Hello blog land!!!

I'm still here!!!! Still busy with work, soccer, and of course every day life! Having fun and enjoying all that is brought my way.

I have not taken pictures in ages!!! ack! and it's been even longer since I've scrapped a layout! I need to just put "day off" on the calendar somewhere and take the time to do what I want, instead of what I need! for one day that would be nice....sigh.

tomorrow Darren's dad will be here for the weekend - we have no plans except Hailee's soccer game on Saturday - so we'll see what we end up doing with the rest of our time. I like it this way though. No plans means no schedule!

hope April is treating you well - I hope to be back with photos, cards, and maybe even a layout sometime soon!!

thanks for the memories

the best spring break in a long time............


Tulsa Air & Space Museum



the mall.

Tulsa Zoo





Hailee's soccer game. (I have a picture of my dad from the game but promised not to share)



getting ready to leave. why the smile????



now to rest up after all the fun!



thank you dad, signe, and Tyler for the wonderful memories ♥

ya'll can hold me accountable....

this weekend I ate BAD.

REAL BAD.


too much unhealthy, fast food-ish type things.
blech!

and I feel icky right now.

maybe that's a good thing.
maybe that's what I needed to stop craving
those most yummy, terrible, McDonald's french fries.

I'm getting back on the wagon.
and staying there.
I really don't eat too bad at work.
but I've let myself indulge in the
huge muffins from Sam's club
over the last few days. bad mistake - but
there's only ONE left.

I'm looking forward to having my
low-fat nutrigrain waffle and
turkey sausage again.

i really do enjoy healthier foods.
i know they're better for me.
i know they'll help me at
maintaining my current weight.

maybe someday I'll lose more again.

maybe.

but for now I'm content.
not 100% satisfied.
but content.

single digit jeans.
no more plus size shirts.
more options for styles.

no reason to go back.
not even for a muffin.
not EVEN for fries.

so now ya'll can hold me accountable.
you heard it here, folks...

HEALTHY FOOD for me!

now don't go crazy - I love
my diet coke. again.
and I love candy on occasion.
but as far as the fast food-ish type
things go -

NO MORE!

they make my gut ache.
they make my gut big.
and my butt.
and my hips.
and...
and...
and...

so - after my last muffin tomorrow -
it's COMPLETELY
back to normal.
my kind of normal anyway.

i don consider a fiber one bar
a chocolaty treat.

and a nature valley
granola bar is yummy,
crunchy, sugary goodness.

and diet coke.
a happiness all on it's own.
I'll never give it up for good.
6 months was enough.
I missed it.
It missed me, too.

night folks - time to get
refreshed for the week.

tomorrow I shop produce!

♥

excitement!!

my dad, step-mom, and BABY brother left on the 12th. It wasn't easy to say good bye and Hailee is now at the age where she understands the "loss" when people go - so lots of tears shed that day.

but - on the 8th we're looking forward to Darren's dad coming for a few days. Now that we have a membership to the air & space museum (thanks for that!) we may go back since both the kids want new airplanes LOL

THEN on June 29th Darren's mom and step-dad will be here for 6 days - they will celebrate her birthday along with the 4th of July - should be fun!

THEN - my mom will be here! We're still working on dates...Darren says bring her in on the 5th and we can just have an airport day LOL but I think I may want to clean the house before she gets here so may have her wait until the12th - we'll see.

anyway - this will be a fun spring/summer for us all - love seeing all the family and am hoping to talk Darren into a Seattle Christmas trip this year - we'll see how that goes....besides, getting 2 weeks off work may not be so easy :)

(photos coming soon from when the family was here!)

....Hailee....

*she is the shyest little girl I've ever known....worse than I was at her age.

*she loves to play in her room setting up a lego house, a zooble house, Polly Pocket's house, Barbie's house, a doll house, or whatever else she can create. but she will never take them down and rebuild. ever.

*she can color and draw better than anyone I know. and she never tires of it. I see an artistic career in her future.

*the smallest sight of blood freaks her out. good thing she's artistic because a doctor she can not be.

*she enjoys talking. A LOT. even if we're not listening. or if we're talking. especially after dinner or in the car. really, she NEVER stops. until someone she doesn't know is near. then we can't get her to say one word. I don't get it LOL

*her new favorite sayings are "just sayin..." and "my bad"! LOL I crack up because I wasn't ready for her to be a KID vs. being my baby forever!

*she loves playing soccer - and she's getting pretty good - she wants to play "for a really long time like Uncle Tyler"

*she's creative - I should bottle up that creativity and sell it....could make a fortune!

*the best thing I ever heard her say was "what's a Bieber?" LOL

*she is happy at home, in her room, coloring or creating. she prefers it over being in a large group setting.....like my work....she hates coming with me unless her friend, Brooklyn is there....and then they color together!

*her little brother adores and idolizes her....it makes her crazy!

*she's beautiful.

....Braden....

*if my hair is down, and curled, and I have spent 30 minutes fixing it he doesn't like it. I have to wear it in a pony tail to look like mommy. and I get a hug whenever he sees it that way and he does say "NOW you look like mommy" every time.

*all stories start with "when I was born" or "when I used to be big before I was little". Just wondering how many lives this kid has had....

*singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in March is okay because "he WILL be back. DUH."

*since eating pineapple or carrots has already made him "super strong" he can have candy...it won't ruin his muscles.

*if it has wheels, he will play with it. If it doesn't have wheels, he will try to make it shoot. Guns 'n trucks. that's what he's into.

*even if he's full from all his dinner he can have dessert because his tummy is still squishy when you push on it. (so mine will NEVER be full if "squishy" is the identifier!)

*chocolate milk helps him sleep better. even after he's brushed his teeth, read his book, and is getting tucked in - he will argue this "fact" with you. It has something to do with chocolate being dark like the night.

*he gives the absolute best hugs EVER. hands down. and he'll flash you his super cute smile with super cute chubby cheeks knowing it will make you melt.

*he adores and idolizes his big sister. even though she can't stand to be around him.....poor thing.

time flies!

2 weeks. 14 days. 336 hours...give or take. That's when my family will be here!!! I'm so excited to see my dad, step-mom, and brother!!! It has been way too long and I'm having serious family withdrawals!!!!

now - what to do with them while they're here???? Broken Arrow, OK isn't exactly the same as SEATTLE!!! but - who cares, right? we'll have fun no matter what!

Braden's choice...

Braden wanted to pick what went in his little pineapple for lunch - I decided to allow him to choose until I thought he needed help - he did great!

(sorry for the bad image - used the phone!) As you can see he also helped at the grocery store by begging for fresh blueberries and strawberries! LOL they're not cheap right now but how do you say no??? so with those he has fresh pineapple (we never go without if possible), baby carrots, boiled egg (that's the bad exposure part) and a small brownie. In the "stem" of the pineapple is the ranch for his carrots and egg - yes, ranch for egg, just like if it were on a salad!

now we have this yummy lunch packed, along with his choice of vanilla yogurt, and he's home sick :( he woke up at 1am throwing up with just a low fever, then woke again at 2:30 with 102....I'm going to get him in to our favorite pediatrician just to rule out anything major since I know strep is making it's rounds again....our stupid roller coaster weather does not help all these bugs!

and one other thing - HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPPY JOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we love and miss you!!!!!!!!!

Lunchbot

I finally got to pack a lunch in my Lunchbot container! (I admit, I have a "slight" obsession with lunch boxes/containers)


this is for Braden so I had to go heavy on the fruit side!!! He has a little cutie orange, kiwi, and grapes. the other half is pb & j on honey wheat with some candy hearts and chocolate hugs. there are also some snacks going with because today he ate more than he has in weeks and I wasn't prepared! thank goodness the daycare has snacks available!!!

I would have loved to make it cute with shaped cheese pieces but he is NOT a cheese eater like Hailee. He likes it on/in things but won't just eat it - so no babybel or string cheese items for him....and no cute cheese cut outs unless I want him to just throw it away....and I'm not big on wasting food.

Hailee has a similar lunch in her 2 tier bento box but omit the grapes.....and I'm pretty sure the orange won't be completely gone but she'll bring it home and her brother will take care of what's left!

I'm always looking for new, creative lunch ideas, sandwich options - so if you have any please feel free to comment....my kids are pretty easy to feed, but I just don't always think of new things! (that's the great thing about packing Bento style - presentation makes a big impact!!!)

my PTI favorite...

on the Papertrey Ink blog they asked us to link up our favorite creation using their products. This is mine. I've used a lot and PTI stamps are my most favorite EVER - but I just love how this card turned out.



the hot air balloon stamps and dies are SO fun! and the clouds....oh my the clouds are my most favorite dies EVER - so many ways to use them on my projects!!! and let's not forget the fabulous PTI paper here!!!! can we say DROOOOOOL.

Record Breaking Snowfall -

14" in Tulsa - we heard 15" in Broken Arrow but haven't checked ourselves. Our snowdrift, the one that is covering the front of our house, is 52". wow. and last week we broke record high temps at 76 degrees!!!

Happy Birthday to my mom!!!

today is my mom's birthday - and since she's already received it, I'll share the card I made for her!

this one was fun - I layered, and punched, and glued, and stamped, and just kept adding until I felt it was done. I wanted a pin somewhere but just couldn't make it look good - so a pinless card again :( but I still like it and love the little pocket on the front.

this is how it looks all together.... (and oops...she's 58 - I caught that before I mailed it!)

this is the tag pulled out...

{Papers by October Afternoon (modern homemaker), stamps and red cardstock from Papertrey Ink, bingo numbers by Maya Road, mini envelope and tag from Melissa Francis, lace & buttons from my stash}


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

I got a little crafty...

I saw a challenge on the Whimsie Doodle Blog and was inspired! So I bought a digital stamp set, printed out a couple images, colored one in, and made a card for the challenge!!!!!

{Echo Park Papers, Whimsie Doodle Stamp & Sentiment, Core'dinations textured cardstock, Twill, Button, and lots of COPIC markers!!!}

a birthday.

Hailee is NINE. n-i-n-e. 9.

good grief where does time go? I can remember her delivery like it was yesterday. And hers is a better memory than Braden's. I remember her chubby, okay fat, arms and legs and that everyone called her the Michelin baby. some days her little rolls looked painful! I can remember her signing "eat" and "milk" before she even mumbled the words. Her cute, gorgeous curls that turned into beautiful ringlets as she got a little older. her adorable little voice when she "talked on the phone" around the age of 2. her first day of pre-k.

so many memories that are still fresh in my mind. then I'm saddened when she says "do you remember...." and I don't. I don't want to forget a thing and am amazed that I have!

I plan to document as much as I can. mentally. physically on note paper. and creatively through my scrapbooks. because if today she is NINE tomorrow she'll be married. and if I blink again SHE'LL be a grandma! just don't blink. that's all I can advise to myself and to any parent.

Happy Birthday, Munch - I (daddy, too) love you so very much!!!!

wow is this month over yet?

so busy around here! I think half the people I know have birthdays this month - another portion have them the first 2 weeks of January! lol

tonight I'm wrapping the last of my gifts - whew! then I can rest, enjoy Christmas, and quickly switch to birthday mode for Hailee!!!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and joyous new year! I don't know if I'll be back on before then so "cheers"!!!!

so dang excited!

it's the last weekend before Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the fat man in the red suit will be here soon!!!!

so close!

yesterday (and today) the scale was good to me. It showed a number I am *almost* ready to say out loud! almost is not yet LOL

but here are some facts.

*I am only 5 pounds away from the weight I was at when Darren and I moved to OK 15 years ago (just wish everything was in the same place it was 15 years ago). that makes me SO CLOSE to my goal! I don't plan on stopping - but that was my first BIG BIG goal - to be the weight of where I was when we moved here - maybe it'll be like getting 15 years of my life back?? LOL

*I am 20 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant with Hailee over 9 years ago.

*I am 25 pounds lighter than I was when Darren and I got married 14 years ago (if you do the math you can see how much weight I gained from stress the first year we were here)

*I am now down 36 pounds from when I started my weight loss journey almost 2 years ago. Yes, it's taken some time, but with the exception of Christmas in Seattle last year, I haven't gained any weight back....I just stalled for over 6 months...lost some more, stalled again.

With the holidays approaching again I'm trying to get weight off knowing I'll be putting some back on this month LOL. I really am trying to be good - and I have a great support system/cheer team!

so that's my update - it's been awhile but I really haven't had anything to say!


now - on to Christmas - with the exception of one gift that I'll get picked up today, I am DONE shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what a great feeling!!!! my decorations are up but still need some movement to get the shelves looking good and then I can add more snow (adding snow means I don't have to dust around ALL the little figurines for the month!). Then, Kimmie, I will take some pictures :)

off to bake my kids some cookies so have a great Sunday!!!

wahooooooo!

It's December 1st!!! Look at my Christmas counter - it won't be long now!!!


guess I better get my butt in gear!

a card for a friend.

Sympathy cards are the most difficult to make. It means that sadness and/or a loss has come to someone I care about. Nothing can ever be said to fix such a thing. But I want who ever is suffering to know I care and am thinking of them....so I make cards because that is the only way I know how to express my feelings and show my concern.

tonight I had to make such a card. Someone I have recently met has suffered a great, terrible loss and I truly ache for her. She is someone I respect and knowing she hurts right now is hard to deal with. Losing a loved one is never easy, and though I hear people say "it takes time", there's never a set amount, because I still ache for my grandma after 7 years. So it may get easier, but you never know when.

to show her I'm thinking of her - and her family - I made a card. It won't heal the wound, but at least she knows she's in my heart.

{papers by My Mind's Eye, Stamps and die by Papertrey Ink, ribbon and button from my stash, Punch by Fiskars}

Productive.

Yesterday was a very productive day for me. Started by going to pick up a rental car to use for the week while my car is in the repair shop. After that Darren went to work so I cleaned my house! Dusted. Vacuumed. Sanitized the kids' bathroom. Laundry. AAAHH. so nice to have my house in order!

I also made quite a few cards for the upcoming issue of Ready, Set, Create that will go to my mom for her stash (her hints are not so subtle anymore that she is out of cards! LOL).

Somewhere in there I made it to the mall to get mascara and face wash - was a good excuse to put a few miles on that rental car :)

While dinner was in the oven (oven-bbq pork ribs, mashed potatoes, and salad!) I decided to have fun with the kids' lunches. They've been getting their bento's packed but they have been far from cute or fun - I figured I owed them.

Hailee has just 20 minutes in the cafeteria at school - so I don't give her a lot of things, but I do make sure she gets full - and I'm careful knowing if I give her "junk" she won't eat what she's supposed to because of no time! So she has ham and cheese acorn sandwiches with cucumber flowers tucked around it. Then she has a cut up kiwi, ranch for the cucumber, and a little bit of chocolate for dessert. I added some bear picks (bears are in the woods and acorns are on trees in the woods so it all goes, right?) for the cute factor knowing she'll appreciate it.


Braden's lunch is a bit different. He comes to the daycare where I work after school and he likes a snack first, then he'll eat lunch a little bit later - he's there for 3 hours so he has time. For the snack I have some baked Cheetos. He will eat those first along with the grapes maybe. Along with that he has a peanut butter & jelly sandwich with a cheese acorn on top. Carrots and ranch and a piece chocolate finish it off. I will also take some applesauce or yogurt in case he eats it all and wants something else since we do have some errands to do after work today.

So there is my Sunday wrap up (on Monday). It was a good day - the only thing I think I should have squeezed in is a nap! But I did get to sleep until 8am on Saturday and 8:30 on Sunday, so I really can't complain. But I get up at 5am four days/week but never get to bed early, so weekends are my catch up time!

Have a great week - I'll try to post again soon with some camping pictures and videos!