Oh' Boy

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

Make a digital scrapbooking design

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-17T12:41:00.001-08:00

just thought you guys would like to see our Christmas Cards this year!!!

2 slightly different versions BUT ONE CUTE BOY!!!
HOPE YOUR HOILDAY SEASON IS FILLED WITH LOVE AND LAUGHTER!!!

halloween 2011

2011-11-05T09:02:00.001-07:00

Create a free digital scrapbook

3 year photo shoot

2011-10-09T08:15:00.001-07:00

there were OVER 70 pictures from the shoot....these are my favorite :)

soccer

2011-10-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

someone started soccer last week...
it was more like herding cats BUT he LOVED it
all the way home he kept saying
THANK YOU SO MUCH DADDY for letting me play soccer
(even though mamma signed him up I let Daddy have all the credit)

his team name is the Comets and his coach is a family friend... Coach Steve
there are only 6 players on the team and his cousin Kaleb is on the team too!!!
LOTS of LAUGHS
first game is next Sat. can't wait!!!
hope you enjoy the pics!!!

he practiced hard and wanted Chic fil a for dinner BUT was asleep before we got home

and slept til 9:30 the next morning!!!

b ball fun

2011-06-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

We got the chance to join Mia and Paw Paw at a

Silver Stars game!

Drew LOVES going to these games because he LOVES watching for the

Silver Fox!!!

HE LOVES the FOX!!!!

Drew wanted to sit with Paw Paw of course

they are BEST BUDDIES!!!!

Guess who came to visit DREW?

YEPPERS the FOX!!!

and Drew being the shy boy that he is (HA HA HA) he went right to him!!!

and cheesed it up real good for the picture!!!

He was soooooooo excited to see that silly thing!!!

Good thing Mia and Paw Paw know the FOX so Drew was pretty

much guaranteed a SURPRISE visit :)

you can't go to a game without wearing a basketball head :)

Mia dresses up for the games because she and her buds are a part of the Blues Sisters...

they hype up the crowd in their area!!!

Drew wanted to wear her hat all night BUT Mia had bad hat head!!!

Proof I was there too!!! :) Daddy had to work late so he was not able to make it :(

OFF TOPIC

but still exciting!!!

Drew planted the seeds to this Moon Flower about a month ago and we keep missing

the blooms because they bloom at night!!! BUT look what we found when we got home!!!

YAY!!!!

June 10th... my morning

2011-06-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

So I was on the back porch enjoying my

QUIET morning while my boys slept in....

AND THEN

THIS CAME OUTSIDE!!!

look at his BED HEAD!!!

so funny!!!

He wanted to pick his TOE-MAY-TOES so we did!!!

BUT he got MAD when I wouldn't let him

pick the green ones!!!

Then he broke into a performance of

Itsy Bitsy Spider...

THE ITSY BITSY SPIDER

went up the

WATER SPOUT!!!!

DOWN came the RAIN

AND

WASHED the spider out

OUT came the sun

AND DRIED up all the RAIN

and

the ITSY BITSY SPIDER

went up the spout

AGAIN!!!!

Then we watched our MoMMa bird

feed her babies

you have to whisper when she is around

WHISPER!!! SHHHHH!!!

THE END

to a WONDERFUL

JUNE morn-n!!!!

my modeling debut... HA HA HA

2011-06-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

this is more for grandma because she doesn't Facebook.
BUT
for those of you that did NOT
know I was the Plus size model
for my FAVE store
Bless Your Heart...
here are the pics

Can you believe that someone said we need YOUNGER clothes after seeing this pic...
HELLO
do you really think this 35 year old wants to wear a
NEON pink shirt????
YEAH RIGHT!!!
LOL

alrighty grandma that is about it...
there were also pics of my feet BUT
I'll spare you those BUT
my toes are super cute!!!
OK here is a few...

OK that is it!!!

It was fun BUT HOT!!!!!

crazy busy!!!

2011-06-06T19:22:00.001-07:00

I am sorry I have been a bad bad blogger...

But I do have good excuses....

It all started (back at the end of March)

with my nephew's 3rd birthday party.

Then ~ there was my brother and future sis in law's

engagement party!!!

This is my mom, grandma, my bro, & ME!!!

In APRIL.....

Then it was time for the party hosting to kick in....

FIRST I planned, decorated, and was one of the hostesses of a bridal shower for my LUVERLY cousin

Andrea!!!

The theme was

WHO is getting married???

Then I planned, decorated, and helped host a

Bridal Shower for my future sis in law

Lyssa.

The theme for this one was Country Chic.

In MAY

I went to a feather party

hosted by my

FAVORITE Giftique

Bless Your Heart!!!!

if you look you can see

my new feathers!!!

Unfortunately they fell out after about a week!!!

I also was one of the hostesses for this

future bride

Krystal!!!

We had a lingerie party at a local pub!!!

and then....

Bridal Shower (I am NOT a host)

for my future sis in law...

It was 50's housewife theme

so my side of the FAM

sported some fab aprons!!!

me and my momma!!!

Then it was my bday and Mother's Day on the same day!!!!

We spent the day with family and friends at my Grandparent's house!!!

Bubble guns were a hit with the boys!!!

My last hosting duty was for a friend at work!!!

She is having a baby girl and we threw her a

Baby Shower.... sorry no pics!!!

but it was cute!!!

ALRIGHT and then I got to attend some more parties...

This past Friday we had

the rehersal dinner for

Andrea....

here

Ken and I are posing before the festivities.

& YES my hair is REALLY RED!!!

(I let my hair goddess Abby do whatever she wants

and usually the last few weeks of school I get a

FUN color and cut!!!)

thank goodness my PrinciPAL is

cool with my craziness!!!

This is Andi and I

sporting our PARTY

STACHES!!!

WEDDING DAY!!!

and Andi was BEE U TEE FULL!!!

My little family before the ceremony!!!

JUST IN CASE you

needed a close up of Drew's

duds....can you see he is ROCK-n

some PINK CHUCKS!!!!

(yep that is how we roll!!!! :) * WINK *

It was a lot of fun!!!!

I think that about covers it!!!

As you can see

I have been going and going and going

for the last few months!!!

Lots of fun is planned for this summer so I will try to be a better blogger!!!

painting the porch

2011-03-14T20:38:00.001-07:00

today we painted the porch

WITH WATER!!!!

JUST SOME PICS

2011-03-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-03T17:52:00.001-08:00

What did Drew want to do on the first day of 2011???

PLAY OUTSIDE...
of course!!!

digital christmas

2010-12-22T08:52:00.000-08:00

This has been a crazy
CRAZY
last few days...
Ken and I were talking last night
and I haven't had a day to do nothing for 2 weeks....
between parties
graduations
parties
weddings
parties
my other job
parties
and out of state family in town
oh and did I mention parties....
SSSSOOOOOO....
I have not had a chance to mail out my cards...
I have them made!!!
took only 12 total hours for that (over a 5 day span)
So if you were one that got a hand delivered copy
consider yourself
LUCKY...
and for those of you that didn't
consider yourself
SERVED....

Favorite Christmas Pics

2010-12-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

Here are my favorite pictures from his Christmas Photo Shoot!!!

I can't really pick a favorite out of these!!!

maybe the last one...

quick update with random pics

2010-12-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again where we get really busy!!!
and it seems like every single weekend is filled with something
or another.
We have parties and carnivals and Santa and parties and pictures and parties.

We went to Santa the other night and Drew was not too happy
about it. He sat on his lap BUT cried the whole time.
SAD CRY... makes you want to POUT with him kind of cry
BUT
the funny thing is when Drew got off Santa's lap he turned around and said...
I want drums OK??? OK SANTA??? DRUMS??

it was SUPER CUTE!!!

Drew has moved into the TeRRibLe twos FOR SURE.

HE is a mess!!!
let me restate that...
HE IS A MESS!!!!!!

That picture pretty much sums it up.
He tells us...
I do IT!!!
I will NOT!!!
and NO!!!
a lot
but we have enforced the time out chair and that does the trick sometimes...

We have some news too...
Our momma duck is back and she has 11 NEW baby ducks!!!
So here we go again...
WE LOVE IT!!!
and DREW LOVES it more....
the first 3 pictures are from the front porch
right after feeding the ducks
and the NO
picture was when I told him we needed to go back inside because it was getting chilly....

I know these pics are WAY random BUT
I thought I would share some of the recent pics I have taken of him...
plus HE is TOO CUTE not to share...
right???

and is it totally wrong of me to like the NO picture the best???

thankful

2010-11-27T09:02:00.001-08:00

thankful

wow what a strong word
BUT
did I really understand the meaning of the word
until we had DREW?
I mean REALLY know the meaning...

this year I really thought about the word
I have been really
thinking about DREW and me and KENNY...
and that gets me ALL mooshy gooshy
this year ( and millions of more years)
I can say I am thankful for
MY LITTLE FAMILY
whatever and whomever had apart in this
dream of mine
that is what I am THANKFUL for

HOPE YOUR TURKEY DAY WAS WONDERFUL!!!!

Adoption and the our Family

2010-11-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

Since it is Adoption Month...
I feel a strong need to post about our family and how adoption has touched our lives!!!

Ken and I always knew we wanted kids...
we, like everyone else, assumed we would have them...
NO PROBLEM...
ha~ I laugh at that now because
it was the biggest problem EVER!!!
we went through years of fertility treatments
SHOTS SHOTS and more SHOTS
I had NUMEROUS surgeries and in office procedures
and I loss count how many miscarriages we experienced
Finally it clicked..
I woke up from an emergency surgery because of a bi-tubal pregnancy and
WHA LA
I said...
I AM DONE
THAT IS IT
we are adopting...
and so our journey to Drew began...

We adopted Drew through an agency in Houston.
It was not without some ups and downs BUT the end result was...
I became a MOM and Ken was a Dad-O!!!

Many people tell us..

OH that little boy sure is LUCKY!!!

and

I think...

YOU ARE WRONG!!!

WE ARE THE LUCKY ONES!!!

Ken and I

and our whole family

are the LUCKY ones!!!

and

I do not think LUCK

had anything to do with it!!!

I would lay awake at night praying that God would

grant MY WISH

to be a mom

and he did!!!

Ken and I went through OVER

6 years of infertility treatments

and UNDER a year

from start of paperwork to BABY DREW

of adoption process!!!

It was meant to be!!!

Our road in life was to adopt!!!

He set these plans for us...

Jenna and Joey and Drew were in our plans!!!

It was LUCK it was FAITH

it was a BLESSING!!!

WE ARE THE LUCKY ONES...
Adoption has touched our lives in ways we never imagined...
Drew has made our house a home!!!
Our whole family is blessed by the decision of Jenna and Joey!!!

I keep mentioning Joey and Jenna because without their courageous and unselfish decision
I would not have Drew!!!
He is the world to us!!!
We know that if we were able to give birth right now
(that would be a miracle considering my plumbing was removed this Summer)
that our love would NOT
be any less or any more
because we ABSOLUTELY adore this little boy and LOVE him with EVERY ounce possible.
We treat him and love him like he is our own FLESH!!!
He is my baby as much as he is Jenna's
He is Kenny's son as much as he is Joey's

Jenna and Joey will FOREVER be apart of our family!!!
They might not be at our Thanksgiving Dinner or at our Christmas gatherings
BUT
Ken and I do consider them apart of our family!!!
We think of them often and thank them for their gift!!!
Do you see how we are the "LUCKY" ones???

Jenna chose me!!!
Jenna could have picked
any of those other Adopting Family Books
and she chose OURS!!!

Still not sure WHY???
BUT...
It is the greatest gift that anyone could receive!!!

I would like to take a little time to comment about how it is
important to support couples experiencing infertility issues......
I can't begin to tell you how many times I heard someone tell us..
something really stupid!!!
I know they were not trying to be stupid or hurtful
but sometimes it was.
Don't tell infertile couples...

* OH it took me and (so and so) (x amount of) years to finally have (your cute baby's name)
instead say...
is there anything I can do??? or do you want to talk about it?

* OH you can always adopt...
it has a negative connotation attached to it...
and it is not a negative thing...
like it is a last resort or something and to BE HONEST it took us a LONG time to get to that point
to finally say OK we are done
WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH of all of these treatments
instead say...
So what are your options???
REALLY you probably don't want to bring the topic up at all because being infertile you feel isolated and you don't want to have someone else bring it up

* OH as soon as you stop thinking about it... you'll get pregnant
OK as soon as Kenny and I decided we wanted babies we thought about it everyday of our LIVES
you can't stop stressing about it when everywhere you look there are pregnant people, babies, baby commercials.... BABIES ARE EVERYWHERE people... and when you are on the track to get pregnant it TAKES OVER your life...
instead say....
nothing...let them bring the topic up
just be a good friend / loved one and listen

* YOU KNOW as soon as you adopt you'll get pregnant
not true and really less than 8% actually have this happen
instead say...
OH congrats I am so HAPPY for YOU that you are adopting!!!!

when the child is adopted don't ask
*who is the mother and father
the people that adopted the baby are THE mother and father...
they might not be the BIOLOGICAL mother and father BUT none the less they are THE MOM AND DAD
instead ask...
do you know anything about the BIRTH parents
also don't say...

*How could his/her parents give them up???
REALLY? I have had people say this...
they didn't give them up!!!!
the birth parents chose a better path for their baby than they could provide
and they PLACED them
instead say...
oh ALL of you are so blessed

and PLUS if you say that above stupid thing...
if that birth parent had not "given up" that child your friend would not be a MOM and/or DAD
right???

ALSO be careful when talking about your pregnancy in front of friends/coworkers who might be experiencing infertility issues because it is insensitive...
it would be like me talking about my awesome marriage while you are going through a NASTY divorce or me talking about how great and wonderful my parents are and you just lost yours...
does that make sense???

the only reason I brought this topic up
is because I was once in a VERY DARK place
about not being able to give birth to biological child and
these same things would just rip me up inside...
i know my friends and family LOVE LOVE LOVE me
but unless you go through it
AND I MEAN REALLY GO THROUGH IT!!!!
you don't get it
and so just be careful about what you say

I can now say
(with a HUGE grin on my face and tears rolling down my cheeks)
that I am no longer in that DARK place
Jen and Joey's decision
showed me the way out...
DREW was my medicine...
Being a MOM made me WHOLE again!!!

I can now go to baby showers without crying
I can listen to my friends and coworkers talk about their morning sickness and swelling
I can do all these things NOW!!!
NO PROBLEM...because I am a MOM (((SMILING)))

Adoption is a blessing
and for some strange reason has some
negativity associated with it...
Do not judge the birth families for placing their children
with adoptive parents.
That is not your job..
your job is to support their decision
for what ever reason that may be and to LOVE LOVE LOVE them.
That decision was not an easy one and they need your prayers and support!!!

When I was growing up...
I dreamed of my wedding and my husband and my kids and my home.

Did I have my dream wedding...
of PINK PINK PINK like Steel Magnolias
HECK NO because that was not what I wanted when I was 20 something
I had lavender and silver WITH NO BOWS AND ROSES

Did I marry the man of my dreams?
Well when I was little I wanted to marry a New Kid on the Block
SO we ALL know that didn't happen
BUT I did marry the man of my dreams... KENNY
he is the BESTEST hubby I could ever ask for!!!
I PUFFY HEART HIM!!!

Do I live in my dream house...
well let's see
when I was little I wanted to live in a Barbi Dream house or the house in Dallas..
OK so that too is a NO
BUT I do live in a home that is filled with LOVE LAUGHTER and JOY
so what else could I ask for

Do I have the kids I dreamed of
YES
YES I do
because when you are little you don't care if your kid is the
stuffed doll with the plastic head and the eyeballs roll back in its head when you lay it down
or
the Cabbage Patch Kid
(still have it)
so YES
YES I do
have the kid of my dreams
I might not have taken the traditional path to become a momma
BUT I do have a KID
and I couldn't have DREAMED of a
cuter
smarter
funnier
ONE

so as I finally wrap this blog up...
I just want to leave you with this...
ADOPTION is not for everyone
but for those of us that have
experienced it...
or LIVE it...
it is a blessing
a gift
a DREAM
or a
WISH
come true

AND

even though I feel like I have gone to hell and back

once or twice

OK maybe 3 times

I would do it

ALL

again knowing that

I would be Drew's

Momma!!!

Adoption has touched our lives in the most miraculous way!!!

I don't need any more wishes because mine already true!!!

HAPPY ADOPTION MONTH!!!

a day at the park

2010-11-21T15:26:00.001-08:00

We went to the park today and here are some of my favorite pics!!!

I made a smilebox too and it has a lot more pics...look at the bottom!!!

Create your own scrapbook

Sliding through

2010-11-13T06:57:00.000-08:00

Right now Drew is obsessed with parks....

I doesn't matter which one we go to...he LOVES to slide.
I think his favorite might be the Live Oak Park because it has a
PURPLE DINOSAUR
s
l
    i
     d
       e

He is becoming very independent and it is exciting and sad.
I am thrilled to see him discover new things BUT I am sad to see my baby grow up.
I was just talking to Ken this morning and talking about how
everyone comments how lucky he is to have us
and
Ken and i feel the
EXACT OPPOSITE
WE are so lucky to have him.
He makes us so happy and he MAKES us a family!!!
I <3 my DREW!!!!

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T21:08:00.000-07:00

just one more

2010-10-10T20:12:00.001-07:00

I keep playing in Photshop and wanted to share another CUTE one!!! i swear he could be a gap model or SOMETHING... too stink-n cute!!! and he KNOWS it!!! :)

2010-10-10T19:52:00.001-07:00

pumpkin patch and stuff

2010-10-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch today and had a wonderful time. Ken and I are celebrating 11 years of marriage today as well!!! It really doesn't seem like 11 years and today I was trying to figure out why these 11 years have flown by so fast!!! Ken and I have been through a lot together. Most marriages fall apart in times of stress and sadness BUT not ours. It never bothered our commitment to one another. We grew stronger and stronger with every bump in the road. I couldn't have dreamed of a better teammate in this game of life!!! OK no more sappy I LOVE KENNY STUFF....

Today we went to the pumpkin patch and it was a riot. Drew is definitely in an independent stage... I DO IT I DO IT!!! He yells but when it came to riding the train or the hay ride FORGET it. He cracks us up daily with his statements. Today we asked him to go pay the nice lady for his pumpkin and when he gave her the money he said "thank you lady!!" Oh my goodness... he is a nut!!!

After the pumpkin patch we went to Costco. The only way we can get him to go there without a fit is to tell him we can see Miss May. Miss May is an elderly Oriental lady who is so so sweet to Drew. She is a greeter at our local Costco and Drew LOVES her!!! Even though we know Miss May might not be at Costco we tell him we can see her and he will INSTANTLY stop fussing and say, " I stop crying to see Miss May?"
Today Miss May was not there but when we were leaving I told Drew to give the receipt to Mr. Mike so he could check it and Drew says, " Thanks Mike!!!' and Mr. Mike said You are welcome and Bye... to which Drew YELLS, "BYE MIKE!!!" oh my
He is also into asking what's that... What's that noise? or What's that sound? most of the time it is a car noise of some sort but it is still funny to hear... what's that sound? some every day noise that we are not noticing or blocking out are now on our scope because we might get What is that sound? and if we do NOT know it watch out... you will get the question over and over and over!!!

We have a baby duck that flew back to our house. The city rounded all the baby ducks up and took them to a local pond BUT one of the babies is back and is hanging out at our house!!! Drew loves it and since the baby duck is now grown up it resembles Momma Duck!!! SOOOO we call this duck Momma Duck too. We are currently trying to come up with a name for the duck BUT Momma Duck it is for right now.

Lately he wants go ride the airplane and Pumba. These are those crazy GERM infested kiddy rides you find at your local Toys R Us. We will be in the middle of dinner and he will say..."I go ride Pumba?" or if we are any where near our local shopping center... "I ride airplane?" OK now here is the funny part... he does NOt really ride them... he just sits on them. BECAUSE when you put the quarters in... this really LOW manly voice comes on and says "PARENTS PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN UNATTENDED" well that did it... that voice scared Drew so much anytime a quarter gets near the coin slot he freaks out!!! So he just sits on them!!! bright side is...saves me a few quarters!!!

His favorite toy is his Thomas the train. He talks to it too. He asks Thomas where he would like to go. and tells him where he will take hime. Drew also does play by play for Thomas...like Thomas you are going up the chair...WHHHHEEEEE and now you are going down....or ok now you are going to go up dad-os face!!!

He is also really aware of his surroundings while riding in the car. He loves to go under bridges adn yells out WE DID IT!!! when we reach the other side!!! and when we go down big hills he yells WHEEEEEE like he is on a roller coaster!!!

We also get an occasional HI GUYS!!! and he LOVES LOVES LOVES to call everybody by their name...like roll call... when we are in big groups... and if he doesn't know someone he MIGHT ask WHO THAT???

He is also in the stage of calling Ken and I by our first names... I think it is funny and correct him... Ken does not find it funny... doesn't help much that i laugh out loud about it!!!

I must say I am enjoying every single second!!! Even his fits crack us up!!! he sometimes has fake cries and literally BOO WHOOS. and sometimes when he stops crying he will let us know... I STOP CRYING!!!
I think that is about it... for now...

The picture below is probably my new favorite shot of him. It catches his stinky face!!!

Customize a scrapbooking design

little stuff

2010-10-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

We went out today and got some random pics!!!

Things have been a little crazy around here...

Drew bonked his head and got to go to the fire station... everything is OK

and now he just has a NICE bruise

and then

I broke my foot and I am in a FANTABULOUS walking boot!!!

we haven't really done anything picture worthy lately

BUT

tomorrow we are going to the pumpkin patch

where we take our annual

FAMILY PIC!!!

I love this time of YEAR!!!

sending love your way!!!

DREW DAY

2010-10-09T14:41:00.001-07:00

We went out to dinner a few nights ago to celebrate Drew Day!!!

my boys

Mia was posing (i think) not really sure what she is doing in this pic BUT it is the only one I have so here it is LOL

not a good night for pics... here is Nana and Pops

aunt Susanne and Espe came out to celebrate too

we took a good pic... i think!!!

slightly wordless wednesday

2010-09-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

wordless post about our evening

2010-08-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

Bye Bye Baby Ducks...it was a joy...

2010-08-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

So we no longer have our 12 baby ducks...

(teary eyed) they flew off a few weeks ago

BUT I do find the whole experience to be an absolute

BLESSING...

we don't live by a lake, river, or even a pond

so to have Momma Duck

lay her eggs in a bush next door

and

share the experience of raising them with us

was an absolute thrill!!!

We enjoyed watching them grow into

beautiful ducks!!!

Drew LOVED feeding them everyday and occasionally swimming with them!!!

It was such a wonderful experience!!!

Thanks Baby Ducks

We are happy to still see Momma Duck in our yard every night!!!

She is after all Drew's FAVORITE!!!

We have also found other babies in our yard....

today~ we found 2 baby doves...

so cute!!!

Drew liked them but then wanted to go talk to

Momma Duck!!!

they are super cute though...

we are crossing our fingers that Momma Duck chooses the same nest next year!!!

our little beach trip...my mini vacay

2010-08-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

We went on a TEENY TINY TRIP to Port A, Friday.

Ken's best friend was getting married and...

because Kenny couldn't get Saturday off

we made a day of it.

We got there at 4:30 and

were back on the road by 7:30...

so it was a VERY LITTLE BEACH TRIP!!!

bubbles, ice cream, and more

2010-07-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

SO.... while I have been recuperating from my surgery, I have been staying at

Camp Paw Paw's with Drew!!!

Camp Paw Paw's is what we call Mia and Paw Paw's house!!!

I am so so so very BLESSED to have my parents a few blocks over to help me and Ken!!!

While there we have had a lot of fun and laughs.

Here is a VERY small sampling of what we do while at

CAMP PAW PAW'S...

Kaleb comes over every once in a while to play.

The boys like to put flags out for all of the American Holidays!!!

They recently lined the whole sidewalk with them because my parents' neighbor passed away after a long fight with cancer. Her husband said she LOVED seeing the street lined with the flags.

So ALL the neighbors lined the street in her honor this week!!!

Drew recently ate his FIRST ice cream cone!!!

He has always loved ice cream BUT Mia put it into a cone and WOW!!!!

Kaleb and Drew always have fun when they are together!!!

Drew LOVES bubbles!!!

He picked out this Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear, bubble blowing gun!!!

He and Paw Paw had a GREAT time playing with the bubbles!!!

I don't have pictures for the rest of this BUT here are some updates:

~ Drew was being a toot the other day and was hitting Dori (the dog). We told him to not hit her because it will make her cry and he says "cry like this....whaaaa booo whooo whooo"

and YES he pretended to cry!!!

~ he like s to tell you to GET UP if you are sitting down and he wants you to go get him something

~ his new irritating thing is screaming... when you ask him something and his answer is no he SCREAMS instead!!!

~ terrible 2s have set in and TIME OUT CHAIR is being enforced... BUT when you put him on it he will tell you GET DOWN or NOW TIME (because we time him for 1 minute)

~ he has gained 2 or 3 pounds just in the last 3 weeks...which is ~~GOOD~~ GREAT!!!

he hasn't been gaining much wt lately but has been getting taller. When we asked the Dr he asked if Drew was active... active is an understatement... he runs laps around Mias kitchen island everyday and if Yo Gabba Gabba is on he dances and jumps with it the whole time...anyways the Dr. said to increase his calories so ice cream and milk shakes are on the menu now. The Dr. told us not to worry about it because he was so active BUT it wouldn't hurt to increase calories!!!

~ everyday this little boy blows my mind with what he can do...

1- knows the ABC song

2- can identify all of the letters (we have 2 sets of foam letters and you can ask him to get the H and he will search through his letters to get the H)

3- he can count to 10 and is currently working up to 20

4- knows all of his basic colors

5- is very well mannered

please, thank you, excuse me (when you are in his way), good morning, good abernoon, and good evening

6- has daily chores that he gets rewarded for

one is feed the dogs... he gets the food cup and goes with Ken into the garage to get his scoop and then comes back in and pours it into the dogs' bowls

7- he knows the streets around our neighborhood and can tell you which way to go to get to my parents and grandparents house...

mom and dad live about 4 blocks away and my grandparents are about 10 BIG blocks away

this amazes Ken and me every time we here..."turn here Mia and Paw Paw's"

and if you tell him no we are not going there right now OMGosh he is going to cry

8- he likes to read by himself

he LOVES 2 books called "Gossie and Gertie" and "Gossie"

my mom is a retired reading specialist and is amazed at how he uses the pictures to retell the book

he can read some of the words but basically retells the story using picture clues!!!

9- he loves to learn and currently we are working on recognizing the 1st 5 presidents... we started this on Sunday and he can name George Washington

10- he can sing along with a bunch of his favorite songs

mostly from Yo Gabba Gabba but some others are

Pink, Lady Ga Ga, Alabama, Micheal Jackson, Zac Brown, and others I can't think of at 12:30 at night

Well ~ this update is long over due so hopefully this catches everyone up!!!

Scrabble Your Family

2010-07-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

I am being absolutely TORTURED by
this BED REST...
a little surgery, something taken out, about 15 stitches, and a BIG OUCHIE results in...
BED REST!!!
but on the POSITIVE
I get to BLOG HOP a lot...
A LOT!!!

because of my (OK let's face it chair rest) BIG COMFY CHAIR rest

I can't really do any "crafting"
*sigh* BUT
when I was walking out of my bedroom I spotted something
I HAD crafted...
THIS...

I made my husband take all the PICTURES...

poor thing I made him take this outside to get a better shot of it!!!

I PUFFY HEART MY HUSBAND!!!!

Anyways... I got an old Scrabble game at the thrift shop and
Scrabbled my family...
I first laid out our last name

RIGHT IN THE CENTER

and everything else I built on to it
I really played around with it a lot until I was happy with the results...
I made sure my name and hubby's was on there...
SWT = our college
Copper Anne = our beloved pooch (miss her bunches)
October 10= our wedding date...
I lucked out on that because I used I and O for a 10
and then I just put words in there that meant something to us at the time...
I used the blanks for spaces like...
Walt Disney = Honeymoon
or I Do
we didn't have any kids at the time but that would be something you could add

once you get them placed where you want them...
just add a drop of glue...
my hubby took this picture of me pretending to glue one on... (smile)

while you wait for it to dry...
pick the place you want it to go and....

after it is completely dried...
place it on your rack and enjoy!!!!

mine is on my wall right outside our bedroom...
I really want to make another one of these because...
we have NEW memories with our son and we have new puppies too
HOPE you enjoyed my quick and easy DIY tutorial...
any questions just ask...
and I love comments too

WANT TO SEE MORE DIY PROJECTS???
head over to

and

AND

When is it my birthday!!!

2010-07-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

since I have been on bed rest

(small surgery) = *BIG OUCH*

my laptop has become my new BFF

and I so enjoy BLOG HoPpInG....to The Paper Mama!!!

This week's photo challenge is Make Me Laugh...

I pondered for a bit...

hmmmmm ( I have a bunch of funny pics) hhhmmmmmmmm....

and then it came to me...

the picture I chose...

I took this picture at my nephew's 2nd birthday party.

He is the one with the lollipop AND the car!!!

Look at my nephew's sticky face and hand on his new car!!!

Not letting either of them go!!!!

NOPE... It's his birthday!!!

& then there is...

my son...

looking at my nephew...

look at his face...

AWWWW (say it with me) AWWWWWW

he has NO lollipop AND no car

I can only imagine what is going on in his head...

I'm pretty sure it is...

WHEN IS MY BIRTHDAY?!?!

Head on over to The Paper Mama to enter your funny pic

to see other funny pics!!!

Boston Bee and ME

2010-07-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

Found a cute new blog that is after my heart.... Some of her favorite things are: ribbons, crayons (Crayola of COURSE), markers *those of you that KNOW me KNOW my obsession over markers*,children's books, tag sales, AND AND AND...flash cards. It must be a teacher thing... I PUFFY HEART all of those things too.
I especially LOVE old flash cards!!!
I love the beginning and the end of the year when teachers clean out their closets and put stuff out for free!!! I get a little excited over flash cards and globes!!!
SHHHH
don't tell anyone but I take them home!!!
Anyways, show my new blog friend some love and head on over to her blog!!!

BOSTON BEE

Christmas in July... well sorta

2010-06-28T14:10:00.001-07:00

I bought a whole forest of these trees at HOB LOB
about 4 years ago and when one burns out
I go (OK really my HUBBY goes) to the attic to get a new one
this tree is 8ft and the old one
(that ran out of SpArkLe...aka lights burned out)
was 7ft
you would think one foot no big deal BUT
yes it is... ONE foot requires MORE...
so here we go...

You start with a pre-lit tree
do you see what I got it for
$9.99
that's like $1.25ish per foot!!!!
also have one more 8ft and 3 more 5 feet ones
stored away MUAH HA HA...
NOW back to decorating it...

I add the big ribbon first and then go from there...

TO BE HONEST...

because this was for a 7ft tree but now i have the 8ft
I didn't go all the way around the tree

who cares... no one is behind the tree...right???

I got these letters at Target and was going to hang them somewhere...

I knew for ONE DOLLAR I could find somewhere to put it...

bring in 8ft tree and I found a place

BINGO CARDS????

YES BINGO CARDS!!!!

I spent most of my summers as a kid in Mississippi

visiting my gpa and gma

well ~ my aunt would come and get me and take me to BINGO with her!!!

that is a fond memory for me

and since this is my tree... I have BINGO cards :)

to hang the cards I used clips and added scrap ribbon to make it a little cuter

I had smaller BINGO cards and just placed them throughout the tree too

This sock monkey was a gift to my son...

and he stays on the tree...

ALWAYS!!!

you can see the little ribbon ties I added to the BINGO card clips

and

how I added just scraps of red and blue ribbon to the branches

I just drape it and go...

no fuss

***WARNING***
when looking at the next pic

REMEMBER...

it is my tree

OK ~ any questions????

come on the little liberty girl is too cute... 2 for a dollar at HOB LOB

OHHHH the goose.... I like to think of it as a duck????

well this year we have a momma duck...

who made a nest in our neighbor's LARGE bush...and

she brings her 12 baby ducks to visit us everyday!!!

we feed them everyday and we even bought them

a pink swimming pool to swim in

(FYI~ we are about 6 BIG blocks away from the nearest pond)

we even put little feeder fish in the pool everyday

so they can practice catching fish :)
SO the ducks are important to us this JULY 4th :)

will they be on the tree next JULY 4th...depends if Momma Duck comes back

If I was Momma Duck I would.... private pool (cleaned daily), daily buffet of fresh fish and duck food, little 21 month old that loves you dearly!!!

(CROSSING FINGERS SHE COMES BACK)

want to see some pics of our ducks go

HERE

AND here it is... all done

it is our 4th of JULY tree...

we love it!!! I keep this tree up all year!!!!

ok it was the old 7ft tree but now it will be this big momma
i decorate it according to the season...

check out other pics by clicking on *Everyday Tree* up by my header...

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED my post...

to see more RED WHITE AND BLUE ideas go HERE

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY 4th of JULY

feeding our ducks

2010-06-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

look at the pic below...
and now imagine your dad-oh is washing your foot off with the hose
because you stepped in duck poop
your first foot went fine...
BUT...
the second foot...
when your Dad-oh picked it up to wash it off...
you lost your balance and went
HEAD first into the duck pool...
you got out OK
and told your Dad-OH
what Happened???
thank goodness Dad-OH just cleaned the duck pool or
MOMMA would have pushed him in too!!!

here are some pics of our growing ducks

even wet...drew loves to feed the babies

he is very demanding when he wants the food

see his hand open ready for some bread

this is Momma Duck...

DREW'S FAVORITE...

he has to feed her everyday!!!

and he talkes to her too...

good morning Momma Duck

hi Momma Duck

where are you Momma Duck

HEEEERRRRREEEEE momma Duck

OK and after we fed the baby ducks...

Drew got to play in his spalsh pool...

he was already wet so why not???
DUCKS were not invited (Drew's pool is in the back yard duck pool in front yard)

BUT

Dori and Itty Bitty were

THEY LOVE DREW!!!

Dori giving me her BEST SMILE!!!

she loves when Drew comes out to play with her!!!

and he loves to watch her run...

he will cheer for her...

GOOOOOOO DOE Ray

DOE RAY GOOOOO

READY SET RUN DOE RAY!!!!

Hope your summer days are filled with Joy and Happiness!!!

max

2010-06-27T22:29:00.001-07:00

This week in I ♥ Faces it is all about pets!!!

MAX

Max belongs to my in laws.

Max is a box head lab.

Max lets my 21 month old son lay on him like a pillow.

Max likes tennis balls... a lot.

Max loves to jump into the pool and fetch his tennis balls.
Max shares his tennis balls with his daughter...Rita.

Max loves to eat treats.

Max likes to escape and wander around the neighborhood.

Max is well known by the neighbors...who bring him home.

Max is the sweetest giant.

BUT...

Max got real sick.

Max lost a lot of weight.

Max would not swim anymore.

Max would lounge a lot.

Max has diabetes...&

Max got a blood infection.

Max gets shots and medicine everyday.

Max now likes rice cake treats.

Max loves when the 21 month old drops a real treat.

Max enjoys napping.

BUT...

Max is still not feeling good.

Max was taken off all of his shots and medicines... last month.

Max is doing well.

Max is...

Max we LOVE you!!!

I would love some comments!!! & If you want to enter your pictures go to I ♥ Faces. It is really fun!!! & don't forget to check out the other entries as well!!!

photoshop addict

2010-06-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

I have been playing around with my new Photo shop...
I am by no means an expert at this but...
playing around is fun.
& slightly addicting!!!
Now I'll take you through some of the pics I Photo shopped!!!

Remember this cutie..
yes it is Drew...
who else did you expect???
But the original pic looked like this...
with a fence...
a real fence
AND now I have this...
I added a texture layer behind him in the fence to look like...
an old advertisement brick wall...
I think it is pretty good!!!???

This is Max...
my in-laws' box head lab...
he is very sweet and love able...
Max has not been feeling good lately...
and has been taken off all his insulin and meds...
we are enjoying the time we have left with him...
I absolutely LOVE this picture...
before...
AND NOW...
I PUFFY HEART IT!!!
I added a textured frame and some vintage action to the original...
isn't he the best looking lab ever???

OK OK this is NOT a Pageant queen...
this is my good friends' daughter...
she tried on this crown in Santa Fe and I took a pic...
after photoshop....
i got this...
I KNOW I KNOW... you need sunglasses for her teeth I will work on that...
BUT... look at her smooth skin..
and the shine of the crown!!!
and the eyes really POP!!!
not too bad for one of my first?!?

and then I have my favorite family pic from Santa Fe...
and i tweaked it with a fab black and white action
added a vignette and
POOF*~*
I got this...

the first pic is a close up of Drew...
imagine that...
it is the original...
the next one is after I applied Baby Powder Room action
and then the next is with a black and white ...
i like them...
do you???

the last one...
here is bubby with a textured layer applied behind him..
I like how it looks like early morning dew or something...

well that's it...

I really got addicted to this photoshop thing...

and since it takes a good amount of time and with an almost 2 yr old...

you have no time...

I was doing these late late late...

like 3AM people...

i enjoy it

and I hope with a little more practice I can get better!!!

Let me know what you think!!!

selfie

2010-06-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

This is me taking a picture of me...
I never thought I would be able to use this pic...
especially in another blog...
BUT while I was up Blog Stalking...
I came across this wonderful blog named...
Simplicity...
& guess what she wants to see....
YEP!!!
self portraits...
so here it is...

...chin down - check
...neck out- check
...wide eyes- check
...SuPeR ChEEsEy grin- check

photo shoot

2010-06-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

We just had a photo shoot done by one of my high school friends...

Nicole Hatter

she has started her own photography business and we signed up right away...

(click here to go to her page)

these pictures are WoNdErFul...

PLUS it was like 1000 degrees outside

and my family is known to SWEAT

A LOT!!!

Take a looksy

I can't decide which is my fave

and these are just the teaser shots...

I still get a CD with about 40 more

THANK YOU NICOLE!!!!

these are FAB-U-LOUS!!!

outside watching the rain

2010-06-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Muffin Tin MoNdAy...first try...maybe last

2010-06-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

OK I'm sure you have heard of Muffin Tin Mondays...
RIGHT???
You know it is where these way awesome moms prepare these AdOrAbLe meals for their kids in MuFfiN tIns...
so here is my first try...
on the Muffin Tin Menu today was:
diced tomatoes
shredded cheese (he likes it... I swear)
french cheese toast sticks ( french toast minus syrup but add cheese)
apple sauce
sliced banana
and my LAME try at hot dog worms (now that I think of it that sounds gross)..*SIGH*

OK then I got the idea to add dippy sauces
so i added little DABS of
ketchup and mustard

when he first saw it he was AmaZeD
i tell you
AMAZED!!!

he grabbed his utensils

and thought for a minute...

HMMMM

first he dipped into the ketchup...

not my choice to dip in BUT

what ev

then came handfuls of banana sprinkled with cheese...

again not my idea of YUMMY

what ev

he tried applesauce with a fork

and actually got some in his mouth

look he can dip without looking

man he is talented

Here is the END of Muffin Tin Monday

I consider it to be pretty successful!!

he ate quite a bit

EXCEPT

the worm hot dogs...not sure I would eat those either

what ev

BUT I will tell you that next Monday I am going to do it again

because not only did he enjoy it...

I had a blast making it for him and

he took his time eating and I got to

clean the kitchen and eat too!!!

SO what do you say???

will you join me next week for a Muffin Tin Monday???

HOPE SO ..

leave me a comment if you want...

if not

what ev ;)

just a little note~ he is shirtless because applesauce results in HUGE mess... much easier to go straight to bath...

we are not NO white trash baby ;)

this week it is all about babies

2010-06-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

This week in I ♥ Faces it is all about babies!!!

This is my son dressed as a gnome. We had bought him this costume for his 1st Halloween and since it was pretty pricey I decided to dress him up in it again for a Christmas Card Pic!!! The message for our card was...

From our gnome to yours...

Happy Holidays!!!

Cute HUH???

yeah I thought so too!!!

I would love some comments!!! & If you want to enter your pictures go to I ♥ Faces. It is really fun!!! & don't forget to check out the other entries as well!!!

a little update about the little man

2010-06-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

I haven’t officially updated in a while. Sometimes, I only have enough time to post a few pictures and that is it. Well, it’s nap time right now and I figured I probably have enough time to actually update a little:

• We still have baby ducks…every morning he wants to feed them and gets very upset if they are not around. Sometimes I take him out there anyways and he yells for them..”BABY DUCKS??” & “MOMMA DUCK” very cute!!! Usually they do not come BUT sometimes they do and that makes his day!!! YEAH!!! he will yell YEAH!!!

• We are currently trying to get rid of bottles… we attempted this a few months ago but Bub (that’s what I call him that or Bubby) he came down with a bad case of Croup (YUCK!!!) and I just gave in to him wanting a bottle because when he got upset it brought on coughing and more coughing…so now again we are getting rid of the bottles… cross your fingers…we are telling him that the bottle fairy is coming and that she is going to take his bottles to little babies that need bottles and she will leave him some NEW sippy cups!!! We will see!!

• He is also back to sleeping in the bed with us…I know I know go ahead and take my mommy of the year away… BUT it was doctor’s orders to have him sleep with us during his croup…and he had it for over 2 weeks… SOOOO now he is back snuggling with Ken. Since I am now on summer vacation we are going to tackle this one too!!! No fairy involved just my stubbornness against his and let me tell you he is a stubborn little boy!!!

• What else what else??? Well he is talking more than ever. He can pretty much say everything you ask him too EXCEPT octopus. He use to say it perfectly but one day at Costco (my favorite place besides TJ Maxx) he was reading a book about an octopus that we had picked up in the kids book section. When we went to check out he also had a big box of individually packed applesauce next to him. WELL he showed the book to the check-out man and told him octopus…and the man replied yep applesauce…EVER SINCE THEN an octopus is applesauce… darn you Costco man!!!

• He knows how to count to 10 and then goes 4321…so his counting goes like this..1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4 3 2 1 it is hilarious!!!

• He knows his colors… for Easter he got a pack of 8 colors and he loves them and so does Itty Bitty (Merriweather eats them) well he will have them all in his hand and carry them around and then look at his hand and notice one is missing because he dropped it… and he will look at us and say “where (fill in SPECIFIC color here) go???” and darn if he isn’t missing that exact color. we tell him to go look for it and he yells “ I find it!!!” and when he finds it he yell “found it!!!”

• When he wants to be held he’ll say “I hold you” Momma hold you…or daddy hold you…. VERY SWEET

• We are embarking, I am afraid, on the terrible twos!! He is an expert dare devil and likes to crawl on top of everything and try to balance. His latest is to climb on the couch and hop on it like a trampoline and then land on his butt. He fell off one time and got up and laughed and did it again without falling off!!! He gets a little sneaky grin when he is fixing to do something he knows he shouldn’t…sometimes you just can’t help but laugh.

• He has a time out chair BUT I am not so sure it is working because he will often put himself in it. When he pulled Itty Biity’s tail and made her cry he looked at me and said time out chair. Of course I said YES and he marched his little hiney over and sat in it!!! And then asked how long??? OH I am so in trouble!!! 

• He still LOVES music!!! His favorite show is Yo Gabba Gabba!!! It is pretty cool!!! The characters are a little strange but it has good lessons and they sing a lot and dance. He loves it so much I am already planning his 2nd birthday party around it!!! I REALLY enjoy doing that kind of stuff!!!

• He has become a very very very picky eater. He loves apples, bananas, grapes, and peaches!!! The rest is a hit or miss!!! When he likes something he says yummy yummy

• When he gets really excited about something he says Oh’ Boy Oh’ Boy!!!

• He hates going to bed and struggles at naptime too. But once he falls asleep he is asleep!!! Even the dogs barking don’t bother him!!!

• He came up with names for my grandparents… my grandma is Me Mow and my grandpa is G Pa. VERY CUTE and they love their new names!!!

• He LOVES to watch anything about animals on TV. The other night we watched an hour long show about Applesauce (see above if you don’t get it)

• He can work an IPhone like nobody’s business!!! He can find a game, a song, a text, you name he can do it!!! He can even name artist when he hears a song.. he can name: Lady Ga Ga, Alabama, Pink, Frank Sinatra, Zac Brown, and more that I can’t think of right now!!!

• Last but not least, I think he is the most well mannered almost 2 year old around!!! He says please, thank you, your welcome, good morning, good abernoon, good evening, bye, adios, chow baby, later dude (ok not so mannerly) and I’m sorry!!! Really what other little guy do you know that can do that??? And he uses them in the right context too…not just random…in context!!! He is a super genius!!!

Well I hope that catches you up on my little man!! He is such a blessing to Ken and me!!! We never knew how much happiness one little boy could bring to us and our entire family and friends!!

Nap Time Job

2010-06-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

So can you tell I am on summer vacation???
I have spent Drew's nap time BLOGGING!!!
I was really tired of the sockmonkey thing and now with my new photoshop...
I can make my own headers
*sighs with gladness*
...anyways I just spent like 2 hours trying to figure out how to change my post title font to something SUPER CUTE

BUT

I got one side to work --->
but not the other<----- don't see a difference in the titles that's because it took me another 30 minutes to get it back to normal...

FrUsTrAtIoN

whatever..
I am currently HAPPY with what I have
and I am thinking of contacting a PRO to get my font to what I would like...
fingers crossed

anyways...what do you think..
like it...
i am digging the giraffe print...
alright got to go work on my other job...
BLOGGING...
really i get paid to blog now
*sigh again*
(SMILE)

BYH contest!!!

2010-06-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Did you hear about the BYH Blog Party??? You could win $25!!!

WOW!!!

All you have to do is post a pic in your blog wearing your favorite BYH find and link back to the BYH blog!!! oh and you have to become a follower!!! EASY EASY EASY

This is me in my FAVORITE BYH find $10 glasses!!! I was even stylish after surgery in these!!!

now go enter... i can't win because I work there but I thought it would be fun to link up anyways!!!

How do you use old windows???

2010-06-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to see this week's theme is old windows!!!I HEART old windows!!!!

I have them hanging in my front room. This room is long and narrow so... it was hard to get a good picture!!! Hopefully you get the "picture" :)

some have their glass... and some don't

some have colored stained glass and some are stained by dirt

some are from the trash and some from market days

BUT the best are from family and friends

I like to hang them all different ways to fit into the space I need filled!!!

I also like filling in the spaces with other oddities...like our last name and a star made out of a folding ruler!!! Can you tell I heart rulers too???

Well I hope you like how I used old windows!!! If you would like to see more creative ideas... go here... Funky Junk Interiors

Farley Family Favorite... YUMMY

2010-05-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

this is my 1st time to post something for a blog party

hope you try out our recipe!!!

We call this family favorite....

Enchilada Chicken Roll

I stole the recipe from Pampered Chef but we TWEAKED it a little to fit our VERY picky tastes!!!

set your oven to the temp shown on the croissant can

first~ gather ALL of your ingredients

2 cans of all white chicken DRAINED WELL

1 can of Rotel DRAINED WELL (we get mild so Drew can eat it but the HOT is good too)

1-2 cups of shredded cheese (whatever you like and we like ours real cheesy so we use 2 cups)

2-5 crushed handfuls of some type of chips (we use Tostitos or Doritos (cool ranch is BEST))

2 cans of croissant rolls (we get reduced fat to make it a little healthier)

AND the Pampered Chef baking stone Or a large cookie sheet

1 large mixing bowl

you can also add jalapenos, red or green peppers, onions, and/or cooked ground beef instead of chicken

Put all the ingredients EXCEPT the chips into your mixing bowl and mix well!!!

Make sure you and your helper have washed your hands!!!

MIX IT VERY WELL

Remember you should have drained the Rotel and chicken...if you forgot try to drain out some of the liquid now and you will have to use more chips in the next step.

I used these chips (found at Costco) because I like the ranch flavor!!!

Get about 2 huge handfuls and crunch the chips over your mixing bowl.

If your mixture is runny you might need more.

Should look like this...don't crunch too much you need big pieces to soak up most of the liquid while it's baking...

Stir it again... ok I know this pic is from the earlier mixing BUT it is so cute i could not leave it out!

OH and make sure your helper has plenty of bottles on hand...being a helper is HARD work!!!

look at that concentration

Make sure everything is mixed well!!! and put aside

open one can of croissants and lay them out on your baking stone like this

i try to find the straight edge and make sure they all face the same way

now open the other can and lay them out the same way except you are laying them in the spaces between your previously laid dough look at pic carefully

once you have them laid out start smooshing the middle part so that they stick and blend together

this is what it looks like after smooshing...like a big sun

get a giant spoonful of the mixture in your hand and smash it...to form a cylinder shape see pic

lay it on the ring where you smooshed it together....keep doing this until you have made a ring of mixture see pic

you will use the WHOLE mixture don't be shy the mixture ring is actually pretty high...

after I make a ring I take the extra left over mixture and fill in where there are gaps or it is uneven...USE IT ALL!!!

once you have used ALL of your mixture...start folding over your triangles... i take the top layer first... pull it up and over and smoosh it into the inner middle part trying to make it stick to the inner middle part of the dough ring

keep doing this...when you finish with the top layer go to the bottom layer and when you are done it should look like the above pic...be sure to smoosh the middle part in so it won't break apart when it bakes... now it is time to stick it in the oven....

I double the cooking time on the croissant can and I look at the dough too....if the dough is not browned I leave it in 5 more minutes... the very top of the roll should be crispy/crunchy brown... the hardest part to get baked is the inside middle part...when you cut it and you see it might still be doughy put it back in the oven for some more baking

we cut it with a very large pizza slicer and usually have a nice salad with it...

hope you try this easy recipe and ENJOY IT!!!

my lazy aBernoon

2010-05-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Fredricksburg Trade Days. I had some success in finding some good junk BUT my best find was this little orange desk. I LOVED it at first sight. I had bought some rather large pieces and I wasn't sure this great desk could go home with me... BUT my darling Kenny made room for it and and I SNATCHED it right up!!! as you can see it makes the perfect desk for mr. drew... he loves to draw and look out the front window so we put the desk right in the middle of the window!!! and this is how i spent my lazy Saturday afternoon or aBernoon as drew would say!!!

last weekend

2010-05-22T08:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we took a trip to Austin for the Renegade Craft Fair. I have been waiting for this to come to town for EVER!!!! Drew was not too excited to be there BUT he cooperated for the most part. This is a picture of me and bub at one of the booths... how funny that it is an Airstream... I think that is GENIUS!!!

Mia went with us. She helped out a lot with Drew. Mia and Drew looked at a lot of animal drawings and even picked out a surprise for Paw Paw!!! SHHHHH!!!!

That night we all went to a Silver Stars game... Mia is in a fan group called The Blues Sisters....they get the crowd going and dress in costume for EVERY GAME!!! too funny!!!

My favorite picture from this weekend is Drew finding a snail and wishing it Good Morn'n.... too cute!!! he always makes me smile...even when he is being a toot. He is my whole heart (ok... there is room for Ken and my family too but he takes up 99.99999999999%) and I thank my lucky stars that he does!!! I love him more than words can express!!! when I laid in bed at night and cried myself to sleep because I was unable to have children, i never dreamed I would be so blessed with Drew. I would do it ALL again ( surgeries and heart aches and sleepless nights) knowing my road would lead me to Drew!!!

Now we are heading off to Fredricksburg for trade days ...pic to come later!!!

Catching Up!!!

2010-05-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

I've been really bad about keeping up with the blog... I don't know it could be the stress at work. This has truly been the WORST year ever. I have been teaching for 9 years now and this year tops it all. It is not just my class either (which by the way i do have some really great kids)... my working environment isn't exactly all roses. It has been a MESS I am ready for a new year!!!! Summer can't come fast enough!!!!! Here are some lessons I have learned this year

1~ no more purchasing fund raiser items because you'll get accused of not paying even though you did and it was in front of 2 other teachers

2~ kids can wear what they want I DON'T CARE because when it's cold outside you can wear shorts and a t-shirt because I don't want a letter complaining I sent you in

3~ don't send emails out even if it is a CUTE picture of Drew wishing the faculty and staff Happy Valentine's Day because someone will turn you in to district office and you'll get a write up in your permenent record... note to self ... remember to write a thank you note to that person because I now know what I can and can't send out OH WAIT... they were annonymous (grow some balls)

4~ be sure to watch your back because someone has a knife and doesn't want you to take a position that you are VERY qualified for and they will do anything to keep you from it...refer to #3

5~ make sure your resume is OVER THE TOP because you want to make sure you get that interview for the JOB you really want and that you are VERY qualified for BUT wait #3 and #4 are on the committee to decide if you get an interview so JUST FORGET IT!!!

6~ even if your undergrad is PRE VET MEDICINE for large animals and you have over 24 hours of other sciences and were short 12 hours to minor in chemistry you still won't have enough science experience than 11 others that applied and got an interview...refer to #5

7~ don't forget you need a masters degree for that job... I DO.... BUT wait refer to #5

8~ when a student tells you they hate you DO NOT tell them there is a club for that on campus and they should join it because they will look for it

9~ when showing artic videos to your class be sure to preview it to the end because the walrus is the the gassious mammal on earth and it FARTS really loud and you will have to hear farting walrus noises ALL DAY!!!!

10~ oh and the kids can come to school without brushing teeth, putting on deo, taking a bath, and wearing soiled clothes because when you send them to the clinic discreetly and secretly GUESS what you'll get another angry complaint

BEST LESSON LEARNED!!!!

10~ when you have a big BACKSTABBING KNIFE sticking out of your back.... your REAL friends and family will ALWAYS be there to help you out!!! and when you think it just can't get any worse there is always choir practice to make you feel better!!!!

I HEART MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!!

here are a few things that have helped me stay out of the mental institute this year!!! SUMMER CAN'T GET HERE FAST ENOUGH!!!

family will always be there for you

FIESTA means that school is almost over and you only have to go to work 4 days

this was Drew last year at FIESTA what a difference a year makes

AND I LOVE to see Drew DANCE!!!! it makes me melt!!!

so to sum it up I must really LOVE teaching because I will be back next year and always look up for relief and guidance... AND family and friends always have your back!!!!

2010-04-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Wow what a difference a year makes... I am blessed more than words can express my boy is a true gift from GOD!!!

pics i love from our spring break

2010-04-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from our recent trip to Santa Fe!!!

2010-02-13T17:09:00.001-08:00

2010-01-31T16:19:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox collage

just an update

2010-01-29T17:55:00.001-08:00

LONGGG time since I last posted...no excuses just really haven't had much to talk about... or take pictures of... I do have one excuse... my class this year is challenging to say the LEAST... they wear me out!!! so between them and chasing a toddler around when I get home I don't have much time for blogging... Ken is up in the living room with Drew right now to give me some time to post!!!

I knew I hadn't taken pictures of him in a long time ( since New Years... long time for me... my family calls me Momma-razzi after the paparazzi that stalk celebrities... I kinda like it) Anyways... I set up an impromptu photo shoot in his room. He likes to go in there and play... that is where all of these pics were taken. Where ever he is the puppies are there too so I took their pictures as well. At least tried!! Dori did a good job posing BUT Merriweather (AKA Itty Bitty) was hyper as usual and I only got a real close-up... still cute though!!!

In the picture above, he is looking at his new radio. For Christmas, we got him a radio for his bedroom. It takes IPODs or IPHONES so I gave him my old phone and Daddy downloaded all kinds of music to it. He listens to his music when we lay him down for a nap or night night. He still LOVES the song Chicken Fried but also likes Smile by Uncle Kracker (one of my FAVES too)!!!

This is the one and only Itty Bitty... she LOVES her Drew. They wrestle together at night and by wrestling I mean Itty Bitty goes limp while Drew lifts her up or rolls on top of her!!! She is REALLY good with him and gives him LICKS any chance she gets!!! Itty Bitty also has to be in the bathroom during bath time!!! It is a must!!! not because Drew wants her in there BUT she wants in there and will scratch at the door until I let her in!!!

This is Dori... She also LOVES Drew!!! She goes and checks on him during the night while he is sleeping in his crib. YES Drew finally is sleeping in his own room in a crib!!! It took us over a year to finally put him in his own room... I was nervous about it. BUT with a camera in there and a monitor right by my head I am a little more at ease. AND since Dori checks on him at night too I am getting use to it!!! The only thing is if Drew's hand, foot, head, or just about anything is close enough for Dori to lick through the railing of the crib, she will and sometimes he will wake up!!! Drew and Dori also make a great pair at dinner time... Drew will hand off things to her that he doesn't want to eat... AND since Dori is SOOO tall he doesn't even have to reach down. She LOVES it too!!!

By the end of my photshoot... oh about 10 minutes after it started... this is Drew laying on the floor looking up at me... HE LOVES to put that hand in his mouth... It really is a bad habit we are trying to break him of. Any time he gets the slightest bit excited he will stick it in there and BITE down... i am not quite sure how he doesn't hurt himself but he keeps doing it. He is getting better about it because we will say NO HAND and he will sometimes pull it out!!! Guess it is one of his quirks!!

OK so this is one of my favorites that I got!!! Man he is growing up fast... He amazes us everyday at how smart and funny he can be!!! He can read about 25-30 words some of them include... dog, cat, elephant, octopus, Drew, baby, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, rabbit, yes, no, hi, wave, bubble, hair, and much more. He loves to eat green beans and mandarin oranges with every meal. He calls all birds DUCK no matter what!!! He wants to eat duck but means chicken. When you ask him what do you want to eat ... usually you get hot dog or duck!!! He can make the noises of a lot of animals... duck, elephant, cow, mouse, dog, cat, tiger, and horse. When you ask him what Gene Simmons looks like he will stick out his tongue really long. FUNNY!!! When he gets nervous around strangers he will start telling the stranger all the people around him... momma, daddy, Mia, Paw Paw, Nana, Pops.... who ever is there with him at the time the stranger will KNOW!!! He likes to tell the check-out people at stores HEY and if they don't answer it gets a little louder until they respond back and then he goes through the Momma, Daddy list !!! He loves my Grandmother and makes her pick him up to go and turn the lights to her chandelier on and off ON AND OFF AND ON AND OFF!!! my grandmother loves it BUT he is 22 pounds and it wears her out!!! He still LOVES lights and will say WOW when he sees lights he really likes... grandma's chandeliers!!! He is talking up a storm and will tell you when he has a dirty diaper (POOP) or if he just tooted (TOOTY)!!! He has started to throw fits if he doesn't get his way and this can be embarrassing in a store or at a DR office...basically he will go limp and throw himself backwards. It's a PHASE we tell ourselves!!! Even though he throws fits he has manners... he will say Please and thank you!!! He LOVES LOVES LOVES reading books especially BROWN BEAR BROWN BEAR and POLAR BEAR POLAR BEAR... he will walk up to you with the book and say read... and if you don't answer soon enough it is READ!!!! and he wants to sit in your lap to read and point out all the pictures he knows SO SMART!!! My favorite thing he does now is gives kisses... he makes a noise when he kisses us too like MUUUHHHWAAA and then he will say LOVE YOU!!! oh it melts me!!! I hope this catches you guys up on what is going on around the Farley's place... with Valentine's coming up I am SURE I will have MORE pics and updates!!! SENDING OUR LOVE!!!

2010-01-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

what to do with all those ornaments you don't want

2009-12-30T13:10:00.000-08:00

OK so my sister in law bought my mom in law a really neat frame for her birthday and

I LOVED IT!!!!

but she got it at an auction and paid a small fortune for it soooooo I decided to make my own!!!

Ken, Drew and I headed out to look for ViNtAgE ornaments and accessories.... we found a lot at Thrift town and Hob Lob and my favorite ...Homestead Hand Crafts!! I also bought a frame from the discount aisle at Tues. morning ... it had a HUGE scratch BUT who cares i am going to cover it up!!! I also got lots of glue sticks for my new needle nose glue gun!!! and I was ready!!!

First I emptied out the frame... glass, foam, and faux family pics.... I also nearly cut off my THUMB doing this so BE CAREFUL!!! Glass is SHARP!!!

I laid out most of my ornaments so I could see what I had to work with... make sure you get ALL different sizes of ornaments

I started placing ornaments where i thought I liked them starting with the corners...

and then filling in the rest

at hob lob I bought LOTS of BLING...in all sizes but only in clear...I could use the colored ones but the clear reflects the ornament colors so it worked!!!

see how I used the Bling to fill in where there was awkward space too little for an ornament

I used some quirky stuff too...like this plastic reindeer

here I used an old candy cane that use to be a pen but the insides were missing

I got the SpArKlY NOEL at Hob Lob in a pack of 4 and just cut the loop off that made it an ornament

I found this Santa in a vintage lot I found at Homestead... i thought he was CUTE!!!

AND

Here it is the FINISHED Frame..

it is VINTAGE... BLINGY... and GAUDY...

I LOVE IT!!!

What do you think?!?!?!

I hit the after Christmas sales and stocked up so I can make some for next year!!! can't wait!!!

week 51 @ i heart faces... HiLaRiOuS

2009-12-28T08:20:00.000-08:00

i ♥ faces... I've missed you soooo!!! I have been busy with work and have not had time to enter BUT I have still taken plenty of pics AND now that I am on Christmas Break... I can once again post. I am so excited this week's theme is

HiLaRioUs oUtTaKeS....

I have posted some of the ones that make me LAUGH with descriptions... ENJOY!!!

& PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

leave comments I am a beginner and appreciate any advice good or bad

This is my son, Drew, (you'll see a lot of him)... anyways he was playing in his bouncer and stopped to pose..YEP he stopped and did this NO HELP FROM MOM!!!

He discovered his tongue!!!

We were at a football game and the buzzer went off and I happen to be taking a picture and got this!!!

After about 1,234,535 times of trying to take a picture of my son and my neice and nephew (for my mom-in-law's chrismas card) WE ALL threatened my neice and nephew...

LOOK AT THE CAMERA DO NOT TURN TO LOOK AT DREW!!!

Well Drew decided to point to Emma and Emma followed directions and did NOT turn towards Drew!!!

Arlo, the dog, SNUCK into our shot of Nana and her babies on Christmas...

and look Arlo is smiling!!! If you can't see him look next to Emma...he is wearing a blue collar!!!

OK those are my entries... I hope you enjoyed them as much as I do!!!

If you think you have some great HiLaRioUs OuTtAkEs ... head on over to

and post yours!!!

REMEMBER ~ please leave me some feedback... I love getting comments thanks!!!

christmas photo shoot

2009-12-22T14:35:00.001-08:00

Spiced Crackers

2009-12-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

This is a VERY EASY recipe

for a quick gift or treat for a party

and it makes a lot and

is VERY wallet friendly!!!

here's what you need...

1 large mixing bowl

1 very large Ziploc 2 gallon or bigger

2 cups of canola oil (NO SUBSTITUTES)

1-2 TBS of crushed red pepper ( add more to spice it up)

1 tsp of onion powder

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 box of Premium crackers ORIGINAL all 4 sleeves

AND...

one CUTE helper who is busy dipping his lunch in his

"dippy sauce" (Ketchup)

In your bowl mix all ingredients except the crackers

VERY WELL

Dump ALL 4 sleeves of crackers into the large baggie...be careful to not break too many!!!

Pour mixture over crackers and seal bag leaving in the air.

Lay baggie flat and start your timer... flip bag over every 15 minutes for an hour.

THAT IS IT!!! DONE!!!

Put crackers in another container... DO NOT leave them in the mixing bag because they will get SUPER SOGGY!!!

ENJOY!!!

SORRY NO PICS OF FINAL PRODUCT

I GAVE THEM OUT AT SCHOOL!

2009-12-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

I've been working on some stuff... getting into the Christmassy spirit of it all. I have actually been commissioned to create a few Holiday Cards for some family and friends. Here are a few examples of what I have come up with...if you are interested.... my prices are REALLY CHEAP!!!
You send me your pics... I make your card and then send you the file so you can print it wherever you want... I use Snapfish and it comes out to about 4-9 cents a copy.... I told you CHEAP!!! So anyways here they are and i can change backgrounds to be more sophisticated to more cutesy...whatever you are looking for!!!

The one below I was playing around and made for Mom because she said she didn't want to be in any pics because of her hair!!! :)

This one is SUPER easy to change the background
and is super cute looking like a Polaroid

This is a 5x5 so you have to order it from a REAL photo place :)

I did this one for my brother and his family... again cute Polaroid shot

THIS IS my grandparents' card...I LOVE the way it turned out!!!

Another 5X5 BUT OH so cute and I love the layout

Just a mod design and again I can change the background of this one too

My Aunt and Uncle looking oh so CHIC on this design!!!

another 5X5 but cute and bright

And this is our Card for the Season...I am pretty sure... I might change it around a little but I am loving it!!!

Well just shoot me an email if you are interested!!! My services run from $5 to $10 depending on how many pics you want on a card!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

2009-11-28T16:58:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Thankful for soooo much!!!

2009-11-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

We started our Thanksgiving off at my Grandparents' house (like always). I was in charge of the creamed corn this year and because it was the first time I have ever made creamed corn I accidentally doubled and a half the recipe. OOOPPPSSS oh well...it was really good just enough to feed the army though!!! anyways we spent most of our day at their house. Drew and his cousin, Kaleb, had a blast playing in the backyard and looking through the fence. We got a few photo ops in and we found this REALLY OLD wagon that I thought would be a good prop for a pic or 2. It is probably one of my favorites of him. We took our family pictures and our group picture. towards 5 we headed to Nana and Pop's house where Drew played with the dogs and played with a spoon and can.... he LOVES to make noise and dance.

On a more SERIOUS NOTE...

When Thanksgiving gets near and the commercials and TV shows start in on the season, you always get the what am I thankful for question.... I have SOOOO much I am thankful for...

I am thankful for a brave young lady and man who picked me and Ken to raise their son as our own...through their decision we became The Farley Family

I am thankful for Ken who is my cheese to my macaroni AKA my BEST FRIEND... I love him so

I am thankful for Camp Paw Paw and his assistant Mia who watch Drew while we work... You couldn't ask for a better place as a "Day Care"

I am thankful for my in-laws because without them my dream never would have come true

I am thankful for my friends who are always there when I need a helping hand or a good gossip buddy :)

I am thankful for my Grandparents Stewart and Freeman who have good health and it brings me such joy to share Drew with them

I am thankful for my dogs because they are great snuggle buddies and they make Drew laugh everyday when they wrestle (YES my son wrestles the dogs daily)... that is why they got a BIG bone on Thanksgiving...they deserve it... we love you Dori and Merriweather!!!

I am thankful for such a great family to share in the joy that Drew brings to our lives!!! On my side and Ken's we have such wonderful family members who love to share in all of Drew's milestones and we love to share in all of theirs!!!

To wrap this up I have so much to be thankful for and I feel truly blessed this holiday season!!!

2009-11-08T18:42:00.001-08:00

We have been busy like usual...seems like we never get a weekend just to sit and do nothing. Drew is doing great. The best way I could think of sharing his new things is to make a list soooo here it goes....

Food ~ LOVES hot dogs, chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, pasta, and apples

Hates ~ carrots

Drinks~ LOVES milk, juice, and tea (thanks to Paw Paw)

hates ~ Sodas (one day he INSISTED that the drink I was drinking was tea and he wanted some soooo to his surprise it was Sprite and he SPIT it out!!!!)

Words ~ Dad -oh, mommy, me, tea, juice, Dori, Izzy (for Itty Bitty), NO, tank u (thank you), dog,

light, two, B, octo (octopus), ellllllla (elephant), up, down, out, fower (flower), Daisy, eyes, nose, ear, ouch (he says this when he pulls my hair), uh oh, moo, bubble, hi, tiger, on, off, eat, and I am sure there are more I just can't think of them right now....

Book ~ Rainbow Fish

Show ~ Baby Can Read tapes & Miss Spider & Yo Gabba Gabba

Song ~ Smile by Uncle Kracker & still All I Wanna Do by Sugarland... oh and he does enjoy dancing to Boom Boom Pow By Black Eye Peas

Toys ~ Drawing Board, flash cards with words on it, his talking piggy bank, & his Race Car Truck that he can ride

He loves going outside and looking at Paw Paws fish or to go on walks.... and he LOVES to walk on his own too.

He loved going to the playgroud the other day but wanted to walk around rather than slide or swing.... Pictures were taken there.

He is growing fast... size 5 shoe and size 12 - 18 months for clothes

His hair is finally filled in and it is dark brown... his eyes are still greyish!!!

We get compliments on him ALL the time... so handsome, so cute, adorable, and he LOVES it...he flirts at pretty girls and grins and shrugs his shoulders... such a ham!!!

I think I have covered everything... if there is something you are curious about let me know in the comments section and I will let you know!!!

ONE YEAR PHOTO SHOOT!!!

2009-10-19T21:22:00.001-07:00

My Recent Creations

2009-10-17T22:49:00.000-07:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE doing these... I probably need to start charging a small fee because I do spend a considerable amount of time on them BUT I LOVE IT!!! Here are a few more of my creations...

Here is a set I did for Kari's son's pool party... the invite and matching thank you

This is Drew's invitation to his 1st Birthday!!! i love the way it turned out... the theme was beach monkey... we had flags hanging and beach balls everywhere... the invite matched perfectly with the theme... if you really know me you know all of my parties have themes and I have to have matching EVERYTHING!!!! i probably need help for that?!?!

This is Drew's thank you card for his 1st birthday... I attached a paper banana that had the actual TY part!!! I must say they were too cute!!!

This I did for my good friend Shawna... it is for her Dad's 60th Birthday...if any of you know him don't say a word because it's a secret... SHHHHH!!!!

I just bought this kit and had to use it... here is our Halloween card for this year!!!

Hope you like them... if anyone is interested in having me design something for you...let me know!!!! I design it then send you the file so you can print it yourself!!!

2009-10-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

Some of my Birthday Favorites

2009-09-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

Talking While We Eat

2009-09-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

1st birthday pics

2009-09-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

The party starts with the guests getting their invites...

I made these (smile)

When the guests arrived they are greeted by this wonderful banner!!

I bought this at a great place called Bless Your Heart!!!

When they walked in the door this is what they saw!!

Pennants were so easy to hang and really added some great color to the pool area. The beach balls also added color. Pennants and beach balls were purchased at Oriental Trading!!

Drew was dressed for his party in his custom made sock monkey shirt!!!

The back looks like this... i purchased this off ETSY

HERE!!!

The main table was decorated with the cake, cupcakes, and party favors!!!The light tutu is my favorite. I tried to keep to the colors of a beach ball and so I bought spools of various ribbons from Hob Lob and made this tutu. From the tutu I hung pictures of Drew from every month (Same pics from his invite)!!!

To cover the table I bought oil cloth from Bless Your Heart!!!

The party favors are in sand buckets (pails) bought from the $ spot at Target. They are filled with a bag of goldfish crackers, deflated beach ball, a monkey sucker, banana key chain, beach monkey tats, and a water gun. All except goldfish were bought from Oriental Trading. The buckets had a thank you sticker on them and were labeled with the invited kids names.

Another view of the pool and the pennants...I heart those!!! Plus they match the invites!!

The cake we bought plain from Costco and my mom helped me wrap it in the coordinating ribbon from the light tutu. I also bought the OH so cute cake topper HERE!!!

My SIL helped me make the monkey cupcakes. The cupcakes were purchased from Costco too and then we added the detail. The chocolate ones were turned into monkeys and the white got a banana key chain!!!

We tried to make different faces on the monkeys.... I think they turned out cute!!!

Sticking to the Beach Monkey theme... I used larger sand pails to hold chips and the smaller ones held dips and candies!!!

I didn't buy fancy plates I just stuck to our colors and bought green, blue, red, and orange plates and napkins...same with cups (all from Target)!!

Hat and bib were gifts... so we used them for cake time!!!

AFTER CAKE!!!

Shirt #2 was a gift too. They told me they found it at Wal-Mart!!!

He wore it to open gifts!!!

After all the cake and party favors were gone you can see the oil cloth better!!!

AND now the tutu really sticks out!!!

if you want to see all of his party pics click on the slide show

Personalize a free digital slideshow

CrAzY Last Few Days!!!

2009-09-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a very CrAzY week and a half.... last Wednesday I went in for my "girly dr." annual visit and ended up having to have surgery last Friday to remove an ovarian cyst the size of a VERy large orange!!! While my Dr. was in there he found some other "unwanted things" aka endometriosis and a few more cysts and a blocked tube .... sooooo needless to say surgery was a LOT longer than planned. I ended up not going back to work until this past Thursday BUT probably should have taken off the whole week!!! I can't drive or pick up anything over 5 pounds for 1 more week.

Well on Tuesday ( Drew's Birthday).. Drew and I went to Camp Paw Paw ( my dad watches Drew and that is what we call it... AND mom retired so she is now his assistant ;) WELL.... Drew started to run fever... so my poor parents had 2 sickos on their hands.... Drew's fever wouldn't go down...soo off we went to his Dr. They said a virus is going around and to just keep doing what we were doing and it shouldn't last for over 3 days. Mom and dad were so WONDERFUL... remember I couldn't hold him... they would give him baths and showers to get his fever to break and we were giving Tylenol every 4 hours. Still he had fever Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Mom took him back to the Dr. on Thursday just to be sure he was still ok... again ... it's a virus it has to run it's course. Fever broke Thursday afternoon and was gone!!! YIPPEE!!! BUT yesterday after his HUGE party... I was giving him a bath and he had a rash ALL over his back and tummy and little butt... we thought reaction to a shirt I had put on him (I hadn't washed it yet) but then I remember seeing a friend of mine post on her BLOg that her daughter had a rash after a few days of fever and it was called Roseola... Nana (Ken's mom) looked it up on the computer and sure enough he matched it to a tee!!! I called ask a nurse and they agreed with our diagnosis... BUT then I was scared we had infected all of his BDAY guests.... come to find out it is MOST contagious before he even gets fever.. so he was contagious during the Labor Day weekend when we saw no little ones... the nurse said he is no longer contagious when the rash appears. WHEWWWW I was really worried that our tiny guest (we had over 20 kids at his party) took home a PARTY FAVOR that they wouldn't like. Well this morning he woke up and the rash looks a little better. the good thing is it doesn't itch or cause any other symptoms. The WORSE is over. So as you can tell we have had a VeRy CrAzY past few days BUT we are ALL recuperating just fine and we are fixing to head out to celebrate Ken's BDAY!!! I will post BDAY PARTY pics later.... i left my camera at Nana's house!!!

11 months

2009-08-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

some pics

2009-08-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

We've been staying cool the past few days... the heat is horrible... over 100 most of the time!!!
Anyways Ken and I go to this local place on Wednesday nights, with our great friends, and play a trivia game ... Mia and Popi watch Drew (thank you!!!!)... Well this last night WE WON!!!! 1st place and we got a 25$ gift card so you know where we'll be this Wednesday!!! it's so fun!!!

Rachel (my boss from BYH) and her friend Amanda were on our team... Fabulousity!!!

Ken and I being goofy!!!

This is Brian and JP on the other team ... which I canNOt name on here!!!! SHAME SHAME!!!

Shawna, LeeAnn, and Krystal finish out the other team!!! They came in 3rd WHOO HOO!!! It was lots of fun!!! Won't be able to do it much longer with school starting soon!!!

Today, we went to the Bass Pro Shop... Drew loved it... he liked looking at all of the "stuffed" animals and really liked all of the fish tanks!!!!

New Hobby!!!

2009-07-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest creation... it is my friend's son's birthday invite... I am really enjoying making my own cards and invites. I have also done it for friends....as you can see. I have included some of the ones I have done in the past few months!!! If you are interested in me creating one for you let me know!!!

All about Feet this week

2009-07-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

This week in I ♥ Faces it is all about feet!!!

This is my dad and my son (well his feet at least)!!! I know it is all about feet this week but I LOVE this pic because I can see the absolute JOY on my dad's face!!!! This pic was taken the night before our adoption was final!!! We were all hanging out in the hotel room and my dad and Drew were playing... gotta love Paw Paw zerberts!!!

I would love some comments!!! & If you want to enter your pictures go to I ♥ Faces. It is really fun!!! & don't forget to check out the other entries as well!!!

Fix It Friday

2009-07-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been playing around with pictures and how to edit them and just be a better MOMMArazzi!!! I have photoshop elements BUT frankly it scares me!!! I really enjoy PICNIK and how easily I can fix and create better pics!!! What I need to do is... I need to take a class on PSE but with a 10 month old that is out of the question!!! SO PICNIK it is!!!

ANY WHO... I found this great website... I ♥ Faces and have been addicted to it ever since...lots of idea and great info and contests on photographs...this is my second time to enter the Fix It Friday... I had to hide the legs and the wheels because they distracted from the pic. I can't cut and past in PICNIK so I layered with some flowery thingys!!! i think it turned out cute!!!

If you want to see more or maybe you want to enter head on over to I ♥ Faces

PLEASE LEAVE ME SOME COMMENTS... GOOD OR BAD!!!!

Some Monkey LUV~N

2009-07-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Drew & I were nestled on the couch watching his video of Babies Can Read ...when... the doorbell rings!!! Who the heck is that??? After making sure no-one was out there I looked through the side window and saw a package...OH YEAH... I thought...Jenny said it would come today!!!

OH MY GOSH!!! look at its CUTENESS!!! I love it...wait WE LOVE IT!!! It is too cute and perfect for his upcoming Sea Monkey Party!!! Thank you to the Devines for adding a GREAT SOCK MONKEY to Drew's collection. It is hard to believe that a little over a year ago I started Project Sock Monkey... the out pouring of LOVE and support has brought me to tears MANY TIMES!!! I took a few pics of Drew's favorites...this is just a tiny bit of his collection!!!

As I am taking pics of the Sock Monkeys... I hear a phwwww sound from behind me... little miss merriweather wanted her picture taken too... don't let her cuteness fool you!!!!

I couldn't end this BLOG entry without a pic from last night... we went to a STARS game and here is my mom with Drew and her crazy... I mean dedicated friends... the theme for the night was Go Green!!!

I Heart Faces sports and pets

2009-07-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

This week in I ♥ Faces you have 2 things you can enter into... sports and pets.

Sports
I was bummed about not having any sports pics BUT then I remembered I had taken pictures of my husband trying to teach my nephew to ice skate. We had taken my nephew to a hockey game and after it was over you could skate on the ice with the players. As you can see, my nephew was ready for this...he has shorts on and is wearing my husband's socks!!! Needless to say, my hubby's back and feet were hurting by the end of the lesson!!! I love the look on their faces... hubby "how much longer???"... Nephew... "Whee this is fun!!!" I had to take this picture as they scooted slowly by...from behind the glass because they wouldn't let me on the ice!!!

♥Pets♥

This is the one and only Copper Anne. She was (yes was... she passed away on Sept. 22nd of this year... the day we brought our son home) the smartest and sweetest dog. She had numerous tricks and was a great guard dog for the nights when my husband had to work late!!! She loved getting her picture taken and this is my ALL TIME favorite shot of her!!! I miss her soooo much!!!

Well~ I'm still new at this BUT would love some comments!!! If you want to enter your pictures go to I ♥ Faces. It is really fun!!! & don't forget to check out the other entries as well!!!

2009-07-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

We went to Nana's house to swim and had some furry friends join us!!!! We had a blast and Drew got a kick out of the doggies swimming!!!

word recognition

2009-07-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

2009-07-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Fix It Friday #19

2009-07-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

Fix It Friday #19 is my first fix-it.

Here is the original...

& here is my Fix It

Hope you like it!!! PLEASE leave your feedback for me!!!
HAVE A GREAT 4th of JULY!!!

late but still 9 months

2009-07-02T18:23:00.001-07:00

I am practicing taking pictures and using my new editing program...BUT... when my model is just so darn CUTE...it's easy!!!! Let me know what you think in the comments section...PLEASE!!!!

giving it a try!!!

2009-06-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am doing it.. I am entering my first pic into the I ♥ Faces ... the theme is Just for Fun!! Tell me what you think!!!
This is my baby... Drew!!! This picture was taken right after he got into his first Splish Splash Pool he ♥ed splashing around!!! Let me know what you think!!! I love comments!!! If you want to enter head on over to I ♥ Faces and you can enter too!!

CURLY

2009-06-28T07:35:00.001-07:00