Saturday, September 29, 2007

new layout of ainsley


credits:
Christine Smith's Fancy Photo Masks at ChristineSmithDigital Blog
Christine Smith's Plain Brown Wrapper Kit, recolored
Christine Smith's Overlays II
heart, laundry tag: traci reed's faded tee kit at scrapbookgraphics
polka dot overlay from doreen stoltz's versatility kit at oaks
stitches from french countryside kit by christinarenee & shabby princess
wings, button from ikscrap's fashion fairy kit
ainsley from kimberly giarrusso's just the basics: beaded letter alpha
laura burger's shabby ribbon ties

new layout

credits:
Jill DZines My Favorite Boy Jumbo Combo kit at ScrapDish
pscs2
fonts: witchcraft, turtle club

Thursday, September 27, 2007

new layout


credits:
laura pitman's lavender lush kit at oaks
pscs2
fonts: freebooter script

new layout


credit:
kelly thompson's animal crackers kit at oaks
pscs2
fonts: freestyle script

TAG!

"Okay, Ainsley, it's your night to keep Mom awake! Go!" All night long! Hannah slept great, but they have been due to an accidental overmedication... don't worry we called poison control to make sure that I hadn't poisoned my child. They said she was fine. But of course, I was terrified and it made me feel like a terrible mother. I'm tired, I don't feel well at all. All of her other medicines are dosed at 1 teaspoon, but this cough medicine is super-concentrated so she only gets 1/2 a teaspoon. I wasn't paying attention and gave her a full teaspoon. I was thinking about giving her Tylenol, too, because she had a fever as well. Lovely. I kept checking her breathing and her heartrate all night long just to make sure she was okay. Ainsley is too young to take any medication, so she was up all night long coughing, sneezing and choking. That was fun. Well, Ainsley just woke up. She finally fell asleep around 7... and of course Hannah was up at 8. I'm going to go take care of my kiddos! Everyone have a great day!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

good morning!

Well, one of our kids slept well last night and the other one did NOT! Yes, folks, that is correct! Ainsley went to bed at 9pm last night, woke up at 12:30a to eat, went back to sleep and then woke up again at 4:30a to eat again, and then slept until 9am!!!!! Wowee! Now if we could just get Hannah to sleep half that much I could get some good sleep! Poor little Hannah is sick, though. She was up coughing half the night. Thomas finally went upstairs and asked his brother if they had a humidifier. Thankfully they did! We also found some of Hannah's prescription cough syrup from the last time she had this mess. We still had some unopened, un-expired samples. So we gave her some of that and some tylenol and she fell asleep around 3:30. She slept until 8:30. So, I got to sleep from 9:30 to 10:30, 1:30 to 3, 3:30 to 4:30, 5 to 5:30, 6:30 to 8:30. SIX WHOLE HOURS!!!! Now if I could just get those six hours to be continuous I would be in good shape!

I was planning to get the oil changed in Thomas' car today, but I don't know if I should take the girls out. It is still pretty chilly out this morning and when I take them out in the afternoon, they fall asleep in the car and miss their naptimes! And that is never good for a mom! ;) I guess I could bundle them up really well. We'll see how Hannah is feeling when I am done getting Ainsley ready and fed. Well, I am off to get the girls ready and fed...

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

new layout!


credits:
saraamarie's basically neutral collection at sweetshoppedesigns
paint from saraamarie's more candy wrappers kit at sweetshoppedesigns
saraamarie's i'm impressed 2 basic alpha at sweetshoppedesigns
pscs2
fonts: turtle club

6 cousins layout


credits:
pink back: Laura Burger's Digi Pallette Series: Royalty in Red at EclecticDigitalDesigns
Laura Burger's Attach a Note at EclecticDigitalDesigns
Laura Burger's Glitz It Up at eclecticdigitaldesigns
Laura Burger's Boone Hall kit at DigiScrapShak
Laura Burger's Writing Tablet at treasurestoscrap
6- Melany Violette's Tall Stamped Alpha
pscs2
fonts: turtle club

a good day!

Today has been a pretty good day. Hannah actually slept the first half of last night in her own bed. Ainsley did, too! Progress... and since both of them are still sick, it's really great! We got ready this morning and took lunch to Thomas. Both girls fell asleep in the car on the way there, so Thomas and I actually had a few minutes to ourselves. I love it when that happens! THEN, the girls and I met my sister at the mall and had lunch together and just walked around for a bit. It was a really short visit, but it was sooooo good to see her again! Little Zoey isn't so little anymore! She is so adorable!!!!! I miss her already! My mom sent Ashley a couple of boxes of winter clothes and Ashley brought most of them to me. YEA! Thanks, Ruthie! They are so cute! And I am so glad that I will have winter clothes. It snowed in the mountains yesterday. So, winter clothes are going to be a must pretty soon. We started out in sweaters this morning, but by about 2pm we were in short sleeves again. It's supposed to warm up over the next few days and then get cold again this weekend. Anyway... that's about it. I am determined to get a couple of scrapbook pages done this afternoon. I'm almost done with one and need to get one more done for another designer I work with. So, I'm off to scrap! :)

Cute Recipe Idea

I just got an email from my friend, Jessica. She sent me a link to a really cute idea for preserving family recipes.
Family Fun at SmileBox
I keep meaning to do something like this! And if you need another idea and have Photoshop... check out these recipe templates by Mish Gasser
Rockin' Recipes at PDW

new layout of ainsley


credits:
Maria LaFrance's Arrr Matey kit at Digital Freebies, ribbon recolored
pscs2
fonts: turtle club

Monday, September 24, 2007

some random pictures

I was trying to take pictures of Ainsley in the laundry basket, but I couldn't get everything set up right. The light was not quite what I thought it would be, then I couldn't find the white sheets, couldn't get the green ones to stay where I put them, and Ainsley is too big for the laundry basket now! Lovely!

Hannah wanted to sit in the laundry basket, too, of course!

i put ainsley down on her back while i ran to put laundry away. she rolled over and got stuck under the coffee table! she and hannah played peek-a-boo so she didn't really mind too much!

we're back from the cabin...

We had such a good weekend at the cabin! We did NOT want to come back to real life! We left for the cabin after Thomas got off work on Friday. The kids were cranky and not feeling the greatest, but we decided to go anyway. Chrissy said she didn't mind if the kids were sick with colds around her kids. Thomas and I really needed the break. The weather was CRAZY this weekend. When we got to the cabin it was around 75 degrees outside and sunny. Saturday it was cooler and a little rainy part of the day. Sunday it got COLD! It was 49 degrees outside around lunchtime. It was drizzly outside, but we wanted to go hiking anyway. So, we bundled up and went out. It cleared up a lot while we were out. But we had scattered storms all day. Thomas built a good fire for us in the woodstove. It was nice and cozy! There is just something about being up there at the cabin. It is like being in totally different world. Even when the kids are whiny and cranky it doesn't bother me as much as it does every other day. I think part of it is that we are so far removed from the stresses and pressures of every day life. We get three television channels up there and the only time they are even on is when we are trying to watch football games.

Saturday, Thomas and I left the kids (BOTH of them!) with Chrissy and drove down the canyon to the little store. It was so nice to not have kids with us! We just hung out in the little country store and walked through all of the aisles looking at everything to pass time. It was a nice little date. I know it probably sounds dumb and boring, but it wasn't at all. It was just US! We ended up getting a fountain coke and candy for the kids. It was so nice! Thanks, Chrissy!!!

We ended up staying at the cabin really late last night. We didn't even get home until after 11pm. It took us forever to clean the cabin, too. There is a washer and dryer up there. You have to wash all the sheets and towels and stuff you use. We didn't know it would take TWO HOURS per load to dry! And Thomas moved all the furniture and vacuumed under it. anyway... we had a really good time! Friday night the kids didn't sleep at all! Saturday night was much better! I got Ainsley swaddled in her little afghan and put her in her carseat carrier and the little munchkin went to sleep. She still woke up every two hours to eat, but it was better than her nursing ALL NIGHT long! I tried it again last night and she slept pretty well, too. Still waking up every two hours. But then she slept from 6:30 to almost 10am... of course, Hannah was awake at 7:45.

I am posting pictures from the cabin, too. On Saturday, Ainsley & Liv were wearing the same outfit. And Chrissy & I didn't even plan it that way! But we didn't get a picture of them together in their outfits. Ainsley had to go and wet through her diaper! Oh well! Maybe next time!

Hannah with her cousins, Jordyn & Carter

my adorable niece, liv, and her momma!

my adorable little nephew, carter! "what do you want, lady? i have things to do!"

Koda, one of our guard dogs for the weekend! Such a pretty dog!

All the beautiful flowers that Ashlyn & Hannah picked.

Hannah & Ainsley. Ainsley was more interested in the texture of the log bench than in looking at Mommy.

Hannah & her cousin, Carter. He looks so sweet and innocent...

Ainsley in the baby bjorn, ready for our hike! She fell asleep in minutes!

We had been hiking for over an hour when Hannah stopped in the middle of the road and said, "I don't want to hike anymore." Poor kid does NOT feel well at all and we drag her out to hike in the cold rain... Okay, she wanted to go and it wasn't raining, it just looked like it was going to!

this is my favorite view at the cabin

Hannah throwing rocks in the river!

Hannah playing on the teeter totter.


thomas put hannah up in the tree fort. she did not like it.

hannah swinging on the little trapeze.

Hannah with cheese dip all over her face! Funny little kid!

Ainsley sitting on the couch in her little blue track suit! LOVE this outfit!

Mom, take my picture with Ainsley!

Look, Mom! Ainsley is laughing at me!

Friday, September 21, 2007

an email forward from *kimmie*

*This email came a few days ago and I kept forgetting to read it. Just pushing it back down into my endless junk email forward pile that I eventually read then pass a few on to others. This could not have come at a better time for me! Just last night as I was sitting on the couch, feeding Ainsley, helping Thomas put together a report for work, trying to listen to Hannah talk to me, and trying my very best not to fall asleep, Thomas looked over at me and asked me to hand him a paper. I just stared at him blankly, like "how the heck do you expect me to do that?". I felt completely invisible, like a non-person. Thankfully, my husband is a very smart man. He realized what he had done and got the paper himself. (Good job, Sweetheart!) Anyway... sentimental, sleep-deprived person that I am, I got a bit teary-eyed when I read this forward. So, before I write the Great American Novel and you get bored....

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"
Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is
it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."
I was certain that these were the hands th! at once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going - she's going - she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd gi! ven it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

*The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."
An d the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be buil! t in ou r lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table."
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

announcing a new porter family blog...

check out jake and amber's blog

http://amberandjakes.blogspot.com/

5:58am...

Yes, you are reading that right. It is 5:58 am. We have been up already for quite a while. Although you would probably have to sleep in order to say that you have "woken up". Ainsley slept pretty well last night, only waking up about 4 times between 10pm and 5am. That's pretty good for her. Hannah, on the other hand, was up crying almost all night long. Both kids ended up sleeping with us again because I didn't want them crying and waking everyone up. I don't know what is going on with Hannah, but she is seriously crying almost all night every night now. I know she isn't feeling well, but I don't know what to do. She can't take Robitussin or any of the other cold medicines that you give kids to knock them out. They have the opposite effect on her to the point that she gets shaky and mean(er) and irritable. So, we have to just deal with Ibuprofen Cold. She is at the age where she refuses to take medicine, too. I had to threaten her with the hospital and shots this morning to get her to take it. And poor little Ainsley woke up with a fever this morning. Whether it is from the shots or her cold, I don't know. I have to call the doctor when they open and ask what to do. I gave her some Tylenol, but she hates swallowing things other than milk, so she spit most of it out... all over my sheets. She just rolled herself under the coffee table, so I better get her and feed her and hope and pray that she goes back to sleep so that I can get some sleep. I haven't had a good night's sleep in months and I haven't had an even somewhat respectable night of sleep in WEEKS. I have hardly slept at all the last three nights.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

another new one

credits:
sweet and sassy kit by jill d-zines at scrapdish
ashley olson's sloppy paint alpha
heart sticker from amanda rockwell's knock knock grab bag
pscs2
fonts: turtle club

i just did a layout!!!!


credits:
sophia sarducci's iron beads
christina renee's glitter paint splats & shooting stars


remaining items by Laura Burger
digi pallete series: Hues of Autumn Paper Pack at treasures to scrap
eclectic accents: shabby ties at treasures to scrap
tab from boone hall elements at digiscrapshak
a place in time frames at eclecticdigitaldesigns
boxtop borders at eclecticdigitaldesigns


pscs2
fonts: turtle club

update

it's just a cold... thank goodness! AND tissues were on sale at the grocery store! YEA! And the doctor's office gave me a discount for paying today rather than being billed. YEA! Ainsley got 4 shots today. Poor little baby! She is cranky! But the doctor said that Ainsley looks really good. She is in the 95% for her length and 65% for weight. And I LOVE the pediatrician! She is awesome! I better go deal with my cranky kiddos! I feel bad for the little ones!

it gets better...

now they are both sick! yesterday hannah woke up from her nap with a temp of 100.6. she was terribly whiny. so i gave her some motrin and she fell asleep. poor little girl! her temp was down to 99.6 this morning. i gave her some more motrin. i am hoping that the doctor will take a look at her, too. now i will probably get to pay for TWO doctor appointments! yea! i really hope that the kids' state insurance paperwork comes through quickly. i am so frustrated. i really hope that these are just colds that don't require expensive prescriptions. just a box of tissues and some tylenol cold... that would be nice!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

new layout

credits:
Sara Ellis's Silly Scatters templates at oaks
victoria feemster's framerifics 3 at oaks
oaks collab kit: everything boy
papers by victoria feemster, kelly thompson, rachel martin
yellow ribbon by victoria feemster
star button by laura pitman
glitter stars by christina renee
pscs2
fonts: vaguely repulsive

of course...

thomas switched jobs about a month ago. our health insurance doesn't kick in for another two months. ainsley needs her four month shots, actually she needed them about two or three weeks ago. last night, thomas looked over at ainsley and noticed that she had green goop in her eye. lovely. today her eye looks better, but she is acting like she doesn't feel well. she is a bit congested now, too. so, i spent three hours on the phone and internet this morning trying to find out if i could take her to the health department here for shots and to see a doctor. never could get a straight answer on anything from anyone. so, i finally just scheduled an appointment with a private practice pediatrician here to check her eye and do her shots. It's only going to cost $175 to $200...EEK! But at least I know that the doctor is a good doctor and actually knows what she is talking about. And I have a set appointment time rather than just show up sometime and we will see if we can fit you in. Public healthcare is a nightmare here. no one seems to know the answers to anything. i was really hoping that we could get through the next couple of months without any illnesses. and the first time we have cold weather, my baby gets sick! she needed her shots anyway... okay, i'll stop rambling now. i'm just really frustrated!


credits:
victoria feemster's acidic touch papers at oaks
victoria feemster's ribbons galore at oaks
sara ellis's snazzy snoodles: silly dots at oaks
sara ellis's snazzy snoodles: butterflies at oaks
pink stitch from oaks collab kit: everything boy, recolored, by rachel martin
white star journaling stamp from oaks collab kit: everything boy, recolored, by kelly thompson
alpha from faith true's sweet hannah lee at oaks, recolored
scotch tape, screw from Ann-Marie's sea dreams element pack at oaks
pscs2
fonts: cammi-pea

one more old layou


Trish Jones Dippity Doo Kit
PSCS2

another old layout


Trish Jones Dippity Doo
Trish Jones texture strips
PSCS2

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

and another one.

this is another old one...
credits:
Grass Kit by WetfishDesigns
PSCS2
Fonts: Highland Perk

another one


huh! totally forgot to post these... i'm cleaning up my computer and keep finding out layouts that need to be posted! oops!
credits:
wetfish design's liberty kit
kraft paper from heather roselli's on the playground
michelle coleman's handstamped alpha
ribbon from christine smith's ribbon lovers collection: red
pscs2
fonts: highland perk

one more


this picture is from the last time we went to the cabin. i did the page sometime last week or maybe the week before, i can't remember!
credits:
Jennifer Barrette's Gossip Queen kit at TheDigiShoppe
white notepaper, stitching from Jennifer Barrette's Color Me Wonderful kit
tag from Jennifer Barrette's Childhood Friends kit
flower doodle on tag from Jennifer Barrette's Hippy Dippy kit
pscs2
fonts: cammi-pea, horse puke, jane austen

this layout is one i did last week and the photo is from when we were in chicago.
credits:
Jennifer Barrette's Hippy Dippy Kit at TheDigiShoppe
Kimberly Giarusso's JTB: Beaded Alpha at TheDigiChick
pscs2
fonts: turtle club, palatino linotype

new layout

I did this one a couple of weeks ago. The picture is from the week after Ainsley was born!
credits:
SaraAmarie's More Candy Wrappers Kit at SweetShoppeDesigns
3 - SaraAmarie's I'm Impressed Alpha at SweetShoppeDesigns
pscs2
fonts: trapeze, palatino linotype, vaguely repulsive

some pictures

hannah on her new trike

my girls in their matching church dresses

what a cutie! i love that little smile!

some more pictures

my adorable girls in their unintentionally coordinating outfits! at least until ainsley pooped through hers! we went through four outfits yesterday! maybe the sweet potatoes take a while to get used to!

ainsley eating her sweet potatoes. needless to say, she got a bath after this meal! she's almost as messy as Zoey!

Hannah is feeding her baby!

Hannah & her cousins playing in the dirt in Grandma Shelly's garden

five of the six babies born in the last 10 months on the cardall side of the family. baby #6 lives in switzerland.
Ainsley with Aunt Leslie

Monday, September 17, 2007

our weekend...

We had a good weekend, pretty uneventful though. Friday night, we ran some errands and got Hannah a tricycle from Grandma Ruthie. It was her late birthday present. It was storming really badly when we got home from the store and Hannah was begging to ride her trike. So we just left it in the trunk of the car and told her that we would put it together later. There was no way we were going to put it together Friday night and then listen to her beg to ride it all night. Saturday morning, Thomas had to work for a few hours so the kids and I went to Mary & Chris's house. It was so nice to just sit and relax for a while. Not that I don't sit a lot every day, but they have the most beautiful back yard with fruit trees and rose bushes... heaven for me! And they have a nice covered porch so Mary & I could sit on the porch and talk while the kids played in the hot sun! Hannah had so much fun playing with Eyi as she calls him. His real name is Eli. Hannah just cried when we left to come back and play with Eli again soon. So, we'll have to do that again, Mary! After we got home, we watched football pretty much the rest of the day! We made a big run over to our storage unit and got some of the boxes and empty bins out of here. It looks a lot better. But all the clothes from the boxes and bins are on the living room floor, semi-sorted into piles of what they are and then there are the five loads of laundry I did waiting to be folded. Oh, the fun never ends! Then, yesterday was church as usual. I swear, I cannot make it on time! I woke up earlier than usual and everything! Of course, everything I own is either too big or too small for me. I finally find a skirt that fits and of course it has been in the bottom of a box for a month so it has to be ironed. I start ironing, get almost all the way done, and the iron spits rusty water all over the back of the skirt. Well, that's just not good, especially on a white skirt! So, i had to start over completely. And of course that just put me in a really stinky mood. I was so close to just not going yesterday. But I am so glad that I did go. The lessons were really good and they felt like they were given just for me. Plus, the sacrament program was the Primary program. The kids were so cute! I was in the mother's room with the kids so I couldn't actually see it, just hear it. So cute! And I made roast and potatoes for dinner last night. It was supposed to be ready right after church, but because of my late start yesterday, I didn't even put it in the oven until after church. But it turned out really well. I was planning to bake pumpkin bread yesterday, but because I had the roast in the oven, I couldn't. Maybe I'll do it today if I get time. I still have to run out and do some errands. I can always do it tomorrow.

Why is it that even when the girls aren't wearing coordinating outfits they are always dressed similarly? I just looked at the girls and I realized that we are all wearing similar outfits. I am just in jeans and a white t-shirt, Hannah is in a sleeveless denim dress, and Ainsley is wearing a little pink & white tank with denim skirt. The girls looks so cute! Hey Grandma Ruthie!!!! Ainsley needs a new denim skirt. This one is too small. Let me know if you can find one. This one is from Old Navy, and I really like it. And I am not allowed in that store. I find way too much stuff for the girls and Thomas in there.

Well, I am going to go run errands now. Ainsley is fed and quiet, so I better take advantage of it. I took pictures of the girls in their matching dresses yesterday so I'll try to post one later and some of Hannah on her trike.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

one more layout


credits:
metalmama's sparkled garden at oaks
jessica david's explorer paper pack at oaks
file tab from Everything Boy kit at oaks
alpha from Ann-Marie's Sassy Alpha at oaks
glitter swirl from amy bleser's beohemian blossoms at sbb
pscs2
fonts: vaguely repulsive, century gothic

new layout


credits:
Faith True's Sweet Hannah Lee kit at oaks
Laura Burger's Box Top Borders at EclecticDigitalDesigns
pscs2
fonts: ck cursive, century gothic