doll for a doll house

what a little doll she is..


I absolutely love this little girl. I still can't believe she is ours... but she is. every smile. every giggle. every shriek of joy.. yep, she shrieks with joy. It took us all by suprise the first time we heard it but she does..
What we all love to see now is that she folds her hands in prayer while we all say Grace before we eat dinner. She smiles ear to ear and then puts her hands together again when we say Amen.. how sweet is that??

an a-ha moment

For all my friends who received my crazed email with my a-ha photography moment Here is on of the pics from the series I took the day the math finally kicked in for me... my parents should be so proud! lol! all that money towards education and geometry is finally understood as something useful! lol!!

sunset snuggles

Mom came over for a sunset dinner with us tonight..
We had chicken (cooked in the crockpot), rice (not as good as Mom's), steamed broccoli, fresh pineapple, and fresh apple pie made by yours truly... (should have gotten a pic of that but we were too interested in eating hot apple pie!!)
but at the end of it all I dropped Princess A into her grandmother's lap and snapped a few.... after she grabbed her arm.. notice the napkin Mom is holding on her arm??? yep, Princess A got a good hold and didn't want to let go....
Anyway, she obliged me using the best evening light.... love that time of day whenthings are winding down here.
And we need them to wind down... it has been a hectic winter with flu on 3 out of 4 kids... and 2 of them got it twice... 5 ear infections... allergies.... birthdays... celebrating Mom turning 75!! and so many more things.... whew! Where does time go? anyway, sunset nd taking pics... the best... it lets me take a deep breath and just paint... I love it.

this is perfect

just love how Daddy jumped in and joined in on St. Patty's Day. I usually fix corned beef and cabbage but my sister did a few days before. Since I am pretty much the only one in the family who enjoys that meal I could not give it to my family 2 nights in one week...
so instead we had clean out the fridge night and I got to play with Princess A and my camera during sunset...

my 4 kiddos and I went to the park today.. we climbed, checked out some koi, hada picnic, played grumpy old troll.. it was a good day for sure!

quote on photo w/ my sweetie is a freebie from http://jodiemcnally.com/

sandbox time

I came outside to get some fresh air for all of us.... hoping naptime would go a little smoother!!

I also brought my camera (go figure) to practice using "fill flash"

I hope to get an external flash to use in low lit indoor sessions in the future... so I can learn to bounce the light when I can't use manual settings without so much noise.

Mr. T had a great time throwing sand without anyone telling him to stop.

boo to you!

cast of characters:
Princess A: Larry the Cucumber
Mr. T: Farmer Boy... because "trick or treating is no fair!"
Queen V: dalmation puppy
Lady G: rocker chick

setting:
backyard prior to Grandpa hauling us around on a trailor full of hay

Theme:
my favorite things of Halloween 2008
Princess A: is all full of smiles... just like Larry the Cucumber in this pic...
Mr T: bought one Buzz Lightyear costume but when it had to slip over his head it was history so I brought out super chicken and that was good for a giggle but not to put on.. then I placed cowboy horse in front of him and that got on but then off... go figure.. I turned Mr. T over to Daddy and this is what they came up with. Trick or treating was still "no fair" BUT clothes were now on my boy...
Queen V: dalmations are the favorite puppy with chihuahuas running a close second for my girl... like the face paiting?? I did it myself, thank you very much.. ha! I had a pic of Lady G with the same face painted by a professional and I tried to mimic it. I think I did pretty well... The costume was a white sweatshirt and white leggings with black iron on patches I cut up to make the spots- perfect! Thanks to my sister for giving me that direction!!!!
Lady G... recognize the costume.. it's what she gathered for her school play.. she liked it so much it went back on for Halloween! hooray!

I am kind of glad it is behind us... nursing a baby on a hay trailor in front of inlaws is a trick for sure.. whew! but we all made it... and then went to roast s'mores at friends... a tradition from my childhood. I hope to post about it tomorrow...

it's the great pumpkin!!

The school carnival was last week and I was asked to help volunteer...
with a new baby... that was going to be a bit difficult..
but
I can bake in between nursing, diapering and overseeing homework...
This was one of the 2 cakes I sent in for each Queen V and Lady G's classes.
They were both pumpkin cakes... it's what Lady G asked for
so on I went to figure out how to create such a cake...
white cake mix 50 cents
frosting $1.50/ can
gel for coloring $5
pumpkin cake for school carnival and envy from other mommies...
PRICELESS!
mwahahahahaha (evil mommy laugh)

so I don't have the huge wallet that some mamas seem to have around here but I have creativity, kids that think I can do all with frosting.... wonder if I can create the medallion to go above my chandelier in my dining room with it... hahahahahaha and time.. who needs sleep when your oldest tells you to splurge on good coffee beans and yummy fru-fru cream??

birthday girl... you mean the world to me!!

Our oldest turned 8 yesterday and as a child in our home you get to pick the menu and Mommy gets to figure out how to do it...
here was the 8 year old's menu
bacon wrapped shrimp (yummy)
pecan crusted trout (I cook this in olive oil on the stove)
risoto
dinner salad (compliments of Grandee)
fresh fruit: cantelope, grapes, strawberries (strawberries are a staple in this house since she arrived! lol!)
fruit juice mixed with sprite
desert was a Betty Crocker Icecream Torte It was so easy and so delicious!! Usually the kids test my ability to create this 3D cake with a barbie sticking her head out as a mermaid or some princess... not this time- strictly icecream and brownie! She said she wanted to keep it easy for me since I have been going so crazy with nesting and Braxton Hicks contractions...

So what does the birthday girl get?? Well, aside from that yummy meal she got a new bike!! She gave her older bike to her younger sister because she didn't have one. yep, that is the kind of kid she is... gives to others in need and turns the other cheek when needed... what a good kid. We had the bike specially made for her and it will last a while :) I am glad- she deserves it!!

materials used:
paper:coloriages by Fran
border: will have to look up, sorry.

oye- quick run down on my crazy week...

Monday: found out I am 50% effaced
Tuesday: took my kids and best friend to zoo and bought a big girl bike for my oldest... shshhhhhhhhhhhhh- it's a suprise for her birthday!
Wednesday: I can't remember so we will blame it on the baby sucking my brain cells from me....
Thursday: Bunco for the first time
Friday... today: dd's birthday :) Yippeee!!

side note...Mr. T is now getting a new name of "bruiser".. one because he is going around licking everyone... yep, even strangers... and he is continuously wrestling adn chasing the girls...
Lady G got her lip popped by him (I am not even sure how) and a remote thrown at her head...
Queen V had her neck sat on... he seems to be going for the neck.. ugh.. what is up with 2 year old boys??? sometimes I just don't get them!!

whew- what a week!
so.. tomorrow is a birthday party for both of my girls and then off we go to Mass followed by bed!!! I need sleep!
I hope to do more nesting on Sunday to get my ds's room in order.. it's a wreck!! Mr. T has been a tornado for sure!!

materials used for digi LO:
papers, bird, heart, flowers: Patricia Amaral
cluster frame: Welli Designs
quote: Elegant Word Art by Bethany
overlay: Lively Up Designs

Meerkat, it's what's for dinner...

remember the old beef commercials with Sam Elliot talking in the background about how great beef was.. I can't remember the song that played but I can hear it in my head... at the end of the ad Sam comes on and says, "beef.. it's what's for dinner!"

Well, in Lion King 1 1/2 they say, "meerkat, it's what's for dinner... " Cracks me up.. this is all I can think when Queen V asks to see them at the zoo. She does a great meerkat impersonation and yes, I have pictures of it.. I need to put it on a LO. She cracks me up and when I start laughing she can't help but laugh about it too! lol!

Her little camera won't work so she and her sister took their summer writing journals to the zoo to draw photos of the animals they saw. From there they will journal or write poetry around the picture.

I just got this new action from Patricia Aranal.. the ribbon tie action.. it is so cool. I wanted to test it out on a LO before I try and create a few things for my photography clients. With the baby coming I will have to put my camera down and perhaps create some cards or templates to use for other photographers.

crazy settings... I don't know what I was thinking! lol!
f3.2
1/640
iso800

materials used:
template: Shandy Vogt
bow action: FafBr
papers : Patricia Amaral - Digital Designer
http://scrap-a-dream.blogspot.com

Change in Priorities coming full Circle

I was given this horse when I was 14 and she was 3. She was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen...
I was given her and her companion, Cloud, who was 6. Cloud died 2 years ago. YoYo has the pasture all to herself with neighbors bringing other horses in and out... She is something so cherished from my teenage years. Having grown up my priorities changed to being responsible toward my family more... She is an old lady now who grazes when she likes, where she likes, doesn't answer to the kick of my heel...
Now my own Lady G has taken a liking to horses... where will this lead our family in years to come??? hmmm


materials used:
QP: Rebecca Labbe
quote: Designer Digitals


Photograph:
f4.0
ss 1/125
iso 200
wb: cloudy

finally, some glue on my fingers!

it has been way too long since I had glue on my fingers...
I love glue, colors, paper... and checking out other blogs.. I love to go to Ana Wight's blog and this entry of Dirty Polly I swear looks just like my oldest with her hair in pigtails!!! I have to go get this one... it is just as sweet as my Lady G... and can't you just see this on the pages of my girl??
Well, I did a LO of her from a little photo shoot we did before Christmas. She was feeling like my budding photography business was creeping in the way of me being a full time Mommy... so this came from that. I asked her if she would be my model for trying different poses, letting me practice exposure and lighting.. My favorite is the one of her putting her foot in her mouth!!! She could have killed me when I put it on a LO! lol! love it anyway... shows her goofy side :)

She picked out her shot, her card and gave it to her very best girl friends... I love it! She did rather well! Now to get Valentine shots....

sweet 7

my sweetie turned 7..
lost her first tooth
swims like a fish
had her first sleep over with her cousin
runs crooked
pretends to whistle while having a shrilling high pitched scream come from her mouth
slapped her sister in the face.. we can't all have good days, huh? lol... such changes 7 brings....

materials:
template, swass by Shandy Vogt
pp: Shabby Princess