ahhh

it feels soooo good to scrap. sometimes i forget how much i enjoy this craft. i really love it... really. its almost better than chocolate ;) erin and i went to a crop last night... very fun, good music (hehehe) and conversation! i must get out of the house more often :)


got my hair cut at charles penzone's this morning (LOVE it there)... it's cute (my hair that is). i feel a bit more hip. not that i was hip to start with. at least it makes me feel a little new :) not the running pants, boogery oversized tshirt mommy that i really am.

lilly keeps calling me 'happy birthday girl' today... hehe. so cute.
then she gets a little peeved when we tell her its my birthday and that hers was last month.

"nooo... me too mama"
"ok baby... you can have fun on mama's birthday too"
"yeah... happy birthday girl"

this is why...

this is why i am in a huge scrapping slump...
(at least i have an excuse)


this is why sometimes i laugh when i shouldn't...
(or i might throw a tantrum too)


this is why i cant help but smile every day...
(even if i dont want to crack a grin)

a surprise easter gift!!

so this year... i got the biggest surprise EVER for easter :)



my sister and her best friend came to visit!!!
...they totally surprised all of us...

(to make a long sappy story... short, but still a bit sappy)

-i hear a knock on the door, so i put down the piece of candy i shouldn't be eating, and peek around the corner, and there they stood
-i think i stood still for about 10 minutes, because my head is thinking "WHUH?? "what is going on?", and then i finally went to the door
-which is when i proceeded to bawl and sob my head off. yeah... like a "wahhh haa haaa haaaa haaaaa" good kind of happy 'i can't believe you are here' cry... on the front porch (i am sure all the neighbors were like "what is wrong with her??") hehhe...

so then mom and dad came down too! this is when mom starts clapping like a seal saying "my family is here... my family is here" (yeah, she's a strange one...)


they've had this trip planned since january!!! they totally had us all...
i still can't believe they were here :)

they came bearing gifts...
lilly was quite enjoying herself parading around in her new attire...


sooo... this moment, it definitely is at the top...
thanks m & k!!!
love you two!!

big girl bed

*here she is
*the big girl
*in her big girl bed
*for the 1st time
*with all her buddies
*whom all need a kiss before they go to sleep
*amazing that this stage in our lives is already here

happy easter eveyone!!

FOTD is Rorie!!

rorie... one of my "IDOS" friends. you see, some people may call me crazy. but i have this little online scrapping family, and rorie is a part of that group i call my friends.

here are some of the things i love about rorie...

*she is a new mommy... (to darling little joey.)

*she's a mandarin pixie stamper!!! (((HUGS)))
*she's a scrapper. and she uses her own handwriting on her LOs which is something i really admire :)
*she's a 'stay at home mom'... the hardest job in the world.
*she's a breastfeeder, one of the most selfless acts you can do for your child (had to list this one!! hehee... that word makes me laugh, kinda sounds like a "birdfeeder")...
*she has a great goofy husband... (who put the letter "Z" on their return address label... even though his name, nor their last name, begins with a Z...HA!! i love that!!)
*she sent me a card once, just to make me smile...
*she sent a card to my sister, just to make her smile...
*she is a simple girl (just like me!!)
*she believes in GOD
*she is truly just the sweetest... and i hope to meet her someday :)

here is one of her LOs... (which i ganked from her IDOS gallery!)
(I hadn't even seen this one yet, rorie!! I love it btw!!)



((((HUGS)))

wild child

not only did miss lillian learn to crawl out her crib this weekend... but she also learned how to climb over the (high) gate that I put in her doorway (to keep her in her room if she crawled out of her crib).

i seriously have about 20 gray hairs from this child...

new LO

a LO i just finished up, amidst the demolition of the basement... it is a bit difficult to scrap these days (with all my stuff packed up and a teeny little spot on the floor of our bedroom to work). i just hope its all worth the scrapping deprivation once dave has the basement done :)

dave is the new scrapper

so, the current dare is to have your husband (significant other, child,... etc) make a page :)

look what my lovely husband came up with ( he picked out the paper at hobby lobby and everything!)




look at the boy go! hehehe... he even used a MP stamp and i didn't say a WORD about using them (well, not that one... i said he could use them 'in general' if he wanted.)

what really cracks me up, is how much this looks like a layout that i would do. i honestly didnt help him all that much... just a few words of advice and 'construtive criticism' along the way. in fact, i was out of the room most of the time, as lilly was having nothing to do with the family scrapping night.

now, if only this were a regular occurrence, just think of how much scrapping i could get done!!

FOTD is Kelli!!

here she is one of my greatest friends... Kelli
(otherwise know as 'Dan & Kelli')



We met working at Gen's Hallmark in Bowling Green, in college. The day we met, we hit it off... so much so, that we both ended up crying (a good cry) during our first conversation :) We have so much in common, but we are also very different. Turned out that i knew her 'boyfriend' Dan from the church i grew up in. Kelli & Dan (her then boyfriend, now husband!) were in our wedding... and we were in their wedding last summer! (which by the way was the most grand wedding i have EVER been to!!)

The 4 of us have so many great memories... shopping, gossiping, eating, going to the movies, wedding planning & showers, gossiping (heehee). Dan and Kelli now live in Michigan... in a beautiful home, and we are patiently waiting for them to add a little one to their family (even after all the detailed pregnancy, labor, delivery, nursing, and terrible two stories i have enlightend them with). when the time comes, dan and kelli are going to be such fabulous parents.

We miss these 2 people so much (crying a bit here) but i am so glad that we have kept in touch... love you Kelli!!

guess what?!?!??!

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oh... nothing!!
april fool's :)
just wanted to get your minds running...
what did you think i was going to say?!?!?
hehhe...

for real though...

-check out The MP Blog... new design team work is up!!
- i am planning to do a FOTD post soon (i know i said id do that like a month ago... where does the time go!)

the birthday girl...

here are some pics from the big day!! the big T-W-O!!



the girls in their birthday hats made with Mandarin Pixie stamps of course :)








right after blowing out the candles all by herself!! she was SO proud...hehe.















skates from mommy and daddy!









a fish tank (complete with statue of liberty) from aunt melissa!


Lilly enjoyed signing 'happy cake' (her version of happy birthday) all day long. She was so excited to finally get to open her gifts and cards that had been piling up all week. More pictures to come!!

p.s. lilly also drew names for the MP drawing... so check out the MP blog to see who the big winners are... that will be up soon, if it isnt already!

sweetness

so my sister, really really made my day. she has a way of doing that...

i was having a bad day last week (a sick, whiny, frustrated, defeated kind of day) and just look at what she sent me!!



these are cookies!! truly truly amazing.... and delicious... and HUGE!! ( i think each one weighs about 1/2 pound!!) lets just say they put a lot of tears on my face as well as one BIG smile :)

i had a 'photo shoot' of them... literally. i think i took about 40 pictures. didn't help much that this little creature could barely stay away from them :)




so melissa... here are your pics. thank you again for taking care of me :) i love you and i miss you!!

a word...

a word from lilly:

dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd vf gg gg gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
```````` 111 000 uu u7778888888 BBZZZZBBZZ Z

and now from me:
-not feeling much better... a bit, but not much
-we're having a sale and drawing at Mandarin Pixie!!
-check out The MP Blog for more details :)

sick day

can i have a sick day please?
is there such thing for me?
no...

monday night

rewind to friday night...
-bumped into the one and only missy @ cord camera on friday night!! (how fun was that?!?!? VERY! )


saturday
-new post over at The MP Blog
-went to sat night church... lilly made trail mix... so cute!! made me really feel like she is 'growing up'!! ahhhhh!

sunday
did a new LO...

-did a little bday browsing for the booster


monday monday
-first day of spring
-'spring break' starts
-i get to leave the house whenever i want all week long...
-wish i knew how to use a sewing machine to make a new bag like my 10 year old vera bradley bag that i LOOOOOVE
-got a $10.00 off coupon for our next trip to Meijer!! (ahhh, gotta love the bargains...)
-made banana chocolate chip walnut bread.... yum
-prison break is back on (woohoo!!)
-waiting for 3-6 inches of snow... (where oh where is spring?)

tagged

i've been tagged by val and judy (2 of my IDOS friends!)


Four jobs I have had in my life:
1.dairy queen
2.hallmark
3.teacher
4.mommy


Four movies I would watch over and over:
(ooooh, love this!! i actually made a list of this other day to write about on my blog!! and i happened to write down 4.... who's been stalking me??)
1. Matilda
2. The Boiler Room
3. Dinosaur (Disney)
4. Chicago


Four places I have lived:
1. Tampa Bay, Florida
2. Bowling Green, Ohio
3. Findlay, Ohio
4. Columbus/Hilliard, Ohio


Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Prison Break (coming back soon!!)
2. American Idol
3. Lost
4. The OC


Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Walt Disney World
2. Chicago, IL
3. Mohican Wilderness (camping... lol)
4. Virgina Beach (a looong time ago...)


Four websites I visit daily:
1. Mandarin Pixie
2. I Dream of Scrapping
3. 2peas
4. numerous blogs


Four of my favorite foods:
1. Cheese
2. garlic cheese bread
3. Chocolate
4. pasta


Four places I would rather be right now:
1. at a spa
2. at a crop
3. sleeping in bed
4. on vacation, anywhere


Four friends I am tagging that I think will
respond....
1. Erin
2. Rorie (have you done this yet?)
3. anyone else who has a blog and hasnt already
4. done this, which doesnt leave many...

FOTD jar

so i got a baby food jar to put my FOTD names in... it was not cute. so i added ribbon and a flower... a bit nicer. just something quick and fun... (what's the FOTD jar?? read my last post...)




apparently it looks as though i only have 6 friends (and no family). boohoooo for non-commenters... and HUGS to my 6 best friends :) but dont feel left out... there is still time! you can still sign up!! reply here or in the previous post... (oh, and if you are 'just' one of my online scrapping friends... you count too!! sign in!!) i have a feeling my next blog will be a FOTD :)


i sent some of you an email where you wrote back your answers about me... let me say, that i am finding this funny, and sweet, and so so nice!! ill post the 'real' answers after a while... along with some of your answers that made me giggle :) i really really really needed a good smile this week!


to end this rambling... a pic of little dave helping daddy paint the hallway (finally did that after 3 years...lol) after a week from toddler h***... this picture reminds me what it is all about... a backwards hat, cheesy grins, and a paint roller. (im sure the fumes are nice too...)




have a great weekend everyone :)

lilly language (part 2) and FOTD (see below)

some more fun ones...

pee you nunk = PU skunk
boney = zamboni (the machine that cleans the ice, for those of you not hockey literate)
nice to me = be nice to me (said MANY times to her 2 little friends today)
meesh hat = kameisha hat (this is what she calls the hat that kameisha got her for valentine's day)
me do = i want to do it!
oh boy (while hitting herself in the forehead)= oh boy (the referee at daddy's hockey game taught her this tonight... thank you ref)

ok so those are a few more, some just came to mind, and some are new (nunk...lol)



and while i am here, i will be taking names for my FOTD (friend/family of the day) blog posts!!

if you sign in here (by leaving a comment...) your name will be put in a jar. when i need something to blog about, i will draw a name, and that person becomes the FOTD!!

i get to tell how we know each other and something fun about you/us... (i wont embarrass anyone, and if i do, you have the right to request that i remove the embarrassing story.)

so come on people... comment below (just say 'hey' or 'i want to be added to your FOTD jar'... just humor me (as my mom always says). this is good for me (and you!) i have so many special people in my life, and i need to reflect on this!! ill be checking back often to see who has added their name...

(now i KNOW a lot of people read this and dont comment, so now is the time to comment, so i can tell a story about you!!)

im off to find a jar :)

randomness

randomness starting last night

-FREE lower bowl tickets to the Blue Jackets game (gotta love free stuff, especially free good stuff...wooohoooo!!)
-ate at wendy's before the game, they gave little a skunk toy... which she calls a "PEE-EWWW" (i suppose that is because we told her that skunks are stinky)
-got Lilly a Rick Nash head on a stick thing at the game... she liked it, but was freaked out by it too
-she flirted with the two hot ladies sitting next to us, and turned around pointing at a baby the whole game... oh, she danced too (80's night... much fun)
-left the game early... lilly was out way past her bedtime
-home from the Jackets game in time to see the new OC (yahooooeee!!)
-lilly to bed at 9:00 (oh good, maybe she will sleep in) (....sure)
-up at 1:00 and 1:30 to little girl getting sick all over her crib (poor little thing)
-had the day 'off' from watching kids today
-lilly wakes up at 6:45 (so much for sleeping in... oh wait, i did sleep in for 30 minutes...) she is feeling fine now...
-did errands without a crazy schedule or 'the bank closes in 10 minutes" rush(very nice)
-went to the library and lilly met a new friend lily/lilly. she liked her mom so much she sat on her lap and held her hand to go check out books (AH!!) i am so glad she is not socially deprived... but goodness, i think my lilly would have gone home with the other lily/lilly's mom
-went to Cord Camera and got some nice paper and alpha sticker deals (although i need to go back tomorrow without the drama queen... as i just found out i missed some more good deals!)
-went to dave's office, lilly flirted with eveyone there
-went out to eat with dave for lunch to cosi (1st time visit, it was ok...)
-came home and napped... i napped too (ah... i miss that, A LOT)
-watched ELLEN while we waited for daddy to get home... ellen danced to CALIFORNIA LOVE... love love love that... one of my top ten favorite songs!!! (if i had a list...)
-went to wal-mart to get some stuff for a meal with friends on sunday
-lilly says "PEE-EWWW" about half the time we are there... (she was crabby so i started asking her animal sounds... mistakenly asked about a skunk, and she was all set for the rest of the trip)
-home for a bath, hair dried, pj's on, story read, prayers said, rocking done... kisses goodnight...
-and here i sit waiting for dave to be done on ebay so we can watch a movie.

my friday nights rule!

language with lilly (part 1)

lilly's vocab and 'phrases' are exploding at the moment... thought id share just a few off the top of my head :)

my = mine (this is said very often... my juice, my baby, my socks... said happily or angrily, or during a battle of 'who does this belong to' with the 2 other 2 year olds in the house)

way wake! = wake up (this is screamed as loud as her little lungs allow)

key up = clean up (glad this is in the vocab at all!)

daddy = daddy (this is said before and after many other words)

mama = mommy (this is also said before and after many other words)

puh puh daddy = pick me up daddy (she used to say 'bup' for up, but that recently changed when she figured out how to make phrases)

i keem = ice cream (this is also screamed at the top of her toddler lungs, as "i scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM" is a line in one of her favorite songs)

scuse = excuse me (this is after burping or tooting...)

scuse daddy = excuse you daddy (see above)

que me = excuse me (as in, get out of my way)

que mama = excuse me mommy (as in, get of of my way mom)

tay too = thank you

burgher = burger (favorite out to eat food of the moment)

cool = cool (this is hilarious... our 2 year old's choice adjective, and she knows how to use it!)

guhn = good

kees = kiss

catch = catch, i caught you/it, i'm gonna catch you (one word, 3 uses... good idea)

and our favorite thus far... a very nice little sentence that our precious adorable little baby girl put together all by herself...

"boogey out, daddy look!"

no explanation necessary :)

a new page

something quick... heres a new LO... totally inspired by one of missy's (not my sister missy)LOs, look here. she is truly awesome... amazing how my LO looks nothing like her LO. ah well, its another page done, and i tried...

this was done for 'the dares' challenge... 'cycles' over at 2peas. i thought of our nightly routine, and how lilly has a few things that used to be mine... 2 cycles in one.



ta ta....

a loooong weekend...

we took at little trip home this weekend...
had many nice vists with friends a family...
that makes for one very tired mommy.
we enjoy our vists, but it makes me sad we dont get to see eveyone more often. i hope to post pictures from our visits soon :)

but for now, a picture from friday.
surprisingly, i got this adorable picture... not long after almost pulling my hair out.

(i like to bake with the kids, and they love it :) well, before i could get this too too cute picture here is what we went through...)

-2 eggs broken on the floor (1 by me, 1 by lilly)

-lilly chugging cinnamon (ooh lilly) followed by some gags and lilly saying 'ucky' and 'messy' (well, yeah...)

-one head hit on the corner of the counter (it was the little guy i watch... hes right at counter height...) he was so sad...sobbing. while he is crying... i give him a big hug and say...
"are you ready to make cookies now?"
he says "nooooo..."
i ask "why not?"
he says "im still cryin'".... (oh i LOVE these kids!!) sooo fun :)

-oh and lastly (i think) lilly unscrews the lid off my 3/4 full water bottle and dumps it all over the counter, trickling down the barstool all over her lap and the floor. but she did enjoy cleaning it up.

and the cutest picture of them admiring their work(you'd never know the drama that got us here...)



i seriously love these little people :)


a happy week to all...

MP DT!!

we have a design team at mandarin pixie... yahoo!!
today is the 1st month for posting their work!
these 2 ladies are AWESOME!!! love them :)
go check out their great work!!

the mp blog or mandarin pixie

enjoy :)

i should....

i should be scrapping.

or sleeping.

'birtday birtday mees mees'

Happy Birthday to my little sister Melissa :)
(sung as 'birtday birtday mees mees' by the little miss lillian)


wasnt it so long ago that we were so cute??
oh, we still arent too bad :)


and somethign fun that my sister sent me via email... a birthday wish to from martha herself :)

Melissa ------
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
2--.8--.8---
----- Forwarded by Melissa ------/NYSL/MSLO on 02/24/2006 04:31 PM -----

Martha Stewart
To: Melissa ------/NYSL/MSLO@MSLO
02/24/2006 04:28 cc:
PM Subject: Tomorrow

Dear Melissa,


I saw on my birthday calendar that tomorrow is your birthday. My very best
wishes to you.


Have a beautiful day.

Martha

um... how fun is that??? LOL

Happy birthday Miss!! we love you:) (((HUGS)))

tip of the day #1

if your debit card (or credit card for that matter) wont be accepted while trying to pay for gas or ski rentals... don't just assume that your magnetic strip is going bad, and that you should order a new card in the near future. no, call your bank ASAP... why? well, because...

*someone in turkey may have stolen your card number.
*someone in turkey may be making 3 huge (= $2,000+) debits from your checking account.
*someone in turkey may have a few flat sceen TV's on you.

and you will be waiting a few annoying weeks to pay your bills.

she's ok!

as most of you know, lilly's test results came back fine! just a little extra fatty tissue in that one cheek, but nothing at all to be concerned about!! thank you thank you thank you ALL for all your thoughts and prayers... it was so comforting to know that we had so many people rooting for us during this time! !((HUGS))

here's lilly the 'little martha' in the making... yeah, she made the cake all by herself... hehehe



on to another thought... ive been slacking in the blogging department, my mind is a bit scattered these days, oh everyday really. i thought if i write down blogging ideas in a post... i can look back here when i am blog-idealess... so here is a list to keep me motivated :)

-friend of the day
-learn lilly language
-tips of the day
-recipes
-MP news (or at least a link to the MP Blog when updated)
-my TV schedule
-cheapo jen stories
-of course, pictures

k... should get me started... ill add more to the list as they pop into my head!

new page

just sent out an email update on miss lilly's testing today... but i thought id share this page that i did as a little scrap therapy yesterday. i actually used my handwriting... which i want to do more. i want to like my handwriting. have a happy weekend!

oh, and there is a $2.00 shipping sale over at MP... go check it out, hurry...it ends this Sunday!! (...as lilly would say 'run!run!run!')

happy valentine's day!

hope you all have a wonderfully happy valentine's day!

MP has a blog!!

...check it out :)

The MP Blog

(and listed in my links on the right as well...)

i've been tagged... by miss valerie

What were you doing 10 years ago?
dave and i had been dating about a year... i was a junior/senior (?) in high school... working at the good old DQ

Five snacks that you enjoy (in no particular order
because all snacks are created equal):

1. salsa and tortilla chips
2. ice cream
3. cheese and crackers
4. chocolate
5. chocolate

Five songs to which you KNOW all the lyrics:

oh geez, i know lots...
1. any song on Playhouse Disney
2. whatta man...teeheee
3. your 'standard' show tunes, thanks to my sister :)
4. bop gun....LOL
5. my music liking is so diverse... youd be shocked at what i know, i shock myself

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. buy a big comfy practical house
2. buy a boat (that i would name 'ghetto boat-ay')
3. pay off all our loans
4. buy dave a nice car, of his choice
5. save/invest it :)

Five bad habits:
dave has a list a mile long, none of which i agree with

1. being online too much
2. being grumpy too much
3. eating too much
4. is being stubborn a habit?
5. being messy

Five things you like doing:

1. scrapbooking and stamping
2. being a mommy
3. cooking & baking
4. eating
5. listening/signing/'dancing' to music

Five things you would never wear, buy or get again:

1. a bikini (for obvious reasons)
2. film
3. i
4. don't
5. know :(

Five favorite toys:

1. the computer
2. our digi camera
3. my scrapping and stamping stuff
4. my rollarblades (and the jogging stroller)
5. dave's ipod

5 People I am tagging
-erin
-rorie
-and anyone else who hasn't done this yet

happy happy gifts!

my sister, melissa, and her wonderful friend, kameisha, sent me the WONDERFUL surprise of a 'mandarin' inspired "congratulations on opening Mandarin Pixie" gift.... WOW o WOW!!! let me just tell you how surprised and excited i was to get this huge box yesterday!! it never even crossed my mind that anyone would be sending me a gift for opening MP, but those girls sure know how to make someone feel extra extra special!! ((((HUGS)))) thank you both, and i love you and miss you bunches!!!


and a little cheese'ball' for the happy occasion...

be happy

sometimes you have to be selfish and profess the things that make YOU happy...

-hearing 'why mama' (even if i do here it ten billion times each day)
-a huge bag of peanut M&Ms (M's as lilly calls them) from Sam's
-1000 free business cards from the new Office Max
-scrapbooking and creating(even though im not the greatest... it is my passion)
-the fact that my baby girl loves pictures just about as much as i do and loves looking at albums over and over and over... we rediscovered this picture (the 1st one ever taken of dave and i... just look at us!!)

-opening Mandarin Pixie and receiving real orders!! (and most importantly all the encouraging words from family and friends)
-seeing lilly run to her daddy when he comes home from work
-talking to my sister via the OmniMedia phone line...hehhe, and the broken cell phone
-having a small number of really good friends
-keeping in touch with special friends from high school
-getting stuff for free at the gocery store because it's on sale for 99 cents and i have a 50 cent coupon that gets doubled
-lilly dancing in the car to "my humps" (that's my girl!!)
-dave still calling me 'sweetie girl' even after 10 years
-good TV shows
-gift cards to eat out
-a great group of online scrapping friends!!
-my 2 other kiddos (and their families for entrusting them to me)
-anything on clearance
-the fact that i like such a huge variety of music
-my husband, my daughter, my parents, my sister, my grandma, and some very wonderful aunts... who are some of my best friends


of course there are more. i really do have a lot to be happy about. i just need to remind myself on a daily basis. that is the kind of person i am. anywho... i need to do this more often :)

a few cards...

...just a couple cards ive made with some Mandarin Pixie stamps!




...just got that white ink!! love it... i must admit, i wasnt sure how white dye ink would work, but i do love it :)

newer LOs....

here are some newer LOs (in no particular order), all of which include Mardarin Pixie stamps :) enjoy!

MP is open!!

...just wanted to share the news that Mandarin Pixie is now open for business!!

Frankly I'm not sure who visits my blog, but from what I am guessing... most of the people who do read this already know about the launch. so anywho... just wanted to make sure you knew!!

the link is to the right if you'd like to take a peek :)

the winner...

....of my 2nd drawing is... Laura!! (See, i didn't forget all about the drawing...) I will be mailing out your little gift soon... as soon as i can find it, and get it in an envy and mail it, whenever that will be...

Mandarin Pixie is just about ready to open... click our homepage button on the right. There is a button there to sign up for our mailing list...

besides that.... here is a new LO to enjoy (featuring some MP stamps... the ones that spell 'baby')... look at those cheeks!!

emails please....

if you are reading this... and you havent recieved any emails from me in the last several days (and you are wondering...hey where is that jen? and when is her webstore opening??)... would you please email me your email address?!?!? pretty please?!?!

somehow 'someone' (no names please...) got rid of my address book without asking me first. ahhh.......

some of your emails i know off the top of my head... others' not so much :( some of you i've stolen from mass emails from other people. anywho... i am hoping you still have my addy in your address book and you can send me a quick 'hey!! here's my email!!' note.... thanks :) (dont post here though... i dont walk the stalkers to find you...)

oh... and i will be doing my drawing soon!! (see 2 posts down....)

the "big" secret...

...the big secret is out to most of you. but here is the link to the site in progress, for those of you who don't have it bookmarked yet!

this is what ive been soooo busy with :)
we are aiming to open mid january!!

www.mandarinpixie.com

(i'm having difficulties making that into a link, so you'll have to cut and paste until i figure it out... sorry!)

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!!)