Slap Happy and Scrappy

Good Words: book review

2011-03-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

It's taken me a while to get back here again, but I'm back with another book review for you. The Catholic Company sent me a review copy of Good Words: Inspiration for Catholic Women.

Wow. I can't say enough good things about this little book! It's divided up into 16 sections based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. You know it--

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die,

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted,

a time to kill, and a time to heal,

a time to break down, and a time to build up,

a time to weep, and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn, and a time to dance,

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together,

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to seek, and a time to lose,

a time to keep, and a time to throw away,

a time to tear, and a time to sew,

time to keep silence, and a time to speak,

a time to love, and a time to hate,

a time for war, and a time for peace.

This little book has excerpts and short passages from many of the books that have been published by St. Anthony Messenger Press authors, and then there are a couple of questions for reflection after each excerpt. I can easily see this as a starter for a daily devotional practice. I plan to use this in that way but I will also pull from it to use these little pieces as opening prayers/moments of reflection at the beginning of our Mothers Ministry meetings. I love that there are so many different topics in this little book; that really makes it useful for anything. Seriously, look at how many little markers I have in my copy of the book! :)

If I had a word of criticism for this book it's that there isn't an index by topic in the end of the book. The index simply lists the different contributors. I wish that I could look up "pain", for instance, or "finding my path" or something like that and then have a cross referenced list of which reflections might match that theme. I'll make my own index, though, because I really feel as if this is a resource that I'll come back to time and time again. If you're looking for something easy to use to help you kick-start your Lent, this might be just the thing for you. I'd say that you could read the excerpt and the questions for reflection in a matter of minutes--it's up to you how long you spend in actual reflection, though! :)

I wrote this review of Good Words: Inspiration for Catholic Women for the The Catholic Company Review program, a great source for Baptism Gifts and First Communion Gifts. For more information and to purchase, please visit The Catholic Company.

I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for The Catholic Company, but the content of my reviews is not dictated by them and comes solely from my opinion.

Review of Motherless by Brian Gail

2010-12-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Oh, my poor neglected blog, it has been a LONG time! I'm really going to try to get back into the blogging thing, both with some book reviews and with a photo-a-day project for 2011. Ambitious, I know, but we'll see how it goes.

Let me kick off this posting revival with a review of Motherless by Brian Gail.

Motherless is a sequel to Brian Gail's premiere novel Fatherless and is part 2 in his The American Tragedy in Trilogy. After hearing endless positive reviews about Fatherless, I fell in love with the world that Brian Gail created. Needless to say, when I got the opportunity to receive a copy of Motherless for review, I jumped at the chance, only hoping that Gail could capture the magic again. He didn't disappoint!

While Fatherless was set in Philadelphia in the late 20th Century, Motherless moves forward about 20 years and revisits many of the same characters as they have aged and moved on to different stages in their lives. The captivating characters from Fatherhood are back: Father Sweeney, a priest who encountered a crisis of faith in the previous novel but has grown stronger and more steadfast since, Maggie Kealey, a Catholic woman strong in her faith and values, Joe Delgado, an executive in the pharmaceutical industry who must wrestle between his faith and his career, and Michael Burns, the engaging ad executive who won our hearts in Fatherless for standing up for his beliefs despite the cost. Father Sweeney has grown deeper in his faith and must now struggle with making choices concerning his mother's Alzheimer's Disease and also with providing good and faithful counsel to parishioners who rely on him for guidance. Maggie Kealey's husband left her for another woman 20 years ago, and she picked up the pieces and became a nurse and has since risen through the ranks and has been named the CEO of Regina Hospital in South Philadelphia. Never did she imagine that she'd be immediately tasked with navigating the waters of insuring that her institution is both faithful to Catholic teaching and profitable at the same time. I think that the most interesting parts of this storyline involve Joe Delgado and Michael Burns and their struggles to live their faith despite the pull of society and especially their careers. Delgado is an executive in the pharmaceutical industry and Burns is the head of an advertising agency, and each is asked to ignore his Catholic faith and what he knows is a steadfast position of the Church in order to do his job. Gail does a terrific job of showing the struggles that these men face with their consciences as they try to discern and rationalize their choices.

The focus of Motherless is on in vitro fertilization, cloning, and genetic manipulation, and I think that the genius of Gail's writing is that, while this is a fictional piece, there is much that could very well become our reality. Some of the struggles that Maggie Kealey faces as a new CEO of a Catholic hospital are doctors who prescribe contraceptives and refer patients out for treatments that aren't approved by the Catholic Church--struggles that are mirrored in hospitals and medical practices in reality. The genetic manipulation technologies that are discussed in Motherless are real and the "Big Fix" proposed by Delgado and Burns' bosses is chilling to consider but also not out of the realm of imagination.

Motherless offers one author's imaginings of where these new discoveries and technologies could be leading us, and those imaginings should give us pause as we consider what we are really getting ourselves into. Brian Gail's Motherless is an engaging read with realistic and likable characters. I was very pleased with the development of the story and will encourage others to read it as well. If this review has you intrigued, then check it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

I received this book for review from The Catholic Company. The Catholic Company is also a great source for serenity prayer and baptism gifts.

I Heart Faces "Best Faces" photo challenge

2010-01-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to get back into blogging... :)

I've been reading the I Heart Faces Photography blog lately, and I'm inspired by their weekly challenges. This week's challenge is "Best Faces", so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Here's a pic of Miss Katie that I just love:

Fun Halloween Giveaway from the team members at The DigiChick!

2009-10-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

Halloween is almost here, and the Staff at The DigiChick thought that it would be fun to do a little trick or treating digital style!

I made a fun little November desktop for your computer. Here's a preview:

Click here to download! Thank you so much to Kim Wresh, Pamela Donnis, and Mari Koegelenberg for allowing me to use their designs for this project!

Here is the list of the TDC CT/Designers passing out treats on their blogs. Be sure to stop by each one for some goodies!

Tiffany - http://ascrapaway.blogspot.com/
LuAnn - http://livelaughcreate-luann.blogspot.com/
Cheryl - http://cherylisadomesticgoddess.blogspot.com/
Mel - http://www.littlepaperhouse.com/
Kelley - http://www.kelleymickusdesigns.blogspot.com/
Sinead - http://www.slaphappyandscrappy.blogspot.com/
Tracy - http://tracykosofsky.blogspot.com/
Pam - http://www.pameladonnis.com/
Elise - http://elisespiecesdesigns.blogspot.com/
Jill - http://scrappingprincess.com/blog
Jacinda- http://www.digikiwichick.blogspot.com/
Jenn - http://jennamy82.blogspot.com/
Kara - http://www.karaperrien.blogspot.com/
Heather - http://bowenyard.blogspot.com/
Juli - http://julifreshfish.blogspot.com/
Mari - http://mydigitalartstudio.com/
Julie - http://mycrazylifeasamomandawife.blogspot.com/
Linda - http://www.yamstamps.com/weblog/treat.html
Dani - http://www.danielleengebretson.com/
Cheryl - http://cherylisadomesticgoddess.blogspot.com/
Kelleigh - http://kelleighratzlaff.com/
ViVa - http://vivaartistry.blogspot.com/
The Hybrid Chick - http://www.thehybridchick.com/

Long time no post!

2009-10-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Boy, that resolution to post more often fell by the wayside, huh? :) Life with 3 little monkeys is pretty chaotic; that and I spend about 4 hrs a day in the car between school drop-offs and pick-ups. At any rate...

Perhaps a few photos... (Mom, you have seen these first few :) )

A couple of Molly...

I love that last one. Katie is really so sweet with Molly, despite the widely spread (by me, mostly) reputation for being DangerGirl. Molly lights up whenever either of her sisters comes around.

A few more from our most recent trip to LaGrange over Fall Break...
Molly and my mom:

One of my two super cute nephews:

Sweet Maggie:

Miss Katie (ok, this one is kinda funny. I think she was talking or something.)

My two big girls together:

My sweet sister and my even sweeter niece:

Fiona probably won't be happy with me for posting that, but I like it--I like that completely content look on MM's face. :)

Yet again, I'm going to try to do better with posting. I'll have a Halloween treat from some of the digital goodness of The DigiChick for Halloween, so swing back by! :)

A group shot and some random pics

2009-07-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

While we were in LaGrange a couple of weeks ago (yeah, it took me a while to edit and upload the pics), I took the girls to the playground and my sweet sister and my niece met us there. The three big girls (Maggie, Katie, and Mary Maddox) had a blast on the slide and I was trying to get a pic of them going down all at the same time. Here's my best attempt:

From left to right, that's Katie, Mary Maddox, and Maggie. :)

I can't believe it, but Miss Molly is already 7 weeks old! Where did the time go? She's really smiling at us now, especially at her big sisters who love her to bits. Maggie likes to come over to talk to Molly, and Katie comes over to kiss her on the head from time to time throughout the day. For a kiddo who generally isn't very gentle, she's surprisingly careful with Molly. She's also a great early warning system, yelling "He's crying!!" any time she hears Molly crying. Sure, she's got the gender pronoun wrong and I'm almost always holding Molly at the time she's crying and Katie sounds the alarm, but it's the thought that counts, right? :)

Here's 7 week old Molly:

I've been trying to get a picture of the three girls together. That process is a laugh all by itself. Here's one of the best that I've gotten so far:

Katie was moving in to kiss Molly. Poor Molly looks a bit like she's being strangled, huh? I think that right after this shot was one of those "He's crying!" moments from Molly and Katie.

Here's another cute one of the two big girls loving on Molly, though:

I've got some 4th of July pics to edit and upload, so I'll try to get those done in the next few days. I also need to work on Molly's birth announcement. :) Until next time!

Gran and Molly

2009-07-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

We went to visit my mom and dad in LaGrange and Mom got to spend some quality time with little Molly. :)

I'm not sure that my mom would be happy with me posting that last pic, but I really love it! :) hehehe They're so cute!

Summertime and Bubbles

2009-06-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

My girls have been enjoying these first weeks of summer! I picked up some great bubble wands from Dollar General (they are huge, and you don't actually have to blow the bubbles, so it's easier for little kiddos to make cool bubbles) and set them up outside while Molly was napping.

Apparently Maggie feels that bubbles are close enough to water and therefore require a swimsuit. ;) Katie just had a blast running around chasing the bubbles.

See the big huge (and cool!) bubbles that Maggie was able to make? That's not even a great shot--they were super cool!

The wind helped Katie "blow" some bubbles, too.

Maggie went back to the old school way of blowing bubbles.

and Katie had a song to sing...

Finally, here's a little Molly goodness. She's still sleeping a lot (yay for that!), and she's a super sweet baby. At her 3 week check up, she'd moved up from 9lbs 7oz to 10lbs 10oz and from 21" to 23". Clearly she's growing well! :)

We're heading out to the story hour at the library tomorrow morning. Fun! Have a great week!

I'm Alive! And Introducing Molly!!

2009-05-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true, I'm still here! I spent much of the last year buried under tutoring/essay reviewing work and just the busy day to day life of a mom with little kiddos. Did you also know that I spent most of that year preggers, too? Yep, surprise baby #3 made her appearance last week, so I figured that this would be as good a time as any to jump back into blogging. How else am I going to keep everybody up to date with photos (assuming she lets me put her down and actually take some, that is!)? You know I'm rotten about keeping Facebook up to date...

So here is my big ol' belly the night before I went in for the c-section:

Yeah, I know--it's huge. I was actually 38 weeks and 5 days, but I was measuring almost 42 weeks. Apparently, I just make big homes for babies. :)

Maggie has been so excited about this baby and has spent the last several months talking to my stomach and kissing it and making plans for her new little sister. Katie has used my stomach as a bouncing platform (the baby always kicked back, though)--ah, the joys of sisterhood, even before you're born!

My first time meeting Molly. My doctor was amazing and did a terrific job with the c-section! Thanks, doc!

Introducing Molly Ann, born at 12:30pm on Tuesday, May 12. She was 9 lbs, 7 oz (I told you I make big homes for babies; apparently big babies, too! Maggie was 8 lbs, 15 oz; Katie was 9 lbs even) and 21 inches.

It was love at first sight for Maggie. She wanted to hold Molly immediately and settled right in and started singing sweet songs. Katie seems to like Molly, too, but I haven't trusted her to be gentle enough with the baby yet to actually step far enough away to take a photo. ;) Katie's only 2 and a half, and her idea of kissing and hugging Molly is a little intense right now. hehehe

Clearly, Maggie is in love with this baby. I think she'd hold Molly all day long if I let her. She's been a terrific big sister so far, too, and has been very very sweet.

Here's Miss Molly all ready to come home from the hospital. Do you recognize the dress, Paula?! Finally, I am able to put it on one of my babies!! It's so sweet and small, but my other two were born in the wrong season for it. It looked perfect on Molly, though. :)

And here's Miss Molly at home asleep in the pram. Isn't she just perfect? We certainly think so!

I'll try to update more often and be a better blogger. At least it might force me to find some time to take some pics!

Our New Baby

2008-06-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

no, not that kind of baby!

We've got a new puppy--Lady. :) She's a Dachshund mix (with who knows what else) and is almost 2 months old. We picked her up this morning and the girls are head over heels in love already. Head over heels! Maggie has been asking for a dog for a year (at least) and we kept saying, "When you're older" or "When you sleep in your bed all night" or "maybe someday." Well, she is a little older now, she's doing better about sleeping in her bed all night (she is sleeping in her bed, though she still wakes up once a night and needs a few minutes of Mommy or Daddy lying on her floor while she gets settled back in), and heck, I guess today is someday.

We got her from the Birmingham Humane Society (yep--I drove all the way to Birmingham to pick her up...worse than that, Maggie and I drove to Birmingham yesterday, too, which is when we picked her out, but then we couldn't bring her home because Katie wasn't there and they won't adopt an animal out unless the animal has met all of the kids in the house. Boy, THAT was an UGLY ride home. Never has an hour and half car ride taken longer or been more emotionally taxing. Poor Maggie.). Anyway, her original name was Mercedes, but Maggie immediately wanted to change that. Her first choice was Barbie. Umm, no. So then she suggested Barfy. Dude. Do you know what "Barf" is, Maggie? hehehe Then I mentioned that she had freckles like I do and like Maggie does, and Maggie jumped on Freckles. That's what we called her all day yesterday and all morning. Somehow, though, on the way back to our house, Maggie morphed the name into Lady. Oh well--that's cute, too!

Here are a couple more pictures of her in the backyard today...

Meeting the dogs next door:

O'Neill just looked at her and didn't really seem to pass any remarks either way. Meg took one look at her, hissed, and jumped over the baby gate that keeps Lady confined to the kitchen (no carpet there!). She'll come around. Oh, I didn't tell you about Katie. Katie shrieks with joy whenever she sees the dog. She's fascinated with her and wants to pet her and hold her. They seem to get on well already. :)

So I know I'm way behind with posting my picture of a day pictures. I've got a bunch to post...just need to find a few minutes (or a few days!) to get them up.

two days in a row! more pics and getting caught up! Days 100-111

2008-04-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Day 100/Apr 9-- I love seeing Miss Katie trotting off down the yard. Check out her cutie patootie crocs! :) She was trying to put Maggie's crocs on and getting frustrated because they were too big, so we got her a Katie-sized pair. :)

Day 101/Apr 10--Can't you just hear Katie saying, "the camera? again? Mommmmm!" hehehe
Day 102/Apr 11--Happy Birthday, Delaney Grace! We went to Maggie's best friend Delaney's birthday party today. Maggie and Delaney have been more like sisters ever since we moved to Montgomery, and they miss each other desperately since we moved away. We still see them every few months, though, so at least they still get to see each other.

Clearly there's still a bond there. :)

Day 103/Apr 12--We were at my parents' house and walked down to the water so that Dad could show us the new wall. Katie was determined to get over that wall and into the lake--not just on the wall, but OVER it. I ended up carrying her back up the yard and she threw herself on the ground having a hissy fit. She might be more easy-going than Maggie, but she's definitely got her mommy's temper!

Maggie was drawn immediately to the swing down by the lake. Doesn't she look happy? :)

Day 104/Apr 14--So honestly I don't know if these were from the 14th or the 13th. Those days sorta melded together. Here's one of my new favorite pictures of Miss Maggie.

Maggie was pushing Katie on the swing and Katie loved every second of it!

Day 105/Apr 15--One afternoon Maggie got tired of running around after O'Neill and went to get a book from her room. This was what I saw next. :) I love seeing her happy with a book. :)
Day 106/Apr 16--Katie can be so serious! She's been obsessed with my water bottles lately, and she's working hard to drink out of them without spilling the water everywhere. Day 107/Apr 17--This look on Maggie's face is one we see fairly often. :)Day 108/Apr 18--The two girls playing...sorta. Actually, it's Maggie playing and Katie hanging out trying to see what her sister is doing.
Day 109/Apr 19--Would you believe that I pushed around this same little doggie when I was Katie's age? You can't really see the the doggie here, so I'll have to get a picture of it soon. :)
Day 110/Apr 20--We went to Cullman to the Ave Maria Grotto, and Maggie and Chris took a little rest on one of the benches. :) Maggie has a little bird whistle that she was trying to figure out. Day 111/Apr 21--Maggie was having an emotional day. I still love this picture. :)

I've been a slack poster again. Days 94-99 (Apr 3-8)

2008-04-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

I've been a slacker about posting my pics again. I've been taking them, though! So it's catch-up time once again. Here are the first few...

Day 94/Apr 3--my two sweet girls before school. :)

Day 95/Apr 4--I just like Katie's cheeks. :)

Day 96/Apr 5--This is a scene that we see just about every day that we're out in the backyard (except Maggie is usually heading that way, too). Our neighbor has the cutest little Yorkie Terrior. As soon as the neighbor lets the dogs out, both of my girls go streaking for the fence to see Pepper. :) Isn't he cute?!

Day 97/Apr 6--It's been really pretty here lately. Looks like maybe it's finally Spring! Yay! I just love these pics of Maggie roaming around in the backyard.

Day 98/Apr 7--a rare smile for the camera from Miss Maggie

Day 99/Apr 8--Katie loves O'Neill. :) He's a pretty big fan of anybody who pays attention to him, so it works out well for both of them!

Days 86-93 (Mar 26-Apr 2)

2008-04-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Day 86/Mar 26 -- Katie is so curious about the world--especially about ANYTHING her sister is doing. :)

Day 87/Mar 27 -- I'm not sure what prompted the choice of rubber boots as footwear--it certainly wasn't rainy or wet. Maybe it's yet another symbol of Maggie's quirky approach to clothes.

Day 88/Mar 28 -- Maggie looks intense here, huh? :) She was running to catch O'Neill (Poor kitty! He loves the attention, but I think it scares him, too.). This is the kind of shot I get from her lately--she's not loving the paparazzi Mommy moments these days.

Day 89/Mar 29 -- I get plenty of these moments, too. You'd never think she was camera-shy, would you? hehehe

Day 90/Mar 30 -- Wow, another Maggie day! That's unusual. This is one of our favorite things to do these days. Maggie is able to ride her bike the whole way round our neighborhood (well, the 1 mile loop that we take). We have to give her a bit of a boost when we get halfway up the hills, but she has no problem sailing down the other side by herself. Oh, and don't worry--she wears her helmet when we go out. I was holding it for the picture (she started without me). Right afterwards, she stopped and said, "Helmet!! Mom! Can you help?" hehehe

Day 91/Mar 31 -- This is one of those rare quiet moments for Katie. I love everything about this shot...I could just eat those cheeks!

Day 92/Apr 1 -- Katie has been really fond of playing peek-a-boo lately. :)

Day 93/Apr 2 --Is this a preview of those petulant teenage years? Maggie had on some lip gloss (glittery Princess lip gloss, of course), so that's why she's holding her lips that way. Silly girl...

pics are coming ;)

2008-04-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

I've gotten pics for the past week or so edited, and I'll get them uploaded tomorrow. :)

Day 85/Mar 25

2008-03-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Oh Pretty Tree in our Backyard, are you the reason I'm feeling so icky?

The pollen is out with a vengeance here in Huntsville, and it's hitting us hard--especially poor Katie. So far Maggie is the only one who hasn't been hit by it. Apparently, that's a side effect of living in Huntsville (one of the only bad ones so far). The Indians used to call this area the "Valley of the Sickness"...oh well.

Despite feeling icky, we did get some outside time today...

Maggie has been playing this fun "monster chase" game with Katie lately.

There's a fun growly noise that goes with it.

Katie just thinks it's hilarious.

And then got in on the action.

And then she "caught" Maggie.

OMG I love these two little monkeys!

Day 84/March 24

2008-03-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

Go fly a kite!

The Easter Bunny brought Maggie a kite. :)

Day 83/March 23

2008-03-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! We had such fun at the Easter Egg hunt at the girls' school. They definitely enjoyed the yummy chocolate bunnies from the Easter Bunny, too!

Just before the Easter Egg hunt...

She doesn't really "get" it, but she's more than happy to take part. Hey--it's outside, she doesn't care what she's doing!

Maggie, on the other hand, was very serious about her egg hunting. Check out all of those eggs!

Back at home, we headed out to the backyard. I love the way the breeze was blowing Katie's dress.

Hey Paula--do you remember this little doll buggy? :) It has logged miles and miles around our backyard. :)

Day 82/ Mar 22

2008-03-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

We spent some time outside on Saturday afternoon. I love the look on Maggie's face here. :)

Nikon d70, 210mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 200, unsharp mask

I've been busy

2008-03-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

Most of you know I've been working out pretty hard for the better part of a year now. The first 40 pounds came off pretty smoothly, but then I got stuck. I've been at just about the same weight since Thanksgiving, even though I'm still working my butt off in the gym.

Time for a change, I thought. I had heard great things about a new book--The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I did some research and then decided to get the book and see what it was all about. Boy. Suddenly things made sense. I'd been doing all kinds of steady state cardio--averaging about 600-700 minutes a week. Seriously. That's a heck of a lot of cardio! This book, written by Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove, and Cassandra Forsythe, suggests that I've actually been working against myself. Not only that, but I'd been severely limiting my calorie intake...another way of working against myself.

So I figured I'd give the workouts a go. I've been stuck since Thanksgiving--what could it hurt, right? I'm just finishing up Week 3, and let me tell you...wow. There I am, over in the "boy's side" of the gym with all the free weights, and I'm holding my own! I never thought I could do it! My first workout (there are two different workouts for each stage, and you alternate between them during the week) had me doing squats. I started with 50 lbs (that's the bar plus two 2.5lb weights). On Thursday, I was able to squat 90 lbs. Then I moved on to alternating sets of push ups and seated rows. I can't do a full push up on the ground yet (I did learn, though, that a full push up is the equivalent of moving 60% of your weight...no wonder I can't do a full push up yet!), so I started with 60 degree incline pushups. Thursday I did pushups on a 35 degree incline. I started the seated row at 40 lbs 3 weeks ago, and on Thursday I pulled 100 lbs. Seriously! Next I did step ups and this CRAZY thing on an exercise ball called a prone jackknife. You start with your hands on the ground like a pushup, back straight, and legs up on the ball, all stretched out in a line. Then you pull your knees in to your chest. Sounds easy, but man oh man!

The "B" workouts are equally as challenging (deadlifts--started at 30lbs and deadlifted 90lbs Monday; dumbbell shoulder press--started 10lbs, 25 lbs Mon; wide-grip lat pulldown--30 lbs, 100lbs Mon; lunges, and swissball crunches).

I haven't noticed much change in the scale yet--actually, I've gone up 2 lbs (but that's mostly water weight and the fact that muscle is heavier than fat). The amazing thing, though, is that in the first week I lost 4.5 inches. I haven't measured myself yet this week, but I've lost more inches since then. The coolest thing is that I'm already seeing definition in my arms and legs, and things are much less "flabby". I've got one more week of Stage 1 and then I go on to the more challenging Stage 2.

The mondo cardio workouts are a thing of the past for me, too. I've switched them out for HIIT workouts--high intensity interval training. I spend 30 min on the treadmill alternating between walking and running. When I started, my walking speed was 3.0 and my running speed was 6. On Thursday I walked at 3.0 and ran at 8.5. The running part is really fast--just 1 minute--so it's not really as hard as I thought to run flat out for a minute. This type of training is much more effective than steady state cardio, and it helps you burn more calories for longer after the workout. I still do some walking on my non-lifting days, but that's more laid back-just moving to move kind of walking.

I can't tell you how empowered I feel after a lifting session. I never thought--especially with my arthritis--that I'd be able to do some of these things, but I can and even better, my joints seem to be enjoying the extra support from my muscles. The first several stages of this workout focus on building strength, and it isn't until stage 7 that the "cutting in" is supposed to really start, so I'm looking forward to seeing the changes in my body as I move along even further.

Enough rambling from me. I'm just super duper excited. I feel so cool to be out there and lifting these weights, and I know that it's the right path for me on the way to health and wellness. :)

Finally caught up! Days 79-81

2008-03-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm finally caught up! Now I have to make sure that I don't get side-tracked and forget to post them again. Here are the pics for Days 79-81 (plus a couple of extras)...

Day 79/Mar 19 --Maggie seems to be getting back into Princess mode. I think that she got a little overdose on Princesses while we were in Disney World (what with the wearing of princess dresses all day every day for 7 days. lol!). It's good to see her all decked out again, though. :)

Nikon d70, 210mm, f/4.5, 1/500, ISO 400, unsharp

I love this picture of Maggie. She's been in an odd place lately and hasn't wanted me to take her picture, but sometimes I get lucky. :) I think this would be nice in black and white, too. I need to play with the conversion...maybe tomorrow. ;)

Nikon d70, 210mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 400, unsharp

Day 80/Mar 20 --This is a classic Katie shot. She's so stinkin' happy!

Nikon d70, 116mm, f/4.5, 1/500, ISO 400, unsharp

It was just one of those great picture days. :) This one really makes me smile.

Nikon d70, 210mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 640, unsharp

Day 81/Mar 21 --We're on Spring Break this week, so I thought I'd take advantage of the beautiful weather and head over to the park for a bit. The girls had a blast!

Nikon d70, 210mm, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 640, unsharp

Nikon d70, 210mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 640, unsharp

Ok...just about caught up! Days 66-78

2008-03-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

I think I might have mixed some of these pics up a little (like posted weekend pics on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday), but they were all taken on the right days. lol I just couldn't be bothered to move them all around now. ;)

Day 66/Mar 6 -- This captures a typical afternoon at our house. Maggie likes nothing better than just running around the backyard. Lately she's been pretending to be a beaver and has been building a dam with sticks and pinecones. Nope, there's no water in our backyard...it's all part of her "maginations". hehehe

Nikon d70, 210 mm, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 200, unsharp

Day 67/Mar 7 -- This isn't the best picture (dang that lighting imbalance!), but it captures part of Katie's personality. When she's really into something (or excited about something), she tucks her head into her chest and rounds her back a little...like she's heading into the fray head down and shoulders ready! NOTHING is going to get in her way when she's determined! lol

Nikon d70, 135 mm, f/4.8, 1/250, ISO 200, unsharp

Day 68/Mar 8 -- We've had this little table for quite a while (a year or two, I think), but it's been in Maggie's room since we moved into this house. Maggie has been obsessed with writing and drawing lately, so I thought it would be good to move it into the office where it could get more use. I think Katie uses the table at least as much as Maggie does! Of course, she is often standing in the chair (or on the table!), but I love this picture of the two of them working away peacefully!

Nikon d70, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/500, ISO 800, unsharp

Day 69/Mar 9 -- We took a trip to Atlanta to visit Nana and Grandad. Nana doesn't look happy to have some time with Katie, does she? hehehe (Katie was happy, too, though she was overdue for a nap here.)

Nikon d70, 50 mm, f/4, 1/60, ISO 200, unsharp

Day 70/Mar 10 -- Katie found the train table at the Children's Museum in Atlanta. :) (AWESOME museum, by the way!)

Nikon d70, 50 mm, f/2, 1/250, ISO 1600, unsharp

Day 71/Mar 11 -- Another Children's Museum pic. They had this place where you dress up with different pieces of cloth and then you stood (or danced, in Maggie's case) in front of the green screen. There was a TV camera pointed at the area, and it superimposed your image onto film footage from different movies. Maggie just loved dancing and swirling and seeing herself on camera. :)

Nikon d70, 50 mm, f/2, 1/250, ISO 1600, unsharp

Day 72/Mar 12 -- It probably wasn't warm enough for a swimsuit (it was in the 60s, I think), but it wasn't super cold either. Hey, at least she has a helmet on her head! hehehe

Nikon d70, 50 mm, f/2, 1/2000, ISO 320, unsharp

Day 73/Mar 13 -- Katie is such a happy little monkey. She just likes to be outside. She could just be running around the yard--she doesn't care. Doing nothing outside is way better than anything I could offer inside! I've gotta say that I LOVE the bokeh here! My new 50/1.8 lens is awesome and I LOVE it!

Nikon d70, 50 mm, f/2, 1/5000, ISO 320, unsharp

Day 74/Mar 14 --Another happy Katie picture. She loves the little playhouse in our backyard and spends most of her time going in, coming out, and peeking out at me. As you can see, she's pleased with herself if she thinks she's surprised me.

Nikon d70, 210 mm, f/1.8, 1/6400, ISO 320, unsharp

Day 75/Mar 15 -- We met Debbie and Delaney (and two of Delaney's sweet friends Maddy and Katie) at the zoo in Birmingham. :)

Nikon d70, 70 mm, f/4, 1/6400, ISO 320, unsharp

Day 76/Mar 16 -- Some of the Star Magnolias at my parents' house. I wish I'd gotten more detail on the flower. Still gotta keep playing with lighting and settings.

Nikon d70, 145 mm, f/4.8, 1/800, ISO 400, unsharp

Day 77/Mar 17 -- Fiona had a St. Patrick's Day party for her neighborhood and we got to go. Katie was big time buddies with Dad at the party and kept climbing up into his lap and just giggling in general with him. We had a great time, Fiona! Thanks for letting us come!

Nikon d70, 135 mm, f/4.8, 1/400, ISO 200, unsharp

Day 78/Mar 18 -- My parents just had a nice wall built at their property line around the lake. Maggie broke it in by talking a walk around the edge. :)

Nikon d70, 125 mm, f/4.5, 1/1250, ISO 400, unsharp

Still more catching up Days 62-65

2008-03-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

More catching up pics...

Day 62/Mar 2 -- Miss Katie loves to play peek-a-boo

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/800, ISO 200, unsharp

Day 63/Mar 3 -- It was pajama day at school, so Maggie got to wear her Princess Jasmine pajamas all day. :)

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/800, ISO 200, unsharp

Day 64/Mar 4 -- Check out the static! hehehe I love this shot!

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/640, ISO 200, unsharp

Day 65, Mar 5 --Check out Maggie's eyes here...no color enhancement, either. Those are just her gorgeous blue peepers!

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/1000, ISO 200, unsharp

More Catching Up... Days 57-61

2008-03-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

I finally got back to the computer (Maggie is REALLY fighting sleep tonight. ugh. At home I'd switch out with Chris and let him hang with her for a bit, but I'm at my parents' with the girls and he's at home working, so it's just me tonight. Oh well...).

Day 57/Feb 26 --my dad. He approaches everything with such joy--it's no wonder that we all love to be around him. He's my hero and my friend. I love you, Dad. :)

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/160, ISO 1250

Day 58/Feb 27--Miss Mary Maddox (Fiona's oldest) again. This kid is the funniest kid I've ever met--she's got a hilarious sense of humor and she's always coming up with the best one-liners! You crack me up, Mary Maddox!

Nikon d70, 102mm, f/4.2, 1/250, ISO 200

Day 59/Feb 28--Grady (Fiona's other kiddo). What a mess this kid is! He is super funny, too, and he's got this unbelievable energy. He's into everything, but look at that face! How could you be mad at him? Besides, his curiousity is just that--he's certainly not trying to be a handful. Watch out, though, Fiona and John! I think Grady's going to give you a run for the money! Of course, I'll be right there with you with Katie, so at least we'll all be in good company!

Nikon d70, 102mm, f/4.2, 1/250, ISO 200

Day 60/Feb 29--Miss Maggie. I don't often get good shots of Maggie these days. She's become self-conscious when she sees me with the camera and hasn't had the patience for being the focus of paparazzi-mom. I wish I'd gotten the lighting/exposure right on this shot because I love the sweet smile she's giving me, but right now I'll just settle for the sweet smile. :)

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/1600, ISO 200

Day 61/Mar 1--just some pretty Spring blossoms. I think this is a flowering cherry tree...

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/3200, ISO 1250

Ok. I've got my list of pics to post for days 62-now all put together, but I can't keep my eyeballs open. I'll get the rest of them up tomorrow when we get back home. :) Off to get my hair cut early tomorrow morning, so hopefully I won't look too bad! lol

Catching Up...yeah, I'm a slacker! Days 52-56

2008-03-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm a slacker! I know. :) I've been taking pics, though, so at least I didn't let it all fall by the wayside. It was pointed out to me last night (thanks Fiona, Lindsey, and Kerri!) that my blog was in desperate need of an update, so here I am. :)

Day 52/Feb 21--a cool tree in our backyard. I was looking up at a bird and thought the branches look awesome from this perspective.

Nikon d70, 78mm, f/5, 1/400, ISO 320, unsharp

Day 53/Feb 22--my sweet, silly Katie

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/5, 1/400, ISO 320, unsharp

Day 54/Feb 23--clearly Katie has been more cooperative with pictures lately

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/125, ISO 1000, unsharp

Day 55/Feb 24--my sweet and handsome husband

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/125, ISO 1250, unsharp

Day 56/Feb 25--Mary Maddox (my niece) was being just the cutest!

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/125, ISO 1250, unsharp

51/366

2008-02-20T20:10:00.001-08:00

Day 51/Feb 20

It was gorgeous here today, and the girls were feeling too good to stay cooped up in the house (especially since it's supposed to be raining for the next two or three days!). We had some fun running around in the backyard this afternoon (and Mommy got into the running around action, which made both girls laugh hysterically).

Miss Katie, playing in the little playhouse outside:

Nikon d70, 170mm, f/5.6, 1/320, ISO 200, unsharp mask

I asked Maggie to tell me a joke, so I got a genuine smile. :)

Nikon d70, 170mm, f/5, 1/500, ISO 200, unsharp mask

Yeah, so Katie is clearly feeling better now that she's got tubes in her ears...

Nikon d70, 50mm, f/5, 1/400, ISO 320, unsharp mask

and this is what happens when Maggie has had enough of Mommy and her camera:

Nikon d70, 210mm, f/5.6, 1/400, ISO 320, unsharp mask

48-50/366

2008-02-19T22:25:00.000-08:00

catching up again...with good reason this time, though! Katie got tubes in her ears this morning, so we have been a little busy. :) All is well, though, and she will hopefully be cured of the recurrent ear infections that she's been having since September (6 since Sept!).

on to the pics

Day 48 (Sunday 2/17)--it was a great day, and Maggie had to do a few running rounds of the yard.

Nikon d70, 155mm, f/5, 1/200, ISO 320, unsharp mask

Day 49 (Monday 2/18)--We had to arrive at the Surgery Center at 6:15 in the morning, so Katie and I spent the night in a hotel down in Huntsville tonight so that we could be nearby. Here's Katie playing with the stroller in the hotel room.

Nikon d70, 70mm, f/4.5, 1/60, flash, ISO 640, unsharp mask

Day 50 (Tuesday 2/19)--Gee...can you tell that Katie feels better after her surgery? lol

Nikon d70, 70mm, f/4.5, 1/60, flash, ISO 640, unsharp mask

47/366

2008-02-16T20:24:00.001-08:00

Day 47 (Saturday, Feb 16)

more outside time today. :)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f1/5, 1/80, ISO 200

Nikon d70, 210mm, f1/5.6, 1/60, unsharp mask

46/366

2008-02-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

Day 46 (Friday, February 15)

Maggie enjoyed a little time outside this afternoon.

Nikon d70, f1/5.6, 1/80, ISO 200, unsharp mask

45/366

2008-02-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

Day 45 (Feb 14)

I got a couple of good shots of Miss Katie today. :)

both shots Nikon d70, 210mm, f1/5.6, 1/200, ISO 200, unsharp mask

Catching Up pt 2

2008-02-14T20:31:00.000-08:00

Days 38-45

Day 38: We had a couple of days where we went outside a lot, so here's another one of Katie with the rubber ball.

Day 40: Katie wasn't feeling so hot, and I'm sure she wondered again why I had the camera in her face.

Day 41: It was so cold (25 degrees) that poor O'Neill's water froze outside. There were some snow flurries, too, and I thought that it was neat to see the snowflakes on top of the frozen water.

Day 42: loved the coats hanging up after a cold day outside

Day 43: yet again, Maggie wasn't feeling like being photographed. This one was a mess until I cropped it really tight. I think the crop salvaged it.

Day 44: LOVE the look on Katie's face here. She's always carrying a bag around and has lately been obsessed with putting thing in (into boxes or bags or baskets) and taking them back out again.

Day 45: snow flurries and the little bit of gathered snow at the bottom of the slide. :)

Today's pic is still on the camera. I'll get it up tomorrow. :)

Catching up finally!

2008-02-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

Days 34-39

Day 34: It may not be the technically best pic, but I love her eyelashes and sweet cheeks here.

Day 35: Katie looks at me sometimes like she thinks I've lost my mind... Remember the show "Diff'rent Strokes" when Gary Coleman's character always said, "Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?" lol

Day 36: Maggie didn't want her picture taken. ;) Day 37: Whenever we say, "Good job, Katie" or "Yay, Katie" she looks so pleased with herself and claps her hands. :) Day 39: She couldn't help herself...she couldn't pick which one she liked better. :)

Getting caught up

2008-02-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

I'm uploading pictures to photobucket right now, but it's taking forever. I'll get them loaded up here tomorrow. ;)

Hopefully we're on the road to better health. We're all still coughing, but it's getting better. Katie is getting tubes in her ears on the 19th--poor little monkey. Hopefully that will help her feel better.

My sweet nephew Will was 3 on Monday. He's such a cutie. Sadly, we didn't get to go to his party over the weekend because we were all still sick and germy, but hopefully we'll get to see him to celebrate soon.

Let's see...other news. I guess that covers everything. I think I might finally be getting off the weight loss plateau. I'm down this week, so hopefully I can hang on to that until weigh in on Monday. I'm ready to move on from the 40lbs down and start working towards 45 and 50 lbs lost.

I'll be back with 12 (or 13, once I count tomorrow's pic!) pics tomorrow. :) That's what I get for slacking and being sick, huh? lol

32 and 33/365

2008-02-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

Didn't get a chance to post yesterday's pic, so here are my pics for Feb 1 (Day 32) and Feb 2 (Day 33).

Poor Maggie is still sick. I thought it was just the cold hanging on, but tonight she spiked a high fever again. I suspect that it could be the flu--we'll see how she's doing tomorrow. Tonight we'll be alternating our friends Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours to keep her fever down.

Day 32

Nikon d70, 70mm, f10, 1/60, ISO 200, flash, unsharp mask

Day 33

Nikon d70, 70mm, f10, 1/60, ISO 200, flash, unsharp mask

31/365

2008-01-31T21:11:00.000-08:00

Nikon d70, 56mm, f10, 1/60, ISO 200 , flash, unsharp mask

30/365

2008-01-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

I've got two pics today. My girls, of course...

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4, 1/1250, ISO 200, unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.7, 1/400, ISO 200, unsharp mask

Maggie told me that she was "flying"...I love her free spirit! :)

29/365

2008-01-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

Miss Katie...

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/30, ISO 320, unsharp mask

I wish that I'd gotten her eyes sharper, but I like the perspective and the depth of field. ;)

Days 26, 27, and 28/365

2008-01-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

I've been sick as a dog (and have had two sick girls), so I'm a little late in posting these pics.

my pics for the last few days...

Day 26

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/30, ISO 320, flash, unsharp

Day 27
This week Andrea at TDC challenged us to take a self portrait and to make a storyboard. I combined the two challenges...

my storyboard (storyboard from Pink Ink Studios, font is TK Doodle)

and pic

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/60, ISO 320, unsharp mask

Day 28
my poor sick Maggie

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/60, ISO 320, flash, unsharp mask

25/365

2008-01-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

I took the girls outside for a little bit this afternoon (trying to clear the funk out of our lungs) and got a couple of fun shots...

Nikon d70, 90mm, f4.2, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

See all of the black dots in the next two pictures? Those are birds--yes, BIRDS! Holy cow!

Nikon d70, 70mm, f7.1, 1/200, ISO 320, unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 70mm, f7.1, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

24/265

2008-01-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

Katie is by far my more cooperative photographic subject. It's funny--Maggie's a huge ham, but when she sees my camera these days, she gets all goofy and I can't get a good shot. Ah well...one of these days. ;) My best pics of her happen when we're outside and I have my long lens on and she doesn't realize I'm taking pics of her. Maybe when it gets warmer...

So Katie...

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/40, ISO 200unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 95mm, f4.2, 1/40, ISO 200unsharp mask

23/365

2008-01-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

Day 23...it's not a great shot, but it's a slice of our lives. Every night Maggie and Chris play games on Nick, Jr.'s website. It's their special time together. :)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.0, 1/60, flash, ISO 320, unsharp mask

22/365

2008-01-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

Day 22!

My poor sick little Katie... :(

Nikon d70, 102mm, f4.2, 1/60, flash, ISO 320unsharp mask

20 and 21/365

2008-01-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

I've got two days' worth of pictures here. Can you tell we loved the snow?

Nikon d70, 102mm, f4.5, 1/80, flash, ISO 200

My sweet nephew Will. :)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/80, flash, ISO 200

Will was LOVIN' throwing snowballs at his daddy. Go Will!!

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/80, flash, ISO 200

Isn't he cute?!

18/365

2008-01-19T12:18:00.000-08:00

SNOOOWWWWW!!! We got snow! Here are some pics of the kids in the snow at my parents' house today. :)

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/80, ISO 320unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 31mm, f4.5, 1/100, ISO 200unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/400, ISO 200unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f4.5, 1/400, ISO 200unsharp mask

17/365

2008-01-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

We were supposed to go to my parents' house tomorrow to be with my family for my nephew Grady's baptism, but because the weather is supposed to be bad, the girls and I came down early. Good thing, too...Maggie got some fun with with Papa Liamo:

Nikon d70, 116mm, f4.5, 1/60, ISO 320, flash, unsharp mask

17/365

2008-01-17T21:41:00.000-08:00

Day 17. I'm cheating a little. "Today's" shot is actually from yesterday afternoon when I took Maggie outside just as it started to snow. She was trying to catch snowflakes with her tongue. lol

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/80, ISO 200, unsharp mask

And it looks like we might get more snow and it might stick this time! There's apparently a big storm coming in Friday night/Saturday morning. This area could get 2-4 inches of snow, but the Birmingham to Atlanta area could get 4-8 inches or by one estimate 8-10 inches! EEK! We're supposed to be driving to LaGrange Saturday for my nephew Grady's baptism, but I'm not sure what we'll do right now. We'll see...I'm going to watch the weather and talk to my family and see what happens.

Here's one more. Maggie was playing peek-a-boo with Katie. I hate that you can't see her eyes in this one, but I love the giggle on her face. :)

Nikon d70, 145mm, f4.8, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

It SNOWED! and 16/365

2008-01-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

It SNOWED here today! Whoohooo! It didn't stick, of course, but it was snowing and snowing hard! :) I've missed that since we moved to Alabama from North Carolina. I HAD to take the girls out, of course. :) We weren't out there when it was snowing hard--that came later after Katie had had enough already. Still, they had fun. Maggie kept trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue--too cute!

This one's my favorite from the day, so it'll be my "Day 16" shot.

Nikon d70, 135mm, f4.8, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

Here are some of my other faves from the day:

Maggie trying to catch snowflakes with her tongue...

Nikon d70, 135mm, f4.8, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

This is Katie's "I'm funny" or "I'm cute" face. I know it looks crazy, but it cracks us up whenever she does it (which is probably why she does it so much! lol)

Nikon d70, 135mm, f4.8, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

and just cutie patootie Katie

Nikon d70, 145mm, f4.8, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

I love this one, too. I wish that I could see her smile, but I love her eyes here.

Nikon d70, 135mm, f4.8, 1/80, ISO 320, unsharp mask

15/365

2008-01-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

This week Andrea at TDC has challenged her Photo a Day participants to showcase Love in at least one picture. Here's my pic for that challenge:

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/1600, ISO 200

story board template from Pink Ink Studios; font is Cocos Old DB.

14/365

2008-01-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

Day 14 here...

Maggie in her beloved Princess Jasmine costume. Santa Claus (and Mikkel Milhrad, who so sweetly acted on Santa's behalf--thanks, Mikkel!) rocks!

Nikon d70, 52mm, f4.5, 1/60, ISO 800, Neat Image

I love this one, too, though the lighting isn't great.

Nikon d70, 52mm, f4.5, 1/125, ISO 500

13/365

2008-01-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

We had the best time this afternoon! Chris' parents and aunt and uncle were here, and we went over to Lake Gunthersville State Park and took a little hike...very little, as Katie insisted on walking by herself. lol Maggie and I went ahead a little. It was fun. :)

So today's pics...

Katie was busy with 1-2-3-whee!! (it was the fastest way to get her from point A to point B!) Doesn't she look happy? :)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f6.3, 1/250, 200 ISO

and Maggie was acting as "Tour Director" in the woods. hehehe

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/160, 200 ISO

11/365

2008-01-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Here I am on Day 11 of this 365 challenge! :)

Today's pic is a closeup of Miss Katie:

Nikon d70, 210mm, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 200Just ran Unsharp Mask on this one. No other editing. :)

Thought I'd throw in one of Maggie, too. :)

Nikon d70, 210mm, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 200 and Unsharp Mask

11/365

2008-01-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

Day 11...

Today was Katie's first day of school at the same Mom's Day Out that Maggie goes to. Think she was ready to go? lol

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/1250, ISO 400

And later Katie was eating Spaghetti-Os. Think she enjoys her food? :)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/10, ISO 640

10/365

2008-01-10T22:27:00.000-08:00

Today's pictures aren't the best, technically, but I LOVE the look in them just the same. Check this out...

Nikon d70, 90mm, f4.5, 1/20, ISO 400, Neat Image

and I LOVE this one! Look at Katie's super cute little feet peeking out from under the princess dress!

Nikon d70, 90mm, f4.5, 1/20, ISO 400, Neat Image

9/365

2008-01-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

Whooohooo! We had a great time today! It was really pleasant here, so I took the girls outside this afternoon. Whooohooo picture time! ;) Ignore Maggie's seasonally inappropriate swimsuit. Who knows what goes on in her head sometimes. lol

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200 crop and unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200 unsharp mask

I love this look on Katie's face!

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200 unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, 1SO 200 unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200 crop and unsharp mask

And poor Katie had had enough at this stage. Time to go inside for dinner, Mom!

Nikon d70, 135mm, f4.8, 1/100, ISO 200 unsharp mask

8/365

2008-01-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

Here I go again. :) Day 8! whoohooo!!

I'm sick of grainy pics. Our mornings are usually pretty busy, so I don't get around to getting the camera out until the afternoon and then I have to bump the ISO way up so that I don't have to use the flash.

This first one is Katie trying to kiss O'Neill (one of the cats) through the window of the door.

Nikon d70, 18mm, f4.5, 1/15, ISO 1600

Another of Miss Katie playing with one of her blocks. At full size you just barely see her reflection in the little round mirror.

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/15, ISO 1600

6/365

2008-01-07T22:36:00.000-08:00

Day 6 of the 365 challenge...

Here's this shot of Katie...It's not the best shot in the world, but I love the look on her face. I ran Dave Jaseck's Midnight Sepia action on it.

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/30, ISO 400

and just for kicks, here's another one. Again, this is mega grainy. I didn't take the pic until nighttime, so there wasn't much light, etc. It's Maggie's attempt at "decorating" the ball. lol

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/6, ISO 800Andrea Burns' "Color Pop and Black & White action"

6/365

2008-01-06T20:41:00.001-08:00

Day 6! Boy...This is 6 days in a row of posting on my old blog. Who'd have believed that! lol

Today's pic is of O'Neill out in the backyard.

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/250, ISO 200

Day 5/365

2008-01-05T21:16:00.000-08:00

Here's my Day 5 shot:

Nikon d70, 70mm, 1/20, f4.5, ISO 1600

Day 4/365

2008-01-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'm on a roll! I've got two pics today for Day 4. ;)

Katie, my most willing subject:

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/200, ISO 1600 (and Andrea's Color Pop and Black and White action)

And I thought I'd try this. I like the texture. ;)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/25, ISO 400 (and Andrea's Color Pop action)

3/365

2008-01-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Two pics today because I couldn't choose. I'm not completely happy with either. The light was bad for both, so to compensate I had to bump up the ISO, which created lots of noise. Oh well. I need to take pics in the am before we head to school and the gym, but our timing isn't that good. lol

So here's Katie (with chopped off hands--oops!)

Nikon d70, 38 mm, f4.2, 1/1000, can't remember ISO

and one of Katie's toys (with chopped off ears. I'm bad today!):

Nikon d70, 70 mm, f4.5, 1/30, can't remember ISO

2/365

2008-01-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

I've made it back here two days in a row. Whooohooo!!

Here's Day 2 of my 365 challenge:

Nikon d70 (Nikor 70-210mm lens at 155mm), f5, 1/40, ISO 800

I liked this shot, too, though:

Nikon d70 (Nikor 70-210mm lens at 135mm), f4.8, 1/40, ISO 800

Feel free to leave any constructive criticism!

Project 365 for 2008!

2008-01-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to get better about blogging every day and to (hopefully) improve my photographs, I thought I'd jump onto the Project 365 bandwagon and commit to taking a photo every day of 2008.

Here's the picture that I'm going to start out the year with:

Miss Maggie was cheeseing it up for me. Settings: 70mm, f4.5, 1/125, ISO 400

The side of her face is a little blown out here, but her eyes (especially that right one!) are super sharp. Yay! The only photoshopping this image saw was a change to Black and White (using a change in mode to Lab Color>Lightness and then back to Greyscale, just in case you're interested!).

Of course, I can't leave Miss Katie out:

Check out those catchlights! She's such a cheeseball. Settings on this one: Nikon d70, f4.5, 1/60, 400 ISO (I think...can't remember).

Here's another one where she was cheesin' for the camera:

She was playing peek-a-boo with the camera and I caught her just peeking her head around the corner of my lens. lol Settings Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/60, 400 ISO (I think...)

So maybe I'll be a better blogger. lol

Let's see...a quick update. Maggie is in a nice place right now. Her behavior is mostly good and she's so sweet. She's very good with her sister and is having a great time at school these days. She learned "Away in a Manger" for her Christmas program and has been singing it nonstop lately, especially if Katie is upset. Too sweet. Katie is walking and bordering on running, and I've gotten her weaned. She's adjusting quite well and is just such a happy little kiddo. Not to say that she's always easy...the child has a SCREAM that could pierce eardrums, and she's not shy about letting loose if she thinks she's being wronged. lol On the whole both girls are super independent and definitely clear about what they want or don't want. I keep telling myself that this will be a good thing as they get older, though sometimes it's a struggle right now.

Chris and I have been working out really hard lately and have both lost some weight. yay for us! Chris has lost about 25 pounds and I've lost 40. I've still got quite a ways to go--80 pounds to get to my ultimate goal--but I'm working hard and doing well. I've been working with a personal trainer (Brandon ROCKS!), though my last session with him will be later this week. Hopefully I'll continue to be successful on my own. Chris and I are going to walk/run in a 5k at Nashville Zoo later in January, and I'm planning to meet some super cool digiscrap chicks from my Biggest Loser group in Maine this June to run in a 5k up there. WhooohooO! I'm so excited!

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to post another pic. :) I hope you're (whoever might be reading this!) all doing well and that you have had a great beginning to this New Year!

ps--OH! Totally forgot the biggest news!! My brother (Dermot) and sister-in-law (Aimee) are expecting another baby! They will add to their family in July and sweet Will will be a big brother! Yay! Congrats, guys!

Halloween fun!

2007-11-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

Another year of Trick or Treating has come and gone. I thought I'd share a couple of pics of my little Minnie Mouse and ballerina.

Here's Maggie as Minnie Mouse:

and Katie as a ballerina:

and the two of them together:

Katie, cheesing for the camera. She's still pretty pleased with herself about being able to stand up. ;)

Do you think Maggie loves her sister just a little bit? :)

Not the greatest pics, but at least we have some memories. :) Thanks for looking!

Long time no blog

2007-10-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

Angela called me on not blogging, so I figured now would be a good time to update the old blog. Life's been busy lately. I've been completely consumed by my quest to change my life. I've tried to lose weight before, but my efforts fizzled out after a few weeks. I've been at it for months now (and going really hardcore for 8 weeks) and I'm seeing some real success. I'm down 35 pounds overall. Whooohooo! I have been lucky enough to be part of the Biggest Loser Digi-Style (which is a group of digital scrappers attacking weight loss Biggest Loser style...without the vote-offs) for the last 5 weeks. Just during that challenge, I've lost 12 pounds and 41 inches. Yep, you read that right. 41 inches!! I'm so proud of myself!

I've been working out every day and pushing myself hard. I've been working out with a trainer for 2 weeks now and I'm enjoying that, too. Brandon (my trainer) is a great guy who's really good about pushing me hard and encouraging me, too. Oh, and not only have I been working hard, but Chris has been inspired and has been working out, too. He's lost about 15 pounds in the last month. I'm really proud of him, too.

On to the girls...

Maggie is her usual hilarious self. She's so sweet these days. Every now and then she'll wander by and say, "Mom (or Dad...whoever's there), I love you." What a sweet girl. :)

Katie is almost walking. She takes 2 and 3 steps at a time and just laughs her head off. She's such a happy little baby. I can't believe she's almost a year old--not really a baby anymore, is she?

Wanna see some pics? Sure ya do!

Miss Maggie. :) Auntie Fi came over when we were at my parents' house last week and brought mini pumpkins, glue, and glitter. We painted the glue on the pumpkins and dumped glitter over them. What a fun way to spend the morning!

On the way to my parents' house we made a pit stop in Clanton at the pumpkin patch that we've been going to for the last couple of years. Our wonderful friends Debbie and Delaney met us there and then we went back to their house for the night. Katie was being particularly cute, so I snapped a couple of pics of her while Maggie and Delaney were playing in the hay loft.

These are straight out of the camera. I probably should adjust some of the levels, but I think they're pretty good for SOOC.

Katie was happy to see her buddy Mrs. Debbie.

Maggie and Delaney on one of the wagons at the pumpkin patch.

The best shot of the three girls together. It's not a great shot, but when you're dealing with two 4 yr olds and an almost 1 yr old, I guess you take what you can get. hehehe

So that's what we've been up to. How about you? :)

A couple of pics

2007-09-06T21:55:00.001-07:00

I got a few minutes to take some pics yesterday and today and I thought I'd share...

Here's a pic of Maggie at the Botanical Gardens last weekend:

and Katie today:

Couldn't you just eat those cheeks up?!

And here's a sneak peek of a normal afternoon here at our house:

It's not the best picture, but it does capture these days for us. Maggie is completely fascinated by swimsuits right now and wants to wear one all the time. She gives in and wears a dress to school, but as soon as we get back home it's off with the dress and on with the swimsuit. I guess she thinks of her little trampoline as a stage--either that or she just enjoys being able to jump and bounce around WHILE singing and playing her guitar. Like we needed more activity here, right? lol And usually Katie is perched there at the edge, gazing up adoringly at her big sister. I feel sure this sort of thing will be repeated and mimiced by Miss Katie in a couple of years. hehehe

whew...sleep woes!

2007-09-03T20:33:00.001-07:00

Oh boy, it's been a rough weekend! Chris' parents and aunt and uncle came up from Georgia and Panama City (respectively) and we had a terrific time with them. We went to the Children's Museum and Constitution Village in Huntsville on Saturday and then we went to the Botanical Gardens on Sunday. The girls had a great time with Nana, Grandad, Aunt Ree, and Uncle John. However, being out and about and going all day meant that Katie didn't get all of the naps that she needs, which means that her nighttime sleep has been off, too. Top it off with a snotty nose and congestion and poor Katie is struggling. Oh well...she's still a sweet little monkey. I'm not even going to mention Maggie and her whole sleep issues. Oh well...she's pretty cute, too.

So how about a couple of pictures? :)

That's Maggie enjoying some watermelon at Grady's birthday party the other weekend. Do ya think she liked the watermelon?

How stinkin' cute is Miss Katie? She wasn't much interested in actually eating the food, but she was way into just chewing on the spoon itself.

Speaking of Katie, guess who got some new food experiences this weekend? Miss Katie was CHOWING down on rice at Rosie's Mexican Cantina on Saturday--we're talking fistfuls of rice heading right for her mouth. Sure, there was tons of rice on the floor, but lots made it into her mouth, too. (and we left a big tip as well as trying to pick up as much of the rice as we could.) Then on Sunday Katie and Maggie went with Nana, Grandad, Aunt Ree, and Uncle John to a German restaurant for lunch and Katie ate her fill of the German Rye bread. Who knew!?! I am still trying to give her baby food at meals, but she's getting less and less interested in that. Zwieback Toast? Oh yeah. Baby applesauce? Not so much. No wonder she likes real food. She's cutting her 8th tooth!

Maggie is riding her big girl bike like a pro (with training wheels, of course). She loves to ride it around inside the house, and she and Daddy go on rides down the sidewalk after dinner. :) I'll have to upload a picture of her proudly riding her bike tomorrow. :)

Ok, enough from me. I'm heading off to bed. Have a great night, all!

Holy COW!!!!! Maggie's on CK's Home Page!

2007-09-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, let me tell you how super duper excited I am! I've been away from the computer all day and I come back to see a message from sweet Michelle at The DigiChick telling me that one of my layouts was featured today on Creating Keepsakes Home page as a Featured Layout! WHOOOHOOOO!!! I can't even describe the ginormous grin on my face!

Here's a screenshot:
And here's the layout:

"School Rocks"

Click on the layout to see a bigger version in my gallery at The DigiChick. I'm so stinkin' excited!! (For those of you who don't digiscrap, Creating Keepsakes is THE scrapbook magazine--predominantly for paper scrapbooking, but they do some digital stuff, too. This is their online website, but wow, what an honor to be picked out of all the layouts that are posted each day!)

Recent Layouts

2007-09-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

So I said that I was going to share some layouts last night...life (and Maggie) interfered, so I didn't get them up last night. Here they are now, though! Click on the photo to go to the image in The DigiChick where you can see the credits (and leave me some comments--lol!). :)

"Flirt"

"I'll Miss You"

"Sparkle and Shine, Baby"

"You at 3 1/2"

"4th of July Lost and Found"

"{Jump!}"

"Just Like to Smile"

I've done some other layouts lately, but those are some of my favorites. :) Thanks for looking!

pics of me and my girls--yay!

2007-08-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

I'm not even going to comment about how slack I've been about blogging. Er...I guess I just did, didn't I? Anyway, enough of that...

I was super duper lucky to spend an afternoon getting my picture taken with my two favorite girls in the world--Maggie and Katie. My sister Fiona has a good friend who is starting a photography business. Her name is Lindsey Lingenfelter and she's super talented. You should check out her photography blog Linden Tree Photography here.

Here are a couple of my favorite images from that day:

Since I'm the one who's usually behind the camera, it was a real treat to spend some time on the other side of things. Lindsey is so sweet to work with, too, and she was so good with my girls. Thanks so much, Lindsey! You rock!

I put together a little blinkie for Lindsey, so check it out over in my sidebar. If anybody in the Atlanta area (or Georgia and Alabama), I would totally recommend setting up an appointment with Lindsey!

I'll be back in a minute with a few of the most recent layouts I've done. :) I've got to make up for not posting for a long time, right? :)

My Photography class

2007-06-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my photography more and more lately, and I was lucky enough to be able to take a class with an incredibly talented local photographer--DeLeigh Kelly of Fairy Tales Fotography. Chris took Friday off so that he could be with the girls while took part in this class, so it was my "Mommy" time, too. (YAY for that!) DeLeigh took us through lots of the basic information about camera settings (aperature, shutter speed, ISO) and how to make them all work together for the best pictures with natural lighting. It was a lot of information to take in, but I already feel like I've learned so much! I need to practice practice practice now! :)

Since I need to practice, I figured I'd pull out some of Maggie's tutus and see if I could get some good pics of the girls. Here are some of the best:

This was shot at an ISO of 400 with a shutter speed of 1/50 and an aperture of 4.5.

This was shot at an ISO of 1600 with a shutter speed of 1/40 and an aperture of 4.5.

This was shot at an ISO of 400 with a shutter speed of 1/50 and an aperture of 4.2.

There are definitely things that I could do to improve, but I'm fairly happy with my first images using my manual settings. :) What do you think?

Wow, long time no chatty...

2007-06-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

I won't even make any excuses. I'm a bad blogger. lol

Now that that's done with, let's see what I've been up to. First of all, we're moving north...not that far north--just up to the Huntsville/Madison area. Still, Chris says that it's like a whole different world up there and that it's much more like Raleigh was. YAY! :) We close on the new house on Thursday and we're moving up on July 5th. Our Montgomery house is on the market (has been for a little over a week now), so we're hoping that it sells quickly. We've had a couple of showings and one potential buyer who was choosing between our house and a different one (they chose the other one), so hopefully it will all go smoothly. We'll see...

Other news...Maggie's on her second round of swimming lessons. This is the second week of her second set of lessons and she's made SO much progress. She started off being a little nervous about the water, though she'd put her face in okay. Today we took the girls to the pool for the afternoon and she actually was able to swim about 4 feet (no swimmie wings or float belt or helping hands!!) with her face under the water the whole time! Go Maggie!!

Katie is trying SO hard to crawl. She's getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth like crazy. Sometimes she just rocks and then flops right back on the floor. Other times she rocks herself backwards. About a quarter of the time, though, she actually lurches forwards! :) She's so funny. She'll get there soon, I'm sure. She's so dang happy all the time, even right now when she's cutting more teeth. I felt the third one (one of her top canines) poking through today, and the other canine should be through in the next couple of days.

Let's see, what else? Oh, Chris has been working up in Huntsville for a month now and living out of a suitcase in the Holiday Inn there. He's also been to Taiwan, which was a cool experience for him. He came home this weekend and the girls (and me) were so so happy to see him. He pretty much spent the whole weekend with the girls so I'm sure he's exhausted, but it was really good for them. Tonight before bed, Maggie even asked him to read a story to her, which is out of the norm--that's been my job for the last 10 months or so. We enjoyed having Daddy back here for a couple of days. :)

I've been busy, too, but I'm going to tie up this post and be back in a second with a new post about what I've been doing. :) Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far!

DUDE! Here I am!

2007-06-12T09:56:00.001-07:00

It's been pointed out to me that I'm a blogger slacker. LOL Like you're surprised... Here I am with an update. The kiddos are growing bigger every day. We had their well check visit yesterday (Kate 6 months and Maggie 3 yrs...even though Maggie's 3.5 already. Like I said, I'm a slacker!). Maggie is up to 41 inches and 38 pounds. That's off the chart for height (like she has been) and about 80% for weight. Not bad. Turns out that the nose ouchie from a few weeks ago probably wasn't a broken nose after all, so yay about that, too.

Miss Kate is up to 19 pounds 12.5 oz already and 27.5 inches. That puts her firmly in the 95% for both weight and height...right where Maggie was at this age. Munchkin has two teeth already (bottom center) and is working on her top two front teeth, too. She's got all the parts of crawling but just can't put it together yet. One of these days.

Let's see...other news. We're moving! We're moving to the Huntsville/Madison area. Chris is already up there working (actually, he's in Taiwan right now for the rest of the week). We went up there the first two weekends to look for houses and he came home the 3rd weekend. He was traveling last weekend, but he'll be back here this weekend. I'm sure he'll be exhausted, but I've been here with the girls for 2 weeks by myself, so he's going to be pulling some definite Daddy duty when he gets back. I contacted a realtor today about putting this house on the market, and I've been spending every spare minute working on getting stray things packed up, getting this house decluttered, and trying to get it ready to sell. I'm exhausted. Whew!

With all of that, not many time for pictures of late. Even less time for scrapping! I did take a few pictures of Katie the other day, so let me share those quickly.

My happy girl:

I love this cheesy grin:

"Talking", as usual (she's going to be chatty like her sister, I think):

And just being a cutie:

ok. I'm off to try to get some stuff done. Hope you all have a great day!!

Boy I'm a slacker! (and Gatlinburg pics)

2007-05-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

I'm such a slacker (as some of you have kindly pointed out. lol!!). I won't even promise I'll do better (but I'll try).

Some of you may have seen these pics on TDC, but I thought I'd share here, too. These are some of my favorite pics from the long weekend trip we just took to Gatlinburg, TN and the Great Smokie Mountains. We had a blast!

We went to a little kiddie amusement park:

Probably the best times that we had were by (and in!) the little stream beside our cabin, though. Maggie could have spent all day every day there!

and finally, on Sunday (Mother's Day), Maggie came to me with these little daisies and said, "To you, Love Me. I love you, Mommy!" What better Mother's Day present could a girl get? :)

And lest you think that we left Miss Katie at home, never fear! :) She was with us but was napping when I took all of the stream pics. I'll try to upload some recent pics of her tomorrow.

Some funny Maggie stories

2007-03-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

Miss Maggie has been in rare form lately. Apparently she cracks her teachers up, too, which is good. Today when I picked her up from Mom's Day Out, there were 3 stories...

1. They went for a ride in a buggy/stroller for 10 kind of thing. One of the teachers steered them into the curb and Maggie's response was "Oh, s**t!" (I was mortified when the teacher told me, but she was laughing and said it wasn't even close to the worst thing they've heard out of a kid's mouth.) The teacher said that they were trying not to act like it was a big deal (so that she and the other kids wouldn't repeat it nonstop) but that they were laughing so hard that they could barely walk.

2. Apparently she and her friend Nathan have moved on to the next level. They were on the playground today and she kissed him! (He apparently kissed her back.) I asked her why she did this, and her response was "because I love him and he loves me!" They're three!! Am I in trouble or what?!

3. She was also telling her teacher that she and Daddy are planning a trip to the beach (news to him!). She said that there would be "No sharks, no whales, no fish, and NO issues!"

This kid is too funny. She has such a funny way of saying things and looking at stuff.

back to life. I ought to go to bed!

Some pics...

Maggie being cute.

Maggie kissing Kate...

Miss Katie, who is already 4 months old. Can you believe it?!

Ok--I'm really off to bed now! Those of you who are digiscrappers, be sure to check out The DigiChick this weekend. There's a rockin' birthday celebration there, plus a great sale!

a tag and funny list

2007-02-27T16:55:00.000-08:00

Saw this on Charlene's blog and thought I'd go for it...

Aprons- Y/N? Nope. I'm a pretty neat cook, though!
Baking- Favorite thing to bake? I love to bake Irish Brown Bread for my dad because it always makes him happy. :)
Clothesline- Y/N? Not since I last visited my family in Ireland. My Granny's dryer really didn't dry, so we'd hang the clothes out on the clothesline and then bring them in in the evenings and drape them on the radiators.
Donuts- Ever made them? No, but always wanted to.
Everyday- One homemaking thing you do everyday? Laundry. Lots of laundry.
Freezer- Do you have a separate deep freezer? No, but we have a second refrigerator (in the garage). We have more in the freezer there than we do in that fridge.
Garbage Disposal- Y/N? Yes, but I rarely use it.
Handbook- Y/N? I'm always game for a handbook. Might not use it, but I like to have them around!
Ironing- Love it or hate it? Hate it!
Junk Drawer- Where is it? Which one? lol There's one in the Kitchen that's filled with coupons, etc. There's also one in my dresser where I stick stuff that I need to hold on to but that don't really have a "place."
Kitchen- Design and decorating? I dream of the day when I can create the kitchen of my dreams. For now I have to be content with a fresh coat of paint and cute cushions on the window seat (thanks to my mom!).
Love- What is your favorite part of homemaking? hmmm...I like it when my house is clean. I don't enjoy doing the cleaning (and don't do it often enough), but I love the feeling I have when it's clean and tidy.
Mop- Y/N? Yes. Real mopping, too, not just using the Wet Swiffer.
Nylons- Wash them by hand or in the washer? Nylons? lol IF I wear tights/hose, I wash them in the washer. I'm much more likely to wear knee-his, though (also washed in the washer).
Oven- Do you use the window or open it to check? Open it, baby!
Pizza- What do you put on yours? Pepperoni!
Quiet- What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? Quiet moments? What are they? Oh yeah...they're the hours when the rest of the family is asleep! lol Usually I do a little digiscrapping!
Recipe card box- Y/N? Not a box but several books (4x6 photo albums filled with recipe cards)
Style of house- ranch with an open floor plan
Tablecloths and napkins- Y/N? only for holiday dinners
Under the kitchen sink- Nada. Ok, maybe some Tupperware that overflowed from the next cabinet.
Vacuum- How many times a week? 1-2, though it should be more often!
Wash- How many loads do you do a week? Who knows! I probably do 1 or 2 loads a day.
X’s-Do you keep a list and cross items off when they are complete? Well, I usually have a list, but I either lose the list or forget to cross items off. LOL!
Yard-who does the work? Chris does. (Unless I get really impatient and frustrated!)
ZZZ’s- Not nearly enough!

If you read all of this, consider yourself tagged! Leave me a comment so that I'll know to go check your blog!

80 degrees in February!

2007-02-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

One of the (few!) perks of living in Montgomery, AL, is that it's not unusual to have pretty weather in the late winter/early spring. Yesterday it was 80. Yep, 80 degrees! We celebrated with a trip to the park with Maggie's best buddy Delaney:

Maggie was having too much fun swinging to actually look at me. lol

And enjoying the hangey bars. And here's cutie patootie Delaney wearing her cool Strawberry Shortcake glasses:

Have a great day!

A new outfit!!

2007-02-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

My little old blog has got a new outfit!! What do you think? Much thanks to the lovely Valerie Fowler for allowing me to use stuff from just about every kit she has! (lol, not really...I used "Hannah Banana", "Totally Modish Alpha", "Huggermugger: Chalky Symbols", and "Brushed Clean Alphas") I also use Fee Jardine's "Flutterbies" alpha.

I'll try to be better about updating things. I'm a slacker...I know!

Random life stuff...
Things are good in our house. Maggie is sleeping (YAY!) for about 12 hours total in a night. Sure, I give her Melatonin before bed (in agreement with her pediatrician), and yeah, she still wakes up in the middle of the night, but the big deal is that she's sleeping 12 hours total instead of 8 or 9. It makes a HUGE difference in her personality and behavior, let me tell you!

Speaking of behavior, boy are we in the middle of the testing-limits-threes. I don't know why people complain about the twos so much. Three has been MUCH more difficult from a temperment point of view. She was already such an independent little mite, but not she's determined to do everything herself. Let's just say that we have some issues. LOL I try to pick my battles carefully but also to provide her limits. Hopefully we'll get past this stuff soon so that I get a break from it until Kate hits the same stage.

Speaking of Kate...what a little cutie! She's such a sweet girlie. She has, so far, been a better sleeper than Miss Maggie, but who knows if that's a function of the fact that Mommy just doesn't have the time to devote to getting her to sleep (thanks to her big sister) or a function of just being a different sleeper or what, but who cares! lol She has definitely developed the ability to sleep amid plenty of noise, which is definitely thanks to having a big sister who isn't quiet. She is really starting to perk up and pay attention to things around her. Just the other day she had a long "conversation" of coos and giggles with the ceiling fan. hehehe She totally adores Maggie, too. Maggie comes up to give her hugs and kisses and Kate just smiles and smiles at her. It's really sweet. I can't wait to see them as they continue to grow up. Whooo hooo! It's fun!

So life is good. We've all got the sickies...Maggie is recovering from strep and a cold, and the rest of us have a cold, including little Katie. That's ok. A little coughing never slowed us down.

For all of you who are still hanging in there, thanks! I'll be better about keeping up here! Until next time!!

ok, maybe a couple of quick layout shares...

2007-02-19T22:09:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of the layouts I've done lately:

Kate and her big chubby cheeks. Click here for credits.
Maggie's sweet smile. Click here for credits.
Maggie and Delaney on the tire swing at the park. Click here for credits.
Maggie playing at the park. Click here for credits.
One of my latest favorites of Maggie. Click here for credits.

Long time no type!!

2007-02-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

boy oh boy my poor little blog has been long neglected! I guess that's what happens when a new baby comes to town! lol

Life is good. Kate is the sweetest little baby and Maggie is still so good with her. Kate is starting to really perk up and take notice of people, and she's always got a big smile for her big sister. Maggie is more than happy to hop right into Kate's face and give her a big smile back and sing a funny little song.

We've been busy lately. Just this last weekend, we went to the circus with Nana and Grandad. We were 8 rows back--8!!! Can you believe it?! I had my new camera, and I was able to get some decent shots...

Here's Maggie with Nana while we were waiting for the MARTA train to take us to the circus. It was COLD COLD COLD!

And here's Maggie on the edge of the ring before the show started.

The opening parade bit. (Ignore the head of the guy who was in front of us.)
Maggie wearing the clown hat Nana bought for her.
Super cool acrobatic guys. They rocked themselves back and forth on this swing thing and then launched themselves up at these guys hanging from the ceiling.
Way cool tigers. Maggie wanted to go down to the edge of the ring to see "the kitties." lol
Dancing elephants showing off the human tricks.
This would be the hip hop elephants.
See the cool elephant? Awesome!
Gotta have the shot of the elephants doing the pyramid of sorts.
The Globe of Death...There were, at one point, 6 guys on mopeds riding around this metal cage. Freaky!
The parade at the end. We had a blast. Maggie has been talking about the elephants ever since. Shockingly enough, Kate slept through half of the circus. How she could sleep through all that noise, i don't know, but she does have practice with a noisy big sister! lol

With that, I'm off to bed. I should come and post some of the layouts I've done lately. Ah...maybe tomorrow! Thanks for looking!

Exciting stuff at The DigiChick!!

2006-10-31T20:37:00.000-08:00

Hurry hurry hurry and get over to The DigiChick Boutique! Actually...you have the whole month of November, but WHY would you wait?!!?

Check out Holly Jolly, the free gift with purchase from the DigiChick Designers!

From the kit description: The DigiChick Designers have created this beautiful, limited edition kit as a thank you for your continued support. The fun patterns and bright colors are sure to get you in the holiday spirit a little early! Holly Jolly is full of gorgeous, unique elements to accent the beautifully designed papers. This kit is a must-have in your holiday collection.

Holly Jolly is a free gift with your purchase of $10 or more and will only be available until December 1st. At that time the kit will be locked away forever, so get it while you can. Add this kit to your cart along with your other items so that your total equals $20 or more. At check out, enter coupon code JOLLYNOV to receive the kit free.

And, to top it off, there's a really cute Add-On pack, too! Check out the November Layout Contest (details to be posted in the TDC forums soon!!) to learn how you can earn an exclusive Holly Jolly Add-On Pack!

Why is it

2006-10-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

Why is it that tonight--the first night of DH's week long trip out of town (again!)--Maggie decides to do the up and down night time routine? She's been going down so good. It's barely taken 10 minutes to get her to go to sleep once we finish her stories. Tonight? Oh, tonight, she's been in and out for over an hour now. ugh! I'm ready for a break! Plus I've got an hour and a half left to work before I can start to chill out.

Why is it that I decided to eat ravioli and tomato sauce, washed down by Orangina (fizzy carbonated orange juice, basically) on the same night that I'm already suffering from a massive case of heartburn. Oh, and on the same night that I forgot to go buy more Pepsid Complete and have only 2 Tums (useless though they are) left. Seriously. At one point I was intelligent. lol

Why is it that O'Neill the smelly cat would quite happily spend his entire life outside EXCEPT to come inside to poop and stink up the joint. Seriously! What's that all about? lol

Why is it that Meg the sneaky cat waits until I've almost got Maggie calmed down and asleep to dash into her room and under her bed--creating yet another round of hullabaloo to guarantee that Maggie will be wide awake again.

Why is it that I'm so convinced that this baby is going to come early? Seriously...I'm only 32 and a half weeks. Why am I feeling that she'll be here in another 2 or 3 weeks instead of another 5 or 6 weeks?

Why is it that I'm using "seriously" in every other sentence? Don't I know more words? lol I swear that I do--I know lots of words. They just don't seem to be entering my feeble brain at the moment.

Ok...Princess Jumping Beans has been quiet for 10 minutes now. Maybe she's finally asleep, which means that maybe I can start on my work so that maybe I can get done at a reasonable time. Maybe her little sister will NOT poke my bladder every 30 minutes tonight so that I have to get up at that interval to pee. Boy, I was at least 36 weeks last time before I was thoroughly fed up. Can I really be this fed up at 32 and a half weeks? What if they're wrong with the date and I'm really another 3 or 4 weeks further along?

lol...sorry about all the madness. I'm feeling a bit scattered. hehehe What else is new, right? lol

The time is getting close...

2006-10-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here I sit at 32 and a half weeks, though I'm telling you that I've had this weird weird feeling, especially the last couple of days, that this baby is NOT going to wait until 38 weeks to be born. I've been having contractions off and on--who knows if they're real contractions or not, though. They could just be Braxton-Hicks. I never had anything like that with Maggie, so who knows. I'm fairly sure that this baby dropped this weekend, too. Suddenly my belly feels really heavy and full--again something that I never felt with Maggie, who never dropped.

We had no clue about the dates when we found out we were pregnant, so my due date is based on one of those early ultrasounds. At my appointment last week, though, the doc said I was measuring a month ahead. Hmmm... So yeah, the time is getting close--maybe closer than I know! lol

Chris heads out to Chicago today for a week again. Should be an interesting week with Maggie. Hopefully it'll be nice and boring!

I'll try to pop in later and blab some more. I'm having a hard time focusing right now. lol Have a great day!!

Tagged again!

2006-09-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

See...this is what happens when I start blogging...I get tagged! lol

Shawna Taylor tagged me, so here I go. :)

These are the rules to play blogtag:
List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets.
Tag 5 friends and list them.

Those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Don't forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog! Here are my weird things:

1. It freaks me out to think of an unborn baby (especially mine) by her name yet...Seems like it is tempting fate to come and mess with me. I'm superstitious, I know.
2. Similarly, red and white flowers alone freak the crap out of me. Red and white flowers (without any other colors mixed in or greenery or whatever) mean death, so I get a little jumpy and nervous around Valentine's when it seems like red and white flowers are everywhere. hmmm...seems like I'm telling you that I'm superstitious. I blame it on my mom. ;)
3. I get all giggly over stupid things. Double entendres crack me up--there's nothing better than hearing someone say something completely innocently and just thinking to myself about what was just said. hehehe
4. I'm way too emotional these days. I know that I'm pregnant and hormonal, but jeez! I seriously feel like I'm a little crazy, too. It's one thing to get weepy about dropping off a crying kid at school, but when AT&T commercials bring on the tears...come on! lol I'm missing my goofy giggly self. Maybe I need more sleep. hehehe
5. and I don't sleep. Not enough anyway. My arthritis comes with insomnia, and late pregnancy has made it worse. Did I mention that my preschooler isn't exactly a fan of sleeping, either? She's not--though she's been much better about it lately and is getting into a more normal schedules. Oh well...I can sleep when I'm dead, right?

So who am I going to tag...How about:

Angela Spangler
Michelle Adams
Valerie Fowler
Mari Koegelenberg
Fee Jardine

***************

So I mentioned that sleep is getting better for Maggie, right? She's been doing so good about sleeping in her bed all night. Her wake up time is somewhere between 5:45 and 6:10--still early, but MUCH better than 4am. MUCH. Personally, I think 7:30 or 8 would be the perfect wake up time for her, but she doesn't seem to have gotten that memo. Oh well.

Now we have the school battle. I don't get it. She enjoys her time there (it's really Mother's Day Out, but who's counting). She loves her teachers. She has fun. Yet every school morning, she's in tears and screaming when I drop her off. I know she's just trying to get me to do what she wants, but at least the tears don't stop as soon as I go around the corner--then I'd really feel like she was manipulating me. No, it takes her 5-10 minutes (according to the teachers) to get acclimated to being in a new place and get interested in doing something other than crying. Now she's started asking every morning, "Is this a school day? I don't want to go to school!!!" On the way to school, it's "I don't want to go this way!" I'm just worn out from the battles and I can't get my head around the best way to get her through this. So far, I try to stay calm and just keep following through without faltering or giving in. Still, though, I have cried my little eyes out several times as I'm leaving the parking lot alone. Have I mentioned that I'm hormonal and overly emotional these days? lol I don't remember being this emotional when I was PG with Maggie. Maybe it all goes back to the lack of sleep. I'm sure it does. lol

enough from me. Can't wait to see what those I've tagged come up with!

I've been tagged!

2006-09-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Okie dokie, Christine Smith tagged me, so here goes:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal/blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

LOL--I read Christine's post about the music she listens to, and my choices are amazingly similar. Since Maggie is in the car with me most of the time I'm in the car, whatever I'm listening to tends to be what she's listening to...

1. anything from Cinderella--Maggie's versions, though. She sings "Sing Sweet Nightingale" as "Swing, Swing, Mom's in jail." Hey...it's kind of alternative, right? lol
2. anything from the Backyardigans. Lately she's been on a "High Tea" ("tea tea tea, we'll have the perfect cup of tea so lift your pinkies pip pip cheerio!") and "Viking Adventure," which also features Tasha as a mermaid ("cause I'm not only beautiful, I'm EXTRA EXTRA tough!")
3. Breathe...ok, how sad. I don't even know who sings it. It's that "breathe, just breathe" song that's on the radio right now.
4. Shake your body--is that by Shakira and somebody?
5-7. dude...I stink at this. Seriously. Whatever else I listen to is on an alternative/pop station. Gone are the days when I could list song after song that I played and replayed.

I love music but just haven't had much free time to listen lately. When Maggie isn't in the car (because I have dropped her off at school), I often just listen to the blessed silence. Lately Maggie has been on a "WHY" kick--meaning that I get 20 minutes worth of "whys"...why did you say, "Come on, dude, to that car, Mommy?" Because blah blah blah, "But why did he do that?" I don't know blah blah blah "Why was that not a good choice?" because it's not nice to blah blah blah "but why..." You get the picture. I swear, the only time the kid isn't talking is when she's sleeping, and I think she talks in her sleep half the time, too! Funny, when she wasn't as verbal as some of her friends at 18 months, I was really worried. Oh, I wonder what I was thinking now. lol Not really--she cracks me up with her observations and questions and comments. SOmetimes the silence is nice, though.

So who shall I tag...

1. Darla
2. Angela Spangler
3. Val
4. Rachel S (isaac&iansmomma)
5. Kimberlee (scrapandsass)
6. Hilary G
7. Charlene (berekah)

I've got 4D ultrasound pics!!

2006-09-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, huh? I'm a slacker, aren't I? We've been busy. :)

Maggie started school last week--Mother's Day Out, but it's kinda like school. She had a good first two days and then a weepy third day. This week, she cried every morning when I dropped her off, but she had a great time once she was there. And, believe it or not, she has NAPPED at school every day this week!! Yes, the girl who hasn't napped in 2+ months at home has napped at school. Can't believe it! Her teachers are awesome and so sweet. I'm sure she'll be fine once she gets through this initial adjustment period. :)

My fall work schedule started up again, too, so I've been trying to get my new schedule all balanced out. I work two hours during the week days, so on the days that Maggie goes to school, I'm trying to get it done when she's at school so that I can spend time with her in the mornings and afternoons once she gets home. Then I work Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights for two hours. I'm not crazy about the night hours--I barely get to talk to Chris once Maggie goes to sleep and I'm not getting much down time these days. I'll get it all worked out, though. :)

And on to the ultrasound info...we had a 4D ultrasound today. Boy, we have a pretty girl growing in there! (Hope that doesn't sound like my head is too big! lol but she's cute!!) Everything looks good. She's measuring about a week and a half ahead (I'm 28 weeks tomorrow), but that's about where Maggie was at this stage. I figure we'll have another 9 lb baby (2 weeks early!). :) Thank God for c-sections! lol So she's got cute chubby cheeks and full and pretty lips. At one point she even had her hand underneath her chin like she was posing for a picture or something. Boy, how lucky would I be if I got a baby who could already pose! lol

Here are two of the pics:

So we're smitten. :) Maggie is so excited about the baby. Hopefully her opinion won't change when the real baby is here. I have a feeling we'll be in for some issues about sharing Mommy, but we'll see.

enough from me. Have a good night!

Exciting things at The DigiChick!!

2006-08-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Check out these two flyers! There are some exciting things going on at The DigiChick!

Check here for more information about The DigiChick CT call.

And look at this one!

Check here for more information about The De-Zine Logo Contest.

Great news and not so great news

2006-08-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

I have some great news first...my new nephew is here!! My sister was scheduled to have a c-section this coming Friday, but apparently Grady (his name--isn't it cute!) wanted an earlier birthday. Her water broke at 4am on Monday morning and they did the c-section at 11am. Here's a pic of super cute Grady:

Ok, so the picture is sideways...work with me for a minute. My hands aren't cooperating and I thought it was best to just get the pic up. lol

Baby and Mom are doing well and the whole family is thrilled to have another boy around. Poor Will (my brother's son) was getting outnumbered fast. For a few months, the numbers will be even. Of course, then our 2nd little girl will be born and the girls will have the lead again. As it should be, right? lol

now...not so great news.

I went to the rheumatologist today to see what the plan is. Basically, he told me to start taking 10 mg of Prednisone in the morning and then 1 Extra Strength Tylenol every few hours. What that amounts to is that I'm not going to have much of anything to help me through the next 2 or so months. Tylenol is useless for me--it's no different than swallowing a Tic Tac--and 1 every few hours. uh, yeah, ok. Prednisone. Oh, Prednisone and I have a history, which is what sent me off the deep end today. Prednisone was the first thing they gave me when they finally realized (years ago) that I had arthritis. Because of Prednisone (not Prednisone alone, mind you--I know that I have a lot of responsibility there), I began the upward climb that led me to the weight that I am now. Not great. I had been feeling fairly good about myself--I've lost 13 lbs since getting pregnant...not because I'm trying but just because my body is freaky. I knew that it would reverse itself at some point (hello, I'm growing a person), but I was hoping that I'd at least be heading in the right direction after the baby comes. Enter Prednisone. I could easily gain 30-50 lbs in the few months that are left of my pregnancy, and watching what I eat while on Prednisone doesn't seem to make a bit of a difference. Not so thrilling. Yeah, I cried for at least 2 hrs of the 2.5 hr drive home from the doctor today. lovely.

Here's the honest to God truth (thank God for blogs...where else can I pour my heart out without feeling selfish or whiney or needy of attention? For all I know, nobody even reads my blog!)... Even though we had the ultrasound last month and I've been feeling the baby move lots, I've been worried sick. At around 24 weeks, NSAIDS (like the prescription Motrin I've been on and other anti-inflammatories) can close the hole in the baby's heart where blood goes in and out. Eventually, that hole will close on its own--when it's supposed to. That's not now. Even though both my rheumy and ob have told me that I'll be ok to take the prescription Motrin until 24 weeks (this coming Friday), I have been terrified that I'm doing something that will hurt my baby. All because I'm being selfish because I don't want to live in pain. Let me be clear--the Motrin definitely isn't taking away all of the pain...my left hand is barely functional. But it (the Motrin) lets me function, at least for now. So now I'm feeling like I've been selfish and horrible to risk something happening to my baby. Add to it now that I don't want to take Prednisone because I don't want to get any fatter than I already am and you've got a migrane and 2+ hours of crying in the making. I'm sure that some of this is being fueled by pregnancy hormones, the fact that I haven't slept much in the last month, the fact that Maggie has been difficult (to put it nicely) for the last month or so, and the fact that with my new nephew I'm much more aware of this little person growing inside me...it feels more real somehow. The reality is, though, that this has been building and coming and I'm just not sure what to do with it.

I know. What I have to do with it is accept it for what it is--yet another challenge...another way for me to reach for help where I can find it...and to prove that I am stronger than this. Look at all I've already beaten. Hell, it's not cancer--it's just pain. And potentially only 8-12 weeks of pain. Once the baby is here I can make different decisions about my medical care. All of those are logical things, though. Right now, there's an elephant in the room and it's making me want to just curl up in a ball and cry and sleep for a few hours.

Maybe I'll go do that. Maggie will be up early (as she always is lol), and I want to be myself for her. She's too important and too special for me to spend too much time wallowing in myself.

Thanks if you've read this far. Don't feel the need to do or say anything. I just had to get it out. Chris worries and nobody else really knows what to do or say if I ever share this stuff, so there it sits in my head. There's not enough room in there for it right now, though, so I'm glad that it's out, at least temporarily.

Have a good night. Hug your little ones. Be thankful for the blessings that you have been given--even though I'm struggling at the moment, my life is VERY VERY blessed. I'd be a fool not to recognize the bazillion blessings that I've been given. Perhaps the biggest one is the knowledge that I have someone bigger and better than me to help me through this--once I get over myself and get past the pity party. Tomorrow. It'll be a better day, right? Right. Most definitely. Good night.

Friendship Day stuff at TDC this weekend!

2006-07-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Make sure to check out The DigiChick this weekend!

We're going to have LOTS of fun, so clear out some time to work on some layouts this coming weekend!

I've been busy with Maggie and with planning for the Friendship Weekend at TDC, but we took some time out on Thursday to find out some good news:

It's a GIRL! All is well with Baby, and Maggie is right--she's going to have a little sister! Now we just have to think about names.

In other baby-type news, my sister's baby will be born on August 18 by c-section. We're excited to welcome a new little boy to the family...how much fun will that be?! For a couple of months, the numbers will be even--two girls (Maggie and Mary Maddox) and two boys (Will and the new baby...Grady). Of course, then we'll throw things off with the new baby. :)

A little more random stuff from me...this will be the last week that I can take meds for my arthritis. The docs (OB and Rheumatologist) have had me on an NSAID (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory...prescription forms of things like Advil, Motrin, and Aleve), but from 24-32 weeks, those things can close the hole in the baby's heart where the blood goes in for now. That's an important thing, and we want to avoid risking that, so I'm off my meds on Sunday (2 weeks early just to be safe). I'm not sure what that means for me since I don't meet with the rheumatologist again until the 15th (about a week and a half). It could be an UGLY week and a half, though, so I might not be around much. I'll have to spend some time on the computer because of work (online writing tutoring), but my hands and wrists will probably not be very kind to me without any meds. We'll see, I guess. I'm hoping that the rheumy will have a plan for me (other than just doping me up on pain pills...who needs me more dopey than I already am?! lol), but it might be an ugly 8 weeks. We'll see what happens, anyway.

Ok, enough babbling from me! Off to work on another layout! Have a good night, everyone!

Grrr...blogger

2006-07-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how long I messed with that last post. I edited and edited and edited, but for some reason it won't let me center the pics or move the credits for that first layout down. Oh well--I give up.

:) Happy night again!

Black and white kick

2006-07-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm on a serious black and white kick these days. I'm not sure what has prompted this, but why fight it, right?

Here are just a couple of my latest...

Credits are Amber Clegg's Mismatched Alpha and Christine Smith's Rectangle Overlays and Freestyle Flowers kits. Font is SP Toby Unleashed. Peta's Color Pop and Lisa Neal's B&W conversion (both from iLP.com) on photo.

Credits: Sanded overlays by Christine Smith in Rectangular Overlays. Font is TK Doodle. Dave Jaseck's Duotone Dream v2 conversion on photo.Quote from Lewis Carroll.

Credits: Inked overlay from Christine Smith's Inked Overlays. Doodle from Leah Rioran's Gina's Doodles. Fonts are SBC Curly Outline and Journaling Hand. Used Peta's Color Pop action (from ILP) and Dave Jaseck's Dream Duotone Conversion on the photo. Based on mamakimberly's Leap of Faith layout (http://www.thedigichick.com/gallery/...p/photo/23026).

Credits: Overlay from Christine Smith's Inked Overlays. Doodle from Karen Hunt's Funky Doodles DIY Star (slightly recolored). Fonts are Taguettes Plus and Taguettes. Dave Jaseck's Duotone Dream conversion and Chip Springer's Paint with Light II action on photo.

Tomorrow will be a day of cleaning for me. We have friends coming over on Saturday night, and my house needs some serious attention! Thankfully, Chris is taking the day off (YAY!) and he's going to hang with Maggie while I work on the house.

Happy day, everyone!

4 am

2006-07-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

Why oh why is Maggie trying to kill me? Her early wake-up time of 5 or 5:30 for the last month or so apparently wasn't good enough this morning. What time did she wake up, you ask? 4am. Yes, that would be 4 o'clock in the morning. 4 hours after midnight--which is the time my screwed up body FINALLY fell asleep, despite much effort on my behalf. 4 freaking am. And was she content to just chill on the couch and watch Dora or something (thank GOD for Tivo!!)? Of course not! She wanted to play and sing and dance. DH came out of the room at 6:10 and took her upstairs with him for a while while he ate breakfast, but other than that, she's been with me since 4am.

What the heck am I going to do about this?! I seem to be physically incapable of going to sleep before 11:30 or 12, and her wake up time gets earlier and earlier. and have I mentioned that she has napped maybe two times in the last 3 weeks? yeah. fun. She goes to bed at 7. We have tried for the last two night to push it back to 8 to see if that would make a difference. Obviously not. She's only 2.5...surely she needs more than 10 hours of sleep.

ugh. Somebody mentioned giving her melatonin, but I don't know if it's safe or how much or whatever. Oh and I've tried the taking her back to bed thing over and over and over. Screaming. She's just awake early. WIDE freaking awake.

off to try to salvage my morning. have a good one, folks!

Long day...

2006-07-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

Gosh, it's been a long day. I love my child--she's exuberant, hilarious, imaginative, and energetic. Man oh man, though, when she's having a bad day or even a bad moment, it's UGLY. We had one of those today. She gets ideas in her head and wants to do things (like climb into her car seat) on her own schedule. Well, I'm sorry, but it was almost 100 degrees outside today and I'm hot and pregnant, and dang, i just want to get into the car and GO! ugh. I know how to handle it so that there isn't a battle, but she woke me up at 5:40am today (yes, 5:40!!) and I just got frustrated with her before I could run the normal plan. It was as much my fault as it was hers...she was just being a kid who wants to be independent and do things in her own time and I'm the grown-up who should know better, but anyway...

It all resulted in some time in the naughty chair, a bunch of screaming (from her), some pretty frustrating and tearful moments from me (while she was screaming in her room), and just an all-around ugly time. She eventually took a nap, which she desperately needed, and we had a better afternoon. Of course, just now we had a long drawn-out bedtime ordeal. Oh well. Tomorrow's another day, right?

Enough about that. It's icky.

Sooo...scrap stuff.

I did a little challenge at The DigiChick this week. I've got this picture of my niece Mary Maddox from Christmas last year:

It just stumped me and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. Several ladies have taken my challenge on so far. Here are their layouts:

From Karlana (hawaiianbrat96):

From Julie (lovesher2boys):

From Chris (Nonnie917):

From Charlene (berekah):

From Victoria (mizamigo):

From Jen (jenflo):

Great layouts, huh? :)

I think we're all going to try to do a layout with one of Charlene's (berekah) pics, now, so check out that thread and get busy! Here's the link: http://www.thedigichick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6626 The new pic is on the fourth page.

Enough from me for now. Have a good night! I'm going to work on a scrap and then go to bed early. Hopefully Maggie will sleep a little later tomorrow. PLEASE!!

Night, all! Don't forget to say hi!

MMM frustrations

2006-07-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd do a couple of posts tonight to make Hilary happy. hehehe Now you guys had better make sure to leave me some comments!

Anyway, I've been working on my layouts for the MMM contest (Making Memories Masters). I've got 3 layouts that I'm pretty happy with, 2 more that I'm not sure about or that need "something", and one that I like but I'm not sure about because it uses a pic from the same day as one of the other layouts. I'm in a small group for constructive criticism for these, but I think most everybody else is finished up and they haven't really been around for the last week or week and a half. So now I'm feeling stuck and not sure what to do.

Here's the deal. One of the layouts has to be on the theme of Celebrate Life. I used a pic from our trip to the water fountains at Centennial Olympic Park last week because Maggie was having such a great time. The other four layouts just have to have a picture, a title, and journaling. I put together a layout that I like, but it uses a pic from that same day (same swimsuit, setting, etc.). The papers are totally different and the feel is different, but I don't know if I'd be shooting myself in the foot by submitting two layouts with photos from the same day. Any thoughts?

I'm just stumped on the other one. I like the feel of it, but it's missing something in the upper right corner. That doesn't mean much to you, I'm sure, since I can't show the layout to you.

I don't know. Maybe I should just forget about it and not enter this year. We'll see. If I do enter, though, I'd better get over my block and get moving so that I can get them printed and sent out in time.

Enough babbling from me. Leave me a note to say hi! :) Thanks for reading if you've stuck with me this far!

So a real post

2006-07-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Baby Stuff
All is well with the baby so far. We're at 18.5 weeks, and I'm starting to feel some real movement--not just little flutters. Though I'm definitely showing, I've lost 12 pounds. Hey--I've got it to lose. Soon enough, I'm sure, it'll all start to go the opposite direction. Anyway, we go back on the 27th for the big ultrasound. Maggie is convinced that she's going to get a baby sister. Not sure how I'm going to explain it to her if that is not the case. We'll just take it as it comes, I suppose.

Other Stuff
I cut my hair! FINALLY! lol When I went in, the girl who cuts my hair said, "Sinead, have you not had your hair cut since the last time I saw you?" (Which was about a year ago...she is in my parents' home town and I'm a freak about letting just anybody cut my hair thanks to being scalped too many times by people who had no clue about cutting curly hair.) I'd had one trim in the time between, but still...

She cut 10 inches off. Yep--1o!! I've got it in a ponytail and I'm going to send it to Locks of Love. I figured that I might as well go all the way, right? Now my hair is right at my shoulders...yeah, my hair was THAT long (wet and pulled out straight, at least). hehehe I feel more like myself now, so yay!

Maggie also got her first professional haircut. It was really more like a trim, but I wanted her to have the experience without being too freaked out about all of her hair falling to the floor. As it was, she was really freaked out that my hair was "broken" and we couldn't fix it. Poor little kiddo. She was as good as gold in that chair, though, and she kept looking at herself in the mirror and smiling. Pictures soon, I promise!

Just for Hilary

2006-07-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

LOL, Hilary called me out on TDC for being such a bad blogger. hehehe

So here's a little challenge:

I've got a challenge for you girls. I've got this photo of my niece Mary Maddox on Christmas morning staring at the tree that my sister put in the nursery (yeah, my sister's a nut about Christmas!). Anyway, I've loved the pic from the moment I saw it even though it's not the best picture, photographically (is that even a word?!). The problem is that I'm completely stumped with how to scrap it.

So...the challenge.

I don't know if any of you are bored or want to try your hand with it, but here's a Yousendit link to the photo:
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=39A420E772982347

If anybody wants to give it a whirl, I'd love to see what you come up with. Oh, and if there are more than one of you, I might come up with something fun to give ya just for humoring me.

So what do you say? Anybody interested?

I will try to come back later and do a real blog post. :) love you guys!

Life in the Oven

2006-06-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Ah, when I said "oven" I bet some of you were thinking about the baby, huh? Well, I meant the oven of Alabama. Man oh man is it hot!!! (Baby is fine--more on that in a minute.) It's been over 90 for a good two weeks now and it's been probably 3 weeks since we had any rain at all. To make matters worse, the humidity is really high, too. It was hot last summer, but I was able to deal with it. Man, I've got 2.5 more months (3.5, really, since it won't cool down til October) of heat and getting bigger and bigger and more pregnant. I predict that we will be spending lots of time at the pool at the Y this summer. Yick.

So, baby is fine. I'm just past 14 weeks, so we're out of that 1st trimester, too. I've had two ultrasounds so far. The first was because I was hazy on the dating, and when I went back in for my last appointment, the date was wrong in the file so the nurse tried to hear the heartbeat with the doppler and couldn't. I kept telling her that I was only 13 weeks. They did an ultrasound again just to be safe, and all was well. Baby was waving away at us through the ultrasound. :)

Maggie is still convinced that she's going to get a baby brother and a baby sister. Maybe she watches too much Dora the Explorer (since Dora has twin siblings--a boy and girl--she thinks she's getting that, too). Anyway, she even tells people that she's getting two babies. I'm quick to set the record straight--ONE baby. :)

Off to work on a couple of layouts. I've got one for Kathy Moore that is almost finished and I need to work on one for Valerie Fowler. My hands haven't been working well lately, so I haven't been getting much done. Oh well--there's always Advil (until I hit 20 weeks, anyway!). :)

Happy day, all!

Seriously--a slacker!

2006-05-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've got an excuse for this weekend, but not for the week or so that has come in between my last post and this one. :) We had friends come to visit from North Carolina, so my spare moments have been consumed so that I could make the house livable. Then this weekend things were just busy. They have a 3 year old (5 months older than Maggie) and a 14 month old, so between them and their kids and us and Maggie, we had a busy house! lol The girls all played so well together, though, and it was terrific to see them again. We MISS our NC friends!!

So not much scrapping done lately, though I did throw together an ABC book for my niece's birthday last Thursday (and then promptly forgot to bring it along to her birthday party this weekend! Wouldn't you know it?!). I did it really fast and basically added titles to photos. Simple, I know, but those little ABC picture albums that I did for Maggie with her pictures are still among her favorite books. Maybe my kid has a vanity issue, though...hmmm, something to think about.

Speaking of my niece and really her mommy (my sister), I am SO jealous! OK, so I'm excited for her but jealous for me. Her husband is a CPA and just finished up tax season. He came home the other week with an end of tax season/Mother's Day/birthday/Christmas surprise present for her--a new digi Rebel! Ooooooh, I'm so jealous! I've been eyeing digi SLRs since I started digiscrapping, but they are so out of our price range (which is zilch at the moment) that it's not worth the hope. Oh well. One day maybe. I'm going to see if I can get folks to give me $$ for birthday (in November) and Christmas and see if that's enough for one. We'll see...

Work has started back up, too. I worked my first 2 hour shift yesterday. This summer I'll be working 2 hour flex shifts on Tues and Wed (which means I can review the essays whenever it is convenient for me), and I'll work from 1-3pm on Thursdays and Fridays. I should be working right now, though, since I picked up 2 extra hours today. Ahh, the joy of work. :)

Anyway, I'm off now. Maggie is sleeping and I should try to get a few things done before settling in to work. We'll see if I do or not--the couch is beckoning and my eyes are getting heavy. lol Happy Wednesday!

I'm a slacker!

2006-05-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Oh man, all my bragging about not being as tired with this pregnancy is catching up to me! I'm EXHAUSTED these days. It doesn't help that I'm not sleeping well, either, and that it's already super hot (whose bright idea was it to move to Alabama where it's already 90?! Wait, I think it was mine. Oh well). We're also having friends come visit this coming weekend, so we've been busy trying to get things sorted out for their visit.

I've also been busy doing layouts. My most complete gallery is here at The DigiChick. We're getting ready to put out the next issue of De-Zine (due out in mid-June), so be sure to check that out when it is released.

My month as a Guest CT member for Gina Miller is nearly up. I've done some neat layouts for her (I think). Here they are:
What Next, Mom? with her Get Creative kit, Flowers with her Get Creative (background paper) and Cherry Blossom (from Garden Treasures 2), Smell the Flowers 2 with Watermelon Smoothie (from Garden Treasures 2), Best Friends Hug with Teal Explosion, A Walk with Grandad with Citrus Brights, Those Eyes with Delicate Petals (from Garden Treasures), and Lace Cookies with Tomato Basil (from Garden Treasures). Wow! That's a lot--I didn't realize how many I had done. :)

My latest favorite layout, though, is one I did really quick Saturday night. I had already worked on another layout (Dancing Queen) with this same kit (Symphony by Laura Alpuche at The DigiChick), but then I got the idea for "Stop" and I couldn't help myself. It was really late, but I didn't want to lose the journaling that was already in my head. Check out STOP if you get a second. I'm really really proud of it. Every time I think of the journaling, I just get teary. :)

In non-scrapping news, things are going well with the pregnancy other than the tiredness factor. Maggie is still really cute about it. She asks me just about every other day if the baby is coming soon, and she's really excited about it. I don't purposely talk about it with her because it's still really far away, but she keeps bringing it up. I think she's going to enjoy being a big sister. :)

Hmmm...it's after 5 and I haven't started dinner. I'd better get a move on since I haven't figured out yet how to make dinner cook itself. Have a good day! If you get a second, give me a shout and say hi. :)

take 2

2006-05-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

note the beer on the table. lol

This is what happens when you spend too much time scrapping

2006-05-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

DH was bored with watching me chat on the computer for the DigiChick's NSD/Mother's Day celebration, so he had some beer and turned on the music channels.

LOL

So...my news

2006-05-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

I'm pregnant! :)

Some of you may have guessed this already, but I finally got in to see the doctor today and it's official. I'm 9 weeks--the baby has a good strong heartbeat and is developing right according to plan. The due date that they gave me today is December 8, but this will be a c-section baby, so it'll probably be about 2 weeks before that (right around Miss Maggie's birthday lol).

It was a total shock for us. It took over 2 years and several miscarriages to get Maggie, so we just counted our blessings and left it up to God. I just realized last week that it had been a while and I was feeling out of whack, so I did a test and what do ya know, it popped up right away. I still can't really believe it. :)

We told DH's parents today, and we're going to tell my family tomorrow evening. If any of you know my family--mum's the word until tomorrow night! We want it to be a surprise. I'm working on a really cute little shirt for Maggie ("big sister to be" with a little bumble bee instead of the word "be"), so hopefully they'll pick up on it right away. Here's the image:

That cool alpha is Gina Miller's Funky Basic Black and the font is MA Sexy. I downloaded the bee image from the web. I printed out the image on a photo transfer paper and I'm going to iron it on to Maggie's t-shirt, so hopefully it'll look good!

Usually they come to Maggie's side of the car first, so that should be good, too, since I'm already showing a bit--boy does it happen faster with the 2nd one! The doc thought I was 10-14 weeks, but the ultrasound said otherwise. We'll see if things change as the baby grows.

Anyway, I just wanted to share. :)