A Christmas re-cap ...

I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are some pictures to re-cap Christmas morning at home, Christmas morning at my In-Law's, and Christmas morning at my parents' house.

At home:

At the In-Law's:

At my parents' house

It was a very busy day, and I wasn't feeling the greatest, but I enjoyed being with everyone. The kids were spoiled, as usual, and they are very happy.


Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year everyone!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ...

Well, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... on my blog.  Not at home yet.  I was thinking about setting up the Christmas tree today since I wasn't able to go shopping, but my husband doesn't think it should be up yet ... it's not even December 1st, you know.  Um ... Christmas is less than a month away.  I don't think it's too early.

For some reason, I'm more into Christmas this year than usual.  The last couple of years, I've been the one delaying the tree being put up because I just wasn't in the spirit. I'm glad that I'm more into it this year.  We've already been through the park to see the lights.  They are really pretty, though there are a lot of the LED lights replacing the less energy efficient ones ... and I think that is great ... except the LED lights are really, really bright.  I would love to see an invention of LED lights that aren't quite so bright ... get on that, will you? :)

The kids looked through the Kmart toy catalog today that was in my room somehow.  They pointed at nearly every item in the book.  Chase pointed at a remote control car ... that he already owns in a different color and has forgotten about.  It probably just needs batteries.  Julia wants anything girly, and a few typical boy toys too.  I was surprised when she pointed at Hot Wheels car track stuff.  Seriously?  You want that?  But, I didn't say that because I of course do not want to support those stereo-types.  They are already all to aware of them on their own.

They won't be getting many of the items they were pointing at, but that's ok.  I know they will be super happy with what they well we ... I mean wii ... are getting.  (Thanks, Mom)  I have a feeling we're going to have a rather electronic focused Christmas this year, though I plan to give hints to my husband's side of the family regarding non-electronic toys ... like Kung Zhu track stuff for Blake and Chase, and Zhu Zhu/Barbie stuff for Julia (she's feeling left out regarding Zhu Zhus).  I am hoping to goodness to avoid any little plastic figurines, and please oh please, no more NERF guns/ swords!!!

I participated in the Scrappers Give Thanks project this year.  See this post to see what I made, and see this site to see what was accomplished.  Thanks to the help of hundreds of people, and thanks to help from Persnickety Prints, 2000 digital and/or paper-pieced cards have been made to be delivered to children's hospitals!  It's an awesome project.  Oh yeah!  I re-read my post after publishing, and realized I forgot to share that I won something in the give-away!  I didn't participate in order to win a prize, but it's pretty cool that I did.  I won a membership to a subscription site called Scrap Happy.  I'll let you know what I think once I learn more about it!

I am setting a goal to make cards for next year's project throughout the year, so that I can have a big contribution next fall.  Maybe you'll join me!

Well, Blogger is starting to have some issues as I type this, so I am going to sign out.  Good time to visit the Powder Room and head to bed to read a book (ahem, Breaking Dawn ... again)!

Thanks for stopping by,

How to tackle Mount Washmore

Mount Washmore is one of the most frustrating things I deal with on a day to day basis. But, I think Ana White may have a solution with this project: Laundry Basket Dresser I think that would make my laundry area a lot neater, and it might even encourage laundry to be managed more quickly! I also love the possibilities of other ways to use it. One commenter suggested that it could be used to hold recycling bins ... and then I thought about the idea of having a place to store sports stuff, and the list goes on and on.

I thought the idea was so cool, and it looks pretty easy, so I thought I'd share! :)

Scrappers Give Thanks ...

I've made two (... and now three as of 1:30 Sunday morning) cards so far for Scrappers Give Thanks ... I know I can do better than that.  But, you can do better too ... all you need to do is create at least one 4x6 (vertical orientation) post-card type card that is geared at a child.  The goal is to brighten their day as they are in the hospital.  You can learn more about Scrappers Give Thanks by clicking the link on the right side of my blog, or by clicking on this logo:

Here are peeks at the three cards I've made so far ...

Made with Sweet Christmas by Connie Prince

Made with Sunbeams and Daydreams by Connie Prince

Made with I Wuff You by Connie Prince

Thank you for helping make a difference!
~Melinda

Cool and rainy turns into a beautiful fall day ....

Recently, after a cool, early morning soccer game (with a win!), and being locked out of my car by my own doing (Thanks again, Angela for rescuing us!), we went to my parents' house for brunch and pumpkin picking.  My mom called me and invited us out ... while I was locked out of my car.  Ahem.  Anyway, she said she felt bad about missing the kids' soccer game, but it was just too chilly.  I didn't blame her at all.  But, she fed us yummy pancakes, and the kids ran around and played ... I could not complain. :)  You may recognize some of these photos from my current blog header.  I liked them just a little bit. :)

My mom (and dad) are now raising chickens.  They started early in the spring.  My mom also started raising honey bees then, but that's something to share about another time.  The chickens are used to people being around.  They followed us around pretty much all day.  It was kind of neat, and they are actually kind of cute to watch and listen to.  I had a LOT of fun taking pictures of the chickens, the one rooster (George), and the kids.  My kids made a big leaf pile and of course I had to document that.  We also got our pumpkins and gourds from my parents' garden, and Blake helped my mom cut down corn stalks for a nice ... whatever those are called.  I have a smallish bundle by my front steps with all the pumpkins and gourds around it.

The statue in the upper right is by my parents' dog Katie's grave.  *cry*  My daughter got all weepy after they visited her, and I did too.  Thankfully, the kids had already run off to play and didn't see me.

The kids also got to ride on the 4-wheelers on my parents' property.  Blake's has a governor in it so that it can't go very fast, and a safety strap.  They LOVE going for rides on  the 4-wheelers.  It really was a gorgeous day after the initial chilliness and even a little bit of rain.  We stayed there most of the day!  I know Tyler enjoyed the me-time, too.

Thank you to the CoffeeShop Blog (see the blogs I follow on the right-hand side for a link-up) for the photo template that I used in my post today, and to Linda for letting me know about them!  I can see easily that I will share more photos in my posts going forward!

It's getting close to bed time, so I am going to close.  Thanks for visiting!

In the orchard ...

I was very frustrated with our visit to the orchards this year. We had to rush a little bit because we went after work instead of on the weekend, and the kids went straight from the car to the apple cider inside, and then straight back into the car. No pictures by the apple trees, and no pictures by the pumpkins. BUT, honestly I shouldn't complain. We are fortunate to have apple orchards that are not very far away from home.

Thankfully, I have been able to get some great orchard pictures in the past. The I Heart Faces site is having a photo challenge this week regarding orchard pictures. The trick ... I can only pick ONE picture ... so here is my photo for Week 42's challenge:

 This is my oldest son exploring the applie apple orchard (I always type applie by mistake, ugh) when he was 3 years old.  We had just eaten some apple pie ... can you see the spoon in his hand? :)  The lighting was perfect and the colors were vibrant.  There are two others that go with this one that have never been trumped for a favorite orchard picture (of my own) yet. But, I keep trying every year!  Unfortunately, the orchard where I took this photo went under new ownership a few  years ago, and we can't walk among the trees like this anymore.  But, last year I did sneak over and snap a few pictures by one when they left the gate open ... you can see those pictures HERE.

I can't wait to see everyone's orchard pictures!  This is my first entry for the I Heart Faces challenge ... I hope that my little man had enough of his face showing for this to count! :)

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Well, Fall doesn't officially start until Chase's birthday (which is Wednesday), but this phrase is popping up all over in the digital scrapbooking world as the fall kits start rolling out. I love fall scrap-booking kits. The colors are so pretty, and the purchasing of said fall kits actually is what encourages me to get my butt outside on days I might otherwise not. I have to go get pictures of my kids playing in the leaves, don't I? :) Here are a couple of the kits that will inspire me to get my butt outside:



And, it also reminds me that we need to visit the apple orchards, and all those other fun fall things. (Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I'll be able to enjoy those apples, but I digress.)
It appears I'm heading back into a trend of not writing on my blog very often. Sorry about that. I know that my life is so vitally interesting to you that you must want me to write more often. (ROFL ... ahem)

August and a good chunk of September have passed. August was spent enjoying not having to be anywhere, once the last little bits of T-ball were over. We had soccer in April which went into May. Starting in May, we were running around for T-ball, and that continued through July. August was a month to do whatever we wanted. We went to a local beach a couple of times, and we went camping with my parents in the middle of August for their first and only camping trip this year (Thanks, Mom and Dad! I know it was a lot of work!). I went to a bachelorette party. And, we celebrated a cousin's birthday. August was a beautiful month.





It was only marred by the passing away of my parents' dog -- the dog they got the year I turned 17. She lived a long life, but it was very hard to realize she was gone. May Katie be resting peacefully on the other side of the Rainbow bridge.


Me with Katie on the day we brought her home.


Katie sleeping on a chair on her last camping trip - August 2010.

Now, September is over half gone. We've spent most of it, it seems, visiting the doctor or hospital, hee hee. But, school and soccer have started, and we've celebrated Chase's birthday. I will update more on those ... soon, but not tonight. I should be in bed already! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Ever forget your blogger password?

Well, I did. Rather, I forgot that I changed it to be another password ... so technically I didn't forget it, I just forgot that it went to this site. Follow that? LOL!

So anyway, another month has gone by in the meantime before I decided to try another possible password and made it on. I find the need to keep messing with my blog background whenever I am on here. That is just counter-productive, though, because then I start playing around with the options and never get a post written up!

Don't you wish that you could use your own image for the new template designer?? Well, I do. Somebody needs to tell Blogger that to make it an option. Get on that, will you? ;)

Let's see .... what has happened since my Girl's Day? I made CUPCAKES for my daughter's birthday ... on my birthday. We went to Culver's to celebrate Julia's 6th birthday. I went out on a date with my husband to see Eclipse and dinner ... and my husband was not impressed with the movie at all. He informed me I will have to go see the last two movies either on my own or with someone OTHER than him. :) We went to Micaela's birthday party at the fountain at the park. We went boating with my parents. The kids played their last T-ball games, including playing in Hallie Youth Days and Blake's All-Stars game. I took my kids to a company picnic, and then we all went to the same beach on Saturday with family and friends. Of course I will share pictures. What kind of a photographer wanna-be would I be without pictures?!


Cupcakes


Julia at Culver's on her birthday


Blake at fountain for Micaela's party


Chase at the fountain (and much braver, you may note)


And Julia at the fountain ... much more daring than last year. :)


Boating with my parents


Julia's last T-ball game of the season


Julia's trophy for completing a season of Girls T-ball


Blake making his first run during the T-ball All-Stars game (he's moving up to Coach Pitch next year!)


Blake receiving his trophy for participating in the All-Stars game.

That's enough pictures for one post. Hopefully I can remember my password so that I can update more often! :)

~Melinda

Girl's Day, Girl's Day!!!

Today we had a Girl's Day to celebrate upcoming birthdays for my daughter and me. Julia will be 6 in just a few days! My mom had gotten a gift certificate from her sister for a pedicure, and she decided to invite us along to make it a Girl's Day! Isn't my mom the best???

Julia was SO into this ... a totally girly event, hee hee.

Julia had her feet given a royal treatment, and then had her toes and fingernails painted. She picked a pretty iridescent purple.

My mom and I had pedicures and manicures, and my aunt came along and had a manicure. Afterward we headed to Perkins (where I'd been wanting to go since Mother's Day) and had a late lunch. The waitress was super nice, and she gave both Julia and me free slices of pie (with candles on top!) for our birthdays which are just one day (and many years) apart. We had a great time, and I love how my finger and toe-nails look! I'm not usually into this kind of thing - mostly because of the cost - but it was such a nice thing to do with my family, and it was nice to get out ... with just the girls!



Giggle, giggle ... that tickles, mommy!


Hee, hee, hee!


See my pretty toe-nails, Mommy?


Chillin' with my aunt while we waited for my mom's nails to dry.


Happy Birthday to Julia! (Reeses Peanut Butter Silk pie)

The Fair 2010

On a whim, we ended up going to the Fair on Friday. Tyler was working over-time, and I had no plans, so why would I say no when my mom called to ask? First we had dinner at a local restaurant, and then we headed to the fair. First we checked out the tractors and farm animals.








the sheep in their coats after sheering ...


Then we took in the rides. The kids were able to enjoy most of the rides that they wanted to try. A few were just NOT going to happen (those rides that they really should be older for). We never did make it down to most of the exhibits ... we only saw a few, and right before they were closing them up. It ended up being a very late night, but that was ok. I was glad the kids had fun.









My parents (and many of the near-by fair-goers) enjoyed watching Julia dance:





and then we walked back to our car ... just in time as they started shutting the rides down ... and we all crashed fairly quickly after we got home.

It was a whirl-wind night, but a great night.

It's a (beautiful) musical life ...

Don't have much to say tonight, so here is some creative inspiration! :)


My daughter loves to dance and sing ... and here I've scrapped about it with a pretty collaboration kit by Connie Prince and Charlize Creations! It's called Music of My Life and is NEW at Elemental Scraps today.

Thanks for looking!

~Melinda

Ring around the baseball fields ...

Friday night it felt like we played ring around the baseball fields, as another coach's mix-up caused us to have to search for another field for Blake's team to play on. After walking to another field and discovering that one wouldn't work, we ended up heading to a familiar field ... the field Julia plays T-ball on! Blake's team had a rough start, probably because of the pre-game mix-up, but came back in the end. It wasn't enough for them to win, but in T-ball they don't really focus on the score (which is great). Blake had his fair share of missed chances to stop the ball, but once again, when he was in the pitching position he got all 3 of the inning's outs! He caught the ball twice when it was hit right to him, and ran one runner out at 3rd base. He had a blast.

The only pictures I succeeded in getting Friday night were pictures of Chase playing in the sand on the near-by playground -- the only good part about Blake's game moving where it was. The sun was in our eyes because it was starting to set and so all of the parents had a hard time seeing the game. I guess it is better that it was in our eyes than theirs, but our original field might have given a little more protection from the sun.


Saturday we went to a Chinese restaurant for the second time. I'm not a big fan of Chinese food, but I DO like coconut shrimp! Yum! Tyler is more willing to try the various foods out, and he is sharing bites with the kids, so at least they are getting to try new things that way. I learned about coconut shrimp from a co-worker. I've tried peanut chicken too ... and am not sure if I like it or not. It's kind of odd - a mix of crunchy peanut butter, essentially, and chicken. Very different. Maybe next time I'll try the Honey-something chicken. Tyler wasn't that impressed with it ... so maybe that means I'll like it. (He didn't really understand the fuss about the coconut shrimp.)


Today was Father's Day. I called and talked to my dad tonight. I'm not good at talking to people on the phone. I feel so dumb, but I didn't want to let the holiday pass without letting my dad know that I love him, and that he's important in my life. He has done so much for me, and still continues to do so. I love you, Dad!

Out of Tyler's choosing, we didn't do much for Father's Day. I offered, so I can't feel to blame. We did go play catch at the middle school though, and even though the kids got a little whiny, I think it was a productive session. Tyler misses basically all of their games, and so its a good way for him to get involved. Oh! And Tyler pitched a few balls to me. Keep in mind that I am not athletically-inclined, and that I was using a T-ball bat ... I could have done worse. LOL. So, then Tyler had the bright idea of letting me pitch to him. This was after my batting practice, so he really should have known better! Ha ha. He very narrowly missed having his feet hit several times, and even almost got hit in the gut a couple of times. Oops. I haven't played softball for about 15 years! Give me a break! :)

Then we went grocery shopping, and have spent the rest of the evening at home. I got some dishes done. Next, I should run to get some laundry done ... we'll see.

That's about it for my weekend ... how was yours?

~Melinda

Thursday's game photos ...

I went right up to the fence and stuck my lense through, behind the catcher area, to get most of these shots. I was too lazy to walk down past the dug-outs, and I really like the angle I got! :)


This is the position from which Blake got all 3 outs for that inning! :) He was pretty proud of himself, and so are we! It is great to see that he is starting to truly understand this game.






It was very hard to keep Julia and Chase sitting down nearby ... until my mom pulled out the ring pops! Yay for treats that make them hold still! It worked, until Julia chomped off what was left of her ring in order to be allowed off the bench ... that smart, silly girl!



Just had to share!
~Melinda