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capturing mother's day ...

Nanny and Poppy were still here in NJ with us on Sunday, so we got to enjoy Mother's Day together.  I had the camera out for most of the day to have it on hand to take picures, and that is exactly what we did.

And with Nanny.

The kids are so sad that Nanny and Poppy are back in Ohio.

And, here is my layout from day 16 of LOAD. 

I had the picture above that Nicholas created since 2010.  I have been meaning to scrapbook it for quite some time now, but didn't.  When I got yesterday's LOAD prompt, I thought it was the perfect thing to finally get documented.  It will be fun to look back on in years to come.

easter weekend ...

We had a wonderful Easter weekend.  On Saturday night, we colored eggs.  The kids had fun picking out what colors their eggs were going to be.  Nicholas drew on a few of his eggs first, but the design didn't show up very well after it was dipped in the dye.

The evening started off when Rebecca put a "coin" of dye on her tongue. 

Here are the kids coloring the eggs and the finished products. 

 

 

And on Sunday morning, friends of ours (Rebecca's godfather and his wife) came over early to hide almost 50 filled eggs for the kids.  We have lots of great spots to hide (and place) eggs.

 

 

After the "hunt" the kids got dressed and we hung out until we had to go to my parents for Easter dinner.  I tried my hardest to get a good picture of the kids together.  They just wanted to sit there and make faces.

 

 

We all had a great weekend!

last post of 2011 ...

I can't believe that another year has gone by.  For the most part, it has been a good year.  I am thankful that we are all healthy ... everything else is second to that (no matter what we go through).

Last night we celebrated Nicholas' 8th birthday.  My little man is growing up too fast and I can't believe in two years he will be "double digits."  We spent the afternoon hanging out with my mom and Rebecca.  We went to McDonald's for lunch (where Rebecca enjoyed her first milkshake).  The milkshake was supposed to be for Mom, but Rebecca wanted to try it and then proceeded to drink the whole thing.

We then hit Kohl's and Toy's R Us to get some "birthday" things and spend some bonus cash I had at both places.

Mom and Dad came over last night to have some cake and coffee.  Here are some pictures from last night.

I want to thank all of you for stopping by to visit throughout the year.  I love to read your comments.  Whether you are a new (or old friend), I always welcome you to stop by whenever you like.  I have been slacking a bit on my posting these past couple of months, but one of my goals for next year is to improve on that.

In my next post, I will list some goals (both creative and personal) that I have for 2012, and will let you know about what my "One Little Word" for 2012 is going to be.  So, stay tuned!

Happy 2012 everyone!  Be safe and enjoy the last night of 2011.

can't believe it's over ...

I say it every year, and I'll say it again.  Christmas comes and goes way too fast.  I wish Christmas can be a few days long.  Spending time with family is so special, and it is always special around the holidays.  I wish I could have been with all of my family, but distance keeps a lot of us apart.  Everyone was in my thoughts and heart and I celebrated with them, even though they were not near.

It was an Angry Birds / Wimpy Kids kind of Christmas for us.  Nicholas is into the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and very much into playing the Angry Birds game (actually I love the game too), so a lot of his gifts were related to those two things.  He also received a DSi XL from Grandma and Pop-Pop and an iPod Touch from Nanny and Poppy (lucky kid).

Rebecca received a kitchen (she LOVES it), a doll house, a baby carriage, and several other things.  Oh, she also received a Zsu Zsu pet which she thinks is so "cute."

We had friends over on Christmas Eve, spent Christmas morning at mom and dad's, and then we came home and I made the four of us Christmas dinner.  It was quiet, but very enjoyable.  I just loved being home in the early afternoon and then relaxing the rest of the day, just the four of us.

How were your holidays?  What are some of the traditions you do every year at Christmas time?

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the days leading up to and on Christmas Day.

Thanks for stopping by!

christmas visit ...

We didn't think that Nanny and Poppy would be visiting us again until after the holidays, but they decided to come a few days last week and into the weekend.  Both of the kids were delighted.  Even though Nicholas had school on Thursday and Friday, he was able to spend quality time with them during their visit.

On Saturday, the guys went out for lunch and the girls went shopping.  Nanny and I even took Rebecca to McDonald's.  She LOVES their chicken nuggets and french fries.

We opened presents on Saturday.  The kids were so excited because they also received gifts from Aunt TT, Uncle Stephen, Ryan and Paige.  Rebecca loves her new baby doll that giggles and her cute doggy backpack.  And, we have already played the Spongebob hangman game that Nicholas received.

Here are just a few pictures from one of the evenings we spent together as a family.

I hope it is not too long before their next visit.

birthday celebration ...

Rob and Nicholas made me a yummy dark-chocolate cake with vanilla icing for my birthday yesterday.  It was a pretty quiet day ... we all hung out at home as a family and it was really nice.  We got take out for dinner because I wasn't going to cook, and what Rob had taken out to make wasn't thawed.  Any excuse to get take out, right?

Rob tried to get a picture of me and the kids, but the kids didn't want to cooperate and he didn't capture a great picture, but at least Rob was able to get something.

Still can't believe how fast the year went ... getting closer to the BIG 40.

Over at Project 64: Out of the Box, the color a few weeks ago was orange, and last week's color was black (sounds like Halloween).

My picture for orange ...

And my picture for black ...

For more entries, go here.

 
Thanks for stopping by ... enjoy your day!

post thanksgiving pictures ...

I hope that everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday.  I enjoyed an extra few days with my family.  Thanksgiving day was a bit chaotic this year.  We went to mom and dad's, and my brother and his family, along with my grandmother were there.

Other than the fact that Rebecca was a bit intimated by the VERY LOUD dog barks, we had a good time.  My dad prepared the entire meal this year (with the exception of the green-bean casserole and the pies).  Everything turned out really yummy and we were all stuffed by night's end.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

I'll be posting more pictures to FB, so if you are one of my FB friends, you can see more of the day there.

Thanks for stopping by ... enjoy your day!

thankful for ...

With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I wanted to do a post of what I am most thankful for these days (the big and little things).

• My family ... Rob, Nicholas, Rebecca
• My mom and dad, my grandmother, my aunts, uncles, cousins, my niece, and nephews
• My brother
• My mother and father-in law and my sisters-in-law and brother-in-law
• My friends (even all my blogging friends)

I am thankful that ...

• I have the flexibility to work from home
• I am able to drive Nicholas to the bus stop and pick him up (when I'm working from home)
• My kids are healthy
• My kids are happy
• I have a job
• I have a beautiful house
• My kids love to receive AND give hugs and kisses

I am thankful for ...

• My iPhone
• My camera
• Scrapbooking
• Books
• Chocolate-chip cookies
• The sunshine
• Comfortable clothes
• Arbonne
• Longaberger
• Chocolate Mint Ice-Cream
• Music
• Television

I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you will be spending time with your friends and family and celebrating everything you are thankful for.

on my list ...

Just in case anyone wanted to know, I have a few things on my Christmas list this year.  First I want to say that I will be getting the new Nook Tablet for Christmas (thank you mom and dad). 

I was going back and forth as to whether I wanted the Nook or the new Kindle Fire.  I decided on the Nook because I like the idea that I can record my voice on the children's books and then Nicholas and Rebecca can listen to the story with me (my voice) telling it to them.

So, some of the little things on my list ...

a journal (I want to start journaling again.)  I saw this cute one on the Barnes & Noble website.

I would also love a new pair of ISOTONER ballet slippers.

Gift cards are always a great gift to get (and give).

And last but not least ... the new edition of Becky Higgin's Project Life 2012.

I'm still up in the air on whether I want to do a digital album next year (since the album will be available to create through Shutterfly), or if I want to keep doing a traditional album (like I've been doing this year).

So, what is on your Christmas list this year?

christmas card magazine giveaway ...

I received another inspirational-packed magazine from Scrapbook Trends the other day.  This one is all about creating beautiful handmade Christmas cards.  I barely have time to find a picture for my Christmas cards this year (I never have time to personally make my own cards), so I thought I would do a giveaway and give you a chance to win this beautiful magazine.

The magazine comes jammed packed with 90 ideas for beautiful handmade Christmas cards.  You don't want to miss out on this giveaway.  There are detailed instructions on how to put together each card ... this is a must have for anyone who loves to create their own cards.

All you need to do is leave me a comment telling me what you are thankful for this year.  For an additional chance to win, tweet about the giveaway.  Please leave me separate comments for each entry.

I will pick a winner on Friday.

GOOD LUCK! 

u is for university ...

I will admit, it took me quite awhile to figure out a word for the A to Z challenge for letter "U" today.  I even had to go www.google.com and do a search on "U" words.  I finally decided to do a post on the word university.

Even though I went on to Katherine Gibbs Business School after high school and received a certificate fortheir executive/legal secretarial program after nine months, I wish to this day that I had gone away to college after high school.  I did take some courses at a local community college a few years after being in the workforce for a few years after high school, and even attended classes at the College of Saint Elizabeth, but the wish to have gone away for schooling is still in the back of my mind.  I still regret that I didn't follow my childhood dream of becoming a teacher.

Did you attend a university?  Did you go away, or stay close to home?  Do you have any regrets of not going away to school?

How was everyone's Easter?  We had a beautiful day here in NJ, which was surprising since they were originally calling for rain the entire day.  We had Easter at my mom and dad's, and my brother and his family were also there.

Some of my favorite pictures of the day ...

 
 
 

Tomorrow I'll share with you my photo from Project 64: Out of the Box for the color Pacific Blue.

Have a great day everyone!

t is for traditions ...

What a perfect day to talk about one of our family "traditions" for the A to Z challenge for letter "T."  Our family tradition is coloring Easter eggs the day before before Easter.

Last night we covered the table with newspapers, got plenty of cups out, and opened the Easter egg coloring box kit.  I usually am the photographer during the egg coloring so you usually won't find me coloring eggs, but Rob does an excellent job helping Nicholas and coloring eggs himself.

Here are just a few photos that I took last night.

 
 
 
 
 
I'm not sure why the eggs look speckled.  The eggs are usually just one color (I know very boring), but Nicholas loses patience fast when coloring eggs.  After awhile, he just wants to be done.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!  May you have a blessed day.

e is for easter decorations ...

I love to decorate for Easter.  It just reminds me that the warm weather is soon to arrive and stay for a few months.  I don't have a lot of decorations, but just enough to make the house look somewhat festive.  I am a little upset that I can't find my Longaberger Easter baskets.  I think they may be in the attic, and if so, I'm just too lazy to go up and get them.

Here are a few pictures of some of the decorations in our home.

 
 
My sister-in-law gave me this basket a few years ago, and I look forward to putting it out every year because I love it so much.  The eggs inside the basket are ceramic painted eggs ... love those too.

The eggs in the top picture were from my mother-in-law one year.  They are votive candle holders, but I usually never burn candles in them.

So that is my post for letter E of the A to Z challenge.  I've actually added a button to the right so you can visit other bloggers participating in the challenge if you wish.

Talk to you tomorrow!  Thanks for stopping by.

happy valentine's day ...

I got a call this morning from the office telling me that the building is closed until further notice because there was an electrical fire last night and there is no power.  Wish I had known that before I got up at 5:30am this morning ... at least I could have slept in until 6:00am. 

We are hoping that everything in our space is ok, but we are still waiting to hear back from the building.  The fire was on the first floor and we are located on the second floor.

So, what is everyone doing for Valentine's Day?  We are not big on celebrating.  I got everyone a card and boxes of candy (except for Rebecca) and dressed Nicholas in a red shirt for school today.  Other than that, we are just going to hang out tonight as a family ... I think we'll do burgers on the grill since it's in the 50s here today (and will be nice here all week). 

I'm hosting a scrapbooking crop on Saturday (12 hours of scrapbooking) and CAN'T WAIT.  I used to hold crops before Rebecca was born, but then stopped because I felt guilty for leaving her for over 12 hours.  Now that she is over a year old, I thought I'd start holding the crops again.  I plan on getting a LOT done ... I just need to get everything organized beforehand so I can get a lot done.

Speaking of scrapbooking, here are my last three days of layouts for LOAD. 

 

 

Enjoy your day of LOVE everyone!

let's eat cake ...

It's hard to believe, but we celebrated Rebecca's first birthday on Saturday.  First, the poor little thing had to go to the doctor's on Saturday morning since she was coughing a lot the night before.  She was a trooper during her visit, but we found out that she had croup and an ear infection.  So, off to the pharmacy we went to get her meds and then back home to get ready for her party.  I'm just glad that she was happy on her birthday.  You would have never known she was sick.

I picked up food from a local Italian restaurant, and the evening was spent with friends and family celebrating sweet Rebecca.

She really didn't want anything to do with opening her gifts, but when it came time to have cake, there was no hesitation.  I want to thank my friend Kristen for making Rebecca's first birthday cake - it turned out beautiful and boy was it delicious.

First, here is a picture of Rebecca showing her true Italian personality by throwing up her hands ...

 
And here are the phases of her eating her cake.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Even with the mess she made on her tray, she managed to NOT get any in her hair, and had just a few crumbs in her lap.

Thanks to everyone who joined us on her special day.  And for those of you who couldn't be with us, we hope to see you all soon.

Enjoy your day everyone!