Throw it all away

The other night it was just Matt, Ruby, and me awake. She was wide open for whatever reason. Off she walked into the dark kitchen when we heard the trash can open and shut. Ruby came running around the corner with a big smile on her face. Matt went and grabbed whatever it was out of the trash. This happens constantly so I don't even remember what it was. He said to me "I wonder what and how much she has thrown away that we don't know about". I am forever following behind her and picking things out of the trash. Today at lunch she threw away one of Piper's little stuffed animals. At that minute I knew that I was going to keep track for the rest of the day the things she tossed in the trash.



Today was a big trash day :) Now I am with Matt wondering what she has thrown away that we actually need. What will tomorrow bring?

Rainbow Dolls Giveaway

I found such a fun giveaway at Hideous Dreadful Stinky today. First off I want to say that I just love this blog and have a project started but you know how I do things around here, start and finish a year later lol :) So she posted that she is hosting a Rainbow Dolls giveaway. I went and checked out Rainbow Dolls Etsy Shop and there is another talented mama! She does beautiful work.

That little cupcake fairy is too cute! Tell her I told you about the giveaway in your comment and I get an extra chance to win - b/c I am always thinking about myself :) Giveaway ends August 9th so hurry over and while you are there grab a cup of coffee and check out Hideous Dreadful Stinky - you won't be sorry :)

Team Up Thursday - DOORS

Angie is on vacay so I decided to do my own lol :) Not as fun when you know how the other person will interpret the theme. I love our front door. Seriously. It took me a long time to pick out and it is my favorite part of the house. I love the way it looks from the outside and the inside. My husband designed the portico which allowed me the freedom to put in a gorgeous wood door that would not be hurt by the elements. It does get dirty from pollen, spiders, and those darn mud daubers love building nests on it.



Check out more Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

Wordful Wednesday - Purple

Have I ever mentioned that Violet's favorite color is purple? I SWEAR that I had nothing to do with it. We picked her name but she picked the color. The other day when we were shopping at the thrift store she must have picked out 10 purple shirts that she "loved". I bought her the worst purple Tinkerbell shirt that she begged me for, it was $.25 and brought her so much happiness. That shirt will never make it to this blog though :)



This shot screams Violet. The mosquito bite, chipped polish, and very dirty but very fancy flip flops. So her.

More WW @

Crafty Tuesday - Silhouette

Last week's Team Up Thursday got me motivated to attempt a project that I have wanted to do since I saw it last summer at my girlfriend Julie's house. A silhouette of our kids to hang on the wall. Today was as good of a day as any right? I lined them up and took a few mug shots :) You will notice that there are only 2 girls done and that would be b/c Ruby doesn't fear me yet lol :) That baby will not sit still for anything so I will get her another time - right.

I cropped the pictures so that the heads would be as large as possible.



Then I printed them out on our b/w printer. While I was downstairs (where the printer is located) I went to gather supplies.
Black card stock - check
Large white sheet of poster paper - check
X acto knives - hmm...missing
Ring, ring
"Matt, do you know where the x acto knives are?"
"They're not down stairs?"
"Nope"
"They might be in the garage"
I wandered around for the next 20 minutes thinking "If I were my husband putting the x acto knives away where would I put them?" Never finding them we went to Michael's armed with my handy 40% off coupon to buy my own knive.

Now is where the project starts to gain steam :) I carefully cut out the pictures



Taped them to the black card stock and cut that out



Taped to the white paper and put in some really cheap frames that I got from Michaels (9.xx for 3). I wanted to get them from a thrift store but yesterday they were $4 each at Value Village and up to $8 each at Goodwill.



I love them and so do Piper and Violet. As a huge added bonus I even used my quilting mat to do my cutting on. It doesn't ever get used for sewing anymore but at least it isn't sitting unloved all the time :)

Oh My Heart

Saturday I woke up with an odd feeling in my chest. It sort of hurt when I would breath in. I went on with my normal morning activities, took the girls to the store, Goodwill, and came home. It had been hurting for about 5 hours so what did I do? I looked online just to see what the symptoms were for a heart attack. Um yay, go right for the big one right? Lucky me I didn't have ANY of the other symptoms. At that moment. Suddenly I was changing Ruby's diaper and started to feel a little dizzy. "That is a symptom" I thought. Next came the back ache. "What!! Backache is ANOTHER symptom" What would any irrational person do? Explain in detail to her 5 year old how to dial 911 in case I collapse at some point. She even looked at me like I was crazy. The internet is a bad, bad thing sometimes. I swear I am not even close to being a hypochondriac. Most people might say I should take myself and my kids to the doctor more than I do. Saturday night I still had the chest pain and began really thinking of my day. The reason I might have felt light headed was b/c it dawned on me I hadn't eaten lunch yet. My back could have been hurting b/c Ruby kept turning sideways Friday night and it was sort of uncomfortable sleeping. My chest is still hurting and I am going to call a doctor to go see what's up. I told hubs Sunday morning that he was lucky I was still around to which he responded "You probably have pleurisy or you strained a muscle". No pity party ever for mama is there?

Ruby - 16 months old!

Wow. Again, wow. It just can't be already. So what is our little Ruby up to? She isn't much of a talker yet. She has been saying "Mama" forevah but also will yell "Dada" when she sees him pull into the driveway. She sits in the window with the big girls to wave "bye bye" when he leaves. She will sometimes say "Piepa" or "Vie" but those aren't all the time yet. She knows what you are saying to her though and listens sometimes lol :) Ruby is into EVERYTHING! She is sitting on my lap right now b/c she wants to be near me all.the.time. Matt says I will miss it when she gets older but right now it is hard for me to do just everyday things like load/unload the dishwasher or get downstairs to change the laundry (you should see the pile that is there). We definitely don't have a napper or a nighttime sleeper. I wonder if she will be a sleeper when she gets older? Piper and Violet are really great with her which pleases me. Ruby tries her hardest to keep up with them and they are so patient and (sometimes) take the time to play with her. This morning I brought Ruby outside to try and get her to smile for her mama and this is what I got.

I get this face 80% of the time when I say "Smile"


"Is this cheesy pose more what you were looking for?"


"You've taken 5 pictures of me and I am PARCHED."


"Is that a duck out there?"


"Are we almost done yet?" *BIG YAWN*


It only took 72 clicks. It is out of focus b/c I was tickling her and then running back to take it (darn low ss). I get to see this beautiful smile a 1,000 times a day but it seldom makes it to the blog. Here she is, our 16 month old!

This week

...the girls started a 2 week swimming lesson at our rec pool. It isn't really intense lessons but it gets them in the water and they enjoy it. They wave at me when they are done taking their turns to make sure that I am watching. It fills my heart with joy seeing them have so much fun.



Now our Ruby doesn't really enjoy it very much b/c she is not in there with them. I have brought snacks that she loves but still she runs for the water on occasion making me get off my butt to chase her. Some days I just want to sit on my butt :)

...Piper took her Kindergarden assessment. Tuesday night I asked her to write her name to see if she still could. Thank goodness she did it :) We haven't done anything since preschool ended b/c I am just that kind of mama that says summer is summer. Check out her portrait, it even has silly bands on :)



...Violet got mail from her preschool telling me her start date. She is so excited to go. I wonder if it will be as heart wrenching as when I sent Piper? Guesses?



...Ruby got her first fat lip. How you ask? Have you ever seen a Plasma Car? We got the girls one last Christmas as their big present. Wednesday night we decided to light off the fireworks that we had bought for the 4th but didn't use b/c our niece didn't like the noise. Ruby was riding the plasma car and my husband tried to push her so that she wouldn't be too close to where he was lighting the fireworks off. Plasma cars don't push. Ruby took a face dive into the concrete. *shaking head* After the blood stopped she continued watching the firework display that we all thought was pretty darn cool - thanks Matt!

Just puffy the morning after but we now have a snot nose to go along with it. Always something right?



Then after I took that last picture she fell off a living room chair making it bleed AGAIN. Ruby's loves putting on the girls clothes over her own and is getting quite good at it. She put the Lilo shirt on this morning before the spill. Hopefully I can get the blood out before Piper sees it b/c it is her FAVORITE shirt.



...it has been confirmed, we are going to the beach!!! We weren't able to take a family vacation last year b/c of Matt's job but this year we are. I couldn't be more excited and will count down the days until we are packed in the car and driving to one of my favorite places on earth - Topsail Island. Woot!

Team Up Thursday - Silhouette

I am pretty excited about this week's theme b/c I think that there are going to be a lot of really amazing diptychs. The shade of blue on Angie's shot is stunning. I love days when I look up and see that same sky. The heart is awesome and reminds me of her little heart shaped rock from a few months ago that I thought looked like a half eaten goldfish - somedays I am not sure where my head is. About 15 minutes before I was supposed to babysit yesterday afternoon I sat the 2 older girls in front of our window and took this shot. 10 minutes before the kids arrived I had it sent to Angie. Then I vacuumed quick lol :)



You know I want to make each girl a silhouette for their bedroom out of card stock but noticed that I didn't see Piper's eyelashes. Anyone done one and have some hints on how to get a good detailed silhouette? Thanks!

Check out more Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

Wordful Wednesday - Who loves cows?

As of last week it is Violet! Who loves Robins? Again, it is our previously terrified Violet. When I say terrified I mean SCREAM at the top of her lungs and basically hide herself inside of you scared. What happened? I am not sure but when the cousins were here visiting we all dressed up like cows for Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day and knowing full well they were there she stood next to one for this picture. Well not RIGHT next to one but close. She even high 5'd all 3 of the cows that were there. We aren't really up to a hug yet but I am ok with high 5's.



The Red Robin could almost make her cry just mentioning it's name. She didn't even like the statue that they have inside the restaurant. It was on our banned list of restaurants b/c it was deemed un.worth.it. I was pretty worried when it was the restaurant that Piper chose for her 5th birthday dinner. The response wasn't quite as warm as she had given to the cows but she didn't scream. She didn't give a high 5 but we left without a single tear shed. She wouldn't pose for a picture with it but I have to post one of Piper b/c 1. It WAS her birthday that day and 2. That is a scary bird!!



More WW @

Ohana

Have I ever mentioned that I have probably seen Lilo & Stitch 100 times and heard it 1,000 times? By far it is still Piper's all time favorite movie. She prefers the first movie but if that is not handy will watch one of the other 2 that we own. I had to put a stop to movies in the van b/c even though I was limiting tv in the house when we got to the van it was a constant movie. It is pretty sad when you can say the script to a movie b/c you have heard it so much and the girls could quote it as well. Honestly it is really nice listening to the radio again but now I am listening to them singing this...



What is a mama to do? I have never drank whiskey in my life so the girls have no clue what it is and they certainly don't know what being frisky is. Is it bad that they crack me up?

Ohana means family and my family is good to me. When I have an idea for my Team Up they help me out. Last night I even got the hubs involved in my plan. If it would have worked it would have been awesome, but as most of my plans go it didn't work. I did get a cute family picture though to share. We are raising cowboy boot wearing, whiskey drinking, baby toting, frisky little girls here at the zoo :)

OUCH!!

This is a first for me. Ruby bites. She has bit Piper, Violet, and ME!! Lucky for me she only bit my boob a few times when she was younger but she seems to know that she better not screw with those girls lol :) This is more of a walk over and bite sort of thing and there is no rhyme or reason for her biting as far as I can tell. When she bites the girls they aren't doing anything to her she just bites them. Today she bit me on my back HARD! That is normally where she bites me (it has happened 3 times now). She is happily sitting on my back in our Beco and out of nowhere CHOMP! I don't know what to do about it but I know I can't have a biting kid. No one will want her around their kids. I sure hope that this is a really quick stage that she will be out of like tomorrow!

Our 6-Pack

My Sister-in-Law Rachael referred to the cousins as 6-pack and I giggled. We tried to get a shot of them together before Rachael, Jeff, and Olivia had to leave and it turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated. I did get one though that I liked. Hopefully we can try every year to see how much the girls change.



After Olivia left the remaining 5 cousins still played like crazy. On their final day I asked them to sit on our front porch 1 last time for me so that I could get their picture. Look at Ruby copying Violet. When I say to smile pretty Violet turns her head to the side. I LOVE this shot!



Can you believe that after spending 24 hours a day for over 2 weeks these girls still felt like this? I hope that they continue to be such great friends over the years.



The wait until Thanksgiving will be tough but it is something for each of them to look forward to. Thanks to everyone for such a fabulous visit!

Happy 5th Birthday Piper!

5 years ago my blood pressure had spiked and the doctor decided to induce me. I was a nervous wreck yet so excited. Seriously it felt like I was in labor FOR.EVAH! I will never forget them telling me that we had a baby girl. You see the u/s tech "accidently" kept referring to our baby as a male fetus even though we specifically told her we weren't finding out the sex. We bought the same small amount of blue and pink clothes and since we never saw the actual "proof" we decided to go through the rest of the pregnancy having the sex be a surprise. Well it was! The minute that they put that little girl down on my belly I was in love. I counted the toes and fingers and gave her tons of kisses. Piper has the most blue eyes and stared intently at me until they took her away to clean her. She also has a distinct birth mark. It is the shape of lips and we tell her that she was kissed by an angel. Matt and I joked that there was no losing her b/c of that mark. Matt never left her side the entire time we were in the hospital. When she had to leave the room he went with her. Piper is growing into such a sweet, generous, and fun loving girl. It is so hard for me to believe that she is already going to be in Kindergarden as the memory of her birth is still so vivid in my mind. Time is flying by too quickly.

Happy Birthday Piper Joy




She awoke to princess balloons and requested raisin bran for breakfast (yes I offered her ANYTHING). For supper she has chosen Red Robin for her birthday meal. They will sing to her there and give her a sundae big enough to split with the other girls. There are a few presents for her to open when we get home to finish off the day.

Team Up Thursday - Where I Live

What a great theme. I thought "duh" when I saw Angie's shot b/c I LOVE our front door and it is seen in a lot of pictures on my blog but I didn't even think about it for this. Angie has beautiful doors. Hmm...I wonder what the rest of the house looks like :) When I thought about where I lived I immediately thought about our lake. Now that the girls are getting a bit older we are using it again. This is our little cove. It is nice and quiet down here. The lake we live on has so many coves just like ours although some are bigger there are some smaller as well. Out of all the reasons I love living here I think that seeing all the wildlife would top the list. We have a heron that hangs out in our cove and the girls love watching the ducks and geese. Last year there were swans swimming by our dock. There is a B.I.G. turtle that lives under our dock and catfish so big you can see them from our house.



Check out more Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

It's A Celebration!

This past weekend we celebrated Piper's 5th birthday with her friends and family. It was so fun. I need to thank my sister in law Sam for grabbing the camera and taking pictures of the kids swimming b/c I was in the water with Ruby most of the time. She even caught a shot of her daughter over her head and had to rush over to fish her in. Chloe was fine just a little freaked out.

Piper asked for a Lilo & Stitch cake again this year. Thankfully they are super easy to make :) She was happy with that and cupcakes so my job was easy. What kid doesn't like cupcakes right? I tried to make them a lighter shade of blue so that all the parent's teeth wouldn't turn colors but they were a little darker than I had wanted. Oh well. I don't know about the other families but we were rewarded with 5 VERY tired little girls.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Winner!! Winner!! Winner!!

The winner of the $50 CSN Gift Card is...

Shelly who says "I would love to put it towards a nice, comfy bean bag chair!" Yay for comfy bean bags :)

Please respond to my email within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen. Thank you to CSN Stores and to everyone who entered!
Have a great day!

Team Up Thursday - Celebrate!!

If this were next week I would be showing a shot of Piper celebrating her 5th birthday. That is all she is thinking of. Possibly b/c I am asking her everyday what she wants for her birthday b/c I keep getting asked! All the day dreaming of the stack of presents she will be opening is a lot for her to take. We do love to celebrate all sorts of things around her though. I asked them to have a celebration for me b/c I was behind this week on the theme. They obliged and had a ball doing it. I gave them party hats, blowers, and they "cut" up their Melissa & Doug birthday cake. Angie actually DID already have a celebration. It was her daughter's birthday. I knew what I wanted to do and thought it was sweet we were both celebrating birthdays this week.



Check out more Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

Fireworks (2010)

The YMCA near our home has a little festival and fireworks every year and we have been attending since they started doing it. I had visions of hanging with the family last night on our blanket and playing with bubbles, eating funnel cakes, and maybe letting the girls get their faces painted or jump a few rounds in the bounce house. What happened was not really that apple pie picture I had in my head though. Both Piper and Violet were crabby. They were fighting with each other all day. There were at least 2 meltdowns before we left the house. We got there and got our spot then walked around a little bit. The lines were enormous (I expected that) but they were also closing all the things down really early. So we got a deep fried snickers bar and funnel cake and headed to sit down. Ruby doesn't sit down. Ever. At one point I made believe that I was busy doing something just so Matt had to run after her. Sorry. We ended up taking turns running around through blankets chasing our 15 month old who was trying to steal everyone's shoes - GROSS! Previous years they shut everything down during the fireworks. There must have been such a demand for the deep fried dough this was right next to us lit up the entire time. I am sure that people missed the entire display waiting in that line.



And my beautiful firework shots? Ruby got scared on Matt's lap and wanted her mama. Then she started to really melt down b/c she was tired so I nursed her and missed my opportunity during the grand finale. Ah well, such is my life.



Have you entered my giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to CSN Stores yet? Ends July 12th! Good Luck!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Team Up Thursday - Water

I should have taken a picture of me drinking a BIG glass of water this week b/c it was H.O.T. here in NC. But a cold front has come in and the high today is only supposed to be 85. It is lovely. My shot this week was of Piper watering our flowers. Years ago I posted about her watering our flowers and now 3 years later she was my model again. My flowers looked better then probably b/c I only had 1 mobile kid to take care of lol. Angie spent the weekend on the lake. Doesn't that sound fun? I love her dog timidly trying to jump off the boat. Too cute!




It is good to be back home after traveling and taking pictures again. Check out more Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.




Don't forget that I have a giveaway for $50 to CSN!