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