The Flohr's are Bloggin'

Moving...

2010-09-02T20:38:00.001-07:00

I've only been working on this new blog for about 2 months...changing themes, uploading pics, losing too many files to talk about, but here it is...the new blog. I love it :) Easy to upload, easy to customize, just easy.

So...if you read this, will you follow me here?? I hope so!!

http://tflophotography.com/blog/

Soon

2010-08-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

Soon, our lives will be filled with lunch boxes and pack backs. School uniforms and gym day. Music and Daisy troop. Soon, I'll be driving my Big wee one to school and walking from my office to pick her up. I'm sure we'll do cool things, like grab a cool drink at her favorite coffee shop and have a cupcake. We'll celebrate her cool new life as a Kindergartener. We'll talk about all the crazy things that kids talk about at 5, but we'll keep it in check and talk about Santa as well.

Soon, our days will be filled with running from one activity to another, to running home for dinner and a bath. Soon, we'll start the adventure of tons of birthday parties and possibly sleep-overs (sooooo not ready for that! well, I'm not at least).

Soon, her chore chart will be filled up and she'll be helping her little sister adjust to everyday preschool. Soon, her sister will miss her and wonder why she can't play with her every.single.moment of her free time.

Soon, this mommy will cry (like I'm not already right!?!) and wonder, "Where the heck did time go?" I remember, so vividly, being pregnant with her and riding the elevator up to our apartment in our first home, thinking I was in labor. I remember holding her and sleeping with her. I remember her first steps and the first time she drew a picture (it looked just like Shrek).

Soon, all of these BIG changes will happen.

But for now, I have 10 more days of my 5 year old being just a 5 year old enjoying the last days of summer.

Summer is..

2010-08-12T18:22:00.001-07:00

having a delicious ice cream cone after dinner. Having it match the pink in your shirt ads to the yumminess :)

Cousins 'n Stuff

2010-08-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my cousins came in from CT to share in remembering their father, my uncle and a very special man! My Uncle Jay passed away after a very difficult battle with cancer (for the past 3 years), and though it was so sad and emotional, I love these guys and love to spend any time I can with them...which isn't much.

If you knew my uncle, you know that these boys are spitting

images of him! I also noticed how much they look like my mom.

Super tall studs! They are "lowering" to my level :) kind of...hehe!Little wee one and "Cousin" had a special connection. She's been talking about him EVERYDAY since they left. She really misses him!Group shot of the fun people :)

Though we are all heartbroken that my uncle passed (that post to come later), I am filled with love that my cousins are apart of my life...our lives.

Woops

2010-08-10T17:44:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I already missed a day in my post a day...

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure these days are FLYING BY! Honestly, wasn't it just May yesterday and now it's almost time for school to start??

After bath this evening I made Big wee one try on her school uniforms for me. I can't wait to wash them and iron them and make them fresh and "new". The school she's attending in the fall is a Catholic school and she's pretty excited! I'm pretty excited. And nervous. I'll cry, no doubt.

I'll post those pictures tomorrow, and maybe you can help Big wee one decide what she should wear on her first day (it's a toss up between jumper and skort).

While taking her pictures, a little tiny Little wee one as

ked me to take her picture. I know, I know...I couldn't believe it either, so I asked her if she really wanted me to and she said, "Yes, Momma"

Here is that picture. Love those big blue eyes, even in black and white! :)

Got your back.

2010-08-08T18:55:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that Big wee one is starting kindergarten at the end of the month. I mean really...she can't be school age already!

Though, to me in this picture, she looks much older than her wise beyond her 5.5 year old self. She's always got her sister's back, and on the occasion when she doesn't, believe me she hears it from me. I'm trying to teach her that no matter what Little wee one is her sister and they have to stay tight.

My goal this week is to blog once a day...here goes :)

Hanging around my side of town.

2010-07-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend of mine met the girls and I downtown for a nice morning of walking around, stopping at the candy store, getting a glass of iced tea from my favorite coffee joint and ribs from the farmers' market. We probably spent 3-4 hours just chit-chatting, letting the girls play and enjoying the simple things that our quaint little town offers.

We have been trying to enjoy the relaxing summer days, even though we've been pretty busy. Enjoy your special moments :)

My babies.

2010-06-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

Are growing up and I need to deal with it. I can't though. Makes my eyes swell up with tears every time I think about Big wee one going to kindergarten and Little wee one just getting bigger.
I've never felt love the way I do when I look at this face. So beautiful and funny and goofy, and moody and angry and fiesty and happy...everything that I am and then some! A mix of two people who love her more than words can describe.And then we threw in this one. Sweet and gentle, a loner and a silly girl. Not anything like her big sister...a country baby born in the heat of summer who loves a hug and her baby dolls. Who has fought a lot from the time she was born with her funky foot to her ridiculous allergies and asthma now. Both equally make me angry and in love in the same sweep of a second.

Both are super funny and super emotional. One gets angry and stomps her feet, the other gets sad and slumps her shoulders over. But really...do they have to grow up? Do they have to be ok with writing their name and reading books? Coloring pages and drawing pictures? Catching bugs and growing flowers?

I can't take it. My babies, my sweet little angel faces. Now one has purple "highlights" and talks about going to school every.single.day. We go over her schedule countless times a day, with what we will be doing and who we will see...if we will go to a store or have a "stay home day". The other just goes with the flow, no real need for a schedule, just happy to keep on keeping on.

One loves ketchup, the other mustard. One LOVES every fruit or vegetable you put in front of her the other is a "meat-atarian".

Both are super excited about summer and want to go camping, watch fireworks, eat hotdogs and play in our neighbor's pool. Both love to play with our family friends and watch tv when they first wake up in the morning. Both love to be outside and wait for Daddy to open the garage door to pool out various riding toys...though only one rides, the other just carries her "super high bouncy ball" around.
When I get home, I'm going to hug these wee ones...tight! See, I'm heading to the US Virgin Islands for a trip by myself. Celebrating love and photographing my first wedding, but thinking about them and my man the whole time! Go hug your wee ones!

Shattered...

2010-06-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

My big toe :(
and it hurts...will post pics soon. For now I'll waddle around in my new snazzy boot!
What's been going on with you?

She's a graduate!

2010-05-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

A year of learning, making new friends, exploring all kinds of cool stuff, and growing taller and stronger...our big girl graduated preschool. And yes folks, I shed some tears. When I put her in the car in the morning to bring her to her last day of school, when I took her to wally-world to pick out her bestie a necklace to remember her by and when she walked past us during her ceremony...tears during all of those events.
I just cannot believe that she'll be in kindergarten next year. I mean really, where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday we were just moving to Chambersburg!
Oh well, she growing up and there isn't much I can do to stop her, so instead, I'll just be uber proud!
My big girl, posing before we left.

A pic with the daddio.and one with the momma (me) :) And the ceremony begins...she would not make eye contact. She was on a mission. A mission to the stage without cracking a smile or moving her eyes away from her goal!Opening "hello's", she listening and her little friend A-man is smirking. Hehe...too cute!OH! Do you see that, we made eye contact. Still no smile. She cracks me up!Saying the pledge, and how appropriate that it's Memorial Day weekend and their ceremony was "Red, White & Blue" themed. I know I'm biased, she is my off-spring and all, but she sure looks adorable in her floppy graduation hat and double wrapped necklaces. Girls got style!Just singing. I'm pretty sure my eyelashes where stuck to my eyelid, from being wet and smashed up against the camera. I teared up through this WHOLE program. I'm a sap!Big wee one and her friend A-man. They are going to get married. I knew she had a little crush on him all year, though she never fully admitted it, she would get really angry if we asked her about it (guilty as charged!). We found out the truth though, A-man told his mom he was going to marry Big wee one....hehehe, he's a cutie! She does want to have a play-date this summer, so I'm sure this won't be the last that we see of first crush (oiy! already?!).This ABC chant/song was really cute! They are all gearing up for, "GIMME-A""C-We're CREATIVE"Did I mention that the little cutie right behind Big wee one in the red shirt is her bestie? They have on matching "best friend" necklaces that we had to get on the way to school. Every school day they brought each other a little gift (a barbie outfit from their stash, a little tiny hairbrush, a little stone or gem from a broken ring, a ribbon...anything they thought the other might like) and exchanged them. That was one of her highlights from the day, to show me what her best friend brought her that day.The official graduation moment. Big wee one really enjoyed Mrs. W and being in her class. Not a true smile, but she is looking my way :)We are so proud of you Big wee one! You've learned SO MUCH! Counting by 5's, reading, writing, and you are so creative. You exploded this year with knowledge and willingness to learn. We have loved watching you become this indepent and smart big sister. Thank you for being you, we LOVE YOU!

*yes, I know there aren't any pics of Little wee one in this post, or the last few for that matter, that child will.not.let.me.take.her.picture. I will do my best to get one of her and share it soon!*

Cause I... I will Survive.

2010-05-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

I hope anyway. These kids are going a-wall and I am running on very little sleep...makes for really FUN days. HA! So much to catch you up on...like the one below who can ride her bike without training wheels now, and can only take a bath with her goggles on. Because, you know, she's gotta get ready for swimming and all :)
She's a dork. She get's it from me.

I do plan on updating the 'ol blog soon...in the meantime, have you checked out T. Flo's page (I've heard she's a really cool chick!) ;-)

CA-RAZY!

2010-05-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have flown by. We've been so busy, between lacrosse games, photo-shoots, work, soccer games and life in general...I cannot wait for the weekend! I plan on getting my garden ready for planting and going to the annual MOMS Club Mother's Day brunch. I also plan on watching Big wee one ride her bike...WITHOUT TRAINING WHEELS (if you are a friend on facebook, you know this already). We're getting ready for summer....YEAAAAA!!
Peace my peeps...
t.flo

Birthday Dinner

2010-04-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Prepared by yours truly! I keep saying, "I'm going to make this again, tonight!"...I haven't yet, but I will!! It was soooo good! You can find the recipe here, and if you check out that site, I'm also going to make the BBQ sauce. If you are a friend of mine, you might just get some (it will go well with my new grill...THANKS MOM & DAD!)

Those flowers are from my bestie in tejas...soooo pretty and sunny and fresh :)

10 on Tuesday: Another Year Older

2010-04-20T15:18:00.001-07:00

Yup...the BIG 3-0 is headed my way! Tomorrow, I will wake up ready to start a new decade of my life. Am I nervous you ask? Anxious? Worried??

No, not nervous...anxious, not really...worried, a bit. I mean not worried, WORRIED, but worried, that my body is going to change. Sure that's silly you think, but I don't want wrinkles and I already have to photoshop my crow's feet out of my pictures and I've been feeling so unhealthy lately! I need to incorporate some excercise into my daily routine, I just can't seem to find the time to do it. Ok, enough complaining about feeling, BLAH!! Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm going to relish in my last few hours of my 20's.

Let's review the last year of T. Flo's 20's :)

I work for the Downtown Business Council of Chambersburg and LOVE it! I love working with the folks that I work with, making the connections I make and putting myself out there for the better of the community. Work is good...really busy at times, not so much at other times, but great!
This past year, my dad opened his winery and in the beginning I didn't want any parts of it. I didn't think we could work well together (my dad and I), and I didn't want to put any stresses on him or me. Well, that went the total opposite. I actually don't mind working with my dad at all. I think I had to prove to him (in the beginning) that I do actually know what I'm talking about, I do know a lot of people that can point him in the right direction, and that as long as he could deal with my sometimes crazy time-schedule we would be ok. And we are! I do all of his PR work for him, set up parties and events, and do all of the graphic design work for the labels and advertising. I love public speaking and don't mind putting myself out there for the wine shop. I think he appreciates that. I also think I probably drive him crazy with my time-schedule, but he understands that I am only one person wearing a lot of different hats (at times).
My girls have changed so much this past year! Big wee one is so silly and caring, and I've really seen her blossom this year. She makes me smile all the time and she's such a great big sister! Little wee one, has always been the sweet and silly one, but the later half of the year she busted out a new 3.5 year old sassy attitude. It can get a little ridiculous at times, and her "wanting" me all the time is outrageous, but I do remember Big wee one going through the same.exact.thing. I'm sure she'll grow out of it soon. Right?? :-/
I took a road trip to TX with just the girls and survived! They were actually so good in the car, especially since I couldn't get the DVD player to work (most of the time). Remember those days traveling back in the day without a DVD player?! I do...I survived and so did they :) It was the ULTIMATE girl bonding trip! For rizzle!
This year, my marriage went through some trials and tribulations and I'm happy to report to the haters that they can hate on. We will conquer! Marriage is hard and communication is KEY. So, to Paul...sorry dude, you have to deal with my Tina-isms for the REST.OF.YO.LIFE.
This year I've discovered who my true friends are and how supportive family can and cannot be. I've weeded out those that I don't want in my life and tried to keep the negativity at bay. I can't deal with negativity, really I can't. I need to be happy and when I'm having a hard day, I need to be alone.
I took my love of photography and BLEW it UP! As in, I took it to the next level and couldn't be more excited about the road it's driving on. I was thrilled to go to an amazing workshop recently and am hoping to attend another one this summer. I've learned so much and have been so blessed to have wonderful clients that are not only amazing, but BEAUTIFUL.
I've gone from blonde to brown and I like it!
My love for cooking is still going strong. I would like to start a recipe club and have said it a couple of times, I just need to actually do it. I planted a garden last summer and plan on doing it again this summer. I loved having the fresh veggies right outside my door for the picking :)
This year, and the rest of the 30's I plan on following my dreams and letting my heart lead the way. I'm going to work on my "filter" more, but not let it limit me as a person. I'm going to keep surrounding myself with great family and friends and my crazy husband and keep laughing.

See you on the flip-side 3-0...hit me with your best shot...FIRE AWAY!

She KICKED...

2010-04-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

the ball and LIKED it!! This past week, Big wee one had her first soccer game and practice. We were lucky to even get the game in, since there were storms before the game, while we waited in the car and then it started back up again right after the game. I was praying that the weather would clear out for the 20 minutes of game time that we needed, especially since the game had already been cancelled once for bad weather.
Big wee one was definitely timid for the first 5 minutes or so. She's not one of those kids that can just walk up and be fine, she needs to be guided a bit. I walked her up to her coaches (she was crying) and introduced her and said she needed a few minutes to adjust and then...she was fine! (phewwww!!)
In the picture below, she was excitedly telling her coaches what she wanted to name the team. They all got to help pick the team name, and we had talked about it at dinner earlier in the week. Being as girly as she is, and knowing that she is the only girl on the team (of 5 players total), I started throwing boyish team names at her and she really liked the name, "T-Rex's"...so they are the Purple T-Rex's.

They play 6 minute quarters, 3 players at a time for each team and she got to be one of the first to play. *Insert nervous, anxious, excited Mommy here* Praying that she doesn't run off crying, or that she just stands there (which she did until we yelled RUN and then she did), or that she gets hurt and ruins her idea of a good time.

Luckily, after the initial stand there with a "What's everyone doing?" look on her face she went for it! *Instert beaming "that's my girl" Mommy here* I couldn't believe how well she did! She's never played an organize sport before, and had never practiced with her team, but she did awesome! She actually kicked the ball and blocked and ran after it and put herself out there!

This is the stance that Little wee one took while watching her big sister!

She had two assists and only one bump in the nose that she fought off the tears for. I did my best to avoid eye contact at that time, if she saw me she'd cry (you mom's know how that goes!)...her coach asked her if she was ok, and she just rubbed her nose and said yes. (another phewwww!!)

Super star Big wee one ended up with 2 assists and some great plays! Paul and I were sooooo proud of her and just beamed. We took the girls for pizza at a yummy local joint after the game to celebrate! She's excited to play again, and I'm excited that she loves it so much!

Life {in general}

2010-04-14T18:08:00.001-07:00

As been insanely crazy lately. Paul is gone every evening till about 7 pm with practice and later when he has games (which is 2-3 times a week). I don't mind, it gives me a little extra time to work on this or edit these, but those sessions end up going until midnight.

I was thrilled last Saturday to hit the local college with a friend and do some playing with our cameras...I love this image that I got:

After we talked photoshop for awhile, I picked up the wee ones and we hit the road to visit some of our favorite friends! The girls had a blast and the boys drove Little wee one crazy...felt like old times (hehe!)The moms even got to go have mexican by ourselves!! It was a great visit, but a scary ride home...dark mountain roads SCARE me, and for some reason Big wee one would fall asleep and then wake up crying, and then go to sleep, I think she was uncomfortable.

Soon, some of our weeknights will also be filled with this Big wee one being a soccer SUPA STAR! She is SO excited!!

She's been practicing and telling us how fast she is and how "awesome" she's going to be. I don't know if I'll be able to stand how stinking cute she is in that uniform that is tooooo big, her shorts can't even stay up. When she saw the uniform she said, "OOOOOooooo, PURPLE IS MY 2nd FAVORITE COLOR!!" *melting* She's also the only girl on the team!

It's great that the weather is so beautiful, but it makes my allergy sufferers, really suffer! Little wee one has had days where she can barely open her severly swollen eyes, her whole body is itchy (she says), and she can't stop sneezing. I took her to the dr. yesterday and we are now mixing a nice cocktail of meds to help soothe her miserable allergies...poor thing. I just about cried (and I'm tearing up now), when I had to wake her up yesterday and her eyes couldn't open! She was telling me (while pointing to her eye), "this eye doesn't want to open Mommy"...I know you can't understand how sweet and pathetic that sounded, but believe me it was so sweeeeet and soooo pathetic, I just curled her up and my lap and rubbed her back! Poor, sweet thing.

To sum things up, life is good. My big 3-0 is coming up and I am excited for what the 30s will bring me...I've gotta feelin' (ooooohhhhoooooo, sing with me!!) that 30 will be a good year.

xo-T.flo

Flashback Friday

2010-04-09T18:35:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow afternoon, the girls and I are heading to visit our friends :) One of Big wee one's favorite friends and Little wee one loves them as well. I'm excited to catch up with the mom and just let the kids go crazy for a bit...see you soon friends!

Itchy, sneezy, sniffly, watery, red eyes.

2010-04-08T17:55:00.001-07:00

This girl is struggling :( Poor thing...born with allergies that attack her big giant blue eyes.

She gets the worst sneezes and coughing from the drainage, and there isn't much we can do besides keep her filled with claritin. In a couple of weeks, it will pass and she'll be so much happier! But just so you know, this is what our house has been like the last week or so :( BOOOOO!

Here she is in May of '08...very unhappy toddler, boy oh boy is she cute though! WOW...she was a freaking adorable little munchkin (and yes I am biased) :)

Hope your allergies are making you suffer!
Till the sniffles and sneezes stop!
~T. Flo

Simple

2010-04-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

I am trying...desperately, to stay a little more up to date with blogging :) I took this picture while I was away at the Savvy Workshop and just love it. Still lifes like this one, remind me of college, which reminds me of painting, which reminds me of my denim calvin klein denim overalls (yea, so what...I rocked some denim overalls! hehe), which reminds me of my favorite painters shirt, which then turned into my favorite pottery shirt, which also reminds me of how expensive it is to buy paint supplies, but also reminds me how much I LOVE art.
Whenever we get more space, I'm going to take up painting again :)
Happy Hump Day!

Busy Bunch

2010-04-06T20:44:00.001-07:00

Yup. It's that time of year again...when our visions of Daddy are just like the one below. Him down on the field, us on the bleachers. So far, the season has been great and we have had ridiculously beautiful weather!
Look...the gazelle has spotted us in the jungle of the bleachers!

During lax season we get reunited with long lost friends!

Besides lacrosse, we have been a very busy family! I was gone for 4 days at a photography workshop and I loved every.single.second; and I hope to blog about that experience and some pictures from the event soon.

I'm just so happy with where my photography business is going. Very happy.

But I still can't get this little stinker to smile for me. Or heck, even LOOK at me!
The girl's had off for Easter, and I decided that by golly, I was going to get a picture of Little wee one to hang on the wall if it was the last thing I did that day and sure enough...I have some of the most beautiful images from the girls that day (also in my blog header) and am thrilled that I can order my big giant 16x20 print I won while I was away :)

This is another picture I love. I'm going to have it printed and framed to put in their play room.

Life is busy, as usual. Spring is in the air and we've been spending a ton of time outside (until today when Little wee ones eyes swelled up!). Big wee one starts soccer soon and is very excited about that and Paul will continue to have lax games every week until the end of May.

I have photo sessions booked until the middle of May and can't even begin to express what an amazing time I had and how much information was absorbed into my nugget!

On top of lacrosse, the girls and life the wine shop is flourishing beautifully and I'll be finishing up (I think this will be the 25th label) for a new release coming up. I'm also gathering up materials for T. Flo Photography and getting everything in order. Eeeeeekkkk!! Life is so very good right now :)

The Savvy Sisterhood Workshop

2010-03-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

I get to GO!!!! I am seriously, beyond words excited about this workshop I'll be attending in St. Michael's, MD!! I leave on Sunday and come back Tuesday evening and the whole time I'll be learning so much from these amazing ladies:

Jodie Otte beautiful work, simple and elegant

Mika Beth Edwards you might want to wipe the drool after checking her out! *love*

Kelli France

Jessica Grieves

Bev Hollis I know some animal lovers that would love her!

Marta Locklear I think we could get along just nicely :)

Melanie Mauer love her!!

Catherine Clay HELLOOO!!! I am so lucky to be able to meet all of these ladies!

and of course the hostess herself, Marsha Mifsud (she's amazing!! shabby chic and beautiful...the link for the workshop is on the sidebar of her blog, I tried to link it, but my internet keeps freezing up! darn thing)

and these are some of the topics we'll discuss:

Creating a Business that Enriches Your Life
Keeping your Sanity and the Beds Made~Getting organized regardless of your "right-brain" tendencies~Managing and valuing your time~Balancing work & family
Capturing Emotion & Non-posed Posing
Pricing and Marketing
Studio Lighting
Branding Yourself
Finding the Light
The Power of Presentation
Styling your Session
How to Rock at Sales {online or in person}
How to use social media to build relationships with your customers and increase the number of referrals
Posing and Composition
Creative Processing
Setting Yourself Apart from Others

Oh, I am just beyond excited for these couple of days and wish I could stay the extra portfolio building day, but I'll take everything I will learn and bring it back to my business here in Chambersburg. Now...if the weather is beautiful and perfect, that will make life even sweeter!

What's brings the cool factor up even more? We are staying at the hotel where they filmed Wedding Crashers...one of mine and Paul's all time favorite movies! Hehehehe....I can't wait to show him the pictures (well, show all of you the pictures!).

Hope you have an exciting weekend too! :)

Twins?

2010-03-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Is it because they are both girls? Because they both have the same dirty blonde hair with nice natural blond highlights? Is it because they are both sitting in a cart and you can't see how much taller one is than the other? Or for some other reason I just don't know?
Because I must get asked at least 3 times a week if they are twins, and it's not a recent thing, it's been a "their whole life" thing...even when it was way obvious that they were not twins!
Just sayin'...nope, they aren't :)

I ♥ Faces: Bundle Up!

2010-03-15T12:24:00.001-07:00

Big wee one during one of the ridiculous snow storms we encountered! Hopefully we'll be taking lots of sun-shiny pictures soon!!
Check out I ♥ Faces and scope out the rest of the bundled up photos :)

Pittsburg

2010-03-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

My mom and I hit the road on this BEAUTIFUL Saturday to go to my cousin's bridal shower. We haven't had that much time alone together in a long time and we had a LOT of laughs!! Especially when she almost drove us right into that river...my heart was BEATING out of my chest, I'm glad she found it so amusing ;-)Here is my beautiful cousin and her future husband...great couple! They are getting married in the US Virgin Islands :) I'm super excited for the big day!This is a pretty rare occurence, a picture with my grandmother :) And here is my beautiful mother! My best friend and amazing Mimi! Thanks for the great day Mom!Meloni and I have been pretty close for a long time! We are only a couple of weeks apart in age, and being that I am the older, more mature cousin, I was sure to fill her in on all of my wedding wisdom...ha.ha. We've shared SO.MANY.LAUGHS and I was beyone thrilled when she asked me to photograph her wedding...at.the.beach.on.an.island. I said, "YES!" hehe!This is Hadley, she's a trip...a total teenager in every aspect. Remember those days? This is my Grandpa. The glue of the family. He's a handsome man isn't he?? :)
What a gorgeous day for traveling...after all of the snow we've had it was nice to see the sun. Thanks for a great day Mom, and the rest of my family :)

Menu Planning: I'm BAAACK!

2010-02-22T07:22:00.000-08:00

After a very long hiatus from menu planning, I'm back. And ready. Ready to start saving some money and the hassle of trying to decide what we are going to eat every night when I'm tired and hungry and the girls are tired and Paul is starving...less stress and good food, can't beat it!

Today is the unofficial day I become a lacrosse widow again. The team has un-scheduled running for the next two-ish weeks and Paul has coaches meetings out the ying-yang this week...infact, it will be a pretty busy week in general.
Today, Paul has running, and then 2 back to back meetings.
Tuesday: medical appointments in Hershey for me (yearly check-ups for my AVM)
Wednesday: Olympics at school for the girls...have a meeting in the morning and then I'll be helping out in Little wee one's class
Thursday: dentist appointment for me and Paul has another coaches meeting about an hour away from home or so.
Friday: might be the only chill day there is.

Back to the menu planning.
I wrote out my menu and then hit the grocery store yesterday morning. I only spent $90 for the whole two weeks!!! I'm super stoked about that!

Yesterday we had enchiladas and homemade mexican rice
~we devoured it...so good!
Today: with the left over meat from yesterday we are having sloppy joes, french fries and corn
Tuesday: garlic chicken with spinach salad and rice
Wednesday: Potato and Leek soup...so easy and so delicious!
Thursday: homemade pizza (the girls love this, just by frozen bread dough, let it rise and go to town)
Friday: fish sticks and mac-n-cheese (it's Lent)
Saturday: nothing planned yet, but I'm sure we'll end up with friends and wing the whole dinner thing
Sunday: I let my mom know yesterday that we'll be having dinner at her house...hehe!
Monday: crockpot chili
Tuesday: Spagetti
Wednesday: meatball pizza...pizza with sliced meatballs on top (I bought the frozen pre-made meatballs)
Thursday: sausage & pumpkin lasagna
Friday: fish sticks for the girls and a possible date night for Paul and I

Thanks to the sites linked for the yummy ideas!!

Potato & Leek soup

4-5 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut to whatever size you prefer (I did chunks with skin on)
1 Leek, chopped and then set in a strainer and a bowl of cold water to rinse (I rinsed it 3-4 times to get all the sand and grit off)
2 shallots, finely diced
1 garlic, finely diced
box of chicken stock
Olive Oil

In a large pan over medium high heat, soften the shallots, garlic, potatoes and leek for about 10 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a simmer and continue cooking until potatoes are fork tender. Pour into bowls, top with parmesan cheese and sour cream. SO good and SO easy :)

Back that azz UP!

2010-02-21T06:32:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of backing up ALL.OF.MY.FILES. It's gonna take awhile. I'm still taking my p365 pictures each day, but it will be awhile before I'll be able to edit them. Probably like a week or so. *sigh* I'll be happy when it's all saved, and then the continuous backups will be easy, but man...what's a girl to do??
Good thing book club is coming up, I can finish my book this week :)
Have a wonderful start to your week!

PS...Lex, you can totally make the apple tart below...it is SO EASY!! Trust me, make it the next time your friends come over and you will totally impress them with this impossibly easy dessert. Promise :)

French Apple Tart

2010-02-19T17:56:00.001-08:00

I made this recipe last night out of my autographed (yippeeeee!!) Barefoot Contessa Book...it was delicious! Perfect with a cup of coffee :) The only things I did differently: I substituted one cup of whole wheat flour for regular flour and I didn't have any rum or Calvados so I used a little rum extract (about 2 tsp) with the jelly and water...SO GOOD! Go make one, you'll be glad you did :)
And you'll feel kind of fancy too...hehe!

Ingredients
For the pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup ice water
For the apples:
4 Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
2 tablespoons Calvados, rum, or water
Directions
For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Awards...

2010-02-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

How sweet is this??!! I was browsing my favorite blogs to read while sipping my morning coffee and my sweet far-away friend was awarded this by one of her friends...and then she awarded ME :) A nice little token from a very nice person!
Now I'm supposed to post 7 things about myself and then pass on the award to 7 of my blog friends :)

Cooking...I love it! I love to try new dishes, I love to watch Food Network, I love to stalk food blogs. I love that my Big wee one loves to cook and I love that my Little wee one loves to eat. I would love to take some cooking classes with my hubs, I think that would be something fun to do together. I also like to come up with my own dishes, and this past summer I did a lot of that since I grew my first garden.
Photography...Pictures are my LIFE. When I was little in the bathtub I would set up mock displays with soap and bubbles and pretend to take pictures of my advertisement. I have always loved taking pictures and in college fell even deeper in love when I took photography and worked in the dark room. OH HEAVENS! My girlfriend and I would spend hours in the dark room together and get lost in images. We had great talks then, took beautiful pictures and since it was dark you had no clue what time it was. If I could have a dark room now, my life would be complete ;-) hehe! I am now thrilled beyond words that I'm taking my love for graphic design and photography and starting my own photography business. Even more thrilled that people have been coming back to me and that I was approached by a company to create stock photos and texture overlays to sell! My dreams are coming true...slowly but surely :)
Scrapbooking...Naturally scrapbooking comes into play with my love of photography! Once digi scrapping took off, I knew the world would be a better place...hehe! No more lugging TONS of paper, elements, tools and everything else you need to crops or friends' houses...just my laptop and my external hardrive.
Friends...My best friend and I have been friends for over 20 years! Insane right! We met in second or third grade and our friendship just bloomed. Through thick and thin, good time and bad, we know that we can call the other in times of need or celebration! She has been my rock this year and I miss being able to see her or to hang out or to have our kids hang out. With that being said, I have made some incredible friends since moving to Chambersburg. There is a pack of us that do a lot together and call on each other when we need an ear or a laugh. We drive each other crazy, our personalities go from one spectrum to another, but that's what makes us, US.
Dancing...I could dance for hours. I just have to dance when I hear a good tune on the radio. On the rare occasion that my friends and I, or the hubs and I can go out I am the first on the dance floor. I love to see my girls dance, it makes my heart smile. Great excercise and energy/stress release!
Phone....I'm not a big fan of talking on the phone and I hate to check messages. I don't know what it is, but it's one of the last things on my "to-do list". Maybe I get it from work...you talk on the phone at work all day and when you get home, that's the last thing you want to do. I've been known not to answer the phone and my friends know this. It's much easier to just email me...so if you call and I don't answer don't be offended, I'll call you back :)
Mimi...my mom is one of my best friends in the whole world. We get into fights, we dance crazy in the car, we dance crazy in her kitchen, she loves and adores her grandaughters and she's a huge support system for my dad and my uncle. She's got good listening ears, she's not quick to judge and she is probably the only person that I'll answer the phone for...hehe. I like to go to her house and just sit. I like to eat there, and I love that she is such a great Mimi. I know she misses her boys a ton and her other two grandaughters, and she stresses out about everything, but she's a great mom!! Growing up everyone called her "Momma Sue" because she was everyone's second mom :)

Now I get to pick 7 blog friends and award them...in no particular order, these are my blog friends that I stalk while drinking my morning joe :)

Mama Hall - we met online about 6 years ago and finally got to meet in person this past summer! She's an amazing woman, friend and mother and her blog is always full of good information
A Day in the Life - we randomly met in a store one day before she moved to my area, and started following each other's blogs. Now we like to talk photos, scrapping and kids together :)
The Meyers Family - she's a funny mom who's married to a cow vet. We love to scrap together and hang out...she's also been an wonderful friend over the years.
The Showalter's - talk about adventure! This crazy mom of 5 is an incredible friend, who is so full of energy and ideas! Definitely a one of a kind friend!
Their Journey to Rachel - we met many years ago through scrapbooking, became friends and have shared so many laughs! We don't live close anymore, but I love being able to read about their journey to adopting their daughter from China...who is so stinking cute!
The Barclay Family - a friend from grade school and now I stalk her blog regularly. I've watched them from a far, date, get married, get pregnant and now watch their little boy grow up. She also started a food blog (did I mention that I stalk food blogs??)
The Brown's - we went to hs together, but never really talked. That doesn't stop me from reading her blog and their daily happenings! I started reading her blog when they went through an awful situation and watched them overcome with great joy with the birth of their 3rd daughter! Now she's about to turn one and she's so stinking cute!

Of course there are so many blogs I'd give this too, but a lot of those don't even know I exist :)

Happy reading friends!

SNOWMUCHFUN!

2010-02-09T11:31:00.001-08:00

It's snowing! The girls were excited to wake up, see LOTS of snow on the ground and "help" Daddy shovel the driveway. I bundled them up and sent them on their way...Big wee one immediately ran into the huge mounds of snow. She didn't get very far, but she tried. She loves the snow and could stay out in it for hours!She managed to get on top of the snow and break free...she was trying to go to the backyard to go sledding.But she didn't make it very far! HA! "No, Mommy, seriously, help me...I'm stuck! MOMMY! HELPME! MOMMY!" All the while I'm laughing at her...hehe, she's trying not to laugh, but she can't help it!Oh look, Little wee one will dig her out! She was singing a very special "digging" song, while she tried to help her sister. It was really stinking cute (but I'm partial to her melodic tunes!)."Diggy, diggy diggy. Diggy, diggy diggy. DIGGY diggy diggy diggy my sistwa out."The infamous snow angel. When doing a proper snow angel, make sure there is a LOT of snow behind your head before plopping down and proceeding with correct arm and leg motions (right Nikkalicious??).It was pretty windy, so I double wrapper the girls. Little wee one decided it was too cold out, and she wanted to go in for hot chocolate, soup, grapes and a nap. Can't blame her.This one though, helped Daddy make an igloo! I remember when my own dad used to make igloos when I was a wee one! Memories...These two were so proud! They look like little bears hibernating...or one big bear and one little bear hibernating, but really they haven't fallen asleep just yet, they were deciding if they should come in for hot chocolate or have their hot chocolate out in the igloo. Round 2 of our winter snowy weather is starting right now. I'm not sure we'll get any pictures in the snow this time, since both girls are pretty sick. I'll keep them warm inside until everyone is feeling top notch. Stay warm wherever you are!

IceFest 2010

2010-02-05T17:22:00.000-08:00

It's cold outside and we've been planning for over 6 months...it's that time of year again, IceFest time! The time of year when ice shavings fly around and big giant ice trucks park themselves downtown. It's also that time of year for my "once a year best friends" to come and make downtown Chambersburg glisteny and sparkly with chiseled ice and out-going personalities.

Loads of fun and super cold, but well worth all of the hard work that the whole committee has put into making IceFest 2010 bigger and better then ever before! This year the Chambersburg Recreational department sponsored a 40' ice slide and the chili cook off committee (one of my personal favorites) moved the cook-off outside under a huge tent and invited Roy Pitz brewery to serve beer samples.
Everything unofficially started Wednesday morning with the building and carving of the ice slide.When building any of the blocks the guys (4 of them pictured here, the one in the plaid, not sure who he is...he's not part of the " bestie" pack) need to properly smack, er pack the ice into position.
Then they ladel water all over the ice to seal it. It's very scientific and percise...or atleast it looks it.Next is the shaping of the ice. The one holding the chainsaw is Ernie...he runs the whole ice operation and during the event (and months leading up to it) I am his sidekick. His go to gal. His friend in need a friend indeed (did that make any sense?)...either way, we eat breakfast together, sometimes lunch depending on if lunch is eaten that day, dinner together...we are pals. He texts me, I text him back...like family. The rest of the crew, is also like family. We are like birds of a feather flock together.Thursday, was another busy day of unloading ice, building ice walls and the official ribbon cutting ceremony for IceFest. Little wee one was amazed at the technique and skill that goes into creating those monsterous blocks of ice; or just scared of the chainsaw and the flying ice. I'll let you decide.I don't have too many pictures of the wee ones from the event, mostly because they didn't come down for much of the event. Paul and I were both working our rears off (he with the lax team picking up trash and manning the ice slide), so they got to stay with their favorite sitter, Melissa :) She takes super great care of them and they just adore her and her boys, so I knew they were in good hands.
I did bring them down for the ribbon cutting ceremony, which Big wee one thought was, "So boring!"She didn't complain too much after she got a nice giant piece of this cake, and then she got to finish her sisters! Sadly, after cake I had to call Melissa to come pick them up. It was way too cold outside and I still had a lot of work to do...which by the way, if I haven't mentioned...I LOVE! I loved working with the guys from DiMartino and doing tv interviews, and radio spots and checking in with store owners to see how business is going...I love working on the different committees, everyone pulling together to make this HUGE event so much fun!
I posted this picture because I like how the news lady is in the background while he is carving. This ended up being a wishing well :) And we both interviewed with her, he was lucky and got to go pre-taped, mine was live. Talk about nerves! I always sound like such a dork doing those things.

Doesn't that just crack you up?! Look at those buns of steel!Here's Ernie, showing the guys who's boss!Friday was less ice during the day, more chill time for the crew and more catch up time for me. We did meet up for dinner, which was Mexican and shared some good laughs.This awful picture proves I was there...see, there I am! Sporting my IceFest beanie :)Oh look! Tuscarora Mt. Winery's ice block was sculpted to hold bottles of wine! The winery was rocking the whole 4 days of the event (wait...3 days, they were closed on Sunday)! Things are going very well there and I couldn't be more proud of my parents and the hard work they put into making the wine shop such a cool place.Friday, when Paul pulled in for his nightly duties, I made him pose with the muscle man...hehe! I want to pump you up!Some of the lax team doing their thing.One of the highlights of any of the events is the free food...clearly it's obvious what was free this evening! The three young'ens do a lot of the live carving of the giants, the middle guy does all of the one blocks that are carved before coming to Chambersburg. All three of them are hilarious and make trailing their every moves fun :) If you have to hang out with people for 4 days straight, hopefully they are funny.An ice dolphin you can sit on and have your picture taken with.Oh Saturday....Saturday, Saturday, Saturday. BUSY! The chili cook-off with one mild interruption went off beautifully! We were beyond THRILLED with the turnout and everyone seemed to have an awesome time. The hot pepper eating contest was also fun and we are excited to amp it up another notch next year! The ladies on this committee are soooooo fun to work with, and meeting with them is like a little mini social hour :)
We finish with Sunday. I literally forced myself to get out and take the girls downtown to see the ice and take a ride on the ice slide. Big wee one didn't even want to head out, I think she just wanted to be a homebody, since none of us had literally been home in days, but I didn't want the to miss out. Lucky for us, it was the nicest day of the event, sunny and 30 something degrees out...perfect for checking out ice.

Both of the girls went down the slide with Paul, but only Little wee one would go down by herself. Big wee one gets a little anxiety around crowds and there was a big one there! I'm happy they went down and Little wee one said it was a lot of fun! She practically flew out of the slide (shown here), but did a great job at keeping her hands in the slide (hehe).

I'm happy I had a chance to get a few days of downtime, but I'm sad that such a fun event is over. All that hard work for it to fly by with exhaustion, but alas, we have a celebration dinner and a wrap up meeting, so ice is still on the brain for another week or so and then we'll start meeting again in June for planning of IceFest 2011.

Fancy Party

2010-02-02T20:58:00.001-08:00

She had an awesome time! The girls had a good time...it was a totally rockin' fancy party :) She still has pink in her hair and she is still commenting on how pretty her friends looked at her party. :)

Elephant Ankles

2010-01-20T17:32:00.001-08:00

Oh man...I hate it when this happens.
You think you look all fly in the morning, prepping for the big day of school. You want to look like a princess, heck that's your goal every.single.day.of.your.life and what's even better than getting to eat lunch at school?? Not too much. If you are 5. If you can pull your own tights up, who cares if you have elephant ankles??

Those Eyes...

2010-01-12T18:47:00.001-08:00

This kid...let me tell you, this kid is something special. She's sensitive and loving, she looks up to her big sister like she hung the moon and she loves her Mommy and Daddy. Everyone loves this kid, she just has this silly, lovely personality...a little bit of spunk with a whole lotta cute. It's the eyes...they just melt ya.

She's also are kid that doesn't get a break. Well, I mean, she does, but there always seems to be "something"...when she was born it was an emergency induction because her heartrate was way low, then she had the cord wrapped around her neck and the nurses had to do their special nurse thing to make her pink (thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU for your awesome nurse skills!), and then we had to take her to Hershey at just a wee 6 days old to have her foot checked out...it was twisted sideways, and the dr's wanted to make sure she didn't have club foot.

Now...now she'll start speech therapy once a month for a year for moderate speech fluency (she stutters). We spent 2.5 hours being evaluated yesterday, and came out with this diagnosis. She went through a couple of different hearing tests where she was below normal on one and just below average on another (the third one she did great on). The lady doing the testing said the abnormal reading on the first test could be the makings of an ear infection...see where I'm going, this kid just can't get a break...hehe :)

She did impress the ladies evaluating her with her witty comments and sunny attitude :) She's a lover ;-) She also scored above average on many other aspects of the evaluation, in the 4 year old bracket on some of them.

I do love this kid, so much...so, so MUCH! Thanks for being our special silly girl who likes to keep us on our toes!! xoxo

Peace...

2010-01-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling it.
I just love this picture of the 4 of us! My mom took it before Big wee one's birthday party on Saturday (which rocked!). I think I'm going to have it printed and framed...hang it on the wall to enjoy all the time :)

Dance Party 2010

2010-01-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

I cranked up the tv on channel 5,462 (90's hit channel) and the wee ones decided that pizza was boring and dancing was the THANG! I agree...who needs to eat when you can dance?!! And honestly, I love it. As a Mom who LOVES to dance, I mean LOVES to dance, it delights me to no end to see these two shaking their groove thang!!

Little wee one was mostly just spinning and jumping, but she was letting the energy go. Feeling the vibe. Letting loose. Look how happy she is!

I didn't even know Big wee one could do the sprinkler!! She just busted it out and of course I had to jump in and join her!

High kicks. Anyone that knows me, knows that I dance. I will dance on demand. I'll dance when no one is looking...I dance for everyone's entertainment and for my own. I've been to the emergency because of my suppa star dance moves...it just makes me so happy to see them dancing :) I love it!

I have a video and I would love to share it with you, but I can't figure out how to upload the video from my flip...I think I need to download the program first...wait, Paul's flip :) hehe!

Peace my peeps!

You think I forgot?

2010-01-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

You think I gave it up didn't you? You thought, "Yea, that Tina...just a phase." WRONGGGG....
I've been scrapping for about 15 years, I'm not over it...I was just busy, but don't you worry your pretty little head...T-Flo is back! Sure, it's a slow start, but I'm back baby and I am a scrap-happy fool!
Ok, so maybe that is all over the top, but whatev, I'm just happy to get some pages back in the mojo...especially this cute little snowy one of Little wee one. I created it using Polka Dot Plum Designers kit: "Ready Set Snow"
This one is from our recent little venture to our community ballet's performance of the Nutcracker. This cute kit is called Jingle Jangle and Polka Dot Pixels created it (also available at Polka Dot Plum) Finally, we have Little wee one enjoying her alone time at one of Paul's lacrosse games. This kit is called: Road Less Traveled by Sherry Ferguson (you guessed it, available at Polka Dot Plum) I am a one stop shop for cute kids...walking advertisment for Polka Dot Plum and this week I'll be hosting a technique challenge over at the PDP forums :) More on that later.
Have a wonderful day and I hope whatever your hobby is, you get to enjoy it a lot in 2010. If you don't have a hobby and you are driving everyone crazy with your endless banter...get a hobby :)
Peace peeps!

Peace...

2010-01-02T06:46:00.001-08:00

This will be my "word" for 2010.

I have never chosen a word, and I'm following lead from my friend Marie, both on a word and on project 365. I am hoping that both of these projects keep me focused for the year and to realize what is truly "real" in my world...

With that being said, Peace is my word for the year. Last year is over, this year is beginning and 2010 is a new year filled with Peace. Peace in my life, my loves, my marriage, my kids, my friends, in the situations that I cannot control and those that I can. Peace.

I like it.

What is your word for 2010??

Christmas...

2009-12-28T19:52:00.001-08:00

Brings a smile to my face!

Hope Santa was as good to you as he was to us!! Next stop...2010!!

Soon...

2009-12-27T16:17:00.001-08:00

There will be a fancy celebration for her!

Today I...

2009-12-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

slept in until 8:00 am
played leapster with Big wee one and babies with Little wee one
ate munchkins and drank coffee from dunkin' donuts (weekend ritual)
played kitchen set playdough and "chixos with pixos" with the wee ones
started my computer to work on my mom's birthday gift and then got a call from said mom
said mom mentioned shopping and i really wanted to go, so loving husband said to "hit it homey", so i turned the computer off
took a quick, super, duper fast shower and got ready to go shopping
mom showed up and we hit the road jack for a girls day of shopping...which i'm sure we haven't done since Big wee one was born
made mom promise to have me back for a radio "thing" i had
did some shopping and bought 2 new shirts, pants and sweater for not a lot of money (YEA! after Christmas sales)
had lunch, and burned my tongue on my chai tea latte (oh so good)
made it back into town for radio thing and had a blast and will soon be starting my new job as a radio dj (SIIIKKEEEEE....not really, I did a radio promo/interview for IceFest 2010)
got back in the car with mom and headed back out to go shopping...bought mom her very own laptop and bought myself a bamboo tablet! i'm practicing with it now :)
got dinner, got heartburn and got the girls into bed
now i'm twiddling with the bamboo tablet and hoping to update pics tomorrow :)

Happy Day After Christmas :)

It's a...

2009-12-21T21:02:00.001-08:00

Famillllyyyyyy tradition!

My mom and I have been baking cookies with "the gang" for, well, for FOREVER! As long as I can remember! Lele would come over and bake, along with Jenny and I'm sure Rach came at times...Gary was always around with Eric and Nick held his own. We were some decorating, baking, icing fools back in the day and I am proud to pass this tradition (and mess) onto my girls! They love it. I love it. Mimi loves it (she doesn't love the mess). We love listening to the Jackson 5 and jamming to "Sannnnntaaaa Clause is comin' to town (ohyyyeaaah!!)", while dancing around the kitchen. The girls love to taste test and I love to decorate.

This is an all day ordeal. No joke. We start in the morning and finish, feet barking, stomachs aching and needing a HUGE glass of milk around 7 pm. We make a TON of cookies...from coconut macaroons, to sugar and snickerdoodles and everything in between.

We then like to pack some up and send them to Eric (in the deep blue sea, sea, sea) and split them between us. I'm not going to lie, I then give them to the girls for breakfast, lunch and (duh!) we wait until after dinner for the last one....ha! Just kidding...well kind of, if we are in a rush, I may let them eat cookies for breakfast :) I've also found them when I wake up in the morning with chocolate around their lips...stinkers!

It goes to say that this is probably one of my most cherished holiday traditions. I love spending the time with my mom, destroying her kitchen (some day we can destroy my kitchen...promise!) and teaching the girls the way in the kitchen. In fact, Big wee one would like to be a chef (and a cheerleader) when she grows up...she's got the bug!

What's your favorite family holiday tradition??

Sugar Rush

2009-12-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

If you can keep your wee ones from eating the decorations, Gingerbread houses are pretty cool. This is our 2nd attempt at making one (and Paul bought an extra one just incase this one didn't work out), the first one just would not stay together. The girls had a blast eating the icing and the candy and I (of course) got anal with perfection...at least I can admit it...hehe! (I get it from my dad!)
A nice warm break after playing in the snow. Stay warm!

Show Off...

2009-12-17T20:54:00.000-08:00

She knows she's hot stuff! She was the Littlest Christmas Tree in the mini-musical, "The Littlest Christmas Tree"...she has a future in acting. I can tell ;-) hehe! *Next time I'll be sure to wipe her nose before the curtain opens!*

Bakerella

2009-12-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

As much as I would LOVE to claim the brilliant cakeball idea below, I must confess that I frequent the Bakerella blog/website...and so should you!
She's got oodles of ideas out the ying-yang and most of them are fun for the wee ones!
The reindeer came from this part of the site, and I used red velvet for the center...enjoy browsing her site, you won't be sorry you did! Unless, that is you dispise baking, and if that's the case, then pass it on to your favorite baker and drop some serious hints!
Enjoy friends :)

Reindeer Sighting

2009-12-16T04:23:00.000-08:00

If you are 4 years old (or 5) and you are in Mrs. W's class with Big wee one, then you'll be munching on one of these delicious little morsels of deliciousness on a stick!

If you are 3 (or 4) in Mrs. H's class...you'll have one without a stick. I LOVE cakeballs!! And these are red velvet cake balls (Big wee one insisted).

Happy Christmas Party time of year to you!! I hope to have a little Christmas Tree surprise for you later...hehe!

It's Christmas Time

2009-12-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

I hear bells ringing...

it's my alarm clock! Does it seem like life is flying by for EVERYONE?? I'm sure it is, it's the holidays after all! Who needs a life when you have cookies to bake, cakeballs to mold, presents to wrap and fun to be had!

We've been busy, and I would love to post about it, but since it's 11:30 pm, I'm going to address Christmas cards instead :)

We were lucky enough (thanks Mimi!) to visit Hershey Park and the girls had a BLAST! It was beautiful (and cold)...

if you have the chance, be sure to visit Hershey at Christmas...it's the sweetest place on Earth!

Happy Birthday!

2009-12-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

To the newest addition in our backyard crew! The wee ones were so excited to hear that "Ms. Shammon" surprisingly had her baby today! When I heard, I threw on some jeans and headed straight to the hospital...Momma and baby are doing beautifully...she is soooo pretty and the girls are already asking how many days until she'll be home :)

Super proud big brother!Crazy backyard crew!

Congratulations Friends!!!

Candle Night

2009-12-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite days of the year, Candle Night in downtown C-burg. Paul and I used to go this event before I worked for the Downtown Business Council and now we enjoy it with the girls. This Friday night was a beautiful evening. Not too cold, no breeze, no rain...just a beautiful evening with my family and friends. Big wee one enjoyed seeing Santa, not once but probably 4 times! She asked him if there really was a rudolph and she also let him know that she'd leave cookies out for him.
The wine shop was packed and good spirits were abound on this evening. Pictures below are from last night...a little taste of Christmas in C-burg.

Just about 1,000 luminaries line the streets of downtown.

Our giant tree that sits on the square as you drive through downtown.
Just a little picture with Little wee one...of course she's not looking, are you surprised? I'm not!Busy, busy at the wine shop. I am (again) so proud of my parents and the hard work they have put into making this dream a success.Who is that among the crowd??Little wee one just loves her daddy...I'm pretty sure he likes her too :)One of the many pictures (this one just happens to be the least blurry) with the Jolly man himself.Strolling...Olympia Candy Kitchen has the most beautiful window displays, and some of the best chocolate ever!The sounds of the season rang through with this brass band, a saxophonist and strolling carolers. Love it!Big wee one taking a peek in the window of Here's Looking at You. She had some of the cast members of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" in her window.She's wishing and hoping she gets lots of presents for Christmas...I'm pretty sure she will ;-)The reason for the season. I hope you all are enjoying your holiday festivities...Christmas parties are starting, shopping and wrapping are steady and lots of chatter about the big man and his helpers are filling our house. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Pick Me Up...

2009-12-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

You ever need a little pick me up? I do, and I did today. Things have been rough lately, but when I opened my email this evening, during a mid-edit break, I had a delightful email from the owner of this etsy store: Plays With Mud. She let me know that I am the WINNER of a custom designed platter that she could have ready for me by Christmas. How awesome is that?!

Thank you so much Paula!! Not only where you my first etsy store purchase, but I'm super stoked to receive my custom ordered vase and decide what I want on my platter (and who will my platter go to??)

Go check her out and then check out this site, because I wouldn't have found Paula/Plays With Mud, if it wasn't for her :)

Turkey Day

2009-11-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

My mouth is starting to water as I think about all the goodness that will be filling my belly soon! We all have our favorite Thanksgiving dishes, and some of mine include my grandmother's mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, bacon wrapped greenbeans and of course TURKEY!

I hope all of you have a wonderful day filled with laughter, family and friends. Thanks for coming back again and again to check on our crazy family and fun antics :)

Have a wonderful day!

Nightly Prayers.

2009-11-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

After saying our nightly prayer this evening, Big wee one and I said what we are thankful for :)
She makes me smile...today she is thankful for:

school and all that she learns at school
coloring
how she can read
and her new best friend
oh, and her mommy, daddy and sister and all of her "families"

A little funny.

2009-11-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

While Little wee one was using the potty this evening, I asked her if she wanted a book..."Yes, pweeeeese!"

I get a book and bring it to her, with her response being, "I can't rweed dis, it's too pink."

One diva + one non diva = a nice mix :)

Keeping Busy

2009-11-19T19:54:00.001-08:00

What a slacker! Seriously...

So, we've been uber busy in our house, getting ready for holidays, working tons, helping with the winery, enjoying the last of the nice weather...life in general.

Lots of exciting things are happening including: the wine shop's GRAND OPENING!! After months and months of restoring the building and dealing with government and state and borough codes, I am excited to share that tomorrow we will have our official ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:30 pm. Mind you, when I say "we" its in support for my dad and mom. If you are reading this and can attend, then I'll be happy to see you there!

On the flip side, my photography has taken off and I am over the moon! I love being able to capture moments between family members and smiles of kids and the love you can catch. I feel very blessed that these families invite me into their lives to capture these moments, they trust me to treasure their moments. *sigh* I have found my love...thank you to everyone who has called me and made me so busy...I couldn't be happier with the road that I am turning on! Check out some of my newest shots here :)

Have a fantabulous weekend and enjoy prepping for the holidays!

The Pioneer Woman

2009-11-12T06:56:00.000-08:00

Recently had a photobook contest with Shutterfly and I was chosen as one of the Runner Ups!!! How cool is that?? I can't wait to use my loot that I won!! And when I uploaded my book from Shutterfly to blogger it posted it in my photography blog, so please go here to check it out :)
Thanks PW...I'm TOTALLY looking forward to meeting you in December!

Love them.

2009-11-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

I do. A lot. Even when they whine and drive me crazy and say things like, "You don't like me anymore." I even (kind of) like it when they run into my room first thing in the morning (I'm talking 5:30 am or so) and Big wee one will give me her brown bear and Little wee one will give me a baby and they let me sleep with their lovies. Just because they love me.
Lately, they have been the best of friends. Playing together so well and entertaining one another. We will over hear BWO saying to LWO, "LWO you love your (insert her nickname for the other here)", and LWO will say, "Yup, I do."
So do I.
And of course so does Daddy.
I love this age! I love that they can do things for themselves, but still run to me for a big hug! I love that BWO can be mad at me one second and two seconds later tell me that I'm the best Mommy EVER. DUH! hehe!
I love this picture of the girls...my absolute favorite of them. Thanks for letting me take this picture girls, because later this afternoon (little did we know), LWO will fall on the driveway and scrape up the side of her face. Her poor sweet, teeny, tiny face, now looks like she went into the ring with Mike Tyson (ok, maybe not that bad, but not all that great either!)...there goes our family pictures for Saturday *sigh*

Some highlights from recently:

LWO had her yearly check up today and she did not do the eye test or pee in a cup, but she did let the nurse take her blood pressure :)
LWO weighs a whopping 28 lbs :)
BWO's teacher at school told her she was very artistic and then asked her if she knew that that meant, when she said, "no" the teacher said you are an artist, and BWO said, "I know what that is, my Mommy is an artist" *blush* have I mentioned that I love these kids??
BWO wants to have a lemonade stand in the WORST way, we will definitely have to do that in the spring/summer.
Both girls have been picking out Christmas gifts every Sunday when Daddy pulls out the toy inserts from the paper...looks like BWO is still going for barbies and such and LWO is still into babies.

If you want to see even sweeter pictures of these two, go here...my little girls are growing up and getting prettier by the second! Daddy is going to have serious issues when they get older!

Introducing...

2009-11-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

The newest wee one to join our extended family...

My sweet and adorable and squishy and cuddly niece!!

Born on Wednesday, October 28th, weighing in at 5 lbs and 11 oz

Love you baby girl and your big sister too!!

Just a Picture...

2009-11-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

Of a Mommy and her wee ones before their Harvest parties at school. :)

Trick or Treat, Smell my feet...

2009-11-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

What a busy Halloween weekend! The weather held out for Trick or Treat on Main St, so we were able to go downtown and enjoy our morning/afternoon. As soon as I was done announcing winners for the costume contest, and everyone went their way, rain drops started falling. We made it back home for naps and a late lunch and dinner, then we headed back out for trick or treating in our neighborhood.

Oh goodness...this costume made me laugh everytime I looked at it!

Little Duck and Pumpkin Princess

The girls were pretty lucky that they ran into Batman to protect us and to remind Big wee one to hold on while walking down steps (she fell at one house, the bricks on the man's steps just crumbled under her feet! Do you know that he didn't even ask if she was ok?! Crazy right! Rude man...).

Once the girls started to get tired, we invited Batman over to trade his peanut candy for peanut free candy (allergies and all). He ended up with some good loot and the girls ended up with a lot of delicious chocolate!

We brushed our teeth and hit the sack. Paul remembered to change the clocks back, but that didn't stop the girls from coming in our room around 5 am. Oiy! Don't they know that they can sleep past 5:00 am?? Hopefully that doesn't last.

I had 3 photoshoots on Sunday, so be sure to check out T Flo's Photography blog. I'm hitting the sack, I'm adjusting to the time change, even though we gained an hour, I certainly don't feel like I've gained anything!

FYI...

2009-10-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

Photography posts have been moved to here...join me and check back often. If you like what you see, leave a comment. If you would like information on booking a shoot, please leave your email address.

See you over at T. Flo's Photography :-)

Happy 6 month birthday!

2009-10-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine let me use her son as my guinea pig and I loved every second of it...from the cow costume to his magnificent rolling skills :) Happy 6 months little man!!

Aren't they gorgeous?? Stunning eyes!

This may be one of my favorites :) Someday when I have my studio, it will hang on the wall :)

I love this one because he looks like he's praying!

And this one looks like he's blowing a kiss... If you like what you see (in this post and previous) and are interested in a setting up a shoot...leave a comment with your email address and I'll get back to you :)

In the land of little girls.

2009-10-26T11:16:00.001-07:00

These two are still in love. Seriously, how cute are they? And all the little chicas that came from them :)

What a fabulous and fun family! I love them all...even big 'ol grumpy looking Papa Woolf :) hehe...

This kid needs to be in show business!!

O.M.G. adorable!

Heart stoppers!

Thanks for letting me take your pictures, thanks for putting up with my grumpy Big wee one and most of all, thanks for your friendship!

We ran into...

2009-10-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

After being stuck in the house for 4 days and needing a little sunshine and happiness in our day, I took the girls out for a little photo shoot and we ran into these folks :) ha...not really, we planned it. I told them they needed their pictures taken and to meet me, and they did :)
Meet my parents...otherwise known as Mimi & G-Pa.

I think they did AWESOME!! These are just a sample of the pictures I got of them today...do you know how long its been since they've had pictures taken together?? Me neither! That's a long time.

I love you Mom & Dad, thanks for being the BEST and for Sunday night dinners! :) hehe!

Next up...some really cute girls, and they aren't mine ;-)

Little Wee One

2009-10-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

Since I am layed up in bed with bronchitis, I thought I would show you the pictures I was able to take of Little wee one. I pick LWO up early on Wednesdays from school, and with that little extra time we had this week, I decided to take her to do some test shots. I have 3 photo shoots for this week that I had to cancel due to my sickness. The best part of it all is that my flu test came back negative! Phewwwww!! I didn't want to have to buy that tamiflu...expensive stuff!

So here is my little model...if you read this blog you know how hard it is to get her to smile, she did pretty good :) Some serious shots and some smiley ones! I kind of wish she was in a cuter outfit, but she picked out her "soccer" shirt (which I'm sure all of my family is so proud right now!) and it definitely is "her" :)

*when resizing for web, some of the pictures may have become a little blurry...not to worry, they are not in real life :)

Happy Belated Birthday

2009-10-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

To my sweet little 3 year old.

At 3 you are hysterical!! Some of my favorite things that you do at 3 years and almost 2 months:

You chose your own Halloween costume, because it was so soft. You have worn it every day since the big day you picked it out with Mimi.
You run your hands (wildly) through your hair and ask me, "Am I gorgeous Mommy? Am I?"
You go from playing babies to playing lions and blocks in seconds.
You like to "sneak" medicine (vitamin C drops)
You love to pick out your own movie, clothes, spoons, shoes...heck EVERYTHING!
You call your sister by an even shorter version of her shortened name...lol! and you sound so cool and "old" when you do it.
You reason with me: "Just one more (holding up a tiny little one). Please Mommy, just one more?" "Five minutes. I'll be ready for bed in 5 more minutes."
When you count in the 30s, 40s or 50s....sounds so cute!
Your dancing skills (ha! you take after your daddy, sorry sweety...lol), and singing, "I like to move it. I like to move it!"
Your love for tomatoes! Any kind, any time of day.

You fill all of our lives with so much happiness. Your sister loves you, and we love you too. Thank you for the hugs and kisses and the funny little moments you give each of us everyday. Happy Belated 3rd Birthday bug!! XOXO

A Perfect Morning.

2009-10-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

Homemade Apple Cider Donuts and Vanilla Coffee. Delicious. Warm and Cozy on this yucky rainy day.
Recipe is here or below for you to make delicious donuts as well :)

Ingredients
2 red apples, such as Cortland or McIntosh
2 1/2 cups apple cider
3 1/2 cups all-pourpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions
Core and coarsely chop the apples (do not peel). Combine with 1 1/2 cups cider in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cover and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until the apples are tender and the cider is almost completely reduced, about 5 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor until smooth. Measure the sauce; you should have 1 cup. (Boil to reduce further, if necessary.) Let cool slightly.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
Beat 2/3 cup granulated sugar and the shortening in another bowl with a mixer on medium speed until sandy. Beat in the egg and yolk, then gradually mix in the applesauce, scraping the bowl. Beat in half of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk and vanilla, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix to make a sticky dough; do not overmix.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper and pat into a 7-by-11-inch rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Meanwhile, make the glaze: Simmer the remaining 1 cup cider in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar until smooth and glossy, then set aside. Mix the remaining 1 cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a shallow bowl; set aside for the topping.
Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Cut the chilled dough into 12 rounds, using a floured 2 1/2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter, then cut out the middles with a 1-inch cutter (or use a doughnut cutter). Slip 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side, adjusting the heat as needed. Transfer to the paper towels to drain.
Dip one side of each doughnut in the cider glaze, letting the excess drip off; dip just the glazed side in the cinnamon-sugar or roll all over in cinnamon-sugar, if desired. Serve warm

Sad, sad day...

2009-10-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

It has appeared that my digital layout folder has been accidentally deleted from my external hard drive...what does this mean Tina??

It means that about 500 (give or take) layouts are gone. I am trying my hardest to recover them...searching online for options, so wish me luck! I really do not want to have to redo 500 LOs :(

Sad, sad day....

With that being said, I am digi scrapping with some friends and I was able to complete some cute LOs :)

Brandy @ Polka Dot Plum created this kit with Marni Designs called Defining Moments and it is so adorable! I can't wait to tackle more LOs with this it.

I was able to catch Big wee one looking through her first birthday album, and thought it was so sweet. I used Brandy's kit to create a LO to document why I scrap :)

Brandy also came out with the most adorable dance kit called Twinkle Toes. If you have a little ballerina, then you must snag this kit!

Go check out these kits if you are in the mood for something new and while you are at it, check out Sunflower Designs...I used this kit:

to create my new blog header!

On another note, my photography is taking off a bit. :) Which makes me very happy!! Check out this handsome stud...so sweet!

If anyone knows anyway I can retrieve my deleted files...I'd love you forever~!

Fall is here...

2009-10-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

and so is my new camera! Loving life...and taking pictures.

New Releases

2009-10-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Mornin' scrappy friends, and my other peeps :) Can you believe I've posted again for (I think) the 3rd day in a row?? I'm pretty amazed as well...maybe I'll actually post about my life and wee ones soon...hehe :)

I wanted to give you a heads up about a couple of new releases at The Digi Chick.

Just this week I joined Roben-Marie Designs as a CT (creative team) member, which I am very excited about. Her kits are beautiful! Stunning! Love them! If you like artistic creations, you will love her!

Roben-Marie and Dawn Inskip have created a collaboration kit called Art Nouveau and it's available at The Digi Chick today and it is on sale!! Lucky you :)

Isn't this kit so sweet? It's awesome for everyday moments!

I created this LO of Big wee one and fell in love with the all of the elements...can you tell? LOL!

Not to leave my girl Jana out...she has a new release at The Digi Chick as well (image is linked)

Due to some unfortunate corrupted files on my external hard-drive and working a little extra hard on some other projects this week, I was unable to complete a LO with this kit (but I will...don't you worry!). When I do get the external HD straightened out, I'll post some of my other LOs as well :)

Have a fabulous day and go snag these awesome kits!

Play Along

2009-09-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hey Scrap-Happy Friends! I am hosting my first challenge over at Polka Dot Plum and wanted to invite you all to join me :)

It's a photography challenge and all the details are in this link, register and play along! You'll be happy you did, not only can you do the challenges, but you earn points and designers are always giving away FREE goodies!!

The challenge features a FREE action link for this cool Honey Retro action you can apply to your pictures, created and given to you by the CoffeeShop website. She's got TONS of acitons in her neck of the woods :)

If you do play along, post a comment and link me up to your LO, I would love to see it!

OH OH OH!!

I forgot....

Today is New Release day at PDP and there are some gorgemous kits and element packs for your buying pleasure!

What's hot on my list you ask???

This UBER adorable Ballerina kit by Brandy Designs will be the first thing I get my grubby little hands on...can't wait to use it!! AND...it's on sale!

Coming Soon...

2009-09-29T11:14:00.001-07:00

Updates and Announcements...until then, look what I got from everyone's favorite man in the brown suit :)

I can't even begin to describe the joy that came across my whole body when this surprise was given to me :) He knows I love him, and I'm not talking about the UPS man!

Friends

2009-09-19T20:51:00.001-07:00

through thick and thin.

As different as we all are, we are there for each other through thick and thin. Funny and not so. Tears and laughter. We all bring something diffferent to the table and without them, life just wouldn't be fun.

We took a long weekend trip to the beach and had the most fun any of us had had in a long time. So much fun was had in a such a short amount of time!

Highlights include, but are not limited to:

"Tits in Rome" (as in cotton candy sweet-a go, lettme see your "tits in rome" or as most of us know it, your "tootsy roll")

how are you going to drive with your left foot?

Ms. Monwhine's broken foot...ouch! The dance floor is killa!

Neanderthal lady

the Purple Parrot

sleeping in a bunk bed with Nikki

Heather is freaking stunning, not just at the beach but ALWAYS! (don't you forget it Heather!)

Jesus walking the beach, except he had red hair

so many more.......

can't wait until we do it again.

Thanks for being my bestest girls!

Scrap Happy Friday

2009-09-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't been very active, and I apologize...life is just so busy right now! I am sure everyone feels this way, so I won't even get into the "woes are me"...lucky you!

Since I haven't been so active I haven't posted LOs in a LONG time...today, is your lucky day!

I have had the honor of working for this amazing new store, Polka Dot Plum and though I missed out on the grand opening shin-digs (family reunion out of state), I have been trying to stay pretty active in their forums and gallery :) If you are a digi scrapper...check it out, they have challenges in the forums and the designers are always giving away freebies!

For September, I was blessed to be assigned Skittles and Scraps and SuzyQ Scraps to work with. They both have a ton of really cute kits in their stores!

SuzyQ has this adorable kit called Funny Bunnies and seriously, the bunnies are so funny! No pun intended...kit image is linked to store (for your convenience).

I wanted to show the versatility of the kit, so I created a LO that didn't have anything to do with Easter...hope you like it :) I love her little baby legs!Next, of course we have Easter. Little wee one enjoying a little hunting of some eggs.Skittles and Scraps has this uber adorable little girls (but there is plenty for boys in this kit as well, let's think outside of the box ;-) ) affectionately named Sugar and Spice.I created this LO of Big wee one off in no-man's land :) I love the way the colors mesh together (I got the template as a freebie from Oscraps)And this is quickly becoming one of my favorite LOs of all time...mostly because of the cute subject matter, who just so happens to be my most favorite little niece in the whole wide world! And believe me, she's as sweet as she looks in that picture!Next, I just wanted to show off a bunch of LOs that I have created for PDP...this isn't even close to a third of them, which I will show in posts here and there :) The store is awesome and has so much for everyone and every taste! These Plain Jane Papers by Skittles and Scraps are by far my favorite "go-to" background paper :) This kit I created the next two LOs with is called Lullaby girl and I LOVE it :) (by SuzyQ Scraps) I created this LO for a challenge during the opening week...I got a free pack of paper for participating. Get your digi scrapping rear over there and get yourself some freebies!WhimpyChompers has this sweet kit called Fire Dancers and it is so cute and randomly I had these photos of BWO trying out a gift from Uncle Eric. To finish up this post, go to SuzyQ Scraps section of PDP and check out her Life's a Journey collection. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to create day to day pages. I LOVE this series and go back to them time and time again. You can buy bundle packages in her store or piece by piece kits, kind of like a mix and match...which is what I did.

Until next time...stay healthy, happy and scrappy (LOL...seriously, could that get any cheesier) :)

Trip to Texas

2009-09-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

It's about time! I am so far behind in a lot of blogging aspects, and I sincerely apologize to my 8 followers...LOL! For those that do read and do know me, you know that I recently took an adventure with the wee ones to Texas.
We packed up on a Friday afternoon and started our journey. We made it to someplace in VA the first night and then to Little Rock, AR the second night; and finally into Dallas on Sunday. We were blessed to be able to stay with the Brink's...some of my favorite people in the whole world.
The Brinks have a wee one, affectionatly (is that how that is spelled??) named Bean. Bean and Big wee one hit it off and played like sisters the whole time and Little wee one tagged along and played with Daddy Brink a lot.
Isn't this the sweetest picture EVER?? The girls zonked out and we found them all crumpled together like this. I love it! Don't they look like they all belong together? Looking at this picture makes me miss them so much!
Momma Brink and I did a lot of this...

She pretty much took care of us the whole time we were there! She woke up early with the girls and bathed them, she let me sleep in and she fed them and cleaned them up. She let me have some serious down time and I greatly appreciate her for that! Thanks BFF!

Here are some fun shots from our visit with them, and then we'll move onto family :)

Being silly taking a group girl shot

Look...everyone is smiling!

I really didn't take a TON of pictures, basically because my camera is on its death bed and being completely annoying. Momma Brink took pics and I got them today, but didn't have a chance to put this cool color action on them, resize them and yada, yada, yada...

Next stop. Dinner with Uncle Eric. We lucked out to be able to get another visit in with Uncle Eric (he just left PA a week or so before we left for TX), so we met for dinner, a little play time and some shopping. I'm bummed I didn't get a good picture, but boy did those wee ones miss their uncle. They were thrilled to see him and very sad to say goodbye. He is definitely a special person to them both.

Next stop...Uncle Nick & Aunt Jessica's house. I was beyond THRILLED to be able to spend some serious quality time with my brother and sister (in-law). I don't get to see them very often, and I haven't seen Munchkin since she was about 6 months old. I was excited to see how BWO & LWO would be with Munchkin and they played so well together and Munchkin is so stinking cute!
Don't believe me, look at that picture.

While staying with the fam. we got to play and sleep and eat ice cream and play and eat a bit more and I finally felt like I got some solid sleep. We also got to visit a cool park and see Uncle Nick's job...he has a plane. Don't believe me, just ask the girls, they got to "fly" this plane.

Uncle Nick had to do a little rearranging after our test flight.

Look Mom...you should be so proud! Nick's picture is up on the wall with all these old people :) We all are so proud of Nick and thank him for his service to our country!

Look, I'm as big as this plane :) Nick teaches at this base, and one of those doors is his (actually one on the other side, but you can't see those doors because they are behind the picture taker, but they look like those doors), he teaches newbies how to do his job so "fly"...lol...get it...fly. Airplanes. LOL!

I was a little nervous that Munchkin wouldn't "take" to me, but I was wrong! As soon as she woke up after we got there, she gave me a hug and called me Auntie T and I melted! I asked BWO to take these pictures of her and I have Auntie T/Munchkin time. The best part of the trip was when N&J headed out for a bit one night and Munchkin was looking for them and she came into the room I was in and said (in the sweetest little munchkin voice in the whole wide world), "Auntie T, where did my mommy and daddy go?" I know it doesn't sound sweet, but in my head, it's so sweet!

We visited this beautiful park and I got some cute pictures of all the cousins.

And an uncle comforting his niece. (I seriously just teared up typing that).

Unlike her cousins, this little girl has NO FEAR of animals!

This tree stopped me in my tracks and said, "Take a picture of my cool grown out roots and love me forever." I did and I will. I do love this picture.

Ice cream anyone? Better jump on the hand train...toot, toot!

Two sweeties playing with playdough. Little wee one loved this baby so much, that her aunt and unlce went out and bought her one! She still loves it! She's been carrying around everywhere.

Here is my glowing sister...my new niece is due in November and I swear you wouldn't even be able to tell that she's pregnant! Must be nice. Love ya!

Just you know who doing what she does best...posing.

Hehe...I didn't want to forget that at one point in her life she did want to hold my hand and that she did need me.

The trip was a huge break in life that I needed. I got to see so many people (some will come in a later post), and have a lot of time to "myself" ie: driving...ha! It was more then just 2800 miles worth of driving, it was a self-discovery. An awakening and I want to thank everyone who made this trip possible...especially my parents whom I love SO MUCH, that a little 'ol blog thank you could never possibly show them how much their love means to me. To my brothers for being brothers and my sister for listening. To my best friend Lexie for letting me call her on a random Friday morning and for her letting me stay with her on and off for a week. I love you all and I love my girlfriends in PA for chatting with me throughout my drive and for all of the emails checking up on me.

For now...BYE TEXAS! Hopefully we'll be back soon!!

I wish

2009-08-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

One of these would land on my doorstep. Isn't it the sweetest thing ever. Seriously, if you are a mom, grandma, proud aunt...just like to wear necklaces with names, then go check out this website. :)

Or maybe I'll just win one from the most simple blog lady I know :)

Notice...

2009-08-31T05:21:00.000-07:00

Anything different about me?

the LONG tejas update will be coming soon :)

She moved.

2009-08-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

And to celebrate, there's a blog train....soooooooo....

Come on ride it, ride that blog train! Tooot, Toooot!

"But wait Tina, didn't you just drive to Texas with the wee ones? Where are the pictures and story behind that adventure?"

Coming my friend, coming...but first let's celebrate Amy's new move to

THE LILY PAD!

Once you download my word art freebie here, head on over to Laura's blog here
And be sure to check out Amy's store for all the goods :) She rocks!!
The LOs below are from some of her newest kits..
You can also check out Amy's blog here for more goods!

Update on TX coming soon....go out and snatch up Amy's goods while they are on sale!!

Road Trip

2009-08-18T06:33:00.001-07:00

I decided, on a very last minute whim, that the girls and I needed to get out of town for a bit.

So where did we head you ask?

I've been wanting to make it down to see my niece and my friends and I'm going to get to do a lot of that! Though the decision to up and leave was a hard one, I am so blessed to be surrounded by friends & family who love me and support me in making this decision.

Soon, I hope to update with pics of the wee ones...they are having a blast! Until then, I need to buy a new battery for my camera.

Be on the look out!

I got in a fight...

2009-08-10T18:01:00.001-07:00

with a marshmallow and it kicked my arse! See below...I went to visit my bestest cousin Meloni in Pittsburg and her brand new fiance' created this massive bonfire. We were enjoying (lots) of wine and a fabulous dinner (thanks Meloni & Chris), and after dinner I thought a toasted marshmallow would top off the dinner perfectly...little did I know that that marshmallow had other plans. While toasting my mallow, it caught on fire, and naturally I spun it around to extinguish the flame and instead the marshmallow JUMPED off the stick and landed right on my lip (aka, I swung the stick right into my face with a flaming mallow). It felt awesome. Really. Awesome. No really. We laughed our hinies off, because seriously only I would do that and then I sat like this for 2 hours.

We continued on with the festivities, and the next morning I woke up with this awesome blister. You can see the big on, but do you really see all the other tiny little blisters all over my lip? LOL...needless to say I've been pretty self-concious about it. Today, BWO asked me to wash it off. Nice. And Paul told me it was gross. Which it is...all kind of runny and what not. Yuck. Oh well, whatya gonna do??

It was so hard to smile without looking like I had to use the bathroom...ha!

Congratulations Chris & Melonhead!!! Can't wait for June 19, 2010!!!!!!

2 LOs

2009-08-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

I was able to finish 2 LOs and I'm happy with them...I haven't been able to post any of the LOs I've been working on lately, so it's nice to be able to show you what I got done this evening. Happy Friday Everyone!

This first LO I did because I didn't like the previous umbrella LO I did. This one turned out much better.

This LO was for a template challenge I did at www.thedigichick.com I used Sugarplum Paperie's kit Candy Sunshine (mostly) with a few of Amy's items from Little Bunny Foo-Foo and Oh So Happy.
Hope this inspires you to get out and get something done this weekend. Whether it's scrapping, cleaning, knitting, sewing or taking a shower...enjoy doing it! Have a great one...t

Pretty Ears

2009-08-05T19:19:00.001-07:00

She rocks a sweet pink diamond flower...big eyed cuteness!

The Daily Scrapper

2009-07-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

One of the designers I "work" for...seriously can you call that work?? LOL...was featured on The Daily Scrapper and she is giving this very cute kit away for FREE :) It's your lucky day! And if look closely you'll recognize two wee ones here ;-)

http://www.thedailyscrapper.com/2009/issue13mlk/interview_amysumrall_kit.html

And this is a LO I forgot to add below, honoring the ever popular tradition: TACO TUESDAY!

Friday :)

2009-07-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

I know I said I was going to post with a picture of BWO's new earrings, but I haven't uploaded those photos yet...so, instead I'll post some LOs I've done recently.

I've actually been blessed by my sweet hubs to get some scrapping done, a lot of it. Unfortunately, I cannot post any of those LOs until the new Polka Dot Plum store opens for business, and when it does, if you are a digi scrapper you'll be pretty stoked about it!

Below are some recent LOs I've completed that I can share :)

Back to the grind...have a great weekend :)

Big Wee One = Brave Girl

2009-07-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Heading to the mall. Thinking about what's to come. Still pretty calm and being very silly with Uncle Eric.Hmmmmm....starting to chill out a little and prepping for what's to come."Uh....what is she doing? Is she coming near me with those?"Ok, it's time to get serious.After a few alligator tears and a very silent wimper, Big wee one got her ears pierced!And then we tried to take a family picture while enjoying ice cream, but it didn't work. A "real" picture of BWO and her new addition will be posted tomorrow. We are so proud of her and her bravery through the whole process and the whole week of swimming. She rocked getting her ears pierced.

New Releases!

2009-07-24T09:47:00.001-07:00

If you head over to The Digi Chick, you can catch these new releases on sale :)
Amy's first with two new releases, and both are so adorable!

Here are two LOs I've done so far, but believe me when I say this...this kit will go far in my stash! LOVE IT!

Her next kit is equally cute...hehe and the LO stars my munchkin niece :) cutie!

the cutieful kit is linked right to Amy's store, so be sure to stop there and snag up the goods :)

Next, are Jana's new releases...her kits are equally awesome! And this week she has templates available, always a PLUS :)
It Is So Easy Templates, Volume 1 is what I used to create this LO, along with her Lavendar Delight kit :)

[IMG]http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu181/tmflohr/Jana%20M%20Designs/sweetjulyweb.jpg[/IMG]

Jana's next kit is Elsa's Walk and it is a great kit for anything pictures...I loved it to document LWO riding the barrel ride at a tractor fair :)

you can click on the kit pictures for links to the stores :) Jana's got a rockin' sale going on right now and a ton of new releases!
Check'em my peeps :)

It's all Black & White

2009-07-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Because I didn't feel like going through and fixing all of the colors and lighting and what not...it takes work to make a picture THAT much more beautiful...hehe! I've made all of these pictures B&W...easy :)

Let's get started!

We visited Grandma & Grandad at the beach 2 weekends ago and had a very pleasant time. I took the girls to breakfast, its kind of our special thing when we go to Berlin, MD, and then we hit the beach, had crabs and the next day Paul and I got to play a round of golf.

We've never taken the girls to ride the rides on the boardwalk, so we decided to walk the 14 blocks from where we were on the beach. The girls LOVED all the kites, Little wee one fell asleep and Big wee one had a pretty nice ride...LWO actually fell asleep while walking! How does that happen?? She missed out on riding the rides, so I took her place and rode with BWO.

LWO was being so sweet on the way home from the beach, back to Grandma's house...BWO was drooling in her sleep, but this sweet thing was rested from her sleepwalk!When we got home, look what we found!! We've been waiting for these GIANT sunflowers to

This won't happen overnight though, well, actually it does...these suckers sprouted up from teeny tiny seeds we planted...but it took a lot of TLC and this: and believe me, they LOVE watering the plants! Little green thumbs.

Paul's been playing in an adult lax league on Tuesday nights and it just so happens that a local food/fun joint is really kid friendly and kids eat FREE on Tuesday's and get to play putt-putt for $1!! HEELLOOOOOO!! Can't beat that with a stick!

We were lucky to be joined by our friends...they are actually the ones that told us about this hip joint...BWO was being her regular photogenic self :)

The next week I was super busy with Old Market Day. We made it through the week with sick kids, sick kids at the sitter's and life in general all in one piece. I am still exhausted though! This is what it looked like when I got to work in the morning...

And about 5 hours later the streets were filled with people! The weather was beautiful and the crowds were plentiful!

Now that Old Market Day is over and we can chillax for a bit, Paul and I decided to sign BWO up for swimming lessons. This girl is freaked by water. Not the ocean...nope, she loves jumping waves, it's the pool. She just doesn't dig it at all, but she wants to. You can see in her face and her attitude that she wants to jump in and have fun, but she's just a little timid.

First things first...you have to get in the water. Slow & steady wins the race...ha!Notice how everyone else is wet and she's just like, "Um, yea...go right ahead, I'll wait right here."

Atleast she started to blow some bubbles.

Day 2 started out a little better. She had her goggles on, even though she took them off soon after and immediately started practicing putting her face in the water. At one point I walked by her and she said, "Mommy look...(puts her face under, pops back up and continues) Now can I get my ears pierced?" hehe! She's been asking to get her ears pierced and we said that if she passed her swimming and that meant putting her face in the water we would talk about it.

A little floating fun. Her hair is wet! That's proof that she's been putting her face in...way to go big girl!I was so proud to see her do this!! And it's only day 2! I'm excited to see how the rest of the week goes...till then :)

I've been notified

2009-07-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

That I haven't been keeping up my blog lately, and I'll tell you why!

1)this is a very busy time for me at work. Old Market Day is this Saturday from 9am-4pm and the two weeks leading up to the day totally consumes my every moment

CELEBRATE! the Arts @ Old Market Day

Saturday, July 18th from 9am - 4pm

visit me! I'll be on the square in front of the Heritage Center in a bright orange shirt!

2)when i'm not consumed by Old Market Day I've been scrapping; much to the dissmay of Paul. He says I've been scrapping too much, but honestly it's like a drug. I can't stop and all of the gorgeous kits I get to work with...what's a girl to do???

3)it's summer time. we play outside a lot, which means I'm twiddling with my now massive "little" garden or sitting on the patio watching the girls play.

So, I'm not neglecting my duties as a blogger. I'm just consumed with life right now and I will get back to my regularly scheduled blog programming...AND, if you have blogger, you know how ridiculously long it takes to post pics and then rearrange their order...it's frustrating. I'm tempted to shop around for a new blog home, but again, haven't really taken the time to do so.

With that being said, I will post this Sunday with pictures from our beach trip, some LOs I've completed...there's a new store opening up and the kits are AMAZING. I can't post those LOs yet, but let me tell you, they are so cute!
Here's my sweet little niece!! I'm not sure I've posted this or not, but I'll be an AUNTIE again!! Little Munchkin's little sister will be here in November!! :) CONGRATS & We LOVE YOU!

Happy Now Jules?? LOL ;-)

Weekly Specials & 2 FREEBIES + Family

2009-07-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

Get 'em while they are hot :)

It's your weekly installment of what's hot, fresh and funky for your scrapping needs :) hehe! And then stay tuned for some pics of the girls (I was going to resize them and fix them and add my little photo tag to them, but honestly....BLOGGER IS TAKING FORRRRREEEEVVVVEERRRRRR). I also have a couple of quickpage freebies for ya :)

Let's start with Amy :)

She's got this really cute collab kit out with SimplyScraps called Comical and it is SUPER cute (get it?? SUPER...like a hero?? you know SUPER HERO!!)

So I created this page of my big brother spinning my Big wee one by her legs. Aren't uncles the coolest??

I told you that was a cute kit...all my peeps with boys need to snag this up and get busy! If you click on the kit above my LO, it will bring you to the store and you can buy it!
Next is Away from Home by Jana....her style is different from Amy's but I love it equally!

I used this kit to document 2 of my favorite pictures from our family beach trip to Bald Head Island. I have soooo many pictures to get scrapped (from that trip) and this kit will fit perfectly with a lot of them! Below is BWO walking the beach with her Mimi & G-pa (yes, she really calls him G-Pa...but really it's more like Ja-pa. She was French in another life!) This kit is perfect for so many different types of pictures...from little kids (cool messy handprint) to family vacations and everything in between!
Below, I have two quickpage freebies for you! All you have to do is click on them to download them and add your own picture, journaling and whatever else you want....or you can just add a picture and leave it as is. It's yours...FREE! Aren't I nice? :)

Please do not claim these LOs as your own, and leave some feedback if you like 'em :)...thanks!!

FAMILY!! Yes, it's time to talk about the wee ones and our awesome 4th of July weekend; which all started downtown at First Fridays. An event the Downtown Business Council puts together the first friday (hence the name) of the month from May - October. Since this past one fell so close to the 4th of July, we really went all out for the event. We had the best kids entertainment and face painting, crafts and SO MUCH MORE! I absolutely love this part of the job, and seeing so many people downtown enjoying a beautiful night out with their family and friends. And though I didn't get any pictures of him, my dad was there giving out free sample of his wine...great reviews on everything all around! Can't wait for the next First Friday :)
The wee ones made their visors and Little wee one actually wore hers (for a little while)...I couldn't get her to stand still and just smile, she kept walking towards me to get closer to the camera.Oh look, she's sitting, and though this is a cute picture of her, I don't think it really looks like her...hehe...it looks like her, but a different version of her. Here's Big wee one waiting to get her face painted. She's doing magic tricks with Mr. Bowers the Magician (I'm not sure what his stage name is, but that's his name, name...so we'll go with that). Every time he handed her the magic wand it broke! She was really getting a kick out of it. She even drew, colored and erased a whole coloring book...we are now taking bookings for your birthday parties! The girls got magic skills for sure!Miss Penelope does AWESOME face painting, and lucky for all those attending, I work out a great deal with her and she does it for FREE! Miss Penelope also holds a special place in Big wee one's heart (vice-versa)...Miss Penelope is known as Miss Judy to BWO, and she was one of her teachers at Mother's Day Out. BWO really gets excited when she knows she can get to see Miss Judy and get her face painted! Always as a princess!Little wee one went with a butterfly (that's her face painting of choice) and looked so stinking cute!After getting our faces painted we walked further downtown to try out some magic ice cream and check things out. Big wee one wanted to stick her head in these bodies, so we did :) After we got a little bite to eat, we headed back to the kids area for chalk and music. The musical entertainment was AWESOME! They had kids up there singing and playing instruments...very entertaining...can you tell the way all 4 of these wee ones are staring in that direction...hehe. Those are friends of ours. BWO's friend Reesie and LWO's friend Mitchell...cuteness! The next day was the 4th of July and we had a full day of fun planned. First we went swimming at the Showalter's and then came home for naps and rest before having a small bbq that turned into an amazing fireworks specatular! Our friends the Woolf's came over with their 4 girls and we all noshed on delicious food. After stuffing ourselves we pulled out smoke bombs and all of the kids (can you tell in this picture?? It's hard to catch jumping from behind) were jumping, clapping and yelling. It was so much fun! They were pumped for fireworks!Uncle Airwick started doing a mini-fireworks show and was a HUGE hit! By the end of the night (my camera died for awhile, so I missed a LOT of cool picture opportunities) all of the kids (there must have been about 20 kids total) were screaming "Eric! Eric! Eric! More. More. More" and my friends and I (the adults) were all yelling, "Airwick! Airwick!". The kids were turning around and yelling at us that it was wrong...it was pretty funny! Anywho, they put on an amazing fireworks disply, and even though BWO looks freaked, she's really laughing in the picture below.This is Uncle Airwicks display, that you can't really see because my camera was getting tired and Paul had made me too many drinks, so things weren't working out well for us :) But you can see all the kids watching...lots of kids! At one point, all of them were running around like crazy mad sparkler people. Like little fireflies! But of course, like I said, my camera was being a terd and I was enjoying Paul's drink mixtures.Here's one of Airwick's fireworks. Pretty!Self-shot! Does it look like we've all had a good time?? hehe!At one point, Little D (a friend's little man) came running up with a glow stick (seriously...we're hiring out Uncle Airwick for parties as well! He's a one-stop package deal, especially on the 4th of July. He brought glow sticks for the kids, and even though he didn't have enough for every kid, all of them had fun throwing them and chasing them)...he said, "look what I got! I traded Little wee one my soda for it!"

note: i did not enhance or fix any pictures, ignore LWO's red eye!

The soda certainly didn't stop her from zonking out! We were all tired, but this 4th was definitely one of the best we've celebrated in a LONG time! What was planned for a nice and relaxing evening turned into a full-blown FUN BASH! Thanks for coming everyone and we can't wait to do it again next year!

We are headed to the beach tomorrow for the weekend....have a great one yourself! :)

**If you are having any issues with links for the freebies, please let me know! I'm having a booger of a time with blogger and the computer (and blogger) just better be happy they still have their lives right now** :)

For Today…

2009-07-04T05:36:00.000-07:00

Outside my window…sunshine and fireworks (when it gets dark out!)
I am thinking… that I need to get my rear downstairs and get some coffee made for myself and breakfast made for the wee ones
I am thankful for… my sweet husband, my awesome parents & siblings and my sweet, little, crazy knuckleheads and my friends...all of whom ROCK
From the kitchen… salsa...I'm in the mood
I am wearing… my pj's. it's still early
I am reading… nothing at the moment. I do have a lot of books on the back burner though
I am hoping… to get my house super cleaned tomorrow morning, after the weekends festivities
I am creating… layouts for Amy Sumrall, JM Designs & Polka Dot Plum and I'm loving every minute of it!
I am praying…for an old college friend's little girl. She's 6ish months old and has cancer :(
Around the house… toys that need to be cleaned out and arranged and a floor that needs to be mopped with a non-toxic cleaner (i'm thinking vinegar, water & lemon...goooo green!)
One of my favorite things…snuggling with Paul, scrapping with friends and cooking in the kitchen...a coworker just gave me a whole goody bag filled with thai goodies! can't wait to make something delish!
A few plans for the rest of the week…get caught up at work, chill with some friends and head to the beach...SEE YOU SOON GRANDMA & GRANDAD!

Happy 4th :)

Wee Ballerinas

2009-07-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ballet attire isn't just for dance class...it is also for every other day of the week. Just ask Big wee one, who has been wearing her's every other day or so for the last two weeks. This morning she asked me to take her pics before leaving for the sitter...

Not to be outdone by her big sister, Little wee one struck her own pose :)

Happy Thursday...scrapping post to come later gators.

I do take pictures...

2009-06-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been awhile since I've actually posted an update on the wee ones and the big guy and myself :) So get ready for a visual adventure through the land of the Flohrs.....imagine sparkling fairy music in the background.
Weeellll...Paul has been out of town a lot and when he's out of town we like to eat outside. Little wee one loves to eat tomatoes, and this shot is her chowing down into a whole tomato, she calls them apples.

I don't remember what they ate for dinner that night, but it had cheese...the shredded kind. I had a delicious salad that I posted a picture of in a post below. Doesn't she look so sweet and innocent? Don't let her fool ya!We were fortunate enough to be able to visit my grandparents one Sunday afternoon. It was a very short visit, but a nice one. The girls loved playing in the water outside and then playing in the pool inside. See how long Big wee one's hair is??The next day we got it cut and it is so cute! So easy to manage, tangle free (for the most part) and light for the summer. She can rock a short do, and it makes brushing in the morning so much more enjoyable :)Back to Nonny & Grandpa's house....look at that humming bird. They were fluttering about all over the place, they are really cool little birds and the girls were having a blast checking them out.Look at that view...I have a couple of pictures of them doing this, in various stages of their lives :) It was a pretty day for checking out the land.Back to the water and rocks.Big wee one ran away, so I tried to get Little wee one to sit for me, and she kind of did. This is the one picture of her smiling...And this is her silly little grin...hehe, I LOVE IT!Swimming is always a hit when we visit N&G's. Little wee has no problem jumping in and swimming. Seriously, this girl has no fear of water!Big wee one, well...she clung to me the whole time. Please excuse my awful tan line!Since Daddy has been gone, we like to sneak in little ice cream treats on occasion. On this nice evening Little wee one had chocolate ice cream from HEAT---->to TOE! A MESS. She looks a tad scary in this picture, but she's actually saying, "CHEEEEESE"."Whatch you lookin' at?"Cheesing again, but this time with the sun in her face.Self-portraitLittle wee one and "her mommy" It has been so nice outside. The girls love to be outside and when it is nice, we spend every moment we can enjoying ourselves. Daddy has introduced the wee ones to golf. I asked Big wee one if I could take a picture of her with her club, and this is the pose she busted out for me. Sidewalk chalk can't be beat!If you don't have anything else to do, you can roll around on a deflated bouncy ball.

Practicing her swing.BIG NEWS: We have taken off BWO's training wheels and she's doing pretty well. She can ride about 5-10 ft. before realizing no one is holding her. Practice makes perfect. Paul is giving her a little prep talk here.And awayyyyyy she gooooeeesss...... See, we've been having fun and we've been pretty busy, even though we aren't doing too much of anything. More later peeps...and yes, I'll posting more LOs...I'm thinking of starting a seperate scrapblog, but then that's just one more thing to manage. So, if you don't mind, I'll just keep it all here. Easy for me, and you still get a peek of what I've been up to :)

Like this: Layout of the Week :)

Have a happy hump day!

$2 Tuesday

2009-06-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Jana has some kits on sale at The Digi Chick store...check 'em while they are hot. I know (uhm...Annisa...Julie....) that some of my girls have beach pics to work on ;-) hehe!

I've started a beach book for a vacation we took a couple of years ago, so I don't have a lot done with the Lost in Paradise kit just yet...but here is the LO I have finished. I also have a ton of pics from visiting Grandma & Grandad at the beach that I need to scrap. Lots to do, lots to do!

I plan on swiping up those frames to help ease the pages along this evening :) Paul has a lacrosse game in Harrisburg, so I'll be home alone (nobody knowssssss my soorrooooowwwww...hehe, just kidding! He hates when I scrap in bed, so when he's gone, it's a perfect opportunity for me!)

And just wait until you see the kit that Jana has coming out on Thursday!!! All I can say is

Last, but not least...this is a sweet little LO I did of my dad and Little wee one...way back in the day :) It's from this kitAnd this is a LO from the same kit that I did of Little Wee one from last summer...little sweetie :)And I promise that I will do an update this evening on our real life :) We've had some fun recently and I'll fill you in!

Have a great Tuesday!

all images are linked for easy finding :)

Fresh Mango Summer

2009-06-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

I'm a pretty lucky girl. I've been blessed to be apart of another amazing designer's creative team! JM Designs (formerly known as JanaM Designs) creates for The Digi Chick, which is where I found out about her. She creates amazing kits and the CT members have been creating amazing LOs.

She has a new kit out today called Fresh Mango Summer and it's on sale NOW! Go grab it up and start creating...you'll be happy you did, and you'll be thrilled that you have an awesome kit to go with all those fun, fresh, summery pictures :)

Here are the LOs I've created (so far) with FMS:

I have also started documenting a family beach trip we took a couple of year's ago to Bald Head Island with this kit: click on picture to take you to the store

I haven't gotten very far, my week has been SUPER busy (surprisingly), but I plan on working on a page or two from this trip every week until it's done. Be on the look out for more LOs that I'll be adding to the beach book ;)Have a great day! Happy Scrappin' :)

Delish Dish

2009-06-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have been on this healthy/green kick here lately, which of course I hope stays put for indefinitely! With that being sad, I love cooking. I love my garden. And, I love making "pretty" dinners.

My mom and I headed to Sams Club to scope out some things, and while I was there I got a huge honkering for homemade salsa. We love to make homemade salsa, but I wanted something chunkier then what we usually make and a little more fruity. I picked up a pack of pickled peppers...hahaha!! No, I didn't pick up pickled peppers, I just couldn't pass that up....I did pick up an assortment of peppers (orange, red & yellow), some peaches and limes (the rest I had at home) and made this AWESOME summer salsa.

It was sooooo good. The thought of it was so good that I also bought a chicken (already cooked...did I mention that Paul's out of town, so what's the use in cooking a whole chicken for 1 big person to eat and 2 small mouse like eaters),

and my thought was to go home, pick some lettuce from my garden (look how bountiful it's becoming...I'm so proud!)

and make a chicken and salsa salad.

Since Paul is not home, I got a little fancy. It was so light and refreshing, and my glass of cherry limeade was the perfect thirst quencher. What a great night for a delicious salad!!

I had some left over salsa so I shared with my neighbor and then invited a few girlfriends over for some homemade lemonade and salsa. I love that I can just pull some cilantro from my herbs for a quick garnish...hehe.It was a beautiful and relaxing evening...too bad Paul wasn't here too :(

Recipe for Tina's Summer Salsa:

One each: yellow, orange & red pepper; seeded and chopped
1 peaches skinned and chopped
half of a red onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
juice of 2 limes
juice of 2 lemons
salt & pepper
cilantro
and I had frozen strawberries in the freezer, so I chopped a handful and added them as well.

Mix all chopped ingredients together, add juice of lemons & limes, handful of chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to taste (I use kosher salt, but you can use whatever you like). Cover and refrigerate for 2+ hours.

Refreshing Lemonade:

In a glass mix 2-3 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice with 2(ish) tsp of sugar.
Add rum, and stir again.
Add ice and pour water over the top. Garnish with a pitted cherrie (gives it a pink tinge) and lemon rinds.

You can also make this non-alcoholic for the wee ones...my girls LOVED it today :) Enjoy!

Get it while its HOT!

2009-06-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

That's right...Amy has a new brush set out that is so incredibly adorable! If you have small chitlins, then you need this set! I even used it on a LO that I did for Paul and myself.

click on the picture above to be directed to the page to purchase these bad jacksons!

I am positive that these will go into pretty regular rotation within my brushes. Check out the LOs I created :)

For this LO I used the circle brush to "frame" Little (teeny tiny) wee one, and then I used the flowers for an added embellishment. I used the outline flower brush to create different sized flowers for the background (all on one layer) and then turned that layer into an overlay and moved the opacity to about 50% to get the soft flower look. I really like it! I used Amy's Children's Day kit from the So You Think You Can Design contest...these brushes go PERFECTLY with that kit! Which you cannot download now since the winner has been announced, but maybe if we ask Amy really nicely she'll share it with us again?? PLEASSSEEEE AMYYYY!! *batting eyes like a little puppy dog*

I posted this LO in my entry below, but thought I would point out that I used one of the scribble crayon brushes for the border under the brown flower paper. I created a new layer under the brown flower paper, added a row of the scribbles (clicking once, then going under, clicking again...till the row was filled) and then I grouped a yellow sheet of paper over it. Dragged the yellow paper over the layer with the brushes, clicked Ctrl+G and it grouped them together, then I flattened that layer by clicking Ctrl+E :)So go get 'em while they are on sale!! I'm pretty lucky to work for Amy, and believe me when I say, you'll be pretty stoked about what's in store for the next coming months :) Of course it's a secret...If I told ya, I'd have to....

Happy Hump Day

2009-06-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

I feel like we've been so busy not being busy...does that make sense?

If it's nice out we spend all waking hours outside, which is doing WONDERS for my tan :) and Paul's as well! He's rocking a pretty sweet tan. The wee ones look dirty all the time. It is that time of year though, where they get tan and their tans just look dirty. My brothers and I were the same when we were wee ones...my grandmother would try and scrub our necks clean. Want to see a pic of me when I was a wee one? Check 'em:

Rocking a really sweet bikini here :)With my cousin Jake

Paul has been out of town a lot lately, so the girls and I have been vegging. Which is nice (sometimes) to just regroup and hang with the small peeps. He'll be leaving again on Saturday and I think the girlies and I will have a sleepover in my bed on Saturday. Highschool Musical is showing on the Disney channel, some kind of karoake dance special, and I think the girls will like sleeping in my bed...if they make it that long before they kick me and roll over me too many times.

Paul and I went to the high school graduation last week and for some reason it really got me choked up. I started to think about the girls and phewwww...the tears just flow. Life better slow down, I can't take this "time flying" by crap anymore!

We had a great night together, after graduation we grabbed a quick dinner. Uncle Airwick was cool enough to hang with the girls for us :) We needed a night out for just the two of us...aaawwww, love :)Paul and some of his players...Me with the players...I feel like some of these guys are my little brothers. I'll miss them next year!I did this LO tonight, inspired by a LO challenge on thedigichick.com forums

Oh, did you want to see pics of the girls too?? I haven't taken that many lately. I need to get a new camera battery, my rechargeable is dying so my camera doesn't last long :( Anyone want to buy me a new fancy one??

We had an impromptu garage/yard sale at a friend's house last Saturday and this is what the kids did...Doesn't it look like they were born posers...hehe. Big wee one with her diva pose and Little wee one with her "don't look at me I'm a super model pose" or the "I'm gonna pee my pants pose"Must have been the "pee the pants pose" because she lost her bathing suit at one point!Our family tradition on Sunday's are donuts! She likes the powdered kind...can you tell?

Till we meet again :)

FREE

2009-06-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I just updated with LOs from Amy's Little Bunny Foo-Foo kit and then I went to check out her blog and I see she's still offering one of her kits for FREE!!

Here are some LOs I created with her Wubulous kit :)

Enjoy!

Scrap-Happy kind of Sunday

2009-06-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

Lucky for me, I was able to get some scrapping done this weekend. I've been trying my darndest to finish up with 2007 and step by step I'm getting a little closer. Here are some LOs I did (the Toes LO I did before this weekend, but it still goes with this kit) using Amy Sumrall's kit Little Bunny Foo Foo. Isn't it cute?? There are a lot of options with this kit...as you can see below :)

Seriously, go check her out...she has a lot of amazing things in store and I feel so honored to be able to play with it before its released to you! And believe me...there are some really cute things in the future!

See the green crayon drawn border I used on the LO below, there's something cool coming with more of that stuff soon!! shshshshshhsssss.....I'll let you know as soon as I get the go ahead! click on the LO above for a free template I created for this LO :) enjoy and if you download the template let me know :)

Life is good

2009-06-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

Paul's been out of town all week and we've been staying strong.

I threatened Big wee one with all of her toys if she even thought she was going to be sassy with me and she honestly was the most delightful little girl EVER! What a nice change of pace from the weekend we had. Phewwwww....

a friend gave her a makeup kit at a birthday party...hence the beautiful shade of red lips!

Little wee one was also delightful. She is going through a tad of what some may refer to as the "terrible two's". But believe when I say this...it ain't nothin'! Her version of the TT's (hehe...tt's...hehehe, sorry, made me chuckle), is absolutely nothing compared to her big sister. She is pretty stinking funny though! Here's a recent converstaion that went on between Little wee one, myself and her tee-tee...

LWO: Mommy, I have to go poopie. I go poopy on the potty right now. I have to go. I go.

Mommy: Ok, LWO! Go, go...you can do it! Do you need help?

LWO: No Mommy I no need help, I go right now (oh, how I wish everyone could here what she sounds like, with her deep voice and her emphasis on certain words...lol)

Sounds of LWO rushing to the bathroom and going tee-tee, and then:

LWO: (very angry tone) NO TEE-TEE I need to go poopy. NO, YOU STOP. TEE-TEE NO! (now kind of sad) I need to go poopy, that not nice tee-tee.

If you could only imagine how freaking funny that was listening in! I was cracking up and she was serious!

Hope you got a little chuckle, because I'm still laughing about that!

I've been able to get a little scrapping done...here's some of what I've completed. I'm happy to report that I'm about a month and a half away (picture wise) from being done with 2007!! YEAAAHHH! *taking bow, thanking all the little people, waving like a beauty queen**

sorry if I've already posted some of these...I couldn't remember (without looking back) to see what i had posted and what i haven't :)

Weird!

2009-06-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

I just did a whole update on May and it posted it two below...
click here to read it...darn blogger has been messing with me all day! Grrrrrrrr!!!

More than just berries...

2009-06-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

What a day...seriously, was there a full moon out? The moon looked full so I'm going to guess that it was a full moon (sometimes it gets tricky near full moon day with a smidgen sliver missing...you know what I mean??). Big wee one woke up on the complete wrong and sassistic (that's the sassy side of the bed...I made that up :) ) side of the bed. Attitude out the wazoo today and we had so much planned! I was hoping for a fantastic Saturday filled with lots of fun things, but sadly, our fun times turned into not so fun times.

We woke up in the morning, get dressed and met Mimi at the North Square Farmers' Market for what was going to be a delightful morning of muffins, coffee, jerk chicken and kids activities...including planting a flower and getting faces painted. We bougth the ingredients we needed to make the most delic salad, but everything else was an argument...including getting Big wee one's face painted.

We made it home around lunch time, had a few moments to chill before heading to a birthday party. And that's where it all went downhill. Big wee one just could not get a grip! She wanted to jump in the bounce house, but then she didn't. She wanted to eat lunch, but then she didn't and then she did. She wanted her bathing suit, but didn't want to go to the car to get it...just whining out the wazoo! So, I packed up our stuff and in a fit of rage the three of us left. I apologized to the hostess and we went home. I was sooooo angry! I could not believe that she was being so bratty!

I cried when I got home and Big wee one was sent to her room after she apologized to Little wee one for ruining her good time and they both took a 3 hour nap.

During that three hour time I sat in complete silence. I couldn't think or eat or watch tv...I just needed to regroup. (It didn't take me the whole 3 hours...more like an hour) :)

Once I felt a little better, I downloaded this kit
by Amy Sumrall from http://www.thedigichick.com/ (do I totally sound like a commercial or what??) and was all set to work on a page about strawberry picking, but instead was sucked in by this picture of Big wee one
and felt I needed to document how I was feeling about her at that very moment. How not everyday is peaches and cream and lovey dovey. How angry she makes me, but at the same time how much I love her. So I did this LO...
and the journaling reads:

"Oh, small child of mine...we are going to have some rough patches while we’re both “growing up”. I love you so much and you make me so angry at the same time. I don’t understand how something so beautiful and sweet can be so frustrating and aggitating. You are my puzzle. The one who is going to keep me on my toes and push me to the limits.

At the same time, you’ll need me to comfort you while you push me away. Hold you while you are so mad at me; and I'll listen to all the times that you tell me I’m not nice or that I’m mean. It won’t change how much I love you, or how angry I get with you, it will just go to show that love conguers all. You love me and I love you...

Who are we kidding? Life wouldn’t be near as thrilling if you weren’t throwing a huge dramatic fit, or refusing to say “Hi” to a friend or getting angry at me for not letting you do something all by yourself. One day when you grow up, you’ll realize that we are a lot a like and we are both very stubborn ladies. We want what we want, when we want it...no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. It’s part of being a Hadley and a Flohr. It’s who you are and I hope that some day you channel that stubborn energy into something amazing and make your mommy a lot of money. I love you Rid, even when it’s hard to."

Now I want to document the strawberry picking...be on the lookout for that LO soon :)

Here's the strawberry picking LO...little sweeties :)