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
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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
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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
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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
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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.

new layout with MISH GASSER'S templates

i LOVE this template!
credits:
mish gasser's jazzy geometrics template at pdw (flowers & ribbon added by me)
eve recinella's shabby sundress at ssd
amanda rockwell's back in black collection: bright kit
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fonts: his name is honey

disaster area

My apartment could officially be considered a disaster area! :) My dining room wall is stacked with boxes and bins. There are piles of things stacked to be taken to Goodwill. There are piles of empty boxes and bins waiting to be filled. We are officially leaving this apartment on Friday, June 8th. Thomas and his brother Greg and his brother-in-law Ryan are going to be driving to Utah in the truck and/or car. I am flying to Chicago on Saturday morning. My flight leaves at the crack of dawn! I'll be there for a little over two weeks while Thomas goes out to Utah and gets things set up and starts looking for work.

I am having a hard time packing things. We have a bunch of different packing criteria... storage, front of storage (my skinny clothes!), to go to Greg & Leslie's (a very small pile!), to go to Chicago (an even smaller pile), Goodwill, trash. It seems pretty straight-forward. But most of the stuff that is going to Greg & Leslie's is the stuff that we are using now. So we can't pack that until the very last minute. I am sorting through the kids' clothes and trying to figure out the seasons and which clothes will work. And going through Hannah's toys is a nightmare. That kid remembers every single toy and asks where they are when I try to pack them. I am going to have to pack her stuff while we are loading the truck! :) I am making progress, though. All of the decorations from Hannah's bathroom, the kitchen and the family room are down and packed. I started packing the dishes we don't need right now. All of the DVDs are packed and so are most of the books. It is mostly just clothes, dishes, bedding and misc stuff that needs to be packed. I can get it done in a week. Right? I certainly hope so...

layout with BETH HESSELBERG'S kit

love this photo!
credits;
Beth Hesselberg's Pretty In Pink Kit at ScrapDish
Holly McCaig's photoshop actions
inked edges by christine smith
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fonts: depressionist three, ck handprint

one more picture

my house is a disaster! while i have been packing and organizing, hannah destroyed her bedroom and the rest of the house. There are toys everywhere! Poor little kid wore herself out making a mess!

more stuff gone!

I went through more junk in the garage and got rid of a bunch more stuff. I still have too much junk. Most of the stuff I have in "storage" is baby clothes. The rest is Christmas decorations. And I got rid of half of that already!

I was approached a few days ago by a designer about doing some 4x6 albums for her store. I'm gonna do it! The two kits I was "assigned" are so amazing! I am off to work on that for a bit while the girls are sleeping. It is WAY too humid outside to work in the garage and I need a break from packing!

pictures

this is ainsley after church yesterday. love that dress!

Hannah & Ainsley on Saturday

look at those blue eyes! this photo was taken earlier this week.

Hannah & Grandma Shelly in St. Augustine

new layout with SCRAPQUICKART

credits:
LaChicka ScrapQuickArt by page artist Justine Hastie at ScrapQuick, created using Jomi Van Bekkum's LaChicka Kit at The DigiChick
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fonts: times new roman

new layout with LAURA BURGER'S templates

credits:
laura burger's tempting templates set 7-2 at eclecticdigitaldesigns and digiscrapshak
lauren grier and fee jardine's Sweet Sugar Pop kit at sweetshoppedesigns
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fonts: markerfinepoint

new layout

Hannah with Ainsley (left) and Chloe (right) when Ainsley was about 5 days old
credits:
Scrapartist's In Vogue Kit
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fonts: reservoirgrunge

layout with SCRAPQUICKART

credits:
The Cool Kids ScrapQuickArt by page artist Rachael Giallongo at ScrapQuick, created using The Cool Kids Kit by Michelle Underwood at Scrapbook-Bytes, and
A Brush with Watercolor by Christine Smith at TheDigiChick
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fonts: markerfinepoint

layout with MISH GASSER'S stuff

credits:
mish gasser's rectangle quickies 1 at plain digital wrapper
lauren grier and fee jardine's sweet sugar pop kit at sweet shoppe designs
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fonts:velvenda cooler, segoe script

ugh...

My life is PROOF that God has a sense of humor! :) So, as of last weekend our plan was to leave here in three weeks and Thomas was hoping to start work mid-June in Utah. This was going to be perfect timing as our lease is up in our apartment and they were going to start construction on our building in July and we didn't want to be here for it. Plus, there is a Father's Day breakfast at church on June 9th that I do NOT want to be here for, but that's a different story all by itself.

As of today...
The job that Thomas was hoping to start in mid-June has now pushed back its training until mid-July. But he needs to be in Utah during June to start the hiring process.
Our lease is still up at the end of June, but we may or may not be able to leave until July due to health insurance concerns. So, we may be "homeless" for a few days.
Our building is now going under construction on TUESDAY, more than a month ahead of schedule. So, I have to make sure that all of our pictures and mirrors and shelves and wall-hangings of any kind are removed from our walls by Tuesday morning. They are removing all of the stucco and siding from our buildings and replacing all of the studs. I am a bit concerned about clothes rack in my closet because it is secured in the studs. The noise was loud enough when they were working on the building next door. I can't even imagine how loud it will be in here all day long every single day with them actually working on our building! And the entire place will be covered in plastic. I don't even want to think about the bugs and lizards and critters that our open walls will be exposed to. Eek!
And now I don't know if I will be at the breakfast or not. Last year we cooked breakfast for all the kids at church and their dads. We planned enough food for more people than we had and we still ran out! Who would think that little tiny kiddos would eat that much bacon and eggs and pancakes? We had kids taking five and six pieces of bacon along with four or five pancakes and a heaping helping of scrambled eggs. And those were the little kids!

Who was it who said that if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans? It's true! We need to sit down and make a list and decide what to do. So, oh wonderful family of ours... we may not be coming until July now. ugh! hence the title of my post... the good news is that I spent another hour or so in the garage this evening and got rid of a BUNCH more stuff... two full bins of stuff to either be thrown away or donated to Goodwill. And I have two bins of paper that will all most likely be shredded. I am about 1/4 of the way through my garage now!

love y'all!

so proud of myself

we have been sick around here the last couple of weeks so my organization efforts have not gotten too far! yesterday we spent a little over an hour in the garage. i got rid of 3 full 33 gallon garbage bags of stuff... my old clothes, baby clothes that are too stained or worn out to pass on to Ainsley or anyone else. I managed to completely empty 5 entire bins! I know that doesn't sound like much, but at this rate I am getting rid of about 1/4 of everything in storage. And those are the bins that are going to be hardest to part with anything. I have a LOT more bins with junk that will be easier to part with. The good thing is that I don't have time to do another sort, so if I think I won't use it, I just get rid of it without stopping to really think about it. Thomas was trying to get rid of a bunch of winter baby clothes. I had to remind him that Utah has cold winters and we won't be able to afford new winter clothes for the girls. I am heading back down to the garage in a little bit to get rid of more stuff. It feels so good to get rid of old junk! I bet no one ever thought they would hear me say that! :)

layout with SCRAPQUICK ART

credits:
Plain Brown Wrapper PageArtcreated by Meredith Cardall at ScrapQuick using Christine Smith's Plain Brown Wrapper kit at TheDigiChick (my shadows)
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fonts: ck handprint

layout with SCRAPQUICK ART

CREDITS:
Beautiful Love ScrapQuick Art by Page Artist Christine Smith at ScrapQuick, created using Beautiful Love by Danielle Catalano-Titus at somethingbluestudios, and Folder corner by Christine Smith
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fonts: highland perk

credits:
zoe pearn's zippity doo da kit at sweetshoppedesigns
graph paper from love sprung by traci reed & dani mogstad
curled paper edge by anna aspnes
paint by christine smith

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fonts: highland perk

layout with TRACI REED'S designs

credits:
traci reed's graphically grunged kit at scrapbookgraphics
negative frame from traci reed's boy theory kit, recolored
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fonts: highland perk

layout with JENNA NELSON'S designs

credits:
Jenna Nelson's Boing Kit at ScrapDish
christine smith's rather ragged stitches
distressed white alpha by misty cato
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fonts: everytime i miss you

layout with SARAAMARIE'S designs

credits:
SaraAmarie's Sweet Chloe Kit at Sweet Shoppe Designs
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fonts:lucida handwriting

new layout with LAURA BURGER'S new stuff!

earlier this month....
credits:
laura burger's little wonders kit at digiscrapshak
laura burger's painted and stained cardboard sheets at eclectic digital designs
laura burger's alcohol inked stars at eclectic digital designs
alpha: misty cato's distressed white alpha at scrapquick

Check out this free printing offer!

Christine Smith, owner of ScrapQuick.com, has an amazing offer up on her blog. If you haven't ever visited her blog, be sure to check it out!

Here is a link directly to the special deal at ScrapQuick.com. You purchase a 6x6 Father's Day layout for $1.25, download it, add your photos, upload to their site, and then they print and ship the layout for FREE! So, if you were wanting to try out their printing service, this would be a GREAT way to do it... for only $1.25 you get a customized Father's Day layout delivered directly to your door!

my dad would be so pleased!

i am two classes short of getting my bachelor's degree... two boring history classes! since we are moving back to utah, i have the opportunity to finish the classes on one of the actual school campuses rather than trying to finish over the internet. i can take one of the classes during summer term and the last class by the end of december... a mere ten years after i started classes! my dad has been trying to get me to finish my classes for the last five years. i have tried, i really have. i've enrolled in the online courses and just can't learn the information. both of the classes i need are offered at the salt lake campus of byu. the summer term will be difficult. the class is offered tuesday and thursday nights from 7 to 10pm. 6 hours a week! but only for 6 weeks. and it will require some serious study time. but i think i am going to try to get in the class. i have to call and get permission since i am no longer technically a student at byu. we'll see what happens!

just a thought...

are there boarding schools that take 2 year olds? i'm ready to ship mine off today and it is only 11am... that's never good.

decisions!

i hate making decisions! it will cost us about the same amount to get out to Utah whether we drive straight through or go to Chicago for a couple of days. It'll be a difference of 300 miles, though. If we go to Chicago, we only have to spend one night in a hotel, too. We'll drive from here to Tennessee and spend a night at my grandparents (about a 9 hour drive) then drive from Tennessee to Chicago and spend a couple of days (about 8 hours drive). Then drive to Omaha and spend the night either with someone from Thomas' mission or Thomas' aunt who lives in Omaha (about a 6 hour drive) and then drive to Salt Lake (about 13 hour drive). So, we could either just stop in Omaha for lunch or dinner with family or friends and then drive a few more hours before stopping at a hotel or try to drive a 13 hour day the last day and just get there. I am afraid that if we try to drive straight through, the girls will be a nightmare in the car for 3 straight days of 12 hour driving. But then again, they will probably be a nightmare no matter what. I just realized that I am going to have to stop and feed Ainsley every 3 hours, plus I am going to have to feed her every 3 hours at night. Ryan, we'll let you know as soon as we do if we need you to come help us drive. I don't know how else we would do it. I'll try to get Ainsley drinking bottles at least by then. Maybe that will speed up the feeding stops. We are going to *try* to leave here on June 8th. Pricing truck rentals, that just seems to be the cheapest time. Gas is going to cost us a fortune! I wish it would go down a bit in price. The truck we are looking at renting is diesel, so hopefully that will stay where it is. We're looking at Penske because it is the cheapest and because they break down less than a UHaul. I'm just thinking out loud here.... Anyone have any suggestions for moving cross-country with a toddler and a newborn? I've thought about driving at night because then Hannah won't have her schedule messed up, but we'll still have to stop and feed Ainsley. And then we'll be tired and want to sleep all day and I'll have to stay up with the awake kids... I'm good, but not that good. My kids would wreak havoc on the hotel room and none of the adults would get any sleep!

A friend from church just brought over a HUGE stack of moving boxes from the last time she moved. Thanks Laurie! Now I have no excuses! I cleaned out a couple of cupboards today and got rid of a few dishes that are cracked or broken. My kitchen is teeny tiny so there really isn't much in there that I don't use regularly. I do have a whole bunch of old knives that are so dull they can barely cut butter. I'll get rid of those, too. My goal today is to go through the computer desk and the bookshelf next to it and organize them and shred all the old papers that we don't need any more. I need to file a bunch of old papers, too. So, those will get organized as well.

And all of this is based on thomas getting a job that starts in mid-June. So, we need to find out if he can definitely start working then. If not, we have to re-evaluate everything. We have found a few cute apartments online. We'll have to wait until we get there before we find anything permanent. So, we'll have to find a storage unit, too. The fun never ends!

seriously.

okay. it is looking like this move is a sure thing. i need to know who is serious and who isn't. we are looking at moving in about three weeks! yikes! thank goodness for family and good friends who are willing to make sure that I am not going insane! :) i have so much to do that it isn't even funny. i have to go through every single thing in my garage and house and only bring the necessary items. okay... time to get started!

update

well, i decided to go with the pink with black polka dots announcement. ashley, you are getting both! :)

jim & shelly are here visiting us. that's my father-in-law and his wife. they are from utah. we went down to st. augustine this morning and walked around the old fort. it was a lot of fun. we are meeting back up with them in an hour to go to dinner. hannah LOVES her grandma shelly! she is really clingy and did not want Grandma Shelly to go to the hotel to sleep last night. Grandma Shelly wore her out today! At the fort, Grandma Shelly took Hannah walking around and around the inside of the fort. Thomas was walking slowly reading all the plaques and he and Jim were taking their time. So, Grandma and Hannah walked and walked and walked. After an hour, Hannah was completely worn out! :) thanks, grandma shelly! i'll post photos later. we only took a couple. ainsley slept almost the entire time we were there. she has been sleeping a lot today, so i am guessing that i am in for another all-nighter with her. should be fun! especially since we have church at 9am. good grief! i am going to have to start getting up at 6:30am to get ready for 9am church. eek.

well, i am going to go wake up ainsley and feed her so that we can eat dinner uninterrupted! :)

do you like this one better?

okay, this version is thanks to ash's suggestions. where the heck are the rest of you people? don't you know you are supposed to be at my beck and call 24 hours a day? :)

Help me Decide!!!!!!!!!

Which birth announcement do you like better?
i.e. chrissy, leslie, ryan and ashley- which one will you hang on your fridge?
seriously. i need help deciding!
or do you hate both of them? i realize that neither of them are traditional birth announcements. anyone? anyone?

new layout with SARAAMARIE's new stuff

these photos are from march... and yes, those are the lyrics from that Brady Bunch song that Thomas always sings. :) i was scrapping these photos and that song just popped into my head and i had to use the lyrics! :)

credits:
saraamarie's natalie and natalie 2 at sweetshoppedesigns
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fonts:pea yar yar, ck journaling

new layout with MARIA LAFRANCE'S kit

this is from march
credits:
stained and painted cardboard sheet by laura burger at eclectic digital designs
ice cream social kit by maria lafrance, prize at digital freebies
filmstrip from traci reed's serene kit at scrapbookgraphics
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fonts: larger mime, times new roman

new layout with LAURA BURGER'S new stuff!

this is from last month...
credits:
laura burger's doodle templates set1_3 at digiscrapshak
laura burger's flashback petite bytes at eclectic digital designs
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fonts: cry kitty, ck handprint

new layout with TRACI REED'S new stuff

okay, this was taken not long after we got home from the hospital... so no comments on how dead I look! :)
credits:
traci reed's in my studio collection: serene kit at scrapbookgraphics
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fonts: century gothic

new layout with LAURA BURGER'S new stuff!

here is ainsley with my cutie little brother, jacob!
credits:
laura burger's flashback petite bytes at eclectic digital designs
laura burger's painted and stained cardboard backgrounds at eclectic digital designs
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fonts:Everytime I miss you

meatloaf recipe

okay, you asked for it! well, chrissy did at least. since there are only 2 of us that really eat this meatloaf in our house, this recipe goes for 1 lb of ground beef...makes enough for 3 good size servings. And I don't measure anything, so the amounts for the spices are just guesstimates and can be adjusted according to what you like!

1 lb lean ground beef (I prefer Costco ground beef)
2 teaspoons season salt (maybe a little more than that)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown gravy mix
1/2 cup oatmeal (can also use bread crumbs or crushed saltines)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 to 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together very well, making sure to thoroughly crush the ground beef. Spread into a greased (Pam spray works) loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Remove from oven. Remove foil. Spread a thin layer of ketchup on top of the meatloaf. Sometimes I also drizzle a little bit of A1 on it. Place under broiler for 15 minutes if you like slightly crispy edges (we do!) or back in the oven if you don't.

If you are making more than 1 lb of meatloaf, use a bundt pan or an angel food cake pan. By cooking the meatloaf in a ring shape you won't get super-dry edges and a barely cooked middle. You'll also need to adjust the cooking time a bit.

If you want a slightly different variation, skip the worcestershire sauce and substitute barbeque sauce for the ketchup. I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's, but it is really spicy. If you want a less spicy version, more smoky flavor, use either KC Masterpiece or Kraft (it is surprisingly good). You'll also skip the A1 sauce on this version. Some people use a ground pork/beef mixture for this one, but I'm allergic to pork, so we use all beef...

ScrapQuick.com Press Release

Check out the press release for ScrapQuick.com! The site is fully operational! You can get everything from the quickpages to free software to printing services all in one stop! Can't beat that!

uneventful day

well, my mother's day was pretty uneventful. we have all been sick with some kind of strange stomach virus, so we missed church again. we went for a walk yesterday evening (just to the mailbox) and then i made dinner. thomas was going to make dinner, but we decided on meatloaf and i make the world's best meatloaf! so i made dinner. other than that, it was just like any other day. i got to take a shower in peace. that was nice. and ainsley slept in three hour stretches last night, so i actually feel somewhat human today. let me tell you, adjusting to a newborn and being sick can really exhaust you! :) hope everyone else had a good day!

layout with SARAAMARIE'S Sweet Chloe Kit

this is one of my favorite photos from our photo shoot the other day! too sweet!

credits:
saraAmarie's Sweet Chloe kit at Sweet Shoppe Designs
photo actions by Holly McCaig (multiple actions) at MyDigitalMuse
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fonts: lucida handwriting

baby photos of both girls

this is ainsley at 11 days

this is hannah at 3 weeks
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i think that they look similar, and that they have similar features. their coloring is totally different. ainsley has very fair coloring while hannah is very dark. their eyes and noses are similar, but their mouths are totally different. ainsley has a larger head and their hairlines are totally different. ainsley has tiny little ears, too. but they have the same eyebrows and big old cheeks! hannah's were bigger at first. ainsley's cheeks are getting bigger! BUT, both of my girls are gorgeous!

layout using new TRACI REED stuff

these photos are from january...
credits:
traci reed's in my studio: unbound kit at scrapbookgraphics
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fonts: times new roman

layout using LAURA BURGER new stuff

these are photos from february of this year. it was soooooo cold! and that was the weekend our heater was broken! lovely! the stinking coldest weather we have all year, too!
credits:
Laura Burger's Doodle Templates Set 2-1 at DigiScrapShak
Laura Burger's Morning Delight Paper Pack at DigiScrapshak
Laura Burger's Alcohol Inked Hearts at Eclectic Digital Designs
snowflake from Maria LaFrance's Brrr kit at Digital Freebies
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fonts: pupcat

quite intimidating....

okay. i am starting to feel intimidated by the thought of moving. i started looking around again today at apartments in sandy. they are either really cheap or really expensive! anyone ever heard of Liberty Heights apartments? They are at 8176 S 1300 E. They were the only complex I found listed in the Trib. I need to look at apartments.com and places like that. I guess it is a bit premature to be looking for an apartment, if I am not even sure when we are moving! We are 99.9% sure that we are moving to Utah. Thomas needs to talk to Mike about a job again. And we need to be able to afford to get out there and get into a new place. It make sense to move out there in June. Then Thomas may even be able to get into school in the fall. Although, we haven't filled out the first financial aid form. So much to do. Tomorrow is Thomas' day off work, so hopefully we'll get some decisions made at least! baby steps.... and i am keeping track of all these offers to help us move! :) i am going to start sorting through things tomorrow when thomas can be home to help take care of the girls. wish me luck!

Ainsley's first scrapbook page!!!

my baby is so pretty! :)
i'm not biased, though!

credits:
Sweet Chloe Kit by SaraAmarie at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Holly McCaig All That Pops Purty Pics Photoshop Actions
PSCS2
Fonts: Pea Yar Yar

Ainsley Update

Well, Ainsley had her two week checkup today! She isn't quite two weeks yet, but our doctor's office does newborn appointments on Mondays after lunch so that there aren't sick kids in the office at the same time. Little Ainsley is now 2 ounces above her birth weight, and that is with eating nothing other than my milk! Yea! I am making enough this time! And she has grown 1/2 an inch!

It looks like we are going to be moving soon! Our lease is up at the end of the June... The landlord is going to charge us $100/month to go month-to-month and we don't want to get stuck in another lease, so we don't want to extend. So, hopefully our move will be to Utah where we want to end up. I told our pediatrician today that we are moving and she just about started crying. She was my pediatrician when I was a kid and I LOVE her. We are never going to find another doctor as good as her. AND I don't want to leave my OB-GYN. At least I know there is a good one of those in Utah!

That's about it for us these days. I have a TON of stuff to do before we can move. We are going to be significantly downsizing and I have no motivation to do anything yet. I started making a list to get myself organized. I really hope that Jim and Shelly want to help me get organized when they come out here! :) Or at least watch my kiddos so I can go clean out the garage.

I am going to go scrapbook now. I haven't done a single page in almost 2 weeks! Eek!

new photo

.. still haven't had time to scrapbook... this will have to do for now!
we took this photo earlier today. i haven't had a chance to run it through photoshop yet, so the next time you see it, it'll look much different! :) love this photo, though! i got a couple of other good ones. Hannah busted her mouth open last night and she got chocolate on her dress... so all of our pictures have bloody lips and chocolate. oh well! we'll try again soon for some really good all-dressed-up photos! i have an idea for a beach photo shoot, but it will require some assistance. we'll have to wait for thomas' next day off work... which probably won't be for a while. that's all for now! back to the land of diaper changes and baby feedings...

new pictures

hannah with ainsley and chloe

hannah & ainsley

i've been chastised

for not putting more photos up... I am normally the photo queen, but all of my photos from the last two days have been out of focus. I don't know if my camera battery just needs to be charged or if there is something wrong with the camera. So... I am going to charge it and try to get some good photos tomorrow.

today has been a pretty quiet day. ainsley has just been doing a lot of eating, sleeping and pooping. 4 NASTY diapers so far today! I need to go wake her up to feed her. She is such a good baby, just impatient sometimes. She loves her little swing. Thomas set it up last night and she does so well in it. Hannah loves to play with it, too. Thankfully, my sister-in-law just dropped by and brought Hannah a little swing for her dolls. She found it a garage sale and it is soooo cute! Hannah is gonna love it! Thanks, Ber! :) Hopefully I won't have to worry about Hannah pushing Ainsley's swing too high now! Well, that's all for now. I'm gonna go feed the baby... again! :)

more pictures of ainsley

daddy & his girls at the hospital

mommy & her girls at home

hannah & ainsley at the hospital

our sweet little ainsley

Ainsley Joy is here!

and she is beautiful! but i guess i am a little bit biased! she is a sweet little baby and eats very well and sleeps hard! gotta love that!

photo with daddy... still a little smashed up!

first photo with her big sister! hopefully we'll get some better photos on
friday when we get home!