adjuster totaled the house. Which is good - because that pays off our mortgage and gives us money for a down payment on a new home. It just really stinks to have to wait though. Apartment life is really not for us. The kids have had a hard time just because there is no where to play out here (besides the parking lots & street - which I won't let them play on). But - it is a place to live and we've only signed a 3-month lease so we are not stuck here forever.

We are still inventorying everything which really SUCKS! I mean, you would think when they total a house, they'd be like okay - total contents too & give them the total coverage on that but nope. Real bummer that they don't do it that way because the spreadsheet we have to put everything is seems like a never ending job. And we have to replace everything within a year to get the depreciation back - okay this stuff has accumulated over 8 years and yet you're supposed to get it all back in one.

But all in all - this has been nothing but an eye-opening and learning experience for us. We have seen so much generosity in people that truly is unimaginable. It truly is amazing the help that everyone has provided us. People who didn't even know us offered to help. It really is amazing how generous and loving people are.

So I've been slacking....again...

Not much up since the last post except I JUST GOT BACK FROM MY VACATION TO CANCUN.

Me & Tiffany flew out on July 26 from the Springfield airport. We had a connecting flight so we hit Memphis & then straight to Mexico we went. Definately a whole new world out there. The most amazing was how stinkin' HOT it was. Like you would walk outside & immediately be sweating & feeling like your cheeks were burning. Yet people who live there were walking around fully clothed in jeans & long sleeved shirts.

Our hotel was really awesome.
We had a beautiful oceanfront view from our 7th floor room & were able to capture some really cool photos.
Only thing we didn't care for was the toliet not working the first two days (which we kept on them until finally we were in working order) and the food was really not that great at all.

We had thought with it being all inclusive, we'd eat like crazy & try all kinds of yummy new things. That wasn't what happened. We actually ate less than normal (lived on the chips and guacamole) and drank less too (pop, that is). And we didn't even have mexican food at our hotel (okay besides the chips & guacamole). Is that not completely crazy? We're in Mexico and don't even get to pig out on Mexican food. I did, however, finally get some fajitas when we went out one night & ate at Planet Hollywood.

Funniest was that we were always questioned on if we spoke spanish. We had a couple times the waiter would come up to us, say something in Spanish, & we'd be like "yeah, we're done with our plates, you can take them" but as we found out - that wasn't what he was even saying. He was actually complimenting us "pretty chicos".

Another funny was when we both seriously got worried that we were going to get scammed. We had been walking along the beach when some guy came down and gave us a price list for a massage. They were offering a free 5 minute massage and tried to entice you into buying the full body massage (which wasn't bad - 1 hr for a full body massage = $45). Well after our 5 minutes we were all into getting our massages, right there in a hut on the beach. So, without thinking, we both strip down to bathing suits and stack clothes and wallets on a seat at the end of the massage tables (YEAH! NOW I KNOW HOW CRAZY WE WERE!). Then we both hop right up on the tables face down without even thinking about what may happen to our stuff. The massage was AWESOME and felt so good but we were like grease balls walking out of there.

All in all, it was a great trip. I really missed my kids but it was nice to get away too & just relax. We got to see some pretty sights and just take time for ourselves so that was awesome.

Huh??

What's this?

I am like the worst blogger ever...

I seriously forget this thing is here. I had every intention to use it frequently just to have events jotted down with dates but it just doesn't happen.

Anywho, I guess I can write about my upcoming trip. Me & Tiffany have booked our vacation for Cancun, Mexico for July 26-31, 2006. We are both so friggin' excited we can hardly contain ourselves. After much worrying & fretting, we are now booked in the Riu Caribe Hotel there. From all the pics, it looks really nice so we're hoping it is as nice as it seems. The trip is all inclusive so we're super excited about all the food we can eat - nice huh? we go on vacation & get all excited about chowing down. Oh well! It'll be fun. I just hope we can do a lot & get a lot of great pictures. Woo hoo! I can't wait. 28 days left!

Kalli & Dylan are in their last week of summer school. They are excited. I'm excited just not that they are going to be in 2nd and 1st grade. My babies are getting big. :( They've both found out their teachers for next year. Kalli has Mrs. Hoesch (formerly Sapienza) who was her summer school teacher KG year - which she loved & Dylan has Mr. Brown who both kids love.

What else? What else? Well there's not been anymore accidents. No broken bones, split open eyes, etc. and we haven't really been to the doctor's for anything really major (THANK GOD). We just hope it stays this way!

This must be my bad news bulletin board...

I just realized tonight that I haven't posted in a while & that I had a few things I could write about but when I got to thinking about what to post, I realized it's all not so fun things. :-(

First was our encounter with Kalli & her hospital visit for her stomach pain. I had put her off for 2 days thinking it was just the stomach bug. Finally though when her pain became so unbearable, I loaded her up to go to the Monett Urgent Care. We were finally seen & from the position of her pain, we were told to immediately go to the ER (in Aurora). Her pain was located where her appendix is located & therefore they were worried she was having problems with it. Well about 3 hours later, we find out she doesn't have appendicites but that she had a cyst on her ovary. Yeah - that's real odd for a 7 yr old. I called her regular doctor the next day. He had reviewed her charts & although he did see the cyst, he felt she probably did have a stomach bug along with her cyst causing the pain. :-( She was feeling fine and back to normal 2 days after the ER visit and hasn't complained since. :-)

Hmm, let's see what's next? Oh yeah - our remodeling. Yeah it sucks. Not that we will have our bathroom & laundry area remodeled but that we are even having to do it. Turns out our crappy washer ruined our laundry floor - gross black mold on the sub floor AND it turns out that our crappy cracked tub has ruined our bathroom floor - once again - BLACK MOLD :-(. Odd thing about that is the cracked end of the tub wasn't the end that was nasty, it was the opposite end. I do think it's good that we'll get to get it all fixed but I really am not looking forward to it especially if Jerry thinks he'll be Mr. Fix It. We'll probably end up putting the ceramic tile in the bathrooms and doing wood laminate flooring through the laundry, dining, kitchen, living area, and hallway & then eventually into the rooms too. Good deal of that will be NO CARPET to stain.

Next thing is I've got pink eye - once again in my left eye. I went to the doctor yesterday & got some drops that really seem to be clearing it up BUT he recommended 6 days of clear eyes before using contacts again. Now this IS NOT A PRETTY SIGHT! I hate my glasses & not to mention I can't hardly see in them. The prescription is old & no where near as defined as my contacts are. PLUS I look like I'm peeking out of pop bottles - SERIOUSLY! Oh yeah, & I get told the other day - "You look smarter with glasses." Okay thanks - now does that make me dumb looking without them?? Everybody says I look good in them but they are all LYING. I look like crap & I know it. I think as soon as my new contacts come in, I'm switching so I don't have to wear these dang glasses anymore. {Maybe I should put a rush on the order}

Not a lot happening with Dylan - surprisingly enough although tonight he tried to kill himself. We've always had a problem with him trying to open the car doors as soon as we barely get the car stopped but tonight he goes so far as falling out (landed on his feet thank God!) as I'm pulling in our driveway. What astonishes me is that it takes this same child 45 minutes to get in the vehicle but he's out of it in 2.0 seconds. What's up with that??

Mother is having her cataract surgery Thursday so I just hope & pray that helps her with her vision. I know the feeling of almost being blind & I would never wish that on anyone. I just hope she heals quick & can see better once it's all over.

Good news - which I haven't even gotten full definite time yet - is that Jim (my brother) is coming back from Iraq either end of this month or next. He'll go straight to California when he gets back but he'll get leave time to come home. The kids are really looking forward to that. They love their dorky Uncle Jimmy.

Oh yeah, & little brother, Thomas, is coming home this weekend. He's been away at college for a full 2 months & finally gets some time off for his spring break. Kalli & Dylan are ready to see him too.

That in a nutshell has been my life lately. Kinda crazy, kinda chaotic, but then that's NORMAL I guess for me. I just hope we can make it through this month without any major problems. :)

Hmmm.. What's up now?

See I've fallen behind on my blogging. I really forget about doing it. I need to like plan on making a post at least weekly but we'll see how that goes.

I forgot to post about Dylan's spots {now that was nice & stressful}. The week before Christmas Dylan broke out with this rash like thing with blistery bumps wherever he would scratch. I was totally freaked out & ended up calling Urgent Care. The nurse had figured he had a mild case of chicken pox (although he had the shot). Well then like 2 days later, Kalli gets this red rash all over her back & has a super sore throat. We go to the doctor & find out Dylan probably had an allergic reaction to something but Kalli had strep throat & scarlet fever. Ugghh! That stunk because like two days later, I got strep throat & ended up in Urgent Care so I could get something so I could actually swallow. Jerry thought he got it too but didn't find out until after it cleared up on it's own, that in fact, his was strep too. Thankfully Dylan never got it!

Kalli's had a blast on her birthday (actually the day after - a Saturday). We took her to Springfield's Incredible Pizza and let her chow down & play all sorts of games. Plus she got to see Grandma in Branson, Grandma, Tommy, Jessie, & Grandpee - so that made her birthday even better too.

Well since I forgot to post about it, I'll post it now: Kalli got the okay to return to her regular activities on January 25. The first thing out of her mouth? "YES! Monkeybars!" Not exactly the kind of thing a mom wants to hear after this whole ordeal. She kept telling people that day - "I'm free, I'm free" so apparently she's pretty pleased that she can be a regular kid again. Her scar is definitely noticeable and huge (compared to the size of her small arm) but we can live with that as long as she doesn't have problems with her arm. Dr. Aston said what happens now is her bone just starts growing up around the plate & screws {kinda gross to think of that} and that nothing will need to be removed unless it becomes really irritating and itchy {which I hope & pray to God that it doesn't!}. We'll just have to do some explainin' whenever we go to the airport because she'll set off the metal detectors.

Not much else happening. We've had some fun doing taxes and getting money back but really it's just disappointing. Disappointing to know that you get so much back & then it just goes right back to paying the darn bills. Maybe one of these days we'll be debt free though {or at least we can dream of that}.