More quirks...

I've been thinking more about the silly little things that just make Abigale Abigale. :) One of the sweet things she does each morning, given opportunity, is grab my glasses, open up the ear pieces, and hand them to me with a smile. Funny how these little one's pick up on our routines! So I always thank her and put them on, finger smudged and all. :)

She has also taken to hugging my legs. She'll give me a little leg hug and sometimes a nice smacking kiss - and then runs off to whatever is next in her little agenda.

...and then there is Robbie's hat. She loves it when he comes home from work- she claps, smiles, waves, and runs up to him! (Much nice than my greeting when he gets home ;) ) Then taking his hat and putting it on is just icing on the cake!

The teething monster has hit once again around here. She's working on FOUR teeth and she's not happy about it. She's been waking up from naps and sometimes in the morning crying - I think she's just super sore. I know this will pass - but if it could pass quickly I'd be very grateful! :)

And before I end this post....a layout! :)













Journaling Reads: Abigale, you are a classic “All American” Girl! You are so sweet and thoughtful with a spirit that can’t be beat! You can be serious and silly all within the same moment. You are growing into such a delightful child and everyone loves to be around you! Abigale 20 months old, Quintana Beach, Texas

Credits: Yankee Doodle Candy by Dani Mogstad and Kimberly Guiarruso (coming July 1st to Design by Dani), Brush by Michelle Coleman, Fonts: Susie's Hand and Will&Grace

Time to get the little one ready for Little Gym!

Can you see it....

...the big blinking neon sign that reads DINNER and points to me? Because all the mesquitos in a 5 mile radus can! I have sooo many mesquito bites this summer! It all kicked off when we were camping out in Quintana....maybe they followed me home...or maybe now that I have a very active toddler I'm just more "available" to them, either way I think I'm going to have to start wearing Off on a daily basis! :(

This weekend Abigale was invited to her very first child birthday party. We've celebrated other birthdays both children and adults, but this was her first full active toddler birthday party. A friend from playgroup/MOM's club turned 2! It was very cute, her mom made some fantastic Elmo cookies (they were amazing) and pin the noise on Elmo!

In other news, we took a trip to the zoo today! They had membership appreciation and opened an hour early, gave out free bird seed sticks, and we had a free carousel ride. Very fun, but as always the zoo really exhausts me!









Last bit of news for tonight - Katie has just released her July Amazing Month of Memories and Quote Pack - so you can get it 50% off today and tomorrow!!! Click on sign below!








And a quick layout share "Journey" - this is using one of Dani's new kits "Hopscotch" that will be released on July 1st! I'll be posting it and some others in my typical galleries throughout the week - so be on the lookout! :)

What a sale!

Wow, what a day!! It's been sooooo busy! :)

Abigale and I took a trip out ot the mall to check out the sale going on at Gymboree. Let's just say we had a hot tip couldn't resist! :) At any rate, I left with a bag full of adorable clothes!!! They had a hug clearance and were bringing out new things while we were there!!

Abigale got.....2 adorable pairs of jeans (only $6.99!!!), a cute pair of pants with gingham ribbon and button flowers dangling from the bottom, a matching sweater with those adorable flowers on it, an embellished shirt, a fun white shirt, a skirt/bloomer set with a strawberry on the front and ruffles on the back, adorable watermellon sunglasses, and the deal of the day - THREE hats at only 99 cents each!!!! They are each adorable!

I've already taken pics of her in one of the hats! But, I'm a slacker and haven't downloaded them yet...maybe tomorrow :)

After that we went to the grocery store....and there was a lady with a large bucket. What was in the bucket you ask? Why kittens of course!! It's okay Laura - don't panic :) I showed restraint - but my how I wanted one of those little kittens. They were both black with white markings on their chest and paws. Abigale was so cute looking at them - she grinned and pointed - tried to do a little hug - then tried to join them in the bucket. At that point I decided we needed to get the grocery shopping done. If it weren't for the fact that I know the kitten would probably either scratch Abigale from head to toe - or meet an untimely death from some overly pysical loving - I really would have taken one home!

Then I spent most of the evening finishing up my contribution for a charity kit. I'm not sure of the official release date...but I'm thinking it's early July. I'll have to look it up - so stay tuned for further info on that. :)

So last but not least, I'll share a layout and then I'm off to bed!

**for some reason the it will not let me upload the image - so until I can fix that here is the link to my 2peas post:
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=905350

Layout was inspired by Katie the Scrapbooking Ladies Amazing Month of Memories for June for using Polaroids. The frame is a neat polaroid effect that I downloaded from Action Central. I was inspired to try something different than the typical polaroid - and I love the way it came out!

Journaling Reads: I just love that beautiful summer glow! From days in the pool to relaxing at the park, this summer has already been packed with fun and it’s only early June! I can’t believe all the new things your learning, what a huge change from last summer when you were only just starting to toddle around!

Credits: Katie's AMoM, Ultimate Scrapper Judges Kit, Ribbons behind flower - Shabby Princess, Flower - Jen Wilson's Flower Shoppe, Button - Holly McCraig, Brush - Michelle Coleman, Polaroid Frame - Andrea Rascaglia, Fonts - Beyond Wonderland and Susie's Hand

Katie's moving!

Katie's moving all her fantastic Amazing Month of Memories and Quote Packs over to A Cherry on Top! To celebrate she has a great coupon for 30% off on her blog!!!! Don't miss out! :)

Dinner out for me and a layout!

I get to go out for dinner tonight! YAY :) The MOMs club is having their annual dinner, so it's a night out for me! :) We're meeting at the Macaroni Grill, which I don't dine at very often so it's a nice treat!

I don't really have anything exciting to blog about, but I've been on such a roll that I didn't want to start slacking now!!

I finished one layout, which I can't share yet!! But I do have one from last week that I haven't posted, maybe I'll just share it ;) :)

This is inspired by the "Swim a Lap a Day" from Katie's Amazing Month of Memories. It's a little more graphic than my normal layouts - but I think with all the pictures it just works. The font is cry kitty. Posted at all my normal places. :)













Journaling Reads: What a little fish I have this summer! Here you are in your new “animal pool playground”! You LOVE it! It holds just enough water for you to splash and play, plus has a slide, a sprinkler, tiger basketball, giraffe hoops, and a snake to shake! Best $20 I’ve ever spent!! Here’s to a fun summer full of splashing!!!

Toot!!!

I'm so excitied that I can finally share the news! I'm one of Dani's Girls!!! :) I got the email on Friday and I have been dying to share the news! Dani is absolutely one of the sweetest designers around! She is a talented scrapper and designer - I just really admire everything she does and I can't believe that she chose ME! :) So expect to see lots of layouts using Dani's goodies!!!

I reworked my sidebar to show off my new blinkies - I hate working with the html, it's just all greek to me! I *think* I managed to get both Dani's and Katie's blinkies up with working links!

On other news, Robbie is feeling a bit better, but it really was a long weekend! Louis called and insisted on having church over at there house, so that was a blessing. Robbie was able to sleep and relax, which is good because the pain meds are making him a little loopy!

On the other hand, I'm really bummed because I haven't had a free moment to myself (other than right now) all weekend! I have a few new kits to work with and I have been itching to get working on some new layouts! So that being said, I'm going to slip off and get to work!!! :)

grrrr

My sweet child is hitting day three of the grouchies. I'm thinking it maybe teething at this point. So we did the orajel thing and some tylenol and she seems to be happier.

Yesterday we went to "Celebrations" which is basically an indoor play area. They have a "race track" with all those little tyke style plastic cars that children either push with their feet or peddle plus a few race car style cars. They have several imaginary play stations, an indoor plastic climber/slide, a bounce house, and several other random toys out and about. We got there and low and behold there was a daycare there too. 50 four year olds tearing through the place and only one of the five or so caregivers were actually watching the kids. So, the place was a madhouse! The race track was dangerous - the bounce house out of control - madness I tell you! Abigale had a good time, I think it was just me nervous that should would be knocked over, ran over, or just pushed out of the way. There was one little boy who almost stepped on Abigale's fingers as he dove over her on the climbing toy - then he ran through that play station - jumped down the slide and knocked over Christiana. At that point the teacher/mama in me stepped in and gave him a few "directions". They were nice words and he stayed away from the girls. But the thing that burns me up about the whole situation is that TWO caregivers were sitting side by side on a bench READING a magazine and did not witness or acknowledge the event. They didn't even notice me talking to him! Grrrr. So in the future, IF, we go back, we'll call ahead and see if there are any big groups there.

We got home and Abigale had taken a short nap in the car, so she refused to nap and the grouch came back. This continued all evening - so I didn't get anything done housework, scrapping, peace and quiet...nothing. Finally she gave in around 7:00 and slept for the rest of the night!

Robbie and I ordered Chinese and watched Cheaper by the Dozen on TV. We were having a nice relaxing night until he started having pains in his abdomen - just all of the sudden. So by about 10:00 he decided he needed to go to the ER. Abigale was already sleeping, so Kevin took Robbie and stayed with him. What a mess that was. Turns out Robbie has Kidney Stones (ouch!) they gave him some pain killers and sent him home. He rolled in about 5:00AM and is still sleeping. I imagine he'll sleep the day away.

So we seem to have a bad luck cloud hanging around our house. We are hosting church tomorrow - so I need to get the house cleaned up - hopefully my little grinch will let me and the big one will sleep without pain. Regardless.....it's going to be a LOOOOONG weekend!

Layout share!

I have been on a roll scrapbooking and have done about a page a day. I know that may not sound like a lot, but sometimes I spend a ton of time just staring at the page before it's "finished". Anyway, my goal is to do at least one page each day this week!

Here is one I finished up a couple of days ago!

Journaling Reads: Abigale fearlessly walks into the ocean, fully clothed, and giggles as the water splashes over her feet!















Credits: Westfield and ribbon (from Sydney Kit) by Sarah Jones(available at the digichick), Brush by Michelle Coleman, Quote from June Quote Pack by Katie the Scrapbooking Lady Font is Susie's Hand

On other note - I am having a hectic day over here. Not really sure what's up with Abigale, but she is insisting on being held - especially if the phone rings - then it's whinning and crying to be held. I don't think she's getting sick, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't. So I think the plan is to put her down for a nap and then after she gets up we'll get out of the house, go to the library, and run some errands. Sometimes a change of scenery makes a big difference!

Have a great day!

Goldfish for the dogs!

We had another hanging out kinda day. Really nice :) We did have Little Gym and Abigale had a blast. One of the last things they do at the end of each class is blow bubbles. The toddlers are especially found of "belly" bubbles and happily lift their shirt so that the bubbles hit their belly button. One of the co-owners teases that they'll be filming a "toddler gone wild" video. Abigale hasn't really done that in the past - but today - the one day she had a one piece outfit on - she finally caught on!! LoL!! It was the funniest thing! She started tugging at her little outfit, but it wouldn't go. So I unsnapped her and she happily enjoyed the bubbles on her belly button too! (Belly buttons are such a happy hidden treasure at our house - Abigale will proudly show you hers when asked...and now she'll show you at little gym too - just tell bubbles are involved! ;) )

I've been thinking a lot about the little quirks that Abigale has right now - and I haven't scrapped them recently and if I don't write them down they'll probably be forgotten. :) Anyway, one such quirk is her new obsession with washing the paci. It's a good obsession - paci should be clean! :) So, whenever we are in the bathroom and wash hands, or if the kitchen sink is turned on, up comes an outstretched hand with a paci at the end! :)

Now, for the goldfish. Wondering if I would get to that? When we put up Abigale's pool on Sunday, we brought the dogs inside and put them in the kennel. They are small dogs and they actually were very happy about their new situation as it's very very hot. We didn't want them to accidentally pop the pool (or worse) - so we monitored their outside time on Sunday and Monday and put the pool away Monday night. The dogs are NOT happy about this. They are at the door barking as I type. They will gladly trade freedom in the backyard for a medium sized kennel and air conditioning. The sad thing is, I think Abigale sweetened the pot even more for them. They were hanging out inside while Abigale was snacking on some goldfish crackers. She decided that the dogs needed the crackers more than herself and promptly gave them the fish one by one until her bowl was empty. On one hand it's very cute that she loves the dogs and wants to share what she has....on the other I see two dogs snatching food away from her - or the classic slip the dog the brocolli trick.

My sweet girl is 21 months old today. Can't believe it - she'll be TWO years old in only 3 more months. Where did the time go - and who hit fast forward???

Just a normal day...

for once! No running around, no activities, we just spent the day at home! I think I jumped into the real world before I was fully over all my mess, because I'm exhausted!!!

I've been able to do some scrapbooking over the past couple of days - feels good to get some stuff done!! Last month was so busy - I didn't have much "free" time to just scrap - this month is looking better!

So, with that I'll share a layout - then get back to scrapping!

One of the prompts for June's Month of Memories (by Katie the Scrapbook Lady) is Jaque Costeau's birthday and a reflection of the ocean. Since we recently visited, I have lots of pictures and this was just the inspiration I needed to get a few done!Paper and quote by Jen Wilson - Fancy Free Pack, brush by Michelle Coleman, font is Jane Austin.

Over the Hedge

First the BIG news! Well big to me, probably small to others.... Abigale had a doc appointment today and she is now over 20 pounds (20lb 10 oz)!!!! So at 20 months she finally hit 20 pounds - lol! We've been struggling with the weight stuff for a while and I thought we would never get to 20 lbs, especially after that horrible stomach virus last month!!!

To celebrate we took Abigale to the movies today to see Over the Hedge. She did really great (I was surprised!) We had free passes - so we felt like it was worth the experiment and if she couldn't handle it we wouldn't feel like we had wasted our money! We bought some popcorn to snack on - because we didn't plan ahead - and she happily snacked away. A little over halfway through she gave up and took a nap. It was a good outing! The movie was pretty cute, I don't know that I would run to the theater to see it, but definately worth renting.

Afterwards we went over to the soft play area in the mall. It's sized just right for toddlers. Plus - and this is a BIG plus - it's air conditioned!! :)

Abigale enjoyed her play pool again today. :) She getting the hang of what to do in the pool - so cute to watch!

That's basically the run down of the day, nice to spend some time as a family! I'm hoping to get a little scrapping done tonight - I have a list of ideas from the June Month of Memories that I'm just itching to get working on!!!!! :)

Here fishy fishy fishy...

I think that's how I'll have to call Abigale by the end of the summer! :) We went to the Roanoke pool on Friday and she had a great time! The pool was built with a beachy type edge....so you just walk into it and it gradually gets deeper. The edge is a soft pebble like material and has some spraying holes and a toddler sized slide and a lizard that sprays water. So, lots to do without getting totally in. I took a ton of pictures, can't wait to play with them. You will not however see any of me - yikes - I really need to lose some weight, but swimsuits are great for humility.

On Saturday I locked myself in my bedroom - not by choice mind you! My parents were in town visiting and we were about to leave and get some lunch. I was in my room getting dressed, go to open the door, the knob turns - and NOTHING. I push - nothing, I turn and turn and frantically turn - nothing. I felt like a little kid who accidentally locked themself in the bathroom! So I call for reinforcements - it's not just me that can't open the door. My dad took the screws out of the hinges and after some kicking on my side we got the door open. Turns out that little part that goes in and out when you open was stuck in the closed position. We now have a new door knob.

While we were out yesterday we decided to get Abigale a pool. I was just going to get her one of those hard plastic pools, no big deal, but Toys R Us was sold out! We ended up with the "animal pool playground" inflatable pool from Walmart. It's really pretty neat - there is a wading pool on the corner and then a shallow area with a slide, a palm tree sprayer, a floating tiger (with balls - think basketball) and a giraffe with rings to throw on it. So fun :) I'll have to post some pics later :)

Anyway, before I head off to bed, here is a layout I did today! I'll post it at my usual spots with full credit soon. :)

Slowly coming back to life...

So just as I said I was starting to feel human again, my body decided to have a reaction to BOTH of the medications they sent me home with. It was awful, I think I felt worse than I did before I took anything!!! So I spent another sleepless night - alert but exhausted, stomach hurting, and feeling just miserable.

They switched my antibiotic and totally took me off the other med. So other than feeling like someone stole my energy, I'm feeling much much much better.

My family is coming to visit this weekend and I don't have my father's day gift finished for my dad. I was able to work on it a little bit yesterday, but I don't think I'm even halfway done with the designing part - much less printing and assembling! Yikes. I may have to give him an IOU, which I hate to do :( Wish me luck on that!

The MOM's club has a pool activity today, so I'm going to take Abigale and see how it goes. They are suppose to have a toddler play area. I think it'll be better than being cooped up in the house - I'm having cabin fever - and I think the sunshine will do me some good. I figure that if worst comes to worst and I feel awful, we'll just come home. :) I hope to get some cute pictures at any rate. :)

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Sick Sick Sick

Yuck - I have been so sick! I started feeling bad Saturday night with a soar throat, then Sunday the symptoms increased to congestion, and by Monday I was miserable and achy. So I have been in bed (off and on) for two days - went to the doctor and she confirmed it's a sinus infection. I got a lovely shot in my hip and she prescriped huge horse pills - can barely swallow them! But I am finally starting to feel human again.

Just thought I would share a little storyboard I did the other day. I think it turned out pretty cute! It was created using an action created by SweetCheeksPhotography, she was such a sweetie and gave it out on 2peas a couple of weeks ago! There is a slight pink border - but I think I need to go back and widen my stroke a bit :)

I think the first one is my favorite, but I love all her expressions in the second storyboard too!

It's over! :)

It's not that I have a bad attitude about the contest, but man am I glad it's over!!! I can't tell you how many hours I spent compiling judges sheets, emailing, creating and writing up challenges, and so on and so on.

Congrats to the finalists!! Your work was amazing!

Water Fun!

We had a fun day today! :) We were invited over to a friends house to play in their backyard kiddie pool, fun slides, and other outdoor type stuff. :) I was able to catch a few cute pics along the way. ;) :) I don't want to share pics of other people's children without permission...and most have Abigale and another child playing...so I'll share these two:














In the second pic she's eating an icecream cone cupcake made by me the night before! Isn't it amazing the difference natural lighting can make! :)

And, for the big news! We had to get Abigale's blood drawn today - which is never fun, but she was such a BIG girl! She made a slight mmm when she was first stuck, but sat very still and didn't cry! So I was telling her what a good girl she was, and sure enough she repeated "good girl" and pointed to her bandaid. THEN she said her name! Clear as day A - B - Gale! :) I am so proud of her!!! :)