On the Third Day of Christmas...

..we brunched at Mimi and Papa's and exchanged gifts. Had a bit of a challenge getting up the small hill to their house with the overnight snowfall. Boys were all over the radio controlled gadgets they got-Ian with "The Wasp" helicopter and Boo with "The Spinner." They also like their new and improved "Ciao" travel suitcases complete with toiletries bag and telescoping handles. A favorite of mine was a monogrammed apron. Mick was happily sporting a monogrammed Land's End sweatshirt. Afternoon festivities included attending my SIL's sister's graduation party. Lots of food and fun. Packed household with little boys everywhere. I took on the role of "Party Pic Girl" and made the rounds with my camera. My SIL's sister's was thankful as her camera wasn't charging properly-of course I was happy to oblige. :)
The approximate one mile drive back to my SIL's house from her sister's proved quite the challenge. They live a pretty hilly area and the snowfall was coming down harder. We made several attempts before we got up the road of their subdivision with the van. Lots of other neighbors who followed ending up leaving their cars at the entrance and walking their way home. I like the snow and all that-but it better not impede our ability to get to the game tomorrow. No way I want to miss out on the Brettster and Da Packers playing for my belated birthday gift! :) Ok..my DH is LOS now so I best sign off...pics to follow after the game, I hope.

On the Second Day of Christmas....

the BEBZ got...a Wii..........................weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEeeeEEEEE! We're they excited! We let them open it early at the cousin's house so they could all 4 enjoy it together-and was it ever a fun-filled, late night for all. Lil' boys up past midnight (eek!) and the big boys well past 1 am. Golf, bowling, tennis (my favorite of course) cow racing? (not sure about that one) and baseball. Like the idea that this game gets you moving around...off of the couch...raising your heartrate (at least the boxing one definitely got my heartrate going!).

Let the 12 Days of Christmas Begin...

ok...so..it's the final countdown to Christmas and I have the majority of my Christmas shopping done. The homemade gifts...on the other hand...well...I've got a tad bit more to do. Today I worked on teacher's gifts (maybe I'll get those posted too here soon). Continued to cut a chunk out of the monster Christmas card list-currently at No.88. I made at least 75 homemade cards this year. Not to worry-began making them in October! LOL. Anyways, this year the boys and I have decided to recycle a bit more -especially in terms of Christmas. Here's one idea I came up with: I wrapped the present with the bag from a recent bag of clementines I purchased. I used the plastic clip tie to hold it together (along with some strategically placed cellophane tape! Kinda fun if I do say so myself. Ian liked the idea so much he wrapped his class gift up in the same manner. Next on the list (picture two below)-a sampling of cards I stamped up. And lastly, my new scrapping station. L-O-V-E this! Oh so handy! Love that it has casters to move it around!Ooh..it's 1:11AM -best get to bed!!! More later!

A Momma's Biggest Regret...

...not taking time out to videotape more of these two beautiful human beings who bring so much joy to my life and to all who know them. And to quote a favorite film of mine, not videotaping more often was a"Big mistake. HUGE."

Here's to hoping all y'all take time out of your hectic holiday schedules to etch a little bit of time into your days to document the lives of those you love.

Toby aka Melvis

A Great Day...

...to stay at home and hole up making Christmas crafts. I did go out to Wally World this am for some groceries and some gifts. Love days like this where you can just veg out at home and play. We played Rumis (one of our favorite family games-thanks Holly an Mark) and worked on Christmas card bookmark for classmates as well as writing some Christmas cards out and a few other Christmas gift projects that I have been working on. I know I need to get some of them posted-but first I need to get them done! LOL One of them I'm working on right now is turning out to be a lot of fun-playing with transparencies and photos, ink and more. Really fun to break away from my traditional pages and do something different. Gaining a lot of inspiration from ali edward's blog as well as becky higgins. So much talent out there. So great that these ladies are willing to share their ideas with the world.

Was working at my new scrapbook station this evening and found myself chuckling about how I came about the workstation. Last Friday I was running errands...picking up Christmas photos to go in cards, dropping of boxes of charitable donations at local hub and other and turned the corner, simultaneously catching a glimpse of what looked like a great potential scrapbooking desk. (I have had an image in my mind of what I have wanted for quite some time now-but similar ones were always way too expensive. I had considered making one myself but new I didn't have the time). Anyways, I stopped by the local antique flea market on the way back from running my errands to take a closer look. The store sets things out on the sidewalk to lure you in-and they definitely lured me. The workbench was just what I was looking for! I went inside and came out $78.00 later with the scrapping station of my dreams! Or at least my sized pocketbook! Where the outting took on a slightly more expensive turn was when I went to make a u-turn just down the street from the store. I spotted a stray puppy, wandering along the busy main thoroughfare, scrounging for food. I immediately stopped the van and hopped out. I walked around to the back of the van to look for him and thought he had run off-so I turned back to get into the van thinking to myself I had at least attempted to save him-but I wasn't going to chase him down...and there he was-looking at me with his head cocked to the side as if to say, "Ya lookin' for me-here I AM!" He was a cute small older spaniel dog. I popped him into the van and quickly my mind was reeling with the realization of what I had just done-and what was Mick going to say. I drove the mile and a half home thinking of how I would break it to him that, yes, I had indeed found yet another stray, and yes, I had indeed taken in another pet. I decided that honesty is always the best policy and immediately told Mick about the desk and the dog when I got home. I called our local police dept. to see if any dogs of his description had been missing. The attendant said no but took my name and number.
So...we took "Toby" in and loved on him. And introduced him to the four-legged fam-all who accepted him in a pretty friendly manner. He was the best dog-EVER! He didn't bark, he didn't whine, he didn't beg...he just existed for the sole purpose of being loved by us. He loved to be in my lap. He would've made an awesome pet...and he did...Toby, aka "Melvis" (What were they thinking?) found his owners the next morning after a phone call from them saying they had been missing him. I told them I had given him a bath and had taken him to the vet to get a flea pill and topical flea meds(some for our dogs too)and that he was a great dog. So my quick little 35 minute errand running trip ending up costing us about $125.00. Still not a bad deal given that it is the season for giving! I'll try and get some pics (not great quality) posted soon of my desk and "Toby."

According to the Boo Bear...

apparently Snoopy has a yellow, feathered friend named "Woodchuck" and Pooh has a friend named "Peeyore". Mimi and Papa came to visit this week and it was time to learn how to crochet (relearn for me) and how to make her infamous, decadent, and add-a-pound-and-an-inch-to-one's-hips awesome homemade toffee recipe. Talk about BAM! It totally rocks! This week has been time to finish up last minute handmade gifts, Christmas card writing and last minute online present shopping. How fun and easy to order online. Love the free shipping specials. Can't wait for Mr. Fedex and Mr. UPS to make their visits. Some presents I will have shipped directly, of course.

Just finished making Boo's Christms photo bookmarks for his classmates. He's addressing each of them by hand. He cracks me up. He diligently is writing each of their names-complete with their last names. Ian is thinking he might want to do a project too. We'll have to come up with something.

Both of the boys are really into Webkins and CLub Penguin right now. Mimi and Papa got Ethan a one month subscription for his bday. He can have more months if he likes it.

I framed one of my two sets of 1970's era American Lung Association Children Artist Christmas Stamp Sets (lifted the idea from Ali Edward's blog-thanks Ali!) and it looks great-now I just need to find another 8x10 frame to hang other set beneath the first one. I love the colors and the graphic feel to it. Maybe I'll take a picture of then both and post it in the near future.

Oh, another thing about the Boo Bear I just thought of. The morning after Ethan's bday, he camp upstairs and informed all of us that his birthday wasn't over "until the last of my birthday ice cream cake is gone." What a crack up. Today, we were working on thank you notes and reviewing what he got for his bday and he said, "Well, from Papa I got six swift spanks and a PINCH to grow and INCH!

The Face of Six

Well...it's finally here...The day that our baby, Boo Bear, has to show us how old he is with two hands. BIG sigh.....Time just keeps on a flyin'....just went in to check on him (and big brother too) while he slept and was watching him sleeping. Noticed his ear and was transported back to six years ago when he first entered this world-the perfect APGAR 10/10 boy that he was-with a right earlobe that was folded at a right angle a bit. Funny how as new parents you notice these little details. Well, the right angle isn't so prominant anymore-it worked itself out after he was no longer smushed in the womb I guess LOL, but the memory still is...and for a momma whose struggling to let her baby grow up...well, I'm gonna just hod onto that memory a little longer...and the little boy too!

Suz got "Scrooged"

Check me out here: http://www.scroogeyourself.com/?id=9587262958

The Manneckes got "Elfed"

I Check it out here! Sooo hilarious and a free service to boot!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9587401341

Boo's Thanksgiving Feast

So, here are some recent pics from Boo's Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast. Interesting selection of food choices. For turkey....substitute hard salami....for corn...popcorn....for pumpkin pie...raisins...didn't really matter what was on the plate-the little injuns were happy to just celebrate!

Ruth's New Bonnie Bella

Here's the latest, most adorable addition to the C. Family Clan! Ain't her cute? :)

Halloween has come and gone, as has many other big events...none of which I have documented well on this blog. My external hard drive appears to have crashed and we fear many of my priceless photos are gone. We may have to pay a pretty price to retrieve them if at all possible. I had been backing up my pics faithfully until I encountered a problem backing them up incrementally this past spring(?)-so, therein lies where it all began to unravel...boo...hoo.hooo.......(insert a big wail here)...anyhoo...

Here are some recent pics of the BEBZ with Little "Payne Stewart". How cute is that costume?

The itsy bitsy spider...

...crawled up the dog's water bowl! (and made a web). We arrived at Big Grandma's cabin yesterday to find this bad girl sitting their waiting for us! SCARE-EEEEE! Needless to say all of us had difficulty putting images of black widows out of our minds for the evening as we tried to get some sleep. You can bet that we were shaking out our shoes before putting them on this morning too (and we probably will be for awhile). Lesson learned...look before you drink! (At least, for the puppers anyways)!

Boo's First Day of Kindergarten...

...and I was a boo-hooing all the way to school! Ok, in reality it hit me as Mick and I were walking him down the hallway to his classroom-the very last one at the end of the hall. I started to get choked up as I watched him walking in front of me, practically skipping along the way, taking in the sights...the kids... the parents...the teachers...the typical stimulating primary colors lining the way. that's when it hit me...the big knot you get in your throat that makes it so difficult to swallow...and then, the welling up of tears. I pushed them back as best I could, and when it seemed that they were going to overflow, I snapped into photographer mode and tried to focus --well, on the focus. So ok, I realized once I got into his room that in my emotional distress and turmoil, I had actually forgotten to change my camera settings for indoors. So, needless to say, the hallway photos didn't turn out. But I got a few in the classroom...and, of course, the walk to school and the all important annual front step photos complete with the cheesy smile and the exhibition of brotherly love (LOL). I will post them once I get them proofed and converted from the raw files. Bear with me-that may take awhile. sigh....

Memories from today:
Ms. Ross
New BFF "Kiley"
Learning to sign yes, no and the all important "bathroom" :)
The Kissing Hand story
"PU" Sharpie penned into Boo's hand (PU stands for Parent Pick-up)

Bad Blogger

ok...wayyyyyyyyyyyy too busy right now...in the midst of Vacation Bible School, starting half days of homeschooling (breaking Ian into a full schedule gently) and gearing up for my first season of coaching girl's high school tennis next week. Also busy with proofing a senior photoshoot I did on Sun. On top of that having to go to chiropractor three days a week-but...good news....my long bout with upper respiratory bug is about over and the huge slice to my middle finger last week is healing nicely.
Last Sunday Mick and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. Got a sitter and went to local Japanese steakhouse where a tennis friend is a sushi chef there (mighty good one too!). Mick and I pulled into parking lot and he hollered out"Get out of the car! It's on fire!" Well... of course I BOLTED out (high heels and all) only to find out we were leaking radiator fluid all over the engine and that was what was causing the smoke. We laughed and joked about it and were thankful that it was his company car and not our van (as we have had several household Murphy's over the past few months-riding lawnmower tranny going out, fridge starter, dryer, and ERG valve on the van). I know Murphy's are simply a part of life and certainly one we can deal with....putting it all in perspective today as I am glued to coverage of Minneapolis bridge collapse-praying for those who lost their lives and their loved ones left behind. Scary to think that we would've been driving over that very bridge in a rental car in two weeks to attend my 20 year class reunion. How many times have Icrossed that bridge in my lifetime? ...Too many to count.

Here's some pics for Uncle G from his 70th BD celebration last month. More to follow-@ some point! LOL
Here are some pics for Uncle G of his 70th BD party last month-sorry it's only a few but

Dang it Kip!

well, I finally came down with the cough bug that the boys have been spreading due to their inability to heed my repeated urges to cover their mouths when they cough. GRRR....

On a sweeter note...when dropping the boys off for their tennis lessons today, Boo Bear hopped out of the van and yelled out "I LOVE YOU MOMMY! SEE YOU LATER!" -all this while being amongst his peers. Sigh...
I realize all too well that the days are fleeting that I will hear these words spoken from his mouth so unsolicited, with such heartfelt sincerity and enthusiasm. So, for today...for now... I am going to savor the moment, relish the sound of his little husky voice whose words still ring in my ears, and push the little tape player of my mind to "record"... to remember this little bit of my life as a momma...for tomorrow...and for the years to come.

Someone's becoming a septagenarian tomorrow...

Happy Birthday Uncle G! I hope thatyour day is filled with family, friends, laughter, smiles, a great meal, a beautiful view of a breathtaking sunset off of your front porch...and seventy other good things! Love you bunches!

Suz (Ruth...make sure he sees this please!):)

Some recent pics

gotta love those blue eyed boyz... are ya feelin' the love that these guys have for the little dude! They had so much fun hammin' it up and making each other giggle-it was crackin Holly and me up. Such a joy to live so close to each other now... such a blessing.

oh...first pic isn' t the best-but is a recent pic of our trip to Navarre Beach.

Working on summer purging of household excess-feeling the need to declutter my life...in more ways than one...simplify+less stress and > peace.

Liam + Vacation =

Happy...this according to the Boo Bear. We are fully enjoying our vay-kay to The Land of Sunshine and have enjoyed the surf and the turf. Lots of family fun playing whiffle ball, redneck golf (we got lots of ?'s about it-we're thinking of making several sets to sell next year-to pay for our trip! LOL), pool play, games of spades and cribbage and a whole lot more. Last evening we ate out at a local establishment called Flounders-great place for kids and fun-nostalgic ambience with local signs and garage doors for the walls to let the weather in or out. It had an arcade and a large playground area and the food was pretty good with great service. The only downer was that I was looking forward to some crab legs and...alas..they weren't on the menu...so...I settled for the shrimp boat platter (Which I, of course, ended up sharing with the troops).The boys each got a boogie board for $6.99 and were chomping at the bit today to get out in the surf and play. The big boys got up early to fish at the pier-not much luck-only a small catfish. But some guy swam out to damaged pier(from hurricane) and caught himself a 27 inch redfish. Ni---ice!

The boys are down at the pool for one last swim before chill time.
I've been spending some of my days reading my camera manual and learning how to take photos in manual mode. I have so much to learn in regards to exposure....am hoping to get my hands on a copy of Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure soon! I'ts gotten rave reviews!

Tonight would've been perfect night to take beach pics-but after getting an Err99 reading on my camera after taking out of a/c to humidity and not working for about a half hour yesterday-I decided against it. Darn it...when will there be a camera for all climates-no lens fogging-no sand -in the chambers. Get to work on it would someone? LOL

So, I'm afraid I don't have any beach pics-only indoor shots. I'm going to try and upload some here soon. Til then ....Suzer...OUT!

Ethan graduates...Pre-K!

Can't believe our lil' Boobear is headin' for Kin-DEE-Garten in the fall! I will miss him dearly but will suck up as much time with him as possible in the meantime!

Here's a few pics from the big event!

Ethan Speaks Spanglish...

...or at least his version anyways! Today on the way to school he was speaking to me in regards to plans for Thursday. He kept saying, "Dos morrow" this and "dos morrow" that. It finally occurred to me (since we have been practicing our Spanish each night before bed) that he was trying to think up how to say "tomorrow" in Spanish. I told him that the way to say it was "Hasta manana." Gotta love the ingenuity of a 5 year old!

Other news, Ian (aka Ryan Seacrest) made his acting debut at his school's talent show today. His third grade did a skit parity of American Idol. It was quite a hit with the crowd and got a lot of laughs. Unfortunately his skit was scheduled at the end of the show-so I wasn't able to get to Ethan's last day of school events! The little bugger was bummed (as was I) that I didn't get there to take part in the water play and picnic-but I reminded him that it had originally been scheduled for yesterday (bad weather postponement)when I wouldn't have had any conflicts...then I bribed him with an "ice cream sandwich when we get home" and that seemed to lift his spirits!

{I'm really not a bad momma (i kept telling myself). I can't be two places at once! :) }

So, tomorrow is officially the last (half day) of school. Then on to summer schedules (or lack thereof). Looking forward to longer days and no alarm clocks for awhile. Weekends at the lake and lots of tennis and soccer!

I woke up to this...

...for my Mother's Day surprise. We we're down at Big Grandma's cabin to celebrate and my BEBZ created this breakfast treat for me. Don't ya just love their creativity with the "toast?" (hamburger buns!) Anyways, we spent the day painting the door and windows and posts and trim of the cabin (and yes, Mick told me I didn't have to paint since it was Mother's Day-but I wanted to do some-can't stand seeing someone work alone at a big job like that-even if it's an IMPORTANT holiday ;)!

We also:

1. Watched What About Bob" for the umpteenth time. We never tire of it though-and we turned the volume down for the boys when Bob imitated having Tourette's Syndrome.

2.Grilled burgers.

3. Ate Cheez-its til the box ran dry.

4. Played on the Game Cube and created some handmade cards for Teacher's gifts.

5. Took a dip in the lake. Beautifully clean and surprisingly tepid.

5.5 Loved on our puppers-Rudy and Lily.

6.Stopped at Sonic on the way home for some slushies. Blue coconut for Ethan, Root Beer for Ian, and Mick and I shared a Diet Chrery Coke Cream Slush with...a hint of lime. ;)

7. Dinner at my favorite local Mexican restaurant for chips and salsa and chicken chimichangas. We practiced up on our Spanish manners and our colors in Spanish. Always gotta keep the learning ongoing. LOL

7.5 Opened my homemade gifts from my BEBZ-bath salts from Ian and boy do they smell great; and a handmade card and handmade picture and poem from Ethan. How to melt a Momma's heart.!!!I just know that these will be some of my favorite gifts from them-ever. I am a sucker for sentimental, homemade and heartfelt gifts!

8. Ogled over my new 85mm lens that came by Fed Ex lesterday afternoon. OM Goodness, it just simply....ROCKS!!!! Can't wait to post more pics that I have taken with it!

9. Loved on our kitty-Hugsley.

All is well in my world. (sigh) Hope your is too!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you awesome Mother's out there. I hope you found time in your day to spend some of it relaxing, some of it loving on your family, and a lot of it smiling.

Signed,

One Blessed Momma

The Big Fish Story...

...that really isn't about the size of the fish!!! I scanned this pic of my Gpa and my sister Karen for other family members who wish to have a print of it for their own. The story behind this photo is a remarkable one.

I need for other family members, particularly Karen and Mom, to post their retelling of the story, as they recollect it, for all of us to enjoy. This picture is truly one which earns it's right to the caption "A Picture Tells a Thousand Words." So, Sis and Mom, I hope you take me up on this request and post your recollections in the comment section below this post. Then, I can finally complete a scrapbook layout on it to be shared for years to come! TIA

It IS a Big Deal...

when you think about it! Ethan learned how to ties his shoes today and he did it quite well several times! With both of us being lefties, I of course taught him the way I learned-with the "bunny ears" lace-up method.. (Sorry to all of you "The-squirrel-goes-around-the-tree-and-into-the hole" school of thought types!) LOL
Anyways, it is a big deal when you think of all of the really big firsts one has in his/her lifetime-this shoelace tying thing has to rank up there as one of the top for childhood milestones. He is so proud of himself and wants to show everyone he sees.

Now... if ONLY we could bottle up this enthusiasm and be able to sip from it for the rest of our lives-that would be a big deal, wouldn't it?

It's Your Birthday...

it's your birthday! Someone turned 60 today....hmmm....guess who...Here's a picture of the beautiful birthday babe herself! :)

Easter Happiness

The Only April Fools...

...are the fools who didn't get out and enjoy this gorgeous day! Beautiful sunshine, warm spring weather and just the right breeze for flying kites.
We also managed to clean out the garage and begin staining/sealing our deck. Always feels good to cross stuff off of the "To Do" list.

Some random pics...

Kissing a stingray-Mick and Me, Cozumel marketplace, my valentine love, and Ian and me in our first tennis tourney!

Ethan has been asking me the past few days, "How many days 'til Grandpoppa gets here?" Well, thank goodness Grandpoppa Bear arrived yesterday afternoon and they've been having fun ever since! GPA showed the boys all of his latest carving creations-one of which he will be donating to my sister's trade convention (for a raffle , I believe). It is a loon. I'll try and post a pic soon of the whole collection of carvings. The boys are really into the carving thing-and Ian can't hardly wait to sit with GPA on the deck and do a little whittling of his own. (He's enjoyed this special time with GPA ever since he earned his knife badge and knife last year with cub Scouts). Ethan will have to watch for a few more years. WE are still dealing with the healing of his burn. It is healing verll well, BTW.
We will have a few short days with GPA-so we need to cram as much fun as possible in while we can! More later!

Oh, Mon. was my first night of Open Season at my local tennis club. It was awesome! We played five sets- and it was hard to get me off the courts! Does that surprise anyone? (LOL) I get to play tomorrow night! Yeah! Mixed doubles! Oh, and I need to mention that my wonderful hubby asked me a question that I have longed to hear...
"Hey hon, do you think you could get a court for the boys and myself?" Yippeee!!! Be still my beating heart! MY dream come true! I've always wanted for the four or us to play doubles together-so maybe this is the beginning of a beautiful thing. At least, that's my hope.

:)