Live from Tormville!

photo a day

What I Purchased

I haven't missed a photo a day yet this year. I'm just falling behind on loading them - hoping to catch up in the next couple days. 

From last night - what I purchased. The teenager informed that he was out of toothpaste and I got all, "oh! me! me! can I go??!!!"  because the truth is, I was CRAVING an Arnold Palmer Iced Tea/Lemonade. 

So I went to Walgreens and got my fix and I even remembered to get the toothpaste. 

 

naming children

When we named our children, my goal was to give them each a different first initial for the sole purpose of making noting and labeling just that much easier. I'm all for long-term simplicity. No writing out the whole name in this house - the first initial is all we need.  I learned this trick from my dear friend Becky who named all eleven of her children with this in mind. 

What I DIDN'T think of though is that if you flip the W (Wendy) upside down, it becomes an M (Mark) 

Because of my lack of foresight - I now have no clue which one of them to blame for the water bottle left on the kitchen table this morning. 

 

crazy days * crazy hair

• It was crazy hair/pajama day at the preschool yesterday. I was surprised that Mark ended up willing to do his hair. For most of the month he kept saying that there was no way he was going to wear his pajamas to school
• His dad used to wear his hair like that back in the 80's. That picture seems to have resurfaced on facebook
• Mark did want his hair panked down before errand running, so we had just enough time to throw him into the shower before we ran errands.
• Wendy has a sinus infection. 
• We've also started the process of trying to figure out why she so often has stomach aches and low grade fevers. Wendy is not a fan of doctor's offices, so even the beginning process is draining. 
• We picked up a strawberry rhubarb pie from Grand Traverse Pie Company to call dad's cake. Second store bought birthday cake I've bought this year.  Busy times. 
• There were no complaints at all from the birthday guy. 
• And boy, it tasted just as good again for breakfast
• I'm having a hard time keeping track of what day it is right now. 
• Today we have ten Cub Scouts coming over at 6:00.  I may or may not be here. But someone will. 
• There is a chili in the crock pot. in a few minutes I'll have kids eating breakfast while complaining that the kitchen smells like onions and peppers. 
• I x'ed out of 30 plus tabs this morning. No time to think right now. 
• I went out last night and bought a bag for my laptop. These types of decisions are not easy for me. If you had seen me at Staples (my goal was to go out to just one store and be back home within an hour and a half. Goal met) you would have seen me on the floor with four bag options in front of me - switching my laptop from bag to bag and bemoaning the fact that the fabric and size on choice A didn't have the over shoulder strap of bag B.  It was a fascinating study of what I'm willing to pay twenty extra dollars for, and how a non-detachable strap will kill the deal even though it was my favorite bag otherwise. 
• Wendy was bummed to miss volleyball last night. She nearly went, but then decided to crawl into bed instead
• Gas prices jumped yesterday - I was surprised to pay $3.99/gallon at Costco until I drove home and saw prices in the $4.15/gallon all the way home.  Ouch. 
• I can't help but think how much MORE fun the great neighborhood dog chase last night (neighbor's dog) would have been had it been tonight - when we have the Cub Scouts over. 
• Happy Thursday! 
• It IS Thursday, right? 

He's catching up!

If you see this guy today - wish him a happy birthday. He's all stuffed up with a head cold, so you might have to say it louder than normal. 

He doesn't tease me as much as he used to, but usually this day would mark the day when he would have to stop teasing me about being three years older than him, because from now until December - I'm only two years older than him.

Wendy groans when I have her text him when we're driving because she has to scroll down to Hubba Hubba.  Really, mom????   I told her that it's so much more fun than just - hubby.  She'll get it some day. My main goal in raising these kids is that none of them are too serious. 

daily routine: he is in the garage nightly after reading the kids bedtime stories

I overdid it on hubba hubba for Christmas which now has me left struggling as to what to get for his birthday. So I asked the kids:

Wendy: Whoppers and a new knife

Brian: A new carving knife!

Mark: Scissors, because he always uses a knife to cut my paper

Allan who took a while to respond to my text:  I have no idea, but mom - this art show at the Opera House is so cool! 

He's been busier than ever lately with work, but he still irks out the time to help the kids with their projects. 

And he also has the goal not to raise these kids too seriously - we tease. daily.  And we still make jokes about the balls. 

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As for today - 

• it's pajama day at the preschool
• and crazy hair day. I took Mark to the barber yesterday - now to figure out how to spike his do
• Wendy came into our room crying at 5am. She has a fever, a sore throat and a headache. I'll be taking her to the doctor this afternoon - I'm thinking ear infection or strep
• Unfortunately - it's the last couple days of the quarter and she's supposed to have a social studies test today. I have to run up to the school this morning and figure that out
• Because I'm not sure if their email is back up and running yet after that lightening hit
• I hope she feels well enough to handle the few errands I had planned for this afternoon - all coincidentally near the doctor's office.
• Chicken soup in the crockpot. 

A day in the life

Yesterday, it was a busy one. 

I'm going to document it here so I can just transfer it right into this weeks Project Life. I'll never believe it years down the road otherwise.  I remember my aunt describing these years as treading water, just trying to keep your head above the water line and that's exactly how I feel these days. 

6:20 am: This is when my alarm goes off each morning. 

6:20 - 7:40: I make sure the teenager is awake, check that my blog post went live when it was supposed to (our service has been dropping like crazy this last few days), and pour my morning mud. I doublecheck any papers I have to sign, check the news, check the weather, read a few blogs and doublecheck my lists for the day

7:40: Wake the elementary crew

8:00: Be glad that the Cheerios that spilled all over the floor didn't already have milk in it, and mentally mark off the fact that Tippy, our 14/15 yr old border collie that I should call the vet about again, at least ate something today

7:40 - 8:30: Work on getting their butts out the door

8:35: Called Wendy's ortho to report her loose bracket. They asked if the just walked out the door kid could come in at 9:30. We agreed on 10:10 

9:15: Drive the preschool kid to school

9:35: Preschooler all left at school - run home real quicklike to get something I forgot and then to the elementary school to check Wendy out

10:00: Arrive at ortho. I don't know how to be on time or late. 

10:15: Back at the elementary signing her back in

10:30: Aldi's for their $1.69 per gallon milk

10:45: Meijers to see if I can find a mat for Allan's drawing

11:00: Back home for a moment to catch my breath, brew a fresh pot, catch up on emails, talk to my dad on the phone, mat Allan's artwork, complain in my head that there aren't any messages on the phone yet from the bank or the speech therapist, grab the mail from the mailbox and finally take a moment to figure out how to set up the voicemail on my cell phone. I have yet to check if what I did actually made it work. 

11:45: Back out the door to pick Mark up from school. 

 

12:15: Swing by the Opera House on the way home from preschool to drop off Allan's artwork. Only - nobody is there.

12:26: Do a little cheer that baseball was canceled for the evening and then fire off an email to my brother that our cousin Esky - he's got thin blood, hey? 

12:30ish-ish:  Eat lunch, message my art show contact, call the Opera House, sip more coffee, make a weak stab at cleaning up, call the neighbor and see if she can babysit on Thursday

12:45: Back up to the Opera House to drop off Allan's artwork.

1:00 - 3:30: Doublecheck lists, catch up on emails, start prepping dinner, check the lists again, welcome the high schooler home, do the daily grade discussion, talk to him about his art and share some feedback and direction, and remember to ask him about his toe. (go me - it's always harder for me to remember to check on the pains and injuries that aren't glaring me in the face)

3:30: Head up to the school to get the elementary kids, stop in and say hello to the art teacher and tell her to disregard my email which she says she never got anyway because the school hasn't had email since Thursday when lightening hit their media tower. 

3:45: Dig through the intriguing garbage pile at the house emptying out and haul a couple things home. Hooray that I didn't buy that Swiffer the other day - I just scored a free one! 

4:00: Text the neighbor and ask if she has a boxed pie crust mix, lament the fact that had I known I didn't have one I could have bought one during that morning trip to Meijers, and lament the fact that I didn't do the crock pot this Monday. 

4:15: I put a crustless pot pasty into the oven. 

4:15 - 5:25: Went over the kid's days, had them searching for knee pads, shirts, uniforms, and tried to convince them to do their homework before dinner, to no avail. 

5:30: Ate dinner, and told them they MUST save some for their hard working father.  It was Allan's nights for dishes, planned according to the kid's sports and schedules. In a nutshell - he was the only kid that COULD do them on this night. 

sun flare

6:00: Brian had Cub Scouts - went with three kids in tow. They made bird feeders which we need to hang in our trees sometime today.  

6:30: Touched base with Greg to find out when he was leaving work. He says - "I'm leaving right now, should I go straight to Cub Scouts"  I said - honey, you'll never make it - you're an hour and a half away. He says "What time is it????"  

6:45: Loaded some parent numbers into my cell phone and left Brian in care of the den leader and ran Wendy over to volleyball

7:00: Wendy started volleyball, loaded some parents numbers into my cell phone, watched and visited for a few minutes and then headed back to Cub Scouts

7:30:  Made it to Cub Scouts in time to see Brian getting his Pinewood Derby participation award. (Pinewood Derby was on Saturday - pictures coming with my Project Life spread) 

7:45: Pulled Brian from Cub Scouts a few minutes early and headed back to volleyball before Wendy was done

8:00: Volleyball over - we headed for home - got there just behind my husband

8:10 - 9:00: Homework, homework, homework, rehash the day with my husband, ask him about his day, bedtime stories, shower for the volleyball girl, snack time, teeth brushing....

10:20: Remember the frost warning and run outside and put sheets over my two smallest lilac transplants

midnight:  Hit the sheets. I didn't even need any Motrin PM last night

But this morning I'm needing my coffee a bit extra strong. 

Happy Tuesday! 

 

The "Blooming" Technique Tuesday Blog Hop

Goooood Morning! Happy Monday!!!

Welcome to the "Blooming" Technique Tuesday blog hop. The Stamping Techs are blog hopping again, and this month we are sharing projects we have made using Technique Tuesday's newest flower stamps. You can find them all in the Nature section of the Technique Tuesday website. 

I decided to go with the Delightful Daffodil set for my hop project. My daffodils are all blooming this week, so I was inspired. 

One thing I like to do when I open a new stamp set is to monkey with it and try out a few different techniques and/or colors.  

For this first card, I stamped the daffodil with my Nick Bantock Chrome Yellow ink onto white cardstock. I love the clean crisp feel.  

For this next one, I stamped the daffodil onto some yellow striped patterned paper. A completely different mood and feel, but I love it just as much. 

And then for the THIRD one - I stamped the daffodil with my silver metallic pigment and then matted my image onto some silver metallic paper. I have a lot of weddings coming up on the calendar, and I think this card could easily pass as a wedding card.  The embossed cardstock base was from a premade blank set - I scored well at garage sales last summer! 

Three moods, all very functional. I can't wait to play with the next set! 

Be sure to take the time to check out all the blogs of everyone taking part in today's blog hop:

Tanis

Ashley

Charlene

Daniela

Tobi

Laura

Sharyn <----- that's me

Kris

Jaclyn

Teri

From the comments received on all the blogs we will pick one lucky commenter to win Technique Tuesday's Carefree Cosmo stamp set. 

You don't need to comment on all the blogs to be eligible to win, but the more comments you leave - the better your chances! 

Comments must be posted by midnight on March 29th. The winner will be announced on March 30th on the Technique Tuesday blog. 

Thanks so much for stopping by - and as always...

Happy Monday! 

 

 

April Studio AE Sneak Peek

Someday soon I have to sit down and start adding up my Calvinball points. I'm sure I'm winning. 

Here's another point - a sneak peek for Technique Tuesday's Studio AE. I'm in love with this particular set.

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As for today....

• The sun is shining. Awesome
• Allan was able to get a shoe on his foot for church, but it wasn't easy. (He had a biking injury yesterday resulting in a tingly purple big toe)
• We were all dressed to walk out the door, and Wendy started complaining about a bad rumbly stomach. Again. I have it on my list (love love lists) for this coming week to call the doctor and get her checked out. I'm not sure if she's fighting some type of infection or if she has some sort of food intolerance/GI issue. She's in the office at least once a week with a low grade fever.  
• She also managed to loosen one of her brackets today so I'll also be callling the ortho tomorrow. I'll say it again - BOY, am I ever glad we're not going to Ann Arbor for her appointments. 
• I'm thinking a nap sounds good

 

Day 24: A Smile

It's been a day. I'm hoping to sleep well tonight. 

Project Life: Week 11

You'll notice I'm not getting too fancy with these pages. My main goal is to keep up with this project because it's worth it. If I get too fancy, I fall behind. It's as simple as that. I know myself. 

For Week 11, I added a Design G Page Protector. I put all of Brian's birthday event photos onto both sides of this protector.  Our dinner at Red Robin's, the cupcakes he brought to school, a birthday card, the parade, his cake....  I like the G protector because it's 10 x 12 and still offers a lot of space while obviously playing the part of an insert within the week rather than another week. (did you follow that?) 

I love that I was trying to take a picture of Brian and Mark wanted to be in the picture too. 

I've been picking my pictures up at Costco each week. I'm not a fan of so much at home printing, (I'll do some - but not this much quantity), and Costco is half the price of some of the other places I use. 

How
Ev
Er

I've been increasingly frustrated by how dark they are printing.  I lighten each print a TON before I submit it, I uncheck the auto correct button so they should not be auto correcting my prints, and they still come out dark. But this week they added a bonus. See the blue ink heartbeat line going across the bottom of my husband's photo?  That was added free of charge, but it's not quite the look I was going for. It's on several of the prints. (I picked up my order in the morning and I opened it after 9 last night when I was ready to work with them. I'm sure I could get them reprinted for free, and I will get them reprinted, but it's the 'last chance/straw' moment)

So I'm done fighting it. I put out a poll on facebook last night and I'll try a few different places until I find what works best for me cost wise and quality wise.  Some options will have me loading my Project Life a little later than usual.  

Some of my photo challenge photos are mixed within my week, although I've not had time to upload them daily. The flowers, the close-up, the shelf, the trees....  See, I'm still playing.  :) 

Happy Friday!! 
My husband could work this weekend, but he's taking it off at my request. He woke up this morning in the 3:00 hour so he'll be tired, and tomorrow is the Pinewood Derby - I prefer that to be in his ballpark.

As for me - I'll be scrapping.

Starting now.... 

Project Life: Week 10

I'm posting and running this morning - my clock says I have one minute to get out the door. 

This is how life has been lately. Busy.  It kills me that I'm already, in March, a week behind on my Project Life. I was hoping it wouldn't be a struggle until the end of April.  I hope to have week 11 up this evening or tomorrow morning. 

I have to stay on track. This project is worth it. 

gotta fly......