Saturday, May 31, 2008

Rain, Tornado Warning and Airforce Show :(


Hello,


The not-looking so lovely, wet and grumpy Kait here to give you the weather report from rainy New Jersey. It is raining, raining and raining some more.

We were so looking forward to the airshow at Maguire Air Force today. After waiting in traffic for nearly an hour to get in the base, we got there and it started raining.
We (using the term 'we' loosely as fault landed squarely on mom for not being a mind reader and not bring the umbrellas!) forgot to bring our umbrellas, but decided to wait the rain out. It started lightning and raining harder as we waited. The kids needed a bathroom break so we had to go inside a hangar to use the portable potties.

The portable potties outside had been tied up because we were having hard winds and got a tornado warning.
I got all wet taking Liam to the bathroom, and you should have seen how stylish my punk looked wearing his very stylish, must have raingear, a/k/a black garbage bag.

But I did manage to take a couple of photos, and we do expect to go back tomorrow early. 341

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Friday, May 30, 2008

Friday at Last!

Hello Everybody,

Not much happening here. DH got home late Wednesday night and is home.
Over the weekend we are planning on attention a air show at Maguire Airforce. I know Liam will be thrilled to see the military airplanes, etc. Don't worry, I will try to take some photos for you to see, too.

Here are a few things I saw today:
Andrea has a cute template at her blog. And if you are interested in taking photoshop classes, she will be offering some in June.
KSharonK has a super cute sampler and her newsletter is available for download.
Shutterfly - Momtourage by WE ARE Storytellers
DSSA has a multi-photo template available HERE.
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Wednesday's Treats and a Tutorial

Wednesday's Treats...

JillJacksScraps has a multi-photo template
Sheer Blooms (flowers by Kim) - Lovely!
Shuttefly Blog - Momtourage
NBK has some "vintage" papers

Thank you ladies, for sharing your creations with us!

Angelica has a tutorial over at her blog, which shows you how to make brushes with your photos.
That is certainly a very useful tutorial. Go check it out.
Thanks Angelica for taking the time to write this up and share it with us.
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Studio Maya is having a half price sale


If you are a fan of Maya's work,then you know that she doesn't do sales often. So, if you have been contemplating buying her stuff, now is your chance.

If you have any circus or carnival photos to scrap, may I suggest picking up her BIG TOP page set, which I used on this page HERE.

Have you seen her SHADOWBOXES? HERE is a SAMPLE page I made using them.
Better hurry! The sale end Friday, May 30th.
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Fly Away Little Dandelion / Natali Designs / Breeze


Breeze Page set by Natali Designs/SBG
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=21094&cat=0&page=1
Font is FG Amelia
Bead alpha by Kimberly Giarruso/TheDigiChick
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Spring Blossoms / Amy Pearson / Natali Design


Spring BlossomsBracket Frame and stitching from Freshness kit by Natali Designs
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=21081&cat=0&page=1Bee, Dandelion, Alpha, ribbon and staples from Breeze by Natali Designs
Butterflies, twigs, flowers (recolored from red to Lilac) and bg. pprs. and note paper from Essential by Natali Designs
Hibiscus from April Showers by Anna Benjamin (NSD Freebie)Flower photo from Spring Blooms by Amy Pearson
Ladybug from Spring Thingz Stickers and brushes by Traci Sims

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Statues at Veteran's Park


Click on image to enlarge it.
Of all the things I saw, this is what intrigued me the most. There was no inscription to tell us why these people were handcuffed and their faces covered. I will have to research it.

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Scraplift Challenge at Scrapbook-Graphics


Won't you join us?

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Tuesday Freebies

Before I head on out, here are a few goodies I found today.

Traci Reed has a cute challenge template
ScrapMatters has a template
Frames by Shaui
Misty has a cute alpha on her blog, Check out her new release.
Jill and Jack has a template
Redju has some super cute botanical/acrylic frames...
ScrapNGal has some Celebreate Wordart at her blog
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Monday, May 26, 2008

Veteran Park, Part Deux


Click on image to enlarge. See first batch of photos here.
Here is the 2nd batch of pictures from our outing of Saturday. It has the usual fare, pictures of flowers, birds and the kids at play. They were taken with the stone statues and took a long time observing them. They loved the water fountain and rides. The mirror was the only way I was going to be able to appear on a photo, so here I am. The incredible shrinking LovelyMissKait. I look like I am 2 feet tall. Liam was having so much fun making fun of my stature. But he didn't realize that I was laughing at him because he is short he looked like he didn't have a head, all we were able to see were two sets of legs and a torso. One set of legs was up where the head is supposed to be. :)

There was this gigantic pine tree, that reminded me of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree story. There were benches all around the tree where we could sit and rest our tired feet. The kids looked so tiny under the pine...I just loved the blue sky and sheer size of the tree.

They played, ate icecream and then went to Checkers. Fun was had by all.


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Memorial Day Freebies

Just a couple of things...
NBA Template - perfect for those basketball shots!
Amanda has a patriotic sampler on her blog. Do check her kits...they are wonderful!
Alpha by MissVivi
Melissa has a template up for grabs
Felt Alpha
Bohemian art has a cute sampler
Andrea has 2 templates at her blog. Do check her bragbook templates...they are so cute!
Fran has a paper pack - Ophrys
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Veterans Park

Click on previews of photos to enlarge.
These are some of the photos I took today while at Veteran's Park.
All the ties, chains, staples, bows are from Natali Designs' Playing with Hangups.
The off white paper is from Jessica Bolton's Thrifty Solids Pack #4
I have lots of photos to go through, so I will post some more tomorrow.
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Saturday, May 24, 2008

Satuday Happenings

While out for a walk, Liam spotted this Gipsy Moth caterpillar on this dirty rock.

Kaylie and Liam at the Columbus overpass. I absolutely detest walking over bridges because I have a fear of heights. The fact that there are cars doing 75 miles an hour below does not help alleviate my apprehension. I force myself to walk across to face my fear. The kids have no idea that this scares me. They look so happy skipping along like it is the most normal thing in the world.

This little guy was very very busy sampling each and every flower on sight!

Every Saturday, DH takes the kids over to his mother's house, Abuela Esther. Once there, Abuela calls her daughter so she can bring her two daughters over to play with Kaylie and Liam. The oldest girl is 11 and the little one, Leila, is 4. Leila loves Kaylie and wants to play with her all the time, but dislikes Liam for some reason. Liam gets so mad and jealous that Leila never wants to play with him.

But I digress, since DH is not here this week, Kaylie was bemoaning the fact that she wouldn't get a chance to visit Abuela and play with the girls. I don't mind visiting for a couple of hours, but I don't like to stay 3 or 4 hours like DH does. So, I took the kids over to Abuela's house, but went earlier and only stayed for 2 1/2 hours. Thereafter, I went over to my Dad's house, where I spend another hour. As I was driving to my dad's house, I was pointing out to them the places that I used to hang out when I was younger. We also drove by the first house that I used to live in when we first arrived in the U.S. 219 South Clinton Ave., Trenton, N.J.

(I will finish the posting tomorrow. It is almost 12:00 and I am beat. Goodnight!)
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Friday, May 23, 2008

Field Day / Photo Intensive Post

Kaylie and Liam hand-holding while on a walk at our local hangout. You would have thought that all the excitement of field day would have been enough for them, but, No. They had energy to kill. I can't say I blame them; the weather was almost perfect for a walk.

I am so glad that I remembered to turn on the enhance sky filter on my camera (it ju7st makes the sky a it bluer). The sky looks fabulous. Wow, I can't believe that this shots of the kids up in the air in the swing is not blurred.

Aren't these gorgeous? They would be, if I didn't have the copyright blurb on top of it.

This little bee was happy to pose for me.

And he makes it back to home base and passes the hula hoop to the next participant.

Liam on his way back to homefield. I am doing it, Mom. Watch me run like the wind!

Watch how fast I am going, Mom!


Almost tumbled over in his haste out of the start line.

Here is Liam finally getting a turn. Also getting a bit of assistant from his teacher.
The head band slipped down and is now covering his eyes. Hey buddy, can you see?

Liam is super excited about joining the games that his excitement can not be contained.

On her way back to tag her team mate.

Almost to the finish line...

Here is Kaylie with her hoop racing to the end of the field.

Field Day at last. Field day was supposed to be last week, but it was cancelled due to inclement weather. Today was a beautiful day, sunny with white clouds and blue sky. Except it was windy and a tad cold. Here is Liam, in his red Survivor shirt waiting to be called to the field to play.
Edit: Later on at night the kids were taking about how much fun they had had at Field day. Liam is under the impression that in order for one to have fun, one must be the winner.
A perfect time to explain to them that winning is not everything. Sure, it is great to win first place, but just because your team didn't place in first place it doesn't mean that you are a looser. You are all winners, you just didn't win that day.
I want them to understand that having fun, trying your best, working together, friendship and sportmanship are most important. Winning is sure to follow, if you remember these things.
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Fantastic Friday

Fantastic Friday because it is NOT raining!

Let's get the freebies out of the way, shall we?

Andrea - template
MissVivi - Sampler
Dreamer Add on by Brittney
KSharonK - Rebecca's Art sampler
Scrap Shanty - templates (there's several of them/click on the previews)http://scrapshanty.com/blog/category/freebies/
Believe Stamps by Christina Renee
KimB has some really cute beaded string things.
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Cool Picture!

Have you ever wondered what is at the end of a rainbow? Are you luckier if you see 2 rainbows at the same time? It has been raining on and off. The dark clouds on the sky were incredible...anyway, it rained and then this beautiful rainbow came up, then the sun came out, then it rained again and a 2nd rainbow formed.

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Big Top / Maya / Fun by the Sea



Big Top page set by Maya
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=21123&cat=0&page=1
Maya's Personal Stash - The Ultimate Staple Collection
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=19871&cat=0&page=1
Beaded alpha by Kimberly Giarruso/TheDigiChick
Template by Jen Caputo from Impressions of Motherhood Collection by the Studio Girls.
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20958&cat=284&page=1
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Birthday Box / Baersgarten Grabbag / 6th Birthday

Liam had a great time at his birthday party. It was just a small gathering. He loved his Spongebob cake and couldn’t wait to open his presents. I watched the cutest smile come over his face as we all sang the birthday song. The pinata was his most favorite event. 5-11-2008

Alpha from Breeze elements by Natali Designs
Font: Century Gothic and AvantGarde
Sketch 231 by Andrea Gold
Journaling Highlights - Jackie Eckles
Month and date lines by me
Kit used: Birthday Box - Supersized by Baers Garten
(You can get this kit for $5.00 from May 21 to May 25. It will be $24.00 thereafter.
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Happiest in the Garden/A Trip Down Memory Lane

Isn't she the cuttest little girl ever?! I had to scan the photos so the colors are a little off.


I just love this one. Look at those cheeks and that curly hair...

My little one is happiest in the garden. Just before heading out to school, she felt the need to stop by the garden to check out the flowers. Our daisies are so very pretty.

I suppose that the fascination with the daisies started when she was about a year old. I remember sitting with her in the garden. I would get a blanket and sit her among the gorgeous blooms. Her eyes would light up and she'd giggle. It brings tears of happiness just thinking about it. As a matter of fact, I will share a photo of her when she was little so you can see how gorgeous she was (and still is!).

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Treats, Tricks and a Tutorial

Trick:
I saw a tutorial for aging people digitally. Wouldn't it be fun to get someone's picture under the pretense of fixing it and do the opposite?

Tutorial:
I found another one for smoothing skin.

Treats:
Scrappin A Latte: Shape Templates
Lindsay Jane - Template
Krista - Spumoni kit
Shaui has some cute doodled stars
KimB has a cute template
WordArt by Val
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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Liam and the Ducky Project







Liam's class pet is a duck. Each week a child gets the priviledge of taking Duckie home for a few days. Liam has to spend quality time with Duckie. Duckie is to be included in daily activities.




Here, you can see Liam reading Ducky a story about a duck. What else would he read about?

In the other picture, Ducky magically laid an egg. It is actually a golf ball. Isn't he a bright boy?
Liam took Ducky with him everywhere. We went out for a bike ride, and took Ducky inside his protective bag. Ducky watched as Liam ate his dinner, watched tv and played with Kaylie. Ducky even slept with Liam. He set aside his night crew and made Ducky his one and only toy. So adorable.





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I've Been Tagged...

I've been tagged by ANGELICA , a fellow scrapper who shares a love for all things Lorie Davison, just like me. :)

1) Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2)Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 Random and/or weird facts:

1-I am NOT a morning person.
2-My favorite color is ORANGE; my least favorite color is PURPLE.
3-I have a CRUSH on Les Stroud, a/k/a SURVIVORMAN. (Pls. don't tell dh! :)
4-Weird fact #1: When sleeping, I don't like my knees to touch.
5-Weird fact #2: I like to drink steaming hot chocolate (Chocolate Cortez) and just when it is at its hottest, I place it in my cup along with a few pieces of GOUDA CHEESE. When the cheese warms up, it turns soft and stringy which I then scoop with a spoon. (I can just hear you saying: "eeeee, gross!") (I guess you can call it an acquired taste!)
6-I have an IRRATIONAL fear of bridges, heights and getting lost.
7-I love listening to music from all over the world even if I don't understand the language.

In an effort to get all my friends to update their blogs, I am tagging:
1. Becky, a/k/a Webchyck
http://webchyck.typepad.com/wandering_with_webchyck/

2. Donna, a/k/a KYGirl
http://donnabmiller.typepad.com/my_weblog/

3. Jenna, a/k/a Sweeets
http://thescrapspace.com/jenna/?p=66
Psst. - check out her contest...it is easy money!

4. Jen Vogel
http://sixfive.typepad.com/create/

5. Karen Bowers
http://karensdreamingbig.blogspot.com/

6. Michelle, a/k/a/ Plumtuckered
http://plumtuckered.wordpress.com/

7. Amy Pearson, a/k/a Fannie
http://www.thepearsonplace.com/
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It's a Beautiful Day

The daisies in my backyard are gorgeous. I love when they have fresh dew and raindrops.


Click on image to enlarge.


It finally stopped raining! The day is sunny, there is a gentle breeze, the birds are singing and the sky is blue.


After I dropped off Kaylie at school, I went to Smithville Park. This was my view. Everything seems brighter and sharper.



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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

A Series of Unfortunate Events

As I sit here today, I can't help but wonder about cause and effect.

CAUSE is something that makes something else happen. Out of two events, it is the event that happens first. To determine the cause, ask the question "Why Did it Happen?"

EFFECT is what happens as a result of the cause. Of two related events, it’s the one that happens second or last. To determine the effect, ask the question "What Happened?"

My dear husband left today for Puerto Rico, along with his sister, for his grandmother viewing and funeral. The whole thing just feels so bizarre to me.

Back in February, dh went to visit his father and relatives in Puerto Rico. His Grandmother, Mama Sabina, 93 years old, wanted to travel to Puerto Rico, too, to see her family and stay at her house. DH asked his Aunt to have Mama Sabina travel from Michigan to our house in New Jersey, for one day, before both of them traveled to Puerto Rico together. She was so very happy to see us and thanked God every day for the opportunity to come see us, especially Kaylie and Liam, her great-granchildren.

Off they went to Puerto Rico. On their return trip, Mama Sabina came to live with us for over a month and a half. Boy, were we in for an unexpected in-depth look into elderly care and Alzheimer!

Mama Sabina had a few things wrong with her, though you wouldn't know it if you saw her. For starters, she could only half see from one eye. She was hard of hearing (which was strange because at times she could hear fine, but others, even almost screaming she couldn't hear) and was imbalanced. She would get up from the couch, walk a few steps and all of a sudden get unbalanced. I had to be her shadow. I couldn't leave her out of my sight for a minute. She was very sweet, had a great disposition, and great appetite. She had good long term memory, but her short term memory left a lot to be desired. We didn't know she had Alzheimer or about her imbalance.

What made it worse was the fact that she couldn't remember that we had a bathroom in the first floor, so she always made a dash up the stairs to the 2nd floor. I was forever in fear that she would get one of her imbalance spells, fall down the steps and break her neck. Whenever I had to go to the bathroom or kitchen, I would have one of the kids keep an eye on her and tell me if she was making a run for the stairs.

WHILE she was staying with us, she did fall one time...in the bathtub. It happened while my sister was visiting my house, when my mom was in the hospital. I had left her alone for a few minutes, next thing I know she had fallen. Thank God that she didn't break anything! Ever since that day, I didn't let her do anything by herself. I realized that I couldnt' risk her getting hurt at my house.

DURING her stay at my house, I was her faithful companion. After a while, we found our rhythm and things were a little easier. I knew her routine, likes and dislikes. After a month at my house, she wanted to go back to her daughter's house in Michigan. DH tried to talk her into staying longer, but she was adamant about leaving. The day finally came...her daughter came to pick her up. Mama Sabina was drinking coffee (remember my coffee lover layout? :) and eating some crackers...her daughter snuck in and kneeled before her...when Mama Sabina looked up, she realized it was her daughter staring back at her. She exclaimed with delight "My daughter! You are finally here!" Boy, was Mama Sabina ever happy. I had never seen her so happy before. She said her goodbye and off to Michigan she went.

A few days later we got a call telling us that Mama Sabina was in the hospital because she couldn't breath properly. About a week and a half later, we get the call that she had fallen down the steps and broken her hip. She had to have hip replacement surgery. While recovering, she might have fallen again, and her plastic replacement broke thus necessitating a 2nd surgery to fix the hip again. During the 2nd surgery, her heart stopped 2 times and then her blood pressure dropped so much that they couldn't save her.

All I keep thinking is that I am ever so grateful that no harm came to her while under my care. I would be going crazy about now if she had had the accident here at my house. Oh, I know that this is nobody's fault, but still, I am the biggest worrywart that you would ever want to meet. I would never be able to forgive myself if she had died from surgery related to an accident at my house.

This is where cause and effect comes in. I wonder if she would still be alive today, had she stayed at my house longer, instead of going back to Michigan. I will never know.

She passed away on Friday, 5/16 at the ripe old age of 94. She turned 94 back in March. She led a long life. Later in her life, she got to do the things that she couldn't when she was younger. She traveled back and forth from Michigan to Puerto Rico to visit family and friends. She remembered them all always. Her long standing wish was that she be buried with her deceased son (died of a heart attack at age 36) in Puerto Rico. It was my husband's desire that her wish came true.

Since Friday, my husband has been in touch with family, distant relatives and friends regarding the the viewing and funeral arrangements. On Friday alone, he fielded about 40 calls. Mind you that he hadn't gotten much information from his aunt. He kept calling her and calling and calling her to get information, but she wasn't calling back. Whilst waiting for his aunt's call, he initiated the process of calling his uncle in Puerto Rico to have him make arrangements with a local funeral home to collect the body from the airport and embalming, all the while making sure that cementery plot where she was going to be buried was opened and cleaned up. Wouldn't you think that Mama Sabina's sons would take this responsibility upon themselves instead of my husband who is 3,ooo miles away? My husband does it gladly, but I still don't see her family, who resides in Puerto Rico, taking responsibility.

It was decided that there would not be a viewing in Michigan. There would be a very private gathering where people could say their goodbyes. Arrangments were made for her body to be sent to Puerto Rico. Her body was supposed to be shipped out yesterday, but late in the afternoon we get a call that the body was held up at the airport because they needed some kind of tracking numbers from the funeral home. In the meantime, her daughter missed her flight. When she finally boarded a later flight, they were trying to call her to tell her of the need for tracking numbers, but because she was in flight, the call wouldn't go through. The call landed on my husband's lap. DH had to call his aunt's exhusband to ask for the funeral home's name, so that I can look up the number on the internet to make the call and get the requested information. Unbelievable.

Anyway, dh came home last night; his voice was shot. He had been talking so much lately that it strained his vocal chords. That and the fact that the weather here in Jersey has been switching from cold to hot to cold. When that happens, we always get sick.

Now, add the kids to the mixture. They were so upset last night. They were crying up a storm at the thought of Daddy leaving again. He left at 5 in the morning and thank God that everything is working according to schedule for him. Can you believe that a ticket to Puerto Rico under such extreme circumstance is about 900 bucks? With the help of a family friend, he was able to get it for half of that. We are not even talking about a non-stop flight...he had to layover in Florida for a couple of hours. For goodness sake, it is only a 3 hour flight! I wonder if he feels like Gilligan on his 3 hour trip? :)

The body should arrive today, viewing will be tomorrow at the funeral home, and burial will be the next day. The viewing has been another issue, too. My husband's father wants the viewing held at his house. The funeral director would prefer that the viewing be held at the funeral home because of the heat. Puerto Rico is hot and bodies tend to decompose faster in hot weather. He thinks that because he lives on a hill where it is nice and cool, the effect will be less. We will see how this turns out... Are these events usually so complicated?

Got to go pick up the kids at school. It is freaking cold, dark and rainy.

DH just called. He got to Puerto Rico safe and sound. He is having trouble with car insurance. Yeah, we need this happening right now, too.
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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Amy Pearson / All Kinds of Hungry / Liam's Favorite Foods


Bananas, Pancakes and Broccoli.

Fonts: CK Cursive, Mariah, FG Matilda
It is a good thing that I found these stock photos by Amy. I usually forget to take photos of the foods that my kids like and by the time I remember, it is too late and all gone.

All Kinds of Hungry Stock photos by Amy Pearson
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20670&cat=0&page=1
Bg. Ppr. and green frames from Urban - XXL kit by Baers Garten
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20954&cat=0&page=1
Alpha and staples from Breeze Element pack by Natali Designs
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=19945&cat=0&page=3
Template from 365 Project: A Photo a Day by Amy Pearson
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20157&cat=0&page=1(Note: The template had spots for 7 photos, but I wanted my photos to be bigger so I merged some of the spots; I also recolored the dots and added the tabs.)

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Amy Pearson / Classic Thirst / Coffee Lover


Drinking coffee has been a constant in my life. Ever since I can remember, I have always drank coffee. We always used to joke with Mami (Mom) that she used to bottle feed us coffee instead of milk. I like Colombian coffee with boiled milk and 2 sugars....every morning and night. 5-13-2008
(Now the real journaling: I am not a morning person. I absolutely detest morning chatter. All I really want is peace and quiet and a chance to drink a cup of steaming coffee. I warn most people to not talk to me until after 9:00 am)

Alpha, staple, ribbon, lace and brown ppr. from Breeze by Natali Designs/SBG
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20669&cat=0&page=1
Sketch by Fei FeiBracket frame. sequins and crumpled pprs. from Freshness by Natali Designs
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Friday, May 16, 2008

Rest In Peace, Mama Sabina


Rest in Peace Great Grandmother

I am so glad that I got a chance to spend time with you, Mama Sabina.
You played dolls with me, you danced with me, and we shared hugs and kisses.
I will cherish our time together always.Love, Kaylie

P.S. Be sure to look up Abuelita. She is in heaven, too.

Fonts: Carolynsprint, FG Amelia
Finding Peace stock photos by Amy Pearson
White flowers border from Breeze by Natali Designs
Blue frame from Playing with Circles by Natali Designs
Stitches Funny by Natali Designs
Ribbon Flower from Cheerful elements by Natali Designshttp://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=21086&cat=0&page=1
Buttons, Black bg. ppr. and white bg. ppr. from Moments mini page set from Birgit Kerr's May grabbag.

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Freebielicious Friday

Happy Friday Everybody!

Wordart Frames by Sugarplum Paperie

Eve has a super cool template

Mandagirl has a multi-photo template

Shutterfly BlogMomtourage by KittyChen/Emily Powers {We Are Storytellers}
Note: If you missed the previous downloads, just scroll down for links.

I Believe Sampler by Kim B, et al.

Multi-photo Template

Sharon has a cute sampler

Touch of Light/Darkness action by MCP Actions.
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Death Comes Knocking At Our Door...again




You know, I was complaining yesterday that nothing much was happening. I should have kept my mouth shut. Last night, at around dinnertime, we got a call that Mama Sabina was in critical condition. We were woken up at 2:15 in the morning to inform us of her demise. Arrangements are being made to have her funeral service in Puerto Rico, where she was born, and in accordance with her wishes.

So glad that I took some photos while she was at our house. Even more glad that the kids are old enough to remember her.


Rest in peace, Mama Sabina, rest in peace.


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Thursday, May 15, 2008

POA - May 11th


colorful pinata. A bull.

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POA - May 10th




From my garden... click on the photo to enlarge.

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POA - May 9th



Off to school her goes. Dark and rainy day.


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POA - May 8th



Look who turned 6 years old today!

He has the creamiest skin...with a few freckles here and there. Soooo cute. I love his eyes, too. Ok, I am biased.


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POA - May 7th


The minute that I saw this flower, I knew that I wanted to take a pict. Not that I need a reason, mind you.

I just really liked the way it was set against the blue sky.
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POA - May 6


Mama bird feeding her baby bird. I saw her go into her nest (hole) and drop the worms in. I caught her just as she was exiting the nest to get more yummy worms. Yuck!

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Thursday at Last

Nothing much to report here...finally the weather has cleared up, the flowers are blooming and the birds are chirping.

2 days ago I got a note from Liam's school informing me that he has been recommended for the gifted and talented program. Testing is slated to begin next week through June 13. Though there is no guarantee that he will be accepted to the program, I hope so. He is super bright and needs to be challenged more so than he is now. I know he is in Kindergarten but he should be in 2nd grade level.

Last week I wanted to take him to the zoo, but couldn't. Speaking of Zoo, Little Dreamer has a challenge going and they are giving away a super cute zoo sampler.

I recently saw a super cute hybrid card over at Scrapmatters. Leslie was nice enough to share the template with all. Thanks!

I love wordart, but am not so good at creating it myself. I did see a cute wordart sampler over at the Hawt Mama Team Blog...want to see it?

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Monday, May 12, 2008

Liam's Birthday and Mother's Day


Liam playing the Spongebob game after everyone was gone.
Daddy comforting Liam. Liam went to him to complain that he hardly got any toys and candies from the Pinata...the other kids were way faster. :)
The kids scrambling around to pick up candies and toys....

Emanuel thought that he was going to have better luck because he is bigger. Was he wrong! He came out swinging hard. Ultimately, it was Catalina that whacked the bull the hardest that it came tumbling down. It didn't break, so dh broke it apart for them and tossed the candies.


Kaylie's turn to club the pinata. She managed to pull off one of the horns.
Just one more try...

Liam whacking the pinata. He thought it was going to be easy. But I covered his eyes and then spun him around...he was so mad that he couldn't hit the pinata. Daddy was lowering the pinata up and down to challenge the kids....
I love the bright colors of this pinata.
Isn't this a cute cake?

Doesn't Liam look cute here? And so sweet, too. :)

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day yesterday.






Liam turned 6 this week so I had decided to have his little party on Sunday; I had a serious memory lapse and forgot what day it was, duh! . We only wanted a few people over: my uncle and his wife, who is still recoving from testicular hernia. I thought he was walking a bit funny...:). He brought his 2 step-grandchildren so Liam had a new playmate. My brother Roberto came straight from his job for a bit, too. My friend Elizabeth came with her son and brought a little friend along.

I cooked everything by myself. I made Yellow rice with pigeon beans, potato salad, a leafy sald (lettuce/romaine/onions/tomatoes and feta cheese), lasagna (double layer: beef and ricotta cheese), baked chicken and baked bbq pork chops. The pigeon beans were brought by my mother in law from Puerto Rico. I had to boil them for 45 minutes before I was able to add it to the rice. I started some of the preparations the night before, but most of the work was done on Sunday as I like everything freshly made. I hate reheated food or overcooked.

By the time I sat for dinner, most everyone was done. Liam was super excited and couldn't wait to dig in to his Spongebob cake. He wanted a Spongebob cake so he was one happy boy. Liam and the kids were playing outside, so he kept coming in every 15 minutes to ask when the cake was going to be cut. He couldn't wait for me to clean up the table and set up....sheesh!

Anyway, after slaving over a hot stove and oven, I really couldn't enjoy eating my dinner. I was so freaking hot and bothered, that I didn't even eat much of anything.
We sang Liam the birthday song...he was acting shy, which is so endearing and strange at the same time. He did look adorable, though. He shoved the cake in his mouth as fast as he could, then demanded to open the gifts. I made him wait for everyone to finish eating the cake and icecream, then let him open the gifts.

We got him a super cool bike, which he can't ride because he can't reach the hand breaks. So much for that cool present! I got him a Spongebob game that one plugs to the tv, he loved it. He got a blow up scooby doo sand bag toy that he can punch around and a helicopter.

All in all, it was a day for Liam, and not a day for me. But, I can handle that. 127

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