Woodward Park, Tulsa, OK

We spent the day yesterday at Woodward Park in Tulsa. It was a gorgeous spring day {yes, even I enjoyed it}. Darren's camera had 140 pictures on it when we got home. Here are a few of the highlights. I hope you can tell how beatiful the park is by the pictures.

holy moley I'm doomed...

my mom and Hailee were playing "beauty shop" the other day. Hailee did mom's hair and mom did her make-up. She's only 5! She picked the color of the eye shadow, but man alive look at her! It makes me want to cry...when she's 14 and wearing mascara on a daily basis...whew, she's gonna be one pretty girl! I told Darren to start stocking up on shot gun shells! {{wink wink}}

so far, so good!

My mom has been here since Tuesday and we're having a wonderful time. Darren is even enoying the visit and having fun though he didn't know how he'd feel after "THE" surgery! lol Glad it was a quick recovery for him. Our busiest day so far was Friday. Hailee was out of school for teacher conferences and the start of spring break, so we ALL, including Darren, went to the mall. Hailee got some sandals, both kids got some clothes, we had lunch...just a fun time. Later that night we went to the Longhorn Rodeo. So much fun! Mom hadn't been since she was a kid, and the last time we went was when Hailee was 2, so it was nice to go. Hailee loved the bucking broncos! But she said she doesn't want to ride one herself....can't imagine why :)

Today we're heading to Woodward Park for some outdoor pictures. Love these photo ops, the kids always look amazing in natural light surrounded by nature.

Here are a few pictures from Friday. The kids had fun on the toys at the mall and paid close attention at the rodeo!

My student of the week!

Hailee is student of the week next week! YAY! Today I made her poster for the class. That was more fun than I was expecting....I used a few scrapbook supplies but I think it was worth it! Don't you?

She also got to bring home the class monkey, Maggie. There's a notebook to write in all the details of their weekend together. It really does make the kids feel special...way to go Mrs. Snow!

And here is the layout I did last night using the NEW SCENIC ROUTE paper! I am SO happy that Layle agreed to sponsor the design team over at Scrapbook Playground (I'll still buy the rest of the new stuff anyway...but it's fun getting to use some of it for free!!!)

Recap!

February was a great month over at the playground. The ladies got SO much done! I didn't do as much, but I had great fun getting to know everyone.

Braden is finally feeling better, so is Darren and myself. Hailee on the other hand is finishing up round 2 of medicine for her bronchitis. Not sure why she keeps getting it but it really is starting to suck. She's out of school today (she missed Thurs/Fri of last week, too) and we're hoping she'll be back tomorrow...but we won't know until she wakes up!

I've had fun with Polar Bear Press at the playground and am getting ready to dig in to my Scenic Route stuff! YUM!!!

I'm trying to convince myself to apply for the dt position over at Busy Bee scrapbooking but I can't get the guts to do it. So many talented ladies, what would they want with me? lol

Well, here are some new pics....hopefully will get some good outdoor shots this week since we're having some stupid spring weather!

{{she now hides from the camera}}

{{and he poses}}

New pictures!!!

I'm adjusting...

Yep, I'm adjusting to the no nursing thing. Last night we went out to dinner and I ordered a strawberry dacquiri. yum. well, it wasn't the best, but it was good. Now I get to start taking diet pills to help lose all this baby weight (and McDonalds weight) that I'm carrying around. I guess I should be thankful that Braden chose to quit before spring/summer season!

No, I'm not happy about him not nursing, but I've accepted it and I'm adjusting. I'm always one for "looking on the bright side". So, I'm finding my bright side and enjoying my growing baby boy!

It's with great sadness that I announce...

...I am no longer a breast-feeding mom. :( Braden is 100% on 2% milk. sigh. I know it should be a good thing because it frees me up A LOT (and he's sleeping 11 hours each night without any wake ups), but it also means my baby, my last baby, is growing up. I will never again breast feed. Never again have those "moments" with just me and my baby that only come with nursing. Now Darren is reminding me that we should be getting Braden onto a cup and off the bottle! SLOW DOWN! Only one thing at a time...quit trying to make my baby grow up. I will never have a baby again (unless I remarry) so why rush these things? I was ready for Hailee to grow up, to do those "firsts" and experience all the newness with her. Not with Braden. He's it. No more "firsts" after he's done with them. So I don't want to do them now, I want to hold on to this baby forever, keep him mine, and little (okay not so little but you know what I mean).

okay, wiping tears. Going to go enjoy this baby, and watch him grow, and learn, and enjoy all the moments I can!



sigh.

just have to share..

...some CUUUUTE pics of the kids! They may not be feeling 100%, but these pics sure do hide that! All of these were taken yesterday, so they can't get more up-to-date!

oh my the bugs won't leave!

So, many of you know that this house has been BUGGED! Darren was diagnosed and is being treated for bronchitis. The kids were officially diagnosed with "the crud", yes, that was the medical term he used, and are being treated for it. I was diagnosed with tendonitis, along with another "itis", am wearing a brace and taking steroids for it. THEN I got sick, probably just a cold, but it's kicking my fat butt right now and I'm losing fast!

Well, today Hailee wanted to go back to school. She's still upset she missed her Valentine party yesterday (though, I did hear though the grapevine..coughcoughthankschristiecoughcough...that the party sorta sucked). So we decide to let her go, I mean she's just going to sing, color, and play, same she'd do here. Darren drops her off at 1pm....the call came in at 1:30pm: "Mrs Wagner, this is so-so from the infirmary at Wolf Creek Elementary". great, she can't even make it through a 21/2 hour day of pre-k! So off Darren goes to pick her up (so grateful he's still home today!) and now she's napping soundly! Poor thing. Darren told the school we'd be keeping her home tomorrow, too, as a precaution. yay, no school run for this sick mom tomorrow!!

I can happily say Darren and Braden are working their way back to normal! Braden ate dinner last night, first meal in almost 4 days, then drank a 7oz bottle of milk this morning! My big boy is coming back! I've spent a lot of time in the rocking chair with him this past week, will miss that, but hope to get everyone better so I can disinfect this house and just MAYBE do some scrapping!

Scrapping - haven't done that in a while, but look for the design teams awesome work at www.scrapbookplayground.com on the 20th...our awesome sponsor is Sakura! PENS!!! wahoo! can't let them fall on the floor anymore, Braden is getting pretty darn quick on those hands and knees! lol

Everyone, be safe and stay healthy! Hope you all had a romantic (or not, depending on your style) Valentine's Day. As you can guess, mine stunk, but I was given a raincheck! Gotta love that man of mine!

I'm going to be busy now!

He's "crawling"!!! Well, he's mobile, lol. His crawl is so funny! I need to figure out how to get a video on here for you to see, it really is quite a site! AND, I went to get him after his nap and he was standing up! That's a first! boy, oh, boy he's gonna be trouble! :)

And here are some pictures just because they're cute!!!! Enjoy!

Hailee in the snow!

Braden and his crazy towel dried hair!

TOMORROW!

tomorrow the big event starts at www.scrapbookplayground.com! Come check it out! Lots of pre event stuff going on now, so get over there and start earning some points!!!!!

See you around the message board!

finally!

things are really moving around here! not only are we busy with normal every day life, but now we're working on the house! It's only taken 3 1/2 years to get going on this wall! lol It should be done by next week and I'm SO excited!

Braden is getting bigger every day :( He's growing up too fast for this mommy! He'll be 9 months next week and he's already off of baby food, eats anything we eat (yes, he eats steak...gotta work those 3 bottom teeth!), and he only nurses at night...once before bed then once again around 5:30 am...he IS sleeping through the night, well 6 hours at a time! yay!

Hailee is enjoying school and having fun with her friend Emilea Walker...funny, you take her to someone's house and they instantly become the best of friends. That's good though since Christie and I spend so much time together (love ya girl!).

Here are new pictures...

Get your scrap supplies ready!!!!

Scrapbook Playground has big plans for February! Starting February 1st you'll have the chance to earn points to win a prize!!! Log on at www.scrapbookplayground.com for a chance to earn "early sign up bonus points"! We look forward to seeing you there!!!!


RULES:

1. Each challenge is due two days after it is posted to recieve points (for example if a challenge is posted on Monday it is due on WEDNESDAY at midnight and a link to the layout must be included in the challenge thread)

2. You will not know how many points you will recieve for each challenge until you check your point tallies end of the week. I have randomly rolled two dice and each’s days challenge is worth a different amount of points. All tallies will be updated on Sundays. If you see something wrong with your tallies please let me know. I may have missed something.

3. Each challenge thread will have it’s own rules etc… based on the challenge. There will be a due date reminder in each thread as well.

4. To earn points all layouts should be NEW layouts. Created based on inspiration recieved from the challenges.

5. Now JUST for fun there will be a little POINT FAIRY (aka BonusPoints) adding points just because! Keep an eye out for her as she will pop in at any time throughout the month awarding points and perhaps even posting games and challenges too. THESE are BONUS points!!!

6. There will be plenty of chances for ALL OF YOU to earn points!!! So have fun, enjoy, and we can't wait to see all of your layouts!!!

7. If you have questions about any of the challenges, games, etc... please ask them in the question forum.

And unless otherwise stated these challenges are for LAYOUTS (not cards, etc....) Some challenges are ok with cards instead of layouts but overall shoot for layouts!!)


MONTHLY OUTLINE:

February 1-28th : A new challenge posted everyday and you will find FUN games that will earn you points being added randomly to the game section.

February 23-25th : ONLINE CROP with points being added to your monthly total

FEBRUARY 24th: A day in the life of ME layouts DUE (contest)

March 5th: Winners Officially announced

Poor little guy..

Braden's cough never went away, so I took him to his pediatrician on Tuesday as a follow up from the ER visit on Christmas Eve. Turns out, the little (okay so he's now 20 lbs and not so little) guy has an ear infection in his left ear! Can't he get a break? He's such a happy, laid back kid and doesn't deserve to get all these little bugs that keep coming his way! He's finished his antibiotic and is still taking the stuff for thinning the mucus (I hope it works!) and will hopefully be rid of this crap for good!

Hailee was 1 of 7 in class today. We're having an ice storm and I guess the other 13 people couldn't make it to class! She said it was fun and they all got to sit at the SAME table for snack! lol, gotta be grateful for the little things!

I'm SO needing to do some scrapping! I have TONS of pictures and no creative mojo! I hate when that happens! All I've been thinking about are layouts and what I'm going to do with the pictures we have. Now I'm home, have all my stuff, and sit down to scrap and NOTHING. blah. I hope this is over soon. Tomorrow I plan on cleaning my desk and am praying that gives me some oomph to get going!

Here are a few more pictures from our trip. I have almost 600 of them, but can only share a few!


I love this picture! It was taken driving over Snoqualmie Pass in Washington. We didn't even stop the car, it's taken through the windshield going 70mph!

The birthday girls! Hailee turned 5 on January 2nd (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!) and my sister turned 28 on the 3rd. So while we were in Eastern Washington we had a party for them! Hailee had her 5 candles and Kelly had her "28". Yes, those are tears on Hailee's face..she was running to the table and got behind Darren. He didn't see her and stepped on her toe :(

I love this picture! Darren and the kids and I drove home from Seattle in a 2 door '94 Honda accord that we bought (got a GREAT deal!). We made sure to include Arizona on our trip sicne we knew it would be at least a year before we can get back there. This is my wonderful grandpa and his new bride, Wendy. This was the first time we met her! She is such a sweetheart and makes my grandpa smile daily! They were so much fun! The kids just loved spending time with them. We also were able to see my Auntie Pam and Uncle Ray! Such a nice time, but not long enough. :( Only had a day and a half. But Darren and I have decided to make it a priority to get back there during Hailee's spring break next year!

A few pictures from our trip...

this is Hailee and Braden at Darren's mom's house. Darren and I are just amazed at how close these 2 are!
Here is Braden with his puppy from Santa. He didn't get the whole Christmas thing but loved all the paper and tissue that came with the presents! Here is Hailee with my mom's 3 month old Yorkie, Tizzy. Hailee fell in love with her! My mom will breed Tizzy when she's older and Hailee gets first pick of the litter!

More pictures to come later!

Hi from Washington!

Hello! We're having a great time here in the Pacific Northwest. Now this trip hasn't been perfect by any means, what Christmas holiday is? only 1 black eye, 1 trip to the ER....the normal drama! Here are a few pictures to give you a peek at our fun filled vacation!

Happy New Year!

this is all of us in front of my father-in-law's Christmas tree.

this is Hailee in front of one of those silly mirrors at the mall. We were waiting to see Santa. We did a HUGE family photo (me, Darren, both kids, my 2 brothers, my sister and her husband!)

this is me and Braden at the ER on Christmas Eve morning. He had a horrible cough that was diagnosed as an Upper Respitory Infection. Poor little guy. He impressed all the nurses because he was so happy while being sick.

We're at my mother-in-laws now but don't have any pictures on the computer yet. Guess that means I'll update you again later!

tomorrow is almost here!

Well we leave bright and early tomorrow for our Seattle adventure. And what an adventure it will be....3 of the 5 houses we're visiting are without power due to a major storm. Should be interesting! lol

so this is my sign off for a few weeks....today I have like a gazillion things to do to get ready and am hoping to squeeze in a few hours sleep tonight before my alarm goes off at 2:45 tomorrow morning!

Have a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!!!!

5 more sleeps!

yep! only 5 more! Sunday morning I get to wake up at 3am and get ready to go to Seattle! 3am....wow....and to think I'm actually looking forward to that day! lol I'm still a little stressed but it's getting better. I'm getting things done and I should be fine by Sunday. Today I'm taking Sammy to the vet for his rabies shot, then off to get Braden's cream for eczema. The rest of the week will be spent doing laundry and trying to pack without leaving the kids naked the rest of this week! lol Saturday I'll be at the hair salon and then doing some other errands which will hopefully make the day go by quickly. I'm at the point now where I'm so excited I just want Sunday to get here...but am not ready yet! Darren has to work all week, has a meeting tonight, plus has to get his December invoicing done all before Saturday night. wow, he sounds busier than me....but it will all work out and we can get on that plane and start the most fun, unrestful vacation we've had in a long time!

What a deal...

so we got this great deal on the Canon a540. Look what it can do! My scrap pages are going to look so much better with these perfectly clear pictures!