kids love water and bubbles

...especially when it is only April, not quite warm enough but way too hard to resist! My husband was cleaning our winter pool cover, and my girls, and a few neighbors got in on the action. I took 75 pics in the span of about 5 minutes.

First, my artsy attempts! They were actually fairly cooperative.

And then this one, where I did not realize I had captured Shelby, in motion, falling down!

The gang, minus one. He was not quite as crazy and by that I mean he did not lay down in the suds and roll around :)

And finally, my soaking wet girl.

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relay for life

Here is the webpage for the Harrison/Southwest local chapter of
RELAY FOR LIFE
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an assortment of things

A recent scrapbook page. There have been not been many :( Not a lot of time or inspiration. I usually scan my pages, but scanner went wacko after I used it to make photo copies so until I fix that, I am left with photographing my pages. Not too hot on the results of this. Especially not if I create anything worthy of submitting to a magazine. One more page from just yesterday:

I finally went to the doctor and now I am on an antibiotic for my cough. I am OH SO READY to be done with this. As of today, I am feeling really worn out.

I met my friend Tiffany, and her cute niece, today for lunch which was a nice treat. I worked with Tiffany years ago, and I am always happy about maintaining a good friendship. She was making a donation to a "Relay for Life" basket which will be used to raise money. My friend Amy is organizing a raffle at the place we all worked at together: Hubert. Yes, in my past life I sold tongs, pans, and fake parsley! After that I sold ice machines so don't go laughing about the parsley thing. I could not find a decent link to the activities relating to "Relay for Life" but once I get that from Amy, I will pass it along. VERY worthwhile cause. Five of us current, and past, Hubert employees pulled together to create a Beach themed basket which I hope raises a few dollars for the cause.

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one thing I love about Scrapbooking...

FONTS. I love them. And today I received my second flyer from White House-Black Market with a supercool handwritten/script font. A month ago I took notice, today I asked the women of 2 peas (love that place too) what is was and now I have it downloaded for my very own, personal use. And it is free. Even better. I just wish some of those trendy clothes were free too :) In case you love fonts, and cannot break the bank clothing shopping, here is a lil' fix for you:
PR8 Charade font
Enjoy the day. I need to return to watching the tornado warnings on the local news just in case they veer over here to Clermont county. Pin It

chasing away the funk and enjoying a good dinner

Well, Olivia is still not entirely well. The green goop inhabiting her head, just will not exit the building. I feel badly for her, however, my patience is wearing SO thin. Add in, another $30 co pay for an antibiotic for eyedrops, and I think we have officially exceeded the $150 mark on drugs and doctors' visits for the 4 of us. And me, I am still hacking so I probably should be seen. Sigh. All this is making the strep diagnosis look like a party! We must be well for next week, the dance recital marathon week, so whatever it takes, whatever it costs, is not too much.

I had all the ingredients for Beef Enchiladas so I did manage to make those yesterday. This is a great recipe, very simple and mild. We are not crazy, spice eaters here. I am sure these could easily be kicked up though. And no photo. I had no time or energy to try on this one, and truthfully, my food photos are leaving a little....a lot...to be desired. I am trying to encourage you to cook, not avoid it! I got this recipe years ago from my sister-in-law Lisa.

Enticing Enchiladas

1 lb. ground chuck
1 small onion, chopped
1 c. cream style cottage cheese (small curd)
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chiles (optional, I omit this)
10 6 inch flour tortillas
2 c. shredded Mexican Cheese blend

COOK ground chuck and onion in a large skillet over high heat, stirring until beef crumbles and meat is no longer pink; drain. Return to skillet, stir in cottage cheese.

PROCESS diced tomatoes and tomato sauce in a food processor until smooth. Stir in chopped chiles if desired.

SPOON 2 to 3 tbs. ground beef mixture down the center of each tortilla; top each w/ 2 tbs. tomato mixture and 1.5 tbs. cheese. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down in lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Pour remaining tomato mixture over top, top with remaining cheese.

BAKE enchiladas at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Pin It

a good thing gone wrong

Today, I made the 15 minute journey to the only local store known to have Webkinz in stock. And I was told to get there at 9:45 b/c people line up and when the door's open at 10a, you file in and grab what you can. My understanding is that somehow, they are hoarding a bunch somewhere and each night, they dole out x number of undisclosed Webkinz to this store, Pizazz, which by the way has many other just adorable product lines, but nobody is looking at a thing but Webkinz, at least not at 10a on a Tuesday morning.

We went b/c my daughter had saved enough money for one ($10 for a large, $7.99 for the smaller) and she has been sick and she has no school today so I decided we'd head out and give it a go. We got there a minute or so after 10 which had my heart racing. I figured they had about 8 and we were about to miss out. Not so. There plenty, maybe 3 dozen or more. Jackpot! There were about a dozen women, and one man, already there shopping, most already in line, single file, with their loot. Two Webkinz a piece. Which come to find out, is the number they will sell each person. This is about to become integral to the story.

I tell Olivia to just pick up two, and then decide which she likes b/c I will admit, my heart is racing and the competive monster in me, is rearing it's ugly head. Mostly, I don't want her to leave empty handed. So she chooses the Googles and a smaller orange cat. I agree to buy one b/c I need another stuffed animal in this house. I just do {insert sarcasm}.

While waiting to pay, I am talking to a really nice lady who has driven a distance for her Webkinz and even admitted to paying $30+ for one on ebay. She is pretty in the know on this whole craze. I am trying to make sure my two stay nearby me b/c as I said, this store is filled with other things, which includes breakables and Vera Bradley purses.

Behind her, a woman lines up with an overflowing armful of Webkinz. Because I have a big mouth and have just learned the protocol here, I felt the need to tell her that "I think you can only buy two at a time". Wrong thing to say...

She began yelling that she could buy SIX, she called the Attorney General and it is illegal to limit the sales of these things, AND she brought her two kids, and they could each buy TWO, and she drove an HOUR to get here while rest of YOU's live right here...blah blah blah. The poor saleswomen were initially speechless, as was everyone else. It was at least a 3 minute tirade. I did finally say something like: wow, these are toys for kids and I think this might be out of control and I'd really rather not have my kids exposed to this. I do want to commend the people working at at the store for keeping their cool, and in general, for selling Webkinz with a smile on their face!!

So we pay and leave. Two other women were waiting outside, just talking about how shocked they were and really embarassed for this woman's behavior. I gather, from the conversation, that they go to Pizazz frequently in search of elusive Webkinz. They did say, they never bring their kids though!

So, this is my very long winded way to say, that the joy was pretty much robbed from me, and my child today. I was pretty excited to be scoring 2 Webkinz in one day until this lady came along. I am pretty sure the point of the toy was sadly missed today. I think they are intended to make kids happy, and teach them too. I am sure Googles and Orange Cat will live a happy life here and I bet they are really glad we got to them before she did!

Just in case you seek a broader education in all things Webkinz, check out this ebay link:

http://search.ebay.com/webkinz

A mere 11,818 itmes listed in this search :

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i jinxed myself

I was so high on life...my kids being so good, nice weather, doing the mom gig solo for 4+ days and then it all came crashing down around 11:15 pm last nite. This sweet girl:

woke up with a raging ear ache. Oh my gosh, I have never had an older child in pain like this. We tried Tylenol (purple medicine as she calls it) and after one hour of her crying so hard, almost mad out of her mind, hands over ears, saying they were going to fall off, I called the ped at midnight. He did not sound too pleased, and he was whispering but what I could decipher sounded like max out her dose of Motrin, which I did. And about 2+ hours into it, she fell back asleep. What a helpless feeling as a mom. The ped did mention ear drops and going out in the middle of the night, which I told him was impossible since I was here alone with my girls. So we dropped Shelby off at school at 9, and then waited 45 min at the ped's office today to find out she had a really bad ear infection. Not common in kids nearly 6 y/o, and less common in children on day 5 of Amoxicillin! I swear, only Shelby has gotten any relief from her antibiotic, the rest of us seem plagued by colds, coughs, boogers and now, ear aches. Today Olivia was a trooper. She insisted on going to school although I know she had to be beyond tired. I was. And then she went to dance making the deal that she would stay only for ballet but she toughed out tap too. They opened the curtain for both routines and she was doing a 1 min 30 sec yawn during her tap performance. Darn, I just love her. When we got home with our Monday night ritual that includes Dominos pizza and cheesy bread...as a mom with kids in carseats, I will frequent any establishment with a drive thru...Dad was home! I went and bought special ear drops and even tried to find an elusive Webkin. No such luck, those things are a hot commodity. Tomorrow she is off due to "early release" or "you are paying Catholic School tuition for 7 days that your Kindergartner does not attend school" day as I like to think of it.

Sleep well. I sure hope this household does.

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chalk, jump ropes, lots of kids...outdoor fun!

First, my husband is away on a 4 day golf trip, Friday was day and night 1. Today is Sunday and I am pretty proud of myself and my girls. We miss him but somehow I am managing to hold down the fort, including late night baths after full days of play outside.

Here are some photos from Friday night when my friend Michelle, and her 3 girls came over for dinner and fun. Her two oldest are jump rope champions, as in, giving the Jump In stars a run for their money. Apparently, their school teaches them this during gym class, which I think is so unique and clever! They are only in 1st grade and K too. And the double dutch gene must run in the family, b/c her two year old was skilled at turning rope. My kids are apparently skilled at quirky hairdo's (note: Olivia in the Olivia Newton John-esque hair band) and staring into space, or anywhere but at their Mom who is holding the camera (note: Shelby).

Unfortunately, Megan, my friend's oldest is not shown here, but rest assured, she is just as cute as her sisters :)

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we had a moment!

Shelby was riding her tricycle while I was unloading groceries. And as I stepped out of the house into the garage, she yelled: Mom, my feet are pedaling!. And oh my gosh, they were! She was pedaling down the driveway. I was so proud and stood there for a moment, taking it in. And of course I yelled: I am so proud of you, you are doing it. To which she replied: Just like Olivia! So, I had a moment's debate inside my head...should I get the frozen foods inside or grab the camera. What do you think I did?!

I do realize that her feet are not even touching the pedals in these pictures. Try as I might, I could not get her to re-create the moment! But I promise, the kid pedaled down the driveway, OK?! And no Breyer's Ice Cream (1/2 the fat) treats were harmed during this photo shoot.

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another first communicant

A friend recommended me to her neighbor, and voila, this invitation was born. Matt seems like a true sweetheart and I love the choice of 3 photos telling a story of his life leading up to this milestone.

I have added a few photos to each section on the right, for anyone who cares to take a look.

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new blog header

Well, I wish I could say that was easy to accomplish, but it was not! Thanks to the online tutorials and few ladies from 2peas I got it done. This one will be temporary as it was just a quickie I created to see if I could get something to work. While it is up there though, I need to thank Carla Essen for taking this photo, and Rhonna Farrer f or the digital background paper.

We are fighting a stomach bug here. My little one, has sporadically been puking for 3 days. That is no fun for my girl, or her mom. Bleck. I just feel blah, so I think I am fighting it off, and my older daughter seems to have caught it but it in a milder form. Joy. We need to get well b/c we are invited to celebrate a total of 4 birthdays tomorrow and Monday, both girls return to school following Spring Break. Olivia also is on the countdown for the dance classes leading up to her recital on May 4. Not saying she is not good, but she probably could use each practice that remains :) Pin It

celebrations

The daughter of my good friend Beth, is making her First Communion in May, and fortunately for me, I got to create an invitation for the mass and celebration to follow. Isn't Ellie adorable? And even more special, Beth had her veil from her First Communion attached to this headpiece. I need to make a note to myself to keep things like this from my girls' milestones so they can someday be passed on. I do have one check in the good column as I had my wedding dress made into a Christening gown which both of my girls have worn. Many people asked how I could cut up my dress...and really, it meant more to me using it again in this way...and I REALLY hope my girls are too tall to ever wear my weddding dress! The consolation prize, is that their children can wear their Christening gown, right? Now if only I would listen to my Mother and get their initials and baptism date monogrammed onto the slip of the dress to pass down to future generations. Really, I am not too late, my girls are only nearly 3 and 6!!

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fancy fingers and toes

I just cannot get enough of my 2.5 year old's painted red toes! Just like an adult, the fingernails chip so quickly and tend to look trashy vs. cute but those toes...I just love them. My niece Kacie painted them on Easter, for the first time, and it was all Shelby talked about, and still is. "Kacie made that for me" or "Kacie painted my toes" but said in the sweetest little voice in the whole world.

I officially give up on trying to move these photos into some proper order, so here they will stay in their awkward configuration.

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egg in tree

On Friday, we attended the annual egg hunt that my friend Jenny hosts. Despite freezing cold weather, and snow flurries, the hunt was ON! Keeping in mind my novice PhotoShop skills, I brightened up these two photos here. I just love the viewpoint of my daughter and this egg in the tree. She may be pretty independent, but her Mom (that's me!) did get to help reach that egg. As for her hair as seen from the back...Whoa! Girl needs a haircut. This much I knew, but not how bad until I saw these two sorry pigtails. Pin It

a sweetie for sure

My neighbor took these photos of this sweet baby, and then recommended me to them, to create their birth announcements. I have used this format before and it is just perfect for the "parts and pieces" photos.

In more photo card news, I will likely discontinue my website as it has never been the way I would have liked it, and I can easily share new cards here, as I create them. For reference, I have added a Flickr set which can be accessed on the right, under my Photos. I put some of my best samples there and will add more.

In addition, I will be adding more of my own photos as they are taken in that section too. Right now, I just have the one photo of Shelby under "my kids" but hey, I am a work in progress! If I did not think the word BLOG would startle most of my in real life friends, whose kids I photographed this week, I'd share those too. Gotta work up the nerve to explain this whole thing and ask permission, huh?

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the grocery store

I spend a good amount of time at the local Kroger store, and even more money. Almost to the point of insanity really. My sister Kelly once said I was having an affair with someone there, that is how often I would say: I am going to the grocery, I am at the grocery, I need to go to the grocery. Since having children, I find the need to go more, twice a week at minimum as my children only eat fresh produce, and even at that, they would still be considered picky. And so as not to blame them entirely, I have been cooking a lot the past few months, trying new recipes and they also require many "fresh" items. Ok, who cares really?! But you might want to read this b/c it is so incredible. Today, as I was preparing a salad from the salad bar, as I glanced underneath the sneezeguard, I saw a man with a huge, heaping spoonful of chopped ham. Only, this man did not have a salad container. Instead, he poured that into his other dirty hand, and walked off eating his snack. At 60 years old, or better, do you think he does not know that is not a free, snack bar?! I was so appalled. I do not own Kroger, heck, I don't even own Kroger stock so it is not really an offense against me personally but it made me mad. Fortunately, another woman saw it too and commented which made me feel not so alone in witnessing this crime. Dang, people are just strange.
Ok, in other thrilling grocery store news...I saved about $80 today. That is such a cheap, thrill for a unemployed (mostly) woman like me! First, they have to swipe the frequent buyer card, deduction taken, then I have been saving these crazy points that eventually garner you a $10 gift card (I had two!) and then the cashier asks if I want to take my 15% off today? What?! Yes! I had a huge cart full of stuff for Easter, so that was a bonus. You would think I lived during the Depression or something the way I buy things...for instance today I bought enough Easter candy that I apparently expect neighbors to come in trick or treat fashion to eat some of this stuff up. Crazy. Pin It

a good photo

I have taken what feels like one million pictures, mostly of my uncooperative kids. So this one today, of Shelby, feels like a coup! I had her out in my trusty "garage photo studio" which has given me good results in the past. I have had more luck with other people's kids but am unsure about smearing them all over here, until I ask!

I also take so many, that at the time, feel like the one. And then once I upload them, there are technical difficulties galore. I will not be defeated though...I love this camera so much...and some of the shots have made it worth every penny...already.

Ok, how about just one more?!

I am nothing, if not fair. Equal representation for both children. Pin It