Spring....glorious spring.

YAY!!!! Spring is in the air here in South-Eastern Pennsylvania, and it couldn't have come fast enough for me. Yes, it is still quite chilly at night and in the morning, but the days have gotten longer and just warm enough that the girls get to go outside to play after school. During winter I always forget how nice it is to be in the backyard with them jumping on the trampoline and swinging on the swingset. Hooray!

All these reminders of spring have put us in the mood to start another garden this year. We learned alot last year and want to put our newfound knowledge to the test. I have been daydreaming of a fenced-in raised bed and I *think* I have Ron convinced that he needs to build one for me. Crossing my fingers.......

So, in preparation for the garden we decided to start some seeds! I let Steph decide what we would be planting this year and aside from picking eggplant (which she admitted she had never tasted before) she did a fine job!!!! This year we are trying a few new veggie varieties like carrots, onions, and green beans just to see what happens. Of course we will still have a few of the old favorites like tomatoes and cucumbers, and this year we wisened up and bought the normal sized pumpkins and not the gigantic variety. We also added gourds and jack be little pumpkins to our list!

This evening I set the girls to the task of getting all those tiny little seeds planted in the dirt. They had a great time and loved doing it (except that Jen had a hard time understanding why we weren't dumping the entire bag of seeds in the holes!)

Wish me luck that at least a few of these pop up in the next few weeks........

I'm totally spoiled.

Yes. I am perfectly aware of the fact that I am spoiled rotten. To the core. My children are as well....so at least I am in great company.

Here's the deal.....

Ron and I will be celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary in just a few short weeks. We discussed possibly going out to dinner on a Saturday night to celebrate....but that was the extent of our discussions.

I came home from a particularly crappy day at work today and was presented with a box. This box was wrapped in white paper and decorated in beautiful artwork from my two girls (and a few words from Ronnie as well).


Jen is trying REALLY hard to get her "J"s right. Most of the time they are still backwards, but she is really trying!!!!


Steph posing in her St. Patty's Day hat that she made at school today. Dang is she cute.

Ron told me it was my anniversary gift from him and the girls.

Hold up. ANNIVERSARY GIFT???? Dang......I hadn't even had a chance to give a gift a second thought (or a first for that matter). Ron is on top of his GAME folks!!!

So I proceeded to unwrap my beautiful box and was presented with the most lovely new bronze laptop. Isn't she beautiful????



The funny thing is I didn't even know I wanted a new laptop. I was making due with the old hand-me-down that my brother gave me a few years ago, which was falling apart and being held together by strings and glue. Well...not really....but almost. Apparently Ron and my brother have been in cahoots over this thing for at least a week or two. But never fear.....I WILL get him back when he least expects it. BWAH!!!! Thanks for my new toy Ronnie (and Steph and Jen). I love you!!!!!!

In other news.....I made another cone for a dear friend of mine who I think is just super sweet as can be (Hi Soo!!!!!). Her birthday was in early March and we really needed some Spring colors to brighten our day......so I came up with this little cutie. I love making these things....they are so easy to do and really bring a smile to people's faces!





Spring is coming this week (HOORAY) and if you ask me it couldn't have come fast enough! Our first camping trip in our new camper is only a little over 3 weeks away....so stay tuned for some more pics and stories. Thanks for stopping by!

"Big" News....

As promised in my last post, here is the "BIG" news.......

We got a new camper!! A BIG camper. We decided to trade in the pop-up for something in a "slightly larger" model (ahem....something with a bathroom). Camping this year really won't be the same! It will be.......dare I say it.........comfy.

:)

Now I'm not saying that we didn't love the pop-up. We did. But we quickly learned it's downside on a trip last year when it decided to rain in the middle of the day for a few hours. Let's just say that 4 people stuck inside a tiny little box for HOURS (one of them being my rather tall and lanky husband and the other 2 being impatient little children), all huddled around a tiny little portable DVD player trying to catch a peek of the movie (and arguing EVERY.SECOND. that they couldn't see), fighting for position on the "couch" which was really just a one-person seat, was NOT fun. Not to mention the fact that when it came time to eat, Ron was forced to make dinner on the grill in the rain because there was no other alternative.

Not in the new camper. The new camper has OPTIONS baby. Like a microwave for one (can anyone say TOP RAMEN for dinner!!!????). And a stove. And an oven. And a FLUSHING TOILET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you hear that?

That was the angel's singing.

There is also an entire bunk area for the kids and enough beds that we will never have to have them sleep together again.

Did you hear that???

The angel's were singing again. Louder.

Oh yes....the new camper will not only bring options to the table, but may just save me from losing my mind in the next rain storm.

Thank you camper.

:)

Total slacker.

Wow....I really am a total slacker. I can't believe it has been weeks since my last post. Where has the time gone??? We have been busy here with all sorts of various things so this post will be all about playing "catch up" and may be a bit all over the place:

1. My one year blog-iversary snuck up on me (it was February 5th). I really can't believe it has been a year since I sat down on a whim, created a Blogger account, and posted my first post. I started this blog as a way to capture memories about my kids that I knew I wouldn't want to forget, as a way to share all of my layouts and crafting creations, and as a way to keep friends and family in other parts of the country up to date on our daily lives without sending individual e-mails to everyone. I think I have accomplished all of that so far and I look forward to another year of sharing!

2. School has been eating.away.at.my.patience. I am so close to being finished (just 6 more classes/one year to go) but I am getting so tired of it. I really dislike having schoolwork on top of a full-time job on top of kids on top of EVERYTHING ELSE. I won't stop. I will finish. But I will be bitter about it till the very end!!!

3. Ron suprised me a couple of weeks ago with a brand new camera!!! Here is my new Nikon D80 (taken by my equally loved and adored Nikon D40 which will forever hold a special place in my heart but will alway be known as a bit of a pain in my a$$ for the whole "Oops....I don't autofocus. Didn't anyone tell you?" incident.) Loving this new camera and was so happy to be able to take a bunch of pics of my friend Jen's newborn baby boy with it just a few weeks ago. Below are a few of those shots.






4. A few recent layouts from the January issue of SNR.






5. BIG news coming in my next post. Stay tuned!!!

ScrapScene

Totally excited to be picked to have a little Valentine's project that I created featured on today's edition of ScrapScene. This is my first time being featured and I was tickled pink when they told me about it. The link to the website is: http://www.scrapscene.com/

I hope you check it out!!!!

:)

An update

Jen informed me last night that her feelings are now red.

Just thought you would want to know.

Will I be 4 forever????

That's what Jen asked me on her actual birthday. In reality I WISH I could keep her 4 for just a few years....if you ask me it is one of the best ages to be!!!

Jen's party was at the house this year with lots of friends and family. She had a few girls over from her class at Kindercare, as well as her friends Jack and Macy. We played some games (pin the tail on the donkey, simon says, and "hide and going seek" - - which is how Jen says hide and seek), ate some cupcakes (which she helped make), bounced on the bouncer in the basement, and of course opened presents.

Afterwards we ordered pizza for dinner and opened a few of her new toys. Then crashed hard from sheer exhaustion. I'm pooped.

Happy 4th birthday Jen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!