my pilgrim name...

Your Pilgrim Name Is

Remember Billington

What's Your Pilgrim Name?

and Hannah's

Your Pilgrim Name Is

Remember Tilly

What's Your Pilgrim Name?

and Ainsley's

Your Pilgrim Name Is

Humility Mullins

What's Your Pilgrim Name?

and Thomas's

Your Pilgrim Name Is

Solomon Chilton

What's Your Pilgrim Name?

found a picture

this is the mirrored chest that we love at IKEA!

in the mood...

to decorate for Christmas and I can't do it quite yet! So, I decided to go ahead and decorate my blog! How do you like it? Two more weeks and I can start decorating my house!!!!! YEA! I think I may even make Thomas hang lights outside. But it may look funny only on half the house since it is a duplex! :)

We were going to go to the cabin this weekend, but Thomas wasn't feeling well so we didn't go. I got really tired of sitting in the house last night and tried and tried and tried to get Thomas to go out somewhere, ANYWHERE! Nope. So, this morning I guess he got a burst of energy or something because he actually suggested that we go to IKEA! If you have never been to IKEA before, it is something of an experience! It is massive! We took both of our girls with us. And we actually had a good time. Thomas and I decided that if we ever win the lottery or get a huge bonus we are going to buy ourselves some furniture from IKEA... yes, we know that we're pathetic. What most people think of as "beginner" furniture is our dream! :) the furniture looks black in the pictures, but it is dark brownish-black. They also have the furniture in white and it's actually a bit cheaper, but they don't make one of the additional pieces that we LOVE in the white finish. It is a low chest with a beautiful mirror on top. It looks kind of like an antique piece that my mom has in her house. They don't have it at the online store, but we saw it today and even Thomas loves it! :) After we were done at IKEA, Thomas walked out of there saying how much he enjoyed it. We got a lot of ideas for storage for our new place. Hopefully we'll be able to incorporate a lot of what we saw, using things we already have.

and these are the barstools that we want to get for our new kitchen...

so, if any of you are looking for any last minute gift ideas... :) Ainsley just woke up AGAIN and is crying, so I better get the little monkey before she wakes anyone up!

a layout for today

i changed the angle on my shadows for this layout... i think it looks more "real" now.
credits:
ann-marie's luv love me at oaks
christina renee's tied ribbon wrappers
christina renee's dream
christina renee's glitter pain splats
christina renee's shooting stars
swirls from sara amarie's put 'em together whimsical brushes at sweet shoppe designs
lace from vintage val by christine smith at design.christinesmith
heart by amy hutchinson from miles kit
sunflower from scrappin' hillbilly sweetpea designs' bloom where you're planted kit at oaks
b - robin cabana's colorfully you alpha
e - cardboard alpha by monika69
a - CH sampler
u - ann marie's sea dreams alpha
t - brenda kempf's extras alpha
y - by digitreats
pscs2
fonts: times new roman

and one more...

credits:
Mish Gasser's Six-By-Twelves at PDW, altered
French Countryside by Christina Renee & Shabby Princess
Shooting Stars by Christina Renee
PSCS2
fonts: byington

another one for tonight

credits:
Christine Smith's Spring Linens, color adjusted at design.christinesmith
christine smith's vintage val kit at design.christinesmith
scalloped frame by ann-marie from oaks, resized and used as a template
word patch from daydream patches by brit-ish designs
large heart from mish gasser's rectangle quickies power pack 2
pscs2

another new layout

credits:
Dixie Kit by SaraAmarie & Fee Jardine at Sweet Shoppe Designs
christine smith's crumpled creased & curled at design.christinesmith
pscs2
fonts: times new roman

new layout

credits:
products available at one of a kind scraps (OAKS)
misty maier's roadside garden paper pack
black ribbon from ann-marie's wrapped up
black flower from cherie shields' all that blooms
brackets from beth kerns' ladybug fun minikit
cardboard from doreen stolz's versatility kit
pscs2
fonts; times new roman, vaguely repulsive, turtle club, arial, thinking of you

layout

these pictures are from may! i can't believe how much older they both look!
credits:
available at one of a kind scrapz
jessica david's scallop set templates
misty maier's sunkissed summer kit
doodle from sarah grimwood's pistachio cove kit
pscs2
fonts: times new roman

new layout

credits:
Sarah Ellis's Round Em Up 5 at OAKS
Sarah Grimwood's Summer Romance Papers
Blythe Evans' Yesterday's News Alpha


from oaks rejuvenate collab kit
notebook paper by scrappin' hillbilly sweetpea designs
flower by blythe evans
stapled sequin by faith true
doily by sherry ferguson

new layout

credits:
Sarah Grimwood's Garden Groove Kit at OAKS
October Fall Kit at OAKS
pscs2
fonts: segoe script, times new roman

new layout

credits:
Sarah Grimwood's Pistachio Cove Kit at OAKS
pscs2
fonts: rockwell extra bold, segoe script

my little foodies

Hannah officially ate her very first vanilla frosty today! That may not seem like a big deal to most people, but Hannah was lactose intolerant for a LONG time and it has taken her a LONG time to be willing to eat ice cream. She doesn't like cold food. There's something about chipped teeth and cold food that just don't go together! :)

And, Ainsley was sitting next to me on the couch while I was eating some Saltines. Yes, I like the taste of Saltines and eat them for fun. Anyway, Ainsley was watching me eat my crackers so I gave her a little bite. She about bit my finger off with the second bite. She grabbed a cracker out of my hands and started eating it. So much for needing my help! She started making a mess with the cracker so I took it away. She started SCREAMING. You would have thought I was hurting the poor kid! I think we are going to have to start more solid foods and skip the baby food. She doesn't like it.

We hung out with Ashley today. We went to IKEA and the tiny little outlet mall nearby. I didn't buy a darn thing! I hate shopping with no money! Thomas is going back with me tomorrow night. We're looking at barstools. The fun never ends!

new layout

credits:
sarah grimwood's bohemian butterfly kit at one of a kind scrapz
pscs2
fonts: thinking of you

It's Official!

Ainsley is a Porter! Earlier today I was biting the soft parts off pieces of popcorn to feed her so she'd stay quiet while I was on the phone. She was loving it! Then tonight, she saw Hannah's popcorn bowl from this afternoon and went after it! So I picked her up and started feeding her little soft pieces (minus the hulls). She started crying when I took too long to get a piece in her mouth. I told Thomas that we are going to have to get her some veggie puffs to snack on. But the kid loves popcorn! She is such a foodie! It's true, Tom, there is another generation of foodies in the family! Earlier today, we were talking to my mom on the phone and Hannah asked Grandma what we were going to eat for Christmas if we go to Chicago. lol! That's my girl! Okay, she may have had a bit of prompting from me, but she got really excited when Grandma told her that she could have pizza and cookies and fudge without ANY nuts! lol! love my kiddos!

Hannah is doing much better at poo training! We haven't had any poopy diapers from Hannah in the last four days! yea!!! BUT we are still having lots of wet diapers. She isn't the least bit interested in peeing on the potty. We've tried princess p*anti*es (sorry. don't want THAT word searchable on my blog!), flower pa*nt*ies, treasure boxes, stickers, money and Halloween candy treats. Any other inexpensive ideas? I've got six weeks to get this kid potty trained. She cannot go to Sunbeams in January if she is still wearing a diaper. Okay, that is my rule, not the church's.

Hannah is so excited that we are going to see Ashley on Wednesday. We are meeting her at IKEA. I am looking for a few things for the new house and pricing bar stools. We don't have room in the house for a kitchen table. But Hannah wants to see HER Ashley! She is so cute about seeing family members. She gets so excited! I love that.

So, for those of my blog readers who are aware of the near disaster hair crisis I had earlier this afternoon, just to let you know, crisis averted! L'Oreal Natural Match to the rescue! And for those of you who color your hair, don't use L'Oreal Feria OVER another kind of hair color, especially if you are mostly gray, like I guess I am. My roots were badly in need of a color. I color my hair the same as my natural color, dark brown. And it usually looks pretty good. Well, Feria was on sale last week so I bought one of those this time, trying to save a couple bucks. BACKFIRED! So, I spent a while doing my hair this morning so that it could be done when Thomas got home and he wouldn't have to deal with the kids on his own. I got out of the shower, looked in the mirror and was HORRIFIED when I noticed that my hair looked like a tiger! Not kidding! My roots were a lovely shade of pumpkin! And the rest of my hair was its nice shade of dark brown. So, after talking to my mom, my aunt and my sister, and doing some research, I finally decided to go get another kind of haircolor (thank you Natural Match) and see what happened. I went a shade lighter than I normally do and just colored the roots for most of the time and then the ends for about 10 minutes. It is a bit more red than I would like, but I'm not a tiger anymore! I felt like that guy in the Comcast commercials who has the tiger tattoo all over his body and the tattoo artist says, "Sorry, Roger. You a tiger now." So, next time I color my hair, I'll go back to my natural shade. And I will never use another hair color again! L'Oreal Natural Match 3W forever!

new layout

credits:
Jenna Nelson's Zen kit at DragonFlaireStudios
Holly McCaig's PS Actions
pscs2
fonts: times new roman

new layout

these pictures are from earlier today! hannah loves having braids in her hair lately! she is so grown up! it makes me so sad! aren't these pictures of her adorable??? she was shaking her head from side to side as fast as she could just to watch her braids fly really fast!
credits:
this is a 2 page layout:
christine smith's a bit boho kit at design.christinesmith
right page: mish gasser's rectangle quickies power pack 2 at plain digital wrapper
pscs2
fonts: repent, times new roman

I am officially CRAZY!

I just a contest that my friend, Jill, posted on her blog about all of her quirky friends. I didn't find out about the contest until earlier today, so I didn't win, but I think I could have had I known about it sooner! Here is a small sampling of my quirks.... and ever since I started this list, I keep thinking of more and more things to add! :)

1. Ainsley has the raunchiest smelling feet in the world. She's six months old and i have no idea why they smell so bad. but i still love to kiss them!

2. I hate showers. They hurt. Everytime I get out of the shower, I itch for at least half an hour. I think I am actually allergic to the minerals in the water. And soft water doesn't help because salty water makes me itch, too.

3. I don't like swimming or wading or really anything to do with water. Not only do I itch, but I get seasick.

4. I am allergic to everything. Animals, food, plants....everything!

5. I hate dirty people. One time a church, a less active lady came in with her dirty little 2 year old. She kept looking at Ainsley and trying to touch her. I got up and walked out of Relief Society.

6. Little people TERRIFY me. I seriously get scared and my heart gets jumpy if I even see one... even on tv. terrible of me, i know.

7. i HATE clowns and everything to do with them. My mom buys clown stuff and puts it in packages that she sends me just to scare me. See the reaction to midgets above.

8. I hate cartoon clothes, too. The only reason Hannah has Dora clothes is because my mom bought her some Dora pajamas. I hate them. She loves them.

9. I love carbs! potatoes, cookies, pastas, breads, etc! LOVE them! I will eat an entire cake if someone will let me. But I don't really care for the frosting. Don't get in the way of my cake!

10. I check my email and my blog CONSTANTLY! And even worse, I now check my site stats 10 times a day to see who is checking my blog.

11. I hate being touched by people I don't know. Don't touch me when you hand me my change at the grocery store or gas station. Don't try to shake my hand. I hate being tapped or poked, too. I absolutely hate it when my husband or daughter tries to sit on the couch next to me and they bump my elbow or something.

12. I hate using pencils. Period. I hate that they smear and get on my hand. Likewise, I hate pens that smear on my hand, too. If I could, I would only use sharpies forever! the fine point ones that never dull down.

13. I like the smell of sharpies.

14. I hate fly-away hairs. They make me CRAZY. I can't stand watching Friends and when they show close-ups of Jennifer Anniston's hair, you can see her fly-aways. I have tons of them myself, but I have to ignore them when I do my own hair.

15. i hate personification of animals, too. i hate those stupid movies about animals that talk. even charlotte's web, the animated version, about crosses the line.

16. I hate hair in my face. You will always see me with a clip in my hair, or a bobby pin, or a ponytail. If I have all of my hair down, it is a rare day and you can bet I will be in a bad mood.

17. I am a pimple popper and proud of it!

18. I am a CLEAN freak, but I am also a packrat. I can't stand dirty bathrooms or kitchens. I can't go to sleep with dirty dishes in my sink. But i can't seem to throw anything away at all. I'm trying to do better, though.

19. I hate animals of all kinds, but I really want an Old English Sheepdog.

20. I hate being outside, but I love to garden.

21. I hate earwax and boogers. i will do ANYTHING to get rid of them. Both in me and my kids! But I don't actually enjoy the process of getting rid of them like some of you sick-o people! :) just kidding!

22. I am obsessed with shoes. I could sit for hours in a shoe store and just try on shoes. I don't even have to buy any. I just like trying them on. AND I like to look at my feet and legs in the shoes. A cute little skirt is the best thing to wear when trying on shoes! High heels are my favorites!

23. I can't stand for Hannah's hair not to be done. It drives me crazy when she takes her hair down for her nap.

24. I match all my kids clothes. I didn't realize I did this until recently. Even if the clothes aren't the same, they usually end up either being similar in style or color or theme. And if I pick out Thomas' shirt in the morning, we're all the same.

25. I absolutely DETEST reality tv, but I cannot wait for American Idol to start! Two more months! :)

26. I hate pennies. They make my palms itch.

27. I can't stand things that are misspelled. It absolutely drives me crazy.

28. And I got this one from my dad... I can't stand for light switches to be in the wrong position. If the light is on, the switch has to be up. If the light is off, the switch has to be down. If there is more than one switch for a light, the one closest to the main door has to have the right positioning. If the wiring is done "wrong" heaven help me! It's going to drive me crazy!

29. Another Doug quirk... I can't stand for screws in lightswitch covers and plug covers not to be the same in all plugs. If one is horizontal, they better all be.

30. Bleach and PineSol are my two favorite smells.

31. My closet is color coordinated and organized by type of clothing. Short sleeve white shirts together, short sleeve blue shirts together, then long sleeves (sorted by color), then short skirts (sorted by color), then long skirts (sorted by color), pants and finally dresses. You get the picture.

32. I'm really weird about textures.

33. I hate the taste of bananas, but I love the smell, but only the green ones.

I'm sure I'll think of more... Now you all know me way too well!

And I think that makes me the winner! But don't send me ding dongs, I don't eat pre-packaged desserts... :)

new layout

pictures from september 2007
credits:
Maria LaFrance's Tropical Gypsy Kit at Digital Freebies
bubbles from Antonio Rafaello's Bubbles at SophiaSarducci
bubble wand from traci reed's blow me a bubble at scrapbookgraphics
backward staple from ann-marie at oaks
pscs2
fonts: vaguely repulsive, times new roman

A couple of DigiScrap Announcements!

I am soooooo excited for the Scrappers Holiday Planner!!! If I remember correctly, it isn't specific to scrapbooking or digital scrapbooking. It's more of a menu and gift planner.

Check out the sale at ScrapDish! There are tons of new designers and products!

new layout

me & my adorable hubby in an out of focus picture from a month ago! this picture was taken at temple square in salt lake. i love that place!
credits:
Maria LaFrance's Serenity Kit & Serenity Add-On at Digital Freebies
pscs2
fonts: times new roman, segoe script

new layout

this is from february 2007
credits:
this is a 2 page 8.5x11 spread
kaye winiecki's missy moo kit at oaks
pscs 2
fonts: super snorty laughter, turtle club, times new roman

new layout

credits:
Jessica Gorny's Kasey Kit at OAKS
pscs2
fonts: times new roman

Woohoo!

WE GOT THE DUPLEX!!!!!!! yea! I am so excited! Jessica, the landlord, called about 20 minutes ago. We get to move in on December 2nd. I can't wait! So, if you're going to be in the Salt Lake area on the 2nd... you have plans! Help us move! And yes, we know it's a Sunday. But that is the only way that Thomas won't have to take time off work. We will officially be residents of Salt Lake City, city dwellers!

layout

this is from christmas 2006
credits:
Rock-a-Doodle-Too by Faith True at One Of a Kind Scrapz
PSCS2
fonts: Repent

i lied

Ainsley's cough sounds worse...

Ashley, BRING ME CHOCOLATE FROM CHICAGO! Love ya!

I need chocolate!

I really want some Fannie Mae chocolate. I have some that melted once and re-solidified, but it just isn't the same when you have to scrape the wax and solidified fat off your chocolate.

Hannah has entered a new realm of Terrible Toddlerhood. Wow! She is one mouthy little chica! Wonder where she got that one? It couldn't possibly be from her sweet even-tempered mother or grandmother! :) She was having a little tea party by herself this morning complete with water that she stole from my water bottle. She was pouring the water from cup to cup. I told her to stop or she was going to spill it. (Don't worry. She was on the tile.) She looked at me with her best 3 year old look and said, "You can't tell me what to do. You better be quiet and shush your mouth!" Needless to say she ended up in time out on her bed and a little chat about appropriate ways to talk to Mommy. Her new favorite movies are the Charlie Brown movies. So, her new favorite words are stupid and blockhead. I've been called a blockhead a few times lately. That warranted another lecture. Yesterday was particularly difficult. Both girls are getting sick again and Hannah literally threw a tantrum for about two hours over everything from wanting to rinse herself off in the shower, to making her own bed, to dressing herself (or not getting dressed), to watching a movie. Holy cow! Crazy day. I just didn't even have the heart to do anything other than just hold her. She did not feel well. I think some of that is still lingering today. Ainsley has been napping for about an hour and a half... HOLY COW! That's a record for her! The poor little baby is just exhausted. The good news is that her cough doesn't sound as bad as it did yesterday. I hate it when my kids are sick. They are so cranky and you can just look at them and tell how awful they feel. Poor little babies. It just makes my heart ache! I love my girlies!

That's about it for today. I have started planning Thanksgiving dinner... I can't wait!

My blog rating...

Really??? I would have guessed at least a PG rating... that's good, I guess. It means I am behaving myself! :)

another new layout

credits:
mish gasser's Slick Six-By-Twelves at PlainDigitalWrapper
rachel martin & faith true's average jo kit
pscs2
fonts: turtle club, pupcat

New layout

credits:
photo action by holly mccaig
Jennifer Barrette's Highland Park Kit - Just The Papers at OAKS
wood frame from Faith True's Old Painted Frames at OAKS
paper bag paper, paper flower from Kaye Winecki's Iron It at OAKS
glitter, flower stem from Kaye Winecki's Missy Moo Kit at oAKS
red ribbon from karen lewis' heaven sent kit at oaks
arrow by sarah ellis from everything boy kit at oaks
tag, screw from doro's versatility kit at oaks
binder clip from ann-marie's luv luv me at oaks
glitter swirl by sherri ferguson
pscs2
fonts: times new roman

just a little bit about today

Well, so far today has been pretty unproductive. Hannah woke me (and Ainsley) up earlier than I would have liked. She is really clingy because she isn't feeling great (again!). Ainsley's cough sounds terrible. In fact, she is napping again. Poor little baby. I'm going out in a bit to get some Triaminic for the girls. Hannah is never this quiet. Right now she is sitting on the couch next to me, with her arm behind my back and wrapped in her blanket. She doesn't have a fever, but you can look at her and tell that she doesn't feel well. I feel another round of cough syrup, tissues and doctor visits (uninsured) coming up! Lovely. I can't wait for our insurance to kick in next month. I color calibrated my computer monitor. I have been frustrated with the color on this thing for the last six months. I finally figured out that the Gamma settings adjust the color saturation. It still isn't perfect, but it is much better. And now I realize that all my beautiful pictures aren't really as pretty as I thought they were. And some of my scrapbook layouts are much more bright and contrasty than I thought they were. Oh well. Live and learn. I have been checking the classified ads and craigslist every few minutes. There isn't anything new (in our price range) coming up. I think most people wait and post things on Thursdays to get ready for the weekend. We have an appointment this evening to look at another place. We'll see what happens. I guess we should probably take showers and get dressed. I recently discovered a new blog (about 20 minutes ago). It's called El Rancho de Rigby and it is the blog of Thomas' best childhood friend, Sean, and his wife, Heather. Their little daughter sounds a lot like Hannah! Okay, we're off to shower now...

patience...

I think this whole searching for a place to live adventure is a lesson in patience for us. We have never had such a hard time finding a place to live. I am on the phone every day calling all the new listings that come up. We have gone to see every place that returns our calls. We've driven by others. We have driven up and down the streets around this area and other parts of the valley that we want to live in. And even some areas that we really don't want to live in. I mean, really, who WANTS to live in West Valley? It would be good for gas mileage since that is where Thomas works, but come on!

Thomas called the landlord at the house that we really want earlier today. She said that she was getting ready to start calling on references. She has three or four people that she is seriously considering but we are at the top of her list. I really hope that she means it! They are a mid-20s LDS couple with a 3 year old little boy. PERFECT! In Salt Lake, there are churches every couple of blocks. The church we would go to is like pretty far away. It's definitely NOT quick walking distance. It's interesting, until we decided that we WANT to live IN Salt Lake, I wasn't really all that concerned about the mayoral election tomorrow. Now I am. It will be interesting to see who wins. Anyway, back to the topic... we should know by Thursday or Friday whether we get the house or not. In the meantime, we are still looking around.

We went and saw a triplex today. It was really big and the outside of the house had character. It's up here in this area. But we walked in and I started having an allergy attack. My throat is still a bit itchy. The people who lived there before had CATS and from the smell of the place, they had more than one! Besides the cats, we kind of question the structural integrity of the house. The ceilings and walls have a lot of cracks. It looks like there is water damage to one of the bedroom ceilings, too. But there is a ton of storage inside the house.

We have another appointment tomorrow to look at a little 4-plex. It is kind of small, but the entire thing has been remodeled complete with granite countertops and maple cabinets. It's a basement apartment, so hopefully it won't be too dark.

On a different note, Thomas & Hannah are playing Simon Says right now and it is so cute! Hannah just does NOT get the concept. Okay, I'm off to scrapbook and play with my family a little bit!

the last week in pictures

Halloween Night

the kids with Grandma Sharon

Hannah & Ainsley ready to go!

Ainsley the Snow Fairy after trick-or-treating
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday at SugarHouse Park

Hannah & Daddy feeding the geese, ducks & seagulls and the lone pigeon...

Doesn't Hannah look excited?

Isn't this a cute picture of Ainsley?

My precious little Hannah!

me & my hunk of a husband. aren't we cute?

hey Angie!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear Angie....
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!

I love ya, little sister!
Head over to Angie's blog and leave her some birthday wishes!

weekend update...

Well, I haven't had a chance to do much lately. I have been searching high and low for a place to live. It's really quite depressing trying to find something. Everything is either tiny and dirty and expensive or really nice and super expensive. After weeks of non-stop searching, we found a place today that we LOVE and it is in our price range. We put in an application and we are really hoping that they choose us. There were a bunch of people that applied so we aren't sure. Pray for us! It is a 1930s bungalow that was converted to a duplex. It's only about 800 sq ft, but it is really open. It is literally in the middle of downtown. There is a built-in china hutch in the family room, a window seat in the master bedroom, glass front cabinets in the kitchen, a clawfoot bathtub in the bathroom. AND a place for me to plant flower bulbs and tomatoes!!!! I'm in heaven!

new layout

credits:
October Collab Kit - Spooked at OAKS
faith true circle clusters at oaks
jennifer barrette's wrapped up halloween at oaks
pamela gibson's pocketful of boo at oaks
pscs2
fonts: segoe script

new layout

credits:
laura pitman pastel garden kit at oaks
pscs2
fonts: turtle club, tandelle

new layout

credits:
Average Jo kit by Rachel Martin & Faith True at OAKS
pscs2
fonts: segoe script, rockwell extra bold

new layout

love this picture!
credits:
Misty Maier's Random Thoughts kit at OAKS
pscs2
fonts: marker fine point, TRAPEZE, the buns

new layout

credits:
Pachouli Garden by Jan Hosford at ScrapDish
note paper by bannerwoman from October MegaKit at ScrapDish
leaves by jenna nelson from October Mega Kit at ScrapDish
Christine Smith's Curls Crumples and Creases at design.christinesmith
PSCS2
fonts: marker fine point

the day after...

Just a quick update to let you all know that we had a great time last night trick-or-treating. Hannah went through the haunted house and came out saying "That was so freakin' scary!" Nice. My 3 year old little girl. I took pictures of the girls, but my camera battery is dead now, so I can't upload them to my computer.

We bought a new car last night, too. It's a 2008 Subaru Legacy Sedan. It's black and has a sunroof. heeheehee! Thomas hates black cars! It's a cute little car and the most important part is that it is AWD so we don't slide around in the snow. AND it fits our teeny tiny little budget. So, for the next 24 months, we will be driving a "little black supercar!" as Hannah likes to call it.

We are on the hunt for an apartment still. We cannot find anything in our price range that isn't in the GHETTO or that will take two kids. There are more place willing to take pets than two kids. How sad is that?! I have about 15 places to call this afternoon and hopefully someone will let us come take a look this evening or sometime this weekend.

That's it! More to come later hopefully!

a thankful moment

I absolutely love and adore my children. Even when I am frustrated and at my wit's end, I just adore these girls. Last night, Ainsley was fussy, it was about 10pm and I was so TIRED. Hannah was still awake and so HYPER! She was dancing around and running back and forth from her room to the living room. I was exhausted just watching her. On one of her trips into the living room, she belted out "Shala, Shala, Mal-E, Kiss the Girl" It was so FUNNY! Thomas and I just busted out laughing! She reminds me so much of myself that it is hilarious! When I was a little kid, I used to make up words to fit the sound of the songs when I didn't know what the real ones were. And more often than not, they weren't even real words. :) And now my precious little girl does the same thing!

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight for Family Night, we carved our Halloween pumpkin and watched The Great Pumpkin. Thomas did a great job cleaning out the pumpkin guts, I sorted the seeds (so Greg could roast them!), and Hannah and Daddy did a good job carving the pumpkin. Ainsley was a great cheerleader and wanted to be a part of everything. She screamed when we ignored her!

Thomas and Hannah getting ready to carve. Hannah looks so excited!

Ainsley excitedly looking on!

Thomas taunting Hannah with the pumpkin guts! She didn't like the pumpkin much after she saw the messy goo inside the pumpkin.

Hannah not too excited about having to get in another picture. Ainsley excited because she is out of her saucer and in closer to the action!

"CHEESE, Mom! Do you like my new mouth?"

Hannah carving the nose.

My amazing photography skills caught the pumpkin all lit up... Okay, so my camera has a night time still-life setting. And I rigged a "tripod" out of a set of storage drawers. That's why it's a bit crooked.

Hannah & Ainsley sitting with the finished pumpkin.

All done! We had a lot of fun and made a big old mess! I love Halloween!