so i was gone all day yesterday, leaving chris with the kids. i always get a bit antsy when i leave them, not because i am worried about them or anythign,  it’s just not something i do very much. but i do love coming home to all the giant welcome home squeals and mega kisses. and it’s a plus when you find a few new pics your husband took on your camera. these melt me.

i love that she is suuuuuch a pal to her brothers. someone asked me about their relationship with her and it is so funny. cam totally takes care of her and looks out for her… caleb treats her as his equal. he will give her a shove or such if she makes him mad. and of course they love her. dearly.

in media news, did you read the the kite runner ? ohhhh soooo sad. well tomorrow he comes out with a new one.  can’t wait to get it. and did you see the finale of grey’s? totally loved her song  when cristina did that oh-so-sad cry at the end. (i don’t think that song is on that album though) the next date chris and i get to go on will be to see this.  that opening song is so sweet.

ok, baby’s asleep- off to cross things off my list. 🙂

yesterday was day one of weaning from bottle. the daytime was okay. at naptime, i gave her the new sippy cup, she laughed at me like i was crazy for offering it and she rolled over without it and went to sleep. bedtime was alot tougher. she was SO SAD and it made me sad. i suck at weaning my kids from the bottle. it’s the one thing i am a softie at. the other 3 were embarrassingly too old for their bottles.. i just couldn’t do it again. and plus she has her fingers. so that’s her number 1 comfort (oh besides me of course, lol)…so needless to say, these fingers are raw. sores coming from being in the mouth so much because of this weaning crap. 😦 😦 
let’s hope tonight goes smoother! she seems to be okay with it in the day.

green is my new pink. love green on her. and she’s currently crazy about flowers and butterflies. oh so girly of her! but yet she knows how to hold her own with the lightsaber… she’s got the ba-ba-baaaaaaa sound effects down too. 🙂

how could i not share a cute pic with the winners names? and notice… i chose SIX instead of THREE. 🙂

for all of the sweet comments on my birthday. i know that i have an amazing husband. he’s quite the writer. we have boxes full of letters from our long distance dating days. and i treasure them. every holiday that comes up, i always tell him…all i want is for you to write me something. he knows how to get me good. 🙂 and now he has taken up cooking for me. that is the best. i love eating but hate cooking. and he’s good at it!!! i hope he sticks with it! lol!

now who wants a free book? it’s the new autumn leaves book and there are some seriously cute ideas in this book. i’ll pick 3-4 people tonight, after baseball! 🙂

and —– anyone up for a challenge at ki memories?
check it out. 🙂

OK, last post by me and then we’ll get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I was looking for a picture of jamie on her birthday and couldn’t find one.  I poured through literally thousands of pictures, and couldn’t find any of ‘just jamie.’  It got me to thinking that being a mom is a lot like being a photographer (it’s probably why so many of you mom’s are turning into such amazing photographers…)  Both see the world in all its transcendence,  but more often than not, they are taken for granted.  They’re both so busy organizing everyone that they often miss out on the fun.  All too often, our mothers are relegated to the sidelines, like the photographer standing accross the way. 

Of course, there is great joy to be found in giving gratitide to our mothers, and great comfort too.  As we climb the dizzying heights of that rolliciking coaster that propels us into adulthood and  then parenthood, we can always look back down, far below, at our mothers, planted firmly on the ground, waving us on.  May god bless mothers everywhere today and everyday.  I love you jamie, I love you mom!
(And thanks to a willing wife, I was finally able to get ‘just jamie’ on the other side of the camera on her birthday…mmm mmmm!)

Today, my beloved is XX yeard old.  If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, "but she doesn’t look a day over 18!", or "you’re not old enough to have four children!," or any variation of the theme, I’d be taking my bride to Hawaii.  Alas,  no one thinks to hand me a dollar when they say that, so Hawaii will have to wait:(

Of course, Jamie is not exactly crazy about these comments, but she’ll get no sympathy from me as I’m often mistaken for my brother’s father, something that truly bruises the ego.

A more selfless person I have never known, Jamie is as steady as a rock and is everything I hope my daughters become and my boys find in marriage.  Her clan of five travels through life like a hurricane, blowing this way and that with fits of passion and emotion, thank God for Jamie, the calm center of our storm.

Jamie is also a disciplined artist who treats time like gold and maximizes every moment by living in the moment.  I love her for her boundless creativity and am so greatful for her habit of elevating the every day into the spectacular.

Jamie is a fantastic best friend, known to laugh at horrid jokes and is game for just about anything (unless it involves jumping out of a Kayak and into the chilly Pacific)…we’ve traveled the world together, been on many dates, seen a million movies, but at the end of it all, she’s the main attraction, so there’s no place better to be with jamie than someplace quiet (preferably without children) where we can talk the night away.

Of course, the irony of it all is that while she looks "not a day over 18," Jamie has an old soul, full or wisdom, compassion warmth and love.   

So Happy Birthday Jamie, I sure am glad that one sunny California day, XX years ago, all went well, and the most beautiful girl in the world would eventually find her way to me!
XOXO 

her bangs were getting in her eyes alot lately.. so we gave em a snip.. but not the back where the curls are.. i couldn’t touch the curls!! 🙂 here’s the before.. look how serious she is!
here’s the during.. so glad daddy did it.. how do i know i would have given the girl crooked bangs?! love the bits of hair falling and how her eyes are sorta closed.. lol!

and after… lotsa smiles. daddy likes them pinned back, i like them down. we think she looks so cute!

can you believe that this hobby has it’s own day?! LOL!
here’s one of my very first layouts.. back in 2002. single photo, letter stickers, black and white, bit of patterned paper, blues… still some of my faves.

we were living in VA at the time, all i had was a point and shoot film camera, a few stickers and some paper from my very first order from 2peas. 5 years later. little did i know how much joy this hobby would bring me. i’m so glad i started scrapping when i did. i have so many albums now.. lots of things jotted down that i know i would have otherwise forgotten. all i have to say is that my kids better marry into the appreciating kind or mama is not giving up her books! 🙂

my own little thoughts on current scrapbooking supplies:
i am getting clear stamped out. not that they aren’t a great idea, they are..if i were the neat and organized type who could actually put them back where they belong, it would be awesome… i just prefer peel and stick. 🙂 i looooove these new doodlebug stamps…the tag set!!! AHH! CUTE!!! but i probably won’t get them. because i am a lazy stamper. and i already have so many stamps. and i love stickers too much. people, bring back the stickers!! there are still sticker lovers out there!!! saw these and fell in love too. sigh. this is one of my favorite lines from cha. love the fun colors. 🙂 also love all of her stuff.  gorgeous gorgeous! again.. love the stamps but wish they were stickers. and the paper  is awesome. love it. can’t stop using these up.  so cute. 🙂 and while i had great hopes for their embossed chipboard, it didn’t quite come out as i thought it would.. but that’s okay, they have made it up to me in their gorgeous jolie paper. 🙂  excited to get these.  and as pretty as these are, oh how i wish they made them like their certifiable stamps… self inking, etc. i hope this post doesn’t sound too critical.. i am totally appreciative for all the creative stuff that comes from you manufacturers. 🙂 i love my supplies. oxox

there you go. more scrapbooking talk than most of my family cares to read about. 🙂 no worries, i will post some elsie pictures soon.. she got her bangs trimmed today! 🙂

happy NSD! 🙂 there are lots of NSD things all over the web .. check em out. have fun.

since this month’s theme at 2peas is ‘everyday’- i’ve got it on my mind! here’s a shot from today. it is such an everyday shot.

that chair that is framing her foot (oh so cutely, i might add!) is her chair. she sits in that everyday with her booster seat. almost everytime i take the tray out to set her free, she climbs for the table top. she has a thing for toothbrushes. 🙂 see..

everyday that table she’s sitting on gets bombarded with school work, art work, mail, food, cups, plates, everything. it’s a magnet for stuff. it drives me crazy to the point where i don’t even want to bother cleaning it off. lol. everyday i race to cross things off my list while she’s asleep. it’s a 2-3 hour window where the big kids are at school and all is quiet. unfortunately for my family, my list of priorities when i have alone time are: scrapbooking and computer stuff. lol. so what doesn’t get done while she naps is housework. sorry guys. 🙂

it’s my favorite month! and the garden is up at 2peas. here’s my fave i did this month:

i am crazy for this paper mix and loving the ki surprise line. all of it is so fun. the stickers, paper, epoxies.. even the letter rubs. i’m over rubons but these ones are so cute. 🙂

she is 14 months today:

she is crazy busy walking all over the place.. totally loving the outside. everytime she hears a door open, she makes a mad dash to get out. and of course there are lots of tears when we drag her inside. here she is greeting daddy coming home from work! she loves the broom.

they like making messes with the leaves then sweeping them up. how productive! 🙂 caleb is in a cowboy phase right now. but will sure turn to a spiderman phase again once he sees the movie this weekend. 🙂

last weekend my SIL was in town..oooh elsie looks like she is missing a hand.. that’s what you get when you pluck her fingers out of her mouth while taking a picture. 🙂

and we saw my BIL’s in West Side Story. very emotional for the fam..his last high school play and all. he did an amazing job!

when we came home from the play, it just happened to be on TV.. we watched a bit and cam said.. "the ending is so sad. actually, the whole thing is just so sad." he’s so cute. 🙂

and we had a face painter at church. so sweet to see kira still into the face painting.

yes, these 2 are all up in the face paint. cammy isn’t the face paint type. nor the sticker or stamp type. anything that adheres to your skin that doesn’t normally belong.. it’s not his thing. 🙂