Jamie will be having his adenoids removed on Monday. I hope he'll be OK - I know it's very routine, especially for kids, but that doesn't stop the "mom" worries....I'll feel much better when it's all over and we just have to concentrate on spoiling him at home for a few days.
We got another foot today! The nice thing is that all the "dirty" snow got covered with fresh, white powder so all is picturesque again. Iain is on a business trip to South America (he said it was about 70 degrees in Chile today), so I went out and figured out the newer, bigger snowblower - so much easier than the old one - took lots of steering, though :) Jamie laughed at me when I came back in because my hair was frozen with snow!
Started a new online class today - Criminal Courts. Should make for some interesting discussions! I am really enjoying the flexibility of the online schedule, even if it does mean that I have to often burn the midnight oil.
Looking forward to the girls singing on American Idol tonight; Nattie and I watch it together. Her mouth was really sore last night and this morning after the braces were put on, but she's adjusting really well. The ties she chose were pink and yellow! Very spring-like!
Two Peas Blog Challenge for today: "What birthday traditions do you uphold every year?" - our kids get a visit from the Balloon Fairy - she comes the night before their birthday and leaves balloons in their bedroom to surprise them when they wake up on their birthday :) It's a great start to their special day!
Nattie is having braces put on today. She's had a palette expander in for 2 months now and the braces will go on the front teeth, top and bottom. She has been such a brave girl about all this; only she and one other girl in her class are going through orthodontics right now. We're hoping that doing this bit of work now will mean less in a few years' time - fingers crossed!
I am so excited! Tomorrow I'm going to an all-day crop - I haven't scrapped in months, with all the moving, school, house, family stuff going on. Iain's leaving for South America on Sunday for 6 days so I plan on making the most of the "quiet" time :) This morning I've organized some photos and paper, and this afternoon will go through my embellies. I'm planning on getting lots of pages done! It was really nice of Jamie's preschool teacher to invite me along - she knew from my holiday cards that I was a paper crafter and guessed that I just "might" be a scrapbooker too :)
My great friend Cynthia lives in CA. She is one of the first friends I made after Iain and I moved to the States in 1993; Cynthia and I met when we were both volunteers at the American Cancer Society office in San Diego. She is a loving, giving person and has been a surrogate mom to me :)
Happy Birthday!!
(stamps by justjohanna)
'tis the season of Cadbury Mini Eggs :) Yum! Get some and ENJOY! I particularly like mine with a cup of Earl Grey tea.
Nattie had her first ski lesson yesterday at Winter Park Resort. She and Iain left at 6am to get there in time to sort out her equipment and be ready for the lesson at 9am. He called me just after 9 and said she got very nervous when they got out of the car - she saw some of the huge slopes and thought she was going to be skiing down those ones. Once Iain reassured her, she was ready to go :) She had a great day! She said the instructor was awesome and although she was very stiff (and had several bruises) this morning, she's ready to go again in a few weeks!
Yesterday the four of us went for our first visit to Denver Zoo. It was great! We were particularly impressed since the cost of admission was about 1/4 of what we paid last time we went to San Diego Zoo. It's not as big as San Diego Zoo, of course, but we had an excellent time :)
My grandad (Dad's dad) turned 95 this weekend! He lives in a town called Weymouth, on the south coast of England. He is out and about every day playing snooker (billiards), bingo, going on bus tours, or visiting my aunt and uncle. I hope I have some of those great genes! Happy Birthday, Gramps!
I don't get too excited about many TV shows, but this is one of them :) Tonight is the premiere of "The Amazing Race: All-Stars"! Iain, Nattie and I are avid Race fans and we even TiVo the re-runs of the previous seasons (on GSN) to watch! We are really looking forward to seeing some of our old favorites (and not-so-favorites) try again to win the $1 million prize.
This time around we are rooting for Kevin and Drew, and Danny and Oswald. We will be right there tonight to hear Phil say: "when I give the word, run over to your bags where you will find your first clue. What happens after that - is up to you!"
The Race is on!!
What would you do differently? That's from the Two Peas Blog Challenge for today. Great question! One thing I'd do is talk to my dad more before he died in 1989; I was only 17 and I realize now how little I really knew about him, especially now that I have kids. Another thing I'd do is tell an adult about the abuse I was suffering when I was a child, instead of waiting almost 30 years to tell (and not being believed).
On a lighter note, the kids have a long weekend off school. We're hoping to finally make it to Denver Zoo - we had planned to go before Christmas and then the state got bombarded with snow :) We're also trying to line up Nattie's first ski lessons; Iain's sister sent her money for lessons as her Christmas gift so we'll get that ball rolling. She is very excited to go!
Have a great weekend!
where you just have to go and grab your camera? This is one of them. I woke up just before 7 this morning and the view with the sun hitting the treetops just blew me away! I feel so lucky to have this greeting me every day!
There were also tracks in the yard, so one of our animal friends must have stopped by for a visit during the night :)
Have a very happy Valentine's Day! I hope you are spending it with someone you love! Iain came back from Boston last night :)
Nattie went off to school with her homemade box to collect her Valentines in. She had hers all written out and even included one for the school bus driver!
No big plans for today except to get my scrap room back in some kind of order...I have lots of things lying on the floor left over from various projects and I won't be able to get my creative juices flowing until I do some organizing. Don't get me wrong, it is never completely organized, but I want to at least put away all the scraps, ink pads, and stamps I've used in the past week :)
Just a dusting of snow here overnight; it made all the old, dirty snow look clean again!
This is Pickle, the younger of our two cats. He's 3 years old.
Every home should have a cat like Pickle. It seems that even people who are "not cat people" like him and it is hard not to. He's the most friendly cat you'll ever meet! His hobbies include eating, sleeping, hanging out in the sun, or snuggling with anyone who's nearby.
"Who would you like to trade places with for one month?"
Hmm....I'd like to be a kid again for one month! When you're a kid everyone tells you how easy life is compared to an adult's life, but unfortunately we don't "get it" until that time is past!
I'd love to be a kid again, just for one month - no (big) responsibilities except schoolwork and a few chores...what fun!!
Woo-hoo! We have had 3 days where we've had our temperature above 50; that's the first time that's happened since we moved to CO in October :) One of the nicest things is the sunshine; it really makes it seem less cold outside when the sun is shining. Here in Conifer the average is over 300 sunny days each year!
We may get more snow this weekend, so we're enjoying the "warm" weather while it's here!
People have asked me if I've ever regretted our move, especially since it has been a particularly snowy winter this year. And my response is "not once!" - mainly because the memories of the very hot summer in Murrieta are still fresh in my mind - 105 degrees for a week is hard to forget!
So here's to more cool, sunny days!
I'm currently reading "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory (again!); I love her style of writing, and I am really enjoying the historical fiction books. The book is being made into a movie due to be released this year. I can't wait! The novel made it on to lots of "must read" lists last year and I would highly recommend it.
I also have a pile of magazines waiting for me to curl up on the couch and read them; the selection this week includes People (my weekly dose of entertainment gossip), Simple Scrapbooks, and Oprah.
By the way, the bookmark shown here was made using justjohanna stamps and patterned paper by We R Memory Keepers. I really like the ribbon trim!
Have a great Sunday!
This week I mailed journals out to start 3 new rounds of Circle Journals! I did my first circle 2 years ago with a group of great ladies I initially met over on Two Peas in a Bucket. We have called ourselves the "Seasoned CJ Survivors" because we completed two circles with minimal drama! Those of you who have been involved in CJ's before know what an accomplishment that is :)
Basically, a group of us each starts with our own journal, decides upon a topic, and completes a layout in our own journal before mailing it to the next gal on the list. Each month you mail and receive a different journal and eventually (if all goes well!) you get your own journal back full of creative and inspiring layouts! That's not the best part, though - the best part is the friendships which can develop from this exercise...I have met some very special ladies through the CJ process and am proud to call them my friends.
My topics for the 3 circles I'm in now are: "In 5 Years", "It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times", and "Pot Luck". I'll let you know how it goes, and if you get the chance to participate in a Circle Journal group, go for it! You never know who you might meet.
