Monday, November 27, 2006

It's a GIRL!!!!!!

We are so excited! We had a sonogram this morning and we found out that we are having another little girl! I am so grateful for that! I don't have to buy anything but diapers! She looks perfectly healthy. Her brain and heart are both perfectly developed. We could see all four chambers of her little heart and both of her little kidneys. She has a beautiful little spine and LONG fingers! I know it is hard to tell right now, but her little profile looks just like Hannah. I am just so relieved that everything is okay with this baby. I have had so much stress lately that I wasn't sure that she would be okay. I am scanning photos right now to upload.

Oh! And my brother and his wife are having a girl, too. And my sister and her husband are also having a girl! The Porter family is going to be overrun with girls! The more the merrier!

This is her little profile. You can see her kicking me!
This is the view from above her head. You can see her perfectly splayed long fingers. She's gonna be a piano player! :)another shot of her profile. and yes, she's kicking again!

and there is a shot of her perfect little foot. it doesn't look like she has curly toes, but we'll see!


Saturday, November 25, 2006

Just some new layouts...

I just submitted a few pages to Creating Keepsakes and Simple Scrapbooks. I have never been published before, so we'll see if anything happens! :) I am so sad! I just found out that my favorite scrapbooking magazine is no longer around! Scrapbook Answers is gone! Their last issue is this month. I love to look at Creating Keepsakes and Scrapbooks, etc. and Simple Scrapbooks for layout ideas, but they generally don't have much content that is applicable to digital scrapbooking. Scrapbook Answers always included free fonts and a free digital kit and free digital artwork to use in layouts. They usually had at least a few pages dedicated to digital techniques. So sad...

Today should be a pretty uneventful day. I am not planning to leave the house again until I have to go to a baptism at church at 5pm. I haven't even changed out of my jammies yet! Hannah hasn't taken her nap yet, so I have to wait to shower until she falls asleep. She just gets into too much trouble if I shower while she is awake. Little stinker! I just realized that today is the 25th and I have TONS of digital layouts due for my Creative Teams. I have no idea how I am going to get everything done. I have about 6 or 7 layouts that I HAVE to do. And no photos to go with them! Yikes! Better get started...

But, here is a layout I did last night. More of an introspective layout than a fun, playful one...

Royanna Fritschmann's Power of Friendship Kit at Divine Digital
Hand Stamped Alpha from Michelle Coleman's Second Mile Blog
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her torn paper action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Susie's Hand

I LOVE that hand stamped alpha. I miss stamps just for the alphas! The alpha I used in this layout is originally 8 inches tall. I just re-sized it for the layout. And it worked perfectly! I just got a new hand-stamped alpha from SaraAmarie. It is sooooo cute and I am soooo excited to use it! It is a thick and chunky and FUN! I need to take some photos of Hannah later.

I am going to go scrap... Later...

Friday, November 24, 2006

Will today ever end?

Is it just me or has today gone on FOREVER??? I just looked at the clock expecting it be 8:30 and it is just past 6:30! YIKES!

Thanksgiving dinner was pretty uneventful. We had dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's house. I had so much fun cooking the dinner for everyone and then barely any of the food got eaten. Okay, a lot of food was eaten, just not in proportion to the amount of food I made. So we sent home HUGE trays of leftovers with everyone. I wish I had brought home more pumpkin pie, but it is probably a good thing I didn't. I ate two pieces last night and then a piece of apple pie this afternoon for lunch! :) And I had sweet potato casserole for breakfast! I love Thanksgiving!!!

I have been in a reflective mood lately and trying to figure out what I really want from life. The more I have thought about it, the more I have realized that we really have very little control over our own lives. We have control over our day to day actions and the decisions we make. We have control over how we treat each other, but the big things... that is where we lack control. We can't control when or where tragedy or disease will strike. We can't control another person's actions. I can't make my husband do something he doesn't want to do. I can try to make Hannah do something that she doesn't want to do. But in the end, she really has to decide how she wants to behave. And even when we do make our own decisions, we don't get to control the consequences of our decisions. There is no such thing as a consequence-free action. For every single thing that we do or don't do there is a consequence. We may not feel the consequences for a long time, but there are consequences. And sometimes the consequences don't happen to us. Our decisions affect not only ourselves, but our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends and even perfect strangers. A simple decision like whether to turn left or to turn right out of our neighborhood could potentially be a life-altering decision. How many times a day do you find yourself asking "What if...?" or saying "I wish I had..." I do it a lot, but what good is it doing me? No good at all. We have to take the decisions that we have made and accept the consequences, good or bad, and learn to make the best of our situations. I was recently reading an Anita Stansfield novel, "To Love Again". I love Anita Stansfield's books. But there is a part of the book where one of the main characters is talking with his therapist. By the way, I wish I had a Sean O'Hara sometimes! :) I don't remember if it is the therapist or the character who comes to the conclusion that each event in our lives is a thread in the tapestry of our lives. If you pull out one thread or one event, the entire thing unravels. Our decisions, good or bad, affect who we are. And how we deal with the consequences that come affects who we are and who we become. And my point is... we just have to take what is dealt to us, make the most of it, and get on with our lives, hopefully learning something and improving ourselves.

We have a doctor appointment on Monday morning to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. I am sure I have mentioned this at least 10 or 12 times already. Any predictions??? Maybe I'll post a poll later! :) I think it's a boy. I really really really want a girl, but I think it's a boy. And I am okay with that!

I am going to go scrapbook now before Thomas gets home from work and decides to commandeer the computer! Later...

Monday, November 20, 2006

another layout...

my sister ashley, me, my sister-in-law amber & in the background... my daughter eating paint! :)
Laura Burger's Clubhouse View Kit at DigiScrapShak
Hand Stamped Alpha from Michelle Coleman's Second Mile Blog
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her torn edges action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Susie's Hand

a couple of new pregnant layouts...



Royanna Fritschmann's Power of Friendship Kit at Divine Digital
Hand Stamped Alpha from Michelle Coleman's Second Mile Blog
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her torn paper action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Susie's Hand

Fine! Be that way!

I just tried to switch to the new Beta version of Blogger... since it BUGS me to switch every time I login. And what do I get? A "No thanks. We are only switching over a limited number of blogs right now..." Well then why the heck are you bugging me about switching??? okay, that's out of my system...

I went to the doctor today. Everything looks okay. Same old complications still exist, but the baby's heartbeat sounds great. And if the little monkey's movements are anything to predict his/her future behavior by, I'm gonna have another active little monster! :) This little monkey is constantly moving! I am only 17 weeks and I have been feeling this kiddo move for the last 2 to 3 weeks. I am so excited for my sonogram next week. I really hope that everything is okay with the baby and that he/she is healthy. I am just excited that I will finally be able to give my baby a gender identity! Poor Hannah is so confused. She doesn't know what to think because sometimes Parker is a "he" and sometimes Parker is a "she".

Here is a photo of my sister, my sister-in-law and myself last week while my parents were moving. I'm the one in the middle. I feel so fat/ugly standing next to these two. They had both just freshened up and look amazing and I had been chasing a stinking toddler for hours. Brats! If you look closely you can see my daughter in the background, EATING PAINT!!!!! At least it wasn't lead paint. What a little nerd!


Ashley is due about 3.5 week before me and Amber is due 2 weeks before me. I am already starting to swell and retain water. I have got to find a new hair color. I have a LOT of gray hair and it doesn't seem to matter what brand of hair color I use, the color fades so quickly! I use shampoo/conditioner for colored hair. And I don't like that it turns red. Any suggestions?

Well, that's about all for me. I am gonna go try to scrapbook for about 45 minutes until Thomas gets home and then I am going to fold laundry and clean. I have got to get this place organized before his dad gets here on December 9th. Less than 3 weeks and at my pace, it's gonna take that long. I almost wish we were having Thanksgiving dinner at my house because then I would have to get it done in the next two days! I really could do it as long as Thomas would take some junk down to the garage for me. I can't do that on my own no matter when it gets done.

Talk to y'all later...

Friday, November 17, 2006

Just another Friday

Okay, Thomas really depressed me today. I called him on my home from doing errands and he asked me what else I was planning to do today. I told him that I was going home to hang out. And he says, "Yeah, that's right. Because you don't have any friends now that your family moved." And you know what? He's right! I hate it when that happens! I was going to take Hannah to playgroup at church last week, but something else came up. And Thomas doesn't work until 12 next Monday, so we'll miss playgroup again. And I have a doctor appointment anyway. I really hate not having family around. Oh well! I told Thomas that he can't expect me to have friends on my own if he isn't willing to have friends, too. It is much easier to have "couple" friends to hang out with. Especially with Thomas's weird schedule. Anyway...

Hannah & I both got flu shots this morning. Hannah's pediatrician ordered extra ones, so I got one at her office. My OB doesn't have any. Strange? I thought so. They were giving out free ones at Thomas's work for employees and he didn't feel it necessary to get one. "I never get sick." Watch, he'll be the only one to get sick this year! Hannah has a cold, though. The pediatrician told me to give her Dicel, a new cough/cold prescription medication. I LOVE it! It takes about 3 days, but it clears Hannah right up. And it has allergy medicine in it, so if it is allergies in addition to the cold, it takes care of those, too. Gotta love that! I keep hoping that Hannah will want to take a nap so that I can. I don't think it's gonna happen. At least not while I want to sleep.

We are putting up our Christmas tree this weekend... probably on Sunday. I am soooooooooo excited! I LOVE Christmas! And Thomas will be off work on Sunday. I need to get some new ornament hooks. I really want to get a new tree, but can't justify the expense. Our apartment is TINY. We have a 7.5 foot tree that is absolutely gorgeous, but it is HUGE. It would literally take up our entire office, if it even fits. It has a 6.5 foot "wingspan" for lack of a better term. So, we are using our little scrawny 6 foot tree. It's a pretty tree, but I bought it back in college, so it is starting to get a little run-down. I want an 8 foot slimline tree. It's only $150 at Garden Ridge right now... pre-lit... no more stringing lights for hours! I had over 1500 lights on my tree last year. You could read sitting next to the Christmas tree! ;) I'll make do this year, but if we are in our own house next year, I am buying a new tree! :) I'll post photos as soon as we take them. I have to start organizing. Thomas's dad is coming in town in a couple weeks and I have got to de-clutter my house or he'll go crazy. I haven't been able to do anything for weeks, so things have just been piling up. Thomas is off work at 6 tonight and he works early again tomorrow, so he is just going to have to help me! He's gonna love that! Hee hee!

Gonna go scrapbook now... I have a lot of really cool kits to use! Later!

Thursday, November 16, 2006


Uh-Oh! I love Maya's alphas and elements.
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006

Wednesday, November 15, 2006


Mish Gasser's Rockin' Recipe Template at 1HourScrap
Clara Wallace's Christmas Paper Pack at ScrapDish & Matter of Scrap
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Mary Jane Small Caps
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Mish Gasser's Rockin' Recipe Template at 1HourScrap
Michelle Underwood's Christmas Fun Kit at SBB
Photoshop 7
Fonts: McBooHmk; Tahoma
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


christmas present.... Marcie Reckinger's Happy Christmas Kit at A Cherry on Top
Mish Gasser's Rockin' Recipe Template at 1HourScrap
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Chonker; Marker Fine Point
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Holiday Chic Kit from Traci Reed's A Reason for the Season Collection at ACOT
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her inked edges action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Times New Roman
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Down Home kit from Traci Reed's The Reason For The Season Collection at ACOT
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her torn edges action
Virtual Photographer
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Sweetheart Script
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Down Home Kit from Traci Reed's The Reason For the Season Collection at ACOT
Virtual Photographer
Photoshop 7
Fonts: SA- KMS Fasthand
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Reindeer Games Kit from Traci Reed's The Reason for the Season Collection at ACOT
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her torn edges action
Photoshop 7
Fonts:A&S Black Swan
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Traci Reed's Reindeer Games Kit from The Reason for the Season Collection at ACOT
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her Torn Edges Action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Courier
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Laura Burger's Shenangians kit at DigiScrapShak, stitching recolored
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her torn paper action
Virtual Photographer
Photoshop 7
Fonts: StampAct
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Kim Jensen's Rich Autumn Kit at ScrapDish
kraft paper: Melany Violette's Natural Essentials Paper Pack at Simply Clean DigiScraps
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her inked edges action
Virtual Photographer
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Times New Roman
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Kim Jensen's Rich Autumn Kit at ScrapDish
kraft paper: Melany Violette's Natural Essentials Paper Pack at Simply Clean DigiScraps
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her inked edges action
Virtual Photographer
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Times New Roman
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Laura Burger's Sisterhood Kit at 3Scrapateers
DannyRapheal Thomas Neimann Tones Action
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her Inked Edges Action & Pristine Chipboard Action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Pharmacy, PetitScript
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Laura Burger's Simplify Christmas Kit
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Times New Roman
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Clara Wallace's Christmas Paper Pack at ScrapDish
snowman element from Jeanine Baechtold's Merry & Bright Element Kit at ScrapDish
stitching from SaraAmarie's Brisk Autumn Breeze Kit at Plain Digital Wrapper, recolored
numbers from Correen Silke's Summer's End Kit at Silkescraps, recolored
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her Inked Edges Action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: century gothic; Susie's Hand
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Traci Reed's Grandma's Country Kit from The Reason For The Season Collection at A Cherry on Top
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her Torn Paper Action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Susie's Hand
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Erika Tenney's Black Cat Magic Kit at Timeless Memories
DannyRapheal's Thomas Neimann Tones Action
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Trajan Pro
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


papers: Clara Wallace's Christmas Paper Pack at Scrapdish
alpha & elements: Jeanine Baechtold's Merry & Bright Element Pack at Scrapdish
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Paulinho Pedro Azul
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Laura Burger's Generation Recalled Kit at 3Scrapateers
Photoshop 7
fonts: James Fajardo; Kingsthings typewriter
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Erika Tenney's Black Cat Magic Kit at Timeless Memories
Photoshop 7
Fonts: SBC Distressed Typewriter
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Laura Burger's Gathering Kit at 3Scrapateers
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Century Gothic
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Laura Burger's Gathering Kit at 3Scrapateers
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Century Gothic
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


Velvety Soft kit from Traci Reed's A Reason For the Season Collection at ACOT
Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for her torn edges action
Virtual Photographer
Photoshop 7
Fonts: Times New Roman
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006

Long time, No Blog

Things have been crazy busy around here again. My parents are officially living in Chicago. They left yesterday morning. The house is all empty and they closed on their new house today. It has been hard for us. This morning I kept thinking that I would just drop by Ruthie's house when I was out doing my errands. Then I realized that Ruthie's house is now 18 hours away! Hannah has been crying for her Grandma. She told me earlier that she doesn't like me or our home. She wants to go find Grandma's new house in "'Cago" and stay there.
Little stinker woke up this morning with a snotty nose, but no fever. Then she took a nap and woke up with a fever and an even messier snotty nose. I had to call the mom of the little girl I babysit on Thursdays and cancel for tomorrow. Poor Hannah looks sick. Her eyes are droopy and all she wants to do it sit on her little couch and watch movies.
So, good news! I was asked to be on Traci Reed's CT for the month of November! I couldn't have picked a better month! She just finished her The Reason for the Season Collection at A Cherry on Top. 6 beautiful Christmas kits! And she also did a Snowy Collaboration kit that I get to work with! So much fun! It's a good thing I put off scrapping my Christmas photos for the last two years! I am working on a Christmas project. I am creating a recipe book of favorite family recipes. I am trying to get some Porter and some Cardall/Miller recipes. So, if you have a favorite, send it to me. I was going to print out full-size color copies for everyone, but that would get way too expensive, way too fast. So, I may have to make them smaller than I originally intended. I am trying to make all my fonts pretty big so that they can still be read if they have to be shrunk down. I have been a digiscrapping machine lately. I have already done 20 layouts this month. They are all posted below this post... Chrissy, if you are reading this, let me know what you think about the recipe book for Lyndsey & Tyson. We have them for Christmas & I have no idea what to get them. I don't really know Lyndsey that well and I have never even met Tyson. Anyway... back to digiscrapping... that just means that my house is a wreck and I am behind on my homework. I just can't concentrate on reading right now. I keep falling asleep.
Speaking of my pregnancy... things are going pretty well right now (keeping my fingers crossed). My symptoms haven't gotten any worse. They aren't necessarily better, but at least they aren't worse. I did have an allergic reaction an antibiotic over the weekend. Not fun! I had to take two Benedryl just to stop itching, but I could NOT sleep after that. I went to bed around 10 or 11, woke up at 2am and couldn't go back to sleep until after 5:30am. Then I had to get up at 7am for church. And of course, Thomas had to work on Sunday and Hannah was an absolute nightmare at church. She would not stop talking LOUDLY. So, I had to take her out in the hall, where I found my brother and sister-in-law. The whole family was out in the hall for the better part of the meeting. Which was too bad because the speakers were really good. I wish I could have heard more of what they were saying.
I am going to get going. I need to work on some birth announcements I am doing for a friend. What an adorable baby! :)

Saturday, November 04, 2006

My Daughter is a Terror!

I WILL NOT TAKE HER IN PUBLIC ANYMORE!!!!! At least not until we go to church tomorrow morning! She is an absolute terror! Yesterday, I took her shopping with my mom and sister and her husband. Hannah kept running away from me in the store. She was climbing out of the cart, trying to run out of the stores. The only time she sat still was when we got her a hotdog at the food court and then she managed to get ketchup EVERYWHERE and spill her Sprite all over her pants! Then my mom decided that she wanted to take everyone to see The Santa Clause 3. What a BAD idea! Hannah sat through the first 10-15 minutes. Then she started yelling that she wanted Grandma. I passed her down to Grandma, where she sat for about 7 minutes. Then she wanted Mommy. She sat still for another 5 minutes, then started crying that she wanted to go home. So, I took her downstairs (ampitheater style seating) and tried to get her to sit downstairs and watch the movie. But she didn't want anything to do with that. She wanted to go home and sit on her couch and watch Dora. So, we left the theater. As soon as we got into the lobby, she started SCREAMING that I was a mean mommy and she wanted to go watch Santa Clause with Grandma. She screamed all the way to the car. I finally got her calmed down and told her that if she wanted to watch the movei, we could go back in and sit quietly. She said she wanted to sit quietly. I tried again to get her to sit at the bottom of the stairs for quick get-away purposes. No WAY! She ran away from me and climbed the stairs to get to Grandma. Shelby, my lovely sister, was sitting in the end seat and it took her forever to realize that I wanted her to move over a seat. Even though I was saying it pretty loudly. Sometimes she doesn't pay attention to what we are saying. So, I sat down and as soon as I sat down, Hannah started screaming that she didn't want to sit in the dark, she wanted to go home. So, I dragged her little hiney down the stairs and out of the theater, with her screaming the entire time that she wanted her Grandma & Santa Clause. She screamed the entire way home. We got home and she cried and cried and cried. She said "I won't do it ever again. Take me back to my Grandma and my Everybodies." NOPE! And we aren't going back to anymore movies again. Not until they start doing the free summer kids movies again. Then I'll get to take TWO screaming kids! :) Then, dumb Mom that I am, I took her shopping again today. I had to get her a heavy jacket because it is getting rather cold here. I couldn't take her horrible behavior. Thankfully my mom and Ashley & Dylan were with us. Hannah LOVES her Uncle Dylan. He walked her around for a while. But she just runs off everytime she gets a chance. It scares me to death. I told her that someone was going to take her away from me and she would never see Mommy & Daddy again and her response was "Good. I don't like you. I want to go to Chicago with my Grandma." What did I do wrong? Are all Barely-2-yr-olds like this? Because I don't want another one!!!!!!! She hasn't been sleeping well lately and she has been so cranky and clingy! I am sure it is because of all the changes and stress we have had lately, but she sure doesn't make it easy to accomplish even the simplest of tasks. And keep in mind that I am not supposed to be carrying her AT ALL. I had to lift her about 10 times yesterday and almost that many today. She won't stay in a cart or a stroller. She knows how to unbuckle herself and climb out. I am so scared she is going to bust her head open. Goodness knows I don't need that stress, too! Anyway.... enough of that. She is a really cute kid and when we are home, she is great. Well, most of the time. She is sooooo smart! She told me all of her ABCs again today. And she knows most of the words to a lot of kids' songs. It's a good thing she is so darn cute! Speaking of.... We were driving in the car yesterday and some moron was in front of us. So, my mom yells, "What the heck? Get out of our darn way!" And from the backseat, you hear this little voice saying, "What the heck, peoples?! Get out of our way! We are going to see a darn movie!" And earlier this morning she asked me where her "darn dolls" were. I am going to kill my family if they don't start watching their mouths around this kid. She not only picks up certain phrases, but she knows when/how to use them. I have never called her dolls her "darn dolls" but she knows that people say that when they are frustrated. She is too smart for her own good.

well, Thomas should be home from work soon. I am looking forward to a quiet evening with low stress.... hopefully! :) I am going to go finish dinner. I threw a roast in the crockpot earlier with some Sonny's Sweet BBQ sauce. It's not even close to my favorite sauce, but Thomas likes it. I prefer Woody's Sweet Sauce or Sweet Baby Ray's. Both of which we have in the fridge. I think you can tell a true southerner by the number of kinds of BBQ sauce they have in their fridge... we have Kraft (yuck! but Hannah likes it), KC Masterpiece (it's okay), Sweet Baby Ray's (soooo good), Woody's (the best) & Sonny's. We had a couple of other bottles but I threw them out last week because we NEVER ate them. Thomas's dad loves to come visit us because we take him to a different BBQ restaurant every night. He is coming in December, so I am trying to get ready. Smokey Bonez is a new one here. It's a chain, so if you have one near you, give it a try. Their sauces aren't traditional BBQ sauces. I really liked their BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich. Thomas loved their ribs. Hannah got chicken strips.

I am going to go now. I have to pick Thomas up at the clubhouse in a few minutes. I am going to see if I can convince him to go to Publix with me and get some buns for dinner and get a Coke/Pepsi at the gas station. I think I have earned one after dealing with the princess today! :)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Happy November!

So, it is November 1st and it is 85 degrees outside. And HUMID! I think we are supposed to get another cold front sometime soon, but you just never know. I posted some photos of Hannah in her Halloween costume. Thomas had to work late last night, so he didn't get to see her trick-or-treat this year. I took her up to his store so he could at least see her in her costume. She was so funny. Thomas took her up to the front desk where the managers all sit. They had music playing and Hannah started dancing. Everyone was laughing at Hannah. She was shaking her little booty like there was no tomorrow! Her little tutu was moving! She was so wound up all day! And she didn't even eat any candy until later! Maybe it was the cookies... I think all the excitement finally caught up with her, though. She fell asleep at 10pm last night without a fight and didn't wake up until 7:30 this morning (YEA!!!!!) and then she fell asleep this morning at 11 for her nap that she usually doesn't take until 3pm. Should be a fun evening! At least Thomas is supposed to be off work early tonight.

I hope that everyone had a great Halloween! We sure did! We miss everyone and wish that we could have gone trick-or-treating with all the cousins this year! I can't wait to do this by myself next year with TWO kids! :) Fun Fun!


Hannah eating a SweetTart rope from Grandma, reluctantly having her photo taken with Mommy
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


we're all done trick-or-treating now. hannah could barely carry her little bag, but she would NOT let Mommy touch it!
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


hannah trick-or-treating at my mom's neighbor's house. Brice told her she could have 3 pieces of candy and she tried to grab a HUGE handful. that's my girl!
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


this is our pumpkin. we brought it to Grandma's house with us. No one in our building put out a pumpkin or did trick-or-treating. slackers!
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


knocking on Grandma's door... again!
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


i love the back view of this costume!
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


LET'S GO, MOM!
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


hannah doing a little dance for grandma... definitely NOT ballet-style!
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


my little ballerina eating dinner before trick-or-treating!
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006


hannah sitting on grandma's lap with a jim carey hair-do. she pulled out her very hair-sprayed ponytail! ever seen ace ventura when jim carey is wearing his tutu? :)
Image Copyrighted by Meredith Cardall, 2006