This Crafty Chick

News

2011-08-17T07:23:00.006-06:00

This month I hosted the font challenge over at Funky Playground Designs. The challenge was to use a newsprint-type font and to journal about "news." This LO took on a life of its own as I wrote about my friend's battle with cancer.

Catching up with Camille

2011-05-29T11:06:00.003-06:00

This silly girl has been keeping me in stitches & I realized that I needed to keep these funny things written down somewhere other than FB status updates. So, here goes :) Bear with me:

5.2.11

Today's "funny" from Camille: We're studying vision & optical illusions and looking at some books with images that appear to move. Her reaction: "It's like this book has got batteries or something! This is seriously blowing my mind!"

4.22.11

Camille's words of wisdom today: "Lily, do you know what your surprise is once you eat all of those jelly beans? Empty eggs and dirty teeth. Now let's go brush!!"

3.2.11

Reading excerpts from Tom Sawyer today & Camille tells me, "You know, Tom reminds me of Brer Rabbit. You know, but no Tar Baby." Love that girl! And, I'm LOVING Writing with Ease (hence the Tom Sawyer excerpt).

2.23.11

Doing housework with Camille this afternoon (earning her allowance) - and she tells me that she's not going to be wasting so much money on her kids. "I think I'll give them like a quarter a week. That should be good."

2.15.11

silly things from the girls this morning: Camille - "Yeah, stealing is really wrong. It's on the Top Ten Commandments!" Lily - (when asked if she was dancing like she had ants in her pants) "No ants. Have poo poo in pants."

1.2.11

Lily's first complete sentence today..."Wake up, Daddy!" Love it!

12.29.10

Camille's thoughts on Go Diego Go and his tampering with the food chain: "Diego does not rescue animals. He only makes them hungry."

12.14.10

Overheard while the girls were playing today - all Camille: "This was supposed to be a fun tea party, but it seems that it's turning into a monster bash." "Lily is not a very good hostess, Mom. She doesn't even ask what the guests want. She just throws some stuff on a plate and makes them take it."

11.30.10

Camille in response to a commercial we saw recently: "Burnt dinners for a whole year? That is definitely NOT the good stuff. This song is makes. no. sense!"

11.18.10

laughed so hard at my daughters today. We were driving down 35 with the windows down and sunroof open. Both were giggling and squealing, and Camille shouted, "We never have this kind of fun! This is awesome!!" Seriously. All it took was rolling down a couple of windows?? Christmas is going to be cheap this year ;)

9.22.10

me: I have a surprise for you. Camille: Is it edible? Me: Um, no. Camille: Man. I love edible surprises.

8.23.10

overheard Camille say to a friend while watching Franny's Feet on Sprout: "Every time she goes on an adventure, she talks to strangers! Now that's just crazy!" She's become quite the realist lately, and finds most children's cartoons absurd. (i.e. "If Dora would just quit all that talking and looking around at the camera maybe she could solve the problem herself. She's just wasting time!") LOL!

8.17.10

Had an awesome first day of school with Camille yesterday!! In science we're learning about living & non-living things and she informed me that we were living, pancakes were not. Plants are living, dead puppies are not. Um, okay. ;) Silly girl.

7.14.10

Camille: Next Christmas I'm going to ask Santa for a unicorn. Me: Oh yeah? What would you do with a unicorn? C: Keep it around for good luck & good dreams. Me: Well where would you keep it? C: In my closet. Me: But, wouldn't it poop. C: Mom, unicorns poop rainbows and butterflies. And it smells like flowers, so we'd let it poop all over the place. :giggle: So glad she's got it all figured out ;)

7.6.10

Reading a book tonight & there were pictures
of slugs on the page. Me: ICK! Camille: Mom, it's not a big deal.
It's just a slug, and a slug is just a homeless snail. (giggle!)

6.27.10

After spending some time reading a Gems & Minerals book, Camille tells us: "For the rest of my birthdays, you guys can just give me diamonds and crystals. And, Littlest Pet Shop....made out of diamonds and crystals." hee hee.....

6.25.10

Camille had me cracking up tonight while decorating cupcakes. Looking for music on XM Radio - "All they have is this Adult R&B. I'm really in the mood for the plain R&B." While listening to New Wave (The Cult) - "So, this is pretty much, um...terrible. Don't you think?"

6.12.10

Camille upon waking this morning: I am a stretchy earth fairy. Me: Well however did this happen? C: I ate a lot of gum, and I became very stretchy.

6.10.10

Just in case you were wondering. Camille plans on having four children: Pippy, Piper, Xavier and Amanda. So there you have it.

5.22.10

Reading Dr. Seuss' "The Thinks You Can Think" today. One little line read something like "Why do the Beft always walk to the left?" To which Camille responded - "Cause it rhymes, Mom. Cause it rhymes." LOL!

5.10.10

Lily's whining and fussing in the hallway. Camille brings her a pillow. "Would you like to cry somewhere a little more comfortable? How about a pillow?"

5.9.10

Camille: "Dad and I are going to the store to buy you a plant." Me: "We can all go together later if you guys would rather just hang out this morning." Camille: "Mom, you're not supposed to know what you're getting for Mother's Day." Me: "um...okay?!"

4.7.10

Camille, the little mama around here, just got out of bed to tell me that she was a little concerned about Lily's diaper rash, and that she needed to be sure that I had put some Dr. Smith's on Lily before bed. Bless her. She's such a good big sister! ♥

3.22.10

"I am saving these cough drop wrappers in a small box for the tooth fairy. I'm thinking she can use them as a parachute, a raft, or maybe a bit of shade. If we had some nails and some string, we might be able to make her a hammock."

3.21.10

"It's so hard to be a big girl. I've got this new haircut, and you guys say I look older, but it's still really hard to be a big girl." Camille, big girl, age 6

3.13.10

after being (playfully) bitten by a ferret tonight at the pet store, Camille tells us, "I need to go to a place that has no ferrets." "We're headed home," we tell her, "There are no ferrets at our house." "But, I need another world that is ferret-free! I think I might die in my sleep tonight. I really hope there are no ferrets in heaven." Drama! ;)

12.21.09

Tonight nearing the end of the BLORA light trail, the girls were
getting tired. Me, "Camille are you done with all of these lights?"
Camille, "Yeah, I am lit up!" LOL! We had fun and plan to make this
trip again next year!

12.17.09

I dropped the carseat in the driveway (what is it with me and the driveway?!), and said, "Oh, shoot." Camille says, "Ahem. Mom, that is a bad word. I have known this all my life."

12.16.09

..so we've been learning about "silent e." Last night I read a Christmas book that mentioned Chanukkah, and Camille corrected me - thinking I needed to pronounce the "ch." When I explained, she seemed shocked, "You mean there's a silent C?!"

12.11.09

Camille had her first complete freak-out "I want that" in the store today. sigh On the way home she said, "My life used to be so wonderful, and now it has turned into a storm!"

So, a little later, once she realized that she had really acted inappropriately, she told me, "If there was an award for the worst family member ever, they would give it to me."
DRAMA! (she cracks me up though - LOL!)

12.5.09

Camille: Mom, why don't we have any Christmas lights up outside? Me: Well, I guess cause we're a bunch of Grinches. Camille: That's not true, Mom. I think some people just have their Christmas spirit on the inside!

11.22.09

Camille at breakfast this morning: "Sometimes my stomach digests my food excitedly. This morning is one of those times." Yep, you gotta love grits!

10.26.09

snort - - and Camille says, "Why does your laugh sound like pudding glopping out of its bowl?" - - ahhh, I love that little monkey of mine....and snort, again.

10.08.09

Doing a little stranger safety lesson today. Camille's bits of wisdom that she shared with me: "We don't take candy from strangers because it might have germs!" and "Some strangers might try to do bad things to you, you know like take off your shoes and bite your toes! yikes!" LOL!

9.18.09

Camille: "Ouch!" Me: "Are your shoes giving you trouble?" Camille: "Yeah, Mom. I've got issues."

7.25.09

"Mom, why do they call it Toys R Us? Why R? Why not are - like you ARE the best mom ever?" hee hee....I love that sweet girl o' mine!

keepers

2011-04-11T21:49:00.002-06:00

Love, love, love my keepers girls!

The one with the scrapbook pages

2011-03-18T21:23:00.005-06:00

Here's a wee bit of what I've been working on...

phew!

2010-10-12T21:04:00.004-06:00

We've been so busy lately. The last month has just flown by. I can't believe that Halloween is almost here! EEK! Literally....EEEK! I've been busy trying to get costumes taken care of and sewn, and I can't wait for the girls to be all dolled up come the 31st!

Here's a LO I made lately...and yes, you're reading that correctly. Halloween 2008, baby!! Lest you think I'm caught up on scrapping ;)

Making a Splash

2010-07-21T21:50:00.004-06:00

After spending much (ahem, just about all) of my free time recently on lesson planning for next year, I realized I really needed to catch up on some scrapbooking. This LO came together so quickly tonight - - I just love this kit! Much fun to work with :)

These pics were from our outing to Champion Park. One of the things on our summer to-do list was to visit a new park and we had a great time exploring this one! Definitely going to be a return visit for us!

Catching Up

2010-06-06T22:47:00.004-06:00

Seems like we've been homebound for the last couple of weeks. Lily was sick, I was sick, now Lily is sick again....ugh! So far, it's been a fairly uneventful start to the summer. With us staying at home so much, I've been able to get some lesson planning done for next year & I've been scrapping lots :)

Images are linked :)

Quack, Quack

2010-04-05T21:38:00.003-06:00

It was such a gorgeous day & the lighting was perfect, so we headed out to take a few pics in the bluebonnets. It was really so windy that I had a hard time getting any good shots and Lily was a little freaked out at the prospect of being put in a patch of bluebonnets. Oh well. We'll try again another day.

We did make it to the park to feed the ducks, though, and that was seriously fun. I've not taken the girls to feed the ducks in some time and for the life of me, I've not a clue why I've waited so long! Lily had the BEST time. Ducks are kinda her thing, and she was totally beside herself getting to feed those little guys.

It was a lovely day in so many ways, and I just felt so incredibly blessed to be enjoying this time with my sweet girls.

Show & Tell

2010-02-27T12:16:00.006-06:00

I've been scrapping like crazy lately. Wanna see? (images are linked)

Hang it up!

2010-01-13T21:43:00.006-06:00

ooooh, I'm so excited about this project! It turned out exactly the way I had in mind - don't you just love when that happens?!? I'd been seeing those family name/ est.. signs all over blogland. Most seemed to be made with cut vinyl, but I don't have one of those fancy cutter things. I do have Photoshop, though, so I decided to come up with something myself!

I took a $1 yard sale frame and sprayed ORB. Size is about 8x20. This thing was hideous. A late eighties vignette of perfume bottles and magnolia blossoms framed in bright gold.
In Photoshop, I put together my art using a background paper from TDC's Every Life Has a Story kit, TKWhimsy's Doodled Stamps, and a couple of fonts (Passions Conflict & American Classic).
I could have made a poster print to fit the frame all the way, but that would've cost around $10 to print. nuh-uh. So, I made my print the very largest that I could fit on a 12x18 page (which just so happens to be the largest laser copy that my local print shop makes - 80 cents).
I opted not to mat, again, being thrifty ;) Instead I grabbed a piece of burlap and wrapped that around the cardboard that came in the frame. Taped it in place and used double-sided tape to secure the print to the burlap.
And, done!! Now to figure out where I want to hang my latest creation.

Frame - $1
paint on hand
digital scrapbooking supplies
print - 80 cents
burlap - $1-ish
Total spent: about $3

Well, hello stranger.

2009-11-21T21:57:00.005-06:00

Oh, my...it's been so very long since I've blogged. Lots keeping us busy in the last month, but I've got a few pages to share :)

With Pri Rocha's new kit at the Digichick, One Happy Day:

And, Kelley Mickus' Fairy Tale Endings

And a new release by Sarah Jones at Funky Playground as well. I love this kit, FanciFall :)

Thanks for looking!! Hope this finds you well, happy, and thankful for the many blessings in your life! Can you believe that Thanksgiving will be here in 5 days?!? Wherever did this year go?

I'll Huff & I'll Puff...

2009-09-25T22:56:00.004-06:00

The video's not the best quality, but here's our theatrical rendition of The Three Little Pigs!

This Little Piggy

2009-09-25T20:59:00.006-06:00

Okay, so my plans for posting each day through our unit study didn't exactly happen. Eh, that's alright! We've been busy learning & having fun....no time to blog :) That's my story & I'm sticking to it! So, let's catch up on what we've been going hog-wild about (ay! I kill me).

(And, I'm omitting all things non-swine in this run-down. We do math, bible study & calendar time every day, no need to tell you that again...)

Thursday the 17th
- We read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. LOVE that book :) It was lots of fun talking about point of view and character with this vs. the original three little pigs.

- We finished building our houses. SO fun!! We had a house of straw, a house of sticks, and one of bricks. These were made with boxes and were super easy to do. Here's a little scrapbook page of our fun:

Friday, September 18th
- It was a co-op day, but in the evening we had a pig-themed movie night. We watched Charlotte's Web (the cartoon version), and had pigs in blankets, pretzels, and pears for dinner. For dessert, I made pig-cakes:

We loved these so much, that they'll be making another appearance later in our pig study :)

Monday, September 21
- We read one of our favorite pig books (and a newer one):

These are SO much fun! Of course, we talked all about cause & effect, and real vs. pretend, and we absolutely ate pancakes!!
- Lots of fun online games & coloring activities at www.mousecookiebooks.com.
- Our art project today (and science lesson) was a little tie in with cause & effect and the 3 Little Pigs. We did some huffing & puffing (with straws) and created "blow" art.

Tuesday, September 22nd:
- We reread discussed the Five Senses and then re-read If You Give a Pig a Pancake. I gave Camille Sense cards (with silly little illustrations for each of the five senses). As we came to each new thing that the mischievous little pig did, Camille held up card(s) that each thing represented. Clear as mud? It was lots of fun.
- Today, was lots of math, and lots of reading. We read several books, did lots of counting & figuring and played with money. I *love* play money and have an awesome set that I just love! It was definitely worth the extra $$ for the super-cool play money set!

Cash Pax Money Briefcase Set

Wednesday, September 23rd:
- Today we read, read, and read some more.
- We discussed how in literature, animals are often given real-life characteristics. As we read stories of "messy" pigs or "dumb, lazy" hogs, we noted how these characters were alike or differed from the real animals. It was interesting how many of the pig stereotypes (i.e. messiness) were used so often, although we learned that pigs are actually pretty clean animals.
A couple of our faves from today:

Thursday, September 24th:
- We read lots of books on manners & did some fun games with manners.
- Then, we hosted a "Perfectly Posh Pink Pig Party!" with 7 of Camille's little friends! It was so much fun :) Our pigcakes made another appearance & the party was a blast :)

What a fun way to end our unit on PIGS! To be honest, there are a few things that I'm going to wrap up next week, and I still have a video of our production of The Three Little Pigs to post, and we'll be heading to a farm next month to check out some pigs in person....but for the most part, this pig is cooked!

Thanks for following along :)

Three Little Piggies

2009-09-16T16:05:00.001-06:00

Today was our third day in our unit study on PIGS. Fun, fun, fun!!

Wednesday:
- Calendar/ 100s chart
- Prayer & Bible Study
- math
- Phonics work - A & E
- Reviewed the Pledge of Allegiance and watched Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance on YouTube. Really great :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPbIls0iOnI
- Review stuff we've learned so far abo pigs
- Played "Catch the Pig" - - a silly little game on Facebook - LOL!
- Read The Three Little Pigs from Mary Engelbreit's Nursery Tales. Great classic version & I love the illustrations

- I had Camille read and take a little reading comprehension quiz on the story. Her first multiple choice page! HA!
- We talked about real pigs vs. the characters, and discussed some of the traits that the characters had that are shared with real pigs (i.e. the third pig being smart).
- Today was totally an art day. We made the three little pigs and the wolf, and began construction on their houses. We'll be putting on a little show later - - stay tuned :)

It was a kind of short day. I seem to have picked up the virus that Brandon had over the weekend, and every muscle in my body aches. No fever or anything else....just exhausted. I'm praying this passes quickly & so thankful that I'm a SAHM - afternoon nap to the rescue!!

This Little Piggy

2009-09-15T21:46:00.002-06:00

Tuesday (Day 2):
- Calendar/ 100s chart
- Prayer/ Bible lesson
- Math
- We sang this fun little song to Lily who giggled and laughed the whole time.
- Read aloud: PIGS - Camille read this easy book to me - - we discussed more about pigs.

- Rhyming words - What Rhymes with PIG? (handwriting, spelling)
- Pig Sayings - We talked about different phrases and their meanings, i.e. "hog heaven," "happy as a pig," "going hog wild,"etc..
- A Happy Pig Rests - learning percentages & graphing. Did you know that pigs rest about 82% of the time?
- virtual farm tour @ http://www.pork4kids.com
- painting with "mud" - - chocolate pudding finger paint (art)

This was pretty funny, actually. I had Camille sit at the table with her eyes closed as I brought her "mud" to her. When she opened her eyes and saw pudding there, she could hardly believe it. She sort of looked at me in disbelief, then dug in. The pudding was cold at first, but she didn't let that stop her! This was so much fun :)

While my little piglet was busy in the mud, I finished up my Fall banner and hung it and then put some more decorations out. Oh, I seriously LOVE fall & am so ready for it to get cooler!!

Camille was pretty hyped up on chocolate pudding, but it wasn't quite time for Lily to get up from nap, so we headed outside with our nature journal and colored pencils to see what we could see. There are some eensy, tiny mushrooms that have sprouted up in the front garden bed, so we had a little impromptu fungi lesson. I had Camille sketch those and we observed them at their different stages which was really quite cool! Kudos to http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com for the inspiration!

Of course, in our garden observation, we found snails (which Camille excitedly put into families again) and a little lizard. Strange, but the lizard didn't hold much fascination as the snails are really prime targets these days! -- And, I got a fair amount of weed-pulling done during this study and got to spend some awesome time talking to my girl.

Once Lily woke, we ate lunch, hit the library - where Camille proudly told the librarian that she was learning about pigs - and visited the thrift store. I scored some awesome finds that I've already begun spray painting. More to come.....

A Few Recent Pages

2009-09-14T22:48:00.002-06:00

Nana needs a scrapbook fix - - here ya go:

Catching up....

2009-09-14T14:45:00.005-06:00

Well, that's a little misleading. I'm not gonna catch up, cause honestly, so much has gone on since my last post. We're busy, busy, busy and so it's likely best if I just jump right in where we are today!

Last night, was super-fun at the Couch house. Our little ScoobyDoo fan has been anxiously awaiting the new ScoobyDoo movie which premiered on Cartoon Network last night. We made a whole "movie night" of it, and even had bone shaped sugar cookies. YUM!

During the movie, Camille was wiggling her loose tooth to the point that it was *almost* ready to come out. She was so scared that it was going to hurt, and she cried and freaked out a little bit. We offered to pull it for her, but she ran away to the upstairs bathroom and yanked that little thing out herself! She's now lost 2 teeth - - both bottom middle. She's the cutest little thing with that little gap in her teeth ♥

Several people have asked about what we're doing with homeschooling, and so I thought it might be fun to share what we're doing each day with this new unit that we started today. I'm going to try and post each day for the next two weeks and share our unit study with you!

ALL ABOUT PIGS!
Monday (Day 1):
- Calendar work/ 100s chart
- We begin our day with Prayer & Bible lesson
- Math
- KWL - what we know, want to know....and later what we learned about PIGS
- Read "All Pigs are Beautiful" and "Who am I?" books on pigs

- Added a fact book on pigs to our PIG lapbook
- Short science lesson on solubility with oil & water - experiment w/ oil, water & sugar
- Practiced drawing a pig with pencil & paper, then we drew a pig with oil pastels and completed the project with watercolors - discussing the insolubility of the oil pastel and the "relief" when painted over.

**done for the day**

But the learning didn't stop there- -
- Before lunch, Camille caught & played with 22 tiny snails in the backyard. We talked about their bodies and what type of habitat they needed (and that they would, in fact, die if she put them in the pool). {science, math}

- She also picked some veggies from the garden :)
- After lunch, we found a lizard in the backyard that had fallen in the pool. We caught him(or her) and put him in the habitat that we have. We observed the lizard for awhile and Camille did an entry about him in her nature journal. {more science, art, narration}

- Mommy got to do some crafting - - project to be revealed later {sanity}

- This was all before 2:30, so there's no telling what the rest of the day will bring. Right now, both the girls are having rest time. {peace, quiet, JOY!}

Zhu Zhu Pets

2009-09-09T22:10:00.002-06:00

So Camille has been talking non-stop about this toy that she's been seeing commercials for. It always happens that I'm never in the room when the stinkin' commercial comes on, and of course, she *has* to have one of these things. So yesterday, I was getting out of the shower and she yells that THE commercial is on. I come to check it out, but it's ended. Travesty of all travesties.

So, I ask her if she remembered what the little thing was called. zoom zoom, or something? She couldn't quite remember. I asked if she could remember how it was spelled. Bad mommy for making such a terrible inquiry. She was completely beside herself. Not knowing the name of the blessed toy and certainly not knowing how to spell it. Precious Lord, help us.

So, being the computer savvy gal that I am....I googled it ;) zoom zoom - - was a loose translation of Zhu Zhu. Apparently these little robot hamsters are the next Cabbage Patch Kids. They're cheap, they don't poop....I'm game. And, why am I telling you all this you might ask?!?
Cause I'm entering a drawing here: http://bargainbriana.com/2009/08/zhu-zhu-pets-giveaway/ Maybe you'd want to check it out to. And, just so we're understood - if you win, I get your hamster. It's really only fair cause you wouldn't have known about the contest if it weren't for me ;) LOL!

I'm a bad blogger, but a good scrapper

2009-08-09T22:42:00.002-06:00

My Thrifty Finds!

2009-07-20T20:44:00.004-06:00

What a fun Saturday I had out garage sale-ing! I hit a teacher's garage sale bright & early and was able to score a number of books for Camille, as well as some organizational stuff for our Learning Room. No pics of that stuff.

At her sale, I bought this great birdcage for TWO dollars - yay! I've been wanting one for awhile and it's perfect! Thought it would go above the kitchen cabinets, but it's a bit big for that space. Not to worry.....she'll find a home soon.

There were some other odds & ends that I picked up - black double-matted frames for 30 cents each, a cobalt spoon rest, an outfit for Lily, but the real score was these finials. I spent a bit more than I normally would at a garage sale. Ten bucks. But, there were seven of them (the tallest is about 22"), and 1.42 each ain't bad.

Now, here's my question(s):
1) Should I group them all together? Or split this family of finials up?
2) Should I spray paint them or leave 'em as is?

Can't wait to hear what you gals think! Now go visit Miss Rhoda for lots of other great Thrifty Finds for her Thrifty Treasures Mondays!

Go VOTE!

2009-07-20T10:39:00.003-06:00

Okay, friends, the voting polls are up! Click the link below to get to the poll - - and please vote for Heimann's Hotties :) You don't have to register or anything. Just click & vote!

Battle of the Creative Teams

Game ON!

2009-07-18T20:11:00.005-06:00

The Battle of the Creative Teams is ON at Digiscrapaddicts.com! I'm competing with a group of talented gals representing Amanda Heimann - - we're Heimann's Hotties! word.

This week, our challenge was to use white space & for the entire team's LOs to be cohesive w/ colors, theme, etc. We chose a blue, turquoise color scheme with pops of orange, and our theme was beachy pics. I knew right away that I had to use one of the fabulous pics that Cheri had taken of Kohen during their Cancun trip.

I hope you like the LO, Cheri! You can check it out here & leave a comment if you'd like.

I think voting starts Sunday, so I'll link back up as soon as you can vote for us!

Something Fishy

2009-06-07T16:02:00.007-06:00

Just back from vacation, I'm finally going through our pictures from the trip and wanted to share a few. Our visit to the Georgia Aquarium was actually one of the last things we did, but we had so much fun - and I didn't think anyone would protest the lack of chronologicality. Yes, I made that word up. And do forgive the photo quality - - I ended up taking my P&S camera with me and leaving my SLR at home.

Can I first just say that we loved the Georgia Aquarium. It's fab - - and the largest in the world. Being there made me miss Atlanta so much. So much to do, so much energy in the city....oh, I really do miss home.

One of the first things we saw were these amazing jellyfish. They were stunning! The girls were mesmerized immediately!

The next exhibit was super-awesome. We got to walk through a winding tunnel in this large tank. The sharks were amazing. The hammerheads darted back and forth and sometimes looked as if they were coming right for us.

And swimming right above us....this scary fellow! Check out those teeth!

Surely the most spectacular thing in all the aquarium was the wonder that Lily had upon seeing all those fish. It was incredible. I had not expected her to be so captivated by the fish, and I just enjoyed so much watching her.

We loved the grouper. They were seriously huge! (and, yummy if you must know)

To put that delicious, er, I mean, impressive guy in perspective, just check him out swimming above Brandon and the girls :) eek!

After our visit, the girls were completely exhausted. We headed from the Aquarium to search out a place for dinner. Something local & unique. As it turns out, several of my old favorites were not where they used to be.....alot changes in 10 years, I guess.

Because the girls had quickly fallen asleep in the car, we opted to drive around some of my old neighborhoods instead. It was so great - reminiscing, seeing how things had changed. Atlanta really is such a beautiful city. Brandon remarked that if he had to live in a big city, Atlanta would be it. Hmmm.....I think I'm gonna hold him to that ;)

Before & After

2009-06-05T12:37:00.003-06:00

Since you gals asked, I thought I'd share the before and after of my master bedroom paint job. Now, the window treatments are still in the works - not all the decor is as it will be, but you can get the general drift.

The before was a really lovely pale sage color. It went great with the bedding I had when we had our queen size bed, but when I changed decor, it just didn't go as well.

So...BEFORE....
And, AFTER: This is "Muted Gold," and I'm really liking it. It's a little more orange-y than I would like in certain lighting, but it's on the walls, and I'm not changing it anytime soon~! LOL! ;)

I've got lots of pics to share from our trip, but I'm tired, and a certain little redhead is in need of some lunch :)

Engaged!

2009-05-25T07:39:00.006-06:00

Brandon's sister, Melissa, and her boyfriend, Brian, got engaged this week! They're the perfect couple and we know they're going to be very happy together! We're so excited for them - no one more than Camille. She is crazy about Uncle Brian :)

Her ring (that I should've gotten a pic of!) is gorgeous. They designed it together and it has the coolest thing - a tiny blue diamond inset on the side of the band.

So, congrats, Melissa & Brian!! We love you guys and wish you every happiness together!

Pretty Little Clips

2009-05-23T15:37:00.003-06:00

Jacque Larsen is among my digiscrapping idols. She's so amazingly creative. Her designs rock. Her photos are fantastic. Her LOs are gorgeous. And, she's about the sweetest thing ever!

This weekend, she's giving away some super-cute felt hair clippies. Go check 'em out and enter her contest. Jacque's BLOG & her designs at The LilyPad

I'm Her Best Mom Ever.

2009-05-23T10:32:00.004-06:00

This post is a wee bit belated, but no less well-intentioned.... This pic is of the girls and me on Mother's day morning. So stinkin' cute :) And, yes, Camille frequently tells me that I'm her best mom ever. Being her only mom ever, I guess this makes me both the best and the worst.

Having been shopping earlier in the week with Brandon, Camille was insanely excited for Sunday to roll around. She kept dropping hints all week long and trying her bestest to get me to play a Mother's Day guessing game with her. She needs to work just a bit on her clue-forming skills as to leave just a bit of suspense in the game. Case in point:

Camille: Mom, when you go in the office, you're going to smell your wonderful present from me.
Me: Oh that sounds delightful, honey! I can hardly wait.
Camille: Don't you want to guess what it is? I'll give you a hint. It smells good.
Me: Then it must be perfume!
Camille: No, not perfume. But, it smells good and when you burn it, it will melt.

Just in case my deductive reasoning skills weren't completely in check with that little tidbit, Camille helped me along just a bit more by proudly announcing "We got your gift from there!" when we passed by Yankee Candle. Oh, the little darling! ;)

Another thing that's been totally getting me about Camille is her card-selecting skills. She is absolutely adamant about choosing her own for me. Now, she can read the cards just fine, but she doesn't always "get" the humor in some of them. This year, my card read something like:
"You're such a great Mom. You deserve so much more that just a card for Mother's Day!"
and inside: "So, I'm going to get you a card for your birthday as well." hee hee....

Hi Mom!!! Some new pics of your girls :)

2009-05-06T08:27:00.002-06:00

I've been scrapping again & wanted to share a few pages:

Happy Scrappy

2009-04-30T00:19:00.001-06:00

A few pages I thought I'd share....

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2009-04-19T23:14:00.003-06:00

Camille attended a little garden party a few weeks ago, and little did Daddy know how that would all pan out! Camille got to plant a few seeds and bring them home to care for. Her seeds grew into little plants, and we needed a place to put them. A couple weekends and a few trips to Home Depot later, and Brandon had built his little honey her very own garden patch!

It's the most perfect size for our yard. About 4x4' square and we've planted squash, beans, tomatoes, cilantro, basil, cucumbers, oh dear....just a whole mess of stuff!! It will be lots of fun watching our little garden grow!

Some Pages to Share :)

2009-04-19T21:50:00.005-06:00

I've been scrapping a bit this weekend & thought I'd share a few LOs. Mom, we're gonna miss seeing you next week & hope that you're feeling better soon. Love you!!

This last LO is from our Family Movie Night this past Friday. Watching movies together is nothing new, but I've added some hype to the whole affair. We plan on having themed movie nights - and will have dinner, snacks, props, whatever to go along with that movie :) Some of my digi pals have been doing this and it looked like so much fun that we had to give it a whirl.

Our first FMN with Doctor Doolittle was a huge success. Since Dr.D can talk to animals, our edibles were animal themed (hot dogs, animal crackers, monkey's banana pudding). Okay, and I know the monkey looks like a bear. So what. Bears are animals, too, right? And, I'm pretty sure they like bananas. Camille had an absolute blast with our first FMN, and I can't wait until our next one!

A Swingin' Spring

2009-04-19T15:26:00.007-06:00

I happened upon a super-fun contest over at Dad Blogs . It's the Dad Blogs Big Spring Contest. They are giving away an awesome swing set from Kids Creations.

What incredible fun that would be to win this awesome prize! Our sad little yard is in desperate need of some fun for our girls. Camille has long outgrown the little plastic climber/slide that we have and we had hoped to "upgrade" for her, but it just hasn't happened yet :)

I would love for our backyard to be a place for the girls to explore and have fun - together and with friends. We're gradually incorporating a bit of that. Today, Brandon and Camille finished up their garden patch - a little 4x4 plot where they planted the seedlings that Camille grew. I can't wait to see what things grow and to enjoy this little project with Camille.

Now, all we need is a big ol' awesome playset to make our backyard even more fun! **Can you tell that I'm hoping that we win the drawing?!?!**

Learning is Yummy

2009-04-16T15:39:00.007-06:00

I asked Camille recently what she'd like to learn about. Her reply was "college-ology" or something like that. Baffled, I asked her to describe what she was meaning. "You know, Mom. Like rocks and dirt and stuff." Ah, GEOLOGY!

So, off to the library we went. We grabbed a ton of books on rocks, the earth, minerals, etc.. and we've had a blast learning about our world! What incredible fun :)

Today, I surprised Camille with a little science lunch. We ate hard-boiled eggs which represented the earth. The shell was the earth's crust; the white was the mantle; the center was the core. We didn't eat the crust ;) She even winced and let out a big "OUCH! That's hot!!!" when she gobbled up the core! Too funny :) We also talked about the composition of the earth's surface - land & sea. Pickles and Berry Blue Kool-Aid were our props.

She doesn't know this, but tomorrow we're going to go mining. I've got chocolate chip cookies and I'm going to have her excavate the chips with a toothpick!

I just love these tangible discussions - I think learning is so much more fun when it's hands-on. I also love that with homeschooling, we're going to have more freedom in structuring our studies around Camille's interests. I would've never thought to develop a geology unit study for my 5 year old, but she showed an interest, and I'm able to go with her on that. Oh, what fun days lie ahead!!

Breakfast, anyone??

2009-04-05T13:19:00.004-06:00

Oh. my. stars! I have found a new obsession! Felt play food! How crazy-cute is this?!? There are so many amazing food stuffs out there! I am loving creating a few for my sweet girls. The breakfast above is my first endeavor - - I'll be trying some more edibles soon, I'm sure!

I simply cannot wait until Lily and Camille are able to play kitchen & have tea parties together. On second thought, I guess I can wait, right? Don't want to rush my sweet baby into growing up too fast! But, I'm so looking forward to the fun times ahead - that sounds much better!

Just look at this YUMMY inspiration:

I think this one is going to be my next project:

All the fun and none of the calories!

I am totally diggin' those chips, cucumber & pickles! How cute?!?

Crafting & Thrifting - what else?

2009-04-04T10:57:00.011-06:00

This morning, Camille and I hit the road to do a bit of garage sale-ing. We had SO much fun! I am really enjoying getting to spend a bit of one-on-one time with her, and she loves it too. Although, when it's just the two of us, she really misses Lily. This morning, she said, "Mom, I miss Lily. There's no one else to talk to but you." Thanks, honey! I do love that she and Lily are already so close! And....without further ado - - our scores!

From the left, kinda clockwise:

Mini wall pocket - $2 (euclyptus is going in the trash)

Set of 12 new Miss Spider's Sunny Patch books - $4

...sitting on top of two chapter books - 50 cents each

gymboree poppy bag 50 cents

two easel/plate stands - 50 cents each

usborne spanish flash cards - 50 cents

little ceramic stand - I'll use on a tablescape after I spray paint it 25 cents

perfection game - $1

little ladybug hair clippy *NEW* from a bowmaker having a garage sale - $2.50

...

Not pictured: several shorts for Camille (50 cents each), a couple outfits for Lily (50 cents each), a Polly Pocket house (50 cents), a witch costume (75 cents), and a little stuffed frog (free cause Camille is so darn sweet, people just want to give her stuff)

...

Seems like 50 cents was the price to be today. Like everything was 50 cents it seemed. I LOVE those easels. I've been needing a couple more. The gal at the garage sale had them out with two plates. The plates were NOT my style - like grapes & pears or something. She was selling them as a set and I negotiated with her for the easels alone - - and she only charged me 1.00 for the pair - SCORE!

...

We did have a near score - We passed by a sale and I saw that they had a globe there. I turned around, hoping it was one of those interactive LeapFrog globes (that would be SO perfect for school next year!). We parked, got out of the car, were almost to the table, when another lady swiped it up. Camille was heartbroken! She's been wanting one of those for awhile. So today she learned one of the hard parts about garage sale-ing: that someone else can get it first!

....

Hoppity Hop-Hop.....

I saw a little stuffed bunny garland at another blog last week, and about peed my pants! How stinkin' cute? What says Easter better than a bunch of cute bunnies all strung together? Well, the gal didn't have a pattern posted, but I thought I could figure it out. I made mine in patterns of pink & brown and I just love them!! They were totally fun to make & I even made Camille one to play with. You know, cause she needed another stuffed animal and all.

Spring Garden Party

2009-04-01T20:14:00.002-06:00

Camille was so very excited this morning for the Preschool Garden Party at church. She dressed herself before even coming into our room this morning and was all done up for her special day! She very thoughtfully dressed in a sequined heart shirt and a heart necklace, thrilled with her decision to dress showing "Fruit of the Spirit." You know...."love, joy & peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness & self-control." She was exhibiting LOVE. Um....later in the day, we had some issues with patience, kindness, self-control....but let's not go there ;)

CUP OF DIRT!

In true April Fool's Day fashion, we had "Dirt Cake with Worms" at the Garden party! (Chocolate pudding, oreo crumbles & gummy worms!) Miss Kate served it out of a terracotta pot and it was just perfect! The kids loved it!

We planted seeds, made bluebonnet art and had a super-fun day! Thanks, Miss Kate, for another awesome party in ToTown!! We love you!

More Scrappy Fun!

2009-03-29T15:26:00.006-06:00

I did another couple LOs - one I can't post just yet because products aren't being released until next week. Both are from our beach vacation last Spring. We just took a quick trip down to Galveston with Camille (and technically, with Lily!). It was perfect. We had a great condo. There weren't very many people at the beach and it really felt like our own little paradise. Just perfect!!

Camille loved "HER" room. I can't wait to go back again and have her and Lily share this awesome retreat! http://www.waveofmemoriesgalveston.com/

Here's a LO of a fun party we went to a few weeks back at Build-a-Bear Workshop. March was a crazy-busy birthday month for us, and we attended atleast 4 parties! Lots of fun!

Another fun LO of my crazy girls. I love this latest trend - - sock eating. Lily's such a little lady!

Back on a ROLL!

2009-03-28T21:10:00.006-06:00

Brandon was dj-ing a party tonight, so that meant some scrapping time for me. So what if I slept on my should weird last night and I'm in a bit of pain, right? I've got some BioFreeze, advil, and I'm scrappin', goshdarnit!

Here's my first LO tonight :0) - - from Camille's birthday this year.

Another LO - this one from St. Patty's day:

Lily on St. Patrick's Day at Razzoo's (eating her first corndog!!). Thanks, Daddy ;)

This One's for Mom

2009-03-28T19:38:00.006-06:00

The difficult thing about living far away from home (well, ONE of the many difficult things about living away) is that I can't show Mom all the fun things that I pick up at garage sales or score at Hobby Lobby. So....this post is for you, Mom! Here's a little sampling of the recent thrifty goodness that I've gotten!!

GARAGE SALE TREASURES

I got this great little basket for 50 cents; a wooden charger for another 50 cents; lots of great chapter books for Camille as well as some teaching resources for me - all 10 or 50 cents each; a Southern Livng at Home metal planter for $1; a SLAH cream plate for 50 cents; and two gorgeous glittery Easter bunnies for $2. woo hoo!! I picked up a few other little odds & ends, but these made it to the "photo shoot."

THINGS I PRACTICALLY STOLE FROM HOBBA LOBBA

Cool candlestick thingies - $6.50 for the pair

Ginormous clock for $13 - the baby is there to make you oooh and ahhh and to show scale ;)

Finial thing for $2, the acorn thing I already had.
The carved circle thingy is about 15" and was just $5.
Not totally crazy about this arrangement, so don't judge....

working from the left....

Little bunny with some ivy on his back - $2 from Goodwill with a fresh coat of ivory spray paint. Bless his little bunny heart. He was the most ridiculous shade of brown when I brought him home.

The tall finial vase looking thing has a leather-like finish and was $2.

The cream & blue plate has a ruffled edge and was $1 at Goodwill.

And, lastly....here's a pic of those rockin' pillowcases I picked up at the thrift store.

A set of 2 for $3 - woo hoo!! These babies are destined to become dresses for my little lovelies.

Man! I've been having such fun finding some new treasures and fixing them up! I've got a few more projects up my sleeve that I'll share with you soon!

Little Swinger

2009-03-26T20:14:00.002-06:00

Here's another LO from our park outing the other day. My scrapping roll kinda died down and I'm trying to kick it back up again :) More to come....

Pre-FAB!

2009-03-14T13:20:00.005-06:00

Here's a little LO I did last night of Camille. I've been on a scrappin' roll lately!

This picture was from last weekend when we were getting ready for Amelia's Fancy Nancy party. I rolled her hair and then did it up - - so cute!! She was so excited to get all fancied up. Fancy pics to come - - I'm working on that LO today. I haven't found *just* the right kit to go with her super-fancy pics yet!

And, we also celebrated Aunt Lauren's 19th birthday last weekend. I'm telling ya, these last two weeks have been birthday crazy for us :) Two parties last weeekend, two this weekend, and Grandma's birthday next week! Lots of fun!!

Am I Bothering You?

2009-03-13T23:14:00.003-06:00

Last weekend, Brandon was hard at work doing his taxes. I, on the other hand, was playing around with the settings on my camera......and yes, bugging him! LOL! I was snapping pics of him while adjusting my settings - practice makes perfect, right? - well, I got this shot that I thought was pretty good. Naturally, I just had to scrap it :)

We watched Mary Poppins tonight and got pizza to-go. Oh, how I LOVE nights like this. Chillin' out at home, enjoying time with each other....even Lily snuggled up on the sofa with everyone. Absolutely perfect!

Lily, bless her, is teething and has been in so much pain. Her two top teeth are coming in (little hints of white peeking through) and she's got swollen gums on the bottom as well. OUCH! I pray that these teeth come on in quickly. I just hate seeing her uncomfortable.

With All My Heart

2009-03-12T22:46:00.002-06:00

another fun LO from our park outing :)

Things to Share

2009-03-12T19:29:00.003-06:00

We've been busy here in the Couch house - lotsa projects, birthday parties, and general merriment! We knew the cold weather was to be hitting us soon, so we headed to the park a few days ago to have some fun before the rain & cold came. It was fun going all together :) We love it when Daddy can get out of the office and have some fun with us!

I made this cutie-cute little Saint Patty's day decoration. It's really the only green thing I've got up. I had thought about decorating for Saint Patrick's day, but it just didn't happen. I'm too ready for Easter & Spring anyway to spend too much time fussing about on this little holiday. Oh well.....

Happy Birthday, Cora Paige!

2009-03-05T12:38:00.002-06:00

Today would have been Cora's first birthday. She is spending it in heaven, her parents are spending it at a gravesite. I don't understand how the Lord works, and although there have been many God-breathed occurences throughout this journey for the McClenahans, I still don't totally get it. Perhaps we're not supposed to totally "get" these things, but instead have faith and hope in His perfect plan. How I ache for them though.

Today, the family had plans to visit Cora's gravesite and release pink balloons for her. All over the place, other families were going to do the same. Camille and I had talked about doing this sometime today - and can I just brag on my girl for a minute? When she finished up at the dentist and they offered her a balloon, she told the assistant about Cora and asked for a pink balloon. Of course, the gal gave her two - one for Camille & one for Cora. We knelt and prayed right outside the dentist's office and sent a balloon up to Heaven for Cora. Camille seems to think that God is going to catch it for her :)

Crafty, Crafty....

2009-03-02T14:28:00.002-06:00

Phew! I finally got all the shirts I made this weekend listed on etsy for the Cora Paige benefit :)

Camille was a little disappointed that I only had FIVE to sell. Yeah, I'm such a slacker. Truth be told, I did make seven shirts - but that included one for each of the girls.

Now, click on my little etsy banner thingy on the side and have a look-see!

Whee!! and other musings....

2009-02-28T17:12:00.003-06:00

Yesterday the girls, Bear and I went to the park here in our neighborhood. It was Lily's first time on the swings and she had such a fun time! I'm not sure why in the world I haven't swung her before?!?! She's kinda swung in my lap with me, but yesterday was the full-on, wind in her face swinging. She LOVED it!!

Today we're having a chill day. I've been crafting for Cora and doing some scrapbooking. Brandon and Camille have been cleaning (all day) his car. Bless him. His car was so completely and totally dirty that it took the better part of the day - LOL! Camille has enjoyed spending some one-on-one time with him, though, and didn't seem to mind that a little work was involved!

Here's a quick pic of Lil at the park - - love that RED hair!!

Get out there and GO SHOPPING!!

2009-02-25T17:55:00.004-06:00

I have been blogging lately about Cora Paige, the precious little girl who recently lost her battle with cancer. I have been so moved by her story and by her parents' faith and have joined the etsy community to craft for Cora!! Even Camille has gotten involved!!

I've already sold several things and I just listed a few more! I am so excited to be crafting and donating to this awesome cause & can't wait to see how much money is raised for Cora's Playground - a memorial to that sweet little baby!

Here are some things we've made & you can check me out at http://thiscraftychick.etsy.com.

Oh I Could Totally Do That

2009-02-15T07:55:00.002-06:00

Yes, I've said it many times. In the midst of awesome craftiness, with the effort to save money, because I take off more than I can chew.....I seem to have the belief that I can do anything ;) Rather than buy a handmade something (candle, soap, earrings, canvas painting, whatever) or a pricey something (custom curtains, personalized outfits for the girls, high-end stuff), I usually just marvel to myself how completely capable I am of doing that myself.

I do kinda love that about me. (Note to self: Could that same optimism please make its way over to the losing weight areas of my psyche?!?!)

Well, yesterday, I just had to chuckle at myself. Brandon has been cutting his hair in a buzz-cut or whatever you call it. Just a No. 2 blade on the shaver all over. I kinda wanted him to have like messy-boy hair. I'm certain this is what Paul Mitchell calls it. Messy boy hair. He had been growing it out a bit and finally got on me to do something with his hair this weekend.

So.....a few YouTube videos later. Yes, YouTube. I watched some hairstyling tutorials! Oh the internet is a marvelous thing! Anyway, I managed to cut his hair into what I think is a pretty darn good style. It was pretty stress-free. If I absolutely wrecked his head, we could always just shave it all off as he had been doing, and no harm. So, I got to play barbershop with him, and my Valentine is looking pretty good! Proof? You want pics? Yeah, I didn't take any of those unfortunately. (bad blogger)

Happy Sunday! Enjoy your sweet families and Praise God for the many blessings in your lives. I am grieving today with the McClenahans. Sweet Cora went to heaven one week ago today. Pray for this precious family.

The Party Girl

2009-02-12T22:18:00.006-06:00

Camille has been spreading the love all around and has had two Valentine parties in the last two days. The weird thing is - - she went by herself to both of these parties! Sadly, I have no pictures of all the shin-digs (although Kate & Cheri should have those coming). Since Baby Lil's been sick, Camille rode along with friends to both the ToT Town bash and the Valentine Party at the Thompsons'. I know she had a great time!!

It was a wee bit strange though, sending my gal off to have fun on her own. I missed getting to see her enjoy herself. But, I must admit...it was lovely to spend the afternoon having some very rare time alone.

I've been blogging about Baby Cora and how her story moved me. I cannot get that precious child nor her grieving parents out of my mind. There is a group of Etsy-ians pulling together to craft for Cora - - donating their proceeds to Cora's Playground.

Click here to check out current offerings on Etsy - - but check back come Monday when most gals will begin their sales.

I am hoping to take part in this effort and make some things this weekend to help raise some money for this awesome cause!

Precious Lil

2009-02-10T22:47:00.002-06:00

Our sweet baby has not been feeling like herself the last two days. She's had a low-grade fever and runny nose. I think her fever was breaking tonight, so I'm praying that the Lord is healing her little body. I sure do hate it when she isn't feeling well. I'm so anxious that her ear infection might be returning. It's likely teething, but it's just so hard when you don't know for sure.

Bless her, she still smiles and tries to be happy even when she doesn't feel well. My goodness how I love that little one.

I have been so moved by Cora's story and the loss that her parents are experiencing. It makes me cherish Lily and Camille all the more. They are precious gifts and I praise God that he has entrusted them to us.

My Heart Just Aches

2009-02-08T23:00:00.003-06:00

I've been visiting several home decor blogs recently and getting lots of inspiration. Tonight I hopped onto Thrifty Decor Chick and read her post about a little girl who died today.

I followed the link to The Macs. Their precious Cora, a lovely girl not quite a year old, went to Heaven today after a brief, but fierce battle with cancer. Just two weeks ago they were oblivious to the challenges that lay ahead and were happily living their lives with their sweet baby. Two weeks.

I have cried so much tonight thinking about this family. In the last two weeks I have celebrated my daughter's birthday, spent time with my mom, picked up a new craft, watched my youngest scoot around the house....we've just been living life. All the while, these folks have had their lives turned upside down, dealt with the most vicious of diseases, and have no doubt cried rivers.

Oh, my heart aches. I will be praying for this young couple and hope that you will join me. They are strong in their faith and love the Lord with all their hearts. I pray that He would continue to uplift them and give them peace. I pray that the Lord would use this situation to His glory.

Hug your little ones a little tighter, and praise God for the amazing gift we have been given.

Too Long, My Friends....Too Long

2009-02-07T20:26:00.004-06:00

I can't believe this much time has passed already since I've last blogged. I meant to do better. I wanted to blog, really. I'm sure I've had something intelligible to say in the last three weeks, but alas....I've been too busy (er, lazy) to do any blogging.

Enough in the mud - - let's recap:

The Lilster

*Lily had her 6 month checkup - - she was 19.6 lbs and 28.5 inches. Yes, that was almost a month ago, she's surely grown since then

* Our little chubba chunk eats NON-STOP. She has been happily devouring any solid food we've thrown her way, and we can hardly get it in her mouth fast enough.

* So far she's had: rice cereal, oatmeal, barley, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, pears, apples, mangos, hawaiian delight (pineapple & banana), bananas, avocado, biter biscuits, banana fruit puffs. The only thing she hasn't liked thus far are the fruit puffs. They kinda stick to her lips and she's not having that.

* She has two teeth. Is sitting pretty well on her own, and is starting to scoot around on the floor. She'll push with her toes and get herself around - - it's not long, folks! I've got to finish babyproofing!!

* This past Friday, I left Lily in the nursery for the first time at MOPS. It was the first time I'd left her with anyone but Brandon. Sigh. She did exceptionally well, though. (of course ;)

The Monkey

* Our little one turned 5 last week. Oh, my. I hardly know where the time has gone

* We had a perfectly awesome Winter Wonderland party for her! It was so much fun, and although I went a little over-the-top, as I'm known to often do, it was a blast. Camille had such a great time that she's already requesting we do another Winter Wonderland party when she turns six! Well, atleast we'd save money on decorations, right? ;)

* I am just loving being at home with my girls and wouldn't trade it for anything. I have so cherished working with Camille with preschool stuff, and it's awesome to see how much she's learning. I can't believe the questions she asks - - she's so incredibly curious about the world around her, and I love being able to share in that fascination.

* Camille is also on a mission to get her Nana to move to Texas it would seem! We had such a great visit with Mom when she came for Camille's birthday, and we've missed her now that she's back home!! Oh, living far away is so difficult :(

Other stuff

* I've been having some fun crafting lately - some Valentine goodies (the plaque was featured on The Daily Digi - woo hoo!).

* Mom taught me to crochet while she was here, and I've really picked that up. I think I'm getting addicted! I've already made two scarves (well, they were little baby-doll scarves), and I'm working on a third - this time a people-scarf.

That's all I got for now - - I feel a project coming on!

Jesus the Chef

2009-01-14T20:26:00.002-06:00

So, last night was Brandon's radio show night & that means that I do bedtime stories with Camille - usually it's Daddy's time with her. She picked out what she wanted to read - - her children's Bible. *awww*

We were reading about miracles - healing the blind, making the lame walk, and the miracle of the fish and loaves. We read that last one and Camille was a little confused. I started explaining about how he multiplied this small meal of fish & bread into one that would feed the many people there, like if he took her colby jack cheese, crackers, and juice and multiplied that into a meal that would feed every person in our church and then some.

She was starting to get just how awesome that was. So I said, "Jesus took the fish and the bread, and he made..." All of a sudden she shouted out, "Sandwiches!! Jesus made sandwiches, Mom. You know, like tuna fish sandwiches!"

Oh, dear. It would seem that Camille is not as excited about our Lord's provision as she is with his assumed sandwich-making skills! I was absolutely rolling!! It's just hilarious to me the things she comes up with! What joyful, blessed days we have!

Lily's New Tooth

2009-01-12T20:56:00.002-06:00

Okay, this really isn't a great video....I'm new at this whole thing, but I had to share a short clip w/ Mom. Hi, Mom!!

And One More Makes TWO!

2009-01-12T19:40:00.006-06:00

Sweet Baby Lilikins got her second tooth today! YAY! The last few days had been so rough on her that I knew that tooth would be poking through any day. She's looking like such a big girl!

We're still working hard on getting her to go down at night. It's been so hard! She's quite the stubborn little thing, and we've had to resort to letting her cry it out. OHMYGOSH! This is the hardest thing - - especially with Little Miss Iron Will! She seemingly has no problem crying for 1 1/2 hours nightly. Naps are going well, and I pray that it's not much longer before she is soothing easier at night.

Speaking of my little love, she is calling me. She's squealing and grunting as if to say, "Get off the computer, woman! And, give me some lovin'!" so- - off I must go :)

I am a Bad Mommy, but a Rockin' Crafter!

2009-01-09T15:31:00.004-06:00

What fun we had today - - it was a MOPS day & Camille and I both enjoyed ourselves hanging with our respective friends today. We donated some stuff to Goodwill (read cleared some more crap out of the garage) - - woo hoo!! Did a quick Dollar Tree trip (which resulted in some Valentine goodies & some new plastic trays for my bathroom drawer) - - YAY!

I got home & unloaded my crew and the spoils of my shopping venture from the car. After getting everyone and everything inside, I went to get Lily from her carrier. Funny, I thought....her straps are unbuckled. Hmm....when did I unbuckle her? Just now...nope. In the car...nope. Ah, it was all the way back at MOPS when I nursed her at 10:00 this morning!! EEEK! So, my poor child went from MOPS to car to Goodwill to Dollar Tree to car to home in her carrier UNBUCKLED!! I said a prayer right there thanking the good Lord for his infinite provision and made a quick promise to myself to be more careful about this next time! The coulda-beens just throw my brain for loops!

So...onto the craftiness! I scored this cute frame at a garage sale for 10 cents. See how it's missing a little something in the lower left corner? Likely an embellishment of some sort.

So, I took some ribbon from my stash, some vintage buttons (that came from my grandmother's old sewing things that she passed down to me), some embroidery floss (to thread the buttons because unthreaded buttons aren't cute), and my trusy hot glue gun.

A few minutes later, I had this adorable frame that will look oh-so-precious in Lil's room - all for 10 cents and some things I had on hand! Now, I just need to get a little picture of my darlin' in there!

Do I Really Need a Onesie?

2009-01-06T21:27:00.005-06:00

The mountains of baby clothes were slowly beginning to take over Lily's room. For some reason, I just didn't want to get rid of them! I mean, I think we're done having kiddos. Brandon's a little more sure than I am. I don't really need to keep all these clothes, but so many memories were attached to each little piece of clothing. The pink outfit that Camille wore when she first met my grandparents; the blue dress she wore at her dedication; the Carter's onesie set that Lily wore over and over again in her first month. Oh, my.....how can I just send these things down the river? Perhaps I think that by holding onto these things I keep a little piece of their infant days....I don't know. But seriously, do I really need a onesie?!?! How in the world can I keep *everything*??

I've done well and have already sent one box to consign at Wiggles & Giggles. I went in there the other day to take a bunch of maternity clothes and had this ridiculous sadness come over me when I saw my baby's stuff hanging on the racks. I actually took one thing off the rack and brought it back home! HA! I do have an excuse for that one though - - it was a Valentine's outfit of Camille's that she really wanted for "Curly" her teddy bear.

So, today I went through two boxes of things in preparation for consigning at a spring sale. I kept a few things back, though. I think I may make each girl a kind of crazy quilt using some of their more special outfits. I just can't get rid of all of these things - - not yet :)

I've been busy!

2009-01-03T11:22:00.002-06:00

Thought I'd share a few recent scrapbook pages :)

How you like them apples??

Lily has her first fruit! mmmm....apples!

Sweet Apples Kit by Kristin Aagard

Lily plays in sweet Kohen's gym - - new digs are fun!

New Years kit - Sweet Genevieve at Oscraps

My precious & beautiful Camille - how I love you!

First Kiss of Spring kit - SugarPlum Paperie @ The Digichick

Lily "finds" her legs! She has the best time checking out her chunky little legs!

Denim Gal kit by Mari K @ The Digichick

Thanks for looking!!

Hey Cheri! How's the scrapping coming along, my friend??
Can't wait to see some of your new LOs!

Lots to share....

2009-01-02T20:53:00.004-06:00

Oh, the last week has been such a whirlwind! So much has happened!

Lily got her first tooth on December 23rd! Yay, Lil!

Christmas was fantastic! The girls had such a great time & enjoyed all their gifts. Even though the Lilster was sick, she still had a good time. She was especially fond of her Baby Elmo doll!

Camille's favorite toy was likely the VTech Learn to Write toy - - she's played with that thing non-stop. It's SO crazy-loud, though - - I'm not quite certain why toy manufacturers seek to deafen our children with these absurdly high volumes on toys! Perhaps they're in kahoots with the hearing aid folks. It's a conspiracy, I tell ya.

Okay, I digress...

On Christmas Eve, Lily's ear infection had returned with fever and the like, and so I took her to the NextCare urgent clinic. Started her on antibiotics and although she was feeling better, she broke out with a terrible rash a few days later. The pedi couldn't see her, and because her hands and feet were swelling, they asked me to take her to the urgent care center again. Well, the urgent care center doc wouldn't see her. Said I had to take her to the emergency center because of her age. Ugh.... So, a few hundred dollars later, we learned that she was either suffering from a viral infection or a reaction to the amoxicillin. Either way, we needed to give her Benadryl and just wait for it to clear up.

Our poor little honey looked SO bad! I'm posting pics so my mom can see - - apologies to anyone else for subjecting you to this ;)

Today was the Texas Tech / Ole Miss Cotton Bowl. Ya know....at the end of a tiresome "vacation" week, Brandon was sure looking forward to a good game. It sure would've boosted his spirits to see his favorite team play a winning bowl game. Sadly, not in the cards :( Tech lost to those dang Rebels! Oh well, it was a great season, and we'll be looking forward to next year :)

More Advent Fun

2008-12-27T12:13:00.007-06:00

Geez, I totally forgot to update all the fun goings-on with our advent calendar in the last week or so! Here's what we were up to in the days preceding Christmas:

17) A visit to Santa! - Kind of a big ol' phooey on them though. Santa's elves and the powers that be decided that no more personal cameras were allowed and the only photo option was the terrible pics that they end up taking. So, we bought a 5x7 that I've yet to scan in & talked the head elf into letting me take a quick pic of Camille with Santa.

Anticipation!

Santa & Camille

18) Today's little box was stuffed full of red, white & green pom poms. We made a super-cute pom pom garland decoration. Brandon thinks it looks a little like something you might find in Whoville. Oh well, Mr. Grinch....we love our crafty creation!

19) Did you know that a Littlest Pet Shop pet fits perfectly inside our advent boxes?!!? Camille got a cute little panda inside today's box!

20) Because she had been totally wanting a nutcracker this Christmas, I stuck a paint-your-own nutcracker in today's box. We had lots of fun painting this cute guy!

21) Today we made an adorable reindeer purse. I use the term "we" a little loosely. I did all the stitching while Camille played around, and then she glued on the felt pieces for Rudolph's face, ears, etc. We stuffed him silly with yummy candies and whatnot!

22) Today we finished up our Christmas ornaments that we would be giving away. Not going to post any pics of those just yet - - I don't want to ruin the surprise for a certain "mountain gal."

23) Camille followed a trail of yummy candy to the cookie jar where she found a package of Chewy Sweetarts. A tasty little treat & a welcome day off from crafting for Mom! LOL!

24) It's time to get our reindeer food & Santa's cookies ready cause Santa Claus comes tonight!!

25) Christmas joy & mahem :)

Phew!! What a ton of fun we had this year with the advent calendar. It's kinda sad that it's over and nothing to count down for! I think that we might have to do a bit of a birthday countdown for Camille in January perhaps. Here's a little LO I made to highlight this new tradition for our family:

O Little Town

2008-12-17T08:33:00.003-06:00

Despite our run-in with all things yucky in the last weeks with the girls' being sick, our December and count-down to Christmas has been so much fun! We've done some great things together & it's been a blast watching Camille have such a fantastic time this holiday season!

Continuing on with our advent calendar:
12) Let's take a trip to the town where Jesus was born! Camille and I read several books about Jesus' birth today in preparation for our trip to Bethlehem (in Burnet). Oh, what a great time!! This was the first year that she was really into it, and it was just fabulous! Aunt Carol & Granny came down and we met up with Grandma, Grandpa, Thomas & Lauren as well. It was so much fun!

Daddy & Lily all snuggled up!

Camille petting a camel w/ Grandpa

Joseph & Mary with baby Jesus. Um, apparently the wise men brought a construction paper collage for baby Jesus and placed it on the hay!! hee hee!

Day 13) Candy cane -- We made some yummy peppermint candy together to give as gifts!

Day 14) A little note led Camille to the cookie jar. Inside, there was a monkey puzzle that you could color & decorate. Such fun! Our little monkey loved this activity!

Day 15) Another monkey! Today, Camille received her Christmas ornament from us - a Webkinz monkey. So stinkin' cute!! I gave Brandon his ornament as well - - a Texas Tech ornament I made for him :)

Day 16) A little note lead Camille to the cookie jar once more. This time she got a Build-a-Bear tin box with candies inside!

In the midst of all this fun & Christmas merriment, I've managed to create a few LOs as well!

Counting Down!

2008-12-11T21:01:00.007-06:00

It's so much fun beginning family Christmas traditions and this year I began something new with Camille - - the advent calendar. We have done the countdown calendars before, and last year we added marked the days by adding a cotton ball to Santa's beard and cap until he was all fluffy white and Christmas was here.

I really wanted to do something more - - and those advent boxes are Target were so calling to me!! So, I picked one up and we've been having the most fun! Camille excitedly runs downstairs every morning to see what the day brings for her - - a fun surprise and one day closer to Christmas :)

And, just because I want to remember.....I'm going to list all the things we've done for this advent season:

1) "Let's make something together" note from Mom - - We made glittery snowglobes.

2) A clue leading to the cookie jar where Camille found a Build-a-Bear notepad.

3) A little teensy-weensy duck that grows when you put him in water.

4) A birthday candle - - a reminder of Jesus' birthday that we are celebrating. The candle also represents light - the light of Jesus in our hearts!

5) A popcorn kernel & a red bead. We popped popcorn, watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, then made a cute Rudolph craft.

6) Two beads - one red, one white.....another fun craft day making candy cane ornaments.

7) A sweet note reminding Camille about how precious a gift she and Lily are to us. Family is a wonderful blessing from the Lord. She got to choose a way that we could all spend time together today. As it turned out, we made the candy cane ornaments from the day before!!

8) mmmmm.....My Little Pony lip balm! Perfect for those wintry chapped lips!

9) Crafty clues: a foam snowflake and a mitten. We made a cool snowman scene!

10) Today Dad got a surprise! The clue in the box was for him, and led him to his stocking where Camille had hidden the movie Christmas Vacation.

11) Yet another crafty day - - are we sensing a pattern here?!?! Today we made a felt penguin door hanger.

I'll be popping in to update this list as the month goes on :)
We have seriously had so much fun! It's been a great way to really focus on spending time together and making the holidays super-fun for my sweet girl!

Brinner Date

2008-12-09T20:36:00.003-06:00

My sweet Camille was needing some mommy time. She has been asking about having a Mommy-date, but everyone's been sick and timing just hasn't been right. Today, as she sulked about me not playing with her while I tried frantically to sweep & mop the downstairs, I knew that it was high time to take my monkey on a date!

I let her decide where we'd go for dinner & she chose IHOP. Um, big surprise there! My girl loves some brinner (breakfast for dinner ;). She was hoping for the Horton Hears a Who pancakes, but since that was just a short promotional thing - - she had blueberry pancakes and we rented the movie afterward! A super-fun brinner date :)

The Land of the Sickies

2008-12-08T12:09:00.004-06:00

Oh my goodness, have things been crazy around here. Both girls have been sick for about a week. We thought that they were just suffering from allergies, but once the fever set in, we knew something else had to be going on. We ended up going to the doctor's office on Friday - Camille had a respiratory infection and Lily had an ear infection. Both are definitely on the mend since beginning antibiotics. I pray they feel better soon and that this passes quickly.

Here's my sweet Lil' fast asleep in her high chair - - just too exhausted to do anything but crash!

Although we've been under the weather, I've been super-busy trying to get things done around here. I guess the upside has been that Lil' has been taking longer naps, allowing me the time to get some things knocked out. Our recent dining room - to - playroom conversion is still underway, and I added this photo grouping that I'm pretty happy with. Now, no looking too closely! I dropped one of the frames, broke the glass, and will have to replace it :)

I am loving the way this turned out. I actually got the idea from Tara Whitney, whose pictures far surpass my own humble shots, but hey, a girl's gotta start somewhere, right?

Camille has already been getting so much use out of this room, and I'm glad that I finally let the dining room go. It's been nice to have a place for her to play downstairs, and I'm sure that once Lily is moving about, it'll be great to have a place for her as well.

The Promise to Blog

2008-11-08T09:51:00.006-06:00

Geez, Louise! I can't believe that it's been this long since I've visited my blog. So much time had passed that I actually forgot the url for the darn thing....seriously. scrappy-something-or-another was all I had!

I am really going to try and be more diligent about posting. Seems like the days run together, then the weeks pass by, and before I've realized it, another month (or two or three) has passed. Hopefully I can keep up a bit better :)

The girls have been keeping me busy as of late. The transition from one to two kiddos has been easier sometimes more so than others. It's been a bit hectic, but really enjoyable. Camille is just the best big sister & Lily is such a perfect addition to our family. We are so incredibly blessed!

This week has been full to say the very least. Brandon had oral surgery on Tuesday, and has been pretty sore all week. Poor Daddy! Lily had her 4 month check-up on Wednesday. Our little chubba-chubba is weighing in at 17 lb 14 oz and is 25.25 inches long. She's the cutest little thing! She had her immunizations on Wednesday and has been a little cranky since then. Add to that the whole teething thing, and bless her - - she's been a bit difficult. She's the most precious thing though, and always seems to be smiling. Even when she's not feeling well.

I've also been working on a big project this week. I've finally decided to make the dining room into a playroom for the girls. I sold our dining room table & chairs and some other goodies on ebay to make some cash for the transformation. Because it's an open room and right off the foyer, I'm really trying to marry form & function. I'd love it to be one of those super-cute PBKids playrooms (without the Pottery Barn price tag ;). It's well underway and Camille is so excited to have a room for all her toys.

This week was also MOPS, which was lots of fun as always. We made a Scrabble tile pendant (which I had been dying to try). I used one of the background papers from Andrea Burns collab with Eva - Thankful. I love it!! In fact, I'm wearing this cute thing already today! *will post a pic a little later :)

Before I go, just have one thing to say...... GO TECH!! After last week's game against UT, Tech is in the #2 spot. You can bet we'll be watching the game today & rooting for the Red Raiders!

Yay me :)

2007-08-14T20:23:00.001-06:00

I started a little decor project for Camille a while back and with the remodel and then my grandmother's passing, it was, understandably, put on the back burner. But, today, I got this super-cute little project finished up and that baby is hanging proudly on the wall! I absolutely LOVE the feeling of satisfaction and completion that comes along with finishing a little project like this. A little crafter's rush, I guess - LOL!!

So, here's the said project in all it's glory:

I was cruising around online earlier and found my handwriting gracing the preview of an alpha set by Marcie Reckinger. How stinkin' cool is that? I mean, I like my handwriting and all, but it's really neat to see someone else using it! Since I had Darcy (Baldiwn at TDC) make that for me several months back, I've had a blast seeing it in the galleries here and there. I'm the "the" and the "alpha", and "sets 1-3" - YAY :) Seriously, not the biggest thing since sliced bread, but amusing to little ol' me just the same.

So, I guess that's about all for now in this super-exciting world of mine :) Gotta get a few CT LOs finished up and get crackin' on the ADSR Challenge #9. Embarrasing......oh, yeah. This one shouldn't be too hard. Guess the difficulty will lie in narrowing down which moment to scrap ;)

Long time, No blog....

2007-08-13T14:31:00.002-06:00

Egad! Where in the heckerooni has the summer gone?!?! (Umm, Heckerooni courtesy of Pinky Dinky Doo. Everything these days is yesarooni, positooni, but I digress.....) Things around here have been busy as usual, and my poor little upstart of a blog has been sadly neglected.

I can't even believe that I haven't yet posted my super-great news about being accepted as one of the CHICKS on The Digichick Creative Team. WOWZA!! What an incredible honor! I'm still pinching myself a bit cause it's just been too good to be true! The gals there are SO awesome and I've always called TDC my home, and now so more than ever. woo hoo!!

The ADSR is going well and I am digging getting to know my partner, Jamie, better! I just love the digital age. IRL it's so unlikely that I would ever have met and become friends with someone living in Korea, but through digital scrapbooking it was possible - so freakin' cool!

Here's a LO that Jamie and I did together for the ADSR Challenge #7 - and it got picked as LO of the day over at Oscraps yesterday - woot!!

And here's my little cutie pie using one of Nancy's newest kits, You're a Hoot. Gosh, she just never fails to amaze me - that chick is SO talented :)

So, I guess that's it for now.....other things to chat about, but I hear the familiar noise of my bedroom being torn apart in the distance and I should go check on Monkey.

Have a great day!!

Spring has Sprung

2007-03-30T22:12:00.000-06:00

It's so hard to believe that it's SPRING already! I hardly know where the time has gone! But all around me is evidence that winter is over. Everything is turning green and is so beautiful and the bluebonnets are popping up everywhere. If you know me, you know that I'm not the biggest fan of Texas. Nothing against the Lone Star state, but it's just not "home." Each year during the spring, though, I do feel a little tie to the place we live. The spring is just gorgeous here. Now, don't get me started on the allergy problems, though....that's a whole 'nother thing!

The other day Camille and I were headed back from shopping and the lighting was just perfect for some bluebonnet pictures. I found a nice little patch down the road from our house and snapped these. Bless her..she didn't want to look at the camera. I have about 20 or so shots where she's smiling and looking down. She just wanted to take in the flowers all around her. I did get several that turned out nicely though - just love our cute little girl :)

Cranky Toddler

2007-03-27T15:19:00.000-06:00

Phew! - What a long day it's been already (and it's just 4:00 now!). Camille seemed to want to push every last button of mine today. From darting out in the parking lot at Ikea, to running away from me inside the store, and just all-around general crankiness at the grocery store. We came home and I was SO looking forward to some peace & quiet, but my little one was not about to take a nap. Why is that?? She's tired, it's naptime and she simply won't go to sleep. If I lay down with her, she'll go right to sleep. I know she needs the rest cause if she doesn't get a nap, she's a complete bear in the evenings. Okay, enough nap-gab. To make a long story short, I snuggled up with her on the guest bedroom bed, we both got a good nap and everything should be coming up roses - ha!

I have a fun little announcement to share:

I've just recently seen Nancy's designs and just *LOVE* them! What great fun being on her team is going to be!!

Okay, chickies, I'm off to figure out what to make for dinner :) Have a great one!

Blessed, Honored and Excited

2007-03-26T15:28:00.000-06:00

Oh, I just love my hubby and daughter! They're the most precious things to me. Sometimes I can hardly believe just how blessed I am to have them in my life.

I took this picture the other night when we were just hanging out in the kitchen and it's become one of my new favorites! I put this LO together as an insert for my Princess Purse and have been getting compliments on it everywhere I go.

I have some super-great news to share, too!! Although I consider myself to be pretty new to the digi-scrapping world, I have been so incredibly blessed and honored to be invited onto several Creative Teams. The one that I continually pinch myself over is Christine Smith's. She's just phenomenal and it's so awesome working with her designs. And, now, not only am I on her Creative Team, but I'm able to be a part of her newest endeavor, ScrapQuick.com. I'm so excited to be working alongside some super-talented gals in the digi world and can't wait to see how this site grows! Check it out:

Sweet Valentine

2007-02-14T21:39:00.000-06:00

Brandon and I had pretty much decided that we were staying home tonight. I picked up a pork tenderloin and had made plans to cook a nice dinner at home. Lauren (sister in law) was over this afternoon and didn't mind staying for us to go out, so it was kind of a no-brainer. When you've got a toddler around the house, you just don't say no to a babysitter.

We're not really down with the Valentine crowd though, and didn't want to go to a "date-night" kind of place. So, in typical "us" fashion, we headed out for beer & trivia for our big heart-day date. Such a blast! We drank, had wings & salad, played trivia & listened to a bad musician. The funny thing is - - I had a great time.

I just love being out with my honey. He's funny, romantic, and just such a blast to be with. What better Valentine date than getting to share time with someone you love so much?!?

I've been kinda ragging him lately cause he has been so busy with work and not on top of the whole romance (and all around being nice) thing. He did the sweetest thing and surprised me with a new phone for Valentine's Day. He waited until I was tied up at the doctor's office to go to Sprint and activate my phone (so he knew I wouldn't be on it). It seriously made me feel so spoiled and appreciated for him to take the time out to give me such a big surprise :) Love that man o' mine!

Well, I hope everyone has had a great Valentine's Day! Take care :)

Um...is this thing on?

2007-02-13T23:55:00.000-06:00

So, I did it. Succumbed to all the pressure and set myself up a little ol' blog. Well, okay...maybe not that much pressure. In fact, I don't think a single person even asked. But, it did seem like what all the super-savvy digi scrappers were doing, so I guess I followed suite. We'll see what comes of this :)

This Crafty Chick

News

Catching up with Camille

Today's "funny" from Camille: We're studying vision & optical illusions and looking at some books with images that appear to move. Her reaction: "It's like this book has got batteries or something! This is seriously blowing my mind!"

Camille's words of wisdom today: "Lily, do you know what your surprise is once you eat all of those jelly beans? Empty eggs and dirty teeth. Now let's go brush!!"

Reading excerpts from Tom Sawyer today & Camille tells me, "You know, Tom reminds me of Brer Rabbit. You know, but no Tar Baby." Love that girl! And, I'm LOVING Writing with Ease (hence the Tom Sawyer excerpt).

Doing housework with Camille this afternoon (earning her allowance) - and she tells me that she's not going to be wasting so much money on her kids. "I think I'll give them like a quarter a week. That should be good."

silly things from the girls this morning: Camille - "Yeah, stealing is really wrong. It's on the Top Ten Commandments!" Lily - (when asked if she was dancing like she had ants in her pants) "No ants. Have poo poo in pants."

Lily's first complete sentence today..."Wake up, Daddy!" Love it!

Camille's thoughts on Go Diego Go and his tampering with the food chain: "Diego does not rescue animals. He only makes them hungry."

Overheard while the girls were playing today - all Camille: "This was supposed to be a fun tea party, but it seems that it's turning into a monster bash." "Lily is not a very good hostess, Mom. She doesn't even ask what the guests want. She just throws some stuff on a plate and makes them take it."

Camille in response to a commercial we saw recently: "Burnt dinners for a whole year? That is definitely NOT the good stuff. This song is makes. no. sense!"

me: I have a surprise for you. Camille: Is it edible? Me: Um, no. Camille: Man. I love edible surprises.

Had an awesome first day of school with Camille yesterday!! In science we're learning about living & non-living things and she informed me that we were living, pancakes were not. Plants are living, dead puppies are not. Um, okay. ;) Silly girl.

Reading a book tonight & there were picturesof slugs on the page. Me: ICK! Camille: Mom, it's not a big deal.It's just a slug, and a slug is just a homeless snail. (giggle!)

After spending some time reading a Gems & Minerals book, Camille tells us: "For the rest of my birthdays, you guys can just give me diamonds and crystals. And, Littlest Pet Shop....made out of diamonds and crystals." hee hee.....

Camille had me cracking up tonight while decorating cupcakes. Looking for music on XM Radio - "All they have is this Adult R&B. I'm really in the mood for the plain R&B." While listening to New Wave (The Cult) - "So, this is pretty much, um...terrible. Don't you think?"

Camille upon waking this morning: I am a stretchy earth fairy. Me: Well however did this happen? C: I ate a lot of gum, and I became very stretchy.

Just in case you were wondering. Camille plans on having four children: Pippy, Piper, Xavier and Amanda. So there you have it.

Reading Dr. Seuss' "The Thinks You Can Think" today. One little line read something like "Why do the Beft always walk to the left?" To which Camille responded - "Cause it rhymes, Mom. Cause it rhymes." LOL!

Lily's whining and fussing in the hallway. Camille brings her a pillow. "Would you like to cry somewhere a little more comfortable? How about a pillow?"

Camille: "Dad and I are going to the store to buy you a plant." Me: "We can all go together later if you guys would rather just hang out this morning." Camille: "Mom, you're not supposed to know what you're getting for Mother's Day." Me: "um...okay?!"

Camille, the little mama around here, just got out of bed to tell me that she was a little concerned about Lily's diaper rash, and that she needed to be sure that I had put some Dr. Smith's on Lily before bed. Bless her. She's such a good big sister! ♥

"I am saving these cough drop wrappers in a small box for the tooth fairy. I'm thinking she can use them as a parachute, a raft, or maybe a bit of shade. If we had some nails and some string, we might be able to make her a hammock."

"It's so hard to be a big girl. I've got this new haircut, and you guys say I look older, but it's still really hard to be a big girl." Camille, big girl, age 6

Tonight nearing the end of the BLORA light trail, the girls weregetting tired. Me, "Camille are you done with all of these lights?"Camille, "Yeah, I am lit up!" LOL! We had fun and plan to make thistrip again next year!

I dropped the carseat in the driveway (what is it with me and the driveway?!), and said, "Oh, shoot." Camille says, "Ahem. Mom, that is a bad word. I have known this all my life."

..so we've been learning about "silent e." Last night I read a Christmas book that mentioned Chanukkah, and Camille corrected me - thinking I needed to pronounce the "ch." When I explained, she seemed shocked, "You mean there's a silent C?!"

Camille had her first complete freak-out "I want that" in the store today. *sigh* On the way home she said, "My life used to be so wonderful, and now it has turned into a storm!"

Camille: Mom, why don't we have any Christmas lights up outside? Me: Well, I guess cause we're a bunch of Grinches. Camille: That's not true, Mom. I think some people just have their Christmas spirit on the inside!

Camille at breakfast this morning: "Sometimes my stomach digests my food excitedly. This morning is one of those times." Yep, you gotta love grits!

*snort* - - and Camille says, "Why does your laugh sound like pudding glopping out of its bowl?" - - ahhh, I love that little monkey of mine....and snort, again.

Doing a little stranger safety lesson today. Camille's bits of wisdom that she shared with me: "We don't take candy from strangers because it might have germs!" and "Some strangers might try to do bad things to you, you know like take off your shoes and bite your toes! yikes!" LOL!

Camille: "Ouch!" Me: "Are your shoes giving you trouble?" Camille: "Yeah, Mom. I've got issues."

"Mom, why do they call it Toys R Us? Why R? Why not *are* - like you ARE the best mom ever?" hee hee....I love that sweet girl o' mine!

keepers

The one with the scrapbook pages

phew!

Making a Splash

Catching Up

Quack, Quack

Show & Tell

Hang it up!

Well, hello stranger.

I'll Huff & I'll Puff...

This Little Piggy

Three Little Piggies

This Little Piggy

A Few Recent Pages

Catching up....

Zhu Zhu Pets

I'm a bad blogger, but a good scrapper

My Thrifty Finds!

Go VOTE!

Game ON!

Something Fishy

Before & After

Engaged!

Pretty Little Clips

I'm Her Best Mom Ever.

Hi Mom!!! Some new pics of your girls :)

Happy Scrappy

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Some Pages to Share :)

A Swingin' Spring

Learning is Yummy

Breakfast, anyone??

Crafting & Thrifting - what else?

Spring Garden Party

More Scrappy Fun!

Back on a ROLL!

This One's for Mom

Little Swinger

Pre-FAB!

Am I Bothering You?

With All My Heart

Things to Share

Happy Birthday, Cora Paige!

Crafty, Crafty....

Whee!! and other musings....

Reading a book tonight & there were pictures
of slugs on the page. Me: ICK! Camille: Mom, it's not a big deal.
It's just a slug, and a slug is just a homeless snail. (giggle!)

Tonight nearing the end of the BLORA light trail, the girls were
getting tired. Me, "Camille are you done with all of these lights?"
Camille, "Yeah, I am lit up!" LOL! We had fun and plan to make this
trip again next year!

Camille had her first complete freak-out "I want that" in the store today. sigh On the way home she said, "My life used to be so wonderful, and now it has turned into a storm!"

snort - - and Camille says, "Why does your laugh sound like pudding glopping out of its bowl?" - - ahhh, I love that little monkey of mine....and snort, again.

"Mom, why do they call it Toys R Us? Why R? Why not are - like you ARE the best mom ever?" hee hee....I love that sweet girl o' mine!

Do I Really Need a Onesie?