a proper Thank You!!!

Thank goodness for Jason's military training!! We needed stealth like modes to get these pictures!! Our awesome friends Pete, Danielle and baby Emilie got to go to Disney World for Emilie's 1st birthday. How stinking cool is that!?!? And for C-man's 4 th birthday they got him the infamous Mickey ears with his name!! Of course I have to have a picture with him wearing them! But Cameron writes the rules not Mommy so I had to be patient and wait. I really didn't even think he would ever put them on. He has always been fussy about hats. Then one day he came through the living room wearing them and I went running for my camera. That is when Cameron thought the words that I could hear loud and clear "game on!!!" Alright little boy bring it on!! I have taken on much more stubborn then you ;)

I like to tell people I was just giving Cameron a false sense of security but in all reality the little bugger was winning. But then it happened! He put the ears on and then got engrossed into what was on TV. That is when I preyed on his weak moment! All Mom's out there with cameras understand. We gotta do what we gotta do!!

They also got him a fabulous 'Cars' t-shirt. I of course wish the picture had him wearing the shirt too but that would be officially pushing it ;) He also got a 'Cars' cup and they were kind enough to get the girls these gorgeous glass rings. Hannah's had a orange flower and Josie's was blue. How lucky are we to have such great friends!?!?! Believe me I realize how fabulous they are.

Obviously you all notice Cameron's hair and no I am not emotionally ready to talk about it! :(

Reinventing the wheel!

For some odd reason that blog title came to me and I decided to stick with it. When I look at my *new* craft area (no longer will I refer to it as the scrap area) it strikes me how funny it is that rearranging stuff always makes things feel new. I did not buy a darn thing!! But after shaking things up a bit I feel like I have a whole new area!! I have not been inspired to create anything in almost a year. Which is hard for me because it is always in me to be create something. I never stop thinking about it. So to not have the urging to sit down and actually do anything was hard. But since these past weeks when I have been forced to spend many (MANY) hours sitting on my couch right next to my area it forced me to think about what I needed to get my spark back.

One thing that dawned on me was my table was facing the wall. Kind of hard to be inspired facing the wall. So we flipped the dresser and my table. Now I have perfect view of the whole living room and the TV. I can talk to the family and watch the TV. Bring on the Friends DVD sets (hi Brenda!)!!

Another thing that needed help. My POS paper holder. So excited when I got this thing 50% off. But it was not sturdy at all and finally gave out.

Jason had an idea to build me a simple stand. I had the idea to reuse the shelves that was in my old one. And voila!!! Also!! We had just enough paint leftover from doing the dresser two years ago!!

Yeah I am finally working on something!! I have been wanting to play with tissue paper and paint for literally years!! A smidgen to much pearl paint the tissue paper is actually a much brighter pink. But I have never done this before so I shall live and learn.

My (almost) finished product. I want something more. Not sure what it is so I will step away until it comes to me instead of doing something I will regret! I love it and it was SO much fun!!



Another reason I love this set up is we all know Cameron loves to paint. He saw me painting and asked to paint also. I knew I wanted to start a blue base for another painting so I put him to work!! He can paint and I can keep a better eye on him. I just know I am going to end up moving his art cabinet in here!!


And look who else ended up using the table this evening. I am so so happy with this set up!! And Miss Josie B asked me if she could paint a flower tomorrow. This set up is going to be perfect for the whole family!!

Now if only I can guarantee we can keep the table free of clutter ;)

Jeep Jeep Jeep

Your going to have to ask Cameron and Uncle Troy what 'jeep jeep jeep' means. And there is a particular tone of voice involved too. All I know is Troy would say it and then the echo from a tiny little blond thing right behind him. It was a part of the Uncle and nephew bonding ritual that happened last week. I sincerely think of all things that happened the week Jason's brother Troy was here the best thing for me to watch was those two boys hitting it off. Troy would take of for hours at a time taking his little shadow out and about. He took the girls out shopping one evening and I let them stay home from school on Friday where they schooled Uncle Troy in the way of the Wii. It was a low key visit. Being that he was in town to help out the family cause Jason had to go back to work and I am still not a full capacity. I may look as stunning as ever but I can't lift anything yet. But I love watching my kids interact with family!! And in their own environment makes it more special. Hannah talked his ear off!! Went running with him and showed him all her drawings. Josie got to cook with him. They made a 'interesting' chili and some kick bum salsa!! And of course he played the Wii with them. That is always a guarantee straightway tot heir heart!! We got Cameron calling him 'Toy'. All in all to me it was a great visit. Kind of hoped to have a fellow History Channel lover vegging with me more on the couch but when you have kitchen floors that literally shine how can you complain?

So here we are a few days before Troy's birthday so we decided to give him his present. Jason drew and colorized a personalized picture of the two boys with close neighborhood friends and we had it put on a shirt. Troy loves it so much he never wants to wear it!! Jason has his own and when I can I will get a picture of him wearing it.

This is what is on the back of the shirt. Jason in the middle and Troy flicking his ear. I absolutely LOVE it.

Here we are heading out for one more meal with Troy. It was a great week. I know my kids loved it!! And just knowing he came for me and to help his family out is beyond what words I can find to express my gratitude.

Why don't brother's in their 30's ever hug anymore? That is what this world needs!! More hugs! I will get their Grandma in on it!!!

Thanks for coming our way Troy!! I very much look forward to your visit this summer. All 7 of our kids. Seriously what could go wrong!?!?

Actually I need it for my insurance papers. What could go wrong?

some say that I am quirky

But of all my quirkiness in this blog installment I only have to share 6 of them!! But to know me is to love me and I do believe you will love my quirks!!

1) I just shared this one with a few of you but now it is time to share it with the world!! When I am adjusting the dial on the volume of my TV it HAS to be on even numbers. The same with my thermostat.

2) anyone that has ever had to hold a conversation knows that I frequently stop mid sentence to go on to a unbelievably different subject. Which always leads me into incoherent babbling.

3) Music CDs and DVD's have to be catagorized by A to Z. But books are on the shelf by height. Short to tall.

4) I don't eat cow. Haven't in over 10 years. Not a political reason ;) My tummy does not appreciate the work it takes to digest it.

5) making someone do a straight from the gut kind of laugh is pure heaven to me. Strokes the ego a bit.

6) I am addicted to the lives of presidents. I am not a strongly political person but I love reading biographies on the families of past Presidents!! It is my fluff.

This challenege was given to me by my cousin Laurie!! I am supposed to tag some people of my own to take on the challenge but I don't really have anyone who has taken this bloggging adventure with me. So I shall let you in on some of my quirkiness and if you find it in yourself to leave me a comment share one or two interesting facts about yourselves!!

just ONE more party!

Who is the most fabulous Aunt Brenda of them all!?!? We have quite a few to choose from but for this post it is our friend Brenda in Alabama ;) We got a present in the mail for Mr C's big 4th birthday monthapalooza!! A lovely table top that actually goes with him in the car. It attaches to his car seat. Really cool! Some new Diego roos! BUT!! The bestest thing EVER!! Stickers! Aunt Brenda is a genius! Talk about a happy boy. Isn't it fabulous how sometimes it is just the simple things that can make us 'HAPPY'!!!

OK Just one more Birthday Party and then I promise I am done!! ;) I had planned on having a pizza party for Cameron for when his Uncle Troy would be here. Uncle Troy was a bit late but we had started partying anyway!! Ordered some pizza's had some chips and veggies and of course a cake. What more do you need? Oh yeah some fabulous presents!!

From Grandpa Bruce. He loves it!!

One of the many great outside toys Uncle Troy had brought with him. Kind of cool to know that back in Danville our nephews and niece went with him to the store to pick it all out. The golf set is also a big hit!

From Hunter and Parker. The twins love dressing up as superheroes!! Refer to the Halloween blog in case you forgot ;) So they thought it was about time Cameron started pulling his weight in the crime fighting department!! He won't let us put it on him yet but never you fear when he does me and my camera will be near by!

With love from the Buytas family!!! Check out that bubble blowing machine!! Turbo powered bay-bay!!

Oh and look!! They gave a Target gift card for little ole me!! I mean surely it is for me! It's not like Cameron 'needs' anything from Target! When I go into Target I find plenty of things that I 'need'!!!

(Not to long after this picture was taken Naomi took me to the side and politely explained to me that the card was for Cameron. A slight temper tantrum ensued but after a small time out I went back to being a good girl)

What's next?

Cake!!!

Tineist bit of icing on the corner. No I am not kidding. He isn't screaming. I promise he is laughing at our foolishness.

Thank You to the Tibbs family and Buytas family for coming over and celebrating our little man. Danielle, Cara and Felisha you guys were missed!! I was a bit lazy with my camera and I will forever regret it because this was the first time we have had Uncle Troy in our home for a birthday celebration. I wish I would of taken a picture of him with the birthday boy.

After the cake the kids just watched movies and played and we adults got to FINALLY enjoy my sparkly new fire pit. A much beloved gift I got from Jason's grandparents. I had to share one more picture from that cause Jason thought it was hilarious. Naomi's hubby Mike standing there in the manly way that he does. It looks like he is rising from the flames. Mike and I are still working on a good fire god name.

Michael the God of Fire Pits!!

nah

Little Drummer Boy

Prepare yourself for a whole lotta randomness. This what happens when I get stuck in the house!! When I am sitting in my Princess chair I can see Jason's drafting desk. I love it when he sits there! Such a serious face. Right now as I type I can't remember what he was drawing. But I am pretty sure it rocked my world!


Jason got ahold of Cameron's MagnaDoodle. I had to take a picture of this. Cam-Man the Alphabet Avenger!!

Cameron playing the drums on our RockStar game. What blows my mind about this is he knows what he is doing and is actually pretty good at it. I am not even coordinated enough!

I seriously have a death grip on it so he can't erase the drawing and Jason can take a picture!! This MagnaDoodle is the best $20 anyone ever spent on him cause he plays with it everyday but I hate it when he draws something cool cause he erases it so quickly and heartlessly!! Ra-Ra got it for his birthday last year!

Valentine's Day!! What do people get on Valentine's Day? Chocolate Banana Shakes!! Yum!

And they get pretty Gerber Daisies, my fave, from their friend Naomi!! We weren't home so she had to sneak it in the house and it was all set up on our kitchen counter. Jason said he now realizes we have lousy guard dogs :)


And you get some of your fave truffles from your Valentine!!

It's the next day and we are back to drumming!!! Got to get in alot of practice hours before the world tour kicks off!!

Silly face!

Just some random pictures from the last few days! Tomorrow Troy, Jason's brother, will be here. We are having an official Pizza Party for Cameron. We waited for Troy to get here and for me to heal a bit before planning this. It's not like Cameron is looking at the calendar wondering what the heck is taking us so long. Or maybe he is. You never know with him.

12 on the 12th

I got this idea in one of my scrapbooking magazines. The scrapbooker had taken 12 pictures on the 12th of each month for of course 12 months. I thought it would translate well into a bloggging idea!! I did take 12 pictures last month but never got them all on here. But I press forward and promise to try and do it every month from now on!! Most of my pictures were taken in the living room cause that is where I have spent the most time these past couple of weeks.

#1 Doggie smooches!! I tried to capture it. These two are smooching all of the time!! But noone out there needs to worry about seeing little black and white Zoe shaped puppies they are both fixed ;)

#2 my men watching TV

#3 Cameron totally ignoring his father!

#4 good now I can finish my TV show

#5 the source of all of my stress!! This is killing me but I can't take care of it yet and I surely don't trust anyone else near it!! I have intentions of getting this area reaaranged in hopes it sparks some creativity in me!

#6 Jason is such a trooper! He went into Starbucks to get my favorite drink!! Venti Chai Frappucino!! I told him I needed one cause it would make my neck feel better ;)

#7 I love this display in my living room!! I just started collecting blue glass. So perfect for my beachy feel. I wish my blue walls showed up better cause the bottles are so pretty up against it. And I took this picture of my girls back in Utah. Right there in our living room. Jason had brought home a light kit and we were playing with it. This picture will forever be up in my house!!



#8 Mission Control. My home for the past couple of weeks. The Princess Pillow Throne. All my cups, magazines, and meds up next to me. Oh yeah even my dinner. Flowers from Naomi still alive!!! I seriously think my bum has made a permanent impression on this poor couch! I have tried to move to other sections but I always come back to this spot.




#9 ooh a sad picture. Miss Josie B finally pushed the last of her Daddy's buttons and she lost her door. I knew the time would come. She will not get it back til Saturday.

#10 darn this picture is a bit dark. But here is my Mommy's graduation picture when she became a nurse close to 20 years ago!! I am still so immensely proud of her!! And next to it is a owl of hers she let me have. As a kid I always remembered her owl collection. She doesn't have them displayed anymore so I asked if I could have one.

#11 My birthday present!! Finally up and framed. We won't go into when my birthday is let's just be happy I finally have this ;) I asked Jason for a picture of him and I when we were 11 yrs old. We were both born and raised in the same area but never met. I seriously believe that at some point and time we had to be in the same place at the same time. I love this picture cause I have always referred to Jason and I as Linus and Sally. My Sweet Babboo!

#12 I went back to Mission Control. I wanted to show everyone my vantage point. What I see as I am laying like a lump on the couch. In all of my glorious lumpness. Cameron got Jason down on the ground and is making him pay for all of the injustices in the world!! He is a very intense little boy :) Can't you tell by the look on his face!?!

I know this is a simple 12 pictures. I didn't wander very far out of the living room but to me it is a testament to what I have been going through anyway!! I hope my cousin Laurie is still doing this adventure with me!! She did it last month. Girl I don't care if your a day or two late!! I can't wait to see your 12 pictures!