Daily Venting amp; Exclamations

Poker, Fun Run, Auto Show, & a Beautiful Sunday

2012-01-29T20:57:00.000-06:00

We had a full & fun weekend! Friday night Michael hosted a poker tournament at the house & we had a big turnout. He didn't make it to the final round this time, but it was still a lot of fun and good visiting with friends and meeting a couple new ones. We were up till 2am...got 5 hours sleep and then were up at 7am to head out for Emma's first fun run! She did a great job, too - she never stopped. She ran the entire time and I was so proud of her!

She had a couple of friends running with her and she and Carlton stayed pretty close to one another throughout the race. I was able to get a video of both of them crossing the finish line. When she hit the last stretch Michael went to run along side her and cheer her on for the last little bit. When she saw me at the finish line she was excited and ran toward me instead of crossing the finish line first, so I had to get her back on track. LOL! (Excuse me screaming on the video!!)

I have to say, cheesy as it may sound I was tearing up watching my BIG girl go through this event. I was just overly proud of her! She was pretty proud, too I think!

After the run we came back and made a big b'fast for everyone and then my parents came over around lunch time and we headed out for a quick bite of lunch then hit up the auto show at Reliant. It was pretty cool and I found a few cars that I wouldn't mind taking for a test run!

You tell me - which should I choose!! Yellow, blue, or white - what's my color??

Ha ha - yeah right!! I wish!! These are lot more within our budget!!

Still fun to look at, though! Seriously, though I am looking to get a new car this year I think, but I just don't know what I want. I love, love, love my car (I drive a Charger) and it has plenty of room for the four of us, but I know as the kids get bigger and we start taking friends places and carrying around more stuff - it's just going to get too crowded. And I can still get a good price for my car right now - and maybe for about another year - so I figured if I'll be driving the next one for a while, might as well get rid of mine when I can still get something for it. We had a great time looking around at all the new car lines and even had some arts & craft and play time for the kids!

We made it back to our side of town in time for dinner so we stopped in at a local favorite Italian restaurant that my parents hadn't been to before & had an awesome dinner!

This morning we were up and at 'em again early for church - went out as a family for brunch after - then the boys went plant shopping and the girls headed out for manicures! Everything things days for Emma has to be in a pattern - so it was no surprise she picked pink and blue glitter polish and had it alternate pink on one finger and blue on the next! LOL - love her!!

The boys were home when we got back and were outside planting their finds already - so we spent the rest of the day outside in the front and back playing - sidewalk chalk, swinging, baseball, playing in the dirt, riding bikes, chasing Sable - you name it. It was just too beautiful a day to stay inside! Here is a quick iPhoneography update of our time playing! (And if you look closely, you can see Emma connecting to the ball - it's white and almost totally hidden by her bat!)

It's been a great weekend. Hard to believe it's January, though - I think I even got a little tan outside today - crazy!! The weekends are getting busy again and not too many weekends from now I've got a special boy's birthday party to put on! I cannot believe in less than one month my baby is going to be TWO!! They are both just growing up way too fast. I'd give anything to freeze them right where they are - I'd even live with changing diapers forever! Ha!

Kids are in bed dreaming already - now it's time for me to get myself ready for work again tomorrow. Thankful for two short work weeks coming up for me - though it really just means I've got to cram more work into the time I'm there. :) Glad I love my job!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend, too!! G'night!

Heading Home

2012-01-28T18:18:00.001-06:00

AutoShow was awesome! Closer to deciding what I'd like to get. Time to head back north again now!

So, what's happened since Friday...

2012-01-22T21:50:00.000-06:00

Life lately is so busy, I feel like I'm always playing catch up with my posts. I'm lucky to get two or three posts in a week these days. My apologies - I try my best to keep up with everyone, I hope you haven't forgot about me!

Friday I had an appointment with the eye doctor - loooong overdue. I don't wear contacts or glasses or anything, but for the last 6 years I've had a problem with my right eye. The inner white part of my eye will get very red and my eye becomes painful - this happens almost every 6 to 8 weeks it seems. I have a friend from HS who is an eye doctor and she told me a while back what she thought it could be and that I needed to get it checked out. Well, I did on Friday and she was right on the money. It's called Episcleritis and, while there are many things that could cause it, I fall in the idiopathic group of reasons that I'm getting it. While it's good that I don't have any of the numerous problems that cause it, it's a pain b/c it means basically I just have to live with it and treat the symptom. Ugh!

So, I got some steroid drops from the eye doctor and when it happens I just have to use the drops and wait till it's gone again - usually about three days.

Saturday morning Michael had to go to work, so we broke out one of Emma's b'day presents that hadn't been opened since she got it in December. Now, this is a fun toy that we've nearly worn out since we opened it! Might need some new batteries - and paint - very soon!! Love spinart!

We had a blast making all kinds of color combinations! Today we actually got into again and this time with Emma & Aaron's names - I'll have to remember to get pics of those tomorrow!

We spent the first part of the day cooking b'fast, working on laundry and playing then we got dressed and ready for the day so we could leave for the Monster Jam when daddy got home! We haven't been to see the Monster trucks since we've been married so it was definitely something new for the kids. We didn't tell them where we were going either - it was a surprise till the moment we walked on the stadium floor! We got pit passes so we could get up close and personal with all the trucks! I couldn't wait to see what they thought.

After Emma told us it was awesome and that she had always wanted to go see that!! Ha Ha! I love her! Aaron loved that it was all in the dirt - he would go up to see a truck and then want to start playing in the dirt - LOL - he's all boy! They both had a great time and I'm so glad b/c it really made for a super long day. As soon as we got about a mile down the road headed home they were both out cold and they didn't make a peep till Sunday morning when it was time to get dressed and head to church! We'll definitely go back! Here are a few shots from the event!

I love the expression on Aaron's face in this one! Right after Michael got him down we were told we couldn't do that - we could even get thrown out...so, of course, we didn't do it again, but saw lots of other little guys up on tires. We didn't chance it, though!!

They got to be part of the show by leaving their autographs on one of the crash cars!

and make cheers signs to hold up during the event...Emma took her coloring very seriously!

Emma got her own monster truck right on her arm, too! Can you tell who one of the sponsors were???

And, of course, what we came for - the high flying antics of the Monster Trucks! Grave Digger is always a crowd favorite and he didn't disappoint; however, one truck actually had a female driver and I think she did better than most of the guys!

Today we got up and went to church, had a meal out together and have been outside enjoy this weather most of the day! Our friends were outside while Michael was working in the yard so we pulled out the bikes and scooters and sidewalk chalk and had a good ole time! I cannot believe it's January and we were outside in short pants & barefoot with our shades on like it was Springtime - that's Houston weather, though. After we played outside we came in for dinner and to watch football - well, Michael was watching football and my babies were being so sweet sharing the Kindle and watching cartoons on Netflix - these moments make my heart skip a beat!

Love seeing this!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have a great week ahead!

Foto For Friday

2012-01-20T08:55:00.001-06:00

Some of my favorite moments are when I just sit back and watch my children play together...and hearing Emma & Aaron say "I love you" to one another at night or when they are saying good-bye! Makes my mommy heart skip a beat...or two!

iPhone View of our Weekend

2012-01-16T08:48:00.001-06:00

My babies spent Saturday night at my parents' house while Michael and I took a little road trip! While we were there Emma fixed us some yummy treats to munch on - the more sprinkles the better, right!?!?

Aaron waiting on those yummy treats to be ready!

Michael & I hit the road about two. Do you see what I see in this picture??

Yes!!! I see the beginnings of crows feet!!! What is up with that?? And I need to find the secret to make them stop & go into reverse - NOW!! :)

Here's the secret - don't smile as big - then my eyes won't squint & you won't see them! HA HA!

For his b'day Michael said he wanted to take an overnight trip to the casino. We haven't been in a while - well, I haven't been in about 4 or 5 years. Michael has taken a couple of boys only trips since then...so his cousin and his gf joined us this weekend and we hit the road to Louisiana!

Sunset on I-10 as we headed West!

I'm not a big gambler, but I do like to roll dice! This game is so much fun, but can also get frustrating!

And it's crazy, but I saw two friends from HS while we were there - now this wouldn't be a big deal except they were not there together and remember, I'm from a tiny little town. Chances would have been a lot higher had I gone to a big school with a lot of people! LOL! It was fun to chat a while and see what was new, though!!

Sunday morning we headed back home! HI TEXAS! Missed you!

We timed it so we'd make it to my parents' house in time to see the Texans kick off! My dad picked up fajitas for everyone and my sister, my niece and her daughter came over. The game didn't have a happy ending, but here's to a good season Texans!

It was a good weekend, but went by way too fast - as they usually do - but even faster with our quick round trip out of town. We had a blast, though. I hope you all had a great weekend, too!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2012-01-10T11:23:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was Michael's birthday! He and I had a date to celebrate last Saturday, then Sunday Emma helped me make a cake for him and last night we had it after dinner! She put sparkler candles on it for him - granted I don't think she had near enough - LOL!!! You can't see the sparkler effect from the picture, but it was exciting ;) and especially b/c they kept relighting each time they blew them out, which she & Aaron had to help daddy do! Yes, my son is shirtless! We were about to give him a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate glaze to dig into - no shirt would have survived! Ha ha!!!!

I'm no baker, but I have to say this cake was super delicious and yummy!!!! I had to have another bite before I went to bed and let me tell you it gave me sweet dreams!( LOL - I crack myself up!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

We love you sooooo much!!!

iPhoneography

2012-01-06T08:11:00.004-06:00

This time of year it's so beautiful outside, especially in East Texas with all the trees. You could spend all day just driving down back roads and looking at all the beautiful colors! I took a few pictures with my phone this weekend, so I thought I would post an iPhoneography edition of our time in the country.

This is the drive down to my sister's place there...I love all the leaves on the ground with the red and gold colors nearly overtaking the entire road.

I took the kids to play at my old HS - it isn't a HS anymore actually b/c they have since built a new one. This is the same one my Grannie, who is 97, attended. It's a little old! It's a little eerie to be there when it's deserted sometimes, too. I keep thinking someone is peeking through the blinds at us! LOL

More beautiful red leaves...

Emma & Aaron on Safari at the lake. The sky was pretty overcast the day we had our picnic & adventure at the lake. There was still plenty to see, though & the kids had a great time.

They love being outside and Aaron loved getting dirty!! He's such a boy...

Exploring!!!

Frank had to return to Santa

2012-01-04T08:00:00.003-06:00

With all the running around these last couple weeks I forgot to post about Frank's last adventures in our home! Frank returned to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, but ya never know - he may pop in on us from time to time just to make sure that Emma & Aaron are still behaving!

Frank's last week with us he caught up on his reading...

He decided Emma's Gingerbread House just looked too delicious & sampled the chimney...

He led a toy parade through the house...

He tried to roast marshmallows, but didn't have much luck with a battery powered tea light...

One night he tried to go incognito & hide out in my tree...

Wednesday night before Christmas Emma stayed with my parents & I think Frank missed her. He had a slumber party in her room while she was gone...

The next night I think he was a little tired from all the running around & simple found a high place to watch everyone...

And on the last night he went through all our Christmas cards from family and friends...I think he was a little sad to be leaving...

He did help us put out cookies & milk for Santa before he left, though and I think he may have sampled some, too!!

Frank was a welcome guest in our home this year & Emma's already asking when he is coming back to visit...I can't wait to see what antics he'll have for us next time!

It's a New Year

2012-01-03T14:00:00.000-06:00

It is really hard to believe that it's 2012 already - I know everyone says that! But it is true I guess! And that means that Aaron is about to be 2 years old...next month!!! Wow! Time really is moving by quickly.

We had a great New Year's weekend. It was pretty low key, but lots of family time and lots of mommy-kiddos time, too! Saturday while daddy was out playing with the guys I took the kids to the lake to have a picnic - just the three of us! We stayed out there for a long time and walked all over the place. Emma said we were on Safari! LOL! I love her imagination!

After our picnic lunch and some great exploring I took them by my old school to show them (well, really to show Emma b/c Aaron is too young to understand) where mommy went to school when she was young. Emma had all kinds of questions about my teachers and who my friends were - then she asked me if we had centers! Ha ha! One of the gates were open so we trespassed and went out to one of the playgrounds. We played there for a long time, too. After all this we were all pretty filthy. Me, mostly due to Aaron. Every time I would wipe dirt and sand off him it would end up all over me!! It was alright, though b/c we had a great time!

The weather was perfect & they had a great time with all their cousins and aunts & uncles - we rode the mules and took a hayride and built four huge bonfires. Two Friday night and two Saturday night. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, shot fireworks, rolled in the leaves...all the fun stuff you get to do in the country! They were both pretty worn out by the time midnight rolled around, so they didn't get to ring in the New Year with mom & dad, but I don't think they minded! :)

Today is now their first day apart after being on vacation and with one another all day long for nearly two weeks. I think Aaron is really going to miss Emma today. He was pretty excited to see his babysitter this morning and Cocoa - the puppy - so maybe he'll be too busy to miss her too much! I, however, miss them both dearly!

First Haircuts & a Look at our Christmas(es)

2011-12-28T10:48:00.000-06:00

It's funny to say that my five year old daughter and 21 month old son got their first hair cuts in the same week! Emma has very long, beautiful hair and we finally went yesterday for her first haircut - just a trim, though to clean up her ends! Aaron has beautiful curls and I've been dodging my husband's insistence for about a year to cut it! I just loved his curls, even though it was wild! But I finally gave in and took him for his first haircut last Thursday. I didn't cut it extremely short - just gave him a regular little boy's haircut.

They were both so good the whole time, too! I think Aaron might not have been so still had they used clippers on him, though!

I still have lots of pictures from Christmas to go through and upload, but wanted to share this family shot...and a couple others from all our celebrating!

And Aaron checking out his new train set - which he loves! He wasn't quite awake yet!

Emma got a new bike from Santa - the very one she asked for, imagine that! Santa is pretty good!

We've had a great Christmas, but it still isn't over actually! We still have more festivities tomorrow at my sister's house! We started the Wednesday before Christmas with my parents - they had been keeping Aaron for a couple days while my babysitter was on vacation so when we picked him up we exchanged gifts with them. Then we celebrated with Michael's parents on Christmas Eve and had a surprise visit from Santa!!! (My two still aren't real sure how they feel about Santa in person)

Aaron & his cutie cousin chilling - I think he is eyeing her baby doll! (I though this was too cute! LOL)

Then Christmas Day my parents came over for lunch and that evening we went to Michael's grandparents' house. The day after Christmas we went next door to celebrate with friends...our friends that moved to Colorado are in town this week so it was great to see them and their new baby girl, too!

We always have a lot of fun when we get together!

Today I have to make a big pot of deer chili to take to my sister's house tomorrow. I've been catching up on laundry this week while I'm off and getting my kitchen back in order, but otherwise we (me and the kiddos) are having a true staycation! Enjoying some chill time and not much else!

Merry Christmas from The Kubeczka's

2011-12-25T01:00:00.001-06:00

Oh Christmas Tree!!

2011-12-18T16:48:00.000-06:00

I realized I hadn't shared a picture of our Christmas tree this year after reading Casey's post about taking twinkling pics of her pretty tree. So I decided to capture some pretty twinkling lights to share, too of our tree. Thanks for the quick lesson Casey!

The two Christmas trees Emma and I made out of a magazine and an old book are under our tree this year along with a ceramic train Teta gave us - Aaron loves trains so I constantly have to tell him this one isn't to play with!!

I love all the new colors we have on our tree...the only thing I'm missing is a matching tree topper. I just made a bow with some of the hot pink ribbon this year, but I am on the search for a real tree topper that matches for next year. My gold angel just doesn't match now with the fuchsia, chartreuse, bright blues and hot pinks we have now.

The red initial ornaments we bought for Emma and Aaron don't really go with those colors either, but that's alright - they'll be on our tree every year along with the growing collection of homemade ornaments that Emma has been making. Maybe one day the homemade ornaments can get a tree of their own if we get enough of them over the years!

The Adventures of Frank Continue

2011-12-16T10:06:00.000-06:00

Recently my days are so incredibly full that I have not had a free minute...well, not many anyway. And sadly, my blog has been feeling neglected. Unfortunately, I don't see it letting up any time soon, but I will try my best to keep up the post on Frank's adventures and hopefully share a little of our Christmas with you in the future. I'm sure you all understand b/c you're probably all in the same situation! I am so far behind on reading everyone's blogs, too that I know I am missing out on so much.

So, here are Frank's latest escapades in our home. He's been leaving the girls alone this week, but he has made a couple of messes for me to clean up. He used his artistic license and marked up some pictures of my babies - gave them both Santa hats, put a mustache on Aaron, and a bed nose on Emma! He went horseback riding & hung out with a deer! I guess he thought it was a reindeer, but it was actually a whitetail! He got into the cereal again, but this time it had a little shout out to my babies! He took a ride on the Orient Express at Teta & Geddo's house (he followed the kids there when they spent the night) and made a mess of the wrapping paper b/c he wanted to make snow flakes! And I guess one night he was all wiped out b/c we found him napping with Emma's pillow & blanket one morning! He's such a silly Elf!

So tomorrow we're decorating Gingerbread Houses at my sister's - we do this every year and it's such a blast! But dare I say this year, that I just hope Frank doesn't get hungry and take to the eating the candy from Emma & Aaron's creations. He does like to eat!

The Adventures of "Old Blue Eyes"

2011-12-09T12:58:00.000-06:00

We have an elf living in our house. His name is Frank!

He came to live with us about a week ago & quickly became like part of the family! He also got very comfortable pretty quickly with Barbie & Tink! They went joy riding one night and another night I guess they got hungry b/c they ate up ALL of Emma & Aaron's colorful cereal...

He has some some "guy time" with Ken playing cards & eating up all the candy!!

I wonder who won!!!

Then we decided to send Emma's Christmas list to Santa via Frank...and what do you know, Santa wrote her back. And he asked her to write him again with Aaron's list, too!When Frank came back with that letter he got a little artistic, too! I guess b/c Santa drew pictures on Emma's letter it got Frank inspired!

I guess after all his playing around he decided he needed to pay better attention to Emma & Aaron so one night he found a perch way up high to get a good look!

Can you spot him in this blurry pic!?!?

This morning, though we found he tried to make a snack during the night - he needs some lessons, though b/c everyone knows you can't saute candy!! Can you????

Frank is a crazy little guy! Who knows what he'll do next! I'll keep tabs on him and share his adventures!!

I Cannot Believe My Baby Girl is FIVE!!

2011-12-04T21:42:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was my big girl's fifth birthday! It's still doesn't seem real! Today at church she told everyone she saw - "I'm five now, yesterday was my birthday!!" I think she was a little excited! We had a great party for her birthday - technically I guess she had two, though. We started off Saturday morning with the Children's Christmas Party that my company puts on every year. It's always great and the kids get a picture with Santa. Usually it's Emma in tears, but this year it was Aaron...I thought it was still a cute picture! This is just a phone pic of the real picture - I'll have to scan it later.

We were at the Children's part from about 10:00 that morning till noon - then we had to get Emma's Cupcake Cake and run a couple errands before heading off to her party. We were missing about 5 kiddos for various reasons, but still had a fun party crowd! This was the first year we didn't have her party at home and I have to say it was wonderful! I didn't lift a finger for this party except to buy the cake and they could have done that for me, too if I had wanted - but we let Emma pick out her own cake instead. And Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake Cake was her choice. Okay - have you ever bought a cupcake cake??? OhEmGee - there is a LOT of icing on those cakes! LOL! I don't think the kids minded, though. It was super yummy I have to admit!

I'm not sure why, but I didn't eat during the party when everyone else did - I guess too busy partying! And since I hadn't eaten much all day to begin with I had a bad migraine by the end of the party. Towards the end I told Michael I had to get something to eat and some Coke and I did start to feel a little better. Last thing I wanted was to be sick on my girl's big day. I always try to take a Rocking Chair Birthday picture on the day of their birthday, but since I wasn't feeling well I didn't get it until today. I don't think one day made that much difference, though - ya think??? Though I realized after I started looking at the pictures and Emma was already in bed that I forgot to take one of her holding up her fingers to show her age - that's what we've always done in the past. So, sadly I might have to take more Rocking Chair Birthday pictures tomorrow - two whole days after her actual birthday - man I'm slacking!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!
WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH - DADDY, MOMMY & AARON!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T17:04:00.002-06:00

Gobble! Gobble! Turkey Day Performance

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday my mom & I had lunch with Emma at her Day Care. Before lunch they performed for us. The girls were all Pilgrims & the boys Indians. They were so cute!! Here's our little pilgrim after they sang for us. She thought it was funny that mommy should wear her hat - thankfully we didn't get a picture of that, though!

Enjoy the performance!

(That's Emma on the far right in the pink polo & denim shorts!)

Time? Time? Who's got the time???

2011-11-21T10:58:00.000-06:00

I feel like the White Haired Rabbit these days. Work has taken off and I don't have a free moment during the day, then when I get home it's more of the same - cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen/house, playing with the kids - when they finally go to bed is when I work on the laundry and when I do get a free moment I find myself just wanting to sit and relax. I'm not complaining...and I know everyone else has the same thing going on. Especially now that the holidays are upon us! Can you believe there are people in my neighborhood with Christmas lights up already and I have friends who have already put up their Christmas trees. It just does not seem possible!

Today my mother & I are meeting Emma for lunch - we are having Turkey Dinner with her class & they are doing their Thanksgiving program for us. It's really just a couple of songs, but I love to see it and love to see Emma's excited little face to be performing for us! I can't wait!

And b/c I mentioned in my last post, which seems like so long ago, that I would share a few of the pics I did for my nieces, here are a couple of my favorites!!

We had such a good time shooting these & the guys were such good sports!! And it was such nice weather outside, too!

A Week Unplugged...

2011-11-14T10:02:00.001-06:00

I've been off work & offline for the last week...and it's been so great!!! I haven't been totally disconnected - I've tweeted/FB'd a bit, but I haven't read up much on anything or shared much at all - only what I could do via my iPhone on the run b/c that's what I was doing all week long. I had to come in one day for a meeting at work, doctors appointments, attending a rosary, a viewing & funeral, had to have someone come out twice to fix my AC, a baby shower, a Masquerade dinner, a party and various other errands going on this week. I did manage to get some shopping done this week, but very little. I also took engagement pictures for one niece & couple portraits for another niece (sisters), but I'll share those in another post later! I didn't even get on the computer to edit them except for one day - I made it through about half of them!

We got to spend some time this week with my Grannie, too. She's been staying with my parents, but I think in about a month she might go back to her house...she is 97 years old & still lives on her own!!!!

And got to get all dressed up for a Masquerade Dinner that was so so so much fun! That's me in the red mask and Elaine, my BFF, in the blue. This was our first time to attend, but our friend Kymberlie hosts this dinner every year downtown and it was so much fun! And it was great to get to hang out with friends I hadn't seen in a very long time!

Though it was very busy, it was also a very fun and productive week for me! Now it's back to work and back to a regular routine. And it was nice to be semi-unplugged, too. We tried to set a weekly unplugged night at home before, but we haven't stuck to it. I don't normally make NY's resolutions, but maybe that's one we can try again as a family - we just said nothing electronic or internet ready unless it's the Wii and we're all playing a game together. We'll have to see if we can start that up again...see how long it will last! LOL

It's November already...and a Post-It Note Day

2011-11-01T10:44:00.002-05:00

Here is a quick pic of my babies after their night of Trick-or-Treating! They were pooped and needless to say passed smooth out not too long after I snapped this picture!

My Jesse & Chicken Little were so cute...and this morning when she got up Emma told me, "Mommy, I had soooo much fun last night!!!" That's what it's all about, right??? I just love them to the moon & back!

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!!

Holiday Card Winners

2011-10-31T09:33:00.000-05:00

And CONGRATULATIONS to the three winners of the Holiday Card Giveaway!

Traci

Shutterfly Addict

The Copelin's!!

Please be on the lookout in your inbox for an email from me!

Backyard Frolicking

2011-10-23T22:26:00.001-05:00

We had a good low-key weekend...lots of family time & play time and Saturday I sat around in the grass at my parents' house to capture some of that fun! I love taking pictures of my babies, but every time I look at pictures of Emma she looks so grown - it's tugs on my heart strings so much b/c I wish I could keep her my baby forever. She is going to be 5 in a very short time and it kills me. And Aaron just slays me with those beautiful, blue eyes - I mean that's a face that will melt a mother's heart!

We also got to spend some time with my Grannie. She is staying with my parents for a little while & it's nice to have her close by! Emma & Aaron just love their Grannie as much as I do & I'm so thankful she is still with us at 97 to know my babies. It's such a blessing...

It was a nice weekend and I think we were outside for most of it. Today I actually took a little "me" time and took a walk around a local historic district near our house - I didn't know before I went, but the Pet Fest was this weekend and there were animals everywhere! I wished Aaron had been with me - he loves animals like no kid I've seen before. I think he would have been trying to hug on them all - ha ha!! I saw more dogs in strollers than I saw kids in strollers. It was a site. I even saw a little pooch that looked exactly like our Sable!

It was a great afternoon and a good weekend! Another work week is upon us now and I hope you're all ready...I know it's gonna be a busy one.

It's almost time to pull out that address book...

2011-10-21T14:48:00.002-05:00

Can you believe that it's almost Christmas time again?? Okay, yes I know we have to get through Halloween & then Thanksgiving, but that's going to happen so fast and then Christmas will be here...that means my baby girl is going to be 5 before I know it, too! EEEKKK! I'm not ready for that!

So, with Christmas time comes Christmas cards, too. I never sent out Christmas cards until Emma was born & the first one we sent was actually also her birth announcement! I loved it! The next few years I made other cards featuring my little sweetie and then last year she had to share that spotlight with her baby brother - though, I don't think she minded. I actually went with Shutterfly last year for our Christmas cards and they came out so great - don't you think so!?!?

This year it's going to be harder to find/take a good picture of them together b/c it's so hard to get them both to hold still, but Shutterfly has a lot of great layouts for Christmas cards with multiple pictures, too so they'll just each have to have their own space on our card! They actually have a great selection for all types of cards!

Are you a blogger, too? Shutterfly has a great offer for bloggers. You can register here for a chance to win 25 free cards this holiday season! Shutterfly has also given me promotion codes to share with three of my readers for 25 free cards!

If you aren't a blogger, but you would like a chance to win one of the promo codes leave a comment here & I'll use random.org to pick three winners! Tweet the giveaway or share it on Facebook for additional chances to win! Just leave a comment every time you tweet or share it on facebook with a link back for an additional entry! I'll choose the winner on Halloween!! (Be sure to leave your email so I'll be able to contact you when you win.)

Wow, this week is flying by...

2011-10-20T11:28:00.000-05:00

I just realized that it's already Thursday! I have literally had my head down & buried all week!! Which is good for making the weekend get here faster I guess! Things are changing at work a little & I have some new roles added to my plate, hence the busy days. I like it, though and am excited for the changes.

That being said - I quickly wanted to share a couple pics of my loves with the few free moments I have!

This was another pic from the Pumpkin Patch - Aaron was watching the little pig & crawling up over the rails every chance he got to pet the little guy. I swear, I've never seen a kid that loves all animals so much & so far has no fear of any of them! I hope that is something that stays with him!

(I think with this b&w I may try out Jamie's DIY canvas technique!)

And my darling, sweet girl! We had gymnastics last night & she is really enjoying it more and more each week and really improving. She's had so much trouble doing her kick over, but I think she's almost got it down & last night after class that's all she talked about! "Did you see me mommy - I did it all by myself!" She is so proud & I love that! Oh - and on the way there she informed me that she has changed her name. To what you might ask - well, Pollywogalina, of course!!! Apparently they the Froggy book in class where Froggy gets a little sister named Pollywogalina, so Emma decided that would be her name, too. Ha ha! I just love her!!!

I hope your week is going by as fast as mine!!

Have a great Thursday!

The update on our busy weekend...

2011-10-17T10:53:00.004-05:00

This weekend flew by, like they all do when you're having fun!

Friday night was pretty low key - we had a family dinner out & then just hung out together.

Saturday we got up early and had plans to go one direction, but ended up in another! Those are usually the best days - when you don't really know what you are gonna do & end up having the best time! We took the kids to an awesome Pumpkin Patch near the house. This is the same one we went to last year, though this year Aaron was big enough to keep up with his sister & enjoy all the animals! That boy just loves animals, too - he wants to touch them and hug them and, if he can, ride them!

An animal handler came out with this little guy - Creature the Aardvark. Apparently the owner is a Harry Potter fan that named him Creature!

Aaron loved him and even followed him back to his cage. He is about 20lbs I think and they said he'll get up to 150lbs! Whoa - glad we got to meet him when he was a baby!!!

We also got up close & personal with the camels - watch out, they spit (but luckily, not on us)!! "Well, Hello there!!"

Emma was more interested in the artistic events - there were all kinds of crafts! She had her face painted, made a bird feeder and painted a pumpkin! Aaron painted one, too but when fingers coated in paint went in his mouth daddy took him elsewhere to play while Emma finished her masterpiece! You can see in the middle picture her taking time to figure out what her pumpkin needed - she was very careful in her choices of color & glitter! LOL

We also picked out our pumpkins to take home & eventually carve. Daddy is in charge of that activity...cleaning up the mess, too! Ha ha! We planned to go on their hayride, too but both kids were getting pretty tired and I figured would just fall asleep on the hayride so we headed home...and sure enough their eyes were closing before we made it to the house. Aaron went straight to bed & took a long nap!!

I realized I used the same picture of Emma getting her face painted in both storyboards, but that's alright - you can enjoy her cute little face twice!! Here are a few more pics from our trip to the pumpkin patch!

After we made it home I got dinner going for us & rested a bit myself b/c I had a girls' night out planned - that's a story for another post!! We had a great time out, though & daddy took the kids out for ice cream so they had a blast, too! Sunday morning we got up for church, though it wasn't easy b/c we were up late Saturday night - actually, the girls made it to church!! When we came home I found Aaron & Michael propped up in the bed watching cartoons & eating cereal - it was actually a very cute site!!

Then we were off to Jacob's b'day party, where the kids had such a blast & really wore themselves out - yay for jumping place birthday parties! Ha ha!

Emma & the birthday boy:

The daddies checking football scores:

The party theme was Cars & super cute - great job Jamie, as always!!

And after all that we went out with my two nieces and one their fiances for dinner & Tutti Frutti that evening after we made it home - so both of my kiddos slept very good last night and so did I for that matter!

*Daily Venting amp; Exclamations*