we're not contagious!

whew! at least that is what the doctor says. They think Shelby may have an ear infection. She's on antibiotics now. That's it... nothing new! I actually did a couple of scrapbook pages last night. I can't post them quite yet, but they are pretty darn cute! :)

spicey

credits:
laura burger's doodle templates set 1 at digiscrapshak
laura burger's tropical mist petite bytes at eclecticdigitaldesigns
laura burger's grungy stamped alpha at eclecticdigitaldesigns
paint stroke by christine smith
pscs2
fonts: ck handprint

oh no!

Shelby has had a really low-grade fever for the last couple of days, about 99.5. She's been around the babies. I am totally paranoid about any fever, but my mom kept insisting that it was fine. The fever was only at night, and not really a fever. This morning Shelby woke up with a 100.5 fever. Lovely. My throat and ears hurt. It feels more like allergies than anything, but you just never know. I really hope that the babies and I don't get sick. I can't deal with that right now. At least not without going nuts! :) So, my mom has Shelby at the doctor right now and I am waiting to see what he says. I really hope that it isn't something contagious. Can little tiny babies even have antibiotics unless they are in the hospital? I know that they don't like to give them to small babies. We don't even have a doctor here. Why would we? We're just on vacation here! I don't even know if we have insurance that works here. Ugh.

Other than that, things are great here. The weather is beautiful! It is only supposed to be 73 degrees here. Hannah has on an adorable outfit today complete with cowboy hat! She loves that darn cowboy hat. I have been trying to get pictures but she doesn't want Mommy to take pictures. I'll try to sneak some later. Ainsley has a dress that goes with the set, but it is still a bit too big. Okay, way too big! :)

Well, Ainsley just woke up from her morning nap. So, I am going to go bathe her and get her dressed for the day. I'm sure I'll post more pictures later.

just a few photos

Hannah with Ainsley and Zoey before church on Sunday

This is Ainsley sitting on my mom's bed. Doesn't she look beautiful in this soft pink color? :)

I was trying to get ready to catch the train into Chicago to see my sister and Ainsley started crying. I walked into the family room to find Hannah sitting in front of the swing singing to her little sister. What a sweetheart! When she wants to be at least!

My sister lives in Little Italy, so we stopped and got an Italian Ice on the way to her house, since it was 5 million degrees out. Hannah loved her strawberry ice!

We got caught in a torrential downpour on our way home from Angie's house. This was just from running from the train into a restaurant across the street! Imagine what we looked like when we got home, about 1/2 of a mile away! :)

Ainsley didn't have much patience for picture taking this morning!

Hannah got her first haircut today. Kim trimmed about 1/2 an inch of the uneven part off the bottom. Nothing too dramatic, just enough to make her hair less mullet-ish.

Hannah's first haircut! Complete with glitter spray!

Hannah with Ainsley and Zoey

Ainsley has such a big pretty smile, but I can't ever catch a photo of it! This is a small glimpse of her cute smile!

nothing new

we are still here in chicago and hoping to get to utah soon. i really miss everyone, especially my husband and hannah is going crazy without daddy. seriously. the kid is misbehaving constantly. i don't know what to do with her anymore. timeout is funny to her. oh well. at least she is having fun with grandma and the rest of the family here. she is upstairs "helping" grandma make her bed right now. She really does try to be helpful. She put the silverware away this morning while I unloaded the rest of the dishwasher.

Ainsley is two months old now and is smiling all the time and starting to "talk" a LOT. I think we may have another vocal baby on our hands. She is so sweet. It seems that she is past the last growth spurt and is now eating and sleeping more regularly. I just adore this baby!

I have taken over 500 photos since I have been here and I haven't scrapped many of them yet. Maybe 5 scrapbook pages so far. Eek! Never gonna catch up! A lot of them are blurry. I can't figure out why. I think the battery in our camera needs to be replaced. Even fully charged it doesn't last too long. I am having to charge it every other day, but then again at 500 photos in two weeks, maybe I am just using it too much!

I am gonna go try to take a shower and get my kids ready for the day. Hannah may be getting her hair cut for the first time today. It depends whether the stylist can fit her in after Ashley and Shelby get theirs done. IF she gets hers cut, I'll post photos. We aren't doing anything dramatic, just trimming the back so that it is less mullet-ish and maybe adding some layers to blend the short hairs on top and the sides with the LONG hairs in back. I have to admit, I am nervous! We'll see what happens...

check out my new albums

Look at what I did! I have two albums up for sale at ScrapQuick.com! I am working on a third album! The Growing Up Brag Book is my favorite stuff yet!

Family Tree 6x4 albums at ScrapQuick.com

Growing up Brag Book at ScrapQuick.com
This is another 6x4 album for Baby's first 12 months!

Concerts!!!

I have been to more concerts this week than ever before in my life...okay, maybe not quite, but pretty close! :) We saw The Manhattan Project earlier today and then tonight we went and saw Foghat. They were awesome!!!!! I ended up having to leave early because Ainsley was screaming, but it was soooooo much fun!

Hannah sleeping during Foghat

Foghat... sorry it's a bit blurry!

The Manhattan Project

PICTURES!

Hannah having fun at the festival!

Hannah sleeping on her car

Helen eating Zoey's toes

Hannah eating someone else's french fries at the Gin Blossoms

Shelby & Hannah on the motorcycles

Shelby & Hannah on the rides

Hannah & Shelby on the train to downtown Chicago

an update!

Things are going great here in Illinois. We are having a great time in my parents' little town. We went to the Downers' Grove Heritage Festival last night and saw Gin Blossoms perform. Ainsley started screaming halfway through and we had to leave so I could get home and feed her. There wasn't anywhere I could go and nurse. Hannah rode all the little kiddie rides and had so much fun. I am hoping that I got some good photos. It was kind of getting dark so there may be a lot of shadows. We are going to see the Cinderella ballet at the Tivoli theater today. Hannah is at the festival with Grandma right now. So, I am enjoying a few minutes of quiet time while Ainsley is sleeping. I am going to go make some lunch and do some laundry! The fun never ends!

I'll post more photos when I can!

another new layout

this is the girls with their pediatrician, dr. o'reilly! she was my pediatrician when i was kid, too! i love her! she's the best doctor ever and i have no idea how we are ever going to find another doctor that we like half as much!

credits:
Curly Sue kit by Beth Hesselberg and Carole Neale at ScrapDish
pscs2
fonts: CK Handprint

new layout

credits:
Beth Hesselberg's Wrecked Paper Pack at ScrapDish
Jenna Nelson's altered Phonebook Bits 'n' Pieces at ScrapDish
paint, paper fold by Christine Smith
pscs2
fonts: century gothic

has it already been eight weeks?

yep! and she is getting so big!!!!

my sister is coming in town tonight with her baby, so we'll have more photos later this weekend or at the beginning of next week! Only a few more days until we get to Utah! Can't wait!

new haircut!

you can't tell much from the photo, but there is at least 4 inches of hair gone from the front and about 6 from the back... and i just realized how badly i need a tan!

this is the side of my hair...

zoo photos

Shelby & Hannah at the dolphin show!

It's so hot!!! Grandma got Hannah an Icee

Hannah looking at the elephants

Hannah on the carousel

ainsley & uncle tom

Hannah looking at all of the butterflies in the butterfly garden

a cicada landed on ainsley's head... they are EVERYWHERE!

layout of me in labor

credits:
traci reed's vibrant kit at scrapbookgraphics
negative strip from traci reed's boy theory kit, recolored
paper tear by christine smith
pscs2
fonts: his name is honey

a beach layout

credits:
traci reed's he'll break your heart kit at scrapbookgraphics
pscs2
fonts: century gothic

new layout with traci reed's new kit

credits:
traci reed's faded tee kit at scrapbookgraphics
pscs2
fonts: century gothic

new layout with laura burger's stuff

credits:
laura burger's encinitas floras at digiscrapshak
photo action by holly mccaig
pscs2
fonts: century gothic

pictures from chicago

hannah riding her new bike!grandma carrying the new bike while she and hannah walk!

ainsley on grandma's new couch

ainsley & uncle john

my cute little baby in her afghan from christy

on the front porch before church

just a little update

we are still alive here in chicago. i think that the girls are determined to drive me nuts, though. i think they have decided to tag team me. hannah has been going to bed relatively early... 9:30p last night and has been up at the crack of dawn, actually about 7:30a. Well, Ainsley has decided that nighttime is not for sleeping, but for smiling and laughing and playing. She is staying up until 3am and sleeping until 10 or 11am. So, I am getting about 3.5 to 4 hours of sleep, because Ainsley gets up at about 6am for a feeding and goes back down at about 6:30. I am glad that Hannah is sleeping earlier, though. I am trying to get Ainsley to sleep at night, too. I actually had about half an hour of peace last night while they both slept. It was so nice. I read a book! :) I HAVe to get working on my scrapbooking. I haven't done a darn thing since I have been here. I haven't worked on Angie's baby afghan either. Hannah is into everything in Grandma's house. It isn't exactly child-proofed here, but then you can't do much to child-proof against Hannah. If she wants something, she is going to figure out a way to get to it.

We just went to Jamba Juice and got smoothies. Grandma's favorite is a Mango-a-Go-Go. Hannah thinks it is soooo funny to say that, so she wanted one. Well, Hannah's diapers are nasty enough, so we didn't want her to get anything with mango. We ended up getting her a berry mixed smoothie with just ice and no dairy. So she calls her smoothie a Berry-a-Go-Go! Such a funny kid! And she is eating chicken fingers (&thumbs) for lunch now. She just got into Grandma's potato bin and picked out a couple and sat them on the table next to her. She wants to keep them there in case she gets hungry again later. Hannah is trying to pick the skins off the potatoes right now. What am I gonna do with that kid?

I have taken tons of pictures, but haven't had a chance to upload them to my computer. I have barely had my computer on at all. I'll put some up as soon as I can. Hannah has been loving being outside and wants her picture taken constantly. I am hoping to get a haircut in the next couple days and will post some pictures of the new 'do. I am so tired of looking frumpy. The first thing everyone says when they see me is, "Mere, you look exhausted." Well, I am tired but I don't want to look that way! :) Okay, I have to go wrangle the potatoes from Hannah's grasp. I'll update again later!

Help me buy some new stuff!

Since I left a ton of stuff in Florida, here is how you can help me buy it back! :) lol, not the exact same stuff, but I am gonna need a new dresser and a treadmill and an exersaucer for Ainsley! Go take a look at my NEW FAMILY TREE ALBUM at ScrapQuick.com. It's a 4x6 pre-made album, made using Heather Roselli's Family Tree kit at TheDigiChick. And it is only $2.49!!!!! I get a percentage of the profits for this one, so I am gonna push it! If I get too obnoxious, let me know! :) ScrapQuick also has a free downloadable software that is super simple (or so I hear) and there are step-by-step video tutorials. And if they are anything like other tutorials done by Christine (the site owner) they are very detailed and super-simple! So, why are you still reading? Go buy it! :) But only if you like it! :)

it's done... for now!

good news... my husband, children and i are still alive! so don't worry!

good news... i am in chicago for a couple of weeks relaxing at my mom's house with my two girlies!

good news... my husband is currently driving to utah with his brother and brother-in-law and all of our belongings.

good news... the moving truck is filled to the BRIM and overflowed into the car being towed (shhh! don't tell!) and into the car that Thomas and his brother are driving.

bad news!... our garage in Florida is still FILLED with things that we couldn't fit and bring along. a dresser, a bookshelf, a rocking chair, brand new ceiling fans, the exersaucer, my elliptical, boxes of wreaths and decorations, my HUGE metal garage shelves that I LOVED... just hundreds of dollars worth of STUFF, but it was my stuff. I am so sad... It's just stuff... It's just stuff... It's just stuff...

more bad news... I didn't have time to even finish cleaning before I had to leave to get to the airport. heck, i didn't even have time to start! thank goodness for good friends. my good friend, kimmie is going to sort everything out and clean my house for me (in her "spare time"!). what would i do without her? i miss her so much already! she is like my big sister! love ya, kimmie! (does that make adam my brother? yikes!) i feel absolutely terrible that I left my house such a mess. kimmie is going to hate me by the end of the month!

and the flight!! it was horrendous! hannah only got about three hours of sleep before we left. never a good thing! she was terrible. throwing tantrums at the airport and on the plane. the other passengers must have been relieved to get rid of us! :) the good news is that the flight is over. the bad news is that i have to do it again in 2 weeks and the flight to salt lake is longer. at least we will be going to see daddy. hannah misses daddy so much! me, too!

on to other topics...
Chicago is beautiful! Hannah is thriving on all the attention she is getting! She was outside almost all day Saturday. She went to nursery today at church. She cried for a bit at snacktime. She wanted a sandwich. Her old nursery had sandwiches. :) Then, when it was time to leave, she wanted to know where her treat was. Her old teachers gave the kids a treat each week afer nursery. :) I was afraid she would get attached to the teachers here and be more upset when we leave. Not gonna be a problem! :) We have been spending tons of time outside walking around and just relaxing on the front porch, listening to the cicadas. They only come out every 17 years. Hannah has been collecting their shells to tske to her cousins in Utah! Bet y'all can't wait. We are planning to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo this weekend. It's free and after my brother-in-law finishes his med scool boards he and my sister are going to go with us. Hannah is so excited to see the animals. Other than that, I am hoping to sit on the front porch with my laptop and scrap my little heart out! I really need to relax! That is all for now!

new layout

credits:
laura burger's doodle template set 2 at digiscrapshak, altered
correen silke's cool spring day at computerscrapbook
pscs2
fonts: highland perk

new layout

credits:
laura burger's doodle template set 1 at digiscrapshak
laura burger's tattered garden paper pack at digiscrapshak
christine smith's color your own: grosgrain ribbons at thedigichick
michelle coleman's handstamped alpha
pscs2
fonts: highland perk

my day today...

After a late night with Ainsley, we were woken up this morning by Hannah jumping on our bed. I asked her what show was on tv (that's how I tell what time it is) and she said "Charlie & Lola". Oh crap! I jumped out of bed and looked at the clock... 9:40am! eek! My friend's daughter was supposed to come over at 10am to help out with Hannah so we could pack. Thankfully she was a little late! I barely got Hannah bathed and fed before she came over anyway! :) Then my friend, SaraJane called me. I haven't talked to her in MONTHS!!! She lives here in Florida, but she may be spending some time in Utah this year with her family. So, I hope I get to see her. She has a little boy the same age as Hannah and a 7 month old daughter, who I've never even met. How sad that we have to go to Utah to get together. :) I did manage to get quite a few things packed and organized today while Em was over. She kept Hannah entertained and out of the boxes while I was trying to sort things. Thanks, Emily! :) Then, I took Emily home and took Ainsley to her 6 wk checkup. I got there and paid my copay and got her weighed and all that stuff. She is 10lbs 4 oz now!!!! Little heifer! I LOVE it! Then the doctor came in and told me that she couldn't give Ainsley her shots because she is two days too young. ugh. Okay... so we have to go back on Wednesday. We ran out of boxes for packing so we have to get a bunch more tomorrow. We are trying to get more stuff organized today. We have a couple of BIG boxes for bedding and curtains and things like that. We just need small boxes for books and for the heavier things we have. I just realized that I haven't even started on my craft closet. what a mess! Tomorrow I have a doctor appointment. Wednesday, we have to take Ainsley back to the doctor for her shots, then pick up the moving truck, then take Ainsley downtown to the hospital to have an xray of her hips to make sure that they are okay. AND I have to go get birth certificates for both girls. I really hope I can get everything done. Thursday, Thomas has a doctor appointment. We have people coming to help us load our truck on Thursday night at 7:30. And we are cleaning all day on Friday. Oh! And we got a notice on our car that they are starting to do construction on our building today and we won't have access to our garage for three weeks. WHAT? How are we supposed to move our stuff? I called the office this morning and told them what was going on. They haven't called me back yet, though. They told me at first that we would have to walk around the back of the building through the wooded area behind our building over the tree roots and through the grass to get to our moving truck. I told the lady that wouldn't work for us. They'll be glad to get rid of us! :) Well, I am going to go see what I can do to get done. later...

Welcome Baby Olivia!!!!

CHRISSY HAD HER BABY!!!!!! And it's a girl! yea! Can't wait to see pictures! ummm... that's all I know...

layout with LAURA BURGER'S stuff

credits:
laura burger's layers with a lift set 5-2 at digiscrapshak
laura burger's tattered garden paper pack at digiscrapshak
pscs2
fonts:century gothic

layout with SARAAMARIE'S & MISH GASSER'S stuff

credits:
mish gasser's jazzy geometrics rectangle templates at pdw
saraamarie's natalie 2 kit at sweetshoppedesigns
pscs2
fonts:bluecake, century gothic

a million thanks!

oh wow! Last night some family friends came over and helped us pack! Thanks so much Candy & Rick and Tammy! And Ramona brought us some boxes! I am so grateful for good friends. It makes me sad to leave. If I didn't know that we were supposed to be in Utah, I would seriously question leaving. Rick and Thomas took apart the kitchen table and Rick organized all the packed boxes and taped boxes while Candy and Tammy packed the kitchen. It is completely packed with the exception of a few pots and pans (& the dishes in the dishwasher). We went to the store and got paper plates, cups and silverware for the next week.

Okay, Leslie, I have tons of boxed foods that I can't put in storage. Like cereal, rice-a-roni and pasta. Do you guys eat that kind of stuff? And maybe tons is an exaggeration. Probably a mid-size box of food. We'll probably put it in a storage bin and bring it in the car with Thomas. We can always put it in our room if there isn't room for it anywhere else.

I got most of the clothes from my room packed for storage. It is really depressing that less than 1/4 of my clothes fit me. I found one pair of non-maternity jeans that fit me. I won't even go into what size they are. Just suffice it to say that I still have about 45 pounds to lose to get back to pre-prego weight. I need to start exercising. I have my check-up next week and will hopefully be cleared for exercising! Well, I am going to go take a shower and pack some more. Ainsley is napping so I need to take advantage of that to get stuff done.