late christmas post...

....i've summonded lilly to sit on my lap by playing the OSU hollaback song so that i can post some christmas pics. good thing i dont mind hearing the song over and over and over and over...

our baby girl was a sick little lady for christmas (and a few days before and after the big day)... but she still enjoyed herself. here is a pic of her christmas morning sitting on her new tricycle. (i stink at taking christmas pics... the colors are always bad... and no one is patient enough for playing around with the flash or whatever...)


and here she is wearing her daddy's new O hat... with a nice green boogey and all :) oh you didn't see it? sorry to point that out :)


the O hat reminds me of a funny from last night's bath... lilly loves to lay on her belly and 'swim'. well last night she decided she wanted to do the "O-H-I-O" while on her belly in the tub. it was HILARIOUS... like a little dolphin... she was on her belly reaching her hands over her head, which in turn made her legs curl up torward her head (like some sort of strange yoga move...) on top of this looking hysterical... the position she was in forced out a grunting "Ohhh" in the spelling of "O-H-I-O".... which to lilly is all "O"s anyways. sooo funny :)

ok... that should be enough for now... it you've made it this far in reading and even go further to post a comment your name will be entered in a drawing for something fun!!

hope you all had a merry christmas and have a happy new year!!

best photo reject

so... as most of you know... i take all of lilly's 'portraits'. (the lady at sam's even asked if my pics were professional when i went to pick them up... i took it as a compliment, even though she was subtly accusing me of making illegal copies of someone else's work...lol) i can usually find 1 out of about 70 (or so) shots that i like. well... this year, i did have my favorite...

that's my girl!!


here's the one that we really used :)
amazing... it is the same child...

christmas happies

so.. missy(not my sister missy) requested some christmas pics...
as much as i'd love to take pics of all my fun stuff around my house... i just can't right now... so here are some old school layouts that i hope will do the trick :)

...this is the sweet gingerbread house that dave, my sister and i made for mom a few years back (when the booster was in my belly)... it was ginormous (the gb house), and mom kept it for almost a year...lol.


...here is a LO with a pic of the house that we "ginger-fied"...


...i'm searching for another to share... i may be able to find it, maybe not :(

happy holidays :)

21 questions answered (finally)

thanks to erin and anonymous for playing along with my cheesy game... and shame on the rest of you for not participating!

Erin asks…
1. If you could only have one beauty product, what would it be?
Well… we all know such the beauty queen that I am, I’d have to say chapstick :) or soap…

Anonymous (who seems to be my little sister Melissa) asks…

2. Who is your favorite Muppet and why?
Well, my initial feeling is animal, because I love how he ‘talks’… but after a little thinking… I’d have to say Rizzo the rat… cause he is just so cute with all his little rat friends… especially when they are in little hula skirts :)

3. Best Birthday present ever?
Oh geez… I’m not good at these ‘best ever’ questions… I guess lilly was an early birthday gift, she is a very nice gift :)

4. Do you have any regrets about your past use of potato smashers?
Regrets? Lol… maybe not a regret… how about deeply apologetic :)

5. If you could travel for 1 month on an unlimited budget - where would you go?
Ohhh… to NYC of course to see my sister in some shows :), and then to somewhere warm with clear water beaches

6. Blanket or Comforter?
On a night like tonight... BOTH

7. If you could have something named after you - what would you choose?
Hmmmmm… how about ice cream, or a line of scrapbook paper, or a song.. yeah, a song is good

8. Favorite flavor of Kool-aid?
Although I haven’t had any in about 10 years…. Mountain Berry Punch (isn’t that soooo funny that I remember that?!?)

9. If you had to only shop at one clothing store for the rest of your entire life, where would you shop?
Man… shopping for clothes is about my least favorite thing to do right now… I guess I’d have to say Kohl’s… LOL that cracks me up… (sorry mom)

10. What is your favorite way to have your eggs?
Hard boiled… or scrambled (see im not good at these ‘favorites’…)

11. All time best love song?
Oh goodness… I don’t even know. Dave and I’s first dance song was “Keeper of the Stars” … so I will go with that one. (I won’t tell you that the first one that popped in my head was “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boys to Men, which I would listen to over and over and over back in the day…lol… cause that would be a little embarrassing)

12. Least favorite candy?
Probably those Halloween candies that are chewy and come in the black and orange wrappers… although if they are in front of me I will still eat them…

13. What color underwear are you wearing RIGHT NOW?
White… (thank goodness not my ernie underwear...lol)

14. Favorite alcoholic beverage?
Wine coolers… I think I remember what they taste like


15. If you had to lose one of your 5 senses, which would you choose?
Ohhh… I want all of them for totally selfish reasons… I guess I’d say taste…

16. What is your favorite time of year?
Probably Christmastime... But I could just be saying that cause its that time now

17. Who is the funniest person you know?
Um... My sister, or course! (did you read some of these questions??)

18. What would be the first thing you would do if you woke up tomorrow and found that you had turned into a man?
I would roll over and hope that Dave had turned into a woman :)

19. Tupac or Biggie?
Well, since Snoop isn’t a choice (what’s up with that?)… I would say Tupac for sure.

20. If you had to switch lives with someone you actually know - for only 24 hours - who would it be?
My NY Martha Stewart actress of a sister :) im sure we would both have a fun adventure in each other's shoes...lol

21. How much do you miss your kooky sister?
I miss her very very much…now don't make me cry :(

snow puff

just taking a quick little break to post these fun pictures :) we visited friends in MI over the weekend, and woke to a bit of snow outside. we got lilly's boots the night before and somehow dave just managed to have brought lilly's gear to go outside. i think daddy was more excited than the little snow puff... (sorry the pic is so small... you'll just have to click it to see it closer, i dont have time to fix it right now!!)

happy turkey day!

so i have a list a mile long of things to do... some are fun, some are not... the fun things get checked off first, which is why my list goes on and on forever. i cross tasks off, i rewrite the list, i add more things... it never shrinks. so im taking a blog break...

ok... so this is the first year since the hallmark years that i have not sent out thanksgiving cards. i know, bad jen, very bad. will this picture suffice? the littlest turkey...



happy thanksgiving everyone!!

houdini

one of houdini's newer tricks... defying the gate.

jen needs...

i saw this on a random blog. here is how to play... go to google and type in your name and needs behind it, then hit search. (for me... 'jen needs'... for bob 'bob needs'...) then copy and paste the first 10 statements you find... too much fun :)

here are my "jen needs..." statements... gotta love em!
amazing how so many of them just 'fit'...

Jen needs some help.
Jen needs a break.
Jen needs to get back to reality.
Jen needs to be a My Little Pony!
Jen Needs taking out for fun.
Jen needs your help.
Jen needs to have another baby.
Jen needs to write a campaign.
Jen needs this, and she thinks Jack would agree.
Jen needs all that makeup because she’s not that attractive and sadly, is not aging well
Jen needs to lighten up a bit though.

...and i just couldnt stop there... "jennifer needs..."
oh my... these are good.

Jennifer needs a cold shower.
Jennifer needs a smack daddy.
Jennifer needs to keep on improving.
Jennifer needs space.
Jennifer needs the earth energy in her life to learn how to ground and be more practical.
Jennifer needs heavy visual depiction of her subject in order for it all to work.
Jennifer needs to be charged for her crime.
Jennifer needs time to heal.
Jennifer needs an adviser with exceptional listening skills.
Jennifer needs to check her Palm Pilot to tell you what she’s doing from day to day.
Jennifer needs a makeover.
Jennifer needs extraordinary help right now.
Jennifer needs to let her creative juices flow.


ok... erin and missy (not my sister missy)... you need to do these on your blogs :) everyone else should do the same and have a little fun... (and feel free to share your needs with me...)

oh, and where are my 10 questions? (thank you erin for humoring me!) see post below...

20 questions...

ok... what do you want to know? ask me a question... any question... i know you can think of something interesting (or not so interesting) to ask me. i'm not going to give you examples... you are all intelligent human beings, and i am sure you will think of some super fun, or even super unimportant things to ask... that is what will make this little game so silly. i wont post my answers till i have at least 10 questions... so come on, ask away!

busy busy

ok... so i have this HUGE project going on right now (plus tons of other 'little' projects in between)... and i shouldn't even be taking a break, but i want to. some of you know about this project.. if you do, keep it on the down low (and feel special that you know about it), because it's a BIG SECRECT that we hope to share with everyone the beginning of the new year... and no, it is not a sibling for miss Lillian (for those of you who were thinking that, and i know some of you were....) anywho... i may not be as good with updating this blog thing in the next several weeks. just wanted you all to know i have not fallen off the face of the earth... because i know everyone is just worried sick about me...lol. ok... a happy picture for your viewing pleasure...

oh my dear lillian...

Before you read this entire story…
let me first point out a few things.

1. lilly has a lot of nicknames… one happens to be Poopsicle, another… Poop Monster (both of which she has had for quite some time now…)

2. on occasion (a few times a week)… we get lilly up from her nap, or in the morning, and she has poop smeared in random places… her clothes, her sheets and bumper, her cheek…

3. dave has seriously considered duck taping lilly’s pants to her at night

4. some things just aren’t meant to be forever remembered in a photograph


So, last night… we get lilly ready for bed… dave has her all bundled up in a warm fuzzy yellow one piece sleeper with feet, a zipper, and a snap at the top. He makes a comment, something to the sort of… “you’ve got your 'poop stopper PJs' on tonight”… and all is well.

I go up to check on her around 10:30pm… she is laying asleep in the corner on her back, like normal… only this time… her PJs are unsnapped and unzipped down to her diaper. "oh how cute" I think… “hey dave, come look at your daughter!”…he comes up, chuckles… zips her back up… and all is well (oh we should have known then…)

Morning rolls around… it’s a little before 7 and lilly is awake, but happy… and isn’t whining to get out of her crib. Again… nothing too strange about that, beside the fact that she is usually ready to get up by 6:15… who knows, maybe she was tired?

She starts whining, so I go in to get her and the fun begins (at least for us… lilly’s fun evidently started a while before me entering her room.) I am overtaken by the smell of poo… again. Although this time the scent is much more… Then I get closer to my cute little darling… (mind you I cant see squat because my glasses and contacts are in the other room) I see lilly… sitting up… no top on. Diaper about 95% off…PJs down to her little feet… and I’m sure you can guess the rest. POOP EVERYWHERE… and I mean everywhere… I’m not even going to list the places it was, because everywhere means everywhere. (well, I think the wall was clean… and the carpet). However there was a main ‘spot’… we think that was the place mistaken for the diaper/toilet. Oh my... my dear child.

I don’t think this image will ever leave my mind. Yes, the thought crossed my mind… do I get the camera? No...that is just wrong. but, daddy needs to see this.

"dave… come see your daughter" (me)
"lilllllyyyy" (dave)
"poop" (lilly)
"who do you want... her or the bed?" (me)
"I'll take the bed" (dave) (yeah... there really isn’t a better one to chose here)

so I take the poop monster to clean her up in our tub. Dave comes in and shows me her diaper… its soaking wet… but no poop. oh my goodness.

The poop monster is now clean and shiny, with only a trace of stink left behind... and we are crossing our fingers that she does not strike again. was this a conscience effort, or an accident while sleeping... that is only for lilly to know, and for us to question :)

brutus

...a 'newer' LO... lilly likes brutus a lot better on TV (and as a blown up yard ornament) ...must be that big head that scared her (or was it those skinny little legs?)...lol

little butterfly

..here she is, our little boobah :) pics are from boo at the zoo and trick or treating at our house halloween night. adorable stinkin costume courtesy of a garage sale... 3 bucks!! go me :) p.s. click the image for a close up

happy halloween

...i only made a few of these to send out this year, so i thought i'd share here :) have a good day... and be on the lookout for lilly halloween pics soon!

go bucks

...because my precious little one has requested this song, now 5 times in a row, i only thought it kind enough to share with the rest of you...

Hollaback Girl - The OSU Remix

my words

...these are most of miss lilly's words... we kept thinking of more so there are about 20 or 30 that i hand wrote on the back :)

...yes, i stamped all the words. why? because i wanted to.
...am i crazy? yes... but, i love this layout so it was worth all the time and the boo-boo. yes, a scrapbooking injury. a little tiny blister on my pointer finger. my daughter will thank me someday :)

yummy recipes

here are 2 recipe layouts that i made for a few recipe swaps... they are very tasty if i do say so myself... enjoy :)

p.s.if you want to try them out, click on the image, and they will get big enough to read the actual recipe

little jen

...at the request of kelli, here is a picture of little me. im not sure of the exact age, but i'd guess in the 15 month range. i'd say there is a bit of a resemblance of lilly here too :) this is one of my favorite pictures ever... me and my grandpa finley :)

little dave

...we may call lilly 'little dave'... but here is the 'real' little dave at the wee age of 15 months :) he has the same haircut and everything! looks a bit like miss lillian, don't you think?

p.s. nice pants sweetie boy :)

and the winner is

...the winner of my first ever 'raffle' is.... erika!! congrats (I see you posted below and I am glad they arrived safely... enjoy!)
stay tuned for more posts, pictures, and maybe another game or something... you never know what i will think of next.

here are a few new pictures of the little booster just for the fun of it :) i was trying my darndest to take a picture of her that looked like she was talking (for a scrapbook page i am working on)... oh well, we got a few good ones... and then i got the "mommy, will you please stop taking pictures" picture :) oh... someday she will thank me for being a photo crazy mom :)

raffle time

....some lucky person is going to receive these cute little cards in the mail! who? well, i don't know yet... for each day you posted a comment on my blog thus far, you get one 'ticket'. when miss lilly wakes up from her nap, she will be drawing a name :) good luck!! and check back for the winner :) oh... and watch for more fun giveaways... every now and then i'm in a good mood... teehee.

the loot

...thanks to my awesome aunt for finding my 2 favorite things in one(a garage sale, with scrap stuff!) i got all these goodies for under $20... yahoo! how cool is that? the paper was 8 cents a sheet and everthing else was 75% off... pretty close to a scrapbookers' heaven :)

sign in!

...ok everyone... are you reading this? if so... you must sign in! it is the law. no ifs, ands, or butts about it (and yes... that is 'butts' with 2 't's) ... nothing complicated, just say "hey! i'm here!"

"but jen, how do i leave you a message?"

oh... great question! see below my post were it says something like... 'posted by jen at 12:34 pm 1000 comments'? well, just click on the "comments" part, and wallah... it should be self explanitory from there :)

if you managed to read through this entire post, and you still do not sign in... well then, you are stalking me. if that is the case... lilly will do to you what she did to this cracker!

80 pounds of toddler

...is pulling 80 pounds of toddler (in a wagon, all around the neighborhood) considered a form of excersize? if so... i had a good workout today :)

girly shoes

...my most recently completed layout (and i even used my new stamps!!)

(san)deal of the week

not that we will need sandals anymore this year (who knows... this is ohio) but lilly's long little chubby feet were getting uncomfortably squished in the sandals we had used all summer. now, normally i would head out garage saling in search of some barely worn sandals, that someone spent way too much money on and now has to sell to me for a dollar... but garage sale season is coming to an end. so... we go to kohls, find a pair clearanced for 1/2 off of $14.99 (regularly priced $29.99)... so $7.50. not bad, but i've found better. we get the sandals home and realize they are much much too big... and who knows if they will work next year. so, a few days later... off to another {nicer} kohls to return them and see what else we can find. it is our lucky day... dave finds the same exact sandals, in the exact size for lilly's piggies... and even better? they are 1/2 off their clearance price of... $5.00! yahooooo..... $2.50.... i wouldn't have paid that at a garage sale, but hey... i can't be too picky while shopping for sandals in october :)

we call her 'little dave'

so, you think lilly looks just like her mommy? these pictures might make you think again. although she does look a tad like me, there are a few good reasons why one of her many nicknames is 'little dave'. (you might want to click on the picture to get a better view... )

pumpkin patch

...we went to the pumpkin patch last night. do you think miss lilly is the first child to ever 'ride' a pumpkin? she's a little Cinderella in the making. her favorite part of the night was leading 2 toddlers and 4 adults through the corn maze... squealing and running like she knew exactly where she was going :)

10 years together :)

today dave and i celebrate our 10 year 'dating' anniversary. well, i guess we don't really celebrate it anymore, but i do remember this day... october 6th! happy anniversary sweetie boy!!

p.s. lilly says she would like to take you to a blue jackets game sometime soon... in honor of her daddy asking her mommy out (over the phone...hehehe) 10 years ago today!

my first post

ok.. here it is! my very first post... i thought the whole idea of this blog thing sounded fun, so why not try it out? there are so many aesthetically pleasing blogs out there... it's hard not to want one! not sure if mine will be so pretty to look at, but hey... oh well! nothing exciting to report at the moment, just trying to figure out what i want to accomplish. let's see if i can post a picture of one of my newest pages. if you can see it, i hope you enjoy! i'm sure you'll be seeing lots of this little lady around here...