Daddy's Home!!

...and he brought the campin' spirit with him!!

And I was DELIGHTED to learn that I could have 4 toasted marshmallows for only 2 points!! So I got to get in on the fun and am still under points for the day :)

Party Animals!!

This was the scene by 830pm. LOL

Today is a 'chill out at home' day. It's dismal and cold out. Jessi has Liv over to play, but she won't be staying over as we have banned Saturday night sleepovers due to Sunday grumpiness/napping (nap on Sunday means going to sleep later) and then EXTREME Monday morning grumpiness!

I found the BEST BLOG this morning!! It is ENTIRELY devoted to CUPCAKES!! HELLO!?? How wonderful is that!! There are so many great recipes I want to try... I think the first will be the SMORES cupcakes-- although they look a bit complex!! I will have to wait til next Sunday though since I kinda blew through my extra WW points the past couple days... so no Sunday cheating this week!!

Daddy's gone away.....

Renting a movie and having a slumber party with just the 3 of us (and every blanket and pillow and large stuffed animal we own) in the livingroom is MUCH better than.... "I miss Daddy.... When is Daddy coming home? .... I wish Daddy was here to tuck us in...." blah blah blah. ;)

Hope Daddy is having as much fun in that unheated camp on this cold rainy night. I have a feeling he is ....it's not often he gets a night out with the guys!!

Been Scrappin'

It had been awhile... so I thought I should mosey on into my scraproom and get some stuff done!!

I did a couple for the Scrapbook.com contest for the Clean and Simple category and the Funny category. You can enter up to 7 LOs, I am not sure how many I will enter. I have one for idea in my head that I need to put on paper and that will make 3... that may be it... maybe ;) I love entering contests because the guidelines always inspire me!! I don't dare post the LO pics here because of the contest rules, but you can click the links if you wanna see 'em :)

I also did this one... just for fun :)

...and this one was an excuse to play with Photoshsop... Before I created this LO I edited the photo in photoshop using the "cartoon action" from Action Central to make the photo look like a comic book photo. I then had it printed out as usual.


To create the LO I used Black Bazzill and Basic Grey for the background paper. I printed the title right on the background in black with a Spiderman free font. I then used a white Sakura Souffle pen to make the title stand out. I then dripped drops of watered down black paint on the LO and blew on them with a straw to get the effect I wanted. Then I had to be done scrapping for the day because all the blowing made me dizzy and then I got a headache...LOL!!

I LOVE my new method of scrapping/picture storing!! Now I only scrap my FAVORITE pics, but the rest are right in the album too for everyone to look at! No more pictures in boxes waiting...and waiting... for me to do something with them.

Grampa just picked up Sean... so I am off to hit the showers! Today is weigh-in day at Weight Watchers! I have stuck to it for a WHOLE WEEK ...if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time you realize what a big deal that is...lol!! According to my scale here, I have lost 8 pounds this week!! LOVES IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They just love their nature

Sean is becoming QUITE the little fisherman! I think he will be outfishing his Daddy before his age reaches double digits! ;) ;) Today Daddy taught Sean how to bait his own hook and take fish off the hook.

Once they got home Sean got another lesson... this time on how to clean a fish.

Sean was so proud of his HUGE TROUT! "IT'S A CORKER, MOM!!!" He even called his grandparents and made them drive over to see it...lol. They were glad to oblige :)

Jessi is at school today again til 5 for her babysitting course. After that Daddy is picking her up and they are going fiddlehead picking. Again with the nature. I never in a bazillion years would have thought that I would be a woman with dead fish in my sink... deer meat in my freezer... and a family that is happiest when they are outdoors! I am an INDOOR girl!! How did this happen?? I guess opposites really DO attract ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

My Mom. She's everything a mother should be. If you need someone to talk to, or a hug, or a beer, or some crack ...she's your goto gal! ROFL!! She really is great though! How many other Mom's...that don't actually drink or smoke... would pose for a photo like this one ;) My mom is a great mom! She is funny, silly and a great shopping companion! I was a horrible, wretched beast as a teenager. Back then I never in a million years would have guessed that I would look forward to a 3 hour phone call from Mom every week! I'm sure she never would have guessed it either ;)


Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

P.S. THESE are the flowers I wanted to send... but Chris insisted we go in that other direction :) I guess he's right... flowers do 'just die'... but if you want, you can print them out and put them in a frame on your table....lol!! Maybe even spray the frame with a little perfume ;) ;)

Impromptu coastal jaunt

Faux Pod

Jessi is having a good day :) After a week of checking the mailbox everyday, her fake ipod finally arrived. She has been BEGGING for a year for an ipod...and it only got worse when "ALL" her friends got them for Christmas. I had to dig my heels in with this one though. She needs to realize that just because we live in Hampden with the 'Joneses' doesn't mean that we can... or should... keep up with them ;) There were many... MANY discussions about this and about how we sacrifice stuff like that so that I can be home for her everyday when she gets home from school. It is a sacrifice that she definitely appreciates as many of her friends with ipods go home to an empty house every day. She mentions often that she is 'lucky' that her mom is home and she isn't left alone all the time. That didn't stop me from feeling badly about it (since her mp3 player only holds 8-10 songs). So one night while fooling around on Ebay I found fake ipods that go for around $50....and the feedback was actually GOOD! So I talked to her about it and she agreed to give up her allowance until the end of June and to pay for it herself. I was going to wait until then to order it, but since I made so much $ selling my unused scrapstuff on Ebay, I decided to go ahead and order it.

I was sort of expecting it to be pretty cheesy ...but it isn't at all. The menu isn't as user-friendly as an ipod, but she already has it all figured out, so it can't be too bad. And it's actually BETTER than an ipod in some ways as it's just 'drag and drop' to get the songs on there (no having to deal with itunes), and it has a radio! so no... we can't keep up with the Joneses... but with a little creativity, we can make it work!!

I *TOTALLY* thought I was pregnant today

I am not a squeamish 'gaggy' person like SOME people I know (coughcoughnicolecoughcough) ....BUT.... today I was driving to my first Weight Watchers meeting (ok... first THIS time around...definitely not my first ;) ) and I came to a red light that is beside a cheap hotel near downtown Bangor. As I sat there groovin' to my RHCP I glanced over and noticed a sign in front of the hotel that said.... USED BEDS FOR SALE ....GROOOOOOSSSSSS!!! I LITERALLY felt nauseous and even gagged a little at the THOUGHT of buying a USED bed from an old nasty hotel. When the light turns green I start driving AND start having a mini panic attack that I MUST be pregnant to have such a reaction. I spend the whole morning thinking about it... first freaking out... then accepting it... then getting kind of happy at the thought of snuggling a cute little baby again.

So I go to my Weight Watchers meeting. Get all fired up about losing weight (and also deciding that even if I AM pregnant... I will continue to eat healthy and lose weight under doctor supervision, of course). As I drive home all high on life I notice that I still don't feel all that great... and now I feel crampy too.... so no baby for me. PHEW!! That TOTALLY would have thrown a wrench into life. I really don't want another child. I am totally ready to enter the 'all kids in school' phase of life!!

I am still LOLing at myself for going zero to baby and back in less than 60 seconds ;)

Redneck in training

LOL!



Sean and I just got back from a little fishing trip. We walked down the road to a brook. As we walked down the road it occurs to me that maybe Rick does all the 'yucky stuff' for Sean. So I ask him if he puts his own worms on the hook.... "No... it's too hard. Daddy does that for me." Then I ask him if he takes fish off the hook.... "No... Daddy does that for me too." LOVELY. No turning back now... that would be mean. So I sucked it up and put worms on hooks and took fish off hooks... squealing "EEEEEWWW" in girly disgust the whole time....lol! After I had enough of the blackflies, I bribed Sean with a popsicle to be all done and head home. When we got back Sean said, "I had fun and you can take me fishing again someday... but I like it better when Daddy takes me."

Can't really blame him ;)

Yesterday was MAN DAY!!

First we hunt.

Then we burn stuff. (after changing our clothes to match Daddy ;) )

Then we tell our Mom, "You just go ahead and take your pictures. Me and Daddy have WORK TO DO!"

After a hard day of work. We fish. Guess how many we caught ;)
If anyone out there is thinking... "I thought she had 2 kids??" No kidding!!! I feel like I haven't seen Jessi in ages! She was busy all weekend and this week she is taking a babysitting course after-school Monday and Tuesday til 5, then on Thursday after school she has Chinese lessons! Busy girl!! I think this weekend she and I will have to ditch the boys for awhile and have some girl time!

WOOO HOOO!!!

Nicole and I just booked our hotel for the last weekend in August in North Conway for some SERIOUS school shopping!! As you all know...both Sean and Sophie will be starting kindergarten so it will be extra fun this year to shop for them! Our last trip to North Conway was when Jessi was about to start Kindergarten! I had JUST found out I was pregnant with Sean! Jessi came along with us and we surprised her with a visit to Storyland. I had to skip out on a few of the rides thanks to my morning sickness! She was the BEST little shopping companion when she was little. She was always up for anything Nicole and I put in front of her. Sean and Sophie ....not-so-much... so this trip is for 'Non-pregnant Mommies Only' ...lol!!

I can't wait! North Conway has THE BEST TAX FREE OUTLET SHOPPING EVERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! It took 5 tries for me to find a hotel with rooms available, which means it's going to be SUPER BUSY and SUPER CRAZY with lots of SUPER DEALS!!! JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT!!! :D

When it starts to get late....

...the punchiness starts to set in ;) How sad is it that "late" these days is 1030? We wrapped things up around 113o last night and Rick barely made it up to the bedroom before he fell asleep. Which nixed any celebrations of "National Makeout Day."

We had a great time playing cards. Even better once I made up a cheat sheet for the "I DON'T GET IT!! THIS GAME IS STUPID!" crowd ...lol!

Today was a lazy day. Spend the morning picking up a from last night and hanging out with my brother. Jessi left at the crack of dawn for some walk-a-thon or something and then spent the day at her friend's house. Rick and Sean went fishing in the morning and to see Spiderman 3 in the afternoon. And I took a nap :) This evening the kids and I went for a walk/bike while Rick went to "put the Turkeys to bed" (don't even ASK....:::big eyeroll:::) And now the the kids are off to bed and Rick and I are settled in for the season finale of the Amazing Race and I am getting a foot massage :)

Good day.

Happy......

National Scrapbooking Day!

National MAKEOUT day!

AND

CINCO DE MAYO!!!

I plan to fully celebrate all three.... just not at the same time LOL!! For tonight's Cinco de Mayo Poker Game I am making Supreme Nachos and possibly Quesadillas! I also got Tostitos and Salsa and Corona and Limes for Rick...and anyone else who wants some :) I hate beer. I don't have to cook until later though, and my scrap table is all clean, so I plan to scrapbook today ....at least a little! I just got a bunch of pics in the mail and I am all fired up for scrapbook.coms HUGE CONTEST! I never win any contests... ever! But it's still fun to try!! As for National Makeout Day... well I'll spare you the deets on that one ;) ;)

Have a great day everyone!!

Adios!!!

Messin' with Macro

I joined a weekly photo challenge group on Scrapbook.com and it's been pretty fun! This weeks assignment is "Macro." I thought macro was those really close up shots that you see in books and try to guess what they are. EEEEEHHHHHTTTT!!! (<--- that was the sound of the buzzer in the Taboo game...lol) Those are SUPER-Macro shots. A regular macro shot is any photo where the subject appears to be it's actual size or larger. Pretty cool!

The birds and the bees

Ugh. Yesterday day Jessi brought home a letter from her school letting me know that next week they will be separating the boys and girls to watch an informational video about sex and puberty. The letter also encouraged parents to encourage their children to write out a question they would like answered during the Q and A/discussion after the movie. That makes no sense whatsoever. You have 2 kinds of parents when it comes to this topic. The kind that pretend sex doesn't exist... who certainly are not going to encourage their kids to write a question. And the kind that are open and honest about sex and also are not going to encourage their kids to write down any questions because if their kids HAVE questions about sex... the parents will answer them.

Jessi didn't feel well all yesterday evening. Finally right before bed she told me that she thought her bellyache was because she doesn't want to watch that movie. Typical Jessi. I swear that kid is going to have an ulcer before she can vote. We talked about it and I told her that is was pretty silly to be worried about that movie since she already knows about everything in it. That it would just be like any other 'documentary' that she has seen about the body on the discovery channel. Then she says "Actually... it's a cartoon." We both got laughing about that and how silly it will probably be. She said she felt better about the whole thing and wasn't worried anymore.

We'll see if the bellyache comes back next week.....

So how did I do with day 1 of the challenge?

Well.... pretty good. Better than nuthin' ;) Sean, Cooper and I went for a looooong walk today (he biked, I walked-which works out great because I have to walk faster). On one of the side streets I practiced letting Cooper off leash, but still having him stay beside me and not run off ahead. He did great! Even when there were kids or dogs in yards, he only needed a reminder to stay beside me. The only time he faltered was when we were walking past large stretch of woods and suddenly a CHICKEN stepped out of the woods a few feet in front of us just a cluckin' away. I kid you not. I have NO CLUE why there was a chicken in the woods or where it came from... as far as I know there aren't even any farms nearby. So Cooper sees the chicken and at first jumps back a bit (as did I!) and then goes over to investigate. The chicken FREAKS OUT and starts clucking REALLY LOUDLY as it runs away with Cooper hot on it's trail. I let Cooper have his fun for a minute and then called him back and he came back right away. And the pissed off chicken went back to whatever it is woodland chickens do :)

Hopefully Day #2's exercise will be JUST as fun! :)

The Gossip thing.

I have been thinking about the whole gossip thing ever since I read Stacy's blog and I have to disagree. I think that the reason people think gossip is "evil" is because the bible says so. I think the bible is a collaboration of fictional stories written by many different men. Who are they to tell me that I can't talk to my best friend about the wacky-ass things her ex and his girlfriend do, or to tell my husband that he can't come home and tell me who was snorting pills in the bathroom at work!? Gossip is and has been a fact of life since the beginning of time! I READ Clan of the Cave Bear so I KNOW!! (ROFL)

So forget the 'no gossiping' rule! No ancient camel ridin,' sandal wearin dude is going to be the boss of ME!

Spring into Action Challenge

I was just doing my evening blog stroll and came across a "Spring into Action" Challenge on Stacy Julians Blog. I love a good challenge... but this one is tough! I think I *need* to give it a shot... but I will need to make some modifications if I am going to last even 2 days ;) My comments are in parenthesis in black ;) )

There are twenty components to her challenge and the the first five are mandatory!

1. Throw away or hide your scale. (Yikes... I feel like watching the scale is what finally stopped my steady stay-at-home-mom gaining)

2.Purchase, check out or borrow a good book to read from everyday. This
could be a book either about realistic exercise or healthy
eating/recipes. This could also be a book some other kind of
“self-help” book (on creativity, relationships, goals, etc.) (no problem! )

3. Get at least seven hours of sleep six nights a week! (no problem!)

4. Replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations (Can do!)

5. Refuse to gossip or add negativity to any conversation (walk away if it is spoken to you) (Ummm.... not sure about this one... I loves my gossip and there is no way in hell I will make it through our Cinco de Mayo Party without a little gossipping! But I will TRY!)

6. 30 minutes of sustained aerobic exercise 3-4 times per week. (Will do!)

7. 20 to 30 minutes of strength training exercise 2-3 times per week. (Will do!)

8. 15 minute walk (outside) every single day, opposite your exercise. (Will do!)

9. Drink 12 to 16 oz of water upon rising. (Will do!)

10. Eat breakfast by 8:00 every day.(Will be my iced coffee... not quittin' that!)

11. Correct issues with portion control. In other words, don’t eat too much! (My biggest downfall!!)

12. Eat 3 fresh, unadulterated servings of fruit/vegetables daily. (Will do!)

13. Do not eat refined sugar (dessert/candy) six days a week. (Yeah... probably not...lol)

14. One or less caffeinated/diet drink per day. (Will do! ... ALREADY do!)

15. No fast food (Subway is OK)(Already do!)

16. Eat at least two healthy snacks each day. (Will do!)

17.No eating after 7:00 Monday through Thursday (NEED to do!!!)

18. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store for at least 80% of your budget/food (Pretty much already do!)

19.
Participate in a FREE day, once a week. Eat whatever you want, however
you want, in any portion you want and as often as you want!! (DEFINITELY CAN DO...LOL!!)

20. Drink a total of at least 3 glasses of water between meals each day. (This one is a maybe...but probably not)

So there it is and I am in!!!

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