School Picture Time

Halloween '08 Preview

babyface

Heaven Sent

King For A Day

Grandparents Rock

I make cute kids

I saw this expression on a button and thought it was cute and funny....so I made a layout for it.

Baptism slide show

Floss

Laugh

For Brian...

True

First day at Shrine pre-school

More Thursday thoughts

Previous conversations with Declan:
Me: We're off like a herd of turtles (said almost every time we leave the house!)
Declan: Why are we off like a herd of turtles?
Me: Because turtles are so slow and it takes us so long to leave the house, so we are slow like turtles.
Declan: We're not slow! (indignant) We're fast - like a herd of cheetahs!!

Today's conversation;
Me: We're off like a herd of cheetahs!
Declan: Do cheetahs like cheese?
Me: (smiling) Probably, although that's not what they normally eat.
Declan: What DO they eat?
Me: Meat!
Declan (after a moment) Are they carnivores?
Me: Yes! (delighted) They are carnivores. They eat meat, so they are carnivores!
Declan: Do you know what else is a carnivore? T-Rex! I'm going to tell my dinosaur teacher about cheetahs!
(Declan took a little mini-camp about dinosaurs this summer)

He's something else!! :)

Peaceful

Always

Beach Boys

F o u r

Calm

Inspired by Dr. Seuss' Many Colored Days

Fun Fair

Just catching up on some older photos!!!

Vacation

mama time

Tenderness

Say Cheese!!

Brendan Month Two

Must be summer

Blue Eyed Baby

I Love Him

Happy Birthday Ginny! And Happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Declan and I made the cards! Here you go dad - Happy Birthday!!

Chunk of Cute

Brendan Month One

Some notes on Brendan's first month: Visitors - Merilynn, Mike, Ashley, Shari, Merrie, Conrad, Alex, Andrew, Elaine, Emmie, Ginny Ann, Christina, Rebekah, Ursula, Kevin, Gabby, Zack, Kathy, Terri, Ginny First bath - You liked it the first time. No crying, not a peep until after when you were cold! The second bath was not so successful, but you were hungry so we'll see how number three goes! Things you like - You stare at the ceiling fan in my room while I change your diapers, you also love to gaze at the window in the living room. You kind of like the toy giraffe with the black/white stripes on the bottom. You recognize my voice when I speak and you seem to also recognize Declan's voice. You are starting to turn your head toward sounds. You can grab things if I put them in your hand. You like the sling. You like the baby papasan seat. You like your car seat. You like to be swaddled. You love to be held. Things you don't like - Diaper changes. Burping. The baby bjorn. The papasan swing. Swinging after eating (spit-up!). Being left alone! Having your eye wiped (blocked tear duct).

Kiss Me

Tiny Feet

Brendan's first layout

Brendan Patrick

Emilie

preggo beleggo

We're still waiting. I am only a few days away from my "due date" but I feel like I am LONG overdue. This baby is large (like Declan) and I am very anxious to meet him or her. The sooner the better. The anticipation is almost unbearable.

Waiting

Stars

love this boy

A challenge layout

I was inspired to do a layout for an "art" challenge at scrapbookgraphics - the artist is Arthur Rackham. Here is what I came up with:

My Boy

Love My Guys

Burbujas

Spring!!

Yup - it's finally here - the warm days, the green things underfoot, the huge buds on the trees and it is BLISS!

Family Resemblance

Who do you look like? A question that never fails to fascinate me and irritate Brian. I love to look at Declan and try to figure out where he gets his traits from. His blonde hair, those blue eyes, his body type - he looks like Brian in so many ways. It's harder to see his resemblance to me - so I search for it! Here's the latest little "comparison". Sorry honey - I can't help myself!

Party Notes

This post is really for my own records - just a little reminder of the food and stuff from Declan's party!

30ish people:
5 foot sub from Pizza Cutter (dressing on side)
Bonelesss Bourbon BBQ chicken wings from Holiday
1 Veggie tray from Holiday
1 large fruit salad from Holiday
4 bowls of chips, 1 bowl salsa, 1 bowl dip
Almonds and wasabi peas
Orange punch (made and used two punch bowls)
Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite (1 2-liter each)
mini bottles of water
12 pack of Red Stripe
1/2 sheet cake from Sweet and Savory *YUM" (marble with strawberry mousse)
1 gallon each chocolate, strawberry (United Dairy Farmers - YUM) and vanilla ice cream

Sub was perfect! Just the right amount of chicken. Right amount of fruit and veggies. Next time, more almonds. Right amount of beverages too!

St Patrick's Day Layout

What books mean to me...

I was reading a magazine this evening (while Brian had Declan at the library of all places) and I ran across an article about reading and writing books. The article featured Anne Enright, an author and her views on books. What she had to say on the subject was so fitting and RIGHT that I had to copy her words. She is initially talking about writing books, but for me, the same sentiments apply to reading books. She writes:
"Yes, when I am in the middle of writing, a book is like a love affair (and I think, when it is finished, I will never be able to love again). I look at the books on my shelf and think of them as friends. Books nurture us, as parents do. We can "sink into" them, as into a comfortable chair. But books are not parents, or lovers, or friends, or items of furniture. A books is, for as long it lasts, a state of being. So reading, for me, is closer to meditation, or to being drunk, or to dreaming than it is to anything else. The wonderful thing is that the kind of dreaming you get from a book makes real sense"

And her words really resonate with me. Books are, for me, the most wonderful form of escape - engrossing, captivating and delightful. I love to lose myself in them and hate it when the story finally ends. I suppose that is why I have been obsessed with serial novels over the past few years. I must have a trilogy, at the least! It goes too quickly when you are reading a story encapsulated in just one book.

Anyway, that is my latest ramble on reading. Saved for posterity here on the blog.

Time flies

How did it get to be almost the middle of March already?!? I've been lulled into a false sense of timelessness by the never-changing winter weather. Living in a kind of a fog with very little sense of how quickly time is speeding by! True, there has been a lot going on in the past month or so. Declan and I both had a nasty bout of the stomach flu (barfy mc-pukey was the joke around here for a couple of days!), we got a new kitchen floor, a new fence (alleluia) and Brian painted the kitchen a bright orange!! BUT, I have NOT moved forward with the baby-readiness plans, have NOT picked out a summer camp for Declan, have NOT started my tomatos from seed and have NOT kept up with my scrapbooking! Ok, so after all the blathering, here is my latest page - Big Boy Bed - a momentous occasion that happened on January 30th!! Yup, I'm BEHIND! (Just to give you an idea, I have pictures to scrap from Valentine's Day, getting our new car, Brian's birthday, the Easter Bunny, Butterfly house and dyeing Easter eggs!!!)