oh the pains of going through soda withdrawals. for the 50th time. in two months. when will i learn? i have found a good substitute though. wylers light. raspberry. yummy goodness. david's aunt judy got me hooked on it when we saw her a few weeks ago. we took the kids and went up to new mexico the weekend before last. we used to go there all the time when dave's mom and dad lived there. we haven't been back since dave's parents moved to mesa and dave's mom died. so it was a really fun trip. judy and lance live right on the other side of albuquerque on a mountain. they have a beautiful home and two great big pyrenees dogs, lulu and koda. my girls were in heaven and judy and lance really took great care of them. we took the girls on the tram. a few cried before we left--guess which two? no crying pics though kaelene! after we got on and they saw how slow it went they were fine.

we also went to the zoo and had a great time. the albuquerque zoo was really good. it's funny how everyone can enjoy a zoo. it really doesn't matter what age or gender you are. who cannot get excited watching monkeys cavorting around? and we got to see pretty much all the animals. even the polar bears which were so cool to watch. all in all it was a very nice getaway and a lot of fun to get to see family. my girls don't get that enough and it was good to see them enjoy themselves there.

lots of things to do this week. i'm cleaning and reorganzing my kitchen. tired of things being all over the place and not being able to find what i need. i want to do some sewing and scrapping and getting ready for my stamping up party that kaelene is hosting for me. have a great week everyone...L

is a picture really worth a thousand words? let's see here. first up are pictures that will explain to my two youngest girls why momma isn't going back to disneyland for a few years. can you guess what ride we were waiting for? indiana jones? space mountain? no, just the train that takes you around the park.



next up we have pictures taken that show why haley is the most photographed, scrapbooked child in the house. last night i made a layout and taylor asked why all my scrapbook pages were of haley. evidence below.




and that pretty much sums up spring break at our house. a quick trip to cali with dave and haley ending up sick. a much crowded disneyland. shopping and a haircut. some good food. all i can say is that at least it was a break...L

everyone, i'd like you to meet bubble. about a month ago haley told me she was changing her name to bubble. when someone asked her about it she said 'my name is haley, but my friends call me bubble.' she can spell bubble in sign language, signs all pre-school papers as bubble, says her name in a prayer as 'bless bubble' and signs birthday cards--bubble. i don't know where she got this name but it's not going away anytime soon. and it suits her as she is quite bubbly. and talkative. a talkative bubble.

so it was sort of a bummer of a week. really a downer. won't go into details but seriously folks--yuck. and i don't want to talk about it or bring you all down into the bummer-ness of it. so there.

on a positive note, and since it is a sunday, i will say that i know God answers prayers. literally. when you need it most. and to let you know 'hey--i love you and i see your problems and i want you to know i am here.' and i have to say that i was very grateful. i know problems and trials all come our way and sometimes God lets you struggle through them. but He knows when to step in and help you out when you need it. and i needed it about 4-5 times this month already.

but things are looking up and i'm grateful for life and family. my family. my husband and kids. there is not a day that i don't thank God for giving me the best kids on the face of the earth. love them fiercely. of course spring break starts tomorrow so look forward to the post about me putting my kids up on ebay. except bubble. she's a keeper...L

well i have been working hard getting ready for my first stamping up open house. when i got my kit it was like christmas. so fun. i absolutely adore my stamps! and everything else i got. so i will post a few cards and layouts using my stamps. most have been scraplifted from the SU catalog. which i love! the Y layout is a scraplift from keisha campbell. i have been having fun embossing again as well. love it.

so i went to the doctor this week. for my annual 'you-know-what' exam and also to change out my IUD. because you know--i have SIX kids. love them. but don't want any more. first, because i am 45 years old. second, because i have SIX kids. so that went all well and fine. and my doctor (his name is greg layton--and he is a fantastic doc!) asked if i wanted to see the old IUD--and i asked if i could have it for my scrapbook. LOL no, i didn't take it. but dr. layton did ask if he was going on my blog. i told him i would and threatened to put a picture on too! ha seriously--if you live in the gilbert/mesa/queen creek area and need a new giney doc he is the best. he has an office on greenfield and baseline. his wife is a good friend of mine and reads my blog and will tell him i put in a good word!

anyway--i was going to go by myself and dave told me he would come along with me for moral support. which was nice because i was a little anxious and it was good to sit in the passenger seat and relax. then after we met kerry for lunch and then kerry and i headed out to scrapbooks etc. where i did not let her buy any stamps! LOL but we did hit the jackpot and got the making memories little notebooks. so cute!!! after that dave picked me up and we were heading home when he decided to treat me to one of my fave restaurants before we went home. so this pic is of us in the restaurant. it was a really good day for me. and i needed it that is for sure.

i have talked to shanna and already in one week's time they have had tornado warnings and snow. and it seems like in their new home they have a crack shack out back. i give her one year before she is chewing tobacco and saying "ya'll" every other word...L

i'm alive. barely. i had the worst flu ever. it kicked my butt. royal. now it's time to get moving again. i will start my exercising up again starting tomorrow. i did get a book read in february. i read new moon. the 2nd in the vampire series. i liked it. i just have to read eclipse and i will be ready for the 4th book in august when it comes out.

some good news. i became a stamping up demonstator! i am really excited. i love their products and look forward to becoming involved in the company. look for samples coming soon! i am going to have an open house this month before one of their sales ends. anyone whom wants to order feel free to look through their catalog online and contact me! really--they have some cool things. stamps, inks, punches, cardstock, patterned paper, ribbon, tools--you name it they probably have it. and all of their cardstock, papers, ribbons and inks match.

while i was sick i did manage to do a few things. i made these layouts. the halloween one has some of the new hambly that i won on their blog. i am not kidding. i actually won something! they were giving away some of their new releases and they picked 7 winners out of the 700 that posted. so i was really happy. i got the news when i was sick and that made me happy. it is so pretty. i love it all!

on a sad (for me!) note--shanna and her family left for mississippi yesterday. i am so going to miss her. even though i didn't live that close to her anymore i would see her at least once a month. all of our scrap group except the 2 sickies--kerry and beth--met up at fridays to say goodbye. i wasn't going to drive down because i was still recovering. but i would have felt horrible not saying goodbye in person. so dave drove me down and we hung out for a couple of hours. good fun. i'm going to miss you shanna...L

so it's 2:30 in the a.m. and i am not sleeping. i have the flu i think. nasty cough, aches, pains, sore throat and general yuckiness all round. but even while coughing up a lung kerry tells me i must blog. so blog i will. i haven't been doing much lately. really it feels like i am just trying to keep my head above water. i was thinking about my goals and if i had kept them or not. weight is still the same. but i started this week really well exercising and started jogging. it's actually more like partial jogging/walking. but i really felt good doing it. until my lungs started hurting. i thought i would beat this illness by exercising it away. but i will lay low until i am feeling better.

haven't read a book this month yet. need to get on it. but i have done good with other things. above are a couple of layouts i have done. also are the beautiful flowers my scrap group made me for my birthday. plus the beautiful adelaide lou. my sweet daughter's friend and our previous mesa neighbor ashley and her husband came to visit a few weekends ago and brought their 6 week old baby with them. she is a doll. and her name is just the cutest one ever. makes me want to have another baby. actually just makes me want brianne to have a baby. and let me name her. adelaide lou. love it.

ok--here is wishing me a speedy recovery and some flu related weight loss. although dave made me eat a cheesy chicken burrito covered in enchilada sauce for dinner. and i just had a 1/2 pb&j sandwich. but at least the girls did me the favor of eating up all our girlscout cookies.

oh--i almost forgot to mention. when i wasn't feeling good yesterday and kind of in a bad mood i went to the hockey game with a girlfriend. which helped me to feel so much better and when we got outside after the game it was snowing hard. and my car had about 2 inches of snow on it. boy was it cold, but it was so beautiful too. everyone have a great weekend...L

just some valentine cards i made. happy V-day to everyone and a big smooch. best present? jeff bought brianne a ticket to come home this weekend!! yay--i am so excited! she gets in tomorrow!! plus dave is cleaning the house for me tomorrow. score!

today started out kinda yucky. i have been feeling down and not sleeping and feeling some stress. so i cried a little and wow--it's amazing how letting your emotions out can do a world of good. maybe i should start to do this crying thing once a week. anyway--i feel better now and i am excited for this weekend with most of my family here.

so i decided to make a list of some of the things i love and here they are (in no particular order):
salsa and chips; XXX vitamin water, lip gloss, books, lakes, snow, art, scrapbooking, photos, eggnog, effexor, email, ipod, disneyland, music, brownies, diet pepsi with lime, hot baths, new shoes, haircuts, purses, air, stars, worn out jeans, warm wooly socks, a fire in the fireplace, and last but not least--my family and friends. without them nothing else would matter...L

i love this girl. i love the clothes she picks out. they're always so cute. as cute as she is, no one would go outside with her today and play. her eyes were welling up with tears. so momma went. we swung on the swings, then she slid down the slide, then she tried fixing the trampoline--which died a terrible death in a wind storm, and i took some pictures. i was thinking how lucky i was. no one else usually wants me to take their picture. haley is always more than willing. except after i took these pictures she looked at me said "that's all the pictures mom." and then she went about her business. i went inside to start dinner but i kept watching her and what she was doing. talking to herself and the dogs. running around. climbing the steps. having fun...L

He's gonna kick MY ass?

this is my GOOD friend beth. as you can tell in the above photos. i missed her birthday last week and i feel bad. especially since beth is so good at remembering my birthday and a million other things. she is superwoman! no lie. i think she is the only person that has more on her to-do list than oprah. really. and oprah doesn't even have kids. so there. those pictures make me laugh because, hey--you can really tell how much beth wants me.! shhh, don't tell her husband. beth--it's ok to have a girl crush. really. seriously--if i got the chance to get married again--i'd marry beth. i'd have no worries. except she would have to teach me all about sports. like how come the superbowl is in AZ again after it was just here a year ago! sheesh.

beth--happy belated birthday. next time i see you i will lick your ear again. i promise...L

shout out to k-dawg who took these lovely photos!

you know why there is a cliche "sick and tired?" because it isn't a CLICHE! it's solid gold truth. wha' happened? i turned 45 and my body shut down on me. i am so not kidding. i haven't been feeling well since around saturday night. i am complaining non-stop to dave about how i am falling apart. our conversation went something like this yesterday:
me: i have to start taking care of myself. i only have a few short years left.
dave: i heard that if you haven't done anything before you are 40 that it doesn't matter--the damage is done.
me: shut up! who was talking to you anyway! ( i deleted a few swear words for my young readers!)
then i thought about it and realized--dave doesn't read, he doesn't watch the news. all he watches on tv is "Dog: the bounty hunter" and "Cops". so i'm pretty sure my get healthy plan will still work and i might live to see my grandchildren. {insert big sigh here}.

another reason dave is slipping on my popularity list is because he dared to ask IF I MIGHT BE PREGNANT! i dared to ask if he had a passport because if i was pregnant {insert trademarked maddy intake of breath here} i would kill him dead. then i would kill him all over again. just to make sure the first killing took. then i would kill him again. just for the sheer fun of it. then i would chop off his head, hang it on a pole in town square and attach a note that this is what happens to men whom refuse to get a vasectomy and then their 45 year old wife gets pregnant. BE AFRAID!

in all of these very traumatic {and i am not one for the drama usually} events i have at least tried to accomplish some goals. no exercising but i am eating healthier--i went off soda AGAIN, for the 100th time, i have taken some pictures--note the very lovely and animated haley--and I SWEAR she is a double in that top photo for brianne. it gives me chills. i finished a layout. at the moment though i can't remember my other goals. that is probably the alzheimers beginning to kick in. well, i must sign out now and go take my geritol and eat some prunes. later...L

happy birthday to me. and it's been a good one so far. breakfast in bed (buttermilk pancakes with apple cinnamon syrup) and turkey tacos for lunch. just trying not to think that 45 is about a half century old. bloody hell. i'm old. i think we might go to sedona for the rest of the day. and maybe look around for a wheelchair. peace out...L

just a few images from some random things last week. first, went down to mesa on friday to "scrap" with my girlfriends. which really was just a cover for a surprise baby shower for shanna. we went with the traditional "balls and nuts" theme. HA we did get a little carried away with decorating the gingerbread men. and embellishing them. and using them for our entertainment. my favorite was the napkins--which showed a pic of a baby with the saying "you're kidding! i get both nipples?" (brianne--i saved some for your shower!) of course no scrapping got done and when i went to leave my car was filled with balloons. crazy girls. they always do something fun for our birthdays--and since i don't live close they always get creative. i drove all the way home with those balloons. i wanted to show my girls. about 15 minutes from my house one of the balloons popped and gave me a heart attack. so i opened the back windows to let the balloons go and instead they all got sucked to the front of the car making it terribly hard to see out. i am sure if i would have studied the law of physics back in high school i could have avoided that. but then i let my windows down and balloons just flew out of my car. i wish i could have driven behind myself to see that.

this week has not started good for me. i came home from church at 2 and went to bed until 5. then i went to sleep again around 9. i have just been struggling with being tired this week. it is killing me.

but i have a few funny things to post. things my girls have done. tonight for example. carson shows me a beautiful drawing of new york, complete with the statue of liberty. i comment on how lovely it is. she tells me that "the eiffel tower" is a little crooked. i say "it's the statue of liberty." carson''oh, whatever." yeah--cuz the two are very difficult to tell apart. LOL then anna is working on apostrophes and possession. she is supposed to re-write "the queen of the colony is very important." so i ask anna how she could write this with a possesive noun. anna's response--The queen rules!. i love it. how very true.

and the card--one i did for a challenge on a website. it helped fulfill one of my resolutions. to make a card and a page a week. i actually made two cards. plus our family has had family home evening, read scriptures and had family prayer. love it. the only thing killing me right now is the diet/exercise. and i got a little scared tonight when i called my daughter and she told me she had gone to a step aerobic class tonight. i need to get my butt in gear. now it's time to see if american idol has ended so i can get my girls in bed. later...L

happy new 2008. we spent the last weekend with the girls in flagstaff. where it snowed all day. we had a blast. we found a sledding park and went and had a great time sledding down all the hills. taylor and i caught some air on the big hill. but anna is destined to be a snowboarder. she literally didn't want to leave, even though she was soaked to the skin. i didn't get many pictures because it snowed the entire day on us. but we did drink lots of hot chocolate and watched movies in our hotel room. we ate really well too.

i really don't make new years resolutions. they're so cliche and just something i don't do usually. but this year i changed my mind. i decided i needed some concrete goals and what better time to set them into place but january. so here goes. my new years resolutions.

1) eat better/healthier.
2) get kids and husband to get on board for goal #1.
3) get in shape. i want to lose weight too, but my main goal is to get in shape through exercise and eating healthier.
4) read at least one book a month. (this goal has been accomplished already as i just finished "twilight" last night.)
5) be more outgoing/socialize more. I am such a hermit/loner/nerd.
6) scrap a page and a card a month.
7) enjoy my other hobbies: reading, beading, sewing, photography.
8) read my scriptures daily.
9) morning and evening prayers.
10) do #'s 8 and 9 as a family also.
11) get a grandbaby!

so i will be doing a monthly check on myself as i try to focus on keeping these goals. i also have others but those are little things that i can do monthly. feel free to share your goals with me and your progress also. i do have a really good incentive for getting in shape. when brianne left at christmas time we challenged each other to lose weight and i told her that the loser has to get pregnant. so as i am SO NOT going to get pregnant i figure that if i get goals #1 and 3 done then goal #11 will happen! peace out...L

i hope everyone had a very merry christmas. mine was fantastic. all my kids here for the first time together in a long time. needless to say we had a blast. anna got baptized by dallas, we ate good food, played games, saw christmas lights, drank eggnog, played wii, opened gifts, took a hike, dallas pooped a D. yes, my 22 year old son came running in one day asking where my camera was. later when i asked what he needed it for he told me he had pooped his initial D. lovely. i won't post a pic. other than that it was probably the best christmas i ever remember. i will post some highight pics later.

saturday i took carson down to the valley to stay with her good friend McKenzie. shanna's husband and kids are gone so i spent the rest of the day with her. we had a good time. we went to lunch at the cheesecake factory. i talked shanna out of a pink cotton candy looking maternity shirt. we drove to apache junction to pick up her pictures. wait--i think it was PAST AJ! lol then we stopped off at scrapbooks, etc. then headed home to scrap. which we did. the picture above is one of the four that i did. the rest need journaling. later we headed out to the scrapbook barn and ate dinner at serranos. scrapped some more then i headed home. a fun day for sure. and one that won't be happening after shanna moves. sniff, sniff.

i hope everyone has a great new year!!!!! smooch...L

this has been one crazy, busy week. haley turned 5. five years old. my baby. unbelievable. dallas will be coming home tomorrow. can't wait. i watched my friend's 7 month old baby today while she went to work. all my girls love him and couldn't get enough of him when they got home from school. taylor told me that she wants a puppy or a baby for christmas. well that would be nice but that's crazy--AND WE'RE ALL FULL UP HERE!

some really funny things happened here as well. not to me. that's what makes them funny. first of all dave met me for lunch the other day. and i picked the place. one i have talked about going to for like, 6 months, and one that dave never wanted to try. so we go into this place and you order at the counter. and the menu is really small and dave can't read it so he asks me to order for him. so i see a sausage sandwich and order that. and i order a muffaletto sandwich and some bruchetta. which come to around $30. for lunch. so when we get the bruchetta dave remarks that it tastes like a tostino's pizza roll. but hey, he says, those are good. uh-huh. then we get our sandwiches. mine is a ginormous italian sandwich. i look at dave's plate and there is the tiniest sausage sandwich i have ever seen. it looked like a beanie weenie in a biscuit with some red sauce on top. i look at dave's face and the sandwich and i just start laughing. i mean i can't stop laughing. when i do stop to eat a bite i start to look at his plate and get the giggles all over again. i eventually snorted sandwich down my windpipe i was laughing so hard. for the rest of the day i would just uncontrollaby start laughing when i saw him. needless to say i won't get him back there for sure.

while we are laughing at other's misfortunes, i must say that brianne called me today. she went to the jewelry store so they could fix a diamond on her ring. she went during her lunch break at work. so she knows some people that work in there and while she is talking to a woman about getting her ring fixed she notices that everyone is looking at her. the woman then tells brianne she has a post-it note on her. brianne looks down and low and behold she does have a post-it note stuck on her. ON HER BOOBIE! LOL that was a good one. i'm just glad it didn't say something like "file this immediately!" brianne--love ya and can't wait to see you in a week!!!

the girls decorated the tree tonight and it looks great. i played james browns funky christmas and worked on some christmas presents while they put on the ornaments. i loved seeing and hearing them find all the ornaments that they have made and cherished over the years. christmas is almost here...L

yesterday.i can't begin to tell you how much fun yesterday was. friends, gifts, food, scrapping, snow, shopping and pictures to remember it all. just a great girl's day. love these women. they are all unique and fun in their own way. and i have known them all for four plus years. and yesterday was our annual christmas scrap. and they caravaned up here to prescott to spend it with me. loved it. love all of you...L

and another treat for me to top the night off. brianne and jeff sent this to dave and i. you must click it and enjoy some holiday fun...L

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1253525347

best break dance ever.........

this is awesome!

so the bloody flu bug hit me hard early monday morning. i'll spare you the gory details. still not 100% better but hopefully tomorrow will bring full recovery. before i got sick i had started sewing again. i decided to make my girls christmas dresses this year. because nothing brings me more stress, i mean joy, than to sew up not one, not two, but FOUR satin/taffeta dresses. let it be known--taffeta and satin rank right up there as the worst materials to sew. slippery little bastard! reminds me of the time that i let brianne pick out her easter dress pattern and material when she was 8. it was pink and it was lace. 2 things that shouldn't ever be brought together. because i literally had to sew that thing twice. once for the lining and then the lace dress. i learned some new words during that time. but of course this time i have no one to blame but moi. so haley's dress got done before the illness. one down.

so while i was at the fabric store i picked up some material to make me a skirt. this beautiful grey wool flannel with loopy cream stitching. i decided i would give myself a break from the girls dresses and sew my skirt. no pics yet. but it turned out fabulous. and only $6 to make it. i kid you not. dave was impressed.

that's all for now. back to taking it easy and pouring over magazines. and scrapping a little...L

(sorry for lousy pics!)