Puppy Randomness

The puppies have taken over the house.  Though sometimes their space gets invaded as well.  Marissa loves to crawl in their space with them since it's a nice warm spot!  Piper could care less, as long as you pet her.  Riley however, was not amused.

Riley has taken over this couch in my scraproom, and was not about to let the basket of clothes stand in her way of a comfy place to nap.  Of course, after taking this shot, I took the basket away so she could stretch out.

Riley and Piper are truly BFF's.  Even in their sleep they hold paws!  So adorable!

Gianna requested to watch Hercules with me in the scrap room.  Riley was not impressed.

They took over the couch in my scraproom.  My house is going to the dogs!!

Hello February!

We aren't sports obsessed around here, but we do love watching the Super Bowl.  Gianna is rooting for the Seahawks even though Joe, Marissa and I are all hoping for the Bronco's to win.  Gianna thought it would be funny to have Riley wear her Giants jersey with some modification.

Riley was not amused.

In honor of the Super Bowl, I decided to break out the crock pot and make my first chili.  I found an easy recipe on Pinterest and for my first time, it came out pretty good!  There are some things I'd do a little different, but I'll just keep trying out recipes until I find "the one".

Needless to say, there was plenty of it and I'll be enjoying it all weekend.  

Pizza Round Two

Ever since we had our "pizza class" the other day, I've been itching to make it on my own.  I didn't get to do a lot with everyone over that time, but I watched as I ran around doing things.  I looked up THIS recipe on Pinterest and got to work.

When it came time to actually put the pizza together, the girls wanted to help.  I try to always get them involved in the kitchen when possible.  ESPECIALLY if they want to!

Gianna helped make the cheese pizza, since that's what she'll be eating.

Marissa got to work on the Hawaiian pizza.  "Testing" the ham and pineapple along the way to assure quality goodness. 

In the end, I made some mental notes on what I'd change up a little for next time but all in all it came out fantastic!

I even made a pepperoni bread--super yummy!

Trying to change up dinners around here so it's not always the same things all the time.  Just need to break Joe's opinion on crock-pot cooking....he's not a huge fan.

Still At It

Don't ask me where June went. I have no idea. I haven't stopped blogging. Just had nothing photographed to share. That's my downfall. Every.Time. 

When I'm on a roll the last thing I want to do is stop to take pics of my projects. OR the lighting is bad. Can't win. 

Today before attempting to work at my clean desk area, I wanted to snap some pics of Project Life pages back from week 19. I'm pretty caught up with it just haven't shared it. Yes, I am a slacker. Again.  I did try to take pics but they were coming out pretty "blah" so I trashed them all. I will have to find time tomorrow. 

Pinky swear promise. 

In other news, tomorrow is the last day of school! WOOOO-HOOOO!!! Finally! The day could not come soon enough. It just dragged on. 

You know it's a happy day when you make the last lunch of the school year. Today and tomorrow are half days. Not much time to do anything but the time flies quick before pick up. 

Marissa performed with her choir at tonight's middle school graduation.  Her time will be here before you know it. 

Feels like she just started her first year of middle school. Despite her many late nights of homework, I think she liked it. So much has changed for her this year and she's growing up. 

This weekend is Gianna's 9th birthday. She's got plans, some of which include going to Outback for dinner. One of the few places she actually eats!! She had a better school year than last year, and has changed for the better in some ways. 

Can't believe I've got a 4th & 7th grader as of tomorrow! 

As for now, I'm ready for the summer. Just wish Mother Nature would decide on the weather. It's been nutty lately! 

Snow Fun 2013

Woke up to a Winter Wonderland today.  Outside the sun was shining super bright.  It's a beautiful day.

Out the front window the icicles were hanging low.

The backyard was so pretty and pristine.  It wasn't going to stay that way long once the girls went out there.

I gave the girls a spray bottle filled with food coloring & water to decorate the snow.  Might be regretting that decision later on. 

The girls built a fort.  I stayed inside where it was nice & warm.  Sadly they stood in the shade from the house so I didn't get the best pics...but I wasn't going out there.

My little Eskimo.

 The girls always have fun being the first to slide down the snow covered slide. 

                                     

Gianna happily played on the swings for a few minutes longer after Marissa had come inside.  She ended it with a great "ta-da" moment jumping off the swings, making sure I watched her daredevil act.

I'm just happy that the snow wasn't as bad as other parts that the snow hit.  I could live with the snow part (no other choice really), as long as we still have our power.  I'm still nervous anytime the word "storm" is mentioned.  Not getting over Sandy anytime soon.  Now that we've had our obligatory snow storm, I'm ready for SPRING!!

School's OUT! 2012

Today is both a happy yet bittersweet day for me.  It's the last day of school!  Summer is here with no real schedule which I am happy for.  I am happy that this school year is over, it's been a test of my sanity. 

I am happy that Marissa will be moving up to 6th grade next year.  It also makes me sad, since she will no longer be at the same school with Gianna.  It makes me sad that she is growing up much to fast for my liking, yet I love doing older things with her, like cooking, shopping, talking.  The girl has a great fashion sense & I trust her opinion!  It makes me sad that these six years at this school flew by, yet I'm so happy for her to grow & learn. 

I got this idea from Pinterest, its her on the last day of 5th grade holding a pic of herself from the first day of Kindergarten.  I plan on doing this again at the end of middle school as well as high-school.  You can see how much she's grown!  When I told her we were doing this, she smiled but rolled her eyes at the same time.  I could tell she liked the idea but wanted to be cool at the same time. ;)

 

 Same pic, just a close up....

Here she is after the fifth graders were "clapped out" of school.  They walked the halls for the last time as all the classes & teachers clapped & cheered them out.  The parents were waiting outside full of smiles & some tears.  I teared up, but was so happy for her at the same time.  There's so many new things to discover in middle school!  She's looking forward to it, but she's also a little nervous.  It's normal.  I think I feel the same way!

BFF's...

Marissa & Daddy

Me & my girl

Gianna is now done with second grade.  Next year things will change so much for her.  Third grade means letter grades & more tests, but it also has some fun stuff too.  I can't wait for her to get a fresh start next year!  It's been a tough year for her this year.  Not that she's struggled with the learning part of it, just the people part of it.  People, both kids & adults are mean.  Unfortunately it's changed some parts of her, but it hasn't changed her happy, carefree attitude.  I am THRILLED that this year is over.  I hope she has the best time in third grade! 

Both girls' report cards were wonderful!  I am so proud of them!  They have the ability to learn quickly....which I can't say is from me......that's all Joe!  So here's to a happy summer, let's hope it's full of fun, happy times!!

Streaked

The girls have been talking for some time about getting colored hair extensions. Marissa's had a blue streak in her hair before & I told her next time she could get 2. Gianna, well she was a bit young so we had told her she had to wait awhile.

Talk about getting extensions flared up again after the girls got their Halloween costumes. Marissa wanted red to match her costume & Gianna wanted purple to match hers. After talking it over with Joe we decided Gianna could get one after all, but only one.

The girls were thrilled with the results & the best part was the smiles on their faces & the big "Thank Yous" we got. Now they are ready to get their treat on!

Decided

Yes it's early to be thinking about Halloween...unless you're a kid. The girls begged me to take them to look for costumes & when we got the chance we did. They decided pretty quickly too, though I had to talk Gianna our of her costume of choice since I didn't think Joe would like to see his baby girl as Lady Gaga.

So it was settled on Marissa being Red Riding Hood & Gianna as a witch. I can't keep that hat away from Gianna either....she wears it every chance she gets! Doing homework, setting the table, watching TV, you name it she wears it!

Both girls are excited about their costumes, I'm excited that they can wear layers easily underneath to keep warm. That's the mother in me. Can't help it. ;)

Summertime

The girls are all about going in their little pool & splashing around.

Made with the Frametastic app on the iphone.

Today while they splashed I worked on going through my old scrapping magazines. I'm behind from 2008, but I'll get caught up!

Now to make the requested lasagna for dinner!

Our 4th

Our 4th of July was pretty mellow. We skipped going to the parade we usually go to. Instead we had my sister & her family over for some BBQ. It was pretty relaxing. So relaxing in fact that I didn't take a lot of pics!!

Got these of the girls hanging out on the swings after dinner...

My nephew Tyler thoroughly enjoys his ice cream. He's a chocolate freak...just like Gianna, must be why they get a long.

My neice Nikki, chilling out after having her ice pop.

After hanging out enjoying the backyard, the guys were in "movie mode" & went to figure out what movie to watch. My sister & I requested something we could ALL watch & we narrowed it down to "You Again". What a funny movie!! We all enjoyed it--even the kids!

Part of the plan was to have my neice & nephew sleep over. The kids always talk about "sleeping over" so it was the perfect weekend for it.

The next morning Joe stayed home a little later to make the kids breakfast. Not only did the guy make the kids waffles & pancakes, but the guy also made "bacon pancakes"! He is a real gem, knowing how I'm not a morning person & I was up late the night before.

Knowing the kids would need to be "entertained" I had planned some painting activities. I set them up outside & let them have fun.

Of course being a scrapbooker I needed something to commerate the day, so I had them do "handprints". Gianna chose green to stand out against the bright yellow.Marissa went with a multi-colored print.Tyler opted for red.

While Nikki went with the opposite of Gianna.They painted a little while longer with a few swing breaks but it soon got too hot & they all took refuge inside.

They watched a little TV & had lunch. Then played play-doh...but not until I got a group shot. They look so wound up it's not even funny!! LOL! I took this (& lots more)with my iphone so I could email them to my sister at work.

They had so much fun together! We definately need to do this more!

OK Break's over--Back to School!

Today Marissa went back to school. After being on break for approx. 2 weeks everyone here has been off schedule. We all stayed up late & things got lazy around here.

Don't even talk to me about laundry!

After school, I took the girls to Target. If I thought I had problems buying too much going there alone, going there with the girls can be a trial. I can't remember how many times I said the words

"I'm not buying that. You just got a ton of stuff for Christmas!"

But I did score some MM Fa la la goodies on clearance!
Hey, priorities right??

Call off the Dogs!!

The stray 4T Winter clothes have been found!! They have been FOUND!!

(doing a happy dance)

Wanna know where they were hiding??

In the CRAWL SPACE!!!

-----------------
I thought about it over & over again last night, after typing up the last post. Thinking, pondering their whereabouts. The only logical answer was the crawl space.

I did some research {in the form of my pics of Marissa at 4 years old} & looking at those clothes there was NO WAY I'd donate them. I was POSITIVE they were in the crawl space!! However I was second guessing my organizational skills & thought maybe, just maybe I might have labeled them wrong.

**GASP**

This morning after talking it over with Joe, he agreed that I was crazy. He also threw in there that I was slacking in my organizational skills & we went off to the crawl space. He was rummaging around & bringing out some containers for me to examine, when I realized I needed to see for myself.

I hesitantly climbed in the dreaded, creepy, dark, damp, spider-infested, dirty, horrifying, disgusting, gross, icky, eerie, gloomy, dull, shadowy, dank, CRAWL SPACE!!!

Yes I did!! I faced my fears!!

Wanna know what I discovered??

A SPIDER!! ick! ick! ick!!! gross!! gross!! gross!!

Joe was surprised beyond belief that I was in there. Shocked might be a better word. There was no way that I was crawling on my hands & knees on concrete though. I have my dignity!! {{snicker snort snicker }} Just imagine me in there, hunched over & using leg muscles I forgot I had, to support myself as upright as I could get. Yeah I must've looked glamorous.

So there we were opening up containers that were labeled 18 months, figuring maybe, just maybe I labeled it wrong. Nothing. 2T? Nothing. Finally, I spotted a box & Joe looks over & the light bulb came on!!

THERE IT WAS!! THERE IT WAS!! THERE IT WAS!! 4T WINTER CLOTHES!!

I KNEW I wasn't losing my mind...entirely!!

So we found the box & I hightailed it outta that place!! My legs were cramping up!! I told Joe to never expect me in there again! This was strictly a once in a lifetime thing.

Now I'm doing laundry, & I am a happy momma. My daughter will have warm clothes to wear tomorrow.....

and I got a workout on my legs!

Frustrated....

Remember how just the other night I sent Joe into the dreaded crawl space to get the Halloween decorations? Well tonight I sent him back in not once but twice!!

See yesterday I realized that I never dug out Marissa's winter 4T hand-me-down clothes for Gianna. The weather is no longer cooperating & the girls won't be wearing anymore cute capri pants. **SIGH**

So I told Joe how I am losing my mind & that he needs to go back because I'm a nin-com-poop. Well he agreed on both parts & tonight he went into the crawl space & dug around for the 4T clothes. Only problem??

He couldn't find them!!

After hunting around a few more boxes calling out labels to me & me rejecting them, we head upstairs to the attic. Wouldn't you know it? We found nothing up there!!! Now we're frustrated & confused......& head back to the crawl space.

We're thinking maybe I labeled a box wrong. He pulls some boxes out for me to examine & I look inside only to find the boxes labeled correctly. Wanna know what we did next??

We went back to the attic!!

We did the same thing, opening boxes to make sure it's all labeled correctly. Wanna know what we found? The boxes were all labeled correctly. We can't find 4T Winter clothes ANYWHERE!!

So problem #1? We had planned to go Pumpkin Picking tomorrow.

Problem #2? Gianna has nothing to wear that reaches her ankles.

Joe said I'll have to go shopping tomorrow (no problem there), but I KNOW those clothes MUST be in this house!!

Clothes?? Where are you??? Come out come out where ever you are!!!

Cookie Cutter Crayons

Got old crayons?? Wanna get creative? Wanna occupy the kids during a thunderstorm? (Thunderstorm is optional) Try this, the kids get totally into it & love the idea! I got the idea from Marci Lambert's blog, you can see her post on this here.
The girls were totally into it & since we had the TV off during yesterday's thunderstorm they had no choice but get into it. Marissa & I peeled the crayons. Gianna lost interest in peeling the wrappers off so we had her breaking the crayons into little pieces. Finally we layered them all on a foil covered cookie sheet & into a 350 degree oven they went, for 10 mins.

Should've REALLLLLLLY keep an eye on it since we got a liquidy crayon soup. Will have to adjust the time if we should ever try this again. I found a few more crayons & added those hoping to thicken the "soup".
It doesn't look like much right now & wouldn't probably been better if the sheet I'd used was shorter or we had more crayons but it is what it is. Don't wait too long to cut them out like I did. I threw the sheet back in the warm oven for a few minutes (without turning it back on) & then I was able to use the cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Since this had taken longer than I had anticipated, I went with a basic circle. I had planned on the girls' initials but I canned that idea & just went with the plain ole circle. Once you flip them over they look much prettier. Just let them set up & harden & you've got some pretty rainbow crayons.

I'm DONE!

After staying up late AGAIN last night, I got ahead in the book enough so I could sleep peacefully dreaming of romantic vampires & werewolves.

Then this morning I was woken up by Marissa. Who seems to feel like she is the only being in the house & runs through it on her quest to see her dad before he leaves for work. After he leaves warning her to be quiet & not wake anyone guess what she does? She runs through my room through the house, into her sister's room to wake her up. Then they proceed to torment each other until I can't take it anymore.

I am so ready for school to start!

----------

During breakfast I armed myself with coffee & my book & finished it all. I loved it (I'll reserve other comments for another time--waiting on YOU Susan!!). In the saga my favorites in order are

1.Twilight

2. Eclipse

3.Breaking Dawn

4. New Moon

So so good. I'm a sucker for romance & the whole mystical creature storyline. I laugh when I'm reminded that it's a Teen book.

-----------

On another note, I had to go to M's to pick up one of these. I swore I'd never buy these again but now I needed 1 for a Disney LO & they didn't have it.

Searching through M's they didn't have anything spectacular that caught my eye. No new MM product. They did have Halloween already on shelves & some new Martha, Halloween stuff but I'm usually not a fan of her stuff so I passed. I did remember to pick up the Aug. issue of Scrapbook Trends & I'm planning on taking it with us this weekend.

Now I'm off to pack! Yeah I know, it's STILL not done!