Evie's Scrapbook (so far)

Here is some of what I have done of Evie's book so far. If you read a few posts back, you saw Presley, the other twin's book. I scrapped my butt off for awhile just trying to get these done. And if you know me and my matching thing I have going, I searched and shopped all over Michael's and Hobby Lobby for what else? Matching boy/girl scrapbook stuff. I watched the ads for weeks and then would return and rebuy or exchange and use coupons up the wazoo. I think the employees of those stores got sick of seeing me and I can honestly say, I don't think I have been back in there since. Oh well. I had a lot of fun making these books and using my new cricut cutter that I received from my wonderful hubby as an anniversary/birthday present. So I haven't really made a dent in Evie's pictures either but one of these days, I will get caught up! Enjoy. And don't forget to look back at Presley's, so you can see how they coordinate with each other. I worked real hard at that and am proud of it!

Grace Ballerina

Gracie Girl started her first ballet class today! And guess what? She loved it! Over the weekend, we got to go pick out ballet shoes and she even got to try them on in the store which is something she normally doesn't get to do. That was pretty fun for her. We also got a cute bag to carry our shoes to class in. That made her pretty excited for dance class. In fact, when she woke up this morning, she woke right up and was so excited because she knew 1, she got to go to Grandma's, 2, she had school, and 3, she had dance class. So we got to class which was crazy busy because they had 3 dance classes going on at once. We walked her into her room and met her dance teacher Miss Kathy. She sat on her favorite color circle, green, and we waved goodbye and left. When I went to pick her up, she was smiling and asked when she could come back again. She showed us some moves she learned including how to shake her booty. Her dance recital has already been scheduled for May at the Rialto too so her costume is already paid for. Apparently, her teacher told us that they would be wearing watermelon tu-tu's. Can't wait to see that. So I am glad she likes ballet and she is happy. My little ballerina!

Here she is practicing some moves before class.

Her new ballet bag.

Mall Madness!

So what do you do when it's cold outside and you don't want to stay home? One answer is to go to the mall! So we headed there this weekend one, to get out of the house, and two, because our favorite store there, The Disney Store, was going out of business. That news makes us sad because the mall by us doesn't have any other fun kid-friendly stores in it. So it takes some of the fun away from going to the mall. Anyways we went to the play area and you'll never believe it, but there was not 1 kid there! Nope. Nada. That was awesome so we let the kids run and play. This was Evie and Presley's first time they were super excited.
They drove cars,

climbed the slide,

ran and yelled,
drove more cars,

rode turtles and posed with Alice, one of the last things left at our favorite store,

played in the boat,

climbed through tunnels,

sat on frogs,

played games,

made funny faces in the silly mirror,

drove more cars,

sat in cars,

and then moved over to the mechanical rides and rode in the racecar,

and the ice cream truck,

and drove the bulldozer with Bob,

flew in a helicoptor,

more racecar driving,

and then took a walk to the see the puppies.

Family fun day at the mall. Good times!

Maybe our next mall will be Fox Valley. They have a double-decker merry-go-round.

A Peek at Presley's Scrapbook

I have been meaning to post some pics of some of the pages that I have done on Presley and Evie's scrapbooks. They turned 1 in November and of course, I waited to the last minute to start so I barely made a dent in the pictures that I have. I worked my butt off trying to even get this much done. Somehow though with working full time, being a mommy, and dealing with my husband's crazy hours, I got some done but I was one tired gal. In fact, I haven't scrapbooked since! I will start again though. I just reorganized all my things. So here is some of Presley's book.

Just one of life's lessons....

This new year has already taught me a very important lesson: some things are beyond our control. You hear about kids getting sick all the time, but when I was told of a child I know that has been recently diagnosed with a sickness, a sickness that has no causes, a sickness that requires great medical care and attention, my heart broke. I instantly pictured this sweet child's face and the pain that he had to undergo. I pictured his parents and thought about how their world just came crashing down around them. I thought of my own kids and said a prayer, thanking God that they are healthy. I can't even imagine what this family is going through. I can't even imagine the road that is ahead of them. And then suddenly all those small things that we complain about and think is unfair, don't even matter anymore. You can't help but wonder why? Why did this happen? Why to this child? All these unanswered questions seem unfair too. Some things are just beyond our control and all we can do is hope for the best. You have to put aside other things and just have faith. My thoughts are prayers go out to this family and I hope that the road that they are about to go down can be just a little easier with hope and faith. Please pray for sick kids everywhere. No one deserves to go through this kind of event, especially a child. Hug your kids tight and be thankful that they are healthy too. I know I will.

A New Year with New Changes

Happy New Year!

While 2010 was full of surprises and greatness, I am hoping that 2011 will bring even greater joy and happiness for my family and myself. Every year I set some goals and then think about them and say to myself "yeah, I'll start that soon." This year I need to take more action into getting things in place. I have lots of things I would like to accomplish or start but where to begin. Here are some things I think I might start with.

*Be Healthier.

Granted I just quit the gym because I can't find the time to go, there are other ways I can try to get into shape. There are plenty of exercise DVD's out there and some things you can buy for the Wii so that can get me started. I also can try to eat healthier too now that the holidays are over. But one thing I don't want to give up is the one morning a week I stop at Panera for breakfast because I don't have to take the kids to the sitters that day and I am in love with their breakfast sandwiches. Yum!

*Be Money Smart.

Sure, I have no problem spending money like it's going out of style but let's face it, I am not rich! There are always things that I can find to buy but I need to start sticking to the basics now that the holidays are over. I also need to clip and find more coupons and start using those. I have buy lots of generic brand items now, including diapers, so I figure that's a start. But sometimes when it comes to other things, I have champagne taste on a beer budget. And I know I really need to start saving for college for my kids. Putting 3 kids through college isn't going to be easy! Here's to winning the lottery!

*A Different Path?

In todays' economy, I am thankful I have a job, don't get me wrong....but is this what I want to do for the next 30 years? Some days I am not so sure. I like the fact that I have summers off and I work with some of the greatest people on earth but......I can also picture myself doing other things like scrapbooking or writing. We'll see. I've looked into some things but this will need some more consideration. Ideally, I would love to be home with my kids and do all that. I know that it would be hard too but there is so much more I could do with them like take them to storytime, drop Gracie off at school, and have playdates. Trouble is when you have younger kids as I do, most programs for this age group are offered during the day so it makes it hard to do these kinds of things with them. We'll see where this year takes me.

*Stay Organized

I already try to do this but it can be hard at times. I know I complain a lot about my little teeny-tiny home but unless you live it, it's hard. Making 2 bedrooms work for 5 people is harder than you would think. There is less room to put things like clothes so I have to be creative in that aspect. As far as toys and things, I try but more needs to be done. I need more bins to store stuff and shelving units wouldn't be a bad idea either but where should I put them is the problem. It is like my friends call my classroom, "an orgainzed mess." But it goes beyond storing things too. For example, I would like to have my pictures organized on my computer and order them every month and not wait until I have like 900 pictures to order and then have to pay a bajillion dollars.

*Decorate!

My house may be for sale but let's face it....no one's really lining up to see this place so I would like to make a few minor changes to it. For instance, the girls' room. The wallpaper from when Gracie was a baby is still up! It has abc's and animals on it but yet the girls have pretty flowery sheets and comforters. I want it to match more! Plus last year, my husband painted our room a neutral color but guess what? To me, it looks peach! Yuck! If I have to live in it, let's at least go with a tan then. I'm also working on turing the basement into a playroom. I have some things I would like to put on the wall to make it more kid-friendly.

***Sell this house and buy a new one!

So my house has been for sale for nearly a year and half now. I know.....sad right. How many showings have we had? Hmm, let's see...like 4. Granted our asking price is on the higher side for a townhome right now but that's because we want to stay somewhere where can break even. If we can save more money, we can hopefully lower the price. There have been a couple of foreclosures on our street so that doesn't help either. I have decided to take matters into my own hands and I have the names of some highly recommended realtors so I plan on calling them. I know the housing market isn't great but there's gotta be somebody out there destined to buy this baby. Sometimes I feel like I live in a college dorm room; it's cramped, cluttered, and I even have a roommate....my son! Poor Bubby. Someday he will hopefully have his own room!

So there you go. My list of things I plan to work on this year. Let's see if I can do it. Some things are more important than others but hopefully I can move in the right direction with some of things goals. Do they sound crazy to you? What are your New Year's resolutions?