Can Someone Please Tell Me.....

....how I can sign up for the vacation with the nice men in white coats? Cos I really really would like it right now. Yes, that leaves me picking the Stress Center over my house!!

...so today's activities?? the little darlings have learned to open the fridge. they've taken out as much as they can and have thrown it all over the living room. first it was the eggs (sooo much fun to clean up), then it was the hot sauce and ketchup, and then it was an ENTIRE FUCKING GALLON OF MILK! and, of course, they had to lap that shit up like puppies when they were done.

...i'm living my dream, here.

As My Friend Debs Would Say....

....gimme a wall....here's an update on my children....


Collin...has current issues with lying. While I was away on vacation, he lied about taking a shower...that's kidlike, if not humorous. I didn't give him much grief. But, not one month later, he lied about having homework. When caught, he said that he lied because he was scared to say that his homework was leftovers because he didn't get it done today in class. Well, the lie is so much worse than the act of not finishing the homework. My God, it's something I would have done myself...which leads me back to the age-old worry that he's turning into a mini-me, with a future of depression and medicated wonder before him. *sigh*

Erin...is as mean as the day is long. She just stole what was left of my ice cream sandwich. Little bitch.

Erin and Griffin both have taken to Wheel Watching...and clap right along with the studio audience. muhahahaha Griffin also cheered right along with a girl who'd won.

Griffin....has been talking up a storm. A complete storm, I tell ya. Today he was singing a rendition of Higgly Town Heroes. Muy Cute!!

So, all in all, my kids are terrific.....but...someone please pin up the favorite boy until he's a teenager....

....gotta go...Erin's chasing Griffin around the upstairs, saying "I tickol".....

What good is a Blog....

....if you're not allowed to read it?! ROFL

You gotta love when blogger's acting up!

Happy Half-Nekkid Thursday!

nothing like a little french-fried back fat to start your day. ;)

by the way, you, my fellow bloggers, will understand the humor in this. when lamenting to aaron that i didn't have any half-naked pics of myself, he said "well, you don't need any!" there you have it, folks! hehe

Happy Half-Nekkid Thursday!

ETA: I've never been a big TV person, so I had to look up just what Mom Jeans were, as a loyal reader had questioned in my "feeling ugly" post. Um...no...don't wear Mom Jeans...I try to stay with low-rise jeans whenever possible. Not to where I have to have a special "hair cut"...but definitely below the belly button! ;)

doctors and ugliness....

....everyone but one kidlet will have gone to the doc by 5:00 tonight. lurve respiratory infections!

.....am feeling quite ugly lately. i was telling aaron how homely i feel....he says it's from staying home with kids all day. why dress up? Although, I suspect that a couple of nice outfits might make me feel prettier. *sigh*

urgh....

....griffin woke up this morning and had had a huge bloody nose over the night. i'm not sure what i should do. am going to put in a call to the doc's at 8:30 this morning, but am not certain that i shouldn't be more worried. he's had that respiratory stuff, so i'm not sure if his nasal membranes didn't get irritated in between the constant phlegm, decongestants, and albuterol treatments....

My Favorite Boy....

Have You Seen This Man??

I'm sure that he's wanted somewhere (other than here!) for a mug like that! l

Envy.....The Root of All Evil....

....I'm so envious of a buddy of mine right now. True, he's 35 years old and leads the typical life, but soon, he'll probably be moving to a different country that is half-way around the world from where he is right now. Moving his whole family there with him. And he's never even been to this country!

....the only "unknown territory" that i've ever explored was to have a baby. that, and to start a job in which I didn't know what I'd be doing. But it's always been within a four hour drive from my hometown. I've never lived out of a four hour radius from my home down....I've rarely been outside of the state in which i reside.

....but part of me would pick up and move to another country in a heartbeat and not think twice. i can think of, oh, say four people that i'd have to bring with me. but with them, i feel like no matter where i hang my hat, if it's next to theirs, i'm home.

.....now someone convince my husband that it would be ok to move to a different country! ;)

Help Me Find My Happy Place....

.....sitting on a pile of sick kids would not qualify. And that's not just two sick kids....it's EIGHT. Full house today....but at least I have plenty of food. I re-discovered Aldi last night. Where else can you feed as many as I have without going broke?

Congratulations to my sister-in-law (no...not the law student...the teacher)....she just informed me last night that she's expecting. It's about damn time someone else on the Byers' side procreated besides myself. I do hope that she'll produce cuter offspring than my side, though. (did I type that out loud?)

tired, tired, tired.....

....but still kicking....

....why is it that my fun consists of taking twin toddlers to the grocery?

i wish that i had more energy and time with life. am feeling those same old feelings of being too tired and strung out to care much. and i hate that.

here i am whining and moaning about life when there is so much around me that is so much worse. here i live in a rich suburban area that is relatively safe...a sturdy roof over my head, plenty of fresh water to drink, and a good group of loving people around me.....why can't i just be happy?

Getting Old....

.....I feel like I'm falling apart. We've got some rogue respiratory stuff going on right now, and I'm in the thick of it. *sigh* We'll muddle through.

I've got the extra two kids that I'd originally gotten rid of today. Apparently, grandma's out of town, so she really did need me.

ETA: one of the other daycare girls scratched the baby again.... ack!!! i'm so tired of my job right now i could cry.

A Good Weekend....

....so this weekend was a pretty good one. For some reason, I'm just as tired as when I have a busy weekend. I think we're all getting sick.

I did sleep on the sofa with Griffin last night, though....we're getting the coughs and stuff again....just lovely, let me tell ya.....



and i think that i, too, am getting this yucky, as my chest feels really tight lately. ick.

otherwise, not much ado....we went to a friend of a friend's house today for lunch and football watching. they have two kids around the same age as the twins, so we shall be getting together again, i hope.

A Blast From the Past.....

....as many of you, the whole ten faithful, know, I'm addicted to Sitemeter right now...so I can get a semi-good idea of who's actually reading this thing. BTW, I'm really sad that nobody commented today. Really sad. I feel incredibly neglected. ANYWAY, I digress...

....and many of you also know that I used to be a German teacher. This was at good old Eastern Hancock High School, in Hancock County, Indiana. It was one of the worst years of my life, although I did meet several nice people.

....Well, the point of all this? Someone, who's connection is based out of Shirley, Indiana (whaddaya mean you've never HEARD of SHIRLEY!! Surely, you can't be serious, as Shirley is one of those blink-and-you-miss-it towns, such as I grew up in...) has been spending A LOT of time reading my blog. And I mean a LOT.OF.TIME. It doesn't creep me out, but it does make me wonder who might be reading it. It also brings up some memories of the past. Both good and bad.

High school students can be mean. Downright, plain-old mean. But...they can also be the kindest, neatest people. There are many past students that I wonder what happened to them. Whatever happened to all those überpopular cheerleaders obsessed with getting not just A's, but A PLUSSES on everything? So much, in fact, that they'd cheat on just about everything they could? And then tell the teacher that they were the worst thing ever to receive a license because she caught them? Or, whatever happened to the kids who actually liked me....the one who gave me a sticker that said "I've survived just about damn near everything". Which was the themesong for that entire year and which I carried around with me in my cd case for years afterward? Whatever happened to the girl who used to come into my room and eat lunch with me every day because she was so much more like a friend than a student. Who, also, coincidentally, was only about four years younger than me at the time!

You see, I was way too young and naiive to be a teacher. Of course, this was nothing that any classroom could have taught me, and was something that I had to find out for myself. That fateful year of teaching at EHHS.

Boy, if they could see me now. ;)

Slow Saturday.....aaaaahhhhh

....you gotta love when you don't have much going on on a Saturday morning. Lazy. Ahhhh...

So, you ask, why did I post all of the pictures of my house and light fixtures? It's for Katie . You see, we've known eachother since we were six. Yes, six. Longer than we've NOT known eachother. And Katie has since selfishly taken upon herself (with the aide of her husband, Greg, who got a job there), to move to Maryland. And with the hurricanes and whatever else is driving the gas prices these days, Aaron will NOT let me go there for Fall Break this year. And, since Katie won't be able to see my house until October, we've decided to swap pictures of our houses. Yes, I realize that these are not all of the rooms. Those shall come later. There were kidlets sleeping in the other rooms when I went around with my camera. Yes, yes, that does explain the ROOMS, but why the FANS? OK, take another look. Go ahead, I'll wait. Back? Yes, did you SEE the fugliness of those fans and light fixtures? They are soooo not my style. I should almost start up a fund to have people donate to help me buy new ones....darn the hurricanes and other plagues that make this seem very shallow.

Anyway, that's my house. Yes, I'm a slob, you can say it. I also have two very good reasons why my house never seems to be neat.....

My house....in pics....

....it's a mess...but it's mine. ;)

The Weekend....nearly....

....so I've got about fifteen more minutes with the girl before it's officially the weekend.

I did get some scrapping done today, but found out that Cascade Crystal Clear all over the floor is not only expensive, but also not so much fun to clean up. *sigh* What I get for ignoring them for five minutes for some peace.

Happy Friday!

...and hopefully a hppy one it will be! i've only got three extra kids all day today! woofreakinghoo! :)

Happy HNT....

....since I'm feeling inferior today...I'll post a HNT of my daughter a year ago. ;)

On a different note, I've created a scrapbooking blog. You can now view all of my wonderful (insert note of sarcasm here) works. Go here to see it! :)

Feeling Scrapbooking Superior and A Huge Rant....

.....re: Scrapbooking Superiority...I've done 30 pages this month. I ROCK! LOL Not that all of these pages I've done are by any means mag-worthy, but I feel quite proud of myself for having conquered a huge block where the twins are concerned. Two years has been enough time to heal some momma-guilt wounds created by the uterus that drops out at 30 weeks fundal-height measurement!

....re: A Huge Rant...will the person stalking my sister-in-law please stand up and walk the fuck out? you know who you are, and i've no doubts that you probably read this....i really wish i would have confronted you the last time i saw you, but, unfortunately, i didn't. if you ever loved her, leave her alone...the same goes with the other person you're doing this to, and whoeverthehellelse you're doing this to. it's not right, and it's going to catch up to you someday. so stop it. stop it now.

*sorry if this hurts/upsets the people that are affected by this person's cruelty, but i can't NOT say anything*

An Easier Day....

....so today I only have five extra kiddos, and one goes to preschool. They are a bit on the rambunctious side already, but I think we'll have a good day. I just need to get them all outside. Outside is the key these days.

....so you know how I said I have an addictive personality? Well, I was up until 11:00 last night....scrapbooking. Who needs sex when you've got all the office supplies you could want right at your fingertips? Anyway, I'm up to the point where Griffin gets off the vent. Of course, this isn't one month and eight days after he was born, like Erin. This was two weeks and one day. It's amazing to me that they say "whimpy white boys" when Erin was more of the whimp while in the hospital. Not that ANY micropreemie who survives could really be called a whimp. But if one were to be deemed Whimp...that would have belonged to Erin.

Anyway, I sit on what could be deemed a sizeable amount of paper. I have nearly every color you could think of. My current problem? I DON'T THINK I HAVE WHAT I NEED!!! How could someone in my current situation think that they don't have what they need? I'm at a loss with myself? Could we say I have an addiction to buying stash? Why...I believe we could.

Too Cute....

....Lifted from Cath's blog....

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6800/575/1600/dr6wlv.jpg

Hello, My name is Stephanie....

....and I'm addicted to diet Coke. I know it's not as an immediate threat as cigarettes, but it's a "monkey on my back" nonetheless. I was reading through a confession by CMHL , when I looked down to see not one, but THREE, half-empty (yes, I know the psychological significance of half-full/half-empty...I wouldn't call myself a pessimist, but a careful optimist, thankyouverymuch) diet Coke cans. Aaron was outright shocked when it came to light that I'd gone through not just one case of diet Coke in the past week, but one and a half!

Now, I know that there are many urban legends on the dangers of everything from tampons to saccharin....but I suppose that with all my "issues" of the last year or so, there *might* be some weight to the fact that overconsumption of diet Coke can cause a multitude of problems, the least of which is the addiction to caffiene! ;) And, believe me, I usually don't think that the warnings spread about the internet hold much water. I was the LAST person to believe that you could spontaneously ignite while using your cell phone while pumping gas...until I saw it on the six o'clock news!

But to back up to the "monkey", the fact that I'm addicted to SOMETHING is no real surprise, given my familial history of various addictions. I've a very addictive personality, which is why I will scrapbook every night for weeks on end, or spend way too much money for a few weeks, or drink a 12-pack of diet Coke in one week. For me, it doesn't have to be ingested for me to be addicted to it.

So, even though it's not outright harmful, there you have it. A peek into the psyche of a diet Coke junkie!

And, backing up a bit further, I *would* be addicted to Mountain Dew....if it didn't make my butt big. I never was in double digit pants (not that there's anything wrong with that), until I started drinking Mountain Dew like a maniac. When I realized that I was as heavy as when I gave birth to Collin, I realized that I had to stop drinking fully-sugared drinks. ;)

The Computer Gods Are Out to Get Me....

.....for I'm trying for the second time to post in relation to my own "monkey on my back." And for the second time, it's pissing down rain so badly that I'm sure that the electricity is going to go out, leaving me with yet another blank screen.

i can't remember the exact phrase, but it's something like "bend over, it's coming again". ;)

Mailtime Jackpot....

I received the following in the mail today:
1. Ransom Alphabars for the Sizzix.
2. Doodleblock upper and lower case, Pigeon toed charms lower case and numbers
3. My next three months worth of Paxil (the world thanks you, pharmacy!)
4. The fiftieth anniversary edition of the church bulletin.
5. The new Nick Jr. mag
6. The bills for all said spending.....*sigh*

A Case of the Mondays?

...for one of my little daycare lovelies...not me. I actually am doing ok, despite the incessant crying. I wish she were having a better day, though, as my day would be a lot happier as a result.

Unlike Katie, who's having an Anti-Procrastination Day, I'm having a Try-To-Be-A-Better-Daycare-Provider Day. Which means attempting to do enriching activities with the children. So far we've sung about apples and the calendar. We've colored pictures of apples, using red, green, and yellow markers. And we've watched a lot of Noggin, PBS, and Disney. (I didn't say a perfect daycare provider...just a better one) Why, you ask, don't I take these little lovlies outside? Because it pissed down this morning. *sigh* Am sincerely hoping that it stays dry out so that I can take them all out after nap.

Otherwise, it's just Another Day in Paradise.

What are everyone's aims for today? Anti-Procrastination? Be-A-Better-Daycare-Provider? ;)

A Restful Weekend.....

....Aside from feeling like a-number-one shit on Saturday, we had a pretty good weekend. I woke up at 7:00 yesterday, which was no fun at all when I went to bed as late/early as I did. I wound up hagning around the house for most of the morning, willing myself to stay awake. I tried to potty train the gruesome twosome some more, but I am not sure that we're yet ready. *sigh* Erin did a good job, but Griffin didn't do so well. Have I mentioned yet that the boy peed and pooped on the train table? Well, he did. Much fun to clean that up...

Well, Saturday afternoon, I met up with a mom at the park so that our kids could play together. I still wasn't feeling too swell, and had even tried laying down before we went. I still had to make a run for the bushes at the park to let fly everything I'd eaten that day. Very nice for the unsuspecting families.

Today I had an even lazier day. I have cleaned the bathrooms (but haven't done the wonderful task of sweeping/mopping and emptying the trash yet. Otherwise, I slept in until 11! Aaron is a wonderful guy. (I'm ready for the scathing comments of those less fortunate...I know that I'm lucky...) I got up and talked to my freshman year college roommate, which was nice. I'd been thinking a lot about her lately, but hadn't had the nerve to call her up (am very bad long-distance friend). She has a four month old son, and he's doing really well. We're going to meet up the first of October, and I'm stoked beyond all belief! After the phone call, I roamed around a bit, shared my breakfast with Erin, and tried to will myself awake and functional. I still feel like shit a bit, but am not as bad off as I was yesterday.

I'm going to go finish cleaning now, while my will is still half-way here. I'm such a layabout slob, I tell ya.

Holy Cow.....

....It's 1:30 and I've not gone to bed yet..... YIKES! I'm not sure how I'm going to survive later today with toilet training, but we'll see!

BTW, I've got Erin's album done up to April of 2003. I've done all the "scariest" stuff of her NICU stay, and am now up to the point where she's wearing clothes! Can I say how stoked I am with myself? Also, I do have to say that I'm going to have to cut her first year album off at her NICU stay. I've been using the binder-style albums, so that constricts the amount of pages I can put in one album without it bulging out. And methinks that Griffin has more pictures in the NICU (shhhh...don't tell Erin!), so I'm not sure how I'm going to manage his album...lol

OK, off to bed with my sorry butt...I've been up for 20 hours now.

Potty Training and Celebrity Marriages....

....ok, so i know that they don't go together, but here are my thoughts and stories....

....potty training.....potty training erin seems to be going fairly well thus far. she peed twice from the point that she got up from nap until about 6:00 pm when they went outside and she requested a diaper. griffin, on the other hand, peed on the floor. he also declined the diaper, but went outside without a hitch...no peeing in his pants. but...after going outside, we came in and ate dinner. and he let fly. in his booster seat. and then he sat on my lap. yum. THEN..yes, it's not over. not by a long shot. THEN, he peed AND POOPED on HIS TRAIN TABLE!! *sigh*

....celebrity marriages....WTF is up with everyone splitting right now? is it a freaking full moon or something? first brad and jennifer, then renee and kenny...and now tori and whoeverthehellshemarried. so glad that i'm contentedly married to the man of my dreams who so valliantly (sp??) puts up with all my wiggy female and mental issues.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

So...feeling a little less psycho today. I was honest with my "favor" family, and told them that I could no longer be what they needed me to be, and that I wasn't going to watch their kids anymore. I wasn't making full price on them, anyway, but the stress of having ten kids in my house three days a week was killing me. Plus, I have one sweet, little whiney butt on my hands every day, I was really having issues with having TWO on my hands. So, I finally told them that it was getting to be too much for me. DO YOU HEAR WHAT I'M SAYING, PEOPLE??? I FINALLY SAID "NO!"

Now, if I could just get rid of one more, I would be rocking on with my bad self....

My friend Rebecca came over today, and will kill me for telling you all this, but she bought me White Castle! I'd never had it, as the smell of the "sliders" makes me sick. BUT, they have kick-ass mozzerella sticks and chicken rings! How I miss having people around to do that for me at least once a week! Now it happens less often than I would wish.

I got two pages done within the last two days. I will take pics and post at another date. I know...I still owe everyone the pages from my weekend. I know you all are dying to see them. ha!

Kids, Life, and Sanity....be warned, i'm introspective again...

....you know, a person in the blogging world has come up across the question on whether you should stay in a bad marriage because of kids. it's amazing to me how much we'll sacrifice for the sake of our kids...and sometimes it comes down to our sanity. some might feel "trapped" in a bad marriage because of children...i'm "trapped" in a job that might not be healthy for me. do i see a way out? not that would be good for my kids, do i. so, i continue to sacrifice bits of my sanity because i can't bear of the thought of what it would do to them if i got some other job. what would i do? could i work third shift? could i find some job that would get us to the poor house because i have to pay a mint in daycare? what do i do? i don't see a good answer to this question. so i do what comes naturally. i put on a semblance of a game face and work like a motherfucker every day because i don't see a way out.

Not a Good Day....

....send some bleach via express mail, please.

Half-Nekkid Thursday......second week...

....so methinks that i should go ahead and throw out all the bralet tops. unlike the other pic...this one makes me feel chubby....

Erin and Her Glasses.....

this morning's convo:

me: "you seem to be having trouble seeing....you want your glasses?"
erin: "i break them!"

i go out to the van and grab them, put them on her face, and within ten minutes, they're on the ottoman in the living room.

*sigh* perhaps she'll like her new ones better. they're the Flex-On brand.

OK, so I've Spent....

....all my mad money for the next several months. No matter that it was about 20% of the total price i would have paid....i've got one pissed off nice guy on my hands.

.....he'll forgive me, though. ;)

....i did a stupid-ass thing, though. i gave the first ebay seller my old fucking address. so i emailed him/her/it today and gave them my new address, but i'm not sure whether he/she/it has sent it out yet. fuck me running!

The Wee Ones Are Driving Me Crazier Today....

.....I know, I'm already a bit nutty. But the children have gone into "let's push her buttons" mode today and yesterday. Yesterday one of the daycare girlies bit the other one to shreds. Of course, most of these types of incidents take place when I'm doing things that benefit the collective-- Like fixing lunch, changing diapers, or ushering everyone inside from playing.

Other news? There is none. It's more of the same around here, I'm afraid.

I am still curious as to whose everyone's childhood crushes were. Thanks to Elyse Lane Friend and Nain for stepping up to the plate.

I'm Addicted to Two Things Right Now....

1. sitemeter
2. ebay

1....it's amazing how many people actually run past my blog. today i found out that someone looked at my blog simply because they did a search on a pulmonary embolysm. that just cracks me up.

2.....ebay....need more be said? once you start, it's awfully hard to stop! though methinks i need to start trying to SELL stuff rather than BUY stuff.

*Yawn*

Why is it that I can never, ever get enough sleep? *sigh*

This one goes out to my son Collin. I absolutely lurve Ben Folds (and Aaron has a big man-crush on him. tee hee). This song is supposed to be from his own point of view to his son....but I see it very much from my point of view, too.

Ben Folds
Still Fighting It

Good morning, son.
I am a bird
Wearing a brown polyester shirt
You want a coke?
Maybe some fries?
The roast beef combo's only $9.95
It's okay, you don't have to pay
I've got all the change

Everybody knows
It hurts to grow up
And everybody does
It's so weird to be back here
Let me tell you what
The years go on and
We're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
And you're so much like me
I'm sorry

Good morning, son
In twenty years from now
Maybe we'll both sit down and have a few beers
And I can tell you 'bout today
And how I picked you up and everything changed
It was pain
Sunny days and rain
I knew you'd feel the same things

Everybody knows
It sucks to grow up
And everybody does
It's so weird to be back here.
Let me tell you what
The years go on and
We're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
You'll try and try and one day you'll fly
Away from me

Good morning, son
I am a bird

It was pain
Sunny days and rain
I knew you'd feel the same things

Everybody knows
Tt hurts to grow up
And everybody does
It's so weird to be back here.
Let me tell you what
The years go on and
We're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
Oh, we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it

And you're so much like me
I'm sorry

And you wanna know what else is humorous? Collin asked me a few months ago...."Can you burn me a Ben Folds CD?" Um, Collin, with how much cussing is on it, that's a negatory. But I think I should go ahead and burn him a mix of his cleaner songs, no?

Anyway, we had a night full of laughter last night. One of those nights where you think that the world is alright, despite all the yuckiness that abounds. The topic of all the Byers' Guffaw-fest? Karate Kid. Yes, that's right, Karate Kid. And my pre-pubescent one-sided love affair with Ralph Macchio. Yes, I loved that boy-man (as I think he was in his thirties when he made the Karate Kid...). And Aaron thought this was the funniest thing ever. I recounted how I was too poor to buy the lastest issue of Bopper magazine, so I paused the VCR on a good frame of him, and used my mom's Kodak disc type camera (do you remember the one with the film like the View Master inserts??) so that I could have a picture of him. Boy did they have a time with me. I mean, c'mon....I WAS NINE AND TEN YEARS OLD!!! I loved the New Kids on the Block, too.

But boy, did they have fun with me. And did it bring back some of the happier moments of my childhood. Yes, most girls dream of men that are likened to the guy in the Chicago song "Glory of Love". I dreamt of my knight in shining armor, who was going to take me to his castle far away. And Aaron and I had a good chuckle at the thought that I wouldn't have picked him, at nine or ten years old, to be my knight. Not that I'm sad that it turned out that he WAS my knight.

OK, so who were some of your pre-pubescent crushes??

Back to the Grind.....

...ok, so after I bid you all farewell yesterday in favor of snuggling my sweeties, I was BUSY!! Bits of me are afraid I'm pregnant because I'm doing that nesting thing. But methinks you really have to have a bit more sex than I'm getting at this point to get that way. tee hee ANYWAY, I got everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) out of the car and to where it was supposed to be, which was no small task, as I came home with much more than that with which I left. After I got all my scrapping stuff hauled up the steps and into my office, I started PUTTING IT ALL AWAY (all right, ya'll get your chins up off the floor). I'm sure that I've said it before. I'm inherently a slob. So for me to go and put everything away and clean what was already there is perhaps the biggest miracle since the virgin birth. It could possibly top the fact that the twins are still living (which, recently, has NOTHING to do with the fact that they were half-baked in my sorry excuse for a uterus!). I sorted my scraps. I know I've probably done this since my faithful (all ten of you) readers began, but this was no small feat, as I don't think I've put scraps away in a year or so....

So today was back to the daily grind, with one small exception. My friend Jessica and her son Clay came over to visit. I got Panera for lunch, which happens rarely these days, though it so happens that it's actually happened twice within the last week. Someone call Lucifer and ask whether he's got his coat on, OK? Other than that, it's pretty much life as normal. Which is fine by me, as I really need to make some money to pay off this past weekend. If I can do that, chances are that Aaron will let me out of the house again to scrapbook with Jan. If not, it's going to be a long and lonely scrapping time for me. hehehe

I'm Back!! Didn't ya Miss Me??

rofl....it's ok...i didn't miss you, either! :P

seriously, being away from the puter for nearly three full days was rough stuff for this little puter nerd! i did manage to have a lot of fun this weekend, but i'm kind of glad to be back in my own home, sleeping in my own bed, and WITH ALL OF MY TOOLS THAT I ACCIDENTALLY LEFT BEHIND THIS WEEKEND!!! could i be more mad at myself?? i don't think so.

but...jan shared with me, and i got ten pages done! i'm so happy that i'm now to the point in erin's scrapbook where both aaron and i have been able to hold her, and she's off the vent, etc. i'll post pictures soon, but right now, i'm going to go back to enjoying my little family that i missed so much! :)

My first HNT!! ROFL

not that there will be many of these for me, but here it is! LOL

i shall miss them....and my loyal readers (don't laugh...you're here, aren't you?)

WOOHOO!! Today's the Day!

I'm stoked to be able to say that I don't have to wait more than 24 hours. Hopefully in about twelve hours, I'll be in the car, on the way up to Ft. Wayne. Tonight we're going to hang out and look at scrapbook pages to submit to magazines. I'm very nervous about this, even though I know that it's really no big deal. It's one thing to put them here for the "world" to see, but it's another to have pros look at them to see if they're worthy. I know I do decent pages. But what if "they" don't think so? The pressure, I tell you! LMAO

***Alaina (and everyone else grossed out by mentions of me having sex**** stop reading......

I finally had sex without bleeding last night! I'm hoping that this means that I'm on my way to "normal" in that department. *crossing fingers, toes, and eyes*

What a Crap Day....

.....kids.screaming.
good.thing.am.taking.vaca.in.24hrs.
as.will.harm.crying.baby.soon.

A Good Birthday....

I don't feel any older? Should I? hehe

Anyway, yesterday was a good day....when six o'clock rolled around and I was seated at a restaurant. Otherwise, it was another day in paradise. *sigh* The kids yesterday didn't realize that the spotlight was supposed to be on ME. Not them. ME. So we had plenty of screaming going on. You have to love the day after a long weekend.

So I went to Applebee's with Aaron's parents. It was nice. They got me two fall/winter tops and a long sweater. And money. Money for my trip! yeeha! I shall not have to take out a loan to go now! My sister-in-law got me a video, a spa eye thingy and some Toblerone chocolate. Yum, yum, slurp, slurp!

When I got home, however, I saw that the birthday fairy came, bearing gifts in a Spongebob bag! Not having a card attached, I didn't know who it came from at first. But, upon examining its contents, had a sneaking suspicion that it came from none other than "Elyse Lane Friend", because Elyse does some wonderful things with painting on ceramic. And not just the type of stuff my Gran used to do, but honest-to-goodness PRETTY stuff. And after I had my suspicions...I listened to my answering machine to find out that it really WAS Elyse. Elyse, I tried calling you, but the phone was busy! *sobs* Anyway, thanks for a fun gift of even MORE spa products (are people thinking I need to pamper myself?? why, I suppose I do, don't I? heheh) and a wonderful ornament!

OK, so hopefully today will be a better day.....and if it's not....well, it's like Thursday for me, as I will be leaving tomorrow for Ft. Wayne! *big, cheesy grins of a Momma who's going to be leaving her children for nearly three days*

The Best Job of All.....

Happy Birthday to Me! ...........I think....

So yes, today's my birthday. Twenty-eight years have I been on this earth. Makes a person reflective. In the past 28 years, my biggest achievement has been to birth three wonderful kiddos. But to hopefully raise three kind, successful people would be a great achievement.

I ran into two of my classmates this weekend at Holiday World. I was so surprised to see them! We caught up on the past five years in a very brief period of time. The friends are twins, and were probably some of my best friends in high school. One of them got married since I saw her last. That was a fun surprise to hear. The other sister had just gotten married before I saw her at my five year high school reunion. She now has two kidlets!

I also got the brief low-down on what happened with people in my graduating class since I saw everyone last. One of the guys in my class...one of the valedictorians of my class, went to med school to become a family physician. He's currently in his residency. The friend told me that he's now going to Louisiana to help out. What a wonderful thing to do. It's something I wish I could do as well. I'm very proud of him and I wish him a safe journey.

Long, Long Weekend.....

....I might need another day off to recover! .....oh, wait...I'm going to SCRAPBOOK this weekend! The next three days can't go fast enough. ;)

This Is Why I Want a 12 x 12 Scanner.....

Pattern Paper and ink: SU!, C/S and Snaps: Leaving Prints

Journaling reads: When you were a week old, you got your first "taste" of mom's milk. At first you only took 1cc every two hours -- not much at all! Right before you were fed again, the nurse would use a syringe on your tube to see if you had any residual--leftover milk -- in your tummy.


Font: Amano, all paper: Leaving Prints

Poem: Darling little one,
With eyes like mine
And tiny hands
One day to capture the world,
My Angel Child
Sweet Angel Child
You are my gift from God.

--Najah T. Clemmons

and I need to put in a little plug in for the new X-acto knife that has the comfort grips.....lurve it! ;)

Where There is Love......

paper is Marcella by K&Co, ink and square tags by Stampin' Up!, buttons by Dress it Up!

Journaling reads: This is our first visit to the NICU after I left the hospital. Leaving you and Griffin behind was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, despite the fact that there was no way I was going to be able to care for you myself. We were left to simply look into your isolette and occasionally put our hands over your tiny body. It was even cautioned not to rub or stroke you, as that would over stimulate you and make your heart rate drop.

Scary.....

for those of you who want proof that collin's my child. ;)

remember these pics, Katie? ;)

My House Is a Wreck....

....My children are fed in a rush......I'm stepping over cereal crumbs and toys to run upstairs and keep scrapbooking! So if I'm not around for the rest of the day (stop celabrating, already!), you know where I am and what I'm doing......

And the Drought is LIFTED!!!

The colors are very wonky, but it's there all the same. A rusty start to a long scrapping spell (here's hoping, right?), but it's there all the same. Bear with the pages, too folks, because they're going to be intense for a while.

Bazzill Cardstock (from the Basics Collection), Tropical Pink Dark Leaving Prints Cardstock, Stampin' Up! pattern paper, Close To My Heart stamps, Foamies foam stamps, and Stampin' Up! Ink.

My Heart Is Breaking.....

....for those affected by the hurricane. Especially for those who were taking refuge in the Superdome. I can't even fathom what these people are going through, despite the fact that we're seeing first hand via pictures.

You see, when you run a daycare inside your home, you don't get the chance to see a lot of what's going on outside the realms of Disney television. They just don't talk about these sorts of things on the Wiggles. I'm the last to know most EVERYTHING. What knowledge I do get is from those who are fortunate enough to catch some minutes away from screaming toddlers. Those toddlers whom I try to protect from sights such as those we're seeing right now on the news.

It amazes me that people can be dealt such harsh blows. All around me, people suffer. In varying degrees, yes, but they suffer all the same. People withstand things I couldn't even begin to imagine going through, and seem to always come out seeing a bright patch where there doesn't seem to be one. I know that I've gone through (and still do, I suppose) things that people SAY they couldn't do. But it amazes me how, when faced with a crisis, people step up to the plate and do what needs to be done to survive. And sometimes they even make the world a better place for those around them.

I wish that I could do more than send a small check to those in need....but that's all I can do right now. I suppose I could drop everything and hop in my car and go down to New Orleans and do what I can to help. But I would have to leave behind the four people in my life that matter the most, and that's not practical, is it? But I hate that about myself all the same. I hate that I can't help everyone who needs it.

I've Been Sorting NICU photos.....

These are the twins at 28 days.....