new addition

to the kitchen!

A chair at the island, finally!! (It's just one right now, but we are getting three more.) They are a wrought iron with creamy colored upholstered cushion. They aren't exactly what I had in my head, but they are just fine. The ones I really thought I wanted were all wood painted black, something similar to this:

but they average $100+ or more per chair. So the plan is to use the wrought iron ones until we finish the basement. Then we could use them for a bar or a table set downstairs. Or someday perhaps we will use the guy who made our cabinets to make wood chairs to match the island.

My Mom found these at JCPenney's for an incredible deal, and they match our kitchen perfectly. It'll be nice for the kids to eat breakfast at the island. So an early birthday present for me...Thanks for the chairs, Mom!

reality check!

Cal has relayed some things he has been thinking about. He asked yesterday when he could take the babysitting class so he can take care of his baby sister. I believe the age is 11? So only a year away...on top of that, some other things he has made me aware of (and freaking out about!!)...

When this baby starts kindergarten, Cal will be getting his driver's license, and Kaycey will be in 8th grade.

When Maddie is a senior in high school, this "baby" will be in 7th grade. Yikes.

Cal also let me know that he will be 26 and probably have his own house in Baltimore, and he and Kaycey both will have graduated college by the time the "baby" starts driving.

The real crazy part...I am totally freaking out about having a baby on Friday the 13th (yes, the c-section is officially scheduled, and the doctor said things have changed since my last baby and they will not do c-sections before 7 days prior to actual due date. 20-7=13. Boo. It's still possible it'll be earlier, though, if I would go into labor they would do the c/s then. Maddie's c/s was scheduled for the 10th, and I had her on the 7th because I thought I was going into labor on the 6th. With Kaycey, my c/s was scheduled for the 9th of May, but I went into full blown labor with her on the 27th and had her the 28th of April. No, I am really not superstitious. I just think it sounds creepy to give birth on Friday the 13th.) Anyhow, I decided to look up on some calendar if her 13th birthday would happen to fall on a Friday the 13th (if indeed she is born on the 13th of Nov.) No, it falls on a Sunday. The year?? 2022. Double Yikes.

I am starting to feel old.

45 days...

only 45 days till I am a mother of four.
only 45 more days of Maddie being the baby. Maddie and I have been a pair for a while now. For the first time today, I was a little sad about Maddie not being the baby anymore. She's been...I won't use the word clingy exactly, but I guess attached is a better word. Is it because she realizes she's going to lose one-on-one with Mom? I'm really not sure. She's been so cuddly, and we've been playing tons of games together during the day while the other 2 are at school. She has also had a few meltdowns (something Maddie is definitely not known for!!) but I feel they were because she was so tired. Well, that's what I'm going with anyways...
Maddie, my sweet little baby who isn't a baby anymore.
!!

double digits

I was up at 5:30am making brownies for Cal's class. I would've done it last night, but Mike wasn't feeling well and decided to sleep on the couch. So I was nice and didn't turn any unnecessary lights on near that room, which meant no making brownies in the kitchen. So I instead made them while half asleep when it was still dark out with the lights dimmed (Mike moved to bed during the night). And I managed to not only burn my wrist on the oven rack, but also the top of my hand from my reaction to burning my wrist. I just burned my arm two weeks ago making a pizza. And I always use the bottom oven because I can barely reach into the top one, at least not safely! Geez. I should not be allowed to use the ovens, I swear!! Speaking of brain loss, I answered my cell phone on Tuesday with "The Scrapbook Store, this is Elizabeth...uh, I mean, hi." I am a big dork. I'm only there once a week, if that. I don't know what I was thinking. I can't believe I did that. The funnier thing is that it was a parent from the soccer team. He seemed rather confused...

So,from this...
(I didn't make this page ten years ago, but of course all my pictures are hard copies from then, so I thought I would just post this page instead of Cal's "birth" day. Though the page is rather old, too!!)


to this.

Happy TENTH Birthday, Cal!! We let him open one present this morning. Online, I had found an Orioles t-shirt with #8 and "RIPKEN" on the back. He said it was the best present ever!!!

thoughtfulness

Cal brought this note home from school...they have been studying the 4th commandment.

included are 4 coupons he made as well. Two for whatever we want, one for picking up rocks in the yard (I know that sounds funny, but seriously Mike is often out there digging up more and more rocks/pebbles that are scattered across the yard from when we started building), and one for breakfast in bed.
How sweet!! Hard to believe at 10:02am tomorrow, he will be double digits.

special delivery!

Look what came in the mail!
WOW! So many goodies from Fancy Pants drawing for participating in their contest a couple weeks back. I never expected an entire line of product!
I got the entire Halloween release. I better take lots of Halloween photos from here on out to use it all up!!
12 sheets double sided paper (including title strips paper and cards)
2 transparencies
3 yards of 3 different ribbons
the rubons to go with the line
the stickers to go with the line

What I've been working on...

here are the unfinished frames, finished. I think they turned out A-OK, except the varnish I put over the tops of them is shinier than I expected. Oh well!! I started making a 4th frame, too. It's lime green.
The frames: (without the pictures--still waiting on the prints)
I can't wait to hang them up!

getting ready...

for many things.

For fall. Mike finally emptied and took the pool apart. Until next year...

Kids have school pictures tomorrow. I curled Kaycey's wig for church this morning, and so it would be extra cute for her picture tomorrow.

Cal's 10th birthday on Thursday. My Dad and Stepmom are coming over that night. The rest of my family is coming over Friday night.

I've been painting the unfinished frames and strip of towel hooks I bought for the kids' bath. Hoping to have everything hung on the wall by the end of the week. Sadly, I have bath pictures of Kaycey and Cal a-plenty, but almost zero of Maddie. The few I do have are blurry or she has her eyes half closed. Looking through pictures for a bath picture of Maddie, I was brought back to when she was teeny tiny brand spankin' new, and how I think an entire month went by and I didn't take a single picture of her (or anyone else for that matter) because that was the last thing on my mind with Kaycey in the hospital. Several things over this weekend brought back how different life was when Kaycey was sick. All the time I spent without my new baby, all the time Maddie had to spend at everyone else's house but mine; how few pictures I have of Maddie's first 9 months or so compared to the other two kids; how the first time I took Maddie to get her picture taken in a studio she was almost 2 years old (the other kids I religiously took at 3mo, 6mo, etc...) How long it seems since we've had a baby around. sigh.

And while it may be a bit premature of me, I went through and took out all the baby girl and neutral clothes size 0-6 months. All that pink...there's alot of it! But while there is alot of clothes (my mom was astounded how much we have), my 3 girls will all have been born in different seasons. Which makes it really hard to use some of the stuff I do have. Alot of it I am not even putting in baby 4's drawers because it is impossible for her to fit into it at the right time (0-3 month summer dresses and outfits that were Kaycey's). So after sorting all those tiny baby clothes, I washed them all, in amazement that in less than two months someone that tiny will be living in our home.

I emptied the "changing table" today (which housed way too much scrap stuff!!) And we rearranged our bedroom tonight to make room for the changing table (which was Maddie's, we bought a really nice unfinished dresser/mini armoire attached, finished it, and put a changing pad on top of the dresser part) and a crib (when we decide what to get!) I figure, we will be spending much more time downstairs for a good 6 months, so might as well put the changing table on the first floor. And the crib, well, there's no way either of us want to go up and down the steps all night long. So once she sleeps through the night pretty well, we'll move her upstairs. ANyhow, our room looks really nice and empty for now (haven't brought the changing table down yet...) but the cradle looks so cute in there. Mike thinks it looks great--but for the wrong reasons :) he thinks it looks great because it is on my side of the bed. I told him the diapers are going on his side.

So besides all the getting ready stuff way ahead of time, I have been starting to freak out a little bit, too. Freaking out about having a baby period, since it's been five years. Freaking about having a c-section. Freaking about my iron being low (okay, so my Dr. is the one who freaked me out a little about that...) The iron I am taking is giving me a big belly ache. Freaking at every little cramp I have. The baby is actually horizontally positioned right now, which I suppose doesn't matter too much having a c-section. But it makes it really uncomfortable to do much of anything, esp. sleep. My only option is to sleep on my side, but on one side is a head, and the other is knees and feet. Because she is lying horizontally, my clothes seem to fit weird. One pair of maternity jeans I have are too tight already and I don't want to buy more! Ah, the joys of pregnancy...

Time to get ready for bed. Hoping I can sleep for more than 2 hours at a crack!! This heartburn is terrible.

more creativity brewing here...

I'm really eager to get going on all sorts of projects in my 8 weeks before the baby comes (yes, really only 8!!!) I have some raw frames I want to paint and hang in the kids' bathroom, filled with b&w pictures of them as babies in the tub. I framed a colorful piece of artwork Cal made last year in school that goes perfectly with their bathroom as well. Months back I had purchased lots of canvases (4x4, 6x6, and 8x8) in hopes of doing something crafty with them. I have lots of stuff, lots of ideas, I'm just uncertain where I want to put what. I have tons of pictures I want to frame and hang or put on wall shelves, I just don't know where to start. Do I keep them in color, or go b&w?? Do I enlarge some? Maybe do a collage of just cool vacation spots Mike & I have been? Oh, the decisions...

Also I've been eager to move furniture around. I will be putting Mike to work soon (tonight, perhaps??) to rearrange our bedroom to fit a crib and the changing table/dresser (which currently is housing some scrap stuff!!). Just want everything in order with plenty of time before November. Also the name game has restarted...maybe I'm just feeling extra indecisive or something. But I am currently clueless on what names I even love. It changes daily. By the way, Kaycey and Madilyn were not predetermined names and they were named at the hospital, though they were on list of several names we liked. So I am guessing that may just happen again!!

Latest page: Kaycey and I from Thanksgiving 2002 (her first!). Made with older Basic Grey paper (scraps I had!), the new Bo Bunny bling (which I love! I even used the background of the packaging on my layout to place the bling on top of!) The journaling lines were inspired by Bella Blvd :) I'm not loving my handwritten title, which is silly, because day-to-day, I do love my handwriting. I just don't love it on scrapbook pages. Maybe I'll die cut the title using QK's Maddie Anne, my favorite QK font.

just some stuff...

Funny things Maddie said/is saying:
The other night I told her not to go on the carpet since her feet were really dirty. I asked her to come into the laundry room so I could wash her feet in the sink. She started to take the long way, which would've meant running through the carpeted great room. I said, "No, go the other way!" Through the kitchen and dining room. She turns around and says, "Oh sorry Mom. My bad." What?!?!?!? I don't think I have ever in my life said this. Mike does, though. It was so funny.

"attend" (pretend)
"tendin" (pretend that) example: "Tendin they're in love itchudder." (Pretend that they are in love with each other)

"Are we getting a new car when the new baby comes? Where will the baby sit? I don't want my seat anymore, I want to sit on this seat" (points to regular seat that adults sit on). After explaining even Kaycey still sits in a seat, and Maddie will need to as well, she replied with, " but when I'm a big girl I want to sit in that seat!! In O-Tember (November) I will be a big girl!"

Other miscellaneous...
Cal wants to have a limo and a driver. He wants to be a baseball player or sports announcer. Also told me when he makes his first $10 million, he'll give me $2million. Can I have that in writing??

About school:
Went to the first PTO meeting last night (I've never attended one at any school). Excited for all the events and fun stuff planned for this school. Can't get too involved in the next few months, but looking forward to Spring and next year helping out with things. I'm so happy and thankful that we are part of this new school. I've met so many people in the past couple weeks, and everyone is wonderful. My only regret is we weren't able to send them 2 years ago when we started the building process out here. Kaycey told me yesterday she has a secret handshake with Amara and Nathan sits with her on the bus. Asking Cal after school how his day was, he responded with, "Oh it was so great!! I mean, it was okay..." The kids even came home from school and played school, instead of going swimming in the pool, which will come down very soon! So school is going very well. Maddie is the favorite gal of the week. Cheese flavored rice cakes were a huge hit. Who would've thought. I only sent the bag of them because of course I had forgotten to go to the grocery store Sunday night to get a snack for the class for Monday. Rummaging through the pantry that was the only unopened bag of snacks I had. How do I top that for tomorrow and Friday's snack?? :)

today is a good day!

Cal is excited about doing a book report. Kaycey is excited about going to a Pioneer meeting tonight at school after soccer (Pioneers is kinda like Girl Scouts). Maddie is excited to be watching "Word Girl". I am excited I was a random drawing winner for the Fancy Pants contest (though I didn't win the contest, but that's ok!)!! Hooray for good days.

fun new pages to share!!

Was lucky enough to have a scrappy sleepover with a couple buds last night... pardon the glares & graininess...
new fancy pants line, dancing girl. I do not recommend attempting to use the flourishy basic grey bling...what a pain in the booty.
new cosmo cricket line, boyfriend. Like it way more than I thought I did.
old paper! pic is from when we went to the Brewer Fever Postseason Bash at summerfest grounds last year when they made it to the playoffs. will probably add some mini pics along the side from the bash itself. And a title, of course. Brewer fever?

yay me! Now I am totally going to bed...

fancy pants entry...

Hooray for Fancy Pants :)

celebrating TEN

...one month early.

Our "pool" party was minus a pool last Saturday, seeing I think it may have hit 58 degrees. Not sure the sun ever came out. Major bummer. That's what I get for trying to have a party a month early, huh? Oh well, it's done, and I knew September was crazy busy for Mike's family as his parents are going to Greece for 2 weeks, his brother to Vegas, his sisters were going to be gone sometime during the month as well.

We decided we are going to have a bonfire for Cal's birthday with my side at the end of the month. Looking forward to lots of fall bonfires...

Cal got an MP3 player from Mike's parents. Mike and I are the 'mean' parents who wouldn't let their 10 year old have an IPOD. (Cal is perfectly happy with the MP3 player, I don't think he'd know the difference...)

This time I had full intentions on actually blocking off the entire upstairs to prevent the mayhem that went down last time. Instead Mike came up with putting tape across the bedroom doors and blocking them with boxes. Yes, I think it is crazy we have to do this. But anything to prevent major destruction...
We left the bathroom door open and put tons of toys in the hallway to play with (our hallway up there is enormous, like a playroom in itself!). Kids still managed to: go in the bathroom and lock themselves in 3 at a time with toys, go into the bonus room even though they were told not to(AKA my scrap stuff--a BIG no-no), and the one who threw polly pockets over the balcony last time decided throwing a juice box over the balcony was a better idea this time. I am so done with birthday parties in my own house that have that many small children. I will pay the $XXX to go anywhere else next time.