Sitting in a bucket.

Baby Pictures!

I don't know if this happens to everyone, or just me, but having a cold temporarily disables my brain cells. I have been so out of it the last couple days. Both of the girls and I have colds. It's always something. I can't believe how many times we have been sick this winter. I can't imagine what's going to happen when they start school and are exposed to sick germs every day.

Today has been a pretty boring day. So far it has consisted of Lego's, Doodlebops, chicken noodle soup, and a long nap (Summer and Camryn, not me, unfortunately).

I spent some time looking at the pictures on my MySpace today. I miss when Summer and Camryn were this little!











Seeing those really made me want to have another one. My mom is going to read that and call me. And lecture me about how expensive kids are, probably. Haha.

It has somehow taken me over an hour to write this. Joe is home from work now and it's time to decide what is for dinner. Have a great weekend!

You Gotta Be Kidding Me

Guess what my lovely daughters (and my lovely dog!) were doing while I was writing that last entry?

They were hiding beside their dresser, eating peanut butter. Again. This time, Harley decided she wanted some, too. Click on that picture for a close-up of Camryn's peanut butter covered teeth.

It's really hard to be mad at kids that are so cute while they make mischief.

When your toddler learns to unscrew lids...

...you'd better be prepared. This is by far the messiest milestone I've dealt with. Last week, Summer unscrewed a ton of fingernail polish and painted the bathroom with it.



This morning, they girls were being extra quiet. I found them sitting behind the couch...


...eating the peanut butter. Which also means that Summer knows how to remove the doorknob safety covers that are on the pantry door.


Both of these thing happened in a matter of minutes, while I was making the bed and unloading the dishwasher. I think I might start tying a rope around their waists and attaching the other end to me.

Birthday Day

Update: Just sent these pictures to my e-mail from my phone. Yesterday morning when I went into the kitchen, I found a present and two cards, one from Joe and one from Summer and Camryn. The cards were really cute and funny, and inside the gift bag was a pink thermos, which I desperately needed, and a pack of Starbucks frappuccino drinks.


Since we're buying a house, Joe wasn't supposed to get me anything. But that little something made my day :-)
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I had a great birthday yesterday. I had talked my parents into getting me glasses for my birthday. At first, when they asked what I wanted, I said a Lowe's gift card. I had visions of using it for house things like paint or carpet. But then I realized that I needed to be able to see to paint, so I decided it would make more sense if they got me glasses, which they agreed to after a bit of begging. I've needed new glasses for quite some time, but that's one of those things as a mom that you keep putting off because you always put yourself last, you know? So it made sense, otherwise I'm not sure I would ever get any. My aunt Susan watched the girls while my mom and I went to the eye doctor and I picked out two frames (they had a buy one get one free sale). I'm pretty happy with them, although one pair needs to be adjusted. Here's the pair that fit:

After we got back from the glasses store, my mom went and got us lunch from Panera Bread. I got some type of chicken sandwich and black bean soup. It was delicious.

Yesterday evening we went to my parents house and my mom cooked one of my favorite meals, pepper steak.

It was extremely delicious, as always. I'm blessed to have parents that have always valued home-cooked meals.

After dinner, we had cake and ice cream. Summer looks a bit worried about that fire...

♥♥♥

I am one lucky woman, to have this great husband and these beautiful little girls, all at the age of 22.

So, that was my birthday. It was pretty perfect.

Whole Lotta Nothin

I think I quit. I do not want to buy a house. I never wanted to buy one anyway. Who needs a house these days? They are so much trouble. You have to do things like pay extra taxes and cut grass.

Ugh. That didn't work. I still want the house.

Realtors should hand out Xanax at the first meeting.

Not only are we having issues with our loan, but now there are issues with who owns the title on the house. We are meeting with a new mortgage broker on Wednesday. Cross your fingers that he makes good things happen, quickly.

I got the kids up at 7:30 so that we could have the kids at the vet at 9. My mom was nice enough to go with me, so that she could help me carry the cats in and stay in the car with the kids. The vet was in a bit of shock at how big Jack is. Here soon I'm going to have to post a picture of Jack and Nova side by side, to show the size difference. Jack is the size of a small bobcat. He may very well be mixed with some type of wild animal.


My blog friend, Brittany has recently started a blog for her photography called Silent Stories. She is also selling her work here. You can order prints, or choose your favorite picture on a mug, postcard, magnet, etc. Please go check it out, she is very skilled and has taken some beautiful pictures.

Well, tomorrow is my birthday. I don't know how it happened. Last year, I told everyone I was just going to stay 21 for a few years, but here I am getting told, "Happy birthday!" again. I know you're going to laugh, but 22 sounds really old to me. Not that 22-year-olds are old, just for myself, I don't feel like I should be 22 yet. We're not going to be doing anything too big to celebrate. My aunt Susan is going to watch the girls while my mom and I have lunch tomorrow, and then in the evening Joe and I and Summer and Camryn are going to my parents house. My mom is going to cook my favorite meal, pepper steak, and we'll have cake and ice cream.

Sorry for the lack of cute kid pictures lately. My camera's memory card is full. I have no idea how that happened, because I think it can hold around 600 pictures. I sense an $80 picture developing bill soon.

Time to vacuum, dust, fold clothes, mop, sweep, and put away toys. Yes, I slacked off a bit this weekend! Have a great Monday!

ETA: Camryn woke up with no fever this morning! Yay for well babies and no doctor visits!

JumpStart Contest Winner

A few minutes ago, Summer helped me determine the winner of the JumpStart giveaway.



We did it the old-fashioned way, drawing the name out of a bowl. And the winner is...



Jennifer. Congratulations :-) I hope your Summer enjoys playing the game!

How do I look?

My blog received a make-over this weekend, courtesy of Julie's Blog Designs. I love it!! Julie did an excellent job. She was so easy to work with, and listened to any questions or suggestions I had. I am so happy with the finished product. If anyone is interested in giving their blog a face-lift, head over to Julie's blog and see what she can do for you!

This weekend has been a bit rough. Friday evening, we went to my brother's basketball game. Right after we got there my mom noticed that Camryn felt a bit warm. I felt her and I agreed, she was burning up. She's had a fever ever since then. We've been giving her Tylenol and Ibuprofen, and that takes the fever down, but I think three days of fever warrants a trip to the doctor. I guess I'll be calling in the morning to see if they can get her in. Hopefully it's just a little bug and not strep.

Resting with my poor little sick girl

Also tomorrow, I have to have our cats, Jack and Nova, at the vet around 9am. They are finally getting declawed. I have never liked the idea of declawing, but after what happened to Summer, we just can't take the chance. They have been staying in our basement during the day to prevent another accident from happening, so we're looking forward to being able to keep them upstairs after this and being a big happy family again.

Since Camryn was sick, we've been at home all weekend. Relaxing, but boring, I'd say. The most exciting thing that happened is that Summer ate edamame as a snack, and loved it.

I just thawed them, put them on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil, covered with some sea salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese, and baked at 400 for 20 minutes, stirring half-way through. Yum.

I'm going to go take a shower and try to clean up a bit. I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!

Nothing Like a Sugar Rush Before Bedtime

Check This Out: JumpStart

I was recently asked if I would be interested in doing a blog review of JumpStart. I have very vivid memories of playing JumpStart for Second Grade a long time ago and loving it, so of course I said yes.

Gone are the days of simply buying the game in the store, and your child playing it until they reach the end and being done with it. Now, there is a wide world of JumpStart out there, for endless learning and game play. For $7.99/month, each of your kids will be able to make their own "Jumpee", and explore the JumpStart virtual world. They will have access to 5 different areas in Storyland, as well as being able to access the music, movie, and arcade areas. Members will also be able to download to their computer four age-based learning games, for preschool kids through second graders.

Your child first creates their character, or "Jumpee". They can customize the clothing, hair, eyes, smile, etc.


Here's the Summer Jumpee I created:


Each Jumpee also gets their very own house. The house can be customized with different roofs, siding, widows, doors, fencing, and mailboxes.

Here's Summer's house. She picked everything out herself. Not bad, huh? I especially like the polka dot door.


There are countless games to play. This one is a letter matching game.


This one is Summer's favorite. They show a number and then you have to click on the monkey with the matching number.

Jumpee's can also adopt and train their very own pets.

This game is called Buggy Racer. You choose the difficulty level, and then race through to get "tiki's".


With a membership, parents are able to create a profile, chat on the discussion board, and read the JumpStart Times, among other things. Recent topics in the JumpStart Times include Bedtime Battles, A Matter of Manners, and The Art of Giving. I read through a lot of the recent articles and found them very informative.

I honestly recommend that if you have kids ages 3-10, you consider getting a JumpStart membership. JumpStart is such a wholesome and educational game. You won't fund any blood and guts in there! And no, I am not getting paid for this review, I promise.

As for the contest I spoke of yesterday, I will be giving away a free three-month subscription to JumpStart. The winner will be announced Monday. To enter, leave a comment on this entry. Each commenter will be entered once. To get an extra entry, post about this contest on your blog and link back to here. Make sure you let me know if you do that.