Ooey Gooey Brownies

I made these brownies last night for my husband to take to work (today is his birthday :o) ). I typically am not a fan of brownies, but I have to admit that these were AWESOME! I found the recipe on Allrecipes, and adjusted a little to account for not having enough eggs on hand. Soooo good! And definitely ooey and gooey all at the same time. ;o)

1 cup butter, melted
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 eggs

3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

2. Combine melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, beat in mayo after eggs are all in. Blend thoroughly.

3. Dump flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a separate bowl, and mix together well with a fork. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended.

4. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.

5. Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

I did the blending with my hand mixer and stirring by hand, but in hind sight the kitchen-aid mixer would have made things so much easier (mine has a stir setting). The batter gets a little hard to stir once all of the flour mixture is added.

Enjoy!

We've been Elfed!!

Yes, it's that time of year again, and the family (including Luke, one of our cats!) has gotten into the spirit with a little elven fun. Click HERE to view the show. It might take a few minutes to load, but is well worth it! Be sure to have your speakers on. :o)Merry Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho!

Well, we tried to get a picture with Santa the other day, but no such luck. Henry was fine with it, loved pointing out the snowmen, the bears (all decorations along the long walk to the big guy). He even liked Santa....until he moved. It was all downhill from there! They did get one picture, but it looked kind of like one of those you see on the Ellen show (you know, the "worst Christmas pictures ever"). So, needless to say, I passed. On the way home I thought I should have bought one just to send to the show. LOL! I bet we totally could have gotten on!



So, for now, all we have is this one from last year. I just love this pic. I remember backing him up to Santa that day so he couldn't see where he was going and wouldn't cry. Santa complimented me on it afterwards. ;o)

The only good news is that I didn't make the drive just for that. We were at the mall doing some Christmas shopping, and there was no line, so I took a chance. We might still head to the FDL or Mayfair mall this season, so maybe there is still hope.... but I'm not counting on it!

Nineteen Minutes

by Jodi Picoult

Another fabulous book by my newest favorite author! Nineteen Minutes revolves around a typical high school in the US and the bullying that is present within it. One student can't take any more and retaliates in the form of a school shooting, killing ten students and leaving even more injured. As someone who was bullied in school, this book was really an eye opener for me to the fact that to some degree it happened to everyone (contrary to my belief at the time that I was the only target, though the things that happened to me were no where near as severe as what was happening to the main character of this story). I think this would be a great book for everyone to read, especially students and educators.

I just visited the authors website and it looks like they have made this into a movie (there is a trailer available on the site but I can't view it for some reason). They are also beginning filming on My Sister's Keeper (review a few posts ago) starring Dakota Fanning and Cameron Diaz. Although I don't think the movies are ever as good as the books are, I'm still looking forward to seeing them!

I'm currently reading The Guy Not Taken by another favorite author - Jennifer Weiner. Look for a review in a week or two!

Henry's First Haircut

Here is a picture that was taken by the stylist who did Henry's first hair cut (after she was finished). It's kind of hard to see any difference, isn't it?! The biggest impact was the removal of his baby mullet. ;o) He really hasn't grown too much hair on top in his 16 mos! I thought I'd share the picture anyhow though...

An uneventful month... sort of

A friend of mine reminded me recently that it has been over ten days since I've updated my blog, so I thought I'd come out and post to let you all know that we are still alive and doing well... Just haven't been doing a whole lot to warrant posting this month. We did attend the holiday parade last weekend, and Henry had his first hair cut the same day but I don't have any photos of either event to share. Hair cut photo's will come eventually, but we're still waiting on those.


Last weekend I had my first Stampin' Up! workshop outside of my home - I've done a few here, but never any where else. I was terrified that I would forget half of my stuff, but thankfully I did not. The ladies seemed to like the cards we did. I'll have to get pictures posted of those soon too! So much to do and not enough time in the day to do it.


I've been spending my free time working on the jigsaw puzzle from hell (I'm pretty sure that's the title - argh), and trying to read Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes. It's such a good book, but I get into my puzzle and before I know it, it's bedtime. OH - and did you know there is a new book out called Rhett Butler's People? I know I'm getting it for Christmas and I can't wait! I just loved the GWTW story, and the sequel Scarlett (by a different author).


Tomorrow night my Mom and I are going to see the musical White Christmas. I'm really looking forward to that, as the movie is my favorite movie of all time. When I was very young, my Aunt and Uncle sent me a copy of the movie on VHS that they had recorded from the television and I watched that thing over and over and over on the weekends. Literally, I would play the movie, watch it, rewind it, and play it again about three times per day. I used to spend the weekends at my grandparents, and it got to the point that when I went to put the movie in one fateful time (after easily 300 total viewings) my grandpa said something to the effect of, "if you put that g*d d*mn movie in one more time..." Well, you get the picture. ;o) Apparently every man has a Bing Crosby breaking point and I had found his. Over the last 25 years I'd guesstimate that I've seen the show at least 500 times, and no I'm not exaggerating! I know almost the entire movie by heart. I'm hoping the play is just as good!


Next week is also Thanksgiving. We will be spending the day with my Mom and Grandma and watching the Packers (hopefully) beat the Lions to further their division lead. *fingers crossed*


That's about all of the excitement we have! Like I said, it's not much for blog fodder!

An Apple A Day

Little Henry has entered the "I want that!" phase. Meaning, whenever I am snacking, he wants to try it no matter what it is (needless to say my snacking habits have changed dramatically!). This time it was an apple. I wouldn't have given in on this one, but it was very soft and easy to chew (almost "over the hill") so I let him try it. HE LOVED IT! I guess it's not all that surprising because he loves his applesauce (gerber, motts, home made, whatever!).

Life is going well for us, nothing really new to report there. Henry has his first hair cut this weekend, so I'll have to post pics of that later. It's late in the day on Saturday, so who knows how cooperative he'll be for that! The little one in my tummy is constantly perfecting his/her swift kick to the ribs - a treat I rarely experienced with Henry. The kitties are driving us crazy being super cuddly now that it is colder. That's about it! My next OB check up is Friday, I believe that makes 18 weeks? I'm honestly not sure! I don't think there will be anything new to report on that front until we have the ultrasound (which may now be postponed until after the first of the year for insurance purposes, but we'll see).

Keep warm and take care!

My Favorite Puppy

Here is Henry in this year's halloween costume. I decided to make his costume this year, but it's nothing big. Just some felt glued to a white hoodie over some matching sweatpants with a little eye shadow on his nose for good measure! :)

Since Henry really doesn't have any concept of halloween yet, we decided to skip trick or treating this year in favor of visiting Henry's godparents (Julie, Ryan, and their son Caden) and grandmas. Here is a pic of Henry and Caden (a.k.a. Tigger). Henry is 16 mos old, Caden is roughly 9 1/2 mos old.

And finally, here is one more pic from our vacation. We went to a restaurant in Opry Mills (similar to Gurnee Mills for those from this area, but in Nashville) called Johnny Rocket's. It was a fun 50's diner themed restaurant, similar to Ed Debevic's, but with friendly waitstaff. :o) LOL! (For those who don't know, the staff at Ed's are paid to be rude to the customers... I know it's hard to believe, but it's kind of the whole reason you go there!) They even took a dance break for us! Anyhow, they gave him one of their paper caps. I thought the pic was too cute and had to share!

Home Again!

Well, we're home again! For those who were unaware, Henry and I recently joined my Mom and Grandma on a 1875 mile road trip to visit relatives in Tennessee. We left Sunday the 21st, and stayed that first night in Indianapolis. Monday we stopped in Lexington to have lunch with my SCS friend Karen (SCS: Jusgottastamp) and then continued on to TN, and we stayed with relatives until Thursday morning. We spent two days in Pigeon Forge, one day shopping and one day visiting Dollywood, which was awesome. My only regret is that we didn't go a few weeks later so that we could see their Christmas decorations and shows! Thursday we headed for Nashville, and also spent some time shopping in the old town of Metamora, IN on the way home (it was a little out of the way, but still worth the detour). We returned home yesterday, the 27th. It was a rainy trip, but other than that it was very nice.

Henry was a trooper throughout and barely fussed at all (only twice, and both times after having sat in the car seat through 6+ hours of driving!). He stuck to his normal sleep schedule while we were away, but his naps were much shorter. He's been sleeping like crazy since we got home to make up for it! :o)

Here are some pictures from our trip. This is Henry playing with his first box of animal crackers. His Aunt Jeannie bought them for him as a surprise treat!

These two are of the family at Dollywood. The first is of Mom, Aunt Jeannie, Grandma, Henry, and me and my Mom and Uncle Leon swap places for the second picture. Pay no attention to my footwear :o) I'm dealing with bursitis and tendonitis on my feet, so these are basically the only shoes I could wear all week! You can even see the baby bump if you look closely!

Soooo Sleepy!

These were taken a week or two ago on different nights (obviously!). I couldn't help myself - he was just too stinkin' cute with his rump in the air and then with his Tigger! And I thought these posts were fitting for today because I am beat! Henry and I are joining my Mom and Grandma for a week long vacation in a few days, and I have been running around like crazy trying to get everything packed and ready to go for the trip. I think I'm on top of it, but that will probably be my downfall in the end!

As for the pregnancy, all is well. We've been able to hear the heartbeat and everything is going well so far. I've been having some problems with my feet (bursitis in one, tendonitis in the other) and the Dr. seems to think it's partially due to the pregnancy, so I'll have that to look forward to for the next five months. Woo hoo! (Do you sense the dripping sarcasm?!)

I've had a few cravings.... mostly the roast beef sandwich from Friar Tuck's, but more recently plain Lay's potato chips (not Ruffles, mind you) with French Onion dip. I've been indulging on that one this week, but that will come to an end soon. I can't keep eating that garbage or I'll balloon! So far I've only gained three pounds (was up to six, but lost three and it has stayed off for about a month now). It's the same as it was with Henry. With him I ended up leaving the hospital weighing less than when I walked in. And no, it's not something I'm trying to do - it just happens that way for some reason.

So, that's our life in a nutshell! Thanks for reading! :)

Time With You

My sister, God love her, is not fond of floral or nature images. She likes stuff that is a little more "cutesy". I, on the other hand, tend to gravitate toward the flowers and nature stamps! So, making her birthday card was a bit of a challenge. Thankfully I received some images of this Time With You set from the Wish-RAK forum on Splitcoast. This is one of those sets that I regret not buying before it retired... Don't we all have one (or more) of those?!

My "Little Farmer"

Yeah right... :o) Put him down in a pumpkin patch and all he does is cringe and worry about the grass getting between his toes, then plops down on his bottom! Apparently we need to spend more time outdoors barefoot (shhh... don't tell great-grandma!)! We went to an Apple Orchard/Pumpkin Patch (called "The Little Farmer", hence the title of this post!) on the other side of the lake on Saturday. Henry loved to watch the goats in the petting zoo, and all the people milling about but didn't really know what to make of things when I took him out of the stroller (that's my boy!). We found the perfect pumpkin, and a few halloween decorations and called it a day. Grandma picked up a 1/2 peck of apples so she could make pies this fall (yummm!) and I think we'll head back again before the season is over to get some for ourselves to make homemade applesauce. Darrin wasn't feeling well and wasn't able to go with us this time so maybe we'll make a second trip for his sake.

Here are some pictures from the day:

It's That Time of Year Again!

I can't even believe it is October already! Since I don't have a pic of this year's costume yet, I thought I'd share my favorite picture from last year of my little pumpkin. :) We bought this costume at Toys 'R Us, and had to cut a slit in the back of the hat to get it to fit right. Did I mention my son is over the 100th percentile for the size of his head? Must take after his Grandpa Gene and Uncle Don. :) Poor kid. lol - just kidding.

This year I am going to attempt to make Henry's costume. I'll post it whether it's good, bad, or ugly but it will probably be a week or two. He's going to be a puppy dog, white and brown to match my Mom's cocker spaniel Katie. I bought a white hoodie sweatshirt and am going to sew brown ears and spots on it and then pair it with some brown sweats. Darrin suggested that I make the costume because his Mom used to make all of his, and he was always so proud that he was wearing something his Mom made (awwww!).

Today I was drawing a pattern for the ears on paper and showed it to him to see what he thought of the shape. He said, "I think you should get Ryan to do it." Ryan would be Henry's godfather, and an art teacher. I think I get the hint. ;o) But I kept working at it, and finally came up with one all by myself (so there!) that looks cute. Now I just have to get my felt cut and start assembling!

Bella's on Parade!

Who doesn't love these sweet Bella images?! I just had a few pass over my stamping desk and had to share them with you! For those who haven't been blessed by the Bella bug yet, she is available online through http://www.stampingbella.com/ (which reminds me, that really should be linked in my Websites Worth Visiting!).... and there are dozens of images to choose from. My personal favorite is Rockabella, but I just noticed the new Witchybella and may just have to place another order soon!

Oh - and just in case any of you reading are like me and sometimes neglect to read the fine print, the stamps come unmounted. Be sure to purchase some acrylic blocks on the site to go with them if you don't have any at home already!

Here are some samples...

This Craveabella card I received from my friend Lesley in Indiana (SCS: Hoosierstamper), as a pregnancy congrats card. I LOVE the ribbon (which she tells me is from last years SU winter mini), and the image itself couldn't be more perfect. I'm all about the ice cream these days! :)

This Cosmobella card is from Lorie in Washington (SCS: Momtokjs) as a thank you/congrats for participating in and winning the contest for her Halloween swap. What a fun surprise to get along with all the other goodies!

I made this Rockabella card myself for the secret sister I had in the Spring round on SCS. I coated her pants with glue and navy blue glitter for a fun effect and used SU's "Jazz" wheel for the background. The little charm reads "Glamour Girl".

And finally, this Pregabella card! I also made this one, for a mom-to-be at a baby shower this past weekend. I was going to make a bunch of them to send out to family and friends announcing the pregnancy, but didn't (1) because I lazed out and (2) because I was afraid people would get it and think I was expecting a gift or card or something in return (which sooo wasn't the case).

My Sister's Keeper

by Jodi Picoult

I thought maybe I'd add "book reviews" to the list of things you'll find on my blog! :) I just finished this last night, and have to say it was fantastic. As noted on the author's official website (click her name above for the link), a brief synopsis of the book is as follows:

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less?

First of all, I would not recommend this book for anyone who is pregnant and over emotional. I seriously cried through the whole book! Picoult is one of my favorite author's to begin with, but I have to say she did an amazing job of crafting each character and the family as a whole so that you the reader will feel like you are genuinely a part of it all. Definitely check it out! And while you're at it, look up some of her other books too. So far I've read The Pact (about a suicide pact between two teens), Plain Truth (the one that started it all for me - about a scandal in an Amish community), and this one. I also have her Nineteen Minutes here on loan from a girlfriend and can't wait to start that one soon!

Big News!

Hi friends!
I'm so excited to finally be able to tell all of you that I'M PREGNANT! Woo hoo! I am approximately thirteen weeks along, and so far all is well. This pregnancy is just as uneventful as my first was, and I'd be happy if we could keep it that way as long as possible! Now, to answer some of the pressing questions I know you all have on your mind (yeah, right!).

The due date... is April 6, 2008, but because of the complications we had with Henry I will most likely have a scheduled c-section at week 39 so the baby will probably arrive around March 31. If we schedule it for April 1, he will share a birthday with Darrin's Dad... but I don't know if I'd do that to him given all the stories I've heard about Al (Darrin's Dad) getting birthday cakes made of wood and all sorts of other weird things just because it was April Fools Day! (It's kinda funny though because Henry's due date was Darrin's Mom's birthday)!

The gender.... will only be a secret as long as it has to be! We fully intend to find out the baby's gender (assuming he/she cooperates) at the ultrasound I will get around week 20 (which should fall some time in the beginning of December). I'll be sure to post the info as soon as we know! I can tell you that there is definitely only ONE baby though! We had a "mini-ultrasound" yesterday, so that rumor is laid to rest (and no, I don't want to hear your stories about how one could be hiding, thank you very much!).

The name... will be a secret until he/she makes his/her appearance in the world! I have one friend that I'll bounce idea's off of, but she's in Indiana and she's not talkin'! Everyone else has to wait... hey! there has to be one surprise, right?! I will tell you that we have a first name finalized for a boy, and are pretty sure about a girl's first and middle name as well (both of those are family names). That's all you get!

Updates... will be posted here regularly! I'm sorry I haven't been posting much, but I've been sick all week and trying to keep it together enough to take care of Henry and myself while Darrin is at work. I've also gotten sucked into an AWESOME book called "My Sister's Keeper" by my favorite author, Jodi Picoult, so that is taking up a lot of my "free" time as well.

Other than that, there's not much else to report! Oh - how do you like that baby ticker I've added? It allows you to watch the baby as it grows. I thought it was kind of cute (zip it, CRF! ;) ). Big thanks to Sarah at The Scrapbooking Table (see my Websites Worth Visiting area for the link) who gave me the heads up to the baby widget!

So Many Sayings

I have to share the good - no, GREAT - idea I found for this set on SCS! So Many Sayings is a Level 2 hostess set from Stampin' Up and is meant to be three long stamps, each containing several sayings in a long row. Personally, I don't really see the point of it and no intention of buying it... until... :o) Someone suggested cutting the sayings apart and mounting them individually on the blocks from that old game Jenga. I thought on this for awhile. We have a Jenga game that we haven't played in ages, so it was certainly doable. But once they are mounted, how do you store them? They surely wouldn't have fit back in the little plastic storage case they came in!

And then it hit me! Cut the wood blocks into pieces too! Sounds great doesn't it? Except I have no means with which to do this so I was stuck once again.... until... I remembered my Aunt and Uncle out in Washington. She was a big crafter and if my memory served me correctly he did all of the cutting on the wood for the things she made and painted, etc. One quick phone call, and before I knew it my wood blocks were on their way to Washington! Now they are back, and everything is mounted, and I am in love! :o) My set of three is now a set of 17 double mounted blocks with 34 seperate sayings/designs. Totally versatile!!!

The following picures show the "before" image of the set, the after, and them all nestled snuggly in their original storage case! Woo hoo!

BIG thanks and lots of love to my Uncle for all of the cutting! :o)

I WON!!!

Can you believe it?! The Happy Haunting card that I posted below won "first place" in Lorie's halloween prize swap! The prize for winning was the SU "Eventful" Hostess set - I can't wait to get it and play with it! Now that she has posted more of the cards that were entered, I have to say I'm truly honored with the accolade! There was some seriously steep competition. Go to Lorie's blog to see the winning announcement and the other swap cards she has posted so far!

Oh, and as a side note, I am posting this from my NEW Dell Inspiron laptop!! WOOO HOOO! I'm hoping that means the post won't show up under September 2nd again....

Happy Haunting!

Note: This will probably post under Sept 2, but today is really Sept. 12th. And so continue my PC problems.... *sigh*

I made a set of these cards for Lorie's Halloween swap. I really am happy with the way they turned out! :) Hurrah! I used the masking technique to get the cat in front of the "moon" and added a little dazzling diamonds on the moon to simulate wispy little clouds. Sorry the picture is dark, but I already had them sealed in clear envelopes before I remembered to take the picture so I couldn't use flash.

Welcome baby Codi!

I just love this Bundle of Joy set, and wish I had more opportunities to use it. The card was made for a friend's new baby girl, and I am pleased with the outcome. I found those pre-made ribbons in pink and blue in the clearance section at Factory Card Outlet. They were clearanced at $1 for a bag of 12 of each color! Add a mini glue dot, and voila! :)

Thanks for Lunch

Wow - I can't believe this crazy computer actually let me upload a photo. It's a Christmas Miracle! :) "Technical Difficulties" (see post below) continue, but here is an exception!

I made this cute little housemouse card for a friend who treated Henry and I to lunch last week at El Azteca. It's one of the few food related stamps I have, but I thought it was fitting because I looked similar to that little mouse when I left. LOL!

The card is made using the spotlight technique. WW and Bashful Blue cs, going grey (background) and basic black (colored image, sentiment) ink, prismacolors and gamsol for coloring, and b/w gingham ribbon. The sentiment is from the SU! set called "Much Appreciated" (which by the way is one of the handiest little sets in the world if you make a lot of thank you cards!).

Sorry for all of the dead space around the picture. I can't seem to find a photo editing program on this computer either. No surprise there *sigh* .

Henry Update!

Again, today is Sept 12th... not Sept. 2!

Just wanted to get a few new pics of Henry posted for y'all! He is growing like CRAZY! All of his summer clothes are 12 mos, and now that cooler weather is here, I'm finding that we have to go right to 24 mos for most things to get the length and fit to be right. Being that most of his summer clothes are sleeveless and shorts you don't really realize just how much he's growing!

The pics of him in the Pooh bibs (aren't those adorable?! And only $1 at a rummage!) were taken today (9/12). The one with Papa was taken a week or so ago.

Enjoy!

I'm still here!

And the saga continues.... We're still waiting for my new laptop, and I'm still struggling with dh's pc, which also needs rebuilding or torching (whichever comes first!). This pc (dh's) has now begun what I fondly refer to as the "Groundhog Day Effect". Every time I log into blogger or SCS, it logs in about five days earlier and I have to continually refresh to get current information. The two cards (baby card and mouse card) that are below this post were not both posted on Sunday, Sept. 2. They were posted two days apart! *sigh* This is what fun my pc life has become.

Dude, where's my Dell?!

Life here is going well. We had a big rummage this weekend with my Mom and Grandma, and the family across the street had one as well. We collaborated our efforts on advertising and as a result had a very good turn out. We hauled just about everything that was left to Goodwill afterwards, so the house is free of clutter finally!

Darrin and I both started classes this week for our MBA's. This is my last class, and I refuse to drop it for a THIRD time so I will *finally* be done with this dang degree in December. I swore I'd never go back for another class, but the thought keeps nagging at me. I'd really like to take some math and economics classes (it's a sickness, I know), but I think I'll wait awhile on that one. I also need to take some cooking classes and expand my horizons a bit in that area as well (Greg, are you reading this? lol - start a class!).

Other than that, life continues as normal. Stay tuned for more pics and posts once all of our pc issues are ironed out!

Technical Difficulties

Due to a combination of computer and time issues, there probably won't be many (if any) new posts for at least a week. Please continue to check back often - I'm currently using my husband's computer and it is a very fickle machine. Sometimes it allows me access to blogger, sometimes it does not. Either way it does not allow me to post photo's for whatever reason! As soon as we either rebuild my machine or receive the one we ordered eons ago that was "promised" to be delivered exactly one week ago (thanks, Dell!) I'll be back on board!

Thanks for your patience! :)

Goodbye Bridget, Hello Diane!

Here we have Bridget, my trusty Mazda 3.










*sigh*. I love this car! The only bad thing is that it is pretty small, and getting a baby carrier in + any other people is a trick. The stroller takes up the entire trunk, the carrier behind the passenger seat forces the p-seat to be pushed all the way to the dashboard making that seat a viable option for a select few (to date that would include grandma, my nephew Brandon, Jenn, and Chris if I force him and he contorts his body into such an awkward position that his legs are pointing toward me and the upper half of his body points toward the door. ROFL. He loved me for that!)... And don't even get me started on shopping. I can really only buy five bags worth of groceries max once you figure in the car seat, diaper bag, my purse, etc. There just is no room for such things!

Bridget was wonderful for my B.C. life (that is, before child ;o) ). She was sporty, she was fast, she was fun. But alas, I am no longer sporty or fast (still retaining the fun though!) so it was time to move on. Bridget is being sold to a male MIS student at UWO, so I'm sure she'll continue to have lots of fun without me...

Now, let me introduce you to Diane (yes, that would be "Diane the Van" LOL!)...

Diane is everything a Mama should be. Reliable, easy going, fun, and pretty. :) She comes equipped with dual power sliding doors (sweet!), and 8 passenger seating. The center seat in the second row can be moved forward about five inches so that Henry can be closer to the front and we have easier access to him and his toys, etc. We even have a "mommy mirror" that comes down from the ceiling and gives a birds eye view of the second row of seats. Seriously, who doesn't need that?! lol. The color is Red Salsa Pearl (something like that), but it's really more cranberry than it appears in the picture. The interior is beige or sand or whatever they're calling it these days. And get this - we have 15 cup holders. Because apparently mini-van drivers and passengers are just very thirsty people. WTH?! There are 8 cup holders within reach of the two front seats alone! Is this really necessary?!

We also considered purchasing a van with a dvd/navigation package but went without it. I think the cost was about $3000 but we decided that for just under $400 we could buy a portable dvd player and an Atlas and get roughly the same effect. ;o) We love her just the way she is! :)

www.etsy.com

Have you heard of this website? I've just been introduced, and it's fabulous! I wanted to post it here because I know some of you reading are crafters, and I thought you might enjoy looking. I will also be adding it to my "Websites Worth Visiting" column on the left. The site is basically an "ebay" for home made goods... And I'm talking about quality home made goods! Not the kitchy stuff. :o) More of the unique stuff you would find in little boutiques. And I have to say the prices are excellent!

Garden Whimsey

Well, I think we've all been there. You see that one stamp set that you just *have to* have.... then you get it, and are at a total loss of what to do with it. Argh. Garden Whimsey is that set for me! This is the first card I've come up with that's even remotely worthy of posting, and I'm still not 100% in love with it. Not sure how I feel about the floating primas... but I do like what I did with the sponging around the sentiment. It just needed something. I tried a prima in the middle of the circle - no go. Tried a little lady bug in there - nope. Nothing worked, but the space was so empty!

Anyhow, the basic "ingredients" include WW, Positively Pink, and Lovely Lilac paper, PP ink and matching ribbon. The sentiment is raised on dimensionals, and the prima is attached with a mini glue dot. I hope y'all are having better luck with this one than I am!

The N.E.W. Zoo

Today we took advantage of the cooler weather and made a trek up to The N.E.W. Zoo, which is about ten miles north of Green Bay. Henry got a kick out of the animals when they were moving (the birds, moose, and prairie dogs were his favorites)... but otherwise was more interested in the scenery and the people around us. He loves people watching, and there were hundreds of people there so he was in his glory! We really liked the zoo, and will definitely be back - but probably not until next summer. Here are a couple of pictures from our day... Mama's feelin' like a chunker in this pics (LOL!) so promise to only look at the baby and animals! :o)

Mama & Henry

One of my favorite pictures of us together, this was taken a week or so ago to capture Henry's "first band-aid". The first one that wasn't associated with a vaccination shot anyhow! Like any good teether, he sucks and chews on his fingers like crazy and he managed to cut his left index on a tooth and then it got a little infected as well. One dose of Neosporin and all is well! And for the record, the band-aid lasted all of maybe five minutes before he chewed it off!


This is another favorite. It was taken July 29th at our Kromm Family Reunion. Henry enjoyed himself and kept everyone entertained. Thank goodness for ring slings though! I don't think I would have made it through the buffet line with out mine. I wish I would have gotten some photo's of him in it. While all of my cousins with little ones took turns in the food line, I slung Henry on my hip and we went through without incident! Now I'm off to research some Mei Tai and Beco slings because you can't have just one!! Who'd have ever thought I'd be a "baby wearer". ;o)

More Secret Sister cards

These are three more of the cards I sent to my secret sister Daisy over the past three months. Although I neglected to make a recipe of the cards when I had them in hand, I can tell you that the first one is made with SU's Farm Fever set, the second with non-SU stamps in my collection, and the third with SU's Simply Said set. If you need more info, post a comment with your question and I'll try to figure out the colors and supplies. Thanks for looking!

Our Morning Ritual

Each morning after waking, Henry babbles and giggles for a good 45 minutes in his crib. I generally just let him entertain himself, because a little better than half the time he puts himself back to sleep in the process! When I come in, he stands up quick, smiling and pointing the whole time (see first photo). Then after a quick change it's play time (see second photo). Of course "play time" mainly consits of ripping everything off the shelves and throwing it on the floor, but he enjoys himself and we always clean up when we're done (yes, he will put his toys back in the bins when asked!). He just loves his books and his puzzle (one of those with knobs on the pieces). :o)

Secret Sister Reveal

For the last three months I have been participating in a secret sister exchange where I have been sending cards regularly to a gal in Georgia and receiving wonderful cards and goodies from a gal in (I believe) Ohio. It's been great fun, and I'm sad the round is over! I just sent my gift out to Daisy (my "little sister") on Monday and included this card. I just got this set from Stampin' Up! and was eager to use it. I also have been wanting to try some new, maybe a bit unorthodox, color combinations - hence the little splash of blue! The picture is a little fuzzy, but you get the drift. The small print reads, "Blessed are the happiness makers".

Stamps: Word on Word, Print Pattern

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Bashful Blue

Ink: Chocolate Chip (stamped off three times for the background)
Accessories: brads, vanilla grosgrain ribbon