Scrappin' Snappin' Mama

Let it Snow!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:56:00 +0000

Well it's winter here in Oregon. We got about 2" of snow on Monday and it's been freezing ever since. We should be getting more snow later this afternoon and tonight. The kids love it! Colton woke up on Monday and said "It's Christmas mom, let's open our presents!!" LOL Elly loves to look out the window and talk about the "nose"! They went outside at 8:30 on Monday morning to play.

Elly wasn't too sure about the snow

Colton loved it!

She didn't like that her boots got "yucky"!

About five minutes later she decided to watch Colton from the porch.

We got all our Christmas cards mailed today. And I went to the fabric store to get some flannel. I found a great tutorial for making pajama pants. My plan was to have the kids wear their matching jammies on Christmas morning but I think I'll make them some instead. Colton's really excited. So I'll have to share the finished product for you all.

Just a random cute photo of the kids. Elly loves shoes and when Daddy got some new boots she had to try them out! Colton decided to join the fun and put on Mommy's boots too! So silly!

Well that's all for today. I need to get the pants started and I have more laundry to fold...does it ever end? Plus dinner. Busy, busy! Have a great evening!

Our Trip to See Santa!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:33:00 +0000

Elly has been so excited to see Santa. Every time she saw a picture of him or someone with a Santa hat she'd get all excited and yell "Santa!!". Yet when we go to the mall to see him she's scared! The people were so nice and just let me take photos instead of paying $15+ for theirs! Colton was a trooper though. He told Santa what he wanted and sat on his lap. It was so cute!

Telling Santa he wants a "loopty loop track" ....which Santa's helper got for him;)

Bummer about the glare on his glasses though

Santa loved Colton's Mater shoes!!!Elly with Kaili. Santa told Kaili she could sit on his lap with Elly...Kaili opted out of that one!! hahaha!

I got our Holiday Card all done this morning. I'm going to get them all addressed and out in the mail first thing Monday. I can't show you here though since I'd like it to be a surprise for the people getting them! Maybe in a week or so I'll post it. It's cute but sure doesn't top last years. Here's last years if you don't remember it...(you can click it to make it larger).

Ok, well I better run. I told Colton we would make some oatmeal cookies today. Yum!!!

Christmas Photo Shoot!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:14:00 +0000

I took some photos of the kids today for our holiday card. I love how they turned out! Now to pick which ones go on the card...lol.

We got a tree!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:48:00 +0000

So I hate fake trees but since our kids are so little we went ahead and got one last night. Maybe next year or the year after we can all go get a REAL tree!! But the kids had a blast putting it up and it actually looks good. Elly kept saying "WHOA" with every branch that Andrew put up. She still runs up to it and says "Whoa, tree!!". Here are some photos of the tree setting up fun we had.

In awe

Colton yelling Whoa!

DecoratingCheeeesssee!Colton hard at work Posing time!Hug!High fiveKnuckles!KissMy cuties!!!

Well, gotta cut it short. Elly's taking over my lap and making it hard to type! Hope you all have a great week and hopefully I'll be back before Christmas to post some more.

I've been tagged!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:39:00 +0000

By Miss Shawna Taylor!

*5 Things I was doing 10 years ago…

Oh goodness...I was 13!

1. going to school...I was in 8th grade.
2. getting myself into trouble...you know...smoking cigarettes behind mom's back :0
3. I think I was "going out" with Bryan Miller!
4. hanging out with Hannah and Rosita
5. ???

*5 Things on my “To-Do” list today…

1. fold clothes
2. wash the bedding
3. vacuum
4. clean up the kitchen
5. do some school work with Colton

*5 Snacks I enjoy…

1. chocolate
2. fruit
3. english muffin with peanut butter
4. oatmeal cookies
5. yogurt

*5 Things I’d do if I were a Millionaire…

1. buy a house
2. pay all our parents' homes off
3. invest in Andrew's business (I think he should open his own fabrication shop)
4. put some away for my kids to go to college
5. but all the little things that I want (serger, camera stuff, new minivan...)

*5 Places I’ve Lived…

1. the crappy red house with Mike
2. the two story house with Mike and Andrew
3. the teeny tiny house Colton was born in

4. the trailer next to Grandma and Grandad

5. Juli's house (and then the one we are in now!!)

*5 Jobs I’ve Had

1. housekeeper at a motel
2. dish washer/hostess/waitress at a resturant
3. cashier at a grocery store
4. waitress at a resturant
5. Mommy!

*5 People I tag

1. Lisa
2. Andrea
3. Rebecca
4. ????
5. & anyone else who might read my blog lol

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.

Another rushed post

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:04:00 +0000

But at least I'm posting right?! We are just about to head out the door for a homeschool playdate. So here are some recent photos of the munchkins. Enjoy!!!

The crazy boy!He's a nut!

Aren't they sweet? They really are best friends.

Adorable!

Ellyana

Halloween costumes...Colton was a "nice" dinosaur!

And Elly was a ladybug

The goblins!

With the pumpkins

We went to the park so I could take some photos of them in the leaves.

Colton loved it!

We went to the pumpkin patch with Oma (ok, so these photos are in the wrong order!!)

It was really windy but a beautiful day

Ok, gotta run. Have a great week..or month if I'm not back till Dec!! haha!

Just a few photos

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:46:00 +0000

No time for an actual update but here are some photos.

Crazy Colton!

The kids in Daddy's new truck

So sweet!!

He has to do some crazy pose if I want to take his picture!

On the phone with Nana

I made Elly her very own baby sling! (Yes, that's Colton checking out his tummy in the background!)

Ell Bell in her new hat I made for her

Elly testing out dad's truck!

Andrew's New Truck

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:45:00 +0000

For Joe :)

Just a quick one

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:22:00 +0000

Hello all! Just a few quick photos before I get the kids in bed. They are playing nicely so I should have a few minutes to get this done!

Daddy came home from work a few weeks ago with a new bike for Colton! He loooves it!

Big dude!

Pretty Ellyana

She loves to kiss her daddy!

Andrew went to Rubicon for work a couple weeks ago. He had a blast! Even wrecked his boss' truck! (Sounds like boss was more excited than A!)

Cheese!

Yelly Elly

Yeah, he was done having his photo taken!

I love this! She brought the sling to me and wanted it on. I think I need to make a smaller version so she doesn't have that long train of leftover fabric. She carried her baby around like this for about an hour!

Princess Elly!

We went camping with Andrew's family.

At the beach

Helping Elly walk the log

So cute!

Andrew's dad, Colton, and Andrew

Well time for bed!! Have a great evening!

For heaven's sake!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:50:00 +0000

My mother is harassing me to update this poor blog so here I am! I don't have much time though so I'm just going to let the photos do the talking.

Colton doing hopscotch for the first time...he did great!

Elly did great too!

Elly's learning to go down the step...here she is celebrating!

hahha!!

Mini photoshoot...Colton did wonderfully!

Only got a couple of the two of them

Then we went to WA for a visit with family. Andrew was off on a 4x4 run so it was just the kids and me.

My mom, brother, sister, me and my kids

Nana and the kiddos

Me and my momThe kids at Grandma and Grandad's

Elly at the beach

Colton and Grandpa

Colton and Grandma

Ellyana and Grandpa

Mr Colton

mad face!Playing around!And some scrap pages.....(you can click to make them bigger.)

Ok, I hope you're happy mom!! lol I'm off to take a shower and run some errands.

Not much to update

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:43:00 +0000

But I thought I'd better blog anyhow before I get behind again!! We had a nice weekend. Very warm but nice! We spend a lot of time out in the yard playing with the sand and water table. Other than that it was pretty low key. On Monday I took Colton to the dentist. He was so good, I'm so proud of him!! Turns out they decided NOT to let us pay in payment for his cavities instead it needs to be paid in full BEFORE they fix his teeth. Very frustrating. So, long story short, I made him another appt with the dentist that our insurance does cover and hopefully he'll do well there and they can get him in to get the cavities filled quickly. Fingers crossed!

Yesterday we had a LLL meeting which was really just a parade planning meeting! We are going to walk in the Cottage Grove parade this weekend. So we made signs and got our shirts...fun stuff!!! Then we went and had lunch with Juli (my MIL) and Kaili (my SIL) and Mark (Juli's bf). Overall it was a really nice day. Today we went to story time at the library then came home and did some preschool and walked to the park. We "borrowed" half a bucket of sand from the park's sand pit for our sand and water table! The kids had a blast playing with that!! Afterwards they both needed a bath!!

Tomorrow we are meeting my mom at the zoo. We are very excited! Colton keeps asking me what animals we are going to see there! I can't wait! I'm sure we'll have lots of photos when we get back.

Have a nice evening!!

Preschool Today

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:15:00 +0000

We had a very fun filled day today. This morning we went to the Dollar Store to find some "school stuff". I got a ton of stuff for only $15. Things ranging from a tray for sorting to sea shells! I've been reading some blogs of other homeschool preschool moms, most using the Montessori method which I really love. I have a million ideas running through my mind. I got a little note book so I can try and keep organized!

Last night we mixed food coloring and water and put it in an ice cube tray and froze it with some popsicle sticks in the middle. Then we took a bunch of small toys, placed them in a bowl of water and froze that. So when we got back from running around we took the easel outside (which I got at a yard sale for $1!!!!!) and I let the kids have at it! I think Elly ate more ice than she painted with but she had a blast too!

After those had melted, we got out our big ice blob out and started trying to get the toys out. We used salt, spoons and water. Colton LOVED this!!!

He got a ball out first thing!

"I'm getting this screw out mom"

The spoon helps!

Then Elly needed a nap. I usually give Colton something to occupy him while I put her down since it takes about 30 mins for her to nurse to sleep. It can be computer time, a movie, his shape sorter thing (I know it has a proper name...just not sure what it is!), stickers...etc. Today we decided to sort beads by color into an empty egg carton. He did so well and it kept him busy well after Elly was asleep.

After Ellyana woke Colton wanted to use his sorting tray and "puffy balls"! So I put some balls in the middle and he sorted the colors (rather quickly) with some tongs and then I put one color in the middle and had him put 2 balls in each section and then 4 balls and then 5 balls and so on until we reached 10.

Doing 4

Elly dumped out the bag then put them all back!!

After that I printed out a template for a lacing card and put some contact paper over it and punched the holes. I gave Colton a plastic needle and some yarn and let him figure out what to do. He did AMAZINGLY well! So well that I forgot to take a photo of his work!!! I'll see if he wants to do that project again tomorrow and take some photos!

That's all we did today! I know if sounds like a lot but he kept asking me for "more school projects"!

Ok, off to put my kiddos to bed. Have a great evening!!!

Our Day

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:11:00 +0000

We had a fun filled day today. We started with some school-ish activities. I taped a bunch of computer paper together (didn't have any larger pieces!) and then traced out each kiddo. They thought it was GREAT!!! Here are some photos of them coloring themselves.

Colton making his face

His shirt...

Great job!

Elly coloring herself

Colton making "sandal shoes"

Elly's work

Colton had to make "tiger legs!"

Finished!

El BellColton BugI just love his face! His shirt...the one he was wearing at the time had a hammer and screwdriver...that's what the little circles are.Then we made a cute little cow (cows are our theme for this week) out of a TP roll. I'll have to get some photos of him!

I was trying to get a photo of Elly for our frame that I'm redoing...she didn't cooperate (I have a certain pose in mind) but I did get some cute shots anyhow!

Aren't they sweet?!

EAR!

Tickling brother

Leaning on Elly

Her faces are too funny!

I just wanna kiss those cheekies!

Sissy Pants

Such a silly girl

....

Hey, where are you Colton?!

"HAHAHAHA!"

"Cheeese"

Blurry...but I love this!!

"Cheeese"

Again, blurry...but too cute to throw out

Blue eyes...

Goof ball!

We've been trying for a few months now to get our dental policy switched to one that a Pediatric Dentist accepts. The coverage we have now is very limited and we have taken Colton in several times for his cavities and they just brush us off and keep making new appts. It's very frustrating and his teeth aren't getting fixed. So I finally talked with someone who knew something about the dental and the policy I want is not accepting new clients at this time. @#!#!!!! So, we've decided to just bite the bullet and take him into the dentist anyhow and have them bill us with some sort of payment plan. I explained out situation and they were able to get us in on Monday. Hopefully all will go well and we can get Colton's poor teeth fixed soon.

A little update

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:02:00 +0000

Hi all! I'm trying to cool down the house before it gets too hot outside again and makes my house an oven! Yesterday the house was cooler than the outside air but over night we got behind again.

Not too many big plans today. We decided to homeschool Colton for preschool so we are working on school work today. And we might go to the indoor pool down the road. Too hot for anything else!!

How about some photos....

I made Elly another "Mens shirt to girl's dress" again. I love this one!

See the little pants I made from the sleeves!

The kids keeping cool in the sand and water table.

We went to Saturday Market and Colton got his leg painted...aka a tattoo!

Silly boy!

Nursing my 14 month old!!! She always holds her foot like that. I call it nursing yoga! lol

My Prince

Elly at 13 monthsNature Girl"New" Dress

I think that's it!! I hope you have a nice day and stay cool wherever you are!!

Oh Mr Sun???

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:55:00 +0000

I'm getting spoiled by this gorgeous Oregon weather! Today we woke up and Colton, who always opens up the curtains for me, says "Mom, where is Mr. Sun?". LOL We are both hoping that the clouds burn off and the sun shines this afternoon. He's been spending lots of time in his sand and water table outside. Which still only has water...no sand.
We've had a busy week so far. Yesterday we went to story time and then headed over to the Science Museum in Eugene. That was pretty neat. There was a big YMCA group there so it was hard for Colton to play with the exhibits so next time we go I'll call ahead to make sure it's not too busy. And after that we went to WIC and got some Farmer's Market vouchers. They gave us $40 worth so we can get fruits and vegis grown locally here in Oregon. Which is wonderful since I've only been buying local produce anyhow!

Poor little Ellyana is having a rough week. She's getting a molar and is really whinny and fussy. See....

And I did a LO of her! My mom used to (still does actually!) tell me "it sucks being 12...or 13...or 14....and so on!". And that's what these photos said to me.

It's hard being one!

And one of my monkey boy!Speaking of my monkey boy, he has been doing sooooo well with the potty training! I'm so very proud of him. He had one small accident the other day and nothing since. He tells me when he needs to go and everything! Such a big boy!!!

Well, I better go. We are meeting some friends at the mall today and need to get ready. Have a wonderful day!

After 3 months of silence

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:42:00 +0000

I think I'll post!!! I've been so crazy busy and honestly have dreaded updating this thing. Just so hard when I get so far behind but I'm ready to give it another shot!

So a really quick update on our little family. Andrew got a job at the 4x4 design shop as a welder/fabricator. He loves it! But the gas was killing us so we decided to move closer to his job. We are now living in a nice little Duplex. About 1/2 mile from a park and really close to Andrew's job. We are very happy. Other than that we are just chugging along! The kids are getting bigger and are best friends.

Here are some recent photos of my two cuties.

Ellyana on her first birthday

With "crazy hair" as Colton calls it!

He loves his bike!

My sweet boy

Best buds!

Now hopefully I can keep this updated!!!!!

Colton Took a Break From His Photo Strike!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:08:00 +0000

He was so funny "posing" for me!! Check him out!

Getting sleepy!

Miss Elly Belly
LOL Colton getting jealous!!

Today I have a WIC appt. Well, not really an appt. We have "check ups" every 6 months but they only give 3 months worth of vouchers so we have to go in and get more after 3 months. So9 they have us sign up for a "class". The one I signed up for is Straight Talk About Breastfeeding. I guess we discuss the good and bad about WIC's breastfeeding support. Should be interesting. So, because it's at 3:30 and I usually have Arlet till 4 her mom just had her other daughter watch her today. And Oma (Andrew's mom) is going to come up and watch Colton for me since he gets restless at these things!!

Not much has been happening around here. I'm going to try and get some scrapping done today and tidy up the house. But that's about all!!!

Here's one page that I did the other day with Faith True's new kit Kiss Me and Candice Wong's Lightroom Preset.

Have a nice day!!!

Little Girl Barbie Gloves Aren't Thorn Proof!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:59:00 +0000

Yep, I learned that the hard way! My hands are small and the Barbie gloves were the only ones that fit me. I was out in the flower bed weeding and raked my hand across a rose branch. I had to dig 2 thorns out of my hand. Youch!! But my flower bed looks very nice! I'm going to work on the veggie garden next. Hopefully this nice weather will stick.

So the kids are almost back to 100%. Colton ended up with a double ear infection. And my mom brought it to my attention that this is the first time he's ever had an antibiotic. 3 whole years...pretty good! Tomorrow is the last day of meds for both kids. Colton takes his just fine but Elly is a pistol and fights me. So I have to push it in her cheek and then blow in her face to make her swallow. Not a fun process. Arlet was back here Tuesday and she's feeling much better also. Colton sure did miss her. Although today they were back to fighting like brother and sister!!!

I snapped some photos of Ellyana this morning. Colton's on a picture strike! He just runs from me when I try and take his photo. So I don't make a big deal out of it...hopefully he'll be a little model again soon.

{Candice Wong's Lightroom Presets were used on all these photos}

And these were actually deleted from my MySpace profile today. Their reasoning was they contain nudity and sexual content. I'm very upset and uploaded them again. There is nothing sexual about these. Breastfeeding is completely natural and I'm damn proud of how long I've been successful!!!! Ok, end of rant!

Here are a few LOs I've done the last couple days.

Tomorrow we are heading to the library for story time. We haven't been in a couple weeks so it should be fun!

Well I better go fold some laundry and get dinner started. Have a nice evening.

Monday Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:39:00 +0000

It's been forever so I'll just get right into our re-cap!
**I'm on Kaili's computer because mine is being taken over by a little boy wanting to play Blue's Clues and Kaili's computer is too slow and he gets frustrated. Sooo, I will have to come back and edit in photos when he lets me! LOL** They are up!

Wednesday Feb 13th: Ellyana and I went to see The Business of Being Born in Eugene. It was phenomenal! I loved it! I got to see both the midwives that were at Elly's birth. I hadn't seen either of them since her 6 week check up. If you get a chance I totally recommend watching that film.

Thursday Feb 14th: Arlet was here and sick. Poor thing was clingy, whinny and her nose was running. I called Karen and she was able to come get her about 30 mins early.

Friday Feb 15th: Arlet was home sick. My kids seem fine so far. We went to story time at the library and had a great time. Afterwards we went to McDonald's and Colton played in the play area for the first time. That was so cute!!! ~~**Photos to come...**~~

See him in the center square?

Saturday Feb 16th: Elly starts to feel yucky. Her nose was runny and her little eyes were gunky. But we went to Eugene to get groceries and last min things for Colton's party. Then we went to the park and played before we had to pick up Andrew so we could sign the papers for our taxes.~~**Photos to come...**~~

Sunday Feb 17th: HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY COLTON JAMES!!! His party was at noon and Nana (my mom), Dan, Uncle Drew and Aunt Kylie Jo came down. He had a blast!!! We made star cakes and pizza and had balloons everywhere. He got lots of cool presents, including a kid's camera.~~**Photos to come...**~~

Monday Feb 18th and Tuesday Feb 19th: No Arlet. Karen said that she had to take her to the ER and they diagnosed her with pneumonia so she would keep her home all week. Elly was feeling pretty yucky by now and Tue night we had quite a scare with Colton. He woke up crying and Andrew ran in to find Colton on his hands and knees struggling to breath. Andrew said it was like he was under water gasping for air. He finally got him calmed down and Colton just went back to sleep. So we put him in our bed and called the oncall DR at the ER who was an idiot! He said he could say for sure what was wrong and it was our choice to take him in or not. DUH!!! We decided to let him rest and take him in in the morning.

Wednesday Feb 20th: We call the kids' pediatrician to make an appt but she is all booked for the day. So we decide to take the kids to the ER (they have insurance so it didn't cost us anything). Elly had been coughing so badly that she would throw up and on the way to the ER she threw up in the car. Thank goodness it was Andrew's day off and he was able to be there with me. So we get in to see the ER DR and we explain what Colton went thru the night before. She said niether child had fluid in their lungs (we were worried about pneumonia obviously). She said that Colton sounds like he may have croup and Elly has an ear infection. We didn't want Colton to have more breathing issues again that night so we opted to give him a shot of steroids. He, thankfully didn't have anymore breathing issues.

Thursday Feb 21st, Friday Feb 22nd, Saturday Feb 23rd, Sunday Feb 24th: Thursday and Friday the kids and I just stayed home. They were still feeling really yucky. Poor Elly hates taking her medication so that's a struggle. Saturday my brother and two good friends of ours stopped by. They were on their way to California to work. It was great to see them all. Sunday the kids were feeling a bit better. Starting to get back to their normal selves. But in the middle of the night Colton starting crying and said his ear hurt :( Poor guy.

Monday Feb 25th: I'm hoping to get Colton into the DR today. His Ped doesn't work Mondays so I have to take him to the little clinic. But as long as I can get him in and get him meds if he needs them, then I don't care!!!! After we go to the DR I want to go to WalMart and pick up some seeds and bulbs. I'm cleaning out our front flower beds to get ready for Spring and then I'm making a small vegetable garden in the back yard. Oh and I want to have a medium sized pot with herbs in it as well! Can you tell I have Spring Fever?!!

Just a few random photos

Well I think that's about it! Hopefully my kids start feeling better soon. I hate that they are sick and I can't help them. Ok, gotta run...Colton wants me to get out some paints for him! Have a great Monday!!

Almost party time!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:12:00 +0000

Colton's 3rd birthday party is tomorrow!! So today we are going grocery shopping to get some last minute things. He's very excited!!

No photos today cause blogger's being a pain. I can't seem to get it to upload. And I'll update more later...gotta run!!!

While I Have a Minute

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Man, it's been a crazy week already. The kids (Colton and Arlet) have been fighting over everything and poor Ellyana is teething like a mad baby. All she wants to do it nurse...all day and all night. Today was better than the last few days so maybe we are on the down slope.

Nothing else is new...main reason I haven't updated this thing. We went shopping this weekend. Got one of Colton's birthday gifts and his plates and cups for his party. I get sad every time I think of him turning 3! Just doesn't seem possible. Anyhow, that's about all we've done! And that was actually the first day the kids and I had left the house in 12 days. I don't know how we didn't go mad!! With us being sick and then having Arlet here we just stayed home.

I watched Arlet today till 7:00pm since her foster mom had parent/teacher conferences at school. So it was a long day for all of us. Tomorrow will be just as long. But Friday there's no school so no Arlet either. We are going to the library (haven't been to story time in about 3 weeks) and then the kids have their well baby check ups in the afternoon. and Sunday I'm going to ATTEMPT to take our family portraits. LOL I told Andrew not to make any plans and to be expecting to get his photo taken...needless to say, he's thrilled!!!!!

Here are some recent photos of the kids and some layouts I've done. Oh, I made another tote bag but no photos of it yet. Maybe I'll get some of it tomorrow.
Ok, onto the photos....

Miss Ellyana in the tub. She loves taking baths with her brother!

The many faces! (click to make larger...)

Over at Heather Manning's Blog her CT is doing a challenge and this is my page for that.
{Crash}

{Scrunch Face}

{Happy and You Know it}

{Daddy and Ellyana}

{My Baby}

{Giraffie}

Well I better get to bed...another long day tomorrow! Have a great night!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:56:00 +0000

Howdy! I know, it's been forever but I have a good excuse this time! Last Wed night Colton woke up around 10:30 and threw up, Andrew brought him to our bed and not 30 mins later Ellyana was throwing up. So we all migrated to our huge couch and TRIED to sleep out there. Colton finally stopped around 3am and was able to get some sleep but poor Ellyana threw up all day long. I think she threw up for close to 24 hours now I that I think about it. Poor baby. Then Sat Andrew came home from work early and threw up that evening. He was sick all night and rested Sunday. Then Sunday evening Kaili threw up and she threw up close to 16 hours. I never did throw up but I felt like poo. Sat night my stomach hurt so bad, I could hardly sleep. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I don't throw up...there's nothing I hate more!!!

Ok, enough vomit talk! How about some photos?!
I got these cute ones of Andrew and Elly today. (All the photos are edited with Candice Wong's Lightroom Presets)LOL This is her "I'm Cute, Scrunch Face!" And see that hand? She's waving!!!

Daddy being tough!

AWE!

Here's Ellyana and Charly last night. Agian...waving!

And some of my sweet boy!

I told him to make a funny face!

I made some more hair pretties. Elly can't wear any of these just yet so I think these will be gifts. They are super fun to make!

And some LOs
{Discover}

{I Love You}

{Charly}

{Mad Face}

Well, that's all I have! Have a great evening!

I've been tagged!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Shawna Taylor tagged me last Sat!

*The rules are to link the person who sent this to you…and leave a comment on their blog.. so their readers can visit yours.
*post the rules on your blog
*Share 7 strange/weird facts about you on your blog
*Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog
*Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog…

So 7 random things about me…

1. I love water. I drink it all day long. I used to drink Ruby Red Squirt but stopped when I got preg (although every now and then I'll have one!). But now I hardly drink anything but water.

2. I've never broken a bone. Well, I'm pretty sure I broke my pinky toe when I was 15 but I tell people that and I look like a wuss!

3. I would love to give birth again! No, I don't plan on having anymore children but giving birth was such an amazing and fulfilling feeling. I just want to savor it! I think that's why I'm so passionate about natural childbirth.

4. I hate wearing socks and shoes. First thing I do when I come inside is take off my shoes and socks! Even if I'm cold, I'll layer on clothes but never put on some socks.

5. Our kid's middle names are family names. Colton James is after my dad, grandpa, poppa and brother. And Ellyana Violet is after Andrew's grandma. If Madison hadn't been so common that would have been Elly's name. It's my maiden name.

6. If I scrap 3 pages of Elly, I have to scrap 3 of Colton and visa versa! It must be even!!

7. I like my french toast, waffles and pancakes with butter, peanut butter and syrup. Andrew thinks it's the craziest thing ever but that's that way my grandma and grandpa ate it when we were little!!

Ok, I don't know 7 people who read my blog....how sad! So I'll tag....
Andrea
Rebecca
and anyone one else who wants to do it!!

Happy Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:39:00 +0000

How was your weekend? Ours was nice. Slow...we didn't do much at all. I had a WIC appt on Friday and Arlet stayed with her foster sister. Colton weighs 30 lbs and Ellyana weighs 16 lbs. And they are perfect...not that we didn't already know that, huh?! Saturday Kaili got a puppy (keep reading for more about that). Sunday we all just lazed around the house. Monday was Kaili's birthday and Andrew had to work. And today Arlet is here with the kids and me.

Here are some recent Layouts: (click for credits)
{capture}

I used a lightroom preset by Candice Wong (who's preset CT I'm on now!!!) for the photo in this one.
{new hair pretty}
{mohawk lady}

My new favorite LO!

{love}

Then some photos from the last couple days.

I made her this hair pretty! They are so fun to make. I can't wait till she has more hair so we can use clips! (all these are edited with Candice's presets as well)

And lastly, the puppy! Meet Charley. She's 1/4 Husky and 3/4 Australian Shepard and almost 10 weeks old. Colton's kinda scared of her if she's next to him but if he's on the couch then he's fine. Ellyana loves her! She's like a giant moving stuffed animal!

Ok, gotta run! Have a nice evening!

Playing Catch Up

noreply@blogger.com (Shawna Blankenship) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:13:00 +0000

Hope you had a great week. We did! Arlet had her first day with us on Tuesday. She did great. Her and Colton and best buds. On Wed. Ellyana woke up and was sick. I don't think she had the flu though. Her nose was runny and she's still working on that tooth. She slept a lot that day but was her normal happy self. Then Thur poor Arlet is sick. So she stayed home and went to the DR. She had a double ear infection, which caused her vomiting. Fri we all went to story time at the library. Boy that was crazy! Crazy good though. 3 children under 3! I get looks all the time with my two since I look much younger than I am and with 3 little ones people probably thought I was nuts!

Speaking of younger, my 23rd birthday was on Sat. Hard to believe I'm 23...that just sounds wrong! It was a nice birthday though. Andrew had to work but Colton and I made me a cake and when Andrew got home we lounged around and watched some movies. Then on Sunday we went to the mall and used the gift cards we had got for Christmas. It was a fun day. Just the 4 of us. We both got some pants, I got a new bra, Colton got a game, Andrew got some socks. I think Elly was the only one who didn't get something.

I was super excited though. My pants were on sale and they were a size THREE!!! YAY!! That's my pre Ellyana size. I still have 5 lbs to lose before I'm pre Colton weight but I figure that's in my chest...all that breastfeeding! Anyhow, here's a pic showing off my new pants!!!
Colton took that! He's become the little photographer lately.

Ok, how about some layouts?
{Crocodile Lake}

{Ellyana 8 months}

{Hat Like Elly}

{Mohawk Lady}

{Snow Run}

{Snow Princess}

{Sweet Dreams Ellyana}

{Those Lashes}

{Snow Girls}

Well, I better run! Have a great day!