ahhhhh....a few things.....

*I've been in craft mode around here lately.
Lots of things in the works.
SOME are even done!!!
Others, will take some time.

I'll be posting this week.

*It appears that I've probably
broken my big toe.
Dude...I have never broken a bone in my life,
and now in less than one years time,
I've taken out my tailbone, and NOW my big toe!
What the heck????????

Our bar stool (it's big, heavy, and made of wood) got tipped over and landed square on my toe.
When I hit the floor in pain Jack, a bit scared asked me
"Do mommies cry??"

We thought it just got bruised.
It swelled up nicely that day and all stiff like.
Looked really pretty all week, black, blue, green, purple.
It was like a rainbow!

But it's been 3 weeks now, and I still can't put a shoe on it.
I still can't move it very well.
And, it still hurts a bit.

*Somehow, I've been busier since the kids went to school
than I was when them and all their friends were at our house all day.

Go figure.

*I've been a good mommy and have been helping out at school.
Have had a variety of appointments.
Did another baby shoot.
Did my visiting teaching (yay!)

*This is all I've been able to scrap since school started.
I'm going through withdrawals.
Definitely need to find me some more time!

Here are the kids at the pumpkin patch last year.
I liking the use of smaller pictures gathered together
in a grouping. It allows me to use lots of pics
without burying the page.

Me needs a bit o white space!(that's space with nothing in it ;)

These are pics Heather took of Jack and I a few years ago (obviously!)

I love them, and can't believe this babies pushing 4!

and....Samantha and Abby putting their Best Friends necklaces together.

I love the playfulness of this page. It's perfect for these cute little girls.

I don't normally do cut outs well, but I like how this one came together.

Happy Monday ya'll!

What to do?? What to do????

It's nearly 2:00 on this lovely and warm Wednesday afternoon.
Did I say it was warm???

My productivity is ever so slowly creeping in.
But here I sit, cruzin' the internet.

Instead I should be:

*Making dinner cuz we have dance at 5.
*Finish what I started on the kitchen table (making a little homework station for all the supplies the kids seem to need) Instead of having them floating all around and making a big freakin' mess!
*Finish cleaning the kitchen (I'm SO close)
*I'm pretty sure there is laundry to be done (dude, I have 4 kids. There is ALWAYS laundry!)
*Gathering the supplies I need for set up tonight for Enrichment (where's that list???)
*Finish up a few envelopes that need to go in the mail (why is it virtually impossible for me to actually get things in the mail???)

Ya, and now Jack REALLY needs to swim, he's so sweaty as he puts it. Which means the only thing I'll probably get done now is stuffing my face with one of those warm delicious brownies I made a while ago!

Wish me LUCK!!!

Baby A...

I had the pleasure of shooting this beautiful little miracle about a month ago.
As many of you know he was a much needed and deserved little blessing.
I could have cried the first time I saw him with his mommy...I taught her in Laurels and she holds a special place in my heart.
Having spent some time in the NICU, he was about 3 weeks old when we did these.

He was such a good subject...i took a lot of pictures.
I have edited a lot of pictures. I have a pretty simple process for editing these. Just a little pop of color and some softening and highlighting of the subject.

I wish I had lots of fun little props (like you see the professionals using)
He was so cooperative I could have done anything!

And...having taken SO many pictures I had a really hard time choosing which ones to post....so there are just a few ;)

How Could it BE????

That this little animal is in preschool????

On a quick side note we'll be taking this little preschool tour...
backwards. I loaded my photos wrong and blogger is not being
very reasonable with the rearranging of photos...so there.

Isn't he stinkin' cute. Wearing his little name necklace he made on the first day.

When I picked him up i asked him if he had fun and what did he do....he tells me all
serious and evasive while he looks out the corner of his eye and turns his head (and with a sigh) "I don't know...I can't remember" (which by the way is what he does every time I ask!)

Oh ya then when we got home and I wanted to look in his pack at what he made he practically hollered at me to not look yet, he's gonna show me!

Here he is showing me this person...which by the way is not him. He says it's his sister......uuuummmmmm Samantha (like ya, he just thought of that) Well, she does have bushy pink eyebrows so it must be a girl!


Here he is being a little shy as we arrive that morning.

Miss Heather suggested he go find his name to help him let go of me.
He's very familiar with what his name looks like, afterall it is up in lights all over town! {Jack in the Box}





I'm done mom...no more pictures.

The official first day of school photo, all the while playing with the straps.

Jack has been dieing...and I mean DIEING to go to school for like a year now.

But when it came time to start he was, shall we say...a bit nonchalant about it all. A titch shy.

Here he is with his so annoyed stance with his head hung down and to the side a bit all the while thinking to himself (i'm sure) uuhhhhhh...fine take a picture of my super cool backpack if you must!

Even though he likes to act like he's too cool for school I did hear from Miss Heather during cooking time one day that he kinda said to himself "this the best class ever" (I just imagine him saying that Napoleon Dynamite style!) Cause you know that's where he gets all his sweet skillz!

I just don't even know who you are anymore!

I think I have been possessed!

I don't know whats happened to ME.

Because...

I am not a pet person.

I repeat

I. am. not. a. pet. person.

BUT...

I think I luf him

and so do they...

So there you have it.

Sorry, WE have it.

And it's called a dog!

Oh and the kids have named him.

Napolean Kip Monson ;)

The story of how Napolean became a member of our family:

I think I have been saying for like 10 years now....maybe someday we'll get a dog(secretly thinking, ya right). Like I said, not a pet person. Won't say how I feel about cats, or any type of rodent. Besides fish, a dog was the ONLY possibility for our family. But I've always said someday. This summer the kids got on a kick about wanting a pet SOOOOOOOO bad. They decided to get a frog. Something they could play with (how pitiful is that). I thought, ok...can't be much worse than fish right?? So after much begging on their part I finally took them to a pet store to "loooook". Found out you can't play with a frog. We are toxic to them, they. might. die. Sooner, rather than later. But the store lady said a lizard is great! They, the children, were sold! A lizard it is, as I am gasping for breath and rethinking this whole trip to the pet store! They decided to pool their own money to buy one. A lizard, I tell you! I suggest we go home and "think" about it.

Somehow...thank heaven...they decide on their own that maybe it's not what they really want. What they REALLY want is a dog. Please mom, pleeeeeeeeaaaaaassssseeeeee.....we want a pet SO BAD!

By now I am feeling sooooooo guilty. Because of ME, my entire family is without a beloved pet. (well, except for Samantha who is terrified and wants nothing to do with dogs)

I confessed in private to Doug later that night that I might, I repeat, I might be willing to consider it. He jumped on that bandwagon and took me to a website that talked about good dogs for a family. Just looking, I tell ya, just looking. We talked about it for a few weeks, I liked the beagles. Than the whole subject just disappeared. Whew!

Then....i was introduced to newborn beagle puppies that our friends dog just had. It felt like a sign. A sign that someday just might be NOW! So we checked them out....liked the quiet little fella. He was chill.

I considered some more...kinda freaked out inside my head.

Can I do this????

Can I really do this???????????????????????????????????

Can I love him.

Can I let him in my house!???

Can I take on the responsibility...cause you know it's gonna be ME, ME who takes care of him most the time!

And I decided that yes, for my children...and my husband

I CAN do this.

So we did.

And my children love me for it.

I am the best mom evah! And dad too....though he was not the one that needed the convincing=)

It was a total surprise!

They had no idea.

Three of them were SOOO happy. The fourth ran upstairs screaming.

We are still on day one of having Napolean...and I am happy to report (as i knew she would)

Samantha has come around. She whispered "I love Napolean" to me :) Still a little skittish when he moves quickly, but still.....she likes to pet him. She's come a long way baby!!!!

ps...i am not looking forward to tonight...it's like having a newborn again.