funky friday

no news today on Kim. we have worked it out that i will visit in the evenings after work. this is kinda nice. now i don't feel guilty trying to find a sitter or being to busy during the day. we talk on the phone but at least i can visit more often. Kim is really looking better. we sort of discussed when she gets out about getting some things like will and funeral arrangements ready for the "just in case". I want her wishes honored and i need to know what they are.

I have also discussed her having a journal to get out all her feelings out on paper about anything. this will be a great reminder for when she beats the cancer to look back and to see her struggles and her triumphs.

*so this is one of my favorite shirts that my brother got for wyatt. recognize the colors?? it's a John Deere "Got Dirt" tee. I almost don't want it to get dirty its so cute.

So I'm not into making new years resolutions but i'm totally into making new years discoveries. case in point. Rob was asked to lead this sundays church service. after prayer and talking to me he found that he had nothing convicting that he could discuss for 20 minutes. no matter how many ideas i threw at him. his response became for me to lead the service. um... no. But now i wonder if i really could do it. lets rephrase that. i know i can do it, it's the sick to my stomach feeling that i don't want to deal with. even now just typing this my heart starts to beat fast and my hands shake. earlier today i called rob with an idea i had about our life in a kinda of "It's a wonderful Life" way. Now i don't remember the whole movie but i got a brief synopsis on it and that its about how one life affects those around us wether we know it our not. and that in the grand scheme of things we need each other more than we can even begin to understand. it was also about how you treat others and i think this is where i will base my discoveries for this coming year. i want to make this year more friend and family driven. these are promises I have made to myself before but now feel more convicted than ever to act upon. Oh and Rob turned down leading the service so pastor Rod is coming over from his church to lead.

so here is one of the only picture of me on christmas with the spidy that i need to exchange. I must give a big shout out to my hubby, my 5 in1 reflector showed up today and i have already tried playing with. combine that with the cool photog books my bro got me i'm a happy camper.

So have a happy new year and be safe. I plan to take the tree down and put christmas away till next year. Cheers everyone. lots of hugs and kisses. carrie

christmas update

okay so i finally uploaded my photos from christmas day. this one though blurry is christmas morning. we are still at the stage where we had to wake at least one child (wyatt). my house was packed with presents. ya know, when your shopping it doesn't seem like very much but then you multiply it by us, 2 grandmoms and a honorary grandpa and an uncle and you get a small living room with no place to sit and no more room under the tree. please understand i'm not bragging just trying to give a visual about what it was like. present wise it was a great christmas. everyone seemed very happy with what they received.

as a fun gift i bought both of the guys these marshmallow shooters that have a pump action. the guys loved them and of course mini marshmallows were flying. the kids loved eating the mallows and somehow i ended up sitting on some and getting my jeans sticky.

After the presents we started getting dinner ready and wouldn't ya know it i dumped the potatoes in the sink when i was trying to strain them. wyatt was climbing onto any boxes he could and getting into trouble left and right. kelly was just being plain bossy and you know how inlaws can be. so to combine all this i was in foul mood by the end of the day. so the kids got a few bulky gifts and this last picture is one of them. he so acts like rob when he bangs his drums. but that boy loves to play the drums. now with his own set maybe he will leave robs alone. as i was taking pictures i have one that has his arms raised above his head but he would bang so fast that all the pictures are a little blurry in the arm area. ohhhh well, my brother bought me a couple of photo books that i have been asking for so i'm gonna start working with those. so far i really like the author and the way he writes. i have heard nothing but great things about Bryan Peterson and so far so good.

***Kim update****

they are going to let kim go home because her kidneys are back to normal and before they start the chemo. her slides have been sent from tucson to phoenix now to houston to be gone over to find out what type of cancer and what stage. all tests done in tucson have confounded the lab so they are sending it to a cancer institute for more testing. so far they do know that she has uterian, cervical and stomach node cancer and lymphoma in her neck. they have found four lumps the size of almonds in her neck. so it doesn't look great right this minute and hopefully we will have more results soon. i'll try to keep posting.

Carrie

not so merry christmas eve

What a weekend so far. finally got a call and some news from Kim. they still don't have the stage results in but they have found another lump in her neck about the size of an almond. to top it all off her father is now in the same hospital for heart problems (go figure?)

So the plan is for us to go up tomorrow afternoon and take up their presents. we will bring christmas to them.

this just so sucks. thankfully they have neighbors who will look after the dogs so i won't be running back and forth from that. sorry don't want that to seem heartless but i know it sounds that way.

i'm just asking for prayers that we can stay upbeat and have a nice christmas.

love you all and please take care of yourselves. love Carrie

update

Happy Friday all. This has been a rough week. Kim has been diagnosed with cervical cancer that has attached itself to her bladder and as of this morning we still don't know what stage she is at. to top it off i was spewing my guts yesterday morning. when asked if i was pregnant i say i doubt it but it could be possible. i'll let you know when the flow hits. i think i just ate some bad food. anyway i off to wrap some gifts that i can and when i get home from work tonight i will try to wrap the kids'. ugh. i still need to make two dozen sugar cookies for tomorrow. i really need to get busy. plus i need to wash kids clothes.
SO i'll keep you posted and i will post over the weekend.
lots a love Carrie

not good news

I don't know where to start. I've been working and really like it. I've been baking for some of mom clients and that is bringing me some scrappin money. Did all my christmas shopping on sunday. went to tucson mall (they opened at 7am) and nobody was there. was in and out in about an hour.
now for the bad news. Kim has been in the hospital since sat morning with severe stomach pains. well the results just came in. she had surgery this morning because she had stints put in her kidneys because they weren't functioning properly. they found cervical cancer. we have to wait for the biopsy results to see what stage she is at and the cancer has grown into her bladder wall. this is all i know so far. i'm not going into work tonight, instead i'm going up to the hospital to be with Kim. If your are the praying type please pray for her.
I'll post more as i know it.

i so suck i know. but i think i have been kinda busy. i said i think because i really can't remember much of this week. i know today was a full day and i'm about to head out to the scrap social. we will see how it goes. i'm thinking about stopping that and going to making memories once a month. this way i think i can get more friends together and have more fun.
i don't have much time otherwise i would post a picture. i have been trying to take more of wyatt. well i took a couple of him earlier this week and i took some of both kids while i was making apple bread this afternoon.
I have been going through a LOT of photos this week trying to find more to scrap. granted i still haven't printed out much of this year. i am actually on the hunt for some pictures of kelly when she got her big girl bed. i thought i had like three sets of photos that i still need to process but i *gasp* can't find them, thus the manhunt.
*weekend to go as follows: social
Sat. work 1-930. Sun. go christmas shopping mon. bake 6 doz choc chip cookies and 6 doz dec. pretzels and have home group christmas party. kinda a full weekend :O!! hugs all C
P>S> i am NOT sending out christmas cards this year.

weekend update

ugh! sorry i got kinda sick on sunday and just started to feel better half way through monday.

was supposed to meet my friend michelle and her kiddos at reid park playground but something funny happened and we had to postpone it for tomorrow. *she decorated her christmas tree with a TON of lights and when they went to use the microwave the blew something. not even flicking the circut box switch helped, so michelle has to wait for the electrician to come. i couldn't stop laughing when she told me. she said she has a least six strands of 300+ lights on a six foot tree plus whatever she found in the box so only God knows how many lights are on that tree.

so today i plan to do at least 15min of cleaning in each kids room and get the dishes done plus pick up the living room. so i have one hour to get all this done so i can SCRAPBOOK!! whoo hoo. i had planned to do it on sunday but that was a big no go. so it fits just fine for today.

speakn' of scrapbooking. i went through on saturday and counted that i have roughly jan-nov of '06 to print and that is 1500+ photos. Yes thats one thousand five hundred. to have them all printed and shipped will cost $285.00. thats $.18 per photo and flat $2.00 shipping. yowsers. but i was smart and broke it down by months so that i can plan my course of attack and hopefully when tax return comes in i can print the rest. Rob was like can't you delete some of those? Do you need all of them? This is my philosophy, I want to print them all to 1. see my mistakes and learn 2. not have just the perfect photos printed. someone once said and i hold it true that with the new digital era that our kids are gonna have a complex because only the perfect photos are printed and anything not perfect is deleted. they will think they have to always be perfect. what are some of your favorite photos as a kid? i bet they werent the olan mills perfect setup. they were the slightly blurry, funny faces or christmas/ birthday shots that show the love and fun that you were in. this is what i want for my kids, that all shots (well almost all) are important. there are some that were just too blurry to keep, or the back of someones head. yes you can delete those.

okay enough i need to get busy. have a great day.

Just for Julie***

went to Joanns when i got off work at 9:30p on saturday. said hi to a couple of girls and did some fast shopping since they were closing in 20 min. Lupe was closing with 4 girls in the front and 1 in framing. okay... go backs were not done. garbage was not done. the store was trashed and when i walked out at 10p they had not done carts, pulled in the baskets from outside, guest service was trashed. this was crazy nasty. and of course lupe was nowhere to be found. The girls really missed me and megan told me that frannie was really pissed that i left early that last night. i guess she even made a comment that i shouldn't be allowed to teach since i walked out. go for it. i could care less at this point. so when i do the social on friday i will mention it. just thought you would get a kick out of it.

Hugs carrie

kelly-ism's

this one was said to us this morning when told to go to her room and put her slippers on, she huffed and said "I'm in charge".
lately, "good grief" watching way to much charlie brown
"Come check it out"
or not so much anymore was "mommy chill out"
gotta love it! and don't want to forget it either.

of course now that we have the van it's me saying, "all aboard the mommy train". they like that one

so today has been a nice relaxing day except that rob is not feeling well. I'm sure he will be fine tomorrow but it's 8:30p and he is already asleep.
So mom and i had an appointment with santa claus today. this is what i tell the kids whenever i have to go christmas shopping. we had to go to wally world and manuever around the crazies to pick up some of the kids' gifts. pretty sad when your mom buys your kids more presents than you do.
i say this every year but after christmas my kids are set for several months. they don't need anything. which is a blessing but such chaos on x-mas day when you see the sea of gifts for those two kids.
I've been on a hunt for a couple of gifts today for the adults myself, just trying to find them is hard enough let alone a decent price. found a couple of sites that search for you that have helped. whats funny is i found this one product from the same manufactuer with 2 different names and several different prices. haha i know how to shop around and read. i'm no dummy.
plus today i made a list of what i'm gonna pick up and roughly the price so i know how much i'm spending. this way i can stay in my budget and get something for everyone.
I'm looking for some cheap funky gifts for our home group to give out. anyone know a off the wall website that can help?
oh well i will keep searching. hugs c

Part 2

Okay so i know i said i would tell you about tres amigos. here goes

I like it. i mean it is very easy and the only pain is the computer, which i'm starting to get the hang of. last night for instance i was to accessorize on tops of furniture that needed it. it was taking me forever because i kept changing my mind and it's not my style of stuff so it's harder for me to work with. they were so cool as i kept switching things. i mean this job is like having fun and doing work at the same time. everyone so far is just nice. i know this sounds trite but it's true. if you can't get something done it's okay someone else will finish tomorrow and no one is bitter about it. no rushing or stressing it's cool.

we had the company christmas party on sunday and it was held at El Charro. cool. free food and at least one free drink, if you answered questions you won more drink cards. so after dinner the owners gave a little speech and then on a table are all these gifts. yes there were some cheesy gifts baskets but there was also some pretty cool stuff. this year they did it according to seniority. i guess last year they drew numbers and it corresponded with the number on the gift and all the new people got the good gifts so they cahnged it. Okay the gifts were..... 2 different tools sets, dvd's, coffee grinder, wine openers (good ones), movie tickets, gift cards to see's candy. dvd players, clock radios, dvd/vcr combos, 2 different tabletop steros, play station 2 and an ipod. how cool is that?? and what did Carrie end up with???? a chocolate gift basket. rob said i got screwed but i'm enjoying it. not much in there but its good. we will see next year, maybe i'll get something better.

So on monday the kids got sick and rob and i didn't get much sleep because we kept getting up to change twels and pajamas. yep they had gotten food poisoning. so i spent most of yesterday doing laundry and trying to chill before work. but today the kids are much better and full of pure energy. since it is such a nice day out i tried to set up a christmas photo shoot. yeah, this lasted about 5 minutes. and i had to bribe kelly for the single shots i took. For the life of me i cannot get a good shot of them together. one or the other is always funky. this is the best of the 3 i could get before wyatt ripped off the hat and went back to playing. I told kelly if she would let me take pictures she could watch a movie. that got an instant okay. the very first picture she had the hat over her face then it was the partial looking up and then her telling me to shush. then just a nice smile.

Okay enough updating. i need to feed the kids and myself. I'll do better in keeping up with this thing for the rest of the month. cheers. carrie

Part 1

I'm so sorry. i didn't realize how bad i have been. so this is what i did on the 30th. the kids (pretty much kelly) helped me to put on the lights and decorate the tree. if you can see it, you can tell kids helped because all the decorations are in one area and I put all the breakables near the top.

*our big tv is still on the fritz but now it's worse. you have to hold down the menu button and either the volume or channel buttons to change anything. the input button does not work at all. EXCEPT once and it switched to a different antenna and now we have NO picture. so now we watch tv on our computer. so the only times i am on is either late at night or not. so i have put blogging to the side.

But i have been taking some photos. typical toddler and a boy at that, Wyatt won't sit still for 10 seconds let alone a photo shoot. so miss Kelly has been my muse. she is just so gorgeous. and i like that she is starting to have fun with the camera and not just those cheesy grins (which I still get plenty).

Otherwise life had been pretty normal. gearing up for the holiday season. I am not doing christmas cards this year. as of right now i'm just not in the mood but that could change. hell i haven't scrapbooked in a couple of weeks either. I have been cleaning and cooking and chasing kids.

getting ready to go christmas shopping with Kim in a couple of weeks. we are gonna head up to Tucson mall on the 17th to get it all done. i need to hit disney and old navy and a few others. i know what to finally get my mom and rob that they aren't expecting and will both enjoy. i have a list for the kids, now i just have to find something for robs mom. i will find something to inspire me. so look for part two in just a few minutes as i finish catching you up.

Tres Amigos

is different. they have so many steps for the computer that my mind is boggling. The people are great and sooo laid back but it's gonna take me a few days to adjust but overall it is very easy. it's also nice to be on my way home at 9:30 at night. but oh so different from what i know. i think i'm gonna like it once i get more comfortable.
the one sticky point is that i get paid opposite weeks than rob. where this will work nice later, right now it's gonna take some adjusting.
* okay the yahoos over at two peas have gotten me hooked on this live camera that overlooks a watering hole in africa. yeah i haven't seen any animals yet but it's kinda cool to hear all the noises. hit this link www.wavelit.com/popup/playerAfricam.asp#
i swear i keep checking back in every time i hear a different noise. the two peas ladies are always starting topics about what they have seen so now i'm hooked. i want to show the kids a zebra or something. rob came home from work yesterday and asked what that noise was. when i told him the back story he just shook his head at me.
* finished up the christmas tree yesterday and kelly helped. i'll post pictures later. you can tell because lots of the ornaments are grouped together. kinda cute and i'm not gonna change it.
Okay i'm sitting here in my pj's and robe typing this out and listening to the sounds of the african savannah. do ya have a good visual? how pathetic am i? I JUST SAW A COUPLE OF GAZZELLE DRINKING WATER AND WALKING AROUND. THIS IS SOO COOL ! i called kelly over and she got a kick out of it. it's getting close to their busy time so hopefully we'll see more.
Seriously i need to shower and get dressed. i'll post tree/ kelly pict later today. hugs C

just two more hours before i start my first day at Tres Amigos. a little nervous but kinda excited. was told we get out anywhere from 9:15 to 10pm. this i can handle plus i can wear jeans and tee shirts. ooohhh yeah!

Had some fun taking pictures of miss Kelly today while Wyatt napped would post them but i don't have much time. i need to do a quick clean on the living room and then we are heading to Grandmom Ross' for dinner before work.

Got the christmas tree up yesterday afternoon, now i just have to do lights and ornaments. kinda hoping that Rob will do that while i'm at work. if not i'll get it done tomorrow.

Enjoy your evening, i'll give the scoop later. C

Holiday Hell season

Oh yeah the hellish holiday season is here with all its wacked out kooks and freaks.

this is a great way to start the season off right? cynical and bitchy?

Thanksgiving was really nice, we had too much food as usual but it was good. Love the fried turkey. last year from christmas robs mom bought him an electric fryer and this year we got to try it out. it worked great. we had a baked turkey a fried turkey and ham. we love leftovers. we all have our staples that we make each year but we also try at least one new recipe to see it should be added to the feast. otherwise we spent the day watching football and talking. we totally forgot to play any games which has become the norm. we were rewarded by this gorgeous sunset that evening. it was strange to have such warm temps in this late of the month but it made for a great day.

"Where's Wyatt?"

This has become Wyatt's favorite thing to do. he likes to climb into all the places he shouldn't. we have also caught him on top of Kellys dresser and trying to climb on top of his. this little monkey is into EVERYTHING!!! i thought the crawling, walking stage was bad but this quiet troublemaking is worse. You never know where you will find him. Half the time the only way we catch him is if he drops something and we investigate, we just happen to walk by or if he call for help cause he is stuck. Oh i can't forget also when Kelly tattles on him.

*so Saturday was my last at joann and it was also the worst day i ever worked there. the computer shut down for over and hour and still those crazies waited in line. we passed out candy then we passed out 10% off transaction coupons because the registers were still down. it took over an hour to get them going and then they didn't ring up the sale prices so we had to do it all manually. it was awful. i gave the girls a pep talk and they did just great. most of the people in line were very nice. Once we got most of the people through the line we heard a frantic call for help. I went running back and in a corner a man had fallen and was having a seizure. so i start yelling to call 911 and the managers and a nurse went running back to help. so we also had a visit from the paramedics. whats strange is that the man that fell was a medic and had never been sick or had that happen before. this caused me to start shaking from adrenaline with all the excitement from the whole damn day. i hate emergencies. so on with the day. at one put we were running out of $1 dollars and when they finally found some i went back to the office to get them they started to tease me that i cursed the store today because it was my last day. let just say i got there at 2:30 and didn't get any breaks or lunch until 8pm when i clocked out and left for the night. and no they were not aware that i wasn't coming back from lunch. i told two of the six that were closing but not the mgrs. I did a little bad thing and it felt great. I was kinda hoping they would call me so i could laugh at them but alas they didn't. i know they aren't mad but it still was fun to just leave.

Grateful

so i was cruising the net and the theme for today seems to be "grateful", so going on this subject, i thought i could at the very least was list a few of things that i am grateful for.
(ya ever have a moment when you start to think about a topic and everything floods in and you can't choose or sort them out? Yeah, going through that right now)
fun things to be grateful for; internet, ice cream, ooh chocolate, minivans (shh don't tell Rob)
serious things; my family, that i appreciate all that surrounds me. i.e. my home, food, trees, my clothes.
I try to remember everyday how lucky i really am and thank god for what i have. i am grateful for so much that it cannot begin to be listed and god knows that in my heart and loves me for it.
So Happy Turkey Day!
Give your family a big hug. love Carrie

baby powder baby

okay not a great second picture. I had forgotten that this had happened over the weekend. my baby loves baby powder and this stuff was everywhere! we had to vacuum his bed, the floor, him. at least his room smelled good. *if you click on any picture you can see it larger*

spent the morning getting ready for thanksgiving. had to hit the grocery store before the yahoo's got there. i think and hope i have all that i need.

i really don't want to go to work tonight. don't i say this every tuesday???? part of me wants to go to see all the new stuff they got out but i really don't want to work. rob doesn't want me to work either but i need too. maybe i can find a t-giving tablecloth top put on the table. i thought i had one but right now i can't find anything. that will be changing soon because i have to half empty out the shed to get to christmas crap. so mu purging and organizing will be heading outdoors soon. speaking of cleaning up.....um.....see.....i ah.... haven't put my clothes away yet or shall i say even cleaned up my side. now i know i said i would do this but i procrastinate and then when i want to do it i'm in the middle of something else. it will get done eventually like before christmas. i promise.

so tomorrow morning i'm gonna take the kids to the mil (mother-in-law) the school down the street is collecting cans and the Palo Verde H.S. marching band walks uo and down the street playing while the elementary kids walk with wagons collecting food. cool huh?! I hope to get few pictures of the whole entourage and the kids handing over the goods.

So spent most of the weekend scrappin'. dang that felt great!! i felt like i was on a roll. i just need to get more pictures printed!! and of course between rob and mikey they were making fun of all the stuff i have, which i am using up. HELLO! its not like i went and bought new stuff for these pages i was using my collection. but it was fun and i would like to keep it up and get somewhat caught up.

happy tuesday

I have had a nice weekend. on Friday i did the scrapbook social and it was fun. i completed two layouts and had good conversation with a few regulars. i hope this keeps up even with me leaving. saturday work was fine and i got to come home early cause sales were slow. thats always a plus to come home early.but i saturday night i did 3 layouts. whoohoo! it feels good. i hope to get a couple more done today.
not much more going on. i hope your having a great weekend. C

alright

this is what Wyatt says every time you asks if he wants something. well last night everytime i asked if he wanted to go pee pee in the potty he said "alright". sure as shooting he peed in the potty 3 times. he refused to wear the one pair of underpants for boys that we own so he went commando under his pants. no accidents either.

I think i'm gonna be a bad momma and take a picture of him on the potty. can't wait to see his girlfriends reaction in 15+yrs. he he he.

*so tonight is the social and i need to go get my crap ready. I swear i need like a whole day to scrapbook. no interuptions, except maybe a friend or two and finger foods. Anyone want to join me???

*it's hard for me to believe that thanksgiving is this coming thursday. yikes a million i'm not ready. it's at our house which is nice but i need to go shopping.

*sorry this is short but i need to get lots done.

this picture is for me dad who says he only looks at this blog for pictures of the kids. this was taken may of 2005. wow look how small they are even the dog. time flies and luckily i have pictures of the kids from almost every single month. what changes. they are amazing, my babies.

Oh the drama

Told Lupe last night and she was cool about it. doesn't want me to go but can understand about the pay. yes she still wants me to be the scrapbook teacher. she did say that she didn't want me to leave before thanksgiving cause she is going to need me for black friday. I looked her right in the face and said then don't piss me off. kinda shocked her and i let out a startled laugh because i can't believe i actually said it out loud. but i did tell her i was serious and thats when we started to discuss last saturday, and how upset i was. She gave me the same b.s. but i really don't know if she was telling the truth.
to the Drama.... find out last night that Brian, my brothers friend that came here to get his act together has been stealing from my mom and mikey. He stole money from them both, he took dvd's and the ring my brother had bought for his ex-girlfriend(who happens to be his sister) took a PDA from my mom and we aren't sure what else. I talked to my mom this morning and she is working with the police as we speak and he is probably going to be arrested. now i find out he has a warrant for his arrest for skipping in michigan and screwing up his probation. so there is a chance he will be shipped back to MI.
This is my thought: YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!!!!
this young man has had everyone help him like it's their job to take care of him and this has been enabling to him. he needs to LEARN and take some responsibility for what he does. it's not anyones fault but his own.
So i'm waiting for a phone call from mom to see what the outcome is. Oh and his reason for the theft is he needed money and was tired of asking mikey for it. He really wasn't looking for a job and the money he made for day shift work he blew on drugs and we think speed, yes some money went for gas but please.
Okay gotta stop writing about this.
Today is Kellys last day of school until January 8th. hopefully i can be a good mama and keep up her letters and numbers. I have seen an improvement her alphabet. today see took two pencils and made a "X" and told me it was an x. i was happy, and told her so. she seems to really like going to class.
*So I have to post a picture. I needed something that warms the dark corners of my heart. I love fall. my absolute favorite time of year. My favorite flowers are daisies but I don't have any pictures of daisies but sunflowers are like daisies but bigger! :)
*anyway I just got the new Simple Scrapbooks, Better Photos for your scrapbooks magazine. a special issue. looks interesting.this picture combined with the magazine makes me want to go the the nursery and take pictures of some flowers. i would go to the botanical gardens but this is free and if i go to the gardens i want the whole family to go.
*So enough for now. i'm gonna hopefully get some work done, in some form or another before i pick up Kel.
P.S. this friday is the scrap social. come check out the cricut (cricket) machine and the cuttlebug and hang with me. it's from 6-10 (yes 10, we went to holiday hours) Mom if you can't make it I need your list of things you want cut out and colors

I'm outta here!

Called Tres Amigos today and everything went through fine. I will be giving my notice tonight (wish me luck) and my last day will be next wednesday BEFORE thanksgiving. Unless i totally wimp out and finish off that week, in which case i'm sure i'll get pissed about something and walk out.
I'm nervous about the new job and very happy to be leaving the old one. We will see how it goes. I don't even know if Lupe is working tonight. If Lupe doesn't have next weeks schedule done than this week will be my last . I don't know, everything is up in the air until tonight.
I'll update either late tonight or first thing tomorrow.
Carrie

monday, monday

It's been a pretty cool day. I watched baby aliyah this morning and she was fairly flexible with all the running around we do on Mondays. but overall i kinda miss having a little one around. we shall see.........
The weekend as a whole was exhausting. work on saturday was bad enough that i went to bed at 9pm. sunday was nice and relaxing and watched some football. nothing major or even exciting.
have a good day and we'll see what i can get done this afternoon. Cheers
Carrie

cheering up

Following the mark twain quote from a couple of days ago i started thinking about the bigger picture. I'm photographing the relay for life cancer walk that will happen next may. today i asked if i can be more involved. after talking to my mom just now she also wants to jump on board. I want to be more involved for several reasons. this year i lost a friend to cancer and this year a friend survived cancer and a friends daughter is still fighting cancer. i do this for them and for myself.
also today the kids and i went to Stuff The Bus. kgun 9 and the community food bank take a sun tran bus and we the people fill it with food. this project is something i have wanted to do for the last couple of years but when your family is helping buy you food and you yourself are struggling it's not an option. this year we gave and my heart feels so happy. it may not be much but it's one more step closer to the food banks goal. i hope i can teach the kids about grace and helping others with love in their hearts.







*so today i will continue to clean my scrap room. i told you it was a mess and this isn't all of it. it's under the desk and on the bookshelf to the right of the picture. take it from me it's hell.
I'm off to clean before lunch gets here.
so today i couldn't decide on which quote so i chose two.
"There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward"- Kahlil Gibran
"Those who give cheerfully give twice- once to others, once to themselves"- anonymous
edit: blogger went down so i couldn't post
i swear thursdays are my favorite day. 1, i don't have to work and 2, its ugly betty and greys anatomy. Whats your favorite day?
Edit Again: didn't get anything done because we found a new friend. His name is cody and he is a golden retriever that lives a few houses down with a nice family that just moved in. the gate was left open and the dog went for a walk. he is super sweet. we put up a sign on the corner and his owner called last night. it was so sweet to see him reunited with his family. a great dog and the kids adored him. good things came in 3's today. :)

before and after

okay so i dropped off kelly this morning and wyatt and i headed to Big Lots. i always get my bins there. it took 2, 30 liter bins for both of the kids' clothes. i cleaned out drawers and tons of bags and it is now organized in labeled bins. of course since i don't have any storage space right now they are in kelly's closet but it's all cleaned up right? isn't it what i wanted? yes sir e bob! am i happy? HELL YES!!!!
now it's time to start working on my scrap room. i think i will do before and after pictures for that too. you will be shocked, its that bad.
* so did some research and mom is double checking for me but i may be able to take a credited class at the community college for digi photography. i'm not looking for a degree just a few courses. we shall see.
*I love this picture of wyatt man. he is really into sitting in the clothes basket right now. he is such a character, goes full steam ahead and you better get out of his way. can't get that boy to sit still for a minute.
* so thank you Julie for your call this morning. I'm going to hit up the flylady.net for some cleaning routines and see all that she offers.
* to everyone thankyou for caring. i know we all go thru tough times and that one just came to the surface.
Just a FYI i usually don't read your comments until after i finish my next post.
So reading Kristie's comment hit me even harder because i know she is having a rough go of it. Oh and thanks Kris for the email that hit the spot and had me teary eyed.
My thoughts and prayers are seriously going out to you all. anything i can do, even from far away please let me know.
" a friend is a person with whom i may be sincere. before him, i may think aloud" ralph waldo emerson

elections

thank god the annoyance is about to end. have you been getting at least 5 calls a day??
Like a good american i voted today and i am anxious to see the results, i'm just tired of being bombarded with all the calls and ads.
Happy tuesday. my mom in law had the kids overnight so i got some work done. okay it time for me to be real, so hold on to your hats.
I need to stop blaming the kids as to why i get nothing done. its my own fault. lately i've been in what I'm calling a depression, not wanting to clean, organize or do pretty much anything. Today i have been forcing myself to make some goals and get things done. my entire house is a mess and with the holidays coming i can't take it anymore.
Why am i saying drepression. since we think we might be moving i've been torn between sentimental and happy, sad and can't wait. i haven't wanted to decorate for halloween or thanksgiving and part of me wants to pack things now but another part says that the things i can pack now i should just get rid of. i really need help with this and am not sure i would like to hear what others think. yes i need to streamline and dejunk. but the thought of doing so is daunting.
So for the rest of this week i will be working on wyatt's room and scraproom and next week my bedroom. these are doable goals but i need to make some internal changes. less tv and computer and more prayer and meditation. i need to really change my frame of mind.
*I kept telling myself that i wanted a blog not just so that family could keep up but that what i was thinking would be journalized for future scrapbooking and reflection. i have been fighting a big war in myself about letting go and finding my passion but i feel guilty because the rest of the house is literally in shambles. rob says i need to work through it but i really don't like a messy house. I can piture my mom smiling.
I'm also frustrated because so far pima comm.college doesn't off their photography classes any longer and i need and want to learn more. so i'm looking into other alternatives. i'm also doing some big praying that we could find a way financially so that i wouldn't have to work. this is also dragging me down. even though i should be starting a new job soon i don't want to work. period. i don't want to work. i want to learn and create. i want to learn. i want to make beautiful stuff because i know i can.
all this typing is my therapy. sometimes things just flow out of me that i don't say out loud. this is the reason for this blog. life is not all nicey nice and i'm not going to do it anymore.
"the best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up"- Mark Twain
I am thankful for all my friends and family. thank you for being my friends and inspiration. love C

captains log: star date 2562- we have entered the realm of the working persons known as cantgiveacrapbutneedpaychecks. these people work meaningless jobs for little pay and take crap from old ladies that like to complain because the yarn they are buying doesn't have the same color lot number. yeesh . these c.g.c.n.p's have amazing amounts of patience and smiles that they plaster on their faces when one of the "old" people come close. the only way to defeat this race of "old" people is stop working in this store. HA Ha Ha.
I have know idea where that just came from, it wasn't even in my head when i started typing.
Good day to all. long time no type. I don't even remember where i left off. thursday i worked and missed my shows and friday i worked but the van went caput on me and we had to replace the radiator. Rob just finished in time for me to make it to work on Saturday. Anyway miss kelly has had kinda a cold and so rob and i got about 3-4 hrs of sleep on fri/sat. now wyatt has the runny nose.
Check this out. my crummy manager lupe has been very nice to me this week. i have been bumped up in security level so that i now can do withdrawals and such. lupe even told me that i really need to become a supervisor because i would be great. why all the sucking up??? and part of me is like "give me a HUGE raise for doing your duties". its kinda fun to be able the withdrawals but its also not in my job description.
these are my neighbors Don and Brenda. this is the house that wyatt walked into. And for the photo below here is rob in all his glory. i'm sorry not rob this is ROBERTA . unfortunately i couldn't get the full picture where he has on his fuzzy pink slippers. kinda cute huh?
now this is rob being crowned the pumpkin carving king.
FYI. i usually don't flip my pictures because i haven't done any editing yet and i will lose pixels if i flip them so tilt your head.
as the week goes on i'm sure i'll post some more picts no that it is working again. have a good Sunday

post halloween

i'm still tired from last night. had a fairly good time. Kelly really got into the trick or treat and saying "not this house" if the lights weren't on. Wyatt was a trooper. people got such a kick out of him. the very first house we go to is our neighbors Don and Brenda. the kids walk up and say trick or treat and they open the door and Wyatt walks right IN their house. we were laughing so hard, and at first i was embarrassed but we couldn't stop laughing. i apologized while laughing and he didn't do it again. we did both sides of our street then drove over to grandmoms and did the 4 houses on hers that were lit. my mother in law had only 2 kids by 7pm. one neighbor gave the kids handfuls of candy. and this year everybody was handing out the good stuff. CANDY BARS!!! after grandmoms we took my cranky kids over to grandpa and aunt kims for more. kelly was so done that we just went to one house then pops. I swear their bags were half full from the few houses we went to. oh and yeah mommy was a kitty cat. wyatt kept meowing at me when were at pops house. so anyway came home took a fast bath and headed to bed.
***Pictures still will not post****
I was told this morning that Kelly needed candy for breakfast. right, sure. i don't think so miss.
** okay wish me luck on tonight and my first event photo shoot. I've been reading and studying since yesterday. Take LOTS of photos, carry extra cards and batteries. I can do it. I Believe in myself.
" Use your imagination not to scare yourself to death but to inspire yorself to life" - Adele Brookman
I love quotes and hope to end all post from now on with one. C

Happy Halloweeeenn!!

So Rob told me last night that he wasn't going to dress up again tonight so i will show off most of his costume. edit** I can't get the photo blogger to work so i'll post picts later. sorry
*I just got an email from my friend Annette whom i will be photographing for this fall and next springs Relay for Life cancer walk. Their kick off is tomorrow and i the email reads that she has gotten a photographer to take pictures for the website. AAAAAAAA!! breathe, beathe, its all good, breathe. i know i can do this. breathe. back to normal.
I just figured out something that has been VERY frustrating for me. lately lots of my photos have been blurry. well what i forgot to consider was the fact that since i got back from poland i've been wearing glasses. i forgot to change the dioptric knob that is by the viewfinder for sharpness. once i adjusted that i can see my images more clearly. there is definitely a prescription difference between my contacts and my glasses.
So Sunday night we went to my friend michelle and her hubby jeff's for the great pumpkin carve it all. so much fun. we had a nice potluck and then most of us started carving pumpkins. pictures to follow later. at the end they lined all the pumpkins up and picked a winner. guess who won. ROB!! his pumpkin was done free hand and was of a southwest theme. Rob was crowned the Pumpkin Carving King. complete with a crown (with a pumpkin on top). Gosh i wish i could show pictures.
* so last on my agenda, is a pending drug test and background check..... I was hired on the spot at Tres Amigos mexican import furniture store. I should start in a few weeks as soon as they give the okay of the 2 checks. i'm getting more money and with a raise in 90 days. same hours i was working and i can wear jeans and tees to work. yeeee hawww. joanns does not know and as long as lupe doesn't hold a grudge i will still do the scrapbook teaching there. If not oh well i can probably get more done at home anyway.
so what are your plans for Halloween?? hope you have a safe night and i HOPE to have pictures tomorrow. Love lots Carrie

please don't make me go

i don't wanna go to work tonight. wwwaaaa wwwwaaaaa
seriously i feel like i've been on vacation. and guess what?? I have a job interview after work on saturday. i'm giving tres amigos a try. my friend michelle works there and really likes it. plus i don't have to deal with all the old ladies grumbling about fabric and coupons. I really started to think about my job and joanns and i started freaking about the scrapbooking part of my job. no Cricut cutter any time i want it. no scrappin and getting paid. all the people i've met. first dibs on all the new product. but in the long run i'm NOT happy there. the manager is an idiot and it's not enjoyable. both michelle and rob are telling me to just walk out if/when i'm offered the job. let's just say i'm a shoe in because of michelle and they need people. but i have never walked out and not given two weeks notice.
**going to be a busy weekend with work/interview/halloween party on saturday and sunday it's church and pumpkin carving party.
**lately i've been cruising some peoples photography sites and i have a lot to learn. hopefully i'll be able to talk to my friend lindsay and see if she is still willing to mentor me a little. in mentor i mean me asking LOTS of questions. but till then and after i will continue hitting the books and the net.
Hey MOM!! check your in box for my christmas list. and rob and inez and mikey and brian can all pitch in. Sounds scary huh?? it is and it's not. lots of books and stuff that i can dream about but maybe one day kind of things.
*have a good weekend. I think i will crop this tighter but i like this picture of wyatt man. so different from last year. they grow waaayy to fast.
hey for some inspiration try www.kariphotography.com and check out the newborn gallery. the lady has talent and was my inspiration for the day. I want to shoot like that in all meanings. color, composition, props, lighting etc.

i hate going to the doctor

So i finally went to the doctor this morning. my doctor does same day appointments. call at 8am or after 12 and you should be able to get in that day. so i called and got in at 9am. I had to get back X- rays. yeah with 2 kids in tow who were NOT being very good. Whats also cool is that she emails my prescription while I'm still in her office so that they are supposed to be ready when i get to walgreens. i say supposed to because our walgreens takes 2 hrs+ to fill a prescription. Any whoo I got me 500mg of naproxen for anti-inflammatory and 500mg of methocarbamol for muscle relaxant. I don't hurt right now. yes i know this doesn't make me better. i got a lecture about how i'm going to have to be careful about my back and do stretches and walking to help keep it streched out. oh yeah and i need to be more careful at work.
so that was $40 bucks i really didn't have and kelly goes to the doctor tomorrow for the rest of her shots. yikes!!!!.
to add to my whine, the van won't start and rob thinks it could be the starter. he is out right now trying to fix it. plus i need to make apple bread for the fund raiser and kelly has eaten almost every apple. i have enough to make one loaf of bread. i swear that kid is addicted.
SSSOOO how do you like the new look. i was playing around and thought to give this look a whirl???
Oh wait it THURSDAY!!! Ugly Betty and Greys Anatomy!!AAAAAHHHH
the one day all week i'm excited for.
have a nice evening, with all the drugs i know i will be comfortable. :) C

the 3 P's

that's right. everynight we go through the three p's 1) Potty 2) Pull-up 3) Pj's
it's kinda fun to say and it usually goes like this. pottypulluppj's lets go. hustle. then it's hugs and kisses and tucked into bed. night- night. good night all. C

I'm just playing with the ol blogger. finally figured out how to post links on the side. I only put in so far the people who inspire me in either scrapbooking, art, and photography.
What do you think?????????

"Mom, can we have french fries, chicken nuggets and apple juice?"
" Sure honey lets go to Mc Donalds".
"Yeah!!!"
Okay so this is almost a daily occurence and i don't always say sure. but lately i just want a large coke that only tastes good from McD's and i want those monopoly game pieces!! Yes i'm a game piece junkie right now. Now to be fair i only need Ventnor Ave to win $10,000 or Kentucky Ave to win $5,000. what are my odds? Like no way in hell, but it's fun to play.
Sorry I've been off the blogger lately. not much even remotely newsworthy going on. Yesterday mom and i went to wally world to layaway (yes, white trashy of us) christmas gifts and such.
I'm on the hunt for the "itsy bitsy spiderman doll" its like those elmo dolls that dance but it's a spiderman that does itsy bitsy spider and spiderman theme song. I think wyatt would like that.
I just heard today about a book i want to check out called Scraps by Wendy Bagley. it's about adventures in scrapbooking so to speak. Also my favorite lady www.aliedwards.typepad.com has a newsletter that really resonated with me yesterday. the previous newsletter was about photography but this one is about the creative process one goes through in scrappin'
*total hijack- my boxer Braxton and my chow Chester just got into a fight and i'm still kinda shaking on that one. I had to use the hose (which Chester HATES) to get him away from Braxton. these two are usualy playing, seriously, but they are starting to get mean. brax has a scratch on his face from chester. this is not cool. chester is like 10yrs old and braxton is not even two. rob and i were talking the other day that we both agree that we don't think chester will make it through the winter with his hips and arthritis. but at times he tries to play like he's a pup again and he pays dearly later.- end hijack
So i need to pick up miss kel from school soon and boy is she getting an attitude. I want the kid to gain some confidence and make friends not become an even bigger brat.
Tonights dinner will be Garden chowder and tomorrow i'm makin apple bread for a fund raiser and friday I will be peanut butter cookies.
Oh wait till you see what rob is going to do for Halloween. I'm not giving any details, keep quiet mom! but on rob it will have you rolling.
Alrighty ya'll i need to go change a stinky diaper and go get the kid from school.

I survived!!

Exhausted but i survived Joanns moonlight madness sale! It was a good day actually. I dressed up as a ladybug and got so many compliments. But even the way the store ran I was happy.

Well the kids had a great time at the boo bash. kelly decided to get antisocial and refused to play some of the games but in the things she did participate in she liked. Both kids looked so cute. Wyatt was the only woody from toy story but there was four buzz lightyears. the kids were tired by the time we got home, of course, but a good time was had by all. I can't wait to see how they do halloween night. What's funny is kelly is already telling me she NEEDS candy. breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I'm too tired to think straight, i keep typing and forgetting to space in between. I need to chill out with the hubby and go to bed. night night

technology

thank god for technology. As i have said over and over i had to work tonight and missed both "ugly betty" and "grey's anatomy". thankyou ABC for showing them on the computer. since i no longer have tivo, this is the best i can do to see the shows i missed. but alas i must wait til tomorrow to watch them. work was fun though. i had sister in laws tonight that were fun and we hit it off really well. they say they plan on coming back. we'll see.
i not 100% sure why but i am dreading tomorrow. the kids need a bath and then we go to the boo bash from 10-12. lunch then nap, make dinner and i have to decide, do i dress up (costume) for the store sale or wear my uniform and also do i make something for the potluck?? oy vey ya'll. Maybe this is why i'm dreading tomorrow?? At least i'll get to see julie and andrea. and i might even get a few minutes to talk to them since their will be 6 people closing the front end!!! yee haw!
any who, i plan on being the dutiful mommy and taking pictures at the boo bash and hope to post them for your delightful entertainment.
which reminds me. Hey DAD!!! where is my birthday card. huh??? ya know it was a couple of months ago??? don't make me wait to christmas. okay vent over. ahhh gotta love technology. where else can you yell at someone and they aren't around to yell back .
alright peoples it's 11pm and i should go to bed but i'm not very tired (yawning as i type this) i guess i need to get some shut eye.
so to EVERYONE who reads this, i'll say a little prayer for you. have a good night and sweet dreams. Carrie

homework already?

Oh yeah. I was handed Kelly's homework for next week. Kelly needs to practice writing her #5's. I also think we need to continue to work on the letter E. Otherwise she seems to be doing well and certainly enjoys going.
In other daily ramblings, i think Julie was asking me about scrapbook stores I like. I tried to do links once before and i couldn't figure it out by their directions. But for online shopping i like to hit up; www.lifetimemoments.com and www.scrapbooking-warehouse.com. those two seem to have most of what i want but you can also try, addictedtoscrapbooking.com and scraplovers.com. I would suggest twopeasinabucket but they always seem to be out of everything.
I also want to learn how to link to other blogs that inspire me.
Today is so-so quiet day. wyatt and kelly just got into a fight so now both are in time out. otherwise i have to close with lupe tonight and kelly has been invited to got to Disney on ice with the incredibles. i think she will have a blast. kel is going with mrs. hickey and the gainey girls from church and the youngest gainey, faith is kellys friend.
I hope this answers your question julie if not let me know and i will give you the correct info.
To all my family and friends, I hope you have a good day. feel free to leave any questions and comments. let me know your stopping by. C

more

Let me start by saying I really want a Coke right now. I need so type of caffine fix to get me going around this time of morning.
that being said.
Good Morning!!!
I hope you are having a good day? Here is a picture of the kids outside Kelly's classroom.
*sidenote* If you knew the crap i've gone through to post a picture the last couple of days, i could just scream. yesterdays post took me over an hour and drove me nuts.
Back to Kelly and school. I have such a busy week ahead. work tonight, school tomorrow, work wednesday night. I work Thursday night for the scrapbook social. 6-9pm then Friday morn. we have a boo bash for all busy bodies kids at randolph park from 10-12 wear costumes. I DO work Friday night for joanns moonlight madness. (So Julie come on over. Do ya guys want to make it 2 nights in a row and scrap with me on Thursday???) then I work Sat. from 9-530. I'm already tired. plus i've been asked to bake for a bake sale and I really don't have the time this week. I feel bad cause I would love to help but it's just not in me and i will not stay up till the wee hours to bake.
so this is the end of my boring post. i need to clean up the house some and get dinner started so rob can eat when he gets home cause he has to work tonight also. (sometime today grandmom ross is coming over to get the kids)
Have a lovely day.

Long ass post!!

Lets start out with Friday night. We had a great night with Aliyah, she was the best baby. She slept through the night and was happy all morning until mommy showed up. Aliyah was usually smiling and waving like a princess at anyone watching her. She is getting so big and is crawling everywhere.
On to Saturday. Work. it was fine until my back started to really hurt, then I just wanted to go home. Same shit different day. The whole team is fed up with the manager and her crap.
On to Sunday and the wilcox pumpkin fest and Apple Annies. The kids had fun.










We went with the Haifley's, Paul, Marcia, Sierra, and Amber. Friends of ours from church. We all had a great time. Everyone was relaxed. My kids didn't fight or throw fits. It was the cutest thing to watch Wyatt trying to manuever through the pumpkin aisles. His little feet would get "stuck" in the vines and I or Amber would lift him out. They all had such a good time running around. I wish I could have gotten better pictures but I was enjoying myself. And yes Wyatt was trying to lift that pumpkin on his own. Kelly got to do some apple eatin' while everyone was apple pickin' at Apple Annies. Of course my mom picked and bought 25lbs of apples. One thing I forgot to say was it was chilly and windy out there. It did sprinkle for just a few minutes but you hardly noticed it.
Kelly's first day of busy bodies. I'm having a very hard time down loading pictures so I might add the rest on to tomorrows post. She did really great and participated in all the activities. Teh class worked on the letter E and all sorts of stufff that only Kelly knows because I can't get her to tell me a play by play. She had fun and thats all that matters. Whats really cool is that when it's time to be picked up the kids must sit until their parent signs them out. Wyatt was so excited to see his sissy that as soon as we entered he went running to her and sat down next to her. Of course I was the dorky mom, only mom to have her camera. Hey it's her first day and most of these kids come all the time. but the moms were nice about it. I just wish I could have gotten some cleaner shots of inside the classroom.
Okay normal every day stuff. last night after we got home i was doing dishes and talking to my mom on the phone we I noticed I had gotten my feet wet. I looked down and water was pouring out from under the sink. The pipe and busted and all the water I used for doing the dishes was now all over the floor. so today we got a new p trap pipe and fixed the sink. Also in todays, news my mom and I were loading the kids in the van to take Kelly to school when the van wouldn't start!! It was a mad rush loading the kids into the Ford to get Kelly to school on time. We didn't even take the kids out of their carseats, just picked them up carseat and all and secured them in the truck and we were off. The van did great yesterday so I wonder what happened. oh well it will get fixed after Rob gets home.
Okay this has been going long enough I'll fill in more tomorrow.

Warning!

This is just to warn you that tomorrows post will be extremely long and filled with pictures.
Topics covered; Aliyah, pumpkin fest and Kelly's first day at Busy Bodies preschool.
Have a good night and back to Desperate Housewives. Carrie

Happy Birthday Kristie!!
your getting OLD girl. hahaha. enjoy your evening out and let me in on the details later.
Today has been a weird day. Rob was home this morning but just left to go to mens conference in phx. he won't be back until tomorrow night. ran to sears to pick up kellys pictures, bought her a pair of jeans and stopped by borders all by myself, no kids. then i picked up lunch and actually let the kids have soda for the 1st time. (hey no apple juice okay) kelly drank most of hers, I drank most of wyatts. usually the kids get juice or nothing but i said what the hell just let them. my kids DO NOT drink soda unless they steal a sip from us. my preference because of how bad it really is and they don't need it.
okay off my rant there.
tonight the pitter patter of little baby feet will be visiting my house......... i going to be watching Aliyah overnight while daddy is with rob and mommy is working. (insert evil laugh) I can't wait to take some photos of that sweetie. my first baby photo shoot. plus this is a good op to see how well my kids deal with a baby in the house. NO I'M NOT PREGNANT AND NOT TRYING!!!!! just curious on how they would deal with not being the center of attention and helping out.
it looks to be a great weekend. i'm working sat. afternoon but on sunday it's the Pumpkin Festival in wilcox. whoo hooo. i hope the rains subsides long enough for the family outing. I will stay relaxed and won't rush and let my kids have fun and of course i will take tons of pictures. Relax and take time are my new mantras. add patience too. i'm learning that the key to good photos is to wait for them. enough for now i'll check ya all out later dudes. C

mundane to exciting

okay so yesterday I felt like total crap. it had to have been allergies because today I feel 100% better.
So today i took the kids to Lakeside park to play at the playground and feed the ducks. I would have loved to have taken some pictures of the kids feeding said ducks but my children refused. Kelly got mad because she couldn't throw the bread very far and refused to try. Wyatt took the piece I gave him and instead of throwing it, he ate it. So I enjoyed feeding the ducks.
While we were at Lakeside Wyatt fell on the rope bridge and scraped up his chin and his gum was bleeding a little. got this shot after he calmed down and went back to play. I was trying to zoom in enough to see the marks but you know two yr olds, they don't sit still for long.

I decided that we should try out that park that has the gazebo I've been talking about. Well here it is.
I really like their playground too. the kids had some fun on it and then we headed over to check out the gazebo.

This is going to be a perfect spot for photo shoots. I just wish my kids were more obedient. I couldn't get either to pose if I begged, pleaded or promised. so I just tried to wait them out and I think I got a great shot of Kelly. I'm gonna crop the top off a little but I declare it "Carrie Worthy" of the family portrait wall. I am very excited when I uploaded the picture and saw it with a little shock that I felt it was a good picture. this is so Kelly right now. angry and defiant and oh so stubborn. I also found a cool setting on my camera that I understand better and was using it when I got this shot. Kudos!

I did it! i finally cleaned out the kids' rooms. i packed away all of kelly's old clothes and packed away toys that are to young for them. i have one box for goodwill and one for the shed. you can actually see kelly's floor. now i'll be honest i still need to pack up some clothes in wyatt's room and clean off the top of the dresser but the rest of the room looks great. i'm sooo tired, my allergies have been giving me fits and i've been sneezing and blowing my nose all day. i want a nap. alas i must continue my duties and finish putting away the kids' laundry.
what are the kids up to you ask? well they are with grandmom today. (maybe that's why i've been productive:)) it helped but i started this cleaning project three weeks or more ago and i basically had to start over this morning. at least it's done. check that off my list. now it's on to my mounds of laundry to be put away. yikes! seriously. it drives rob crazy to see it. (Smile.)
need to get busy and i have to go to work soon so enjoy your evening.

hello my name is carrie and i'm a scrapbooking addict. I am refusing all help that is out there and love my addiction.
I am just green with envy (hence color change) about some of the new products out there and the people who can buy them. I was just at a website looking for a specific brand of pp (pattern paper) and the ones I wanted were out of stock. Just goes to show I have good taste. or I'm lame and follow everyone else.
okay on to better things. had a doozy of a hail storm this morning. kinda freaked me out. hail the size of marbles. It looks like it's snowing. at one point there was actually a mound in the back of the truck but i won't post that because you would have to look sideways.
Happy Columbus Day! My cousins boyfriend once said that columbus founded columbus Ohio. Helloooo. Doofus. I was rather rude when I pointed that didn't happen. He also believed Cincinatus the Roman founded cincinatti ohio. Sorry spelling is bad. the guy was a moron. oh and yeah she married him for a short time. two doofus'.
life happens just smile and nod. Carrie

frustrating

here are a couple of could be awesome shots of the kids if i had just used a faster shutter speed and a tripod. yes the one on the top isn't that bad until you try to blow up to 8x10 and it screams blurry. I wish this one on the bottom of kelly had turned out. those eyes just grab me. that would have been a perfect photo wall shot. oh well, i'll keep working on it. i pulled out a photo mag that the scrapbooking community put out and kind of reviewed a few things. I'm going to make a effort to shoot every day.
We did go up to mt. lemmon last night. unfortunately i didn't get the shot i wanted. which was a huge full moon coming over the mountain. i did get some funky shots of the city. rob really likes these. for the bottom turn your head. i haven't messed with them yet so i didn't flip it. this is an area i would like to work on since AZ is known for their sunsets. these were taken at windy point. Kristie ya gotta come for a visit. these shots don't do tucson justice, its so much more spread out.
so i showed mom the gazebo and she agrees that it will be a excellent spot. so hopefully soon we can give it a go. i'm actually making a checklist of things to bring to get more creative shots. i'm also wanting to photog my friend julies baby. aliyah is alittle over six months so my time is running short but this is also the "sweet spot" for baby photos. plus she just got her first tooth. eeeee, how cute.
enough i'm starting to get mushy.
my back is finally feeling some what better. i need to be in good shape for the punpkin patch next weekend. lots of photos comin' gang. i'm getting all excited over a farm. no it's what that farm represents. family, fall, fun, nostalgia. all those warm fuzzy feelings.
Good night, talk to you tomorrow.

frame it

those are the magic words last night from Rob after I had spent an hour outside taking pictures of the harvest moon.
this one is my favorite. my other favorite i need to crop but its a picture of the moon and you can see all the craters. it's really cool. i was telling mom that it would make a great halloween scrapbook page. if you can click on it it might show it bigger. not sure. at one point i got really frustrated trying to get the shot and trying to figure out what setting i needed. but out of about 30+ shots i have three that i like. I might try again tonight when the moon is just coming out.
Whats really cool is that Rob was so supportive. he kept pulling over so that i could take the shot. and when i said it would have been cool to be up on the mountain he asked me why we didn't go. I didn't think about it until the moon was too high and i even forgot that is was a full moon last night.
I need to plan better and speak up when i want something. he would have driven up the mountain for me. God just writing that out freaks me alittle. i'm not used to having that kind of support where i voice my thoughts and he is like lets go. kinda heady. maybe we will head up the mountain tonight. (see i said maybe and rob would be lets go.)
Next setting i want to try out is this cool gazebo at the park that i think would be good for family photos. plus i want to get some shots of just rob. I dont have any. i can't do a family wall without pictures of him. Also mom give mikey a heads up, if i like this gazebo setting i will want to do shots of him too. and with the way things are heading shots of mikey and brian together. hehehe(insert evil sister laugh).
Alright y'all have a great weekend. I'm not going to work today cause my back is still bugging me so i'll be chillin' on the couch with the kiddos. C.