SnOw in BaTon RouGE - MomEnToUs OccAsIon!!

It doesn't snow in Louisiana - we are tropical - think jungle minus the exotic animals - but we awoke on December 11 to SNOW!!!!

Our Santa visit....

We left Parker and Hannah at home with a sitter and ventured to see Santa at the Shaw cafeteria. This was the first year the girls sat on Santa's lap without hysterics! Now THAT's progress!

Avery's birthday party

was a complete success! The girls had a great time dressing up - and doing a little chicken dance!
If you are experiencing deja vu - yes, Morgan did have her party at this same place "Pretty in Pink" in October...

Shane and I are surviving our weekend with four children better than I expected. It's 8:30 and Morgan, Avery, Hannah and Parker are asleep. Keep your fingers crossed that it stays that way! Don't tell Ashley - but Parker is sleeping in a dog bed on the floor - before you call Social Services - it's for our "stuffed puppies", has never seen a live dog, and is probably cleaner than most blankets in my house - plus he looks precious! Gotta get to bed - Shane is handling the three girls (all asleep in our bed) and I'm taking the night/early morning feeding with Parker. And don't worry, I took extra meds in preparation for this...

How did my baby girl get to be 4?

Here is a snapshot of Avery at four:

1. Loves EVERYTHING puppy!

2. Wants to be just like her big sister

3. Loves poptarts and oatmeal

4. Takes her stuffed puppy "Broccoli" everywhere

5. Throws a fit every night at bedtime

6. Sneaks into Mommy and Daddy's bed every night

7. Strikes a pose for every picture

Oh, there is so much more...

Now, on to me...(because I know you can't wait!) Saw the surgeon yesterday. Everything looks good and he casually mentioned that the swelling will all be gone in four months - FOUR MONTHS!!!! Are you kidding? Well, I can't wear yoga pants for that long - so I am heading out today to find a pair of pants and two tops. I will wear them everyday until they either fall apart or become too big (let's hope for the latter). And, yes, I cleared this "mental health day" with Ashley - just can't get back into the swing of things at work! I REALLY liked being at home for four weeks. I'm sure tax season will shock me back into the real world! Wish me luck - I will either be laughing in the fitting room or crying - knowing me I'll be laughing so hard I will be crying!

Thanks to Randi...

who is a super cute twenty-something year old friend of mine (even though she teases me about everything - but mostly how OLD I am), I made this layout of my girls in their Christmas dresses.


You see Randi decided the use the Jenni Bowlin flag chipboard as a Christmas tree - I know, pure genius - that's another reason I love her (even though she thinks I'm old).




All of the stuff (and that's a technical term) I used above is at Scrapbook & Co. I forgot to look at the brand of paper before I walked downstairs, and since it's almost 2 am, I don't feel like going back up - but if you really want to know, leave a comment and I'll answer. The Jenni Bowlin chipboard is a must and the tulle and Bazzill pom poms are awesome!


Then, for your viewing pleasure, I have my Halloween layout.






I like it enough - I guess. Both the spider web paper and the Laser Cut paper are from Little Yellow Bicycle. Don't kill me, but the Fancy Pants Tree on the first page is sold out at Scrapbook & Co. Hey, I'm only the messenger! I have to admit the orange paper and the stickers are from the $Spot at Target and I stickled the laser cut paper to add some orange.


Halloween layouts are always so hard for me because my girls are ALWAYS princesses! And pink and frilly just doesn't fit into the Halloween motif. But at least I snuck some orange in there. Oh - the letters are Thickers and you can't really tell, but the background paper on the right is the Reminisce Ghost paper.


That's it - that's all I got. Hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving. Remember to wear your stretchy pants, take extra meds if your family requires it, and PLEASE laugh your butt off!

Miss Angel's Happy Mail...

I sent "one of those chain letters" to Angel for a sticker swap. I hate them, but then I think of the sad faces that don't get mail compared to the happy faces that do - and then I play along. I hoped Angel would play for Kylie. Well she did, and the girls couldn't get their packages open soon enough! Morgan was excited - and then Avery, well, she was Avery... Thanks Miss Angel!


PS - Notice Morgan was already wearing her Hannah Montana t-shirt. And it was Morgan who suggested we make something for Miss Angel as a thank you - Avery, as you may understand hasn't had those thoughts yet...

Newest layout...

I so LOVE the Heidi Swapp World Traveler line (of course - available at Scrapbook and Co.). For this layout, I used Compass and Old Map (2 pieces) from the HS line along with reddish brown cardstock and black cardstock.

I added a few brads and inked the white parts of the paper (it was just too bright for my layout). I put my journaling on a tag and in the upper left hand corner, I used the Heidi Swapp Traveler tape - but if you don't have that, just use strips of left over paper to add a little extra something :)

I also inked the "Journey" letters with a little red brink ink. And the "celebrate" is from My Mind's Eye and Denise may have some at the shop. Voila - an easy layout!